Tennessee defensive end Derek Barnett has held workouts with the Patriots, Bengals, Saints, and Titans, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link). Barnett, who posted 33 sacks during three years with the Volunteers, is expected to be selected in the first half of Day 1, and I projected Cincinnati to take him at pick No. 9 in the first edition of PFR’s Mock Draft. The Buccaneers and Cowboys have also expressed interest in Barnett, who stands 6’3″, 265 pounds.
Here’s more on the 2017 draft:
- Miami tight end David Njoku is scheduled to visit with the Saints, Browns, and Giants, as Njoku said during an appearance on Pro Football Talk Live. New York, specifically, could be an intriguing landing spot for Njoku, and Big Blue is reportedly “very high” on the 20-year-old pass-catcher. Widely viewed as the draft’s second-best tight end behind Alabama’s O.J. Howard, Njoku will likely be a first-round selection. He’s also been linked to the Buccaneers, Titans, and Panthers.
- The 49ers are meeting with Florida State running back Dalvin Cook on Wednesday, reports Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. Cook, clearly, wouldn’t be in consideration for San Francisco at No. 2 overall, but could be a potential selection for the Niners he falls to the early part of Day 2. After topping 1,600 yards rushing and scoring 19 touchdowns in each of the past two seasons, Cook looks like a first-round pick, although his measurables and physical testing scores disappointed.
- Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster has met with a number of teams picking near the top of the draft, and he’s now visited with a club selecting in the 20s. The Chiefs hosted Foster on Wednesday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Considerd the top linebacker in the 2017 class, Foster is expected to come off the board in the top half of the first round, if not earlier. Kansas City is currently sitting at pick No. 27, so it probably won’t have a shot at Foster barring a trade up.
- LSU running back Leonard Fournette weighed in at 228 pounds at his Pro Day today, per Andrew Groover of the Associated Press (Twitter link). tweets. He’s down from his combine weight of 240 pounds. Fournette also ran a few routes as a receiver, which — coupled with the slim-down — might be an attempt to prove to NFL clubs that he’s not solely an early-down plodder.
The Giants NEED a stud LB i definitely see them trade up and getting Foster or Reddick i mean whos the last good LB they had? Pierce? Draft a LB with the 1st pick its arguably their biggest need other than replacing the worst nfl player in the league Flowers
I realize there is a great need for an impact linebacker however we have to move Flowers off LT for us to make progress this year
Oh no i totally agree 100% Flowers shouldnt even be in the league in my opinion hes that bad, however this draft is pretty deep O-line wise and theres still some Tackles on the trade block and FA probably shouldve picked Zach Brown up on a deal but oh well
We have a good defense and the offense was atrocious. We need better blocking and skill players. A TE and and better LT than flowers. WE HAVE A 2 YEAR WINDOW TO WIN ELI’S LAST SUPERBOWL
Linebacker is the most useless position for a team that runs a 4-3 set. The pass heavy game now forces a nickel or dime package out on 85% of he snaps. So you’re only gonna have 1-2 LBs out there on most occasions.
If we do pick up a TE please make sure he can block as bad as Flowers was last year watching the Giant TEs block last year was painfull. They couldn’t even get in the way of opposing players.