Adam Schefter of ESPN.com has published his final notebook before the draft. Here’s a quick look at the highlights:
- A few weeks ago, the Saints were willing to trade what was thought to be a second-round pick to the Rams for franchise tendered cornerback Trumaine Johnson. However, Johnson was unwilling to sign a long-term deal with New Orleans because of his desire to remain in L.A. The Rams have pivoted away from Johnson trade talk, but Schefter wonders aloud if a team could gamble by trading for him without a long-term pact in place. Personally, I can’t imagine a scenario in which a team is willing to give up significant draft capital to the Rams without a multi-year contract for Johnson. It’s also hard to see the Rams settling for, say, a mid-round pick. It’s hard to see Johnson playing anywhere other than L.A. in 2017.
- Before he underwent wrist surgery Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly visited the Chiefs and also had visits planned with the Seahawks and Bills, Schefter hears. Those teams still represent intriguing fits for Kelly, Schefter argues.
- One NFL executive predicts that four quarterbacks would be drafted in the first round and “7-8 teams will take (quarterbacks) in first two rounds.” If it were a deeper class, the exec says, he’d be predicting ten QBs inside of the first 64 picks.