2018 April - Pro Football Rumors

Ravens Send No. 152 Pick To Titans

April 28th, 2018 at 1:31pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Titans chose to move up a bit in the fifth round, climbing from No. 162 to No. 152. They’ll send the Ravens that No. 162 choice as well as the No. 215 selection (Round 6), per Cameron Wolfe of ESPN.com (on Twitter).

Now under the direction of new coach Mike Vrabel, the Titans have made three moves up in this draft — most notably to land high-end defenders Rashaan Evans and Harold Landry with their first- and second-round picks.

This time, Tennessee selected Arizona cornerback Dane Cruikshank. The 6-foot-1 corner intercepted five passes over the past two seasons for the Wildcats. He’s only the third draft choice the Titans have made this year. Because of this deal, Tennessee only owns one more draft choice (No. 199).

Broncos Deal No. 149 To Seahawks

April 28th, 2018 at 1:21pm CST by Sam Robinson

Entering this third draft day without a pick in the sixth or seventh rounds, the Broncos acquired one after trading their No. 149 choice to the Seahawks.

Denver dealt its fifth-rounder to Seattle in exchange for the No. 156 pick and a seventh-round selection (No. 226), Mike Klis of 9News reports (on Twitter). The Seahawks used their new choice to take Texas punter Michael Dickson, who won the Ray Guy award last year as Division I-FBS’ best punter.

Dickson is the first punter to go off the board in this year’s draft and will certainly push incumbent Jon Ryan, who has been Seattle’s punter since the 2008 season. Ryan’s under contract through the 2019 season and will make $3.2MM this year; it’s certainly possible the Seahawks will opt to save money at that spot this season and send Ryan, who will turn 37 later this year, elsewhere.

The Seahawks met with Dickson at the Combine and apparently made him do a staring contest. The Australia native was named MVP of the Texas Bowl and won the Ray Guy award via unanimous vote.

Raiders Trade Up To 140, Take Maurice Hurst

April 28th, 2018 at 1:07pm CST by Sam Robinson

A day after taking a first-round talent whose stock plummeted, the Raiders have repeated the practice. And it took another trade to do so.

Per Scott Bair of NBC Sports Bay Area (on Twitter), Oakland surrendered its Nos. 159 and 185 overall selections to trade into Indianapolis’ No. 140 slot, where Maurice Hurst Jr. became the pick.

The Michigan interior pass rusher was viewed as one of the top interior defensive linemen in the draft, but heart issues caused him to fall to this juncture of the draft. Hurst will join Arden Key as defensive linemen heading to Oakland. Jon Gruden‘s team is ready to gamble on some boom-or-bust talent in hopes of creating a better supporting cast for Khalil Mack, whose team has lacked such a contingent for a while now.

Hurst was given clearance from his heart condition, one that emerged at the Combine, recently. But teams still stayed away until Day 3. Nevertheless, the Michigan defensive tackle combined to register 24.5 tackles for loss over the past two seasons, and the Raiders have struggled to generate interior pressure for years now. Top inside rusher Mario Edwards is entering a contract year as well.

Panthers Acquire No. 136 From Rams

April 28th, 2018 at 12:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Panthers have acquired pick No. 136 from the Rams in exchange for Nos. 147 and 197, according to Gary Klein of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter link).

The Panthers used their newly-acquired pick on New Mexico State wideout Jaleel Scott. The six-foot-six receiver had a breakout campaign in 2017, hauling in 76 receptions for 1,079 yards and nine touchdowns. He’ll provide quarterback Joe Flacco with another talented target, and Scott will instantly become the tallest wideout on the team.

The Ravens have added a number of offensive pieces during the draft, including quarterback Lamar Jackson, lineman Orlando Brown, and tight ends Hayden Hurst and Mark Andrews.

Lions Acquire No. 114 From Patriots

April 28th, 2018 at 11:47am CST by Ben Levine

The Patriots are wheeling and dealing. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports (via Twitter) that New England is sending pick No. 114 to the Lions. The Patriots acquired that selection earlier today in a deal with the Browns. Detroit will be sending a 2019 third-rounder to New England, according to Reiss (on Twitter).

The Lions have used the pick on defensive lineman Da’Shawn Hand. The Albama product compiled 27 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks during his senior season. He’ll provide head coach (and former Pats defensive coordinator) Matt Patricia some depth on the defensive line.

The Patriots have been might busy this weekend, as they’ve already pulled off six trades. Reiss believes that these moves are an indication that Bill Belichick is planning on sticking around for the foreseeable future (Twitter link).

Browns Acquire No. 105 From Patriots

April 28th, 2018 at 11:21am CST by Ben Levine

The Browns and Patriots have completed a trade. Kyle Kelly of The Browns Wire tweets that Cleveland has acquired the No. 105 pick. ESPN’s Field Yates reports (via Twitter) that the Patriots will receive No. 114 and No. 178.

The Browns have used the pick on Florida wideout Antonio Callaway. The receiver had a number of transgressions leading up to the draft, including a diluted drug sample, a sexual assault allegation, a misdemeanor marijuana citation, and involvement in a credit-card scam.

Still, the prospect was plenty productive during his collegiate career. He missed the entire 2017 campaign due to suspension, but he hauled in 54 receptions for 721 yards and three scores during the 2016 campaign.

Latest On Earl Thomas

April 28th, 2018 at 10:28am CST by Ben Levine

There were rumblings that the Seahawks were shopping veteran safety Earl Thomas, but coach Pete Carroll made it sound like the defensive back is saying put next season.

“It’s awesome,” Carroll said (via ESPN’s Brady Henderson). “Earl’s a great football player. You may have looked [at it] like he wasn’t going to be here; we didn’t look at it like that. That’s been a lot of speculation on your guys’ end of this thing. We’ve been counting on Earl being here the whole time.”

General manager John Schneider acknowledged that there were discussions about a Thomas trade, but he noted “that nothing was remotely close to happening.” It sounds like the GM wasn’t really planning on dealing the safety after all, as Schneider also noted that he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t consider every offer.

The 28-year-old has spent his entire career in Seattle, earning six Pro Bowl selections. In 14 games last season, Thomas compiled 88 tackles, seven passes defended, and two interceptions.

Draft Notes: Steelers, Hurst, Guice, Bears

April 28th, 2018 at 9:07am CST by Ben Levine

It’s been a busy couple of days here at Pro Football Talk, and that’s partly due to a record-breaking number of trades. As ESPN’s Jenna Laine tweets, there were 14 trades yesterday, the highest Day 2 total since the draft expanded to three days. There have also been 21 total trades through the first 48 hours, which is also the most since 2010.

Let’s check out some more draft notes from around the NFL…

The Steelers were targeting Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans with their first-round pick, reports Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (via Twitter). When he was taken by the Titans with the 22nd pick, Pittsburgh shifted their focus to another position, selecting safety Terrell Edmunds. As Dulac notes, the team ultimately didn’t rate the remaining linebackers high enough to dedicate a first-rounder at the position.
Michigan defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. hasn’t fallen down draft boards solely because of injuries. Rather, as Yahoo’s Charles Robinson tweets, the prospect’s tape “was a little more up and down than expected.” While the player showed flashes of brilliance, he also had some glaring “empty stretches.” Meanwhile, Jason La Canfora attributes Hurst’s fall to medical reasons, as the reporter tweets that teams are concerned about the defensive lineman’s heart condition. This concern has caused the player to completely fall off some teams’ draft boards.
Meanwhile, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport provides insight into why LSU running back Derrius Guice is sliding (Twitter link). The player has been described as “immature” and “high-maintenance,” and his visits did not go well, according to the reporter.
The Bears selected Memphis wideout Anthony Miller midway through the second round yesterday, but it sounds like they had their eye on a receiver in the first round. ESPN’s Vaughn McClure tweets that Chicago tried to trade up for Alabama wideout Calvin Ridley, who was selected 26th overall by the Falcons.

Buccaneers Trade Into Vikings’ No. 94 Slot

April 27th, 2018 at 9:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Buccaneers will trade a fourth-round pick and a sixth-round selection to move into the Vikings’ No. 94 spot at the end of this third round.

Tampa Bay gave up the No. 180 selection to swing this deal with Minnesota. The Bucs used this deal to select Alex Cappa, an offensive lineman out of Humboldt State.

This continues a busy night for the Bucs, who have now made four selections on Day 2 in this draft. They took running back Ronald Jones, cornerback M.J. Stewart, cornerback Carlton Davis and now Cappa, who was a stellar performer throughout his career at the Division II program.

The Bucs have a recent history of looking far and wide for offensive line help, with Division III product Ali Marpet being a multiyear starter in Tampa. Cappa was a four-time first-team All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference choice and finished his career as a first-team Division II All-American in 2017.

Raiders Trade With Rams, Select Arden Key

April 27th, 2018 at 9:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

Arden Key‘s slide looks to have stopped. The Raiders have moved into the No. 87 draft position and are selecting the LSU edge defender.

The Rams traded out of the No. 87 slot and will drop back two positions in this third round, with Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com reporting (via Twitter) Los Angeles will also collect a a sixth-round compensatory pick (No. 217) in this exchange.

Key was projected by some to be a first-round pick earlier in the pre-draft process, and he joins former LSU teammate Derrius Guice as Tigers to endure lengthy slips during draft weekend.

A dominant player in 2016 with an LSU-record 12.5 sacks, the 6-foot-6 Key spent time in rehab for marijuana usage and was overweight for his final season in Baton Rouge, La. But Key is viewed as a first-round-level talent, and he’ll join an edge-rushing contingent and is set to play behind Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin.