2019 NFL Draft - Pro Football Rumors

Extra Points: Brown, Steelers, CBA, Draft, AAF

March 9th, 2019 at 6:15pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We heard yesterday that an Antonio Brown trade was “close” and that three teams were “still alive”, but over 24 hours later we still don’t have a deal. While we await an end to the saga, it’s worth examining why the Steelers are so willing to meet Brown’s demands and trade him, writes Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. Florio questions why the Steelers are seemingly “letting Brown dictate the terms of his employment,” and came up with a hypothesis based on his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger.

Brown has publicly gone after Roethlisberger in recent weeks, which could’ve solidified the Steelers’ resolve to ship him out. Florio theorizes that the feud between Brown and Roethlisberger isn’t just one-sided, and that Roethlisberger may be pushing for Brown to be gone behind the scenes. Florio thinks Roethlisberger may have given Pittsburgh’s management an ultimatum, and that could be why the team hasn’t tried to reconcile with Brown at all. It makes some sense, and if nothing else it’s an interesting theory.

Here’s more from around the league:

There’s been a lot of talk about a potential work stoppage when it comes time to negotiate the next CBA between the owners and the players’ union. There will be intense battles over things like contract guarantees, but one area the league plans to cede ground is on the substance abuse policy. The NFL is poised “to make major concessions regarding the substance-abuse policy, especially as it relates to marijuana,” according to Florio. Florio cautions that the details haven’t been ironed out yet, but the new CBA could completely get rid of any mention of Marijuana, making it permissible for everyone in the league.
There was a lot of talk about whether or not Kyler Murray made a bad impression in his combine interviews, but one player certainly did. Florida edge rusher Jachai Polite interviewed terrible, and his draft stock “is taking a massive tumble” as a result, according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (Twitter link). Polite had been projected by many as a first round pick, but that now appears to be in serious jeopardy. Polite also performed poorly in the athletic testing portion of the combine, and later claimed an injury was responsible.
The new startup football league, the AAF, has had a tumultuous start. There was a good amount of drama surrounding their finances after the first week, but things appear to have stabilized since then with a huge $250MM investment coming from NHL owner Tom Dundon. Now Bill Polian, the Hall of Fame former Colts GM and one of the founders of the AAF, is hopeful about a potential partnership with the NFL. Polian said in a recent conference call with reporters that talk about a formal partnership with the league “is ramping up” behind the scenes, according to Tom Krasovic of The San Diego Union Tribune. “Our hope would be that that would happen as quickly as it possibly can,” Polian added.

Notre Dame DL Jerry Tillery Undergoes Surgery

March 6th, 2019 at 9:54pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Notre Dame defensive lineman and NFL draft prospect Jerry Tillery underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum and will be sidelined for three-to-four months, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link).

Given his recovery timeline, Tillery should be ready for training camp, so it’s unclear just how much this news will affect his draft stock. Still, in a draft loaded with defensive line talent, it’s fair to wonder if Tillery’s operation will push him ever so slightly down draft boards.

Tillery, who stands 6’7″, 305 pounds, just wrapped up his Notre Dame career after appearing in 42 games during a four-year run. Last season, he posted seven sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss in 12 contests. Most draft rankings have Tillery as a borderline first-round pick, but his stock had been rising after an excellent combine. Notably, Tillery ranked first among draft-eligible defensive linemen in SPARQ score, a measurement of overall athleticism.

In his scouting report on Tillery, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com compared the Notre Dame product to the Steelers’ Stephon Tuitt, noting the former’s “scary natural power.” Joe Marino of The Draft Network is also a fan of Tillery, but noted he must improve his leverage.

Latest On Ohio State CB Kendall Sheffield

March 4th, 2019 at 7:17pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

We heard yesterday that Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield had suffered a torn left pectoral while bench pressing at the NFL scouting combine, and now we have an update. Sheffield has a partially torn pec, but he won’t need surgery for the injury, he told Kimberly Jones of NFL Network (Twitter link).

Sheffield is apparently in good spirits, and remained at the combine to support the other cornerbacks participating in drills. While it’s still a tough blow, it’s not as quite as serious as it initially seemed, and he’s lucky to dodge surgery. Fellow Buckeye Billy Price tore his pec doing the bench press at last year’s combine and ended up having to have surgery and miss the entire offseason program.

It’s still unclear how long Sheffield will be sidelined, but it doesn’t sound like it’ll be a prolonged absence or anything that will impact his draft status too much. It’s a shame Sheffield didn’t get to participate in the 40-yard dash or any of the other drills, because he was expected to test very well. He’s a great athlete, and a source told Josina Anderson of ESPN (Twitter link), that he had been clocking in the 4.2’s during his combine training. Anderson added in a second tweet that the “hope is” it’s just a 4-6 week injury. Most mock drafts projected Sheffield as a middle round pick heading into the combine.

Jason La Canfora On Brown, Steelers, Eagles

March 4th, 2019 at 6:24pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in two years, but Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com gets the sense than an extension will be struck before its expiration, which would mean no strike or lockout. One high-ranking league source tells JLC that a deal could even be reached prior to the start of the 2020 season, though an NFLPA source cautioned that things are still in their infancy.

Here’s more from JLC:

The Raiders and Eagles are the team’s to keep an eye on in the sweepstakes for Steelers star Antonio Brown, JLC hears. The Titans, he says, have nothing going on with the Steelers right now and the Redskins’ front office is divided on AB, even as owner Dan Snyder pushes for a deal. The Saints and Seahawks also discussed AB internally, but don’t appear to be moving forward with the pursuit.
Talent evaluators tell JLC that they are iffy on the talent of this year’s wide receiver class. “You might as well trade for AB or OBJ, because this is a bad draft for receivers,” one exec said. “I don’t care who ran what, this is not a good group.” JLC asked that particular exec about extraordinary athlete D.K. Metcalf as well, but he was not impressed by his fluidity or natural catching ability.

Latest On Kyler Murray, Cardinals

March 4th, 2019 at 10:44am CST by Zachary Links

Over the weekend, Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury told people that the selection of Kyler Murray at No. 1 overall is a “done deal,” according to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com. Kingsbury doesn’t necessarily have final say on the matter, but it’s yet another sign that the Cardinals are serious about drafting the undersized, yet immensely talented, Oklahoma quarterback.

The Murray-to-Arizona talk seemed far fetch just a few weeks ago because drafting Murray with the first pick would mean walking away from Josh Rosen, just one year after the Cardinals traded up to the No. 10 pick to select him. If they trade the UCLA product, the Cardinals might not get much in return.

“Probably a three,” an NFL GM told Peter King of NBC Sports when asked to approximate Rosen’s trade value. “Not what the Cardinals would think his value is.”

If the Cardinals settle on Murray at No. 1 and put Rosen on the block, they could find a suitor in the Redskins. Or, they could stand pat with Rosen – who just celebrated his 22nd birthday – and dangle the top pick to a team intensely interested in Murray, such as the Raiders.

OSU CB Kendall Sheffield Tears Pectoral

March 3rd, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Ohio State cornerback Kendall Sheffield suffered a torn left pectoral while performing the bench press at the NFL scouting combine on Sunday, according to Eric Edholm (Twitter link).

As Edholm notes, another Ohio State product — center Billy Price — also tore his pectoral during the 2018 combine, but he was still selected in the first round by the Bengals. Sheffield, though, isn’t quite the prospect that was Price, and is expected to be drafted at some point between Round 3 and Round 5.

Sheffield, who stands 6’0″, 193 pounds, appeared in 27 games for the Buckeyes over the past two seasons, posting 75 total tackles and two interceptions during that time. Lance Zierlein of NFL.com describes Sheffield as an “explosive athlete” who lacks refinement and ball skills, while Kyle Crabbs of The Draft Network says Sheffield can succeed as a zone-based cornerback but must add strength.

Extra Points: Brown, Packers, Seahawks, Combine, Cardinals

March 2nd, 2019 at 8:40pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Another day, another update in the Antonio Brown saga. The All-Pro Steelers receiver is still demanding a trade, and now we have an update on his preferences of where he’d like to land. Brown has been loosely connected to a handful of teams, but they apparently aren’t all equal in Brown’s eyes. “Quality of quarterback play will be a factor” in determining whether Brown will agree to play for a potential trade partner, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.

We heard earlier today that the Titans, Raiders, and Redskins had been expressing the most interest in Brown so far. It’s unclear if any of those three teams would meet Brown’s apparent standards for quarterback play. The trade market has been relatively quiet for Brown thus far, and his public demands have seemingly reduced the Steelers’ leverage in negotiations. Brown has played his entire career with one of the league’s top quarterbacks throwing him the ball, so it makes sense why he wouldn’t want to downgrade.

Here’s more from around the league on combine Saturday:

The Packers could really use some extra pass-rushing help, and they might already have their eyes set on someone in this year’s draft class. The Packers “really like” Florida edge rusher Jachai Polite, according to Tony Pauline of Draftanalyst.com. Green Bay owns the 12th pick in the draft, and that’s right around where Polite is slated to go in most mock drafts as of right now, so it could be a good fit. Polite racked up 11 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss this past season with the Gators.
Doug Baldwin never looked 100 percent right for the Seahawks this past season, and we now have confirmation he was dealing with multiple serious injuries. The receiver underwent surgery on his knee and his shoulder after the season ended, Pete Carroll revealed from the combine this week, according to Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times (Twitter link). Carroll did say that Baldwin, 30, will be fine for the start of the regular season. Baldwin missed three games in 2018 with a knee injury, and was clearly not fully healthy during the 13 games he was on the field. He finished with just 614 yards, by far his lowest total since he became a starter in 2013.
Former Penn State quarterback Trace McSorley was asked to workout as a defensive back at the combine this week, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Schefter notes that McSorley declined the request, citing a desire to concentrate on being a quarterback. McSorely played defensive back in high school, so it’s not entirely out of nowhere. Teams sometimes do things like this, like when Lamar Jackson was controversially asked to workout as a wide receiver at last year’s combine. McSorley set records at Penn State, but isn’t thought of as one of the top quarterback prospects in this year’s draft class.
The Cardinals will be non-tendering defensive tackle Olsen Pierre, a source told Florio (Twitter link). Pierre, a 2015 undrafted free agent, made his first NFL appearance with Arizona in 2017. He ended up starting seven games for them that year and was very productive, racking up 5.5 sacks. He appeared in ten games for them last year with one start, but the new coaching staff apparently wants to move on. He should be able to latch on somewhere when the market opens in a couple of weeks.

Execs Believe Cardinals Targeting Kyler Murray

March 1st, 2019 at 6:52pm CST by Micah Powell

It started off as mere speculation, but now executives around the league believe the Cardinals are looking to target Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano writes.

That idea started with an old quote from new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, who said he would take Murray with the top pick when he was the coach at Texas Tech. Though Kingsbury has professed Josh Rosen as his guy, Cardinals GM Steve Keim made waves when he said Rosen was there quarterback “for now” earlier this week. Rosen later added fuel to the fire when he deleted all of his Instagram posts relating to the organization. Now Vacchiano says that many around the league see all the speculation coming to fruition.

“I really think he’s going No. 1,” one league source said. “He fits exactly what Kingsbury wants to do out there.”

Murray would seem to be a nice fit for Kingsbury’s high-flying offense. He possesses game-breaking mobility to go along with an accurate touch and an impressive deep ball. It is all just speculation at this point, but the possibility of Kingsbury getting Murray and flipping Rosen, the team’s top pick in 2018, for picks is becoming more of a reality the closer we inch to the draft.

Most current mock drafts tie the Cardinals to Ohio State star pass rusher Nick Bosa at No. 1, but Murray is being tabbed anywhere from No. 5-10. It wouldn’t be a shock to hear his name called with the top selection come draft day.

Latest On Kyler Murray

February 28th, 2019 at 7:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

After his Heisman Trophy season came with the disclaimer that football would be in his past once Oakland A’s spring training began, Kyler Murray has become this draft’s most interesting player. However, he will delay his next football acts until March.

The former Oklahoma quarterback was measured at 5-foot-10 and 207 pounds on Thursday morning. He will also participate in interviews and the medical portion of the Combine, but Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com report the passer will wait until his pro day to go through timed drills or throw in front of teams (Twitter links).

Quarterbacks are scheduled to do drills on Saturday, and that portion of the Combine will be broadcast on ABC. It will be an interesting new microscope for prospects, with wide receivers and tight ends also set to do their field drills Saturday. Murray will save his work for the Sooners’ pro day, which is scheduled for March 12.

This decision is not especially unusual for a player expected to be picked early. Murray also informed scouts and personnel executives he would wait until his pro day. That was already likely going to be the most anticipated event of this year’s pro day circuit. That will be a certainty now.

Kyler Murray Measures At 5’10”

February 28th, 2019 at 9:15am CST by Zachary Links

Kyler Murray could be well on his way to being a top 5 pick in the NFL Draft. The Oklahoma quarterback measured in at 5’10” at the NFL Draft combine, which should give teams some comfort in his ability to see over defenders.

Murray’s formal measurement put him at one-eighth of an inch over 5’10”, which was no small matter. There were rumblings of Murray being no taller than 5’9″ without shoes and such a measurement would have been devastating for his draft stock.

Murray’s hand also measured at 9.5 inches, which should be good enough to palm and handle an NFL football. That might not sound like a big deal, but quarterbacks have slid down the board in the past due to their hand size. His weight of 207 pounds should also bring comfort to execs who were concerned about whether he’d able to absorb hits at the pro level.

With those hurdles cleared, Murray should be one of the first names called in April. He may even be a contender for the No. 1 overall pick, which may or may not be kept by the Cardinals.

2019 NFL Draft News & Rumors