While many of the rumors swirling around the Falcons and a possible move up to the No. 1 pick have been linked to the team’s interest in Jadeveon Clowney, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com says the defensive end wouldn’t necessarily be the club’s target if Atlanta does trade up. According to La Canfora, the Falcons are “very, very high” on offensive tackle Greg Robinson, who is a candidate to be drafted second overall by the Rams, meaning Atlanta may be considering moving up for Robinson instead.
La Canfora adds that several GMs believe Clowney, Robinson, Khalil Mack, Jake Matthews, and Taylor Lewan could be the top five players selected, which would put the Falcons in a tough spot, since they seem intent on adding an impact offensive lineman or pass rusher.
While we wait to see what the Falcons decide, let’s check out a few more updates from across the NFC:
- Longtime Carolina linebacker Dan Connor, who split time between the Giants and Panthers last season, recently worked out for the Falcons, according to Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk. Connor, an unrestricted free agent, would be competing for playing time in a reserve role if he signed with Atlanta.
- Former Viking Kevin Williams, who has visited the Giants and Seahawks, is mulling the possibility of retiring if he doesn’t receive an offer he likes, as he tells Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press. “If it’s not worth the risk of going back out there, I can’t say I’ll do it,” Williams said. “I don’t see it at this point (taking a low-value deal), but you never know.”
- Speaking to reporters today, including Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com, Cardinals general manager Steve Keim didn’t rule out the possibility of trading up in the first round, but made it clear that a trade down was far more likely. The GM added that the Cards have already engaged with a number of prospects they expect to go undrafted to try to sell them on signing in Arizona after the draft.
- Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com provides a year-by-year breakdown of Earl Thomas‘ new contract with the Seahawks, which features a cap hit of about $7.373MM in 2014. According to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports (via Twitter), the 2015 and 2016 figures become fully guaranteed after the start of those respective league years.
- Temple defensive tackle Levi Brown paid a pre-draft visit to the Giants last month, a league source tells Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
Dan Conner was signed to a one year deal by the Giants last off season. He did not split time with the Panthers and Giants he started for the Giants and then went down with an injury. Are you thinking about Jon Beason?
I believe Connor was released by the Giants after the injury and caught on with the Panthers in the second half of 2013. Didn’t play much for either team, but enough to constitute “splitting time,” at least.
— Luke