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Aidan Hutchinson

Draft Rumors: Ojabo, Jaguars, Jets, Giants

April 6th, 2022 at 5:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Michigan still might see two of its edge rushers become first-round picks this month. Despite David Ojabo‘s Achilles tear last month, the ex-Wolverine’s talent could well keep him on track to hear his name called on the draft’s first night. Ojabo remains firmly on the Round 1 radar, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports notes. Ojabo is expected to make a full recovery, and a team that uses a first-round pick on him would be positioned to have him contracted for five seasons — via the fifth-year option. Operating opposite Aidan Hutchinson, Ojabo recorded 11 sacks in a breakout 2021. There is recent precedent for pre-draft injuries not keeping talented pass rushers out of the first round (Jeffery Simmons) and for Achilles rehabs going well enough players become factors months after the tears (Terrell Suggs, Michael Crabtree, Cam Akers).

Here is the latest from the draft world:

  • Hutchinson and NC State tackle Ikem Ekwonu met with the Jaguars this week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes both will head to New York for Giants and Jets visits (Twitter link). Both players are candidates to go first overall, with Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker joining them. The Jets and Giants hold four of the next nine picks — the Jets having Nos. 4 and 10 and the Giants at 5 and 7 — and will be set to add top talent. The Giants have a few needs, but it will be hard to see them exiting Round 1 without a right tackle prospect. They have done extensive homework on Mississippi State’s Charles Cross and would likely pounce if Ekwonu, who is rated ahead of Cross almost universally, fell to 5.
  • After a strong Combine showing, Walker is being projected as a top-five pick. He will visit with each of the teams holding those selections, with Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com noting the Jags, Lions, Texans, Jets and Giants are meeting with the pass rusher. Despite weighing 272 pounds and frequently playing inside with the national championship-winning team, Walker clocked a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. Viewed as a D-lineman with fewer red flags than Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, it is unlikely Walker will wait long to hear his name called.
  • Teams will do their due diligence on Thibodeaux, who is set to meet with the non-Jaguars contingent of the top five (Lions, Texans, Jets, Giants). The Eagles (Nos. 15 and 18) and Falcons (No. 9) are also planning “30” visits with Thibodeaux, Wilson notes. Questions about Thibodeaux’s motor and attitude have injected uncertainty into the defensive end’s status. A fall to Philly at 15 might not shock at this point.
  • One season remains on Saquon Barkley‘s contract, and the Giants‘ new regime has fielded trade calls on the previous staff’s top investment. The team is now using a few of its allotted 30 visits on backs. Breece Hall (Iowa State), Brian Robinson (Alabama) and James Cook (Georgia) visited the Giants on Tuesday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Hall could be available when the Giants’ second-round pick (No. 36) comes. However, the ex-Cyclones standout grades as a first-round talent on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board. Cook and Robinson are viewed as later-round prospects.
  • The Commanders are also taking a look at a top back, being set to meet with Michigan State’s Kenneth Walker on Friday, Rapoport adds (on Twitter). Scouts Inc. grades Walker just ahead of Hall as this class’ top back, but views him as a second-round talent. The Wake Forest transfer blew up for 1,636 rushing yards in his only Michigan State slate. Washington also met with Hall this week, John Keim of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Andrew Booth may miss his NFL team’s offseason workouts due to hernia surgery, but that should not deter teams from considering the Clemson cornerback in Round 1. Booth has met with the Bills (No. 25) and Eagles, with Rapoport adding Patriots (No. 21) and Saints (Nos. 16 and 19) meetings are also on Booth’s docket.

Jaguars Considering DE Travon Walker At No. 1 Overall

March 25th, 2022 at 5:06pm CST by Sam Robinson

Linked to either Aidan Hutchinson or an offensive tackle at No. 1 overall, the Jaguars appear to have identified a sleeper for the honor of being the draft’s first player selected.

Buzz is building on Travon Walker, per ProFootballNetwork.com’s Tony Pauline, who adds the Jaguars have identified the Georgia defensive end as a player they could select with the first pick. The Jags will use one of their allotted 30 prospect visits for a Walker meeting.

Walker tested well at the Combine, posting a 4.51-second 40-yard dash despite his 272-pound frame. This bettered Hutchinson’s 4.74 clocking. Hutchinson (260 pounds) bettered Walker in the 20-yard shuttle and three-cone drills. The Michigan product also is coming off a dominant senior season, registering 14 sacks and forcing two fumbles, finishing second in the Heisman voting. Used as less of a pure edge compared to Hutchinson, Walker recorded six sacks as a junior to help the Bulldogs to their first national championship since 1980.

ESPN’s Scouts Inc. ranks Hutchinson as this draft’s top prospect, slotting Walker eighth. Mel Kiper Jr.’s latest mock draft sends Hutchinson to Jacksonville and Walker to Carolina at No. 6, though NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah moved Walker to the No. 2 overall pick. The Jags are “widely expected” to draft Hutchinson, ESPN.com’s Matt Miller adds, but Walker has at least crept into the equation.

Jacksonville using its franchise tag on left tackle Cam Robinson seemingly decreases the likelihood of a tackle pick. The team has used four first-round choices on defensive linemen since 2015 (Dante Fowler, Taven Bryan, Josh Allen, K’Lavon Chaisson), but the AFC South squad’s free agency spending spree did not include any edge rusher additions.

NFC North Notes: Lions, Flowers, Hunter

February 27th, 2022 at 8:20am CST by Rory Parks

The Lions, who own the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, are open to trading that selection. If GM Brad Holmes elects to keep it, however, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press does not expect Holmes to pick Liberty QB Malik Willis. Though Detroit worked closely with Willis at the Senior Bowl, and though the big-armed passer performed well at that event, the consensus still seems to be that he is not worthy of the No. 2 pick.

Theoretically, trading down from the top of the draft board could make it more likely that the Lions select Willis or a different quarterback with their first pick, but Birkett does not believe the club will draft a signal-caller with any of its first three selections (presently No. 2, No. 32, and No. 34 overall). If Detroit stays at No. 2, Birkett expects a pass rusher — either Michigan’s Aidan Hutchinson or Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux — to be the choice.

Let’s round up a few more NFC North notes and rumors:

  • Birkett does expect the Lions to be more active in free agency this offseason than they were last year, and he cites wide receiver and safety as the two likeliest positions to be upgraded with a notable signing. Both he and Chris Burke of The Athletic (subscription required) believe edge defender Trey Flowers looms as a potential cap casualty — Flowers’ release would add $10.5MM to the Lions’ books if he is cut prior to June 1, and $16MM if he is designated a post-June 1 cut.
  • Even without removing Flowers from the roster, Holmes has roughly $25MM of cap space to work with. Because of his position (safety) and connection to the Lions‘ coaching staff, Birkett names the Saints’ Marcus Williams as a potential FA target for Holmes.
  • Vikings standout Danielle Hunter will line up both at DE and OLB in new defensive coordinator Ed Donatell‘s scheme, per Ben Goessling of the Star Tribune (via Twitter). Hunter has played in just seven games over the past two years, and between that lack of availability and his lofty 2022 cap charge of $26.1MM, Arif Hasan of The Athletic (subscription required) identifies him as a release candidate. Hasan, though, says such as a move is unlikely, and given how well Hunter performed in 2021 before succumbing to a torn pec — six sacks, six tackles for loss, and 10 QB hits in his seven games — it appears the LSU product will stay in Minnesota and will get a chance to show off his versatility.
  • The Bears have hired Matt Feinstein as their new director of football administration, per a team announcement. As Alex Shapiro of NBC Sports Chicago details, Feinstein worked in the league office for seven years, and he will replace Joey Laine, who served as former GM Ryan Pace‘s director of football administration and who was Pace’s lead contract negotiator and salary cap manager.