HEADLINES

Amari Cooper

Extra Points: CFL, Draft, Jackson, Packers

February 4th, 2015 at 10:14pm CST by Zachary Links

The CFL has been making major waves in the NFL in recent days, as Over The Cap’s Zack Moore writes. Chris Matthews looked like an absolute stud for the Seahawks in the Super Bowl while receiver Duron Carter and lineman Ben Heenan landed deals with the Colts. This isn’t the first time either of those two teams have gone to Canada to find talent and it’s a part of a broader trend in the NFL. The NFL is looking more and more like the CFL with its no huddle offenses, no-back sets, and shorter time between plays, making the CFL the perfect minor league. More from around the NFL..

  • Joel Corry of CBSSports.com ran down some of the key offseason dates between now and the NFL’s Annual Meeting in late March. Some of the dates have league-wide significance while others affect specific player contracts. As Corry notes, February 6th will be a key date for notable names such as Ndamukong Suh, Jason Pierre-Paul, and Rob Gronkowski.
  • West Virginia’s Kevin White has leapfrogged Alabama’s Amari Cooper as the consensus top wide receiver in the 2015 draft, according to Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (video link). Ultimately, though, it’s a talented class and several teams in the top ten could go for receivers. Cooper, White, and Louisville’s DeVante Parker could all go inside of the top ten picks, according to Miller. Still, he doesn’t think that this year’s top trio is quite as talented as last year’s. Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, and Odell Beckham Jr. were the first three receivers taken in 2014, so they have a tough act to follow.
  • Colts inside linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was arrested Tuesday on a charge of simple assault after an altercation over a parking spot, Stephen Holder of the Indy Star writes. Jackson, considered one of the Colts’ veteran leaders, signed with the Colts last spring after his release from the Browns on a five-year, ~$22MM deal. Jackson is the third Colts player to be arrested in the past month.
  • The Packers have some big decisions to make when it comes to their defensive line, Rob Reischel of the Journal-Sentinel writes. Of course, the arrest of Letroy Guion on Tuesday night only complicates matters for Green Bay.

Extra Points: 49ers, Colts, Cooper

January 27th, 2015 at 10:37pm CST by Zachary Links

The impending addition of receiver Duron Carter could have an impact on Hakeem Nicks or Reggie Wayne’s time with the Colts, writes Mike Wells of ESPN.com. Both veterans are about to be free agents. Wayne had his least productive season since 2002 while Nicks had career lows in receptions and yards. Wayne, of course, is taking some time to figure out his future. If he returns for his 15th season, he says that he would only play for the Colts.

  • 49ers coach Jim Tomsula is expected to add Steve Logan to the offensive staff, though it’s not known if he’s a candidate for the vacant offensive coordinator job, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.
  • Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears that Eagles wide receivers coach Bob Bicknell is being considered for the 49ers‘ offensive coordinator vacancy.
  • Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper has signed with Lagardère Unlimited agents Joel Segal, Chafie Fields, and Greg Barnett, according to Liz Mullen of the Sports Business Journal (on Twitter). Cooper is widely expected to be one of the top picks in the 2015 draft.
  • Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group wonders who will become the next offensive coordinator of the 49ers. Rob Chudzinski became the latest candidate to drop out of contention after he agreed to stay with the Colts. Geep Chryst, the quarterbacks coach since 2011, is a leading in-house candidate, thanks in large part to his relationship with Colin Kaepernick. Still, the search continues.
  • The Ravens are thinking about hiring former Bears assistant Andy Bischoff as an offensive assistant, sources tell Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. Bischoff coached the Bears tight ends for the past two seasons and has long-standing ties to new Ravens offensive coordinator Marc Trestman.

Amari Cooper, T.J. Yeldon To Enter Draft

January 8th, 2015 at 1:08pm CST by Luke Adams

Earlier today, we learned that Alabama safety Landon Collins would be entering his name in the 2015 NFL draft, and it appears two noteworthy teammates will join him. According to ESPN’s Alex Scarborough and Chris Low, junior wide receiver Amari Cooper and junior running back T.J. Yeldon will also forgo their remaining college eligibility and enter the ’15 draft.

Of the two, Cooper is the bigger name — he is widely considered the best wideout available among 2015 prospects, and is considered likely to come off the board within the first few picks this spring. He racked up an incredible 1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on 124 receptions in 2014 for Alabama, averaging 123+ yards per game. Both ESPN.com and CBSSports.com consider Cooper a top-five prospect, though the first mock draft from ESPN’s Todd McShay has the young receiver coming off the board at No. 6, to the Jets.

As for Yeldon, his yards per carry slipped to 5.0 in 2014 after he topped 6.0 as a freshman and sophomore, but the 21-year-old still had a strong junior season, compiling 979 yards and 11 TDs on the ground. He grades as ESPN’s sixth-best running back and 49th-best overall prospect, while CBSSports.com isn’t quite as bullish, ranking Yeldon seventh among RBs and 80th overall.

NFC Notes: Bears, Saints, Giants

December 13th, 2014 at 6:25pm CST by Ben Levine

The Aaron Kromer saga continues in Chicago. It was revealed yesterday that the Bears offensive coordinator was the anonymous source who claimed the organization had doubts about Jay Cutler as their quarterback. Kromer eventually addressed those comments (via ESPN.com’s Michael C. Wright):

“I made a very poor decision of talking about things outside the building and I admit that, can’t take that back. But I recognize I made a mistake. When I did, [I] instantly went right to the offensive unit and apologized as well as apologized to Jay in front of the offense that he was singled out in the situation. I wish I wouldn’t have made that mistake. It’s happened, and we’re a group and a unit. We worked it out together. The rest will be handled internally, and we’ll work through that.”

Meanwhile, head coach Marc Trestman gave a brief opinion on the situation:

“I was clearly disappointed with Aaron. He clearly knows what he did was wrong.”

Let’s take a look at some other assorted notes from around the NFC…

  • A couple of teams had their eye on Bears quarterback David Fales prior to his promotion from the practice squad. Adam Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times says (via Twitter) that the Patriots and Chargers had interest in the sixth-round pick.
  • Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun tweeted a list of players who tried out for the Saints: kicker Dustin Hopkins and wide receivers Michael Campbell, Danny Coale, Willie Snead and Ifeanyi Momah.
  • Saints coach Sean Payton dismissed reports that he’d be a candidate for the open Michigan job, stating he has “no interest in any other job but this one” (via team’s Twitter).
  • Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News explored the Giants draft options outside of the quarterback position. The writer mentioned Nebraska defensive lineman Randy Gregory, Iowa offensive lineman Brandon Scherff, Alabama wideout Amari Cooper, and Alabama safety Landon Collins.

NFC Mailbags: Garrett, Panthers, Prater

December 13th, 2014 at 10:50am CST by Rob DiRe

It’s Saturday morning, and ESPN.com’s NFL writers are opening their mailbags and answering questions from readers. Let’s take a look at some of the interesting notes from the NFC…

  • The Cowboys have been one of the surprise teams in the NFL this season, and head coach Jason Garrett has gone from all but fired to a legitimate Coach of the Year candidate. Todd Archer believes he has done enough this season to keep his job even if they miss the playoffs, but notes that nothing is set in stone with three games to go.
  • If the Panthers do not comeback to win the division, they will likely be staring at a very high draft pick this offseason, and David Newton believes that offensive tackle would be a top priority. However, if Alabama’s Amari Cooper falls to them, the team would have to consider taking him and putting him opposite Kelvin Benjamin to make a scary young pair of wideouts.
  • Ben Goessling looks at what positions the Vikings will target in the 2015 NFL Draft, and believes the team could focus on defense. He writes that they could benefit from an inside linebacker to play alongside Anthony Barr and Gerald Hodges, or a versatile safety to pair with Harrison Smith. They could also look for another cornerback, or even a running back or offensive lineman.
  • Washington has a number of problems in addition to their volatile quarterback situation, and John Keim believes the team will come into 2015 with two new starting safeties. He writes they should try to find a veteran free agent and also draft a safety capable of coming in and playing.
  • While the main focus of the Packers‘ mailbag is the chances of a rematch of their week one loss to the Seahawks, this time at Lambeau Field, Rob Demovsky also takes time to explain why the team is consistently signing players to the active roster but not activating for gameday. He notes that most of these signings go hand in hand with key players who are questionable with injuries.
  • The Lions have a number of decisions to make this offseason, but whether or not to re-sign Matt Prater will be one of the smaller yet no less significant choices. Mike Rothstein believes the team should try to keep Prater on a long-term deal.

AFC West Links: Houston, Berry, McNeil

November 1st, 2014 at 3:19pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Chiefs do not have a single rookie on Mel Kiper’s list of the 35 best rookies through the midpoint of this season (subscription required), and Adam Teicher of ESPN.com is not surprised by this. He writes that only guard Zach Fulton has played enough snaps to qualify for this list, and he has performed poorly.

Teicher writes that the team passed on such impact players as guard Joel Bitonio, cornerback Jason Verrett, and receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who have all been among the best rookies in the league this year.

  • Chiefs‘ outside linebacker Justin Houston is halfway through the final year of his contract, but is unlikely to sign an extension with the team. Houston is treating the home stretch of the season as business as usal, reports Randy Covitz of the Kansas City Star. “I’ll worry about that at the end of the season,” said Houston. “I can’t let that get in my head at all. I don’t want it to slow me or affect what I’m doing on the field. I just want to continue play as I’m playing and continue to make plays.”
  • Chiefs‘ safety Eric Berry is active and will play Sunday against the Jets, writes Teicher. He suffered a high ankle sprain in a loss to the Broncos during their week two matchup, and has not seen the field since.
  • The Broncos have recently added former Arena League receiver Douglas McNeil to the practice squad, and Andrew Mason of DenverBroncos.com believes that if he continues to adjust to the NFL game, his combination of size and speed could make him an intriguing prospect for the team.
  • The Raiders are poised to select at the top of the draft, and Bill Williamson of ESPN.com thinks the team should seriously consider a receiver at that spot. He identifies Alabama star Amari Cooper as a target high in the first round.