Christian McCaffrey - Pro Football Rumors

Draft Rumors: Mixon, Charlton, McCaffrey

April 2nd, 2017 at 11:46am CST by Rory Parks

The Chiefs are “still doing research” on embattled Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, as Terez A. Paylor of The Kansas City Star writes. Several teams have reportedly scratched Mixon off of their draft boards, while others are “digging in hard” on him. Kansas City, of course, selected another talented player with an ugly domestic abuse incident on his record, Tyreek Hill, last year, and Hill was a key component of the club’s success in 2016. Chiefs brass was noncommittal when asked about the possibility of drafting Mixon, simply saying that there is more evaluation to be done. A report last month suggested that, despite Mixon’s history and the fact that some teams are not considering him at all, his draft stock is on the rise.

Now for more draft-related rumors:

Add the Dolphins to the long list of teams with interest in Michigan defensive end Taco Charlton. Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald reports that Miami has scheduled a visit with Charlton, who is a consensus first-round talent. Charlton has also met, or will meet, with at least seven other clubs.
As Rich Cimini of ESPN.com observes, the Jets will have met with every top QB prospect in the draft by the time draft day arrives, but he believes those visits are more of a smokescreen than anything else. New York is clearly in rebuilding mode, and Cimini posits that the Jets are hoping to drive up the value of their No. 6 overall pick, which he does not believe the club will use on a signal-caller, despite public suggestions to the contrary.
Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com believes the Giants will select a quarterback in the draft, but he does not think Big Blue will use a first- or second-round selection on one. Instead, he suggests New York will target a player like Josh Dobbs or Jerrod Evans in the middle rounds. He adds that the Giants would love to draft former Stanford star Christian McCaffrey, but it’s unlikely McCaffrey will still be on the board when the Giants make their No. 23 overall selection.
Thanks to Jesse James‘ surprisingly effective 2016 campaign, the Steelers do not have to select a starting-caliber tight end in this month’s draft, as Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests. The club has proven that it can win with James as a starter, although Ladarius Green‘s health concerns may still compel Pittsburgh to select a developmental tight end in the middle rounds of the draft. Fittipaldo names Michigan’s Jake Butt — who may have been a first-round prospect but for his devastating knee injury in the last game of his collegiate career — Arkansas’ Jeremy Sprinkle, and Iowa’s George Kittle as potential targets.
Mary Kay Cabot of The Cleveland Plain Dealer believes that the Browns will draft Mitch Trubisky somewhere in the first round — although presumably not with the No. 1 overall selection, as the team seems set to take Myles Garrett there — if Trubisky is available. If they cannot somehow land Trubisky, Cabot believes Patrick Mahomes is the backup plan. Mahomes is probably not worth the Browns’ No. 12 overall selection, but he may be gone by the time Cleveland picks again at No. 33, so if the Browns want Mahomes, they may need to trade into the bottom of the first round to get him.

Christian McCaffrey To Skip Bowl Game

December 19th, 2016 at 9:18am CST by Zachary Links

This could be the start of a trend. Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey announced that he will not participate in the Sun Bowl so that he can begin his “draft prep immediately,” (Twitter link).

Just last week, fellow top running back prospect Leonard Fournette announced that he would skip LSU’s bowl game so that he could protect his injured ankle in advance of the draft. The notion of a player skipping a bowl game in order to focus on his pro career was once considered crazy, but many have come out in support of McCaffrey and Fournette in light of what happened to Notre Dame star Jaylon Smith a year ago. There is also a growing movement for college players to receive compensation and from a fiscal standpoint, it makes little sense for a player to jeopardize their livelihood for free.

In the cases of McCaffrey and Fournette, both of their teams fell outside of the College Football Playoff. If Stanford and LSU were in the mix for the national championship, they may have reached a different conclusion. In the future, however, it’s not hard to imagine elite prospects saying no to even top-tier bowl games in order to safeguard their careers.

Draft Notes: Fournette, McCaffrey, Mixon

December 7th, 2016 at 4:42pm CST by Zachary Links

It’s a two-team race for the top pick in the 2017 draft, writes Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. The 0-12 Browns essentially control their draft destiny, as the team has an 85.1-percent chance at the top pick (they’ve essentially clinched a top-5 pick). According to Seifert, the only thing standing in the Browns way is Robert Griffin III, although it’s unlikely the embattled quarterback will guide the team to any kind of winning streak.

The 1-11 49ers also loom as a contender for the first overall pick in the upcoming draft, with Seifert giving them a 14.1-percent chance at the top pick and a 99.7-percent chance at a top-5 pick. The organization will likely be making their highest pick since they drafted Alex Smith first overall in 2005.

Let’s take a look at some other draft notes from around the league…

Is LSU running back Leonard Fournette as good as Todd Gurley, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2015 draft? “[He’s] better,” two high level evaluators told Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
NFL teams are “softening” on Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon, who could end up being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, reports Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (video link). Mixon, who was involved in a physical altercation in 2014, claims he was provoked by a female who used a racial slur and spit in his face. Video of the incident is set to be released later this month, according to Nolan Clay of the Oklahoman, which could shed light on the episode.
We learned last night that Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey is expected to declare for next year’s draft. The talented offensive weapon rushed for 1,596 yards and 13 touchdowns this season, and Matt Miller of Bleacher Report declared him a “lock” to be a top-50 draft pick.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.

Christian McCaffrey Expected To Enter Draft

December 6th, 2016 at 9:09pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey is — unsurprisingly — expected to declare as an early entrant for next year’s draft, sources tell Matt Miller of Bleacher Report (video link), who ranks McCaffrey as a lock to be chosen in the top-50 picks.

McCaffrey, who won’t turn 21 years old until next June, broke out as a sophomore in 2015, averaging six yards per rush while totaling nearly 2,700 yards from scrimmage. For that performance, McCaffrey earned consensus All-American honors, was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year, and finished second to Alabama’s Derrick Henry in Heisman voting. This year, McCaffrey ranks first in the nation in all-purpose yards per game, and fourth in rushing yards per game.

The son of former NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey, Christian McCaffrey ranks highly on nearly every major draft board, including that of CBSSports.com, which ranks the Cardinal running back 21st overall and third among backs, behind LSU’s Leonard Fournette and Florida State’s Dalvin Cook. Miller, meanwhile, has McCaffrey at 17th overall, while Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com (Insider subscription required) places him fourth among RBs but doesn’t list McCaffrey among his top-25 players.

Extra Points: Holdouts, Developmental League, Prospects

June 11th, 2016 at 8:12pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s check out some assorted notes from around the NFL as we wrap up the week…

NFL teams are often viewed as the “bad guy” in holdout situations, with fans usually siding with the players. However, as Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com writes, the player is actually breaking their initial agreement by pursuing a new contract, with the organizations holding the majority of the power. Fitzgerald outlines several ways NFL players could remedy this situation, including prioritizing guaranteed money over average annual value as well as pursuing shorter deals (thus allowing them to hit the open market sooner).
While the theory seems to have some general support, an NFL developmental league was not discussed during a recent league meeting. “It’s not something we’ve really talked much about as a group,” Giants owners Steve Tisch told Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. “I agree it sounds like a good idea, and something worth exploring. But it just isn’t a priority at this point.” Despite these other “priorities,” La Canfora is convinced that the topic will be “more of a front-burner issue” in 2016.
In his preview of next year’s prospective running back draftees, Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com declares that LSU’s Leonard Fournette “may have the best size-speed combo since Adrian Peterson.” Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey round out Kempski’s top-three.

AFC Draft Updates: Bosa, Browns, McCaffrey

March 31st, 2016 at 3:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Defensive end Joey Bosa is headed to the Browns for a pre-draft visit today, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Tennessee, who owns the No. 1 pick, looked at Bosa and his teammates on Wednesday.

Here’s the latest draft news out of the AFC:

Duke wide receiver Max McCaffrey – Christian McCaffrey‘s brother and Ed McCaffrey’s son – has a pre-draft workout set up next month with the Broncos, his dad’s old team, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today.
Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg went to dinner with the Cowboys on Tuesday and worked out for them on Wednesday, Albert Breer of NFL.com tweets. The signal caller also spent time with the Bills after the pro day, Breer adds.
Hackenberg is scheduled to visit the Jets on April 10th, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). GM Mike Maccagnan also attended Hackenberg’s pro day.
Southern Mississippi wide receiver Mike Thomas met with the Browns on Thursday, per Luke Easterling of Bleacher Report (on Twitter).
MTSU defensive back Kevin Byard is meeting with the Browns on Thursday night, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Byard ran a 4.46 40-yard-dash at his pro day and jumped 38 inches on his vertical.
The Bills will host Florida inside linebacker Antonio Morrison on a pre-draft visit, according to Joe Buscaglia of WKBW (on Twitter).
Georgia pass rusher Leonard Floyd will take a pre-draft visit to the Ravens, Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun tweets.

Mort & Schefter: Manziel, Hasselbeck, Martin

December 10th, 2015 at 5:27pm CST by Zachary Links

When Johnny Manziel takes the field for the Browns on Sunday, he won’t just be auditioning for Cleveland – he’ll be showing his stuff to every team who could want a QB in 2016, Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com write. One prominent team executive tells the ESPN duo that he’s not optimistic about the impression Manziel can make on the Browns’ front office given the cast around him.

“He would almost have to be spectacular and the Browns win games we don’t expect them to win. And even then, to what extent has [Manziel] burned bridges there where no matter what he does, either the present regime or the next regime will still be looking for another guy?” the executive said.

Here’s more from their column:

Two GMs say that if 40-year-old Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck has the desire to play another season, he will have an opportunity to be one of the more valued free agents on the open market. Hasselbeck obviously isn’t going to get a $100MM deal, but a deal paying him as much as $5MM to serve as a backup for a contender makes sense. One GM even suggested it was short-sighted to look at Hasselbeck as simply a mentor for a team with a young quarterback. He said Hasselbeck also would be ideal for an established quarterback who is going through a coordinator change.
Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson, Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, and Alabama running back Derrick Henry are this year’s frontrunners for the Heisman trophy and the ESPN duo spoke with NFL personnel people to get their evaluations of their NFL futures. Henry, who will be eligible for the 2016 draft, has drawn comparisons to Eddie George (though perhaps without the same upside) and one exec sees him as a top 20 pick. Watson and McCaffrey both have upside as well, but they will not be eligible until 2017.
It would not be surprising to see Mark Ingram‘s deal serve as a model for Doug Martin‘s before free agency this winter, Mort and Schef write. After seeing his fifth-year option declined, Ingram inked a four-year, $16MM deal with the Saints last offseason that included $7.6MM guaranteed. Now in a similar spot, the Bucs have made it known that they want to retain Martin.