HEADLINES

Jaylen Watkins

NFC East Notes: Watkins, Linehan, Orton

June 21st, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Rob DiRe

The Eagles have concluded their OTA period, and Jimmy Kempski of Philly.com has highlighted five players who impressed during spring practices. Among those who left a good impression were Arrelious Benn and Darren Sproles. Benn has an uphill battle for one of the roster spots at receiver, and his injury history hurts has chances, but he looks to have recovered from the ACL injury that caused him to miss all of 2013. Sproles however looks custom fit for the Chip Kelly offense, and could be dangerous in the passing game.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

  • Fourth-round pick Jaylen Watkins has wowed the Eagles‘ coaching staff with his football IQ, especially defensive backs coach John Lovett, reports Jake Kaplan of Philly.com. Watkins, who played corner and safety at Florida, has been tasked with learning both cornerback and nickelback in the new defense, even though he is only a rookie. “When you talk to him about his defense at Florida, he knew what everybody did,” Lovett said. “I talked to the defensive coordinator [D.J. Durkin] down there. They put him in at positions that he hadn’t even practiced that week because he knew what everybody was doing. He’s really got a great football IQ.”
  • Scott Linehan will be running the show for the Cowboys‘ offense in 2013, and that should mean a lot of throwing the football, writes Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. In three years with the Lions, Matthew Stafford averaged 42 pass attempts per game under Linehan. Tony Romo averaged only 36 last year.
  • Although Cowboys backup Kyle Orton has already accrued over $150,000 in fines and de-escalators for the time he has missed, but Todd Archer of ESPNDallas.com still believes the veteran quarterback will return to the team and play out the season. Archer predicts Orton could skip the first week of training camp, before reporting around July 27th of 28th.
  • Redskins‘ outside linebacker coach Brian Baker has been working hard to teach fundamentals to his position group, writes John Keim of ESPN.com. He also worked on tackling drills during special teams, and the teams has put a special emphasis on that phase of the game, using all their coaches’ skills to benefit their special teams.
  • The Giants have also concluded their OTAs, so Jordan Raanan and Connor Orr of NJ.com have put together their best guess at the depth chart. A lot can happen during training camp and the preseason, but they have penciled in a presumed lineup for the upcoming season.

NFC East Notes: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants

May 19th, 2014 at 9:22pm CST by Rob DiRe

Cowboys’ owner and general manager Jerry Jones spoke to Kimberly Jones of the NFL Network about the possibility of the NFL expanding their playoff format, and he liked the idea of more playoff teams, reports Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network (via Twitter). Jones noted that it would help his team get into the tournament, as the Cowboys have barely missed the playoffs in each of the past three seasons.

Here are some other notes from around the NFC East:

  • The Eagles have signed fourth-round pick Jaylen Watkins, fifth-round pick Taylor Hart, and undrafted free agent Devan Morgan, reports Jeff McClane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Hart is a defensive end out of Oregon, while Watkins and Morgan are both defensive backs. The team released defensive back John Fulton to make room on the roster.
  • Eagles’ head coach Chip Kelly drafted two Oregon players this year, and both have found the transition from college to the pros smooth because of the connection, writes Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

    “There’s things in the offense I know already,” receiver Josh Huff said. “It’s just getting things separated from the Oregon offense to the Philly offense. The play calls are different. The hand signals are different. So I have to reboot my whole system and get it in order.”

    Hart also has some familiarity with the system.

  • The Giants have just enough cap room to sign all their draft picks without making any roster move, writes Jordan Ranaan of NJ.com (via Twitter). Ranaan still expects the team to free up about $5MM by cutting David Baas in the near future..

Draft Visits: Bradford, Vereen, Shembo, Tripp

April 28th, 2014 at 12:29pm CST by Luke Adams

2014’s period of pre-draft visits for prospects and NFL teams came to an end yesterday. Players will no longer be permitted to visit clubs between now and the draft on May 8, though teams are still allowed to work out players. Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post and Adam Caplan of ESPN.com have some details on some players who made visits prior to yesterday’s deadline, so let’s round up the highlights….

  • Arizona State outside linebacker Carl Bradford worked out for the Falcons and visited the Steelers, 49ers, and Chargers, reports Wilson. The Jaguars and Dolphins were among the other clubs to meet with Bradford, who is viewed as a potential second-round target.
  • The Giants hosted Richmond wide receiver Ben Edwards for a visit, according to Wilson. Edwards, who caught more than 200 passes during his college career, had his Pro Day attended by 20 NFL teams. Wilson adds that Minnesota safety Brock Vereen also visited the Giants.
  • Notre Dame outside linebacker Prince Shembo visited the Packers and also privately worked out for the Patriots, Jaguars, and Falcons, league sources tell Wilson.
  • Wilson also has the latest on Florida cornerback Jaylen Watkins, the brother of Sammy Watkins. According to Wilson, the former Gators DB has visited the Redskins, Falcons, and Eagles, and worked out for the Panthers and Patriots. Watkins met with the Colts and Lions as well.
  • In addition to his previously reported visits with the Falcons and Eagles, Montana linebacker Jordan Tripp also had workouts for the Patriots and Panthers, tweets Caplan.
  • In a separate tweet, Caplan adds North Carolina State defensive back Dontae Johnson to the list of prospects who visited the Eagles.

North Notes: Coleman, Vikings, Lions, Steelers

April 11th, 2014 at 10:59am CST by Luke Adams

After hosting Kurt Coleman for a visit this week, the Vikings offered the free agent safety a contract, but it wasn’t enough to get him to pull the trigger, according to Ben Goessling of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Although the two sides may revisit talks at a later time, Coleman appears to still be exploring all his options.

Here are a few more notes from the NFL’s two North divisions, with a focus on pre-draft visits:

  • The Vikings are conducting a private workout today with Eastern Illinois quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, tweets ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter.
  • We know the Lions have real interest in receiver Sammy Watkins, but apparently he’s not the only member of the family drawing attention from the club. Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports (via Twitter) that the Lions also had a private workout for Florida defensive back Jaylen Watkins, Sammy’s brother.
  • Ohio State cornerback Bradley Roby, Boston College linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis, and Arizona State linebacker Carl Bradford are visiting the Steelers today, tweets Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun.
  • The Ravens recently met with Virginia Tech signal-caller Logan Thomas, who has also met with the Bengals, according to Wilson. As Wilson details, in addition to those AFC North teams, Thomas has also worked out for or met with the Patriots, Cardinals, and Texans.