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Robby Anderson

Draft Rumors: Texans, Pats, Bears

April 26th, 2016 at 7:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The latest draft rumors from around the NFL:

  • Texas A&M cornerback Brandon Williams worked out privately for Texans coach Bill O’Brien and also visited the Steelers, Patriots, and Bears, Wilson tweets. Williams bench pressed 225 pounds 18 times at the NFL scouting combine and is said to be turning heads with his athleticism. Wilson writes that the A&M product, who had 34 tackles and seven passes defended in 2015, is drawing third/fourth round grades from scouts.
  • Michigan linebacker James Ross is drawing interest from the Colts, Raiders, Ravens, and Lions, Wilson tweets.
  • Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson had visited the Packers, Browns, Bengals, Chiefs, and Raiders, Wilson tweets. Anderson caught a career-high 70 passes for 939 yards on his way to an all-conference selection in 2015. The 6’3″, 190-pound receiver ran a 4.28 second 40-yard-dash at his Pro Day.
  • The Buccaneers and Chargers worked out Iowa State receiver Quenton Bundrage, according to Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (on Twitter). Bundrage, who posted a 4.5 second 40-yard-dash time, finished his senior year with 41 receptions, 548 yards, and one touchdown as a senior. He missed the 2014 season with a knee injury.
  • Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keeton is drawing late interest from the Texans, Vikings, and Cardinals, Wilson tweets.

NFC Rumors: Clemons, 49ers, Bears, Lawson

April 10th, 2016 at 7:19pm CST by Sam Robinson

Chris Clemons‘ one-year deal worth $1.5MM indicates he’ll have to compete for a spot on the Seahawks‘ roster despite his ties with the organization, Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com reports.

Only Clemons’ $150K signing bonus is guaranteed, with the returning defensive end’s status possibly tied to what the team does in the draft later this month. Kapedia identifies the 34-year-old Clemons as a candidate to back up Cliff Avril at the hybrid LEO defensive end spot, with Frank Clark expected to step into Bruce Irvin‘s right-side role.

Clemons did not fare as well with the Jaguars as he did under Gus Bradley and Dan Quinn in Seattle, registering just three sacks in seven starts in 2015. However, the well-traveled veteran had shown consistency prior to last year. Playing in 16 regular-season games in eight of the past nine seasons, Clemons collected eight sacks in 2014 after posting double-digit numbers in that category from 2011-13 in Seattle.

The one-year pact includes $12,500K in active-roster bonuses, along with a $150K workout bonus, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (on Twitter).

Here’s some more from the NFC on Sunday night.

  • San Francisco has been labeled as one of the quarterback landing spots at No. 7, but the 49ers will look to take the best player available, regardless of Colin Kaepernick‘s status, Jordan Raanan of NJ.com hears. Raanan goes as far as to remove the 49ers from the first-round quarterback derby. The 49ers, though, have already met with Carson Wentz and Jared Goff, and observed Paxton Lynch‘s pro day. The team has also inquired about the No. 1 overall pick, inducing obvious queries about their interest in this year’s quarterback crop.
  • Kyle Long will factor into the Bears‘ tackle competition despite having been better at guard, John Mullin of CSNChicago.com reports. He could wind up outside again after moving from guard to right tackle in 2015, and that positional versatility will serve him well upon trying to reach a long-term deal with the Bears, Mullin writes. Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez and Ted Larsen are the favorites going into the draft to open up at the guard spots, with their deals likely contingent on receiving strong opportunities to claim starting jobs, Mullin offers. Of course, both players have extensive experience at center, expanding the likelihood of both winding up in Chicago’s starting five.
  • Clemson’s Shaq Lawson is visiting the Bears, the prospect posted on his Twitter account. Jeff Dickerson of ESPN.com tweets the visit will occur Monday. Prior to the defensive end’s trip to Chicago, however, he’ll stop in Detroit to meet with Lions personnel, Rand Getlin of NFL.com tweets. Lawson, who registered 12.5 sacks and 24.5 tackles for loss as a junior in 2015 despite playing with knee and shoulder injuries, visited with the Cowboys and Panthers last week.
  • Wide receiver Robby Anderson will visit the Packers, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel tweets. The Temple target who ran a 4.3-second 40-yard dash at the Owls’ pro day visited the Browns, Dolphins and Eagles recently.

AFC Draft Updates: Ravens, Dolphins, Chiefs

April 7th, 2016 at 8:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Ravens hosted Ole Miss defensive lineman Robert Nkemdiche and West Virginia safety Karl Joseph today, according to Albert Breer of NFL.com (via Twitter). Notre Dame offensive tackle Ronnie Stanley was also in Baltimore visiting the Ravens today, per Breer (via Twitter). Stanley is considered by most to be a top-10 lock, but not all teams agree, as Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net recently reported. Some scouts have concerns about Stanley’s apparent lack of athleticism.

Here are several more updates on draft visits and workouts from out of the AFC:

  • Ohio State wideouts Braxton Miller and Michael Thomas worked out for the Titans last week, then got a look from three Bengals evaluators on Monday, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Matt Miller of Bleacher Report adds (via Twitter) that he keeps hearing Thomas is a top target for Cincinnati.
  • University of Miami defensive lineman Ufomba Kamalu, defensive back Deon Bush, wide receiver Rashawn Scott, and wideout Herb Waters were all a part of the Dolphins‘ local prospect day, according to Armando Salguero of The Miami Herald (all four Twitter links). Western Michigan WR Daniel Braverman and Western Kentucky QB Brandon Doughty were among the other prospects with Florida roots to participate in the Dolphins’ local day, per Salguero (Twitter links).
  • In other Dolphins draft news, the team is privately working out Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson on Friday, tweets Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • Northern Illinois inside linebacker Perez Ford visited the Chiefs today, a source tells Aaron Wilson. Wilson also reports (via Twitter) that North Dakota fullback Will Ratelle, a converted linebacker, visited Kansas City.
  • Tennessee wide receiver Marquez North had private workouts with the Colts and Patriots, according to Aaron Wilson.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

NFC East Rumors: Cowboys, Bosa, Goff, Eagles

April 7th, 2016 at 9:24am CST by Zachary Links

Recently, Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo confessed that he was “disappointed” that he wasn’t chosen to be the team’s head coach this offseason.

“I’m not going to lie to you,” Spagnuolo said. “I was disappointed I wasn’t the guy . . . but I’m not giving up on my dream of being a head coach…But I like [Ben McAdoo] a lot. It was two-fold. It didn’t happen, so it was a disappointment. But it’s always nice to be wanted.”

McAdoo was viewed as the favorite for the Giants’ job once the team parted ways with Tom Coughlin and it didn’t hurt that he came with the endorsement of quarterback Eli Manning. Spagnuolo, a high-respected defensive mind, is likely hoping for another head coaching opportunity down the line.

Here’s more from the NFC East:

Draft Rumors: QBs, Ramsey, Treadwell, Browns

March 29th, 2016 at 6:42pm CST by Sam Robinson

Jalen Ramsey would prefer to play cornerback despite excelling at both secondary positions at Florida State, Ryan O’Halloran of the Florida Times-Union reports.

His preference for the higher-paying position, though, comes with the obvious caveat of being willing to play safety as well, possibly expressing malleability to increase his chances of being taken in the top three picks.

One AFC scout in attendance said, “Take your pick; either one” regarding Ramsey’s NFL fit. “He has the range; he’s got some length to him, and he has the ball skills,” the scout told O’Halloran regarding Ramsey’s ability to slot at free safety. “He has a lot of things going for him.”

Four GMs — the Titans‘ Jon Robinson, the Steelers‘ Kevin Colbert, the Buccaneers‘ Jason Licht and the Bills‘ Doug Whaley — attended the pro day, while Mike Mularkey and Mike Tomlin were on hand as well.

Here’s the latest about this year’s crop of top prospects.

  • The 49ers and Browns are slated to work out Jared Goff, Alex Marvez of Fox Sports reports (on Twitter). Both Hue Jackson and Chip Kelly were in attendance at the Cal quarterback’s pro day March 18.
  • San Francisco also has a workout scheduled with Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee reports. The 49ers are expected to meet with Carson Wentz as well soon, as are the Browns, per Barrows. Cook is rated by most as the No. 4 quarterback on the board and could fall to the second round, while Wentz is expected to be chosen in the top 10. Colin Kaepernick‘s $11.9MM salary in 2016 becomes guaranteed if he’s still on the 49ers’ roster by 3 p.m., Thursday.
  • The Eagles plan to work out Wentz on Thursday, ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan tweets. Philadelphia’s brass observed Goff during a private workout on Monday. While these two passers have become the consensus top two quarterback prospects, Caplan hears from several NFL coaches and executives that Goff is better equipped to come in and contribute immediately (Twitter link).
  • Caplan also reports that one NFL offensive coordinator would sit Memphis’ Paxton Lynch, who hovers a bit below Goff and Wentz on experts’ draft boards as of now, for two seasons while the lanky talent learns the pro game (Twitter link).
  • Laquon Treadwell‘s 4.63-second 40-yard dash clocking at Ole Miss’ pro day didn’t necessarily shock scouts in attendance but caused some concerns about the first-round prospect’s long-term viability, Jason Cole of Bleacher Report hears (video link). The scouts Cole spoke with don’t believe the Ole Miss early-entry talent’s ability to get open effectively in the next four or five years will be affected by his lack of straight-line speed, but there are worries about whether Treadwell can have a long, successful career. The scouts expressed concern that once the rangy receiver loses some of his already-mediocre speed his route-running and body-positioning prowess won’t be enough to compensate.
  • The Browns are bringing in Treadwell for a visit Thursday, Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal reports. Despite his lack of top-end speed, Treadwell is still expected to come off the board by the middle of the first round, which would be in the Browns’ range only if they traded down from their No. 2 overall slot or up from No. 32, Ulrich writes.
  • Temple wide receiver Robby Anderson visited the Browns today, Ulrich reports. Jackson told media at the owners’ meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., receiver is a position is an area the Browns “need to address, obviously,” as Josh Gordon‘s status for 2016 is still unknown. “I’ve gone on record before saying I like to have bigger, faster guys play the position,” Jackson told media. “We have some very talented guys right now. They’re slight in stature, but they’re tough, and I’m looking forward to working with them and see if there’s more that we can gain from them. But at the same time, I still think it’s an area that we need to get better. And we will.”