Ty Zimmerman

Draft Visits: Falcons, Bryant, Martin, Jets

Teams only have until Sunday to bring in draft prospects for pre-draft visits, so even though workouts are still permitted after that date, plenty of clubs are hosting players this week. Here’s a round-up of several of the latest reports on these visits:

  • According to reports from ESPN.com’s Vaughn McClure (Twitter link), Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), the Falcons have worked out Vanderbilt receiver Jordan Matthews and Connecticut linebacker Yawin Smallwood, and are heading to Columbia, South Carolina tomorrow to work out wideout Bruce Ellington.
  • Florida State linebacker Telvin Smith has visited the Broncos, Eagles, and Panthers, as well as worked out privately for the Panthers, Falcons, Patriots, and Buccaneers, according to Wilson.
  • Martavis Bryant has been extremely busy over the last few weeks, with a combined total of 22 visits and private workouts, writes Wilson at the National Football Post. According to Wilson, the Buccaneers are one team that has hosted and privately worked out the Clemson wide receiver.
  • Wilson, who has been busy lately himself, also passes along updates on two more prospects: USC center Marcus Martin has met with the Chargers, Panthers, Saints, and Eagles, while Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman is visiting the Bengals.
  • Florida State wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin is among the players visiting the Jets today, according to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News (via Twitter). We heard last night about several other prospects the Jets are hosting this week, including Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.
  • Cornerback Justin Gilbert‘s previously reported visit with the Lions is happening today, tweets Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com.
  • McGill offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is projected to be the first overall pick in the CFL draft, but he’s also drawing plenty of interest from NFL teams. As Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com details, the 49ers are the latest club to host the Canadian prospect for a visit.

Draft Notes: Savage, Lions, Bills, Falcons

With the 2014 NFL draft now just five weeks away, you can expect at least one round of draft updates per day from us, and often it’ll be more. Here’s Thursday’s afternoon updates on a few prospects and the NFL teams that are eyeing them:

  • The stock of Pittsburgh quarterback Tom Savage is on the rise, according to Gil Brandt of NFL.com, who says Savage has had workouts with nine NFL teams so far and has another seven scheduled for this month (Twitter links).
  • Martavis Bryant certainly isn’t the biggest name among the Clemson receivers in this year’s draft class, but he seems to be drawing some interest from the Lions, who hosted him for a pre-draft visit today, according to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link).
  • The Bills announced two more pre-draft visits today, revealing that Clemson defensive back Bashaud Breeland and Duke cornerback Ross Cockrell were in town on Thursday.
  • Speaking of Breeland, Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net (Twitter link) hears that the Falcons are high on the Clemson DB. Pauline adds that the team is at Liberty University today, working out cornerbacks Walt Aikens and Kevin Fogg.
  • Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman recently met with Falcons defensive backs coach Joe Danna, tweets Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com.
  • Middle Tennessee State defensive tackle Jimmy Staten will visit the Chargers next week, reports Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post.
  • The cousin of Cardinals running back Andre Ellington, South Carolina wide receiver Bruce Ellington, has a pre-draft visit scheduled with the Cards, tweets Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic.