*Walt taking 2014 and 2018 |
Charlie Campbell, Senior Draft Analyst |
NFL Draft Day Rumor Mill Tidbits
Updated April 27, 2017By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.
- In the final hours before the draft, some teams will reach out to prospects and their agents to gauge where the player thinks they will come off the board and who will take them. One of the fastest rising prospects throughout the lead up to the draft has been UConn safety Obi Melifonwu. The teams that have shown the most steady interest in Melifonwu during the pre-draft process have been the Lions, Saints, and Seahawks. In the final hours, Detroit continues to show a lot of interest in Melifonwu. However, the Buccaneers and Dolphins also have picked some late interest in Melifonwu. In the back half of the first round, Melifonwu has a lot of potential landing spots.
- If the Lions do take Melifonwu or another safety in the early rounds, there have been rumors that Detroit could look to trade one of their veteran starting safeties. The player who is most likely to be on the move is Glover Quin. He is in the last year of his contract and the Lions could look to get younger at safety. A team to keep an eye on for Quin is his former team the Houston Texans. Houston never wanted to lose him, but were up against the cap when Quin hit free agency. The Texans also enter the draft needing two safeties.
- The day before the draft, I spoke with an agent for one of the top talents in the draft and a consensus top-10 pick who often is projected to go in the top five. That agent’s client is in play for the Jacksonville Jaguars at the fourth-overall pick, but that agent is hoping that the Jaguars pass on his client even though that means a loss in money. The agent said he could summarize why he feels that way in seven words, “Bad organization, bad coaching staff, bad quarterback.” The Jaguars could take that player any way as the player and agent haven’t voiced these feelings to the team. It sounds as if Jacksonville is still not a preferred landing spot for prospects even though Tom Coughlin was brought in to run the team.
- Just a few weeks ago, Ohio State cornerback Gareon Conley and Washington cornerback Sidney Jones were considered first-round locks. Then, Jones suffered a serious Achilles injury at his pro day, and Conley was accused of rape. Teams have been scrambling and doing lots of late homework on both players. Jones was given positive medical reports, while teams have been digging into the Conley incident. A few teams have said that they believe the Conley accusations to be bogus, and are disappointed that Conley put himself in this position. However, in speaking to teams in the final hours before the draft, both players are getting second round consideration from some cornerback-needy teams. Both Conley and Jones could end up going higher than many thought just day or so ago.
- The Redskins have been a rumored landing spot for Florida linebacker Jarrad Davis and Florida State running back Dalvin Cook. After speaking with team sources, the Redskins are said to not be interested in either player. One has to be wary of the smoke-screen factor given the timing. However, they said the team does have legitimate interest in Michigan safety Jabrill Peppers. It sounds like Peppers is more in play for their second-round pick rather than their Thursday night selection.
