Draft Rumors

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Lane Johnson to Detroit?

A popular narrative regarding the first round of the draft on Thursday night is that the Kansas City Chiefs will take offensive tackle Luke Joeckel with the first overall pick, and that the Detroit Lions will be the next club to take a prospect at that position, with Eric Fisher being that prospect. But what happens if Fisher and Joeckel are both selected higher than No. 5?

In the opinion of Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press, the Lions would still select an OT, but it would be Oklahoma's Lane Johnson:

"The Lions would love to land Fisher, but there’s a good chance he goes top four. Dee Milliner is safe and would fill a need and Ziggy Ansah has tons of upside, but Johnson would be an immediate starter and the Lions need to protect their investment in Matthew Stafford."

Rams focused on Hopkins?

The St. Louis Rams have two first-round picks this year thanks to their 2012 trade involving the No. 2 overall pick. With those two firsts (No. 16 and No. 22 overall), some believe they'll use one on a wide receiver, given that they lost Danny Amendola and Brandon Gibson to free agency (to the Patriots and Dolphins, respectively); it's just a matter of which pick will be used, and which player they'll target. With the first round just three days away, the rumors are flying on which WRs are on the Rams' radar.

According to Aaron Wilson of Scout.com, the Rams are working out Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins for the second time in four days on Monday. Hopkins has drawn first-round grades from some analysts, but is considered to be behind Tavon Austin and Cordarrelle Patterson on many rankings lists.

This may well be a smoke-screen; there's no harm in St. Louis trying to convince the teams behind them that they're very interested in particular prospects, as this could encourage those teams to attempt to trade with the Rams in order to take Hopkins themselves. But, if the interest is legitimate, it makes sense, given the Rams' relative lack of depth at the WR position.

Texans going WR at No. 27?

Over the past few weeks, we've been hearing a similar refrain related to the Houston Texans' first-round pick (currently, they're situated at No. 27 overall): they're almost assured of taking a wide receiver at that spot, a player that can start opposite Andre Johnson immediately, and eventually take over the primary WR duties for the club.

Johnson, who has thrived in his work for Houston in recent seasons despite extra attention being paid to him by opposing defenses, is on board with that idea. "I'd like to have another [receiver]," Johnson confirmed this weekend, via the Houston Chronicle. "I'm all for it. I've asked for it for awhile. The more weapons we have, the better it'll be for the team."

It's expected that the Texans will not be the first team to take a WR in the first round, so players like Tavon Austin, Cordarrelle Patterson, DeAndre Hopkins and Keenan Allen may be off the board when it's time for Houston to pick.

NFL Rumors Blog - ESPN

 

[vancelot23]

I hate to say I told you so, but I've been saying Cyprien would be in play for the Bengals for quite some time. Doesn't mean they'll take him, obviously, but the kid has the tools to be a good one.

On Hopkins, I had heard the same thing yesterday. If Austin is gone, now a very good chance with the Jets having two high picks, they would target Hopkins. That is assuming they take a WR. I'm a huge Hopkins fans. He's probably my #2 WR at this point.

Houston definitely has to take a WR early. There are several WRs that could become #1s in this draft, and they need one. Robert Woods, Keenan Allen, Justin Hunter, and Hopkins or Patterson if they fall would be great options. If they wind up passing, look for a guy like Da'Rick Rogers at the end of the 2nd.

 

[CrashDavisSports]

I hate to say I told you so, but I've been saying Cyprien would be in play for the Bengals for quite some time. Doesn't mean they'll take him, obviously, but the kid has the tools to be a good one.

On Hopkins, I had heard the same thing yesterday. If Austin is gone, now a very good chance with the Jets having two high picks, they would target Hopkins. That is assuming they take a WR. I'm a huge Hopkins fans. He's probably my #2 WR at this point.

Houston definitely has to take a WR early. There are several WRs that could become #1s in this draft, and they need one. Robert Woods, Keenan Allen, Justin Hunter, and Hopkins or Patterson if they fall would be great options. If they wind up passing, look for a guy like Da'Rick Rogers at the end of the 2nd.

Maybe they are looking at Cyprien as their #37 pick and doing their due dilligence now on him.

 

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49ers targeting Milliner?

On Monday, we passed along a report that indicated that the San Francisco 49ers were looking to move up to the No. 13 or No. 14 picks in Thursday's draft, with the idea that they'd use that pick on a defensive linemen to eventually take over for Justin Smith. But there's new buzz that their big move up the draft order -- which, again, is just a rumor at this point -- would be for another player entirely: Alabama CB Dee Milliner.

According to what a source has told ESPN Insider's Brent Sobleski, San Francisco "wants and is salivating over" the thought of drafting Milliner to add to their secondary. With the No. 31 and No. 34 picks in the draft, San Francisco may be able to get in range to acquire him if he begins to slip past the first few picks.

And that is the big question as it relates to Milliner. Pegged earlier this pre-draft season as a likely Top 5 pick, some now believe he's going to fall based upon significant medical concerns. ESPN's Todd McShay had Milliner falling to No. 10 overall in his latest mock draft. On the other hand, some pan the latest reports as a "smear campaign" -- as sources categorized them to Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.

If Milliner does begin to slip, things are going to get quite interesting, as the Niners (and presumably other teams) consider making the move up to get him.

Oakland's target at No. 3

One of the teams that's been mentioned as a possibility to trade down from their first-round pick is the Oakland Raiders (currently at No. 3 overall). Oakland has a number of needs, and though they've done a fine job adding pieces here and there this offseason, it'd be of great benefit to recoup the second-round pick they lost in the ill-fated Carson Palmer trade. The key, of course, is finding a team that wants to move up to No. 3, and there hasn't been much buzz that such a team exists. So who will they target if they remain at No. 3?

According to what one source familiar with the situation told Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net, the Raiders will go with the "surest of the sure" at No. 3 overall if they remain in that slot. Pauline believes that this could be one of the Top 2 OTs available -- Luke Joeckel or Eric Fisher -- or Florida DT Sharrif Floyd, and he's heard that Utah DT Star Lotulelei is also in the mix.

The Bears and Justin Pugh

While this year's draft class is allegedly low on star power, the strength of the group is on the offensive and defensive lines. And who knows, 10 years from now we may look back on this draft class as one of the stronger groups in recent history if a number of those linemen pan out. One member amongst the second tier of O-linemen is Syracuse's Justin Pugh. Pugh played left tackle collegiately, but is projected to move inside to guard or center as a pro. And it appears the Chicago Bears are interested.

According to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com, the Bears conducted a private workout with Pugh recently, and that's obviously led to rumors that Chicago could take him with their first-round pick (No. 20 overall). So how would Pugh fit in to the Bears' new-look O-line?

Jags down to four options

The Jacksonville Jaguars are poised to unveil a new line of uniforms on Tuesday -- the buzz is that these will be truly breathtaking or jarring, depending upon one's opinion of what Nike has done to collegiate uniforms in recent seasons -- and the other big event this week is the draft. They currently hold the No. 2 pick, and while there was some talk of trading down, it now appears that they'll hold on to that selection. Furthermore, there is some sense that they've narrowed their choices significantly.

In reality, they only need to have a Top 2 from which to choose, as the Kansas City Chiefs can only select one player at No. 1 overall. But, according to Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union, the Jags have four candidates for the No. 2 selection: DEs Dion Jordan and Ezekiel Ansah as well as OTs Luke Joeckel and Eric Fisher.

NFL Rumors Blog - ESPN

 

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Potential suitors for No. 22 pick

As things stand now, the St. Louis Rams are in possession of the No. 16 overall pick (their own) and the No. 22 overall pick (from Washington). But if they have their way tonight, they'll be moving off of that second pick. ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter has reported that the Rams are attempting to trade the pick.

So who's interested? Depending upon how the first 21 picks play out, teams looking to draft a particular lineman (on either side of the ball), CB or WR could be interested. Or, this could be the spot where a QB-needy team trades into Round 1 from the top of the order in Round 2 (as discussed here). That list could include Jacksonville, Buffalo, Arizona or the Jets. Things could get very interesting as the evening proceeds.

Niners trading up to Top 15?

A number of teams situated near the top of tonight's first round are rumored to be looking to move down in the order, picking up additional capital in the later rounds (or for 2014) while still getting a good player. One of the teams that we've heard is looking to move up into a higher position is the San Francisco 49ers, currently sitting there at No. 31, with the No. 34 pick also in their pocket.

Monday came word that the Niners were looking to get as high as No. 13 or 14, and on Thursday morning, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter noted that there is now increasing chatter that they're trying to get into the Top 15.

So who is their target? We heard Dee Milliner's name mentioned as the player over whom they're fiending, but there are other possibilities too: DT Sheldon Richardson has been mentioned a lot, S Kenny Vaccaro also makes sense (as a replacement for Dashon Goldson, lost in free agency) and a WR might also make sense, depending upon who remains on the board -- Tavon Austin and Colin Kaepernick in the same offense would give opposing DCs nightmares.

Latest buzz on Chargers at No. 11

In Year One of the Tom Telesco-Mike McCoy Experience for the San Diego Chargers, their intentions with their first-round draft choice seem fairly wide open. They need help on both lines, and fortunately, that's the strength of this year's draft class, as we've heard incessantly over the past several weeks. So what's the latest?

Kevin Acee of U-T San Diego writes that it's somewhat difficult to decipher what Telesco and friends will do tonight, and it will largely be determined by the first 10 picks of the draft. There is a scenario that exists where the three top OTs and the two top OGs are all off the board at that point, and that could bring up the following conundrum: should they take RT D.J. Fluker in that spot, or attempt to trade down, perhaps with a team who is interested in Dee Milliner (if he's available)?

As we learned earlier this week, the San Francisco 49ers are interested in moving up, and their primary target in a trade-up is Milliner. If he's still on the board at 11, they've got the ammo to swap with the Chargers to land him. In this event, the Bolts would have multiple early picks to find Day 1 starters over the first couple days of the draft, which may be the best-case scenario for them.

Mingo over Jordan for Philly?

One of the teams on whom it's been hard to get a handle regarding their first-round pick is the Philadelphia Eagles, currently situated at No. 4 overall. They could go CB, they could go pass-rusher, they could go offensive lineman, they could go with a QB of the future. Many have suggested that if it's a pass-rusher they want, they'd go with Dion Jordan, who was on Chip Kelly's Oregon team this past season. But apparently it's not that simple.

This week, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports passed along chatter that he's been hearing about LSU's Barkevious Mingo being the Eagles' pick at No. 4 overall. Mingo hasn't been mentioned in the same breath as Jordan and Ezekiel Ansah for the most part, but has seemingly been shooting up draft boards in recent days. This could mean two things: either teams have had him up there all along, or teams are convincing their friends in the media that they've had him there all along. Smoke-screens are in these days, after all.

It could be that the Eagles are floating this information out there in an attempt to get another team to trade up to their position. The Lions and Browns (at No. 5 and No. 6) are also believed to be in the same boat in terms of potentially taking a pass-rusher, so there could be some teams below that triumvirate that wants to jump in and grab themselves someone in particular.

Rumors fly of Browns trade-up

At one point in time, the hot rumor was that the Cleveland Browns were poised to trade down from No. 6 overall, with the new set of decision-makers hoping to garner significant return on the value in that selection (perhaps from a team looking to grab an OT ahead of the Arizona Cardinals at No. 7 overall). However, over the past couple days, the new rumor is that Cleveland is looking to trade up.

On Wednesday night, Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports passed along chatter of a possible trade between the Browns and the Oakland Raiders, with Cleveland moving up to No. 3 overall. Albert Breer of NFL.com echoed that buzz on Thursday morning, and again, the target position for Cleveland seems to be ahead of Philly and Detroit.

At No. 3, the Browns would most likely have a shot at either the first or second-best pass-rusher on their board: the Chiefs are thought to be set on taking an OT at No. 1, and many believe the Jaguars will do the same at No. 2 (or trade down with a team that will take an OT). Even if the Jags (or a team trading up) take a pass-rusher, that leaves all but one left for Cleveland in this scenario. The Browns are reportedly enamored with both Dion Jordan and Ezekiel Ansah, and some have thrown Barkevious Mingo's name into the mix as well.

NFL Rumors Blog - ESPN