We're officially in the silly season of the NFL draft. Teams and agents are leaking out various stories looking for an advantage because they know that all the other agents, teams and even fans will overreact to every report. Please keep that in mind when you read a report about player A meeting with team B. Let's split these rumors up into three categories: Plausible rumors, implausible rumors and total silliness.
Plausible Rumors:
*If Antonio “Tiny” Richardson drops into the late 20s, the Washington Redskins will be talking to teams to deal up from pick 34 to get him. The Redskins are still begging anyone to take their right tackle spot, but at some point they’ll stop begging and just draft the guy at 34. Their top target is Tiny Richardson, and if he’s there in the late 20s they’ll start the calls to get up there for him.
*The Tennessee Titans are hoping (and praying perhaps) that Derek Carr drops to them at #11. Jake Locker might be the starter for now, but his hold on the job is pretty tenuous at best. They’re sniffing around Carr and Manziel, Carr seems more plausible right now. He’s a big armed gunslinger and Whisenhunt loves his QBs to be that. If Carr is there at 11 (or in the 7-10 range), the Titans might make a play for him.
*No one can find a top 6 team who wants Johnny Manziel, even off the record. If he makes it past Tennessee at 11, he could slide very far. Minnesota is clearly telegraphing that they have little interest in him also. Yes, the Raiders brought him in for a visit recently and the draft universe is all abuzz over this. However, Schaub didn’t go there to be a clipboard holder and Johnny Manziel won’t tolerate sitting for very long.
*The Dolphins are shopping a number of players as part of a deal up in the draft for a right tackle. Seriously, if you can take on Cam Wake or Dion Jordan’s contract, the Dolphins would like to talk to you if Taylor Lewan is available when you pick in the first round. He’s their target, they feel that he can be a legendary RT and eventually take over for Albert in the distance future.
*St. Louis is talking to the following teams about dealing up to #2: Dallas (offering Brandon Carr and a 1st), Giants (offering picks) and Pittsburgh (offering picks and Jarvis Jones). Make no mistake, the Rams want out of that pick but they don’t expect to net a Robert Griffin III type haul for this pick again. All three teams are after Jadeveon Clowney and the Steelers might go after Jake Matthews Jr. if Clowney goes #1 overall.
*49ers want Kelvin Benjamin. This is a not-so-open secret. Harbaugh and Baalke both really love Benjamin as a player and aren’t letting the fact that they already have plenty of possession WRs and need a deep burner stop them.
*Aaron Donald is the top 10 pick no one outside of the NFL realizes will(probably) be a top ten pick. There’s little doubt that Donald, who started the draft process as a mid 2nd round pick, will be a high 1st round pick. He almost certainly won’t last past the Cowboys’ 1st round pick at 16. The rumor mill is starting to churn about Donald going in the top 10. This is highly plausible, especially for teams like Tampa, Minnesota or Oakland if the player that they want is taken before their pick. Donald is almost universally highly thought of among scouts and coaches, so it’s very possible that his already sourcing draft stock keeps rising.
Implausible Rumors:
*Baltimore and the Jets are looking to deal up for a WR. Both could take one in the first round if the right prospect drops down, but neither is clamoring to deal up for Odell Beckham Jr. If Watkins drops into the 8-11 range, then its possible but plenty of teams will be interested if that is the case.
*Carlos Hyde and Jeremy Hill will both be 1st round or top 50 picks. Hyde could be, but right now the average salary of punters is higher than the average salary of running backs in the NFL. That’s how far the value of running backs have fallen in the NFL thanks to the rise of passing offense post-2004. Jeremy Hill is a curiosity for most NFL teams: an old school power back who is very evasive about his off the field life. Hyde is far more forthcoming and seems like a player who’s versatile when it comes to fitting into offenses.
*The Texans are down to Blake Bortles and Johnny Manziel. It’s possible that the Texans are considering Bortles(or Manziel) or Clowney, but they won’t be able to pass on considering Clowney until the last possible minute before the decision is made. Clowney’s people will want to gin up interest for teams to deal up to #2 overall for him, so if they’re told that they’re out of it for #1 overall, they’ll go screaming to the media about it.
*Multiple teams have AJ McCarron over Bridgewater. No, they don’t. This is a classic example of a rumor being dumped by a team trying to create a downward motion for a player(in this case Teddy Bridgewater) so that they’ll drop to them. In fact, there’s been a lot of “Teams don’t like Bridgewater” nonsense, which should tell you that a lot of teams from the 5-11 range really want him to drop past Jacksonville.
*Tampa is looking to deal up for Sammy Watkins. They’re sitting at 7 with most of the teams in front of them after other positions(they could take Watkins, but it’s far from guaranteed) and really don’t need Watkins with Vincent Jackson on the roster. It’s very plausible that Tampa takes Evans or Watkins at 7, it’s equally implausible that they would deal up 3-4 spots for Watkins.
*New England wants Kelvin Benjamin. A lot has been made of the Pats meeting with Benjamin for a visit, but much like most of the NFL draft process, this can be dismissed as meaningless for multiple reasons. The Pats also brought in Johnny Manziel and Teddy Bridgewater for visits, and they won’t (probably) take either or have a chance to draft either.
Total Silliness:
*Houston Texans looking to trade down into the 4-8 range. It’s possible that the Texans will entertain trade offers, but they won’t deal down that far and you would have to overwhelm them with a trade offer. If the Raiders wanted Clowney for instance, they would have to give up a future first with pick #5 to make it happen. We should probably stop there before Mark Davis gets sweaty palms and calls the Texans’ GM. Also, the Texans need an impact player (cliche alert) from this draft or the fans might revolt.
*St. Louis will take Clowney if stuck at #2. They have Chris Long, they have Robert Quinn. They have no place to stick Clowney whatsoever. Long could theoretically bulk up and move inside but that would be a waste of resources. If Clowney is there at #2, someone will deal up there for him.
*Minnesota really like Zach Mettenberger. They might, but no one has seen him throw (until this week) since he blew out his knee. It’s plausible that the Vikings see him as the kind of pro style QB that would thrive in Norv Turner’s offense, but they will be circumspect about how much they truly like him as a fit and how much they like him as a potential draftee until they see how far along he is in his recovery.
*The Steelers will look at a RB or WR high. They just signed LeGarrette Blount and a couple decently talented WRs to go with a rising Markus Wheaton at WR. In order for them to invest a high (first two rounds) pick in either position, someone very high on their draft board has to drop to where they just can’t say no (like Sammy Watkins or Mike Evans) or they made a shocking trade of one of their starters.