A fresh blanket of snow has fallen on Indianapolis this morning as we prepare for day two of the NFL Scouting Combine. On the docket today; quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers make their way through the Lucas Oil Field media room. Additionally, General Manager Brian Xanders will address the gathered press at around 11 a.m. EST (9 a.m. MST).
As we speak, John Elway is meeting with a small group of media near the convention center. Gray Caldwell is there and he will report back shortly on what the Executive Vice President of Football Operations had to say. We will also bring you the video of that media session.
As always, please pass along any questions you have or any prospects you want us to keep an eye out for.
10:22 a.m. EST: Just got back from Elway’s media session. He said he and the team interviewed between eight and 10 players last night, and found that the 15-minute sessions are a perfect amount of time to find out about each guy.
The Hall of Famer said he takes a unique perspective when evaluating talent — he looks at the prospects the same way he did during his playing days.
“I look at it as if I were playing against them,” Elway said, noting he has a particular knowledge of what makes a good defensive back. “I know what I liked to go against and I know what I didn’t like to go against, the way that I thought about guys. When I was watching film (during my playing days,) it was more about going against them, so I’m not so sure that’s going to change. I know when I watched (draft prospects) on film the last month-and-a-half, I looked at, would the guy worry me?”
Elway also touched on the importance of getting the draft right, the defensive line and re-signing Champ Bailey among other topics that we will delve into in this evening’s top story notebook recapping the day’s biggest stories.
Brian Xanders is set to step to the podium in a few minutes.
11:26 a.m. EST: Xanders just concluded his press session touching on a variety of subjects. We will have an update and the video shortly, but check the twitter feed for some live tweets during his session.
While Xanders was speaking, a couple of players made their way through the room including Wisconsin offensive lineman John Moffitt and North Carolina wide receiver Greg Little.
Little (pictured above) is one of the 12 Tar Heels at the combine — the most from any school — and his size is one thing that immediately jumps out at you. According to the NFL Combine page, he stands 6-foot-3 and weighed in at 220 pounds. Little was declared ineligible for the 2011 season, but his combination of size, speed and play making ability make him one of the more intriguing draft prospects.
12:24 p.m. EST: Just back from talking with Xanders for a while. After his podium session, he spoke with a handful of reporters off to the side, touching on a variety of topics that included working with Elway and Head Coach John Fox, which we’ll delve into in this evening’s notebook. In the meantime, he made some insightful comments about the combine process.
“This is really a confirmation of what you see on tape,” he said of this week’s events. “The workouts here aren’t going to sway our draft board up and down drastically, but it confirms what the players’ raw traits are, in terms of what they can be for us.”
He mentioned the importance of “pure, raw speed,” because it creates “immediate mismatches” on either side of the ball. He also noted that this year’s crop at running back is “deeper than I’ve seen in a long time.”
Xanders said the coaching staff has been assigned more than 250 players to interview, including some potential college free agents, to get a feel for which players the team would want in the locker room.
We’ll have more from Xanders later in the day.
12:55 p.m. EST: Georgia’s A.J. Green, widely regarded as the top wide receiver in this year’s draft, just spoke at the podium. We will post his interview in full later this afternoon. In the meantime, John Elway’s media session has now been posted on DenverBroncos.com. Xanders’ press conference video is coming shortly.
1:01 p.m. EST: Top prospects are coming through the room rapidly now. Auburn receiver Darvin Adams just spoke, and Washington quarterback Jake Locker is surrounded by a swarm of media as I type this. He’s fielding a lot of questions about staying an extra year in college when many believe he could’ve been the No. 1 overall selection — or close to it — had he entered the 2010 NFL Draft. He said that he does not regret his decision at all, that he’s very happy and feels far more prepared to go through the combine process having another year of college football under his belt.
2:01 p.m. EST: Another top quarterback is at the podium now — Missouri’s Blake Gabbert (pictured below, on left) — and he’s drawn one of the biggest crowds of the day. He just said he looks at Tim Tebow’s rookie season as proof that he can succeed in the NFL. He declared that he played the vast majority of his collegiate snaps in the shotgun, similar to the college careers of Tebow and Cleveland quarterback Colt McCoy. He said the fact that both of those quarterbacks showed some success as rookies proves that he can do the same. In addition, the 6-foot-4, 238-pound quarterback said his plan to succeed is simply to “outwork everybody.”
2:30 p.m. EST: Three of the top tight ends met with the media at once a few minutes ago — top prospect Kyle Rudolph (pictured above, on right) from Notre Dame along with Wisconsin’s Lance Kendricks and Tulsa’s Charles Clay.
Kendricks said the experience has been “a little overwhelming — there’s a lot going on.”
For the past two days, the players have taken physicals and gotten their measurements taken, which provides for a bit of a stressful environment.
The former Badger said he’s excited that some physical activity finally gets started today, as the players will take on the bench press.
Clay said he’s still anxious to get to the running, which is what he prepared the most for.
“You get here and then you have to wait for the last two days (to run),” he said. “You’re just ready to knock that out.
He said he was a little surprised when he got to the combine to see that all the players get along. He figured that with so much competition going on, it could be an unpleasant atmosphere between the prospects.
Rudolph agreed that’s not the case.
“Guys’ personalities are starting to come out,” Rudolph said. “We’re becoming closer and it makes it fun.”
Rudolph drew the biggest crowd of the three tight ends. Speaking from a podium, he said he hopes to show that his strength is being a complete tight end — dominating at the line of scrimmage while also being able to stretch the field in the passing game.
“Tony Gonzalez is the best tight end that ever played in my time — I really try to model myself after him,” Rudolph said, mentioning his ability to stay on the field for first, second and third downs. “But I feel like Jason Witten, I feel really comparable to his game. He’s a guy that, like I said, can hold the point and is a great blocker, but at the same time he makes huge plays in the passing game.”
2:46 p.m. EST: More quarterback prospects have made their way into the room, including Florida State’s Christian Ponder and Virginia Tech’s Tyrod Taylor. But the only former national champion to step to a podium so far was Alabama signal caller Greg McElroy.
He gave one of the more entertaining pressers of the day, starting by sounding a little bitter that he had been poked and prodded all morning.
“After about 17 physicals today, I realized that I have a fractured second metacarpal, which, if you can believe it, is what I knew two weeks ago,” he joked.
McElroy has a cast on his arm that he hopes to have removed on Monday, when he can begin his rehab. He said he’s disappointed that his competition is getting better while he has to wait with an injury, but he hopes his college career speaks for itself.
“I’ve played in the big game — I think that’s definitely a strength — and I’ve been successful in the big game,” he said, mentioning his accuracy, efficiency and ability to protect the ball and get it to his playmakers as his tangible strengths.
One of his most interesting answers involved what he learned at Alabama. He said he learned to be a professional, thanks to Head Coach Nick Saban’s philosophies.
“Coach Saban runs it like a professional organization,” McElroy said. “He expects you to be punctual, he expects you to not wear a hat to meetings, he expects your hair to be a certain length — there are rules and regulations within the organization that are run like a professional franchise.”
2:58 p.m. EST: One of the top receiving prospects, Boise State’s Austin Pettis, gave a quick press session at a table surrounded by a few reporters.
He said his strengths are his size and understanding of the game, and what he needs to work on most are his deep routes.
I asked the former Bronco, who named Larry Fitzgerald as his favorite receiver, if he had talked to any former teammates — Ryan Clady, for example — about what to expect at the combine.
“Kyle Wilson, he talked to me a little bit before the Senior Bowl, kind of gave me a heads up and what to expect the next couple weeks,” he said. “He just told us to relax and go out and have fun.”
3:10 p.m. EST: Once USC offensive tackle Tyron Smith declared for the draft, pundits raved about his athleticism. But the one flaw they saw in him was his weight.
Standing 6-foot-5, Smith played most games at USC weighing just over 280 pounds. Considerably lighter than most of his contemporaries, Smith knew that in order to raise his stock he would need to put on some weight.
And he did just that, gaining over 20 pounds since the end of the season, weighing in at 307-pounds during combine check-in on Thursday.
“I surprised myself by hitting the 300 mark,” Smith said. “I didn’t think I would get higher than that so I really surprised myself weighing 307.”
How did he accomplish the feat? Smith said he did it by eating the right way and by cutting out his obsession with McDonald’s – which he said he ate all day and every day.
“I basically just started eating right,” Smith added. “I stopped eating so much junk food and eating my three meals a day with breakfast, lunch and dinner and some snacks in-between.”
That change in lifestyle is music to the ears of teams looking for help along the offensive line.
3:54 p.m. EST: Many of you had asked us to keep our eye out for Wisconsin running back John Clay.
A few minutes ago, a running back walked in the room and everyone said that it was indeed Clay. However no one recognized the former Badger because he had dropped over 30 pounds since leaving Madison.
“A lot of people were second-guessing how much I would come in and weigh in,” Clay said. “That was the first question that was on everybody’s mind. And by today’s weigh-in I think I impressed a lot of people right away.”
Measuring 6-foot-1 and weighing a svelte 230 pounds, Clay – like Tyron Smith – said he achieved his weight by eating three meals a day and not just one big meal.
He hopes that new size equals a faster 40 time and a boost to his draft stock.
4:44 p.m. EST: In 2008, Spencer Larsen became the first Bronco in club history and just the fourth player in the NFL since 1980 to start on both offense and defense in the same game when he opened the game against the Falcons at middle linebacker and fullback.
Stanford’s Owen Marecic knows what that is like. During his senior season with the Cardinal, Marecic excelled at both linebacker and fullback, earning the inaugural Paul Hornung Award given to college football’s most versatile player.
But heading into the NFL, Marecic says that he will focus on fullback rather than on defense.
“I think I feel most comfortable at fullback and that is how I project the best at the next level,” Marecic said. “I am just pouring myself into fullback.”
Marecic said that the teams he has talked with have specifically talked to him about playing fullback, but Marecic let it be known that as a football player he is happy to contribute any place he can.
5:02 p.m. EST: Figured we’d give you a quick rundown of some of the most recent players to talk. The highlight has been Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram. He said he’s feeling healthy and talked a little about his experiences at Alabama, calling himself an all-around back.
“I can be in the game first down, second down, third down, goal-line, short-yardage, pick up pass protections, go out of the backfield and catch the ball — things like that,” he said. “I’m a complete back.”
Two North Carolina running backs — Shaun Draughn and Johnny White — talked about being able to go through the combine experience with familiar faces. As we noted before, the Tar Heels have the most players of any school at this year’s event.
“It’s just a good feeling to see some of your boys that you call your brothers in the same place as you,” White said.
Draughn said that shows just how much talent UNC had, and he hates to think of what the team could’ve accomplished if it weren’t for injuries and NCAA sanctions.
“Man, I think it brings tears to my eyes when I think about what could’ve been,” he said. “But now it’s an afterthought. The good thing is those guys who sat out are getting a chance to come here and showcase their talents.”
Finally, a familiar name to Florida fans and Steelers fans alike stepped to the podium — Mike Pouncey, brother of Steelers center Maurkice.
Mike said he knows it was hard for his brother to miss Super Bowl XLV.
“We’ve both played football together since we were 6 years old and he hasn’t missed a game, so it was shocking that he missed that,” he said.
When Maurkice left, Mike moved to center for the Gators. It took him one game to get accustomed to it, and now he’s potentially set to be one of the top linemen taken in this year’s draft.
“I knew all the line calls, it was just tough after that first game,” he said. “I went out there and had a bad game, felt like crap, told myself when I left the locker room I would never play like that again, and since that game I went on to have a great season.”
5:38 p.m. EST: Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams just concluded the final press session of day two. We will be back tomorrow with our first look at the defensive side of the ball. Look for a notebook on the day’s events and video from a pair of National Champions, Alabama’s Mark Ingram and Greg McElroy on DenverBroncos.com.
– Gray Caldwell & Kyle Sonneman
Tags: 2011, NFL Scouting Combine
i think Tebow as qb will help our run game as well. Other teams will not be able to let him loose… if orton is back there they can just let him go… he will prob just trip over his own feet and fumble the ball!!!!!
John Clay from Wisconsin just might be on our draft board. It seems like he would fit an Offense with a run first mentality. At 6’1″ 248lbs, he runs with power and would be a great short yardage situations.
Should be available in later rounds but could bring up his stock with solid combine performance.
Folks, as usual I just posted the news of the day on the previous blog for whoever may be interested. Brand new blog first thing in the morning!!! This combine thing is completely messing me up, LOL.
Are we leaning towards drafting a RB or grabbing a free agent? Coach Fox said yesterday you need two productive guys.
I’ve heard a lot of bloggers asking for D. Williams. Something tells me we’re not the only blog out there saying that though….although we have his old coach so maybe we have more pull.
Of course we still have Lendale White, but not sure of his progress with his injury. We may just need another RB like DeAngelo or Benson as you’ve previously mentioned bay.
Bay, I read your posts on yesterdays blog. The writing seems like its on the wall regarding the CBA. I just hope they get it figured out sooner then later. The whole situation is so messed up and frustrating. In regards to your picks. I think its just too early to take a TE in the 2nd with all of our Defensive needs. I might change my opinion if we pick up a FA S, but even then, we should look at drafting a S….we really need two new S, two new LB’s and two new DT’s. There might be some stud DT’s left with our first 2nd round pick….even if we do take Fairley or Darius.
Bruton, McBath, Hill and Atogwe would be sufficient at safety to me. Same with Dareus, Bannan, Vickerson and Thomas at D tackle, but Graham and Gronkowski at TE just won’t cut the mustard for me. And I do have us picking two LBs.
Oops, forgot Quinn since he has been so inexistant, hope he comes along but we still need that big catching TE, like Rudolph.
I can not believe that the broncos are going to pay kyle orton 2.86m plus 1.5 m roster bonus and pay tebow too. aint going to happen, bowlen to cheap. Orton needs to go to another team that needs a QB. never been wanted here by the fans. we will always make an excuses to through him under the bus
The funny part about all that is Fox keeps telling us he is looking forward to evaluate the three QBs in the off season and go from there, but the odds are there won’t be any off season.
So what then Fox?
Isn’t Brady Quinns contract up?
Hey Guys, Just read the reports about Atogwe, if this is true I would be very excited. Besides the fact that we are of the same descent lol, the man has been very consistent for the rams D. Only Bright spot for the past couple of years actually. Him on our team will make me a very happy Camper. And as Bailey posted, then we can use a second for Kyle Rudolph who I agree is also the only worth it candidate. Haven’t given up on Richard Quinn yet tho….McD couldnt utilize talent well if he coached a pro bowl team. Atogwe is only 29, 30 however by the time the season comes around. He is not done yet. If anything he is at his peak before he starts his decline around 33-34. I would be all for it. Plus if feels the need at safety and frees up a draft pick. Later Days, TRB out….
ps: im also a fan of RB/FB John Clay. 248 pound monster. Late round pick up and runs suprisingly fast….
Brady has one year $700,000 left on his contract (this season).
Yea Bay…
As much as I love Rudolph, he just worries the hell out of me with his injuries. I think he has suffered two pretty severe injuries where he was out for a significant time so that just worries me on him!
I love his play making ability and everyone should go on youtube and watch his 99 yard TD which was absolutely insane! If we do not get Rudolph, I really believe that Stocker will be a really good TE! He pounds the ball and isn’t afraid to get hit. I believe he is bigger built than Rudolph and hasn’t had any injury problems to what I’m aware!
If we could grab Antogwe and a TE and Williams and maybe Johnson before the draft that would be awesome! But for us to get Williams and Johnson of course a new CBA needs to be agreed upon!
I really believe that we should pick up Shockey and Antogwe! It would free up two spots in the draft for us and I really believe Fox will bring out the best in Quinn at TE! He knows how to work with TE’s and I think we got Carolina’s TE coach, if I am not mistaken!
That way we can go:
Fairley/Peterson/Quinn
Paea
Jones/Wilson
Austin/Nevis
and get the FB out of Stanford, which I am SURE Bay is talking about his FB in the later rounds! Oops, there’s one pick I think we all know now!
If we did sign Antogwe I`d be at ease at the Safety position although I think we should still draft one come April but it wouldn`t be a glaring need. If we did pick him up we can focus on a nother weak position such as DT or LB in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.
Ya Freak, I mentioed Owen Marecic FB from Stanford a day or two ago. I like him. He`s the stud at FB in this draft. And ironically he plays LB too. LOL. So I agree with you bro.
NFL network mentioned last night that Shockey signed with Dolphins.
bay mentioned on previous blog.
Marecic is projected a 4th or 5th round pick and we don’t have either and I said I have one in mind for our fifth pick in the sixth round, so try again, haha.
But I won’t tell you even if you guess right, not yet anyway, LOL.
Anyway, about what I was saying above earlier I think Fox put himself in kind of a pickle with his answers about the QB.
Consider this, he said right now Orton is the starter but he will evaluate them all three as the off season goes on.
But if there is no off season for them to compete then by what he said it means Orton has the job.
It was wrong for him to say Orton was our starter so he is the starter now.
That is absolutely incorrect.
Orton was kept as a back up at the end of the season even after he was healthy enough to play. Tebow did replace him because of injury but then he stayed on as the starter because of performance.
Hence I think this is the first faux pas of Fox Bronco tenure, not a big one at this point, but one that could have repercussions down the road. He’ll learn what the Broncos and their fans are all about soon enough, specially anything that has to do with Tebow.
There was no reason for him to box himself into a corner when he simply could of simply said it’s open competition, even if he might of done so in order to get a higher draft pick in an Orton trade. I mean how effective can that startegy be? Get real, it won’t make a bit of difference… just my thoughts.
As far as I can tell by everything I saw and heard at the end of last season from our team as a fan, Tebow is the starter.
Now I am told different, that’s kind of weird and deserves an explanation in my opinion. The ploy excuse is a bogus one that won’t make a bit of difference come trade time, tell it to us like it is instead, transparency is the best approach in this case.
Wow, I just read Xanders saying this year’s draft was real deep at RB, just the opposite of what has been said so far, other than Mark Ingram this is supposedly a weak RB draft, how weird is that assessment? I will give him the benefit of the doubt and hope that he is indeed a personnel guru who just had his hands tied by McD, but stuff like that gets you thinking…
Unusually Weak Running Back Class
The 2011 Draft class is by most accounts a strong one, but one notable exception is the running back position, where only one player, Alabama’s Mark Ingram is a lock to go in the first round. By comparison, three running backs, on average, have been selected in the first round since 2004, with one generally being a top-10 pick. Besides Ingram, who’s expected to last until the middle of Round 1, the other two potential first-round running back selections are Illinois’ Mikel Leshoure, a big, bruising runner, who could shoot up draft boards if he’s able to run the 40-yard dash is less than 4.5 seconds and Virginia Tech’s Ryan Williams, a shiftier back who must prove that he’s healthy after an injury-plagued sophomore year. In short, it’s not only possible, but likely, that the 2011 Draft will go down as the first to feature only one first-round running back since 1984.
It may be deep but what quality, really?
I’m still hoping for FA help there if and when there is a CBA.
If it’s so deep then pick a couple in the undrafted player pool that will follow the draft. I think we are allowed 8 of those or about.
I don’t know Bay. Something Champ said after signing his contract kind of makes me think differently even though it’s not the same issue. When talking about putting his house up for sale he said something to the effect that everything you do or say publicly is all part of negotiation. Or something like that.
I know this isn’t in any way related, but I think there is some method to the madness of Fox and Elway continually saying that Orton is the starter right now as in they have a plan. I don’t think they’re just blindly proclaiming it without thinking about it. With no CBA they can’t really get rid of Orton at the moment and he’ll probably be on the roster for a long time so they’re trying to keep his spirits up. You don’t want him to be sour already in February when there’s a good chance he’ll still be on the roster on opening day without the new agreement.
Well that’s just my take on it anyway. They’re just making sure no fires erupt in the locker room before they put out the public fires.
I hear you, but bottom line Fox just made Orton the starter over Tebow and that just wasn’t the case at year end, was it?
Maybe I just completely misunderstood everything, LOL.
Bay, do we really need to look at drafting a running back, I mean Moreno has potential if he can stay healthy, but I would rather bring in Williams than to draft a guy who would have to adjust to the NFL. I know they said they’re looking at every position for due diligence, but if they’re worried about Moreno’s toughness, bringing in a rookie that could be injury prone too trying to adjust to the NFL would seem less wise than to bring in a guy with substantial experience.
No you’re right about not liking it. I don’t really like hearing it either. But I just think if the season opens with zero offseason they could still change their mind at the last minute and announce Tebow the starter. That way won’t have already lost Orton’s interest months beforehand so he’ll be ready to go if they need him for any reason. And I’m one of those people that wants to see Tebow all the way. I just think they have to keep Orton’s head in the game as long as possible just in case.
But I think you’re right about it being a faux pas in a way because the fanbase isn’t going to be very happy as long as we think it’s Orton over Tebow. But I just have a gut feeling there’s a plan behind saying it.
To clarify I am not sure that teams are allowed 8 undrafted players, maybe I’m just thinking practice squad players. If anyone knows for sure I’d appreciate it, hard to find the info.
I don’t know the official number but I think they’re allowed a lot. I seem to remember some teams signing 17 or 18 undrafted free agents the last couple years. In fact I think you kind of have to sign a lot to get the eighty something players that teams take to the beginning training camp.
I found the list of undrafted players we signed last year and counted 19. Maybe there’s no limit at all. Or maybe it’s 20 or something.
Kevin Alexander, OLB/DE, Clemson; Alric Arnett, WR, West Virginia; Toney Baker, RB, North Carolina State; Jaron Baston, DL, Missouri; Devin Bishop, LB, California; Korey Bosworth, OLB/DE, UCLA; Marcellus Bowman, S, Boston College; Chris Brown, RB, Oklahoma; Paul Duncan, T, Notre Dame; Ben Garland, DL, Air Force; Riar Geer, TE, Colorado; Patrick Honeycutt, WR, Middle Tennessee State; Chris Marinelli, T, Stanford; Kyle McCarthy, S, Notre Dame; Nathan Overbay, TE, Eastern Washington; Michael Shumard, G, Texas A&M; Jeff Stehle, DL, Wisconsin; Cassius Vaughn, CB, Mississippi; Landis Williams, WR, Maine.
samurai, I’m with you, I don’t want to use a draft pick on a RB, Moreno should be much better in the zone scheme, LenDale is a worthy bruiser if he fully recovers and the only thing that will help that tandem is someone like D. Williams or Benson to share the load, not a late draft pick in this subpar draft at RB even so Xanders says it’s deep, once again that may be a smoke screen!?!?!
With 80 players total allowed and with 53 currently on the roster plus 8 on the PS, about 4 on IR plus the 6 draft picks we’ll have… crap I need a calculator, 71 players already, so if we don’t get rid of any we can only bring in 9 undrafted players. At least that’s the way I see it.
Yeah but it probably has to do with how many you got, and if there is no FA and we don’t get rid of anyone I don’t see how we can bring in 19, but maybe you can bring them in for a look without having them officially on board counting towards the 80.
If anyone in the blog administartion can help us with the fine points of that it would be much appreciated.
Well yeah then I guess you’re limited to how many spots are on your roster. I was just thinking about how many the NFL allows a team to sign, but I guess they can probably sign as many as they want as long as they don’t pass that number 80 going into training camp.
Nowhere else would you find instructive educated discussions like these, LOL.
BTW, folks keep asking me about drafting a RB so I need to clarify where I come from:
I would like to draft a FB to block for whoever will run it for us because that’s how Fox has been able to do it for all those years.
I do not want to draft a RB.
About Fox system and FB usage:
Wednesday, August 4, 2010 By Mike Cranston
Associated Press
SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — When DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart would discuss the NFL rushing duo record they set last season, it wouldn’t take them long to praise their fullback.
Thomasville’s Brad Hoover was the bruising, tough blocker the Panthers relied on for 10 seasons — until the Ledford and Western Carolina alumnus was the victim of Carolina’s offseason purge of veterans.
Now Williams and Stewart — the first set of teammates since the 1970 merger to each rush for over 1,100 yards — must rely on inexperienced second-year pro Tony Fiammetta to duplicate their success this year.
I hope everything is clear about where I stand now!
To further my point:
Last season with Famietta as FB, Stewart had 770 yards and Williams 361, plus they did have a third back, Goodson with 452.
And all year FB Fiametta carried 7 times for 22 yds!!!!
Funny, I’m even interesting myself! LOL.
baylinorcrush and others asking-
There is not a limit on the number of undrafted rookies you can sign. Under the expiring rules, you had roster limits, but those didn’t take effect until training camp started. I have worked for teams that brought in upwards of 30 players after the draft and teams that have only added two or three. It’s all based on depth and need.
How about Owen Daniels from the Texans? He is now a free agent.
Thank you so much Kyle, very valuable input.
So you can bring in as many undrafted players as you want and you can keep them all if you wish until you have to cut it down to 80, which is at the beginning of training camp, which this year could be until September, LOL.
I don`t think we should draft a RB either. Not with going back to our Zone blocking. Our running backs should be able to get the job done. If free agency doe`s take place I`d like to sign RB D. Williams from the Panthers. And we do need a FB. Need a bruiser to open them holes for the RB`s.
Problem with Owen is he can’t block or remain healthy, either way a poor choice for Fox style of O.
Since John Fox uses a FB with his offensive scheme I need to rethink my mock draft in april. I said in the past that the only offensive position I`d draft is TE. Well given the circumstances of needing a FB this year I`m going to add another offensive player at the FB position. So four defense and 2 offense.
If we don’t have to get down to 80 until September this year we should sign about 45 undrafted free agents, LOL.
Here’s a question. Is the NFL going to hand out compensatory picks for this year’s draft? It’s always a bonus when the NFL hands you an extra 5th round pick or something like that to compensate for losing a player to free agency. So will there be any compensatory picks if there’s no new CBA?
Bay, do you have the numbers of where we draft at rounds 6 and 7? I`m curious to know.
I know where we pick at rounds 1 through 3 of course. No 4th and 5th this year, bummer.