Weekly NFL & Draft Rumors

Helu Jr. On the Rise?
Nebraska running back Roy Helu Jr. has been accumulating a great amount of steam after a very impressive combine showing. It is now being thought that Helu could be rising to a possible 2nd round selection when it comes to draft day.

Helu is coming off a combine where he showed great speed with a 4.40 forty yard dash, along with great pass catching ability. The most important number that came in for Helu during the combine was his 10 yard split where he clocked a time of 1.50, which was the best time at this years combine.

Helu never got the chance to show the talent that he had while at Nebraska being a part of that committee system, but he is a big, physical runner who has the speed and quickness to be a good running back at the next level. Watch for Helu to be a sleeping coming into camps next year, if there is a next year.....

Newton Locked to No. 1
With no clear cut number one prospect in this years draft it is becoming a different prediction every week to whom will be selected number one overall by the Panthers. Recent speculation is that the Panthers are becoming more and more enamored with Auburn quarterback Cam Newton.

The Panthers recently had Newton in for a private workout, and apparently he did very well. Ron Rivera will have to find a way to fit his types of skills into his offensive system, but with weapons like Steve Smith and Jonathon Stewart, they have the makings of a very promising core group of players.

It will be interesting to see how this situation plays out, especially since last year General Manager Matt Hurney decided to pick Jimmy Clausen in the second round. With no second round pick this year(Armanti Edwards trade) the Panthers are either going to have to grab Newton with either that first pick, or trade back to accumulate picks.


Vikings Restriction on Free Agency
At 12 o'clock midnight the current CBA will expire, leaving the players locked out by the owners. Currently the Vikings have a few key free agents have expiring contracts. Wide receiver Sidney Rice, defensive end Ray Edwards, safety Hussain Abdulah, and offensive tackle Ryan Cook have all been given Restricted Tenders to prevent the Vikings for losing their assets for nothing. Rice and Edwards have received 1st round tenders. Abdulah and Cook have been given 2nd round tenders.

What this means for the Vikings is that if a team in need of say, a receiver, like the Browns wanted a proven to sign Sidney Rice, they would have to give the Vikings their 1st round selection in this years draft. The Browns currently hold the 6th selection in the draft so it is probably unlikely that they sign Rice.

All of these players are major assets to what the Vikings have done over the years, but if they are able to pick up some other draft picks, I cannot say that I would mind. Rice is good but with a top 20 or so pick who says that cannot turn into another future asset for the team.

In all reality the Vikings are going to need to go and get a quarterback at some time. With the expiration of the  CBA it will be unfortunate to not have free agency before the draft. Now the Vikings will likely have to explore other route through the draft. With the excess free agents and potential top 20 picks, that could easily be used on a player to the likes of Jake Locker from Washington, or Even packaging picks together to go and get Blaine Gabbert.

Source: Vikings issue RFA tenders to Sidney Rice, Ray Edwards, three others


Run Moch Run
Dontay Moch, a former University of Nevada defensive end broke a new record for defensive ends' in the 40 yard dash at this years combine. He was able to run in 4.44 seconds, breaking the old mark of 4.47 set by former UAB player Bryan Thomas in 2002. The reason Moch is getting so much attention for this is mainly his position. He was a full time defensive end in college, but with his impressive 40, and a very good 10 yard split he should be able to transition to the outside linebacker position. 


Moch was rumored to have run in the low 4.2's this summer while at Nevada, so while he did not get to those kinds of numbers, he still did a great job and should continue to rise up the draft boards. 

Winners of the Combine
In this column I will go over some of the winners and the losers of the combine so far.
Winners:
Leonard Hankerson
He was thought of as a possession receiver with questions about his top end speed. With a strong 4.43 40 yard dash it will help show that he can go down the field and make plays. Look for him to solidify himself as a second round pick, with possibilities of getting into the end of the first round.

Ricky Stanzi
I liked what I saw from Stanzi. He does not have the big arm and was not completing his passes today, but that is exactly why I like him. In those drills the quarterbacks are told to throw to a spot, and thats exactly what he did. I see Stanzi being a 3rd round pick.

Julio Jones
Running in the 4.3's is no joke, and with that time he has for sure wiggled his way up the draft board. He will still be the second wide out taken, but he has definitely closed the gap with Green, who also has a good day at the combine. Look for Jones to end up maybe as high as 10 to Washington, or even 12 with Minnesota.

Jake Locker
I really liked what I saw from Locker. He showed good arm strength, good mechanics, and great athleticism. He was pretty darn accurate today, and I have been warming up to him as a mid first round pick. Hopefully he continues to progress to his pro day. I could see him ending up as high as 12 to Minnesota.

Ryan Mallett
Showed to everyone that he can really spin the football. He showed great touch on his deep ball, and kept his head down field while on the run. From what I have heard Mallett has been doing very well in the interviews, and could move up draft boards. Look for him to supplant Newton as the second quarterback taken.

Cam Newton: The Big Star?
This past season, Cam Newton became one of the biggest stars in college football, and now, he could be looking at wearing a star on his helmet. Recently there has been speculation that Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys, has had a lot of interest in Newton, even as much to possibly draft him at the 9th pick.  These rumors sparked when Jason Garret was spotted at the Davey O'Brien Award ceremony, which takes place to recognize the best quarterback in the college football.

It is also reported that the Cowboys are going to interview Newton this weekend while he is taking place in drills at the scouting combine. The 'Boys are going to have to do some major due diligence while determining if Newton is worth the pick since he has some questions about his character and maturity.

I'm sure Tony Romo is loving hearing that his job may be in jeopardy. Look for this to blow up as we near the draft.

Quinn on the Rise?
After not playing an entire season how can someone come in and be the number 1 overall pick? Just ask Sam Bradford. This year there has been rumblings that another player may be able to jump into the top spot on a lot of draft boards. His name, Robert Quinn. 


According to NFL Network's Mike Mayock, with a strong showing at the combine, he may pencil him in as the number one overall selection in this upcoming draft. Recently on the Rich Eisen Podcast Mayock said that he expects Quinn to  “blow up” the combine. He also went on to say, “I’m probably going to walk in there on the first day of the defensive line drills and say he’s the No. 1 pick in the whole country,” Mayock said.  “And he didn’t play last year.” This is some pretty strong talk coming from Mayock, and some that a lot of people are going to have to take to heart.


Recently Mayock changed his rankings for his defensive ends, moving Quinn from the #2 spot up to #1 ahead of  Clemson's DaQuan Bowers. What reasoning, well look at the body of work between the two players. Quinn has had two solid years of production and film under his belt, where Bowers only has one superb year to put on tape. Quinn is also considered the "safer" pick around the league, seeing as like I mentioned earlier Bowers has only one good year and two sub par years while at Clemson.


It should be an interesting couple of days while in Indianapolis, and this is sure to be one of the major story lines during draft talk. Quoting Bart Scott, "CANT WAIT!"


Source: Mayock: Combine may put Robert Quinn in mix for No. 1 overall pick

Movin' On Up
As we get closer to draft time people are going to start asking two questions, "Should we trade up? Or trade down?" This year makes these questions even more tricky seeing as the league is inching closer and closer to not reaching an agreement on a new CBA. Things will get trickier because teams are not going to be able to sign free agents, trade players, or do any other transactions until there is a new CBA in place.

But, who are these teams that may take a look at moving up in the draft:
Jacksonville
The Jags need a lot of help going into next year, there biggest need is by far corner back. They were ranked 28th in pass yards against, and 28th overall in yards allowed, in short, they stunk. They  are going to need a quarterback since Garrard is not the answer. They need help on both the offensive and defensive lines, and they will definitely need to address the wide receiver position at some time. Sure they could move up and try and get one of the top two corners in LSU's Patrick Peterson and Nebraska's Prince Amukamara, or try and jump to get one of the top quarterbacks, but at what cost. The Jags could easily sit back at 16 and get a quality corner, someone like Brandon Harris out of Miami, or even Jimmy Smith out of Colorado. So in all I do not think they should move up, it would cost way too much, and could set them back even further.


Dallas
The Cowboys without a doubt need to improve on the defensive side of the ball, mainly at the defensive line and cornerback. I for one thought that the Cowboys had a solid secondary with Newman and Jenkins, but with the inconsistent play of the top two corners it has become one of the biggest areas for improvement in the offseason. So who do they move up to get? The two options are Patrick Peterson and Prince Amukamara, both thought to be off the board before the ninth pick comes around.  Another area that the 'Boys could address would be the defensive line, a unit that is aging, and has not produced to the level they should, other than Jay Ratliff. The player that they would most likely go after is Marcel Dareus from Alabama but I think there is a chance he falls to the laps of the Cowboys at number nine. Overall I would not put it past Jones to move up in the draft, but if I were advising him I would want to shy away from it.

Minnesota
The soap opera of the NFL and my favorite football team is in a definite position where they could trade up in this upcoming draft.  With the loss of Tarvaris Jackson and Brett Favre that leaves Joe Webb as the only option, which means: they have a deep hole at the quarterback position. The Vikings also have a major hole at cornerback. Winfield is aging, Cook was hurt, and Griffin is coming off of his second knee surgery in two years, so addressing that position with at least some depth at the position is a must. A final area for need is the defensive end position. In all likelihood the Vikings are going to lose Ray Edwards to free agency so getting a solid left end is going to be high on the priority list. There are a few prospects that they could, and should go after if they are able to move up. For quarterback I would have to put Cam Newton and Blaine Gabbert as the players who would be gone by the 12th pick, so moving up a few spots will most likely be necessary. For the defensive end position the top prospects would be DaQuan Bowers and Robert Quinn, both of which are going to be gone by number 12. At corner, as I've said earlier the two big prizes are Prince Amukamara and Patrick Peterson, both who are top 10 locks. Overall I would say that the best option for the Vikings is to stay at 12. They are going to have plenty of time to get a quarterback later in the draft with the options of Mallett, Locker, and even Kaepernick in the 2nd round. They are also going to have plenty of options at the other two positions of need with players such as Ryan Kerrigan out of Purdue, Jimmy Smith of Colorado, and even Cameron Jordan of California.

Ryan Mallett: Ryan Leaf 2.0?
Coming out of high school Ryan Mallett was one of the most highly touted quarterbacks in the nation, which took him to join Lloyd Carr at Michigan. This was only the start of the downfall. After hiring Rich Rodriguez, a coach who has always brought a spread option system wherever he went, Mallett saw that he was not going to fit into his system, and transferred to Arkansas. While at Arkansas Mallett has been an absolute beast on the field, but that is not what is making scouts wonder if he is worth trusting with a first round pick.

Recently it has been brought to some scouts and general managers that Mallett has recently has a problem with drugs. Now before people come out and say that it's only college and everyone tries things they know they shouldn't realize that it has been thought that Mallett skipped last years draft because he had become addicted to hard drugs(cocaine). With someone this unstable, how can they be trusted to be a signal caller for the next 10-15 years for a franchise? This upcoming week in Indianapolis, Mallet is going to have a lot of questions to answer, and will most likely need to take a hair follicle test to make sure that he is completely clean of whatever drug he was thought to have a problem with.

Scouts and fans can only hope that his talent is not put to waste because of his immaturity with the experimentation of drugs.