NFL News and Notes: Draft Edition: Peyton Manning to the Redskins?

Welcome back, everyone. With the rapid growth of this site and the continued growth of Fansided MLB, we ran into some problems with the host server so things have been bogged down a bit for the past two days, but no worries everything is back up and running smoothly. Thank you for your patience.

Because I have been working so hard on building up our scouting report database (check out our scouting report page), doing team mock drafts and the like I’ve ignored the draft news segment I used to routinely do, but I’ll be incorporating that more and more as we get close to the draft.

More combines are on their way. There is still only going to be The Combine in Indianapolis, but the NFL will now hold eight regional combines for players who were unable to participate in the combine in Indianapolis. What is different about these regional combines is that it will allow players who have previously been in the league but are trying to reestablishing themselves to attend the combines as well. It’s a very intriguing move.

The new Combine workouts are designed to function as the Indianapolis event operates. Players will be measured and asked to perform all of the athletic tests — like the bench press, vertical jump and 40-yard dash — that occur in Indianpolis. The players who impress the most in the regios may then be invited to a newly created NFL Super Regional Combine to be held at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan on March 30-31.nal combine

This braced with the new NFLPA game that will occur this year (a game that allows all draft eligible players to participate not just seniors), teams may have a better shot of getting all the diamonds in the rough even the most astute teams miss from time to time.

Yesterday rumors started to speculate that USC OT Matt Kalil would forego his senior season to enter the N.F.L. draft as Vikings fans cried everywhere! But now it appears that Matt Kalil is just beginning the process, Kalil is one of the few blue chip prospects available in this draft so as a draft aficionado I hope he does declare, if he returns it’s assumed that Matt Barkley would also return. It’s also being rumored that Robert GriffinIII might go back to Baylor because he wants to work toward his law degree.

Tony Pauline of draftinsider.net gives his take on the Defensive ends. The biggest surprise to me is Brandon Jenkins as a 3rd or fourth rounder. Jenkins numbers are definitely down this year, but I still consider him a 1st-2nd round prospect.

Mocking the draft has an updated underclass draft tracker

LB Vontaze Burfict’s stock continues to drop

The Pac-12 blog suspects Burfict’s play as well as off-field concerns might drop him from the first round entirely.

Burfict has a big problem: He played for a coaching staff that just got fired. Many members of that staff are not fans of his. And because those coaches don’t have to be accountable to Burfict, his teammates or the program going forward, they will provide unvarnished takes on Burfict to NFL personnel men. Some won’t say nice things.
NFL mocks will release their newest big board early next week, probably Monday, so I’m not going to give away where he is on our board, but his stock has dropped some for sure. McShay currently has Burfict at 21st overall.

Whether or not the Colts will trade Peyton Manning will be a big discussion until the draft and perhaps until the start of next season. Will the Redskins be the biggest pursuer.

Here are Lombardi’s words:

“Well, how about the Washington Redskins,” Lombardi said. “A lot of money, a lot of availability, and oh, by the way, they really need a quarterback badly. They need a signature face on their franchise, and I think ultimately, that would be a great landing spot.

“But the interesting factor here is Peyton Manning’s only played in three offenses: high school, at Tennessee, and when you look at Indianapolis. There’ve been three offenses, that’s it. If he goes somewhere, I would not be surprised if Tom Moore didn’t join him.”

Earlier this week our own Reggie McColgan wrote that trading Peyton Manning is the right thing to do.

Tommy Streeter recently made his intentions know that he’ll probably enter the draft. I wrote up a scouting report for him earlier this week you might have missed because our site was having issues.

Lastly, Bucky Brooks questions how much Russel Wilson’s size will effect his draft stock

Does size really matter?

That’s the question evaluators must consider when assessing the pro prospects of Wisconsin QB Russell Wilson.

At 5-foot-10, 205 pounds, Wilson falls short of the height requirement in most draft rooms. His diminutive stature raises concerns about his ability to throw effectively from the pocket, with passer rushers typically measuring better than 6-3. With the threat of turnovers coming off tips or deflections at the line, scouts are often reluctant to consider a “short” quarterback as a franchise player.

After watching Wilson shine in the Big Ten title game, however, I think evaluators should reconsider their stringent standards at the position. While Wilson lacks some of the desired physical dimensions coveted by scouts, he is a polished passer with exceptional arm strength

And be sure to check out our scouting report page

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