2012 Offseason Primer: Everything You Need to Know
The Superbowl is over, but NFLmocks is all football all the time. We’ll be here all off-season covering free agency, but also our bread and butter the N.F.L. draft. Be sure to check out our scouting report page for all of our scouting reports (approaching 200 2012 prospects)
February 20: Franchise Tag can be applied.
Starting on the 20th of February, NFL teams can apply the franchise tag to any big name free agents they want to secure for next season, and there are some huge names who could be receiving this tag. DeSean Jackson of the Eagles, Vincent Jackson of the Chargers, Drew Brees of the Saints, Wes Welker of the New England Patriots are just a few of the players who could receive the franchise tag.
February 22-28: NFL Combine
The Mecca of the N.F.L. draft community. There are a lot of things that teams look for at the N.F.L. draft, the most important though are probably the interviews and the medical checks. The other thing that will be important for teams is checking out the players from smaller schools to see if the talent matches the dominate tape of some players (think a player like Ryan Steed the Furman cornerback), or to check out players without a true position. Can Courtney Upshaw handle being an every down defensive end? Does Mercilus Whitney have enough athletic ability to learn to play the 34 OLB spot? These are the things you should watch out for the combine, more so than who runs a fast 40 yard dash. Offensive and defensive linemen teams want to see big hands and long arms.
March 5: Deadline to apply Franchise Tag
If the Franchise tag isn’t applied the player is allowed to test the free agent market.
March 13: Free agency begins at 4 PM
We’ll have you covered. The NFL unlike baseball is a frenzy in free agency with players flying off the boards. We’ll have you up to date with the big moves and reactions to the moves. Will there be a surprise team to end up with a talented player like DeSean Jackson like the Eagles did with Asmougha this past off-season?
March 25-28: NFL owners meetings
The NFL owners get together in Florida to discuss issues around the league, perhaps make some rule changes and maybe decide on what to do with the Pro Bowl. They’ll also look into whether or not a team will go to Los Angeles.
Mid-April: Teams begin offseason programs
Teams with a new coach get an extra session, I believe.
April 26-28: The NFL Draft begins in NYC
The NFL Draft will kick off on April 26th. I hope to make it to NYC this year depending on whether or not I can get away from my day job. We’ll have a lot more on the draft moving forward obviously.
Late July: Training Camps begin
Training camps are meh. We’ll be focusing on the rookie progressions in training camps and follow the stories of the training camp sensations to see who might be the next Denarius Moore or Victor Cruz.
It is a this time we fully transition to looking at the 2013 N.F.L. draft (we’ll do a little bit of that in May and June as well).
Early August: Preseason begins
Preseason Matters. Just ask Victor Cruz. Cruz was very close to being cut before the Jets preseason game in which he had 3 touchdowns. He was almost cut even AFTER that game, but some of the Giants higher ups (one of the Mara’s I believe) saved Cruz and the rest is history as they say.
September 6: Season opener
The Giants will host the season opener in New Jersey.