NFL - NEWS & NOTES

This highlights Thomas Dimitroff's greatest failing as a GM. His track record with acquiring pass rushers was utterly pathetic. It wasn't just missing one guy here or there. It was 13 years of absolute ineptitude.

In this case, Atlanta had the draft pick right after Pittsburgh. Dimitroff traded up to get ahead of Pittsburgh and get the pass rusher he coveted...

... Takkarist McKinley.

 

I pounded the table for Watt. I didn’t think he would be this good, I only thought he would be a little lower than James Harrison, didn’t know he was going to make Harrison look like pedestrian

 

As a Vikings fan that's funny Tommy Kramer

 

Cooper Kupp: Working with Allen Robinson has been incredible



Since signing with the Rams, receiver Allen Robinson has said he feels like playing under head coach Sean McVay will help bring the best out of him.

One of his new teammates is also looking forward to seeing what Robinson can do once the season starts.


“Working with A-Rob has been incredible,” Cooper Kupp said in his Monday press conference. “It’s his mental aptitude of what he’s able to grasp already. And just being able to dialogue with him, how he sees the game has been really fun.”

Kupp, who was the 2021 AP offensive player of the year, told reporters that he’s studied Robinson’s film for years, calling him one of the best competitive-catch players in the league.

“I think the cool thing, watching A-Rob’s tape, he’s a lot bigger than I think people think that he is. He’s a big dude that can do a lot of things that smaller receivers do,” Kupp said. “I’m excited about being about to have someone like that, who can do those things, be a big body, big target.”

Kupp added that he’s been impressed with the way Robinson has wanted to understand the details and nuances of Los Angeles’ offense since joining the team.

“His football aptitude is incredible. But his willingness to spend the time here and learning this thing, because he doesn’t just want to know the offense — he wants to understand the offense,” Kupp said. “And there’s a difference between knowing what to do and knowing how to do it. And he wants to know how to do it and how to do it as efficiently as possible, as effectively as possible. So I’ve got a great appreciation for that.”

Robinson, who turns 29 in August, appears primed for a big 2022. After recording 102 catches for 1,250 yards and six touchdowns in 2020, Robinson had just 38 catches for 410 yards with one TD in 12 games last season. Those numbers should go way up in his first season with L.A.

PFT

 

Pro Football Focus ranks Raiders WR Davante Adams as top receiver in NFL



Going into the 2022 offseason, the biggest need on the roster for the Raiders was at receiver. They desperately lacked a No. 1 receiver that could demand double-coverage and consistently win in the biggest moments of the game.

So, what did the front office do? They went out and traded for the best receiver in the NFL.

In a recent article by Anthony Treash of Pro Football Focus, he ranked the top 30 receivers in the NFL heading into the 2022 season. And at No. 1, of course, was Davante Adams. Here is what Treash and the site had to say about the All-Pro receiver:

“The former Green Bay Packer is at the top of his game as he makes the move to the Las Vegas Raiders. Adams earned a career-high 92.7 PFF grade in 2021, his second consecutive mark above 92.0. He has also generated 1.43 PFF Wins Above Replacement (WAR) since 2020, the most by a wide receiver over that span my more than a quarter of a win.”

There are still some people around the league that wonder how well Adams will do without Aaron Rodgers throwing him the ball, which is a fair concern. However, we’ve seen Adams be successful in Green Bay without Rodgers.

In eight games without Rodgers in the starting lineup, Adams has caught 47 passes for 531 yards and four touchdowns. Are those elite numbers? No, but they are still very good considering he played with Brett Hundley, Jordan Love, Matt Flynn, etc.

Derek Carr is certainly a much better quarterback than those players and he and Adams already have a connection from college. Adams might not be quite as efficient as he was in Green Bay. But make no mistake about it, this is still the best receiver in the NFL and he will be a huge difference-maker for the Raiders in 2022.

YAHOO/PFF

 

After enduring incredibly bad injury luck last season, the Ravens have added some experienced depth to their secondary.

Baltimore has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with veteran cornerback Kyle Fuller, the team announced.

Fuller joins the Ravens after a season spent in Denver, where he appeared in 16 games and recorded four passes defensed along with 51 tackles (three for loss). It was the worst season of the 2014 first-round pick's career according to Pro Football Focus, which gave Fuller the lowest defensive grade of his seven professional seasons.

Fuller brings value to Baltimore, which lost two depth defensive backs in Anthony Averett and Tavon Young this offseason and has two rookies (Jalyn Armour-Davis and Damarion Williams) slotted behind starters Marlon Humphrey and Marcus Peters. Fuller can step in and play immediately in the event Baltimore needs to look down its depth chart for help.

NFL.com

 

Report: David Njoku, Browns “very close” on most details of new contract



Tight end David Njoku is not attending Browns OTAs as he looks for a long-term contract with the team, but it sounds like there’s a chance that his absence will come to an end in the near future.

Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports that Njoku and the Browns are “very close” to an agreement on terms for a deal on all fronts other than guarantees. It’s not clear how big a gap there is between the two sides, but the deal reportedly would have an average value between $13-14 million.


If the guaranteed money can be settled, Cabot reports the could be done as soon as this week if they’re able to close it.

The Browns used the franchise tag on Njoku earlier this year. The two sides have until July 15 to wrap up negotiations on a longer pact and Njoku will be set to play for a salary of $10.931 million if it doesn’t come together.

PFT

 

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb on stepping into No. 1 role: 'I've been ready'

There were rumblings ahead of the 2021 season that CeeDee Lamb would take the reins as the Dallas Cowboys' No. 1 receiver.

Ahead of the 2022 campaign, there are no questions about it.

With Amari Cooper gone, Lamb is the anointed No. 1 and he's elated at the proposition.

"It's a dream that I've always wanted to live and now that I'm actually living it, I feel like it's my opportunity to fulfill it," Lamb said Wednesday, via the team website's Rob Phillips. "So I'm looking at it as an opportunity."

Is it an opportunity that the 23-year-old is ready for, though?

"I've been ready," he said. "That's just me and my competitiveness. That's in my nature. It's kind of how we grew up playing football. I'm always ready for my name to be called."

Statistically, Lamb was the Cowboys' No. 1 wide receiver last year, leading Dallas with 120 targets, 79 receptions and 1,102 yards. As a rookie, Lamb was second in targets (111), catches (74) and yards receiving (935) -- all behind Cooper. But in 2021, Lamb had 16 more targets than Cooper, 11 more catches and 237 more yards. The numbers leaned to Lamb being No. 1 in 2021 and now there's no doubt.


With Cooper having been traded to the Cleveland Browns, Lamb gets the tag as the No. 1 WR in the Dak Prescott-led offense. In addition to losing Cooper, the team also parted ways with Cedrick Wilson, who signed with the Miami Dolphins. Thus, Lamb and the returning Michael Gallup should see an increase in targets and opportunities.

"This is a great opportunity for him personally," Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy said. "I think just the way we've established the offense, particularly in the passing game, the ability for those guys to play different positions, to create matchups and make it harder on the defense to double you and those type of things -- my point is, playing in the slot a lot last year and now playing the flanker position (where Cooper played).

"And we understand his rise in Year 3 that he's going to get a lot more attention from the defense. But he's doing all of the little things that are needed to get him ready to be the No. 1 guy."

There's likely to be added pressure and focus on Lamb this season, but the 2022 Pro Bowler has shown he has the talent to succeed in Dallas since he fell to them at No. 17 in the 2020 NFL Draft.

With plenty of questions surrounding the Cowboys after losing Cooper, Wilson, defensive end Randy Gregory and others, Lamb will need to step into the No. 1 role and step up, never mind having already turned in two stellar NFL campaigns. But, as aforementioned, the Oklahoma product believes he's "been ready."

Regardless of any new or expanded role, Lamb is simply ready to do what it takes to aid the Cowboys in their quest to repeat as NFC East titlists.

"Most importantly just stepping up regardless of any situation -- first down, second down, just always being that guy that everyone can count on," he said. "I want to be that guy."

NFL.com

 

Randall Cobb dismisses doubts about Packers WRs, says rookie Christian Watson has 'total package'

In the aftermath of wide receiver Davante Adams' departure in favor of playing with his college quarterback Derek Carr and childhood team, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Green Bay Packers began the offseason staring at a wide receiver room with many questions and few answers. And that was before free-agent wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling took his talents to Kansas City, intrigued by the opportunity to replace Tyreek Hill.

Randall Cobb, one of Aaron Rodgers' most trusted pass-catchers, recently offered up at least one answer for the doubters.

"I really don't care," Cobb told reporters during the club's organized team activities this week. "I've been doubted my whole life. You think I care? I wouldn't be here. People didn't want me here, I'm here. People didn't want me to leave, I'm here. People didn't want me on the Packers, I'm here. People didn't want me traded back here, I'm here. I don't care about what anybody got to say. I'm going to go out and do what I'm supposed to do and have fun doing it, put a smile on my face and try to win some games."

Last offseason, when even more precarious questions swirled around the front office and its ability to mend an icy relationship with Rodgers, it was Cobb who provided an answer then as well. Green Bay's willingness to trade for Cobb and foster a Lambeau homecoming for the wideout after he spent one year apiece with the Cowboys and Texans essentially amounted to a thank you present to Rodgers for coming back into the fold.

It proved that management and Rodgers could forge a more collaborative future, and indeed, the NFL's back-to-back Most Valuable Player signed an extension to remain with the team earlier this offseason.

Although Cobb had a middling year in his return, posting his lowest number of receptions (28) and yards (375) since his 2011 rookie season, he did fine tune his nose for the end zone. Rodgers and Cobb connected for five scores -- Cobb's highest total since 2015.

Cobb will surely look to improve on those numbers during his second year under head coach Matt LaFleur, but his most vital role may involve setting an example for Green Bay's many pass-catching newcomers.


Down both Adams and Valdes-Scantling, the Packers responded by taking a flier on Sammy Watkins before triple-dipping at the position during the draft.

Rodgers is famously fickle when it comes to developing a rapport with incoming talent, and the sheer volume of fresh faces almost guarantees growing pains throughout the early days of the season.

Expect Cobb to help bridge that gap for those draftees, Christian Watson (No. 34 overall), Romeo Doubs (No. 132) and Samori Toure (No. 258), as well as second-year WR Amari Rodgers, who was drafted with expectations of becoming a Cobb-like weapon but disappointed with only four receptions in his rookie campaign.

"It's not about doing 100 things well. It's about doing five or 10 really good," Cobb said. "And I make sure that I come out and continue to push myself and to work hard and to make sure that I'm creating the standard. I think that's the most important thing for myself and why I'm here, is to create that standard for young guys that's coming in. So they know what's expected and how we do things."

For what it's worth, Cobb has already recognized Watson's ability to do -- if not five or 10 -- at least a few things very well.

"He has the total package," Cobb said. "Just being around him for the past week and seeing some of the things he can do, he has all the tools. He's very gifted. It's about applying it, taking the stuff he learns in the classroom, taking it to the field. He has the tools. It's about refining those tools. And it takes time."

Gelling does and will take time, and the clock is officially ticking on the Packers' experiment to rebuild their receiving corps from the ground up. Just don't expect Cobb to give any skeptics the time of day.

NFL.com

 

Michael Thomas “not ready yet,” Saints plan for training camp



Wide receiver Michael Thomas has been in attendance at the Saints facility for this week’s organized team activities, but his return to on-field work looks like it won’t be coming for a couple of months.

Head coach Dennis Allen gave an update on Thomas’ condition Thursday that said the team is “pushing for” Thomas to be ready to resume football activities when the team gets to training camp this summer. Thomas sat out all of last season with an ankle injury.


“I think he’s doing well in his rehab,” Allen said. “He’s not ready yet, but he’s here. He’s rehabbing, he’s getting himself better and we’re certainly anxious to get him out there.”

The Saints drafted Chris Olave in the first round and signed Jarvis Landry to bolster a wide receiver group that was quite thin without Thomas a year ago. If they can keep all hands on deck this year, the position should go from a soft spot to a strong one.

PFT

 

The departure of Tyreek Hill leaves Mecole Hardman as the Chiefs’ No. 1 wide receiver, but at the moment he’s off the practice field in Kansas City.

Hardman tweaked his hamstring in yesterday’s Organized Team Activity and isn’t participating today, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said.


Reid didn’t sound overly concerned about the injury. OTAs are voluntary, and Hardman can take all the time off he wants.

Hardman is heading into the fourth and final season of his rookie contract. Last season he had career-highs of 59 catches and 693 yards.

PFT

 

Atlanta's RB group now has two new former Boise State ball carriers. 2021 fifth round pick Avery Williams was originally a RB who moved to DB while at Boise State due to team needs. His real mark for the Falcons (and at Boise State) has been as a return man, but today the team made it official that they were changing his "primary" position from DB to RB.

And to keep him company, the team signed former Boise State RB Jeremy McNichols in free agency. McNichols had been with the Titans, where Falcons head coach Arthur Smith previously served as OC. McNichols has bounced around the league, from being drafted in the fifth round by Tampa in 2017 to playing that season with the 49ers, then the Colts, then the Jaguars before landing with the Titans. He had 47 carries for 204 yards and a touchdown in Smith's offense in 2020. He's also a capable receiver out of the backfield.

I won't say that Avery Williams adds much to the competition at RB, as his real make-or-break role is as the team's return man. He won't be taking a roster spot away from another RB. But McNichols certainly makes things interesting even after the release of Mike Davis following the draft. The RB group now features Cordarelle Patterson, Damien Williams, draft pick Tyler Allgeier, 2019 draft pick Qadree Ollison, power running prospect Caleb Huntley, fullback Keith Smith, and now McNichols.

The team released defensive lineman John Cominsky (2019 draft pick) to make room for McNichols.



As a side note, the team's 2019 draft (under former GM Thomas Dimitroff) has clearly now become yet another failure for the ex-GM. First round pick OG Chris Lindstrom is doing well, but the rest of the draft class has been almost obliterated. Dimitroff traded his third round pick to move from the second round into the tail end of the first to take OT Kaleb McGary - a move widely regarded as a reach. Though he's still on the roster, the team has now declined to pick up McGary's fifth year option, and he's facing real competition for his starting job. He has been a major disappointment for his entire tenure in Atlanta.

Fourth rounder Kendall Sheffield was released a few weeks ago, and fellow fourth rounder Cominsky was released today. Dimitroff traded up a few spots in the fourth round to grab both of them, giving up a sixth rounder to move up for Sheffield and a seventh rounder to move up just two spots in the fourth round comp picks to take Cominsky. Fifth rounder Qadree Ollison did not make the 2021 roster but was later called up from the practice squad. The team declined to tender him as a RFA this year but eventually signed him to a low cost contract. He's now part of the competition in the RB room - and the person most in jeopardy with the arrival of McNichols. Fifth round comp pick Jordan Miller is long gone. Dimitroff got a sixth rounder back in the trade up to get McGary. He used it to take RB/WR Marcus Green, who didn't make the roster at all and spent 2019 and part of 2020 on Philadelphia's practice squad.

So... the scorecard before the fourth season: third and seventh rounders thrown away in "reach" trades, second rounder (after trading up to first) used for "reach" pick who is now on the ropes, fourth rounder, compensatory fourth rounder, compensatory fifth rounder and sixth rounders all went bust, fifth rounder hanging on by a thread after already having been cut twice, and only the first rounder looking like a solid pick.

Yeah, sounds about right for a Dimitroff draft, particularly in an odd numbered year.

 

Dak Prescott expects Ezekiel Elliott’s best this season now that the RB is healthy



Ezekiel Elliott is entering his seventh season with the Cowboys. An eighth is not guaranteed.

That’s because the running back has no guaranteed money remaining after this season. It seems likely the Cowboys won’t pay him $10.9 million in base salary and take a $16.72 million cap charge for Elliott in 2023.


So, this could be his last season in Dallas.

Elliott needs a big year personally after falling out of the conversation as one of the league’s best backs the past two seasons. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry and 61.9 yards per game combined in 2020-21.

The Cowboys need him to have a big season to accomplish what they want to accomplish this season.

Elliott is healthy now after playing through a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament last season, so the Cowboys expect to see the running back who made the Pro Bowl three of his first four seasons.

“Nothing ever changes for my expectations of Zeke, of who he is, how he leads this team, how he approaches the game,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said Wednesday, via Jon Machota of TheAthletic.com. “He comes in like a pro each and every day and does that, so I expect his best. When you do that and do it with the intentfulness he does, he’s going to get better. When Zeke’s healthy, I don’t think there’s a better back.”

PFT

 

Travis Kelce on being underpaid: Money is secondary, I’m here for the legacy and the team



On #PFTPM last week, 49ers tight end George Kittle said Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce is so underpaid it “boggles my mind.” But Kelce says he’s not concerned about it.

Instead, Kelce says that his primary concern is winning games and continuing to build on his status as one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history.


“I appreciate Kittle saying that,” Kelce said. “That’s my guy and he always wants to see every tight end get paid as much as their production is. But at the same time, I signed my contract understanding what I had. I put a lot into this, man. Money, in my mind, is almost secondary at this point in my career. I’m here for the legacy and I’m here to try and make the Kansas City Chiefs the best team possible. So that’s my main focus. That’s why I’m here.”

The 32-year-old Kelce has four years left on a contract that pays him an average of just under $15 million a year.

PFT
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I dont know how he lives on $15M/yr.... dammm, Im going to send him a care package.

 

Dan Campbell: Aidan Hutchinson's 'DNA says he's going to do everything that he can to be successful'

In a 2022 NFL Draft marked by unpredictability, Aidan Hutchinson was viewed as one of the most polished and secure selections.

So far, in the eyes of Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, the No. 2 overall pick has been as advertised.

"His approach is everything we thought it would be," Campbell told reporters Thursday amid organized team activities. "He's in the meeting rooms, he's attentive, he's wanting to learn, he's taking it all in, he's doing what's asked of him. And then it's trial by fire, like the rest of them, 'I gotta learn from my mistakes.' He's been all business."

After the Jacksonville Jaguars spent the No. 1 overall selection on Travon Walker, Campbell and the Lions wasted no time in taking the University of Michigan product.

In 2021, Hutchinson keyed a Wolverines resurgence when he posted 14 sacks (second in the Power 5), was the Lombardi Award (nation's top lineman) winner and the Heisman Trophy runner-up.

It's seemingly a no-brainer that Hutchinson will start right out of the gates, but Campbell underscored that the Lions weren't rushing anything where their first-rounder is concerned.

At 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, Hutchinson has the strength to transfer quickly to the pro level, but there's room for growth in that aspect, according to his coach. Nonetheless, Campbell believes Hutchinson is as close as it gets to a surefire success story.

"You can never tell for sure, but I would say this -- it's one of the reasons why we wanted to pick this guy, is his DNA says he's going to do everything that he can to be successful," Campbell said. "And he's got enough ability and enough strength, he certainly does, to go out there and help us and help us win some games. Now, when will that be? How fast will that be? I don't know. I know this, we're not going to put him out there until he's ready. He's going to have to show it to us. But we'll see how it goes. Again, we're Day Two into OTAs, so."

Getting Hutchinson up to speed in the Motor City could very well be accelerated by who he's facing each day in practice.

Hutchinson will square off with Lions offensive tackles Taylor Decker and Penei Sewell, Detroit's first-rounder last year, on a daily basis. Hardly an enviable position for any defensive end, but in Hutchinson's case it should make for some most valuable experience.

"I think this is where Hutch is gonna have a big advantage, is the fact that he's gonna have to go against Sewell and Decker every day," Campbell said. "I think that's huge. I think that'll play more into his development than a lot of other things. So, I feel like he's going to be going against quality tackles, so that in and of itself is, I think, can [accelerate] his progression."

It's too early for pronouncements on how Hutchinson will fare in his rookie season, but so far he's everything his head coach expected him to be.

NFL.com

 

Jacksonville Jaguars second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence has been happy with new wide receiver Christian Kirk so far this offseason. "He's great. Just from a football IQ sense, I think he's really quarterback friendly," Lawrence said. The Jaguars signed Kirk to a four-year, $72 million deal with $37 million guaranteed in March, and he'll be asked to lead a receiver room that had just one wideout with more than 620 receiving yards in 2021. Jacksonville's receivers caught just nine touchdowns last year, with almost half coming from Marvin Jones Jr. Lawrence struggled to make big plays consistently last year, but the addition of Kirk should help in that regard. Kirk had a career year with the Arizona Cardinals, catching 77 passes for 982 yards and five TDs, but his overall success will depend on how much Lawrence improves in Year 2.--Keith Hernandez - RotoBaller

 

David Njoku agrees to four-year deal with Browns



Word this week was that tight end David Njoku and the Browns were close to an agreement on a long-term contract extension.

They have bridged the final gap. NFL Media reports that Njoku has agreed to terms on a four-year deal with the team.


Njoku was set to play out the year under the terms of the franchise tag, but that won’t be necessary after agreeing to the $56.75 million pact. The deal includes $28 million in guaranteed money. The guarantees were believed to be the sticking point this week and the agreement shows that the two sides were able to find the right landing point.

Four other tight ends — George Kittle, Travis Kelce, Dallas Goedert and Mark Andrews — have contracts with average annual values of at least $14 million.

Njoku was a first-round pick in 2017 and has caught 148 passes for 1,754 yards and 15 touchdowns during his time in Cleveland.

PFT

 

Jerry Jones says CeeDee Lamb is an upgrade over Amari Cooper as a No. 1 receiver



The Cowboys traded Amari Cooper to the Browns this offseason, leaving no question that CeeDee Lamb is the No. 1 receiver in Dallas.

Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones says that’s an improvement.


Jones told Clarence Hill of the Star-Telegram that Lamb will be an upgrade over Cooper as a true No. 1 receiver in the Cowboys’ offense. Jones said that’s no knock on Cooper, but that Lamb has the makings of a complete No. 1 receiver in “production, in the huddle and off the field.”

Lamb had largely already overtaken Cooper as the Cowboys’ No. 1 receiver: Lamb played more snaps than Cooper, had more passes thrown his way than Cooper, and caught more passes for more yards than Cooper last season.

But with Cooper gone, there’s now no question which receiver opposing defenses will focus on most when facing the Cowboys. Jones thinks Lamb is up to the task.

PFT

 

Jadeveon Clowney: “Much better feeling” being back with Browns

Defensive end Jadeveon Clowney re-signed with the Browns this week in a move that will allow him to stay for the same place for two straight years for the first time in a while.

Clowney was traded by the Texans to the Seahawks in 2019 and then spent a year with the Titans before joining the Browns in 2021. That makes this year the first since 2018 that he has not had to get acclimated to a new situation while also preparing himself to play football.

“It’s a much better feeling,” Clowney said, via the team’s website. “You’re just always excited. I’m excited to be around them. I know what I’m dealing with and I know who I got. I know what we can do together. I’m just hoping we can take that step forward and get where we need to get this season.”

Clowney said the team had a great defense last season and “got some more key players on offense and defense” this offseason. The result is a roster that Clowney believes has “a shot” at the Super Bowl, although the league’s disciplinary decision on quarterback Deshaun Watson could impact that possibility before the team hits the field later this year.

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