First, Hue Jackson does not desperately feel an urgent need for a veteran starting quarterback not named Kessler to fill one of the twenty to desperately urgent holes on the roster.
Tony Romo is NOT an option good grief.
I suppose Tyrod Taylor could be considered, but not if any other team is dumb enough to approach his massively inflated asking price. As I've said, Rodney Kesslerfield might just be at least as good as Tyrod in year two.
The concussions are a concern, but that's all. I can't fathom this utter disregard for a guy who played so well as a rookie on a bad team last season! Wow!!!
Second, Bill has another option for Jimmy G: He can put a first round round tender on him at the end of the 2017 season. This would allow him to retain his top backup for 2017 AND insure compensation if he's not ready to move on from Brady yet.
The first round tender is pretty expensive, but no where near starting quarterback money, so if there are no offers, Bill keeps him for one more season (after this one). If there are offers, he can either match, or take the first round pick.
You heard this here first. You will not think of it five minutes from now. You read this. Yes you did.
So Jimmy G might not be on the table for the Browns after all. In a couple days, when everybody else is pretending this occurred to them, and they don't raid this blog, remember. You heard it here first. As freaking usual dammit.
Mary Kay keeps citing two top personnel people who are not only saying that Trubisky is better than Wentz, but that he's worth the first overall pick. Unlike LaCanfora, Mary Kay has actual sources; these guys actually exist, and actually said this stuff.
But then there's Mahones.
I've taken another look at Jonathan Allen since Mayock brought him up as a Browns option again. I was wrong to call him "the other guy", because he is a freaking monster, just like Garrett.
Hyperbole aside, Allen is right there with Garrett, and is a MUCH, MUCH better fit in Gregg Williams' scheme (given this roster) than Garrett.
I won't re-list the FIVE edge-rushers on the current roster yet again (nobody listens anyway), but I can re-state that the biggest REAL question mark on this defensive front is at under ("three technique") defensive tackle.
Prior to last season, Jonathan Allen was a 267 lb defensive end, scouted by some as a 3-4 OLB prospect. Now at 293 lbs., Allen is still a fit at any one-gap position in any scheme, as well as a two-gap defensive end, although he'd be wasted there.
Myles Garrett is clearly the best edge rusher, but Allen is better between the tackles. He surprised everybody when he returned for his Senior season, as he would have been a first round pick last season.
Allen wanted to prove he could be an every-down player who could stop the run too, and boy he sure did! Against better competition than Myles Garrett's.
There are zero questions about Allen's motor. Nobody ever got the best of him. He is mature, smart, and a class guy (no knock on Garrett here: that video was no big deal. Kids do dumb stuff. Thank God Utube wasn't around when I was his age.)
On this particular defense, Jonathan Allen would make a bigger impact than Garrett, and even give Gregg Williams more options.
He would be the starting under-tackle between Ogbah and Shelton in the standard front. Currently, X Cooper is the only guy on the roster with a shot at being effective at this position. Cooper was used in a similar role by Ray Horton in 2016, and failed. Horton had to run different schemes as a result: there were no other inside penetrators on that roster.
If we go best available, Myles Garrett does have an edge; he is indeed a generational talent. But as usual, a slight edge is being artificially inflated by hype. Some smart people prefer Allen as the safer pick.
I just saw another mock draft taking Mitch Trubisky first overall. I have no opinion: Hue hasn't got back to me yet.
An interview on NFL Radio brought me back to Vols QB Josh Dobbs, my latest desperation sleeper pick.
I always start with the negatives, and Josh has several. His just over 61% completion percentage is unimpressive. He's kind of skinny, and has a bit of a windup "hitch". 53 touchdowns passes, 29 interceptions is not good, but that's for his career...hmm as a Senior, he completed 63%, with 27 touchdowns and 12 picks (150.58 QBR).
That's it so far. He's quite athletic; actually a dual threat. He's at his best on inside slants and crosses, although he's shown great placement on sideline throws (has a good arm).
He had a great week of practice and a good game at the Senior Bowl.
Here's why I think he might be a sleeper: He majored in Aerospace Engineering. That's right: He's a rocket scientist.
You know how these interviews go, right? The player recites memorized, carefully worded answers, sometimes to the wrong question? Starts every other sentence with "I mean--". Is for world peace and all that?
Not this guy. He was just himself, and his brains showed through.
His curriculum was brutal, as you can imagine. He didn't go for the false modesty crap, but just said it took discipline. He had to set up and stick to study schedules, and budget his time. Accomplishing his academics and football too was impressive.
Here's the thing: As an aerospace engineering major playing football, he had to split his time and concentration, and frankly his classes were the bigger challenge for this guy.
As an NFL player, he will apply all that discipline and brainpower only to football. He already has the most important traits of the greatest NFL quarterbacks.
We can't just assume that he loves football the way Peyton Manning or Tom Brady do, but we do know that he is disciplined, focussed, and works hard.
As he said, he is aware of his own flaws as a player, and is working with Jeff Blake and others to fix himself. He radiates confidence. He will absolutely master any playbook at lightspeed, and know what each and every other player is supposed to do. He will command the huddle. Probably, he will know where to throw before the ball is snapped.
Every NFL quarterback will tell you that accuracy is the result of consistency: Setting your feet just so in relation to your target, and using the same ingrained throwing motion every time (when possible).
Dobbs ran an air raid offense, but Rang notes that he often hit second or third options quickly. A guy wired this way can definitely manage correct drops and timed reads.
Dobbs has 37 games under his belt, but is considered a developmental prospect. This is realistic, but Walter Football has already mocked him to the Browns in the third round.
He's 6'3", 210 lbs. Some teams may want to try him at wide receiver (he has caught several passes on trick plays, and is scary in the open field...he's ready for the wildcat right now).
NFL strength training should make him bigger and stronger, but some pick at him for failing to spot defenders lurking in the flats, which is a tougher thing to diagnose. He looks more like a West Coast guy than a mad bomber at this point.
Hue Jackson now knows Josh well, and just might make Walter Football right for a change.
Or not. I dunno.
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