[Dynasty] 2019 NFL Draft Class (1 Viewer)

ESPN's Todd Archer reports Cowboys seventh-round RB Mike Weber (knee) does not need surgery "at this time."

Weber suffered a knee injury during Saturday's practice. MMQB's Albert Breer reported Weber participated during Sunday's practice, but the tone of Archer's tweet suggests that did not happen. Archer reports the team hopes "rest and rehab" will be enough, but it is possible Weber will need a scope in the future. Weber is expected to compete for a role behind Ezekiel Elliott.

SOURCE: ESPN

May 14, 2019, 11:55 AM ET

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The Seahawks may have gotten a steal in D.K. Metcalf.

Metcalf put on a show during Seattle’s rookie minicamp, with the best performance seen there since Russell Wilsonin 2012. For three days he caught everything thrown to him, plucking the ball out of the air for several spectacular grabs. On one, he cut short a sideline route and used his 40-and-a-half-inch vertical leap to snatch a throw that would have sailed over nearly any other receiver.

At 6-foot-3 and 228 pounds, Metcalf has a size-speed combination that reminds of Calvin Johnson or Julio Jones. And even though he’s considered raw as a route runner, it was clear that his recent work with longtime wide receivers coach Jerry Sullivan paid off.

“I know that everybody’s wondering about this route tree thing and all that now,” Seahawks Coach Pete Carroll said. “I don’t see that being a factor. He looks he’s very well-versed, been coached." 

The Seahawks went into the draft looking for a big wide receiver, but took defensive end L.J. Collier and safety Marquise Blair with their first two picks. Carroll said he couldn’t believe Metcalf’s fall to the bottom of the second round, which prompted general manager John Schneider to trade up to the 64th overall pick to get Metcalf. His rookie camp showing gave the Seahawks thoughts that he could start at split end and allow Tyler Lockett to move into the slot role in place of Doug Baldwin, who tweeted a retirement letter Sunday night.

The Steelers couldn’t be more pleased with Devin Bush.

Pittsburgh made the bold move of giving up a second-round pick this year and a third-rounder next year to acquire Bush with the 10th overall pick in the draft, and he didn’t disappoint in rookie camp. He showed off his excellent athleticism and also his leadership ability, coming in so prepared that he was relaying plays to his defensive teammates from his inside linebacker position, something Ryan Shazier used to do so well for this team.

If Mark Barron wins the starting inside linebacker job next to Bush, it’d give the Steelers four former first-round picks at the linebacker spots.

Dwayne Haskins looks the part.

Redskins Coach Jay Gruden preached patience at Washington’s rookie camp as it pertains to Haskins, but he also mentioned that the 15th overall pick out of Ohio State threw some passes that caused heads to turn. He also showed good leadership at the line of scrimmage.

Clearly, he has plenty of things to work on before he can beat out Case Keenum and Colt McCoy for the starting job, but early on he showed why the Redskins were smart to wait and snap him up in the first round. For a team put in a challenging spot following Alex Smith’s injury, Haskins could provide a way out.

Deebo Samuel could make an instant impact for 49ers.

Samuel was the second-ranked wide receiver on San Francisco’s draft board, after N’Keal Harry, who went 32nd overall to the Patriots. Instead, the Niners got Samuel early in the second round, and Coach Kyle Shanahan should be able to get instant production out of him.

Shanahan wanted a precise route-runner out of this draft class, and Samuel fits the bill. He’ll fit in well alongside Marquise Goodwin and Dante Pettis, while the Niners can take some time in developing 6-4, 226-pound Jalen Hurd, a third-round pick who was a productive running back at Tennessee before switching to wideout at Baylor.

The Titans have quietly built a strong receiving corps.

Metcalf’s college teammate at Mississippi, A.J. Brown, put on a similarly strong showing over the weekend, hauling in a one-handed grab and spending extra time working with quarterbacks after practice. At 6-foot and 226 pounds with a 4.49 40-yard dash, he caught passes with ease.

Tennessee looks to be pretty deep at receiver. They signed Adam Humphries to play the slot receiver role and now have first-, second- and third-rounders invested in Corey Davis, Brown and Taywan Taylor over the past three drafts. Paired with running backs Derrick Henry and Dion Lewis, that’s a pretty good arsenal of weapons for quarterback Marcus Mariota.

The Cardinals had a really nice draft haul.

Quarterback Kyler Murray made plenty of plays in his rookie camp debut, looking more like he was running a video game offense than one in real-life. He has a pair of intriguing rookie wideouts to work with in Andy Isabella and 6-5 Hakeem Butler.

The defense looks like it might have some impact first-year players as well. General manager Steve Keim said that cornerback Byron Murphy was the fifth overall player on the team’s draft board, and the Cardinals got him at the top of the second round. Keim also said he had a first-round grade on defensive end Zach Allen, whom they picked in the third.

Parris Campbell makes the Colts’ offense even more explosive.

During Indianapolis’ rookie minicamp, Campbell was the best player on the field. He ran just about every route, showcasing his ability to excel on slants and other shorter routes that allow him to produce yards after the catch.

At 6-foot, 205 pounds with 4.31 speed, he gives Andrew Luck a third weapon at the wide receiver position, along with T.Y. Hilton and free agent pickup Devin Funchess. After making it to the conference semifinals, the Colts appear to have gotten better this offseason.

The Packers have their most talented group of pass rushers in years.

One could argue that Green Bay didn’t need to draft Michigan pass rusher Rashan Gary 12th overall after spending a combined $29 million per year in free agency for edge rushers Preston Smith and Za’Darius Smith, but the team now has four threats to get to the quarterback, once you add in Kyler Fackrell.

Za’Darius Smith can play end in the team’s base 3-4 defense, but move inside on passing downs. This is the most talented group of rushers the Packers have had since the prime years of Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Nick Perry.

It cost them a lot, but the Falcons appear to have fixed their offensive line.

Atlanta overdid it along the offensive line this offseason, drafting Chris Lindstrom 14th overall and trading back into the first round to take Kaleb McGary 31st overall, after spending $11.5 million combined per year for James Carpenter and Jamon Brown in free agency and giving Ty Sambrailo a $4.75 million extension.

But it was clear during the team’s rookie minicamp that the moves should stabilize things up front. Lindstrom is projected to start at right guard and McGary at right tackle, and they looked good during rookie camp. They will give the line a more physical presence than Atlanta had this year, and that should fit in well with Carpenter at left guard. Quarterback Matt Ryan has to be pleased.

The Jaguars could have two impact rookies.

It’s fitting that the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin’s former team, helped him get a draft class that could return Jacksonville to the playoffs. When Giants general manager Dave Gettleman took quarterback Daniel Jones with the sixth pick, edge rusher Josh Allen fell to the Jaguars at No. 6. Then tackle Jawaan Taylor, whom they were considering with their first pick, fell to them in the second round. 

Taylor looks like a lock to start at right tackle, but it’s Allen who is generating the most excitement. He showed during minicamp that he has the potential to be moved all around the edges of the defense, with the ability to drop into coverage and also rush off the edge opposite Yannick Ngakoue and alongside defensive tackles Calais Campbelland Marcell Dareus. That’s a scary front four.

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Faust said:

From No. 1 TE recruit to seventh-round pick, Saints' Alize' Mack embraces fresh start

Alizé Mack could thrive with Drew Brees at quarterback

2019 New Orleans Saints 90-man roster: TEs, Alize Mack

Are there any reports from the Shark Pool on where Mack is being selected in rookie drafts?

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9 News' Mike Klis believes Juwann Winfree has "a good chance" at being the Broncos' No. 5 wide receiver in 2019.

When everyone's healthy, the top four receivers are Emmanuel Sanders, Courtland Sutton, DaeSean Hamilton, and Tim Patrick, but there's little depth beyond that. Winfree doesn't figure to see many targets as a rookie, however, meaning his value will come on special teams. In college, Winfree (6'1/210) bounced around with injuries piling up, ultimately settling in at Colorado as the No. 2 option.

SOURCE: 9news.com

May 19, 2019, 2:35 PM ET

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Raiders coach Jon Gruden said he's been impressed by undrafted WR Keelan Doss.

"I think he's smart," said Gruden, who first discovered Doss while coaching at the Senior Bowl this past January. "He's athletic and he's got size and I think he's going to be able to compete on special teams, as well." A native of nearby Alameda, Doss starred at UC-Davis, finishing his career with 321 catches for 4,069 yards and 28 touchdowns. The 23-year-old still has work to do if he hopes to make Oakland's 53-man roster, but obviously he's gotten off to an encouraging start.

SOURCE: NBC Sports Bay Area

May 24, 2019, 4:19 PM ET

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Faust said:

Fantasy Football: Five underrated rookies to target this year

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Faust said:

@BoltBacker - thanks for the “heads up” with regards to your concerns with the video content issues with CBS Sports - as it isn’t something that I had thought about to be honest. 

I did a little research into the issue and I better understand why some people can’t stand autoplay videos.

Autoplay Videos Are Not Going Away. Here’s How to Fight Them.

4 Reasons Auto Play Videos on Most Websites Are Universally Hated

Mozilla Firefox 66 Is a Gift For Anyone Who Hates Autoplay Videos

ESPN is another source that draws criticism for autoplay on video content. I’d hate to cut down the links from some of these sources as they often have good information related to NFL players - perhaps a solution would be to identify where the link redirects to?

I’d like to hear some views from other members of the Shark Pool  - who else feels as strongly as BoltBacker?

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tkrull said:

Put me in the "I'm fine with it" camp.  It's not like it's going away.

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Faust said:

@Andy Dufresne - I appreciate the suggestion, as it would be much clearer where the link redirects to, and you can choose  if you want to click it. I always preferred embedded descriptions with their cleaner look; however, I didn’t know that some people felt so strongly about auto play videos.

The options so far:

1. Status Quo

2. Eliminate links from websites with auto play (CBS Sports, ESPN, etc.)

3. Alex Smith attends Redskins OTAs six months after gruesome leg injury, which could bode well for Dwayne Haskins (CBS Sports)

4. Alex Smith attends Redskins OTAs six months after gruesome leg injury, which could bode well for Dwayne Haskins:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/alex-smith-attends-redskins-otas-six-months-after-gruesome-leg-injury-which-could-bode-well-for-dwayne-haskins/

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Faust said:

@BoltBacker - thanks for the “heads up” with regards to your concerns with the video content issues with CBS Sports - as it isn’t something that I had thought about to be honest.  

I did a little research into the issue and I better understand why some people can’t stand autoplay videos.

Autoplay Videos Are Not Going Away. Here’s How to Fight Them.

4 Reasons Auto Play Videos on Most Websites Are Universally Hated

Mozilla Firefox 66 Is a Gift For Anyone Who Hates Autoplay Videos

ESPN is another source that draws criticism for autoplay on video content. I’d hate to cut down the links from some of these sources as they often have good information related to NFL players - perhaps a solution would be to identify where the link redirects to?

I’d like to hear some views from other members of the Shark Pool  - who else feels as strongly as BoltBacker?

Click to expand...

Faust said:

@Andy Dufresne - I appreciate the suggestion, as it would be much clearer where the link redirects to, and you can choose  if you want to click it. I always preferred embedded descriptions with their cleaner look; however, I didn’t know that some people felt so strongly about auto play videos.

The options so far:

1. Status Quo

2. Eliminate links from websites with auto play (CBS Sports, ESPN, etc.)

3. Alex Smith attends Redskins OTAs six months after gruesome leg injury, which could bode well for Dwayne Haskins (CBS Sports)

4. Alex Smith attends Redskins OTAs six months after gruesome leg injury, which could bode well for Dwayne Haskins:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/alex-smith-attends-redskins-otas-six-months-after-gruesome-leg-injury-which-could-bode-well-for-dwayne-haskins/

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Arodin said:

First off, I’d vote for “whatever is easiest for you.”  Not interested in making your life harder than it needs to be.

Beyond that I’d vote to not get rid of the helpful summary text you provide, and to not cut out certain sources just due to format.  I already tend to look at where a link is going before deciding whether or not to open it, but often I will not bother reading a whole article and will just glean from your headlines.  Knowing where the link is pointing would save me a step, but it’s one I’m already taking without much trouble.

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Faust said:

@Arodin - I appreciate the vote as it does appear that making any changes will create a little more work for me and my time is finite, so any additional disclosures or alerting where the links will redirect to could result in a slight reduction of posted content.

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Hankmoody said:

Noooooooooo!

FTR I agree with Arodin on the above.  You asked for our opinions so I gave mine, but I definitely wouldn't expect you to cater to one/few peoples' preferences.  Post as you would, I'm used to hovering links and deciding which ones I want to visit.

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Faust said:

@Hankmoody and @BoltBacker - you were the ones who expressed the most distaste for the practice of websites using Autoplay video. I have found that NFL.com, ESPN, CBS Sports and a majority of the secondary sports websites use this practice. I’d prefer not to add the disclaimer warning that the link contains an autoplay video as it seems pretty safe to assume that a majority of the links will have this feature. Hankmoody indicated that he has become used to hovering links and deciding which ones he wants to visit, so I’d respectfully suggest that be the best practice moving forward.

Cheers,

Faust

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BoltBacker said:

Can Hankmoody explain how he hovers over links on mobile devices? It's not just that a majority of web surfing happens on mobile devices it's more than 2/3rds of internet traffic.

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Arodin said:

On an iPad, holding down one’s finger on a link brings up an option menu, which also shows the url at the top.

Don’t know about other mobile devices, but I get a lot of mileage out of that feature of my tablet.  Let’s you open things in new tabs too.

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Arodin said:

On an iPad, holding down one’s finger on a link brings up an option menu, which also shows the url at the top.

Don’t know about other mobile devices, but I get a lot of mileage out of that feature of my tablet.  Let’s you open things in new tabs too.

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