Category: 2018 NFL Draft

The Lions failed 2018 trade for Gronk fully revealed

Details of the Lions and Patriots trade worked out in the 2018 NFL Draft for Rob Gronkowski, but Gronk smashed the deal

Now that superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski has agreed to come out of retirement and accept a trade from the New England Patriots to the Detroit Lions, the details of the last time the Pats attempted to deal Gronk have come out.

That was during the 2018 draft and the other team was none other than the Detroit Lions. Widely reported at the time, the deal fell through when Gronk told the Patriots he would retire rather than not play with Tom Brady as his quarterback.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted out the exact details of the agreed-upon trade between the Lions and Patriots that Gronk smashed.

The Lions drafted Frank Ragnow with the No. 20 pick. Ironically enough, the Patriots wound up trading No. 43 overall to the Lions for No. 51 and the Lions’ 4th-rounder, No. 117 overall. Detroit drafted Kerryon Johnson with the acquired pick. The Patriots wound up trading both picks they got in the deal.

How have teams with the No. 1 overall pick fared the next season?

How have teams with the No. 1 overall pick fared the next season?

NFL Draft: How did teams with the No. 1 overall pick do in their following season?

How have NFL teams done the year after they made the first selection in the NFL Draft?

The first pick in the NFL Draft guarantees a college star … and not much else. A look at how the teams did in the first season after they kicked off the selection process. Did they improve, falter, or run in place?

1967: Baltimore Colts: Bubba Smith

Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL’s expansion team that would start play in 1967, the New Orleans Saints, swapped the No. 1 pick to Baltimore eight days before the draft. The Saints got backup quarterback Gary Cuozzo and Baltimore landed Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith. The Colts had gone 9-5 in the 1966 season. They followed with an 11-1-2 mark in ’67, the only loss occurring in the final week of the regular season to the Los Angeles Rams.

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Relive Lamar Jackson’s combine highlights

Lamar Jackson had just gotten finished dominating college and was destined for the Ravens but first had to prove himself at the NFL combine

The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is underway and the first group to start running drills are the quarterbacks. So what better time than to take a look back at the 2018 combine and how former Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson performed.

Jackson had been asked to run drills designed for other positions, which he famously turned down. Jackson went so far as to avoid the 40-yard dash entirely, instead only doing passing drills to showcase his arm.

It apparently paid off as the Baltimore Ravens selected him with the last pick in the first round. And it really paid off for the Ravens with Jackson leading the league in touchdown passes and quarterback rushing yards en route to winning the MVP award for 2019.

 

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Jalen Hurts getting the Lamar Jackson treatment at the NFL combine

Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts’ NFL Scouting Combine experience mirrors Lamar Jackson’s in that people want him to change positions

You’d think with the amount of money and analytics floating around the NFL, folks would learn from their mistakes faster than they typically do. Yet, the league is making the same exact mistake they did at the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine when it comes to Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts.

As Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson experienced in the lead up to the 2018 NFL Draft, the dual-threat Hurts was asked if he would be willing to change positions if asked to by a team. He remained defiant in front of reporters that he’s a quarterback. This comes nearly a week after his trainer Chip Smith confirmed he would only run quarterback drills at the combine, according to D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jackson is fresh off winning the NFL’s MVP award thanks to leading the league in passing touchdowns, TD% and rushing yards by a quarterback. He showed great improvement as a passer while being the most dynamic and exciting player on the ground. You’d think the NFL would be clamoring for someone just like Jackson, which would lead them to Hurts.

Last season for Oklahoma, Hurts completed 69.7% of his 340 attempts for 3,851 yards, 32 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. He also added 1,298 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns on 233 carries with another 25 yards and a touchdown on two receptions.

It will be interesting to see how Hurts tests at the NFL Scouting Combine and what his 40-yard dash time comes out to. Jackson refused to run the 40-yard dash at either the combine or his Pro Day, helping to further cement his case as a passer first. Maybe with some good drills and times, Hurts will force more people to believe in him as a quarterback.