Tag: 2018 NFL Draft

Baker Mayfield requests trade from the Cleveland Browns

Former Heisman winning Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield formally requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns.

It was no secret that the Cleveland Browns and Baker Mayfield were at odds. Their relationship since Mayfield was drafted number one overall in the 2018 NFL Draft has not been the smoothest.

Their relationship has finally reached its breaking point as the former Heisman winning quarterback formally requested a trade from the Cleveland Browns according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

After the Cleveland Browns met with Deshaun Watson on Tuesday, Baker Mayfield took to his Twitter and Instagram accounts to thank Browns fans for all of their support over the years. Watson has been the talk of the trade market with the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, and Atlanta Falcons all entered into discussions to trade for the Houston Texans quarterback.

There was also talk that the Browns may consider trading Mayfield whether they acquire Watson or not.

Mayfield chose not to wait around for dominoes to fall and instead requested the trade on his own. The decision was not met with open arms as the Browns have no plans to honor it.

With that decision, the Browns and Baker Mayfield are in a standoff as they now try to figure out what’s next for both parties.

The Browns appear out for the pursuit of Watson as it looks like the aforementioned NFC South teams all stand a better shot at landing Watson. Mayfield is due just north of $18 million on the final year of his rookie deal.

Last week’s trade for Amari Cooper looks like a thing of the past as Mayfield’s made it known he wants out of Cleveland. Mayfield was the biggest beneficiary of the move heading into the final year of his rookie contract deal with a healthy shoulder and a new weapon.

Now we wait to see how the latest saga of Baker and the Browns unfolds.

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Ogbo Okoronkwo heads to Houston after agreeing on a contract with the Texans

Ogbo Okoronkwo is heading home to Houston after agreeing to a one-year deal to play for the Houston Texans.

The last few months have been very kind to former Oklahoma Sooners edge rusher Ogbo Okoronkwo. He has forever cemented his place in NFL history by winning a Super Bowl with the Los Angeles Rams and he will now get to play in his hometown with the Houston Texans.

According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network Okoronkwo has agreed to a contract with the Texans on the second day of NFL Free Agency.

According to the Houston Chronicle’s John McClain, Okoronkwo took a one-year deal with the Texans.

Okoronkwo has a much better shot to showcase himself in Houston and will almost assuredly get more snaps if healthy. Out from behind some high-level pass rushers like Von Miller, Leonard Floyd, and Dante Fowler Jr. Okoronkwo will have a chance to shine. His injury history has also played a factor in his lack of snaps. He’s only played in 33 games across four seasons and missed his entire rookie season due to injury.

Okoronkwo, 26, was selected in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Rams. In 2021, he appeared in 13 games and recorded two sacks, 15 tackles, and two forced fumbles.

With a Super Bowl ring on its way, Okoronkwo can focus on getting healthy and proving himself worthy of a major payday if he’s able to take another step forward this season in Houston.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Mike Hughes adjusting to Chiefs’ defensive system after trade from Vikings

After several training camp practices, #Chiefs CB Mike Hughes is beginning to settle in with his new team.

One of the Kansas City Chiefs’ trades this offseason had been a long time in the making.

The Chiefs acquired CB Mike Hughes from the Vikings in mid-May. The former 2018 first-round draft pick out of the University of Central Florida is a player that Kansas City had shown heavy interest in ahead of the draft. They spent a lot of time with him at the UCF pro day. He was also among the players the team brought in for a top-30 visit.

The team remained interested in Hughes and when the opportunity arose, they made a trade to bring him to the team.

“When the trade went down a lot of the coaches were saying they wanted me out of the draft,” Hughes told reporters on Saturday. “But obviously, the draft is kind of a crazy process. I pretty much talked to every team, it’s hard to go back and say specifics. But I’m just glad to be here, everybody is happy that I’m here and I feel the same way.”

Hughes had anticipated a trade given how his early tenure in Minnesota had gone. Injuries plagued his career with the Vikings, causing him to appear in just 24 games in the past three seasons. He played six games as a rookie due to a torn ACL. In Week 17 of 2019, he suffered a neck injury that lingered into the 2020 season, causing him to play just four games that year.

“I was out in LA, that’s where I train at, during the offseason,” Hughes said. “My agent gave me the call. We already kind of knew that a trade was going to go down, but I didn’t know where. So when I found out it was (Kansas City) obviously I was excited. You know, they’re a Super Bowl contending team. I couldn’t land in a better spot.”

Now healthy, Hughes is hoping to turn the page on that part of his career and start anew in Kansas City.

“I’m completely 100%, I’ve never felt better,” Hughes said. “I’m just taking it one day at a time and coming every day to work. That’s all that matters to me.”

As he prepares for the upcoming season, Hughes has been working into the starting cornerback rotation at training camp. When the team has been in sub-packages with five or six defensive backs, he’s split repetitions with DeAndre Baker at the right cornerback spot.

“Whatever the coaches want me to do, man, that’s what I’ll do,” Hughes said. “I’ve been playing straight outside so far. Obviously, with the Vikings, I was playing nickel and corner. Here I’ve just been playing outside, still trying to get adjusted to the system. But I’m doing everything that the coaches have asked me to do. With my skill set, I feel like I can play anywhere, but I’ve just been taking it one day at a time, man.”

Hughes does have the versatility to do more, but for now, the Chiefs have him learning one spot as he adjusts to Steve Spagnuolo’s defensive scheme. One thing that the new cornerback enjoys about Kansas City is the amount of press-man that they run.

“Playing press-man, we do a lot of that,” Hughes said. “I’ve been working on my technique every day, kind of knocking the rust off. I was on IR most of last year. It’s been pretty good, man. Just getting out here getting in front of guys and competing.”

The fourth-year professional feels like he’s getting more comfortable as the days go on. One thing that he feels is making him better each and every day is going up against QB Patrick Mahomes in practice.

“It’s special honestly,” Hughes said with a grin on his face. “Some of the throws he can make, it just gets us better. Going out there and competing and doing the best that we can do. I know that he’s getting us better at the end of the day and we’re making him better at the end of the day. That’s all that matters.” 

Things may have not started off the way that Hughes had hoped for in his NFL career, but he’s hoping to be able to let that motivate him to take full advantage of his new opportunity.

“I’m just trying to turn everything into a positive,” Hughes said. “And I’m glad to be here. I’m blessed.”

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The Atheltic deems Texas ex Poona Ford a breakout player for the Seahawks

Poona Ford wasn’t much of a sought-after player in the 2018 NFL Draft, but his performance in the league has teams wishing they had him.

Former Texas defensive tackle Poona Ford entered the league with a major chip on his shoulder. He was undersized and went undrafted in the 2018 NFL draft.

The Seattle Seahawks took a chance on the former Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year and it has paid dividends for both parties involved.

Ford’s playing time has increased every year with Seattle. The former Longhorn appeared in all 16 games last season and recorded career highs in tackles (39), sacks (2), and tackles for a loss (8). His consistent play and improvement garnered a two-year contract extension with Seattle.

It also gained the notion of being most likely breakout player for the Seahawks throughout the 2021 season.

The Athletic’s staff writers each picked a player from every NFL team that they feel is poised to breakout this upcoming season. Michael-Shawn Dugar selected Ford and took it a step further by mentioning how Ford has the potential to become one of the league’s best at his position. “Ford, 25, has the potential to be one of the game’s top defensive tackles,” Dugar said.

It’s certainly high praise for a young undrafted player, but Ford has taken his opportunity and ran with it.

Saquon Barkley named Giants’ biggest draft mistake of past five years

Bleacher Report has named Saquon Barkley the New York Giants’ worst NFL draft mistake of the past five years.

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New York Giant fans love Saquon Barkley. He’s exciting, charismatic and the perfect face of the franchise. But the truth of the matter is, Barkley shouldn’t be a Giant at all. That is, if management had any clue of what they were doing at the time.

The Giants made Barkley, a superstar, game-changing back at Penn State, the second overall election in the 2018 NFL Draft. He went on to amass over 2,000 yards from scrimmage as a rookie, was named to the Pro Bowl and beat out No. 1 overall pick Baker Mayfield of Cleveland for Offensive Rookie of the Year honors.

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Since then however, Barkley has struggled to stay healthy. In 2019, a high ankle sprain caused him to miss several games and rendered him ineffective for more than half the season. Last year, he suffered a torn ACL in the second week of the season and underwent season-ending surgery.

Although Barkley is the cornerstone of the franchise and sells goodwill and jerseys, his presence has failed to move the needle for the Giants. They are still a losing team three years later. Chris Roling of Bleacher Report named the drafting of Barkley the Giants’ biggest mistake of the last five years.

Barkley is fun to watch and great at what he does; it just doesn’t move the needle all that much and the great injury risk to the position became a factor quickly. The team needed a different sort of impact for the rebuild with such a prized asset, whether it was a different prospect or trading it for multiple picks. Now, instead of contending, the Giants will stare a costly long-term extension for Barkley right in the face soon.

Very true. The Giants screwed up by falling in love with Barkley. General manager Dave Gettleman called him a “gold jacket” player and went against the grain by taking him so high in the draft. In this day and age running backs — no matter how talented — should never be taken with the second overall pick.

The Giants now know this but back then they did not. The second overall pick is normally reserved for either a quarterback, offensive tackle, pass rusher or trade bait. Instead, the Giants saddled themselves with a running back with a modern injury history (wasn’t an issue in college) and are still searching for player(s) at those other positions. They also will have to play Barkley premium moolah to keep him in the fold going forward.

Looking back on the 2018 NFL Draft, the Giants did not make the best use of the No. 2 overall pick. They could have made the colossal mistake of taking USC quarterback Sam Darnold, who went to the Jets at No. 3, or traded backs few spots and landed Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen, a budding superstar who las led the Buffalo Bills back to prominence. They then could have taken Georgia running back Nick Chubb in the second round like Cleveland did.

Other players they could have selected by trading back are Quentin Nelson, Denzel Ward, Bradley Chubb, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Frank Ragnow, Trumaine Edmunds, Jaire Alexander, Derwin James and Darius Leonard — all Pro Bowlers.

Taking a quarterback such as Allen would have given them more flexibility in 2019. They would not have taken Daniel Jones at No. 6. They could have leveraged that pick into more capital and beefed up their roster and had Allen as their centerpiece.

But instead, they are tethered to Barkley, a player that needs to have a monster year in 2021 for the team to even consider extending him beyond his rookie contract. That won’t be easy, especially coming off a serious injury and the Giants having so many mouths to feed on offense now.

The Giants learned their lesson the hard way. This year, they were wheelers and dealers at the draft, trading back and still getting viable players while collecting future draft picks. Had they done that the past few years their rise back into the playoff picture would be over by now.

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Dolphins’ 2018 draft class aging well entering fourth season

Dolphins’ 2018 draft class aging well entering fourth season

They say that you typically need three seasons to grade any rookie or draft class in the NFL. Due to the unique developmental curves of any given player, plus extenuating circumstances, not all rookies transition equally and not all opportunities are the same. But the general rule of thumb is that by the end of Year 3, you know what you’ve got.

That would be good news for the Miami Dolphins and general manager Chris Grier — who was still serving in that role under the team’s prior regime but did have to work under/alongside former NFL executive Mike Tannenbaum. Grier and the Dolphins’ 2018 rookie class is aging gracefully, a promising omen when you also tack on how well the team’s 2016 class aged.

Who did Miami draft in 2018?

  • No. 11 overall: SAF Minkah Fitzpatrick
  • No. 42 overall: TE Mike Gesicki
  • No. 73 overall: LB Jerome Baker
  • No. 123 overall: TE Durham Smythe
  • No. 131 overall: RB Kalen Ballage
  • No. 209 overall: DB Cornell Armstrong
  • No. 227 overall: LB Quentin Polig
  • No. 229 overall: K Jason Sanders

(Bold: Still with the team)

The sore spot for Miami is, of course, the departure of Minkah Fitzpatrick. And while the team could have potentially handled Fitzpatrick’s temper tantrum over his usage and direction of the team in 2019, the team did manage to recoup a 1st-round draft choice for his departure. But try to detach Fitzpatrick’s status as a member of the Steelers from the quality of the pick. Fitzpatrick is now a two-time All-Pro for Pittsburgh, meaning Grier properly identified the talent and chose him at a good value at No. 11 overall.

But the true value for Miami came with their middle-round picks and their last selection of the draft. Even after trading away an All-Pro safety, the 2018 Dolphins’ draft class has three quality starters and a depth player in Durham Smythe. Gesicki was one of the most productive tight ends in football last season. Baker just signed a 3-year, $39M contract extension to start on the second level. And Jason Sanders just might be the best kicker in all of football.

The typical benchmark for a “good” draft class in the NFL is three or four starters per class. The Dolphins, even after the disheartening end to Fitzpatrick’s tenure with the team, achieved that. And with Sanders and Baker locked in for the foreseeable future, Miami appears poised to continue reaping the benefits of a good effort from Chris Grier back in 2018, despite the chaos around him in Miami courtesy of Tannenbaum and former head coach Adam Gase.

Jaguars pass on DT Taven Bryan’s fifth-year option

Taven Bryan will have top prove himself in 2021 if he wants to remain on the Jags roster as the declined his fifth-year option on Monday.

The time has arrived for teams to pick up the fifth-year options of their 2018 first-round draft picks, and many have elected to do so. However, the Jags aren’t among those teams and will be doing the opposite for defensive tackle Taven Bryan, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.

While Bryan did flash a little in 2017, he’s been largely unimpressive since entering the league, so the Jags’ decision comes as no surprise. Overall he’s manage to accumulate 71 tackles and 3.5 sacks over 17 starts, and 48 appearances. In his first three seasons, he was able to register grades of 69.4, 75.5, and a 59.0, respectively, on Pro Football Focus.

Bryan has the first fifth-year option the Jags’ new regime has had to make a decision on from the Tom Coughlin and Dave Caldwell era. Earlier in the week, Jags coach Urban Meyer told the media that they wanted the young defensive tackle on the team. And while he still has a chance to impress the new staff, it may be hard to do with all of the players who could be in front of him on the depth chart at this point.

Bryan’s base salary figure for 2021 is set at $1,864,767 per Spotrac. However, if he’s cut this offseason, they would save over $1.1 million, but would eat a dead cap hit of over $2 million.

 

Did the Saints’ blundering 2018 draft set back the franchise?

The Saints dropped the ball on their 2018 draft class, but did trading up for Marcus Davenport really set back the franchise?

The Saints were riding a high going into the 2018 NFL draft, having revitalized the team around a stellar rookie haul the year before. It’s time for our 2021 NFL draft countdown to look back on a class that, well, hasn’t quite met expectations. Here are the previous entries in our series:

Looking back 3 years at the reaction to the Browns drafting Baker Mayfield No. 1 overall

The move was not terribly popular with fans or some in the Browns media

Three years ago today, on April 26, 2018, the Cleveland Browns selected Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield with the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft.

It was not a universally expected selection. Few mock drafts projected the Browns would take Mayfield, even many published the morning of the draft. And the initial reactions were a mixed bag.

Social media comments were generally favorable, though the dissenting opinions from both Browns fans and some prominent Cleveland media were unusually harsh.

The most telling reactions come from the live fans inside the Cowboys stadium in Arlington, Texas, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell made the pick announcement. Turn up the speakers and look closely at the faces of the Browns backers in this video via YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNG7AXuGBZ4

Search through the comments on the YouTube live feed for a real (and decidedly NSFW) adventure…

Happy draft anniversary, Baker!

Browns exercise the 5th-year option on CB Denzel Ward

Ward earned a higher figure based on his Pro Bowl berth in 2018

The Cleveland Browns were quite busy on the Friday before the 2021 NFL draft. In addition to exercising the fifth-year option on quarterback Baker Mayfield’s contract, the Browns also picked up the same option for cornerback Denzel Ward.

The move locks up the Pro Bowl cornerback through the 2022 season. Ward was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2018 NFL draft and the fifth-year option comes with all first-rounders.

Ward, a Cleveland-area native, earned a Pro Bowl berth as a rookie in 2018. That status elevated his fifth-year option up to $13.294 million based on the criteria set by the NFL for players with one Pro Bowl nod in the first three seasons.

He has battled various injuries, but Ward remains one of the best cover corners in the entire league after three years playing for his hometown team. The fifth-year option does not prevent the Browns from reaching a long-term extension with Ward.

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