Tag: Sooners in the NFL

Anton Harrison, Marvin Mims projected in the top 35 of Touchdown Wire’s latest mock draft

In his latest mock draft for the Touchdown Wire, Doug Farrar projects a pair of Sooners to go off the board in the top 35 picks.

The NFL Draft is right around corner. The first round is this Thursday and goes through Saturday. Several Sooners should expect to hear their name called along the way.

Anton Harrison is the Sooner most likely to get drafted in the first round of the draft on Thursday. He has a great combination of size, athleticism, and power at a position like offensive tackle that has NFL teams salivating over his potential.

Marvin Mims is a lock to go at minimum in the early 2nd round because of his combination of speed and pass-catching that’s rarely seen in receivers coming out of college. He really helped his chances of going high when he posted a 4.38 40-yard dash time at the NFL combine too.

In Doug Farrar’s latest mock draft for Touchdown Wire, he projects both Sooners to go off the board in the first 35 picks.

31. Kansas City Chiefs select OT Anton Harrison

Andy Reid lost both of his starting offensive tackles (Orlando Brown Jr. and Andrew Wylie) in free agency, and responded to that by signing former Jaguars tackle Jawaan Taylor to a four-year, $80 million contract with $60 million guaranteed. Now, Taylor is a right tackle, and while the Chiefs have made all the right noises about his ability to move to the left side, we’re of the opinion that they should leave Taylor where he’s most comfortable, and get a guy who has already proven to be a natural to his quarterback’s blind side. That would be Harrison, who is as clean a pass-protector in this class, has run-blocking potential, and is consistent in his mechanics and technique. With this move, Kansas City’s offensive line should rival the NFL’s best. – Farrar, Touchdown Wire

Anton Harrison in Kansas City would be a match made in heaven. Harrison would go to the most electric offense in the NFL and get to protect Patrick Mahomes’ blind side at left tackle. After Kansas City lost some of its offensive line depth, Harrison would fit right on the Chiefs’ offensive line.

35. Indianapolis Colts select WR Marvin Mims

Farrar has Marvin Mims going early in the second round of his latest mock draft. His speed shown at the combine really helped his case. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him shoot up NFL teams’ draft boards.

Mims’ issue is that he’s under 6 feet. However, he’d be a good addition to an Indianapolis Colts team that needs as much help on offense as possible. If the Colts were to go quarterback at the top of the first round, grabbing Mims in the second would provide a reliable target on the outside for the foreseeable future.

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Oklahoma Sooners on the move in NFL free agency

Several Oklahoma Sooners on the move in the first week of NFL Free Agency.

Oklahoma recently sent seven Sooners to the NFL Scouting Combine to participate in the most extensive interviews of their lives. They hope to hear their names called at the end of April in the 2023 NFL draft.

While their careers are just getting started, Oklahoma’s representation in the NFL is rich. Several Sooners have established solid reputations but had interesting decisions to make early in the NFL free agency cycle.

We’ve taken the liberty and rounded up all the news about current Oklahoma Sooners and their situations with regard to free agency and new deals this offseason so far.

Baker Mayfield is headed to Tampa Bay on a one-year deal

Baker Mayfield is headed to Tampa Bay on a one-year deal with the chance to be Tom Brady’s successor with the Buccaneers.

One of Oklahoma’s most beloved players in recent memory has found his new home.

Former No. 1 pick [autotag]Baker Mayfield[/autotag] and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers reached an agreement on a one-year contract worth up to $8.5 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

It signals a significant opportunity for Mayfield to revitalize a career that has had some tumultuous moments over the last few years.

Mayfield, the No. 1 pick in 2018, was playing in the final season of his rookie contract after the Cleveland Browns picked up his fifth-year option April of 2021. The Browns then acquired the controversial Deshaun Watson from via trade last summer. They shipped Mayfield off to the Carolina Panthers, where he played seven games in Carolina before he was released midseason.

 

He had a rough season up to that point statistically, but the Los Angeles Rams desperately needed healthy QB play and signed him for the final five games.

In those five games, Mayfield found a groove while completing 63.6% of his passes for 850 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions. He helped the Rams win a thrilling Monday Night Football game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

With Mayfield headed to Tampa Bay, it also signals that the Bucs are less committed to former Florida Gators QB and third round selection Kyle Trask than they led on.

With Mayfield in the building, there will be a legitimate QB competition. Mayfield has far more NFL experience, which should give him a leg up as they both compete to learn the nuances of a new offense under new offensive coordinator Dave Canales.

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5 takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners performance at the NFL Scouting Combine

Five takeaways from Oklahoma Sooners at the 2023 NFL Scouting combine.

One of the biggest weekends for the football world just came to completion. This weekend served as a massive evaluation tool for determining the future of the next stars of the NFL.

Oklahoma has no shortage of stars in the pro ranks at the moment but has the opportunity for a number of players to hear their names called in April.

Seven Sooners made the trek to Indianapolis to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine.

The Oklahoma Sooners, as a whole, put on a fine display of athleticism as multiple players put up great testing numbers. Social media was set ablaze watching [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag], [autotag]Marvin Mims[/autotag], and [autotag]Jalen Redmond[/autotag] test. With the combine over, these former Sooners will begin preparing for their pro day.

Here are five takeaways about the Oklahoma Sooners from the NFL Scouting Combine.

Anton Harrison heads to Cincinnati in latest PFF 2023 NFL mock draft

Oklahoma Sooners offensive tackle Anton Harrison was taken in the first round in Pro Football Focus’ latest 2023 NFL mock draft.

With the national title game out of the way, comes the college football offseason, and several Sooners are heading to the NFL draft.

One of the Sooners’ most notable personnel losses is starting left tackle [autotag]Anton Harrison[/autotag]. Harrison put it all together in 2022 and earned All-Big 12 honors. After declaring for the NFL draft, he’ll spend the next few months meeting with teams and preparing for the NFL draft combine.

His floor seems to be the end of the second round. He plays one of the premium positions in the entire sport, so he should find himself getting drafted in the first 50 picks.

In Pro Football Focus’ latest 2023 NFL mock draft, Harrison went No. 27 overall to the Cincinnati Bengals to keep Pro Bowl QB Joe Burrow upright.

Here’s what Pro Football Focus’ Michel Renner said about the pick.

The Bengals have not been shy about drafting first-rounders who may not be starters out of the gate. Harrison could allow the Bengals to kick Jonah Williams inside in time. He allowed all of nine pressures on 447 pass-blocking snaps this past season at Oklahoma. – Renner, PFF

The talented offensive lineman’s pass-blocking ability makes him a fascinating prospect and why he is garnering first-round love. A plug-and-play left tackle that can keep its most valuable player upright is an easy investment for an NFL front office. Harrison can improve his stock with a great showing at the combine, Oklahoma’s pro day, private workouts, and interviews.

He also would get the opportunity to block for [autotag]Joe Mixon[/autotag] and [autotag]Samaje Perine[/autotag], former Sooners who hold down the backfield for the Bengals.

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8 Sooners named 2023 Pro Bowlers

Eight former Sooners named to the Pro Bowl, led by four offensive linemen, which is the most from any college.

Oklahoma is in the midst of signing their stars of tomorrow. If they have aspirations of getting to the NFL, knowing how many Oklahoma go to the NFL (fourth all-time in NFL draft picks) and that they excel when they get there might make a difference. This year for example as eight former Sooners were announced as Pro Bowlers earlier this year.

Several Sooners were selected to the Pro Bowl for the first-time. Several veterans, who are now considered the gold standard at their positions, continued to rack up Pro Bowl selections.

No college had more Pro Bowl selections along the offensive line than Oklahoama’s four. Here are the eight former Sooners who now can call themselves 2023 Pro Bowlers.

Browns have no one to blame but themselves for Baker Mayfield situation

After burning bridges with former Sooners QB Baker Mayfield, the Cleveland Browns find themselves in a massive mess of their own creation

I genuinely have no idea what the Cleveland Browns are doing.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to move on from former Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield. Nothing at all. It is a business, after all. However, the way the Browns have gone about this baffles me.

Mayfield played the vast majority of last season with a torn labrum. Should he have put himself through that? Probably not. Did the Browns handle wanting to move on from Mayfield properly? Definitely not.

Mayfield has said the Browns weren’t truthful with him regarding what they  planned, and now they’re paying the price for what they did.

The Browns picked up the fifth-year option on Mayfield’s rookie contract, and he is due slightly less than $19 million dollars this season. That’s not an easy thing to trade, and Mayfield’s injury only makes it harder.

The Browns reportedly do not want to pay any of Mayfield’s salary, which is why it’s taken so long to find a trade partner.

The Carolina Panthers are reportedly trying to acquire Mayfield again after trade talks with the Browns fell apart during NFL draft week in April.

Here’s where things get tricky.

The Panthers are already on the hook for Sam Darnold’s fifth-year option, which is also worth a cap hit of just under $19 million. No one on the Panthers has a larger cap hit than Darnold for this season, and they have around $25 million in cap space.

So yes, they have the cap space to get a deal done, but they don’t want to have that much money tied up by two, at this point, unproven QBs. If the Browns want Mayfield gone, they’re going to have to eat some of this contract.

And now for Deshaun Watson.

Simply put, this situation is an absolute mess, fiasco and disaster.

After shipping off three first-round picks, a third-round pick and two fourth-round picks, the Browns gave Deshaun Watson the most player-friendly contract in the history of American Football: $230 million guaranteed.

With Watson’s legal situation getting worse by the day, the NFL isn’t going to allow this to go on much further. A long suspension is coming. While the Browns might be able to get out of this ridiculous contract, those picks are gone. They aren’t getting them back.

Browns owner Jimmy Haslem has said he’s not the one who originally wanted Watson, but, as the owner, he could, at the very least, have prevented this. He didn’t, of course, because he wants his team to win football games.

At what cost, sir?

The Browns have thoroughly torched their relationship with the best QB they’ve had since returning to Cleveland, and these legal troubles with Watson will not be going away anytime soon.

Since Baker likely will not play a snap for the Browns this year, the options head coach Kevin Stefanski have are Jacoby Brissett and Josh Dobbs.

Don’t feel bad for the Browns. They did this to themselves.

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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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Joe Mixon named a ‘stud’ performer despite Bengals Super Bowl LVI loss

Despite the Bengals’ close loss in Super Bowl LVI, former Sooner Joe Mixon was named a stud for his performance by Bengals Wire.

The Cincinnati Bengals fell just short in Super Bowl LVI against the Los Angeles Rams. Multiple Sooners were playing in the game, and either way, a former Sooner would become a Super Bowl Champion. The game came down to the last two minutes, and for casual fans, that’s all you could ask for.

On the Bengals side, Joe Mixon, Jordan Evans, and Samaje Perine all donned the orange and black of the Bengals. Our friends at BengalsWire took the liberty of highlighting the stars, studs, and duds of their team’s performance, and one of the two former Sooners running backs on the Bengals roster landed was named a “stud.”

How good was Mixon running into the teeth of an elite defensive line? He gained 72 yards on 15 carries, averaging 4.8 per chance. If there was a negative, it was the five catches for one yard, but there’s more that goes into that than simple numbers. Mixon was running hard and decisively all night. – Chris Rolling, Bengals Wire

Mixon has always been an excellent running back, but primarily due to Cincinnati’s team success has hardly been given the spotlight he deserves.

He played his heart out running against a defensive line that features two sure-fire Hall of Famers in Von Miller and Aaron Donald on top of having to run against an elite run-stopping defensive lineman like A’Shawn Robinson. The Bengals offensive line held up on the ground and gave Mixon just enough space to get active.

While Mixon didn’t have much of an impact catching the ball, he impacted in other ways. His only touchdown was a passing TD deep in the red zone to wide receiver Tee Higgins set up in part to how well the Bengals were running the ball.

For Mixon, he finished his regular season with 292 carries for 1,205 yards for 13 touchdowns while also hauling in three receiving touchdowns. For Mixon, Perine, and the rest of the Bengals, it’ll be back to the drawing board as they try to figure out what they can do to get back to the Super Bowl next year.

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League-high 9 Sooners in action on NFL’s conference championship weekend

Oklahoma has a league-high nine former Sooners playing in the NFL’s conference championship weekend. Here’s a look at the nine in action.

There will be plenty of Oklahoma representation during the NFL’s conference championship weekend. Nine former Sooners are on active rosters and will be in action on Sunday looking to advance to Super Bowl LVI.

It’s worth noting that former Sooner Jordan Evans is also a linebacker for the Cincinnati Bengals, but Evans suffered a torn ACL in week five against the Green Bay Packers.

Here’s a look at the nine Sooners in action this weekend.