In case you hadn't noticed, and there would have been absolutely no reason for you to have noticed, I was out of pocket this weekend. Freezing my tail off on fishing trip, the highlight of which was a steak dinner, giving you some idea of how the fishing went. Anyway, I fully expected to return to all kinds of headline news about the St. Louis Rams, their first round pick and more free agent signings than one man could possibly keep track of. Nope. However, there were a few notable happenings regarding the draft that I think are worth at least a cursory mention.
Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford was scheduled to work out on March 25, but he has pushed that date back to Monday, March 29. The reason? The NFL owners meeting is scheduled to end on March 24, but many felt that with that whole CBA thing on the table the possibility of it running over could take precedent for people interested in the results of Bradford's workout.
I really do believe it has nothing to do with his shoulder and everything to do with not wanting to lose one ounce of media hype. With most of the football writers glued to the CBA talk that week, it will certainly take away some of his chance to shine. In fact, I think this might be a good sign that Bradford is healthy and confident that his workout will indeed solidify his status as a potential number one pick...and the kind of contract that would go with it. Moving the workout was requested by teams and general managers, and I don't doubt that, but I'm sure his agent Tom Condon was more than willing to cooperate based on the reasons I offered above.
Someone else who will be working out later this month is OSU receiver Dez Bryant. He needs the workout to boost his rapidly falling draft stock. Check out what Matt Bowen at the National Football Post said about Bryant's draft stock:
I spoke with several NFL coaches today — as well as a high-level NFL executive — who think that drafting Bryant is a major risk.
Of the four possibilities mentioned by Billy Devaney for the Rams first overall pick, you very rarely hear Jimmy Clausen's name mentioned. One former scout says he's yet to hear any team put Clausen in their top ten. I'm dubious, but it is worth pointing out.
Tight end news...can you feel the excitement?
Arizona TE Ron Gronkowski will have his workout on March 27. His back is healed, but, sheesh, is this guy a big risk to draft? It's back injury. Think about how tight ends play, and tell me that doesn't concern you. Still, I'm anxious to see what the report is.
The coolest name for a tight end? Sicko. New Hampshire TE Scott Sicko had one team attend his pro day, but could make an impact as an undrafted free agent. I'd love to see the Rams take a flyer on this guy...just so I could get a Rams jersey that said "Sicko" on the back of it.
BYU tight end Dennis Pitta had a nice pro day last week. The receiving tight end could be drafted somewhere from the second to the third round.