Draft - Football Wiretap

JJ Nelson Believes Adidas Owes Him $100k For Fastest 40

Feb 25, 2015 11:06 AM

JJ Nelson, who ran the fastest overall time at the NFL combine, is confused why he hasn't been paid $100,000.

Adidas said it would pay the top three fastest players who ran the 40-yard dash in its shoes and signed a contract to endorse the brand before they ran $100,000.

When Nelson went to the player suite where he had a choice to run in the latest models form Nike, Under Armour and Adidas, he said he chose Adidas not only because the shoes were comfortable but because he was aware of the $100,000 prize.

"I wasn't completely focused on it at the time," Nelson told ESPN.com. "I was obviously focused on getting a good time first."

An Adidas news release said that the offer was "open to the athletes who sign with adidas prior to running their official 40 yard dashes later this month," but Nelson said he wasn't ever given a chance to sign with the brand.

"I signed some waiver at some point, but I was never given a chance to sign an endorsement deal," Nelson said.

Nelson is projected as a late round pick.

Darren Rovell/ESPN

Tags: Draft, Draft Misc

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McShay: Jameis Winston Is 2nd Best QB Prospect In Last 10 Years

Feb 24, 2015 12:38 PM

Todd McShay believes Jameis Winston is the second best quarterback prospect of the last 10 years behind Andrew Luck.

"Andrew Luck would be the only one [ahead of him]," McShay said. "If you're just grading off of what you see on tape, he'll have the second highest quarterback grade that I'll have given in the last 10 years. If you really look at it, his anticipation, the accuracy, the way he can extend plays. I know he's not fast. We saw that. He didn't jump well, he didn't run well, who cares? He extends plays with his strength, his anticipation, his feel inside the pocket. That's what's special about him."

Scouts Inc. has been grading draft prospects since 2004. Only three quarterbacks have graded out with the highest score of 99 since then: Luck (2012), Aaron Rodgers (2005), and Ben Roethlisberger (2004).

Winston currently has a grade of 95, and Marcus Mariota, who is fighting Winston to be the first quarterback taken, has a 93 grade, according to Scout Inc.

Mike Wells/ESPN

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Jameis Winston Not Ruling Out Playing Baseball

Feb 23, 2015 4:26 PM

Jameis Winston is not promising teams he will entirely give up his baseball career.

“Right now I am focusing on football,” Winston told Peter King. “This is the first offseason I’ve ever had where I can focus totally on football. I am loving this, being a quarterback every day. . . . Anything that keeps me busy helps me. I love baseball. I love football. Playing both was the best of both worlds.”

Winston has said that it has always been his "dream" to play both sports as a professional.

“I can’t speak on that,” Winston said of playing both sports at the same time.  “It always has been my dream, but I’m just playing football right now.”

Winston was a 15th round pick as an outfielder in 2012.

 

Mike Florio/Pro Football Talk

Tags: Draft, Draft Misc, Misc Rumor

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Marcus Mariota Runs 4.52 40-Yard Dash; 4.97 For Jameis Winston

Feb 22, 2015 6:05 PM

Marcus Mariota ran a 4.52 40-yard dash Saturday at the NFL Scouting Combine, the top time among quarterbacks.

Jameis Winston ran a 4.97 40-yard dash.

The combine's record for quarterbacks was set in 2006 when Texas A&M's Reggie McNeal ran a 4.35.

Chase Goodbread/NFL.com

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Todd Gurley Declines To Allow Doctors To Examine Injured Knee

Feb 20, 2015 4:21 PM

Todd Gurley declined to allow doctors to examine his injured knee at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Gurley tore his ACL on Nov. 15.

Gurley said Thursday that his time frame for completing rehabilitation on the knee is six to nine months, which could range from a rookie minicamp return to a mid-August return in the midst of the preseason.

Michael Silver/NFL.com

Tags: Draft, Draft Misc, Injury

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Jameis Winston Undergoing Tests On Shoulder

Feb 20, 2015 2:16 PM

Jameis Winston is having his shoulder tested to determine why he's showing weakness in that area, which was discovered during combine medical exams.

Sources said Winston had electromyography to study a weakness in his shoulder that often can be caused by a nerve problem and can be treated through therapy, if necessary.

 

It is not unusual for players to have medical concerns re-examined with expansive testing at the combine. Winston not only has played quarterback at Florida State but also was a vital member of the Seminoles baseball team, primarily as a relief pitcher.

Chris Mortensen/ESPN

Tags: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Draft, Draft Misc, Injury

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Jaguars Interested In Trading Down From No. 3

Feb 21, 2015 7:09 PM

The Jacksonville Jaguars are interested in trading down from the No. 3 spot in the draft.

"We had no margin for error these last two years," David Caldwell said. "I think this year we could be more open."

The 2015 NFL Draft is quarterback-heavy, but the Jaguars believe they have their quarterback of the future in Blake Bortles.

"I would expect some calls," Caldwell said. "But as you guys in the media know, you pick everything apart and some of the quarterbacks may fall just like some of the quarterbacks predicted to go high last year fell to the late first round. So you don't really know what other teams' value is."

Conor Orr/NFL.com

Tags: Jacksonville Jaguars, Draft, Draft Misc, Misc Rumor, Trade Rumor

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Browns Like Marcus Mariota

Feb 11, 2015 11:23 AM

The Cleveland Browns could select a quarterback in the first round for the second straight draft.

Ray Farmer has "shown a liking" for Marcus Mariota.

Mariota has been preparing for the draft since mid-January with Kevin O'Connell, who was recently named to Mike Pettine's staff as quarterbacks coach. O'Connell hasn't officially joined the team yet, allowing him to finish his prior commitments, including his work with Mariota.

 

The Browns drafted Johnny Manziel last season.

Cleveland owns the No. 12 and No. 19 overall picks, which could allow them to move up to select Mariota.

Marc Sessler/NFL.com

Tags: Cleveland Browns, Draft, Draft Misc, Misc Rumor

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Mayock: Marcus Mariota Will Be Project For Every Team But Eagles

Feb 9, 2015 2:58 PM

Mike Mayock believes Marcus Mariota is a quarterback that will be a project for any team to develop, except for the Philadelphia Eagles.

"It's not a real good quarterback draft," Mayock told Philadelphia radio station WPEN-FM, per Philadelphia magazine. "You've got two quarterbacks that are head-and-shoulders above everyone else, and even they have their own holes -- one on the field (Mariota) and one off the field (Florida State's Jameis Winston)."

Mariota was recruited to Oregon by Chip Kelly.

"From a physical trait perspective, he has everything you want," Mayock said of Mariota. "He's big, he's athletic, he's got great feet and he's got a live arm. So on the surface, the individual components all work. The problem is he's a projection coming to the next level because of the pocket awareness, the progressions and the reads."

Mayock also said that if Eagles officials "think he's the guy and that they can win a Super Bowl with Marcus Mariota, given people around him and a good defense, then I think they have to try and go get him."

The Eagles own the No. 20 pick in the first round.

Mike Huguenin/NFL.com

Tags: Philadelphia Eagles, Draft, Draft Misc, IQ, Misc Rumor

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