NEWS AND NEAR NEWS

Two more 1st rounders sign; 14 left … A couple of more players selected in the opening round of the 2018 draft signed earlier this week as former Maryland WR D.J. Moore, whom Carolina chose with the 24th pick, and former South Carolina TE Hayden Hurst, selected25th overall by Baltimore, both came to terms this week. The signings bring the number of this year’s opening round picks to have signed to 18. That leaves 14 first rounders unsigned including each of the first 5 players selected this year.  On the other hand, only 8 players selected after the opening round remain unsigned including second rounders OLB Darius Leonard and OG Braden Smith of Indianapolis and WR Dante Pettis of San Francisco; 3rd rounders Royce Freeman of Denver, DE Rasheem Green of Seattle and DE Sam Hubbard and LB Malik Jefferson of Cincinnati; and DT R.J. McIntosh, a 5th round pick by the Giants. And the McIntosh signing could be complicated by the fact that the former Miami Hurricane is currently undergoing treatment for a thyroid condition that could impact his immediate football availability.

Hokie CB holding supp draft pro day … Former Virginia Tech CB Adonis Alexander, one of the three players who will be available in next month’s summer supplemental draft, will hold his pro day style workout today at the school. Meanwhile, Western Michigan CB Sam Beal and Mississippi State safety Brandon Bryant will hold their pro days next week; Beal will work out on June 28th and Bryant will workout on the 29th. The supplemental draft will be held July 11th.

Pigskin reviews Falcons, Texans drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons.

Pigskin reviews Lions, Colts, and Cards drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals.

Pigskin reviews Jets, 49ers drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the New York Jets, and the San Francisco 49ers.

Supp draft date announced … The NFL has confirmed that the 2018 summer supplemental draft will be held on Wednesday, July 11th. Three players will reportedly be available including CBs Adonis Alexander of Virginia Tech and Western Michigan’s Sam Beal and Mississippi State safety Brandon Bryant. Alexander will reportedly hold a pro day on June 20th, while Beal will work out on June 28th. On the other hand, it is not known when Bryant will work out for pro scouts prior to the supp draft.

Pigskin reviews Titans, Bears, Redskins drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, and Washington Redskins.

Pigskin reviews Bills, Jags drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Buffalo Bills.

Athletic DBs to enter supp draft … A couple of very athletic DBs reportedly will be entering this summer’s supplemental draft. Western Michigan CB Sam Beal, for example, has reportedly told team officials that he is filing to enter this summer’s supplemental draft. Beal is entering the supp draft because he’ll be ineligible next year due to academic shortcomings. The 6-0, 185-pound was considered to be one of the top prospects at the position for the 2019 draft and should some consideration in the second or third rounds. Beal, who had 2 picks – including one off USC’s Sam Darnold – last fall along with 8 other pass breakups, has the length and speed NFL teams are always looking for in press CB. There still is no official 40 time on Beal, but he was a state medalist in both the 100M and 200M in high school. Meanwhile, Mississippi State FS Brandon Bryant will also be entering the supp draft, also for academic reasons. Bryant, who the school’s website bio says he’s run the 40 in as fast as 4.24 is a well built 5-11, 215-pounder who had over 60 tackles in each of his first couple of years with the Bulldogs, but saw his numbers drop to 32 this past season. Bryant also has 5 career picks. He is considered to be more of a mid-to-late round type prospect. It was earlier reported that Virginia Tech CB Adonis Alexander will also be entering the 2018 supp draft. No date has reportedly been set for this summer’s supplemental draft, but it is usually held the first week in July.

Pigskin reviews Raiders, Bengals drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Los Angeles Raiders and Cincuinnati Benglas.

Hokie CB to enter supp draft … Virginia Tech CB Adonis Alexander reportedly will be entering this summer’s supplemental draft after being ruled academically ineligible for his senior year. Alexander has never been overly productive for the Hokies, but has the size – he’s listed at 6-3, 207 – and raw physical tools to have a good chance to be selected in the supplemental draft, although he will have to explain several past off-field indiscretions. Alexander, for example, was suspended for a game in 2016 for a marijuana related infraction and missed two more games last fall for a violation of team rules.

Johnny Football solid in CFL debut … Granted it was only a meaningless pre-season game, but former Texas A&M and Cleveland Browns QB Johnny Manziel was solid enough in his action in the Canadian Football League last night. Playing in the second and third quarters of a pre-season game against Toronto, the newest Hamilton QB completed 9 of 11 passes or 80 yards and was certainly the most efficient of the Ti-Cats three QBs that played in the 36-18 loss to the Grey Cup champions. Hamilton will play one more pre-season game next week before kicking off their regular schedule on Saturday the 16th in Calgary.

Two top safety picks signed … Two more 2018 first-round picks have reportedly been signed as Miami has come to terms with former Alabama FS Minkah Fitzpatrick, while the LA Chargers have agreed on a deal with former Florida State SS Derwin James. Fitzpatrick and James were the 11th and 17th overall picks this past April. Both agreed to standard 4-year deals with a 5th year club option. With the signings of Fitzpatrick and James, the number of first-round picks that have come to terms is up to 15.

Bucs sign top pick … Speaking of Tampa Bay’s 2018 draft, the Buccaneers signed former Washington DT Vita Vea earlier this week. Vea was the 12th player selected at this year’s draft and the 13th to sign so far.

Pigskin reviews Bucs, Seahawks drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks.

Seahawks scout named top Senior Bowl exec … The Senior Bowl has announced that Jim Nagy has been hired as the game’s new Executive Director. Nagy has been an area scout for Seattle for the past five years and has been an NFL scout for nearly two decades including stints at Washington, New England and Kansas City. Nagy replaces Phil Savage who left the Senior Bowl staff earlier this year. The Senior Bowl also announced that Sylvester Croom will also be joining the game’s staff as Senior Vice President of Operations.  Croom is a former head coach at Mississippi State after spending nearly 25 years as an assistant coach in the NFL.

Browns continue to remake scout staff … Cleveland continues to shake up its personnel department under new G.M. John Dorsey. According to a report by Neil Stratton of Inside the League, the Browns have replaced Bobby Vega as Director of College Scouting with former New Orleans’ national scout Steve Malin. Stratton also reports that area scouts Patrick Moore, Scott Levin, and Zac Bocian and scouting assistant Keegan Leyrer have also have been relieved of their duties. Meanwhile, according to a report by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the Browns have also relieved Director of Player Personnel Chisom Opara of his duties, while draft consultant Scot McCloughan is no longer working on an exclusive basis with the Browns and is back consulting for multiple teams. McCloughan is believed to have played a key role in the Browns drafting quarterback Baker Mayfield with the #1 pick overall at last month’s draft.

Nashville to host ’19 draft … While we were off-line over the past day or so, the NFL announced that the 2019 draft will be held in Nashville. The draft is scheduled for April 25-27 next spring. For the record, that’s just 236 days away. Hang in there guys!!!

Bengals sign top pick … Another 1st rounder has signed as Cincinnati has come to terms with former Ohio State C Billy Price, the 21st player selected overall. The signing of Price brings the total number to 12.

Pigskin reviews Vikes, ‘Phins drafts … Continuing with his series of  team-by-team draft reviews, GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette has some thoughts on the drafts of the Minnesota Vikings and Miami Dolphins.