Several people have commented that there just doesn’t seem to be as much draft buzz out there this year as, say, last year. And they are absolutely right. While its not quite dead this year the patient does appear to be on life support. Remember, in contrast last year, there were all the rumors about Chip Kelly and Philadelphia trying to move up to get QB Marcus Mariota; indeed, it seemed like every second team in the league was in on the bidding with Tennessee to deal the 2nd pick overall. In the end, of course, absolutely nothing came of all that buzz. Still, one would expect the rumor mill to pick up at some point, especially with a number of teams out there still needing a QB and the position in somewhat short supply. The latest out of Cleveland is that the Browns may have gone from just kicking the tires on former Washington QB Robert Griffen to being seriously interested, although it does not appear at this time if there are any real serious contract talks yet in the works. What also isn’t clear is what the signing of a Griffen would do to the Browns’ plans to take a QB with the second pick overall at this year’s draft. The consensus around the league appears to be that the Browns are more likely to try and sign Griffen to a short-term deal and use him as a bridge while they gave Carson Wentz or Jared Goff time to develop. At the same time, though, there has to be a certain appeal in Cleveland to taking star Ohio State DE Joey Bosa, a local hero, with that 2nd pick, although its real long shot. Meanwhile, it appears that the likelihood of San Francisco trading enigmatic QB Colin Kaepernick are beginning to dim. In thje end, if the 49ers did keep Kaepernick to compete with Blaine Gabbert would they then still want to add another young QB, like Goff with the 7th pick. Time will tell. The buzz around the league is that Dallas is still torn as whether to try and use the 4th pick to draft an eventual replacement for Tony Romo, although the consensus is that it may be too hard for the Cowboys to pass on a position-player like Florida State DB Jalen Ramsey if he’s available at #4. Indeed, it might be more likely the Cowboys use a later round pick on a QB; to that end they have reportedly scheduled a private work with Mississippi State’s Dak Prescott in the near future. In the end, the most interesting QB situation related to the 2016 draft may be developing in Los Angeles. Rams’ head coach Jeff Fisher, for example, is being quoted as saying that if the season started today, Case Keenum would be the team’s starting QB. And its just hard to see the Rams being able to truly compete with NFC powers Seattle and Arizona with Keenum in the pocket no matter how good my defense. At the same time, Keenum would hardly be the guy you’d want as the face of your franchise if you were setting up shop back in LA and wanted to create a real splash! However, sitting with the 15th pick overall on April 28th, it is unlikely that the Rams will get much help at QB without trading up. However, there may be some options for them. Jacksonville G.M. Dave Caldwell, for one, has said that the Jaguars may be open to trading down from the 5th pick. Said Caldwell when interviewed at this week’s owners’ meetings that “I don’t think that would be a surprise (if the Jags moved down). Right now, I would say somewhere in the early teens. I probably wouldn’t want to move below there.” Which of course just happens to be be just about where the Rams pick. Stay tuned.
