Couple of notes from another very quiet weekend … With the draft now just over ten days away, the NFL appears to still be on pretty much total lockdown. This weekend, for example, we scoured newspapers from all the cities whose teams have picks in the top half of the opening round round next week and there was quite literally not one story of substance talking about the upcoming draft. At the same time, there is some buzz regarding teams like Jacksonville, Buffalo and Kansas City, which currently pick in the second half of the opening round, which are reportedly working the phones hard to try and move to get a top WR on the 25th. Fortunately, for them, though, if they don’t find a trade partner, there should be quality receivers available well into the backend of the opening round as well as well into the second. Also note that Friday, the 19th, is the final day for teams to bring players in on ’30’ visits to their facilities. A couple of visits of note this week, LSU QB Jayden Daniels, who is widely expected to be selected by Washington with the 2nd pick overall, will in fact be in the nation’s capitol for a two-day stopover on Monday and Tuesday, while Michigan QB JJ McCarthy was in Boston visiting with the Patriots this past weekend. Also note that Illinois DT Johnny Newton, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position but who has not been able to workout so far, will have a private pro day on Tuesday. Lastly, we wanted to mention a name that has popped up in our conversations with people around the league as a potential sleeper. That’s DE Justin Blazek a two-time FCS All-American from Wisconsin-Platteville who tested really well at his pro day after posting 17.5 sacks over the past couple of seasons. The 6-3, 252-pound Blazek didn’t necessarily time all that well with a 4.85 40 clocking, but he also had a very good 36.5-inch vertical and was especially quick in the shuttle drills.
