IT IS DRAFT WEEK!!! … Finally! Strange, though, that while we are just four days away from the start of the actual draft, the league is shut down tight. Indeed, it wasn’t all that long ago that you could barely see your hand for all the smoke out there. But there is nothing out there right now. Not clear why but it could simply be that reporters and NFL personnel types just aren’t hobnobbing in bars like they used to because of lingering concerns about COVID. The possibility has also been suggested that the league has put the kibosh on excessive ‘smoking’ for fear that it is going to impact the betting culture. Who knows? Just that there just isn’t much draft buzz at all out there. And what buzz there is relates more to possible veteran moves. San Francisco is still adamant, for example, that it won’t deal star WR Deebo Samuel who is equally adamant that he wants out in SF. Certainly, if the 49ers do change their mind they won’t lack for interested suitors. At the same time, Tennessee is also saying that star Titans’ WR AJ Brown is not available, but where there is (at least some) smoke …
There is also the situation with veteran QBs Baker Mayfield of the Browns and the 49ers’ Jimmy Garoppolo. The sense around the league is that both will be dealt, but only after the draft. Mayfield, for example, may be ticketed for Carolina, although whether that’s only if the Panthers don’t get the QB they want in this week’s draft isn’t as clear. Meanwhile, the buzz is that Garoppolo could eventually be headed to Indianapolis, but again more likely after the draft.
