Who would have thought that Baker Mayfield would fall so quickly from the face of the Cleveland Browns to the angry ex-quarterback? Mayfield’s spots in ads for Progressive Insurance, in which he played various roles as though he and his wife actually lived in FirstEnergy Field, stand in stark contrast to Mayfield’s absence from Cleveland’s initial football programming this off-season and his rhetoric about how the team failed to keep its word. Mayfield suffered multiple injuries during the season and is now linked to the Carolina Panthers’ quarterback position going into the 2022 season. What else is happening in the NFL rumor mill? Read on for other news items that could influence your NFL betting on pro football futures.
NFL News: The Rumor Mill
Will the Jets take Kayvon Thibodeaux?
Oregon’s defensive end looked like he would be the top overall pick in the NFL draft until a few months ago. When he came to the Ducks as a freshman, he was an instant star. However, he has a very strong personality, and that personality can emerge in ways that might rub some in the image-conscious NFL the wrong way, and so he might fall to the Jets at #4, and maybe even #10 (the Jets have both picks in the first round). The crosstown Giants have the fifth and seventh picks, so if the Jets let him pass, the Giants take him, and the Giants’ pass rush explodes, then the Jets’ front office will get dragged all over Twitter.
The Jets had the league’s 25th-best pass rush a year ago, and based on the numbers, Thibodeaux seems like a no-brainer. He is 6’4” and 254 pounds; his 40-yard dash time was 4.58, with a 1.56 ten-yard split, showing a speedy get-off. He didn’t have anyone else on the Oregon D-line that was also seen as a pro prospect, which means that Thibodeaux drew all the double teams.
There are some who say that Thibodeaux has stiff ankles and lacks the sort of moves that make a pass rusher elite in the NFL. At Oregon, he put his speed and strength to work to blow by weaker, slower opponents, but he won’t see opponents like that in the NFL. At 254 pounds, he would be one of the lighter defensive linemen in the league, but he could fit nicely as a wide-9 rusher. There is also the perception among scouts that Thibodeaux’s effort level could be more consistent. The Jets have spent a lot of time getting to know Thibodeaux, so we will see how the draft sorts out.
Will the Washington Commanders draft Kyle Hamilton?
The Commanders have made the most noise this week because of news from Congress that the franchise may have defrauded the NFL and its season ticket holders through hiding deposit revenue. However, on the field, the team still has a draft to prepare for, and while the defense improved dramatically last year after Week 5, there is more work to do. After Week 5, the team shifted Landon Collins from safety into more of a “Buffalo” role, or the “big nickel,” and it worked. This package involves three safeties, with one playing a hybrid linebacker/safety role. That was Collins’ job, but the team cut him because he would have counted $16.2 million against the salary cap. The Commanders might look to add Collins back if they don’t find a similar player in the draft and if he would take a smaller base salary with incentive bonuses.
Kyle Hamilton, out of Notre Dame, only posted a 4.59 time in the 40, so he could fall out of the top ten in the draft (Washington has the #11 pick). The Commanders brought in Hamilton, Jaquan Brisker (Penn State) and Daxton Hill (Michigan) in for visits. Washington could take a wideout with the 11th pick and then take another safety later on, such as Lewis Cine from Georgia. With a better defense all year long, and with a solid year out of quarterback Carson Wentz, the Commanders could contend in a weak NFC East.
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