Incoming Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer has bucked NFL tradition by announcing the team’s presumptive draft choice well ahead of Draft Day. Indicating that Jacksonville will take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the top overall pick, the Jaguars have stated their intention to make the move that everyone knew that they would make anyway. So it sounds like the real intrigue will begin with the #2 pick, whether that will be BYU’s Zach Wilson, Ohio State’s Justin Fields or someone else.
Let’s sort through some more NFL news stories that could influence your sports betting decisions.
NFL News: The Rumor Mill
Kamara casts shade on a 17-game NFL schedule
NFL ownership indicated that they were ready to move from 16 to 17 regular-season games, the first expansion in the regular season schedule since 1978, when the season grew from 14 to 16 games. In the wake of this announcement, New Orleans Saints tailback Alvin Kamara tweeted, “S— dumb…as hell.” Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan, Philadelphia cornerback Darius Slay and Green Bay safety Adrian Amos all tweeted their dissatisfaction with this change as well. The preseason should decrease from four games to three, and changes will take place in the off-season and in-season workout programs as well, but for a league that claims to take player health and safety seriously, this addition is counterintuitive…as several of the league’s players have already indicated. For the sports bettor, though, another game in the regular season means another week to bet on meaningful games.
San Francisco explains their draft approach
The 49ers had swapped first-round draft picks with the Miami Dolphins, moving up from #12 to #3 in exchange for a first-round pick and a third-round pick in 2022 and a first-round pick in 2023. Rumors began to swirl that the Niners were planning to move on from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. However, general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan met with the media to explain the strategy. The team does plan to draft a quarterback with the third overall choice – and to keep Jimmy G as the starter, because they feel he gives him the best chance to win now. The duo also acknowledged that Garoppolo’s injury woes the last two seasons mean that the team is looking for a better backup option. They kept left tackle Trent Williams and fullback Kyle Juszczyk from departing in free agency. With five quality quarterbacks in the draft (Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson, Justin Fields, North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, and Alabama’s Mac Jones), the 49ers should have plenty of options.
Ravens sign Watkins, still need an edge rusher
Baltimore’s aggressive defense has paid dividends to a number of young players. The likes of Paul Kruger, Pernell McPhee, Za’Darius Smith, Matthew Judon and Yannick Ngakoue have all turned success in Baltimore into big-time free-agent deals with other teams, each picking up at least $16 million guaranteed in contracts elsewhere. The Ravens brought Sammy Watkins to town, giving Lamar Jackson a veteran wideout who is not from the top of the bargain bin or out of retirement. Now, though, they need one more edge rusher, as their division has three other elite quarterbacks: Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Burrow and Baker Mayfield.
Judon and Ngakoue left in this offseason, and the team responded by re-signing Tyus Bowser and bringing McPhee back to town. However, Bowser is more of a coverage pick in that level of the defense, and McPhee is a better edge setter against the running game. The players Baltimore has right now in its defensive front seven posted a combined 18 ½ sacks in 2020, with none posting more than four. The last three elite pass-rushers on the market are Jadeveon Clowney, Justin Houston and Melvin Ingram III are all expected to ink deals in the $8 or $9 million yearly range. Ingram comes in off a 2020 season when he went on IR twice due to a knee injury, but he was just one of five players with at least 10 batted passes, five forced fumbles and 40 sacks between 2015 and 2019. Houston has 37 ½ sacks over the last four seasons, tenth in the NFL. He also has not missed a start since 2018. Clowney has posted 61 quarterback hits in his last four seasons (52 games), but he has not played 16 games in a season since 2017. So all three have question marks…but all three could help out the Ravens if things work out.
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