Mayock says the Browns need to take Richardson at four

Posted by Evan Silva on April 19, 2012, 3:09 PM EDT

AP

The top three picks in the draft are expected to be Andrew Luck (Colts), Robert Griffin III (Redskins), and Matt Kalil (Vikings). The Browns pick fourth, and G.M. Tom Heckert stopped well short of tipping his team’s hand in a Thursday afternoon pre-draft presser.

NFL Network’s Mike Mayock held a pre-draft conference call of his own on Thursday. And he knows who the Browns’ pick should be.

“If you’re not gonna take a quarterback, I think you have to take Trent Richardson,” Mayock said, referring to Alabama’s Heisman-finalist running back. “I don’t think those receivers should be in this conversation [at No. 4]. … I think Richardson’s the guy at four.”

Mayock has explained on Path to the Draft that the Browns simply must find a way to begin moving the chains on offense. Richardson would be their best bet.

“If you take [receiver] Justin Blackmon,” Mayock said on Wednesday night, “you might not even be able to get him the ball on a windy day in Cleveland.”

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Prospect Mike Adams tested positive for marijuana at combine

Posted by Mike Florio on April 19, 2012, 1:20 PM EDT

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It looks like Commissioner Roger Goodell needs to send out yet another memo.

Two weeks after the leak of LSU cornerbackMorris Claiborne’s Wonderlic score prompted Goodell to remind all 32 teams that “certain information obtained during preparations for the Draft, including personal and family details, results of drug tests, scores on the Wonderlic test, and the like, are strictly confidential for club use only and are not to be disseminated publicly under any circumstances,” the TV network/website owned by the NFL has aided and abetted a violation of the terms of that very memo.

Michael Fabiano's running back fantasy preview

Michael Fabiano - NFL.com

The NFL.com FPA ratings are based on the strength of a player's schedule using the average fantasy points their opponents allowed against the six major fantasy positions the previous season. For example, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers allowed an average of 26.66 fantasy points per game to running backs in 2011. As a result, any runner that faces them this season is rewarded 26.66 points. SinceMichael Turner faces them twice as an NFC South opponent, he receives 53.32 points. The bigger the point total, the easier the schedule. While these ratings are not the be all, end all in determining a player's stock, they can still be useful when picking between players with similar value and looking for those ever-elusive sleepers.

Did FPA work for running backs in 2011?: Exactly half of the 32 NFL teams saw a 2.5-point decrease or increase in FPA from 2010-2011, so the theory's effectiveness was a push for all intents and purposes. The biggest change came in Denver, where the Broncos allowed 9.10 fewer fantasy points per game to running backs and were one of five teams to allow fewer fantasy points to the position compared to 2010. On the flip side, the biggest increase in points allowed came in Tampa Bay, where the Buccaneers gave up 6.42 more per game. In all, just three teams surrendered 4.68 or more points compared to the previous season. Furthermore, 56.2 percent of defenses allowed more fantasy points to backs at some level.

Note: Favorable opponents allowed an average of 20 or more fantasy points in 2011. Unfavorable opponents allowed an average of fewer than 17 fantasy points.

1. Michael Turner, Falcons (321.64 points)
Favorable opponents - Buccaneers (2), Panthers (2), Saints (2), Eagles, Giants, Chiefs, Raiders.
Unfavorable opponents - Cowboys, Chargers, Lions.
2012 Outlook: Turner will be a risk at the age of 30, but the schedule helps his overall draft value.

NFL Draft prospect - RB Chris Polk

Dave Birkett - Detroit Free Press

The look on the neighbor's face was priceless.

Edrena Polk was lying on the ground, clutching her body in pain, trying to catch her breath as her son, Chris, stood over her not sure what he had just done.

Goodell tells Minnesota governor that failure to pass stadium bill will have consequences

Posted by Mike Florio on April 19, 2012, 9:30 AM EDT

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After years of tiptoeing through the tulips in the Twin Cities, the Vikings and the NFL have brought out the wrecking ball.

A day after Vikings V.P. of stadium wrangling Lester Bagley responded to Governor Mark Dayton’s warning that a deal to build a new venue must be finalized next year by saying “there is no next year,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Dayton that a failure to finalize a stadium bill in the current (and soon to be ending) legislative session will lead to “serious consequences.”

Thursday morning one-liners

Posted by Evan Silva on April 19, 2012, 8:00 AM EDT

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BuffaloBills.com lists the team’s 30 pre-draft visitors.

Second-round quarterbacks have a poor success rate.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick has earned his due.

ESPN New York examines the Jets’ options in the draft.

Ravens CB Lardarius Webb wants to be the NFL’s best corner.

Is Alabama RB Trent Richardson worth a top-ten pick?

“Opinions are split around the league” on Alabama LB Dont’a Hightower.

Video: Mychal Kendricks draft profile

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NFL looking into ways to make draft more suspenseful

Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2012, 6:56 PM EDT

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It started several years ago, with ESPN’s Chris Berman telling the audience what the draft pick would be as the Commissioner strolled to the podium to confirm what Berman had said.  It’s gotten worse recently, with NFL Network and ESPN reporters tipping the picks before they’re announced — and with NFLN and ESPN cameras showing players getting a phone call from the team that is going to take them.

The effort to pre-inform the TV audience has become a buzz kill, removing all intrigue from the drum-roll effect of the Commissioner’s left foot, right foot march to the middle of the stage.  Even for fans at Radio City Music Hall, the presence of large video screens (one-ear headsets are distributed for listening to either NFL Network or ESPN) spoils the surprise.

Matt Light to retire

Posted by Mike Florio on April 18, 2012, 4:50 PM EDT

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Patriots left tackle Matt Light recently declined to comment on whether he will or won’t retire at the relatively young age (for an offensive lineman) of 33.

A source with knowledge of the situation tells PFT that Light will indeed retire.

It’s unknown when the move will be official.  Presumably, the Patriots would like to keep it under wraps until after the draft, so that a replacement on the depth chart can be selected. Nate Solder, a first-round pick in 2011, is expected to replace Light in the starting lineup.

Light, a second-round pick in 2001, is one of only three Patriots players whose careers trace to the team’s Super Bowl years.  The others are Tom Brady and Vince Wilfork.

UPDATE 4:58 p.m. ET:  Yes, Deion Branch also is on the roster.  But he was gone for several years.

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LeGarrette Blount changes his tune regarding Trent Richardson

Posted by Michael David Smith on April 18, 2012, 7:50 PM EDT

AP

Buccaneers running back LeGarrette Blount said a couple weeks ago that he won’t be happy if Tampa Bay drafts Alabama running back Trent Richardson. Today he backed off those comments.

“Of course, I’d welcome him as a teammate,” Blount said of Richardson, via the Tampa Bay Times. “I’ve met the guy before. He’s not a bad kid, but at the same time, like I said, I’d welcome anything that helps the team get better. I’d welcome anybody as a teammate, it doesn’t matter who it is.”

So why did Blount say he wouldn’t be happy with Richardson’s presence in Tampa Bay?