You have questions. As always, I’ve got answers …
From Jimmy T (@jimmy_tomredle): Is a potential trade up for the No. 1 pick completely dead for the Giants?
Jimmy, it probably feels that way for two reasons. One, there’s been almost no buzz on the Tennessee Titans moving the pick. And two, the Titans’ lack of activity on the veteran quarterback market indicates they could be planning to find their starter with that pick.
Maybe that’ll wind up being the case. But after spending some time with them during the combine, and doing this story on the No. 1 pick with new GM Mike Borgonzi and coach Brian Callahan on how they’ll approach using it, I do know their plan has been to go through the process with Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Abdul Carter and Travis Hunter before deciding what to do.
Essentially, they want the full picture on those guys, and what they bring to the table, as players and otherwise, before deciding whether to truly entertain offers for the pick. It makes sense to do it that way. This is a massive decision, and they hold all the cards.
From James C (@scottm2032): Thought the Sam Darnold contract was weak. Was the interest that low? One year deal. Thank you.
James, a lot of folks rightfully pointed out the other day that the Seattle Seahawks can walk away from Sam Darnold after a year and paying him $37.5 million. And that’s true. But this isn’t unlike the situation that Geno Smith was in two years ago, when Seattle re-signed him, or even the deal Baker Mayfield did with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year, which gave Mayfield a little more financial insurance if things didn’t go well.
That brings us to what appealed about the Seahawks to Darnold, and that was that he’d legitimately get time to prove himself as a viable long-term option for a team. There was doubt he’d get that with the Minnesota Vikings, and negotiations with the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him no assurance of it, either. The Seahawks are going to give him every chance to be that guy.
If he plays well, they’ll go forward with him in 2026. If he doesn’t, well, it’s not like an extra $10 million or so (what Mayfield got in Tampa) would prevent the team from looking to replace him. I really like Seattle for Darnold.
From Colin Desroches (@ColinDesRoches1): Have you heard if the Raiders have any interest in Diggs or Lockett?
Colin, I could certainly see them having an interest in Tyler Lockett—the question is at what price? If that can be worked out, it’d make sense for Pete Carroll to have a dyed-in-the-wool program guy to help carry the torch for him in the locker room in Las Vegas.
Because they need the help at receiver, Stefon Diggs would make some sense, too. In that case, the Raiders would have to be comfortable with him health-wise, both feeling like he’ll make a strong return from a torn ACL and reconstructive knee surgery in his 30s, and O.K. with the fact that they probably won’t have him until summer, as Chip Kelly builds the offense.
From lukemccann4 (@lukemccann41): What are you hearing with the Jags at 5? Any chance Carter or Hunter fall?
Luke, it’s too early to start connecting players to teams outside the top couple of picks, but I can address the Abdul Carter–Travis Hunter question, and I’d say unlikely … but not impossible. I think Ward will be long gone before No. 5, which helps the Jacksonville Jaguars. Then, it really comes down to whether Sanders is, too. The New England Patriots aren’t taking him at No. 4. If the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants don’t, either, then those two won’t be there.
But if Sanders is picked, and one of the two is available to the Patriots, New England’s going to have a tough call—address a crying need on the offensive line or just go best player available. I’m of the opinion the Patriots don’t have anywhere near enough great players to justify passing on one, regardless of position (outside of quarterback, where you only play one). If they don’t share that opinion, maybe one of those guys will fall to the Jaguars, and make the decision a very simple one for Liam Coen, James Gladstone and Tony Boselli.
From Jason Kroulik (@crowlick): Who has the best roster in the NFL after the first round of free agency?
Jason, let’s stick with the champs. The Philadelphia Eagles’ depth is apparent in their ability to absorb losses such as Josh Sweat (Arizona Cardinals), Milton Williams (Patriots), Darius Slay (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Mekhi Becton (Los Angeles Chargers). All are really good players, and Philly is prepared, from a roster standpoint, to fill the roles each of those guys held.
Want to know how good teams stay good? They’re balanced enough to be able to address needs a year or two out, which gives them flexibility in whom they decide to pay, with the knowledge that, if you’re good enough, paying everyone’s not realistic.
No one is in that spot to the degree that the Eagles are.
From Michael G (@mmmgravy10): Who are some players in the draft that teams are much higher on than the NFL media?
Michael, it’s a little early for me on this question, but I’ll take a swing …
• Two Texas guys—Matthew Golden on offense and Jahdae Barron on defense. Golden is fast (4.29 at the combine), skilled, productive and very clean character-wise. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the first receiver taken. And ditto for Barron at corner, or at least one-way corner, as a player with great tape and a ton of flexibility to play all over the secondary (I bet new New York Jets coach Aaron Glenn will love him for that … so he could go as high as No. 7).
• Missouri tackle Armand Membou will be ahead of LSU’s Will Campbell for some teams, in part because Campbell would be a guard for at least a few of them. Alabama’s Tyler Booker is another one who crushed his meetings with teams. He actually is a guard, but a really good one who could wind up going in the first half of the first round.
• Ohio State RB TreVeyon Henderson could sneak into the first round for a team looking for the next version of Detroit Lions star Jahmyr Gibbs.
From Drew Sokol (@wdrewsokol): Who’s trending to be the first OL picked? What about first DB?
Drew, I still think it’s Campbell. I said this a couple of weeks ago in this space—I think you just have to be comfortable with the idea he could wind up at guard. Brandon Scherff was my comp because he was a left tackle at Iowa, seen by some teams at guard and others at tackle, got taken with the fifth pick and wound up making five Pro Bowls as a guard.
Just talking to people who’ve studied him, I think he’ll become a really good pro. You’d just have to be O.K. with the idea, picking him that high, that it may not be as a left tackle.
From Mark (@markpatriots21): Percentage chance either Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter fall to Patriots at 4?
Mark, see my answer to the Jaguars fan above: It’ll boil down to whether Sanders goes in the top three, in my humble opinion.
From David Kromelow (@dkrom59): Aside from what the Titans do at 1, where do you think the draft truly begins?
David, I’d say it really starts after Carter and Hunter are off the board—just because I believe that quarterbacks are almost in a category of their own.
There, I think you’ve got a group of players that includes (but may not be limited to) Campbell, Georgia LB Jalon Walker and DE Mykel Williams, Michigan DT Mason Graham and Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty, with Barron, Michigan CB Will Johnson, Tetairoa McMillan, Golden, Membou, Tyler Booker and North Carolina RB Omarion Hampton somewhere on the fringes of that group, if they aren’t full on in it.
I have a lot of work to do in getting caught up in where these guys stand in the eyes of teams, so I may feel differently about this in a month. But I’d say, at this point, it’s Hunter and Carter, then a crapshoot on who goes where, which should give this draft in drama what it may be lacking in blue-chip quality at that stage.
From JayShoe (@JayShoe78): Are the Commanders going to make any more splashes in the trade market since they’re going for it this year? Hearing any rumors, Bert?
Jay, I think, for now, Laremy Tunsil, Deebo Samuel and Marshon Lattimore might be it for them in the “splash” category. They’re now down to five picks in this year’s draft. I think they’ll use those to move around and pick up some more draft capital, and then use it on college players, rather than those already in the pros.
The cool thing is they’ve taken care of four of the five so-called premium positions—quarterback, left tackle, receiver and corner—to an extent where they don’t have to force a pick at any of those spots. And at the one premium spot where they may feel like they do have to do something, edge rusher, there is a ton of depth in the class, so much so that they theoretically could use both of their first- and second-round picks on the position.
From Ricker81 (@D_Ricker81): How high can you see Dart going, especially if Ward/Sanders go top 2? Who will be the vet QB the Giants go into the season with?
I think if two quarterbacks are off the board in the top three, it helps Jaxson Dart, for obvious reasons. But I’d still be surprised if he goes any higher than the end of the first round. I’ve seen some people mocking him to Pittsburgh, but I wonder if the Steelers would be gunshy on doing that after going through what they did with Kenny Pickett.
The Los Angeles Rams could be one team to watch near the bottom of the round, though. And I wouldn’t rule out the idea of the New York Giants trading back into the bottom of the first round to get the fifth-year option on him.
(At the same time, I don’t think he’s guaranteed to go in the top 50, but that’s just the volatility of second-level draft picks at that particular position.)
From seaborn (@seaborn7): Is there anyone in NFL journalism who really understands the cap? I predicted the Falcons would keep Cousins post–June 1, for a possible trade, from the end of last season. I believe ATL has a realistic (key word) max cap, inclusive of deals already made, of about $45M. Agree or disagree? Why?
Seaborn, I get what you’re saying. For those who don’t know, if the Atlanta Falcons trade Kirk Cousins, and let’s say to make this simple that the other team takes on his full $27.5 million in cash for 2025 (perhaps unlikely, but let’s go with it for the example), then there’s $37.5 million in dead money to contend with. That’s because, when he signed, there was a $50 million signing bonus that, for cap purposes, was split up over the deal’s four years.
The Falcons have already taken on the $12.5 proration for 2024, and there are three years left. Cousins’s cap number for ’25 is, right now, $40 million. If they trade him now, the $27.5 million in cash comes off the books, but the proration would accelerate, and they’d carry all the dead money this year: $37.5 million. So their savings would only be $2.5 million. If a trade happened post–June 1, they could take the future years of proration, for ’26 and ’27, next year … so they’d be carrying $25 million in dead cap in ’26.
Then, you’d add whatever they may pay in a signing bonus to facilitate a trade to those numbers. Either way, there’s no getting around the hit, and I do think, since they’re already accounting for Cousins’s number this year, it might be best to just take the hit now.
Either way, I think this will all become more of a topic once Aaron Rodgers makes up his mind.
From Professor Peter Arenella (@arenella1): Mr. Breer, the best compliment I can give you is that you are a worthy substitute for my Peter King NFL input. My question: Since Hunter will not get to the 4th slot, would Vrabel be willing to trade to the 3rd slot to draft him? Yes, Pats roster has so many holes that it would [be tough].
Peter, first of all, thank you. I couldn’t be paid a higher compliment. Second, follow your instinct on that. There are too many holes, as I see it, to do a trade in that sort of high-rent district of the draft, where the values of the picks are inflated. And if I were the Patriots, as much as I love Hunter, I think the guy I’d consider trading up for, if I was trading up (and, again, I don’t think New England should), would be Abdul Carter.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Signs Point to Titans Likely Keeping NFL Draft’s No. 1 Pick.