NFL Draft Notes: Ziggy Ansah, Sam Montgomery, Sharrif Floyd

Ziggy Ansah

 Tony Pauline hears that the Pittsburgh Steelers are “drooling over” BYU OLB Ziggy Ansah.

I’m sure all 3-4 teams feel the same way, as there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding Ansah since his outstanding Senior Bowl performance. Ansah could step in for James Harrison, who could be a potential cap casualty in the coming weeks.

It’s hard to speculate where Ansah could come off the board given that he’s believed to be rising up draft boards. There’s even talk among the draft experts that he could go as high as No. 5 overall.

If Pittsburgh is indeed locked into Ansah, they may have to consider moving up to secure him. Either way, this is a very interesting note and could be a topic to watch in regards to their draft plans.

We have Ansah being taken by the Giants in our 2013 NFL Mock Draft.

Sam Montgomery

Tony Pauline also reports that LSU coaches are not giving LSU DE Sam Montgomery a “ringing endorsement.”

This coincides with previous reports that LSU coaching staff had issues with Montgomery’s effort in recent years.

Montgomery was initially listed solid first-round pick, but could drop back into the middle rounds of this year’s draft; much like Courtney Upshaw did a year ago.

If true, this is very concerning situation for the young kid. His interviews with NFL teams figure to be crucial in the next few days.

We have Montgomery going to the Bengals in the second-round of our 2013 NFL Mock Draft.

Sharrif Floyd

Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network mentioned that “everybody” in the NFL has Florida DT Sharrif Floyd as a top-five player in this year’s draft class.

“He’s a special pass rusher,” said Jeremiah, via Rotoworld. “You put him in a three-technique, he’s capable of getting you double-digit sacks.”

Floyd has been a fast riser in the past month, but Jeremiah attributes that more to the fact that people around the league hadn’t watched his tape yet, since he’s an underclassman.

There’s been talk that Floyd could be taken as high as No. 3 overall by the Raiders. We have Floyd going to the Panthers in our 2013 NFL Mock Draft. 

Draft Notes:

• USC QB Matt Barkley mentioned that he’s “100 percent on track with his rehab,” and will throw at USC’s Pro Day in March. (Tony Softli)
• Alabama C Barrett Jones is recovering from surgery to repair a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot. (CBS Sports)
• USC C Khaled Holmes suffered a strained pectoral during the bench press on Friday.
• Rutgers TE D.C. Jefferson also injured his pectoral muscle after two reps. (Ian Rapoport)