NFL Notes: Draft, Evan Rodriguez, Browns

Draft

Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Media has already been taking a look at some of the notable players who could enter the 2018 NFL Draft in his “first look” series. Jeremiah offers great breakdowns of each player and includes NFL comps based on what he sees and has heard from others.

Here are some of Jeremiah’s NFL comps for these prospects:

• Jeremiah says he came away “very impressed” with Washington State QB Luke Falk, who reminds him of Redskins QB Kirk Cousins, as both players have played a lot of college football and are both very mature and respected by coaches and teammates. Jeremiah believes it could really help Falk to add a little strength, but he still thinks he could be a starter for a long time in the NFL.
• Jeremiah says that Texas OT Connor Williams is an easy player to evaluate on tape and better than any of the offensive tackles in the 2017 draft class. As for an NFL comp, Jeremiah says that Williams reminds him a lot of 49ers veteran LT Joe Staley coming out of college, as they’re both natural athletes who with a physical edge.

Evan Rodriguez

Former NFL TE Evan Rodriguez caught four touchdown passes from Michael Vick in the inaugural game for the American Flag Football League and is hoping that this performance will help him get another shot in the NFL.

“I feel like this gave people a different view of me,” Rodriguez said, via Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times. “I know I was a big guy that coaches wanted to use as a physical guy with my size, and this flag football league let me take advantage of my size and show my athleticism for a big guy.”

Browns

Browns DE Nate Orchard says that as soon as it was announced that they were bringing in Gregg Williams to be their defensive coordinator, he called him to express his desire to move back to defensive end.

“I told him I was the D-end for him and this is the perfect system. He agreed with me,” Orchard said, via Browns.com. “I’ve just got to come out here and prove to these guys this is my home and that’s where I should be.”

Orchard acknowledged that there’s much more competition at the position right now after the team has used high draft picks on a few pass rushers the past few years.

“You look over the past couple of years, it’s no secret we’ve got a lot of high picks at that defensive end position, a lot of guys that can come in and make an impact,” Orchard said. “Like any other business, it’s no different and it’s going to be competition. At the end of the day we’re brothers and we’re going to push each other in a healthy competition and we all want each other to succeed.”