NFL Notes: Draft, Browns, & Panthers

Draft

Florida S Keanu Neal believes the Falcons are a fit for him and his skill set.

“For me, schematically, yes,” Neal said, via ESPN.com. “I feel like that’s a great fit for me and my style of play. The coaching staff is authentic. I can tell they really care about each other and the program. I feel like [secondary coach] Marquand Manuel can really help me out as a person and a player. And Coach [Dan] Quinn, he’s a tremendous head coach. Getting under him, getting under his wing and learning will skyrocket my career.”

• La. Tech RB Kenneth Dixon has visited with the Texans and 49ers, and had visits or workouts with the Titans, Patriots, Rams, and Ravens. (Aaron Wilson)

Browns

• Browns VP of football operations Sashi Brown said of their trade with the Eagles: “We were tempted to stay on the clock”, but they couldn’t pass up the extra draft picks. (Mary Kay Cabot)
• Brown denied the notion that it was either Jared Goff or no quarterback for them at No. 2 overall. (Mary Kay Cabot)
• Brown said that they looked at quarterbacks in future drafts before trading out of No. 2 overall, but added that it’s dangerous to forecast that far ahead. (Nate Ulrich)
• Brown stressed that Robert Griffin III isn’t even their starting quarterback yet, and he’ll need to earn the start job. (Nate Ulrich)
• Brown mentioned that they really like the No. 8 slot and believes there will be really talented players available at that point. (Scott Petrak)
• Brown did say that wide receiver is a position where they would like to have some young talent. (Nate Ulrich)
• Browns was asked about the second tier of quarterbacks in this year’s draft class, to which he replied: “There are some good ones. The supply of franchise QBs is very slim no matter where picking.” (Mary Kay Cabot)
• In regards to trading back up, Browns said: “Possible but not likely.” (Scott Petrak)
• However, Brown said trading back from No. 8 is a possibility. (Scott Petrak)
• Brown said they’re hoping to find three or four starters in the draft. (Nate Ulrich)

Panthers

• Panthers GM Dave Gettleman explained that internal conversations kept leading them to decision that one-year tag wasn’t the way to go with CB Josh Norman. (Joe Person)
• Gettleman added: “I don’t subscribe to the window theory. I don’t subscribe to the one-player-away theory.” (Ian Rapoport)
• Gettleman told reporters that he has not closed the door to a possible Norman return: “This is a business decision, folks. No doors have been shut with Josh. We respect Josh.” (Max Henson)
• According to Gettleman, the possibility of a lengthy holdout by Norman did not impact his decision to him loose. (Joe Person)
• Gettleman did, however, admits that compensatory picks factored into decision to rescind the franchise tag. (Joe Person)
• Gettleman said that the Norman decision will not impact their draft strategy: “We’re going to take the best player available.“