NFL Draft

Notre Dame RB Jeremiyah Love has his sights set on not just being drafted in the first round but also going on to have a successful, consistent career that earns him accolades such as Rookie of the Year, nods to the Pro Bowl, and the stats to put him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

“I want to be one of the best of all time,” Love said, via Talia Baia of ABC 57. “I want to be a Hall of Famer. I want to be a Pro Bowler my very first year. I want to win Offensive Rookie of the Year. I tell them all these goals that I have. Obviously, these are goals. Goals are goals, but you’ve got to have a process for how you want to achieve those things. I’ll go every season and set out little goals, like per week, what I can do to make sure I’m reaching the bigger goal that I have. I’ve told all these teams this. It’s a lot of big talk, but I have a process, and I have a plan for how I’m gonna get there.”

“I’ve learned that it takes consistency, discipline, once you get to the league, don’t change who you are,” Love replied when asked about his goals. “A lot of times, guys get to the league and they’re, ‘I made it.’ No, you haven’t made it. You ain’t made it past your first contract. You’ve got to get to that. For me, I want to get to my third contract. So, when I get to my third contract and that’s over and I’ve got, shoot, one day, hopefully I’ve got my gold jacket. One day, I’ve made the Pro Bowl hopefully five-plus years. Then, I think I’ve had some type of success. Those are questions that I ask going into these meetings and going into these visits, and I just want to know how I can be a better version of myself.”

NFL Draft

Ohio State S Caleb Downs has been questioned throughout the draft process if he is worthy of a top ten or even a top five pick in the upcoming draft in Pittsburgh. He has been labeled as a defensive savant and has NFL bloodlines, given that his father Gary was an NFL running back and his brother Josh Downs is currently a wide receiver for the Colts.

“At the end of the day, it’s about affecting the game,” Downs answered, via Jake Trotter of ESPN. “Whoever affects the game the most should be picked the highest — and I feel like I do it at the highest level.”

“Downs plays a very clean and efficient game,” said one NFL executive. “He has the Ohio State pedigree going for him. He’s durable, great character, has NFL bloodlines.”

“He is an excellent football player,” said a front office executive. “But are we sure he’s going to go as high as everyone is saying? Because the safeties that go that high, like Sean Taylor , like LaRon Landry, were physical freaks. Even the guys that went in the top 15, Minkah [Fitzpatrick] could play corner or safety, Derwin [ James ] was like a Swiss Army knife [ James went 17th overall], Earl Thomas had elite speed and range at free safety. … I’m not wholly convinced [ Downs] is going to go quite as high — but if he does, it’s going to be because he has a very low miss factor.”

Falcons

• Falcons GM Ian Cunningham spoke on the draft strategy ahead of his first draft as Atlanta GM: “You kind of know where you’re at with the evaluations, and then it becomes strategy, and we’re almost at that place. You’re thinking through potential moves or where this player may or may not be, how you could potentially acquire a certain player a little bit later. You’re constantly thinking through that. At this point, it’s about having a better feel for the board and what our potential moves may be.” (Josh Kendall)
• Cunningham talked about the importance of the coaching staff’s input on how a player might be used: “When the coaches can do a really good job of describing how a player will be utilized, and that matches how we see the player’s skill set, and then analytics comes in and they put their special sauce on it, and those three things are in alignment, you feel even more comfortable with the decisions we make.” (Kendall)
• Despite his clear desire to add more picks, Cunningham admitted they might have to live with only five selections as a worst case scenario. (Kendall)
• He also discussed taking best player available versus roster needs from a multi-year standpoint: “You might think you’re really good at one position this year, and then something happens and the next year, you’re like, ‘Dang, I wish we had taken that player last year.’ We thought it wasn’t a need last year, but it’s a need this year.”
• Atlanta HC Kevin Stefanski revealed he will break some ties on player selections: “I will break some ties for him. He’ll have a clump of guys and say, ‘Give me your order on them.’” (Kendall)
• If it were up to Stefanski, he would prioritize offensive tackle and cornerback because of the difficulty in replacing them midseason: “It’s really a supply-and-demand type of thing. In season, when you have injuries and you’re trying to find a tackle on the street, they don’t exist. In season, you’re finding a corner on the streets, that doesn’t exist. So there is something to be said for supply and demand.” (Kendall)
• Overall, Cunningham’s biggest goal for the draft is to prevent them from having to fill “a lot of voids” in free agency like they had to this offseason. (Kendall)