NFL Draft Rumors: Cardinals, Vikings, Buccaneers, Bears, Jaguars

Here’s a collection of some the news and rumors regarding the NFL Draft.

2014 Draft Class

Steelers GM Kevin Colbert reiterated on Thursday that he believes this is the deepest draft class he’s ever seen.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” Colbert said. “This is the deepest draft I’ve ever seen. We felt that way … even before the underclassmen came in. Even during the fall, our scouts talked about the senior class being a good class and we don’t know what the junior class is going to be. The juniors added into it to make it a very talented group.”

Cardinals

Matt Miller mentions that the Cardinals are rumored to have requested individual interview with Stanford OG David Yankey.

Yankey weighed in at 315 pounds measuring 6’5 5/8 to go along with 34 inch arms.

Cardinals GM Steve Keim mentioned that they are looking for “long, athletic” players who can cover tight ends, per Dan Kadar.

Vikings

Vikings GM Rick Spielman mentioned that they have eight or nine quarterbacks set to come in for private workouts before the draft, per Tom Pelissero.

Spielman also mentioned during a recent interview with KFAN that they will meet with the representatives for QB Matt Cassel sometime today to discuss a new contract, per Ben Goessling.

Buccaneers

New Buccaneers HC Lovie Smith told reporters on Thursday that they would consider drafting a quarterback at No. 7 overall if someone they deemed to be worthy of the pick was available.

“I know enough about that draft to know, yeah, there’s someone that would be worthy of the seventh pick because everything is on the board right now,” Smith said, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.  “Whenever you have a chance to get a franchise quarterback, you have to consider that.”

Jaguars

Jaguars GM Dave Caldwell told reporters on Thursday that they will meet with every quarterback prospect who attended this year’s Senior Bowl.

Caldwell added that they will also meet with underclassmen QB prospects including Johnny Manziel, Blake Bortles and Teddy Bridgewater, per Ryan O’Halloran.

Luke Joeckel has reportedly endorsed the Jaguars drafting Manziel and praised his competitiveness, per Dane Brugler.

Caldwell mentioned that he believes it would be beneficial for them trade out of the No. 3 overall pick.

Aaron Donald

Tony Pauline expects Pittsburgh DT Aaron Donald to “put up some pretty spectacular times in the agility drills.”

According to Pauline, recent “rumblings” suggest that the Chicago Bears are “very interested” in taking him as early as No. 14 overall.

C.J. Mosely

Matt Miller of the Bleacher Report reports that there is a “lot of buzz” surrounding Alabama ILB C.J. Mosley.

According to Miller, a team source told him that he should be rated inside the top-15 overall.

Troy Niklas

Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network reports that there is a “lot of buzz” surround Notre Dame TE Troy Niklas after he measured in 6’6 1/2 and 270 pounds. Jeremiah even referred to him as a “complete tight end.“

Kevin Weidl of ESPN adds that Niklas was one of the “bigger winners” at the Thursday weigh-ins.

Draft Notes:

• Notre Dame NT Louis Nix could be out of the mix for the Bears after GM Phil Emery mentioned that they will stay with a one-gap defense. (Greg Gabriel)
• Auburn OT Greg Robinson “passed the eye test” after measuring in at 6’5/332 pounds. (Daniel Jeremiah)
• UNC TE Eric Ebron was one of the “bigger winners” at the Thursday weigh-ins. (Kevin Weidl)
• Clemson WR Martavis Bryant could run in the low 4.3’s and possibly as low as high 4.2’s. (Tony Pauline)
• Colorado WR Paul Richardson is expected to run in the 4.3’s and has been compared to DeSean Jackson. (Tony Pauline)
• California TE Richard Rodgers could run in the 4.7-area and end up being four-round pick. (Tony Pauline)

• UCLA G Xavier Su’a-Filo mentioned that he feels like he can play tackle and be good at it. (Dane Brugler)