NFL Notes: Anquan Boldin, Draft, Browns, Jets

Anquan Boldin

• The Bills officially released veteran WR Anquan Boldin from the reserve/retired list this week, which led to some speculation that he could be considering a return to the NFL.
• Boldin said Saturday that he hasn’t made a decision about whether he’ll return, but he is still working out: “I still work out every day. If I wanted to (play), I could.” (NFLTR)

Draft

• According to Jason La Canfora, teams around the NFL expect the Giants to draft Penn State RB Saquon Barkley or NC State DE Bradley Chubb with the No. 2 overall pick.
• La Canfora expects as many as six quarterbacks being drafted in the top-16 picks if four quarterbacks go in the top-five picks and an executive expects there to be more quarterbacks off the board in round one: “You’re going to see a few kids get over-drafted, now. I guarantee you it will happen. It’s like that year (2011) when (Jake) Locker went way too high and then (Blaine) Gabbert and (Christian) Ponder all went in the top 12, too. At this point, how does Baker Mayfield not go top five? And after that, Louisville (Jackson) and Oklahoma State (Rudolph) are going to end up going a lot higher than they probably should.”
• Due to a run for quarterbacks, one AFC executive predicted a few top-five caliber prospects will slide down the first round: “Everybody picking six, seven, eight, nine, 10 should be high-fiving, because they are going see a bunch of blue-chip kids fall their way.”
• According to Albert Breer, the Bills, Cardinals and Broncos are all looking into the idea of trading up this year.
• Tony Pauline of Draft Analyst reports that the Falcons, 49ers, Browns, and Chiefs were on hand at Georgia State’s Pro Day to observe CB Chandon Sullivan.
• Pauline adds that the 49ers and Eagles put Sullivan through position drills, while he is also drawing “heavy interest” from the Panthers and Rams.
• According to Todd McShay of ESPN, the Jets are under the assumption that the Browns will draft a quarterback at No. 1 overall pick and the Giants will draft Penn State RB Saquon Barkley or a lineman at No. 2 overall. In this scenario, the Jets would be able to choose from three of the top-four quarterback prospects.
• McShay adds that the Bills also tried to trade up for the No. 3 pick from the Colts.

Browns

• A source who was involved in the Bills’ acquiring the No. 12 overall pick tells Jason La Canfora that he believes Browns GM John Dorsey would be willing to trade down from No. 4 with Buffalo: “I think John would be open to it, especially if he thinks four other quarterbacks besides the one he takes first overall are off the board by the 12th pick. If five of the first 11 selections are quarterbacks, that still leaves value at other positions. But it won’t be cheap to move up there, I can promise you that.”
• La Canfora mentions that the Browns’ No. 4 overall pick holds a great deal of value right now and they could end up trading down with either the Broncos, Bills, Cardinals, or Ravens.
• An executive with an NFC team told La Canfora that the Browns control the market on quarterback prospects at this point in time: “All quarterback roads go through Dorsey now. He’s controlling that market now.“

Jets

• According to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com, the Jets are comfortable with the top four quarterbacks in this year’s draft class — Josh Rosen, Sam Darnold, Baker Mayfield and Josh Allen, which means the worst-case scenario for them is that they’ll end up picking between two of them at No. 3 overall.
• Adam Schefter reports that Jets GM Mike Maccagnan has attended the Pro Days of Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield and UCLA QB Josh Rosen, and is also planning to attend Wyoming QB Josh Allen and USC QB Sam Darnold‘s Pro Day workouts.