NFL Notes: Buccaneers, Dolphins, Seahawks, & Vikings

Buccaneers

ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski mentioned during an interview with CSN’s Philly Sports Talk that sources expect Oregon QB Marcus Mariota to be selected No. 1 overall by the Buccaneers.

“The latest I’m hearing now from my sources around the league, who are pretty wired in, is that he’s going to go number one now to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” said Jaworski, via PhillyMag.com. “Mariota’s stock, remember it was quiet for a while? And there’s a reason for that. There’s a lull every year until about 30 days before the draft. Now the coaches get involved. Prior to that, it’s the scouts, it’s the roadies that are filling out the paper work. Now the coaches get involved. Now team owners get involved. Now general managers get involved. So you’re starting to see, in my opinion, Winston’s stock starting to slide a little bit and Mariota’s stock starting to go up a little bit.”

Dolphins

Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald reports that the Dolphins are looking “very closely” at cornerbacks in this year’s draft class including: Michigan State’s Trae Waynes, LSU’s Jalen Collins and Wake Forest’s Kevin Johnson. 

• According to Jackson, the Dolphins are also intrigued by Utah CB Eric Rowe, who could be a second-round option for Miami.
• Other second-round cornerbacks who could make sense for the Dolphins include: FSU’s Ronald Darby, FSU’s P.J. Williams, Louisville’s Charles Gaines, Miami (Ohio) Quinten Rollins, and Oregon’s Ifo Ekpre-Olomu.
• Jackson believes a receiver or cornerback would make the most sense for the Dolphins at No. 14 overall.

Seahawks

• Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that the Seahawks and QB Tarvaris Jackson have yet to be able to agree on his value.
• Florio points out that Jackson made a salary of $1.25 million last year, which is nearly twice what they were paying starter Russell Wilson, who made just $662,000.

Vikings

Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune writes that Vikings RB Adrian Peterson could finally be reinstated at some point in the next few weeks.

Despite the trade rumors, former Buccaneers GM Mark Dominik doesn’t think the Vikings will make Peterson available for trade.

“I don’t think the Minnesota Vikings are going to make that trade,” said Dominik. “The way the league is now, every team has a win-now mentality.”

However, Dominik believes Peterson is worth a first-round pick and a pair of second-rounders, even though he doesn’t expect any team to be willing to part with that kind of draft compensation for Peterson.