NFL Notes: Draft, Browns, Jets & Raiders

Draft

• Bucky Brooks of NFL.com writes that Clemson QB Deshaun Watson is a “viable candidate to develop into a front-line player, but he isn’t necessarily ready to be a star from Day 1.“
• According to Daniel Jeremiah, there’s a debate going on in NFL personnel circles about the top wide receiver in college football between Washington’s John Ross and Clemson’s Mike Williams. Jeremiah projects both players to be No. 1 receivers in the NFL. Jeremiah says that Ross reminds him a lot of Saints WR Brandin Cooks while scouts he’s spoken to have compared Williams to Kelvin Benjamin and Alshon Jeffery.
• In regards to the offensive tackle position, Jeremiah writes that there is some buzz starting to build for Wisconsin LT Ryan Ramczyk, as he has excellent size (6-6 314) and he moves really well. Jeremiah believes Ramczyk has the tools to stay at left tackle in the NFL but he wouldn’t put him in the mix with the top tackles taken in last year’s class.
• One surprising player worth keeping an eye on, according to Jeremiah, is Tiffin QB Antonio Pipkin. Jeremiah mentions that Pipkin had an outstanding season and possesses a live arm and outstanding mobility.

Browns

Browns DC Ray Horton said he believes rookie DE Carl Nassib is a “foundation” piece for their team.

“When you watch him, he studies and he understands,” Horton said, via The Chronicle. “Then it is just having your body mature and grow up and get bigger and stronger to go with it so you can compete for 16 weeks against the best of the best.”

Jets

• Rich Cimini of ESPN would be “very surprised” if the Jets ended up drafting another quarterback in the first or second round next year.
• Cimini says that doing so would be an admission from GM Mike Maccagnan that he botched the Christian Hackenberg pick this year.
• If there was a can’t-miss quarterback prospect available to the Jets in next year’s draft, that would be one, but there are questions about all of next year’s top prospects, so taking any of them would be an admission that drafting Hackenberg last year was a big mistake.

Raiders

Steve Fotion, the personal trainer for suspended Raiders OLB Aldon Smith, tells Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle that he’s “mad and frustrated” that the NFL still hasn’t made a decision regarding his reinstatement to the league.

“He is losing hope,” Fotion said. “They are jerking him around, telling him they’ll have an answer for him on Monday. And then nothing. It seems unprofessional.”

The NFL was expected to announce a decision regarding Smith last week but that, obviously, never happened.

On Wednesday, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters that they’ll eventually get to making a decision regarding Smith.

“I’m not going to speculate on where we are and where it’s going to go,” Goodell said. “I will tell you that I think it was good for us to be able to meet with Aldon, to hear from him directly and to hear from his representative. The union was also represented there. We were going through all of the information to make sure we have it all absolutely accurate and that we all understand exactly where he is in the process of trying to get himself in a position where he’s got his life in order enough to resume an NFL career. It was good for me to hear from him personally. But when we get to that decision, we’ll certainly announce it.”