NFL Notes: Draft, Chip Kelly & Marijuana

Draft

• According to Matt Miller of B/R, the Bears have been in attendance for the past two Miami games and have been asking about QB Brad Kaaya. Miller adds that a person close to Kaaya said he’s already spoken to GM Ryan Pace.
• Miller believes the Browns would be best served using the No. 1 overall pick on Texas A&M pass-rusher Myles Garrett and see how things play out in round one, considering that they have another first-round pick to work with.
• An NFC Scout tells Miller that Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon is the “best player in the Big 12.” In regards to the off-the-field issues, the scout said he believes someone takes a chance on him: “It should, but it’ll be interesting. Frank Clark went Round 2. I’ll bet someone takes the bait.”
• An area scout tells Miller that he expects Alabama DE Jonathan Allen to be a top-five pick next year.
• While there a number of Ohio State players who could end up being first-round picks, an AFC scout tells Miller that he believes OSU CB Gareon Conley is a “top-15 player” and is currently higher on his board than Eli Apple, who wound up being a top-10 pick this year.
• Miller has Ole Miss QB Chad Kelly as an undrafted free agent in his rankings due to off-the-field issues and the fact that he’ll be coming off of a torn ACL and meniscus.

Chip Kelly

• Adam Schefter reports that people close to Chip Kelly insist that he has no interest in returning to his former Oregon coaching job or one at any college position.
• Schefter’s sources say that Kelly plans to remain with the 49ers through the thick and thin.
• Colleges have reportedly made overtures to Kelly’s representatives but have been told that he has no interest in returning to the college game.

Marijuana

While some NFL owners have reportedly offered support for the use of marijuana for pain management, one owner says there isn’t a lot of support for removing it from the banned substance list.

“Not testing for it at all is one way of simplifying the issue but there are bigger things in play,” one owner tells Chris Mortensen. “You could argue that from a PR standpoint, it’s not a good look when we’re taking players off the field for multiple positive tests for marijuana. But PR-wise, we need some boundaries. What’s the message you’re sending to colleges and the youth population?

“You also can talk about three more states legalizing recreational use of marijuana but it’s still illegal in the majority of states and it’s not legal by federal law. And you have to deal with congressional reaction. There are other ways to go on this deal that maybe we can ease but that has to be part of our next [CBA] negotiation.”