NFL Notes: Draft, Officials, Bills & Buccaneers

Draft

• While Tennessee RB Jalen Hurd is viewed as a very impressive athlete, NFL scouts have reacted negatively to his decision to “quit on his team” and “doesn’t want to take hits.”
• An NFC Scout points out that Michigan S Jabrill Peppers hasn’t recorded a single turnover during his three-year college career. Although, he did force a fumble earlier in the year.
• Oklahoma RB Joe Mixon is widely considered to be one of the most talented running backs in the country, but his off-the-field incident in which he was accused of punching a woman in the face will likely impact the number of teams willing to draft him, according to Miller. One scouting director tells Miller of Mixon: “We don’t touch players who put their hands on women. Period.“
• A scout downplayed how good next year’s running back class is to Miller, saying: “This was billed as some elite running back class, it’s not. [Leonard] Fournette is a freak, but everyone knows that. Dalvin Cook is exciting, but he’s not close to last year’s first-rounder [Ezekiel Elliott]. [Nick] Chubb is a third[-rounder] from what I’ve heard in our group. The big kid at Texas [D’Onta Foreman] is the one to watch if he comes out. I like him better than Derrick Henry.“

Officials

Earlier in the week, Saints HC Sean Payton made the case for the league employing full-time officials, as opposed to the part-time officials they’ve been using for years.

“There aren’t many Mondays that go by that there aren’t at least 28 to 30 head coaches that are ticked off about certain calls that were missed or weren’t made. You see it all the time,” Payton said, via Pro Football Talk. “And it’s the frustration that the system currently hasn’t improved. We say it has, but it hasn’t.

“We’re the only league that has officials that have primary other jobs, which is really madness. We can pay these guys. They should be full-time NFL officials, and they should be working throughout the week, communicating. And I know they get their hour in here, their hour in there, and maybe even more than that. But by and large, every other sports league employs full-time officials. And ours, these guys all have other significant jobs. And I just think it’s very difficult to do with the speed of the game.”

Bills

Mike Rodak of ESPN writes that Bills QB Tyrod Taylor will benefit from the tough decision the team will face next year regarding whether to pick up his $27.5 million option.

The Bills signed him to an extension that allows them to move on next year if the decide he isn’t their long-term solution at quarterback, and if he proves to be their guy, they would have him at a discounted rate. However, Rodak mentions that through half of the season, there are still questions of about Taylor and the ambiguity actually favors him.

The Bills don’t currently have an obvious replacement on their roster and next year’s free agent class is limited in terms of available options, so picking up Taylor’s option could actually be their best move.

Buccaneers

Despite an injury scare last night, Buccaneers QB Jameis Winston told reporters that his knee is fine and he’s doing well.

“I feel great. I feel great,” Winston said, via NFL.com.

• Unfortunately, Bucs WR Mike Evans is in concussion protocol, according to HC Dirk Koetter.