NFL Notes: Draft, Raiders, Rams, & Ravens

Draft

• Arizona State WR Jaelen Strong (wrist) was medically cleared by the Steelers’ medical staff during his visit to the team’s facility on Friday. (Adam Schefter)
• Greg Gabriel is hearing that Florida State DL Mario Edwards Jr. is getting “a lot of play” from teams drafting in lower part of round one.

Raiders

• Bill Williamson of ESPN views the Raiders drafting Marcus Mariota and trading Derek Carr as an incredibly unlikely situation.
• Williamson believes that receivers Amari Cooper and Kevin White are generally rated higher than Clemson DE Vic Beasley and Nebraska DE Randy Gregory on team’s draft boards.
• Williamson can see the Raiders trading down to the 12-to-15 range, but going any further could limit their chances on landing an impact player.

Rams

• ESPN’s Nick Wagoner writes that it would be a surprise to see the Rams sign a free agent offensive linemen before the draft.
• Wagoner adds that St. Louis could revisit the idea of signing guys Joe Barksdale or Justin Blalock once the draft has passed.
• According to Wagoner, Duke OL Laken Tomlinson could be someone to keep an eye on for the Rams in the middle portion of the draft.
• Other offensive linemen that could make sense for the Rams include: Florida State’s Tre Jackson, Arizona State’s Jamil Douglas, Louisville’s Jamon Brown, South Carolina’s A.J. Cann and Hobart’s Ali Marpet.
• Wagoner considers the idea of the Rams trading up to No. 2 overall of Oregon QB Marcus Mariota to be “extremely unlikely.”
• However, Wagoner admits that they have “genuine interest” in Mariota, but it would likely require him to fall past the first few picks for St. Louis to move up for him.
• Wagoner mentions that he’s been led to believe the Rams are going to exercise the fifth-year option on DL Michael Brockers.

Ravens

• Jamison Hensley of ESPN writes if the Ravens trade for any veteran tight end, Lions’ Brandon Pettigrew or Jaguars’ Marcedes Lewis could be logical options for them.
• If a team drafts a capable rookie tight end, such as Minnesota’s Maxx Williams or Miami’s Clive Walford, Hensley can see the Ravens turning to the trade market for one of those team’s veteran tight ends following the draft.
• Signing free agent TE Zach Miller remains an option for the Ravens as well.
• Potential mid-round targets for the Ravens could include: Southern Illinois’ MyCole Pruitt, Rutgers’ Tyler Kroft, Florida State’s Nick O’Leary, Massachusetts’ Jean Sifrin, South Alabama’s Wes Saxton, and Louisville’s Gerald Christian.