ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) The Latest on the NFL draft (all times local):
11:00 a.m.
The most inspirational story in this NFL draft, bar none, is Shaquem Griffin of UCF.
A standout linebacker for the undefeated Knights, Griffin achieved all of his success despite having no left hand. He wears a prosthetic, yet Griffin stunned onlookers by bench-pressing 225 pounds a staggering 20 times at the combine, then ran the 40-yard dash in 4.38 seconds.
Griffin is fast, hits hard and never stops coming. Will that make him a first-rounder? Probably not, given NFL teams’ concerns with any sort of physical issues for a prospect.
But Griffin, whose brother Shaquill was selected in the third round last year by Seattle, insists there are no drawbacks about him as a pro prospect.
”I don’t see it as a handicap and I have never looked at it that way,” Griffin says. ”I hope I am an inspiration for people, to see I can do whatever I want. I haven’t seen anything I couldn’t do. I’m never going to let someone put a label on me.”
NFL personnel people praise Griffin to the sky for his talent, work ethic and fortitude. What they don’t say is how highly they will consider him on their draft board.
Griffin doesn’t like hearing that, though his cheerful demeanor allows him to laugh when told he could be sitting at this draft until Saturday before being selected.
”I don’t have a chip on my shoulder,” Griffin says. ”I have chips. I have a bag of chips. Everyone else can have a chip. I need more than that.”
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10:40 a.m.
The Houston Texans will be bystanders deep into this draft; their first pick is in the third round, 68th overall.
That doesn’t mean they won’t be paying attention Thursday night and during the second round Friday. Plus, the man in charge of personnel moves believes the Texans already have achieved a lot in the offseason.
”Part of the process in this player evaluation is mixing the pro scouting element with the college draft process,” says new general manager Brian Gaine. ”As it relates to how we’re going to solve some of the issues on our roster with personnel, we feel like some of the things we did in free agency are going to put us in position in the draft where you’re not going to get forced to have to draft a player based on need. The players that we acquired both on the offensive line and in the secondary give us position flexibility within the group, so at least now we feel like we’re in position that if we draft players now, we’re hopefully drafting the best available player in that regard. The best combination of a pick is when you take the best available player that also meets a team need.”
Among Houston’s needs are the offensive line and tight end. Barring an unexpected run on tackles or tight ends, the Texans should find value when they finally get going.
”There are certainly challenges involved with that in terms of getting blue chip talent and blue chip prospects,” Gaines says, ”but the focus that I have had and our staff has had here has been we are going to get a chance to get four players in the top 103 in this draft. So, if things were standard and we had a first- and second-round pick, a third- and fourth-round pick, that would still give us four players in the top 103. Now, although they might not be player 50 or 60, we’re still going to get four players, we believe, in the top 103. So, we’re very positive that we’ll be able to get contributing players at any one of those picks in the third and the fourth round.”
Meanwhile, barring a trade, the Texans will watch.
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9:50 a.m.
This year’s deep draft at quarterback lacks just one thing: a consensus top pick.
None of the mock drafts heading into tonight’s actual NFL draft in Dallas seems to even put them in the same order.
So, let’s see what the quarterbacks themselves think.
All of them say they’re the best of the bunch except for USC’s Sam Darnold, who suggests: ”That’s for other people to decide.”
Hogwash, say Wyoming’s Josh Allen, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield and Louisville’s Lamar Jackson. They all unabashedly tout themselves as the best option at QB in this draft.
”I think I’m the best quarterback here,” Rosen has said. ”I think every person in this draft should have the exact same answer.”
Allen has said every quarterback has to believe he’s the best because that confidence is the cornerstone of a successful pro career.
”We’re all different, we all have our pluses, our minuses,” Allen says. ”But if you don’t have the mindset that you’re the best quarterback in this draft, you’re not going to fare well in this league.”
Mayfield has concurred, saying, ”If you don’t have that mindset then something’s wrong.”
When it comes to ranking the quarterbacks, most people have Jackson well behind the so-called ”Big Four,” going somewhere in the middle of the first round. Jackson has just as much confidence as the others, suggesting he’s better than all of them.
”But I don’t really care about what order we’re in,” Jackson has said. ”They’re all great quarterbacks, as well. So, I know they feel the same way.”
-AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Stapleton reporting from Denver.
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9:35 a.m.
As the traveling road show that the NFL draft has become settles in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, the league has added a new fan touch: the Inner Circle.
More than 1,600 fans – at least 50 from every franchise – will be in AT&T Stadium for the selections, and the festivities that go with them.
Each team selected its ”draft ambassadors,” and the list of attendees ranges from locals who just happen to root for, say, the Eagles or Bills or Jets, to fans who will travel to North Texas (Falcons, Ravens). Many are season ticket holders.
The Inner Circle will feature team rivalry zones and chances for fans to celebrate the club’s selections with NFL players and former team standouts. On Thursday night, some of these fans will be visited by their newest team members after they are selected on stage.
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Dave Gettleman has learned many lessons as an NFL executive. The new general manager of the New York Giants has one mantra in the draft room.
He says teams must ”stay with the value.” They ”can’t get too cute” or hope for a player to be around in a later round.
The Giants pick second Thursday night after the Cleveland Browns. The New York Jets go third, followed by the Browns and Denver Broncos.
Plenty of top quarterbacks are available: USC’s Sam Darnold, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, UCLA’s Josh Rosen and Wyoming’s Josh Allen. There’s also Penn State running back Saquon Barkley and North Carolina State defensive end Bradley Chubb.
Analyst and former NFL general manager Phil Savage says the Giants are in the ”catbird seat” and can go in many directions, but he encourages them to consider Barkley.
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For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL
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