Watson kiddingly makes appeal to QB-rich Cowboys
No one’s quite sure where Deshaun Watson’s draft stock sits two months ahead of the 2017 NFL Draft.
At this point, you could make an argument for the dual- threat quarterback out of Clemson landing anywhere from first overall to the top of the second round.
The search for clarity begins this week inside Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine — runs from Tuesday to March 6 — but Watson decided to provide his own take on where he should end up while accepting the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award last week.
The 21- year- old, with a wink and a nudge, urged Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett to draft him, despite having reigning rookie of the year Dak Prescott and soon- to- be- moved veteran Tony Romo on the roster.
“I like being back in Fort Worth, Texas,” Watson said. “I told you I would be back here. I told coach Garrett if I’m back here, you have to draft me. I know there are a lot of Dallas Cowboys fans. Tony Romo is healthy. Dak, I’m a huge fan. Love that man. Had the privilege to get to know him this year. He’s been successful.
“I did my part, you have to do your part.”
Watson even had a solution for the glut of quarterbacks the Cowboys would have on the roster in that scenario, which drew laughs from the audience.
“The Browns do need a quarterback,” Watson said of the lowly Cleveland franchise holding the No. 1 pick in the draft. “You can trade both of them ( Prescott and Romo). They need two.”
The Cowboys are scheduled to pick 28th on April 27 in Philadelphia, but it won’t be a quarterback.
Sorry, Deshaun.
CONNER CLEAN
From the way-more-important-than- football files, University of Pittsburgh running back James Conner’s recent lymphoma scan came back clean, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported.
The 21- year- old was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma in September of 2015 while rehabbing a torn MCL, missing the rest of that campaign, before returning last year to run for 1,092 yards and 16 touchdowns.
He exits as the second- leading rusher in school history, behind only NFL Hall of Famer Tony Dorsett.
Conner isn’t considered an early-round prospect, but his 6-foot-2, 235- pound frame and balance as a runner will garner attention at the combine and he should find an NFL home on Day 3 of the draft.
IN THE MIX?
Since a video of him punching a woman in the face was released a couple of months ago, Joe Mixon and the NFL Draft have been a hot topic.
Will a team take a chance on the talented-but-troubled running back?
The NFL is keeping the Oklahoma star away from the combine — they’ve been cracking down on combine prospects with issues involving “violence or use of a weapon, domestic violence, sexual offences and/or sexual assault” — but scouts are high on the 6-foot-1, 226-pounder’s tape.
“Some teams have him as the top running back, second running back, third running back on their board,” Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer, told USA Today recently.
With Mixon expected to last much longer than his talent would suggest, all 32 NFL teams will have a decision to make on whether he’s worth the bad PR that comes along with drafting him.
As of this week, Mixon was not on a CFL negotiation list, either, but that would change if the 20-year-old isn’t drafted in April.
Mixon will work out for scouts at Oklahoma’s pro day on March 8.
KELLY TO COMBINE?
Similar to the Mixon story, Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly, the nephew of Buffalo Bills legend Jim Kelly, isn’t welcome at the combine, but he and his agents are considering showing up to talk to teams, anyway.
Kelly is currently recovering from a torn ACL and expects to be ready to strut his stuff during the Rebels’ pro day, but the reason he’s not in Indy has more to do with a checkered past, which includes being booted out of Clemson and a disorderly conduct charge stemming from a nightclub brawl in Buffalo two years ago.
From a football perspective, however, Kelly has one of the strongest arms in the entire draft.
QUICK HITS
Keep an eye on this when the receiver- needy Philadelphia Eagles are on the clock in April: quarterback Carson Wentz was spotted working out with California wide receiver Chad Hansen and Eastern Washington slot receiver Cooper Kupp. Both are currently projected as potential second-round picks … Two quarterbacks rising up draft boards are California’s Davis Webb and Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes II, who was the reason Webb transferred out of the Red Raiders program to the West Coast … Speaking of quarterbacks, Webb, Mahomes, Watson and North Carolina’s Mitch Trubisky will all participate fully in the combine, something many top quarterback prospects have declined to do in the past … UCLA edge-rusher Takk McKinley will have shoulder surgery after the combine to repair a torn labrum and a broken glenoid, which could muck up the potential first- rounder’s draft stock … Western Michigan receiver Corey Davis, a projected top-20 pick, is expected to miss the combine with an ankle injury.
PROSPECT SPOTLIGHT NAME: Leonard Fournette POSITION: RB SCHOOL: LSU AGE: 22 HEIGHT/ WEIGHT: 6- foot- 1, 235 pounds
If you follow college football, you’ve been hearing about this specimen since he left New Orleans’ St. Augustine high school three years ago being compared to Adrian Peterson. After running for 1,953 yards and 22 TDs in 2015, no one is going to remember an injury- riddled 2016 or the fact he skipped a meaningless bowl game.
PROJECTED ROUND: 1 LANDING SPOTS: Jacksonville Jaguars (No. 4), New York Jets (No. 6), Carolina Panthers (No. 8)