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In an NFL draft stacked at the top with , defensive end makes case for guys trying to bring them down By Nick Kosmider Denver Post March 5, 2018

Bradley Chubb’s plan to destroy NFL quarterbacks starts with locking himself in a science lab and creating a monster that would make Dr. Frankenstein blush.

“I try to take and Von Miller and put them into one person,” said Chubb, the 6-foot-4, 269- pound, decorated pass rusher from North Carolina State. “Khalil Mack’s a more powerful guy, probably the best long arm in the game right now. Von Miller’s the speed-finesse guy. Just try to put both those together, have some power moves, have some speed moves that I go to.”

Think the Broncos could use a hybrid of their own all-pro pass rusher and the one who plays for their AFC West rival? The quarterbacks may have been the stars of the scouting combine’s proverbial red carpet, but Chubb began his experience in Indianapolis by reminding everyone not to forget about the guys programmed to bring them down.

Chubb, one of four former Wolfpack defensive linemen who received invitations to the combine, had 20 sacks and 24 tackles for loss in his final two college seasons. He lands in the top five in most widely circulated mock drafts, and talk of his “relentless motor” filled the hallways inside the Indiana Convention Center on Saturday.

“I’m just a guy who’s going to get after the , get after the guy with the ball,” Chubb said. “Whoever has the ball in their hands, I’m running 50 yards down the field just to get that ball.”

The Broncos have made one thing crystal clear since their disaster of a 5-11 season concluded two months ago. All options, general manager reiterated at the combine, will be explored to correct a quarterback situation that was arguably the NFL’s most dysfunctional in 2017.

The fifth pick, of course, gives Denver the opportunity to select one of the draft’s four highest-rated quarterbacks — Cleveland, with the first and fourth picks, certainly wouldn’t draft two QBs — a group comprised of Wyoming’s , UCLA’s , Oklahoma’s and USC’s .

Finding the starting quarterback for 2018 in fast-approaching free agency, on the other hand, could have benefits beyond providing a desperately needed upgrade at that position. It could also free the Broncos to select one of the draft’s blue-chip prospects of the nonquarterback variety, thus enhancing another position in dire need of a jolt.

Pass rush, on the surface, may not seem like the spot most in need of an injection. The Broncos still have Miller, one of the NFL’s best players, in his prime. They spent a 2015 first-round pick on Shane Ray, and though the former Missouri star had a lost year in 2017 while recovering from wrist surgery, Elway and coach Vance Joseph have professed faith that Ray will return to form and then build on an impressive 2016 season.

But the Broncos have questions at defensive end. Derek Wolfe will be returning from a neck injury that shortened his 2017 season. Adam Gotsis, a former second-round pick, made big strides during his sophomore season but excels more as a run stopper. And questions remain about the future impact of 2017 second-round choice DeMarcus Walker, who was ineffective in limited playing time as a rookie.

The bottom line: Denver’s defense ranked only 22nd in the 32-team NFL with 33 sacks last season. Denver’s pass rush — the harassing lynchpin of the Super Bowl title in 2015 — simply didn’t alter games in 2017 as it had in the past.

“They’re getting a dude that’s going to come in there and work his hardest,” Chubb said of any team that would draft him, adding that it would be “crazy” to potentially play alongside Miller. “I’ve always been known for that. I’m always going to put myself in the position to make plays by preparing myself in the weight room and on tape and know what’s coming before the ball’s even snapped.”

The Broncos’ slide last season, which included an eight-game losing streak, also revealed a team in need of fresh, swaying voices in the locker room. Like Miller, Chubb has a playful side that he describes as an annoying older brother.

“If I see something bothers you, I’m just going to keep doing it,” Chubb said with a grin. “That’s just who I am. You can ask my brother. If I see something that bothers him, I just keep doing it.”

Teammates say that Chubb’s best older-brother quality, though, is his ability to lift those around him. Kentavious Street, one of the Wolfpack defensive lineman at the combine, recalled one of the worst games of his career. It was the 2015 Belk Bowl, and the Wolfpack was being drilled by -led Mississippi State.

“I was playing terrible. I mean, ter-ri-ble,” Street said. “(Chubb) pulled me to the side. We were on the sideline and we knew we were going to lose the game. But he just pulled me under his arm and said, ‘Hey, man, you’re going to be a special guy. You’re going to develop. I love you, man. Just keep playing.’ I think I took those words and it helped me elevate my game. Without Chubb, I don’t know if I would have been able to do that.”

That kind of total package makes Chubb hard to ignore as a top-five pick, even surrounded by the quarterbacks he soon will try to bring down. And if that’s not enough of a resume for Chubb, just hear who he wants that monster he creates in the lab to destroy first.

“Of course, I’m going to say ,” Chubb said of the Patriots’ five-time Super Bowl champion. “You sack Tom Brady, you’re doing something right. I feel like Tom Brady is a quarterback I’ll have on my list.”

Keenum and the Kids also on Broncos QB radar By Mike Klis 9NEWS March 5, 2018

We know is the Broncos’ first choice.

But what happens if they don’t get him? Cousins tentatively will have at least three other choices once free agency opens March 14: The , and Minnesota Vikings.

Plan B for the Broncos could well be Case Keenum. A league source told 9NEWS the Broncos are one of four teams that are expected to be in on Keenum when the NFL free agency opens. The other three teams also expected to be interested in Keenum, according to the source, are the Cardinals, Vikings and .

So, the Broncos, Cardinals and Vikings could be juggling two big offers to the two most attractive free- agent quarterbacks as the market rolls open next week. As they should. Cousins can only pick one team.

More teams could get involved come the free-agent “soft opening” on March 12 or even March 14 when free agency officially begins.

A veteran free agent -- the Broncos may also be interested in various degrees with Josh McCown and if they become available – is expected to be general manager John Elway’s first choice.

But the mega-physical talent that is Josh Allen may be moving up on the pecking order.

The Broncos took a long look at all the young quarterbacks here at the NFL Combine. They’re all different. Different styles of quarterback play. Different personalities.

To me, Josh Allen is the most real guy. Maybe, because he has the humblest of roots.

“I mean, I was at junior college,’’ Allen said during his NFL Combine press conference. “I was begging teams to get me a scholarship, sending emails out and hoping to hear back from them and I got one opportunity, that was with the University of Wyoming, thankfully, and they gave me an opportunity and I took advantage of it.’’

The most authentic was . He doesn’t even have an agent.

“I know coming in as a rookie, an agent doesn’t really negotiate anything,’’ he said. “You’re going to get the salary you’re going to get. Or whatever. I decided I don’t need him. He’s going to be taking a big cut of my pay check any ways. And I feel I deserve it right now.”

There had been some less-than-flattering things going around about Josh Rosen’s personality. But I came away impressed.

“You address it here,’’ Rosen said. “I think that’s why all these interviews and meetings and visits are awesome, because teams actually get to know me and they don’t have to find out through third parties.’’

Sam Darnold was not as confident as I thought. Baker Mayfield was confident times 10.

The two young quarterbacks who would make the most sense for the Broncos: Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. Mayfield because of his spunk and ability to move around. Allen because he has John Elway- like talent.

Allen lit up the Combine through his passing and athletic drill feats Saturday. Broncos coaches Bill Musgrave, Mike Sullivan and Klint Kubiak would have to work on Allen’s accuracy on routes between the hashes.

But it probably wouldn’t be easy for Elway to pass on this type of quarterback specimen if Allen is there with the No. 5 overall draft pick.

Broncos poised for complete overhaul at quarterback By Jeff Legwold ESPN.com March 5, 2018

With free agency approaching (March 14), we're analyzing the quarterback position on the Denver Broncos:

2018 cap hits of top returnees:

Paxton Lynch -- $2.584 million

Trevor Siemian -- $1.918 million

Chad Kelly -- $496,067

Key stat: The Broncos went from to to Paxton Lynch at quarterback not once, but twice, this past season. All of them struggled with turnovers as the team's 22 were the second-highest total in the league -- only the Cleveland Browns had more. All three of the quarterbacks also lost at least one , accounting for four of the Broncos' 12 lost on the season. Add it up and the turnovers were the biggest reason the Broncos kept changing quarterbacks and why president of football operations/general manager John Elway has said "for us to have a chance to get better we have to get better at the position."

Money matters: Since Peyton Manning retired after the 2015 season, the Broncos have lived a comfortable salary-cap life at quarterback with Siemian and Lynch each still playing on their rookie deals. Osweiler played on a one-year, $775,000 deal this past season as the Browns paid him $15.225 million even though they had released him. Struggles on the offensive line and an ill-fitting scheme that resulted in offensive coordinator Mike McCoy's firing in November resulted in the erosion of Siemian's play in particular. Siemian had been one of the league's best salary-cap values as the team's starter in 2016. On the bright side, with so little spent on the quarterbacks the Broncos were able to sign Von Miller to a $114.5 million deal before the 2016 season.

Big picture: The season wasn't over for 24 hours before Elway had declared improvement at quarterback the offseason's top priority. History would say the Broncos' best chance would come in free agency given most of the team's best quarterbacks have been acquired from elsewhere. Five of the top seven passers in franchise history arrived by trade or free agency. Elway (trade), Manning (free agency) and Craig Morton (trade) are 1-2-3 in franchise history in passing yards, while (free agency) is fifth and Kyle Orton (trade) is seventh. Of the top seven passers in team history, only (fourth) and (sixth) were draft picks. The Broncos do have three of their own draft picks at the position on the current roster -- Siemian, Lynch and Kelly -- but they don't seem inclined to say any of the three has a future as the team's starter.

The game plan: If Elway says something is a top priority, then anything and everything is on the table as a potential solution. The assumption has been that the Broncos are interested in getting into the Kirk Cousins sweepstakes and would be willing to see what it would take to sign Case Keenum as well. The team's level of participation in free agency will determine if the Broncos use the No. 5 pick on a quarterback. If the Broncos sign an older quarterback in free agency to a two- or three-year deal -- that would be somebody other than Cousins since he's not yet 30 and figures to get a huge payday -- then they would be more apt to use their first- or second-round pick on a quarterback since Elway has said he wants a long-term solution. Neither Elway nor coach Vance Joseph has publicly offered that Lynch can be in any sort of competition to be the starter, but Elway did say at the scouting combine that Lynch still has a chance to have a good career in the NFL if he "continues to work to get better." Elway added, "So by no means are we kicking him to the curb." The Broncos traded up in the first round to select Lynch in the 2016 draft, and he has been unable to win the starting job, looking unsettled much of the time in his four starts. It's still unclear, however, whether Lynch would be doing that developmental work as the team's No. 2 or No. 3 quarterback.

Linked by matching timelines, John (Elway) and Von (Miller) must lead this Denver Broncos revival By Paul Klee Colorado Springs Gazette March 5, 2018

The NFL operates in windows. Or we view it through windows, one of the two. The ballyhooed Peyton Manning window closed in Indianapolis, then it was thrown wide open in Denver, then it slid downward on greased rails before he propped it open one final time for Super Bowl 50.

What window remains of the bombastic “No Fly Zone” shrinks by the day, if Aqib Talib’s social media activity is any indication: “Who coming to get me???” His tweet was in response to a report the Broncos are looking to trade the 32-year-old cornerback. It was Talib who told me, “There wasn’t a ‘No Fly Zone’ till I got here!” If he goes, the nickname goes too, and another window in time, and football, closes.

Now the Broncos peer through a new pair of windows: John Elway's and Von Miller’s. Their decorated runs as star player and star executive could start and end simultaneously. Miller, the Super Bowl 50 MVP who was Elway's first and finest draft choice, signed on for a contract extension that runs through the 2021 season. (The all-world pass rusher soon turns 29 — March 26, if you haven’t RSVP’ed yet.) Elway, the Super Bowl 33 MVP, also has a contract through 2021.

“Life is too short to rebuild in the NFL,” Elway said last week at the scouting combine.

Time’s ticking — this time on the star boss and star employee, and both know it. Despite Denver’s downward turn in ‘17, Miller earned yet another selection to the Pro Bowl. He’s the eighth Bronco with six. At the time, Vonnie Football reflected: “It’s just another indication of how long I’ve been here with the Broncos. It’s scary and cool at the same time.”

What’s the rush on reigniting the Broncos? It’s the ringmaker and the rusher.

Tick, tock.

Elway would be 61 if — and that’s a big if — he directs the Broncos through the final year of his contract. Miller would be 32 if — another big if — he stays and plays here through his. (Big-money guys don't always play in the same place through the length of their contracts. See: Talib, above.) John and Von are tied at the hip in orange and blue. On New Year’s Eve, during a pro-am golf event in Scottsdale, Ariz., Elway wore Miller’s No. 58 jersey to the 18th green. “That’s love!” Miller tweeted.

John leads Von in Super Bowl rings, 3-1. Is that why Miller cut Elway out of a photo during contract negotiations in 2016? Elway earned $45.4 million in 16 seasons as a player, per Spotrac.com. Miller's on pace for $144 million in 11 seasons. They are BFF — Broncos family forever.

“He’s telling the truth,” Miller said when Elway called the Broncos “soft.”

“The product that we were putting out there, it was soft. If I had to go up to John’s office right now I would say the same thing,” Miller said. “We see eye to eye on everything that’s happening. I’m right there with him. I’m going to follow his lead until the ship burns down. I’m with him, together.”

Around 7 p.m. April 27, Elway returns to the top five of the NFL draft for a third time. He was selected No. 1 overall in 1983 and selected Miller No. 2 overall in 2011. Both panned out. Now the Broncos have the fifth overall pick and, Friday night in Indianapolis, were scheduled to interview seven quarterbacks at the scouting combine: Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold, Lamar Jackson, Josh Rosen, Josh Allen, Mason Rudolph, — listed in my order of preference. One of the seven will be drafted by 7. Book it.

Until the past two seasons, Miller was 5 for 5 on playoff berths*. (*He played in nine games in 2013 before a knee injury forced him to miss 10, including Super Bowl XLVIII.) It seemed Miller was one of the few players visibly disgusted as the lost season of 2017 wore on and wore them down.

Vonnie Football says it’s “scary and cool” he’s already through Year 7 in the NFL. Cool, since Von remains at the top of the game. Scary, since he knows is short. Perhaps it’s worth noting his pass- rushing and life mentor, DeMarcus Ware, only had double-digit sack totals twice after Year 7?

Von hits hard. The wall hits harder.

Why does Elway shy from the "R" word, rebuild, and believe “life is too short?” Part of the reason must be Von’s timeline. Players like him don't come around often (as Elway, still in search of his quarterbacking doppelgänger, would know). In six of seven seasons Miller has erupted for double-digit sacks — even last season, when bookend pass-rusher Shane Ray again played the role of a ghost. The former first-rounder shows just 15 starts and 13 sacks over three seasons. Shane must show up before Von’s time is up.

Von is the kindest superstar I’ve ever worked around. He is as likely to hold a lengthy conversation with a total stranger as he is an old friend, maybe the best thing you can say about a man. My favorite charity event of the year is “Von’s Vision” at Mile High. When Miller arrives to meet “my heroes,” as he called the kids, their eyes light up through the eyeglasses he provides.

Through the next window can you see another ring? That's on John and Von.

Mason's standouts from the 2018 NFL Scouting Combine By Andrew Mason DenverBroncos.com March 5, 2018

Penn State RB : After dominating the running-back workouts with a 40-yard dash time of 4.40 seconds that was only bettered by a running back who is 35 pounds lighter (North Carolina State's Nyheim Hines), the question is not whether Barkley will be a top-five selection, but where among those picks he will land.

Florida DL : No defensive lineman who weighed more than 270 pounds had better quickness numbers than Bryan, who led all 271-plus linemen with his times in the short shuttle (4.48 seconds) and the three-cone drill (7.12 seconds). Bryan's impressive tally of 30 repetitions at the bench press capped a week in which he showed himself to be an intriguing speed-and-power blend.

Texas Tech WR Dylan Cantrell: He stood out in the drills that showcase lateral quickness and change of direction, posting the best 20-yard shuttle, 60-yard shuttle and three-cone drill times of the wide receivers. Making his work all the more impressive was his 226-pound frame, second-heaviest of all receivers at the Combine.

LSU WR D.J. Chark: In addition to posting a 4.34 40-yard dash time that led all offensive players, Clark posted the best vertical jump and finished fourth in the broad jump. The 199-pounder even had a a respectable 16 repetitions in the bench press, placing him 11th among the 34 wide receivers who took part.

Fordham RB : By posting the best times in the three-cone and short-shuttle drills, the 5- foot-9, 205-pound Edmonds put some raw numbers to go along with his explosive film.

Penn State TE Mike Gesicki: He built on his outstanding Senior Bowl week with perhaps the best individual performance of any player at any position, dominating tight-end drills. The only drill that he did not win at his position was the bench press, in which he finished second behind South Dakota State's Dallas Goedert, who did not take part in the field work because of a hamstring injury.

UCF LB : With the best 40-yard dash time for a linebacker at the Combine since 2003 (4.38 seconds), Griffin added another layer to a story that seems to grow more amazing by the week since his dominant performance in the Knights' win over Auburn on New Year's Day.

UTEP G Will Hernandez: It wasn't just his O-line-best 37 bench-press repetitions that were notable, but his overall athleticism that was on display with his 5.15-second 40-yard dash time (eighth among offensive linemen) and his 7.59-second time in the three-cone drill, placing him seventh in his position group. Along with Notre Dame's , who also enhanced his stature in Indianapolis, Hernandez solidified his place as one of the best big athletes to come through the Combine in recent years.

Boston College edge rusher Harold Landry: Other pass rushers posted faster 40 times, but Landry's work in the three-cone drill (6.84 seconds) and the short shuttle (4.19 seconds), where he was able to show off his agility and change-of-direction ability, will draw notice. Landry's short-shuttle time was the best among edge rushers, a distinction he shared with Utah's Kylie Fitts. His three-cone drill time placed him second behind Ohio State's Sam Hubbard.

Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield: It wasn't just that the reigning winner had a strong workout Saturday. During his press conference Friday, he offered a vigorous defense of his college left tackle, Orlando Brown, in the face of media scrutiny over Brown's poor Combine numbers, citing Brown's play throughout the season, when he didn't allow a sack. That is the sort of presence you want from a quarterback and a leader, and whoever drafts Mayfield can be secure in the knowledge that he will have his linemen's backs, just as they will protect him on the field.

UCLA OT : An across-the-board standout during his Friday workout, Miller finished in the top 10 among offensive linemen in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump and the three-cone drill. His average rank in the six key drills -- those four plus the bench press and the short shuttle -- was 5.17, which was the best for any offensive lineman who took part in all of them.

Maryland WR D.J. Moore: Among the wide receivers who took part in all of the drills (bench press, 40- yard dash, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill, short shuttle and 60-yard shuttle), Moore had the highest average placement (6.14), with top-five finishes in the 40, vertical jump, broad jump (which he won with a 13-foot launch), short shuttle and 60-yard shuttle.

UCF LB Shaquem Griffin finds motivation, blueprint via Von Miller's path to NFL By Aric DiLalla DenverBroncos.com March 5, 2018

As Shaquem Griffin sat at a Senior Bowl Media Day table on Tuesday afternoon, Von Miller was likely hundreds of miles away from Mobile, Alabama.

Though the All-Pro’s offseason has been a far cry from the whirlwind tour he took after Super Bowl 50, Miller still took in a Nuggets game on Friday and spent time at a Texas ranch in the days before. As his offseason itinerary continues, Mobile seems an unlikely destination.

But to Griffin, the draft-eligible linebacker from Central Florida, Miller couldn’t have felt closer.

Senior Bowl practices began Tuesday, and as Griffin aims to transition to the NFL, he’ll do so with his focus on the perennial Pro Bowler.

“Von Miller,” said Griffin, when asked which current NFL player he tries to emulate. "Watching his pass rush is unbelievable. The way he uses his speed, the way he uses his power, it reminds me of myself because he just has an amazing first step. He’s very explosive, and he’s light on his feet. I mean, he’s got cleats with feathers on [them].

“Everything he does, I’d love to take it upon myself to use it. When you get O-linemen guessing about what you’re going to do, then you’re already winning before you even start.”

Griffin’s path will certainly be different than most. The former American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year lost his left hand to amputation when he was 4 years old, and he’s battled the stigma and the ensuing questions in the years since.

But that necessary procedure, begot by a pre-natal condition called Amniotic Band Syndrome, hasn’t slowed Griffin’s trek toward the NFL.

“As long as I’m going fast and making plays, they’re going to forget how many hands I have,” Griffin said Monday at the Senior Bowl’s introductory press conference.

That’s where Miller provides perhaps even more motivation.

The Super Bowl 50 MVP has battled his fair share of limiting factors that could’ve prevented him from making an impact on the football field.

As a child, Miller’s less-than-perfect eyesight left him at risk to both bullies at school and to the high- speed action on the football field.

“Without my glasses, I wouldn't be able to drive,” Miller told ESPN in 2016. “I can see people and shapes, but if I don't have my glasses on and I'm on a football field, it's dangerous.”

Miller also struggled with asthma — to the point that it could’ve derailed an All-Pro career before it even began. In the same interview with ESPN, Miller explained how he dealt with the condition.

“My mom used to hook the generator up to the Suburban and roll the extension cord all the way down to the football field and have my nebulizer hooked up to that so I could take treatments in between offense and defense,” Miller said.

Were it not for Miller’s charitable efforts for Von’s Vision, neither one of those ailments would be well known to Broncos fans. And neither has been close to a true limiting factor in his career development.

As Griffin addressed the media ahead of a week of practices and meetings that could start him off on a similar path, he recognized Miller’s story as one that could provide reassurance.

“Von was a guy I always looked up to, and just to see things he can do [is inspiring],” Griffin said. “I want anybody here to go up to Von Miller and say that he can’t do something. Because the look that he’ll give you will be even scarier. He’s a guy that will literally get things done because it’s a 'want to.' Not the fact that somebody tells him he can do something, not the fact that they told him he can’t do something. [It’s] because it’s what he wants to do.

“No matter how hard it is, no matter who you’re going against, that’s a guy who brings the motor, that’s the guy who brings the passion. I think he enjoys it while he’s doing it.

Though Griffin informally met with Broncos representatives ahead of the formal interviews that began Tuesday afternoon, he has yet to speak with the outside linebacker who has 83.5 career sacks to his name.

“No, I have not,” Griffin said.

“But maybe one day.”

Barkley, Griffin shined but Brown didn't at NFL combine By Arnie Stapleton Associated Press March 5, 2018

All that's left of the 2018 NFL scouting combine is for the deepest class of defensive backs ever to attend the annual assembly of college prospects to wrap up their testing and timing Monday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Then, they'll join the other hopefuls in returning home to prepare for their pro days, team visits and the NFL draft in Arlington, Texas, next month.

Here's a look at some of the highlights and lowlights of this year's combine:

BARKLEY BLOWS IT UP : Penn State running back Saquon Barkley exceeded lofty expectations in Indianapolis. His 29 reps on the bench press bested Luke Kuechly's 27. His 4.4 time in the 40-yard dash was better than Ezekiel Elliott's 4.47 and his 41-inch vertical jump was higher than Odell Beckham Jr.'s 38½.

"Oh no, I'm not surprised," said Nittany Lions linebacker Jason Cabinda, saying he's seen that kind of dogged determination every day out of Barkley, who could go anywhere in the top five picks depending on the run on quarterbacks.

"I'm competitive," Barkley said, "but I don't care if I'm drafted 1, 5 or 72 or the last pick, I'm going to come in with my head low ready to work."

GREAT GRIFFIN : Shaquem Griffin did 20 reps on the bench press with a prosthetic left hand in what was by far the best feel-good story of the combine.

"My goal was six," acknowledged Griffin, who almost doubled his previous high of 11 reps and surpassed the 17 his twin brother, Shaquille, managed at last year's combine before the selected the speedy cornerback in the third round.

Griffin is expected to be a mid-rounder like his brother.

"This is a legitimate football player," NFL Network analyst said. "He's an energy giver."

One who, conversely, fed off the hoots and hollers during his bench press.

"Everybody in the stands was hyping me up. I got the guys I'm here with hyping me up. It felt amazing," Griffin said.

JACK OF ONE TRADE : Louisville QB Lamar Jackson showed off a strong arm and excellent footwork but also some inconsistency while throwing to receivers Saturday. What he didn't do was run routes.

Many wonder if the 2016 Heisman Trophy winner might be best suited as an NFL receiver, but he insists he's "strictly a quarterback."

Mayock called Jackson the best and most fascinating athlete in this year's draft, noting that while his passing game needs plenty of polish, he's going to have an immediate impact running the football.

"He's ," Mayock said. "He has as good a pair of legs as anybody in the history of the game. And he's going to win games with his legs."

DARNOLD'S DODGE : USC quarterback Sam Darnold refused to throw at the combine, preferring to show off his arm at his upcoming pro day with receivers he's used to playing with.

"I was a little disappointed Darnold didn't throw," Mayock said. "You get a chance to show off a little bit here. This is all about competition. I wonder in his heart of hearts if he missed competing (Saturday). Because the other guys went out and ripped it pretty good.

"I thought Josh Allen put on a show."

HURST GOES HOME : Michigan defensive lineman Maurice Hurst Jr., a possible first-rounder, was kept out of drills at the combine after doctors reportedly red-flagged a heart condition. Hurst told Utah defensive lineman Lowell Lotulelei that he had been diagnosed with the same heart condition as Lotulelei's older brother, Star.

Hurst, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive tackle, had 59 tackles and 5½ sacks last season. He also had 13 tackles for loss and has been considered one component of a deep class of defensive tackles in this year's draft.

BAD, BAD ORLANDO BROWN JR. : The only thing that went well for Oklahoma's massive tackle Orlando Brown Jr. was the vote of confidence from his Heisman Trophy-winning teammate.

"When are you ever going to watch Orlando Brown run 40 yards down the field?" quarterback Baker Mayfield asked. "You can watch last year's tape and see he allowed zero sacks. I'd say that's pretty important for a left tackle."

It sure is.

But measures matter, too, and Brown's wretched week will surely cause him to slide down draft boards: He managed just 14 reps on the bench press, lumbered though the 40-yard dash in 5.85 seconds and put up historically poor numbers in the broad and vertical jumps.

THIN AT TACKLE : Notre Dame's Mike McGlinchey is projected as a late first-rounder, but if he falls to the second round, this year's NFL draft would be the first one in more than a half century without an offensive tackle taken in the first round.

The last time that happened was in 1965, and there were only 11 first-round picks that year. The last time a tackle wasn't selected in the top 32 picks was in 1960, when Len Rohde of Utah State went to the with the 38th overall selection in the fifth round.

Kirk Cousins' next team among buzz dominating NFL combine rumor mill By Mike Jones USA Today March 5, 2018

The NFL scouting combine will conclude with Monday’s defensive backs workouts.

But the work continues for the league's teams.

The franchise tag deadline looms Tuesday, and free agency begins next week. Meanwhile, personnel departments will continue draft evaluations, cross-referencing findings from Indianapolis with reports obtained during the college season and subsequent film study.

The time spent at the combine serves as more than just an evaluation period for draft prospects. As club decision makers convene, a good deal of scuttlebutt is generated both about incoming players and the comings-and-goings of veterans. Here are some of the key takeaways from the last few days (and nights) on the Indy scene.

Free agency’s top names: The Kirk Cousins watch is officially on with the soon-to-be-former Washington Redskins quarterback's list of suitors expected to feature the Cardinals, Jets, Broncos and Vikings. The consensus in NFL circles is that Minnesota, equipped with a strong defense and plentiful offensive weapons, has the best chance of landing Cousins. The Jets want him badly and have the cap room to offer a contract that would likely feature an annual salary of around $30 million. But New York is seeming more resigned to the fact that they will lose out to a team better prepared to win immediately.

Denver’s players (notably Von Miller) have publicly lobbied for Cousins, and management likes him. However, club officials believe there’s some validity to the criticism Cousins receives for holes in his game (especially red zone and late-game situations). It will be interesting to see how earnestly they pursue him. Denver could be content to sign a more affordable veteran.

Meanwhile, a number of teams are monitoring the Rams, who have three key free agents: safety Lamarcus Joyner, corner Trumaine Johnson and receiver Sammy Watkins. Joyner is considered the priority. With a number of teams rating him as their top safety target, general manager Les Snead may have to franchise Joyner. Los Angeles doesn't want to lose Watkins, either, especially after trading Buffalo a second-round pick for him last year. But with few top-flight receivers available this year, another team will pounce if Watkins goes free.

Seahawks deep threat Paul Richardson could be the consolation prize for teams losing out on the Watkins sweepstakes. Richardson, averaged 16.0 yards per catch last year and had six grabss (second among free agents to Watkins, who had 8).

Down year for rookie receivers and pass rushers: This draft won't feature many dominant or prototypical players on the edge. There are several 'tweeners, who either lack the length of a 3-4 linebacker or are too undersized to play on the line.

The receiver class is also underwhelming. This year's group was slow compared to previous years. That will likely prompt teams to wait until the second and third rounds, where these wideouts will be considered good value.

Rookie QBs: Baker Mayfield impressed in interviews, according to multiple team officials who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because they didn't want to reveal their club's findings. The Oklahoma quarterback was undaunted by questions about his off-field incidents and addressed them with honesty and transparency, just as he said he would. Mayfield’s performance in workouts also pleasantly surprised many teams.

Despite chatter about a positional switch, which seems more media-generated than anything, officials from many teams believe Lamar Jackson has what it takes to play quarterback in the NFL. His workouts revealed both great potential and room for refinement. The best situation for Jackson involves going to a team where he can learn behind an established veteran. If a team does need Jackson to play immediately, expect it to cater to his multi-dimensional strengths and perhaps routinely let him work out of the shotgun.

USC's Sam Darnold drew mixed reviews for his decision not to throw at the combine. Those disappointed by his choice believe Darnold should have jumped at the opportunity to showcase his skills while competing with other quarterbacks. Others think Darnold’s game film better displays his ability anyway and pointed to a number of prospects from previous years (, , ) who didn't throw.

Barkley and the rest: Penn State running back Saquon Barkley is obviously a stud. He dazzled in workouts and interviews and has the chance to become the first running back taken No. 1 since Ki-Jana Carter in 1995. But there might not be another first-round back in the bunch. Some evaluators see Georgia's Sony Michael as the next-best back, while others praise LSU's Derrius Guice. This largely comes down to fit. But this is indeed a crop of runners that boast good talent and versatility.

NFL combine 2018: Josh Allen shows why he's worthy of being the No. 1 overall pick By Pete Prisco CBSSports.com March 5, 2018

After spending five days at the NFL Scouting Combine, I am more convinced than ever that Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen has a legitimate chance to be the No. 1 overall pick by the Cleveland Browns.

His right arm lived up the hype Saturday during the quarterbacks throwing session, lofting a rocket 70 yards that had the scouts drooling on one throw. But it was more than that. It was the way he carried himself through the three days in Indianapolis.

"He's the alpha quarterback of the group," one NFL scout said.

Allen came across in his interviews with the teams as a player who loves the game, understands the passing concepts and is willing to put in the work. When put on the board here, he did a nice job, according to scouts.

Allen is raw. He was inaccurate at times at Wyoming, but his poor completion percentage of 56.2 isn't just a result of his inaccuracy. He played with receivers who had trouble catching his rifle shots at times, and his line was awful.

"He played with guys who are going to be bartenders or stock brokers," one league scout said.

Even so, there were still doubts about his throwing ability when he came to Indy. Those were put to rest with his strong showing Saturday, which included improved footwork and better anticipation throwing against air.

What really impressed me about Allen was the way he handled himself when he met the media. I've been coming to the combine for 25 years listening to quarterbacks, and I came away as impressed with him as any.

Most kids these days aren't giant fans of the game. They don't know who plays on what teams anymore. Even some NFL players have problems naming their opposition.

But Allen knew what he was talking about. He reminded me of Peyton Manning from that standpoint, Manning knew every player in the league when he was starring in it. He loved it. He lived it. He enjoyed breaking players down.

When you met with Manning, it was a football clinic and he wanted to hear the gossip. That's because he was also a fan of the game.

Allen came across that way to me Friday at his meet-and-greet with the media. He said he was the best quarterback in this class, which I liked, and said it would be an honor to be selected by the Browns with the first pick.

He went on to say why. What he said sounded like a guy who loved the details of the league.

"It's every kid's dream to be drafted No. 1," he said. "I think Cleveland's got things going in the right direction. They've got all the pieces, a lot of draft picks early on, a lot of cap space to go get guys in free agency. So I definitely think that it's a good spot to be in if you're fortunate enough to be taken by them at No. 1 or No. 4 (Cleveland's other first-round pick). I definitely would embrace that opportunity to be the No. 1 overall pick, obviously that every quarterback would love to be that. It's no different for me."

There were more examples of his knowledge of the league when he talked about the Giants and the Broncos, two teams that could draft him as well.

It seemed more than just prep by his handlers. He seemed like a guy who loved it.

As for his completion percentage that is used to pick him apart, just remember this: had a completion percentage of 52.4 when he came out of Southern Mississippi in 1990. Allen, like Favre, will show that the number is being way overblown.

Allen should be the top pick. The upside is great.

And the combine was another step in the process of showing why he is the top quarterback prospect in this draft.

More combine musings

The Rams are hoping to work out a deal with receiver Sammy Watkins, and if they do they will almost certainly put the franchise tag on Lamarcus Joyner. It was Joyner who had a breakout season for the Rams in 2017 when Wade Phillips moved him from nickel corner to safety. He is one of those safeties who can cover a lot of ground, which is a must in this current NFL.

A player getting a lot of buzz from scouts is Maryland receiver D.J. Moore. He had a great workout Saturday, running a 4.42 40 to vault himself into the conversation to be a first-round pick and maybe the first receiver taken. Alabama's is considered the top receiver, but keep an eye on Moore. "The one thing you notice about him is he got better every year," one AFC coach said.

The Dolphins put the franchise tag on receiver Jarvis Landry, but there is talk that he will be traded. There was a rumor of a deal for Landry to go to the Bears for running back Jordan Howard, but that was shot down. Landry will be looking for a big deal from any team that tries to land him. The problem with that is while he catches a lot of passes he doesn't scare down the field. He averaged 8.8 yards per catch last season. "It it's not 10 at least, it's hard to pay him," one scout said. Landry is a nice player, but he isn't one of those receivers who can change a game.

Look for the Raiders to be active in free agency in an attempt to get some defensive players. They need help at corner and linebacker.

Deciphering Josh Rosen: What the QB Has to Say for Himself at the NFL Combine By Peter King MMQB.com March 5, 2018

UCLA quarterback/lightning-rod Josh Rosen, unplugged, in a few moments. Then the story of the weekend, Shaquem Griffin. But first, news niblets from the lobbies and convention hall and bars:

• Barkleymania. Penn State running back Saquon Barkley put some distance between himself and the field for the best player in the draft. “He’s the best running back prospect I’ve seen in 25 years,” Saints coach Sean Payton told me. Another team, which has given only four draft prospects perfect grades in the last 20 years, told me Barkley is the fifth.

• Beware, Tannehill. Miami, picking 11th in the April draft, is looking hard at quarterbacks, and several people I spoke with here think it’s likely they’ll go quarterback in the first round. Word already leaked that Miami officials will dine with Baker Mayfield the night before his pro day on March 14. The night before a pro day is prime time for teams interested in a player, and the Mayfield camp surely believes Miami is a strong contender to pick him. So what of ? In the immortal words of Bill Parcells, “I can only go by what I see.” Tannehill has missed the last 19 Dolphins games with injuries. By opening day this year, it will have been 21 months since Tannehill played football. needs a challenger for Tannehill, and he needs him now.

• Goodbye, going-to-the-ground. “Going to the ground is going away.” That’s what I was told about the Competition Committee’s early study and deliberations over the NFL’s catch/no-catch rule. The committee had long meetings here, and more study is due before the committee briefs Roger Goodell on its recommendations March 25 in Orlando, but the best chance—as of now—of a revised rule seems to be this: catch, two steps and doing something with the football that needs to be further defined. After those three elements, if the player falls to the ground and the ball is jarred loose, it’s a catch. That would make the infamous and plays catches. The Jesse James play in ? A catch too, because he took two steps and turned to pierce the goal line with the ball. That would qualify, however it’s finally defined, as doing something with the football.

• Happy Hue. This comes from an executive with a historically reliable ear to the ground: Cleveland, with four picks in the top 35 of the draft, is still exceedingly interested in signing free-agent quarterback A.J. McCarron after the trade-deadline-day debacle last fall … and then backstopping him with a rookie quarterback in the draft. I’m hearing that’s coach Hue Jackson’s preference, having coached McCarron in Cincinnati.

• Just Joshing. Cute, embarrassing moment for a nice kid and good prospect. Wyoming QB Josh Allen, excited to meet a Hall of Fame quarterback during his meeting with the Dolphins, called “Mr. Elway.” Oops.

• Pensive Gronk. I’m told that as of now New England tight end Rob Gronkowski hasn’t made a decision about continuing his football career. And after 115 starry and injurious NFL games, he is no hurry to make one.

• Top 10? Asked several GMs/scouts/coaches for their top 10 in the draft as of today. Here’s the consensus, in an order close to this: Barkley, USC QB Sam Darnold, North Carolina State pass-rusher Bradley Chubb, Allen, Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield, UCLA QB Josh Rosen, Notre Dame G Quenton Nelson, Alabama DB , Ohio State CB , Georgia LB .

• Bird droppings. The Eagles continue to be confident that will be healthy enough after Dec. 13 knee surgery to play the Sept. 6 NFL opener, and have had at least one respectable (the word I hear to describe it) trade offer for Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles … The Eagles got first- and fourth-round picks for Sam Bradford 17 months ago and feel Foles is better, so it’ll likely take at least that to pique their interest, and that’s likely not happening … Philly expects to lose defensive tackle Beau Allen, linebacker Nigel Bradham and tight end Trey Burton in free-agency. The Eagles want Chris Long back, and Long intends to play another year in Philly.

• Love this story. Follow the bouncing compensatory draft pick:

March 13, 2017: Eagles sign Chiefs free-agent quarterback Nick Foles. Feb. 4, 2018: Foles leads Eagles to Super Bowl 52 win, cops Super Bowl MVP. Feb. 23, 2018: Chiefs awarded sixth-round compensatory pick, No. 209, for loss of Foles in free-agency. Feb. 23, 2018: Chiefs agree to trade 209th pick to Rams as part of Marcus Peters trade, but that trade can’t officially happen till the March 14 opening of the 2018 league year. March 2, 2018: Rams agree to trade 209th pick to Dolphins as part of Robert Quinn trade, but that trade can’t officially happen till the Rams acquire the 209th pick from Kansas City, which can’t officially happen, obviously, till the March 14 opening of the league year.

To sum up: A pick that was invented because of the Super Bowl 52 MVP, a pick that did not exist until 10 days ago, was traded twice in a week.

DECIPHERING ROSEN A big story at the combine: trying to divine the good, the bad, the ugly and the remotely important about UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen.

I had never met Rosen before Saturday, but this is what I was led to believe listening to the proverbial NFL grapevine:

1. Football isn’t that important to him, because he’s a rich kid whose mom is the great-great- granddaughter of the founder of Penn’s prestigious Wharton School of Business, and whose dad is a renowned spinal surgeon, and who once put a hot tub in his college bedroom once. Rich kids can’t have the same drive as lower-middle-class kids. 2. He’s a crappy leader, he questions authority and his teammates roll their eyes at him. 3. He’s too smart for his own good. He’s anti-Trump (once wearing a hat to a Trump golf course with “F-- - Trump” on it), into politics and cares a lot about the planet. Quarterbacks need to be myopic. Football only.

When we met, I relayed a story to him that seemed relevant. In 2014, the Vikings were considering a number of players, including Johnny Manziel, with their first-round pick. A Vikings contingent, led by coach Mike Zimmer, dined with Manziel during the decision-making process, and Zimmer asked him, in essence, If we pick you, I have to be convinced you’re not going to screw me. Can I trust you? “What would you say if a coach looked into your eyes and asked you that?” I said.

“I would say, ‘I’m going to be the best decision you ever made,’” Rosen said, staring at me intently.

Good answer. After speaking to three coaches and two respected personnel people with an interest in quarterbacks in this draft, I can say this: Rosen helped his cause this weekend, both as a thrower of the football and in getting his point across that being well-rounded and smart is not poisonous to a football team. “Very smart,” said one coach. “Helped his cause. But will his teammates gravitate to him? And he’s not a very big kid—can he be good enough in the pocket and avoid sacks?”

But I also will say this: He’s not beloved, not like the more humble Darnold of USC and Allen of Wyoming. I just can’t tell if it’s because of the pre-combine NFL whisper campaign. I do think Rosen has work to do in the eight weeks left before the draft. He has to convince teams with big quarterbacks needs—Cleveland, the Jets, the Giants, Arizona—and almost exclusively conservative team management—that he’d be a good fit with them and would be sufficiently all-football.

Rosen was pretty buttoned up during his 25 minutes with me on Saturday afternoon. When speaking with Pete Thamel—formerly of SI, now with Yahoo!—in 2016, he was outspoken (“I’m not going to pretend to be 50”) and a little snarky. I’m not sure Rosen’s much different today than he was a couple of years ago. But there’s more at stake now. He’s still thoughtful and sincere, but maybe a little more calculating. It’s best for Rosen to be respectful. I asked him about what stood out from his meetings with teams in Indianapolis.

“Meeting John Elway and Dan Marino was pretty special,” he said. “It was cool to actually shake their hand and get to say hi to them in person. Just seeing these faces that you've only seen on TV actually become real people was really cool. I was sitting in the Giants meeting room and I was saying, like, ‘Wow, Mr. Shurmur [Coach Pat Shurmur]. You look a lot like you do on TV.’

“In each room, with each team, you could kind of tell the team’s objective. Some people wanted to ask me about some of the things I have said on social media, like my hot tub and Trump hat and what not. Some people wanted to focus on that and some people were like, hey, whatever, we want to know about football.

“I was never really bothered when anonymous people said that my teammates don’t like me, or I am a selfish guy, or too smart. But if it persists after this, it might bother me a little bit, because these teams have actually met me now. If that narrative continues, then there might be some substance to it, and that would bother me, but up until this point it has all kind of been noise.”

You could see how annoyed Rosen was about the perception that affluence would soften his drive to be great, or cause him to quit at his first benching.

“This narrative has kind of taken off on its own,” he said. “My family is not buy-a-Ferrari-for-my-16th- birthday wealthy. I’ve just never had to worry about things that a lot of my teammates have. That’s why I love football so much. It’s exposed me to some of the disparities in this world.

“Using the point that I don’t have to play football is an indication to why I actually love the game so much. The fact that I have dedicated my heart and soul to this game that I may not financially need, I mean, I think that actually proves why I love this game so much. I am not forced to play it. My family raised me incredibly academic. They are both Ivy League grads and take great pride in it, and I had to convince them to let me drop out of college because I want to pursue this at the absolute highest level, and it took some convincing but hopefully it will work out.”

Rosen’s different. Traditional NFL people will have to decide if they can get comfortable with him. One of my most interesting conversations this weekend came with a rock-ribbed Republican on an NFL coaching staff (that is not rare) who stunned me when he said how much he respected the students in Parkland, Fla., and across the country fighting the NRA and our political leaders, demanding smart gun- control legislation. He said he was thinking seriously about going to the gun-control demonstration in Washington later this month with his kids, to show support for the high school students fighting for their cause.

Why is that coach so surprising? Because the NBA has people like LeBron James and Gregg Popovich, future Hall of Famers, consistently speaking out on political issues of the day. The NFL doesn’t have people with huge Q ratings willing to put their necks on the line like that.

I hope Rosen is judged on his ability to play quarterback, not on what he might say or do or participate in aside from the 65 hours a week from August to January that he’ll need to spend on his craft. And I hope he’s judged on who he is when coaches and club officials meet him and dissect him in the coming weeks before the draft. The 15-minute speed-dating sessions with quarterback-needy teams in Indianapolis (that’s the time teams have with players they choose to interview) can give a first impressions, but no couple gets married after a 15-minute date. Same thing with Rosen. He’ll have time in the next eight weeks to try to convince a team in the top 10 to fall in love with him.

The right team is likely to find he’s more competitor than politician. He threw a beautiful, arcing, in- stride, 58-yard rainbow to the best receiver in the draft, Calvin Ridley, during the on-field portion of the workout Saturday on the Lucas Oil Stadium turf. When I asked him about the throw, he said, “Yeah, but I threw two absolutely abysmal balls. My gosh, those were awful.”

Rosen might be an enigma. But he also might more of a driven worker bee—just different—than you think when you stop listening to the whispers.

THE LAND OF OPPORTUNITY Coming into the NFL Scouting Combine, I don’t know a soul who thought that UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin, the 2016 American Athletic Conference defensive player of the year, would be the star of the show. But that started to happen on Saturday, when he attached his prosthetic left hand to the stump below where his forearm ended, clicked the prosthesis to the bar holding 225 pounds and began pressing. The bench press is a big part of the combine—proving how strong you are based on how many reps you can do.

“My goal was six reps,” Griffin said.

He did 20.

Griffin is a fast guy—quick enough to run the 40 in about 4.45 seconds, observers thought. On Sunday, he lined up for the 40 and ran a 4.38, the fastest by a linebacker in 15 years.

Griffin got to be the star of the combine the same way he got to be a standout player at Central Florida—by being a metronome, by never giving up, by proving that the left hand he had amputated at age 4 because of a congenital disease would not hold him back. And it didn’t. A marginal combine prospect who got a late invitation to be one of the 336 prospects here, Griffin may have vaulted out of the sixth or seventh round to be a third- or fourth-round pick now.

The guy’s going to be an inspiration to whatever team picks him, first of all. He could be able to be able to rush the passer as a sub-package player; as Pro Football Focus noted Sunday, he was the second-best edge-rush player among the draft-eligible players in 2018, with seven sacks, seven quarterback hits and 37 hurries in 236 pass-rush snaps. He’ll captain the special teams for three or four years. What’s not to like?

As Sean Payton pointed out, you see a few players each year play with an injured wrist or hand wrapped so they can make it through a game. Griffin’s been playing this way since he first played football. He’s used to it. He played at a high level at a good football school. He had three interceptions, five fumble recoveries and 16 passes defensed at UCF. He’s figure out how to play with his disability. And he’s fast as a greyhound.

At the combine, Griffin described how he got fitted with the prosthesis early in his college career. Just listen.

“We went to go get it fitted for me, and when I started lifting, I could barely bench the bar,” he said. “I mean, I’m shaking all over the place and the bar is falling, and I can’t lift 45 pounds. But it just goes to show how much work I put in to get to this point. From shaking with the bar, I remember doing my first pull-up. My mom saw me do my first pull-up my freshman year, and she’s emotional and she started crying. She walked out, and I thought, ‘You’ve got to let her be sometimes.’ She does that.

“But it's amazing to see how far I came, from not being able to bench the bar to throwing up 20 reps at 225, and being able to compete with the best here.”

I can think of another place where Griffin can compete with the best.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK I

“If the good Lord decides tomorrow’s my day, hey, I’m going out with a fish in one hand and a cup of beer in the other.”

—, the former Buffalo quarterback, at a dinner for the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation in Milwaukee on Saturday night, via Vic Carucci of the Buffalo News. Kelly, for the third time, has been diagnosed with cancer.

II

“K ball! K ball! K ball!

“Never mind! Regular ball!”

—Super Bowl 52 ref Gene Steratore, captured on the Super Bowl 52 DVD from NFL Films and Cinedigm, which comes out Tuesday.

I always love this DVD. It’s 75 minutes (this year) of the NFL Films wirings and inside footage of the Eagles’ season and Super Bowl run. This quote, from Steratore, is really good. Before the Trey Burton-to- Nick Foles touchdown, the camera isolates on Steratore. It’s fourth-and-goal for Philadelphia from the New England one- near the end of the first half. Steratore figures, as the rest of the world does, that the Eagles will take the gift three points. But Eagles coach Doug Pederson decides to go for the touchdown, and you hear Foles and Pederson on the sideline discussing “,” and the Eagles go for it … and the rest is football history.

I watched the video Sunday. It’s really good.

III

“I’m not sure how long I am for this Twitter world. The Twitter world is weird, man. Weird. Let’s get back to route trees, man.”

—NFL Network’s Mike Mayock, on the network’s draft coverage Saturday.

IV

“I learned a lot about myself as far as being a new head coach. I think at one point everybody in the building got the memo that I was the head coach but me. I was still trying to be an offensive coordinator, still trying to be a running backs coach. I needed to be a little more hands-off and let my guys do their job and embrace my role at the head coach of the team. I think that helped things flow a little better.”

—Chargers coach Anthony Lynn, on what he learned about being a head coach in his rookie season with the Chargers. He’s right—new coaches who micromanage usually lose a lot early.

V

“This is a career-ending thing for Sean Miller. Career-ending. I can’t imagine him ever coaching in college again.”

—ESPN analyst Jay Bilas, on Arizona coach Sean Miller on ESPN’s College GameDay on Feb. 24, after an ESPN story said Miller had discussed with a runner (a representative of an agent) paying a prized recruit $100,000.

A Sports Illustrated story written by Michael McCann five days later cast doubt on the veracity of the ESPN story.

Miller denied the ESPN story.

Miller coached Arizona on Thursday and Saturday nights.

VI

“Happy birthday Mama.”

—UCF linebacker Shaquem Griffin on Sunday, caught by an NFL Network microphone seconds after running the fastest 40-yard dash time—4.38 seconds—by a linebacker at the NFL Scouting Combine in at least 15 years.

TEN THINGS I THINK I THINK 1. I think I’d love to be able to give you some great intel on where Kirk Cousins is going to sign, but I can’t. I believe Cousins and his agent, Mike McCartney, have not gone too far down the road in separating the wheat from the chaff. I believe there are more than the four currently publicized teams (Denver, Minnesota, New York Jets, Arizona) involved in the Cousins derby, and I do not believe the Cousins and McCartney have whittled down the list yet. Why? Because they want to be sure when the real offers come in, they haven’t cut anyone out. It would be folly to think Cousins doesn’t have a gut feeling about the one or two teams that are in the lead now, but I think he’ll remain open about it until he and McCartney have a more serious discussion a few days prior to the March 14 opening of free- agency.

2. I think this was the theme of my discussions with GMs and coaches about free-agency, which begins in nine days: there’s a silly amount of cap money available (almost $1 billion) for a mediocre crop.

3. I think moving the combine to Los Angeles or Las Vegas or to someplace new each year is: a. Inevitable, because some city will offer some nice deal so the NFL can make marginally more on the combine; b. Stupid, because there are very few NFL events left for the efficiency of football people and the sport; c. Really ticking me off, because football people always are the last ones the NFL thinks of.

4. I think I come to this event, year after year, and see the proximity and the central location and the incredible convenience, and I think, Can the NFL really care about making what will be, in the end, a couple hundred thousand per team, max, by moving the combine? And can the NFL really think that will be better for football? It won’t be. But I doubt that will matter. It rarely does.

5. I think I loved this story on Jonathan Martin written by Tim Rohan of The MMQB this week. It’s the only attempt—and an excellent one—I’ve seen anywhere to figure out what happened between the time Martin left the NFL in 2014 and two weeks ago, when he posted a concerning photo of a gun and ammunition on Instagram, tagging the names of several former teammates from high school and the NFL, along with the names of his high school and the . He’s reportedly been in a mental- health facility since. It’s such a complicated and compelling story.

6. I think this was a revelatory story for me to read—Robert Klemko of The MMQB on the question most teams ask every player they interview at the Combine. The question is some version of this: If you could pick one college teammate to be on your team in pro football, who would it be? (Or, put another way, pick the best player on your college team). It puts players who would normally say nice things about every teammate on the spot. Because they can choose only one. “Sometimes you know there’s one guy on the team who’s the best player, and you ask everybody that question,” 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told Klemko. “And if no one says that No. 1 guy, that means the guy is not liked. Then you consider what position he is and you have to decide if you can live with that. We’ve definitely been turned off from a guy if a number of his teammates don’t like him.”

7. I think that I do not care that Sam Darnold did not throw at the combine. Teams should also not care. And they may say they care, but they don’t really care when it comes to draft day. Never, ever, ever in my life covering the NFL, and that’s 34 years, have I heard a team official say about a quarterback after the draft: We were thinking of taking him, but since he didn’t throw at the combine, we soured on him, and we downgraded him and didn’t pick him because of that. I will guarantee that Darnold not throwing here will have zero to do with whether Cleveland GM John Dorsey picks Darnold first overall.

8. I think the favorite to sign the best offensive lineman in free agency, Carolina guard Andrew Norwell, is the . It makes sense in all ways but financial. The Giants have but $23.6-million available in cap space, and their needs are significant.

9. I think the prayers and well-wishes of everyone in the NFL—and certainly from me and those who I work with at The MMQB—wish Jim Kelly and his family well in his battle against cancer. “We are shocked, heartbroken, sad, angry, confused and just darn tired,” Kelly’s wife Jill wrote on Instagram. Hard to blame her, and the family. Jim Kelly has had two very public and challenging cancer fights, with the cancer in his jaw and lower face, and now he’ll have to fight it again. Our best to him and his supportive family.

10. I think these are my other thoughts of the week: a. Column of the Week: By Benjamin Hochman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, on Adam Wainwright. All Wainwright did was fund the building of a community hospital in Haiti. What an amazing guy. b. Love the fact that so many Stoneman Douglas students are still speaking up about gun-control issues in the wake of the mass murder of 17 people at the school. One of the student leaders, Emma Gonzalez, tweeted the other day, “This isn’t Red vs. Blue. This is Death vs. Money.” She’s right: It’s about the business interests of the gun business and the NRA trumping (pun intended) the common sense of doing something real about taking dangerous weapons like the AR-15 out of the hands of private citizens. The AR-15 is a killing machine, and it will continue to be a money-making machine for gun companies unless our elected officials make it illegal to privately own. That has to happen. If you’re in favor of private ownership of the gun, you can say whatever you want to justify it, but you value a murderous weapon over the lives of Americans, and certainly over the lives of 17 children. c. Second Amendment, schmecond amendment. d. You can be for the Constitution and against ownership of murder machines. That is the issue here. e. Love the “Dallas” commercial on NFL Network. If you’re a person of a certain age, and remember Larry Hagman and “Dallas,” that spot is gold, right down to the theme music. f. Coffeenerdness: Thanks, Patachou in downtown Indianapolis, for being such a consistently great breakfast place, and for the Simon Blend coffee. Not quite as dark as I’d like, but it’s superb restaurant coffee.

g. Beernerdness: The seventh annual MMQB Tweetup happened Friday night at one of the best breweries in America—the Sun King Brewing Company in Indianapolis, which has hosted our Tweetup for the last five years in its burgeoning brewery just east of downtown. Now, we hold the Tweetup there because we love the place, and because The MMQB’s friend in Indianapolis, Angie Six, arranges our event there each year, along with a charity component (this year’s beneficiary was the Midwest Food Bank, an irreplaceable community staple). A few of us go over from the combine and spend 90 minutes talking to a few dozen fans, and it’s really fun. Most of us have a couple of cold ones; the beer menu there has expanded significantly. Thanks to the Sun King team (Steve Koers has long been a wonderful host) for expanding the beer menu and adding one of the best beers I’ve had in a long while: the Vanilla Chocolate Wee Mac Scottish Ale. Maybe it’s because I’m weaning myself off sugar these days, and when I saw the title of the beer I said I’ve got to try that. But it’s just a faint (and effective) vanilla-chocolate taste in the middle of a wonderful ale. Man, that’s a good beer.

h. Great basketball game, Celtics-Rockets, in Houston on Saturday night. So much fun, and so well contested. But watching those games, occasionally, makes me realize the NFL officiating isn't such a debacle. The technical fouls in that game … I mean, what does it take to get T’d up? Is there any consistency? It’s awful. But a great sporting event, dumb technicals and all. i. Even though the last 30 seconds took about 30 minutes. j. RIP, Jack Hamilton, the pitcher who threw the fastball that hit Tony Conigliaro of the Red Sox in the face 50 years ago (absolutely not purposefully)—and really cut short one of the promising baseball careers of that era. That’s a tough thing to live with, and I’m glad it didn’t rule and ruin Hamilton’s post- baseball life. k. Barbra Streisand cloned her dog (and explained why in this New York Times piece). That is the most 2018 sentence in the history of 2018 sentences. l. We got the spirit and the meaning of your message at the Oscars, Frances McDormand. And it was awesome. Congrats to you for your art and your efforts to promote women in Hollywood.

THE ADIEU HAIKU We need more stories like the Shaquem Griffin tale. Lord. So inspiring.

Kirk Cousins Speculation, Shaquem Griffin Admiration and More from the NFL Combine By Albert Breer MMQB.com March 5, 2018

Combine week is winding down, and this year it might as well have been Kirk Cousins week.

From the steakhouses to the lobby bars to the hallways connecting the convention center to Lucas Oil Stadium, everyone was asking one question—Where is Cousins going to land? The combine, of course, is where much of the groundwork is laid annually ahead of free agency, and in a year that could bring unprecedented quarterback movement, very little can settled before Cousins makes his call.

You can look at the money in the Cousins sweepstakes a couple different ways.

On one hand, the soon-to-be-former Redskins quarterback hasn’t been shy in explaining over the last month or so that winning and being in the right situation will be a factor in whatever decision he makes on where to spend the next few years of his life. And yes, he’s made $43.9 million over the last two seasons in playing out a pair of franchise tags.

On the other, after the Redskins chose to date but not marry him over his three years as start, Cousins does now want commitment. The best way to show commitment? That’s right, you back up the Brinks truck, and make to guarantee a lot of the bills coming out of it.

And where is Minnesota’s Case Keenum going? How about AJ McCarron? And while we’re there, how do things play out for Sam Bradford and Teddy Bridgewater? So much of that will ride on where the biggest domino falls, and the impact of it dropping will be felt well after all those guys have picked their spots.

Green Bay’s , Atlanta’s Matt Ryan and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger could all have new deals this spring, and each will be affected by the terms and structure of Cousins’s deal, and Cousins’s landing spot will (obviously) be a factor in how the Broncos (picking 5th), Jets (6th) and Cardinals (15th) approach the draft.

So it’ll be interesting to see what Cousins gets, and what he prioritizes in the contract—it could be a shorter term (he did well with those one-year deals) with a higher percentage of guaranteed money). As always, the money does matter, even if the raw amount in the contract isn’t the priority in Cousins finding a new home.

What other buzz was out there on the seventh-year slinger in Indy? We came away with a few things.

• The Jets, Cardinals, Broncos and Vikings all have detailed plans on they plan to build around Cousins and make him the face of their franchise. We’ve mentioned in a couple GamePlan columns how, after a messy couple years in Washington, he wants to find a team that he can make his own and one that has deep belief in him. It’s a credit to the aforementioned teams that they have done their homework and are ready to give him that love.

• The idea of the No. 1 free agent taking visits seems crazy, because most big-ticket guys sign right as the new-league-year window opens. This might—I emphasize might—be different. Cousins would like to meet his new coach and coordinator before making a final call. Is that realistic? We’ll see. But it is worth noting that his agent, Mike McCartney, had QB Josh McCown, WR and G TJ Lang take visits, and longer to sign, in recent years.

• The buzz is that the Broncos will be in heavy on Keenum if they strike out on Cousins. Same goes for the Vikings with McCarron. In both cases, the team kicked around the idea of trading for the quarterback in question over the last couple of years, so there’s history there. Which means each may be compelled to slow-play his market, if Cousins takes his time.

• In the case of McCarron and Keenum, it’s pretty easy to see a scenario where both cash in and get a chance to start in 2018, with the caveat that the team signing them could go ahead and draft a quarterback six weeks after the ink dries. It’s how the Eagles built their quarterback room in 2016, and how the Bears did it last year—a sort of new model of “over-investment” in the position.

And we didn’t even mention , who’s also up but is expected to stay where he is, here yet.

Given all of that, it almost goes without saying that there’s a wild couple months ahead at the sport’s most important position. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of people talking about it here.

And now, a few things from Sunday at the combine, with the number of NFL people in town dwindling as we approach the finish line …

How can you not love UCF LB Shaquem Griffin? His left hand was amputated at age 4, a result of amniotic band syndrome, and that’s done little to hold him back. A star linebacker at UCF, Griffin somehow churned out 20 reps of 225 pounds on the bench with a prosthetic on Saturday, then blazed a scary-fast 4.38 in the 40-yard dash. One team I talked to afterwards said they believe he’s still a fourth- round prospect, but this absolutely helps him. At the very least, Griffin can be a solid special-teamer right away, which would give him a chance to grow from there.

Biggest surprise of the weekend? According to a couple guys evaluating the workouts, it was the shakiness of Josh Rosen’s throwing session on Saturday. The UCLA product was up and down—“The ball just kept coming off his hand bad,” said one NFC QB coach—and will have a chance to atone at his pro day later in the month. As for the impression he left in interviews, important because of the personality questions he’s facing, that depends on who you talk to. The aforementioned QB coach said Rosen spoke well in their meeting, but he left leary that he’d been conned. Conversely, an AFC scouting director told me that he through Rosen came off as “intelligent” and “worldly, which you don’t always see.” So Rosen isn’t for everyone, but some teams really, really like him.

The best throwing session? While Wyoming’s Josh Allen was impressive, and got everyone talking on Saturday, it was Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield who was most consistent, according to the guys I’ve talked to that were evaluating the work. Mayfield looked natural, and didn’t miss any throws, they said.

We went on the record last week in calling Penn State RB Saquon Barkley and Notre Dame G Quenton Nelson the two best players in this class. That said, there might not be much drop-off before you get to Bradley Chubb, who’s looking more and more like a lock to go in the Top 5 picks. At 6' 4" and 269 pounds, Chubb ran a 4.65 40-yard dash (1/100th of a second slower than last year), did 24 reps on the bench and posted a 36-inch vertical. Because of the value of his position versus that of Barkley and Nelson, Chubb’s very much in the mix to be the first non-QB taken.

Alabama DB Minkah Fitzpatrick came as advertised in addressing the media on Sunday, showing his maturity and preparedness for the pro game in relaying how he’d reached out to Cardinals star while he was working out in Arizona to try and learn more about how a Pro Bowler operates. Fitzpatrick—a swiss army knife of a DB molded like Philadelphia’s Malcolm Jenkins—is the kind of guy teams project to be captains down the line.

Tomorrow: The week wraps up with the fourth and final day of on-field workouts, with the defensive backs taking center stage. And there will be a few interesting prospects to watch. Ohio State’s Denzel Ward, considered the class’ top corner, should post an impressive 40 time – and might get beat out in that event by LSU corner/track star Donte Jackson, who was considered the fastest man in last year. And as for overall freakishness, keep an eye on the numbers put up by Florida State’s supersized safety, .