The 2017 NFL Draft Combine is in full swing and will run through Monday, March 6. While on-field workouts don't start until Friday, there are plenty of news and rumors circulating around player weigh-ins and teams that are looking to trade draft picks. Here is all the latest you need to know:
Browns, Titans open to trading top five picks
The Cleveland Browns have plenty of needs across their roster, and with no clear-cut top quarterback prospect in this draft, they are willing to trade the top overall pick.
“We're going to responsibly listen to any opportunities that are out there,” general manager Sashi Brown said. “I think we have to do that. We would have to wait and see what might come and what player might be available there as we get through this process.”
Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett is currently the consensus No. 1 pick in this class. However, they aren't the only team looking to potentially trade out of the top five.
Tennessee Titans general manager Jon Robinson said they are "open for business" with the No. 5 pick.
“It’s got to be a two-way street. We’ve got to have somebody that wants to move up to that spot,” Robinson said. “But like I said last year, we’re open for business and willing to have discussions. We’re just again trying to put ourselves in position to improve the football team.”
Last year, the Titans traded the No. 1 overall pick to the Los Angeles Rams, who used that pick to select Jared Goff.
Browns intrigued by Trubisky
The height of North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky was one of the big topics coming into the combine, with people wondering if he was really the 6-foot-3 he was listed at in college. He ended up checking in at just over 6-foot-2, which Browns head coach Hue Jackson said was perfect.
“I think a guy has to be about 6’2 to play in this league. The special guys. There’s some other guys who have played in this league that aren’t 6’2. But the majority of the guys have played have been 6’2 or a little better and I feel that’s what I like in a quarterback.”
Many believe that Cleveland will pick a quarterback with one of their two first-round picks in the draft, and the Browns have been linked to Trubisky. Another concern surrounding the former UNC signal caller was him only being a starter for the Tar Heels for one year, but Jackson wasn't too concerned about that, either.
“I don’t think that’s what’s important,” Jackson said. “If a guy demonstrates the characteristics of what you’re looking for, I think it’s important to keep digging and finding out more. I don’t get concerned about that part of it, as long as that guy can do what he needs to.”
Trubisky passed for 3,748 yards with 30 touchdowns and just six interceptions last season.
Fournette weighs in at 240 lbs.
The other major story to come out of weigh-ins was Leonard Fournette, who checked in at a whopping 240 pounds. Fournette is known for his crazy combination of size, strength and speed, and 240 is only five pounds more than what he was listed at while playing for LSU. However, NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein thinks that weight will be too big for some teams.
"I think it has to be a little bit of a concern," said Zierlein. "He's a big man, but the bigger he gets, the less quickness he is likely to have and quickness matters in the NFL. There have been plenty of running backs who have come into the league and decided to slim down once they experience the speed of NFL defenses. My guess is that he will be told he is too heavy by some NFL teams and he will come in lighter at his pro day."
That said, if Fournette runs a fast 40-yard dash, any and all concerns about his weight will go by the wayside. He has said that he expects to run either a 4.4-flat or a 4.3 at the combine, which would likely rank among the fastest running backs in attendance.
Fournette rushed for 843 yards and eight touchdowns in just seven appearances last season, but ran for 1,953 yards and 22 touchdowns on 300 carries as a sophomore in 2015.
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