We are in the midst of rumor season. Some call them rumors, some call them smoke screens. Either way, teams are putting a lot of information and misinformation out there trying to throw all the other teams off their trail. The NFC West being as stacked as it is from top to bottom makes the competition in every other aspect that much more intense. Each team is doing every thing it can to gain any kind of advantage they can, it doesn’t matter how small it may be.
San Francisco 49ers
There have been a lot of rumors involving the 49ers. This is because they have a large amount of draft picks and not many needs so everyone knows it would be useless for them to keep all 11 picks in this draft. One rumor has them trading up to take Mike Evans, wide receiver out of Texas A&M. Another rumor has them moving up to take Odell Beckham Jr., wide receiver out of LSU. Head coach Jim Harbaugh also reportedly told San Jose State quarterback David Fales that the 49ers would be drafting a quarterback. This isn’t surprising at all considering their backup quarterback is Blaine Gabbert at the moment. With General Manager Trent Baalke’s propensity for smoke screens, I wouldn’t look into too many of these rumors.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks don’t have quite as many rumors floating around as the 49ers do. The two reports I keep seeing being floated out there are that they’re going to take a wide receiver early in the draft (they might even trade up to get the one they want) and that they’re going to take an offensive lineman to help that unit. Both of these positions are big needs of the Seahawks going into the draft and would help them out a lot. The Seahawks don’t have a lot of picks but they also don’t have a lot of needs either. I expect them to trade down once or twice and still be able to get whichever guys they have their eyes on and also gaining more draft picks.
Arizona Cardinals
The biggest rumor going around about the Cardinals is that they’re going to take a quarterback in this draft. Some people are even reported that they could take one in the first round if one of the guys they really like starts to slide down to them. Finding Carson Palmer’s replacement is vital for the Cardinals to maintain any kind of long term success.
St. Louis Rams
There are a lot of rumors going around since the Rams own the second overall pick (acquired in the trade with the Washington Redskins to get Robert Griffin III) and the 13th overall pick. There are reports saying the Rams plan on trading out of that spot and some saying they fully intend on taking Sammy Watkins, wide receiver out of Clemson. Other reports are saying they’re going to take an offensive lineman. Some people are even questioning how committed the Rams are to quarterback Sam Bradford and wonder if the Rams take the top quarterback on their board with the second overall pick. There is another report out there saying that a “freak pass rusher” is at the top of their big board. That one doesn’t make much sense to me considering they already have Robert Quinn and Chris Long. With the option to take basically any player they want in this draft, it would seem kind of wasteful to use that second overall pick on a position they are already