NFL Player News

Derek Carr's landing in Oakland is a positive. He's a strong-armed, sharp quarterback who should find playing time before the season ends. He's also a local California kid, which shouldn't hurt things for the franchise. This is a squad that has lacked a quality quarterback for a long time. Carr fits the bill. Once he gets in there he'll end up throwing a bunch -- he's a Raider and that's what they do, whether by choice or because they're playing from behind.

Carr's a Fantasy pick for the future, not for the present. We like him with a middle- to late-round pick in dynasty/keeper leagues and a Top 10 pick in rookie-only drafts. We wouldn't take him in a seasonal format.

With the No. 36 pick in the NFL Draft, the Raiders selected quarterback Derek Carr from Fresno State. Carr is expected to be No. 2 on the depth chart behind Matt Schaub.

Carr, the younger brother of former No. 1 overall pick David Carr, is 6-foot-3, 214-pounds. He has a strong arm and put up 5,083 passing yards and 50 touchdowns while completing 68.9 percent of his passes as a senior.

Over four years with the Bulldogs he played in 43 games and threw for 12,626 yards and 111 touchdowns with just 23 interceptions. He will likely sit as a rookie behind Schaub barring injury or poor play by the veteran, but Carr could be the starter in 2015.

The Vikings have plans to not rush Teddy Bridgewater along in his progress and have no problems starting the season with Matt Cassel as their starting quarterback. 

"There is no pressure on this kid to come in and play," GM Rick Spielman said. "We're very comfortable with Matt Cassel right now. We're very comfortable with Christian Ponder. He'll come in and compete and then the coaches will determine if he's even ready to play this year."

With playing time not promised to Bridgewater and a good but not great receiving corps waiting for him even if he does play, Fantasy owners shouldn't get too excited about his prospects this season. That can change of course if he does do well in training camp and unseats Cassel. Until then, he's only worth drafting with a middle- to late-round pick in dynasty/keeper leagues and a pick between fifth and 15th overall in rookie-only drafts. 

Even though the Browns drafted quarterback Johnny Manziel in the first round of the NFL Draft, coach Mike Pettine still expects Brian Hoyer to be his starter in Week 1, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer .

"Whether he was taken at four, or going at 22, it will be a competition and I meant that when I said it," said Pettine. "I don't think you can hand jobs to people when they come in. It's a situation where despite what's around him and what's following him -- and there will be that pressure to play him -- we're in the business of evaluating the best quarterback for the Cleveland Browns to win football games and that's who's going to play, whether that's Brian Hoyer or Johnny Manziel."

The Vikings brought in rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater for an extra physical to check out an issue with his heart, reports USA Today.

"I just had an abnormal heartbeat," Bridgewater said. "I think it was 1 percent, or one beat, less than the normal beat. So, I came back up to Minnesota, got the physical, got the EKG and everything, got tested and it came back positive."

No other teams circled back to check out the heart issue, according to Bridgewater, who said it never had been raised before either.

"I wasn't aware of it," he said. "It came up at the combine, and I was freaking out about it. But I knew that once I got started and starting running on the treadmill, that my heart rate would be normal."

With the 32nd pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, the Vikings selected Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater . Minnesota acquired the pick from Seattle. 

Once considered a consensus top pick, Bridgewater's stock fell in the eyes of scouts after further evaluation of his lean body type and all the hits he took in college. He also struggled with his accuracy on his Pro Day, making teams wonder why he wasn't good when he had so much time to prepare. But he's got an arm, throwing for 9,370 yards, completing 68 pct. of his passes and scoring 74 total touchdowns over three seasons (38 games) with the Cardinals.

Bridgewater should at least compete for the starting job in training camp with Matt Cassel.

The Vikings dealt their second-round pick, 40th overall, and their fourth-round pick, 108th overall to the Seahawks for Bridgewater. The Vikings have made five selections in the first round over the last two years. 

The Browns traded up to No. 22 overall to select quarterback Johnny Manziel from Texas A&M. Cleveland traded with the Eagles, and they gave up No. 26 in the first round and No. 83 in the third round to get the deal done.

Manziel will likely compete with Brian Hoyer for the starting job, although coach Mike Pettine said Hoyer is expected to remain the starter. In any event, Manziel is considered the quarterback of the future for the Browns.

Considered a dynamic playmaker with less-than-ideal height (5-foot-10), throwing mechanics and off-field activities, the flashy Manziel was the first freshman in college history to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012 and was a finalist for the award in 2013. In two seasons as the Aggies' starter he totaled 7,438 yards on 565 of 825 passing (68.4 comp. pct.) with 59 passing touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He also ran for 2,096 yards and 29 touchdowns on 334 carries.

So it appeared for weeks the Lions wanted to move up to select receiver Sammy Watkins from Clemson. Maybe they didn't offer enough to jump up to No. 4 like the Bills, who drafted Watkins. Or maybe they were hoping if they stayed put at No. 10 that an elite player would land in their lap.

That's what happened on Thursday night when they drafted tight end Eric Ebron from North Carolina.

Think about this offense now. Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Reggie Bush, Joique Bell and now Ebron. The only downside about this pick is Joseph Fauria loses all sleeper appeal, but we can live with that. He'll still score a few touchdowns, but Ebron could be a star.

You can't double cover him because of Johnson and Tate, and new offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi comes from New Orleans, where Jimmy Graham was a dominant force. The Lions wanted an upgrade at tight end, and Ebron is the answer.

He should be considered a potential starter in all Fantasy leagues with a late-round pick, and he's a late first-round selection in rookie-only drafts. The Lions are going to be fun to watch in 2014. 

Browns quarterback Brian Hoyer believes he'll be the starter this season no matter who the team takes in the NFL Draft, reports USA Today.

Hoyer, who is seven months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL, isn't worried about a rookie taking his job.

"I only played three games before I got hurt, so it’s not like I had a full season under my belt for them to say, 'Hey, he's the guy we're going to go with.' I don't blame them for it," Hoyer said. "No matter what happens in the draft, I'll have that chance to compete for the starting job, and if it comes down to that, I have the ultimate confidence in myself that no matter who they bring in here, I can beat them out."

Coach Mike Pettine also is standing behind Hoyer.

"There will be competition, but I think it will be very difficult, based on my evaluation of this year’s draft class, it will be very difficult for anyone in this draft class to come in and beat [Hoyer] out. I really believe that," Pettine said. "There's that certain it factor he has. Just the way he's attacked his rehab, the way he's attacked learning a new offense. What jumped out was his accuracy. I think him going through the drill work that we had put the quarterbacks through in their workouts, and compared it to those guys – it was encouraging to see."

There had been a number of reports suggesting the Rams were serious about drafting Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel in the NFL draft, but on Tuesday night the team made their feelings about quarterback Sam Bradford clear. 

During a draft party for 2,000 season-ticket holders, Rams coach Jeff Fisher got on a stage right next to Bradford and told the crowd "Sam's our guy." The crowd gave a standing ovation. 

Bradford appeared to have put on some upper-body muscle, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also had some strong knowledge about the Rams' plans around their Manziel smokescreen as league sources say he knew all along the team was going to check in on the prospect but not draft him. 

Bradford has two years left on his current contract. Last year he threw 14 touchdowns in seven games before tearing his ACL and missing the entire season.