NFL’s Silly Season Begins as Draft Nears

It’s called silly season in the NFL, the time of year when draft rumors take off everywhere from Reddit, to sportstalk radio, and even in the pages of the nation’s most prestigious online publications and newspapers.

Things like the New York Giants doing significant homework on Oregon quarterback Justin Herbert, a year after selecting Daniel Jones in the top 10, or the late push of the Miami Dolphins trading up two spots to take an offensive tackle in a draft filled with four who might go in the top 10.

Locally there were a couple of late doozies surrounding the medical concerns of Alabama receiver Jerry Jeudy and the Eagles throwing up their hands on last year's first-round pick Andre Dillard after a calendar year and pursuing former All-Pro Trent Williams.

Former league executive Andrew Brandt described the subterfuge on social media Thursday morning: “Reminder: never believe what is coming from a team, especially now. One common tactic: start a rumor, then deny it! #DraftDay.”

The Williams talk was almost assuredly coming from down I-95 and inside the Beltway as a report from the Washington Post identified Cleveland, Minnesota, the New York Jets and the Eagles as the clubs most likely to make a move for the seven-time Pro Bowl selection who sat out last season and refuses to play for the Redskins any longer.

The baton was taken from there by at least some hand-wringing Eagles fans who cited Dillard’s hemming and hawing over cross-training at right tackle and even his training-camp kerfuffle in which Doug Pederson and Howie Roseman may or may not have had their own Jimmy Dugan “A League of their Own” moment.

In truth, a league source tells SI.com that the ‘Skins are trying to drum up interest past the Browns, who are clearly interested in bringing in Williams. From there the Vikings had at least a cursory interest in Williams but have begged off a bit while the Jets have an obvious need at left tackle. The Eagles got thrown in “because they always get thrown in,” according to the source.

The real skinny, according to a source close to the Eagles, is that Howie Roseman called, as he always does, to gauge the asking price in an effort to keep his pulse on what the rest of the league is doing.

The Jeudy situation is different in that the Eagles have a vested interest in one of the four top receivers - Jeudy, his Alabama teammate Henry Ruggs, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb, and LSU’s Justin Jefferson - dropping to No. 21 overall.

That seemed to be trending in a negative direction in the days leading up to the draft when someone leaked the news to Natalie Egenolf of 97.5 The Fanatic that certain teams had taken Jeudy off their draft boards due to questions over a previous meniscus injury and whether it could be a degenerative condition.

It got enough traction that Jeudy’s agent, Chris Cabott, was forced to address the issue.

“No issue here. The knee is fine,” wrote Cabott. “Jerry never missed a practice or a game in two years after the surgery. He never even needed treatment on the knee. Every team examined him at the Combine. No team saw anything that even required him to participate in the Combine recheck.”

Jeudy’s medical records have certainly been a known commodity in the NFL world since February and decisions on those record were made long ago so the question about Jeudy potentially dropping are about the veracity of the information, not some new wrinkle in the process.

An AFC personnel source told SI.com that there is “some concern about longevity, especially at a thoroughbred position.”

For the record, no one seems to believe the knee will cause a striking drop for Jeudy in the draft but some teams might use it as a tipping point if they have a decision to make, like Jeudy vs. Lamb.

As for who leaked it, circle back to Brandt’s words.

“Reminder: never believe what is coming from a team, especially now. One common tactic: start a rumor, then deny it.”

After all, it's silly season.

John McMullen covers the Eagles for SI.com and is the NFL Insider for JAKIB Media. You can listen to John every day on SIRIUSXM’s Tony Bruno Show with Harry Mayes, Every Tuesday and Thursday with Eytan Shander on SBNation Radio, and every weekday on ESPN 97.3 in South Jersey. You can reach him at jmcmullen44@gmail.com or on Twitter @JFMcMullen

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