Sound Smart: 4 Observations as NFL Draft Season Begins to Peak

[Fox Sports NFL]

It's weeks like this that prove the NFL doesn't really have an offseason. NFL free agency may have stalled, with teams waiting for June 1 to manage their compensatory picks. But the draft news is ramping up, with the first round next Thursday. Surely, we'll start to see smokescreens and misdirection. And maybe we'll see a blockbuster trade or two. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let's assess what happened around the NFL this past week. This is "Sound Smart," where I try to spin forward, dive deeper and think outside the box. If I do my job, you’ll have a better understanding of what's happening this NFL offseason. 1. IF THERE’S ONE THING YOU SHOULD KNOW, IT’S THAT… You can blame Patrick Mahomes for the lack of fanfare around Fernando Mendoza. Nine years after the Chiefs drafted Patrick Mahomes No. 10 overall, his selection is still changing the landscape of the NFL. It’s a tremendous compliment to how much the Kansas City quarterback has achieved. In a roundabout way, I think Mahomes’ resounding success is the reason why there’s limited hype around Mendoza, the presumptive No. 1 pick this year. Let’s flash back to 2019, when Tom Brady last won a Super Bowl with the Patriots. He was the gold standard. Pocket quarterbacks were the status quo, and mobile QBs seemed to be a trend. At the NFL Combine, players often compared themselves to Brady — admittedly drawing eye rolls in the process. But now? College quarterbacks want to compare themselves to Mahomes, Josh Allen and other mobile QBs. That’s not Mendoza. He’s more of a Brady type — a pocket quarterback. (Mendoza's style is most comparable to Detroit's Jared Goff or former longtime Falcons QB Matt Ryan.) Make no mistake: Mendoza is deserving of that No. 1 spot. But there seems to be a lack of fanfare around him, and I think it’s because everyone is so accustomed to dual-threat QBs (Cam Ward, Caleb Williams, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence) going in that top spot. "[Mahomes] definitely inspired a lot of people to find a guy like that," an NFL GM told me. "I think everybody's trying to kind of get away from the stationary quarterback — the traditional pocket quarterback — because of the way these defensive fronts are nowadays. You have to have somebody that can move around the pocket, have feeling around the pocket, and then extend plays and create with their legs if need be. "So, yeah, I would say, in that breath, maybe [Mahomes] did change the mindset of some coaches and some evaluators." 2. MONDAY MORNING CONTROVERSY — AVERTED Lamar Jackson showed up for offseason workouts, which is a sign of good things to come for Baltimore. Finally, the Ravens can enjoy a positive storyline. Seriously, a thing happened in Baltimore that wasn’t controversial. It has been a tumultuous offseason for the Ravens, who fired longtime head coach John Harbaugh and replaced him with first-time head coach Jesse Minter. It could be a great hire, but it is, no doubt, controversial. The Ravens then began the process of trading for superstar edge rusher Maxx Crosby — before backing out. The medical information didn’t check out, they said, so Crosby was returned to the Raiders and Baltimore signed free-agent Trey Hendrickson. Again, it could be a great move, but it is also controversial. Let’s not shy away from highlighting the good items along with the controversy. Two-time NFL MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson showed up for voluntary offseason workouts, which he skipped last year. Jackson is due for a new contract, and he’s still building a relationship with Minter and new offensive coordinator Declan Doyle. So it’s a big deal that he was present for the voluntary portion. Last year, Jackson had his worst regular season since 2021, and just as important, his organization is trying to build something new — and very much around him. He needed to be there. 3. EVERYONE’S AFRAID TO SAY If Kirk Cousins was initially avoiding the Raiders, I’d understand why. Quarterback competitions are rarely fair, if ever. So I can understand why it took so long for Kirk Cousins to land with the Las Vegas Raiders. It was, after all, reported almost immediately after his release by the Falcons on March 11 that he would be a Raider. But the veteran quarterback took his time to be 100 percent sure that Las Vegas was the best place for him. And that difficulty probably has very little to do with anyone currently on the Raiders. It has everything to do with the guy who's about to be a Raider: Mendoza. In fact, Las Vegas might be a good football team in 2026. It would defy what we know about the Raiders, generally speaking, because the organization has won 10 games (or more) just one time since 2017. But if you look simply at their offense — which is often the key to a big turnaround (like what the Patriots and Bears did last year) — then you’ll see reason for optimism. Running back Ashton Jeanty was one of the best prospects in last year's draft, and there's still hope for him. Brock Bowers is the best tight end in the NFL at just 23 years old. New head coach Klint Kubiak was the best offensive coordinator in football last year. Center Tyler Linderbaum was the best offensive lineman on the free agent market. Whether it’s additions or returners, there’s a lot to like about the Raiders. Even while the situation is murky at QB, it’s the good kind of uncertainty. Las Vegas should have a difficult decision to make in September because it has a healthy competition between Cousins and the projected No. 1 overall pick, Mendoza. Which gets me back to my original point: QB competitions are rarely fair. Tom Brady has made it clear that he doesn't want Mendoza to start right away. And Cousins is a legit option to make that plan happen. Together, they can try to do what, historically speaking, hardly ever happens: have the No. 1 pick begin his NFL career as a backup quarterback. But it would be anomalous. Cousins must know that. And so it made sense that he didn't want to jump at being a likely backup for the Raiders. "I honestly don’t want to start unless I’m the best option, and I told Klint that," Cousins told reporters last Wednesday. "The best player should play. As long as that’s the case, I have no qualms about however it plays out. I do think Fernando is going to be a great addition to our team. I think he’s going to have a great future in our league. "I have no problem being a voice in the room to help him to the degree I can. He’s going to have great support around him with the coaching staff. But to be able to watch a veteran quarterback go through his habits and routines and process, that can be a great asset for him." Cousins seems to understand his role for the Raiders in 2026. He might know — well before Las Vegas realizes it — that he is not likely to hold off Mendoza for long. The top pick in the draft is almost always a Week 1 starter. [How a 'Life-Giving' FaceTime with Tom Brady Helped Kirk Cousins Sign with Raiders] 4. PEELING BACK THE CURTAIN Two NFL Draft prospects are trying to allay injury concerns and land in the top 10. There might not be two prospects with more important medical information than receiver Jordyn Tyson and tackle Francis Mauigoa. And that’s why we’re seeing them both make late pushes to get the necessary information in front of NFL teams. In the case of Tyson, he has decided to host a workout for NFL teams on April 17 — just one week before the draft. Last season at Arizona State, Tyson suffered a hamstring injury in mid-October and missed three games. He also sat out of drills at the NFL Combine and ASU Pro Day. It’s rare to see a hamstring injury drag on this long, but Tyson has maintained he’s healthy and will be ready to play. This workout could go a long way in confirming that. And because there’s a lot of parity between the top three receivers in this draft class (from Carnell Tate to Makai Lemon to Tyson), it could go so far as to thrust him into a spot as the top receiver. [Ranking the Top 10 Wide Receivers in the 2026 NFL Draft] With Mauigoa, he did a medical recheck last Friday to address concerns regarding a back injury that gave him issues at the end of last season at Miami. Teams must have come away from the combine feeling like the medicals left them with questions. So Mauigoa’s recheck is an effort to answer those questions — and land in the top 10 on April 23.

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