Rumors, Rumors, Rumors on Draft Eve

It was late January. The site was the Tampa Convention Center. Mark Sanchez (below) plopped down on a sofa in a suite belonging to the folks at Gatorade. Dressed in a suit, Sanchez was getting ready for a full afternoon of media interviews at the Super Bowl.

He answered questions pleasantly, had something to say, was excited about his future and spent more time asking about Kansas City than answering questions about his future.

Now, almost three months later, Sanchez and his future may be the biggest news of the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft.

   Lions & Stafford Agree To Mega-Contract/Details After the Jump

The NFL rumor mill says there are six teams reportedly interested in Sanchez, including the St. Louis Rams who have the second pick. The other teams are Seattle at No. 4, Cleveland in the fifth spot, Denver at pick No. 12, Washington at the 13th pick and the New York Jets with selection No. 17.

Friday evening, NFL.com reported that the Rams have purchased a plane ticket from Los Angeles to St. Louis for Sunday night in the name of a Mark Sanchez. This news came out of the Rams offices in St. Louis. It may be true, it may be a ploy or maybe the travel folks at the Rams had some frequent flier coupons that were about to expire.

On Friday, Jets GM Mike Tannebaum told ESPN that he was interested in trading up. He said that desire wasn’t necessarily for Sanchez. Denver head coach Josh McDaniels told the Denver Post that the Broncos at No. 12 had heard from Jacksonville at No. 8. The Jaguars want to trade down.

And on Friday, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder said his team would not trade away a first-round pick next year to move up this year.

“We’re not going to be trading next year’s 1,” Snyder told WTEM. “We’ve already said that several times. We’re really not as a franchise comfortable trading first-round draft picks. I don’t think it’s a wise move to keep trading that pick. It’s always a little bit risky.”

It’s all part of a very busy grapevine as teams and agents pass information, lie to each other and generally try to acquire information without giving up any themselves.

The climb of Sanchez up the NFL charts is typical for this time of the personnel year. A quarterback with good skills is going to become a prime commodity. When he declared for the Draft, he was immediately considered a first-round selection. As teams got a closer look at him, he started climbing draft boards. The only thing that scared teams was his limited experience starting at Southern Cal.

“The best way to answer that is to talk about the kind of experience I’ve had against the top players around, most of them in the NFL,” Sanchez said back in January. “I started 16 games, played in practice every day with a pro-style offense against a pro-style defense.”

If teams are truly going to attempt to jockey into position to select Sanchez, then Chiefs GM Scott Pioli has a chance to trade out of that third pick. He would probably have to take less than equal value, but a later first-round pick and another choice in the second or third round would more than likely tempt him.

The Chiefs could really be a player if the Rams pass on Sanchez and go for an offensive tackle or LB Aaron Curry

Things were fairly quiet Friday in St. Louis, but in Detroit the Lions and representatives for QB Matt Stafford came to an agreement on a contract.  Late Friday night, Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com, reported it’s a six-year deal for $78 million with $41.7 million guaranteed.

The Denver Post reported that the Broncos asked the Browns about Brady Quinn but were told no. However, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that something could be in the works.

If the Jets can’t get into the chase for Sanchez, they could pursue Redskins QB Jason Campbell according to, the Washington Times.

The New York Daily News reports that the Jets also could pursue Quinn or Campbell if they miss out on Sanchez.