[godoggo]

Great Blue North Draft Report
May 3 (12:01 AM): Not much action for #2 pick… It was supposed to be the pick that shaped the rest of the opening round, but Detroit president Matt Millen was quoted in the local press as saying the Lions actually didn’t receive many significant trade offers for the second pick overall at Saturday’s draft. There had been considerable speculation prior to the draft that as many as 4-5 teams were interested in moving up to take Georgia Tech WR Calvin Johnson at that spot; the Lions, of course, ended up keeping the pick and taking Johnson, rated by many as the best overall prospect in the 2007 draft class for themselves. Millen said, for example, that he never spoke with Tampa Bay before the draft about the pick, but did admit speaking with Atlanta. The Falcons, which had the eighth pick, were reportedly the team most interested in getting Johnson, but didn’t offer enough. Ironically, Millen said the Lions “phones were ringing off the hook" while they were on the clock making their second round selection, a pick they did ultimately trade to Buffalo.
Bolts back off market… After failing to trade him prior to or during alst week’s draft, San Diego General Manager A.J. Smith has reportedly told other teams around the league that RB Michael Turner will not be traded under any circumstance. Several teams, including Tennessee and Buffalo had reportedly been interested in acquiring Turner, who will be a free agent at the end of the season, but weren’t willing to cough up the Chargers asking price, which appears to have been for a #1 pick plus other considerations. In the end, Buffalo chose RB Marshawn Lynch with their opening round pick Saturday, while Tennessee chose RB Chris Henry in the second round. On the other hand, the Chargers did not select a back themselves meaning that Turner would be their only viable option if LaDainain Tomlinson were ever sidelined for an extended period.
Free agent signings continue… As the list of names of undrafted rookie free agents who have officially signed with NFL teams continues to leak out, we have posted our annual Undrafted rookie signing scoreboard which we will keep updated through the opening of the regular season in September. As we have noted though many of the ‘empty’ boxes have actually signed, but the teams have not formally announced their UDFA signings until after their respective rookie mini-camps, most of which will be held on one of the next two weekends. And we don’t like to include names of players who have ‘signed’ with teams as there are actually two categories of rookie free agent signings. Most are regular signings with players in effect getting training camp invitations, but many of the so-called signings which tend to be announced by local press outlets are in reality only invitations to tryout at a team’s mini-camp. So for example, undrafted Wisconsin QB John Stocco will be one of several rookies to attend this weekend’s rookie orientation of Green Bay hoping to earn a full free-agent contract.
Bills re-up top personnel guy… Buffalo reportedly has reached an agreement with Tom Modrak to remain with the Bills. Modrak has been in charge of the Bills’ college coaching the past six years as the team’s nominal assistant G.M. Meanwhile, San Francisco has announced the retirement of college area scout Oscar Lofton.
Free agent signing update Great Blue North Draft Report