Touchdown Wire

Now that the scouting combine is over for another year, it’s “No Sleep ‘Til Hammersmith” time for all 32 NFL teams. Everyone’s flying back to their home cities and facilities, and the overall operations continue two-fold. One side controls the additions and enhancements of draft information everybody got from prospect interviews and drills and medicals from Indianapolis. The other side is in charge of driving free agency strategy, as the new league year begins on Wednesday, March 16 at 4:00 p.m. ET. Before that, starting on Monday, March 14 at noon ET, clubs are permitted to contact, and enter into contract negotiations with, the certified agents of players who will become unrestricted free agents upon the expiration of their 2021 player contracts. So, it’s a busy time for all teams. Perhaps the busiest of the year in which the actual draft is not involved. And speaking of drafts, here’s one person’s idea of how things may stack up in the first round, now that the combine has come down.