The 2014 draft will likely take place the weekend of May 15-17. (Greg Payan/AP)

For reasons that the NFL appears set to explain as scheduling conflicts or respect for religious holidays, the league’s draft will move from late April to mid-May, starting in 2014.

What does that mean for the pre- and post-draft processes? Let’s take a closer look, by sorting through the facts and fiction of the changes.

1. The NFL combine would be less important.

False. But … the atmosphere at the combine might be very, very different, if the NFL also opts to move the start of the league year before that annual event — currently, the combine occurs in February with the start of the league year (and, along with it, free agency) beginning in March.

Should those reverse, with the league year opening before the combine in March, there’s no doubt that the media would see less access to coaches and GMs in Indianapolis. Those that still make themselves available would have to play their cards much closer to the vest, so as not to tip any free agency plans. Teams also will have a much greater sense of what players and positions to focus on, based off the start of free agency.

It sounds as if the combine-to-draft timing would be similar — about two months between — so the evaluation period would not change all that much.

2. This will screw up mini-camp schedules.

True (sort of). This year, the earliest rookie minicamps began on May 3, with some Offseason Team Activities (OTAs) opening on May 13. All of that would have to be pushed back, leaving less time for teams to squeeze in a rookie mini-camp, plus a full-team mini-camp and three OTA sessions before training camp in July.

There’s still a window more than wide enough to get it all done, mind you — the latest mini-camps this offseason run June 18-20 — but it’s quite possible that some teams will kick that three-day rookie camp to the curb in the interest of time.. Why wait to bring the whole team together if you don’t have to?

3. Rookies will be behind.

True and False. Obviously, from a simple glance at the calendar, pushing the draft back a couple of weeks will give incoming rookies less time to acclimate themselves to their new teams. (It also would leave potential draft picks more time to slip-up off the field before the actual draft). However, as mentioned right above, teams could still be able to get their rookie mini-camps in well before training camp, if they choose.

A later draft also could allow a lot more rookies to actually participate in those camps. The NFL currently has a (rather ridiculous) rule on the books that prevents rookies from taking part in mini-camps until their college class graduates — Oregon’s draft picks, for example, cannot join practices this year until after the school’s June 17 graduation; Stony Brook running back Miguel Maysonet was cut by the Eagles without being able to practice, because his school does not graduate until May 23.

Those dates might still fall later than the NFL draft, but it’s likely that more rookies would be able to jump into camp in May.

4. Teams will be able to scout more players.

True. Peter King touched on this in his Tuesday mailbag, and it’s particularly important for any players that may have to sit out the combine with an injury.

Now, teams still will have to comply with NFL rules that limit them to 30 pre-draft prospect visits. They may use them differently, however, focusing a bit more on those players that did not see combine action or were rehabbing injuries. Again, keep in mind that teams will have a pretty good idea of where they stand heading into the combine, should free agency begin before that event.

More scouts might be utilized for pro days, under this new schedule, with an extended calendar allowing for that extra travel between the end of the college season and the May draft.

5. This will make the draft less interesting.

False. When all is said and done, this won’t change all that much in terms of how teams approach the draft or how everything unfolds at Radio City Music Hall. A later draft date simply gives teams more time to prepare, while the proposed combine/league year calendar flip-flop may impact how teams go about their business at the combine.

Other than that, the draft will be pretty status quo once it rolls around — even if you’ll have to deal with two or three more weeks of experts’ chatter and mock drafts.

Dwight Freeney struggled in 2012, his first season as a 3-4 OLB. (Paul Sancya/AP)

If the San Diego Chargers could find any silver lining in Melvin Ingram’s extremely unfortunate ACL tear, it was that two veteran pass rushers — Dwight Freeney and John Abraham — still sat unsigned on the free-agent market. The Chargers wasted little time snatching up the 33-year-old Freeney, who will take Ingram’s spot at outside linebacker and provide a veteran voice to a relatively young defense.

But here’s the rub: Not only do the Chargers have to show they can adjust their defense to get Freeney in his preferred 4-3 set, they also still have numerous holes elsewhere on the roster.

Freeney said all the right things last offseason when the Colts’ new coaching staff transitioned to a 3-4 look. The results on the field never met expectations, though. After being hobbled by a high-ankle sprain early, Freeney finished the year with 5.0 sacks (his lowest total since registering 3.5 while missing seven games in 2007) and a career-low 12 tackles.

It was a bit of a lost season for the longtime Colt.

San Diego’s challenge will be to get him back in a situation he is more comfortable with — Freeney notched 102.5 sacks over 10 Indianapolis seasons playing defensive end in a 4-3. Does San Diego have the horses to be successful with a hybrid 3-4/4-3 defense?

Sliding to a 4-3 look with Freeney at DE might create other problems. The responsibilities of the three current starting linemen (Corey Liuget, Kendall Reyes and Cam Thomas) would be different, and San Diego would either have to adjust to a nickel package or fit its 3-4 linebacking pieces into a varied scheme. The latter choice could be difficult, since neither Manti Te’o nor Donald Butler really looks capable of playing outside and Jarret Johnson is more of a two-down player.

Which brings us to talking point No. 2 from above: The Chargers’ lingering needs elsewhere. Freeney (or a player with similar pass-rush abilities) became a must-have after Ingram was lost for the season. However, San Diego has been less aggressive elsewhere on its roster, leaving question marks at …

• Wide receiver: The Chargers are putting a lot of faith in third-round pick Keenan Allen (who’s coming off a knee injury) and their underachieving lot from last season, which includes Malcom Floyd, Danario Alexander, Vincent Brown, Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal. While Philip Rivers continues to take most of the heat when this team falters, he had very little help in the passing game last season.

• Offensive line: Rookie D.J. Fluker should step in and start at right tackle, but does anyone in San Diego really feel comfortable with the remainder of this situation? If the season started today, the Chargers probably would line up the highly inconsistent King Dunlap at left tackle and journeyman Chad Rinehart at left guard — reliable guard Louis Vasquez left in free agency and joined the rival Broncos.

The Chargers reportedly have been in the mix for free-agent tackle Max Starks, though nothing has come of that pursuit yet. Fluker was the only draft choice the Chargers made up front, focusing elsewhere for the final six rounds. That decision could backfire.

• Cornerback: Gone is the 2012 (and 2011 and 2010) starting duo of Antoine Cason and Quentin Jammer. For now, their replacements are Derek Cox, a free-agent signing who graded out as the 71st-best corner in football last season on Pro Football Focus; Shareece Wright, a 2011 third-round pick with zero career starts under his belt; 2013 fifth-rounder Steve Williams, who surprised just about everyone by declaring for the draft following his junior year; and Johnny Patrick, claimed off waivers from New Orleans.

Is that group stout enough to hold up against, for example, Denver’s high-powered aerial attack?

• Running back: Ryan Mathews still has to prove that he’s capable of staying healthy and being a No. 1 back. He has just two (fairly cheap) years left on his current contract, so time is running out in that quest. None of the backs behind him — Danny Woodhead, Ronnie Brown or 2012 seventh-rounder Edwin Baker — are guys that you’d want to base a game plan around, either.

• Depth on defense: Mentioned cornerback above, but the Chargers’ D-line depth essentially boils down to ex-Packer Jarius Wynn and a group of undrafted free agents. There also are more uncertainties than the Chargers would like at linebacker, with 2009 bust Larry English, D.J. Smith, Tourek Williams and others.

The Chargers also converted Marcus Gilchrist from corner to safety, to provide Brandon Taylor with competition alongside Eric Weddle. One of those two has to step up in a big way.

San Diego ought to be thrilled that Freeney remained available after Ingram fell — the former Colts star will be welcomed with open arms by the Chargers’ players and fans. He might still have a couple of big seasons left in the tank, too.

Much of that depends, however, on how exactly San Diego is able to utilize him and, in turn, on how the rest of the Chargers adjust to multiple fronts on defense.

Plus, even if Freeney returns to his former QB-dropping self, will he have enough help elsewhere to make the Chargers contenders? There remains plenty unsettled in San Diego, even with Freeney coming on board.

Bruce Irvin made life hard on Cam Newton last season. (Tami Pope/Icon SMI)

Eventually, at some point during the 2013 season, the Seattle Seahawks will possess as deep a cluster of defensive ends as any team in the league. For at least the first four weeks of the season, though, that depth will be put to the test, mainly due to the four-game suspension delivered to Bruce Irvin late last week.

Irvin’s absence could pile on a defensive front that likely will open the year without Chris Clemons (torn ACL) and may have to rely heavily on Michael Bennett, who continues to play through an rotator cuff injury that will require surgery somewhere down the road.

The Seahawks will be Irvin-less for games against the Panthers, 49ers, Jaguars and Texans. That Week 2 showdown with the 49ers could prove particularly important — even at that early point in the season, dropping their home game with San Francisco might be a substantial blow for Seattle’s NFC West title chances. Irvin recorded two sacks in Seattle’s 16-12 win over Carolina last season, and he played significant minutes in his team’s late-season romp over San Francisco.

In this special offseason edition of our Break It Down, we glance back at how Seattle utilized Irvin against Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick last season …

Irvin’s two-sack performance against Carolina in Week 5 last year (two weeks after he recorded two sacks of Aaron Rodgers) helped solidify him as one of the year’s rookie surprises. He played just 20 snaps on the afternoon, almost exclusively on passing downs or as Carolina tried to rally late. Even in that limited playing time, the Panthers really had no answer for his speed.

The shot below is pre-snap on one of Irvin’s two sacks. And it puts on display why the Seahawks’ pass rush can be so difficult to prepare for: They mix and match almost non-stop.

A lot of the time, in Seattle’s version of a 4-3, a nose tackle will line up almost directly over the center. Here, the Seahawks have spread horizontally, with Irvin (circled) and Clemons in positions more comparable to a wide-nine look. Irvin then loops back inside both tackles to get pressure on Newton.

This next shot, from the same play, helps explain why the Seahawks’ coaching staff is so insistent on describing its defense as a hybrid of 4-3 and 3-4 ideas. As we saw in the above screen grab, the Seahawks lined up in a pretty traditional 4-3 look; post-snap, the setup is more reminiscent of a 3-4, with one of the tackles diving straight up the middle and Irvin swinging around to search for a gap, almost as he would if he were blitzing from a linebacker position.

It is Irvin’s speed — and, in theory, the speed of a player like Avril — that allows the Seahawks to play with their line in such fashion.

A couple more examples of Irvin’s play in that Seahawks-Panthers game. Here again, Irvin stunts inside as (in this case) Jason Jones (90) occupies Carolina’s right tackle. You’ll also notice Tony McDaniel (99) starts in the nose-tackle spot, in the “1-technique” between the center and guard.

But Irvin’s speed also can help seal off the edge, too. It’s linebacker Bobby Wagner (yellow X) that winds up with the sack of Newton on the play below, as the Carolina QB scrambles to his left. Irvin, from that “Leo” spot, rushes straight upfield here, engaging the right tackle and helping to hem in RB Jonathan Stewart.

When Irvin holds his position on the end, his speed makes it very difficult for quarterbacks to escape that direction (or for running backs to slip out on screens). Because of that, Seattle also asks him to spy speedier QBs from time to time, as we saw on occasion during a Week 16 win over San Francisco.

As should look familiar by now, Irvin loops around Jones on the play pictured below …

… but this time, rather than take on the two blockers waiting there for him, he stops at the line of scrimmage, his eyes firmly planted on Kaepernick. His main focus is not to get into the backfield, but to make sure Kaepernick does not escape it. By helping to maintain the Seattle front, Irvin forces Kaepernick (as he did Newton) to roll to his blindside.

K.J. Wright then drops Kaepernick for a big loss.

Another look at that Irvin contain below, as tight end Vernon Davis releases out on what becomes a run play, giving Irvin a free shot into the backfield.

Rather than crash down on Kaepernick, though, Irvin stays put on the edge of the line, readying himself for a play-action rollout. Kaepernick hands it off up the middle, where two Seahawks’ linebackers are waiting.

One of the dangers for the Seahawks in having Irvin out there (and a similar danger will be posed in Avril’s presence, as evidenced by his play in Detroit) is that his speed rush, when he’s not careful, can take him way out of plays.

Kaepernick actually made a mistake in this play below, trying to thread a short pass in to a covered receiver despite a huge running lane to his right.

That lane became available because Jones (now with Detroit) was pushed out and the 49ers simply allowed Irvin to run himself out of the play. When the Seahawks spread their defensive ends wide on the line and do not stunt back into the middle, running quarterbacks can find some openings.

Can Seattle survive minus Irvin in Weeks 1 through 4? Absolutely. Will the Seahawks feel his absence? Quite possibly, and that’s especially true against a Panthers team that Irvin dominated in 2012.

Avril is more than capable as a pass rusher, and he will be put to work in a lot of the same ways we saw Irvin at work here.

Tyler Eifert is a reliable blocker, but the tight end’s real allure is as a pass catcher. (Al Behrman/AP)

As soon as the Bengals selected Tyler Eifert with the No. 21 pick in this year’s draft, speculation began regarding exactly how much the Notre Dame product could help Cincinnati’s offense.

What we all might have failed to consider here is the reverse hypothetical — how big a boost Eifert will receive from being a piece of the Bengals’ attack.

QB Andy Dalton, for starters, represents a substantial upgrade over Notre Dame starter Everett Golson, who led the Irish to the BCS title game but completed just 58 percent of his passes and often utilized a run-first mentality. Eifert also now gets to play alongside proven tight end Jermaine Gresham, a legitimate No. 1 tight end and producer of 64 catches last season; the next most productive TE behind Eifert (50 catches) on the Notre Dame roster last season was Troy Niklas, with five grabs. Then there is also the presence of wide receiver A.J. Green. He alone often commands attention from multiple defenders, clearing space on the rest of the field.

All of that should work to Eifert’s advantage in his rookie season.

The Bengals wasted no time beginning to implement more two tight end sets into their offense, using their recent rookie minicamp to see some of what Eifert can do. Which is, to sum up, pretty much everything you’d want from a tight end.

Take Eifert’s game against Purdue last season, for example. The 6-foot-5 Eifert caught four passes for 98 yards in the Irish’s 20-17 win — had Golson looked for him more frequently, Eifert easily would have topped 150 yards receiving and scored once or twice, because he worked his way into favorable matchups all afternoon.

What we’re about to take a look at is all from the first quarter of that game.

Here’s a shot of the first play Notre Dame ran from scrimmage. That’s Eifert (boxed) lined up wide as a split end, one-on-one with Purdue cornerback Josh Johnson, who recently signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers.

Golson gave Eifert a second to clear Johnson’s press-coverage attempt, then simply lofted a pass downfield. Against the 5-foot-10 Johnson, Eifert had a substantial physical advantage. He leaped and hauled in a 22-yard completion. The Irish left Eifert in that position on their second play, but Johnson batted down a pass after Eifert ran a short curl route.

Eifert also spent time lined up as a traditional tight end, next to Notre Dame’s outside tackles. He is more than capable as a blocker — another reason he could pair well with Gresham, whom Pro Football Focus graded out as the Bengals’ second-worst run blocker in 2012.

In our next screen grab, Eifert’s in an H-back role. He opened this formation offset on the right side of the line, before motioning into the backfield as a blocker on 3rd-and-1.

Notre Dame ran for the first down here, right behind Eifert as he cut back off the center’s left shoulder to pick up a crashing linebacker.

The Irish also implemented what was essentially a four-receiver look. Golson set up in the pistol, with a six-man front (five linemen, one tight end), two wide receivers to his right, and Eifert and a receiver to his left.

This became one of those “Why didn’t Golson throw him the football?” instances from Notre Dame’s win. Eifert, operating out of the slot, ran a wheel route, looping around the receiver next to him to put himself in another man-up situation with Johnson. The Purdue safeties drifted toward the middle of the field, leaving Eifert and Johnson on an island with no other defenders in striking distance. Golson wound up scrambling on the play.

Later, out of a similar formation, Eifert sprinted out in front of the receiver to fake a block on Johnson as Notre Dame ran a WR screen play-action. Again, he wound up with no one but Johnson playing defense on him, this time in the end zone; again, Golson delivered the ball elsewhere.

And one more, with Notre Dame spreading the field further.

That’s a pretty standard shotgun look. However, unlike on previous plays where Eifert drew cornerback coverage, he’s shadowed there by a linebacker. Purdue then released him into the middle of a zone coverage, and Golson hit Eifert up the seam for a big gain.

Without even taking into account Cincinnati’s other weapons, it’s pretty easy to recognize why the front office (as well as the front offices of several other teams) were very high on Eifert entering the draft. He’s the type of do-everything tight end that the league covets right now, somewhat cut from the Rob Gronkowski mold.

Eifert may not be quite the masher that Gronkowski is at the line and he’s still developing as a blocker, but the potential is there for Cincinnati to employ Eifert and Gresham in a similar way to New England’s two tight end look — the Patriots ask Gronkowski to do a lot more blocking than people may realize, allowing Hernandez to float.

Gresham (who’s still just 24, by the way) can create matchup problems much in the way that Eifert does, so the Bengals’ options ought to be wide open in terms of where they line up their tight ends.

More attention on that position ought to ease some of Green’s burden, too. Where Eifert’s impact may be felt even more prominently, though, is in the Bengals’ continued search for a No. 2 receiver. That quest has been relatively fruitless thus far, but with Eifert and Gresham both capable of splitting out wide — and both very dangerous in the red zone — Dalton will have options to throw to, even if the receivers behind Green falter. It is far from out of the question that the Bengals line up Green on one sideline and Eifert or Gresham on the other, with two backs, in the red zone.

Regardless of how the Bengals choose to unleash their TE duo, Eifert’s arrival clearly puts a lot more options on the table.

Johnathan Franklin was drafted after Eddie Lacy, but may wind up with more snaps. (Tony Avelar/AP)

It really was not all that long ago that the Green Bay Packers had an imposing threat at running back. In both 2008 and 2009, Ryan Grant topped 1,200 yards on the ground, while averaging 6.4 and 7.9 yards per catch out of the backfield, respectively.

But an injury sidelined Grant for almost all of 2010, and the Packers have spent the past three seasons trying to replicate his success. They were closer last year than people may realize — Green Bay finished as a middle-of-the-road rushing team (20th overall) and topped 100 yards on the ground in six of its final eight games, including a playoff loss to San Francisco.

Those numbers, and the Packers’ recent run game in general, might have been even better were it not for repeated injury woes. Not only did the Packers lose Grant three seasons back, but also Alex Green tore his ACL in 2011, James Starks dealt with myriad problems and Cedric Benson was sidelined by a Lisfranc injury in 2012. Even incoming rookie Eddie Lacy is trying to prove that toe surgery in 2012 will not hinder him going forward.

The arrivals of rookies Lacy and Johnathan Franklin have Packers fans hoping their team’s run game can crank up another notch this coming season. But can Lacy handle an every-down load? Is Franklin better than NFL teams gave him credit for in the draft? And are the incumbent backs (Green, Starks and DuJuan Harris) ready to cede playing time?

This will be one of the most intriguing position battles to watch come training camp. Let’s take a look at what each guy brings to the table:

BURKE: Position battles to watch this summer

Alex Green

The 24-year-old Green showed some legitimate promise last season, a year removed from that aforementioned ACL tear. This run of his against the Colts last season provides a little taste of what he can do — Green runs downhill, is pretty sharp in and out of his cuts and will bounce it outside when there’s an opening. That run also highlights another aspect the Packers must consider here: Green does not have breakaway speed. There, he was caught by a pair of Colts defenders, one being linebacker Kavell Conner.

Green did, however, catch 18 passes out of the backfield last season and graded out as the best pass-blocking back on the Packers’ roster in 2012, per Pro Football Focus.

He also might be even better in 2013. Green recently told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was “never really quite” 100 percent last season following his knee injury.

Green led the Packers in rushing during the 2012 regular season with 464 yards on 135 carries.

DuJuan Harris

One of the Packers’ playoff stars, Harris did not even crack the lineup until Week 13 (as Green struggled with a sore knee), but he led the way on the ground in postseason with 100 yards and two touchdowns. One of those scores came in the divisional round against San Francisco — Harris took a handoff up the gut, accelerated between the 49ers’ linebackers, then dropped safety Donte Whitner with an outstanding juke to find the end zone.

Had the Packers not picked up Lacy and Franklin, Harris would have been the odds-on favorite to take the No. 1 job out of camp. He’s just 5-foot-9, though, and did minimal work as a pass catcher out of the backfield last year.

Harris seemed to get better the more snaps he received, which makes sense given his lack of experience.

James Starks

If Starks could stay healthy, he might be a dynamite option in Green Bay’s backfield. He was the Packers’ playoff hero during their Super Bowl run at the end of the 2010 season, really coming out of nowhere to rush for 315 yards in four postseason games.

Starks probably has more downfield speed than Green, and he’s shown the type of vision the Packers are hoping Harris can attain. But he simply has not been able to stay on the field.

Eddie Lacy

What makes Lacy a fit for this Packers’ offense? Well, he’s powerful and aggressive between the tackles — think what Green Bay likes in fullback John Kuhn but with exponentially more athleticism. Rotoworld’s Evan Silva charted 59 of Lacy’s Alabama carries before the draft and discovered that Lacy “fell forward” while being tackled on 52 of them. That’s the type of extra effort that the Packers have been unable to find, part of why they often spread the field with empty backfields in short-yardage situations, relying on Aaron Rodgers to either deliver a quick strike or sneak it.

Lacy’s go-to is a spin move (you can see it in action on the first snap of this tape), but he’s shifty enough that defenders have to stay on their toes.

Aside from durability concerns, the questions following Lacy to the NFL are about his potential as a three-down back: Can he block? Will he catch enough passes? He shows promise both places, but those uncertainties may have led the Packers to draft …

Johnathan Franklin

The UCLA star really is unique in Green Bay’s backfield competition. He ran a 4.49 40 at the combine, while his 5-foot-10, 205-pound stature  puts him close to Harris’ 5-9, 208 listing — but Franklin might be more solidly built.

Whereas the Packers may need to wait on Lacy as a third-down back possibility, Franklin is versatile enough to play whenever asked (talents that are on display here). If this winds up being a two-man situation with Lacy and Franklin seeing the bulk of the action, you can bet that Lacy will be used in traditional run situations, while Franklin earns more time when the Packers want to air it out.

GALLERY: Rookies at NFL Minicamps

***

Obviously, just loading up a position on the depth chart does not guarantee success — look at the Jets’ QB bumblings or Oakland’s failures at receiver. So, just bringing in two rookies to pile on top of three veterans will not necessarily bring the Packers a better run game.

What may do that, however, is the healthy mix of abilities that Green Bay appears to have corralled. The trick for the Packers will be figuring out which guy to have on the field … or when to turn to a rotation.

With camp a few weeks away, the safe money is on Lacy handling first- and second-down duties and Franklin spelling him on third downs or if the Packers find themselves behind late. Harris and Green, especially, could have a lot to say about that plan.

BURKE: Each team’s most pressing question

Desmond Bryant’s mugshot went viral earlier this offseason. (Courtesy of Miami-Dade County Police Dept.)

Between the draft and free agency, much of the NFL offseason is spent celebrating talent that’s either entering the league or on the move. The extended down time between the conclusion of one season and start of another, though, often means positive news is interrupted by more disheartening stories.

And so, in light of Rolando McClain’s decision to retire rather than attempt to get his career back on track, Audibles presents the 10 players who have had the toughest offseasons, whether due to arrests, controversies, dumb quotes or more general disappointments.

BURKE: Each team’s most pressing question

10. Desmond Bryant: Not exactly sure how to score Bryant’s epic mugshot after being charged with criminal mischief. If you put yourself in the unfortunate position of needing to have a mugshot taken, may as well go for broke, right? That popular photo came as a result of a claim from a Florida family that Bryant showed up drunk at their home at 5:30 a.m., repeatedly banging on the front door and ripping off the door handle.

That didn’t scare teams away from the impending free agent; Bryant still signed a five-year, $34 million contract (including $15 million guaranteed) with Cleveland.

9. Brian Urlacher (and other unsigned free agents): Even now, in mid-May, the list of free agents looking for homes still includes a who’s who of former stars. There’s Ahmad Bradshaw, Michael Turner, Dwight Freeney, John Abraham, Kerry Rhodes and, of course, Urlacher.

There were some rumblings that the Vikings had interest in Urlacher, but coach Leslie Frazier shot that down this week. The 34-year-old Urlacher has been one of the best linebackers of his generation. Age, however, may have caught up to him — and his NFL future is very much in jeopardy because of that.

8. Justin Blackmon: Perhaps the coaching change in Jacksonville will be what Blackmon needs to keep his career on the straight and narrow — new head coach Gus Bradley told the Florida Times-Union that he trusts Blackmon because, “He’s never done anything wrong with me.”

That’s all well and good, but Bradley’s tenure will begin sans the team’s No. 1 receiver after Blackmon was suspended four games this offseason for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy. Despite that, Blackmon insisted recently that he doesn’t have a substance abuse problem. The receiver also has a pair of DUIs on his record, including one while he was still at Oklahoma State. He’s coming off a promising rookie season in which he caught 64 passes, but Blackmon can ill-afford another slip-up. Another violation of the substance-abuse policy will net Blackmon a season-long suspension.

7. Ryan Nassib: Of all the players — and, particularly, all the quarterbacks — who slipped in the draft, Nassib’s fall may wind up being the most damaging. The Syracuse star, whom the Bills were reported to want with the No. 8 pick, dropped all the way to 110th. There, he landed with the Giants, where he now finds himself stuck behind the durable Eli Manning. It was a drop so surprising that even Nassib’s former college coach, Doug Marrone (now the Bills’ head man), talked about how it hurt him to pass on Nassib to start the QB’s precipitous drop. Nassib himself described his draft experience as disappointing and “strenuous.”

6. Rolando McClain: The former No. 8 overall pick “retired” on Tuesday at 23 years old — he’s already hinting at coming back eventually. Even if he does get back on the field, McClain has a long way to go to clear himself of “bust” status.

He’s also dealing with legal issues that he’ll need to sort out, with a July 9 court date pending on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. McClain has been arrested at least three times since 2011, all in his hometown of Decatur, Ala. The most recent, a disorderly conduct charge, came in April, shortly after signing a contract with the Ravens, who gave him a second chance after legal troubles and disappointing play caused the Raiders to sever ties with him.

5. Michael Boley: When you’re a free agent, the last thing you want is to give teams a reason to avoid signing you. Boley did just that with an arrest on charges of felony child abuse in February, just three days after being cut by the Giants. The Giants reportedly were considering re-signing the 30-year-old linebacker. However, with Boley now facing a possible suspension from the league, that scenario seems far less likely.

4. Armonty Bryant: The Browns gave Bryant a shot, drafting him at No. 217 overall, despite a meandering college career that saw the defensive lineman arrested and suspended after trying to sell pot to an undercover police officer.

Bryant rewarded the Browns’ faith in him by getting arrested for a DUI less than a week after the draft. Cleveland has not cut Bryant yet, with the team admitting it considered that option before deciding to give Bryant another chance. Suffice it to say, he’s walking a mighty fine line.

3. Tim Tebow: The Arena Football League’s Philadelphia Soul, co-owned by ex-NFL QB Ron Jaworski, recently offered Tebow a backup job. And that’s the best opportunity on the table for the 2007 Heisman winner at the moment.

After posting a 7-4 record as a starter and leading the Broncos to a playoff win in 2011, Tebow was squeezed out of Denver’s plans by Peyton Manning. His career then took a serious hit last season, as he wallowed on the Jets’ bench, unable to supplant Mark Sanchez at QB.

The Jets waived Tebow in late April and, since then, coaches and GMs around the league have said rather emphatically that they have no plans to pursue the southpaw QB. Tebow’s chances of landing on an NFL roster prior to the start of the 2013 season are growing increasingly slim.

2. Daryl Washington: Double whammy. Washington drew a four-game suspension back in April for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy, then he was arrested in May for domestic assault, with his ex-girlfriend accusing him of grabbing her by the throat and pushing her, causing her to break her collarbone. That situation could lead to an additional suspension, once the legal proceedings play out. At the very least, Washington will miss the first quarter of the 2013 season and likely has a short leash in Arizona now.

1. Titus Young: Where to begin here? Young was arraigned this week on eight separate criminal charges and reportedly was arrested four separate times in a 10-day span. He’s currently facing seven years in prison for a variety of misdeeds, including assaulting an officer.

Young’s father, Richard Young, told the Detroit News that his son suffers from a brain disorder, stemming from an alleged concussion during his rookie season. Richard Young said Titus has not been taking the medication to treat that condition as prescribed.

Young was released by the Detroit Lions after a tumultuous 2012 season. He then signed with the St. Louis Rams, only to be released again a few days later. His NFL career appears to be over.

BANKS: Top hits, misses, everything else of the offseason

(Paul Jasienski/AP)

He may have been there already, but Rolando McClain guaranteed himself a spot in the conversation over biggest NFL draft busts Wednesday, when the Ravens announced his retirement.

“Rolando let me know that he plans to retire from the NFL,” said Baltimore GM Ozzie Newsome, who signed McClain to a non-guaranteed one-year, $700K contract this offseason. “We have placed him on the Reserve/Retired list.”

And so ends (at least temporarily) McClain’s thoroughly disappointing NFL career. The 23-year-old linebacker out of Alabama was the No. 8 pick, by Oakland, in the 2010 draft. but registered just a half-sack in his rookie season. Two more subpar years in black and silver (and off-field issues) led the Raiders to release him.

GALLERY: Draft busts of the modern era

In need of some linebacker help, the Ravens picked McClain up earlier this offseason. He responded to that reprieve by getting arrested in April, his third run-in with the law in less than a year.

One way or another, McClain’s days in Baltimore appeared to be numbered. Between his latest incarceration for disorderly contact and the Ravens’ additions of Arthur Brown and Elvis Dumveril via the draft and free agency, respectively, McClain faced a battle for his roster spot. He instead saved the Ravens the trouble by bailing.

The mere fact that the Ravens had not released him before Wednesday hinted that they were hopeful he could provide some depth at an inside linebacker spot — Brown, Jameel McClain and Albert McClellan look like the top three options for two positions.

Oakland’s selection of McClain back in 2010 came just three years after the franchise whiffed on JaMarcus Russell in Round 1 and one draft following a misfire on WR Darrius Heyward-Bey. The list of players taken after McClain in the 2010 first round includes C.J. Spiller, Earl Thomas, Jason Pierre-Paul, Maurkice Pouncey, Demaryius Thomas and Dez Bryant.

McClain was a Butkus Award winner in his final season at Alabama and helped the Tide to a BCS national title, before declaring for the draft after his junior season. While there were some questions about his ability to play three downs in the NFL, McClain’s pick by the Raiders generally received high marks (including on SI.com).

Sadly, this was another case where a player’s natural ability never translated to the field at the NFL level — for McClain, due in large part to his failure to stay clean in the eyes of the law.

Given McClain’s young age, this may have the makings of a retirement that does not stick for long. For now, though, the Ravens can forget about trying to make McClain into their latest restoration project.

Jonathan Cooper should greatly aid a Cardinals’ offensive line that struggled mightily last season. (Matt York/AP)

The Arizona Cardinals started 4-0 last season. Remember that?

They knocked off the Seahawks in Week 1, then marched into Foxboro and took down the mighty Patriots in Week 2. Wins over Philadelphia and Miami followed, with QB Kevin Kolb throwing a combined five touchdowns passes in those games, and just like that the Cardinals were the NFL’s surprise team at the quarter pole.

Unfortunately for them, they also were a league laughingstock over the final 3/4 of the year — their lone win over the final 13 weeks of the regular season came over the Lions on Dec. 16. That 38-10 triumph snapped a nine-game losing streak (and, as luck would have it, also cost the Cardinals three or four spots in the draft).

The Cardinals’ collapse enticed them to make some big changes, both at QB, where Carson Palmer will replace Kolb; and at head coach and GM, where Bruce Arians and Steve Keim now have the reins, respectively. That new regime has also made some smart moves this offseason.

The result: Arizona could be a much improved team in 2013. And the standings might not show it at all.

That’s because the Cardinals have the current misfortune of playing in the NFL’s best division, the NFC West. San Francisco and Seattle are the two most popular conference-champion picks for this coming season (per the gambling site Bovada, the 49ers are Super Bowl favorites at 6/1 odds; Seattle is fourth at 17/2). Also standing in Arizona’s way is a St. Louis team that finished 7-8-1 last season (including a 2-1-1 mark against the Niners and Seahawks) and stocked up in the draft with players like Tavon Austin and Alec Ogletree.

The Cardinals finished 1-5 against their NFC West rivals last season, the lone victory that Week 1 takedown of Seattle. Another six intra-division games loom this season, as always, plus trips to New Orleans, Tampa Bay and Tennessee and home games with Atlanta, Houston and Indianapolis.

Will the Cardinals even be able to match last year’s win total, given that daunting schedule?

Even if they don’t take a page out of their early 2012 playbook and sneak up on some people, there’s plenty of evidence that this ship is headed in the right direction. Consider that:

• Arizona still has Larry Fitzgerald, easily a top-10 receiver in this league, though his numbers have suffered due to poor QB and offensive line play in recent seasons.

• The Cardinals addressed that sieve-like line by drafting guards Jonathan Cooper (Round 1) and Earl Watford (Round 4), two important building blocks along the interior.

• Calais Campbell continues to be one of the league’s best 3-4 defensive ends — Pro Football Focus graded him out as the No. 3 player at that position last season.

• Karlos Dansby, Jasper Brinkley, Kevin Minter, Alex Okafor and Lorenzo Alexander were added to the linebacking corps in an effort to improve a run D that ranked 28th last season.

• Patrick Peterson is among the game’s brighter stars at cornerback — he picked off seven passes last season — and received help with the offseason signings of Antoine Cason and Jerraud Powers, as well as the draft selection of Tyrann Mathieu.

Long story short, Arizona’s dream of returning to relevance is not just a desert mirage. But there remains plenty to be concerned about, starting with the quarterback position.

With the Kolb era coming to a dismal end, Arizona turned to Palmer as its next hope there. The veteran QB could be a nice fit in Arians’ offense, too, and should offer Fitzgerald much more consistent options in the passing game. Palmer is also 33 years old, fell out of favor in Oakland and has a combined 12-28 mark as a starter since 2010.

Arizona also still needs to figure out who its No. 2 receiver will be: Ryan Swope, Andre Roberts or Michael Floyd? That offensive line remains a work in progress, as well, especially at tackle — Arizona allowed more sacks (58) than any team in the league last season.

Oh yeah, and Pro Bowl linebacker Daryl Washington will miss the first four games of the year for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy and could be facing a longer suspension, following an offseason arrest. His absence could be doubly painful since the Cardinals bid farewell this offseason to stalwarts Kerry Rhodes, Adrian Wilson, Quentin Groves and defensive coordinator Ray Horton (in favor of Todd Bowles).

But when all the ins and outs of Arizona’s roster reworkings are done, the only question that matters is this: Are the Cardinals headed in the right direction?

It’s easy to get caught up in the intoxication of a new course of action. Every coaching/GM change inherently brings an air of optimism along with it, often ensued by a letdown. The Cardinals need look no further than Denny Green’s run as head coach (or the end of Ken Whisenhunt’s time with Arizona) as evidence.

What seems to lay the groundwork here for brighter days is the shrewd approach Keim has taken to his personnel moves thus far.

The draft brought the Cardinals as many as seven or eight rookies that could contribute early, including sixth-rounders Ryan Swope and Andre Ellington. Keim has coupled that infusion of youth with low-risk signings — Dansby, Cason and RB Rashard Mendenhall all received cheap, one-year deals; Palmer’s three-year, $26 million contract likely will cost Arizona only $10-$16 million over the next couple of seasons.

Rather than swing for the fences and overpay one or two big-name players, the Cardinals have focused on staying viable long-term, supplementing promising but unproven talent with reliable veterans.

The trick will be sticking with that slow-and-steady outlook if (when?) the Cardinals struggle to compete against the rest of the NFC West in 2013.

That 4-0 start by the Cardinals in 2012 was misleading — Arizona was never quite as good as it seemed early. The reverse scenario might play out this year, as an improving Cardinals team struggles to find wins.

Melvin Ingram was drafted in the first round in 2012 to give some juice to the San Diego Chargers’ pass rush. (Jeff Gross/ Getty Images)

Antwan Barnes is a New York Jet and Shaun Phillips a Denver Bronco, so the San Diego Chargers had every intention to turn one of their starting outside linebacker spots over to 2012 first-rounder Melvin Ingram.

On to Plan B.

Ingram tore the ACL in his left knee during Tuesday’s OTA workout, the team announced. That injury will end Ingram’s second season before it even begins.

It also leaves the Chargers in an absolutely dire situation at linebacker. Ingram picked up just one sack last season, but the Chargers had high hopes  he could be their disruptive presence off the edge this season. Without him, they’re down to Jarret Johnson, 2009 first-round bust Larry English and 2013 sixth-rounder Tourek Williams, plus a couple of undrafted free agents.

Johnson (essentially a two-down run-stuffer) and English played 703 combined snaps last season — 154 fewer than Phillips played on his own. Williams picked up 6.5 sacks for Florida International last season, so the opportunity could be there for him to step up, but all expectations were that he would be a special-teams player in 2013 and ease into a bigger role.

The disheartening development could thrust San Diego into the mix for veteran edge-rushers John Abraham and Dwight Freeney.

Abraham reportedly has been holding out hope that he could find a full-time job somewhere in the league. San Diego may suddenly be able to offer that chance. Freeney could be a fit, too, though the Chargers are pretty late to that party — Freeney’s expected to begin visiting a handful of teams this week.

Beyond those two, there’s not an abundance of good options at the 3-4 OLB spot. Also-rans like 36-year-old Clark Haggans or former Charger Antwan Applewhite may be considered, if only because San Diego has to find another body or two to compete now.

This is a setback that the Chargers could ill-afford. They’re already facing the challenge of breaking in a new coaching staff in a division that looks like it is Denver’s to lose. The Chiefs should be a team on the rise too, thanks to Andy Reid’s arrival and the additions of players like Alex Smith and Eric Fisher. San Diego, coming off a 7-9 year and having missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, may have struggled to keep up as it was.

Now, with Ingram down, the Chargers’ decision to put off adding pass-rush help until later in the draft looms as a potential dagger, even if their first three picks (D.J. Fluker, Manti Te’o and Keenan Allen) filled positions of need.

If there is any silver lining here (and this is not much of one), it’s that Ingram’s injury occurred early enough for San Diego to figure out its next move. None of the options on the table, however, are particularly appealing.

**Update**

ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting the San Diego Chargers will bring in former Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney for a workout. 

Having lost lost Melvin Ingram to a torn ACL, Chargers are bringing DE/LB Dwight Freeney to San Diego on Weds for visit.—
Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) May 15, 2013

(Matt Slocum/AP)

Ray Rice, he of 61 receptions last regular season and 311 over his five years in Baltimore, says that he wants to catch more passes in 2013. That’s good news for the Ravens because, well, someone has to replace Anquan Boldin’s production.

“Now that guys know that I’m a threat out of the backfield, I got to use my hands a little more,” Rice told The Baltimore Sun over the weekend. “I get pushed a lot coming out of the backfield, and that’s a sign of respect, but if I can get my hands and get out on pass routes [I'll] continue to get open for Joe Flacco.”

The Ravens’ apparently salary cap-fueled decision to dump Boldin off on San Francisco for a sixth-round draft pick was one of the offseason’s bigger shocks. The 32-year-old receiver led Baltimore last season with 65 catches, then took over in the playoffs to the tune of 22 receptions, 380 yards and four TDs.

Making the Boldin trade even more of a head-scratcher: The Ravens balked on adding another big-name receiver, doing nothing beyond taking Elon’s Aaron Mellette in the seventh round and signing a couple of undrafted free agents. Granted, Mellette could be a steal. But the Ravens’ clear plan is fill the void left by Boldin with pieces already on the roster.

There is a laundry list of receivers in the mix for the No. 2 receiver slot opposite Torrey Smith, including Super Bowl hero Jacoby Jones, Tandon Doss, Deonte Thompson, David Reed, Tommy Streeter and Mellette. Of that group, only Jones hit double-digits in receptions last season (30).

So, instead of relying on an unreliable receiving corps, the Ravens may be better served to feed the ball to Rice and tight end Dennis Pitta.

How might that happen?

It starts with shucking the notion that the Ravens have to “replace” Bolden by finding an exact replica of him for their offense. Their passive approach to the receiver position in the draft and free agency indicates that Baltimore has embraced that idea.

The Ravens’ alternative is to get more creative with how they take advantage of their proven weapons.

They employed a three-receiver set on 45.3 percent of their snaps last season, including the playoffs (thanks to the always-useful ProFootballFocus.com for the help with these numbers) — Smith and Boldin, with Jones usually sliding in as the third WR option. Barring another trade this summer or breakout camp performances from multiple players, Boldin’s departure should drive that number down, with Baltimore turning to two tight end looks.

The presence of Pitta and fellow tight end Ed Dickson allows for such a change. And it is one that offensive coordinator Jim Caldwell already began to put in practice last season after taking over for Cam Cameron.

Caldwell favored a “12″ personnel grouping (one back, two tight ends) far more than Cameron did. Matt Vensel of the Sun reported the Ravens went to that look 18.2 percent of the time under Caldwell, compared to 12.5 percent under Cameron.

Picking through all the stats, here’s what this means for Rice: A Baltimore offense trending toward fewer three-receiver and more two tight end sets means that the versatile running back will trade in some pass-protecting duties for playmaking.

In other words, Rice may get his wish to become a more integral part of the passing game, because the Ravens’ current roster dictates it.

Let’s also be clear in what exactly the Ravens lost by dealing Boldin. Though some of his most memorable plays during last year’s Super Bowl run came downfield, Boldin is much more of a possession receiver than a traditional deep threat.

Case in point, of Boldin’s 87 catches over the 2012 regular season and playoffs, 47 — or 54 percent — came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage.

That window also accounted for 72 percent of Flacco’s completions last year (282 of 390). Boldin was a go-to option for Flacco in close quarters and over the middle. While one of those myriad wide receivers could step into his shoes, the Pitta/Dickson combo and Rice both excel in those same areas.

Rice, for example, made all but one of his 69 total catches in 2012 inside that 10-yard cutoff, with 49 of the grabs occurring between the hash marks; Pitta and Dickson chipped in 53 more receptions over the middle of the field.

All of this lines up for the Ravens to be, for lack of a better term, a bit more Patriots-like in how they run their offense. Receiver-starved New England stopped attempting to stretch the field horizontally with underwhelming options, and instead began using Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and a bevy of talented running backs to create mismatches against linebackers and safeties.

That’s similar to how the Ravens may move the football this season.

It almost goes without saying that the running game will remain a massive part of Baltimore’s offense, especially with Pierce coming on strong last season to aid Rice. The Rice/Pierce combo, led into the line by Leach, is far too dangerous to take carries from, and the lack of obvious talent at receiver may drop even more of an onus on Baltimore’s ground attack.

When the Ravens take to the air, though, it likely will be with Leach on the sideline and Rice, Pitta, Dickson and Pierce spreading the field underneath.

The 2013 Baltimore offense will not look exactly like the 2012 version. Which is just what Rice would prefer, if his goal is to grab more passes.