3 weeks agoThe New England Patriots quietly brought in free-agent tight ends Brycen Hopkins, Sean McKeon and Mitchell Wilcox in for workouts late last week, which could reflect on their desire to add another layer to the tight end depth chart of Hunter Henry, Austin Hooper and La'Michael Pettway. Hopkins has only 13 receptions on 19 targets for 196 yards and no touchdowns in his four NFL seasons with the Los Angeles Rams. McKeon ended the 2023 season on Injured Reserve due to an ankle injury and has only six catches on 11 targets for 38 yards and one touchdown in his four NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. Wilcox has 29 catches on 35 targets for 211 yards and one touchdowns in his three years with the Cincinnati Bengals.Source: ESPN Boston - Mike Reiss
3 weeks agoNew England Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf said he doesn't think the team currently has a wide receiver that "can beat the backside coverage every single time." The Patriots are most likely to draft their quarterback of the future with the No. 3 overall pick, but they could pair him with a receiver with their next pick at No. 34 overall. ESPN's Field Yates believes South Carolina's Xavier Legette, Florida State's Keon Coleman or Florida's Ricky Pearsall could all be good fits. Legette caught 71 passes for 1,255 yards and seven touchdowns last year and "has some of the best run-after-catch skills in the class," according to Yates. Coleman's size (6-foot-3, 213 pounds) makes him a top red-zone performer. Pearsall caught 65 passes for 965 yards and four touchdowns in 2023.Source: ESPN.com - Field Yates
3 weeks agoNew England Patriots director of scouting Eliot Wolf said late last week that the team is "open for business" at pick No. 3 overall in the upcoming NFL draft and will listen to trade offers. However, Wolf and first-year head coach Jerod Mayo have previously said the only way they're moving further down in the first round is if another team offers an unprecedented. Per sources, the most likely scenario is that the Pats will stay put at No. 3 and select LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, North Carolina's Drake Maye or Michigan's J.J. McCarthy. "You can't win without a quarterback, said one Patriots source late last week. Daniels, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2023, is a dynamic dual threat at the position and has the most pure upside out of him, Maye and McCarthy. But New England may be picking from either Maye or McCarthy if Daniels goes to the Commanders at second overall.Source: ESPN Boston - Mike Reiss
3 weeks agoAccording to NFL Media's Ian Rapoport, free-agent running back Dare Ogunbowale agreed to a one-year deal to remain with the Texans. The 29-year-old spent the last two seasons in Houston. He made 29 appearances for the franchise during that span, amassing 50 carries for 158 yards and a touchdown while adding 22 catches for 122 yards. However, most of Ogunbowale's snaps were as a member of the special teams unit, and that likely won't change during the 2024-25 campaign. As a result, he's not expected to see any attention from fantasy managers, especially with Joe Mixon and Dameon Pierce ahead on the depth chart.Source: Ian Rapoport
3 weeks agoLos Angeles Chargers general manager Joe Hortiz said on Thursday that the Chargers aren't interested in a "fair trade" for the No. 5 overall pick in this year's NFL draft, adding that the club needs to be blown away to move on from the pick. "They have toread more...
3 weeks agoThe New York Jets are prepared to move on from quarterback Zach Wilson, the former second overall pick in 2021, if an interested team makes a worthwhile offer, but they aren't in a hurry to do so. "At that same time, we're obviously open to trading Zach. There have been discussions. Nothing's really changed since we talked in Florida. We're open to trading him, there's just no news to report on that," general manager Joe Douglas said. Unsurprisingly, Wilson has chosen to stay away from the team's voluntary offseason workouts. Wilson was thrown into the fire immediately after Aaron Rodgers tore his Achilles in Week 1 last year, and he failed to improve behind a leaky offensive line. If no teams offer the Jets what they want for the 24-year-old Wilson, there's a chance he could stay in New York and sit behind Rodgers and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor.Source: NFL.com - Nick Shook
3 weeks agoKansas City Chiefs general manager Brett Veach acknowledged that new wide receiver Marquise Brown could have a lucrative role with the team in 2024. With Brown now on the roster, the Chiefs feel better about their situation at the receiver position prior toread more...
4 weeks agoDallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said that he has not started contract-extension negotiations with the team yet, but he did meet with owner Jerry Jones a few weeks ago to discuss the situation. Prescott said he doesn't want to be the highest-paid QB in the league "necessarily" and wants to put the team in the best situation. The 30-year-old had the best season of his career in 2023, but the team flopped again in the postseason, which could make the Cowboys hesitant to do a long-term deal with the former fourth-round pick in 2016 out of Mississippi State. However, an extension would help Dallas lower Prescott's $55.46 million salary cap hit in 2024. Prescott looked great in 2023, but his lack of rushing at the QB position keeps him from upper-tier QB1 status.Source: Dallas Morning News - Michael Gehlken
4 weeks agoNew York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has not reported to voluntary workouts this offseason, according to general manager Joe Douglas. The team has reportedly been trying to trade the former No. 2 overall pick, but trade talks have been at a standstill. With Tyrod Taylor backing up Aaron Rodgers this season, the Wilson project is likely over in New York. The 24-year-old has completed 57% of his passes for 6,293 yards, 23 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions through his first 34 NFL games. A change of scenery would likely be a positive thing for the young signal-caller and the organization, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out.Source: Ari Meirov -- 33rd Team
4 weeks agoThe Jacksonville Jaguars have re-signed offensive lineman Tyler Shatley, the team announced on X on Friday. The former Clemson Tiger joined the Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2014, and he has spent his entire 10-year career with the organization. He has 145 game appearances in his career, including 51 starts (six in 2023). Although he is not expected to compete for a starting role to begin the 2024 season, he brings depth to an offensive line that needs to do a much better job of protecting Trevor Lawrence this season. Shatley has experience at guard and center, making him a versatile veteran up front.Source: Jaguars On X
4 weeks agoOn The Pat McAfee Show, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said "it's been tracking for LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels to go at No. 2" to the Washington Commanders. However, no final decision has been made yet, and Schefter reports that Daniels has had an interest in being other places besides D.C. Daniels appears to be the Commanders' preference at No. 2 overall in next week's draft, but perhaps something changes now if they don't think he'll be fully committed to playing for their organization. General manager Adam Peters said on Thursday that it's pretty much a done deal that Washington won't trade out of the No. 2 pick, but his nugget from Schefter could change some things. In the end, Schefter still thinks Daniels is the favorite to go second overall to the Commanders.Source: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport
4 weeks agoNew York Jets offensive lineman Alija Vera-Tucker's fifth-year option decision is likely to come after the 2024 NFL draft, according to general manager Joe Douglas. "We haven't talked about that yet, we have a little time after the draft," Douglas said. "I'll definitely update you guys on that post-draft." It's not a surprise, and it won't be a surprise if the Jets don't pick up the 24-year-old guard's option after he suffered season-ending injuries in each of the last two years. The former 14th overall pick in 2021 out of USC played in a career-low five games in 2023 due to a torn Achilles that landed him on Injured Reserve early in the year. It remains to be seen how effective Vera-Tucker will be in 2024 coming off the major Achilles injury. Joe Tippmann took over as the Jets' starter at right guard last year with Vera-Tucker out.Source: NFL.com
4 weeks agoThe Carolina Panthers want to make the 2024 draft about a larger point, rather than anything as granular as finding weapons for quarterback Bryce Young after he struggled mightily in his rookie season in 2023. "I think it's not about surrounding Bryce with great players; it's about building a great team, and then Bryce can just do his part of it," new head coach Dave Canales said. Even if the Panthers aren't specifically just looking to add weapons for Young, they'll surely need to bolster what was a terrible offensive line and running game. Carolina already traded for receiver Diontae Johnson this offseason and spent some money to upgrade the O-line. "It's not about getting playmakers for Bryce, it's about getting playmakers for our team," general manager Dan Morgan said.Source: Panthers.com - Darin Gantt
4 weeks agoIndianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard said that tight end Chris Ballard is off the NFL commissioner's exempt list and is back with the team during offseason workouts. Ogletree was recently cleared of domestic-violence charges following his arrest last December. Ogletree was put on the commissioner's exempt list on Dec. 30. The 25-year-old caught nine of his 21 targets for 147 yards and two touchdowns in 12 games (nine starts) in 2023 in what was essentially his rookie season after he didn't play at all in 2022 after being drafted in the sixth round (192nd overall) in 2022 out of Youngstown State due to a torn ACL he suffered in the preseason. Ogletree will be off the fantasy radar as tight end depth behind Jelani Woods, Kylen Granson and Mo Alie-Cox in 2024.Source: ESPN.com - Stephen Holder
4 weeks agoFormer Carolina Panthers wide receiver DJ Chark Jr., one of the top free-agent receivers available with less than a week until the NFL draft, spent Thursday on a visit with the Los Angeles Chargers, according to a source. The Chargers may draft a receiver as early as the fifth overall pick next Thursday night, but they still need starters and Chark could be an option to help build depth at the position now that Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are both gone. The 27-year-old Chark had a 1,000-yard season with the Jaguars in 20219 and scored eight touchdowns, but injuries and inconsistency have limited him in four years since and he hasn't been reliable for fantasy managers. Chark might be intriguing as a late-round dart throw in fantasy drafts if he were to land in LA, but it would also depend on what the Chargers do at the position in the upcoming draft.Source: NFL Network - Ian Rapoport