Which Team Will Eschew 2027 QB Pick By Drafting Ty Simpson?
From the Giants choosing the 2019 draft to tab Eli Manning's successor -- as opposed to the stronger 2018 or 2020 quarterback classes -- to the Broncos drifting down a bad path with their 2016 Paxton Lynch investment, timing a quarterback bet is rather important. Picking the wrong year to dive in can set a franchise back significantly.
Acquiring a quarterback with a first-round pick requires an organizational commitment that effectively barricades a franchise from reinvesting in the position early in the following draft. Even a second-round investment serves as such a commitment, as there are not many examples of teams making a Round 2 QB choice in one draft and then going back to the table with a first- or second-round move at the position the following year. For the most part, if you pick a year to analyze a QB class and make a selection, you are pot-committed.
This makes advanced scouting vital. However, the reports going into the 2025 draft suggested 2026 would be a much better year for quarterback prospects. While the Raiders are set to benefit, the thin 2026 class shows the risks in anticipating a QB crop a year out.
That brings us to Ty Simpson. The consensus QB2 in this year's draft, as our Ely Allen outlined to launch our 2026 Prospect Profile series, has drawn varying opinions. His mock destinations have ranged from the middle of the first round to following Drew Lock, Malik Willis and Will Levis as a player with recent first-round connections falling to Day 2. Unlike the extreme Shedeur Sanders example, Round 2 appears Simpson's floor. That will bring organizations to a decision. Is he worth sacrificing an early investment in the 2027 QB class?
Giants Willing To Entertain Dexter Lawrence Trade Offers
Since Dexter Lawrence‘s trade request went public, there has been a general expectation a deal sending him away from the Giants will not be worked out. Replacing the three-time Pro Bowler would be challenging for New York, while the list of teams willing to authorize an extension upon acquiring him may be short at this point of the offseason.
Interest will be shown by suitors leading up to the draft in the wake of Giants extension talks once again not yielding progress. Two years remain on Lawrence’s deal, and the team is prepared to move forward without a short-term fix like the one worked out last summer or a raise brought on by a new contract. The willingness of the Giants to seriously entertain offers over the coming days will make for an intriguing storyline.
New head coach John Harbaugh spoke publicly about Lawrence’s value to the team during the onset of the Giants’ offseason program. He also raised eyebrows when stating that “everybody is tradable,” however, and it will be interesting to see if New York winds up being prepared to work out a swap in this case. On that note, ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reports the Giants “will at least listen to” calls made regarding Lawrence’s availability. He confirms the team’s preference would be to keep Lawrence in the fold for 2026, but the financial impasse could prove to be a key factor on the trade front.
Lawrence inked an extension in line with other top defensive tackle extensions in 2024. His deal carries an average annual value of $22.5MM, but that figure has been surpassed multiple times with the position’s market continuing to surge. The 28-year-old managed just 0.5 sacks and 12 pressures in 2025, something which has no doubt complicated his efforts to secure a raise. As things stand, Lawrence is owed $20MM next season and $22MM in 2027.
Teams may very well be hesitant to add to those figures in addition to paying a notable price in a trade. Nevertheless, any contender could stand to benefit from adding Lawrence. The Packers made one blockbuster move by acquiring Micah Parsons last offseason, and executives who spoke with SportsBoom’s Jason La Canfora pointed to Green Bay as a logical suitor with respect to Lawrence. Making another win-now move via the trade route would be out of character for the Packers’ front office, but the seven-year veteran would offer a boost to a defensive interior which has plenty of room for improvement compared to last season.
To date, the Packers have not been connected to any firm interest on the Lawrence front. Whether or not that changes will of course depend in large part on the Giants’ asking price. Raanan notes an offer including two Day 2 picks and another on Day 3 could be in store in the case of the Clemson product. La Canfora also writes a first-round selection – at least, in 2026 – is unlikely to be attainable regardless of how strong Lawrence’s market becomes. Improving at the DT spot is already a Giants priority entering the draft, but that could become true to a much larger extent if trade calls were to produce an agreement.
Cowboys DE Donovan Ezeiruaku Expected To Recover In Time For Training Camp
Donovan Ezeiruaku appeared in every game during his rookie campaign, but he underwent hip labrum surgery last month. His recovery process in ongoing, and no setbacks have been encountered.
Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer recently said (via ESPN’s Todd Archer) Ezeiruaku remains on schedule with respect to his rehab following surgery. The 2025 second-rounder is on track to receive full medical clearance in time for training camp as a result. Ezeiruaku will be present for Dallas’ upcoming offseason program, although he will not participate in any team drills.
Logging nine starts in 2025, Ezeiruaku handled a defensive snap share of 55%. The Boston College product managed 40 total stops, nine tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. Ezeiruaku added 26 pressures and one forced fumble while playing in then-defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus‘ 4-3 scheme. The arrival of Christian Parker has resulted in a shift to a 3-4 setup on defense, something which could benefit Ezeiruaku moving forward.
A strong second season from the 22-year-old would help a Cowboys team in need of improvements along the edge. Dallas traded for Rashan Gary and re-signed Sam Williams, but Jadeveon Clowney – who led the team with 8.5 sacks in 2025 – remains on the open market at this time. Archer confirms the Cowboys are expected to focus heavily on defense during the draft, and it would come as no surprise if that were to include an early EDGE investment.
In any event, Ezeiruaku will be counted on to remain a key part of Dallas’ pass rush group for 2026 and beyond. A clean bill of health will certainly be welcomed when padded practices begin during training camp. Acclimating to Parker’s scheme and preparing for Year 2 will be key goals for Ezeiruaku, and he will be able to resume on-field work at the most important part of the offseason provided his recovery remains on track.
CB Joey Porter Jr. Could Be Steelers’ Top Extension Priority
The Steelers had a policy of not negotiating contracts during the season well before general manager Omar Khan took on his current role. Khan has continued that organizational practice while at the helm.
As a result, Pittsburgh has until Week 1 of the 2026 campaign to take care of several financial matters. That includes extensions for pending 2027 free agents such as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. To little surprise, Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show names Porter as the player likely to be Pittsburgh’s top priority with respect to extensions after the draft takes place.
As the 32nd pick in the 2023 draft – one in which the Dolphins’ were stripped of their Day 1 selection – Porter entered the league as a second-rounder. That means he is not subject to a fifth-year option decision like each of the players drafted ahead of him. Porter’s rookie deal will therefore expire after the 2026 campaign. Urgency on the part of Khan and the front office to work out an extension this summer will be something to watch for.
Porter handled a heavy workload during his rookie season and has been a full-time starter since then. The second-generation Steeler has been the subject of criticism based on the rate at which he is penalized, but he has been durable and productive so far in his career. Porter thrived in coverage during the 2025 campaign, allowing just five yards per target and a passer rating of 57.2 as the nearest defender. He also notched double-digit pass deflections for the second time, totaling a career-best 14 this past year.
Entering his age-26 season, Porter is a candidate for a major raise on his second NFL contract. Kaboly predicts a three-year extension allowing the Penn State product to collect $100MM in total – including the nearly $4MM he is owed for 2026 – could be in the range of what winds up being necessary for a deal to be struck. The CB market recently reached $31MM per season, and Porter figures to be among the early beneficiaries of its continued upward movement.
Run Of Tackles Possible In Draft; WRs Could Move Slower
In the NFL draft, so many factors contribute to the decisions each team makes. It obviously starts with an examination of a team’s roster and depth chart, looking not only at the current makeup but also at future contracts set to expire. After evaluating the draft’s prospects, the team will begin to get a picture of what might be available to them when their pick comes around, and that picture improves as they look at the teams in front and around them, predicting the needs those teams will have and their potential to go off script.
All of that is done pre-draft and will continue to be done as rumors go through the media circuit with nuggets of information and as interviews and workouts with players alter draft boards. Even on the day of the draft, all of that preparation can be for naught if a surprising trade occurs or if a couple of surprise picks lead teams to start picking some players earlier than they had planned.
To that point, a recent info dump from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero revealed that the 2026 NFL Draft could potentially feature a surprise run on offensive tackles. At the same time, there’s belief that only two wide receivers will go in the top 15 picks.
In this year’s draft, several teams have been doing their homework on players at both positions, and with only one first-round pick in most cases, many are having to decide between the two. At wide receiver, if it can be determined that two players will go in that range of picks, it’s likely because there are two clear prospects getting linked to teams in that range. One is going to be Carnell Tate out of Ohio State, who has started to distance himself as the WR1 of this class. For a while, Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson was in competition with Tate for that top spot, but his injury history has lowered his draft stock with some teams to the point that he may have even fallen to WR3 at this point behind USC’s Makai Lemon.
Because there only seems to be two, maybe three, options included in this top tier of wide receivers prospects, a team needing a wide receiver in the top 10 picks may have an inclination to jump at the opportunity to take one of the limited elite options so as not to miss out, relying on the depth at tackle to provide them with a decent option later on. This strategy changes when considering the possibility that a run of tackles could take place. If it starts to look as if a starting caliber rookie lineman may not be available the next time that team gets a chance to pick, they may opt to add on one of the options at the top of the run of tackles, relying on the delayed selection of receivers to provide them with some better options at that position for their next pick.
Beyond Tate, Lemon, and Tyson, there are maybe five other wideouts expected to be second-rounders at worst. It would be surprising to find Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., Washington’s Denzel Boston, Alabama’s Germie Bernard, and Louisville’s Chris Bell in the third round. If only two of those eight players are going in the first 15 picks, a team passing up on a receiver in the first round would only need to hope that at least one of those remaining six make it 17 more picks into the second round then a few more back to their first pick of Day 2.
The numbers are similar for offensive tackles expected to be gone by the end of the second round. Utah’s Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor, Clemson’s Blake Miller, and Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor are all expected to be unavailable by the third round of the draft. Even without the news of a run at the position, projections had some combination of Fano, Mauigoa, and Freeling hearing their names within the top 10 or 12 picks.
Those projections are based on teams currently slotted into those draft positions, but rumors seem to indicate that several teams may be aggressive in the first round this year, attempting to trade up to ensure they can land certain players. If this begins to happen, offensive tackles could come off the board even quicker. Currently, in the litany of mock drafts, several see as many as five tackles coming off the board in the first round, but there are quite a few that see all seven names getting selected inside the first 32 picks.
The possibility of a run like that could certainly change how some teams are approaching the first round. Taking a receiver early may mean a team misses out on the top seven tackles altogether, but if a team takes an offensive tackle early, there’s a chance several of the remaining six receivers available in the second half of the first round make it to them in the second round.
This is also assuming that this draft rumor is accurate and not a smokescreen being deployed by a team hoping a top wide receiver somehow falls to them in the wake of the offensive tackle frenzy. It’s a contingency for which teams in that range may want to plan. That way, they’ll be prepared when the moment comes, though they may just have to scramble as new surprises alter other strategies they didn’t plan for. Teams now have 12 days to finish coming up with their draft plans, which are sure to get torn up once the phones start ringing.
Commanders Looking At Defense In First Round?
On the strength of a surprisingly strong rookie Jayden Daniels campaign, the Commanders found themselves a game away from a Super Bowl appearance in 2024. Significant missed time for Daniels and a number of other key contributors led in part to a disappointing 2025 campaign, but another huge factor was a defense that gave up the most yards and the sixth-most points in the NFL. Because of that, ESPN’s Peter Schrager believes Washington will be looking to add to their defense when their pick in the first round arrives.
The Commanders have already done a bit of work to improve things on that side of the ball in free agency, signing outside linebackers Odafe Oweh, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Charles Omenihu, linebacker Leo Chenal, defensive tackle Tim Settle, cornerbacks Amik Robertson and Ahkello Witherspoon, and safety Nick Cross. Settle should join Daron Payne and Javon Kinlaw on the defensive line.
Chenal should slot in next to Frankie Luvu to replace veteran Bobby Wagner in the starting lineup. Oweh, Chaisson, and Omenihu should bolster a pass rush that lost Jacob Martin and veteran Von Miller. Alongside a pair of recent high draft picks, Robertson and Witherspoon will attempt to make up for snaps lost with the departures of Marshon Lattimore, Jonathan Jones, and Noah Igbinoghene, while Cross should be an improvement at safety.
Despite the recent struggles of Payne and Kinlaw, the team already has enough salary sunk into the position, and there isn’t really an interior defender worth taking No. 7 overall. It’s probably safe to eliminate cornerback knowing the team added second-rounders in each of the past two drafts. The Commanders are also probably okay with the back end of their secondary being manned by Cross and Quan Martin, while Jeremy Reaves and Will Harris add depth. That leaves the inside and outside linebacker groups as the best areas to attack.
Schrager believes off-ball linebacker will be the play, projecting Ohio State’s Sonny Styles as the pick. Styles certainly could be a strong addition to the linebacking corps; he’s widely projected as the draft’s top option at the position. Wagner and Luvu dominated the snap share available at the linebacker position on Washington’s defense last year. Each player totaled over 1,100 snaps on defense, and the linebacker with the next-highest snap count topped out at 364. Even as a starter in Kansas City, Chenal was more of a rotation piece on the Chiefs defense. He didn’t even see half the snaps his fellow starters did.
Additionally, neither Luvu nor Chenal worked primarily off-ball last year. Both players served in fairly versatile roles by often lining up on the edge. Chenal split his time about 60-40 favoring off-ball work, while Luvu was much closer to 50-50. Because the Commanders lost their veteran, off-ball stalwart, Styles makes a ton of sense here. Installing the Buckeyes’ top inside linebacker prospect in the middle would allow for Luvu and Chenal to continue in their roaming, supportive roles.
The team could also look at edge rusher. Unfortunately, Styles’ fellow linebacker — and projected NFL edge rusher — Arvell Reese is expected to be long gone at this point in the draft. After Reese, there’s an expectation that one of either Texas Tech’s David Bailey or Miami’s Rueben Bain Jr. will also be selected. There’s a strong possibility that the prospect that isn’t selected after Reese could make its way to Washington at the ninth pick.
Oweh, Chaisson, and Omenihu certainly improve the team’s pass rush over what was left following departures in free agency, but they have only one double-digit sack season between the three of them. If they get an opportunity to add Bailey or Bain in this spot, it may be hard to pass up that kind of value.
This also disregards the offensive side of the ball, where the departures of Deebo Samuel and Noah Brown make wide receiver a potential position of need, as well. Ultimately, several factors will affect the decision the Commanders make 12 days from now, and even those factors could change in the time between then and now. But if Schrager is correct, and the Commanders have defense in mind on Day 1, a linebacker could be an impact move for the franchise and defensive-minded head coach Dan Quinn.
Browns Could Prioritize T Over WR In First Round
The draft needs in Cleveland are fairly obvious, and though they can’t address all of them in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, they can address two. Early reports seem to indicate that wide receiver and offensive tackle are the biggest priorities for the Browns heading into the draft, but which position will they address with their sixth overall pick, and which will have to wait for pick No. 24?
Now, Cleveland didn’t lose anybody from its 2025 receiving corps, but the group from last year underperformed to a point that it can be considered a position of need. Additionally, there are only two players in the room not playing on contract years in 2026, and those players are only under contract for one more year than their corpsman. If the Browns are going to begin rebuilding the room around a new, young pair of hands, now would be an ideal time.
The situation on the offensive line is almost the opposite. With all five starters hitting the free agent market this offseason, Cleveland has been working to rebuild its line after the teardown. The team utilized free agency to bring in guard Zion Johnson and center Elgton Jenkins and traded for former Texans tackle Tytus Howard. It seems the door is open for guard Joel Bitonio to return, if he decides not to retire, but if he does, the Browns re-signed Teven Jenkins, who has plenty of starting experience at guard. The other tackle spot is currently being manned by Dawand Jones, the former fourth-round pick who’s started 20 games in his first three seasons.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, there’s belief that a vast need for quality linemen and a large number of talented prospects could lead to a run on offensive tackles in the first round. At the same time, it’s believed that only two wide receivers could end up going in the top half of the draft, with the eventual WR3 projected to go anywhere from pick Nos. 16-19. Because of this, it would make much more sense for the Browns to address their offensive tackle need than their receiver need.
Locking down the draft’s top receiver — likely Ohio State’s Carnell Tate — would certainly be a great addition to the offense, but it would mean missing out on most of the class’s top tackle prospects if a run takes place. Locking down a top available tackle would mean missing out on Tate, and perhaps Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson and USC’s Makai Lemon, but there are several impact options that make perfect sense in the late-first or early-second round. It could be the difference of having Tate and choosing between Arizona State’s Max Iheanachor, Northwestern’s Caleb Tiernan, or Memphis’ Travis Burke or having one of Utah’s Spencer Fano, Miami’s Francis Mauigoa, Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, or Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor then getting your pick of Texas A&M’s KC Concepcion, Indiana’s Omar Cooper Jr., Washington’s Denzel Boston, Alabama’s Germie Bernard, and Louisville’s Chris Bell.
An interesting additional factor to this situation is the reporting that the Browns have been shopping out their current draft slots in the hope of bringing in more Day 2 draft capital; they seemingly are willing to move down from either the sixth or 24th picks, per Zac Jackson of The Athletic. That could explain the depth at which Cleveland has been researching top offensive tackle prospects, as Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com reports. The team hosted Utah’s other tackle, Caleb Lomu, two days ago, per Jackson McCurry of The Dawg Land podcast, and ESPN’s Jordan Reid was “shocked’ to hear that the Browns reportedly like Proctor at No. 6.
In theory, both could be trade down targets. Proctor has routinely found himself ranked behind the likes of Mauigoa and Fano throughout the draft process, and even more recently, Freeling and, in some cases, Clemson’s Blake Miller have snuck by him in the eyes of draft pundits, as well.
Perhaps, the Browns are not interested in selecting Proctor at No. 6 overall but, instead, interested in trading back to a place in the first round in which they may still be able to walk away with Proctor — or, if there’s a serious run at the position, Lomu — while adding some picks in the process. With the depth of wide receivers listed above, they could easily attempt to do the same at that position, if they feel their preferred option may be a reach at No. 24.
The Browns’ toss up in priorities between tackle and wide receiver alone make it impossible to predict who their top overall pick will be. Adding in the potential for a run or drought at either position or a Browns’ trade down from either spot makes even speculation a wild goose chase. It seems the Browns are making plans for a number of contingencies, but it looks like offensive tackle and wide receiver — whatever the order — remain the top priorities 12 days out.
Bengals Meet With Sonny Styles, Akheem Mesidor
Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez were not the only defensive prospects who visited the Bengals on Friday. The team also met with the Styles brothers, Sonny and Lorenzo, as well as Akheem Mesidor, per Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Lorenzo Styles Jr., a former Notre Dame receiver who transitioned to cornerback at Ohio State, is not a touted prospect. The opposite is true in regards to Sonny Styles, who played with his brother at OSU. Sonny Styles’ stock has soared enough that he could become a rare off-ball linebacker to go near the top of the draft. The Jets are reportedly considering the 6-foot-5, 244-pounder at No. 2 overall. The Cardinals (No. 3) and Giants (No. 5) are also among the teams that hold Styles in high regard.
The Ohio-born Styles may be gone by the time the Bengals are on the clock at No. 10, but he is worth a pre-draft look for a team in desperate need of defensive help. While the Bengals spent second- and fourth-round picks on linebackers Demetrius Knight and Barrett Carter a year ago, neither fared especially well as rookies. An upgrade could come in the form of Styles, who followed up a first-team All-America season with a marvelous Combine performance. Among linebackers, the 21-year-old finished first in the 40-yard dash (4.46), 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump. His 43.5-inch vertical leap was the highest for anyone his height in 23 years.
Mesidor, another Miami defensive end, teamed with Bain over the past three seasons. While Bain is expected to come off the board first, there are teams that like Mesidor better. The main knock on Mesidor, who played two seasons at West Virginia and four at Miami, is his age. The 6-3, 280-pounder is already 25 years old.
Mesidor also has a past foot injury that limited him to three games in 2023, but he bounced back well in the two seasons since then. He is heading to the pros after piling up personal bests in tackles for loss (17.5), sacks (12.5) and forced fumbles (four) during a 15-game, second-team All-America campaign.
After picking 10th, the Bengals are scheduled to make their second choice at 41st overall. Neither selection looks like the ideal slot for Mesidor, whom Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (No. 23) and Dane Brugler of The Athletic (No. 28) rank in the 20s. Nevertheless, it is no surprise the Bengals are interested in bolstering a set of edge defenders that lost star Trey Hendrickson to the Ravens and Joseph Ossai to the Jets in free agency. The Bengals signed ex-Seahawk Boye Mafe to a three-year, $60MM deal last month, but they could still add to a group that also features Myles Murphy and 2025 first-rounder Shemar Stewart.
NFL Wins Appeal Of Collusion Grievance
Last summer, the NFL world was aflame with discussions of collusion.
The NFLPA had filed a grievance years earlier alleging that teams worked together to stop a push for fully guaranteed contracts after the Deshaun Watson deal. The grievance went through the league’s arbitration process, which eventually resulted in a ruling against the union that was initially kept under wraps. It became public in June 2025, contributing to the storm of scandal surrounding the NFLPA at the time.
The union filed an appeal, but a three-person panel upheld the arbitrator’s original ruling in favor of the NFL, per Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio. This includes the finding that the league encouraged clubs to collude to suppress fully guaranteed contracts, which supports the NFLPA’s case. However, the appeals panel also agreed with the arbitrator that there was not sufficient evidence to show that teams actually participated in the alleged collusion.
In short, while the NFL attempted to collude as alleged, the union could not demonstrate a strong enough impact to trigger damages and a ruling in their favor. The appeals panel concurred with that result.
One key difference, Florio notes, is that the appeals panel believes that teams were aware of the league’s collusive intentions.
“We cannot fathom these sophisticated businesspeople did not comprehend they were being encouraged to limit or reduce guaranteed contracts,” the ruling states.
Former NFLPA executive director Lloyd Howell did not immediately communicate the initial arbitration ruling to the union’s membership. His successor, former Browns center and NFLPA president J.C. Tretter, approached the appeal differently, promptly informing the NFLPA player representatives of the result. He included the above quote in his message (via Florio) to show that the union had, in part, proven their case.
Now, the grievance is technically done with, but the outcome still offers the union some leverage heading into CBA talks. They now have an arbitrator’s ruling, confirmed by an appeals panel, affirming that the league intended to engage in collusion to limit player contracts. That can help inspire firmer support among players as they negotiate several key issues, including a proposed 18-game regular season. It may also draw the attention of the U.S. Department of Justice for potential antitrust violations, Florio adds, which could also force the league to include certain labor protections in the next CBA.
WR Denzel Boston Visits Ravens, Jets
The list of teams with interest in Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston continues to grow. Boston is visiting the Ravens and Jets on Saturday, per reports from Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and veteran insider Jordan Schultz.
As PFR’s archives show, Boston has set up meetings with at least eight teams in the lead-up to the draft. The 6-foot-4, 212-pounder has long been considered a potential first-rounder. Some teams are bullish enough on Boston to rank him the second- or third-best receiver in a class that also includes the likes of Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon, KC Concepcion, Jordyn Tyson and Omar Cooper Jr.
Boston began his four-year run at Washington on a squad loaded with quality receivers. Future NFLers Rome Odunze, Jalen McMillan and Ja’lynn Polk were among the Huskies’ go-to wideouts from 2022-23, which limited Boston to seven catches in his first two years. Odunze, McMillan and Polk left for the pros in 2024, setting the stage for a Boston breakout. Over his last two years in school, Boston averaged 63 catches, 858 yards and 10 touchdowns per season. Known as a sure-handed red zone weapon, Boston registered a paltry 3.1% drop rate at Washington.
The Ravens, who own the 14th pick in the first round, have a star No. 1 receiver in Zay Flowers. But none of their other returning wideouts even reached 20 catches or 225 yards in 2025. While Rashod Bateman was a starter in Baltimore for most of the past three seasons, he has come up in trade rumors after a down year. Even if Bateman sticks around, there is room for the Ravens to make a significant addition at receiver in the draft.
Like the Ravens, the Jets have a bona fide top receiver (Garrett Wilson) and not much else. While Adonai Mitchell showed flashes after coming over in the Sauce Gardner trade with the Colts in November, the 2024 second-rounder remains unproven. The Jets have six other receivers under contract, but the group of Isaiah Williams, Arian Smith, Quentin Skinner, Jamaal Pritchett, Mac Dalena and Irvin Charles combined for a mere 34 catches last season.
There is a clear need at receiver in New York, though the team will not go in that direction with its first pick (No. 2 overall). Expectations are the Jets will use their top choice on a blue-chip defender such as David Bailey, Arvell Reese or Sonny Styles, but they could turn their attention to receiver at 16th or 33rd overall.