HEADLINES

2020 NFL Draft News & Rumors

Packers Sign Rookie Simon Stepaniak

June 1st, 2020 at 3:08pm CST by Zachary Links

The Packers are making headway on their rookie class by starting from the bottom. On Monday afternoon, the Packers announced the signing of sixth-round guard Simon Stepaniak.

Stepaniak started 31 games for the Hoosiers across four years, including the last two years in which he served as the team’s first-string right guard. In accordance with his slot, he’ll get a four-year deal worth just under $3.5MM.

At 6’4″ and 315 pounds, evaluators are high on his raw natural strength. He’ll still have to shake some rust from his December ACL tear, but his future looks bright, especially since he can offer support at right guard, left guard, and center.

Stepaniak’s deal comes on the heels of completed contracts with seventh-round safety Vernon Scott and seventh-round edge rusher Jonathan Garvin. As shown in PFR’s 2020 NFL Draft Pick Signing Tracker, the Packers now have three of their nine selections under contract:

1-26: Jordan Love, QB (Utah State)
2-62: A.J. Dillon, RB (Boston College)
3-94: Josiah Deguara, TE (Cincinnati)
5-175: Kamal Martin, LB (Minnesota)
6-192: Jon Runyan, G (Michigan)
6-208: Jake Hanson, C (Oregon)
6-209: Simon Stepaniak, T (Indiana): Signed
7-236: Vernon Scott, S (TCU): Signed
7-242: Jonathan Garvin, DE (Miami): Signed

Packers Sign Rookie Vernon Scott

June 1st, 2020 at 11:35am CST by Zachary Links

On Monday, the club announced the signing of seventh-round safety Vernon Scott. With that, the Packers now have two of their draft picks officially in the fold.

Scott, a safety out of TCU, was selected in the seventh-round as the No. 236 overall pick. Per the terms of his slot, he’ll receive a four-year, $3.378MM deal with a signing bonus of about $84K. Of course, it’s not a given that he’ll earn that full ~$3.4MM – as a late draft choice, he’ll first have to earn his spot on the 53-man roster, and that’s far from a sure thing. Still, he’ll have an opportunity to make the cut as a supporting safety behind starters Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage.

The Packers are high on Scott’s natural ability. He was a three-sport athlete in high school and, while on campus, he ran a 4.4 second 40-yard-dash and posted a 35-inch vertical leap. The raw talent is undeniably there, but he’ll have to impress this summer in order to find his place on the team.

Scott and fellow seventh-round choice Jonathan Garvin are accounted for, but the Packers still have seven draft picks to go, as shown in PFR’s tracker.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/25/20

May 25th, 2020 at 1:21pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of the MDW draft pick signings here:

  • The Packers inked seventh-round defensive lineman Jonathan Garvin, per a club announcement. Garvin waited a long, long time on draft weekend and watched a handful of his University of Miami teammates come off the board before him at No. 242 overall. There, he became the Packers’ ninth selection, giving him a chance to reunite with old Hurricanes teammate Gerald Willis. Garvin, a 6’4″, 263-pound lineman, put himself on the radar with 60 stops, 5.5 sacks, and five pass breakups in 2018. He wasn’t as sharp last year, but the Packers still see the potential.

200+ NFL Draft Picks Remain Unsigned

May 23rd, 2020 at 11:40am CST by Zachary Links

We’re one month removed from the start of the 2020 NFL Draft and more than 200 of the league’s draft picks have yet to sign their contracts, as PFR’s NFL Draft tracker shows. To be exact, there are 207 stragglers and 48 signed, out of 255 picks. 

Thanks to the modern NFL’s draft slotting system, rookie deals are mostly a formality. Still, that’s an atypical amount of unsigned players for the ~30 day mark. In 2016, for example, there were only about 50 unsigned rookies by 5/24.

Obviously, the pandemic has complicated matters and changed the normal course of operation. As team facilities begin to open up and more states lift restrictions, we’ll see more draft picks sign their deals. It could be a while before we see some of this year’s top draft picks put pen to paper, however. No. 1 overall pick Joe Burrow recently raised some eyebrows when he indicated that it could take months for his deal to be finalized.

The uncertainty surrounding the 2020 season has left teams concerned about their finances. In Burrow’s case, he’s set to collect a $24MM bonus from the Bengals. With cash flow concerns, teams are skittish about taking the plunge before necessary.

This year’s rookie class could drag longer than most, but, ultimately it should be business as usual – especially since first-round picks are not expected to put up a fight over offsets.

NFL Draft Signings: 5/22/20

May 22nd, 2020 at 5:52pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Friday’s draft pick agreements:

  • The Browns continue check off their draft list. After agreeing to terms with two picks earlier this week, the Browns signed fifth-round selection Nick Harris. A center out of Washington, Harris profiles as depth behind J.C. Tretter. However, he could also represent a candidate for upward mobility at guard. Prior to becoming the Huskies’ starting center in 2018, Harris started 17 games at guard during his freshman and sophomore years. Cleveland employs Joel Bitonio at left guard but does not feature as much certainty on the right side.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/21/20

May 21st, 2020 at 7:16pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s 2020 NFL draft pick signings:

  • The Jaguars have signed fourth-round linebacker Shaquille Quarterman, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Quarterman, whom Jacksonville selected with the draft choice it acquired from the Bears in exchange for quarterback Nick Foles, was a four-year starter at the University of Miami, and posted at least 80 tackles in all four of his seasons with the Hurricanes. In a pre-draft profile, Lance Zierlein of NFL.com praised Quarterman’s hustle and mentality, but indicated 6’0″, 235-pounder may not have the short-area quickness required to play linebacker in the NFL. The Jaguars already have Myles Jack and Joe Schobert starting at linebacker, meaning Quarterman will likely begin his pro career on special teams.

NFL Draft Signings: 5/20/20

May 20th, 2020 at 3:49pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s late-round signings here:

  • The Browns signed fourth-round tight end Harrison Bryant and sixth-round wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (on Twitter). They were the Browns’ final two selections in the draft, but they’re the first picks to sign in Cleveland. Peoples-Jones was one of the country’s hottest WR recruits coming out of high school and he selected Michigan over roughly 30 other schools. However, he failed to top 650 yards in any of his three seasons with the Wolverines. On the plus side, he tallied 14 touchdowns between 2018 and 2019 and the potential is still there.

Patriots Sign Rookie Kyle Dugger, Wrap 2020 NFL Draft Class

May 20th, 2020 at 3:42pm CST by Zachary Links

The Patriots’ entire 2020 NFL Draft class is now in the fold. The Pats have agreed to terms with second-round safety Kyle Dugger, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). With that, the Pats have become the first team in the league to sign their entire lot of draft picks.

Although he was a second round choice, Dugger was the first player chosen by the Patriots at No. 37 overall. Evaluators around the league were high on the Division-II Lenoir-Rhyne product, even though most fans weren’t familiar with him.

Dugger definitely isn’t your average rookie – he’s already 24 and he comes to the Patriots with only seven games worth of footage from 2019, thanks to a hand injury. He was, however, a second-team All-American last year, and the Pats like his upside.

Here’s the full breakdown of the Patriots’ 2020 draft class, via PFR’s tracker:

2-37: Kyle Dugger, S (Lenoir-Rhyne): Signed
2-60: Josh Uche, LB (Michigan): Signed
3-87: Anfernee Jennings, OLB (Alabama): Signed
3-91: Devin Asiasi, TE (UCLA): Signed
3-101: Dalton Keene, TE (Virginia Tech): Signed
5-159: Justin Rohrwasser, K (Marshall): Signed
6-182: Michael Onwenu, G (Michigan)
6-195: Justin Herron, T (Wake Forest): Signed
6-204: Cassh Maluia, LB (Wyoming): Signed
7-230: Dustin Woodard, C (Memphis): Signed

NFL Draft Signings: 5/19/20

May 19th, 2020 at 6:46pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s draft signings here:

  • The Eagles signed sixth-round offensive tackle Prince Tega Wanogho, per a club announcement. He grew up in Nigeria with hopes of coming to the United States to play basketball at a high level. Now, the Auburn product has a four-year deal to play professional football. Wanogho was unable to show his stuff at the combine due to a knee injury and didn’t get a chance to showcase at his pro day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. That likely hurt his stock, but it worked out just fine for the Eagles, who scored a promising 6’5″, 300-pound lineman at No. 210 overall.

NFL Draft Signings: 5/18/20

May 18th, 2020 at 5:46pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s later round draft signings here:

  • The Lions agreed to terms with sixth-round defensive tackle John Penisini, according to agent David Canter (Twitter link). Penisini specializes in stopping the run, though he did tally a handful of sacks from the interior while at Utah. Now, he’ll look to make the 53-man roster cut as a supporting cast member behind projected starters Danny Shelton and John Atkins.
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