NFL Player News

Watkins has been sidelined with the hamstring issue for most of the season and was placed on injured reserve after Week 5. Now healthy, he should reclaim the WR3 role in Philly. Even with Dallas Goedert out, it’s unlikely he or anyone else does much in that role with A.J. Brown and Devonta Smith dominating the targets.

Stowers, who won the Mackey Award in 2025 after catching 62 balls for 769 yards and four touchdowns at Vanderbilt, has gained a little bit of steam ahead of the 2026 draft. He’s widely expected to be the second tight end off the draft board after Oregon TE Kenyon Sadiq. Evan Engram’s role in the Denver offense would become an uncertain one if the Broncos invest significant draft capital in Stowers, whose statistical and efficiency profiles are far superior to the hyper-athletic Sadiq. Stowers has also made pre-draft visits with the Cowboys, Rams, and Titans.

Wicks should slot in as the Eagles WR behind DeVonta Smith, Kempski said, because the former Packer is “younger, the Eagles invested more in him than they did in [Marquise] Brown, he is under contract for two years vs. one for Brown, and he seemingly already has the trust of offensive coordinator Sean Mannion.” The Eagles acquired Wicks from Green Bay this month in exchange for a 2026 fifth round draft pick and a 2027 sixth rounder. He had 108 receptions, 1,328 yards, and 11 touchdowns over three seasons with the Packers, operating mostly as a high-variance downfield threat. Kempski described Wicks as “a hard-nosed, rugged player who offers far more as a blocker in the run game than [A.J.] Brown does. How much that actually should matter is debatable, but my sense is that it will matter a lot in this new scheme.”

Smith’s backers “believe that if Brown were no longer with the team that Smith can have a similar jump in production that Jaxon Smith-Njigba had in Seattle once DK Metcalf was out of the way.” Smith NJigba, following an ordainry 2024 rookie campaign, blew up in 2025 to the tune of 1,992 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025, with an elite 3.42 yards per route run, trailing only Puka Nacua. Brown is almost certain to exit Philadelphia in the coming weeks after a tumultuous 2025 season. That would open up targets for Smith, though the low-volume nature of the Eagles passing offense could be something of a damper on Smith’s statistical upside. Brown in 2025 was targeted on 28 percent of his routes while Smith saw a target on 23 percent of his routes, in line with Deebo Samuel and Troy Franklin.

Dell continues to rehab from a gruesome knee injury he suffered in Week 16 of the 2024 season. That injury caused him to miss all of 2025, and while there’s hope he will be ready for Week 1 this season, the Texans continue to take it “day to day,” per Caserio. Caserio added that Dell has been in the building more now that he’s able to do more on his knee, which is an optimistic sign, but he also noted that the team will be open to taking a receiver in this year’s draft if there’s a player they like available to them. Dell has a career receiving line of 98-1,376-10 in 25 games and has also served as their punt returner.

Sample was a fourth-round pick of the Bengals back in 2021 and has appeared in 61 games since joining the team. Playing primarily as a pass-rusher, Sample has totaled seven sacks in his career and 66 pressures, per PFF. He’ll likely serve in a similar situational role with the Niners this upcoming season.

Speaking during the Lions’ pre-draft press conference, Holmes said the Lions have not exercised the options for Gibbs or LB Jack Campbell, who also has a fifth-year option the team needs to decide on. Both Gibbs and Campbell are safe bets to have their options picked up, which would keep them under contract through 2027. While Gibbs emerged as one of the top backs in the league and totaled 1,800-plus yards from scrimmage in each of the last two seasons, Campbell earned First-team All-Pro honors in 2025, finishing the year with 175 tackles, five sacks, three forced fumbles, and nine TFLs. We would expect both players to have their options picked up in the coming weeks.

Reader visited with the Ravens last week and is now meeting with the Giants. The veteran lineman has spent the last two seasons with the Lions, totaling 51 tackles, three sacks, and four TFLs while starting all 32 games he appeared in.

When asked about the possibility of the Patriots acquiring A.J. Brown, Wolf opted to go with the broad answer while refusing to shut the door on the idea of a trade eventually being worked out with the Eagles. The Patriots remain the team most likely to acquire Brown at some point in the offseason, but talks have stalled as of late. There’s some belief that Brown will ultimately be dealt to the Patriots in June, when the salary-cap situation becomes more tenable for the Eagles to consider such a trade. For now, we will continue to wait and see, but don’t rule out the possibility of the Pats adding a high-impact receiver to help Drake Maye before training camp.

Allen, 33, spent last season with the Titans and has previous stops with the Broncos, Bengals, and 49ers. The former sixth-round pick has seen little action since 2020, when he threw for 925-5-4 in five games with the Bengals and attempted just 30 passes for the Titans last season, throwing for 72 yards and a pick. If he were to make the 53-man roster, Allen would likely serve as the Giants’ QB3, with Jameis Winston the presumed backup to Jaxson Dart this upcoming season.

Reid also reported last week that the Jets were “extremely high” on Cooper, who broke out last season at Indiana for 937 yards and 13 touchdowns on 69 receptions. Cooper has put together a solid last two seasons at Indiana and has made a name for himself as a good slot receiver who can generate plenty of yards after the catch. He saw a career-high 83.3 percent of his snaps come from the slot last season. With Garrett Wilson cemented on the outside and Adonai Mitchell showing flashes in his eight games with Gang Green last season, the addition of Cooper could give the Jets three solid, young receivers for the upcoming season if they were to take him.