NFL Player News

A converted three-star DT prospect who transferred to OU from TCU, Guyton (6’076/322) is one of the few first-round caliber 2024 tackles who transferred from their original school. Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby planted Guyton at LT throughout 2022 fall camp with Guyton starting OU’s opener against UTEP before Lebby hit the eject button and moved him over to the right side, where he remained for the duration of his Sooners tenure. Guyton shuttled in and out of the starting lineup as he acclimated to his new position, recording 352 snaps at RT while allowing two sacks and one hurry despite missing a few games due to injury. He finally settled into a starting role this year and stayed mostly healthy logging 663 snaps with zero sacks, three hits and nine hurries. Though he allowed 12 total pressures on the year, none of those miscues resulted in an interception or an incompletion. There was no escape on run plays when the mammoth tackle was bearing down on defenders, as Guyton was credited with a 0% blown run block rate on 303 opportunities, an achievement that speaks for itself. His Combine performance only solidified Guyton’s blue chips status with a 1.76s 10-yard split (87th%), 7.5s 3-Cone (89th%) and jaw-dropping 34.5” vertical jump (98th%) for a superb 9.70 RAS. Blessed with impressive agility, Guyton’s flexibility and fluid hips allow him to cut off defenders on run plays and beat speed rushers to the outside. If anything Guyton’s quickness is so pronounced that savvy edge rushers will bait him on the loop to induce oversets and cross his face. His pad level can get high at times, exposing his chest and leaving him susceptible to bull rushes when he isn’t centered. He only started for one season in his four year collegiate voyage, so Guyton is still coming into his own and will likely have some early growing pains, but the pieces are in place for him to develop into an athletic mauler if handled properly.

It’s just pad-less practices, but for a player hoping to contribute to a team more than he did in 2024, it’s a positive sign for Claypool, who entered the league as a second-round pick of the Steelers in 2020 but has already been labeled a journeyman. The fifth-year receiver is on his third team in two seasons and has totaled just 22 receptions for 217 yards and one touchdown since being traded to the Bears during the 2022 trade deadline. Claypool joined a rather thin receiver room earlier this offseason when he signed a one-year deal with the Bills. He joins veterans Curtis Samuel and Marquez Valdes-Scantling, along with rookie Keon Coleman, as new faces on the team. At just 25 years old, Claypool has a chance to contribute if he can get back to his rookie-year form in which he went for 62-873-9.

The departure of Michael Gallup this offseason immediately opened the door for Tolbert to step into a bigger role. Couple that with the fact that the Cowboys didn’t take a receiver until the sixth round of the draft, and his path to snaps becomes all the more clear. Archer reports that Tolbert has “joined [Dak] Prescott at the hip” this offseason, spending additional time with Prescott in hopes of developing additional familiarity and trust with the quarterback come game day. Head coach Mike McCarthy also praised Tolbert’s growth, saying he’s “taken leaps and bounds” with his confidence and understanding of the game. Tolbert entered the league as a third-round pick out of South Alabama and turned in a solid combine, posting an 8.76 RAS. He’s played sparingly through his first two years in the league, amassing 24 receptions for 280 yards and two touchdowns for his career, and has likely faced a steep learning curve going from the Sun Belt conference to the NFL. Any significant role would make him an interesting dart throw in the later rounds of fantasy drafts, as an injury to either Cooks or Lamb could thrust Tolbert into a starting role.

Fowler went on to point out that St. Brown is getting $28 million per year on his new four-year deal, adding that Aiyuk “doesn’t have to be the highest paid [wide receiver] in the league” but that he thinks he deserves to be paid like a top wide receiver. Aiyuk has totaled back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons for the 49ers and went for a career-high 1,342 yards in 2023 while scoring seven touchdowns. He’s currently set to earn $14.124 million in 2024 after the 49ers picked up his fifth-year option, but is hoping to get long-term security before the start of the season. It was reported earlier this month by NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that the 49ers are planning on keeping Aiyuk for the long term, meaning an extension could be coming before Week 1. Aiyuk has not been present at voluntary OTAs.

Bennett, who was drafted in the fourth round of last year’s draft, missed all of the regular season while on the non-football illness list. Rams GM Les Snead said he believes Bennett’s time away was “very beneficial” while adding that Bennett was “exhausted” after leading Georgia to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022. Bennett is expected to compete with Jimmy Garoppolo for the backup job behind Matthew Stafford this offseason.

Baker becomes the fourth rookie from the Patriots’ 2024 draft class to sign his contract. The former UCF Knight has a chance to compete for playing time in a thin wide receiver room, but will likely be stuck behind Kendrick Bourne and fellow rookie Ja’Lynn Polk for snaps on the outside. Baker has good size and athleticism and averaged 21.9 YPR in his final college season, but he should be viewed as more of a developmental player in his rookie season, assuming he doesn’t get shoehorned into a role due to injuries.

Odunze was seen working individually alongside Chicago’s OTA sessions this week, managing his ongoing hamstring tightness. Eberflus told reporters that the the plan is for Odunze to “ramp back in there next week during the OTAs”, indicating a gradual return to full participation is expected.

Richardson described his season-ending 2023 shoulder injury as unlucky. “I don’t think there’s any way I could’ve avoided what happened to me. Just a regular, routine tackle,” Richardson said. “I tried to brace myself for the fall and my shoulder just did what it did. … People see me, I’m a big quarterback, so they always think, ‘He wants to run the ball. He wants to be physical, and that is what’s going to get him hurt.’ That’s not the case.” Colts head coach Shane Steichen said Richardson has been “pretty smooth” during OTAs. Richardson has been seen throwing the ball more than 60 yards in Colts OTAs following a careful rehab of the surgically-repaired AC joint injury that sidelined him for most of his rookie campaign. He had 23 rushes over three full games before going down in Week 5 against Houston, scoring four times on the ground.

Bears beat writers have reported plenty of Williams’ passes hitting the ground, difficulties getting set for plays, and constant pressure on the rookie from the Chicago defense. Greenberg said Williams was “under pressure while his receivers (which didn’t include Rome Odunze or Keenan Allen) tried to get open. There were a few just-missed interceptions. Sometimes, Williams couldn’t even get passes off as the secondary used its space advantage in the red zone to shut down receivers. We saw a lot of screen passes, many of which turned into scores. Occasionally, the offense struggled to line up or get a play off.” Hopefully a full summer of practices against a tough Bears defense will prepare Williams — the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 draft — for live action competition starting with the Titans in Week 1.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur said in March that Watson — who missed eight games in 2023 — was working with a “special lab” to figure out why he has sustained so many soft tissue injuries. Testing at the University of Wisconsin’s School of Medicine and Public Health showed Watson had a 20 percent muscle mass difference between his right and left leg. That difference has since been reduced to 8-10 percent. “For me, it really was the asymmetry between the legs,” Watson said this week after an OTA session. “It comes from a lot of things. Obviously, the issues I’ve had in the past with hamstrings, not fully recovering from those strength-wise. I’ve been attacking the strength side of it, trying to get that symmetry back and it’s been huge for me. I feel really, really good. I gotta continue grinding at it.” Green Bay coaches said Watson, 24, showed up to OTAs in great shape. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky said Watson “moved in and out of his breaks with explosiveness and without hesitation” during OTA practices. Jordan Love said a fully healthy Watson would bring a dangerous downfield element to Green Bay’s passing attack in 2024. Thirty percent of his 2023 targets came more than 20 yards downfield.

Kaboly said Wilson was precise and accurate, demonstrating effective play action during the team’s OTA sessions. He frequently targeted Freiermuth, who worked closely with Wilson this spring. Freiermuth is healthy, entering his contract year and finally has an accurate quarterback and an offensive coordinator who will highlight the tight end. He could have a breakout year,” Kaboly said. Coming off a disappointing, injury-ridden 2023 season in which he had 32 receptions for 308 yards and two touchdowns, Freiermuth could benefit from a target spike as the second option in Pittsburgh’s run-heavy offense.