NFL Player News

The son of NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, Brenden Rice (6’2/208) brings elite bloodlines to whatever team drafts him. After spending two years at Colorado, Rice transferred to USC ahead of the 2022 season and immediately set career highs in receptions (39), yards (611), and touchdowns (4). He would expand on that production in 2023 (45-791-12) but has been relatively average as far as efficiency is concerned. Rice brought a 60 percent contested catch rate into his final season but caught only three of his 12 contested targets in 2023. He’s a physical receiver who possesses good size, but Rice doesn’t profile as anything more than an adequate backup at this time.

The former Georgia State standout entered the league as an undrafted free agent with the Chiefs, playing four seasons in Kansas City before joining the Dolphins for three seasons. He spent the previous three seasons with the Vikings and Raiders but never saw the field for either franchise despite continually finding himself on the active roster. Wilson accumulated 2,499 yards and 12 touchdowns on 218 career receptions.

Wolf moves from his previous position as director of scouting to serve as executive vice president of player personnel, a position that now gives him control of the personnel department, the salary cap, and the 53-man roster in New England. This was thought to be the direction the franchise would go, with the announcement of the signing now making it official. The fancy title effectively makes Wolf the new General Manager for a team undergoing vast changes throughout its organization.

The No. 36 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft underwent surgery to repair a partial Jones fracture in his foot earlier this year and now needs the same surgery on the opposite foot. The surgery is scheduled for next week and head coach Dan Quinn declined to speculate on his return timeline following the procedure. The standard recovery time for a Jones fracture with surgical intervention is three to four months, which should place the second-round rookie in line to return to football activities prior to the start of the 2024 season, assuming a clean rehabilitation.

We obviously aren’t concerned about “tightness” in May, but it is something to file away in case the issue lingers into mandatory minicamp in June. Early-offseason soft-tissue issues have an alarming propensity to stick around for young players. Hopefully this is the last we hear of it.

“I feel like the coaches kind of thought the same thing, as well,” Legette said of what was a popular scouting observation. “So I feel like that was important. I put emphasis on making that happen and being able to show them that I could do that through the process.” Legette also admitted some have nitpicked his ability to get in and out of his breaks, but he believes it’s because of his bigger size. “A lot of folks say a lot of bigger guys can’t get in and out of their breaks. But I’m gonna show them (otherwise).” Already 23 years old, Legette is going to have to clean up his game in a hurry at the highest level.

In other words, the Vikings are taking the traditional approach of making McCarthy “earn it.” This is a situation where it is not entirely outside the realm of possibility that veteran Darnold actually makes an early-season start or two if McCarthy isn’t ready, but the competition will undoubtedly be rigged in the rookie’s favor.

Cruikshank signed following a veteran tryout at rookie minicamp. A 29-year-old journeyman, Cruikshank probably won’t make the 53-man roster, though he could end up a vet stashed on the practice squad.

It makes Nix the first first-round quarterback to sign. His deal includes a fifth-year team option for 2028. A pre-pandemic starter in 2019 for Auburn, 24-year-old Nix (6’2/214) is amongst the most experienced collegiate players of all time, which means he’s likely already at or near his ceiling. The good news is, he played near a Joe Burrow/LSU-type peak for the Ducks in 2023, posting a positively bonkers 45:3 TD:INT total in addition to rushing for six scores. Otherworldly efficient, Nix completed 77.4 percent of his throws while averaging 9.6 yards per attempt. To say he was playing in a quarterback-friendly system would be putting it mildly, but plenty of signal callers operate in these setups without posting numbers half as good. Nix dominates under pressure because of his single-minded obsession with getting the ball out quickly. He is also as accurate as his numbers would suggest and is an opportunistic rusher. He has NFL-level arm strength. If Nix can even split the difference between his absurd 2023 and middling 2019-21 at Auburn, he will be a plus NFL starter. The million-dollar question is how he fares outside his Eugene cocoon.

A true super-heavyweight LT prospect who checked in at 6’6/342 at the NFL Scouting Combine, Latham spent his freshman year at RG before making a permanent move to RT as a sophomore. Latham took to his new position quickly, improving his blocking efficiency rate from 96.4%-to-98.8% while allowing zero sacks and just one QB hit in 486 pass reps. His play elevated to All-American levels in 2023, with Latham leading Alabama with a superb 0.6% blown block rate on run plays while allowing three hits and two sacks on 429 pass reps. With a double-wide XXL frame, Latham has unnatural mirroring ability and explosiveness for his size. He does have a tendency to lean into contact and can be beaten with speed around the hoop, leaving him vulnerable to inside counters against upper-echelon pass rushers. A difference-making road grader in the run game with a hybrid guard/tackle build, Latham is a top flight offensive lineman and fills a desperate need for Tennessee.

Dorsett joined the Broncos as a member of their practice squad last August and failed to record a catch in either of the two games he appeared in. Dorsett has caught just 27 passes for 367 yards and one touchdown since 2021 and has bounced around four different teams over that span. The 31-year-old speedster could catch on with another team ahead of training camp, but he won’t be expected to make much of an impact wherever he lands. In addition to Dorsett, the Broncos also released defensive tackle Rashard Lawerence.