The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
The Commanders unveiled new uniforms that evoke the franchise’s history on Wednesday.
The team’s primary uniforms will feature burgundy and white jerseys that harken back to what the team wore while winning three Super Bowls under Joe Gibbs in the 1980s and 1990s. Both of those jerseys can be paired with gold, burgundy or white pants. The “Super Bowl era” look came back as an alternate uniform last year.
An all-black alternate look was also revealed. The new set of uniforms comes with a black helmet that features a spear running through the “W” logo of the regular helmets. The franchise had a helmet with a spear on it from 1965-1968.
“The spear is just such a great device,” team president Mark Clouse said, via John Keim of ESPN.com. “That was part [of] the heritage of the team and also can live in this ecosystem that we’ve been building around defining a Commander.”
Clouse added that the team knows some fans will be “looking for a full reversal” to uniforms of the past, but said that’s not the path the franchise will follow as they work “to bring back the celebration and integration of our heritage while continuing to move forward to build the Commander brand.”
Wide receiver Denzel Boston added a few more teams to his list of pre-draft visits this week.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Boston visited the Commanders and Texans. His previously reported visit with the Dolphins will take place on Wednesday and will be his final trip to meet with a team ahead of next week’s draft.
Boston met with a number of other teams over the last few weeks and he is widely expected to come off the board in the first round.
Carnell Tate, Makai Lemon and Jordyn Tyson are other top wideouts in this year’s class and all of the receivers are a little more than a week away from finding out where they’ll start their NFL careers.
The Commanders had their now annual pre-draft top-30 visit at TopGolf on Tuesday.
Nicki Jhabvala of TheAthletic.com reports that Arvell Reese, David Bailey, Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Carnell Tate, Jeremiyah Love, Rueben Bain, Mansoor Delane and Makai Lemon were among the 20 prospects participating in the event.
It marks the third consecutive year the Commanders have brought in prospects to compete against each other at TopGolf.
They selected Jayden Daniels with the second overall pick in 2024 and offensive lineman Josh Conerly with the 29th overall pick last year.
The Commanders have the seventh overall pick next week.
Cornerback Mansoor Delane has a handful of pre-draft visits planned for the coming days.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Delane is slated to meet with the Bengals, Ravens and Commanders before the window to visit teams closes this week. Delane also spent time with the Dolphins and Giants recently.
Delane is bidding to be the top cornerback selected this year. He spent the 2025 season at LSU after playing at Virginia Tech and was an All-American during his lone season in Baton Rouge. He had 45 tackles and two interceptions for the Tigers.
Avieon Terrell and Jermod McCoy are also at the top of the list of cornerback prospects this year.