Broncos Make Big Move Up For NC State TE Justin Joly
The Broncos are sending the Browns a solid pair of picks in order to move up 18 spots and draft NC State tight end Justin Joly at No. 152 overall. Cleveland will receive Denver’s fifth-round pick (170) and the first pick of the sixth round (182) in exchange.
In the final pick of PFR’s 2026 NFL Mock Draft, we projected the Broncos to target a tight end at the first opportunity available to them, since they didn’t own a first-round pick. By the midpoint of Day 2’s festivities, the team didn’t own a second-round pick either. After waking up on the third day of the draft with only one rookie secured, the Broncos got to work today and sacrificed one of their seven Day 3 picks to move up and finally address the tight end spot.
Currently, Denver’s tight ends room is fairly crowded. Led by veterans Evan Engram and Adam Trautman, the rest of the room is filled out by Nate Adkins, Lucas Krull, and 2025 seventh-round pick Caleb Lohner. Injuries hurt the team’s depth at the position in 2025, though, to the point where they dragged a 41-year-old Marcedes Lewis off the free agent market. Engram led the group in receiving last year with 50 receptions for 461 yards and a touchdown, and Trautman functioned as the group’s main blocking tight end with some assistance from Adkins. Including Trautman’s contributions the receiving production outside of Engram netted 28 receptions for 258 yards and two touchdowns.
Joly adds another strong receiving threat to the room. Transferring to Raleigh after two years at UConn, Joly led the Wolfpack in receiving yards (661) in his first year with the team, surpassing eventual transfer and first-round pick KC Concepcion. In 2025, Joly’s yardage dropped a bit (489), but he still led the team in receptions (49) and receiving touchdowns (seven) en route to first-team All-ACC acclaim. After showing a tendency for drops — six in 2023 — as a Husky, Joly demonstrated improved hands with just four drops at NC State and only one in 2025.
Despite having plus speed, Joly hasn’t shown much as a downfield threat and can improve a lot with his route running, but he’s an athletic pass catcher with a knack for gaining enough of a cushion of separation to be successful. His strength gives him an advantage in contested catches and makes him a menace as a blocker. He isn’t going to displace Engram from the first-team offense anytime soon, but Joly projects to be an effective second receiving option, providing quarterback Bo Nix with a new, big in-line target.
Seahawks Acquire 148th Pick, Draft G Beau Stephens
The Seahawks have acquired the 148th overall pick from the Browns for a 2027 fourth-rounder, Tony Grossi of 850 ESPN Cleveland reports. Iowa guard Beau Stephens is going to Seattle.
Stephens spent five years at Iowa, which has a reputation as an offensive line factory. Two of Stephens’ former O-line mates, Logan Jones (No. 57, Bears) and Gennings Dunker (No. 96, Steelers), came off the board earlier. The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Stephens played in 41 games with the Hawkeyes and served as a three-year starter. Stephens worked as a right guard in 2022, but he primarily lined up on the left side. He capped off a 620-snap, 13-game 2025 with first-team All-America and first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Stephens, who did not allow a sack or take a penalty last year, ranked as Pro Football Focus’ fourth-best guard in 2025. Both Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com and Dane Brugler of The Athletic rated him as the 137th prospect in this draft class. There are concerns over Stephens’ lack of length and athleticism, per Brugler, though he adds “coachability and mental maturation” could help make up for it.
Stephens may begin his career as a reserve with the reigning Super Bowl champions, who have 2025 first-rounder Grey Zabel at left guard and Anthony Bradford on the right side. While Zabel is locked in, Stephens could compete with Bradford for a starting job. Even if Bradford remains atop the depth chart, he only has one year left on his contract. Unless the Seahawks extend Bradford before free agency opens next March, Stephens could emerge as a starter by 2027.
Ravens Trade Up To No. 133 Pick for SMU TE Matthew Hibner
The Ravens have taken their third pass catcher in a row. After two physical wide receivers, they have now traded up to the No. 133 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft to select SMU tight end Matthew Hibner.
Baltimore sent the No. 154 pick and a 2027 sixth-rounder to the 49ers in exchange for the 133rd pick, per ESPN’s Nick Wagoner.
Hibner, 24, was a two-year starter at SMU who overlapped at Michigan with Ravens head coach Jesse Minter in 2022 and 2023. He was a nonfactor in the Wolverines’ offense, but recorded 55 catches for 804 yards and eight touchdowns across the last two seasons with just two drops, per Dane Brugler of The Athletic.
At 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Hibner brings good size to the tight end position that shows up as a blocker and red zone threat. He is also a solid all-around athlete who posted an impressive 4.57-second 40 yard dash at the Combine with a 37-inch vertical and 20 reps on the bench press.
Hibner’s receiving profile in general is more limited. He was not a focal point of the Mustangs’ passing game and may not have the short-area movement skills to thrive in a versatile role. If he can establish himself as a blocker in the NFL, he profiles as an inline tight end that will allow Mark Andrews to split out into the slot.
The Ravens badly needed to rebuild their tight end room after losing 2022 fourth-rounders Isaiah Likely and Charlie Kolar in free agency. Veteran Durham Smythe followed offensive coordinator Declan Doyle from Chicago to Baltimore to provide some run-blocking heft, but the team still needs more receiving upside at the position.
Hibner should provide that, but do not be surprised if the Ravens double dip on Day 3 tight ends as they did in 2022. However, they still have a major need at center and will need to use one of their remaining picks on the position.
Bears Obtain No. 124 From Panthers, Select CB Malik Muhammad
After trading down (via the Jaguars) minutes ago, the Panthers are accumulating more draft picks. They are sending No. 124 to the Bears. The Panthers will receive Nos. 129 and 144 for Nos. 124 and 166, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets.
The Bears used the pick on Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad. Over 41 games with the Longhorns, the 6-foot, 182-pounder logged three interceptions and deflected 16 passes. After notching a personal-best two INTs and totaling four PDs in 2025, Muhammad earned second-team All-SEC honors.
Muhammad entered the draft as the 104th-best prospect available, per Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com. Dane Brugler of The Athletic is more bullish on Muhammad, whom he ranked 87th overall coming into the draft. Muhammad has a chance to develop into a Greg Newsome-type starter, according to Brugler.
While Muhammad was a starter at outside corner during the majority of his Texas tenure, he may begin his pro career in a depth role. The Bears lost Nahshon Wright to the Jets in free agency, but they still have Jaylon Johnson as their No. 1 corner. Tyrique Stevenson is the frontrunner to start opposite Johnson, though Muhammad could compete for the gig.
Aside from a full season in 2024, Johnson has missed three or more games five times in his six-year career. He sat out 10 games last season. Meanwhile, after starting his career with back-to-back 16-game seasons, Stevenson was on the shelf four times last year. If their injury issues drag into 2026, Muhammad could see plenty of action as a rookie.
Jaguars Trade Up To Select Duke Edge Rusher Wesley Williams
The Jaguars have moved up five spots to No. 119 overall, trading with the Panthers to select Duke edge rusher Wesley Williams. In addition to, the pick that landed Williams, Jacksonville received the 196th pick from Round 6, sending pick Nos. 124 (fourth round) and 166 (fifth round) in exchange.
The Jaguars had a clear goal of improving the depth of their defensive line in April. Jacksonville had re-signed Dennis Gardeck earlier on in the offseason, keeping him off the free agent market, but they weren’t able to do the same with Emmanuel Ogbah or Dawuane Smoot. Days before the draft, they swapped out defensive tackle Maason Smith for Ruke Orhorhoro, and now, after adding Aggie defensive tackle Albert Regis yesterday, Williams joins the fold.
Williams will be heading to Duval after four years at Duke. After redshirting his freshman year, Williams became an immediate factor in Year 2. He began his redshirt freshman year coming off the bench, but quickly started to earn a bigger role, starting three games and leading the team’s edge rushers in snap share. A breakout 2024 campaign put him on the map as a pass rusher as he recorded 7.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss. His production took a slight step back in 2025, but he remained a reliable starter for the ACC champion Blue Devils.
In Jacksonville, Williams projects as a rotational defensive end who shouldn’t need much seasoning before getting involved. Williams plays with tenacity while still knowing his role in the greater defensive scheme. He’s quick and strong but lacks top end speed to chase plays and can be a little stiff in his pass rush. His biggest impact in Duval may come on special teams. He blocked four field goals and a punt during his time with the Blue Devils.
Chargers Move Up To 117, Select Travis Burke
The Chargers have acquired the 117th pick from the Texans, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports. Houston received the 123rd and 204th choices in return.
The Chargers became the fifth and final team to hold the 117th selection in this draft. Before it went to the Texans, it belonged to the Vikings, Jaguars and Raiders. The Bolts used the pick on Memphis offensive tackle Travis Burke.
The mammoth Burke (6-foot-8, 325 pounds) divided his five college seasons among Gardner-Webb (2021-22), Florida International (2023-24) and Memphis (2025). The four-year starter picked up significant experience at both tackle spots along the way. After working as a full-timer on the left side at FIU, he switched to right tackle at Memphis. Burke played 762 snaps at the position over 11 games last year and finished as Pro Football Focus’ 10th-ranked tackle. He came into the draft as a top-100 prospect, per Dane Brugler of The Athletic (No. 78) and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com (No. 93).
While Burke has “predictable leverage issues,” he carries a “nasty disposition” and has the potential to develop into an NFL starter, Brugler writes. There should not be an immediate need for Burke to serve as more than a depth option in Los Angeles, which boasts an elite tackle tandem in Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt. Slater missed all of last season with a torn patellar tendon, and Alt sat out all but six games with ankle issues, but they are ahead of schedule in their recoveries.
Bucs Did Not Expect Rueben Bain Jr. To Fall To 15th Overall
As expected, Miami defensive ends Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor came off the board in the first round of this year’s draft. The Buccaneers, owners of the 15th pick, entered Thursday hoping to land one of them, per James Palmer of Bleacher Report. The Bucs got their wish when they chose Bain, but they never expected him to fall that far.
Tampa Bay, which needed another pass rusher to join YaYa Diaby and Al-Quadin Muhammad, is “over the moon” that it came away with Bain, according to Palmer. The Buccaneers fielded phone calls for their pick, but they could not turn down the opportunity to draft the 6-foot-3, 275-pounder.
Widely considered a top-10 prospect going into the draft, Bain’s drop may have had something to do with concerns over his arm length. His arms measured 30 7/8 inches at the Combine, which ranks in the 1st percentile and checks in well below the 33-inch average. He was also the driver in a 2024 car crash that led to the death of one of his passengers. Bain was cited for careless driving, but it reportedly did not affect his draft stock.
It remains to be seen if arm length will prevent Bain from reaching his potential in the NFL, but the Buccaneers will have gotten a steal if he can overcome it. The power rusher posted terrific production at Miami, where he registered 33.5 tackles for loss and 20.5 sacks over three years.
In 2025, his best season as a Hurricane, Bain led the FBS with 83 pressures (via Dane Brugler of The Athletic). Pro Football Focus credited Bain with the most hurries (54) and also gave him an excellent grade against the run (86.2; 12th among edge defenders). After finishing the season with personal highs in tackles for loss (15.5) and sacks (9.5), Bain earned consensus All-America honors, the Ted Hendrickson Award (given to the nation’s top DE) and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year Award.
As for Mesidor, despite leeriness over his age (25) and injury history, he became a pro seven picks after Bain. The Chargers took Mesidor 22nd overall.
Commanders, Buccaneers Among Teams Who Pursued Jonathan Greenard
The Eagles sent a pair of third-round picks to the Vikings on Friday night in exchange for Jonathan Greenard, but they were not the only team to pursue the star edge rusher.
Multiple teams looked into trading for Greenard and signing him to the extension he was looking for, per The Athletic’s Alec Lewis. However, some were turned off by his financial demands, though his eventual $25MM AAV deal is reasonable when considered in the context of the edge rusher market. Those clubs’ hesitation is still understandable given that Greenard is coming off a down year, underwent shoulder surgery in December, and will turn 30 years old next month.
The Commanders and the Buccaneers were two of the teams to pursue Greenard this offseason, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, though obviously, neither was willing to match the Eagles’ investment in terms of draft capital and a new contract.
Greenard’s new contract is worth $100MM over four years, the same value as the deal Odafe Oweh signed with Washington this offseason. Fowler indicates the Commanders looked into Greenard in March; perhaps they looked at the comparable price tags and decided to go with the younger player who would not cost them multiple Day 2 picks. They also added K’Lavon Chaisson, Charles Omenihu, and Deatrich Wise to their stable of edge rushers in free agency, giving them plenty of depth though not another high-end talent.
The Buccaneers, meanwhile, saw Haason Reddick hit free agency and replaced him with Al-Quadin Muhammad on a one-year, $4MM deal. That is an exceptional value for a player coming off career-highs in sacks (11.0) and tackles for loss (nine) – significantly better production than Greenard put up last year. Still, they could have stood to add a high-octane veteran opposite YaYa Diaby. However, Tampa Bay is also budgeting for multiple pricey extensions to key players, so Greenard’s $25MM per year deal could have been an obstacle to completing a deal.
Eagles Acquire, Extend Jonathan Greenard
The Eagles have made a major splash on Day 2 of the draft: They are acquiring edge defender Jonathan Greenard and a 2026 seventh-rounder from the Vikings, per ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport.
The Eagles and Greenard have agreed to a four-year, $100MM extension with $50MM guaranteed. The Vikings will receive a 2026 third-rounder (No. 98) and a third-rounder next year (Minnesota ended up taking Miami safety Jakobe Thomas at No. 98).
Philadelphia’s interest in Greenard first became public before free agency opened in early March. The team then lost one of its best edge defenders, Jaelan Phillips, who inked a four-year, $120MM contract with the Panthers. The Eagles later added Arnold Ebiketie and Joe Tryon-Shoyinka on modest pacts, but they continued pushing for Greenard.
The Vikings and Greenard were optimistic he would stay in Minnesota and potentially ink an extension, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Instead, though, he will head to the second NFC destination of his career. The trade will save the Vikings a whopping $34MM in cap space, Schefter relays. They entered Friday with around $4.83MM in breathing room (via Over the Cap).
As a 2020 third-round pick from Florida, Greenard started his career with the Texans. After a quiet rookie year, Greenard began showing off his pass-rushing chops in 2021. Despite missing five games with a foot injury, he notched 12 QB hits and eight sacks. Another injury, this time to his calf, held Greenard to eight games during a 1.5-sack showing in 2022. Greenard mostly stayed healthy in 2023, the final season of his rookie contract, and his production exploded. Teaming with then-rookie Will Anderson Jr., the 6-foot-3, 259-pound Greenard put up 52 tackles (15 TFLs), 22 QB hits and 12.5 sacks in 15 games.
Greenard’s best season in Houston wound up as his last. The Vikings, who would lose Danielle Hunter to the Texans in free agency, brought in Greenard as his replacement. Playing the first season of a four-year, $76MM deal in 2024, Greenard continued to thrive en route to his first Pro Bowl selection. He logged his first 17-game season and recorded 59 tackles (18 TFLs), 22 QB hits, a career-best four forced fumbles and 12 sacks.
Health issues reared their head again in 2025 for Greenard, who battled a shoulder injury and underwent surgery in December. Greenard ended the season with 38 tackles (10 TFLs), 12 QB hits and three sacks in a dozen games. While Greenard’s traditional production wasn’t great, Pro Football Focus ranked his play a solid 31st among 119 edge defenders. He finished 17th in hurries (35) and 30th in pressures (47). Andrew Van Ginkel and Dallas Turner stepped up during a limited year for Greenard, and they will remain in key roles for the Vikings next season.
Set to turn 29 in May, Greenard will now join Jalyx Hunt and Nolan Smith as the Eagles’ top pass rushers. If healthy, Greenard could help form a monstrous front in Philadelphia, whose Vic Fangio-led defense boasts an incredible collection of D-tackles (Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Moro Ojomo) and linebackers (Zack Baun and Jihaad Campbell).
The Greenard acquisition may not end up as the last blockbuster trade of the offseason for aggressive Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. Expectations are Roseman will ship out wide receiver A.J. Brown sometime between June 2 and the start of the season.
Steelers Draft QB Drew Allar At No. 76
The Steelers have not heard if Aaron Rodgers will play a 22nd season, and while they expect to hear from their 2025 starter that he will return soon, another quarterback is heading to Pittsburgh. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar, who visited with the team this month, is going to the Steelers at No. 76 overall as the fourth QB off the board.
Allar is a clear development pick; he didn’t even start playing quarterback until high school. At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Allar boasts a prototypical frame reminiscent of the late 2000’s and 2010’s battles between Ben Roethlisberger and Joe Flacco. He has a decent arm and above average mobility for a passer his size, rushing for 732 yards and 12 touchdowns at Penn State. The Nittany Lions went 26-9 with Allar as the starter under center.
After coming off the bench as a true freshman, Allar’s first year as a starter drew interesting results. The highlights saw elite discipline as he threw for 25 touchdowns and only two interceptions, but those results came with a 59.9% completion rate and only 202.4 passing yards per game.
He improved greatly in his second year as the starter, increasing his completion percentage to 66.5, but in three more games, he threw one fewer touchdown and eight interceptions while averaging just 207.9 yards per game. His final year in Happy Valley got off to a rough start. When a broken ankle ended his season, the Nittany Lions were 3-3 and Allar was averaging just 183.3 yards per game.
The production never quite matched the potential or the physical tools for Allar. He showed an ability to make anticipatory throws and read a defense with efficiency. His low interception rate was a benefit but really came as a result of a conservative passing approach, leading too often to second-guessing and active scrambling. The lack of accuracy stemmed from a lack of consistency on drop backs, messy footwork, and a lack of touch to layer throws. A perceived lack of chemistry with his receiving weapons was considered a factory for Allar’s inability to produce big plays.
If there’s anybody who can develop the production out of a quarterback that has oozed potential for four years, its new Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy. Ideally, Rodgers does return to start as expected, allowing Allar to sit and develop while learning from McCarthy and a four-time MVP. If Rodgers doesn’t end up back in Pittsburgh, Allar should have an opportunity to compete for a role in the hierarchy with fellow Steelers’ draft picks Mason Rudolph and Will Howard.