WR Germie Bernard Visited Falcons
The Falcons have identified receiver as a position of need going into the draft. Alabama’s Germie Bernard is among the wideouts on their radar. They hosted Bernard on Wednesday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
The Falcons are devoid of a first-round pick after trading it to move up for James Pearce Jr. in 2025, but it would be a surprise to see Bernard go that high. The Falcons are scheduled to make their first choice at No. 48 in the second round, where Bernard could be a possibility. Dane Brugler of The Athletic and Daniel Jeremiah of The Athletic rank Bernard 41st and 50th, respectively, in this year’s class.
Bernard is a pro-ready prospect who profiles as a second or third receiver in the NFL, per Brugler, which is something Atlanta is lacking. The Falcons have a stud No. 1 in Drake London (who should land a mega-extension soon). Running back Bijan Robinson and tight end Kyle Pitts also eat up a lot of targets, but the Falcons’ receiving corps is underwhelming beyond London.
The free agent additions of Jahan Dotson and Olamide Zaccheaus gave the Falcons some insurance before the draft, though general manager Ian Cunningham could bring in someone with more upside. Dotson caught fewer than 20 passes in each of the previous two seasons in Philadelphia, while Zaccheaus averaged just 8.0 yards per reception during a 39-catch 2025 in Chicago.
Bernard played for three different schools in four college seasons. After a seven-catch freshman year at Michigan State, he experienced an uptick in production at Washington in 2023. As part of a crowded receiving corps led by Rome Odunze, Ja’lynn Polk and Jalen McMillan, Bernard pulled in 34 catches for 419 yards and two touchdowns. His quarterback that year was Michael Penix Jr., who is now entering his third season with the Falcons. Bernard and Penix could reunite in Atlanta, though the latter will have to beat out Tua Tagovailoa for the starting job.
Bernard followed head coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington to Alabama in 2024, and the 6-foot-1, 206-pounder’s output improved significantly in Tuscaloosa. He notched 50 receptions, 794 yards and two scores in 13 games his first year with the Crimson Tide. Bernard wrapped up his college tenure with personal bests in catches (64), yards (862) and TDs (seven) over 14 games in 2025.
Texans Hosted Denzel Boston, Malachi Lawrence
With the draft a week away, Washington wide receiver Denzel Boston continues drawing plenty of interest. Boston visited the Texans earlier this week, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. The Texans also met with UCF edge defender Malachi Lawrence, Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 reports.
Boston and Lawrence are potential first-round picks who appear to have second-round floors. In his latest ranking of 2026 prospects, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com places Boston 27th and Lawrence 46th. As owners of the 28th and 38th overall picks, the Texans could come away with one or both of those players in the first two rounds.
Boston would be another notable receiver investment for the Texans, who drafted the Iowa State tandem of Jayden Higgins at No. 34 and Jaylin Noel at No. 79 last year. The rookies combined for 67 catches, 817 yards and eight touchdowns in 2025. Houston also counts star No. 1 receiver Nico Collins, Xavier Hutchinson and Tank Dell among its options, though the latter’s status is up in the air after a gruesome knee injury cost him all of last season.
Unlike the 5-foot-11 Noel and the 5-10 Dell, all of Boston, Higgins, Collins and Hutchinson stand 6-3 or taller, which would give quarterback C.J. Stroud a handful of big targets. The 6-4, 209-pound Boston took advantage of his size at Washington, where he established himself as a sure-handed red zone weapon. Boston posted a 3.1% drop rate in college and averaged 63 catches, 858 yards and 10 TDs per season from 2024-25.
The Texans already have an all-world pass-rushing duo in Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter, but they were intrigued enough with Lawrence to meet with him. Houston is hardly alone in that regard, as half of the league’s 32 teams held visits with Lawrence before Wednesday’s deadline. After combining for 27.5 tackles for loss and 19.5 sacks from 2023-25, Lawrence upped his stock at the Combine in February. The 6-4, 253-pounder ran a 4.52-second 40-yard dash, which ranked second among edge defenders. He also placed second in the 10-yard split, vertical jump and broad jump (via PFF College).
Lawrence would begin his career in a depth role in Houston, which saw Anderson and Hunter record respective defensive snap shares of 66.79% and 70.07% in 2025. Anderson and Hunter are under Texans control for the next two years, but the former is likely to stick around for longer on a record-breaking extension. Hunter landed a massive deal of his own last month, though it may be his last with the Texans. He will be 33 when the pact expires. The Texans could develop Lawrence as a replacement if they draft him and he shows he is worthy of a promotion to a starting job by 2028.
Chargers Not Discussing Quentin Johnston Trade; No Decision On Fifth-Year Option
With just one year left on his rookie contract, Chargers wide receiver Quentin Johnston surfaced in trade rumors in early March. A deal has not materialized over a month later, though, and general manager Joe Hortiz revealed that he is not shopping Johnston.
“There’s a lot of rumors out there on Twitter,” Hortiz said Thursday (via Kris Rhim of ESPN). “And I can tell you this, I have made zero calls about Quentin, and I’ve had zero calls regarding Quentin.”
Hortiz and head coach Jim Harbaugh were not in the organization when the Chargers chose Johnston 21st overall in the 2023 draft. But the two “have always been enamored with Johnston’s upside,” Rhim writes. That seems to bode well for Johnston sticking around for at least another season, though it is unclear if the Chargers will green light his fifth-year option by the May 1 deadline. Signing off on it would entitle Johnston to a fully guaranteed salary of $18.1MM in 2027. The Chargers have not made a decision on it yet, Hortiz said.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Johnston joined the Chargers after starring at TCU, but his rookie season was rocky. He struggled with drops and finished with a disappointing 38 receptions, 431 yards and two touchdowns in 17 games. While Johnston combined for five absences over the past two seasons, including three in 2025, his numbers have taken a leap since Hortiz and Harbaugh grabbed the reins in 2024. The 24-year-old caught 55 balls for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games in his first season playing for Harbaugh. He followed that up with another eight-TD showing, which led the team for the second straight year, and hauled in 51 passes for 735 yards.
Johnston’s production has been closer to respectable than great, which is why exercising his fifth-year option is not a slam dunk. In spending second-round picks on Ladd McConkey and Tre Harris, the Chargers continued to invest heavily at receiver in the past two drafts. They also used a “30” visit this spring on potential first-round wideout KC Concepcion, which suggests they are open to spending another high pick on the position in this year’s draft. If that happens, the Chargers may be less inclined to keep Johnston around on an expensive salary in 2027. Barring a trade, though, Johnston should continue as one of quarterback Justin Herbert’s favorite targets next season under new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel.
Seahawks Host DE Dante Fowler
Eleven years since the Jaguars took him third overall in the 2015 draft, defensive end Dante Fowler has suited up for five teams. Now a free agent after his second stint with the Cowboys, Fowler could join a sixth franchise. The Seahawks hosted Fowler on Thursday, per the league’s transaction wire.
An agreement with the Seahawks would reunite Fowler with defensive coordinator Aden Durde. They previously overlapped in Atlanta (2020) and Dallas (2022-23). With Durde as the Cowboys’ defensive line coach, Fowler combined for 10 sacks as a rotational player over two years.
Fowler exited the next offseason to join the Commanders, with whom he enjoyed a 10.5-sack outburst. It was the second double-digit sack effort for Fowler, who piled up a personal-best 11.5 with the Rams in 2019. The 10-year veteran has amassed 58.5 sacks over 159 games (58 starts).
Returning to Dallas after a successful season in Washington, Fowler inked a one-year deal worth up to $8MM in March 2025. Fowler wound up playing all 17 games for the fourth straight season and picking up 11 starts – his most since 2020. Despite that, Fowler was only on the field for a little over 32% of the Cowboys’ defensive plays. He finished the season with 15 tackles, 10 QB hits, three sacks and three pass deflections. While those aren’t gaudy numbers, Pro Football Focus nonetheless ranked the 31-year-old’s play an impressive 21st among 119 qualifying edge defenders. PFF assigned Fowler an overall grade of 77.6, the highest of his career and a ways above his second-best mark (72.0 in 2019).
As the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seahawks boast an excellent roster, but they could stand to add more pass-rushing options via free agency, the draft or both routes. The Seahawks have not replaced Boye Mafe, whom they lost to the Bengals in free agency. Fowler could pick up some of Mafe’s slack in Seattle, where he would rejoin former Cowboys teammate and fellow veteran pass rusher DeMarcus Lawrence.
DE A.J. Epenesa Visits Dolphins
Free agent defensive end A.J. Epenesa temporarily came off the market when he agreed to sign with the Browns on March 18. Eleven days later, the Browns called off the one-year, $5MM deal as a result of a failed physical. Epenesa has not landed anywhere since, but he visited the Dolphins on Thursday (via Mike Garafolo of NFL Network).
A second-round pick from Iowa in 2020, Epenesa spent the first six years of his career with Buffalo, one of Miami’s AFC East rivals. Although Cleveland was not comfortable with Epenesa’s health, he has appeared in no fewer than 14 games in each season.
Aside from a 13-start 2024, Epenesa has typically worked in a rotational role. While he totaled just 2.5 sacks and logged a defensive snap share around 30% over 28 games in his first two seasons, Epenesa put together three straight six-sack years and averaged 10 QB hits from 2022-24.
After playing a career-high 55.43% of defensive snaps two years ago, his lone 17-game season, the number dropped to 44.6 over 16 contests in 2025. Working as a backup behind Greg Rousseau and Joey Bosa, Epenesa picked up 37 tackles, nine QB hits and 2.5 sacks. He also recorded the second two-interception season of his career and deflected four passes. Epenesa has averaged approximately five PDs per year since 2022.
After Epenesa and Bosa hit the open market last month, the Bills brought in former Dolphin Bradley Chubb to join Rousseau as their top edge defenders. Chubb led the Dolphins with 8.5 sacks in 2025, but they released him in a cap-cutting move. Looking for complements to Chop Robinson, the Dolphins have brought in Josh Uche and David Ojabo on inexpensive deals. Depending on how his visit went, Epenesa could be a candidate to join them.
Poll: Who Will Draft Jeremiyah Love?
NFL teams do not consider running back a premium position, which is why it takes a supreme talent for someone to spend prime draft capital on it. Over the past decade of drafts, Ashton Jeanty, Bijan Robinson, Saquon Barkley, Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott are the only running backs who have exited the board in the top 10. There are some years (most recently 2022 and ’24) in which the first round passes without anyone adding a back, but that will not be the case in the upcoming draft.
As arguably the preeminent prospect available at any position in the 2026 class, Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love is poised to become the latest back to hear his name called in the first 10 picks. Seven teams in that range – the Jets (No. 2), Cardinals (third), Titans (fourth), Giants (fifth), Commanders (seventh), Saints (eighth) and Bengals (10th) – have been connected to Love in the lead-up to the draft. Some of those clubs look like more realistic landing spots for Love than others, especially considering he is not expected to last past Washington’s pick.
Possessing blazing 4.36 speed, the 6-foot, 212-pound Love is heading to the pros on the heels of a brilliant couple of years with the Fighting Irish. Love averaged an eye-popping 6.9 yards per carry on 433 attempts, scored 35 rushing touchdowns and did not lose a fumble in 41 games at Notre Dame. Also a gifted receiver, Love combined for 55 catches and five more scores over the past two years. He earned the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation’s best back, last season.
With nine days left until Love finds out his NFL destination, let’s run down the teams in line to pick in the top 10. We can start by ruling out the Raiders, who selected Jeanty at No. 6 in 2025 and will take Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall this year.
While the Jets recently had breakfast with Love, one of their key moves earlier in the offseason was to keep Breece Hall around via the franchise tag. General manager Darren Mougey and head coach Aaron Glenn have made their affinity for Hall known, pointing to a potential contract extension by the July 15 deadline. Not only that, but with defenders like David Bailey and Arvell Reese in contention for No. 2 overall, it would be a shock to see the Jets ignore that side of the ball.
The Cardinals had the second-worst running game in the league during an injury-plagued 2025 for James Conner and 2024 third-rounder Trey Benson. Those two are due back next season, and the Cardinals reeled in former Falcon Tyler Allgeier on a two-year, $12.25MM agreement in free agency. None of those players are game-changers, which leaves room for Love. But that would be a luxury pick for an Arizona team that has obvious weaknesses at right tackle and edge defender.
The Browns are in dire need of blue-chip offensive talent. However, having used a second-rounder on Quinshon Judkins last year, they seem more likely to address their receiving corps than their backfield if they go offense with their top choice.
If the Saints release or trade the soon-to-be 31-year-old Alvin Kamara, it would create a vacancy on their depth chart. However, grabbing Love just weeks after inking ex-Jaguar Travis Etienne to a four-year, $52MM pact in free agency would be a surprise. The Chiefs (No. 9) also made a sizable investment at the position during the first wave of free agency. Having signed former Seahawks Super Bowl LX MVP winner Kenneth Walker to a three-year, $43.05MM deal, they figure to use their initial pick on another position.
In the improbable event Love falls to the Bengals, maybe they will eschew glaring defensive needs to add another potential offensive superstar to a long-term core of Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Although the Bengals already have a quality dual-threat back in Chase Brown, he is not under contract past next season. There have been extension talks, but any chance of a multiyear deal will fly out the window if the Bengals choose Love.
Of the clubs in the top 10, the Titans, Giants and Commanders may be the best fits for Love. If it is the Titans or Giants, he would become the first RB to go in the top five since the latter took Barkley second overall in 2018. Eight years later, with no star-caliber back on the Giants’ roster, perhaps the new John Harbaugh regime will go with Love. The team “might just run that card up” if he is available, Connor Hughes of SNY says.
Titans running back Tony Pollard posted his fourth straight 1,000-yard season in 2025, but he will turn 29 at the end of April. Pollard also has just one year left on his contract. Unlike Love, Pollard has no chance to serve as a long-term sidekick for quarterback Cam Ward, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft.
As a seventh-round rookie last season, the Commanders’ Jacory Croskey-Merritt vastly exceeded expectations in rushing for 875 yards on 175 carries (4.6 YPC). The man known as “Bill” also found the end zone eight times. Croskey-Merritt’s success is an argument that a team does not have to pour major resources into the position to find a viable solution. Washington has also been active in the backfield in free agency, having signed Rachaad White, Jerome Ford and Jeremy McNichols. The Commanders don’t need another RB, yet they are lacking elite-caliber weapons for third-year QB Jayden Daniels. If Love is sitting there at No. 7 and general manager Adam Peters likes him better than whichever receivers or defenders are on the board, perhaps he will take the plunge.
How do you expect the draft to play out for Love? Will one of the above teams or a dark horse end up with Love on April 23? Vote in PFR’s latest poll and weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section.
Who will draft Jeremiyah Love?
-
Titans 37% (586)
-
Commanders 18% (282)
-
Giants 17% (262)
-
Other 12% (182)
-
Cardinals 6% (97)
-
Saints 5% (79)
-
Bengals 3% (53)
-
Jets 3% (41)
Total votes: 1,582
Giants, Dexter Lawrence At ‘Impasse’
The Giants have been in contract talks with disgruntled defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence, but those discussions have not been productive. The sides are at an “impasse,” Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. With the Giants continuing to discuss Lawrence in trades, a resolution is expected before the draft, per Rapoport.
Speaking with the media on Tuesday, general manager Joe Schoen indicated the Giants had not set a draft deadline to settle Lawrence’s future. It appears an answer will come by then, though. The Giants, who already own the fifth pick in the draft, are expected to get a first-rounder back if a Lawrence trade occurs, according to Connor Hughes of SNY. This is not considered a strong draft class for defensive tackles, which should boost Lawrence’s value across the league, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN notes.
As the 17th overall pick in 2019, Lawrence joined the Giants a few years before Schoen took over as their GM. Schoen, then in his second offseason on the job, authorized a four-year, $90MM extension for Lawrence in May 2023. The pact included $60MM in guarantees and made the two-time second-team All-Pro one of the richest defensive tackles in the NFL. Three years later, Lawrence ranks seventh among DTs in guarantees, 11th in total value and 13th in average salary.
Now unhappy with where he stands in the financial pecking order at his position, the 28-year-old Lawrence requested a trade last week. He is still signed through 2027 and due to count just under $27MM against the cap in each of the next two years.. Lawrence is owed a non-guaranteed $18.5MM base salary next season, but an acquiring team would have to give him a raise.
The Chargers are considered one “logical” fit, a source told Tyler Dragon of USA Today. That would mean a major trade between new Giants head coach John Harbaugh and Chargers HC Jim Harbaugh. The Harbaugh brothers most recently came together on a trade when the Ravens, then coached by John, sent edge defender Odafe Oweh to the Chargers for safety Alohi Gilman last October. The Chargers now have the third-most cap space in the league ($48.68MM), giving them ample room to pay Lawrence if they are interested in swinging a deal.
Even though John Harbaugh called Lawrence “super, super important” to the Giants’ defense in late February, the team has not been willing to meet the 6-foot-4, 340-pounder’s demands. Harbaugh and first-year senior VP of football ops and strategy Dawn Aponte have wrested power away from Schoen this offseason. All three have engaged in talks with Lawrence, but unless there is a 180 in negotiations over the next week-plus, it appears the four-time Pro Bowler will be on his way out soon.
Titans Out On Rueben Bain At No. 4?
Miami defensive end Rueben Bain Jr. is heading into the draft as a potential top-10 pick, but it does not appear the Titans are considering him at fourth overall. Bain is “not their guy,” Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network hears.
The Titans have at least done their due diligence on Bain, whom they met with in late March. For his part, Jeremiah ranks Bain as the seventh-best prospect in the draft. The 6-foot-2, 263-pounder’s stock is high after he capped off a three-year run at Miami with his most productive season in 2025. Over 16 games, Bain tallied 54 tackles, 15.5 TFL, 9.5 sacks and the lone interception of his Hurricanes career. He was named a consensus All-American for his efforts.
Despite Bain’s prolific college output and considerable upside, there have been concerns over his arm length throughout the pre-draft process. His arms measured 30 7/8 inches at the Combine, which ranks in the 1st percentile and falls well below the 33-inch average. On a much more alarming note, it came to light over the weekend that Bain was the driver in a fatal car crash in 2024. Bain was cited for careless driving after a crash left one of his car’s passengers in a coma. She passed away three months later, though the charge against Bain was later dropped. The Titans found out about it last summer, but it “didn’t really” affect their evaluation of Bain, a source told Nick Suss of the Tennessean.
While Bain may not fit what the Titans are looking for, they are reportedly considering Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate with their top pick. Other possibilities include Texas Tech defensive end David Bailey, Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love, and Ohio State linebackers Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles. Unless the team trades down, there is a high chance of one of those players becoming a member of the Titans on April 23.
Steelers Host Germie Bernard, Spencer Fano, Vega Ioane
Set to pick 21st overall in this year’s draft, the Steelers have been busy hosting potential first-rounders in the past couple of days. The Steelers visited with Alabama wide receiver Germie Bernard and Utah offensive lineman Spencer Fano on Monday, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN. They met with Penn State guard Vega Ioane on Tuesday, Pryor adds.
Bernard is more of a long-shot first-rounder than either Fano or Ioane, who look like shoo-ins to come off the board on Day 1. There is a chance Bernard will still be available when the Steelers are on the clock at No. 53 in the second round. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com ranks the 6-foot-1, 206-pounder as the 50th-best prospect available, contending he should turn into a solid slot receiver in the pros.
Bernard would begin his career as a complement to the Steelers’ starting receivers, D.K. Metcalf and Michael Pittman. The team is lacking strong auxiliary options behind the two 6-foot-4 targets, making receiver a position of interest heading into the draft.
Bernard began his college career at Washington, but he found another gear after transferring to Alabama in 2024. He averaged 57 catches, 828 yards and just under five touchdowns per season in his two years with the Crimson Tide. Bernard formed a nice connection in 2025 with quarterback Ty Simpson, a speculative fit for the Steelers in this year’s draft. While the Steelers are not expected to take Simpson, the second-rated signal-caller in this class, he could be tempting if they still do not have an answer on 2025 starter and current free agent Aaron Rodgers‘ future by then. Perhaps there is a scenario in which Bernard and Simpson reunite in Pittsburgh in the next couple of weeks.
Whether Rodgers or someone else is under center for the Steelers in 2026, he could play behind a more talented group of blockers if the team addresses the unit early in the draft. The Steelers lost starting left guard Isaac Seumalo to the Cardinals in free agency, and they are likely to reject left tackle Broderick Jones‘ 2027 fifth-year option by the May 1 deadline. With multiple question marks up front, Pittsburgh is eyeing a couple of premier O-line prospects in Fano and Ioane.
Fano was a three-year starter at Utah, where he mostly played right tackle. A unanimous All-American in 2025, the 6-5, 311-pounder also has the talent to serve as a plug-and-play guard in the pros, according to Dane Brugler of The Athletic. Jeremiah ranks Fano as the 13th overall player in the class, while he checks in at No. 8 on Brugler’s list. The two are similarly high on Ioane (Jeremiah places him 11th, Brugler has him 12th), who is considered the best guard in the draft. Acquiring Fano or Ioane may be unrealistic for Pittsburgh unless it trades up, which could be a possibility for a club with a league-leading 12 picks. The Steelers’ haul includes three third-rounders and two fourths.
Alabama offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor, Ohio State defensive tackle Kayden McDonald and Oregon safety Dillon Thieneman may be other prospects to watch for the Steelers in the first round, according to Jason La Canfora of SportsBoom. Proctor is not expected to fall past the Lions at pick 17. If that is the case, the Steelers would have to move up for him.
Lions Hope To Extend LB Jack Campbell; Fifth-Year Option In Play
The NFL continues to group all linebackers together for valuation purposes, which has typically led to teams turning down fifth-year options for off-ball LBs. No team has exercised the fifth-year option at the position since the Buccaneers did so for Devin White in 2022. That may change in the next two-plus weeks.
[RELATED: Fifth-Year Option Tracker]
The Lions have until May 1 to make a decision on Jack Campbell‘s option. Unless an extension comes to fruition by then, the team is “certain to exercise” it, Justin Rogers of Detroit Football Network reports.
Armed with two first-round picks in the 2023 draft, Lions general manager Brad Holmes used the selections on a pair of non-premium positions. Before choosing Campbell 18th overall, he took running back Jahmyr Gibbs at No. 12. Campbell, Gibbs and second-rounders Sam LaPorta and Brian Branch have turned into excellent NFLers. All are now eligible for extensions, but keeping each of them from hitting free agency in a year may be a challenge for Holmes.
The Lions would like to get something done with Campbell by the end of April. Otherwise, they will be at risk of paying him a bloated $21.93MM on his fifth-year option salary in 2027. He would go by 49ers future Hall of Famer Fred Warner, whose average annual salary of $21MM paces the position. The worth of Campbell’s option escalated as a result of the Pro Bowl nod he earned last season. The former Iowa standout was also a first-team All-Pro in 2025. Campbell, who has never missed a game, put together his second straight 17-start campaign and notched career highs in tackles (176), TFL (nine), sacks (five) and forced fumbles (three). The 25-year-old finished behind one player, Warner, in Pro Football Focus’ off-ball LB rankings.
Warner inked his three-year, $63MM extension last May, at which point he was coming off his fourth first-team All-Pro showing. In addition to leading his position in AAV, he tops it in total value. Warner checks in second in guarantees ($56.7MM), trailing the Ravens’ Roquan Smith ($60MM). Warner, Smith, the Eagles’ Zack Baun, the Chiefs’ Nick Bolton and the Jets’ Jamien Sherwood are the only off-ball LBs earning at least $15MM per annum on multiyear pacts. Campbell has a strong argument to join the group in the next couple of weeks, especially with the cap on the rise and the value of his option providing him leverage.