Chiefs Extend HC Andy Reid, GM Brett Veach, President Mark Donovan
The Chiefs have put together a leadership group that helped the team go to six straight AFC championship games, advance to the Super Bowl four times in five years, winning three of them, and become the first franchise to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did so 20 years ago. As a result, Chiefs chairman and chief executive officer Clark Hunt announced today that head coach Andy Reid, general manager Brett Veach, and team president Mark Donovan have all received contract extensions. 
The trio has been responsible for one of the biggest franchise transformations over the last couple of decades. While we do not have details on the length of Donovan’s extension, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports Reid’s contract now runs through the 2029 season and that Veach will also be under contract through the rest of the 2020s. The Chiefs will embark on their threepeat quest soon, and they will have their top decision-makers locked down before the draft.
Kansas City had just finished last in the AFC West for the fourth time in five years when Reid and Veach arrived in 2013. Since their arrival, the team has missed the playoffs just once. This marks Veach’s second extension and Reid’s third with the Chiefs, who last extended their top two power brokers in 2020. Plenty has changed since.
Donovan has been with the team the longest of the three, being with the franchise since 2009. The longtime Chiefs president joins Veach in being an ex-Eagles staffer during Reid’s Philly tenure. Donovan served as senior vice president/operations for the Eagles, holding that role until coming to Kansas City. Two years after Donovan’s arrival for the Chiefs’ CEO gig, he earned his current role. After rolling through head coaches Herm Edwards, Todd Haley, and Romeo Crennel, Donovan played a role in reaching out to a familiar face.
Reid settled with the Chiefs on a five-year contract. In Philadelphia, Reid had made the playoffs in nine of 14 seasons, lost four NFC championship games, and Super Bowl XXXIX. In Kansas City, Reid has been even more efficient. The Chiefs are 10-for-11 in playoff berths under the all-time great. Reid’s team has won the AFC West in each of the past eight years, running the franchise’s Super Bowl championship count from one to four.
Donovan not only stole Reid back in 2012, but he also brought in a 35-year-old scout in Veach. The latter landed his first NFL job as a coaching intern for the Eagles in 2004. After Veach rose to the scouting level in 2010, Donovan and Reid lured him from Philadelphia with the position of pro and college personnel analyst. After two years in that role, Veach spent another two years as co-director of player personnel before officially earning his current job title of general manager in 2017.
Veach’s input has obviously been valuable over the years, as the team drafted the likes of Eric Fisher and Travis Kelce in his first year in Kansas City — during John Dorsey‘s GM tenure. In the two years before Veach was promoted to his current role, he contributed to a personnel department that drafted players like Marcus Peters, Chris Jones, and Tyreek Hill.
While Dorsey made the most important draft choice in Chiefs history by selecting Patrick Mahomes 10th overall in 2017, Veach has been widely credited as beginning the push for the future superstar. The Chiefs’ trajectory certainly changed as a result of the Mahomes investment, and the team booted Dorsey for Veach ahead of the 2017 season. Since then, Veach has overseen a personnel department that drafted L’Jarius Sneed, Creed Humphrey, Trent McDuffie, Isiah Pacheco, Rashee Rice, and several other contributors.
Aside from his draft hits, Veach has made a name for being unafraid to trade off top assets like Peters, Hill, and Sneed for draft compensation. He also has made a number of deft moves over the years in free agency, bringing in players like Joe Thuney and Jawaan Taylor in recent years and Marquise Brown this year.
Reid is the second-longest-tenured HC in Chiefs history, passing Marty Schottenheimer in longevity in 2023. Residing only behind Hall of Famer Hank Stram, Reid cinched up his Hall of Fame resume in Kansas City. Sitting fourth on the all-time wins list, Reid has shot down retirement rumors in each of the past two offseasons. His enduring commitment to the Chiefs has changed the franchise, with the Mahomes years quickly leading to an AFC power shift. Veach gave Reid and Mahomes a strong defensive safety net last season, and the Chiefs will almost definitely enter the 2024 season as Super Bowl favorites.
Texans To Sign LB Jacob Phillips
The Texans did some linebacker work early in free agency, reuniting DeMeco Ryans with 49ers pupil Azeez Al-Shaair. More than a month later, the team is still doing work on its defensive second level.
Jacob Phillips came in for a workout earlier today, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes, and ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter indicates that the parties have a deal in place. After four seasons in Cleveland, Phillips will make his way to Houston on a one-year deal. Phillips found his way to the Browns in 2020 thanks to a trade that sent running back Duke Johnson to the Texans. Now, four years later, that pick comes back to Houston.
As a third-round pick out of LSU, Phillips never quite panned out with Cleveland. Injuries were the primary factor for Phillips’ struggles throughout his rookie deal. Phillips missed seven games in his rookie season, 13 games in his sophomore campaign, and the last 10 games of the 2022 season before missing all of 2023. Out of a possible 67 career regular season games, Phillips has only appeared in 20, making eight starts.
Whether COVID-19 or a knee injury in 2020, a torn biceps muscle in 2021, a torn left pectoral muscle in 2022, or the torn right pectoral muscle that sidelined him for all of last year, Phillips’ struggles to stay on the gridiron have been unprecedented. Still, his ability to find his way into the starting lineup in the short windows when he’s healthy just shows the potential that lies in Phillips’ game.
While the Browns never got to see that potential fully develop and blossom, the Texans are hoping they’ll get to see it in 2024. Phillips will come to a Houston team that lost two starters at the position when Blake Cashman departed for Minnesota and Denzel Perryman returned to Los Angeles. Henry To’oTo’o, the only backup linebacker to see significant time on the defense as a rookie in 2023, is set to fill one of the starting spots alongside side returning starter Christian Harris.
The former 49er and Ryans disciple, Al-Shaair, was signed back in March to compete for the other starting spot. In a one-year deal with the Titans last year, Al-Shaair started every game of the season for the first time in his career and set a career high with an impressive 163 total tackles, good for fifth in the NFL in 2023.
With the starting lineup in 2024 assumed to be Harris, Al-Shaair, and To’oTo’o, Phillips will come in with less pressure to deliver right away. If healthy, Phillips could fill in To’oTo’o’s role from last year as the first man off the bench at the position in occasions of injury replacement or rotation. He’ll compete with fellow free agent addition Del’Shawn Phillips for that role. Phillips served a similar role with the Ravens over the last four years while also being a core special teamer in Baltimore.
It’s the start of a new opportunity for Phillips in Houston. After an injury-riddled start to his career, the 25-year-old has a chance to make an impact off the bench for the Texans without the pressure to do so right away. He’ll also embark on this journey with one of the league’s premier defensive minds as his head coach.
Giants Could Wait For QB In Draft
APRIL 22: Adding to the idea New York could pass on a first-round signal-caller, Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post notes the Giants could be prepared to move down if J.J. McCarthy were the top passer still on the board at No. 6. That could result in a trade-down maneuver and leave the team in range for one of the second-tier QBs. Dunleavy adds that a factor which could alter that approach is the possibility of acquiring Maye, which falls in line with the Meirov report.
APRIL 21: Ever since Daniel Jones tore his ACL last season, putting to rest any chances of rebounding from an abysmal start to lead his team to the playoffs for the second year in a row, there has been constant chatter in New York about committing a first-round draft pick to the quarterback position. According to Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team, the Giants may not be all-in on using their current top pick, No. 6 overall, to draft a passer. 
The Giants rewarded Jones’ playoff season, in which he led the league in fewest interceptions per pass attempt, with a four-year, $160MM contract. His first year under the new deal obviously did not go according to plan, but New York has claimed on multiple occasions that it does not regret committing to Jones and isn’t quite ready to give up on him. Still, they let it be known that they had plans to add a quarterback in the future; Jones’ injury history necessitated it.
Now, they actually have to address how that will work. Most projections for how the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft will play out see a run of four quarterbacks opening the night. While that’s not guaranteed, if it occurs, the Giants would likely not see any of the quarterbacks they want fall back to them. That hasn’t stopped many mock drafts from predicting a quarterback to New York via a trade up into the Cardinals’ No. 4 overall slot.
Meirov tells us that league rumors state that North Carolina passer Drake Maye is the only one of the passers not named “Caleb Williams” that the Giants would consider going after if he started to slip. It’s expecting quite a bit to think that Maye could find his way down to the sixth pick, but this could be insinuating that New York would trade up to the fourth pick if the Commanders and Patriots both pass on Maye.
If not, though, Meirov believes that they could address another position, like offensive tackle or wide receiver, at No. 6 overall then wait until the second round to select a quarterback. It depends how things play out, but both Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix were thought of as Day 2 picks at some point. The run of passers at the top of the draft may mean that Penix and Nix hear their names a little earlier than their value (for instance, the Raiders have constantly been connected to Penix at No. 13 overall), but should either quarterback slip back into the second round, consider them top targets for the Giants.
If they particularly like Penix or Nix and see them starting to slip in the first round, they may decide to trade back into the first round, or they could leverage their No. 6 overall pick to trade back and collect more picks without addressing the offensive line or receiving corps then pick one of the two passers. If they miss out on both Penix and Nix they may have to reach (or trade back a little in the second round) for South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler, widely thought to have a third-round value or later.
Regardless, the Giants have lots of options. They remain committed to Jones but still feel the need to add a rookie to the room. Just how they decide to go about adding that rookie could say a lot about how they feel about Jones heading into 2024.
Rams Could Be Surprise Team Looking For QB In Draft
The teams in need of a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft have been known for a while now. The Bears, Commanders, Patriots, Giants, Vikings, Broncos, and Raiders have all been connected to passers throughout the pre-draft process. Ari Meirov of the 33rd Team, though, points to the Rams as a squad that could surprise many with an early quarterback selection later this week. 
Los Angeles certainly doesn’t need a new passer for the 2024 season. Matthew Stafford didn’t reach his Super Bowl season numbers of 41 touchdowns and nearly 5,000 yards, but he was impressive in his second-ever Pro Bowl season in which he finished eighth in MVP voting. Stafford did miss two games this year, though, and the eight games he missed in 2022 were enough to show head coach Sean McVay and company that they needed to start looking towards the future.
The team did address the position after Stafford’s injury-marred season, drafting former Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett in the fourth round of last year’s draft. The Rams saw Bennett as a bit of a project heading into the 2023 season, and it’s safe to say the experiment didn’t go according to plan. Initially thought to be the heir apparent to Stafford, Bennett ended up being completely out of the mix in the quarterbacks room as Carson Wentz and Brett Rypien subbed in for two starts that Stafford missed.
On top of that, Bennett found himself on the reserve/non-football illness list and off the active roster entirely. McVay claimed that Bennett was “doing better” in January but said that it was too early to know if he would be ready to be a part of the team again in 2024. With Wentz and Rypien on other teams now, Jimmy Garoppolo and Dresser Winn now sit on the depth chart behind Stafford with Bennett.
So, the Rams will turn to the draft. Obviously, the top four quarterbacks on the board are out of range. At No. 19 overall, Los Angeles would need to put together a massive package in order to move up that far. That could leave two quarterbacks who played on the west coast in college available in Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix, though. Penix has been consistently connected to the Raiders at No. 13 overall, so even he might not be available.
If the Rams aren’t in love with Penix or Nix, or don’t like them at that value in the draft, their options get fairly thin past that. After the top six passers, South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler is expected to be the next quarterback off the board. Rattler is maybe the only passer with a third-round grade. Tulane’s Michael Pratt is close, with expectations that he’ll be selected late on Day 2 or early on Day 3.
After that, the depth of the position dips a bit. There are plenty of options, but they either slot in as fifth- to seventh-round picks or as preferred undrafted free agents. Popular college names like Tennessee’s Joe Milton, Florida State’s Jordan Travis, and Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman all dominated at the college level but aren’t viewed as more than potential flyers in the draft.
If the Rams are going to surprise teams by going after a passer, they’re going to need to do so in the third round or sooner. If they don’t feel confident in Rattler potentially taking over as a starter eventually, they’re going to have to seriously consider what it will take to get a passer in the first two rounds.
Prospect Profile: Laiatu Latu
The NFL world is lucky that it will soon have the opportunity to watch UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu. The deadly pass rusher almost passed up a football career after leading his high school to two national championships in rugby. After briefly considering an international career as a professional rugby player, Latu made the decision to go to college for football and is now preparing to receive a call this Thursday from an NFL coach or general manager. 
Latu was a consensus four-star recruit out of Jesuit HS in Carmichael, CA, with 247Sports ranking him as a top-100 recruit and a top-five weakside defensive end in the country. Latu received all the major college football offers before narrowing it down to an all-west coast top-five of Cal, Oregon, USC, UCLA, and Washington. Latu committed to the Huskies as their third-best recruit in the Class of 2019 behind only Trent McDuffie and Puka Nacua.
As a true freshman, Latu failed to see the field much at all as a reserve and special teamer. In the runup to the 2020 season, Latu suffered a serious neck injury and was eventually told he would have to medically retire because of the ailment. After seeking out the opinion of the doctor who performed Peyton Manning‘s neck surgery back in the day, Latu was medically cleared to play again.
During his rehabilitation, Latu returned to the rugby pitch. Once again, the young athlete was given the opportunity to go pro, receiving a contract offer from the Seattle Seawolves, but yet again, Latu refused to give up on his dream of playing football. He entered the transfer portal and found his way back to his home state with the Bruins, following his position coach at Washington, Ikaika Malloe, whom Latu saw as a bit of a father figure.
In his debut season at UCLA, Latu exploded coming off the bench. Despite not starting a single game, Latu led the team in both sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (12.5) on his way to first-team All-Pac-12 honors. Last season, as a full-time starter, Latu improved on both of those numbers, leading the Pac-12 in sacks (13.0) while leading the nation in tackles for loss (21.5). Not only did Latu return to the All-Pac-12 first team in 2023, but he was also the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American. On top of his ability to bring opponents down behind the line of scrimmage, Latu was disruptive in other ways with five forced fumbles, five passes defensed, and two interceptions during his two years in Los Angeles.
Latu is a pass-rush specialist. With 129 total pressures in 25 games, NFL teams will be licking their chops to add the 23-year-old to their defensive front. He’s wily and effective in putting together his pass-rush moves. His hands are quick and strong, helping him beat any player in his path with rips, clubs, and punches. He is quick off the line, and his elite flexibility helps him to get around tackles on the outside with ease. He’s used to getting double teams and still finds ways to be productive. Latu keeps his eyes on the backfield, helping him to rack up those TFLs, and he uses the drive and aggression from his rugby days to pursue ball carriers all over the field. He also showed athleticism dropping back in coverage, and the coaches at UCLA claim he could have been their best tight end if they had played him both ways.
Latu’s biggest red flag is going to be his medical history. The two-and-a-half-year sabbatical from football due to the neck injury could scare some teams off, though they’ll all have done their homework on the situation at this point in the process. On the field, though, he could stand to improve in his run defense. He’s great at identifying the play but can too easily be erased when runs are designed to go right at him, and he misses too many tackles.
Alabama’s Dallas Turner has long been viewed as the top edge rusher in a class that maybe isn’t as strong as groups of the past. Latu has already worked his way up the draft board, passing Penn State’s Chop Robinson and Florida State’s Jared Verse to get to the second spot on most draft boards at the position. As the draft gets closer and closer, front offices are starting to become enamored with Latu’s disruptive abilities. There isn’t a better pure pass rusher in this draft, and with the ability to play standing up or with a hand in the dirt, he could go to nearly any team and become their sacks leader as a rookie.
NFL Draft Rumors: Falcons, Jaguars, Browns
The Falcons top two sack-getters last year (Calais Campbell and Bud Dupree) are currently free agents. And while free safety Jessie Bates‘ first season in Atlanta went swimmingly with career highs in tackles (132), forced fumbles (3), and interceptions (6), as well as Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors, he seemed to be the only player showing up each Sunday for the Falcons.
With all this in mind, it’s no surprise to hear that adding draft prospects on the defensive side of the ball is expected to be a major focus for Atlanta come this week’s draft, according to Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network. In Caplan’s most recent mock draft, he slotted Alabama pass rusher Dallas Turner as the team’s first-round pick. Previous iterations of his mock draft saw Atlanta taking Clemson cornerback Nate Wiggins and Florida State pass rusher Jared Verse.
Going pass rusher seems to make more sense after losing Campbell and Dupree to free agency, but expect multiple picks throughout the three-day event to address both positions. Turner is likely the preferred option as most see him as the top pass rusher on the board, but Verse or even UCLA’s Laiatu Latu could be the selection if Turner is drafted before they have the chance to claim him.
Here are a few other draft rumors from around the NFL:
- The Jaguars are another team who are expected to favor defensive prospects later this week, per Caplan. Their situation isn’t nearly as dire after bringing in Arik Armstead, Darnell Savage, and Ronald Darby, but they still lost Darious Williams, Rayshawn Jenkins, K’Lavon Chaisson, and Dawuane Smoot in free agency. Caplan has Jacksonville selecting Alabama cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry as the fourth cornerback off the board. The Jaguars definitely are going to want to add to their cornerbacks group, but unless they decide to trade up, they’ll have to see what’s left of McKinstry, Wiggins, Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell, and Alabama’s Terrion Arnold.
- The Browns expect to have Nick Chubb back at some point in the coming season and will rely on Jerome Ford, Pierre Strong, and D’Onta Foreman in the meantime. Seeing how fragile the room is without Chubb, though, Cleveland has done plenty of homework on the 2024 NFL Draft’s running backs class. According to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com, the team has hosted Florida State’s Trey Benson, TCU’s Emani Bailey, and BYU’s Aidan Robbins for “top 30” visits. They may be looking to add some quality depth to the position later this week.
Draft OL Rumors: Fashanu, Latham, Fautanu, Buccaneers
Some teams in the NFL are known for drafting the best player on the board in their draft slot regardless of position. Others have made a reputation for drafting players at a position of need regardless of value. The Saints are a team that could end up in the best of both worlds later this month, according to Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post.
At 14th overall, the Saints could be in position to take a player at a huge position of need. La Canfora informs us that multiple general managers in the league have the sense that New Orleans is “all about finding players to fill immediate starting needs.” With offensive line as a big position of need at the moment, Penn State offensive tackle Olu Fashanu has been repeatedly linked to the Saints.
Drafting Fashanu at No. 14 overall would hardly be considered a reach. Fashanu projects as a prototypical left tackle and, in most rankings, ranks as the draft’s second-best tackle prospect behind Notre Dame’s Joe Alt. Getting the OT2 on the board at 14th would be a huge win for the Saints, especially if Alt goes to the Chargers at No. 5, as many suspect. If someone between the Chargers and Saints selects Fashanu, look to Alabama tackle JC Latham as another potential target in New Orleans.
Here are a few other rumors concerning the offensive line class of the 2024 NFL Draft:
- While we mentioned that most rankings see Fashanu as the OT2 in this year’s draft, some have pegged Latham in that draft slot. According to Peter Schrager of NFL Network, some teams like Latham so much that he could be taken as the second offensive tackle off the board. Alabama hasn’t had the best recent history producing offensive tackles under Nick Saban. Evan Neal, Alex Leatherwood, Jedrick Wills, and Jonah Williams all serve as recent examples who have failed to live up to their draft stock. Some see Latham projecting best as a guard at the next level, as he’ll need to continue improving to play tackle in the NFL. If those teams that see him as the second-best tackle in the draft are right, though, Latham could break recent trends for the Crimson Tide.
- Washington offensive line prospect Troy Fautanu is another player that splits teams on where he will play at the next level. While many see him projecting as an interior lineman in the NFL (the best interior lineman in this year’s draft according to some), Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post tells us that some scouts are starting to believe he can play tackle as a pro, like he did for the Huskies. He has the talent and potential to play any position on NFL offensive lines. As we’ve reported, so far, he has visited the Bengals, Ravens, Jaguars, Steelers Eagles, and Jets.
- One team who has been labeled as a squad looking to add to the trenches is the Buccaneers. According to ESPN’s Jenna Laine, Tampa Bay is looking to upgrade at guard, center, and outside linebacker. With the 26th pick in the draft, the Buccaneers can expect to see players like Arizona’s Jordan Morgan and Kansas State’s Cooper Beebe available at guard and, perhaps, Oregon’s Jackson Powers-Johnson at center. The top tier of pass rushers should be long gone, but players like UCLA’s Laiatu Latu, Penn State’s Chop Robinson, Western Michigan’s Marshawn Kneeland, and Missouri’s Darius Robinson could be available late in the first round.
NFL Draft Rumors: Bills, Lions, Browns
Despite the draft routinely having 32 first-round picks, one for each NFL team, most draft rooms will not have 32 players with first-round grades. This makes things especially difficult for playoff teams who, barring a trade, always pick at the back end of the first round. One of those teams this year is the Bills, who reportedly do not have 28 players with first-round grades despite holding the 28th overall pick, according to Mark Gaughan of The Buffalo News.
Most NFL teams will, on average, have somewhere from 18 to 24 players with first-round grades. For teams that fall outside the first 24 picks, the strategy is usually to hope that one of your players falls through the cracks and finds their way back to you. Some teams get antsy and, when only one or two first-round prospects remain, trade up to ensure they get their guy. Other teams refuse to draft players higher than their projected value and trade back to ensure that they find players in the appropriate draft slots.
After trading up last year for tight end Dalton Kincaid, Bills general manager Brandon Beane addressed both situations this week, saying, “You know, I’ll take any call. You know me. Next week the phones start ringing all over the place. Teams that want to bail out…I don’t know if teams in the top 10 are calling us, I wouldn’t expect that. Teams in the teens will start calling because maybe they got their eye on a couple guys and, if they don’t get those, they would as soon add something maybe, depending on what’s on the board. We’ll assess them all, have conversations, see who’s on the board when their picks come up. And we’ll be doing the same. We’ll also be looking the other way.”
Here are a few other draft rumors from around the NFL:
- The 2024 NFL Draft will be taking place in Detroit, MI, this year. Despite all the fans who are expected to be in attendance, the Lions won’t hesitate to trade back out of the first round, should the opportunity present itself, per Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Detroit holds the 29th pick in the draft, a perfect spot for teams looking to trade back into the first round in order to include a fifth-year option in their draft pick’s contract. General manager Brad Holmes doesn’t stress about disappointing fans, saying, “We have to do the right thing for the organization, and if it makes sense and it lines up and it’s the right thing to do, then we have to do the right thing…and hopefully our fans will forgive us.”
- In each of the last two drafts, the Browns haven’t had a first-round pick. Then, as fans eagerly awaited their first pick of the draft in the second round, the team traded back, forcing those fans to wait until the third round. It’s a strategy that makes a bit of sense. After trading away draft picks for players, trading back to acquire more picks can be helpful. This year is a familiar look, with the Browns’ first pick coming late in the second round at 54th overall, but general manager Andrew Berry intends to break the recent trend. According to Tony Grossi of ESPN, Berry communicated that he will try to avoid trading out of the second round this year, if possible.
Latest On Teams Targeting WRs In First Round
We know that the Steelers have been identified as a team that could be likely to trade for a veteran wide receiver this offseason, but what about teams looking for wide receivers in the first round? A lot of focus has been placed on teams looking to draft quarterbacks, per usual, but Jason La Canfora of The Washington Post provided us with the names of a few teams targeting pass-catchers on Day 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. La Canfora identifies the Cardinals, Bears, Colts, Bills, 49ers, and Chiefs as the likely suspects. 
Some of these, we’ve heard plenty about already. At No. 4 overall, the Cardinals sit in the line of picks that are all expected to be quarterbacks, according to most mock drafts, meaning they are expected to trade down from the position. Many see them trading back to No. 6, allowing the Giants to select Daniel Jones‘ potential replacement. This would leave them in line to draft the class’s top receiver prospect, Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. This could provide Arizona with a new top receiver after the departure of Marquise Brown to Kansas City.
This would require the Chargers to pass on wide receiver, a huge position of need after watching both Keenan Allen and Mike Williams depart this offseason. While it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see Los Angeles select Harrison, new general manager Joe Hortiz (from Baltimore) has shown an affinity for Notre Dame prospects like Ronnie Stanley and Kyle Hamilton. Combine that with the addition of new offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and connections to Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt make all the sense in the world. Roman’s run-heavy offensive mentality makes tackle a bigger priority than receiver in the first round.
Wide receiver has been seen as less of a priority for the Bears after they acquired Allen in a trade from the Chargers. Still, drafting a top receiver prospect like LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze could give projected new quarterback Caleb Williams a strong trio of targets with Allen and D.J. Moore. Chicago could pair the draft’s QB1 with a potential WR1 as ESPN’s Matt Miller tells us that there are some teams in the NFL who see Nabers and Odunze as better prospects than Harrison. The three receivers are closer than people may think on most draft boards and their order of preference could come down to scheme and fit.
In Indianapolis, the Colts would love to bring in a first-round receiver for second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson. Josh Downs and Alec Pierce were decent options behind Michael Pittman Jr., but having a true weapon across the field could really help both Richardson and Pittman. If Harrison, Nabers, and Odunze find their way off the board by the time the Colts select at No. 15, LSU’s Brian Thomas Jr. could fall into their lap, though Odunze could still be available if nobody takes a flyer on him as the best player available regardless of position.
At the back end of the first round, wide receiver has become a big need for the Bills after they watched Gabriel Davis depart in free agency and traded away Stefon Diggs to the Texans. Khalil Shakir now leads the position room, and though the top four receivers aren’t expected to be available by the 28th pick, pairing Shakir with Texas’ Adonai Mitchell, FSU’s Keon Coleman, or Florida’s Ricky Pearsall could be productive.
As for the 49ers and Chiefs in the last two picks of the draft, San Francisco is a bit of surprise inclusion after recently paying Deebo Samuel and still currently denying that Brandon Aiyuk is available via trade. Still, if Aiyuk is potentially on the way out, taking flyer on Mitchell, Coleman, or Pearsall could work out.
As for Kansas City, they’ve tried their fair share of veteran free agent additions for Patrick Mahomes, and will do so again with the addition of Brown this offseason, as well as some draft picks in the second round or later. We’ve seen the Chiefs have success with smaller wide receivers with speed, so bringing in Georgia’s Ladd McConkey, Michigan’s Roman Wilson, or Texas’ Xavier Worthy could make a lot of sense.
Whoever doesn’t hear their name called on the first night of the draft shouldn’t have to wait too long. Dane Brugler of The Athletic’s latest mock draft showed the Panthers selecting McConkey with their first pick of the draft, which will be the first pick of the second round. If McConkey is already off the board, Wilson and Worthy offer similar skill sets.
It’s a deep class for wide receivers this year. Top prospects like Harrison, Nabers, Odunze, and Thomas are considered no-brainers as first-round picks. An early run on those four could see many of the pass-catchers behind them find their way into the first round, as well. Even so, there are nearly 20 wideouts with a projected third-round grade or better. Not only is this a wide receiver class with lots of talent up top, but talent throughout will benefit teams who need receivers but will have to target other positions of need first.
Latest On Jayden Daniels, Commanders
Despite his seeming lack of agency in the situation, rumors have persisted that LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels prefers not to be drafted by the Commanders. Washington holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, though, so unless Daniels becomes a favorite for No. 1 over USC’s Caleb Williams all of the sudden, it’s up to the Commanders to make that decision. A recent report from Ralph Vacchiano of FOX Sports attempted to dispel the recent rumors, claiming that the situation has been overblown. 
The rumors seemed to stem from two different instances. The first was a report that Daniels would love to be drafted by the Raiders. Realistically, this would either require a huge trade up from Las Vegas’ current spot at 13th overall. Or Daniels would need to somehow slip back far enough to still be available by then. The rumor stems from the fact that Daniels and new Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce are familiar with each other from the time the two shared at Arizona State.
The second instance was Daniels’ “top 30” visit with the Commanders. Washington took a strange approach in their “top 30” visits with the draft’s quarterbacks. Instead of hosting each quarterback on their own individual visit, the Commanders invited Daniels, UNC’s Drake Maye, Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. all at the same time. Based on reports that Daniels was caught off guard by this, they seemingly designed the group visit without informing the prospects that their competition would be in attendance.
Still, despite the surprise nature of the visit, it doesn’t seem like there are any hard feelings. Vacchiano reports that any issues have been settled, as the two sides have since spoken. Daniels hasn’t taken the issue personally, and the Commanders view the reported issue as “just noise” that won’t contribute to their eventual decision.
If Washington decides that Daniels is the answer moving forward, they will select him. And, based on a statement from one of Daniels’ representatives, he is “excited” to be in the NFL, regardless of wherever he gets drafted. Does this confirm or dispel rumors that he has a preference? No, but it likely provides assurance that he won’t force the issue later this month.