Bears Set To Host Top WRs, DE On Monday
We already heard today that the Bears are bringing in LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers for a “top 30” visit this Wednesday. Now, Kevin Fishbain of The Athletic informs us that Chicago plans to host Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Texas speedster Xavier Worthy, as well. Both wideouts are set to be at Halas Hall tomorrow and will be joined by UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu. 
The Bears’ most pressing concern for the 2024 NFL Draft is obviously at quarterback. With only Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien on the roster at the position, it has become a foregone conclusion that the Bears will use the first of their two top-ten picks (and the first overall selection of the draft) on USC passer Caleb Williams. This week’s visitors, though, provide a bit of insight into what the team is planning to do with their second pick of the draft, the ninth pick.
Nabers makes sense as a target if the team intends to sit pat and select in the ninth position after drafting Williams. There’s a chance he may not make it that far, but with a run of quarterbacks expected in the first four picks and teams in the next four picks having needs that aren’t wide receiver, it’s not insane to believe that Nabers may drop to ninth overall. Harrison, on the other hand, will not be around that long. As the top wide receiver available in this year’s draft, according to nearly every ranking, Harrison likely won’t be available after the fifth or sixth pick. If Chicago is seriously considering adding Harrison to the team, they will need to trade up to get him.
Targeting Worthy and Latu provides the alternate opportunity to the Bears. Both players are seen as mid- to late-first-round picks, so it could actually really benefit the team to trade back, as Chicago may have two top-ten picks, but their next selection after that doesn’t come until the 11th pick of the third round. Adding a top receiver or edge rusher with a second first-round pick while bringing in a bit more draft capital by trading back could be a perfect storm for the Bears.
It’s clear that adding a third wide receiver is a priority in Chicago, though. With top returning receiver D.J. Moore now paired up with Keenan Allen, a third top wideout could give the Bears their best receiving corps in a very long time. Both Nabers and Worthy would provide a level of speed to the passing attack that could easily take the top off any defense already covering Moore and Allen. Harrison hasn’t been officially timed, but there are few (if any) facets of his game that are a demerit on his draft stock. Latu, on the other hand, with 23.5 sacks in his final two collegiate seasons, could pair nicely opposite Montez Sweat in their efforts to meet at the quarterback.
Trading up for Harrison would be difficult but could be worth it to bring in a potentially generational talent at receiver. Staying pat won’t cost them any more than they’ve already given, and adding Nabers would be a great compliment to their current corps. And trading back while still being able to add a day one contributor like Worthy or Latu could work wonders for their pick totals. Regardless, it’s clear that the Bears are making an effort to bring in even more weapons for their presumed 2024 starter under center, Williams.
LSU WR Malik Nabers To Visit Titans, Jets, Bears
LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers is one of the top draft eligible players coming out of college this year and can do a lot to help teams who are going to need help at receiver in 2024. A number of those teams will get a look at him this week as, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, Nabers is set to visit the Titans, Jets, and Bears on consecutive days this week. 
Nabers has been a bit overshadowed in the leadup to the 2024 NFL Draft because of players like USC quarterback Caleb Williams, who is the nearly unanimous No. 1 overall player in the draft, and Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who is the nearly unanimous WR1 in the draft. Still, both ESPN’s Matt Miller and Dane Brugler of The Athletic have Nabers ranked as a top-four prospect in their respective draft rankings.
Therefore, it’s no surprise to see that three teams with picks near the back of the top ten are taking a closer look at the speedy wideout. Most mocks are showing a run of quarterbacks in the first four picks of the draft, and if Harrison is the next to go, Nabers should go around sixth overall at the earliest. Teams after the top-five picks may also go after different positions of need like offensive tackle or defensive end, so it’s not out of reach to think that Nabers could fall to the Titans at seventh, Bears at ninth, or Jets at 10th. Nabers will head to Nashville on Monday, followed by a trip to New Jersey on Tuesday, and Chicago on Wednesday for “top 30” visits.
Joining Nabers in Tennessee on Monday will be Alabama offensive tackle JC Latham, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Titans addressed wide receiver in a big way when they signed Calvin Ridley to team up with DeAndre Hopkins and Treylon Burks, but they struggled to find consistency at left tackle in 2023, and they’ve yet to address that need. Nabers would be an excellent addition to the receiving corps, but Latham does fill a much bigger need.
NFC Contract Details: Packers, Moore, Maddox, Burns
Here are some details on recent new contracts around the NFC:
- Eric Wilson, LB (Packers): One year, $1.38MM. According to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Wilson’s new contract with Green Bay includes a base salary of $1.21MM and a signing bonus of $167.5K.
- Kristian Welch, LB (Packers): One year, $1.21MM. Demovsky also tells us that Welch’s re-signed deal will have a base salary of $1.13MM and a signing bonus worth $20K. Welch can earn an additional $20K with a workout bonus as well as a per game active roster bonus of $2,647 for a potential season total of $45K.
- Chris Moore, WR (Cardinals): One year, $2MM. Moore’s contract with the Cardinals will have a guaranteed amount of $750K comprised of $250K of his 2024 base salary (worth a total of $1.28MM) and a $500K signing bonus, according to Howard Balzer of USA Today Sports. Moore will add another $50K with a workout bonus and an additional $10K per game that he’s on the active roster for a potential season total of $170K in per game active roster bonuses.
- Avonte Maddox, CB (Eagles): One year, $1.5MM. Maddox’s new deal will have a guaranteed value of $875K consisting of $500K of his base salary (worth $1.13MM in total) and a $375K signing bonus.
- Brian Burns, OLB (Giants): Five years, $141MM. We noted recently that Burns’ deal was not worth the reported $150MM amount and was actually for $141MM. Thanks to Dan Duggan of The Athletic, we now know that the $9MM difference comes from incentives wherein he can earn an additional $1.8MM for each year that he either reaches 12.5 sacks, makes a Pro Bowl, or earns first-team All-Pro honors. He’s reached that sack total once in 2022 and made two Pro Bowls in 2021 and 2022, but because he didn’t reach any of those achievements last year, the potential $1.8MM won’t count against New York’s cap space in 2024.
QB Options Steelers Considered Before Landing Wilson, Fields
The Steelers’ quarterbacks room underwent a complete overhaul last month, with every quarterback previously on the roster finding their way out of Pittsburgh while every passer currently on the roster was not a Steeler last season. While it looks like Pittsburgh certainly found its way to the best of a bad situation, things could’ve played out much differently, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. 
The bad situation referred to above was the quarterback situation immediately following last season. Former first-round quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett were failing to live up to their draft stock, and their best hope was to ride with the hot-handed Mason Rudolph, an option they had never shown much trust in in the past and one who was bound for free agency.
The overhaul began with the release of Trubisky, who returned to Buffalo to serve as Josh Allen‘s backup. Then, things really hit the fan when Pittsburgh landed the signature of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, who would presumably slide in as the new starter, despite assurances that he would compete with Pickett for the job. Rudolph, seeing his chances at a starting job disappear, opted not to return signing with the Titans. And, after seeing the writing on the wall, Pickett asked for a trade, which the Steelers honored by sending him to Philadelphia, where he would back up Jalen Hurts. Finally, the Steelers filled out the rest of their room by trading for the former polarizing Bears quarterback Justin Fields and signing veteran backup quarterback Kyle Allen.
They flipped a room that appeared to have a pretty low floor with an unclear ceiling and turned it into a room full of proven experience and future potential without committing too many resources to acquire it. Before they landed on Wilson as their best option moving forward, though, the team looked at a few other options.
After hiring former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh felt comfortable moving forward with Pickett leading a run-heavy, play-action offense. Smith had run a successful version of that style of offense in Tennessee with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. The team even explored reuniting Tannehill and Smith with the veteran quarterback hitting free agency this offseason. They also kicked the tires on new Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins before deciding that he was out of their price range.
They also nearly pulled the trigger on a second backup option before trading for Fields. The Steelers reportedly had a high chance of signing new Browns backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. A division-rival before and after his new contract, the Steelers had seen Huntley in four of his nine career starts with the Ravens and clearly liked what they saw. With Fields in the fold now, Huntley was the odd man out but ended up staying in the AFC North anyway.
Instead of rolling with Tannehill or Cousins and Huntley, the Steelers are well set up to field an offense with Wilson and Fields in 2024. They certainly did their homework on several options but ended up with what may have been the best-case scenario after a rough 2023 season that saw them shuffle through Pickett, Trubisky, and Rudolph.
NFL Draft Rumors: Cowboys, McCarthy, Robinson
The Cowboys hosted a number of 2024 NFL Draft prospects for “top 30” visits this week. The visiting group included potential first-round targets like Taliese Fuaga, Graham Barton, and Darius Robinson as well as projected Day 2 selection Junior Colson.
Fuaga, an offensive tackle out of Oregon State, and Barton, a projected interior offensive lineman out of Duke, make sense considering the Cowboys’ losses on offensive line this offseason of Tyron Smith and Tyler Biadasz. If Fuaga is able to start, this would allow Dallas to keep Tyler Smith at guard, where he earned second-team All-Pro honors in 2023. In order to land Fuaga, though, the Cowboys would likely have to trade up earlier into the first round. Barton played left tackle for the Blue Devils for the last couple of years, but his early college film at center shows the versatility that he could bring at the NFL level.
Robinson, a defensive end out of Missouri, feels like the typical Cowboys pass rusher selection and adds depth to a position that saw Dorance Armstrong and Dante Fowler follow former defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to Washington. A bigger defensive end, Robinson could provide some versatility across the defensive line and may be available long enough for the Cowboys to trade back to collect some extra picks and still select him. Colson, a linebacker out of Michigan, would be a nice addition to a position that could use some attention with Micah Parsons spending more time at end. While he’s likely a second- or third-round pick, he’s worth note as he’s expected to be the first linebacker off the board.
Here are a couple of other rumors making the rounds in the weeks leading up to this month’s draft:
- We have seen the draft stock of Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy soaring over the last few weeks. Once considered a tier-two quarterback behind Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, and Jayden Daniels, the polarizing McCarthy has somehow found himself in consideration for the No. 2 overall draft selection. While his stock continues to inflate, Pro Football Network’s Adam Caplan pointed out some of the red flags that have some scouts feeling less than confident about the former Wolverine. McCarthy has been compared to former Steelers’ first-round pick Kenny Pickett “due to his inability to drive the ball down the field.” His strong sense of timing made up for a lack of arm strength in college, but some worry that it will prevent him from being able to make some throws at the NFL level. While he’s almost guaranteed to be a first-round pick due to the top-heavy nature of the position this year, many don’t have a first-round grade on McCarthy.
- Chop Robinson is set to be the next pass rusher out of Penn State to be selected in the first round. The projected Day 1 edge rusher had already taken visits with the Eagles, Ravens, and Saints, but Bleacher Report’s Jordan Schultz informs us that visits with the Giants and Jets were scheduled for this past week, as well. Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 adds that the Texans have Robinson firmly on their radar after meeting with him at the NFL scouting combine.
Seahawks Contract Details: Hankins, Wallace, Anchrum, Shenault, Dodson, Burns, Baker
Here are some details from recently agreed-upon contracts in Seattle:
- Johnathan Hankins, DT: One year, $2.05MM. According to ESPN’s Brady Henderson, Hankins’ new deal includes a base salary of $1.24MM and $300K of guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus. He can earn up to $510K in per-game active roster bonuses.
- K’Von Wallace, S: One year, $1.5MM. Henderson informs us that Wallace’s contract will have a base salary of $1.13MM and includes $205K of guaranteed money that all comes in the signing bonus. Wallace will also be able to earn up to $170K via per-game active roster bonuses.
- Tremayne Anchrum, G: One year, $1.16MM. Once again, Henderson tells us that Anchrum’s new deal will include a base salary of $1.06MM and a guaranteed amount of $100K in the form of a signing bonus.
- Laviska Shenault Jr., WR: One year, $1.29MM. According to Henderson, Shenault’s new contract has a guaranteed amount of $1.15MM comprised of $985K of his base salary (worth a total of $1.13MM) and a $167.5K signing bonus.
- Tyrel Dodson, LB: One year, $4.26MM. Dodson’s new deal has a guaranteed amount of $1MM comprised completely of his signing bonus, per Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times. With a base salary of $2.25MM, Dodson can earn an additional $250K in a workout bonus and a potential $760K in per-game active roster bonuses. Nick Korte of OvertheCap.com tells us that the contract adds another seventh-round compensatory pick for the Bills in 2025 while taking a sixth-round compensatory pick away from the Seahawks.
- Artie Burns, CB: One year, $1.38MM. Condotta also tells us that Burns has signed for the veteran minimum, once again. He’ll hold a base salary of $1.21MM with $75K of guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus. He can earn another potential $92.5K with a roster bonus.
- Jerome Baker, LB: One year, $7MM. We were already aware of the $7MM value of Baker’s deal, but ESPN’s Henderson informs us that Baker’s new deal has a guaranteed amount of $6.02MM, consisting of his $2.02MM base salary and $4MM signing bonus. The $977.5K remaining in non-guaranteed money will come in the form of per-game active roster bonuses.
Patriots To Host QBs Jayden Daniels, J.J. McCarthy
The holders of the No. 3 overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Patriots have been doing their homework to determine who they will bring in from the college ranks. With former starting quarterback Mac Jones getting traded to the Jaguars, the focus has been on quarterbacks. After hosting North Carolina passer Drake Maye today, New England made sure to schedule visits with two of the draft’s other top quarterbacks, as well, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. 
Breer tells us that LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels will be the first to follow Maye with a visit immediately after the weekend. Daniels will be in town on Monday for dinner before taking his “30” visit the following day at Gillette Stadium. Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be the third quarterback to take a visit, scheduling his trip for the week after Daniels’ visit.
With the third pick of the draft, and Caleb Williams being nearly cemented into the No. 1 overall pick, the Patriots are virtually guaranteed that at least two of the above visitors will be available when it’s their turn to pick. So, in theory, if the team decides following these visits that they would be happy drafting any two of the visiting quarterbacks, that’s all the research they would need to do. There’s no harm in doing as much research as possible, and there’s always a possibility that the Patriots trade back into the first round after their first pick, so they still may continue to bring in future visitors.
Most mock drafts at this point in time, though, tend to predict quarterbacks being selected with each of the draft’s first four picks. With Williams almost certainly headed to Chicago, New England should have its pick of whomever the Commanders don’t select between Maye, Daniels, and McCarthy.
Any of the three would enter New England with a clear chance at the starting quarterback position. Following Jones’ departure, the Patriots currently roster Jacoby Brissett, Bailey Zappe, and Nathan Rourke at quarterback. All three passers provide New England with starting options at the position if their potential rookie pick isn’t ready to take the reins.
Brissett, returning to the team that drafted him for the first time since his rookie season, held his own as a starter during stints with the Colts and Browns. Zappe has started eight games in replacement of Jones over his first two seasons. Rourke has starting experience from his standout season in the Canadian Football League but has yet to make his debut in the NFL.
Regardless, the first opportunity to start will likely go to whomever the team drafts at No. 3 overall, assuming of course that that player is a quarterback. Yesterday’s visit with Maye, in conjunction with the upcoming visits with Daniels and McCarthy, should give New England the perfect opportunity to decide the order of preference for the three, in hopes that their top option will be available after picks by Chicago and Washington.
Latest On Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
The runup to the 2024 NFL Draft has been a rollercoaster for Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. Initially viewed in the second tier of top draft-eligible passers alongside Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy, Penix has dipped in and out of the first round in mock drafts over the past several weeks, while McCarthy has skyrocketed into the top tier. Now, at this point in time, OutKick’s Armando Salguero tells us that at least three teams have Penix on their board with a first-round value. 
Initially, there were concerns about Penix’s history with injury issues, as detailed in his recent Prospect Profile. His four season-ending injuries in as many years at Indiana had many uneasy about his health at the next level. After getting cleared in medical evaluations, Penix will be able to get most teams to look past his injury-history, though some may still hold on to their reservations.
As for which three teams have him slotted as a first-rounder, it’s difficult to say for sure. Penix has scheduled several different “top 30” visits over the last week. He’s set to meet with the Giants, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Steelers, Vikings, and Commanders, while the Seahawks have been mentioned as a team of interest, as well. The Commanders can probably be taken out of the mix. Even if they have a first-round grade on Penix, they are seemingly set to draft one of the top-tier passers at No. 2 overall.
The Falcons are an interesting team to watch after they sent “a sizable group to Seattle to conduct a private workout with” Penix today, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. It’s hard to see them as one of the teams with a first-round grade on the 23-year-old, though, as they just signed Kirk Cousins to a big contract to start for them at quarterback.
Instead look to teams like the Raiders, who have been mocked to draft Penix on multiple occasions. Despite the team’s aggressive efforts to move into the top three draft picks, Las Vegas doesn’t seem to have the capital to make it happen. Those efforts show their desire to draft a quarterback, though, and if they’re stuck at 13th overall, they may have to settle for Penix.
With most mock drafts predicting a run of four passers in the first four picks, it only takes one or two more teams in the remaining 28 picks to pull the trigger on Penix or Oregon quarterback Bo Nix. With plenty of teams needing help at the position, Penix could join the ranks as one of up to five or six first-round quarterbacks.
Giants Sign South Carolina RB Dante Miller
The first college athlete has been signed to an NFL contract, still weeks away from the 2024 NFL Draft. The Giants announced the signing of South Carolina running back Dante Miller today, marking the start of his NFL career following an absurd college journey.
Less than a month ago, Miller was participating in the Gamecocks’ 2024 pro day, hoping to land on the league’s radar as a late-round draft pick or, perhaps, earn an opportunity at a rookie tryout out during minicamps. Instead, it was discovered that Miller did not qualify for the 2024 draft. In fact, he had qualified for both the 2023 NFL Draft and the supplemental draft that followed it, making him a signable free agent.
Miller spent the first four years of his collegiate career at Columbia. Ivy League schools don’t allow for redshirt seasons, giving players only four years to fulfill their four seasons of eligibility. Unfortunately for Miller and all Ivy Leaguers, the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the loss of the 2020 season and, as a result, the loss of a year of eligibility. They had two options, accept the end of their collegiate careers or transfer outside of the Ivy League, where they would still have eligibility.
So, Miller transferred to South Carolina, moving from Columbia University to Columbia, SC. It was reportedly communicated to the Gamecocks that Miller would have two seasons of eligibility at South Carolina: his unused redshirt year and the extra year of eligibility allotted to college players because of COVID.
With budding rusher Marshawn Lloyd entering the year as the starter, Miller was happy to fill in as a depth and special teams player, thinking he would be able to earn a bigger role in 2023. Unfortunately, six games into the 2022 season, South Carolina’s officials realized they had made a mistake. Miller was only granted his redshirt year, meaning he didn’t have three years to play two seasons, he only had two years to play one.
In college football, you can only play in four games if you intend to redshirt a year. The school tried to appeal, pointing out that Miller had only played three snaps in his fifth game and two snaps in his sixth. Miller chose to sit out the remainder of the season, counting on the university’s appeal to come through. A lengthy review process ruled that five snaps were too many, leading to NCAA to refuse Miller another year of eligibility, despite the deadline to enter the NFL draft having long passed at the time of their decision.
So, Miller set his focus on the following year’s draft. He went to the Gamecocks’ pro day and put up a 4.27-second 40-yard dash, a time that would’ve bested any running back who ran at the combine. His 28 bench press reps of 225 pounds would’ve topped the combine’s best performance by a running back by one, as well.
Suffice it to say that Miller leapt onto the radar of every scout there who had intended to watch wide receiver Xavier Legette and quarterback Spencer Rattler. One scout went so far as to research Miller’s eligibility history and ask Miller’s agent if he was even draft eligible, per Andy Staples of On3. The NFL reported back that, no, he should’ve been eligible for the prior year’s draft. Miller was granted free agency. He was given the ability to sign with any team he wanted and would be able to negotiate a salary outside of the draft’s slotted salaries.
Miller visited the Giants this week, and they immediately offered him a deal. He had other visits scheduled, but returning to New York, where he had earned his college degree, was too enticing. As a result, he signed with the Giants and will head to the team facilities much earlier than anticipated.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/5/24
Friday’s only minor NFL move:
Las Vegas Raiders
- Released: G D.J. Fluker
Fluker, at one point in time a reliable NFL starter, has not appeared in the NFL since 2020. Now 33 years old, Fluker has spent the past three seasons either on a practice squad or not on an active roster at all. Most recently, after sitting out the 2022 NFL season, Fluker signed with Las Vegas near the end of 2023, rejoining the NFL after an eleven-month hiatus. He signed a reserve/futures contract following the regular season but now returns to the free agent market.