DL Draft Visits: Stewart, Ezeiruaku, Pearce, Nolen
Texas A&M defensive lineman Shemar Stewart has visited several teams ahead of next week’s draft, in which he is expected to be selected in the first round.
Stewart started on the East Coast, visiting the Patriots last Thursday,per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, before traveling to Pittsburgh on Friday, per Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Stewart then visited the Bills on Saturday and the Bears on Monday (via Ryan Fowler of The Draft Network) ahead of his final pre-draft visit to San Francisco today (via NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero).
The flurry of visits make it clear that Stewart is likely to be a first-round pick and may even break into the top 10. His 6-foot-5, 267-pound frame offers elite athleticism, as evidenced by his superb testing numbers at the NFL Combine. However, he struggled to translate that into production in college with just 4.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss across his last three seasons in College Station.
Teams will have to weight Stewart’s untapped physical potential with his need to develop his pass-rush moves, play recognition, and overall technique that may limit his instant impact in the NFL.
- Boston College edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku has also met with a number of teams as he pushes for a first-round draft billing. He visited the Panthers last week, and on Monday, he went to the Commanders’ facility in Ashburn, Virginia, according to SB Nation’s Ken Johannesen. Ezeiruaku didn’t reach the same eye-popping testing numbers as Stewart, but he does bring a refined array of pass-rush moves that helped him rack up 16.5 sacks in 2024.
- Like Stewart, Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce is visiting the 49ers today, according to Rapoport. He already visited the Bengals, Cardinals, Colts, Cowboys, Falcons, and Saints, suggesting that a dip in his public draft stock may not reflect his value to NFL teams. Pearce led the SEC with 10.0 sacks in 2023, but took a slight step back in 2024, which moved his projected draft slot later in the first round.
- Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen added the Cardinals and the Packers to a list of visits that already included the Bengals, Cowboys, 49ers, and Panthers. He visited Arizona on April 7, according to Rapoport, and completed a trip to Green Bay earlier this week, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic. Nolen is believed to have a wide range of evaluations across the league, so teams like the Bengals, Cardinals, and Packers may view him as a mid- to late-first round pick while the Cowboys, 49ers, and Panthers may be hoping he falls to their selections early in the second round.
Jaire Alexander Drawing Trade Interest; Teams Waiting For Packers To Release CB?
More than a month after the Packers let it be known they were shopping Jaire Alexander, the former Pro Bowler remains on their roster. Alexander has not lived up to his pricey extension, and Green Bay still appears ready to move on.
Brian Gutekunst said earlier this offseason the Packers wanted a reasonable return on their investment, and offers do not appear to have provided that yet. But teams are showing interest, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein. Two years remain on Alexander’s $21MM-per-year extension, and it appears interested clubs are attempting to wait out the Packers.
The Packers appeared close to moving Alexander at the start of free agency, but multiple factors interfered. Alexander’s unwillingness to rework his contract to facilitate a trade has factored into this process, Silverstein adds, but the Packers also did not view trade compensation as efficient. The staring contest continues heading into the draft, where another trade window will open up.
All three days of the draft figure to keep the window open, as Alexander drawing Day 3 capital is not difficult to envision based on his contract and pattern of unreliability in recent years. Alexander, 28, has missed 20 regular-season games over the past two seasons. The Packers also suspended him for a game after a strange incident involving a coin toss against the Panthers in 2023. Trade rumors emerged shortly after, but Gutekunst shot them down. A year later, a divorce still appears imminent.
Green Bay would take on $17MM in dead money were a trade to commence during the draft or at any point before June 1. A deal after that point would defray some of that dead cap to 2026. A post-June 1 cut would create $17.2MM in cap savings for the Packers. Alexander is due a $16.15MM base salary in 2025; based on his recent attendance record, that would likely be untenable for interested teams. But it does not look like the seven-year veteran is interested in doing the Packers any favors by redoing his contract on the way out.
Although a previous report indicated the team wants this resolved by the draft, the Packers waiting until after the draft, thus gauging which teams did not sufficiently fill their CB needs, could be a play here. This will be a situation to monitor for a Packers team remodeling at corner. The Packers did not re-sign 2021 first-round pick Eric Stokes, who joined a Raiders team that lost Nate Hobbs to the Pack. Keisean Nixon remains under contract, as does third-year player Carrington Valentine.
Alexander’s likely departure, however, still appears to leave the Packers with a CB need. Green Bay also does not employ the top CB trade chip presently, as Jalen Ramsey has now been granted permission to find a trade partner — for what would be his third career trade exit — to leave Miami.
Packers Re-Sign TE John FitzPatrick
The Packers are bringing back John FitzPatrick after all. The team announced tonight that they’ve re-signed the free agent tight end. Veteran reporter Howard Balzer was first with the news.
There was some uncertainty surrounding FitzPatrick’s future in Green Bay. The midseason acquisition was initially positioned to hit restricted free agency. However, the Packers never tendered him a contract, making the tight end an unrestricted free agent. Ultimately, the two sides will be looking to extend their partnership for at least another season.
A former sixth-round pick by the Falcons, FitzPatrick started last season on Atlanta’s practice squad. He was snagged by Green Bay in October as the Packers navigated Luke Musgrave‘s absence, and FitzPatrick proceeded to get into nine games (plus another playoff contest) for his new squad.
He finished his season with a single catch, with 53 of his 73 offensive snaps coming as a run blocker. The 25-year-old also got some looks on special teams. In total, FitzPatrick has appeared in 91 career offensive snaps and 133 ST snaps.
The Packers positional depth chart should look very similar next year. Tucker Kraft returns as the starting tight end following a breakout campaign, and Musgrave should also be fully healthy after returning late in the 2024 season. FitzPatrick could ultimately be competing for a roster spot with Ben Sims, who finished second at the position in 2024 with 224 snaps.
Isaiah Simmons To Visit Packers
After two seasons with the Giants, Isaiah Simmons could soon be on the move. The veteran defender is visiting the Packers today, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reports. 
Simmons entered the league with the Cardinals, but during his three seasons in Arizona he struggled to carve out an effective full-time role at safety or linebacker. The former No. 8 pick was traded to the Giants in August of 2023 for a seventh-round pick, a sign of how far his stock had fallen during the early portion of his career. Simmons handled a part-time defensive role during his debut season in New York, making a mark in several statistical categories along the way.
That allowed the Clemson product to land another Giants pact, although the decision to replace defensive coordinator Don Martindale with Shane Bowen led to Simmons competing for the starting slot role in training camp. In the end, he saw sparse usage there and at other spots en route to a snap share of only 17%. While Simmons also chipped in on special teams, his inability to lock down a regular role anywhere on defense has helped inform his lengthy stay on the open market.
The 26-year-old had not been linked to any potential free agent landing spots prior to today’s report. Simmons will of course not be an expensive target for the Packers should today’s visit produce an offer. Green Bay has over $31MM in cap space, so a contract being worked out before the upcoming draft would not significantly affect the team’s plans for the remainder of the offseason.
The Packers used a second-round pick to select Edgerrin Cooper last year, adding him to a linebacking corps which also includes Quay Walker (who is the subject of a pending fifth-year option decision) and Isaiah McDuffie (who was re-signed on a two-year deal last month). Simmons could look to join that group in the event he were to sign with Green Bay, although an agreement could also pave the way for work at safety or in a special teams-centered role.
Latest On NFL’s Proposed ‘Tush Push’ Ban
The Packers’ controversial proposal to ban the ‘tush push’ was the subject of intense debate at league meetings at the beginning of April, leading to a postponement of a formal vote on the measure.
Packers team president Mark Murphy said that the NFL’s competition committee was “pretty strongly in favor” of the proposed ban, according to ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler, though the league’s full 32-team voting body was evenly split. Discussions surrounding the rule change have expanded to include other instances of pushing or pulling ballcarriers, not just “immediately at the snap,” as Green Bay’s proposed language currently reads. That would be a more substantial shift, representing a return to pre-2005 rules banning all pushing of ballcarriers, per ESPN’s Kevin Seifert.
Murphy said that the Packers are going to look at the league’s previous language and expressed optimism that the revised rule will pass, according to NBC Sports’ Michael David Smith.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell indicated his support for a broader proposal, saying it “makes a lot of sense in many ways.”
“There are a lot of plays where you see people pushing or pulling somebody that are not in the tush push formation that I think do have an increased risk of injury,” Goodell said (via Kahler). “So I think the committee will look at that and come back in May with some proposals.”
Multiple teams expressed reservations about the seemingly-targeted nature of the rule change, per Kahler. Only two teams – the Eagles and the Bills – used the tush push more than five times in 2024, though Bills head coach Sean McDermott emerged as a surprising voice in favor of the ban. Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni remained a vocal opponent of Green Bay’s proposal after originating the play in 2022.
The Packers cited player safety as one of the primary reasons for their proposal, setting off a debate about the injury risks associated with the little-used ‘tush push.’ It accounted for just 0.28 percent of all plays in 2024 without any significant injuries occurring in that small sample size.
NFL chief medical officer Dr. Allen Sills presented information on potential injury risks at the Combine and league meetings in Florida, saying (via Kahler) “It’s not if but when a catastrophic injury occurs.” Sills shared projected injury data based on modeling of the play, and medical consultants have echoed concerns about the potential of a major injury resulting from the play, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
Unsurprisingly, Murphy backed Sills, arguing that “the nature and the makeup of the play really does lend itself [to injury]” given the force of so many players concentrated on a single point. Other teams are less convinced by the injury data, but warned that the league could regret a decision not to ban the tush push if a major injury does occur.
Murphy believes that a broader proposal will sway at least the eight teams required for the measure to pass. The Packers are expected to present their revised language at the next set of league meetings in May, setting the table for an official vote of all 32 teams.
Broncos, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Packers Host WR Matthew Golden
Not viewed as one of this decade’s better wide receiver classes, the 2025 crop is still expected to see a few of its best options go off the board in Round 1. Matthew Golden is becoming a player to watch here.
The Texas prospect has assembled a busy pre-draft itinerary after an impressive Combine showing. While he could not quite match 2024 Longhorns WR prospect Xavier Worthy‘s 4.21-second Combine record in the 40-yard dash, Golden blazed to a 4.29 clocking in Indianapolis. Teams are lining up to spend time with the Longhorn one-and-done.
The Broncos, Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers have brought the former Houston recruit in on “30” visits. Golden met with the Bucs on Monday, NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets, and stopped through Denver on Wednesday, 9News’ Mike Klis adds. He met with the Cowboys on Thursday, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz, with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Tom Silverstein reporting the 2024 SEC standout’s Packers meeting occurred before these summits.
A Houston native, Golden spent his college career in Texas and is coming up as a Cowboys fit. Dallas is looking into receivers, with Sportskeeda.com’s Tony Pauline indicating the team is viewed as a prime landing spot (at No. 12 overall) for a player NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah slots as his top wideout in this class. The Cowboys are targeting a receiver pick early, per Pauline, with Stephen Jones confirming the team is interested in augmenting its WR situation. They have met with Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka as well. While they have shown interest in Travis Hunter, Golden is a more realistic target.
The Packers (No. 23) have met with Egbuka and one-year Golden teammate Isaiah Bond. The team has long resisted calls to draft a receiver in the first round; it has still been since 2002 (Javon Walker) since such a move transpired. Green Bay has four rookie-deal receivers of note on its roster, but Christian Watson is expected to miss significant time due to a January ACL tear. Romeo Doubs joins Watson in a contract year.
Denver (No. 20) looked into Cooper Kupp and Stefon Diggs, and while Amari Cooper and Keenan Allen are among the vets who remain available, the Broncos are doing work on complementing Courtland Sutton with another young player. The team drafted Marvin Mims, Troy Franklin and Devaughn Vele over the past two years but has now hosted Golden and Missouri’s Luther Burden. Running back remains an area the Broncos are focusing on, but a receiver addition makes sense as well. Sutton is entering his age-30 season.
A Bucs receiver move early would be rather interesting, considering the resources the team has devoted to this position. Tampa Bay (No. 19) drafted Jalen McMillan in last year’s third round and gave Chris Godwin a three-year, $66MM deal a year after re-signing Mike Evans. The latter is back in a contract year, though Tampa Bay has obviously made it a high priority to keep its all-time receiving leader a one-team player.
Golden is viewed as one of this draft’s fastest-rising players, Pauline adds, and he made an impression in Quinn Ewers‘ final season in Austin. Averaging 17 yards per catch, Golden went 58-987-9 for the Longhorns in 2025. While he did not put together a season like that in Houston, The 5-foot-11 prospect did combine for 13 TDs with the Cougars. With Tetairoa McMillan‘s grip on the top WR slot slipping, Golden could be poised to swoop in.
2025 NFL Draft Visits: Williams, Simmons, Texans
The 2025 NFL Draft class is fairly deep at the defensive tackle position. One player contributing to that depth is Ohio State’s Tyleik Williams. Williams has gotten a ton of attention lately. According to Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Williams visited the Texans today after recent visits with the Eagles, Bills, and Packers.
Part of this year’s championship-winning Buckeyes crew, Williams has been a full-time starter in Columbus for the last two seasons. He broke out with his performances in those two years, totaling 18 tackles for loss and 5.5 sacks over that time.
Because Williams is not expected to be a top 10 pick, his interest is coming from all over the NFL, both from teams who could select him in the late-first or early-second round. Per Wilson, he has upcoming visits with the 49ers, Ravens, and Lions on his schedule.
Here are a few other reported visits from around the NFL:
- A teammate of Williams’ on the other side of the ball, offensive tackle Josh Simmons is also a fringe first-round prospect. After starting all 13 games for the Aztecs of San Diego State as a true freshman, Simmons transferred to Ohio State where he immediately became a full-time starter at right tackle. In 2023, he switched over to the blindside, where he started every game until missing half his senior season with a torn patellar tendon. The injury hasn’t stopped teams from being interested, though. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Simmons visited with the Packers on Monday and the Ravens on Tuesday. Schefter adds that he met with the Colts today and will see the Chiefs tomorrow.
- One team that could see Simmons in the future is the Texans, who have been doing plenty of research on offensive linemen after seeing some changes to their starting lineup for 2025. The team hosted North Dakota State offensive lineman Grey Zabel today, per Wilson. Zabel had experience playing for the Bison at all four tackle and guard spots but is widely seen as one of the top center prospects in the class, a position at which Houston would welcome an upgrade with open arms. The team also hosted fringe first-round prospect Aireontae Ersery out of Minnesota. Playing left tackle for the Golden Gophers, Ersery could be a potential tackle of the future to step in after Cam Robinson or Trent Brown.
Packers Host Emeka Egbuka; WR Visited Cowboys
The top of the 2025 receiver class is not held in the same regard as previous drafts. Nevertheless, teams in need of pass-catching help are doing homework on the best options in this month’s event. 
One of those is Emeka Egbuka. The Ohio State product met with the Cowboys recently, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports. He adds a visit with the Packers also began yesterday and will continue today. Both teams have been mentioned as potential suitors for an early draft addition, so this news comes as no surprise.
Dallas saw Brandin Cooks depart in free agency, creating a vacancy at the WR2 spot. The Cowboys have CeeDee Lamb atop the depth chart for years to come, but a complementary group featuring Jonathan Mingo, Jalen Tolbert and returner KaVontae Turpin could stand to see an addition. Stephen Jones recently confirmed the Cowboys are in the market for a receiver addition, which could consist of a veteran signing or using an early draft pick at the position.
The Packers have deployed a young array of players at receiver and tight end in recent years. Many observers have called for the arrival of a true No. 1 wideout to allow for Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Bo Melton and Christian Watson to serve in more of a complementary role. The latter’s January ACL tear will lead to missed time in 2025, so a rookie selected early in April could have a path to immediate playing time. Green Bay has not taken a receiver on Day 1 of the draft since 2002.
It remains to be seen if Egbuka will hear his name called in the first round, but he is among the top options at the WR spot in 2025. The senior spent his entire four-year career at Ohio State, setting the school’s all-time record for receptions with 205 and playing a central role in the team’s national title in 2024. The No. 17 prospect on NFL Network Daniel Jeremiah’s board, Egbuka profiles best as a slot receiver at the NFL level. He is joined by Colorado’s Travis Hunter (he if plays on offense upon being drafted), Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan and Texas’ Matthew Golden as a receiver firmly on the first-round radar.
Both the Cowboys (set to select 12th overall) and Packers (23rd) fell short of the top 10 in passing yards last season. Improving in that department could include using a high draft pick on a receiver, and Egbuka will be a name to watch for those teams.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/7/25
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed RFA tender: DL Chris Williams
- Signed ERFA tender: DL Jonathan Ford, DL Daniel Hardy, OL Bill Murray, DB Ameer Speed
Cleveland Browns
- Signed ERFA tender: TE Blake Whiteheart
Denver Broncos
- Signed ERFA tender: TE Lucas Krull
Green Bay Packers
- Re-signed: DE Arron Mosby
Las Vegas Raiders
- Signed ERFA tender: DT Matthew Butler, LB LB Kana’i Mauga, G Jordan Meredith, DE Charles Snowden, CB Sam Webb
Minnesota Vikings
- Released: CB Nahshon Wright
2025 NFL Draft Visits: Schwesinger, Cowboys, Nolen, Ezeiruaku, Burden, Turner, Bond, Steelers, Emmanwori
This isn’t exactly a visit in the sense of top-30 visits, like most of the rest of bullets that follow this will be, but UCLA linebacker Carson Schwesinger held a private pro day earlier this week in Los Angeles and had 30 teams in attendance, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
While, obviously, not a comprehensive list, Schefter specifically mentions the Cowboys, Giants, Saints, Chargers, and Broncos, and notes that the linebackers coaches from Dallas, New York, and New Orleans all met privately with Schwesinger.
Schwesinger is not currently the top-ranked linebacker prospect in most analysts’ eyes, but he often slides in as the second-best off-ball linebacker in the class behind Alabama’s Jihaad Campbell — third if you count Georgia defender Jalon Walker, who has the ability to play every linebacker spot at the next level. Some thought Schwesinger may sneak into the back end of the first round at the end of the month, but more likely is that he hears his name on Day 2. Per Tony Pauline of sportskeeda, it would be surprising to see him fall past the first half of the second round.
Here are some more prospect-NFL team connections we’ve seen recent reports on:
- The Cowboys have certainly been very busy in the runup to the 2025 NFL Draft. On Friday, the team held their invite-only “Dallas Day,” hosting draft prospects without the visits counting towards their top-30 visits. According to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports, North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton met with the team at “Dallas Day.” The well-balanced rusher continues to skyrocket up draft boards, is likely to join Ashton Jeanty in the first round, and has several other visits lined up.
- Jeanty was also in attendance on Friday, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. We had relayed that Jeanty would be taking a top-30 visit with the Cowboys, but it’s unclear whether this is what was meant in that original report. Also in attendance for “Dallas Day” were Texas A&M defensive tackle Shemar Turner, Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon, TCU wide receivers Savion Williams and Jack Bech, Texas quarterback and offensive lineman Quinn Ewers and Cameron Williams, and Miami tight end and running back Elijah Arroyo and Damien Martinez.
- Also in attendance at “Dallas Day” was Ole Miss defensive tackle Walter Nolen. Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2, Nolen will follow up his Dallas visit with a visit with the Panthers on Monday and a visit with the Bengals some other time this week.
- Joining Nolen in Carolina on Monday will be Boston College pass rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, per Joe Person of The Athletic. The ACC Defensive Player of the Year has been a hot topic with multiple scouts of late, per ESPN’s Jordan Reid. He’s currently viewed as an early-Day 2 prospect, and his stock continues to rise.
- Speaking of another “Dallas Day” athlete, Wilson of KPRC 2 provided an updated list of teams that Turner, from Texas A&M, is set to visit with. We already noted his recent visit in New Orleans, but Wilson tells us that Turner has also visited the Texans and plans to visit the Ravens, Rams, Eagles, Dolphins, Colts, Buccaneers, and Cardinals.
- According to Mike Klis of 9NEWS, the Broncos hosted Missouri wide receiver Luther Burden for a top-30 visit last week. The talented wideout fell off in 2024 after an incredible sophomore campaign with the Tigers, but his high ceiling makes him a borderline first-round prospect. Denver would love to bring in another talented weapon for young quarterback Bo Nix.
- We already reported recent visits for Texas wide receiver Isaiah Bond in Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, and Los Angeles, but we now have a couple sources adding some new locations for the Longhorn. Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us that Bond had dinner with the Bills before a private workout Friday and a top-30 visit as well as visits with the Browns and Packers. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler adds that Bond has visits scheduled with the Chiefs and Titans, as well.
- Brooke Pryor of ESPN tells us that the Steelers hosted a full house on Thursday. Prospects on hand last week included Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden, Florida State cornerback Azareye’h Thomas, Iowa running back Kaleb Johnson, and Pittsburgh tight end Gavin Bartholomew.
- Lastly, Pryor adds that Pittsburgh was one of the recent teams to host South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori. The pre-draft standout had reportedly lined up visits with Atlanta, Carolina, Seattle, Cincinnati, and Miami already. The Steelers’ interest in the Gamecock is no surprise as he’s trending towards being a Day 1 selection at this point.