Jordan Morgan

NFL Draft Rumors: Tackles, Senior Bowl, Rakestraw

The 2024 NFL Draft class may feel relatively light at certain positions like quarterback and running back, but there’s one position that has scouts and coaches excited. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, this year’s offensive tackles group has the potential to match 2020’s class, which saw six tackles selected in the first round.

Four names have been regarded as likely first-rounders for about a year now, so the projections of Notre Dame’s Joe Alt (ranks 6th overall in Dane Brugler of The Athletic’s top 100 prospects), Penn State’s Olu Fashanu (9th), Alabama’s JC Latham (13th), and Georgia’s Amarius Mims (17th) come as no surprise. After some impressive performances in Mobile, Oregon State’s Taliese Fuaga (16th) and Oklahoma’s Tyler Guyton (18th) have joined those four in the range of the first round.

The top-end depth doesn’t end there, either. There are several other prospects that sit just outside that first-round range in Brugler’s rankings that still find themselves in consideration to be Day 1 picks because of strong Senior Bowl performances and a general interest in the position. Arizona’s Jordan Morgan (32nd), Houston’s Patrick Paul (55th), and Texas’ Christian Jones (NR) all sit on that fringe, according to Fowler.

With these nine guys and still more others pushing for Day 1 money, we’re bound to see a change in recent trends of five or fewer tackles taken in the first round. Even if this year’s class fails to match 2020’s six first-round picks, which seems unlikely as of now, the depth in the first two rounds of this class have a lot of teams excited about what’s available.

Here are a couple of other draft rumors from around the country, starting with more updates out of Mobile:

  • In a mailbag Q&A this week, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer gave his take on some prospects who improved their standing after this year’s Senior Bowl. Breer sees Fuaga and Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell (11th in Brugler’s rankings) as big risers coming out of Mobile. While both players were already expected to be Day 1 picks, Breer believes that they’ve played their way into the top half of the first round. He also touts Michigan wide receiver Roman Wilson (45th) as a recent riser. While Wilson may not hear his name called in the first round, Breer thinks he may have pushed his way up to the second.
  • One player who wasn’t able to improve his stock at the Senior Bowl was Missouri cornerback Ennis Rakestraw (48th). Rakestraw had been dealing with a core muscle injury for much of his redshirt junior year before opting to undergo surgery at the close of the season in December, according to Matt Miller of ESPN. After missing out on the college all-star game due to the surgery, Rakestraw, who has been considered a fringe first-rounder, was unable to secure his potential Day 1 status. The young corner has shown a resiliency in coming back from an ACL tear his sophomore year, but his injury history may be enough to push him into the second round.

Jets Reach 53-Man Max

The Jets did more than just cut a 2019 third-round pick on Saturday, making nearly 40 moves to reach the Week 1 roster limit. Here’s the complete rundown of cut players:

Another spot was freed up when the Jets placed corner Austin Bless on the reserve/non-football injury list.

Minor NFL Transactions: 2/7/19

Today’s minor moves:

Dallas Cowboys

  • Signed: WR Reggie Davis

New York Jets

  • Signed: G Jordan Morgan

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Signed: K Phillip Andersen

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 12/11/18

Here’s the latest from the NFL’s workout circuit, all links going to NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account (unless otherwise noted). The first day teams can sign players to reserve/futures contracts is New Year’s Eve.

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • DB Tevaughn Campbell (link)

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

  • LB Sam Eguavoen (CFL tryout) (link)

New York Jets

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Workout Updates: 12/6/18

Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):

Carolina Panthers

  • G Jordan Morgan

Cleveland Browns

Minnesota Vikings

Washington Redskins

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 12/3/18

Here are Monday’s practice squad decisions:

Denver Broncos

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/10/18

We’ll keep track of today’s practice squad moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 10/3/18

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer’s Twitter account:

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

NFL Workout Updates: 10/2/18

Today’s workout updates, with all links going to veteran Howard Balzer’s Twitter account unless otherwise noted:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • T Andrew Nelson (link)

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Ravens Work Out Three Offensive Linemen

The Ravens are auditioning a trio of offensive lineman today. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the team is hosting Wesley Johnson, Hroniss Grasu, Jordan Morgan on work outs.

The Ravens’ offensive line allowed four sacks to the Bengals on Thursday night, and the running game was only able to compile 66 yards on 22 caries (good for a three-yard average). The three players working out for Baltimore today either play center or guard, meaning the team is seemingly looking for some depth and reinforcement behind starters Alex LewisMatt Skura, and Marshal Yanda. Jermaine Eluemunor, who made the 2017 All-Rookie team, and rookie sixth-rounder Bradley Bozeman round out the team’s interior-line depth.

Johnson, 27, has the most experience among the auditionees, as he appeared in 31 games (23 starts) with the Jets over the past two seasons. The 2014 fifth-round pick out of Vanderbilt joined the Lions earlier this offseason, but he was released by the team at the end of the preseason. Since then, Johnson had a workout with the Vikings.

Grasu had spent his entire three-year career with the Bears before being released by the team earlier this month. The 27-year-old started 12 of his 14 career games, but injuries have limited him throughout his career (he spent the entire 2016 campaign on the injured reserve).

Morgan is the only offensive guard in the group, and he also previously spent time with the Bears. The 2017 fifth-round pick spent his entire rookie campaign on the injured reserve, and he was released by the organization earlier this month.