Giants To Sign TE Jordan Akins
The Giants have made another addition to their tight end room. The team is signing Jordan Akins to a one-year contract, per Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network (Twitter link).
Akins, despite being 30, was a free agent for the first time in his career. In four seasons with the Texans, he played a notable role in the team’s offense, staying on the field for over half of their offense snaps in 2019 and 2020. The former campaign saw him make 36 catches for a career-best 418 yards and two touchdowns.
He was included in trade talk this past year, however, as the team looked to move on from a number of veterans. He ultimately stayed in Houston, though he was a healthy scratch on multiple occasions. It comes as no surprise that he is moving on to a new team now.
The former third rounder will now join a Giants team looking to fill out its tight end room. Evan Engram left in free agency, and the most notable offseason addition prior to this one was Ricky Seals-Jones, who also signed a one-year deal. By coming to New York, Akins will also be able to continue working with TEs coach Andy Bischoff, who held the same title in Houston last year.
Iowa State RB Breece Hall Getting Looks
While many analysts don’t predict a running back to go in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, Iowa State’s Breece Hall has perhaps the best chance of any to do so. Hall has been making the rounds during the pre-draft process, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, spending time with the Texans, Bills, Giants, and Commanders.
Hall and Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker are the consensus top-two running back prospects in the Draft, with Texas A&M’s Isaiah Spiller usually coming in as a slightly distant third. Most analysts have Walker and Hall extremely close, as well, with Dane Brugler of The Athletic ranking Walker at 35th and Hall at 41st and Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network slotting Hall at 29th and Walker at 31st. The two differ a bit in body-type and playing styles with Walker being a stockier, more compact back with speed and power, whereas Hall is a big-bodied back with a smooth, elusive running style. 
In terms of depth chart, the Bills, Giants, and Commanders all have, at least, a semi-solid two-deep. The Commanders return Antonio Gibson and J.D. McKissic. Both have had some issues with health, but, for the most part, should be a reliable 1-2 punch. The Giants have Saquon Barkley and recently acquired Matt Breida. Breida hasn’t quite looked the same since leaving San Francisco and New York might be losing patience with Barkley as his name surfaced as a potential trade candidate last month. The Bills house Devin Singletary and Zack Moss. They also recently signed Duke Johnson, who will be a huge contributor in the passing game. While both Singletary and Moss have been solid in their roles, neither have been game changers with Singletary failing to top 900 yards in each of his three seasons and Moss’s career-high topping out at 481 yards. Both are smaller backs, as well, which might make Hall an attractive option.
The Texans probably have the biggest need here. They currently are rostering Marlon Mack, Royce Freeman, Rex Burkhead, Dare Ogunbowale, Darius Anderson, and Scottie Phillips. Mack is probably the favorite to lead the group in touches with Freeman spelling him and Burkhead a potential pass-catching back, but by no means should this be considered a strong position group.
In terms of draft position, a few options make sense here. The Giants and Texans aren’t likely to use any of their multiple early first-round picks on a running back, but both have early picks in the second round, as well, that might have Hall’s name written all over it. If any team were going to use a first-round pick on a running back, I could see the Bills sitting at 25 as a real option. A more likely scenario would probably see the Bills allowing a team to trade back into the first round and hoping to still land Hall in the second. The Commanders would benefit from seeing the running backs fall down the board a bit, as their second-round pick doesn’t come up until 47th overall.
It’s a bit of a crap-shoot to try and predict how the NFL will value a top college running back in any given year. Last year saw Najee Harris and Travis Etienne go back-to-back in the first round. The year before that saw Clyde Edwards-Helaire taken with the final pick of the first round. Though teams are often advised against it, you’d have to go back to the 2014 NFL Draft to find the last time no running backs were taken in the first round, when Bishop Sankey and Jeremy Hill were taken back-to-back in the second round, followed closely by Carlos Hyde.
Will Hall or Walker be able to keep the streak alive? Or will we see the streak of first-round running backs end at 7 years? Both players will have eight more days to make their case.
CB Notes: Bills, Bradberry, Giants, Gardner, Texans, Jets, Jaguars, Browns, Ward
Losing Levi Wallace in free agency, the Bills have a cornerback need a week away from the draft. The two-time defending AFC East champions will be linked to corners early, but they are still looking into the veteran market. Brandon Beane confirmed the team has spoken with free agent corners, via The Athletic’s Joe Buscaglia (on Twitter). While Stephon Gilmore is now off the board, several other accomplished vets remain available. The player Gilmore is set to replace in Indianapolis, Xavier Rhodes, is a free agent. So is Joe Haden, whom the Steelers appear to have replaced with Wallace. Buffalo has Taron Johnson as its slot cornerback, so boundary players would seemingly be the focus on the veteran front. Jackrabbit Jenkins‘ Titans contract expired, and Trae Waynes and Kyle Fuller loom as potential bounce-back candidates. Richard Sherman is set to turn 34 this year, but he has a career’s worth of high-end zone production.
Here is the latest from the cornerback scene:
- Lovie Smith indicated his team needs cornerback help, and it might even come at No. 3 overall. Several teams believe Ahmad Gardner could be the Texans‘ choice at 3, The Athletic’s Dane Brugler tweets. Houston has also done extensive work on LSU’s Derek Stingley. Given where they are in the rebuilding process, the Texans make sense as a true best-player-available team. That would seemingly point to a tackle choice — be it Evan Neal or Ikem Ekwonu — but corner buzz has followed this team for a bit now.
- Stingley played just 10 games between the 2020 and ’21 seasons, seeing injuries slow his momentum after a dominant freshman season. But the LSU product is creeping into the top-10 picture, with ESPN.com’s Matt Miller noting Stingley and Gardner are looking likely to each be top-10 selections (Twitter link). The 6-foot defender, per one evaluator who spoke to NBC Sports’ Peter King, has “the best feet of any corner I’ve ever seen.” Mel Kiper Jr.’s most recent ESPN.com mock draft has Gardner going fourth to the Jets and Stingley going 12th to the Vikings. The Jaguars and Jets hosted Stingley on visits this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
- The Washington Huskies could see two corners go in the first round. With Trent McDuffie positioning himself as the draft’s third-best corner, Miller adds a few teams do not expect Kyler Gordon to reach Day 2 of the draft (Twitter link). ESPN ranks Gordon 31st overall, though Todd McShay has him going 42nd in he and Kiper’s latest mock. The 5-foot-11 defender played four seasons at Washington, but only two (2019 and ’21) involved more than three games.
- New Giants GM Joe Schoen said a scenario exists where the Giants retain James Bradberry, via SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano (on Twitter). Entering the final year of his contract, Bradberry has long expected to be dealt. The Giants have discussed their No. 1 corner with teams, and while they have said an extension for the Dave Gettleman-era signee is possible, Bradberry’s $21.9MM cap number sits second on Big Blue’s payroll. The Giants ($6MM-plus in cap space) would save more than $11MM by designating Bradberry as a post-June 1 cut, if no team offers a draft pick to take on the veteran cover man’s $13.4MM base salary.
- Denzel Ward‘s five-year, $100.5MM Browns extension includes $44.5MM fully guaranteed, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk notes. That figure also leads all corners. In addition to his signing bonus, the Browns fully guaranteed Ward’s 2022 and ’23 base salaries ($1MM, $4MM, respectively). Ward’s 2024 base ($15.3MM) shifts from an injury guarantee to a full guarantee on Day 3 of the 2023 league year. That same structure is present for 2025, with that base salary ($13.5MM) already being guaranteed for injury. It becomes fully guaranteed on Day 3 of the 2024 league year.
Panthers’ Draft Plan
Carolina’s draft plans are becoming foggier and foggier each day as the Panthers are either really running through all of their options or else they are throwing up one heck of a smokescreen. Supporting a rumor we posted almost two weeks ago, Carolina will host NC State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu and Mississippi State offensive tackle Charles Cross this Tuesday for their 30 visits, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. 
Breer goes on to posit what many have deduced at this point from Carolina’s actions: if either of two of the Draft’s top offensive linemen fall to the Panthers’ first-round pick at sixth overall, Carolina would be expected to pounce at the opportunity to select them. This would fill a huge need at offensive tackle for the Panthers, but would leave another position need behind center unaddressed. The assumption is that, if the Panthers draft Ekwonu or Cross, they would address their need at quarterback by going after a veteran option like Baker Mayfield or Jimmy Garoppolo.
This take seems to be diametrically opposed to multiple other takes we’ve heard in the last four days alone. On Wednesday, we heard that Carolina was considering trading their No. 6 overall pick to grab a few additional draft picks. Yesterday, we reported on rumors that “the consensus of the people in this league” is that Carolina is going to draft one of two quarterbacks: Malik Willis out of Liberty or Kenny Pickett of Pittsburgh. Six hours later, we reported that the Panthers were reversing course on statements made in March about their lack of interest in Mayfield and, in fact, had the inside track to acquire the Browns’ quarterback.
That last report is the only one that lines up with Breer’s assertion from this morning. That could either point to some much anticipated clarification on the Panthers’ draft plans or it could be some expert mind-trickery by general manager Scott Fitterer and head coach Matt Rhule. Sandwiched between the Giants’ two top-seven picks (No. 5 & No. 7), the Panthers’ draft needs are not far off from those of New York. So these mind-games could be targeted specifically at one franchise. Those early reports that Carolina would draft Willis or Pickett could’ve been aimed to put pressure on New York to take a quarterback with their first pick, increasing the odds that an offensive lineman like Ekwonu or Cross falls to them at six. Similarly, the increased reports that the Panthers want Ekwonu or Cross and will sign a veteran quarterback may be aimed to take that pressure off of New York, lulling the Giants into selecting an offensive lineman and giving Carolina more options at quarterback in the first round.
It’s a lot to follow and mostly going in circles, I know, but Carolina can afford to focus this much attention on their No. 6 pick because, with no selections in the second or third round, their second pick of the draft comes at the end of the fourth round slotted as 137th overall. While the scouting brass may have plans to acquire extra picks, their current situation makes their decision surrounding the sixth pick their most important decision of the offseason.
I honestly don’t know whether to tell you to expect things to get clearer or muddier as we get closer to the 2022 NFL Draft. The idea that Carolina is purposefully driving the narrative could even be proved false and we may find out that they truly have no idea what they want to do. Stay locked in as I’m sure this isn’t the last we’ll hear out of Carolina in the next week and a half.
Giants Looking Into QB Sam Howell
The Giants are prepared to give Daniel Jones another season to show he can be the team’s long-term starter, but the regime that drafted Jones is out, leaving the former No. 6 overall pick’s future with the franchise in question.
GM Joe Schoen signed Tyrod Taylor, who was with the Bills during Schoen’s first year in Buffalo, to back up Jones. Taylor’s deal runs through 2023. The Giants have not decided on Jones’ 2023 option. The team will almost certainly not take a quarterback with its No. 5 overall pick, but its second-round selection (No. 36) could be a spot where the position is considered.
Sam Howell has popped up on the Giants’ radar. The North Carolina quarterback drew a sizable Giants contingent at his pro day, including new Big Blue QBs coach Shea Tierney, and SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano notes the team visited with the ex-Tar Heel passer over the weekend. While this is the NFL calendar’s prime smokescreen period, the Giants make sense as an interested team.
Once firmly on the first-round radar, Howell slipped a bit after a junior season with a new-look Tar Heels cast. Exoduses of Javonte Williams, Michael Carter, Dazz Newsome and Dyami Brown undoubtedly impacted Howell, whom ESPN ranks 50th among this year’s prospects. Still, a few teams are monitoring the 6-foot-2 QB. The Commanders and Saints were sent several staffers to Howell’s pro day, while the Steelers met with him just ahead of his Giants meeting. The Panthers are also meeting with the in-state prospect this week.
Second-round QBs are obviously riskier propositions, though a Howell pick now probably would not dissuade Schoen and Co. from investing a first-rounder on another passer in 2023 or ’24 — should Jones not show enough this season. The Giants hold one second-round pick but could acquire additional Day 2 capital by trading one of their top-10 choices for a sizable haul.
Giants' Pre-Draft OL Connections Persist
The Giants used a top-five pick on an offensive lineman in 2020, and Andrew Thomas now anchors their line. But the team entered the offseason with needs everywhere else up front. Even after adding multiple likely interior O-line starters in March, Big Blue has a vacancy at right tackle. This has led the Giants to do extensive prep on this draft’s top tackles, including Alabama’s Evan Neal, NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano notes. Other teams are penciling the Giants in to take a tackle at No. 5 or No. 7, a rival exec said, via Vacchiano. The Giants brought sizable contingents to the three top tackles’ pro days and have been previously linked to Cross, who rates behind Neal and Ekwonu.
The Giants used a top-five pick on an offensive lineman in 2020, and Andrew Thomas now anchors their line. But the team entered the offseason with needs everywhere else up front. Even after adding multiple likely interior O-line starters in March, Big Blue has a vacancy at right tackle. This has led the Giants to do extensive prep on this draft’s top tackles, including Alabama’s Evan Neal, NC State’s Ikem Ekwonu and Mississippi State’s Charles Cross, SNY’s Ralph Vacchiano notes. Other teams are penciling the Giants in to take a tackle at No. 5 or No. 7, a rival exec said, via Vacchiano. The Giants brought sizable contingents to the three top tackles’ pro days and have been previously linked to Cross, who rates behind Neal and Ekwonu.
With two picks in the top seven, it would surprise if one of the top three tackles remained on the board after the Giants’ second pick — assuming it is not traded. The Panthers, who hold the No. 6 pick, have eyed Ekwonu and Cross as well. That could put the Giants to the test with the first of their Round 1 choices, with other teams in front of them — namely the Texans and Jets — strong candidates to draft tackles as well. The Giants could exit the first round with a right tackle to join offseason additions Mark Glowinski and Jon Feliciano as part of their latest up-front overhaul.
- Another candidate to join the Giants, Ahmad Gardner will pay them a visit and meet with several other teams ahead of the draft. The Cincinnati standout has emerged as the favorite to be the first cornerback taken, and ProFootballNetwork.com’s Aaron Wilson notes the Jets, Eagles, Lions and Seahawks join the Giants in scheduling “30” visits. The Giants and Jets are believed to have strong interest in Gardner, who seems unlikely to make it out of the top 10. The Jets hold the Nos. 4 and 10 picks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/22
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Atlanta Falcons
- Signed: CB Mike Ford
Cincinnati Bengals
- Re-Signed: TE Mitchell Wilcox
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: RB Ryan Nall
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: WR/KR DeAndre Carter
New York Giants
- Signed: OT Roy Mbaeteka
Giants Hosting Hutchinson, Ekwonu, Walker
- Hutchinson and NC State tackle Ikem Ekwonu met with the Jaguars this week, and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes both will head to New York for Giants and Jets visits (Twitter link). Both players are candidates to go first overall, with Georgia defensive lineman Travon Walker joining them. The Jets and Giants hold four of the next nine picks — the Jets having Nos. 4 and 10 and the Giants at 5 and 7 — and will be set to add top talent. The Giants have a few needs, but it will be hard to see them exiting Round 1 without a right tackle prospect. They have done extensive homework on Mississippi State’s Charles Cross and would likely pounce if Ekwonu, who is rated ahead of Cross almost universally, fell to 5.
- After a strong Combine showing, Walker is being projected as a top-five pick. He will visit with each of the teams holding those selections, with Aaron Wilson of ProFootballNetwork.com noting the Jags, Lions, Texans, Jets and Giants are meeting with the pass rusher. Despite weighing 272 pounds and frequently playing inside with the national championship-winning team, Walker clocked a 4.51-second 40-yard dash at the Combine. Viewed as a D-lineman with fewer red flags than Oregon’s Kayvon Thibodeaux, it is unlikely Walker will wait long to hear his name called.
- Teams will do their due diligence on Thibodeaux, who is set to meet with the non-Jaguars contingent of the top five (Lions, Texans, Jets, Giants). The Eagles (Nos. 15 and 18) and Falcons (No. 9) are also planning “30” visits with Thibodeaux, Wilson notes. Questions about Thibodeaux’s motor and attitude have injected uncertainty into the defensive end’s status. A fall to Philly at 15 might not shock at this point.
- One season remains on Saquon Barkley‘s contract, and the Giants‘ new regime has fielded trade calls on the previous staff’s top investment. The team is now using a few of its allotted 30 visits on backs. Breece Hall (Iowa State), Brian Robinson (Alabama) and James Cook (Georgia) visited the Giants on Tuesday, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets. Hall could be available when the Giants’ second-round pick (No. 36) comes. However, the ex-Cyclones standout grades as a first-round talent on Daniel Jeremiah’s NFL.com big board. Cook and Robinson are viewed as later-round prospects.
Giants Restructure Adoree’ Jackson’s Contract
The Giants have been one of the most active teams this offseason in terms of creating cap space. At the start of the process, new general manager Joe Schoen made it clear he wanted to avoid restructures as a means of accomplishing that goal, but the team has done just that for the first time. New York has converted $8.965MM of cornerback Adoree’ Jackson’s salary into a roster bonus, while adding a void year to his deal in 2024. (Twitter link via ESPN’s Field Yates). 
[RELATED: Giants Could Extend CB Bradberry]
The move creates just under $6MM in cap space for the Giants. Given how dire their financial situation was before today – with less than $1MM to spare – it was clear New York would have to continue carving out more room. As many have noted, however, this will still only be the first of many such moves the Giants need to make to be able to afford their draft class, among other things.
How many more deals need to be re-worked will depend in large part, of course, on how the team handles fellow corner James Bradberry. With a cap hit of nearly $22MM next year, Bradberry has long been on the trade block, though most interested teams are waiting to see if he is released outright. While the Giants could also flatten that cap charge through an extension, they still face a long road to true flexibility.
Jackson, 26, was one of the top free agents one year ago after his four-year tenure with the Titans. He signed a three-year, $39MM deal with the Giants to bolster their secondary. In 13 games, he totalled 62 tackles, one interception and eight pass breakups. Given the increases to his cap number and dead money charges this restructure pushes into the remaining years on his deal, the team is clearly comfortable with keeping him in the fold for the foreseeable future.
Giants Have Done “A Ton Of Work” On OT Charles Cross
The Giants, who hold the No. 5 and No. 7 overall selections in this month’s draft, are well-positioned to address two of their biggest needs — offensive tackle and edge rusher — with a top collegiate prospect. Per Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post, Big Blue has done “a ton of work” on Mississippi State tackle Charles Cross, one of the top OTs in the class.
Cross is not considered to be on the same level as Alabama tackle Evan Neal or NC State blocker Ikem Ekwonu in terms of overall talent, but one scouting source told Dunleavy that Neal and Cross are the best pure left tackles in the class. While all three prospects project well at right tackle, Ekwonu is better-suited to the right side, and he also has the ceiling of an elite guard.
There is a chance that Neal and Ekwonu, or at least one of the pair, will be available for the Giants when they are on the clock with the No. 5 pick. In that scenario, New York could take the highest-rated OL on its board, or it could simply opt to fill a different need, secure in the knowledge that one of those two players and/or Cross will still be there for the taking at No. 7 (assuming, of course, that a club with a Top-4 selection does not nab Cross). But if the first four picks skew towards O-linemen rather than, say, pass rushers, then new GM Joe Schoen may need to pounce on a protector for QB Daniel Jones.
If he ends up with Cross, an accomplished pass blocker who would complete a strong bookend with 2020 first-rounder Andrew Thomas, Schoen should be happy, regardless of which pick he uses. In 719 pass-blocking snaps in 2021, Cross allowed just 16 pressures.
Schoen recently passed along several injury updates on two starting-caliber players already on the roster. LB Blake Martinez (ACL) and WR Sterling Shepard (Achilles), both of whom recently accepted pay cuts, will hopefully be back in action by August, per Schoen (Twitter link via Jordan Raanan of ESPN.com). OL Nick Gates, who started all 16 games for the Giants in 2020 but who suffered a career-threatening leg fracture in Week 2 of the 2021 season, may be ready for training camp, as Raanan tweets.