NC State DE Kentavius Street Tears ACL
One noteworthy draft prospect appears to be out of the running for the first two days of the draft. North Carolina State defensive end Kentavius Street suffered a torn ACL during a private workout with the Giants, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (on Twitter). 
ACL tears typically take at least nine months to recover from, meaning that Street is unlikely to see the field in his rookie season. Heading into workouts, Street appeared to have a shot at coming off of the board in the third round. It’s now possible that Street will go undrafted altogether.
Street had 19.5 sacks in four seasons at NC State, including nine sacks in his junior season. He was largely overshadowed by star teammate Bradley Chubb – who is widely projected to be a top 10 pick – but had some buzz of his own this year.
In time, Street figures to pick up interest from clubs in search of a 4-3 defensive end. With the ability to squat 700 pounds and a rumored 475 one-rep bench press, he possesses the raw strength to succeed at the next level.
Steelers Sign S Nat Berhe
Nat Berhe announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers. It took Berhe a little while to find his new NFL home, but he’s hardly the only safety in that predicament this offseason. 
Here in April, the free agent safety market is still rife with big names including Eric Reid, Kenny Vaccaro, Tre Boston, T.J. Ward, Tyvon Branch, Darius Butler, and former Steeler Mike Mitchell. Plenty of top cornerbacks cashed in this year, but big name safeties are struggling to find suitable deals.
Berhe is not of the same caliber as Reid, Vaccaro, and others, but he did provide depth and solid special teams play for the Giants in 2017. The 26-year-old (27 in July) led the G-Men with ten special teams tackles in 2017 and only two Steelers totaled more last season.
Giants Expected To Sign William Gay
The Giants are on the verge of adding more help to their cornerback corps, a group that endured constant tumult last season.
William Gay is visiting the Giants on Thursday, and it looks like the sides have agreed on terms in advance of it, with former Gay teammate Bryant McFadden, now at CBS Sports, reporting (on Twitter) only a pending physical stands in the way of the longtime Steelers corner joining the Giants. Ralph Vacchiano of SNY.tv also reports this deal is expected to happen.
Big Blue stands to return Janoris Jenkins and as of now is moving forward with Eli Apple in the fold. The Giants, though, cut Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie last month. Each of these players was suspended for a game last season.
Gay is entering his age-33 season. He played 10 years in Pittsburgh and started 102 games. He’s played 11 NFL seasons, with a 2012 layover in Arizona sandwiched between lengthy Pittsburgh runs. The Steelers released their longest-tenured defender last month. He had lost his starting spot but remained incredibly durable. Since arriving in western Pennsylvania in 2007, Gay had never missed a game.
Vacchiano notes the Giants had hoped to keep the player who replaced Gay in Pittsburgh, Ross Cockrell, but he signed with the Panthers. The New York-based reporter expects Gay to step in and become the Giants’ third corner.
Another of Gay’s former teammates, Deshea Townsend, is now the Giants’ assistant defensive backs coach. Townsend described Apple as having “God-given ability most people don’t have,” and both he and new DC James Bettcher are willing to work with the 2016 first-rounder. The team appears set to bring in some veteran leadership as well.
Giants Unlikely To Trade With Pats?
Mayfield’s intangibles continue to impress many Jets officials, but his 6-foot frame and smaller hands are providing concerns, Mehta writes, adding that Mayfield’s footwork has even drawn scrutiny for some. Others point to his dominance in college — 70.8 completion percentage from 2016-17 — as reasons the footwork won’t be an issue. A consensus of sorts, though, points to the Jets preferring Sam Darnold over Mayfield. Although, Darnold is not expected to make it past both the Browns and Giants. Execs expect the Giants, who are not certain to take a quarterback, to pull the trigger on Darnold if the Browns go with Allen.
Additionally, Mehta notes the Patriots are fans of Mayfield. And after their Brandin Cooks trade, they have a major additional resource — the Rams’ No. 23 overall pick — to attempt a possible trade-up to acquire a quarterback. Said passer, investment-wise, would be the franchise’s most significant effort to appoint a Tom Brady successor. Mehta adds the Bills remain in hot pursuit of a trade into the franchise-quarterback sector of the draft. And Buffalo’s stockpile of picks may be enough to outflank the Patriots, whom Mehta does not expect to be able to strike a deal with the Giants for the No. 2 selection.
Giants Schedule Pre-Draft Visits With QBs, RB Saquon Barkley
The Giants plan to meet with the draft’s top four quarterbacks — USC’s Sam Darnold, UCLA’s Josh Rosen, Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, and Wyoming’s Josh Allen — next week, according to Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com (Twitter link). Meanwhile, New York will also used one of its 30 allotted pre-draft visits on Penn State running back Saquon Barkley, tweets Dianna Russini of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Provided the Browns select a quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick, the Giants will have their choice of three signal-callers, Barkley, offensive lineman Quenton Nelson, or edge rusher Bradley Chubb with the second pick. While New York intends to deploy veteran Eli Manning as its starting quarterback once again in 2018, the club could use this opportunity to find its passer of the future.
But Barkley would likely give the Giants a better chance to win in the near-term, as Big Blue’s running back depth chart is currently uninspiring. At present, New York has veteran Jonathan Stewart, plus recent draft picks Wayne Gallman and Paul Perkins, at running back, but Barkley would immediately take over as the club’s starter if drafted.
Reaction To Brandin Cooks Trade
A year after acquiring him from the Saints, the Patriots shipped wide receiver Brandin Cooks and a fourth-round pick to the Rams in exchange for first- and sixth-round picks. Let’s take a look at some of the reaction to and fallout from the blockbuster deal:
- Before trading him to Los Angeles, the Patriots engaged in extension talks with Cooks, reports Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. However, those discussions stalled as the two sides were simply too far apart. Cooks is scheduled to earn $8.459MM in 2018 under the terms of his fifth-year option, but he’s likely looking for at least $14MM annually on a new deal. The Rams, for their part, have reportedly already expressed interest in extending Cooks’ contract, and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets that Los Angeles is “intent” on doing so. Florio, however, indicates there is as of yet no timeline for a long-term pact to get done.
- The Rams and Patriots had discussed a possible Cooks trade for more than a month, well before Los Angeles ever contacted the Giants regarding fellow wideout Odell Beckham Jr., according to Schefter (Twitter link). Los Angeles preferred Cooks, and the price tag — New York is reportedly looking for at least two first-round picks in exchange for OBJ — likely played a role in that stance. Talks between the Patriots and Rams heated up on Monday when head coaches Bill Belichick and Sean McVay worked at the same coaching clinic, and those talks ultimately led to a trade on Tuesday, per Schefter (Twitter link).
- Los Angeles finally acquired Cooks on Tuesday after attempting to land him from the Saints last year, as Rams general manager Les Snead tells Peter King of TheMMQB.com. The Rams did not hold a first-round pick a season ago while the Patriots did, allowing New England to make the better offer for Cooks. Los Angeles, meanwhile, discussed a deal involving then-franchise-tagged cornerback Trumaine Johnson, but the talks never gained traction. For what it’s worth, the Rams actually tried to trade Johnson twice in 2017: once for Cooks, and once in exchange for a second-round pick, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
- The Patriots never viewed Cooks as a true No. 1 wide receiver, per Rapoport (Twitter link), and quarterback Tom Brady is “not sad” about the trade. While Cooks topped 1,000 yards receiving in his lone New England campaign, he wasn’t a perfect fit for the Patriots’ offense, says Rapoport. Theoretically, New England could shift back to a more horizontal offense based around incumbent receivers Julian Edelman and Chris Hogan now that Cooks is no longer in town.
- Although the Rams have now eschewed a hypothetical Beckham trade in favor of acquiring Cooks, the “frenzy” surrounding the mercurial Giants receiver doesn’t figure to subside, as Ralph Vacchiano of SNY writes. Still, a Beckham deal remains “highly unlikely,” as Los Angeles’ payment for Cooks doesn’t come anywhere close to what New York would want in exchange for Beckham.
Patriots Won’t Pursue Odell Beckham Jr.
The Patriots have picked up another first-round pick thanks to the Brandin Cooks trade, leading to speculation that they could parlay their draft capital into a trade for Odell Beckham Jr. The word, for now, is that will not be happening. The Cooks deal is not a precursor to an attempt to land Beckham, Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com hears (on Twitter). 
The Giants are seeking at least two first-round picks for Beckham and the Patriots now have selections at No. 23 and No. 31 in the current draft to work with. However, the Patriots are believed to have traded Cooks in part because he is entering his contract year. Trading for Beckham Jr. would put the Patriots in an even more expensive predicament than they were facing with Cooks, not to mention the sacrifice of serious draft value.
Beckham, 26 in November, was among the game’s most spectacular wide receivers up until an injury cut his 2017 season short. In 2016, OBJ had 101 catches for 1,367 yards and ten touchdowns en route to his third career Pro Bowl selection. He’d be exceptionally dangerous in the Patriots’ offense, but it sounds like that dream scenario won’t be coming to fruition.
Execs Expect Giants To Eye Sam Darnold
Mayfield will visit the Giants and Jets next week, and both he and Rosen are meeting with seven teams. The only difference between these prospects’ schedules thus far is the Dolphins have not arranged a Rosen meetup, while the Chargers have, and the Bolts are not known to have set up a Mayfield summit.
- Should the Browns make this decision and bring Allen to northeast Ohio, the expectation is the Giants will draft Darnold. Surveying various executives and scouts, Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller tweets every one of them said the Giants would take Darnold if Allen goes to the Browns. Dave Gettleman has not been as direct as Dorsey and Jackson have about the position his team is targeting in Round 1, and it’s not certain the Giants are going to draft a quarterback despite theirs having recently turned 37.
Baker Mayfield To Meet With Seven Teams
Baker Mayfield‘s April figures to be busy. The Oklahoma signal caller will meet with the Browns, Bills, Jets, Giants, Dolphins, Broncos, and Cardinals, Robert Klemko of The MMQB reports. 
The Giants will sit down with Mayfield before the Jets, Manish Mehta of the Daily News adds. He’ll meet with the G-Men on April 8 and 9 before continuing his pre-draft tour with the Jets on April 9 and 10. The Jets conducted a private workout with Mayfield in Oklahoma on March 24, fueling speculation that he could be among the QBs in consideration for them at No. 3 overall.
Mayfield was last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, but some evaluators question whether he has the height to succeed at the next level. There are also some character concerns thanks to his actions during games against Ohio State and Kansas and a public intoxication arrest.
Most of the teams in this bunch were expected to show interest in Mayfield, but the Dolphins and Broncos are not obvious fits for him given the presence of Ryan Tannehill and Case Keenum, respectively. The Cardinals make more sense for Mayfield since Sam Bradford is not necessarily a long-term answer under center and the Bills are also a logical fit since they are not completely locked in on A.J. McCarron as their starter for 2018. Unlike the Dolphins and Cardinals, the Bills have ample ammo to move up for Mayfield with the Nos. 12 and No 22 picks in their possession.
Josh Rosen To Meet With Seven Teams
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen is set to meet with the Browns, Jets, Giants, Cards, Broncos, Bills, and Chargers in the coming weeks, according to Peter King of The MMQB. Cleveland gets the first crack at Rosen with a visit lined up for this week. 
[RELATED: Josh Rosen Will Play For Whoever Drafts Him]
King suspects that the Browns will ask Rosen about recent comments made by his former head coach, Jim Mora, in which he advocated for USC Sam Darnold go to No. 1 overall.
“Because of fit, I would take Sam Darnold if I were the Cleveland Browns. I think that blue collar, gritty attitude, I think his teammates will love him, I think the city will love him. He’ll say the right things. He will come in and he will represent well. I think he kind of represents what Cleveland is. And if I was one of the New York teams, I would take Josh *snap* just like that. I think they will both be great in the pros.”
In his conversation with King, Mora expounded on those thoughts a bit, but didn’t exactly backtrack.
“He needs to be challenged intellectually so he doesn’t get bored,” Mora said, while reemphasizing the angle of Rosen needing the proper “fit.” “He’s a millennial. He wants to know why. Millennials, once they know why, they’re good. Josh has a lot of interests in life. If you can hold his concentration level and focus only on football for a few years, he will set the world on fire. He has so much ability, and he’s a really good kid.”
Mora’s comments may be a topic of discussion for interested teams, but it would be shocking to see Rosen fall any further than the Jets at No. 3.