NFL Player News

The Patriots selected Polk in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 37th overall.

New England gets a rookie wideout to pair with new quarterback Drake Maye. Polk began his career at Texas Tech before transferring in 2021 to Washington, where he caught 41 passes for 694 yards and six touchdowns on 68 targets in 2022. He truly broke out in 2023 with 1,159 yards and nine touchdowns as the Robin to Rome Odunze's Batman, though it's fair to wonder whether teammate Jalen McMillan's injury-plagued 2023 helped fuel Polk's breakout (McMillan nearly matched Odunze's production the year before). Polk is 6-foot-1, 203 pounds, and while he doesn't wow with his speed (4.52 40), he's a refined player that wins with skill and good hands. Joining a New England offense that desperately needed receiver help, Polk could start right away.

The Chargers selected McConkey in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 34th overall.

McConkey (6-foot, 186 pounds) is a lighter receiver, but the former Georgia standout can threaten defenses from both the slot and the boundary. While the downfield game isn't his primary strength, a 4.39-second 40 at the combine almost by default makes him the Chargers' best deep target. There's also a good chance McConkey is the Chargers' best option for short and intermediate passes -- the main strength of his game in college. While Joshua Palmer and Quentin Johnston have seniority and size working in their favor, McConkey is the quickest and most skilled of the trio, combining crisp routes with strong work after the catch. McConkey took a clear back seat to TE Brock Bowers in Georgia's target distribution the past three years -- never recording more than 762 receiving yards in a season -- but there's no similar such presence in L.A. now that Keenan Allen and Mike Williams are elsewhere.

The Bills selected Coleman in the second round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 33rd overall.

Buffalo came into Round 2 desperately needing a receiver and had several options available. Ultimately, it landed on Coleman, a big-bodied target out of Florida State and a polarizing prospect among draft analysts. His production was mediocre in 2023 apart from 11 TDs, with 7.3 yards per target and a 55 percent catch rate despite playing in an efficient FSU offense. A 4.61 40 didn't help his draft stock, but that's doesn't mean Coleman can't play -- he outproduced Jayden Reed in 2022 as a 19-year-old sophomore at Michigan State. Coleman is at his best when he's playing above the rim and using his 6-foot-3 frame and 38-inch vertical to box out smaller defenders. That profile was much-needed in Buffalo after losing both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis this offseason. Coleman projects as a starter right away for the Bills, and while he lacks explosive speed, he complements a position group that otherwise features quicker, smaller wideouts like Khalil Shakir and Curtis Samuel.

With the Panthers' selection of Xavier Legette with the No. 32 overall pick Thursday night, Mingo is pushed down the wide receiver depth chart, Joe Person of The Athletic reports.

Carolina has made it a point to upgrade its wideout room this offseason, first trading for Diontae Johnson before then trading up into the final pick of the first round for Legette. Adding those two to veteran slot man Adam Thielen pushes both Mingo and Terrace Marshall down in the pecking order for targets. Mingo -- who is bouncing back from a late-season foot issue -- started 14 of 15 games he appeared in as a rookie, but he posted an uninspiring 43-418-0 receiving line on 85 targets. He was one of the least productive starting receivers in the league in 2023.

The Patriots and Bills have interest in trading for Samuel, Michael Giardi of Boston Sports Journal reports.

There's been a lot of trade chatter around Samuel's teammate, Brandon Aiyuk, but Giardi reports Samuel is "more likely to be traded" and has a couple interested suitors in Buffalo and New England. Both offenses are in dire need of wideout help, and the Bills (33rd overall) and Patriots (34th) hold picks atop the second round of the NFL Draft on Friday night. Samuel has two years left on his contract but has been more prone to injuries throughout his career, missing six regular-season games and parts of several others across the last two seasons. Aiyuk, meanwhile, is coming off a career year and a second consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season. The Niners used their first-round pick Thursday night on Florida WR Ricky Pearsall, further fueling trade chatter on the team's veteran wideouts.

The Panthers selected Legette in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 32nd overall.

Legette (6-foot-1, 223 pounds) is a uniquely explosive athlete (4.39-second 40, 40-inch vertical) for such a heavy receiver, and in 2023 his production at South Carolina went crazy as he made big play after big play downfield. He's more comfortable running in a straight line than sideways, which limits the number of ways you can get him the ball and makes it easier for defenses to stop him once opponents determine which parts of the field he'll avoid. While he showed great hands and even yards-after-the-catch ability in 2023, Legette might face more jamming troubles from NFL corners, which would threaten to delay his otherwise compelling downfield speed. Indeed, it's a red flag that he was so athletically explosive all along but couldn't produce until his fifth collegiate season. Given Bryce Young's 2023 struggles, it is in any case difficult to see much fantasy opportunity for Legette in 2024 specifically.

The 49ers selected Pearsall in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 31st overall.

This pick was very much unexpected and certainly won't do anything to quiet the trade rumors surrounding both Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel. The 49ers presumably wouldn't pick Pearsall in the first round to play the function of the WR3 role in San Francisco; they use the fullback position too much to make it worth it. Regardless of what the 49ers' front office might be up to, Pearsall is a very likable prospect out of Florida (and Arizona State before that). Pearsall (6-foot-1, 189 pounds) was an above-baseline producer for Florida and Arizona State on target shares in the low-20 percents, which are generally figures that imply WR2 or WR3 utility at the next level. Even if he's not a WR1, there's reason to think Pearsall can be uniquely explosive with WR2-type usage, especially after he dominated the combine with a 4.41-second 40, 42-inch vertical, 129-inch broad jump and 6.64-second three-cone drill.

The Chiefs selected Worthy in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, 28th overall.

The Chiefs traded up from the 32nd pick to secure Worthy, the owner of the fastest combine 40 time on record (4.21 seconds). Worthy (5-foot-11, 165 pounds) and free-agent pickup Marquise Brown are both tiny speedsters who are loath to face much physicality from a defense, so it remains to be seen how well the two coexist in 2024, but in the meantime it's clear that the Chiefs are hammering a speed emphasis this offseason. Despite Worthy's struggles with contact and his history of dropped passes at Texas, he could prove uniquely dangerous with a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes.

The Bears selected Odunze in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, ninth overall.

Chicago has changed the outlook of its entire offense in the first 10 picks of the draft by scooping quarterback Caleb Williams with the first pick and pairing him with a top-flight receiver in Odunze. The Washington product, and top target of Michael Penix, sports a great combination of on-field production and athletic measurables. Odunze racked up 24 touchdowns in the last three seasons along with two 1,000-yard seasons. At the combine, he checked in at 6-foot-3 and 212 pounds with 4.45 speed. He has the long speed to win downfield, the size to make contested catches, and the route-running ability to be deployed at any level of the field. For fantasy, he joins a crowded receiver group that already features DJ Moore and Keenan Allen. However, there's still room for Odunze to produce as a rookie thanks to his talent and versatility.

The Giants selected Nabers in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, sixth overall.

Nabers (6-feet, 200 pounds) is the latest top wideout prospect out of LSU, hopefully following a successful path like Justin Jefferson and Ja'Marr Chase before him. Nabers was wildly productive for the Tigers, drawing a mammoth 31.6 percent target share in 2023 even while sharing the offense with fellow soon-to-be NFL wideout Brian Thomas. To draw that many targets at a 68.5 percent catch rate and 12.1 yards per target is a dizzying level of dominance, and it's made more impressive yet by the fact that Nabers won't turn 21 until July 28. Since Nabers is so young it might make a fast start difficult, especially in an offense as challenged as the Giants, but the other side of the coin is that it also means he might not be done improving anytime soon. Although he's not a big wideout Nabers plays fearlessly and should apply well at all levels of the field, though there's no doubt that it's Nabers' rare big-play ability -- both downfield and after the catch -- that makes his upside scenario so particularly intriguing. Hopefully the Giants' passing game woes can resolve themselves, perhaps largely thanks to Nabers' arrival.