NFL Player News

The Packers selected Watson in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 34th overall.

Watson (6-foot-4, 208 pounds) is a tall receiver out of North Dakota State with compelling long speed (4.36-second 40), a combination of traits very similar to free-agent departure and former starting Green Bay wideout Marquez Valdes-Scantling. He doesn't project to do much as an underneath or even intermediate target in the NFL, but Watson eventually should develop into a more complete version of what MVS was for the Packers. Watson is a good bet to emerge as Green Bay's main boundary receiver and deep threat, even as a rookie.

Following the trade of Marquise Brown to the Cardinals, Bateman currently heads a Baltimore wideout corps that also includes Devin Duvernay, James Proche and Tylan Wallace, ESPN's Josh Weinfuss reports.

The report notes that Brown had requested a trade, and by dealing him to Arizona, the Ravens now have a need at wideout that they figure to address in Day 2 or 3 of the NFL Draft, via free agency, or both. As things stand, however, Bateman -- who Baltimore took 27th overall last year -- seems poised for an uptick in opportunity in 2022, following a rookie campaign in which he put together a 46/515/1 stat line over the course of 12 contests.

Harty signed his restricted free agent tender Thursday, Amie Just of The New Orleans Times-Picayunereports.

Harty is set to make $4 million in 2022 while playing on the tender. Originally an undrafted free agent, Harty has made his mark primarily on special teams, as he picked up 690 kick return yards and 199 punt return yards in 2021. He also tallied a career-high 36 receptions to go along with 570 receiving yards and three touchdowns last season, though he now has more competition for targets, with Michael Thomas (ankle) on track to return to the mix, as well as the addition of Chris Olave in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft.

GM Steve Keim said the Cardinals will exercise the fifth-year option on Brown's rookie contract after acquiring the wide receiver in a draft-day trade with the Ravens on Thursday, Darren Urban of the team's official site reports.

As part of the exchange, Baltimore received the 23rd overall pick in this year's draft, while Arizona gained the speedy Brown and pick No. 100 on Friday. Brown has experience playing with Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, and the former is coming off a three-year stretch in which he upped his catch and yardage totals each season, culminating with a 91-1,008-6 line on 146 targets in 2021. With the Cards, Brown joins a group of wide receivers that boasts DeAndre Hopkins, A.J. Green and Rondale Moore, along with tight end Zach Ertz and running back James Conner.

The Titans selected Burks in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 18th overall.

More than the Burks pick, the headlining news was Tennessee's trade of A.J. Brown to the Eagles in exchange for the 18th overall selection, where they took Burks. The Arkansas product is not A.J. Brown, but Burks has a similarly imposing build at 6-foot-2, 225 pounds and showed memorable ability after the catch despite a somewhat disappointing 4.55-second 40 at the combine. As much as Burks is not Brown, he might be the closest stylistic match. The Titans will desperately hope so at least, because with Robert Woods their only other notable pass catcher they're all-in on Burks from Day 1. Burks could be an immediate fantasy factor with so much slack landing on him in light of Brown's departure.

The Commanders selected Dotson in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 16th overall.

Washington traded back from their original 11th overall slot, but not very far. Their selection might indicate that they held Dotson in similar or equal esteem to the wide receivers selected shortly before him, as the Penn State product wasn't expected to go this close in the order to Drake London (No. 8, Atlanta), Garrett Wilson (No. 10, Jets), Chris Olave (No. 11, New Orleans) or Jameson Williams (No. 12, Detroit). While his selection is surprisingly high at 16, it's easy to justify the Dotson pick after a highly convincing collegiate career where he produced 183 receptions for 2,757 yards and 25 touchdowns. Although he's skinny at 5-foot-11, 178 pounds, Dotson creates enough separation to keep defenders off him underneath and he has enough long speed (4.43-second 40) to threaten downfield. Rather than his abilities, Dotson's limitations in Washington would sooner have to do with his quarterbacks.

Brown was traded to the Eagles from the Titans on Thursday for the 18th overall pick and a third-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, Dianna Russini of ESPN reports.

Philadelphia used one of its first-round picks to move up and select nose tackle Jordan Davis. Then, the team used its other to bolster the skill positions in a big way by securing one of the best young wide receivers in the league in Brown. Now in Philadelphia, Brown stands to lead a promising receiving corps that also features DeVonta Smith, giving quarterback Jalen Hurts a dynamic top two at the position. As part of the deal, Brown will ink a four-year, $100 million extension, with $57 million guaranteed, per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

The Ravens dealt Brown and a 2022 third-round pick to the Cardinals on Thursday for the 23rd overall selection in this year's draft, Field Yates of ESPN reports.

The Cardinals added another big-play threat to their receiving corps, but instead of bringing in a rookie via the draft they're reuniting Brown with college teammate Kyler Murray. While working together at Oklahoma in 2018, Brown was among Murray's top wideouts en route to the latter winning the Heisman Trophy. Since then, Brown was a first-round pick of the Ravens in 2019, increasing his catch and yardage totals in each of his three pro campaigns. Last year, he wrangled 91 of 146 passes for 1,008 yards and six touchdowns in 16 games. With the move to Arizona, Brown joins a skill-position group that features DeAndre Hopkins, James Conner, Zach Ertz, A.J. Green and Rondale Moore, among others.

The Lions selected Williams (knee) in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 12th overall.

The Lions traded up from the 32nd pick to nab Williams after three wide receivers went off the board in the four prior picks. It's a surprising outcome because the Lions appeared to have sufficient wide receiver depth with all of Amon-Ra St. Brown, DJ Chark, Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond and Quintez Cephus on the depth chart already, but Williams' merit as a prospect out of Alabama is compelling to the point that it's hard to criticize the pick. While St. Brown and tight end T.J. Hockenson figure to hog the middle of the field among Detroit's route runners, Williams offers a totally different downfield element, and in that downfield capacity Williams might be an NFL standout immediately. This is of course not an ideal fit with the skill set of Jared Goff, who is less than comfortable pushing the ball downfield, but if Detroit eventually stumbles into a good starting quarterback it would be easy to imagine Williams among the league's most productive receivers. The main obstacle in the meantime is his recovery from a torn ACL suffered Jan. 10. The Lions have the depth to bring him back slowly and they may well do that, but expect Williams to stand out once he's physically ready. He was outrageously productive for Alabama in 2021, turning 118 targets into 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns (67.0 percent caught, 13.3 yards per target) while returning two kickoffs for touchdowns.

The Saints selected Olave in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 11th overall.

New Orleans made the most of its draft capital, using the 16th pick along with a pair of mid-round selections to trade up for Olave out of Ohio State. He's an excellent fit in the Big Easy as the Saints had a need for a legitimate option in the passing game opposite fellow Buckeye Michael Thomas. The 6-foot Olave set the school's all-time touchdown record with 35 over four seasons. In terms of tools, Olave is silky smooth as a route runner, but he isn't just crafty; he runs a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, which suggests that the downfield ability he demonstrated at Ohio State can translate at the next level. Regardless of New Orleans' direction at quarterback, Olave is set up to have a strong fantasy projection as a rookie.