NFL Player News

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.

The Jets selected Wilson in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft, 10th overall.

Wilson (6-foot, 183 pounds) was a highly productive receiver at Ohio State, where he produced 143 receptions for 2,213 yards and 23 touchdowns on 207 career targets (69.1 percent caught, 10.7 yards per target). While his light frame might limit him somewhat in heavier traffic, Wilson's athleticism and skill set should play well from any receiver position and at any depth of the field. His 4.38-second combine 40-yard dash time adds further credibility to the burst that's so apparent in his game tape, so he should prove a noteworthy big-play threat at receiver from Day 1 for the Jets. The question is how quickly he can get up to speed and compete for targets against a competent group of pass catchers in Elijah Moore, Corey Davis, Braxton Berrios and two noteworthy free agent signings at tight end.

GM John Lynch indicated Monday that the 49ers don't intend to trade Samuel, Cam Inman of The San Jose Mercury News reports. "I can't ever imagine wanting to move on from Deebo," Lynch noted during his pre-draft press conference Monday, adding that Samuel is "just too good of a player."

Lynch's comments arrive in the wake of reports that Samuel -- who is approaching the final year of his rookie contract -- would like to be traded by San Francisco. Though Lynch didn't go into details, he did relay that he's had discussions with the versatile wideout, who's in line to land a lucrative second NFL contract regardless of how things get resolved between him and the 49ers. In any case, it's clear that the team would prefer to work things out with Samuel, but until or unless the 2019 second-rounder changes his reported stance regarding his desire to play elsewhere, there figures to be plenty of speculation regarding his status as the 2022 season approaches.

Commanders head coach Ron Rivera said Monday that Samuel (hamstring) looks "really good" during workouts so far, Pete Hailey of NBC Sports Washington reports.

Samuel signed a three-year, $34.5 million contract ahead of the 2021 campaign, but he battled a lingering groin injury from the summer through the fall and later added a hamstring issue after a brief return to action Weeks 12-14. In total, he played 84 offensive snaps across five games, catching six of nine targets for 27 yards while rushing four times for 11 yards during his first campaign with Washington. After an injury-plagued start to his Commanders career, it appears the 25-year-old wideout could be healthy to start the 2022 campaign. It's important to note that Washington hasn't done any football activities yet during its voluntary offseason workouts, but Rivera said he's received positive news from trainers and added, "When you see him moving around, you feel pretty confident about him."

Washington general manager Martin Mayhew said Monday that the organization is in ongoing talks with McLaurin and his agent about a possible contract extension, Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post reports.

McLaurin currently is with the team, but he isn't participating in any voluntary on-field workouts this offseason. Mandatory minicamp doesn't start until mid-June, so the two sides have some time to figure out a deal, but it's possible the wideout could continue to hold out until an extension is signed. The acquisition of Carson Wentz -- who's owed $28 million in 2022 -- has hindered Washington's moves and likely has been at least part of the reason McLaurin hasn't signed an extension yet. Regardless, Mayhew said, "We're really excited about the opportunity of having Terry continue with us for a long time," so it appears there are no intentions of trading the fourth-year wideout ahead of the draft. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera added that the team's draft process won't be impacted by McLaurin's ongoing situation.