NFL Player News

The Seahawks selected Eskridge in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 56th overall.

Eskridge was a highly productive player Western Michigan and offers intriguing speed, but this generally seems like a reach pick. Eskridge (5-foot-9, 190 pounds) is smallish, and, while fast, his 4.40-second 40 time isn't quite in the burner category you'd like to see from a smaller, older prospect like Eskridge, who already turned 24 this spring. If he earns snaps, he should be a matter of fantasy interest in Seattle if only because of Russell Wilson's presence, but it's not a given he fully displaces Freddie Swain right off the bat for the WR3 role.

The Cardinals selected Moore in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 49th overall.

Arizona adds one of the more polarizing prospects in this year's class by taking Moore in the second round. Moore showed his electrifying talent as a true freshman at Purdue by catching 114 of 160 targets for 1,258 yards and 12 touchdowns and adding 21 carries for 213 yards and two scores. He is a terror for defenses once he gets the ball in his hands. Moore is just 5-foot-7 but solidly built at 181 pounds with legendary weight-room numbers. He tested off the charts at the pro day with a 4.31 in the 40-yard dash and elite agility and jump scores to boot. The rub is that Moore's size is mostly unprecedented in terms of success stories at the NFL level. Injuries also held him to just seven games in his final two years at Purdue. His role was also one that doesn't really exist in NFL offenses -- an uber-high-volume target who rarely runs routes more than 10 yards downfield. Nonetheless, Arizona is an interesting landing spot, as the Cardinals could be looking for an upgrade to either Christian Kirk or Andy Isabella.

The Jets selected Moore in the second round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 34th overall.

Moore (5-foot-10, 178 pounds) is smallish and is often referred to as a slot specialist as a result, but his athletic testing and collegiate production at Mississippi say he'll be a three-down contributor at some point early in his career, and perhaps a standout one. He was credited with a 4.35-second 40 at his pro day to go along with strong agility testing (4.0-second 20-yard shuttle, 6.67-second three-cone drill). Although Moore should be able to run routes effectively at outside receiver in the NFL, he would mainly project for slot snaps with the Jets since Corey Davis and Denzel Mims fit better on the outside. His arrival all but makes certain New York either trades or cuts incumbent slot wideout Jamison Crowder, and it otherwise seems to sentence free-agent acquisition Keelan Cole to a backup role.

Reagor will have a fellow first-round talent competing for targets alongside him this coming season after the Eagles selected DeVonta Smith out of Alabama with the 10th overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft, Dave Spadaro of the team's official site reports.

Reagor never quite got going his rookie season as he battled a number of injuries early and a dysfunctional quarterback situation late. He finished 2020 with 31 catches for 396 yards and a touchdown, with 12 of those catches for 174 yards coming from Hurts in the last five games of the season. The addition of Smith should only help the 22-year-old, as it gives the offense another weapon to think about and defend. With Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson both jettisoned in the offseason, there should be plenty of looks for both young pass catchers.

The Giants used the 20th overall pick on wideout Kadarius Toney, making for an even more crowded receiving corps.

The Giants were already deep at the position with Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton, but Toney's routes are likely to overlap even more with Shepard's. Moreover, Evan Engram and pass-catching tailback Saquon Barkley should get their share of looks too. There are suddenly a lot of mouths to feed in this offense.

The Giants took Kadarius Toney with the 20th overall pick Thursday night, making for a more crowded receiving corps.

Slayton was already getting squeezed by the Kenny Golladay signing, and now he has another ostensibly prominent receiver with whom to compete. Sterling Shepard and tight end Evan Engram are around, too, and tailback Saquon Barkley will see looks out of the backfield, making it hard to see Slayton increasing his target share this year.

The Ravens selected Bateman in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 27th overall.

Bateman (6-foot, 190 pounds) is a bit light and doesn't offer burning athleticism, but he's an above average athlete overall (4.43 40, 36-inch vertical) and otherwise offers a strong skill set out of Minnesota. The Ravens badly lacked wide receiver talent in 2020, as Marquise Brown was overmatched in a WR1 capacity and the likes of Miles Boykin and Willie Snead mostly went nowhere. Now Lamar Jackson has an advanced technician in Bateman to throw to underneath and in the intermediate, while Brown and free agent pickup Sammy Watkins should give the safeties something to think about over the top. It's not the ideal landing spot for Bateman's fantasy prospects since the target volume might be lacking in Baltimore's run-heavy offense, but he should be a distinctly positive presence in real football terms.

The Giants selected Toney in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 20th overall.

The Giants traded back from their original 11th overall pick, and at their new spot they reeled in Toney to add some speed and yards-after-the-catch ability at receiver. Toney broke out late at Florida and probably can't offer much in the way of polished route running, but he's supremely explosive and in the meantime his ability to turn short catches into big yardage could earn his way into playing time early on in the 2021 season. The problem as of the draft's first round is that Toney projects to run routes primarily where Sterling Shepard and Evan Engram do already, so ideally the Giants would move one or both so that Toney can draw targets inside while Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton run routes on the outside.

The Eagles selected Smith in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, 10th overall.

The Eagles traded a third-round pick to move up from the 12th spot, with a division rival no less (Dallas). Smith won the Heisman Trophy after a ruthless 2020 showing where he totaled 117 receptions for 1,856 yards and 23 touchdowns on 148 targets, and the Eagles were understandably impressed. Smith is very skinny at 6-foot, 166 pounds, but his functional athleticism is at a standout level and his skill set is unmatched. Smith offers a polished skill set to complement Jalen Reagor, who's lighter on skill and more so offers field-stretching athleticism. It's perhaps not the greatest landing spot since new quarterback Jalen Hurts figures to run a fair amount more than most other quarterbacks, but Smith should do his part.

The Dolphins selected Waddle in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, sixth overall.

Waddle (5-foot-10, 180) is a uniquely explosive player and in Miami he'll reunite with quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who helped make Waddle an incomparable big-play threat at Alabama. On just 133 collegiate targets Waddle produced 1,999 yards (15.0 YPT) and 17 touchdowns, and if he had run a 40-yard dash before the draft it likely would have been well below the 4.40-second mark. Will Fuller is an excellent big-play threat for Miami but he's suspended for one game and only on a one-year deal, so Waddle could make a short-term impact in addition to his very likely long-term contributions.