NFL Player News

The Colts selected Campbell in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 59th overall.

This looks like a great pick both in the sense of talent value and fit. Even if Campbell's development stagnated at this point, he'd serve as a menacing after-the-catch threat at minimum. However, there's reason to be optimistic about what lays ahead. While Campbell was a redshirt senior at Ohio State, he still won't turn 22 until July, and both his production and athletic metric variables are unmatched. Campbell (6-feet, 205 pounds) ran a 4.31-second 40-yard dash at the combine while also posting elite marks in the vertical (40 inches), broad jump (135 inches), and 20-yard shuttle (4.03). There's no doubt that Campbell is more toolsy than polished, but the after-the-catch skills he's already demonstrated are a nice complement to the downfield threats posed by T.Y. Hilton and Devin Funchess. Campbell caught an absurd 78.8 percent of his targets at 10.0 yards per target over the last two years, and he's still young enough to develop more of a downfield game with the reps. With all of this said, he's more of a long-term asset until he expands his skill set.

The Eagles selected Arcega-Whiteside in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 57th overall.

Arcega-Whiteside (6-foot-2, 225 pounds) is a big wideout with a rich skill set and the ability to play both the slot and outside at a high level. While he lacks standout athleticism (4.49-second 40), Arcega-Whiteside's route running and ball skills are off the charts, showing an innate ability to set himself in an advantageous position and winning the vast majority of jump-ball situations. Arcega-Whiteside's box-out ability in the end zone is about the closest that you get to a pro wrestling-style finishing move in football. At Stanford, it seemed to surface so frequently it felt almost scripted, and his college stats seem to bear that out (28 touchdowns on 135 career catches). It's a deep pass-catching corps in Philadelphia, so JJAW is more of a long-term asset than an immediate one, but he's not the kind of guy you want to bet against.

The Chiefs selected Hardman in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 56th overall.

Kansas City needed to address receiver with the uncertainty surrounding Tyreek Hill, but Hardman going above players like D.K. Metcalf and Hakeem Butler is still a bit of a surprise. That said, Hardman is a different player than those two. He was a five-star athlete coming out of high school who began his University of Georgia career at cornerback before switching to receiver as a sophomore in 2017. Hardman has game-breaking speed (4.33 40-yard dash) as a vertical receiver and immediately fills a need as a downfield threat for Patrick Mahomes. He can also contribute in the return game. In all, Hardman is a toolsy player who is just scratching the surface of his potential at receiver. At 21 years old, Hardman can develop into a major weapon in the Kansas City passing game.

The Titans selected Brown in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 51st overall.

Brown is an enormous steal this late and by every indicator is a strong wide receiver prospect. The landing spot for fantasy purposes couldn't have been much worse, however. Corey Davis, Adam Humphries and Delanie Walker already figure to hog lots of targets in an offense that limits its passing game by design, instead centering its identity on Derrick Henry in the running game. Who knows whether Marcus Mariota can even play well on his own account. With that said, there are plenty of scenarios where Brown might establish himself as the team's best wideout in a year or two, so he shouldn't be written off for the long term. At 6-foot-1, 226 pounds, Brown is built like a tank but ran an encouraging 4.49-second 40-yard dash while adding a 36.5-inch vertical at the combine. His big build lets him bully slot corners, where his strong hands and unmatched tackle-breaking ability made him utterly dominant at Mississippi. Brown finished his three-year Mississippi career with 189 receptions for 2,984 yards and 19 touchdowns in 34 games. He can play. The only question is how much work Tennessee's lethargic passing game has to offer him.

The 49ers selected Samuel in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 36th overall.

Samuel (5-foot-11, 214 pounds) is a stocky but plenty athletic receiver (4.48-second 40, 39-inch vertical) who boasts natural standout route-running ability along with a long history of doing damage after the catch for South Carolina. After turning 23 in January he may be better suited than most receivers in this class to make an immediate impact, so as long as he can displace Jordan Matthews for snaps then he could push for a starter-like workload in an offense that otherwise figures to feature Dante Pettis and Marquise Goodwin plenty. Even if he can't crack the first team in three-wide sets right away, Samuel at the very least presents standout kick returner potential in the meantime. He's a fine dynasty asset given the general promise surrounding the Kyle Shanahan offense.

The Chiefs announced Thursday that Hill has been banned indefinitely from all team activities after an audio recording surfaced in which the receiver's fiancee accused him of abusing their three-year-old son, Adam Teicher of ESPN.com reports. "We were deeply disturbed by what we heard [on the recorded conversation]," general manager Brett Veach said. "We were deeply concerned. Now obviously we have great concern for [Hill's fiancee] Crystal [Espinal]. We are greatly concerned for Tyreek. But our main focus, our main concern, is with the young child."

KCTV in Kansas City aired a portion of the 11-minute audio file shortly before the start of the NFL Draft on Thursday, with Veach commenting on behalf of the Chiefs after the conclusion of the first round. The recording was made public one day after Johnson County (Kan.) District Attorney Stephen M. Howe ruled that charges wouldn't be filed against the 25-year-old after police investigated two incidents in March that occurred at Hill's Overland Park home. After Veach's announcement, Hill is no longer able to participate in the Chiefs' voluntary offseason workouts, and it's unclear when or if the team-imposed ban might be lifted. Commissioner Roger Goodell also said Thursday the league is in the midst of its own investigation into the March incidents, so it's possible that Hill could be assessed punishment from the NFL if it's determined that he violated the personal conduct policy.

The Patriots selected Harry in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 32nd overall.

New England was a candidate to trade out of its first-round pick, but after only Marquise Brown came off the board at receiver, the Patriots were able to address a need in a big way. Harry is a big (6-foot-2 3/8, 228 pounds) and physical receiver with some of the best body control of any wideout in the class. He was a three-year starter at Arizona State who recorded two 1,000-yard seasons for the Sun Devils and left Tempe with 22 career receiving touchdowns. That he went before the likes of A.J. Brown, D.K. Metcalf and Hakeem Butler suggests that the Patriots felt that Harry's play style best fit what they want to do in the passing game. Harry can be a big slot in the NFL similar to a Michael Thomas role but he also would fit as a boundary receiver who could potentially start over Phillip Dorsett.

The Ravens selected Brown (foot) in the first round of the 2019 NFL Draft, 25th overall.

Brown is the first receiver off the board, even coming off a broken foot that prevented him from running before the draft. His combine weigh-in was unprecedentedly low for a first-round prospect (5-foot-10, 166 pounds), but it's easy to imagine him weighing more like 175 if he were able to lift weights normally. Brown was very productive catching passes from Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray at Oklahoma, turning 132 receptions into 2,413 yards and 17 touchdowns in 25 games, while his burning athleticism plays well both outside and in the slot. Brown is a naturally adept route runner who can kill corners deep or cause damage after the catch underneath. DeSean Jackson is the obvious comparison and although Brown wasn't able to run a 40 before the draft, it's worth noting that Mayfield said Brown had an extra gear that Dede Westbrook did not. Since Westbrook ran a 4.39-second 40, that likely makes Brown one of the fastest players in the game. The question of his exact fit and fantasy impact in Baltimore is a separate, more concerning question. Lamar Jackson was an excellent downfield passer at Louisville, but Marty Mornhinweg's offense in 2018 never gave Jackson a chance to establish a rhythm as a passer, which wiped out any fantasy upside among the team's receivers. New coordinator Greg Roman should run a more balanced offense, one that's less Rich Rodriguez and more Chip Kelly. If so, then Brown may be able to thrive, but last year's scheme will not cut it.

Johnson County (Kan.) District Attorney Steve Howe ruled Wednesday that neither Hill nor his fiance will be charged with a crime in connection with a pair of domestic incidents involving their son, the Associated Press reports.

The investigation pored over the facts of two events from the first half of March at Hill's home in Overland Park, Kan. Howe's office "has reviewed all the evidence compiled...and has declined to file charges" for alleged battery, according to Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports. While the probe didn't yield any criminal charges, there's still a chance the Chiefs and/or the NFL assess punishment for violations of the personal conduct policy. At the moment, though, neither organization has commented on the matter.

Agholor may be available via trade ahead of Thursday's draft, Mike Kaye of The Newark Star-Ledger reports.

Agholor is scheduled to make $9.4 million in 2019 under the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. The Eagles don't have an obvious replacement, but they can probably get away with a downgrade in the slot if Alshon Jeffery (ribs), DeSean Jackson (Achilles) and Zach Ertz (undisclosed) are all healthy. Although each of those three players finished out 2018 battling injuries, there hasn't been any suggestion their issues will impact participation in offseason practices.