NFL Player News

The 49ers selected Stribling in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 33rd overall.

The 49ers made Stribling the first selection of the second round, which is considerably higher than where Stribling was projected before the draft. Perhaps it was an unexpected selection, but it's easily justifiable given Stribling's quality production at Washington State, Oklahoma State and, most recently, Mississippi. At 6-foot-2, 207 pounds, Stribling has the build to hold up on the boundary, and his 4.36-second 40 at the combine showed he has the wheels to threaten downfield. The 49ers feature Mike Evans and Ricky Pearsall as their projected starters, and Jauan Jennings remains a free agent, but if Stribling sees snaps there's reason to believe he can capitalize.

Reed has agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Packers, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Per Schefter, Reed's extension with Green Bay is worth $50.25 million in new money, including $20 million guaranteed. As the coming season approaches, Reed is entrenched as a key component of a Packers WR corps that also features Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, following the offseason departures of Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks. In seven regular-season contests in 2025, the 2023 second-rounder recorded a 19-207-1 line on 22 targets. Health permitting, a bounce-back season is plausible for Reed in 2026, with the vacated targets of Doubs and Wicks up for grabs.

The Eagles' selection of WR Makai Lemon with the No. 20 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft provides further indication that the team is preparing to move on from Brown, Tim McManus of ESPN.com and Zach Berman of The Athletic report.

McManus notes that Adam Schefter of ESPN previously suggested Brown appears likely to be traded to the Patriots on or after June 1, and the addition of Lemon to a Philadelphia wideout corps that has already brought in Hollywood Brown, Dontayvion Wicks and Elijah Moore this offseason is another sign pointing to such an outcome. Meanwhile, the Patriots opted to bolster their offensive line depth in Round 1 rather than add a high-profile rookie WR by selecting offensive tackle Caleb Lomu 28th overall. For his part, however, Eagles GM Howie Roseman remains reluctant to tip his hand regarding the team's plans for Brown, stating Thursday, "For us, A.J. is a member of the Eagles. ... We don't have any trades that have been made or that are done. And I think for us, we're taking this one day at a time."

Ridley will face competition for targets from Carnell Tate, whom the Titans drafted fourth overall Thursday, Nick Suss of The Tennessean reports.

Ridley led the Titans with 43 receiving yards per game in 2025 but was limited to seven appearances before a fractured fibula ended his season. Tennessee subsequently signed Wan'Dale Robinson in free agency and used a top-five draft choice on Tate out of Ohio State to bolster its wide receiver room. Ridley likely has the inside track on a starting role opposite Tate once the veteran wide receiver regains health, as Robinson operates primarily out of the slot. In addition to health and target competition, questionable quarterback play also clouds Ridley's fantasy outlook, as 2025 first overall pick Cam Ward ranked last among qualified passers with 5.9 yards per pass attempt during the quarterback's rookie season.

Wilson (knee) could see increased competition for targets but also less attention from defenses after the Jets drafted tight end Kenyon Sadiq and wide receiver Omar Cooper, respectively, with the 16th and 30th picks Thursday, Mitch Sherman and Zack Rosenblatt of The Athletic report.

Wilson should remain the top target in a new-look Jets offense quarterbacked by offseason acquisition Geno Smith. Despite being limited to seven appearances in 2025 by a knee injury, Wilson still led the team with 395 receiving yards. The 10th overall pick in the 2022 Draft has averaged over nine targets per game through 58 regular-season NFL appearances. The addition of two more talented pass catchers may actually prove to be a net positive for Wilson, as he should retain a hefty target share once healthy while potentially getting more scoring opportunities if the Jets offense improves as a unit. Wilson has 18 touchdown receptions through four seasons.

The Jets selected Cooper in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 30th overall.

Cooper (6-feet, 199 pounds) was a productive player in his fourth season at Indiana, though less so in the prior three years. Cooper's 4.42-second 40-yard dash verified that he has real NFL speed to leverage his otherwise standout ability after the catch. The Jets pass-catcher rotation is suddenly somewhat crowded after adding Cooper and TE Kenyon Sadiq, so it's not clear how many targets will be left after Garrett Wilson and Adonai Mitchell get their reps.

The Browns selected Concepcion in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 24th overall.

Concepcion began his career at North Carolina State, where he posted one of the most productive true freshman seasons of all time (71 receptions for 839 yards and 10 touchdowns on 106 targets, 41 carries for 320 yards), putting himself on the national map as a big-play open-field menace. His sophomore season was less successful, but Concepcion bounced back as a junior after transferring to Texas A&M in 2025. At 6-feet, 196 pounds Concepcion is just big enough to project for two-wide sets and thus avoid the dreaded 'Slot Specialist' label, but his game will still probably center mostly on the underneath and intermediate portion of the field due to questions with his hands and downfield route-running ability. Concepcion's ability to stop, start and change direction is memorable and should make him a dangerous YAC threat if nothing else. A March knee scope is believed to be a non-issue in the long term, with the wideout indicating that he should be a go for the Browns' rookie minicamp May 8-10, Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.

The Eagles selected Lemon in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 20th overall.

The expectation for some time has been that the Eagles will eventually trade A.J. Brown, and the selection of Lemon in the first round only reinforces that expectation. Lemon (5-foot-11, 193 pounds) is a very different receiver from Brown -- Brown is a prototypical boundary receiver whereas Lemon ideally fits in the slot -- but Lemon's play at USC gives reason to suspect he will draw targets and convert them efficiently as soon as he gets on the field. If the Eagles subtract Brown for Lemon then they might need to allocate more of their passing game toward the underneath and slot than they have otherwise during Jalen Hurts' time as starter.

The Saints selected Tyson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, eighth overall.

Tyson (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) had the best collegiate production profile between himself and fellow top wideout prospects Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon, but Tyson's injury history understandably caused some anxiety and until Thursday it was unclear whether NFL teams would red-flag Tyson over those injury concerns. That Tyson was picked this early seems to answer the question - the Saints looked into his knee and hamstring injuries and evidently decided to bet on his talent. Tyson suffered a torn ACL, MCL and PCL his true freshman season at Colorado, and hamstring troubles from his 2025 season followed Tyson into the offseason, leaving him unable to participate in pre-draft athletic testing. If one disregards the injuries as the NFL seemingly has, then there are otherwise only reasons to like Tyson. His production was compelling both at Arizona State and Colorado, and while Tyson won't ever be a great big-play threat he shows the ability to dice up the underneath to a high-volume extent, giving him clear 100-catch upside at the NFL level during his best years. Even as a rookie, Tyson should push for a heavy workload right away, likely running as the primary Saints wideout opposite Chris Olave.

The Titans selected Tate in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, fourth overall.

Tate (6-foot-2, 192 pounds) is the first wide receiver off the board and the new hopeful WR1 for Cam Ward. Perhaps Tate was not quite as dominant as teammate Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State, but Smith is fully expected to be the best wideout in the NFL at some point in his career, so there's no shame if Tate isn't quite on that level. Tate produced 51 receptions for 875 yards and nine touchdowns on just 65 targets last year and won't turn 22 until January. Although Tate's 4.53-second 40-yard dash wasn't exciting, all it really means is that Tate won't be running go routes all day in the NFL. His speed is plenty functional enough to draw targets rapidly through the intermediate, and if he can land enough punches on those routes the big plays will occur in due time. Tate and Wan'Dale Robinson are likely locked in as the target leaders for the Titans in 2026, with the likes of Calvin Ridley, Chimere Dike and Elic Ayomanor fighting for the scraps otherwise.