News About the NFL
The NFL invited QB Jalen Milroe to the first round of the draft.
Why It Matters: Milroe isn’t considered a first-round pick by many evaluators in the media, but perhaps the NFL feels differently about him. Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Mississippi’s Jaxson Dart are projected to go ahead of Milroe by most, and some don’t have Milroe coming off the board until the third round. If Milroe is selected in the first, a strong candidate is Cleveland via trading back in because they hired his old offensive coordinator at Alabama, Tommy Rees, to run their offense. Consider Milroe a fantasy quarterback prospect in the mold of Justin Fields, but he’ll be available at a much lower cost than Fields was in rookie drafts. He’s definitely worth a look in the second round of dynasty rookie drafts, no matter what you have at quarterback.
News About AFC Teams
Buffalo Bills News
Ian Rapoport reported that RB James Cook will play for the Bills this season.
Why It Matters: It’s clear that the Bills aren’t going to extend Cook for $15 million a year, which is what he was seeking going into the last year of his rookie deal. Cook reportedly put his Buffalo area home on the market, but it doesn’t sound like this will force a trade from the Bills. Never say never, but the CBA rules on holdouts also make that unlikely. Cook should be motivated in his walk year with most running backs only getting a chance to cash in once in their career, when they sign their second contract.
Cincinnati Bengals News
The Bengals had Ohio State RBs TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins in for pre-draft visits.
Why It Matters: Chase Brown was a league winner last year, but we have to at least be open to him being joined by a formidable back in a committee approach after the Bengals had this duo in for visits. Henderson and Judkins should be gone by the end of the second round, and Henderson, in particular, has a chance to go in the first round. The Bengals said they wanted to add a big back earlier in the offseason, and Judkins would fit that bill. Brown’s ADP could be in for a fall in redraft and dynasty.
Atlanta Falcons beat writer (The Athletic) Josh Kendall reports that the Bengals want a first-round pick in any trade package for DE Trey Hendrickson.
Why It Matters: The Falcons are a top candidate to trade for Hendrickson, so Kendall would have good reason to know this. Hendrickson is 30 and turning 31 during the upcoming season, so teams might not be eager to give up a first-round pick for the right to pay him top-of-the-market money during the autumn of his career. Hendrickson is under contract for one more year in Cincinnati, and the team appears to be in a Super Bowl window, so they are right to ask for a top price in exchange for Hendrickson and just have him play out his last year in Cincinnati if no one ponies up a first-round pick for him.
Cleveland Browns News
Adam Schefter thinks WR/CB Travis Hunter is the “more likely” pick at #2 for the Browns.
Why It Matters: If Hunter goes to the Browns, he’ll likely primarily be a wide receiver. If he goes to the Giants at #3, he’ll likely primarily be a cornerback. If he lasts until the Patriots pick at #4, he’ll likely primarily be a wide receiver. His landing spot will determine his fantasy value more than any other player on the board. Any buzz around Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders going to the Browns at #2 (he could still be a trade back into the first target later) has cooled. There was some thought that they would want to pair top EDGE Abdul Carter with Myles Garrett, but that has also waned. Hunter won’t last past the #4 pick in any scenario.
Los Angeles Chargers News
The Chargers signed QB Trey Lance to a one-year, $6.2 million deal.
Why It Matters: Lance will battle with Taylor Heinicke to back up Justin Herbert. Herbert is durable, so we are unlikely to see Lance in a game, even if he wins the job. However, if Lance is active on game days over Heinicke, that will be a good sign of his development. Lance was recently added to the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ negotiation list, which meant they had exclusive rights to sign him if he decided to play north of the border, but this signing shows that there is still significant interest in his future around NFL circles. He’s still worth an end-of-the-bench roster spot in Superflex dynasty leagues.
Miami Dolphins News
OT Terron Armstead announced his retirement.
Why It Matters: 2024 second-round pick Patrick Paul will take over at left tackle. While this wasn’t a surprise, it’s still a big blow to a Dolphins line with a major potential weakness at tackle, with Austin Jackson being, at best, a middling option on the right. The Dolphins will have to pray for good health and play at tackle, or it could be a long season for the offense. Not that long ago, this was a top-end fantasy offense, but we shouldn’t count on Dolphins players to outperform ADP, even at levels depressed from the cost of drafting them in 2024.
New England Patriots News
Head coach Mike Vrabel said, “Having a good, young runner is potentially something we’d like to do.” Longtime ESPN team beat writer Mike Reiss thinks it could be a passing-down back in the mold of Josh McDaniels' previous Patriots offenses.
Why It Matters: There are more NFL quality running back prospects than open spots on depth charts, so we should be open to teams with two solid options adding a back. We should be open to teams that made significant recent investments in their backfield adding another one anyway. The Patriots are in both of those categories. Rhamondre Stevenson isn’t going anywhere, as he has $3.25 million of his 2026 salary guaranteed. But he had fumble problems last year and could see his role reduced during the season, just as it was at times last year. His early draft ADP around pick 90 reflects that risk.
Pittsburgh Steelers News
Adam Schefter thinks New Orleans and Pittsburgh are the most likely teams to take Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders.
Why It Matters: The headline here is that Cleveland, the Giants, and Las Vegas, all picking ahead of New Orleans at #9, are not mentioned. We should look for Sanders to fall, and maybe fall all the way into the 20s, where the Steelers are picking at #21. The Saints have shown interest in Sanders, and they are the current betting market favorite to take him, but long-time beat Nick Underhill said he hasn’t heard anything that would lead him to predict that the Saints will take Sanders. Saints RB Alvin Kamara did go to Colorado to visit with Shedeur’s father, Deion. Sanders also visited Pittsburgh on Thursday, and he’s scheduled to visit Las Vegas on Monday. He has also visited the Giants and Browns, and they shouldn’t be counted out as potential destinations on a trade back into the late first round.
News About NFC Teams
Arizona Cardinals News
The Cardinals signed TE Trey McBride to a four-year, $76 million contract extension.
Why It Matters: This is top-of-the-market money for tight ends, and it’s a clear sign that McBride will be foundational in the offense for years to come. McBride is going off of the board as TE2 around the 28th pick of early Underdog drafts, which is 12 picks behind TE1 Brock Bowers but more than 20 picks ahead of TE3 George Kittle.
QB Kyler Murray said he “has to run more” this season.
Why It Matters: Murray only ran the ball 78 times last year, but he did play a full 17-game season and gain 572 and scored five times on the ground, both good for second best in his six-year career. Murray said he “felt something” early in the 2024 season in the knee where he tore the ACL in 2022, so there’s reason to think he’ll be more effective and unleashed more as a runner this year, which Murray said he is “open to”.
Dallas Cowboys News
The Cowboys had Texas WR Matthew Golden in for a pre-draft visit.
Why It Matters: The Cowboys COO and co-owner Steven Jones said the team wants to add “an explosive #2” at wide receiver to complement CeeDee Lamb. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said edge rushers and wide receivers are among the priority positions with the #12 pick. With Jones' comment in mind, Golden makes more sense than Arizona WR Tet McMillan, who could be gone before the Cowboys pick, with the Panthers at #8 a potential destination.
Los Angeles Rams News
Head coach Sean McVay said WR Tutu Atwell “will be on the field a lot more” in 2025.
Why It Matters: Puka Nacua and Davante Adams should dominate the target share for the Rams, but with Demarcus Robinson signed by the 49ers in the offseason, Atwell has some late-round appeal in best-ball leagues as the fastest receiver on a team that loves to run three wide receiver sets. He’s currently free as a last-round pick in early Underdog drafts, but McVay’s comment should make best-ball players reconsider that.
New York Giants News
According to beat writer Art Stapleton (NorthJersey.com), the Giants are “doing a lot of homework” on draft running backs.
Why It Matters: Tyrone Tracy Jr. was impressive enough to become the starter as a rookie, but he had fumble problems and wasn’t as trusted by season’s end. The Giants also have Devin Singletary, but he is due $5 million non-guaranteed next season when he’ll be 29. Expect the Giants to add a third talent to this backfield on the third day, one that could threaten Tracy’s status as the team’s lead running back of the future.