NEWS AND NEAR NEWS

Jeanty skips 40 at BSU pro day … In the end, RB Ashton Jeanty chose not to run at today’s Boise State’s pro day despite a big crowd that included Las Vegas GM John Spytek, as well as RB coaches from at least Minnesota, Seattle and the Giants.

TE Taylor, others run well at LSU pro day … Several of LSU’s top prospects who did not run at the combine, including TE Mason Taylor, posted decent 40 runs. Taylor, one of the top 2-3 prospects at the position for the upcoming draft, posted a 4.65 40 clocking earlier today which would have been one of the best times among the TEs at the combine. At the same time, versatile DE Savion Jones clocked a 4.70 running at 280 pounds, while OG Garrett Dellinger registered a 5.10. Several LSU players not at the combine also had decent days with S Major Burns running the 40 in just over 4.50 seconds, while RB John Williams clocked in at 4.45, WR Kyren Lacy at 4.50, and LB Greg Penn at 4.85. Here is a link to the full LSU pro day results.

Browns working out Canes QB Ward … We stand corrected! In fact, literally as we speak, a contingent of senior Cleveland officials including owner Jimmy Haslam, GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, are working out QB Cam Ward at a private workout at Miami. The Browns. of course, have the 2nd pick overall at next month’s draft and likely would be all over Ward if by chance Tennessee were to pass on him with the first pick. There is also a chance, one could suppose, that the Browns might be tempted to try and flip picks with Tennessee, but that would seem to be a long, long longshot.

Are the Titans trying to trade out of the #1 pick? … That’s the question that’s buzzing around the league this day, although its not exactly clear where its actually coming from. Here’s one article for example by Mike Florio of PFF (who at least did predict the Giants still signing Russell Wilson after signing Jameis Winston last week). What isn’t clear, though, is whether the Titans are actually shopping the pick or simply haven’t fully committed to taking Cam Ward at #1. The fact that the Titans will hold a private work out with Ward early next month after attending his pro day in numbers might also suggest that they aren’t quite fully committed just yet. On the other hand, holding their own work out during which their coaches control what passes Ward throws isn’t all that unusual; as well we aren’t aware of any other team scheduling that kind of private pro day type work out for ward. At the same time, Nick Suss of the Tennessean (who has a done a terrific job covering the Titans this spring) has a piece up this morning wondering whether there are really any other teams out there that are going to be willing to trade the house for a chance to draft Ward even if the Titans wanted to move the pick. Bottom line, we fully expect the Titans to keep the pick and take Ward until they don’t!

Another fascinating day on pro day circuit … It should be another very interesting day on the pro day circuit with a lot of the attention on national champion Ohio State which has arguably the deepest 2025 draft class of any program in the country including first round prospects in OT Josh Simmons, WR Emeka Egbuka, OG Donovan Jackson, DE Jack Sawyer and RB Tre’Veyon Henderson, although none are likely top 10 candidates. The Buckeyes also have a pretty good QB prospect in Will Howard. Also note that other than RBs Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, none of the top OSU prospects ran at the combine. However, the top prospects NFL teams will be looking at today will actually be elsewhere in Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty and LSU OT Will Campbell, both of whom are top 10 candidates with Jeanty, who did not run at the combine and may not today, one the hottest guys in this year’s draft. For the record, there are also pro days planned at Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech.

Pro day QB focus moves to Ewers, Shough … With Cam Ward’s pro day now in the books, the QB microscope turns to Quinn Ewers of Texas and Louisville’s Tyler Shough when their teams go through their pro days later today. And as much as we are eager to hear about their respective performances today, we are also really keen to see which teams actually show up in numbers at their respective outings. Of course, those aren’t the only two pro days as their will also be workouts at Nebraska , North Carolina State, UConn, Tulane, and Rice later today.

Pro day updates … As noted earlier, Miami’s pro day was only one of a dozen on the docket today. Among others that we watching, neither of DEs Mike Green of Marshall nor Boston College’s Donovan Ezeiruaku, who didn’t run at the combine, ran at their respective pro days today. Green, though, did the shuttles posting very good times of 4.25 in the short shuttle and 6.85 in the 3-cone; the latter would have been the fastest time in that event of edge rushers who ran that at the combine, while his SS would have been 2nd fastest behind, ironically, BC’s Ezeiruaku. A total of 29 teams were at the Herd’s pro day including Atlanta head coach Raheem Morris. One Marshall player that did a full workout was safety JJ Roberts who ran a sub-4.45 40 while posting a 40.5-inch vertical. Roberts is a little undersized at just 5-11, 185, but did make some all-star teams this past fall when he posted 94 tackles, while breaking up 14 passes.

Ward solid at Canes pro day … Miami QB Cam Ward, the presumptive #1 pick at next month’s went thru a solid, albeit rather low-key 45-minute scripted passing session at the end of the Hurricanes’ pro day this afternoon. In fact, a couple more passes than one would like to see hit the ground, but for the most part Ward checked of all the necessary boxes. The ball comes out of his hand very quickly with a smooth compact release, although he does often throw with a bit of a wonky three-quarter arm delivery; in fact, Ward kind of reminded me of CJ Stroud’s work out that vaulted him to the #2 pick overall a couple of years back. Ward also showcased that rare ability to still get plenty of mustard on those off-balance, on-the-move, across-the-field throws. Here is some video from today’s ‘Canes workout. Again, as reported earlier today, Tennessee, which has the #1 pick were there in force with a full front office contingent. Interestingly, so was New Orleans, while GM Joe Schoen and OC Mike Kafka were there for the Giants. At the same time, assistant GM Glenn Cook was there for Cleveland, but even though the Browns have the 2nd pick overall they seemed to keep a pretty low profile. Also for the record, Miami TE Elijah Arroyo took part in Ward’s passing session, but didn’t run because of what he said was a bruised bone on his knee. On the other hand, Xavier Restrepo, Ward’s go-to receiver last fall, did run, but had to be disappointed with what was reported as a 4.83 clocking.

Updated: Crowd gathering for Canes pro day … Not surprisingly, there will be a full house at this afternoon’s pro day at Miami where QB Cam Ward, the likely #1 pick at next month’s draft, will go thru his scripted throwing session. Tennessee, which currently owns that #1, will certainly be out in force with a contingent that includes everyone of any import at all in the Titans’ organization from head honcho Chad Brinker down to the guy who cleans out the QB room. The Giants will also be there in the person of GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll, while New Orleans will be represented by head coach Kellen Moore and both co-ordinators. The Saints, who pick 9th and likely won’t have a shot at Ward barring an unlikely blockbuster trade; however, the Saints do appear to be very interested in adding a young QB as they’ll be the team hosting Quinn Ewers this evening prior to his pro day at Texas tomorrow. For the record, Ewers, who at this time looks more like a latter second day type, also reportedly has on-site visits set up with Dallas, Indianapolis and Las Vegas, while the Jets have also reportedly shown some interest. Update: We can also now confirm – and again no big surprise here – but the Tennessee contingent was in fact the group that got the honor of taking Miami’s Ward out to dinner last evening.

Really busy Monday on pro day schedule … Needless to say, QB Cam Ward’s scripted throwing session at the Miami pro day will get most of the attention tomorrow, but there’s actually a whole lot more going on on the pro day docket. Indeed, including Miami, there are at least a dozen pro days on Monday with at least one decent NFL prospect including those at Iowa, Auburn, SMU, North Carolina, Boston College, Marshall, East Carolina, UNLV, UTSA, Toledo and Bowling Green. And there are a number of top prospects, along with Ward, that pro scouts are eager to see work out as they did not participate in the physical testing at the combine. They include a couple of Ward’s Miami teammates in TE Elijah Arroyo and WR Xavier Restrepro, along with DEs Mike Green of Marshall and BC’s Donovan Ezeirauku and East Carolina CB Shavon Revel, one of the better prospects at that position who has been sidelined since early in the season because of a torn ACL.

Giants Report: Winston signing a bridge to where? … Literally right on cue after we posted our thoughts on the ‘Reality’ of the Giants current QB situation two days ago, the Giants dropped the proverbial other shoo signing Jameis Winston to a 2Y, $8M contract with incentives. Clearly, Winston comes to the Giants as a bridge QB, but the question is a bridge to 2025 or 2026. Read more

QBs on parade next week … Just as a follow-up of sorts to today’s earlier post noting Louisville QB Tyler Shough’s impending visit with Cleveland, there is a very interesting situation regarding next week’s pro day schedule in that there will be a prominent QB prospect for 2025 working out every day. On Monday, Cam Ward, the top-rated QB in the 2025 draft, will be throwing at Miami’s pro day which the NFL Network will be covering starting at 4:30 PM ET. Then on Tuesday it will be Shough at Louisville and Quinn Ewers at Texas; on Wednesday, Will Howard will be throwing at the Ohio State work out; on Thursday it will be Riley Leonard at Notre Dame; and finally on Friday Jaxson Dart will work out at Mississippi. As of now, though, the only one on the NFL Network is Miami’s on Monday, but that could change. And we’ll be curious to see which teams send senior people to which workouts, as well as which teams end up taking the players out to dinner before and after their sessions. Again, not a perfect guide but both give some clue as to who is looking at who and possibly where. Stay tuned! Just 31 days to go.

Cards’ QB Shough to visit Browns … There’s a possibly interesting development in Cleveland where the Browns will reportedly have Louisville QB Tyler Shough in for one of their 30 allowed pre-draft on-site visits. Of course, the Browns could just being doing some due diligence, but it is something to at least take note of as it has long been assumed that if Cleveland did take a QB with the 2nd pick overall at next month’s draft – and they do need one – it would be either Cameron Ward of Miami or Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. The first question that pops to mind is whether the Browns are looking at Shough as a possibility at #2 or as a potential option in later rounds if they passed on the position in the opening round. And while on first blush taking Shough with the 2nd pick sounds a tad outlandish, he has emerged as very hot prospect in the past couple of weeks, especially since the end of the combine, and may very well be at least QB3 behind Ward and Sanders on a lot of teams’ boards around the league. For the record, Shough is a big (6-5, 225) strong-armed guy who has never been a high % passer but will throw the ball down the field. He’s also a better than average athlete who ran a 4.65 40 at the combine, although he doesn’t run much. At 25, Shough is an older guy who spent 7 years in college – 3 at Oregon, 3 at Texas Tech and last year at Louisville – but some teams are looking at that as a positive as he’s mature with a lot of experience under his belt. It is now going to be interesting to see what other visits Shough makes as well as who shows up at his pro day on Tuesday.

Friday pro days notes … It appears that Michigan may be another one of those places that had a pro day but nobody came! As noted earlier Wolverines’ star CB Will Johnson opted not to participate in the school’s pro day because of a tweaked hamstring, but it turned out he was also joined on the sidelines by DT Mason Graham and TE Colston Loveland, Michigan’s other two top ten prospects. Loveland is still rehabbing from post-season shoulder, while Graham sat out the combine with a bruised heel which presumably was also the reason he didn’t work out today. Johnson has already scheduled a private pro day work out on April 14th and we wonder if all three guys will try and go that day. In the end, the only news as such regarding any of the three was that Graham weighed in at 306 pounds, up a full ten pounds from the combine. Its possible he got those pounds from linemate Kenneth Grant who weighed in today at 330 pounds, ten pounds lighter than at the combine. However, while his teammates sat out the workout today, Grant did run, posting a reasonably competitive (for a 330-pounder) clocking in the 5.10-5.15 range; Grant also had a 31-inch vertical and managed 27 reps in the bench press, both of which would have been in the upper half of the DTs at the combine. Meanwhile, official results haven’t been announced at Florida State but the early results for Seminoles’ CB Azare’yah Thomas were a little disappointing as he only clocked in what is being reported as the ‘4-50-4.55’ range which is not real fast for a corner; plus when its couched in terms like that the actual time is often somewhat higher..

Rodgers is in the building!! … Aaron Rodgers is reportedly in Pittsburgh visiting with the Steelers as we speak. Other reports have suggested that nothing is necessarily imminent but multiple teams along with the Steelers have been waiting for Rodgers to decide where he’s going to play next fall. He has had an offer on the table from Pittsburgh and an even better one from the Giants but would prefer Pittsburgh which has a contending roster other than QB. Rodgers also had a brief flirtation with Minnesota earlier in the week, but its hard to see him following up there because they have a young QB – JJ McCarthy – the Vikings are pretty much committed. Bottom line, as the top remaining free agent QB out there, Rodgers has most of the cards and appears to have been hoping the Steelers would up their offer, but teams like Pittsburgh and the Giants are reportedly getting tired of waiting so it may that Rodgers can’t wait forever.

Pro day weeks wraps with key UM work out … An interesting week on the pro day schedule wraps with an interesting day highlighted by a work out at Michigan. The Wolverines never came close to defending their 2023 national championship last fall, but still lead the league in top 10 prospects this year in DT Mason Graham, CB Will Johnson and TE Colston Loveland none of whom ran at the combine. Unfortunately, Johnson also won’t work out again today as he is dealing with a hamstring issue after missing the 2ndhalf of the season with a toe injury; he has a private work out scheduled for early next month. Meanwhile, other pro days today include those at Missouri (WR Luther Burden, G/T Amand Membou, QB Brady Cook); Florida State (CB Az Thomas, DT Josh Farmer): and Utad State (WR Jalen Royals).

Pigskin mocks the AFC North … Former long-time GBN Associate Editor and now Contributing Editor Pigskin Paul Guillmette continues his annual series of team/division 3-round mock drafts with a projection for the AFC South.

Sanders, Hunter don’t run at Big XII pro day … It was kind of like they held a pro day and nobody showed! Not quite, obviously, but this year’s joint Big XII pro day was billed as kind of a coming out party for Colorado stars Shedeur Sanders and Travis Hunter. However, with today’s workout for the skill position players now into the third and final hour, neither has been seen on the field. So we’ll have to wait until April 4th when the Buffs hold their own pro day. In fact, maybe the only bit of news from today’s Big XII pro day is that the NFL Network will be covering the Miami pro day on Monday where Cam Ward is expected to throw.

Giants Report: As the QB doesn’t turn; Reality Bites … Not surprisingly, we have been getting numerous queries from our Giant fans friends the past few weeks asking when we’ll get some clarity regarding the team’s very chaotic QB situation these days. Unfortunately, we can’t say anything for sure, but there are certain realities that appear to be coming into focus. Here are some thoughts on where we’re at right now, 35 days out from the draft, and where we may be headed.

Time change for Bic XII pro day … Folks who tried to watch the NFL Network’s coverage of Wednesday’s session of the Big XII joint pro day will know that the original scheduled start time was changed from 11 AM ET to 1 PM 1 PM ET. It will be the same tomorrow when the network covers the more anticipated skill position workout for QBs, RBs and WRs which also will now start at 1 PM ET and run thru 4 PM. The workout is much anticipated of course because both QB Shedeur Sanders and WR Travis Hunter, two the top prospects for the upcoming draft, have said they’ll be participating.