NFL Player News

Hill's depth chart spot is in question after the Ravens drafted J.K. Dobbins in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

The 2019 fourth-rounder had an invisible rookie season, and the Dobbins addition does not bode well for him. At best, Hill is the No. 4 running back on the depth chart behind Mark Ingram, Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Hill will have an uphill battle to make the 53-man roster and could be a trade candidate come training camp.

Edwards' role with the team could take a hit after the Ravens drafted Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins in the second round, Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic reports.

Baltimore placed a tender on Edwards in March, so he's presumably still in the team's plans to an extent, but the Dobbins pick is a strong statement that the Ravens are still looking to beef up the run game. Dobbins, a second-rounder, has a three-down skill set and projects to be the direct backup to Mark Ingram. If the Ravens are looking to reduce Ingram's workload to keep him fresh later in the season, Dobbins would get the first crack at the carries. Edwards is still uniquely effective in short-yardage situations; he's notched a positive run rate of at least 88 percent in both of his two seasons. Edwards can still have that role with Dobbins on the roster, but the path to matching his overall carry volume from 2019 just got a lot more treacherous.

Cook will participate in the Vikings' voluntary offseason program, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports.

Entering the final year of his rookie contract, Cook presumably hopes to sign a long-term deal before Week 1. His participation in the virtual offseason program suggests his relationship with the team remains good, but it doesn't necessarily mean he'd be willing to put his body at risk in actual practices without the security of a new contract. With little hint as to when NFL teams might be able to practice, the Vikings probably won't feel too rushed to complete a deal.

The Dolphins waived Perine on Sunday.

Miami's acquisition of Matt Breida from San Francisco in exchange for a fifth-round pick appears to have made Perine expendable. Across a six-game stint with the Bengals and one appearance with the Dolphins in 2019, Perine accumulated 16 yards on five carries while mostly contributing on special teams. He'll look to garner another depth role elsewhere in the league.

Hines faces increased competition for playing time in the Indianapolis backfield after the Colts took Jonathan Taylor with the 41st pick in the 2020 NFL Draft.

Hines operated in a traditional runner/receiver timeshare with Marlon Mack last season, seeing 52 carries and 58 targets while playing 31.5 percent of offensive snaps in 16 games. His snaps could decrease significantly with Taylor now in the mix. However, Hines may still emerge as the primary receiving specialist out of the backfield.

The Cardinals selected Benjamin in the seventh round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 222nd overall.

Running back isn't a significant need for the Cardinals, with Kenyan Drake and Chase Edmonds set to hold down the backfield for 2020, but the team may have considered Benjamin a value in the seventh round due to his versatility and toughness. As a two-year starter at Arizona State from 2018-19, Benjamin racked up 2,725 rushing yards and 26 touchdowns while showing additional prowess as a receiver, notching 77 catches for 610 yards and an additional four scores. Though he's facing long odds to garner more than a depth role as a rookie, Benjamin's ability to both carry the rock and serve as an aerial weapon may make him worth monitoring in deep fantasy formats and dynasty leagues.

The Lions selected Huntley in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 172nd overall.

Huntley (5-foot-8, 190) is a small running back out of New Mexico State, but he has real skills to work with as an off-the-bench firecracker. As much as the Lions' running back rotation is remarkably small in the light of Huntley's addition, few players possess open-field running skills like his. Huntley torched opponents for 1,090 yards and nine touchdowns on just 154 carries (7.1 YPC)last year , and he scored five touchdowns on kick returns in his career. Huntley went on to run a 4.40-second 40, 39.5-inch vertical and 131-inch broad jump, demonstrating legitimate NFL explosiveness despite his light frame. Unfortunately, it's hard to see him playing many running back snaps behind D'Andre Swift and Kerryon Johnson.

Breida was traded to the Dolphins on Saturday for a fifth-round pick, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

Raheem Mostert's improbable playoff run gave the 49ers yet another running back to their burgeoning glut, so it makes sense to see Breida move for a relatively healthy compensation. The third-year tailback has yet to register a season with more than 180 touches, but he could soon find plenty of work in the Dolphins' backfield. A two-year, $10 million offseason deal with Jordan Howard figures to block Breida's immediate path to the starting lineup, but the former 49er is unquestionably the more explosive of the two backfield options and likely will get plenty of chances to unseat the Indiana product's grapple hold on the two-down carries.

Seattle selected Dallas in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 144th overall.

Dallas joins former Miami (FL) teammate Travis Homer in the Seattle backfield. The 21-year-old Dallas had his junior year cut short by an elbow injury but was able to test at the combine, where he ran a 4.58 40-yard dash and added unimpressive times in the agility drills. What Dallas lacks in top-end athleticism he makes up for with vision and a physical running style at 5-foot-10 and 217 pounds. He'll need a strong preseason to crack the 53-man roster and may need to make an impact on special teams as well.

The Steelers selected McFarland in the fourth round of the 2020 NFL Draft, 124th overall.

This is an incredibly intriguing selection, as McFarland was arguably one of the best skill-position players still left on the board in the fourth round, while he goes to a team that might be in quiet need of a running back. The Maryland product runs hard, and his 4.44-yard dash is reflective of what you see on tape. Injuries potentially hindered McFarland's outlook, as a high-ankle sprain was evidently a massive hindrance on his 2019 season. A look back to his redshirt freshman season when he carved up the Ohio State defense for 298 yards on 21 carries shows the kind of explosive upside McFarland offers when he's full-go. James Conner is still unquestionably the starter in Pittsburgh, but McFarland is now perhaps the most explosive option in the backfield and should push for more snaps in due time given the lack of speed elsewhere in the Pittsburgh backfield.