NFL Player News

The Cardinals selected Wilson in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 94th overall.

Wilson dealt with some injury troubles at Stanford but was consistently productive when healthy. Wilson has boundary wideout size at 6-foot-2, 213 pounds, and he demonstrated standout short-area athleticism with a 37.5-inch vertical, 125-inch broad jump and 1.5-second split on his 4.58-second 40. Wilson should be able to line up pretty much everywhere for Arizona, giving the Cardinals additional depth chart flexibility going into training camp.

The Colts selected Downs in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 79th overall.

This is a fortuitous landing spot for the UNC product, as he should challenge for the role vacated by Parris Campbell. Downs was a target monster over his final two seasons at North Carolina, especially in Sam Howell's final year in 2021 when he commanded an absurd 40 percent target share. His production was great, but how he adapts to the NFL game will depend on how well he can overcome his physical limitations -- he's 5-foot-9 and 171 pounds and doesn't have standout speed (4.48). Still, Downs is a crafty route runner that should fit well in the slot for Indianapolis.

The Browns selected Tillman in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 74th overall.

Tillman (6-foot-3, 213 pounds) went one pick after fellow Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt (Giants), but Tillman is the more well-rounded of the two. Though his 4.54-second 40 makes Tillman the lesser big-play threat of the duo, his much sturdier frame and otherwise adequate athleticism (37-inch vertical, 128-inch broad jump) renders him more versatile overall. However, in his rookie campaign, Tillman likely projects to compete with David Bell to serve as the swing backup at receiver behind the top three of Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Elijah Moore.

The Giants selected Hyatt (hamstring) in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 73rd overall.

Hyatt is an interesting receiver prospect and the Giants make for an interesting landing spot. New York has a crowded receiver room with a mix of vets and developmental projects like Wan'Dale Robinson. Hyatt, who won the Biletnikoff Award in 2022 for Tennessee, may not be a "complete" receiver, but his big-play ability is for real. He averaged 18.9 yards per reception in 2022 and caught 15 touchdowns. However, Hyatt has a light frame at 6-foot and 176 pounds and had an interesting role as a vertical option out of the slot, so it remains to be seen how that will translate. If nothing else, Hyatt brings a speedy downfield element to the Giants offense.

The Texans selected Dell in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 69th overall.

Dell won't have to go far to meet up with his new team as the former Houston Cougar gets to stay in the area. A polarizing prospect, Dell was a dominant producer in college (32 receiving TDs) but his nickname of "Tank" is a bit of a misnomer; he's perilously slight at 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds. To be that small, standout athleticism is a necessity and Dell didn't show that at the combine with a 4.49-second 40-yard dash and a 121-inch broad jump. Houston doesn't have much settled in its receiving corps so there's a chance Dell finds his way onto the field, but his margin for error at the next level is small.

The Broncos selected Mims in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 63rd overall.

Denver has a crowded receiver room on paper, but Tim Patrick is coming off an ACL tear and KJ Hamler hasn't been the picture of durability, either. Mims had a varied role during his time at Oklahoma; he stood out as a freshman with nine touchdowns on 51 targets. His volume dropped off as a sophomore with 41 targets in 13 games, but he averaged a ridiculous 17.2 yards per target on those opportunities. He drew more volume as a junior in the new-look offense and still thrived, catching 54 of 91 targets for 1,083 yards and six scores. Mims showed well at the combine with 4.38 speed at 5-foot-11 and 183 pounds, too. He may not have been on the mainstream fantasy radar before Friday, but his going to Denver in the second round definitely changes that.

The Chiefs selected Rice in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 55th overall.

The Chiefs lost JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman this offseason, and while Kadarius Toney and Skyy Moore are candidates to replace those slot reps, Kansas City needed to add an outside receiver. Rice (6-0, 204) was a strong four-year contributor at SMU that racked up 19 touchdowns over his final two seasons. He isn't blazing fast (4.51 40-yard dash) but his leaping ability gives him a solid catch radius for his size and he can run his routes on the outside. With so much young but unproven talent in the receiving corps already, solving Kansas City's passing game from a fantasy perspective just got even trickier.

The Packers selected Reed in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 50th overall.

Reed was not generally expected to go this early, but the former Michigan State/Western Michigan standout is a likable prospect. Reed initially torched as a true freshman at Western Michigan in 2018 before transferring to Michigan State, where he tended to blend in to the mediocre Spartans offense. Reed is more of a WR2/WR3 sort of prospect due to his slight frame (5-foot-11, 187 pounds) and merely adequate athleticism (4.45-second 40), but Reed's production at both schools clearly indicate a starter-level skill set. Reed was also an excellent punt returner in college, scoring thrice and averaging a stellar 15.3 yards per return. Reed should have a solid chance of cracking the top third of Green Bay's receiver depth chart as a rookie.

The Panthers selected Mingo in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, 39th overall.

Carolina gets a passing game weapon to pair with first overall pick, Bryce Young. A fellow SEC product, Mingo never truly dominated at Mississippi but he did break out as a senior with 51 catches for 861 yards and five touchdowns on 92 targets. His selling point has less to do with his production and more to do with his athleticism. At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds with 10.38-inch hands, Mingo ran an impressive 4.46 in the 40 and his jumps ranked in the 89th percentile among receivers. As it stands, Adam Thielen, DJ Chark and Terrace Marshall project as the top three wideouts, but each of them are far from sure things to earn starter-level snaps all season. With that, there's a chance Mingo works his way into the target rotation as the 2023 season unfolds.

The 49ers picked up the fifth-year option on Aiyuk's rookie contract Friday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

San Francisco thus will lock in one of their top skill-position threats through the 2024 season. The 25th overall pick in the 2020 Draft, Aiyuk is coming off his first 1,000-yard season, settling with a 78-1,015-8 line on a career-high 114 targets. In the fall, he'll continue to work in tandem with fellow wide receiver Deebo Samuel in the 49ers' starting lineup.