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There has not been a running back chosen in the top five of the NFL Draft since the New York Giants took Saquon Barkley at No. 2 in 2018. But that drought – the longest in draft history without a top-five back — may well end in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23 from Pittsburgh, with the Tennessee Titans sitting at No. 4 and Notre Dame tailback Jeremiyah Love as the +145 favorite to be the choice there via DraftKings.

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We all know that running backs have been largely devalued in the NFL in recent years with more and more passing. The Raiders took Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty at No. 6 last year and he had a solid rookie year but didn’t get any Offensive Rookie of the Year votes or greatly help a terrible team in the grand scheme of things.

Teams have been able to find quality running backs in later rounds. Perhaps my Bears don’t win the NFC Central last year without the contributions from seventh-rounder Kyle Monangai out of Rutgers. Another seventh-rounder in Jacory Croskey-Merritt became the Commanders’ featured back. Perhaps as proof of tailbacks being devalued, one hasn’t won OROY since Barkley. The top finisher in voting last year was the Patriots’ Treveyon Henderson in third, and he was a third-round pick out of Ohio State.

The Titans, an NFL-worst 6-28 in the past two seasons, have been looking for a true No. 1 back ever since Derrick Henry left for Baltimore. They have a new head coach in defensive-minded Robert Saleh, and his offensive coordinator is former Giants head coach Brian Daboll. Tennessee already has its QB of the future in place in  Cam Ward, who was the No. 1 overall pick in 2025.

There is nowhere to go but up for the Tennessee offense after finishing 30th in points (16.7 PPG) and 31st in total yards per game (259.6). It marked the franchise’s worst scoring output since…

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Free agent offensive lineman Kenyon Green will work out for the Buccaneers on Thursday, Aaron Wilson of KPRC reports.

The Texans made Green a first-round pick in 2022.

Green, 25, started 14 games at left guard as a rookie but missed the 2023 season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. He started 12 games in 2024 before the Texans traded him to the Eagles in the 2025 offseason.

He spent time on the Eagles’ practice squad and later joined the Ravens’ practice squad but did not play last season.

Green has started 23 of 27 career games.

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Giants star defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence has requested a trade and will not participate in the team’s offseason workout program beginning Tuesday, per CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones.

Lawrence, 28, is entering the third year of a four-year, $90 million extension he signed in May 2023. At the time, the deal gave him the third-largest contract on a per-year basis ($22.5 million AAV) among interior defensive linemen, trailing only Aaron Donald and Jeffery Simmons. Now, however, that $22.5 million figure is tied for 11th at the position.

Lawrence’s extension followed a breakout 2022 campaign in which he recorded 7.5 sacks and earned second-team All-Pro honors. He repeated that recognition in 2023, and in 2024, he was again a Pro Bowler after posting career highs with nine sacks and eight tackles for loss.

In 2025, however, Lawrence managed just a half-sack despite playing all 17 games for the first time in his career. His 31 tackles were also a career low. He still ranked 11th among interior defensive linemen in Pro Football Focus grades, though it marked a significant drop-off from 2022-24, when he ranked second, first and third.

In October, former Giants star Carl Banks, now a team radio analyst, sharply criticized Lawrence, saying “nobody respects you anymore.” Lawrence fired back, noting how often he is double-teamed and calling Banks “delusional.”

Lawrence remains one of the game’s most disruptive interior forces, and his displeasure presents a notable early challenge for John Harbaugh in his first year with New York. On paper, the Giants have a talented defensive front, with Lawrence alongside Brian Burns (16.5 sacks, second-team All-Pro in 2025), 2025 first-round pick Abdul Carter and 2022 first-round pick Kayvon Thibodeaux. However, New York allowed a league-worst 5.3 yards per rush and finished 17th in sack rate in 2025. Harbaugh also brought in Dennard Wilson as the…

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The Cincinnati Bengals made a solid move to bolster their defensive line by bringing in decorated veteran Jonathan Allen. He’ll undoubtedly provide a nice boost to the interior while also offering valuable leadership to the squad.

Initial reports had the club signing the 31-year-old to a two-year deal worth up to $25 million. Over the Cap has divulged further details about the deal, including the breakdown of cap hits, cash dispersal, and the outlook for both 2026 and 2027.

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Cincinnati alleviated the first-year cap hit ($9.75 million) to some degree, but it balloons in the second year ($15.2 million). This structure gives the Bengals flexibility to exit the second year of the contract should Allen not pan out after this season, as they would free up $11.5 million in 2027 cap space with minimal dead cap.

After the signings of Allen, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook, the Bengals have a little north of $20 million in cap space. A new class of rookies will eat into that, likely leaving the Bengals with minimal “rental-type” deals with veterans over the next few weeks and months.

The next couple of nuances exemplify how the Bengals operate differently from almost every other NFL franchise. Restructuring the recent mega-deals for Joe Burrow and/or Ja’Marr Chase to limit their respective 2026 cap hits (which combine for roughly $74 million of the team’s 2026 cap) could be an option, but that would be unprecedented territory for Cincinnati’s front office.

When asked at the Combine about restructuring Burrow’s deal to allow more free-agency flexibility, he noted the team was “open” to that idea but also toed the company line about maintaining cap integrity for future years.

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And for those wondering why the Bengals didn’t make a splash at linebacker in the first week in conjunction with their early moves, the trio of starting defenders they signed has the three highest 2026 cap hits of any free-agent signees in the league. This pushed the…

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