Tag: Jaelon Darden

Bucs waive WR Jaelon Darden, make additional roster moves

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are waiving their primary return specialist, among other roster moves

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are reshuffling their roster after Monday night’s dramatic win over the New Orleans Saints.

Wide receiver Jaelon Darden has been waived, while defensive back Ryan Smith and offensive tackle Dylan Cook were released from the practice squad.

Darden has served as the Bucs’ primary return specialist on both punts and kickoffs, so his departure is a bit surprising. Rookie running back Rachaad White has been seen on kick returns, as well, so he might be in line to replace Darden moving forward.

A fourth-round pick out of North Texas in 2021, Darden ranks seventh in the NFL in punt return average, and leads the NFL in total punt return yardage.

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WATCH: Tom Brady hits leaping Jaelon Darden with deep ball during practice

Watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady find wide receiver Jaelon Darden for a big play

Tom Brady is back in the building, and he’s already making big plays like he never left.

During Tuesday’s practice, Brady unleashed a sweet deep ball that found a leaping Jaelon Darden down the field for a big gain.

Darden has been impressive throughout training camp, and remains the top return man on Tampa Bay’s depth chart heading into Saturday’s preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts.

Brady doesn’t appear to have lost any arm strength as he heads into his 23rd NFL season at 45 years old.

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WATCH: Blaine Gabbert hits Jaelon Darden for 23-yard TD vs. Dolphins

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have an early lead over the Miami Dolphins in their preseason opener

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on the board against the Miami Dolphins in their preseason opener, courtesy of Blaine Gabbert and Jaelon Darden.

After an unimpressive opening drive, the Tampa Bay offense handed Miami a short field, but the defense held the Dolphins to a field goal. On the ensuing drive, the Bucs strung together a handful of big plays, finishing in the end zone with a 23-yard touchdown strike from Gabbert to Darden.

Tyler Johnson and Giovani Bernard both picked up big chunks of yardage on the drive, and now the Bucs have a 7-3 lead in the first quarter.

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WATCH: Tom Brady hits Jaelon Darden for toe-tapping sideline grab

Watch Tom Brady deliver a perfect throw, and Jaelon Darden make an acrobatic catch, during Saturday’s Bucs training camp practice

Tom Brady returned to practice Saturday after a few days off, and his arm strength obviously isn’t any different at 45 years old.

Just a couple of days after his birthday, Brady showed off the cannon Saturday with a deep out to Jaelon Darden, who made the grab with a toe-tapping effort on the sidelines for a big gain.

Brady looks to be throwing the ball with as much zip as he’s ever had, while Darden continues to have a strong training camp while battling for a roster spot with a handful of other hopefuls at wide receiver.

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WATCH: Bucs WR Jaelon Darden makes leaping sideline grab during practice

Watch Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Jaelon Darden go airborne for this impressive catch during training camp

When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft to land North Texas wide receiver Jaelon Darden, they envisioned plenty of big plays in his future.

Despite Darden’s lack of ideal size, his burst and quickness allowed him to make plenty of defenders look silly at the college level.

Though his rookie season didn’t provide too many opportunities for him to show off his receiving skills, Darden is making the most of his chances during his second training camp with the Bucs.

Watch Darden show off his impressive ball skills and leaping ability with his catch during Saturday’s practice:

Darden is in the middle of a tight battle for one of the final receiver spots on Tampa Bay’s initial 53-man roster, and plays like this should help his chances of making the team coming out of the preseason.

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Browns 2021 draft: A wide receiver for every round

A wide receiver prospect for all 7 rounds of the 2021 NFL draft with an eye for the Cleveland Browns fits

The latest in the series of potential targets for the Cleveland Browns in the 2021 NFL draft features the wide receivers.

It’s a deep class with ready-made contributors available for every type of receiver. The Browns don’t necessarily need a wide receiver in 2021 with Odell Beckham Jr. coming back healthy, Jarvis Landry still playing very well, a freshly re-signed Rashard Higgins and promising young Donovan Peoples-Jones already on the roster. But they have some long-term needs, and this is a class that could fill those needs.

Browns 2021 draft: A pass rusher for every round

The players listed here are slotted based upon the latest draft projections as of April 22nd.

The top sleepers on offense in the 2021 NFL draft

Drafts produce sleepers. On the offensive side of the football players like Brady White, Jaelon Darden and Spencer Brown are contenders.

The power of the fully operational “Draft Industrial Complex” has perhaps led to the death of one of draft season’s best aspects:

The sleepers.

With scouts and media members working around the clock, around the calendar year, to scout and identify talent it is harder and harder to find those true diamonds in the rough. After all, we all know that once the 2021 NFL draft draws to a close, the process will start almost immediately for the 2022 cycle. That means almost a full calendar year of watching players. Given the sheer number of people now covering the draft in some capacity, sooner or later everyone will get around to watching that small school quarterback from a Division 2 school that truly has the ability to make all the throws.

Still, there are some players on the offensive side of the football that for whatever reason have not gotten a ton of coverage this cycle. To that end, here are the top sleepers on offense in the 2021 NFL draft.

Lions 2021 NFL draft: A wide receiver for every round

Identifying a WR prospect for each round of the 2021 NFL Draft for the Detroit Lions

The ongoing series of Detroit Lions prospects at a position for each round of the 2021 NFL draft moves to offense. After covering linebackers, safeties and cornerbacks, the shift to wide receiver spotlights the biggest positional need on offense.

Right now, the Lions depth chart is loaded with NFL journeymen on short-term deals. Tyrell Williams, Breshad Perriman and Kalif Raymond are the top three after signing in free agency, with holdover Quintez Cephus and 2020 opt-out Geronimo Allison rounding out the crew.

In short, wide receiver a position of dire long-term need for both high-end impact and depth for Detroit. Expect at least one Lions pick to get devoted to wide receiver, and it’s certainly possible multiple WRs come off the board to the Lions in this deep, diverse draft class.

The projected rounds here are based on a sampling of mock drafts and projections as of April 10. The Lions do not have picks in the sixth or seventh round as of now but we included prospects for those rounds just in case…