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Report: Titans draft pick Rashad Weaver charged with simple assault

Weaver was drafted by the Titans in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Tennessee Titans edge rusher and 2021 fourth-round pick, Rashad Weaver, has been charged with simple assault, a criminal complaint shows.

According to John McGonigal of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Weaver was charged with one count of simple assault on Friday stemming from an alleged incident that occurred on April 18.

Per McGonigal, here are the details of the criminal complaint that was filed in Pittsburgh’s magisterial district:

According to the criminal complaint, police officers found a woman lying on the ground surrounded by a group of people at 2:28 a.m. April 18 on South 17th Street between East Carson and Bingham streets.

Those at the scene said a large man, later identified as Mr. Weaver, punched the woman, Demetria Navjelis. Mr. Weaver was not at the scene when officers arrived. Ms. Navjelis was checked by a medic and released.

One witness said she saw Mr. Weaver punch Ms. Navjelis. Another witness said she did not see Mr. Weaver punch Ms. Navjelis but did see her fall to the ground. Officer Anderson O’Kelly noted in the complaint that he observed no injury consistent with a punch to the head.

The charges were filed just one day before the Titans drafted Weaver on May 1 during the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for October 5 of this year at Pittsburgh Municipal Court.

Tutu Atwell tied for 20th-best odds to win Offensive Rookie of the Year

Tutu Atwell was given longer odds to win 2021 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

Despite already being deep at wide receiver coming into the 2021 NFL draft, the Los Angeles Rams decided to add to the group with their first pick. They selected Tutu Atwell at No. 57 overall in the second round, making him the ninth wide receiver drafted.

He’s currently buried on the depth chart behind Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Van Jefferson and DeSean Jackson, but Sean McVay will find a way to get him the ball – whether it’s on screens, handoffs or in the return game.

Now with the draft in the books, BetMGM has released odds for 2021 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Trevor Lawrence (+225), Justin Fields (+350), Zach Wilson (+550), Mac Jones (+900) and Trey Lance (+1000) predictably top the list as the five favorites in that order, with a mix of running backs and receivers after them.

Atwell opened tied for the 20th-best odds of any player to win the award at +6600. He’s tied with Elijah Moore, Anthony Schwartz, Tylan Wallace, Nico Collins and D’Wayne Eskridge.

Atwell is the only Rams player listed with odds, which means Jacob Harris, Jake Funk and Ben Skowronek are extreme long shots.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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How we graded Tennessee Titans’ 2021 NFL draft class

Our final grade for the Tennessee Titans 2021 NFL draft class.

The Tennessee Titans added eight new players during the 2021 NFL draft, and for the most part the haul has been considered a success by many draft analysts.

Throughout the course of the three-day event, we gave a grade for every single Titans pick (you can check those out at the bottom of this article), but now it’s time to grade the group as a whole.

For reference, here’s a look at who Tennessee came away with:

Round 1: CB Caleb Farley, Virginia Tech

Round 2: OT Dillon Radunz, North Dakota State

Round 3: LB Monty Rice, Georgia

Round 3: DB Elijah Molden, Washington

Round 4: WR Dez Fitzpatrick, Louisville

Round 4: EDGE Rashad Weaver, Pittsburgh

Round 6: WR Racey McMath, LSU

Round 6: S Brady Breeze, Oregon.

Without further ado, here’s how Mike Moraitis, Shaun Calderon and John Lowell graded the entirety of the Titans’ 2021 NFL draft class.

5 WRs Titans should target through trade or free agency

The Titans still need to make a move at wide receiver.

The Tennessee Titans went into the 2021 NFL draft in desperate need of help at the wide receiver position, but didn’t exactly address the need the way we hoped they would.

General manager Jon Robinson didn’t take his first receiver until Round 4 on Day 3, when he gave up a slew of draft capital (three picks) to move up to No. 109 overall to draft Louisville wide receiver, Dez Fitzpatrick.

In the sixth round, Robinson double-dipped, drafting LSU wideout Racey McMath, at No. 205 overall.

The problem with both of these receivers it that they will undoubtedly need time to develop, and McMath is more of a special teams ace than anything else, which still leaves the Titans thin at the position for 2021.

After the draft, Robinson hinted that the Titans might be working through some contract extensions to free up more money, so we could see Tennessee make another addition through trade or free agency to shore things up.

.@Titans GM Jon Robinson on if team will restructure deals to add more space, and players: We're working through some things, and it could give us more room

— Jim Wyatt (@jwyattsports) May 1, 2021

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five wide receivers the Titans can still target in a trade or through free agency.

Titans decline Rashaan Evans’ option, but contract extension possible

Rashaan Evans is the third Jon Robinson pick to have his fifth-year option declined.

The #Titans are not picking up the fifth-year option for first round LB Rashaan Evans, per @DrewJRosenhaus. The hope is to sign Evans to a contract extension before his current deal expires instead.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 3, 2021

In what doesn’t come as much of a surprise, the Tennessee Titans have declined the fifth-year option of former first-round pick and linebacker, Rashaan Evans.

The news comes from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, via Evans’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who also interestingly notes that the hope is Evans and the Titans can agree to a contract extension before his deal expires.

According to Over the Cap, Evans would have made $9.7 million in 2022 had his option been picked up.

The surprise here comes from that last little nugget, as the common thought has been that Evans’ days in Nashville are likely numbered after a lackluster 2020 campaign that saw him take a step back.

That narrative was only fueled more by the fact that the team drafted Georgia linebacker Monty Rice, who is a similar type of player as Evans, in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Apparently we all need to hold off on thinking Evans’ eventual departure is a foregone conclusion, as there appears to be a chance he sticks around with the Titans for the long haul.

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2021 NFL draft grades: Titans’ class gets high marks from experts

How did experts view the Tennessee Titans 2021 NFL draft class?

Now that the 2021 NFL draft is in the rearview mirror, experts have begun sending out their grades for all 32 teams, including the Tennessee Titans.

And, from the expert grades we’ve gathered, the Titans had a successful draft in which they added eight players, some of which come at positions of need.

That’s great news for general manager Jon Robinson, who saw a disastrous 2020 draft class that was marred by off-the-field issues (Isaiah Wilson) and injuries (Darrynton Evans and Kristian Fulton).

Of course, all of these grades are very premature and are only based on the player chosen and how they fit rather than how they actually perform in the NFL. The real story of the 2021 NFL draft class will be told in the years to come.

But for now we can bask in the glory of the Titans not having received lower than a “B-” among the experts we checked in with. Let’s see who gave what.

Knicks at Rockets: Prediction, point spread, odds, over/under, betting picks

New York (-11) enters as a significant favorite, having won 10 of their last 11 games. Houston is also on night two of a back-to-back.

In the second game of a home back-to-back, the Rockets host the New York Knicks on Sunday night at Toyota Center. Houston enters coming off Saturday’s blowout loss to Golden State.

Led by All-Star forward Julius Randle, the Knicks head into town with plenty of momentum, having won 10 of their last 11 games to rise to No. 4 in the Eastern Conference standings. However, they will need to navigate their own back-to-back, since they play at Memphis on Monday.

New York is the better team on paper and also has more to play for, since three teams are within two games of them for that No. 4 spot in the East and home-court advantage in the first round of the 2021 playoffs. However, the Rockets have been a lively underdog of late, as evidenced by Thursday’s victory over Milwaukee — the team just in front of the Knicks in the tightly packed East standings.

In the only other meeting between the teams this season, New York routed Houston on February 13 at Madison Square Garden, 121-99 (recap). The Rockets shot just 8-of-43 (18.6%) on 3-pointers that night in the fifth loss of what would become a historic 20-game losing streak.

The lines, courtesy of BetMGM

Point spread: Knicks -11
Money line: Knicks -600 / Rockets +425
Over-under: 216.5
Player scoring props: Julius Randle 26.5, RJ Barrett 19.5; Houston TBD

Place your legal, online sports bets in VA, CO, IA, IN, NJ, PA, TN and WV at BetMGM.

As usual in an injury plagued 2020-21 season, the Rockets will be quite short-handed. For Saturday’s game, John Wall (right hamstring) DJ Augustin (left ankle), Sterling Brown (left knee), Dante Exum (right calf), Eric Gordon (right groin), Danuel House Jr. (right ankle), and David Nwaba (right wrist) were all out. Houston won’t issue Sunday’s injury report until hours before tipoff, due to the back-to-back. The Knicks are far healthier, listing only Mitchell Robinson (out, right foot surgery) on their report.

Advice and prediction

New York is expected to start Elfrid Payton, RJ Barrett, Reggie Bullock, Julius Randle, and Nerlens Noel, while Houston will likely stick with its recent starters of Kevin Porter Jr., Armoni Brooks, Jae’Sean Tate, Kelly Olynyk, and Christian Wood.

The Knicks have more to play for, but they also have to be mindful of a game on Monday, whereas the Rockets don’t play again until Wednesday. That may provide a path for Houston to cover the large number late.

Prediction: Knicks 115, Rockets 105

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Bellator 258: Make your predictions for Juan Archuleta vs. Sergio Pettis

We want your predictions for Friday’s Bellator 258 event in Connecticut.

Our staff picks feature includes the consensus picks from MMA Junkie readers. Simply cast your vote for each bout below, and we’ll use the official tallies that are registered by Wednesday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT).

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the Bellator 258 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. Bellator 258 takes place Friday at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. The main card airs on Showtime following prelims on MMA Junkie.

Make your picks for the fights below.

2021 PFL 3: Make your predictions for Fabricio Werdum, Kayla Harrison fights

We want your predictions for Friday’s 2021 PFL 3 event in Atlantic City, N.J.

Those MMA Junkie reader consensus picks will be part of the 2021 PFL 3 main card staff predictions we release Thursday ahead of the event. 2021 PFL 3 takes place Friday at Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. The main card airs on ESPN2 following prelims on ESPN+.

Make your picks for the fights below.

Titans’ winners and losers from the 2021 NFL draft

Which Titans emerged as “winners” and “losers” from the 2021 NFL draft?

The Tennessee Titans officially added eight players to their roster following the three-day 2021 NFL draft, and as a result some Titans players emerged as both “winners” and “losers” from it.

For reference, here’s a look at the Titans’ 2021 NFL draft haul: