Free agent S Will Hill is participating at Giants rookie minicamp.
The Giants have a contingent of fairly well-known players on hand, including former Steelers WR Limas Sweed and Eagles C Jamaal Jackson. Hill was a five-star high school recruit whose knuckleheaded ways contributed to a huge slippage in draft stock last offseason. Hill spent the year in the Arena League.
The Buccaneers are expected to sign LSU QB Jordan Jefferson.
Jefferson was invited to rookie tryouts and was apparently good enough to warrant a longer look. The former LSU standout was not highly regarded heading into April's draft, especially after a poor performance in the BCS title game after which he questioned the team's gameplan. In addition, he was involved in a bar fight in August that resulted in a simple battery charge and a four-game suspension. Jefferson will compete with Brett Ratliff for the No. 3 job.
ESPN's Mel Kiper ranks USC QB Matt Barkley as the No. 1 player available for the 2013 NFL draft.
Barkley might have been in the mix for the Browns' pick at No. 4 had he declared for the draft as a junior. The rest of Kiper's top five is as follows: 2) Virginia Tech QB Logan Thomas 3) LSU DE Barkevious Mingo 4) Georgia OLB Jarvis Jones, and 5) NC State CB David Amerson. Kiper did not include Arkansas QB Tyler Wilson, or Oklahoma QB Landry Jones among his initial top-five rankings.
Former Oregon QB Darron Thomas was invited to the Cardinals and Steelers' rookie minicamps on a tryout basis only.
Thomas didn't even get a free-agent deal after the draft, and nor did former LSU QB Jordan Jefferson. Thomas will have to make an impression to receive an offer. The Steelers like mobile backups, so he may make some sense there.
Lions agreed to terms with Boise State QB Kellen Moore.
The all-time winningest quarterback in NCAA history, Moore is a classic case of a player who was elite in college but doesn't project favorably at the next level. A four-year starter, Moore's intangibles and outstanding anticipation and timing in his throws will have to compensate for his lack of physical tools to make it in the NFL. In Detroit, he would compete as a third-stringer behind Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill.
Patriots selected Nebraska CB Alfonzo Dennard with the No. 224 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
An extremely physical press-man defensive back, Dennard had a horrible postseason. First, he struggled at the Senior Bowl when forced to play in the Vikings coaching staff's Cover 2 scheme. Then Dennard was arrested for allegedly assaulting a police officer a week ago. On the field, Dennard latches onto receivers downfield but lacks critical makeup speed if he gets overextended. The Nebraska product was thrown out of his final game for punching South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery just after halftime. In New England, Bill Belichick will know how to put Dennard's strengths to use. He should stand a good chance of making the final 53.
Bengals selected Boise State S George Iloka with the No. 167 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.
Considered a day-two prospect in some circles, Iloka is a true center-field safety, though he'll likely be asked to play closer to the line of scrimmage than he did at Boise. A long and lean 6-foot-4, 225 pounds, Iloka also has unusually long 34.5 inch arms. He'll be limited to special teams as a rookie, but is a high-upside pick.