Denver Broncos

The Denver Broncos are close to a deal with seventh-round draft pick S Josh Barrett out of Arizona State. Talks are progressing and an agreement could be reached soon.

The 6-foot-2 223-pound safety scorched the track in Indy, running a 4.35 in the 40-yard dash. Many NFL scouts have compared Barrett to Washington Redskins rookie safety LaRon Landry, who the team selected with the sixth overall pick in the '07 draft.

It was a big surprise when Barrett fell to the seventh round and Denver came away with a major steal. Barrett will bring a lot of speed and versatility to the Broncos secondary.

In other team news, there are whispers circulating around the league that former Seattle Seahawks RB Shaun Alexander could land in Denver.

According to a league source, the Broncos, who expressed interest in Alexander early on, are likely to renew their interest now that they have rid themselves of problem-child RB Travis Henry.

It was stated that the Broncos are the only team out there at this time that would give the Seahawks all-time leading rusher an opportunity to start. Buyer beware, Alexander has gone from ballin' to not at allin' over the past couple of seasons.

Contract negotiations between the Chicago Bears and representatives for Tulane rookie second-round draft pick RB Matt Forte are said to be in the early stages, but with the recent arrest of RB Cedric Benson look for talks to intensify. Benson was arrested early Saturday after he failed a field sobriety test. This was his second arrest in little more than a month.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound Forte was the Senior Bowl's MVP and the star of Bears rookie mini-camp last month. Forte is a bonafide STUD seeing a lot of eight-and-nine man fronts at Tulane, but teams couldn't stop him. Forte was the nation's second leading rusher this past season rushing for 2,127 yards and 23 touchdowns. The Bears organization is really excite about what they see in Forte.

The San Francisco 49ers have entered contract negotiations with seventh-round draft pick Ohio State LB Larry Grant and talks are expected to heat up soon.

The 6-foot-1, 235-pound linebacker closed out his senior year with the Buckeyes finishing the season fifth on the team in tackles with 51 and five quarterback sacks, showing the versatility needed to play in the 49ers' 3-4 defense.

The Tennessee Titans are in the early stages of negotiations with their fifth-round draft pick Purdue LB Stanford Keglar and there is no reason to believe that a deal can't be reached before start of training camp.

The little-known linebacker grabbed the attention of the entire NFL with his performance at the Combine in Indy. Keglar finished No. 1 in four of the seven events. It was a Keg party for sure.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed seventh-round draft pick RB Cory Boyd to a 4-year contract on Wednesday. Boyd is a tremendous talent and could be a pleasant surprise for the Bucs in training camp.

Veteran defensive tackles Grady Jackson, Sam Adams and Ted Washington are said to be working their way into shape and will be ready to play should teams come calling.

The Oakland Raiders have expressed some interest in Jackson, but not much has transpired as of yet.

With a scarcity of true run-stuffers available teams may have to turn to these wily veterans to plug some holes.