Apex

​The 2018 wide receiver recruiting class was spearheaded by top prospects Amon-Ra St. Brown and Ja’Marr Chase. Both elite talents lived up to the immense hype and have since become All-Pro receivers in the NFL. Lost in that group was the player who sat between Brown and Chase in the rankings — a once highly-touted prospect whose path took a different turn. That player is Jordyn Adams. He was the No. 2 receiver recruit in the class and originally committed to North Carolina, but he never played a college snap. Instead, he turned to baseball after being selected 17th overall by the Los Angeles Angels in the 2018 MLB Draft. Now 26, Adams has retired from baseball and is set to return to football after announcing his decision to step away from the sport. He has enrolled at SMU and plans to play wide receiver for the Mustangs this season, per On3. Adams spent seven seasons in professional baseball, primarily in the minor leagues. He earned brief call-ups with the Angels and the Baltimore Orioles, but never lived up to his first-round draft status. He appeared in just 38 career MLB games and hit .165 with one home run and five RBIs before a final minor league stint with the Milwaukee Brewers. Prior to pursuing baseball full-time, Adams put together a slew of accolades throughout his high school career at Green Hope High School in Cary, North Carolina. During his senior season, he recorded 1,060 yards and 19.1 yards per reception. He was ranked as the No. 14 overall recruit in the 2018 class and chose the Tar Heels over Alabama, Clemson and LSU, per 247Sports. The players ahead of him in the rankings include Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Micah Parsons, Patrick Surtain and St. Brown. Adams’ college football eligibility this season could depend on a proposed NCAA rule change. The NCAA Division I Board of Directors advanced an age-based "Five-for-Five" model that would give athletes five years of competition within a five-year eligibility window. The clock would begin after an athlete graduates from high school or turns 19, whichever comes first. If the "Five-for-Five" rule is enacted, it could jeopardize Adams' eligibility. Adams wouldn’t be the first former MLB player to turn back the clock. In 2024, former Miami Marlins outfielder Monte Harrison retired from baseball at 30 years old and enrolled at Arkansas as a wide receiver. Harrison remains with the Razorbacks as they prepare for the 2026 season. If Adams suits up for SMU this year, he would have four years of eligibility remaining under coach Rhett Lashlee, barring any "five-for-five" changes, and could quickly become one of college football’s most intriguing storylines. Read More

​The long-awaited trade of wide receiver A.J. Brown to the New England Patriots finally came to fruition on Monday. But as the deal went down, it further raised the question of how things went sour so quickly between Brown and the Philadelphia Eagles. Brown's relationship with Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was widely speculated as a top reason why Philadelphia opted to move on from the star pass-catcher. Brown confirmed that his relationship with Hurts wasn't as strong as it once was during an appearance on the "7 p.m. in Brooklyn" podcast. However, Brown dispelled the notion that he holds any animosity toward Hurts. "Not as close as we once were. I believe that's fine. There's no bad blood. There's actually a lot of love. I love him. I love him to death. I want him to succeed and accomplish all the things he wants to accomplish," Brown said. "I didn't truly understand why our friendship became the center of everybody's attention when it came to football, because, looking back at it, we haven't been as close as we were for a couple of years now." Brown took to social media to air out his frustrations with the Eagles' offense throughout the 2025 season. Even though Brown had 78 receptions for 1,003 yards and seven touchdowns, he continued to be visibly upset by not having a consistent role in Philadelphia's offense. That led to rumors about Brown's relationship with Hurts and what might have caused the two to grow apart. But Brown isn't sure what might have led to his relationship with Hurts souring. "Nothing happened. People just grow apart, and nothing happened between me and him or our families, wives or anything. Nothing like that ever happened," Brown said. "But life happens. You just look up sometimes and find yourself drifting away, and that's fine. I think both parties accepted that." Brown and Hurts played together for four seasons, with the wide receiver joining the Eagles after he was traded from the Tennessee Titans in 2022. Together, the pair appeared in two Super Bowls, with a win in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs in 2025. Last season, the Eagles' run to repeat fell short, losing to the San Francisco 49ers in the wild-card round. That loss ended up marking the end of Brown's time in Philadelphia, with trade rumors swirling shortly after. And as the rumors began, Brown shared that he told his agent he didn't want to be with the Eagles anymore. "Just talked to my agent. Had a one-on-one sit-down, and he got the green light from me," Brown said. "I was kind of behind the scenes. I wasn't pushing anything and he worked his magic, you know? So, we're here." It had been reported for months that the Patriots would be the likely landing spot for Brown. There were a few reasons why New England would've enticed Brown, too. The Patriots were coming off a Super Bowl run, with Drake Maye emerging as one of the NFL's top quarterbacks. On top of that, heading to New England means that Brown will reunite with his former Titans head coach, Mike Vrabel. But as Brown landed with a team that many thought was an ideal landing spot for him, he denied that he requested to only be traded to a certain team. "I kind of let [my agent] handle that," Brown said. "Obviously, I know it's my career, but I trust him in that area, in that space. That's your job. We talked about a few things, not to get into details, but I let him know all of it. Like I said, it was one of those things where I sat back and enjoyed my family each and every day. That's my only focus: being the best father and husband I can be." Read More