| An update on the host site of the 2028 NFL Draft from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com: Next year’s draft will happen in D.C. The location of the draft after that has yet to be determined. Signs are pointing to the Twin Cities. Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reports that Minnesota is the “clear favorite” to host the 2028 draft. Minnesota submitted a bid in March. The three-day process would center on U.S. Bank Stadium. Other events would happen in St. Paul, at the Mall of America, and in the Viking Lakes development around the team’s headquarters in Eagan. The league’s events committee is due to meet next week regarding the 2028 draft. An ownership vote is expected at the next ownership meeting, on May 19 and 20 in Orlando. The draft became a road show in 2015. As it continues to draw more and more people (regardless of any embellishment of the official numbers), it will become more and more attractive to numerous cities. Since the draft left New York City, it has been hosted by Chicago (twice), Philadelphia, Dallas, Nashville, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, Detroit, Green Bay, and Pittsburgh. Could Cleveland get a Super Bowl with its new stadium? Don’t rule it out. More Florio: Cleveland has never been to a Super Bowl. A Super Bowl could possibly come to Cleveland. At Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Browns’ new stadium, Commissioner Roger Goodell opened the door to the possibility of the league’s premier event making an Ohio premiere. “The stadium is clearly going to be suitable for a Super Bowl,” Goodell said, via Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. “I think the real challenge is going to be how transformational this is here. The airport is important for us. Hotels are important for us. All of the facilities are the biggest challenge for hosting a Super Bowl now. We have probably close to 200,000 people coming in for a Super Bowl. It’s great for economic impact, but it’s hard for cities to be able to meet some of those requirements on the facilities. So that’s the biggest challenge.” Hotel space may be the biggest challenge. “I think the lowest we have is high 40s of hotels,” Goodell said. “And I don’t know what the number is here. I think it’s about half that, roughly. And it’s also the quality of hotels, but also the airport’s a really important issue. And I think the airport from what I understand is going to be part of the development here and part of that opportunity. So there’s a chance here for this to be the transformational type of project that converts and has more events that people need to come to and hotels start to develop. The airport expands and you get that kind of infrastructure.” Here’s the problem with potentially doubling the number of hotels. If the area already justified that many hotels, they’d already exist. It’s a matter of basic economics, and an influx of 40 more hotels could eventually result in 40 of them going out of business. That’s the biggest challenge for the cities that have stadiums good enough to host a Super Bowl. Everything else needs to be in place to absorb the event. And now more from Florio as he hears the 2029 Draft is ticketed for one of the two Queen Cities: The NFL may be lining up its drafts farther into the future than its Super Bowls. The Super Bowl sites have been set through February 2029. Via Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal, the April 2029 draft possibly could be awarded at or about the same time the 2028 draft site is selected. Fischer reports that some believe Cincinnati has the “inside track” to hosting the 2029 draft. It’s not clear, however, whether the league is willing to award the 2029 draft in the short term. Minnesota is currently the “clear favorite” to be awarded the 2028 draft later this month. Commissioner Roger Goodell told Pat McAfee last Friday that the league may start awarding drafts “a little further in advance,” given the size of the endeavor. “The Super Bowl has gotten to a point where, it’s not the stadium size . . . but also it’s hotel rooms and all the other facilities that are necessary. [Hosting the draft] is slightly easier, but it’s getting more difficult,” Goodell said. Frankly, that reality underscores the absence of a firm date for Super Bowl LXII, to be played more than two months before the 2028 draft. A date hasn’t been picked for one reason and one reason only: The NFL still hopes to expand the season to 18 games as of 2027. And if the owners don’t announce a date certain for the game to be played in Atlanta (under the current season size, it would be February 13, 2028) at their next meeting later this month, it means that they’ll spend the summer months trying to persuade the NFL Players Association to agree to the inevitable expansion of the regular season as soon as possible. TODAY IN THE BRIEFING: PHILADELPHIA – Meet UAR BERNARD, a draft pick whose next play will be his first SAN FRANCISCO – Kyle Shanahan defends the 2nd and 3rd round picks |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOBruce Feldman of The Athletic finds an NFL DBs coach who thinks S DILLON THIENEMAN will be the best safety in the draft, better than S CALEB DOWNS who went to Dallas: I loved the Dillon Thieneman pick for the Bears at No. 25. I was very surprised he didn’t go earlier. “I would take Thieneman over Downs,” an NFL DB coach told me this month. “Thieneman is one of the more versatile safeties I’ve seen come out in the last few years. I feel good about him in the deep part of the field, about him in and around the box and about him in coverage, especially from a safeties standpoint. I loved the movement skills from him at the combine. He looked really fluid and loose. There’s a lot to like with him.” Chicago also made a wise pick getting Georgia Tech DT Jordan van den Berg, a native of South Africa, at No. 213 in the sixth round. He’s 6-3, 310, ran a 4.9 40 with a blazing 1.61 10-yard split. He also had a 4.19 shuttle time and a 36-inch vertical. |
| NFC EAST |
| DALLASThe Cowboys acquired a young veteran linebacker in DEE WINTERS during the draft, sending a fifth round pick to the 49ers. Kevin Patra of NFL.com has his reaction: Linebacker Dee Winters was taken by surprise when he heard he was traded from San Francisco to Dallas during the 2026 NFL Draft. “Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it at all. I was surprised quite a bit,” the former TCU Horned Frog said Thursday of the news, via the Cowboys’ official team website. “I definitely didn’t have any plans on being traded. But everything happens for a reason, I’m excited that I’m back home and I get to play for the Dallas Cowboys.” The Cowboys got Winters for a fifth-round pick to help secure the middle of the defense. A backup his first two years in San Francisco, injuries opened the door for Winters to take a step forward in 2025. He started 17 games for the Niners, generating 101 tackles, eight tackles for loss, five passes defensed and earned a pick-six. There were some wobbly moments for Winters, but all in all, he filled in well following Fred Warner’s injury. The 25-year-old said the learning experience will help him immensely moving forward. “I think just the attention to detail last year, and just kind of understanding what offenses like to do,” Winters said. “I feel like I started to pick up on it more as I got reps. Just that experience each and every game getting better and trying to use that motto, I think that really helped me have a decent year last year.” The Cowboys added Winters and third-rounder Jaishawn Barham to the middle of the linebacker unit. The moves will allow new defensive coordinator Christian Parker to be flexible with how he deploys his unit. “He wants to get me in space,” Winters said of Parker’s plan for him. “He feels like one of my assets is me being in space and being able to make tackles in space. Just run and hit with my physicality and speed that I bring to the game. Him and I both are excited to see what that looks like and go from there.” The Cowboys lacked a player who could play sideline to sideline in the middle of the defense, leading to a trove of chunk runs for opponents. If he takes another step forward in Year 4, Winters could be just what the doctor ordered to cure the ills. At the very least, he gives Parker another chip to use in a revamped defense. |
| PHILADELPHIAThe Eagles drafted someone who has never played a single down of football in his entire life. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic: The Eagles selected the most interesting man in the entire draft when they used the No. 251 pick on Uar Bernard from Nigeria. He’s the biggest Freak in the draft, but he’s never played a down of football. At 6-4 1/2, 306 pounds, Bernard is ridiculously chiseled for a defensive tackle prospect. Earlier this month at the NFL’s HBCU showcase, he vertical jumped 39 inches and broad jumped 10-10 — a whopping 14 inches more than any other defensive tackle did at this year’s combine. He also ran a 4.63 40. “Hands down, he is the most explosive athlete I’ve ever seen in my life,” Jordan Luallen, a guy who has trained many elite athletes for the NFL Draft, told me. In the two months Luallen trained Bernard, his broad jump improved by 18 inches, his vertical went up 7 inches and he gained 11 pounds. Bernard is also extremely raw. As impressive as he is running the 40 and soaring in the air, he doesn’t move like a smooth athlete, and learning the nuances of playing high-level football in the trenches is going to take years. Like Eagles star O-lineman Jordan Mailata, Bernard is a product of the NFL’s International Pathway Program. Another Freaky athlete from the IPP program is Kenyan rugby player Joshua Weru, who Eagles GM Howie Roseman also added after the draft. Weru, at 6-4, 244, ran a 4.45 40 with a 41-inch vertical and an 11-2 broad jump. Here is more on Bernard from an earlier story by Feldman: Longtime quarterback coach George Whitfield was helping lead the offensive positional drills at the HBCU showcase at the Washington Commanders facility. After his work was done, the defensive players took the field. Whitfield couldn’t take his eyes off Bernard. He’d never seen anyone like that, either. “It’s like watching (Victor Wembanyama),” Whitfield said. “The numbers don’t even do him justice. He’s 6-5, 310, and he’s got 6 percent body fat on him. NBA players don’t have 6 percent body fat on them.” Later this month, the 21-year-old Bernard, along with a few other prospects from the NFL’s International Player Pathway program, will be in Pittsburgh for this year’s NFL Draft. Skyler Fulton, the head of the NFL’s IPP program, told The Athletic this week that he anticipates that both Bernard and another IPP D-lineman, Josh Weru, a 6-4 1/2, 244-pound edge rusher who jumped 41 1/2 inches and broad-jumped 11-2, will get picked on the draft’s third day. Fulton said Bernard’s progress “has been crazy to watch.” Bernard began the training program Jan. 18 in Florida with Luallen. He came in at 295 pounds with 11 percent body fat. He vertical-jumped 32 inches and broad-jumped 9-4. To see the improvement in the 10 weeks of training is unlike anything Luallen has experienced. “He was very naturally gifted when he walked in, but he made substantial improvement on everything,” he said. “He’s super freakin’ flexible, and he is way more fluid now.” The strength and conditioning component is just a part of what the IPP program does with the international players. There’s also a football IQ component as well as actual physical football every day with football-specific drills. On the field, the D-linemen have worked with coaches Javon Gopie and Dave Cohen, a former longtime Wake Forest defensive line coach. Bernard has come a long way in three years. He grew up in a small village in Nigeria, where most people are farmers, he said. His father was a policeman but passed away when Bernard was 16. He wanted to do something different from most people in his area. “I wanted to go into real estate,” he said. But after getting noticed while playing basketball and told by a coach he should try American football, Bernard attended several camps in Africa before getting selected for the NFL’s IPP program. In the past decade, the program has put numerous players on NFL rosters. Eagles offensive tackle Jordan Mailata is the most notable IPP alum. |
| NFC SOUTH |
| TAMPA BAYBruce Feldman of The Athletic with positive thoughts about the Buccaneers draft beyond acclaimed EDGE RUEBEN BAIN, Jr.: The Bucs also had one of the better drafts. First-round edge Rueben Bain was arguably the most dominant defensive player in college football last year. He fell to the middle of the first round because his arms are an inch shorter than most teams are comfortable with at that position. Missouri LB Josiah Trotter in the second round should pile up tackles for Tampa. Third-rounder Ted Hurst from Georgia State is the steal of this class for a team that needs a young playmaker outside. “I love Ted Hurst,” an NFL receiver coach told me of the 6-3-plus 206-pounder with 4.42 speed and an 11-3 broad jump. “I would say he’s the biggest sleeper in the draft, but he blew up like a month ago.” Tampa also got Miami nickel Keionte Scott in the fourth round. His age was an issue — he’s almost 25 — and his gambling play style also probably scared some teams, but the guy is a playmaker, especially close to the ball. At 5-11, 191, he ran a 4.33 at Miami’s pro day after making a ton of huge plays last season. He was also the subject of my favorite quote in this year’s draft confidential piece: “He could grade out as the lowest defensive back for a game and end up winning Defensive Player of the Week for the NFL,” an NFL DB coach said. “He is the kind of guy who guesses his way into two picks and returns one to the house, but also gets scorched for the rest of the game. He is a feast-or-famine type player. He’s a really good zone nickel and blitzes like a demon. He reminds me of Mike Hilton if Mike Hilton couldn’t play any man coverage early in his career.” |
| NFC WEST |
| ARIZONAKevin Patra of NFL.com speculates as to when QB CARSON BECK might start for the Cardinals: Carson BeckArizona CardinalsDraft selection: No. 65 overall (third round) The Cardinals’ selection of Beck in the third round was an interesting addition to the QB room. Jacoby Brissett is the presumed starter, but he is sitting out offseason workouts in search of a new contract that pays him as such. Gardner Minshew was brought in as a veteran backup. Now enters Beck, who has a trove of experience in college (43 starts) and has physical traits to be a starter. Assuming Arizona figures things out with Brissett, Beck will be a developmental project. But nothing has been predictable in the desert this offseason. I’m not going to forecast that Beck becomes the first third-rounder to start Week 1 since Russell Wilson in 2012, but if the rebuilding Cards stumble through the season, he should see the field at some point. Arizona will at least want to see what he can do before heading into the 2027 draft. Starting prediction: Week 13, 2026 |
| SAN FRANCISCOCoach Kyle Shanahan defends San Francisco’s controversial draft. Eva Geitheim of SI.com: In continuity with annual tradition, the 49ers made several eyebrow-raising selections during this year’s draft. This most notably includes taking Ole Miss wide receiver De’Zhaun Stribling at the top of the second round and Indiana running back Kaelon Black in the third round—higher than many anticipated each player would go. During an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show on Thursday, Shanahan broke down the 49ers’ thought process during the draft. San Francisco went into the draft with the No. 27 selection and six total picks. Though Shanahan noted there were a couple players they would have stayed put at No. 27 to take, those players went off the board so they traded back twice to accrue more picks—a priority since Shanahan felt they needed to add more than six players. “We got introduced to him as a late second-round pick when you’re first looking at him,” Shanahan said of Stribling. “… The more we watch him, it’s not that just we like him because his value’s better later, we actually like him more than some of these guys who will probably be taken at the end of the first round. Shanahan then explained the balance of trying to figure out why he was initially viewed as a late second-round pick, and when he would actually go. “There’s rumors between league circles—not media—that some people have him as the top receiver on your board, but no one’s gonna say that because if they’re your top receiver and everyone thinks they’re going at the end of the second, you’re gonna keep that a secret and you’re gonna surprise everyone and take him at 40,” he said. The 49ers could have attempted to trade back from No. 33 and picked Stribling later, but they went against the risk and took him at 33. As for Black, Shanahan noted they had him ranked as the second-best running back on their board. Black was the first player not invited to the combine to get drafted, but Shanahan shared that by the time the draft rolled around, they felt everyone was looking at him as a fourth-round pick. As such, the 49ers did not mind taking him at No. 90, 11 picks before the fourth round began. Perhaps these picks shouldn’t have been that surprising. After all, the 49ers have often made unconventional selections at both positions during the Kyle Shanahan-John Lynch era. While many thought they could have addressed the offensive line sooner than after taking Stribling and Black in the fourth round, the 49ers have often strayed from using high picks on the line, outside of selecting Mike McGlinchey at No. 9 in 2018. Stribling is the 49ers’ highest-drafted receiver in the Lynch and Shanahan era outside of Brandon Aiyuk and Ricky Pearsall, who were both first-round picks. Though Aiyuk and Pearsall were not necessarily projected to go where the 49ers took them, neither have been outright busts. Aiyuk recorded two 1,000-yard receiving seasons and was a second-team All-Pro before suffering a knee injury that has derailed his career. Pearsall has struggled to stay healthy since the 49ers drafted him, but he was top-five in receiving yards in 2025 before suffering a PCL injury that sidelined him for much of the year. Stribling also fits the mold for what the 49ers look for in a receiver. He has a case as the best blocking receiver in the draft—a priority for San Francisco in the run game—and is also stellar at accumulating yards after the catch. The 49ers often rank among the top-five teams in yards after the catch during the Shanahan era, but those numbers regressed in 2025. The 49ers’ selection of Black is perhaps even less surprising, since a mid-round running back has been a staple for San Francisco in the Shanahan era. While the 49ers feel strongly about Black, the fan base is right to have their trepidations about the pick given the team’s track record of drafting mid-round backs. Since 2021, the 49ers have drafted five running backs between rounds 3-5 who have combined for just 707 yards while on the team. Their most impactful backs have been prized trade acquisition Christian McCaffrey, seventh-rounder Elijah Mitchell and undrafted free agents such as Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida, Jordan Mason and Jeff Wilson Jr. With Black, the 49ers are clearly looking to provide depth behind McCaffrey. They saw Brian Robinson Jr. leave in free agency this year, and have not displayed confidence in Jordan James or Isaac Guerendo as a backup if McCaffrey misses time. It’s understandable for the 49ers not to count on the health they had at the position in 2025, but is Black truly worth the pick if he is primarily a backup? The 49ers might not want McCaffrey to have 413 again touches in 2026, but he still will be getting the vast majority of touches barring injury. |
| SEATTLEBen Horney of Front Office Sports says four potential buyers have emerged for the Seahawks – two of whom you should know. Although there is doubt to Horney’s report that Cook is hot to trot to acquire the team in this from Mike Florio: The Seahawks are doing some selling. And multiple billionaires could be looking to do some buying. Via Ben Horney of Front Office Sports, potential suitors for the Seattle Seahawks include Facebook/Meta mogul Mark Zuckerberg and recently-retired Apple CEO Tim Cook. Both are considering making bids. Two others, whose names have not yet emerged, are looking into the possibility of putting together an offer. The next owner will pay a record amount for controlling interest in a team. At the time it was reported that the Seahawks will be sold, we reported that the expected range for a final price will be $9 billion to $11 billion. Zuckerberg has more than enough money to write a check for 100 percent of the equity, whatever the final price. Cook has a reported net worth of $2.9 billion. That won’t be enough to come up with the cash to buy at least 30 percent of the equity, which makes it very hard for him to be anything other than a minority partner. The Seahawks officially hit the market on February 18, after the NFL applied pressure to current owner Jody Allen to proceed with the wishes of her late brother, Paul Allen, to sell the team and distribute the proceeds to his chosen charities. A $5 million fine for non-compliance with league ownership rules was levied and then rescinded, we’re told, with the understanding that the team would be promptly put up for sale after the 2025 season. And while the Seahawks’ status as the reigning Super Bowl champion won’t change the balance sheets, it adds a little cachet to a process that has less to do with book value and more to do with acquiring a rare asset that is always appreciating. UPDATE 5:32 p.m. ET: The FOS article has been updated to include a claim, from a “source close to Apple,” that the notion Cook is considering a bid for the Seahawks is “completely false.”– – -An interesting move by the Seahawks. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: There’s a new tallest cornerback in the NFL. The Seahawks have announced that Tyrone Broden, who was a practice squad wide receiver, is changing his position to cornerback. At 6-foot-5, Broden now becomes the tallest cornerback in the league. In fact, if he plays in a regular-season game at cornerback, he’d be the tallest in league history: According to pro-football-reference.com, no player listed at taller than 6-foot-4 has ever played cornerback in a regular-season game. Last year there were two 6-foot-4 cornerbacks in the NFL, Seattle’s Riq Woolen (who is now with the Eagles) and Chicago’s Nahshon Wright (who is now with the Jets). Broden has an inch on both of them. The 25-year-old Broden was a wide receiver throughout his college career, first for three years at Bowling Green and then for two years at Arkansas. After going undrafted last year, he spent 2025 on the Seahawks’ practice squad. Broden will have plenty of work to do to make the Seahawks’ regular-season roster at a new position, but if he makes it, he’ll make NFL history as the tallest cornerback ever. |
| AFC WEST |
| DENVERS JUSTIN SIMMONS has retired as a Bronco. Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com sends him off in style: Ten years to the day from when the Denver Broncos selected a Boston College safety named Justin Simmons with the final pick of the third round of the 2016 NFL draft, he said his formal goodbye to the NFL on Wednesday. Simmons, who played eight seasons for the Broncos and one with the Atlanta Falcons, said that he was “so grateful and appreciative” for the send-off, in front of his family and assorted members of the Broncos but that in some ways “it is more than I deserve.” He had earlier announced he was retiring as a Bronco in a post to Instagram, saying in an accompanying video that, “being a Denver Bronco was more than just a team. It was my heart, my home and my story.” Simmons, selected with the No. 98 pick in the 2016 draft, played in 118 games with the Broncos (108 starts), was chosen for two Pro Bowls, was a second-team All-Pro four times and finished sixth in franchise history in interceptions, with 30 of his 32 career interceptions coming in a Broncos uniform. His 32 interceptions are second only to the New England Patriots’ Kevin Byard since 2016. His tenure, however, began the season after the team’s last Super Bowl appearance — Super Bowl 50 to close out the 2015 season — and ended before the back-to-back playoff appearances of the last two seasons. Simmons’ time in Denver coincided with the franchise’s longest playoff drought since the Broncos’ time in the AFL and included high player turnover, short coaching tenures and a string of seasons of struggle along the way. He was one of the team’s constants in that time, however, an important voice in the locker room, one of its best players on the field and a prominent presence in the community. He said Wednesday that the reaction from fans about the news of his retirement would always be memorable for him. “It was a hard eight years,” Simmons said. “… It hurt not to be able to [make the playoffs]. I was a safety, there’s only so much I can control, but I just felt like there was a lot asked and I feel like I fell short. “I felt like I let a lot of people down … to see that type of reaction for me [Wednesday], it’s more than I deserve, it’s heartwarming, I’m thankful, I’m blessed, I’m honored. … I want to be able to be remembered for how I helped improve lives. … I don’t take any of it for granted.” He was a three-time Walter Payton Man of the Year with the Broncos for his off-the-field efforts, including his extensive work at the Denver Boys & Girls Club. He also was a three-time team captain. Hall of Fame Broncos safety Steve Atwater introduced Simmons at a ceremony Wednesday at the Broncos’ south suburban complex. Simmons said that when he arrived in Denver as a 22-year-old rookie he already knew the franchise’s history of safeties with Hall of Famers like Atwater, John Lynch and Brian Dawkins as well as team ring of fame members Dennis Smith, Steve Foley and Goose Gonsoulin. “I did my best with what we were going through, and it was a lot,” Simmons said. “… I hope the legacy that was left was a guy who actually did care, was passionate, I wanted to do well. … I was just trying to be the best version of myself. … I was trying my best.” The Broncos released Simmons in 2024 in a salary cap-related move, and he later signed with the Falcons. He started 16 games for Atlanta that season and finished with two interceptions. Simmons did not play last season and said Wednesday that he had a short list of teams he would have played for in 2025 but that those opportunities didn’t arise. He finished his career with 666 tackles, 71 passes defended and five forced fumbles in 134 games (124 starts). Simmons, 32, said Wednesday that he will spend more time with his family, work with his foundation, and begin to meet with people and “pick their brains” to plan a bigger post-football career. In the short term, however, he said already had a game-day plan for the next Broncos season. “I can’t wait to go to a game and tailgate,” Simmons said. “I’ve never done that.” |
| LAS VEGASBruce Feldman of The Athletic is all in on the Raiders using a Day 3 pick on Tennessee CB JERMOD McCOY: While all eyes will be on the Raiders’ first pick, Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza, I’m almost as curious to keep an eye on their first pick at the top of the draft’s third day: Tennessee CB Jermod McCoy. The 6-0 3/4, 192-pound McCoy, who ran a 4.4 40 and broad jumped 10-7 at his pro day, had four INTs as a sophomore in 2024 but missed all of last season with a knee injury. Concerns about his knee are why he didn’t go in the first round. “From what I’ve been hearing, the knee doesn’t sound good,” an NFL DB coach told me last week. “I’ve got a hard time in two phases. One: It sounds like the knee is worse than what people thought, and two, if it isn’t as bad as what people think, then he probably didn’t come back as soon as he could’ve. But from a traits standpoint, he’s what you’re hunting. He should be the top guy off the ’24 tape. He’s long, has ball skills, he plays with vision, he reacts and responds well with what he sees, he has good top-end speed, and it’s not just long speed. He has quickness and really good change-of-direction ability. He’s like a fish in water. He’s such a fluid mover.” This is a gamble whose potential payoff is too rich not to roll the dice. Getting McCoy in addition to one of my favorite players in this draft, Arizona DB Treydan Stukes in the second round, is great value. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREHe is not done yet. DE CALAIS CAMPBELL has signed for a 19th season with one of his former teams. Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com: – Six-time Pro Bowl defensive lineman Calais Campbell is reuniting with the Baltimore Ravens. Campbell is returning to sign a one-year deal with the Ravens, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday. This will mark the 19th season for Campbell, who will turn 40 on Sept. 1. Baltimore is bringing back Campbell because interior defensive line was among the thinnest positions on the team after the draft. Though Pro Bowl defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike might come back from neck surgery, the only Ravens defensive linemen currently available who played more than 100 snaps last season are Travis Jones, John Jenkins and CJ Okoye. Campbell had a successful run with Baltimore from 2020 to 2022, totaling 11 sacks and reaching the Pro Bowl in 2020. The Ravens have had interest in bringing back Campbell previously and were close to trading for him in November 2024 when he was with the Miami Dolphins. With Baltimore waiting until this week to sign Campbell, it won’t affect the Ravens’ compensatory pick formula. The Ravens are projected to get four comp picks in the 2027 draft. Campbell played 643 snaps last season, outpacing the goal the Arizona Cardinals had set for him. Despite playing more than expected, Campbell still produced. He played in all 17 games and finished with 6.5 sacks, tied for his most in a season since he had 10.5 in 2018 while with the Jacksonville Jaguars. His leadership was lauded throughout the Cardinals organization, which drafted him in the second round in 2008 and for which he played his first nine seasons. He was a mentor to the entire defensive line room, from rookies such as 2025 first-round pick Walter Nolen III to veterans including Dalvin Tomlinson. In addition to his sacks, Campbell had two passes defended and finished with 43 tackles, including nine for loss, while also contributing 16 quarterback hits. A first-team All-Pro in 2017, when he finished second in NFL Defensive Player of the Year voting, Campbell also has spent time with the Atlanta Falcons. He has 117 sacks, 282 QB hits and 18 forced fumbles in his career. |
| CINCINNATI |
| CLEVELANDThose around the Browns, like Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, are hearing that QB DESHAUN WATSON has emerged as a clear number one. But Coach Todd Monken declines to confirm that at the moment. Josh Alper ofProFootballTalk.com: Browns head coach Todd Monken isn’t ready to talk about a starting quarterback yet. A report this week said that Deshaun Watson emerged from last week’s minicamp as the favorite to start over Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel once the Browns get to Week 1 of the regular season. During an appearance on 92.3 The Fan on Friday, Monken said his preference would be to have a starter in place when the team starts training camp while adding that he hasn’t seen enough at this point to make that kind of determination. “I would love to have that,” Monken said. “I’m not there yet, so I can’t say that. We’ve been on the field 3 practices. . . . What I’ve seen after three days, that gives us a 40,000-foot view of where we’re at, but that can change once we get back on the field. There’s only so many reps you get, you’ve got to start to target towards who is gonna start opening day. That can still change. That can change, even if someone is gonna get two-thirds of the reps and someone’s getting one-third of reps because you’re still gonna play preseason games.” |
| AFC SOUTH |
| INDIANAPOLISHe was the fourth overall pick of the draft, fourth overall, but QB ANTHONY RICHARDSON will not have his fifth-year option picked up. Charean Williams ofProFootballTalk.com: The Colts will not exercise the fifth-year option on quarterback Anthony Richardson’s rookie contract, Mike Chappell of Fox 59 reports. That was expected as the Colts seek to trade Richardson. General Manager Chris Ballard said Saturday that he “hadn’t given too much thought” about the fifth-year option that would have paid Richardson $22.483 million for 2027. But the Colts faced a Friday deadline for a decision. It didn’t take much consideration as Richardson, the fourth overall pick in 2023, has started only 15 games due to injuries and inconsistency. He is still recovering from an eye injury from last October. Richardson has requested a trade, and if the Colts can’t find a trade partner, they will have to decide whether to release Richardson. The Colts have Richardson, Riley Leonard and Seth Henigan behind Daniel Jones on their depth chart. |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW ENGLANDThere were a lot of reasons to be positively on the Patriots 12 months ago. Will Hill ofFoxSports.com now thinks you should take the under. With the 2026 NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, the look ahead to the regular season becomes clearer, with rosters now mostly established. Last week, the Las Vegas Raiders drafted Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall, as expected — but the remainder of the first round presented a few curveballs. The Tennessee Titans drafting Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate fourth overall was not predicted in any major mock draft, and made for a stunning selection. Then, some were surprised when the Los Angeles Rams decided to draft Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, a position where they have the league’s reigning MVP in Matthew Stafford. But, a major story that hung over the NFL this weekend was Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel not attending the third day of the draft to attend counseling for personal issues. While Vrabel seems on track to coach the Patriots when the season begins, I believe this tumultuous offseason is an ominous sign for the team in 2026. The Patriots, who have an Over/Under of 9.5 regular season wins, were already going to be up against some obstacles even before the news of Vrabel broke. “The Super Bowl hangover” refers to the team that loses the Super Bowl and often underperforms the following season. The physical toll of playing an extra month of football, or not recovering from the disappointment of losing the Super Bowl, has proven tough to bounce back from. None of the last three Super Bowl losers (Chiefs, 49ers, and Eagles) have won a playoff game the following year, with two of those teams missing the playoffs altogether. The Patriots also notably had one of the easier schedules in league history last season, as their opponents had a combined winning percentage of .366, the lowest mark in the NFL since 1999. That will not only change this year, but it will do so in dramatic fashion, as the Patriots will now battle a first-place schedule. N.E. will have to play the other division winners in the AFC (Steelers, Jaguars, and Broncos), as well as the Seahawks, Chiefs, Bears, Lions, along with two games against the Bills. When you consider the swing of going from a historically easy schedule to now a very difficult one, the Super Bowl hangover concern, and the offseason issues for Vrabel, it all adds up to a step back for the AFC champions. The Patriots are +165 to miss the playoffs, which I think is a good bet as well, but I’ll place my bet that the team does not win 10 games against that challenging schedule. PICK: New England Patriots Under 9.5 regular-season wins |
