| NFL vs. CFP. The ratings are in and Sean Leahy of YahooSports.com has the numbers. The NFL continued to prove that it is king with a strong showing in the ratings department for its two Saturday afternoon games that went up against competition from the College Football Playoff. There were 15.4 million viewers for the Baltimore Ravens win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Fox and 15.5 million viewers on NBC for the late afternoon matchup that saw the Kansas City Chiefs defeat the Houston Texans, according to Sports Media Watch. Saturday’s afternoon CFP first-round matchups aired on TNT, TBS and truTV, with Texas’ win over Clemson bringing in 8.6 million viewers and Penn State knocking out SMU seeing 6.4 million. The two evening games — Ohio State topping Tennessee (14.3 million) and Notre Dame’s rout of Indiana (13.4 million) — each delivered strong numbers with no competition from the NFL. Despite going head-to-head with two NFL games and the results ending up in blowouts, the CFP numbers in context were very good. Across the board, the four games averaged 10.6 million viewers with Tennessee-Ohio State and Indiana-Notre Dame delivering two of the three largest audiences of the season for college football. Clemson-Texas and SMU-Penn State were the two most-watched college football games that aired exclusively on cable this season. Meanwhile, Jack Baer of YahooSports.com has this report on Netflix, the NFL and Christmas Day: One month ago, Netflix was on most sports fans’ minds when its glitchy, buffering mess of a stream marred the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match. It was a bad showing. Making it more ominous was that the streamer was set to air a pair of NFL games 40 days later. Those two games are now finished, and we can officially say Netflix’s reputation for live streaming has emerged unscathed, for the most part. There were some complaints on social media about the picture quality and an awkward start with a muted microphone, but nothing approached the torrent of rage that hit the company during the Paul-Tyson fight, which made seemingly every user endure regular freezes throughout the main card. The glitches were arguably a bigger story than the rather sad fight at the center of the festivities, in which Paul defeated the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion by unanimous decision. Netflix apparently learned its lesson and beefed up its servers, while also going all-out on production value. That included a Beyoncé halftime concert that could have honestly passed for a legitimate Super Bowl halftime show. Both games were significantly one-sided, as the Kansas City Chiefs never trailed in a 29-10 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers while the Baltimore Ravens dominated the Houston Texans from start to finish in a 31-2 pasting. Live streaming has been a work in progress for Netflix over the past couple years. Its first foray into a live event was an even bigger disaster than last month’s boxing match, as a “Love is Blind” reunion show failed to get off the ground last April. The stream was eventually canceled after a 75-minute delay, with the reunion recorded and aired later. The progress is important, as live event coverage is one of Netflix’s biggest priorities for the future. The reason why: The streamer reported a peak of 65 million concurrent streams for the Paul-Tyson fight, making it by far the most-watched fight of the year. The co-main event between Katie Taylor and Amanda Serrano also reportedly hit nearly 50 million households, which would make it the most-watched women’s sporting event ever aired in the U.S. The early returns for Netflix’s NFL games are similarly encouraging, as it reported nearly one third of its global subscribers, coming in from over 200 countries, tuned in for at least part of the earlier game Wednesday between the Chiefs and Steelers. Netflix has plenty more live events coming up as well, most notably the rights for the next two FIFA Women’s World Cups. On the NFL’s side, success with Netflix would be significant for two of the league’s biggest priorities, as it offers both a large international audience and the ability to prepare for an increasingly streaming-heavy future. The NFL is hardly hurting for ratings these days, but it’s not going to turn down an opportunity for yet another enormous revenue stream. |
| NFC NORTH |
| CHICAGOAdam Schefter carries a message from Pete Carroll to the Bears. Seattle Seahawks Super-Bowl winning coach Pete Carroll has expressed interest in the Chicago Bears’ head coaching job and would like to return to the sideline next season, league sources told ESPN. Carroll is one of four head coaches to have led teams to both a national championship and the Super Bowl. The others are Barry Switzer, Jimmy Johnson and Jim Harbaugh. Three teams — the Bears, Jets and Saints — are in the market for a head coach who can help reset their culture. Few coaches have been more effective than Carroll at doing just that. The Bears fired Matt Eberflus on Nov. 29, one day after a 23-20 loss to the Lions that ended with the Bears’ furious comeback attempt falling short thanks to clock mismanagement. Thomas Brown, who had recently been named Chicago’s interim offensive coordinator, assumed Chicago’s interim head coaching duties. Carroll helped shape USC into a national champion and then went to Seattle and, over a run that lasted 14 seasons, led the Seahawks to 10 playoff appearances, two conference championships and the franchise’s only Super Bowl win. Last January, the Seahawks announced Carroll was out as head coach. At the time, owner Jody Allen said in a statement that Carroll would remain with the team as an advisor. Later that month, Seattle hired former Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald as head coach. In recent weeks, Carroll has begun discussing a return in the NFL and now is interested in doing it. He has not yet spoken with any teams yet, per sources, but he would welcome that chance. Although Carroll is 73, everybody who knows him knows that he has more energy than most. |
| AFC WEST |
| KANSAS CITYAfter a long string of great escapes, the Chiefs are actually playing like a team going for a three-peat. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: For most of the 2024 season, the Chiefs pulled out wins with last-minute heroics and fortunate bounce that made many question when their luck was going to run out. The formula has looked a bit different the last few weeks. The wins have been a bit more comfortable and Wednesday’s victory in Pittsburgh was as convincing as any they have had all season. Head coach Andy Reid agreed with a reporter at his postgame press conference who called the 29-10 their most complete performance of the year and said the team was “rolling” in all three phases. Reid added that it’s important that the team not “flatten off” after reaching this level of performance and quarterback Patrick Mahomes agreed that it’s important not to get complacent at this point. “We’re playing, especially offensively, our best football at the end of the year,” Mahomes said. “Getting guys healthy and we’re excited for it. We’re going to keep working. This isn’t the end. This is just the beginning, and we will continue to work to get even better as we go into the playoffs.” The Chiefs clinched the top seed in the AFC playoffs, so they have nothing to play for in Week 18 and they will be off until their divisional round game on January 18 or 19. Balancing the chance to get even healthier with the desire to stay sharp will be something for Reid to figure out when it comes to resting players ahead of the final push for a threepeat in Kansas City. The final game is in Denver – and there might be other NFL teams like the Bengals and Colts that need a competitive effort from Kansas City for a chance to crash the playoffs. This from Jeff Kerr of The Athletic on a jovial Coach Andy Reid after the game: With the Chiefs locking up the No. 1 seed, Andy Reid decided to have some fun with his team. The Chiefs head coach dressed as Santa Claus to celebrate — and gave his team speech in the suit. This was after Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce entered in heavy Santa coats. “Merry Christmas,” Reid said. “For the present, you get home-field advantage!” Reid has his first 15-win regular season as a head coach in his 26th year (has 19 double-digit win seasons). The Chiefs are looking to become the first team since the 1965-1967 Green Bay Packers — and first team in the Super Bowl era — to win three straight championships. |
| AFC NORTH |
| BALTIMOREThe Ravens destroyed the Texans and now are a win over Cleveland away from the AFC North crown. Josh Alper of ProFootballTalk.com: Beyoncé put on the best show in Houston on Christmas, but the Ravens were a close second. The Ravens raced out to a 7-0 lead on their opening possession of their game against the Texans and never looked back on their way to a 31-2 win. The victory moves them to 11-5 on the year and they will be the AFC North champions with a win over the Browns at home in Week 18. As is usually the case for the Ravens, Lamar Jackson was front and center in the win. Jackson ran for 87 yards to pass Michael Vick and become the NFL’s all-time rushing leader among quarterbacks. Those running stats included a 48-yard touchdown and Jackson was also 10-of-15 for 168 yards and two touchdowns through the air. Jackson now has 3,955 passing yards and 852 rushing yards for the year and another big game in the regular season finale should make for a very interesting choice between him and Josh Allen for MVP voters. The Ravens also got 148 rushing yards from Derrick Henry as they followed the same formula that they have used to great offensive success all season. The win is their third blowout in a row since their bye week and it seems like they are peaking at the right time with the playoffs right around the corner. The same cannot be said of the Texans. Their offense was dreadful on Wednesday as quarterback C.J. Stroud missed open receivers, threw an interception and took five sacks en route to a scoreless outing. There was one moment where they had a chance to make a game of it in the second quarter when they followed a safety with a drive inside the Ravens’ 5-yard-line, but running back Joe Mixon got stuffed short of the end zone on fourth down and Houston never threatened to score again. Missing pieces due to injury can explain some of the issues, but the offensive issues are not new for Houston and their Christmas effort is one that foreshadows a short stay in the postseason if they can’t figure out a better way to move the ball before the calendar flips to January. Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic with more on the ascent of the Ravens at a key time: The Baltimore Ravens entered their Week 14 bye with two losses in three games, significant questions about their defense and normally reliable kicker Justin Tucker, and a two-game deficit to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC North. The challenge that awaited their return to play was simple in theory: Win three games in 11 days and still be in the mix for a division title once Week 18 rolled around. The Ravens exited the visiting locker room at NRG Stadium Wednesday night, looking to enjoy the final few hours of Christmas and having accomplished far more than they could have imagined when this decisive stretch of their regular season began. Their 31-2 bludgeoning of a Houston Texans team that was overmatched in every phase gave the Ravens sole possession of first place for the first time this season and set them up for a hat and T-shirt game at home next weekend against the Cleveland Browns. “That feels good,” Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey said. “I know the Browns are probably just as excited as we are to try to not let that happen. So, it’s very exciting to be able to enjoy this Christmas, enjoy the days off. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m going to go home and enjoy the baby, enjoy the wife, but I’m ready to get back to work. I want that AFC North. It feels good to get that hat and T-shirt, and hopefully everybody can enjoy a day or so and then lock back in.” While the Ravens have won three games in 11 days to get to 11-5, the Steelers lost three games during that same span to fall to 10-6. With a win by the Ravens or a loss by the Steelers against the desperate Cincinnati Bengals next weekend, Baltimore would repeat as division champs. “These guys took these three games in 11 days and smashed it, obliterated it, tore it up and made it into a bunch of smithereens laying around everywhere,” coach John Harbaugh. “I’m proud of the guys, how they did it. They did a great job.” The numbers support Harbaugh’s comments. In an 11-day span, the Ravens outscored the New York Giants, Steelers and Texans, 100-33, with two of those wins coming on the road. Over the past five days, their margin of victory over playoff-bound Pittsburgh and Houston was 65-19. The Ravens didn’t just show mental and physical toughness during this stretch, from which they’ve seemingly emerged from mostly healthy heading into a mini bye week (players won’t return to the team facility until Monday). They stamped themselves as legitimate contenders, a team getting better at the right time, limiting mistakes that consistently hurt them over the first three-plus months of the season and playing solid complementary football. Lamar Jackson continues to add to his MVP resume and enhance one of the best seasons a quarterback has ever played. Derrick Henry’s ability to get stronger as the season moves along is playing out again. Tight end Mark Andrews has been a fixture in the end zone for 10 weeks now. The penalty numbers are dropping, and Tucker is consistently making kicks again. The Ravens’ defense, maligned over the first three months, is starting to take the ball away and play much more disciplined. Before Wednesday’s game turned into a rout, there were safety Ar’Darius Washington and cornerback Tre’Davious White pushing Joe Mixon out of bounds for a fourth-down stop and safety Kyle Hamilton making a diving interception. Mixon finished with just 26 yards rushing, and Texans second-year quarterback C.J. Stroud had a miserable evening, completing just 17 of 31 passing attempts for 185 yards. He was sacked five times and intercepted once. The Texans’ offense was booed loudly during multiple points of the game. “I’m not going to lie, I think when I have conversations with some of the guys one-on-one, two-on-two, there were some tough conversations,” Humphrey said. “We still believed, but it did seem far away, because it just seemed like every single guy was having a mishap at just the wrong time. Like I said earlier in the season, it seemed like luck just was not on our side.” “We kept being like, ‘What are we doing wrong? What are we doing wrong?’ And it was simple. We just needed to get all 11 guys doing their job. … When we do that, we’re a really tough defense. When we’re not, we look average, and that’s not the standard. Today, I thought the standard was there.” |
| PITTSBURGHBrooke Poyer of ESPN.com with the numbers on Pittsburgh’s demise over the last three games: Mike Tomlin and his team didn’t mince words in the aftermath of the Steelers’ third straight loss. “That sucked, to be blunt,” the coach said after Pittsburgh’s 29-10 Christmas Day loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. “Not the type of ball we want to play and really kind of eerily similar to our last performance in that we’re not doing the fundamental things well enough.” In losing to the Chiefs, the Steelers (10-6) not only failed to compete with another one of the league’s top teams, they also lost the ability to control their destiny in the race for the AFC North title and a coveted home playoff game. Though they once led the division by two games, the Steelers now have to beat the Cincinnati Bengals in the regular-season finale and have the Baltimore Ravens lose their Week 18 game to the Cleveland Browns to capture the crown. “It’s got to be a want-to,” linebacker Alex Highsmith said of how to right the ship. “There’s not enough of that right now. There’s got to be a want-to. It’s that time of the year where we got two guaranteed games left. We’re going to find out … who wants this. Everybody in this room got to want it. That’s the only way we’re going to move on and get better.” The once-stout Steelers defense has given up an average of 30 points in the past three weeks, and the turnovers that once defined the team’s success have slowed. The Steelers have only three takeaways in the past three games after collecting three each in the four games before the losing streak. The Steelers failed to produce a takeaway against the Chiefs, despite forcing a fumble the Chiefs ultimately recovered on a punt return. And in the past two weeks, the Steelers have given up five touchdowns and not had an interception on throws outside the numbers. Through Week 15, they had given up only six passing touchdowns and had six interceptions on such throws, per ESPN Research. “Guys can’t be f—ing wide open. Do your job,” safety DeShon Elliott said of how to fix the Steelers’ recurring problems. “I feel like we communicated. Guys just weren’t doing their freaking job. Get back to the drawing board. It’s Week [17]. Shouldn’t be having these problems. … This is a Week 1, Week 2 problem. So I don’t know where we went, down the line started becoming a whole different defense [than] we were, but we got to get back to who we are.” The Steelers’ giveaways have compounded the issue. Though they still have the second-best turnover margin in the NFL, the offense has turned the ball over five times during the losing streak, including twice Wednesday. Quarterback Russell Wilson threw an interception in the end zone in the first half, and in the fourth quarter, tight end Pat Freiermuth fumbled on third down to give the Chiefs a short field. The visitors scored four plays later to go up 29-10. |
| AFC EAST |
| NEW YORK JETSMore quotes from QB AARON RODGERS from Rich Cimini of ESPN.com: One day after enjoying a laugh at the expense of New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, quarterback Aaron Rodgers offered an unusually curt response Tuesday when asked about Johnson — boosting the perception of a rift between them. Rodgers, discussing his future, said he must be “in the plans of multiple people, starting with the ownership” for the Jets to retain him in 2025. The future Hall of Famer sidestepped a question on whether he believes Johnson wants him back. “You should ask Woody,” Rodgers said tersely. Has he had any conversations with Johnson about his future? “No.” Rodgers, 41, is preparing for what likely will be the final two games of his Jets career — and perhaps his NFL career. Despite an MCL injury to his left knee, Rodgers said he is planning to play Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, insisting, “There is no way I’m not playing.” Earlier Tuesday, interim coach Jeff Ulbrich was noncommittal. With the Jets (4-11) closing out their most disappointing season in recent memory, the game is the secondary storyline for Rodgers, who continues to make headlines. On Monday, he poked at Johnson during his weekly appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” saying he has never been released by a teenager — a reference to a recent story by The Athletic that said Johnson is influenced by his teenage sons, Brick and Jack. A source told ESPN recently that he’d be “shocked” if Johnson, 77, brings back Rodgers, who is under contract for 2025 but hasn’t played up to expectations. In Week 6, Johnson suggested benching Rodgers, sources said. That didn’t sit well with Rodgers, who has battled through various leg injuries to stay on the field. |
| THIS AND THAT |
| RANKING NINE POSSIBLE COACHING JOBSBill Barnwell of ESPN.com ranks nine coaching jobs, some of which would involve a one-and-done coach, in terms of desirability. As is often the case with the verbose Barnwell, we have edited for space: It’s a good time to be Ben Johnson. The Lions’ offensive coordinator has the Detroit offense thriving as Jared Goff & Co. push toward a Super Bowl. In between drawing up Leak variations in which Goff and Jahmyr Gibbs pretend to slip to fool defenders, Johnson might be giving some thought to the variety of head coaching jobs likely to be thrown his way this offseason. Of course, Johnson can take only one job. With three teams having already fired their coaches and more presumably expected after Week 18, not every franchise can land its preferred candidate (and some teams might prefer somebody else to the Detroit wunderkind). Which job should Johnson and his peers prefer? Which jobs would be most desirable? Least desirable? Let’s take a look at that very topic and run through the various actual and potential coaching openings coming due across the NFL. Though there’s usually a surprise opening that pops up — like the Titans after 2022 and the Seahawks after last season — I’ve tried to focus on opportunities with teams that have been rumored to be considering a coaching change. Keep in mind, though, this isn’t an argument in favor of any of these particular coaches being fired. There are teams such as the Dolphins and Titans, where I’d argue it would be foolish or premature to move on from the existing option. These rankings are taking the extremely aggressive assumption that these nine jobs will all come open over the next couple of weeks. I’ll start with the least appealing job and finish with the most appealing one and describe what might be exciting or underwhelming about each: 9. New Orleans SaintsPros: Ownership, divisionCons: Roster, salary capThe Saints are roughly where the Raiders were in 2011, when they were holding on for dear life with the league’s worst cap situation in the hopes of being competitive. That team had an excuse: They were attempting to win one for Al Davis while the legendary owner was still alive, which was made more difficult by the fact that the octogenarian was the one making key decisions, including hiring Hue Jackson to be the new coach. The Saints don’t have that excuse or really any reason to operate the way they have over the past few years now that Drew Brees and Sean Payton have both left town. This season has continued the slide down the drain for New Orleans, which followed the firing of longtime Payton assistant Pete Carmichael during the offseason by dismissing coach Dennis Allen in midyear. Darren Rizzi has gone 3-3 as the interim coach, but this organization desperately needs to accept that the glory days aren’t coming back until it gets a fresh start. It seems as if there are two paths to take, and those paths might require two different kinds of coaches. One would be the path the Saints have taken over the past few years since Brees’ retirement in 2021, the idea they can compete for a division title and host a playoff game if things break their way. While acknowledging they have been brutalized by injuries this season, it’s more difficult to make that case than ever before. And there isn’t as much as the Saints would hope to serve as the core of the next generation. Wideout Chris Olave has dealt with concussions this season. First-round picks Taliese Fuaga and Trevor Penning are works in progress at tackle as opposed to immediate solutions, with Penning’s fifth-year option looming as a difficult call. Kool-Aid McKinstry has taken his lumps as a rookie corner, which isn’t concerning, but Alontae Taylor has given up more expected points added (EPA) than any cornerback in the league. Paulson Adebo, another corner, broke his leg in October. The Saints have dropped from seventh in EPA allowed per play a year ago to 20th this season. The other path would be to accept reality and begin a difficult rebuild. It’ll take two years to get the bad contracts off the long-abused Saints’ cap sheet, and what happens over that time span won’t be pretty. This Mickey Loomis-led front office had an all-timer of a draft in 2017, but the results since then have been mixed. It remains to be seen if ownership lets Loomis and assistant GM Jeff Ireland handle the rebuild when it does come. The Benson family has been willing to pay massive bonuses up front year after year as part of restructures for the Saints to keep their cap afloat and shown plenty of patience as the organization tries to rebuild a post-Brees identity. Unfortunately, it might have been too much patience. 8. New York JetsPros: Young coreCons: Ownership, quarterback, cap spaceWell, you saw what happened over the past two years. A Jets team that attempted to shoot for the moon with Aaron Rodgers at quarterback landed in the darkness instead. At 4-11, they are guaranteed a worse record with Rodgers this season than they had with Zach Wilson & Co. in 2022 or 2023, a fate that even the most skeptical of Rodgers cynics wouldn’t have predicted. Though he has been better in recent weeks, it’s painful to even imagine the Jets running it back for another season with the now-41-year-old. For cultural reasons alone, it should be time to move on. Still, it’s tough to rule out anything in New York. The “quarterback” section in the cons above considers both the possibility of Rodgers returning and the difficulty the Jets will have in replacing him. With a top-10 pick in a draft that isn’t expected to have many upper-echelon quarterback options, the Jets probably will be locked out of the top prospects. Sam Darnold is expected to be the best option available on the free agent and trade markets, but he will have the ability to dictate his next destination. After his disastrous run with the Jets, nobody would fault him for not wanting to return. Rodgers’ best chance of returning might be the lack of suitable alternatives. The new coach and general manager will need to reckon with a roster that needs work. The Jets will need to restructure or outright release wideout Davante Adams, who has a $38.3 million cap hit. There’s an excellent young core from the 2022 draft in cornerback Sauce Gardner, receiver Garrett Wilson, edge rusher Jermaine Johnson and running back Breece Hall, but they all will be eligible for extensions this offseason amid murky circumstances. Gardner and Hall have struggled through disappointing 2024 seasons, Johnson tore his Achilles in September and Wilson hasn’t been happy with his role. Those players were the core of what was supposed to make this team work around Rodgers and his band of merry friends last season; now, they are all about to get much more expensive or leave town. Signing those guys would eat up much of the $31.65 million in cap space the Jets have to work with this offseason The bigger question, perhaps, is how ownership will affect that decision-making. Recent reporting has laid bare the dysfunction at the root of the Jets organization, with team owner Woody Johnson reportedly relying on his sons and video game ratings to help influence decisions. We can grapple with the idea of whether Madden ratings count as analytics another day, but it’s clear whomever takes charge will be worried about having their hands tied by the one person in the building who can’t be fired. The embarrassment of 2024 might do enough to push Johnson away from football decisions for some period of time, but bad owners usually find it impossible to resist getting involved for long. Those reports are going to make the head coach and general manager jobs less appealing to potential candidates and more difficult to do once they get to Florham Park. 7. Las Vegas RaidersPros: Location, young roster, cap spaceCons: A generation of draft whiffs, divisionYoung doesn’t necessarily equal good, which is the unfortunate case with the Raiders. General manager Tom Telesco has correctly leaned into rebuilding the roster in Las Vegas, but it’s going to take time. There just isn’t much in the cupboard. I’ve repeatedly explained the toll the mistakes of the Jon Gruden/Mike Mayock and Josh McDaniels/Dave Ziegler regimes has put on the Raiders, and that reality has set in as part of a 3-12 season. Antonio Pierce’s game management blunders haven’t helped matters, but this isn’t all on an inexperienced coach. Teams can’t win when they are drafting useful starters once every presidential regime: Las Vegas’ 2024 class has been better. Tight end Brock Bowers is a superstar. Offensive linemen Jackson Powers-Johnson and DJ Glaze have been works in progress, but they’ve shown enough to start next season. The Raiders have mostly resisted the urge to sign stopgaps on defense after years of doing so, and given young guys such as Jack Jones, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Decamerion Richardson regular reps in the secondary, albeit with painful results. At the very least, Telesco lived up to his reputation with the Chargers and held onto his draft picks in 2024, which is a major upgrade on the habits of the previous decision-makers during their time in charge. There’s also enough to win games up front, where the Raiders didn’t get a great look at free-agent addition Christian Wilkins because of injuries. Maxx Crosby and Malcolm Koonce return next year after being put on injured reserve. Though 2023 first-rounder Tyree Wilson appears to be a disappointment, there have been signs of life down the stretch from 2020 Jags first-rounder K’Lavon Chaisson. The difficult part for the Raiders is they get squeezed on all sides. In a division with Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid, Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh, and Bo Nix and Sean Payton, they’re not one player or even one draft away from competing with the rest of the AFC West. – – –The new factor is the presence of Tom Brady in a minority ownership role, where he reportedly will have more say over Vegas’ processes. We don’t know much about what happens next with Brady, which is why his presence isn’t considered a pro or a con above. Will he quit his announcing role and work on improving the Raiders on a full-time basis? If he does, will that be a good thing? Bill Belichick’s assistants and personnel men haven’t had much success building rosters away from the legendary coach, with Nick Caserio’s run in Houston over the past two years as an exception. Even if Brady knows what he’s doing, the Raiders need to commit to excellence by committing to a rebuild. 6. Tennessee TitansPros: Division, youthCons: Missing talent in key spots, cap spaceThe Titans have quickly fallen from being a perennial contender under former coach Mike Vrabel and general manager Jon Robinson into what feels like an irrelevant franchise, and that might put the jobs of coach Brian Callahan and GM Ran Carthon in jeopardy. I would argue both deserve more time and didn’t inherit a great situation from Robinson after some subpar drafts toward the end of his time n Tennessee, but the results this season have been difficult to watch. The core of most great teams are the players they select in the first three rounds of the draft. Owing to mistakes from Robinson, who was fired in December 2022, and disappointing picks by Carthon, those core guys consist of two defensive linemen, 2018 second-rounder Harold Landry and 2019 first-rounder Jeffery Simmons, both of whom are on second contracts. There’s nobody left on the roster from the 2020 draft. The only person left from 2021 is Dillon Radunz, who hasn’t impressed at tackle or guard. The 2022 class, led by the disastrous decision to essentially trade wideout A.J. Brown for Treylon Burks, appears to have delivered one starter in Chig Okonkwo, as Burks has dealt with injuries, cornerback Roger McCreary has fallen out of favor and offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere has given up 8.5 sacks amid benchings this season. Carthon’s drafts, unfortunately, haven’t been much better than Robinson’s. Peter Skoronski, a first-rounder in 2023, hasn’t been consistent as a pass blocker, and 2024 first-rounder JC Latham leads the league in sacks allowed (13). Some blame for those protection issues can be put on the quarterback, but that’s 2023 second-rounder Will Levis, who appears to be finished with the organization after 20 starts. All of this is happening with legendary offensive line coach Bill Callahan running things up front, so it’s difficult to pin the problems on coaching. The only Carthon pick who looks like a solid starter is defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat. On top of that, the Titans already have been aggressive in adding veteran talent with mostly disappointing results. – – –There’s a scenario in which the Titans are competitive in 2025. The veterans stay healthy on defense, Bill Callahan’s methods root into the offensive line in Year 2, the offense stabilizes behind a quarterback who isn’t getting sacked 11% of the time, and one good draft propels the franchise forward. If ownership goes after a new coach, though, it would be the fourth consecutive season in which it fired either the head coach or general manager. Would this really be an appealing opportunity if Tennessee is further away than it believes and is prone to making aggressive changes? For that reason alone, I wouldn’t be surprised if Brian Callahan got more time. 5. New York GiantsPros: Likely No. 1 overall pick, players in key positions, young rosterCons: Lack of talent around those spots, ownershipMaybe it’s a bad idea for a coach win a playoff game in his first season in charge. Giants fans fell in love with Brian Daboll when he took over a 4-12-1 team and got them to the 2022 postseason. With two years of hindsight, though, it’s clear that season set expectations irrationally high and caused the franchise to commit to quarterback Daniel Jones for two more seasons. When Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen arrived and declined Jones’ fifth-year option, they probably expected to be drafting a quarterback in Year 2 of their reign. It turns out they — or whomever takes over from them — probably will be doing so two years later instead. In a 2025 draft class that doesn’t appear to have great quarterbacks, the Giants at least find themselves in position to take the best of those passers with the No. 1 overall pick. ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) gives them a 61.1% chance of landing the top selection, and an algorithm might overestimate the front office’s desire to try to win games over the final two weeks of the season. With Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and Tim Boyle at quarterback, the Giants will play two extremely motivated teams over the next two weeks. If New York lands the top pick, a new coach would have options. He could draft Shedeur Sanders (Colorado) or Cam Ward (Miami), the top passers in the 2025 class. He could make a move for a veteran such as Sam Darnold or, if the Vikings sign their new starter to a long-term deal, attempt to trade for J.J. McCarthy, who just sat out his rookie season because of a knee injury. I’m not willing to even countenance the possibility of Aaron Rodgers moving to another New York team, but the franchise will have options under center. Beyond quarterback, the Giants are locked in with good-to-great players at the most important spots in the lineup. Wideout Malik Nabers has looked great as a rookie outside of the occasional drop. Offensive tackle Andrew Thomas has sat out most of 2024 because of a foot injury, but he’s a very solid left tackle when healthy. The pass rush was running a league-record sack rate around midseason before injuries and regression toward the mean bit back, but with Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence and Kayvon Thibodeaux all returning, they should have no problem getting after the quarterback again in 2025. Beyond that? The roster is unsettled. There’s also the perennially difficult question of dealing with an ownership group that has quietly become one of the league’s most frustrating. How much input did they have in the decision to extend Jones after one solid season? This is the same group that encouraged former coach Ben McAdoo and general manager Jerry Reese to bench Eli Manning for Geno Smith and Davis Webb in 2017, then reversed the call and fired their coach and GM a week later when there was a fan uproar. The best news for the Giants, frankly, is that they’ll be smart enough to never, ever do the offseason version of “Hard Knocks” again. 4. New England PatriotsPros: Quarterback, cap space, coming regression toward the meanCons: TalentIf Jerod Mayo ultimately becomes the Patriots’ one-and-done buffer between a franchise legend and his long-term replacement, the new regime will have its work cut out for them. As exciting as rookie Drake Maye has been in moments this season, this might be the league’s worst roster in terms of talent surrounding the quarterback. The Patriots are projected to lead the NFL in cap space heading into 2025, but they might need to sign half a roster’s worth of players to sufficiently surround Maye with solutions on both sides of the ball. The questions everyone had about the offense heading into this season have not been resolved heading into 2025. – – –What’s really concerning and perhaps the biggest strike against Mayo is the decline of the defense. Over the second half of last season, the Patriots led the league in expected points added (EPA) per defensive snap and gave up the fewest points per drive of any other team. They pulled that off without edge rusher Matt Judon or cornerback Christian Gonzalez and historically bad average starting field position. That was with Bill Belichick, of course, but the hope was that Mayo would be able to retain some of that defensive sparkle, especially with better field position and the return of the two defensive stars. Gonzalez has returned and been excellent, but with Judon in Atlanta and Christian Barmore sadly sidelined by a heart condition for most of the season, the defense has collapsed. The Patriots rank 30th in EPA per play and 24th in points allowed per possession. Trading Judon made sense for a rebuilding team, but New England hasn’t been able to form a pass rush without him, as two players have five sacks and nobody else has more than 2.5. The Pats have been too susceptible to mental mistakes in the back end, something that seemed to never happen with Belichick in charge. In addition to all the work that needs to happen on offense, a new coach would need to get the defense back on track and find a pass rusher or two in free agency. The Pats were on my list of teams likely to improve, and they’ll probably be back again in 2025. They’ve gone 2-6 in one-score games, losing a pair of overtime contests and a game that came down to a two-pointer against the Colts. They’ll be better in the red zone on offense next season, and the roster will improve with a top-three pick and the likely coming spending spree in free agency. Maye might be the most appealing quarterback available from the teams on this list. But there’s just a lot of work to be done here. 3. Chicago BearsPros: Quarterback, cap space, patient ownershipCons: Division, top-end talentThe Bears find themselves in third, the same place the Jaguars landed in 2021 after their highly touted No. 1 pick endured a difficult debut season amid coaching changes. Like Trevor Lawrence after the 2020 season, Caleb Williams’ struggles are going to be chalked up to what was around him. The offensive line hasn’t been good enough. Wideouts Keenan Allen, Rome Odunze, and DJ Moore never seemed to mesh. Shane Waldron was the wrong choice as offensive coordinator, and after he was fired, coach Matt Eberflus followed shortly thereafter. Write off the entire season as a bad dream and start over in 2025. There certainly have been hints and teases of the Williams whom everybody was excited about as a potential franchise quarterback. When the coaching staff has given him the ability to play within structure and pushed him to get the ball out quickly, the results have been great. When he tries to build the entire game out of hero ball — as we’ve also seen at different points — the Bears have been a painful watch, with Williams both let down by his teammates and sharing some of the blame. The overwhelming expectation is the Bears will hire a coach with a background on offense, with the city of Chicago ready to start a GoFundMe to bring over Johnson from the Lions. Regardless of who takes over, the new coach will have to reimagine the offense and add players accordingly. Allen, a free agent, is unlikely to return. Moore has looked uninterested all season and has a tradable contract. The only lineman who should be guaranteed a starting spot is right tackle Darnell Wright. The Bears project to have the fifth-most cap space of any team in the offseason, so they can afford to target replacements. They need to get those moves right, though. The reality is there aren’t many superstars on this roster beyond cornerback Jaylon Johnson. Edge rusher Montez Sweat was miscast as one a year ago, and factoring in the surplus value of the second-round pick the Bears sent to acquire him in a trade with Washington last October, he’s being paid like a superstar without any history of that level of production. Odunze is having a competent debut season, but he hasn’t immediately stepped in and proved he’s a No. 1 wideout moving forward. Moore and linebacker Tremaine Edmunds are good and sometimes very good, but they’re already on veteran deals and in their prime. All of that is to say that even if Williams pans out and lives up to expectations, there’s still a lot of work to be done in building this roster. It remains to be seen whether Ryan Poles will return as general manager, but no matter what, the new coach is about to step in and face a critical offseason without having spent time inside the locker room. Sometimes those hires stick the landing: Look at what went down for DeMeco Ryans in Houston in his first offseason in 2023. Johnson — or whomever the Bears end up hiring — needs to both develop Williams and land game-changers around his young quarterback before Williams gets his second contract. 2. Miami DolphinsPros: Quarterback, core talent, locationCons: Age of roster, cap spaceI’ll start by saying I’m not sure the Dolphins should be looking to move on from Mike McDaniel, whose job could be in jeopardy if his team misses the postseason. McDaniel is 27-22 and made the playoffs in each of his first two seasons in charge; the last full-time Miami coach to finish his run with the Dolphins with a winning record was Dave Wannstedt, who left 20 years ago. This franchise hasn’t won a playoff game since 2000. Moving on from McDaniel would be an aggressive decision. And yet, sitting here three years after the Dolphins hired the former 49ers offensive coordinator, there’s a sense the party’s over. The previous version of the Dolphins had quarterback Tua Tagovailoa on a rookie deal for years to come and a bevy of first-round picks from trades for Laremy Tunsil and ahead of the 2021 draft. Some of those picks ended up becoming veteran stars in wideout Tyreek Hill and edge rusher Bradley Chubb in separate deals. The window for the version of that team might be closed. Tagovailoa is on a much more significant contract now, and there’s always going to be an unease about his future given his history of concussions. Chubb has sat out all of 2024 after he tore his ACL last December, while Hill took a major step backward after signing an extension before the season. Other key contributors in Miami, including offensive tackle Terron Armstead and cornerback Jalen Ramsey, are on the wrong side of 30. This is the league’s second-oldest team on a snap-weighted basis, trailing only the Vikings. There aren’t really obvious paths toward the Dolphins getting drastically better, either. Tagovailoa is locked in for years. They didn’t have a first-rounder and made only four selections in the 2022 and 2023 drafts. Rookie Round 1 pick Chop Robinson has been awesome over the second half of the season and looks like a potential superstar, but shedding Ramsey, Armstead and Hill would lead Miami to take a step backward before it can move forward. Maybe that’s an argument for trying to shuffle the coaching staff in the hopes of getting more out of the current players on the roster. At the same time, a new coaching staff would mean yet another refreshed playbook for Miami’s roster. Since the 2018 season, the Dolphins have had five offensive coordinators and five defensive coordinators across a seven-year span. The players were thrilled to see Vic Fangio run out of town after one season, and while the veteran defensive coordinator has thrived in Philadelphia, his replacement, Anthony Weaver, finally has this unit in the top 10 in scoring defense after it was below average in McDaniel’s first two seasons. Would moving on from Weaver reset the defense’s progress? Stephen Ross can be an impulsive owner, and given past reporting and his background, he might regret not being in position to hire Jim Harbaugh when the now-Chargers coach decided to leave Michigan a year ago. Would the Michigan booster really countenance hiring a Buckeye and go after Mike Vrabel? Firing McDaniel would only seem to make sense if Ross has a definite, landable target in mind. That coach would take over a talented roster and have a quarterback in place, but would he be facing unrealistic expectations? 1. Jacksonville JaguarsPros: Quarterback, weak division, (generally) patient ownership, location, high draft pick, regression to the mean comingCons: Culture rot, significant spending over previous three seasons, general managerWhen I put together a version of this list toward the end of the 2021 season, the Jaguars ranked third with virtually the same pros and cons. That came at the end of the brief Urban Meyer era, when just about anybody would have been considered an upgrade over the brutally overmatched former college coach. Though Doug Pederson won over fans with a playoff victory in his first season, what has happened since has left the Jaguars somewhere close to the Meyer era in terms of recent results. Meyer went 2-11 (.154) in his lone season. Since Trevor Lawrence’s ankle injury seemed to spur a tailspin last season, Pederson has gone 4-17 (.190) in the past 21 games, including a 3-12 mark this season. It was easy to write off Jacksonville’s second-half collapse last season as a product of Lawrence’s injury. While he has been in and out of the lineup this season, the Jags haven’t been good with or without their quarterback on the field. Backup Mac Jones has an identical winning percentage to the 2021 No. 1 overall pick after beating the Titans two weeks ago. The present parallels the past. Three years ago, it was easy to break down Lawrence’s dismal rookie season and chalk it up to Meyer’s influence and poor preparation. Now, while I have issues with this offense, that isn’t quite as clear. Lawrence has put together stretches of great play, but he ranks 18th in Total QBR since the start of 2022 and is middle of the pack by most other metrics. Lawrence has been solid enough when healthy to attract coaches who will be impressed by his talent, but after the 2021 season, those coaches were looking at the possibility of taking on a phenomenal college prospect who still had untapped upside one year into a rookie deal. Now, Lawrence appears to have settled in as a league-average starter on a market-value contract, one that pays him $55 million per season. That’s still a positive, but it’s nowhere near as appealing of an opportunity as it was three years ago. The disconcerting thing for a potential coach has to be that the Jaguars have invested heavily throughout the roster and received so little in return. They used a first-round pick on running back Travis Etienne in 2021 and now prefer to play Tank Bigsby. They’re spending more than $40 million per season on Christian Kirk, Gabe Davis and Evan Engram, yet the trio was combining to average just over 36 receiving yards per game before they each went down injured. Brandon Scherff, one of the league’s highest-paid guards, has been disappointing, while 2024 addition Arik Armstead has two sacks in a part-time role along the defensive line. They’re each making more than $14 million per season. Devin Lloyd, a first-round pick in 2022, has been one of the worst starting linebackers in football this season. It’s worrying to see so many high-priced or highly drafted players fail to impress. That could speak to subpar instincts from general manager Trent Baalke, who hasn’t had many fans in the stands during his time in charge. It could also speak to a coaching staff that hasn’t been able to get the most out of those players. (Worryingly for Jags fans, “both” is also a plausible answer.) I have to say that the Jags have less give-a-damn in their performances than any other team I’ve watched this season. There are too many mental gaffes, too many moments in which players aren’t on the same page, too many times when a player ends up out of the play and seems to turn his controller off. Those issues pop up on offense and defense, so it’s not just contained to one side of the field.– – –There’s talent in key positions. Brian Thomas Jr. looks like a superstar at wide receiver. The Jags appear to have made the wrong choice in selecting Travon Walker over Aidan Hutchinson with the first pick in the 2022 draft, but Walker has settled in as a good pass rusher, combining to make a very solid front two with Josh Hines-Allen. The organization feels good about newly resigned Walker Little at left tackle. Those are some of the league’s most important positions with solid players in place. Florida always appeals to free agents, which makes attracting talent easier. An astute coach (one who reads this column, of course) would also be taking over a team that projects to be better in 2025. The Jags have been without Lawrence for chunks of the season and have gone 2-9 in games decided by seven points or fewer. They’ve forced a league-low eight turnovers, three of which came in a narrow loss to the Vikings. In addition to that game against Minnesota, they’ve played the Chiefs, Eagles, Texans and Packers close, albeit alongside blowout losses to the Bills and Lions. If they can find a coach who believes in Lawrence, there might be enough here to launch a quick turnaround. |
| APB FOR APTexas authorities are on the lookout for former NFL RB Adrain Peterson. He faces a pair of arrest warrants after failing to show in court. Brent Schrotenboer of USA TODAY breaks down the issues facing Peterson: Former NFL MVP running back Adrian Peterson is facing legal trouble again in Texas, this time after two warrants were issued for his arrest related to his failure to appear in court for two different child support cases. The former Minnesota Vikings star made more than $100 million in his NFL career from 2007 to 2021 and is considered a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. But warrants were issued this week in Fort Bend County, Texas, outside of Houston, where Peterson also has been facing property seizures to help pay off more than $12 million debt. “The current legal case is related to a misunderstanding regarding Adrian’s court appearances as it relates to child support, and he is actively working with his legal team to resolve this matter as quickly as possible,” his publicist Denise White said in a statement. “He is committed to clearing up this situation and moving forward positively.” In an unrelated case, he pleaded no contest in October to misdemeanor assault after being accused in the same county of slapping a woman from behind in May. He was sentenced to pay a $500 fine with no jail time in that case, according to court records. Adrian Peterson’s NFL benefits come into playIn the separate child support cases, the county issued capias warrants against him this week. Those are different from traditional arrest warrants that require a determination that there was enough evidence to believe he committed a crime. In this case, the capias warrants relate to his failure to appear in court on these matters earlier this month. “TO ANY PEACE OFFICER OF THE STATE OF TEXAS—GREETING,” one of the warrants states. “YOU ARE HEREBY COMMANDED TO ARREST: ADRIAN LEWIS PETERSON, to be found in your county, and ADRIAN LEWIS PETERSON safely keep, so that you have ADRIAN LEWIS PETERSON before the Honorable 328th Judicial District Court of Fort Bend County, Texas, at the Court House of said County… and there to answer for their failure to appear for CIVIL NON-SUPPORT on December 05, 2024 before the 328TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT, as ordered.” The two child-support cases list women from Minnesota as the custodial parents. In one of the cases, a judge signed a qualified domestic relations order Monday that establishes the right of the child to receive a portion of Peterson’s NFL benefits for child support. The warrants were issued with separate cash bonds of $9,500 and $7,500. The larger debt case involving Adrian PetersonIn another case in September, a judge in Houston issued an order for him to turn over numerous assets to help pay debt estimated at more than $12 million. That debt stemmed from a $5.2 million loan he took out from a Pennsylvania lending company in 2016 but didn’t pay back. A court-appointed receiver has been trying to seize his assets to pay back that debt and even intercepted an auction of his NFL trophies and clothes earlier this year, according to court records. Peterson, 39, cast blame in that case on his former financial advisor, who could not be reached by USA TODAY Sports. Peterson said in a statement in September that this was not a personal loan but a business loan that the financial advisor guaranteed would be repaid from a business he co-owned with the financial advisor and another partner. But the promissory note with the lending company lists only Peterson as the borrower with a 12% interest rate. He promised to pay it back with interest in March 2017, five months later. An exhibit attached to the loan document in October 2016 indicated he was seeking an advance on an $18 million contract that he expected to come from the Vikings. But that money never materialized. |
| 2025 DRAFTNate Tice and Charles McDonald of YahooSports.com celebrated Christmas with a Mock Draft: Happy holidays everyone! The College Football Playoff has kicked off, with a ton of top-end prospects taking part. Here’s our third 2025 NFL mock draft to unwrap as a present, stuff your stocking, or do whatever else you want. In this edition, Nate Tice makes the selection of the odd-numbered draft picks while Charles McDonald selects the even. Draft order via Tankathon. 1. New York Giants — Cam Ward, QB, MiamiWard seeks explosive plays and will bring a calmness to the QB position, both traits that have been desperately missing in recent years in New York. Ward has things to clean up, namely his heat check moments that can get him in trouble, but pairing Ward with the electric Malik Nabers would bring explosive plays in bunches even as Ward continues to refine his game. — Nate Tice 2. New England Patriots — Travis Hunter, CB/WR, ColoradoTravis Hunter might be the best overall player in the class, and the Patriots need help at skill positions on offense and defense. Hunter would make a lot of sense as a shutdown cornerback across from Christian Gonzalez and can step in on offense here and there as needed. — Charles McDonald 3. Jacksonville Jaguars — Will Campbell, OT, LSUCampbell plays like a veteran even at just 20 years old. He can consistently bend and move defenders in the run game and has the footwork, awareness and hand technique to consistently win in pass protection, even without ideal arm length. Whether he stays out at OT (I think he can) or has to move inside, I think Campbell is the best overall offensive lineman in this class and a winning player who would boost a Jags line with his maturity no matter where he ends up starting. 4. Tennessee Titans — Will Johnson, CB, MichiganThe Titans need a quarterback desperately, but they could also use a topflight cornerback to pair with some of the front seven talent that they already have accumulated. Will Johnson, step on down. 5. Cleveland Browns — Abdul Carter, Edge, Penn StateHere’s the pass rusher with the most upside in this draft. Carter is twitchy and can bend around the corner. He still has to work on his overall consistency, especially against the run, where he can take himself out of too many plays. The Browns have gigantic questions looming at QB and even the future of their OL beyond 2025, but the thought of pairing Carter with Myles Garrett is exciting. And terrifying for offenses. 6. Las Vegas Raiders — Shedeur Sanders, QB, ColoradoAnother team with a dire quarterback situation, the Raiders opt to take Sanders to shore up that position for them. They can’t walk into another season with Aidan O’Connell as their best option, even though he’s a good backup option to have moving forward. 7. Carolina Panthers — Mykel Williams, Edge, GeorgiaAfter battling an ankle injury at the beginning of the year, Williams has started to ramp up his play — and the production has followed. Williams has an excellent combination of length, strength and explosiveness. With the added bonus of being able to affect the game from multiple spots along the line. His best ball is ahead of him and would be a fun fit next to Derrick Brown for a Panthers defense needing needle-movers. 8. New York Jets — Mason Graham, DT, MichiganGang Green’s defense still has some of the top players in the NFL, but their depth was lacking this season as their defensive performance took a nosedive following the firing of Robert Saleh. Graham is a solid reinforcement for Quinnen Williams on interior defensive line. 9. Chicago Bears — Kelvin Banks Jr., OT/OG, TexasBanks is explosive, plays balanced and can have impact snaps in the run and pass games. He’d be best at guard as a pro, which would be a great fit for the Bears who desperately need a boost on the inside and at right guard. The Bears targeting positional versatility doesn’t hurt at all, though. 10. New Orleans Saints—Malaki Starks, S, GeorgiaThe Saints can’t be picky at this point in their roster building journey. They’ll need help just about everywhere as they try to rebuild while staying cap compliant. Starks is a strong player to add on the backend of their defense who can play any safety position. 11. San Francisco 49ers—Josh Conerly Jr., OT, OregonConerly has light feet and can get to the second level in a hurry. His strength was a big question mark heading into this season and even over the first month. But he has really put it together over the second half of the season, showing off the ability to anchor and sustain blocks with much more consistency and playing with much better awareness for post-snap movement. Conerly is athletic enough to stay on the outside, but I could see his skill set translating across the offensive line. Perfect for a 49ers offense that needs to inject talent up front, and possibly start thinking about a Trent Williams succession plan. 12. Miami Dolphins—Jalon Walker, LB, GeorgiaMiami found a hit last year when they picked Chop Robinson out of Penn State to bolster their pass rush, and they dip in the well again here. Walker can be an all-around weapon for the Dolphins’ front seven, but he’s at his best when he’s moving forward and wreaking havoc against opposing offensive lines. 13. Indianapolis Colts — Shavon Revel Jr., CB, East CarolinaThe Colts’ defense has actually stepped up in recent weeks. They could still use a player at outside cornerback to pair with JuJu Brents when he returns from injury. Enter Revel, a cornerback with a prototypical build and the easy movement ability to develop into a true outside one-on-one defender. Revel suffered a season-ending ACL injury in September, but his aggressive play when he was on the field should keep him high on boards. Plus he has the length and other traits that make sense for what general manager Chris Ballard and defensive coordinator Gus Bradley prefer at the position. 14. Cincinnati Bengals — Kenneth Grant, DT, MichiganCincinnati needs to get more stout and physical up front to get back to being a real contender in the AFC — there might not be a better player to do that than the 330-pound Grant. He might not be a stat-stuffer in the NFL, but he can plug holes and has some real upside. 15. Dallas Cowboys — Tetairoa McMillan, WR, ArizonaThis would be a huge get for the Cowboys. McMillan is my easy WR1 in this class and offers true X-receiver upside at the next level. His size (6-foot-5, 212 pounds), catching range, and surprisingly easy bend for such a big receiver gives him matchup-wrecking potential. Pairing McMillan’s ability to win outside with CeeDee Lamb operating from the slot and Dallas would have ideal synergy between two pass-catchers. Ashton Jeanty is exciting, but McMillan would supercharge this offense and passing attack and has the added boost of fitting their personnel, even down to what Dak Prescott likes. 16. Arizona Cardinals — Derrick Harmon, DT, OregonArizona needs to shore up its defensive line if it wants to get serious about winning the NFC West. Harmon from Oregon is a talented player who can help the Cardinals get better up front immediately. 17. Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Shemar Stewart, DL, Texas A&MIt makes sense that Stewart was a former big-time recruit with how easy of a mover he is. Stewart can line up across the defensive line and his size, athleticism and do-everything style fits with what head coach Todd Bowles likes to do up front that changes based on the situation. It might be a bit of a hat-on-a-hat situation with what the Buccaneers have currently on their roster, but the other position that I looked at, inside linebacker, might be a reach here. 18. Seattle Seahawks — Tyler Booker, OG, AlabamaNo team has a need for offensive line help more than the Seahawks. Booker is a stout interior player who will be able to get them moving in the right direction again — and could be one of the missing pieces they need to beat some of the tougher teams in the NFL. 19. Atlanta Falcons — Walter Nolen, DT, Ole MissEven with the Falcons starting to pick up some sacks in recent weeks, injecting their defensive front with more talent seems like their obvious near-term plan (I feel like I could have written this every year for the past decade). I actually like where the Falcons sit with their offensive personnel, but adding a talented player like Nolen, a more dynamic interior player than what Atlanta currently has, would give head coach Raheem Morris and defensive coordinator Jimmy Lake a fun player to work with and move around on their front. And his physicality would help the Falcons out on all downs. 20. Los Angeles Chargers — Tyler Warren, TE, Penn StateThe Chargers’ offense clearly has a vision and a plan, but they need more talented (and physical) players to make that happen. Warren might be one of the best players in the class, but falls to this pick due to that pesky positional value argument. 21. Houston Texans — Marcus Mbow, OT/OG, PurdueTexans. Offensive line. Texans. Offensive line. We will see this pairing for the next hundred-plus days and thousand-plus mock drafts that happen. Justifiably so! C.J. Stroud is constantly under duress and the Texans’ run game is one of the least efficient in the league, despite Joe Mixon’s best efforts. Mbow is a very good athlete who springs out of his stance. He could look to add some lower body strength, but he plays tough and is able to bend and stay balanced in space, while also already showing off the ability to cut off defenders on the backside. He would boost the Texans’ offensive line no matter what spot he’d end up at. 22. Denver Broncos — Emeka Egbuka, WR, Ohio StateThe quest to continue building around Bo Nix continues for the Broncos. The cupboard might not be as empty as previously thought on offense for the Broncos, but if they’re going to make this Nix thing work, they’ll need a few more wide receivers. 23. Los Angeles Rams — Aireontae Ersery, OT, MinnesotaThe Rams’ ever-revolving offensive line actually gets a first-round pick to plop in. Alaric Jackson is a free agent after this season and Rob Havenstein is another year older. Ersery would give the Rams a player with dozens of college starts under his belt, with still more to tap into and develop. Ersery has a large frame and plays with some pop on contact, while also being a solid mover in such a big frame and flashing improving hand placement (something that he could still clean up). Ersery would fit the Rams’ preference and give them the best of both worlds of having the experience to potentially play early and a player who could have more to develop for the future. 24. Washington Commanders — Jihaad Campbell, LB, AlabamaCampbell is the first true linebacker off the board, and he goes to a team that could stand to get a smidge faster on the second level of the defense. In a world where college football isn’t producing many true first-round talents at the position, the Crimson Tide product could be one of them. 25. Pittsburgh Steelers — Luther Burden III, WR, MissouriI know the Steelers don’t typically (or mostly ever) draft wide receivers in the first round. But this Steelers offense has been lethargic when George Pickens isn’t on the field. And while players at other positions could be intriguing here for the Steelers — another cornerback opposite Joey Porter Jr., swapping out Najee Harris for Ashton Jeanty, possibly even a tight end like Colston Loveland — I went with the dynamic Burden, whose production was up and down in 2024 but his explosiveness was still apparent. Burden lined up mostly in the slot during college as Missouri liked to move him around the formation, but he showed off the ability to win from the outside and has the YAC and big-play potential to add to any offense. He fits perfectly opposite Pickens and in Arthur Smith’s offense. 26. Baltimore Ravens — Landon Jackson, Edge, ArkansasA big, heavy-handed pass rusher for a team that loves big, heavy-handed pass rushers, Jackson had a solid year for Arkansas off the edge and projects well to the next level for defenses that like their pass rushers to be well-rounded players. 27. Green Bay Packers — Mike Green, Edge, MarshallThe FBS leader in sacks, Green is a riser among prospects. Green plays hard every snap and will even be disruptive against double teams. He’s only a redshirt sophomore but has already flashed secondary pass rush moves. It’s not all perfect and Green can get washed out when he doesn’t connect. Green’s athleticism, hard playing style, and flashes of advanced play remains an intriguing profile for the Packers to include. 28. Philadelphia Eagles — Josh Simmons, OT, Ohio StateThe Eagles always love drafting ahead for future needs on the offensive line, and Simmons could fill that role as an eventual replacement for Lane Johnson. Simmons has the talent to be a starting offensive tackle in the NFL, but needs some refinement. 29. Buffalo Bills — James Pearce Jr., Edge, TennesseeThe Bills look to constantly add to their defensive line and do so again with Pearce. While Pearce can be up and down against the run, he has upside as an impactful pass rusher. Pearce is long and can be a handful for offensive tackles right at the snap of the ball. He can be easily taken out of the play a bit too often, especially against the run. Pearce could continue to develop his consistency for a Bills franchise that prefers to have a deep rotational line under head coach Sean McDermott. 30. Minnesota Vikings — Tyleik Williams, DT, Ohio StateA dynamic interior presence would really take the Vikings’ defense to the next level. Williams could be that guy for the Vikings as he’s shown some real penetrative ability at Ohio State. 31. Detroit Lions — Jonah Savaiinaea, OG, ArizonaA team built through the trenches is exactly where my eyes went to to keep the good times rolling in Detroit. The Lions have remained one of the best offenses in the NFL despite signing new guards this offseason. The Lions keep the assembly line going with Savaiinaea, a guard who has a good thick build and plays consistently balanced. Savaiinaea is smart and knows how to use his hands. He plays right tackle for Arizona, but I like him best on the inside at the next level. 32. Kansas City Chiefs — Ashton Jeanty, RB, Boise StateA steal! Ashton Jeanty is one of the two or three best players in the class but winds up in the hands of the Chiefs, who should be thrilled about being able to add him to the offense. Jeanty has a rare combination of strength, balance and speed that will make him a nightmare for NFL defenses. |
