Auburn's Keldric Faulk tabbed a first round pick in CBS Sports' 2026 mock draft
Auburn's Keldric Faulk tabbed a first round pick in CBS Sports' 2026 mock draft Faulk is at the forefront of many mock drafts heading into the 2025 season.
Three former Auburn Tigers were selected during the 2025 NFL draft over the weekend. However, a glaring trend continued for Auburn as the Tigers did not produce a first-round selection for the fifth year in a row.
Will Auburn's luck change next year?
Several outlets, including CBS Sports, suggest that Auburn's drought will end next year as EDGE Keldric Faulk is gaining first-round attention from 2026 NFL mock drafts. Although the draft order will not be revealed until after the 2025 season concludes, CBS Sports' Josh Edwards predicts that Faulk will land with the Washington Commanders with the No. 26 overall selection. Edwards sees plenty of upside in Faulk's game.
Faulk is a long body who has all of the tools. It is similar to Gregory Rousseau coming out of Miami. He could take the fight to the offensive linemen more often and force the issue, but that could come with time.
Faulk will look to be the first Auburn player taken in the first round of the NFL draft since 2020, when Derrick Brown went seventh overall to the Carolina Panthers and Noah Igbinoghene was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 30th overall selection. Auburn's three draft selections were the fewest since 2022, when Roger McCreary was taken by the Tennessee Titans in the second round.
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New York Times
41 minutes ago
- New York Times
After his viral moment, Cecilio Waterman and Panama still have much to celebrate
This article is part of our Finding Fútbol series, a special feature produced by The Athletic to chronicle how the U.S.'s Hispanic communities celebrate and enrich the beautiful game. Cecilio Waterman isn't tired of any of it. It has been three months since that moment when a friend's joke changed his life. Everyone laughs, but like all the best jokes, it's funny because there's some truth behind it. Before Waterman scored a dramatic, stoppage-time winner for Panama against the U.S. men's national team, then jumped over the advertising boards, climbed onto a TV network's stage and celebrated with his idol, he was not exactly a household name. He got buzz, he got attention, but Waterman insists it was never about going viral or anything to do with social media, though his profiles got a boost. Advertisement 'I didn't do it for marketing. It simply came to me in the moment,' Waterman said this month. As part of the pre-Nations League media day, he'd been asked who his idol was growing up and selected Thierry Henry, not knowing the Arsenal legend would be watching Panama's Concacaf Nations League semifinal against the U.S. pitch-side as part of CBS Sports' coverage. 'He was there, and it came out of my heart to go hug and celebrate with him. It was totally natural,' Waterman told The Athletic. Now that he's known in Panama and beyond, everyone jibes. Things seem to be going a little more smoothly. 'When I got here with the national team, they were all reminding me of that moment, and it was just a great moment with how everything went down,' Waterman said. 'I got back to my club (Chilean side Coquimbo Unido), I became a starter again, I started scoring — everyone joked it was because of Henry. It was a really beautiful moment for me.' It wasn't just Waterman shouting in the stadium. With a population of around 4.5 million, Panama is the smallest country in Central America, aside from Belize. Unlike other countries in the region, there haven't been huge waves of immigration to the U.S., either. Yet, a small but mighty group of Panama supporters who live in the U.S. were at the Nations League semifinal in SoFi Stadium. Victor Chancay, who lives in San Diego, travels around the country to support Panama in tournaments like the Nations League and Gold Cup. His group tries to get seats in the end zone to make its support felt more strongly. As he remembers watching the Waterman goal, he says he felt like the buildup to the moment — Janpol Morales' winning the ball back, Adalberto 'Coco' Carrasquilla playing Waterman in — happened in slow motion. 'Us Panamanians just had an enormous shout, a huge cheer,' he said. 'This goal was very, very important for Panama, and we celebrated it in a way where … you just don't have the slightest idea how we celebrated that goal and the passage to the final.' Advertisement Like many TV viewers and the crew on the desk themselves, Chancay was confused at first when he paused his celebration to see Waterman in the face of the Arsenal legend. 'I saw him shouting, and Titi was like, 'Damn, is this guy crazy?'' he recalls. 'I said, 'Wow, they're going after Titi for something,' but after, on TV, I saw he was shouting, 'You're my idol, you're my idol.' From afar, I couldn't hear because all us Panamanians were cheering.' Waterman can understand the confusion, even from his countrymen. But he insists the moment was distinctly Panama, a moment when he couldn't contain his joy and expressed it unreservedly. 'It comes from our childhood. It's something cultural: having joy, having good energy, enjoying the moment,' Waterman said. 'Sometimes when we talk, you think we're shouting, but that's just how we are — we're happy. In the national team, we laugh a ton. It's a very loving country.' Though Waterman is happy to relive those moments, he also knows it's time to turn the page. Like most of the current Panama group, the journeyman attacker wasn't part of Panama's first trip to the World Cup in 2018. At age 34, the 2026 tournament in the U.S. is undoubtedly his best chance to play in a World Cup. Even as Los Canaleros made the Nations League final in March and the 2023 Gold Cup final, Panama manager Thomas Christiansen and his players have remained consistent: A continental trophy would be a remarkable achievement, but their focus is fixed on a return to the World Cup. That's why clinching a place in the third and final round of qualification this week was so important for Waterman. After that, he'll also be working to make sure he has a place in the squad. After his goal in the semifinal, Waterman earned a start in the final against Mexico. But competition among him, semifinal starter José Fajardo and other attackers remains stiff as Christiansen works to find a consistent scorer. Advertisement 'My goal is to push Panama as a group to the World Cup, do things well. In Chile, after the moment with Henry, I started to be a starter with the club. The manager there gave me confidence, I started scoring, and we're in this good moment,' Waterman said. 'Wherever you are, when you come to the national team, it's a good time. 'When I scored that goal against the United States, I started on the bench. When you come to the national team, you're open to supporting the team in whatever role as a good teammate so the country of Panama wins.' In a small country like Panama, everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction. Chancay says when Panamanian TV stations show him and his group tailgating in the parking lot before matches, he'll hear from friends in Central America. 'There are Panamians there!' Chancay imagines the TV networks are saying the same thing. Unlike many larger countries, many of those Panamanian reporters transmitting the images are happy to be seen wearing the national team's jersey. In a country with such a relatively small population, viewers would find it strange if they weren't supporting the national team. In a sense, aren't we all rooting for Panama? Waterman became a national hero in March, but he goes into this summer's Gold Cup and fall's World Cup qualification carrying the hopes and expectations of this country. Who else is going to score the goals but the guy who did it before — and received the blessing of a god of the game, to boot? His friends continue to laugh about the moment, his teammates joking about Henry's luck rubbing off on him during this stretch. Still, he'll have the last laugh. He knows exactly what he's going to do with the No. 14 Arsenal shirt Henry presented to him after the semifinal victory. 'I'm going to hang it and put it in the living room of my house,' Waterman said. 'I have several shirts, but when it's one you've wanted since you were a kid? I've got a lot of shirts from friends, but that's the top, top.' Advertisement Now, with a smile, Waterman sets out to create another joyful moment his countrymen will remember forever – and he'll never get tired of talking about. The Finding Fútbol series is sponsored by Modelo. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Sponsors have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
USA Today
42 minutes ago
- USA Today
Lesser-mentioned Ravens star lands on CBS Sports list of 2025 breakout stars
Lesser-mentioned Ravens star lands on CBS Sports list of 2025 breakout stars Ravens running back Keaton Mitchell earns national spotlight in new NFL prediction from CBS Sports It's too early to make predictions. It's only June, but even though the mind says 'don't get excited', the heart, more often than not, refuses to listen. This Baltimore Ravens team looks good on paper, and even though games aren't played on looseleaf, every glance at the roster produces adrenaline. This team sent 11 of its players to the Pro Bowl last season. All of them are back. DeAndre Hopkins was added during free agency. Malaki Starks and Mike Green were drafted. The new faces have an opportunity to add more punch to an already formidable roster. Then again, so do some of the guys who have already been here. May we present Keaton Mitchell for your consideration? CBS Sports names Keaton Mitchell as a player to watch Mention the Ravens and why they are a Super Bowl contender, and several names may come up before a backup running back. Keaton Mitchell was added to Baltimore's roster as an undrafted rookie free agent. Pro Football Focus named him as one of the NFL's best UDFA prospects during that offseason. CBS Sports recently named him as an under-the-radar player to watch in their dig on one player from each team who could make a surprising impact. Tyler Sullivan wrote this one up and did a great job. Here's some of his reasoning for mentioning Mitchell as the Ravens representative. "For a six-week stretch during the 2023 season, Mitchell was a lightning rod. The back averaged 8.4 yards per rush and 10.5 yards per reception. However, that run ended when he suffered a torn ACL that also put a dent in his 2024 campaign. Now, Mitchell is back healthy and noted recently that he feels 'like I'm back better than when I first got to Baltimore'. Of course, Derrick Henry will carry the bulk of the work out of the Ravens' backfield, but Mitchell could prove to be a change-of-pace option with home run ability for what is already one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL." Henry and Mitchell could provide some 'thunder and lightning'. The latter is no stranger to adversity or this Ravens offense. An undrafted rookie free agent selected after the 2023 NFL Draft, Pro Football Focus named him as one of the best UDFAs taken that offseason, but two days after making the 53-man roster, he found his way to the injured reserve. He returned in Week 6 and appeared in eight games with two starts before seeing his season end with a torn ACL. He began last season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list but was activated for Week 10. For his career, he has notched 426 yards and two TDs on 62 carries. Keep an eye on him as the Ravens begin another run, and expect some big moments because even though the opportunities will be limited, he'll be able to deliver a few.
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Kate Martin shines again in Valkyries blowout win
Kate Martin shines again in Valkyries blowout win After scoring just seven points during her 14 minutes of action in the Golden State Valkyries' (3-5) loss to the Phoenix Mercury (6-4) on Thursday, former Iowa women's basketball star guard Kate Martin once again put on an impressive performance in the team's Sunday night 95-68 blowout win against the Las Vegas Aces (4-3) from Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif. The former Hawkeye played a season-high 26 minutes of action off the bench for Golden State, where she recorded 12 points on 5-of-11 from the field and 2-of-7 from 3-point territory, while picking up seven rebounds and one assist. While her shooting performance proved effective for the Valkyries' offense, the highlight of Martin's night came with 1.2 seconds remaining in the second quarter when she drained a 29-foot 3-pointer to extend Golden State's lead to 21 points. Through efficient shooting and superior defensive efforts against the Aces, Martin was able to close out her night with the team's second-best +/- rating with +30. Martin's next opportunity to showcase her offensive skillset will be on Monday, June 9, when the team travels to Arena in Los Angeles, Calif., for a 9 p.m. CT matchup vs. the Los Angeles Sparks (3-6). The game will be a part of the WNBA Commissioner's Cup slate and be available on WNBA League Pass (free preview). We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn't influence our coverage. Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
