Falcons add another edge rusher in Pearce Jr.
The Falcons trade for James Pearce Jr. is one of the worst moves of first round | NFL Draft Live
Yahoo Sports' 'Draft Live' crew reacts to the Atlanta Falcons selection of Tennessee EDGE James Pearce Jr. in the first round.
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Yahoo
39 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Falcons defense ready to make a statement
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (WSAV) — The Falcons defense has been overshadowed this offseason by stories centered around quarterbacks Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix Jr. However, if the Falcons have any hope of making the playoffs for first time in eight years, they will need better production from their defense. Specifically, the defensive line. Last year, Atlanta produced 31 sacks, which was second fewest in the league. Only New England's 28 ranked worse. The front office did make some moves after the year. They released defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, which was surprising since he won the Walter Payton Man of the Year for the Falcons. Atlanta put a heavy emphasis on the defensive side of the ball during the draft. Four of their five draft picks were defensive players, which includes their two first round picks linebacker Jalon Walker from Georgia and defensive end James Pearce from Tennessee. Atlanta also needs to improve its defensive third-down conversation rate. They gave up over 45% last year, which was second worst in the league. The Falcons continue the final day of mandatory minicamp tomorrow, but the final practice is not open to the media. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
NBA Finals 2025: Myles Turner's patience has paid off with the Pacers after years of trade rumors — 'I'm a loyal guy'
INDIANAPOLIS — Myles Turner showing his value as a do-it-all big in the NBA Finals isn't a surprise. Myles Turner doing it in an Indiana Pacers uniform is the surprise, considering how many times he's been viewed as everybody else's 'missing piece,' constantly in trade rumors. Advertisement Yet somehow he's played the eighth-most games (703) for the team that drafted him — trailing only Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokić, Jaylen Brown, Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum among current players. To put that rarity in further context, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander doesn't fit in that category, after being traded following his rookie year in Los Angeles — and even if he did, he's played a little more than half of Turner's games in an Oklahoma City uniform. All of the aforementioned names have played in the NBA Finals and now Turner, in the last year of his contract with the Pacers, adds to the list. (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports Illustration) 'I'm a loyal guy,' Turner told Yahoo Sports recently. 'It's always kind of been my calling card, I wanted to finish what I started. Of course it is flattering for teams to see your value, want you to be part of your system. But I wanted to do it where I was drafted.' Advertisement He's been with the Pacers long enough to play with former mainstay Paul George and Monta Ellis on those squads from a decade ago. A few years later, he was on the teams that featured Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo, when Oladipo looked like the next great shooting guard. He's played under Frank Vogel, Nate McMillan, Nate Bjorkgren and, now, Rick Carlisle. 'He's extremely loyal. He has a great ability to focus on what's important,' Carlisle said Tuesday. 'Over the years, I think all players that are really good players, at some time or another, likely have their name involved in trade rumors. Whether it's leaked by another team, whether it's somebody that just is throwing stuff on the wall, creating content, whatever it is.' It was the pairing with Sabonis that highlighted the Pacers' need to get rid of one big man, just like the Sacramento Kings had one point guard too many — thus creating a natural trade partner in the 2021-22 season. By then Turner had already had his name linked to any and everybody. Advertisement 'It was a lot of things. You know, my first initial emotions was, you feel a little rejected,' Turner said to Yahoo Sports. 'You feel like your value doesn't hold the same weight you thought it did, but then you start to learn it's just part of a business.' But the Pacers chose Turner over Sabonis, and acquired Tyrese Haliburton in a deal with the Kings. Even though Turner was hurt at the time — he missed the second half of that season with a stress reaction in his foot — the deal shifted Turner back to center and gave him a true point guard. It was impossible to predict, though, that the Pacers, who won just five games after that trade deadline, would be laying the groundwork for a conference finals run two years later and a trip to the Finals this year. Advertisement '(It took) a lot of patience,' Turner said. 'I wouldn't call it waiting my turn, but just staying down. Just doing things the right way and letting the rest take care of itself. 'So I think when the trade happened, it was that final piece that allowed me to step into my natural position.' Perhaps because only so much NBA bandwidth is attributed to the Pacers, it's easy to forget Turner represents everything teams want in today's bigs. Can you stretch the floor? Check, he's a 40% 3-point shooter on nearly six attempts a game. Can you defend in space and at the rim? Check, check, he's led the league in blocks twice and is averaging 2 per game this year. Are you also strong enough to finish at the rim? Check, check, check. The numbers may look modest to some — 15 points, 5 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in this playoff run — but everyone can see his value. Advertisement 'We constantly are sending each other clips of how we can be better in pick-and-roll, how I can help him, how he can help me, whatever the case is,' Haliburton said. 'We get along really well. I think that that has given us a lot of success.' Haliburton laughed, thinking about Richaun Holmes being the first big he played with in Sacramento. 'I always thought in my career I was going to be best with a guy who plays above the rim and a pick-and-roll threat,' said Haliburton, who estimates he's thrown maybe 'three alley-oops' since he's played with Turner. "Now having experience playing with Myles so long, I feel like he unlocks a lot of what I do. 'It's been an interesting dynamic to play alongside him. Myles is not going to catch a ton of lobs. ... It's different. Our league is different. He's a pop guy more times than not. When he does roll, he does open things up for me, as well. It's been a lot of fun.' Advertisement Even this series is different with the Oklahoma City Thunder playing a lot of one-big lineups, pitting Turner against Chet Holmgren or Isaiah Hartenstein. He's solid enough where he can't be moved around in the paint. His step-back, off-the-glass 3-pointer in Game 1 was critical in the Pacers completing an improbable comeback, and perhaps they'll need more. But Turner is careful about wanting to do too much. 'Continue to be myself, do the things that got me here,' he told Yahoo Sports. 'There's no need, once you get to the Finals stage, don't switch things. You keep doing all the little things that make you effective in the first place.' Advertisement To Carlisle's credit, he wanted no part of the talk about Turner going anywhere as a free agent, and it seems like the Pacers will be aggressive in trying to keep him this summer. 'I haven't heard his name in rumors lately,' Carlisle said, somewhat annoyed. 'I don't know what you're talking about. Unless you're talking about free agency, we're not going to get into any of that. There's a fine, so I'm going to avoid that.' Carlisle has preached the Finals being 19 days long, so Turner won't admit to too much looking ahead to free agency, either. 'I'm looking forward to the next days in front of me. And once I get there, I'll be there,' Turner said. 'It's idle time between games, so you can't look to the future too much.'
Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
Chiefs Disrespected in Major 2025 NFL Team Ranking
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The 2024 season saw the Kansas City Chiefs make the Super Bowl for the third season in a row. Though the team could not pull off the elusive threepeat, they still showcased that they are the top in the AFC. More news: Former Jets GM Gives Brutal Prediction on Aaron Rodgers' Future With Steelers Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and company struggled with injuries and a lower performance than what is the usual case for this dynasty. Even with a multitude of one-score games still led to a 15-2 record and a Super Bowl appearance. The Chiefs may have struggled, but they also missed Isiah Pacheco and Hollywood Brown for the majority of the season. Losing two of the most important offensive pieces can have a huge impact on the overall offensive plan. Rashee Rice #4 and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs walk off the field after a win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Rashee Rice #4 and Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs walk off the field after a win over the Atlanta Falcons at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on September 22, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo byMore news: Jaguars' Travis Hunter Receives Shocking End-of-Season Award Prediction Despite the injury issues in 2024, the team is coming into 2025 with a much healthier offensive group, along with Brown, Pacheco, and they even brought back Kareem Hunt. Things are looking up, but not for a new prediction of how the Chiefs stack up offensively. In early 2025 offensive projections, the Chiefs have been placed at No. 10 overall by Gennaro Filice. "Despite making the Super Bowl in each of the past two seasons, the Chiefs ranked 12th in offensive points per game in 2024 and 14th in 2023. That's a notable departure from the first five years of the Reid-Mahomes pairing, when Kansas City ranked first twice and never finished lower than seventh. Everyone knows the main culprit for this downswing: an offensive line that sprung holes, especially on the edge. Consequently, Brett Veach aggressively targeted tackles in free agency (giving Trent Williams understudy Jaylon Moore a two-year, $30 million deal) and the 2025 NFL Draft (spending the first-round pick on Josh Simmons). Is that enough to fully patch up the problem areas? Maybe yes, maybe no -- but I trust Reid and Mahomes to put more points on the board this fall, one way or another, especially given cleaner bills of health from running back Isiah Pacheco and wide receivers Rashee Rice and Hollywood Brown," Filice writes. Maybe stat lines have not been the best for the Chiefs in recent years, but the team has been to the Super Bowl three straight years. That should point to the offense doing something right. Sure, stats on paper matter, but shouldn't showing up when it matters also account for more? Either way, it appears that the Chiefs' once ultra-dominant offense might have taken a backseat to their more impressive defense, which is a crazy concept considering Kansas City has Mahomes and Travis Kelce. More NFL: Packers Connected to Former Vikings Star To Replace Jaire Alexander For more on the Chiefs, head to Newsweek Sports.
