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New York Times
28-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
2025 NFL Draft takeaways: First-round locks and skepticism, Shedeur Sanders' slide and more
The NFL Draft always finds a way to be quarterback dominant, even when the quarterback group isn't very strong. Because of Shedeur Sanders' fall, football fans received three consecutive days of Shedeur debate. Friday night, I went to coach my son's youth football team, and that was all anybody wanted to talk to me about: That Sanders still hadn't been selected. It wouldn't be until Saturday afternoon that Sanders would get drafted No. 144 to the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round. If he had been drafted in the second or third round, you could make a strong case that the Colorado star didn't really 'fall,' but rather was picked where NFL evaluators thought he merited to go, rather than where the draft analysts expected. 'Shedeur has some leaks in his throwing motion,' an NFL offensive coordinator told me a few weeks ago. 'But I do like the kid. I think he's smart. He's tough. I hate the system he played in. He got sacked 94 times in the last two years. I get it (he had a terrible O-line), but I don't. Get the ball out! At some point, you have to give him outlets and some built-in Hots, ways where he can get the ball out and give a fighting chance to sustain drives. He doesn't have an exceptional arm or running ability. He's streaky.' Advertisement A second NFL OC didn't see any elite traits in Sanders: 'He's really developmental. He's a good QB. He's tough as hell. He's not overly mobile.' But for Sanders — the son of Deion Sanders and a player whose college just announced, to much local uproar, that his Colorado jersey was being retired — getting picked at No. 144, definitely counts as a fall. Or frankly, a plummet. Being a developmental quarterback and going to a spot with an established starter, like the L.A. Rams or Seattle Seahawks, would've been an interesting dynamic. So much of being an NFL backup quarterback is how comfortable the starter is with the other two QBs in the room. Sanders has always been the starting QB and the star wherever he's been, at Jackson State and then Colorado. I suspect his fit played a role in why so many teams opted not to pick him earlier. The Cleveland Browns took another QB, Oregon's Dillon Gabriel, two rounds earlier, and that is against whom Sanders has to compete, along with 40-year-old Joe Flacco and Kenny Pickett. 'He's got a skill set, but no dominant trait. He's a backup at this point, and those guys have to be wired for humble support of the starter,' added an NFL WR coach. It didn't help Sanders' stock that he didn't compete in the Senior Bowl or at the NFL Scouting Combine. If you're not a first-round lock or injured, that's going to create some pause. A former NFL quarterbacks coach I spoke with Sunday morning said it was 'not surprising' that Sanders waited as long as he did in the draft. 'The intel I got was shocking: 'This guy has no awareness about how he's coming across,' or the type of leverage he has or doesn't have,' said the coach. But now the draft process is over. It's on Sanders to prove a lot of people wrong. And he did that plenty in the last two years in Boulder. My favorite fit of the first round The Cardinals selecting Ole Miss DT Walter Nolen. He had 14 TFLs last season after transferring from Texas A&M. No one questions Nolen's talent: 'He's twitched up and his change of direction is off the charts,' an NFL DL coach told me. 'That makes him special. He's just got to make sure he studies the game; he can't go out there and put his hand in the ground and think he's gonna beat everybody in the NFL.' Advertisement Another NFL coach who loved Nolen's ability said, 'I worry a little about his attitude, but everybody was worried about Jalen Carter. Then you put him on the Eagles and everybody forgets about that.' A national scout called Nolen a top 15 talent, but said there are some concerns about his maturity and focus. 'You have to plan for him,' he said. 'I think he has to be in the right place and in a D-line room with some strong veterans.' Well, that's exactly the situation Nolen ended up in. He'll have 38-year-old Calais Campbell, a former Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, and another well-respected vet Dalvin Tomlinson, among others, around him. If any setting can enable Nolen to blossom, it's this one. My most skeptical first-round fit The Giants trading back into the first round for Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart. You have a head coach on the hot seat with Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston there to play this year. Maybe Dart gets some action this year, but aren't there bigger needs for this franchise? If things continue to go south with the Giants, and they end up looking for a new GM and new head coach in a year, where does that leave Dart? There's also a decent chance there will be better options for a franchise QB in 2026. I like Dart, but I felt like he was more of a second- or third-rounder, a developmental player you want to take a chance on. He runs well, has a pretty strong arm and is very tough. Here's why I'm skeptical: He played a lot of football in college. He had a very talented team around him last year. All they needed to do was beat a 5-5 Florida team and a really bad Mississippi State team, and the Rebels make the College Football Playoff. But Dart and the Rebels really struggled against Florida; he went 8-of-18 with two INTs and three sacks in the second half, when Ole Miss scored just 3 points. In the Rebels' three losses in 2024 — all against teams that finished unranked — he led them to one total touchdown in the second half of those three games. That stuck out to me. Advertisement Another surprising slide: Texas' Quinn Ewers was picked in the seventh round by the Miami Dolphins. Ewers was once the highest-ranked high school quarterback prospect ever by internet recruiting sites. As hefty as that distinction might've been, Ewers went on to have a solid but hardly spectacular college career. He twice made second-team all-conference, but that was about it. Ewers was the No. 1-ranked QB in the 2021 recruiting class. Caleb Williams was No. 2. Drake Maye was No. 4. J.J. McCarthy was No. 6. Jaxson Dart was No. 13. LSU's Garrett Nussmeier, who some NFL personnel people I've talked to consider a potential first-rounder in 2026, was No. 19. Sanders was No. 37. Riley Leonard was No. 58. Texas coaches were ready for Arch Manning to take over the team in 2025. If Ewers wanted to stay in college football another year and keep developing in hopes of boosting his stock, it was going to have to be somewhere else. He likely would've commanded a lot of money on the NIL market. If Carson Beck — coming off a shoulder injury and without much of a spring to get up to speed with his new team and offense — got more than $3 million from Miami, Ewers probably was in line to get more. Before his injury, Beck was seen as a more talented prospect than Ewers, but other college QBs who have proven less and played in fewer big games are reportedly getting money in that ballpark. When Ewers announced his decision to go to the NFL, there was speculation that he could go in the second or third round, but that was never the feedback I heard from NFL sources. Ewers opted to bet on himself and didn't make a decision based on what was probably financially the best move for him — the opposite of how his college career began, by skipping his senior season of high school to enroll at Ohio State to secure his seven-figure NIL deal. He didn't have a real chance to win the Buckeyes QB job, and then a few months later, he transferred home to Texas. The Patriots drafted three of my favorite players in this draft. They got TreVeyon Henderson in the second round. He's the most explosive running back in this draft and should be a fantastic third-down RB. He's dangerous as a receiver and is already excellent in protection. They got Washington State WR Kyle Williams in the third. He's super quick, a really good route runner who can play inside and out. He impressed in big games and when the Cougars played in the Holiday Bowl after their head coach left, along with their OC and star QB, Williams still opted to play in the game. And he played his butt off, catching 10 passes for 172 yards and a TD. At one point in the game, Williams got banged up, and you hoped he didn't derail his draft stock by playing. But Williams returned to action and made the game against Syracuse interesting. The Patriots drafted Cal safety Craig Woodson in the fourth round, a player that an NFL DB coach from another team told me he hoped would fall to them. Advertisement I also think their top pick of LSU OT Will Campbell will be a standout O-lineman for a decade. This team just loaded up on a bunch of really productive high-level college players from top to bottom. First-rounder Emeka Egbuka is as close to a 'can't miss' as you'll get in a draft pick late in the first round. I think he's a slightly bigger, slightly faster version of Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who already has proven terrific in Seattle. Getting Notre Dame corner Benjamin Morrison late in the second is great value. He probably did as good a job as anyone in college matching up against Marvin Harrison Jr. two years ago. He's a really bright, technically sound corner. The corner they got in the third round, Kansas State's Jacob Parrish, probably could've gone a round earlier. He's faster than Morrison and a playmaker. In Central Arkansas' David Walker, a two-time Freaks List guy, they got a short, explosive, pain-in-the-butt-to-try-and-block edge. Late fifth-rounder DE Elijah Roberts from SMU feels like a steal at that spot. He's big, fast and versatile. One NFL coach told me he sees a lot of three-time former Pro Bowler Za'Darius Smith in Roberts. Tiny Oregon slot Tez Johnson is ridiculously quick and productive; you wonder about his durability, but in the seventh round, he's worth that price. South Carolina safety Nick Emmanwori was the biggest freak athlete at the 2025 combine, but he lasted until the Seahawks' pick in the second round. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound Emmanwori is a rare athlete. He broad jumped 11-6, vertical jumped 43 inches, ran a 4.38 40 with a 1.49-second 10-yard split. He also makes a ton of plays on the field. In three seasons, he had 244 tackles. Last year, he had four interceptions and two pick sixes. Some NFL DB coaches I spoke to weren't sure if he could be a good deep zone defender, third-level safety, and didn't think he could cover slots like Baltimore's Kyle Hamilton, for example, but others think he can be really special. 'I think he's a better overall athlete and safety than Derwin James, who is a box safety to me,' an NFL DB coach said. 'Emmanwori is a five-tool safety. I think he's a complete safety. I think he's as good in coverage as Kyle Hamilton.' Advertisement Green Bay drafted Texas speedster Matthew Golden in the first round. Golden can win one-on-ones and should be a good addition to the receiver room. I'm also very intrigued by late third-rounder Savion Williams from TCU. People often compared Missouri WR Luther Burden to Deebo Samuel, but NFL coaches think the 6-4, 222-pound Williams, who ran a lot of wildcat QB for TCU last year, is Deebo-like. I think Matt LaFleur will love what he brings to Green Bay. 'He's a different player from (former TCU first-round WR) Quentin Johnston,' an NFL receivers coach said. 'Quentin was more of a finesse player. This kid is a brute. He loves contact. He seeks contact. He's like Cordarrelle Patterson. He's so good with the ball in his hands. He's had some drops, but I think his hands are good enough. Some of those drops are due to poor hand placement, which can be coached. When he learns to run routes, that run after the catch is gonna be crazy because he's big and fast and good with the ball in his hands. So much upside.' Sometimes it felt that way. The most Al Davis-y pick of all was fourth-round WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. from Tennessee. He's big at 6-4 and blazing fast (4.3 40), but he has inconsistent hands and a very limited route tree. He reminds coaches of Marquez Valdes-Scantling and that should at least help take the top of the defense off at times to help Brock Bowers and Ashton Jeanty. The franchise that drafted Hall of Famers from small schools, such as Texas A&I guard Gene Upshaw, Maryland State College's Art Shell and Villanova's Howie Long, added some top FCS prospects I've been very high on. Late third-round OT Charles Grant, a former high school wrestler who played at William & Mary, is a terrific value pick. I think he can be a starting OT within two years. The other small school gem is late-sixth-rounder Montana State QB Touchdown Tommy Mellott, another former FCS Freaks List guy. He'll transition to the slot and is expected to be a terrific special-teams player as he develops at receiver. For years, LSU prided itself on being 'DBU.' Now it's become quite the receiver factory, albeit after the Tigers had a stretch from 2015-19 without a WR selected in the top 60. Mickey Joseph, a Louisiana native who is now the head coach at Grambling, was hired in 2017 to fix a reeling receiver room. He recruited some touted prospects (Ja'Marr Chase) and some guys (Justin Jefferson) he believed had the potential to really blossom. One receiver who fit in the latter category, Jack Bech — ranked by 247Sports as the No. 58 wideout in the 2021 class — was selected No. 58. Bech transferred after the 2022 season to TCU, where he had a terrific career. Advertisement Bech became the sixth LSU WR that Joseph recruited in his five seasons in Baton Rouge picked in the top 60. Four of them (Chase, Jefferson, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr.) went in the first round and have emerged as big stars in the NFL. Those receivers helped spark LSU's national title in 2019 and played a big role in two transfer QBs (Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels) coming to Baton Rouge and winning Heisman Trophies. (Top photo of Quinn Ewers: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Is this former top RB pick on the trade block?
Photo byIs Breece Hall better than Kyren Williams? The stats say no, but as 2022 draft prospects the two running backs were separated by three rounds, with Hall ranked as the consensus best player in the class at his position. With rumors circling on Sunday that the New York Jets will look to trade Hall, potentially to open the door for Ashton Jeanty at pick 7, could a deal impact the L.A. Rams at all? Advertisement According to Jets beat writer Rich Cimini, usually a great source for intel on the team, New York wants to lean towards a running-back-by-committee and may not be able to extend Hall with classmates Sauce Gardner, Garrett Wilson, and Jermaine Johnson also due new contracts. Drafting Jeanty would not only upgrade the position, but reset the timeline on extending their starting running back. Hall's career started in 2022 as being called one of the best running back prospects of the last five years, having rushed for 3,933 yards and 50 touchdowns over three seasons at Iowa State. He also has receiving ability, totaling 734 yards through the air. Hall led the country in rushing touchdowns in 2020 (21) and 2021 (20). Then at the 2022 combine, Hall weighed 217 and ran a 4.39 40-yard dash and posted a 40' vertical with a 10'6 broad jump. He was both the most productive and probably the best athlete among all running backs that year, with Kenneth Walker being the only player in his vicinity. Advertisement The Jets had an embarrassment of riches in the draft, picking fourth, tenth, and 26th, which is where they landed Gardner, Wilson, and Johnson. All three have had their ups and downs, but are still three of the best players that the Jets have drafted in a very, very long time. Hall's story is no different. After missing 10 games as a rookie (but averaging 5.8 yards per carry), Hall has played in all but one game in the past two seasons. He has been on the field, but hasn't been the most productive runner by any means: 2023: 994 rushing yards, 4.5 YPC, but 591 receiving yards 2024: 876 rushing yards, 4.2 YPC, 483 receiving yards One of his other issues is fumbling: 8 fumbles in the past two seasons, including 6 of them in 2024 alone. Advertisement Of course, Breece Hall plays for the Jets, so he isn't getting the best offensive line or coaching that money can buy. How productive would Hall have been for Sean McVay if he had Kyren Williams' job instead? Tell me your answer to that question in the comments. If Hall and Williams both become free agents in 2026, the truth is that Breece Hall might still get more money despite Williams rushing for over 2,400 yards and 26 touchdowns in the past two years. If Hall is healthy — injuries and fumbling are also issues for Williams, who also has 8 fumbles in the past two seasons — teams will likely still value his athleticism more than Williams' talents. Of which he has many, but nobody's ever going to teach him to be .2 or .3 seconds faster in the 40. Advertisement Imagine if the Rams offered Williams to the Jets straight up for Hall, who would say no? Believe it or not, the Jets might be the ones to turn it down. Of course, we know that they might turn it down because if they're not going to pay Hall, they're not going to pay Williams either. But if both running backs were on the trade block right now, the Jets might still get more for Hall than the Rams would get for Williams. Ultimately, the Rams insist that they want to extend Kyren Williams this year and that's probably what they will do. If Hall hits the trade block and is traded to a division rival — the only that really makes any sense is Arizona, but could Hall be insurance for Christian McCaffrey? — the results may not impact L.A. at all or he could become one of the most dangerous opponents to defend in the NFC West. Is Williams someone who the 49ers, Seahawks, and Cardinals fear the same? Maybe they do. But we might not see the real Breece Hall until AFTER he's been traded from the Jets. Advertisement More from
Axios
24-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
It's Sam Darnold decision time
Minnesotans can count on three things: death, taxes and Vikings offseason quarterback drama. State of play: Minnesota has until March 4 to lock up Sam Darnold, otherwise he is probably heading toward free agency and could be scooped up by another team. Why it matters: The choice between keeping Darnold or turning to 22-year-old J.J. McCarthy could change the trajectory of the franchise for years to come. Catch up quick: Darnold was a Vikings reclamation project when they signed him nearly a year ago. He rewarded the team with a 14-win season in which he ranked among the best quarterbacks in the league in most statistical categories. Yes, but: He fell flat in the team's final two games, including a season-ending playoff loss to the L.A. Rams in January. How it works: The window opened Tuesday for the Vikings to use their franchise tag on Darnold, which means they would be able to keep him for one year on a $41 million salary. But doing so could hamper them from signing other free agents for needy areas like the offensive line and defensive secondary. They could also sign him to a longer-term contract for less money per year, but that would mean that 2024 first-round pick McCarthy would ride the bench for longer than most fans might want to see. The intrigue: There's growing speculation that the Vikes could use the franchise tag on Darnold and then trade him to another team that is desperate for a quarterback, like the Las Vegas Raiders or New York Giants. With the NFL Combine beginning Thursday in Indianapolis, Vikings GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah will get a better feel for if other GMs are willing to make a trade, as Purple Insider's Matthew Coller has pointed out. The other side: McCarthy, who won a national championship with the University of Michigan before being drafted by the Vikings, looked good in training camp last summer before a knee injury ended his season before it began. Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O'Connell will have to be confident McCarthy's recovery is going smoothly enough for him to be ready for a grueling 17-game schedule. The bottom line: This is the kind of decision Vikings fans have become accustomed to, dating back to the never-ending QB carousel of the 1990s.
NBC News
31-01-2025
- NBC News
Man to admit to using drone that collided with Super Scooper during Palisades Fire
A Southern California man admitted to operating a drone that collided with a firefighting airplane during the Palisades Fire as the blaze was charring tens of thousands of acres earlier this month, officials said Friday. Peter Tripp Akemann, a 56-year-old Culver City man, agreed to plead guilty to one count of unsafe operation of an unmanned aircraft, federal prosecutors said. Akemann went to the third floor of the 3rd Street Promenade parking garage on Jan. 9, launched his drone and lost sight of it before the small craft collided with a Super Scooper on loan from Quebec, officials said. "Firefighters were desperately trying to stop the destruction being caused by the fires and save lives. Critical to those efforts were firefighting aircraft that were conducting all-out assaults in the area surrounding the wildfires," Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally told reporters on Friday. 'Contrary to law and basic common sense, some individuals were recklessly operating drones around the firefighting relief efforts." The collision caused hole a in the plane, officials said. Though it was able to land safely, that hole knocked the Super Scooper out of service for several days during the heart firefighting efforts. Akemann is expected to appear in federal court at about 4 p.m. EST on Friday, officials said. The Palisades Fire had ignited on the morning of Jan. 7 had torched more than 23,000 acres by Friday and was 98% contained, according to California fire authorities. At least 29 people were killed as flames from the Palisades neighborhood of L.A. and Altadena, north of downtown, blew through the region with horrifically astonishing speed. Some of Southern California's most desired real estate — on beaches and in canyons and hills — went up in smoke during a terrifying week earlier this month. Smoke from the Palisades and Eaton Fires was so severe, the Jan. 13 wildcard playoff game between the L.A. Rams and Minnesota Vikings, set for Inglewood, had to move to Glendale, Arizona.
