The NFL Draft is complete, which means the country’s most dominant sports league will now take a short break from dominating television ratings and the athletic world’s oxygen (no offense to Schedule Release Day or the social media teams that work so hard to make that fun). But before we get started on summer, the … Read more
The NFL’s free-agent frenzy is over, which doesn’t mean free agency is over. Players will continue to be added to rosters, but the headline makers are all off the market now. That makes it a good time for the Power Rankings to re-evaluate where everyone stands. We’ve listed the notable additions and notable losses for … Read more
This is my spin on draft grades. After the NFL Draft each year, I rank my favorite (and least favorite) draft classes, from 1 to 32. I don’t use any special formula or analytical metric to come up with the order — I simply go by which team got me the most pumped about their draft hauls. … Read more
Welcome to The Athletic’s pick-by-pick grades for Round 1 of the 2024 NFL Draft. We broke down every selection as the drama unfolded throughout Thursday night. Which teams found the prospect (or prospects) they needed? Who might regret their decision down the line? Of course, we won’t have full, accurate answers to those questions for a few … Read more
The NFL franchise quarterback — the highly coveted symbol of hope, cornerstone of championship aspirations, difference between irrelevance and immortality — is also the rarest of breeds. Don’t call it tanking, but desperate organizations abandon win-at-all-cost principles with the goal of landing an elite passing prospect with one of the top picks in the NFL … Read more
Finally! It’s here. I’m thrilled to share this year’s draft guide with everyone. I don’t remember who first referred to it as “The Beast,” but I use that moniker as motivation to make sure this annual primer lives up to the nickname — and I don’t think I’ve let you down this year. Every NFL … Read more
They entered the NFL with great fanfare and lofty expectations of one day ranking among the best collections of talent the NFL had seen at their position. But just three years later, the 2021 quarterback draft class instead largely looks like one great big bust. While NFL teams continue their assessments of another highly touted … Read more
We’ve completed four days of NFL free agency, and nearly 100 of my top 150 players have come off the board, in addition to dozens of other signings and a handful of trades. Here are my biggest takeaways from the first week of the new league year. Live updates: Free-agent news from across the NFLFA … Read more
The Denver Broncos’ decision to release star safety Justin Simmons could easily be written off as collateral damage and a regrettable but necessary step toward recalibrating their salary cap. But digging deeper, a trend seems to be forming at Simmons’ position, as a group of safeties have flooded the free-agent market with teams seemingly prioritizing … Read more
One year ago, NFL executives emerged from the scouting combine thinking the Chicago Bears were open to trading the first pick in the draft. They were right. This year, sentiment from NFL front offices holds that the Bears will use the top pick, acquired from the Carolina Panthers one year ago next week, on USC … Read more
