Saturday, May 31, 2025
The important next step in Jalyx Hunt's development
The important next step in Jalyx Hunt's development originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Just a few years ago, before transferring to Houston Christian, Jalyx Hunt was a safety at Cornell. Last year at this time, he was a talented but raw third-round edge rusher.
This year?
The 24-year-old returns for Year 2 with the Eagles after an encouraging rookie season with an understanding of how to reach his extremely high ceiling.
“I’m way more comfortable, man,” Hunt said at OTAs this week. “Last year, it was all coming at you fast. You just try to keep your head, play your role. Now, I feel as if I can understand the game a lot more, I can play within the player that I am and have a little bit more personality out there instead of being so cookie-cutter. I’m excited about that.”
The Eagles drafted Hunt with the No. 94 overall pick last April and many thought he was destined for a redshirt season as a raw developmental prospect. He was even a healthy scratch for the Eagles’ Week 1 game in São Paulo, Brazil. But then he started to get better and better and by the time the playoffs came, Hunt was a vital part of the Eagles’ edge rusher rotation.
After having 1 1/2 sacks in 16 regular season games, Hunt had another 1 1/2 sacks in the playoffs. And after having just 9 pressures in the regular season, he had 8 in the playoffs. His 12.9% pressure rate in the playoffs was way higher than his pressure rate of 7.4% in the regular season.
Hunt was a completely different player in Super Bowl LIX than he was in Week 2.
But Hunt’s rookie season just barely scratched the surface of his potential as an NFL edge rusher. And as he enters Year 2, Hunt seems to have a great understanding of what it’ll take to reach that full potential.
“This offseason I just know a lot more of what is expected of me and what to expect from tackles and different players across the league,” Hunt said. “I just know a lot more and I’ve been able to approach my game in a more professional way by figuring out what moves I want to work on, who I should watch, what I should watch.
“Being a lot more technical because that’s the biggest difference I’ve seen is that players who are elite and good, your technicality levels are on completely different levels. If I want to be great at this position and in this league, I gotta be technical. That’s what I’ve really been focusing on and that’s what I think has really changed between last year and this year.”
It’s easy to see why the Eagles were interested in Hunt during last year’s draft. He didn’t have a ton of experience as an edge rusher but had the body makeup and the athleticism to be a really intriguing prospect.
But once you get to the NFL, you’re probably not going to win a ton on athleticism alone. That was something Hunt figured out pretty early on going up against Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata — one of the best pairs of offensive tackles in the league — in practice.
“When you are a rookie learning the position and you’re going against Lane Johnson and you don’t even get within like four yards of the quarterback every rep,” Hunt said, “you’ve got to figure something out.”
Johnson and Mailata were happy to share tips with Hunt and the then-rookie was happy to take them. He also worked a ton with edge rusher coach Jeremiah Washburn, as well as the Eagles’ developmental team, which includes Connor Barwin and Matt Leo. From the moment Hunt arrived in Philly, he was eager to learn and improve.
The difference as he enters Year 2 is that Hunt now better understands how to concentrate those efforts.
“It started last year when I learned that your bag and your plan is different depending on what side you’re on, which tackle you’re going against, your history with that tackle, the history they have with different moves,” Hunt said.
“Right now I’m just developing my bag, developing everything. When it gets into the season, being able to sit down and watch a specific tackle, seeing what he got beat with, seeing what he doesn’t get beat on, how he plays, what he likes to do, what he doesn’t like to do, what rushers like to do against him, that all comes into play when it turns into your plan and what you want to utilize when you go against him.”
The Eagles’ edge rusher room looks different in 2025 without Brandon Graham and Josh Sweat. Hunt figures to be a bigger part of their rotation and has a good chance to be a starter opposite Nolan Smith, who returns for Year 3.
On Wednesday, Hunt was asked a question about newcomer free agent pickups Azeez Ojulari and Josh Uche and had the same compliment about both of them: They love pass rushing.
In fact, everyone in that room does. Hunt is still relatively new at the position but he’s working at it every day.
“We sit down in the room and just talk about pass rush,” Hunt said. “We’ll be in the locker room, talking about what moves to hit, why they like this move, what develops off this move. Just because we love what we do.”
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/8Ui7lTE
Mahomes to leave Olympic flag football to 'the younger guys'
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has ruled out playing flag football at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
NFL team owners agreed last week to allow NFL players to participate in flag football's Olympic debut.
Mahomes, 29, had previously said he "definitely wants to" play but this week the NFL's two-time Most Valuable Player said he will leave representing the United States to "the younger guys".
The three-time Super Bowl winner would turn 33 shortly after the LA Games take place in July 2028.
Speaking during the Chiefs' off-season organised team activities (OTAs), Mahomes said: "I'll probably leave that to the younger guys. I'll be a little older by the time that comes around.
"It's awesome. Honestly, just to be able to showcase the NFL to the whole world through flag football."
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- Flag Football: Get to know the newest Olympic sport
Last week's vote opened up the possibility of there being another 'Dream Team', like the US men's basketball team at the 1992 Games.
The Barcelona Olympics were the first to feature NBA players and Team USA's gold-medal winners are still regarded as one of the best teams ever.
The six qualifying nations for flag football at LA 2028 will feature 10 players per team.
Each nation may select one player per NFL team so, in theory, Team USA could be made up of 10 NFL players from 10 different teams.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/CcfPY19
Friday, May 30, 2025
John Harbaugh: DeAndre Hopkins will be a big-body, contested-catch receiver for us
The Ravens have had a few weeks to see how wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins fits in their offense and they aren't having any buyer's remorse.
Hopkins signed with the Ravens after a quiet playoff run for the Chiefs capped a season that fell short of his earlier heights whether he was in Tennessee or Kansas City. Baltimore still signed him in their long-running search for the right receivers to play with quarterback Lamar Jackson and head coach John Harbaugh had nothing but good things to say about Hopkins when he spoke to reporters this week.
"First of all, I think he’s a heck of a football player," Harbaugh said, via the team's website. "Obviously, you saw him today. He's a gifted guy. He's a talented guy. He's going to be a big-body, contested-catch receiver for us, certainly. He's moving great. Plus, he brings all that experience. He's been in big games before. He's made plays in the big games. He knows how to make plays. There's not going to be any situation that's going to be too big for him, but I just thought he and Lamar looked really good today out there together. It was nice to see."
The Ravens won't need Hopkins to carry the kind of load he carried in Houston and Arizona earlier in his career, but they will need more than the Chiefs got from him after last year's trade. That means they'll need what they're seeing in the offseason to carry over into the fall.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/RJ1ytaE
Tyrese Haliburton urges Pacers to stay calm after Game 5 loss to Knicks: 'No need to panic'
With the Indiana Pacers just one win away from a trip to the NBA Finals, the team couldn't get it done in Game 5. The New York Knicks fought back, winning the contest 111-94 and pushing the series to 3-2.
It was a welcome sign for New York, which had mostly looked overmatched in previous games of the series. It may have also been a turning point for the Knicks, who finally have some momentum as the series shifts to Game 6.
TNT analyst Charles Barkley may have summed it up best after Game 5, when he called Game 6 a "must-win" for the Pacers. His reasoning: If the Pacers drop two straight games and then have to go play a Game 7 in New York, the Knicks have a massive advantage.
That puts a lot of pressure on the Pacers to finish the job in Game 6. Given what's at stake, that amount of pressure could prove overwhelming. Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton won't let that happen.
Following Indiana's Game 5 loss, Haliburton urged his teammates to stay calm as the series heads to a Game 6, per ESPN.
"We're a resilient group," Haliburton said after the game. "We always want to respond when things don't go well after a game like that. We understand what the stakes are. ... We're fine. There's no need to panic or anything."
That's probably exactly what the Pacers need to hear after a disappointing performance in Game 5. Frustrations already seemed to be boiling over after the loss, as Pascal Siakam got into an awkward exchange with a reporter who questioned the Pacers' effort during the contest.
"You good bro?... Who is this guy?" 😳👀
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 30, 2025
Awkward exchange between Pascal Siakam and this reporter after Pacers Game 5 loss 😬 pic.twitter.com/t3Y5bEeGhu
Throughout the entire playoffs, the Pacers have thrived on their ability to be calm in tense situations. The team has pulled off multiple late-game comebacks in the postseason so far, showing poise when other teams would wilt under the pressure.
At the center of all those comebacks is Haliburton, who has excelled most when the Pacers needed it. Given Haliburton's late-game heroics, he's the perfect person to tell the rest of his teammates to remain calm ahead of what should be a pressure-packed Game 6.
If they can follow that advice, there's a good chance the Pacers will find themselves in the NBA Finals soon. If not, it's going to be much harder to remain calm if a Game 7 in New York is on the schedule.
from NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games https://ift.tt/c2wevZG
Kyle Shanahan: I understood why we struggled last year, I won't understand it this year
San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan attributes some of his team's struggles last season to coming off a loss in the Super Bowl. Which means that explanation won't fly this year.
Shanahan said that a year ago, his players were worn down from a full postseason that ended with a heartbreaking overtime loss in Super Bowl LVIII. But this year, his players had a full offseason after going 6-11 and missing the playoffs, and he's not going to accept anyone not being completely read to go.
“The way I addressed it the most, was at our last meeting in January,” Shanahan said, via NBCSportsBayArea.com. “I just told the guys, I talked about how the season ended the year before, and how when I felt them all come back. I felt guys weren’t ready to come back and I understood that. But I told them how I really won’t understand it this year, not that that was right or wrong, but I couldn’t comprehend it. We’re off five weeks earlier, we all know how disappointed we are. And a lot of us have played a lot of football here.”
Shanahan's 49ers have lost the Super Bowl twice, and both years they followed that with a six-win season. After their 6-10 season in 2020, they bounced back and made the NFC Championship Game following the 2021 season. Returning to winning form is the kind of response he expects from his players this year as well.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/LZRQ1X0
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Anthony Edwards is 23, far from a failure – and not the next LeBron just yet
The definition of success is subjective, ephemeral. But in today’s sports zeitgeist, it’s becoming less so: “rings culture” dominates all, serving as the wall into which any nuanced conversation inevitably crashes: “But did they win?” Of course, each NBA team enters the season every year with the same goal: to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy. But only one team can every year, so does that make the other 29 failures?
The Minnesota Timberwolves present an interesting counterpoint: their fanbase is, no doubt, deeply disappointed this morning after a harrowing blowout loss in Oklahoma City, which means the team came up short of the NBA finals in devastating, decisive fashion for the second year in a row. On the other hand, they’ve made back to back Western Conference finals for the first time in team history, gone from league laughing stock to bona fide perennial contender, and have one of the most exciting young stars in basketball, 23-year-old Anthony Edwards.
Related: Would the NBA’s transatlantic expansion strip the soul of European basketball?
Edwards has fallen victim to a classic conundrum for a young, fast rising star athlete: disappointing people by not quickly enough becoming a thing they never asked to be. In his case, that’s “face of the league,” an idea foisted upon him almost instantaneously by an NBA public wooed by the guard who plays a bit like one Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Edwards’s popularity grew rapidly, due to his Jordan-esque explosiveness, propensity for highlight dunks, and sparkling charisma. The devil-may-care Edwards has spoken on the record, several times, about not being particularly interested in being the “face” of the NBA, a plight LeBron James (whose team Edwards recently sent packing for the season) says he empathizes with. “I understand,” James, who has served as the face of the NBA for two decades, told the Los Angeles Times recently. “I completely understand. There’s this weird energy when it comes to that.”
Charles Barkley recently made some somewhat controversial comments on the subject. “Don’t try and make Anthony Edwards the face of the NBA,” Barkley said. “You can’t give [the title of face of the NBA] to people. They have to take it.” It certainly seemed, in moments throughout the postseason, like Edwards was wrestling the title from his elders, inadvertently or otherwise. His dismantling of a Los Angeles Lakers team spearheaded by James and Luka Dončić, who sent Edwards and the Timberwolves home last season, was decisive and damned impressive, showcasing his newfound basketball maturity and growth as a playmaker. And while his team lucked out when the Warriors’ Stephen Curry was ruled out of the Western Conference semi-finals with a hamstring injury, you can only play the team in front of you, and Edwards & Co made quick work of Golden State, too.
The Timberwolves had lost a cumulative two games through two series until they ran into the freight train that is the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder’s historically great defense, brutally exposed Minnesota’s flaws, and they were the first team to make Edwards look every bit of what he really is: 23 years old. It’s easy to forget when young stars come into the league after a single-year in college that, even five seasons into their NBA tenure, they’re still so very young. But Edwards is young, and while it was another whimper of an ending to his playoffs, the fact that he already has two conference finals runs and marked improvement as a player under his belt should serve as encouragement. He showed flashes of his newfound maturity, and flashes of the years of work left to reach his sky-high potential, in this playoff run. Edwards’s time will come. But it’s not here yet.
The Thunder are a young team, and the Wolves will probably stand between Minnesota and a place in the NBA finals for some time to come. But it would be wrong to place the blame for the Timberwolves’ playoff exit at Edwards’s feet. The team has a lot of existential (and financial) questions to answer this summer. For starters, there’s Julius Randle, the player Minnesota took a gamble on when they traded Karl-Anthony Towns to the New York Knicks last October. Randle, who has a checkered playoff résumé to say the least, had a rocky start in Minnesota, but rounded into form after the All-Star break and had a scintillating star turn in the first two rounds of the postseason. The conference finals, where he scored fewer than seven points in two games and looked lost for much of three of them, were a different story. Randle is on an expiring contract with a player option this summer, and the Wolves will have to take another gamble in guessing which version of Randle is to come, and if there’s a place for him moving forward.
Naz Reid, a beloved fan-favorite and former sixth man of the year, may have cost himself a pretty penny with his disappointing showing throughout the playoffs, but he’s still expected to forgo his bargain $15m player option and enter free agency this summer, another tough call for the Timberwolves to make. Nickeil Alexander-Walker (who, as ESPN is quick to remind us, is MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s cousin) is also a free agent this summer, and has likely earned himself a bit of a pay bump over the course of his stint in Minnesota. Then there’s Rudy Gobert, whose albatross of a contract would most likely be difficult to move, even with his multi-time Defensive Player of the Year bona fides. But he’s been a clunky fit with Edwards, is a general liability offensively, and was mostly played off the floor by Thunder. Tim Connelly, the president of basketball operations the ‘Wolves wooed away from Denver, has done a mostly bang-up job to this point in Minnesota. But if he wants to steward Edwards’s potential, he has difficult decisions this offseason.
No one wants to see their favorite team outclassed in the manner the Timberwolves were in Oklahoma City on Wednesday evening. And the summer ahead is a murky one for the direction of the franchise and its roster. But to go from the butt of every NBA joke, whose claim to fame, for many fans, was either alienating Kevin Garnett or passing, twice, on Stephen Curry in the draft, to a perennial championship contender with a budding homegrown superstar, is a win. Or, one might say, a success.
from NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games https://ift.tt/zvB9Afg
Mike McDaniel: Tyreek Hill is going above and beyond while recovering from wrist surgery
Despite talk as last season came to an end that Tyreek Hill was unhappy in Miami, Dolphins head coach Mike McDaniel says Hill has done everything asked of him and more in the offseason.
McDaniel said at the Dolphins' Organized Team Activities that Hill timed his wrist surgery so that he'd be ready to return when the Dolphins need him, and that Hill is doing everything he can during voluntary practices now, even though his wrist isn't fully healed.
"Tyreek's done a great job of being proactive with when he got the surgery done and making sure he is able to do as much as he can with the team, which has very much included his daily participation in how he attacks all of our strength program," McDaniel said.
McDaniel said Hill is running routes in practice but that the Dolphins are holding off on having him catch passes until there are no concerns about his wrist or his ability to fully use his hand.
"Then he'll start catching the ball," McDaniel said. "But he's been participating above and beyond. Whatever he can do, he has been doing."
For much of his career, Hill has been among the NFL's best wide receivers, and a year ago his fellow players voted him the single best player in the NFL in a poll conducted for NFL Media. But his injury-plagued 2024 season was a disappointment. McDaniel knows nothing is more important to his team in 2025 than getting Hill back on track.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/peLu3X8
Wednesday, May 28, 2025
Hard questions loom if Knicks' playoff run gets stopped again by Pacers roadblock
INDIANAPOLIS – The Pacers are the 298th team in NBA history to take a 3-1 series lead. Only 13 teams (4.3 percent) have eventually lost the series.
If the Knicks don’t beat the odds by beating the Pacers in the next three games, the post-mortem analysis won’t be pretty.
The organization will have to ask itself several important questions.
Two of the most pressing questions are obvious ones:
Is Tom Thibodeau the right head coach for the team?
Is the roster good enough to compete for a title?
If the Knicks fall to Indiana, it will be the second straight year where the Pacers put up a roadblock on New York’s path to the NBA Finals.
Are the Pacers simply a better team than the Knicks? Why is that? Style of play? Coaching? Depth?
These are questions the Knicks will need to wrestle with if they lose one of the next three games.
In Game 4, they looked like a disjointed, overmatched group.
The transition defense broke down too often. They were sloppy (17 turnovers) and played into the Pacers’ high-speed offense. Indiana had 20 points off of those turnovers. The Pacers’ bench outscored the Knicks' reserves, 36-21.
Thibodeau leaned mostly on his starters and Josh Hart in the second half. It didn’t work well on Tuesday. Hart had five turnovers. The New York starters had 10 combined turnovers. The Mitchell Robinson-Karl-Anthony Towns front line hasn’t given New York enough of an advantage.
Mikal Bridges, Jalen Brunson and the rest of the Knicks’ perimeter defenders struggled against Tyrese Haliburton. The Pacers' two-time All-Star had a great floor game (32 points, 15 assists, 12 rebounds, zero turnovers).
“I got to do a better job," Bridges said afterward. "We got to do a better job of controlling [Haliburton in space] and helping each other."
The starting lineup featuring Robinson and Towns didn’t perform well on Tuesday. The group was outscored by eight points in 9:30. Robinson blamed himself after the game.
“Communication, that was the biggest thing. It started with me," he said. "I wasn’t talking first, and I’m the anchor of the defense. I’m not talking, nobody is."
from NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games https://ift.tt/fRN9q1h
25 intriguing Eagles to watch at 2025 OTAs
25 intriguing Eagles to watch at 2025 OTAs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Eagles kicked off their OTAs on Tuesday but Wednesday is the first time reporters will get a glimpse of full-team practices this spring.
While these spring practices don’t include contact and are not nearly as important as training camp practices, which will come in late July, at least it’s football. And that’s pretty exciting. The Eagles have six OTA practices this year and one day of mandatory minicamp.
It’s important to remember that every spring practices is not open to reporters so we won’t be able to get a complete picture of what is going on before training camp. But there will still be takeaways from watching these practices.
Obviously, it’s always fun to watch Saquon Barkley and A.J. Brown and Jalen Hurts and Jalen Carter. But we already know those players are great.
Here are 25 Eagles, who aren’t yet stars, I’m excited to see this spring for various reasons:
S Sydney Brown: The third-year safety will have to fight off rookie Andrew Mukuba for a starting job but he’s in the mix. Brown (5-10, 211) was a third-round pick in 2023 and has mostly played special teams. But he is a big hitter and plays a hair-on-style brand of football.
LBs Jihaad Campbell/Nakobe Dean: Lumping Campbell and Dean together because they’re both coming back from injury and not sure if either will be able to participate this spring. Campbell, the rookie first-rounder, had shoulder surgery in March and didn’t participate in rookie camp. Dean is coming back from a torn patellar tendon suffered in the wild card game against the Packers.
S Lewis Cine: The Eagles added Cine to the roster late in 2024 with the expectation that he would be able to compete for a roster spot in 2025. Cine was the 32nd overall pick out of Georgia back in 2022 but has been limited to just 11 games in three seasons because of injury. It’s unrealistic to think that Cine will suddenly live up to his draft potential in Philly but it’s fun to think about.
DT Jordan Davis: The Eagles picked up Davis’s fifth-year option for the 2026 season so he’s around at least two more years. Conditioning is always going to be a big deal with the former first-round nose tackle so it’s always going to be something to watch in the spring to make sure Davis is in the shape the Eagles want him in.
RB A.J. Dillon: The former Green Bay Packers running back signed with the Eagles in free agency after missing the entire 2024 season with a neck injury. Dilllon (6-0, 247) had some productive years with the Packers before missing last season but will need to earn his roster spot in Philly.
OG Kenyon Green: Part of the return in the C.J. Gardner-Johnson trade, Green was drafted out of Texas A&M with the No. 15 overall pick in 2022. While Green played 27 games with 23 starts with the Texans, he struggled and hasn’t lived up to his potential. Another intriguing project for legendary offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
OT Myles Hinton: We didn’t include all of the Eagles’ draft picks, especially because the Eagles drafted three offensive linemen on Day 3. But Hinton is intriguing to me as a potential swing tackle early in his career and could be competing with veteran Kendall Lamm for that role.
OLB Bryce Huff: The Eagles have Huff under contract for two more seasons after a really disappointing year in 2024. Huff signed a three-year, $51 million deal and ended up being a healthy scratch in the Super Bowl. Will the Eagles get something out of Huff in 2025 or will they eventually trade him before the start of his second season in Philly?
OLB Jalyx Hunt: The third-round pick from Houston Christian began his rookie season on the inactive list in Week 1 but ended up being a legitimate pass rusher during the playoffs. After having just 1 1/2 sacks in his rookie season, Hunt had 1 1/2 sacks in the playoffs. He seems poised to take another big step forward in his career in Year 2.
CB Adoree’ Jackson: The 29-year-old played the last four years with the New York Giants after spending the first four years of his career in Tennessee. It’s very possible Jackson’s best ball is well behind him but he still has speed and joins a team that moved on from Darius Slay and lost Isaiah Rodgers. Jackson figures to push Kelee Ringo for a starting job.
OT Kendall Lamm: The 32-year-old signed with the Eagles in free agency after his 2024 season ended early with a back injury that required surgery. Lamm has been in the NFL for a decade and has played in 119 games with 44 starts. He could be the backup swing tackle (an important position) in 2025.
WR Terrace Marshall: The soon-to-be 25-year-old receiver was once a second-round pick back in 2021 but has had a disappointing NFL career. Marshall’s best season came in 2022, when he had 28/490/1. Last season with the Raiders, Marshall had just 3 catches for 41 yards. He’s a long shot to make the Eagles’ roster but should be fun to watch this spring and summer.
QB Kyle McCord: The Eagles drafted McCord in the sixth-round and he is the front-runner to be the No. 3 QB in 2025 behind Jalen Hurts and Tanner McKee. McCord (6-3, 218) looked the part in rookie camp but will have to hold off Dorian Thompson-Robinson for his roster spot.
S Andrew Mukuba: The second-round pick out of Texas will be competing with Sydney Brown for the starting safety job next to Reed Blankenship. Mukuba (5-11, 186) might be undersized but has play-making ability and shares some similarities with Gardner-Johnson, whom he might replace.
DT Moro Ojomo: Now entering his third NFL season, Ojomo could be poised for a big jump in 2025, especially after the free agent departure of Milton Williams. Ojomo improved in Year 2 and the former seventh-round pick could make another jump in Year 3 of his career.
OLB Azeez Ojulari: The former New York Giants edge rusher has struggled to stay healthy in his NFL career. Various injuries have limited Ojulari to 46 games out of 68 games in his first four NFL seasons. But Ojulari has been productive with 22 sacks and if he can somehow stay healthy in 2025, could provide a big boost to the Eagles’ edge rusher rotation that lost Josh Sweat and Brandon Graham this offseason.
CB Kelee Ringo: Ringo won’t turn 23 until late June and already has two NFL seasons under his belt. He’s the top candidate to replace Darius Slay as the Eagles’ starting cornerback opposite Quinyon Mitchell in 2025. Ringo (6-2, 207) should get the first crack at this job this spring.
DT Ty Robinson: The Eagles traded out of the third round in April but took Robinson with No. 111 pick early in the fourth. Robinson (6-6, 310) had a really productive 2024 season at Nebraska and has a chance to earn a spot in the Eagles’ DT rotation as a rookie.
RB Will Shipley: We didn’t get to see much of Shipley in his rookie season because he was behind Saquon Barkley and Kenny Gainwell on the depth chart. But Gainwell left in free agency and Shipley could beat out A.J. Dillon for the RB2 position this season. Even though he didn’t play much in 2024, Shipley did show some flashes as a rookie. He looked good in the blowout win in the NFC Championship Game against the Commanders.
WR Ainias Smith: This time last year, Smith was a fifth-round rookie who was unable to practice coming back from a stress fracture in his leg. Smith got behind and didn’t have a great rookie season after a really shaky start to training camp. He’s firmly on the bubble going into Year 2 but maybe a full offseason will help him.
OG Tyler Steen: For the second straight year, Steen is the top candidate to be the Eagles’ starting right guard. Last season, he ended up losing that gig to Mekhi Becton in training camp. Maybe Steen can hold onto that job in 2025.
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr.: If Campbell and/or Dean aren’t able to be on the field this spring, Trotter is the likely candidate to line up as a starter next to Zack Baun in the middle of the Eagles’ defense. While Trotter played just 104 defensive snaps as a fifth-round rookie last year he acquitted himself well on special teams and showed promise.
OLB Josh Uche: While Ojulari is the bigger-name pickup at the edge rusher position, Uche was another low-risk, high-reward signing at the position. Uche is still just 26 and was a second-round pick in 2020. He hasn’t been very productive in his career save an 11 1/2-sack season back in 2022 with the Patriots. He has 20 1/2 career sacks.
FB Ben VanSumeren: Not only is VanSumeren coming back from a knee injury that ended his 2024 season early but he’s also at a new position full-time. VanSumeren, who was signed as an undrafted linebacker a few years ago, is now a full-time fullback for the Eagles and even switched his jersey number to 43. While BVS is a big-time special teams contributor, it’ll be fun to watch him on offense this spring and summer.
RS/RB Avery Williams: The Eagles officially list Williams, 26, as a return specialist but he has played on both sides of the ball during his NFL career. With the Eagles, Williams will play on offense in addition to his return duties. Nick Sirianni at the NFL owners meetings in March seemed especially excited about Williams and that’s enough for us to keep our eyes on him.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/XlenJsA
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Denver Nuggets 2024-2025 fantasy basketball season recap: Nikola Jokic finishes on top...again
While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.
In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.
Another season removed from the franchise's first NBA championship, the Nuggets were part of a logjam behind top-2 seeds Oklahoma City and Houston in the Western Conference. While Nikola Jokic continued to do his usual work, finishing second in the voting for Most Valuable Player, the Nuggets did not always do their best to supplement the efforts of their best player. Two major changes were made late in the regular season, and ultimately, Denver was eliminated by Oklahoma City in the second round of the Western Conference Playoffs.
Denver Nuggets 2024-2025 Season Recap
Record: 50-32 (4th, West)
Offensive Rating: 118.9 (4th)
Defensive Rating: 115.1 (21st)
Net Rating: 3.8 (9th)
Pace: 100.67 (8th)
2025 NBA Draft Picks: None
Thought by many to be one of the teams with a chance of making noise in the Western Conference this season, the Nuggets extended their streak of 50-win seasons to three in 2024-25. However, the path traveled was anything but smooth. Injuries limited Aaron Gordon to 51 appearances, and the Nuggets' inconsistent bench production was an issue for most of the season. And then there was the decision made by Josh Kroenke late in the regular season that changed the path the Nuggets' franchise will take in the future.
Head coach Michael Malone and general manager Calvin Booth not always seeing eye-to-eye on the roster was not a shocking development. However, instead of one party "winning" this proverbial tug of war, both lost. Kroenke decided to part ways with Malone and Booth with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season. While David Adelman took over as interim head coach and had the tag removed shortly after Denver's season concluded, the Nuggets are still searching for a new general manager.
Whoever's selected to take over that role will have some work to do this offseason. Is Denver's player development good enough to have another young player emerge as a consistent contributor? And if not, how will they go about strengthening the bench, especially without a pick in June's NBA Draft? Jokic's status as one of the best players in the NBA is unquestioned, but the Nuggets will need to make improvements around him if they're to make a run at another title.
Fantasy Standout: Nikola Jokic
Given his production, this was an easy choice. Once again, The Joker was the top-ranked player in fantasy basketball, sitting atop the per-game rankings in eight- and nine-cat formats according to Basketball Monster. The only player in the conversation atop the rankings in total value was Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who was also named the NBA's Most Valuable Player. Jokic has won that award in three of the last five years, and a case can be made that he's on par with the likes of prime Shaquille O'Neal and LeBron James. Jokic may not win MVP every year, but you'd be hard-pressed to find someone who believes he isn't the best player in the NBA.
Jokic appeared in 70 games, averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks and 2.0 three-pointers in 36.7 minutes per game. The first center to average a triple-double in NBA history, he shot 57.6 percent from the field and 80 percent from the foul line. Jokic missed five games in March due to right elbow and left ankle injuries, the former being an issue that nagged him for most of the season. While the timing wasn't great for fantasy managers competing in their league playoffs at the time, Jokic has been dependable from an availability standpoint. He's failed to appear in at least 70 games once in his career, playing 69 games during the 2022-23 campaign.
HE'S BAAAAAAACK!
— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) March 27, 2025
After a 5-game absence due to an ankle injury, Nikola Jokić returned to the lineup & posted a stat line of:
39 PTS | 10 REB | 10 AST
He joined Russell Westbrook, Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain as the 4th player with 30 triple-doubles in a season pic.twitter.com/nHu78S7oU2
The Nuggets have Jokic locked into a max contract through the 2027-28 season; given his importance to the franchise, he isn't going anywhere anytime soon. He'll go into the 2025-26 season atop many fantasy draft boards, with SGA and San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama being the other possible options. The latter is recovering from a blood clot that ended his season after the All-Star break.
Fantasy Revelation: Christian Braun
With Denver losing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency, Braun was thrust into a position where he needed to produce after coming off the bench in his first two seasons. Starting 77 of the 79 games he appeared in, Braun was one of the most-improved players in the NBA in 2024-25. He averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.5 blocks and 1.1 three-pointers in 33.9 minutes, recording career-high numbers in each category. The efficiency was excellent, with the third-year guard shooting 58 percent from the field and 82.7 percent from the foul line.
After recording one 20-point game in his first two seasons, Braun had 18 such nights in 2024-25. That included the Nuggets' April 6 loss to the Pacers in which he scored a career-high 30 points, shooting 12-of-16 from the field. Braun also recorded six double-doubles this season and finished ranked just outside the top-50 in nine-cat formats. In eight-cat formats, he was just outside the top-75. A late-round pick in standard league drafts ahead of the 2024-25 season, Braun will merit middle-round consideration next fall.
Fantasy Disappointment: Julian Strawther
Strawther was another player who Caldwell-Pope's exit would impact. While he played well in his limited minutes during Summer League, the second-year wing disappointed many fantasy managers who rolled the dice on him with a late-round draft pick. Strawther appeared in 65 games, averaging 9.0 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals and 1.4 three-pointers in 21.3 minutes. Making matters worse for him was a sprained left knee in March that sidelined the Nuggets wing for a month. Entering the season with a Yahoo! ADP of 142, Strawther finished outside the top-300 in eight- and nine-cat formats. While the expectations for him weren't high among fantasy managers, the hope was that Strawther would be more productive.
Fantasy Recaps/Look-Aheads
Jamal Murray
After being limited to 59 games the season prior, Murray made 67 appearances in 2024-25, the most in a season for him since the 2018-19 campaign (75). He also averaged a career-high 36.1 minutes per game and did not miss more than three consecutive games until late-April. A sprained right ankle cost Murray six games, with the Nuggets going 2-4 with wins over the Jazz and Kings. While he did have to deal with various nicks and bruises throughout the season, Murray was an excellent guard to have rostered in fantasy leagues.
During the regular season, he averaged 21.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.4 steals and 2.3 three-pointers per game, shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 88.6 percent from the foul line. A top-20 player in nine-cat formats, Murray was a top-25 player in eight-cat formats, exceeding his Yahoo! ADP of 54 by a significant margin. Based on his play this season, should fantasy managers select Murray within the first two rounds of standard league drafts? Probably not. He should not be on draft boards after the first 50 picks, especially since players like Boston's Jayson Tatum and Dallas' Kyrie Irving will be unavailable to begin the 2025-26 season.
Just an insane finish from Jamal Murray
— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) May 10, 2025
4Q getting started live on ESPN
pic.twitter.com/6wl3sHpIsG
Michael Porter Jr.
From a statistical standpoint, the 2024-25 season was the best of Porter's NBA career. He posted career-high averages in points (18.2) and assists (2.1) while also averaging 7.0 rebounds, 0.6 steals and 2.5 three-pointers per game. Making 77 appearances, Porter shot 50.4 percent from the field, the first time he made more than half his attempts in a season since the 2020-21 campaign, and 76.8 percent from the foul line. While availability was an issue at the start of his NBA career, MPJ has played in 158 of a possible 164 regular-season games over the past two seasons.
So, why do some appear to be "down" on Porter? His play during the postseason has a lot to do with it, despite MPJ suffering a shoulder injury during the first round that limited his effectiveness. After scoring 21 points in Denver's Game 3 overtime win over the Thunder, he scored 10 points or less in each of the final four games, including a six-point effort in Game 7. Also impacting conversations surrounding Porter and his future in Denver may be his contract, as his current deal runs through the 2026-27 campaign. With a little over $79 million remaining on his deal, MPJ may be the player who moves if Denver decides to overhaul Jokic and Murray's supporting cast. As a Nugget, Porter should be a safe middle-round option in fantasy drafts, but many managers want more.
Aaron Gordon
To say this was the most challenging season of Gordon's NBA career would likely be an understatement. Having lost his older brother during the offseason, the Nuggets forward changed his uniform number to honor him. And there was the calf strain that proved problematic throughout the regular season, with Gordon appearing in just 51 games. He averaged 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.5 steals and 1.5 three-pointers in 28.4 minutes, shooting 53.1 percent from the field and 81 percent from the foul line.
While Gordon had better seasons regarding overall field goal percentage, this was the best season of his career as a perimeter shooter. In addition to the career-high mark at the foul line, he shot 43.6 percent from three on 3.4 attempts per game. During the playoffs, Gordon made nearly 38 percent of his 4.1 three-point attempts and was also an 86 percent shooter from the foul line. With a Yahoo! ADP of 116, fantasy managers did not have wild expectations for Gordon ahead of the 2024-25 season. How much faith will managers have that his improvements as a shooter will last? The answer will determine just how high his ADP is next fall.
Russell Westbrook
The Nuggets signed Westbrook to a two-year deal last summer, the second being a player option. While the maddening moments in which he exhibited poor shot selection or was a bit too loose with the basketball remained, the veteran point guard provided solid value for the balance of the season. Appearing in 75 games, Westbrook averaged 13.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 three-pointers in 27.9 minutes. Shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 66.1 percent from the foul line, Westbrook's scoring average was more than two points higher than his 2023-24 mark with the Clippers (11.1 ppg).
As has been the case for most of his career, there was a gap between Westbrook's value in eight- and nine-cat formats. Ranked just outside the top-100 in eight-cat formats, he was outside the top-175 in nine-cat formats due to an average of 3.2 turnovers per game. Westbrook's usage only trailed Jokic and Murray among Nuggets players, which was a bit surprising, given the role he was asked to fill. While deep-league managers may be willing to use a late-round pick on Westbrook, he'll be most valuable as a streamer when a team is down a starter. And that's if he decides to pick up his player option and remain with the Nuggets.
Peyton Watson
After playing 80 games last season, Watson made 68 appearances for the Nuggets in 2024-25 with 18 starts. His most significant opportunities came about when Denver was without Gordon due to his injuries, and as a starter, Watson averaged 11.6 points per game on 54.9 percent shooting. For the season, he recorded career-high averages in points (8.1), rebounds (3.4), assists (1.4), steals (0.7), blocks (1.4) and three-pointers (0.7), shooting 47.7 percent from the field and 69.3 percent from the foul line.
Most valuable as a deep-league streamer, Watson failed to finish within the top-200 in eight- and nine-cat formats this season. Depending on what the Nuggets do this offseason, he may be a player worth watching in deeper leagues, but Watson does not appear to be a must-draft player currently.
Restricted Free Agents: Trey Alexander, P.J. Hall, Spencer Jones
Unrestricted Free Agents: DeAndre Jordan, Vlatko Cancar
Player Option: Russell Westbrook, Dario Saric
from NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games https://ift.tt/zBS7eUH
NFL Organized Team Activities start today for 20 teams, tomorrow for remaining 5 teams
By tomorrow, every NFL team will have kicked off its Organized Team Activities.
The seven teams with new head coaches started their OTAs early, as they are permitted to do under NFL rules. The remaining 25 teams are starting this week, with 20 going today and the other five going tomorrow.
OTAs take place during a four-week period known as Phase Three of the offseason program, and teams can have a total of 10 OTAs. No live contact is allowed, but all non-contact offense vs. defense drills are allowed, including 11-on-11. It's the closest thing to playing football that the NFL allows in the offseason, and coaches like to have as close to a full roster as they can so they can assess how the team looks.
Whatever coaches prefer, however, OTAs are voluntary like the rest of the offseason program. The vast majority of players choose to participate, but a handful of players typically skip OTAs. Teams may also hold a mandatory minicamp during Phase Three of the offseason program, and players who don't attend get fined.
The teams starting OTAs today are the Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tennessee Titans.
The teams starting tomorrow are the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Indianapolis Colts and Washington Commanders.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/L6f3RuY
Jordan Love: Matthew Golden looks like a very polished receiver
Wide receiver Matthew Golden has made a good early impression on Packers quarterback Jordan Love.
The Packers snapped a streak of more than two decades when they selected Golden in the first round in April and Love said he was "glad to be wrong" about the direction the team would take in the draft after his early practices with the rookie wideout. Golden ran the fastest 40 at this year's Scouting Combine and Love noted his teammate's "blazing speed," but said that Golden is bringing a lot more to the table.
“He’s a great dude,” Love said, via Matt Schneidman of TheAthletic.com. . “I’m excited to see just his potential on the football field. But just the start we’ve had, doing routes on air and things like that, he looks like a stud, looks like a very polished receiver, so I’m excited to see just how far he can take it.”
The Packers have downplayed the need for a No. 1 receiver while stockpiling wideouts over the last few years. It remains to be seen if the move for Golden changes that approach, but winning the favor of the quarterback is a step toward the top of the depth chart for the first-round pick.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/EwMTcbQ
Monday, May 26, 2025
Patriots were debating another prospect as pick No. 38 approached, along with TreVeyon Henderson
Trading down wasn't the only option the Patriots thought they'd have with the 38th pick in the 2025 draft.
As the sixth pick on the second day approached, the Patriots were considering running back TreVeyon Henderson and another player.
An article from Mike Reiss of ESPN.com regarding the current state of the Patriots includes a story from V.P. of player personnel Eliot Wolf regarding the manner in which the new collection of coaches (most notably, Mike Vrabel) and front-office executives (Ryan Cowden and John Streicher) came to a consensus regarding pick No. 38.
Wolf said that, as the Patriots "were close" to making the selection at No. 38, they were "debating" Henderson and another player. There were "differing opinions" in the draft room.
The other player was picked before the Patriots were on the clock. Wolf nevertheless was happy with what he called a "constructive discussion" before the other player was picked.
"I think it was a really good step in the right direction, in our relationship as co-workers, because we have to have productive disagreements for this to work," Wolf said.
Here's the next question, which wasn't (and likely won't be) answered: Who was the other player?
Only five were taken before the Patriots were up on the second day of the draft: linebacker Carson Schwesinger, receiver Jayden Higgins, safety Nick Emmanwori, running back Quinshon Judkins, and guard Jonah Savalinaea.
The most obvious candidate to be subject of the debate is Judkins, Henderson's Ohio State teammate. With 20 hours or so between the end of round one and the start of round two, the Patriots had plenty of time to figure out which positions they'd target with the 38th pick. And they needed to narrow their total round-two list of targets down to only six players, at most.
One of them, obviously, was Henderson. Given that the Patriots used the pick on a running back and Judkins was the other running back, it's natural to think they were debating between the two Ohio State running backs.
Generally speaking, Henderson's style would be more of a complement to incumbent RB1 Rhamondre Stevenson. Judkins's skills and abilities are more similar to Stevenson's. Still, both Ohio State teammates were regarded as high second-round picks.
Higgins is also a possibility, since the Patriots took receiver Kyle Williams in round three. Regardless, it was one of only five who had sparked a Henderson vs. Someone debate. And it's a decision the Patriots ultimately didn't have to make. But it's very possible they would have been choosing between the two Ohio State teammates who play the same position.
For all anyone knows, the Browns actually made that decision, in picking Judkins over Henderson.
The possibility that the Patriots may have been debating Henderson vs. Judkins and that the Browns potentially choosing between them adds another layer of intrigue to the question of which one fares better in the NFL.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/iIZLrhM
Boston Celtics 2024-2025 fantasy basketball season recap: Jayson Tatum injury throws franchise into flux
While the NBA Playoffs are in full swing, now is a good time to recap the fantasy basketball season for all 30 teams.
In the following weeks, we will provide a recap for each team, starting with the team with the worst record and concluding with the NBA champion in June.
Coming off of the franchise's 18th NBA title, the Boston Celtics appeared to have every chance of repeating. One of three teams to win at least 60 games, Joe Mazzulla's team went into the postseason as the two-seed in the East. Unfortunately, injury woes that began late in the regular season continued in the playoffs, with Jayson Tatum suffering a ruptured Achilles during the second round. With a sky-high salary/luxury tax bill to navigate, the Celtics will have some questions to answer this offseason.
Boston Celtics 2024-2025 Season Recap
Record: 61-21 (2nd, East)
Offensive Rating: 119.5 (3rd)
Defensive Rating: 110.1 (4th)
Net Rating: 9.4 (2nd)
Pace: 96.59 (29th)
2025 NBA Draft Picks: 28, 32
Boston's 2024-25 season got off to an excellent start, as the champs blew out the Knicks on opening night. Despite not having Kristaps Porzingis to begin the season as he recovered from offseason leg surgery, the Celtics were clearly among the NBA's upper crust, boasting the talent and experience needed to make a run at another championship. Unfortunately, Joe Mazzulla's team would struggle with some health issues late in the regular season that would be a harbinger of things to come.
Jrue Holiday missed time with a shoulder injury while Jaylen Brown was nagged by a knee issue that proved more serious than some anticipated. Add in Porzingis being sidelined by an illness that sapped his conditioning, and the champs entered the postseason at less than full strength. Jayson Tatum would injure his wrist during the first-round series against Orlando, and the most significant blow would be absorbed during Game 4 of the team's second-round series with the Knicks.
Tatum ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right leg while attempting to corral a loose ball. Two nights later, Boston would win Game 5, but the ending was inevitable. The Celtics' title run ended in a Game 6 blowout defeat, after which it was reported that Brown was playing through a partially torn meniscus. The health of the team's top three players and the sale of the team open the floor for some significant questions to address this summer.
Does Boston look to run it back while Tatum recovers from his injury? Or will this be used as an excuse to reshuffle the deck and try to save some money? Boston's approach will significantly impact the NBA in 2025-26.
Fantasy Standout: Jayson Tatum
From a fantasy standpoint, Tatum entered the season in an interesting spot. While he's certainly a player worth selecting in the first round of standard league drafts, some were prepared for the Celtics star to be a player whose value would sit near the first/second round turn. That's precisely what happened, with Tatum ranking 13th in eight- and nine-cat per-game value according to Basketball Monster. Having appeared in 72 games, he was a top-10 player in total value.
Making 72 starts, Tatum averaged 26.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 3.5 three-pointers per game, shooting 42.5 percent from the field and 81.4 percent from the foul line. While his percentages decreased slightly compared to the 2023-24 campaign, Tatum's assist average was the highest of his career. His 31 double-doubles were six more than his tally during Boston's championship season, and JT was also responsible for two triple-doubles. Among the highlights were a February 28 loss to the Cavaliers in which he recorded 46 points, 16 rebounds and nine assists. Tatum was also responsible for a 43/15/10 line in a December 21 win over Chicago.
JAYSON...TATUM EVERYONE pic.twitter.com/QBxreCGj5O
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 22, 2024
After missing Game 2 of Boston's first-round series with Orlando due to a right wrist injury, Tatum would score 35 points or more in each of the final three games. And his Game 4 performance against the Knicks was one of the best of his postseason career before suffering the Achilles tendon tear that ended his season. Due to that injury, Tatum will likely miss most of the 2025-26 season, if not all. He can't be selected in drafts as high as he would if healthy. Whether or not Tatum will be worth stashing depends on the Celtics' next update on his status. If there's a chance that he'll be back in time for the fantasy playoffs, some managers will be willing to take the risk and draft Tatum with a late-round pick.
Fantasy Revelation: Payton Pritchard
After a solid run in his fourth NBA season, Pritchard emerged as one of the top reserves in the NBA in 2024-25. The eventual NBA Sixth Man of the Year appeared in 80 games, starting just three, recording averages of 14.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 3.2 three-pointers in 28.4 minutes per game. Pritchard, who shot 47.2 percent from the field and 84.5 percent from the foul line, established new career-high averages in points, rebounds, assists, steals, three-pointers and field-goal percentage.
The production was good for top-50 value in nine-cat formats and top-60 value in eight-cat formats. While Pritchard ended the regular season rostered in about 50 percent of Yahoo! leagues, he played well enough to justify a higher percentage, especially when the Celtics were forced to play without a starter (or more). He's one of the players impacted by Tatum's availability next season. Despite being a reserve, Pritchard is good enough to be considered a potential top-100 pick, especially with him averaging high-20s in minutes per game.
Fantasy Disappointment: Jrue Holiday
While some may argue that Jaylen Brown should be the choice, at least he finished the season as a top-100 player. For the first time since his rookie season, Holiday failed to provide top-100 per-game value according to Basketball Monster. In 62 games, he averaged 11.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.7 three-pointers in 30.6 minutes, shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 90.9 percent from the foul line. Averaging just 1.2 turnovers per game, Holiday was slightly more valuable in nine-cat formats than eight-cat formats.
While he did not miss more than four consecutive games at any point during the regular season, Holiday endured a month-long stretch in which he missed nine of 12 games due to a right shoulder impingement and a mallet finger on his right hand in early February. And he would miss the final three games of Boston's first-round series with a strained right hamstring. Given Boston's expected luxury tax bill (they're a repeater, too) and Tatum's injury, Holiday may be a name to watch this offseason, as he turns 35 in June and has three seasons remaining on his current contract.
Fantasy Recaps/Look-Aheads
Jaylen Brown
After appearing in 70 games and earning his third All-Star Game appearance in 2023-24, injuries limited Brown to 63 appearances in 2024-25. He averaged 22.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.8 three-pointers in 34.3 minutes, shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 76.4 percent from the foul line. While Brown's scoring average decreased by nearly a whole point, his rebounds and assists increased, averaging a career-high in the latter. Another positive was the improved foul shooting, with Brown's percentage rising by over six points after a subpar 70.3 percent mark in Boston's championship season.
However, while no stretch was longer than four games missed due to injury (a hip injury in early November), his production tailed off late in the regular season. The issue, as it would be learned shortly after the Celtics' season ended, was a partially torn meniscus in his right knee. For fantasy managers who may have been disappointed by Brown's production during the playoff weeks, the knee issue had much to do with that. At the time of publishing, no decision was made regarding whether Brown must undergo surgery this offseason.
The combination of him getting healthy and Tatum's Achilles tendon rupture will likely boost Brown's value heading into drafts next fall, especially with lead executive Brad Stevens expressing his confidence in Brown leading the way. Despite only having two top-50 fantasy seasons to his credit, the Celtics star continues to have an ADP within that threshold, but the circumstances make Brown worth the risk.
Derrick White
After proving more valuable than many fantasy managers expected him to be in 2023-24, White had another excellent fantasy season in 2024-25. Appearing in 76 regular-season games, he averaged 16.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 1.1 blocks and 3.5 three-pointers in 33.9 minutes. White, who shot 44.2 percent from the field and 83.9 percent from the foul line, finished as a top-50 player in eight- and nine-cat formats regarding per-game value, and the availability made him a top-25 player in total value.
White finished the season with four double-doubles, and in a March 5 win over the Trail Blazers, he went off for a career-high 41 points. Not only was that his first 40-point game, but it was the first in which he surpassed 35. Regarding availability and production, White has been a reliable member of the Celtics' rotation since he arrived in Boston during the 2021-22 season. While some continue to discuss the possibility of the Celtics making significant changes following Jayson Tatum's Achilles injury, White is a player the team and fantasy managers can count on if Boston keeps the group together for another season.
Most combined 3's by a duo in a game in NBA history with 19 3PM
— NBA Fantasy (@NBAFantasy) March 6, 2025
Payton Pritchard: Career-high 43 points, career-high 10, ➡️62.5 FPTs
Derrick White: Career-high 41 points, career-high 9 3PM ➡️ 58.6 FPTs pic.twitter.com/vq5AiwBLSO
Kristaps Porzingis
Limited to 57 regular-season games in 2023-24, Porzingis' 2024-25 campaign did not begin until November 25 due to offseason ankle surgery. Unfortunately, an ankle injury cost him four games just after Christmas, and the Celtics center would miss eight games in March due to an unidentified viral illness that proved more problematic than many expected. After playing 34 minutes in Game 3 of Boston's first-round series against the Magic, Porzingis would not surpass 25 minutes again, playing 19 or fewer in five of the team's six games against the Knicks in the second round. Due to how the illness impacted his stamina, he was a shell of himself against the team that drafted him.
Porzingis played in 42 regular-season games, averaging 19.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 2.5 three-pointers in 28.8 minutes. While he provided excellent per-game value, the total value was not there due to KP's availability issues. The 7-foot-3 Celtic has played 65 regular-season games or more three times in his career, and he's logged 99 in Boston. If the Celtics were to make significant changes this summer, Porzingis is a player to watch despite the injury woes.
Unless Boston were to extend his contract, the 2025-26 season will be the last on Porzingis' current contract, and it's worth a little over $30.7 million. From a fantasy standpoint, his Yahoo! ADP will be considerably higher than his 2023-24 number (104), but he'll be a risky early-round dice roll due to the injuries.
Al Horford
While Horford remained a dependable member of the Celtics' rotation, his production did not make a significant dent in fantasy leagues. Starting 42 of the 60 games he appeared in, the 38-year-old center averaged 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.9 blocks and 1.9 three-pointers in 27.7 minutes. Shooting a career-low 42.3 percent from the field, Horford finished the regular season ranked outside the top-100 in eight- and nine-cat formats, providing greater value in the latter.
Once again not playing both games of back-to-backs, Horford only had two instances this season in which he missed consecutive games. However, his left significant toe sprain in mid-March slowed the veteran forward. And with Horford turning 39 in early June, his days as a consistently reliable fantasy option are likely in the rearview mirror. He'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer and has yet to decide his NBA future. However, ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported in mid-May that Horford does not plan to retire and hopes to re-sign with the Celtics. If that happens, his fantasy value in 2025-26 should not change; he'll be a late-round option in standard leagues.
Luke Kornet
While Kornet may not have been productive enough to merit being rostered in fantasy leagues throughout the 2024-25 season, the 7-foot-2 center had his moments. He reached double figures in scoring on 15 occasions, including a 19-point effort against the Hornets on November 2, and there were seven games in which he recorded at least three blocked shots. Kornet's most notable performance occurred in the postseason, however, as he helped spearhead Boston's Game 3 win over New York by recording 10 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal and seven blocked shots, shooting 5-of-5 from the field.
Ranked just within the top-200 in nine-cat formats, Kornet finished outside that threshold in eight-cat formats. He wasn't a player worth targeting in fantasy drafts before the season began, and that's unlikely to change if the Celtics keep the band together in 2025-26. However, if they were to lose Horford via free agency (or retirement), Kornet's ceiling would rise slightly, especially with Kristaps Porzingis' injury history.
Sam Hauser
Hauser was another Celtic who was most valuable when the team was down at least one starter. He started a career-high 19 games during the regular season, averaging 8.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 2.3 three-pointers in 21.7 minutes (71 appearances). Hauser scored 20 points or more on four occasions, including a 33-point effort in Boston's March 10 win over the Jazz, and there were seven games in which he made five three-pointers or more.
Having finished the regular season ranked outside the top-200 in eight- and nine-cat formats, Hauser is unlikely to be a player worth targeting in deep-league drafts next fall, even with Jayson Tatum unavailable. But there should once again be moments where it makes sense to stream him, especially for category league managers needing three-point production.
Restricted Free Agents: Drew Peterson
Unrestricted Free Agents: Al Horford, Luke Kornet, Torrey Craig
Team Option: JD Davison
from NBA Basketball News, Scores, Standings, Rumors, Fantasy Games https://ift.tt/I5yw1ev
Sunday, May 25, 2025
In Roob's Observations: Why the coach of an Eagles rival should be considered a hero
In Roob's Observations: Why the coach of an Eagles rival should be considered a hero originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Why Eagles fans should be grateful for the head coach of one of the NFC’s best teams, an undrafted rookie running back who’s got a chance to make the roster and Jeff Lurie’s role in the Brotherly Shove vote.
May is usually a quiet month in the NFL but between the Push being saved, Nick Sirianni’s extension and the Dallas Goedert extension it’s been a busy few weeks.
Here’s this week’s batch of 10 Random Eagles Offseason Observations, fresh out of the oven.
1A. Dan Campbell is a hero. Don’t think any of us had that on our 2025 Eagles offseason Bingo cards. But he is, and good for Campbell and the Lions for aligning with the Eagles on the tush push vote Wednesday in Minneapolis. There isn’t one team with more to gain by having the play banned. The Eagles and Lions are the consensus top two teams in the NFC. They were the top two seeds in the playoffs last year and although Washington did knock the Lions off in Detroit last January, the Eagles and Lions go into the 2025 season as favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Take away the push, and the Lions’ chances to reach the Super Bowl increase. Yet they were the only NFC team other than the Eagles and Saints with Kellen Moore to have the guts to vote against the ban. And NFC teams, fighting directly with the Eagles for playoff position, obviously have much more to lose if the play remains. Almost half the AFC voted with the Eagles – seven of 16 teams. But only two of 15 NFC teams other than the Eagles. Just more evidence that the teams voting against the play had motives other than the nonsensical “player safety” narrative in mind. Simply, other franchises are jealous of the Eagles and their success and tried to level the playing field a little bit by eliminating a play the Eagles are really good at that nobody else has figured out. There has never been a rule proposal in the history of the league that was crafted to hurt one specific team. Until now. The Lions were one of the few teams that voted out of a belief in what’s best for the league, not what’s best for themselves. Shame on the 22 teams that didn’t. Bunch of hypocrites.
1B. And how about Jerry Jones of all people being the only guy with the guts to admit that maybe his motivation for voting against the play was purely selfish: “Am I really against the tush push or just don’t want Philadelphia to have an edge?” Dumb thing to admit but it beats pretending he has the best interest of players in mind like the owners. Then the Cowboys voted in favor of the ban. Typical Jerry Jones.
2. Keep an eye on rookie Montrell Johnson Jr., a running back from Florida. Johnson was projected as a Day 3 draft pick but went undrafted before the Eagles snapped him up. He’s a tough, physical inside runner who ran 4.41 at 5-foot-11, 210 pounds at the Combine and you have to love the college production. Including one year at Louisiana and the last three at Florida, he rushed for 3,089 yards with a 5.4 average and 33 touchdowns and also caught 61 passes for 411 yards and two more TDs. He’s one of only seven BCS running backs with 3,000 rushing yards, a 5.4 average, 30 TDs and 60 catches over the last four seasons. Johnson has a real chance because after Saquon Barkley, there really isn’t an established running back on the roster. Will Shipley will be around as a 4th-round pick last year and showed some juice last year but remains largely unproven, and the Eagles signed former Packer A.J. Dillon, who missed all of last year after a poor 2023 season, so who knows what he’ll have to offer. The Eagles released Tyrion Davis-Price, a former 49ers 3rd-round pick, earlier this month, which made the RB room even thinner. Another hint that the Eagles like Johnson: He got a $200,000 guarantee, tied for the largest they gave out this year to an undrafted rookie (Toledo safety Maxen Hook also got $200K). There could be a real opportunity for a guy like Johnson to not only stick with a good camp, but compete for the RB2 spot.
3. The Eagles have won more playoff games under Nick Sirianni than they won during the 39 years from 1961 through 1999.
4. Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame monitor is a way to quantify every player’s Hall of Fame qualifications with a single number that we can compare to players already in the Hall of Fame or those who’ve come close. For running backs, yards-per-carry and receptions aren’t part of the equation. But even without his 4,000 receiving yards and 4.5 average, LeSean McCoy still has a grade of 82.84. Every eligible running back with a score of 80 or more is already in the Hall of Fame. McCoy is the only running back in NFL history with 11,000 rushing yards, 4,000 receiving yards and a 4.5 rushing average. Love him or hate him, he belongs in Canton.
5. In 2017, Carson Wentz threw a touchdown on 7.5 percent of his passes and an interception on 1.6 percent. That’s how the NFL measures TD and INT percentages, as a ratio. So that’s 7.5 TDs and 1.6 interceptions per 100 pass attempts. Only five other quarterbacks in NFL history have averaged 7 ½ or more TDs and 1.6 or fewer INTs in a season (minimum 400 attempts): Aaron Rodgers, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning. Carson was that good in 2017.
6. Here’s who played defense for the Eagles in the 2021 playoff loss in Tampa: Steven Nelson (72 snaps), Rodney McLeod (71), Darius Slay (71), Alex Singleton (64), Anthony Harris (63), Derek Barnett (58), Fletcher Cox (58), Javon Hargrave (52), Avonte Maddox (51), Milton Williams (39), T.J. Edwards (35), Ryan Kerrigan (35), Marcus Epps (32), Genard Avery (30), Haason Ridgeway (23), Shaun Bradley (18), Tarron Jackson (15), Cameron Malveaux (15) and Patrick Johnson (1). Precisely none of them are still on the roster.
7. The only Eagle with a pick-6 in consecutive seasons over the last nine years is Alex Singleton.
8. Milton Williams is a good, solid, productive interior lineman, and gave the Eagles four quality seasons. He’s a guy who’s always going to give everything he has and will never let anyone out-work him. But it’s going to be very tough for Williams to live up to that four-year, $104 million contract. Williams is now the 3rd-highest-paid interior lineman in the league, ahead of Dexter Lawrence, Vita Vea, Quinnen Williams and Jalen Carter (for now). As much as I appreciate what Williams gave the Eagles as a 2021 3rd-round pick, and he had a terrific postseason, he’s never made a Pro Bowl, he ranks 23rd among interior linemen with 11 sacks over the last four seasons, he’s only started 19 games, and his 41.6 percent snap count ranks 66th among defensive tackles since 2021. And he’s not an elite run defender. Pro Football Focus ranked him 77th against the run out of 79 interior linemen who played at least 200 run snaps last year. But he does give you very good pressure from the inside and had 10 quarterback hits, 5.0 sacks and seven tackles for loss in 2024. He will make the Patriots a better team. But when you get that kind of money, expectations change. Along with superstar money comes superstar expectations, and Williams isn’t a superstar. Now, he’s still only 26 and he is coming off his best season and big Super Bowl, so maybe he’ll continue trending upward. I’m certainly not knocking the player. Williams is really good, and good for him getting that kind of money. But people are going to expect more than the guy he’s been for four years for $26 million per year, and I’m just not sure if Williams can play up to that amount.
9. Last thought on the vote in Minneapolis: There aren’t many owners who would speak as passionately and persuasively and intelligently about a football issue as Jeff Lurie did on Wednesday. About revenue? Yeah. About stadium issues? Yeah. About expansion? Yeah. But owners are rarely this well-versed on football matters to be able to articulate a position and back it up. Lurie has devoted his life to the Eagles, and they’ve won 21 playoff games and two Super Bowls under his watch. And since he bought the team from Norman Braman 30 years ago, they’ve had just eight losing seasons. Lurie cares so deeply about this city and this team, and it’s rare to see an owner openly challenge the commissioner like he did, all because he’s so profoundly protective of the Eagles and was going to do all he could to make sure this ill-conceived proposal failed. Other than Bert Bell, who founded the Eagles 92 years ago, Jeff Lurie is the most important person in franchise history. And every Eagles fan and every Philadelphian is so lucky to have him. There’s no way to know how many votes he swayed with that speech, but there’s a fair chance the proposal passes without Lurie’s wisdom and eloquence.
10. The Eagles’ 21-0 fourth-quarter advantage over the Commanders in the NFC Championship Game is tied for 3rd-largest in NFL postseason history. The last team with a larger 4th-quarter scoring margin in a postseason game was the 1993 Eagles, who outscored the Saints 26-0 in the fourth quarter of their 1992 wild-card game – also at the Superdome.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/egz8ka9
Morgan Moses had offseason surgery on knee injury from Week 3
New Patriots tackle Morgan Moses has yet to participate in full-team drills during the offseason program. He has a very good reason for it.
Via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, Moses said he's recovering from offseason surgery to repair a knee injury.
"Just pacing things out," Moses said.
While playing for the Jets last season, Moses suffered an MCL sprain and a bone bruise during a Week 3 Thursday night win. He missed two games at the time. He also was inactive for the regular-season finale against the Dolphins.
A third-round pick of the Commanders in 2014, the 34-year-old Morgan spent seven years in Washington before playing for the Jets in 2021 and again in 2024. In 2022 and 2023, Moses played for the Ravens.
He signed a three-year, $24 million free-agent contract with the Patriots in March. He's one of several veteran players the Patriots have brought to town as they continue to try to return to contender status in the AFC.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/Bqg5Iy3
Aaron Rodgers isn't interested in joining the Saints
When free-agent quarterback Aaron Rodgers recently said he could be joining a team that "might play in Chicago this year," the obvious inference was that Rodgers was referring to the Steelers.
But another team to which Rodgers has been linked also has a 2025 regular-season game at Soldier Field. The Saints.
Via Tina Howell of CanalStreetChronicles.com, Rodgers separately said during that same Q&A session at a "Mike Stud" concert (yes, this is what my life has come to) that he's not interested in joining the Saints.
Asking if he'd ever consider playing for the Saints, Rodgers quickly said, "No."
He then said, “That the answer. I’ve played there a couple times. But no, I’m too old. I don’t want to live in Louisiana. Sorry.”
That leaves the Saints with Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener to do battle in camp for the starting job. Unless they add a current free agent (like Ryan Tannehill), trade for a veteran in a crowded house (Kenny Pickett, Joe Flacco, Jameis Winston, for instance), or pounce on someone who inevitably gets cut.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/C4Pd8Im
Saturday, May 24, 2025
14 years after the rookie wage scale, the No. 1 pick's pay has nearly closed the gap
Fifteen years ago, the NFL was experiencing one specific financial problem. The Collective Bargaining Agreement allowed the top incoming players to squeeze the teams that drafted them into contracts that were spiraling out of control.
It had gotten so bad that, when the Dolphins prepared to use the No. 1 overall pick in 2008, there were widespread rumors that they'd deliberately let the clock expire and wait to make a pick at a lower spot. (Miami eventually picked tackle Jake Long.)
Enter the expiration of the CBA. One of the things the NFL wanted as of 2011 was a rookie wage scale. And the NFL got the restriction it craved on the value of the deals given to new players.
The argument was simple. The prior system allowed busts to take millions out of the system. Those millions could go instead to established player.
Of course, the rookie wage scale also prevented those big contracts from becoming part of the leverage for veterans to get better deals, by pointing to the average annual salary given to a high draft pick at the same position.
But it was far easier to get the current members of the union to pick the pockets of players who weren't yet in it. Even if it indirectly impacted them. Making the argument even easier was the inherent zero-sum game of the salary cap. If more money goes to a hotshot who has never worn an NFL helmet, less money is available to everyone else.
It worked. And here's the latest evidence of it. Fourteen years later, with the salary cap skyrocketing from $120.375 million to $279.2 million per team, the value of the contract given to the No. 1 overall pick still hasn't caught the value of the No. 1 overall pick from 2010, the last year with no rookie wage scale.
In 2010, Rams quarterback Sam Bradford signed a six-year, $78 million contract, with a maximum value of $86 million and $50 million guaranteed.
In 2025, Titans quarterback Cam Ward signed a four-year, fully-guaranteed $48 million contract.
Bradford's base deal paid $13 million per year. Ward's pays $12 million annually. Bradford got more in guarantees, although it's likely that the $50 million wasn't fully guaranteed. (The reporting on and analysis of contracts in 2010 didn't delve into such details the way it does now.)
Yes, Ward is committed for only four years, not six. But the Titans have a fifth-year option, so the contract puts him on the market (or gets him franchise tagged) only one year sooner.
Here's the broader point. It has taken nearly 15 years to get the No. 1 overall pick to the contract the No. 1 overall pick received in 2010. Even though the salary cap has increased since 2011 by 231.9 percent.
Which means that the rookie wage scale was a massive win for the NFL and its owners.
Which also shows that, when a sports league (or cabal or cartel) finds itself in an undesirable financial predicament, it should be expected to figure out the situation on its own — without pissing and moaning for Congressional intervention.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/oURPzkK
Peyton Manning: Jim Irsay made Indy a football town
For years, Indianapolis was associated primarily with things other than pigskin. In 1984, that changed.
The Colts came to town. And, once Jim Irsay inherited the franchise following the passing of his father, Bob, the Colts made their move toward the top of the NFL.
Appearing this week on ESPN's NFL Live, Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning explained how Irsay made Indy a football town.
"When I got there, Indiana basketball, [auto] racing, the Indy 500 -- that was it," Manning said. "I think football was the third sport. Maybe not. Golf might've been in there. And all of a sudden, because of the commitment Jim made to winning . . . he goes out and hires Bill Polian, who had rebuilt the Buffalo Bills, had started the Carolina Panthers as a new franchise, takes them to the NFC Championship, then he drafts Edgerrin James, obviously re-signs Marvin Harrison, who's already there. And next thing you know, the Colts all of a sudden, 'Hey, the Colts are beating Miami, they're beating Buffalo, they're winning their division. And all of a sudden, 'Hey, the Colts are for real.'"
The moment happened in 1999, Manning's second season. The lumps he took as a rookie (when the Colts went 3-13) helped him and the Colts explode into contention in his second season — and flipped their final record to 13-3. The next year, they went 10-6.
Then came the "playoffs?!?" season of 2001, which resulted in a 6-10 finish and the firing of Jim Mora (who turns 90 today) and the hiring of Tony Dungy.
Off they went. 10-6, 12-4, 12-4, 14-2, 12-4 (and a Super Bowl win), 13-3, 12-4, 14-2 (and a Super Bowl appearance), and 10-6.
The wheels came off when Peyton Manning missed 2011 (2-14), but with Andrew Luck they had three straight 11-5 seasons.
"Right before your eyes, Indianapolis became the biggest football town," Manning said. "High school football goes up. Fans wear more jerseys to a Colts game than any other stadium out there. And that was [because of] Jim's commitment. That was his commitment to the city that he was going to bring them a winner once he took over, and he did."
Along the way, the RCA Dome inched toward obsolescence. It was time to play the stadium politics game. Irsay found the solution in Indy that his father couldn't find in Baltimore.
"There were all kinds of rumors about us maybe moving to Los Angeles or whatnot," Manning said. "Jim always wanted to stay in Indianapolis, but he felt like, 'Hey, we have this really good team. We're fun to watch. Let's get them a new stadium to play in.' And the next thing you know, Lucas Oil Stadium is built."
For those whose NFL fandom firmly existed when the Colts were in Baltimore, the sudden arrival of Indianapolis on the football scene took some getting used to. It's now impossible to think of pro football without thinking of Indiana — especially since along the way the Colts' presence brought the Scouting Combine to town. Where it's been ever since, and where it should permanently remain.
from NFL News, Scores, Fantasy Games and Highlights 2020 | Yahoo Sports https://ift.tt/ELvH9Fx
A.J. Brown not lingering in afterglow of Super Bowl win
A.J. Brown not lingering in afterglow of Super Bowl win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Don’t get it twisted. A.J. Brown enjoyed winning the Super Bowl.
He enjoyed celebrating in the Eagles’ winning locker room at the Superdome after their 40-22 win over the Chiefs. And he really enjoyed the parade on Broad Street.
“The parade was very special,” Brown said this week ahead of Eagles OTAs. “I celebrated it and it was very fun. But after that moment, it was back to work, back to trying to find new ways to get better.”
That’s not lip service from Brown. In fact, the Eagles’ star receiver surprised fans with an Instagram post on Feb. 12 trying to express his feelings after reaching the mountaintop. He thought he would feel fulfilled by winning a Super Bowl but his personal experience was different.
This week, Brown admitted that this realization surprised him some too.
“It did,” Brown said. “Because coming into the league, we were taught we’re playing for this reason. We’re playing for this trophy. And once we got the trophy, it was just like I thought everything would be fulfilled, like the hard work and everything. But no, it’s the journey. It’s the journey that matters the most and that means the most. Because those are the moments you look back at with your teammates that you’re spending time with and going to war, you’re suffering together and you’re winning together.
“That’s the beautiful moments in it. The trophy, we can’t take the trophy home. But it’s cool that, that’s forever in the history books. But we’re going to remember the moments more than the ring.”
Brown has been busy this offseason. He gave the commencement speech at the Ole Miss graduation and got engaged to his longtime girlfriend in the most extravagant way imaginable with a little help from music superstar John Legend.
But he has also already been back in the film room trying to get better and it didn’t take long for him to get there.
“The process is always the same, honestly, regardless of whether we won or not,” Brown said. “It’s watching film, trying to rediscover yourself and to get better and find new ways to get better. Because you have to grow in this league. If you don’t, you’ll get exposed. As a team, just growing, pushing each other each and every day. Not worrying about the results at the moment but just worrying about the effort.”
Brown, 27, is already one of the best receivers in the NFL. In fact, PFF just ranked Brown as the No. 1 receiver in the NFL. He missed a few games with injury in 2024 but still managed to have 67 catches for 1,079 yards and 7 touchdowns for a run-heavy offense.
The Eagles finished the 2024 regular season with the No. 2-ranked rushing offense in the NFL but were 29th in passing. Both Brown and Jalen Hurts this week spoke about creating this iteration of the Eagles’ offense and both acknowledged that it could look different.
Even though he is already a top receiver, Brown said he’s focused on getting better this offseason. First, he had to identify what needed work.
“It always boils down to just watching film and you just take notes,” he said. “You just take notes of what you didn’t do really well last year that may have snuck through the cracks that nobody ever realized but you know deep down. Everybody knows their weaknesses and their strengths. You’re just trying to find new ways to pick a few things and you focus on that in the summer and during OTAs.”
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