NFL

The Minnesota Vikings added a backup quarterback during the NFL draft, trading the No. 142 selection to the Seattle Seahawks for Sam Howell and the No. 172 pick (which they later traded to the Los Angeles Rams).

And at least one executive who isn't a believer in J.J. McCarthy, according to The Athletic's Mike Sando, believes Howell will eventually be the guy.

"You know what is going to happen?" that executive told Sando. "J.J. is going to get banged up, and Howell is going to walk in there and become the next Sam Darnold."

That sort of take isn't universally shared, of course.

"Stop," another executive told Sando. "There's no comparison. J.J. will be really good, and the coach (Kevin O'Connell) will make sure he is good."

Darnold was the No. 3 overall pick of the New York Jets in 2018 but struggled mightily as the starter both in the Big Apple and with the Carolina Panthers. He spent a season as the backup for the San Francisco 49ers before having a career year for the Vikings in 2024, throwing for 4,319 yards, 35 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while leading the team to a 14-3 record and postseason berth.

Howell wasn't as highly regarded coming out of college, with the Washington Commanders drafting him in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. He served as the team's starter in 2023, throwing for 3,946 yards, 21 touchdowns and a league-worst 21 interceptions, and Washington went 4-13 in his starts. After drafting Jayden Daniels, the Commanders traded him to Seattle, where he spent a season as Geno Smith's backup.

Darnold's career year and redemption story was a major surprise. Howell replicating that level of success—if he even sees the field at all—would be downright shocking.

Los Angeles Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh revealed that the Bolts turned down multiple trade offers in the first round of the NFL draft to select UNC running back Omarion Hampton with the No. 22 overall pick.

The Chargers changed up their running back room this offseason, parting ways with J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards. Los Angeles added ex-Pittsburgh Steeler RB Najee Harris via free agency, and now the Bolts have Hampton, a two-time first-team All-ACC player who amassed 3,759 total yards and 33 touchdowns over his past two seasons.

Hampton's in position to lead the backfield for the foreseeable future, and that could be a huge win for the rising Chargers, who improved from 5-12 to 11-6 and a playoff berth in Harbaugh's first year as head coach.

He ranked well on the final B/R NFL Scouting Department big board at No. 2 among running backs behind only Heisman Trophy finalist Ashton Jeanty. B/R NFL Scout Dame Parson gave a pro comparison of "shades of David Montgomery," the Detroit Lions back who has amassed at least 1,074 total yards and six touchdowns in each of his six NFL seasons.

Ultimately, it's easy to see why the Chargers passed on those trade offers given Hampton's potential, and now the new Bolt back joins a promising offense and a team looking to make the next step under Harbaugh with a playoff win and potentially more.

There's belief within the league that the Dallas Cowboys' need for a wide receiver in the 2025 NFL draft was overblown due to CeeDee Lamb's contract.

“I don’t know why everyone wants them to take a receiver so bad when they have one they are paying $34 million a year,” an executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. “There are always wideouts out there, and you have a guy that demands coverage.”

The Cowboys had nine picks in the 2025 draft, but didn't spend any of them on a wide receiver.

Dallas has been on the hunt for a No. 2 wideout to pair alongside Lamb, who received a four-year extension worth $136 million ahead of the 2024 season. The average annual value of $34 million on his new deal is the third-highest among all receivers in the NFL, via Spotrac.

The Cowboys attempted to address the issue next to Lamb in the middle of their 2024 campaign, trading a fourth-round draft pick to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for Jonathan Mingo.

Mingo caught a mere five passes for 46 yards in eight games with Dallas following the swap.

Lamb was stellar for the Cowboys once again in 2024, hauling in 101 receptions for 1,194 yards and six touchdowns. No other receiver reached 650 yards for Dallas, though.

The Cowboys haven't made any major additions to their receiving corps in free agency, but team owner Jerry Jones told reporters that "the train has not left the station" in regards to adding another weapon in the pass game following the draft.

While Dallas may not have picked a receiver in the draft, the front office could still address the position before training camp.

The Dallas Cowboys' pass rush is viewed as a strength moving forward following the 2025 NFL draft.

“They got the best guard in the draft, and they get a pass rusher opposite Micah Parsons who can actually win with speed,” an NFL executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic. “Their pass rush is going to be a pain in the ass to deal with. The corner they got in the third (Shavon Revel Jr.) might have gone in the back end of the first round if he’d never gotten hurt.”

Dallas bolstered its offensive line in the first round of the draft, selecting Alabama guard Tyler Booker with the No. 12 overall pick. The Cowboys addressed their defensive front in the second round, taking Boston College edge-rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku.

Ezeiruaku racked up 16.5 sacks in his senior season with the Eagles, the second-most in the country.

Dallas' pass rush was already fierce in 2024, ranking No. 3 in the NFL with 52 sacks despite star outside linebacker Micah Parsons appearing in a career-low 13 games due to an ankle sprain.

Along with Parsons, Sam Williams is also expected to be back after missing the entire 2024 season with a torn ACL and MCL. Williams recorded 8.5 sacks throughout his first two years in the league.

Dallas made several additions to its defensive front in free agency, signing Dante Fowler Jr. and Payton Turner to one-year deals.

With Ezeiruaku now in the mix, the Cowboys will attempt to bounce back from a 7-10 finish in 2024 and return to the postseason with their imposing pass rush.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady discussed his competitive mindset and drawing inspiration from Michael Jordan in a YouTube video where he hung out with F1 driver Carlos Sainz.

The discussion began at the 4:30 mark, right around when Brady was asked how he was different on the football field.

"I think I was part psychopath. I treated every day like it was the biggest day, like it was the Super Bowl. I treated practice...like it was the Super Bowl. There was never a moment that my teammates didn't feel like it was the biggest day, even if it was relatively unimportant. So I'd say my competitiveness on a daily basis to win was max effort all the time. Everyone in my team felt like when I walked in, I better sit up straight and pay attention (because if not), then they were out. Not out like, cut, but look, they weren't gonna be a part of what we were doing, and all the guys that were competitive like me, they were like, perfect. That's who I want to be my leader.

Sainz then asked Brady when he felt he became a true leader in the NFL.

"I think my first year. But I would say there's a great word that I call it, 'competitive stamina.' You're either competing or you're not. And to me, the competition was every day. It just wasn't on...So I would treat a qualifying day like it was a race. And I would push everyone to treat it, because that's how I wanted to see whether people were gonna do it or not. A lot like Michael Jordan did and Kobe Bryant did...

"Michael Jordan was my idol growing up, because he was so competitive and I always find like, if I push my teammates to succeed, well, they got better. And if they got better, it forced me to get better. And then the better I got, then I pushed them, then they got better. So it was almost like you volleyed the competitiveness. The better you get, the better I have to get. Ultimately, when I got on the field, then I flipped the switch."

Brady had a good model in Jordan, considered by many to be the greatest basketball player of all time. His competitive nature knew no bounds as has been documented many times, and it helped lead to six NBA titles, six NBA Finals MVP awards, five NBA MVP awards and 10 spots on the All-NBA First Team.

That Jordan-esque mentality clearly worked for Brady, who made 10 Super Bowls and left the game in 2022 as the most accomplished player in NFL history. He's a 15-time Pro Bowler and three-time NFL MVP who also won five Super Bowl MVP awards.

Brady also left the game as the NFL's career leader in passing yards (89,214) and touchdown passes (649).

One NFL executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic that he believes rookie Matthew Golden is already the best Green Bay Packers' wide receiver and the best wideout option in the draft.

“Golden is awesome,” the exec told Sando. “He is their best receiver right now. I think he is really good, and he was the best receiver in the draft.”

Golden ranked well on the final B/R NFL Scouting Department big board at 20th overall and second among wideouts behind Arizona's Tet McMillan, who was listed eighth and also got drafted eighth to the Carolina Panthers.

He's the first wide receiver the Packers have selected in the first round since 2002 (Javon Walker).

Golden played at Houston before transferring to Texas, and he starred for the Longhorns, who made the CFP semifinal. He was the team's top pass-catcher with 58 receptions, 987 yards and nine touchdowns.

Now he could potentially be WR1 on Green Bay, which has a deep and talented wideout core but could use a star player at the position.

That could very well be Golden, whose top-end speed (4.29 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine) could easily catapult him toward stardom in the NFL.

Ultimately, the future looks bright for Golden as he joins a young and promising Packers team that's looking for a third straight playoff appearance and more.

One NFL executive believes that Chicago Bears rookie tight end Colston Loveland will be better than Detroit Lions tight end Sam LaPorta, per remarks made to Mike Sando of The Athletic.

'Loveland is going to catch a million balls,” the executive told Sando. “He will be better than (Sam) LaPorta. He is such a good receiver, and he’s bigger — two inches taller and another 10 pounds. They will have an 11 personnel package with Burden in the slot and the 12 package when Burden is off the field with Loveland and Kmet on the field. They are set up pretty well.”

The Bears are now coached by former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who just worked with LaPorta for his first two NFL seasons after being drafted out of Iowa in 2023. LaPorta caught 86 passes for 889 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2023 before adding a 60/726/7 stat line in 2024.

That's impressive production for a tight end, making the NFL executive's comments more notable. However, Loveland enters the league with plenty of potential, especially after being selected 10th overall in last month's NFL draft. The B/R NFL Scouting Department ranked Loveland as the 13th overall player and top tight end in this year's draft.

Loveland joins a promising Bears team now led by Johnson, who just oversaw the NFL's top-scoring offense. Johnson has plenty of talent to work with in Chicago, including quarterback Caleb Williams, wide receivers D.J. Moore and Rome Odunze and tight ends Loveland and Cole Kmet.

Ultimately, the opportunities should be there for Loveland to be productive like La Porta or even more so, especially given his talent, potential and Johnson's leadership and acumen.

New York Giants edge-rusher Abdul Carter has drawn comparisons to another former Penn State standout as he prepares to enter his rookie season.

“Carter is more like (Micah) Parsons than people realize,” an NFL executive told Mike Sando of The Athletic. “I think he can play off the ball. He transcends any specific scheme.”

The Giants will be hoping that Carter can make a similar impact that Parsons has made on the Dallas Cowboys' defensive line after selecting him with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Some similarities between the players are easy to see, with both establishing themselves as stars in college on the Nittany Lions and wearing the same jersey number while doing so.

Carter discussed his relationship with Parsons when speaking to reporters after he was drafted, but explained that he's also not trying to live in his shadow.

"I learned a lot from Micah, just me being at Penn State, wearing No. 11, we keep that brotherhood tight," Carter said. "But at the end of the day, I'm my own player, and I want to make my own name. That's what I've done."

The 21-year-old was dominant at Penn State in 2024, racking up 12 sacks and 24 tackles for loss to go along with two forced fumbles in 16 games.

Carter is expected to immediately contribute on a Giants defensive front that was one of the few bright spots for the team last season, ranking No. 9 in the NFL with 45 sacks and boasting impact players such as Dexter Lawrence and Brian Burns.

As Carter gears up for the 2025 season, expectations are high for him.

The Philadelphia Eagles continue to earn high marks for the first-round selection of Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell, and there are those who believe his pairing with 2025 first-team All-Pro selection Zack Baun could be truly special.

"Campbell was one of the higher grades I've given for a linebacker," an executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando. "[Defensive coordinator] Vic Fangio will use Baun off the ball and Campbell on the ball, and that is huge. They will be the blitzers in the simulated four-man pressures that Vic runs. It can be like Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman in San Francisco."

That would be quite the outcome for Philly. Willis is a Hall of Famer, while Bowman was a four-time first-team All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowler. That duo served as the foundation for some very stout 49ers' defenses.

Of course, there are questions about where Campbell's long-term position will be, as he started his college career as an edge-rusher and has the burst and pass-rushing ability to eventually return to that role. It's possible he could follow a similar path to Micah Parsons, who started as an off-ball linebacker before transitioning into more of a pass-rushing role, and to great success.

Time will tell. Given Howie Roseman's recent draft history, however, it's a safe bet that Campbell will thrive in whatever role he ultimately settles into for the Birds.

The Los Angeles Rams and Atlanta Falcons swung one of the biggest, and most surprising, trades at last week's NFL draft, as the Rams traded the Nos. 26 and 101 selections to Atlanta for Nos. 46 and 242 and a 2026 first-rounder.

The Falcons used the added first-rounder this year to take edge-rusher James Pearce Jr., doubling up on the position after selecting Jalon Walker at No. 15. But for some decision-makers around the league, it was a massive price to pay and a great deal for the Rams.

"That was brilliant by them—good stuff," an executive told The Athletic's Mike Sando.

"It's a really smart move by the Rams, but I bet it was hard for them to do because they are not wired to punt like that," another executive added. "It will be interesting to see how they maneuver the season and whether they use draft capital to improve their team."

Of course, not everyone thought it was a terrible deal for Atlanta.

"I'm sure the way they are rationalizing it is, 'We gave up a first next year to get a first this year, and we basically did that for moving back from the second to the third,'" an executive told Sando. "If you look at that objectively, it's not as bad as it sounds. People overlook getting the third back from the Rams as part of the deal."

But for the Rams, having two first-rounders in a 2026 draft that most people believe will be stronger than this year's is an excellent development. And while the Falcons, on paper, look like a contender to win the NFC South, any struggles in Atlanta could leave the Rams with a fantastic pick.