NFL News Updates

Author: nfltalk

  • 2025 NFL Draft Fantasy Football Quarterback preview: Deep dive with advanced stats, film, best landing spots

    2025 NFL Draft Fantasy Football Quarterback preview: Deep dive with advanced stats, film, best landing spots

    Last year’s rookie quarterback class was considered outstanding, and yet only two of the five drafted in the first round finished as top-12 Fantasy options. Maybe that’s actually better than expected.

    This year’s rookie crop is not considered to be in the same class as last year’s. Or next year’s. The odds of anyone in the 2025 draft finishing top-12 at the quarterback position figure to be steep.

    So if it’s a bad year for NFL teams to draft a rookie quarterback, then it’s a bad year for Fantasy managers to draft a rookie quarterback.

    Desperate Dynasty leaguers in need of a quarterback might prefer to trade cheaply for someone who can get you by in 2025 instead of spending a first-round pick on Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe. Seasonal redrafters might not spend a pick on any of these guys.

    With that delightful forecast, here’s the skinny on the four key quarterbacks Fantasy managers should have interest in. 

    Age as of Week 1: 23Height: 6-foot-1 ⅝Weight: 219 poundsHand size: 9 inchesComparable body-type to:…..

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  • Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith highlights remind you how good he is.

    Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith highlights remind you how good he is.

    We heard the chatter and watched the nods to freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith when fall camp rolled around last season, but I don’t think any of us were ready for what we’d see from the generational talent once 2024 began. Not only was Smith as advertised, but he was better than what we heard.

    It’s hard for a freshman to burst on the scene and make that kind of impact, especially at a position that has a steep learning curve with route trees, designated adjustments to coverages, and physicality at the point of attack against bigger, stronger, and more mature defenders. None of that really mattered to Smith because he had a work ethic and body that was made for college ball straight out of the box. Heck, it might be made for the NFL if he were allowed to do so.

    It was a dizzying year for the freshman phenom with so many highlight-reel catches and moments that we almost forget about the bushel of amazing plays he made during a memorable 12-team College Football Playoff national championship run. With big games against the likes of Tennessee, Oregon, Notre Dame, and more, you can crank up the highlight machine and watch it over and over.

    And now, thanks to the Big Ten Football “X” account, you can do just that. The social media account shared some of Smith’s best moments in the Scarlet and Gray last year, and we could watch it on repeat. You might want to as well. Take a look for yourself and then pick your jaw up off the floor.

    And to think that we still have two more years to watch this man-child do his thing on a football field in the Scarlet and Gray. It’s scary to think just how good Smith will be after some more development in the program, but we are all here to see how it all plays out.

    Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio…

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  • Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, Jets open voluntary minicamps Monday

    Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, Jets open voluntary minicamps Monday

    The draft is the biggest event on the NFL calendar this week, but it’s not the only business being conducted around the league.

    Offseason programs have gotten underway for the seven teams that hired new head coaches and the other 25 teams will be up and running by Tuesday. Some of the teams with new coaches will also be moving into another stage of their work.

    The Bears, Jaguars, Raiders, and Jets will all open three day minicamps on Monday. The minicamps are voluntary and teams with new head coaches must run them before the draft. The Patriots will also hold a minicamp this week, but it will start on Tuesday.

    All five teams opened their offseason work a couple of weeks ago and the minicamps will allow them to start the transition from doing only meetings and conditioning work to more of the on-field work that they hope will prepare them for better results in 2025.

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  • Nico Iamaleava officially signs with UCLA: Ex-Tennessee star QB heading back home amid NIL saga

    Nico Iamaleava officially signs with UCLA: Ex-Tennessee star QB heading back home amid NIL saga

    Tennessee transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava has signed with UCLA, the school announced on Sunday. Iamaleava’s transfer decision ends a significant couple of weeks for 247Sports’ top-ranked player in the portal. Tennessee moved on from the Southern California native ahead of its April 13 spring game and the opening of the spring portal window, ending a high-stakes standoff over NIL contract negotiations. 

    Iamaleava also confirmed his commitment to the Bruins in a post on Instagram. 

    “My journey at UT has come to an end,” Iamaleava wrote. “This decision was incredibly difficult, and truthfully, not something I expected to make this soon. But I trust God’s timing, and I believe He’s leading me where I need to be. Even though this chapter is ending, a new chapter has begun and I am committed to UCLA!”

    Iamaleava sought a new deal from Tennessee worth $4 million annually, nearly double his original reported deal, per ESPN’s Chris Low. Iamaleava’s lucrative first deal represented a high-water mark in the early NIL era in college athletics, and his standoff over more money was a somewhat fitting, if not ironic, way for the two sides to part ways. 

    UCLA’s basketball program added former New Mexico star Donovan Dent last month, and Iamaleava’s addition marks the latest high-profile transfer portal prospect the school has landed in as many weeks. The price tag to land Dent — one of college basketball’s most coveted transfers — was around $3 million, sources told CBS Sports’ Isaac Trotter.

    Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns during the 2024 campaign. He helped Tennessee reach the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff in his first season as a full-time starter last fall after spending the 2023 season as a backup to Joe…

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  • Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels says he has to prove himself again: ‘Last year was last year’

    Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels says he has to prove himself again: ‘Last year was last year’

    Jayden Daniels is coming off a dream season. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft won Offensive Rookie of the Year, then led his team to the NFC title game, becoming one of only six rookie quarterbacks since the AFL-NFL merger to do so. His Washington Commanders dropped that game to the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, but it was a spectacular season for them nonetheless, considering from where they started.

    Still, Daniels isn’t satisfied with what he’s done.

    “As a competitor, you’re always trying to find little ways to get better,” Daniels said on a recent podcast appearance, via NFL Media. 

    “For me, last year was last year. That’s great, but it’s a whole new year now. I still got to go out there, I’ve got prove myself to my teammates, the organization, each and every day that I’m getting better. When it’s time to prepare and when those games come, I’ve got to know that, hey, how can I eliminate some tendencies? That’s the big thing.”

    Daniels, of course, was one of the best players in the NFL this past season regardless of experience. He completed 69% of his passes at an average of 7.4 yards per attempt while throwing for 25 touchdowns against 9 interceptions and also rushing for 891 yards and another 6 scores.

    He finished the season ranked eighth in the NFL in expected points added per dropback, via Tru Media, posting a mark (0.15) even better than that of the previous season’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, C.J. Stroud (0.11). Of course, Daniels will be looking to stave off the kind of backslide Stroud experienced in Year 2 of his NFL career, which is why he’s talking about proving himself all over again even after one of the best rookie seasons in league history.

    2025 NFL mock draft: Shedeur Sanders to Steelers, Tyler Warren lands with Commanders in ‘what I would do’ mock

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  • Busy week is coming for the Patriots

    Busy week is coming for the Patriots

    It’s a busy week for the NFL. It will be an even busier week for the New England Patriots.

    As noted by Mike Reiss of ESPN.com, the Patriots will have a three-day voluntary veteran minicamp on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday — with the camp ending on the same day the draft begins.

    Every team with a new coach is permitted to have a voluntary veteran minicamp. The Patriots have opted to have theirs promptly upon conclusion of Phase I of the offseason program.

    Yes, it’s a voluntary camp. Those players who hope to have new coach Mike Vrabel volunteer to keep them around for the short and long haul would be wise to volunteer to attend and participate.

    For Vrabel, the minicamp will impact his participation in the final stage of draft preparations. It’s part of the multi-tasking that head coaches need to do. Before the minicamp opens, Vrabel will have done everything he needs to do to get ready for the draft.

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  • BYU transfer wide receiver offered by Tennessee football

    BYU transfer wide receiver offered by Tennessee football

    BYU redshirt senior wide receiver Keelan Marion entered the NCAA transfer portal April 18. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

    The 6-foot, 195-pound wide receiver announced he received a scholarship offer from Tennessee. “Tennessee offered,” Marion announced Sunday.

    Marion appeared in 25 games, including 12 starts, at BYU from 2023-24. He also played at UConn from 2021-22 before transferring to the Cougars.

    During his collegiate career, Marion has recorded 76 receptions for 1,125 yards and seven touchdowns. He also totaled 136 rushing yards, five rushing touchdowns and two kick return touchdowns.

    He started 12 games at UConn as a redshirt freshman in 2021. Marion is from Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia.

    The NCAA transfer portal will remain open through April 25. Five Vols have entered the transfer portal following spring practices: quarterback Nico Iamaleava, defensive back John Slaughter, defensive back Christian Charles, offensive lineman Ayden Bussell and offensive lineman Larry Johnson III.

    Follow us at @VolsWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook for ongoing coverage of University of Tennessee athletics.

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  • Ashton Jeanty compares himself to this former Rookie of the Year running back, talks Cowboys and Raiders

    Ashton Jeanty compares himself to this former Rookie of the Year running back, talks Cowboys and Raiders

    There hasn’t been a running back entering the NFL Draft coming off a season as historic as Boise State Broncos All-American Ashton Jeanty’s 2024 campaign in a long time. That’s one of many reasons why he enters the 2025 NFL Draft as its top running back prospect.

    Jeanty ran for 2,601 yards rushing in 2024, which was only 28 shy of college football’s all-time record held by Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (2,628 in 1988 with Oklahoma State), while totaling 10 runs of at least 60 yards, the most by any FBS player since at least 2015 per CBS Sports Research. He also produced five touchdowns of at least 70 yards, tying Hall of Famer LaDainian Tomlinson (five in 2000 with TCU) for the FBS single-season record, according to CBS Sports Research. 

    “Great place to be right now,” Jeanty told CBS Sports in a one-on-one conversation. “Obviously I had a great season, able to enter the draft and be one of the top guys, so it’s all just blessing. Great moment. We’re kind of at the home stretch to find out where I’m going to be for the next three, four years of my life and football career.”

    Loyalty and “the main thing” 

    Loyalty has become a big talking point in the football world recently following the high profile divorce between 2024 College Football Playoff participant Tennessee and its starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava over name, image and likeness (NIL) payment packages. NFL teams have asked Jeanty why in today’s age of college football that someone like himself didn’t hop in the transfer portal in pursuit of more money and chose to stay in Boise. 

    “Yeah, I definitely think so because the modern day athlete is pretty quick to jump ship go to another school,” Jeanty said when asked if he thinks his loyalty is helping him in NFL interviews now. “Obviously, everybody has different circumstances and certain things. Everybody’s not chasing the bag, but I think it just kind of shows who I am as a…

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