Draft analyst McShay out at ESPN … In something of a surprise, veteran ESPN draft analyst Todd McShay was one of almost two dozen prominent staffers who were essentially fired earlier today in a major cost-cutting exercise by the network. McShay, who has been with ESPN since 2006, had appeared to be the heir apparent to Mel Kiper… Read More »
HAPPY CANADA DAY!!! … To all our fellow Canucksters. What is it: 156 and counting!!
Pack signs top pick Van Ness … Green Bay has reportedly come to terms with former Iowa ER Lukas Van Ness, the Packers first-round pick at the 2023 draft. Van Ness, the 13th player chosen overall this past April, signed a standard 4-year deal with a club option for a 5th. The signing of Van Ness leaves 8… Read More »
2024 Safety Preview: Still not getting much respect! … Unfortunately, safety is one of those positions, along with the interior offensive line and inside LBs, that just don’t know have a lot of value on draft day, especially in the very early rounds. No safety, for example, was selected in the opening round in three of the past… Read More »
Preliminary 2024 CB preview: Question marks … The cornerback position has been on kind of a nice little role in the past few years. Indeed, in 4 of the past 6 drafts, at least one CB was taken with a top 5 selection. That includes Devon Witherspoon, whom Seattle nabbed with the 5th pick this past April, as… Read More »
Cards reportedly happy with QB Murray off-season work effort … A bit of an interesting headline out of Arizona this past weekend where the Cardinals organization has reportedly at least been impressed with the work being put in by QB Kyler Murray. There has been speculation that if the Cardinals do end up with the #1 pick overall… Read More »
Majority of 2023 picks now signed … According to a report on NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk that with training camps still just over a month from opening, the majority of players chosen at the 2023 draft have signed with their respective teams. Per the report, as of this weekend, just 31 players taken at this past April’s… Read More »
Bills extend GM, head coach … Buffalo announced earlier today that both G.M. Brandon Beane and head coach Sean McDermott have signed contract extensions through the 2027 season.
Texans ink one top pick; one to go … Houston has signed former Alabama DE Will Anderson, the 3rd player selected at the 2023 draft, to a fully guaranteed 4-year, $35M contract which includes a $23M signing bonus. The Texans were able to acquire Anderson when they traded up from the 12th pick with Arizona after Houston had… Read More »
Preliminary 2024 LB preview … LB – and we’re referring here almost exclusively to players that project to middle and ILBs as opposed to OLBs who tend to get included with the edge rushers – has never necessarily been a prime position early in the draft. The last time an inside LB was selected with a top 10… Read More »
Preliminary 2024 DE/ER preview: long on potential … You aren’t going to get much of an argument from anyone in the NFL that QB is not the #1 prime, premium position come draft day. Indeed, QBs were the first player selected in 7 of the past ten drafts, while the position also accounted for 1 out of every… Read More »
2024 draft DT preview; keep bringing it on! … By almost every measure available, 2023was a pretty darn good draft for the defensive tackles. Overall, 4 were selected in the opening round, tied for the second highest total this century behind the half dozen chosen in 2018. As well, the 11 DTs taken within the first three rounds… Read More »
Supp draft back on after 3-year absence … Multiple sources are reporting that after a 3-year absence, the NFL will be holding a supplemental draft this summer on July 11th. Th league last held a supp draft in 2019. The league has also reportedly confirmed that former Purdue WR Milton Wright will be available in this summer’s supplemental… Read More »
Colts lose 5th round S for year to ACL … Indianapolis has placed rookie safety Daniel Scott on injured reserve after he reportedly tore an ACL during an OTA last week. Scott, who played collegiately at California, was a 5th round pick at the 2023 draft, but will now miss the upcoming season.
2024 Offensive line preview: More of the same on the way … The 2023 draft was pretty typical for the offensive line. a total of 5 OTs, for example, were selected in the opening round (and we are counting Northwestern’s Peter Skoronksi as an OT, although he was technically listed as an OG when he was selected 11th… Read More »
Hopkins to visit Pats, Titans; Vikes cut RB Cook … Not too much going on around the NFL these days. However, after a couple of weeks in which it appeared that maybe nobody was interested, former Arizona WR Deangelo Hopkins, who was released a couple of weeks, is finally starting to draw some interest. Hopkins will reportedly visit… Read More »
CFL schedule kicks off … The 2023 CFL regular season gets underway later Thursday evening when the B.C. Lions play the Stampeders in Calgary with kick-off set for 9 PM ET. The rest of the Canadian leagues opening week schedule sets up with Hamilton playing at Winnipeg on Friday, Ottawa travels to Montreal on Saturday, with Saskatchewan wrapping… Read More »
ESPN previews top 2024 QBs … For those that haven”t seen it, ESPN has a useful preview of the top QB prospects for the 2024 draft, needless to say starting with Caleb Williams of Southern Cal, the consensus top prospect overall for next April, at least at this time.
Let’s try that again: 2024 TE preview … The draft turned out to be, well interesting for the 2023 TE class. On the one hand, the expected ‘best year ever’ for the position never really materialized. Dalton Kincaid of Utah was selected with the 25th pick overall by Buffalo, but that was as many 10 picks lower than… Read More »
Shrine game on the move again … The East-West Shrine all-star game announced earlier today that it will be played in Frisco, Texas in 2024. The Shrine game was played in Las Vegas the past two years after a decade in Florida. The 2024 game will be played on February 1st.
Some thoughts on NFL alignment … Its the first full week of June and there really isn’t much going on around the NFL. However, there was recent article over on the ESPN college football page regarding a fantasy realignment for college football. And that got us thinking about something we have thought a fair amount of late and… Read More »
Sleeper WR prospect heads to SEC … Former Texas-San Antonio WR Zakhari Franklin, a rising prospect for the 2024 draft, has confirmed that he has transferred to Mississippi. The 6-1, 185-pound Franklin, a two-time consensus C-USA first teamer who had 93 receptions for 1,137 yards and 15 TDs last fall, is currently #8 on the GBN list of… Read More »
Time to move on: 2024 WR preview … There is simply no way to sugarcoat it; the 2023 was a pretty big disappointment for this year’s WR class. For starters, as many as 4 different receivers had at least a top 15-20 grade at some point in the build-up to the draft, but in the end none were… Read More »
Pigskin’s final draft grades … After a very quiet Memorial Day weekend around the NFL, the pace picks up a little as GBN Associate Editor Pigskin Paul Guillemette posts his final grades for the 2023 draft.
Veteran NFL safety switches to scouting … Interesting story out of Baltimore where veteran S Tony Jefferson has retired as an active player and instead is joining the Ravens as a scout. Jefferson played 9 seasons in the league including three in Baltimore between 2017 and 2019; he also played for Arizona, San Francisco and finished his playing… Read More »
