This week’s edition of The Wolf Sports Newsletter recaps the 2024 NFL Draft along with a lot more news around the world of sports.
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2024 NFL Draft recap
The 2024 NFL Draft was a wild one, with stunning picks, records set, and a bunch of trade movement. Here’s the first round, headlined by Caleb Williams going No. 1 overall to the Bears:
A few notes:
- 23 offensive players were selected in Round 1, smashing the record for most ever.
- The draft started with 14 consecutive offensive players drafted, also a record.
- Six quarterbacks went in the first round (Williams, first to Bears; Jayden Daniels, second to Commanders; Drake Maye, third Patriots; Michael Penix Jr., eighth Falcons; J.J. McCarthy, tenth Vikings; and Bo Nix, 12th to Broncos), tying the record set in 1983.
- Eight offensive tackles selected in Round 1 tied the 2008 record.
- Seven wide receivers selected in Round 1 tied the 2004 record.
- Detroit broke the NFL Draft attendance record with 775,000 projected people.
The Patriots taking North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye third overall gave us insight into the thoughts of Bill Belichick, who was working with Pat McAfee for the “Draft Spectacular”, on New England’s new on-field leader—and he indicated there’s plenty of work to do for Maye and that “we’ll see about that” regarding Maye’s comparisons to a special talent like Josh Allen.
https://twitter.com/ESPNNFL/status/1783657810254868855
The biggest shock of the draft was probably the Falcons taking Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. eighth overall, which totally blindsided big free-agent quarterback signing Kirk Cousins. Mike McCartney, Cousins’ agent, released a statement following the move:
Broncos head coach Sean Payton “feels as strongly about Bo Nix as he did [Patrick] Mahomes” as a prospect, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The former Auburn and Oregon quarterback was widely criticized by the haters during the pre-draft process and on Thursday night, but it’ll be interesting to see how the Payton-Nix duo pans out in Denver. Payton had never drafted a quarterback in the first two rounds of the draft, and he was right about Mahomes. We had Nix as our No. 2 overall player in the class behind only Caleb Williams.
The Raiders were seemingly left out of the draft’s quarterback musical chairs, and they’ll be going with Gardner Minshew and Aidan O’Connell in 2024. As much as people got on Payton, we’d think Vegas was very interested in Nix the next pick—and the Falcons’ selection of Penix likely complicated things as well. At least the Raiders were able to get one of the top players in the draft in Georgia tight end Brock Bowers at No. 13 overall.
New Bills receiver Keon Coleman, the first pick of the second round of the draft as the preferred option of quarterback Josh Allen, had a legendary introductory press conference that included talk about Macy’s sales, his golf game, and asking if he could have snacks immediately following the presser.
Big-money extensions
Days after his good friend and wingman DeVonta Smith was given an extension from the Eagles, A.J. Brown signed a three-year, $96 million extension through 2029. It’s the largest-ever contract for a wide receiver.
https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1783646764035121394
The Chiefs signed All-Pro Travis Kelce to a revised two-year contract making him the highest-paid tight end in the league.
The Lions locked up two cornerstones from their 2021 draft class, signing recevier Amon-Ra St. Brown (four years, $120 million—the most for a receiver before Brown’s extension) and right tackle Penei Sewell (four years, $112 million—the most for an offensive lineman).
The Patriots signed star defensive lineman Christian Barmore to a four-year extension worth a maximum of $92 million. The contract is the largest ever for a Patriots player aside from Tom Brady.
Player transactions
Ezekiel Elliott is back with the Cowboys, with the former All-Pro signing a one-year deal after spending a year with the Patriots.
The Ravens signed former first-round receiver Rashod Bateman to an extension through 2026.
Former 11th overall pick Mekhi Becton signed a one-year deal with the Eagles, where he will be the team’s swing tackle and learn under elite offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland.
Former Cowboys receiver Michael Gallup signed with the Raiders.
The Broncos acquired defensive end John Franklin-Myers from the Jets for a 2026 sixth-round pick.
Unhappy with lack of talks over a contract extension, star Bengals defensive end Trey Hendrickson has requested a trade. Cincinnati says they do not intend to trade Hendrickson and expect him to play out the last year of his contract.
Players with fifth-year options that are being exercised:
- Cowboys LB Micah Parsons
- Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase
- Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence
- Jaguars RB Travis Etienne Jr.
- Broncos CB Patrick Surtain II
- Vikings OT Christian Darrisaw
- Falcons TE Kyle Pitts
- Panthers CB Jaycee Horn
- Chargers OT Rashawn Slater
- Jets OL Alijah Vera-Tucker
- Bills DE Greg Rousseau
And fifth-year options being declined:
- Steelers QB Justin Fields
- Commanders LB Jamin Davis
Eagles defensive back/returner Isaiah Rodgers has officially been reinstated after he was indefinitely suspended last year due to a betting policy violation while he was with the Colts.
The Bills signed receiver Quintez Cephus, who missed last year after violating the NFL’s betting policy.
Offensive lineman James Hurst has retired after ten NFL seasons.
News and notes
Former NFL player Korey Cunningham passed away at 28.
The Texans officially released their new uniforms, including the alternate helmet.
https://twitter.com/HoustonTexans/status/1782786533746966713
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says the league is looking at an 18-game regular season schedule that gets rid of a preseason game and has Super Bowl Sunday occur on the day before Presidents’ Day. Goodell also said on ESPN that he feels good about having two Christmas Day games in 2024 despite the holiday falling on a Wednesday and says the NFL feels like holidays are “our days.”
The Washington franchise is finally retiring Hall of Famer Darrell Green’s No. 28 jersey.
The Bears released designs for a proposed lakefront stadium in Chicago.
The NFL has approved Guardian Caps for in-game use starting this season.
Panthers receiver Diontae Johnson did not realize that Dave Canales was his new team’s head coach until after their dinner.
https://twitter.com/avl_mike/status/1782844532507222423
Panthers owner David Tepper visited a Charlotte restaurant that had a sign saying “LET THE COACH AND GM PICK”.
CBS announced that Matt Ryan will join The NFL Today. Phil Simms and Boomer Esiason are both out after years with the network.
Other Sports Updates
Former USC running back Reggie Bush finally had his 2005 Heisman Trophy reinstated.
Stanley Cup Playoffs:
- Rangers swept the Capitals
- Panthers advanced past Lightning, 4-1
- Starts and Golden Knights tied, 2-2
- Avalanche lead the Jets, 3-1
- Canucks lead the Predators, 3-1
- Oilers lead the Knights, 3-1
- Bruins lead the Maple Leafs, 3-1
- Panthers lead the Islanders, 3-1
A mobile game NFL Playmakers was released by 2K, but there is still hope for a console NFL game made by 2K.
The MLB is addressing the issue of subpar uniform quality by Fanatics/Nike, according to ESPN.
Former Flyers and Blue Jackets winger Jakub Voracek has retired after over 1,000 games played in the NHL.
The Seattle Kraken fired head coach Dave Hakstol, their first coach in franchise history.
Trea Turner’s streak of 41 consecutive stolen bases (third longest recorded streak in MLB history) ended after he was unfortunately thrown out trying to get home on a double steal.
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