LAS VEGAS — There were no curveballs or surprises once the Las Vegas Raiders were officially put on the clock to start the NFL draft on Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

General manager John Spytek decided to play it straight as the worst-kept secret in sports over the last few months was made official with the selection of Indiana quarterback ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Well, wasn’t that anticlimactic?

What we have known for months — that the Raiders would select Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza with the first overall draft pick Thursday night — came to fruition.

And now, the question remains … what to do with him?

And now, the answer is simple … slow-play things.

It’s why you ...Read more

NEW YORK — With their first pick in the 2026 NFL draft, the Jets selected what could be their future defensive cornerstone.

At No. 2 overall, the Jets select Texas Tech edge rusher David Bailey.

He became the highest-drafted defensive player in Jets history.

After selecting a tackle in back-to-back drafts (Olu Fashanu and Armand Membou), ...Read more

An incredible year for Fernando Mendoza added another highlight Thursday night, as the Las Vegas Raiders took the decorated quarterback with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft.

The selection was all but a formality after Mendoza won the Heisman Trophy and led Indiana to the first national championship in program history in recent ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dave Merritt, the defensive backs coach with the Kansas City Chiefs, appeared in Johnson County District Court via Zoom Thursday afternoon after being charged earlier with misdemeanor domestic battery.

The Johnson County District Attorney’s Office filed the charge shortly after 9:30 a.m. Thursday against David Lee Merritt...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Ben Roethlisberger was the only player left in the green room, the only one of the college prospects invited to attend the 2004 NFL draft still waiting for his name to be called.

His college coach, Terry Heppner, was frustrated that his former star quarterback was still waiting. He had already thrown a water bottle across the ...Read more

CHICAGO — Assistant general manager Jeff King has been with the Chicago Bears long enough — initially hired as a scouting intern in 2015 — that he surely has received plenty of historical nuggets from board member Pat McCaskey.

One of the more recent ones: The cornerstone NFL franchise has been a part of every draft. The 91st NFL draft ...Read more

When Fernando Mendoza accepted the Heisman Trophy in December, he spoke Spanish for his grandparents during his speech. His grandmother was gleaming with joy and blowing kisses to him on stage.

When Mendoza showed up to the NFL scouting combine in February, he proudly posed for photos with a Cuban flag, extending it across his 76 3/4-inch ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Likely future Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza has generated plenty of hype and been bestowed with countless accolades through an undefeated national championship campaign in which he won the Heisman Trophy.

His praises have been adequately sung to the point many Raiders fans are simply deciding which of his many ...Read more

There is a difference between predicting the draft and understanding it.

A mock draft is a study in team need, league tendencies, smoke screens and self-preservation. A big board is more honest. It strips away the noise and asks a simpler question: Who are the best players in this class?

That is what this list is meant to answer.

My final ...Read more

This might be the first time in the NFL's modern era that Pittsburgh has hosted the draft, but the whole format was actually invented here.

In 1935, the league's founders met at the Fort Pitt Hotel and voted unanimously to put in place a selection process in reverse order of the previous season's standings. That would promote competitive ...Read more

The NFL draft is a chaotic three-day exercise in collective delusion — a time when we all pretend to know exactly how 21-year-olds will adapt to playing against grown men, and how grown men will adapt to not playing against 21-year-olds.

(College football is weird these days.)

So we spend months agonizing over mock drafts, building elaborate...Read more

Editor’s note: The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown is breaking down prospects, position by position, leading up to the NFL draft (April 23-25). Here are his top 10 defensive tackles, plus players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

1. Peter Woods (Jr., Clemson, 6-foot-2, 298 pounds)

Woods remains the most ...Read more

RENTON, Wash. — At this moment, trying to criticize Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider is like trying to pick up a 7-10 split. I guess it's possible, but given his resume you'd have a hell of a time pulling it off.

He has won two Super Bowls in his position and three NFC championships. His recent work — particularly since the ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — Star receiver Puka Nacua will fully participate in voluntary offseason workouts, the Rams are getting closer to another contract adjustment with quarterback Matthew Stafford, and coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead hope backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo decides to put off retirement and return for a third season and ...Read more

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, who’s been in headlines this month after being photographed with former The Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini at a resort in Arizona, made a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Vrabel had not addressed the matter since releasing a statement to Page 6 when the story broke. The ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — He’s not going off the grid after all.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is set to join NBC as an in-studio analyst this NFL season on the pregame show for “Sunday Night Football,” according to a report Tuesday from The Athletic.

Tomlin’s future was the subject of much speculation when he stepped down from his...Read more

Editor’s note: The Union-Tribune’s Eddie Brown is breaking down prospects, position by position, leading up to the NFL draft (April 23-25). Here are his top 10 edge rushers, plus players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

1. Rueben Bain Jr. (Jr., Miami, 6-foot-2, 263 pounds)

Much of the draft discourse this ...Read more

Here’s what Miami Dolphins general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley need to acquire in the NFL draft — players with the right attitude, guys who have a winning mindset. Yes, they desperately need talent. But they also need the right type of player. Sullivan and Hafley should be looking for competitive traits such as grit, hard...Read more