NEW YORK — The Giants passed on J.J. McCarthy and other top quarterbacks at No. 6 overall on Thursday night and drafted LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers.

Both the Giants and Minnesota Vikings tried to trade up to No. 3 overall when the New England Patriots were on the clock, according to NFL Network.

But the Patriots stuck and selected North ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — The Chargers opened the 2024 NFL draft by addressing their offensive line, taking Notre Dame tackle Joe Alt with the fifth pick of the first round.

Joe Alt — offensive tackle

— 6 feet 9, 321 pounds, Notre Dame, Round 1, Pick 5

— Notable: His father, John, was an offensive lineman at Iowa and a first-round pick of Kansas ...Read more

SEATTLE — Michael Penix Jr.’s wait is complete. The 2023 Maxwell Award winner and former Washington quarterback finally knows where he’s going to begin his NFL career.

The 2023 Heisman runner-up, Penix went to Atlanta Falcons with the eighth pick of the first round, becoming the fourth quarterback off the board in the 2024 NFL draft on ...Read more

SEATTLE — On April 27, 2017, John Ross was selected in the first round of the NFL draft. He was picked ninth overall by the Cincinnati Bengals, becoming the third wide receiver in Washington program history to be taken in the first round.

Now, the Huskies have a fourth.

Wide receiver Rome Odunze was drafted by the Bears with the No. 9 pick ...Read more

DETROIT — Former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, so often described by analysts the last few months as the most polarizing at his position in this year’s NFL draft, finally knows his NFL destination.

McCarthy, who helped lead Michigan to the 2023 national championship and was 27-1 as a two-year starter, was selected by the Minnesota ...Read more

DETROIT — It’s official: Caleb Williams is a Chicago Bear as the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Football’s worst-kept secret became public a few minutes after 7 p.m. CDT Thursday when the Bears, from their draft room at team headquarters in Lake Forest, sent an electronic message to Hart Plaza 326 miles away. Once that alert was received ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — A few days away from the two-year anniversary of trading for A.J. Brown, the Eagles reached an agreement to extend the star wide receiver once again Thursday night.

The extension will run through 2029, and reportedly worth up to $96 million with $84 million guaranteed. Brown, 26, was previously under contract through 2026 on an...Read more

FOXBORO, Mass. — The pick is in, and the Patriots have chosen UNC quarterback Drake Maye with the third pick in the 2024 NFL draft.

After months of speculation that the Patriots could trade down from No. 3 overall, de facto general manager Eliot Wolf, head coach Jerod Mayo and the rest of the team’s top decision-makers stood pat to select a...Read more

Chicago Bears history is intertwined with so much that is great about the tapestry of professional football.

The evolution of the middle linebacker position can be traced back more than seven decades through some of the greatest to play it: from Bill George to Dick Butkus to Mike Singletary to Brian Urlacher. Three of the game’s most electric...Read more

DETROIT — When you look around, be sure to look everywhere. When you listen, be sure to hear everything.

You’ll see fans from all cities, celebrities from all corners. Outside of the Super Bowl, the draft is the NFL’s most-celebrated event, and the impact is witnessed in the streets and written on the walls. Look up and you’ll see ...Read more

PITTSBURGH — Fifty years ago, the Steelers embarked on a franchise-changing season that still reverberates to this day. In 1974, they put together a draft class that has produced four Pro Football Hall of Famers and then went on to win the first of four Super Bowl titles — kick-starting a dynasty. Throughout this season, we will look back at...Read more

CHICAGO — You have to give the Chicago Bears and Mayor Brandon Johnson credit for their boldness.

Name-dropping the likes of Daniel Burnham, former President Barack Obama, Taylor Swift and Beyonce on Wednesday during their presentation of a proposed $4.6 billion stadium project was pure genius.

Highlighting the historic Soldier Field ...Read more

DETROIT — Caleb Williams had one rule for participants in Wednesday morning’s Play Football Prospect Clinic with Special Olympics athletes: If you score, you dance.

Non-negotiable. And make it memorable.

“I mean, football is about having fun,” Williams said with a smile inside the Corner Ballpark facility on the site of the old Tiger ...Read more

CHICAGO — The Chicago Bears — one of the National Football League’s charter franchises — on Wednesday unveiled plans for a new stadium project on the lakefront partly funded by the public that would give the team a facility in line with many of the NFL’s ultra-modern, fan-friendly structures.

Joined by Mayor Brandon Johnson and other ...Read more

DETROIT — The Detroit Lions have come to terms on an anticipated contract extension with All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown on Wednesday.

A source familiar with the negotiations confirmed the four-year agreement to The Detroit News. Initial reports from the NFL Network peg the package worth north of $120 million with $77 million ...Read more

BALTIMORE — When Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta was asked two weeks ago about wide receiver Rashod Bateman’s fifth-year option, he noted that he had about a month to make a decision and that he’d probably have more to say about it after this week’s NFL draft.

He didn’t wait that long.

On Wednesday, the team announced a contact ...Read more

DETROIT — Hours after agreeing to a long-term extension with All-Pro wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, the Detroit Lions locked up another cornerstone from the team's 2021 draft class, coming to terms on a four-year extension with offensive tackle Penei Sewell, a source close to the negotiations confirmed to The Detroit News.

The pact is worth...Read more

I’m not in the business of sticking up for Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. I leave that job to others.

But I had to step in on this one.

I had an email exchange Monday with someone who thinks the Dolphins should draft a quarterback this week.

Respectfully, I believe that person is wrong.

I agree 100% with general manager Chris ...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 25-27). Here are his top 10 quarterbacks, plus "bonus" players he believes will be drafted or signed as a priority free agent:

———

— 1. Caleb Williams (Jr., USC, 6-foot-1, 214 pounds)

Williams was the No....Read more

This is not the year for suspense when it comes to the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

Signs have pointed to the Chicago Bears using that selection on USC quarterback Caleb Williams for months, and that’s expected to come to fruition Thursday when the draft kicks off in Detroit.

But the top half of the first round could be a wild ride. One ...Read more