The Atlanta Falcons saw an opportunity and seized.

The Falcons pulled off a shocker, selecting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth pick in Thursday's NFL draft.

Although Atlanta signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180million contract this offseason, the team obviously views Penix as the quarterback of the future.

With the Falcons picking Penix, four quarterbacks have been selected in the top eight picks for the first time in the common draft era (1967).

And while four QBs went ahead of him, many scouts all agreed that Penix has the best arm on deep throws among all the quarterbacks in this year's draft class.

As a senior last year, he won the Maxwell Award as the top collegiate player in the United States and finished second in Heisman Trophy voting, throwing for an FBS-best 4,903 yards with 36 TDs and 11 picks.

The left-handed throwing Penix led the Huskies to last season's the national title game, but after passing for 430 yards and two touchdowns in the CFP semi-final win over Texas, he threw for 255 yards and two interceptions in a 34-13 loss to Michigan.

In addition to his deep-ball accuracy, Penix also excels at getting rid of the ball quickly and avoid taking a sack, as he was sacked just 11 times despite attempting an FBS-high 555 passes in 2023. Among the 44 quarterbacks with at least 350 pass attempts, only four were sacked a fewer number of times.

Despite his big arm and pocket presence, some teams were a bit concerned about his age and injury history.

Penix will be 24 years old when the 2024 NFL season gets under way after beginning his collegiate career in 2018 at Indiana. After an up-and-down four years with the Hoosiers, which included a second-team All-Big Ten selection in 2020 but also two season-ending injuries, Penix transferred to Washington prior to the 2022 season.

In his first season with the Huskies, Penix earned second-team All-Pac 12 honours after ranking second in the FBS in passing yards with 4,641 to go with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

He was able to stay healthy during his two years at Washington, and will now join an Atlanta offence that also has last year's No. 8 pick in Bijan Robinson.

With players like Chris Olave, Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Garrett Wilson entering the league in recent years, Ohio State has become a factory for NFL wide receivers.

Marvin Harrison Jr. might be the best of the bunch.

The Arizona Cardinals selected Harrison with the fourth overall pick on Thursday, making him the first non-quarterback to come off the board.

With several teams still looking for their future quarterbacks, some experts thought the Cardinals could trade the No. 4 pick, but they ultimately stayed put to take Harrison.

The son of the eight-time Pro Bowl receiver and Indianapolis Colts great, Harrison Jr. spent three seasons at Ohio State. In his last two seasons in Columbus, he totalled 144 receptions for 2,474 yards and 28 touchdowns.

Harrison is a two-time All-American and won the Fred Biletnikoff Award last year as college football’s best receiver.

With good athleticism and a 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame, Harrison checks all the boxes to project as a No. 1 NFL receiver.

In a pre-draft interview with ESPN on Thursday, Harrison said his goal is to be “the best receiver to ever play.”

Harrison joins a Cardinals team that is looking to recover from a 4-13 season and wants to build around quarterback Kyler Murray.

The Washington Commanders are confident that they have found their franchise quarterback.

With the second overall pick, the Commanders selected LSU’s Jayden Daniels, one of the most electric dual-threat quarterback prospects in recent memory.

The reigning Heisman Trophy winner led LSU to a 10-3 season last year and threw for 3,812 yards and 40 touchdowns with only four interceptions. He added 1,134 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns.

On Wednesday, Daniels downplayed reports that he was unhappy with the Commanders conducting a group interview with other top quarterback prospects.

“I'm blessed to go wherever I'm called,” Daniels told reporters. “Whoever calls my phone, whoever gives the card to the Commissioner that says my name, I'm blessed to go and they're going to get my all.”

Daniels later clarified that he was “one hundred percent” heading to Washington.

Despite gaudy production in his senior year, scouts were split on Daniels’ professional prospects, with some wondering if he possesses the pocket passing skills required for the NFL.

At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Daniels is larger than most dual-threat prospects, and his ability to avoid turnovers his senior year was very promising.

But Daniels’ Heisman season is an outlier among his five seasons in college – three at Arizona State and the final two at LSU.

In his first 43 NCAA games, Daniels had a 143.8 passer rating. That number skyrocketed to 208.0 last season.

Due to his extended college career, Daniels will celebrate his 24th birthday during his rookie season in the NFL, making him significantly older than fellow top quarterback prospects Caleb Williams and Drake Maye.

Daniels joins a Commanders squad that went 4-13 last season with Sam Howell and Jacoby Brissett at quarterback.

Dan Quinn replaces Ron Rivera as Washington’s head coach, and former Arizona Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury will take over as the Commanders’ offensive coordinator.

The New England Patriots hope they now have their franchise quarterback after selecting North Carolina’s Drake Maye with the third overall pick in Thursday's NFL draft. 

Maye was the third straight quarterback selected after the Chicago Bears took Caleb Williams at No. 1 and the Washington Commanders chose Jayden Daniels second.

Since Tom Brady departed New England following the 2019 season, the Patriots used Cam Newton as their primary quarterback the following season before drafting Mac Jones 15th overall in 2021.

Jones had a strong rookie season with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions but tailed off to 24 TDs and 23 picks combined the past two seasons and was traded to Jacksonville in March. 

Maye likely won’t be the Patriots’ starting quarterback at the start of the 2024 season after veteran signal caller Jacoby Brissett was signed to a one-year contract in March. Brissett has appeared in 79 NFL games with 48 starts and figures to serve as a mentor to Maye.

There is also the belief that Maye simply won’t be NFL ready in a few months and would be best served to sit a season, like what Patrick Mahomes did for the Chiefs in 2017.

Maye was the ACC Player of the Year in 2022 in his first season as a full-time starter at North Carolina, also being named the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. He broke Mitchell Trubisky’s school record and set an FBS freshman record with 4,321 passing yards and tied Sam Howell’s mark for passing touchdowns with 38 and threw just seven interceptions. He also displayed his mobility with nearly 700 yards rushing and seven scores. 

This past season wasn’t as productive for Maye, who before the season lost offensive coordinator Phil Longo and receivers Josh Downs and Antoine Green to the NFL. Maye was still named to the Second Team All-ACC team as he passed for 3,608 yards with 24 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 12 games.

Maye has all the physical tools to succeed in the NFL, namely excellent arm talent and good mobility for someone of his size (6-foot-4, 223 pounds). He made a host of impressive touch throws in college and understands where to deliver a ball for a receiver to make a play on it. 

There are some issues with Maye’s footwork and his tendency to trust his arm strength almost too much and force some throws. His weaknesses, though, seem like the kind that can be improved upon rather quickly and sitting for a full season - or at least most of one - would help greatly in this area. 

Maye has drawn comparisons to Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen and Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers. 

He isn’t quite the natural athlete that Allen is and probably doesn’t have Hebert’s arm strength, but it’s not far-fetched to think Maye could put up similar numbers to those two at the next level given the right coaching and situation. 

The Chicago Bears believe they've found their franchise quarterback.

In what had been expected for months, the Bears selected Southern California's Caleb Williams with the first overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft on Thursday.

Williams had widely been viewed as a generational quarterback and the most complete QB prospect in decades.

He now arrives in Chicago to take over a franchise that has been starving for an elite signal-caller.

He joins the Bears after staring at USC, where he won the 2022 Heisman Trophy as the top collegiate player in the United States.

After throwing for 4,537 yards with 42 touchdowns and five interceptions in 14 games in 2022, he threw for 3,633 yards with 30 TDs and five picks in 12 games last year.

In his two seasons with the Trojans, he completed 67.5 per cent of his passes and averaged 9.20 yards per attempt.

Williams is the total package – possessing exceptional arm strength and overall athleticism, able to make plays with his arm and his legs. Groomed from a young age to be pro quarterback, Williams processes opposing defences at a high level, making good decisions with his reads and throwing an accurate, deep ball.

The Bears had zeroed in on Williams after meeting with him in Los Angeles in March, followed by his visit to Chicago's practice facility earlier this month. The Bears were the only NFL team Williams visited, and the only quarterback Chicago hosted, making it blatantly obvious the team was going to draft him first.

The Bears also made it clear they were in the market for a quarterback after trading Justin Fields to the Pittsburgh Steelers in mid-March.

Fields was the 11th overall pick of the 2021 draft, and though he was well liked by his team-mates and the fanbase and had the ability for dazzling, highlight-reel plays, he was an uneven passer and was unable to elevate Chicago's offence.

The Bears ranked 27th in passing offence with an average of 182.1 yards per game in 2023, while going 7-10.

Williams steps into a solid situation with Chicago, as he'll team with new running back D'Andre Swift, a pair of proven wide receivers in DJ Moore and off-season pickup Keenan Allen, and has the luxury of joining a team with a formidable defence.

The Bears' trade for Moore last off-season helped the franchise draft first overall for the first time since 1947.

Chicago traded away last year's top pick to the Carolina Panthers for Moore and four draft picks – one of which turned out to be the No. 1 pick they used to draft Williams.

World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.

Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.

"I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."

Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.

Data Debrief

Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.

She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.

Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.

Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday. 

The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.

Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.

Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner. 

Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."

Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat

Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.

The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome. 

Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.

Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.

Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.

"I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.

"I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."

Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.

Data Debrief

This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.

Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player. 

Naomi Osaka was knocked out of the Madrid Open by Liudmila Samsonova after an entertaining second-round battle on Thursday.

Having won her first match on clay for two years against Greet Minnen a day earlier, Osaka was able to force a final set against 15th seed Samsonova but ultimately fell to defeat.

Samsonova won a close encounter 6-2 4-6 7-5 to book a clash with American Madison Keys – who defeated Irina-Camelia Begu in straight sets – in the next round.

Osaka had beaten Samsonova at Indian Wells last month and came close to securing another victory as she recovered well from losing the opening set.

But the Japanese star was broken to fall 5-6 behind in the final set, and the Russian made no mistake in ruthlessly closing out the victory.

Data Debrief: Samsonova ends losing streak

This was a crucial win for Samsonova, who came into the match having lost four consecutive contests, including that Indian Wells defeat to Osaka on March 9.

Samsonova did apply plenty of pressure in the final set – forcing five break points compared to just one for Osaka – and was ultimately rewarded in the closing stages of a contest that lasted two hours and 22 minutes.

Victoria Azarenka made light work of progressing into the round of 32 at the Madrid Open and she made history in the progress.

Azarenka, a two-time finalist in Madrid, despatched Tatjana Maria 6-3 6-1 on Thursday.

It brought up her 200th victory at WTA 1000 events, which makes her the first woman to hit that milestone since the format was introduced in 2009.

The former world number one needed just 81 minutes on court to get the job done, and will face Sara Sorribes Tormo in the next round.

Data Debrief

This was Azarenka's first meeting with Maria, and her service game was excellent, with the Belarusian winning 63.2 per cent of her first-serve points. She also saved five break points, having offered up seven, and converted six going the other way.

Azarenka, who has won 10 WTA 1000 events, is 14 clear of next-best Simona Halep (186) on the list of women with the most WTA 1000 match wins. 

The Miami Heat are desperate to silence their doubters and are using outside criticism as fuel in their first-round playoff series against the Boston Heat, having levelled it up at 1-1.

That is according to forward Bam Adebayo, who had 21 points and was nine of 13 shooting in the Heat's 111-101 win at TD Garden on Wednesday.

Miami buried their hosts under a mountain of 3-pointers in Game 2, setting a franchise record for a postseason game by shooting 23 of 43 (53.5 per cent) from the field.

Speaking after the game, Adebayo said the way in which the Eastern Conference's eighth seeds have been written off by neutrals was spurring them on.

"We've been doubted a lot through our playoff runs, people saying we couldn't do a lot of stuff that we eventually did," Adebayo said.

"So for me and my team, why lose belief now? Our backs are against the wall. Everybody's against us. So just use that as fuel.

"Our guys believe we can win. So, let's make it mano a mano… a cage fight. Let's hoop!"

Caleb Martin joined Adebayo on 21 points with five 3s, being booed by the Boston crowd every time he touched the ball following his heavy collision with Jayson Tatum in Game 1.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 14 points with three 3s, Nikola Jovic added a trio of 3s and Haywood Highsmith came off the bench to sink three 3s.

Martin said Miami's new shoot-on-sight mentality was part of a plan drawn up by Erik Spoelstra, saying: "I think it was about realising that being passive hurts us. 

"We'd just be playing into their gameplan. We're too good of a shooting team to hesitate from 3."

Spoelstra himself said the Heat had taken the decision to be more proactive after being sunk by Boston's 3-point shooting in Game 1.

"I understand the math of it," the Miami coach said. "We're not going to shoot 50 of them. That's not realistic."

Tyler Herro had 24 points and 14 assists and hit six of Miami’s franchise playoff-record 23 3-pointers as the Heat defeated the Boston Celtics, 111-101, to even their first-round series at a game apiece on Wednesday.

Bam Adebayo had 21 points and 10 rebounds and Caleb Martin added 21 points with five 3s for the Heat, who shot 53.5 percent (23 of 43) from long range to break the franchise playoff record of 20 3s, set against Milwaukee in 2021.

Jaime Jaquez Jr. contributed 14 points with three 3s, Nikola Jovic added a trio of 3s, nine rebounds and six assists and Haywood Highsmith came off the bench to hit three 3s.

The series shifts to Miami for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday.

Jaylen Brown scored 33 points and Jayson Tatum added 28 for the top-seeded Celtics, who cut Miami’s lead to 102-96 with three minutes left. But Martin hit a 3 and Herro made a driving layup to essentially seal the win.

Tatum scored 14 points in the first quarter and showed no ill effects after he was undercut by Martin while going after a rebound in the final minute in Game 1.

Gilgeous-Alexander, Holmgren power Thunder

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and Chet Holmgren added 26 to lead the hot-shooting Oklahoma City Thunder to a 124-92 rout of the New Orleans Pelicans and a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference first-round series.

Jalen Williams had 21 points, seven assists and five rebounds for the Thunder, who shot 59 percent (46 for 78) from the floor and made 14 of 29 (48.3 percent) from 3-point range.

Game 3 will be Sunday in New Orleans.

Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and Herbert Jones and Brandon Ingram each added 18 as the Pelicans continued to struggle offensively without injured star Zion Williamson (strained left hamstring).

New Orleans missed 19 of 26 from beyond the arc and made 33 field goals to 46 for Oklahoma City.

Shohei Ohtani had a career-high three doubles and the Los Angeles Dodgers collected 20 hits in an 11-2 rout of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Ohtani went 3 for 6 with RBI doubles in the eighth and ninth innings. He leads the majors in batting average (.371), slugging (.695), OPS (1.128), extra-base hits (21) and doubles (14).

Mookie Betts and Will Smith each had four hits and rookie Andy Pages homered as the Dodgers won their third straight following a three-game skid.

Landon Knack earned his first win in his second career start, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings. He retired his last 13 batters and struck out five.

Nick Senzel homered for the Nationals, who didn’t have a baserunner after the second inning.

Trout hits MLB-leading 10th home run in loss

Mike Trout became the first player in the majors to reach 10 home runs this season, but Gunnar Henderson had three hits and three RBIs as the Baltimore Orioles held off the Los Angeles Angels, 6-5.

Trout got the Angels on the board with a solo shot off starter Dean Kremer in the sixth inning. This is the third time in the past seven seasons that Trout has been the first in MLB to reach double digits in homers.

Los Angeles rallied back from a 6-0 deficit and had the tying run on first in the ninth, but Jo Adell was caught stealing to end the game.

Henderson homered for the second straight game and added a two-run single in Baltimore’s four-run sixth. He is 9 for 20 in the past five games and 18 for 40 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in his last 10 games, helping the Orioles win eight.

Kremer struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs and three hits for his first win of the season.

Surging Braves win in 10 innings

Michael Harris II doubled home Ronald Acuna Jr. in the 10th inning and the red-hot Atlanta Braves topped the Miami Marlins, 4-3, after blowing a two-run lead in the ninth.

The Marlins scored twice in the ninth off Braves closer Raisel Iglesias to tie it but failed to score in the top of the 10th.

Harris led off the bottom half with a single to center to score the winning run and send Atlanta to its ninth win in 10 games.

Harris went 3 for 5 and Marcell Ozuna had three hits and two RBIs, giving him an MLB-best 29.

The Marlins were swept for the third time this season and dropped to an NL-worst 6-20.