Travis Kelce says he never considered holding out on signing a contract extension with the Kansas City Chiefs in order to secure a better deal.

Earlier this week, Kelce agreed a two-year, $34.25million extension with the Chiefs, who have made him the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

Kelce has played a key role in helping the Chiefs reach six straight AFC Championship games, winning the last two en route to claiming back-to-back Super Bowl crowns.

As a result of his public relationship with American pop icon Taylor Swift, he has also emerged as perhaps the most high-profile player in the league during the last year. 

Kelce was already under contract in Kansas City through 2025, so his new deal will keep him at Arrowhead Stadium through 2027. 

Speaking on his 'New Heights' podcast alongside brother Jason Kelce, he said he never considered threatening a contract holdout to bump up his salary. 

"I'm not a guy that sits out," Kelce said. "I'm not a guy that holds out. I'm a guy that loves coming into the building, and the Chiefs know that. 

"So, for them to want to get this done for me, knowing how much blood, sweat and tears that I put into this thing, I'm extremely grateful.

"I'm so excited and so thankful to this organization for getting it done, for making me feel appreciated and compensated the right way, and I've got to move the needle for the tight end room." 

Kelce, who was taken by the Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 draft, is Kansas City's all-time leader in receiving yards with 11,328 yards, while ranking second in receptions (907) and second in receiving touchdowns (74). 

He is just 10 catches away from passing Tony Gonzalez as the franchise's all-time leader in receptions and three TD catches away from surpassing Gonzalez's record in that category.

He is not the only player to commit his long-term future to the Chiefs recently, with defensive tackle Chris Jones penning a bumper new deal in March and quarterback Patrick Mahomes getting a pay rise last Autumn. 

Kelce believes that bodes well for the future, adding: "We got the nucleus together and paid, baby. Everybody got paid this offseason. I love it."

Rojé Stona, the standout discus thrower from Jamaica, has received an invitation to the Green Bay Packers' minicamp, showcasing his potential as a professional football player despite his background solely in track and field.

Stona's achievements in 2024 have been remarkable, including a silver medal in NCAA Indoor shot put, setting a University of Arkansas indoor shot put record with a throw of 20.48m and achieving a career-best discus throw of 69.05m that surpasses the Paris Olympics standard.

At 6’ 6” and 263 lbs and known for his NFL body type and impressive athletic traits, Stona is venturing into the world of professional football without prior competitive experience in the sport. His background in discus and shot put has endowed him with explosive hips, exceptional core strength, long arms, and large hands—attributes that make him a compelling prospect as a tight end.

Despite his lack of football background, Stona's athleticism has caught the attention of NFL scouts. He performed well in running and jumping during his recent pro day, showcasing his raw potential. However, transitioning into football will require Stona to learn essential skills such as blocking and refining his route running and catching abilities.

As he embarks on this new journey, Stona is committed to proving himself and becoming a successful NFL player. His determination and physical gifts make him a promising candidate for teams looking to invest in an undrafted free agent with significant upside.

Stona's invitation to the Green Bay Packers' minicamp marks an exciting chapter in his athletic career, and he is poised to make the most of this opportunity as he pursues his dream of playing professional football.

Ezekiel Elliott is eyeing a Super Bowl run after rejoining the Dallas Cowboys, saying a return to the franchise where he started his NFL career had dominated his thoughts for the last year.

On Monday, the Cowboys struck a deal to bring Elliott back to Dallas after one season with the New England Patriots.

The Cowboys took Elliott fourth overall in the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, and he led the league for rushing yards both as a rookie (1,631 yards) and again in 2018 (1,434).

The three-time Pro Bowl running back was less impressive in his last three years with the franchise before being released, spending 2023 with the Patriots as they went 4-13 in Bill Belichick's final campaign at the helm. 

Dallas have moved to bring him back to AT&T Stadium after losing Tony Pollard to the Tennessee Titans in March, and he can't wait to get started again.

"It feels great to be home," Elliott said. "I definitely missed being here. 

"I missed this building. I missed the Cowboys nation. I'm definitely excited and ready to get this thing going."

Speaking to The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Elliott said he was always keen on coming back, adding: "This was my priority, doing what I could do to get back here. 

"I have a lot left to accomplish here. I'm excited to get back with the fellas and chase that ring.

"From 2016, we've been working on building this franchise to get a chance to win the Super Bowl. That is obviously the priority. That's the bar."

Asked what he had learned in New England, Elliott said: "Just showing I can be a starter in this league. I can still play at a high level, not just when running with the ball but also protecting the quarterback and catching the ball out of the backfield.

"Being in this league for as long as I have been, and being comfortable with who I am, and having as many reps as I have, I can focus on bringing other guys along and help them find their way.

"There's a lot of skilled guys and guys with a lot of different talents in our RB room. It'll be exciting to work with them, to push each other and help each other become better football players." 

Elliott ran for 642 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England last season. He ranks third in Dallas franchise history for rushing yards (8,262), behind Emmitt Smith (17,162) and Tony Dorsett (12,036). 

Travis Kelce has been instrumental to the Chiefs' success over the past few seasons and will remain in Kansas City for the next few seasons.

The four-time All-Pro tight end and the Chiefs have agreed to a two-year contract extension, according to NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport.

Terms of the extension were not disclosed, but Rapoport reported Monday that the deal will make him the NFL's highest-paid tight end.

Kelce is currently under contract through 2025, so the new deal will keep him in Kansas City through 2027 after his age-37 season.

The 34-year-old Kelce is Kansas City's all-time leader in receiving yards with 11,328 yards, while ranking second in receptions (907) and second in receiving touchdowns (74). He is just 10 catches away from passing Tony Gonzalez as the franchise's all-time leader in receptions and three TD catches away from surpassing Gonzalez's record in that category.

A third-round pick by the Chiefs in 2013, Kelce saw his NFL record streak for a tight end of consecutive seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards end at seven in 2023, when he finished with a team-high 984 yards. His 93 receptions were also the most on the Chiefs, and he had five touchdown grabs.

It may have been a down season by his standards, but he was still named to his ninth Pro Bowl team and once again produced in the play-offs.

In helping Kansas City defend its Super Bowl title and secure its third Lombardi Trophy in the last five seasons, Kelce caught 32 passes for 355 yards with three touchdowns in four play-off games. In the Chiefs' 25-22 overtime win over the San Francisco 49ers in February's Super Bowl, Kelce had nine receptions for 93 yards,

In addition to being one of the most prolific tight ends in NFL history and a core member of the Chiefs' recent dynasty, Kelce has gained enormous popularity in the last year due to his relationship to pop icon Taylor Swift.

The Dallas Cowboys are bringing back two-time NFL rushing champion Ezekiel Elliott after the sides agreed to terms on a deal Monday.

Dallas selected Elliott with the fourth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, and he won the NFL rushing title as a rookie (1,631 yards) and again in 2018 (1,434).

After a contract holdout prior to the 2019 campaign, Elliott landed a $90million, six-year extension and wound up rushing for 1,357 yards that season.

He only surpassed 1,000 yards on the ground once from 2020-22 before being released in March 2023 and signing a one-year contract with the New England Patriots.

Elliott ranks third in Dallas franchise history with 8,262 rushing yards behind all-time NFL rushing leader Emmitt Smith (17,162) and Tony Dorsett (12,036).

He is also third in team history with 68 rushing touchdowns behind Pro Football Hall of Famers Smith (153) and Dorsett (72).

Elliott, who will turn 29 years old in July, ran for 642 yards and three touchdowns in 17 games with New England last season.

Tony Pollard led Dallas in 2023 with 1,005 rushing yards before signing with the Tennessee Titans in March.

Houston Texans wide receiver Tank Dell was shot as an innocent bystander and sustained a minor wound outside a nightclub in Samford, Florida on Saturday night.

The team said Dell has already been released from the hospital and is “in good spirits.”

A total of 10 people were wounded in the shooting, but all the injuries are non-life threatening.

Houston selected Dell in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and the Daytona Beach, Florida native had 47 catches for 709 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games last season.

Dell did not play after Week 13 due to a fractured fibula.

After a run of quarterbacks were selected early in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, it took quite a while for any other signal-callers to come off the board.

That 137-pick drought ended in the fifth round on Saturday when the New Orleans Saints took South Carolina’s Spencer Rattler with the 150th overall pick.

The New York Jets took Jordan Travis from Florida State 21 picks later and the New England Patriots used the 193rd selection on Tennessee QB Joe Milton III.

The final two quarterbacks drafted were Kentucky’s Devin Leary by the Baltimore Ravens with the 218th overall pick and the Green Bay Packers took Michael Pratt of Tulane, 245th.

This was just the third time in the common draft era that a quarterback wasn’t selected in the second or third rounds.

While some of the quarterbacks taken in the first round could very well find themselves starting in the NFL next season, it’s highly unlikely that any of the ones taken in the fifth round or later will be starting anytime soon.

Rattler could compete for the backup spot to starter David Carr now that Jameis Winston has departed from that role. His main competition figures to be Jake Haener, the Saints’ fourth-round selection in the 2023 draft, or Kellen Mond.

The backup role won’t be an option for Milton III in New England, barring injury. The Patriots signed veteran Jacoby Brissett to be their starter, or at least compete for that job with third overall pick Drake Maye.

Milton could be a No. 3 option if the team decides to move on from Bailey Zappe, who hasn’t impressed in 14 NFL games the past two seasons with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

Travis is in a similar situation with the Jets, behind starter Aaron Rodgers and veteran backup Tyrod Taylor.

Travis is a long-term project, who, like Rodgers, is attempting to return from a major injury – a gruesome broken ankle last November.

Leary could figure in a backup role with the Ravens soon if not this season. Josh Johnson was signed for that spot, but he is 37 and the strong-armed Leary, an older prospect at 25, could serve as backup as soon as 2025.

Pratt has started 44 games at Tulane over the last four years, so he brings plenty of experience to Green Bay. He could compete with 2023 draft pick Sean Clifford to back up Jordan Love.

The run on wide receivers continued during Day 2 of the NFL draft, which began Friday with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Chargers using picks to fill glaring needs at the position.

Buffalo, which made two trades to move out of Thursday's first round, started the second by selecting Florida State wide receiver Keon Coleman with the 33rd overall pick. The Chargers then moved up three spots to nab Georgia wideout Ladd McConkey at No. 34.

Both teams sustained significant losses at wide receiver this offseason. The Bills traded four-time Pro Bowler Stefon Diggs to the Houston Texans earlier this month, while the Chargers moved on from two accomplished veterans in March by trading Keenan Allen to the Chicago Bears and releasing Mike Williams to clear salary cap space.

After the first round saw a record-tying seven wide receivers go off the board, the second saw three taken with the first five picks. After working a trade with the Chargers to move down from pick No. 34, the New England Patriots chose Washington's Ja'Lynn Polk with the 37th overall selection.

On the flip side, this draft didn't have a running back taken until the Carolina Panthers ended the drought by trading up for Jonathan Brooks with the 46th overall pick. The former Texas standout was the lone running back picked in the second round, though the Arizona Cardinals selected Florida State's Trey Benson with the second pick of the third round (No. 66 overall). 

Two more running backs did go later in Round 3. Blake Corum, the leading rusher on Michigan's 2023 national champion team, was taken by the Los Angeles Rams at No. 83 overall, while the Green Bay Packers chose USC's MarShawn Lloyd at No. 88.

Another former Michigan player will be playing for his college coach after the Chargers nabbed Junior Colson with the fifth pick of the third round (No. 69). The linebacker reunites with Jim Harbaugh after Los Angeles hired away the former Wolverines' boss in January. 

Defensive tackles were also popular on Day 2, as seven went off the board in the second round after the Seattle Seahawks made Texas' Byron Murphy the lone player at the position chosen in the first.

Interior defensive linemen accounted for four of the first seven picks of the second round. The Atlanta Falcons started the run by trading up for Clemson's Ruke Orhorhoro at No. 35, one pick before the Washington Commanders chose Illinois' Jer'Zhawn Newton. The Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Rams then used back-to-back selections on Texas' T'Vondre Sweat and Florida State's Braden Fiske, respectively, at picks No. 38 and 39.

Fiske's selection was followed by four straight cornerbacks - Iowa's Cooper DeJean (Philadelphia), Alabama's Kool-Aid McKinstry (New Orleans), Georgia's Kamari Lassiter (Houston) and Rutgers' Max Melton (Arizona) - at picks No. 40-43.

Lassiter was this year's first draft choice of the Texans, one of three teams without a first-round selection along with the Bills and Cleveland. The Browns did not have a pick until taking Ohio State defensive tackle Michael Hall Jr. at No. 54. 

No quarterbacks were taken in Rounds 2 and 3 after six went in the first 12 picks of the first round. 

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 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 per cent” 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.

Offence and then offence, some more offence followed by offence.

That was the story of a record-setting first round of the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit on Thursday night.

For the first time in history, the first 14 picks were offensive players, including six quarterbacks and three wide receivers. The first defensive player didn’t come off the board until the Indianapolis Colts selected edge rusher Laiatu Latu from UCLA with the 15th pick.

The latest a first round had previously gone before a defensive player was taken was No. 8 overall. That’s where the Carolina Panthers took cornerback Jaycee Horn in 2021.

Not only were the 14 straight offensive players to start the draft a record, but it was also the first time 14 consecutive offensive players were taken at any point in the draft.

As expected, the first three picks were quarterbacks.

USC’s Caleb Williams – the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner - went first overall to the Chicago Bears, 2023 Heisman winner Jayden Daniels from LSU was picked next by the Washington Commanders and the New England Patriots took Drake Maye out of North Carolina.

This was the fourth time in the common draft era starting in 1967 that quarterbacks went with the top three picks.

The QBs continued to fly off the board soon after, with the Atlanta Falcons pulling the first surprise of the draft by selecting Michael Penix Jr. of Washington with the 8th overall pick.

The Falcons took Penix less than two months after signing veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins to a four-year, $180 million contract with $100 million guaranteed.

J.J. McCarthy was the next QB taken, as the Minnesota Vikings moved up one spot to 10th in a trade with the New York Jets. McCarthy went 27-1 as a starter at Michigan and won last season’s national championship.

The Denver Broncos grabbed Oregon signal-caller Bo Nix with the 12th pick as they look to settle a position that has been in flux since Peyton Manning. The Broncos have had 13 starting quarterbacks since Manning retired as a Super Bowl champion after the 2015 season.

Six quarterbacks selected in the first 12 picks tied the 1983 draft for the most taken in any first round. Three of those became Hall of Fame quarterbacks – John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly. Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O’Brien also went in the first round in 1983.

The Arizona Cardinals stopped the run of quarterbacks by going for Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at No. 4. The Los Angeles Chargers opened the Jim Harbaugh era by taking Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt and the New York Giants picked up explosive LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers with the sixth pick.

After the Tennessee Titans took Alabama offensive tackle J.C. Latham with the seventh pick, the Bears took Washington wide receiver Rome Odunze at No. 9 with their second selection in the top 10.

The Vikings made the biggest move up in terms of spots, going from No. 23 to 17 in a swap with the Jacksonville Jaguars to select Alabama edge rusher Dallas Turner.

The Jaguars selected LSU wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. with the 23rd pick as they try to fill the void left by Calvin Ridley signing with division rival Tennessee in free agency.

It was only fitting that the final two picks of the first round were wide receivers. Ricky Pearsall of Florida went 31st to the San Francisco 49ers and South Carolina’s Xavier Legette was the last selection to the Carolina Panthers.

The 23 offensive players picked was easily the most in history, surpassing the previous record of 19 (1968, 2004 and 2009).

The Philadelphia Eagles made the biggest move of the night outside the draft, agreeing to a three-year contract extension with star wide receiver A.J. Brown.

The contract includes $84 million in guaranteed money and will make Brown the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL at $32 million a season. He could earn as much as $96 million over the length of the extension.

Brown had 106 catches for 1,456 yards receiving last season after he had 88 catches for 1,496 yards in 2022, in his first season with the Eagles.

Brown spent his first three seasons with the Tennessee Titans after he was drafted 51st overall in the 2019 draft. He surpassed 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first two seasons in the NFL and had 869 in 13 games in his third season.

The first defensive player is finally off the board.

The Indianapolis Colts ended the longest run of consecutive offensive players selected to start a draft by taking UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu with the eighth overall pick in Thursday's draft.

Latu arrives in the NFL after winning last year's Lombardi Award, which is given to the best collegiate lineman in the United States.

As a senior last year, he also won the Ted Hendricks Award, which is given to the nation's top defensive end.

A first-team All-American and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, Latu will continue his football career in the NFL after it appeared his playing days were over just a few years ago.

While playing at Washington in 2020, Latu suffered a neck injury that required surgery and doctors did not clear him for the 2021 season forcing him to medically retire. He ended up transferring to UCLA, where he excelled on the field after being medically cleared.

In his first season with the Bruins in 2022, he was a first-team All-Pac 12 selection after registering the eighth-most sacks in the FBS with 10 ½.

He took a step forward in 2023, as he led the FBS with 21 ½ tackles for loss and his 13 sacks were tied for fourth in the nation.

Latu showed he can beat opposing offensive linemen in multiple ways, either using a quick first step to blow by them or overpowering them with his upper-body strength.

He plays with a high motor and has been playing with a chip on his shoulder for the last two years after being out of football for two years.

The Colts, who finished 9-8 in 2023, are now banking on his mindset and skillset succeeding in the NFL.

Prior to Indianapolis picking Latu, the latest the first defensive player was selected in the common draft era (1967) was in 2021, when the Carolina Panthers drafted South Carolina defensive back with the eighth pick.

Sean Payton got his man.

Payton has a new quarterback to run his offence after the Denver Broncos selected Oregon's Bo Nix with the 12th pick in NFL draft on Thursday.

In the weeks leading up to the draft, Nix had been linked to Denver, as he had been drawing comparisons to Drew Brees – the quarterback who flourished under Payton with the New Orleans Saints and the two won a Super Bowl together in 2009.

He now will likely get a chance to compete for the starting QB job in Denver after the Broncos released Russell Wilson in early March following an 8-9 finish in 2023.

Nix comes to Denver with plenty of experience of reading defences after starting an NCAA-record 61 games during his five years in college.

As a senior in 2023, Nix put up eye-popping numbers, leading the FBS with 45 touchdowns while throwing just three interceptions to finish third in Heisman Trophy voting.

He set an NCAA-single-season record for completion percentage at 77.4, and his 4,508 passing yards trailed only Michael Penix Jr. for the most in the United States.

Not only does Nix do an excellent job of protecting the football, as his interception rate of 0.6 ranked third out of 119 qualifying FBS quarterbacks, but he also excels in getting rid of the ball quickly and avoiding the sack.

Despite attempting 470 passes, he was sacked just five times – the fewest among the 44 quarterbacks with at least 350 pass attempts.

Showing poise in the pocket, Nix has superb touch on his passes, firing the ball out quickly from a variety of arm platforms.

Nix is the second quarterback acquired by the Broncos this week after the team traded for Zach Wilson from the New York Jets on Monday, and Nix is actually just a few months younger than Wilson, who was the second overall pick of the 2021 draft.

The 24-year-old Nix began his collegiate career at Auburn in 2019 and spent his first three years there before transferring to Oregon prior to the 2022 season.

In his collegiate career, Nix completed 66.4 per cent of his passes for 15,352 yards with 113 touchdowns and 26 interceptions.

With Denver drafting Nix, this marks the first time in the history of the common draft (1967) that half of the first 12 picks were quarterbacks.

The last time six QBs were picked in the first round was the famous 1983 draft, when Hall of Famer and former Bronco John Elway, along with Hall of Famers Jim Kelly and Dan Mariano, as well as Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien were selected in the opening round.

J.J. McCarthy proved to be a winner at the collegiate level.

The Minnesota Vikings believe he has the intangibles to win in the NFL.

The Vikings moved up one spot to select McCarthy with the 10th pick in 2024 NFL draft on Thursday just over three months after he led Michigan to the FBS national title.

McCarthy shot up the draft boards after his savvy play in the national title game and drew comparisons to another former Michigan quarterback with a knack for winning in Tom Brady.

While he doesn't possess the same measurables as the four QBs selected ahead of him on Thursday, McCarthy makes the jump to the NFL as a national champion.

And although McCarthy wasn't asked to make as many big plays with his arm, he made clutch plays and the Vikings view him as someone who can help get the franchise back on track after a disappointing 2023.

The Vikings finished 7-10 last year, cycling through Joshua Dobbs, Nick Mullens and Jaren Hall at quarterback following Kirk Cousin's season-ending injury to a torn Achilles.

This is the earliest ever Minnesota has drafted a quarterback, and McCarthy will be competing with the recently acquired Sam Darnold for the starting QB job.

He steps into a terrific situation in Minnesota, as the Vikings have Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison at wide receiver and T.J. Hockenson at tight end.

A first-team All-Big Ten selection and a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award for the top collegiate quarterback in the United States, McCarthy threw for 2,991 yards with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions as a junior last season.

And while his passing numbers don’t jump off the page – he averaged just under 200 passing yards per game, while by comparison Michael Penix Jr. led the FBS with an average of 326.9 passing yards per game – he delivered accurate passes and didn’t make many mistakes was his throws.

In 2023, McCarthy ranked sixth in the FBS in completion percentage at 72.3 and 13th in yards per attempt at 9.01. His interception rate of 1.2 picks per every 100 pass attempts also ranked 10th out of 119 qualifying FBS quarterbacks.

Though he was largely a game manager in college, McCarthy has the skills to develop into a steady passer.

He also has the mentality of a winner, and the Vikings are counting on him to lead the franchise to its first ever Super Bowl title.

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.