Guest

The 2021 NFL draft seems to hinge on one question: which team will reach out and grab Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated Green Bay in the playoffs thanks in part to a late third-down conversion on a passing play. It worked in that instance, but was it a wise call, or would they have been wiser to run the ball and kill clock? Guest columnist Cole Jacobson looks at end-game scenarios to determine when teams should hand the ball off and when they should air it out.

Alabama's Mac Jones is likely to be a first-round pick, but who else from the Southeastern Conference might join him in the draft? SEC expert Clark Brooks breaks down numbers for Jones as well as Florida's Kyle Trask, Texas A&M's Kellen Mond, and Arkansas's Feleipe Franks.

Our new and improved methodology for evaluating quarterback prospects in the NFL draft agrees with the scouts: Trevor Lawrence is the clear favorite to go No. 1 overall to the Jaguars. While the consensus says that the field behind Lawrence is muddled, however, our formula spots an obvious choice for the Jets at No. 2.

Guest columnist Benjamin Robinson of Grinding the Mocks takes an early stab at what April's draft might look like. SPOILER: Trevor Lawrence goes first overall.

1983: The year when Return of the Jedi, Trading Places, and National Lampoon's Vacation hit movie theaters. Also the year the Colts lost John Elway and Baltimore lost the Colts; the USFL made a bunch of players rich; a rookie quarterback took the league by storm; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were a special kind of awful; and Marcus Allen and the Raiders brought a Lombardi Trophy to Los Angeles.

War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. The NFL is in trouble. The USFL is making a challenge. Franchises are moving under cover of darkness. College football is crazy. Yet some things in 1984 were just like they are today. Bad feelings run throughout the AFC North Central. The Bears are desperate for a quarterback. And the record-setting young quarterback loses in the Super Bowl to the reigning GOAT.

Patrick Mahomes signed a new contract this offseason that blew away prior standards for salary and length. Guest columnist Jeremy Rosen examines quarterback salaries and asks if it makes sense to devote such a massive chunk of the salary cap to one position, or whether teams would be better off going cheap at the position.

Thanks in large part to the selection of Oklahoma wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, the Dallas Cowboys were the darlings of the 2020 draft, but will their players prove to be successful? Guest columnist Benjamin Robinson looks back at five years of draft grades to see if they have any value. Do teams with higher grades end up with better players? And are some media members better than others at evaluating each team's haul?

Offenses that pass the ball well are usually good at rushing the ball well too. The relationship is pretty clear, but the reasons are not fully explained. Guest columnist Lau Sze Yui explores a few hypotheses and suggests that offensive linemen are the driving force behind both.