N.F.L. teams are sometimes criticized for drafting kickers, particularly if they take them as early as the fifth round. That did not deter the New England Patriots from selecting Justin Rohrwasser, a kicker from Marshall, on Saturday with one of their two fifth-round picks. The choice was controversial for another reason: Rohrwasser has a tattoo […] More
Six days before the first round of the N.F.L. draft, Chris Slade, the head football coach at Pace Academy in Atlanta, took a phone call from someone in the Giants organization who wanted to know if there was any reason the team should not select Andrew Thomas, a former Pace player. The Giants had good […] More
The A.F.C. was already where the fresh-faced cool kids hung out: Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson. If the N.F.L. were a high school cafeteria, the A.F.C. table would be the popular one. Maybe they would let Gardner Minshew or Baker Mayfield stop by occasionally. (The quiet presence in the corner is brilliant but brooding […] More
There he was in his basement, N.F.L. Commissioner Roger Goodell, like a mirage in a sports-starved desert, to announce that the first pick of the 2020 league draft would be Louisiana State quarterback Joe Burrow, joining the Cincinnati Bengals. It was one of a handful of events to have summoned sports fans en masse since […] More
Enjoying this newsletter every Friday? Send it to a friend and tell them to sign up at nytimes.com/rory. In Neil Postman’s eyes, the problem was encapsulated by just two words: “Now This.” That phrase was the whole phenomenon. Those of you in the United States will certainly have heard it; in Britain, too, though here […] More
At the start of a most unusual N.F.L. draft on Thursday, Commissioner Roger Goodell looked like an amateur actor trying to pull off a “Saturday Night Live” monologue on a wood-paneled set from “Kiner’s Korner.” Gone were the joyous players and jeering fans who usually surround him at the draft. “My body won’t miss those […] More
The 85th N.F.L. draft might have lacked the glitz of the Las Vegas Strip and bro-hugs with Roger Goodell, but the first virtual draft in league history still had its football pyrotechnics. There were a few chip shots, like quarterback Joe Burrow getting picked first overall by the Cincinnati Bengals. But there were also plenty […] More
Making protection for quarterback Daniel Jones a priority, the Giants on Thursday selected Andrew Thomas, a Georgia offensive tackle, at fourth over all in the N.F.L. draft. Then the Jets, aiming to add support for their young quarterback, Sam Darnold, chose Mekhi Becton, an offensive tackle from the University of Louisville, at 11th over all. […] More
