Category: Video

Highlights of new Bears WR Rome Odunze

The Bears added to their explosive receivers room with Rome Odunze. Here’s a glimpse at what Chicago is getting in the No. 9 pick:

There was a lot of speculation about what the Chicago Bears would do with the ninth overall pick. While all the top defensive players and talented offensive tackles, they couldn’t pass up wide receiver Rome Odunze.

Odunze was incredible during his college career at Washington. He had over 1,100 yards in both 2022 and 2023. Last year, Odunze totaled more than 1,600 yards as Washington made it to the College Football Playoff. He has some great high-pressure experience as a result along with all of these great stats. It is a home run of a pick.

This is a wide receiver that can be explosive and he can go up and catch a football. With DJ Moore and Keenan Allen already in place, this is going to be an incredible receiver room. It could be both the best in the NFL and the best in Bears history.

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The Bears selected Odunze’s friend Caleb Williams with the No. 1 pick to kick off the night. Now, they get to come to Chicago together to start their careers in the NFL. These highlights are what Bears fans have to look forward to from Odunze:

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Highlights of new Bears QB Caleb Williams

Caleb Williams is officially a Bear. Here’s a glimpse at what Chicago is getting in the No. 1 pick.

The Chicago Bears have officially selected quarterback Caleb Williams with the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. He was brought to Chicago to turn this franchise around. If he succeeds, he will be a legend in this town for a very long time.

General manager Ryan Poles got his guy. He moved off of Justin Fields, which couldn’t have been a fun decision, but he felt it had to be done. Poles has shown that winning football games is the most important thing to him. Now, Williams holds the keys to Poles’ legacy.

During his time at USC, Williams was an incredible player. He won a Heisman Trophy in 2022 and had a ton of success, which is the reason he is the No. 1 overall pick. Williams is now looking to translate that success to his NFL career, He has all of the tools needed to do well — along with an ideal situation in Chicago.

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Williams’ play at USC had a lot of flare to it. He made big plays using his legs and arms. As productive as he was, he was also as entertaining as any player in the country. These are some of his best highlights:

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Which NBA teams are realistic trade partners for the Bulls’ Zach LaVine?

By now, the biggest open secret in the league is that Chicago would like to move on from its LaVine era.

Which NBA teams are realistic trade partners for the Chicago Bulls’ veteran guard Zach LaVine? By now, the biggest open secret in the league is that Chicago would like to move on from its LaVine era, and the feeling is likely mutual at this point.

But it takes two to tango as the old saying goes, and for the Bulls, that means finding a ball club willing to take on the UCLA alum’s pricey contract and significant injury history for future seasons. Is his potential enough to bring back useful assets, or might this deal be more about wiping the slate clean?

To try to take stock of the situation of how the LaVine era will finally come to a close in Chicago, the hosts of the “CHGO Bulls” podcast sat down to come up with some realistic suitors for LaVine.

Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what they had to say.

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Chicago Bulls’ playoff dreams shattered in embarrassing loss to Miami Heat

Chicago’s season ends in a 112-91 loss to the Heat.

The Chicago Bulls have been one of the best clutch teams in the NBA in the 2023-24 season. But when their final play-in game was drawing to a close, the Miami Heat had ballooned a lead with a massive run in the game’s third quarter that the Bulls never managed to respond to.

Chicago’s season would end in a 112-91 loss to the Heat, who managed the win even without star forward Jimmy Butler, who was sidelined with an MCL injury that will likely have him out for several weeks. The Bulls have had awful luck this season, and some of that luck has been made by the lack of moves made by the team’s front office.

Rather than load up with some help at the NBA’s 2024 trade deadline, the Bulls stood pat despite having two key backcourt players out injured.

The season ended as it went — poorly executed, and disappointing for the fans. The hosts of the “CHGO Bulls Postgame” podcast weighed in on the end of Chicago’s season. Check it out above.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Paths to NFL success for 2024 draft quarterbacks

In this week’s “Xs and Os,” the guys talk NFL success for Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye, Michael Penix Jr., and J.J. McCarthy.

One of the hardest things to do in any sport is to correctly predict the paths to success for draftable quarterbacks in their transition to the NFL. For every quarterback who becomes a success in the NFL. there are at least two who don’t. Some of those quarterbacks excelled in collegiate offenses that fluffed up their skill sets, but those skill sets just don’t work in the league. Some quarterbacks find themselves with the wrong coaching situation, and the connection required to get things going at the next level just isn’t there.

So, when we look to the 2024 draft, and the major quarterbacks therein, how can we best extrapolate success? In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” the guys get into the universal traits required for NFL success, and specific fits for these specific quarterbacks:

Caleb Williams, USC — Can Williams’ NFL coaches tamp down his more rogue tendencies, without muting the special off-schedule things he can accomplish?

Jayden Daniels, LSU — How can Daniels’ NFL coaches keep the explosive aspects of his college offense going while further developing the nuances Daniels already understands?

Drake Maye, North Carolina — Maye’s NFL coaches will need to temper their enthusiasm for a physical resume that is pro-ready right now, while working to accentuate the things that still need work.

Michael Penix Jr., Washington — With Penix, how much will his injury history and performance against defensive pressure mitigate his ball-winning downfield accuracy?

J.J. McCarthy, Michigan — McCarthy is the most prominent “game manager” in this class, so how will his NFL coaches make the most of his skills, while understanding that he’s just not an explosive play waiting to happen?

If you’re missing Oregon’s Bo Nix here, we didn’t discuss Nix in this episode because we recently talked ball and watched tape with Nix for nearly an hour. You can find that episode right here:

The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Watching tape with Oregon QB Bo Nix

As to this week’s “Xs and Os,” you can watch it (and subscribe to our YouTube channel) right here:

You can also listen and subscribe to “The Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

The Chicago Bulls have held steady in the final Bleacher Report weekly NBA power ranking of the season

Could Chicago’s season end in the play-in? 

The Chicago Bulls have held steady in the final Bleacher Report weekly NBA power ranking of the 2023-24 season. Ranked No. 21 overall in Andy Bailey’s estimation last week, the B/R league analyst sees little reason to shuffle the deck further regarding the Bulls after a fairly typical week for them this season.

“Just when it looked like they might get to .500 on the season, the … Bulls have gone 2-5 in their last 7 games,” writes Bailey of Chicago. “And the most recent loss came against the Atlanta Hawks, who are within striking distance of Chicago’s 9th-place spot.”

“In the end, all of this is probably inconsequential, but the Bulls and Hawks are on a collision course for the 9-10 game in the play-in tournament,” he notes. “And home-court advantage could be important in that matchup.”

“Atlanta’s true shooting percentage is nearly 3 points lower when it’s on the road than it is when the team’s at home,” reminds the B/R analyst. Could Chicago’s season end in the play-in?

If it did, it would be a fitting end to a season cursed by injury and mismanagement — but we think there’s a shot for Chicago to advance.

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Titans QB Will Levis effortlessly throws dime during workout

Check out Titans QB Will Levis effortlessly throw the football during a workout.

Tennessee Titans quarterback Will Levis is facing what could be a turning point season in his career in 2024 as he look to prove that he is indeed the franchise quarterback the team is looking for.

Levis showed no shortage of flashes in his first season, but he also showed the rookie mistakes you’d expect to see. However, overall, it was difficult to fully gauge where he stands considering the mess around him.

The Kentucky product, who was taken at No. 33 overall in the 2023 NFL draft after the Titans traded up, is already hard at work preparing for his second season, as we saw in a video he posted to his Instagram story.

The first thing that immediately jumps out about Levis in the video is how beautiful his release is. Throwing the football truly looks smooth and effortless for the Titans signal-caller.

While Levis still has something to prove, he’s in a much better position to do so this time around after some of the additions the Titans have made on the offensive side of the ball.

That said, general manager Ran Carthon still has work to do upfront, as the team has yet to address the left tackle position. That should get taken care of in the draft later this month, though, and it’s still also possible the team makes an addition in free agency.

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The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell: Greg’s favorite players in the 2024 NFL draft

In this week’s “Xs and Os with Greg Cosell,” Greg details the attributes of his some of his favorite prospects in the 2024 NFL draft class.

With just a few weeks until the 2024 NFL draft gets underway on April 25, it’s time to get a bit in the weeks with our prospect evaluation processes. So it is in “The Xs and Os with Greg Cosell and Doug Farrar,” with Greg (of NFL Films and ESPN’s NFL Matchup) and Doug (of USA Today Sports Media Group and Touchdown Wire) discussing some of Greg’s favorite prospects in this year’s draft class.

  • Trey Benson, RB, Florida State
  • Tyrone Tracy Jr., RB, Purdue
  • Anthony Gould, WR, Oregon State
  • Ladd McConkey, WR, Georgia
  • Troy Fautanu, OT, Washington
  • Laiatu Latu, EDGE, UCLA
  • Byron Murphy II, DL, Texas
  • Cole Bishop, Safety, Utah

You can watch this week’s “Xs and Os” right here:

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You can also listen and subscribe to the “Xs and Os” podcast on Spotify…

…and on Apple Podcasts.

WATCH: Caleb Williams wows with insane throw to end pro day

Caleb Williams saved the best for last at his pro day on Wednesday.

All eyes were fixated on quarterback Caleb Williams during USC’s pro day on Wednesday. The presumed No. 1 overall pick worked out for a number of teams in attendance, most notably the Chicago Bears, who of course hold the top selection in the 2024 NFL Draft.

After beginning his workout around shortly before 1:00 pm CT, Williams proceeded to throw a variety of passes, from quick darts to the sideline in the pocket to hitting deep patterns on rollouts. It was a superb performance, albeit with no defense or pass rush, but he saved the best for last.

On his final throw, Williams faked a handoff and proceeded to launch a deep pass to wide receiver Brenden Rice behind his own 15-yard line on a skinny post route. The ball hit rice in stride all the way down the field at the opposite 17-yard line, traveling nearly 70 yards. The pass drew a loud reaction from the crowd on hand.

Pro days aren’t the end all, be all when it comes to draft prospects, especially quarterbacks. But Williams displayed the athleticism and arm strength that were prevalent throughout his collegiate career during this brief session. It’s just another reminder of how talented he is and what he can do at the next level. There should be more of those types of throws to come during training camp if Williams is selected by Chicago next month.

USA TODAY High School Sports Stars of the Week: Alijah Arenas, Haylen Ayers, Donavan Freeman, Kara Nixon, Ben Grissom

The USA TODAY High School Sports staff unveils the Stars of Week for March 4, 2024.

The USA TODAY HSS staff’s picks for “Stars of the Week” include two freshman headliners in girls’ basketball, a 5-star Florida hoops standout, a new record-breaking Arenas, and one of the most fanatic finishes of all time.

Standing-O to these five top high school athletes who put on a show last week…

– Alijah Arenas, Chatsworth (Calif.)

– Haylen Ayers, USJ (Tenn.)

– Donavan Freeman, IMG (Bradenton, Fla.)

– Kara Nixon, Martin’s Mill (Texas)

– Ben Grissom, Guerin Catholic (Noblesville, Ind.)