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Patriots knock it out of the park in this 3-round mock draft

Everything fell just right for the Patriots in this three-round mock draft.

There’s always a certain bit of luck involved when it comes to the NFL draft board. We can twist our brains like pretzels thinking up scenarios, but the reality is that New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick won’t know what he’s dealing with until names start coming off the actual board.

Maybe a team he isn’t expecting takes a player he really wants, or on the flipside, maybe they pass up on a player they were initially projected to draft, opening an opportunity for Belichick to draft a player later than expected.

The latter would be the case for this latest three-round mock draft to come to fruition for the Patriots. This one was simulated with the mock draft simulator over at the Pro Football Network, and it ended up being quite the haul.

The Patriots addressed their issues on the offensive line, added a dynamic playmaker at the receiver position and shored up their defensive backfield by landing an Alabama prospect.

Here’s how the latest mock draft turned out for New England.

Spring preview: Scouting Auburn’s RB options

Which running back will see the most production in 2023?

As Auburn begins to prepare for its first spring practice under new head coach Hugh Freeze, Auburn Wire will begin examining each position group and predict who has the chance of seeing the most playing time.

Our next unit to examine will be running backs, which Auburn has a pool of talent to choose from.

Tank Bigsby carried the load for Auburn in the running game over the last three seasons, as he gained 2,903 yards on 540 attempts and scored 25 touchdowns. Who steps up to take over production? The talent is there, but experience may come into play.

Auburn has two returners who gained experience last season in Jarquez Hunter and Damari Alston. The Tigers also gained a valuable piece to the room with Brian Battie, a transfer from South Florida. While not on campus yet, four-star running back Jeremiah Cobb is also expected to fight for carries in the fall.

Here’s a look at who occupies Auburn’s RB room heading into spring:

Jarquez Hunter
Brian Battie
Damari Alston
Sean Jackson
Justin Jones
Luke Reebals
Jeremiah Cobb

Get to know each Auburn RB ahead of spring practice by checking out their features below:

Nets’ Jacque Vaughn says team ‘got some answers’ despite Hawks loss

Jacque Vaughn said that Sunday gave him some answers with how things will move forward with the team in the near future.

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn has been consistent in his messaging for Brooklyn, regardless of who’s on the roster. However, after the trades of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, he’s had to maintain his messaging while trying to figure out his rotation and how his team should operate given the new personnel.

In Sunday’s 129-127 heartbreaking loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Vaughn had to pull every stop in order to coach the Nets in their comeback from an 18-point deficit. Vaughn said earlier in the week that he was looking to shorten his rotation and it appears that he did that in this contest.

After playing Joe Harris (six minutes) and Seth Curry (seven minutes) in the first half, neither of the veterans saw the floor in the second half. In the second half, Vaughn limited his rotation to seven guys and that looked to be when Brooklyn had its best flow on both ends of the floor. He said after the game that the team got some answers and the rotation may be one of them:

“That was a little bit my message at the end of the game. I think we solved some problems or a little bit, we got a few answers tonight. We’ll continue to get more answers as we go forward. I thought we were more physical and aggressive in our defensive stance and how we put our hands on people. We were just more aggressive at the end of the day. And, that allowed us to get some stops and get out in transition and get some really good looks from the field. But, it all started with our defensive stance.”

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Nets’ Cam Johnson says Nets ‘still have things to clean up’ after loss to Hawks

Cameron Johnson says the Nets still have things to work on after close loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets forward Cameron Johnson had his best performance as a member of the Nets. Not only did he show what he could do when his shot is on, but he also provided the steadiness that Brooklyn needed in their matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Johnson has had to learn a different role on the fly ever since he came to the Nets as part of the Kevin Durant trade.

In Sunday’s 129-127 loss to the Hawks, Johnson had 27 points and three rebounds as he was one of the driving forces for Brooklyn being able to come back from a 18-point deficit. Johnson did not have the most efficient time shooting the ball from behind the three-point line, but he was lights out from everywhere else on the court.

Johnson, like the rest of the team, knows that they have bigger goals than just playing good basketball and having fun. Brooklyn wants to make the playoffs outright instead of having to resort to the trials and tribulations of the Play-In tournament. Johnson acknowledged that in his postgame press conference:

“There’s things we still need to clean up for sure. But, I think one thing, you know, anybody can shoot those shots in those final minute and a half, two minutes, which is kind of what we ran into the problem with Philly. Every team kind of has late game offense, late game sets they go to and things of that nature.”

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Cowboys News: Micah near top of PFF101, combine kicks off, Deion ripped for recruiting comments

Micah Parsons is PFF’s top-rated player from the NFC; Coach Prime’s careless answer about his recruits’ home lives is a bad look. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The NFL scouting combine is set to get underway in earnest on Monday, though an increasing number of coaching staffs are skipping the event; we’ll explain why. One major outlet has released its annual list of the 101 best players in the game; we’ll reveal which Cowboys made the grade. And Hall of Famer Deion Sanders is in hot water over comments made recently about the home lives of the student-athletes he prefers to recruit.

Meanwhile, we’re looking at the team’s cornerbacks and running backs with an eye toward what should happen next, we’re questioning which current Cowboys can safely be called busts, and we’re exploring why it may be too early to give up on at least one of them. All that, plus Mike McCarthy’s surprising place among the all-time coaching greats, and Jerry Jones teams up with an unlikely superstar for his latest business venture. That’s all ahead in News and Notes.

Philadelphia Eagles: 7 biggest questions entering the 2023 NFL offseason

We’re looking at the 7 biggest questions for the Philadelphia Eagles entering the 2023 NFL offseason

With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror, the Eagles and 31 other NFL teams will start the process of financially retooling with the goal of advancing to the postseason.

Between the 2023 NFL draft, free agency, and more, Philadelphia will look to acquire the pieces needed for a return trip to the postseason.

With the NFL offseason now in full swing, here are the seven biggest questions the Eagles need to answer.

Stay or Go: Predicting the fates of Eagles free agents in 2023

With the NFL’s new league year fast approaching, we’re predicting which Philadelphia Eagles free agents should stay or go

The NFL is a continuously evolving business, and with all eyes, on the 2023 offseason, it is never too early to look at the key players who’ll be entering free agency.

Philadelphia has 18 guys who could hit the open market and one ERFA who’ll be looking to return to the Eagles in some compacity.

Miles Sanders had a Pro Bowl season but could find big money elsewhere, while players like James Bradberry, Kyzir White, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, and Javon Hargrave will look for big paydays.

Team GM Howie Roseman will be busy doing research on veterans and top prospects with the draft just a couple of months away.

With the scouting combine set to start, we’re predicting whether these Eagles’ free agents stay with the team or go via free agency.

Takeaways: Damian Lillard scores career-high 71 as Blazers best Rockets

All-Star guard Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points against the Rockets, including 41 in an epic first half, as Portland cruised to victory on Sunday night.

All-Star guard Damian Lillard scored a career-high 71 points on Sunday, including 41 in an astonishing first-half outburst, leading the host Trail Blazers to a 131-114 win (box score) over the young and rebuilding Rockets. Houston (13-47) continues to hold the NBA’s worst record and has now lost nine straight games.

In his historic game, Lillard connected on 22-of-38 shots (57.9%), 13-of-22 from 3-point range (59.1%), and went 14-of-14 on free throws. His total of 62 points was the most by any player in Trail Blazers history and the most by any player against the Rockets in team history.

The Rockets were again without usual starting guards Kevin Porter Jr. (left foot contusion) and Jalen Green (left groin strain).

Among Houston players who did play, key performances were:

Alperen Sengun: 17 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists; 8-of 16 shooting (50.0%)
Daishen Nix: 16 points (career high), 2 assists; 7-of-19 shooting (36.8%), 2-of-7 on 3-pointers (28.7%)
Tari Eason: 15 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists; 6-of-12 shooting (50.0%), 1-of-1 on 3-pointers
KJ Martin: 14 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists; 5-of-10 shooting (50.0%)
Jae’Sean Tate: 16 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds; 7-of-11 shooting (63.6%)
Boban Marjanovic: 10 points, 3 rebounds in 6 minutes; 4-of-5 shooting (80.0%)

Scroll on for highlights, analysis, and postgame interview reaction. Next up for Houston, starting Tuesday, is a tough back-to-back at home versus Denver and Memphis — currently the top-two seeds in the Western Conference. Both tipoffs are at 7 p.m. Central.

Colorado men’s basketball recap: Buffs fall short of upsetting No. 4 UCLA

CU’s upset attempt came up just short

Sunday’s Colorado Buffaloes men’s basketball game against No. 4 UCLA was eerily similar to the women’s upset bid against No. 2 Stanford. Colorado jumped out to an early double-digit lead in the first half, but the Bruins fought their way back to secure the four-point victory, 60-56.

The Buffs held the duo of Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr. in check, only allowing UCLA to shoot 40.7% overall from the field while also limiting the Bruins to only one 3-point make in 14 attempts. Shot-making was the killer for the Buffs tonight, as they themselves only hit 33.3% from the field, plus they missed 10 free-throws (13-for-23) in a four-point game.

Luke O’Brien was a bright spot for the Buffaloes as he achieved his first career double-double, scoring 13 points and hauling in 10 rebounds. The duo of Tristian da Silva and KJ Simpson were the other double-digit scorers for the Buffaloes, adding 13 and 14 points, respectively. There was a scary moment in the waning minutes when da Silva went down with an apparent ankle injury and hobbled back to the locker room under his own power.

Colorado will close out the regular season on Saturday against the Utah Utes on senior day in the Buffs’ final tune-up before the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas.

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Nets’ Mikal Bridges says ‘staying together’ was key to performance against the Hawks

Mikal Bridges credits the Nets for staying together when things got rough against the Atlanta Hawks.

Brooklyn Nets forward Mikal Bridges has been one of the more vocal members of the “new Nets” ever since the Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trades happened. It is a role that he isn’t used to since on his previous team, the Phoenix Suns, the more vocal members on that team were Chris Paul and Devin Booker.

However, with the Nets, Bridges has been more of a leader since he has been forced into that role on the fly. In Sunday’s 129-127 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, Bridges did a good job of leading Brooklyn as he scored 24 points while contributing in every area of the game, including defense.

Bridges, along with essentially every member of the Nets, had a much better outing on Sunday than on Friday against the Chicago Bulls. The team gave a much better effort on Sunday and Bridges was one of the leading men in that department. He spoke after the game about the Nets staying together as a reason for the much-improved performance:

“Just getting stops, I think that was the biggest thing. That helps the offense get in play in transition so our best offense is our best defense so just getting stops. Just staying together when times get tough. They (the Atlanta Hawks) made runs and stuff but part of the game. We didn’t just fall, we just kept fighting all the way to the end.”

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