39º

LIVE

NFL DRAFT

The 2022 NFL Draft’s Biggest Winners and Losers

The NFL Draft is as scrutinized as any sporting event there is. Already, millions of fans and experts have decided which teams walked away the winners. Will confesses that his Arizona Cardinals did poorly, in part by trading their first round pick for Marquise “Hollywood” Brown. "The Cardinals look like a team that is scrambling right now,” Will says. LZ’s “other team” — the Detroit Lions — did okay. One of their picks, University of Michigan star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, “looks to be a beast,” LZ says. The New York Jets had a better draft still, landing Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner with the 4th overall pick. Many consider him the best cornerback in the draft. Beyond team-by-team performance, the draft also set a few interesting records and trends. Ten teams didn’t even make first round selections, which is a first. Only one quarterback was taken in the first round — Kenny Pickett to the Pittsburgh Steelers — and not until the 20th pick. That’s the latest a QB has been drafted since 1997.

news.yahoo.com

Laremy Tunsil Signs Record Breaking Extension With Texans

We knew Laremy Tunsil was going to become the highest paid tackle in the history of the sport. Hell, there's even a graphic that the Texans' social media team tweets out and embeds in videos welcoming every new player to the team. Check this out...Laremy Tunsil negotiated his own $22M per year deal directly with Texans coach-general manager Bill O'Brien without an agent. Source: The #Texans have engaged in very preliminary discussions with QB Deshaun Watson on a potential contract extension. Ed Werder (@WerderEdESPN) April 24, 2020If you think the Tunsil contract was massive, you ain't seen nothing yet.

houstonpress.com

2020 NFL Draft proves it can work from home and score record ratings

In this still image from video provided by the NFL, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell speaks from his home in Bronxville, New York during the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on April 23, 2020. More than 55 million viewers tuned in to watch an NFL draft unlike any other in the past. The answer is, pretty well, with a 16% increase in ratings over 2019 across all days of the 2020 NFL Draft and each day establishing new highs in average audience. The 2020 NFL Draft included 600 camera feeds in the homes of everyone from NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to more than 85 draft prospects, 32 NFL head coaches, 32 NFL general managers, fans and college football coaches, among others. In an image from video provided by the NFL, LSU quarterback Joe Burrow puts on a Cincinnati Bengals cap after being selected first overall during the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft on April 23, 2020.

cnbc.com

NBA to reopen facilities this week in states relaxing stay-at-home orders, according to report

(CNN) -- The NBA plans to reopen team practice facilities Friday in areas where local governments have relaxed stay-at-home restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an ESPN report. The NBA plans to find alternative training arrangements for players in states where stay-at-home orders remain fully intact. The league's move to reopen facilities doesn't mean the season is starting anytime soon, according to ESPN's sources. The NBA also canceled the New Orleans Pelicans-Sacramento Kings game that night, and the season was suspended shortly thereafter. "The NBA will use this hiatus to determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic," the league said in a statement.

This is how CeeDee Lamb’s girlfriend responded after she took his cellphone before he was drafted to the Dallas Cowboys

Social media was quick to react towards Crymson Rose and boyfriend Oklahoma WR CeeDee Lamb, who was drafted to the Dallas Cowboys Thursday night. When Lamb’s name was called, cameras took a shot of his family’s living room, where his mom, girlfriend and other unidentified family members were sitting in a blue couch at his home in Houston. Rose took one of Lamb’s phones but Lamb snatched it back to see who was calling him. Lamb chimed in and responded to a tweet late Thursday night with “y’all really gotta chill." y’all really gotta chill wasn’t even like dat 👎🏾 https://t.co/ziQaGkAWbT — CeeDee Lamb (@_CeeDeeThree) April 24, 2020Lamb was the 17th pick overall during Thusday night’s NFL Draft.

The First "Virtual" NFL Draft Broadcast: Four Takeaways

The NFL Draft is one of the biggest spectacles of the sports year. Instead, ESPN and the NFL Network jointly broadcast a socially distanced draft complete with camera setups for draftees, teams, analysts, the commissioner and even fans. Instead, it was a rather subdued evening with some moments of excitement, particularly from the draft picks and their families. The veteran NFL Draft analyst looked like he was in a basement with an old lamp for lighting. Nothing was as fascinating on draft night as the ability to look inside the homes of team management, media members and young players.

houstonpress.com

DraftKings CEO says there was record interest in NFL Draft as company debuts on Nasdaq

DraftKings CEO Jason Robins said the company saw record betting volume on the NFL Draft ahead of DraftKings' debut Friday on the Nasdaq. I think when you do see a return to play, it's going to be a really, really big deal for the country." The lack of traditional sports due to the coronavirus "certainly" has impacted revenues for the daily fantasy sports company and bookmaker, Robins said. DraftKings, which will trade under the ticker DKNG, became public through a three-way merger that involves a special purpose acquisition company, or blank-check company. He said that is one reason why going public through SPAC worked well for the company.

cnbc.com

First all-virtual NFL draft sees average of 15.6 million viewers on opening night

(Photo by NFL via Getty Images)The first all-virtual National Football League draft attracted an all-time high 15.6 million viewers for the opening round Thursday night, the league announced. First round viewership total is up 37% from 2019 and eclipses the NFL's previous high of 12.4 million viewers in 2014. The NFL said the event peaked around 8:45 to 9 p.m., with 19.6 million viewers. Last year's NFL draft attracted 11.3 million viewers on opening night and 47.5 million viewers across all telecasts for the three-day event in Nashville, a 5% increase from the 2018 telecast. The network also aired the National Basketball Association's WNBA virtual draft last week.

cnbc.com

Lowe's to advertise during NFL Draft, hinting a bolder marketing strategy is part of its turnaround plans

It had to do minimal shooting for the campaign and use a smaller film crew because of the pandemic, Thalberg said. Marisa Thalberg, executive vice president and chief brand and marketing officer. She was previously Taco Bell's global chief brand officer and worked for Estee Lauder, Unilever Cosmetics International and Revlon. Lowe's spokeswoman Amy Allison said she couldn't disclose Lowe's marketing budget for this year or say how it compares with its prior spending. Thalberg declined to share her vision for marketing the company beyond these ads, saying she is still settling into the role.

cnbc.com

Thursday the NFL draft starts and the league has some tech issues to work out. Here’s how the Texans are preparing.

HOUSTON – Finally we will have a legitimate sports event to follow later this week when the NFL holds its annual draft. I did a Facebook Live this week and talked about the technology that will be a big part of the NFL Draft. Did I mention this NFL Virtual draft will be done from the homes of all involved with the league and each team? “I don’t know if I would call it a concern, I would say just making sure that your cell phone works. We’re going to have a mock draft early next week, so each team will be able to kind of walk through it, rehearse it.