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Grade: A-
Best Pick: WR Jalen Royals, No. 133 Overall
What We Liked: The Chiefs managed to solve their offensive tackle problem thanks to the fall of Josh Simmons, which feels reminiscent of the Trey Smith pick from 2021. As usual, the Chiefs are playing to consensus, picking up talented fallers such as Royals and Ashton Gillotte, who have the production and athleticism to become quick starters. The Chiefs are sticking to the strategy that turned them into perennial Super Bowl contenders. Good stuff.
Not Sure About: That Omarr Norman-Lott pick feels like a disaster waiting to happen. It's hard to trust a player who isn't taking a majority of the snaps for his defense, and to take him on Day 2 is suspect. Also, Jeffrey Bassa strikes me as a nothing burger player with limited upside and is not someone who projects to have a role starting anytime soon or even a role on special teams.
--Dean Bruce, special to Field Level Media
More must-reads:
- Andy Reid’s main flaw will cost Chiefs a trip to the playoffs
- Frank Ragnow update fits troubling 2025 Lions pattern
- The 'Five game-winning-drives in a season' quiz
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Jerry Jones claims Jets turned down absurd trade offer involving Micah Parsons, Quinnen Williams
NFL insider makes the obvious Max Brosmer to Brock Purdy comparison, and takes a damning shot at J.J. McCarthy
The Minnesota Vikings are set to start rookie undrafted free agent Max Brosmer against the Seattle Seahawks, as starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy is out with a concussion. It's a tough one for the Vikings, who have dealt with quarterback injuries all season long, starting with McCarthy's high ankle sprain in Week 2, and Carson Wentz's brutal left shoulder injury suffered in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns. It's been that kind of season for the 4-7 Vikings, but arguably the most brutal aspect has been not knowing if McCarthy is the future at quarterback. With Sunday's game, the Vikings are going to get their first look at Brosmer, who has been compared by many to the elevation of Brock Purdy, including me back in August. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler takes damning shot at J.J. McCarthy The chance for Brosmer to emerge is a huge one, as the Vikings are starving for any kind of good quarterback play. ESPN's Jeremy Fowler broke down how both the Vikings and other teams feel about him "Max Brosmer, huge showcase for this guy. The Vikings know that they have something in Max Brosmer," said Fowler on Saturday morning's Sports Center. "They felt like he had a really good preseason. I talked to multiple teams who said he was cool and calm and collected in the preseason action. He's an undrafted free agent, so the expectations aren't overly high, but I'm told, just from a mental preparation standpoint, he's been really good, and they feel like, hey, maybe something can happen here." Fowler didn't stop there, comparing him to Purdy, who share very similar career arcs, with the sole difference being that Purdy was the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, whereas Brosmer was one of the UDFAs with the most guaranteed money. "It was around three years to the day, Randy, that Brock Purdy made his debut week 12 of the 2022 season. He started for the 49ers. Rest is history. Now, he's one of the, you know, top 10 to 12 best quarterbacks in the league. That's a lot of expectation to put on this guy. However, you know, there is some symmetry here. Yeah, you have Kevin O'Connell's offense. They've got weapons." Fowler didn't end there, as the final line came in like a dagger in terms of McCarthy's performances this season. "They feel like, at the very least, he's going to be probably more mentally prepared than they've had this season with the struggles [at quarterback]." Calling Brosmer more mentally prepared than both McCarthy and Wentz is incredibly damning, and it could be why they decide to ride it out with Brosmer the rest of the season if things continue to go well. This isn't the first time that we've had negative words seemingly come out of the Vikings' building about this team, including McCarthy, this season, but this might be the worst of them all. Will Brosmer end up being the next guy for the Vikings? Only time will tell, but it certainly looks possible. window.addEventListener('message', function (event) {if (event.data.totalpoll event.data.totalpoll.action === 'resizeHeight') {document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-383').height = event.data.totalpoll.value;}}, false);document.querySelector('#totalpoll-iframe-383').contentWindow.postMessage({totalpoll: {action: 'requestHeight'}}, '*'); This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Nov 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Hal Steinbrenner’s comments on Yankees’ profits point to a larger issue
Over Thanksgiving week, New York Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner provided fans with plenty of news to digest. Among notable items that are circulating, four things stand out: his resolve to lower the payroll below $300 million, the insinuation that the Yankees are not a profitable ballclub, the assumption that the Los Angeles Dodgers’ astronomical payroll played no part in their dominance and his purported support for a salary cap. When seen together, these four items seem to suggest a severe reluctance to spend. Steinbrenner made it clear he wants to come in under the luxury tax threshold. Interestingly, he called the correlation between spending and championships weak, alluding to his Yankees as well as the New York Mets as examples of teams with high payrolls and limited success. However, this opens up a discussion about how said money was spent. The Mets notably dumped a record sum on signing Juan Soto, but did little elsewhere. But what about the Yankees? When asked if it was fair to say the Yankees turned a profit after engrossing over $700 million in revenue, Steinbrenner had this to say, according to MLB.com's Bryan Hoch: “That’s not a fair statement or an accurate statement. Everybody wants to talk about revenues. They need to talk about our expenses, including the $100 million expense to the City of New York that we have to pay every February 1, including the COVID year. So, it all starts to add up in a hurry. “Nobody spends more money, I don’t believe, on player development, scouting, performance science. These all start to add up.” Altogether, the Yankees spent slightly under $305 million on players’ salaries in 2025. For a breakeven season, the Yankees would have needed to spend over $395 million elsewhere. Where did it all go? Steinbrenner mentioned the $100 million expense to New York City. As for the bulk of their expenses, the Yankees owner pointed towards player development, scouting and performance science. This raises a more serious question about mismanagement. The Yankees are overspending on failing analytics If most of the money was spent on development, scouting and performance science, one could easily argue that the cost has outweighed the benefits. Despite having spent so much, these efforts have produced very little. Over the years, the Yankees have seen more failures than success stories when developing major league talent. Promising players and top prospects like Gary Sanchez, Clint Frazier, Deivi Garcia, Miguel Andujar, Domingo German, Chance Adams, Justus Sheffield, Oswald Peraza and Estevan Florial, among many others, never panned out. The team also gave up on Carlos Narvaez and Agustin Ramirez in favor of Austin Wells, who underperformed the pair of rookie backstops this past season. Another catching prospect, Yankees 2018 first-round draft pick Anthony Seigler, who struggled during his time in the Yankees’ farm system as recently as last year, excelled with the Milwaukee Brewers in Triple-A this year. Anthony Volpe, Will Warren, Luis Gil and Jasson Dominguez are four current works in progress. It might also be fair to say the torpedo bat craze the Yankees started has officially ended. Of their recent triumphs, the Yankees boast Ben Rice and Cam Schlittler. Going further back, one might add Gleyber Torres and Aaron Judge to the list; however, Judge’s swing was actually developed by famed hitting coach Richard Schenck, not the Yankees. Spending on these efforts is by no means a waste; nonetheless, it’s clear the Yankees are grossly overspending for something that isn't even working. Whether it means an organizational shakeup or reallocation of funds to target proven major league talent, Steinbrenner’s approach needs to change.
Eagles' grip on NFC East suddenly in danger of slipping away amid spiral, Cowboys' resurgence
Life comes at you fast in the NFL, and the Philadelphia Eagles are finding that out right now. Now they are in a position where what looked to be a runaway lead in the NFC East is rapidly shrinking, and it could be in danger of completely slipping away after an ugly 24-15 loss to the Chicago Bears on Friday. Especially after the Dallas Cowboys won again on Thursday, continuing to narrow the gap in the division. Could the Eagles actually lose the division? The odds are still in the Eagles' favor, but given the way both teams are playing right now, nothing should be considered a given. Dallas has rapidly become one of the hottest teams in the NFL with three consecutive wins, and boasts one of the league's best offenses. The Cowboys' much-maligned defense has also been given a massive boost thanks to the trade-deadline addition of defensive lineman Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets. Dallas really started to get some belief for itself when it rallied to beat the Eagles in a massive NFC East game a week ago. It continued on Thanksgiving with another big win over the Kansas City Chiefs. With Philadelphia's loss on Friday, the gap in the division is now down to just a game-and-a-half with five weeks to go in the season. Hardly insurmountable. Are the Eagles still in the driver's seat? Sure. Would they trade positions with the Cowboys right now? No way. But that doesn't mean anybody in Philadelphia has to be feeling good about any of this given the way the Eagles are playing. Especially when it comes to the team's offense. The Eagles offense has been a struggle for much of the season, and it is getting progressively worse with each game. The passing game has been non-existent. They entered play on Friday with the 23rd-ranked passing offense in the league, and it looked worse than that against the Bears. Quarterback Jalen Hurts has struggled with consistency, the team's best wide receiver — A.J. Brown — seems perpetually miserable with his role and usage, and the play-calling has become shockingly conservative and bland. The running game that carried the Eagles to the Super Bowl a year ago has struggled to build any sort of a rhythm, and Saquon Barkley has been a shell of what he was last season. Even worse, they have almost completely eliminated any designed runs for Hurts, something that was a major X-factor for the offense in recent years. If all of that is not concerning enough, a new issue emerged on Friday — the defense that has helped keep the Eagles afloat this season and lift up the inconsistent offense was completely dominated by the Bears' running game. They were pushed around, bullied and could not get off the field on important third downs. It just looks like a team that has no confidence and nothing going for it. Conversely, the Cowboys all of a sudden look like a team that can do nothing wrong and they are suddenly breathing right down the Eagles' necks. Philadelphia still has games against the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders (twice) remaining. The Cowboys still have the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings, Chargers, Commanders and New York Giants. The schedules are pretty similar. But the division might not come down to the opponents. It might come down to what the Eagles and Cowboys can do on their own. The Cowboys should be very confident right now, and the Eagles should not be.
Takeaways from Black Friday's biggest college football games: Texas A&M loses chance at SEC championship
There were some important college football games on Friday with massive College Football Playoff implications. Here are some key takeaways from the biggest of those games. Texas A M misses chances at SEC championship No. 3 Texas A M was facing a win-and-in situation for the SEC championship on Friday night, only needing to beat arch-rival No. 16 Texas to clinch its spot in the SEC Championship Game next week. It did not get that win, dropping a 27-17 decision to Texas, and ending its chances at an SEC title for this season. The Aggies loss opens the door for either Alabama or Ole Miss to play for the conference championship against Georgia. If Alabama beats Auburn in the Iron Bowl, it will be Alabama and Georgia meeting next week in Atlanta. If Alabama loses, Ole Miss will play Georgia. The Aggies should still be in good shape for an at-large spot with only one loss, but there are some serious concerns starting to emerge. In Texas A M's last two games against Power Five teams, it barely escaped a 31-30 win against a bad South Carolina team, and then lost by double-digits to Texas on Friday. That is not exactly going into the playoffs playing their best football. Does Texas still have a chance? Now the campaigning is set to begin for the Longhorns as a potential at-large team. The Longhorns have three losses, which would seem to be a big obstacle. But they now have wins over the No. 3 team (Texas A M), the No. 8 team (Oklahoma) and No. 14 team (Vanderbilt), while also having a tough, one-score loss on the road at No. 1 Ohio State to open the season. The Longhorns are going to yell those points from the mountain tops over the next week. But will that be enough to overcome a blowout loss to Georgia and a really bad loss to Florida? We will see. But they are certainly going to campaign for it. Ole Miss, Indiana take care of business Sometimes you have to worry about rivalry games because weird things can happen, even when they seem to be mismatches on paper. But sometimes the more talented team shines and simply dominates. That happened in both No. 2 Indiana's 56-3 rout of Purdue, and No. 7 Ole Miss with its 38-19 win over Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. Now Ole Miss has to wait for head coach Lane Kiffin's decision on his future on Saturday as well as its chances at an SEC Championship, while Indiana simply has to wait to see if Ohio State will lose to Michigan and allow the Hoosiers to jump over them for the No. 1 ranking going into conference championship week. North Texas gets one step closer to playoff spot With its 52-25 blowout win over Temple, North Texas clinched its spot in the AAC Championship Game and is still very much alive for a playoff spot as the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion. Now the Mean Green have to watch Saturday's games to see who they will face in the AAC Championship Game. If No. 24 Tulane wins against Charlotte, it will host the AAC Championship Game. But if Tulane loses, the AAC Championship Game will be hosted by North Texas against Navy. No matter what happens on Saturday, or next week, this is still one of the most successful seasons in North Texas program history and the first time it has ever won 11 games in a single season.
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