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I got news for you, and it ain’t just that USC gotta Boobie Feaster — eatin’. Or that the Big Ten got two turbos at running back (Richard at Indiana; Rogers at Ohio State) and you ain’t even heard the lag hit. Or that UCLA got receiver Major Pride, or that Ampersand U, also known as Texas A&M, got running back Tiger Riden Jr. And the doggone circus ain’t even in town. Here it is: You’re about to watch the most competitive season of college football ever. It has never been harder to win than it is in 2026. “I agree with you,” UCLA coach Bob Chesney told me. “I think that probably a lot of it stems from the fact that every year it’s a new team as well, right? There’s a lot of new guys on a lot of teams across the country every single year. Some made their team better. Some didn’t. “Ultimately, for me, the margins are thin, and that’s what you’re pointing toward. It’s not easy to be in a position where you just walk out and expect to win a football game. Doesn’t really happen anymore in my mind.” At Big Ten media days last month, I pointedly asked Chesney about how difficult it is to win a college football game as someone who’s coached at almost every level the NCAA offers. From Division III Salve Regina, to Division II Assumption, to FCS Holy Cross, to Group of Six James Madison, to, now, Big Ten UCLA. He’s also won at every one of those levels, and led the Dukes to their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance before USC, Wisconsin or Florida — to name three — could (or ever) do the same. There’s never been a fiercer fight for players, to win recruiting battles, to raise money to fund a roster and a program capable of winning. “I think you got to fight and scratch and claw for everything that you got, and you got to bring these kids together as quickly as you possibly can that maybe never played together before, and with coaches that maybe never coached together before,” Chesney told me. “So the continuity we have coming from JMU to here [UCLA], bringing some coaches and players, I think is paying itself forward quite a bit. “But ultimately, I agree with the sentiment. It is a challenge to end up on the left side of that column.” The way I see it, 2019 Oklahoma would’ve never seen a semifinal in this new era of ball. LSU might’ve never had a chance to stomp a mudhole in the Sooners and walk it dry, as it would’ve been the No. 1 seed in a 12-team CFP. 2025 Oklahoma might have beaten that 2019 team by three scores, and it gave up the booty (a synonym for treasure, you cad) at home while up 17-0 to an Alabama team that got RKO’d by Indiana. That same Indiana program was a dumpster dweller in 2023. Then Curt Cignetti arrived, and a program I ranked 97th in the 2024 Ultimate 134 CFB Ranking ended its season 11-2 with a berth in the CFP. Perhaps a previous Oklahoma team would’ve earned a No. 4 seed based on record. But so did Texas Tech in 2025, and the Ducks showed you what happens when the defense is as supremely over-matched as the Red Raiders were in the face of a better team. And Miami showed what can happen if the right quarterback walks through the door at the right time. Still, neither Mario Cristobal nor Miami has ever won the ACC championship because it’s damn hard to do. The players are smarter and older, and there’s never been more money and resources behind them. Consider that a player can make 60 starts over the course of their career and as many as 80 with the new rules. It’s not hard for a Power Four starting quarterback to clear $30 million over five years. I need to catch up people here: This is professional football with a term limit. It will be a theme in my work this year. This is the story of 2026, a sport that is quite literally ungovernable and getting older, more skilled, smarter by the day. It’s never been harder to move the ball. FBS teams averaged just 383.5 yards per game in 2025. That’s the lowest output for total offense per game across the subdivision since 2010. It’s never been harder to score, either. FBS teams averaged just 27.5 points per game last season, and that’s the lowest average points per game across the subdivisions since 2010, too. Predictably, though, since clock rules changed in 2023, offenses are running fewer plays and seeing fewer possessions. Couple that with the knowledge that defenses are increasingly built not to take the ball away or create negative plays but to prevent offenses from executing explosive plays. “It’s a hell of a lot harder for an offense to run a 15-play drive for a score than it is for them to hit me over the head for 70 yards on one play,” a Group of Six defensive coordinator told me. “We play sound defense and let the offense do the screwing up.” If football is a chess game — and I believe it is — the game has turned from one that values fast-forcing moves and aggressive tactics to one that is simply about eliminating blunders, building a formidable defense and waiting for your opponent to blunder. And if you play with too much tempo — don’t castle your king to safety to press your advantage — that can hurt you in the endgame. This is precisely why Lincoln Riley hired College Football Hall of Fame coach Gary Patterson to coordinate his defense at USC. Riley has famously had a difficult time partnering with a defensive play-caller who can keep up with his explosive offense. When the defense plays as many snaps as it can when Riley’s offense is its partner, that’s more chances to get beat, more chances for mistakes to happen, more chances for the opposing team to find its way back into a game Riley’s teams should be able to put away late in the second half. This has made the game about psychology as much as physicality and preparedness. “Quarterbacks and OCs are people, too,” the same defensive coordinator told me. “They want to throw the ball downfield. They don’t like checking down. They don’t like field goals, and they hate punting. Most immature quarterbacks throw into coverage because they’re frustrated. We want to frustrate quarterbacks.” But quarterbacks are older and have played more football than their predecessors, and that’s only going to become an even more pronounced signifier of just how difficult it is to win in the modern game. Thanks to the NCAA’s new eligibility rule, players have five years to play five years. That means a college football player could make 60 regular season starts and as many as 80 career starts before leaving the sport. Some of those players return this season. Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson is taking advantage of the fifth-year rule and could end this season with 60 games played if he plays in all 12 of Texas’ regular season games. Colorado coach Deion Sanders lamented the age eligibility rule as it makes it harder for him to field and recruit a team. “It affects your recruiting,” he said. Doesn’t everything, Prime? There has never been a more skilled and experienced labor force in college football than there is now, and because these players are experienced, they take on new concepts and complicated systems better. Multiple tight ends in a formation on one play. A fullback in formation on another. Four wide receivers in a bunch formation in another. This is the kind of sequence offenses can use to force defenses to show themselves, their coverages, that might not have been available to most teams because offensive players just didn’t have time to learn as much as they do now. Programs with returning play-callers and head coaches are just reinforcing their systems each year but adding to them to make themselves more difficult to stop. The inverse is also true. Defenses are more complex, better drilled and prepared for the challenges offenses will present. In this way, offenses and defenses are sharpening each other — growing older and more experienced together — and are able to play at a level heretofore unseen in the sport. That means it’s never been harder to win a college football game. That also means it’s never been a better time to be a college football fan.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Is there a world where Robert Griffin III plays for Texas instead of Baylor? He actually confirmed there were two: in today’s college football landscape, and in 2007 — during his recruitment process. Appearing on the “Joel Klatt Show,” Griffin revealed how Texas messed up his recruitment, and he also divulged that if he were a modern-day quarterback, he likely would have transferred to Texas even after finding success early at Baylor. Griffin was a talented multi-sport athlete at Copperas Cove High School, describing himself as “world-class” in track. But the top schools recruiting him — Texas, Texas A&M, and more — were skeptical his slight frame fit for track and field could “translate over to playing quarterback at (the college) level.” Baylor didn’t have the same doubts. Griffin’s decision was simple. Then, when Baylor and Texas matched up on Nov. 8, 2008, toward the end of Griffin’s freshman season, a 3-6 Baylor team stuck close to the No. 5-ranked Longhorns during the first quarter. A touchdown run from Griffin and a 55-yard connection with Kendall Wright tied the score at 14. Texas eventually imposed its will and broke away for a 45-21 win. But then-Texas head coach Mack Brown was impressed. When the final whistle blew, he made a b-line to meet Griffin at midfield. “If you want to transfer to Texas right now, we will take you,” Griffin recalled Brown telling him. “We really messed it up in your recruiting. We shouldn’t have asked you to play safety, we should have asked you to play quarterback.” In 2008, Griffin didn’t want to go through a transfer process that entailed sitting out a full year to be able to play at Texas. He also valued Baylor’s decision to recruit him as a quarterback. So Texas made the first mistake. But, in transparency, he continued on the “Joel Klatt Show”, “if that happened now, you’re looking at a situation where that’s probably RGIII not playing at Baylor.” Griffin conceded, even despite Texas’ original oversight, he would have heavily considered transferring had it been 2026, where it’s widely popular, and has no consequences attached. Regardless, the Longhorns won the 2009 BCS National Championship and Griffin won the Heisman Trophy in 2011. Both were successful, but the fun question remains: What could Texas and RGIII have accomplished together if they had been partnered in the modern-day transfer portal era?​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Are we in the midst of a running back renaissance? The money would seem to suggest that we are. A recent wave of running back extensions set records at the position. Bijan Robinson, Jonathan Taylor and Jahmyr Gibbs each signed contracts worth over $20 million per year earlier in August. Robinson briefly held the record for the highest-paid running back in NFL history before Gibbs surpassed that mark just days later. But is that an indication that Gibbs is better than Robinson? We ranked the top 10 running backs in the NFL ahead of the 2026 season, and as you could imagine, Robinson and Gibbs were among those vying for the top spot. Here is our full list of the top 10 running backs entering the regular season. Eric D. Williams: The Super Bowl MVP for the Seattle Seahawks led the league in rushing during the postseason and had one of his best seasons as a pro last year. Walker led Seattle in rushing in each of his four seasons with the team, rushing for over 1,000 yards as a pro for the second time in his career in 2025. However, the Seahawks allowed the Memphis native to walk away in free agency, as Walker signed a three-year, $45 million deal to join the Kansas City Chiefs. The expectation for Walker is that he will serve as the bell-cow back, helping to reignite the running game for Patrick Mahomes as he returns from a season-ending knee injury. Williams: Williams had another strong season, finishing sixth in the NFL in rushing yards (1,252) and ninth in rushing touchdowns (10). His 44 scrimmage touchdowns are the second-most in the NFL since the start of the 2023 season. Williams has rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of his first four years as a pro, earning Pro Bowl invitations in two of those seasons. However, Williams could have his workload cut with the emergence of Michigan product Blake Corum, who came on during the second half of last season and has looked good in training camp. Greg Auman: Can a team that’s constantly trailing have a bellcow running back? Miami has as low an expectation for 2026 as any team, but new coach Jeff Hafley says he could give Achane 40 touches a game or more, which is wild. Achane was one of the best all-around backs in the NFL last year, averaging six yards a touch with 1,838 yards from scrimmage. Only Atlanta Falcons star Bijan Robinson averaged more per touch. Can Achane sustain that when there’s even less of a supporting cast in the passing game to draw defensive attention away from him? Mike McDaniel’s creativity is gone, but watch to see how Bobby Slowik can find ways to utilize Achane in the screen/passing game. He’s had 145 receptions in the last two years, five more than Robinson for the most among all NFL running backs. Ralph Vacchiano: As the Buffalo Bills’ passing game sagged a bit the last two years, Cook made sure their running game didn’t miss a beat. And he established himself as one of the NFL’s best and most powerful last season with a league-leading 1,621 yards, making him the first Bills player to lead the NFL in rushing since O.J. Simpson nearly 50 years ago. Cook is a bowling ball through the middle of the defense, able to bounce off contact and explode onto the second level, despite being just 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds. Cook would probably rank higher on this list if he contributed more in the passing game (33-291-2). But he’s so strong running the ball, it’s hard to be disappointed. He ran for 28 touchdowns over the last two years. He’s the perfect weapon to wear down defenses late in games, and especially when the weather turns in Western New York late in the year. Ben Arthur: We’re at the point in Henry’s career where, every year, we’re wondering if this is going to be the year in which he finally slows down. But he’s done such an incredible job taking care of his body that it almost assuredly won’t be 2026. The 32-year-old Henry is coming off his eighth straight double-digit rushing touchdown season. The five-time Pro Bowler has also posted 1,000-plus rushing yards in seven of the last eight years, including the last four. Henry climbed into 10th on the NFL’s all-time rushing list in 2025, and could jump into the top six with 1,083 rushing yards in the coming season. Bucky Brooks: The ultimate offensive weapon is nearing the twilight of his career, but few defensive coordinators have cracked the code on how to slow down the three-time All-Pro. CMC has totaled 2,000-plus scrimmage yards three times, while also earning exclusive memberships into the “1,000/1,000” Club (1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards) and “100/1,000” Clubs (100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards). With few playmakers displaying RB1 and WR2 skills from the backfield, McCaffrey remains the gold standard as the NFL’s top multi-purpose back. Arthur: Before the Colts’ collapse late last season, Taylor was a front-running MVP candidate. He ended 2025 leading the league in carries (323), rushing touchdowns (18), scrimmage touchdowns (20) and rushing first downs (84) for the second time in his career, earning a two-year, $44 million extension earlier this month. Taylor isn’t the receiving threat that the likes of McCaffrey, Jahmyr Gibbs and Bijan Robinson are, but he is a dependable catcher out of the backfield. He had career highs in receptions (46) and receiving yards (378) last season. Taylor’s 1,963 scrimmage yards in 2025 also ranked third in the NFL. Vacchiano: This is how great the 29-year-old Barkley is: He ran for 1,140 yards and seven touchdowns last season, averaging 4.1 yards per carry, and he caught 37 passes for 273 yards … and his season was considered a profound disappointment. That’s how high he set the bar, especially after he ran for 2,005 yards one year earlier. Those days are probably over. The Eagles’ offensive line isn’t what it used to be and that season — in which he totaled 482 touches in the regular season and playoffs — clearly wore Barkley down. He’s still got breakaway speed, though, and moves unlike most backs in the league. He can be a nightmare to drag down in the open field. For all those reasons, most people in the NFL expect a bounce-back season from him, even if he’s very unlikely to ever threaten to break 2,000 rushing yards again. McKenna: It’s fun to imagine what will happen in 2026 with Gibbs taking over the backfield as the Lions’ bellcow back. In a timeshare last year, he had 1,223 rushing yards, 616 receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns. That was in a timeshare. What happens when he’s the guy?! Gibbs has never needed much in the way of touches to make a huge impact on each game. But as the Lions hope to return to the playoffs, it actually probably reassures Detroit fans that Gibbs will be a bigger part of the offense. Because when he gets the ball, magic happens. He’s as explosive in the rushing game as he is in the passing game. There’s no good way to stop him, and when the blocking is good, there really isn’t a way to stop him. Auman: How quietly great was Robinson’s 2025 season? He led the NFL with 2,298 yards from scrimmage, while still giving up some red-zone and late-game carries to Tyler Allgeier. There have been 26 seasons in NFL history with 2,200-plus yards from scrimmage, but only two had fewer touches than Robinson last year — Marshall Faulk in 1999 and O.J. Simpson in 1975. Does Robinson take on a larger share with Allgeier gone and unsure play at quarterback? The NFL record for yards from scrimmage is 2,509, which came from Chris Johnson in 2009, and it feels like it’s within reach. As a counterpoint, the Falcons just invested $67 million in Robinson through the 2030 season, so they might want to keep an eye on his mileage so he still has something left in a few years. Atlanta would have to win many more games for him to have serious MVP consideration, and they might not be quite there yet.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — No one wants to tell a receiver that he’s running a route where he’s not going to get the ball, where he’s not even a viable option in the play’s design. But it happens quite often. One of football’s most popular concepts, “Dagger,” includes a vertical route where a receiver effectively sprints downfield without any hope of a reception. He runs the route because it’ll create space for another pass-catcher to get open. There are a few names for this type of play, including “The Love of the Game Route.” But Bears receiver Kalif Raymond told me recently that those types of routes don’t exist in Chicago’s offense — not with Caleb Williams throwing the football. “There’s no such thing,” said Raymond, who joined the Bears in free agency this offseason. “[Williams can use] every blade of grass and even the oxygen particles that are in the air because this dude can jump sideways. I was like, ‘What?’ It’s almost like he feels better when he’s under duress or when he’s doing something crazy. … He can see you from all over the field. He can make that throw from anywhere on the field. It’s really cool to see that’s the capability back there.” The play is never over. Now, don’t get me wrong, head coach Ben Johnson and offensive coordinator Press Taylor have worked diligently with Williams on completing more of his passes in structure — taking what the defense gives him. That’s how the team hopes to get their star QB from a 58.1% completion percentage to 70%, which is the goal. But Williams went No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft in large part because of his arm talent and his creativity. At times in his rookie season, it felt like the Bears’ offense corrupted those strengths — leading to mistakes and missed opportunities. When Johnson arrived in 2025, it seemed he prioritized getting the quarterback back on track, developmentally. They focused on using the offensive system first, then applying creativity only when it was necessary. And there’s no doubt he’s more comfortable in Johnson’s offense in year two. “It’s a hell of a lot more fun for me than it was last year,” Williams told reporters earlier in camp. “I was saying it to Coach Studes [running backs coach Eric Studesville], ‘Dude, I feel like I was drowning, trying to breathe or stay alive and wait for a boat to come around last year.’ “Now this year, it’s being able to start where we finished last year, play calls and words and verbiage and speak the same language. It’s being able to grow more from an earlier stage [and] maybe doing it a little bit earlier in the season. … That’s the advantage.” And after seeing “Cardiac Caleb” lead the NFL with six fourth-quarter comebacks last season, the Bears are embracing more of what makes him unique — his creativity when plays break down. It’s what Taylor calls “the next step.” “That’s something we’ve tried to really put a big emphasis on this offseason,” Taylor told me in early August. “After a year with Caleb, watching his escapability and watching his second-play ability, [it’s our job] to make sure that everybody’s on the same page.” How will the Bears do that exactly? “We coach every time that comes up, whether it’s seven-on-seven or team situations. We’re going to coach in the following meeting,” Taylor said. “What was our reaction? What should we do? What do we expect right here? Let the guys talk a little bit so that we’re all on the same page of understanding. There’s not hard and fast rules, but there’s kind of guidelines. … We can communicate through our body language with the quarterback and where we’re expected to be.” A lot can go wrong when a quarterback breaks the pocket and steps into a second-chance opportunity. It’s a moment when the signal-caller might force a pass into a tight window for an interception. It’s also a moment when a QB might scramble and get hurt. And it’s also a moment when the quarterback might take a sack — or, even worse, a sack-fumble. This is where we can see a few more qualities that make Williams special. He doesn’t throw many interceptions, keeping his interception percentage at an absurdly low 1.1% in 2024 and 1.2% in 2025. He also found a way to limit his sacks last season, dropping his sack percentage from 10.8% in 2024 (31st) to 3.8% in 2025 (fourth). “He knew when he could take chances and not. And certainly when you’re in that, ‘Hey, we’re in fourth downs from here on out’ mode, I think that kind of helps his mentality,” Johnson told me at the NFL owners meetings. “It’s so curious with him: He’s just always been such a great protector of the ball. For a guy that can be a little bit aggressive at times with some of these throws he makes, he rarely puts it in harm’s way. “And so I think that’s a little bit unique to him. And so maybe it’s one of those things we just need to encourage him to open it up a little bit more earlier in games, when he might be just a little bit more conservative in some of the decision-making early in games.” The Bears trust Williams to make the right play. And … “We got a great quarterback who can make the play right,” second-year receiver Luther Burden III told me. The difference is subtle but meaningful. When a play works, Williams needs to execute it. When a play fails, Williams can make up for it. “You’re just not limited in any way with Caleb,” Bears receivers coach Antwaan Randle El told me. “We know we’re not limited. So the sky — we just keep pushing from that standpoint because our quarterback has a great arm. He can run and he can throw it and he can run with it. We got a lot that we can do with him, so that’s why it’s not coaching our guys differently. It’s just making sure they know what to do. Because if you’re in the right spot, he’ll get the ball to you.” At practice in early August, Williams didn’t shy away from breaking structure. There was one example when he felt immediate pressure off the blindside, scrambled right and found receiver Rome Odunze, who was working his way toward the sideline. Odunze took off upfield, weaving his way into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, Odunze is an obvious candidate to help Williams generate big plays in any situation. But he might not even be the most obvious candidate. If you think about Patrick Mahomes’ creative magic, you also think about tight end Travis Kelce — and the way he finds space when the play breaks down. So it might actually be Bears ascending tight end Colston Loveland who finds a role as the team’s go-to target in these situations. That’s who I think of first, at least. “That’s the first I’d like to think of too,” Taylor told me. “I think that’ll start to differentiate itself as they start to read his body language, where he’s going on certain plays, how he’s reacting and how they can fit within the open space in a play.” It might not need to be one guy. That’s the beauty of this ascending group of young playmakers, with Williams, Odunze, Burden and Loveland having a combined six seasons in the NFL. They’re growing up in an offense where the limit does not exist. No one wants to tell a pass-catcher that he’s running a route where he’s not going to get the ball. In the Bears’ offense, no one has to.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The regular season hasn’t arrived yet, but things are already getting feisty around the NFL. Tuesday featured another practice fight, but this one might have been the biggest yet in training camp. There were reportedly at least six altercations at Tuesday’s Dallas Cowboys-New Orleans Saints joint practices. Elsewhere, Las Vegas Raiders rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza took another step forward in his progression, and the New York Giants made a notable addition. Here’s what you should know about what happened in the NFL on Tuesday. The Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints held a joint training camp practice on Tuesday that featured at least six separate physical altercations between players, according to reporters in attendance. Incidents included a punch thrown at Dallas running back Javonte Williams, edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku throwing punches during a confrontation, and New Orleans player Brock Rechsteiner executing a suplex on a Cowboys defender. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer expressed disappointment with the practice disruptions following the session. “A little chippy,” Schottenheimer told reporters. “Not the way we like to do business. Got to be better, but I’ve got to look at the film. We’re certainly not going to take s— from anybody, but again, it was chippy on both sides. Like I’ve said, I want our guys to play on the edge without going over the edge.” Neither team has announced disciplinary action ahead of their Aug. 28 preseason game. The Saints take on the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday, while the Cowboys face the Arizona Cardinals later that day. The Christian McCaffrey injury saga hasn’t slowed down. But 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan put rumors of a contract-related holdout to rest as the star running back has been out of practice for over a week, reiterating that McCaffrey is dealing with hamstring tightness. Shanahan clarified that McCaffrey would have practiced on Tuesday had it not been for the joint session with the Los Angeles Chargers. It’s another clear sign that his current muscle tightness is being handled with routine caution and remains a minimal concern heading into the season. McCaffrey is coming off a season with his heaviest rushing workload since entering the league out of Stanford in 2017. He logged a career-high 311 carries for 1,202 yards and 10 touchdowns, while adding 102 receptions for 924 yards and seven scores. With McCaffrey limited to just four games in 2024 following an Achilles injury, any report of tightness naturally raises red flags. However, all signs point toward him being ready for the season opener against the Los Angeles Rams. Kirk Cousins has taken the majority of first-string offensive reps for the Las Vegas Raiders throughout training camp, but rookie quarterback Fernando Mendoza received first-team work during Tuesday joint practice with the Houston Texans. Head coach Klint Kubiak stated after practice that he intended to evaluate Mendoza against starting opposition. “I wanted to see him going against the Texans’ 1s,” Kubiak told reporers. “That was our plan all along. I thought he did some good things. I look forward to watching the tape. He and his teammates, all these young guys that were playing, we’ve got to get them up to speed real quick.” Cousins addressed the allocation of snaps following the practice session. “He did a great job,” Cousins told reporters. “He’s well-prepared, made some great plays and he’s continuing to do what he’s supposed to do and pick up the system quickly.” Mendoza detailed his experience taking reps against the Houston defense. “I believe overall, it was a positive day. There were plays that I loved and plays that I wish I had back, but in reality, that’s a lie. I wish I didn’t have them back because it’s a growing experience,” Mendoza told reporters. “It’s practice, and this is what I love, and it’s a beautiful day to play football. I’m so happy, I have so many things to learn from this.” The New York Giants signed free-agent running back Najee Harris to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Harris spent last season with the Los Angeles Chargers before suffering a season-ending Achilles tear. He enters the Giants backfield fully healthy. The addition of Harris comes after the Giants waived running back Dante Miller with an injury designation. Miller hurt his groin in the preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings and is expected to miss time. “I think this is a good opportunity here. I think the style of play that they’re heading towards is the style of play that aligns with me,” Harris told reporters. In a corresponding move, the Giants plan to release veteran wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. After pass rusher Za’Darius Smith worked out for the Cleveland Browns last week with a signing expected, he visited the Atlanta Falcons on Monday and officially signed a one-year deal on Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports. Smith is reuniting with Falcons head coach Kevin Stefanski, whom he played under for two seasons in Cleveland. With pass rusher James Pearce Jr. set to serve an eight-game suspension, Stefanski turned to a familiar face to help fill the void. With Pearce Jr. facing a suspension and Jalon Walker out for the entire 2026 season due to a training camp knee injury, Atlanta’s edge depth is severely tested. Smith could immediately play a heavy role alongside Samson Ebukam and Azeez Ojulari, who are listed as the Falcons’ starting edge rushers on their unofficial depth chart. Smith is a three-time Pro Bowler who has bounced around the league over his 11-year NFL career. He has played for the Baltimore Ravens, Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Browns, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and now the Falcons. Now that Smith to the Falcons is a done deal, all eyes shift towards whether he can put together a full season of health. His best season came in 2020 with the Packers, where he earned All-Pro honors with 52 tackles, 12.5 sacks, and four forced fumbles.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — New Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel said he looked forward to seeing his newest student, Justin Herbert, in action for the first time executing his offense against a defense from another team. Well, in a joint practice at team headquarters against the San Francisco 49ers, the Oregon product did not disappoint, connecting on big plays with Quentin Johnston, Ladd McConkey, Omarion Hampton and free-agent pickup David Njoku on Tuesday. And on the other side, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy admitted that his team’s offense fell short against the Chargers’ defense. “Honestly, I don’t think it was our best day,” Purdy said about the offense. “I feel like the fundamentals and stuff were just a little off and whatnot. Obviously, there was some good stuff and stuff we need to work on. But I just feel like we could have come out with a little bit more of a chip on our shoulder offensively.” The Chargers will take early training camp success, but we’ll see if that translates into wins when this franchise traditionally struggles — in December and January. Here are my four takeaways from the highly competitive but controlled practice that included no fights, unlike San Francisco’s feisty joint practice session last week against the Tennessee Titans. 1. C Tyler Biadasz One Of Few Chargers Players Injured It was not all good news for the Bolts, as free-agent pickup and starting center Tyler Biadasz had to leave the field early during practice on a cart due to a leg injury suffered when left guard Kayode Awosika threw his man into the back of his leg. Biadasz was visibly frustrated as he was carted away. Rookie second-round pick Jake Slaughter replaced Biadasz in the starting lineup. The Florida product had been part of a crowded group of players competing for the starting left guard job but could be the answer for the Bolts at center if Biadasz is out long-term. “I just take it as a blessing that I can help the team in any way that I can,” Slaughter said about the possibility of starting in place of Biadasz. One of L.A.’s big free-agent additions, it would be a significant blow to the offensive line to lose the anchor up front for a group that played without bookend offensive tackles Rashawn Slater and Joe Alt for most of last season. Slater has already missed over a week of training camp this year because of a leg injury, with Trey Pipkins taking his spot at left tackle. Johnston also had to leave practice with what appeared to be a right leg injury suffered diving for a ball out of bounds. However, after getting evaluated by team medical staff, Johnston returned to the field but did not practice. Finally, for the 49ers, Mike Evans had to leave practice with tightness. Evans was observed icing his quad afterwards, which he injured earlier this month. Fellow free agent signee receiver Christian Kirk remains out with a calf injury. “They just said he had some tightness, so we were just being smart in taking him out,” San Francisco head coach Kyle Shanahan said about Evans. “I don’t think it’s anything worse, so we’ll see when we get in there, but nothing that I’m worried about right now.” 2. Herbert Commands Offense, Will Start Preseason Game vs. 49ers Chargers head coach Jim Harbaugh said that Herbert and the rest of the starters on offense and defense will play for the first time during the preseason against San Francisco, getting in for at least a series. However, Harbaugh had to like what he saw from Herbert and the rest of the offense, who consistently carved up San Francisco’s offense for big plays. “When you see live reps, that’s really important for us as an offense,” Herbert said. “We go up against our defense so much, and there’s only a level of speed that you can go when you’re not tackling and you’re just thudding up. “I think it’s great to see another defense. More reps for us to see different defenses, different coverages. So, I thought it was great for the offensive line, the receiver and everyone else as well.” While Herbert heated up, the Chargers struggled to block new 49ers defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa, who had a handful of pressures. 3. Chargers RB Omarion Hampton Busts Out The Truck Stick Along with Herbert, the second-year running back out of North Carolina had back-to-back plays where he lowered the boom on San Francisco defenders. On the first play, Hampton broke through a big hole in the middle of the line and bowled over 49ers safety Ji’Ayir Brown. And in the following play, Hampton hit the left sideline, blowing up linebacker Jaden Dugger as he angled to the sideline. Along with creating a more complex passing game, McDaniel has been tasked with bringing more physicality in the running game. And the Chargers accomplished that by consistently creating creases for Hampton to break through the line of scrimmage and make defenders pay at the second level of the defense. “He’s incredibly tough,” Herbert said. “He leads by example. He doesn’t say much, but what he does on the field is loud, and guys respect him. 4. Christian McCaffrey Not Holding In, According To Shanahan Shanahan addressed speculation that All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey was not practicing because he wanted his contract sweetened after Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs signed record-setting extensions for running backs. However, Shanahan assured reporters after practice that McCaffrey was out due to tightness, not unhappiness with his current deal. “I mean, people make a lot of assumptions,” Shanahan said. “And that would be one they’re wrong on.” Shanahan went on to say that if it were game week, McCaffrey would be available for practice. However, San Francisco’s head coach would not divulge the injury. “Just some tightness,” Shanahan said. “He’ll get sensitive if I say where.” With McCaffrey out, rookie Kaelon Black looked strong running the football.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, New York) — Joe Brady’s predecessor took the Buffalo Bills to the playoffs and won at least 10 games in each of the last seven seasons. He won a playoff game in each of the last six years. He won 66% of his games overall. And yet he was fired because, in the words of Bills owner Terry Pegula, “I felt like we hit the proverbial playoff wall, year after year.” In other words, all those wins didn’t matter in the end, since he couldn’t get the Bills to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1993. So no pressure, Joe Brady. All you have to do to be considered a success in your first year as the head coach of the Bills — and your head-coaching job at 36 years old — is win as much as Sean McDermott did, and then, when it really matters, win some more. You have been handed a championship-caliber team and you will be judged on that scale. In other words, fix what’s broken in Buffalo without breaking what’s already been fixed. No pressure at all. “I never felt pressure because I’m ready for this,” Brady told me before practice on Tuesday morning at the Bills’ new home, Highmark Stadium. “I don’t think about the Super Bowl, but no one has higher expectations than myself. I knew why I took this job and I knew what came with it. That doesn’t mean I am talking about it every single day or that I can’t handle all that comes with it. But I’ll just be myself and everything will go from there.” Brady may be young, but he’s obviously not naïve. He knows exactly what the expectations are in Buffalo. They are a loaded team, with a Hall-of-Fame-bound quarterback, good enough to be the class of the AFC. And they are an organization with a fan base that has been absolutely tortured by shocking playoff losses over the last seven seasons, which compounded the original sin of the Bills’ teams of the early 1990s that lost four straight Super Bowls and then never went back. They are starving for their first Super Bowl in 33 years, and they feel like the team is more than ready. So there will be no honeymoon for this first-year coach. The only way he’ll be viewed as a success is if he leads his team to Super Bowl LXI in Los Angeles in February. To his bosses and probably to most of Western New York, absolutely nothing else will do. “I hope the city wants that. I hope the players want that,” Brady told me. “But I don’t listen to it. I don’t feel any more pressure because I have high expectations for myself.” Maybe he really is “Joe Cool” and doesn’t feel the weight of the expectations. But that doesn’t necessarily make the job any easier. Brady was on McDermott’s staff for the last four years, serving as his offensive coordinator for the last two. So in a way, that makes him both part of the problems of the past, and part of the hoped-for solutions of the future. That’s a tough line to straddle, simultaneously selling himself as something old and something new and improved. “I don’t think it’s a tough balance for me, and I think it’s a natural transition for the rest of the organization and building,” Brady told me. “There’s a component of ‘Hey, we’ve known him.’ Sometimes there’s a comfort level. But it was also important to me to come in and say, ‘Hey, we’ve never worked together. This is Year 1 with everything. Let’s figure it out together and not assume that it’s business as usual.” That’s important, because “business as usual” in Buffalo has been good, but not good enough. This city and region are desperate for a championship. Really, at this point, they’d take one in any sport. But a Bills championship would just hit different here, especially for anyone old enough to remember Scott Norwood’s wide right kick in 1991 — a mere 16 months after Brady was born. “The fact that I’ve been here, you do envision it,” Brady told me. “But I’ve never envisioned it for myself. Everything I do is because I want to see a guy like Josh Allen hold the trophy. I want to see Dion Dawkins, guys that have been here for a while, and knowing what it means for the city. It has nothing to do with me.” The 5-foot-11, 190-pounder announced his presence last season as one of the best backs in the NFL when he led the league with 1,621 rushing yards and ran for 12 touchdowns, too. And since his offensive line returns intact after a dominant season last year, there’s absolutely no reason to think Cook can’t do it again. Cook and Josh Allen really are a perfect 1-2 punch. They combined for 2,200 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns last season, and they play off each other perfectly. It’s impossible at times for a defense to guess which one is going to run. And because they’re both seemingly unstoppable at times, they have to be ready on all downs for both. And that’s even more important late in the year when the weather starts to turn, especially in Buffalo. That’s why getting home-field advantage in the playoffs is so important for them. They don’t just get an advantage from the crowd. They get an advantage from their style and from the power of Cook, too. “The grass is definitely soft. It breaks up a little bit. But it feels amazing. It feels like your body is running in clouds.” — Bills wide receiver Joshua Palmer on the grass field at Highmark Stadium, which in one recent report was described as “ass.” Yes, this really could be their year! The biggest shame about the Bills’ failure last season was that their white whale was finally beaten. The Kansas City Chiefs didn’t make the playoffs. The Bills’ path to the Super Bowl was clear. So when they went down to the Denver Broncos, 33-30, in the divisional round of the playoffs, it was one of the most disappointing defeats in the Bills’ storied history of disappointing defeats. So why should anyone believe this year should be any different? Because the Bills are better, for one thing. They still have Josh Allen and  James Cook, which is mostly enough. They added the best receiver they’ve had in years, even if D.J. Moore is fading a bit at 29. And they added Bradley Chubb to boost their pass rush. And a healthy Ed Oliver will help, too. That’s tinkering, more than splashing. The splash was firing Sean McDermott and promoting offensive coordinator Joe Brady to head coach. Given his relationship with Allen, and how stale the Bills often seemed under McDermott, there’s a good chance that gives Buffalo a boost. And if they get that … well, the Chiefs are still down (though not for long once Patrick Mahomes returns to full strength), and the New England Patriots are about to get a smack in the face with a much harder schedule. There are challenges from teams like the Ravens and the Broncos, but the Bills could make a case that they are the class of the AFC. Whether they get to Super Bowl LXI is probably a matter of fate, which rarely seems to be on the Bills’ side. But things do seem to be teed up for them this year. Of course, it looked that way last year, too. One last six-hour drive through the beautiful Finger Lakes, past Mirabito Stadium (home of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies), by the Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company, through the Poconos, and home. By the time I get there on Wednesday morning, I’ll have traveled a little more than 1,900 miles over 10 days, making stops in seven football towns while visiting with nine teams and watching about 15 hours of football practices. I’ll have stepped onto a real-life holodeck in Berea, Ohio, learned that there is no more picturesque setting for a training camp than Latrobe, Pennsylvania, sat down for interviews with four head coaches, consumed immeasurable amounts of coffee, and became as convinced as ever that the Miami Dolphins are going to be terrible this year (I probably didn’t need to travel to Ashburn, Virginia, to learn that last part). Then, once I’m home, the three-week countdown begins to Opening Day.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

The home of the last three college football national champions vs. the conference where, “it just means more.” The Big Ten and SEC are constantly bickering over which one is the top league in college football. They each care about earning that recognition from the outside. They each have their own opinion on what should determine that hierarchy. FOX Sports college football writer RJ Young would like a word in shaping that discussion. His ranking of all 138 FBS teams ahead of the 2026 season illuminates the status of each team in those conferences as the 2026 college football season approaches. Michigan State, lord have mercy. Please get out of your own way. Listen to coach Tom Izzo. Remember who you stand for, what you stand for and hope like hell that foundation transfers to the football field.  — RJ Young Boilermakers coach Barry Odom needs to show results in the toughest league in the country. The good news is Purdue returns Ryan Browne, who threw for 300 yards or more twice last year, including 30-of-50 for 302 yards against top 25-ranked Illinois.  — RJ Young But I’m sure Scarlet Knight fans are tired of national analysts like me reveling in their past. Let’s hope Greg Schiano’s 2026 team gives us both hope for the future.  — RJ Young The Terps are 4-38 against top-25 teams in the CFP era. That’s the bad news. The good news is Malik Washington might just be another Taulia Tagovailoa for Terps coach Mike Locksley.  — RJ Young PJ Fleck knows how to build a team that competes. The Golden Gophers have finished with a winning record in six out of nine seasons despite eight different coordinators across both sides of the ball.  — RJ Young Last year was Wisconsin’s worst in 35 years. Luke Fickell has to wear that. And after getting the dreaded “vote of confidence” from the administration, he’s got to put Wisconsin back in the race to become one of the four best teams in the Big Ten.  — RJ Young David Braun has gone 19-19 as head coach at Northwestern. A .500 record will do just fine in 2026 there too. Whether Chip Kelly has some magic left in him after a disastrous stint with the Las Vegas Raiders is another question.  — RJ Young Has coach Matt Rhule reached the ceiling for what he can do at Nebraska? Despite achieving AP top-25 rankings in each of the last two seasons and winning at least seven games in 2024 and 2025, Rhule’s Nebraska has been unable to defeat class opponents.  — RJ Young Can Bob Chesney perform at a Big Ten program like he did at James Madison? Indiana coach Curt Cignetti did. Cignetti came from JMU to a bad Big Ten team and immediately turned that program into a College Football Playoff contender. With Chesney having just led JMU to the CFP, it’s not unthinkable for him to lead the Bruins to their first CFP appearance.  — RJ Young At East Carolina last season, Katin Houser threw for 3,300 yards with 19 touchdowns and six interceptions. But can he do that against a schedule that features games at Ohio State, Oregon and at Iowa? I won’t hold my breath.  — RJ Young Iowa was essentially four plays from a 12-0 season, and the CFP selection committee tried to will that record into existence with its ranking of the Hawkeyes last year. Now, I’m asking Ferentz to not make the CFP put its thumb on the scale. Running back Kamari Moulton will help with that.  — RJ Young Matt Campbell brought the best of Iowa State with him to Happy Valley, building his reputation on doing more with less while turning the Cyclones into a Big 12 contender. At Penn State, he’ll get his first opportunity to do more with more.  — RJ Young Kyle Whittingham has everything he needs to reach the CFP for the first time in his career at a program that has made it three times in the last five years and won a national title just two years ago.  — RJ Young Yes, head coach Lincoln Riley is great. Yes, QB Jayden Maiava is good. But Gary Patterson is one of the best defensive playcallers the sport has ever seen, and he’s running the defense at USC in 2026. That alone is enough for me to believe the Trojans can make a real run at a CFP appearance.  — RJ Young Provided Oregon runs the ball and plays defense the way it did a year ago — and it should — there’s no reason the Ducks can’t win the first national championship in program history.  — RJ Young Ohio State hasn’t completed the triple crown since 2014, but the pieces are in place to make it happen. That doesn’t mean the road will be easy. The Buckeyes must replace 11 NFL Draft picks, including three first-round selections, while also breaking in a new offensive coordinator.  — RJ Young Lost in the shuffle of quarterbacks — a third new starter in as many years — and the rather exhausting list of talent and veteran leadership that departed Bloomington are a few important facts: 1. Curt Cignetti is still the head coach. 2. The best record in the sport over the last two seasons (27-2) belongs to Indiana. 3. The Hoosiers are the reigning national champions and the first team since 1894 to finish 16-0.  — RJ Young Since 2019, the Razorbacks have won nine games in a season just once and were capped at two-win seasons three times. That’s just one more reason former Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman had to go, and former Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield was brought in.  — RJ Young Former Kentucky high school football star Will Stein finally took a chance on himself. In becoming UK head coach, he’s also attempting to do in Lexington what Curt Cignetti did in Bloomington: Turn a basketball school into a football school overnight.  — RJ Young When you start the season 4-0, like the Bulldogs did last year, a 1-8 record over the next nine games can feel like a swift kick to the groin. Start fast again, and this time finish, MSU.  — RJ Young Before Clark Lea arrived in Nashville, the Commodores couldn’t threaten the SEC any more than an ant threatens a boot heel. Since Clark? By God, they’re winning 10 games a season. They fielded a Heisman finalist. They’re flipping five-star QB recruits from Georgia. This is me giving Vandy its flowers — a gift also appropriate for funerals, apologies and 20th century first dates. Now, with true freshman quarterback Jared Curtis likely to take the conductor’s seat on the train — but three of the four best receivers from 2025 gone — let’s find out just how much more coal Lea can shove in the furnace.  — RJ Young Tell a South Carolina fan that Shane Beamer’s Gamecocks ain’t beat nobody with a ranking on the scorebug since Nov. 30, 2024. Tell them that they ain’t beat nobody at all since Sept. 27, 2025. Then watch them drop back in a prevent defense called “LaNorris Sellers Is Coming.”  — RJ Young Can Alex Golesh turn an Auburn program into a version of who Ole Miss was in the Lane Kiffin era? We’ll have an answer to both questions soon enough, and I hope Tiger fans like them.  — RJ Young Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has built a program capable of staying competitive and successful in the tumultuous NIL era. But this season, he has a career backup in George MacIntyre competing with five-star phenom Brandon Faizon for the starting quarterback job.  — RJ Young Jon Sumrall has reached a conference championship game in every season of his head-coaching career. I’m betting on Sumrall’s record as a head coach and Jadan Baugh’s ability to carry the offense here.  — RJ Young Austin Simmons could emerge as one of the nation’s top signal-callers in 2026. Add in Ahmad Hardy’s 1,649 rushing yards and 16 touchdowns from last season, and the Tigers have the makings of one of the SEC’s most dangerous offenses.  — RJ Young It’s easy to forget that Alabama was the home team in the SEC championship game against Georgia, and that the Tide became the first program to win a CFP game on the road. Kalen DeBoer’s job in 2026 is to create a memorable season rather than just a few memorable moments.  — RJ Young Following Lane Kiffin’s departure, Ole Miss head coach Pete Golding answered questions about just how good he can be for the Rebels with the two biggest wins in school history — beating Tulane and Georgia to make the CFP semifinals — all while Kiffin raided the Ole Miss roster and staff. Star QB Trinidad Chambliss will return for a sixth season after putting together a Heisman-caliber year in 2025.  — RJ Young The Sooners barely had a run game last season but still managed to win 10 games and earn a home CFP game. If quarterback John Mateer improves his accuracy, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle becomes less predictable in his playcalling and head coach Brent Venables again fields one of the stingiest defenses in the sport, Oklahoma has a real path to the CFP.  — RJ Young Offensive coordinator Holmon Wiggins and quarterback Marcel Reed must take a major leap if A&M is going to chase its first conference title of any kind since 1998.  — RJ Young LSU made Lane Kiffin one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport and the highest-paid ever without a championship on his résumé. They also gave him the resources to bring in former Arizona State quarterback Sam Leavitt, Colorado offensive tackle Jordan Seaton and Ole Miss defensive end Princewill Umanmielen. For a program that hasn’t won a national title since 2009, LSU fully looks built to change that.  — RJ Young [Related: Good And Bad, Lane Kiffin Is The Answer — And LSU Is Betting Big On It] Former Arizona State RB Raleek Brown and former NC State RB Hollywood Smothers enter the fold, as well as former Auburn WR Cam Coleman. They should help the most bankable player in the sport, Arch Manning, propel the Longhorns to what they hope will be their first national title appearance since 2009.  — RJ Young The SEC still belongs to Georgia. The Bulldogs have lost just once at home since 2019, but they still haven’t won a CFP game after earning a first-round bye in the 12-team era. That’s why so much of this season centers on returning quarterback Gunner Stockton. — RJ Young​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Sorry to spoil the list for you, but following a year in which a player broke the NFL’s single-season record for sacks, you can’t name any other player as the league’s top pass rusher. So, who is the NFL’s best pass rusher after Myles Garrett? There are a lot of names worth considering for the No. 2 spot. Micah Parsons has been one of the league’s most consistent pass rushers since he entered the league in 2021. However, he’s coming off an ACL tear. Ascending players like Will Anderson Jr. and Aidan Hutchinson should also be considered, along with veterans like T.J. Watt. As we continue to rank the top 10 players at key positions ahead of the 2026 season, here are our top 10 pass rushers entering the year. Eric D. Williams: The Defensive Rookie of the Year two seasons ago and a Pro Bowler in his first two seasons in the league, Verse is adapting to new surroundings in Cleveland after being included as part of the blockbuster trade this offseason. Verse’s former team, the Los Angeles Rams, traded him for reigning Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett, making him the centerpiece of the package. While Verse has been among the league leaders in pressure rate since entering the league in 2024, he still only has 12 sacks in two seasons. Verse must become a more consistent closer to be considered among the elite pass rushers in the league. For now, though, he’s in the top 10 as the Browns hope he can be a cornerstone moving forward. Ralph Vacchiano: The 31-year-old Steelers star is coming off one of his least-productive NFL seasons, and one in which Watt missed three late-season games due to a partially collapsed lung. And it’s possible, after nine NFL seasons, that a decline has begun. But given Watt’s Hall of Fame-worthy track record, it’s hard to bet on that. His seven sacks in 14 games last season were definitely a downturn, and so was his pass-rush win rate of 11.7%. But he’s still had double-digit sacks in six of his nine seasons and can still be dangerous when he’s fully healthy. Watt could also be in line for a boost in the new, aggressive scheme of new defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who plans to move Watt around more than he’s been moved in recent seasons. That could be enough to give Watt the jolt he needs to stay in the top 10 for another season or two before he heads to Canton. Greg Auman: The Broncos had 68 sacks last season — 11 more than any other NFL team — and Bonitto led the way with 14 sacks, six more than his closest teammate. The 26-year-old had 13.5 the year before and made the Pro Bowl in each of the last two seasons. Denver rewarded him before last season with a four-year, $106 million contract, and he helped the Broncos earn the AFC’s top seed with a 14-3 record. A 10-7 AFC Championship Game loss to the New England Patriots stung – it matched the fewest points allowed in a playoff loss in 28 years – and Denver will lean on Bonitto and the defense just as much in 2026 as they seek a trip to the Super Bowl. Vacchiano: In the midst of a miserable season for the Giants, the seven-year veteran re-established himself as a star with a career-high 16.5 sacks and a pass rush win-rate of 16% that ranked him just outside the top 10. Considering it was a down year for Burns’ defensive line mates — defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence had just a half sack and edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux played in only 10 games — his explosion was even more surprising. This year, Burns might have to share the wealth, with Thibodeaux plus young stars Abdul Carter and Arvell Reese (whom the Giants took in the last two first rounds) all figuring to be a part of New York’s pass rush. But that’s the only thing standing in his way. He showed he’s still got the speed and explosiveness that made him so dangerous during his years in Carolina. He hasn’t slowed down at all at age 28 and should be a centerpiece of new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson’s scheme. Arthur: The 31-year-old Hunter may be the most underappreciated, dominant pass rusher of this era. He’s recorded double-digit sacks in seven of his 10 NFL seasons, but has never been a first-team All-Pro selection. The former third-round pick is playing some of his best ball late in his career, too. He’s had at least 10.5 sacks in four consecutive years, including 15 last season (third in the NFL), which earned him a second-team All-Pro nod and a one-year, $40 million extension this spring. He also forms one half of the league’s best edge rushing tandem with Will Anderson Jr. Henry McKenna: Last season, Hutchinson recorded career highs in sacks (14.5), QB hits (35) and pressures (90). That pressure total is the highest in the NFL, per Pro Football Focus, and is often the most coveted statistic when you speak to pass rushers. Hutchinson has long been an ascending pass rusher since arriving in the NFL as the 2nd overall pick in the 2022 draft. But he has officially arrived as one of the NFL’s elite pass-rushers and defensive playmakers. He’s a defensive coordinator’s dream and an offensive coordinator’s nightmare. Williams: After the Baltimore Ravens rescinded a massive trade for his services due to a failed physical. Crosby returned to the Las Vegas Raiders recommitted to ushering in sustainable winning for this once-proud franchise. Even though he turns 29 years old later in August, Crosby remains one of the most feared and productive pass rushers in the league. A five-time Pro Bowler, Crosby has posted double-digit sacks in three of the last four seasons, totaling 44.5 sacks since 2022. McKenna: The Packers will do everything they can to get Parsons to the top of this list in 2026. The franchise traded a massive haul before last season to acquire Parsons from the Dallas Cowboys before Green Bay awarded Parsons with a massive deal. He then posted 12.5 sacks before suffering his season-ending knee injury. At some point in the first half of the season, Parsons will return. And even if he’s off to a slow start, he should be among the league’s most dangerous playmakers by the time the postseason rolls around. Arthur: Anderson will be a staple in the conversation for best edge rusher over the next several years. The 2023 No. 2 overall pick is already a complete player — he had 48 pressures on just third downs alone in 2025, the most by any player in a single season in at least eight years (!). His 20 tackles for loss tied for fourth among edge defenders, which shows that he wreaks at an elite level against both the pass and the run. Anderson’s sack, TFL, forced fumble and pass breakup numbers have improved in each of his three seasons as well. He finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting last year. Just 24 years old, Anderson is a young superstar who is still getting better at an exponential rate. Bucky Brooks: The two-time Defensive Player of the Year is a destructive force off the edge, exhibiting an array of power and finesse maneuvers that keep blockers guessing in their stances. Garrett’s dominance and consistency as a sack artist, despite previously playing for a team that is routinely in “catch-up” mode, speak to his efficiency and effectiveness in hounding quarterbacks in less-than-ideal circumstances. With the single-season sack record in hand (23) and at least 10 sacks in eight of his nine seasons, the future Hall of Fame inductee is a lock to take down Bruce Smith’s career mark (200) before he hangs up the cleats.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports

Denny Hamlin is back on top after he finished fourth at Richmond. It was his fourth consecutive top five and his fifth in the last six races. Christopher Bell finished seventh to end his string of second-place finishes and as a result, he dropped a couple of spots. Here are my power rankings entering this weekend’s race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Dropped out: Bubba Wallace (Last Week: 6), Chris Buescher (Last Week: 10) On the verge: Chris Buescher, Ross Chastain, Chase Elliott, Ryan Preece, Shane van Gisbergen, Bubba Wallace Berry is 30th in the standings but his eighth-place finish at Richmond was his third consecutive top 10 as he is finding his groove. Now he needs to find a ride for 2027. Over the last five races, Larson has finished 33rd or worse in four of those competitions. He rebounded with a sixth-place finish at Richmond. And then he flew to Iowa to win the Knoxville Nationals later in the night. Reddick placed 11th at Richmond. It certainly was not a great performance, but for a team that just needs some decent finishes, he got exactly that on Saturday night. Byron was ninth at Richmond as Hendrick placed three drivers in the top 10. Are they turning things around? We should still consider this a wait-and-see situation. Blaney won the pole and led 88 laps but ended up 13th at Richmond. It was a rare day for Blaney where he had speed but not the results. A week after his win at Iowa, Gibbs wasn’t able to rebound from another speeding penalty. He finished 15th at Richmond. A second win in his last four races has vaulted Logano to ninth in the overall standings and into a potential championship contender. Bell had four second-place finishes in the previous five races but placed seventh at Richmond. He’s still poised to earn his first win of the year. Briscoe finished second at Richmond for his fifth top-five in the last seven races. Hamlin finished fourth at Richmond — good enough to regain the top spot. And he made some good social media content there, too.​Latest Sports News from FOX Sports