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BOISE, Idaho — On a gloomy October morning, Boise State‘s Albertsons Stadium was nearly empty but full of action. There were a few scattered donors among the grandstands and a handful of NFL scouts dotting the sidelines of the blue turf during this bye-week practice.

All of them want to catch a glimpse of Ashton Jeanty.

It doesn’t take long to see that inside this universe, Jeanty has become the sun. The 2023 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year is no sudden revelation, but the season that the 20-year-old junior running back has put together is turning him into a local phenomenon and a nationwide sensation.

“I did have high hopes for myself,” Jeanty told ESPN. “I had it in my mind that this was going to be a legendary season, but I didn’t know exactly how that was going to unravel.”

The traditional traits and stories that accompany an athlete of Jeanty’s makeup are there. Yes, he’s the humble, down-to-earth star, and wouldn’t you believe that he’s also the first one in the building? Or that he is the one who doesn’t turn down an extra workout even if it’s in the snowy winter and after the season has ended?

There are the superhuman tales of his strength that follow him, too. The 320-pound bench press? That’s Jeanty. A 300-pound power clean? Jeanty. The 600-pound squat?

“He once did 605 like it was nothing and he had to be cut off,” Boise State head coach Spencer Danielson said. “He lifts with the offensive linemen.”

Yet any display of strength can often mask Jeanty’s unique speed and agility. During a run this season, he was clocked at over 22 mph. On his way to a nation-leading 1,248 yards and 17 touchdowns, he has outrun some of the fastest defensive backs in the sport and rumbled his way through entire defenses. It’s as if a semitruck could drive like a Ferrari.

“The first guy never brings him down,” Broncos running backs coach James Montgomery said. “Then he puts everybody in slow motion.”

The results have made Jeanty undeniable. Through six games, he’s on pace to break Barry Sanders’ single-season records for rushing yards (2,628) and touchdowns (37). Defenses know he’ll touch the ball over 20 times a game and have sold out to stop him. It hasn’t mattered.

“Domination,” Jeanty said of what he thinks when he runs. “To dominate whoever’s in front of me, to make them quit. And it doesn’t happen on the 10th run, it doesn’t happen on the second run. It’s usually somewhere around the 15th or 20th run.”

During a time in the sport when running backs are no longer as en vogue as they once were, Jeanty feels like a throwback. His particular combination of size, speed and intelligence has allowed Jeanty to turn what could be a monotonous ground game into a blockbuster.

Boise State — ranked No. 17 in the AP poll — has put together a 5-1 season (its only loss being to now-No. 1 Oregon) and forged a path to a College Football Playoff berth ahead of Friday’s game with UNLV. The Broncos have done it behind Jeanty, who has made a handoff one of the most exciting preludes in the sport. Once the ball is cradled against his chest and he takes the first step, anything is possible.

It’s why everyone from Idaho to Italy is watching.


AT 3 A.M. ON a Sunday in September near the seaside town of Naples in southwest Italy, Jim Davis was barely hanging on.

There’s no shortage of espresso in this part of the world to keep the head coach of the Naples Wildcats awake — and trust me, he said, plenty is consumed — but there was something else that had him laid out on his couch instead of his bed, straddling the line between somnambulant and alert.

On the naval support base about 18 miles east of the Tyrrhenian Sea where Davis has coached since 2016, the American Forces Network allows him to tune in to Jeanty’s games. At times, with a time zone difference of anywhere from 8 to 11 hours, Davis has allowed himself to catch replays or highlights after the fact. Lately, Jeanty’s play has made the early wake-up call essential.

“It reminds me of the feeling I had before when he was here, when you know he’s got the potential to score every time he touches the ball,” Davis said.

Jeanty arrived in Italy as a 12-year-old whose father, Harry, was a commanding officer on the naval support base in Aversa, a small town near Naples. In middle school, there was no tackle football team, so Jeanty tried his hand at basketball and track and field and bided his time.

He made the varsity football team as a freshman at Naples High and was thrust into the team’s offense. Davis’ initial reflex was to put Jeanty at quarterback. The experiment didn’t go poorly, but it was short-lived. After two games, Jeanty settled in running back, where Davis’ strategy became simple.

“This kid just needs to touch the ball every down,” Davis said. “He had the speed and power, and he was hungry for more yards. We were restricting him at quarterback. I thought, ‘I could find anybody to just hand the ball off to him.'”

The football season in Naples is short, but the journeys it took Jeanty on were not. A nine-hour bus ride to Aviano in Northeast Italy to play Naples’ closest opponent at an Air Force base there. A flight to Spain, another trip to Brussels and even an 18-hour, multiday trip to Spangdahlem, Germany, where Davis remembers having to ice and treat teammates for injuries on the bus. Some stadiums didn’t even have lights, forcing games to be played in the afternoon in the middle of the hot, humid weather. Despite it all, Jeanty dominated. In one season, he had 1,223 yards on 97 carries (over 12 yards per carry) and totaled 21 touchdowns in just six games.

“I’m trying to remember, did we lose any games?” Jeanty said. “I don’t think we lost any games.”

They were 6-0.

Even at that age, Jeanty was thinking ahead. He would take the footage of games and put together a reel of his best highlights. After his freshman year, he told his parents that he wanted to go back to the States and play football. Davis was neither surprised nor disappointed. He knew Jeanty needed exposure and that, if given the opportunity, he would flourish.

“He didn’t think that he was the best and didn’t need to work hard,” Davis said. “He was the best, but he had that desire to get better.”

Jeanty’s journey continued 5,700 miles west in Frisco, Texas. The staff at Lone Star High School didn’t know much about Jeanty beyond his highlight reel against competition abroad. But any mystery was short lived.

“Once he showed up, obviously, his physical stature, I mean, he’s built like a Greek god,” Lone Star head coach Jeff Rayburn said. “We were like, ‘Alright, I bet you can we can find something for this kid to do.'”

After two seasons of playing him all over the field on both sides of the ball and backing more experienced runners, the backfield became Jeanty’s his senior season.

“We gave him the ball and just got out of the way,” Rayburn said of Jeanty, who had over 2,000 rushing yards, over 1,000 receiving yards and 41 touchdowns that season. “He did everything for us.”

As a three-star who burst onto the scene later than most, Jeanty received offers from only two Power 4 programs — Cal and Kansas. How did a kid from Jacksonsville, who lived in Italy and Texas end up Idaho? Through his recruiting process, Jeanty was not afraid to go anywhere to pursue his dream. In Boise State, he found the right people and the right place to develop. Nowadays, Rayburn likes to joke with the Broncos coaches who visit Lone Star that he did them a favor.

“You’re welcome for not playing him full-time at running back his junior year,” Rayburn tells them. “He would have been a national recruit.”

Rayburn claims he has not been surprised by Jeanty. In fact, before this season began, he asked his former player for one thing in advance: “Just make sure when you go to New York [for the Heisman], you get me an invite to go out there with you.”


THE VISITING COACHES’ booth atop Autzen Stadium is where Boise State offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter could see what Danielson wasn’t able to just yet.

Jeanty had broken through the Ducks’ defensive line and found daylight on the other side. Ten yards ahead, a lone safety awaited. Danielson thought Jeanty would be tackled. From above, Koetter saw it differently.

“It’s out,” Danielson remembered hearing Koetter say through the headset. Sure enough, Jeanty made a cut toward the right sideline, and everyone was left staring at the back of his jersey.

Throughout this season, the Broncos’ coaching staff, from their various vantage points, have tried their best to identify the exact moment when they realize that Jeanty’s runs will turn into a breakaway touchdown. Koetter’s bird’s-eye view makes him particularly well positioned to make the call. But from the sideline, Danielson and Montgomery have enjoyed the feeling of experiencing a Jeanty breakthrough with the entire team.

Sometimes, Danielson said, Jeanty’s explosiveness through the line of scrimmage has made him call his shot early. Other times, such as against Washington State, they have thought the play was over, that Jeanty was tackled, only to find that he remained upright and was running all the way to the end zone.

The way in which Jeanty has traversed the field has varied, but the results haven’t. Give him the ball, and he’ll make magic.

“We use him as a decoy. We hand him the ball, we fake it to him,” Koetter said. “I mean, he’s the centerpiece of our offense. We don’t try to hide that.”

Even as a freshman who enrolled early as a 17-year-old in 2021, Jeanty showed flashes.

“You could tell he was going to be good,” Koetter, who was an offensive analyst and eventually interim offensive coordinator in 2022, said. “But the best player in the country? Maybe not.”

Montgomery saw it coming perhaps more than most. The Broncos’ running backs coach had seen Jeanty’s progression from his freshman season through last year, when he split carries with George Holani. Jeanty was “fanatical about getting better at every aspect of the game.”

And once the team began practices for this season, Montgomery was blown away. Jeanty’s work ethic and effort have been high since his days playing for Davis in Naples or in Texas for Rayburn, who said Jeanty “only knew one speed.” This, however, was on another level.

“He came out like an animal. He was practicing hard,” he said. “Every single rep, didn’t matter what the drill was, special teams, offense. And then we got to the first scrimmage, and we’re like, ‘Nah, we better tone it back a little bit.'”

Even though they dialed back the intensity, it only increased the anticipation. Montgomery knew everyone was awaiting what Jeanty would do in the season opener.

Jeanty didn’t disappoint. He broke the school record for most rushing yards in a game and found the end zone six times. From there, he was off and running. He has now had three games of at least 200 rushing yards and four games of three or more touchdowns.

“I always say we’re chasing perfection, so that’s what we’re chasing with him,” Montgomery said. “But he’s played as close as you can get to perfect this year. “

There’s an alternate reality where Jeanty’s perfect season happens while he is wearing a different jersey. Once last season ended, the phone calls to Jeanty and his family from coaches came in droves telling them Jeanty should enter the transfer portal and play for a bigger program on a bigger stage.

Danielson, who was thrust into the interim head-coaching position last season after the Boise State fired Andy Avalos, knew what his first move needed to be once he was hired as the permanent head coach.

“Keeping him was such a huge priority for us,” Danielson said. “Beyond what he does on the field, he’s a culture changer, he’s a culture igniter.”

Jeanty didn’t want to leave. His teammates and coaches knew he could have gone anywhere, but after a single meeting between Danielson, Boise athletic director Jeramiah Dickey, Jeanty and his dad in which they outlined Jeanty’s role as well as the name, image and likeness opportunities and support the school would offer, Jeanty didn’t hesitate.

“I knew in the back of my head I was never going to leave,” Jeanty said while adding that the money was never his top priority. There are reports that Jeanty received a base compensation package of $300,000 to stay. One industry source familiar with the NIL market said Jeanty could have gotten upward of $750,000 had he opted to leave.

“Now did some of those calls about this money and this and that sound good? They sure did,” Jeanty said. “I mean, to any 19-year-old, those things would sound good. But just realizing your values and priorities was also sounding good, too. And those thoughts were stronger than the others. Doing this here means more than anything you could get somewhere else.”


MOST OF US will never know what it’s like to run 70 yards for a touchdown while barreling through linebackers and speeding past cornerbacks. Even Jeanty’s own teammates can only draft off the feeling from their respective positions.

Quarterback Maddux Madsen relishes having “the best seat in the house” to watch the Jeanty show. Once he hands the ball off, he watches the play develop in front of him and stands back in awe.

“As soon as he gets past the first level and second level, I’m just like, all right, I probably could realistically just walk to the sideline,” Madsen said. “It’d be totally fine.”

Wide receiver Latrell Caples can never truly see the play in real time. While focused on blocking, he often has to rely on the video board or the highlight reels postgame to fully appreciate the latest offering from Jeanty.

“I’ve never seen anybody do the stuff he does at practice, let alone the game,” Caples said.

Defensive end Ahmed Hassanein joked that while he enjoys watching Jeanty dominate from the sideline, it also means that the defense has to go back out on the field sooner.

“Somebody needs to stop him, because I need a break on the sideline,” Hassanein joked. “One attempt, and he already scores, so I’m like, ‘Damn, that’s good, but give me some time. I need a breather.”

Jeanty’s roommate, safety Zion Washington, has a unique perspective, too. As a defender, he has seen firsthand how hard it is to contain him.

“I would hate to play against him in a game,” Washington said. “The things he does is just different — you don’t see them from a regular back.”

Washington, a high school friend of Jeanty’s, has seen the running back go from a confident, quiet kid to the center of attention. The guy who often asks Washington to keep the apartment clean and trash-talks during video games is also the one who now makes their Sunday church trips longer. Everyone there wants to talk to him or take a picture.

“It is hard sometimes to see all the positivity around me, all the attention,” Jeanty said. “I’m not really a guy that wants attention. If you ask anybody about me, I’m chill. I’m an out-the-way type of guy. I don’t really need all the spotlight on me, but it’s cool for what I’m doing to be able to have that.”

A natural byproduct of success on the field is success and fame off it. But Jeanty’s eye-popping runs and stats have brought about a reverence and even an obsession from the college football world and beyond that harkens back to his days in Europe.

“I remember being in Belgium, that was an international school we played, and it was funny how many parents and moms came up to him from the opposing team wanting to take pictures,” Davis said. “They were like, ‘You’re going to be famous one day.'”

Now, he is.

His teammates don’t let him forget that he’s just one of them even if they can’t go anywhere on their phones without seeing praise being heaped on their friend.

“I’m scrolling through my phone. Everything’s Ashton. Everything’s Ashton,” Washington said. “One day we were just chilling and Kevin Durant followed him. He was like, ‘KD just followed.’ We’re like, ‘What?’ That’s not normal. We go through things like that. It’s just like, that’s crazy. But it doesn’t faze him.”

For Washington, it’s validating to witness it all happen after he was part of the conversations aimed at keeping Jeanty in Bronco colors. Now, his guy — their guy — has the potential to be the first Group of 5 Heisman winner since BYU’s Ty Detmer in 1990 and the sixth first-round draft selection from Boise State. For some, it might be too early to start thinking about how they will be remembered. Not Jeanty. He has made the Heisman and the NFL his long-term goals, and he has already launched a football scholarship in his name for future players.

“We told him, ‘You can do something that no one’s ever done,'” Washington said. “‘You could do things out here in this city where you’ve already been accomplishing big goals that no one has ever, ever done. You could break records here and win the Heisman here. That’s a legacy.'”


WHEN IT COMES to one of his iconic runs, no one has the vantage point that Jeanty does. So after a recent Boise State practice, I asked Jeanty to put me there — inside his helmet, yes — but more importantly inside his brain as he takes the ball and launches into one of these runs that are a staple of his highlight reels.

Of course, Jeanty quickly points out that I have gotten ahead of myself. It does not begin when the ball touches his hands but rather well before the ball is even snapped. His stance, which he notes that some people have joked about because of its stoic posture, is part of the method to his madness.

“I’m just back there relaxed,” Jeanty said. “I’m just analyzing the defense, I’m seeing what type of front we’re getting, the linebacker placement, not too worried about the corners, but really the safeties to see the shell of the coverage and see what we’re running against.”

In the span of less than a minute, Jeanty is analyzing which defenders he’ll likely have to run through and which he’ll have to make miss, as well as how the run might affect the defensive line based on their placement. Each run has a key and a read on a defender he’ll have to make to determine how it changes “my fit to the run.” The goal, he said, is to be ready to troubleshoot once the play begins.

“If anything goes wrong or they fit it differently than I think they will or whatever it may be, I kind of already analyzed it before so I’m able then to react,” Jeanty said. “And football, especially running back, it is all reaction based after the ball snaps.”

Hear him speak further on the matter and you’ll realize that the way his roommates describe him — “extremely neat” — translates onto the football field. When he’s running downfield, the way he has studied opposing safeties’ movements and tendencies allows him to make an instinct-based but informed view on whether he’ll try to run through them with force or around them with speed.

“That’s the easy part,” Jeanty said. “I feel like people kind of skip past this, but I played defense a lot of my career, so I know what the defensive guys think when he comes downhill to tackle.”

When Jeanty reaches the end zone these days, the feeling is a familiar one. He has experienced it 17 times this season. The records, accolades and praise are nice, he said, but what he’s chasing goes beyond anything tangible and back to the sensation that set him on this path, one he still remembers to this day.

“After I scored my first touchdown [as a running back], I was in sixth grade and it was just a unique feeling,” Jeanty said. “I was like, ‘Man, I got to have this feeling for a while. I got to keep doing this.'”

Whatever happens this season for Boise, bigger things await for Jeanty. An invitation to New York for the Heisman ceremony seems inevitable, and Jeanty is also projected as a top-15 NFL draft pick.

For now, Jeanty is zeroed in on what’s immediately ahead: winning the following game, maximizing another run, overpowering more defenders and reaching the next end zone.

Even if his demeanor might not always show it, Jeanty’s confidence is at an all-time high, and who can blame him?

No one has been able to stop him.

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Ex-interpreter impersonated Ohtani 24x for cash

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Ex-interpreter impersonated Ohtani 24x for cash

Federal prosecutors recommended a 57-month prison sentence Thursday for Ippei Mizuhara, the former interpreter for Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, and released an audio recording in which they say he impersonates Ohtani in an attempt to wire money from Ohtani’s bank account.

In a separate court filing, Mizuhara’s attorney, Michael G. Freedman, said Mizuhara has suffered from a gambling addiction since he was a teenager and asked for an 18-month sentence.

Mizuhara was fired in March 2024 after an ESPN investigation uncovered he had sent millions in wire transfers from Ohtani’s account to an illegal bookmaker. He pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in June, admitting that he stole nearly $17 million from Ohtani to pay off gambling debts to an illegal bookmaker. He is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 6.

According to the prosecutors’ filing, Mizuhara called the bank and impersonated Ohtani on approximately 24 occasions in order to wire money from Ohtani’s account. In the recording, which prosecutors said was made Feb. 2, 2022, a bank employee asked Mizuhara to identify himself.

“Who am I speaking with?” the bank employee asked in the recording, which was first obtained by The Athletic.

“Shohei Ohtani,” Mizuhara replied.

Mizuhara told the bank employee that he could not log in to online banking. “I tried to make a wire transfer a couple of days ago. They told me that’s probably the reason, they transferred me to this number,” he said.

After Mizuhara recited a six-digit code she texted him for two-factor authentication, Mizuhara told her he needed to send $200,000 for a car loan.

“What is your relationship to the payee?” the agent asked.

“He’s my friend,” Mizuhara responded.

“Have you met your friend in person?” she asked.

“Yes, many times,” Mizuhara said.

“I just ask because we haven’t been able to verify the transaction,” the agent said before asking how Mizuhara received the wire information. Mizuhara told her he received it by email but later talked about it with the recipient in person.

“Will there be any future wires to your friend?” the agent asked.

“Possibly,” Mizuhara replied.

Prosecutors said the clip had been edited to redact the names of the bank and the person receiving the wires. ESPN reported in May that Mizuhara wired some of the money to the bank account of Ryan Boyajian, an associate of bookmaker Mathew Bowyer.

Prosecutors also recommended Mizuhara pay nearly $17 million in restitution to Ohtani as well as $1.1 million to the IRS.

In his filing, Freedman wrote that Mizuhara started gambling when he was 18 and visited casinos four to five times a week. At 22, he began playing online poker and betting on sports. While working for Ohtani at the Los Angeles Angels, Mizuhara’s gambling increased because of poker games hosted by other baseball players in hotel rooms, according to the filing. ESPN previously reported that Mizuhara met Bowyer at a poker game at the team hotel in San Diego in 2021.

Mizuhara placed about 19,000 bets with Bowyer over a two-year period and accumulated over $40 million in debt. Bowyer gave Mizuhara a startup credit of $20,000, Freedman wrote.

Freedman added that Mizuhara has been attending Gamblers Anonymous meetings three times a week.

Prosecutors wrote in a separate filing, however, that a gambling addiction “cannot fully explain defendant’s conduct because defendant used the stolen funds for numerous personal expenses that had nothing to do with gambling.”

“Ultimately, the government submits, the motivating factor behind defendant’s crimes was not a gambling addiction but rather greed,” prosecutors wrote.

In a letter also submitted to U.S. District Court Judge John W. Holcomb on Thursday, Mizuhara wrote that he felt like he was on call 24/7 and had almost no time off while working for Ohtani, who he first met while working as an interpreter for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan.

“Usually when a Japanese baseball player makes the move to the United States, they would bring over multiple staff members to take care of various tasks such as a driver, trainer, chef, off the field interpreter/support member, etc. but I was the only person Shohei brought along so naturally I had to support him on most of the above mentioned tasks,” Mizuhara wrote.

The Angels, Ohtani’s first team in the U.S., initially paid Mizuhara $85,000 before increasing his salary to $250,000 in 2022, according to the prosecutors’ filing. When he moved to the Dodgers with Ohtani in 2024, his salary grew to $500,000. Ohtani also paid Mizuhara a separate salary and gave him a Porsche Cayenne, the filing states.

In his letter, Mizuhara wrote that Ohtani paid him roughly $2,500 a month from October to January and $125 to $130 a month from February to September. Mizuhara said he struggled to make ends meet because he had to live near Ohtani in California, pay for his wife’s travel between the U.S. and Japan, and rent accommodations while traveling with Ohtani to Japan in the offseason.

“All of these extra expenses were taking a huge toll on me and I was living paycheck to paycheck, I would have to borrow money from family and friends some months to make ends meet,” Mizuhara wrote.

Mizuhara added that his wife, Naomi, also helped support Ohtani. She cooked him meals, watched his dog and helped him with broken nails he suffered while pitching.

“She truly supported both Shohei and I to the best of her abilities throughout the years and she never complained through all of this as she knew my priority was to support Shohei to the best of my ability,” Mizuhara wrote.

Naomi told the judge in a separate letter that Mizuhara is her “only family” after recently losing her parents and other family members, as well as their family dog. Unable to obtain a green card until 2023, she described becoming “emotionally unstable” and developed hearing loss and alopecia areata due to stress.

“I deeply regret not being able to support him or notice his struggles during that time,” she wrote.

At the end of his letter, Mizuhara asked for mercy from the judge and apologized to Ohtani.

“Lastly, I truly admire Shohei as a baseball player and a human being and I was committed to devote my life so Shohei can be the best version of himself on the field,” Mizuhara wrote. “I want to say I am truly sorry for violating his trust in me.”

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Questions on the NFL draft’s top-10 picks: What are the Titans’ early plans? Which teams need QBs?

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Questions on the NFL draft's top-10 picks: What are the Titans' early plans? Which teams need QBs?

There are just three more games in the 2024 NFL season, and then all eyes will turn to the offseason. And teams with top-10 picks in the 2025 draft — which begins on April 24 — will be studying the group of prospects closely and starting to make plans for their selections.

This draft class is highlighted by a battle between Miami’s Cam Ward and Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders for the QB1 spot, and it is expected to have more high-end defensive players — such as Penn State’s Abdul Carter — than we saw last April. The Tennessee Titans have the top pick for the first time since 2016 (when they traded it to the Los Angeles Rams), and they’ll control a lot of what happens in Round 1. But the rest of the top 10 offers intrigue, too.

We asked our NFL Nation reporters, who cover teams with top-10 picks, to answer one big question about the early selections. Are the Titans, Browns and Giants all leaning toward finding a new QB in the draft? Is Tom Brady going to help the Raiders in their own QB search? Will the Bears pick a defender for the first time since 2018? Let’s dive in.

Jump to a team:
TEN | CLE | NYG | NE | JAX
LV | NYJ | CAR | NO | CHI

After they hired new GM Mike Borgonzi, what do we know about the Titans’ early plans at No. 1?

Borgonzi played a significant role in the Chiefs’ decision to trade up for Patrick Mahomes in 2017, and he’ll have to strongly consider taking a quarterback here. Titans coach Brian Callahan will get a closer look at the top prospects during both the East-West Shrine and Senior Bowl weeks. He didn’t close the door on Will Levis returning next season, but it’s pretty clear the organization is still searching for a franchise QB.

“Well, we got one quarterback under contract [Levis],” Callahan said during his season-ending press conference. “The other two are free agents, and we’re in position to potentially draft a quarterback.”

Callahan has been through the No. 1 pick process before with the Bengals, who took Joe Burrow in 2020. President of football operations Chad Brinker told ESPN he’d like to have more than the two picks the Titans currently have in the top 100, though. Tennessee hasn’t said it’s open for business yet, but a trade out of the first pick could easily address the organization’s desire to add more draft picks. — Turron Davenport


Does Deshaun Watson reinjuring his right Achilles tendon mean the Browns will definitely go QB at No. 2, or are other options still in play?

The Browns were always going to search for quarterback options in free agency and the draft, even before Watson’s setback. But a quarterback at No. 2 isn’t a given.

Cleveland would have to love one of the top prospects, and general manager Andrew Berry has often preached a philosophy of sticking to his board and taking the best player available. He has also shown a propensity to trade back and accumulate additional picks, which is something he alluded to in his end-of-season news conference.

“With having the second pick in the draft, whether we select a player or use it to maximize in another way, it gives us an opportunity to really pivot if we need to,” Berry said. — Daniel Oyefusi


Are the Giants more likely to address their QB spot in the draft or free agency?

It may not be an either/or proposition. The Giants have made it their “No. 1 issue” this offseason to find their quarterback of the future, according to owner John Mara. Their plan entering this past season was to draft a quarterback if it didn’t work out with Daniel Jones. But the timing of it all following Jones’ release in November could dictate that the Giants address the position in both free agency and the draft.

Tommy DeVito will be their only quarterback under contract this offseason. They will likely need a strong contingency from free agency in March, just in case they can’t get a quarterback at the top of the draft. Remember, Mara made it clear the pressure is on to produce in 2025. — Jordan Raanan


Is this an obvious spot for one of the top offensive tackles in the class, or could the Patriots address other holes?

New coach Mike Vrabel acknowledged the offensive line as a top priority in his introductory news conference. “You look at the teams that are able to protect the quarterback and dictate the flow of the game offensively; making sure that up front we’re sound, we’re strong — whether that’s through free agency or the draft — that’s something that’s critical,” Vrabel said.

The Patriots have ranked last in the NFL in pass block win rate each of the past two seasons. But that doesn’t mean they will automatically pick an offensive tackle at No. 4. They need blue-chip players at other positions, such as receiver, defensive line and pass rusher. — Mike Reiss


What are the Jaguars’ biggest roster weaknesses headed into the offseason?

Everything has to do with pass defense. The safety play has been subpar and they likely won’t re-sign Andre Cisco. They need another cornerback opposite Tyson Campbell, and the pass rush — outside of defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker — was spotty this season.

The Jaguars were last in the league in passing yards allowed per game (257.4, the third-worst mark in franchise history), picked off only six passes and gave up 23 pass plays of 30 or more yards. Hines-Allen dipped from 17.5 sacks in 2023 to eight, though Walker became the second player in franchise history to record 10 or more sacks in consecutive seasons. Moving Arik Armstead back inside may boost the interior rush, but the Jaguars need another edge rusher and to improve in coverage. — Michael DiRocco


What are you hearing on how much Tom Brady could play a role in the Raiders’ QB search?

The Raiders, who added Brady as a minority owner, need a coach and general manager before making a choice on QB1. Still, Raiders owner Mark Davis said the seven-time Super Bowl champion would indeed be involved.

“Although Tom can’t play, I think he can help us select a quarterback in the future and potentially train him as well,” Davis said in October, when Brady’s ownership stake was approved.

Of course, that brings us to the prospect with whom Brady has already been linked — Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders. In fact, it was Davis who told Sanders at a Las Vegas Aces game on Oct. 5, “Who knows, you might be home right now.” — Paul Gutierrez


Outside of quarterback, what other needs could the Jets fill with their first-round pick?

Think defense. The Jets finished 23rd in defensive EPA, which was way down from third in 2023. They will need a cornerback to pair with Sauce Gardner, assuming they lose their second option D.J. Reed in free agency. And there has been some talent drain on the once-formidable defensive line, which could use more blue-chip talent in the room other than Quinnen Williams. Edge rusher isn’t a major need, assuming defensive end Jermaine Johnson returns to form after his right Achilles tendon injury, but it would be hard to pass on an elite prospect.

The overall drafting philosophy will be shaped by the new general manager and head coach. Scheme will play an important factor in these decisions. — Rich Cimini


What do we know about whether it’s defense all the way for Carolina at No. 8?

Carolina won’t be all-in on defense with nine picks, but the top selections should be heavy on that side of the ball. General manager Dan Morgan, a former Pro Bowl linebacker, took it personally that his team ranked last in total defense (404.5 yards allowed per game) and against the run (179.8 yards allowed per game). He kept defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, implying this was more of a personnel problem.

The offense is headed in the right direction with quarterback Bryce Young and other key players returning. So adding an edge rusher, safety help and a big run stopper will be the focus. Just don’t look for this to be a defensive sweep as it was in 2020, when Carolina became the first team in NFL history to use all of its seven draft picks on defense. It still needs an elite receiver and more depth at running back. — David Newton


With the Saints’ big needs and cap issues, is this looking like a best-player-available approach right now?

At $70.6 million over the cap in 2025 (per Roster Management System), the Saints are likely going to have to draft for need. But their biggest need is open to interpretation. They are looking for successors at defensive end and linebacker for 35-year-olds Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis, respectively. They also could use another wide receiver to slot alongside Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, as well as permanent fixes to the offensive line.

A quarterback might be on their mind, too, depending on the wants of the Saints’ next coach. But as general manager Mickey Loomis pointed out at his end-of-season news conference, they don’t have the luxury of a top pick to do that. And Derek Carr has two years remaining on his four-year, $150 million contract. — Katherine Terrell


The Bears haven’t used a first-round pick on defense since 2018. What are the chances that streak ends in 2025?

The Bears have major needs to address in the trenches, so it’s fair to say Chicago using its first-round selection on a pass rusher is at 50%.

When asked about top defensive end Montez Sweat‘s disappointing season (5.5 sacks), general manager Ryan Poles said adding more talent is the best way to defeat the number of double-teams and chips that Sweat receives. Creating more one-on-one matchups would allow Chicago’s pass rush win rate to improve from its 37% finish in 2024, which was a slight step up from the previous season but still ranked 24th in the NFL. — Courtney Cronin

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Dodgers land another star? Jays do (or don’t) extend Vlad Jr.? Bold predictions for the rest of the MLB offseason

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Dodgers land another star? Jays do (or don't) extend Vlad Jr.? Bold predictions for the rest of the MLB offseason

With Roki Sasaki, Tanner Scott and Anthony Santander coming off the board recently, MLB free agency has entered the homestretch — but there are still plenty of big moves to come in the final month before spring training arrives.

Where will the top remaining free agents, including Pete Alonso and Alex Bregman, land? Will we see more blockbuster trades? And will the Toronto Blue Jays and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. reach an extension to avoid the star hitting free agency after the 2025 season?

We asked our MLB experts to go out on a limb and make a bold prediction for how this action-packed winter will wrap up.


Free agency

Jorge Castillo: Pete Alonso will re-sign with the New York Mets.

Alonso, a beloved homegrown star in Queens, remains a free agent. The Mets, with money to burn, could still use another right-handed-hitting slugger. A reunion seems almost too obvious. Add the fact that both sides are open to a three-year deal with opt-outs, according to a source, and it’s a matter of only believing it won’t happen when Alonso signs on the dotted line to play elsewhere.

Yes, the Mets have recently started spending money elsewhere (Jesse Winker and A.J. Minter). Yes, they could slide Mark Vientos across the diamond and give the third baseman job to Brett Baty, Ronny Mauricio or Luisangel Acuña. Yes, Alonso is a first baseman on the wrong side of 30 with defensive limitations and little value on the basepaths. But Alonso is one of the most prolific home run hitters in baseball since debuting in 2019. He has proved he can thrive in New York City. Put him behind Juan Soto, which would give him more fastballs to devour, and Alonso will remain one of the most productive power hitters in the majors for the next three seasons.

The Mets have had a great winter, but the Dodgers have created a super team with the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres also fighting for National League supremacy. The competition is stiff. Maybe negotiations between the two sides have burned the bridge to a deal. But it wouldn’t take much to build another one and make it happen.

David Schoenfield: Alex Bregman to … the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Why should the Dodgers stop now? If Bregman can’t find the big deal he wants, the Dodgers might be a surprise fit. Max Muncy is a free agent after 2025 and prone to strikeouts. Hyeseong Kim‘s bat projects as more of a utility infielder than a starting second baseman. Bregman can shift between second and third in 2025 and then replace Muncy in 2026. Too much money even for the Dodgers? Not really. Between Muncy, Chris Taylor, Michael Conforto and Miguel Rojas, the Dodgers have $49.5 million coming off the books after this season (and the pitching staff is set for years).

Bradford Doolittle: Bregman will sign with the Detroit Tigers.

There are lots of reasons why this makes sense, with the exception being positional fit since Detroit added another infielder in Gleyber Torres. Nevertheless, the Tigers have the payroll space to add Bregman and his positional versatility gives the team a lot of leeway in how to use him for the duration of the contract. He could start at any of the infield spots, and Detroit could move players around Torres to make a number of configurations work. Bregman would be the perfect veteran presence for a young team at the outset of a new window of winning. His history with manager A.J. Hinch gives him a comfort zone. Bregman has to end up somewhere and this makes the most sense to me.


Trades

Alden Gonzalez: The San Diego Padres will make a blockbuster deal.

It was less than four months ago that the Padres had the Dodgers on the ropes in the NL Division Series, needing only a victory at home to eliminate L.A. once more. Since then, Padres general manager A.J. Preller has watched his hated rivals not only defeat arguably the most well-rounded team he has ever assembled but win the World Series and then proceed to sign practically every player they want — including Sasaki, the Japanese phenom Preller coveted most. As for Preller himself? January is almost over, and he has yet to add to his major league roster.

There’s no chance that continues. And because the free agent class has dwindled significantly and money remains tight in San Diego, look for Preller to swing a big trade before spring training — the type we have seen from him often. Holes remain in the Padres’ rotation and throughout their lineup. Dylan Cease, Robert Suarez, Luis Arraez and Jake Cronenworth can all be had, and the guess here is that at least one of those four will go. Preller has stood pat for far too long. It won’t continue.

Jesse Rogers: The Boston Red Sox will trade for Nolan Arenado.

After exhausting attempts to sign Bregman, the Red Sox pivot to Arenado as the St. Louis Cardinals start to exhibit a bit of desperation with the season approaching. The fit in St. Louis just isn’t right anymore and everyone knows it. The Cardinals aren’t concerned with money owed to Arenado, so they’re willing to pick up a portion of it because they want quality prospects in return. Boston can deliver that.

Eric Karabell: Arenado will be traded to the Seattle Mariners.

The Cardinals have made it clear they must move on from Arenado to install Nolan Gorman at third base. We heard rumors of the Red Sox, Blue Jays and other teams interested. We haven’t heard about the Mariners, but all they have done is sign utility man Donovan Solano. The Arenado of old might never return — at the plate, at least — but the Cardinals seem so desperate, watch them handle the bulk of his contract and leave Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto with little choice. Arenado is coming off one of his worst seasons, but this Mariners lineup could use even league average hitters at this point.


Vlad Jr.’s future in Toronto

Paul Hembekides: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. will turn down a $400 million extension with the Blue Jays.

Feb. 18. That is Toronto’s first full-squad workout, and more importantly, the self-imposed deadline for extension talks between Vlad Jr. and the organization.

Guerrero, who turns 26 on March 16, is entering his walk year at an opportune time — he slashed .323/.396/.544 (166 OPS+) in 2024, which propelled him to a sixth-place American League MVP finish. The Blue Jays must pay up to retain their homegrown star — they’ll offer him a $400 million extension within the next month, but he’ll reject their overtures and chase free agency instead.

Kiley McDaniel: Toronto will reach an extension with Guerrero.

It’s obviously easier to predict something won’t happen — such as Vlad Jr. looking to test the market next winter or holding out for a better offer from Toronto — than predicting a deal being struck. That said, Toronto needs to make a big move, and after Shohei Ohtani, Soto and Sasaki weren’t that move, the heat is on.

Extending Vlad Jr. is the move the Jays can make as their headline move of the offseason. The longer they wait, the more likely it is that a team with a different economic reality jumps in next winter to top what Toronto can exclusively offer now. The price is a question — I’d think to start at Rafael Devers‘ 10-year, $313.5 million extension from two years ago and adjust for inflation. Regardless, it’s an AAV the Jays can stomach — and it’s a franchise move they need to make as soon as possible.


Off-the-field drama

Buster Olney: Players will start to complain about having to play in a minor league park.

Remember how last year the quality of the uniforms suddenly became a really big deal, and we started to hear a lot from players about that? Well, at some point in the next two months, the fact that the Athletics will be playing in a minor league park is going to become a thing. Players will soon be face-to-face with the reality that they’ll be playing in Sacramento — in a park with one-third the capacity of a stadium like Tropicana Field, with an average July temperature of 95 degrees — and the commentary will begin and roll all the way through the regular season. As with the uniforms: It’ll be a disgrace.

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