Lions predicted to trade up in NFL Draft 1st round to help Jared Goff

Lions predicted to trade up in NFL Draft 1st round to help Jared Goff originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Coming off a season in which they just missed the playoffs, the Detroit Lions would really like to get their 2026 NFL Draft off to a strong start.

Entering Thursday night's first round, they're slated to have the No. 17 overall pick. They could look to be aggressive in the trade market, though. sport-ipl.my

ESPN's Peter Schrager is predicting in a new mock draft out Wednesday that the Lions could find a way to move up from 17 to somewhere earlier in the round.

His specific trade proposal looks like this:

• Rams get: No. 17, No. 118 and a 2027 second-round pick
• Lions get: No. 13

It's a bit rich for a four-spot move, but he has the Lions doing it to draft the big offensive tackle out of Alabama, Kadyn Proctor.

"Taylor Decker was released, and Proctor is still sitting there," Schrager writes. "So, general manager Brad Holmes might call up his old team and see if the Rams are open for business. Proctor would be a huge presence (6-foot-7, 352 pounds) at left tackle for Jared Goff and the Detroit offense, and taking a left tackle would mean Penei Sewell could stay on the right side."

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Offensive line draft picks are never the most exciting, but the Lions have also seen with Sewell how well things can work out with the right guy.

Proctor seems to have a wide range of possible outcomes across various mock drafts, anywhere from in the top-10 to outside the top-20.

His stock does seem to have risen in the last month or so leading into the draft, so it would make sense for a team that covets him to make a move up the board to make sure he's there. The Lions could potentially be that team.

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British tennis legend Andy Murray recently reflected on his brief coaching foray with Novak Djokovic.

With his trademark dry humor, Murray admitted that Djokovic probably learned nothing from their time together, but Murray did.

Those learnings will be beneficial as Murray considers coaching in the future.

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Murray says no to coaching right now

He admitted that he would like to coach at some point, but now is not the time.

Murray has young children so it is understandable that the grind of an 11-month tournament and travel schedule would not be appealing.

When he coached Djokovic, he was not present at every tournament.

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What he learned from Djokovic

Murray, who turns 39 next month, admitted that watching Djokovic prepare was interesting and helpful and served as a comparison to his own preparations when he played on the ATP Tour.

However, the biggest thing he learned, and it is something that he reiterated is important with children is communication.

Being able to communicate a message and listening to the feedback are vital.

Murray as a WTA coach is easy to envision

Obviously, Murray would be considered a frontrunner at any point to coach young British hopefuls like Jack Draper and those who are coming through the pipeline behind him.

However, many think Murray would coach a WTA player. After all, he had ex-player and current French Open tournament director Amelie Mauresmo as his coach for a brief period in his career. He is supportive of the WTA players including Mirra Andreeva in recent years.

Murray has been a great advocate for the WTA so it would seem appropriate for him to coach a woman.

A vital, yet under-the-radar aspect of the Jacksonville Jaguars' 2026 offseason wasn't an outside addition or big move that was made to reshape or bolster a position of need. Rather, it was retaining a very important member of the coaching staff -- offensive coordinator Grant Udinski.

Udinski was drawing head coaching interest early in the offseason, but ended up returning to Jacksonville. While head coach Liam Coen calls the plays, Udinski plays a key role in game-planning, running practices, and working with quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

"Me and Grant have a great relationship," Lawrence said on Monday. "I've talked a lot in here with you guys about just what he means to our offense and our team and the way he operates and I love that guy. I got so much faith and belief in him and how he works and just how smart he is. I know he's made me a better player. So, I'm really excited he's back and he brings a lot of value to our team."

During the second half of last season, the Jaguars' offense was rolling, averaging nearly 33 points per game in the midst of their eight-game winning streak. Lawrence's second-half surge also put him in MVP conversations.

The continuity of being in the same scheme and working with the same coaching staff for a second season can be a catalyst behind a Year 2 leap for the players and offense as a whole.

"We just started today," Lawrence said of offseason programs, "kind of did some intro stuff, so we haven't got into the weeds of the installs yet, but you know, just excited to get into that. I know he's worked. He talked about today, they work all offseason, the coaches, to kind of get ready for all of us to come back because that's what they love doing is coaching. So, I'm excited to see all the things that we're going to talk about this offseason, all the wrinkles and adjustments that we can make."

Lawrence and the Jaguars' team as a whole are lightyears ahead of where they were at this time a year ago. Instead of implementing and learning new systems, they are now building upon the strong foundation that has been established.

For Lawrence, footwork and his movement within the pocket continue to be areas of emphasis for him in his game.

This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Jaguars retaining OC Grant Udinski a key part of the offseason

As of publishing this, we're now one day away from knowing who's going in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. And that means we'll finally find out the landing spot for the talented Jeremiyah Love.

So many mocks have the Notre Dame running back going in the top 10, but how high? Our latest NFL mock draft from Christian D'Andrea has him at No. 7 to the Washington Commanders. But in the latest ESPN mock draft from Peter Schrager, he's got an intriguing pick at No. 3 for the Arizona Cardinals: He's got Love heading to the desert.

Here's his reasoning for the pick:

This could be a trade-down spot, and I believe Arizona is listening. Teams like the Chiefs and Saints could have interest in getting into position to take Reese. But I also think the Cardinals could just take Love. Again, forget about positional value this year -- most people see him as the top player in the draft, and he could be a jolt to the Cards' offense. Love moves the needle for a team trying to get back in the mix in a crowded NFC West.

Fascinating! Make sure to check out the latest mock from D'Andrea!

This article originally appeared on For The Win: 2026 NFL mock draft from ESPN has Jeremiyah Love to... the Cardinals?

The San Francisco didn't have a bad 2025 season, but they didn't have a great one, either. After being one win away from winning the NFC West and taking the top seed in the division, the 49ers were walloped by the eventual Super Bowl-champion Seattle Seahawks.

This team is still very much a contender in the NFL, but they will need help to get there. And, according to FOX Sports' Ralph Vacchiano, all they need to do to become instant contenders is crush the 2026 draft. And they way they do that is by adding more marquee pass rushers and a star in the secondary.

They were 12-5 last season, so it’s really a short leap to being in the run for a championship, which they were for most of last season. They still have more than enough weapons on offense, especially after signing receivers Mike Evans and Christian Kirk. But they can guarantee their status among the NFC’s elite if they can strengthen their pass defense.

To do that, they need two things: a better pass rush and at least one playmaker in the secondary. Pass rush might be the bigger need, even if Nick Bosa and Mykel Williams are healthy. They didn’t have a single player with more than four sacks last year. Alas, they didn’t have a single corner who picked off a pass, either.

They have only two selections in the first two days — Nos. 27 and 58 — but those are their two obvious positional targets. They need to strengthen those areas to compete in the loaded NFC West anyway. And if they can survive that division, a Super Bowl run definitely won’t be out of reach.

The 49ers have been connected to a variety of edge rushers with the No. 27 pick, but not many have pointed at secondary as a clear need for San Francisco. There should be some options late in the first round and late in the second round for both of those positions, though, if that's the direction the team wants to go down. Though offensive line and reciever should be heavily considered as well.

This article originally appeared on Niners Wire: 49ers have 1 easy route to becoming instant Super Bowl contender