Chiefs’ Alex Smith Keeps Connecting With Tyreek Hill In Eighth Practice

Sean Payton found himself watching running back film one day during the leadup to the 2024 NFL Draft. He had a running back from North Carolina on-screen that he really liked. Powerful runner. Capable of breaking tackles. A pretty decent receiver even though he didn’t get a ton of targets in the passing game. The guy averaged 7.3 yards per carry his junior year and 6.3 per carry for his career. Payton and the Broncos, though, didn’t select him in April’s draft. Turns out, they already had the player on their roster for the last three years. Now it looks like they might have the best version of the player back on the field. That’s Javonte Williams. In a moment undoubtedly orchestrated by Payton, Williams stopped by to see the head coach at one point this spring while Payton had his college film on. “It was kind of crazy seeing me in a North Carolina jersey and him watching that, but like I said, he knows what he’s talking about, so I’m going to listen,” Williams said. The order: Trim up.

A funny thing happened on NFC wild-card weekend back in mid-January. Well, funny beyond the Dallas Cowboys bowing out early in the playoffs. Again. The team that beat Mike McCarthy’s group on the road and did it handily: Green Bay. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, stomped Philadelphia, 32-9. The Los Angeles Rams lost by a point against Detroit in the Jared Goff vs.

The Colorado Avalanche hasn’t made many picks at the NHL draft recently, but that changed in June. As a result, this is the deepest collection of prospects the organization has had in a long time. It’s still not one of the best pipelines in the NHL, but there are two guys who could be impact players at the top and a whole new collection of intriguing talent behind them. Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland traded his first-round choice at The Sphere in Las Vegas, collecting more picks in the process.

For Shedeur Sanders, last year stood as a convincing opening statement. The quarterback started with a record-setting performance in an upset road win against TCU. A couple of weeks after that, he led a last-second, 98-yard TD drive to eventually beat rival CSU in double OT. And even when CU’s wheels fell off, he still showed mettle, flashed several well-timed watch-flexes and played hurt, until he couldn’t anymore. Now, it’s time for Sanders’ closing arguments in black and gold starting with Thursday’s opener against North Dakota State at Folsom Field.

For Broncos head coach Sean Payton, the hours between the end of Denver’s preseason finale and the roster cut-down deadline on Tuesday were a juggling act of many variables. It consisted of late-night film sessions at the team’s training facility, painful breakups, and asking the tough questions. Are youth and upside more important than veteran talent?

Over the last eight years, the Broncos have played every type of football except for competent. It is easy to predict their 2024 performance as a work in progress. They will lose more than they win. Just like the new team headquarters they will break ground on Thursday, the Broncos are under construction. They are rebuilding.