In this Feb. 27, 2020, file photo, LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
By Barry Wilner
The NFL will hold a practice remote draft Monday, three days before the real thing is done in the same way.
Detroit Lions general manager Bob Quinn said Friday morning that the mock draft will be Monday. He didn’t provide any details on the proceedings, other than what the Lions will be part of.
“We’re going to do a couple internal tests and trial runs here,” Quinn said in a Zoom meeting with reporters to preview the draft. “The league is having a mock draft, mock trial run on Monday that we’ll participate in.”
Commissioner Roger Goodell ordered all team facilities closed in March and later required club personnel to conduct the draft from their homes. Because of the reliance on free-flowing communication, the league decided to stage a mock draft to ensure that the proceedings next Thursday, Friday and Saturday would go smoothly.
The draft originally was scheduled to be held in Las Vegas, but the NFL canceled all public events last month as a safeguard against the coronavirus. On April 6, Goodell instructed the teams on how they should plan to make their selections.
“We will reopen facilities when it is safe to do so based on medical and public health advice, and in compliance with government mandates,” he wrote.
The NCAA has updated its policy on transgender athletes, allowing each sport’s national governing body to make its own decisions for transgender participation. The new rule is in line with recent changes from the U.S. and International Olympic and Paralympic Committees. Joanna Hoffman, communications director of Athlete Ally, joined Cheddar News to discuss the potential impact of the new rule on the transgender community.
The NCAA voted to streamline their constitution at their annual convention on Thursday. Each of the three college divisions can decide how student-athletes can make money from outside sources but still restricts schools from directly paying its players.
With New York recently announcing the legalization of sports betting, even a greater number of bettors are looking forward to the NFL's divisional round. Derek Carty, a fantasy sports and sports betting analyst, talked to Cheddar about betting strategies for the four upcoming playoff games. "I feel like the Chiefs are a little bit overrated by the markets, and so the Bills here really look good to me," Carty said for the Kansas City and Buffalo matchup. He also pointed to the Green Bay Packers to be the likeliest team to win the Super Bowl this year.
Olivia Harlan Dekker and Sean Green break down and provide their top picks for the NFL Divisional Round this weekend, while Frank Schwab dissects NBA futures and gives his take on the ongoing Nets drama.
Sean Green, co-founder of The Sports Gambling Podcast Network, joins Cheddar Bets to break down the best plays across the AFC Divisional Round matchups.
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Frank Schwab, sports betting writer for Yahoo! Sports, joins Cheddar Bets to find the best value down the MVP contender list and make sense of how to bet the Nets at home and on the road.
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The drama surrounding tennis star Novak Djokovic continues after he was deported from Australia over the weekend due to the nation's COVID-19 vaccine requirements. Djokovic was forced to leave the country on the eve of what was to be his first match in defense of his Australian Open title after three judges ruled in favor of his removal and revealed their reasoning for doing so. Adding to his woes, a law recently passed in France is putting his chances of defending his French Open title in jeopardy. The director of Marist's Center for Sports Communication, Jane McManus, joined Cheddar to discuss the ongoing fallout.
Alex Silverman, senior reporter covering the business of sports at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News to discuss why the number of those betting on sports doubled in 2021 and what's next for the industry in 2022.
If you have not placed your buffalo wings order yet, hurry up. The biggest weekend in NFL playoff history kicks off in just under 48 hours with six games being played over three days. Sports Analyst at Yahoo Sports Pamela Maldonado joined Cheddar to give us a preview ahead of the Super Wild Card Weekend.
