2025 NFL Mock Draft (3/31)

1.Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, quarterback (Miami)

2.Cleveland Browns: Sheduer Sanders, quarterback (Colorado)

3.New York Giants: Travis Hunter, cornerback/wide receiver (Colorado)

4.New England Patriots: Abdul Carter, edge rusher (Penn State)

5.Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, defensive tackle (Michigan)

6.Las Vegas Raiders: Ashton Jeanty, running back (Boise State)

7.New York Jets: Armand Membou, tackle (Missouri)

8.Carolina Panthers: Shemar Stewart, edge rusher (Texas A&M)

9.New Orleans Saints: Jahdae Barron, cornerback (Texas)

10.Chicago Bears: Mike Green, edge rusher (Marshall)

11.San Francisco 49ers: Will Campbell, tackle/guard (LSU)

12.Dallas Cowboys: Jalon Walker, edge rusher/inside linebacker (Georgia)

13.Miami Dolphins: Kelvin Banks Jr., tackle/guard (Texas)

14.Indianapolis Colts: Tyler Warren, tight end (Penn State)

15.Atlanta Falcons: Tetairoa McMillan, wide receiver (Arizona)

16.Arizona Cardinals: Donovan Ezeiruaku, edge rusher (Boston College)

17.Cincinnati Bengals: Will Johnson, cornerback (Michigan)

18.Seattle Seahawks: Grey Zabel, tackle/guard (North Dakota State)

19.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Maxwell Hariston, cornerback (Kentucky)

20.Denver Broncos: Emeka Egbuka, wide receiver (Ohio State)

21.Pittsburgh Steelers: Trey Amos, cornerback (Ole Miss)

22.Los Angeles Chargers: Colston Loveland, tight end (Michigan)

23.Green Bay Packers: Josh Simmons, tackle (Ohio State) 

24.Minnesota Vikings: Tyler Booker, guard (Alabama)

25.Houston Texans: Josh Conerly, tackle (Oregon)

26.Los Angeles Rams: Jihaad Campbell, inside linebacker (Alabama)

27.Baltimore Ravens: Kenneth Grant, defensive tackle (Michigan)

28.Detroit Lions: Mykel Williams, edge rusher (Georgia)

29.Washington Commanders: Omarion Hampton, running back (North Carolina)

30.Buffalo Bills: Luther Burden III, wide receiver (Missouri)

31.Kansas City Chiefs: Walter Nolen, defensive tackle (Ole Miss)

32.Philadelphia Eagles: Malaki Starks, safety (Georgia)

2025 NFL Free Agency Recap: Winners and Losers, Best and Worst Deals and Best Players Still Available

Biggest Winners: Minnesota Vikings

Some tough decisions had to be made out in Minneapolis at the top of free agency. They had about a zillion impending free agents on both sides of the ball and had to choose whether they were going to commit to Sam Darnold or J.J. McCarthy-who is coming off a meniscus tear that cost him his entire rookie season- at QB moving forward. The guys that found themselves not being included in the Vikes long-term plans were Darnold and safety Cameron Bynum, which isn't completely shocking as they were the two impending free agents that were poised to get the most lucrative deals.

As tough as it was to cut ties with two key veteran pieces from their excellent 2024 team, the money that opened up from letting Darnold and Bynum walk away allowed the Vikings to add and retain more assets. They were able to bring back key contributors like #1 corner Byron Murphy, starting running back Aaron Jones and longtime team leader Harrison Smith, significantly upgrade the interior offensive line that got pummeled at the end of the season by replacing Ed Ingram and Garrett Bradbury with Will Fries and Ryan Kelly and add a pair of veteran bruisers to their interior defensive line in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Kudos to Kwesi Adofo-Mensah for knowing what areas of the roster needed to be improved after a brutal ending to 2024 and doing what needed to be done to make these moves happen.  

Honorable Mentions: Los Angeles Rams, Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders  

Biggest Losers: Tennessee Titans

It's not exactly surprising that the Titans decided to take it relatively easy in free agency this year after last year's spending spree only drove them further into league's basement with a 3-14 finish that earned them the top pick in next month's draft. However, their use of the resources they did allocate to free agency this season is downright puzzling. 

About the only understandable move they made was not bringing in a high-profile veteran QB. Sam Darnold landing with the Seahawks to reunite with Klint Kubiak was a foregone conclusion once Geno Smith got traded to the Raiders, Justin Fields is a dart throw that they probably can't afford to make with Brian Callahan on the hot seat after a terrible rookie season and none of the older guys available on the market (Jameis Winston, Russell Wilson, Aaron Rodgers) or via trade (Kirk Cousins) make much sense for a team that seems much more ready to commit to a rebuild now than they were a year ago. They ended up settling for Brandon Allen as their new veteran backup, which makes sense since he was with Callahan with the Bengals for 3 seasons. Outside of that, their moves have been hard to justify. 

Overpaying for somebody like Dan Moore Jr (more on that in a minute) is a move that reeks of desperation to find a LT after Ronnie Stanley and Alaric Jackson re-upped with the Ravens and Rams before the legal tampering period began. Kevin Zeitler is one of the best guards in the league, but he just turned 35, is on a 1-year deal and probably won't feel compelled to stick around once the Titans inevitably stink again this year. Xavier Woods is a journeyman safety coming off back-to-back terrible seasons with the Panthers. Failing to retain Nick Westbrook-Ikhine in favor of signing Van Jefferson and James Proche has made an already lackluster WR corps even weaker. Cody Barton is a merely average inside linebacker who is only marginally better than last year's starter Kenneth Murray-who they traded to the Cowboys at the start of free agency. And last but not least, rolling the dice on Dre'Mont Jones and Lorenzo Carter-who were two of the most inefficient pass-rushers in the league last season-at edge after cutting ties with Harold Landry is arguably gridiron malpractice at a position that has given the Titans a lot of trouble for years now. We'll obviously have to wait and see how the draft shakes out before completely dogpiling on him, but it's hard to have any confidence that new GM Mike Borgonzi is going to turn this thing around based on what he's done so far in Nashville.         

Dishonorable Mentions: Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, San Francisco 49ers

Best Individual Signing: Charvarius Ward to the Colts (3 years/$54 mil/$34.8 mil guaranteed)

You'll be hard pressed to find a better combination of need and value than this. Ward was one of the most reliable outside corners in football from 2019-23 and ended up getting less money on account of his well-documented down year in 2024 that was derailed by injuries and the tragic death of his infant daughter last October than projected #2 corners D.J. Reed and Carlton Davis did from the Lions and Patriots respectively. Given that he's firmly in his prime at age 29, don't be surprised if Ward returns to form in Indy and this deal ends up going down as a much-needed home run for embattled GM Chris Ballard.     

Honorable Mentions: Jevon Holland to the Giants (3 years/$45.3 mil/$30 mil guaranteed), Zack Baun Returning to the Eagles (3 years/$51 mil/$34 mil guaranteed), DeMarcus Lawrence to the Seahawks (3 years/$32.49 mil/$18 mil guaranteed),

Worst Indvidual Signing: Dan Moore Jr. to the Titans (4 years/$82 mil/$50 mil guaranteed)

Dan Moore Jr. was destined to be the odd man out in the Steelers tackle rotation. They'd drafted Broderick Jones and Troy Fautanu in back-to-back years, and he arguably held onto his starting LT job by default in 2024 after Fautanu dislocated his kneecap in Week 2 and ended up on season-ending IR. Don't feel too bad for Moore because his exit from Pittsburgh led to the Titans making him one of the highest paid tackles in the league. Moore's big payday begs an obvious but necessary question: How the hell did this happen? If Moore was truly worthy of getting such a huge deal, the Steelers would've never let him go. Left tackle is arguably the hardest position to fill in all of football outside of quarterback and teams aren't exactly in the business of letting the good ones leave-especially when they're 26 going on 27. As the decision to draft 2 tackles to potentially succeed him speaks to, Moore is about as average of a left tackle as there is in the league. Making him one of the highest paid players at the position is an absurd move that came to pass solely due to the comically thin LT market and the desperate measures teams will undergo to find somebody that they believe can fill this high leverage role. Braxton Jones' agent has to be salivating over this deal and dreaming of the potential $100+ mil payday he could fetch if he elects to leave the Bears next offseason.         

Dishonorable Mentions: Milton Williams to the Patriots (4 years/$104 mil/$63 mil guaranteed), Aaron Banks to the Packers (4 years/$77 mil/$27 mil guaranteed), Tershawn Wharton to the Panthers (3 years/$45 mil/$30 mil guaranteed)

Best Player Still Available: Asante Samuel Jr., cornerback (2024 team: Los Angeles Chargers)

An injury-shortened 2024 and a reputation for being overaggressive in pursuit of INT's and completely uninterested in tackling has left Samuel Jr. with no real suitors during the first 2 weeks of free agency. As a nearly 26-year-old corner who is just 2 years removed from his best pro season, Samuel Jr. has an upside that's rare for a player hanging around the open market at this stage of the game-which makes him an ideal buy-low candidate for teams that are seeking a playmaking spark in the secondary.       

Honorable Mentions: Amari Cooper, wide receiver, Julian Blackmon, safety, J.K. Dobbins, running back  

David Ayer Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of David Ayer-whose latest project "A Working Man" releases in theaters tomorrow. 

David Ayer's Filmography Ranked:

9.Harsh Times (C)

8.Bright (B-)

7.Fury (B-)

6.The Tax Collector (B-)

5.Suicide Squad (B-)

4.Sabotage (B)

3.The Beekeeper (B)

2.Street Kings (B)

1.End of Watch (A)

Top Dog: End of Watch (2012)

Ironically, the only time Ayer has made a movie where the cops are actually good people also happened to be the only time he directed a really great movie. While End of Watch doesn't completely remove itself from the LA gang culture that has been at the forefront of the majority of his work from Training Day through the present day, Ayer really focuses on character work for the first time since Training Day with his depiction of the special bond that exists between a pair of longtime LAPD partners (Jake Gylenhaal, Michael Pena-both excellent) and how unexpectedly finding contraband during a routine traffic stop suddenly puts them in the crosshairs of some really dangerous people. Centering this story around the brotherly love these two men have for each other provides this raw, gritty action flick with a deep emotional connection to the characters that movies like this don't tend to have, which makes the inevitable tragic ending hit really hard.     

Bottom Feeder: Harsh Times (2006)

As tends to be the case when he shows up in something, Christian Bale does riveting work as a veteran battling PTSD who turns to a life of crime after struggling to find an honest job upon returning home. It's a shame that everything else around him in Harsh Times kind of sucks. Ayer's handling of mental illness is pretty clumsy and since this was his first movie as a director, the filmmaking isn't kinetic enough to overcome the treasure trove of LA hood film cliches that have become his calling card post-Training Day.    

Most Underrated: Street Kings (2008)

Street Kings is very much a bread-and-butter Ayer affair as it deals with crooked cops and how they're just as, if not more dangerous than the criminals that they're bringing to "justice". What elevates it above the majority of his other films that have tackled similar subject matter is some really terrific performances headlined by Keanu Reeves in a complete off-type role as an immoral, short-tempered cop with a lengthy history of killing perps who stumbles upon a sinister conspiracy within the LAPD after his ex-partner (Terry Crews) is executed in public shortly after he began talking to an internal affairs officer (Hugh Laurie) about his past conduct, some really tense shootouts and an old school noir sensibility of bad vs. badder that particularly shines through in the final moments where it eschews a clean "the villains have been defeated moment" for something that's disarmingly bleak and quite frankly, probably true to the world of real life policing.          

Most Overrated: Fury (2014)

More by-the-numbers "war is hell" movie than a straight-up bad one, Fury struggles to establish any sort of meaningful emotional attachment to its tank crew protagonists (Brad Pitt, Michael Pena, Shia LaBouef, Jon Bernthal, Logan Lerman) or deliver much of anything compelling outside of the excellent combat sequences that keep this thing from totally collapsing. 

Movie Review: Ash

When it comes to movies, I believe that execution is more important than originality. That's not to say that telling a unique story isn't important, I just feel that proficiency in delivering whatever vision the filmmakers had for the movie they made tends to be the top deciding factor in whether something works or not. Flying Lotus' second feature directorial effort Ash is the perfect example of this take in action. 

Narratively, Ash contains zero surprises. It more or less puts The Thing, Alien and Event Horizon in a blender with some really fucking strong psychedelics as it weaves the tale of an astronaut (Eiza Gonzalez) stationed on a distant planet who wakes up to find her whole crew (Iko Uwais, Beulah Koale, Flying Lotus) dead with zero reelection as to how it occurred and another astronaut (Aaron Paul)-who claims to be responding to a distress call that she made-knocking on the door of the ship's airlock. Gonzalez's character-who is haunted by fragmented visions of her crew's deaths and struggling to trust that Paul's character is who says he is-spends the first 2/3's of the movie in detective mode until all is revealed in a third act that delivers the onslaught of goopy, cosmic body horror that anybody who sat down to watch Ash signed up for.

Like any good director would, Flying Lotus gets in the kitchen and adds a whole lot of seasoning that makes Ash's standard issue sci-fi horror plot feel a lot more exciting than it would've been in the hands of a more traditional chef. He gets right down to the business in the opening frames, establishing a disorienting nightmarish atmosphere via unorthodox shots that are exploding with a wide array of bold colors, intricate production design that completely immerses the viewer into its setting of a heavily damaged spaceship stuck on an unknown desolate planet that appears to have some form of alien life on it and an abrasive industrial score that he composed himself that mimics the confused, terrified headspace Gonzalez's character is in. Eventually, the answers to who/what was behind the dead bodies onboard the space station is revealed, and the movie goes from disorienting to pure gory chaos. This shift in register gives the film's gnarly, badass creature effects the chance to shine throug, which adds a layer of unnerving urgency to the film's viscerally uneasy mood. A full-time musician who makes movies on the side directing with this much skill and passion may be a different brand of alien shit than what he appears on screen in Ash, but it deserves to be celebrated just the same. 

After watching this crazy little mood piece in theaters, I'll happily follow FlyLo to whatever dark, weird corner of filmmaking he wants to explore next. He directs with a natural ease, particularly when it comes to creating striking visuals and stomach-turning unease, that's pretty rare in this industry. While it's definitely too soon to declare if he has "the juice" or not, Ash could very well be the movie that marks the start of a special directorial career.     

                      

Grade: B

2025 NFL Mock Draft (3/24)

1.Tennessee Titans: Cam Ward, quarterback (Miami)

2.Cleveland Browns: Sheduer Sanders, quarterback (Colorado)

3.New York Giants: Travis Hunter, cornerback/wide receiver (Colorado)

4.New England Patriots: Abdul Carter, edge rusher (Penn State)

5.Jacksonville Jaguars: Mason Graham, defensive tackle (Michigan)

6.Las Vegas Raiders: Tetairoa McMillan, wide reciever (Arizona)

7.New York Jets: Tyler Warren, tight end (Penn State)

8.Carolina Panthers: Shemar Stewart, edge rusher (Texas A&M)

9.New Orleans Saints: Jahdae Barron, cornerback (Texas)

10.Chicago Bears: Mike Green, edge rusher (Marshall)

11.San Francisco 49ers: Armand Membou, tackle (Missouri)

12.Dallas Cowboys: James Pearce Jr., edge rusher (Tennessee) 

13.Miami Dolphins: Will Campbell, tackle/guard (LSU)

14.Indianapolis Colts: Emeka Egbuka, wide receiver (Ohio State) 

15.Atlanta Falcons: Jalon Walker, edge rusher/inside linebacker (Georgia)

16.Arizona Cardinals: Donovan Ezeiruaku, edge rusher (Boston College) 

17.Cincinnati Bengals: Will Johnson, cornerback (Michigan)

18.Seattle Seahawks: Kelvin Banks Jr., tackle/guard (Texas)

19.Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Maxwell Hairston, cornerback (Kentucky)

20.Denver Broncos: Ashton Jeanty, running back (Boise State)

21.Pittsburgh Steelers: Trey Amos, cornerback (Ole Miss)

22.Los Angeles Chargers: Colston Loveland, tight end (Michigan) 

23.Green Bay Packers: Josh Simmons, tackle (Ohio State)

24.Minnesota Vikings: Tyler Booker, guard (Alabama)

25.Houston Texans: Josh Conerly, tackle (Oregon)

26.Los Angeles Rams: Jihaad Campbell, inside linebacker (Alabama)

27.Baltimore Ravens: Grey Zabel, tackle/guard (North Dakota State)

28.Detroit Lions: Nic Scoruton, edge rusher (Texas A&M)

29.Washington Commanders: Kenneth Grant, defensive tackle (Michigan)

30.Buffalo Bills: Luther Burden, wide receiver (Missouri)

31.Kansas City Chiefs: Mykel Williams, edge rusher (Georgia) 

32.Philadelphia Eagles: Malaki Starks, safety (Georgia)

The Russo Brothers Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked", a weekly series where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out assorted related superlatives. This week, I'm profiling the work of The Russo Brothers-whose latest project "The Electric State" is streaming now on Netflix.

The Russo Brothers' Filmography Ranked:

8.The Electric State (D)

7.You, Me and Dupree (C-)

6.Captain America: The Winter Solider (C+)

5.Welcome to Collinwood (B-)

4.The Gray Man (B)

3.Captain America: Civil War (B)

2.Avengers: Endgame (A-)

1.Avengers: Infinity War (A)

Top Dog: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

The movie that Marvel spent a decade setting up ended up being one of their crowning achievements. Seeing the titular megateam of heroes get overmatched and outsmarted by Thanos for 2.5+ hours provided a feeling of impending doom that masterfully established the elevated stakes of this 2-part, era-ending superhero showdown while also providing the type of edge-of-your-seat adrenaline rush that all of the best blockbusters provide.     

Bottom Feeder: The Electric State (2025)

Kevin Feige tapping them to direct the pair of upcoming Avengers movies (reportedly at the request of Robert Downey Jr., who was hired to play Doctor Doom in a move that definitely doesn't reek of desperation and panic about the future of MCU at all) probably saved the Russo Brothers from getting a nice long stint in director's jail. The Electric State is one of those really special blockbuster stinkers that gets executives fired, actors taken out of consideration for prime roles and audiences pissed off that they bothered to spend the time watching it. It's a hard movie to concisely describe as it has no coherent narrative, tones or messaging, so just try and imagine if somebody who had only heard about movies like Ready Player One, E.T. and Minority Report in passing got handed $325 million to make a movie based on these secondhand recollections. Calling it an AI-generated movie doesn't even feel apt as this is the kind of confused, aloof monstrosity that only humans who bit off way more than could chew could create. Netflix has to be thrilled with its colossal investment as The Electric State is currently being beat out by the universally panned theatrical release Kraven the Hunter-which hit the service 24 hours prior to its releases-on the Top 10 movie charts a week after it was released. If that isn't a perfect distillation as to why streaming exclusives will always play second fiddle to titles that hit theaters first, I don't know what is.       

Most Underrated: The Gray Man (2022)

I don't know about everybody else who's seen both films, but The Gray Man stock is soaring in my eyes post-The Electric State. Could I have done without the shitty MCU one-liners and the bizarre shot selections in some of the action sequences? Absolutely. But gosh darn it, it's got a splashy ensemble cast (Ryan Gosling, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Rege Jean-Page, Billy Bob Thronton, Jessica Henwick, Julia Butters, Wagner Moura, Alfre Woodard, Dhanush) playing their parts well, a few nifty setpieces and solid visuals-which is enough to place it above at least 75% of the big action blockbusters currently in the Netflix Original catalog.  

Most Overrated: Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014)

While there's a real feeling of loneliness that comes with constantly going after The Winter Solider, I've been on this island for just about 11 years now (the 11th anniversary of its release is on April 4th) and I'm not leaving now bitches! Even with the MCU's declining hit rate post-Endgame, I truly believe this not only the most overrated movie in their filmography, but firmly in the bottom quarter-to-third of movies they've ever produced. The plot becomes completely incomprehensible by the halfway point    choppy editing greatly minimizes the effectiveness of the well-choregraphed fight scenes and its pacing is surprisingly sluggish for a movie that driven by action and political/espionage hijinks.     

Movie Review: Black Bag

In my lifetime at least, no director has done a better job of blazing their own trail than Steven Soderbergh. His constant jumping between studio and indie projects along with a dedication to exploring genres that span the entire spectrum of cinema has made him impossible to pigeonhole at any point of his illustrious 35-year career. His brand of not having a brand has arguably grown even stronger since he returned to directing with 2017's Logan Lucky after a brief self-described "retirement" as he's zeroed in on making movies that are experimental and (mostly) unlike anything he's made in the past. The 10th (!) project of his second directorial era Black Bag sees him stepping into one of the only subgenres he's never touched before: the spy movie.

 

As the real Soderheads out there would expect, Black Bag tries to take a different approach to the spy movie. There isn't a big action setpiece, kooky gadget or self-destructing message anywhere to be found. Instead, the film focuses on the sticky quandary that a top British intelligence officer faces (Michael Fassbender) when the list of suspects he obtains for a crucial investigation he's working on involving the disappearance of a top-secret software system that is capable of stealing nuclear launch codes ends up consisting of his wife (Cate Blanchett)-who is also a high-ranking intelligence officer and a pair of couples (Rege Jean-Page/Naomie Harris, Marisa Abela/Tom Burke) that he works closely with. It's a story about people whose job is built on a foundation of lies and withholding information trying to parse through what's real and what's not, and if it's possible for a romance to survive under the constant threat of deception. The whole cast-particularly Abela who saunters in and steals the whole movie from a group of heavyweights that have been acting for far longer than she has with her cheeky swagger-does a great job of handling all the fuckery and mind games that are afoot between all parties as this investigation plays out and both Soderbergh and his frequent screenwriting collaborator David Koepp build a grounded tension with the snappy dialogue and gloomy lighting choices. 

Ironically, Black Bag's subversion of the spy genre eventually ends up feeling like sleight of hand. The examination of the romantic relationships between these characters and how they intersect with the harsh realities of their job are ultimately all in service of the classic modern spy trope of tracking down the magic computer program that could start World War III if it ends up in the wrong hands. On top of that, it's incredibly obvious which of the 5 suspects was responsible for stealing the program and the ending is shockingly tidy for a movie that spends so much time focusing on the messiness of spies being romantically involved with other spies. Giving off the illusion of tap dancing around cliches is considerably more annoying to me than unapologetically embracing them and that's something that I haven't been able to shake since I walked out of theater last Thursday night. It's particularly disappointing to see someone with the glowing reputation that Soderbergh has earned in the industry go down this road. You're supposed to be a maverick, man! Why did you have to break out the spy movie playbook after crafting a setup that had so much potential to break away from it? At the end of the day, Black Bag is a still a perfectly fine movie, but it could've easily been great and seeing that greatness fall apart so rapidly was really unfortunate.                

Grade: B-