Who Should I Start? Ian Thomas or Lamar Jackson

Sunday, April 7, 1:31 PM

The Athletic's Bruce Feldman predicts that the Arizona Cardinals will trade down to pick No. 11 in a swap with the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of this year's NFL draft to take LSU wide receiver BrIan Thomas. The 21-year-old pass-catcher has been in the shadow of fellow wideout Malik Nabers, but he was terrific at the scouting combine in February to raise his draft stock tremendously. He also had 68 receptions for 1,177 yards and led the FBS with 17 touchdowns in 2023. "Potentially, I think can be really good in the NFL. He was a red zone nightmare. Even if you were in great position, he could still win those 50-50 balls. But he didn't scare you with (yards after catch) like Nabers did," one coach said. Adding another receiving weapon for quarterback Kyler Murray makes a lot of sense, especially when considering Arizona's top-three receivers are currently Michael Wilson, Chris Moore and Greg Dortch.

Saturday, January 20, 8:18 PM

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson exhibited his MVP potential in the 2023 Divisional Round, accumulating 252 yards and four touchdowns, including 100 rushing yards in the team's 34-10 victory over the Texans. Despite initial skepticism about his postseason performance, the former MVP emphatically led the Ravens' offense down the field. Jackson's scoring on the first two drives of the second half led to a strategic shift to an ultra-run-heavy approach, tempering his passing statistics for the day. As the AFC's top seed, the impending title game will be at M&T Bank Stadium against either the Bills or Chiefs presents a challenge, with both teams ranking in the bottom 10 in points allowed to quarterbacks. Nevertheless, Jackson is anticipated to deliver robust numbers as the linchpin of the entire offense.