CNN
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The 2025 NFL draft is in the books and there were plenty of talking points from the three days in Green Bay.

The drama began from the second pick on Thursday when the Jacksonville Jaguars traded up to select two-way sensation Travis Hunter, a blockbuster move for arguably the most talent-packed day in the whole event.

But the main storyline over the three days was the unexpected slide of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders who, to many people’s surprise, had to wait until the fifth round to be selected by the Cleveland Browns.

Here is what we learned from the 2025 NFL draft.

The Shedeur Sanders slide

Because of the confidence he carries himself with and who his father is – Colorado Buffaloes head coach and Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders – there was plenty of scrutiny on Sanders heading into this weekend’s draft.

While Miami quarterback Cam Ward was seen as the consensus best passer in the class, Sanders was predicted to go somewhere in the first or perhaps second round at the latest.

After Thursday’s first 32 picks, the 23-year-old was still waiting to hear his name called, with TV coverage repeatedly cutting away to the camera in his home as he and his family all eagerly waited for the big moment.

When Friday’s second and third round came around, most believed Sanders would discover his NFL home then.

But the former Colorado star QB had to wait. And things became even more confusing when he received a prank call from who he thought was New Orleans Saints general manager Mickey Loomis – it was later revealed the call was from the son of Atlanta Falcons’ defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich – saying the Saints would be picking Sanders soon.

At the end of Friday, he was still yet to be picked. TV coverage was dominated by Sanders discussion about how and why his name hadn’t been called.

But eventually, the Browns selected Sanders in the fifth round with the 144th overall pick on Saturday, becoming the fifth quarterback taken.

So why did Sanders have to wait until the third day to be taken?

While some teams might not have rated him as a first-round prospect, the importance of a quarterback in the NFL typically leads to QBs being over-drafted. And Sanders’ highest ceiling for a potential career could see him as a solid starter in the NFL, a very valuable piece for any team.

However, there were clear concerns around his NFL-readiness, with Colorado running a simplified offense, one which lacks many of the minute, intricate details used in the pro game.

And then during the draft process, teams reportedly soured on Sanders after some of his performances in pre-draft interviews.

Whether it was his lack of knowledge about certain aspects of the game or his reaction to being called out on the gaps in his game by members of NFL coaching staffs, Sanders didn’t market himself well in that part of the process, according to multiple reports.

NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero said he was told by a longtime NFL assistant coach that their interview with Sanders was “the worst formal interview I’ve ever been in in my life,” adding that Sanders is “so entitled” and has “horrible body language.”

Additionally, Pelissero was told by a longtime AFC executive that their interview didn’t “go great” and that Sanders wanted to “dictate what he’s going to do and what’s best for him. He makes you feel small.”

Add onto all that the attention that comes with being the son of a Hall of Fame player and the column inches that inevitably follow, and it looks like most teams preferred to stay away.

Sanders could very well have a successful NFL career, but it hasn’t gotten off to the start he would’ve wanted.

It’s easy to crown winners and losers after the NFL draft, with teams either addressing or going in new directions with their selections.

But like most years, there are some obvious candidates who looked to have retooled the best.

It’s hard to look past the Jacksonville Jaguars as one of the winners of the three days with their shock move up to No. 2 to get Hunter.

Hunter, the Heisman Trophy-winning wide receiver and cornerback from Colorado, gives Jags quarterback Trevor Lawrence another dynamic option on offense to pair alongside Brian Thomas Jr. who had a Pro Bowl rookie season last time out.

And Hunter could also fill a glaring need at cornerback for Jacksonville. It will be intriguing to see how his two-way game will translate to the NFL, but if Hunter can have an impact on both sides of the ball, it could be one of the more impactful selections in recent draft history.

Other winners include two second-year quarterbacks who struggled in their rookie seasons due to a scarcity of offensive talent.

Both Caleb Williams and Drake Maye – quarterbacks for the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots respectively – were in dire need of some weapons to help their growth and were given some tools to help them succeed.

The Bears drafted Michigan tight end Colston Loveland with the 10th pick and Missouri receiver Luther Burden III in the second round as they seek to give Williams some explosiveness to thrive in new head coach Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme.

They also took Boston College tackle Ozzy Trapilo with the 56th pick to pair alongside free agent acquisitions Joe Thuney and Jonah Jackson, as Chicago looked to completely revamp the O-line to help Williams stay upright.

For the Patriots, they addressed their offensive needs with the first four picks in the draft.

They took arguably the best tackle in the draft in Michigan tackle Will Campbell with the fourth pick to help protect Maye’s blindside as well as picking up center Jared Wilson, who can learn the ropes behind new starter Garrett Bradbury.

New England also selected running back TreVeyon Henderson and wideout Kyle Williams to add some much-needed juice to a Patriots offense in dire need of some excitement around Maye.

While many teams’ fans will leave the draft excited about what is to come, there will be some left wanting more.

One set of supporters who may be waking up miffed are Atlanta Falcons fans.

The team addressed its glaring need for pass rushers in the first round, taking Georgia linebacker Jalon Walker with the 15th pick before trading back up into the first round for James Pearce Jr. with the 26th pick.

While that aggressiveness is often praised, the Falcons had to give up their 2026 first round pick to the Los Angeles Rams to move up the draft board, a huge risk for a team unlikely to be challenging for a Super Bowl in 2025.

The team also needed help at cornerback, but instead chose to draft two safeties – Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts and Oklahoma’s Billy Bowman Jr. – in the later rounds.

The Cincinnati Bengals are another team coming away with questions over their picks.

Although they addressed many of their areas of need with their selections – in particular with pass rusher Shemar Stewart in the first round – there was little excitement about many of their others.

For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, it will still likely be on quarterback Joe Burrow and his dynamic offense to bring success to Ohio.

CNN
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The Los Angeles Lakers are now just one game away from playoff elimination after the Minnesota Timberwolves fought back from a 12-point deficit at the end of the third quarter to take a 116-113 victory at home in Game 4.

Minnesota’s comeback was powered by a superstar performance from Anthony Edwards, who scored 16 of his game-high 43 points in the fourth quarter and was able to physically and mentally outperform the tandem of LeBron James and Luka Dončić.

Edwards was everywhere on Sunday night and doing it all; the guard hit five three-pointers, got to the free-throw line with regularity, dished out assists and defended, against James in particular, with immense physicality.

The 23-year-old, who took down the then defending champion Denver Nuggets and MVP Nikola Jokić in the postseason last year, finished the night with 43 points, nine rebounds, six assists and a block as the Timberwolves now take a 3-1 series lead back to Los Angeles.

Julius Randle was Edwards’ main source of support and finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Lakers head coach JJ Reddick opted to play the same five players – James, Dončić, Austin Reaves, Dorian Finney-Smith and Rui Hachimura – for the entire second half, the first time a team has only used five players in a half of a playoff game since the play-by-play era began in 1996-97, per statistician Keerthika Uthayakumar.

Edwards said he made sure to take advantage of it.

“I felt like they were gassed going down the stretch,” the Timberwolves star said, per ESPN. “So just trying to keep my foot on the pedal and keep going.”

Reddick said it was “not a planned thing” to roll with the same five players for the whole second half.

“I asked them at the beginning of the fourth quarter, told them we had two extra timeouts, if you need a sub let us know,” Reddick said. “Those guys gave a lot.”

Dončić said after the game that “fatigue shouldn’t play any role” in the defeat, but the Slovenian scored just seven points in the fourth quarter, while James was scoreless on 0-of-2 shooting in the final 12 minutes.

The Lakers felt aggrieved at a couple of decisions down the stretch, with Dončić forced to call a timeout after falling to the ground under defensive pressure from Jaden McDaniels. Dončić and Reddick said they thought he was tripped.

To make matters worse, James fluffed an inbounds pass to Dončić to turn the ball over with just 33 seconds remaining.

Then, with just 10 seconds remaining, a successful coach’s challenge from Chris Finch led to the officials overturning an out-of-bounds call on Edwards to a foul on James and free throws for Edwards.

Dončić finished with a team-high 38 points for the Lakers, while James had 27 points, 12 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and three blocks. Rui Hachimura added 23 points.

Game 5 is at 10 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena.

The Milwaukee Bucks’ postseason woes continued as the team suffered a chastening 129-103 home loss to the Indiana Pacers and lost Damian Lillard to injury in the process.

Lillard went down with nobody around him midway through the first quarter as he attempted to reach a loose ball and immediately held his Achilles area.

Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said the situation is “not very promising.”

The Pacers now lead the series 3-1 as the teams head back to Indianapolis and have the chance to eliminate the Bucks for the second straight season.

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 28 points, 15 rebounds and six assists for the Bucks, and his only meaningful support came off the bench with 23 points from Kevin Porter Jr. and 14 from Bobby Portis.

“I’ve seen injuries deflate teams, but tonight, that one hurt,” Rivers said, per the Associated Press. “I thought our guys tried, but it was tough.

“My job over the next 48 hours or whatever we have is to get us upright again, try to win one game in Indiana and get it back here.”

Compared to another one-man display from Antetokounmpo, the Pacers were able to rely on double-figure scoring from eight of their players.

Miles Turner finished with a team-high 23 points and Andrew Nembhard had 20.

CNN
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Japanese golfer Mao Saigo won her first LPGA major at the Chevron Championship on Sunday, and she certainly did it the hard way.

The 23-year-old won a dramatic five-way playoff after getting a birdie on the final hole to share the lead with America’s Lindy Duncan, Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, China’s Yin Ruoning and South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo on seven under par.

The five women then teed off again on the 18th at The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas – marking the largest ever play-off at an LPGA major.

Jutanugarn, Kim and Yin made par on the playoff hole as Duncan settled for a bogey. It left the door open for Saigo who clinched her maiden major trophy with a birdie, holding her nerve to sink a three-foot putt.

“I did my best to calm down and I shot and it went in,” Saigo said in Japanese through a translator after the win.

As has become tradition at the tournament, Saigo celebrated by jumping into the nearby pond with members of her team, a smile plastered across her face.

As well as some soggy clothes, Saigo will take home $1.2 million from the $8 million purse for her triumph.

While Saigo celebrated, Jutanugarn was left frustrated after leading for much of the final day.

The 29-year-old looked to be edging towards the win but bogeyed on the final hole in regulation play after mishitting her third shot.

It was Saigo who ultimately capitalized on the error, in what is just her second season on the LPGA Tour.

Last year’s Rookie of the Year is now just the fifth Japanese winner of a major title.

“It was my dream to earn this major,” Saigo said. “It is my first time to win this tournament, and I was able to realize my dream and I’m very happy about this.

“My predecessors have also earned majors, and I really thought I needed to catch up with them as much as possible.

“But instead of applying too much pressure on myself, I wanted to respect each process and move forward steadily. It’s true that my predecessors have paved the way for me, but I also wanted to be myself and play this golf tournament.”