The World Cup is coming soon. And it’s quickly becoming a pain in the posterior for the 13 teams playing in stadiums that will be commandeered for intercontinental soccer.
Ben Fischer of Sports Business Journal recently reviewed some of the practical impacts of FIFA bigfooting the various venues where fútbol will be played. This week, for example, the Jets and Giants will move their annual draft parties away from MetLife Stadium to Manhattan.
In all, 13 teams are impacted by the World Cup: the Cowboys, Jets, Giants, Falcons, Chiefs, Texans, 49ers, Chargers, Rams, Eagles, Seahawks, Patriots, and Dolphins.
For the teams that have employees at the stadiums hosting World Cup games, many will be moved. Those who are staying put will be subject to FIFA credentialing to get into their workplaces. And the Giants will start training camp in West Virginia, since MetLife Stadium will be hosting the final match on July 19 on a grass field that will need to be removed and replaced with one of the worst artificial surfaces in the entire league.
That last part still has to be the most galling for NFL players. Owners with stadiums that don’t have grass have bent over backwards to do whatever had to be done to placate FIFA. Their regular employees, however, will still be stuck with a lesser (and far cheaper) playing surface.
The various sacrifices involuntarily made by the players and other team employees should prompt FIFA to give them all a phony, made-up award. Especially since FIFA has already done that, for far less.
Chiefs Clips
In 2025, every NFL team entered the draft with its first-round pick still in place. This year is a whole lot different.
The 2026 NFL draft now has six teams with two first-round picks and six teams with no first-round picks, after the Bengals traded their first-round pick to the Giants for Dexter Lawrence.
Of the teams with two first-round picks, the Giants are in the best position to make significant additions to their roster, as both their picks are in the Top 10: Their own first-round pick is No. 5 overall and the Bengals’ first-round pick is No. 10 overall.
The Dolphins have their own pick (No. 11) as well as the Broncos’ pick (No. 30) from the Jaylen Waddle trade.
The Jets have their own pick (No. 2) and the Colts’ pick (No. 16) from the Sauce Gardner trade.
The Cowboys have their own pick (No. 12) and the Packers’ pick (No. 20) from the Micah Parsons trade.
The Chiefs have their own pick (No. 9) and the Rams’ pick (No. 29) from the Trent McDuffie trade.
The Browns have their own pick (No. 6) and the Jaguars’ pick (No. 24) from the draft-day trade a year ago that allowed the Jaguars to move up to draft Travis Hunter.
A seventh team was poised to get a second first-round pick when the Raiders agreed to trade Maxx Crosby to the Ravens, but that trade fell through and the Ravens kept their first-round pick.
Six teams don’t have a first-round pick: The Bengals, Broncos, Falcons, Colts, Packers and Jaguars.
All of the teams with two first-round picks missed the playoffs this year. They’re looking to rebuild their rosters, and hoping they’ll look back in a few years and say having two first-round picks was a big part of turning their teams around.
Chiefs General Manager Brett Veach has the No. 9, No. 29 and No. 40 overall picks in the 2026 NFL draft, and he’s keeping a close eye on the offensive line prospects who might be available to him at those three picks.
Specifically, Veach thinks that by No. 40, he might not be able to draft an offensive lineman he likes.
“I think you’re gonna get a massive run of offensive linemen from 10 to 25,” Veach said. “Offensive line, there’s some talent there, but I do think it dries up quickly, and by 35, it could be slim pickings. . . . Maybe it extends to pick 35 or 40.”
Most observers agree that the top offensive line prospect, Miami tackle Francis Mauigoa, will be off the board within the Top 10 picks. Other likely first-round offensive linemen include Utah’s Spencer Fano, Georgia’s Monroe Freeling, Alabama’s Kadyn Proctor, Penn State’s Olaivavega Ioane, Clemson’s Blake Miller and Texas A&M’s Chase Bisontis.
That’s among the group of players Veach is likely looking at, potentially at No. 9, hoping one falls to No. 29, and doubting one falls to No. 40.
The NFL has announced the names of the current and former players that will take part in next week’s draft by announcing second-round picks.
The list includes players associated with all 32 teams, including Cardinals running back James Conner. Conner has strong ties to the Pittsburgh area after playing for the Steelers and attending Pitt, which likely made him an easy choice as the Cardinals’ representative.
Former Bears tackle Jimbo Covert, former Cowboys running back Tony Dorsett, former Chiefs defensive lineman Bill Maas, current Vikings tackle Brian O’Neill, former Jets running back Curtis Martin, and former 49ers punter Andy Lee are other Pitt alums who are set to take part.
The hometown team will be represented by four players. Former Steelers Jerome Bettis and John Stallworth will be joined by Joey Porter Sr. and Jr. next Friday.
The other players taking part and their team affiliations appear below:
Falcons: Michael Turner
Ravens: Mark Ingram
Bills: Shane Conlan
Panthers: Jake Delhomme
Bengals: Ken Anderson
Browns: Phil Dawson
Cowboys: Drew Pearson
Broncos: T.J. Ward
Lions: Calvin Johnson
Packers: John Kuhn
Texans: Billy Miller
Colts: Pat McAfee
Jaguars: Paul Posluszny
Raiders: Matt Millen
Chargers: Shawne Merriman
Rams: Tavon Austin
Dolphins: Dwight Stephenson
Patriots: Deion Branch
Saints: Marques Colston
Giants: Osi Umenyiora
Eagles: Brian Westbrook
Seahawks: Cliff Avril
Buccaneers: Ronde Barber
Titans: Jeffery Simmons
Commanders: Mark Rypien
At least one General Manager is expecting some significant movement during the first round of the draft next week.
Chiefs G.M. Brett Veach told reporters in his pre-draft video conference on Thursday that he’s anticipating several deals happening on Thursday night.
“I think it should be an entertaining night. There will probably be a lot of trades,” Veach said. “And I think that’s what a draft like this — when you don’t have two or three franchise quarterbacks — I think it does lend itself to [opening] up to a lot of fun and a lot of excitement. So, I think from a fan’s perspective, they should have a lot of fun next Thursday.”
Why so many deals?
"[T]he grades are going to be so close from some of these tackles, D-ends, and other positions — receivers — that a lot of those guys that are mocked high may go a little lower and a lot of these guys that are getting mocked lower may go a little higher because I think they’re so close this year,” Veach said. “It’s not this huge gap and big fall off.”
With two first-round picks in tow at No. 9 and No. 29 overall, the Chiefs could be one of those teams to move around the draft board. Kansas City currently has nine selections — two in the first round, one in the second, one in the third, one in the fourth, three in the fifth, and one in the sixth.
“The more picks you have, the more fluid you can be,” Veach said. “When you enter a draft and you only have a few picks, you’re kind of sandwiched in, and the ability to trade up is limited. … This is unique because we still have a volume of picks but we’re at [No.] 9 and [No.] 29. So I think there’s ability to maybe move back at 9 and maybe up at 29. Or maybe move up at [9], and back at 29. So I think, like the ’22 draft, it’s exciting because you come in there with flexibility. But I also think there’s even more flexibility.”
The Chiefs used their two first-round picks in 2022 to select Trent McDuffie at No. 21 overall and George Karlaftis at No. 30. We’ll see what kind of haul the team can get this year next week.
Cornerback is seen as a need for the Chiefs heading into the draft and they spent some time with one of the top prospects at the position this week.
Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports that former Tennessee corner Colton Hood visited the team. Hood has also visited with the Jets, Cowboys, Seahawks, Texans and Raiders.
Hood played at Auburn and Colorado before heading to Knoxville for his final college season. He had 50 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, an interception return for a touchdown, a fumble return for a touchdown and a forced fumble for the Volunteers.
The Chiefs traded Trent McDuffie to the Rams for a package that included the 29th pick in this year’s draft and Jaylen Watson joined McDuffie in Los Angeles as a free agent. They signed Kader Kohou and Kaiir Elam to go with Kristian Fulton and Nohl Williams.
The Chiefs are set to meet with one of the top edge rushers in this year’s draft class on Thursday.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Rueben Bain will be visiting the AFC West club. The Chiefs have the ninth overall pick in this month’s draft and Bain has spent time with other teams at the top of the first round, including the Titans and the Dolphins.
Bain shot to the top of draft boards during an All-America season at Miami in 2025. He had 15.5 tackles and 9.5 sacks for the Hurricanes and finished up his three-year college run with 20.5 sacks.
It’s unusual for the Chiefs to be picking this early in the draft and landing the right player at No. 9 would be a good way to keep it that way for years to come.
After Kaleb McGary announced his retirement, the Falcons have found a veteran candidate to slot in at right tackle.
Jawaan Taylor has agreed to a one-year deal with Atlanta, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
Schefter notes the deal is worth $5 million with another $1 million in incentives.
Taylor, 28, was released in March after three tumultuous seasons with the Chiefs. While he won Super Bowl LVIII with the club in 2023, he also amassed a whopping 54 penalties in his time with the club.
Taylor started all 17 games in 2023 before starting 16 in 2024 and 12 in 2025.
Taylor’s presence on the right side will be particularly important with lefty quarterbacks Michael Penix Jr. and Tua Tagovailoa atop the Falcons’ depth chart.
Wide receiver Makai Lemon is expected to be a first-round pick in this month’s draft and he’s making the rounds with some of the teams that could add him to their lineup.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that Lemon visited with the Chiefs on Thursday. Kansas City has the ninth overall pick this year.
Lemon is also slated to meet with the Jets, Giants, Commanders and Dolphins. The Jets have the second and 16th picks, the Giants are slated to pick fourth, the Commanders are at No. 7 and the Dolphins have both the 11th and 30th picks. Lemon also spent time with the Saints, who pick eighth, in March.
Lemon had 79 receptions for 1,156 yards and 11 touchdowns at USC during the 2025 season. He was given the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver.
The Good Friday inconvenient news dump from the NFL regarding Chiefs receiver Rashee Rice has dusted off an old topic.
As noted at the tail end of the item from Nate Taylor of ESPN regarding the league’s decision to clear Rice from potential scrutiny under the Personal Conduct Policy despite a pending civil lawsuit accusing him of domestic violence, a lawsuit against Rice arising from the March 2024 street racing incident is due to go to trial on June 9.
The driver of the other car, Theodore Knox, recently had a default judgment in excess of $2.8 million entered against him. A default judgment happens either when the defendant never responds to the lawsuit or as punishment for failure to cooperate with the litigation.
Unlike Knox, Rice makes NFL money. Rice is eligible for a second contract. He becomes an obvious target for compensation as to the injuries suffered in the crash sparked by Rice and Knox racing on a Dallas highway.
