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SACARAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Luis Urias scored on Jacob Wilson’s two-out single in the ninth inning as the Athletics rallied to beat the Texas Rangers 4-3 on Thursday night.

Trailing 3-2 heading into ninth, the A’s got going when Max Schuemann drew a one-out walk. Urias followed with a single into the gap in right-center that bounced off the glove of Rangers center fielder Leody Tavares for an error, allowing Schuemann to score the tying run.

After Lawrence Butler flew out, Wilson lined a 3-1 pitch off Rangers closer Luke Jackson (0-2) to drive in Urias for the game-winner. It was Jackson’s first blown save in eight chances this season.

The rally enabled the A’s to win their first series at their temporary home at Sutter Health Park.

Tyler Soderstrom had two hits and two RBIs for the Athletics, and Gio Urshela had three singles.

Rookie reliever Grant Holman (1-0) recorded six outs for the win.

Josh Jung, Jonah Heim and Leody Tavares all hit solo home runs in the fourth inning for the Rangers.

Before the A’s rallied, Rangers starter Jacob deGrom was in line get his first win in two years. The right-hander allowed two runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings.

A’s starter J.T. Ginn allowed three runs and six hits in 3 2/3 innings.
Key moment

After Rangers left fielder Wyatt Langford appeared to lose Butler’s fly ball in the lights that landed for a double and put runners at second and third, deGrom fielded a sharp comebacker and caught Urshela in a rundown between third and home for an out.
Key stat

The A’s struck out looking four times against deGrom and seven times overall.
Up next

Rangers RHP Nathan Eovaldi (1-2, 2.64 ERA) faces the Giants in San Francisco on Friday. A’s RHP Luis Severino (1-3, 3.31) goes against the Chicago White Sox.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Evan Mobley said his goal coming into the season with the Cleveland Cavaliers was to win the NBA Defensive Player of the Year award.

He got it done.

The Cavs consider Mobley to be their best defensive player, and the league thought even more highly of him. Mobley held off fellow finalists Dyson Daniels of Atlanta and Draymond Green of Golden State for the award, the results being announced Thursday night in a broadcast on TNT.

“It just feels great to finally get this award,” Mobley said.

Saying “finally” might be a bit of a stretch. Mobley is only 23 — the fifth-youngest player to win the award, joining fellow 23-year-olds Dwight Howard, Jaren Jackson Jr., Alvin Robertson and Kawhi Leonard as winners of the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy.

Mobley won the award in a season where he was an All-Star for the first time and set a career high for scoring.

“That was going hand-in-hand all year,” Mobley said. “I was trying to figure out how I could be more offensively productive and still maintain my defensive style and prowess. So, I feel like I did a good job this year and it clearly shows.”

But the case Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson made for Mobley was how different the Cavaliers’ defensive numbers were with Mobley on the court and without. Put simply, with him on the court, they were airtight.

“It’s a huge dip, like 12 places or something,” Atkinson said. “That really screams out, to me. Probably the No. 1 stat that I look at.”

It was a wide-open race with seven players getting at least one first-place vote and Mobley getting the top spot on only 35% of the ballots. There was a consensus, however, that he was a top-three player — Mobley was listed somewhere on 85% of ballots, by far the most of anyone in the DPOY chase.

Green won the award in 2017, was a top-three finisher for the fifth time, and was bidding to become the 11th player in NBA history to win it at least twice. Mobley won it for the first time, after finishing third in the voting in 2023. Daniels was a finalist for the first time.

Daniels was second in the voting, with Green third.

Daniels had 229 steals this season, the most in the NBA since Gary Payton had 231 for the Seattle SuperSonics in 1995-96. Daniels was also the first player to average more than 3.00 steals per game since Robertson for the Milwaukee Bucks in 1990-91. Nate McMillan averaged 2.959 in 1993-94 for Seattle; John Stockton averaged 2.976 in 1991-92 for the Utah Jazz.

“Clearly, in my mind, he’s the defensive player of the year,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder told reporters last month. “I think in a lot of people’s minds, the things that he’s doing, even offensively the double-doubles. I think maybe the conversation should go to his character, because, as I’ve thought about and answered those questions about his balance, his anticipation, a lot of the attributes that allow him to do are usually focused on what he does on the court. And I think the correlation between who he is as a player and who he is as a person is very high.”

Based on Daniels, Green and Mobley all being finalists, it’s reasonable to think that they will be on the All-Defensive team when it is released by the NBA later this spring. It would be the ninth All-Defensive selection for Green, the second for Mobley and the first for Daniels.

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert won the award last season, his record-tying fourth DPOY trophy.

The award was voted on earlier this month by a global panel of 100 writers and broadcasters who cover the league. The NBA releases a list of three finalists for its seven major individual awards — MVP, Most Improved Player, Coach of the Year, Clutch Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year — after the votes are counted but keeps the order of finish a secret until the results are broadcast.

Daniels got 25 first-place votes and Green received 15. Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort got 11 to finish fourth, Houston’s Amen Thompson was fifth and had nine first-place votes, and Ivica Zubac of the Los Angeles Clippers got four first-place votes and was sixth.

Jackson was seventh, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo got a first-place vote and was eighth, Portland’s Toumani Camara was ninth, and three players — Miami’s Bam Adebayo, Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Boston’s Derrick White — tied for 10th.

Gobert got one third-place vote and was 13th.

Earlier this week, Boston’s Payton Pritchard won sixth man of the year and New York’s Jalen Brunson won clutch player of the year.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored all but one of his 24 points in the second half and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame a 29-point deficit after Ja Morant left the game with a hip injury and beat the Memphis Grizzlies 114-108 on Thursday night for a 3-0 series lead.

Morant was hurt with just over three minutes left in the first half and Memphis leading 67-40. The Grizzlies led by 26 at halftime.

The 29-point comeback was the second-largest in an NBA postseason game since play-by-play data began being recorded in the 1996-97 season.

The only one bigger: A comeback from 31 points down by the Los Angeles Clippers against Golden State on April 15, 2019.

The top-seeded Thunder, who won Game 1 131-80 in the fifth-biggest margin of victory in NBA postseason history, didn’t even have a lead in this one until the fourth quarter. Now, they can close out the series Saturday.

“I just through out of halftime, we kind of reconnected to who we are. We were very out of character in the first half,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points for Oklahoma City and Jalen Williams added 26, splitting a pair of free throws with 1:20 left to give the Thunder their first lead.

Scotty Pippen scored 28 points, two short of his career high, to lead Memphis. Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 points as Memphis saw its substantial lead evaporate in the second half.

“Understanding leads,” Williams said. “You’re never too far ahead, and you’re never too far behind.”

“They built a 29-point lead in a half, so we felt like all we had to do was build our own 29-point lead,” GIlgeous-Alexander said.

Morant went down hard under the basket with just over three minutes remaining in the first half and was ruled out for the remainder of the game early in the second half with a left hip contusion.

Memphis was on a fast break after a Thunder turnover. Pippen was driving to the basket when he dropped the ball off to Morant at the rim. Luguentz Dort, who was stumbling at the time, fell into Morant while he was in the air, sending the Morant crashing to the floor. The play was reviewed for a flagrant foul, but was ruled a common foul.

Morant had 15 points and five assists.

Memphis carried a 77-51 lead into the break. But the Thunder used a 36-18 scoring edge in the third quarter to claw back,

“I think it is very hard to describe to anyone who hasn’t been in that situation,” Grizzlies interim coach Tuomas Iisalo said.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel noticed something about LSU left tackle Will Campbell when the team had a follow-up meeting with him last week ahead of the NFL draft.

“He showed up with one purpose and that was for us to pick him,” Vrabel said. “From the time that we walked in the building to the time that we left and got on the plane, he had one objective and that was to prove to us that he was the right player for us.”

Campbell left the right impression.

The Patriots selected him with the fourth overall pick in the draft on Thursday night, adding a player they hope will solidify the protection of second-year quarterback Drake Maye.

Campbell is confident he ended up on the right team.

“I just think that the culture and the New England Patriot logo speaks for itself,” Campbell said. “I believe in the guys in that locker room. I believe in the quarterback and coach Vrabel is my kind of guy. He’s all ball, no BS, and that’s what I want to play for.”

Early last season, when Patriots vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf visited LSU, Campbell told him his sights were on New England.

“This is where I’ve wanted to be since the start,” Campbell said.

At 6-foot-6 and 320 pounds, Campbell was a three-year starter for the Tigers and a first-team All-America selection as a junior last season. He was a three-time All-Southeastern Conference selection.

He described his style of play as “nasty.”

That was on display during a workout the Patriots put Campbell and other LSU players through. It included Vrabel, a former Patriots linebacker, lining up against Campbell and the other linemen.

“I’m not going to lie, I got him. I got him on the ground,” Campbell said.

Campbell played 37 of his 38 college games at left tackle and logged 2,451 snaps. He allowed just two sacks over the past two seasons, and now he turns his attention toward protecting Maye’s blind side.

Campbell would form a beefy combination with 6-3, 350-pound Mike Onwenu, the Patriots’ starter on the right side.

“We coveted this player,” Vrabel said. “Part of the draft is adding great pieces and great players to your roster. Which is what we did.”

Vrabel said Campbell would be in the mix to start at left tackle but hasn’t been handed the job.

“He hasn’t even shown up here in Foxborough. We’re not going to talk about where he’s going to play or what he’s going to do. I’m going to let everything really speak for itself,” the coach said. “We’ve watched every game that he’s played, put a lot of work into this and we’re all excited and happy that he’s here.”

New England finished 4-13 and missed the playoffs for third straight time last season, leading owner Robert Kraft to fire coach Jerod Mayo after one season and hire Vrabel, a former Tennessee Titans coach.

The Patriots’ offensive line ranked near the bottom of the NFL last season in pass-block win rate (51%) and was 31st in run-block win rate (67%).

That should improve with Campbell, who has said his favorite thing about football is the physicality that takes place on the offensive line. He should fit in with the attacking style that Vrabel said he wants to implement.

New England has eight remaining picks spread over every round except the sixth.

Campbell said he had numerous chances to talk with the Patriots ahead of the draft and developed a rapport with the coaching staff.

Those conversations included gauging his comfort with NFL terminology, which Vrabel said is similar to what was used in the pro-style system Campbell played in at LSU.

“They threw the ball a ton — a lot (more) drop-back snaps than pretty much anybody else in college football … and it wasn’t (run-pass options) like everybody else,” Vrabel said. “He’s pass protected, he’s run blocked, he’s coming out of a pro system. … We’ll give him exactly what he can handle.”

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CINCINNATI (AP) — The Cincinnati Bengals added playmaking defensive end Shemar Stewart of Texas A&M with the 17th overall pick Thursday night at the NFL draft.

The Bengals had the 25th-ranked scoring defense in the NFL last season and hope Stewart’s size and speed will help.

“He’s physical,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “He has good dimensions. He has good speed. He has the effort. There’s tremendous traits here.”

Stewart had only 4.5 total sacks across three seasons in college but at 6-foot-5 and 267 pounds is seen as having the versatility and skills to make an impact against both the run and the pass. Stewart missed 26.9% of his tackles last year, but the Bengals are showing confidence in their ability to develop him.

“It’s more a vision for how would you utilize him,” defensive coordinator Al Golden said. “We’re going to utilize him to his strengths. That’s what’s really important. We’re not going to ask him to do anything that he hasn’t already done. We want to take his traits and develop him. This is an ascending player.”

Following the retirement of defensive end Sam Hubbard, the Bengals needed a reliable option at defensive end against the run. Stewart has the frame as well as the strength to contribute in that area in 2025.

“If you can get an edge that’s in that range and can also run like he does, then it just gives you flexibility along the front,” Golden said. “You don’t necessarily have to sub every time you want to get into a different package. There are very few guys at this level that can do that, and he’s one of them.”

How much opportunity Stewart will receive as a pass rusher will likely come down to what the front office decides to do with All-Pro defensive end Trey Hendrickson. Before the draft, director of player personnel Duke Tobin declined to give an update on where Hendrickson fits into the team’s plans in 2025.

If Hendrickson remains on the roster this season, Stewart will compete with 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy as well as veteran Joseph Ossai for snaps at defensive end. If the Bengals end up trading Hendrickson, then Stewart could end up as a starter.

Hendrickson is entering the final year of his contract regardless, and Murphy and Stewart now look like the Bengals’ defensive end duo of the future.

“It’s not a story about anybody else,” Taylor said. “I don’t think you can ever have enough D-linemen, especially in this league and this division. It doesn’t speak to anybody else that’s on this football team. It’s just adding a great weapon to our defense that we can utilize and keep guys fresh.”

The Bengals still have pressing needs at guard, linebacker and safety with five more picks over the final two days of the draft.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — The Raiders got to see what life was like last season without Josh Jacobs — and it wasn’t pleasant.

Las Vegas took a big step toward addressing the league’s worst rushing offense by selecting Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty with the sixth overall pick in Thursday night’s NFL draft.

Jeanty was the runner-up to Colorado two-way player Travis Hunter for the Heisman Trophy after leading the nation with 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns rushing.

“It’s one of those deals where it meets the need and the best player being together,” Raiders general manager John Spytek said. “I feel like that’s the perfect storm. It’s just too much to ignore at that point.”

Las Vegas averaged just 79.8 yards rushing per game last season after letting Jacobs leave in free agency for Green Bay, where he ran for 1,329 yards and 15 touchdowns. While playing for the Raiders in 2022, Jacobs led the league with 1,653 yards on the ground.

Jeanty is the highest-drafted player ever out of Boise State. He also is the highest-drafted running back since Penn State’s Saquon Barkley went second in 2018 to the New York Giants.

Barkley led the league with 2,005 yards rushing this past season with Philadelphia. That ignited the conversation on whether the once highly-valued running backs position was experiencing a renaissance as the Eagles won the Super Bowl.

Now Jeanty has the chance to show that the Raiders were correct in making running back such a high priority. He is the second highest-drafted back in franchise history, behind Darren McFadden (4th in 2008), and just the fifth selected by the team in the first round since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity,” said Jeanty, whose football roots date to a Navy base in Italy. “I want to show everybody that the position is valuable when you take an exceptional running back in the first round.”

Jeanty is the gem of a deep running backs class, and the Raiders could have passed on him with the idea of drafting another player at his position later while addressing a different need with such a high selection. The Los Angeles Chargers selected North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton with the 22nd pick, the only other running back to go in the first round.

Jeanty also could be a generational player the Raiders found too difficult to pass up.

“It’s something we obviously considered,” Spytek said of drafting another position. “You have to consider when it’s that a deep class of running backs, but we felt he’s that good of a person and that good of a player where it warranted the pick. There’s also no guarantees that if we pass on Ashton that any of those guys you really like in the next rung are going to be there.”

He could remind Raiders coach Pete Carroll of Marshawn Lynch, whom he coached in Seattle. Jeanty often went with his own version of “Beast Mode” at Boise State and was the only player, according to Pro Football Focus, to rush for more than 1,000 yards last season on plays that included a broken tackle.

“Marshawn’s one of those backs I’ve looked up to,” Jeanty said. “Breaking tackles and making plays down the field, there are some similarities.”

Carroll said Lynch called to say he was thrilled with the pick.

“There is similarity in his ability to make plays when it doesn’t look like there’s anything there,” Carroll said. “Marshawn did that throughout his career. He found a physical way to bank off people and bounce and keep alive, and Ashton is really a player who shows that kind of style. There’s a special makeup in there with Ashton.”

Carroll has emphasized since his introductory news conference in January about the importance of competing, and he had a basketball shooting competition when Jeanty visited the Raiders facility. A competition that Jeanty won.

“I think that sealed the deal,” he said.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Cam Ward went from zero-star recruit to No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. Travis Hunter cost Jacksonville a premium. Jaxson Dart was selected before Shedeur Sanders.

While Ward, Hunter and Abdul Carter went 1-2-3 as expected, Sanders wasn’t picked at all in the first round.

“We all didn’t expect this, of course, but I feel like with God, anything’s possible, everything’s possible,” Sanders told family and friends at his draft party. “I don’t think this happened for no reason. All this is, of course, fuel to the fire. Under no circumstance, we all know this shouldn’t have happened, but we understand we’re on to bigger and better things. Tomorrow’s the day. We’re going to be happy regardless.”

Sanders was passed over by every team that had a need for a potential franchise quarterback, even though some draft analysts had him rated higher than Ward. The New York Giants had two opportunities to take Sanders — who starred at Colorado under his father, coach Deion Sanders — and went with Penn State edge rusher Carter with the No. 3 pick, bolstering an already strong pass rush.

The Giants then moved back into the first round and selected Dart at No. 25, hoping he could end up providing what another Mississippi quarterback — Eli Manning — did for the franchise.

After the Tennessee Titans selected Ward first overall, the Jaguars moved up from No. 5 to select the Heisman Trophy winner with the second pick. Hunter, a playmaking wide receiver and cornerback at Colorado, wants to become the first full-time, two-way player in the NFL since Chuck Bednarik did it with the Philadelphia Eagles more than 60 years ago.

The Jaguars gave the Cleveland Browns a ton to give Hunter that opportunity.

“I’m super excited to go home,” said Hunter, whose hometown is Boynton Beach, Florida. “It means a lot that they gave up so much. It means they believe in me.”

The New England Patriots took LSU left tackle Will Campbell with the fourth pick, giving quarterback Drake Maye more protection.

Campbell broke down in tears on stage, saying: “I’m gonna fight and die to protect him.”

Michigan defensive tackle Mason Graham went fifth to Cleveland. Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty was picked at No. 6 by the Las Vegas Raiders.

The New York Jets selected Missouri offensive tackle Armand Membou with the seventh pick. Arizona wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan went to the Carolina Panthers with the No. 8 pick.

The New Orleans Saints chose Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. at No. 9. Michigan’s Colston Loveland became the first tight end off the board when the Chicago Bears selected him at No. 10.

The Titans explored their options with the first pick before it became clear a few weeks ago that Ward would be their man.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced Ward’s name to kick off the draft, which for the first time was held next to historic Lambeau Field. The NFL’s smallest market is hosting the league’s biggest offseason event as thousands of fans from across the country traveled to Titletown for the festivities.

Goodell rode a bicycle onto the draft stage and was followed by former Packers stars Clay Matthews, Jordy Nelson, Mason Crosby, Ahman Green and James Jones, as well as rap megastar and Green Bay superfan Lil Wayne.

As usual, fans booed Goodell when he opened the extravaganza.

Titans fans cheered inside the draft theater after hearing Ward’s name called. An overlooked high school player out of Texas, Ward began his college career at Incarnate Word, an FCS school in San Antonio. He played two seasons at Washington State after transferring there in 2022 and then set school records in his only season at Miami, finishing fourth in Heisman Trophy voting.

“Everything that I went through, not a lot of people went through the process from high school to this point can make it to this level and continue to have the same work ethic since day one, but I had God by my side and if you have that, the rest takes care of itself,” Ward said.

The Titans are coming off a three-win season and have missed the playoffs three straight years. Ward is the fourth quarterback Tennessee has drafted in the first round over the past two decades, joining Marcus Mariota (No. 2, 2015), Jake Locker (No. 8, 2011) and Vince Young (No. 3, 2006).

Mariota is the only QB drafted by Tennessee in that span who led the team to a playoff win. That was back in 2017.

Will Levis, the 33rd overall pick in 2023, is 5-16 as a starter in his two seasons with the Titans.

Ward led the country with 39 touchdown passes and finished second with 4,313 yards passing while leading the Hurricanes to a 10-3 record. Ward also had only seven interceptions and completed 67.2% of his passes.

The Browns got Jacksonville’s first-round pick (No. 5), picks Nos. 36 and 126, and a first-rounder in 2026 to trade down and clear the way for the Jaguars to pick Hunter. The Jags also received fourth- and sixth-round picks in this draft.

Hunter wore a neon pink blazer and flashed a big smile after Jacksonville selected him, even though he hadn’t spoken to the team since the scouting combine. He caught 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns while making 35 tackles, breaking up 11 passes and picking off four.

The San Francisco 49ers took Georgia edge rusher Mykel Williams with the 11th pick. Alabama guard Tyler Booker went to the Dallas Cowboys at No. 12.

Michigan defensive tackle Kenneth Grant was selected by the Miami Dolphins with the 13th pick. The Indianapolis Colts snagged Penn State tight end at No. 14 and Georgia edge rusher Jalon Walker went 15th to the Atlanta Falcons.

Mississippi defensive tackle Walter Nolen was picked by the Arizona Cardinals at No. 16 and Texas A&M edge rusher Shemar Stewart went to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 17.

The Seattle Seahawks took North Dakota State guard Grey Zabel with the 18th pick and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers got Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka at No. 19.

Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron was selected by the Denver Broncos with the 20th pick. After the Pittsburgh Steelers chose Oregon defensive tackle Derrick Harmon 21st, North Carolina running back Omarion Hampton went to the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 22.

The Packers made their rowdy fans happy, taking Texas wide receiver Matthew Golden with the 23rd pick. Golden became the first wideout selected by Green Bay in the first round since Javon Walker in 2002.

Ohio State guard Donovan Jackson was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 24th pick. After Dart went to New York, the Falcons moved back into the first round and grabbed Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. at No. 26.

Georgia safety Malaki Starks went to the Baltimore Ravens with the 27th pick and the Detroit Lions took Ohio State defensive tackle Tyleik Williams 28th.

The Washington Commanders picked Oregon offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. at No. 29 and Kentucky cornerback Maxwell Hairston went 30th to the Buffalo Bills.

Alabama linebacker Jihaad Campbell was picked by the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, who moved up one spot to No. 31.

The Kansas City Chiefs finished off the first round by taking Ohio State offensive tackle Josh Simmons, who could provide Patrick Mahomes some much-needed protection.

The first round featured four trades and ended with Michigan cornerback Will Johnson and Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe still in the green room.

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) — Patrick Surtain II has a new partner in the defensive backfield, with the Denver Broncos selecting Texas cornerback Jahdae Barron with the 20th overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night.

“We weren’t expecting him to be there,” general manager George Paton said. “He was pretty high up on our board. What we liked about him is he’s a playmaker, he’s a football player, he’s a fun watch.”

Coach Sean Payton praised Barron’s skills and football IQ and said another thing that impressed him was this: After Barron spoke with team owner Greg Penner following his selection, he asked to be put on speaker phone so he could thank everyone in the organization.

“And I’ve never had that happen,” Payton said.

A ballhawk and sure tackler for the Longhorns, Barron lined up outside, in the slot and in the box as a dime linebacker, and his versatility is expected to allow him to make an impact as a rookie.

Barron has elite speed, running the 40-yard dash in 4.39 seconds at the NFL scouting combine, and he won the Jim Thorpe Award in 2024 after picking off five passes and breaking up 11 more.

In Denver he’ll team up with Surtain, the Broncos’ 2021 first-round pick who is coming off his best season — he was honored as the NFL’s defensive player of the year — and rising third-year cornerback Riley Moss.

“I bring a lot of versatility to the defense,” Barron said. “I’m going to learn from the vets. I can’t wait to learn from Patrick Surtain. I can’t wait to learn from (Denver defensive coordinator Vance) Joseph. I mean, it’s going to be amazing.”

The Broncos could even give the 5-foot-11, 194-pound Barron a look at safety. If so, he’s certain he’d fare well.

“Oh, definitely,” Barron said. “It would be a tremendous thing for me, just learning from those vets there.”

Barron said he was recently introduced to Surtain through his financial advisor but hadn’t had time to return Surtain’s message in the leadup to the draft.

“So, he’s probably going to make me carry his pads for not hitting him back,” Barron said with a laugh.

For the first time in a decade, the Broncos didn’t have to spend their draft preparation poring over quarterback prospects. Bo Nix’s successful rookie season in 2024 allowed Payton and Paton to focus their energies elsewhere.

The Broncos got off to a good start with their roster reshaping in free agency, signing safety Talanoa Hufanga and linebacker Dre Greenlaw from the San Francisco 49ers and adding tight end Evan Engram from Jacksonville and special teams ace Trent Sherfield from Detroit.

That allowed them to focus on adding the best player on their board, which they did in Barron.

“I can do a lot of things once I learn and soak it in, soak the game in and understand it,” Barron said. “But I’m very smart and I’m willing to do whatever to contribute and make myself a value and a key piece.

“And again, I can’t wait to learn from Patrick Surtain, to be a part of the DB culture and the things that he’s doing and the things that they got going on down there.”

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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Saints selected Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. with the No. 9 overall pick in the NFL draft Thursday night.

Banks joined New Orleans one day after general manager Mickey Loomis said the Saints would not be picking up a fifth-year option on right tackle Trevor Penning, a 2022 late first-rounder who now enters his final season under contract.

The 6-foot-5, 315-pound Banks, who won the 2024 Outland Trophy as the top lineman in college football, will be expected to compete right away for a starting role — if not at tackle then possibly at guard.

“I’ll play whatever, man,” Banks said, noting that he would expect to be comfortable on either side of the line despite playing left tackle for the Longhorns.

“If I’m (one of) the best five (linemen) on the field and I get an opportunity to go out there and start and to earn that right, then I’m going to play wherever they put me.”

This is the second year in a row the Saints have used their first-round choice on an offensive tackle after taking Taliese Fuaga, who started at left tackle as a rookie last season. The Saints also have used their top draft pick on an offensive lineman four times since 2019, when they selected center Erik McCoy early in the second round.

“This is a trenches game. The game is won up front in a lot of ways,” Saints first-year coach Kellen Moore said after the first round ended late Thursday night. “We’re building a strength in that offensive line.”

New Orleans selected interior lineman Cesar Ruiz in the first round in 2020. Penning was New Orleans’ second of two first-round picks in 2022.

But Banks is the first player to be chosen by the Saints under Moore, who is coming off a Super Bowl championship with Philadelphia as the Eagles’ offensive coordinator.

Banks met Moore at the NFL combine in February and found him to be “a great guy.”

“He kind of lets his players be who they are,” Banks said. “He wants to understand you, wants to understand where you come from and things like that. So, definitely a good meeting with him at the combine.”

Banks described himself as a smart, physical, and fast-thinking player with quick feet who can play “in any scheme or any type of offense.”

He also demonstrated toughness and a commitment to his team when he played through an ankle injury in last season’s College Football Playoff, helping the Longhorns advance to the semifinals.

“I was able to battle through the pain and kind of just tough it out for my team, just because I knew how much I meant as a cornerstone lineman for them,” Banks said.

The Saints also entered the draft with one second-round selection (40th overall), two in the third round (71st and 93rd), two in the fourth (112th and 131st), one in the sixth and two in the seventh.

The second round begins Friday night, when the Saints will hope to draft some instant contributors as they try to bounce back from a 5-12 record, their worst since going 3-13 in 2005.

“We feel like we’re going to be able to help this team in a lot of ways with the guys that are still on that (draft) board,” Moore said.

New Orleans also is trying to end a four-year playoff drought that began after the retirement of record-setting quarterback Drew Brees.

“I went to UT when they were trying to turn that program around,” Banks noted. “The biggest thing for me is buying into the coach’s culture.

“I just do what I can and my part for the team — not try to worry about what somebody else is doing, but worry about what I can do to help the team win,” Banks added.

Banks has a baby boy named Khalil who wound up getting some air time when the Saints called Banks at his draft party in Houston to inform him that he was their pick. As the camera panned to Khalil, seated nearby on his mother’s lap, he spit up.

“The first thing I did was check (social media), and that’s all I saw,” Banks said with a laugh. “It was so hilarious.”

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DENVER (AP) — Tyler Seguin scored at 5:31 of overtime after Dallas killed a late double-minor penalty, and the Stars beat Colorado 2-1 in Game 3 on Wednesday night in a contest that featured the return of Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog.

Dallas took a 2-1 lead in the first-round series with its second straight overtime victory. The Stars have led for only 1:02 in regulation so far.

Game 4 is Saturday night in Denver.

Seguin knocked the puck past Mackenzie Blackwood off a feed from Mason Marchment. It was Marchment who was sent off for four minutes in the final minute of regulation for a high-stick that caught Brock Nelson in the face.

“We did a lot of really good things,” Stars coach Pete DeBoer said. “Our penalty killing has been one of the best in the league the last three years. We felt confident into the overtime that we could get the job done. And if we did, I think there was a good feeling that we were going to win the game.

“Knowing Mason and how he was feeling about that penalty, you couldn’t have written a better script for how it ended.”

Seguin had his second career OT playoff goal. His first was in 2012 with Boston.

“Good feeling,” Seguin said. “There’s so much more tonight than that goal. It’s the penalty kill, it’s the details of the game of what the guys did. … I was just the beneficiary of it. Collectively, just a great road win by the guys.”

Stars defenseman Esa Lindell made a key play in overtime when he deflected a shot by Artturi Lehkonen down low.

Jamie Benn tied it midway through the third period for Dallas. Jake Oettinger stopped 27 shots.

Valeri Nichushkin scored in the first period for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves.

The late score spoiled the return of Landeskog, who was greeted with cheers and chants by the amped-up crowd in his first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to capture the Stanley Cup. Landeskog has been sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.

It was some 1,032 days since his last Avalanche game. He became the fifth player in NHL history — a minimum of 700 games played — to return to his team after 1,000 or more days without a contest, according to NHL Stats.

Landeskog played more than 13 minutes and had a team-leading six hits.

“Felt great in all areas tonight in terms of being back,” Landeskog said. “Very special night regardless of the outcome.”

The Avalanche finished 0 for 6 on the power play. Asked what needed to better with the skater advantage, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar simply said, “everything.”

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DENVER (AP) — Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog played out this moment Wednesday night in his mind again and again while working his back.

His return was everything he envisioned, too. The start, anyway, with all the cheers and that big early check to show, without a doubt, that he was indeed up to speed in his first NHL game in nearly three years.

It just didn’t have the storybook finish.

Tyler Seguin scored 5:31 into overtime and the Dallas Stars beat Colorado 2-1 in Game 3 to spoil Landeskog’s return. Colorado trails 2-1 in the first-round series, with Game 4 on Saturday night in Denver.

“We’ve got work to do as a team and that’s what we’ll do,” Landeskog said. “Nonetheless, it felt great in all areas tonight, in terms of just being back. … Very special night, regardless of the outcome and looking forward to Saturday already.”

Landeskog started alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas. He played 13 minutes and led the team with six hits. His first one, though, made an immediate impression as he hit Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who’s his good friend and former teammate.

It was an emotional lead-up to the game for Landeskog, too. There were the ovations by the crowd, and chants of “Landy, Landy, Landy.” There were signs all over the arena, including one held up by his kids that read, “So proud of you Daddy!”

“That was as close as I got to losing it during warmup, when I looked over at that and seeing their big, smiling faces,” Landeskog said about his family. “They’ve probably been thinking that I’ve been lying this whole time that I play hockey.

“They were 1 and 2 when I last played and now they’re 5 and 4. They’re growing up. We’ve got another one on the way coming this summer. It just puts it in perspective how much time has passed. It’s very special.”

The team showed a video tribute of him as well, with Landeskog tapping his heart in appreciation.

Landeskog made his first NHL appearance since June 26, 2022, when he and the Avalanche beat Tampa Bay to capture the Stanley Cup. He was sidelined because of a chronically injured right knee.

The gap between his games with the Avalanche? Some 1,032 days.

He became the fifth player in NHL history — among those with a minimum of 700 games played — to return to his team after 1,000 or more days without a contest, according to NHL Stats. The last one to do so was longtime Avalanche forward and Hall of Famer Peter Forsberg.

Landeskog’s presence on the ice figured to provide a big boost not only for his teammates but the capacity crowd. His No. 92 sweater is a frequent sight around the arena.

The noise in the building was loud, the energy was electric — until the end.

“Everyone is rooting for him. It’s a great comeback story,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Wednesday morning. “I trust in Gabe’s preparation, and what I’m seeing with my own eyes that he’s getting close and ready to play. I think he feels really good about where he’s at.”

Landeskog’s injury goes back to the 2020 “bubble” season when he was accidentally sliced above the knee by the skate of teammate Cale Makar in a playoff game against Dallas. Landeskog eventually underwent a cartilage transplant procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.

He was activated Monday before Game 2 in Dallas and skated in pregame warmups, but didn’t play.

Stars forward Matt Duchene was teammates with Landeskog and they remain good friends.

“We’ve been rooting for him to come back,” said Duchene, who was the third overall pick by Colorado in 2009. “Obviously, it makes our job harder having a guy like that out there, but on the friends side, the human side and the fellow athlete side, I think everyone’s happy to see the progress he’s made. … I’m just really happy that he’s gotten to this point.”

It doesn’t mean the Stars will take it easy on Landeskog.

“It’s remarkable he’s coming back, if he’s coming back, as a friend,” said Rantanen, a 2015 first-round pick by Colorado before being traded in January to Carolina and on to Dallas in March. “As an opponent, obviously, no mercy.”

The feeling is mutual.

“Regardless of what jersey he wears, I love him. He’s a good friend of mine,” Landeskog said of Rantanen. “But in this series, we’re not friends when we’re playing.”

The 32-year-old Landeskog recently went through a two-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League’s Colorado Eagles. He’s practiced with the Avalanche leading up to their opener in the NHL playoffs.

“It’s exciting to have him back in the room and back with us,” Makar said. “Thought he played really well so hopefully he continues that way. He’s definitely big to have back in the room.”

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INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The NCAA Division II football playoffs will expand from 28 to 32 teams beginning this season to accommodate the format change that will award 16 conferences automatic bids.

According to Division II policy, bracket expansion must be considered when automatic qualifiers make up more than 50% of the field. That prompted the expansion to 32 teams, the NCAA announced Wednesday.

Division II football schools in January approved a proposal that requires all conferences be represented in the championship bracket. Division II football was the only team sport across all three divisions that did not use automatic qualification.

The playoff schedule will remain the same, except that the four No. 1 seeds will no longer receive first-round byes. The championship game is Dec. 20 in McKinney, Texas.

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WACO, Texas (AP) — A former Baylor athletic official has received a show-cause penalty from the NCAA after he placed nearly 3,000 impermissible daily fantasy bets on professional and college games over a five-year period, including 113 that involved Baylor teams and student-athletes.

The NCAA says Sam Hancock, a former director of resource development at the Big 12 school, placed 2,950 impermissible bets totaling $45,979 on three different sports betting platforms from July 2019 through September 2024.

According to the NCAA case summary posted this month, Hancock acknowledged that he engaged in sports betting before his employment at Baylor and continued to do so after being hired, despite receiving rules education from the school and knowing that his conduct violated NCAA rules.

NCAA rules that went into effect last October allow sports betting violations that do not compromise the integrity of collegiate contests and/or involve lack of institutional oversight to be processed at different levels for the involved individual and school.

The case originated last August 31, when Baylor received notification that Hancock participated in impermissible sports betting activity through the daily fantasy betting website PrizePicks. The school self-reported the violations to NCAA enforcement staff after interviewing Hancock, who confirmed that he had placed impermissible bets.

Under the show-cause order that goes through April 9, 2027, any NCAA institution employing Hancock would have to require him to seek and participate in gambling counseling, and attend the annual NCAA regional rules seminal at his own expense. He would also have to be suspended for two weeks during the first year of his employment within the show-case period, when he could not participate in any athletics activities.

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