This is the USA TODAY Sports NFL newsletter, 4th and Monday. If this newsletter isn’t already getting conveniently delivered to your inbox, click here to subscribe. USA TODAY Sports is now on Bluesky! Give us a follow for more of our NFL content.
Before we dig into SERIOUS FOOTBALL STUFF, please spare a moment of your time to take our reader survey. Tell us what you think. We want to hear from you!
It’s mid-June and OTAs and minicamps are coming to a close as teams will head into a break before training camps open in more than a month.
So what better time than now to answer some VERY IMPORTANT fantasy football questions? It’s never too early to devise a plan for fantasy football domination. Right? 
It’s not! Here are some things to seriously consider ….
Who should be the No. 1 overall pick?
Who’s the top wide receiver?
Which quarterback will be the first to come off the board, and where should he be picked?
Where might rookie Ashton Jeanty get picked?
How about Travis Hunter?
Is new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers even draftable?
A team of 10 carefully selected USA TODAY Sports experts conducted a mock draft, providing some very early clues for fantasy football success this fall.
Hot reads 
Worst to first? Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz ranks the eight teams’ chances to jump to the top of their respective divisions in 2025. 
The UFL held its 2025 championship game this weekend in St. Louis. The DC Defenders steamrolled the Michigan Panthers en route to a 59-34 win. The league experienced attendance and TV ratings declines this season, so what is next for this latest attempt at pro football in the spring?
A player moving on from a disappointing, season-ending performance is a classic minicamp/OTA trope. Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert is the latest player to try to turn the page, in his case from a four-interception meltdown in a wild-card playoff loss to the Houston Texans.
If you’re of the mindset that Shedeur Sanders landed in the right spot, you might be right. Cleveland Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski has a history of success with quarterbacks.
It’s a Cincinnati Bengals tradition unlike any other: The team has yet another disgruntled player. 
‘This brotha had muscles in his breath’: Bo Jackson tells a story you need to hear. 
8⃣0⃣ days until kickoff of 2025 NFL season 
Yes, we’re counting! There are 80 days until the 2025 NFL season opens with the Kickoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles on Sept. 4.
Today, we’re going to rank players from the ’80s who wore No. 80:
- Jerry Rice (1985-89): Rice played into the 2004 season, but by the end of the 1980s he was well on his way to all-time greatness. In a strike-shortened 1987 season, Rice had 23 total touchdowns in 12 games. He was the MVP in Super Bowl XXIII (215 yards and a touchdown receiving), and had 148 yards and three touchdowns in the San Francisco 49ers’ demolition of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 24.
- Kellen Winslow (1980-87): Game-changing tight end who thrived in the Chargers’ ‘Air Coryell’ offense of the late-70s, early-80s. Winslow posted three 1,000-yard receiving seasons over a four-year span from 1980-83.
- Steve Largent (1980-89): Seattle Seahawks legend set receiving records that Rice would eventually break. In December 1989, Largent caught his 100th touchdown pass, breaking Don Hutson’s ancient record. Rice owns that record now with a diabolical 197 receiving touchdowns.
- James Lofton (1980-89): 1978 NCAA long jump champion parlayed his track speed to the gridiron, where he was a standout receiver, primarily for the Green Bay Packers. Lofton posted five 1,000-yard seasons for the Packers in the 1980s. (Fun fact: Future NFL running back Curtis Dickey finished second in the 100-meter dash at that 1978 NCAA championship meet).
- Cris Collinsworth (1981-88): More famous now for his long career as a TV analyst, Collinsworth was one of the top receivers of the 1980s. He posted four 1,000-yard seasons, earned three Pro Bowl nods and helped the Cincinnati Bengals reach two Super Bowls during the decade. Collinsworth is the only player on this list who isn’t in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
NFL classics: Straight from the YouTube algorithm 
This is where we reprise some NFL lore and recall classic, memorable moments from yesteryear.
We’re going to stick to the 1980s, which was quite the decade in pro football …
- Joe Montana led the 49ers to four Super Bowl victories.
- Let’s name some quarterbacks who played in the ’80s: John Elway, Dan Marino, Dan Fouts, Randall Cunningham, Warren Moon, Joe Theismann, Phil Simms, Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason, ‘The Punky QB’ Jim McMahon, Lynn Dickey.
- Let’s name some running backs who played in the ’80s: Walter Payton, Eric Dickerson, Earl Campbell, John Riggins, Tony Dorsett, Marcus Allen, Billy Sims, Curt Warner, Gerald Riggs.
- Let’s name some defensive stars who played in the ’80s: Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Mike Singletary, Ronnie Lott, Howie Long, Kenny Easley, Mike Haynes, Joey Browner, Andre Tippett, Dave Butz.
- The ’85 Bears won Super Bowl 20 after releasing ‘The Super Bowl Shuffle.’
- It was arguably the last time the Raiders were really truly relevant.
- Barefoot kickers roamed the gridiron.
- It was the best uniform era in pro football history, IMHO.
- Last, but certainly not least, the athletic powerhouse that was Vincent Edward ‘Bo’ Jackson was a sporting sensation.
