NFL notebook: League says draft drew record viewership

The 2018 NFL Draft was the most watched ever, the league announced Sunday. The NFL said the three-day draft had an average viewership of 5.5 million at any given time. It was the first time the draft was televised on network television. Thursday's first round averaged 11.2 million before declining on each of the next two days. Saturday's coverage of rounds four through seven drew an average of 2.9 million viewers, the best third day ever. NFL Network's coverage on Thursday and Friday nights were simulcast on FOX, and Saturday's coverage by ESPN was simulcast on ABC in most markets. -- The New England Patriots are projected to win the most regular-season games in 2018, according to Las Vegas oddsmakers. While that may not be a surprise, the gap between the Patriots and the rest of league has narrowed since last year. The Patriots have won 12 or more games eight straight seasons, but they opened at 11 Sunday, according to the Westgate SuperBook. The Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers each opened at 10.5 wins. The Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings were projected to win 10. A year ago, the Patriots opened at 12.5 after coming off a Super Bowl title. -- The Green Bay Packers added some big targets for quarterback Aaron Rodgers to throw to as they drafted three wide receivers in the NFL Draft. Green Bay used fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-round selections on wide receivers, with Missouri's J'Mon Moore as the shortest one at 6 feet 3. After taking Moore in the fourth round, the Packers took South Florida's Marquez Valdes-Scantling in the fifth round and Notre Dame's Equanimeous St. Brown in the sixth. The Packers have some shoes to fill after parting with Jordy Nelson in March but still have Davante Adams and Randall Cobb. -- The Houston Texans made changes to their personnel department that included dismissing assistant general manager Jimmy Raye III, according to a report. The Houston Chronicle reported that, in addition to Raye's dismissal, the team parted with director of college scouting Jon Carr, assistant director of college scouting Mike Martin, college scouting coordinator Matt Jansen and college scout Seth Turner. After general manager Rick Smith went on leave in January, the Texans replaced him with Brian Gaine, who presided over last week's NFL Draft. -- Chicago Bears coach Matt Nagy believes his team has made the necessary moves to upgrade the offense heading into this season. The Bears used the NFL Draft to get guard/center James Daniels and wide receiver Anthony Miller in the second round and wide receiver Javon Wims in the seventh. Before the draft, the Bears signed several free agent wide receivers, including Allen Robinson and Taylor Gabriel, tight end Trey Burton and guard Earl Watford. The Bears return running backs Jordan Howard and Tarik Cohen, offensive linemen Cody Whitehair and Kyle Long, and tight end Adam Shaheen to prominent roles in the offense. The Bears are coming off a 5-11 season with an offense that ranked 29th in points (16.5 per game), 30th in yards (287.4), 32nd in passing yards (175.7) and 16th in rushing yards (111.8). -- The Los Angeles Chargers agreed to terms with undrafted free agent quarterback Nic Shimonek, the team announced. Shimonek completed 296 of 434 passes for 3,547 yards with 30 touchdowns and eight interceptions during his lone season as a starter at Texas Tech. Shimonek took over at quarterback for the Red Raiders after the Kansas City Chiefs selected Patrick Mahomes in the first round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Philip Rivers is Los Angeles' unquestioned starter, and Geno Smith and Cardale Jones are options as his backup. -- Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane didn't seem too enthralled when asked about the potential of adding free-agent wide receiver Dez Bryant. "We'll look at everything," Beane said. "We have looked at Dez on tape, but I wouldn't take it any further and I don't know where that would go. We're looking to get better at all positions and receiver is one, so if we thought that was the right fit for us we would potentially pursue it." The Bills' wide receiving corps features Kelvin Benjamin, Zay Jones and Jeremy Kerley, who rejoined the AFC East after two different stints with the New York Jets. Buffalo also selected Clemson wideout Ray-Ray McCloud in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft and North Carolina wide receiver Austin Proehl in the seventh. The latter is the son of former NFL wide receiver Ricky Proehl. Bryant remains without a team after being released by the Dallas Cowboys. -- The Pittsburgh Steelers thought so highly of Mason Rudolph that they traded up in the third round to select the Oklahoma State quarterback. Pittsburgh sent its 79th pick and a seventh-round selection (No. 220 overall) to the Seattle Seahawks to move up to No. 76 to grab Rudolph, making him the sixth quarterback off the board after the first five went in the first round. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said it was a "minimal" price to pay for Rudolph, who they "valued as much as the rest of those quarterbacks that were drafted (in the first round)." Rudolph posted a 32-9 mark as a starter with the Cowboys and owns 54 school records, including season passing yards (4,553) and career passing yards (13,618), passing touchdowns (90) and pass efficiency (63.2 percent). While Ben Roethlisberger, 36, is the Steelers' unquestioned starter, they also have Landry Jones and Josh Dobbs on the roster. -- South Dakota State tight end Dallas Goedert was pleased to be picked by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2018 NFL Draft, but that doesn't mean he plans to change his first name. Goedert was named by his parents, who were fans of the Dallas Cowboys. The Eagles traded with the Indianapolis Colts to move up in the draft and select Goedert with the 49th overall pick -- one spot ahead of the Cowboys. The Colts received the 52nd and the 169th picks from Philadelphia. The Eagles are thin at tight end behind Zach Ertz, as the club released Brent Celek in March and lost Trey Burton -- of Philly Special fame in Super Bowl LII -- in free agency to the Chicago Bears on a four-year, $32 million contract. Goedert, who on Saturday held up the No. 88 jersey that recently belonged to Burton, posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2016 and 2017 and had 13 touchdown catches in that -- Ozzie Newsome admitted to being a bit choked up after a brief discussion with the Baltimore Ravens' last pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. Ferris State defensive end Zach Sieler, who was selected 238th overall, was also the 193rd and last pick to be made by Newsome. "It was emotional," Newsome said, per ESPN's Jamison Hensley. "The kid told me that he was going to make me proud." Newsome told Sieler of the importance of his selection. "We're in the seventh round, and you are a Raven," Newsome told Sieler. "And you know what else? I've been doing this for 22 years, you're my last pick ... you going to make me proud? All right, that's all I need to hear." Newsome had been the Ravens' general manager since the team relocated to Baltimore from Cleveland in 1996. He will move to a scouting and consulting role while new general manager Eric DeCosta will take over draft responsibilities. -- Former Oakland Raiders cornerback Charles Woodson wasn't too pleased when the AFC West rival Kansas City Chiefs selected defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie in the 2018 NFL Draft. So much so, in fact, that Woodson got in touch with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie and sent along a request for his 21-year-old son. Kahlil McKenzie, who was selected out of Tennessee by the Chiefs in the sixth round, was quick to embrace the division rivalry. The 6-foot-3, 314-pounder told his father -- through ESPN -- that "I can't wait to whip up on you twice this year, and the next year and the next year after that." The Chiefs plan to shuffle McKenzie to guard. -- Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff isn't worried about wide receiver Julio Jones deleting team-related posts from his Instagram. Dimitroff also isn't concerned if there is any issue with the Falcons selecting another Alabama wide receiver -- Calvin Ridley -- with their first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft. Jones signed a five-year, $71.25 million contract extension in 2015, but there has been no public comment about a new deal. The five-time Pro Bowl selection has not shown up for the team's voluntary workouts. Jones also caused a stir by unfollowing his Atlanta teammates on Twitter and deleting Falcons-related photos from Instagram. The 29-year-old Jones had 88 catches for 1,444 yards and three touchdowns in 2017, boosting his career totals to 585 receptions for 9,054 yards and 43 scores through the first seven seasons with the Falcons. -- Buffalo Bills general manager Brandon Beane did not dismiss the notion of quarterback Josh Allen receiving early playing time this season. The Bills traded up from 12th overall with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday to acquire the Wyoming quarterback with the seventh overall pick of the 2018 NFL Draft. A.J. McCarron and Nathan Peterman are the other quarterbacks on the roster, although both have combined for fewer than 200 passes in the NFL. Both quarterbacks have been working with offensive coordinator Brian Daboll when the offseason conditioning program started, however. Listed at 6 feet 5, 237 pounds, Allen ran the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine in 4.75 seconds with a 33 1/2-inch vertical jump. He threw for 1,966 yards with 19 touchdowns last season with Wyoming. -- Indianapolis Colts general manager Chris Ballard was rather direct when addressing how he felt upon receiving trade offers for injured quarterback Andrew Luck last season. The calls were made before the trade deadline and prior to the Colts placing Luck on injured reserve after complications associated with his ongoing rehabilitation from shoulder surgery. "Look, we had some calls last year at the trade deadline," Ballard said on Saturday. "And I just -- come on man. I'm not taking those seriously. We're not trading Andrew Luck. I'm not putting that on my resume." Colts owner Jim Irsay told reporters on Saturday that the team was never seriously intrigued by any offer for Luck. Irsay declared last month that Luck had "turned the corner" in his rehab after the latter missed all of last season as he rehabbed his surgically repaired shoulder. For his career, Luck has completed 1,570 of 2,651 passes (59.2 percent) for 19,078 yards with 132 touchdowns and 68 interceptions.