Mocking the NFL Draft, MLB’s robot umps and NBA playoff pressure

As the first season of “The Athletic Show” comes to a close, we’re taking a look at the changes facing each major sport at the moment.

For some, like the NFL, it’s the changing of the guard. With the draft less than a month away, The Athletic’s Austin Mock joins the show to help give a sense of which franchises will have new faces at the forefront next season. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the consensus choice for the Las Vegas Raiders’ selection at the top of the draft, but with so many big changes this offseason, the first round will have league-shifting picks for nearly every franchise. We learn how draft experts build their models and put our in-house scholars to the test with a mock draft

In the NBA, the Play-In Tournament is set to begin, which means the league will soon crown its next champion. But the issue of tanking has loomed large this season, and with roughly one-third of the current teams trying their best to lose, the NBA is at a crossroads heading into playoff time. The Athletic’s Joel Lorenzi joins the show to help determine which teams define the short-term future of the league in this year’s championship race, and outline the questions that must be answered for the long-term health of the NBA.

Finally, baseball’s new challenge system has been a game changer for the sport, but not everyone loves the change. Umpires, the face of the sport’s “human element” ethos, are taking umbrage with their new robot counterparts. MLB writer Sam Blum joins the show to break down human umps’ shockingly good accuracy and explain the growing pains as baseball moves into a new era.

You can watch the full conversation on the latest episode of “The Athletic Show” on Fire TV and wherever you get your podcasts.