Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Under the NFL's original plan, the 2024 schedule was supposed to come out last night, but that didn't happen because the release got pushed back until next week. The only reason I'm mentioning that now is because we now know WHY the release got delayed, and we'll be covering that in today's newsletter.
The upside of the schedule release being delayed is that moms around the country now won't have their day spoiled by everyone debating whose team got shafted by the NFL scheduling department. On that note, Happy early Mother's Day to all the moms out there!
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Actually, you don't even have to tell all of your friends; just sign your mom up and I'll be happy. To get her signed up, all you have to do is click here.
1. Today's show: Ranking every QB in the NFL
For today's episode of the show, we called an audible. We were going to cover some scheduling rumors, but instead we decided to completely break down Cody Benjamin's QB Power Rankings that he released this week.
Cody's ranking got posted to Twitter on Wednesday, and after it drew more than 1,000 replies, we thought we should probably give our opinion on the ranking, so that's exactly what Will Brinson, Tyler Sullivan and I did today.
For the most part, we actually agreed with Cody's rankings, but no one likes when people agree, so let's take a look at the two biggest things we disagreed with.
- Brock Purdy was ranked way too high. Cody had Purdy ranked as the second-best quarterback in the NFL and the three of us felt that was way too high. If you put Purdy on the Bills, that team is winning maybe eight games, but if you put Josh Allen on the 49ers, they're not taking a step back. If every team had to start over at quarterback this year and there was a QB draft, Purdy almost definitely would not be the second quarterback taken and probably wouldn't even be one of the top five quarterbacks taken. Purdy is in the perfect system for him, but there are plenty of quarterbacks who would do just as well, if not better in Purdy's system (Just look at Jimmy Garoppolo, he took the 49ers to two NFC title games in three years). We all agreed that Purdy is a top-10 QB, but top two is probably a little high.
- Matthew Stafford was ranked 16th. This ranking suggests that Stafford is exactly a middle of the road quarterback, which seems like a slap in the face to a guy that just won a Super Bowl two years ago. Not to mention, the Rams were a surprise playoff team last season, and a big reason for that was because of Stafford's ability to run the offense. Brinson and I both ranked Stafford in our top 10 while Sullivan had him in his top 12.
If you want to hear us debate Cody's full ranking, then be sure to click here so you can listen to today's episode. You can also watch today's show on YouTube by clicking here.
2. NFL schedule could include two games on Netflix
When the NFL schedule comes out next week, it could include a surprising new media partner for the NFL.
Here's what you need to know:
- Netflix on verge of landing two games. According to Puck News, Netflix is currently in negotiations to exclusively stream the NFL's two Christmas games this year. Although CBS, Fox and ABC all got to air a Christmas game last season, the NFL decided to change its plans for 2024. Back in March, it was reported that the NFL would be putting the Christmas games up for bid this year, and it seems that Netflix is now on the verge of winning that bid.
- Netflix would be the fourth streamer to land a game for 2024. If Netflix does end up getting the Christmas doubleheader, that means you'll need quite a few subscriptions if you want to watch every NFL game in 2024. Netflix will join ESPN+, Peacock and Amazon as streamers that will have exclusive rights to at least one game this year.
- Negotiations with Netflix caused the schedule release to be delayed. The NFL's negotiations with Netflix have gone down to the wire, which is a big reason why the release of the schedule was delayed. NFL teams were expecting the schedule to be revealed on May 9, but instead, the league postponed the schedule release until May 15
When it comes to streaming, the floodgates have opened for the NFL and don't look for it to slow down anytime soon. The league likes streaming games because it brings a younger audience and because the streamers are willing to spend a lot of money to air an NFL game.
Anyway, if you're one of the five people who don't have a Netflix account, you might want to put one on your Christmas list this year.
3. Two top draft picks made a $10,000 bet that the NFL probably isn't going to like
Jayden Daniels and Malik Nabers must have forgotten to read the NFL gambling policy, because they decided to make a big bet going into the 2024 season.
Here's what you need to know:
- The two rookies made a $10,000 bet. The former LSU teammates have made a bet about who's going to win the Offensive Rookie of the Year award and they're putting $10,000 on it. Nabers, who went sixth overall to the Giants, is already looking forward to facing his former teammate, who got drafted second overall by the Commanders. "Going against him is gonna be fun," Nabers said, via the New York Daily News. "We got a bet going for Rookie of the Year. Whoever loses gotta pay, I think it's $10,000 cash."
- Why this bet might not be a good idea. As you may or may not have heard, the NFL doesn't like it when players bet on the NFL. If Nabers walked into a sportsbook and bet $10,000 on himself to win Rookie of the Year, he would be facing a lengthy suspension, but this obviously isn't the same as that, so it will be interesting to see how the league responds
- What the NFL might do. As recently as 2022, the NFL's gambling policy noted that "private wagers between teammates, family and friends, or others" was banned. However, that exact language isn't in the 2023 policy, so it's currently unknown if this bet could lead to any sort of punishment, but the NFL has made it clear that it doesn't want NFL player betting on anything NFL related. One other wrinkle here is the timing of the bet. If the two former teammates made the bet before the draft, it's not clear if the NFL's gambling policy would apply to them since they weren't in the NFL yet.
I don't want to gamble on this, but if I had to bet, I think the NFL will just ask them to rescind their wager. According to the Washington Post, Daniels is expected to be educated on the NFL's gambling policy this week and it won't be surprising at all if his bet comes up during that conversation.
4. Day 3 picks who could make an impact as a rookie
The first round of the draft is usually the round that gets all the headlines, but if you want to build a successful team, you need to hit a few home runs on the final day of the draft. With that in mind, Chris Trapasso decided to take a look at a few Day 3 guys who could make an instant impact in 2024.
Let's take a look at two players on his list:
- Broncos WR Tony Franklin (Fourth round, 102nd overall pick). "It's tremendous that he's landed with his collegiate quarterback, Bo Nix, in Denver. When it comes to route-running subtleties, Nix will be familiar with them, and can adjust properly. While he's uniquely shaped, this is still a burner with low 4.4-second 40-yard dash speed who flourished after the catch."
- Raiders RB Dylan Laube (Sixth round, 208th overall). "Laube led the FCS in all-purpose yards per game with 194 during the 2022 season. ... He's a stocky but elusive scatback who ran 4.54 seconds in the 40-yard dash and had a three-cone drill of 6.84 seconds that ranked in the 85th percentile among running backs. This isn't some unathletic overachiever. Laube has NFL-caliber physical traits and can be relied upon as a dangerous out-of-the-backfield receiver when he's not toting the rock."
Rams receiver Puka Nacua was one of the Day 3 picks who ended up being a home run pick last year. If you want to see Trapasso's full list of Day 3 players who might be able to find success, be sure to click here.
5. 2025 NFL Mock Draft
All right, I think this is it. After breaking down the 2024 NFL Draft for the past two weeks, we're finally putting a bow on our coverage and moving on to the 2025 NFL Draft.
In less than 12 months, the NFL world will be convening for the draft and we're going to get you amped up for that by providing our first 2025 mock of the year.
The biggest name heading into the 2025 draft is probably Shedeur Sanders, who happens to be the son of Deion Sanders. Although the Colorado QB is one of the top players in the country, our NFL Draft guru, Josh Edwards, doesn't have him as the first quarterback off the board.
With that in mind, let's check out the top-10 picks in Josh's first mock draft of 2025:
1. Panthers: DL Mykel Williams (Georgia)
2. Patriots: OL Will Campbell (LSU)
3. Commanders: DB Will Johnson (Michigan)
4. Broncos: DL Deone Walker (Kentucky)
5. Titans: OL Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas)
6. Giants: QB Carson Beck (Georgia)
7. Cardinals: DL James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee)
8. Vikings: WR Travis Hunter (Colorado)
9. Raiders: QB Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)
10. Saints: WR Luther Burden III (Missouri)
If you're like me and you're wondering how the draft order was made, it was determined using the Super Bowl odds over at Vegas Insiders, but in reverse order.
Anyway, if you want to see how the rest of the first round plays out, and trust me, you do, then you're going to want to click here.
6. Extra points: Rams make trade with Texans
It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you.
- Texans acquire Super Bowl-winning receiver. The Texans have already made one trade for a receiver this offseason (Stefon Diggs) and they made another on Thursday when they acquired Ben Skowronek from the Rams. After averaging 20 catches per year in his first two seasons with the Rams, Skowronek only had eight receptions last season, which made him expendable. You can see full details of the deal here. Skowronek caught two passes in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win over the Bengals.
- Raiders coach says coin toss didn't happen. It turns out the Raiders did NOT flip a coin to decide who they were going to take with the 13th overall pick. Raiders coach Antonio Pierce sternly denied the story on Thursday. "No call, and no coin flip," Pierce told ESPN's Ryan Clark. "As soon as the last two QBs went off the board. We said [Brock] Bowers all the way." Raiders GM Tom Telesco also hilariously added that he only uses a "Magic 8 ball" to help with draft picks and not coin flips. If you missed the full story about the coin flip, you can catch up on it here.
- Jayden Daniels pays up to get No. 5 … but he didn't pay much. The Commanders QB was hoping to wear No. 5 in the NFL, and now, that's actually going to happen after he made a deal with Tress Way. The Commanders punter, who had been wearing No. 5 for his entire 10-year NFL career, agreed to hand it over for a small price. According to ESPN, Daniels has to buy Way and his family tickets to an Oklahoma-LSU football game after Way's career is over. The punter went to college at Oklahoma.
- Panthers cut Tarik Cohen. The running back's comeback attempt has hit a snag. After sitting out of football for two years (2021-22) due to injuries, Cohen was looking to make a return with the Panthers in 2023. Cohen ended up spending the 2023 season on the practice squad, and he won't get a chance to crack the roster in 2024 after being cut on Friday.
- 49ers legend Jimmy Johnson dies. The former 49ers star, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame back in 1994, passed way this week at the age of 86. Johnson ended up spending his entire 16-year career with the 49ers after San Francisco made him the sixth overall pick in the 1961 NFL Draft. He was a five-time Pro Bowler who was named to the NFL's all decade team in the 1970s. You can read more about his life here.
