Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

If the NFL Scouting Combine is your favorite offseason event on the calendar, then this is going to your favorite week of the newsletter ever, because we'll be spending some serious time talking about the combine EVERY day this week. Kickers, defensive linemen and linebackers have already arrived in Indianapolis and the first set of on-field workouts will be happening Thursday (If you want to know the full combine schedule, we've got there here). 

Not only will you be getting combine news today, but it's also MOCK DRAFT MONDAY and we have a big one that includes the Giants trading up to the No. 1 spot. And on that note, I'm going to stop talking so we can get things started.

As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. 

It's officially Mock Draft Monday here and if you don't know what that is, that's where we give you a new mock draft every Monday between now and the start of the NFL Draft. Today, we have a mock draft coming from Tom Fornelli. 

Tom watches more college football than anyone alive, which makes him the perfect person to put together a mock draft.

Let's check out the top 10 picks in his mock draft, which starts with the Giants pulling off a shocker by trading into the top spot:  

1. Giants (via trade with Titans): QB Cam Ward (Miami)
2. Browns: EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State)
3. Titans (via trade with Giants): CB/WR Travis Hunter (Colorado)
4. Patriots: OT Will Campbell (LSU)
5. Jaguars: DL Mason Graham (Michigan)
6. Raiders: CB Will Johnson (Michigan)
7. Jets: OT Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas)
8. Panthers: EDGE Jalon Walker (Georgia)
9. Saints: WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)
10. Bears: EDGE Mykel Williams (Georgia)

The other big surprise in Fornelli's mock draft is that the Browns end up trading Myles Garrett to the Los Angeles Chargers. As part of the deal, the Browns get the 22nd overall pick, and they end up using that pick on Shedeur Sanders, who falls out of the top 20. 

If you want to see how the rest of the first round pans out, you can see Fornelli's full mock draft here. 

There's always a lot of trade chatter that comes out of the NFL combine, so don't be surprised if you hear a lot of speculation about Matthew Stafford this week. The Rams quarterback has been given permission to have contract talks with other teams, which could potentially set the stage for a trade (You can read more about that here). 

With that in mind, Tyler Sullivan came up with several trade ideas involving Stafford. 

Stafford to the Giants

• Rams get: 2025 second-round pick (No. 34 overall), 2026 second-round pick
• Giants get: Matthew Stafford

Sullivan's take: "In a world where the market isn't as robust for Stafford and a first-round pick simply isn't available as a return for the Rams, that could be a scenario where the New York Giants enter the conversation. Of course, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft should be a nonstarter for New York in any trade revolving around Stafford, but if two second-round picks get it done, it could be hard to deny for Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll."

Stafford to the Steelers

• Rams get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 21 overall), 2025 second-round pick (No. 52 overall), conditional 2026 second-round pick (can become a first if Stafford plays 65% of the snaps in 2025)
• Steelers get: Matthew Stafford, 2025 first-round pick (No. 26 overall)

Sullivan's take: "This may look a bit convoluted, with several picks exchanging hands, but we highlight this specific type of trade for a reason. It's loosely mirroring the deal that the Green Bay Packers and New York Jets struck around Aaron Rodgers back in 2023. While the deal ultimately blew up in New York's face, it's a fascinating structure to work with as it relates to a potential Stafford trade because the QBs were/are in similar spots in their careers." 

Stafford to the Vikings

• Rams get: 2025 first-round pick (No. 24 overall)
• Vikings get: Matthew Stafford

Sullivan's take: "If they think J.J. McCarthy is ready to ascend to QB1 or decide to stick with Sam Darnold either via the franchise tag or an extension, that blocks this landing spot for Stafford. There is a connection between Stafford and the Vikings thanks to head coach Kevin O'Connell, who was his offensive coordinator in L.A. during his first season with the Rams in 2021, which led to a Super Bowl LVI title. That prior relationship could help facilitate a deal."

You can check out Sullivan's full story here. 

According to Sports Illustrated, the Steelers, Browns, Raiders and Giants have already shown some interest in Stafford, and you can read more about that here. 

The first batch of players arrived in Indianapolis on Sunday for the NFL combine and there will be more arriving all week. If there's one group that draws a lot of eyeballs every year, it's the quarterbacks. This year's class will report to Indy on Tuesday and then go through three days of team interviews and medical exams before taking the field on Saturday for testing. 

With that in mind, Chris Trapasso decided to rank the top five players at each position on offense and we're going to take a look at his ranking for the quarterbacks. 

1. Cam Ward, Miami 
2. Jalen Milroe, Alabama 
3. Shedeur Sanders, Colorado 
4. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss 
5. Kyle McCord, Syracuse 

The biggest surprise here is the fact that Trapasso has Milroe in the second spot, ahead of Sanders. 

Here's why Trapasso has the Alabama QB ahead of the Colorado QB: "Milroe is raw. But in my estimation he grew as a passer at Alabama, possesses a stronger arm than Ward or Sanders, and pre-combine, it feels like his athleticism is being massively undersold."

As of now, Milroe is expected to throw at the combine, unlike Sanders, who has decided that he won't be participating in workouts. 

• Shedeur Sanders won't be throwing. The Colorado quarterback WILL be in Indianapolis this week, but he won't be throwing at the combine, according to NFL.com. Instead, Sanders has decided that he's going to wait until his Pro Day to throw (The date of that event hasn't been set yet). You can read more about Sanders'  decision here. 

As for Trapasso's ranking, he didn't just rank quarterbacks, he also ranked running backs, wide receivers, tight ends and offensive linemen, and if you want to see his top five at each of those positions, then you'll want to check out his full story here.

We've already gone over the top available quarterbacks and running backs in free agency, so today we're going to move on to wide receivers. This year's free agent class isn't exactly stacked, but there are some big names, so Garrett Podell decided to take a look at those names and take a stab at where they might end up. 

Here's a look at the top five receivers on his list: 

1. Tee Higgins (Bengals)
Best fits: Chargers, Bengals, Patriots, Raiders, Cardinals, Steelers

2. Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
Best fits: Buccaneers, Commanders, Cardinals, Bears, Raiders, Chargers, Raiders

3. Amari Cooper (Bills)
Best fits: Cowboys, Commanders, Bears, Cardinals, Chargers

4. Stefon Diggs (Texans)
Best fits: Texans, Commanders, Bears, Rams, Raiders, Patriots, Titans

5. Marquise "Hollywood" Brown (Chiefs)
Best fits: Chiefs, Vikings, Lions, Rams

If you want to check out Garrett's full list of free agent receivers, then be sure to click here. 

Sometimes it's hard to tell how good a free agency class is, so to give you an idea of what this year's class looks like, Cody Benjamin decided to make an All-Star team that consists only of players who are going to be free agents. 

Let's take at his All-Free Agent Team on the offensive side of the ball:

QB: Sam Darnold (Vikings)
RB: Aaron Jones (Vikings)
WR: Tee Higgins (Bengals)
WR: Stefon Diggs (Texans)
WR: Chris Godwin (Buccaneers)
TE: Mike Gesicki (Bengals)
LT: Ronnie Stanley (Ravens)
OG: Kevin Zeitler (Lions)
C: Josh Myers (Packers)
OG: Trey Smith (Chiefs)
RT: Morgan Moses (Jets)

If you want to see who made Cody's All-free agency team on the defensive side of the ball, be sure to click here. 

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. 

• New kickoff rule likely to undergo at least one change. The NFL's new kickoff rule could look slightly different in 2025. According to Rich McKay, the co-chairman of the NFL's competition committee, there's a good chance the touchback will be moved back five yards from the 30-yard line out to the 35-yard line, which would discourage the kicking team from simply booting the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff. The NFL is also considering some changes to the onside kick and you can read about those here. 
• Shaq Thompson set to hit free agency. After spending his entire 10-year career in Carolina, Thompson will be playing for a new team in 2025. The Panthers announced on Monday that they're not going to try to re-sign their veteran linebacker, who had been with the team since Carolina made him a first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. We've got the full story on Thompson here. 
• Broncos assistant coach arrested. Broncos linebackers coach Michael Wilhoite was arrested over the weekend and charged with suspicion of second degree assault of a police officer. Full details of the situation haven't been released yet, but when they are, we'll have them in our story here . 
• Former Pro Bowler retires at age 29. After eight NFL seasons, Keanu Neal has decided to retire. The veteran safety was a first-round pick by the Falcons in the 2016 NFL Draft and he ended up spending five seasons in Atlanta. From 2021 thru 2023, Neal played with three different teams (Cowboys, Buccaneers, Steelers). He started 69 games in his career and made it to the Pro Bowl in 2017 while with the Falcons. 
• Browns release Juan Thornhill. Going into Monday, the Browns were an estimate $24 million OVER the salary cap. They have to be under the cap by March 12, and they started that process on Monday by releasing their veteran safety. Getting rid of Thornhill will free up $3.4 million in cap space for Cleveland. You can read more about their situation here.