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Tuesday, April 12, 2022 |
Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
We have now gone more than a week without a huge trade in the NFL and I have to admit, I'm getting kind of worried. I'm starting to think that every general manager in the NFL lost every other general manager's phone number. That's the only plausible explanation for these lack of trades. |
Since we don't have any trades to talk about in today's newsletter, we'll be going heavy on the NFL Draft. Not only will we be taking a look at the eight teams that have multiple first-round picks this year, but Will Brinson is also going to reveal his first-round draft plan for the Green Bay Packers. |
As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All you have to do is click here and then share the link. Alright, let's get to the rundown. |
1. Today's show: What teams with multiple first-round picks should look to do in the draft |
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The NFL Draft is just 16 days away, which is a fitting number for today, because for Tuesday's episode of the Pick Six Podcast, Ryan Wilson and Will Brinson previewed exactly 16 picks in the first-round. |
Why that number? Well, the reason for that is because the two guys spent today's episode talking about what teams with multiple picks in the first-round should do in the draft. Right now, there are a total of eight teams who all have two picks in the first round for a total of 16. |
The eight teams that will pick twice in the first-round are: the Lions, Texans, Packers, Chiefs, Saints, Giants, Jets and Eagles. |
On Detroit's end, the Lions have the No. 2 overall pick and the No. 32 overall pick in the first round. Although the Lions currently have Jared Goff under contract, Wilson thinks Detroit will use one of its two picks on a QB. Wilson has them taking Aidan Hutchinson with the second overall pick and Kenny Pickett at 32. |
Another fascinating team is the Giants, who have two picks in the top 10 (fifth and seventh). With those two picks, Wilson thinks the Giants are going to beef up their defense by adding pass-rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux at fifth overall followed by cornerback Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner at seventh overall. |
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2. John Harbaugh doesn't like the NFL's new overtime rule |
When the NFL's 32 owners voted last month to change the league's overtime rules, the Baltimore Ravens were one of the 29 teams that voted to make the change. But apparently not everyone in the organization was on the same page with the vote. |
During a recent interview on "The Rich Eisen Show," John Harbaugh revealed that he's against the new OT rule and that Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti voted for the rule change even though he knew Harbaugh didn't like it. |
"Even though our team voted for it, they voted for it over my objection," Harbaugh said. "I don't think it solves the problem. Possession is nine-tenths of the law, it's the most important aspect of the game." |
Here's a look at why Harbaugh feels the way he does: |
- The Ravens proposed an OT rule change last year and Harbaugh liked that rule better. In 2021, the Ravens proposed a "spot-and-choose" rule . Under the spot-and-choose proposal, one team would choose the yard line where the overtime drive starts and the other team would choose whether they want to play offense or defense. For instance, if Team A and Team B were playing in overtime and Team A won the coin toss, it would pick any spot on the field where the first drive of OT would start. If it picked the 10-yard line (90 yards away from the end zone), then Team B would get to choose whether it wanted to play offense or defense. The overtime in this proposal would be a sudden-death period, which means the first team to score would win the game.
- The rest of the NFL hated the idea. The Ravens proposal only garnered three votes, which was nowhere near the 24 votes that a proposal needs to become a rule.
- Harbaugh thinks the "spot-and-choose" rule makes more sense. The Ravens coach wants to see fewer possessions in overtime. "We tried to mitigate it [with our proposal] last year with field position, which is two things: possession and field position. And that got three votes," Harbaugh said."So now we're just gonna add possessions and it's like, 'Well, how many possessions are we going to add and when is it going to stop? Are we going to extend the game into the fifth quarter and into the sixth quarter?' We keep tacking plays on."
- Harbaugh let the owners know his feelings at the NFL's annual league meeting in March. "I'm not bashful about saying it, I said it front of the whole league," Harbaugh said. "I'm not for [the new OT rule], I don't think it's the answer. I think there will be a better way to do it at some point in time, but we did have to do something. That's kind of where we're at. This thing is still full of holes in terms of adding more plays to the game."
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Basically, it sounds like Harbaugh will accept the new rule because he didn't really like the old rule, but it also sounds like he's going to keep pushing for the "spot-and-choose" rule to be implemented. |
3. Will Brinson's mock draft: Packers double-down on helping Aaron Rodgers |
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Will Brinson doesn't just host the Pick Six podcast, he also writes the occasional article for CBSSports.com, and today, he has a mock draft for us. |
The most fascinating thing about this mock draft is definitely the Green Bay Packers. After going years without drafting a wide receiver in the first round, Aaron Rodgers might be able to forgive them if they follow Brinson's draft plan. Brinson has the Packers using BOTH of their first-round picks on a wide receiver. |
With that in mind, here's how he sees things playing out for the Packers: |
14. Packers: WR Drake London (USC). The Packers don't have the 14th overall pick, but Brinson has them trading up so they can nab London. In this mock trade, the Packers send the 22nd overall pick and some lower-round picks to Baltimore so they can move up to 14. |
28. Packers: WR Chris Olave (Ohio State). With Davante Adams now in Las Vegas, Brinson thinks the Packers need to do everything they can to help Rodgers and they'll be doing that by adding Olave on top of London. |
Finally, here's a look at Brinson's top 10: |
1. Jaguars: EDGE Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan) 2. Lions: DL Travon Walker (Georgia) 3. Texans: EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon) 4. Jets: OL Evan Neal (Alabama) 5. Giants: OL Ikem Ekwonu (North Carolina State) 6. Panthers: QB Kenny Pickett (Pitt) 7. Giants: EDGE Jermaine Johnson II (Florida State) 8. Falcons: WR Jameson Williams (Alabama) 9. Seahawks: OL Charles Cross (Mississippi State) 10. Jets: CB Ahmed Gardner (Cincinnati) |
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4. NFL Draft: Are the rookie quarterbacks an upgrade over what some QB-needy teams already have? |
As we inch closer to the NFL Draft, there's been a lot of talk this year about how the quarterback class isn't particularly strong. The problem when you have a weak QB class is that if you draft one of the quarterbacks, there's no guarantee that guy is going to be better than what you already have. |
For example, if the Panthers were to draft Kenny Pickett, how are they going to feel if Pickett shows up to training camp and isn't even half as good as Sam Darnold? That's one of the risks that comes with drafting a quarterback out of a weak class, and it's a risk that a few teams could be taking in this year's draft. |
With that in mind, CBSSports.com draft analyst Chris Trapasso decided to take a look at which QB-needy teams would actually be upgrading if they were to draft a quarterback this year. |
Lions starter: Jared Goff |
Are the draft prospects better? |
- Malik Willis: Yes
- Kenny Pickett: No
- Desmond Ridder: No
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From Trapasso: "Willis isn't better today. But the disparity in overall talent level between the two is too sizable for Willis not to earn a "yes" here, especially considering what he can do with his legs as a scrambler and in the designed run game. I'm a fan of Pickett. He's squarely my QB2 with a mid-first-round grade. I can't confidently say he's better than Goff right now or can be significantly better than him in the future. The same is true for Ridder, the other quarterback on whom I have a first-round grade." |
Panthers starter: Sam Darnold |
Are the draft prospects better? |
- Malik Willis: Yes
- Kenny Pickett: Yes
- Desmond Ridder: Yes
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From Trapasso: "For me, this is a no-brainer. And let it serve as an indicator as to what I believe the Panthers should do at No. 6 overall. Any of the turnover concerns with Willis aren't as bad as they are with Darnold, and he's a considerably more capable athlete with a stronger arm. Pickett isn't nearly as turnover prone and provides at least a Darnold-level of physical talent. Ridder is much steadier from series to series and game to game and has more upside because of his athletic profile, even if his arm isn't quite to Darnold's level." |
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5. Weight watchers: Patriots' Trent Brown has $1.5 million in bonus money tied to how much he weighs |
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It's usually not very much fun to go on a diet, but New England's Trent Brown might enjoy it this offseason and that's because the Patriots could end up paying him more than $1 million total over the next two seasons if Brown can simply stay under his ideal playing weight. |
Over the course of his seven-year NFL career, Brown has had some serious struggles with his weight. According to a report from The Athletic, the offensive tackle weighed more than 400 pounds at one point while playing for the Raiders during the 2020 season, which is extremely high for a guy who was listed on the Las Vegas roster as only weighing 380 pounds. |
To encourage Brown to keep his weight in check, the Patriots have included $1.5 million in incentives that are directly tied to his weight over the next two years. |
According to ESPN.com, the incentives break down like his: |
- $150,000: Brown will get a bonus for this amount if he weighs 385 pounds or less on the first day of the team's offseason program.
- $75,000: Brown will get $75,000 more if his weight is at 375 pounds or less on June 1
- $75,000: The offensive tackle will get another check for $75,000 if he's at 365 pounds or less on July 15.
- $450,000: The biggest bonus will come during the season. Brown will get $25,000 added to his paycheck each week during the regular season if he's under 365 pounds at his weekly weigh-in session, which will take place Thursdays.
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That's a total of $750,000 in bonus money that he can earn in both 2022 and 2023, which means Brown has a total of $1.5 million tied to how much he weighs. If I'm Brown, I'm buying 474 pounds of broccoli this week and only eating that over the next two years. |
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6. Rapid-fire roundup: Aaron Rodgers to skip offseason program |
It's been a wild 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. |
- Aaron Rodgers won't be at OTAs. When the Packers start their offseason workout program April 18, don't look for Aaron Rodgers to be there. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , Rodgers is expected to skip the voluntary portion of the Packers' offseason program. However, the QB is expected to show up for the team's mandatory minicamp, which runs June 7-9.
- Rob Gronkowski has eliminated 31 options for 2022. Although we're still waiting for Gronk to make a decision about whether he's going to play next year, we do know he's made at least one decision regarding his future: If he plays, it will only be for the Buccaneers. Gronk revealed over the weekend that he's either going to play for the Bucs or retire.
- Kirk Cousins wants to retire as a Viking. After spending the past four seasons in Minnesota, it seems that Cousins would like to spend a few more up north. The 33-year-old has revealed that he would like to eventually retire with the Vikings. Of course, if he doesn't win a playoff game at some point, the Vikings might not want to keep him until his planned retirement date.
- Cam Newton in hot water for his latest comments about women. The free agent QB might have a tough time finding an NFL job after his recent controversial comments about women. Newton insinuated that a woman isn't a good fit for a man if she "can't cook" or doesn't "know when to be quiet" or doesn't know "how to allow a man to lead." You can read more about Newton's comments by clicking here.
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