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| Monday, May 1, 2023 |
| Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter. It is I, John Breech, and I am back in the saddle after taking a one-month hiatus from writing the newsletter. |
| Before we start things off here, I'd like to thank Chris Trapasso for handling things over the past four weeks. As you may or may not have noticed, we turned this into a draft newsletter for the month of April and Trapasso was in charge of it. However, now that the draft is over, Trapasso will now be going into hibernation for the next six months (At least, I think that's what draft writers do). |
| Although our draft writer is leaving, we'll still be talking A LOT about the draft. As a matter of fact, that's basically all we're going to talk about today, so I hope you're ready for that and if you're not, you better start mentally preparing now. We'll also be taking a look at the date that the NFL is targeting for the release of the schedule. |
| 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. All right, let's get to the rundown. |
| 1. Today's podcast: Best draft pick made by each team |
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| The guys from the "With the First Pick" podcast were extremely busy over the weekend. After the draft was over, I'm assuming they all just wanted to take a nap, but instead, they got together to record a post-draft podcast. |
| For today's episode, Ryan Wilson and Emory Hunt were joined by former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman and three of them broke down every team's best pick along with one hidden gem from each team. |
| For most teams, their best pick was the one they made in the first round, but I've decided to spice things up here by only listing teams who had their best pick outside of the first round. With that in mind, let's take a look at the best pick for five different teams: |
| Cowboys: LB DeMarvion Overshown (Third round, 90th overall)Lions: TE Sam LaPorta (Second round, 34th overall)Buccaneers: OL Cody Mauch (Second round, 48th overall)Dolphins: RB Devon Achane (Third round, 84th overall)Steelers: DB Joey Porter Jr. (Second round, 32nd overall) |
| On their list of hidden gems, two of the most interesting names are Georgia QB Stetson Bennett and Tulane running back Tyjae Spears. On Bennett's end, he's now headed to Los Angeles after the Rams selected him in the fourth round with the 128th overall pick. As for Spears, he'll now be in the same back field as Derrick Henry after the Titans selected the Tulane star in the third round with the 81st overall pick. |
| You can hear the guys break down the best pick from every team by listening to today's podcast here (you can also watch it live twice weekly on the NFL on CBS YouTube channel and you can subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts). |
| If you're not in the mood to listen to a podcast today, you can read about who the best picks and hidden gems are by clicking here. |
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| 2. NFL Draft grades for every team |
| There is no one who loves handing out grades more than Pete Prisco, so after the draft was over on Saturday night, he sifted through every team's draft class and came up with a grade for each team. |
| Prisco was clearly in a friendly mood this year -- or he's gotten soft in his old age -- because he didn't hand out a single 'D' or a single 'F.' Instead, the lowest grade he handed out was a 'C-.' |
| With that in mind, here's a look at the four teams that were hit with a 'C-,' along with Prisco's explanation for why he didn't like what they did in the draft. |
| Dolphins: C-. "They lost their first-round pick because they violated the league's policy on integrity of the game when they tampered with Tom Brady. So their first pick was Cam Smith, which I didn't like. The rest of the draft was just OK, and they didn't take an offensive lineman with their first three picks, waiting until the seventh round when they took tackle Ryan Hayes. That could end up being a problem."Vikings: C-. "After Jordan Addison in the first round, I didn't love their draft. I do like fifth-round defensive tackle Jacquelin Roy from LSU. He has talent and he's strong. Seventh-round running back DeWayne McBride was on my Better-Than team, so I like him."49ers: C-. "Taking kicker Jake Moody in the third round is way too high. I hate that. Kickers come and go, so why not just bring two to camp and let them compete? Haven't teams learned yet from drafting kickers? I didn't love this draft."Chiefs: C-. "It's hard to doubt this organization, but I didn't love this draft. I think they left meat on the bone. I think there were better options when they picked the positions they did." One pick Prisco especially disliked was the selection of pass rusher Felix Anudike-Uzomah in the first round. |
| If you're wondering whether Prisco actually handed out any good grades, the answer is yes. A total of four teams -- the Bengals, Cowboys, Lions and Eagles -- all received an "A." If you want to check out the grades given to every other team, be sure to click here. |
| 3. Ranking every QB taken in the first three rounds by the situation they landed in |
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| Bryce Young was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's in the best situation to succeed going forward. To figure out who has it the best, Cody Benjamin went through and ranked every quarterback who was drafted in the first three rounds based on how well they're set up for future success. |
| I'm going to give you the top two quarterbacks on his list and I can promise you that No. 1 is going to be a surprise. |
| 1. Hendon Hooker, Lions (Third round, 68th overall pick). From Cody: "Hooker could end up benefitting immensely from the fact he slid to Detroit on Day 2... Hooker is in a situation where he doesn't have to rush back from his ACL injury, and he'll be joining one of the NFL's most enticing up-and-comers. He can sit and learn from Jared Goff while preparing for the chance to headline a lineup that now includes RB Jahmyr Gibbs, WRs Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, TE Sam LaPorta and a rising defense -- all young, ascending pieces under Dan Campbell and Ben Johnson." 2. Bryce Young, Panthers (First round, first overall). From Cody: "While their skill positions will require additional youth injections over the next year or three, they've got proven and/or ascending talent at every level on both sides of the ball, including tackles Ikem Ekwonu and Taylor Moton, RB Miles Sanders, WRs Adam Thielen and rookie Jonathan Mingo, TE Hayden Hurst and a feisty "D" led by Brian Burns and Derrick Brown." |
| To check out Cody's full ranking, be sure to click here. |
| As a bonus, that's not the only ranking involving quarterbacks that we have for you today. We also ranked which teams have the best chance of landing USC quarterback Caleb Williams in next year's draft and you can check out that ranking here. |
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| 4. Undrafted free agent signings: Tracking the frenzy |
| The only thing crazier than the NFL Draft is what happens after the draft. At the conclusion of the event, there's a total free-for-all as each team tries to sign the best undrafted free agents. |
| Just because a player goes undrafted doesn't mean they can't still become a star in the NFL. As a matter of fact, some of the biggest stars in NFL history didn't get drafted. From Tony Romo to Kurt Warner to Antonio Gates to James Harrison, plenty of players have gone on to have impressive careers after not getting drafted. |
| With that in mind, here are some of the notable undrafted players who have already signed a deal: |
| Kurt Warner's son signs with the Buccaneers. Although Warner is a Hall of Fame quarterback, his son doesn't play the same position. Kade Warner was a receiver in college who finished the 2022 season with 46 catches for 456 yards and five touchdowns at Kansas State. The younger Warner will now compete for a spot on Tampa Bay's roster. Vikings land PFF's top linebacker. According to Pro Football Focus, Ivan Pace Jr. was the highest graded linebacker in college football last season, but somehow, he still went undrafted. The former Cincinnati star was expected to go somewhere around the fourth round, but he fell out of the draft entirely, which ended up working out well for the Vikings. Rams finally have a kicker. Going into the draft, the Rams didn't have a kicker on their roster, and surprisingly, they decided not to take one. Instead, the Rams ended up adding North Carolina State kicker Christopher Dunn as an undrafted free agent. Dunn didn't get drafted even though he won the Lou Groza Award as the top FBS kicker in 2022. The Rams also signed Oklahoma State kicker Tanner Brown, so Dunn will definitely have some competition for the kicking job. |
| To check out every undrafted free agent signing, you can head to our tracker by clicking here. |
| 5. NFL eyeing May 11 for release of the schedule |
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| With the NFL Draft now officially in the books, the next big event on the NFL calendar will be taking place in May with the release of the full 2023 regular-season schedule. |
| The NFL hasn't announced the official date for the schedule release yet, but it appears that the league does have a certain date in mind. According to ESPN.com, the NFL is targeting Thursday, May 11. |
| Although we don't know much about the 2023 schedule, here are five things we do know: |
Thursday night opener in Kansas City. The defending Super Bowl champion annually plays host in the opening game of the season, which means that barring something unforeseen, the Chiefs will be the home team in the Thursday night opener. Their home schedule consists of the Broncos, Raiders, Chargers, Bills, Bengals, Dolphins, Bears, Lions and Eagles, so the NFL will have plenty of juicy games to choose from, including a possible Super Bowl rematch with the Eagles or an AFC title game rematch with the Bengals. Sending Josh Allen and the Bills to Kansas City for the opener would also be an attractive option for the league. Home teams set for the international games. The five home teams for the international games will be the Bills, Titans, Jaguars, Chiefs and Patriots. New England and Kansas City will each host a game in Germany while the other three teams will be hosting a game in London. Nothing is set in stone yet, but there's been at least one report suggesting that the Chiefs will be playing the Bears.
Monday nights will be changing. The 2023 season marks the beginning of the new media contract, which will usher in some new changes. Two of those changes will involve Monday night games. Not only will there be THREE Monday doubleheaders this year -- up from one last season -- but the NFL will also be able to flex Monday games in 2023 starting in Week 12. Black Friday game is coming. Although Amazon bought the rights to the Thursday night package, the tech company doesn't get to air a game on Thanksgiving. To make up for that, Amazon will be getting a Black Friday game this year, which will air on Nov. 24 at 3 p.m. ET. The game will mark just the 12th time that the NFL has played on a Friday since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. According to Peter King of NBC Sports, Eagles-Giants is currently the leader in the clubhouse to be the Black Friday game. Every home and away opponent for all 32 teams. Although we don't know the time and dates for any game yet this year, we do know who each team will be playing and you can check out the home-and-away opponents for all 32 teams by clicking here. |
| If the NFL does release the schedule on May 11, that means we're officially t-minus 10 days and counting until it drops. |
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| 6. Extra points: Bills sign veteran running back |
| It's been a VERY busy weekend 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. |
| Bills sign Latavius Murray. The Bills didn't add any running back depth in the draft over the weekend, but they did add some in free agency on Monday by signing Murray to a one-year deal. Murray rushed for 760 yards last season while playing 12 games for the Broncos and one game with the Saints. Cowboys haven't ruled out re-signing Zeke. After releasing Ezekiel Elliot earlier this offseason, it looked like his days in Dallas were over, but now, it seems like there's actually a chance that the two sides could reunite. Jerry Jones said that "ship has not sailed" when asked about a possible Elliott return. To check out his full comments, just click here. Tristan Wirfs moving to left tackle. One of the top right tackles in the NFL is going to be making a position switch for 2023. After spending his entire three-year career at right tackle, Wirfs will be moving to left tackle in 2023, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Wirfs was voted to the Pro Bowl in two of his three seasons as the Bucs' starting right tackle. Daugther of Shaq Barrett dies in tragic accident. The daughter of Buccaneers star Shaq Barrett passed away over the weekend after accidentally drowning in the family pool. Arrayah Barrett was just 2 years old and was the youngest of four children in the Barrett family. You can read more about the tragedy here. |
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