Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I hope you’re ready for a boatload of NFL news, because it’s going to be coming at you nonstop over the next 30 hours. Between now and 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday, there will be a total of 49 coaches and general managers being interviewed at the NFL Scouting Combine, and they almost always drop some interesting nuggets.
For instance, Steelers general manager Omar Khan revealed today that his team wants either Justin Fields or Russell Wilson to return to Pittsburgh and that the Steelers have already had talks with both quarterbacks (You can check out our full story here).
Speaking of interesting nuggets, we’ll be dropping some in the newsletter today: We’ll be making some bold predictions for the combine, plus we’ll be taking a look at the top tight ends in free agency.
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.
1. Are the Eagles going to the White House? Explaining all the drama
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There’s a lot of speculation out there about whether the Philadelphia Eagles are going to celebrate their Super Bowl win by visiting the White House. Over the past few days, you may have heard that they are NOT going to visit the White House, but you may have also heard that they are going to visit the White House, but it’s also possible that you heard nothing, because you’re smart and you stay off the internet.
Here’s what you need to know about the situation:
- Eagles open to visiting the White House. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported that the Eagles would be “honored” to visit the White House if they get invited.
- White House still hasn’t extended an invite. Now, this is where things get slightly confusing. The White House hasn’t extended an official invite yet, so nothing has been formally planned. The White House visit doesn’t usually happen until May or early June, so there’s still plenty of time for the White House to issue an invite and for the Eagles to accept it. Of course, there’s also a small chance the Eagles don’t actually get an invite and that’s because they do have some history with Trump, and that starts with Jeffrey Lurie. The Eagles owner was critical of Trump in October 2017, and he’s donated money to Democratic candidates like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Oh, and let’s not forget that the Eagles didn’t go to the White House after their first Super Bowl win in 2017.
- Eagles drama with President Trump. The team didn’t visit the White House after winning Super Bowl LII over the Patriots. The reason they skipped out on meeting with Trump is because he was criticizing players who were kneeling for the national anthem and most Eagles players didn’t like that. Trump ended up calling out the team in an official White House statement: “They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.” There are only four players from the 2017 team who are also on the 2024 team, so there’s not a lot of carry over, which means the decision from seven years ago might not have an impact on what happens this time around.
- Why there was speculation the Eagles might not go. On Feb. 6, a tabloid newspaper in England (the Sun) reported that Eagles players had gotten together with members of the front office and decided that they would NOT be visiting the White House if the Eagles won. The story from the Sun came out before the Super Bowl and it seems unlikely the Eagles would have made a decision at that point. Owner Jeffrey Lurie was asked about whether his team would visit the White House in the days leading up to the game and he ducked the question, saying “I just want to win on Sunday.” Even though it came out almost three weeks ago, the Sun’s report gained traction over the weekend, which is why word started to get out that the Eagles wouldn’t be visiting the White House.
Basically, nothing has been decided yet: The Eagles could still end up going to the White House, but Trump will first have to extend an invite, and once that invite goes out, the Eagles are expected to accept it.
The Steelers became the first Super Bowl champion to visit the White House when they met with Jimmy Carter after winning Super Bowl XIV. Since then, most teams have ended up making a trip to Washington D.C., but it hasn’t been a guarantee over the past few years with the Eagles (Super Bowl LII), Patriots (Super Bowl LIII), Chiefs (Super Bowl LIV) and Rams (Super Bowl LVI) all unable to visit the White House for one reason or another.
You can read more about the Eagles’ White House drama here.
2. Burning questions for the combine
There is no one more excited about the NFL combine this week than our NFL Draft crew at CBS Sports. Ryan Wilson, Mike Renner, Josh Edwards and Chris Trapasso have been counting down the days until the start of the NFL combine since the end of last year’s NFL combine.
Although our four draft guys are going to be very busy this week, they took some time to answer some burning questions about the NFL combine, so let’s check those out.
Q1: Which quarterback will have the best combine?
- Wilson: Kyle McCord, Syracuse. “He’s been my guy since the fall. And he followed up a great season at Syracuse with an impressive Shrine Bowl, and I suspect he’ll keep the momentum going through the combine and the rest of the pre-draft process.”
- Renner: Jalen Milroe, Alabama. “He may be the only quarterback that works out and he needs to put up numbers to sell teams on his upside.”
- Trapasso: Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss. “Dart should test reasonably well for the quarterback position and part of a class without a passer with ridiculous arm strength, Dart should be impressive in the throwing drills relative to his contemporaries in Indianapolis.”
- Edwards: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon. “My first thought was Miami’s Cam Ward, but it is unknown in which, if any drills, he will compete considering his stance as a near unanimous QB1. There is little he could show that would help. Gabriel is an experienced, accurate quarterback who should excel throwing on air.”
Note: Several quarterbacks will not be doing drills at the combine, including Shedeur Sanders and possibly Cam Ward, so they weren’t included in the answers above.
Q2: Which position group are you most excited to watch?
- Wilson: Wide receiver. “This wide receiver class isn’t nearly as deep as last year’s group, at least at the top, but there will be some dudes, a few of whom are still flying under the radar. TCU’s Jack Bech is a really good player that balled out at the Senior Bowl, and Arkansas’ Isaac Teslaa, a late add to the Senior Bowl roster, is probably going to test pretty well in Indy — and that athleticism and playmaking shows up on tape. And someone like Stanford’s Elic Ayomanor, who reminds me of a young JuJu Smith-Schuster, could really help himself with a solid week in Indy.”
- Renner: EDGE rusher. “It’s usually the position group I hone in on at the combine given its historical importance, but this year is especially impactful given it’s the most loaded position in the draft.”
- Trapasso: Defensive tackle. “Yes, the big men on the interior. It’s such a loaded class, and some of the largest defensive linemen — I presume Kenneth Grant from Michigan and even Deone Walker from Kentucky — are going to shock many fans with their springiness as athletes.”
- Edwards: Running backs. “The running back class is very deep this year and the competitive juices should be flowing inside Lucas Oil Stadium as top prospects stand in one after the next.”
If you want to see to how our four guys answered every key question about the combine, be sure to check out our entire story here.
3. Bold predictions for the NFL combine
USATSI
During the NFL regular season, we make bold predictions every week, so we thought we would do the same thing for the combine. So what qualifies as a bold prediction for the combine? Chris Trapasso has the answer to that.
Trapasso came up with several bold predictions, and we’re going to check out three of them below.
1. Penn State TE Tyler Warren has memorable combine workout. “On film, Warren looks like he could stroll into Indianapolis and test through the roof at the combine. I can’t imagine how magnificently he’s going to test as one of the biggest, most intimidating tight ends in this class. He’ll cement himself inside the top 15 with a dazzling performance in Indianapolis.”
2. TCU WR Savion Williams ascends boards after freaky all-around workout. “Williams is kind of like a huge running back, listed at 6-5 and 225 pounds. … After his workout, in a reasonably weak wide receiver class and because of the uptick in schemed-up, high-percentage throws for quarterbacks to maximize yards after the catch for their receivers, Williams will cement himself on Day 2 of the draft, and we could even hear some late Round 1 buzz.”
3. Texas A&M EDGE Shemar Stewart does something we’ve never seen before from a prospect his size. “Stewart, who should measure in over 280 pounds, might run sub 4.49, which is the current record for fastest 40-yard dash run by a prospects over 280 pounds (Adetomiwa Adebawore, 2023).”
You can check out all of Trapasso’s bold predictions here.
In other combine news, two of the top prospects — Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty and Penn State’s Abdul Carter — won’t be working out. You can read more about Jeanty’s situation here. As for Carter, he’s coming off a shoulder injury, so it’s not a huge surprise that he’s not working out. You can read more about his decision here.
4. Ranking the top tight ends available in free agency and their best fits
Although we’ll be focusing a lot on the combine this week, I can promise you that we have not forgotten about the fact that free agency is just 15 days away. To celebrate the fact that free agency is right around the corner, we’re going to rank the top tight ends. This year’s free-agent class has some impressive names, and not only did Tyler Sullivan rank the top five players, but he also came up with some potential landing spots for each guy in his top five.
Here’s a look at his list:
1. Juwan Johnson (Saints)
Best fits: Chargers, Chiefs, Broncos, Patriots
2. Mike Gesicki (Bengals)
Best fits: Bengals, Bears Chargers, Chiefs
3. Zach Ertz (Commanders)
Best fits: Commanders, Chiefs, Broncos, Bears
4. Tyler Conklin (Jets)
Best fits: Broncos, Ravens, Chargers, Colts
5. Austin Hooper (Patriots)
Best fits: Patriots, Broncos, Chiefs, Colts
If you want to check out Tyler’s full list of the top tight ends who will be available, then be sure to click here.
5. Ranking all 59 quarterbacks who started at least one game in 2024
USATSI
There were a total of 59 quarterbacks who started at least one game during the 2024 NFL season, and Cody Benjamin got a little crazy today, because he decided to rank EVERY single one of them. Cody’s ranking was based only on how each quarterback played during the 2024, so the fact that Patrick Mahomes has won three Super Bowls doesn’t help him here, because this ranking is strictly based on production from 2024.
Let’s take a look at Cody’s top five and his bottom five.
1. Lamar Jackson (Ravens)
2. Jayden Daniels (Commanders)
3. Joe Burrow (Bengals)
4. Jalen Hurts (Eagles)
5. Josh Allen (Bills)
…
55. Brandon Allen (49ers)
56. Skylar Thompson (Dolphins)
57. Jake Haener (Saints)
58. Bailey Zappe (Browns)
59. Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Browns)
If you’re wondering why the Browns were so bad, the bottom two spots in this ranking might help explain it. If you want to see Cody’s full ranking or if you want to see where Patrick Mahomes ended up, you can check out the full list here.
6. Extra points: Packers want ‘Tush Push’ banned
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.
- Packers propose new rule. Earlier this month, Packers president Mark Murphy made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the “Tush Push”, so we probably should have seen this coming: The Packers have proposed a rule that would ban the play. You can read more about their proposal here.
- Commanders Pro Bowler given permission to seek trade. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported that the Commanders have granted two-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Jonathan Allen permission to seek a trade. Allen, who missed nine games last season due to an injury, is headed into the final year of his contract. We’ve got all the details on the situation here.
- Rams hire Alex Van Pelt. The former Patriots offensive coordinator has been hired by the Rams as a senior offensive assistant. This is an interesting move for one big reason: Van Pelt was the QB coach in Green Bay for four seasons (2014-17) and he’s tight with Aaron Rodgers. If Matthew Stafford ends up getting traded, Rodgers to the Rams will certainly be something to watch for.
- Cowboys could draft a QB. With Cooper Rush and Trey Lance both set to hit free agency, it looks like the Cowboys are going to turn to the draft to find Dak Prescott’s new backup. Stephen Jones made some interesting comments about the team’s plans at QB, and you can check those out here.
Read the full article here
