Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
There could be some NFL rule changes coming this week. For the next two days, the NFL’s 32 owners will be in Palm Beach, Florida, for the league’s annual league meeting. Based on the location of the meeting, you’d think the owners were taking a group vacation, but as it turns out, that’s not the case. The annual league meeting is where most of the NFL’s offseason work gets done. Any time you see any major changes made in the NFL — from new rules to new bylaws — those are things that are usually voted on at this meeting.
We’ll be taking a look at the rule proposals on the table for this week, plus we’ll have the latest on Aaron Rodgers in today’s newsletter.
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1. Mock Draft Monday: Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders get taken with first two picks
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It’s time for another edition of Mock Draft Monday, which is where we hunt down one of our NFL Draft gurus and force them to give you a new mock draft since there’s no better way to start the week than with a fresh mock.
This week, we have a mock draft from Garrett Podell, who has a quarterback being taken with each of the first two picks.
Let’s check out his top 10:
1. Titans: QB Cam Ward (Miami)
2. Browns: QB Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)
3. Giants: EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State)
4. Patriots: CB/WR Travis Hunter (Colorado)
5. Jaguars: DL Mason Graham (Michigan)
6. Raiders: RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
7. Jets: OT Armand Membou (Missouri)
8. Panthers: WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)
9. Saints: EDGE Jalon Walker (Georgia)
10. Bears: OT Will Campbell (LSU)
If Sanders gets selected with the second overall pick, that would be the highest any Colorado player has been taken since 1974 when the Chargers took running back Bo Matthews with the second overall pick.
If you want to see how the rest of Garrett’s first round pans out, then be sure to check out his entire mock draft here.
For more draft coverage, you can hear Ryan Wilson every week on “With the First Pick,” our year-round NFL Draft podcast here at CBS Sports. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube.
2. NFL annual league meeting is here: Several big rule proposals being voted on this week
The NFL’s 32 owners will be getting together for the next two days in Palm Beach, Florida, and during their meeting they’ll be voting on several big rule changes for the 2025 NFL season.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest rule proposals that will be voted on:
- Touchbacks moved out to the 35-yard line on kickoffs. Under last year’s rule, the touchback was at the 30-yard line, but under this proposal, the touchback would be moved to the 35-yard line. The idea here is that it would discourage the kicking team from simply booting the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff knowing that the return team will automatically get the ball at the 35-yard line. Getting the ball at the 35 is huge, because that means a team would need to gain just 20 to 25 yards to get into field goal range. The league’s internal data shows a 65% to 75% return rate if the touchback is moved to the 35, more than double the rate in the 2024 season. That stat comes from our Jonathan Jones, and you can check out his full story on the proposed change here.
- Proposal to change the playoff format. If this proposal passes, there would be a major change to the NFL’s playoff seeding format heading into 2025. Under the Lions’ proposal, a wild-card team could be seeded higher than a division-winning team if the wild-card team has a better record. All division winners would still be guaranteed a playoff berth, but they wouldn’t be guaranteed a home playoff game. If this rule had been in place last season, the 14-3 Vikings would have been the third seed in the NFC instead of the fifth seed.
- Proposal to have the ‘Tush Push’ banned. This one is pretty simple: The Packers want the “Tush Push” out of the NFL. So how would this rule work? It would prohibit an offensive player from pushing a teammate who takes the snap from center. According to ESPN.com, the competition committee actually supports this proposal, which is only notable, because proposals have a better chance of passing if the committee supports them. Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said that he expects at least four coaches to vote for KEEPING the “Tush Push,” and you can check out that list of coaches here.
- Proposal to implement the same rules for postseason and regular-season overtime. Under the current rules, overtime in the regular season is only 10 minutes and the team that gets the ball first can end the game with a touchdown. Under the overtime rules in the postseason, the period is 15 minutes and both teams are guaranteed a possession, even if the team that gets the ball first scores a touchdown. If this rule passes, the postseason rules would be implemented for the regular season.
- Thursday night flexing could change. Under current rules, the NFL has to give 28 days notice before flexing a Thursday night game. According to the Sports Business Journal, NFL owners will be voting to cut that time down to 21 days, which means the rules for the Thursday flex could be changing.
As for whether we’ll see any changes, each rule would have to be approved by 24 of the 32 owners before it can officially be added to the rule book for the 2025 season, so it will be interesting to see what happens here.
3. NFL QB rumors: Buying or selling the latest on Kirk Cousins and other quarterbacks
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Kirk Cousins decided to randomly show up at a Chipotle in Cleveland last week, but that does that mean he’s going to end up with the Browns? Glad you asked. Cody Benjamin decided to take a look at all the latest QB rumors and decide whether to buy or sell them.
Let’s take a look at what Cody came up with:
Kirk Cousins to the Browns is going to happen.
Buy or sell: Sell. “There’s no disputing the connections here: Cleveland coach Kevin Stefanski was once Cousins’ offensive coordinator with the Vikings, and even after acquiring Kenny Pickett via trade, the Browns are in dire need of proven quarterback help, with Deshaun Watson sidelined indefinitely. Yet the Atlanta Falcons could’ve easily cut ties with Cousins by now if they just wanted future financial relief. The fact they’ve retained his bloated contract instead suggests they’re hoping an emergency arises that prompts another team to surrender legitimate compensation via trade. Why, after dealing a pick to the Philadelphia Eagles for Pickett, wouldn’t the Browns just rather add a rookie on an even cheaper deal via the draft?”
The Colts will hold a legitimate QB competition.
Buy or sell: Buy. “Richardson isn’t entirely to blame for his early career struggles, but coach Shane Steichen all but declared the Florida product unprepared after his initial benching. Cue this offseason, when the team paid a surprisingly steep price for former New York Giants castoff Daniel Jones Money talks, and Jones’ $14 million contract puts him well above standard backups. We’d expect Richardson to have the edge as the incumbent when on-field work begins, but no jobs will be promised this time around.”
We played “Buy or Sell” with a total of five QB rumors, and you can check out each of those here.
4. Who should Raiders take with sixth overall pick? Ranking their best options
The Raiders are going to be one of the most interesting teams to watch in the NFL Draft. With the addition of Geno Smith, they don’t necessarily need a quarterback anymore, so they’ll have a lot of options when they go on the clock with the sixth overall pick.
So what should the Raiders do? Glad you asked. Bryan DeArdo ranked the Raiders’ top three options and we’re going to check those out below:
1. RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State): “New Raiders head coach Pete Carroll knows what a powerful running game can do for a team. Carroll, after all, won a Super Bowl and nearly captured a second one in Seattle with Marshawn Lynch spearheading the Seahawks offense. Carroll may try to repeat history by drafting Jeanty, who, in 2024 came less than 30 yards away from breaking Barry Sanders’ NCAA single-season rushing record.”
2. QB Shedeur Sanders (Colorado): “Given his skill set, Sanders appears to be a perfect mentee for Smith, one of the more accurate quarterbacks of this era. Smith can help Sanders when it comes to reading NFL defenses and having success while facing pressure.”
3. WR/CB Travis Hunter (Colorado). “If the Giants and Patriots (who have the third and fourth picks, respectively) pass on him, it’s hard to imagine the Raiders not drafting Hunter. … Hunter was so good at both his positions in college that it’s unclear which spot will be his primary focus in the NFL. If drafted by the Raiders, Hunter would likely focus on receiver given their needs at that position. He’d be set up for success with former Pro Bowler Geno Smith serving as his first NFL quarterback.”
So, who else would make sense for the Raiders? You can check out DeArdo’s full list here.
5. Your weekly Aaron Rodgers update
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It has now been 10 days since Aaron Rodgers visited with the Steelers, and at this point, it’s still unclear how interested he might be in playing for Pittsburgh. However, we did get two new developments over the weekend: Mike Tomlin was asked about Rodgers for the first time since the quarterback’s visit and the other development is that Rodgers had a throwing session with one of the Steelers’ star receivers.
- Tomlin says the meeting with Rodgers went well. “We had a really productive day. He’s been in this thing a long time. There’s no substitute for intimacy and spending time together and getting to know one another in a non-competitive environment. So that was really good, but I don’t have any new updates in terms of where the process is.” It sound like Tomlin was impressed with Rodgers, but he still seems unsure about what’s going to happen.
- Tomlin isn’t worried about the quarterback position right now. “I’m really comfortable with being unsettled this time of the year to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said when asked if he’s uncomfortable that his quarterback position is still in a state of flux. The Steelers have Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson. Rudolph had a previous stint in Pittsburgh, so Tomlin is comfortable with him running things for now. “That’s why we brought him back. I’m comfortable with that. We’ve been there before. He’s a very capable guy.”
- Rodgers had a throwing session with DK Metcalf. Rodgers hasn’t signed with the Steelers yet, but he did spend the weekend having a throwing session with one of their receivers. According to NFL Media, the free agent quarterback got together with DK Metcalf at UCLA and the two had a throwing session. This doesn’t necessarily mean Rodgers is going to sign with the Steelers, but it’s definitely a positive sign for Pittsburgh.
You can read Tomlin’s full comments on the Rodgers situation here. The Steelers coach did say that the team doesn’t have any sort of deadline right now when it comes to making a decision on Rodgers.
6. Extra points: Derek Carr was looking to be traded
It was a 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.
- Derek Carr apparently wanted out of New Orleans. It seems there was some drama between the Saints and Carr this offseason. According to Saints beat writer Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.football, Carr was seeking a trade earlier this offseason. However, that option went out the window in early March when the team decided to redo his contract, which locked him in for the 2025 season. You can read more about the Saints drama here.
- Colts will have a true QB competition. There’s officially going to be a QB competition in Indy. Colts coach Shane Steichen revealed on Monday that he plans to have Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson split reps evenly during OTAs. You can check out his full comments here.
- Browns unlikely to trade up. The Browns have the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and although no one knows what they’re going to do, it seems pretty safe to say that they won’t be trading UP. Over the weekend, general manager Andrew Berry admitted that his team would be “unlikely” to make a deal with the Titans for the top pick.
- John Harbaugh gets contract extension. The Ravens coach, who has been in Baltimore since 2008, could end up staying with the Ravens for 20 years. Harbaugh was given a three-year contract extension over the weekend, which means he’s now signed with the Ravens through 2028. The Super Bowl-winning coach, who has a regular-season record of 172-104, is the second-longest tenured coach in the NFL behind only Mike Tomlin.
- Stanford set to hire Frank Reich. The former Panthers and Colts coach is headed for the college ranks. Reich has been hired to coach the Cardinal for one season only. As the general manager for Stanford football, Andrew Luck was in charge of the hiring and he decided to hire his old coach in Indianapolis. So why is he being hired for just one season? You can get the details here.
Read the full article here
