Hello, friends. Welcome to Thursday’s edition of the . I could not resist a Masters-themed lede today that paid homage to Jim Nantz, who shockingly doesn’t provide dulcet pick-by-pick narration of the NFL Draft, seemingly the only major sporting event gig he has not held in his legendary career at CBS Sports.
As for the newsletter, if you missed last week’s launch, we’re rebranding the Pick Six newsletter through the end of April and I, CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Chris Trapasso, will be with you every step of the way. This daily newsletter’s sole purpose is to track everything transpiring in the NFL and spin it into a draft angle. I’m telling you: this is the place to get the latest on everything draft related.
Before I begin, here’s your daily reminder to tell all your buddies and that one uncle who’s always texting you mock draft links to sign up for the . Just click here and then share this link with them.
Today’s NFL mock draft 🔮: Houston passes on QB at No. 2!
Will Brinson’s mock draft 2.0 features a fascinating thought experiment — what happens if the Texans pass on a quarterback with the second overall pick? Remember, Peter King did report earlier this week that Houston doing so is not out of the question. Fortunately for Nick Caserio and the Texans organization that desperately needs a jolt of positivity, a top quarterback happens to fall to them at No. 12 overall. Brinson, you sly fox, you. You’ll have to read Will’s entire mock to see which passer the Texans get.
Here are more notable prospect-team pairings in this mock:
1. Carolina Panthers – Bryce Young, QB, Alabama
2. Houston Texans – Will Anderson, EDGE, Alabama
4. Indianapolis Colts – Jalen Carter, DT, Georgia
14. New England Patriots – Quentin Johnston, WR, TCU
24. Jacksonville Jaguars – Kelee Ringo, CB, Georgia
27. Buffalo Bills – Josh Downs, WR, North Carolina
28. Cincinnati Bengals – Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
‘With the First Pick’ podcast 🎧: Full house talking TEs and OTs
On the most recent episode, Ryan Wilson and Rick Spielman are joined by Pete Prisco and former NFL defensive lineman Leger Douzable to provide comprehensive analysis on the loaded tight end class and offensive line prospects in the 2023 draft. There’s an interesting discussion with wide-ranging opinions on how high Florida guard O’Cyrus Torrence should go, and the guys attempt to pinpoint how and why Iowa tight end Sam LaPorta became a sleeper in this class. There are plenty of historical comps — my favorites! — in this episode too. It’s a great one.
Packers seven-round mock draft: Playmakers for the Packers
Let’s keep seven-round mock draft week going, this time highlighting the Green Bay Packers, a club approaching a highly publicized breakup with its quarterback. In what would be the ultimate “K SEE YA” gesture from the Packers, our NFL staffer Garrett Podell has Green Bay picking a receiver in the first round, Quentin Johnston from TCU. Frankly it’d be fitting closure for the Packers-Aaron Rodgers saga, wouldn’t it? I think so too.
Podell has some defensive prospects landing in Titletown after the Johnston selection before circling back to the offensive side of the ball late in the draft. Remember, the Packers currently own four seventh-round selections.
‘Trust the Traits’ prospects
I promise I’m not solely using this newsletter’s platform to push my own writing, but after including my ‘Trust the Tape’ prospects on Tuesday, it only made sense to provide the follow-up today, my ‘Trust the Traits’ team for the 2023 draft class. And this collection of prospects is precisely what it seems — players who either weren’t shockingly awesome on film, didn’t amass ridiculous statistics or, in the case of one of the selections, Auburn edge rusher Derick Hall, is strangely not receiving the buzz he deserves. Despite one or all of those things — I trust these prospects to become quality NFL players because of how darn athletic they are.
News & Notes 📝
- Tyreek Hill says he’ll retire at end of contract. As a guest on a recent podcast, the Dolphins superstar wideout made the shocking revelation, saying: “I’m going to finish out this contract with the Dolphins and then I’m going to call it quits.” Hill is 29 and has already played seven seasons. Probably doesn’t do much to Miami’s draft plans though. Right?
- Jim Irsay wants a QB in the draft. At the owners meetings, the Colts brass didn’t unequivocally rule out a trade for Lamar Jackson. A new report from The Athletic has surfaced stating “Irsay wants to chase the draft-and-develop route, which offers financial flexibility for team-building.” Ok then. That settles that.
- Cam Newton willing to be a backup. Dressed as dapper as humanly possible, Newton released a video making it known he’d be content as an NFL backup, then listed the starters he’d like to back up. Which team would make the most sense?
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Author: Chris Trapasso
April 6, 2023 | 12:46 pm
