Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
It’s a big day here at CBS Sports and that’s because Pete Prisco will finally be unveiling his ranking of the NFL’s top 100 players. It’s also a big day because my bosses have apparently decided to auction off a Zoom call with me.
Starting today, you can bid on a chance to have a 10-minute call with me. The auction is for our annual CBS Sports telethon that raises money for St. Jude, so all the money from the auction will be going to charity. If you want to bid, all you have to do is click here.
If you have the winning bid, we can literally talk about anything during our conversation, from your favorite NFL team to your favorite holiday to your favorite Taylor Swift song. If you ask nicely, I might even karaoke a Taylor Swift song with you.
Right now, the bidding in the newest auction is at just $10, which is basically a bargain compared to the last two years (Last year’s auction went for well over $100, and two years ago, the auction somehow reached $1,000).
Alright, that’s enough promoting myself, let’s get to the rundown.
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. Pete Prisco ranks the top 100 players in the NFL
It’s been four months since the Super Bowl ended, which I’m only mentioning, because I’m pretty sure that four months is how long Pete Prisco has been working on this year’s version of his top 100 list. It’s easily the biggest ranking that Prisco produces each year and the entire list is dropping TODAY.
Ranking NFL players might seem like an easy job, but it’s really not, so I’m going to give Prisco a congratulatory pat on the back for getting this list done. Actually, he doesn’t like when people touch him, so I’ll probably just send him a congratulatory text. Also, it’s a good thing I’m congratulating him, because I’m pretty sure no one on Twitter is going to. By the end of the day, I’m guessing Prisco will have roughly 9,000 tweets directed at him for the list and I’m also guessing that roughly 8,000 of those will be negative.
With that in mind, let’s check out the top 10 players on Prisco’s list:
1. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs)
2. Josh Allen (Bills)
3. Joe Burrow (Bengals)
4. Nick Bosa (49ers)
5. Myles Garrett (Browns)
6. Travis Kelce (Chiefs)
7. Justin Jefferson (Vikings)
8. Micah Parsons (Cowboys)
9. Aaron Donald (Rams)
10. Trent Williams (49ers)
The Chiefs landed three players in the top 15, which was the most in the league, but they only have five total players on the entire list. Overall, the Eagles have the most players on Prisco’s list with nine guys in the top 100. Of course, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee that they’ll win the Super Bowl. Last year, the Chargers had the most players in Prisco’s top 100 and they didn’t even make it out of the wild card round.
To check out every player on Prisco’s list, be sure to click here. If you want to complain to Prisco because he left your favorite player off the list or he had your favorite player too low, then you can do that by heading to his Twitter account.
2. Overreactions and reality checks from NFL minicamps
Everyone on the internet loves to overreact to things, and that’s especially true when we’re talking about the NFL. With that in mind, Jeff Kerr decided to take a look at several things that happened around the NFL over the past few weeks to decide if we’re all overreacting to some of the biggest minicamp storylines.
Statement: Bills should be concerned about Stefon Diggs.
Overreaction or reality: Overreaction. “What’s the deal with Diggs and Buffalo? Diggs just signed a massive contract extension last year and has a contract that would be hard to trade, even if the Bills have no cap charge since it’s after June 1. For next season? Buffalo would have to take on $31 million in cap charges if the Bills were to move on from Diggs. The Bills still have a few weeks to have this play out — and Diggs will have his opportunity to sort this out himself. This isn’t something to be ‘very concerned’ about now, yet it’s something to monitor for Buffalo.”
Statement: Patriots should sign DeAndre Hopkins during his visit this week.
Overreaction or reality: Reality. “New England just doesn’t have enough at wide receiver to compete in the loaded AFC East. The Patriots have an injured JuJu Smith-Schuster, DeVante Parker and Kendrick Bourne as their top three wideouts — with Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki as their tight ends… If the Patriots want to win in the post-Tom Brady era, Hopkins would be a welcome addition.”
Statement: Sam Howell will be the Commanders starting QB.
Overreaction or reality: Reality. “Howell already has good chemistry with his tight ends and wide receiver Jahan Dotson, who said he should be the quarterback. That’s a ringing endorsement already. Ron Rivera said there is a quarterback competition between Howell and Brissett, but don’t be fooled. The Commanders want Howell to take command of that offense in Week 1.“
There are plenty more overreactions to read about, and if you want to check those out, be sure to click here.
3. Latest details on the Stefon Diggs drama
The most confusing situation in the NFL this week was definitely the one in Buffalo involving Stefon Diggs. Now that the Bills are done with minicamp for the week, let’s take a look back on what happened and what might be next.
- The drama started on Tuesday when Bills coach Sean McDermott said he was “very concerned” after Diggs was a no-show for the first day of mandatory minicamp.
- Diggs’ agent then released a statement saying there was nothing to be concerned about and that the receiver had actually met with McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane on both Monday and Tuesday.
- The situation got even weirder when Josh Allen was asked about it on Tuesday. First, the Bills QB said Diggs’ absence wasn’t football-related, but in the next breath, he conceded that it might actually be football-related. “I know internally we’re working on some things. Not football-related, but Stef, he’s my guy,” Allen said. “I mean I think it has more to do than just football, is what I’m basically saying. I think there’s the football piece, one, and then stuff that happens due to football. And I’ll just kind of keep it at that.”
- On Tuesday night, Diggs posted a cryptic message to Instagram that said, “I just be letting people cap. If them lies help you sleep better tell em big dog.” I’m not good at interpreting cryptic messages, so I’ll let you decided what he means there.
- Despite all the drama on Tuesday, Diggs DID show up for practice on Wednesday. After the session ended, McDermott said the situation with Diggs was resolved. So why was Diggs a no-show at Tuesday’s practice? “We got to a point [Tuesday] where I just, we just, felt like we all needed a break and some space,” McDermott said, via ESPN. “And so, I gave Stef permission to get some space and head out and then picked up those conversations after practice.”
Apparently, the Bills got tired of answering questions about the situation, because they decided to cancel their final day of minicamp practice, which was scheduled for today. As Jeff Kerr wrote earlier, this isn’t a something that the Bills need to be concerned with now, but if Diggs is still an issue when training camp starts, that could be a huge problem. It’s definitely something that you should keep an eye on when the Bills report for training camp next month. For a full look at the Diggs situation, be sure to head here.
In other Bills news, Josh Allen recently opened up about what kind of emotional impact the Damar Hamlin situation had on the team last season and you can read that interview here.
4. Quarterbacks who will take a big leap in 2023 and quarterbacks who probably won’t
The quarterback position is easily the most important one in the NFL. If any QB struggles in 2023, there’s a good chance he’s going to take his team down with him. With that in mind, CBSSports.com’s Doug Clawson has been taking a closer look at the position this week, and today, he’s taking a look at which quarterbacks will likely take a leap and get better in 2023 and which ones won’t.
- Probably won’t improve much: Mac Jones. “Bill O’Brien is definitely an upgrade at offensive coordinator over Matt Patricia, but I don’t expect the OC change to turn the tide much. The Texans never had a top-10 scoring offense in seven seasons with O’Brien as their head coach. … I’m sure there will be sweeping changes, but not enough to repair Jones’ reported rift with the team. The Patriots are also the worst team in the AFC East (on paper) and Jones still has a supporting cast that is worse than what he had in college. They don’t look improved in 2023 either. JuJu Smith-Schuster instead of Jakobi Meyers and Mike Gesicki for Jonnu Smith feel like lateral moves.”
- Might improve: Russell Wilson. “The case for a leap is Payton’s success with the Saints where they were perennially one of the best offenses in the league. … The case against a leap has to do with Wilson’s decline and his fit with Payton. Wilson is running less at this stage of his career and Payton’s style could also be a culture shock for Wilson. Payton had success with a QB in Drew Brees who was the opposite of Wilson in terms of playing style.”
- Probably will improve: Lamar Jackson. “The Ravens offense will look different with Todd Monken replacing Greg Roman as the team’s offensive coordinator. Jackson must improve the accuracy of his deep ball if he’s going to thrive in this offense. He has the fourth-highest off-target rate on passes 20-plus yards downfield (36%) since coming into the league. If he improves that, it could mean a return to MVP form for Jackson, who has a new contract, new weapons and a new coach entering 2023.”
- Almost certainly will take a huge leap: Justin Herbert. “Herbert has a new offensive coordinator in Kellen Moore, who has the creativity and play-calling ability to play to Herbert’s strengths and take advantage of all the weapons around him. The Cowboys scored the most points of any NFC team in their four seasons with Moore as OC from 2019-22. Dak Prescott also ranked top 10 in the NFL in longest average throw distance in that span.”
If you want to read the rest of Clawson’s story on which quarterbacks could take a huge leap this year, be sure to click here.
5. Tom Brady explains why he wanted to buy a piece of the Raiders
When Tom Brady revealed that he was going to buy a piece of the Raiders, it wasn’t surprising to find out that he was planning to become an NFL owner, but it was surprising to find out that he was going to do it with the Raiders. Brady isn’t exactly a popular person with Raiders fans — you can thank the “Tuck Rule” game for that — and there are several other teams that might have made more sense for him to join.
So why did Brady pick the Raiders? He finally answered that question this week during an interview with the AP.
- Raiders are an iconic franchise. “I grew up in the Bay Area. My favorite team was the 49ers. The team across the bay was the Raiders. And, you know, they’re an iconic NFL franchise,” Brady said.
- Brady admires former Raiders owner Al Davis. “When I look at a lot of the people that have impacted the NFL over a long period of time in the most positive way, Al Davis is one of them. And he’s not with us anymore but I’ve heard incredible stories. And then the opportunity came about to become a minority owner in the Raiders, it was a dream come true for me.”
- Brady the owner won’t be doing much from a football perspective. The 45-year-old gave a few details on what his role will be with the Raiders and as it turns out, he won’t have any operational control or decision-making power when it comes to football matters, “I’ll be playing a very passive role,” Brady said.
- Brady plans on being an owner for the rest of his life. Brady played in the NFL for 23 years and he might end up being an owner longer than that. “This is something that I’m interested in doing for the rest of my life. This is not something that I’m into it for a year or two years,” the seven-time Super Bowl winner said.
Although Raiders fans would probably love to see him suit up for the team, that almost certainly won’t happen. Brady has been adamant this offseason that he’s currently happy in retirement.
6. Extra points: Chiefs are getting their Super Bowl rings today
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.
- Chiefs set to get their Super Bowl ring. Super Bowl rings seem to be getting bigger and bigger every year, and if you want to see how big this year’s version will be, then make sure to follow the Chiefs on social media because the team’s ring ceremony will be going down tonight, according to multiple players.
- Travis Kelce doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon. At 33, Travis Kelce should be on the tail end of his career, but maybe that’s not the case. Not only is he still playing at a high level, but he doesn’t sound like he plans on retiring anytime soon. Kelce said this week that he’s going to play until “the wheels fall off.” You can read his full comments here.
- Dalvin Cook hoping to get $10 million per year in new contract. The former Vikings running back might be a free agent for awhile and that’s mainly due to his asking price. According to Miami Herald reporter Barry Jackson, Cook wants something close to the $10.4 million he would’ve earned as base salary from the Vikings in 2023. Um, $10.4 million in this economy?!?! That could be a tough ask. You can read more about Cook’s situation here.
- Carson Wentz has been studying with Jon Gruden. The former Raiders coach is definitely staying busy this offseason. Not only did he do some work with Derek Carr in New Orleans, but Gruden has also been spending time with Wentz in Florida. The free agent quarterback plans on taking his time before signig with anyone and it sounds like he’ll be spending a lot of that time with Gruden. For more details on that situation, be sure to head here.
- Colts rookie tears ACL. Colts rookie Daniel Scott will miss the entire 2023 season after tearing his ACL during OTAs. The former Cal safety, who was selected in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, was placed on injured reserve this week.
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Author: John Breech
June 15, 2023 | 1:27 pm
