NFL

Tyreek Hill could face charges for Father’s Day incident, plus Bengals top Chiefs for NFL’s best QB-RB-WR trio

by
SaC Bot
June 22, 2023

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I’d like to start off here today by apologizing for not organizing a Pick Six field trip to the psychedelics conference in Denver that was held yesterday and featured Aaron Rodgers. As everyone knows, attending a psychedelics conference has always been on my bucket list and I blew it by not going to this one. I’ll have to plan better next year, and also, I’ll need to find out if they’re handing out free psychedelics at this conference.

Rodgers revealed during the conference that he wants to see psychedelics legalized, and if that happens, I’m guessing he’ll have a 400-acre ayahuasca farm built in his backyard five minutes after psychedelics become legal.

Anyway, that’s enough psychedelic talk, let’s get to today’s 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. Today’s show: Breaking down the Patriots’ offseason

The best thing about the dead part of the offseason is that it means it’s now time for the Pick Six Podcast’s annual beat writer breakdown. Over the next month, we’ll be taking a look at each team in the NFL by bringing on a writer who covers that team. After hitting the Dolphins and Giants earlier this week, we’ve got the Patriots today.

To talk about how things are going in New England, we brought on CBSSports.com’s Tyler Sullivan, who has covered several practices this year.

Here are a few topics that host Katie Mox and Will Brinson covered with Sullivan:

Will the Patriots end up with DeAndre Hopkins? According to Sully, a signing would make some sense for both sides. “It does look like there’s interest on the part of DeAndre Hopkins,” Sullivan said. “From a Patriots standpoint, not only does he fill a need, but there’s a ton of familiarity with Bill O’Brien there. … There’s interest on both sides, we’ll have to see where it goes.”
Will Mac Jones play better after a bad 2022 season? Sullivan noted that it’s hard to assess what Jones will look like in the Patriots offense this year, because he hasn’t been practicing with some of his biggest weapons like JuJu Smith-Schuster and Tyquan Thornton. “You get a little bit with the tight ends and a little bit with the running backs, but with the receivers out, you haven’t really gotten that full picture view of what this offense could be,” Sullivan said. “What we’ve seen so far from Mac Jones has been extremely efficient. What we’ve seen so far from Jones is his accuracy, that’s been the one thing that caught my eye.”

Sullivan spent a full 25 minutes talking about the Patriots, and if you want to hear everything he had to say, you can listen to today’s show here. You can also watch today’s show on YouTube by clicking here.

2. Tyreek Hill still under investigation, could face charges

There have been some confusing details surrounding the alleged Father’s Day incident involving Tyreek Hill, so we’re going to do our best to clear them up here.

What is Hill accused of doing? According to a police report from the incident obtained by NBC Miami, there was a confrontation at a marine center in North Miami Beach on Sunday. According to authorities, Hill’s party got into an argument with an employee at the marine center and that altercation ended with Hill slapping the man on the neck.
Will Hill face charges? This is where things get a little confusing. There had been some speculation on Wednesday that Hill wouldn’t face any charges, but according to the police report, the victim DOES intend to press charges, although nothing has been filed yet.
Hill is still under investigation. One reason we haven’t seen Hill charged yet could have to do with the fact that police are still investigating the incident. Police told NFL.com on Wednesday night that Hill remains under investigation for an allegation of assault and battery.
The slap was allegedly caught on video. Although police haven’t released any footage, there is apparently surveillance video of the incident, which could hurt Hill (or help him), depending on what it shows.
What’s next. If Hill does get charged, it’s very possible that he could eventually face a punishment from the NFL. The Dolphins star has a history with the law — he pleaded guilty to a domestic assault charge in 2015 and was investigated for alleged battery in 2019 — and the NFL will almost always take your history into account when doling out any potential punishment. That being said, Hill’s guilty plea was eventually expunged and he wasn’t punished by the NFL after the league investigation in 2019.

For more details on Hill’s current situation, be sure to read our full story here.

3. Who has the best QB/RB/WR trio in the NFL?

After keeping everyone in suspense for the past two days, Jared Dubin is finally ready to unveil the top five teams in his annual ranking of the NFL’s best triplets. On Tuesday, Dubin unveiled the bottom half of his rankings. One day later, he revealed most of the teams in his top 15, and now, we’re down to the top five.

So who has the best QB/RB/WR trio in the NFL this year? Let’s find out.

1. Bengals (QB Joe Burrow, RB Joe Mixon, WR Ja’Marr Chase)
2. Chiefs (QB Patrick Mahomes, RB Isiah Pacheco, TE Travis Kelce)
3. Eagles (QB Jalen Hurts, RB D’Andre Swift, WR A.J. Brown)
4. Bills (QB Josh Allen, RB James Cook, WR Stefon Diggs)
5. Chargers (QB Justin Herbert, RB Austin Ekeler, WR Keenan Allen)

I know what you’re thinking, and no, I did not beg Dubin to put the Bengals ahead of the Chiefs here, even though I did think about it. The overall ranking was actually voted on by 15 different NFL writers and editors here at CBS Sports and the Bengals ended up edging out the Chiefs with an average score of 1.5 compared to 1.6 for Kansas City (Under this scoring system, a one would be the best score a team could get because that would mean the team was ranked No. 1 by all 15 writers).

If you want to see the breakdown of the vote and why the Bengals ended up on top, be sure to check out Dubin’s full story by clicking here.

4. Five rookie wide receivers who could take over the NFL in 2023

When it comes to playing wide receiver in the NFL, there used to be an adjustment period for rookies, but that doesn’t seem to be the case so much anymore. Over the past few years, rookie receivers have come in and dominated right away. In each of the past two seasons, the Offensive Rookie of the Year award has gone to a receiver — Ja’Marr Chase in 2021, Garrett Wilson in 2022 — marking the first time in 37 years that a wide receiver has won the award in back-to-back seasons.

With that in mind, CBSSports.com draft guru Chris Trapasso decided to take a look at which receivers might take over the NFL in 2023.

1. Quentin Johnston, Chargers. “The Chargers needed a serious YAC weapon to turn high-percentage throws for Herbert into splash plays, which is why I believe they zeroed in on Johnston in the draft. His explosiveness and contact balance made him the most dynamic yards-after-the-catch monster in the class.”

2. Rashee Rice, Chiefs. “The Kansas City offense has 103 available receptions and 1,230 available receiving yards from the departures of JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman. … Rice’s physical nature, knack for rebounding the ball downfield, and powerful yards-after-the-catch skill will lead to him winning Mahomes’ trust early in the 2023 season. I loved Rice as a prospect and adore his fit with the Chiefs in Year 2 of the Tyreek Hill-less offense.”

3. Jordan Addison, Vikings. “Addison is going to get open in Minnesota’s offense. With essentially all the attention on Justin Jefferson and the remainder on T.J. Hockenson, Addison will be showered with one-on-one matchups all game.”

Trapasso actually made a list of five receivers and if you want to see his full list, be sure to click here.

5. Bargain players who might be looking for a raise soon

The problem with having a bargain player in the NFL is that they don’t stay a bargain for long. If a player puts up huge numbers over the course of his contract, then he’s almost certainly going to be getting a huge raise in his next contract.

Cody Benjamin decided to take a look around the league at some of the biggest bargain players who could soon be in line to land a huge raise.

QB Patrick Mahomes (Current contract: $45 million per year). Is it really possible for the man with the biggest contract in NFL history to be underpaid? If his name is Patrick Mahomes, then yes. At just 27, the Chiefs star is already a virtual lock for the Hall of Fame, with two Super Bowl titles, two NFL MVPs, an 11-3 playoff record and 192 touchdown passes in just five full years as a starter.
WR Justin Jefferson (Current contract: $3.3 million per year). If anyone has a case to become the NFL’s highest-paid non-QB, it’s probably “Jets,” who’s been a bona fide No. 1 since Day 1 but now deserves MVP consideration as the Vikings’ offensive catalyst. Fresh off a 1,800-yard season with more room for growth, Jefferson is smooth and self-motivated, and his pocketbook should soon confirm him as a face of the league.
DE Trey Hendrickson (Current contract: $15 million per year). Hendrickson has more than lived up to the hype since signing with the Bengals in 2021, propelling Cincinnati’s front with persistent QB pressure. His 22 sacks and 51 QB hits the last two years have played an underrated role in the Bengals’ AFC contention, making him a relative steal for his price tag.

You can see Cody’s full list of bargain players by clicking here.

6. Extra points: Lions unveil new alternate helmet

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.

Lions unveil blue helmet. After decades of wearing their silver helmet, the Lions will be making a brief change this year. The team unveiled an alternate blue helmet that will be worn twice in 2023: Week 8 against the Raiders and Week 18 against the Vikings. The new helmet is actually pretty cool and you can check it out here.
Dalvin Cook and the Jets seem to be eyeing each other. Dalvin Cook and Jets owner Woody Johnson are now following each other on Twitter (Johnson only follows 74 people, so I’d say this qualifies as notable). Also, Cook has been “liking” tweets that suggest he should play for the Jets. I have no idea what this all means, but I won’t be surprised if it ends with Cook playing for the Jets.
Jets lose starting safety for the season. The Jets might end up with Dalvin Cook for 2023, but one player they won’t have is Chuck Clark. The presumed starting safety is out for the season after tearing his ACL in practice. Clark spent the first six seasons of his career as a starter in Baltimore before being traded to the Jets in March. The Jets did recently sign Adrian Amos as insurance at the safety spot and it’s insurance they’re now going to need.
Raiders star won’t be surprised if Tom Brady shows up to play. Although Brady has said he won’t be returning to football this year, not everyone believes him. Raiders star Maxx Crosby said this week that he “would not be surprised if Tom Brady shows up in a Raiders jersey.” For more on Crosby’s comments, be sure to click here.
Four-time Super Bowl champion allegedly owes $15.3 million in taxes. The government is apparently going after Bill Romanowski for $15.3 million in back taxes that he owes. The Department of Justice has now gotten involved in the case and you can read all about Romanowski’s situation over at 9news.com.
Former first-round pick announces retirement. Alec Ogletree, who was the 30th overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, has decided to hang up his cleats for good. The linebacker announced this week that he’s retiring after nine NFL seasons. After being drafted by the Rams, Ogletree ended up playing for four different teams (Rams, Jets, Giants, Bears) during his time in the NFL.