Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Ladies and gentlemen, I have some big news: The start of the NFL Draft is just 10 days away. In 10 short days, there will be no more mock drafts, we won’t get to argue anymore about who the Browns are going to take with the second overall pick and Giants fans will get to stop worrying about whether their team is going to do something unexpectedly dumb at third overall, which is probably going to happen.
Since the draft is now officially 10 days away, we’re going to be talking a lot about the draft in today’s newsletter. Not only do we have a SEVEN-ROUND mock draft for the Packers, but we have our weekly Monday mock draft, plus we’ll be taking a look at who the Bears should take with the 10th overall pick.
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. Mock Draft Monday: Shedeur Sanders falls to perfect landing spot
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 Jared Dubin, who has Shedeur Sanders falling OUT of the top five.
Let’s check out his top 10:
1. Titans: QB Cam Ward (Miami)
2. Browns: CB/WR Travis Hunter (Colorado)
3. Giants: EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State)
4. Patriots: OT Will Campbell (LSU)
5. Jaguars: DL Mason Graham (Michigan)
6. Raiders: WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)
7. Jets: OT Armand Membou (Missouri)
8. Panthers: EDGE Mike Green (Marshall)
9. Saints: QB Shedeur Sanders (Colordao)
10. Bears: RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
Falling to the Saints wouldn’t be the worse thing for Sanders. There’s now a chance that Derek Carr could miss a chunk of the 2025 season due to a shoulder injury and if that happens Sanders could step in and start right away for New Orleans.
If you want to see how the rest of Jared’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. Packers seven-round mock draft: Green Bay goes on the defensive with top two picks
With the NFL Draft in Green Bay this year, there are going to be a lot of Packers fans in attendance, which means you’re going to know right away whether the fans approve of who the Packers take at 23rd overall. From corner to defensive line to pass rusher to receiver, the Packers have quite a few needs heading into the draft and it wouldn’t be surprising if they took a player at any of those four positions. Actually, I take that back, a receiver would be surprising since they haven’t used a first-round pick on a receiver SINCE 2002.
We put Garrett Podell in charge of making EVERY Packers pick for all seven rounds and he ended up going with a defensive lineman at 23rd overall.
The Packers have a total of eight picks in the draft and we’re going to check out what Garrett came up with for their first five picks:
- Round 1 (23rd overall): DL Derrick Harmon (Oregon)
- Round 2 (54th overall): CB Darien Porter (Iowa State)
- Round 3 (87th overall): WR Savion Williams (TCU)
- Round 3 (124th overall): RB Jaydon Blue (Texas)
- Round 4 (159th overall): IOL Seth McLaughlin (Ohio State)
If you want a full explanation for the picks or if you’re wondering how the other three picks turned out, then be sure to check out Garrett’s full mock draft for the Packers here.
3. Who should Bears take in first round of the NFL Draft? Ranking their best options
The Bears have made some of the most impressive moves of the offseason. New coach Ben Johnson had one of the NFL’s best offensive lines while he was in Detroit and he spent the offseason trying to recreate that in Chicago by adding Joe Thuney, Jonah Jackson and Drew Dalman.
The offensive line was the Bears’ biggest need heading into the offseason, but with those three now on the roster, they’ll be free to go with another position when they go on the clock at 10th overall.
So what should they do with their first-round pick? Glad you asked. Jordan Dajani ranked the Bears’ top three options and we’re going to check those out below:
1. RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State): “Jeanty would be a nice fit in Chicago. Drafting running backs this high is still taboo to some, but Jeanty was one of the most exciting players in college football last year, and we saw how important running backs were for Ben Johnson’s scheme while he was in Detriot.”
2. WR Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona): “Chicago has added multiple offensive linemen thus far, so let’s consider a weapon. The top two wide receivers in this class, if we ignore Travis Hunter, are probably Tet McMillan and Matthew Golden. The former is a big-bodied vertical target, while the latter is a burner who ran the 40-yard dash in 4.29 seconds. McMillan may be the better option for Chicago, and could replace Keenan Allen.”
3. LT Will Campbell (LSU). “Campbell is CBS Sports’ No. 6 overall prospect in this class, so grabbing him as Braxton Jones insurance would be nice. Worst-case scenario, Campbell could be a long-term starter on the inside.”
Dajani actually ranked a total of five options and you can check out his full list here.
4. Derek Carr could miss a big chunk of the 2025 season: Ranking the Saints’ best QB options
The Saints are officially in need of a quarterback. In a surprising piece of news that came out late Friday, it appears that Derek Carr is dealing with a shoulder injury that could threaten his availability for the 2025 season. Carr is exploring his options at this point and that could include surgery.
If Carr has to miss a chunk of the season, that means the Saints are going to need a new quarterback, so let’s take a look at their top options:
1. Draft a quarterback. The Saints have the ninth overall pick, which puts them in a spot where they could end landing one of the top two quarterbacks in the draft. If the Titans take Cam Ward with the first overall pick, the Saints should do whatever they can to try and get Shedeur Sanders. However, if they can’t land Sanders, they could wait until the second round and take a different quarterback like Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe or Quinn Ewers.
2. Convince Aaron Rodgers to come to New Orleans. After getting snubbed by the Vikings, it appeared that Rodgers was only going to have two options this year: Sign with the Steelers or retire. However, the door could now be open for him to sign with New Orleans. The biggest thing working in the Saints’ favor over the Steelers is that New Orleans is in a much more winnable division. Rodgers would also have plenty of weapons to work with like Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, Brandin Cooks and Rasheed Shahid.
3. Beg the Falcons to trade them Kirk Cousins. The Falcons and Saints are bitter rivals, so it seems unlikely that Atlanta would send Cousins to New Orleans. However, if the Saints are willing to overpay, they could likely convince the Falcons to part ways with Cousins. The Saints could also just wait it out and hope the Falcons eventually release Cousins. Cody Benjamin actually wrote a piece over the weekend taking a look at Cousins’ options for 2025 and you can check that out here.
I cam up with a total of five options and you can check out the full list here.
With Carr’s injury, the Saints have now become one of the fascinating teams to watch in the draft.
5. NFL Draft prospect Kyren Lacy dies at 24
Former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy died over the weekend at the age of 24.
Here’s what we know about the situation:
- Lacy appeared to die from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in Houston, Texas, police were called to a home on Sunday after Lacy allegedly discharged a firearm into the ground. By the time authorities arrived, Lacy had fled the scene, which eventually led to a pursuit. During the pursuit, Lacy crashed his car and when officers approached the vehicle, they discovered that Lacy had died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- How Lacy’s legal troubles started. The former LSU receiver was charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run with death and reckless operation of a vehicle for an incident that took place on Dec. 17. The charges stemmed from an a car crash that killed a 78-year-old man and injured two others. A grand jury was expected to convene today to hear evidence on the case.
- Lacy’s lawyer not happy with the situation. Lacy’s lawyer, Matthew Ory, lashed out at authorities following his death. “From the very beginning, this so-called investigation took on the appearance of an overzealous, targeted effort — what can only be described as a witch hunt — fueled by who Kyren was and the public profile he carried,” Ory said, via WAFB-TV. “The decision by the investigating agency to charge him at all, in our view, was not only unjustified, it was disturbing. It’s imperative to understand the Lafourche Parish District Attorney, to this day, has not formally charged Kyren.”
Lacy played in 12 games for LSU last season and led the team in touchdown catches during a year where he caught 58 passes for 866 yards. You can read our full story on the tragic situation here.
6. Extra points: Bears hand out huge extension
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.
- Kyler Gordon lands record-setting contract from Bears. Gordon has agreed to terms on a three-year, $40 million extension, according to ESPN. The deal, which includes $31.75 million in guarantees, makes Gordon the highest-paid nickel corner in NFL history. Gordon takes the title from Houston’s Jalen Pitre, who got a record-setting contract on Friday, only to watch Gordon top it on Sunday. You can read more about Gordon’s deal here.
- Patrick Peterson to retire. The eight-time Pro Bowler has decided to call it a career after 13 NFL seasons. Peterson was selected by the Cardinals with the fifth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft and he ended up spending 10 highly successful seasons in Arizona. He also had short stints with the Vikings and Steelers. We’ve got the full details on his retirement here.
- Seahawks sign Drew Lock. The Seahawks have decided to reunite with Drew Lock, who will now likely be serving as the backup to Sam Darnold this year. The Seahawks do have Sam Howell on the roster and he could have been the backup QB, but it appears they’re more comfortable with Lock, who spent two seasons (2022-23) in Seattle.
- Kenny Pickett planning to win Browns’ starting job. After starting 25 games with the Steelers during his career in Pittsburgh, Pickett is also expecting to be the starter for the Browns. “That’s the plan,” Pickett said of potentially starting. “I’m not going there to hang out. I want to go play. I’m excited, been working hard for it, taking it a day at a time.” Pickett will have to beat out Joe Flacco and then also possibly beat out a rookie if the Browns end up drafting a QB. You can read his full comments here.
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Author: John Breech
April 14, 2025 | 1:50 pm
