Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Since Mother's Day is this weekend, we've put together the mother of all newsletters today. Not only do we have 10 bold predictions for the 2022 NFL season, but we also decided to go through and make a list of the 32 most questionable picks that were made in this year's NFL Draft.
The odd thing about this weekend is that it feels like the first time all offseason where everyone won't be talking about the NFL. Between the Kentucky Derby, the NBA postseason and the Stanley Cup playoffs, I think this might be the one weekend all offseason where the NFL will be on the back-burner. Did I just completely jinx things? Is there now a 71% chance that Baker Mayfield gets traded this weekend? Yes and probably, and I already regret it.
As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. All you have to do is click here and then share the link. Alright, let's get to the rundown.
1. Today's show: Rookies most likely to have an instant impact
If you read the newsletter yesterday, you may have noticed that we included a list of 10 rookies who are most likely to have an instant impact this year. It turns out that Will Brinson liked the list so much that he invited the man who created the list (Chris Trapasso) on for Friday's episode of the Pick Six Podcast to talk about the list.
Brinson and Trapasso were joined by CBSSports.com draft guru Josh Edwards and not only did the three of them talk about instant impact rookies, but they also came up with a list of offensive players who might end up being good fantasy options for 2022.
Edwards and Trapasso both came up with three players who you should keep an eye on for fantasy purposes.
Edwards:
RB Breece Hall (Jets)
WR Treylon Burks (Titans)
Skyy Moore (Chiefs)
Trapasso:
RB Isaiah Spiller (Chargers)
RB Snoop Conner (Jaguars)
WR Romeo Doubs (Packers)
If you want to outsmart everyone in your fantasy draft this year, make sure to take note of their recommendations.
If you want to know who the instant impact rookies will be on the defensive side of the ball, then be sure to click here so you can listen to today's podcast. You can also watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here.
2. 10 bold predictions for the 2022 NFL season
It's never too early to start making bold predictions about the upcoming NFL season, so that's exactly what CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora decided to do today. If you're an Eagles fan or a Broncos fan, you're probably going to love his predictions. On the other hand, if you're a Browns fan or a Patriots fan, you're probably going to hate them.
With that being said, let's check out all 10 predictions:
1. Russell Wilson wins MVP.
2. David Ojabo will have a monster season ... in 2023 (The Ravens rookie tore his Achilles in March)
3. Aaron Rodgers will retire after the season.
4. Packers will trade Jordan Love.
5. Lamar Jackson will be on the franchise tag by this time next year (Jackson's contract expires after the 2022 season)
6. Deshaun Watson will play fewer than eight regular season games in 2022.
7. Browns will eat at least $12 million of Baker Mayfield's contract.
8. The Lions will not be a last place team.
9. The Eagles will be in the NFC title game.
10. The Patriots are in trouble
If you want the full explanation for each of these bold predictions, then make sure to check out La Canfora's story by clicking here.
3. Most questionable picks of the NFL Draft
Earlier this week, we went over the best picks in the NFL Draft, so now, it only makes sense to go over the picks that weren't so good. CBSSports.com's Josh Edwards combed through all 262 picks in the draft to come up with one questionable pick for each team and let's just say that some teams are much better at drafting than other teams.
Here's a look at five of the most questionable picks that were made during the draft, according to Edwards:
- Jaguars: EDGE Travon Walker (First overall pick). "The article is most questionable pick and not worst pick. To say with any level of certainty that Walker is going to play to the level generally expected of a No. 1 overall selection would be misguided. The idea of adding a prospect with the size and athletic profile to reach those expectations makes sense, but it certainly carries risk."
- Falcons: Drake London (Eighth overall pick). "London was not my top-rated wide receiver despite him being taken as the first. Again, there is no issue with Atlanta's draft class. It got good value throughout the draft, but London was the biggest stretch relative to rankings and preference."
- Cowboys: OL Tyler Smith (23rd overall pick). "Smith was not a first-round value based on what he has shown to this point, but it is an easy choice to understand. Rather than investing in an older prospect, Dallas elected to take a younger prospect who plays the game with ferocity."
- Packers: WR Christian Watson (34th overall pick). "Green Bay needed to add to the wide receiver room. Despite having two first-round selections, it was not high enough to get involved on the run at the position... It was a bit of a reach relative to the rankings. The trade up cost the team both of its second-round selections."
- Panthers: QB Matt Corrall (94th overall pick). "If Carolina had just taken Corral at No. 94 overall, there would have been zero problem with the selection, but they traded away a future third-round pick to move up and get Corral. It is not even to say Corral is a bad player, but Day 2 quarterbacks often do not pan out."
Edwards actually listed one questionable pick for each team and if you want to see his entire list, feel free to click here.
4. Best fits for the top remaining free agents
The NFL Draft might be over, but there are still plenty of teams out there who still have holes on their roster, and at this point in the offseason, the easiest way to fill a hole is to sign someone in free agency.
Surprisingly, there are still quite a few good free agents left on the market and because of that, CBSSports.com's Jordan Dajani decided to play matchmaker today by pairing up some of the best remaining free agents with a team that would make sense.
According to Jordan, here's where five of the NFL's top free agents should look to sign:
- 1. Julio Jones to the Colts. "With his former quarterback Matt Ryan now in Indy, this potential signing just makes sense."
- 2. Odell Beckham to the Patriots. "The Patriots were rumored to be one of the teams that was interested in Beckham when the Cleveland Browns released him in November, and Mac Jones could use another weapon."
- 3. Jarvis Landry to the Titans. "Despite drafting two wide receivers, the Titans lost A.J. Brown and could stand to add another veteran who can come in and make an immediate impact."
- 4. T.Y. Hilton to the Ravens. "Hilton isn't the same star he was a few years ago, and he caught just 23 passes for 331 yards and three touchdowns in 2021, but he's still a veteran with reliable hands who can help Lamar Jackson."
- 5. Rob Gronkowski to the Buccaneers. "With Tom Brady back, I'll predict Gronk returns for one final season."
Jordan actually listed a total of nine players and you can check them out by clicking here.
5. Top 10 free agents left on the market
Every Friday, we close out the week here by taking a look at the biggest names still available in free agency. Once all the big names are signed, we'll stop doing this, but surprisingly, there are quite a few talented names left on the market.
One name that is no longer on the market is Tyrann Mathieu. The former Chiefs safety was actually our top remaining free agent, but he's no longer available after signing a three-year deal with the Saints this week. With Mathieu no longer on our list, we had to adjust it accordingly.
With that in mind, let's check out the 10 highest-ranked players from Pete Prisco's top 100 list who are still available (they're listed with the team they played for last season):
1. DL Akiem Hicks (Bears)
2. EDGE Jadeveon Clowney (Browns)
3. OL Duane Brown (Seahawks)
4. TE Rob Gronkowski (Buccaneers)
5. WR Odell Beckham (Rams)
6. EDGE Melvin Ingram (Steelers)
7. OT Eric Fisher (Colts)
8. S Jaquiski Tartt (49ers)
9. DE Jerry Hughes (Bills)
10. Dont'a Hightower (Patriots)
Since free agency signings no longer count against the compensatory formula, we could see a flurry of signings over the next few weeks. However, there's also a chance we could hit a lull. Over the past few years, older players have been waiting until training camp to sign so that they don't have to show up for OTAs or minicamp in the spring and it wouldn't be surprising to see any of the players on our top-10 list go that route.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: Seahawks don't sound interested in trading for a QB
It's been a wild 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.
- Pete Carroll says Seahawks won't be trading for a veteran QB. It looks like it's going to be Geno Smith vs. Drew Lock to see who gets the Seahawks starting QB job. Pete Carroll said on Thursday that his team won't be trading for a veteran QB, which makes it sound like he's completely content going into the season with the guys who are already on his roster, which makes me think he's planning on running the ball 57 times per game in 2022.
- Carson Wentz wore out his welcome in Indianapolis. The Colts were so done with Wentz that they might have gotten rid of him even if they had made the playoffs last year. Colts GM Chris Ballard revealed that telling information on Thursday. Wentz clearly wore out his welcome if the Colts were going to dump him no matter how well they did last season.
- Kyle Van Noy signs with Chargers. It seems that Van Noy had a good meeting with the Chargers on Thursday. The former Patriots linebacker, who was visiting the team, ended up signing a one-year contract.
- Video released from Jerry Jones' car crash. The Cowboys owner was involved in a car crash on Wednesday and TMZ now has footage of the crash. In the video, it's hard to say who's at fault, but you can make that judgement for yourself by clicking here to watch it. Jones was taken to the hospital for precautionary reasons on Wednesday night, but was released shortly after he arrived.
- Tom Brady led all NFL players in merchandise sales. Brady has been in the NFL for more than 20 years so you'd think that sales of Brady merchandise would start to wane at some point, but apparently, that's not the case. The Buccaneers QB led all players in merchandise sales for the most recent fiscal year (March 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022). Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen rounded out the top-three names on the list. You can see the top-15 by clicking here.
