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 only 10 days away. In 10 short days, there will be no more mock drafts, we won't get to argue anymore about who the Jaguars are going to take with the first overall pick and Giants fans will get to stop worrying about whether their team is going to waste their two top-10 picks, 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, but I'm also going to reveal the three changes I want to see made at the NFL Draft to make it a more pleasant event.
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.
1. Today's show: Monday Mailbag!
During the NFL offseason, we like to spice things up each week on the Pick Six Podcast by adding a listener mailbag every Monday.
Our mailbag episodes are pretty simple: We read listener questions during the show and then answer as many of those questions as possible. Questions can be about literally anything. I mean, I'm pretty sure there was one time when someone asked if I have a favorite Skittles flavor, so if we'll answer that question, trust me when I say we'll answer almost anything (By the way, yellow Skittles are the only ones worth eating).
Anyway, if you want to submit a question, all you have to do is go to Apple Podcasts (click here) and leave a five-star review that includes your question.
Here's one question that Ryan Wilson and I answered in today's mailbag (We kicked Will Brinson to the curb, so he wasn't on today's show):
Q: What changes would you make to the NFL draft format?
A: If I was in charge of the NFL, I'd make three simple changes to the NFL Draft format to add some serious spice to the event. For one, the worst team in the NFL wouldn't automatically get the first overall pick. Instead, they'd play a game against the second-worst team in the NFL in January and the winner of that game would get the top pick.
Next, I would steal an idea from the NBA and implement a draft lottery. The first two picks would go to the winner and loser of the aforementioned draft game. After that, the next 16 picks would all take part in the lottery. The names of those 16 teams would be thrown in a hat and a random drawing would decide who gets picks three through 18. Under this format, a team like the Texans, who currently have the third overall pick, could end up with the 18th overall pick instead. Sorry, Texans. The NFL could also televise the lottery drawing, which I'm only pointing out because the NFL loves to televise things.
Finally, I would shorten the first round. Ten minutes for each pick is way too long. I would cut it down to eight minutes and by doing that I would automatically save us all over an hour of sitting around and doing nothing.
After sharing all of these ideas, I know what you're thinking, and yes, I agree the NFL should make me commissioner after Roger Goodell retires.
Anyway, to listen to the rest of the mailbag, be sure to click here. You can also watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here.
2. Ryan Wilson unveils his seven-round mock draft
After doing roughly 112 mock drafts over the past six months, you'd think that Ryan Wilson would be burnt out, but nope, he was just saving his best for last: Today, our senior NFL Draft analyst unveiled his full seven-round mock draft.
Wilson has done plenty of one-round mock drafts and he even completed a three-round mock draft last week, but today's mock is his biggest one yet: It consists of all 262 picks in the entire draft. Although part of me wants to break down all 262 picks that Wilson has in his mock, we're not going to do that here, because it would take me 11 hours and today's newsletter wouldn't be released until tomorrow and no one wants that.
Whenever we go over a mock draft here, I usually give you the top-10 picks for that mock, but this time, we're going we're going to do something slightly different: We're going to look at the first 10 picks in the fourth-round, because no one ever talks about the fourth-round.
- 106. Jaguars: Malcolm Rodriguez, LB, Oklahoma State
- 107. Texans (via Lions): Coby Bryant, CB, Cincinnati
- 108. Texans: Wan'Dale Robinson, WR, Kentucky
- 109. Seahawks (via Jets): Kyren Williams, RB, Notre Dame
- 110. Ravens (via Giants): Eyioma Uwazurike, DT, Iowa State
- 111. Jets (via Panthers): Dohnovan West, OC, Arizona State
- 112. Giants (via Bears): Tyler Allgeier, RB, BYU
- 113. Commanders: Darrian Beavers, LB, Cincinnati
- 114. Falcons: Josh Jobe, CB, Alabama
- 115. Broncos: Chasen Hines, OG, LSU
Here are a few other key notes about the mock draft:
- Wilson has North Carolina State offensive lineman Ikem Ekwonu going first overall to the Jaguars.
- The first QB taken is Malik Wallis, who goes to Seattle with the ninth overall pick.
- Besides the Seahawks, only two other teams -- the Saints and Lions -- ended up selecting a quarterback in the first round.
- After losing Davante Adams, the Packers use BOTH of their first-round picks on wide receivers. Wilson has them taking Arkansas' Treylon Burks at 22nd overall and Ohio State's Chris Olave at 28th overall.
If you want to see how Wilson has all 262 picks in the draft shaking out, then be sure to click here.
3. Star NFL receivers planning to skip their team's offseason workouts
The NFL's best wide receivers have been landing record contracts this offseason and it appears there are at least three more who would like to get in on that with a new deal before the start of the 2022 season. According to ESPN.com, A.J. Brown, Deebo Samuel and Terry McLaurin are all planning to skip their respective team's offseason workout programs unless they get a new contract.
Here's a look at the situation:
- Wide receiver market has gotten crazy. The receiver market was turned upside down this offseason with multiple players landing huge contracts. Tyreek Hill ($30 million per year), Davante Adams ($28.5 million), Stefon Diggs ($24 million), Mike Williams ($20 million) and Chris Godwin ($20 million) headline a list of receivers that are all now making at least $20 million per year thanks to new contracts they received this offseason.
- Brown, Samuel and McLaurin in the same boat. All three players were selected in the 2019 NFL Draft and because none of them were taken in the first round, that means they were each given a four-year rookie deal that will expire following the 2022 season.
- All three will be looking for huge contracts. Under their current deals, all three receivers are set to make less than $4 million on 2022. Brown is under contract for $3.99 million in 2022 while Samuel ($3.96 million) and McLaurin ($2.79 million) are both behind him (McLaurin's number is much lower because he was a third-round pick while Brown and Samuel were second-round picks). The three players will all be looking for market rate deals, which means the Commanders, Titans and 49ers will likely have to shell out $20 million to $30 million per year to get a deal done.
- Samuel's contract might be the toughest one to get done. It's been reported that Samuel wants to be the highest paid non-QB in the NFL, which means the 49ers might have to fork over more than $30 million per year to keep him. Samuel is looking to get a record deal because he's being asked to play two positions (receiver and running back). As for McLaurin and Brown, they should be slightly more affordable with their contracts likely falling in the range of $21 million to $25 million per year.
For a closer look at the situation and how all of this might play out, be sure to click here.
4. Ranking the best draft picks of all-time: J.J. Watt, Big Ben and three Hall of Famers headline list of best players ever taken 11th overall
With the 2022 NFL Draft just around the corner, we decided to kick off a series last month that features the top draft picks of all time. The way this has been working is pretty simple: Since there are 32 picks in the first round, we went through and listed the top five picks for each one of those 32 spots. Our countdown started with the 32nd spot, and now, we're on the cusp of the top 10.
Today, we have the five best players to ever be selected with the 11th overall pick. If this list teaches us all one thing, it's that the 11th spot might secretly be the best place to draft from in the entire first round. Of the five players on our list below, three of them are already in the Hall of Fame, one will likely be headed to the Hall of Fame in the coming years and the one active player on this list will have a strong case for the Hall of Fame once he retires.
With that in mind, here's our list of the top-five players ever selected with the 11th overall pick:
1. Frank Gifford (1952, Giants)
2. Ben Roethlisberger (2004, Steelers)
3. Paul Warfield (1964, Browns)
4. Michael Irvin (1988, Cowboys)
5. J.J. Watt (2011, Texans)
The No. 11 spot has been so stacked throughout history that two finalists for the Hall of Fame's Class of 2022 -- Patrick Willis, Demarcus Ware -- didn't even make the cut.
If you want to read a deeper explanation on the list, be sure to click here so you can check out my full story (Shockingly, I actually write things besides the newsletter).
5. USFL debuts: Highlights and lowlights from the new league's first weekend
"All major theme parks have delays. When they opened Disneyland in 1956, nothing worked!"
The USFL finally kicked off over the weekend and let me just say that the entire thing reminded me of that line from the original Jurassic Park. Nothing really worked for the new league and I'm not sure yet if I'll be returning for more next weekend.
There were three games played over the weekend and here are some notable takeaways from each game.
- Fans didn't really show up. When you're holding games on Easter weekend in bad weather with two teams that no one cares about, that's a recipe for disastrous attendance and that's what the USFL got on its opening weekend. If you click here, you can see a picture of the crowd from Sunday's game between the New Orleans Breakers and Philadelphia Stars. According to WBRC.com in Alabama, the Saturday opener drew nearly 17,500 fans, but the crowd was considerably smaller for the games played on Sunday, which were both in Birmingham (Every regular season game is being played in the same city this year).
- One game already got postponed. There were supposed to be four games over the weekend, but one of those got postponed from Sunday to Monday due to inclement weather in Birmingham. If there's one problem with playing all your games in the same city, it's that bad weather can derail multiple games. The bad weather means the Tampa Bay Bandits and Pittsburgh Maulers, which was supposed to be played Sunday, will now be played tonight (7 p.m. ET, FS1), so set your DVR.
- One victory for the USFL. The league claims that 3 million people tuned in for the opening game on Saturday, which is definitely a moral victory for the league. In that game, the Birmingham Stallions rallied for a 28-24 win over New Jersey Generals. You can check out highlights of the game by clicking here.
- Two close games on Sunday. The two games on Sunday didn't have great action, but they were both close. The Houston Gamblers beat the Michigan Panthers 17-12, and the other game featured the New Orleans Breakers beating the Philadelphia Stars 23-17. For highlights from those two games, be sure to click here.
Overall, I'd grade the USFL's debut a C+. I won't be tuning into every game, but I might check-in to watch at least one game per week to see how things are going.
6. Rapid-fire roundup: 49ers star says he's been dealing with death threats and racist comments
It was a wild 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.
- Deebo Samuel dealing with death threats and racist comments. Apparently, 49ers fans aren't happy with Samuel's contract demands. According to the 49ers receiver, people have been sending him death threats and racist comments on social media. For more details on the story, be sure to click here.
- Bill Belichick could coach into his 80s. The Patriots coach celebrated his 70th birthday over the weekend and although that usually means retirement age for most NFL coaches, that might not be the case for Belichick. Apparently, Patriots owner Robert Kraft wants to see Belichick coaching into his 80s.
- Two arrested in homicide case where Cowboys corner was a person of interest. Kelvin Joseph was recently questioned about his involvement in the death of Cameron Ray, who was killed in Dallas on March 18. Ray was killed by gunfire that came from a vehicle and although Joseph admits he was in the vehicle, he says he definitely didn't fire the shots. Police seem to believe him because they've now arrested two other men in the case.
- Titans could have new domed stadium open by 2026. The Titans are working hard on getting a new stadium financed in Nashville and so far, things appear to be going well. The current plan is to build a $2 billion domed stadium downtown that could host big events like the Super Bowl, college football national title game and Final Four. The Titans released a rendering of the proposed stadium and you can see that rendering by clicking here.
