Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I'm not saying we need an offseason version of the RedZone Channel, but it would be nice to have one this week because I'm pretty sure that's the only way that anyone can possibly keep track of everything that's happening in the NFL over the next few days. Starting today, mandatory minicamps will be kicking off for a total of 10 different teams, which is notable because minicamp is the only set of practices during the entire offseason that every player on the roster is required to attend.
Before this week, every practice was voluntary, but for minicamp, attendance is mandatory and players will get hit with a hefty fine if they don't show up. This is where you find out how real the drama is between a player and his team, and right now, things aren't looking so great for the Cowboys. CeeDee Lamb isn't expected to attend minicamp this week, which is a decision that will cost him a lot of money.
Basically, there will be a lot going on over the next few days just like we have a lot going on in today's newsletter.
As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Actually, you don't even have to tell all of your friends; just tell two of your friends and I'll be happy. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here.
1. C.J. Stroud fires shots at Aaron Rodgers with three interesting takes
The Houston Texans and New York Jets don't have a rivalry right now, but they might have one going forward after some recent comments that C.J Stroud made about Aaron Rodgers.
During a recent interview on the Million Dollaz Worth of Game podcast, the Texans quarterback mentioned Rodgers multiple times and it wasn't exactly in a positive manner.
Here are the three hottest takes that Stroud had about Rodgers.
- Stroud said he'd take Eli Manning's career over Rodgers. At one point during the podcast, Stroud was asked if he would rather have Eli Manning's career or Rodgers' career and he didn't hesitate with his answer. "You want the rings, Eli got two," Stroud said.
- Stroud has a theory on why Rodgers only has one Super Bowl win. At another point in the podcast, Stroud insinuated that the reason Rodgers only has one Super Bowl win is because he might not be such a good teammate. "You know what I think it is? I've talked to Tom Brady about this because he's a good mentor to me," Stroud said, via Athlon Sports. "What he told me is his teammates, and how he treats his teammates. And that's where I think it falls off for Rodgers. We don't know how Aaron Rodgers treats his teammates, but you can guarantee that Tom Brady treats his teammates right because how he got those rings."
- Matthew Stafford would have more rings if he had been in Rodgers' situation. Stroud said that if someone like Matthew Stafford had been given the same supporting cast as Rodgers throughout his career that he would have done much better. "If you give Matthew Stafford a chance like Aaron Rodgers had, I guarantee you he might have had more rings," Stroud said. "I'd say he would have like three or four [rings]."
What this all means is that you should go ahead and circle Halloween night on your calendar right now, because that's when the Jets will be hosting the Texans on "Thursday Night Football."
You can check out Stroud's full comments here.
2. Ranking most vulnerable division winners: Cowboys at the top
If there's one thing I can promise you about the 2024 NFL season, it's that we won't see every division winner from the 2023 season repeat as champion in 2024. Roger Goodell would quit his job before he'd let that happen.
The NFL is driven by parity and that parity is why Cody Benjamin decided to rank the most vulnerable division winners heading into the upcoming season. Basically, he took the eight division winners from 2023 and ranked them based on which team is most likely NOT to repeat as champion in 2024.
Let's check out his list:
1. NFC East: Cowboys
2. NFC South: Buccaneers
3. AFC East: Bills
4. AFC North: Ravens
5. NFC North: Lions
6. AFC South: Texans
7. NFC West: 49ers
8. AFC West: Chiefs
The fact that the Cowboys are at the top isn't a huge surprise considering their hasn't been a repeat champion in the NFC East SINCE 2004.
Based on Cody's list, the two teams that played in last year's Super Bowl are the most likely to repeat as champions in 2024. If you want to check out Cody's full story, you can do that here.
3. One burning question for every team in the NFC East
With all the roster changes that have happened around the league this offseason, there are plenty of questions that each team will need to answer before we know if they'll actually be good in 2024.
With that in mind, we've been going through each division to look at the biggest question for each team heading into the upcoming season. Today, we're going to cover the NFC East.
Here's one burning question that Jeff Kerr has come up with for each team.
- Cowboys: Is this Dak Prescott's final season in Dallas? "With Prescott's contract expiring after the 2024 season, Dallas will essentially have two options going forward: Let him walk after the season, making the 2024 season "Super Bowl or bust" while not having an answer at quarterback for 2025 and beyond or make Prescott the highest-paid quarterback in the NFL and be tied to him for several more seasons with an average annual salary of over $55 million a year."
- Eagles: Will James Bradberry be on the team by start of training camp? "The Eagles invested heavily in the cornerback position during the draft, drafting Quinyon Mitchell in the first round (No. 22 overall) and Cooper DeJean in the second (No. 40). ... If Bradberry isn't starting, there's no sense for the Eagles to have him on the roster with their cornerback group."
- Giants: Are there enough pass-catching weapons for Daniel Jones to succeed? "On paper, this pass-catching group may be the best Jones has had. Will it be enough for Jones to throw more than 20 touchdown passes in a season and have a passer rating over 95.0? Even if Jones gets those numbers, is that enough to keep his job if the Giants don't win more than eight games? How Jones progresses with these playmakers will be the key toward his future with the organization."
- Commanders: How will Jayden Daniels fare in his rookie season? "If the Commanders let Daniels loose, he could put up some massive numbers on the ground and help the offense put points on the board. ... The Commanders are better with Daniels at quarterback. If Daniels can avoid the turnovers, the Commanders' rebuild may go significantly quicker than expected."
To read Kerr's full answer for each question, be sure to click here.
4. Lower-round NFC rookies who could shine in 2024
If there's one thing that happens in the NFL every year, it's that we see a rookie have a huge year after slipping through the cracks in the NFL Draft. Although first-round picks generally get all the hype, the ability to find successful players after Day 1 is what separates the good teams from the great teams.
Last year, we saw an example of that with Puka Nacua, who set the NFL rookie records for most receptions (105) and most receiving yards (1,486) after being taken in the fifth round by the Los Angeles Rams.
With that in mind, CBS Sports draft guru Chris Trapasso went through each NFC team's roster to find one rookie -- who was taken after the first round -- who could have some major success this year. Here's a look at a few of the rookies who made the cut on Trapasso's list.
- Eagles DE Cooper DeJean (second round, 40th overall pick). "No one, probably not even Nick Sirianni, knows exactly where DeJean is going to play, and that is a wonderful thing in today's NFL. He'll be a slot corner, free safety, strong safety, linebacker and outside cornerback in a Philadelphia defense, that, yeah, needs all of those things after an at times disastrous showing from that side of the ball, particularly in the back seven."
- Packers RB MarShawn Lloyd (third round, 88th overall pick). "You don't see many backs like Lloyd. He's an anomaly. Under 5-foot-9 but 220 pounds with under 4.50 speed (he ran 4.46 at the combine). ... Yes, the Packers made a decision to swap out Aaron Jones for Josh Jacobs this offseason, but you better believe Lloyd will get touches in Year 1. And he'll make the most of them."
- Seahawks CB D.J. James (sixth round, 192nd overall pick). "Seattle has so much fun, young, dynamic talent in the secondary. But James is an overachiever likely to make enough of a name for himself this summer that new head coach Mike Macdonald -- who certainly loves to rotate in the defensive backfield -- will have to give him playing time in Year 1."
If you want to see the full list of every rookie who made Trapasso's list, then be sure to click here.
5. Peyton Manning is still making more than almost every other NFL player in licensing royalties
Peyton Manning hasn't played in the NFL in nearly 10 years, but he's still making more money than almost every other player when it comes to royalties.
The NFLPA sends a royalty check to players every year, and for the period that covered the 2023 season (March 1, 2023 through Feb. 29, 2024), Manning pulled in a total of $2.09 million, which was the seventh-highest number in the NFL. At this point, Manning could probably just live off of his royalties if he wanted to.
Here's a look at the top-10 earners (via Cllct.com)
1. Patrick Mahomes: $3.63 million
2. Jalen Hurts: $2.69 million
3. Josh Allen: $2.55 million
4. Travis Kelce: $2.43 million
5. Trevor Lawrence: $2.35 million
6. Micah Parsons: $2.18 million
7. Peyton Manning: $2.09 million
8. Dak Prescott: $2.03 million
9. Joe Burrow: $1.90 million
10. Rob Gronkowski: $1.89 million
Manning was one of two retired players, along with Gronk, who cracked the top 10. After that, there were no other retired players who were even in the top 20.
The royalty numbers come from the NFL Players Association and they only take into account endorsements that the NFLPA licenses, such as jerseys, video games, and trading cards (Mahomes made millions more doing endorsements for companies like Coors Light, Subway and State Farm, but those aren't included in the total since those companies don't sell NFLPA licensed merchandise).
6. Extra points: Panthers propose $800 million stadium deal
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.
- Panthers looking to renovate Bank of America Stadium. The Panthers are hoping to renovate their stadium in a $800 million deal that would see the city of Charlotte pitch in $650 million. Although the team would only contribute $150 million to the stadium, the Panthers' total investment would be $688 million, according to numbers released by the organization. You can check out some renderings of the proposal here.
- 49ers sign Logan Thomas. The 49ers have added another tight end. Thomas spent last season with the Commanders, where he caught 55 passes for 496 yards and four touchdowns. We broke down how he might fit into Kyle Shanahan's offense and you can check that out here.
- Trevor Lawrence hoping to get extension done before start of training camp. The Jaguars QB still has two years left on his rookie contract, but he's looking to get an extension now. Lawrence won't be skipping any workouts, but he would like to get a deal done before the start of training camp, "I think that would be ideal, just to put it behind us and keep moving and feel good about that going into training camp," Lawrence said this week, via NFL.com.
- Tony Jefferson to try out for Chargers. After spending a year in retirement, the former Ravens safety is attempting to make a return this year and he'll be doing that in Los Angeles. Jefferson will be getting a tryout with the Chargers during their mandatory minicamp, which runs today through Friday.
