Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
To start things off here today, I have some bad news and some good news. The bad news is that you won't be hearing from me for the next two weeks because I'm jumping on a flight to New Zealand tonight to watch the U.S. Women play in the quarterfinal of the World Cup. Actually, I take that back. That was originally my plan, but then it totally backfired in my face when the women lost, so now I'll be watching Sweden vs. Japan. Yay. Go Japan. Actually, go Sweden. OK, I'll be honest, I have no idea who to root for.
The moral of the story here is that you should never plan an entire trip around an event where your team can be knocked out before you even arrive at your destination. If you want to tag along on my adventures, you can do that on Twitter or Instagram. (Click here for Twitter and here for Instagram.)
Anyway, the good news is that Cody Benjamin and Tyler Sullivan will be taking over while I'm out. I've already given Cody the keys to the house and he's promised not to throw any parties while I'm gone. I gave Tyler the keys to the car and he's promised not to go on too many joy rides.
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. Let's get to the rundown.
1. Today's show: Best bets to make on AFC South and AFC West win totals
Now that we've wrapped up the "All 32" series, it's time to move on to something else today, and that something else is gambling. Everyone loves making money, so we decided we'd try to help you make some money by unveiling a few of our best win total bets in the AFC South and AFC West.
For today's show, Pick Six regulars Katie Mox and Will Brinson were joined by Emory Hunt.
They covered the win totals from two divisions, and we're going to take a look at one team from each division.
- AFC South: Colts (Over/under: 6.5 wins). I'm going to go ahead and say that there is no one in the world who is more confident about the Colts this year than Hunt. "The Colts are going over [their win total] and they're going to win the AFC South," Hunt said. "They are better than what people think, Anthony Richardson will help lead this team through the season and to the playoffs. They win the division and they also get over 6.5 wins." That's right: Hunt thinks THEY'RE GOING TO WIN THE DIVISION. I could definitely see them hitting the over, I agree with Emory there, but the Colts have a rookie QB and a disgruntled star running back. That's enough to keep me from picking them to win the division.
- AFC West: Broncos (Over/under: 8.5 wins). After watching Russell Wilson go through a disastrous first year in Denver, no one really seems to know what to make of the Broncos. Will Sean Payton be able to fix things in his first season on the job? Will Brinson says yes. "I like the Broncos over," Brinson said. "Nathaniel Hackett was terrible last year, and Sean Payton is one of the two best play-callers and offensive minds of the past 20 years. A winning season, 9-8, is not that big of a stretch for Sean Payton and the Broncos."
The podcast covered all eight teams in the two divisions and if you want to listen to the entire show, you can do that here. You can also watch today's show on YouTube by clicking here.
2. Nine players who are shining at training camp
As of today, almost every NFL team has been in training camp for at least two weeks, which means every player has had at least two weeks to distinguish themselves on the field. Some players have been turning heads more than other players, and Tyler Sullivan decided to take a look at some of the players who have made the biggest impressions on the field over the past two weeks.
Sullivan came up with a list of nine players who are shining so far at camp, and we're going to cover four of those guys below:
- Colts QB Anthony Richardson. "The Colts rookie seems to be making a strong push to be the team's Week 1 starter over veteran Gardner Minshew. He's continued to stack good days on top of one another, including a performance Sunday when he received starting reps with the first-team offense."
- Bills TE Dalton Kincaid. "Buffalo's first-round tight end is opening eyes with his play during the early days of training camp, particularly with his pass-catching and route-running ability. He's reportedly been working with Josh Allen and the first-team offense, and the quarterback recently praised the rookie for his ability to come in and immediately contribute. "
- Steelers WR George Pickens. "Pickens appears to be one of the true highlight-makers of training camp this summer. On top of his ability to separate, he's been putting together some ridiculous catches that make a breakout sophomore season a real possibility. "
- Jaguars WR Calvin Ridley. "The chemistry between Calvin Ridley and Trevor Lawrence seems to be forming quite well. ... The receiver, who is coming off a year-long suspension by the NFL, has shown nice burst and strong route-running at various points throughout Jaguars camp."
You can check out Sullivan's full list of training camp stars here.
3. Derek Carr on verge of NFL infamy
There are 32 teams in the NFL, and over the course of league history, no quarterback has ever lost to all of them. As a matter of fact, no QB has ever even lost to 31 different teams, but that could change this year thanks to Derek Carr.
Since his rookie year in 2014, Carr has lost to 30 of the NFL's 32 teams, and there's a chance that by the end of the 2023 season, he could become the first quarterback in NFL history to lose to 31 different teams.
Currently, Carr is one of nine quarterbacks who have lost to 30 different teams, but every other QB on the list is retired or out of football, which means he's the only one on the list who could hit 31 this year.
Here's a look at the two teams Carr has never suffered a loss against (and yes, one of them is the Raiders):
- Panthers. Now that he's in the NFC South, Carr will be facing the Panthers twice in 2023. If he loses either one of those games, he'll become the first QB in NFL history to lose to 31 different teams. The Saints play the Panthers on the road in Week 2 before facing them again at home in Week 14.
- Raiders (Saints don't play Las Vegas in regular season). By the end of the season, Carr could theoretically have suffered a loss to all 32 teams over the course of his career, but things would have to get a little crazy for that to happen. To lose to all 32 teams, Carr would first have to lose to the Panthers and then also lose a game to the Raiders. However, the Saints don't play the Raiders this season, which means the only way he could lose to them is if they play each other in the Super Bowl. Carr facing his old team in a Super Bowl that's being played in Las Vegas would certainly be a wild way to end the season, even though it doesn't feel like it could possibly happen.
If the Saints don't end up playing the Raiders in the Super Bowl, Carr still won't have to wait long to face them because the Saints are scheduled to play the Raiders during the 2024 regular season.
4. Top 10 NFL players as voted on by the players
For the past few weeks, the NFL Network has been unveiling its annual top 100 list. The one thing that makes this list so fascinating is that it's voted on by players, so you get an idea of how all the players feel about each other.
The top 10 players on the list were finally revealed Monday night, and here's who made the cut:
1. Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs
2. Justin Jefferson, Vikings
3. Jalen Hurts, Eagles
4. Nick Bosa, 49ers
5. Travis Kelce, Chiefs
6. Joe Burrow, Bengals
7. Tyreek Hill, Dolphins
8. Josh Allen, Bills
9. Micah Parsons, Cowboys
10. Chris Jones, Chiefs
In news that won't surprise anyone, Mahomes is at the top. One thing that did surprise me is that Justin Jefferson is in the second spot, and because of that, you can see how much respect he's earned around the league in just three NFL seasons. Obviously, as a Bengals homer, I think Joe Burrow is too low, but I'm also fine with his ranking, because now he's going to play the season with a chip on his shoulder and win the Super Bowl.
Although this top 10 is pretty solid, the players didn't get everything right. For instance, they put more running backs (six) than quarterbacks (five) in the top 40, which almost makes it seem like this list was only voted on by running backs.
Anyway, if you want to see the full list, you can check it out here.
5. Ranking the top free agents for 2024: Titans could lose Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry
It might seem like it's too early to talk about anything that's going to happen in 2024, but with the NFL, it's never too early to talk about anything, which is why we decided to rank the top free agents who will be available next offseason.
Free agency could get pretty crazy next March, and that's because there are plenty of stars who are scheduled to become free agents in 2024. Cody Benjamin took a look at 50 of the players who are scheduled to hit free agency next year, and we're going to take a look at 10 of the biggest names on his list.
1. Kirk Cousins, Vikings
2. Ryan Tannehill, Titans
3. Derrick Henry, Titans
4. Tee Higgins, Bengals
5. Mike Evans, Buccaneers
6. Jason Kelce, Eagles
7. Devin White, Buccaneers
8. T.J. Hockenson, Vikings
9. Stephon Gilmore, Cowboys
10. Josh Jacobs, Raiders
If you want to check out the entire list so you can start fretting now about who your favorite team might lose, then be sure to click here.
6. Extra points: 'Hard Knocks' with the Jets debuts tonight
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.
- First episode of Hard Knocks airs tonight. Although the Jets didn't want to be on the show at all, it looks like things have turned out well so far based on several previews that the NFL has released (you can see a pretty cool one here). The show, which kicks off at 10 p.m. ET, will air each Tuesday from now until Sept. 6.
- Titans assistant will serve as head coach in first preseason game. Mike Vrabel has decided to let one of his assistants serve as the head coach for Tennessee's first preseason game. Assistant head coach/defensive line coach Terrell Williams will be coaching the Titans on Saturday against the Bears. I actually love this idea, and it would be cool to see more teams do this. You can read more about the situation in CBS Sports Lead NFL Insider Jonathan Jones' news and notes story here.
- Commanders players concerned with Eric Bieniemy. It looks like the Eric Bieniemy experiment in Washington isn't going so well. Ron Rivera revealed this week that several players have expressed concern about the coaching style of their new offensive coordinator. You can read more about the players' concerns here.
- Lions sign Teddy Bridgewater. Jared Goff officially has a new backup quarterback. The Lions added some QB insurance by signing Teddy Bridgewater on Monday. The former first-round pick will now be playing for his fifth team in five seasons. Bridgewater started two games last year for the Dolphins and went 0-2.
- Cowboys release kicker. The Cowboys kicking competition is down to one kicker after Tristan Vizcaino was released on Monday. Vizcaino had a nightmare weekend that saw him go just 4 of 8 in practice on Saturday. The only kicker left on the roster is Brandon Aubrey, who has never kicked in an NFL game. The former MLS player did kick in the USFL, but he's never attempted a kick in the NFL. He's been good, but not great in training camp, so it wouldn't be surprising if the Cowboys end up signing someone else as we get closer to the start of the season.
- Patriots reunite with Trey Flowers. After four seasons away from New England, Flowers is returning to the team he won two Super Bowls with. Flowers spent the first four seasons (2015-18) with the Patriots before moving on. After three seasons in Detroit (2019-21) and one in Miami, Flowers is expected to sign with the Patriots today, according to NFL.com.
- 49ers likely to hold Brock Purdy out of preseason. Although plenty of starting quarterbacks will see action in the preseason, Purdy almost certainly won't be one of them. With the second-year QB coming off elbow surgery, Kyle Shanahan said Monday that he "doubts" Purdy will see the field in the preseason. On the other hand, there will be plenty of big names on the field during the preseason, and you can see the full list here of quarterbacks who WILL be playing.
