Predicting every NFL award for 2024 season, plus under-the-radar rookies who could shine

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

It's a big day here at the newsletter and that's mostly because I'm drinking my first Pumpkin Spice Latte of the year. I have no idea why Starbucks starts selling them on Aug. 22, but I don't care. As a matter of fact, they should sell them year-round. I'm addicted to them and I should probably be talking to someone about this addiction, but I don't have time for that, because I have a newsletter to write. 

We've got a lot to cover today: Not only will we be making award predictions, but we'll also be taking a look at some under-the-radar rookies and ranking the best games to watch for Week 3 of the preseason. 

As always, here's your daily reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter or you can tell people you run into at the bank. That also works. To get them signed up, all you have to do is click here. Let's get to the rundown. 

1.Today's show: Predicting every NFL award for the 2024 season

Our new NFL podcast here at CBS Sports, 'Pushing the Pile,' had its biggest show ever today. Sure, the podcast hasn't even existed for a week, but this one was big because Mike Renner and Kyle Long attempted to predict the winner of every award for the 2024 season from MVP to coach of the year to offensive and defensive rookies of the year. 

Last week, we got their MVP predictions, so we don't dive into that too much here, but we are going to take a look at their prediction for coach of the year (And if you don't remember their MVP predictions, Kyle Long likes Patrick Mahomes while Renner is going with C.J. Stroud). 

COACH OF THE YEAR PREDICTION

• Kyle Long: Matt Eberflus. Long played seven seasons in the NFL and they all came with the Bears, so you might think he's a homer here, but he actually made a pretty compelling case. "I just don't see a world where this team doesn't play great, complementary football," Long said. "The last time we saw a Bears team have really good complementary football was 2018 when Matt Nagy won coach of the year. ... I think people are going to be surprised by how good the defense is. I like Eberflus. That's my coach of the year. 
• Mike Renner: Jim Harbaugh. Renner is the unofficial president of the Chargers' fan club this year. "I think Jim Harbaugh is a fantastic coach and what he can unlock with a much improved offensive line. With Justin Herbert back there, I think they win double-digit games and they make the playoffs. He gets the nod." Renner also mentioned Colts coach Shane Steichen as a possible dark horse. 

Of the seven awards they predicted, they only agreed on ONE and that was the offensive rookie of the year award going to Arizona's Marvin Harrison Jr. 

Not only did the two guys make award predictions, but they also handed out their own awards.  

If you want to listen or subscribe to the podcast, you can do that here (and you definitely should). You can also watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here. 

2. Broncos QB battle is over: Bo Nix wins the starting job in Denver

Bo Nix was officially named the starting QB for the Broncos on Wednesday, which means that Denver will now be going into Week 1 with a rookie under center for the first time in 41 years.

Here's what you need to know: 

• Nix was the easy choice for the job. During his two preseason games, Nix put up some impressive numbers: He completed 76.7% of his passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns while finishing with a QB rating of 116.7. His QB rating and completion percentage were the second-highest of any QB who threw at least 30 passes during the preseason. This wasn't a situation where the Broncos are playing Nix because he's a first-round pick and they felt like they had to get him on the field. He outplayed both Zach Wilson and Jarrett Stidham and that's why he won the job. 
• Why Sean Payton loved him. Nix took zero sacks during the preseason, which might have been the stat that Payton loved the most. "Doesn't take a lot of sacks. I think when he knows when the play's over, time to go, and then, I think he can make plays when he's going," Payton said recently. "I used to say this all the time: The sack numbers are a reflection more on the quarterback than the offensive line. [Drew] Brees was one of those guys, he was a tough sack. The ball came out, and I think Bo has traits like that." 
• Other traits Payton likes about Nix. The former Oregon QB is basically the perfect QB for Payton's system: He's smart, he's accurate and he does exactly what Payton wants, unlike last year, when Russell Wilson would regularly go off-script. Nix finished his college career with the highest completion percentage in FBS history (77.4%), which Payton probably loved to see, considering he coached Drew Brees, who has the NFL record for the highest single-season completion percentage (74.4% in 2018). 
• Nix is first rookie to start in Week 1 for Denver since 1983. The last time the Broncos had a rookie QB under center for the opener came all the way back in 1983 when John Elway won the job. Since then, the Broncos have taken a QB in the first-round four different times, but not of them cracked the starting lineup for Week 1. 

By winning the job, that means Nix's first regular-season NFL snaps will be taking place in a hostile environment with the Broncos traveling to Seattle in Week 1. You can check out our full story on Nix winning the starting job here. 

3. Under-the-radar rookies who could be difference-makers in 2024

When it comes to the rookie class of 2024, most of the talk has revolved around the quarterbacks, but there are plenty of other players in the class who could end up having a huge rookie year in the NFL. 

With that in mind, Chris Trapasso came up with a list of several under-the-radar rookies that you should keep your eye on this year:

• Rams WR Jordan Whittington. "He leads the entire NFL with 11 receptions, seven of which have gone for first downs, for 126 yards. The man was picked as a sixth-round selection a few months ago and projects as Los Angeles' WR4 right away."
• Broncos CB Kris Abrams-Draine: "He's played 70 snaps during the preseason so far, allowing two receptions on seven targets for 16 yards. In the exhibition outing against the Packers, Abrams-Draine registered a pass breakup. Denver's secondary has some talented and highly skilled defenders, and Abrams-Draine is one of them. ... I will forever believe Abrams-Draine lasted until the fifth round in the 2024 draft because of injury history. Because it couldn't have been due to his phenomenal play in the SEC at Missouri."
• Bills LB Joe Andreessen: "Two years ago, Andreessen was dominating at Bryant of the FCS, located in Rhode Island. He transferred back home to University at at Buffalo, then capped his collegiate career with a 90-tackle, 12-tackle for loss campaign. After signing with the Bills as a spring tryout player, Andreessen held his own during training camp and exploded onto the scene in the second preseason game against the Steelers with 12 tackles."

You can check out Trapasso's full list of under-the-radar rookies here.  

4. Falcons keep making moves: A.J. Terrell lands huge contract extension

After making a trade for Matthew Judon and signing Justin Simmons in moves that both went down over the past eight days, you'd think that the Falcons might be done, but nope, they made another move on Thursday by making A.J. Terrell one of the highest-paid corners in the NFL. 

Here's a look at his new contract: 

• Terrell is now the second-highest-paid corner in the NFL. Terrell is getting a four-year, $81 million deal that includes $65.8 million in guaranteed money. At $20.25 million per year, that means Terrell is now the second-highest-paid corner in NFL history, behind only Jaire Alexander, who's making $21 million per year. Before getting the new deal, Terrell was headed into the final year of his rookie deal, which was scheduled to pay him $12.3 million. 
• Terrell definitely earned this deal. Terrell was drafted with the 16th overall pick back in 2020 and in the four seasons since then, he's been dominant for Atlanta with 247 tackles, 43 pass breakups, four interceptions, four forced fumbles, a sack and a fumble recovery. Although Terrell has never been voted to the Pro Bowl, he was a Second Team All-Pro in 2021. 

Terrell will now lead a Falcons secondary that includes Simmons and Jessie Bates at safety along with Mike Hughes at the other corner. That's a pretty strong line-up for a defensive that might end up being better than most people expect. You can check out our full story on Terrell's signing here. 

5. NFL preseason Week 3: Ranking the best games to watch

I'm not sure how it happened, but the final week of the preseason is here. Things will be kicking off tonight with two games and then there will be a total of 14 more games from Friday through Sunday. 

If you don't have time to watch all 16 games, I have some good news for you: I narrowed things down by ranking the three must-see games that will be played this weekend. 

• Patriots at Commanders (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET, NBC). The Patriots still have no idea who their starting QB is going to be this year, which means the team's QB battle will be continuing into this game. Both Drake Maye and Jacoby Brissett are expected to play, so they'll both be getting one more shot to prove that they deserve the starting job. 
• Steelers at Lions, (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, NFL Network). Like the Patriots, the Steelers haven't decided on a starting QB for 2024. The competition between Russell Wilson and Justin Fields is going down to the wire and this will be their final audition before Mike Tomlin decides on a starter. On the other side of the field, the Lions have a battle going on at backup QB between Hendon Hooker and Nate Sudfeld, so this will definitely be one of the few games worth watching this weekend. 
• Panthers at Bills, (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, NFL+). It seems that new Panthers coach Dave Canales has had a change of heart. Canales originally wasn't planning to play Bryce Young during the preseason, but he announced today that Young will play against the Bills. Young is running a new offense and it will be interesting to see how he looks. 

The third week of the preseason is usually the least entertaining week and that's because most teams are keeping their starters on the bench. At the minimum, though, it will definitely be worth checking out the Steelers and Patriots to see how those QB battles shake out. 

One person you definitely won't see this week is Aaron Rodgers. There had been some speculation that the Jets QB might play, but the team has decided to keep him on the bench. 

6. Extra points: Commanders make two trades

It's been a busy week 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.

• Commanders send former first-round pick to Eagles. After just two seasons in Washington, the Commanders are getting rid of Jahan Dotson. The Commanders are sending Dotson and a 2025 fifth-round pick to the Eagles in exchange for a 2025 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-rounds picks. Dotson was the 16th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, but he had fallen out of favor under the new regime in Washington. Here's how we graded the trade. 
• Commanders add Cade York. After watching Riley Patterson struggle during the preseason, the Commanders decided to make a change at kicker. The team acquired Cade York from the Browns on Thursday and then followed that up be releasing Patterson, who missed two field goals during Week 2 of the preseason. York was the backup kicker in Cleveland, but now he'll have a chance to start in Washington. The Browns will be getting a seventh-round conditional draft pick from the Commanders as part of the deal. 
• Travis Kelce is going Hollywood. After dominating the NFL for more than a decade, it looks like Kelce is now planning on taking over Hollywood. The Chiefs tight end is set to star in 'Loose Cannons,' an action-comedy film produced by 'John Wick' director Chad Stahelski. Kelce is also expected to make an appearance in 'Happy Gilmore 2.' Not to mention, he's also set to host a game show on Amazon Prime, which will premiere in October. 
• Eagles release veteran tight end. Four months after signing C.J. Uzomah, the Eagles have decided to cut ties with the tight end. Uzomah had a career-year with the Bengals during their Super Bowl season in 2021, but he's been slowed down by injuries since then. The 31-year-old is now free to sign with any team. 
• Deshaun Watson dealing with arm soreness. There always seems to be some sort of issue with Watson, and right now, that issue is arm soreness. Watson, who has only missed one training camp practice so far, was limited during Wednesday's session. The veteran QB was expected to play in the Browns' final preseason game on Saturday, but coach Kevin Stefanski said he might have to change that plan. This is a big year for Watson and if this arm soreness lingers, it would become a huge issue for the Browns.