Welcome to the Leap Day edition of the Pick Six newsletter and happy Feb. 29!
It's my favorite day of the year and I'm starting to think I need a new favorite day, because this day only happens once every four years.
As soon as I'm done writing the newsletter, I'm going to go throw myself a Leap Day party, which is where I go and Ieap over a bunch of stuff. I believe the NFL is also holding a Leap Day party this year, except they're calling it the combine. Today will mark the first day of on-field workouts, and at some point today, the league will be celebrating Leap Day by asking players to leap as high as they can. I think that's called the high jump in some circles, but everyone in the know knows that they're only doing it to celebrate Leap Day.
Anyway, we have a lot of stuff to cover today. Not only will we be talking about the combine, but we'll also be breaking down the NFLPA's latest report cards. In news that might probably won't surprise you, the Commanders have been graded as as the least player-friendly team for the second straight year.
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. Alright, let's get to the rundown.
1. Today's show: Two former NFL players break down the latest NFL news
For today's episode of the Pick Six podcast, we did what we do every Thursday: We brought on two former NFL players to break down all of the latest NFL news.
Those two players were Brady Quinn and Leger Douzable and just to prove how talented he is, Quinn actually hosted the show (Will Brinson normally hosts the show, but I think he injured himself trying to bench press 225 while trying to prove that he's stronger than the players at the combine).
Speaking of the combine, Quinn broke down why we're seeing more and more quarterbacks making the decision not to throw at the NFL's annual event. Quinn noted that the new combine schedule can take some guys out of their routine. In the past, most of the combine drills were held in the morning and early afternoon, but with a good chunk of the event now being televised, the drills are run in the late afternoon and into prime time.
"It is a big time job interview, but it's become a much more made-for-TV event and not so much for the players," Quinn said. "Back when I was there, the testing was earlier in the day. At night, there were meetings and breakout sessions with teams -- they'd be testing you on the board and watching film with you -- but now a days, that still happens, but a lot of the testing is at night, so it's one of the reasons you're not seeing a lot of guys throw."
According to Quinn, a lot of guys just feel more comfortable throwing in a familiar setting at their pro day.
"Some guys don't even want to test," Quinn said. "At pro days, they have the opportunity to be in a comfortable setting that they know where they can perform their best."
If you want to hear Quinn and Douzable talk about the combine, then be sure to click here so you can listen to today's episode. If you prefer your podcasts in video form, you can watch today's episode on YouTube by clicking here.
2. NFLPA Survey: Players love playing for Dolphins and Vikings, hate playing for the Commanders
If we learned one thing about the NFL this week, it's that everyone still hates playing for the Commanders. The reason we know that is because the NFLPA released its annual survey on Wednesday where players were asked to grade the working conditions of their current team. The NFLPA had 1,706 players rate how their current team handles eight specific categories, including: treatment of families, food/cafeteria, nutritionist/dietician, locker room, training room, training staff, weight room, strength coach, team travel, head coach, ownership.
The players were asked to assign their team a letter grade from A+ to F- in each category. We're going to take a look at the three teams that scored the best and the three teams that scored the worst.
TOP GRADES
1. Dolphins. Of the 32 teams in the NFL, the Dolphins were the ONLY one to score straight A's. There were 11 categories and the Dolphins were ranked in the top three in all of them except for one: Coaching. Mike McDaniel earned an A, but that was only good enough to rank eighth in the NFL.
2. Vikings. The Vikings were actually the top team in 2023, but they fell a spot this year and that's mainly because they fell out of the top five in two categories: Training staff (ninth overall) and food/cafeteria (seventh). On the bright side, Kevin O'Connell got the second-highest score of any coach and ended up earning an A+.
3. Packers. After the Dolphins and Vikings, there was quite the drop between them and the third team on the list. The Packers only scored three A's out of 11 categories, but that was still good enough to rank third. Their best performance came in team travel, where they ranked fourth overall, but they might want to leave Matt LaFleur at home, because the players don't seem to love him. The Packers coach was given a B+ grade by his players, which sounds good until you realize that his grade was one of the 12 lowest in the NFL for a head coach.
And now, here are the three worst scores:
30. Chargers. The Chargers are a disaster. They got four F's and one of those came in the "treatment of families" category. Players hated the fact that the the team charges them for day care on game day (Only two teams charge for day care on game day). The Chargers also ranked dead last in food taste and food freshness, which is a big reason why they got an F in the food/cafeteria category.
31. Chiefs. The Chiefs have the best team in football, but apparently, that success doesn't translate to anything the team does off the field. Chiefs players handed out four F's with the most notable one going to owner Clark Hunt, who was given an F-, which was the worst grade given to any owner. Apparently, the players are upset with ownership because they promised to renovate the locker room after the 2022 season, but they never came through on their promise.
32. Commanders. Even though Dan Snyder has sold the team, it appears that nothing has changed just yet; For the second straight year, the Commanders are ranked dead last overall. Washington came in last because it received a D or an F in six of the 11 categories. One big problem for the Commanders is that there have been "multiple sewage leaks" in the locker room, which is something that the players haven't been happy with. The locker room was one of three categories where the Commanders were given an F- with the other two being training room and treatment of families.
If you want to see the full rankings from the player survey, then be sure to click here.
3. Ranking the top draft prospects at each defensive position
After waiting all week, the NFL Combine is finally going to kick into high gear today with some actual on-field workouts. Starting today at 3 p.m. ET on NFL Network, you can watch the linebackers and defensive linemen hit the field for their drills (We'll also have plenty of live coverage on CBS Sports HQ and you can check out our free streaming site here).
With the defensive players hitting the field, we thought now would be a good time to rank the top-five draft prospects at each defensive position.
These rankings come from Josh Edwards and we're going to check out the top EDGE rushers on his list:
- Dallas Turner, Alabama. "Turner has the most upside and he should test very well at the NFL Combine. He is a relatively young prospect so it is likely that his best football lies ahead."
- Darius Robinson, Missouri. "Robinson is a unique talent because he has the flexibility to play on the edge or slide inside in pass-rushing situations."
- Laiatu Latu, UCLA. "Latu has a lot of pass-rush moves in his bag and, at this point, there is no reason to believe he will not pass a medical check despite his past."
- Jared Verse, Florida State. "Verse is a powerful rusher who started to show his ability to take over games late in the season."
- Bralen Trice, Washington. "Trice may not have the highest ceiling of this group, but his floor is high because of his consistency and how he prepares."
If you want to see Josh's top-five rankings at cornerback, linebacker and safety, then be sure to click here.
4. Jets sound done with Zach Wilson: Possible landing spots for the former No. 2 overall pick
After just three seasons in New York, it looks like Zach Wilson's time is officially over with the Jets. Wilson got to stick around last season to serve as the backup to Aaron Rodgers. After Rodgers went down, Wilson ended up starting 11 games, but he almost certainly won't be returning this year.
Jets general manager Joe Douglas said this week that Wilson has been given permission to seek a trade. With that in mind, Cody Benjamin decided to come up with a few landing spots for the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.
- Chiefs. "Wilson was unfairly compared to Patrick Mahomes coming out of BYU, but there wouldn't be a better mentor for the physically gifted youngster. ... Wilson would surely embrace the chance to learn under Andy Reid."
- Rams. "Few teams have embraced the QB restoration project quite like the Rams in recent years, taking in-season swings on Baker Mayfield and Carson Wentz in successive years. While Matthew Stafford is entrenched as the starter after a resurgent 2023, L.A. could once again use a younger developmental option."
- Bills. "Josh Allen is close with Aaron Rodgers, who's been one of Wilson's biggest advocates. While the Jets probably wouldn't love dealing their former top-two pick to a division rival, Buffalo has a QB in Allen whose play style better aligns with Wilson."
If you want to see the full list of possible landing spots, be sure to click here.
5. Five reasons to be excited about free agency
NFL free agency is always one of the most exciting parts of the offseason, so we probably don't need to do too much to get you excited for it, but we're going to do that anyway.
With the start of free agency less than two weeks away (March 13), Cody Benjamin decided to get us amped up for it by pointing out a few reasons why we should all be excited for the most unpredictable part of the NFL offseason.
- 1. Kirk Cousins set to hit the market again. "Typically, a 35-year-old QB coming off a torn Achilles wouldn't register as the single-most exciting domino of the NFL offseason. But no one has milked the market quite like Cousins during his 12-year career. ... It's not often such a proven, respected signal-caller becomes readily available to the rest of the league, and his decision could end up altering the entire 2024 QB landscape."
- 2. Justin Fields and Russell Wilson could soon have new teams. "Fields may well end up being the most important player moved this offseason. Wilson, on the other hand, is a likely cut candidate after a late-season falling-out with the Broncos, and while his value has dipped in recent years, he remains one of the most experienced arms available."
- 3. The veteran market is loaded with defensive talent. "While the biggest names (i.e. Chris Jones, of the title-winning Chiefs) are safer bets to stay put, there are Pro Bowl-caliber vets from every level of the defense set to be available in March, from edge rushers (Josh Allen, Brian Burns, Danielle Hunter) and interior linemen (Justin Madubuike, Christian Wilkins) and cover men (Jaylon Johnson, L'Jarius Sneed) to safeties ( Antoine Winfield Jr.)."
Cody came up with five reasons and you can see his full list here.
6. Extra points: Chiefs super fan faces up to 50 years in prison
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.
- 'Chiefsaholic' facing a lot of time behind bars. Xaviar Babudar, the Chiefs super fan who was arrested in July 2023 for bank robbery, has pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, one count of bank robbery and one count of transporting stolen property across state lines. He now faces a maximum sentence of 50 years behind bars.
- Chiefs give L'Jarius Sneed permission to seek trade. The Chiefs cornerback could have a new team in 2024. Although he's expected to get hit with the franchise tag, Sneed has been given permission to seek a trade, according to NFL.com. Earlier this week, it was reported that the Chiefs would be open to trading Sneed if they couldn't reach a long-term deal with him, and now, it seems they don't feel very optimistic about a possible deal if they're letting him seek out a trade.
- Jets players think Mecole Hardman leaked game plans. Several Jets players have accused Hardman of leaking game plans for New York's games against the Eagles and the Chiefs last season. Somehow, those ended up being two of the Jets' best games of the year, so maybe they should leak out all of their game plans. You can read more about the situation here.
- Tyreek Hill accused of breaking woman's leg. The Dolphins receiver has been hit with a lawsuit that accuses him of breaking a woman's leg. Hill invited a social media influencer over to his house and things apparently got ugly when they started doing football drills. You can read all the crazy details here.
- FedEx Field no longer known as FedEx Field. Not only did the Commanders get the worst grade in the annual players survey, but they also got some more bad news this week: FedEx has opted out of its stadium deal with the team. The company's decision means that FedEx Field, which has been the name of the Commanders' stadium since 1999, will have a new name heading into the 2024 season.
- Tom Brady is faster than Tom Brady. With the combine going on this week, Brady decided to run the 40 and the big shock here is that he ran it faster at age 46 than he did as a 22-year-old at the combine in 2000. Brady ran a 5.18 this week, which topped his combine time of 5.28. You can see both of his runs here.
