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| Monday, July 22, 2024 |
| Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! |
| After spending the past 24 hours on the internet, I noticed that everyone is talking about the same thing today and that's the fact that I'M BACK. That's right, it's me, John Breech and I'm back in the saddle after taking some time off for paternity leave. |
| I haven't been following the news much over the past month: Did anything happen while I was gone in either the sports world or non-sports world? Feel like I couldn't have missed much. |
| Anyway, I'd like thank Cody Benjamin, Tyler Sullivan and Jordan Dajani for holding up the fort while I was out. I think I also even saw a newsletter written by one of our editors (Shout out Kyle Stackpole)! I almost asked one of them to sub in for me today because I have 19 blisters on my hands from changing so many diapers, but I decided that I will NOT be slowed down by diapers or blisters, which is why I'm powering through things today. |
| 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. NFL Preseason All-Rookie team: Cardinals and Raiders shine |
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| We wanted to start the week off with a bang today, so we've decided that right now is the perfect time to unveil our 2024 preseason All-Rookie team. CBSSports.com NFL Draft guru Chris Trapasso locked himself in a room over the weekend and didn't come out until he was completely satisfied with his entire team. |
| Here's a look at the All-Rookie Team on the offensive side of the ball: |
QB: Caleb Williams, Bears
RB: Trey Benson, Cardinals
WR: Malik Nabers, Giants
WR: Marvin Harrison, Jr., Cardinals
WR: Jamari Thrash, Browns
TE: Brock Bowers, Raiders
OT: Taliese Fuaga, Saints
OT: Joe Alt, Cardinals
Interior OL: Christian Haynes, Seahawks
Interior OL: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Raiders |
| One notable aspect of the All-Rookie Team is that the Browns and Seahawks were the only two teams that had at least one player on both sides of the ball. If you want to see what the defensive side of the All-Rookie Team looks like, then be sure to click here. |
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| 2. Jordan Love to sit out of training camp: Predicting other key players who will be holding out of camp |
| The Green Bay Packers revealed some big news on Monday and that's the fact that Jordan Love has decided to sit out of training camp until he gets a new deal. Love reported for training camp with the rest of the team on Sunday, but he won't be practicing until a deal gets done. |
| Packers GM Brian Gutekunst said the two sides are "close" so Love might not miss very many practices, but the decision by the QB definitely puts a lot of pressure on the team to get a deal done. |
| With that in mind, Cody Benjamin decided to make some predictions about which other key players might end up holding out this year or "holding in," which is what Love is doing. |
| Let's take a look at three of his prognostications: |
| Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb. "Fresh off a career year in which he led the NFL in catches, Lamb has basically all the leverage in his play for a long-term deal. ... The Cowboys will inevitably pay up, just as they may with Prescott, but maybe not until after Lamb makes another stand, forcing their hand." Prediction: Lamb holds out. Saints RB Alvin Kamara. "One of the Saints' most accomplished playmakers, Kamara skipped the final day of mandatory minicamp in a contract-related statement. His situation is tricky: He's clearly vital to the team, but he's also expensive and nearing 30 with some availability questions." Prediction: Kamara reports to camp on time. 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk. "Few players have been so upfront about their financial displeasure this offseason, with the emergent All-Pro repeatedly teasing interest in other clubs. ... After already skipping mandatory minicamp, it'd be a mild surprise if Aiyuk suddenly returns to work in the Bay Area." Prediction: Aiyuk holds out. |
| If you want to check out Cody's full list of predictions, you can do that here. |
| 3. Aaron Rodgers breaks silence: Jets QB explains why he skipped mandatory minicamp |
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| Aaron Rodgers' decision to skip mandatory minicamp last month came with a lot of scrutiny. Although the Jets said they knew that Rodgers wasn't going to be there, they still labeled his absence as unexcused, which makes it seem like they definitely weren't happy about the decision. |
| So why did Rodgers decide to skip the only mandatory practice sessions on the Jets' spring schedule? |
| The four-time MVP finally answered that question during an interview on the "Pardon My Take" podcast that was released on Monday. |
| Rodgers justified his actions by pointing out that minicamp isn't really minicamp anymore. "The thing I think that people don't understand was that when I was in the NFC North [playing for the Packers] years ago, there used to be a real thing called minicamp," Rodgers said. "It was five practices in three days: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Two practices on Friday, two on Saturday and one on Sunday. Now, it's not minicamp."Minicamp and OTAs are essentially the same thing, according to Rodgers. "They can arbitrarily put a tag on whatever week of OTAs they want and say 'This is the minicamp week,' which makes it somehow more mandatory than the other weeks, but it was an OTA schedule," Rodgers said. "That's how words can be a little deceiving from time to time. They can make a story about how I missed a minicamp when it was really two OTA days. I came to the first 10." |
| Rodgers clearly doesn't think it was a big deal that he skipped minicamp and the fact of the matter is that no one will remember even happened if the Jets get off to a hot start to the 2024 season. |
| Oh, and Rodgers also said that he would like to win two Super Bowls with the Jets. Please make of that what you will. |
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| 4. Ranking the top 10 defensive position groups |
| During my time out on paternity leave, I read EVERY newsletter that hit my inbox, and one thing I noticed is that we put out A LOT of top-10 rankings, so let's go ahead and add one more to the list. Bryan DeArdo ranked the NFL's top 10 defensive position groups and based on his ranking, the Jets might destroy people this year. |
| Here's a look at his top three defensive position groups heading into the 2024 season: |
| 1. Jets defensive line. "On a defense loaded with talent, the Jets' D-line stands out. That's what happens when you pair standouts Quinnen Williams and Jermaine Johnson II with another Pro Bowler in Haason Reddick, who comes to the Big Apple after tallying 40.5 sacks the previous four seasons." |
| 2. 49ers defensive line. "This offseason, the 49ers bolstered their D-line with the addition of Leonard Floyd (10.5 sacks for Buffalo in 2023) and Maliek Collins (five sacks for Houston in 2023). Hargrave was named to the Pro Bowl during his first season in San Francisco and played an integral role in the 49ers' NFC title." |
| 3. Browns' secondary. "Cleveland's secondary is an embarrassment of riches. Last year, the unit allowed a league-low 164.7 passing yards per game, and that number could be even better this year if starting safeties Delpit and Thornhill are healthy (the duo missed a combined 10 games last year)." |
| DeArdo ranked a total of 10 groups, and you can see the full list here. |
| 5. Will Levis goes one-on-one with CBS Sports |
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| After watching Will Levis start nine games as a rookie last season, the Titans have decided to hand their offense over to the second-year quarterback, which means their entire season is going to be riding on how well Levis plays this year. |
| Although the oddsmakers aren't expecting the Titans to have very much success in 2024, Levis actually sounds pretty confident, which is one thing Bryan DeArdo learned during a recent one-on-one interview with the quarterback. |
| Here are a few of the topics that Levis touched on during the interview: |
| Levis expects the Titans to make the playoffs. "We want to make a playoff run. That's the biggest goal for us. Obviously, every team's goal is going to win a Super Bowl. ... but we're going to take it one game at a time. We know we've got a tough schedule, and all we want to do is is play within ourselves, learn from each other, love each other and prove a lot of people wrong."Levis is trying to shed his gunslinging ways. "I think a lot of people, when they hear gunslinger, they think about recklessness. I definitely feel like I was a little too reckless in my college career and tried to make some throws that I would want to take back. I changed that mentality a bit in my play last year."The 24-year-old wants to spend his entire career with the Titans. "I'm not trying to be an entertainer. I'm trying to be a franchise quarterback that stays here in Tennessee for my whole career." |
| If you want to check out the full interview with Levis, you can do that here. |
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| 6. Extra points: Every NFL draft pick is now under contract |
| It was a busy 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. |
All 257 draft picks are under contract. Going into the weekend, there were only two draft picks who had yet to sign their rookie deal, but that number is now down to zero. The final two holdouts were Minnesota's Dallas Turner and Cincinnati's Amarius Mims. Turner signed his deal on Sunday and then Mims followed that up by becoming the final rookie to sign when he inked his deal on Monday. Two-time Super Bowl champion abruptly retires. The Dolphins got some stunning news over the weekend with Shaq Barrett announcing that he has decided to retire. The 31-year-old linebacker, who won two Super Bowls, revealed his decision on Saturday. You can read more about his surprising announcement here.
Packers give Kenny Clark a monstrous extension. Jordan Love doesn't have a new deal yet, but Kenny Clark did get one from the Packers over the weekend. The nose tackle signed a three-year, $64 million extension. The former first-round pick has been a key part of the Packers' defense since he was drafted back in 2016. Texans expected to sign Super Bowl-winning running back. Three years after winning a Super Bowl with the Rams, Cam Akers has a new team. The running back is expected to sign with the Texans in a move that will give Houston more depth behind Joe Mixon.Bill Belichick planning to coach in 2025. The NFL legend didn't land a coaching gig this year, but don't be surprised if he's back on an NFL sideline next year. According to NFL Media, Belichick is "fully invested" in making a return to coaching in 2025. You can check out the full details here. |
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