Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
Now that we know the NFL schedule is coming out on May 15, that means the countdown is officially on to next Wednesday. By my count, we're roughly 8,640 minutes away from the release, but if you're not someone who likes to count in minutes, we're six days away.
With the release coming so soon, we'll be taking a sneak peek at the schedule today by checking out a few things we already know. We'll also be taking a look at the 10 teams that have the easiest strength of schedule for 2024.
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 schedule release sneak peek: Six things we already know about the 2024 schedule
The release of the NFL schedule is officially less than a week away, and we're going to celebrate that fact today by taking a sneak peek at what's in store for the 2024 season. Although we don't know much about the 2024 schedule, here are six things that we do know:
- Thursday night opener in Kansas City. The defending Super Bowl champion annually serves as the host in the opening game of the season, which means that barring something unforeseen, the Chiefs will be the home team in the Thursday night opener. Their home schedule consists of the Broncos, Chargers, Raiders, Ravens, Bengals, Texans, Saints and Buccaneers, so the NFL will have plenty of juicy games to choose from, including a possible AFC title game rematch with Baltimore. The Bengals and Texans would also qualify as attractive options. The NFL generally tries to avoid putting divisional games in the opener, so the Chargers, Raiders and Broncos likely won't be playing in Kansas City in Week 1. At this point, my guess is that it ends up being Texans-Chiefs. Last year, the NFL changed its philosophy with the opening game. The league could have had a Bengals-Chiefs AFC title game rematch, but instead, the NFL decided to put the Lions in the opener. The Lions were an up-and-coming team heading into 2023 and the Texans feel the same way this year.
- NFL set to play in Brazil for the first time. Sao Paulo will be hosting the NFL's first-ever game in Brazil and that will be coming in Week 1. The Eagles will be "hosting" the Packers in a rare Friday game that will stream exclusively on Peacock on Sept. 6. It will mark the NFL's first Friday game in Week 1 since 1970.
- International series will also feature games in London and Munich. The NFL will be playing four games in Europe this year with three games in London and one game in Germany. For the slate of games in England, the Bears, Vikings and Jaguars will each serve as the home team in one game. As for the game in Germany, the Panthers will serve as the home team for the NFL's second regular-season game ever in Munich.
- Jaguars could be going back-to-back in London for the second straight season. According to Jacksonville.com, the Jaguars are expected to play back-to-back games in London for the second straight season. They will host one game and then serve as the visiting team in one game, which will likely come against the Bears.
- Christmas doubleheader that will make history. For just the third time in 75 years, the NFL will be playing on a Wednesday, and that will be happening this year because Dec. 25 falls on a Wednesday in 2024. We won't just be getting one game, either: The NFL will be giving us a Christmas doubleheader.
- Every home-and-away opponent for all 32 teams. Although we don't know the time and dates for any game yet this year, we do know who each team will be playing, and you can check out the home-and-away opponents for all 32 teams by clicking here.
The NFL schedule release has become a major offseason event for the league and this year should be no exception.
2. NFL offseason roundtable: Breaking down the best, worst moves of the offseason
There's nothing we love more around here than a good roundtable session, so Cody Benjamin decided to round up a few of our NFL writers to get some key questions answered about the 2024 NFL offseason.
Who had the best free agent signing? Who had the worst? Glad you asked. Jordan Dajani, Shanna McCarriston and Cody answered those questions plus more.
Best free agent signing
- Benjamin: Texans adding Danielle Hunter. "It's hard not to like the Texans' splashy investment off the edge, where Hunter gives them one of the NFL's most imposing edge rushers to pair with Will Anderson Jr. and play under DeMeco Ryans."
- Dajani: Raiders sign Christian Wilkins. "Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders added one of the best defensive tackles in the league in Christian Wilkins. He's someone who can rush the passer from the inside, which will make life easier for Maxx Crosby and Tyree Wilson."
- McCarriston: Hunter. "The Texans are rapidly on the rise and one of my top teams to watch next season. Four-time Pro Bowler Danielle Hunter immediately improves their defense. The team's big free agency shows its commitment to winning now."
Worst free agent signing
- Benjamin: Falcons adding Darnell Mooney. "The Falcons needed to add weaponry for new quarterback Kirk Cousins (and apparently Michael Penix Jr., too?), but paying Darnell Mooney $13 million per year -- almost twice as much as Marquise Brown got from the Kansas City Chiefs -- feels a bit like spending just to spend."
- Dajani: Bears signing Kevin Byard. "He was an All-Pro safety not long ago, but Kevin Byard struggled after being traded to Philadelphia last year. When he became a free agent this offseason, the Bears quickly pounced on him, signing the former Titan to a two-year deal worth something like $15 million."
- McCarriston: Cowboys bring back Ezekiel Elliott. "Does Elliott have much left in him? And is this what the Cowboys need? They apparently think so and reunited with the veteran running back, who spent last season with the New England Patriots. Zeke was the team leader in multiple categories in 2023, but that was on a horrific Patriots offense that had no stability, so it shouldn't hold much weight."
They also answered other key questions like which offseason trade will work out the best, which one will go down as the worst and more. If you want to know the answer to every key offseason question, then you'll want to be sure to check out the full story here.
3. 2024 NFL strength of schedule breakdown: Looking at the 10 easiest schedules
After taking a look at the 10 most difficult schedules earlier this week, we're going to flip things around today and take a look at the 10 easiest schedules for 2024. Of course, when I say easy, I don't actually mean easy, because nothing is easy in the NFL, but these are the teams that have the easiest strength of schedule based on their opponents' combined winning percentage from last season.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the 10 least difficult schedules in 2024 based on strength of schedule:
Easiest schedules
T-1. Falcons: 131-158 (.453)
T-1. Saints: 131-158 (.453)
T-3. Bears: 135-154 (.467)
T-3. Panthers: 135-514 (.467)
T-5. Buccaneers: 138-151 (.478)
T-5. Chargers: 138-151 (.478)
T-7. Seahawks: 141-148 (.488)
T-7. Dolphins: 141-148 (.488)
T-7. Cardinals: 141-148 (.488)
T-10. Titans: 142-147 (.491)
T-10. Colts: 142-147 (.491)
T-10. Eagles: 142-147 (.491)
Although strength of schedule isn't a perfect way to measure schedule difficulty before the season kicks off, it has been pretty accurate with one thing: The teams with the easiest schedules usually do well. Over the past seven years, at least one team that went into the season with one of the two easiest schedules has finished with a winning record, which bodes well for New Orleans and/or Atlanta.
To check out the strength of schedule ranking for all 32 teams, be sure to click here.
4. Joe Burrow opens up about injury: Bengals QB meets with the media
The Bengals should be a Super Bowl contender this year, but that's only going to happen if Joe Burrow can stay healthy. The quarterback has spent the offseason rehabbing his right wrist, which he injured back in November. This week, Burrow met with the media for the first time this offseason and he had some interesting things to say, including an update on the wrist.
- Burrow can throw, but the wrist is still giving him some minor issues. "It felt good the last two days," Burrow said, via the team's official website. "I don't ever really know how it's going to feel until I wake up the next morning, but I was encouraged by the last couple of days for sure … Sometimes it's going to hurt. … I'll keep (pain) to myself, but whenever you have an injury there is going to be some pain in spots."
- Burrow still not 100% where he wants to be throwing the ball. "That's something I'm still working through. You know, the consistency isn't quite where I want it to be yet, but there's definitely flashes of getting better. I'm excited about that."
- The Bengals QB wants the NFL to add a second bye if the league expands the season to 18 games. "That's not easy adding that extra game," Burrow said. "Obviously, it would be great for revenue, but I feel like adding that bye week if you're going to have the 18-game schedule is pretty critical for our bodies." Burrow also suggested that the NFL could learn from the NBA and just give the entire league a week off at some point during the season.
- Burrow is standing behind Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson. Both players have requested a trade this offseason, but despite that, the Bengals QB is still supporting his teammates. "Those guys have their business they need to take care of. I support them in every way. Both those guys have earned everything that has come to them and more. I'll support them all the way through it."
If you want to see video of Burrow throwing the ball and read more about his recovery, you can do that here.
5. Here's the wildest story from the first round of the NFL Draft, and it involves the Raiders
The Raiders made an interesting pick during the first round of the NFL Draft last month when they decided to take Brock Bowers at 13th overall. Bowers is a great prospect, but tight end wasn't very high up on the team's list of needs, which is why the pick has raised some eyebrows.
The one thing that makes the pick even more interesting is that it apparently came down to A COIN TOSS. That's right, the Raiders apparently flipped a coin to decide who they were taking in first round.
Here's what we know about the situation:
- Terrion Arnold says the Raiders flipped a coin. The Raiders apparently couldn't decide between Arnold and Bowers at 13th overall, so they flipped a coin. At least that's what Arnold was told by someone on the Raiders coaching staff. "The Raiders coach, they called me after the draft," Arnold told "The Next Round" podcast this week. "And they were like, 'We actually had a coin toss between you and Brock Bowers. It landed on him.' I was like, 'Oh wow.'"
- Raiders front office kind of denies the claim. The team's assistant GM, Champ Kelly, was asked about the story this week and he said he was unaware of a coin toss. "I can't confirm that at all," Kelly said, via The Athletic. "Terrion is a good player. I'm excited to watch his career and watch him play. But we drafted Brock, and we're excited to get him here. And I don't think anyone else in our whole draft room felt any other way."
Based on these two comments, I don't think you can definitively say one way or the other whether the coin toss happened. On Arnold's end, it's possible that the coach he spoke to said something along the lines of "It was a coin toss between you and Bowers, and we took Bowers," but the coach meant it metaphorically.
As for Kelly's comments, he could have shot down the story by simply saying, "NO, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN," but he didn't issue a full denial, which means it's at least plausible.
If this is true, it will be the greatest draft story since a homeless guy told Browns owner Jimmy Haslam to draft Johnny Manziel in 2014 (If you haven't heard that story, you can catch up on it here).
6. Extra points: Giants sign former Pro Bowl receiver
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.
- Giants sign Allen Robinson. The Giants beefed up their receiving room during the draft by taking Malik Nabers with the sixth overall pick, and now they've added even more receiving depth. The team has agreed to a one-year deal with Robinson, who spent last season with the Steelers. Robinson went over 1,000 yards as recently as 2020, but he's averaged just 343 yards per year over the past three seasons.
- Cowboys release Martavis Bryant. After just six months, Bryant's run in Dallas is already over. The Cowboys originally signed Bryant back in November, but they decided to cut ties with him on Wednesday. Bryant spent the past six months on the Cowboys' practice squad and never actually played in a game. In other receiving news, the Cowboys brought in Zay Jones for a visit and they could look to sign him for added receiver depth. Jones has visited multiple teams and is expected to visit the Chiefs next.
- Broncos make cut in their QB room. The Broncos went into the week with four quarterbacks on their roster, but that number is now down to three after they decided to cut Ben DiNucci on Wednesday. The move leaves Bo Nix, Jarrett Stidham and Zach Wilson as the only quarterbacks on Denver's roster.
- Raiders likely headed to Southern California for training camp. Even though the Raiders are now in Las Vegas, it doesn't look like the team will be staying in Nevada for training camp. The Raiders got approval from the Costa Mesa city council this week to move their training camp to the Southern California city. The Raiders will be holding training camp where the Chargers had been holding their training camp over the past few years, but the Chargers won't be there anymore because they plan to hold training camp at their new practice facility in El Segundo.
