Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
When it comes to the NFL offseason, this week is usually the calm before the storm, so please enjoy it, because after this week, things likely won't be calm again for the next three months.
As for today, since it's Presidents' Day, which we all know is the best day for trivia, I have some NFL-related Presidents' Day trivia: Can you name the five colleges that have produced both a president of the United States and a Super Bowl-winning quarterback? (Answer at the bottom of the newsletter).
Also, I will be doing what I do every Presidents' Day and that's pointing out the fact that Drew Brees looks like former President Rutherford B. Hayes. Presidents' Day is the only day on the calendar where mentioning this fact makes sense, so that's why I do it every year (You can see their uncanny resemblance by clicking here).
As always, here's your weekly reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the Pick Six newsletter. To get your friends to sign up, all you have to do is click here and then share this link with them.
1. Top 25 defensive free agents: Chiefs and Ravens could both lose two key players
After ranking the top offensive free agents on Friday, we thought it would make sense to also rank the top defensive free agents, so that's exactly what we're going to do today. Our Jared Dubin went through and ranked the top 25 players on defense who will be hitting free agency.
With that in mind, let's take a look at Dubin's top 10 (We'll list the player, plus the team they played for last season).
1. DL Chris Jones (Chiefs)
2. DE/OLB Josh Allen (Jaguars)
3. S Antoine Winfield, Jr. (Buccaneers)
4. DE/OLB Brian Burns (Panthers)
5. DT Justin Madubuike (Ravens)
6. DL Christian Wilkins (Dolphins)
7. CB Jaylen Johnson (Bears)
8. CB L'Jarius Sneed (Chiefs)
9. DE/OLB Danielle Hunter (Vikings)
10. LB Patrick Queen (Ravens)
One interesting thing here is that the Chiefs and Ravens both landed two guys on this list, which means they both could potentially be hit pretty hard on the defensive side of the ball in free agency. Could any of the guys on this list be hit with the franchise tag? Great question. We'll be answering that tomorrow when we take a look at franchise tag candidates.
Anyway, if you want to see Dubin's entire top 25 ranking, then be sure to click here.
2. Best team fits for free agent quarterbacks
Although Kirk Cousins could end being the top quarterback to hit free agency, he definitely won't be the only experienced QB on the market.
This year's free agent class of quarterbacks isn't going to blow anyone away, but there are still some big names in it, so Cody decided to take a look at those names and take a stab at where they might end up. Cody included every QB who's going to be a free agent, even if there's a chance the QB might end up re-signing with his current team.
Here's a look a a few names on the list:
1. Kirk Cousins
Logical fits: Broncos, Commanders, Falcons, Vikings, Raiders
2. Baker Mayfield
Logical fits: Buccaneers, Falcons, Raiders, Vikings
3. Ryan Tannehill
Best fits: Jets, Patriots, Steelers, Vikings
4. Gardner Minshew
Best fits: Colts, Raiders, Steelers, Vikings
5. Jacoby Brissett
Best fits: Browns, Cardinals, Jets, Patriots
If you want to check out Cody's entire story on free agent quarterbacks, then be sure to click here.
3. 2024 MVP odds: Patrick Mahomes on top
This has turned into a quarterback-themed newsletter, so we might as well just keep that going by talking about an award that only seems to go to quarterbacks: MVP.
The 2024 odds for MVP have been released and in a slight surprise, the reigning MVP isn't even in the top three on the list. Here's a look at the five players who currently have the best MVP odds for the 2024 season.
1. Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs): +750
2. Josh Allen (Bills): +800
3. Joe Burrow (Bengals): +900
4. Lamar Jackson (Ravens): +1000
T-5. CJ Stroud (Texans): +1200
T-5. Justin Herbert (Chargers): +1200
Early pick from Tyler Sullivan: Herbert. "His talent has never been in question as the Chargers quarterback possesses some of the best pure throwing ability in the NFL. The issues have largely arisen from poor coaching under the leadership of former head coach Brandon Staley. Now that Jim Harbaugh is slotted in to lead the franchise, Los Angeles should be a much more efficient operation and Herbert could be one of the biggest beneficiaries of that."
You can read Sullivan's full story here.
4. Unofficial start of free agency: 38 players who will see their contract voided today
Presidents' Day might not seem like a big day on the NFL calendar, but it is this year. Former NFL agent Joel Corry recently explained why Feb. 19 is a key date for 2024, and that's because there will be 38 different players who will see their contracts voided today.
Here's a short list of players who will see their deals voided:
- Buccaneers WR Mike Evans
- Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield
- Buccaneers S Antoine Winfield Jr.
- Buccaneers LB Lavonte David
- Titans RB Derrick Henry
- Titans QB Ryan Tannehill
- Patriots OT Trent Brown
- Texans TE Dalton Schultz
- Ravens OG Kevin Zeitler
- Ravens RB Gus Edwards
- Bills DE Leonard Floyd
You can see the full list of 38 players here. Teams have until 4 p.m. ET today to get an extension done, which is what the Ravens did with Nelson Agholor over the weekend (We'll touch on that below). The advantage of getting a deal done before 4 p.m. is that it's technically viewed as an "extension," which allows the team to push the cap charge into a future season. That advantage goes away once each of these deals voids later today. After 4 p.m., the two sides can still negotiate, but any deal that gets signed will be an entirely new contract.
Although the deals will void, any of these players could still be hit with the franchise tag. If that doesn't happen and the player doesn't work out a new deal with their current team, the player will end up hitting free agency
5. Mock Draft Monday: Vikings trade into top three to grab a QB
From now until the start of the NFL Draft, the first day of every week here will be known as Mock Draft Monday. What this means is that we'll be going through the latest mock draft from one of our NFL Draft gurus (Ryan Wilson, Josh Edwards, Chris Trapasso).
With that in mind, here are the top-15 picks from Josh's latest mock:
1. Bears: QB Caleb Wiliams (USC)
2. Commanders: QB Jayden Daniels (LSU)
3. Vikings (via mock trade with Patriots): QB Drake Maye (UNC)
4. Cardinals: WR Marvin Harrison, Jr. (Ohio State)
5. Chargers: OT Joe Alt (Notre Dame)
6. Giants: WR Malik Nabers (LSU)
7. Titans: OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu (Penn State)
8. Falcons: EDGE Dallas Turner (Alabama)
9. Bears: EDGE Laiatu Latu (UCLA)
10. Jets: OT JC Latham (Alabama)
11. Patriots (via mock trade with Vikings): TE Brock Bowers (UGA)
12. Broncos: QB J.J. McCarthy (Michigan)
13. Raiders: DL Byron Murphy (Texas)
14. Saints: WR Rome Odunze (Washington)
15. Colts: CB Quinyon Mitchell (Toledo)
If you want to see how the full first-round breaks down in Josh's latest mock draft, then be sure to check out the entire thing by clicking here.
For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on "With the First Pick" -- our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson and former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. You can find "With the First Pick" wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube.
6. Extra points: Pittsburgh wants to host the NFL Draft
It's been 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.
- Steelers trying to get an NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. If the Steelers get their way, there will soon be an NFL Draft in Pittsburgh. The team is aiming to land either the 2026 or 2027 draft. The next two drafts have already been handed out with Detroit hosting in 2024 and Green Bay hosting in 2025, which means 2026 is the earliest that Pittsburgh can host.
- Russell Wilson's mansion in Denver is for sale. If you want another sign that Russell Wilson likely won't be returning to the Broncos, we have one here: Wilson's mansion in Denver is officially on the market. If Wilson thought there was any chance that he would be returning to the Broncos, he probably wouldn't sell the house, but since it's now on the market, it seems like a pretty safe bet that he'll be with a new team in 2024.
- Nelson Agholor gets one-year extension. Agholor's contract was set to void today at 4 p.m. ET, which would have made him a free agent, but that won't be happening. Instead, the Ravens have signed him to a one-year extension. You can read more about the deal here.
- J.J. Watt has an idea for an NFL rule change. During a recent appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show," Watt said he would like to see offensive holding changed from a 10-yard penalty to 5-yard penalty. You can read more about Watt's proposal here.
TRIVIA ANSWER (You probably already forgot there was a trivia question)
Miami (Ohio): Ben Roethlisberger -- Benjamin Harrison
Stanford: John Elway/Jim Plunkett -- Herbert Hoover
Michigan: Tom Brady -- Gerald Ford
Navy: Roger Staubach -- Jimmy Carter
Delaware: Joe Flacco -- Joe Biden
On a somewhat related note, only one school on this list -- and one school ever -- has produced a president, a Super Bowl-winning quarterback AND a Super Bowl-winning coach, and that school is Miami (Ohio). Besides Big Ben and President Ben, Miami also produced Weeb Ewbank (Super Bowl III), John Harbaugh (Super Bowl XLVII) and Sean McVay (Super Bowl LVI). As a graduate of Miami (Ohio), I'm required to sneak this fact in whenever I can.
On that note, Happy Presidents Day to all who celebrate!
