Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
We’ve been waiting more than a month for a 40-year-old quarterback to sign with an AFC North team and it finally happened today: Aaron Rodgers is on his way to Pitts… Wait, nope, that’s not right. A 40-year-old quarterback did sign with an AFC North team today, but it wasn’t Aaron Rodgers. Instead, we got Joe Flacco signing with the Browns, which is almost as exciting.
We’ll be taking a look at what the Flacco signing means for Cleveland, plus we have a full Vikings mock draft, which consists of exactly four picks. Also, it’s my dad’s birthday, so I’ll be sharing five fun facts from his NFL career.
As always, 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.
1. Browns signing Joe Flacco: Three things to know
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Joe Flacco is returning to Cleveland. Back in 2023, Flacco spent the first half of the NFL season on his couch before the Browns ended up signing him in November. Flacco eventually became the starter and led the Browns to a 4-1 record during a late-season run that helped Cleveland earn a playoff spot.
Despite his success, the Browns didn’t bring him back in 2024, but he’ll be back in the saddle for the 2025 season. Here are three things you need to know:
- Flacco is getting an interesting contract. The 40-year-old is getting a one-year, $4 million contract that can be worth up to $13 million. With $9 million in incentives, that money is almost certainly tied to whether Flacco ends up being the Browns’ starter at any point during the 2025 season. Flacco could end up being a bridge quarterback who starts for one year before giving way to a younger quarterback or he could end up being the backup all season.
- How this impacts the Browns’ draft plans. There’s been a lot of speculation about whether the Browns will end up using the second overall pick on a QB, and with the signing of Flacco, it feels like they won’t end up going that route. With Flacco and Kenny Pickett on the roster, the Browns have put themselves in a position where they can take the best available player at No. 2 and then grab a QB later in the draft. It wouldn’t be surprising if they took Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter with the second pick and then selected a QB in the second or third round. The Browns have four picks in the top 100 (including the second overall pick) and it won’t be shocking if one of those picks gets used on a QB. Besides the top two quarterbacks (Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders), the Browns have also met with Jaxson Dart, Jalen Milroe and Tyler Shough.
- Browns QB room. The Browns now have three quarterbacks on their roster in Flacco, Pickett and Deshaun Watson. However, Watson is dealing with an Achilles injury and based on recent comments made by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam, it doesn’t seem like Watson is ever going to play for Cleveland again. If I had to guess now, I’d say Flacco is the Week 1 starter, but I’d guess that the Browns will draft a QB and they’ll be looking to get that rookie on the field as soon as possible. In 2019, Flacco said he wasn’t interested in mentoring a younger QB, but at age 40, he’s probably a little more open to that idea.
Flacco is a former Super Bowl MVP who’s going into his 18th NFL season, so at the minimum, he’ll bring plenty of experience to the Browns’ QB room. He’s also just one of three Browns quarterbacks to have a winning record in Cleveland since the franchise returned to the NFL in 1999, so that should make him a fan favorite.
You can check out our full story on Flacco here.
2. Vikings seven-round mock draft: Minnesota has just four picks to work with
From now until the start of the NFL Draft, we’ll be doing a full seven-round mock draft for each team, and today, we’ve got the Vikings (If you’re scoring at home, Minnesota is the eighth team that we’ve hit so far).
This might be the easiest mock draft that anyone has handled this year and that’s because the Vikings only have FOUR picks in the entire draft, which is currently the fewest of any team in the draft. The Falcons and Commanders both have five, but the Vikings are the only team with just four picks.
So what are they going to do with those four picks? Glad you asked. Cody Benjamin has the answer.
Let’s check out his full mock below:
- Round 1 (24th overall): OL Malaki Starks (UGA)
- Round 3 (97th overall): DL J.J. Pegues (Ole Miss)
- Round 5 (139th overall): IOL Dylan Fairchild (UGA)
- Round 6 (187th overall): CB Denzel Burke (Ohio State)
If you want a full explanation for the picks, or if you’re wondering how the other five picks turned out, be sure to check out Cody’s full mock draft here.
3. What should the Lions do with the 28th overall pick? Ranking their best options
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After doing a full mock draft for the Vikings, we’re going to stick with the NFC North and breakdown the best first-round options for the Detroit Lions. The Lions are essentially in uncharted territory with the 28th overall pick this year and that’s because this will mark just the second time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 that Detroit has picked this low in the first round.
We had Jared Dubin break down the Lions’ best options at 28th overall and here’s what he came up with:
1. OL Tyler Booker (Alabama): “When the Eagles had the No. 32 pick in 2018, they traded out of the pick in order to gain more selections. Philadelphia traded the No. 32 pick and a fourth-round pick (No. 132) to the Baltimore Ravens for a 2018 second-round pick (No. 52), a fourth-round pick (No. 125) and a second-round pick in the 2019 draft. … If the Eagles want more assets to make a major move in this year’s or next year’s draft, trading down may be the best option.”
2. EDGE Donovan Ezeiruaku (Boston College): “If the Lions aren’t going to fill the interior offensive line need, they should look to the edge. They desperately need someone other than Aidan Hutchinson who can consistently pressure opposing quarterbacks. Ezeiruaku had 16.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, 60 total pressures and, according to Pro Football Focus, 42 run stops in 2024.”
3. OL Grey Zabel (North Dakota State): “With Kevin Zeitler having left in free agency for a deal with the Titans, the Lions have an opening at right guard — unless they plan to start 2024 sixth-round pick Christian Mahogany. Booker is arguably the top guard available in the draft.”
You can check out Dubin’s full list of first-round draft ideas for the Lions here.
4. Teams under the most pressure to succeed in 2025
Over the past few days, we’ve taken a look at the teams that are under the most pressure to succeed in the draft, but today, we’re going to take that one step further: We’re going to take a look at the teams that are under the most pressure to succeed during the 2025 season.
These are the teams that might be tempted to blow things up and start over if things don’t go their way in 2025. Here are three teams from Cody Benjamin’s list:
- Giants. “If anyone’s on the verge of a blowup, it’s these guys. And isn’t that almost always the case in East Rutherford, New Jersey? With Daniel Jones finally cast out as the failed quarterback of the future, two veteran replacements added in Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston, plus a No. 3 overall pick awaiting in the draft, this feels like the current front office’s last shot to prove the spirit of a surprise 2022 playoff bid is still alive.”
- Dolphins. “At some point, you’d figure owner Stephen Ross will prefer big-stage production over just a splashy lineup. Coach Mike McDaniel helped elevate Tua Tagovailoa from so-so to occasionally special out of the gate, but zero playoff wins going into Year 4 isn’t great, nor is his apparent struggle to toughen or adapt his team when it matters most.”
- Colts. “After a 9-8 debut with the Colts, Shane Steichen’s team dropped to 8-9 amid a flurry of messy quarterback swaps in 2024. Even worse: His offense hinges on a near-miraculous leap from either incumbent youngster Anthony Richardson or former New York Giants castoff Daniel Jones under center. General manager Chris Ballard, meanwhile, is even riper for reevaluation; he’s survived two coaching changes while cycling through countless quarterbacks post-Andrew Luck.”
You can check out Cody’s full list here.
5. Happy Birthday to Jim Breech: Five wild things to know about my dad’s career
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Today is my dad’s birthday and since I’ll probably forget to call and/or text him, a newsletter shoutout will have to do. My dad spent 14 years in the NFL with 13 of those coming in Cincinnati, so if you need someone to blame for my blatant homer takes on the Bengals, he’s definitely the one you want to blame.
Since he played in the NFL, that gives me a perfect excuse to talk about him in this here NFL newsletter, and we’re going to do that by taking a look at five wild things about his career.
- He was almost Super Bowl MVP. The only thing that anyone remembers from Super Bowl XXIII is the fact that Joe Montana saw John Candy and then immediately led a 92-yard game-winning drive in the final three minutes that ended with him throwing a touchdown pass to John Taylor with just 34 seconds left to play. That TD pass gave the 49ers a 20-16 win. If the Bengals had somehow stopped Montana on that final drive, then my dad would have almost certainly been Super Bowl MVP. Even Boomer Esiason once mentioned this fact (you can see it here). The Bengals’ offense struggled (it only totaled 229 yards) and the defense got torched for 452 yards. Of the Bengals’ 16 points, 10 came from my dad and the one touchdown came on a kickoff return from Stanford Jennings. Also, my dad had a historical performance, becoming the FIRST kicker in Super Bowl history to make multiple field goals of 40 yards or more in the same game, a mark that no other kicker matched for the first 43 years of the Super Bowl era (You can see his go-ahead field goal in the fourth quarter here).
- He helped start the legend of Brett Favre. In Week 3 of the 1992 season, my dad hit a 41-yard field goal in Green Bay to give the Bengals a 23-17 lead over the Packers with just 67 seconds left to play. Packers QB Don Majkowski went down with an injury in that game and Brett Favre went in for the first extensive action of his career. With no timeouts, Favre managed to lead the Packers on an 87-yard scoring drive in just 54 seconds. The legend of Favre started with this comeback, and you can see the highlights here. If my dad had missed the field goal, the Bengals would have only led 20-17 and the Packers likely would have played for a game-tying field goal on their final drive since they had an inexperienced backup QB in the game.
- He holds the NFL record for most overtime field goals without a miss. In his 14-year career, he attempted nine overtime field goals and made them all, which is the most by any kicker in NFL history without a miss. His final OT field goal came in a wild game against Jim Harbaugh’s Bears back in 1992. The Bengals tied the game with a desperation 23-yard TD pass on fourth down in the final minute and then my dad ended things in overtime with a 36-yard kick. You can see the highlights here.
- He had one of the most bizarre field goals in NFL history. During a Bengals-Oilers game in 1989, the Bengals were leading 58-7 in the final minute, which is an obvious time to take a knee and let the game end. However, that didn’t happen. The Bengals coach at the time, Sam Wyche, hated every other team in the AFC Central, especially the Oilers and their coach, Jerry Glanville. Wyche called a timeout with UNDER 30 seconds left to play and sent my dad out for a field goal so the Bengals could crack 60 points. They won 61-7. I can’t even imagine what the reaction would be if that happened today. You can see the end of the game here.
- He announced the draft pick for Jake Elliott. In 2017, the Bengals let him announce their fifth-round pick and it was fitting, because that pick ended up being a kicker. Elliott entered the NFL with my dad calling his name from the podium (You can see a photo here). Elliott didn’t make the Bengals roster in 2017, but he did latch on with the Eagles and he’s probably thrilled about that since he’s now won two Super Bowls. In a wild twist, to this day, Elliott and my dad are the only two kickers in NFL history to hit multiple field goals of 40 yards or more in the second half of a Super Bowl.
My dad is also the all-time leading scorer in franchise history for the Bengals, but he probably shouldn’t get to attached to that record because it seems like Evan McPherson might stick around long enough to catch him some day.
6. Extra points: Texans hand out huge extension
It’s been a busy 24 hours 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.
- Jalen Pitre lands record-setting deal from Texans. Less than a month after giving Derek Stingley Jr. a new record-setting deal, the Texans have rewarded another player in their secondary. Pitre has agreed to terms on a 3-year, $39 million extension, according to NFL Media. The deal, which includes $29.16 million in guarantees, makes Pitre the highest-paid nickel corner in NFL history.
- Colts cut former Pro Bowl kicker. After two seasons with the Colts, Matt Gay is on his way out. In a somewhat surprising move, the former Pro Bowl kicker was released on Thursday. Gay struggled from 50 yards and out last season (33.3%), but he was a perfect 28 of 28 from inside 50. You can check out our full story on the move here.
- Will Howard says he’s the best QB in the draft. The former Ohio State star might not be the best QB in the draft, but he definitely has the most confidence. “I believe I’m the best quarterback in this class,” Howard said, via ESPN. That’s great that Howard believes it, but I’m not sure that any NFL team believes it. It will be a surprise if Howard gets selected in the first two rounds and it’s certainly possible that he could fall to Day 3. You can read his full comments here.
- Commanders sign another QB. The Commanders added another QB to their roster on Friday by signing Josh Johnson to a one-year deal, according to ESPN. Johnson actually started three games for Washington in 2018. The veteran QB is arguably the NFL’s ultimate journeymen: He’s played for 15 NFL teams over his career, which is a league record. The Commanders now have four quarterbacks on their roster in Jayden Daniels, Marcus Mariota, Sam Hartman and Johnson.
