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Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

We’re now just one week away from the start of the NFL Draft and to celebrate, your favorite draft podcast, “With the First Pick” is going crazy today by holding a LIVE mock draft that will cover all 257 picks. There will be a former NFL general manager involved (Ran Carthon), a two-time Super Bowl winner involved (Bryant McFadden) and Pete Prisco involved because Pete is everywhere. And of course, Ryan Wilson will be the Ringmaster to this circus. 

The mock draft will be kicking off at 3 p.m. ET on YouTube and you can catch it here. Even if you don’t have time to watch the entire thing, it will certainly be worth checking in once in awhile so that you can see what they have your favorite team doing. 

As for today’s newsletter, we ALSO have a seven-round mock draft, plus we’ll be taking a look at why these QB class might be a bust. 

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. 2025 NFL Draft quarterbacks: Is this class going to be a bust?

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 There’s a chance that we could only see two quarterbacks get taken in the first round of this year’s draft, and if that happens, that could be a sign that this year’s class is going to be a bust. Over the past 15 years, there have only been four draft classes where two or fewer quarterbacks were taken in the first round (2010, 2013, 2015 and 2022) and all of those classes were bad. 

So, could this class end up being full of busts? Ryan McGrady and Douglas Clawson decided to take a look at one red flag that each QB will be coming with in this year’s draft: 

• Cam Ward (Miami). “The only red flag with Cam Ward is that he’s the best quarterback in what is widely regarded as a weak quarterback class. … Ward must continue to improve at the highest level including his decision-making on broken plays, which is more of a yellow flag at this point. You could say he throws caution to the wind. He has the most dropbacks outside the pocket in the last three seasons, the second-most interceptions (eight), most times sacked (31) and longest average time to throw (5.31 seconds) when leaving the pocket.”
• Shedeur Sanders (Colorado). “He struggled against top competition, going 1-7 in eight starts vs. ranked teams with the one win coming against a TCU team that finished 5-7. The model for Sanders at the next level should be Brock Purdy. Purdy is more athletic, but they’re the same size and Purdy also doesn’t have the strongest arm. Sanders will have to be elite at processing and anticipating like Purdy so he can use his accuracy to make up for his lack of arm strength and athleticism.”
• Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss). “The biggest concern with Dart is his ability to read defenses and make anticipatory throws. The fact that he had the fourth longest average pass depth in the FBS last year (11.4) shows he wasn’t exactly carving up defenses on short-and-intermediate throws.”

You can check out our full story on QB red flags here. 

2. Josh Edwards unveils his full seven-round mock draft with all 257 picks

CBS Sports NFL Draft guru Josh Edwards has done plenty of one-round mock drafts over the past two months, and he even completed a three-round mock draft a few weeks ago, but today’s mock is his biggest one yet: It consists of all 257 picks in the entire draft. Although part of me wants to break down all 257 picks that Edwards has in his mock, we’re not going to do that here, because it would take me 13 hours and I have a four-year-old, so doing anything that lasts 13 hours just isn’t possible. 

Whenever we go over a mock draft here, I usually give you the top-10 picks for that mock, but this time, we’re going we’re going to do something slightly different: We’re going to look at the first 10 picks in the fourth-round, because no one ever talks about the fourth-round. 

• 103. Titans: WR Tez Johnson (Oregon)
• 104. Browns: RB Jordan James (Oregon)
• 105. Giants: CB Quincy Riley (Louisville)
• 106. Patriots: DT Vernon Broughton (Texas)
• 107. Jaguars: S Lathan Ransom (Ohio State)
• 108. Raiders: DT Ty Hamilton (Ohio State)
• 109. Bills: OL Jalen Rivers (Miami)
• 110. Jets: OT Cameron Williams (Texas)
• 111. Panthers: OT Anthony Belton (North Carolina State)
• 112. Saints: EDGE Ashton Gillotte (Louisville)

Here are a few other key notes about the mock draft: 

• The first three picks are Cam Ward (Titans), Travis Hunter (Browns) and Abdul Carter (Giants).
• Shedeur Sanders fell out of the top 20 and ended up going 21st overall to the Steelers. 
• The Browns and Giants both landed a QB in the second round with Cleveland grabbing Jalen Milroe and New York taking Jaxson Dart. 
• Two running backs went in the top 20 with Ashton Jeanty going to the Raiders at sixth overall while Omarion Hampton went to the Broncos at 20th overall. If that actually happens, it would mark just the second time since 2018 that two running backs have been taken in the top 20 (2023 was the other instance).

If you want to see how Edwards has all 257 picks in the draft shaking out, then be sure to click here. 

3. Bengals seven-round mock draft: Cincinnati uses four of its six picks on defense

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With exactly one week to go until the NFL Draft, it’s time to get serious around here, and when we get serious, we start producing SEVEN-ROUND mock drafts. We’ve already unveiled Edwards’ monster mock draft, and now, we’ve got an entire seven-round mock draft devoted to the Cincinnati Bengals, which was written by me. 

The Bengals basically have two needs they absolutely need to fill in the draft: Offensive guard and every position on defense. If you saw the Bengals play defense at all last season, then you know why every position is a need. From pass-rusher to defensive tackle to safety to corner to linebacker, it will not be a surprise if the Bengals draft any of those positions or all of them. 

The only reason it would make sense not to take a defensive player is if they’re thinking about bringing in some protection for Joe Burrow. 

The Bengals have a total of six picks in the 2025 draft, and here’s who I have them taking with five of those picks: 

• Round 1 (17th overall): OL Kelvin Banks Jr. (Texas)
• Round 2 (49th overall): EDGE Landon Jackson (Arkansas) 
• Round 3 (81st overall): S Andrew Mukuba (Texas)
• Round 4 (119th overall): DL JJ Pegues (Ole Miss)
• Round 5 (153rd overall): LB Jack Kiser (Notre Dame) 

If you want a full explanation for the picks or if you’re wondering how their sixth and final pick turned out, then be sure to check out my full mock draft for the Bengals here. 

4. Nine teams most likely to trade up in the NFL Draft

There are always plenty of trades made during the NFL Draft, and this year likely won’t be any different. With that in mind, Jared Dubin decided to take a look at several teams who might be looking to trade UP in this year’s draft. 

Here are three teams that made his list: 

• Browns (trade back into the first round). “The Browns have absolutely zero answers at QB at the moment, so if Shedeur Sanders or Jaxson Dart or Jalen Milroe or whomever they identify as their guy begins to slip down the board, we could see them try to move up.”
• 49ers. “The Niners have 11 total picks in this draft and needs at a few premium positions. If they find themselves a few picks away from landing the top non-Abdul Carter edge rusher in the class, will they place a call to the Panthers or Saints and try to move up? I can see it happening.”
• Texans. “Houston still desperately needs offensive line help, and given Tank Dell’s injury issues, could also use another complementary receiver alongside Nico Collins. Jumping in front of some of the O-Line or receiver-needy teams in front of them could make a certain degree of sense — especially if they are sitting at the tail end of a position run and don’t think somebody will make it to their slot.”

You can see Dubin’s full list of nine teams here. We’ll be following up this list tomorrow with a list of teams that should be looking to trade down. 

5. Travis Hunter speaks with CBS Sports: Top NFL Draft prospect talks possible retirement

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Travis Hunter made some headlines this week and those headlines came from an interview he did with CBS Sports NFL writer Garrett Podell. Hunter talked about multiple topics during the interview, including the one thing that might get him to retire before his career even starts. 

Here’s a few of the most interesting nuggets from his conversation with Podell: 

• Why Hunter was talking about retirement. During the interview, the Heisman winner, who wants to play both corner and receiver in the NFL, was asked what he would do if he had to choose between playing one position or retiring and he didn’t hesitate with his answer. “It’s never playing football again,” Hunter said. “Because I’ve been doing it my whole life, and I love being on the football field. I feel like I could dominate on each side of the ball, so I really enjoy doing it.”
• Hunter clearly wants to play both ways in the NFL. What that retirement answer should tell you is that Hunter wants to play both corner and receiver in the NFL and doesn’t want to be forced to play one position. That seems like a pretty clear message to any team that might draft him. “It’s up to them to want me to be on their team and the organization to believe that they can let me do exactly what I want to do, and that’s play both sides of the ball and be the same Travis that I was in college and better,” Hunter said.
• Hunter thinks Shedeur Sanders is the best QB in the draft. Sanders is widely viewed as the second-best QB in the draft, but Hunter doesn’t agree with that assessment. The former Colorado star thinks his college teammate is the best QB in the draft. “He don’t fold under pressure, he is very accurate, and you know he’s going to make the right plays, and he’s going to the right thing with the football,” Hunter said. “He’s the best quarterback in the draft.”

You can check out Hunter’s full interview with Podell here. 

6. Extra points: Commanders take one step closer to new stadium in Washington D.C. 

It was 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. 

• Commanders inching closer to new $3 billion stadium deal. The Commanders want a new stadium in Washington D.C. and they’re putting their money where their mouth is to make it happen. The team is close to finalizing a $3 billion deal to build a new stadium at the old RFK Stadium site. The reason DC is on board with it is because the team is offering to pay for $2.5 billion. We’ve got the full details of the situation here. 
• Ashton Jeanty makes one last pitch to NFL teams. The Boise State running back wrote a long letter to NFL general managers on Wednesday night, and in that letter, he explained why teams should think about drafting him. “It’s TACKLE football … you know what I’m saying? I’d draft the guy they can’t tackle,” Jeanty wrote. You can read more about the letter here. 
• Dolphins not trying to trade Tyreek Hill. Although Jalen Ramsey is currently on the trade block, the Dolphins aren’t looking to move Hill. General manager Chris Grier said trading Hill isn’t something the team is pursuing, but they might consider it if someone came along and blew them away with an offer. If you want to know what the offer is, you can read Grier’s full comments here. 
• Tyron Smith retires. After a 14-year career, the Cowboys great called it quits this week, and he held a press conference on Wednesday to officially make the announcement. Garrett Podell was in attendance, and if you want to read everything Smith had to say, we have that here. Smith, who was called a future Hall of Famer by Jerry Jones, spent 13 of his 14 seasons playing for the Cowboys.