Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
After a crazy first week of free agency, I thought for sure that things would slow down over the weekend, but I was wrong. The Steelers pulled off the most surprising trade of free agency so far by acquiring Justin Fields in a deal with the Bears.
We’ll be breaking down that trade in today’s newsletter, plus, we’ll be taking a look at Ryan Wilson’s latest mock draft and we’ll be going over the biggest remaining needs for all 32 teams.
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. Let’s get to the rundown.
It’s time for another edition of Mock Draft Monday, which is where we hunt down one of our NFL Draft gurus and force them to give you a new mock draft since there’s no better way to start the week than with a fresh mock draft.
This week’s mock is coming from NFL senior draft analyst Ryan Wilson, who has some wild trades going down in the first round. Not only does he have the Vikings trading into the top five for a QB, but he also has the Raiders making a trade to land a QB near the end of the first round. Also, the fact that the Bears traded away Justin Fields over the weekend made Wilson’s life slightly easier, because it’s now pretty clear that Chicago will be using the first overall pick on a quarterback.
Now, let’s get to the Raiders. After selecting Toledo corner Quinyon Mitchell with the 13th overall pick, they pull off a trade with the 49ers at 31st overall and they use that pick to land Washington QB Michael Penix Jr.
From Wilson: “In 2018, the Ravens traded back into the bottom of the first round to select Lamar Jackson. The compensation: Baltimore sent picks 52 and 125 in 2018, and pick 53 in 2019 to Philadelphia for picks 32 and 132 in 2018. In this mock draft, the Raiders send picks 44 and 148 in 2024, and a second- and fourth-rounder in 2025 to move up to No. 31. Las Vegas gets the best deep-ball thrower in the class, in addition to arguably the best cornerback with pick No. 13.”
If you want to see how the rest of Wilson’s first round pans out, then
For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on our year-round NFL Draft podcast with Ryan Wilson and Rick Spielman. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts
The Steelers sent shockwaves through the NFL over the weekend with two huge trades that went down in a span of less than 28 hours. On Friday, they shipped Kenny Pickett and a 2024 fourth-rounder off to the Eagles, and in exchange, the Steelers got back a 2024 third-round pick and two 2025 seventh-rounders.
After trading Pickett, the Steelers still weren’t done. One day later, they shockingly decided to acquire Justin Fields from the Bears
