Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
With the NFL Draft officially in the rearview mirror, there’s only one big offseason event left on the calendar and that’s the release of the NFL schedule. The only problem with this year’s release is that no one seems to have any idea when the schedule is actually going to come out.
In each of the past two years, the schedule has come out on the second Thursday of May. Under that timeline, the schedule would be released this Thursday, but it looks like the NFL is throwing that plan out the window this year. Right now, it’s looking more and more like the schedule will be coming out at some point next week.
Although we don’t have a schedule to talk about today, we will be taking a look at the 10 teams that have the most difficult strength of schedule.
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Over the past two months, teams have been doing their best to fill their roster holes through free agency and the draft, but there are still plenty of questions that need to be answered. We decided to ask those questions during Tuesday’s episode of the Pick Six Podcast.
For today’s show, Will Brinson, Tyler Sullivan and I went through the entire AFC to look at each team’s biggest post-draft question mark.
Here’s a look at three of the teams we covered today:
If you want to hear our conversation on the biggest question mark for all 16 AFC teams, you can do that by listening to today’s podcast here. You can also watch the entire thing on YouTube by clicking here. Oh, and if you need another reason to listen, we also spent 25 minutes breaking down the roast of Tom Brady.
Although the NFL is refusing to tell us when the schedule is going to come out, we do know that it will be coming out this month and since it will be coming out at some point this month, now seems like a good time to take a look at which teams have the most difficult strength of schedule heading into 2024.
And now, I have some bad news for everyone in Cleveland. Based on the final standings from 2023, the Browns will be going into the upcoming season with the toughest strength of schedule. Cleveland’s rough schedule includes 12 games against teams that finished the 2023 season with a winning record, which is tied for the most in the NFL.
The Browns’ home schedule is especially brutal with five of their eight games coming against teams that made the playoffs last year (Steelers, Ravens, Chiefs, Dolphins, Cowboys).
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the 10 most difficult schedules in 2024:
Hardest schedules (opponents combined record and winning percentage from 2023)
1. Browns: 158-131 (.547)
2. Ravens: 155-134 (.536)
3. Steelers: 154-135 (.533)
T-4. Packers: 152-137 (.526)
T-4. Texans: 152-137 (.526)
T-6. Bills: 149-140 (.516)
T-6. Giants: 149-140 (.516)
T-8. Jaguars: 148-141(.512)
T-8. Raiders: 148-141 (.512)
T-8. Patriots: 148-141 (.512)
The Patriots have one of the 10 toughest schedules even though they’re playing a “last-place” schedule, so good luck to them.
If you’re wondering who has the easiest strength of schedule, we’ll be revealing that closer to the actual schedule release. And if you’re now wondering when the actual schedule release is going to happen, you’ll have to ask the NFL.
After spending five straight weeks writing the newsletter, I thought for sure that Chris Trapasso would take at least a month off, but apparently, that’s not the case. Our NFL Draft guru is still churning out draft stories, and for today, he decided to rank the top 10 teams that had the most impactful drafts this year.
Let’s take a look at his top 3:
1. Commanders
Impactful rookies: QB Jayden Daniels, DT Johnny Newton, CB Mike Sainristil, TE Ben Sinnott, WR Luke McCaffrey
Trapasso’s take: “Those first five picks by GM Adam Peters were sensational. … Daniels has all the dynamic skills to be that new-age, dual-threat passer that terrifies defenses underneath, at the intermediate level, downfield, and yeah, with his legs. If Newton was able to work out before the draft, no way he’s available in Round 1. He can be a 50-plus pressure defensive tackle as a rookie. Sainristil can be the annoying nickel corner who tackles like a champ, blitzes off the corner, and sticks to slot receivers underneath, and Sinnott legitimately has Sam LaPorta-esque athleticism and powerful YAC skills.”
2. Cardinals
Impactful rookies: WR Marvin Harrison Jr., DL Darius Robinson, RB Trey Benson, CB Max Melton, OL Isaiah Adams, S Dadrian Taylor-Demerson
Trapasso’s take: “I like all of these first-year pros making an impact in 2024. Of course there’s Harrison Jr., who could see over 150 targets as a rookie. Robinson will be maximized inside as a “sleek” interior rusher and run-halting defender. Benson was my RB1 with Breece Hall-like capabilities. Melton and Taylor-Demerson are elite linear athletes who play with a chippy, in-your-face style, and Adams, if kicked inside to guard, has a chance to really move people up front.”
3. Packers
Impactful rookies: OL Jordan Morgan, LB Edgerrin Cooper, S Javon Bullard, RB Marshawn Lloyd, S Evan Williams, S Kitan Oladapo
Trapasso’s take: “GM Brian Gutekunst has masterfully rebuilt the Packers for the organization to almost seamlessly transition from the Aaron Rodgers era to the Jordan Love era. Amazing. The past few draft classes have been stellar.”
If you want to check out Trapasso’s full top 10 ranking, you can do that here.
Now that the draft is over, our draft writers need something to do, so we had them make predictions about who’s going to win rookie of the year in 2024. Chris Trapasso and Josh Edwards each voted for an Offensive Rookie of the Year and a Defensive Rookie of the Year and here’s how they see things shaking out:
OROY
DROY
The two guys answered several rookie-related questions today, including which non-first-round rookie will have the most successful season, and you can check out all their answers here.
When the Falcons selected Michael Penix Jr. during the first round of the NFL Draft, Kirk Cousins was said to be stunned by the decision, and now we know part of the reason why.
Here’s the latest on Cousins:
So the Falcons’ entire draft strategy revolves around something that’s only happened once in NFL history. That doesn’t seem like a good plan (And just in case you’re wondering, Patrick Mahomes started one game during his rookie season, so he doesn’t qualify for this list).
Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot has also mentioned that he would be fine if Penix sits for four or five years — because that means Cousins is playing well — but that’s an equally bad plan because Penix turns 24 tomorrow (May 8), which means he would be 29 before he gets the starting job.
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.