NFL rookies who could make an instant impact, plus why eight teams will be getting a new uniform in 2025

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

In less than two weeks, the NFL will be releasing the 2025 schedule, and to celebrate that fact I was going to make a mock schedule today where I try to predict all 272 games. Yet after getting three straight months of mock drafts, I’m guessing that everyone is a little tired of getting any sort of mock, so I’ll hold my schedule prediction for another time, or maybe never. 

Although you’re not getting a mock schedule, we’ve still got plenty in store for you today. Not only will we be ranking the 10 rookies who are most likely to have an instant impact, but we’ll also be breaking down every team’s best pick in the draft. 

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. NFL Draft: Here’s the best pick that each team made

At some point, we’ll eventually run out of NFL Draft stories to share in this newsletter, but as you can clearly tell, that won’t be happening today. We’re going to be breaking down the draft through the end of the week and we’re going to start that now by taking a look at the best pick that each team made. 

Chris Trapasso came up with this list, and here are his favorite picks for six different teams. 

• Panthers: WR Tetairoa McMillan (Round 1, Pick 8). “He’s a big power-forward type who wins as a rebounder with consistency and shines post-catch.”
• Cardinals: CB Will Johnson (Round 2, Pick 47). “Will Johnson had first-round — and even top-10 — buzz for a while at the outset of the pre-draft process. The lingering injury, shorter arms than expected and lack of a 40-yard dash when there were clear concerns about his speed, led to his fall.”
• Cowboys: CB Shavon Revel Jr. (Round 3, Pick 76). “Shavon Revel Jr. is a throwback cornerback. In the Legion of Boom days, when every team wanted cornerbacks over 6-foot with long arms, this East Carolina star would’ve been a first-round selection.”
• Ravens: LB Teddye Buchanan (Round 4, Pick 129). “Teddye Buchanan and Roquan Smith are going to quickly become one of the best linebacker tandems in the NFL. Mark it down. Buchanan is a heady second-level defender, rarely caught out of position.”
• Browns: QB Shedeur Sanders (Round 5, Pick 144). “Approaching this from a football-viewpoint only. Shedeur Sanders was not a fifth-round talent. He has slow feet, only slightly above average accuracy downfield, and an average arm. But in Round 5, for a club that’s been on a never-ending voyage to find its quarterback since Bernie Kosar left the organization, yeah, this was a sensible pick at No. 144 overall.”
• Bengals: RB Tahj Brooks (Round 6, Pick 193). “Tahj Brooks is not your classic throwaway sixth-round running back. No, sir. This man went over 1,300 yards in consecutive seasons at Texas Tech at 5.3 yards per in each campaign the past two seasons at a fire-hydrant-like 5-9 and 214 pounds.”

If you want to see the best pick for each of the 26 other teams, be sure to head here. 

2. Rookies who could have an instant impact: Raiders pick tops the list

It’s been a busy week for Chris Trapasso. Not only did he take a look at each team’s best pick, but he also ranked the rookies who are most likely to have an instant impact this year. There is only one rule on this list: There are no quarterbacks, because if a rookie QB ends up playing, it goes without saying that they’re going to have an instant impact. 

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s take a look at the 10 guys who made the cut on his list: 

1. RB Ashton Jeanty, Raiders (Round 1, Pick 6)
2. WR/CB Travis Hunter, Jaguars (Round 1, Pick 2)
3. WR Tetairoa McMillan, Panthers (Round 1, Pick 8)
4. EDGE James Pearce Jr., Falcons (Round 1, Pick 26)
5. CB Maxwell Hairston, Bills (Round 1, Pick 30)
6. RB RJ Harvey, Broncos (Round 2, Pick 60)
7. RB TreVeyon Henderson, Patriots (Round 2, Pick 38)
8. EDGE Ashton Gillotte, Chiefs (Round 3, Pick 66)
9. S Kevin Winston Jr., Titans (Round 3, Pick 82)
10. OG Donovan Jackson, Vikings (Round 1, Pick 24)

One other thing you’ll notice is that the No. 3 overall pick in the draft (Abdul Carter) didn’t crack the list. To check out the full explanation for each of Chris’ picks, be sure to click here.

3. Best fits for the top remaining free agents

“Breech, the NFL Draft ended five days ago, can we talk about something else?” I have some good news, the answer to that question is yes. With the draft in the rearview mirror, that means teams around the league now know which needs they still need to fill and because of that, we could see a flurry of free agent signings over the next few weeks. We have already seen that process start with some notable players signing this week like Matt Gay (Commanders), Elijah Moore (Bills), Robert Woods (Steelers) and Diontae Johnson (Browns). 

Tyler Sullivan took a look at some of the top free agents on the market and picked out a team that would be perfect for them: 

• S Justin Simmons: Bengals. “This has been a pairing that has been speculated long before the draft, with Simmons himself mentioning the Bengals as a possible free agent fit earlier this offseason. Cincinnati did add some much-needed pieces on defense, but largely came along the front seven. It didn’t add a safety in the draft, so there isn’t anyone blocking a possible roster spot.”
• WR Amari Cooper: Cowboys. “Dallas was looked at as a contender to select a wide receiver somewhere within the first couple of days of the NFL Draft, but it never came to fruition. The Cowboys didn’t bring in a single wide receiver via the draft, so they still have a clear need to add a complementary piece opposite of CeeDee Lamb. With that in mind, why not pursue a possible reunion with Amari Cooper, who spent four seasons with Dallas earlier in his career?”
• WR Keenan Allen: Bills. “The door seems to be shut for Allen to go back to the Bears after the team added Missouri receiver Luther Burden III on Day 2 of the draft. Looking elsewhere, the Bills present a solid landing spot. Keenan Allen would pair himself with reigning NFL MVP Josh Allen, so he’d have elite quarterback play at his disposal. Because of the presence of Allen, Buffalo is also in the thick of a Super Bowl window, giving Allen an opportunity to compete for a championship.”

Tyler has a few more free agent landing spots, and you can check those out here. 

4. Eight teams will be getting new uniforms in 2025

This announcement got kind of lost during the NFL Draft last week, but eight teams will be getting a new uniform this season as part of the NFL’s new “Rivalries” program.

Here’s what you need to know: 

• What is the “Rivalries” program? The NFL will be highlighting specific divisional rivalry games over the next few years by having each team in the game wear a specially designed Nike uniform. From the NFL: “Each participating team will wear a unique Rivalries uniform with designs rooted extensively in local community insights during a single home game against a division rival. The designs have been brought to life by pulling inspiration from the history of each market and the aspects of the community that only that team’s city embodies.”
• How this will work. Although all 32 teams will eventually be getting a new uniform, the NFL will be rolling out this new program in phases. From 2025 thru 2028, two divisions per season will get to unveil a new uniform. 
• AFC East and NFC West will be going first. The first wave of of “Rivalries” uniforms will be worn by the AFC East and NFC West, which means the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, Cardinals, Rams, 49ers and Seahawks will all be getting a new uniform in 2025. The games where the rivalry uniforms will be worn will be announced at some point after the schedule comes out on May 14. 
• Timeline for the other releases. Teams from the AFC South and NFC North will debut their “Rivalries” uniforms in 2026, followed by NFC East and AFC West teams in 2027. The AFC North and NFC South will be the last to debut their “Rivalries” uniforms, and that won’t happen until 2028.

At the NFL’s annual league meeting last month, the NFL expanded the use of alternate uniforms and throwback outfits for up to four times in the regular season, and this likely explains why that decision was made. Although the “Rivalries” uniform will count against that total, teams will still be permitted to wear their throwback and alternate uniforms. 

Jonathan Jones has the full story on the “Rivalries” uniforms, and you can check it out here.

5. NFL offseason grades: Patriots head of the class in the AFC East

We’ve already handed out some draft grades this week, but now, we’re going to slightly change things up by grading each team based on their entire offseason. These grades will encompass how each team did not only in the draft, but also in free agency.  

We’re going to be grading every NFL team over the next few days and we’re going to to start with the AFC East: 

• Patriots: A. “Armed with the most cap space in the league, New England certainly spent like it, inking Milton Williams, Carlton Davis and Robert Spillane to contracts to help bolster the defense. Meanwhile, Morgan Moses and Stefon Diggs were the crowning additions on offense. In the NFL Draft, Will Campbell was the pick at No. 4 overall, which gives New England what it hopes is a long-term answer at left tackle. The Patriots also added some weapons for Drake Maye on Day 2, with Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson and Washington State wideout Kyle Williams. The mission this offseason was to improve the overall talent floor around Maye, and that’s been accomplished from the new coaching staff on down.”
• Bills: B. “Buffalo made it a priority to keep its core intact, so most of its efforts throughout free agency were about keeping the band together. That included extensions for Josh Allen, Greg Rousseau, Terrel Bernard, Khalil Shakir and Christian Benford. … There weren’t any major splashes for the Bills, but it was a strong offseason nonetheless.”
• Jets: B. “The club moved on from Aaron Rodgers and also cut bait with wideout Davante Adams, but did bring in former Steelers quarterback Justin Fields. While Fields has yet to truly establish himself in the NFL, I like the dice roll here from New York.”
• Dolphins: C-. “The Dolphins are entering a make-or-break season, but their offseason maneuvers didn’t seem to match that urgency. … With the looming trade of Jalen Ramsey, Miami has a massive need at corner that wasn’t addressed, and the Tyreek Hill situation is liable to pop off at any moment. Hard to feel confident in the Dolphins heading into 2025.”

Tyler has a full explanation for each of these grades and you can check it out here.  

6. Extra points: Jets QB retiring after just one NFL season

It’s a busy time in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything that’s happening, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Jets QB Jordan Travis retiring from NFL. Former Florida State QB Jordan Travis is retiring after just one NFL season. Travis was selected by the Jets during the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, but he’s calling it quits now because he still hasn’t fully recovered from a gruesome leg injury that he suffered while at Florida State. You can read more about Travis’ decision here. 
• Bills add receiver in free agency. After two seasons in Cleveland, Elijah Moore is making the move to Buffalo. The free agent receiver has signed a one-year deal that’s worth up to $5 million. Moore put up decent numbers while playing in a bad Browns offense last season (61 catches for 538 yards), so it won’t be surprising if he puts up even bigger numbers not that he has Josh Allen throwing him the ball. We’ve got more on Moore’s signing here.  
• Josh Jacobs says Henry Ruggs wants a second chance in the NFL. The former Raiders receiver is hoping to get a second chance in the NFL. Ruggs, who is in jail after pleading guilty to one count of driving under the influence of alcohol resulting in death and one count of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, told the Packers running back that he has been staying in shape while incarcerated. “He’s training. They let him train and things like that, so I’m like, ‘When you come out, man, I don’t know if you will get a chance,'” Jacobs said. “I’ve been talking to some people for him. They’ve been saying a couple of teams are willing to give him a chance.” Ruggs won’t be up for a parole for the first time until August 2026. You can read Jacobs’ full comments here. 
• John Elway’s business partner dies. Jeff Sperbeck, a long-time marketing agent and business partner for Elway, died Wednesday from injuries that he suffered after falling off a golf cart that was reportedly being driven by Elway. The incident happened on Saturday. “I am absolutely devastated and heartbroken by the passing of my close friend, business partner and agent Jeff Sperbeck,” Elway said in a statement. We’ve got more details on the tragic situation here.