Seven quarterbacks taken in first three rounds of our latest mock draft, plus two NFL stars retire 24 hours ap

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

The NFL season doesn’t kick off for another five months, but something that’s almost as exciting will be kicking off today: offseason workouts! That’s right, we’re getting actual football. Each team is allowed to hold a voluntary nine-week offseason workout program, and any team that hired a new coach this year is allowed to start their program today. 

Although there were seven teams eligible to start working out today, only three of those teams will actually begin their workouts: the Patriots, Jets and Bears. Out of the other four teams that hired a new coach, two of them (Jaguars, Raiders) will be starting their workouts tomorrow while the other two (Saints, Cowboys) will be starting on April 14. 

You probably shouldn’t be expecting to see anything notable happen from the beginning of these workouts because the first two weeks are limited to mostly meetings. However, players and coaches will be interviewed, so that should spice things up until the draft.  

Speaking of the draft, I would like everyone to know that we’re going all in on the NFL Draft today. We’re taking Mock Draft Monday to the next level with a three-round mock draft, plus we have a full Giants mock draft and we’re going to take a look at what the Steelers should do with their first-round pick. 

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. Mock Draft Monday: Seven quarterbacks go in first three rounds

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. 

Ryan Wilson didn’t return any of my texts over the weekend and now I know why: It’s because he was working on his biggest mock draft yet, a full three-round mock that features a total of 102 picks. Although I thought about breaking down all 102 picks here, we’re not going to do that, because it would take me 11 hours to write and then today’s newsletter wouldn’t have come out until tomorrow, and no one wants that. 

Instead of looking at all 102 picks, we’re going to take a look at the quarterbacks Wilson has being selected in the first three rounds. Wilson actually has a total of SEVEN quarterbacks getting selected during the first two days of the draft: 

Round 1
First overall: Titans select Cam Ward (Miami)
Second overall: Browns select Shedeur Sanders (Colorado)

Round 2
42nd overall: Jets select Jaxson Dart

Round 3
83rd overall: Steelers select Will Howard (Ohio State)
93rd overall: Saints select Kyle McCord (Syracuse)
99th overall: Giants select Tyler Shough (Louisville)
101st overall: Rams select Quinn Ewers (Texas)

Dart definitely feels like the biggest wild card at this point. Some projections have him going late in the first round while most other mock drafts have him going in the second or third round. 

If you want to see how the other 95 picks turned out in Wilson’s three-round mock, be sure to click here. 

For more draft coverage, you can hear Ryan Wilson every week on “With the First Pick,” our year-round NFL Draft podcast here at CBS Sports. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. 

2. Giants seven-round mock draft: New York lands QB in second round

The Giants are in an interesting spot in the NFL Draft. If the top two quarterbacks (Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders) get taken with the top two picks, then that will give New York the chance to take the top positional player available. If the quarterbacks DON’T go with the top two picks, then the Giants could take a QB in the first round at third overall. 

We put Josh Edwards in charge of making EVERY Giants pick for all seven rounds and he didn’t end up taking a QB in the first round, but he did make sure to get them a quarterback in the second round.  

The Giants have a total of eight picks in the draft and we’re going to check out what Josh came up with for their top five: 

• Round 1 (Third overall): EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State)
• Round 2 (34th overall): QB Jaxson Dart (Ole Miss) 
• Round 3 (65th overall): OL Wyatt Milum (West Virginia)
• Round 3 (99th overall): LB Chris Paul Jr. (Ole Miss)
• Round 4 (105th overall): CB Quincy Riley (Louisville)

If you want a full explanation for the picks or if you’re wondering how the other three picks turned out, then be sure to check out Josh’s full mock draft here. 

3. Who should Steelers take in first round of the NFL Draft? Ranking their best options

The Steelers’ biggest need in the draft this year is definitely at quarterback and ideally, you have to think Mike Tomlin would like to know what Aaron Rodgers is going to do before the start of the draft. If Rodgers signs with Pittsburgh, then the Steelers don’t need to worry about adding a QB early in the draft. Yet if he doesn’t sign, then that could leave Pittsburgh in an awkward position heading into the draft. 

Basically, the Steelers will have some big decisions to make when they get on the clock at 21st overall. 

So what should they do with their first-round pick? Glad you asked. Bryan DeArdo ranked the Steelers’ top three options and we’re going to check those out below: 

1. RB Omarion Hampton (North Carolina): “Hampton is the only logical option for the Steelers if they choose to draft Najee Harris’ replacement in the first round. Considered the second-best running back prospect (behind Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty), Hampton led the ACC in rushing attempts and rushing yards in each of the past two seasons. Last year, Hampton ran for 1,660 yards and 15 touchdowns (averaging 5.9 yards per carry) in 12 games.”

2. DT Derrick Harmon (Oregon): “The Steelers desperately want to get better against the run after the Ravens trampled them for 299 yards on the ground in January’s wild-card playoff game. Harmon would help Pittsburgh address that issue, as he is regarded as one of the best defensive linemen in this year’s draft, especially against the run.”

3. WR Luther Burden III (Missouri). “Burden could end up being a steal for the Steelers if he makes it to them. He would give the Steelers depth and flexibility at the receiver position, as George Pickens is entering the final year of his rookie contract.”

DeArdo actually ranked a total of five options and you can check out his full list here. 

4. Ranking the offseason moves that will have the biggest impact on the draft 

Between trades and free agency, there have been a lot of moves made this offseason and a lot of those moves will end up impacting a team’s draft strategy. If a team that needs a quarterback signed one in free agency, that means they might not feel so pressured to get one in the draft. 

With that in mind, Josh Edwards came up with several moves this offseason that will have the biggest impact on the draft: 

• Titans sign a veteran offensive linemen, but don’t sign a quarterback. “Tennessee doled out big contracts to left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and offensive guard Kevin Zeitler, which allowed them to move J.C. Latham back to his natural right tackle spot. The decision to spend big money on the offensive line, only to run it back with Will Levis or newly employed Brandon Allen, does not pass the sniff test. In theory, the path was paved for Miami quarterback Cam Ward to be the pick at No. 1 overall.”
• Patriots sign Stefon Diggs. “New England entered the offseason with clear needs at the offensive tackle and wide receiver positions. It would have been impossible for them to address both positions with the No. 4 overall selection, so the addition of Diggs gives them the freedom to lock in a potential left tackle of the future, presumably Will Campbell or Armand Membou.”
• Commanders acquire Laremy Tunsil. “Offensive tackle had been a common association with Washington in the first round. The presence of an established veteran like Tunsil opens the door for the franchise to address other positions of need at No. 28 overall. Meanwhile, Houston is now shopping for help along the offensive line to protect C.J. Stroud.”

Josh has a full list of moves, and you can check those out here. 

5. Two NFL stars retire less than 24 hours apart 

The NFL was hit with two major retirements over the weekend and that started on Friday when Julio Jones announced that he would he hanging up his cleats for good. Less than 24 hours later, Terron Armstead also announced his retirement. 

Let’s take a quick look at each player’s career, starting with Jones: 

• Jones is a Falcons legend. After Atlanta made him the sixth overall pick in the 2011 NFL Draft, Jones went on to spend 10 seasons with the team. By the time his career with the Falcons was over, he had racked up 848 catches for 12,896 yards, which are both franchise records. One of Jones’ best receptions came on a wild sideline grab in Super Bowl LI that you can see here. 
• Jones holds multiple NFL records. The Falcons receiver once finished five straight seasons (2014-18) with at least 1,400 receiving yards, which is an NFL record. During that span, he led the NFL in receiving yards twice (2015, 2018). He’s also the only player in NFL history to top 250 receiving yards in three different games. Over the course of his career, Jones averaged 82.5 receiving yards per game, which is the fifth-highest total in NFL history. 

When Jones was in his prime, he was almost unstoppable. After 10 years in Atlanta, he finished his career by playing one season each with the Titans (2021), Buccaneers (2022) and Eagles (2023). Unfortunately for Jones, he never won a Super Bowl. He played for a Falcons team in 2012 that blew a 17-0 lead to the 49ers in the NFC title game, and more famously, he played for the 2016 Falcons team that blew a 28-3 lead to the Patriots in Super Bowl LI. 

As for Armstead, he announced his retirement on Saturday night and his decision is going to leave a gaping hole on Miami’s offensive line. 

• Armstead was a five-time Pro Bowler. After being selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft, Armstead went on to play 12 NFL seasons, including nine with the Saints and three with the Dolphins. During his time with New Orleans, he was in charge of protecting Drew Brees’ blindside, which was obviously an important job since the offense completely revolved around Brees’ ability to throw the ball. 
• He’s going out on top. When Julio Jones announced his retirement, it wasn’t a huge surprise, because he had lost a step, but that’s not the case with Armstead. During his 2024 season with the Dolphins, Pro Football Focus gave him the fourth-highest grade among offensive tackles at 89.4. Even at 33, he was still dominant. Armstead dealt with a lot of injuries in his career — he never made it through an entire season without missing at least one game — and those injuries likely played a key factor in his decision to retire. 

You can read more about Armstead here. 

6. Extra points: Jalen Milroe to attend the NFL Draft

It was a busy weekend 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. 

• Jalen Milroe accepts NFL Draft invite. The Alabama QB has accepted an invite to the NFL Draft, according to The Athletic. This is interesting for multiple reasons. For one, the NFL usually only invites a player if he has a strong chance of going in the first round, plus, a player usually only accepts the invite if they also feel like they’re going to be taken in the first round. The reason for that is because no player wants to sit in the green room for the entire first round with the camera panning over their sad face every time a team decides not to pick them. It will be interesting to see what happens with Milroe. We have six mock drafts that have come out since April 3, and not a single one of those writers has Milroe going in the first round (You can check out the mocks here). 
• Titans cancel workout with Shedeur Sanders. At this point, it seems like a virtual lock that Cam Ward will be taken with the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The latest evidence is that the Titans and Shedeur Sanders mutually agreed to cancel a private workout that the Colorado QB was going to have with the team. 
• Raiders to release Jack Jones. The corner started 16 games for the Raiders last season, but it looks like he doesn’t have a place in Pete Carroll’s new regime. The Raiders have been trying to trade Jones over the past few days, but they couldn’t find anyone to make a deal with, so it appears they’re now going to cut Jones. You can read the full details here. 
• Rams are getting a stunning new facility. The Rams have started a massive construction project that could cost up to $10 billion, according to the Los Angeles Times. The centerpiece of the project will be a new headquarters for the team that will feature two outdoor practice fields and an indoor facility. The mix-used development will also include residential buildings along with retail space that will include restaurants and shopping. You can see renderings of the 52-acre project here.