Three playoff formats the NFL could be considering for 2025, plus Eagles seven-round mock draft

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Pick Six newsletter! 

We’re inching closer and closer to the start of the NFL Draft, and if you’re planning to attend the event, you might want to think about purchasing a parka, because right now, it’s looking like it’s going to be cold in Green Bay on April 24. It’s still too early to tell, but according to the early forecasts, it’s look like it could be under 40 degrees on the first night of the draft. If you’re not planning to attend the draft, that’s probably for the best. 

Anyway, we have a lot of draft coverage in today’s newsletter: We’ve got a FULL seven-round mock draft for the Eagles, plus we’ll be taking a look at five teams that could potentially copy the Eagles’ Super Bowl winning blue print. 

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. Playoff format could be changing: NFL seems to be mulling three options

If Roger Goodell gets his way, it sounds like the NFL’s playoff format could undergo some changes in 2025. At the NFL’s annual league meeting last week, the NFL commissioner said the postseason format was something that the league definitely needed to evaluate. 

Goodell’s comments came after he was asked how he felt about the Lions’ proposal to change the format. As things currently stand, it’s starting to look like there are three legitimate options on the table for 2025, so let’s take a look at all three: 

• Option 1: The Lions’ proposal. The postseason would consist of four division winners and three wild-card teams, but the teams would be seeded by who has the best record. Under this proposal, a wild-card team could be seeded ahead of a division winner if the wild-card team has a better record. 
• Option 2: A modified version of the Lions’ proposal. Under this rule, the playoff format would be similar to what the NFL is using now, but with one big exception: Division winners would NOT get to host a playoff game if they finish with a losing record. If this rule had been in place last season, it wouldn’t have been used. As a matter of fact, the last time it would have been utilized was 2022 when the 8-9 Buccaneers won the NFC South, which earned them the right to host the 12-5 Cowboys in the wild-card round. If this rule had been in place, the Cowboys would have gotten to host the game since Tampa Bay finished the season with a losing record.
• Option 3: Keep the current playoff format. The playoff debate got heated last week and one reason for that is because there are a lot of teams and coaches who love the current format. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is one of the traditionalists who likes things the way they are. “I’m a division purist,” Tomlin said at the annual league meeting last week. “I think the division winners should get a home playoff game.”

If the playoff format is going to change, it would need 24 votes for that to happen, so it’s unclear if Goodell will be able to convince enough owners to push the change through. 

The next league meeting is scheduled for May 20-21 in Minnesota and that’s when we’ll find out whether there will be any changes made to the playoff format for 2025. We’ve got the full story on the possible playoff changes here. 

2. Eagles seven-round mock draft: Philadelphia adds an offensive weapon with 32nd overall pick

Thanks to their Super Bowl win, the Eagles won’t be on the clock until the final pick of the first round. Although the Eagles have a stacked roster, they still have plenty of needs heading into the draft.

To figure out what Philadelphia is going to do in the draft, we put Jeff Kerr in charge of making EVERY Eagles pick for all seven rounds. 

The Eagles have a total of eight picks in the draft and we’re going to check out what Jeff came up with for their top five (Note: Jeff made a mock draft trade that saw the Eagles send their second-round (64th overall) and fifth-round (168th overall) picks to the Panthers in exchange for the 74th overall pick and 111th overall from Carolina. 

• Round 1 (32nd overall): TE Colston Loveland (Michigan)
• Round 3 (74th overall): EDGE Elijah Roberts (SMU)
• Round 3 (96th overall): OL Charles Grant (William and Mary)
• Round 4 (111th overall): WR Tex Johnson (Oregon)
• Round 4 (134th overall): EDGE Tyler Barron (Miami)

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 Jeff’s full mock draft here. 

3. Five teams that could copy the Eagles’ defensive blueprint for winning a Super Bowl

The NFL is a copycat league, which means there are definitely a few teams out there that will try to copy what Philadelphia did in 2024. One of the reasons the Eagles were so successful in 2024 is because their defense was so good at getting after the quarterback. With players like Jalen Carter, Josh Sweat, Milton Williams and Nolan Smith, the Eagles defense was able to generate pressure with just a four-man rush, which frees up everyone else on the defense. 

It’s not an easy thing to emulate, but there are several teams that are in a decent position to potentially copy the blueprint if they can find a couple of key players in the draft. Here’s a look at three of the teams that might be able to pull it off, according to CBS Sports research Doug Clawson: 

• Rams. “Les Snead and Sean McVay had the unenviable task of replacing future Hall of Famer Aaron Donald’s production, but they’ve taken a big step in doing so by adding Florida State teammates OLB Jared Verse and DE Braden Fiske in 2024 to 2023 third-rounders DE Kobie Turner and OLB Byron Young. Going into the 2025 draft, they have needs at cornerback and inside linebacker, but if an edge rusher like Donovan Ezeiruaku out of Boston College is available at the 26th pick the Rams could take him and make their 2024 playoffs pass rush the norm in 2025.”
• Texans. “The Texans have one of the best young defenses in the NFL with Will Anderson Jr., Derek Stingley Jr. and Kamari Lassiter, among others. It all starts up front, though, as Anderson is already one of the best players off the edge in the NFL. He combines with Danielle Hunter to create one of the best pass-rushing duos in the league. While Houston needs help on the offensive line, the Texans could surprise us with a defensive tackle like Derrick Harmon at the 25th pick.”
• Broncos. “The Broncos had the second-highest pressure rate in the league (40%) with an NFL-high and franchise-record 63 sacks in 2024. … This year they’ll likely go offense with the 20th pick to help Bo Nix heading into his second season, but imagine if they added an explosive edge rusher like Marshall’s Mike Green to an already elite unit that includes Nick Bonito who had the third-most sacks in the league in 2024 (13.5) and Zach Allen who led the league in QB hits (40).”

We came up with a total of five teams who could copy the Eagles, and you can check out the full list here. 

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

The Packers won’t get to make the first pick of the draft until 23rd overall and when they’re on the clock, they’re going to have quite a few options. The Packers have three big needs going into the draft: wide receiver, edge rusher and cornerback. 

The Packers haven’t drafted a receiver in the first round since 2002, so it would be a shock to see them go that route, but an edge rusher or corner wouldn’t be a surprise at all.

So what will they do with their first-round pick? Glad you asked. Garrett Podell ranked the Packers’ top three options in the first round and we’re going to check those out below: 

1. DB Jahdae Barron (Texas): “One could argue cornerback is still the Packers’ most glaring need even after signing Nate Hobbs away from the Las Vegas Raiders in free agency because of the uncertainty surrounding Alexander’s future in Green Bay. That’s why Texas Longhorns cornerback Jahdae Barron would make a ton of sense for the Packers if he’s on the board at pick No. 23.”

2. DT Derrick Harmon (Oregon): “He totaled the most pressures by a defensive tackle in college football (55) and the second-best quarterback pressure rate by a defensive tackle (10.7%). His height-weight measurables (6-foot-4, 313 pounds) are very similar to Clark’s (6-foot-3, 314 pounds). Harmon could line up alongside three-time Pro Bowler Kenny Clark and become his eventual successor.”

3. DT Nic Scourton (Texas A&M): “Scourton would be a classic Gutekunst pick. He’s 6-4 and weighs 285 pounds with a smooth spin move while also being reliable in the run game. Scourton’s 29 tackles for loss since 2023 are tied for the eighth most in college football in that span, and he’ll be 20 years old on draft night.”

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

5. How the sportsbooks see the top five picks playing out

They say that “Vegas always knows,” and the reason they say that is because Vegas always seems to know. So what does Vegas know about the upcoming NFL Draft? Jordan Dajani decided to take a dive into that today by checking out the odds for each of the first five picks in the draft to see who’s favored to go in each spot. 

If the betting markets are right, here’s how the top five picks will play out this year (Odds from BetMGM): 

• First overall pick (Titans): Miami QB Cam Ward (-10000 — Bet $10,000 to win $100)
• Second pick (Browns): Colorado CB/WR Travis Hunter (-275 — Bet $275 to win $100)
• Third pick (Giants): Penn State EDGE Abdul Carter (-175 — Bet $175 to win $100)
• Fourth pick (Patriots): LSU LT Will Campbell (+135 — Bet $100 to win $135) 
• Fifth pick (Jaguars): DT Mason Graham (-155 — Bet $155 to win $100) 

Based on the odds, it seems like the only top-five pick that’s truly up in the air right now is the Patriots at fourth overall. The odds above reflect the draft spot where the player will be taken, not necessarily where he’ll go (So the odds are saying that Travis Hunter has great odds to go second overall and if you made that bet, you’d still win even if the Giants took him, as long as they traded up and got him at second overall). 

You can check out Jordan’s full breakdown of the draft odds here. 

6. Extra points: Panthers sign former college basketball player

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. 

• Panthers make unique signing. The Panthers have signed Coastal Carolina center Colin Granger, but there’s a twist here: Center isn’t the position he plays in football, it’s the position he’s been playing in basketball. The Panthers will look to turn the 6-foot-9, 235-pounder into a tight end. You can read more about his signing here. 
• Commanders hiring Wes Welker. The former Patriots receiver, who retired from the NFL in 2015, is heading to Washington, where he’ll serve as a personnel analyst for the Commanders. Welker had been the Dolphins’ receivers coach for the past three seasons. The move reunites Welker with Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury. The two guys were on the same college team at Texas Tech for three seasons (2000-02). You can read more about Welker’s hiring here. 
• Jaguars exercise Travon Walker’s fifth-year option. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft will be sticking around Jacksonville for at least two more years. The Jags exercised his fifth-year option this week, which means he’s now under contract in Jacksonville through the 2026 season. Walker has recorded at least 10 sacks in each of the past two seasons, making him one of just eight players in the NFL who hit double-digit sacks in both 2023 and 2024. 
• Geno Smith is still tight with Pete Carroll. One reason the Smith experiment might work in Las Vegas is because the QB has such a good relationship with Carroll. During the 2024 season, Smith would actually CALL Carroll when he had some things to get off his chest. “I would call him whenever I got frustrated,” Smith told SI. “He talked me through things, and he still coached me. And I think that’s what makes him such a special man, is that he was coaching me even when he wasn’t my head coach.” Smith has had a lot to say this week, and you can check out his full comments here.