Happy midweek, everyone! John Breech is busy shopping for Shemar Stewart jerseys, we think. So today’s Pick Six newsletter is brought to you by Cody Benjamin, with tidbits on all the latest NFL action.
Be sure to subscribe right here, to ensure you never miss a daily dose of NFL updates. And keep on reading for everything from post-draft power rankings to 32-team draft grades:
1. Prisco’s post-draft power rankings: Bears surge
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Now that the draft is in the books, Pete Prisco has turned his eyes toward the actual 2025 NFL season, dropping his first post-draft power rankings. The Philadelphia Eagles are still the team to beat, according to Prisco, with the rival Washington Commanders sneaking toward the top five. He has a couple of other NFC squads making substantial leaps, however, in the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers:
- 14. San Francisco 49ers (+9): They lost a lot of players, but how many were stars and essential? Not many. They rebuilt the defensive line in the draft, which was a must. They have to stay healthy, but this is a team that still has stars on both sides of the ball.
- 17. Chicago Bears (+7): They improved both lines in free agency, which will help in a big way. They also added a nice pass catcher in tight end Colston Loveland in the draft. Now it’s time for second-year quarterback Caleb Williams to step up and show improvement.
- 20. Arizona Cardinals (+2): They added much-needed help on the defensive line in free agency and the draft, led by edge rusher Josh Sweat and first-round defensive tackle Walter Nolen. That should help the defense make strides in 2025.
Check out Prisco’s full 1-32 pecking order right here.
2. Grading every 2025 draft class: Bills get an ‘A+’
Draft expert Ryan Wilson just combed through each and every one of this year’s draft classes, going pick by pick to reassess the incoming rookies, and assigned all 32 clubs with a letter grade. His biggest winner after the 2025 draft? The Buffalo Bills, who led all teams with a perfect “A+” rating.
Favorite pick: Maxwell Hairston reminds me of Devon Witherspoon in that he may be undersized, but he plays much bigger than that. He battled a shoulder injury last season, but when he’s healthy he’s as close as you’ll get to a lockdown corner in today’s NFL. Hairston, who ran a 4.28-second (!) 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine, will have a chance to win the Day 1 starting job.
Best value: Ten months ago, we were talking about Deone Walker as a first-round pick, and possibly top-15 talent. He battled a back injury in 2024 and his play suffered. But you’re not going to find a 6-foot-7, 330-pound athletic defensive lineman just walking around looking for work. If Walker is healthy and locked in, we could end up looking back at this being one of the best players in this class.
Check out Wilson’s grades for all 32 teams right here.
3. Top 10 rookie jersey sales: Shedeur makes the cut
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Shedeur Sanders may have slipped all the way to the fifth round of the draft, but Colorado isn’t the only place where his jersey is held in high regard. The NFL just released its initial report of top-selling rookie jerseys, and the new Cleveland Browns quarterback cracked the list, coming in at No. 3 among all first-year players. Leading the charge? Sanders’ fellow Colorado product, Travis Hunter, whose Jacksonville Jaguars jersey is the top-selling item to beat. No. 1 pick Cam Ward came in second, with Tennessee Titans fans presumably flocking to secure the quarterback’s jersey ahead of his 2025 debut.
Eli Manning and Tom Brady used to do battle on the football field. They might soon square off as NFL executives. One year after Brady officially became a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Manning is exploring a potential bid for an ownership stake in the New York Giants, according to Bloomberg. The two-time Super Bowl champion has remained close with the franchise since retiring after the 2019 season.
5. Vikings buzz: Moss’ son joins; McCarthy is back
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Excitement is mounting in Minnesota, where the Vikings have been busy:
6. Falcons fined for Shedeur Sanders prank call
The NFL on Wednesday issued a combined $350,000 in fines to Atlanta and its defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich, for their role — intentional or not — in the prank call to Shedeur Sanders during the 2025 NFL Draft. And Sanders was far from the only notable name to be targeted. It turns out at least six others also fielded prank phone calls, though none of them were related to the Sanders incident, per the Associated Press. Others who encountered fake messages from people claiming to be NFL executives included quarterback Kyle McCord, tight end Tyler Warren, offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr. and undrafted receiver Isaiah Bond.
This news was originally published on this post .
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Rockets avoid elimination with rout of Warriors in yet another chippy game
<!--> Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson added 25 and the Houston Rockets avoided elimination with a 131-116 rout of the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series Wednesday night.Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco.Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw in the towel early in this one with the game out of hand. A layup by VanVleet midway through the third quarter made it 93-64, and Kerr called timeout and cleared his bench.Houston coach Ime Udoka followed suit with about a minute to go in the third and his team up 105-76. He put all his starters back in with about eight minutes left after Golden State cut the lead to 109-92.ADVERTISEMENT -->Dillon Brooks added 24 points on a night when all five Houston scored in double figures.A 9-5 run by the Warriors got them […]
JJ Redick walks out of news conference after reporter questions Lakers’ lack of Game 4 substitutions
Questions about how he handle the second half of Game 4 appear to be a sore spot for Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.The first-year coach walked out of a news conference Wednesday ahead of Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves after a reporter questioned his team's lack of substitutions on Sunday, a 116-113 Lakers loss that pushed Redick's team to down 3-1.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRedick raised eyebrows in Game 4 when he played a single quintet of players — LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith — for the entire second half. Only one other player, Gabe Vincent, played more than seven minutes in the game. Los Angeles maintained a single-digit lead for most of the second half, but faltered down the stretch while Anthony Edwards pushed his scoring total to 43 points.The reporter at the news […]
Bucks offseason outlook: What does Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future hold?
The Bucks find themselves in the worst possible situation they've ever been in during Giannis Antetokounmpo's prime. The organization does not possess any high-value assets in the form of draft picks. Its cap situation — the 2025-26 salary cap is projected to be $154.6 million — while not quite a sea of flames yet, is extremely discouraging, and key members like Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. can leave the franchise this summer. It's why Milwaukee might have to consider trading its two-time MVP.Here's what to know about the Bucks heading into the offseason:2024-25 finishRecord: 48-34, 5th in the East, lost to Pacers in the first roundHighlight of the seasonNBA Cup champs, baby! Nothing can take that away from them, regardless of how the actual season ended. Outside of the trophy lifted in Vegas, there isn't much to brag about.Players […]
Vancouver Whitecaps eliminate Lionel Messi, Inter Miami from the Concacaf Champions Cup
Doug McIntyre Soccer Journalist <!--> Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are out of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.The white-hot Vancouver Whitecaps scored two second-half goals to overturn the Herons’ 1-0 lead in Wednesday’s semifinal second leg in South Florida, giving the Canadian club a 3-1 win and a stunning 5-1 triumph on aggregate in the two-game, total-goals-wins series that began north of the border last week.Jordi Alba cut Miami’s aggregate defeat to one when he opened the scoring in the ninth minute. It looked as though the hosts might pull level soon afterward, but Vancouver managed to get into the locker room at the halftime break before Inter could add another goal.But a pair of Whitecaps goals shortly after intermission — the first by U.S. men’s national team striker Brian White, the second two minutes later by Ecuadoran midfielder Pedro […]
NBA playoffs results and takeaways: Rockets dominate Warriors, force Game 6
The Houston Rockets staved off elimination Wednesday night in a 131-116 win over the Golden State Warriors at home.All five of Houston’s starters scored double-digit points in a dominant showing to force a Game 6. The series heads back to San Francisco on Friday night.Rockets 131, Warriors 116(Warriors lead series 3-2)Rockets dominate on both ends of the floorThe Rockets, who trailed 3-1 before Wednesday night, could have easily thrown in the towel against a veteran Warriors team. Instead, they buckled down, got back to the basics and dominated at both ends of the floor to earn a trip back to the Bay and give themselves a fighting chance in this series. The Rockets led by as many as 31 points in a game that was never truly threatened by the Warriors.AdvertisementHearing Fred VanVleet speak after a bitter Game 4 loss, […]
Panthers eliminate Lightning, advance to second round with Game 5 win: Takeaways
TAMPA, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov enjoyed quite a season while collecting his third Art Ross Trophy.He won’t be skating with the Stanley Cup for a third time this spring, and largely has himself to blame. Kucherov, held without a goal in this series, has now gone 15 postseason games without scoring, and his turnover led to Sam Bennett’s game-winner as the Panthers won the Battle of Florida convincingly, ending the Lightning in five games with a 6-3 victory on Tampa Bay ice.AdvertisementThe Lightning went 0-3 at home in this series.Kucherov, who did have four assists in the first four games of this series, was a disaster throughout the evening. He continually turned the puck over, forcing passes that simply weren’t there against the air-tight Florida defense. The Tampa Bay superstar never looked himself in this series and Florida’s physical punishment […]
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Rockets avoid elimination with rout of Warriors in yet another chippy game
<!--> Fred VanVleet scored 26 points, Amen Thompson added 25 and the Houston Rockets avoided elimination with a 131-116 rout of the Golden State Warriors in Game 5 of a first-round playoff series Wednesday night.Game 6 is Friday in San Francisco.Warriors coach Steve Kerr threw in the towel early in this one with the game out of hand. A layup by VanVleet midway through the third quarter made it 93-64, and Kerr called timeout and cleared his bench.Houston coach Ime Udoka followed suit with about a minute to go in the third and his team up 105-76. He put all his starters back in with about eight minutes left after Golden State cut the lead to 109-92.ADVERTISEMENT -->Dillon Brooks added 24 points on a night when all five Houston scored in double figures.A 9-5 run by the Warriors got them […]
JJ Redick walks out of news conference after reporter questions Lakers’ lack of Game 4 substitutions
Questions about how he handle the second half of Game 4 appear to be a sore spot for Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick.The first-year coach walked out of a news conference Wednesday ahead of Game 5 against the Minnesota Timberwolves after a reporter questioned his team's lack of substitutions on Sunday, a 116-113 Lakers loss that pushed Redick's team to down 3-1.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRedick raised eyebrows in Game 4 when he played a single quintet of players — LeBron James, Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Dorian Finney-Smith — for the entire second half. Only one other player, Gabe Vincent, played more than seven minutes in the game. Los Angeles maintained a single-digit lead for most of the second half, but faltered down the stretch while Anthony Edwards pushed his scoring total to 43 points.The reporter at the news […]
Bucks offseason outlook: What does Giannis Antetokounmpo’s future hold?
The Bucks find themselves in the worst possible situation they've ever been in during Giannis Antetokounmpo's prime. The organization does not possess any high-value assets in the form of draft picks. Its cap situation — the 2025-26 salary cap is projected to be $154.6 million — while not quite a sea of flames yet, is extremely discouraging, and key members like Brook Lopez and Gary Trent Jr. can leave the franchise this summer. It's why Milwaukee might have to consider trading its two-time MVP.Here's what to know about the Bucks heading into the offseason:2024-25 finishRecord: 48-34, 5th in the East, lost to Pacers in the first roundHighlight of the seasonNBA Cup champs, baby! Nothing can take that away from them, regardless of how the actual season ended. Outside of the trophy lifted in Vegas, there isn't much to brag about.Players […]
Vancouver Whitecaps eliminate Lionel Messi, Inter Miami from the Concacaf Champions Cup
Doug McIntyre Soccer Journalist <!--> Lionel Messi and Inter Miami are out of the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup.The white-hot Vancouver Whitecaps scored two second-half goals to overturn the Herons’ 1-0 lead in Wednesday’s semifinal second leg in South Florida, giving the Canadian club a 3-1 win and a stunning 5-1 triumph on aggregate in the two-game, total-goals-wins series that began north of the border last week.Jordi Alba cut Miami’s aggregate defeat to one when he opened the scoring in the ninth minute. It looked as though the hosts might pull level soon afterward, but Vancouver managed to get into the locker room at the halftime break before Inter could add another goal.But a pair of Whitecaps goals shortly after intermission — the first by U.S. men’s national team striker Brian White, the second two minutes later by Ecuadoran midfielder Pedro […]
NBA playoffs results and takeaways: Rockets dominate Warriors, force Game 6
The Houston Rockets staved off elimination Wednesday night in a 131-116 win over the Golden State Warriors at home.All five of Houston’s starters scored double-digit points in a dominant showing to force a Game 6. The series heads back to San Francisco on Friday night.Rockets 131, Warriors 116(Warriors lead series 3-2)Rockets dominate on both ends of the floorThe Rockets, who trailed 3-1 before Wednesday night, could have easily thrown in the towel against a veteran Warriors team. Instead, they buckled down, got back to the basics and dominated at both ends of the floor to earn a trip back to the Bay and give themselves a fighting chance in this series. The Rockets led by as many as 31 points in a game that was never truly threatened by the Warriors.AdvertisementHearing Fred VanVleet speak after a bitter Game 4 loss, […]
Panthers eliminate Lightning, advance to second round with Game 5 win: Takeaways
TAMPA, Fla. — Nikita Kucherov enjoyed quite a season while collecting his third Art Ross Trophy.He won’t be skating with the Stanley Cup for a third time this spring, and largely has himself to blame. Kucherov, held without a goal in this series, has now gone 15 postseason games without scoring, and his turnover led to Sam Bennett’s game-winner as the Panthers won the Battle of Florida convincingly, ending the Lightning in five games with a 6-3 victory on Tampa Bay ice.AdvertisementThe Lightning went 0-3 at home in this series.Kucherov, who did have four assists in the first four games of this series, was a disaster throughout the evening. He continually turned the puck over, forcing passes that simply weren’t there against the air-tight Florida defense. The Tampa Bay superstar never looked himself in this series and Florida’s physical punishment […]
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