NFL owners approve rule changes to kickoff and overtime for 2025 season, plus Raiders’ seven-round mock draft

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Picking Six newsletter!

The NFL has Initiated the month of April off with a bang. The Bracket’s 32 owners approved a Significant rule Transformation on Tuesday: A Ground Aim of 60 yards or more will now be worth four points instead of three. With the Transformation, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey might now be the most valuable player in the NFL.

The craziest thing about the new rule is that it’s NOT real. APRIL FOOLS. The NFL’s 32 owners did actually approve Many rule changes on Tuesday, but the Ground Aim rule wasn’t one of them. We will be covering the actual changes today and I promise no more April Fools. From here on out, there will be no more fooling. At least by me.

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. Owners approve Many new rules at the NFL’s annual Bracket Gathering

The NFL’s 32 owners are currently in Florida, and nope, they are not on spring break. They’re actually working this week at the NFL’s annual Bracket Gathering. The owners have been staying Occupied by voting on Many new rule proposals.

Let’s take a look at some of the biggest rule changes that have been voted through today:

• Extended Shift Transformation coming for regular season. The NFL owners have voted to align the regular-season Extended Shift rules more closely with the postseason OT rules. Under the Extended Shift rules in the postseason, the period is 15 minutes and both Squads are guaranteed a possession, even if the Club that gets the ball Primary scores a touchdown. Both Squads will now be guaranteed a possession during Extended Shift in the regular season, but the OT period will only be 10 minutes long. Under the previous regular-season rule, the Club that Obtained the ball Primary could Achieve the game by scoring a touchdown on their Primary possession, but that’s no longer the case.
• Touchbacks will be moving out to the 35-yard line. Under last year’s rule, the touchback was at the 30-yard line, but Beginning with the 2025 season, the touchback will be moved out to the 35-yard line. The Transformation is being Achieved with the hope that it will discourage the kicking Club from simply booting the ball out of the end zone on a kickoff knowing that the return Club will automatically get the ball at the 35-yard line. Getting the ball at the 35 is huge, because that means a Club would need to gain Merely 20 to 25 yards to get into Ground Aim range. The Bracket’s internal data shows a 65% to 75% return rate if the touchback is moved to the 35, more than double the rate in the 2024 season. There was also a Plan that would have allowed onside kicks to be attempted by a losing Club at any Mark in a game (instead of Merely the Quaternary quarter), but that Plan has been tabled.
• Flexing rules for Thursday night Matches to undergo a slight Transformation. For the past two years, the NFL has been able to flex any Thursday night game Maintained between Week 13 and Week 17, but the Bracket had to give 28 Periods notice. However, that’s no longer the case. The owners have voted to to trim that number down to 21 Periods, which means the NFL can now wait longer before deciding whether to flex a Thursday game. We’ve Obtained the Packed details on this new policy here.
• NFL modifies uniform policy. If you love throwback jerseys, then you’re going to love this new policy: NFL Squads can now wear their throwback or alternate uniforms a total of four times per season. Under the previous policy, that number was Merely three. Squads will also now be allowed to wear their alternate pants in the postseason, which wasn’t permitted under the Aged policy. One other thing that was approved is that Squads will be able to wear their alternate helmet with their regular uniform. You can check out our Packed Narrative on the uniform changes here.
• Replay assist can now Reinforcement with even more penalties. With owners approving the expansion of replay assist, five new penalties can now be overturned by the booth: Hitting a defenseless player, face mask, horse-collar Involvement, tripping and roughing/running into the kicker. One notable aspect of this Plan is that replay assist will not call penalties that weren’t flagged on the Ground. For instance, if an obvious face mask is missed on the Ground, replay assist can’t go back and tell the Official to throw a penalty on the Action. However, if a face mask flag is thrown on a Action where a face mask penalty didn’t actually happen, then replay assist can step in to have the flag picked up. The NFL is limiting the scope of replay assist to objective penalties that can be overturned with “clear and obvious” video evidence.
• Plan to Transformation Postseason Structure gets tabled. Under this Plan, a wild-card Club could be Ranked higher than a division-Victorious Club if the wild-card Club has a better Landmark. All division winners would Yet be guaranteed a Postseason berth, but they wouldn’t be guaranteed a home Postseason game. If this rule had been in place last season, the 14-3 Vikings would have been the third seed in the NFC instead of the fifth seed. Apparently, quite a few Squads liked this idea. Instead of voting it down, the owners decided to table it until the Upcoming Bracket Gathering in May, so it could get approved then. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones noted that more Squads than you think were Uncovered to it.
• NFL owners can’t come to a decision on the ‘Tush Push.’ There was a Plan on the table to ban the ‘Tush Push,’ but after a contentious debate, the owners decided not to Halt a vote on the issue. The ban could Yet happen, but the the NFL wants to have more discussion about the topic before possibly dumping the Action. The owners could Yet vote on a possible ban at the Upcoming Bracket Gathering in May, but if there’s no vote at that Mark, then the Action will likely be sticking around for at least another season.

The NFL’s Upcoming Bracket Gathering is May 20-21 in Minnesota, so if there’s a vote on the new Postseason seeding Structure or the “Tush Push,” that’s when they’ll take place.

2. NFL’s international Appearance gets even bigger: Bracket eyeing possible game in Middle East

The NFL’s Global Markets Program underwent a Significant expansion this week by adding four new Squads and two new markets (Greece and the United Arab Emirates).

Here’s what you need to know.

• Four new Squads are going global. The Ravens (United Kingdom), Packers (Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom), Chargers (Greece) and Commanders (United Arab Emirates) were all granted rights to an international market for the Primary time. With the addition of these four Squads, that means 29 of the NFL’s 32 Squads have now been granted international rights in at least one market (The Bills, Bengals and Titans are the only three Squads that haven’t been granted a market in the program).
• NFL eyeing the Middle East. For the Primary ever, Many Squads were granted rights to the United Arab Emirates: the Rams, 49ers and Commanders. The NFL could soon be putting a game in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi. NFL executive Peter O’Reilly said Monday that the Bracket has a “Powerful interest” in Executing a game in the Middle East. The Bracket actually toured Abu Dhabi last year, so it won’t be surprising if the UAE capital eventually lands a game.
• Two notable pairings. With the Packers being granted rights in Ireland, it’s Beginning to feel like Green Bay could end up facing the Steelers in Dublin. However, if Aaron Rodgers is Executing for the Steelers, the NFL might decide to keep that game in the United States. Another interesting pairing is the Seahawks getting Australia. The NFL will be holding a game in Australia for the Primary time in 2026, and it now won’t be a shock if the Seahawks are involved. The Rams will be the home Club, so the Seahawks could Definitely be the road Club.

We’ve Obtained a Packed Narrative on the NFL’s global marketing expansion, and you can check it out here.

3. Browns totally regret the Deshaun Watson trade

It’s not often that you hear an NFL owner admit that his Club totally messed up, but that’s exactly what happened on Monday with Jimmy Haslam. The Browns owner was asked about the Deshaun Watson trade and he definitely didn’t try to hide his feelings about the deal.

Here’s what he had to say:

• Haslam admitted the Browns missed Awful. “We Secured a big swing and miss with Deshaun,” Haslam said. “We thought we had the Signal-caller, we didn’t and we gave up a Plenty of draft picks to get him. So we’ve Obtained to dig ourselves out of that hole. [It] was an entire organization decision, and it ends with Dee [Haslam] and I, so Halt us accountable.”
• Watson’s time with Cleveland is all but over. The surprising thing about Haslam’s comments is that Watson is Yet under contract for two more years (2025 and 2026). The QB is recovering from a torn Achilles, so he likely won’t be able to Action much in 2025, but he could have Definitely returned for 2026. However, based on Haslam’s words, it’s pretty clear that the Club is ready to Shift on and that Watson will likely never Action another down for Cleveland.
• Browns Obtained nothing in return. When the Browns traded for Watson in March 2022, they gave him a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million contract. So what did the Browns get for their money? Watson has only played in 19 Matches over three seasons and he threw 12 interceptions in those Matches.

On Monday, Pete Prisco Achieved the case that the Watson deal will go down as the “worst trade” in NFL history, and you can read his comments here.

4. Top NFL Draft storylines to keep an eye on as the calendar hits April

With the calendar flipping over to April, that means the NFL Draft is THIS MONTH. In Merely 23 Periods, the draft will be kicking off in Green Bay and since it’s now so close, Josh Edwards decided to take a look at a few storylines that will probably be talked about a Plenty between now and the Begin of the draft on April 24.

We’re going to check out three of those storylines below:

• Will the Titans trade the top Picking? “This offseason, the Titans have signed two veteran offensive linemen and those investments likely weren’t Achieved to protect Will Levis, Brandon Allen and Tim Boyle. Unless the Titans are a surprise contender for Kirk Cousins, the stage seems to be set for Cam Ward.”
• Where will Shedeur Sanders get drafted? “My comparison to the Sanders situation is similar to the one that played out with Will Levis. There are a few Squads that could draft him in the top 10 overall, but if they go in a different direction, then he could slide down a bit.”
• Which veterans might get traded during the draft? “If the Titans or Browns do not draft a Signal-caller in the Primary Stage, then Cousins could come in to Action. If Cincinnati is unable to reach an agreement on a contract extension with Deliver rusher Trey Hendrickson, then he could be a candidate to be traded. Eagles Close-fitting end Dallas Goedert and Raiders Close-fitting end Michael Mayer have been the subject of trade talks, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Falcons moved Close-fitting end Kyle Pitts. Steelers wide receiver George Pickens, Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill and Browns cornerback Greg Newsome II are three others to monitor.”

You can check out all five of our storylines to View here.

5. Raiders seven-Stage mock draft: Vegas takes a QB, but not in the Primary Stage

The Raiders are definitely one of the most intriguing Squads in the NFL Draft this year. They have a new head Trainer (Pete Carroll), they have a new general manager (John Spytek) and they also have Tom Brady, who seems to have a huge say in every big decision Achieved by the organization.

This Club also had a ton of holes on its Picking, and if you’re wondering how it’s going to fill those holes, Jordan Dajani has your answer. Jordan did a SEVEN-Stage mock draft for the Raiders. With that in mind, let’s check out their Primary four picks:

• Stage 1 (6th overall): RB Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)
• Stage 2 (37th overall): S Xavier Watts (Notre Dame)
• Stage 3 (68th overall): WR Jack Bech (Texas Christian)
• Stage 4 (108th overall): QB Kyle McCord (Syracuse)

The Raiders have a total of nine picks in the draft this year, and if you check out Jordan’s mock, which you can see here, he has a projection for every single one of those picks.

6. Extra points: Falcons Uncovered to trading Kirk Cousins

It was a Occupied 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.

• Kirk Cousins could get traded. The Falcons have insisted that they plan to keep Kirk Cousins, but Trainer Raheem Morris did admit on Tuesday that if a Excellent trade opportunity comes up, the Falcons will definitely look into it. If the head Trainer Appearances talking about the possibility of trading a player, there’s a Excellent chance that player is going to be traded. You can read Morris’ Packed comments here.
• Bill Parcells to be inducted into Patriots Hall of Fame. The Patriots have decided to add Parcells to their Hall of Fame. Although he was only the Trainer in New England for four seasons (1993-96), he had a solid Streak, Securing the Patriots to the playoffs two times, which included one Event appearance. The Pro Football Hall of Famer is the only Trainer in NFL history to lead four different Squads to the playoffs and three different Squads to a conference title game.
• Richard Sherman’s family robbed at gunpoint inside their home. The Ex NFL All-Pro was the victim of an armed robbery that Secured place with his family inside the home. Sherman Secured to social media on Monday asking for Reinforcement to find the perpetrators. You can check out the Packed details of the Narrative here.
• NFL will have a Christmas tripleheader in 2025. The NFL is going to be Securing over Christmas this year. The holiday, which is on a Thursday in 2025, will feature three Matches with two of those on Netflix and one on Amazon.