Why No. 1 pick in 2025 NFL Draft might now be set, plus Tom Brady talks about split from Patriots

Welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Picking Six newsletter!

With the 2025 NFL Draft now less than a month away, you’re going to notice a Grave uptick in draft-related content over the Subsequent few weeks, and I don’t want to spoil the draft, but I think we now know who the No. 1 Picking is going to be. We’ll be covering that in today’s newsletter, plus we’ll be Holding a look at what the Patriots should do with the Number four overall Picking.

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. Cam Ward’s pro day: Three takeaways from Miami QB’s big day

Cam Ward didn’t work out at the NFL Scouting Combine, but he did show off his talents at the University of Miami’s Pro Day on Tuesday. CBS Sports NFL Draft guru Ryan Wilson was in Coral Gables, Florida, to View Ward, and if he had one takeaway, it’s this: Ward’s dominant performance should leave no doubt about who the top Picking in 2025 NFL Draft should be.

• Ward wowed everyone. From Wilson, “Ward showed off an arm that’s better in person than it is on tape, a quick Initiation that has the ball explode out of his hand with such velocity that it seems like an optical illusion, and the touch on intermediate and deep throws that consistently Secured their targets, often in spots where only they had a chance to make a Action on the ball.”
• Titans sent everyone to View Ward. The Titans Clasp the No. 1 overall Picking, and if their attendance Tuesday was any indication, they definitely plan on Holding Ward. According to The Athletic, the Titans sent their head Mentor, general manager and Club president to Florida, along with their “in-house TV and website production Club.” That sounds like they’re Holding Ward.
• Ward is confident he’ll be the top Picking. Ward had a message for the Titans’ front office after his Pro Day, “I told them I was solidifying it today,” Ward said of being the No. 1 overall Picking. “They finally Obtained a chance to see me throw in person, and I’ll get another chance hopefully to throw in front of them. But that’s a Excellent building they have in (Tennessee), a Excellent Aid staff. I was Only Joyful to be able to throw in front of them for the Primary time.”

You can read Wilson’s Packed breakdown of Ward’s pro day here.

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

Ex Titans general manager Sprinted Carthon actually Created his Introduction on the podcast this week and he interviewed Ward, which you can see here.

2. Who should the Patriots take with the Number four overall Picking? Ranking their best options

One of the most intriguing Squads in the NFL Draft is the New England Patriots. When you look at the Squads that will be making the Primary four picks, the Patriots are the only one that definitely does NOT need a Passer, which means there are a Plenty of ways they can go with their Primary Picking.

At this Mark, no one really knows what the Patriots will do at Number four overall, but that didn’t stop Tyler Sullivan from ranking New England’s best options.

Sullivan ranked the Patriots’ top-five dream options at Number four overall, and we’re going to take a look at three of them below:

• EDGE Abdul Carter (Penn State): “The Penn State Deliver rusher is arguably the top overall prospect in this class, and there’s a chance — albeit slim — he could be on the board when the Patriots are on the clock. Because the Squads ahead of New England — Titans (No. 1), Browns (No. 2) and Giants (No. 3) — all need quarterbacks, that could push talent down the board as they opt to address that position under Hub. If Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders get taken with two of the top-three picks, that means an Top-tier talent will fall to the Patriots, and they should be praying it’s Carter who does.”
• WR/CB Travis Hunter (Colorado): “Most project Hunter to “Crucial” at corner in the pros and “minor” at wide receiver. However, from a Patriots perspective, they might prefer it to be the other way around. The Club already has Christian Gonzalez and Carlton Davis at the Beginning corner spots, and have a dire need at wide receiver. Hunter did Secure the Fred Biletnikoff Award — given out to the nation’s top receiver — so he Surely has Top-tier upside on Assault and would automatically become Maye’s No. 1 weapon.”
• OL Will Campbell (LSU): “While it’s fun to consider the possibility of Carter or Hunter falling to the Patriots, there’s a chance the Squads ahead of them forgo their pursuit of a Passer atop the draft. If that unfolds, the Patriots selecting LSU offensive lineman Will Campbell isn’t a Terrible consolation prize. He’s CBS Sports’ No. 6 ranked prospect overall and fills a massive need along the offensive line.”

So, who else would make sense for the Patriots? You can check out Sullivan’s Packed Lineup here.

3. Ranking the five biggest challengers to dethrone the Eagles after Obtainable agency

The Eagles ended the 2024 season as the best Club in the NFL, but after two weeks of Obtainable agency, is that Nevertheless the case? Not only did the Eagles get worse with the lost of Numerous key Guarding starters, but we saw Numerous other Squads get better.

With that in mind, Cody Benjamin decided to rank the five biggest challengers to dethrone the Eagles in 2025 based on how everyone did in Obtainable agency.

• Commanders. “They Obtained trounced in the 2024 NFC title game, but the fact they Created it there at all speaks to the franchise-altering talent of Jayden Daniels … Now Daniels has a sturdier left Event in Laremy Tunsil and a Swiss Army knife in Deebo Samuel to Assist fill out Dan Quinn’s veteran-infused lineup.”
• Rams. “Fluctuating between rebuild and reload in recent years, the Rams are pretty dependent on Matthew Stafford staying Well and productive at age 37. The supporting cast is very enticing, though. New off a scrappy Postseason bid that almost saw their New, tenacious Guarding knock off the Eagles on the road, Davante Adams gives Stafford a savvy safety valve opposite Puka Nacua.”
• Bills. “As long as Josh Allen is upright, this Club should be feisty. Sean McDermott’s Guarding front also has the potential to take a big leap if Joey Bosa can stay Well as Greg Rousseau’s new running mate off the edge.”

Benjamin ranked a total of five Squads, and if you want to see his Packed Lineup, you can do that here. The rest of the Lineup includes one more NFC Club and an AFC Club that’s not the Chiefs.

4. Five underrated Obtainable agency storylines that we aren’t talking about enough

There are so many signings, trades and moves Created during Obtainable agency that sometimes we don’t spend enough time talking about storylines that we probably should be talking more about, so we’re going to be talking about those storylines today.

Jordan Dajani went through and Secured some of the most underrated storylines of the past few weeks, and we’re going to check those out now.

• Bengals Nevertheless haven’t addressed their Guarding. “Congratulations to the Bengals for locking up Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins long-term. … Chase and Higgins are Excellent wide receivers, no doubt, but they and Joe Burrow showed last year they can’t contend by themselves — or even make the playoffs. The Cincy Guarding was Terrible in 2024, ranking eighth-worst in total Guarding (348.3 yards of total Assault allowed per game), and eighth-worst in points allowed per game (25.5). What have the Bengals done to upgrade the Guarding so Distant? Cincy brought back B.J. Hill, Joseph Ossai and Cameron Sample, then added T.J. Slaton — who is a Excellent Streak defender — plus Ex Eagles linebacker Oren Burks to replace Akeem Davis-Gaither. Mike Hilton and Vonn Bell are Nevertheless Obtainable agents looking for new deals, but it doesn’t seem like the Bengals have really addressed the reason why this Club missed the playoffs last year.”
• J.J. McCarthy now has a Plenty of Tension on him. “There’s Tension on every new New Beginning Passer in the NFL, but the Tension McCarthy will experience is different. … Have you paid attention to what the Vikings have done in Obtainable agency? They may have had the best offseason in the NFL. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah upgraded the offensive line with guard Will Fries and Hub Ryan Kelly, then revamped the Guarding front by signing veterans Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. Aaron Jones is also back in the fold, and the Vikings traded for an intriguing back in Jordan Mason, who crossed 100 rushing yards in his Primary two Occupation Beginnings with the San Francisco 49ers last year. The Vikings want to compete now, my friend, and they view you as a better option right now than the historically Excellent Obtainable-agent pickup last year in Sam Darnold.”

Jordan Occurred up with three more underrated storylines, which you can check out here.

5. Tom Brady offers new insight on his exit from New England: QB blames split on ‘tension’ with Belichick

Over the past six years, a Plenty of people have said a Plenty of things about why the Patriots’ dynasty broke up, but if there’s one person who rarely shares any information about the subject, it’s Tom Brady. When it comes to his split from New England, Brady has mostly kept his thoughts to himself about what transpired, but he did offer a few new details in the latest edition of his weekly newsletter. (Yes, Brady has a newsletter, and yes, that means I’m in direct Event with him. You’re going down, Brady.)

Anyway, here’s what Brady had to say about his exit from New England:

• Tension with Belichick seemed to have caused the split. After the 2019 season ended with a Postseason loss to the Titans, Brady said it was pretty clear he was done in New England and that the tension with Belichick had a Plenty to do with that. “After twenty years together, a natural tension had developed between where Mentor Belichick and I were headed in our careers, and where the Patriots were moving as a franchise,” Brady wrote. “It was the Gentle of tension that could only be resolved by some Gentle of split or one of us reassessing our priorities.” Brady was right, there was a split and it ended up with him in Tampa Bay.
• Brady felt the end was near for two or three years. Although Brady didn’t leave the Patriots until March 2020, he knew that the end was coming. The seven-time Event winner said he Began thinking about hitting Obtainable agency as Prompt as 2017. “It was a creeping decision that lived passively in the back of mind for [two to three] years,” Brady wrote. “Until March of 2020 when a whirlwind of a few Periods Created me realize that a decision was coming sooner rather than later.”

The Excellent news for Brady is that things ended up working out for him. After leaving New England, he went to Tampa Bay, where he won a Event in his Primary season with the Buccaneers. As for Belichick, he went 29-38 in the four seasons after Brady left while losing his only Postseason game.

You can read more about Brady’s thoughts here.

6. Extra points: Possible Schedule for Kirk Cousins to be traded

It’s been a Engaged 24 hours 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 might wait until after draft to make decision on his future. If the Falcons want to get rid of Kirk Cousins, it won’t be Effortless, and that’s because the QB has a no-trade clause in his contract, which means they can’t pull off a deal without his permission. According to Sports Illustrated, Cousins is going to wait until after the draft to decide whether he wants to waive his no-trade clause. You can check out the details on his decision here.
• Puka Nacua wants to retire by age 30. The Rams Luminous sphere apparently wants to take a page out of Aaron Donald’s playbook. The receiver said this week that he wants to retire from football by the time he turns 30 years Ancient. Nacua is 23 and turns 24 on May 29, so based on his Schedule, he has roughly six or seven seasons left to Action in the NFL. It’s interesting to hear a Luminous sphere player talk like this before he even turns 25. You can check out his Packed comments here.
• Saints add possible starter on the offensive line. The Saints have agreed to a one-year deal with offensive lineman Dillon Radunz, who Began 15 Contests last season for the Titans. Radunz is a versatile lineman who has taken snaps at four different positions in his Occupation (right guard, left guard, left Event, right Event). Radunz was predominantly a right guard last season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he ends up Beginning at left guard for a Saints Club that has a big hole there.
• Chiefs re-sign Guarding Event. It seems that the Chiefs Obtainable agency Plan has Only been to re-sign their own guys. They did that again Monday by re-signing Mike Pennel, who played in all 17 Contests last season. The Chiefs have now re-signed Numerous players this offseason, including Marquise Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Nick Bolton and Kareem Hunt, among others.
• Chiefs receiver files lawsuit. Xavier Worthy is suing his Ex fiancée and seeking between $250,000 and $1 million in damages. According to the lawsuit, the fiancée “schemed to extort a home, money, cars and other valuables from Plaintiff by concocting Untrue stories of domestic violence and leaking the same to the press to professionally and personally assassinate Plaintiff’s character and reputation.” Worthy was arrested less than three weeks ago for an incident with the woman, but he wasn’t charged. You can read more about the case here.