John Harbaugh heading to Giants, divisional round picks, best SB matchups

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

The first night of the 2026 NFL Draft will officially be kicking off in just four weeks, which means you only have four weeks to plan your draft party. There are five teams that currently have two first-round picks — Jets, Browns, Chiefs, Cowboys, Dolphins — and if you’re a fan of one of those teams, you should definitely be throwing a party this year. The Jets are one of those teams and they should be throwing a party because their front office finally did something right. 

In today’s newsletter, we’ll be ranking which one of those five teams has the best chance of owning the first round of the draft. We’ll also be ranking the five teams that have improved the most this offseason and we’ll be breaking down why the 49ers and Rams will be kicking off at 10:35 a.m. in Australia. 

As always, here’s your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Let’s get to the rundown. 

1. NFL season will kick off on a Wednesday: Seahawks to host opener, 49ers-Rams will be played at 10:35 a.m.*

The 2026 NFL schedule won’t be released until May, but Week 1 is already taking shape. The upcoming season will be kicking off on a Wednesday, which will mark just the second time in 75 years that’s happened. 

Here’s what you need to know: 

• Why Seahawks will host a rare Wednesday opener. The winner of the Super Bowl generally hosts the Thursday night opener in the following season, but the NFL made an exception this year. The league is putting the Australia game on Thursday, but the NFL still wanted to make sure the defending champion would officially kick off the season, so the Seahawks were moved to Wednesday. Over the past 75 years, the NFL has only held one Wednesday game in Week 1. That came in 2012 when the NFL scheduled the Cowboys vs. Giants in a way to not conflict with Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention. The opener will kick off at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC. 
• Seahawks’ possible opponents. Since the Seahawks are the home team, that means they’ll face either the Cardinals, Cowboys, Giants, Bears, Chiefs, Chargers or Patriots (We ranked all the options here). The NFL could put a Super Bowl rematch in that spot with Seattle facing New England, but the league could also go with the Cowboys or Bears. One team you probably won’t see in the opener is the Chiefs. That’s mainly because it’s still unclear if Patrick Mahomes, who tore his ACL back in December, will be available for the game. Mahomes shared video of him throwing passes this week, but he still has ways to go before he’s cleared for action. 
• 49ers-Rams will kick off at 10:35 a.m. ET on a Friday*. If you’re wondering why I put an asterisk in there, it’s because the game WILL be kicking off at 10:35 a.m. on a Friday, but since the game is being played in Australia, that means it will actually be airing live at 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday night in the United States due to the 14-hour difference between Melbourne and the Eastern time zone. Thanks to the time difference, the two teams will likely be getting back to the United States on Friday night, so they’ll have about nine days to prepare for their Week 2 game. 

In other scheduling news, the NFL is also expected to approve Las Vegas as the host of Super Bowl LXIII, according to ESPN. Here’s a look at the next three hosts:

• Super Bowl LXI (2026 season): Los Angeles (SoFi Stadium)
• Super Bowl LXII (2027 season): Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium)
• Super Bowl LXIII (2028 season): Las Vegas (Still needs to be approved)

The vote to approve Vegas as the host city will go down next week at the NFL’s annual league meeting and 24 of 32 owners will need to vote their approval for Vegas to become the host. Allegiant Stadium hosted Super Bowl LVIII, so if Vegas gets approved, the stadium will have hosted two Super Bowls in five years. 

2. Ranking the five teams that have improved the most this offseason

Now that we’ve made it through two weeks of free agency, it’s time to take a look at the teams that have done the most to improve their roster this offseason. Tyler Sullivan ranked the teams that have done the most through signings and trades. 

Let’s check out the top three teams on his list. 

1. Rams
Key additions: CB Trent McDuffie, CB Jaylen Watson
Sullivan’s breakdown: The Rams were already looked at as a Super Bowl contender for 2026 coming into the offseason, as they were neck-and-neck with the eventual champion Seahawks throughout the year. However, the big hole that they needed to address during this early phase of the offseason was unquestionably the secondary, specifically at corner. Well, it’s safe to say they did just that.

2. Panthers
Key additions: EDGE Jaelan Phillips, OT Rasheed Walker, LB Devin Lloyd, C Luke Fortner
Sullivan’s breakdown: The Panthers were one of the surprise teams of 2025 with their NFC South title and run to the playoffs. So far this offseason, they’ve only carried that momentum into the roster-building process by bringing in some heavy hitters. Most notably, Carolina added arguably the top free agent on the market in edge rusher Phillips. Last season, the Panthers ranked tied for 28th in total sacks (30) and 31st in pressure rate (30%). Phillips should help get them to a respectable figure after he had the fourth-highest pressure rate (18.8%) in the NFL last season.

3. Raiders
Key additions: C Tyler Linderbaum, LB Nakobe Dean, LB Quay Walker, EDGE Kwity Paye, WR Jalen Nailor, CB Taron Johnson
Sullivan’s breakdown: The Raiders may have been even higher on this list if they were able to pull off the Maxx Crosby trade and fetch themselves two first-rounders, but this was still a strong free agent cycle for them. Moreover, having Crosby in the fold (for now) isn’t a bad thing, and the additions of Dean, Paye and Walker give them the potential of having a stellar front, which will come in handy against the gauntlet of quarterbacks they have in the AFC West.

Sullivan ranked a total of five teams and you can see his full list here.  

3. NFL free agency: Most intriguing defensive signings

Earlier this week, we covered the most intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball, and now, we’re going to flip things around and take a look at the most intriguing signings on the defensive side of the ball. 

Jared Dubin went over every signing and trade that’s been made since the start of free agency and he came up with nine most intriguing signings on defense. We’re going to take a look at four of those below: 

• Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd to the Panthers. The Panthers have long had a desperate need for pass-rush help. … Phillips is injury-prone (he played only 12 games combined during the 2023 and 2024 seasons, and he temporarily retired for medical reasons during his college career), but when healthy he is a star pass rusher. Lloyd, meanwhile, is coming off the best season of his career. … The Panthers still have to add more talent to every part of their defense in order to improve their standing. But adding these two high-level talents is a good start, particularly to improving their pass defense. 
• Dre’Mont Jones to the Patriots. Mike Vrabel’s defenses in Tennessee favored edges like Jones, who ranked 22nd in the league in pressure rate after his trade from the Titans to the Ravens. Jones has never been a sack master — his career high is just 7, which he set this past season — but he’s been a productive rotational rushman for a while now and he’s coming off the third-most run stops of his career as well, according to Pro Football Focus. 
• Osa Odighizuwa to the 49ers. Odighizuwa had the best years of his career playing on the same defensive line as Micah Parsons. He wasn’t quite as good last year with Parsons having been sent from Dallas to Green Bay in the mind-boggling trade the Cowboys made before the season. Now, though, Odighizuwa will get to go play next to another elite edge rusher in Nick Bosa. … If Bosa is healthy, along with 2025 first-round pick Mykel Williams (who was playing well before suffering an injury of his own), the Niners have a very interesting defensive front. 

If you want to see Dubin’s full list, you can check it out here. If you missed his list of intriguing signings on the offensive side of the ball, you can see that here

4. Ranking the best running back tandems: Rams at the top 

With the Falcons adding Brian Robinson this week, that means that Atlanta now has one of the best backfields in the NFL, but is it the best? Carter Bahns wanted to answer that exact question so he decided to rank the top running back tandems in the NFL. 

Let’s take a look at his top tandems: 

• Rams: Kyren Williams and Blake Corum. One year into Blake Corum’s career, it seemed like he could have trouble finding his footing behind Kyren Williams. He took a leap forward in Year 2, though, adding 746 yards and six touchdowns to an offense that still featured the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher. Williams and Corum became the first teammates since at least 1950 to string together three consecutive games in which both tallied at least 70 rushing yards and a touchdown.
• Falcons: Bijan Robinson and Brian Robinson. The B. Robinson backfield is an absolute weapon. Bijan is arguably the top individual running back in the NFL on his own, and Brian would be a serviceable starter on many rosters. Fusing them together in one group provides the Falcons with the kind of backfield that can shine regardless of how their head-scratching quarterback situation unfolds.
• Saints: Travis Etienne Jr. and Alvin Kamara. There is a chance these two never take the field together, but if Travis Etienne Jr. and Alvin Kamara share a backfield next season, the New Orleans Saints are going to be a whole lot of fun.

If you want to see the rest of Carter’s running back rankings, we’ve got that right here. 

5. NFL Draft: Teams that could dominate the first round

With just four weeks to go until the start of the 2026 NFL Draft, we thought now would be a good time to take a look at a few teams that could end up dominating the first round. There are five teams that have two picks in the opening round and those are the teams we decided to take a look at. 

Josh Edwards ranked all five of those teams based on who has the best chance to cash in on their picks. Let’s check out the top three teams on his list. 

1. Jets
First-round picks: Second overall, 16th overall
Breakdown: Out of the five teams with two first round picks, the Jets have the highest first selection and the highest second selection. The Jets also pick No. 33 overall, so no team is better positioned to control the first two days of this year’s draft than this team from the Big Apple. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza is expected to be the No. 1 overall selection, so New York gets its pick of every other player in the draft.

2. Browns
First-round picks: Sixth overall, 24th overall
Breakdown: In a draft that may not have more than 12 players worthy of a first-round grade, it is important to have the chance to take one of those players. The Browns, for example, could take a top prospect at No. 6 overall or weaponize it to entice a trade up. 

3. Chiefs
First-round picks: Ninth overall, 29th overall
Breakdown: Kansas City may not be in a better position than the Browns or Jets, but the position is unique to the franchise. The Chiefs have not picked in this range (No. 9 overall) since taking Patrick Mahomes at No. 10 in 2017. It is an opportunity for the perennial AFC contender to add a good player at a premium position. Kansas City also picks No. 29 overall, courtesy of the Rams. Cornerback and offensive tackle are thought to be the biggest needs for the Chiefs. 

The Cowboys and Dolphins also have multiple first-round picks and you can read Josh’s breakdown of their situation here. 

6. Extra points: Competition committee submits five rule proposals for NFL owners to vote on

It’s been a busy past few days in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

• NFL owners will vote on five new rules. When the owners get together next week for the NFL’s annual league meeting, they’ll be voting on five rule proposals from the competition committee. One of the proposed rules is that teams will be allowed to attempt an onside kick at any point during a game (Last year, only a team that was trailing could attempt an onside kick). One other rule would give the NFL Officiating Department the power to correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials during a game. This rule would only be implemented if the NFL is forced to use replacement officials. If you want the full list of rule proposals, we’ve got those here. 
• Puka Nacua facing lawsuit. The Rams receiver has been hit with a lawsuit over allegations that he bit a woman on New Year’s Eve. The woman also claims that Nacua made an antisemitic remark. Nacua has vehemently denied all the allegations through his attorney. You can get the full details on the situation here. 
• NFL in standoff with referee’s union. The NFL just took one small step closer toward using replacement refs this year. The league was supposed to meet with the referee’s union for two days this week to work out a new CBA, but talks were ended after just one morning session on the first day, CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones has reported. With negotiations at a standstill, there’s a very real chance that the NFL could be forced to use replacement refs for the first time since 2012. You can read Jones’ full breakdown of the contract stalemate here.
• Minnesota wants to host the 2028 NFL Draft. The 2026 NFL Draft will be in Pittsburgh, and after that, the draft will be moving to Washington, D.C., in 2027. However, the draft doesn’t have a host for 2028 and that’s where Minnesota comes in. The state is making a bid to host the NFL’s biggest offseason event. Buffalo is also aiming to host in 2028, so it’s certainly not a given that Minnesota will get the draft. 
• Joe Flacco says teams are ‘dumb’ for not signing him. At 41 years old, Joe Flacco is definitely at the point in his career where he feels free to speak his mind about any subject and he spoke his mind on Wednesday. Flacco, who re-signed with the Bengals to be a backup QB, was asked his thoughts about the fact that no team would give him a chance to compete for a starting job. “I think teams are dumb for not having me be that guy, but it is what it is. I’m not going to let them or it get me down. I’m going to be the person I am and just approach football the way I always have.” We broke down which teams made the biggest mistake by NOT signing Flacco and you can check that out here.