Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
This has been a wild week of NFL news so it should come as no surprise to anyone that Friday is already off to a bonkers start with the Browns deciding to release Odell Beckham Jr. The NFL's crazy news week started on Monday with a former SUPER BOWL MVP (Von Miller) getting traded and four days later, that doesn't even seem like one of the 10 biggest stories of the week.
With OBJ out in Cleveland, we'll be going over what's next for him in today's newsletter, plus we'll also be offering all the Week 9 picks you can handle. We'll also be recapping the Colts' 45-30 win over the Jets, but we're only doing that because I'm required to recap every Thursday game in the newsletter, otherwise, I would never speak of that game again. Alright, that's enough of that, let's get to the rundown.
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1. Today's show: Recapping the Colts' blowout win over the JetsI almost turned this game off in the third quarter when the Colts were leading 42-10, but I'm glad I didn't because things got kind of crazy down the stretch. The only thing crazier than the second half of the game was the podcast we recorded afterward. If you missed the game, here's a quick rehash of what happened and what we talked about on the podcast.
Jonathan Taylor looks unstoppable. With Derrick Henry on the sideline for the rest of the season, you could make an argument that Taylor is currently the best running back in the NFL. For the sixth straight week, Taylor put up some huge numbers: Not only did he rush for 172 yards and two touchdowns, but he also added 28 receiving yards for a total of 200 in the game. Taylor has now gone over 100 scrimmage yards in each of Indy's past six games, making him the first running back to do that since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2006 (LT won the MVP that year). Taylor's longest run against the Jets was a 78-yard TD, which means he now has the two longest runs in the NFL this year (He also had an 83-yard run against the Texans in Week 6). Carson Wentz rebounds nicely. After throwing two ugly interceptions against the Titans on Sunday, no one knew how Wentz would respond playing in a game just four days later, but it appears he didn't let the Tennessee overtime loss bother him too much. The Colts quarterback went out and diced up the Jets' defense for 272 yards and three touchdowns. Wentz was especially good during a first half where the Colts scored a touchdown every time they touched the ball (The QB went 15 of 18 for 146 yards and two touchdowns during the game's first two quarters). The 45 points were the most the Colts have scored in a game since 2014 when they scored 49 against Washington. Josh Johnson shines on painful night for the Jets. After engineering an upset of the Bengals, Mike White never really got a chance to try for an upset against the Colts and that's because he left the game in the first quarter with a forearm injury. Before leaving, White had already thrown for 95 yards, which put him on pace for another 400-yard game. After White left, Josh Johnson entered the game for the Jets and actually played surprisingly well. The veteran journeyman threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns as the Jets clawed back from a 42-10 deficit in the second half. The Jets almost tacked on another TD with just under a minute left to play, but Johnson got picked off on a pass that was tipped inside the 10-yard line. If they had been able to score there, it would have cut the lead to 45-37 and the Jets would have had a chance to make things interesting with an onside kick not to mention tick off those gamblers who were laying 10 points with Indy. As for injuries, White isn't the only Jets player dealing with one. Safety Marcus Maye is believed to have suffered an Achilles injury that could cause him to miss the rest of the season.To listen/watch today's episode on YouTube, " target="_blank"be sure to click here. (Seriously, you can WATCH the podcast.) You can also check out our takeaways from the game by clicking here.
2. Today's show Part II: Best bets for Week 9The best part about Friday -- besides the fact that it's Friday -- is that you get two episodes of the podcast in your feed. After the recap of the Thursday game, Brinson politely asked me and Ryan Wilson to leave so that he could bring in Pete Prisco and R.J. White for a discussion about their best bets for Week 9.
It's probably for the best that we left, though because Brinson spent half the podcast bragging about the fact that he got nearly every single one of his picks right last week.
Anyway, the guys spent nearly 60 minutes going over the best bets for every single game, and we're going to cover three from each guy below. Prisco, Brinson and White combined to go 6-3 last week led by Brinson, who nailed all three of his picks.
Pete Prisco (1-2 last week in picks featured here)
Will Brinson (3-0 last week in picks featured here)
R.J. White (2-1 last week in picks featured here)
Bengals (-2.5) to cover against the Browns Chargers (-1.5) to cover against the Eagles Texans (+6.5) to cover against the DolphinsThe guys also have a parlay they like that pays out +595.
49ers (+1) to cover against the Cardinals Chargers (-1.5) to cover against the Eagles Bills at Jaguars OVER 48.5That parlay will pay out $595 on a $100 bet.
To hear what the rest of the best bets are for Week 9 -- and there are quite a few -- be sure to click here so you can listen to the entire episode of the podcast. You can also " target="_blank"watch the trio give out their picks on YouTube by clicking here.
3. Browns to release Odell Beckham Jr.After less than three seasons with the Browns, Odell Beckham Jr.'s time in Cleveland is officially coming to an end. The Browns made the announcement on Friday that Beckham will be released. The move comes less than 48 hours after Beckham's family and friends created some trade deadline drama in Cleveland by calling out the Browns on social media. Odell's dad shared a video that made Baker Mayfield look bad while LeBron James tweeted out that the Browns should "Free OBJ."
Here are the details on the situation:
Browns statement on the matter. Here's what the Browns had to say after releasing Beckham on Friday morning, "After careful consideration, internal discussions and conversations with Odell and his representation, we've determined that it is in the best interest of all parties involved that Odell no longer play for the Cleveland Browns. We appreciate all his efforts and contributions while in Cleveland, but we've just reached a point where it is best that we move forward as a team without Odell. We are finalizing the process of granting Odell his release and we wish him well as he continues his career." Beckham's contract was holding things up. The receiver could have been released on Thursday, but apparently, his contract was holding things up. According to multiple reports, the Browns wanted to restructure Beckham's contract before they agreed to release him. The plan was to turn part of his salary into a bonus, which would allow the Browns to take a smaller cap hit for the move. Beckham's next landing spot. One problem with being released after the trade deadline is that you don't necessarily get to pick your next team. Before potentially becoming a free agent, Odell will be subject to waivers, where he could be claimed. The waiver order is basically like the draft: The worst teams picks first and you go from there. The Lions, Texans and Dolphins are currently at the top of the waiver order, which means they'll have the first crack at Beckham. It's hard to imagine any bad team wanting to add Beckham so if he gets claimed, it will probably be by a playoff contender. Of the teams that might be interested in claiming him, the Seahawks (ninth in the waiver order), 49ers (12th), Colts (14th), Patriots (15th) and Chiefs (18th) are all in the top 20 and it would be surprising to see Beckham make it past that. You can check out the full waiver order by clicking here. What happens if Beckham doesn't get claimed? If Beckham somehow makes it through the waiver wire without getting claimed, that means he would become a free agent. At that point, it would work how free agency normally works and he would be free to sign with the team of his choosing. Of course, the only way for this to happen is if all 32 teams pass on Beckham on the waiver wire (The downside of picking him up on waivers is that you inherit his current contract). What's the timeline? Since Beckham is being released today, teams will have until Monday to put in a claim for him, which means you shouldn't expect any news on the Beckham front until then. Also, this means that if a team loses a receiver to injury on Sunday or just decides that their current receiving corps isn't cutting it, they would still have time to put in a waiver claim.Beckham leaves Cleveland with 114 receptions for 1,586 yards and seven touchdowns over 29 career games.
4. NFL Week 9 picksThis is the final newsletter of the week, which means I feel morally obligated to cram as many picks as possible into this space. I once crammed 14 Reese's Peanut Butter Cups in my mouth in three minutes, so I know I'm good at cramming.
With that in mind, we've got some Week 9 picks coming your way and those will be coming from Will Brinson, Tom Fornelli and Jonathan Jones along with CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora and CBSSports.com writers Jordan Dajani and Tyler Sullivan.
Here's how things are going to work: I'm going to give you one pick from each guy and then direct you to the rest of their picks. That way, if you like their pick, you'll be able to read the rest of them, but if they pick against your favorite team, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on.
Will Brinson: Saints 31-14 over Falcons (New Orleans covers -6.5). "The rivalry aspect of this game makes me a little concerned with the bigger point spread but the Saints defensive line should spend the entire afternoon in Matt Ryan's kitchen and Atlanta is bottom 10 in terms of rush defense. Alvin Kamara is about to go nuclear and Mark Ingram might not struggle either. Sean Payton REALLY doesn't like the Falcons. That's important here." For the rest of Brinson's Week 9 picks, be sure to click here. Jonathan Jones: Browns over Bengals (Cleveland +115 moneyline). "There's injury. There's distraction. There's "hasn't yet beaten a team with a winning record." All that is going against the Browns on Sunday in the AFC North clash. Yet still, I can't believe Cleveland is going to be under .500 at the midway point in the year. I'm picking this one with my heart and not my head, and I admit that." For the rest of Jones' Week 9 picks, be sure to click here. Jason La Canfora: 49ers over Cardinals (San Francisco covers -1). "The Cardinals are reeling a bit all of a sudden. Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins haven't practiced this week and the defense fell apart without JJ Watt last week. Arizona is not as good as its record would indicate and did nothing to get better at the trade deadline." For the rest of La Canfora's Week 9 best bets, be sure to click here. Tom Fornelli: Dolphins 24-20 over Texans (Houston covers +6.5). "The Texans were heroes last week for that fourth-quarter, garbage-time, backdoor-cover extravaganza, and they're going to carry all that momentum into Week 9! OK, that's probably overstating things a bit, but do you want to trust Miami to cover a spread this large? As terrible as the Houston offense has been, it's not like Miami's lighting the world on fire." For the rest of Fornelli's Week 9 best bets, be sure to click here. Jordan Dajani: Chargers 26-20 over Eagles (Los Angeles covers -1.5). "The Chargers have won four of their past five games on the road while the Eagles have lost four straight home games. In fact, the Eagles haven't beaten an AFC team since 2019." For the rest of Dajani's Week 9 picks, be sure to click here. Tyler Sullivan: Cowboys 30-20 over Broncos (Dallas covers -9.5). "The Broncos defense -- that just lost Von Miller -- has also left much to be desired, allowing 6.1 yards per play since Week 4, which is the fifth-most in the NFL over that stretch. That won't be good enough against a Dallas team that will be getting Dak Prescott back and is still undefeated ATS at 7-0. " For the rest of Sullivan's Week 9 picks, be sure to click here. 5. Grading every player from the first round of 2021 NFL DraftWith the Colts and Jets kicking off Week 9 last night, that means we're now officially halfway through the 2021 NFL season, which makes right now the perfect time to check in on how this year's crop of rookies has been playing.
With that in mind, our Chris Trapasso decided to go through and grade how every first-rounder has played through the first eight weeks. Here's a look at five of Trapasso's grades:
Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence (first overall pick): C-. "Lawrence has not played like a once-in-a-generation prospect through seven games. Just hasn't. Sure, the environment in Jacksonville is hardly helping. And it's understandable that a No. 1 overall pick takes his lumps through the first half of his rookie season. We've seen it many times before." 49ers QB Trey Lance (third overall pick): D+. "We all kinda/sorta knew Lance needed time, more time than the other quarterbacks picked in the first round of the 2021 draft, and he's looked like a not-quite-ready passer when he's been forced onto the field for the 49ers this season." Bengals WR Ja'Marr Chase (fifth overall pick): A+. "Easy "A" for the Bengals, of course. Chase is the front-runner for the Offensive Rookie of the Year, and he's having a Randy Moss-esque debut year in the NFL." Bears QB Justin Fields (11th overall pick): C-. "Fields is starting to come along. He really is. And while I'm here -- he looked noticeably more comfortable without Matt Nagy on the sidelines against the 49ers in Week 8. Fields is still leaning on his supreme athletic gifts more than anything else, but that's not the worst thing for a rookie quarterback to do as he's getting his bearings on the speed and complexity of NFL defenses." Patriots QB Mac Jones (15th overall pick): B. "Jones has looked the part of a passer who can successfully manage a game. Has he shown, for any stretches, that he'll eventually be able to elevate those around him? No. Not at this point. Either way, the Patriots should feel good about landing Jones, especially considering how poorly the rest of the first-rounders have played. "If you want to see how the grades ended up shaking out for the 27 other first-rounders, then be sure to click here.
6. Rapid-fire roundupIt's been 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.
Aaron Rodgers could face big fines, but likely won't be suspended. If Rodgers gets punished for violating the NFL's COVID protocols, it will likely come in the form of a fine. According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, a suspension isn't under consideration, which is good news for both Rodgers and the Packers. In other fascinating Rodgers news, the Packers QB is reportedly "furious" that his vaccination status was leaked. Dak Prescott definitely returning for the Cowboys this week. After missing one week due to a calf injury, Dak Prescott made it clear on Thursday that he'll definitely be playing against the Broncos in Week 9, "Safe to say," Prescott said when asked if he'd be playing.Saints to start Trevor Siemian. Now that Jameis Winston is done for the season, the Saints are going to need to find another starting
