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Welcome to the Friday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

It is somehow already the final day of February, which means free agency is right around the corner, but before we can get there, we have to make it through the NFL Scouting Combine. If you love the combine, then I have some good news for you: It is going to be on television ALL WEEKEND. The NFL Network will be airing an absurd amount of combine coverage over the next few days with six hours scheduled for today (3-9 p.m. ET), eight hours scheduled for Saturday (1-9 p.m. ET) and four more hours scheduled for Sunday (1-5 p.m. ET).

We’ll also be covering the combine all weekend on CBS Sports HQ, and you can check out our live coverage by clicking here. We’ll also be talking about the combine in today’s newsletter. By the way, with so many players sitting out of the combine, we decided to start tracking every player who won’t be working out this week and you can see that full list here, which now includes Cam Ward, who won’t be throwing in Indianapolis.

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. Chiefs have big day: Travis Kelce set to return; K.C. becomes first team to use franchise tag in 2025
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   The Chiefs had two big questions going into the offseason and they both got answered on Thursday. The first question was whether Travis Kelce would retire and the second question was whether Trey Smith would end up leaving in free agency. The Chiefs got good news on both ends.

Here’s what you need to know:

Kelce returning for his 13th season. After mulling things over for nearly three weeks, Kelce finally decided that he’s going to keep playing. The Chiefs star tight end announced that he would be returning in a tweet that his podcast sent out. In a text to Pat McAfee, the 35-year-old Kelce said that losing the Super Bowl left “a real bad taste in my mouth.” Although Kelce had a down year by his standards in 2024, he was still incredibly productive: He caught 97 passes for 823 yards and three touchdowns. To put his receptions total in perspective, no one else on the team caught more than 60 passes last season. You can read more about Kelce’s return here.
Chiefs use franchise tag on Trey Smith. It took nine days, but the first franchise tag of the 2025 offseason has finally been used and the Chiefs used it on Smith. The Chiefs’ starting right guard was set to hit free agency, but that won’t be happening now that he’s been tagged. Smith has started 67 games for the Chiefs since being drafted by Kansas City with a sixth-round pick in 2021.
The tag is big money for Smith. The franchise tag means that Smith will now become the highest-paid guard in NFL history. The one-year tag means that Smith will make a fully guaranteed $23.4 million in 2025, which moves him ahead of Landon Dickerson for the title of highest-paid guard (The Eagles offensive lineman makes $21 million per year). The high price of the franchise tag is one reason why no one knew if the Chiefs were actually going to tag Smith, but in the end, they decided he was worth the money.
You can get the full details on the Chiefs’ franchise tag situation here.

2. Combine roundup: Handing out grades after the first day of drills
   The first day of real action went down at the combine on Thursday with defensive linemen and linebackers taking center stage. Those two position groups were the first ones to hit the field this week and after watching them work out, CBSSports.com draft gurus Josh Edwards and Chris Trapasso decided to grade their performances.

Here are some of the grades that they handed out:

EDGE James Pearce Jr. (Tennessee): A. “Everything about Pearce’s workout was fantastic — except his 31-inch vertical. Sure, he has a frame built to run fast — which he did with a 4.47-second 40-yard dash — yet at least he met the expectations at more than 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds. The 1.56-second 10-yard split is in the 93rd percentile at the position since 1999. It was an explosive workout for the Tennessee star, plus he looked ridiculously smooth in the on-field drills.” — Trapasso
DL Derrick Harmon (Oregon): A. “Thursday was an opportunity for Harmon to assert himself as one of the top interior defenders in this draft class considering multiple peers opted not to participate. Harmon was consistently a top performer through the drills and also measured as one of the bigger bodies at the position.” — Edwards
EDGE Shemar Stewart (Texas A&M): A+. “Stewart should’ve taken a bow after his workout. He couldn’t have done anything more to go viral, raise his stock, etc. Running 4.59 with a 40-inch vertical and a 1.58 10-yard split at close to 270 pounds is downright flabbergasting. Do not be surprised to see Stewart in the top 20 or even top 15 in mock drafts from here on out.”
You can check out all of our grades for the defensive linemen here and we’ve got our grades for the the pass rushers and linebackers here.

3. Travis Hunter landing spots: Teams that would make sense for the two-way player
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   The most intriguing prospect in the 2025 NFL Draft is definitely Travis Hunter. The two-way star played receiver and cornerback at Colorado and as he gets ready to enter the draft, it sounds like he’s planning on playing both positions in the NFL.

“They say, ‘Nobody has ever done it, for real, the way I do it,’ but I tell them, ‘I’m just different,'” Hunter said Thursday (You can check out his full comments here).

NFL teams can’t even agree on which position he should play with some pegging him as a receiver while others think he’d make a better corner.

With that in mind, let’s check out the top three potential landing spots for Hunter (via Jordan Dajani):

1. Giants (Third overall pick): “With the Giants, I would envision Hunter playing more cornerback, but there will be opportunities for Brian Daboll to utilize him on offense as well. Hunter is the kind of playmaker who can affect the game in all three phases. If the Giants swing a trade for Matthew Stafford or sign someone like Justin Fields, Hunter becomes even more of an intriguing option in New York.”
2. Patriots (Fourth overall pick). “I am fascinated to see what the Patriots do this offseason. They hired a preseason Coach of the Year favorite in Mike Vrabel, found a prospective franchise quarterback in Drake Maye, have nearly $130 million in projected cap space — which leads the NFL by a wide margin — and hold the No. 4 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Like virtually every other team on this list, the Patriots have legitimate needs at both wide receiver and cornerback, which Hunter fits. However, unlike with other teams on this list, I would like to see Hunter play more wide receiver with New England.”
3. Jaguars (Fifth overall pick). “If Hunter fell to No. 5 overall, the Jaguars would have to take him. Jacksonville has a major need at cornerback, which is a reason why this defense ranked worst against the pass (257.4 passing yards allowed per game), and second worst in total yards (389.9 yards allowed per game) last year.”

Jordan listed a total of five landing spots for Hunter and you can check out all of them here.

4. Matthew Stafford trade rumors: Here’s the latest on the Rams quarterback
   We started the week by talking about Matthew Stafford, so we might as well close the week by talking about Matthew Stafford. It seems that we’re inching toward a conclusion in the Stafford drama and it won’t be surprising at all if we learn his fate at some point over the next 72 hours.

Here’s what you need to know:

Raiders and Giants are both in on the quarterback. At this point, there seems to be a two-horse race for Stafford with the Raiders and Giants both trying to land the Rams quarterback. According to The Athletic, both teams have discussed a contract with Stafford that would potentially including $90 million to $100 million in guarantees over two years.
Stafford set to meet with the Rams. The Rams gave Stafford permission to speak with other teams so that he could gauge his market value and now that he has a good idea of what that value is, the next step is for the Rams to figure out whether they’re willing to pay him his value. According to The Athletic, Stafford is set to meet with the Rams on Friday and in that meeting, it’s a good bet that the two sides will make a final decision about Stafford’s future in Los Angeles.
Sean McVay wants Stafford back, but at the right price. Right now, the Rams don’t seem interested in paying Stafford $50 million per year, but they do want him back. “The interesting and the challenging dilemma and dynamics within this are, hey, how do you continuously as a head coach look at the short term and the long term and be able to figure out what does that really look like?” Rams coach Sean McVay said recently when speaking about the Stafford situation on the Fitz & Whit podcast. “We had something in mind, he had something in mind, and nobody was right or wrong. And then ultimately you’re saying there’s a ton of interest because this guy is an incredible player.”
What will actually happen? At this point, it seems like there are three options: The Rams meet Stafford’s asking price, the Rams trade him or the Rams talk Stafford into staying at a lower price than he wants. Option three might seem a little crazy, but if you’re the Rams, your argument is this: You get to play for a playoff contender and you don’t have to move your family to another city to start over with a new team at age 37. The Raiders and Giants are both coming off ugly seasons while the Rams are coming off a 2024 season where they won the NFC West title.
As I noted, the Stafford drama could certainly come to an end over the next 72 hours, but even if it doesn’t, it will be ending soon. All teams involved will need to know what’s happening before the start of free agency, so we will definitely know Stafford’s fate by March 12.

The most unique prospect in recent memory to come through the NFL Draft is Colorado’s Travis Hunter. Why? Well, he just closed the book on a collegiate career where he not only played both offense and defense as a wide receiver and cornerback but did so at an elite level. Hunter won the Fred Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver and the Chuck Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player. Of course, he also won the Heisman Trophy.

As he now looks towards the NFL, Hunter has relayed that he wants to play both ways at the next level. While that would be a rarity, it’s not totally uncommon. In fact, one of the potential suitors for Hunter atop the draft made sure to remind him of that.

During an appearance on the NFL Network’s coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was jokingly asked if he feels any sort of disrespect with the coverage Hunter has received as a rare two-way talent.

Travis Hunter to skip NFL Combine workouts, so here are his best plays from college that show his skillset
Will Backus
Travis Hunter to skip NFL Combine workouts, so here are his best plays from college that show his skillset
Throughout his playing career, Vrabel, primarily a linebacker, did play on offense at times, lining up along the line as a tight end during goal-line packages. In fact, Vrabel registered 10 receptions in his career during the regular season, all of which resulted in touchdowns. He also has two receptions (and two touchdowns) in the playoffs, one coming in Super Bowl XXXVIII and the other coming in Super Bowl XXXIX

“I’m sure Travis doesn’t even know,” Vrabel smirked. “We were kind of jawing back and forth as he left last night and I said ‘You’re not the only one that played two ways, son. Like there were some other guys that did this too.’ And he kind of like looked at me and we laughed.”

New England owns the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. While they don’t have a pressing need at corner with Christian Gonzalez leading the position group, there is a desperate need at receiver. If the club can fill its other needs like offensive tackle, defensive tackle, and edge rushers in free agency and/or the trade market, maybe that opens the door for the Patriots to take Hunter if he falls to them atop the first round.

Shedeur Sanders has an excellent opportunity to become the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s one of the best players in the draft class and appears bound to be one of the first quarterbacks taken.

The nation’s top passing quarterback in the Big 12 in six major statistics last season, Sanders wanted to let teams know he’s the quarterback a franchise needs to start winning — and keep winning.

“If you ain’t trying to change the franchise or the culture, don’t get me,” a smiling Sanders said, via the NFL. “You should know history repeats itself over and over and over. … It should be no question why NFL franchises should pick me.”

Plenty of teams need a quarterback at the top of the draft, including the Tennessee Titans (No. 1 pick), Cleveland Browns (No. 2 pick), and New York Giants (No. 3 overall). This appears to be a message to those teams, or any other franchise that is considering drafting Sanders.

Sanders led the nation in completion percentage (74.0%) and leads the nation in career completion percentage for any quarterback (71.8%). He led the Big 12 in passing yards (4,134), passing touchdowns (37), yards per attempt (8.7), and pass yards per game (318.0).

One of the top players in the draft, Sanders has been the subject of criticism because of his on-field actions at the University of Colorado, where his father — Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders — was the head coach. Sanders has had comments blaming his offensive line for poor performance and jogged off the field when being replaced in a blowout loss to Nebraska instead of being out with teammates to shake hands at the end of the game.

Highly criticized for his actions on that night and over his college career, Sanders blew it off. He mentioned that comes with the territory of being the son of Deion.

“You think I worry about what critics say or what people gotta say?” Sanders said. “You know who my dad is? They hated on him too. … Without people hating, it’s not normal. We like the adversity that comes with the name. That’s why we are who we are.”

Wednesday was supposed to represent a fresh start for the Philadelphia 76ers. After starting 2-11 due in large part to a variety of injuries, they would finally have their three superstars on the floor at the same time. Tyrese Maxey returned from a hamstring injury to join Joel Embiid, who has played in only four games, and Paul George, who has appeared in eight. All three took their place in Philadelphia’s starting lineup for the first time this season against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Instead, the nightmare continued. Early in the second half of a losing effort, George suffered yet another injury that knocked him out for the game. He collided with Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane as he fought for a rebound and immediately came up limping. The 76ers eventually ruled him out for the game with a hyperextended left knee — the same knee he hyperextended in the preseason, causing a bone bruise that kept him out of Philadelphia’s first six games.

George had an MRI on the knee and the team announced Thursday that there is no structural damage. George will be listed as out with a left knee bone bruise for the next two games — on Friday vs. the Nets and Sunday vs. the Clippers — and then reevaluated on Monday.

Paul George hyperextended his knee on this play and will NOT return to tonight’s game against the Grizzlies 👀pic.twitter.com/cR0KSKX2Nt

— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) November 21, 2024
With 14 games now in the books, Philadelphia has gotten a combined six total minutes with its three best players on the floor. If George needs to miss time because of this injury, it could be a good deal longer before that number grows, and it’s not as though Maxey or Embiid have reached 100% yet either. Maxey played only 20 minutes in the defeat, shooting 3-of-13 from the floor and 0-of-6 from the 3-point range. Embiid scored 35 points, by far his highest total of the season, but he also seemed to be in pain late in the fourth quarter when he collided with Jaren Jackson Jr. He finished the game, but was seen limping and holding his knee after the play.

With Wednesday’s 117-111 loss to Memphis, Philadelphia has now fallen to 2-12. The 2-11 Washington Wizards had the night off, so Philadelphia now has sole possession of the NBA’s worst record. The schedule over the next few weeks is extremely forgiving. Only three of their next nine games are on the road, and only three of their opponents in that span are currently top-six seeds in their conference. That includes two games against the Orlando Magic, still missing Paolo Banchero, while the third is the second night of a road back-to-back for the Rockets. On paper, this is the moment in which they absolutely need to start stacking wins.

If George misses significant time and they can’t do that, their season might be over by Christmas. With each passing loss, the odds already work against them. Only six teams have ever finished .500 after a 2-10 start. The Pelicans made the 2022 postseason after a 3-16 start, but needed a major in-season trade for CJ McCollum and the Play-In Tournament to get there. The Eastern Conference is forgiving. Last year’s No. 10 seed won only 36 games. But Philadelphia needs to go .500 the rest of the way just to get to that total.

With a mostly healthy George and no further injuries, that’s entirely reasonable. But Embiid doesn’t exactly have a clean track record. George is 34 and has dealt with plenty of other injuries as well. The depth here is limited. That’s the price you pay for accumulating three max-contract superstars in the second apron era. This is DEFCON 1 for the 76ers now. If they don’t get healthy and start winning games soon, their season will end before it really begins.

The Lakers duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis will certainly be an NBA DFS stack many daily Fantasy basketball players want to have for daily Fantasy basketball lineups with only four games on the Thursday NBA schedule. But if you go that route for your NBA DFS strategy, it will cost you, and with the Lakers going up against the No. 1 scoring defense with Orlando allowing just 102.3 points, is it a wise way to spend your capital on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings?

The Magic are 6-1 over their last seven games while holding teams below 100 points in each of the six victories. However, the Lakers have won six straight and have the No. 6 scoring offense (117.3 ppg) in the league, so which strength should you expect to prevail when forming a Thursday NBA DFS strategy? Before making any NBA DFS picks, be sure to check out the NBA DFS advice, player rankings, stacks, and top daily Fantasy basketball picks from SportsLine’s Mike McClure.

McClure is a DFS professional with more than $2 million in career winnings. He’s also a predictive data engineer at SportsLine who uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every minute of every game 10,000 times, taking factors like matchups, statistical trends and injuries into account. This allows him to find the best NBA DFS values on sites like DraftKings and FanDuel and create optimal lineups that he shares only over at SportsLine. They’re a must-see for any NBA DFS player.

On Tuesday, McClure highlighted Nets guard Dennis Schroder as one of his top picks in his NBA DFS player pool on both sites. The result: Schroder had 14 points, five rebounds, 12 assists, two blocks and a steal, returning 45.8 points on DraftKings and 46 points on FanDuel for NBA DFS lineups. Anybody who included him in their lineups was well on the way to a profitable day.

McClure has turned his attention to NBA action on Thursday and locked in his top daily Fantasy basketball picks. You can only see them by heading to SportsLine.

Top NBA DFS picks Thursday, November 21
For Thursday, one of McClure’s top NBA DFS picks is Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, who is listed at $7,100 on DraftKings and $7,500 on FanDuel. The 27-year-old is returning to playing his usual allotment of minutes after he missed three games with an eye injury in early November. Markkanen has played at least 35 minutes in three straight, which is the first time he’s done that this season. He’s shot at least 50% from the field in five straight contests and is averaging 23.8 points and 7.7 rebounds over his past three games after averaging more than 23 points and eight rebounds in back-to-back seasons.

He had 25 points and eight rebounds against the Lakers on Tuesday heading into a matchup against the Spurs tonight. San Antonio will be without Victor Wembanyama, and for the 7-foot Markkanen, who likely would have been guarded by Wembanyama the majority of the game, this is a huge relief. Wembanyama’s absence significantly weakens San Antonio’s defense and rebounding potential, so McClure expects Markkanen to take advantage of that on Thursday.

Another part of McClure’s optimal NBA DFS strategy includes rostering Magic guard Jalen Suggs ($6,800 on DraftKings and $6,700 on FanDuel). Suggs had 16 points on Wednesday against the Clippers, and he’s averaging 15 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game. The 23-year-old signed a five-year, $150.5 million extension this offseason as the Magic showed they have faith in the potential of the No. 5 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.

On Thursday, the Magic play the Lakers, who are allowing 116 points per game, which ranks 24th in the league. Los Angeles enters on a six-game winning streak, but it has allowed at least 115 points in three of its last four contests, so even its wins are often high-scoring affairs. Suggs has played at least 30 minutes in three of his last four games and McClure likes his value for Thursday NBA DFS lineups. See McClure’s other NBA DFS picks right here.

How to set your NBA DFS lineups for Thursday, November 21
McClure is also targeting a player who could go off for massive numbers on Thursday because of a dream matchup. This pick could be the difference between winning your tournaments and cash games or going home with nothing. You can only see who it is here.

The Los Angeles Lakers had their six-game winning streak snapped and lost their first home game of the season on Thursday, and it happened in stunning fashion. The Lakers led the Orlando Magic by two with 18.1 seconds to play, and had Anthony Davis going to the free-throw line with a chance to make it a two-possession game.

Davis, who has made nearly 80% of his free throws over the past two-plus seasons, missed both, leaving the door open for Orlando. Franz Wagner, who has been on a scoring rampage of late, took advantage by hitting what proved to be the game-winning step-back 3-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining. Davis had a chance to redeem himself on the other end but failed to draw iron on a fallaway catch-and-shoot.

FRANZ WAGNER WINS IT FOR THE MAGIC 😱

Lakers lose their first home game of the season 😲 pic.twitter.com/jcfPBMpP0I

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 22, 2024
With the loss, the Lakers fell to 7-1 at home and 10-5 overall, still good enough for the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference entering play on Friday. The two crucial missed freebies notwithstanding, Davis was sensational yet again for the Lakers with 39 points, nine rebounds and three blocks on 14-of-22 shooting. He had made 10 of his 11 free throws before those last two.

LeBron James, yet again, was also stellar with 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. Fourteen of his points came in the fourth quarter, as did three of his five 3-pointers. Rookie Dalton Knecht, coming off an absolute heater on Tuesday when he rattled off 37 points, including 22 straight, and nine 3-pointers, had another solid outing with 17 points and three more 3s.

But it wasn’t enough as Wagner not only hit the winner but torched the Lakers throughout the night with 37 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter. Wagner has scored at least 31 points in four of his last six games as he continues to lead an Orlando team that has quietly won seven of its last eight games.

The Magic lost four straight after Paolo Banchero went out with a torn oblique at the end of October, and the offense appeared to be sunk. Not so much anymore. Over this eight-game stretch, Wagner has put up more than 28 points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals per game. He has gotten super aggressive in Banchero’s absence, taking at least 23 shots in five of his last six games.