Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!
I hope you’re ready for some preseason football, because starting tonight, we have 48 games over the next 16 days. I plan on dominating my preseason Fantasy league this year, so I’ll definitely be watching every game.
The first full week of the preseason kicks off tonight with three games and we’ll be giving you two reasons to watch each of those games (One reason isn’t enough). Also, we’ll be taking a look at some preseason bets that you might want to think about making.
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1. Top 10 preseason storylines to watch
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Starting tonight, there will be a total of 48 preseason games played over the next 16 games, which means we’re going to be cramming a lot of football into a small time frame. When you have that much football going on, it’s hard to keep track of everything, but the good news for you is that you don’t have to, because Tyler Sullivan is here to tell us the 10 biggest preseason storylines that we need to pay close attention to over the next few weeks.
Let’s check out three of the storylines from his list:
Will J.J. McCarthy be any good? McCarthy did impress during his brief showing last preseason, but he really hasn’t played a meaningful snap since the Wolverines’ national championship win over Washington in early January 2024. How he looks this preseason will give us insight into whether or not Minnesota can continue its success from 2024 or if the Vikings will be in more of a transition year as they develop their young quarterback. How will Cameron Ward look? While Tennessee isn’t expected to contend out of the gate during this Ward era, we’ve seen lowly organizations have their fortunes flipped overnight with the arrival of the right quarterback. Could Ward be that type of talent to hit Nashville? How will the Micah Parsons situation play out? Parsons has recently requested a trade from the Cowboys due to poor negotiations this offseason. Jerry Jones noted that he has not spoken to Parsons since the trade request and added that he’s not confident the star pass rusher will play Week 1. Parsons has a résumé that warrants him becoming the highest-paid non-quarterback in the NFL, which would mean a deal that exceeds $41 million annually. Does Jones shell out that kind of dough, or does he look to trade the 26-year-old phenom for what would be a king’s ransom?
We’ve got seven other storylines you’ll want to keep tabs on and you can check them out here.
2. Three preseason games are happening tonight: Here are two reasons to watch each one
After getting a small taste of the NFL preseason with the Hall of Fame Game last week, we’re getting an even bigger taste tonight with three games on the docket. Since there are only three games, we’re going to go ahead and preview them by pointing out one thing you should be watching out for with each team tonight.
Colts at Ravens (7 p.m. ET, NFL Network)
Colts: The QB battle is about to get real. The Colts are holding a QB competition between Daniel Jones and Anthony Richardson and we could see one of those guys take control of things with a big game. Richardson will be getting the start and he’s expected to play more than a quarter, so he’ll get the first crack at proving that he deserves to be the starter. Jones is only expected to play about “half a quarter,” but he will be starting Indy’s second preseason game, which will come against Green Bay next week. Ravens: Baltimore has a new kicker for the first time in 13 years. The Ravens drafted a kicker for the first time in franchise history when they selected Tyler Loop back in April. Loop will be replacing one of the best kickers in NFL history in Justin Tucker. Loop has had a solid training camp, but when it comes to kickers, that doesn’t always translate to success in an actual game. The Ravens are a Super Bowl contender this year and they’re going to need a kicker they can trust in big situations. This will be Loop’s first chance to prove that he can make kicks in an NFL game.
Bengals at Eagles (7:30 p.m. ET, NFL+)
Bengals: THE STARTERS ARE PLAYING. That is not a typo: The starters will be playing for Cincinnati. Since drafting Joe Burrow in 2020, the Bengals have gone 1-9 during the first two weeks of the season. Zac Taylor wants to get the offense in-sync as quickly as possible, so the Bengals coach has decided that his starters will be playing tonight (The expectation is that they’ll play a couple of series). Burrow has only played 16 preseason snaps in his entire career and he might double that total tonight. Eagles: Cornerback battle heats up. The Eagles have one starting corner in Quinyon Mitchell, but the starting spot on the opposite side is up for grabs with Kelee Ringo battling it out with Adoree’ Jackson. Since the Bengals will be playing their starters, that means Ringo and Jackson will be going up against a strong passing offense, so an impressive showing could go a long way toward helping one of them win the job.
Raiders at Seahawks (10 p.m. ET, NFL Network)
Raiders: Geno Smith will likely make his Raiders’ debut. Pete Carroll said this week that he plans on playing his starters, which means we should see Smith throwing passes in a Raiders uniform for the first time. The Raiders entire offense will be worth watching, especially with Chip Kelly now running the show as offensive coordinator in Las Vegas. Ashton Jeanty, the No. 6 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, will also likely be playing, so make sure to stay up late for this one.Seahawks: Big night for rookies. The Seahawks will likely be keeping most of their starters on the bench, including Sam Darnold, but most of their rookies should be on the field, including their top three picks: OG Grey Zabel, S Nick Emmanwori, and TE Elijah Arroyo.
We’ll go over the full preseason schedule for the weekend in tomorrow’s newsletter, but if you want to check it out right now, you can do that by clicking here.
3. Five best bets to make during Week 1 of the preseason
As you can see, we’re going all in on the preseason today. Not only have we previewed tonight’s games AND ranked the top storylines to watch over the next few weeks, and now, Tyler Sullivan is going to give you his best bets for Week 1 of the preseason.
That’s right, we’re gambling on preseason games.
Here are two of his best bets (odds :
Raiders (-4.5) to cover against Seahawks (odds via BetMGM). Pete Carroll is taking on his former Seahawks team in Seattle in the exhibition opener on Thursday. While it’s not as do-or-die as a regular-season game would be, I’d bet if you gave Carroll a drop of truth serum, he’d want to leave his old stomping grounds with a win. Lions money line (-190) against Falcons (odds via FanDuel). Falcons coach Raheem Morris indicated this week that his two two quarterbacks — Michael Penix Jr. and Kirk Cousins — are not expected to play Friday night. That leaves Easton Stick and Emory Jones as the lone signal-callers, which isn’t an inspiring duo.
Tyler has three more best bets and you can check those out here.
4. NFL Draft picks from Day 3 who are in the best position to succeed
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The third day of the NFL Draft is pretty much a crapshoot. It’s not easy to find a player who will contribute as a rookie during the final day of the draft, but there could be a few surprises out there. Chris Trapasso took a look around the NFL to pinpoint several Day 3 picks who are definitely in a position to succeed this year.
Here are two players on his list:
Cowboys RB Jaydon Blue (Round 5, 149th overall). Blue possesses 4.38 speed at close to 200 pounds — he fits right into a niche for the Cowboys, as the club’s big-play specialist on the ground. At Texas, he had 23 runs of 10-plus yards in his final two seasons in Austin after Bijan Robinson left for the NFL. Behind what should be one of the better blocking units in the NFL, Blue is set up to succeed as a rookie once he locates a crease.Seahawks WR Tory Horton (Round 5, 166th overall). At over 6-2 and around 200 pounds, Horton is spindly. He runs jagged, separation-creating routes and catches everything. On a team very top-heavy at receiver, this former Nevada and Colorado State star has the refined skill to take full advantage of a rookie-year opportunity in the Pacific Northwest.
You can check out Trapasso’s full list here.
5. Ranking the most popular preseason clichés
If you only read one story from the newsletter today, make it this one. Josh Edwards decided to rank the most popular preseason clichés. These are the clichés that you hear every year at training camp and every year during the preseason.
Let’s check out the top three on his list:
1. “He’s in the best shape of his life.” Fans hear this every year and it is often true, but does it translate to production and performance improvement? Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis is a prime example of the cliché in training camp. He revealed that he has removed liquid calories from his diet and that has allowed him to trim down ahead of the 2025 season. At the NFL combine, he weighed 341 pounds and was often larger during his time at Georgia, but 330 pounds was his training camp check in weight.
2. “New coach is building a new culture.” Culture is a buzz word in the NFL, especially for a new head coach taking over a franchise that had struggled in recent memory. It can be difficult to shed that internal narrative of consistently falling short of expectations.
3. “Football is back.” I, myself, am guilty of using the phrase for the return of preseason football.
Josh ranked a total of 10 clichés and you can see his full list here.
6. Extra points: Arch Manning likely staying in school
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It was a busy 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.
Arch Manning may not enter the NFL Draft in 2026. Any team hoping to land Arch Manning with the top pick in 2026 might have to wait an extra year. Manning’s grandpa, former Saints QB Archie Manning, seems to think that Arch will be staying at Texas for the 2025 and 2026 seasons, which means he wouldn’t enter the draft until 2027. You can check out Archie’s comments here. Davante Adams not confident that Travis Hunter will be able to play both ways. The Rams receiver is skeptical about Hunter’s plans to try and play both offense and defense this year. “I don’t even think it’s possible to do for real, not at a high level,” Adams said. You can read his full comments here. Patriots will play their starters this week. The Bengals aren’t the only team planning to play their starters this weekend. Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said his starters will definitely see some playing time on Friday against Washington. “Most everyone that’s healthy should expect to play in the game,” Vrabel said this week. “How long they’ll play, I don’t know.” That means Drake Maye will almost certainly be playing against the Commanders. CBS Sports Fantasy guru Dave Richard was actually at Patriots training camp on Wednesday and he broke down why this could be a huge year for Maye. You can check out this story here. Kyler Murray expected to play in the preseason for the first time in four years. The Cardinals QB hasn’t taken a preseason snap since 2021, but that’s going to change this year. Arizona coach Jonathan Gannon said he plans to play his starters. “They’re going to play,” Gannon said this week, via Arizona Sports. “I think it’s the best thing for our team this year.” The Cardinals open preseason play on Saturday when they host the Chiefs. NFL players can still use smelling salts under one condition. There was a report this week that smelling salts have been banned for the 2025 season and although that’s mostly true, there’s is one exception. NFL teams won’t be allowed to supply the salts to their players, but players will still be allowed to use them as long as they obtain the salts on their own. You can read more about the smelling salts rule here.