David Montgomery trade grades, plus Bills pull off wild deal in our newest mock and grading NFL combine

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

You better buckle up your chin strap and get ready because there’s a good chance that things could start to get a little crazy around the NFL this week. Actually, things have already started to get crazy and that started today with the Lions trading David Montgomery to the Texans. 

Not only will we likely see several trades go down this week, but we still have the franchise tag deadline coming tomorrow at 4 p.m. ET, which means things could be getting busy over the next 24 hours. 

In today’s newsletter, we’ll take a look at who could be tagged, plus we’ll be handing out some grades for the Montgomery trade we’ll have our first post-combine mock draft. 

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

1. David Montgomery trade grades

The Texans got busy on Monday by making TWO trades with the headliner being their deal with the Lions to acquire David Montgomery. 

Here’s a look at the trade details: 

• Texans receive: David Montgomery
• Lions receive: OL Juice Scruggs, 2026 fourth-round pick, 2026 seventh-round pick

This is a trade that makes plenty of sense for both teams. The Texans thought they were in good shape at running back at this time last year, but then Joe Mixon suffered a mysterious injury that knocked him out for the season and Houston has been trying to fix things since then. Adding Montgomery should help. As for the Lions, they need some help at center and Scruggs gives them some depth at the position. 

TRADE GRADES

Whenever there’s a trade, there’s 100% chance we’re going to hand out grades for that deal and that’s exactly what we did in this situation. 

• Texans grade: B+. After Mixon was lost for the season due to a foot injury, the Texans were forced to rely on a rookie (Woody Marks) and an aging veteran who had clearly lost a step (Nick Chubb). With the addition of Mongomery, that takes one of Houston’s biggest needs off the board heading into free agency and they’re getting Montgomery at a reasonable price. The running back had a base salary of just $5.5 million in 2026 and $7.5 million in 2027. 
• Lions grade: B. Montgomery wanted out of Detroit after seeing a reduce role last season and the Lions granted his wishes by shipping him off to Houston. This actually feels like it could end up being a decent return for the Lions. Not only did they score two draft picks, but they’re also getting Juice Scruggs in the deal, which gives them some much-needed depth on the interior offensive line, including center. After the retirement of Frank Ragnow in 2024, the Lions turned the starting center job over to Graham Glasgow last year, but things didn’t go so well. If Scruggs ends up starting or playing a key role on the offensive line, then this will be a home run trade for the Lions, but if he struggles or their two picks flop, then this could end up looking bad. This definitely feels like a bigger gamble for Detroit, but it certainly could pay off. 

You can read our full story on the Montgomery trade here. 

2. NFL combine grades: Kenyon Sadiq puts up eye-popping numbers, Jeremiyah Loves shines

As you may or may now know, there’s nothing that we love to do more around here than hand out grades, so that’s exactly what we’re going to do with the NFL combine. We had several draft experts in Indianapolis over the weekend and they kept a close eye on every position group that worked out. 

Let’s take a look at who fared well over the weekend: 

• Quarterback: Ty Simpson (Alabama) — A. The Alabama quarterback is an interesting evaluation. He is an older prospect with essentially one year of starting experience, and the results of that season were volatile. His performance separated him as QB2 in this class, which could mean late first-round or early second-round consideration (We’ve got our full QB grades here). Note: Arkansas product Taylen Green had a record-setting combine and you can read more about that here. 
• Running back: Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame) — A. Credit Jeremiyah Love for not only participating, but for shining. The former Fighting Irish star hoped to run in the 4.3s or low 4.4s in the 40-yard dash and he delivered in impressive fashion with a 4.36 (We’ve got more running back grades here). 
• Tight end: Kenyon Sadiq (Oregon) — A+. Sadiq tied an NFL combine record for tight ends with a 43.5-inch vertical jump, only for Vanderbilt’s Eli Stowers to shatter the mark minutes later. Sadiq also recorded an 11-foot-1 broad jump and blistered the track with a 4.39-second 40-yard dash, the latter setting an NFL combine record at the position. Since 2003, only three players — Nick Emmanwori, DK Metcalf and Sadiq — have run sub-4.4 seconds in the 40-yard dash, posted a 40-plus-inch vertical and recorded an 11-plus-foot broad jump at 220-plus pounds, per NFL Research. Sadiq is the heaviest player to accomplish the feat (We graded several more tight ends and you can check that out here). 

We also handed up grades for the top defensive backs and top offensive linemen. If you want to check out the measurements and testing results for every position group, we’ve also got that information covered and you can. 

3. Mock Draft Monday: Bills make bold trade into top five

If you’ve been reading this newsletter since the end of the Super Bowl, then you know that the first day of every week here is known as Mock Draft Monday. That’s where we give you a new mock draft, and this week, we have a big one from Ryan Wilson. The reason it’s big is because it’s our first post-combine mock draft.  

Wilson spent the past week in Indianapolis and after watching more than 300 prospects at the combine, I think it’s safe to say that this is going to be his most accurate mock draft yet. Let’s check out his top 10: 

1. Raiders: QB Fernando Mendoza (Indiana)
2. Jets: EDGE David Bailey (Texas Tech)
3. Bills (via trade with Cardinals): WR Carnell Tate (Ohio State) 
4. Titans: LB Sonny Styles (Ohio State)
5. Giants: S Caleb Downs (Ohio State) 
6. Browns: OT Francis Mauigoa (Miami)
7. Commanders: LB Arvell Reese (Ohio State) 
8. Saints: RB Jeremiyah Love (Notre Dame)
9. Chiefs: OT Spencer Fano (Utah) 
10. Bengals: EDGE Rueben Bain (Miami)

The most notable part of Wilson’s top 10 is that he has the Bills TRADING INTO THE THE TOP FIVE to land Tate. Buffalo is in desperate need of some receiving help and Wilson has them filling that need by pulling off a blockbuster trade. The Falcons made a wild trade in 2011 when they moved up from 27th to take Julio Jones at sixth overall. Wilson thinks the Bills, who have the 26th overall pick, need to consider doing the same thing this year. He broke down why Buffalo should look to make a blockbuster deal here. 

As for the rest of his mock draft, we have that here. 

For more draft coverage, you can hear in-depth analysis twice a week on “With the First Pick” — our year-round NFL Draft podcast with NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson. You can find “With the First Pick” wherever you get your podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube.

4. Franchise tag deadline is coming: Here’s what you need to know

The franchise tag window has been open for nearly two weeks and during that time, only two players have been tagged. If anyone else is going to get tagged, it’s going to have to happen by Tuesday at 4 p.m. ET, because that’s the deadline for using the franchise tag. 

If a team uses a tag on a player, the two sides will have until July 15 to work out a long-term contract. If a long-term deal can’t be hammered out, then the player will go into the 2026 season on a one-year deal that pays them at the franchise tag number for their position. 

Here’s a look at the players who have been tagged so far, along with what their one-year franchise tag salary will be for 2025 if no long-term deal is worked out: 

The Cowboys had been expected to tag Pickens, so that didn’t come as a huge surprise. As for the Falcons, Pitts is coming off one of the most productive years of his career and he’ll now be playing for a head coach in Kevin Stefanski who knows how to utilize a tight end, so it made sense for the Falcons to keep him for at least one more year. 

Although that’s only two tags, that number could get bigger over the next 24 hours. Here’s a look at the biggest tag question marks heading into the deadline: 

• Colts: QB Daniel Jones ($43.90 million). This is going to be one of the most interesting decisions that any team has to make this offseason. On one hand, Jones thrived in Indianapolis last year, so he likely wants a big pay day as a reward. On the other hand, he tore his Achilles in December and there’s no guarantee he’s going to be ready for Week 1. If the Colts decide that the franchise tag is too expensive, they could also use the transition tag on Jones, which would only cost $37.83 million. The difference between the franchise tag and the transition tag is that the Colts won’t get any compensation if a team steals Jones away, but they would get the opportunity to match the offer (With a franchise tag, the Colts would get two first-round picks as compensation if Jones were to sign with another team after being tagged). 
• Colts: WR Alec Pierce ($27.30 million). It’s going to be a busy 24 hours for the Colts. Not only do they have to try to get a deal done with Jones, but they also have to worry about Pierce. The receiver is only 25 and he’s led the NFL in yards per reception for TWO straight years, so it’s hard to imagine Indy letting him get away, but that might happen. If the Colts use a tag on Jones, then they can’t use one on Pierce because you can only use one tag per offseason (And that’s one total tag: Teams can’t use both the franchise tag and transition tag in the same offseason). 
• Jets: RB Breece Hall ($14.29 million). The Jets aren’t going to let Hall get away. At the NFL combine last week, Darren Mougey made it clear that the team will tag Hall if they can’t get a long-term deal done with him by Tuesday’s deadline. “The tags are an option,” Mougey said in Indianapolis. “Ideally we’d find a way to get a deal done and keep Breece around. I think I’ve said that for the last year since I’ve got here. Breece is a good player. Mougey did say “Tags” so it appears that the Jets might also consider using the transition tag, which would only cost them $11.32 million in 2026. 
• Bengals: DE Trey Hendrickson ($30.2 million). The pass rusher led the NFL in sacks in 2024, but last year, he missed 10 games due to injury and at his age (31), it’s hard to imagine the Bengals committing just over $30 million to him when they could use that money to fix other parts of their defense. That being said, it’s not easy to let a star pass rusher walk away, so the Bengals could certainly decide to pull the trigger on a tag here. 

Kenneth Walker III is also a franchise tag candidate, but it’s been reported that the Seahawks likely won’t use the tag on him, which means the Super Bowl MVP will likely be hitting free agency. 

5. Five teams that could be hit the hardest in free agency

The down side of being a good team in the NFL is that you have to pay your best players even more money to keep them, and if you can’t afford them, then they’re likely going to leave you in free agency. With that in mind, Jordan Dajani decided to take a look at the five teams who are likely going to be hit the hardest by losses in free agency this year. 

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

SEAHAWKS

PACKERS 

• Potential losses: LT Rasheed Walker, WR Romeo Doubs, QB Malik Willis, LB Quay Walker
• Dajani’s take: The most important free agent the Packers have is left tackle Rasheed Walker. CBS Sports has him ranked as the No. 19 free agent in this class, and he will command a contract that pays over $20 million per year. Pretty good for a former seventh-round pick out of Penn State. Walker is not the only offensive lineman from the Packers’ 2022 draft class that is looking for a new deal, as 25-year-old Sean Rhyan is a free agent as well.

BEARS 

• Potential losses: CB Nashon Wright, S Jaquan Brisker, S Kevin Byard, S Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, DL Andrew Billings, OT Braxton Jones
• Dajani’s take: There are some notable members of the Chicago secondary searching for new deals. Cornerback Nahshon Wright led the NFL in takeaways this year with five interceptions and three fumble recoveries — and accomplished this in his first full season as a starter. Wright was one of two players to record five interceptions and three tackles for loss, the other being teammate Kevin Byard, who led the NFL with seven interceptions in 2025. He’s a free agent as well. Then there’s Jaquan Brisker, the former No. 48 overall pick who would like to cash in. 

If you want to check out all five teams on Dajani’s list, you can do that here. 

6. Ranking all 32 NFL coaches based on their leaked NFLPA grade

The NFLPA report cards weren’t supposed to be available to the public this year, but they leaked out last week, so I decided to go through them to see at how each coach graded out. Who likes their coach? Who doesn’t like their coach? Glad you asked. The NFLPA had 1,759 players rate their team in 17 different categories. One of the most interesting parts of this survey is that it allows each player to anonymously rate their head coach, so you can get an idea of how well a coach relates to his players. 

Let’s check out the highest coaching grades that were handed out (Remember, these grades are based on the 2025 season, so there are several coaches on this list who ended up getting fired): 

• A+: Sean McVay (Rams), Dan Quinn (Commanders)
• A: Ben Johnson (Bears), Dan Campbell (Lions), Kevin O’Connell (Vikings), Nick Sirianni (Eagles), Mike Macdonald (Seahawks), Andy Reid (Chiefs), Mike Vrabel (Patriots), Aaron Glenn (Jets), Mike Tomlin (Steelers)

Last year, there were a total of six coaches who earned an A+, but this year, that number has been chopped down to two and Quinn is the ONLY coach in the NFL to earn an A+ in both years. Despite the Commanders’ struggles in 2025, he clearly never lost the locker room. Mike Tomlin might want to print out his grade and put it on the refrigerator because it shows that he went out on top. Tomlin was widely viewed as the ultimate player’s coach and he was clearly still well-liked after 19 years on the job. 

And now, let’s check out the coaches who got graded the lowest: 

• B-: Packers coach Matt LaFleur, Titans coach Brian Callahan/Mike McCoy 
• C+: Raiders coach Pete Carroll, Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh 
• C: Giants coach Brian Daboll/Mike Kafka 
• C-: Browns coach Kevin Stefanski

Out of the coaches who landed in this group, four of the six got fired. 

That means two of them didn’t get fired. One of those is Matt LaFleur, whose future in Green Bay was up in the air before he eventually signed an extension in late January. It would be interesting to know how his team feels about the extension considering his grade was so low. 

If you want to check out the individual grade for each coach from the 2025 season, you can do that here. 

Extra points: Browns make trade for starting tackle

It’s been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it’s nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

• Browns add a tackle. If there’s one thing the Browns need to add this offseason, it’s offensive linemen and they started that process on Monday by making a trade for Houston’s Tytus Howard. The Browns are sending a fifth-round pick to the Texans in exchange for Howard, who will be getting a new new three-year, $63 million extension in Cleveland, according to NFL Media. All FIVE of Cleveland’s starters from the offensive line in 2025 are set to hit free agency next week, so the Browns are essentially starting over from scratch. Howard will presumably be Cleveland’s starting right tackle, which means the Browns now just have four other jobs they need to fill on the line. We’ve graded the trade and you can see how both teams fared here.  
• Chiefs expected to cut Jawaan Taylor. If Kansas City can’t find a trading partner between now and the start of free agency, then the Chiefs are going to cut ties with Jawaan Taylor. The right tackle signed with the Chiefs in 2023 and has started 45 games with them over three seasons, but he struggled with penalties. Taylor still has one year left on his contract, but if the Chiefs cut him (or trade him), that will create roughly $20 million in salary cap space, which is one reason Kansas City has decided to move on. 
• Vikings expected to release two starters. It looks like Aaron Jones and Javon Hargrave have played their final down in Minnesota. Both players are expected to be released by the start of free agency if the Vikings can’t find a trading partner for either guy. Jones ran for a career-high 1,138 yard in 2024, but the 31-year-old missed multiple games due to injuries last season. As for Hargrave, he’s 33 years old and has a $21.7 million cap number in 2026, so the Vikings decided that it makes more sense to move on. With these two cuts, Minnesota will free up nearly $19 million in salary cap space. We’ve got the full details on these two looming moves here. 
• Falcons set to unveil new uniforms next month. After just six seasons in their current uniform, the Falcons have decided to dump the look. The Falcons announced on Monday that they’ll be unveiling a new uniform on April 2, so be sure to circle that date on your calendar.