NFL Draft's most questionable picks, plus 2026 schedule rumors and biggest post-draft question for every team

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Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

May the Fourth be with you. With everyone talking about Star Wars today, I thought about ranking every Star Wars character in existence, but apparently, there are more than 20,000 named characters in the Star Wars universe, and I only know 11 of them, so I'm not qualified.

Although we don't have a Star Wars ranking today, we do have a loaded newsletter: We examine the most questionable draft pick that each team made, plus we have a schedule rumor and one post-draft question for every team.

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

1. NFL Draft: Most questionable pick by each team

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The NFL Draft ended nine days ago, but we're going to keep talking about it because our draft writers keep giving me things to discuss.

When it comes to the NFL Draft, there are some good picks every year, some bad picks and then there are some picks that cause everyone to scratch their head. Those are the most questionable picks.

That last group is the one we'll be covering today. CBSSports.com draft guru Josh Edwards came up with one questionable pick for each team, and the crazy part is that for five of those teams, their most questionable pick came in the first round, so those will be the picks we're going to focus on:

• Cardinals: RB Jeremiyah Love (Third overall). Love's inclusion on this list is a philosophical belief rather than a statement on the player. The Cardinals had bigger needs than running back, particularly along the offensive line and quarterback. If they are not competitive from the jump, then it is wasting career touches at a position with a shorter career span.
• Rams: QB Ty Simpson (13th overall). Simpson should not have to play this year and maybe not for a few years, but he is already an older prospect. The issue I had with the player is that he has one season of starting experience and he was injured for a portion of that year. Is durability going to be an issue throughout his career?
• Vikings: DL Caleb Banks (18th overall). Banks was not a big reach in terms of talent, but the injuries are a concern, especially for a player of his size. Minnesota has not gotten a lot of pop from its draft classes in recent years, so it may have been beneficial for them to be more risk-averse.
• **Panther OT Monroe Feeling (19th overall).**Why is it questionable? Although Freeling was playing his best football at the end of the season and is still relatively young, there is a lot of technical refinement that needs to occur, and progress is not always linear.
• Chargers: EDGE Akheem Mesidor (22nd overall). Mesidor is a 25-year-old rookie who did not break out until his sixth and final season. Philosophically, it's not a profile I can get on board with in the first round.

If you want to see the full list of questionable picks from Edwards, be sure to click here.

2. Biggest post-draft question facing each NFL team

With the NFL Draft now in the rearview mirror, that might make it seem like most of the big offseason questions have been answered, but we're not quite there just yet. There's still a lot to figure out. I know that because Tyler Sullivan came up with 32 different questions that still need to be answered before the start of the season.

Sullivan came up with one big question for each team, and you can see five of them below:

• Chiefs: Will Patrick Mahomes be ready to play in Week 1? All eyes are on Patrick Mahomes as he recovers from a torn ACL he suffered in December. Head coach Andy Reid recently said that Mahomes is on track to take part in Kansas City's OTAs, albeit possibly on a limited basis. The central question with Mahomes is whether he'll be ready to suit up for the Chiefs in Week 1 or need extra time to rehab before taking the field again. That'll be a fascinating balancing act for Kansas City to go through this offseason.
• **Patriots: Will the Mike Vrabel story continue to linger?**The most scandalous story of the offseason resides with the defending AFC champions and reigning Coach of the Year. Mike Vrabel was photographed with former NFL reporter Dianna Russini at a Sedona resort before the NFL Annual Meeting in Phoenix earlier this offseason. The two, who are married to different people, were pictured hugging, interlocking hands, and in a hot tub, which called into question the nature of their relationship. From a football standpoint, it doesn't appear like Vrabel's status as the Patriots' head coach is at risk, but the story does continue to linger, with additional nuggets coming out seemingly every week. If that continues, does it become even more of a distraction for Vrabel and the team than it already is as they prepare for the 2026 season?
• Falcons: Will Michael Penix be healthy enough to compete with Tua Tagovailoa? Penix is working his way back from a torn ACL he suffered in November. The 2024 first-round pick has a growing history of injuries, so it's no guarantee he'll be 100% by the time things really heat up at training camp. At the NFL Annual Meeting earlier this offseason, head coach Kevin Stefanskipraised the tenacity Penix is bringing to his rehab, but didn't provide much when asked if he'd physically be ready to play Week 1. If Penix isn't in top form, that only creates even more of an inside track for Tagovailoa, and this battle could be a swift knockout.
• Colts: Will Anthony Richardson be traded? With Daniel Jones now entrenched as the Colts' starter and inking a two-year, $88 million extension this offseason, the future for Richardson in Indy is nonexistent. The former first-round pick has requested a trade, and the Colts granted him permission to speak with other clubs regarding the possibility of acquiring him. Despite that, no deal has come to fruition at this point.
• Rams: When will Puka Nacua land his extension? It's a matter of when Puka Nacua will sign his extension rather than if. The Rams receiver is entering the final year of his rookie contract, making him ripe to sign a monster new deal. Given that Nacua has a claim as the NFL's top wide receiver, his extension could reset the market and outdo the four-year, $168 million deal that the Seahawks signed Jaxon Smith-Njigba to earlier this offseason.

If you want to see all 32 questions that still need to be answered, be sure to check out Sully's full story by clicking here.

3. NFL Draft trade that almost happened: Cowboys made a blockbuster offer to the Browns

It's not often that NFL fans get behind-the-scenes access to what goes on in a team's war room during the NFL Draft, but that's exactly what we're getting this year thanks to "The Pick is In." The documentary, which ESPN and Skydance Sports produced, aired on Sunday night, and it offered an unprecedented look into how three teams handled the draft (Cowboys, Raiders, Browns).

There were a lot of interesting moments, and here are the three that really caught my eye:

• Browns were eyeing three players if they stayed at sixth overall. The Browns entered the draft with two first-round picks (Sixth overall, 24th overall), but they didn't end up making the former because they sent the selection to Kansas City. If the Browns stayed at six, they were eyeing WR Jordyn Tyson, OT Spencer Fano or OT Francis Mauigoa. At ninth overall, not only did they get one of their guys in Fano, but they also added two picks (74th, 148th). They turned around and traded pick 74 to the Giants for three more picks (105th, 145th and a 2027 fourth-round pick). They also traded away pick 148, which went to Seattle in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
• **Cowboys made blockbuster trade offer to Browns.**After the Browns traded down to ninth overall, they got a call from the Cowboys, who made a blockbuster offer: The Cowboys wanted to trade their two first-round picks (12th and 20th) along with a fifth-round pick for Cleveland's two first-round picks (ninth and 24th). However, Cleveland turned down the deal. For the Browns, the trade just didn't make much sense. They were eyeing two tackles -- Fano and Mauigoa -- and if they had traded back to 12th, those two tackles likely would have been off the board going to the Giants (10th overall) and Dolphins (11th overall). The Giants ended up taking Mauigoa, while the Dolphins traded back one spot (in a deal with the Cowboys) to take OL Kadyn Proctor at 12th overall.
• Cowboys outsmarted Eagles. With the Cowboys on the clock, they were definitely ready to make a deal, but Stephen Jones wanted it done on his terms. At one point, someone in the Cowboys war room told Jones to "Just call Howie," referring to Eagles general manager Howie Roseman. However, it seems that Jones wanted Roseman to call the Cowboys so that Dallas would have more leverage in the deal. "If we call, we're going to be giving him a sixth," Jones said. "I'm hoping he'll call and say we'll do it for the two [fourth-round picks]." Jones' decision to wait paid off. In the end, it was Roseman who called Dallas and the Cowboys got exactly what they wanted in the trade: They got their two fourth-round picks and they didn't have to send a sixth-round pick back to Philadelphia.

It's fascinating to see everything that goes on during the draft, and this documentary just gave us a small taste of how hectic each team's war room is over the course of the three-day event.

4. 2027 NFL mock draft: Quarterbacks dominate the top of the draft

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This year was NOT a good draft for quarterbacks, but that likely won't be the case next year. That's because the 2027 class appears to be loaded. And the only reason I know that is because Ryan Wilson has FOUR quarterbacks going into the top eight of his 2027 mock draft.

That's right, Wilson just did a 2027 mock draft. Sure, the 2027 NFL Draft is still 11 months away, but it's never too early to start arguing about who's going to end up going where. The biggest name in next year's draft is Texas QB Arch Manning and although he could end up going first overall, that's not how Wilson sees things playing out.

Before we get to Wilson's mock, here's one important note: To figure out the draft order, we used the reverse Super Bowl odds.

With that in mind, let's check out Wilson's top 10 picks:

**1. Jets:**QB Dante Moore (Oregon)  **2. Cardinals:**QB Arch Manning (Texas)  3. Dolphins: QB Jayden Maiava (USC)
**4. Browns:**WR Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State) 
**5. Titans:**EDGE Colin Simmons (Texas) 
6. Raiders: OT Trevor Goosby (Texas)
7. Saints: EDGE Dylan Stewart (South Carolina)
**8. Steelers:**QB Darien Mensah (Miami)
9. Panthers: CB Leonard Moore (Notre Dame) 
**10. Falcons:**DT David Stone (Oklahoma)

Besides the quarterback position, the other big winner here would be Texas, which has four players going in the top 10. If you want to check out Wilson's full mock draft, we've got that here.

The draft coverage never ends here at CBS Sports and 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.

5. NFL schedule rumors: Release date still up in the air

At some point this month, the NFL is going to release the 2026 schedule, but as of today, we still don't know when.

The league seems to be targeting a date between May 12 and 14, but that's not set in stone yet. So what do we know? During a recent interview, Mike North, the league's vice president of broadcast planning, revealed that the release could be pushed to the third week of May.

• What North said. "Most fans know full well that the schedule comes out in mid-May now," North said on the "It's Always Game Day in Buffalo" podcast. "That's what we've done the last five or six years. That's sort of our target. Is there any magic to May 12, 13, 14? No. Is there any real downside to [May] 19, 20 or 21? No." Basically, we shouldn't rule out the release of the schedule being pushed back a week.
• Why the schedule could be delayed. There are multiple factors that can slow down the scheduling process, and this year one of them is that the NFL is trying to sell a five-game package. The new package would include the Australia game in Week 1 (49ers-Rams), a potential Thanksgiving eve game, a second Black Friday game, a Christmas Eve game and one other game, according to PFT. "These five games that are out there as a package that are being negotiated right now, love to know when, where those games are going to be played so we can schedule them accordingly," North said. Front Office Sports reported on April 16 that YouTube was in "advanced" talks to land those five games, but it's unclear whether a deal has been finalized yet.
• Roger Goodell has to approve the final schedule, and that hasn't happened yet. So why can't the leaguejust give us a date? Well, if the NFL said the schedule would be released on May 14 and it wasn't ready on May 14, that would be a problem. Roger Goodell has to sign off on the final version of the schedule before the league announces a release date. "It doesn't get finalized until the commissioner of the National Football League says it's finalized," North said. "That's why I'm being coy about the date. I don't know the date."

The one thing to keep in mind is that the schedule could still be released on May 13 or 14. The NFL doesn't need much lead time. In 2024, the league announced on May 13 that the schedule would be released on May 15, so if we get through this week and there's still no release date, that doesn't necessarily mean that May 12-14 won't happen. If there's no announcement by next Monday (May 11), then there's a good chance we'll see the release pushed to the following week (May 19-21).

You can read North's full comments about the schedule here. If you want a sneak peek at what we already know about the schedule, we've got that here.

6. Extra points: Patrick Mahomes on track to participate in OTAs

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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.

• Patrick Mahomes might participate in OTAs. Apparently, Mahomes is bionic. The Chiefs QB, who tore his ACL in December, could participate in OTAs, which kick off for Kansas City on May 26. "He is in a good position to be able to do some things," Reid said of Mahomes. "If he can do some things, [he'll do it]. Phase 2 [of the offseason program], remember, there's no contact and there's no offense versus defense," Andy Reid said over the weekend, via ESPN. "It's Phase 3 that you get into that. ... He's in a position where he can do everything, I think." We've already seen video of Mahomes throwing so it seems possible that he'll be able to do that at OTAs. The fact that he'll be out there doing anything is certainly an encouraging sign.
• Colts don't pick up Anthony Richardson's fifth-year option. At this point, it's probably safe to call Richardson a bust. The Colts had until May 1 to decide whether to pick up his fifth-year option and they declined, which means the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft will officially be a free agent after the 2026 season. Richardson started just 15 games during his three seasons in Indy, and he already wants out: The QB made a trade request back in February, so we could see him dealt in the near future. If you're wondering who got their fifth-year option picked up, we have the full list here. Tyler Sullivan details what's next for Richardson, right here.
• Browns hire former NFL general manager. The Browns clearly love having a consultant on their payroll. In 2024, the Browns hired Mike Vrabel to serve as a consultant. This year, they're bringing on former NFL general manager Trent Baalke to serve as a consultant, CBS Sports Inside Matt Zentiz has reported. Baalke's last NFL job came from 2021-24 when he was the GM of the Jaguars.
• DK Metcalf won't face criminal charges for incident with fan in Detroit. Metcalf won't face charges for his high-profile run-in with a fan in Detroit. The Steelers receiver got into an altercation at Ford Field in December, during which he threw. "After an extensive review of all the relevant evidence, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office has determined that charges will not issue in this case," the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said . The fan  "did not appear to be injured, nor did he seek medical attention at the game," which factored into the decision.