Pick Six newsletter: Top 100 NFL free agents | A.J. Brown trade scenarios

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

What a wild week it’s been in the NFL. The franchise tag window opened Tuesday, and things got off to a crazy start with exactly zero players getting tagged.

OK, so that’s actually not crazy at all. To be honest, it’s kind of boring. One person who doesn’t do boring is Pete Prisco. To spice up the week, Prisco released his annual list of the top 100 free agents. We’ll take a look at it in today’s newsletter, plus we’ve got plenty more to cover, so let’s get to the rundown.

As always, here’s your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. 

1. Prisco ranks the top 100 free agents, and an offensive lineman takes the top spot

Pete Prisco usually takes a six-month vacation after the Super Bowl, but he put that off this year to rank the top 100 free agents. NFL free agency kicks off in less than three weeks, and before that happens, we want to make sure you know who the top available players will be.

There aren’t many big names in this year’s class, but the goal of free agency isn’t to sign a big name — it’s to find a player who fits your system. Last year, the Seahawks and Patriots were two of the four highest spenders in free agency, and it worked out pretty well for them, with both teams reaching the Super Bowl.

With that in mind, let’s check out the top 10 free agents on Prisco’s list: 

1. Ravens C Tyler Linderbaum
2. Bengals EDGE Trey Hendrickson
3. Cowboys WR George Pickens
4. Colts WR Alec Pierce
5. Chiefs CB Jaylen Watson
6. Eagles EDGE Jaelan Phillips
7. Chargers EDGE Odafe Oweh
8. Broncos EDGE John Franklin-Myers
9. Bills C Connor McGovern
10. Falcons TE Kyle Pitts

One interesting note about Prisco’s top 10: there’s a good chance not all of these players will hit free agency. Pickens is expected to get the franchise tag, and if that happens, he won’t reach the open market. Then there’s Hendrickson, Pierce, Oweh and Pitts — four more players who could also receive the tag.

Another interesting wrinkle: there aren’t any quarterbacks in the top 10. Any team that needs a quarterback will likely have to explore trade options — like Kyler Murray or Tua Tagovailoa — and Kirk Cousins will likely get cut by the Falcons. Until that happens, though, we can’t include him among the free agents.

If you want to see ALL 100 NAMES on Prisco’s list, we have that right here. 

If you want to complain to Prisco about his rankings, head over to his X account. I’ll start with the complaints: For the 19th straight year, there were no kickers on the list. I’ll do my best to get him to include one next year.

2. Malik Willis landing spots: Where the Packers QB might end up

In Prisco’s free agent rankings, only two quarterbacks land in the top 50: Daniel Jones at No. 14 and Malik Willis at No. 31. Jones could get tagged by the Colts, but even if he doesn’t, it’s hard to see him leaving Indianapolis. If Jones stays put, that makes Willis one of the hottest names on the quarterback market — which sounds absolutely crazy when you consider he has just six career starts.

So where will Willis end up? Glad you asked. Doug Clawson identified a few possible landing spots for the 26-year-old, who went 2-1 as a starter during his two seasons under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay.

• Cardinals. Arizona makes sense if it can find a trade partner for Kyler Murray. New head coach Mike LaFleur is Matt LaFleur’s brother, and both come from the Sean McVay coaching tree. Cardinals offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett spent three years under Matt LaFleur in Green Bay. The system fits, and Willis could develop a connection with Marvin Harrison Jr.
• Dolphins. Miami makes sense if it moves on from Tua Tagovailoa, who appears primed to land on the list of offseason casualties. Former Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley is now the head coach in Miami. The supporting cast wouldn’t be ideal, though, given the lack of talent on the roster.
• Steelers. Willis could serve as a strong Plan B in Pittsburgh if Aaron Rodgers retires and nixes a potential reunion with Mike McCarthy. McCarthy worked with Dak Prescott in Dallas and Rodgers in Green Bay, so he would appreciate Willis’ ability to play off schedule.

Clawson took a deep dive into Willis’ four-year NFL career, and if you want to read the full story, you can do that here. 

3. Why the Cowboys could lose Brandon Aubrey: Possible landing spots for the All-Pro kicker

Brandon Aubrey is one of the best kicking weapons in the NFL, and there’s a chance he could be on the move this offseason after three years in Dallas.

Aubrey is set to become a restricted free agent, which differs from unrestricted free agency. If he and the Cowboys don’t work out a long-term deal before free agency opens March 11, Dallas would need to place a one-year restricted free agent tender on him. For the 2026 offseason, here are the three tender options (contract estimates via OverTheCap):

• First-round tender ($8.02 million for one year)
• Second-round tender ($5.81 million for one year)
• Right-of-refusal tender ($3.55 million for one year)

If the Cowboys use one of these tenders, another team could still make an offer. Dallas would have the right to match. If the Cowboys decline to match, the signing team must send a draft pick based on the tender level. A first-round tender would cost a first-round pick, a second-round tender would cost a second-rounder, and a right-of-refusal tender would bring no compensation.

Since Aubrey could leave Dallas, I looked at a few possible landing spots. These two make the most sense:

• Rams. Since taking over in 2017, Sean McVay has never had a true long-range kicker like Aubrey. In three years with the Cowboys, Aubrey has hit seven field goals from 59 yards or longer. The Rams have ZERO field goals of 59 yards or longer during McVay’s nine seasons. In 2025, Los Angeles was one of three teams without a single field goal longer than 52 yards. As crazy as it sounds, four of the Rams’ five regular-season losses might have gone differently in 2025 if Aubrey had been on the roster.
• Falcons. No team endured a bigger kicking nightmare in 2025 than Atlanta. The Falcons finished tied for first in the NFC South at 8-9 and probably would have made the playoffs with more reliable kicking. They lost three games that likely would have flipped with Aubrey. They also cycled through three kickers. Basically, he would solve a lot of problems.

I got a little crazy and wrote nearly 2,400 words about the Aubrey situation. You can read the entire thing here (trust me, you’ll want to).

4. A.J. Brown trade scenarios: Bills and Patriots should call the Eagles

With A.J. Brown disgruntled in Philadelphia, he could land on the trade block this offseason. If that happens, plenty of teams will be interested in adding his services. Tyler Sullivan put together several possible landing spots and trade packages, so let’s check them out.

Proposal 1: A.J. Brown to the Bills

• Bills get: A.J. Brown
• Eagles get: 2026 second-round pick (No. 60 overall)

Breakdown: Josh Allen needs a true No. 1 wideout to push Buffalo over the top, and Brown may have enough left in the tank to fill that role. Considering the Bills want to maximize the window they have with Allen in his prime, they should be willing to pay up.

Proposal 2: A.J. Brown to the Patriots

• Patriots get: A.J. Brown
• Eagles get: 2026 third-round pick (No. 95 overall), 2026 fifth-round pick (No. 169 overall)

Breakdown: The link is obvious: Mike Vrabel. Brown played under Vrabel with the Titans, and the two reportedly remained close even after Brown’s trade to Philly — a move Vrabel reportedly was not a fan of.

Proposal 3: A.J. Brown to the Broncos

• Broncos get: A.J. Brown
• Eagles get: 2026 third-round pick (No. 94 overall), 2026 fifth-round pick (No. 168 overall)

Breakdown: Denver has been rumored to be looking for a wide receiver for a while, and Brown would be a major splash alongside Courtland Sutton. Pairing those two with Bo Nix in the red zone, while Sean Payton orchestrates the offense, could prove lethal, especially with arguably the league’s best defense.

Sullivan came up with a total of five trade proposals, and if you want to check out all of them, you can do that here.  

5. 49ers might travel more miles in 2026 than any NFL team ever

Hopefully, no one on the 49ers’ roster fears flying, because San Francisco is about to rack up more air miles than any other team in NFL history. The NFL announced Wednesday that the 49ers will serve as the home team for a game in Mexico City.

Here’s what you need to know:

• 49ers are making NFL history. San Francisco will play two international games this season — Week 1 against the Rams in Australia and another in Week 13 or 14 in Mexico City. The 49ers will become the first team to play two international games in the same season that don’t occur in back-to-back weeks. (The Jaguars have played back-to-back games in London multiple times, and the Vikings played in Dublin last year before traveling to London.)
• 49ers could travel more than any team ever. With two international games, the 49ers will travel just over 38,100 miles in 2026, which would be the most ever in a regular season. The 2025 Chargers topped 37,000 miles, but no team has reached 38,000. The Rams are also playing in Australia, but their projected total sits around 35,000 miles. San Francisco also has cross-country trips to Atlanta and the Giants. If the NFL pairs those into one road swing, it would shave nearly 4,000 miles off the total. In that case, they wouldn’t break the all-time travel record. We won’t know for sure until the schedule releases.

With the 49ers being sent to Mexico City, the NFL’s international schedule is taking shape. There will be a total of nine games this year, and here’s what we know about them so far:

• Melbourne (Rams vs. 49ers)
• Rio de Janeiro (Cowboys vs. TBA)
• Wembley (Jaguars vs. TBA)
• Paris (Saints vs. TBA)
• Mexico City (49ers vs. TBA)
• London (TBA vs. TBA)
• London (TBA vs. TBA)
• Munich (TBA vs. TBA)
• Madrid (TBA vs. TBA)

Although 12 slots remain up in the air, we know the Commanders, Falcons and Lions will serve as home teams. A Wednesday report also indicated the Giants will play internationally.

The rest of the international schedule will likely be released when the NFL unveils its full regular-season schedule in May. 

6. Extra points: Bears could actually move to Indiana

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.

• Bears to Indiana actually could happen. The Bears are currently on the hunt for a new stadium, and Indiana is doing everything possible to give them a new place to play in the Hoosier State. The state senate will be voting on an amendment to Senate Bill 27, and if it passes, it would put the framework in place to get a deal done. „The passage of SB 27 would mark the most meaningful step forward in our stadium planning efforts to date,“ the Bears said in a statement. Under this proposal, a stadium would potentially be built in Hammond, Indiana, which sits about 25 miles away from Soldier Field in downtown Chicago. What this all means is that if Illinois doesn’t get serious, it could end up losing the Bears.
• The Seahawks are for sale. If you want to buy the Seahawks, all you need to do is round up a few friends and try to come up with about $7 billion, because the team is officially for sale. „The Estate of Paul G. Allen today announced it has commenced a formal sale process for the Seattle Seahawks NFL franchise, consistent with Allen’s directive to eventually sell his sports holdings and direct all Estate proceeds to philanthropy,“ the team said in a statement on Wednesday. Paul Allen bought the team in 1997 and owned it until his death in 2018. After that, his trust took over ownership, with his sister, Jody, holding the day-to-day responsibilities of running the team. We’ve got more details on what is expected to be a record-setting sale, and you can check those out here.
• Rashee Rice facing domestic assault lawsuit. The Chiefs receiver is facing some serious legal trouble after his ex-girlfriend, Dacoda Jones, hit him with a lawsuit this week. The lawsuit makes many damning claims against Rice, including the fact that he „grabbed, choked, strangled, pushed, thrown, scratched, hit, and headbutted Ms. Jones, as well as hit her with inanimate objects.“ Rice was suspended for the first six games of the 2025 season due to off-the-field conduct that involved a hit-and-run in Dallas, and now he could potentially be facing even more punishment from the NFL. We have full details on the lawsuit here.
• Member of the Steel Curtain dies. Former Steelers safety Mike Wagner, who won four Super Bowls with the team during the 1970s, passed away this week at the age of 76. „Mike played a key role on our championship teams of the 1970s. As a member of four Super Bowl-winning teams, his toughness and consistency were paramount to our secondary. His contributions on the field were significant, but it was also his steady presence and team-first mentality that truly defined him,“ the team said in a statement. The two-time Pro Bowler, who was an 11th-round pick in 1971, started 116 games for the Steelers during his 10-year career in Pittsburgh. You can read more about Wagner here.
• Cowboys introduce new defensive coordinator. After a 2025 season in which the Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the NFL, the team will try to turn things around under new defensive coordinator Christian Parker. The 34-year-old spent the past two seasons with the Eagles, and one reason he might work in Dallas is because he’s basically the opposite of his predecessor, Matt Eberflus. Garrett Podell was in Frisco on Wednesday for Parker’s introductory press conference, and you can read his full takeaways from the day here.