Bills’ Stefon Diggs signing huge deal, plus dissecting Saints’ next move after trade and top 100 prospects

Well, kids, I’m sorry to report that John Breech is off today. Turns out he needed some extra time to celebrate Andy Dalton’s revival in New Orleans, which forced Blake Bortles off the Saints‘ roster this week. But that’s OK, because you’ve got me, Cody Benjamin, to deliver all the latest from around the NFL.

This is the Pick Six newsletter. Now let’s get to it. (And please, do yourself a favor and make sure you’re signed up to receive this newsletter every day! You don’t want to miss our daily offerings of everything you need to know around the NFL.)

We’ve got draft buzz, Stefon Diggs news, prospect rankings and much more:

1. Today’s show: Who won Eagles-Saints draft picks trade?

Draft experts Ryan Wilson, Josh Edwards and Chris Trapasso joined Will Brinson on Wednesday’s “Pick Six NFL Podcast” to break down hot topics, including the Eagles‘ recent swap of draft picks with the Saints. Some highlights:

• Brinson and Trapasso are convinced the Eagles clearly won the trade, giving themselves extra ammo for 2023 while retaining a pair of first-round picks for this year.
• Edwards suggested New Orleans’ swap is “part of a bigger move for the Saints, because otherwise” it’s hard to justify why the team made the deal right now. He doesn’t foresee any QB or even left tackle justifying the cost of their move up.
• Everyone agreed that Jalen Hurts is now positioned to get a final audition as the Eagles’ QB in 2022, with Philly having the flexibility to pursue an upgrade in the 2023 draft if things don’t work out.

Catch the entire episode (and subscribe for all kinds of daily NFL talk) right here.

2. Bills reportedly signing Stefon Diggs to $96M extension through 2027

This year has been kind to wide receivers, and Diggs became the latest to cash in on a lucrative deal Wednesday, signing a four-year extension that’ll keep him under contract for the next six seasons. Now set to earn roughly an average of $21.8 million per year over the remainder of the deal, Diggs will enter 2022 as one of the NFL’s top-five highest-paid wideouts. Josh Allen is no doubt happy about the news, completing a combined 230 passes to Diggs over the last two seasons.

3. Insider notes: Saints could be going all in for 2022

CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora doesn’t necessarily think New Orleans is eyeballing a big splash after its first-round pick swap with the Eagles. Instead, he reports the Saints may very well be looking for instant help elsewhere.

I wouldn’t jump to the conclusion that this is about a quarterback for them, or having enough draft capital to leap ahead of QB-needy division rivals like the Falcons or Panthers. New Orleans can be a tough team to read, but I spoke to multiple GMs who believe this trade is more about going all in right now (like their trade up for Marcus Davenport a few years back) than it is about finding their QB of the future or beating someone to the punch for that.

“The Saints in general play their cards very close to the vest, but I don’t think this is about moving up to grab a quarterback,” another GM said. “They really like Jameis (Winston) and I think they are looking around at the NFC, and thinking they have as good a shot as anyone, especially if they land two impact players with these picks. It feels more to me like the kind of move they made when (former coach) Sean (Payton) was there than it does about finding a quarterback for two or three years down the road.”

4. Panthers, Steelers eyeing top QB prospects ahead of draft

Both teams have been heavily linked to potential first-round QB picks in recent weeks and months, and now they’re not hiding their interest in signal-callers. Carolina, which owns the No. 6 overall pick, is set to host Liberty’s Malik Willis, Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett, Mississippi’s Matt Corral, Cincinnati’s Desmond Ridder, North Carolina’s Sam Howell and Western Kentucky’s Bailey Zappe for pre-draft visits in the coming days, according to TheMMQB. The Steelers, meanwhile, are prepared to meet with Howell and Ridder this week, per NFL Media — two potential targets at No. 20 overall.

5. Top 100 prospect rankings: Sauce Gardner headlines list

If you’re not quite up to speed on the draft prospects, Josh Edwards has just the thing for you: an updated ranking of the top 100 prospects in the 2022 class. Here’s a sneak peek at his top 10, which might surprise you:

1. CB Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner (Cincinnati)
2. CB Derek Stingley Jr. (LSU)
3. S Kyle Hamilton (Notre Dame)
4. OL Tyler Linderbaum (Iowa)
5. EDGE Kayvon Thibodeaux (Oregon)
6. OT Evan Neal (Alabama)
7. WR Garrett Wilson (Ohio State)
8. EDGE Aidan Hutchinson (Michigan)
9. WR Jameson Williams (Alabama)
10. OT Charles Cross (Mississippi State)

Check out Edwards’ full 100-prospect ranking right here.

6. Rapid-fire roundup: Trade rumors, new 2022 mock draft

Hungry for more headlines? Here you go:

• Pickett believes he’ll be first QB taken: And the Panthers just might prove him right
• Titans not shopping A.J. Brown: And the WR is tired of rumors to the contrary
• Saints hosting Tyrann Mathieu: The ex-Chiefs star is still searching for a new team
• Purple People Eater dies at 73: The Vikings are mourning the loss of Doug Sutherland
• Trapasso’s new mock draft: The Steelers find their QB of the future in the first