NFL coach rankings are here, plus QB battle predictions and our top 100 players ever

Hello football friends, and welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I'm not sure how it's possible, but there is actually going to be a football game this week. This is not a drill. I repeat: There is going to be an actual football game this week.

As of today, we're just three days away from the first game of the NFL preseason. It all kicks off Thursday when the Cardinals face the Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game, and although I'm sure those two teams will be excited to kick off the 2026 preseason, I have some bad news for their fan bases: No team has ever played in the Hall of Fame Game and gone on to win the Super Bowl that same season. Of course, the Cardinals and Panthers have never won a Super Bowl, so maybe that won't bother them.

Anyway, before we get to Thursday's game, we have a lot of ground to cover, so let's get to today's rundown.

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1. Ranking the top 10 coaches in the NFL: NFC West takes the top three spots

Last week, we wrapped things up by ranking the top 10 players at every position in the NFL, and this week, we're kicking things off with another top 10 ranking: the league's best head coaches.

Here's how we came up with the rankings: We had 12 of our NFL experts cast ballots, with each voter submitting a personal top 10. A coach received 10 points for a first-place vote, nine points for second place and so on, down to one point for a 10th-place vote.

After all the votes were tallied, I learned one thing: The NFC West is absolutely loaded with top-tier head coaches.

Here are the top five names in our rankings:

1. Sean McVay (Rams)
2. Mike Macdonald (Seahawks)
3. Kyle Shanahan (49ers)
4. Andy Reid (Chiefs)
5. Sean Payton (Broncos)

If you read our full story, you'll not only see the full top 10, but you'll also see how the voting broke down. For instance, McVay was ranked first or second on all 12 ballots. On the other hand, Reid was ranked as low as seventh and as high as second, and he didn't receive a single first-place vote.

You're definitely going to want to check out our full rankings, and you can do that here.

2. Training camp: Breaking down the biggest QB battles

Now that the first week of training camp is in the books, it's time for the good stuff. Things should start heating up this week, especially when it comes to the biggest QB battles around the league. There likely won't be any winners decided this week, but we could see the frontrunners begin to separate themselves with a strong week of practice.

There are currently four QB battles around the league -- Browns, Vikings, Falcons and Raiders -- and Tyler Sullivan broke down all of them. Let's check out his predictions for the battles in Cleveland and Minnesota:

VIKINGS QB BATTLE

• Players involved: J.J. McCarthy vs. Kyler Murray
• Prediction: Murray starts Week 1
• Sullivan's take: It's hard not to see Murray coming out on top. McCarthy is coming off a 2025 season, his first as the full-time starter, in which he struggled mightily. He went 6-4 over 10 starts while completing 57.6% of his passes, averaging 163.2 passing yards per game and throwing 11 touchdowns against 12 interceptions. His 72.6 passer rating ranked last among qualified quarterbacks. While McCarthy seemed to find his footing down the stretch (4-0 record with a 100.4 passer rating), that didn't stop Minnesota from signing Murray in free agency. While Murray has a shaky injury history (he has missed 30 of a possible 68 games over the past five seasons), his talent provides a much higher ceiling for Kevin O'Connell's offense.

BROWNS QB BATTLE 

• Players involved: Deshaun Watson vs. Shedeur Sanders
• Prediction: Watson starts Week 1
• Sullivan's take: Watson hasn't played since tearing his Achilles in Week 7 of the 2024 season. He also suffered another tear in that same Achilles tendon during rehab, which caused him to miss the entire 2025 season. All told, he's played in just 19 games over the past four seasons since arriving in Cleveland in the blockbuster trade with the Texans. While he's shown plenty of rust during camp, Browns coach Todd Monken seems to be giving him the space to shake it off and, at times, it feels like Watson has the inside track for the job.

NOTE: Although Sullivan is predicting Watson will win this battle, Garrett Podell recently laid out what Shedeur needs to do to steal the job, and you can check that out there.

If you want a breakdown of the QB battles in Atlanta and Las Vegas, we've got those here.

3. Best pass-rushing rooms: Rams at the top, Dolphins at the bottom

With Myles Garrett joining the Rams this offseason, it certainly feels like Los Angeles now has the best pass-rushing room in the NFL. Just to be sure, Carter Bahns decided to rank all 32 pass-rushing rooms, and yep, the Rams landed at the top.

If you want to win in the NFL, it certainly helps to have a good pass rush, so the Rams are in good shape. That's not the case for every team, though. With that in mind, let's check out the bottom three teams in Carter's rankings:

30. Titans

• Key contributors: John Franklin-Myers, Jermaine Johnson II, Jacob Martin, Keldric Faulk
• Bahns' breakdown: Robert Saleh got the band back together. Franklin-Myers, Johnson and Martin all played for him during his Jets tenure. Perhaps their familiarity with each other and the success they shared will make this unit better than the sum of its parts. If not, there's a first-round pick in Faulk waiting behind them, ready to step into a meaningful role as a rookie.

31. Panthers

• Key contributors: Jaelan Phillips, Patrick Jones II
• Bahns' breakdown: If not for the injury Nic Scourton suffered on the first day of training camp, the Panthers would rank several spots higher. Instead, his season is over before it even begins due to a torn ACL. Neither Phillips nor Jones is exactly reliable when it comes to staying on the field, either, so this group could quickly unravel.

32.  Dolphins

• Key contributors: Chop Robinson, Josh Uche
• Bahns' breakdown: The complete rebuild in Miami extends to the edge-rushing unit. As a first-round pick two years ago, Robinson is the kind of young talent the Dolphins can build around if he begins to show signs of stardom. He hasn't taken that step yet, but his new coaching staff might be able to get him on track.

As I said at the top, Bahns ranked all 32 teams, and if you want to see his full list, you can do that here.

4. Heading Down Under: Rams and 49ers disagree on best traveling strategy for Australia

For the first time in NFL history, there's going to be a game in Australia. One reason it took so long for the NFL to head Down Under is because of the travel logistics. For the first time, two NFL teams will cross the international date line to play a regular-season game.

The 49ers and Rams will kick off at 10:35 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 11, in Australia, which will actually be an 8:35 p.m. ET kickoff on Thursday in the United States thanks to the 14-hour time difference between Melbourne and the Eastern time zone. The time change will be even more dramatic for the 49ers and Rams because Melbourne is 17 hours ahead of the Pacific time zone, where both teams are based.

This could be a game where the team with the better travel plan gains a small edge, which makes things especially interesting because the 49ers and Rams have completely different philosophies on how they'll handle the trip.

Let's take a look at each team's travel plan: 

• Rams will be keeping it short and sweet. The Rams have been secretive about their Australian travel itinerary, but Sean McVay did offer a small hint this week. The L.A. coach said the plan will mirror what the Rams did for their London game last year. In October, the Rams became the first team in NFL history to arrive in London on a Saturday, just one day before kickoff. They went on to win 35-7, so it's easy to see why McVay wants to stick with that approach.
• How the Rams' plan might work in Australia. The flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne takes nearly 16 hours, so if the Rams want to arrive the day before the game, they'd likely have to leave L.A. on Tuesday, Sept. 8. That itinerary would put them in Melbourne on Thursday, Sept. 10, about 24 hours before their Friday morning kickoff against the 49ers.
• 49ers will practically be vacationing in Australia. Although the Rams have been secretive about their travel plans, the 49ers have been an open book. Kyle Shanahan revealed exactly what his team plans to do shortly after the schedule came out in May. The 49ers are scheduled to leave San Francisco on Wednesday, Sept. 2, with an expected arrival in Melbourne on Sept. 4. That's right, they're heading to Australia a full week before the game. They don't want to travel during game week because they don't think that would give them enough time to acclimate to the 17-hour time difference, so they're leaving a full NINE days before kickoff.
• Shanahan isn't buying into the Rams' plan. The 49ers coach doesn't want to make a short trip because he thinks it could "mess" his team up.

If you want the full breakdown of each team's plan, you can check that out here. 

5. Ranking the top 100 players in NFL history: Tom Brady is the GOAT

We wanted to make sure everyone had something fun to argue about to start August, so we decided to rank the top 100 players in NFL history.

Our resident historian, Bryan DeArdo, handled the rankings, and I have to say I agree with his entire list except for who he has at Nos. 24, 33, 71 and 98. Just kidding. I randomly came up with those numbers.

This list is actually pretty solid, and DeArdo crushed it, especially with the top 10.

TOP 10 PLAYERS IN NFL HISTORY

1. QB Tom Brady
2. WR Jerry Rice
3. RB Jim Brown
4. RB Walter Payton
5. QB Joe Montana
6. QB Peyton Manning
7. LB Lawrence Taylor
8. DE Reggie White
9. RB Barry Sanders
10. QB Dan Marino 

The highest-ranked active player is Aaron Rodgers at No. 11. Patrick Mahomes came in right behind Rodgers at No. 12. Mahomes is entering just his 10th season, so there's plenty of time for him to crack the top 10, and maybe even climb higher, before he retires.

You can see our full top 100 list here. 

6. Extra points: Mike McCarthy wants Aaron Rodgers to play in the preseason

It's been a busy few days around the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything, I put together a quick roundup for you.

• Aaron Rodgers' preseason revenge tour could be coming. Steelers coach Mike McCarthy wants to see Aaron Rodgers on the field for Pittsburgh's first two preseason games, and apparently, he wants his quarterback to play a lot. "He [wants me out there for] 30 or 40 plays," Rodgers told The Athletic. "I said, 'Mike, if you want me to play, I'll play.' I'm not saying I want to do it. But if he wants me to, I will." The Steelers open the preseason against the Jets and Packers, giving Rodgers a chance to face his two former teams.
• Hard Knocks debut coming Tuesday. The Seattle Seahawks will be featured on "Hard Knocks" this year, and the first episode premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO. The show has never featured the reigning Super Bowl champion, so that alone could make it worth watching. A new episode will air every Tuesday through Sept. 1.
• Aaron Donald's return looking more and more likely. It's still not clear whether Aaron Donald is going to return, but Sean McVay made an interesting comment over the weekend. The Rams coach said the arrow is "trending upwards" on a possible return. McVay also made some interesting facial expressions when he was asked about Donald during an interview with CBS Sports HQ, and you can see those expressions here.
• Jadeveon Clowney signs with Texans. Eight years after leaving Houston, Clowney has decided to return to the team that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2014. After being drafted first overall, Clowney spent five seasons with the Texans before leaving following the 2018 season. The 33-year-old racked up 8.5 sacks with the Cowboys last season, proving he can still be productive as a rotational player. Houston's defense was already one of the NFL's best, and it just got even better. You can read more about Clowney's signing here.