Justin Fields trade grades, plus best bargain signings in NFL free agency and a new three-round mock draft

The Pick Six newsletter dives into Monday's big Justin Fields trade and a multi-round mock draft

John Breech

Mar 16, 2026

12:57 pm ET

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10 min read

Welcome to the Monday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

If you're like me, it should feel like we're all going to have the same plans for today: Fill out brackets for three hours, pretend to work, fill out more brackets and go home. If you are going to fill out a bracket, be sure to do it here at CBS Sports because we definitely have the best bracket challenge.

If you take a break from filling out your bracket at some point, hopefully you find some time to read Monday's newsletter, because we have a lot going on today: Not only do we have some landing spots for the best available free agents, but we grade EVERY team based on what they've done so far this offseason. Oh, and JUSTIN FIELDS got traded.

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

1. Justin Fields trade grades: Chiefs acquire former first-round QB from Jets

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When it comes to making trades, the Jets have been one of the busiest teams in the NFL. They made another deal on Monday by shipping Justin Fields off to Kansas City, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones reported. This marks the fourth time over the past 18 days that the Jets have pulled off a trade.

Here are the terms of the deal (via ESPN):

- Chiefs get: Justin Fields

- Jets get: 2027 sixth-round pick

Fields has $10 million in guaranteed salary for the 2026 season and as part of the deal, the Jets will pay $7 million of that, according to NFL Media. After the Jets traded for Geno Smith, it was pretty clear that the team was ready to move on from Field, and now, he's gone after just one season in New York.

Let's grade the trade:

- Chiefs grade: A. With Patrick Mahomes recovering from a torn ACL that just happened in December, his availability for Week 1 is far from guaranteed. The backup QB spot is an important position in Kansas City this year, and although Gardner Minshew had the job last season, he left for Arizona, which put the Chiefs in desperate need of some quality. That's where Fields comes in. The best part of the Chiefs is that they got him for almost nothing: It's a 2027 draft pick, and the Jets are paying almost all of Fields' salary. Even if Mahomes can play in Week 1, the Chiefs still need a strong back to come in and take most of the offseason snaps, so even if Fields doesn't see a lot of playing time during the regular season, he's going to essentially be the top guy on the depth chart for most of the offseason while Mahomes is out.

- Jets grade: C. The Jets signed Fields last year with the hope that he could be their QB of the future, but instead, like most things with this team, the decision blew up in their face. This trade means the Jets end up paying Fields about $30 million for nine starts during the 2025 season. The Jets sent a sixth-round pick to Las Vegas for Smith, and now, they're getting a sixth-round pick back in this deal with Kansas City, so they essentially traded Fields for Smith. That feels like a lateral move. The Jets are also paying most of Fields' salary for 2026, which means they're paying him to NOT be on the team. The only upside for the Jets is that they got SOMETHING in return. If they had cut Fields, they would have gotten nothing, so getting a sixth-round pick out of the deal can be viewed as a slight plus.

We've got the full story on the trade here.

2. Best bargain signings in free agency: 49ers get a steal in Mike Evans

When it comes to free agency, some teams overpay to add a few key players and others add great value. After spending his weekend at Wal-Mart, there is no one more qualified to talk about great value than Jared Dubin, so he detailed the best bargain signings from the first week of free agency.

- Mike Evans to the 49ers (three years, $42.4 million). Evans' contract was reported as one of those deals that could be worth "up to" $60 million, but this is the base value, and it is a steal. He provides the Niners with a high-quality outside threat to complement Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle in the short and intermediate areas and over the middle. We've seen how successful this type of X receiver can be in a Kyle Shanahan-style offense before. Even late in his career, Evans is well worth this deal.

- Nakobe Dean to the Raiders (three years, $36 million). Dean is a really, really good player ... when healthy. And the only reason he was available for just $12 million per year is because of the health part of the equation. If the Raiders get the type of play out of Dean that he showcased at the height of his powers, though, they will be very happy that they brought him in alongside former college teammate Quay Walker, who got a similar contract.

- Kenneth Gainwell to the Buccaneers (two