Post-Draft Outlook for Every NFC Team

00:00:05
Speaker 1: Welcome to NFL Daily, where fish are always one pound I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm here in the Chris Westling podcast studio with Patrick Clayband and Jordan Rodriege of The Athletic and yes, the the YouTube sensation song one Pound Fish. I just learned it just a day ago, and now it won't leave my head and most listeners will.

00:00:26
Speaker 2: Know what I'm talking about, and maybe some won't.

00:00:28
Speaker 3: I learned about it forty five seconds ago.

00:00:29
Speaker 4: I feel like I just discovered like Gangam Style in twenty twenty five.

00:00:32
Speaker 5: I encourage you all to check out the remixes done by DJs.

00:00:36
Speaker 6: Put some beat behind it. It's pretty. It's that thing went to tour through the countries.

00:00:42
Speaker 1: I thought about singing it to start the show, and it would come off racist somehow, and I just decided not to.

00:00:49
Speaker 4: See how easy it is, folks, Yeah, do you see how easy?

00:00:52
Speaker 6: Great call, good decision.

00:00:54
Speaker 1: I'm just fascinated, and we're going to get to every single team in the NFC today, by the way, But I'm fascinated by how like a YouTube video or a meme can suddenly like catch fire among elementary school kids in the year twenty twenty five, like ten years after it's happened, because this is the hottest song in the in the Santa Monica school system right now, all the kids are singing it.

00:01:19
Speaker 5: And to think I woke up this morning and did not even know that and did not even think that it needs the information that would be coming across my radar.

00:01:28
Speaker 4: Today And now hundreds of thousands of people have access to the one pound Fish.

00:01:32
Speaker 1: Yes, because I hadn't heard of it before, so so google it. Twenty one million views. This is the show where we're going to go through every single team in the NFC and we're going to talk about their draft. We're going to talk about what's ahead, anything that is left over. And I haven't gotten your guys's thoughts on the draft, at least not since day one with Patrick, but we had six rounds after that and none from Jordan, and I'm really excited.

00:01:56
Speaker 2: I'm saying we didn't have your draft thoughts, so it's all going to be new.

00:01:58
Speaker 6: None for Gretchen wieners By.

00:02:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, like, what what is left over? What's to do?

00:02:02
Speaker 1: We can take it in any direction that we want. This is really my favorite time of the NFL calendar because it's just it's the chill.

00:02:09
Speaker 2: Time from now.

00:02:11
Speaker 6: But we had Greg season.

00:02:12
Speaker 2: Mid middle of July, we had Now we're here.

00:02:15
Speaker 5: Ball with the regular season, we had the end of Greg season. I kind of want to know, like what this we had draft season? This is just chill. Let's just take let's just take it down a notch. But let's also make some great shows and let's put two and a half minutes we're going to do on the clock. Yeah, we're going to make it even harder because we're just going to go over ultimately, So it's like this will this will bake in two and a half minutes.

00:02:40
Speaker 2: Why are you laughing? And you know what we're going to do.

00:02:42
Speaker 1: We're going to start with the NFC South because I feel like the NFC South it never gets the love that it deserves except for.

00:02:53
Speaker 2: When I'm on the microphone.

00:02:54
Speaker 1: So why don't we go Let's start with the New Orleans Saints. And that's Patrick Eric behind the glass. You're going to put two and a half minutes on the clock. Let's do it New Orleans Saints.

00:03:06
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:03:06
Speaker 4: The New Orleans Saints twenty twenty five draft just looked looked at in a vacuum. You could make a case for it. But unfortunately, the New Orleans Saints don't exist in a vacuum. They exist in the twenty twenty five edition of the NFL with their previous mistakes and blunders. And I look at this and my general question about this team now at this point in the off season is what is the actual plan. Kelvin Banks comes in, presumably for Waga, stays at left tackle. Kevin Banks plays at right tackle. They've they got Tyler Shuck. Regardless of what you think about Tyler Shuck, he's a quarterback who has experienced playing quarterback extensive.

00:03:46
Speaker 6: In terms of years, very extensive.

00:03:48
Speaker 3: He only he's.

00:03:49
Speaker 4: Only actually started twenty five games, but in terms of his experience at the time on Earth right right, he does have that. Relative to the other prospects. I did like to pick up a Devin Neil out of Kansas. I think he can add something to the backfield where it's really been Alvin and then a significant fall off, which is there is always going to be a falloff, but generally, considering the quarterbacks comments and his circumstances, what is the plan for this first.

00:04:13
Speaker 2: Time their jobs? It's the same plan as always. That's it.

00:04:16
Speaker 1: There's no plan beyond this year. It's just to keep our jobs another year. And on paper, it's very similar to the plan that they had with Dennis Allen, which I think in a perfect world is we got a lot of players on defense, We have invested in our offensive line. We think where our offensive line is going to be good enough, Alvin Kamara is going to run the ball, and that's the type of team that we're trying to be.

00:04:39
Speaker 6: I do like that this is sort of a very like I guess, like waspy reaction to the Derek Carr situation, where it's like we're going to pretend that issue doesn't exist.

00:04:48
Speaker 5: We're going to go get a bridge quarterback and Tyler Schuck. We're going to get a massive human being to help protect him. And Calvin Banks Junior because we have watched the tape of him under pressure and I actually really my one of my favorite pick that the Saints had in this draft was the Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutzman, because he's such a Saints player to me, like he flies around, he's aggressive, he's tough. So they're continuing to add some youth to this defense as well as continuing to beef up the offensive line and they have a bridge quarterback and we're just going to pretend Derek carrs well, you.

00:05:18
Speaker 2: Can't pretend he was.

00:05:19
Speaker 1: He was on camera at an event at a church where he got really mad about how the media has portrayed it and his whether his injury is real or not. And to that, I just think, like, where did the injury information come from? It probably came from Derek Carr's camp.

00:05:35
Speaker 4: Yeah, he's the only person that knows if there's an issue with how it's being covered.

00:05:40
Speaker 3: Enlightened everyone, not just when.

00:05:43
Speaker 6: Good place to do that at lightning, you know, a church.

00:05:46
Speaker 4: Yeah, the church audience or Twitter dot Com or NFL Daily.

00:05:50
Speaker 1: Come on, we've had him on before. Let's do it again. David came on of course with Derek back in around the NFL. All right, let's go to the care of Panthers. Jordan.

00:06:01
Speaker 5: Yes, I saw the direction and the vision they wanted to go with McMillan. Hear me out. The Panthers wanted to finally get their own Mike Evans after years of getting punished by Mike Evans. Their defense has and had too many questions to expect all of it to get fixed just in this draft. They made some moves in free agency as well, but I do like that they went offense and best player available with their top pick when they were unable to trade back, as you heard they did want to trade back. Here's where I think the Panthers are fine to good quarterback, offensive line, tight end, receiver, and actually with Derek Brown back from the injury, I think their D line and specifically the interior of that D line are going to be fine. But you really have questions about their defensive backfield. I know they've made some moves. I would love to see Trevon Morgan the slot. He played very well in the box, but I have concerns about the depth of their corners and safeties and insidelinebacker.

00:06:52
Speaker 1: Fair I think fine to good might be projecting that Ted McMillan is the guy right away that you hope that he is, which with their recent receiver picks hasn't been the case. He's obviously better than Jonathan Mingo or Terris Marshall or Xavier Lguette, but yeah, it's it's hard to forget about those. Hunter Renfro is now on the team. We found out that he had an autoimmune disease that got him down to one hundred and fifty pounds, and so that explains why he wasn't in the NFL. So that's an interesting player to watch who could also help out Bryce Young. If he's back to being Hunter Renfro, that would be amazing. Although to be fair, he was looking like he was declining with the Raiders, but I don't know if that was impacted by his disease.

00:07:34
Speaker 2: So shout out to Hunter Renfro.

00:07:35
Speaker 3: Good to be back. Yeah, glad to have him back.

00:07:36
Speaker 4: One of the better route runners in the entire league, with respect from all over the league. My thing was because the initial reaction to the Ted McMillan pick that I had was just the defense was so bad. Yes, so they come back and they get Nick Gorton out of Texas A and M, where I know his counterpart of Texas A and M was the more athletic prospect, but probably the safer floor was Nick Gorton. And that's really like the player that they need because it's kind of the whole plane is built out of, like what's remaining of Jadavian Clowney right now in terms of getting some pass rush and so like it's tough to go into a season like that. But you see the vision is just ted really has like TMAC excuse me as the young man would like to be called, really has to go off for this to look like it was the right I.

00:08:19
Speaker 1: Think they took the highest ceiling player like available at every pick. So shout out to Eric Eager, former PFF employee, now the analytics guy.

00:08:27
Speaker 2: Over at the Panthers.

00:08:28
Speaker 1: I don't know if he made those picks, but if he contributed, I like what you did.

00:08:31
Speaker 5: I do know one thing I know Dan Morgan is listening to him, and I think that's that's a smart thing to do.

00:08:36
Speaker 1: Er Iki I kwanmu. Why, by the way, got a fifth year option picked up? I will go with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Put it on the clock, and yes, we're going to try to get in every little bit of information into these two and a half minutes, even if it's not draft related. Draft related, we can be talking about anything we want.

00:08:54
Speaker 2: Bucks. I would have loved if they had gotten another edge.

00:08:59
Speaker 1: But when you look at taking Emica Muka in the first round, it's like, oh, no, we have too many weapons. It's like, oh, we have too many good receivers short and long term that all play different but complimentary roles like Oh, No, I have to say, it's a great day for the Baker believers out there, like yourself, Patrick, because I've been feeling it all off season. This team is like first tier super Bowl contender right now. Baker, to me is the biggest question that they have because even Edge, even Edge son Reddick Yah Yadyabi, Chris Brazl was a second round pick. Well, it's true, though, you gotta you gotta make the you gotta be so good unless you have a top five quarterback to win the super Bowl.

00:09:45
Speaker 6: Right he's playing to type. I mean that's fine.

00:09:47
Speaker 3: No, I love it. Yeah, the bit lives forever.

00:09:49
Speaker 6: The bit lives forever. I loved I like most of their drafts.

00:09:53
Speaker 5: To be honest with you, I don't think they have many bad drafts, and I really liked we suggested this. We were wrong on a lot of things about our mock draft, but we did talk about the potential and the real possibility that the Bucks do add a player with such upside and long term potential as a Chris Godwin and Amika Buca will go and play for them right away. Even though they do have a full room. I do believe that the ceiling of this team is true contention, not just springes of contention.

00:10:20
Speaker 4: And the message that I'm getting from this particular draft is that Light and Bowls feel confident with the development of the front seven picks that they've taken in previous years, where it's not as much of this we have to do this. We can take an opportunity with Abuka there early on where I yeah, I feel like we also see Baker as the same like I think the positions that we have in that maybe in our quarterback rankings that maybe like a difference of three.

00:10:46
Speaker 6: I was trying to fight for him on quarterback Island all freaking year. I mean, it's siller clear.

00:10:51
Speaker 2: What continuity they have.

00:10:52
Speaker 1: The entire offensive line is back, all the skill position players are back. You're just adding Aguga to this mix. It's pretty awesome. And the second and third round quarterbacks Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parish, they are two guys who I think Todd Bowles has a vision for it. They've had their hits and misses in the secondary, but I'm looking forward to what they add to the team.

00:11:12
Speaker 6: Well, what I especially like is doubling up at these defensive positions where they did need help last year zero.

00:11:18
Speaker 2: I like the double epl strategy in general. Let's go to the Atlanta Falcons.

00:11:24
Speaker 4: Speaking of doubling up the twenty twenty five Atlanta Falcons, and I will make an impassioned defense of Terry font No trading up. I understand the future first feels like a lot. If it's if they're playing for somebody else, then it doesn't necessarily matter to Terry Fonto or to this edition of the Falcons. They trade up to get James Pierce Jr. So whether it's Jalen Walker or James Pierce Junior, if one of those guys pans out, ultimately we'll look back and say that this draft was a success. They didn't have a lot of picks, they only took five picks, but they also get Exavier Watts, the safety out of Notre Dame, who was one of the top recruits in the country when he initially committed to Notre Dame has a lot of production there and they've been waiting for that edge for so long. I think it's perfectly reasonable and worthwhile if they expect that pick to be in the twenty five through thirty two range to go ahead and trade it and take a shot and get an athletic guy who can cause a lot of problems for quarterback.

00:12:21
Speaker 5: Now, I do have a little insight on this as someone who is in the room on the other side of that trade when they were making the move with the Rams. First of all, the Rams were completely surprised by the fact that someone came in they were trying to trade back, and we're going to trade back. They were completely surprised by the fact that someone was willing to offer a first round pick. But in watching what the Rams actually did a year prior in doubling up along the defensive front in Jared Verson, Grade and Fist. Now this is a different scenario because it's not two teammates who have that chemistry together, but they ran some of the same tests, in the same analyzes and trying.

00:12:55
Speaker 6: To figure out what two players would we like.

00:12:57
Speaker 5: To pair together in order to fix And I think with James Pierce, there was questions pre draft about like how much he loves football, all of this stuff. Well, when you're around Rahee Morris, you're gonna love football. And so I think that that's where they also factored in the character of the head coach.

00:13:11
Speaker 1: I think the issue is just how many draft knicks thought James Pierce isn't a natural football player, that he has the speed but doesn't needs a lot of work, a lot of refinement, boom er bus player and all those people might be wrong, and the Atlanta Falcons might be right. I think that was more what people were mad at. I do worry though they added no draft picks, no significant free agents on offense at all this offseason. It was all defense all the time. So the offense to me is just as much a Terry Fonteau does he keep his job test as anything, because that's the group that he's been building up for five years and they were like, you're good over there. It's not like they were the best offense in the league last year, so they better be great on offense.

00:13:51
Speaker 4: That guy just making his first five starts in the middle of a playoff run.

00:13:54
Speaker 1: Also, Kirk Cousins might be stuck. He might actually be stuck in Atlanta.

00:14:00
Speaker 6: And save kirkus, pretend the problem doesn't exist.

00:14:03
Speaker 1: Right, Let's go to the NFC East next up. Why don't you get us going Jordan with the Cowboys.

00:14:13
Speaker 5: Oh man, am I excited about this. I've thrown a lot of shade at the Cowboys over about the past year, particularly on this show, because of how they handle their contracts or how they pretend that they're not handling their contracts and then all of a sudden fly through and overpay at the last minute.

00:14:30
Speaker 6: But my god, can these guys draft?

00:14:32
Speaker 5: Like, kudos to Will McLay take a bowt this is his time?

00:14:36
Speaker 6: What the regular season is to you? Greg? This is Will McClay season for the Dallas Cowboys.

00:14:41
Speaker 5: I still don't know who can truly be a difference maker at running back on this team, and that clearly the team is saying it wants to run the ball in twenty twenty five.

00:14:49
Speaker 6: Hello Tyler. Booker, by the way.

00:14:51
Speaker 5: Is really going to help them, And a lot of the local chatter is also about needing a number two receiver. But I absolutely love the three pick punch that they started with with Booker, who's a guard out of Alabama who I think is going to be a monster. Donovan is Easeraku out of Boston College, and Chavon Revel out of East Carolina. I love that they went addressed trenches and then they also addressed another position that they need to keep replenishing at cornerback.

00:15:15
Speaker 6: So I liked this draft a lot.

00:15:17
Speaker 1: Amari Cooper is being rumored to possibly be on his way back, which would be a very Cowboys move, and yet I think the best move and a really necessary move because they wasted a pick. I think it's going to be a waste on trading for Jonathan Mingo. Like they don't have a second receiver, they don't have an exciting running back. All the all these quarterbacks that got helped out. We talked about it with Daniel Jeremiah on our Last forties and Free Agens. Dax Prescott was not necessarily one of those guys. I know Tyler Booker could help. But the pass rush is pretty exciting.

00:15:47
Speaker 3: Yeah, the opportunity there.

00:15:48
Speaker 4: And to double up on what Jordan said about Shavonn Revel because the circumstance and the player makes me think of Antonio Coramarti coming out of Florida State where he had the ACL tear kind of pushes him down the board a little bit. And here's ravel like dealing with this injury who's like six one two five. Uh, they can flat out fly makes a lot of plays on the ball. Kind of takes them back to that DQ era of the Cowboys defense. With guys that can make plays on the ball. Jayden Blue might get some push in the in the backfield, like maybe that's your answer running back. I think generally they need to decide that they want to run the ball, and after the coaching change, we're gonna get a little more of a commitment to that. I feel like it's not going to be like a late season Cooper Rush has got to play it. Let's just pound pound the rock.

00:16:35
Speaker 1: It's a big chance for Eberflus to come back in a big way because this is going to need to be a defensive team for all the pop and we can pause and take a little extra time for a few teams. Maybe we'll here, We'll take a time out here. Let's just take a time out on the old Cowboys.

00:16:49
Speaker 2: We get them.

00:16:50
Speaker 1: Sure, the Giants are gonna get a lot of pop for their pass rush. We're about to talk about them. Micah Parsons to Marian Overshown, got to get healthy as Araku and Dante Fowler.

00:17:02
Speaker 2: I mean that's pretty good.

00:17:03
Speaker 1: I might take that actually over the Giants group not bad because it has Michael Parsons. I mean, any any group that starts with Michael Parsons that matters. And then I did want to mention Jerry Jones went out of his way to throw some shade at Trevon Diggs and how hard he attacked his rehab. There was a setback in his rehab from his knee injury, had another surgery, and there's worries about.

00:17:25
Speaker 2: Him long term, and he he.

00:17:27
Speaker 1: Said something like basically that he hopes he approaches this rehab better than he did the last one, which was like, whoa, But Jerry's just saying stuff out there.

00:17:35
Speaker 3: I mean, what was usual? What was the presumed problem with the with the rehab?

00:17:39
Speaker 1: Well, according to some reporting, just that he didn't work hard enough, essentially.

00:17:45
Speaker 4: So he re injured his knee not working hard enough. That that's the reporting from the people who do not have Trayvon Diggs's knee.

00:17:51
Speaker 5: It's a logic out of the Star, you know, right.

00:17:54
Speaker 2: I feel like you had more to say on the Cowboys to oh.

00:17:57
Speaker 5: I just love that they kind of gave eberplut eber Flew some very eber Flue players, some of the Detackle talent that they have, including you know, the guy that they drafted out of UCLA. I do think that he in terms of this like one gapping type of really like stout front with edge rusher's flu Kaytoya flying off the outside. Yeah, I mean, I'm just saying I think I like that they keep there. They're playing to type with the coaches. They're not just saying Okay, you know, I like this about Will McClay. He's kind of always done this where he's like, we're gonna go get good players that also fit what our coaches want, versus we're gonna go get good players that I want or that Jerry Jones specifically once.

00:18:40
Speaker 6: They do a little of that too.

00:18:42
Speaker 5: But I do like it seems like the communication, like he especially knows how to communicate with that coaching staff on specific needs and wants.

00:18:49
Speaker 2: I'm fascinated to watch them.

00:18:50
Speaker 1: And speaking of playing to type, NFL media taking an extra minute or two on.

00:18:55
Speaker 2: The Cowboys a little a little too cliche. I apologize.

00:18:58
Speaker 6: I mean I've spent a lot of time this year ripping them.

00:19:03
Speaker 2: That's fair. Let's go New York Giants.

00:19:07
Speaker 1: Yeah, the pass rush is so deep there, and I think everyone thinks of the big names initially, you know Abdell Carter and Brian Burns and Caveon Thibodeau's now got the fifth year option, but you kind of forget that they also signed Chauncey Golston. You also have Dexter Lawrence of course, and then as a Pro Bowl player, and then they also drafted Darius Alexander as a defensive tackle. So they're not just going like deep on the edge, they're deep in the middle. They're with guys that have different types of skill sets like Johncey Golston maybe a little bit more of a run stopper there. It is on Shane Bowen, their defensive coordinator, who did not play well, I mean, who did not coach his group up well last year. And at the end of the year, the owner John Mara said, well, to be frank, like, our defense was really disappointing, and that guy is still the coordinator there, so he better deliver because he's got some players on his side.

00:20:02
Speaker 4: It's just as great as the idea of this Giant's pass rush is. Like the quarterback situation is a mess, Like you have an extra quarterback that could contribute, Like what role does Jamis actually serve in New York at this point?

00:20:17
Speaker 6: Anything you want, anything you can imagine if it was an.

00:20:21
Speaker 1: Actual competition, I would take my chances with him over Russell Wilson in twenty twenty.

00:20:26
Speaker 2: Yeah, and Jackson Dart for that matter, same exactly.

00:20:29
Speaker 1: But he might end up as the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback. That's my oh my god.

00:20:33
Speaker 4: But like Brian Dable is going to have like a weird quarterback situation to determine whether or not he is just Mike Schula to Cam Newton's Josh Allen.

00:20:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, like at a certain point, what a good.

00:20:50
Speaker 1: Throw one he's wearing the NFL Network polo he's winning.

00:20:57
Speaker 6: What a freaking poll is your name? Tyler Booker?

00:20:59
Speaker 2: Right?

00:21:00
Speaker 4: I just well, it's because the quarterback situation has been so bad. Four out of the last five years they have been thirtieth or worse in total offense, like absolute bottom of the league. And I understand there was that year they go to Minnesota, they win the playoff game and it's like projections are up nothing and injuries aside, like it at least have something and there's been nothing.

00:21:25
Speaker 6: My prediction is that Dable and that coaching staff.

00:21:28
Speaker 5: They're gonna want to show very quickly that Jackson Dart there's a reason that they became, you know, reportedly enamored with him through the late stages of the process.

00:21:38
Speaker 6: There's a reason why they trade it up to go get him.

00:21:41
Speaker 5: I think they're gonna use him in that versatile run and throw kind.

00:21:45
Speaker 6: Of situation while he settles into being a pass.

00:21:48
Speaker 2: Yeah. Over under week, I'm gonna say four.

00:21:51
Speaker 4: Well, that's tough because it's New York, so he's gonna have to try extra hardbreak.

00:21:55
Speaker 1: They also did very well in terms of like the draft grades and stuff. Actually, I don't know if that's true. I haven't looked at any draft gads, but I just assume because whenever a team drafts a lot of guys, you know, then they do well in the draft grades. And they drafted Skataboo, who I'm really excited about. They drafted Darius Alexander, who I think got a lot of pop throughout the process, and then even Mbo I don't know how to pronounce his name, Mobo Marcus in the fifth round. Like it's just another guy who's got a lot of pop throughout the process. So when you draft guys, people know you get good grades. All right, let's wrap up the NFC East with the Washington Commanders.

00:22:26
Speaker 5: Jordan, Yeah, so I liked their draft. It was very small. They didn't have a lot of picks. It's going to take them a little while, I think, to rebuild like the young core of this roster. We know that that's why they go out and spend in free agency on veterans. I do actually want to open here with some news before we get to the picks. So this week DC representatives and Commander's team representatives announced their agreement to build a new sixty five thousand seat football stadium on the current RFK Stadium site in northeast Washington, which seemed to.

00:22:53
Speaker 6: Be a majority what a majority of the fan base wanted.

00:22:57
Speaker 5: And it still needs approval from the DC City Council, but if approved, it is scheduled to open in twenty thirty.

00:23:03
Speaker 2: We could be going to a Super Bowl there.

00:23:05
Speaker 1: Now, there's been a lot of false starts with this stadium process, so I guess I won't take it as official until it's official, but it would be another indoor stadium, yes, outdoors, the indoors. Now Buffalo's going indoors. Washington's going indoors.

00:23:19
Speaker 5: It'll have a roof obviously, but then also there is going to be a designated affordable housing allocation around the district of it. And then also thirty percent of the property needs to be allocated toward green space and some of it will go along the riverfront. And what I thought was interesting because we're seeing all kinds of different stadium promises and all of that, but the Bowser administration sid the commander's contribution to the new stadium will actually be about seventy six percent of the total cost and twenty four percent with the city contribution. And if they go over any of the projected costs, the team is responsible for paying those costs. So juxapose that with the Titans new stadium, which is sixty forty public investment sixty or the Jaguars Stadium, which is fifty fifty.

00:24:03
Speaker 2: I hate any public investment, you know.

00:24:05
Speaker 5: I know, why don't you just go build a five billion dollars stadium in the back.

00:24:09
Speaker 2: Yeah, well, I'm not a billionaire, you know.

00:24:11
Speaker 6: No, I'm saying the billionaires should be doing this exactly.

00:24:14
Speaker 2: Shout out to Matt Gae got a job.

00:24:16
Speaker 1: Four point five, guaranteed to be the Commander's next kicker, big news on Tuesday.

00:24:22
Speaker 2: I was excited about that. I was.

00:24:24
Speaker 1: I thought they have had a weird offseason. I haven't loved it. I thought Josh Connorley even was a little bit of a weird pick, just because you immediately have to move him to right tackle. Same thing with Brandon Coleman, who was their left tackle last year.

00:24:35
Speaker 5: So I love the tree Amis pick. Yeah, it takes that defense better instantly.

00:24:40
Speaker 1: And it's kind of a marsh On Lattimore insurance policy, which you need with his injuries.

00:24:44
Speaker 4: It's it, but it's kind of like the early reactions to Severance and and or season two, where the first edition was so incredible that you look at this offseason and it's like, oh, where's the where's the crown breaking shift? Where it's just like this is this is life Commanders.

00:24:59
Speaker 1: Well, hopefully it'll be more like Wired season two in the long run, which at the time people were like, what is this? This isn't the show I signed up for, And then over time I think people appropriately appreciate it.

00:25:13
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:25:13
Speaker 5: Well, even if when I covered a game at the Commanders stadium it was raining and rain came pouring into the press box and rooms several computers.

00:25:23
Speaker 1: Yes, really, hopefully at this new stadium, they can figure out that the plumbing doesn't, you know, go all over the also a fan.

00:25:33
Speaker 6: I think apossum lives up there too.

00:25:35
Speaker 3: Shout out to him.

00:25:36
Speaker 6: Hopefully he or her didn't some sewage can be safely.

00:25:39
Speaker 1: Didn't people get toilet water on them and whatnot?

00:25:41
Speaker 4: I believe so that was that was because like the issue also included right the upper level laboratories.

00:25:50
Speaker 1: Shout out to Jaden daniels Man who just came in there as a rookie and just gave great vibes to a place that hadn't had it for decades. Speaking of great vibes, the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, I assume the vibes are still good after only a portion of the team.

00:26:07
Speaker 4: Well yeah, I mean, you know, we talked about having to stage to sage a historically harmful venue. The Philadelphia Eagles traveled to sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue. A portion of them did. Some new Eagles didn't make it yet. Jahat Campbell got drafted, which elicited a lot of the typical how he does it again? Reaction because you have a marquee player from a big program who had production in college that had an injury concerned that caused him to fall down the board.

00:26:37
Speaker 3: The Eagles were able to snap him up.

00:26:38
Speaker 4: Then they get Macouba out of Texas, who was the less athletic safety in that Texas secondary.

00:26:45
Speaker 3: But he goes there. The athletic scores on him not too.

00:26:48
Speaker 4: Great, but I will point out solid player that Brian Branch also had a low relative athletic score. A few guys have at that position that have plenty of success in the NFL. And this is the the draft of a team that won the Super Bowl. But despite that, they have ten picks, Like there's a lot of picks for for Howie and the Eagles. They get Colin McCord, another veteran life like, a longtime college starter that threw four billion yards last year and the year before to come in and fill up a backup role.

00:27:22
Speaker 3: Just a Super Bowl champ.

00:27:23
Speaker 2: Draft quarterback factory.

00:27:25
Speaker 1: I do want to get back to the White House thing, but I did notice how they took three big swings late on the offensive line, two at tackle. One was Cameron Williams and Miles Hinton was another one, and I noticed the ravens of that too. A couple teams did it, taking these big swings late on like two or three tackle prospects because it's so fine of hard to find these linemen. Can you develop in them in a couple of years, it seems.

00:27:50
Speaker 5: I wanted to talk. As you guys were talking, I was pulling up his profile. Dane Brugler wrote a great write up over on the On the Beast about Drew Kendall the center where I think in a couple of years because of how much he's already done. He was at Boston College, so within that Bill O'Brien offense, in that run game, especially where they're doing a variety of different things. You know, I feel like, low key there are a couple guys out of Boston College on that offensive line this year that I think are going to be really good pros. And Drew Kendall, to me, is a total You're going to forget where he was for like two years, and all of a sudden he's going to emerge as like one of the next really really good offensive line. Cam Jurgens, Yeah, like Cam Jurgens, I mean, they keep they keep refilling using this same formula and this same strategy, similar to a lot of teams actually had reds, which means they took him off the board because the injury concerns of Johah Campbell, who is one of the best players in the draft. But the Eagles are going to find a way to make it work.

00:28:43
Speaker 1: Let's take a time out here. We'll give it to the Eagles too. We got three, got three to use. Yeah, Drew Kendall, by the way, a fifth round pick. So it is testing Stotland University to take these late round guys and see if they can become a big time starters. But it has been reported that they tried to trade up as high as to the Chargers at twenty two. That was I believe, trying to make a deal for Johad Campbell, who we had in you know, the top ten of our ARMCK draft.

00:29:10
Speaker 6: And because without the injury, he is in the top ten.

00:29:13
Speaker 1: Right and and in theory could start over. You know, we'll see about Nakobe Dean getting healthy, but that's a tough recovery that he's going to have, and so Jehad Campbell might not be ready for Week one either. But at some point he could be starting, Like, I like that they're not dogmatic. This is a team that now is spending on inside linebackers and running. It's kind of like it's the whole moneyball thing that, like, once everyone starts copying what you do, you need to find the margin somewhere else.

00:29:42
Speaker 2: Now he does it again, and then Yeah, I.

00:29:49
Speaker 1: Did appreciate that Jalen Hurts and a lot of the players were not at the White House, and then a lot of the players were. It really a lot of the defense wasn't The wide receivers weren't really there, quarterbacks weren't there.

00:30:02
Speaker 2: That was kind of how it broke down.

00:30:03
Speaker 5: I think that Jalen Hurts, who was on the cover of Time magazine recently, has carried himself really, really well this offseason. I mean, the spotlight has never been more on him, especially after winning another Super Bowl, winning the Super Bowl, and I think that in the contract and so I think he has really carried himself well this offseason.

00:30:24
Speaker 3: Yeah.

00:30:24
Speaker 4: And the player that carried the team really for the majority of the season in Saquon Barkley, who was in a labor struggle of his own along with his fellow running backs a few years ago has made a decision right to be on a particular side of history. But the one thing that leaps out to me is the idea that the visit was politicized. And I can't think of a more apolitical institution than the building at sixteen hundred Pennsylvania Avenue and the Office of the President, which is inherently political, which everything is the way that we determine who should be treated a certain way and how they should be that's everything is politics, and so it's an asen thing to say, and it's very disappointing from one of the best players in the NFL.

00:31:11
Speaker 1: It is, and I'm sure the rest of the Eagles organization, including ownership, everything is just happy that that's over and that they can move on.

00:31:20
Speaker 2: We are going to move on.

00:31:20
Speaker 6: The Giants started weighing in, even my god, yeah, the.

00:31:23
Speaker 2: Giant Giants trying to correct the record. Let's go to the NFC West and the NFC North right after great back on NFL Daily.

00:31:42
Speaker 1: It's the best division in football, maybe three of the best five teams in the NFC, certainly on paper, and the Bears with an argument to have one of the better rosters as well.

00:31:54
Speaker 6: They won the offseason again, guys, they I know.

00:31:56
Speaker 1: But looks so believable. This time, let's start with the division winner. I'll get us going with the Lions. It's Lions two point zero, and I think they're at the point and they have been at other points in their process of like, can we just identify players better than other teams can identify players? Because Tyler Williams, he felt like a pick that was made maybe after the position group that they were focusing on got taken a lot. Tyler Williams, who's more of a nose tackle, exciting player. Twenty eighth overall, Tate Rutledge goes a little earlier than you would have expected guard out of Georgia. And then they really were feeling themselves, trading two thirds to get Isaac Tesla, the wide receiver prospect out of Arkansas without a lot of production.

00:32:47
Speaker 2: And maybe they'll be right, maybe they'll be wrong.

00:32:50
Speaker 1: Do you think the Lions patrick have tipped it all over into feeling themselves too much?

00:32:55
Speaker 4: Category No, because I think you could have made that case right after the or Gibbs pick. That's like, ah, they don't know that this team is all vibes and no, this is this is their strategy and it has worked out. If Brad Holmes wants to draft me like, I'll be like, well, I'm assuming Brad Holmes has a plan for what I'm allegedly going to do. And I get the criticism about using a future third to trade up and take somebody in the third, But if they have that number and that value on tuslaw or tuslaw, however you say his name, it's I don't you know, part of me doesn't want to call them Isaac two thirds.

00:33:29
Speaker 2: To be fair, two.

00:33:30
Speaker 6: Thirds, let's call him Isaac Newton.

00:33:32
Speaker 1: Yeah, generally two thirds for one third feels bad. Yes, And they did it last of the They did it last year too, with a guy that I'm going to be watching carefully, Giovanni Manu, which was a very risky pick where they traded a third this year to take a fourth last year. He didn't play, but he needed a developmental season. They buy it the way might be changing his position, which isn't the greatest sign to guard.

00:33:54
Speaker 5: It's been a long time since this has happened, but I think we need a quick reminder that Brad Holmes was the original person who championed a young receiver with very interesting traits out of Eastern Washington.

00:34:08
Speaker 6: In the third round is named Cooper Cup.

00:34:11
Speaker 5: And so I'm not comparing the players one to one, but Brad Holmes knows what he is looking for in the receivers he wants on his football team, and that's why he And you see this with James Gladstone, Now you've always seen it with Les Snead that Brad Holmes, if they like a guy, they're gonna go get that guy.

00:34:29
Speaker 6: And I thought it was like.

00:34:30
Speaker 5: A little bit of nice poetry that the trade happened to be between Brad Holmes and James Gladstone, two people that do abide by that principle you like the guy, go get the guy.

00:34:40
Speaker 1: Also, guys who abide by a principle perhaps FM picks. Sometimes it's more about the actual humans that you're going to get. If you need to use those picks to get those humans, use them.

00:34:50
Speaker 6: And you know what freaking feel something?

00:34:53
Speaker 4: Yes, yeah, that's because if you have a good roster, you can't have like twenty seven. Bit like I understand the the hypothetical value that these players have, but like everybody can't make the team.

00:35:04
Speaker 1: Feeling things is good that reminds me of Eric Spolstra, the Miami Heat coach, spoke after they were swept out of the playoffs, and he said about the team, it was a fun group to be around. I felt fully alive, as live, as alive as I felt in a while in the regular season, which like relatable on some level. Not a great advertisement for the NBA regular season.

00:35:26
Speaker 2: On another level. And then maybe a sign he should take like a year off too.

00:35:30
Speaker 4: Maybe he should call above, like have management above him, not being maniacal and constantly un mentions as a head basketball coach.

00:35:37
Speaker 2: I love a little Miami Heat talk.

00:35:40
Speaker 1: In the middle of the show, let's go to Jordan and the Minnesota Viking.

00:35:44
Speaker 6: You gus the big news of the week.

00:35:49
Speaker 5: I'mready, JJ McCarthy taking reps at OTAs.

00:35:53
Speaker 6: Yes, the era is upon us.

00:35:56
Speaker 5: Unless you know they changed their minds and Aaron Rodgers, No, they all just kidding, just kidding, just kidding, just kidding, rude. Otherwise, they only had five draft picks. It was a thin class, but I thought, I think they have a strong roster already. Kind of goes to what we were just talking about. If you have a really highly competitive roster, you're really looking to fill in very specific qualities and a little bit of depth. They needed help up front on their interior offensive line, so they picked up Donovan Jackson to help it guard. They might have reached a little for him, but again goes right into what we were just saying. If you like the player and he fits both a need and he's the best player on your board at that need, I say go get him. My favorite pick of theirs Kobe King, the inside linebacker out of Penn State. But they took in the sixth round actually with the pick they got from the Los Angeles Rams at two to one. Who I actually projected the Rams to pick at two to one. So I'm kind of like tickled by that personally. You're rubbing off on me, like it's about me, after all, he's.

00:36:48
Speaker 1: Kind of this, Wait, I'm just rubbing off on you and just being more self centered, is what you're saying.

00:36:53
Speaker 6: No that I can I can share.

00:36:54
Speaker 5: I can share my wins, you know, as somebody who has societally just been.

00:36:58
Speaker 6: In a box, you know, like I can finally share my wins. Oh yeah, No.

00:37:03
Speaker 5: But he's kind of this old school linebacker that plays like his face off and I can't wait to watch him with Brian Flores.

00:37:09
Speaker 6: And I think the Vikings, other than the.

00:37:11
Speaker 5: Questions about the quarterback who we have to see play real football, I think the Vikings are going to pick up a lot of ways that they You.

00:37:16
Speaker 1: Did nail that Bucks take a wide receiver thing too. I saw how you tried to be nice about it and say we mentioned that the Bucks may take a ratty, but it was you. It was you specifically. I almost kind of disagreed with you. What an a and then I was an idiot. I think this is a win now team. I love this roster. I really love this roster.

00:37:35
Speaker 4: And we get too to see the growth and the excitement from the rookie quarterback. I guess i'll call him rookie. Didn't play, so yeah, he's a rookie to me. There was little Ben Simmons argument in the NBA. I think that's I think he's a rookie.

00:37:47
Speaker 5: Do you guys think he looks like the guy from Stranger Thing, Steve the babysitter. JJ McCarthy kind of looks like and he goes he's liked Joe. I think is how you pronounce it? Did a really, really great cover of a high song recently.

00:38:01
Speaker 3: Yeah, he looks.

00:38:02
Speaker 4: Like I rarely think people look like other other people. I do think like it was it was like a jump scare when J. J. McCarthy suddenly appeared.

00:38:12
Speaker 6: On the side silight made me think of it and it was like.

00:38:14
Speaker 4: Whoa, he still looks he still looks young, but like did he grow the hair?

00:38:18
Speaker 6: It's the Lettuce man. He's got the Steve Lettuce I think.

00:38:21
Speaker 1: I mean he he is literally four years younger than Tyler Shuck, Like that's a lot of time.

00:38:26
Speaker 5: Yeah, right, you're using the Tyler Shuck scale of age henceforth always.

00:38:31
Speaker 1: Let's go to the Chicago Bears. It's Patrick Claibhn's new favorite team. For the next two and a half minutes.

00:38:36
Speaker 3: Yes, it's my favorite team.

00:38:39
Speaker 4: I could make a case that it's one of my favorite teams just in general, because I see what the plan is. You start the off season by addressing and free agency. The offensive line gives you some luxury to come in and make a draft pick. They go with Colston Loveland, which my initial reaction was that Ben Johnson, if Ben Johnson is the if it's a coordinator the Detroit Lions or Detroit Lions are there and they want to take a tight end. I think they would take Tyler Warren. I think Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell would have wanted Tyler Lawrence Tyler Warren. But this is an example of Ben Johnson as his own entity, divorced from the Detroit Lions, the way that this past game is going to look, and so like, long term, you don't know what the Dj Moore situation is going to be. Luther Burden third comes in, a guy who we didn't really get to see do a lot of downfield stuff, but when he did do it from MISZOI he executed very well, had the walkoff game winner against South Carolina, and so like, offensively, the Bears start to make the sense that we thought that they were making last year, but from a more realistic standpoint.

00:39:43
Speaker 5: Which I love, and another quietly on my radar, going to be I think a very good pro particularly with the right coaching staff. Boston College offensive lineman Azzie Trapelo, whose father may he rest in peace, also played in the NFL. I think that I pic but I think I honestly I know actually for a fact that he was actually even higher on a couple of teams boards than where he was picked, and he reminds some people of some of these long tackles that are playing right now in the NFL. And I think that it's so interesting because they've they found guys who you can immediately see a who they come after in the in Luther Burden and Ozzie Trepelo or immediately where they help in a variety of ways. Colston Lovelin is not just a pick that helps them at tight end and is a is a fun weapon for Ben Johnson to deploy. He also helps their offensive line because he was a really well rounded blocker as well.

00:40:37
Speaker 1: Yeah, this is a team and you mentioned Tripela, I mean a secon round pick that that means they expect them to start at some point, maybe not this year. And it's I don't know, you were literally in a draft room, so I'm just going to put one and one together and guess. But you can't comment that that the Rams would have been one of those teams that thought of him highly, which is interesting. He loved taking defensive tackles early. Shamar Turner was a second round pick. That's three straight years they I think they hit on Girvon Dexter, but maybe not so much on Zach Pickens a couple of years ago.

00:41:06
Speaker 2: So we'll see what happens with the Chicago Bears.

00:41:10
Speaker 1: But it's another roster where you look at it like it's very completed. Pour one out for Devin DuVernay and alamedas Zakias, who saw Luther Burton come in. People never think of like the fourth fifth receivers getting knocked down the list, like Justin Watson for instance, signed with the Texans thing and I got a chance to maybe play here, and then they draft a couple guys and no one ever thinks about those guys.

00:41:28
Speaker 4: Devon's is a key as well, Like those guys have played a lot of football, That's what I mean. So like they're gonna find a spot on somebody's roster, okay.

00:41:36
Speaker 1: And it be it might be this roster. I just especially Duverney, it feels like he's taking his hand.

00:41:40
Speaker 5: And I'll say it once again, congratulations to the Chicago Bears for winning the off season.

00:41:45
Speaker 1: Let's go to the Green Bay Packers, who I think have had a good offseason, and I think taking Matthew Golden in the first round was a nice kind of capstone to it. I was really surprised they went back to receiver of all positions in the third round, shows you how much they really love Saviane Williams. I think that's weird news for Jayden Reed, just because I feel like those two guys are a little duplicative. Certainly, Dantevian Wicks can't be happy about what happened here. Christian Watson's in the last year of his rookie deal and is not healthy, so they look to build up their receiver group. But I think Golden falling to them is really going to work out. He doesn't need to be a number one receiver, but I think he does more things well more completely. At least that's the vision of them than maybe anyone else on their roster at wide receiver, where it's all these guys who can do certain things but maybe can't do everything.

00:42:37
Speaker 5: That's why I actually believe he could be the volume one.

00:42:40
Speaker 6: Now.

00:42:41
Speaker 5: He's not built like a prototypical like long lean perimeter one that we're sort of sometimes used to seeing, but in this scheme and with Matt Lafleur, he can do so many things well and also will be their pre snap motion player. He has the speed he has incredibly strong, consistent hands. He was my wide receiver one of this class, and I think volume, volume speaking, he could be the bona fide one that this team has been searching for y and says very adamantly that no, they're.

00:43:11
Speaker 6: Not looking for a one. Yeah, who needs it.

00:43:14
Speaker 4: And regardless of how things turn out, I think positionally right, he allows you to do things on offense that maybe having Dobs there right or you know, they forced all those balls to Wix like late in the season, where there will be a difference in the quality of talent in that aspect, and I think Savion Williams is kind of a luxury pick where, yeah.

00:43:36
Speaker 1: But they need they have things they need on this roster, like cornerbacks. I'm beginning to think they're going to help fill that need with jay R Alexander. Now it sounds like they are trying to resolve it. There was that reporting where there was like ninety nine percent he's gone, but now it's starting to sound like maybe he's not, which.

00:43:53
Speaker 4: I feel like I'll take the I'll take the call on that where it's like it just makes more sense instead of giving yourself another need. Oh no, let's just keep the player that you have.

00:44:04
Speaker 6: I think they're going to Oh no, the board didn't fall to us to get a cornerback, and we decided to draft smartly instead of positions. It helps the score points.

00:44:12
Speaker 5: And also, by the way, does that mean we have to make a phone call and fix our relationship and be adults.

00:44:16
Speaker 3: That relationship could be fixed.

00:44:18
Speaker 2: Let's do it. Yeah.

00:44:19
Speaker 1: I also keep an eye on Anthony Belton, NC State tackle. They are so good at developing guys. He could be their long term left tackle Rashid Walker in the last year of his contract. All right, we've done it. We've done three divisions. I did a note card per division. I mean, I've never gotten that crazy. We're just swimming in note cards today. So we're on the fourth note card, and let's start with Jordan. I've tried to assign these randomly, but it felt weird if someone else had the Rams.

00:44:47
Speaker 2: So you were there. You start with the Rams.

00:44:50
Speaker 6: Oh, Jordan's talking about the Rams again. Every single move the Rams have made since January tell me they believe they are going to make a legitimate run in twenty twenty five.

00:45:00
Speaker 5: Have Matthew Stafford back on year to year terms. They kept their o line continuity. They added a better communicator at center who Stafford likes working with, in Coleman Shelton. Their biggest issue in twenty twenty four, they believe they fixed it. It was their run defense. They signed Poona Ford, one of the best run stoppers in the NFL. They added Ty Hamilton and Chris Paul Junior, respectively, a defensive tackle who will also back up Poona at the nose. And Chris Paul Junior, who's one of my favorite linebacker prospects in the draft. He likes to go by Pooh Paul, and he is an absolute He's an absolute force as a tackler.

00:45:32
Speaker 6: He does not miss tackles.

00:45:33
Speaker 5: They added DeVante Adams, they extended to to at Well for just a one year deal, and they added Terrence Ferguson, who I believe is going to be a hybrid tight end receiver for them with what McVay wants to do and play more twelve personnel this year. So basically, they tweaked and they pruned and they added in little bits, and they only had a six member draft class because for the last two years they've completely rebuilt the core of their roster through successful draft classes. Plus they stockpiled future assets, which tells me that a either they're not going to have that first that second first round pick by the end of the trade deadline this year, or they're going to combine assets and go after a quarterback for the post Matthew Stafford era. But before they do, they're going to go all in on making a run while they do still have one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in Matthew Stafford.

00:46:18
Speaker 1: Poo pooh, Paul. I got stuck there. He's awesome, this one Chris Paul. But he's going by Paul Junior.

00:46:23
Speaker 6: He goes by pooh Paul pooh.

00:46:25
Speaker 2: Fifth round pick. So we'll see.

00:46:27
Speaker 1: The Rams haven't invested a lot at inside linebacker and this.

00:46:31
Speaker 6: Was their highest.

00:46:31
Speaker 2: This was stuck in.

00:46:32
Speaker 5: This is their first inside linebacker draft pick since Ernest Jones in the third round.

00:46:36
Speaker 3: Exactly.

00:46:37
Speaker 4: I'm wondering if it's a tacit admission the mistakes were made in the past.

00:46:42
Speaker 6: Yeah, but you can't pick up too high otherwise you're overtly admitting a mistake. You know, they don't do that there.

00:46:47
Speaker 1: You know, they have been mentioned as a possible Jalen Ramsey team who knows.

00:46:52
Speaker 5: Yeah, the money's going to have to go down on their side for that.

00:46:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, we'll see. I think that would be after June one.

00:46:59
Speaker 1: They do feel unfinished a little bit at cornerback, even receiver depth, although Ferguson helps their swing tackle. Like I look at just in terms of they have the top end players I think better than some of these teams. In terms of complete rosters, I actually don't think they're as complete as some of the very best teams in the NC.

00:47:20
Speaker 6: I agree.

00:47:20
Speaker 5: I always give them into August for this because remember they traded for Kevin Dotson a couple of years ago, and then that really shored up their own line, and then the Jalen Ramsey thing might still happen. I would not sleep on Knte Montfield out of pit. If you watch tape, he reminds you of a Rams receiver.

00:47:34
Speaker 1: Okay, and bad news for potential Kyrien Williams extension. They you know, drafting and running back right after they drafted Blake Korman the third round last year.

00:47:43
Speaker 2: Jack was Harner in the fourth round. This year. We'll see if Kyroen gets that long term deal. All right.

00:47:48
Speaker 1: The Seahawks, to me, looking at their team My biggest question is just is Clint Kubiak the dude to make this all happen, because they're asked.

00:48:00
Speaker 2: A lot of him.

00:48:01
Speaker 1: It looks great on paper, but he's got to develop this offensive line, which the guys before like a lot of mid round picks that weren't maybe performing to their ability. They did pick up Charles Cross's fifth year option. He's probably the one guy they really feel great about. And now they add grades able their first round pick. You know, you add Cooper cup and and Valdas scant Lane and they have a late pick people like in Tory Hunter.

00:48:25
Speaker 2: Tory Hunt.

00:48:26
Speaker 1: It's just like a lot of new pieces. Oh and by the way, a new quarterback in Sam Darnold, who's had a very up and down career. And this is a team where all their best players are kind of over the middle to me and intermediate guys. When I think Sam Darnold, I think his strengths not intermediate. And it's just okay, we're gonna throw. And you know, my favorite guy, Jalen Milroe, can he be like a Taysom Hill type of player for them this year as a change of It's just it's a lot on Clint Kubiak, So like, can you make this all happen?

00:48:56
Speaker 2: Because I think it's a sneaky.

00:48:57
Speaker 1: Tough job making all of this come together all at once.

00:49:00
Speaker 4: Yeah, it's especially for a you know, a coach that just left another spot where things kind of fell horribly apart and there were there were injuries, and John Schneider's like hands feel more on this than their second year head coach, even though they do, you know, get a safety in the second round of NICKI men worry who I love, who is a instant impact player when he came on the field at South Carolina. But they get the guard that the Seahawks fans have been clamoring for in Grey's abel out of North Dakota State. But the the Milroe question, I think he does play in what capacity? But if he plays too much, then you.

00:49:41
Speaker 1: Know, they've kind of hinted already in their in their post draft press conference that he'll play.

00:49:46
Speaker 6: Yeah.

00:49:47
Speaker 5: I look at that coaching staff and I actually immediately connect him to a guy like Jake Pets, who is one of their past game coordinators, who also has experience coming out of Alabama, that Saban system, that entire ECO system over there, who you know in the past, I would think that when you have two quarterbacks in one with incredibly special upside that Jalen Milroe does have, you really want to make sure you designate an actual developmental program for that player so that they're not just slotting in like a red zone package for you. They're actually honing and developing their skills as a passer as well.

00:50:22
Speaker 1: And when I think that's a luxury Drew Locke actually gives you. Because Drew Locke, you don't get anything. You don't get any snaps. We're going to count on you to actually be the backup quarterback, but we're just going to trust that your time in this league will carry you through while we focus on our guy Sam and our developmental project Jalen.

00:50:40
Speaker 2: Let's go to Patrick with the forty nine ers.

00:50:43
Speaker 4: The twenty twenty five in San Francisco forty nine ers where it's Kyle wants offensive players.

00:50:49
Speaker 3: They get.

00:50:50
Speaker 4: They get four offensive players in a draft with eleven picks. They don't get their They hit their first offensive player pick one thirty eight.

00:50:57
Speaker 3: It's Jordan Watkins.

00:50:59
Speaker 4: I felt that taking Michael Williams out of Georgia that was earlier than I expected Michael Williams to go. A lot of folks, myself included, felt that he was the second best pass rusher on that Kirby Smart defense. But it was a position of need that they addressed. They go get Alfred Collins, then Nick Martin. Such a big set of departures, especially veteran departures, a couple of them playing for the Broncos now that are going to make things tough for Robert Sala in his return to the spot. But it's I think we are in the Operation Blame Brock era where it's gonna be.

00:51:37
Speaker 3: Look, look, guys, were brock.

00:51:40
Speaker 4: We can only do so much because rock Perty has to give has and I'm worried.

00:51:45
Speaker 3: I'm worried.

00:51:46
Speaker 1: You think the forty nine ers are like setting him up to fail or setting them up as an excuse.

00:51:50
Speaker 3: The excuse feels like it's out there.

00:51:52
Speaker 1: I mean, they're not giving Robert Sala excuses because they gave them five straight defensive picks, So what more do you want?

00:52:00
Speaker 5: There was one benefit of getting him back in the building. It's like he's probably one of the few people in the world it could be like, no, Kyle, we're taking defensive players with our first several picks. I love the Alfred Collins match to what Robert Sala is gonna do. Nick Martin also really fits that sort of all gas, no breaks.

00:52:17
Speaker 6: Robert Sala vibe.

00:52:18
Speaker 5: And then they went traits heavy on their first pick in MIKEL Williams. So yeah, Michael Williams. So I think that that's I think this is to be expected when they're trying to sort of rebuild through the draft as they continue to try to win football games. They pay George Kittle, so you can tell that they're trying to rebuild on the fly or do one of these like sprint rebuilds where a lot of these guys who they just drafted, Especially with these first four or five picks, I'm looking all the way down to C. J. West, so all their defensive picks, and he's one pint thirteen out of Indiana, the defensive tackle. Like, these guys are going to have to contribute, They're going to have to play, and they're going to have to hit that learning curve, which is I think Robert sala is a heck of a coach, but I think you got the right guy in there to help them do it.

00:53:00
Speaker 1: Offense has a lot of talent. It's all guys that were there a year ago. There's no real turnover. They just have to stay healthy and Kyle's going to have to cook it up. And you mentioned Kittle got paid. Yeah, on Tuesday, they gave him a long term extension. The details aren't quite out there. It seems a little phony, but certainly guaranteed money for the next couple of years.

00:53:19
Speaker 2: Well deserved for George Kittle. He's not going anywhere.

00:53:22
Speaker 1: We wrap up the division with Jordan and her favorite team in NFC West. Yes, the Arizona Cardinals. I was just joking, but you seem to take that seriously.

00:53:34
Speaker 6: Maybe this year they won't let me down. Greg. This defense is on my radar.

00:53:39
Speaker 5: He knew heading into free agency that Jonathan Gannon was going to be super aggressive on defense, especially with all those former Eagles players that were gonna potentially hit free agency, and after spending the last two years with defensive coordinator Nick rallis experimenting with a very subpar roster, which Patrick has a great nickname for one of my favorites that I've ever heard in the search bar. And they've tried to experiment fit and fiddle around and see what worked and what didn't work, and so now they're ready to show proof of concept, and I am ready to see it. They added six defensive players in seven picks to a group that already included Buddha Baker, Kalais Campbell, and Josh Sweat. They did so in multiple layers, which I really like when a team drafts this way, they address multiple layers of whether it's the passing game on the offensive side where they're building out the field in different layers, or on the defensive side when they're going from Walter Nolan and Jordan Birch up front to taking a flyer on a banged up Will Johnson, who we also you and I both together predicted he would be a fit for the Cardinals. And then Cody Simon at inside. I know, hey, well let it slide.

00:54:41
Speaker 2: I credit.

00:54:43
Speaker 6: I need a win. The world is hard. I need a win.

00:54:45
Speaker 5: Cody Simon, the inside linebacker, I also think, is gonna be a player who gets more time than people expect. I'm excited about this defense, I really am, because we know what they want to try to be on offense, and they need to make sure that they're not just like hit a wall and petering out, especially in the passing game. But this defense has been sort of anonymously and under the radar, just like operating like a massive science experiment. And I think they're ready to show actually what.

00:55:13
Speaker 2: They can do. They need to.

00:55:15
Speaker 1: That's where all the investment went this offseason. I counted like they have at least seven new major contributors if you include guys coming back off injury like bj Ojulari, who was a good passer. We're on the offense the entire starting eleven that's projected at least in our alides was on the on the team last year. And it's not like you know, they were eleventh in DVOA last year. They're counting on just getting better. We've had a lot of like Kyler better prove it years, but this is a big year I think for their offense too, because they basically said, we've built a good enough team around Kyler and we want continuity and go Cook and I think they could.

00:55:53
Speaker 6: And I want to say too.

00:55:54
Speaker 5: And I don't have his contract pulled up in front of me, but I do believe this is the last technically the last year where he any guarantees left on his contract, if not the last year actually on that contract.

00:56:04
Speaker 6: So this is a big year for Kyler.

00:56:07
Speaker 1: If you want to talk about the Cardinals, we have one time out remaining.

00:56:10
Speaker 2: That was the last team here.

00:56:11
Speaker 4: I just wanted to say a lot of the Will Johnson injury concerns were projections of like a potential future injury, and like.

00:56:17
Speaker 3: You could do that for the entire NFL. That was weird to me.

00:56:21
Speaker 4: He had a hamstring, which a lot of guys get hamstring during draft prep, but it just created this cloud. That's a huge value that they got.

00:56:29
Speaker 1: Kyler does have his salary guaranteed next year, but at any point until this year, it would have been completely impossible to move off him. And other than that, his salary is guaranteed next year, which is not a prohibitive salary at all, thirty six point eight million dollars.

00:56:46
Speaker 2: There's no more guaranteed.

00:56:48
Speaker 6: Okay, that's what it was.

00:56:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, And it basically, if for whatever reason they wanted to see if there was a trademarket for Kyler, they really couldn't have done it until twenty twenty six. And they absolutely could with you know, they would say money next year.

00:57:00
Speaker 2: I don't.

00:57:00
Speaker 1: I don't think that's going to happen because I think he is going to play well. I have a feeling this podcast is going to be pretty high on the Cardinals.

00:57:07
Speaker 2: But we'll see.

00:57:08
Speaker 1: Maybe Patrick won't, maybe Weisch won't, maybe Colleen won't. Shout out to Colleen on Good Morning Football all week, just soldier un through. Those are early days.

00:57:17
Speaker 3: That's it's a lot. It's a lot.

00:57:20
Speaker 6: I'm learning.

00:57:23
Speaker 1: You gotta get up, you gotta get up early and go h make the donuts. All right, that was it for today's show. We will be back with a show that feels very similar to this one that'll be going all around talking about the AFC H and yes, looking forward to that and just looking forward to spending more time with you guys.

00:57:43
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's an honor.

00:57:46
Speaker 2: Just fill it up a little, you know. I was waiting for the thing to go.

00:57:48
Speaker 6: Yeah, you know

00:57:50
Speaker 1: Like look when JJ McCarthy is on the field and throwing the football to Jordan Addison, that is like an ultimate actual football is back.