Which NFL Dark Horses Will SHOCK the League in 2026? Surprise Playoff & Super Bowl Longshots (Ep. 2105)
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
54 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 30, 2026
Published
Thu, July 30, 2026
45
Player insights
23
Players mentioned
Topics
Jalen CokerBo NixBaker MayfieldBryce YoungC.J. StroudCeeDee LambChristian KirkDak PrescottGeorge KittleGeorge PickensJake TongesJavonte WilliamsJeremiyah LoveJoe Burrow
Player analysis
Player insights
Baker Mayfield
PositiveProjection30:00
Expected to play without a deal in 2026; source is moving him up in fantasy rankings because Mayfield historically plays his best ball when he's an underdog or being counted out. This motivation will drive strong individual performance even if the Buccaneers have holes. Source wants to bet on Mayfield in fantasy and betting contexts when he has fire under his bat.
Insight pagePositiveProjection30:10
Expected to play without a deal in 2026, which is a positive indicator for his fantasy performance. Source states: 'you always want to bet on Mayfield when he has a fire under his bat... This is when he always plays his best ball.' Source is moving him up in fantasy rankings specifically because playing without a contract will motivate him to prove doubters wrong, which is his pattern. This doesn't necessarily translate to team wins for the Buccaneers, but Mayfield individually should perform at a higher level.
Insight pageBo Nix
PositiveRole43:37
Bo Nix's performance is cited as a key factor in the Denver Broncos being positioned as a dark horse Super Bowl contender at 20-to-1 odds, with the team also bringing in Jalen Waddell to support the offense.
Insight pagePositiveProjection48:00
Nix's rookie season performance is cited as evidence of the Broncos' Super Bowl dark horse potential; the source argues that if the Broncos had Nix instead of Jarrett Stidham, they would have likely made the Super Bowl over the Patriots and possibly beaten the Seahawks, suggesting the Broncos' +2000 Super Bowl odds are undervalued given their stacked roster and Nix's development.
Insight pagePositiveProjection48:10
The source argues the Broncos' Super Bowl odds at +2000 are undervalued given their roster strength. The speaker contends that if the Broncos had Bo Nix (instead of Jarrett Stidham) last season, they would have likely made the Super Bowl over the Patriots and possibly beaten the Seahawks, suggesting Nix's presence significantly improves their championship trajectory.
Insight pageBryce Young
NegativeRole16:00
Panthers QB loses vertical field stretcher in Braswell; offense now less equipped to open up passing lanes for Young in year two, forcing more reliance on run game.
Insight pageNegativeRole17:00
Panthers QB loses weapon with Brazel injury; team was trying to add weapons around Young. Brazel was positioned as vertical field stretcher to open things up for Young's targets. Brazel's absence lessens excitement about Panthers passing attack and reduces Young's supporting cast.
Insight pageC.J. Stroud
NegativeRole31:26
Observed at camp looking focused and locked in on football; no longer reading press clippings or doing media tours. Source notes he is 'all ball' and motivated to get paid after a few seasons of underperformance. His presence and connection with Tank Dell is significant for Dell's fantasy outlook.
Insight pageNegativeProjection31:30
Source notes Stroud appears locked in and focused on getting paid after a few down seasons; no longer reading press clippings or doing media tours with Micah Parsons. This mindset shift suggests he's focused on performance and contract negotiations.
Insight pageCeeDee Lamb
PositiveRole45:00
Lamb is identified as one of Dak Prescott's key weapons supporting the Cowboys' dark horse Super Bowl projection; the source expects Prescott to remain efficient with Lamb and other receivers despite a tougher 2026 schedule.
Insight pagePositiveRole45:49
CeeDee Lamb is cited as a key weapon supporting Dak Prescott's projected efficiency in 2026, part of the Cowboys' offensive arsenal expected to maintain strong performance despite a tougher schedule.
Insight pageChristian Kirk
NegativeInjury8:00
49ers WR got banged up in camp; injury status unclear but adds to 49ers receiving corps injury concerns alongside Pearsall and Kittle uncertainty.
Insight pageNegativeInjury8:00
49ers WR got banged up during camp; injury status unclear but adds to 49ers receiving corps concerns alongside Pearsall and Kittle uncertainty.
Insight pageDak Prescott
PositiveProjection44:05
The source projects Prescott will remain efficient despite a tougher schedule in 2026; while raw counting stats (completions, yards) may decline compared to last year's easy schedule, there is no reason to think he won't be efficient with his weapons (Lamb, Pickens, Ferguson, Javante Williams), positioning the Cowboys as a legitimate dark horse Super Bowl candidate at 25-to-1 odds.
Insight pagePositiveProjection45:49
The source projects Dak Prescott will remain efficient despite a tougher schedule in 2026; while raw counting stats (completions, passing yards) may decline compared to 2025's favorable schedule, Prescott is expected to maintain strong efficiency with his weapons (CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, Dallas Goedert, Javante Williams). The source emphasizes no reason to doubt his efficiency given the offensive talent around him.
Insight pageDallas Goedert
PositiveRole45:49
Dallas Goedert (Ferguson) is cited as part of the Cowboys' offensive weapons supporting Dak Prescott's projected efficiency in 2026.
Insight pageDe'Zhaun Stribling
PositiveRole9:00
49ers drafted Stribling 33rd overall and he vaults into potential WR2 role due to Pearsall injury and Kirk injury. Source emphasizes that Stribling getting reps with the ones early in camp is massive for a rookie's development and learning curve; he's still very cheap across the board with skeptics remaining about his ceiling.
Insight pageDJ Turner
PositiveRole39:00
Turner is highlighted as one of the best shutdown and shadow corners in the entire NFL, though he doesn't receive that recognition; the source notes that looking at last-year numbers, it is a no-fly zone with DJ Turner, making the Bengals cornerback room a strength after signing Brian Cook and having Dax Hill return.
Insight pageGeorge Kittle
NegativeInjury10:00
49ers TE not 100% to play in Week 1; on PUP list with uncertain availability to start season. Impacts target distribution in 49ers passing attack early in season.
Insight pageNegativeInjury10:00
49ers TE still not 100% to play in week one; on PUP list with chance he may miss start of season, adding to 49ers offensive concerns.
Insight pageGeorge Pickens
PositiveRole45:00
Pickens is cited as one of Dak Prescott's key weapons supporting the Cowboys' dark horse Super Bowl projection; the source expects Prescott to remain efficient with Pickens and other receivers despite a tougher 2026 schedule.
Insight pagePositiveRole45:49
George Pickens is identified as a key weapon in the Cowboys' 2026 offense supporting Dak Prescott's projected efficiency, part of the team's formidable receiving corps.
Insight pageJake Ferguson
PositiveRole45:00
Ferguson is identified as one of Dak Prescott's key weapons supporting the Cowboys' dark horse Super Bowl projection; the source expects Prescott to remain efficient with Ferguson and other receivers despite a tougher 2026 schedule.
Insight pageJake Tonges
PositiveRole11:00
49ers TE could see expanded role in 12 personnel if Kittle misses start of season; re-signed as restricted free agent after strong performance in Kittle's absence last year.
Insight pagePositiveRole14:00
49ers TE could see expanded role if Kittle misses start of season. Team using 12 personnel frequently; Tonges re-signed as restricted free agent after strong performance filling in for Kittle last year. the source suggests he's a player to look at in target pecking order.
Insight pageJalen Coker
PositiveRole16:40
Panthers WR2 becomes clear number two target in passing attack with Braswell out; will see expanded volume and more targets weekly that would have chipped off to Braswell in certain aspects.
Insight pagePositiveRole17:30
Panthers WR becomes clear number two target in passing attack with Brazel out. the source notes Coker will see expanded volume and more targets weekly that would have chipped off to Brazel. Brazel injury is a feather in cap for Coker as consolidated passing attack benefits him.
Insight pagePositiveBreakout28:00
Identified as the only year-three wide receiver breakout candidate among Panthers receivers; positioned to benefit from the vertical field stretching role that was expected to be filled by Joseph Pearson. With Pearson out, Coker has more opportunity to eat inside the offense.
Insight pagePositiveBreakout28:00
Identified as the only year-three wide receiver breakout candidate among Panthers receivers; positioned to benefit from the loss of Joseph Pearson, as the vertical field stretcher role opening up creates more opportunity for Coker to operate inside. The source explicitly states 'Coker, it's unite. Yep. It's such a great it's such a great nickname of that group. Just a couple other news and notes... Coker, he's the only one. That's the only one. The low key winner so far.'
Insight pageJavonte Williams
PositiveProjection45:00
Williams is projected for a bounce-back year as one of Dak Prescott's key weapons; the source expects Prescott to remain efficient with Williams and other receivers despite a tougher 2026 schedule, supporting the Cowboys' dark horse Super Bowl candidacy.
Insight pagePositiveProjection45:49
Javante Williams is projected for a bounce-back year in 2026 as part of the Cowboys' offensive weapons supporting Dak Prescott's efficiency, despite the team facing a tougher schedule.
Insight pageJeremiyah Love
NegativeRole22:57
Camp reports indicate he is 'definitely a rookie' with concerns about his role; Algier is running with the ones while Love has moved around and was running with the threes. Source expresses concern that Nathaniel Hackett will limit Love's deployment despite his elite talent, citing Hackett's history of mismanaging running backs (e.g., rolling out Melvin Gordon over Javante Williams). Expects Love's production to be backloaded into the second half of the season as the Cardinals lean more into rookies, making him potentially frustrating to own early. Suggests trading for him mid-season rather than drafting him early.
Insight pageNegativeRole23:00
Camp reports indicate he is 'definitely a rookie' with limited early-season role; Algier is running with the ones while Love runs with the threes. Source believes Love will finish top-12 RB but production will be backloaded; expects him to see limited usage early while the Cardinals use Algier and James Conner, with increased opportunity in the second half when the team leans more into rookies. Not optimistic about drafting him early but views him as a potential mid-season trade target.
Insight pageJoe Burrow
PositiveProjection37:55
The source projects Burrow and the Bengals as a legitimate Super Bowl dark horse candidate at 18-to-1 odds, emphasizing that with a healthy Burrow operating at peak powers, the team can beat any other team in the AFC; the offensive line cohesion—all five starters returning for the first time in Burrow's career—combined with young Georgia-drafted tackles Amarius Mims and Dylan Fairchild potentially taking massive leaps, could elevate the unit from average to top-10 fringe, enabling more effective run game and overall offensive efficiency.
Insight pagePositiveProjection39:45
The source is buying the Bengals as a dark horse Super Bowl candidate with a healthy Joe Burrow, arguing that a healthy Burrow operating at peak powers gives the team the ability to beat any other team in the AFC; the source notes the offensive line has had past issues partly due to Burrow's tendency to hold the ball and take sacks, but emphasizes this is the first time in Burrow's career that all five offensive line starters are returning, providing cohesiveness and growth potential.
Insight pageJordan James
NegativeInjury12:00
49ers RB suffered fractured rib in camp; adds to growing injury list for San Francisco offense.
Insight pageNegativeInjury14:30
49ers RB suffered fractured rib in camp; adds to mounting 49ers injury list alongside Pearsall, Kirk, and Kittle uncertainty.
Insight pageMarvin Harrison Jr.
NegativeRole23:00
Receiving negative camp reports including dropping passes and poor confidence; mental state is concerning. With the Cardinals potentially going 0-17 and Carson Beck potentially starting, Harrison's situation is dire. The source expresses concern that his mentals will worsen as the team struggles, comparing him to Brian Thomas Jr. who had yips issues.
Insight pageNegativeRole23:03
Cardinals camp reports show negative feedback: dropping passes and confidence looks really bad. Source expresses concern that his mental state will deteriorate further as the Cardinals struggle (projected to go 0-17), with Carson Beck throwing 'hospital balls' and creating additional pressure. Expects Harrison's year-three breakout to be buried by team dysfunction and poor quarterback play.
Insight pageMike Evans
PositiveValue10:00
the source marks Evans as undervalued WR despite being ranked WR25; criminally underrated. 49ers injuries (Pearsall, Kirk) strengthen the case for Evans as clear option in passing attack, assuming health. the source recently published short noting Evans' undervaluation before camp injuries.
Insight pagePositiveValue10:00
Source marks Evans as undervalued WR despite being ranked WR25; injuries to 49ers receivers (Pearsall, Kirk) and Kittle uncertainty make Evans the clear option in Tampa's passing attack, assuming he stays healthy.
Insight pageRicky Pearsall
NegativeInjury8:00
49ers WR dealing with knee swelling with team concerns; believed to stem from previous PCL injury. Source expresses significant concern about his health durability and notes this is devastating timing, especially given his strong per-route metrics last year. the source dropping him in rankings due to injury recurrence.
Insight pagePositiveInjury8:00
49ers WR dealing with knee swelling stemming from previous PCL injury; team has concerns and all options are on the table. Source notes this is devastating for a player who cannot stay healthy and was expected to have a breakout year based on strong per-route metrics from last season.
Insight pageTank Dell
PositiveInjury29:30
Cleared in Texans camp after injury recovery; source observed him cutting and turning and thought he looked good. Best friends with CJ Stroud, which matters significantly for his role. Source notes that Stroud's rookie year coincided with Tank Dell's strong rookie year, and having Stroud will help Dell's production. This is huge news for his fantasy outlook.
Insight pagePositiveInjury29:30
Cleared in Texans camp after injury concerns; source saw him cutting and turning well in practice. His connection with best friend CJ Stroud is significant; Stroud's rookie year coincided with Tank Dell's strong rookie year, and having Stroud throwing to him matters significantly. Source believes Dell will be relevant despite uncertainty about whether he'll match his early-career form.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. I love my phone, but not my carrier.
0:04What do I do? Well, there are 250 reasons to join T-Mobile.
0:08Like what? You can keep your phone and your number and T-Mobile helps pay it off.
0:12Up to $800 per line. So I wouldn't have to buy a new phone?
0:16Yep. Plus, your plan price stays the same for five years on experience plans.
0:20Nice. Find your reason at T-Mobile.com. Dark text and 5G data.
0:23Exclusions like taxes and fees apply. Welcome into the tailgate.
0:26I'm Chris Welsh. I've got Andrew Erickson and Derek Brown with me as we are going to be looking at 2026 slash
0:322027 dark horses for Super Bowl contenders in the NFL.
0:35We're going to be talking about that here a little bit.
0:38We're going to be using some odds with betting pros.
0:41And we're going to be seeing, yes, all the favorites are awesome.
0:44We love the favorites. We don't want to bet the Rams and stuff.
0:48But are any of these dark horse candidates really viable?
0:51And that'll be the discussion. Plus, there is a bunch, a bunch of NFL news going around because boys, the preseason is around the corner.
0:58I can, I can smell the cut grass. I can smell, I don't know if you can smell helmet smashing, but I can kind of smell it.
1:05And it brought up something very important to me as the Hall of Fame game is roughly like a week away.
1:11We've got week one coming around. I instantly went to thinking about the preseason goats.
1:16And I'm not talking about like the goats of the NFL or anything like that.
1:20I'm talking about the dudes that come out of absolutely nowhere, like hard knocks or something will like prop up a player.
1:26And you'll see these guys with these incredible stats and then poof off, off they're gone.
1:30We never hear from them again. And you know, the first person that came to my mind was Thomas Clayton running a 49er.
1:37He was a 49er. I think he was a Cardinal.
1:40I was like, it's totally random, but I was thinking Thomas Clayton went ballistic.
1:44And then I had another envision of Zach Zenner who led the entire NFL in preseason rushing yards, 183.
1:49And he also, this is a fun stat I found.
1:52He had 10 first downs in the preseason, which led everybody.
1:55This was in 2015. And then I had the other one from a name perspective.
1:59Sincere McCormick was just a couple of years ago.
2:02Again, another like 49er that was floating out there.
2:04You just get these guys and that's what we're about to get.
2:08Erickson, we are about to get a player that will never exist again, except in this little, little tiny part of our brain.
2:14That's going to come up in like six years when you're sitting around with your buddies.
2:19You're just being like, I remember, give me a couple of your member berries from the preseason.
2:23Cause I know you got to have some good ones.
2:26Well, if you're a Patriots fan, you definitely remember this guy, Zach Sudfeld, a tight end that had a monster preseason performance that people were convinced.
2:34Oh, Gronk coming off this injury. Gronk who? We don't need Gronk.
2:37We got the next Gronk here and Zach Sudfeld, who did not amount to anything whatsoever.
2:41I think that he actually ended his career on the jets.
2:45So again, whether that was before or after he was a jet remains to be seen.
2:49Amir Abdullah. He was another player where during his rookie year, I think I remember it.
2:54I remember the long run. Everyone remembers where they were when Amir Abdullah ripped off that long preseason run in whatever year it was his rookie season.
3:01I remember at the time I was working in retail at Dick's sporting goods and I'm just like out there.
3:07I'm restocking the shelves. It's Friday, Saturday night. The preseason games aren't in the TV.
3:11So clearly I'm not doing any work. I'm just watching.
3:14I'm like, man, I want to draft this Amir Abdullah guy.
3:17And I had the same thought as basically everybody else watching that game.
3:21And Abdullah still kicking around the NFL. I think that he's on the Colts.
3:25What team is he on? Sure. I don't know.
3:27I think he's actually on the Jaguars. Jaguars. Oh, yeah.
3:30He's in the AFC South. So we narrowed it down by the.
3:33Let's play chicken. We'll play chicken. Like what team is he quite on?
3:37I will raise you your Jaguars. Still in the NFL.
3:40But obviously. I'm right. He is on the Jags.
3:42Okay. But has not amounted to what that preseason run.
3:45I need to look that up actually after the show and just like relive the hype of that preseason run.
3:51Fun fact. I used to work for sports authority back in the day.
3:54So that's my rivals then. Oh, we were totally rivals.
3:57But low key. One of the greatest things about working at like a sports like place like that is the athletes that came in.
4:04I remember my fondest member. I had a couple of them baseball player.
4:08Jason Schmidt came in and I talked with him a couple of those leave on Hernandez was a pitcher came in and
4:14bought out like $10,000 worth of stuff and sign things for us.
4:17But the greatest one was and this will be relevant to this show.
4:21We're about 20 minutes from closing. A Jeep rolls up to the front doesn't park jumps out the car comes in to
4:27Jared Allen Jared Allen of the Vikings at a time comes in and he need I don't know what he needed.
4:33Whatever you want. Take it. Whatever you whatever you need to get brother.
4:37I can help you with and he came in and he was it looked like he just got done hunting or something
4:43and this is out here in Arizona. So low key the cool thing about working at those that's my member Barry is Jared Allen there but D bro.
4:51I absolutely know you're going to give us a banger member Barry from the preseason dude.
4:55I'm going to go in the way back machine for my first guy.
4:59Does everybody remember where they were in 2015 and watching Jeff Janis.
5:02Oh, all is the Jeff Janis. Hi, baby. Like dude like a guy that had like 72 receiving yards had 149 receiving
5:09yards in the preseason was just crushing it for all the preseason.
5:12I mean now now it's kind of a thing in 2015 preseason DFS and betting wasn't a thing.
5:17So I have my own list of heroes of the last few years, but a guy I definitely had the shut a
5:23shout out with all of this dude as well as a F.
5:27Efton his him. Oh, excuse me after Chisholm who decided that to be anything last year and I remember all the hype.
5:33Erickson one year. He was a rookie. Did he do anything?
5:36I remember all of the New England Patriots slot wide receiver stuff and all the throwbacks to Edelman and Welker and he's
5:42a gamer and he's the first guy in the last guy out like he has two preseason games.
5:47Still got time. With 50 and 71. Yeah, sure thing.
5:50He's marinating. He's going to be good to go.
5:52Your Patriots fandom is showing right now, Erickson. I mean, Edelman didn't do anything for the majority of the beginning of his career.
5:59And he's not going to do anything this year.
6:01Come on. That's fine. Hey, you know, luckily players careers aren't over after two seasons.
6:06So Efton Chisholm, I think, I mean, some of them are though.
6:09Some of them are Erickson. He couldn't even say his name right.
6:12So, I mean, the guy is definitely in the member.
6:15I do want to say one more name. It just popped in my mind.
6:19And remember the meteor or like the insane boost we saw from Marquez Calloway after he had just like monster performance.
6:25And his ADP was skyrocketing. It was just like absolutely insane.
6:28And then he just obviously, of course, what team was he on?
6:32I'm like, oh, he was on the set. That was the year.
6:35The Saints value guy. Yes. Well, he's also bounced around to every Sean Payton team.
6:39If we're being honest here, he's been a Bronco too.
6:42So see, I want to point out, this is what I'm talking about.
6:46This is what the preseason is about to give us.
6:49Yeah, it's going to give us hype. It's going to give us fun.
6:52It's going to give us storylines, but we're going to get member berries.
6:56The member berry preseason players is going to be a dude who's going to just fly up boards this year for whatever reason it's going to be.
7:03And we'll get to talk about them and lock them away and talk about with the friends.
7:08But what I do want to know is your best member berry in the comments below.
7:13We are going to pick one out and put the best one and highlight it in next week's show.
7:18If you can come with a banger member berry of a preseason player that just balled out and then just vanished.
7:24We want to know about it. We want to highlight it right here on the tailgate.
7:29All right, let's get into the news and notes because boys, there are news and notes because not only is the preseason
7:35right around the corner camps are opening up, which is going to provide tons of great information.
7:40But it's also going to provide. Unfortunately, usually camp is going to give us more negatives than it is positives outside of those guys running this great great.
7:47It's the injuries and we have a devastating one, especially for me as a 49er fan.
7:52It's running up to potentially and for D bro as someone that is hyped up on this player.
7:57But it is being reported that 49ers wide receiver Ricky Purisaw is dealing with knee swelling and the team has concerns.
8:03They are saying that all options are on the table, but the belief is that it is stemming from the PCL injury he previously dealt with.
8:10There's a lot of Twitter doctors out there that are calling for injury.
8:14Debo, why don't you start? You've been a big Ricky Purisaw guy.
8:17I think this is devastating, especially if they're openly talking about the concerns.
8:21There's a couple other pieces that are floating out here.
8:24Christian Kirk also got a little bit banged up and there has been so much hype over the last week or two
8:30about Deshaun Stribbling that now he vaults himself into the potential two spot.
8:34It's a little bit more of a fantasy angle, but there's so much in this little tiny bucket here.
8:39What's your level of concern hearing this with Ricky Purisaw and do you think Stribbling is going to be one of the biggest beneficiaries?
8:46Dude, this absolutely freaking sucks. Purisaw just cannot stay healthy, man.
8:49And it's kind of like with the PCL stuff.
8:51It's like, dude, like you're working out in the offseason.
8:54You can't tell me that like this is the first time you're like heavily working out running routes and your knee just
9:00like all of a sudden swelled up and it didn't do this at any point in the offseason.
9:05So it's kind of like I don't understand. It's like get these things addressed.
9:09So hopefully you can come back in and be fully healthy finally.
9:13And I mean, it's banker break time for Ricky Purisaw.
9:16It's like that's what we saw the 49ers go out and draft Stribbling like regardless of like the rest of their aging and now quickly getting old roster.
9:23This this really sucks, man, because I was hoping he was going to have his breakout monster year because if you look
9:30at every per route metric, he was awesome last year.
9:32I'm going to drop him in the rankings. I'm going to bump up Stribbling massively.
9:37Erickson, I know we were talking about this before we kind of turn the cameras and the mics on here.
9:42I know Stribbling is going to get a lot of steam and a lot of people are going to be very excited for him.
9:49I don't think that it's going to. I think it's going to have a hard cap basically if you look at that
9:55from a fantasy angle, but like the Kirk injury as well.
9:58Plus Kittle is still not a 100% to be looking at to be playing like in week one.
10:03So what we get from him early in the season returns, this is a whole lot of mess.
10:09And I think it kind of leads me back to just more Mike Evans right now.
10:13As far as like him being the clear one in so many different ways for the passing attack, assuming he stays healthy.
10:19Yeah, and the substation doesn't get him or something.
10:22But it's funny you say that because I just put out a short we do on Fantasy Pros on the Fantasy Pros side.
10:28And I had marked that I still think even before knowing any of this, Mike Evans is an undervalued wide receiver.
10:34He's like wide receiver 25 off of that board, and he's just criminally underrated.
10:38This more speaks to it. Erickson, my question though is do you think this is going to be really damning to Ricky Purisaw?
10:45Like obviously there's things you don't know, but if you had to dig down into your gut, do you think this is
10:51going to be something that is going to take Purisaw from us?
10:54And it is going to vault someone else in that offense.
10:57Obviously Ricky Purisaw is there, but someone like a Stribling or I don't know, maybe you have another take on it.
11:03But do you think this is going to be a huge, huge blow to Ricky Purisaw here in this news?
11:09When I saw the news come across the timeline, I immediately retweeted it, reposted it with the Grand Theft Auto gif of,
11:15yeah, here we go again with Ricky Purisaw. So very, very sad, especially with my wide receiver breakout article coming out today.
11:21Luckily they didn't. Oh, was Purisaw highlighted in it?
11:24Yeah, he was highlighted. He was one of my favorite year three guys.
11:27Luckily Kelly Kirby was ahead of the curve. Delete, delete.
11:30Put Parker Washington on the cover of it, not Ricky Purisaw.
11:33So we did get saved there. We did save some face.
11:36And again, there's a lot of other options. If anything, it just narrows the pool down of year three wide receivers are going to take the leap.
11:44It's probably not going to be Ricky Purisaw if his injury is as bad as this news suggests.
11:49And this is what happens sometimes when you have players that suffer injuries and then they, it doesn't go away entirely.
11:55And they overcompensate in certain areas. So the fact that he's been dealing with this PCL injury, it affects the other parts of his leg and his knee.
12:03So that is obviously like the biggest concern. What do you think this does, though, for Dijon Stribling, though?
12:08Because I think that's like the immediate thing. You guys had a fantasy discussion before the show.
12:13But like, what do you think that ultimately does in this offense?
12:16We don't know if Kirk is going to miss like significant time.
12:20But like, that's obviously something to watch for. He's gotten, Stribling has gotten rave reviews for some of the footwork and obviously
12:26the separation and just, you know, overall ball skills.
12:29Brock Purdy has talked really positively about him. Do you think this is going to lead to an uptick for Stribling, opportunity for him to really take?
12:36Or is this going to be just a little bit more overhyped based on what the 49ers do?
12:41They could easily, by the way, see all these injuries and go, all right, bet.
12:45We're just going to run more. And that's what they do.
12:49And they just lean more on Christian McCaffrey in the early weeks.
12:52Do you think Stribling is going to be a true beneficiary to a Ricky Purcell injury?
12:56Yeah, I think so. Because it just opens up more opportunities for him to see the field sooner rather than later.
13:02They drafted him 33rd overall. So clearly they are high on his talent and they made sure everyone knew that after the
13:09fact and saying that, no, well, we weren't the only one that had Stribling ranked this high.
13:13We all had him ranked this high. Again, remains to be seen how well he translates to the NFL.
13:19I thought that he was interesting as a prospect when I thought that he was going to be projected as a more
13:25of a round three, round four type of player.
13:27So I do think that there is some talent to his game.
13:31It's just a matter of the price. And in Dynasty, I felt like it was overvalued.
13:35In Redraft, we'll see where it goes. But right now he's still very, very cheap across the board.
13:40I think there's still enough skeptics about him. And I have a little skeptical, too, of what his true ceiling can be,
13:47especially as a rookie in an offense that isn't always, you know, just pick it up.
13:51You know, Shanahan has had a lot of rookies go through the ringer over the years where they have not delivered when
13:57called upon, especially early in the season. So, again, I think it's more Mike Evans just catching a boatload of touchdowns in this offense.
14:04And maybe another player that could see an expanded role is Jake Tongass.
14:08Right. We're all talking about every team wants to run 12 personnel.
14:11We don't know when Kittle's going to be available, if he's going to miss the start of the season.
14:16I believe he started. He's on the pup. Right.
14:19So there's still a chance that he's not available to start the year.
14:23So maybe Jake Tongass is actually a player that everyone's looking at the next receiver when you look at the actual target pecking order.
14:29Oh, we really like what we saw from this tight end last year.
14:33I believe that they gave him an extension or they re-signed him because he was a restricted free agent.
14:38So they did pay him a little bit after performing well in Kittle's place last year.
14:43So I think that's something to actually look at, too.
14:46And also Jordan James, fractured rib. So how many days into 49ers training camp and we're already down like three guys?
14:52I mean, substation's getting just absolutely no rest here.
14:54The storyline continues. To the point of all of this, too, and going back to your original kind of setup of this
15:00Welsh, I think this is massive for stripling because the biggest thing for rookies is we don't need him buried on the
15:07depth chart, not getting any time with the ones and running with the twos and threes.
15:11Kirk hurt. Pearsall dinged up, and he's obviously not going to be practicing for the next few days.
15:16I mean, we'll see when he comes back and what that looks like.
15:20But stripling into wide receiver sets right now, like that's massive for him in the learning curve of being a rookie and
15:26getting that type of work right now at the very beginning of camp.
15:30Yeah, there's an interesting video that was out there, too, or Des Bryant, for whatever you think, was like breaking apart.
15:36Yeah, but as a wide receiver, though, he was breaking apart, stripling a video about his separation.
15:40I just thought it was interesting seeing anybody start like really breaking him down and taking it upon themselves to put that
15:47out there and talking about like, well, he's got to get his front foot in there.
15:51So what I'm what I'm getting at there is, is like, I hope they really are having a hyper focus on him
15:57and being able to make him make those transitional changes.
16:00So when he is put if he is put into two wide receiver sets, he can succeed because unfortunately, it does look
16:06like Ricky Pearsall might be down for some. Hopefully we'll look for some good news that's floating out there.
16:12Personally, I'll take any Des Bryant analysis for a wide receiver that can never separate that well in his in his career.
16:18He's more just a catch point bully with a grain of salt.
16:21All right. You said that not me. There was another one, another injury, though, a little a little bit lower, though.
16:27And I'm going to go back to you, Debro, because I know you were on this one.
16:32We won't spend as much time as the Ricky Pearsall one, but the Panthers lost third round pick or may have lost for an extended period of time.
16:40In this practice, Chris Brazel suffered some apparent knee injury in practice.
16:43But the thing that we're focusing on is he was carted out.
16:47That's not good. There are. We have like the slacks and stuff behind the scenes.
16:51It's very funny watching you two go back and forth.
16:54I think Erickson was like, all right, you're going to have to rank Xavier Leggett now.
16:58But just your quick thoughts on the Brazel injury, Debro.
17:01And what does this mean for the Panthers offense?
17:04It freaking sucks, man. I mean, like when they're trying to put more weapons around Bryce Young.
17:08And again, going back to like just the overall complexion of this offense, it doesn't help them to want to throw the ball more.
17:15If Brazel is out, if he's like, let's just play the worst case scenario.
17:19If this is a torn ACL and he's out, then we're talking about a passing offense that goes back to an Erickson.
17:25I were joking. Erickson was like, well, just when you think you don't have to rank Xavier Leggett for fantasy.
17:31And I'm like, no, it's fine. You still don't have to just bump Jalen Coker up the ranks.
17:36But this isn't good for Bryce Young. And obviously this offense, like less weapons is not a good thing.
17:41I think you're looking at a team that has told us very loudly they want to run the freaking ball and run it all the time.
17:49That doesn't help. Like as far as if you're looking at passing volume for the Carolina Panthers in the upcoming season of
17:55Brazel is out for the whole season. We'll see what you know where the news takes us.
18:00But also to that point, this becomes a more consolidated passing attack.
18:03So while we all like, I think everybody collectively is looking for another jump in year two as the clear leader.
18:09This is also another like, this is a feather in the cap for Jalen Coker, man.
18:13He's the clear number two target in the passing attack.
18:16And he's going to get more volume that maybe like would have chipped off and gone to Chris Brazel in certain aspects.
18:22Coker is going to see a few more targets weekly, assuming that this is like a full season injury and what have you for Chris Brazel.
18:30But again, we're kind of like discussing this and dealing with this and the fall out of this kind of in the dark.
18:36Because all we have is that, you know, knee injury.
18:39It seemed like at least from the reporting I saw a non-contact and he was unable to bear weight and he was carted inside.
18:46So I think we're all collectively kind of assuming the worst.
18:49I'm hoping. Erickson, do you think this is another one?
18:52This is going to be one of those season long blows.
18:55And what does that do for the Panthers offense in your mind?
18:58So the latest I got from Joseph Pearson is that he's expected to miss eight weeks after suffering an LCL tear in his left.
19:05Oh, we have news news. So that's the last I got.
19:08So that was around 15 minutes ago. So that kind of tells you he's going to be on the IR for the Panthers.
19:15And then IR designated to return at some point.
19:17I think that it. It lessens the excitement about the Panthers passing attack because Brazel looked like a player that, OK, he
19:23is going to be this vertical field stretcher and really open things up for Tetaroa and for Jalen Coker to really eat inside.
19:30Now you're taking that player out of the equation.
19:32Does Leggett go back into that role? And clearly they were not pleased with what Leggett did last year because it went
19:39out and drafted Brazel to kind of fill into that potential role.
19:42So, again, losing depth, losing a key contributor that they were excited for.
19:46You don't love that, especially with a player like Brazel.
19:48But if he does return at some point, maybe he gives this Panthers passing game a boost in the second half of
19:55the season, especially if he has a limited route.
19:57So it's like, no, man, like you're just running go routes.
20:00And so maybe less cutting. Maybe he can return from this injury.
20:04But obviously a devastating blow for a rookie. Again, you know, first time player.
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22:04Yeah. Camp Monsters. We got a couple things I'm going to burn through, but one more I really want to touch on.
22:10Cardinals Camp has been pretty fascinating. Out here locally.
22:12I was actually thinking about going to it, but then after I made my 0 and 17 comments, I was like, maybe
22:19I shouldn't get any tickets to go over to.
22:21Have people tell you why you're wrong. Look at the schedule.
22:24Find the win. Actually, I thought, here's the bit I thought about going to do is taking a mic, walking around, because
22:30they do it in stadium, because it's like 152 degrees out here in Arizona, so you can't do it outside.
22:36They do it in the stadium. I was going to walk around and be like, how many wins do you think the
22:42Cardinals are going to have this year? And then as soon as they say anything but zero, I'll be like, wrong, and then just walk away.
22:50But I decided not to do that. But the fascinating side of it was twofold.
22:54Jeremiah Love, the comments right out of the first camp.
22:57First off, they had Algier running with the ones.
22:59I think one of the first days, Love. Love has moved around with it, but he was running with the threes.
23:05And then at the comments, that he's, quote, definitely a rookie.
23:08I'll also, as a side, throw out the there's some really negative stuff about Marvin Harrison as well.
23:13He's dropping passes. Confidence looks really bad. You know, this is the type of stuff we're getting.
23:18But that camp specifically has a lot of like fantasy owners and just like people in general, just kind of tripping out
23:24about like, what do we do here? Erickson, how much in the world of coach speak are you buying the Jeremiah Love
23:30is really a rookie and that Tyler or that Algier takes away from love this year?
23:35If Nathaniel Hackett has his hands in any type of deployment of these players, then I have reasons to be concerned because
23:41he has shown at time and time again that he's not going to set up things the right way.
23:46So I get that he's not the play caller.
23:49He's still just offensive coordinator. We're still going to see LaFleur call the plays.
23:53But look, when I'm on drafting fantasy teams and I see an Arizona Cardinal, I see somebody else.
23:58I always seem to gravitate towards the other player on a team that I just.
24:02Again, we talked about it last week. This team could go 0-17.
24:06How many good fantasy players can come from a team that goes 0-17?
24:09Will. Will go 0-17. Will go 0-17. You guys are like so with me.
24:13This is great. I mean, it's just the perfect run out, especially when you forecast in 2027.
24:18Okay, we're going to get finally get to Marv to break out because he's going to have Archie Manning throwing him the football in 2027.
24:25You get the Archie, the Manning combination, Harrison. You know, you couldn't write it any better.
24:30And how do you get there? You go 0-17.
24:32So I think for me, it's like Jeremiah Love from a season-long fantasy perspective.
24:36I do think that there is a chance he still finishes the top 12 running back.
24:41Traditionally, guys that have gone as high as he's in the draft.
24:44But I think it's going to be backloaded. And I think that's going to be really annoying to start the year.
24:50And they're going to be like, yeah, we're going to use Algier here, you know, before James Conner, whether he gets cut or whatnot.
24:57I think, yeah, it's going to be annoying. And you're going to want to have someone like Jeremiah Love in the second
25:03half of the season when they really are leaning more into their rookies.
25:06Again, Carson Beck might also be starting. So you have to keep that in mind.
25:11But Jeremiah Love is as good as advertised. I think he'll deliver in the second half.
25:15So for me, I see him kind of falling in fantasy drafts.
25:19But I view him more as a maybe I'll trade for him, you know, as the season travels, as we start to see this Cardinals offense actually live.
25:26That's kind of the angle I'm looking at it.
25:29But yeah, I'm not I'm not optimistic about trying to go out of my way to draft Arizona Cardinals players.
25:35I mean, a good thing is when they go, you know, oh, and for there's going to be no reason to put
25:41out guys like James Conner and Alshier and just have Jeremiah Love like learn when you're just one of the worst teams.
25:47But Debro, do you think that the Jeremiah Love comment is overblown?
25:50Or do you think we really might see him be put in more of a muted role even into the first half
25:57of the season based on the comments? Nathaniel Hackett is dumb, dumb, dumb.
26:00And he's dumb enough to do this. This is go draft running back in the top five of the NFL draft.
26:06He's awesome. He's a legendary talent. He's going to be elite and stuff like that.
26:10Oh, but he's a rookie and we're not going to put Tyler O's year was one of the most inefficient freaking running
26:17backs in the entire damn NFL last year. If you look at it on a per touch basis, he was a touchdown vulture.
26:23That's it. What are we doing here? You're a team that goes out and you draft a running back and you give
26:29him like the guaranteed money of that contract. And then you're going to like double down and say like, oh, well, but
26:36he's a rookie and Tyler O's year. Then why did you draft him?
26:39They're so freaking stupid. Bad teams stay bad, dude.
26:42Bad teams stay bad. It's the long plan, D bro.
26:45We've got a three year plan. D bro. Remember when we were at the Canton Hall of Fame and I asked, I
26:51was like, where are all the Arizona Cardinals jerseys?
26:53Well, so that was one thing. The other thing too is they have every team except Pat Tillman.
26:58Shout out to Pat Tillman. Oh, you're going to the records?
27:01Yeah. Yeah. The records of like all these teams and the Arizona Cardinals or Cardinals in general like go back like the farthest, right?
27:08To like the 1950s, even before then. I'm looking, I'm trying to figure out because it will like highlight these spectacular seasons
27:14and I'm like, there are none for the Cardinals.
27:17You just have to keep going back and back and back and these seasons just don't exist.
27:22And it's just like, this is what happens when you have bad ownership, bad ownership trickles down to the hires that you make in terms of your coaching.
27:30And that reflects on the players and the drafts.
27:32And yeah, just bad teams stay bad. I think of the meme in my head.
27:36It's like when you guys are talking about this with love, like what is the idea between doing this?
27:42It's like from, I think was it big daddy be like, so what's the plan?
27:46He's got a five-year plan. What is it? Don't die.
27:49Like that's the plan. They're like, well, we got love, but we'll use them like next year.
27:54And that's what we'll go for. Dude. I'm old enough to remember when Nathaniel Hackett rolled out Melvin Gordon over Javante Williams
28:00and a feature role for most of a season and stuff.
28:03So for everybody that says that this can't happen, it won't happen.
28:06Be kind of rewind. And Nathaniel Hackett has done this and he's done dumber stuff than this.
28:11So don't never say never when it's hack attack.
28:14Man. And by the way, Marvin's mentals are bad now.
28:16Just wait till they're 0 and 7. Wait till Carson Beck is throwing him hospital balls across the freaking middle of the field.
28:23Don't worry. We're going to get some Brian Thomas Jr.
28:26Yips from him over the middle of the field when Beck is laying him out.
28:30Oh, no. Going to be wrong. Are we pouring out another year three wide receiver breakout?
28:34Are we just burying all these players on this?
28:37Pierce all done. Harrison done. No year three breakouts to be found except Jalen Coker.
28:41He's the only one. That's the only one. The low key winner so far through our 25 minutes of recording.
28:47Coker, it's unite. Yep. It's such a great it's such a great nickname of that group.
28:51Just a couple other news and notes just to blast past you.
28:55Micah Parsons is going to be on the pup.
28:57That's a week six return. We'll see. I think sometimes a little clerical in the preseason, but he's both put on the pup.
29:04Denzel Ward and Jalen Carter both got some big contracts floating out there.
29:07Also, Jamal Adams signed a deal, which is interesting.
29:10Carter got the four year extension, 152 million. Over on the Bucs, Baker Mayfield is expected to play without a deal in 2026.
29:16That's been kind of dominating camp news. While also Vitavia has requested a trade.
29:20So that's kind of trippy. And the one that I really like, because I did this a couple of weeks ago before
29:27it was popular to talk positively, but Tank Dell was cleared in Texans camp.
29:30I tell you, you try not to buy into all the videos you see out there, but I saw him cutting and turning.
29:37I thought he looked good. There's no I mean, he's best friends with CJ Stroud.
29:41There's just no way he was going to fade out into the world.
29:45So even though I'm a Colts guy over a Texans guy, unlike Debro, Tank Dell being cleared, I think is huge news.
29:51And I believe I saw Noel was hurt as well.
29:54Yeah, I was going to I was going to tell you to Welsh to button up with that.
29:59Jayla Null is dealing with a finger injury. They said it could keep him out a few weeks.
30:04So I'm guessing he's got a fractured finger. Really good news for Tank Dell.
30:08So just Erickson, anything in that you want to make?
30:11Is there any one thing that stands out between the Micah Parsons pup, the Baker Mayfield playing without a deal?
30:16Tank Dell, any of those little news and notes stand out to you?
30:20The Mayfield one stands out to me because you always want to bet on Mayfield when he has a fire under his bat.
30:27Like that's exactly who you want to bet on whenever he's an underdog, whenever he's being counted out.
30:32This is when he always plays his best ball.
30:34So be higher on Baker Mayfield in any fantasy betting, etc.
30:37Again, that doesn't necessarily translate to wins for the Buccaneers because I do think they have some issues and holes.
30:43But I think for Baker Mayfield specifically, he's someone that I think I'm going to actually move up in my fantasy rankings
30:49because, yeah, I want him to be playing without a contract because he's going to make everybody shove it because that's exactly what he does.
30:56So Mayfield for me and then the Tank Dell thing, I'll just say one about him being best friends with CJ Stroud.
31:02Look, CJ Stroud's rookie year coincided with Tank Dell's really strong rookie year as well.
31:07So I don't think that those things are completely different.
31:09I don't know if we'll ever see the same Tank Dell that we did see early in his career.
31:15But the fact that Stroud will have him, I think does matter a lot significantly.
31:19So, yeah. Do you guys see that video of Stroud walking up to camp where it looked like he was going into computer science camp?
31:26Like, that was a rough video to watch. That did not look like he was going to be a quarterback.
31:32He looked like everybody in the millennial generation walking into junior high school.
31:35Like, I mean, just juxtapose every junior high. Because he's all ball, baby.
31:39He's all ball. He's not reading his press clippings anymore.
31:42He's not doing the tour with Micah Parsons. He is locked and loaded because, hey, he's like, I got to get paid.
31:48That'll do when you suck for a few seasons and you stop, you know, smelling your own farts so much.
31:54I got to get paid. I got to get paid.
31:56We'll do that. All right. Dark Horses are coming up.
31:59We got to talk about some Dark Horses, but before we do, giveaway time.
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32:34Dark Horse Super Bowl candidates. That's what we want to talk about because if you go over to Betting Pros, we have a great page.
32:41We have tons and tons of information, but our site over on Betting Pros, you can easily go and see and you
32:47can see future betting if you want to just make it really simple and you want to put a Super Bowl contender in.
32:54Or if you just want to understand the landscape of the NFL and where Vegas and the markets are putting, you can see there are some top-in teams.
33:02The Rams are currently at the tippy top around 5.5 to 1, opened up around 9, but obviously the moves and the
33:08potential Aaron Donald return have moved them up. Buffalo is around 10 to 1.
33:12Baltimore is 12 to 1. You've got Seattle at 12 to 1.
33:1516 to 1 for the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chargers around 17.5 and the Eagles around 18.
33:20So that's like your top seven in the market.
33:23That's not what we're here to talk about. We're here to talk about where are the big odds and the likelihood of
33:29some of these, quote, dark horse teams that are not in that top seven or eight.
33:33What is the likelihood of a real Super Bowl opportunity?
33:36So I'm going to present to you guys five teams that we've kind of collectively kind of worked through and agreed that
33:42these are really good teams to hyper-focus on because, duh, by the way, you go down and be like, well, there's a
33:49Cardinals or, you know, 12 billion to 1. It's like, that's not the reality here.
33:53The reality is looking at teams that have viable opportunities to do this.
33:56And we are going to start from the highest percentage here.
34:00And this is an 18 to 1 Detroit Lions team.
34:02And Eric, I'm going to start with you because you have talked about them before.
34:07We've talked a decent amount about them from a team at the bottom of a division.
34:11That's so much talent needing to break through. They are a definite division winner.
34:15But buy or sell them as a real Super Bowl dark horse contender.
34:19Buying the Detroit Lions as a Super Bowl contender.
34:21They have the easiest schedule in the NFL next year, 2026.
34:24And when you just look at it from a, are they going to be playing in pristine conditions or is it going to be outdoor and windy?
34:32They basically don't ever play outside. So from weeks 15 or five through 16, they play two outside games.
34:37One of them is in Miami in week nine.
34:40So we're going to be flowing with the sun.
34:42It's going to be absolutely fantastic. And the other game, repeat that.
34:46Wait, repeat that again. How many outside outdoor games from when to when?
34:49From week five to week 16, they play outside twice.
34:52That's insane. That's insane. The indoor cat, baby. The indoor cat's ready to purr.
34:56Pristine conditions for a very favorable schedule where they should be playing with leads.
35:00And the other game that's outside is in Germany in week 10.
35:03And that's an Amon Ross St. Brown homecoming game.
35:06So again, it's against my Patriots, which sucks. But I think the Lions are probably going to come away with a W.
35:12So the Lions, again, they're benefiting from coming in last place last year.
35:16And that's why it's really interesting because this is what the market is expecting.
35:20Again, their odds compared to the other teams in the NFC North.
35:23Well, they're small favorites to win the NFC North despite coming in last place in the NFC North because the final win-loss
35:29record doesn't do a good job of really projecting the Lions moving forward because they were one of the most injured teams
35:36last year, specifically on the defensive side of the football.
35:38The offensive line had a ton of injuries and, you know, losing Ben Johnson.
35:42I think that bringing Drew Petsing is going to be an upgrade from the offensive coordinator, John Morton, last year.
35:48You also have Dan Campbell as a potential play calling option if things don't necessarily hit the ground running under a new OC.
35:54So I think that the Lions are really set up here to go from worst to first.
35:59We see this every single year with teams in divisions.
36:02And by just the way that the weird scheduling happened last year, that they came in last, I think the Lions should
36:08be the favorites to win the NFC North again, like they did two years ago when they were running the table, I
36:14think as either the number one or number two seed in the NFC.
36:18They obviously got upset by the commander. So I like the Lions a lot.
36:22We talked about them in the betting pro show, I believe, of taking the over.
36:26I think they're a long shot to win the NFC overall, be the number one seed in the NFC.
36:32So, yeah, I'm buying the Detroit Lions. All right, D-Bro, buy or sell 18 to 1.
36:36Detroit Lions is an actual Dark Horse Super Bowl contender.
36:39All in on it. Love it. Love this call.
36:42I love it from so many different parts of pieces, like everything that Erickson laid out.
36:46As well as right now, per Sharp football, they have the easiest schedule right now for 2026 based off of projected win totals.
36:53And just a ton of this stuff is lining up.
36:55The other thing about it, and Erickson, you love to point this out all the time, man.
37:00So hat tip. They have been so injury depleted over the last few years.
37:04Eventually, this team has to run right on injuries.
37:07Like nobody has run worse with their defense just getting decimated year after year after year.
37:11Well, the 49ers can make a case. But when the entire Lions defensive line just disintegrated over previous years, the 49ers have had it bad.
37:18But I can also say the Lions have had it just as bad, if not worse, man.
37:23So you're not wrong about that. OK, so yeah.
37:25OK, so you're by you guys are both easy.
37:28Those are kind of easy buys. And so let's move to number two.
37:32Then a Debra, we're going to start with you.
37:34So you can kick this one off. This is around a 20 to one Cincinnati Bengals team.
37:39Joe Burrow's health is obviously the key point to this.
37:42They got the wide receiver core back. They're kind of running a lot of that back.
37:46So if the division looks kind of weaker than it's been in many years, if Joe Burrow stays healthy, buy or sell
37:53the Bengals as a legitimate dark horse candidate. Buying it.
37:55Big time buying it. Like, I think if you're if you're making, I honestly think like all the five teams like right
38:02now, I'm I'm just going to tell everybody go out right now and bet all these five teams.
38:07If you just like toss one unit bets to all these five teams, you hit one of them.
38:12It's it's it's going to make make your season.
38:14So I bet on the Bengals, man. There's so much good stuff.
38:18You know, the team that happens to be second.
38:20As far as easiest schedules right behind the lines, Cincinnati Bengals, baby.
38:24I mean, so we want to talk about the schedule.
38:26We want to talk about running it back with the offense.
38:29We know the offense is going to be good.
38:32Their offensive line is not going to be a road grader like top five unit, but they're going to be league average
38:38and at least decent that the improvements they made on the defensive side of the ball this offseason were massive boys like
38:44signing boy Mafia trading for Dexter Lawrence bringing in Jonathan Allen, whatever they get out of Miles Murphy and Shamar Stewart should be counted as a win.
38:52Plus, they drafted Cassius Howell. Their linebackers are still got awful.
38:55I'm not going to talk good about them, but the cornerback room they try or they sign Brian Cook.
39:00They had Dax Hill returning. DJ Turner is one of the best shutdown man cover corners, shadow corners in the entire damn NFL.
39:07And he doesn't ever get talked about that way.
39:09But if you look at the numbers last year, it is a no fly zone with DJ Turner.
39:15So yes, Bengals to the bowl, baby. I mean, I'm in it.
39:18All right, Erickson, I'm actually going to loosely ask you, are you kind of a buy on all these teams we're going to talk about?
39:25Because we can take another angle to it if you are a straight buy where we can order these and rank these after the fact.
39:32But I give that to you to say buy or sell the Bengals as a legitimate dark horse candidate.
39:37Also buying the Cincinnati Bengals, I think that you get a healthy Joe Burrow and you have a team that can beat any other team in the AFC.
39:45I think that that's not going on on a limb.
39:48We've seen what this offense can do when he's operating at the peak of his powers as a matter of him staying healthy.
39:55The offensive line has had its issues in the past.
39:57And I know part of it is also Burrow likes to hold onto the ball.
40:02He's like, I'd rather sometimes just take a sack, whatever, instead of just like throwing it away.
40:06So that does sometimes create situations where he takes more hits.
40:09But this has been pointed out on multiple publications on The Athletic.
40:13They talked about how this is the first time in Joe Burrow's career that all five starters are coming back for the offensive line.
40:20So you're getting some cohesiveness with a unit that can grow.
40:23And I think that we saw Brandon Thorne, the offensive line expert over at ETR.
40:27He really talked about how the Georgia guys that they have have.
40:30Those are where you see the upside case for the Bengals offensive line to be much more improved.
40:35Amarius Mims, stud tackle, really, really young. Dylan Fairchild, very, very young.
40:39So if those guys take massive leaps, now maybe the offensive line goes from, okay, it can be average or maybe it
40:45actually can be a top 10 fringe unit that's actually powering this team.
40:49They're running the ball more effectively. And then on the defensive side of the ball, I think Dexter Lawrence is just, I
40:55think it's kind of being undersold how good he can be if he's healthy and ready to go.
41:00Like the impact that he does at all three levels, because he's then putting every other Bengals player in a more favorable situation.
41:06I think that he helps a lot of these young defensive players that are on this roster.
41:11There's a lot of talent. The Bengals have been trying to improve their defense, right?
41:15But it just hasn't worked out. I think there is under the radar talent there.
41:20Getting Dexter Lawrence as the leader of that room on the defensive side where he's motivated and ready to go.
41:25I think you're going to see this defense play significantly better after they were historically bad.
41:30It wasn't just bad last year. It was, oh yeah, we give up 30 points per game every single week bad.
41:36And we have no chance of ever getting out when Jake Browning is throwing a pick six every time he gets the football.
41:42So I, yeah, I'm all about the Bengals and I don't know if this is a positive or negative, but the fact
41:48that Zach Taylor is the only returning head coach, again, going back to there is some cohesiveness with the Bengals.
41:54I don't think it's a positive, like, but I'm willing to hear the argument.
41:58No, no. And that's not the angle I'm trying to get at.
42:01I'm just saying like cohesiveness, right? Every other team is doing something new.
42:05They have a new head coach. They have new this, they have new that.
42:09And sometimes that works out, but all, a lot of times the new things just crash and burn.
42:14Whereas, Hey, we were just running back the hits.
42:17Look, if Zach Taylor gets Joe Burrow healthy and to give credit to Zach Taylor, he did pull the plug on Jake
42:23Browning really early last year, got Flacco and got the offense back up and cooking.
42:27Now, I don't know if he deserves all that credit, but it was way more than I expected him.
42:32I thought that once Burrow went down, I thought the Bengals team was totally screwed.
42:37And I think it was a smart move for them to go and get Flacco.
42:41So I will give Zach Taylor his flowers in that capacity.
42:44But besides that, yes, I would agree. He's been mostly underwhelming.
42:47By the way, Debra just shared this. Literally just hit the timeline.
42:50Shamar Stewart was just carted off the field for the Bengals on Wednesday.
42:54So that's not the best thing. No, but at least the good thing for them is they've added so much depth.
43:00They like, he was a wild card. They weren't counting on him to be like an every down starter anyway.
43:06So at least, you know, it's a depth hit.
43:08Okay. I'm going to pair these two together because I think they're close.
43:12And you guys have to pick one that you want to buy on.
43:15It would have been better if I would have done this with the Bengals and this next team.
43:20But we're going to go with the Denver Broncos, dark horse number three at 20 to one.
43:25So they're the same as the Bengals. And then I'm going to pair that with the Cowboys who are 25 to one.
43:31Again, health plays a huge role in for the Cowboys.
43:34Clearly the Denver Broncos and what Bo Nix did.
43:37And, you know, I mean, I should also probably say health, but bringing in Jalen Waddell.
43:41Erickson, we'll start with you on this one. You've got the Broncos and you've got the Cowboys.
43:4620 to one for the Broncos, 25 for the Cowboys.
43:49Which of these two is the dark horse that you would buy?
43:52I am going with the Cowboys. I mean, who rides the, do I want to be the horse or be the one riding the horse?
43:59I'm the rider, baby. Let's go. Dallas Cowboys. That's what I like.
44:03There's a Jerry Jones joke in here somewhere. Look, the Cowboys are traditionally the most hyped up offseason team every single year.
44:09And I'm probably just following hook, line, and sinker for this when you look at them on paper.
44:14Because they always build really strong rosters and then just end up running into some type of issue.
44:19Dak Brescott gets hurt every other year. Whether that happens again, then, hey, so be it.
44:24It will let it beat me. But similar to the Cincinnati Bengals, what if they have an average defense?
44:29And I think they put the personnel. They were doing it last year, right?
44:33When you trade Micah Parsons away before the season starts, yeah, of course your defense is going to be terrible.
44:39Because there was no off-ramp plan. It was, okay, well, Dak, get ready to throw or post 30 points per game or
44:45else we're not going to win any of these contests.
44:48So I think that the defense is going to be much better set up getting Quillen Williams back.
44:53We saw him have an impact in the second half of last year where Dallas' defense, I remember talking about a lot
44:59of the betting shows where, hey, this Dallas defense is not as bad as it once was to start the year.
45:05Getting Siobhan Ravel back, a guy that he drafted two years ago, he was coming off an ACL injury entering his second season.
45:11Now he's fully healthy and ready to go. So I think that with the cornerback position, they are seeing upgrades.
45:17The secondary, they actually have formidable safeties now that can actually protect the back end so they're just not giving up chunk play after chunk play.
45:24The Cowboys made the playoffs for three straight seasons when they had a top 10 scoring defense and they averaged 12 wins per season.
45:31Last year, they led the NFL in pressure rate, but they finished second worst interceptions and below average in total sacks.
45:37So I think there's a lot of regression that's going to work positively for them on the defensive side of the football.
45:43And with Dak Prescott, yes, I do think that the schedule is going to be tougher for them as well.
45:49Last year, it was really good for this offense to just absolutely cook.
45:52So I don't think that their offense will be as good in terms of just like raw counting points in terms of
45:59how many completions, how many yards Dak will throw for.
46:01But there's no reason to think that he's not going to still be really efficient with the weapons that he has between
46:08Lamb, George Pickens, Ferguson, Javante Williams after a bounce back year.
46:11So I like the Dallas Cowboys a lot. OK, I'm going to do this.
46:15I'm going to I'm going to flip out one thing here.
46:18Erickson has picked the Dallas Cowboys over the Denver Broncos.
46:21D bro, I am not going to talk about the dark horse of the Denver Broncos or the Dallas Cowboys.
46:26I am going to throw the last one on this list because this last team was for you.
46:31At. 80 to one, I believe is the number.
46:34The New Orleans Saints, you came on here and said they could have an efficient Rams type of offense.
46:39They could explode through. They can win the division.
46:42But are they a legitimate Super Bowl dark horse candidate?
46:44D bro. Yay or nay? I think they can be.
46:47I absolutely think they can be like looking at not only their schedule, looking at the division around them.
46:53I mean, it's really the Buccaneers. Like I'm not worried about the Panthers and the Falcons threatening them so they can take their division.
46:59If somehow they can, you know, win enough team, win enough games and get a first round by then we're that much closer to the Super Bowl, man.
47:07And we see this year after year, like with all the offseason moves that the Saints did, like they brought in Caden Alves, Travis H.
47:14And David Edwards to an already like solid offensive line.
47:17If that gels early, this could be a top 10 unit this year.
47:21We're bringing in Kristen Miller, Jordan Tyson, Bryce Lance, Oscar Dell, more weapons for Tyler Shook in his second season.
47:26And we saw them close hot last year, man.
47:29Like weeks 14 through 18, they closed with a four and one record, 24.8 points per game that have been top 12 offense.
47:35And Kevin Moore, I think like a lot of the luster for him is kind of like he's lost the shine.
47:41But I'm like, he's still the same guy that we were talking about over like the last few years as being like a rising hot shot young coach.
47:49It's just like the luster kind of like went off of him and everybody's like, oh, well, that's not the guy now.
47:55It's like, no, he's still a really freaking good coach.
47:58We saw this with the Eagles before going to the Saints.
48:01I think they can be in this conversation. And I know people just think like I'm just being a goofy homer.
48:07But like what was everybody saying about the Patriots last year?
48:10What were the conversations? Oh, they got a crazy easy schedule, blah, blah, blah.
48:14They ran it all the way to the freaking Super Bowl, man.
48:18So, yes, I'm in on the Saints. And just to toss some love here, man, like I think it's insane, honestly, that
48:24the Broncos are plus 2000 for the Super Bowl for a team that if they had Bo Nix and didn't have Jarrett
48:30Stidham, they would have probably been in the Super Bowl over the freaking Patriots and maybe would have beat the damn Seahawks.
48:36So the fact that they're on the outside looking in, they still have a stacked roster.
48:41They added Jalen Waddell this offseason. They were a clear like the betting odds are wrong on them for the Super Bowl.
48:47Okay, so we've got the Lions, the Bengals, the Broncos, the Cowboys and the Saints.
48:51Our five favorite dark horse Super Bowl candidates. D-Bro, you can only have one.
48:55I was going to say, don't you dare say the Broncos are Cowboys after I didn't even let you talk on them,
49:01but you did talk on the Broncos. If you can only pick one just quickly, they're calling us off the tailgate.
49:07Game's going to start here in a second. Which of these five dark horses are you going with?
49:12Lions. Lions. Erickson, same thing. Of these five, Lions, Bengals, Broncos, Cowboys, Saints.
49:16Bengals. Bengals. Nice. That was my second choice. That was my second choice.
49:20Yep. All right, you guys are locked in. Bengals and Lions at 18 and 20 to 1.
49:24Oh my. Very good odds. You guys want to check out the odds, go to bettingpros.com slash NFL slash odds.
49:30You can click on the team futures. This is a great dad joke to end the show there.
49:35Lions and Bengals. Perfectly. This episode, by the way, is brought to you by our presenting sponsor, Hard Rock Bet Sportsbook, where
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51:05Who is your favorite dark horse? You guys can drop it in the comments below.
51:09It'll get you entered in for giveaways. Who is your favorite member, Barry?
51:12Comments below. It'll give you everything we do. It's going to be giveaways.
51:16It's a beautiful thing here. That's going to do it for the tailgate.
51:20They're calling us in. It's D-Bro. It's Erickson. I'm Welsh.
51:23Thank you guys so much for hanging out with us.
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