Jadarian Price is Right? Previewing the NFC West
STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this podcast and kept the full transcript here for context.
1 hr 38 min
Duration
Estimated from transcript
Jul 15, 2026
Published
Wed, July 15, 2026
24
Player insights
18
Players mentioned
Topics
Marvin Harrison Jr.Matthew StaffordBlake CorumPuka NacuaCharles CrossDavante AdamsElijah ArroyoJadarian PriceKendrick BourneKenneth Walker IIIKyren WilliamsMichael WilsonRashid ShaheedSam Darnold
Player analysis
Player insights
Blake Corum
PositiveUsage17:41
Corum brought a level of explosiveness that had been missing, with 16% of his runs going for 10+ yards, second only behind Devon Achane, and had more success against Seattle than Kyron Williams.
Insight pagePositiveRole18:07
For Corum to earn more playing time, he needs to improve as a pass protector similar to Kyron Williams, who has earned McVay's trust through his pass protection abilities.
Insight pageCharles Cross
PositiveRole0:18
Cross is underrated for what he can do as a left tackle and was part of the secret sauce of the Seahawks' Super Bowl run when healthy.
Insight pageDavante Adams
PositiveInjury17:19
Adams has had injuries crop up, though the source notes the Rams can compensate through 13 personnel and tight end depth.
Insight pageElijah Arroyo
PositiveRole0:14
Arroyo is a sneaky tight end to watch who could function as a glorified receiver in Seattle's multiple tight end sets, similar to how the Rams use Terrence Ferguson, with the ability to line up at X receiver and beat coverage downfield.
Insight pageJadarian Price
PositiveProjection0:18
Price is an explosive runner who fits Seattle's scheme well and should be a volume monster as the lead back, with the potential to replicate Kenneth Walker's explosiveness in the run game.
Insight pageKendrick Bourne
PositiveRole26:54
Bourne was signed by the Cardinals and has always been capable as a receiver, though he's not expected to have major fantasy implications this year.
Insight pageKenneth Walker III
PositiveUsage0:11
Kenneth Walker showed explosive play ability especially in the playoffs, creating big plays in the run game that Seattle was looking for in the second half of the season and playoffs.
Insight pageKyren Williams
NegativeUsage17:33
Williams is not explosive and doesn't create big plays, which was always the story on him coming out—he's good at the small stuff but lacks explosiveness.
Insight pageMarvin Harrison Jr.
PositiveProjection30:06
Harrison Jr. is being beaten up more than expected due to generational expectations, but he hasn't been horrible—he just hasn't lived up to the hype and needs to improve at the catch point.
Insight pagePositiveProjection30:47
Harrison Jr. recently looked massive and ripped, showing physical improvements that could help him perform better this season.
Insight pagePositiveRole30:59
Harrison Jr.'s inconsistency may be tied to chemistry with Kyler Murray and how he was featured in Drew Petzing's offense, with potential for improvement under Michael Fleur's system using more shallow and intermediate routes.
Insight pageMatthew Stafford
NegativeInjury17:13
Stafford has an ongoing back issue that could flare up at any time, with a history of back injuries that is a concern for the Rams offense.
Insight pagePositiveProjection18:29
Stafford went too low in draft rankings; he's one of the toughest players in the NFL and is expected to keep playing, with no signs of arm strength decline.
Insight pagePositiveProjection20:10
Stafford hasn't lost any arm strength and continues to make video game throws and no-look throws in crucial moments, showing no physical decline.
Insight pageMichael Wilson
PositiveProjection30:19
Wilson is a very underrated receiver who showed his talent last year and was able to produce some big games.
Insight pagePuka Nacua
NegativeInjury17:39
Nakua plays with a reckless style and peels himself off the turf multiple times per game, which is worrisome both short and long term for his durability.
Insight pageNegativeRole18:22
Nakua has had a weird offseason with some issues that have cropped up, making him a bit of a wild card for the Rams.
Insight pageRashid Shaheed
PositiveRole0:17
Shaheed was the receiver Seattle prioritized bringing back and affects the game in hidden ways beyond special teams, including getting lighter boxes because of his ability to stretch the field.
Insight pageSam Darnold
PositiveRole0:07
Darnold worked well with Clint Kubiak, especially late in the season, and benefited from the Seahawks' commitment to the run game and play action looks that set up the entire offense.
Insight pageTrey McBride
PositiveProjection29:13
McBride is one of the best, if not the best, tight ends in football with incredible hands (one drop on 169 targets) and natural playmaking ability in the open field.
Insight pageTy Simpson
NegativeRole20:39
The Rams' draft pick of Ty Simpson was baffling to the analyst, who would have preferred an offensive tackle to address depth concerns.
Insight pageTyler Allgeier
NegativeRole27:36
Allgeier signed with the Cardinals with an agreement to avoid a massive timeshare, but the team immediately drafted Jeremiah Love, a prospect in the same ballpark as Bijon Robinson, leaving him second fiddle again.
Insight pageZach Charbonnet
NegativeInjury0:18
Charbonnet tore his ACL in the playoffs and his return timeline is uncertain, opening the door for Jadarian Price to be the lead back.
Insight pageFull transcript
Episode Transcript
0:00Are all batteries the same? That's like asking if all soccer players are the same.
0:05Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that?
0:09No, just him. Now take Duracell. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside?
0:14No, just Duracell. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different and Messi only trusts Duracell.
0:19Welcome back to the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny, only NFL podcast.
0:23One of the hosts thinks Arroyo is the sound he makes when he tries to bark and I close his mouth with my hands.
0:30That's Lenny. I mean, it comes. Elijah Arroyo plays for the Seattle Seahawks.
0:34That's what we're talking about today. Because we're talking about the NFC West.
0:38That's Danny Kelly, my friend, one of the hosts of the Ringer Fantasy Football Podcast, which is knee deep in ranking hot NFL players right now.
0:46Oh, yeah. You're like getting you guys are almost at the end, right?
0:50How far are you? We are. Well, let's see here.
0:53We're doing the sweet 16. We're doing the top 16.
0:56And we just did the first four. We'll do the next four next week.
1:00And I hear that you already have some strong opinions, man, on how it's going.
1:05I've seen some. You sent some of the lists to our group chat.
1:09I'm in multiple group chats with you and you're roundly criticized.
1:12Yeah, you know, I might hop on to weigh in, give my 10 cents.
1:17Good. Jeremy Fowler surveys executives around the league. Oh, right, right.
1:20They're the top 10s and everybody goes nuts. And it was also like everyone's like, how could ESPN rank this?
1:26It's literally a survey, guys, of executives. But I always see criticisms of the list.
1:31It's like if you put one in, you got to take one out.
1:34So I just want to be clear. If I come on and I'm critiquing your list, I will be moving.
1:41There's no, this guy should be higher only. You got to knock someone down to criticize the list.
1:46We are going to rank the NFC West at the end of this, which is very difficult because the NFC West is a hellscape of a division.
1:54I've been doing these power hours every Monday. And I think actually the Niners fell in the last one.
2:00But in the first one, I think the Seahawks went like Rams, Seahawks, and the Niners were like seventh or sixth.
2:06You've been covering the Seahawks for a very long time.
2:09Is this the strongest NFC West that you can remember?
2:12I think so. Just because there's three teams. Usually in the NFC West, I feel like there's always two really good teams,
2:19then kind of an upstart and then one bad one.
2:22But you could make the argument these are three out of the top five NFC teams, maybe even three of the top four NFC teams.
2:30Yeah, definitely. So yeah, I mean, I think it's one of the best.
2:34And if you go by DVOA, I mean, especially considering how good Seahawks were last year and the Rams, according to like
2:40the DVOA rankings, I bet this is probably the best NFC West we've seen in a very long time, if ever.
2:47I think also just because of the coaches, right?
2:49Like those, I had them at this, the top three coaches in the NFL.
2:54That's so crazy. They're all in the same division.
2:56For Mike LaFleur, who like, he could be great, but like, geez, dude, like.
3:01Yeah, can you imagine coming into this division when you have, you know, two of the top, I think, offensive minds in
3:07this generation of coaches and then a guy in Mike McDonald, who is, I think, considered or starting to get the reputation
3:14as sort of the Sean McVay of defense, like the guy who could be the be the defensive schemer slash, you know,
3:21wonder kind genius who's going to kind of try to figure out how to stop some of these offenses.
3:27And so, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a hellscape of a, of a division for LaFleur to come into.
3:32I can't imagine doing that. But yeah, it's going to be tough sliding at first for him.
3:37Well, I promise we're going to talk about the Cardinals, Cardinals fans.
3:41Obviously the point of this season is different for you guys.
3:44Archie Manning. No, but like there, there, there's actually, there's a lot of, I think I'm interested in about some of the
3:51young players who, you know, like, can they get a young core on both sides of the ball?
3:57We'll get to that. But let's start with the reigning Superbowl champs, our account, the Seattle Seahawks.
4:02I thought it would be, I'm actually very interested in talking about the offense because the defense is largely running it back with a few player changes.
4:10And we'll get to that. That's where they kind of had the most losses in free agency.
4:15But this offense is, is, is a little bit of a mystery because you've got a first time play caller in the very cool name, Brian Fleury.
4:23Uh, and I think it's really interesting, Danny. Like I, I've been trying to read interviews with him or about him or
4:30people talking about him to get kind of read the tea leaves.
4:34He has a really interesting resume. Um, coached defense at one point coach tight ends comes from San Francisco.
4:39So, you know, I think there's an assumption that the offense is going to look pretty similar to what we saw under Clint Kubiak.
4:47Right. But I, I've started, there's been little inklings coming out of, uh, Seattle that there might be some changes.
4:53So let's dive into it. Like what, what do you think of the hire?
4:57Do you have thoughts about it? Are you excited about it or, um, and, and also I think that the Clint Kubiak
5:04aspect of it should there be changes because for as good as Kubiak was and he earned a head coaching job.
5:10And I think as much as the Seahawks offense kind of felt like it was certainly early in the season, punching above
5:17its weight, it really finished in sort of the top 10 to 15 range last season in most metrics, which was extremely
5:23good enough because of how good the defense was, but there could be room for improvement.
5:28Yeah. Um, well I think, yeah, just to start with flurry, obviously I don't think we know that much about him, obviously
5:35in terms of what he's going to be as a play caller, the there's an element of trusting Mike McDonald here a
5:42little bit in terms of his decision to go with an outside hire, specifically one from the 49ers, you know, their division
5:48rivals, um, where it sounded like they had some internal guys that they really liked and they decided to go with the
5:55external guy, which, you know, could ruffle feathers in the building.
5:58So they obviously, it seems felt strong enough about this guy and he impressed them enough.
6:03Um, whether it was, I, you know, I think I've heard, you know, on the whiteboard, he was really impressive and just
6:10like talking about how he sees offense. Um, so I think from that point of view, I'm kind of excited to see
6:17how he does and, and just the context of him coming from another team, I think makes me think they really are impressed with him.
6:24Um, but yeah, but that being said, obviously we don't know a ton about him.
6:29I think he's going to be in the Kubiak Shanahan style where it's going to be a lot of play action.
6:35Um, try and create chunk plays down the field, lots of running, good balance, all that stuff.
6:40Um, but at the end of the day, you know, Kubiak, I think proved himself pretty well for play sequencing.
6:46Yeah. Yeah. The way that he was able to create mismatches on the fly during games and find, you know, find out
6:53little vulnerabilities and defenses as the game went on.
6:56I think that's the kind of thing you just can't know really until, until he's calling actual plays.
7:01So, um, I think overall I'm like, you know, optimistic about what he could be, but it is kind of a bummer
7:08to lose Kubiak after one year, especially with how he worked with Sam Darnold, especially late down, uh, down the stretch in the season.
7:15And so, um, having to start from scratch with another play caller, another coach, another voice in the building that does create
7:22sort of, it's just more variables in how they're going to kind of try and run this back.
7:27I think it's kind of cool that Mike McDonald doesn't play it safe with a lot of his hires.
7:33Like he does some interesting stuff. I mean, even, you know, so Ryan Grubb was the first offensive coordinator last year that
7:40he hired from college and it did not work out for a lot of reasons.
7:44Um, but he moved on from it right away and from, from him.
7:48And I think this hire feels very different because this is an NFL guy versus a college guy.
7:54So I think, you know, that kind of feels a little bit like McDonald, maybe learning his lesson or, uh, and, and
8:01yet while it's an NFL guy, like you said, it's different offense, different team.
8:05I kind of liked that too, honestly, you know what I mean?
8:08I just kind of, I just feel like he's always willing to kind of take swings with some of these hires.
8:15Um, yeah, so we'll see. Like you said, you made a great point about, uh, Kubiak had a great in-game feel for
8:21adjustments and, you know, found ways like if Jackson Smith and Jigba, I remember it was getting like blanked in the first
8:28half, he would find ways to get him involved in the second half, move him around, put him in the backfield, things
8:35like that, uh, make adjustments in the run game, uh, which was something they did also over the course of the season.
8:42It was interesting going back and looking at some of the numbers because it all netted out to, like I said, about
8:48that 10 to 15 range in most metrics, but there was a lot of interesting splits.
8:53I mean, the first half of the season, there were unbelievable passing and fairly dismal running second in April play passing 29th in April play running.
9:01And then that kind of switched. Um, they didn't, they were 11th running in the second half of the season.
9:07They got to 21st passing and a lot of that had to do with the way defenses played them.
9:13Yeah. Because they were a team in the first half of the season that really benefit benefited from defenses over indexing to the run.
9:20They would put multiple tight ends on the field and get base defense and just shred it through the air.
9:26Uh, and then I think you saw in the second half of the year, more defenses saying, actually, we don't, you know, respect your run game that much.
9:35We want to take with the pass. And, and this is what good play callers do.
9:40Seattle responded to that by getting better at running the football into more looks.
9:44Yeah. So I, it was kind of an interesting tale of two seasons, uh, Danny.
9:48And I think, um, that's something I think I'd, I'd want to see them build on is kind of what we saw from the run game.
9:56And although I do, like I said, some of that did happen because of the way defenses played them.
10:02Yeah. And I think, you know, at the beginning of the year, just kind of basing it on memory, it felt like
10:09JSN was the guy in the offense at the beginning of the year.
10:13He was the focal point. He was the stops, the straw that stirred the drink in terms of everything they were doing.
10:19He was on an absolute tear at the beginning of the year.
10:23And those types of things, anytime a guy is like on pace to set records in terms of total volume and, uh,
10:30he was on pace for a while to do like a 2000 yard season, I think.
10:35And then it ended up kind of petering out as the year went on, but that's kind of how you expect it to go because defenses start adapting.
10:43They start to know kind of like some of your tendencies and things like that.
10:48And I, I was very impressed with, um, Kubiak.
10:50And this is something that like McShay does or McVay does all the time is, um, you know, being able to do more than one thing.
10:58Like they, they showed some ability to adapt and improve their run game in the second half of the year.
11:04I think their offensive line came together as the year went on.
11:08Um, Gray's able ended up being a really important cog in their offensive line.
11:12You know, they stayed a little bit more healthy.
11:15I know that they were, um, some question marks on the interior offensive line, but at the end of the day, like
11:22their, their offensive line seemed to gel as the season went on.
11:25And then I think also, you know, um, Kenneth Walker, especially in the playoffs, particularly in the playoffs ended up kind of
11:32showing who he could really be explosive plays. Um, you know, in creating the, the, the types of big plays they were
11:39looking for the run game all first half of the year, which they weren't getting quite as much.
11:44I think in the second half and particularly in the playoffs, they were way more explosive.
11:49Um, also what they were doing with tight ends, I thought was pretty interesting.
11:53You know, like the Rams, the Rams get a lot of credit for the three tight end stuff, but the Zeahawks had
12:00some very interesting stuff they were doing with two tight ends.
12:03Um, and yeah, I just think that's why Kubiak got a head coaching job.
12:07Like he, he was very impressive to me and I, you know, when he started, I was just like, I don't know what to make of this.
12:16Like, you're basically coming out of New Orleans. Yeah, it was, it was, it could have gone in a lot of different ways.
12:23And ultimately I thought he did a great job, but, um, yeah, now we'll get to see how the, how it all
12:29evolves going forward with this new guy. I want to focus for a second on the tight ends because, uh, you mentioned
12:36that it is what Brian Fleury's background is. Right.
12:39And I think, I kind of think, I know it's a little bit of a broken record with every offense in the
12:45NFL, multiple tight ends, Rams 13 or whatever, but I kind of think for Seattle, that's going to be a pretty big factor this season.
12:53Again, they use tight ends at a pretty high rate last year, but I think it could be even more this season,
13:00even though Rashid Shaheed was the guy they prioritized bringing back.
13:03So you'd have, you know, uh, Jason and Shaheed as the two receivers, uh, if you're putting those tight ends and the two tight ends on the field.
13:12But last year it was interesting going back and looking, uh, so they were extremely good out of 12 personnel, better than
13:1811, smaller sample size, pretty even run past balance.
13:21One of the biggest differences between 12 and 11 for Seattle was Seattle was much better running when they had multiple tight ends on the field.
13:29Um, but they were in unbelievable passing when they, when they were put two tight ends on the field.
13:35Again, this is a pretty decent sample size and passed.
13:38They faced base defenses 70% of the time and averaged 0.52 EPA by passing at 12.4 yards per play, just absolutely shredding it.
13:45Um, 12 yards per play. All right. And that was actually dramatically worse when they face nickel, but then they were good
13:51running the ball out of those multiple, which is, again, this is like literally the point, right?
13:57Right. Right. Two times in the field, base throat, nickel run.
14:00Seattle was the poster child for that when you look at the numbers.
14:04Um, but I also think it's because of the tight ends that they have to like AJ Barner, uh, was their traditional
14:11inline tight end who could also give you decent amount of mismatches in the passing game.
14:15Like you, you know, you remember, pardon me, him, um, catching the ball on posts and downfield crossers.
14:21So often it felt like he was wide open.
14:24Yeah. Sometimes literally wide open because of all the attention paid to JSN, but a row yo who I made a joke
14:30about the beginning, I think is, is a sneaky one to watch, you know, high draft pick.
14:35Yeah. He could be not to like do the Rams comparison, but the Terrence Ferguson, right.
14:40And the multiple tight end sets where he is almost as much of like a glorified receiver, uh, in that passing attack, Danny.
14:47Yeah. I mean, that is, that is to me, the, one of the big questions coming into this year is obviously, like
14:54you said, they didn't do a lot of changes on offense.
14:57They lost Kenneth Walker. That's kind of the big difference.
15:00Um, and we'll see how the, you know, Jadarian price works out in the, in the run game and all that.
15:07But yes, I think Arroyo who they, they really liked, I mean, they were comparing him.
15:12They were saying he could be like an X receiver, you know, when they draft him, you can't like rely on necessarily
15:18what coaches and scouts are talking about necessarily during the draft process.
15:22They're trying to be real. They're all very excited about the picks and everything.
15:26Um, but I remember at the time they were, they were saying things like he can line up at the X receiver spot.
15:33They can put them on the line. He can beat, um, beat coverage down the field.
15:38He's obviously a really good athlete, really explosive, um, create big play.
15:42And I think that's the type of thing that you could see them try to, um, exploit this next year, especially like on play action.
15:49I think that, that, that Barner touchdown in the, in the super bowl was they kind of had set that up over the course of the game.
15:57I think he had run like a similar, like he, he basically had come across the field a couple different times, like block in the run game.
16:06And so the Patriots eventually overplayed that and tried to get over the top of him.
16:10And then he kind of snuck back. He, he, cause he was coming over to block in those situations.
16:16And then later in the game, he snuck out and was wide open down the field.
16:21Cause they thought he was coming into just like block for a run play.
16:25Um, and that's the type of thing that you can do where you're dictating matchups.
16:30You're, you're getting base personnel on defense on the field because you come out with two or three tight ends on the field.
16:37And he's the type of guy who can outrun linebackers outrun these bigger run defense type players.
16:42Um, and I think that's kind of how they see him fitting in and they can do that with Barner too.
16:48I think Barner is a good enough athlete, but Arroyo I think is, you know, pretty special in terms of his ability
16:55to create big plays run after the catch. I think that's why they really wanted him and why they spent that pretty premium pick on him.
17:03He was hurt for most of the season. So, um, yeah, right.
17:07We didn't get to see that much. It was a small sample size.
17:11Uh, and you know, he, um, I feel like he's just one to watch, you know, Barner is like complete tight end,
17:17but he's kind of the X factor in terms of winning downfield and maintaining the explosiveness of this offense.
17:23Yeah. Um, you know, it just obviously J said, but like the thing is, you saw this year went on so much
17:30attention is paid defensively to J said, it creates incredible opportunities for everyone else.
17:34Shahid obviously was the guy they prioritize bringing back something I talked about last season was kind of the hidden ways and
17:41he affected the game, not just special teams, but also I think getting lighter boxes because of his ability to stretch the field.
17:48So I'm excited about this offense. I mean, the line is the same.
17:52Like that's it's the last time you and I saw the X offensive line.
17:56That was the same two years in a row.
17:59It literally is the same. Um, and I know some people wanted them to upgrade from Bradford, most people, but, uh, they brought in competition.
18:06They drafted, uh, both Stevens. Right. We'll see what the deal is with that.
18:10But I think, you know, I've, I've mentioned this a lot, having those two tackles healthy the entire season, the secret sauce of the Seahawks Superbowl run.
18:19Yeah, absolutely. That was a huge part of it.
18:21Um, you know, I think Charles cross is underrated still for what he can do.
18:26Um, and then I think just like it, like I mentioned earlier, grades able kind of just, uh, stabilizing things a little
18:33bit because it felt like over the last few years, the Seahawks offensive line is just, you know, they had just guys coming in and coming out.
18:41Everybody was like banged up. It just, they didn't have any continuity.
18:45Um, they didn't have any stability. And so now like you're seeing this continuity that hopefully everyone can stay at least relatively healthy.
18:51Um, and that could make a massive difference. And I'm excited to see, you know, what your Darian price can do.
18:58Cause I don't know how quickly Zach Charbonnet is going to be back.
19:02He tore his ACL in the playoffs. Um, I'm sorry.
19:05I'm not smiling at, um, that it's obviously horrible.
19:08I will be back. I'm smiling because, um, just like the fantasy conversation about Darian price is going to be, cause it's like the first round draft pick.
19:16Like wide open. He should be a volume monster.
19:19Watch him. And yet. Yeah. I know with George Alati.
19:22Who's like, I think I thought it's kind of good too.
19:25I just, who knows? Um, I'm excited about price.
19:28I think he's a great scheme. It was, you know, whatever you think about the draft pick and the value.
19:34Sure. Great scheme fit based on what I saw on tape.
19:37I mean, you, you, you watched him a ton ahead of the draft.
19:41What'd you think of him? I mean, explosive is the first word that comes to mind.
19:46Like he just kept ripping off long runs. And I think that's what they saw in him.
19:51The value that Kenneth Walker does bring in, in his explosiveness as a runner.
19:56Um, because like, you know, if you're the Seahawks run the ball, it's a utility that it gets the defense to respect the run.
20:03I think in that it's like a mindset thing, like the offensive lineman, like blocking for the run, it all kind of works together.
20:10I think it's like a psychological thing and they do it not necessarily because it's more efficient.
20:15Like clearly it's not as efficient as passing. Um, but it is a utility thing where they just want to, they need
20:22to do it and have it as their foundation and then they can build other things off of that.
20:28And I think when you can get explosive plays in the run game, that's huge.
20:32That's massive because, um, it, then it just, you don't have to do as many, you don't have to make as many big plays in the passing game.
20:41Um, and they're safer technically like unit, you'd less likely to get a pick or, or an errant pass and, or a sack.
20:48And so, you know, having that run game is going to be huge.
20:52It will be interesting to see how they rotate.
20:55I think Helani, every time he's gotten in, he, he does interesting.
20:58He's good. He's yeah. And he was very productive in college.
21:01So I think there's something there for him too.
21:04It's very important. It's a team that ran the ball a lot on early downs and it, like you said, set up
21:11the entire offense, the commitment to it, getting base defense, getting those play action looks.
21:15Um, you know, and there were so, this, this is an office like Sam Darnold.
21:20I was, um, looking this up, uh, actually I was looking up a different quarterback and then I noticed and first down,
21:27he was eighth in QBR on third down. He was 26, which is the largest drop went from 61 to 37, which is the second.
21:34Largest drop off of any quarterback. Um, and that's not all on him per se.
21:39I'm just saying, cause I think that there's a lot of reasons why the Seahawks off passing offense was better on early
21:46downs, but that's really important in this office for this quarterback.
21:49Um, and let's wrap there at the quarterback. Like, uh, what is your, he's coming up now because it's QB ranking season.
21:56Um, and you know, I've seen him, I think everywhere in that, like 13 to 23 range to put it broadly.
22:02The middle, the middle class. Yeah. Yeah. He's the, like, I, I mean, he's, I think he, what he showed last year
22:09is that he, he will give you competent quarterback play and then also elevate it to an extremely high level in some big moments.
22:16Yeah. Obviously. Um, are you at all concerned about what you saw in the second half of last season or do you
22:23think the circumstances that we discussed are good enough that you're not worried?
22:27I mean, I think he was kind of, uh, he, he has always been a bit of an enigma, you know, because
22:33he's so talented from a physical throwing standpoint. He makes some of the most incredible throws.
22:38He kind of reminds me in some ways of, of like a Drake, uh, of, uh, sorry, um, Herbert in the sense
22:45that, you know, he can make some incredible throws and off platform falling away guy in his face, like, and still drop
22:51it in a bucket 30 yards down the field, 40 yards down the field.
22:56So the, the, the physical talent has never been a question.
22:59It's just been the decision-making how turnovers seem to, uh, compound on each other a little bit with him.
23:05And, and he kind of gets into his head and, um, starts to, to force things and, and that kind of thing.
23:12And so I think that was what I was really worried about for most of the season, really.
23:17And then in the playoffs, no turnovers in the playoffs.
23:20I think he had zero turnovers in the playoffs.
23:23So, so I'm like, I have nothing left to complain about for him.
23:27Obviously that's not going to like carry over into the NFL season completely.
23:31He's going to make some turnovers, but if he can continue to improve and not have negative plays compound on each other,
23:37I think he is that, uh, he's, he's very much in the Goldilocks sort of area of quarterback where, you know, he's
23:44not necessarily an elite guy, but he's very good.
23:47And he could make the really hard plays when you need it.
23:50You know what I mean? Like he can make, he can make miracle plays happen when he needs to.
23:56Um, he was actually very impressive. A lot of times late in games when he, when he needed to come up with
24:03a big play, he could do it. So, um, he, he made me into a believer, especially in the playoffs because I was a little worried.
24:11He was one of the top turnover, uh, top quarterbacks with most turnovers last year.
24:15Um, but at the end of the day, he played really, really well in the playoffs.
24:20He did exactly what he needed to do. So that was a huge, um, you know, confidence boost for me.
24:26I, where I come down is this. If you can tell me that you're going to get the majority of the season
24:33from Charles cross and a Lucas, I think it'd be fine.
24:36Yeah. However, if one of those two were to get hurt, I might get a little bit worried.
24:42Yeah. So I think, which by the way, that's true of a lot of quarterbacks.
24:46So, you know, like a lot of quarterbacks need starting out, but I just think it was so important last year that
24:53those guys played, um, you know, for the most of the season.
24:57And like, I did, we, we, we know with Arnold too, like a lot of decisions that you described tend to compound under pressure.
25:04Again, it's true of a lot of quarterbacks, but certain quarterbacks, it matters more, including another one who's extreme, who was the
25:11MVP who we're going to talk about. Uh, so I do think that that's probably the biggest factor for me.
25:17Um, and so, yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm optimistic about this offense, but I think I just want to acknowledge there's a lot
25:23of unknown with the new play caller and we'll see how that goes.
25:27Defense, nothing unknown here. This was either the best or second best defense in the NFL, depending on how you slice it with Houston.
25:35There are changes though, right? Like this is the unit where they let guys walk boy, mafe out, you know, part of
25:41their ed, pretty decent part of their edge depth.
25:44Um, Tariq woolen, the much, the very divisive, right?
25:47If we let our dads do a podcast, they'd say good riddance.
25:50Yeah, totally. Uh, and then, um, Kobe Bryant, the starting safety.
25:54Otherwise this is pretty much the same group. They brought back Josh job on a reasonable deal.
25:59Uh, and then they drafted a safety, but Clark to add to that group.
26:03So, you know, I talked about the Seahawks defense at length on my top 10 defenses pod.
26:08Obviously go listen to that CX fans. If you want to listen to, you know, raving about the defense, let me put it differently for you.
26:16Is there anything that concerns you? I, I guess maybe the second or third, what, I guess it would be like the
26:23third cornerback spot, depending on how they rotate things.
26:26What Devin, Devin Witherspoon kind of moves around. He's, he's a, uh, nickel back to, he, he plays inside.
26:31Um, I guess like what happens with the, the rest of the, the cornerback group with Witherspoon gone is kind of, or
26:38not with Witherspoon bond with week, week wall and con.
26:41That would be maybe one concern I have, but at the end of the day, I just really trust Mike McDonald.
26:47I think he's earned our trust in terms of what the, you know, what he can do schematically to create pressure up front.
26:54I'm not too worried about losing mafia. Um, I still think they have a pretty deep group of, of pass rushers.
27:01And I think the way that they're able to generate pressure and keep quarterbacks on their heels and not really sure what they're seeing.
27:08I think that's where, um, you can create an advantage in the backend where you don't, your corners don't have to be
27:15so tight on every receiver and play perfectly. You know what I mean?
27:19And so I think, I think that's kind of every team and every roster in the NFL has to like give up
27:25a little bit of something somewhere to, to be strong elsewhere.
27:29The CX are really strong on the defensive line in their front seven.
27:33Um, and I think, you know, I guess that, that third corner spot opposite, you know, Witherspoon and job would be sort
27:39of like the one, one week spot or, or, or at least shallow spot on their roster.
27:45So I guess their primary look will be Witherspoon on the outside.
27:48Nikki Minwari is kind of like the big nickel slash Sam slash whatever the hell is you.
27:53Right. Um, and you might see a little bit just more or less of a rotation, right?
27:59Cause last year you saw like Job and Roland, they would play both of them.
28:03Seems like Job's got the spot locked down. I mean, it was pretty damn good last year.
28:08I can see why they kept him very reliable in zone coverage.
28:12Good tackler. He's got good size. Um, yeah, I, I'm kind of with you where like, as long as Mike McDonald's in,
28:19not just from a play calling perspective, but also from a talent evaluation perspective, McDonald's been really good at finding his guys.
28:25Like the prior, I remember being told that, um, he was part of the decision to prioritize, uh, keeping Leo Williams on
28:32and getting him that big, you know, at which that was a trade people had mixed feelings about.
28:37He came, he was good, but Holy smokes. I mean, what he's become, we did, we talked about the rankings.
28:44He finished first amongst it. That actually shocked me because I always think of him as this like perpetually underrated guy who
28:50gets double teamed a lot and creates opportunities for everyone else.
28:54The league rates him number one. I mean, I don't know if I'd put him above Jeff Simmons personally, but like he's an awesome player, but yeah.
29:02Um, I just think McDonald's has been really, really good at, you know, even worry.
29:06I'm interested in seeing how they use, but Clark, who's a post guy who's rangy, can play the field, can get some interceptions.
29:13So yeah, I think, you know, obviously injuries, I guess if there's one thing, maybe edge depth, it's a little older.
29:20They brought in Dante Keller Jr. Who I think as a rotational guy makes total sense and has some familiarity with Aiden
29:26Dirt from dirty, dirty from Atlanta and Dallas. But you know, they don't, they still, they didn't have a stud edge last year.
29:33It didn't matter. I don't see why it would matter this year either.
29:37Their studs are on the inside. It's Leo and Brian Murphy are the two guys.
29:42Yeah. I think, um, that's kind of like what, what we saw with like Demarcus Lawrence coming in last year and everyone
29:49kind of thought he was on his last leg.
29:51Yeah. I don't think anybody was like this rocks.
29:54He's going to, yeah. I remember at the time I was like, oh, that, that's interesting.
29:59You know, he'll come in and I think the thought was he would be a really good run defender, you know?
30:05He is. Yeah. And he is. And, but he was also, he was a huge bonus, uh, as a pass rusher as well.
30:12I think, I guess the one thing with, with mafia leaving and, and I just have the image in my brain of mafia screaming and off the edge.
30:21He's just, he was really explosive. Yeah. Um, and I guess that will be sort of what we miss, what the Seahawks
30:27miss is just that explosive, uh, you know, closes on the quarterback before he can even really decide what's happening type of player.
30:34Um, but yeah, at the end of the day, you know, there's, there's other guys, young guys coming up, uh, glimpses of Riley Mills late in the season.
30:43I think he looked pretty interesting. Um, Superbowl had a play.
30:46Yeah. He had a really great play in the Superbowl and he, he was injured almost the entire season, so they didn't,
30:53didn't get him into the rotation until really late.
30:56Um, so, you know, I, like I said, I kind of just trust Mike McDonald to kind of figure it out, use
31:02his stars to be the big impact players. And then, and even going back to like his time in Baltimore, this is
31:09kind of like the same deal as like, you could just get really impact play from seemingly role players, uh, longtime league,
31:16league role players, uh, would come in and be really good in his system.
31:20So, um, they still have a new Osu Derek Hall, you know, they, they, they still have some guys.
31:26Hey Derek Hall. Yeah. Um, yeah, I, I think there's enough players to just keep throwing at it.
31:31Um, and then, like I said, the, the, the build is very deliberate defensive tackles are where we're going to spend our money and our drafting.
31:39Myron Murphy the second who I thought was phenomenal last year.
31:42Um, and I couldn't, I wouldn't be surprised if he's like by the end of the season, the guy on this defense
31:49that everybody's talking about, he's so disruptive, uh, rushing the quarterback.
31:52And I thought quite good against the run too.
31:55So yeah, surprisingly, surprisingly good against the run is considering he's kind of like an undersized guy known as an undersized guy.
32:02He's just really strong, really strong, really good at using his leverage to work on double teams.
32:07Let's do the Niners next. Sure. More the Niners.
32:10I constantly oscillate between looking at this roster and thinking it's awesome.
32:13And then, and then noticing that every guy named either is coming off an injury or over 30.
32:19However, I think like if you could guarantee me every single person on the Niners offensive depth chart was healthy, I might actually pick them to win.
32:27Like they, but it's just, um, so there's some changes here.
32:30Uh, we saw Purdy backed by Mac Jones. Um, but receiver wise, they brought in Mike Evans, uh, and Christian Kirk drafted on Stribling.
32:38You got Ricky Pierce salt, uh, running back room.
32:40They like Kyle Shanahan drafted the running back for some reason.
32:44There's like a zillion of them. Uh, CMC backed by George James, Isaac Grendo.
32:48Remember him? Brian John Robinson, Jr. Yeah. Kalen Black.
32:51Sure. You stick still there. Kittle still there coming off the injury.
32:54Jake Tondias at a tight end. And then the offensive line.
32:58And I pretty much the same, I think left guard, maybe Connor Colby will start, but otherwise, um, otherwise mostly the same.
33:04All right. So, uh, let's just talk about, let's start with Mike Evans, the big shiny new tour and just kind of
33:11this ride receiver group because it's awesome on paper.
33:14I think like, like I actually love when I named them, I'm like, I like how all these guys fit together.
33:20Yeah. Um, Pierce all when he's healthy, always looks really good.
33:24And he's such a nice pairing with Mike Evans.
33:26I think, you know, as somebody you can work inside, outside, but primarily the Z tough catches, great hands.
33:32Exactly. It's just, you know, Evans coming up, Evans and Pearson.
33:35And I mean, they're literally all three of the, they're all coming off injury.
33:40So I know this it's, it's funny. You mentioned the injury thing.
33:43I think that's like the story of their season last year was just, everybody got hurt.
33:48Like they've just ran out of guys and that's kind of something that seems to, seems to have happened to them the last couple of seasons.
33:56Uh, that's why the whole, you know, transfer station thing became a storyline.
34:00It's just like, why do they think? Electronics upstation.
34:03Right. Sorry. Substation. They had the, the, the, you know, all the electricity running through their veins and hurting all their ligaments and things like that.
34:11Uh, who knows if that's real, but it's, it's probably not real, but I like to think it is real.
34:17Cause it's funny. The, I think, and then they went out and after having a all time, well, not on all time, but like a horrifically terrible injury.
34:25Like when they go out and sign Mike Evans, who is, you know, not, he's always got some hamstring injury.
34:31He also, I think broke his collarbone last year to Christian Kirk, who's always been hurt.
34:36Um, those are like their two big additions to the offense.
34:40Um, so they're kind of just like, you know what, we're gonna, we're going to go for it again, even though injuries
34:46kind of was our issue last year and hopefully we'll have better luck this year.
34:51Um, I mean, I, I was mad when they got Mike Evans.
34:54I think that's a great signing for them. I think he still can play.
34:59He's a, he gives them a vertical element. He's obviously a long time proven producer veteran, um, gives them sort of like
35:05a, a go to guy that they really needed because they have, they have guys that are exciting and have potential, uh,
35:12but just aren't necessarily super reliable or proven in, in big moments.
35:16I think Mike Evans can, can be that guy for them.
35:19And then Pierce, like you said, he compliments Evans really well.
35:22Great route runner, uh, good hands. I think he just needs to prove that he can stay healthy.
35:28And then Christian Kirk is, is just a reliable long time slot receiver.
35:32He's, he's produced big numbers in the past or, or at least decent numbers in the past.
35:37Um, and, and so, yeah, they have kind of the makings of an interesting offense here.
35:42And, and Deshaun's shriveling, even though I, he, I would say he was probably overdrafted where he was as the first pick of the second round.
35:50I think he's still, you know, he's a six foot three or six, two guy who can run a four, a four,
35:56three, and he blocks his ass off. He's the, he was my favorite blocker to watch at receiver in this draft.
36:03I mean, he legitimately was pancaking guy, like multiple pancakes on.
36:06You don't see that very often. And I feel like in college player tape is receivers, pancaking defenders, like pretty frequently.
36:12And shriveling was doing that. Um, so he, he fits what they want from a, you know, toughness personality point of view,
36:19obviously, like you remember the stories of Shanahan and Brandon butting heads about being in the right place and blocking and doing
36:26all the little things that get you on the field.
36:29Obviously maybe Shanahan had a point here. Um, but yeah, so I think, you know, they have, they have good skill players in offense.
36:36George Kittle. I don't know when he's going to be back.
36:39Um, I would probably, you know, wager he won't be back for week one, but he probably won't take him too much
36:46longer to get back on the field. He tours Achilles in the playoffs.
36:50So that usually doesn't line up with a week one start the next season.
36:54I'm really struggling. All these Achilles get like him and Daniel Jones are like, we're fine.
36:59I'm like, what, well, there's like new technology and new ways, which kind of can give you hope and a couple with
37:06the fact that Kittle is sort of a known maniac in terms of just intensity and how he works.
37:12Um, so I guess I wouldn't put it past him to be back pretty early in the year, but you probably don't
37:18expect to have him realistically until the second half of the season at full go.
37:23Um, but, and then Christian McCaffrey, of course, one of the most dynamic playmakers in the NFL, one of the most versatile players, full stop in the NFL.
37:31Yeah. What he can do in the passing game.
37:34Uh, can he stay healthy? I don't know. Not only just can he stay healthy, but like, is he going to hit a wall?
37:41Cause it was so much volume. He's plays so much football and Shanahan keeps him on the field.
37:47And it's not, but him being on the field is so important because of his threat as a pass catcher of like
37:54what it does for everyone and everything. And I just like, you can see why he does it with him, even if it's not his intention.
38:02Like Shanahan is interesting too, because like this office is interesting because even as good as it's been the entire time, the
38:08last three years, it's not been 2023. They ran the ball well, but last year they were 15th in rushing deal of
38:15DVOA and they were 13th in 2024, 15th and 2022 seconds.
38:18So basically outside of 2023, when they were sorry, that the 20, 23 is the year I left out.
38:24Cause they were like first in everything that year, but otherwise 2022, 20, 24, 20, 25, this has been an exceptional passing game and an average run game.
38:32Some of that has to do though, with the fact that they just face the most stacked boxes in football every year.
38:39It was the case last year. And so the passing game benefits from the run game and Shanahan will stick to that for that purpose.
38:47Then it's smart, but I'm always like, what if defenses just really start to start or I just start to like stop
38:53stacking the box so much, you know what I mean?
38:56I don't know. Um, but some of that is because of what Kyle does.
39:01I mean, so a lot of it is because Kyle use check is on the field, right?
39:06So you're facing those necessarily, but assuming that it's still continues this season to some extent, one would think all these pass
39:13casters, Mike Evans is going to get a lot of one-on-ones same way Brandon I did.
39:17And it would absolutely be like well positioned to have a rebound season and a, and a big one.
39:23He's a good pairing with Brock Purdy. Brock Purdy is willing to throw the ball deep, throw the ball outside the numbers, make aggressive throws.
39:31And even if Evans, who's like what? 33 is lost a step.
39:34I still think he's going to be really useful in this offense because of that, his hands and size red zone as well.
39:41So I go back to what I say at the beginning.
39:45If these guys are healthy, yeah, it's going to be a kick-ass offense.
39:49Um, even if they're still just okay running the ball.
39:52Yeah. Yeah. I mean, honestly, I think I trust the offense.
39:55I would just put it that way. I trust, I trust Shanahan.
39:59It looks like every year, whoever they have a quarterback last year, we saw, I think, um, I think Purdy only played nine games in the regular season.
40:07It's like, and they still were really good when Mac Jones came in.
40:11I just trust it. I just trust Shanahan to figure it out, to create mismatches, to give his guys, they don't do
40:18it as much as they used to, but give his guys an opportunity to run after the catch.
40:23Um, and he's just very good at, it's kind of like what we were talking about with Kubiak.
40:29Like he's very good at play sequencing, at getting defenses to bite on certain tendencies and then playing off of that and
40:36just creating little wrinkles that you can use to, uh, create mismatches when based on like the way that defenses are playing
40:42you, he's just, he's a great play caller. Um, and you know, so I, I just trust the offense on the other
40:49hand, I don't really know what to make of the defense.
40:52Um, you know, I think they, they're the one of those defenses that if they stay healthy, they could be one of
40:59the tops in the league or they could be sort of middling.
41:03Like we, we saw last year when they lost a lot of their superstar players.
41:07It's crazy. I always look at FTN has that FTN, um, which by the way, their almanac is out.
41:13I always recommend people check that out. Every team, great fantasy stuff in there too.
41:17It's a really cool resource. Um, you go to FTN fantasy.com.
41:21I think you get it there, but they do these adjusted games lost or it's like, it's really useful, frankly, like the
41:27Cardinals we'll get to were just wrecked. The Niners defense was 28th in adjusted games loss, which seemed high to me.
41:34I was like, really? Like, cause the adjusted games loss also counts for the importance of the players.
41:39And I was like, y'all lost Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, your first round draft pick.
41:44My, like this defense was savaged by injuries. Um, and you had Robert solid just fighting for his life.
41:50Press the NFL right now. Raheem Morris is back.
41:52Uh, the guys I mentioned are sensibly back. Warner was, I remember threatening to return in the post season.
41:58So he should be fine. Nick Bosa is back.
42:01Um, Michael Williams is a little bit more questionable.
42:04I saw in terms of like his readiness early on.
42:07They also added a few players. Um, they traded for Osa Idigizua, who I want to talk about.
42:12Uh, they brought back old friend, Dre Greenlaw, Nate Hobbs.
42:15Interesting pickup, you know, a little bit of secondary depth there.
42:18So, yeah, I think it obviously starts with the health of Bosa and Warner and if they're healthy and they look like themselves, but they're also older players.
42:27It's such a theme with this team. Like, I'm like, yeah.
42:30I mean, Bosa is not that old, actually. He's probably about 29 or something, but.
42:35He kind of feels older though. He's 28. He'll be 29 during the season.
42:39Got it. And Warner is what I mean. I think maybe that's also like, you know, a little bit of what happened
42:46with his brother kind of like bleeding in here, where he's like, his body kind of just fell apart.
42:52You worry about that a little bit. Um, but, but yeah, I mean, like you said, it is, uh, the, it's their
42:58strategy here is basically like, we're not going to read too much into what happened last year.
43:03And we're just going to bring in a bunch more guys that are injury have injury histories and hope for the best.
43:10Um, but yeah, I mean, I, I really liked some of the players on a defense.
43:15Like Alfred Collins was a guy that I really liked coming out of the run.
43:20Uh, just a huge, huge human being of a space eater in the inside.
43:24Um, and quicker than you think. And then, uh, a diggy Zua, you know, kind of like, uh, penetrating defensive tackle.
43:30I think he could be a useful player for that.
43:33Osa is the one where I'm like, I, I'm pretty excited about this.
43:37I think it got a little bit slept on as far as, you know, the.
43:42It happened in a random, yeah. Off season trades and, um, we're going to go with the Rams and the crazy ones there.
43:49Right. In a second. But, uh, I think it could be really impactful.
43:53I mean, this is something that you talked about the penetrating three tech.
43:57I feel like they've been looking for, for ever since the departure of Buckner who continues to be awesome.
44:02Um, but last year I look at some, uh, their leading pressure getter at defensive tackle was Jordan Elliott who only had
44:0916, which is lower than any other leading defensive tackle on any team.
44:13Yeah. That's negligible. Yeah. Not great. Fewer than three Seahawks defensive tackles.
44:17Um, Odi Kizua has consistently been like a advanced metric starling, uh, like pass rush when always has him top 10.
44:23Like he's always really, really good. And obviously you had to play with Michael Parsons.
44:28Um, but I do think. He could be, especially if Bosa comes back and looks good and Williams who Michael Williams, who's
44:34a good run defender, but needs to take leave as a pass rusher, uh, brings anything.
44:39They also drafted Ramela height. Right. But I do think, uh, that Odi Kizua trade is kind of the one that has
44:46the potential to move the needle on this defensive front.
44:49Yeah. They just, that's the type of player they need to, to kind of like, I think improve from what they did last year, have more depth.
44:57Um, but yeah, he, he's the type of guy who wins quickly and can create disruption in the bat in the, in
45:04the backfield and in, in the pocket and get quarterbacks off their spot.
45:08That type of stuff is just so important. I can't believe that stat you said 16 was the most they got from an interior defender.
45:15That is just, it's just too many stagnant pockets.
45:18Like that's what that tells me is, is you're just giving opposing quarterbacks too much comfort.
45:23Um, and I think Odi Kizua is the type of player who can kind of like reverse that and just make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.
45:30That's a huge, huge deal. Um, you know, especially the playing like a guy like playing next to a guy like Nick
45:37Bosa, where defenses are going to be totally keyed in on him, double teaming, chipping, and having a guy who can win
45:44on the inside and mess things up is, is massive.
45:47So there was a smart play or a smart move by them.
45:50I think it could be really impactful. So secondary is mostly the same, um, up and down across the board, you know,
45:57up in stout was kind of one of the, uh, the, was a rookie nickel, very tough, very like, you know, playmaking potential, I think is there.
46:05I kind of like Renard better inside green and little are like, they're fine.
46:09I think Renardo green took a bit of a step back, but I also think it's okay to like, kind of also
46:16not write the year off, but because the pressure was so non-existent, it's kind of like how much can you really blame corners and safeties?
46:24You know what I mean? Cause they were just constantly having to defend for long periods of time.
46:29Yeah, it's hard. And, and I think that's one of those things where context really matters.
46:34It's, I think this is also why, by the way, you see such wild swings and effectiveness from cornerbacks year in and year out.
46:41That is one of the, I think the highest variance positions in terms of, Oh, this guy looked awesome in this defense
46:48and this scheme and this specific roster and how everything kind of fit together on that roster.
46:53And then the next year that he's like a free agent signing somewhere else.
46:57And he just is awful. It's just, it's, it's one of those positions.
47:01It's like kicker almost where they're just, it's just like so impossible to predict how, I guess, like the middle of the
47:08pack type players are going to be. But yes, I think that you don't throw it out, but it is a very
47:15important piece of context that the 49ers were just lacking pressure up front and you know, the quarterbacks were just able to
47:21pick apart the defense a little bit more than, than they should have been able to.
47:26So, um, you know, they, they, they added some guys in free agency, have some depth there.
47:31I don't know if there's like a ton to say right now.
47:35I think if they get more pressure, this could be a good secondary.
47:39I've always liked the, the, the safeties that they drafted over the years, Mustafa sauce and Jair Brown is very good.
47:45Um, or at least I'm, I'm basing kind of what I might call, you know, reports on these guys.
47:51I like these guys coming in and, and I remember when the 49ers picked them, I'm like, Ooh, I like that.
47:57Um, so yeah, I think there's, there's certainly potential here, but yeah, it all works together.
48:02Um, the final thing, Raheem Morris coming back. Uh, you know, one thing I'll just be interested in seeing is this Niners
48:09defense over the, during the Cosh Cannon era has been pretty simple.
48:13They play pretty straight up, a lot of quarters, four man rush.
48:16Um, green Morris has been with teams that have tried some other stuff.
48:20Most recently Atlanta, which was a pretty chaotic defense.
48:23Um, lots of blitzing, lots of coverage. So I'll be interested in seeing if he mixes things up a little bit more,
48:30uh, this second time around in San Francisco, but we've heard that song before and it feels like it always ends up being pretty similar.
48:37So, yeah, that's going to be interesting when I think, uh, I think of Atlanta, I'm like, you know, ever since recent
48:44times, um, they just kind of like, don't have any pass rushers.
48:48So you kind of have to like, throw everything at the wall and see what sticks kind of deal.
48:53Um, but yeah, obviously like the 49ers, I think a lot depends on how healthy their pass rushers are.
48:59But if Nick Bosa is back to where he was, if Romero height comes in and makes like an impact early on,
49:06cause he's, you know, he's an undersized guy. Yeah.
49:09It's really small. He's like 240, 240 pounds. Um, and I think he's a bit of a one trick pony in terms
49:15of like, he's a situational pass rusher, I'd say at, uh, you know, most likely.
49:20Um, and he's really explosive, but he's an older guy.
49:23I think he's like 25, 26 years old. Um, and so that's obviously, you know, a variable here.
49:28I think they can hope to get him as a situational pass rusher, just kind of mix things up on later downs, third downs.
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51:30All right, let's take a quick break. Come back and talk about a team that doesn't have to do anything weird on
51:36defense because they have Miles Garrett and possibly Aaron Donald.
51:40God. All right, we're back. The Rams. I keep getting asked about the Aaron Donald thing on TV.
51:45Like, what does it mean? And I'm like, what do you think it means?
51:49Yeah, it means exactly what you think. It's terrifying.
51:52If he was if I the only thing I can say is like if he's 75 percent of is where I've set
51:59the line of what he was when he retired on top.
52:02But, you know, that's not a guarantee. Right. Let's do the offense before we get to the defense.
52:07No, you know what? Let's actually stick with the defense.
52:11He's now I'm thinking about Aaron Donald on that defensive line.
52:14I know I'd spent the whole offseason thinking about Miles Garrett on the defensive line and what that mean and what Chris Shula might do with him.
52:22Now I don't even know. Like. If you add Aaron Donald, I mean, with Miles Garrett, obviously.
52:27The shoe. OK, well, let's let's talk about the defense last year before we get to differences, because it was a group that kind of petered off.
52:35It started off a lot stronger. The deep Rams defense.
52:38And then I think the past defense was really exposed as the year went on.
52:43The cornerback, why they took such great pains to fix it.
52:46You know, I've mentioned this on previous pods, but the splits before and after the halfway point are pretty dramatic in terms
52:53of past defense and giving up explosive plays. You know, it was a front that got a lot of pressure, but didn't get pressure quickly.
53:01Right. And that's the big change with Miles Garrett, because he's the fastest pressure getter in football.
53:06But, you know, and I mentioned this as well, Danny, like I think it's one thing to have a guy a guy
53:12up front and get a lot of pressure, but also having.
53:16I think the Rams adding tackling corners or corners who are very good at tackling was really a big deal because one
53:22ball is going to come out very fast with Miles Garrett.
53:26Yeah. And two teams are going to run the football on the team like, well, hey, coach, was yourself to Miles Garrett,
53:33Byron Young, Kobe Turner, potentially Aaron Donald run the ball away from them as much as you can.
53:38I try to find. So I think having those corners be really good at tackling is like, I know that's such a
53:45dorky thing to say, but I actually think it could matter a lot.
53:49Oh, yeah, that's that's a good point. And the first thing that goes to my mind is basically like just, you know,
53:55like Aaron Rodgers type offense where they're just like getting the ball out on smoke routes to the outside and then you're
54:02forcing your corners who are maybe playing off a little bit to tackle in space.
54:07It's going to be important because teams are going to be trying to get rid of the football quickly and to protect
54:13the quarterbacks and to not get sacks and to not get behind the sticks and start getting into like third and longs
54:20where Miles Garrett can really terrorize you. So, yeah, it's it's a it is an important it's like a low key important
54:27thing and not a lot of corners or not.
54:29Most corners aren't that good at tackling, I'd say.
54:32And so, you know, upgrading their cornerback spot. This is something I always admire about the Rams.
54:37It's like I look around the league. I'm like, why don't more teams do this?
54:42Like they fix their problems. Yeah, you know what I mean?
54:45Like, it's the simplest thing. It's like, hey, what's wrong with our defense?
54:49We have a guy who's 150 pounds playing corner and like getting absolutely burned.
54:53Maybe we should get a better corner and then they went out and traded their first round pick for Trent McDuffie who
55:00I've always really liked former Washington guy. And then they also got Jalen Watson in free agency.
55:05You know, that's a huge upgrade. They are the team that goes out and addresses their vulnerabilities with a palm.
55:11It's every year. It feels like they just Aaron Donald retired.
55:15So they fix their defensive line with like a handful of guys.
55:18And so, you know, I really respect that about the Rams, the way that they operate.
55:23Obviously, you could talk about the long term, you know, ramifications of the way that they do business with first round picks and things like that.
55:31But like for now, they are a consistently championship caliber team every year.
55:35They're very scary. I think they have more depth on defense than they do on offense.
55:40Yeah. And the offense is the one area where depth actually is a legitimate issue.
55:44We will talk about when we get to that side of the ball.
55:48I think defense, they can survive a lot. Like suddenly it's like a very, I mean, especially if Aaron Rodgers plays, it's
55:55like, how do you even get all these damn defensive tackles?
55:58I do get Braden Fisk on the field. Pass rush.
56:01Just as Stuart, the pass rusher, they drafted out of Michigan.
56:05I like him. Yeah. He had some juice last year.
56:08So if Byron Young, he might get paid. They don't want to pay him with the Gareth thing.
56:13And, you know, but I think there's good depth there.
56:16Cornerback room now. Emmanuel Forbes is in a starter.
56:19So you have him, you know, in the pen.
56:22Yeah. It's a good group of safeties. Camp Kitchens, another good player who like kind of saw the field some, but could see the field more.
56:30The only position I think I'm a like a little iffy on his linebacker.
56:34Um, they've extended. You remember Nate Landman? They brought in.
56:37Yeah. And he, he team started picking on him, including, I believe Seattle, if I remember correctly, a bit as the year went on.
56:44Uh, this is a team that played a ton of dime.
56:48I think the most dime defense in the NFL, but that's the one area on this defense that I think there's him
56:54and Omar Spates is a little bit of, but again, it does.
56:58It's so. It's like picking it's almost picking it.
57:01Well, they're also just able to cover it up so much.
57:04Totally. Pressure gets home so quickly and everyone tackles.
57:07So exactly. I mean, I think the, the Garrett thing is fascinating because I know, you know, some people thought they gave
57:13up a lot, you know, obviously trading away. Uh, and now I'm blanking on his name.
57:18The, the past rusher that they gave up to verse, right.
57:22Verse, um, you know, giving him up. He's a young player, still ascending, still got a lot of, he has a lot of juice.
57:29He, he had a lot of pressures to me.
57:32I'm like, man, Garrett's just on a different planet though.
57:35You know, and in the way that he gets pressured, the way he creates problems for an offense, the way that opposing,
57:41uh, offenses have to account for him each and every play.
57:45I mean, he, he set the sack record on a Browns team that was not like running away with games at the end and like padding his stats.
57:53Like they were losing, you know, most of these games and he was still getting these sacks.
57:58Um, you know, so I think he's just a really, I'm not saying anything new.
58:03He's an awesome player. He is a game changing.
58:06He's a field field tilting player in the way that, uh, you know, they don't, they hadn't had last, they didn't have last year.
58:13Um, and I'm terrified of the idea that Aaron Donald could also be in this defense.
58:18Cause then it's just like, I don't know what you do against that defense, especially, you know, when you're in third and
58:24long, like third and long, like good luck. You know, that's, that's where things get really hairy.
58:30So, um, that's why they were willing to do this.
58:33That's why they made such a big, you know, offer to go get him.
58:37I think he is the type of player that can be, this is like a talking point.
58:42I think that they've had, but like a closer at the end of games where teams are trying to make a comeback
58:49and they just can't throw the ball in, you know, throwing situations because miles Garrett is just creating havoc and getting people into long down and distance.
58:57So, um, theoretically this defense could be amazing. I think it is just a matter of like any other team, I guess, but staying healthy.
59:05They do feel a little bit, uh, like there's, there's a high variance here with the Rams because they have older guys
59:11that are such important pieces of their offense and, um, are on both sides of the ball.
59:16Um, but you know, that's pretty much any team really is high variance.
59:20More so the offense and the defense. So let's talk about that because like I said, I actually think the defense, if
59:27Garrett were to miss a couple of games or whatever, I think they could survive it corners.
59:32The offense, they're, they're actually not deep. Um, they're very, very good.
59:36Right. Like, um, I've talked about this. The offensive line is really like when you look at the roster to me and
59:42you take a step back and you say this approach F them picks trading for stars, drafting a quarterback in the first round, who's not going to play.
59:51Is there anything that suffers other than the future?
59:54And I think the number one thing is offensive line depth.
59:57And then the number two things, wide receiver depth, because, uh, this is not a deep line, uh, especially at the tackle position.
60:04And they did draft Keegan trust in the third round.
60:07But if Alleric Jackson is suspended, there's, this is all up in the air.
60:11I've talked about this before. Who's, um, you know, the Rams starting left tackle, who by the way, is the only one
60:18who's going to be under contract in the future too.
60:21Nate Atkins at the athletic did an excellent piece about the Rams offensive line and how many of them are due for contracts.
60:28And you know, like that, this is, that's, that's what this, that's the area you're looking at, but Jackson, they paid.
60:34And then he had, um, more charges that I, that were, I think, uh, dropped or didn't go to trial or something.
60:41I saw, let me make sure I have this correctly, which doesn't always have, but it's, he's a multiple time offender.
60:47And this isn't always something that he's not facing a felony cases assigned for diversion, but that doesn't always affect what the
60:54NFL does, especially if there's been a past incident.
60:57So anyways, my point is that, uh, if you were to miss any amount of time, that's, that's a scary hours, I think.
61:04Um, and then receiver, they have like 300 tight ends, but outside of Puka Nakua and Devante Adams, it's a pretty thin receiving group.
61:11So I had, this is the number one offense in the NFL.
61:15I feel good about that. But Danny, like those, those are the two areas where you're like, okay, this is, you really
61:22can't afford to lose players in the offensive line or receiving group.
61:25Yeah. And I think, you know, that, that is, it can be true that like every team, if they lose their star players, it's going to suffer.
61:33But also I think that the Rams feel a little more like risky because you got Stafford with his history of back injuries.
61:40Like last year, this time we're talking about how Stafford is spending time in an airstream in the backyard of the stadium, like, you know, rehabbing his back.
61:49That's obviously a look that was overplayed at the time, but it's still something that is a, is a fact.
61:55Like he has this ongoing back thing that, that could flare up at any time.
61:59Um, you know, the way that Puka Nakua plays is absolutely unhinged at times.
62:04He's just like such a wild man on the field.
62:07He's not a lot of contact. Yeah. And we kind of had the joke on our fantasy show that it's like hard
62:13to watch as, as someone who had Puka on your team and fantasy, it's like scary to watch Rams games because he
62:20peels himself off the turf like three or four times a game.
62:24Um, he just plays a very reckless style of football.
62:27So that's always a little bit, um, you know, worrisome longterm or even short term.
62:31And then of course he's had kind of, you know, obviously a really weird off season with some of the stuff that's happened with him.
62:39Um, so I think he's a bit of a wild card, obviously Devante Adams injuries, but he's kind of got like a
62:46handful of things that have, uh, cropped up for him.
62:49Yeah. And so house of cards is maybe like too strong, but it could come crumbling down if, if one of those
62:55guys gets hurt and they just like start to have issues at depth spots.
63:00The line concerns me more because for two reasons, one, I think Sean, as we saw, he did of the infamous 13
63:06personnel pivot can compensate for, uh, losing. I mean, they're games without Nakua, they're games without Adams and he finds consistently finds ways to make it work.
63:15I also think it's a really fun and interesting group of tight ends.
63:18They drafted another one, Max Clare, who I think could be like a yak threat, but probably more realistically is just for
63:25the future, you know, depending on what happens with Higby.
63:28Um, but Parkinson is their all around guy for Ferguson is the speed guy.
63:32Um, so I do think the receiver depth matters, but it's not a killer.
63:37The offensive line worries me more though, though, because for a few reasons, it's harder to scheme around.
63:42Um, Stafford is significantly better quarterback clean than pressured or every quarterback more true of the older ones.
63:48It's just true. Uh, and then he's not a mover.
63:51Yeah. Yeah. Uh, but then also the thing about this Rams offense that I feel like gets under discussed, um, but it's
63:57so important to how good they are is the efficiency.
64:00The, the run game is like a machine, right?
64:03Like, and like, uh, second in success rate running the football last year, it depends on what metric you use, but, uh,
64:10first in run DVOA big part of why, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, Matthew Stafford had the lowest distance to go and
64:16third down of any quarterback in the league. Um, and this wasn't an offense like, um, Cincinnati and Dallas where there was
64:23a ton of light boxes, not the case at all.
64:26They actually, this kind of blew my mind. The Rams, according to NGS is tracking, they split safety coverages at the 29th rate in football.
64:34You look at all the teams at the bottom.
64:37Um, they don't have Puka Nakua and Devante Adams.
64:39Right. Right. Right. Like it's a bunch of like crappy passing offenses for the most part, or teams that are just like super run heavy.
64:47Right. The fact that they did that and had those receivers, that's your secret sauce right there.
64:52Right. Teams like, including Seattle really had to respect them on the ground.
64:56And I think the offensive line is kind of like the unsung hero in that, right?
65:01Like where, um, yeah, it's, so you, it was a very, very good downhill run game.
65:06So if you take that away, it's like, okay, you start to worry a little bit.
65:11Um, it's a great point. Yeah. I was, I didn't, I don't know if I realized that they were that good efficiently, uh, efficiency wise and running.
65:19Um, yeah, that's, that's a huge point. And, and it dictates what you can do in the passing game as well, obviously.
65:25But yeah, that, that was, that's a great call.
65:28If they can't keep that up, it could change a lot of things.
65:32Um, you know, obviously like the 13 personnel stuff that they did, I think is interesting and everybody's trying to copycat this year.
65:39Um, but yeah, it's McVay is one of those guys that you kind of just trust them to adapt to what's happening.
65:46And it's like, it's a, it's a bigger, you know, it's basically like how I think of the Rams.
65:52It's like, if they're having an issue with something, they adapt to it and change.
65:56Yeah. And they make bold moves and they do try new things.
66:00Um, but yeah, that, that's a, that's a great point.
66:03I don't think I realized how good they were at running.
66:06I kind of, you could feel it, but, um, well, obviously you think of, when you think of that offense, you think of Stafford.
66:13Yes. Who's great. Who was amazing. I mean, but big part of the reason why they had so much success against Seattle.
66:20One of it was that they actually could find ways to run the ball.
66:24Unlike most teams against the Seahawks defense, but a lot of it was Stafford's willingness to just make those absurd throws.
66:31Seahawks defense gives you so little daylight and to beat them, you have to kind of hoop.
66:36And Stafford's like the number one hooper in the league.
66:39Yeah. He's like, um, but the other thing they did also differently last year that I think maybe hasn't been, um, talked
66:46about as much as the 13 personnel stuff is he finally went with a rotation at running back.
66:51Yeah. Uh, which you were obviously covering fancy. You guys are very tapped into, but I think maybe, uh, people have stopped
66:58on like how rare that is for him. He so famously just rides back into the ground.
67:03But last year, Blake Corum got a real shot and he kind of ran away with it.
67:08I mean, I was looking at both him and Kyron were incredibly had high success rates, which is why the Rams had such a high success rate.
67:16But the big difference was Corum, uh, 16% of his runs went for 10 or more yards, which was second only behind Devon Achan.
67:24Really? Well, so he, yeah. So he brought a level of explosiveness that had been missing.
67:28And I think that's another thing, you know, Sean did like just kind of, because he actually, I don't know if you
67:35remember this, he had more success against Seattle than Kyron did.
67:38Um, and was a big, was another part of why they were, that offense was able to get going against that defense, which very few people were.
67:47Yeah. I know. Yeah. From a fantasy point of view, it's very rare for McVay to trust anyone other than kind of
67:53like the guys that he relies on. Um, and it was always funny cause you know, Kyron had a little bit of
68:00an issue with fumbling and he just still stuck with him.
68:03It was like showing that trust that he had in him with everything.
68:07And I think fantasy people were always like, when is this guy going to finally like give anyone else a shot?
68:14This Kyron keeps fumbling. He's not, you know, he's not the biggest or fastest guy.
68:18He's not creating explosive plays. That was always the story on Kyron Williams coming out was he's really good at the small stuff, but he's not explosive whatsoever.
68:27Um, and so yeah, getting, getting Corum in there and getting a little bit element of the big play I think is, is important.
68:34And we'll see if, uh, next year that holds over in terms of how much McVay trusts him and actually plays him.
68:41Trust is big too, because part of the reason Kyron Williams has earned his trust is he's such a good pass protector.
68:47And right. They wants to just keep the back on the field.
68:51You know what I mean? So, and threaten like pass when they're threatening run and vice versa.
68:56So I think that's for Corum. Who's either kind of similar builds, both smaller guys, but if he looks similar when they're
69:03running, they got a type, they got a type.
69:06They for sure have a type. But, but I think if Blake can take a step forward in that regard, that'll help his cause.
69:13If I had advice for him, it's like, don't mess up.
69:16Don't, don't mess anything up. Cause, uh, then you're just never getting back on the field.
69:21I feel like McVay. Yeah. He just, he has his favorites.
69:24He has his guys that he trusts and, uh, he rolls with them.
69:28Uh, final question for you. Um, so like we, we, you touched on the Stafford's coming off of obviously an incredible season.
69:35Um, do you, if he, but he is what?
69:3836, 30. I actually don't know. He's like 30.
69:41Hold on. 38. He feels 36 spiritually. He's 38.
69:43Wow. Okay. So we'll be, you know, he just turned 38.
69:47So he's a young 38. Uh, do you have any concerns?
69:50Cause. My balance obviously shows zeros. Yeah. Right. Like, well, I, it's such a cop-out answer, but like, yeah, if the tackle, those are out, I'm concerned.
69:58Right. I think it's, I feel like I say that all, so many quarterbacks, but it matters more for certain quarterbacks and maybe just every movie.
70:06I think it's funny because, you know, I think there's this really resounding worry about Stafford's health and how he's going to age.
70:13They just drafted this new quarterback, Ty Simpson, and they're worried about how, you know, how, right.
70:18Um, they're worried about, they want to have a good QB two because of Stafford.
70:23And whether he gets hurt and all that stuff.
70:26But at the same time, I'm like, I just look at what Stafford has done in his career.
70:31He's the toughest SOB is like one of the toughest players in the NFL.
70:35Stop. Just the amount of stuff he plays through, um, the just, you know, he's like Brett Favre.
70:41You just expect him to be on the field at all times.
70:44I just expect him to keep playing. Um, so I'm really not that worried about him.
70:49I think it's, you know, obviously it's smart to have a QB two when you have so much writing on the season.
70:56This is a, this, if it is a super bowl or bus type of gear for them.
71:01Um, I think that's what trading for miles Garrett will do.
71:04Um, but I'm not too worried about it. I think, you know, obviously anything can happen, but he's a really, really tough guy.
71:11Yeah. I think the emphasis on toughness or the willingness to take hits is really important because like Rogers can still throw the ball.
71:19His arm is actually fine. Totally. So averse to contact at this point, it affects the entire operation.
71:24Right. I don't feel that way watching Matthew Stafford.
71:27No, I think, you know, I, so I did my top 10 quarterbacks where we drafted with three years and I think
71:34Stafford went too low in our suspect because we did it again.
71:37It was not about who he is now. It's like, well, he might quit.
71:41I don't think it doesn't sound like he's planning on quitting.
71:45I, that was me. I feel like we, Ben and I over indexed for the possibility that he would retire after the
71:52season when it actually doesn't sound like that at all based on the way they're talking.
71:56So I mean, yeah, completely fascinating, but yeah, it's like we're in the era now where quarterbacks play way longer than you think.
72:03And maybe he won't, maybe he, maybe this back thing is like legitimately like debilitating for him in the next year or two.
72:10But I mean, he certainly hasn't lost any of his, uh, his arm strength.
72:15I don't think I haven't noticed any drop off in the way that he throws the football.
72:20I mean, he still makes it one of the most astounding, absurd highlight or, you know, like video game throws you've ever seen.
72:27He's like making no look throws in crucial moments in games.
72:30Um, so from a physical point of view, I guess the only worry is that he's old and he could get hurt, but he he's just so tough.
72:39It doesn't really worry me that much. Oh, the Rams, which is why the, which was why the Tyson's been pick was just so baffling to me.
72:47Of course, you know, imagine if they had an offensive tackle there.
72:50I'd feel so much better about that depth question.
72:53And it's, uh, it's still a mystery to me or still, it's still the, the logic to me doesn't not really work
73:00the way I guess, like what has been coming out from the, from the team and from the reporters around the team
73:07that, you know, they wouldn't have made this Garrett trade if they hadn't picked Ty Simpson.
73:11Like that to me, that is backwards. I'm just like, I don't really understand how that makes any sense.
73:17Cause then it's like, well, we didn't have a, we knew we weren't going to have draft picks next year, but you
73:24weren't going to be positioned to take quarterback next year.
73:27Anyways, though, I think there's also various avenues toward a, you know, acquiring a quarterback or requiring, especially acquiring a quarterback too.
73:34You guys liked him. It's fine. You liked him and you're the rest of the NFL or many teams didn't to the
73:40same degree and we'll see whether you're right. Um, yeah, I think, I think that the only way we're pressing panic or
73:47that gets scrutiny during the season is if either the offensive tackles or one of the receivers goes down and then, then
73:54it's a conversation, but for now we live for today.
73:57And today, this is the best thing in the NFL.
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75:52Go to Shopify.com slash network. Shopify.com slash network. Okay, Cardinals.
75:55Let's do it. Why not? So, did you find some fun surprises on the Cardinals depth chart?
76:00Was there any player where you were like, oh, I missed that signing?
76:04Or you were like, oh. Not really? I think Andrew Wink.
76:08No. There was one. I knew they signed Isaac Sayumala because I wanted him to go to a good team.
76:14Right. Yeah, that was an interesting one. Okay. I don't know if I knew Kendrick Bourne was on the Cardinals.
76:20Not that that really matters for them this year.
76:22But yeah, no. There's kind of one of those weird rosters that's in between.
76:27You know, they're not going to compete this year, obviously.
76:30There are some interesting young players on their roster.
76:32There are some interesting young players who I want to talk about.
76:36Yeah. Also, 500 running backs. Why do they have so many running backs?
76:40I feel bad for Tyler Algier, honestly. Trade him, please.
76:43You know, who has him in our Dynasty League?
76:46The girl. Oh, do you? Green Bay? Like, come on.
76:49Send him. Sure. Yeah, that works. My boy. The reporting, too, is that he signed sort of with the agreement that he
76:56wasn't going to get into, like, a massive timeshare or whatever because he's just been stuck behind Bijon.
77:01And obviously, like, you know, the Falcons are going to play Bijon.
77:05Bijon's amazing. But it's just such a funny twist of fate that Algier signs with the Cardinals and they immediately draft a
77:11guy who's, like, arguably as good of a – or one of the – like, in the same ballpark of a prospect as Bijon Robinson and Jeremiah Love.
77:20So, yeah. Just a tough, tough, tough beat for Algier, although I'm sure he'll, you know, be fine with the money and everything.
77:27You just kind of feel for him from a playing time point of view because he's going to be second fiddle again.
77:34Okay. I'm going to start by saying something positive and I think – Yeah.
77:38Because, again, Cardinals fans know the score. They're not expecting big things this season.
77:42And I do think there's the possibility that this situation by the end of the year, we're saying, is a good one for a rookie quarterback.
77:50Yeah. Because – Yeah, yeah. I could see that.
77:53The running backs are obviously sick. You have one of the best, if not the best, tight ends in football in Trey McBride.
78:00And then you have other, you know, guys around him blocking and whatnot.
78:04The offensive line, I think, could be – is the one area where I'm like, oh, they might have really turned this around.
78:11You brought in Samalo and Elijah Wilkinson, which was – those were such problem positions for them.
78:16Paris Johnson Jr. has to stay healthy. But when he's been healthy, he's been good.
78:20Yeah, yeah. Froholt's fine. And then they drafted Chase Besantis, who I think he wanted to win the guard job.
78:26So this could be a decent offensive line. It could be a decent run game with a combination of that and the backs.
78:33If Harrison Jr. can – if you get anything out of him, it's also a decent receiving group.
78:39Michael Wilson's good. Bourne has always been capable. So I do think – I don't think this is going to be above average offense as a whole.
78:47But I think it might be the kind of offense where we're like, all right, this is – it's – when they
78:54pick a quarterback, we're not all standing around and saying, oh, that's awful.
78:58Yeah, you know what I mean? Like he's walking into like a hell situation.
79:02Yeah. I actually think this could be a pretty nice one by the end of the year.
79:07I do – yeah. I think it's – the bones are there for – there's a lot of like time and work
79:14left to kind of remodel the roster and everything.
79:17But like the bones are there for a quarterback next year or the year after to be dropped into this offense and
79:23theoretically hit the ground running or at least more than you see with a lot of teams that are picking early on in drafts.
79:30I mean, Michael Wilson, a very underrated receiver too.
79:33I think he showed his talent last year. He was able to produce some big games.
79:38Like you said, I think McBride is an incredible player.
79:41He's like one of my favorite players to watch just the way he moves in the open field.
79:47Obviously, really reliable hands. One drop on 169 targets.
79:49Incredible. I mean, he just – yeah, he's just a natural playmaker.
79:53The way he catches the ball can kind of twist and contort and keep his feet under him and then keep moving
80:00with almost like no hesitation I think is why he's so good and part of the reason he's so good.
80:06Yeah, they have the makings. Obviously, a lot depends on what Marvin Harrison does this next year.
80:11I feel like he's probably being – because of the fantasy implications and everything that happens in fantasy, he's probably being beat
80:18up a little bit too much relative to like what he has done in the NFL because he hasn't been horrible.
80:24He just hasn't lived up to – he just hasn't lived up to the quote-unquote generational tag that he was given, and
80:31I think everyone just expected him to be a superstar right away, and he clearly has not been that.
80:36So I think, you know, obviously he has to make improvements and continue to get stronger at the catch point and things.
80:43I just saw a picture of him recently. He looks massive, by the way.
80:47He's like – He was already pretty big. He's like ripped.
80:51But yeah, he has to get better. But I do think he's probably being beaten up a little bit more than you'd expect just because of the expectations.
80:59Yeah, he's – I had him as my X Factor for this team when I did the NFC X Factors, and like
81:06I think he is one where it's been inconsistent.
81:09There's been – he has actually taken over a few games and then totally disappeared.
81:13Right. And I think everyone's trying to – we're trying to unwind.
81:17Is this – was it just chemistry with Kyler?
81:20Was it the way he was featured or not featured in Drew Petsing's offense?
81:24I think for – I think that's a big part of it.
81:27I do too. I do. I'm interested in seeing if Michael Fleur uses him maybe a little bit more on shallow, intermediate.
81:34Give him some layups. Give him some layups. Yes.
81:37Less go balls. It was like so many go balls it felt like.
81:41Yeah. The routes that he was right, not just the targets.
81:44So yeah, I think finding ways to get him involved would be really important.
81:48I mean, Jacoby Brissette's probably going to be your starting quarterback for most of the season.
81:53Last year – It's funny because he started off and everybody – there was this like, wow, he's so much better than Kyler.
82:00And then he kind of like went back down to his level, which is – Right.
82:05He finished the season 24th in QBR and 25th in E-paper dropback, which feels right.
82:10Yeah. It's not going to be awful and it's not going to be great.
82:14He's just – He's a floor raiser, I would say.
82:17Right? Like, you know, he was – yeah, it was funny just because the big thing, especially coming from someone who's like focused on fantasy.
82:25It's like, man, find a way to get Trey McBride the ball for crying out loud, especially in the red zone.
82:31You know what I mean? I think Trey McBride did 10 – I don't know how many – I don't know the numbers in front of me.
82:39It was like he had more touchdowns with Brissette in a short amount of time than he did in his entire career prior with Kyler.
82:47And I think just the Kyler style of play wasn't really great mesh necessarily or wasn't as good of a mesh necessarily with McBride.
82:54And so there was – I think there was like a floor-raising aspect to Brissette.
82:59But then, of course, he got into a lot of games where they got down early and some – at least in part due to Brissette's play.
83:07And then they kind of like clawed back in with a lot of garbage time points and things like that.
83:13He had one game, I think, where he set the NFL record for pass attempts in a game.
83:18It was literally the game I was facing him.
83:21Yeah. Sorry. Now he cares about your fantasy team.
83:24But I remember it was super freaking vividly. It was like Mike Tannenbaum had him or something.
83:29So it is – it's a situational thing. I think obviously from a fantasy point of view, I want Jacoby Brissette to
83:36be the starter because it's good for fantasy. And I don't really care because – and they don't care probably about winning or losing this year.
83:44In fact, they probably want to lose. But it's just irrelevant, I think, for the team because they're in the hardest division
83:50in football and they're not going to win. Right.
83:53You don't want to be average. You want to get a special quarterback.
83:57But I do think a priority is let's – we want to find enough pieces so that when we get that quarterback,
84:04we feel like there's some – Going in the right direction.
84:07Yes. And I actually – this is why Marvin Harris Jr.
84:10is so important because if you feel like you have a true number one and then you have Trey McBride and the
84:17offensive line is improving and you have Jeremiah Love, you're kind of in great shape.
84:21Totally. But if Harrison Jr., however, doesn't take the step, then it's like, okay, you probably also need a receiver and a quarterback.
84:28So, yeah, it's an interesting one. They're in kind of a similar mode right now, it feels like, to the Falcons who have Bijon, London, and Pitts.
84:37And then the Cardinals here are with – theoretically, I don't know if Harrison can make that jump, but Harrison, McBride, and
84:43Love, you have these three elite talents at skill positions, but no quarterback or at least not a clear plan there yet.
84:50Defensively, it's – I think I'm a little more optimistic about the offense than the defense.
84:55I realize we didn't sound that optimistic, but a lot of question marks, a lot of holes.
85:00To be fair, massively injured last season. I was just looking at how much – Even more so than the 49ers, right?
85:07Insanely, yes. I was looking at how much guys played because I was like – I feel like Walter Nolan played half the season.
85:14He only played six games. Will Johnson played six – I wrote down all of the injuries.
85:19It's so freaking nuts. Every single player in the secondary got hurt.
85:23But, yeah, lineback Wilson was like playing really well for them, and then he got hurt at the halfway point, and everything kind of went downhill from there.
85:31All the corners. It was brutal, man. Like, this was – and they kept Nick Rallis as a defensive coordinator, and I
85:38think people were a little surprised by that. And I get it, but I don't know what the hell he was supposed to do with this unit.
85:46I mean, it was like Josh Sweat holding up the world and Klayas Gamble who's gone.
85:51So Sweat's still there. I think – let's start there.
85:54Okay, yeah, like, let's start there. So, again, the goal for the Cardinals, 2026 Cardinals, is let's figure out who our guys are.
86:01Look at the depth chart. Are there any – like, if you're a Cardinals fan, who do you want to see?
86:07Who are you even excited about? Who could be – you talked about the bones of the house.
86:13Who could be the foundation on which this next era of Cardinals football is built?
86:18Yeah, I mean, I think obviously – the obvious one is Walter Nolan, the first runner for 25.
86:23And this is all going off of a lot of draft stuff that I've done over the years.
86:28And so I haven't necessarily – like, I'll be honest, I haven't necessarily – He barely played.
86:34Studied the Cardinals defense from last year that much.
86:36But, yeah, I mean, I think it's the guys that have shown some flashes.
86:41Walter Nolan certainly did that when he was playing.
86:43Yeah, he really did. He was actually really productive when he was in.
86:47And so – Disruptive. Yeah. And so I think he could be, you know, on the defensive line, a big-time disruptor.
86:54He'd love to see more from Darius Robinson, who I liked coming out.
86:58But he's more of just like a power player than high-twitch, high-speed type of guy.
87:02So maybe you'll never really get a lot of production out of him.
87:06But he could be a cog on the defensive line that really, you know, is a reliable, at least, guy that can,
87:13like, stop the run and things like that. But – and then, you know, obviously Will Johnson, who had, I think, first-round
87:19talent coming into last year into the draft, but then fell because of injury concerns.
87:24And then he was hurt a lot during his rookie season.
87:27So, you know, those – you know, those are the obvious ones, I guess.
87:32But I think there's more bare bones on defense than there is on offense.
87:36I don't – you know, I don't know how to look at this roster and think this defense is going to be
87:43very good unless they're like four or five guys make a big jump and stay healthy.
87:47Yeah. Johnson came into the season hurt, and then he later in the season he got hurt again.
87:53Max Melton was hurt. Garrett Williams – I mean, it's crazy how injured they were.
87:57Yeah, Buddha Baker, a great player, but, like, he's getting older.
88:01Getting up in the years, yeah. You know, he might not really fit on this iteration of the roster.
88:07And I don't know what the update is, but, like, isn't Josh Sweat trying to get out too?
88:12I can't remember. Is he? I didn't see that.
88:15I don't know. It's, like, one of those things where I think the writing is on the wall.
88:20This is a rebuilding year. So, who knows? But – oh, it looks like he concluded his offseason holdout, so never mind.
88:27I guess that's over. But, I mean, I clearly, like, this is a defense that we'll look at two or three years
88:34down the line versus, like, now and figure out kind of, like, who the big-time playmakers are.
88:39Denzel Burke played a bit for them, or a decent amount, actually, because of all the injuries.
88:44He was okay, I think. Like, you know, I think you had flashes of competence from a few guys.
88:50But, yeah, it's, like, health. And then I think you've nailed all the ones that matter.
88:55Like, you just want to see some of these early draft picks from the last one.
88:59Because the Monty Austin Ford era, he might be on the hot seat.
89:03He might not have that opportunity to pick the quarterback if some of the guys that he's drafted over the last few years don't show some improvements.
89:12Yeah, because I, you know, I think my – the way that I looked at the Cardinals draft from last year, I'm
89:18just thinking back to the way I graded it.
89:21I was like, this is a very high-variance draft.
89:24Yeah, Nolan. With Nolan and Johnson in particular. Those both guys have a lot of talent, but there's a reason, you know,
89:30that we're talking about them being where they were.
89:33Is this, like – Yeah. I think with Nolan, it was, like, more than just injuries.
89:38It was, I think, effort and consistency and things like that.
89:41And then, yeah, with Johnson, it was just injury-related.
89:44But, you know, I think there's a world in which this defense starts to come together this year and starts to show off some things.
89:52Or they just kind of need to start from scratch in a year or two.
89:56Yeah, I think I'll say the same thing I did for the Dolphins.
90:00Like, kind of what does success for the Arizona Cardinals look like in 2026?
90:04I think offensively, the line is fixed to some degree, or at least not bottom of the NFL.
90:10And you finish the season feeling like it's a good place for a rookie quarterback, whether that's Harrison Jr.
90:16taking the leap or the run game looking dominant.
90:18You definitely want something you can hang your hat on where, like, you feel good about whoever, if it's Manny or whatever, walking into that.
90:26And then defensively, I think we kind of just, some of these high draft picks from the last few years, you want
90:33to work out, whether it's Nolan or Robinson or the corners.
90:36So, I think that's what matters. I would add, this is maybe, like, maybe it actually doesn't matter that much, but, like,
90:43don't let Jeremiah Love have an Ashton Gentry rookie season, where he's just absolutely getting tackled in the backfield on every play,
90:49because I feel like that's just bad for, it's bad optics, maybe.
90:53Totally. I do think this line is better than the Raiders and the Chargers lines from last year for Hampton and Gentry.
91:00Because they want to have some positive vibes and feel good about that pick, and I think there is a world in
91:06which, you know, like, going into next year, going into the 27 season, he is a really critical part of their offense.
91:13But, like, you know, it feels like people have already moved on from Gentry a little bit and don't really think he's that good.
91:20I know our friend Bill Barnwell just tweeted out some comparison to him and Trent Richardson.
91:25I was like, no. I was like, can't do this.
91:28Like, oh, that's brutal. It sucks because Trent Richardson's stats were all, like, better.
91:33But, yeah. Brutal, I know. I'll get to that when I do the...
91:36Actually, next week is AFC West. So, I'm actually looking forward to going back and watching...
91:41I feel like I don't need to re-watch Ashton Gentry for much because it was so bad.
91:46I kind of want to go back and watch his successful runs to see, you know, because they're obviously few and far between.
91:53But the situation was so awful in Los Angeles.
91:56This is a better situation. My contention is every time Ashton Gentry got a chance to take a step forward, he was awesome.
92:03The times where he was getting hit in the backfield, obviously, he just couldn't do a whole lot.
92:09But I do think... I think Gentry will be fine.
92:12And I guess to relate it to the Cardinals, like, I think Jeremiah Love is going to be a really good player.
92:18I just think they should... I hope that they have some positive vibes coming out of this pick because it was obviously such a high pick.
92:26You know, such an important pick for their roster that I hope hopefully going into the year after this next year that
92:33there'll be some better vibes around it. Yeah. It's just hard to look at this pick and then do the defense and
92:40think about the needs that they still have and kind of you question from a value perspective whether that would have been
92:46served addressing some of those very expensive needs they have across the roster.
92:50But I'm still excited about the player. And I actually, like I said, I came out of this feeling better about the
92:57offensive line because of the changes that they've made in the additions there.
93:01So we shall see. I know Cardinals fans, I feel like it's better...
93:05It's a tough time, yeah. Okay. Cardinals spin zone here.
93:08It's better for you, given the state of the rest of the division, the coaching, to have a take your medicine season...
93:15Oh, 100%. ...than a muddle along and play your way out of top draft pick season.
93:19I actually think, like, because of the division... this is the right way to go about things.
93:25It's purely logic. This is all logical, right? Like, three of the best teams in the NFL legitimately in the Seahawks, Rams, and 49ers.
93:32The odds of you winning the division are minuscule.
93:35And if you were in a bad division and you win, like, seven, eight games and then you don't make the playoffs
93:41or you even do make the playoffs and you lose in the wild card or whatever, it's like, what did you gain from that, I guess?
93:49So from a purely pragmatic point of view, it's a good season and a good time in this division, sort of the
93:56way that it's set up to just, like, not play very well this year and go into next season.
94:02Great quarterback class. See what you can do. Or theoretically, a great quarterback class and see what you can get out of that.
94:09And hopefully, offensive line looks decent. You're not stressed about the quarterback walking into off situation.
94:13You have elite tight end. You have elite running back.
94:17Receiving group's not so bad. So... Yeah. Could be worse, honestly.
94:20Absolutely. All right. Well, that's it for the NFC West.
94:23Like I said, we're going to do the AFC West next week with Hayden Winks, first-time guest.
94:28Excited about that. Continuing to do power ranking pods on Monday.
94:31Danny is continuing to rank quarterbacks by hotness over at the Fantasy Football Show.
94:36To be clear, we are doing the ranks, us as hosts, and also our women listeners are doing the ranks.
94:42We took a big... Hundreds of women emailed in and we compiled all the rankings.
94:46So it's not just us, even though we do give our takes as well.
94:51So one of the women sent me a spreadsheet, Shimee.
94:54Have you seen this? It's so detailed. I know.
94:56It's great. I mean, we're getting a lot of really fun commentary on this.
95:01That's actually the most fun part is just... People are all over the place.
95:05Beauty is quite literally in the eye of the beholder, so it's pretty funny.
95:09What's been your most controversial? Is it cousins over goth?
95:12My most controversial... I think they have the... We call them the seven.
95:16The seven female listeners that we have. We had...
95:19They had Jaden Daniels as like 15 or something like that.
95:22And I was like, oh, that seems low. I think Jaden Daniels is a good looking guy.
95:27And then Jackson Dart was up there in like the 16 range or something like that.
95:32So those guys kind of, I think, have a very wide range of...
95:36And a C-East rivalry. Where would you put Brock Purdy?
95:39I can't remember where you had him on the thing because I was like way lower on him than everyone else was.
95:46He's a little cutie. That's it. Yeah, that's exactly what Craig said.
95:49He's a cute bit cutie. I don't know. I think he looks like...
95:53He's not even that small. I've met him. He's like 6'1".
95:57He's like 2'20". Yeah, I know. But it's like one of those things where like Steph Gertie looks tiny until you meet Steph.
96:04Totally. You're like, oh, you're a tall man. Totally.
96:06Brock Purdy looks tiny because he's standing next to like Trent Williams.
96:10Right, right. And then you walk by him and you're like, that's a large man-to-le-mail.
96:15Yeah. All right. Well, I think I might be joining at some point.
96:19Yes. So I'll be saving all my takes. I'm excited for that.
96:22I think I'm now old enough to where because they're so clearly not my peers, I can take it from like a mom's standpoint.
96:30He's a nice young man. He's a cute bit cutie.
96:33Yeah, yeah. All right. So go check that out.
96:35Danny, thank you so much for joining us today.
96:38Before we go, I wanted to let you guys know about a couple of shows from Omaha Productions who make this pod.
96:45Shout out, by the way, to Kirsten Sebecki, Owen Saylor, Jack Foster, Tucker Tashin, the new season of quarterback is out.
96:51Season three, you mentioned one of the quarterbacks. Jaden Daniels is on it.
96:55Baker Mayfield. He hasn't come up yet, right? He hasn't been ranked yet.
96:59No. Cam Ward, Joe Flacco. Flacco. He's not on there because we did starters only, I believe.
97:04Ah, okay. Well, they're all obviously at very different points in their career.
97:08It was really interesting seasons for all of them.
97:11So I recommend people check that out. It's a really good inside look at what it's like to be a quarterback in
97:18the NFL, which is a crazy, crazy thing that most of us will never experience or relate to.
97:23Also, really for something else to watch, Omaha has another program, Game Changers, America's top 25 female athletes on Roku.
97:29It's a countdown celebrating 25 of the greatest American female athletes.
97:32Be sure to watch it on the Roku channel to find out who made the list.
97:37I'm sure that wasn't ranked with the help of seven male viewers.
97:41I hope not. Yeah. A little more objective. All right, go check out that out.
97:46Quarterback on Netflix and then Game Changers, America's top 25 female athletes on Roku.
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