Power Hour 1: Ranking All 32 Teams with Ryan Clark!
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Jul 6, 2026
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Mon, July 6, 2026
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Episode Transcript
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0:29Welcome back to the Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny.
0:33This is the very first Power Hour pod of the 2026 offseason.
0:37Longtime listeners to the show know we do this every year now.
0:41I do a ranking of the entire NFL. We go team by team.
0:46I give my guests two choices for every slot.
0:49And speaking of guests, I'm having on a repeat one of my favorite people at ESPN in the world, perhaps one of the hosts of the Pivot podcast.
0:59Also my cast member, fellow cast member on NFL Live, Ryan Clark.
1:04Welcome back to the show. What's up, my girl?
1:07Let's get it. I'm excited. Is this the first time you've thought about the Dolphins in 2026?
1:13The first time, unless you're texting over something really smart in the group chat about decisions they made, this is definitely the first time I've thought about them.
1:23All right. So just to remind folks again, I give Ryan two choices for every spot and then the team that he
1:31doesn't choose becomes immediately a choice the next time around.
1:35But I bring in another competitor. Let's get right to it.
1:38I'm going to start right away with two teams that I feel should be everybody's top two right now.
1:45And normally we would give, I would say, an elevated role to the Super Bowl champ.
1:51They're going to be one of the options here, the Seattle Seahawks.
1:55But unfortunately, the Rams decided to put together a super team this offseason.
2:00So your choice is between Seattle and then the team they beat to get to the Super Bowl, which they, of course, won the Los Angeles Rams.
2:10Ryan Clark, are you picking the Rams or the Seahawks for the number one team in the NFL?
2:16I hope this doesn't hurt our friendship, but I'm going to pick the Rams.
2:21I think when you go back to the NFC championship, it was about special teams and then late in the season.
2:29And then you look at the NFC championship and it was about defense.
2:33You had Watson and Trent McDuffie on the back.
2:37And I hung out with Trent this week. He's extremely excited to be back in L.A.
2:42But I think when you go out and you get Miles Garrett, it said to me that Les Snead and Sean McVay,
2:50even with some of Jared versus talent, understood that the statistics and his ability to finish is nowhere near what Miles Garrett is.
2:59And I think with that offense, Sean McVay's mind, Matthew Stafford back at the helm and under center, the Los Angeles Rams
3:07are on paper the most talented team. And we haven't even got an opportunity to see how this thing gels with their
3:14ability to implement veteran players to make immediate impact.
3:18And now you have one of the generational all time greats in Miles Garrett.
3:23Let me ask you one quick question about the Rams before I move on, because I suspect everybody's going to pick the Rams.
3:31We'll see. I don't know. Maybe maybe I know the Seahawks can play the underdog card.
3:37You can actually play the underdog card, which Super Bowl champs usually can't.
3:41If you had to pick one weakness in L.A.
3:45or one potential issue other than Matthew Stafford being hurt, obviously, one thing that concerns you when you look at this roster
3:53that could derail this season, what would it be?
3:56It would. I mean, it would probably be the thing that could get Matthew Stafford hurt, which is the offensive line.
4:03Right. Yes. They're in some in some spots there.
4:07I mean, I think you look at the the first layer of talent and they're really good.
4:13They played really good last year. Right. You have an offensive lineman who's already in trouble in this offseason, who's had trouble in years past.
4:22Right. So you wonder what that'll look like from a suspension standpoint.
4:26And then there's no depth really to this team in the sense of having top tier lineman to be that sixth and
4:34seventh lineman on game day that can go in, fill a spot and protect Matthew Stafford.
4:40Also add to this run game, which, in my opinion, is the one underrated piece of what Sean McVay does as a
4:48coordinator that we don't talk about enough because of Matthew Stafford and because of Puka Nakula and Devontae Adams.
4:54But the offensive line would be the thing to me that holds them back from winning it all.
5:01Totally agree. OK, it's the I got this wrong earlier.
5:04I said it was the door in the Death Star.
5:08It's the exhaust port in the Death Star from the Star Wars.
5:12It's a punishment for all nobody. OK, the after this, I think it's a little bit harder.
5:18I think there's a very clear top two. And then I think you could really go in a bunch of different directions in the top 10.
5:28And I'm going to give you a choice now between the Seahawks in the NFC and the Buffalo Bills in the AFC.
5:36Who are you taking? I'm taking the Seahawks. You know, I thought it was very interesting.
5:41Recently, Sam Darnold said he didn't play well in the Super Bowl.
5:46And I believe there's some truth to that. Right.
5:49It wasn't his best game from a decision making standpoint and accuracy standpoint.
5:54But that excites me that he said that, that he understands and he's aware that he can play better.
6:01And he had played better throughout the season. I think the Rasheed Shaheed having another year to be moved into this offense
6:08and utilized in the way that he needs to be.
6:12And I'm going to tell you this, Mina. I got to watch Jardarian Price for an entire year at Notre Dame when Jordan was there.
6:21And they went to the national championship because of Jeremiah Love.
6:25He didn't get the sort of touches that you expect from a first round pick.
6:30But there are some Josh Jacobs to this pick.
6:34You know, I don't know if people remember Josh Jacobs wasn't the one for Alabama.
6:39And when he was picked by the Raiders late in the first round, people were like, oh, well, he wasn't the starter.
6:47This, this and that. Now, Jardarian Price is a big time playmaker.
6:51He was a great player on the kick return.
6:54And every time he got into the game, even with Jeremiah Love, this dude was instant offense.
7:01He was like the microwave Vinny Johnson from Detroit Pistons back in the day.
7:06And so I think you're going to get a player that many people don't know a ton about that actually adds to this offense.
7:14And you won't miss a beat in losing Kenneth Walker.
7:18And we know what this defense is about under Mike McDonald.
7:22Agree with that. This is where it gets interesting.
7:25A rematch in the AFC for the three spot.
7:28The Bills versus the Denver Broncos. And to me, this is kind of like one team, the team is better.
7:35One team, the quarterback is better. Quarterback is better.
7:39So who are you putting on top of this matchup?
7:42The Denver Broncos. I think the Jalen Waddle piece is huge.
7:46You know, I do. Like they didn't have. They didn't have any piece like him last year.
7:52Like a true separator. A guy that creates easy throws.
7:56But also puts you in a sort of position of power from a catch and run standpoint.
8:02Whether we can talk about mesh routes. Half rolls.
8:05Deep crossers. You know, they didn't really have that guy that could make those plays.
8:11And we saw him do a ton of that in Miami throughout his career.
8:16So I think that piece is big. And just defensively, what they were able to do with Vance Joseph.
8:23I mean, look, you go back to the AFC championship.
8:26And that team, honestly, should have won that game.
8:29Right? Jarrett Stidham was just that bad where it was an impossibility.
8:34But to me, the Denver Broncos, another year under Sean Payton.
8:38Both Knicks, hopefully healthy. And 100% when the season starts.
8:41I think that's, to me, the top team to beat in the AFC.
8:46Yeah. And if you take out the quarterback, the rosters are not super close.
8:51Right? Like the Broncos roster is significantly better. So I think that makes a lot of sense.
8:57Yeah. It's funny, right, Ryan? Because the Waddle trade almost got slept on because it happened so far before the draft.
9:05And then I think all this other stuff happened.
9:08We've had all these mega trades since then. But we're talking about potentially, I think he has top 10 capability going to
9:16already a team that, as you said, was not knocking on the verge of the Super Bowl.
9:22Knocking on the door of the Super Bowl. Pardon me.
9:25You know what's crazy, Mina? Mina is in a lot of spaces or a lot of years.
9:32If the team that went to the AFC championship got a former top 10 pick and at least a 1B wide receiver
9:39with that level of explosiveness, we would rave about it and talk about how great that team would be.
9:46But I think some of the ways Denver won, especially early on in the season with Bo Nix not playing well through
9:54three quarters and then finding a way to win.
9:57I think this team is a bit underrated with what we saw from them last year.
10:03Yeah. Yeah, I actually had them higher. FPI had them way lower than where I ended up putting them in my rankings
10:11as evidenced by the fact they're finishing third. Okay.
10:14We're going to go back to the NFC. This might be a little high for them.
10:20But I'm going to go Bills versus 49ers, which by the way, insane that three of the top five teams are NFC in the same division.
10:29That's crazy. Yeah. Do you think that's too high for the Niners or do you have them over the Bills?
10:37So I'm going to go with the Bills at what is it?
10:41We're at four now, but I don't think this is too early to bring the Niners into the conversation.
10:48For the Bills, I guess the question is, can Joe Brady, even though he was already there, be like John Gruden was
10:56to Tony Dungy as it pertains to Sean McDermott?
10:59Right. Can a team be on the cusp, be on the cusp with a defensive-minded head coach, and then you make that
11:07switch and immediately that gets them over the hump?
11:10No, it's a strange thing because you're not bringing in a totally different guy who had already been a head coach and
11:18already had success like a John Gruden. But does Joe Brady get them over the hump?
11:24Does Josh Allen play better down the stretch than he did last year?
11:28Because to me, in my opinion, he wasn't great in that playoff game.
11:33And that's a huge reason why they lose. And so I have the Bills here.
11:38I think they're better on the back end than they were last year.
11:43Cole Bishop, in my opinion, has a chance to take a step and become one of the top-tier safeties.
11:50And I'm going to be honest, early on last season, I couldn't have expected I'd be saying that right now, right?
11:57You add some pieces to be able to get a rush.
12:01And so I think the Bills are that next team, especially when we're talking about the AFC.
12:08All right. Niners are up for five now. I'm going to go Niners versus the team that made it to the Super Bowl.
12:16But it seems like the entire world is convinced they're going to be worse.
12:21New England Patriots obviously going to play a harder schedule this year, but made some pretty significant additions, including one A.J.
12:28Brown. Do you like the Pats or do you like the Niners better at five?
12:34Oh, that's tough. You know, I'm going to go with the Pats.
12:38I feel almost wrong for being down on them in some spaces throughout this offseason.
12:43I definitely believe the harder schedule throughout the season is going to be much more difficult for this team.
12:50They have a quarterback that you have to believe in, in Drake May, right?
12:55Even with some of the struggles we saw late in the playoffs and late toward the end of the season, you go
13:03back to the Houston game in which obviously C.J.
13:07Stroud's struggles were what we talked about a ton, but he's playing against that defense and he made some throws throughout that
13:14game in bad weather that are big time playmaker throws from the quarterback position.
13:19And then obviously, you know, you play Seattle who was just steamrolling.
13:24And I think people have that lasting memory in their mind and more than anything, they have the lasting memory of their left tackle.
13:32And so for this team, it's now making sure the run game is great.
13:37But A.J. Brown to me is a huge piece.
13:41When A.J. Brown is smiling, he's one of the best players in the NFL.
13:46And at least every time I've seen him since being traded, he's been excited about being in New England.
13:53You have Mike Vrabel who understands that personality and who I believe gave us or gave himself a reason to prove that he's 100% locked in this offseason.
14:03When this season starts, he has to make sure that this team is not affected by any sort of distraction.
14:10One of the things I'm interested in, Pats, is whether we see the defense that looks more like the one we saw
14:18in the postseason or the one we saw at points during the regular season when admittedly they had some injuries.
14:25Milton Williams missed some games. But if this defense is...
14:28Granted, they got to feast on some pretty crappy offensive lines.
14:32But if they're closer to, I think, what we saw at the end of the year, that's a top 10 defense, Ryan.
14:40100%. 100%. But, I mean, I can't remember a time where I saw a defense elevate its play for the playoffs like this team did.
14:49Right? As great as Seattle played, we saw that escalation throughout the entire season.
14:54As Nick Eamon Worry got more comfortable, as they started to figure out some of the packages, especially Mike McDonald, understanding and
15:02figuring out some of the packages for their blitz, right?
15:06For their simulated pressures. So we saw that happening.
15:09It felt like the New England Patriots players individually got better throughout the playoffs.
15:14When you're looking at the secondary, the way Carlton Davis was able to play.
15:19Christian Gonzalez in the Super Bowl. Underrated performance. Super Bowl was amazing.
15:23Yeah. Right? An underrated performance just because of what the game looked like.
15:28And so if we get that sort of play from the Patriots, I expect that Drake may will be better offensively.
15:36But it's going to be about fixing the left side of the line and that protection because we saw people feast throughout
15:44the end of the season and into the playoffs.
15:47Just got to pay Christian Gonzalez. All right. Number six.
15:50Payton rate. 49ers are still on the board. I'm going to introduce a team that has a ton of change.
15:58But I just did my top 10 offenses and top 10 defenses pod.
16:02And I actually ended up putting them on both the Baltimore Ravens.
16:07Okay. Ravens. A lot of change. New head coach.
16:10Different players. New offensive coordinator versus the 49ers. Who do you think is going to be a better team?
16:17You know what? I'm going to go with the 49ers.
16:20Okay. I think in a year where there were many great coaching decisions and coaching years, that Kyle Shanahan in last year's
16:28season proved that if there are coaches that are as good as he is, there is no coach that's actually better than Kyle Shanahan.
16:37With what he was able to do with the injuries at the quarterback position with a wide receiver room that was never healthy.
16:45With a defense who had lost so many players, you couldn't create pressure.
16:50Like I thought guys on the back end being injured, no name players.
16:54I thought that what Kyle Shanahan was able to do last year, along with Christian McCaffrey, was one of the more phenomenal
17:02coaching performances we've ever seen during my time of covering the NFL.
17:07And so now you've added some pieces. You've added some health.
17:11You've changed the defensive coordinator. But it's someone that you're comfortable with.
17:15Someone that you've worked with already. I think the San Francisco 49ers are poised for another big year.
17:21But I do also believe Christian McCaffrey's health is the top priority of this team, of a team that we've seen with
17:29a ton of injuries after he had such a heavy load to carry last year.
17:35I totally agree. Okay. Ravens. Let's do a Harbaugh Bowl.
17:38Ravens versus the Chargers, who lost their defensive coordinator, but gained perhaps the hottest offensive coordinator in the league in Mike McDaniel.
17:46Who do you like better, L.A. or Baltimore for number seven?
17:50This is tough. This is tough. I'm going to go with Baltimore.
17:54I guess it's the Minter because he left and now he's facing against his old team.
18:00Yeah, he left. Exactly. Exactly. I'm going to go with Baltimore.
18:04I am interested to see, Mina, what Declan Doyle is as a play caller separate of Ben Johnson as well.
18:11You know, when you get an offensive coordinator who wasn't the play caller, it doesn't mean that he can't do it.
18:19Right? We saw Mike McDaniel move to Miami and especially early on was an excellent play caller.
18:25Was extremely creative in the run game as well.
18:28So it doesn't mean that Declan Doyle won't be great at the job, but this is his first time doing it and
18:36you're doing it with an all-time unique quarterback in Lamar Jackson.
18:40You know, so I think that's going to be extremely important.
18:44And then from the defensive standpoint, can Jesse Minter get this team closer to what they were two and three years ago
18:52than what they were last year on the defensive side of the ball.
18:57And there's pieces, right? There's pieces on each of the three level defensively, but there's also a middle linebacker who's a year
19:05older who seemed, and Roquan Smith, who seemed to slow down a little bit from when we were having conversations of, oh,
19:12it's Fred Warner and it's Roquan Smith and then it's everyone else.
19:17Right. So I want to see what this defense looks like under Jesse Minter and Declan Doyle, but I do have more
19:25belief in Baltimore's superstar quarterback than I do Los Angeles right now.
19:29But that could change very early with the Mike McDaniel effect as well.
19:34I'm excited for Minter because I always felt like the Chargers defense was better than like the sum of their part.
19:41They were, you know what I mean? Like on paper, the Ravens actually have probably more talented individual players, but the Chargers
19:49played so well under him and they were so well coached.
19:53Always felt like they just had 20 guys around the football, you know, like one of the, and so I just think,
20:01I think it was a, I love the hire and I'm really optimistic about that unit under him.
20:07Okay. Chargers still on the board. I know we gotta move on.
20:12Mina, you know, I wonder, I wonder the Kyle Hamilton, Derwin James piece.
20:16Yeah. Defensively. You know what I added sneakily? Jalen Hawkins was like a quiet signing by the Ravens, who I thought played really well for the Pats.
20:26And I love that because that allows him to weaponize Kyle Hamilton.
20:30You always want three solid safeties and you and I talked a lot about Hamilton and yeah.
20:37So I, I'm excited about that too. Cause, cause you know, you look last year, it was the trade during the middle
20:44of the season that allowed Kyle Hamilton to go back to doing some of the things that we seen him be special at.
20:53So we'll see again, you know, this year. Yeah.
20:56All right. Staying in the AFC Chargers versus let's go Bengals here.
21:00A team that threw a bunch of resources at their defense.
21:04Will it be enough to bring them back into contention?
21:08I know Chargers. I know Chargers here. Just more faith in what I've seen some of their defensive parts do together.
21:15Than what I've seen the Cincinnati Bengals. And it is hard to not be tantalized by some of Justin Herbert's exploits.
21:23Physically. Right. And we saw a level of toughness, but I remember, and I think we all do, the difference in Tua,
21:31the first year Mike McDaniel got there. And the elevation in the one thing that's important is belief.
21:37Right. And I think Harbaugh did a great job of it last year.
21:42Like when Harbaugh talked about Justin Herbert, you would have thought he's already a Hall of Famer, had won four Super Bowls.
21:50So there was already that installation of, hey, we believe in you.
21:54But I think Mike McDaniel takes it to another level.
21:58So I'm going to go with the Chargers here.
22:01All right. Chargers at eight. At nine. I'm going to give you the Bengals versus one of the teams that I feel
22:09like is the hardest to get your arms around.
22:12The Houston Texans because of how last season finished versus what we saw.
22:17And obviously speaking about the offense, the defense, we already know.
22:21Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to go. At first. I'm going to go.
22:25I'm going to go to Houston Texans here. I'm probably.
22:29I'm probably more optimistic that CJ rebounds. This season.
22:32Then then what most people are. We talked before we started the pod.
22:37I train or my son trains in Arizona with David Montgomery.
22:41You know, so I've been trying to get some inside scoop on how things are going there in Houston.
22:47Now that he's been traded. Had great conversations with Derek Stingley as well.
22:52I think this team. You're now bringing along two young rookie wide receivers who I thought showed at least in their roles
23:00that they could be really good players. Last year.
23:03Higgins. Higgins. You know, you add. Yeah. Higgins. Now you add David Montgomery at the running back and it gives you the power.
23:11It gives you a guy that I thought was underrated from the sense of catching the ball out of the backfield.
23:19But yeah, mostly it comes down to it comes down to protection and CJ Stroud executing.
23:25And I just don't think I'm going to take Pittsburgh and New England a little bit of the Chargers late in the season.
23:33His his performance after the first quarter in that game and say that's who he's going to be this year.
23:40So I'm gonna go with the Texans at that spot.
23:44All right. If they can just have an average run game, I feel like that would be good enough.
23:51But we've been talking about that offensive line for years.
23:54I know. You know, like that's another rebuild. Yeah.
23:57This time I will say I like the players.
24:01They added better this offseason than as opposed. Yeah.
24:04Yeah. And we don't even have to talk about that defense.
24:08Reed Blankenship. Sneaky fun signing, too, by the way.
24:11I love that. All right. So not being on a team.
24:15I'm sorry, man. I do sort of hate him not being on the team with Cooper DeGene anymore, though.
24:22That was it was one. It was one of the more fun things about Philadelphia and their defense.
24:28Um, it's so funny. I was talking to we did the NFC East and we were talking about Philly and I was
24:36saying Reed Blankenship going from like because I thought he was really good in Philadelphia, but he also played with studs.
24:44But going from Philadelphia to Houston is like just man knows how to choose his surroundings.
24:50I'll give him that. Uh, OK, we're still in the top 10.
24:54The Bengals are still available to you. Uh, I'm going to bring up the team I just mentioned.
25:00I'm going to go Philadelphia Eagles here because I still think this is a top five defense, but it's a very, very transformed offense.
25:09And I don't know what to make of it quite yet.
25:13I'm going to go with the Bengals because I believe the Bengals elevation on defense, obviously getting sexy Dexy was a huge
25:21move, a move that needed to be made. Um, but I also think that if Joe Burrow is healthy offensively, this team
25:29is virtually unstoppable and, and they really are. And the fascinating thing about it, Mina, as you know, like nobody watches more football than you do.
25:38They don't do a lot, right? Like there's never a time where I watch the Cincinnati Bengals and I go, man, that really tricked me.
25:47I didn't expect that to be the play or I didn't expect that to be the option.
25:53And it is, and it works. And so if this defense, if some of those young players, right?
26:00If some of those young players who are there can, can take the next step, who are extremely talented, drafted high, can
26:08take the next step, Dexter Lawrence being added. But I also thought DJ Taylor was sneaky good last year.
26:14Or Turner. Yeah. I'm sorry. Yeah. Yeah. No. Did they just pay him?
26:19I think I saw that or I can't even remember.
26:23DJ Taylor. I'm sorry. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure if they, if they paid him, but if you, when you really tapped
26:31into the games and it was hard because they weren't great.
26:35It was extremely sticky, sticky in coverage, extremely combative at the ballpoint.
26:39Yeah. Yeah. And so, you know, and so now it's Al Golden in another year with another opportunity with those guys.
26:46And I thought some of the players who were drafted high in years past showed some of the promise that put them in those positions.
26:55And if they can come along with their play along with adding someone at the non-pro level in the middle of the
27:03defensive line, this team could be really good. Just got to be average, right?
27:08Okay. You know what? I mentioned the Eagles. So let me actually give you the divisional matchup here because I genuinely think
27:16this is going to be one of the more interesting divisions in football.
27:21Eagles versus Cowboys. Who do you think is going to be better?
27:25One team we know has a top five offense.
27:28One team we know has a top five defense.
27:32Questions on the other side of the ball. Who do you like better?
27:36Um, I like the Cowboys. Yeah. And I know, I know it's going to be.
27:42Can Caleb Downs play four positions at the same time?
27:45Can't do that. Like that, that, that's going to be, that's going to be the problem.
27:51Like, I think his fit is going to be extremely important.
27:55Right. And, and, and you wonder, you wonder in bringing over a defense coordinator with so much knowledge of what Philadelphia was
28:03able to do with extremely, like just sort of perfect puzzle pieces on the back end.
28:09Right. What, how can he come in and change what we saw from the Dallas Cowboys last season?
28:15You think about Demarvion, Demarvion Overshaw being a year healthy after the off season of rehab last year.
28:22Right. I believe that's big. Can Rashawn Gary bring you some of the pressure that you need on the outside as well?
28:30And so I think if those piece, after what we saw from them offensively, I feel about the Dallas defense, Mina, the
28:38same way we feel about the Bengals defense. They're the same team.
28:42They're literally the same team. They even run similar offenses.
28:45Like, exactly. Blindbackers and weakness on both. Yeah. It's so similar.
28:49Yeah. You know, if George Pickens is obviously there and, and, and ready to play and locked in with CeeDee Lamb, I
28:57actually saw him this week and he's like, man, I've never, I haven't felt this good or this healthy in two years.
29:05That's great. In the off season. You know, and so I look, I think that team can be really, really competitive.
29:13And so I'll put them over the Eagles. All right.
29:16Eagles. I'm going to put up against a team that I think I'm higher on than the national consensus, but I just
29:24look at this depth chart and I think the defense is so underrated.
29:29The offense was playing at a top five level in the second half of last year.
29:35And that's the Jacksonville Jaguars. Jags versus Eagles. Who you got?
29:39I'm going to go Eagles. And, and, and, and slightly with them.
29:43Uh, I think the Devante Smith piece of the Eagles is a very important piece.
29:48Um, I don't know if you say to yourself, top tier one, right?
29:53If we, if we say all pro, you know, Jamar Chase, but if he's not going to be that, I believe he's going to be right below.
30:03But it all depends on Jalen Hurts, to be honest.
30:06Right? Which Jalen do we get? Do we get a Jalen that's willing to take a chance?
30:12A Jalen that's willing to throw footballs into tight spaces down the field?
30:17A Jalen Hurts who's aggressive? Because maybe unbeknownst to him, when he's aggressive, he's actually really, really good.
30:24Right? He still protects the ball, but he's able, excuse me, to create big plays.
30:29Um, and defensively that team, in my opinion, the two corners are special.
30:34The two defensive tackles are special. And just the way they tie everything in from each of the three levels is just
30:42great football to watch from a team that's extremely predictable in play call.
30:46All right. Jags versus Bears. I went back and forth between the Bears and another.
30:52And okay. Okay. Do you like the Jags defense as much as I do?
30:57Because, oh, wait, well, this is our time. We can talk about Travis Hunter finally playing cornerback full time for the Jags.
31:05You and I have been asking for this for a while.
31:08But even without Travis Hunter, this was a good pass defense last year.
31:13This is a really good pass defense. And I thought they were extremely opportunistic as well, Mina.
31:19I think, you know, from the standpoint of making plays on the ball, being disruptive, this team did that throughout the season.
31:27You know, and obviously Josh Allen makes some plays late in that playoff game and they lose.
31:33But from about, I don't know, week six or seven toward the end of the season, Trevor Lawrence played at such a high level to me.
31:43Heater. Right. He played at such a high level.
31:46Parker Washington became somewhat of like one of the most fun players in the league to watch.
31:52And Brian Thomas, BTJ, though, has to return to rookie year form.
31:56You know, we talked about it at one time I was on NFL.
32:01I feel like social media is the way to all of these guys' hearts.
32:06There was a BTJ highlight every day on social media.
32:10You know, I think they wanted to make sure not only the world knew, but that he knew he was still good at football.
32:18And so I think the Jacksonville Jaguars, along with Liam Cohen having another year at the helm from an offensive standpoint, but
32:26just a head coach understanding standpoint, puts this team in a great place.
32:31All right. So I mentioned I was having trouble deciding between the Bears and the other team.
32:37The other team is the Packers. And I'm struggling with the Packers because the Micah Parsons factor, right?
32:43Like, and you can speak to this, but like, when Micah Parsons is there, I'm going Packers, but we know he is
32:51not going to be returning from injury until about October.
32:55So which of these teams do you think is better?
32:58Whole season. The Bears. I think the Bears. You know, it's hard to, when you say about a quarterback, if he just
33:06does the simple things good, the sky's the limit, but that's really where it is for Caleb.
33:12Right? If he gets the ball out of his hand, if this run game could be as physically dominant as it was
33:20last year, I think offensively, you build the pass game and you may feel this too or feel differently.
33:27I think you build the pass game around Coastal Loveland.
33:31Yes. His. For sure. His ascension toward the end of the season to me was one of the biggest factors in this offense continuing to grow.
33:40I also think that's why you can let DJ Moore go, you know, and it's, you kind of looking at it right
33:48now when I'm thinking about the draft pick and you, you know, you were looking at those two tight ends and you
33:56were like, man, they went Coastal Loveland. As the year went on, it started to make more sense to me.
34:03Right? It started to make more sense why they made that decision.
34:07And then you add some pieces defensively that I think you really needed.
34:12Especially, I think Kobe Bryant is an underrated signing for them at the safety position.
34:18You know, kind of overlooked in what Seattle was able to do throughout the entire season.
34:23And so Ben Johnson, Caleb, another year together. I'm going with the Bears.
34:28I like it. Yeah. On paper. Very good secondary.
34:31Passerage. But the Packers also got a passerage problem.
34:34Yeah. Right. It was the same. Okay. So the Packers.
34:38Packers versus Chiefs, Ryan. Haven't talked about the Chiefs at all.
34:42Yeah. I'm going to go. I'm going to go Packers.
34:46I feel the same way you do, too, though, about, I mean, wasn't the difference after Micah's injury just glaring?
34:53Like, it was just. Brutal. Yeah. It was brutal.
34:56And, you know, it's one of those things. Obviously, his impact from week one was felt.
35:02Right? When, you know, he chases down, was it Jared Goff?
35:06He throws his hand up in the air like this.
35:09It's like, it was felt week one. But no more.
35:13It was felt no more, like, palpable than when, a tangible, when he was gone late in the season.
35:20Just absolutely no pass rush. Halfley trying to figure it out.
35:24So you wonder what Jonathan Gannon can do now, coming over from Arizona as the head coach, to create a pass rush early on in the season.
35:33How those backers are used as pieces of it.
35:37Right? Does Edger and Cooper kind of elevate in the way that they utilize him early on in the season?
35:44It is. Yeah. I mean, maybe Jonathan Gannon can, yeah.
35:47I was going to say, maybe he can do some of the weird stuff that Arizona did.
35:54Because the Philadelphia defense, you remember, with him was very passive and zoned.
35:58Normie, four-man rush. But Arizona, they had to get weird out of necessity.
36:03Yeah. All right. Kansas City Chiefs versus the Detroit Lions.
36:06Two teams with high ceilings but flaws on their roster.
36:10Who are you putting to round out the top half?
36:14I'm going to take Detroit. When you ask your quarterback to do what Patrick Mahomes has been doing for the last three
36:22or four years, a breakdown is inevitable. Right? The man carried the world on his shoulders.
36:27I know you go out and you get Kenneth Walker, but that's another offensive line that we've had conversations about for years now.
36:36And they've tried free agency. They've tried draft. It just hasn't taken that step that they needed in order to be elite.
36:44But we're saying that with them having won, you know, three Super Bowls with this regime.
36:49But I do think they have to improve. I still like Detroit.
36:54I know, you know, you lose some pieces. They're obviously dealing with something right now with Terry on Arnold where they let him go.
37:02Amik Robinson is gone as well. Brian Branch coming off of injury.
37:07Right? So we're talking about wholesale changes on this back end that this team has to figure out.
37:13Aiden Hutchinson, another year healthy after watching him come back and play the way he did.
37:19Jameer Gibbs, the true number one. Pacheco spelling him.
37:22But I do think one of the duos we don't talk about enough is Amirah St.
37:28Brown and Jameson Williams. And what they're able to do as complimentary pieces of that game as the wide receivers.
37:35And so when you look at Jared Goff, Jameer, Amirah St.
37:39Brown, Jameer Gibbs, this offense should be explosive again with another year away from Ben Johnson.
37:45And trying to figure out who you are. So I'm going to go with Detroit.
37:50Yeah, I think when you look at these two teams, the only unit on both sides that I have in the top 10 is the Lions offense.
38:00So I think, you know what I mean? Like that ultimately can be a decisive factor as concerned as I am about that Lions defense and the injuries.
38:10All right. Quick break. Come back and we'll see who the Chiefs go against for 17.
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40:03All right, we're back. 17, the Kansas City Chiefs, oh how the mighty have fallen, are going to go up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
40:12Who will you take? Whoa, that's a good one.
40:15I'm going to go with the Bucs. And when you watch the Bucs, especially late in the season, you know, you kind
40:23of get a, you get one of those feelings about their quarterback where you're like, okay, we saw some things from Baker that actually made us nervous, right?
40:33When, that we thought were no longer a part of his game.
40:37You obviously lose Mike Evans as well to the San Francisco 49ers in free agency, which is always a big piece of what they do.
40:46I'm a big Bucky Irving fan though, right? I think that he is a difference maker in the backfield.
40:53The thing that struck me mostly about him was the physicality in his run game, though not seeming as he'd be that sort of runner.
41:02I think Todd Bowles gets this defense back to playing at a level that we're used to.
41:08And so for me, I think Tampa over Kansas City, just because I don't know what this offense looks like if Patrick Mahomes can't do everything.
41:17Obviously, Travis Kelsey isn't what he used to be.
41:21And some of these, and some of these pieces you brought in offensively still haven't shown us they are who we thought they were.
41:29And I don't know what Eric Biennium and Kenneth Walker add, at least at this point.
41:35I like the Bucs defense. They cracked my top 10.
41:39I know there's some youth on the back end, but yeah, it's some additions.
41:44I love the Anzalone ad because linebacker was something that people really went after.
41:49So I don't hate that. Okay, 18. I'll give you a spicy option.
41:53Chiefs versus the Minnesota Vikings. Kansas City. I'm going to go Kansas City here.
41:58I know I've talked about all the things they have to improve, but I do think at this spot, now you start
42:06looking at some of the possibilities with optimism, right?
42:10If now Xavier Worthy or Rasheed Rice can become something that we've been waiting on them to be, right?
42:16If you can fix a left tackle problem that was kind of just one of the weird things of the season.
42:24You know, there was an absence where he stepped away from the team.
42:29And, you know, then there was an injury that ended the year.
42:33Now, early on in this offseason, we're talking about him gaining weight and not eating a hamburger diet or whatever it is.
42:41And so I do think the level of optimism is if their quarterback is healthy enough to be himself at some point
42:49in this season, we've seen what Patrick Mahomes can do.
42:52I like it. All right. I want to hear you talk about the Vikings, but we'll see.
42:58Maybe not yet because I'm going to put them up next against.
43:03Let's go Steelers here. I don't know what to do with this team.
43:07Vikings. Vikings. Don't even. No, no, no. Nothing more to even say.
43:12What if we switch quarterbacks? Who would you take if we switch?
43:16Now I'm going to go real spicy. If the Steelers had Kyler Murray.
43:21Pittsburgh. I'd take Pittsburgh. Yep. I'd take Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh.
43:24I was on TV for one of my very few appearances this offseason with the genius who I was kind of like
43:32trying to play like the nice card when asked about the quarterback position.
43:37You know, you want. I was like, you want a guy to take it and someone to really grab a hold to the position.
43:45And it's extremely intelligent. And now a super famous colleague of mine goes, Kyler Murray should be the starter.
43:52And I damn near lost it. But yeah, Kyler Murray should be the starter on this team.
43:58I still believe that KOC is an absolute genius.
44:01Justin Jefferson is now for some reason being slept on because they had to play with J.J.
44:07McCarthy last year. And this defense is still, you know, you lose Jonathan Grenard, obviously.
44:13But this defense is still extremely difficult to figure out.
44:16Opportunistic in the best of ways. And also extremely disruptive.
44:20And so I think this is a good spot for Minnesota.
44:24And if we knew what Kyler, that Kyler would be the starter and exactly what he would look like, I think this
44:32is a conversation that's different week eight than it is now.
44:36Yeah. One of the more interesting teams in football this year because of the Kyler Murray question.
44:42And yeah. And what version of him we get, you know, because it's 2020 Kyler Murray.
44:48This team's winning the division, I think. But agree.
44:51We'll see. All right. The Steelers. I'm going to put in a team that I am sneaky high on.
44:58Has a quarterback who you and I liked as a prospect.
45:02I remember we talked about him. And that's a young Tyler Shuck.
45:06The New Orleans Saints, who Ryan quietly had a competent defense last year that nobody talked about.
45:12Well, I think one, because Spencer Rattlers played early on.
45:16But if you remember, we talked about Tyler Shuck headed in.
45:20I'm going with the Saints. You know, we talked about Tyler Shuck headed into last season.
45:25I mean, I was high on him. Nobody was as high on him as Louis Riddick.
45:31But I think my, the reason I was so high on him was because I got to watch him play in person when he was in college.
45:41He played against Notre Dame. And he just, oh.
45:44And he just, and I just remember walking back to Jordan's apartment.
45:48And he was like, pop, we couldn't do nothing with it.
45:52You know, and it was a game that Notre Dame won pretty handedly.
45:57But he was like, pop, he's like, every throw was exactly where it needed to be.
46:03And when you talk to someone who's played against a player that feels that way about him, it kind of just changes your mindset.
46:11So you go back and watch the film from last year, especially late in the season.
46:17There weren't many young quarterbacks playing better than this young man.
46:21And you got to give some credit to Kellen Moore as well.
46:25You know, it's one of those things. Yeah. You almost discounted Kellen Moore becoming the head coach because he had missed out on so many other opportunities.
46:35And you started thinking to yourself, well, maybe this guy can't do it.
46:40Maybe he doesn't fit. But he did show that he does and that he did.
46:45You wonder what the Alante Taylor piece is going to be on defense.
46:50You know, I don't, you know, for me, he was a huge part of what they could do from a versatility standpoint.
46:58And the nickel playing outside as well. How do they replace him?
47:02But this team, especially if Tyson is healthy. Right.
47:05And he's the explosive OBJ like additive that we think he could be.
47:10This team could be really good. If he's healthy, the pairing with the Levy is really nice to great complimentary skill sets.
47:18OK. The Saints, by the way, we've had the Bucks at 17 Saints at 20.
47:23I could easily see this flipping. I think New Orleans could absolutely win the NFC South this year.
47:30For sure. Steelers still on the board. I'm going to put up against a team that has changed a lot, changed its
47:38coaching staff, added a bunch of players on defense.
47:41The Washington Commanders. Washington versus Pittsburgh. Who do you got?
47:45I think for sure defensively the Steelers are better.
47:48I'm going to go with Washington because I believe Jaden Daniels rebounds.
47:52OK. Now, the Washington's wide receiver core scares me a little bit.
47:56You know, you have Terry McLaurin, who wasn't his self last year after a long hold in in the preseason.
48:04Jaden Daniels obviously banged up from injuries. I think they have a great two-headed monster.
48:09They added Chod from Tampa Bay. Krosky Merritt was very good last year.
48:14And so, you know, you think White and now you have a second-year player, Krosky Merritt, who's extremely good.
48:21The run game can be tricky. I believe Cliff Kingsbury hurt them last year, too.
48:26I don't think they took a step in the right direction schematically.
48:30It was kind of back to Jaden's going to do it.
48:34You know, and we saw that a little bit with Kyler Murray as well in Arizona.
48:40So I believe getting a new voice there offensively and defensively, when you look at, you know, what they were able to do.
48:48You add a piece, you know, Nick Cross on the back end from Indianapolis.
48:53I think that was an underrated ad, you know, outside, right?
48:57It's figuring out can they create, I think always there now, can they create some pressure from a four-man standpoint, which they couldn't do last year.
49:07But I believe in their quarterback much more than I believe in the quarterback at Pittsburgh.
49:12I like a lot of the additions on defense.
49:15I'm actually previewing the NFC East, so I'll talk about them later this week.
49:21But I think the front seven has the potential to be much better.
49:25I also liked Clayton Chason, who was, like, weirdly good last year in New England.
49:31Very good in New England. Sometimes it just takes a minute, man.
49:35Sometimes it takes a minute. But you know what's weird about him, Mina?
49:40He's become, like, he's become, like, the journeyman sixth man in basketball.
49:44Yeah. You know, like, he's in Las Vegas, like, two years ago.
49:48Plays well with Max Crosby. Last year makes plays in New England.
49:53And I think now has an opportunity in Washington to be an impact player as well.
49:58I believe, you know, you're talking about a guy that was drafted in the first round out of LSU.
50:05And I think because when you're drafted in the first round, if you don't become a superstar, you almost become a guy
50:13that people feel like, I don't really know if he can do it at the level we need him to.
50:20But he's been great in the last three places.
50:23Totally agree. That's such a specific category of player.
50:27Like, the guy who's drafted in the first round disappoints, but then goes on to have, like, a 15-year NFL career.
50:34And you're just like, actually, they're good at football, you know?
50:38Okay. Moving quickly now. Now, Steelers versus, I don't know what the hell to do with this team, the Indianapolis Colts.
50:46Steelers. I'll go Steelers here. Defensively, even though old, the Steelers have a chance to be really good.
50:52Yeah. You do wonder what they're going to do with Joey Porter.
50:57Right? I know he's been waiting for a contract.
51:00Hasn't really been available on the field throughout the offseason.
51:03I think that's a big piece. You signed Herbig.
51:07You do wonder if all three of those guys are on the team.
51:11Herbig, Highsmith, Watt, the entire season. I think that's, you know, a big piece to who they are.
51:18You have to get better play from the linebacker position.
51:21I know PG, you know, is going to have to figure that out from the defensive coordinator standpoint.
51:28My best friend, Joe Witt Jr., is now the actual, he's the assistant head coach.
51:33And those are conversations I've had with him. Y'all have had conversations with him about how do you fix the second level of this defense?
51:42That's extremely important. Patrick Graham's now the defensive coordinator, too.
51:46He has an interesting resume. Oh, yeah, yeah. Right.
51:49Sorry. That's even PG. Yeah. He has an interesting resume because he's called a bunch of different stuff.
51:55And he's pretty creative. So, by the way, Yelgred.
51:59Not that many in the NFL. Freaking genius. I think the utilization of Jalen Ramsey is going to be interesting.
52:06Yeah. Right? Because you bring over Brister, the shot.
52:09Yeah, he was. He was. Deshaun Elliott's now healthy as well.
52:13I wonder if it's going to be a situation where in a regular defense, he's at the safety position.
52:20Nickel. He's the nickel guy. You play those other two guys.
52:24So, I do want to see, you know, how that works.
52:28All right. 23. We'll stick with the Colts. I'm going to put him up against the Carolina Panthers here, who's invested a lot in their defense this offseason.
52:38I'm going to go Carolina Panthers. Dan Jones is injured.
52:41Bryce Young, at least to me. One, I'm going to let people see a little bit into the trailer on Monday Night
52:49Football or the NFL Live group chat. We all root for Bryce Young like we're related to him.
52:56You know what I mean? I went on Bomani Jones' show, Ryan, and he said, this was like two years ago, little homie doing his best.
53:05And that rings in my head every time I see him.
53:09Little homie doing his best. It's so, so funny.
53:12We do it for him. We do it for him.
53:16Yeah. And so, like, to, and even, you know, you go to the playoff game, you go off to the playoff game against the Rams.
53:25He was awesome. He was so good in that game.
53:29Bryce Young played extremely well. Even you think about the fourth down pass that ended the game.
53:35That's a pass that's supposed to be caught by an NFL receiver, you know?
53:40And so, for him to play and go toe-to-toe with Matthew Stafford, the way he did two times in that season, I
53:48believe, said a lot about his progression, how Dave Canales, going back to him, but sticking with him has helped his team.
53:56And defensively, they've made tons of upgrades. But even with that, when you look at Derrick Brown, in my opinion, and J.C.
54:03Horn, they have two bona fide superstars in important defensive spots.
54:07Oh, went crazy last year. Crazy. Like, just went crazy last year.
54:12And I think when you go back to even that playoff game or the game early on in the season against the
54:20Rams, where Mike Jackson has the pick six, his elevated play along with J.C.
54:25Horn, like, there is, that's one of the top cornered back duos in all of football.
54:30I'm very excited about this defense. I think Jiro Everett is finally being given, like, a lot of good players to work with.
54:39And I think he's very smart. He's a great coach.
54:42I like the Panthers. Great coach. He's kind of feisty.
54:46Okay, Colts still on the table. All right, we're getting kind of, you know, in the dirt here.
54:52I'm going to go Colts versus Falcons. I'm going to go Falcons.
54:57Everything seems to be leaning toward Tua being the starting quarterback.
55:01Kevin Stefanski doesn't really have a tie to Michael Penix.
55:04You went out. Kyle Pitts got paid. Drake London got paid.
55:08You would expect B. John Robinson to get paid.
55:11And B. John Robinson is special even amongst special running backs in the NFL.
55:16He's as gifted a player that plays the position right now in all of the league.
55:22And I do believe what I've watched from young safety Xavier Watts last year, he takes a step into being the most
55:30disruptive free safety in all of football. And so I believe that that team will be much better under Kevin Stefanski, continuing,
55:38in my opinion, this is my opinion, continuing the elevated play we saw late last season, even under Raheem Morris, which I
55:46thought at the time was going to save his job.
55:49The Falcons are a hard one because the quarterback position, but you're right.
55:54Everything else seems to be going in the right direction.
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57:29The Colts are also a hard one because of the quarterback position.
57:33They remain an option. I'm going to put them up against the New York Giants, who we're talking about them later in the week.
57:42I am having difficulty discussing because of the Malik Neighbors aspect, right?
57:46I just think this offense, with and without Neighbors, is so different.
57:50And so I don't really know how to feel.
57:53And I'm going to go Colts because I think you have to bring Malik Neighbors along slow.
58:00I saw a video of him jogging to first base in a softball game, charity.
58:05And my thought was that person can't play football in September and October and November, right?
58:11Like, to me, he's such a talent. He's so explosive, so important.
58:15You don't put him on the field a day before he's ready because it's about his future.
58:21It's about what the next five years can look like, not this year.
58:26And if he's not a part of that wide receiver crew, who Jackson Dart is, is supremely infected.
58:32So I think the effect, I think the Colts here, and then depending on who you give me, the Giants next.
58:40Giants for 26. Giants versus Raiders. Who, obviously, young quarterback, all of that, new head coach, but did invest a lot in the defense.
58:48So I do want you to contemplate that. Yeah, I'm going to go, I'm going to go Giants.
58:55Right? And for many of the reasons, you know, we talked about offensively, I do believe in Jackson Dart.
59:02His health is obviously extremely important. John Harbaugh being added to that team, that level of leadership, that level of experience, that level of knowledge.
59:11I think in, you go back to last season and think about all the leads this defense and this team lost late in the game.
59:20Right? With ability to close out those games, maybe we're even having a different conversation about who's the head coach.
59:27And so for me, I'll take the Giants here.
59:30All right. Much Giants, a lot of Giants discussion coming later in this week.
59:35I have a borderline irresponsible Abdul Carter take, so Giants fans, tune in for that.
59:41I went back and watched him this weekend, and I'm kind of obsessed with him now.
59:46But we'll get to that. All right. 27. If you just watch him, I'm sorry, if you watch him just isolated play, put the scoreboard off.
59:56And if we were watching him like we were recruiting a high school player on a bad team, he's a five-star.
60:03You take it. I'll get into it in detail, but I went down like a rabbit hole of watching him.
60:10And yeah, he's got it. That's all I'll say.
60:14He's got it. All right. He does. We're in the bottom six now.
60:18The Raiders are still on the board. Let's go Raiders versus Titans here.
60:23I'm going to go Raiders. You mentioned the investment in defense, and I do believe that part is real.
60:30But there's also an investment in the interior offensive line that this team made that it seemingly was made because you knew
60:38you were going to draft Fernando Mendoza. But I think the auxiliary person that benefits from this is the run game and the running back.
60:47Right? It was almost irresponsible to expect that anybody could succeed offensively on that team last year.
60:53Yeah. Just hitting behind the line, trying to create.
60:56I think this year the run game is better.
60:59The defense is better. And you have a coach who understands how to create space in the pass game, where I don't
61:07believe that's what you had last year. You were asking a team whose quarterback was playing bad, whose wide receivers could create
61:15space to find ways to have offense without being able to run the ball.
61:20And so I think that this team is a lot different this year.
61:25All right. I'm with you there. What that means is the Titans are still on the board.
61:31I'll put them against the team now quarterbacked by the guy you were leading to, Geno Smith.
61:37The Jets against the Titans. Who are you taking?
61:40This is hard. I'm going to go Robert Sala and the Titans.
61:45And we talked about this a lot. Cam Ward probably threw five of the top 25 footballs of any quarterback last year.
61:53You know, and some of them were caught. Some of them were dropped.
61:57But, you know, you'd watch it and say to yourself, OK, this kid, this kid has it.
62:03And there was a level of toughness and competitiveness there that you loved.
62:08You add Cornell Tate to the outside. And I remember having a conversation about that maybe being early, but also sort of
62:16being a necessity for a young quarterback. Robert Sala, we know what sort of defensive mind that he is.
62:23But he also, when you go back to some of the New York stuff, never really had a quarterback either.
62:30I think this is the first time his defensive mind is paired with a quarterback, at least that I believe is talented enough to win games for them.
62:40So I'm going to go with Tennessee here. When I preview the AFC South, I'm really excited to go back and watch
62:48Cam Ward's game against the Seahawks, which in my memory was a, oh, this cat's for real.
62:54You know, watch where he was one of the best games against that defense we saw of any quarterback last season.
63:02That said, there were definitely things he has to get better at.
63:06I don't want to overhype it because there were some lows.
63:10But he also had pretty terrible surrounding circumstances. All right, the Jets.
63:14We've got four teams left. Let's go Jets-Browns here.
63:17I'm going to go Jets. Yeah. I'm going to go Jets.
63:21I think, you know, a miss, like kind of underrated signing was the trade for Adonai Mitchell last year at the wide receiver position.
63:30And he didn't get to play much with Garrett, who was obviously, who in my opinion, is a true number one.
63:37Just hasn't had the correct quarterback. You extend Brees Hall, which I think is big.
63:43It's an offensive line that I have faith in is going to be good this year.
63:49You know, as well, this team could play. I wonder what 12 would look like for this team in back-to-back years of drafting tight ends.
63:58Right? Sadiq and Taylor. Sadiq and Taylor. They're good players, but it also makes me think, who's the in-line blocker?
64:05Right? Who's the guy that helps in the run game?
64:08So 12 can in some way be creative. I think that's important.
64:13You add Minka to the defense. You add Demario Davis to them defensively.
64:17And it gives you some of that veteran leadership on the second level that you need.
64:23You go out, you get Bailey as a rusher.
64:26I thought McDonald took a step up as well last year.
64:30So I think this team could be good on both sides of the ball.
64:35Not good, I guess, but better than they were last year.
64:39I think we, no one expects Geno Smith to, you know, be like 2023 Geno Smith.
64:45But do you think we get a better version of him than 2025 Geno Smith, who was simultaneously in horrendous situations, but also made it worse at points?
64:55Mm-hmm. Absolutely did. I think he was searching for 2023 in a place where it wasn't available to him.
65:02Many such cases. Yeah, no, that, yeah. I can't, it gets, yeah.
65:06I think, I obviously have taken my lumps with Geno, but like, it really was awful for everybody last year.
65:13And this, on paper, looks like a pretty, pretty good situation.
65:17Definitely a better situation. Yeah. All right, 30, so the Browns remain an option.
65:22I'm going to put them against, we've only got three spots left, the Cardinals, who I guess are going to be quarterbacked by Jacoby Brissett.
65:31Hmm. I don't even know, we don't know if the Browns, if it's going to be Sanders or Watson as well.
65:39Yeah. So two uncertain quarterback situations here. I would say, you know, I'll go with the Browns, because they've always figured out,
65:47now we have Miles Garrett, Garrett is good to be good on, it's easy to be good on defense.
65:54But I believe in some of the defensive players on the Browns.
65:58Even, you know, you do bring in Jared Verge, so you can still have that level of rush.
66:05I mean, at the linebacker position, you have an absolute young star who you loved going into the draft.
66:11Last year, Grant Delpit played an extremely high level.
66:15Denzel Ward is a top tier corner. You just, you add pieces offensively, but you don't know who the quarterback is or
66:22what it's going to look like with Todd Munkin.
66:26Right? And so I think that's important, but I would go with the Browns here.
66:31And I don't even know who that leaves. It leaves the Cardinals and who?
66:36Cardinals and the Dolphins. The Miami Dolphins. Who, let me just tell you this.
66:41Hey, it is Cardinals, the Dolphins. I started preparing for the AFC East.
66:46And Ryan, you know, I take a lot of, I really try to know all the players around the league.
66:53I try to know the backups around the league.
66:56I got to be honest with you. This Dolphins depth chart, the defense, multiple players I had never heard of before.
67:04I looked at it. Crazy. Me too. Me too.
67:07I hit you before we, you know, we're doing this.
67:11I was like, man, I just want to prepare.
67:14He's like, oh, you've done it before. And just going through depth charts, looking at players added and lost in the off season.
67:22I was like, I don't even know if Miami's trying.
67:26You know? And when you think. What's confusing is they're not, and then they paid a quarterback.
67:32And I'm like, why did you? Why? I don't get it.
67:36I get everything else they did. It was extremely weird.
67:39Yeah. Like, so for Malik Willis, you're almost in a lose-lose situation.
67:44They go out. They give you money. Immediately trade away your best wide receiver.
67:49I guess you do extend the running back. But, yeah, I think that team is going to struggle the entire season.
67:56And you have a hold-in from a guy who's like kind of a lifetime backup, maybe starter in Arizona.
68:03And Jacoby Brissett, you do add, you know. And I felt like they went with the, oh, we got to pick Jeremiah
68:11Love at three because we're taking somebody at this spot.
68:15You know? And so, yeah, those teams are definitely the last two.
68:19That could flip-flop throughout the year. But I think Miami is in a bad space for Jeff Halfley.
68:25If they swapped quarterbacks, I'd actually be kind of intrigued by the Cardinals, right?
68:30Like, I'd be like, well, I don't want to see this.
68:34It's a shame. All right. I'm going to read them back to you.
68:39Jacoby Brissett was decent last year. Jacoby Brissett was decent last year, too, though.
68:44He leveled that team out, but. He's a great backup.
68:48You know? That's how I feel about you. Agreed.
68:51He's awesome to have, but yeah. All right. I'm going to read them back to you now.
68:57We're done. Ready. And tell me which one you think is the spiciest pick.
69:02We'll wrap here. Rams, Seahawks, Broncos, Bills, Patriots, Niners, Ravens, Chargers, Texans, Bengals.
69:07That's your top ten. Cowboys, Eagles, Jags, Bears, Packers, Lions, Bucks, Chiefs, Vikings, Saints, Commanders, Steelers, Panthers, Falcons, Colts, Giants, Raiders, Titans, Jets, Browns, Cardinals, Dolphins.
69:16Bengals. I think the Bengals is the spiciest choice.
69:19And here's why I think it's spicy. It could actually be too low by the end of the season.
69:26Yeah. Bengals could go. Yeah. The ceiling is high.
69:29Yeah. I think the Bengals could be a team.
69:33And you even heard Joe talk about it in the offseason.
69:37How talented he does believe they are inside of the confidence level that he has.
69:42The Bengals could be a team that goes on a run based on the fact of what they're seeing in the building and what they feel.
69:51And what we've already known about their quarterback, two wide receivers and offense.
69:56All right. Well, that's our first power hour. Ryan, thank you so much.
70:01Everybody go check out the pivot. Thank you, my girl.
70:04We'll be back together soon. Great to see you, buddy.
70:08And I'll be back later this week to do the NFC East.
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