Double bag alert. Double bag alert. Double bag
alert, folks. That's right. We got a loaded episode.
And I mean a loaded episode, all right? Colton
Miller and Zach Allen get paid. Tara McLaurin
requests a trade. Micah Parsons? Drama? Noah
fan hits the Cincinnati. Trey Hendrickson reports
to training camp. Chargers versus Lions recap.
Yes, we are going to talk about the Hall of Fame
game. If you don't want to listen to it, guess
what? You can skip it. It's no problem. It's
not going to hurt my feelings. And the final
gut check time, folks. That's right. AFC and
NFC West. So guess what? You already know my
spell. This is the 88th episode of the Football
Junkies podcast, all right? I am your host with
the most. I'm your bagroll domus. That's right,
your chief bagroll domus to be specific because
you know why? I am in charge of anything and
everything related to the bag, rumors to the
bag, and more. But guess what? I am your GM who
currently is not on a team right now, but don't
you worry about it, all right? Don't you worry
about it because guess what? I am all these things
and more. But most importantly, the most important
thing that you must remember is... I am your
host, Kale. This is going to be a loaded episode.
This is going to be an amazing episode because
you are listening to the greatest football podcast
that you can listen to on a week -to -week, day
-to -day basis. So guess what? You already know
how things are about to end. So guess what? On
three, one, two, three, let's lock in. Right,
folks? Let's get into the meat and potatoes of
everything that is going on in the league right
now, all right? Let's get these bag alerts out
the way so we can get to the good stuff, all
right? Cowboys fans, I want to feel bad for you,
but I don't. But it's okay. I'll be a shoulder
that you can cry on just for this episode, all
right? But let's save that for later. Let's get
to these bagelers, all right? So Zach Allen,
defensive lineman for the Broncos, inks a four
-year, $102 million deal, $69 .5 million guaranteed,
a $24 million signing bonus, and he will be making
$25 .5 million a year. I forgot to add this in
as well. He gets $44 .2 million guaranteed at
signing. When we look at his stats from this
past season, 61 tackles and 8 .5 sacks. Folks,
the Broncos continue to do good business. Zach
Allen is one of those defensive linemen that
doesn't get a lot of attention. He doesn't really
get his flowers. He flies under the radar, but
you are talking about somebody that since joining
the Broncos, he has been very productive. I'm
not saying he has double digit sacks, but I mean,
eight and a half sacks for the role that he plays
is a really productive defensive lineman. It
was only right for the Broncos to give him the
extension that he so deserves, which, I mean,
even when you look at this deal, it's not a bad
deal at all. Because why? The team is still fairly
young. You still have Bo Nix on his rookie deal.
I mean, you just paid Cortland Sun not too long
ago. You paid PS2 as well. It's not that bad.
This is a really good deal for a really good
and very, very, very productive player. but congratulations
to him all right now let's talk about colton
miller left tackle for the raiders he inks a
three -year 66 million dollar deal 42 .5 million
guaranteed and he'll be making 22 million a year
folks this offseason has been great for left
tackles all right it was only right that the
raiders took care of their left tackle who by
the way has been their longest tenured player
for a while Derek Carr has been gone for a while,
Josh Jacobs, Darren Waller, this person, that
person, all these other people have come and
gone. But Colton Miller and Max Crosby have been
the only two players that have stuck by the Raiders.
Folks, this isn't a deal that's going to break
the bank. This isn't a deal that's going to have
the Raiders scratching their head in two years.
This is a deal for somebody that's been loyal
to the team through and through. And what better
way to reward your player that's been with you
through the ups and downs, the head scratching
moments, the questionable decisions than to just
give them a good deal. Now, let's talk about
Terry McLaurin. OK, let's yeah, because we're
because we're going to be talking about the NFC
East for a while. OK, so Terry McLaurin requested
a trade. So before we get into the hot takes,
truth bombs and all that other stuff, let's speed
everybody up. where we are right now with this
whole situation, all right? So Terry McLaurin
has requested a trade, and this is due in part
because there's been little to no progress between
him and the commanders. Now, prior to him requesting
a trade, multiple teams have called and were
told no prior to this point. Now, according to
Diana Rossini from The Athletic, the road bump
for this situation is that Terry McLaurin's age
as well as his price. Now, when we look at notable
wide receivers who have been in similar situations,
you have to bring up Tee Higgins, Deebo Samuel,
and even Brandon Iyuk from last year. According
to SpotRag, two -year cash payouts for active
wide receivers who are 29 or older includes Tyree
Kill at $54 .1 million, Calvin Ridley, $48 million.
Mike Evans, $44 .6 million. Devontae Adams, $44
million. Chris Godwin, $44 million. Stefan Diggs,
$40 .8 million. And Cooper Cup at $31 million.
So here's the thing. So while I understand that
the commanders are trying to factor his age on
why they're not trying to give him the money
that he's looking for, I think you have to put
that to a side. Terry McLaurin has been very
healthy throughout his entire career. It'll be
different if he's somebody that, you know, the
last two seasons he's only played like four or
five games and, you know, he's had significant
injuries like, you know, torn ACL one year, then
the next year he's torn an Achilles. Okay, fine.
You have every right to have the standard that
you have. Terry McLaurin has been healthy and
he's been consistent since coming into the league.
You're talking about somebody that has had multiple
1 ,000 receiving yard seasons with different
quarterbacks. Quarterbacks, by the way, who,
I mean, if we're being real here, wasn't playing
their best ball. He's been productive with Dwayne
Haskins, God rest his soul, Alex Smith, Taylor
Heineke, Ryan Fitzpatrick. I can continue to
go on and on and on. He's been consistent. So
it's only right that the commanders give him
the money that he's looking for. And even then,
you can structure the contract in a way to where
he can get a majority of his money up front.
So that guess what? If anything crazy happens,
you can move off of him and it doesn't affect
you long term. You could give him a three year
deal and, you know, you can jack up the signing
bonus and, you know, base salary. There's so
many different ways that you can skin a cat.
So I don't see what the problem is. You have
a quarterback that's on a rookie deal. There's
nobody else on the team that you have to pay
significant money to, except for Terry McLaurin.
So I don't understand why things are so bad right
now. But I will say this. If both sides cannot
come to an agreement, trade them. Terry McLaurin
has a market right now. I'm going to give you
some of the teams that I think. That should go
after Terry McLaurin. And I'll even explain why.
But we'll turn this into somewhat of a mini experiment,
okay? 49ers. First thing that comes to mind.
You want to know why? For one, Brandon Iyuk is
still nursing his ACL injury. So most likely,
he's not going to be available for at least the
first half of the season. There's nobody else
outside of Jawan Jennings who even then... He's
having his own contractual situations as well.
So outside of those two, all you have is Ricky
Pearsall and the younger receivers. By bringing
in Terry McLaurin, for one, you're providing
help to the wide receiver room. It's a reliable
and consistent weapon. And if you wanted to,
you can talk him into taking less. Because why?
You are still a playoff contender. Let's keep
on going. The Chiefs. The Chiefs right now need
a dominant wide receiver. They don't have one
right now. Sure, Xavier Worthy is a speed demon,
but okay, fine. You have Juju. He's the veteran.
Rasheed Rice. I don't know what's going on with
his legal situation. I don't know if the league
is going to suspend him or not. So you need to
be in preparation that most likely he will be
suspended for at least maybe two to three games,
maybe a little bit longer. Sky Moore. I would
venture to say he's falling out of the good graces
of the team. So with Terry McLaurin, once again,
you can convince him, hey, we can't give you
30, but we can try to get you to 30. We can get
you to 28. We can try to get you to 29 at best.
I think he would be willing to take that. I think
that would help the offense a whole lot more,
but we'll talk about that when we get to gut
check time, okay? Bills. The Bills don't have
a true dominant number one receiver. Sure, Keyon
Cole is a really productive receiver, but he's
a two. He's not a one. Terry McLaurin is a one.
Terry McLaurin could be the weapon that you need
to get over your playoff woes. You can convince
him to take less. And the Steelers, which, speaking
of which, according to Chris Halleck from DK
Pittsburgh Sports, by the way, side note, my
bad, bro, because I know I butchered your last
name. On an All Steelers live stream. And I did
not mean to do that. Shout out to Noah. Shout
out to DK Pittsburgh Sports. Shout out to Chris
Hallett. Because you guys put out some great
content by the way. But we're not here for that.
Now with the Steelers. The Steelers need a receiver.
Badly. They tried to give Roman Wilson a chance.
He hasn't shown anything. Calvin Austin is a
slot receiver. If DK Metcalf goes down. God forbid.
Who else in that receiver room can you trust?
We all saw what happened last season when George
Pickens got hurt. That wide receiver room was
unreliable. And sure, they made a trade for Mike
Williams, but they really wasn't utilizing him.
The only time that they really used him was for
the Washington game. And in doing so, he helped
them win the game. So if I'm the Steelers, I
probably would want to be the most aggressive
because why? For one, you brought in a potential
better quarterback than what you had last year.
You know that if DK Metcalf gets hurt, there's
nobody else that you can rely on. And right now,
Terry McLaurin is probably your best chance of
this offense really becoming a better offense
than what it has been the last three to five
years. I think a receiver core that has DK Metcalf,
Calvin Austin, and Terry McLaurin is way more
formidable than what they have right now. Even
when you look at training camp reports from any
of the beat writers that are there, they'll all
say the same thing. The offense continues to
get dominated. So if you're the Steelers, you
got to be aggressive. Now, when we talk about
compensation and stuff like that, I would venture
to say that the starting point for any Terry
McLaurin trade would include a second round pick.
Now, what you do after that second round pick
depends. Me personally, I would say maybe a second,
maybe a conditional fourth that can turn into
a third, maybe a second and a receiver that you
know is not going to make the roster, maybe a
second and a third and, you know, something else.
There's different ways that you can address this
that's going to benefit both sides. But at the
same time, if you're Washington. You know that
by trading Terry McLaurin away, that opens up
a bigger problem for the offense. Granted, they
traded for Deebo Samuel, but you don't know what
version of Deebo Samuel you're getting. You know
what you're getting with Terry McLaurin. Not
to mention, this could potentially damage the
progress in Jaden Daniels. So if I'm the commanders,
you have to try to at least attempt. to put a
legitimate offer that's going to entice Terry
McLaurin. Now, am I saying that you have to give
him 40 plus million? No. Am I saying that you
have to pay him more than what CeeDee Lamb is
making? No. But I do believe that he is due between
30 and 33 million a year. I think that's a reasonable
price. I don't think that's a bad price at all.
If you look at the deal that he signed a few
years ago, that was a team -friendly deal. The
market has changed now. His price point is literally...
what the market is going for right now. Any productive
number one wide receiver is making at least 30
plus million a year. AJ Brown, Amon Ross St.
Brown, CeeDee Lamb, Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson,
DK Metcalf, all of them are making 30 plus million.
So it's only right that he get his piece to the
puzzle. So if I'm the commanders, you want to
try to at least attempt. to get something done,
to at least have some progress within the next
few days, maybe within the next two weeks or
so. Because right now, if this thing continues
to stall, you are running the risk of possibly
hurting the team more than actually helping it.
You're going to need Terry McLaurin this season.
So if I'm the commanders, just pay him. Give
him a three -year deal, juice up the numbers,
go from there. It's not going to hurt you. It's
not going to hurt your cap. It's not going to
hurt anything at all. Got to take care of your
players, man. This is what happens when you have
superstars on your team. I'm going to talk, just
you wait, because we have to talk about the Michael
Parsons situation, all right? Which, actually,
you know what? We'll talk about it right now.
So Micah Parsons has requested a trade, ladies
and gentlemen. As we all have known, our phones
have been buzzing. If you have social media,
that's all you've been seeing. If you have friends
that are Cowboys fans, they're probably super
depressed and whatnot and just staring at a wall,
crying their eyes out because it's just the end
for them, all right? But let's talk about the
facts first before we get into opinions. So prior
to Micah Parsons requesting a trade, Diane Roussini
of The Athletic put out this article and that
Parsons was considering requesting a trade or,
and I quote, a declaration that severs his relationship
with the team, end quote. Right now, both sides
remain far apart and are currently not in negotiation.
During the spring, Micah had directly negotiated
with Jerry Jones and believed that they had a
deal. When Parsons involved his agent, with these
negotiations, the Cowboys refused to engage with
him and told the pass rusher, and I quote, honor
the agreement he had made, end quote. The team
is refusing to engage with Parsons agent David
Malgetta, and Micah is attending practice but
isn't involved on the on -field work. Now, this
is what Jerry Jones had to say, and I quote,
we're just working with what it is. It's not
uncommon for me and not anything that there's
a lot of angst over. He's doing a real good job
of being here. And that's important. We are where
we are. And I signed the check, period, end quote.
I'm going to say that last part one more time.
And I signed the check, period. But Micah Parsons
says this, and I quote, I want to be here. At
the end of the day, they signed the checks. Let's
see if they want me to be here. I've been pretty
consistent. If they don't want me here, I'll
go about my business. I understand the nature
of the business. As long as I'm here and under
contract, I'm going to do what I have to do to
perform at the highest level. But if this is
the end, then this is the end, end quote. I'm
not even done yet with half of the other things
that we have to talk about, okay? There's so
many different ways that I have to take this
one topic. But let's just keep on going because
this is really good. OK, this is really, really,
really good. So C .D. Lim tweets this out. And
I quote, never fails, dog. Just pay the man.
Just pay the man what you owe him. No need for
the extracurricular, end quote. OK, and then
shortly after, Micah Parsons puts out this statement.
And this is a very lengthy statement. So just
bear with me, OK? And I quote. Yes, I wanted
to be here. I did everything I could to show
that I wanted to be a cowboy and wear the star
on my helmet. I wanted to play in front of the
best fans in sports and make this America's team
once again. The team my pops and I grew up cheering
for way up in Harrisburg, PA. Unfortunately,
I no longer want to be here. I no longer want
to be held to closed -door negotiations without
my agent present. I no longer want shots taken
at me for getting injured while laying it on
the line for the organization, our fans, and
my teammates. I no longer want narratives created
and spread to the media about me. I have purposely
stayed quiet in hopes of getting something done.
But since there is confusion out there, let me
clear some things up. I had my agent reach out
to the Cowboys last offseason after my third
year in hopes of getting a deal done early. Unfortunately,
the team did not want to start any negotiations
at that point. I was okay with that. Didn't complain
and focused on the 2024 season. After the season,
I told my agent once again to let them know where
we were open to negotiate when they met at the
combine. My agent informed me I should wait for
other deals to get done because the price will
only go up. But I didn't care and I wanted to
secure myself as a cowboy long term. This was
before any of the other pass rushers deals. After
the season, I told my agent once again to let
them know we were open to negotiate when they
met at the combine. My agent informed me I should
wait for other deals to get done because the
price will only go up, but I didn't care and
wanted to secure myself as a cowboy long term.
Micah, you're just repeating yourself. What the
heck is going on? This was before any of the
other pass rusher deals got done this offseason.
Oh, he was correcting himself. Okay. I knew I
would be leaving money on the table, but again,
I was okay with that. Again, radio silence as
far as my extension. In March, I met with Mr.
Jones to talk about leadership. Somehow, the
conversation turned into him talking contract
with me. Yes, I engaged in a back and forth in
regards to what I wanted from my contract, but
at no point did I believe this was supposed to
be a formal negotiation, and I informed Mr. Jones
afterward my agent would reach out thinking that
this would get things done. But when my agent
reached out and spoke to Adam, he was told the
deal was pretty much already done. My agent,
of course, told him that wasn't the case and
also reached out to Steven Jones. Again, the
team decided to go silent. At that point, we
decided we would allow the team to reach out
to us whenever they decided they wanted to talk.
Yet still not a call, email, or text to my agent
about starting a negotiation. Up to today, the
team has not had a... Micah, come on, man. Why
would you do this in the notes? Why didn't you
just type this out or something? Come on, man.
This is just crazy. Not one demand has been made
by my agent about money, years, or anything else.
Still, I stay quiet. But again, after repeated
shots at myself and all the other narratives,
I have made a tough decision. I have made a tough
decision. I no longer want to play for the Dallas
Cowboys. My trade request has been submitted
to Stephen Jones personally, end quote. I know
this is very confusing, but this is what J .J.
Watt had to say. And I quote, take care of your
best players early. Saves money, saves headaches.
The longer you wait, the higher the price, end
quote. And J .J. Watt is 100 % correct. That
is the difference between a reactive organization
and a proactive organization. Proactive organizations,
case in point, the Eagles, Ravens, sometimes
49ers, guess what? They pay their players ahead
of time to avoid all that drama, saves money,
and that way they don't have to react to the
market. They can dictate the market. But instead,
here you have someone who is not serious about
winning. All he is serious about is how many
likes, how many clicks and how many people are
talking about the Dallas Cowboys. Because if
you had an owner that was serious about winning,
we wouldn't be at this point. That deal would
have been signed, sealed and delivered. It is
rare and I mean very rare to have a star player.
that is willing, willing to take less just because
he loves the organization, just because he loves
the team that much. Most superstars, they're
cracking you over the head. But here you have
someone in Michael Parsons who prior to this
point was willing to take less for the team just
because he loved them that much. But that bridge
is burned. And even though the Cowboys believe
that that bridge is still alive and it's very
stable, oh no, that bridge is charred. And the
fact that you have an owner that is so immature
and his son who is so naive and so blinded by
his own father's words and don't even realize
that, listen, if we don't take care of our superstar
right now, we are going to lose more than gain.
Name me any other person on that defense right
now that can contribute as much as a Micah Parsons.
I'll wait. Don't have an answer? Exactly my point.
Micah Parsons is the only person that can keep
the Cowboys from having a winning season. There
is nobody else on the defense that can contribute
like a Micah Parsons. And if you don't have Micah
Parsons on that field, you're going to lose more
games than win them. And you know that, but you're
not focused about winning. You know what you're
focused on? When seeing on ESPN that people are
talking about who? The Cowboys. You turn on the
NFL Network, who are they talking about? Who?
The Cowboys. That's what you're concerned about.
Here you have a naive, immature, snake of an
owner. who doesn't care about his players. He
only cares about what they bring to the table.
But this is what happens when you don't take
care of your players, especially your superstars.
Your superstars, you were supposed to go above
and beyond for them. Because you know why? They
are your difference makers. They are your game
changers. They are the people that you know that,
guess what? If you don't have them on the field,
you are going to lose more than win. But here
you have an immature owner in Jerry Jones who
treats them like an ant. Now, if I'm Michael
Parsons, I'm not stepping on the field until
I get traded. Now, I know for a lot of people,
you're probably saying Michael Parsons isn't
going to get traded. I think at this point, that's
the only option. And I think if the Cowboys were
willing to meet his number or give him a fully
guaranteed contract or. Whatever it is, just
so things could be resolved, I think Micah Parsons
wouldn't do it. I think Micah truly believes
that, listen, you have questioned who I am as
a player and as a man. You have questioned my
leadership. You have questioned everything that
I do. And so I just can't stand for that. And
so I want to go somewhere where they value me
more than just a player. And he has every right
to feel the way that he feels. Now, I will say
this. The only situation that we can reference
is the Khalil Mack trade. Because remember, the
Raiders in return got two first round picks,
a six, and a third round pick for Khalil Mack.
So if I'm any team, you know most likely you're
going to have to give up two first round picks.
It's not a first round pick and a conditional
pick and a player and this and that. No, it's
two first round picks plus. Whatever else that
you give them. Now, when we look at teams that
could possibly make a move for Michael Parsons,
I'm going to tell you the first thing that comes
to mind. And, Mook, you already know what I'm
going to say. We talked about it. The Ravens.
Hear me out. This may turn into a lengthy conversation,
okay? If you're the Ravens, you make this move.
There's no point in you continuing to draft year
after year after year. It's time for you to win
now. Because for every year that you don't go
to the Super Bowl, for every year that you don't
win the Super Bowl, is a year that's wasted.
And if you're the front office, you have to ask
yourself this. How many years are you going to
continue to waste? You need a closer. You don't
have one right now on the roster. Micah Parsons
is the answer. The last productive pass rusher
that you had was Terrell Suggs. Granted, you
have Kyle Van Noor right now. He's been doing
well since joining the Ravens. But he's just
one person. If you get a Micah Parsons, that
can open up the floodgates to how you want to
attack a quarterback. Because guess what? I don't
care who it is. It could be Sean McVay. It could
be Andy Reid, Kyle Shanahan, whomever. No one
can scheme a good enough strategy to stop a defensive
line that's going to have Justin Matabuke, Micah
Parsons, Adafi Owe, Kyle Van Noy, Mike Green,
the Green Machine, and everyone else. At some
point, you have to make the radical move. You
have to be crazy to win the Super Bowl. You saw
what the Rams did. The Rams said, fuck them picks.
That's the same mindset you got to have at this
point. There is no other prospect within the
next five years that has the skill set that Micah
Parsons has right now. There is nobody in the
draft within the next five years that is that
interesting, that is that much of a difference
maker to this team. Micah Parsons could literally
be the person that gets you over the hump. If
you get Micah Parsons, that is going to put fear
in a Patrick Mahomes because you know why? Not
only is Michael Parsons going to go after you,
you can use him as a spy. So that's going to
contain Patrick Mahomes in the pocket, and you
are going to impose your will on that offense.
I keep on saying this, folks. The only way that
you can beat a Patrick Mahomes, you have to assault
him. You have to beat him. You saw what the Buccaneers
did. What did they have? A mean defensive line.
You had Evita Vea. You had Shaq Barrett. You
had Ndamukong Su. You had a crazy pass rush.
What did the Eagles just do? You had Jalen Carter.
You had Jordan Davis. You had Brandon Graham.
You had Nolan Smith. You had Josh Sweat. You
had a line. You had a wave that never ended.
That's what you need. Micah Parsons would be
the person that can go toe -to -toe against a
Josh Allen, a Patrick Mahomes. So yes, it may
be a hefty price, but who cares about the price
if you're going to be holding up a Lombardi?
No one. If you trade for Michael Parsons right
now, and you win a Super Bowl this year, and
you have the chance to win another Super Bowl
the next year, how are you going to do it? Here
you have someone, 26 years old, not 32, not 33,
not 35, not 39. 26 years old. Hasn't even reached
his prime yet. And he's right there. All you
have to do is give up two first round picks and
possibly a player. You're not going to do that.
And you can even tell Michael Parsons, hey, listen,
if you're looking to reset the market, we can't
do that for you. If you're looking to tie with
this person, that person, we can't do that for
you. But you know what we can do for you? We
can help you get to a Super Bowl. We can help
you become a Super Bowl champion. And I guarantee
you Michael Parsons would give in. I guarantee
you he would be a part of the process. Now, another
team that I think would be very interested to
go after Michael Parsons, I think the commanders
would do it. I think right now, outside of Von
Miller, who else in that pass rusher room can
you trust consistently? No one. Sure, Frankie
Lou Vu is a Swiss Army knife. He's lined up at
the edge. You've seen him line up. You know,
as a middle linebacker, he's everywhere. But
it's just something about having someone like
a Micah Parsons that just hits different. That's
like if T .J. Watt became available right now.
You mean to tell me you want to turn down a T
.J. Watt? Man, please, let me tell you something.
If you're the Eagles, I would pick up the phone.
I would move some future assets around if it
means I can get a Micah Parsons. Because you
know why? By getting a Micah Parsons, you can
extend your Super Bowl window for another three,
maybe four years at best. If you're any of the
Super Bowl teams, you have to have a realistic
conversation about possibly going after Micah
Parsons. I understand that the compensation is
cheap. But if you are a team that is trying to
get over a hump, if you are a team that has never
been to the Super Bowl, if you are a team that
has everything else in place, but all you need
is a top -end pass rusher, you know who you're
going to need to call. And it may not be a good
call, and they may try to crack you over the
head, but guess what? It won't matter if you're
a Super Bowl champion. Now, I will say this,
and this comes from Adam Schefter. Since Jerry
Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989, there has
been only one instance of his team trading away
a player immediately following a Pro Bowl season.
The only time Jerry Jones has traded a player
coming off a Pro Bowl season was April 1994 when
he sent safety Thomas Everett to the Buccaneers
for a 1994 fourth round pick. The Cowboys also
traded Amari Cooper in March of 2022, a couple
years after he made a Pro Bowl to the Browns
for a 2022 sixth round pick in exchange for a
2022 fifth rounder, 2022 sixth rounder. That's
the only time he's done this. Yes, this is uncharted
territory for both the Cowboys and a player.
But at the same time, if you realize that negotiations
have stalled and you know that things aren't
going anywhere anytime soon. Why play hardball
when you can be compensated for? Because right
now you need two first round picks. You need
as many picks as you possibly can get. Because
right now on that defensive line, there is nobody
on that defensive line outside of Micah Parsons
that strikes fear in people's hearts. Not Mozzie
Smith, not Solomon Thomas. Who else? You can
name me any person on that defensive line. Nobody
is causing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks
to miss sleep. Other than Micah Parsons. So if
you're the Cowboys, do you at least attempt to
try to mend this? Or do you move off of Micah
Parsons, receive that compensation, and use that
compensation to build this team up even more?
Because right now, the offensive line still needs
to be rebuilt. Defensive line still needs to
be built. Still needs to address inside linebacker.
You need other weapons outside of George Pickens
and CeeDee Lamb. And you need to prepare just
in case. george pickens doesn't want to be with
the team you still have other positions on the
team both offense and defense that have holes
you have to look at it a few different ways if
you're the cowboys but only time will tell hopefully
we will have some resolutions soon do i expect
it no i don't but hey i wouldn't be surprised
now let's talk about somebody else another superstar
That's in a bad situation. Trey Hendrickson.
So Trey Hendrickson has finally reported to training
camp. Now, he's not participating in training
camp. He's still, it's a hold in, not a hold
out. But he did have this to say, and I quote,
there are plans on not having to play on the
current deal. That's something we have a common
goal to get to. That's the plan moving forward.
No distractions. I'm excited to be here, end
quote. But he also goes on to say this, and I
quote, But as we continue to go through this
process, I plan on handling it with respect to
Zach Taylor, to the 2025 Bengals, and not being
a distraction." Now, according to Ben Baby of
ESPN, prior to the veteran's report date for
training camp, which was July 22nd, Trey Hendrickson
said he was training for 30 days in Cincinnati
and had intentions of reporting. He continues
to say that he won't participate until he receives
an extension. Now, his market value, according
to SpotRack, is three years, $116 .5 million,
which is $38 .8 million a year. This past season,
he had 46 tackles and 17 .5 sacks. Folks, what
do I keep on saying? You have to take care of
your superstars. This is what happens when you
have a superstar. You have to pay them market
value. You know right now that the market value
for a top -end pass rusher, an elite pass rusher,
is $30 -plus million. So if you know that, why
weren't you proactive? You could have hashed
this out last year when the market was actually
cheaper. But now, now that you have allowed Max
Crosby, Myles Garrett, and TJ Watt to all get
deals in one offseason, you may have to pay Trey
Hendrickson a little bit more. So if you're the
Bengals, you have a tough decision that you have
to make. Do you let Trey Henderson continue to
hold out or do you swallow your pride and pay
the man? Me personally, I would pay the man because
you have no other choice. There is nobody else
on that defense that is just as productive or
even more productive than Trey Henderson. Not
a corner, not an inside linebacker, not a safety,
not a D tackle. Can hold a candle. to what Trey
Hendrickson does. Every single game. He can be
double teamed and he still finds a way to get
through and gets a sack. So it's only right that
you pay him. And mind you, I don't think Trey
Hendrickson is looking to reset the market. He
just wants what's his. Which, can you blame him
for that? No, you can't. So I don't understand
why are we seeing three organizations that are
unwilling to pay their star player, one of their
star players. Because again, I did not see the
Bengals having a problem ripping out their checkbook
to give a check to Joe Burrow. And mind you,
they did this at the start of the regular season,
as soon as that kicker kicked the ball off. Everyone
got the same notification. Joe Burrow inks a
deal. Joe Burrow is tied for the highest paid
quarterback in the league at $55 million a year.
Next thing you know, Jamar Chase gets a deal.
He recessed the wide receiver market. T. Higgins
gets his deal. This person's getting paid. That
person's getting paid. You can't pick and choose
who you want to pay. You knew what you were getting
when you gave Trey Henderson his first contract
when you got him in free agency. So I don't understand
what the holdup is, but for the love of God,
can we get some people who can just get the horseshoe
out of their ass and just pay the man? It's not
hard. All you have to do is pick up the phone,
have a conversation, say, hey, what's your number?
That number is a little bit too high. Let's try
this number. Okay, how about this? What's your
middle number? You give you yours, we'll give
you ours. You know what? Let's compromise. Simple
things. That simple sentence right there can
go such a long way than just saying, you know
what? Nah, we're not going to pay him that. Nah,
we're just going to cease communication with
him. It's hurting you more than helping you.
Because guess what? You know that without Trey
Henderson this season, Joe Burrow is going to
be in a shootout every single game for 17 weeks
straight. And you know, you know that you're
going to lose more than win. It's the price of
a superstar. This is the price of having a superstar.
This is why certain teams handle superstars better
than others. When you look at the Eagles, when
you look at the Steelers, when you look at the
49ers, even when you look at Chiefs, they handle
their superstars. Even with the Chiefs, they
had to realize that, listen, we can't go a season
without Chris Jones. We're going to have to pay
Chris Jones. It only took them two games to realize
that. After that second game, Brett Veach probably
said, you know what? What's your number? We'll
pay you. We'll pay you right now. No problem.
No questions asked. Because they realized that,
listen, if we want to continue to be competitive,
if we want to continue to win championships,
we need our guy. And it's starting to reach a
point now where, listen, if you don't have a
star pass rusher on your team, you're not going
to win. Pay the piper. Make the deal. And with
that being said, let's talk about the Hall of
Fame game briefly, okay? We're not going to go
into deep dive about it. We're just talking about
it very briefly because, of course, it is a football
game, okay? So Trey Lance, 20 attempts for 13
completions, 120 passing yards, two touchdowns,
and six yards per attempt. Kamani Vidal, nine
carries for 37 rushing yards, 4 .1 rushing yards
per carry, and two touchdowns. Keiondre Lambert
-Smith, two receptions for 43 receiving yards,
one touchdown, and 21 .5 receiving yards per
reception. Kyle Allens, 14 attempts for nine
completions, 91 passing yards, two picks, and
6 .5 yards per attempt. Hendon Hooker, six attempts
for three completions, 18 passing yards, one
pick, three yards per attempt. Wow, that's bad.
Craig Reynolds, 10 carries for 38 rushing yards,
3 .8 rushing yards per carry, and one touchdown.
Isaac Tisla, either Tisla or Tesla, excuse me,
two receptions for 46 receiving yards and 23
receiving yards per reception. Folks, Trey Lance
looked really good this game. I understand that
this is a Hall of Fame game, but Trey Lance looked
really good. See, if Trey Lance does this for
the rest of the preseason, moving forward, he
will always have a job. Because that's all you
need to do as a backup quarterback. No one is
saying that you have to play hero ball. All you
have to do is just execute. And that's exactly
what Trey Lance did. That first half, he looked
great. Executing the plays, making the routine
throws. Wasn't trying to be overzealous, wasn't
trying to do anything dramatic or crazy. He was
just doing his job and that's all you need. And
it worked. Now, a lot of that can be contributed
to one, having a coach that actually believes
in you and two, having a system in place that
supports you. See, one thing we need to talk
about with Greg Roman is. He does very well when
it comes to mobile quarterbacks. From Colin Kaepernick
to Lamar Jackson, even with Trey Lance. He's
pretty successful with mobile quarterbacks. Now,
sometimes he can extend his stay for a little
bit too long. Okay, Ravens, we know. But you
know exactly what you're getting with Greg Roman.
And when you have a head coach like Jim Harbaugh
that believes in each and every one of his players,
a lot of times that's when you put your best
foot forward. Because there was a clip where
you saw Jim Harbaugh, you know, like revving
up Trey Lance, just talking to him like, hey
man, get ready for this, get ready for this.
Sometimes that's what a quarterback needs. And
in some ways, this is somewhat of a shot at the
49ers and Kyle Shanahan. Because here you have
somebody in Trey Lance who did exactly what he
did last night and you just let him go like it
was nothing. But you should have known exactly
what you were getting when you drafted Trey Lance.
You knew that he was raw. You knew that he was
a project. So why in the world would you just
thrust him out into the fire and say, you know
what, all right, let's see what you got. No,
some quarterbacks need time. Some of them need
a little bit of encouragement. And I understand
we live in a time now where that's not really
the case. A lot of head coaches don't do that.
I get that. But that's what Trey Lance needed.
He needed somebody that believed in him. And
Kyle Shanahan didn't believe in him. And now
look, Trey Lance has actually shown something.
Trey Lance could at best be a really, really,
really productive backup quarterback in the league.
And sometimes that's all you need. Sometimes
you can take the Geno Smith route and be a backup
for three or four, maybe five years, and then
something breaks and then you're the starter
again. Trey Lance can do that. But when you have
someone in the 49ers who moved, what was it,
two first -round picks? Two or three first -round
picks to get Trey Lance? And he just moved off
of him like it was nothing? Come on, man. You
know what time it was. Now, granted, I understand
that... They probably moved off of him because
they realized that one, we're in our window and
we want to maximize every opportunity we have.
I get all of that. But if you were going to address
quarterback, you should have went a different
route than to trade up multiple first round picks
to get a raw quarterback. But I'm not going to
say anything. But I will say this. If you are
the Lions, you have to be a little bit concerned.
And granted. i'm going to say it again i understand
that this is a hall of fame game but in some
ways you have to take every game seriously offensively
and defensively they were not playing well and
we all saw what happened with the lions late
last season especially the defense that defense
was beaten up and you know most likely you're
going to have to rely on those same people that
was on that field during the hall of fame game
that's not good That Chargers team on that field
look like they can go toe -to -toe with any of
the other teams in the league. You had an old
Tony Jefferson that looked good. He got a pick.
Defensive linemen, they're doing their thing.
Corners are holding their own. Wide receivers
are doing their thing. Everybody is doing their
job effectively and it's working. If you're the
Chargers, this is good. If you're the Lions,
you got to be concerned a little bit, but we're
going to talk about that. We're going to talk
about the Chargers and everything else once we
get to gun check time. But even with Kyle Allen,
the first probably three to five drives, he was
actually looking pretty good. He was executing
the plays, play action, roll out, hit, boom.
And then I don't know what happened, but he just
reverted back to his old ways. And it's just
like, bro, whoa, this is not looking good. Even
him and Hooker, he was just, I don't know what's
going on. And granted, I understand that this
offseason for the Lions has come with a lot of
change. You lost both your offensive and defensive
coordinator, as well as the positional coaches
that were under them. I get all that. But man,
if all you guys were able was just to put up
just seven points, it's a little bit concerning.
Because you know at some point, that backup running
back could be playing for two or three weeks.
That backup left guard could be playing in for
the rest of the season. That backup corner could
be helping out for three to six weeks of the
season. These are things that people don't think
about, but they need to think about because,
again, the preseason isn't just for people who
they're trying to get a roster spot. This is
to show, hey, this is what happens if we're in
a situation where we're losing at least... Three
to five people on both sides of the ball. And
we have to bring in some people from, I don't
know, the practice squad or from outside the
team. This is how the offense will work. This
is how the defense will work. But nobody wants
to talk about that. But let's get into gut check
time, folks. That's right. Gut check time. The
final gut check time. All right. NFC and AFC
West. You already know how these things are about
to go. But this time we are starting with the
AFC West. Now, this is gonna get very controversial,
but it's okay because guess what? Who doesn't
love a little bit of controversy? But before
we get there, we gotta pay some bills. Pardon
the interruption, but this is your GM, your bag
road dominance, here to talk about rss .com,
all right? So if you guys already don't know,
I am a rss .com affiliate, and so I just wanna
tell you for just a quick moment about why you
should choose rss .com. So me personally, on
my journey of podcasting, I was looking at different
platforms, just to find the right place and i
looked here i looked there i looked everywhere
but i checked out rss .com and it was the best
decision i ever made from low prices to interactive
analytics to as well as helping you with your
distribution rss .com does it all not to mention
they just started a slack channel where you can
network and interact with other podcasters and
even get some insightful tips on how you can
increase your podcast even more. So head on over
to rss .com. I will be attaching my RSS affiliate
link within the description. When you click on
that link, I will be able to receive some compensation
for it. And with that compensation, I will be
able to give you guys a better product. A lot
of that money will go towards upgrading the microphones,
computers, new... subscriptions for more analytical
information that we can use for future podcasts,
all of that and more. Thank you for your support,
and thank you RSS .com for making me an affiliate.
Now back to the good stuff. And we're back, folks.
So let's start with the Chiefs, all right? So
positional balance to watch out for. Wide receiver,
left tackle, and guard. Players to keep an eye
out for. Sky Moore, Tyquan Thorne, Jalen Royals,
Josh Simmons, Jalen Moore, Mike Calando, and
Kingsley Suamatea. The storyline for the Chiefs
is, what edge will the offense have this year?
We all know that last season, this offense was
not good. We know that there was a lot of games
where this defense had to step in and they had
to dig deep just to win the game. Especially
that game against the 49ers. Oh man, the offense
was just atrocious. It wasn't consistent and
it wasn't that same offense that everyone has
been raving about for the past few years. Let
me just read to you their offensive rankings,
okay? So they have the 16th ranked offense. They
average 22 .6 points per game, 327 .6 yards per
game, 5 .1 yards per play, and 41 touchdowns.
They have the 14th passing offense, and they
average 222 .4 passing yards per game, 5 .9 passing
yards per play, and 26 passing touchdowns. They
had the 22nd rushing offense, and they averaged
105 .3 rushing yards per game, 4 rushing yards
per play, 15 rushing touchdowns, and had 33 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. So I want to know,
what are they going to do this year that's going
to keep them ahead of everybody? Are they going
to be more effective in the running game? Are
they going to be more effective in the passing
game? What exactly are they going to do? Because
right now, their division has become a lot more
competitive in just this one offseason alone.
The Raiders now have stability at quarterback.
The Chargers are starting to look serious. And
the Broncos, man, the Broncos look like they're
serious. So you have to be able to have an edge
over all of them right now. Because all of their
defenses, well, except for the Raiders, no offense
to y 'all, has actually become better. So what
are you going to do? Me personally, I feel like
they need to go back to running the ball more
effectively. Now, granted, I understand Isaiah
Pachinko was out for a period of time, but still,
the run game has to get better. Passing game,
not really worried about as much, but the run
game has to be better. But connecting this with
the whole Terry McLaurin situation, if you had
someone like a Terry McLaurin, I think that would
help the offense out a whole lot better. Because
here you have somebody, that is still fairly
young, who can create separation like any of
the other better wide receivers, okay? And you're
talking about somebody that's reliable and who's
consistent. Now let's get to these players, okay?
So Sky Moore, right now, if I'm you, I'm probably
just gonna try to put out my best foot forward
just for the hope that somebody else will pick
me up. Because my guess is you have fallen out
of the good graces of the team. Is it because
of your play? Is it because of you? I don't know.
I'm not going to debate about that. But if I'm
Sky Moore, you're on the outside looking in.
So I think you have to have a strong and consistent
training camp as well as preseason. Taekwon Thor
and Jalen Royals, you have a chance to play a
significant role in this offense. So if I'm you,
I'm maximizing every single opportunity that
you get. I'm building up as many reps as you
can so that you can build somewhat of a connection
with Patrick Mahomes, excuse me, because we all
know at some point the Chiefs are going to use
you. So if you start now by the middle to late
part of the season, guess what? That connection
with Patrick Mahomes, it's already intact. So
you have nothing to worry about. You already
know what he's looking for. He doesn't have to
say anything. He just has to look at you and
you know, oh, hey, he wants me to run a dig.
He wants me to run a post, a drag. Fade. Whatever.
Josh Simmons and Jalen Moore. I'm interested
in seeing this. And here's why. From what I've
heard, Josh Simmons has been doing his thing.
And this is the rookie that they drafted this
year. He has been killing it. And granted, I
understand when he was coming out of college,
the main knock on him was he had a knee problem
or something. And that's probably what caused
him to drop in the draft. I mean, I feel like
that's a blessing in disguise because let's be
real here. One of the main positions that's been
really killing the Chiefs for the probably, I
don't know, maybe the past three to four years
has been left tackle. They've tried the free
agency route. They've tried drafting it and it
really hasn't been successful. They try to get
Orlando Brown. He was okay, but I wouldn't say
he was the end all be all. They tried free agency
again, really didn't work out the best. And so
now they're just like, you know what, we'll just
draft one. And so far, it looks pretty good.
Now, I want to see if this carries over into
the preseason and into the regular season as
well. Jalen Moore, I mean, you want to show a
little bit of something. Because right now, Josh
Simmons is killing it. So if I'm you, I got to
put my best foot forward. Now, how do you do
that? I don't really know. I don't know if it
means that you have to be more consistent in
winning your reps. I don't know if you have to
be more detailed when executing plays. Whatever
it is, you have to do it. But at the same time,
we all know that the Chiefs are going to keep
as many tackles as they possibly can because
we know that their tackles go down pretty quickly.
Mike Colendo and Kingsley Sumatia, I want to
see where you guys are. especially Kingsley,
Sue, and Matia, because I know there was a point
where I think he was a tackle, then they moved
him back to guard. And right now, I mean, I wouldn't
say you're on the outside looking in, but I think
if somebody can provide stability at guard, I
think that would go a long way. Because outside
of Creed Humphrey and Trey Smith, this offensive
line has gone through a lot of changes. I think
every single offseason, they're rebuilding the
offensive line. But that just shows you that
they're not satisfied with what they have. And
rightfully so. But when we look at possible free
agent additions, if they want to take that route
with tackle, I mean, you have George Fant, Andreas
Peet, Isaiah Wynn, Chris Hubbard. Guard, if you
want to shore up a guard position, you have Brandon
Scherf, Shaq Mason, Will Hernandez, John Valenciano,
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, Mark Blonowski.
I will say this. If you do give Brandon Sheriff,
I mean, he's really good when it comes to the
run game. Just saying. If you want to take that
veteran approach, if you feel like neither one
of the guards that you have right now has shown
anything, go with the veteran approach. Any of
those guards would be willing to take less just
to be with the Chiefs. I know I was forgetting
something, wide receiver as well. Okay, so when
we look at their free agents, you have Keenan
Allen, Amari Cooper, Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar,
DJ Char, Tyler Boyd, Chris Conley, and Jameson
Crowder. Now you can take the free agency route,
and you can get someone like a Gabe Davis, and
you can get him for cheap because the Jaguars
are still paying him, I think, at least 11 million,
if I'm not mistaken. You can go with the veteran
approach, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper. You can
go someone that's like a little bit younger in
DJ chart. You have options at wide receiver.
But if I'm the Chiefs, I think you have to seriously
consider making at least one big investment into
wide receiver because we've seen that for the
last few years, they've tried the veteran approach
really, really hasn't been as successful. I mean,
Juju has probably been. their most successful
veteran wide receiver so far. They tried to make
the move with D -hop. That really didn't end
so well. So let's see what happens. Now let's
go to the Raiders, okay? So positional battles
to watch out for. Wide receiver, inside linebacker,
defensive end, and guard, okay? Players to keep
an eye out for, Tyree Wilson, Devin White, Jalen
Smith, Dante Thornton Jr., Jack Besch, Dylan
Parham, and Jordan Meredith. The storyline for
the Raiders is, what is considered a successful
season for them? I understand they've gone through
a lot of change. And I understand that they brought
in somebody who he's supposed to bring in stability
in Pete Carroll. But what would be considered
a successful season for the Raiders right now?
They have to show something. Because that offense
last year was atrocious. I don't know what it
was. but it just wasn't meshing, okay? So according
to NFL Pro, they have the 27th ranked offense,
and they average 18 .2 points per game, 303 .2
yards per game, 4 .8 yards per play, and 29 touchdowns.
They were 13th in passing offense, and they average
223 .4 passing yards per game, 5 .5 passing yards
per play, and 19 passing touchdowns. They were
dead last. in rushing offense, and they averaged
79 .8 rushing yards per game, 3 .6 rushing yards
per play, 10 rushing touchdowns, and 34 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. Case in point, that's
why they made the investment in getting Ashton
Genting. Do I feel like this team can win eight,
maybe 10 or 12 games? No. I think at best, the
Raiders are probably a five to seven win team
at best. I do believe that they're still probably
the third best team in their division. Sure,
they're not like a slouch of a team, but I just
feel like defensively and offensively, they're
still missing out on a lot. Granted, I mean,
you still have Max Crosby and you have Brock
Bowers and, you know, Geno Smith and company,
but I still feel like that's not enough when
you're in a division that has Patrick Mahomes,
Bo Nix, and Justin Herbert, okay? So Tyree Wilson,
I want to see more. I want to see you take that
next step. I want to see you solidify yourself
as the partner for Max Crosby because that's
why they drafted you. They drafted you to be
someone that can be just as productive or even
more productive than Max Crosby. Sure, you had
a pretty good season last year, but more is expected
from you. Am I saying that you have to have a
double -digit sack season? No, but I think if
you get maybe eight, or maybe like nine and a
half sacks, I feel like that's actually pretty
good. Devin White, survive, I would say at this
point. You've been on the Eagles, that didn't
work out. You've been on the Texans, that didn't
really work out. Let's see what happens with
the Raiders. And granted, the Raiders brought
in Jamal Adams, who's converting into an inside
linebacker as well. So it's a lot of competition.
And even then with Jalen Smith. Where are you
at at this point in your career? Granted, you're
not the same Jalen Smith of old, but do you have
a little bit of something? Just a little bit?
Dante Thornton Jr., Jack Besch, I want to see
where you guys are. Because I've been hearing
a lot of great things about Dante Thornton Jr.
and Jack Besch. I want to see, can you guys solidify
yourselves as wide receiver two and three on
this team? Because outside of Jacoby Myers, It's
open season for all the other wide receiver positions.
And I feel like Jack Besch and Dante Thorne Jr.
can be week one starters. But that's just my
personal opinion. But let's keep this thing going,
though. Dylan Parham and Jordan Meredith. I'm
not saying you guys are going to be replaced,
but somebody has to step up. Somebody has to
show something. Because right now, this offensive
line needs to do their best to protect Geno Smith.
Geno Smith right now is probably their best option
to at least taking them to the next level. Now,
am I saying that next level is, you know, making
a deep playoff run? No. But what I am saying
is this. Keep Geno Smith upright, please. Now
when we look at possible free agency additions,
if they want to take that route, for inside linebacker,
you have Jawan Bentley, Devondre Campbell, Eric
Kendricks, Quan Alexander, Raekwon McMillan.
Wide receiver, if you want to take that route,
you have Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Reunion,
Gabe Davis, Nelson Aguilar, DJ Chark, Tyler Boyd,
Chris Conley, Jameson Crowder. Defensive end,
you have Jadeveon Clowney, Demarcus Walker, Montrevious
Adams, Jerry Hughes, William Golston. Guard,
you have Brandon Sheriff, Shaq Mason, Willie
Hernandez, John Feliciano, Cody Whitehair, Dalton
Reisner, and Mark Glanowski, all right? So let's
keep this thing going because we're on the roll.
Let's go to the Chargers. So positional battles
to watch out for. Backup quarterback, wide receiver,
guard, running back, cornerback, and center.
Players to keep an eye out for, Taylor Heineke,
Trey Lance, Omarion Hampton, Najee Harris, Jalen
Rager, Keiondre Lambert -Smith, Des Fitzpatrick,
Brendan Rice, Mekhi Becton, Jamari Slayer, and
Quentin Johnston, all right? So the storyline
for the Chargers is, can this offense become
more consistent? We all saw how this offense
were the first five weeks of last season. They
were dominant. The run game was great. They were
super physical. They were controlling the line
of scrimmage. controlling the clock, they were
doing their thing. And then the minute J .K.
Dobbins gets hurt, not really playing their best.
The run game just falls off like a rib falling
off the bone. Justin Herbert gets nicked up a
little bit and he's not playing his best ball.
It just went downhill. And so can this offense
become a little bit more consistent? Because
I truly believe that the Chargers are a really
good team and I feel like they can be a dark
horse for the playoffs. But this offense has
to be more consistent. If this offense becomes
more consistent, you're going to see more out
of this team as a whole. They had the 27th ranked
offense last year, and they averaged 18 .2 points
per game, 303 .2 yards per game, 4 .8 yards per
play, and 29 touchdowns. They were 13th in passing
offense, and they averaged 223 .4 passing yards
per game, 5 .5 passing yards per play, and 19
passing touchdowns. They were 17th in rushing
offense, and they averaged 110 .7 rushing yards
per game, 4 .1 rushing yards per play, 17 rushing
touchdowns, and had 46 rushes of 10 plus yards
or more. The run game has to be a little bit
more consistent. We all know that. Passing game
has to be a little bit more consistent as well.
We all know that the wide receivers last year
really wasn't the best. I mean, sure, you had
Lat McConkey and company, but maybe if they add
in someone like a Terry McLaurin or you add somebody
else like Romeo Dobbs or John Mechie, maybe the
passing game can be a little bit better. But
I do believe that this offense can be a little
bit more consistent. Now, am I saying this offense
has to be top five or top 10? No. But I feel
like if they're top 15, I think that's good.
All right, so let's go with these players, all
right? So Taylor Heineke, Trey Lance. Right now,
Trey Lance has put on a really good performance.
Let's see if Taylor Heineke can follow up with
that with the next game, all right? Because right
now, you have two really good backup quarterbacks.
But I feel like Trey Lance may have the advantage.
I'm not saying it just because he had a really
good performance in the Hall of Fame game, but
I just feel like his skill set would help more
than Taylor Heineke. Could be wrong. It's just
my opinion. Omarion Hampton and Najee Harris.
I want to see if Omarion Hampton is going to
take the starting running back job from Najee
Harris. Granted, we all know Najee is still nursing
the eye injury from the fireworks mishap, but
I mean... I feel like right now, running back
one is open. Now, running back two, three, that's
a different conversation for a different day,
but I do believe Omarion Hampton will definitely
take the starting role. Jalen Rager, Keiondre
Lambert -Smith, Patrick Brennan -Rice, and Quentin
Johnson. You know what? Let's break it down,
actually. Jalen Rager, I was high on you when
you was coming out of college, so... There's
nothing really to say about you. I do believe
that you will definitely contribute at some point
in this season. I don't know if it's going to
be week one, but I do believe he's going to contribute.
When it comes to training camp, you ball out.
You do your thing. But when the pads come on
and the lights come on and it's time for you
to show something on the field, not so much.
Why? I don't know. But you have all the intangibles.
You have the physical tools to be a really good
receiver in the league. But you just can't put
it together. Why? I don't know. DeAndre Lambert
-Smith, you showed a lot in the Hall of Fame
game. You show that, hey, there's something with
your skill set. You could definitely be useful
to the Chargers. Brennan Rice, I feel like you
have a role in this team as well. And if I'm
not mistaken, I think I even saw him playing
special teams as well. If you're playing special
teams, hey, that even gives you more of an opportunity
to be on this team. But if you're Quentin Johnson,
you got to show something. This is a make it
or break it year for you because right now you
have yet to show anything. And you really can't
say, oh, I didn't have this or I didn't have
that. You have stability at quarterback. It would
be different if you've had. three to maybe four
quarterbacks since coming into the league. Okay,
fine. We can give you a little bit of grace.
But that's not the case. You have a dropping
problem. And right now, Jalen Rieger, Keiondre
Lambert -Smith, Brennan Rice, Latt McConkie,
they're all looking way more better than what
you're looking right now. So it's time for you
to show something. Because I don't think there's
going to be another team that's going to be dealing
with your dropping problems. Just saying. Makai
Becton and Jamari Slayer, I feel like the guard
position is open. Although Makai Becton is coming
off of a really good season and winning a Super
Bowl with the Eagles, that doesn't mean that
the guard position is locked in. It's still anybody's
position at this point. Now, do I think Makai
Becton may have the advantage? Yes. but I want
to see if he's going to carry over what he's
learned from the Eagles to the Chargers. Jamari
Slayer has a chance, but how big of a chance,
that I really don't know. But I will say this,
each and every one of these battles are going
to be very interesting moving forward, and I
cannot wait to see them. But when we look at,
you know, possible free agency additions, if
they want to take that route. Backup quarterback,
I don't think they're going to make any moves
with that. Wide receiver, I wouldn't be surprised
if they make a big move. I mean, hey, you can
go after someone like a Terry McLaurin. I think
that would be great. I do know that the Chargers
and Keenan Allen, they do have mutual interest
in doing business again. That's a possibility.
I mean, we all know that Mike Williams unexpectedly
retired before training camp even started. So
you may want to add in somebody. There's not
a lot of options. I mean, sure, you have Gabe
Davis, Nelson Aguilar, the same people that I've
been saying for the past few episodes. But I
feel like getting someone like a Terry McLaurin
would definitely solidify the wide receiver.
Just saying. But when we're looking at other
positions that they could possibly add, I mean,
running back. I mean, you have Zach Moss, who
just got released from the Bengals. Jamal Williams,
Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson. Cornerback, you have
James Bradbury, Kendall Fuller, Stephon Gilmore,
Rasul Douglas, Sante Samuel Jr., if you want
to bring him back, Emmanuel Mosley, just to name
a few. I don't think there's a need to address
any of the other positions that I've talked about
recently. I feel like all those positions have
already been addressed and those personnel are
already on the team. But, you know, anything
can happen, you know. But let's keep this thing
going, all right? So let's go to the Broncos.
This is actually fairly easy, all right? Positional
battles to watch out for. Running back and nickel
corner. The storyline for the Broncos is, will
the Broncos become playoff contenders this season?
I think right now this is an underrated team
that can definitely make a lot of noise. From
adding Jadé Barrett in the draft to keeping Corlin
Sutton and Zach Allen in PS2, This team is ready
to make some noise. This team could have a direct
impact on the Chiefs getting the number one or
number two seed. Now, am I saying this team is
ready for the Super Bowl? No. But what I am saying
is this. This team can make some noise. I feel
like this team can go toe -to -toe against the
Ravens, the Chiefs, possibly the Bills, the Steelers.
I think they can do it. I think as long as the
offense improves and the defense gets a little
bit better, I think they're there. Now, shifting
things over to nickel corner, I mean, you have
Jadé Barron and Jaquan McMillan. I'm not saying,
you know, one person has the advantage over the
other, excuse me, but I just want to see how
Jadé Barron fits in this Broncos defense. Because
we all know that Jadé Barron has a little bit
of positional flexibility. So I want to see,
are they going to use him as a nickel? Sometimes
they're going to use him as an outside corner.
How exactly are the Broncos going to use someone
like a Jadé Barron? Because he has the speed,
he has the IQ, he has the skill set. He can do
it all. So this is going to be a very interesting
matchup. Jaquan McMillan, the position is yours.
You just got to fight for it. That's it. There's
not a lot of positions to really keep an eye
out for because this team is pretty much already
set up. I mean, there's only a few loose ends
and whatnot. It's no problem, right? But even
when we look at things with running back, you
know, J .K. Dobbins, you only signed a one -year
deal. Your spot isn't locked in. At the same
time, we all know that J .K. Dobbins is a difference
maker when he's healthy. And I want to see, can
he at least have just one healthy season? Because
the skill is there. He just has to stay healthy.
That's been his main knock since coming into
the league. He has the skill set, but he just
has to put it together. R .J. Harvey, I mean,
it's your position to lose. But I feel like personally,
there's another level to your game. I believe
it. I think everything is in place for you to
be super successful, but you just got to show
it. Now, we will look at possible free agency
additions if they want to take that route. I
mean, for corner, you have James Bradbury, Kendall
Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Emmanuel
Mosley, Asante Samuel Jr. Running back, if you
want to take that route, you have Zach Moss,
Jamal Williams, Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson. Do
I think this team is going to make any of these
moves? No. Do I think they may bring in somebody
as a camp body? Yes. I think they're going to
bring in somebody that could possibly push someone
or at least compete at best. I mean, as a whole,
this team is fairly set. I don't think there's,
you know, I don't think there's, I don't think
there's a need to have like a legitimate conversation
about other positions. I feel like personally,
this team is set up for success moving forward.
I mean, the team is still fairly young. So let's
see what happens with the Broncos. Now let's
go over to the NFC West. All right, let's start
with the Seahawks. Positional battles to watch
out for. Quarterback. Tight end, right guard,
right tackle, running back, and corner, all right?
Players to keep an eye out for, Abraham Lucas,
Anthony Bradford, A .J. Barner, Elijah Royo,
Sam Darnold, Jalen Milrow, Drew Locke, Josh Jobe,
Shag Griffin, Zach Charbonnet, and Kenneth Walker
III. So the storyline for the Seahawks is, can
this offense improve? Granted, I understand you
guys made some significant moves on the offense.
I mean, you added Cooper Cupp, and then you went
after Sam Darnold. Okay, great. But this offense
just needs to improve a little bit more. I'm
not saying it has to be top five, but man, it
has to improve because right now the defense
is doing all the heavy lifting and you don't
want that, all right? This isn't the early 2000s
where your defense can shut a team out and all
you have to do is score 15 points and win a game,
no. So the offense has to do better, okay? Now,
according to NFL Pro, The Seahawks had the 14th
ranked offense last year, and they averaged 22
.1 points per game, 332 .2 yards per game, 5
.5 yards per play, and 38 touchdowns. They were
8th in passing offense and they averaged 236
.5 passing yards per game, 6 .2 passing yards
per play, and 21 passing touchdowns. They were
28th in rushing offense and they averaged 95
.7 rushing yards per game, 4 .2 rushing yards
per play, 17 rushing touchdowns, and 47 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. But let's be honest
here. Can some of the offensive problems be blamed
on the former offensive coordinator? Yes. Can
some of the offensive problems be blamed on the
lack of talent that's on the offensive line?
Yes. Both things are true. But things have changed.
They brought in a new offensive coordinator with
the hope that this offense can improve just a
little bit more than what it did last season.
You brought in Sam Darnold, who, I mean, there
was one point in time where people were talking
about him being an MVP. You have JSN. You drafted
Elijah Arroyo. You have Cooper Cupp. You have
weapons on this offense. It's just a matter of
can things come together. Now let's start with
this offensive line. Right guard and right tackle.
Abraham Lucas and Anthony Bradford. I understand
that there's not a lot of good tackle free agent
options. But, I mean, if you're the Seahawks,
you have to bring in a veteran guard. I'm sorry.
You cannot roll into the season with this guard
right now. This is no disrespect to him. But
these aren't good numbers. According to PFF,
he allowed 10 penalties, 7 sacks, and 28 total
pressures. Abraham Lucas had 6 penalties, allowed
4 sacks, and 18 total pressures. Folks, this
offensive line needs to be better. If this offensive
line doesn't improve, the run game isn't going
to get better, nor is the passing game. So somebody's
going to have to do something. Whether it means
you bring in a veteran tackle or you bring in
a veteran guard, something. But let's keep things
going, all right? So A .J. Barner and Elijah
Royal. Right now, I believe Elijah Royal could
be tied in one week one. I feel like his skill
set would be great for this team, and I feel
like he has a lot of upside to his game. A .J.
Barner, on the other hand, could it be tied in
two? Yes, and that's perfectly fine. I think
tied in is one of those positions where you don't
have to be number one. You can be just as effective
in the second position as you would be in the
first position. I'm just saying. It's my personal
opinion. I could be wrong. Sam Darnold, Jalen
Milrow, Drew Locke. Sam Darnold, you're under
a little bit of pressure, and here's why. For
one, if you don't perform well this season, the
Seahawks can get off of your contract next year,
no problem. You essentially signed a one -year
deal. So you have to show them... what you showed
the Vikings last season, because you were on
a tear for a majority of the season last year.
So you've got to carry that same momentum with
the Seahawks this year. Jalen Milrow, I would
use this opportunity to possibly compete for
quarterback two or three. But I may want to lean
with quarterback three just so you can sit back,
learn, and watch on what you're supposed to do
and what you're not supposed to do. Because the
number one knock with Jalen Monroe coming out
of Alabama was he was raw. And he was making
a lot of routine mistakes. So if I'm Jalen Monroe,
I would rather take a step back just so I can
learn so that when my opportunity arises, guess
what? I can capitalize off it because I know
the do's and don'ts when it comes to being a
quarterback in the National Football League.
Drew Locke, I'm not saying you have a lot to
show for. But I mean, let's see where you are
at this point. I'm not saying I have super high
hopes for him. But I do believe he is a better
backup quarterback than what a lot of people
say he is. Josh Jobe, Shaq Griffin. This is an
interesting matchup, and here's why. So they
bring in Shaq Griffin, who we all know he was
part of the Seahawks at one time. And he's on
a one -year deal. So technically speaking, his
role isn't solidified on this team. Josh Jobe,
on the other hand, you could show, hey, listen,
this is my role. Yeah, you brought in a veteran,
but hey, this is my role. He has to go through
me. You can have that type of mindset when going
up against a Shaq Griffin. Now, does that mean
you have to be more detail -oriented and you
have to be better in coverage? Yes. But I do
believe that you have the potential to do it.
Zach Charbonnet and Kenneth Walker, that's an
interesting competition as well. Because both
running backs are very productive when on the
field. It's just one of them has a problem staying
healthy. You remove the health part, you have
a running back tandem. I think either way you
slice this, Zach Charbonnet could be running
back one and Kenneth Walker can be two or vice
versa. Either way, it's still really productive.
I think if this rushing offense become at least
top 15, probably close to top 10, I think this
offense would be a whole lot better. But if the
run game doesn't get better, there's going to
be legitimate questions moving forward on if
this team has made enough significant investment
into the offense. Because we all know where all
the investments has gone. It's gone to the defense.
But someone is going to start asking the question
of, hey, did they put a little bit too much into
the defense? Are they neglecting the offense?
What's going on? But when we look at possible
free agency additions, I mean, for guard, you
have Brandon Scherf, Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez,
John Feliciano, Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner,
Mark Lanowski. Cornerback, you have James Bradbury,
Kendall Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas,
Emmanuel Mosley, Asante Samuel Jr. Tackle, you
have George Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn,
Michael Dunn, Chris Hubbard, Connor McG... Dermott,
if I'm not mistaken. Running back, you have Zach
Moss, Jamal Williams, Gus Edwards, Jeff Wilson.
Tied in, you have Gerald Everett, Mercedes Lewis,
Jordan Akins, and McCole Pruitt. So do I think
they're going to add a veteran at some point?
Yes. Do I think it's going to be guard? Hell
yeah. I think at best, if you add either Brandon
Scherf, Shaq Mason, or Willie Hernandez, I think
you're upgrading the position. And I think you're
going to see a better result. than what you have
right now, which is, I mean, Anthony Bradford,
who gave up, what, seven sacks? That's just not
good. Now, tackle is a little bit difficult,
and here's why. All of these tackles are most
likely swing tackles, okay? And on top of that,
the last time that they did play, it probably
wasn't their best. So what exactly do you do?
Do you let Abraham Lucas play this thing out?
in hopes that, hey, maybe he can improve as the
season goes on. What exactly can you do to make
this offensive line better? Granted, you made
an investment in drafting Gray Zabel. Cool, great,
whatever. You signed Connor Williams, but then
he unexpectedly retired. What exactly do you
need to do to take this offense to the next level?
That would be my question for the head coach
and for this team as a whole. Now let's get to
the Cardinals, all right? So positional battles
to watch out for. Guard, outside linebacker,
and cornerback. Players to keep an eye out for.
Isaiah Adams, Zevin Collins, B .J. Ojolari, Justin
Jones, Darius Robinson, Garrett Williams, and
Will Johnson, all right? So the storyline for
the Cardinals is, is there another level to this
offense? Folks, this is an underrated offense
that doesn't get the flowers that it so deserves.
You have Marvin Harrison Jr. You have Kyle Murray.
You have a pretty good offensive line. You have
Trey McBride. You have James Conner. You have
some weapons. But my question is, is there another
level to this offense? Can this offense become
better? Now, when we look at the stats from this
past season, they were the 11th ranked offense
and they averaged 23 .5 points per game, 358
.2 yards per game. 5 .9 yards per play and 39
touchdowns. They were 18th in passing offense
and they averaged 214 .1 passing yards per game,
6 .4 passing yards per play and 21 passing touchdowns.
They were 7th in rushing offense and they averaged
144 .2 rushing yards per game, 5 .3 rushing yards
per play, 18 rushing touchdowns and 73 rushes
of 10 plus yards or more. Folks, the numbers
don't lie. This offense has the potential to
become possibly top 10 in all major categories,
both passing and rushing. If Kyler Murray and
Marvin Harrison Jr. develop their chemistry even
more, oh, that's it. Because you have everything
else in place. All you have to do is just build
off what you have right now. This team as a whole
is a dark horse. Now, am I saying this team?
Can make it to the NFC Championship? No. But
I do believe that this team could possibly make
it into the playoffs. I think out of the NFC
West, I can't even speak. Out of the NFC West,
I feel like the 49ers, the Rams, and the Cardinals
will all make it to the playoffs. I feel like
the Seahawks, at first, they'll have the advantage
over everyone. But as the season progresses,
they're going to lose their grip. The 49ers are
going to take control. And then the Cardinals
are going to sneak into the playoffs. I feel
like they have that type of potential. I could
be wrong. These are just my opinions. I'm going
to keep on saying it. Now, when we look at guard,
me personally, you can go about it a few different
ways, right? You can continue to let the younger
prospects that you have in your team to hash
things out just to see where they are. or you
can bring in a veteran presence. Now, me personally,
I wouldn't hit the panic button right now and
bring in a veteran presence. Because right now,
when you look at Evan Brown, according to PFF,
he only had two penalties, he only allowed two
sacks, and he only had, what, 20 total pressures
allowed? That's not bad. And he's played 1 ,070
snaps at left guard. Now, Isaiah Adams, on the
other hand, he's a little bit more diverse, okay?
So he had four penalties. He allowed two sacks.
He's played 444 snaps at right guard and then
18 snaps at left guard. So me personally, I would
keep Evan Brown at left guard. Right guard, you
can do a few things with it. If you feel like
Isaiah Adams isn't the answer, okay, that's when
you bring in Willie Hernandez or Shaq Mason or
Brandon Scherf. But... If you feel good with
the progress that he's shown in training camp
and in the preseason, well, then just roll with
what you have. This team doesn't have a lot of
holes. This team continues to build every single
year and they're heading in the right direction.
All they have to do is maintain the course. Now,
when we shift things over to the defense, however,
they have a loaded pass rusher room. I mean,
you have what? Zevin Collins, BJ Ojolari, you
have Darius Robinson. You have Josh Sweat, who
they got in free agency. You have a lot of pass
rushers. And you have a lot of pass rushers that
have a lot of upside to their game. So me, personally,
I want to see who's going to stand out. Is it
going to be B .J. Ojolari? Is it going to be
Zevin Collins? Is it going to be Darius Robinson?
Who's it going to be? Because if I'm the defensive
coordinator, I want to keep as many pass rushers
as I possibly can. Because that way you can continue
to just create an endless wave of pressure on
a quarterback. And who wouldn't want that? That's
the same model that the Seahawks, I mean, not
the Seahawks, that the Eagles have been doing
for the past few years. They've created wave
after wave after wave of pass rushers to consistently
go after the quarterback. And it's worked. So
I think if you take that same model and you apply
it with the Cardinals, I think it can be really
successful. Now, am I saying this defense could
be, you know, top five or, you know, top two
or whatever? No, but I do think this defense
has a lot of potential. I think they've made
a lot of investments into the defensive line.
I think they made a lot of investments into the
secondary. I feel like the secondary as a whole
is underrated as well. You got Will Johnson for
a steal. Because there was a point in time where
he was slated to be a top five, possibly top
10 pick. You have Garrett Williams. You have
a lot in your secondary. You still have Buda
Baker. You have Jalen Thompson. All I'm saying
is this. This team really doesn't have to make
any significant moves right now. They can just
sit back and just wait. Now, if something emerges,
you know, somebody's out for the season. Okay,
fine. Then you have to make a move. But me personally,
I feel like the Cardinals are in a really good
spot right now. Now, when we look at possible
free agency additions, if they want to take that
route, I mean, cornerback, you have James Bradbury,
Kendall Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas,
Asante Samuel Jr., Emmanuel Mosley. Outside linebacker,
if you want to take that route, you have Matthew
Judon, Preston Anzadarius Smith, Kaiser. No,
no, because Kaiser White, I think, retired. You
have Jalen Reeves -Maben. You have Kamu Greger
-Hill, just to name a few. Guard, if you want
to take that route, you have Brandon Scherff,
Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, John Feliciano,
Cody Whitehair, Dalton Reisner, Mark Lanowski.
So you have options at guard. Now the question
is, are you going to just wait to possibly make
a move, or are you just going to address it now
so that way you don't have to worry about it
moving forward? Just food for thought. Now let's
go to the 49ers, all right? So positional battles
to watch out for. Wide receiver, defensive tackle,
defensive end, guard, and cornerback, all right?
So players to keep an eye out for, Michael Williams,
Yitir, Gross Motos, Jordan Elliott, Alfred Collins,
Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowling,
CJ West, Bryce Huff, Ben Bartsch, Spencer Burford,
and Renardo Green. So the storyline for the 49ers
is, can this team overcome their playoff struggles?
Folks, you already know what I'm getting ready
to say about the 49ers. This team has been overly
qualified. for the past few years and yet every
single time when they get to the big moment they
fold for one reason or the other this is probably
the most important season for the kyle shanahan
john lynch regime and their entire tenure right
now because right now if you don't win a super
bowl you may have to start questioning kyle shanahan
let's be real here folks they've had top five
defenses they've had top five offenses in the
last few years They've made moves to get Trent
Williams, Christian McCaffrey. They've paid this
person and that person. They've done it all.
And so far, they haven't won a Lombardi. So at
some point, someone's going to have to answer
the tough questions. Is it Kyler Murray? Is it
John Lynch? Is it the both of them? What exactly
is causing them not to win at all? So let's start
with the pass rushers, all right? Defensive tackle
and defensive end, all right? So Mikel Williams,
Yotir Grotos Motos, Jordan Elliott, Alfred Collins.
For one, I want to see how Mikel Williams is
going to be used in this defense. I know Georgia
used him in a variety of different roles, so
I want to see if that's going to carry on with
the 49ers. I do believe that him, Yotir Grotos
Motos, and Nick Bosa could be a really good combination.
but I want to see how things work. I want to
see how the chemistry works between all of them.
I want to see exactly where is Mikel Williams
going to be lined up. Is it going to be more
of the outside linebacker type of role, or is
it going to be lined up more in a traditional
defensive end role? Year two gross motos. I want
to see you continue to grow. Now, am I saying
that you're going to be this super dominant tier
one or tier two pass rusher? No, but I think
if you contribute five to eight sacks this season,
on top of whatever Nick Bosa gets, I think that's
really good. Because I think right now, this
pass rush room, this defensive line as a whole,
has a lot of potential. I mean, you have Bryce
Huff, you have CJ West, you have Alfred Collins,
you have it all. And so right now, if you're
Robert Sala, you want to emphasize trying to
make sure that each and every one of your defensive
linemen eats. I mean, listen, they made a move
for Bryce Huff. We all saw how Bryce Huff was
when he was with the Jets. He was killing it.
So let's see if that's going to continue with
the 49ers. You drafted CJ West and Alfred Collins,
two really good defensive linemen. And Alfred
Collins is a beast. Now, my question is, is he
going to be used primarily to stuff the run?
Is he going to be used to go after the quarterback?
What is going to be his role? Same thing with
CJ West. I feel like they have enough diversity
within their game to where you can use them in
multiple roles. Same thing with Jordan Elliott
as well. This defensive line has to become better.
Because right now, I don't really trust the secondary,
personally. I mean, sure, you have Diamador Lenore,
you have Renardo Green, but, I mean, with them
losing Charverius Ward, you don't have that true
number one corner on your team right now. And
so the only way to mitigate that is for your
defensive line to carry the majority of the workload
for the defense. If they can go after the quarterback,
the corner's kind of made in the shade. But if
this defensive line can't successfully and consistently
go after quarterbacks, it's going to be a problem.
Let's keep things going, all right? So wide receiver,
Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins, Jacob Cowan.
Right now, we all know that Brandon Ayuk isn't
going to be available for a while. We don't know
what's going on with Juwan Jang's contract situation.
So right now, Ricky Pearsall, Jordan Watkins,
and Jacob Cowan, it's time for you guys to step
up. It's time for you guys to be thrust into
a role that you're probably not comfortable with,
but you're going to have to be comfortable with.
Because right now, with the 49ers moving off
of Deebo Samuel this offseason, and Brandon Ayewick
still recovering from his ACL surgery, and you
don't know what's going on with Jawan Jennings,
everyone's going to have to step up. Everyone's
going to have to at least contribute more in
the passing game. Now, do I think they all have
the potential to do it? Yes, 1 ,000%. Ricky Pearsall
has a lot of potential in this game. Same thing
with Jordan Watkins and Jacob Kallick. Now, the
question is... If you're the 49ers, do you make
a big move and go after Terry McLaurin? I would
say yes. Because right now, you don't have a
true number one receiver available on your team
right now. If you go into the season right now,
who is your number one receiver? Who is your
number two receiver? Who is your number three
receiver? These are the tough questions that
need to be asked when it comes to roster building.
If you guys are truly serious about this season,
And based off everything that I've read, with
this schedule being the easiest schedule in the
entire league, it's only right that you try to
pick up the phone and go after Terry McLaurin.
Now, granted, you are in a situation where, yes,
you're going to have to pay somebody a lot of
money, but it's going to help out the offense
even more. And that's another weapon for Brock
Purdy. Just saying. Now, let's keep this thing
going. So Spencer Bradford, Renardo Green. I'm
not saying it's a competition, but you just want
to see where they are, just in case you have
to make a move for corner. Granted, like I just
said, with the whole Javarius Ward, DeAndre Lenore,
and a Renato Green thing, your cornerback room
took a loss this offseason. And you guys really
didn't do anything in either the draft or in
free agency to recoup that. And, you know, if
you're the 49ers, You want to at least see what
you have first before you have to make a drastic
move. I still believe in Renato Green. I still
feel like he has a lot of upside to his game.
I still feel like he hasn't even reached his
potential yet. But I want to see how things are
going to go with him and DeAndre Lenore being
the primary outside corners right now. But when
we look at, you know, possible free agency additions,
if they want to take that route, I mean, with
cornerback, you have James Bradbury, Kendall
Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Sante
Samuel Jr., if everything checks out with his
neck, Emmanuel Mosley. If you want to take that
route, defensive end, you have Jadavion Clowney,
Demarcus Walker, Montrevis Adams, Jerry Hughes,
William Golston. Wide receiver, you have Keenan
Allen, Amari Cooper, Gabe Davis, which recently
he said that he's very interested in going to
the 49ers. Nelson Aguilar, DJ Char, Tyler Boyd,
Chris Conley, Jameson Crowder. Guard, if you
want to take that route, you know, you have Brandon
Scherf, Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez, John Feliciano,
Cody Whiter, Dalton Reiser, Mark Lanowski. Because
let's be real here. The guard that you have right
now, I don't really trust him as much. Me personally,
I would feel a lot more comfortable if this team
went after a veteran in Shaq Mason, Willie Hernandez,
possibly Brandon Scherf, but that's just my opinion.
A defensive tackle, if you want to take that
route, I mean, you have Christian Wilkins, if
everything checks out with him, Raekwon Davis,
Austin Johnson, Maurice Hurst, Jordan Phillips,
just to name a few. So all in all, I think the
thing that I'm trying to get at with the 49ers
is it's time for you to step up. Whatever you
have to do, do it. Because right now, this is
a make it or break it year for every person.
From head coach, front office personnel, whomever.
Everybody is under a microscope this year. Now
let's go to the Rams, okay? So positional battles
to watch out for. Cornerback, left tackle, right
tackle, tight end, wide receiver. Players to
keep an eye out for. Terrence Ferguson, Tyler
Higbee, Rob Havenstein, Alaric Jackson, Xavier
Smith, Kanate Mumfield, and Jordan Winnington.
The storyline for the Rams is can the Rams make
one more run? Folks, we all saw what the Rams
did last season. That first half of the season
wasn't the best for them. But that second half
of the season, man, they were on a run. They
looked like the real Rams. And they made some
significant investments to the offense this offseason.
I mean, they got Devontae Adams, which is another
weapon for Matthew Stafford. They've tried to,
you know, they try to. at least get more weapons
for him. I mean, sure, you brought in another
tight end, another really productive tight end.
And so right now, I want to see, can this team
at least make one more run? I think they can
do it. It's going to be tough, but I think they
can do it. Because after this season, I think
we have to start having a legitimate conversation
of who's going to be the successor for Matthew
Stafford. And if I'm the Rams, I possibly want
to take a quarterback next year. Now, I'm not
saying you take a quarterback next year and then
you just scoop Matthew Stafford. No, you bring
in that quarterback so that they can sit and
learn under Matthew Stafford. Because right now,
last season, it really showed Matthew Stafford's
age. And if you're the Rams, you have to be a
little bit cautious with that. Even with the
money that they gave him, I probably wouldn't
have gave him that much money. I would have tried
to at least structure it in a way to where, hey,
listen. For all intents and purposes, if he retires
after this season, guess what? We can let you
go. It doesn't really affect us for the foreseeable
future, and you can still get your money, right?
Compared to being in this situation now where
you have to take things year to year, which is
a little bit cautious, and it's a little bit
dangerous, to be honest. But let's get to these
players, all right? So Terrence Ferguson, Tyler
Higbee, I'm not saying this is a competition,
but I think Having another reliable tight end
would be great. Sure, Tyler Higbee is definitely
one of the better tight ends in the league. He's
very underrated with his game. But I think having
someone in Terrence Ferguson, I think that can
definitely open up the offense even more. My
guess is Sean McVay probably wants to go to 12
to maybe 13 personnel moving forward because
they probably want to run the ball a little bit
more effectively, which is perfectly fine. Rob
Havenstein and Laird Jackson. So with these tackles,
you have one who's had blood clot issues in Larry
Jackson, and you have Rob Havenstein, who he
had surgery this offseason to clean up some stuff
within both of his shoulders. So you don't know
exactly when they're going to be completely healthy
this season. Now, am I saying that the Rams need
to go after, you know, tackle prospects? No,
but what I am saying is this. You want to move
on the air of caution. And you want to be realistic
that there is a chance that either a Larry Jackson
may not start in week one or Rob Havenstein might
start in week one. That is a realistic situation
that could happen. So if I'm the Rams, you have
to prepare for that. Now, do I think they have
somebody on the team that can help them with
that? Yeah, for sure. I mean, you can always
bring in a tackle. That's no problem at all,
okay? Tackle prospects are everywhere, especially
swing tackles, okay? Shoot, Jermaine Effetti
just signed with the Dolphins this morning because
Austin Jackson got hurt and he's going to be
out for a while. I think they said he probably
won't be able to start until week one of the
regular season. And even then, I think that's
a long shot. So you just want to be cautious,
okay? But let's talk about these wide receivers.
So Xavier Smith and Kanate Mumfield, me personally,
I feel like at some point this season, they're
going to be playing, okay? Tutu Atwell only signed
a one -year deal. His role isn't necessarily
locked in with the team. So if you're Canante
Mumfield and if you're Xavier Smith, you want
to put your best foot forward. You want to at
least develop some level of chemistry with Matthew
Stafford. Because if you're the Rams, the more
weapons that Matthew Stafford has at his disposal,
the better chance that you have of winning it
all. And so right now, I feel like with having
someone in Canante Mumfield who he has the speed
and the route running, and you have someone in
Xavier Smith who I feel like there's something
that can be unlocked in his game, I think the
sky's the limit with both of them. I don't think
neither one of them is going to get cut. I do
feel like there's going to be a role for them
at some point. What is it? I don't know. Even
when you look at Jordan Winnington. I feel like
he's somewhat of an underrated receiver. I mean,
just looking at his stats from this past season,
I mean, you what? You had 22 receptions for 293
yards and you averaged 13 .3 yards per play.
That's almost a first down and more every single
time you got the ball. I'm going to continue
to say this until the cows come home. If you're
the Rams. You maximize as much talent as you
have on this offense because you know it's going
to benefit Matthew Stafford moving forward. The
more receivers that he has available, the more
running backs, tight ends, better offensive line
protection, the more that he has more weapons
around him, the better chance that he has of
making it to the Super Bowl. We saw how close
they were last season. If that offense was a
little bit more productive, And that defense
could have at least tried to disrupt the rhythm
that the Eagles had. They would have been in
the Super Bowl. Now, am I saying that they would
have won? No. But what I am saying is this. They
have potential this year. Now, when we look at
cornerback, personally, I feel like they didn't
make as much investment as they needed to. I
feel like outside of a Keller Weatherspoon, who
else can you really rely on right now? I feel
like Darius Williams is a slot corner. At this
point, I mean, sure, they brought in Emmanuel
Forbes Jr. But I mean, even then, he's a project
right now and you have to see where he is. And
right now he's the he's sort of like at the bottom
of the quarterback room. So do you have to bring
in somebody to at least give you a little bit
of protection? Possibly, because right now, if
the Keller Weatherspoon goes down, who else can
you rely on? I mean, sure, you have Darion Kendrick,
you have Kobe Durant, you have people. But sometimes
you're going to need a guy back there. And right
now, I feel like Akella Weatherspoon and Darius
Williams are the only two guy options right now.
And one of them is a slot corner. Who, I mean,
he's not the biggest corner. I mean, let's be
real. Let's really have an honest conversation
here. If this team wants to win one more Super
Bowl, they're going to have to make at least
one more big move. Me personally, I feel like
it's either going to be a corner. or maybe a
wide receiver. I feel like they have the assets
to do it. I mean, listen, you have two first
round picks. If you wanted to, you could give
Washington a first round pick, even though I
feel like that's a little bit crazy. I feel like
that's a reach for Terry McLaurin, but you could
do it. And then that means what? You will have
a wide receiver room that has Devontae Adams,
Terry McLaurin, Tutu Atwell, Pupu Nakua, and
everyone else. I think that's really good. But
again, these are just my opinions. This is just
how I feel about the teams. in where they are
right now if you're the rams what are you going
to do because you know the eagles got better
you know the vikings got better the 49ers the
cardinals everyone in the nfc has gotten better
you gotta find a way to stand out right now now
when we look at possible free agency additions
if they want to take that route especially with
corner I mean, you have James Bradbury, Kendall
Fuller, Stephon Gilmore, Rasul Douglas, Emmanuel
Mosley, Asante Samuel Jr., Michael Davis. Tackle,
which you may have to make that investment pretty
soon. George Fant, Andreas Peet, Isaiah Wynn,
Michael Dunn, Raven Clark, Chris Hubbard. Wide
receiver, if you want to take that route, you
know, Keenan Allen, Amari Cooper, Gabe Davis,
Nelson Aguilar, DJ Char, Tyler Boyd, Chris Conley,
Jameson Crowder. Tight end, if you want to bring
in a blocking option, okay. Gerald Everett, Mercedes
Lewis, Jordan Aikens, or Nicole Pruitt. Those
are all valuable options right now. But just
looking at things with the Rams, I think their
floor is maybe the wild card of the playoffs.
And I think their ceiling is maybe the Super
Bowl. But I feel like if they make one more significant
move, I think you have to have a legitimate conversation
right now with them. I'm just being honest. I
could be wrong, but... It's just how I feel.
I knew I was forgetting something. We have to
talk about Noah Fant. So Noah Fant has signed
with the Cincinnati Bengals. Now for how much,
I don't know. We still don't know what the numbers
are. All I know is it's just a one -year deal.
I mean, sure, it's another weapon for Joe Burrow,
but I'm a little bit skeptical about it because
now you have two tight ends that neither one
of them are good at blocking. If you at least
brought in one tight end that's good with blocking,
okay, fine. I can feel a little bit confident
with that. But right now, all you have is just
two receiving options at tight end. I don't really
think that's the best. But when we look at his
stats from this past season, 64 targets or 48
receptions, 500 receiving yards, one touchdown,
and 10 .4 receiving yards per reception. You're
talking about somebody that is an intermediate
short type of tight end. He's not this tight
end where he's going to go deep and he's just
going to kill it. No, he's just someone that
if you need that first down, he's right there.
If you need to extend the play, he's right there.
That's just who he is, all right? But I'm going
to end this episode. If you guys like what you're
listening, please, please, please, please, please
make sure you guys. Download the episodes, share
the episodes with somebody that you know that
loves football. And I mean, eat, sleeps and breathe
football. OK, that's all they listen to is football,
because guess what? We are in the season for
football, folks. You're in the season. It's finally
here. We can finally watch football now. OK,
it may just be the preseason. Don't care. It's
football right now. please leave a five -star,
five -star, five -star, five -star, five -star
review everywhere that you listen to podcasts,
please. I would deeply appreciate that. That
lets me know like, hey, I'm giving you guys the
fix that you guys love and need. Hey, there's
something I need to tweak. Maybe there's something
that we can talk about a little bit more, a little
bit less. It goes a long way, all right? now
for my youtube people make sure you guys like
share subscribe turn that notification bell on
leave a comment down below leave leave me your
thoughts on any of the teams that i have talked
about so far with this mini series am i right
am i wrong am i what what exactly what are your
thoughts okay especially with yours with your
favorite team let me know your thoughts all right
On top of that, when you go on our YouTube page,
Football Junkies Pod, all right, Football Junkies
Pod, make sure that you go on the link tree.
When you go on that link tree, it'll take you
to anywhere and everywhere that we have Football
Junkies content, as well as our RSS affiliate
link. When you click on that link and when you
sign up for rss .com, I will be able to receive
a commission for it. All commissions will go
back to the Football Junkies podcast in ways
that we can use for, I mean, we can use it for
upgrading the equipment. We can get more analytical
stats for, you know, different things, different
positions and whatnot. All things that we can
use to make this podcast better for you guys,
okay? Because at the end of the day, I'm not
doing this for personal gain. I'm doing this
because... I know there are like -minded people
who are just like me who love football, all right?
That's all that matters to me at this point.
Now, for my Instagram people, football underscore
junkies pod, all right? Football underscore junkies
pod. Junkies pod is not what? It is together,
not spaced, okay? It is together, not spaced.
For junkies pod, make sure you guys. like the
reels, share the reels with somebody, let me
know your thoughts, okay, it would definitely
go a long way, what am I thinking about, TikTok,
all right, follow me on TikTok, footballjunkiespod,
all right, footballjunkiespod, I still have a
few more clips I have to post, and I still have
some other clips that I have to create and put
out as well, so. We're still working, okay? We
are still working over here at the Football Junkies
Podcast. You can follow me on X, G -M -K -L,
G -M -K -A -I -L -E, all right? K -A -I -L -E.
It's the same thing with Blue Sky, G -M -K -L,
K -A -I -L -E, all right? So as always, I hope
I gave you guys the fix that you guys need. I
love you guys. I appreciate you guys so much.
Thank you so much for being with me on this mini
series. Let's prepare ourselves. for the preseason
games, as well as the regular season, okay? And
best believe, within the next maybe two or three
episodes, we have to start talking about draft
prospects, specifically quarterbacks, and maybe
a few other positions. We may even have to talk
about some college football games as well. So
stay tuned. As always, I love you guys. I appreciate
you guys so much. This is your GM, Kale, signing
out. Peace and love. Later.