Locked On Bengals - Daily Podcast On The Cincinnati Bengals - NFL Squad: Super Bowl 59 Aftermath, Chasing The Philadelphia Eagles

Episode Date: February 14, 2025

In this week's NFL Squad, the crew discusses which teams are closer to the Philadelphia Eagles after their Super Bowl win, which NFL trade makes sense for Aaron Rodgers, Deebo Samuel, or Cooper Kupp. Plus, the squad discusses the ideal fit for their respective teams in the NFL Draft.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!LinkedInLinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNFL. Terms and conditions apply.PrizePicksDownload the app and use code lockedonnfl to win $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive your $50 bonus, it's guaranteed! Prizepicks. Run Your Game.Click Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNFLFanDuelRight now, new FanDuel customers can get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of the NBA.  FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It was a no doubter for the Philadelphia Eagles and Super Bowl 59, but which team can be close to dethroning them in 2025. It's time for NFL squad. You are talking ball with the NFL squad. From the Chiefs to the Bill's, Falcons to the 49ers, and everyone else around the NFL. It's the local experts of the Locked-on podcast network, bringing you scoops, breakdowns,

and the most comprehensive preview of the upcoming weekend for hard-hitting football. with our harder hitting tape. Buckle up, it's the NFL squad. Then we have a seat for you. No hurt feelings allowed. Squad up, you're part of the NFL squad. And welcome in everybody to this week's NFL squad. Sit back, grab your favorite beverage and join us as we get you ready for the NFL

off season. It's going to be a wild off season though. There's going to be plenty of things happening. T. Higgins is going to go somewhere. Derek Carr is going to play quarter. back for an NFL team maybe we are part of the locked on podcast network we're going to talk about all that stuff because we are covering your team every day and joining me on this week's squad episode Cody Cody roark of locked on broncos as always peter mccowski locked on packers fortunately on time

this time kevin austriger of locked on ravens like debate of locked on patriots james yarko of locked on bucks thank you gentlemen for coming through of course i'm david harrison of locked on commanders your favorite DEI host to make sure we're covered on all those bases there for this week's squad episode. The Philadelphia Eagles, gentlemen, the Philadelphia Eagles made pretty quick work of the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 got their big win, second Lombardi trophy here in recent memory. But the conversation we want to have coming into this, we can coming into everybody's offseason, now that every team is in the off season, is which teams are the closest to competing with Philadelphia.

And I actually want to go to Peter Rikowski first, as I love your takes on a lot of these things. But I want to give you Dak Prescott's take first, and I figure Packers, Cowboys, why not? Let's do it. Dak Prescott said, quote, I feel like we've, that's the Dallas Cowboys,

competed with the Eagles and beat them for the most part when we've played them. I don't want to say, check the record, as in James Winston, telling you to check the stat sheet. James knows what I'm talking about. When the other guy is holding the trophy, right? So credit to them, they've earned it, and they deserve it by all means.

but yeah, we're very close, end quote. Peter Bikowski, how close are the Dallas Cowboys? Are we talking about the Dallas Cowboys, right? Like not a different, the last time these two teams played Philadelphia won 41 to 7. The time before that, Philadelphia won 34 to 6. What are they close? Now I understand backup quarterbacks, but go back to last year. The Eagles handled those matchups too.

So what are we talking about? I think, and this will make one person on this stream happy, I think there is one AFT team this year that had a good shot. And it was the Ravens. And they were just not able to get there. And I talked to Kevin about it after that game that we saw. What week was that, Kevin, when those two teams square up? 14.

14. No, 13, 13, 13. But that was the team where I was like, once Philadelphia beat that team, I was kind of like, hmm. I don't know if Baltimore can't do it. I don't know if anyone's going to beat this team. And I think that's where I am right now. It is Philadelphia and everyone else to me right now.

Are we sure the Cowboys aren't closer to a rebuild than they are a Super Bowl right now? They're closer to trading away Micah Parsons than they are being. Yeah, right. Exactly. I mean, they're going to lose to Marcus Lawrence this offseason most likely. Like you mentioned, the Michael Parsons deal. I mean, honestly, guys, last off season, I was talking on Locked on NFL about Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott, both going into 2024 with expiring contracts and the Cowboys.

being in the perfect spot to essentially blow it up without totally blowing up, like keep CD, maybe keep Micah, draft capital, money freeze up and you can do some good things for your franchise. And then they went ahead and threw a whole lot of money at Dak Prescott. Certainly CD Lamb as well is deserving. But yeah, they kind of hammered that whole thing. So I think most of us would agree on Landy McCool is not here to stop us. The Dallas Cowboys not as close as Dak Prescott would like to think.

David, is there anything more annoying than watching the Cowboys get blown out and Dak Prescott down 30 points and we're saying, yeah, here we go. Like that's got to go. Like at some point, I understand it's part of your snap cadence, but my God, it's a sound bite now. I want to know if the other quarterback was the best when you, you're Cooper Rush. Yeah, down 30 to the Eagles and he's going, here we go. I'm like, I got to know, I want to know how stupid he feels being out there doing that.

That's, that's my, I feel bad for him every time I hear him do that. But we got four options here, guys. We got four options here that we want to talk about that are our candidates to be closer than Dallas, which I think there's definitely more than four candidates that are closer than Dallas. But I want to throw this over to Mike, Mike the Bay, you know a thing or two about covering Super Bowl teams, even though it hasn't been recent, but you know, so, so let's let's give you the four options here. Washington, Buffalo, Baltimore, and Green Bay.

Which of those four do you think is the closest and why is Green Bay last on those? You know, I'm not going to do my buddy, Peter, that dirty. David, you know better than that. No, bottom line, look, I'm looking at these teams right now, and I think all of these teams are maybe a move or two away from being able to challenge the Philadelphia Eagles. But they got to do what the Eagles did, invest in the trenches. And the team that's willing to do that, I think is the team that's going to take that next step forward. I look at the bills, not just because I see them an awful lot in the AFC East as a competitor with the Patriots.

Obviously, they're head and shoulders above the New England Patriots right now. But you add a pass rush into that defense. All of a sudden, Buffalo is looking a whole lot better this year. year than they did this year and they had a very good season in 2024. Baltimore, the same thing. You add a piece here and there and all of a sudden this team has arguably, and I will say this, and Kevin's going to like this,

the best quarterback right now in the lead, maybe Sands Patrick Mahomes because I still consider him the best until someone completely dethrones him from what he does well. I'm always going to give that nod to him. But Green Bay is another team that's extremely intriguing, an awful lot of talent on all three phases. All they need is something to tie it all together. I think any one of these teams right now is so close

and right on the cusp of being able to compete. And your team, the Washington commanders, I think, is the most intriguing because right now they're dealing with the young quarterback that knows how good he is. And I believe that a lot of people would love and jump at the chance to want to play alongside of Jaden Daniels because they know that the future is bright and they're going to be able to build with a young quarterback.

So I think right now all four have a shot. If you're putting my back to the wall, I'm going to go with the team that I know best, and I'm going to say Buffalo because I know them well enough, and I know that they're right there to be able to compete. But it wouldn't shock me to see any one of these teams give a strong challenge to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2025. Kevin, if it's one piece for Baltimore, what is the one piece?

It's definitely a pass rusher. And I say that because they just need a game record there. I mean, Adoppe O'A had a great season. He had double-digit sacks, and that was what you wanted to see if Kyle Van Nuoy has revived this career. Mike, I know that he had a couple great years over there in New England. But if those are your top two, you do have some questions about do they have enough juice for a full season? So a lot of people talk about like they need a third wide receiver.

Offensive line will be a big question mark for their money. Stanley is a free agent. But man, if they get out a pass rush, which by the way, if Cleveland just wants to send Miles Garrett over in DeVosy, I would. Good luck with that. Their package might be three firsts for Miles Garrett. Baltimore wise, but I would say past Russia is Baltimore's piece. Now, I, I walked past Miles Garrett while we were in New Orleans, Peter.

I don't think I told you the story. Walk past Miles Garrett and his group of people. And I said to him, Miles, if you want to go to Washington and ignore me completely, dude, didn't even look at my direction, bro. So I mean, you know, look, I don't want to call breaking news, but you might be on to something here. Mike Evans is out there talking about how great he's going to look in Buccaneer Red. So, I mean, yeah, the Bucks wouldn't have to pay that AFC tax. Mike is a little bit more biased than I am.

Cody Rourke, logs on Broncos, I do want to ask you this question before we get out of this segment here. Let's put the Ravens on the tape. We all know the Cleveland Bronx are not sending Miles Garrett to the Baltimore Ravens. But in a world where it could potentially happen, commanders, bills, Ravens, Packers, which of these four teams do you think you add Miles Garrett? You're automatically starting to plan your trip to Super Bowl 60. So commanders, bills, Ravens, Packers. Ooh.

I mean, the Ravens would be a great addition. That's indivisional, not likely to happen. Though I know we argued the other day when we did this show about if you're Cleveland, you don't need to do what's best for Miles Garrett. Do what's best for yourself as the organization if you're going to be getting rid of him. I'd say Green Bay with the defense that those guys already had. You add Miles Garrett to that defense now. Granted, I'm curious, Peter, what that secondary is going to look like this year.

I know it's always Jair-Alexander watch over there. Is he going to be? You know, what's going on with that? I feel like Green Bay would be appealing. Buffalo, man, if they added him to Buffalo, I mean, I feel like it would be game over for everybody. You have him, Greg Rousseau, Von Miller, and Oliver, my gosh, don't know what you do with that on paper. I'm very curious to where they end up. If you go to Buffalo, you have the most dominant, physically dominant defensive player

and the most physically dominant offensive player in the league on the same team. That might be what gets him over the hump against Kansas City. back to Lamar Jackson, but I'm just talking about like, oh, the ability to physically over power guys at 240 to run over linebackers. I know Lamar can run around them. I'm just talking about like force we're talking about here. That would be fun as hell. I'm a lot of basketball. The same backfield together.

Get a couple of plays of Miles and Josh in the same backfield and that ball off. We know they play six offensive linemen, like get Miles Garrett out there to catch a touchdown pass to do the full TJ or TJ Wat. J.J. Watt. Like that'd be fun as hell. I think Miles is going to need some incentives in his conscience. contract if he's going to line up. Yeah, their salary cap situation is a mess. So I don't know.

So I mean, Miles Garrett, I think bottom line, like, and who knows how long this is going to take, but like Miles Garrett ultimately is going to be one of the, if not the top move that gets made this offseason because I don't think anybody believes that Cleveland Browns are actually able to hold on to him. So we'll wait for news on that whenever that potentially could come. But there's also some other news that we need to tackle. There was a day where Peter Bukowski and the Green Bay Packers would talk about Aaron Rogers in a very glowing light.

There was also a day where there were some people who thought that Aaron Rogers might be the heir apparent to Tom Brady in Tampa. These days, the question is who wants Aaron Rogers just at all? We'll talk about that next on this week's NFL squad, part of the Locktime podcast network your team every day. Today's NFL squad show is brought to you, my friend, over there at LinkedIn in jobs. And as a small business owner, your work doesn't end when the clock hits five. Your business, it's always on your mind, which means when it's time to hire, you need a partner

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You can add the hashtag hiring frame to your profile picture to double your reach to qualified candidates. No wonder, 72% of small businesses say LinkedIn helps them find high quality hires. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL. That's LinkedIn.com slash locked on NFL to post your job for free terms and conditions apply. Pick them back up for this week's NFL squad episode. Thank you everybody out there for joining us here for this episode again. It is the off season, but there's plenty of so going on in the national football league. So we will be here for you doing these squad episodes all off season long. Aaron Rock. Rogers, once considered to be, you know, best of the best, maybe the best in the league.

There were arguments as to him. Is it Tom Brady? Is it whatever? Nowadays, Aaron Rogers more of a just, I don't want to call him a plague, but like, for lack of a better term. James Jark, I want to go to you because Peter's going to say a lot and I want to get you out of the way. There was a time, and this was theory, this was not reporting or substantiated, planning or anything like, but there was a theory. at one point in time. People lined up, they said, you know, about the time Tom Brady retires in the NFL, Aaron Rogers might come available from Green Bay. Maybe he just follows Tom

down to Florida and wins another ring for the Buccaneers. Take us back to that version of Aaron Rogers and this version of Aaron Rogers and what has kind of changed in the overall, just your opinion of this quarterback, who's clearly a Hall of Famer, but has done a lot to damage his own reputation. Well, and that was even the second theory of Aaron Rogers being a buck. Because remember, John Gruden promised him that he was going to draft him to be the Bucks quarterback. If he's sitting there, instead he takes Cadillac Williams. The rest is history. But, you know, it's the fall off has been astounding.

Like we saw the drop off for Peyton Manning going into his last year with Denver. Like the year before he was great. And then all of a sudden, that drop off was just straight off of a cliff. And we've seen it now with Rogers. Does it have to do with the Achilles injury that, you know, was he never fully recovered from that? Is he never going to completely bounce back from that? I don't know.

Is it the fact that the New York... The New York Jets seem to have this aura around them where no matter how good of a quarterback you are, as soon as you put on that green and white, you suck. Like, there's no giving or you just suck. And then you can leave and you can go to the Minnesota Vikings and you can go to the NFC championship.

but you're terrible. I don't understand. And I'm sorry to Jets fans listening to this, but you know I'm right. It's kind of like Cleveland. You know, Baker's in Cleveland. He's bad. He leaves.

Now he's phenomenal. Deshawn Watson was good, goes to Cleveland. He's terrible. It just keeps happening to these same franchises. So I don't know if this is an Aaron Rogers problem. I don't know if this is a New York Jets problem. But I don't,

I don't know what team takes a shot on Aaron Rogers at this stage in the game to be a starter. I mean, I guess teams can bring him and say, you can compete, but Rogers isn't going to do that. He's an egomaniac. He's not going to compete for a job. So this could be the end of Aaron Rogers as far as we're concerned, because who's going to take that chance? I have the answer. So nobody here is in the Aaron Rogers sweepstick. So I do want to turn it over to you, Peter.

I'm not even going to ask you a question. Just Peter Vakowski, eight minutes of Aaron Rogers, go. When Adam Schaefter said recently that he thought Devante Adams would come with, my first thought was Pittsburgh Steelers. Because in a vacuum, I don't think it makes sense for Aaron Rodgers to go to Las Vegas or for Vegas, frankly, to want Aaron Rogers. The same is true in Nashville with the Tennessee Titans, even though our pal Tyler Roland, who is a madman, was like, I want Aaron Rogers.

I don't know why you would want that. But if Pittsburgh is going to get DeBonte Adams too, all of a sudden, that becomes very, very appealing. They want to win now. Listen to ownership at the end of the season. They wanted to make changes. And then they, guess what? They did nothing because that's what the Pittsburgh Steelers do. This would be something.

You bring in Aaron Rogers. We know the defense is the defense. And then you add DeMonte Adams to George Pickens. Plus, you guys, how much fun would all of the content we would get around the reporting with Aaron Rodgers and George Pickens? Are you for real? That would be the best reality show. Make that hard knocks off season, in season, before the season, all of the hard knocks. I want those two guys.

I want to know everything that's happening at all time between those two guys. And don't you think that would be like a legitimately scary group? even if Aaron Rogers is a diminished version of himself. Not that they'd beat the Ravens in a playoff game or they'd beat the Chiefs, but they'd be better than they are now. Well, they'd have to figure out maybe who they'd want to keep between Rogers and DeShon Elliott, because if you saw his comment, Deshaun Elliott on Instagram said, leave him in the retirement home.

So that might cause a little internal conflict, but you know what? I think that's the right choice, Peter. Do you want to pair them together, though? Like, that's the thing. Like I feel like for Devante Adams at this point, I understand. Rodgers is your boy, but go out there and get something. You know, I think the Jets, everybody, Broncos fans keep saying, oh, the Broncos should trade for Garrett Wilson. I keep telling him, he's not available.

Why would he be available at this point? If anyone's available from New York, it's Devante Adams. Parvaryville. Get Bo Nix a guy like Devonty Adams alongside Cortland Sutton. And now we're talking about that, especially, you know, a guy like Devante Adams, who has really great matchups every time they play against Patrick Surtan. Like, it's a good battle back and forth. So why not?

a veteran guy like that for a second year quarterback like a bone nix or even like send him like for example like david you're telling me that that jaden daniels wouldn't benefit from a guy like devante adams alongside terrible i would love that i love it these young guys this is the move to make send one of these veteran receivers like this to some of these young guys that have something where they're building up or you know maybe devontay adams ends up back in green bay look there's a housing development being built right down the road from the commanders headquarters in national virginia if devante adams came to washington i would buy a house right outside the manor facility.

And I would just build a taco bill there. And I would, yes, I would put a taco bell in it. Just be like, Devante this way. Just don't worry about the border coming this way. If Miles Garrett got traded, would it be the best player in his prime to be traded ever? Well, not Luca, but I mean, I'm talking about NFL. NFL. I mean, honestly, yeah, right up there with, I mean,

Khalil Mack was dominant when he got traded. Yeah. I mean, it'd be up there. That would definitely be a conversation. Doesn't Miles Garrett have like two defensive players a year? Like we're talking about the guy who is pretty consensus, the best defensive player in football. I mean, six-time all pro, four times first team.

Like 30 sacks a year for the last seven years, something crazy like that. He's a dog, man. I am curious, though, Cody, back to Denver, who would you rather have for Boonex? Devante Adams or Debo Samuel? Ooh. Perfect segue. That's exactly who's next on the list.

Oh, look at that. We got a lot to talk about it. Let's talk about Debo, Cody. What do you see there? You know, I say, I like Debo and Broncos fans are against Debo. You know, I got Broncos fans telling me he's a diva. He's got character issues. And I tag Croc and Croc's like, what are you guys talking about?

It's like, I don't know where Broncos fans formulate this opinion. Like, well, he's always injured. He's played in 15 games each of the last two seasons. And then 13 games a year before, the only year he had under 10 games played was he suffered an injury in 2020. I don't want to hear me that. He was pneumonia last year. Yeah, like, and all of a sudden, Debo's a character. He don't want to play.

You choke out one kicker from Michigan and everybody just loses their mind. I think Debo in Washington makes a ton of sense. Kevin, I would say Devante. I would say Devonte over Debo in this situation because Denver's going younger. They love their young receivers that they're continuing to develop and having a veteran like that would help. Yeah, makes sense. Mike DeBate, I do want to ask you, West Coast to the East Coast. Coast. What's the view on Debo from New England?

I'll tell you, New England's open for business. I mean, we basically want everybody. We have nowhere to go but up, and New England needs help at wide receiver. Look, you know, the Patriots kicked the tires on trading for Debo, Samuel last year right around the trade. And there was a consensus at the time that the price was a little bit too high. Now all of a sudden, Debo's coming off of what, sorry to say, San Francisco 49ers fans, a down year statistically.

leap. There's one more year off of that contract. He's one year older. Those are the factors that may end up reducing the price a little bit for New England to really seriously throw their hat into the game. Now, I know there are comments out there about Debo not wanting to come up and play in New England. Believe me, most people do not want to play in the weather we're currently sitting in. It's cold. There's snow all around me right now. Everybody hates it. But bottom line, if you can convince him that playing alongside a young quarterback like Cody, Peter, you guys have been saying, like Drake May could allow him to showcase his talent, especially in a dual threat, because Josh McDaniels loves to employ these type of players that give him such versatility

in his play calling ability. Yeah, if Debo's willing to listen, the Patriots absolutely have to be making this phone call. Wouldn't he get 130 targets in that offense? Oh, absolutely. Who else are you throwing to? I mean, right now, I mean, other than Hunter Henry right now, who is a security blanket, and rightfully so for Drake May, he'll continue to get his touches. but guys like, you know, it's just it's unfortunate right now. DeMario Douglas is not rounding into the type of receiver that the Patriots need him to be. I think he's got a chance to do it, but he's going to need some help. Jalen Polk, Javon Baker, not looking like the type of picks the Patriots thought they were getting last year.

There's a lot of upheaval in that wide receiver room. And, you know, bad downing coming in now and coaching that group, he's never coached wide receivers before. So it's going to be a tough sell for any big time receiver to want to come here. and play in New England, but that aura that surrounding Drake May is going to have to be a huge selling point. And for the first time in a long while, the Patriots have to take the wallet out of the back pocket of Robert Kraft. And they have to be willing to go ahead and to open it and overpay for some of these guys. It's the only way they're going to be able to bring themselves up out of that doldrum. My recommendation, is Godwin getting out of Tampa? I'm sorry? Is Godwin

going to get out of Tampa? No. Yes, he is. No, anybody that has this, this premonition that Chris Godwin's going to be available. No, the answer is no. And it's, it's for a multitude of reasons. Number one, his, his market value isn't anywhere close to as high as it would have been had he not had his ankle dislocated by an illegal hip-drop tackle, Kevin, but which the fine was rescinded, by the way. It was, it was nonsense is what it was. But it's actually cheaper for the Buccaneers to keep Chris Godwin than to let him walk. Godwin and his wife just had a baby. Do they want to leave Tampa? I mean, obviously there's going to be money out there.

But the bucks are going to pony up. You saw it with Mike Evans. He had the opportunity to go to the Chiefs, to go to the Texans, the Rams were involved. He wanted to stay in Tampa. Godwin wants to stay in Tampa. Tampa wants to keep him. It helps both sides.

A deal is going to get done. Even if that means they got to franchise him again to get that extended negotiating window, Godwin's not going anywhere. Well, I do want to have a recommendation. That's true. Chris Bob's not going anywhere, but Washington. He's not going to Washington, David. The thing for Mike and the Patriots is the Ravens had this wide receiver this past year.

He was a great locker room presence. I think you could really use him. His name is Deontay Johnson. I knew you were going somewhere. Now, the Ravens could get a comp pick if the Patriot sign him for a big contract. And look, the perfect guy for Drake May in that locker room. You're talking about spending money, getting some vets in there. We can help each other out here.

We can help each other out. I'm just saying. Sign Antonio Brown while you're at it. I mean, just why not? My mighty have fallen. Oh, man. The fact that I even have to consider this is really, really disheartening, Kevin. Yeah, I don't know if the Patriots are quite that desperate.

Not that I'm talking, not from a pure skill sets situation. But, yeah, I don't know. Yeah, that's probably, yeah, I don't think the Patriots do it. I'll be diplomatic. I'll try to get him back on the Steelers for Chris next time you pops in you. Yeah, there you go. David, we got a super producer Ross. He heard us talking about Aaron Rogers, and he said he really had a share of thoughts

and weren't not the Saints under new head coach, Killam Moore, should pursue a guy like Aaron Rogers. He was itching. He said, I got to get on and talk about it. Here's Ross Jackson, folks. Nah, I'm good. Beautifully put. Make sure you out locked on Saints for more in-depth analysis. Just like, you said that.

If Derek Carr is on the move, it's like, what makes sense for him? Like, there's been now this reporting that, hey, Kellan Moore's coming in and they may, they may move on from Derek Carr. Is there, could you go back to Las Vegas? That would be interesting. That would be interesting. Tennessee. John Gruden ends up on that staff.

I can see Tennessee. Maybe Tennessee. I could see Tennessee before Las Vegas for sure. Just tell Tyler Rowland and get Aaron Rogers and Derek Carr in there, just let him battle it out. Just let him figure out. With Will Levin. With Will Levin.

We'll love to be harassed if they're actually fighting. Shadir Sanders and number one, why not? Speaking of draft picks, four of the five guys sitting here in this week's NFL squad had their teams that they cover in the tournament. What is their draft crush that they could possibly target in the first round of the upcoming NFL draft this year to get them over the hump and get them closer to their own Lombardi?

We'll do that next on this week's NFL squad, part of the Locktown Podcast Network, your team every day. Today's NFL squad show is brought to our friends over there at Fandu. America's number one sportsbook. In the NFL season, it might have come to an end, but the NBA season and the action is just getting started. And there's no better place to get in on it than Fandu. America's number one sportsbook because with Fandual, you can place live bets throughout the game.

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That's Fanduil.com for your shot at $150. in bonus bets, make every moment more fan duels, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Rapping up this week's NFL squad episode, and of course, everybody is chasing the Eagles. That's what happens. You win the Super Bowl, and everybody is chasing you. So I want to ask the panel here,

join us for this NFL squad episode, with the NFL draft coming up in a few, or two short months, I should say, two and a half short months, give or take. Who is the draft pick that reasonably, right? Let's not go like number one overall. guy on the board when you're picking at like 25 Tampa Bay. I don't know. What's Tampa Bay at James Jarko?

27. 19. 19. Oh, 19. Maybe it was 27. Wow. Why did I go that high? Anyone. So don't do that. But who is your draft crush to get your team over the hump to be able to beat the Philadelphia Eagles or whoever it's going to be in Super Bowl 60? Let's start with Cody Rourke. Let's start with the number of Broncos, a surprising, surprising contender this year. We just did an episode of Lockdown Broncos where we talked about how Denver can get back to Super Bowl 60, which happens to be 10 years after they were in Super Bowl 50 where they won it in Santa Clara, where this year it's going to be a Santa Clara. So hey, maybe some storybook writing right there.

Look, this is tough because for Denver, you know, obviously they got their guy in Bo Necks. They got a quarterback, right? So what do you do? Do you add pieces around Boe Nicks in the NFL draft or do you build the defense, right? I think people watched the Super Bowl and saw what Philadelphia did just with their front four. You know, zero percent blitz rate and you had as many hits on Patrick Mahomes, many sacks on him. That is incredible. So Broncos country split between offense and defense. So much, I think, is contingent upon how they address free agency.

So let's say that they go out and free agency and they get a joker. Whoever that may be, could be Debo Samuel if they do decide to do that. Or they could get a veteran receiver like a Cooper Cup or, you know, like I said, adding Debo to the mix here. To me, you have to wonder if they're going to go defense with their first round pick, which would not be popular amongst Broncos fans, right? Because the number one thing I think Denver needs right now defensively, a rangey athletic sideline to sideline linebacker.

I think that was also a key that Philadelphia had, obviously that I think played dividends to them. I mean, Zach Bonn was a low bargain signing for them this offseason. Turn out to be an incredible pickup for them. And now he's in line to get a contract extension, which I'm not sure how big that's going to be. I imagine you're going to stay in Philly.

It could be detackle. It could be linebacker, could be running back, could be tight end. But Broncos fans right now, if you ask them, They want to do mock drafts right now, which is crazy to me. A lot of them have the Broncos taking Ashton Genty, 20th overall. I don't know if I'm a fan of going running back that high, especially in the first round,

because also the mileage he has on his legs there, or even Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland, tight end out of obviously Penn State in Michigan there. That might be where Sean Payton ultimately decides to go because you got Bo Nix on a rookie contract, try to maximize it and build that offense as much as you can with some playmakers. Yeah. I want to go, let's see, let's all try. conference is here. Let's go, James Jarko. So Chris Godwin's in Washington,

unfortunately for you and your incorrect coverage of this situation. Where do the Buccaneers need to go in the first round to once again reclaim the division title known as the biggest loser belt, but also potentially...

Instead of the AFC South, we're going to throw that at the NFC South. There's no ASE South people here. I'm sorry. Rockos are the NFC South champions. I mean, good grief. There's two teams the NFL that have made the playoffs the last five years and one of them is Tampa. Okay, so Godwin gets re-signed. No big deal. The bucks trade for Miles Garrett, no big deal. So then what do they need? No, the dream for the bucks is probably Mike Green. I don't think he falls to

19. I think he's going to get drafted a lot higher than that. So the guy that I've talked about a lot on Locked on Bucks that has been my big draft crush is Benjamin Morrison, the corner out of Notre Dame. and this is a guy probably would have been the second corner off the board. You're looking at top 10 at the latest top 15 pick. He's easily going to slide now, went out with an injury in October, had hip surgery, but this is a lockdown, shutdown guy. It's a massive upgrade over Jamel Dean, who I think is going to be a cap casualty. Bucks can free up 13 million by designating him a June 1st cut.

So Benjamin Morrison, a guy that should be a top 10 pick falling to them at 19 to upgrade that's secondary. The bucks need a corner. They need an inside linebacker and they need an edge rusher. And all of a sudden, they are in contention in the NFC to go to the NFC championship, potentially go to the Super Bowl, one of the best offenses in the NFL last year. So Benjamin Morrison is a guy that I look at and I'm like, this guy helps the past coverage so, so much. I would love for the bucks to be able to get him. Yeah. And look, Devin White is available. Not every day, $100 million linebackers is on the market. So hard pass.

But Bobby Wagner and the Bobbiwagoner and going nowhere. That would be. Kevin Ostriker locked on Ravens. What do you need the NFL draft to get? No, if I can't have Chris, you're not touching Bobby. I'm sorry, go ahead. Go ahead, James. Finish.

Yeah, go ahead. Finish up, James. Finish up. Oh, I'm done. Benjamin Morrison, Chris Godwin, Miles Garrett, Bobby Wagner, Super Bowl 60. Let's do this. Make it happen.

Kevin Ostrueger locked on Ravens. What do you got? Well, look, we're all just going to assume here, Miles Geras going to the Ravens, so that's okay. We'll put him in division. We'll do that. That's my agenda. So assuming that does happen,

and the Ravens are good at pass rusher, like we talked about. I've seen this guy go a bunch of different places and mocks, but the Ravens do need some offensive line help. Ronnie Stanley's going to be a free agent. Their starting guard, Patrick McGarry's going to be a free agent too. I think they might look at guard, and that guy could be Tyler Booker,

the Alabama guard, who I think that for, I've seen him go mid, like early mid first. I've seen him drop to day two, which I personally know what thing's going to happen. I think he'll go much earlier than that on day one. But the Ravens, they need like this big, massive hulking guard that can fit into their offensive line. Tyler Booker is someone that is like that consensus guy at that position. And so for the Ravens, they already have a couple of building blocks. I mean, you have Linderbaum, you have Roger Rosengarten who stepped up and you can flip him from the right side to the left side,

depending on what their offseason looks like. If you can add another, I would say, foundational piece and Tyler Booker to that line to open up run lanes for Derek Henry, to protect Lamar Jackson. And you have Linderbomstone's rookie deal, three stud offensive linemen on rookie contracts that will allow you in for agency or maybe even you want to trade for somebody, like of Miles Garrett, you can go out there and you can make that move because the offensive line market is unreal right now. I mean, Robert Hunt got $100 million from Carolina last off season and what Damien Lewis got like 60 something. So it's really important to have these young star players on rookie contracts at that position because that offensive line market's only going to go up there. And the Ravens are not in a cap position to go and spend all this money. If Ronnie Stanley prices himself out, it probably won't take that much because they have other needs they have to look at. So offensive line, I think Tyler Booker would be a really good fit.

Yeah, absolutely. Peter McCauska, it's interesting. I want to hear what you have to say because, man, I was watching that Packers Eagles playoff game. And there was definitely a stretch there. I remember I messaged James actually. I was like, bro, the Packers should be winning this game going away. So if that happens, I mean, who knows what else. I saw Peter's tweets during the Super Bowl about just like the, man, the Packers aren't far off.

Well, that for as bad as it felt to watch in real time, without their top three receivers and their best offensive linemen, that was a one score game late in the third and early in the fourth quarter. The Packers defense held the Eagles to the lowest point total in the playoffs, like by a huge margin. So this Packers defense, I think, is ready to take that next step. They need DeMonte Adams in this building is really the reality. Like, you want to talk about a draft crush? Let's deal with this first because I think Devante Adams playing a little footsie on Kay Adams show and has been doing this for weeks.

Now you got Keishon Nixon and Josh Jacobs basically actively recruiting him. Xavier McKinney actively recruiting him to come to Green Bay. They're putting a lot of pressure on this front office to make a move like that. So all Miles Garrett jokes aside, DeMonte Adams, I think, is that one guy who could come in. Let me give you two quick names in the draft. Jaden Higgins at the Senior Bowl. He was outstanding at 6-4-215.

He's all of that 2-15-2. He's a different type of receiver than the Packers currently have. Can win with his size, but also as a route runner, a guy that big should not be able to move the way that he does. If he runs fast, I'm not going to be surprised if he winds up top of the second, late first even. And then another sleeper. And it was actually Damien Parson who put me on to this player.

And I watched the tape and I was like, why is no one talking about this guy? Noel Williams, the corner from Cal. He was on Dame Bruegler's big board in the top 100, led major college football in interceptions last year, led the ACC and path breakups at 6-1-200. He can run. He can tackle. his ball production, those guys usually don't get out of the top 100. The Packers, I think we'll take multiple corners in this draft,

and I think he would be able to come in right away and compete to start for them. Yeah, I mean, look, I'm a big fan, Jaden Higgins. Actually, I was able to get my hands on the senior bowl practice tape. I mean, hands off commanders. And I was, I mean, look, the Packers picked first. You know what I mean? So if he's there, if he's there, it's the Packers' fault. I want to ask you real quick.

What would a trade look like? Because you kind of look at the Jets traded, what a competitor or not I'm not starting conditional third round pick to get him. So what would it take to get him from the Jets, you think? Well, they got to cut him is the problem. He's $35 million this year. He's owed. And so you're not going to pay that.

So actually, it's funny, Yorco, because I've been using the Mike Evans deal as the proxy. So you give up something to the Jets. I have suggested just Jaya Alexander for Devante Adams straight up. Don't Avian Wicks, too. It's just let's take, you take our problem and we'll take yours. and because I don't think Jay Alexander is going to be back on this team. And you're basically just assuring the right

to negotiate with him exclusively, right, on a new deal because he's not going to play on that number. So I've been saying the Mike Evans deal with interest makes a ton of sense, like 21, 22 million a year with a void year at the end, come in for two years. Let's go compete to win a Super Bowl. And then, you know,

right off into the sunset, he'd be welcomed back as a conquering hero in Green Bay. And I think he's exactly what they need on. on third and eight, what's the play? Well, it can be Devante. That can be your answer. I think every other team in the playoffs and the NFC had an answer. The Packers didn't.

And I think that's a credit to Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutikins and the staff that they put together, the offense they put together. But ultimately you need that guy. And frankly, it's one of the reasons why the Chiefs came up short is they didn't have that guy either because Kelsey is capital T toast. So I think you could do it. I think you could do it for a day three pick. But I think the player for player thing would be pretty enticing for the Jets.

So I'm glad you said it that way because here's my draft crush. Two first round picks for Miles Garrett. So that's how it's been your first round pick. And a fifth rounder and a fifth rounder and Jonathan Allen for Devante Adams. That is that is how we're going to, that's how we're going to execute that. It's going to make for a very long, boring draft weekend for me sitting in Ashburn, but very exciting March. Well, I'll be in Greenback. Oh, I'll enjoy it.

Yeah, absolutely. So there's my, there's my answer to the draft question. and leave it to me to cheat on my own question. But Mike DeBate, unfortunately, buddy, we know you got like, you know, the Pats are a couple of years away probably. You never know what I mean, but who do you got your eye on for New England there? Well, and I haven't talked to Scott Pioly a couple of years ago in terms of draft strategy and what went on when he was in the room with Bill Belichick.

And then, of course, moving on to teams like the Chiefs and the Falcons. Scott told me, if you're a player or two away, draft for need. If you're more than that, you draft for generational talent, the best player available. And that's what I'm looking at now for the New England Patriots, because unless they decide to move down and maximize that draft capital, that number four pick, they're likely to have a decent shot at either Travis Hunter or Abdul Carter. And right now in New England, I'd be good with either one. Obviously, I love the upside of a Travis Hunter, because you're looking at a legitimate two-way player that can revolutionize the way that

backfield right now, the defensive backfield for New England is situated. You pair him alongside Christian Gonzalez, that looks like a formidable tandem for years to come. He's also a guy that I know Josh McDaniels would love to put in that offense in select packages that would allow him to be able to utilize his skill set on offense. So you're killing two birds with one stone if you're the New England Patriots. If you bring in Travis Hunter, I'd love to see him wearing Patriot Blue. Abdul Carter could make this team an immediate upgrade when it comes to the pass rush. They didn't have one last year.

it was not existent. They need someone that can come in and be your marquee name for years to come. So Abdul Carter is someone that I'd look at for the Patriots as well. Those two are my top draft crushes right now. But Peter, I've got to say, Jaden Higgins is someone I'm keeping my eye on. If the Patriots do move down, that's a sizable receiver with the ability to move. I know the Patriots have had a lot of problems drafting receivers, but he fits all of those boxes.

He checks all of those boxes. That could be a name for Patriots fans to war. watch if in fact they do decide that they're going to move out of number four. Higgins with Drake May would be fun because he can win vertically and and it doesn't have to be a perfect ball. Just give him a shot. That'd be really fun. T. Higgins. There's going to be two Higgins in New England this off season. We can talk about T. Higgins. Good options across the board here from our panel here on this week's NFL squad. Appreciate all of you for coming through. Appreciate the five of you for coming

through this week. Make sure you come back next week. We will be here each and every single week in the off season. That is actually not something I know that I can promise, but I'm promised to anyway, and Ali Bronson can just deal with what I'm saying. Make sure that you're following all of us on our respective beats covering our respective teams, all for you five days a week, all part of the Locktown Podcast. Network, your team every day.