NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 40s and Free Agents: 2025 Draft Class vs. Free Agent Pool, Sam Darnold Destinations & DJ's Kirk Cousins Vikings Reunion Idea

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

NFL Network's Gregg Rosenthal and Daniel Jeremiah set aside their differences to collaborate on an all-new limited podcast series: "40s and Free Agents." The show hits the ground running with Gregg an...d DJ debating the values of both this year's draft class and NFL free agent pool. Then, the duo discusses potential landing spots for QB Sam Darnold, and DJ debuts a take on Kirk Cousins potentially making a return to Minnesota. Later, Gregg and DJ play a team building exercise where they choose one draft move and one free agency decision in support of Drake Maye, Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an I-Heart podcast. The NFL is rolling. That's right, and you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60. It's in the name, NFL Daily. So you'll have fresh content in your feed all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all-star cast of co-hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends. Listen to NFL Daily.
Starting point is 00:00:30 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 2.826. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. States and D.C. 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter, prizes, and official rules, visit Toyotas Game Day Giveaways.com. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here.
Starting point is 00:00:49 And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies. To evaluate team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front-offer. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant, and I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?
Starting point is 00:01:31 Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more.
Starting point is 00:01:58 Welcome to 40s and Free Agents. I am Greg Rosenthal. This is Daniel Jeremiah, and this is a limited series going through draft season, and we arm wrestled to decide who was going to speak first, and people don't know this about DJ, but very short arm length, so I got to go. Wow, that's an interesting tale there. You know, we've seen in the history. of this country, enemies come together and join hands and find common ground. None more challenging
Starting point is 00:02:34 than this relationship coming together. But that's what happens with the NFL offseason, Greg. When you've got free agency in the draft, it's coming together. Yeah, it's like I'm the pro personnel side with no experience whatsoever. And you know the college game. And so, no, we thought it'd be fun to come together during this season. I call it the regular season, the buildup to free agency, and then your season draft. And we kind of compare the two worlds and decide how these teams are going to be built. I'm excited about this. No, I'm excited about this in a big way. I'm also excited about Greg's watch. Wow. I don't know what they are paying over NFL Bailey, but that is impressive. This was a gift. Thank you. And yeah, you can check us out
Starting point is 00:03:12 on YouTube, on NFL Network, if you're listening to this. Let's go to my top 10 free agents list. And I got to admit, the list looked a lot better before T. Higgins and T. Hesmith got the franchise tag because now Milton Williams is number one, and it kind of feels like that year where Eric Fisher went number one in the free agency equivalent. Or when Malik Jackson was actually my number one free agent about seven, eight years ago. We got Ronnie Stanley with the Ravens. Zach Bond is now re-signed, so Sam Darnold moves up the list. Josh Sweat with the Eagles, Chris
Starting point is 00:03:41 Godwin, Carlton Davis. A lot of good cornerbacks, I think, at the top of this group, Charverius Ward, DJ Reed, Devante Adams, and Amari Cooper, both coming off like shaky years there. I'm curious when you look at that list. What do you want to criticize first? I don't want to criticize it. I want to point something out, which is sometimes when you're stacking free agents and you're looking at who the best available players are, I think people get caught up in past production versus future value.
Starting point is 00:04:06 That's what free agency is all about. And I think age is incredibly important. Now, Milton Williams, I believe, is 25 years old. So when you factor that end, plus he can rush the passer from the interior, which is extremely hard to find. I think that, I think there's probably some shock value to people, like casual NFL fans to see his name up there at the top, but he is going to get a lot of money. Yeah, the only regrets I have with this list is not pushing some more of those young guys up the list, which we'll talk about during the show.
Starting point is 00:04:34 I did kind of think, just taking a big picture view of this, there's a lot of defensive players. There's a lot of line, like three down linebackers, defensive tackles. What do you think about the theory that those positions specifically, offball linebacker, defensive tackle? Like, that's a great free agent position because it takes so long. for them to develop. I think Milton Williams is a good example. Zach Bond was that these are guys that maybe weren't really ready to be difference makers early in their career, but those are positions where they get a lot better and they're peaking at 25. Yeah, it takes patience. And I think that's why there's that sweet spot of guys who have experience but are still young,
Starting point is 00:05:14 not many of them, but guys that do have experience. I go back to Patrick Queen. It was last year's free agency, right? So you look at the number that he got and the impact that he had with the Pittsburgh because he was still ascending. He was still young, but he'd played a lot of football. I see it doing the Charger games. I've seen linebackers come through there. Drew Trankel is a great example of someone who got better as he went along. Deion Henley last year, year two, you saw the spike take place. So I think if you're a team that has a whole and off the ball linebacker and you are trying to win and be competitive right now, I think there's there's reason to go on the better. Right. That's the position I mentioned because that's where there's a lot of younger starters,
Starting point is 00:05:52 Nick Bolton, Ernest Jones, Drey Greenlaw's not as young. Can Ernest Jones stay somewhere? He's been a good player in three different places at a young age. Like, it's time for him to settle in. He's out there negotiating on Twitter with the Seahawks,
Starting point is 00:06:06 like responding to negative tweets about him that he had an injury, which is that's not a great sign. Let's talk about who has the most cap space in this entire market. And do you believe there is such a thing as too much cap space? The Patriots have $127 million, which to me is a failure.
Starting point is 00:06:26 Like, that's why they spend all that money? You don't have enough of your own players that command money, which means you're not very good, which is why they're picking where they're picking in the draft. The Raiders have 95, the Chargers have 90, the Cardinals have 78, Commander 64. And my issue is there's too much cap space, though. But different reasons. So if you go through those teams, like, let's take the Chargers and the commanders. The Chargers took their medicine last year.
Starting point is 00:06:49 So, you know, think about all the dead money that they had. Keenan is gone, Echler's gone, Mike Williams is gone. So they kind of ate that last year. So now they're freed up with some money. And obviously a good bit of free agents of their own that, you know, Khalil Mack, I would imagine they'll try and get back in the fold, Puna Ford, who played well. So some of those internal players, I think, eat up some of that money. And then Washington, that is the picture of what it looks like when you hit on a top quarterback,
Starting point is 00:07:14 you can have your cake and eat it too. I mean, they have all that space and they have the most important position secured and they're paying them next to nothing. yet they signed so many one-year veteran free agents last year that when you look at their roster, they've got about 10 starting jobs to fill. So Adam Peters is going to earn his money this offseason. But when you look, like more than half the league now is more than $40 million. Like the money that's come in with this TV money, and it's much harder to find great players than it is to spend your cap space, unless you're the Saints. Yeah. They actually are graded.
Starting point is 00:07:47 And they just push it out. I just push it out in the future. The interesting thing is I've talked to a bunch of GMs over the last, you know, through the combine over the last couple weeks. And all of them, when I go, are you going to be aggressive on free agency? You guys got a lot of money. Yeah. We're going to wait for that second wave. Yeah. And they all say this.
Starting point is 00:08:02 And then free agency starts and we're all going to be like, oh my gosh, look at how much money. This guy just got. But they all have the intention of being patient. You, we mentioned the Chargers. So let's mention it here. Joey Bosa released late Wednesday night. Not a shock.
Starting point is 00:08:17 They open up $25 million in cap space, which you rarely see anymore. like a cut, like helping you that much, but they kind of set this up a year ago knowing it might be a possibility. Not a shock. I put him at number 56 in my top 101. I really struggled with what to do because, sure, he has a higher ceiling
Starting point is 00:08:35 than almost any pass rusher out there. Like if you got peak Joey Bosa, that's better than Josh Sweat, obviously. But he hasn't been healthy for three years. If you add up the snap total over the last three years, it adds up to about a thousand snaps. And most of that's last year, which I don't need to tell you,
Starting point is 00:08:49 he was out there not 100% almost trying to prove he could play hurt but he wasn't the same Joey Bosa for most of the year. There were just little flashes early in the year. Yeah, I think he's an example and we'll see some others in this list in your list here of you're going to see incentive-laden contracts.
Starting point is 00:09:06 So you're going to get asked because you put a list together, what's this player you're going to get? And the answer should be, well, it's going to be dependent on how he plays because there's going to be a base number for someone like Joey Bosa and it's going to be heavily incentivized. If he does stay healthy, he can get what his worth is. And I wouldn't be surprised if, you know,
Starting point is 00:09:24 he combines with his brother up in San Francisco. They're looking for some edge. That would be fun. Let's talk about the strength of the draft. Yeah. I mean, you take it over. Your top 50 prospects is out as of Thursday. Yeah, it's fresh off a little update here from the combine. It always some changes here once you get official measurements on these guys too. But it's in a unique draft in that we don't have a quarterback until you get to Cam Ward. There's my 10th overall player. You have a running back and two tight ends in the top six players. Don't know that there's ever been a year quite like that. But if we were to go beyond what you see on the screen right here with these top 10 players and you look at the entire top 50, man, Greg, it is
Starting point is 00:10:04 defensive line heavy. It is loaded with both DTs and edge rushers. You want a running back. There's premier running backs in this draft. There's depth in this class. tight end you see those there's top two guys up there there's tons of depth there it's kind of a weird you know draft in that regard because we've had you know receivers there's depth but not the high end stars that we've had in the in the past few years quarterbacks last year we have those six guys go it's nothing like that so it's going to be fascinating to see how this marries up with your list and my list looking at free agency looking at the draft and seeing how the draft is going to inform what happens Well, let's do it. Let's like kind of look at, I had the top 50 list. You have your top 50. I had top
Starting point is 00:10:48 101. I mean, I'm working more than double as hard as you. I have a top 150 that comes out before my event. But I mean, hey, that's only 49. We're going to be doing this show every week. So I'm looking forward to picking your list apart a little bit. Like, Mason Graham's the top five guy. Can even stay on the field on rundowns? Like stay tuned for more of that. But when we look at the different on rundowns, is that you said? Yeah, you think he's like a three-down guy. He's an unbelievable wrestler who's never on the ground, plays with leverage and power. Are we going to have this conversation already? Are we doing this now? No, I just, that was my first draft hot take. Looking at the different positions, you have five running backs in your top 50. Did you watch the Alabama game in the
Starting point is 00:11:27 playoffs last year? The year before. I thought there were some games where like good teams actually made their plan around attacking Mason Graham a little bit. Yeah, like Ohio State, the best team in the country that tried to attack him. How'd that go? I mean, I am feeling the heat from having like a Michigan grad. We did well. How long did we get along? Was that 10 minutes? Too long. Drew said 10 minutes. That's probably the over. I would have taken the under on that, but that's okay. So we talked strengths of this class. You say obviously the defensive line. I would agree that that that's also a strength of the three agent class. Defensive line, you have 14 in your top 50. I have 12 in my top 50. Yeah, that's crazy. And what does that do? So that's where I go. So that's where I go.
Starting point is 00:12:06 back to, like, I think Milton Williams may be the exception because of the age and he's healthy and he can, you know, he can rush from inside. So maybe he's thinking he's going to get 20. Maybe that number is more like 15, 16, you know, somewhere in there. He's going to, he's going to do well. But some of these other guys, like, I think you're going to see teams put the number and say, here's the number. If you, you know, you want to do a deal, we'll do a deal. But we're not going to negotiate. We're not going to move off that number because of the sheer number of guys we got. There are guys in this class, like, at, a free agents. Aziz I think would be like an interesting pick up.
Starting point is 00:12:38 Solid player. Like Treshawn Wharton, I feel like I rank too low. Do you ever, do you question your list? They don't let me do a 2.0. I would move him up 20 spots or so. I think I had them too low. But guys like that maybe get left behind, whereas other positions,
Starting point is 00:12:51 offensive line have such a premium. Are we at the point that offensive linemen in the draft is almost like quarterbacks in the draft? And I do it on my free agency list where I artificially have to put them high. just because there aren't any, and there aren't any in either space. It feels like this year, at least.
Starting point is 00:13:12 Yeah, when I was in Baltimore, we had a legendary scout, Ron Marconak, who'd scouted for 40, 50 years, he since passed away. But we called him Coach Ron. And Coach Ron, one of the first things he told me in one of my first years in the league was when you're grading players,
Starting point is 00:13:24 when you're grading offensive linemen in corners, whatever you watch the tape and whatever you think he is, you need to bump him up a level. Because if you don't, you're never going to get him. If you're waiting for the value at tackle or corner to match, you know, you're great and where they are.
Starting point is 00:13:38 You're never going to get them. They get pushed up. So you have to do the same thing in terms of what you're paying these guys. And in this year, in particular, the tackle group, there's not a lot of starting NFL tackles and they all go really early.
Starting point is 00:13:50 So a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, people are wondering, why the heck did they move off of Joe Tooney? Well, they, as you saw in the Super Bowl, have a glaring need at left tackle. And you have the center, right guard, right tackle taken care of. We need a left guard and a left tackle now.
Starting point is 00:14:05 maybe Ronnie Stanley, you could argue, makes a ton of sense for them. Go get a former Raven like they did with Orlando Brown that worked out when they had a tackle need. You go sign Ronnie Stanley. Now, that's the Joe Tooney money that's going to Stanley. And now that left guard is a lot easier to find a left guard at the bottom of the first round or the second round or the third round. You're not finding a starting tackle at that point in time. Yeah, I have actually a bunch of interior offensive linemen in my top 50 just because, again,
Starting point is 00:14:32 there's not many people out there. Tevin Jenkins played a lot. Mackay Beckettin has moved up there after some cuts. Like Kevin Zellner, you got Banks. Can play a year for you. Aaron Banks, you mentioned Will Fries is another. Not a lot of sexy names here. I don't have a single tight end.
Starting point is 00:14:48 This is a fun class of running backs and tight ends. You have five running backs in your top 50. You have four tight ends. I have a total of two running backs and no tight ends in my top 50. Let me give you two guys. I didn't see where you had them on your list here. I don't have it in front of me. Maybe you can pull it up.
Starting point is 00:15:05 But I'd be curious on, like, J.K. Dobbin, so I saw last year. Yeah, he just missed it. And like Najee Harris, right? Those guys are productive players, good players, not on the high end, but because of the depth of the running backs in the draft, I wonder if one of those guys, like a player of that ilk is, you could get like a real value on these guys. But would you rather have Najee Harris for, they're throwing out that he might get $8, $10 million a year?
Starting point is 00:15:33 I'll maybe believe that when I see it. Without you say anything, I would have said he was going to get six to eight million. Okay. I think Jacob Dobbins would get less probably. Aaron Jones is also out there. But again, if you want to bake that in, like what if you baked in with those two guys, five million with the incentives you go rush for 1,500, 1,500, 500, 500 yards. We'll get you up to the 8, 9 million that you're hunting.
Starting point is 00:15:55 Would you rather have those guys or like a second round running back? Wouldn't you rather have the second round running back? Well, yeah, but it also just frees you. you up. I think the second round running back in terms of the youth, the little bit more explosive option and you can, you know, you can really cook there. But the other thing is, man, if we have some of these other needs, you know, we want to go get a, you know, receiver. We have a corner need. Well, let's go, we can plug and play with this back at a reasonable price and then we can free ourselves up to go with another position there in the second round. These are the conversations
Starting point is 00:16:26 that are taking place, by the way, inside the room. Right. Because like if you don't, if you're Kansas City, for instance, and where they're drafting, you can't expect to have a good left tackle. You're not getting one. That's why, to me, they have to overpay. And that's why I don't know, because we're talking about a free agency in the draft. We're not talking trades, but they've gone that route before. I just don't know you're going to find many people willing to part with a starting caliber left tackle. So all roads lead to Ronnie Stanley is what I'm getting. Yeah. Next on the list that left tackle is Cam Robinson or a little bit throughout his whole career. been up and down. A little up and down. Dan Moore, guys, maybe Tyron Smith comes back? Like,
Starting point is 00:17:05 no. Probably not. Not something you want to go into the season with. Defensive linemen, who, I'm curious who are some of your favorites? I'm going to talk about, like, when you look at the free agency class, usually guys don't get to free agency unless teams are okay losing them, which is a little bit of a red flag. Like Ojilari, I mentioned, more of a situational guy, never was consistent, like a three-down type of guy. Tershan Wharton, maybe just, they couldn't pay him. He's next to Chris Jones. He was with the chiefs. On Wuzareke for the Lions is a good young player, but it took a while for him. Elaine McNeil's been paid. They have to pay Hutchinson. Right. Then you have guys coming off of injury. I would be really into Malcolm
Starting point is 00:17:46 Coons, who missed all of 2024 but played really well in 2023. Javon Hargrave is a guy who is once a top my free agent list now coming off of an injury. DeMarcus Lawrence. Like how in rooms are you managing like taking one of those guys? versus the draft, like, and the strength of it all. So defensive tackles, I've had this conversation with multiple people, similar to what I've said earlier, which is, we like you, you'll help us, here's the number. And it's like, there's no negotiation. Like, we'll take you at this number, but there's no reason for us to negotiate with you
Starting point is 00:18:19 and go beyond where we're comfortable because of, I've got, I've got in my top 50, number four, 25, 27, 32, 43, 49, six defensive tackles in my top 50. And beyond those guys, I have another 10 plus that I feel like can come in and at least be rotational starters for me. But what if I threw the theory out there that this is not a great draft class and you guys who are all in the draft industrial complex, you're staring at these guys, you know, someone's got to go number 30, number 40, number 50. You've almost convinced yourself into that this is a good defensive line class,
Starting point is 00:18:56 whereas the whole class is a little whack luster and maybe last year they had to I'll be around later. Yeah, I would say defensive tackle-wise, I'm looking at the guys right now, and it is not, there's no 280-pound guys that I'm dreaming and wishing and hoping are going to add 20 pounds. There's no 300, I'm talking about 340 guys that, 340-pound guys need to lose weight. I'm not talking about guys who can't move. I'm talking about guys who are all 6364-305 to 315 that ran sub-5 flat or just over
Starting point is 00:19:26 five flat 40s. Like, these guys are athletic, big, athletic dudes. And we saw it at the Senior Bowl. It was representative there. We saw it with how they worked out. I don't think there's anything fluky or made up about this defensive tackle class. I'm going to just keep taking shots at this draft. No, but that's what's good.
Starting point is 00:19:44 This is a healthy discourse. I... You does have a nice watch. It's hard to get mad at somebody. I didn't even know that was showing, but that is new. I couldn't see for a couple seconds from the Galaerica. It was a gift. It was a gift.
Starting point is 00:19:56 I bet it was a gift. You're running. We cannot afford that. I don't know what's going on around here. Okay, sorry. Let's take a break. We're going to come back and we're going to talk quarterbacks afterwards. Try to figure out because, look, this is the last show before free agency really gets going.
Starting point is 00:20:13 By the time we tape again, a lot of these quarterback situations will be taken care of, we'll be placed. We'll try to figure out how that all works after the break. Hey, this is Matt Jones. And I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game.
Starting point is 00:20:39 What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin. the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more.
Starting point is 00:21:05 What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots,
Starting point is 00:21:27 from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig into coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a die-hard fan or just love understanding the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture.
Starting point is 00:21:48 If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, This podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Fiorio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies.
Starting point is 00:22:21 whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. All right, we are back on 40s and free agents, and we are going to talk quarterbacks. This is my time of year. Like, in a week or two, we're going to be past free agency.
Starting point is 00:22:52 It'll be draft, and DJ's just going to try to dominate this show. The quarterbacks this year, it's an interesting free agents class. It's deep. Sam Darnold, I have it fourth overall. Justin Field, 19th, James Winston, Russell Wilson, Jacoby Brissette in the 50s and 60s, Jimmy Garapolo, Daniel Jones, rounding it out in terms of the top 100. And there's, like, decent backups available after that. I just didn't want to, like, make every backup quarterback make it.
Starting point is 00:23:17 My guy, Mac Jones. I mean, everyone forgot about him. he's a free agent. Joe Flacko's a free agent. Gardner Minchu is a free agent. And it's kind of figuring out at this time of year, DJ, how do you compare these guys to the draft prospects compared to the potential trade candidates if there's any out there? Aaron Rogers will eventually be on this list because I don't think they're going to be able to trade it. I'm going to start there actually. Where would you put Aaron Rogers among this entire group? It is such a short-term move. I would, in terms of
Starting point is 00:23:50 Aaron Rogers on this list, I would put him probably a third. I would put him behind fields. I'm looking at your list right now. To me, if I look at it from a draft standpoint, who signs as a free agent that would preclude you from taking a quarterback high in the draft? And I only see two. I think whoever signs Sam Darnold, if he were to leave Minnesota, he goes and signed somewhere. I think that team is out on taking a quarterback for the first round. I think whoever
Starting point is 00:24:15 signs Justin Fields, I think it's likely that they wait on a, you know, let's evaluate him for a year and maybe our quarterback. It's not him is coming in the future. But outside of those top two guys, you know, Winston, Russell Wilson, Jacoby Brissette, Garoppel, Daniel Jones, those guys are not going to stop you if the quarterback you like is there to take him. I'd go further. I would say none of these quarterbacks would.
Starting point is 00:24:37 You're changing your draft plan for Sam Darnold? Like, I am interested. I don't think you're going to spend the money that it's going to cost on Sam Darnold. If you're a team picking up there in the top of the draft. and you plan on taking a court? But what if he doesn't cost that much money? I think as we get closer to free agency, there is a greater chance that he ends up staying with Minnesota
Starting point is 00:24:59 because ultimately the market isn't that into him. The Raiders, we've heard maybe not that into him. I don't think he's going to the Raiders. I actually could see the Titans being interested in him, but if you're the Titans, for instance, and you're going after Sam Darnold, have you already made the decision that you're not drafting Cam Ward. In general, have they made the decision, do you think of what they're going to do
Starting point is 00:25:23 at quarterback? And I have Sean Payton's voice in my head from the scouting combine, where I believe him, he said at this point in the process last year, they didn't know they were going to take Nixie. They also weren't holding the first overall pick. Your homework starts a little earlier when you're holding the first overall pick than it does when you're sitting there and seeing who's going to fall to you and who do you like at that point in time. I would say, I don't think he goes to Tennessee. I think Sam Donald, if I was going to guess, I would say if it's like a one-term deal, a one-year deal, I would say, why would you leave Minnesota? If you're not going to go outside of Minnesota to chase a one-year deal because you already
Starting point is 00:25:57 know what you have there in Minnesota, it's basically a prove-it situation. Right. If he gets beyond one year, I could make a case at a place like Pittsburgh, you know. Pittsburgh seems to me like it is Sam Donald, Justin Fields, Justin Fields, Sam Darnold, one of those guys would be their quarterback. And that's why a team like that, they're in no man's land in the draft to get one of these guys anyways. Yeah, and that's why I don't think it would change. I think Fields ends up with the Jets or with the Steelers. I think the Steelers want to keep him, so that would make a lot of sense to me.
Starting point is 00:26:28 I think Darnold ends up staying, and you asked before, I'll answer it now, how much it would cost. I think you maybe can get Sam Darnold for $45 million on two years, on two years, on two years, on two years. So you're saying 22 and a half? But most of it's guaranteed, like 10 of it's guaranteed into the second year where you have an option to cut him. Maybe it's fit. I just don't think with everything that GMs are looking at for this quarterback class and then there's decent backups out there, those last two games, I think lost him a lot of money.
Starting point is 00:27:02 Because you saw him play in the biggest of spots. And he froze and it reminded everyone why he was available two straight off seasons for almost no money. And so now you're giving him a raise, but you're not giving him that big a raise. So here's my pushback on that. And I'm outed and known as a Sam Darnold fan, I was when he came out. Leader of the hive. He bounced around and hasn't worked.
Starting point is 00:27:22 This is why I would push back on that. I think the Detroit game, Sam did not play well. I'm not going to run from that or hide from that. He did not play well on the road in that game. Wouldn't let go of the ball. The playoff game, their offensive line got destroyed in that game. And I would argue that if you're going to make that case, then how do you explain what happened in the Super Bowl?
Starting point is 00:27:43 and how do you not acknowledge the impact of getting destroyed up front and what that has on the play of the quarterback? And I also have 14-game sample size. That's not a small sample of him playing it at a very, very high level when he was protected. He didn't get protected, he got his butt kicked. I don't run from that. One terrible game, I don't put the playoff game on Sanct.
Starting point is 00:28:02 Okay. So if we're going to talk numbers... I would more than you would. So my take is, I think if it's a one-year deal against State in Minnesota, If you can go get a two-year deal, whether that's Pittsburgh, whether that's, you know, wherever else is out there at that point in time, I don't, you know, if he wants to go running back to the New York market, I don't know that I'd be in a hurry to do that with the Giants instead of the Jets,
Starting point is 00:28:22 but that would be, you know, at least a conversation. My guess is he gets two years. I'll say it's like $30 million in the first year. Okay. And I'll say there's five, a little something for the second year guaranteed. Whether that's $5 million, maybe as much as $10, but I would say just a little something. We're parking our car in the same garage. That's basically.
Starting point is 00:28:43 That's the same. You just raised it a little bit. What about the guy's not on this list? So Kirk Cousins, I saw a report that he wants to wait until after the draft because he doesn't. He wants to see what seats get filled. He got, look what happened in the draft last year. Right. But he doesn't have the cards.
Starting point is 00:28:59 Right. Can Kirk Cousins dictate? Maybe there isn't a market for him until day three of the draft anyways, which would make more sense to me. And I guess they would want to do right by Kirk Cousins and Cleggs. Cleveland could make some sense. Who gets left out between the draft and free agency? There's too many spots that are wide open. But he's a free look.
Starting point is 00:29:20 Yes. If he gets released. He won't cost much money. It's going to be Russell Wilson from last year. Yes. You're going to pay him a million bucks because the Falcons are cutting a check, which makes him way more desirable for a place like Cleveland, who has not a lot of money to spend because of how much they have sunk in Watson.
Starting point is 00:29:36 And he has familiarity there. I actually could convince myself more into Kirk Cousins than some of these other guys, because I was, I thought it was remarkable how productive and how well he played in games where he literally couldn't move. He, like, they figured it out for about half the season there and now you make the case. He's a year more removed from Achilles surgery and maybe he's a little bit healthy. Let me ask you this question. Nobody's talked about this, but I think it's a fascinating conversation. If, let's say Sam Donald leaves, Sam Donald goes to the Steelers, right? So he's gone. If you're Minnesota, here's the options, right? You have
Starting point is 00:30:10 JJ, you're hoping he's going to be the guy, but you need a veteran there. You have Daniel Jones who's been on your team last year. You have Kirk Cousins is available to come back as, you know, buying you a little more time with Jay, would you rather have Daniel Jones with what he's going to cost, which I would have to believe is a lot more than what Kirk Cousins because of the Falcons and the way that contract was situated, you could get Kurt Cousins back in Minnesota for next to nothing. Who would you rather have? That's so spicy that I I can't believe no one else has thought of it. I've never heard anybody bring this up.
Starting point is 00:30:43 Nate actually said very nice things about each other in the press. They handled that pretty well. Can I challenge our group here? This will be post-produce. We can't stump the tape. This isn't stump the truck. Maybe in post. Maybe by the time this airs.
Starting point is 00:30:56 We're a podcast primarily. But in the time this airs, we could drop this little thing in here. Because when they played after the game was over, I had Justin Jefferson and Kirk Cousins had a moment. It was caught on camera. And there is a lot of love between those guys. Okay. So I'm just, I don't know.
Starting point is 00:31:12 If I'm looking at Daniel Jones and what that market is, I don't know if that's the Minshu market. What is that? 15 million bucks the minchew got. Or it's Kirk Cousin saying, I'll come back and you literally pay me the minimum because I'm making all this money from the foul. I think Daniel Jones could be the guy who, in theory,
Starting point is 00:31:26 is competing with Anthony Richardson. I think Justin Fields could be that guy, but they're not going to let them. You said something very interesting in public, which got on my radar this week, which is you thought you wouldn't be totally surprised if Gino Smith got traded. Yeah, I just, to me, D.K.'s gone, right?
Starting point is 00:31:47 We think. We think. Well, yeah, he's requested a trade. It could be done by the time you're listening to this. I would imagine that's going to happen in short order. Okay. So, D.K.'s gone. It just feels like at Gino's, what, 34 maybe, mid-30s. Like, there's moments in an organization where you have a coach in his second year
Starting point is 00:32:06 where it just kind of feels like this could be a reset for Seattle. This is an opportunity to reset. Now, the challenge is who's, you know, who's your quarterback at that point in time? Right. They actually would be the team that I think would extend for Sam Darnold, maybe, and would convince them. Yeah, they could get into that. That's why this would have to happen pretty quick, but they could get in on that. That hurts my feelings.
Starting point is 00:32:29 But I have- What would you do, though, if as the president of the Gino fan club and the president of the Sam Darnold Haters Club, if somehow Gino was out and Sam was in? Well, I would just, I would just root against Sam Darnold next year, root for his demise. Like I've been, it is very annoying that the Sam Darnold hive contains some of my favorite analysts in the, in the country. Nate Tice, Mina.
Starting point is 00:32:54 Mina, Kimes. Unfortunately, you're part of it, too. So I don't get what they're seeing that you don't, because Gino Smith would be atop this list for me. To me, he has played more consistently at a higher level, higher level playing. I think he's more, I think he's more of a complete quarterback
Starting point is 00:33:11 than any of these guys. And this goes to cousins too. And again, this is why I love this conversation because we can just see where it takes us and then go there. But I think there is a little bit
Starting point is 00:33:19 of a market correction in terms of older quarterbacks where you had Tom Brady, well, you had Aaron Rogers, first of all, playing MVP level, you know, going up to the age of 40, like getting, you know,
Starting point is 00:33:30 towards 40. You had Tom Brady winning a Super Bowl after 40. And there was this kind of belief of like, you know, these quarterbacks, they're all going to be great. into their late 30s.
Starting point is 00:33:38 Right. And then all of a sudden, we saw Russell Wilson fall off a cliff. Matt Ryan. We saw Matt Ryan fall off a cliff. We saw Ben, you know, when his thing happened, you know, he had kind of fallen up. You go back a little ways. The normal thing is most of these guys, when you get into the mid-30s, it starts to really tail off.
Starting point is 00:33:54 Those guys, Aaron Rogers, Tom Brady, those were the exceptions. Right. And even Aaron Rogers, people are still betting on that now. If Aaron Rogers plays for a team this year and plays well, he will be the most productive 41-year-old quarterback of all time behind Tom Brady, which is why I think he fits in New York with the Giants. I don't know where else. That's a desperation move.
Starting point is 00:34:15 I don't know who the Giants are going to have a quarterback. And I've had this conversation with a bunch of different people, and everybody says the same thing. It feels like Aaron Rogers robust. But if they have Aaron Rogers, do they move up or potentially take Cam Ward at three, which I think. I think if Cam Ward were there, they would take Cam Ward. The longer we go in the process, and this is a good time to transition,
Starting point is 00:34:34 Let's look at the quarterbacks in your top 50. Tell me if I'm wrong. The longer this goes on, you have Cam Ward as your 10th overall prospect, Shador Sanders, at 18. So actually not that huge of a gap from our guy, Jeremiah, 40 for Jackson Dart. The longer it goes on, the more I just think Cam Ward's going to be
Starting point is 00:34:54 the number one overall draft pick, not because he's necessary. Whether it's Tennessee or the Giants, you know, coming up. Because people are making it out to be, okay, if you put them in last year's draft, where is he? Wouldn't he be right there with Pennix and McCarthy at the least? And those guys went in the top 10.
Starting point is 00:35:11 And so if you're telling me he's a top 10 talented quarterback and everyone needs quarterbacks in this class that... He's going to go. There's no question. He's going to be one of the first three picks in the draft. Okay. I would take that to the bank. What about one?
Starting point is 00:35:24 No, I think there's a good chance of that. Whether or not that's Tennessee deciding to do it or whether that's somebody wanting to pay the price to go up. All it takes is one. So if the Giants, you know, want it, if they don't get Rogers, or even if they did get Rogers, do you think Rogers and Cam, like, do you, would you trust? That's why I don't want to sign Rogers at all. It's just too much of a headache. Him and the guy that you're, you're trusting the future of your franchise, that kind of boxes you out. Well, maybe we get some spice then. Maybe, you know, we're, as we're recording this, we're a few days away from free agency, right? There's enough of a window there. If I'm the Giants, I don't want to get caught with nothing. It literally is a game of musical chairs in. If you think you can make the move to go to number one to secure that you get Cam Ward, then, okay, we do that, we don't worry about Aaron Rogers, let's just roll with who we're
Starting point is 00:36:12 going to get with the first overall pick. Make the move in March. You don't have to wait until, what I'm saying is if you get the free agency and you're still sitting at pick number three and you're just saying, you know, we'll just wait until the draft. Well, then you better like more than one quarterback if that's the case. So shoulder Sanders might slip in this draft, you might not. I just said all the teams that need quarterbacks.
Starting point is 00:36:31 And that's why I think... Can I cut you off there, by the way? Because this is a popular... It's a popular TV segment. It's a popular conversation. How far will he slide? And the whole league doesn't like Shedur Sanders. And I'm like, do you realize, right, it only takes one team?
Starting point is 00:36:47 Sure. You might have all the sources in the world. I don't care who you are. The most connected people in this business do not have rock solid going to tell you the true sources in all 32 buildings. So these people that are saying, well, he's going to do this or he's going to do that. I'm like, there's no way for anybody to know this. And I think this is a fit draft, more than any other that I can ever remember.
Starting point is 00:37:06 I think Shadur Sanders is a really good fit for a team like the Raiders. I think he makes sense as a fit for a team like the Saints. So all it takes is one of those teams. So don't buy in, and it's not just a Shadur-Sanders conversation. It's a player in general when you hear everybody's punning on this guy and everybody's out on him. I'm like, no, it takes one team. Well, this class, I think, is going to have more disagreement up. down the board than any because it feels like there's only two or three players that everyone
Starting point is 00:37:34 agrees on. But to the quarterback point, just logically. Tennessee, Cleveland, Giants, Raiders, Jets, I'll throw the Saints in there. That's just in the top nine picks. They all need quarterbacks. And I tend to agree with you. I tend to think that the Saints would maybe be the floor. I don't know if they're crazy enough, although Mickey Loomis has been known to make some crazy
Starting point is 00:37:58 trades to trade up for Shadur Sanders, but if he fell to nine... Can I give you the sneaky quarterback team, though? Please. Because we were just talking about him with Seattle. Okay. I don't know who their guy would be. I don't know, which, you know, if that's, maybe that's more they want to take a flyer on somebody on the second day.
Starting point is 00:38:15 You know, maybe that's Jackson Dart. Maybe that's, you know, Tyler Shuck, one of those type of guys that you could get, maybe you trade back a little bit, take one bottom of the first, maybe you take one in the second round. But I was kind of just going through all these teams. and just because of the conversation we had about Gino getting a little bit older and not knowing if they could pivot, then all of a sudden you get another team that's in the quarterback mix a little bit.
Starting point is 00:38:36 So Seattle, yeah, picking at 18, they would theoretically have more draft capital because they've traded away D.K. Metcalf, you could use that to make a move. I mean, I didn't mention it before, though. There is one screaming logical team for Gino Smith, and it's his old buddy Pete Carroll. Like those two guys are... That solves their problem.
Starting point is 00:38:57 Those two guys are boys. I like that. I would accept that for Gino Smith. I think that could work out. They'd spend a lot of money in free agency. Like we mentioned all the money that is out there we're going to see over the next week. But it will be interesting to see how teams spend at quarterback. I think the markets change a little bit.
Starting point is 00:39:17 I think the Daniel Jones contract was part of it. And then the Baker Mayfield contract, the first one he took with Tampa being so effective was part of it. He's like, you don't have to pay Daniel Jones-level quarterbacks, and I would consider darn old or fields, like, around that or a little lower. You don't have to pay them 85% of Joe Burrow. It doesn't make any sense. It's really half what it is. I think $30 million is kind of that, that's going to be that veteran market.
Starting point is 00:39:42 Our salary cap is just costing these top-tier quarterbacks so much money, because you can't tell me that Patrick Mahomes is the same, essentially, as, like, the eighth quarterback in the league who gets that similar. There's fun games to play, though, when you cross different positions and value and look at the numbers and then try and wrap your mind around it. Last year, my favorite was I got a lot of text. They were saying that the Eagles just get Sequin Barclay for Gabe Davis prices. Right. And I was like, yeah. Doritz Armstrong got more money than Sequin Barclay last year, which is why it was good. They gave more money. Speaking of weird dollars, you know, Tutu Atwell sign, I just want to throw this out because I like, you know, we're a new news show too. Tutu Atwell got 10 million. I have a few. I have a few outwell got 10 million. I have a few. I have a few. there were people around the league that were like, what are you doing to us? I had a decision maker that shot me.
Starting point is 00:40:31 I actually, I was ahead of it. I sent him that contract and then he was not. He was like, yeah, that didn't help. I think they had somebody else in mind for a price, someone in that neighborhood and I just said, yeah, if this is where the market is, you're not getting said player for that price. He has about 1,000 yards through four years.
Starting point is 00:40:49 I feel like Sean McVeigh's been justifying that draft. But I like Tutu Out. It was a nice development story. that he improved to a solid fourth receiver, which he can be for them. And I guess he's more of a third receiver for them if they're paying $10,000. But he's getting double the money of DeMarcus Robinson a year ago.
Starting point is 00:41:04 DeMarcus Robinson was a better player. That tells me Sean McVeigh's got all the juice in the building. Hold on now. I want to, this is real time here. What year was he was Tutu Atwell? 22? Yeah, four years ago. So 22.
Starting point is 00:41:17 So I'm just going to see where I had him because I was curious on this, because I like going through. Tutu Atwell. He was a late second round pick in the end, but a shocking one. Very, very little. He weighs about 10 more pounds. You sure it was 22?
Starting point is 00:41:30 He's played four years in league, so it would be 21. Yeah, 21. It's a wrong year. I'm looking in the wrong file. Can I give you a theory while you're looking? Yeah, go for it. It reminds me a lot of the Tavon Austin scene with Jeff Fisher in Hard Knocks, which I think it was the off-season hard knocks, which probably only I watched all or nothing,
Starting point is 00:41:47 where it was a great moment. Tavon Austin, this guy, everyone called the bus, a developmental story, improved to like a pretty decent player and they just loved him as a person and so they gave him that contract. Everyone felt so good in the organization in the moment. It was almost worth it just for that moment.
Starting point is 00:42:02 Ended up not being a very good contract at all. It reminds me of a light version of that. Everyone probably loves Tutu Atwell. It's a great moment, but it doesn't make any sense. Okay, Tutu Atwell was my 79th player. So you said he went like in the 50s? In the 50s. So he was just under 5-9, 155 pounds,
Starting point is 00:42:20 ran a 435 at his pro day. I talked about jet sweeps. He's dynamic. He can separate. He's got a second-year ball in the air. He's got some route polish. He was a high school quarterback. Throw the ball 70 yards on his knees.
Starting point is 00:42:31 Just threw that in there for fun. They haven't used that. But I said he was a miniature T.Y. Hilton, that's too. Like, if you're hoping that he was going to, what he was going to be, like, that's, but he hasn't been. He's turned into a pretty good role player. Ram's fans in the front office will defend him as he, he stretches the field and that opens it up and he's improved. Like, so he's basically a good number four getting like good number three money, I guess. Can I give him?
Starting point is 00:42:52 you have fun podcast topic? Sure. What if you just did a tournament? Like it was like it was a fighting tournament between the, but the lightweight division. Yeah. So you have like Calvin Austin versus Tutuatwell and round one square enough. Who would you rather have? I'm just saying that's just, that would be fun to watch. I thought you were going to throw me in the mix. It's an idea. I'm like a little below that weight class. They've got a little more muscle. It's not an idea worthy of the watch that you're wearing, but it is definitely something I'm aspiring to. Okay. More to come on 40s in. free agents back in a minute.
Starting point is 00:43:28 Hey, this is Matt Jones. I'm Drew Franklin. And this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my.
Starting point is 00:43:43 We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero. with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.
Starting point is 00:44:11 On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team-building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the things. the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding
Starting point is 00:44:47 the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight, that goes to Beyond the Box Score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning.
Starting point is 00:45:22 Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet, we've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. We are back on 40s and 3. So we are going to wrap up the show with an exercise that I'm excited. about. We're going to talk about building around some of these young quarterbacks in the league. And all three of them are in the top 10 of the draft in terms of their team is
Starting point is 00:46:03 picking in the top 10 of the draft. The Patriots are at number four. They're there with Drake May. Trevor Lawrence, who frankly, we're being a little generous, calling him a young quarterback at this point. Like, he's two years into his second contract. And this is what I was talking about. Everyone gets, like, Patrick Mahomes money. Trevor Lawrence is making the same money as like Lamar Jackson and Patrick Gahomes. It doesn't really help your team building. And Caleb Williams is the 10th pick of the draft in terms of the Bears. And we're going to go through, and I'm going to suggest some team building I want to see in
Starting point is 00:46:34 free agency. I'm the free agent. You can grade my free agent general manager jobs. And then when we get to the draft portion, we'll see how I did. And you'll choose what you want to do building around these guys in the draft. So Drake May. Let's start there. Number four overall pick.
Starting point is 00:46:51 The number one thing I'm going to do is I'm going to trade for D.K. Metcath. Yep. And I'm going to tell you what you're going to trade. You're going to trade the 38th pick. Okay. I think that could get it done. I think that would get it. Supposedly he wants to play for a contender and he. I don't know if D.K. is going to love that, but that's, you know, if I'm on the Patriots, yeah, 38th pick, make that move. They've got Mike Rabel. They've got a lot of targets available because they've got three or four guys who probably profile well as a number three receiver, but not even a number two. this point. You've got a quarterback who loves to throw it deep, throw it to the outside.
Starting point is 00:47:25 It's a nice fit. Okay, that's number one. Number two, I'm going to sign and maybe overpay Cam Robinson or Morgan Moses if Cam Robinson just gets too crazy. And these guys aren't going to change my life, but it's what they didn't do a year ago. Yeah. They had a terrible plan where they had no backup plan. They had no even starting plan. And to me, this is more of a backup plan. You want to develop, it would not stop you from drafting. Still taking alignment. I'll get there. Right. It would not stop you from drafting a tackle, but at least it just, okay, there's one tackle spot. They need two tackle spots filled. Man, I saw them with the Chargers last year up close and personal.
Starting point is 00:48:01 That is rough, rough supporting group that he's got there, especially at the tackle position. So I like that. Anybody else you want to lob in there? I mean, Ronnie Stanley, they would have liked to get, but I feel like that's going to go too much. And then I'm looking on the defensive side of the ball, too, so it's not just building around Drake May. I think Nick Bolton would make sense for them as like a three-down linebacker you want to be building with younger players
Starting point is 00:48:25 and they need edge players. I'm going Mountain Coons as well. So it's not build up the defense as part of helping Drake Me Out. When you look at the wide receiver position in free agency, I don't know. I guess you could sign one, but they all just profile as other guy.
Starting point is 00:48:40 Like they've gone this route before taking the lower tier like Josh Palmer type. They don't need another one of those guys. I don't think Devante Adams is in a hurry to go. to New England. The one name that I think would be kind of interesting for them from a receiver standpoint. I know wasn't great last year in terms of the production, but Keenan Allen just as kind of a veteran who can still get open on some third downs, I think, at a relative cost.
Starting point is 00:49:03 That wouldn't make some sense to me. Paris fans got on them early in the year. I tell you, if you watch the end of that season, Caleb trusted Keenan Allen. That's where the ball went. He kind of played himself into either shape or figuring out that offense. And by the end of the year, it was like, okay, I agree with you. He could, he can make. makes up sense. Let's go to Trevor Lawrence. Well, hold on. I get to do my draft with these guys. Okay. Yeah, we're gonna take, the second round pick's gone. We've already acquired D.K. Metcalfe,
Starting point is 00:49:28 so that's taken care of. But now you've got between now and the draft to decide if you want Armand Membo, if you want Will Campbell. So we're committed to taking an offensive line with that. Are they a difference maker enough? There's such an upgrade and you're not gonna have to worry about them. So, you know, you've got a starter plug in place for eight to ten years. Like, they can't trot out there what they had last year. And we just talked about it at the top of the show. If you want an offensive tackle, you've got to pay the premium.
Starting point is 00:49:55 It might be a little bit earlier than you want to. If you want one in for ages, you're going to cost more than you want to. But they can't run out there, Drake May behind this group. They can't. Membo seems a little more exciting to me. He is a little more. He is very talented. And you can put him at right tackle.
Starting point is 00:50:10 You put Cam Robinson at left time. There you go. So we just solved the Patriots there. What else you want to get here? Let's do Trevor Lawrence. they have the fifth overall pick in the draft. They actually have a lot of guard need on this team, and I think they should take a lesson from the team
Starting point is 00:50:27 we're going to talk about next and take care of some of it before the draft. A couple guards that I think would be out there. James Daniels actually played really well for the Steelers before he had a major injury, and maybe they can afford to kind of wait for him to get healthy. So that's one guard name that stuck out to me. Another possible option, there would be a short-term fix, like a Kevin Zeitler, just to like come in for a year while you draft and develop guys.
Starting point is 00:50:55 I actually don't love that I've heard Aaron Banks is going for like $18 million. That seems like not a great idea. But at least one guard in free agency. Yeah, Zytler is interesting to me because I thought the Bears would be a Zitler team because the Ben Johnson connection. Obviously they've gone another direction with the two trades that they've made. The Chargers have a need inside at Guard, and Zeitler was with Ortiz back in Baltimore, so there's an understanding there. I could see that making some sense.
Starting point is 00:51:22 So he's going to have a market. I was almost even wondering with them, what happens with Mackay Beckton? Is that a flyer you'd be willing to take? But as someone who can help you run the ball, because last year the Jags, we can talk about Trevor and his issues. They couldn't run the ball. They were 26th in rushing yards per game. And yet running back is like one of the positions that they're pretty set.
Starting point is 00:51:40 They've got. They're good. So they should be more productive in the world. run game than they are, which means they're not getting any push up front. I think they could be a team also that looks for a center. So center's in this market. Drew Dahlman is probably costing too much money, but you played Ryan Kelly twice a year. Maybe that's a veteran you bring in. Mitch Morse, this was surprising news that came out on Thursday, decided to retire, struggled with injuries last year, maybe didn't play as well as his contract that they were hoping for coming out of
Starting point is 00:52:06 Buffalo. So they have, they basically have to fix their whole interior line in one off season. Myers is a guy that's also out there from Green Bay. It would not surprise me if they spend there as well. And then I think they have their one in Brian Thomas. I think they could use a little bit of depth. I don't want them to go crazy at the top of the market. I actually thought your guy, Josh Palmer, in L.A., always could have been like a little better. Yeah, he always wanted just a little bit more.
Starting point is 00:52:33 And he could be a rotation guy for a decent team, though you think? I think there's a lot of similar players there. So where do you put that price tag? Yeah. Two-two Atwell money. I would, would you? I don't think I would go there. You would not for Josh Palmer.
Starting point is 00:52:47 And then on the defensive side of the ball, because I decided, I'm taking this beyond just helping the quarterbacks, they need some interior pass rushers. They actually, I think, are in a beautiful position with this new regime, Liam Cohen, where I actually don't think this team has a ton of screaming needs. They just have, like, pretty good players across the board, and they need to upgrade their overall talent.
Starting point is 00:53:08 So Levi Unwuzurike, I think, could be a fit there. You're Puna Ford, I would throw out there. Like, they could use Interior R Usher. Like, Javonne Hargrave, they're not obviously going to sign all these guys, but maybe one from that bucket and then one from the safety bucket. Do you go a little top of the market with Trayvon Mourag, who's a good young player trying to, like, establish maybe he would be like a plus starter in free agency. Yeah, I think Merrick's going to get a lot more money than people think.
Starting point is 00:53:34 And I think Jacksonville might be spending a lot in free agency. I like that. I like that move. Where they're picking, they got the fifth pick, right, with Jacksonville. So we've talked about them. I'm higher on them than Greg is because Greg doesn't go watch the playoff games from the previous year. But Mason Graham, to me, makes some sense for them along the defensive tackle position. I also think with where their needs lie, they could be a tradeback team.
Starting point is 00:53:56 Now, the challenge in this draft is who's coming up for who. To me, you could hope that there's some heat on the two tackles because it's a limited tackle pool. Maybe somebody moves up for one of those guys. Maybe you could just slide back a little bit. Okay. This will be a running. I also like Taylor because I wouldn't mind seeing him reunited there with Trayvon Walker. And we have the Walker boys just getting after it, the Georgia Bulldogs out there for him.
Starting point is 00:54:17 It's funny because Trayvon Walker is, in theory, up for an extension this year, although they have him on the fifth year deal. He's turned into a good player. He's turned into a good player. I wonder if they'll extend it. The fact that it's a new regime there, sort of. A lot of Trent Balchies guys are still there in the personnel department. Maybe it doesn't help him, but that would be interesting. Let's wrap with Caleb Williams.
Starting point is 00:54:37 They've already been going to work. before we could even get the segment. Yeah, so they add two guards, Jonah Jackson and Joe Tuny, and yet I think they could in the draft. That's up to you because these guys are maybe short-term solutions. They're another team, I think, could look at a center. They still look very thin at center.
Starting point is 00:54:58 Go with Ryan Kelly there. I actually don't think they have huge needs in free agency. So I would say save your money on offense because they have two receivers. that they really like, if you're adding a receiver, it's maybe like a Mac Hollins type. I just think good vibes. Yeah, but no shoes.
Starting point is 00:55:16 The thing with the Bears, and I'll put this to our resident Bears fan who we work with, not to be mentioned, but we were talking about the needs of having the defensive side of the ball. And my argument was, this is year one of Ben Johnson, your team, Caleb Williams. If next year at this time, Caleb Williams is coming off
Starting point is 00:55:32 of 4,500 yards, and everybody in your organization and in your city knows that he's the guy, and you guys win six or seven games, that is a successful season. Fans aren't going to want to hear that, but that's just plain facts. So when you look at resources, free agency, the draft, I am doing everything in my power. You've already hired the coach to help him. You've already made two trades to help him. If I have to be a little bit lopsided offensively versus defensively with resources,
Starting point is 00:55:57 I've got to get this guy playing well. So that's where in free agency and the draft, I'm still, I'm tilting to the offense. Yeah. And actually, they have needs at safety, which is a position where maybe you could get a decent player without spending a lot of money. We talked about the top of the safety market, but there are guys, you know, towards the back, like a Jeremy Chin or a Xavier Woods,
Starting point is 00:56:16 like guys who can play that I think they could use. I don't see crazy needs. They have Dennis Allen now running their defense, so, you know, maybe you go cheap for his old friend, Marcus Davenport just as a second edge rusher, like one year. Marcus Davenport always has a market. This time I think... Everybody's, because if he can just stay healthy,
Starting point is 00:56:35 he could, you know, he always has a market. I'm talking about bargain. basement shopping because ultimately I think they're they're showing us their priority is that offensive line he has already made those huge moves and I think they've done a nice job quickly can I give you three names for him in the draft real quick so these would be talk about helping your quarterback and the first one would be gray's able out of north Dakota state you trade back a little bit I think he's going to be the best center in the draft he's really good he was excellent at the senior bowl why not just at 10 then you I wouldn't I would not have a problem with that he's
Starting point is 00:57:04 inching his way up my list how about the center is doing so well and last year's class, do you think that could have some impact? Doesn't hurt. Yeah, Tampa got that. Supposedly, that's supposed to be a position that takes forever to work out. But Zach Frazier was awesome right away in Graham Barton, as you mentioned. Because this guy's played a crap ton of football. And that's one of the things we've seen.
Starting point is 00:57:24 It's the impact of COVID, NIL, all the other stuff going with it, that these guys have all played a zillion games. Graze Abel's played a ton of games, and they do a lot of pro-style stuff. He's played, you can play up and down the line at every position at North Dakota State. So that one, I still, I think you could get him, even if you traded back a little bit. I mentioned Ashton Genty there. I know you've got solid running backs, but he takes you to another level with what you have with him coming out of Boise State. And then Tyler Warren, knowing you have Colcomette, but let's be a 12 personnel team.
Starting point is 00:57:53 We've got a creative offensive coordinator. You line up and you've got Tyler Warren and Cole Commet who can both block as well as be weapons in the passing game. And then you've got DJ Moore and Roma Dunzee. Like, that's kind of fun all of a sudden. I love all those picks. love that they're going to be in a good position to take offense. And yes, I agree DeAndre Swift and Cole Commit I would put in the bucket of guys that would not prevent you from drafting. If you're an elite player, go get him. Go get him. Jeremiah, he's elite at what he does. Although,
Starting point is 00:58:22 I expected you to come at me a little harder on that show. Honestly, I like that. That's kind of what gets me going. It's like, I'd be honest. I was so blinded by the watch. I couldn't even like formulate your thoughts at some point. That's not even a takedown. We're going to be doing 40s and free agents every single week throughout the draft process unless Jeremiah gets sick of me. We will talk to you after the free agency frenzy. The NFL is rolling. That's right. And you should be listening to NFL Daily as we march along to Super Bowl 60.
Starting point is 00:59:03 It's in the name, NFL Daily. So you'll have fresh content in your field. all season long. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, in an all-star cast of co-hosts for previews and recaps of every single game. NFL Daily will keep you up to date with everything you need to know so you can sound smarter than all your friends.
Starting point is 00:59:20 Listen to NFL Daily on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. Ends 2-826. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. states and D.C. 18 and over. For complete details, how to enter,
Starting point is 00:59:35 prizes and official rules, visit Toyota's game day giveaways.com. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.
Starting point is 00:59:53 We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast. on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 01:00:13 I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael F.Oreo, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 01:00:44 Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL, visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. This is an IHeart podcast.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.