NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - DK Landing Spots, Thuney Traded And The Free Agents We Want To Sign

Episode Date: March 5, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Patrick Claybon to get you caught up on all the news from around the NFL including the Seahawks wide receiver room changing with DK Metcalf requesting a trade (02:10) and the team releasing Tyler Lockett (07:30), Joe Thuney being traded from the Chiefs to the Bears (09:25), the Raiders giving Maxx Crosby a contract extension (14:10), the Cowboys freeing up cap space (20:00) and more! After the break, Ollie Connolly joins the show to give you the free agents he and Gregg would want to sign (22:38). Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, 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. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

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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. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we would never request a trade out of the Chris Wesleying podcast studio. I'm here. Talking about a lot of news. It's happening, Patrick Claibon. We're doing it.

We're doing it. And I love, there's a distinction between requesting a trade because that's, that's when it, you know, people report that somebody requests a trade. And then there's the secondary, somebody has formally requested trade, which I always wonder, is that, does that involve papyrus? Like, is there a quill in this process? But I love it. I love it no matter what.

Just like someone delivering a handwritten letter. I would appreciate that. Are you John Schneider? Yes, you're served. Yeah. Spoiler alert. It's D.K. Metcalf talk at the top of this podcast. So I'm here with Patrick.

And when I'm saying like we're doing it, it's happening. The free agency frenzy, I feel like it starts earlier and earlier every year. It started to bubble up more. Tuesday was a pretty busy day. Wednesday we got even more news, including this D.K. Metcalf trade request, which was not a shock. but a surprise I would say that it's out there in the sense that the Seahawks seem very open to it

and we'll get into that in a second and then later in the show we're going to listen to myself and Ali Connolly, one of the best minds in the business and we're going to go through the free agency list and we're just got to talk about guys we'd want on our team. You've got guys that we would want to sign. So it's a pack show. And it's ahead of all this,

ahead of the frenzy to get everybody a chance to evaluate As long as, again, you have a representative to call and discuss with teams, because if you want to do it yourself, that's tampering, and that's bad. So players, we're sorry, but fans and, you know, people who have representation, this is the podcast. That's a great point, you, that it is a little favored to the people that have the agents early. I have been having to update my top 101. Now, D.K. McAf is not going to be there, but one of his teammates might be Tyler. Lockett. Let's start, though, with the D.K. McGaff news, but I wanted to mention that the Seahawks are releasing Tyler Lockett because I think these things can be talked about in tandem, because suddenly,

if they're both not on the team, that's a totally different Seahawks offense. So the D.K. Metcalf trade request report comes in. He reportedly prefers to be dealt to a contending team, which who amongst us would not. The compelling part of it is, A, that it's so formal, and that B, that the Seahawks are letting him explore those options. Let's start with just, do you think this deal ends up happening? Well, the letting explore thing, I truly think we've seen it right with Matthew Stafford, where there already is a relationship

and you're able to go out and determine what your value is, what the circumstances can be. And so much of this, especially when we're evaluating players, positions, they get tagged as mercurial or whatever, and D.K. plays wide receiver. And the conversation is about,

is this person happy? Well, it gives him a chance to say, what's the market? What could these particular situations be? And if the situation is better here in Seattle with Gino, then perhaps it is. But it at least gives him an opportunity to get that information, as well as the Seahawks a chance to get information about how other teams view D.K. Right. And similar to Stafford, but not quite the same.

The contract is a big part of it. So DK has $18 million in base salary this season, which is a good bargain. A $4 million option bonus. The cap number is quite higher because they had pushed out. He is already on his second contract. And this would naturally be the off season

where he would be looking for a third contract. Now, if he has the feeling, and maybe there were conversations with the Seahawks, that's not happening in Seattle or it's not going to be at the level that he wants, then it actually is a logical time that these two sides would part ways because Seattle could presumably get

a better trade offer, even maybe than Stafford was getting. He was a second round pick. Maybe not. Maybe it's just a second round pick, quote unquote, but it'd be a good pick. And D.K. would make that premier wide receiver money not only a year earlier, but presumably it would be more elsewhere. I wrote down some potential landing spots, but I have to admit, after doing the exercise, it was harder to come up with the teams where D.K. McCaff didn't make sense. Like a lot of teams could use a number one wide receiver. And as I've been mentioning on the show, there's a lot of cap space out there.

Half the league has almost $50 million in cap space, more than half as $40 million. So a lot of teams could fit D.K. Metcalfe in. Who stuck out to you, which teams as potential landing spots? Well, we've discussed, right, the Green Bay Packers and their need for having an actual number one. There's been reports that those conversations have already happened,

although they've been dismissed by different people, but that's been out there that that could be a thing. And again, the teams with space and with a need at the spot, right?

You've got a Denver Broncos team that I think services, as you mentioned, Greg, like the number of teams that would be out, right?

Because I'm also thinking about the Indianapolis Colts with their $34 million in cap space where it's easy to see, well, hey, DK playing primarily on the outside and being a big, target is is that one where there's only 14 or 15 of these guys on planet Earth. And so

we'll behoove almost everybody if they have the money to do it to take a shot of getting. Broncos would make sense and yet they didn't even make my list. Like he wants to go to a contending team. We'll see how much he can control the process. The Patriots were interested in him and Brandon Ayuk a year ago. You would assume that they would be they've got the most cap space. The Raiders would make some sense. Pete Carroll's there certainly could use a wide receiver. Dave Canales was with D.K. MacGoff, so I tried to make the connections. The Carolina Panthers could certainly use a number one wide receiver. Some of the contending teams that I think could maybe find room for, maybe the Chiefs,

if they wanted to get a little crazy, they did open up some room today. Maybe the Ravens, would they be willing to give long-term money? I could just see him in a Ravens uniform. They love the big physical type players who wouldn't love DK McGovern. The bills might be a little tough, but you wouldn't totally shock me. The Giants, could the dolphins get involved with like a Tyreeks swap? I mean, the options are endless. I'm going to answer my own question from before.

I didn't tend to think this is going to happen because I do think there will be a good market for them. And I could be wrong, but I don't think it's getting out there in such a way. And John Schneider was evasive when asked about DK Netkaft last week if they already weren't somewhat on board with this and open to it. I don't like the idea from the Seahawks perspective. No, from the Seahawks perspective, it doesn't necessarily make a ton of sense unless, of course, you've already made the decision down the road and you're honest with D.K. about it, that this third contract is not coming from Seattle. And so D.K. has an opportunity to see where is that third contract coming from?

Or is it better to play this year in Seattle and then try to procure that contract, right? Okay. So, but you get rid of D.K. and you cut Tyler Lockett. Like within an hour, we found out about essentially the Seahawks receiving core non-J-S. Shake, you know, shout out to Tyler Lockett, one of the best, you know, team runs of the last decade. Just kind of the classic Seahawks fans know how much he meant to them in a way that maybe the national media didn't. He arrived there in 2015 immediately as a contributor, always one of the more underrated players. I think eventually people caught up to.

what a great route runner is. Smaller, 33, coming off a 600-yard season. I didn't put him in the top 101. Should I feel bad about that? I don't know. I don't know if you should feel bad about it. Yeah, I don't know.

In terms of evaluating, age being a factor, the fall off of last season, and kind of the, it comes along with the ascension of Jackson Smith and Jigba, where, you know, maybe if the targets are there,

Tyler Lockett, you know, has a season where he gets into the 101. Right. He's a guy who almost immediately goes down, after catching the ball because he's trying to avoid contact, which, you know, Marvin Harrison did his whole career and went to the Hall of Fame that way.

It's one of the reasons why Tyler Lockett, who people thought was too undersized to play is still playing every game at his age, but not a, not a yak guy. And yeah, if they trade decaf, D.K. Metcalf, it's Jake Bobo as your number two receiver right now. And I don't even know who's number three. They don't even have a number three. I kind of like Jake Bobo. I think, Jake Bobo is nice, but nice when viewed alongside D. K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett and Jackson Smith and Jigba. Yes, I think he fits as a three or a four in a four-man rotation.

I think he is due like a step-up, a chance to be a red zone type of guy. So that's just two receivers. A lot to watch there. I'm curious where Lockett will go. Maybe he'll go to some of those teams I mentioned, which with Seattle Connections, Carolina or Las Vegas. I thought we were going to be leading the show with a big surprising trade. Joe Tooney is going to the Bears for a 2026 fourth round pick.

Uh, two time all pro, including this year, uh, hell, he got offensive player of the year votes from his ex teammates that are in the media. I don't know about that. You know, Rodney and Tom Brady. Let's take away those votes. Four time Super Bowl champion between the Patriots and the Chiefs. Football's cruel though, because, you know, he's compensated well and everything. But ultimately, his end in, in Kansas City was getting steamrolled in the Super Bowl as your team got steamrolled in the Super Bowl. He did individuals. had a rough game and then you get traded. Who knows if he knew this was coming or not. It's a bit of a shock to the system for a really great player who's going to have a Hall of Fame resume at some point. And I actually think this is a win-win for both sides. As much as it sounds crazy for it to be a win for the Chiefs, what do you think?

No, it's definitely a win for Joe Tuny because let's be honest, you talk about the way things ended. He got moved around and put in that spot. Right. It wasn't his fault. He was playing well at guard. He was playing well at guard. And so like he gets essentially sent on a mission.

And now it almost with the trade Kind of could retroactively feel like blame I don't know that that's necessarily the case But you know maybe when all the dust settles The Bears are going to end up with two members Of the Chiefs offensive line After after this we know get free agency And get Trey Smith the spot

What in a trade? They're going to get him too? No just just go ahead and just make it happen Why not? But essentially right It makes sense for the Bears and it makes sense for Joe Tooney. And, you know, if the Chiefs can keep this thing going with continuing to shuffle spots on the offensive line,

I'm not as confident as I would have been. Well, Toonie's not that old either. He's 32, which, you know, for a guard is, you still have good years left. He hasn't really shown any decline at guard. And I think it was a little bit of a sign of someone who wasn't necessarily watching when they were giving Tuny a lot of pop for how he played at left tackle.

because he got, he was one of their biggest issues. Their entire line was an issue. But essentially they chose to keep Trey Smith and you can't keep everyone and they chose Trey Smith who's five years younger over Joe Tuni. And that makes sense. Bill Barnwell, shout out to him

on our Trades to Watch podcast, Eric. We got to keep track of how many of these players get traded. He had Joe Tune. And I thought he had a little too much dip on his chip for that one. Like, he just threw that out there out of nowhere. There was no buzz about this possibly happening. But he put the pieces together

and he said he's one year away from his contract ending. They're probably not going to be able to afford Joe Tuni and Trey Smith in a year. So if you want to keep Trey Smith, then maybe you try to get something for Joe Tune now and you make that choice and that's exactly what they did.

So good job by Bill kind of sleuthing that together. I didn't see anyone. If you're listening to NFL daily regularly, we also had Ryan Poles on and he told you that they're ready to start spending on the offensive line, connect the dots, NFL daily.

Breaking the news. And of all this. And of course, if you missed it, Jonah Jackson was traded from the Rams to the Bears on Tuesday. Seems like a long time ago now.

So they have two guard spots now taken up. They still need to fill their center spot. And it's crazy. They actually probably could draft a guard too because Tune's on the last year of his contract. Maybe you want to extend him.

But Jonah Jackson, who knows what's going to happen with him? Like, you need to have some young players there too. So if you want to chart the Bears offseason, there is a before Greg had a conversation with Ryan Poles and then there is an after Greg had a conversation with Ryan Poles and the offensive line is significantly better.

There's no disagreeing with that, correct? Let's go. And for all the Chiefs fans that are upset, you only got a fourth. You only got a fourth because no one in the league was willing to give up more than a fourth. I actually think it's a sign that they would have considered cutting Joe Tooney if they got nothing for him.

Because they reportedly want to spend some money at wide receiver. there's other spots in the roster that they want to spend and that they just ultimately chose a couple of people. Trey Smith and Travis Kelsey. Now that's where the sentiment comes in. You know, Joe Tuny, he got that first Super Bowl with the Patriots. And so, you know, they're loyal to Travis Kelsey. If you were asking me which one would provide more value in 2025,

I might make the case for Joe Tuny, but you're never going to get rid of Travis Kelsey. So you keep him at a big salary. That's pretty hot, Rick. Is it? That feels spicy. I don't know. I mean, maybe it's the last thing that's in your mind, which Travis Kelsey is struggling.

Really in that playoff run in general, but especially in the Super Bowl. All right. Let's stick in the division. Max Crosby gets another extension. This guy just keeps getting extensions. Three years, $106,091 million, $91 million guaranteed. The Raiders also signed Alex Kappa on Wednesday. Alex Kappa was just released earlier this week by the Bengals.

He has a history with their. new GM also a guest of NFL daily, John Spitech, who said they would be intelligently aggressive, I believe, at quarterback. Love it. You know, they haven't gotten their quarterback yet, but they did get Alex Kappa,

who is with him in Tampa, a tough player. But yeah, Crosby is now the highest paid non-quarterback ever. Pretty cool. Yeah, it's very cool, especially looking over at the situation

in Cleveland where a guy who's going to Canton one day decided he no longer wants to be a part of things. Things have been very frustrating for Max in Las Vegas. So yeah, go ahead and get this done, secure a long-term partnership and make it happen. And I do want to mention, if I sound a little nervous today, it's because the Girl Scouts of America are here, and they're watching the show. We have an audience, and they have a new studio.

They're learning how the studio is working so that if I'm a little tight, but everyone, go buy your Girl Scout cookies out there. And good luck with all your work at the new studio as we wave goodbye to the representatives of the Girl Scouts of America. never know what's going to happen at NFL media NFL Daily is filmed in front of the live studio audience a couple releases that dropped on Wednesday Christian Kirk big time free agent signing a couple years ago people were all up in arms remember it was like oh how could you how could you pay christian kirk 17 million dollars a year and all these deals end up looking okay in the long run not only did he play well the first year he got i think 1100 yards but 17 million dollars quickly didn't look like nearly as much for a receiver Now that said, he wasn't do that much more than that this year, and it totally made sense, I think, from their perspective, they're saving over $10 million against the cap because he just couldn't stay healthy the last couple of years. He had a broken collarbone. He had a muscle core injury the year before. And it's a new regime that these things happen with a new regime. But unlike Tyler Lockett, he is on my top 101. He's in my top 50. I think Christian Kirk can help your team. He's about 46. Clear difference. No Christian Kirk with Christian Kirk for the Jags throughout his entire team, including when he was coming back from that core muscle injury where they got banged up and there really wasn't a replacement for despite the ascension of BTJ,

right, there still wasn't that Christian Kirk value in the offense. Like he's a little straight line and he's not a number one receiver but he can give you pop running down the seams. Definitely kept his speed there in Jacksonville a broken collarbone is

not an injury you want to suffer but also is an injury that's not going to affect your speed and that's something people come back from and they're basically all the way back. And so I think he's going to be an attractive option for maybe if the Ravens weren't going as high as a DK, maybe a Christian Kirk to throw in the mix. Like he'd be a perfect, whether he's a two, whether he's a three. To me, wide receiver rooms are now their rotations. He's obviously not the one, but he fits in a three to four, two to four rotation as a quality player. Yeah, just in terms of getting talent on the field.

And he's not hurting you, like his numbers against press, ability to play out wide or in the slot, right? Where the majority of the snaps are coming in the ladder there. But still, like, he can do it and he got tape out to do it. So yeah, he can contribute in a lot of places.

A week one starting quarterback was released on Wednesday. Gardner Minshu kind of forgot he was still on the Raiders. He's not been a free agent. He was released. They had to guarantee some of that money into the second year. So they are eating some of the, that guaranteed money, but ultimately they don't see him even as a potential backup with the team. So he is out. He's not on my 101. And yet, if your team signs him to be your backup,

depending on the situation with your starter, he's a very good backup or a good enough backup. So Minchu will continue to get work and get checks. Sam Hubbard retired. I expected him to be cut this offseason just because he just has not been the same player. Unfortunately, suffered a really serious injury on a touchdown. I can't think of a career ending this way. A defensive player catches a touchdown from his buddy Joe Burrow. They're very close. Hubbard's a local guy,

by the way, Ohio guy. And he's decided to retire. I think he's only 28 years old. So happy trail to Sam Hubbard. Yeah, a nice career where, you know, they came very close to accomplishing that ultimate goal. And he's I mean, you highlighted it with the touchdown. He's done a lot in this league.

And why go past, why go past the expiration? Congratulations. Yeah, he had a few different things. It was a PCL injury. Anyhow, Hubbard had gotten a big second contract from Mike Brown and them. If they don't bring back Trey Hendrickson this year, like we'll see.

They are starting over at that position. We learned on Wednesday that Tank Dell was having ACL surgery. And I just thought that was notable because just thinking about a timeline for him to return. We're going to talk AFC South on our next show, Patrick,

and they're going to need wide receivers because if he's only having this surgery on Wednesday, after having another surgery, I think it was on his PCL six weeks ago,

then it's going to be a long recovery. The Texans also re-signed Dari Ogunbawale their versatile fullback, running back. Mason Crosby, the longtime Packers

kicker retired. Happy trails to him. Joel Betoni. is returning to the Browns, so that's good news for them. He is not going to retire. Zach Martin had his official retirement. He's going into the ring of honor. And DAC and CD both restructured their contracts.

And voila, the Cowboys opened up $37 million in Capspace. They did it. See, the cap's not real. Yeah, no, it's all, you know, it's all relative. And so congratulations to Jerry Jones and the Cowboys. Now they can be all in, Greg. They're not, though. They're going to take that money and they're going to spend it on players now, right?

He said that he wouldn't use the word aggressive to describe how they were going to be. So we'll see. Cowboys now have $54 million in cap space. I'm tracking this. When we get to the point where half the league has $50 million, that is just the unprecedented amount of cap space. I would like the research group to go back and check because over half has at least $46 million. It's too much money. It's not too much money, but I'm curious how they're all going to find ways to spend it.

When half the league has $57 million, perhaps that's a good time to tell your team that you would like to seek options regarding a trade. That's a very good point. There are a lot of teams that can make this thing happen with other teams players and their own players. We're going to take a quick break, but I do want to mention as a preface. Ali Connolly and I talked about guys, we would want to sign in free agency. Part of the reason I wanted Ali Connolly on the podcast was because he had Zach Bonnett's defensive player of the year. I thought he spoke and wrote very eloquently about how and why Zach Bond was so important to the Eagles defense, was really the linchpin, brought it all together that Vic Fangio was not going to let this guy leave the building. That informed my own analysis,

and I wanted to hear it, you know, straight from the horse's mouth. We taped that before Zach Bond signed a three-year deal for $51 million with 34 guaranteed. He is the fourth highest paid off-ball linebacker in league. Hell, I think the Eagles got a pretty good deal considering how great he was, but I understand him wanting to stay in Philadelphia where he was so productive. And what a come-up. What a story of development. Zach Bonn has been going from an afterthought in New Orleans to one of the best off-ball linebackers league. I wanted to leave the start of the segment. We said free agents, we wanted to sign. And the first one that came out of Ali's mouth was Zach Bond. So that is going to start our conversation, which will start

after the break, and I think that part of it will inform you to the reason why Zach Bonn is worth all that cheddar. Thank you, Patrick, for your contributions to today's program, but you'll be back later this week. Thank you, Greg. 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. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart 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. 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 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. 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 the game on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. 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 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 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. Here with Ali Connolly, one of my favorite guests. You know them, you love them, from podcasts such as, what if Kirk Cousins doesn't work out? We look pretty smart on that one. He looks like Kirk Cousins, yes, he is the author of the Read Optional and the host of the Read Optional podcast with John Ledyard. Holly Connolly, welcome back.

Thanks for having me back. Are you, you're in on the Boston Red Sox now again? They spent some money. You're wearing a hat for our YouTube listeners. I am cautiously putting my toe back in. I still do not trust John Henry, who owns the team, my football team. The football team is top of the league, so I will give Mr. Henry maybe one less chance. Okay, you know, they did have a lot of success since John Henry took over the Red Sox in.

and hopefully for your football slash soccer team as well. Okay, free agency is coming up, and we've been talking about looking at it from a team-by-team perspective, but I hadn't really gone through my top 101 and beyond and just talked about the guys like I would want, the guys that I think would be great to sign in free agency. So we're going to keep this pretty simple.

Ali is one of my favorite football minds out there. I don't know how our listeners delivered. I told them last time, subscribe to the read optional. the one thing you can do to support us is to support our guests here. So I implore you to do that because they have some great content and some great podcast, you know, previewing the draft in great depth, an incredible amount of depth, Olly, before we get that.

I want you to bring that sort of depth, maybe not all the way, but most of the way for this episode. We're going to go back and forth. It'll be very simple. Just guys we'd want to sign in free agency. It could be various reasons because you think it's going to be the right time of his career because you think it's going to be the right fit because it's going to be the right money. I will let you go because really I'm having you on just because I'm curious what your answers

are going to be for this particular exercise. So start off with us, a free agent you want to sign. My number one is my beloved Zach Ball. Depending on where Fred Warner's career goes next season, maybe the best all-around linebacker in the NFL. And I get all the downside concerns, which is different system, different spot. Do you bet on one-year production, one-year output? age profile having to pay that kind of money for a guy who's only done it for one season

changing schemes if he goes somewhere else but if I was the Eagles I wouldn't let him out of the building and if I was another team I would be doing anything I could to try and sign him up yeah I have been influenced by your analysis and my eyeballs when it comes to Zach Bond and my strong stance that like they're not going to let this guy leave they can't let this guy leave I don't think I know they haven't paid off ball linebackers in the past but just watching their defense this year other than Jalen Carter and certainly putting Cooper DeGine in

helped solidify the secondary but he seemed like the guy who kind of made it all work and there's not really any reason why it can't continue to work. I know he didn't do much in New Orleans but that's old news now. Him in Philadelphia is something like you can see it with your eyes

to kind of explain maybe to the listeners what you think he did for that Eagles defense. Yeah, he kind of changed the whole front structure of the group where essentially they were able to move them and walk him around. And usually when you get these kind of like defensive chess piece weapon types, people talk about that all the time, right, particularly with the secondary guys, or the safeties and how we can put him in this spot and that spot.

And it's just really difficult to do when you don't set the terms of engagement. You don't know what's coming out of the huddle, right? What the offensive formations are going to be where guys are going to motion and shift to. So really with those kind of players, if it's not in the front in the path rush, where you can kind of set the protection in certain senses where you put guys, you just want problem solvers, a guy who can move around you and take as many problems off your plate as possible, whether it's moving and shifting the formation in some sense. And with Bourne, they essentially put him into what's like a walking linebacker role,

where you play off the ball or you can walk down to the edge. And it's just difficult to find one, we have like a linebacker crisis in the league. There's like six good ones. He's one of them. It's really difficult to find a guy who can play off the ball soundly who can go down to the edge and get a thump in their run game, who can give you some pass for a source off the edge as well. And then truly who can drop from there into coverage to pick up all the crosses and all the things the league's trying to attack people with. And he's just the all-around guy who can do that. To me, it's really similar to when Jermaine Pratt was with the Bengals.

I know no one cares about Jemain Pratt, but he was kind of the secret thought that made the Bengals defense go when they were making it to the Super Bowl. But he was never the kind of pass-rush guy or blitz that born is. So he really is in terms of coverage, fit in the run, and then just making plays on the ball, whether it's forced fumbles and deceptions. For where the league is at right now,

if you want to run a defense somewhat akin to what Vic Fangio is running or just what, Vic's running in Philadelphia. Having that move piece, you can play off the ball and on the end is like the number one got to have thing. And he was just the best at it by far in the NFL last season. That's bold. And yet I buy it. Like, you just have the proof of concept.

And you say there's an offball linebacker crisis. And I hear that. And yet, that's the one of the positions in free agency, which is pretty strong. At least there's five or six guys that you can make a case for. But Bon is atop the list because of what he did. And I shouldn't be totally influenced by this, but I am. Did you happen to watch the miced-up of the Super Bowl with Zach Bonn at all? Like, he's heavily featured in that?

I have not seen that. No, what was he left? Well, first of all, I mean, you expect him, I guess, to kind of be a general and a leader of that defense. And he's just so fired up in all. You can just see how much he takes command of that defense and how important he is just as a leader. And yet, just the mental side of things, like after the Cooper de Gene interception, he clocks that, hey, you saw me over there. Now I'm forgetting the total details.

And he's like, and you knew I basically had the flat covered and that there were two guys over there. So you just decided to do your own thing and peel off and watch them, right? And DeGine was like, yeah, that's exactly. He's like, oh, that's some veteran shit, you know? And I was just like so impressed. He knew everything that was happening in the moment. And it's just such a perfect fit.

It's truly impossible to oversee how much they changed their defense in like week three. Remember when they crushed the Saints? The Saints were like housing. everyone for two weeks, for the fun time that was. They completely think events because they move that bond's position essentially. And it does completely transform into being the best defense quite comfortably in the league.

And to have that kind of impact when you've been a special team's guy, a situational pass rush, where the Saints, like, there is no situation will let your rush the passive for some reason. Become truly the best all-around lineback in the NFL last season. I thought he was the defensive player of the year and he's available in frenzy. The age concerns, if you've got to pay

big money for the 29-year-old, he's got one-year production, it's a real concern. It's a real concern. I can't imagine that someone like Mike Vrable, who has all kinds of cash fall, you know, falling out of his pocket agency, wouldn't be tempted to go and give it a try as a kind of cultural reset, knowing you're snagging. As I said, I think there's maybe six, seven difference-making linebackers in the league right now, and he would be one of them. Sneaky old.

I didn't realize that. He's 28. He will turn 29 at the very end of the upcoming season, but I didn't realize that. It would be funny because I was thinking Vic Fangio teams out there, you know, in terms of who runs a similar defense. I was like, oh, he'd fit with the Saints. But yeah, they don't really. They're not going to welcome it back.

That would be insanely. Also don't have any cap space to sign Zach Bond. All right, I'll go next. We got to, we'll pick it up. But I want to spend a lot of time about Zach Bonn. He was high on my list. One that I would want is Charverius Ward. He is a free agent this year.

He's been in the NFL for seven years. He's about 10th on my total list. And he's coming off a bad year, which needs content. He lost his young child, and that's the most horrible thing that you can imagine a person having to go through, and he talked about, and he was away from the team, how much that affected him. And it was really a year-long process of, unfortunately, after his daughter was born dealing with that, and he wasn't there. And he says he needs to get out of California. And I do want to put that there, because I think it adds a little context to that he didn't look like himself this year. He was still like an NFL cornerback.

He wasn't terrible, but he didn't. didn't look like himself. But then I think back to the last few years before that. In just 2023, led the NFL and past breakups had five interceptions, was sixth in that category in terms of past breakups in 22. Like, I was trying to think, like, I was trying to think, oh, big Charverius award moments in the Super Bowl and the conference championship and leading up. And I went back and looked. It was like, well, yeah, he was never targeted. He got targeted once in those two games combined. And when I watch him, he always seems to know the coverage so well. smart player and incredibly tough player.

There's that touchdown by MVS actually in the Super Bowl where he's calling out to like the rest of his defense. He kind of knows they're in the wrong defense before it happens. He's not the one that that's supposed to be covering it. And just a very heady player. And the type of player I often look for in free agency, who's a really good player that's coming off a bad year? But he's still young enough that you believe he has a high level of play to him.

And it's Charverius Ward who I think might be at a little bit of a diminutive. value because of the year that he just had. But it's just an awesome, excellent player. Former undrafted free agent. I forgot what the Cowboys initially before the Chiefs picked him up. But he helped that Chief's defense so much. He helped the 49ers. I think he'll help some team out there this year.

Yeah, you mentioned it. Intelligent plays the ball in the air really well. I do just wonder what is the value going to be. Because I look through this cornerback class and I think you can go all the way down the list here, Enigbari's and your hubs. And there's some real great value to be at. Particularly, we just want to have a true run around. pressman corner all over the place? Do you want to go to that top of the market? It just feels like

every year people get burned trying to pay corner at the high end of the market. I like him as a buy low candidate if you think that the money's going to be down there. But I imagine every team will be thinking along the same lines you are. And once Byron Murphy goes, maybe DJ Reed goes, I think he's going to be the top of most people's list. Yeah, Carlton Davis, I think might get more money than him. And then he'll be in that Asante Samma Jr. might get more money just because he's younger. We'll see. You're right.

I hope you're not right, you know, because then I'm just basic. Every team is thinking the way I'm thinking. But Adibo, there's about seven, eight guys who are more top of the cornerback market. I have a feeling he's not going to get crazy big money, but I could be wrong. And maybe he'll have to settle for kind of a one or two a year type of deal. All right. You give me someone else. Trevon Morik.

Okay. The rated fun player in all the football. I think the working man's Budabaker, The guy who plays all over the formation, plays behind the line of scrimmage, an absolutely heat-seeking missile, hits everything that moves as hard as he physically can, and if we can get him, ideally,

to one of these teams, he wants to have fun, who isn't boring and stale. Okay. You get into Lance Joseph, Brian Flores, maybe Bynum leaves the Vikings, and he's looking for his safety, you can do everything for him. Maybe even the Cardinals say,

what if we had Morgan Baker together? What a fun. Just that level of versatility, playing all over the formation with that kind of fierceness, I want that guy in my team. Yeah, so Trevon Moorg, who I feel like he was pretty quiet the first couple years of his career. And you were not the only one who gave me some feedback that I had Morig too low, actually heard from someone inside the league that would have him much higher.

I ended up settling on him between 20 and 25, and I probably should have had him higher because I think a lot of people agree with you, Ali. What did he improve on? Because, you know, he was in that last Mike Mayock class, maybe a little quiet the first couple years. I don't think much of America knows what Trond Morg has really been doing the last couple of years. What he's been doing is hitting everyone in the face as hard as humanly possible. How can you not get excited?

Doesn't that sound like a might-may-o player he would draft? Yes. He is crazy explosive downhill. They use him essentially in their like pressure and blitz packages. They'll just sub a linebacker out and put him in. It kind of muddies up what's happening on the back end, but they get the same kind of oomph off the ball. And he just makes so many plays behind the line of scrimmages. Their pass rush vanished off a cliff when Christian Wilkins.

went out when they lost Max Crosby and they kind of hit on the solution of what have we just send Trayvon every single time that we can. I think against the chiefs he blitzed like 15 times and all from depth. Poor guy had a cardio workout and still has the bigger body can kind of match tight ends in man coverage for you. He is often lost and clueless when he's deepened off the ball. So if he goes to somewhere like Baltimore or somewhere like that, we may be in trouble. But in terms of having a fun, blitzing attack mode type defense is the ideal fit. You know, there's weirdly a bunch of teams that like don't have any safeties right now. Jets don't have any safeties.

The Dolphins actually would, I think, would be maybe a nice home for him. The Bengals could use him, but I don't know if Al Golden, I don't know enough about Al Golden to know if he's going to be that creative. It would be fun to see him in a Cardinals type defense where they totally unleash him. I like that one a lot. All right, I'm going to go, let's go. Let's stay at off ball linebackers at least. I don't mind being risky.

I want to go Dre Greenlaw at this point in his career. Let's just get him on a one year. So many teams have so much cap space If he's not going to sign a deal Unless he gets a bunch of guaranteed money Just give him a ton in one year And see what happens And I am inordinately

affected by the like three quarters of football He played in 24 Because he's coming off a torniquely sending That's very worrisome The fact that he re-injured it And it was a calf injury after that Very worrisome And yet if you're looking for a tone setter

You talk about Morig like Drey Greenlaw in those three quarters made as many like monster hits and looked like the best linebacker in football for those three quarters as some linebackers hit all year. So I like taking a chance on him. You're a year more removed from the injury. Obviously, he didn't play a lot last year.

So you're not spending top of the market money like you would with Zach Bonn or even with Nick Bolton. I don't necessarily think Greenlaw is going to get that kind of deal. But I think these are the types of chances that are okay to take in free agency if you have enough cap space and you're not doing a bunch of years on it, like add Drey Greenlaw to your defensive mix

and just kind of see what happens. I like that if it's a team who is maybe trying to change the culture slightly, let's get some veterans in here who know where to be. I can see that in terms you mentioned the tone-setting thing. He was pretty limited at the best of times, the ideal foiled to Fred Warner, but Warner was kind of the guy who was covering up all kinds of stuff for him there, essentially, and every time they bought someone next to Fred outside of this season,

everyone looks pretty good. So, Achilles injury, cough injury, I would be, it's pretty risky. But if it's to have everyone feel good when we go to training camp and we got so much. Well, no, you could just say you don't like the pick. I mean, you're trying to dance around it here. You don't like it. I think he's a really good player. I just don't know of coming off an Achilles injury.

If you're a team who needs the position filled, if you're like the books who are crying out, we got to get some linebackers in here. I'd be really worried if their pick was, let's go. go for Dray Greenlaw over Jameen Sherwood or something like that. Okay, it is fair to point out there. There are younger, safer options at the position. Ernest Jones is an interesting one. Nick Bolton is another one.

Jamie and Sherwood, I think, from the Jets, is going to be a popular choice. But, you know, I don't mind taking a chance. All right, go give me another one, Ollie. Going to afford. Okay. Yeah, he was on my list too. The stoutest,

run stuffer we have in the league right now. I don't think the charges should let him anywhere out of the building, but I imagine some semblance of a bidding war. This is his best season by far in terms of giving you some kind of a astroche umph to go with the kind of early down run defense stuff. So particularly where the league is at right now with how many teams are trying to basically crowd up the line of scrimmage early in the down and distance, which is not where we were at even a couple of years ago.

Teams are so split now with five men along the line of scrimmage to kick things off with a couple of deep safeties, having someone who can at least be an effort. guy in the play action world. That's the only thing you need from him is can you sit down in the gaps early on and hold up against the running? Can you give us some effort and some push in the passing game? And he's, to me, as the bowling ball body type, where it's just like plant that guy down, seal off some gaps for us. He is, he is right there at the top of the league based on last season. Yeah, and not have to have it, you know, as many down linemen, like you mentioned. The only small concern, I've always loved Puna Ford, one of Mina Kimes' favorite players.

you know, the Chargers had this magical way of taking these guys that I personally always thought were underrated and suddenly turning their careers around when they would just look like about overt. There was like five of them last year. Christian Fulton is another guy that's on my list. We might as well just mention them now. So Puna Ford is one.

Elijah Molden, who they just re-signed actually, but would have been a good free agent pickup for someone. Tier Tart suddenly popped up on the Chargers and was pretty good. And then Puna Ford. So I don't know, is this, there's some like magic Jesse Minter pixie dust that worked on Puna Ford that wouldn't translate elsewhere? Because he's coming off a season where he basically didn't get on the field much for the bills and didn't get any money in free agency. That's true. And Jesse Minter may be a warlock.

I think he's about as good as we have right now. But I also want to go one-on-one and embarrass Joe Tunney. Go one-on-one and embarrass Chris Lindstrom. Make Caesar Ruiz have nightmares for the rest of his life. So against good on good competition, he was not dominant, but pronged. pretty damn good. And then he embarrassed lower level competition. And that was all one-on-one. So I don't think it was necessarily just minted. So yeah, it's also, you know, you're playing with these other great players. You're playing for an organization that expects the best. And

in you raise your level. That's how I feel like I had to do today knowing Ali was coming on. So I actually went back and like watch some more Christian Fulton tape this year. And then I was actually a little less impressed than I was hoping to be because there was like an eight game stretch with the Titans I always hold on to where it's like, wow, he really looked like a number one corner. I feel like he's a little undervalued. Watching the Chargers a little more at length, you know, he had some tough matchups over the years. Like, T. Higgins

gave it to him for most of that game. Competitive guy. What are your thoughts on Christian Fulton? Maybe I'm not quite as high after going back and watching, but I do think he's a serviceable solid cornerback that won't be at the top of the market. Yeah, I think a serviceable guy, it's more of a zone-based system and it's a lot of deep drops and a lot of

make sure Christian gets to depth and keeps his eyes in front of the ball. I think that you're okay there. If it is you're playing more matched up and we've got more one-on-one responsibilities. That's when he gets into trouble. I mean, all those charges, corners, you go through them,

the rookies, everything. Everyone had a good middle stretch of the season. They were doing so many unusual things coverage-wise kind of freaked everyone out and knowing where you went to go and it kind of gamified some of the coverage stats in particular. So that back end would be the one where I'd be like, I don't want to be paying for Minter's work on the back end.

The guys up front of the ones I'd be comfortable giving Mac the deal for the deal. Yeah, it's interesting too. they valued Molden or Molden maybe just didn't want to see what was behind door number two and got a deal. I don't think we mentioned that on this podcast, but a nice little slot corner. All right, give me your next pick. Brendan Shoev. Okay, surprising.

Have you seen the tackle market in this phrajan class? I mean, the offensive line in general, it's pretty rough, yes. A disaster situation. All these teams need tackles, all these team needs guards. You go to the draft, and there's probably going to be four guards selected in the first round at this point because everyone just needs any lineman that can help out. Brandon Scherf last year under the radar because the Jags season completely fell apart. He was healthy this year for the first time and a long time where he's been able to get

to a season. I think it'd be pretty cheap to get him out of there. And I know that the bears have made a move for Jonah Jackson, but somewhere like Chicago where you can get a little bit more run-centric, a really deep vertical play action type game the way Ben Johnson wants to play. I thought by the middle part of last year, he was playing at pretty much an all-pro level compared to the rest. Probably on the 30 or pro.

Doesn't really have the juice anymore. Can't really give you some of the fun Paul Brandon's show of stuff we used to get, but just a one-on-one guy to enforce in the run game and then give you just enough in the passing game to hold up. I think it's probably going to be a pretty cheap low-fly bet on that guy. Yeah, this is why I love having you on

because I think his uptick last year, and he's managed to stay healthy the last few years for the Jaguars is pretty under the radar. And look, he's getting up there. He's almost, what is he? 33, 34. He's actually the last guard. He's 33 years old right now

to be taken in the top 10, right? There hasn't been a guard since him. Zach Martin went six. Right. At the time, though, they tried him at tackle first. So a guy that you knew was going to be a guard, which I think Shurf was like that at the time.

Maybe Will Campbell will be that guy for some team. They honestly, he could get taken in the top 10 and just put him at guard right away, depending on what team it is. I don't think that'll happen, but that's possible. But that's interesting. Yeah, while we're here,

we don't have to just stick to the same format the whole time if I don't want to. Like, are there, because I'm curious if there's any other takes you have on the guards that are available. Tevin Jenkins, you know, Mackay Beckton's going to be out there. Will Fries from the Colts.

Kevin Zitler is coming off like a halfway decent year. That's like the top of the market. Maybe Patrick McCari, you move him back to Guard, who is with the Ravens, but he was probably better a tackle when he was there.

Like, does anyone getting you going out of this class? It's a tight. Macari, I thought, was pretty much a mess. James Daniels, I know injured again, he played really well in the short snaps. We were able to see if him, Fries is really, really intelligent. If you could just pull away Fries and Kelly together,

you would actually have a comment on offensive line. If you're the Patriots, for instance, saying, hey, Drake May, we need to get some adults around you. Pulling off the double deal would be something I'd be interested in if I was a team. They probably will miss from week six on, for you and be with the medical team, but you'll feel really good for those first six weeks. But it's a pretty rough market.

Even Trey Smith, I thought that was a ludicrous thing to tag him at that price. I thought it was ludicrous. The contracts being floated around for Trey Smith. So it's just a pretty ropey tackling guard market. You thought Smith wasn't worth it because what, he got attacked a little bit down the stretch there by the Chiefs? A little bit is being very kind. Okay.

I think Smith is a really talented player. I think that he flashes. a lot in the run game and the screen game and we get the best screen coach in the NFL putting the really special talent out in space and that stuff really pops in his good he's just being inconsistent his entire career in pass pro you don't pay someone over $20 million a guard to be inconsistent in pass pro and when they move to need to left tackle teams teed off on him they set their entire pass for his plan with tack a guy who's going to be the highest paid guard in the NFL and he folded gave up 16 pressures in the final three

games after two need to left tackle once you take away the three of them together creed tray and Tune, Creed always helps to Trey's side. And once you move Tune outside and they bought Caliendo and they started having Creed help towards Caliendo's side and so teams just teed off on Trey and it was a bit of a man. I just wouldn't, I love the player, I love the talent, I get it, there's only so many cards in the NFL, he would probably still be in the top 10.

But I thought it was a really inconsistent down year for a play who's supposed to won the three or four best position. Wow. You know, don't let the Dulcet tones distract you from Ali just, you know, massacring Trey Smith right there, just an assassin. Let's stick on the Chiefs. I'm going to go to Sean Wharton.

I thought you might take him. Maybe he would be on your list at some point, but he's definitely on my... He just plays with a nastiness that is obvious. When you see him on the coaches film, too, like he's always that guy like yelling after a play

and like screaming as he goes to the sideline, screaming at the opponent, screaming at his players. I like that. There was that play in the Super Bowl, which is in my mind because I was there that like Tyler Steen came in for one play and then Tershawne Wharton like got past him

with a great inside move and Steen like literally didn't touch him. It was the first place Steen was in. There was actually a bunch of plays where he flushed Jalen Hertz out very quickly. He pushed Lynn and Dickerson back on a couple plays. Unfortunately, you know, Hertz got out and often made the play, but really a great playoff run in general. There was a play at the goal line where he just plants Josh Allen

into the ground. He walked back, Titus Howard. I'm really thinking about the playoff run in general, but a young player, a lot of moves for a guy who's 280 pounds. I just think plays with a lot of energy and fits a very rare type in free agency, which is that he's young.

He has enough experience, but not too much experience. So a guy, hopefully that's on the ascension at a position where guys continue to get really better and better at defensive tackle kind of in their fourth, fifth, six year. Yeah, one of my favorite play

is one of the sneaky, dirtiest players in the NFL. You mentioned this, through the whiffle stuff with him. Yeah. And you don't really normally get the ascendant young guys who I think is actually attainable and getable from the chiefs, so I'm sure they'll make a good offer. And he was undrafted and has made no cash in his life. So you can go and probably get him for what would be an affordable, right?

You may have to go aim Milton Williams absolutely through the nose, right, to get him out of Philadelphia, though it seems like he's gone. But there'll probably be a bidding war for Milton Williams. Whereas Wharton, I think, is the next band down. that is not really that much for a drop-off. Different style of player. One is much bigger, thicker, longer.

Wharton is kind of the shorter, more explosive, light penetrating type upfield rusher. I actually think he gives you a slightly more on the rundowns than even Williams does do at this stage in his career. So I would be really surprised that there wasn't like four or five teams really trying to get on Walter. Yeah, I ranked him too low. I mean, you're saying there's not that huge of a gap.

I mean, I love me some Milton Williams. He's on my list too. I'd certainly want to sign him that the price might get a little out of control. I should have had Wharton higher. Who do you got next? I have Nate Hobbs. Okay. Okay.

That makes me feel well because I've looked at some other lists out there. They didn't even have Hobbs on it. And I had him pretty high. I like me some Nate Hobbs. Nate Hobbs is just a bump and run follow someone everywhere they go. And you'll have three brain farts a game. And we'll all get really frustrating for our right. We'll get those 90% reps where he just gives all our effort.

I think the injury concerns are fair. But 26 years old, you mentioned not a lot of people's lists. I think people can get him really, really cheap this season. And he's not a versatile player. He does what he does. But for teams who want to be true, man coverage teams, again, the Jets with Aaron Glenn going in, trying to find some extra pieces they can put there. I think Hobbs would be a really good bargain pick up.

Yeah, I like that pick a lot. Similar age in terms of coming out of his rookie contract for me is Levi-on-Wuzerike. Big risk in terms of his health that he could not stay on the field. his first three years. I listened to some lions podcast and they talked about maybe it was a little bit approach to professionalism and a little bit of injury,

the combination of the two. And Dan Campbell started talking him up kind of going into his third year. He didn't quite stay healthy that he'd really had an epiphany in terms of how he's going to approach being a pro and then had a really good year. I thought from my eyes, in his fourth year,

like a lot of pressures. Sneaky high on the QB hits list if you just search by all defensive tackles, On Wuzureke is there. Just a big dude in a league that needs more big dude. So you're hoping that the improvement that he made in terms of taking care of his body carries over. The Lions can't pay everyone.

I think they'd like to keep him if they could. But he's kind of a similar type to me is there's only so many young guys coming off a good year. And again, I keep mentioning with the defensive tackles, but it is a position where it does seem to take about three years to get used to being in the pros. And right now, he is playing his best ball that we've seen by a good amount.

He definitely is. It does terrify me when you say the guy got himself into shape and cared when he was in the contract season. I hadn't thought about that. That makes me pretty worried that the light only just went on. And so if there's going to be a bidding war,

I think I would look elsewhere. I think the defensive line class here is really deep. And then defensive line glass in the draft is outrageously deep. So I think it's going to probably suppress this middle band of the market, I would have thought. So if you can get him on a decent contract, he would probably

just return to the Lions and you end up just trying to outbid the Lions for not a huge needle mover. He's one of the all-time arrived to high-five everyone at the quarterback, like he wasn't at a play, but then he just turns up and high-fives everyone and says, good job. If there's a guy who doesn't have that level of

impact and he only got, you know, himself in shape for the contract, yeah, that would make me a bit concerned. That is a little a little concerned. I think Campbell started talking up a little bit going into the third year that he was turned in the corner, but then he didn't stay healthy. And then 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. What was that? Oh my. We think NFL coverage should be informative

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wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Let's do a bunch of names quickly here at the end. I kind of speed around any other fun ones that are out there. I notice we'd none of it. We, we, We didn't pick any receivers. I didn't have any receivers on my list. I really like Nick Westbrook-Akeen. You know, it was Westbrook-Ekekeen and Josh Palmer.

If you're looking for some kind of down-the-field juice, essentially, I think Aquine has real gas. And I could see him sliding to the chiefs, and then we get to third and forever against the bills in January again. And here goes Westbrook-Ekinie behind the secondary. And my home's fine. If you're looking for a cheaper flyer down the field, I think that's the guy. You'd like him more than Darius Slayton or Marquis-Brose-Brown or Diami-Brown.

or just because of the value. Because of the value. Diami Brown, probably the one ahead of him. But other than that, I think I'd bet on Westbrook Aquine with the age and the speed. Yeah, when I was doing this exercise,

it's like, yeah, I like Stefan Diggs, but he's coming off a major injury. And Godwin, of course, you like Godwin. I don't think he's going to get to the open market, but he's coming off a serious injury. And I do remember the last time he was coming off when it took a while to get going.

There's other names like Elijah Moore out there. One name I threw out there was and this is just I have a hard time quitting him is like Mike Williams Mike Williams and Marcus Davenport would fall into the category of like you're not the dumb team that paid him last year okay so if you're gonna do this

actually they're a year healthier in theory Davenport comes up with like a new way to get hurt every year but this is the year their value is going to be so depressed that it really is truly just a flyer do they have anything left in their career would it shock me if Mike Williams is

a better version of himself this year? and helps you out as a third or fourth. And Marcus Davenport helps you out with 400 and 500 snaps for like two or three million. It would not surprise me because these guys, you know, they were pretty talented. And in their, in their peaks, they were pretty good. William, I mean, Williams, who has never had that any evolution to his game as he ages. If you're the Ravens or someone who's a contender, things could we steal this guy pretty cheap and we at least get certainty and what the player is.

I like that for the contenders, for the bills and the Ravens. Yeah, he's going to be like a fourth, a fourth receiver. I'll throw out my final. just sort of speed round guys. Third round, you know, you don't usually pick up third down backs in free agency, but like if Ty Johnson or Kenny Gainwell only costs you like two or three million dollars,

just like, okay, let's settle that position. Those are two good players. It's like one less thing that you have to worry about. And then of all the backups, I always rank James Winston too high, and I stand by that. But it's actually, I wouldn't hate getting Jimmy G as my backup this year.

I feel like he's a pretty good backup. Are you sure? I mean, maybe it's that week 18 game against Seattle where you got, you saw the McVeigh sprinkle on him. And the fact that they were sneaky, okay, I think, with going into this year with Jimmy Garapolo and a rookie if they didn't keep Stafford. I was like, okay, maybe like a Garapolo that's had a couple of years to just be healthy. As your backup, can he come in for three or four games? I'm okay with that, but maybe you're not. I would not.

I would just draft two guys. That guy in Canada is playing. I just take two guys the draft and hope for the best. Let me throw a couple more at least that, I think. Josh Uche, one of the strangest free agents available. Last season for the Patriots or the year, before I should say, unbelievable production off the edge. Then he basically isn't interested in playing this season.

He gets traded to the Chiefs. I really thought you would have a serious third down impact for them in the playoffs. Just one those, it's flashing up, and Collinsworth is losing his mind. Like, how did they get this guy? Where's he come from? And just nothing happened. I'm sat there thinking, what I rather, a Assam Redick 50. million dollars or take josh jay for three million dollars and see if there really is the player

from the patriots two years ago in there okay it's a little worrisome he could just not get on the field for the chiefs and not like shocking he couldn't get on the field for the patriots a lot i don't know what's going on there is it is peculiar noa enigbari the corner for the commanders i think is a good one a hidden uh lost corner in the free agent class he is consistently lost on the field all the time which i know sounds concerning but they do run some pretty complex stuff, and he looks confused there, but if you just, again, have a true man-to-man corner of you're in a man-heavy system like Nate Hobbs, I think that he's a good cheap pickup there. Then Baron Browning with the Cardinals, he gets traded to the Cardinals out of no way.

He's having an unbelievable year off the edge. You look at some of the pressure rate and pass-fresh win rate stuff. He's right there with Miles Garrett and the very best in the league. I don't think that's necessarily true of the player he is, but he has real, real juice off the edge. So I think I'd probably rather do the Uche Browning pairing, see who's healthy and wants to play football, then I would sign maybe some of the top end guys. Yeah, Hassan Reddick. Greg, I'd be out of a job. I'd lose my mortgage.

I would not be able to run a franchise. I mean, spending money on a Hassan Reddick or whoever it would be, even a Josh sweat, who's going to be reliable, but probably overpaid. That traditionally hasn't worked that well in free agency. Reddick's a fascinating case to people just throw out that year or not. I can't believe we made it through this whole thing without mentioning Kaiser White. I feel like is the North Star for both of us. We fly ourselves now, if anything.

I know. There's too many off-ball linebackers available. There's too many names, but I'm glad we got through. Like, there's the big names on top of the market. We had a couple of those. Oh, I forgot one of my favorite ones. I'm throwing them in. It's Malcolm Coons.

I know he's coming off a tour in ACL, which is pretty major. But man, that last eight games of the season that he had for the Raiders, the way he, like, dipped around the edge. It was against really good players, too. It was like against Rashon Slater and some really good that he just made looks silly. So that's a young pass rusher. In theory, he got injured so early last year. He missed the whole season that he's had some time to get ready. That's one where I always think injured players, like, why not sign them for like a two-year deal? It's going to be cheaper

than other teams and give a shot for a pretty young, good pass rusher. Malcolm Coons I'm ending with. Yeah, I'm moved on that one as well. I'm struck to the contractor where you do the two-year deal, you mess around with the numbers, however you want. If it hits, you've got a cheap guy for the second season. I'm all on that. One of our true dip and rip pass fresh artists, which guys don't really win that way in the league that much anymore. They usually get shame right out of the league.

You kind of have to play of more power. It's funny though as we went through the list. I have, well, together we have three guys that have young Raiders guys for a team that we stinks defensively, though I really like Patrick Graham. So I wonder if they just try and retain them all, if they truly hit the market. Yeah, I asked John Spitech about that very thing last, last week. at the Combine, say, you know, on our show, he didn't really have a strong answer for that other than, you know,

those are good players. There are some good players. He said some, I which I clocked. He's like, yeah, there are some good ones, and we do want to keep those. So we'll see. Yeah, I just remember. Do you have a look in his eye that said I have to ask Tommy before I get back to you? No, he in fact said the words,

I don't just have this job because I'm friends with Tom. And he pointed out, and I was glad I asked this, like, did you even know Tom Brady in college? And his answer was essentially no, no. It's like, I was like, people are like, oh, he was like college teammates, these buddies, like, I don't think he even knew him. He was on the freshman scout team. And Tom Brady was, you know, playing against Alabama as the senior quarterback.

He said Tom was cool. He would, like, sit with all the freshmen every once in a while. That's like one guy at a table of 20. So he was careful to point out, yeah, he didn't even know Tom Brady back then. But Malcolm Coons, that's a name to know. I just remember he wore Garrett Bowles out a couple years ago. So that's one I like, uh, free agency, just a couple of days away. you guys are very draft

focused right now in terms of your podcast are you going to do any free agency coverage with John we got to have John back on the show too we will do too long free agency breakdowns probably Rogan levels

of analysis on why Jemine Sherwood going to a team really matters then by November I'll feel silly but yeah we'll hit the free agency yes it is strange to hear Ollie talking at normal speed because I have to admit I do crank it up

to 1.5 because of what you said, the Rogan levels of just like 20 minutes on a defensive tackle. I love it. But just speed it up. Ali, one of the best to do it. Fun breaking down. The free agents with you. That's it for this show. This has been a packed week, but we are not done yet. We still have a couple divisions to look ahead in terms of their offseason preview. Got my show with Daniel Jeremiah. Free agency is back. So is football. We'll see you next time. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks.

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