NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Power Rankings Podcast (with Gregg Rosenthal and Marc Sessler)

Episode Date: March 22, 2023

A room filled with some heroes - Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, Gregg Rosenthal and Colleen Wolfe bring you all the latest news from around the league, starting with Cam Newton throwing at Auburn's Pro Day (5:36). Trade talks surrounding DeAndre Hopkins are heating up (9:39), Lamar Jackson has a non-NFLPA certified representative (14:06), Roger Goodell is expected to sign an extension (17:14), the Texans have made some more moves (19:58), Dont'a Hightower announced his retirement (22:58), and we finish up the news with some Odds and Ends (27:05). Then, the show is transformed into the Power Rankings Podcast for an update on where teams stand in direct comparison to each other (30:56). Note: timecodes approximate.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast. I'm annoyed now. From the Chris Wesley podcast studio, it's Around the NFL. I am Dan Hansis. I got heroes all over. Mark Sessler. Let's try something different.

Mark Sessler, and then the person says something very quickly. Mark Sessler. Happy to be here always every day. but something truthful Greg that wasn't quick enough yeah Colleen wolf I'm always annoyed now

the song's over I mean it's gotta end before the song I kind of like that though well I'd workshop my response if I knew that was coming we're gonna try it again in exactly two months

okay with no warning so just have something in the can ready no we're on season 11 of like a sitcom where now they just say the writer's room is like they don't know what to do so they just start throwing stuff against the wall Just to keep themselves entertained. I think we arrived there long before today.

Connie, this is the summer of Connie. I know it's confusing to people, but it is. Southern California and really the West Coast in general getting battered by rainfall and storms repeatedly. I'm freezing. Does that cut into the summer of Connie? Does that affect it in any way? Yes.

This has been a really bad launch to the summer of Connie. I mean, you're here every week. That's a problem, too. I'm asking you guys if I can come on the show because I am just sitting at my house watching the rain come down. So I'm available all the time, guys. What about the old wisdom that April showers bring May flowers? It's March 22nd right now. My lawn has slugs in it and it was like dead just like a couple months ago.

It was just hay. And now from the rain there's actually slugs in it. All that dog urine will take care of that though. It will offset it. It will offset it. Just think when I introduced you, Mark, you could have simply said April showers bring Mayflowers. And the place would have went off. The roof would have blown off the studio.

There are times when you need to lean on the wisdom of a nursery rhyme or whatever that would be, that type of text. Truth, truth, truth. All right. Thursday show. We've lost Greg. Greg, it just stopped talking at some point. He's just smiling and staring at the air. The bar is too much for Greg.

Today's Wednesday. Great. Congratulations. You're wearing your Tokyo Swallows jersey. First time. Saw it in the closet. I was like, I've never worn this. This is the day.

Did you uncover it in the move? Japan, the WBC champs. You figured it out, Colleen. I threw out a lot of clothes and I was like, no, this is cool, actually. I'm going to keep this. And now is the time because my guy, Murakami, who is on the swallows, big hitter. For the Japanese team. You are cemented as one of the biggest fairweather fans of all time.

You literally had the jersey housed inside your closet and you're wearing it. that the world champions. Well, this is technically the team in Tokyo that Emiko was a season ticket holder to as a kid. And I go every year to their games. I can't say I'm an everyday fan. I've watched six innings that I call him a baseball fan. I can tell him his face.

I've watched six innings of baseball this year. And I'm, yeah, I'm just a diehard fan now. And did you, when you were laying out the shirts this morning, were you concerned it all about the cultural disconnect of wearing the jersey that just in giant, and block letters says swallows across the No, I think everyone could handle that. We know where the swallows come from.

It's a boyd, right? It's a bird. Yeah, it's a boyd. They travel north to... That's actually how my grandfather spoke. A bus driver from the Bronx. Yeah. It was not a bird.

It was a boyd. A boyd. Yeah. All right, we got a good show coming up. Baba, rest in peace. We are going to... Hey, Connie. Hey.

Remember... Babiardin. Baba also. the Japanese word for grandmother. Really? Well, there's a lot happening there. This is unbelievable. There's a lot happening there.

I just can't stop staring at Swallows. I'm going to put my shirt back on. No, don't make himself conscious. No, no, it's so good. I love it. No, no, keep, no, it's great. Don't do it. I love it.

Stand up to your team. Colleen, you and I did a little thing called power rankings. We did. During the season. The power rankings returned this week on NFL.com. How about that? I didn't get a call to do a show, though. Me either

Okay, cool And I didn't check in I didn't check in With the powers to be either I was like okay How'd they low How'd it feel Dipping back in

A little weird It's tough Just like when we did Winners and Losers Free Agency With Bill Barnwell It's like man How certain do I feel

About any of these teams Right now But the machine needs content It does So I did my best And I did go through them again After I finished Writing him

After I went out live And I did the NFL now Siciliano And I did the NFL now I didn't check in to see if we even had to do a podcast. I went through it again this morning and I was like, okay, what jumped out to me during the research and writing process? And we'll go through it and you guys can push back and say what I blew.

Because I actually think, and this happens all the time, I blew a few right off the bat. I was like, why is that team there? Who wrote this? And it was me. Looking back at it after, right? Literally two days ago. Well, it's a tricky time of year because now are you spinning forward to who's going to be good in 2023? Right.

This is like who played well last year. Exactly. I love it. I love the debrief, the regrets. All right. But first, let's do some news. Tell me how these randoms keep getting jobs. That is the voice of Cam Newton. I want to know who the randoms are.

I think we could guess. Basically almost every backup that got a job in the past week in free agency, probably the target of his. Probably fuse like Taylor Heineke that way. It feels a little like Baker Mayfield. No, he's not a random. He's a lot of things, but he's not a random. I think it's more Heineke or Stidom.

There you go. I mean, the thing about it is, and you remember, West famously had a term for Cam Newton. He called him, do you remember, Mark? A stooge, I believe. It was a preening schmo. It was a preening schmo. Oh, I love that. And Cam's interesting because I was never a big fan of him.

And then when he, later in his. career he felt more like it was maybe a little humbled a little bit and he didn't quite have the tools anymore and he was just kind of grinding through that Patriot season and then that forgettable final five starts with the Panthers and then you hear that drop and it's like oh that's the old that's the old cam a little bit of a disconnect though because he's kind of a random now I mean he's not a random he you can call him a lot of things but he's he's in terms of ability he's in terms of his influence and sort of his career path he's kind of of iconic like he's a player people will remember forever at this point though he's

he's a former MVP right he's one of the best college football seasons of all time but he's very recognized I don't think he's getting a job he's 34 now and I think that Carolina season was probably his last one right I guess I meant you know more it's a fraternity the QBs and he's obviously a far way off from 2015 at this point you know well he's getting older and the players are getting younger but I'd say also that like even during schmoe in there still during that humble era that you mentioned he still was uh coming to you know the podium in like a grandmother's cardigan and a fedora so it was like it wasn't a total mind shift would i trust cam newton for one game over drew lock who got four million dollars from the seahawks somehow that was a sneaky

terrible contract uh in free agency yes i would i would okay agree to disagree but i don't think either you would be in a good position with either player but we'll see if anything comes to that he did throw at the Auburn Pro Day through to his brother in fact how did the brother do that's what I don't want to know I think he caught some footballs okay yeah he didn't talk to the media afterwards

there's always the other Cam Newton in our league that whenever you try to like say it was a disaster like a guard or something remember the other Lamar Jackson he's still around like reporters here's a public service announcement stop doing the Lamar Jackson joke it keeps happening It's like Lamar Jackson just went on waivers

And nobody claimed them Just stop Terrible tweet Let me hear just a little more Cam Tell me how these randoms Keep getting shot He's funny though

I'm gonna say I can't wait for saying I love it You can't tell me That he would A lot of people Tolling the idea No that's good

You got in here I love him in a locker room He's a showman He is a showman. Yes, he is. You can't tell me you put him next to Terry Bradshaw and Fox on Sundays. I just feel like he would fit in that scenario. I just feel like he would work.

And he goes into Andorian's closet and he pulls out the cardigans. I don't know why we still need Terry Bratshaw on that equation. But Terry's just collecting those paychecks. Maybe Terry will come up in our conversation on NFL media with Andrew Marchand of the New York Post tomorrow. Probably not, but he could. And one last cam note, I completely forgotten about that he invented his own font. Remember that? Oh, yeah.

It showed up in this announcement. I was like, bro, you're still doing that? It takes dedication to create a language. Trying to make fetch a thing. Let's get to the news, starting with a report from our friend Ian Rappaport, who reported on Tuesday regarding DeAndre Hopkins, I'll read the tweet. As the status of Cardinal Star DeAndre Hopkins comes into focus, talks are ramping up among the interested team, sources say. Similar to Brandon Cooks, a trade would likely mean an altered contract. All right, Greg, we know you're in a quiet war with agents right now.

No, I'm not. Even though you have an agent. I'm just trying to, you know, present the little guy's side. You are. It's agents in the big media versus everyone. That's always been your stock and trade. Decode this tweet because obviously this is in and contact with his sources, possibly and probably agents, right? Well, I think it's DeAndre Hopkins and his agent sort of trying to get it back out there that, hey, okay, first wave of free agency happened.

They have been having these talks, obviously. I don't think rap sheet in the agent are making this up and, like, trying to put it back front and center as like, we wanted this to happen this week. Put your best offers on the table. I'm sick of sitting around when I see Brandon Cooks and some of these other deals happen. That's about it. Like, let's get it back into the conversation now. this is a good, nice quiet week. Yeah, that was kind of my thought on it, Connie.

Like, I saw the report. I saw it get aggregated everywhere. And then I looked at the report again. I looked at the tweet again. I was like, what does this actually mean? The altered contract part, too, is maybe he's willing to take a pay cut, is what I read into that. And then I also saw the Browns are not interested in him. There was a lot of people that were talking about maybe some type of reunion with Deshawn Watson.

but if there was going to be a possible deal, the Panthers would be really interesting to have him and Adam Thielen there. I mean, who knows who the quarterback's going to be, but that would be nice, but that's also, that's a 30-year-old nuke and a 33-year-old deal. I don't know if I want to put DeAndre Hopkins into a scenario where you don't know who the quarterback's going to be.

It could be a rookie. You could have to play Andy Dalton for a while. Andy Dalton and Deandre Hopkins don't feel like a complete marriage to me. I think Deauner Hopkins has to go. There's probably a smaller list of teams, and we're getting closer to the draft where I think if you're him and his camp, you don't want some of these teams

feeling good about their wide receiver room because they drafted guy A, B, or C, even though it's not a great draft for that. The Patriots reportedly have been sniffing around. They seem like the most logical. I mean, I think you talked about Belichick's, like, adoration of Hopkins. That goes a long way there.

Well, I think they're in a similar spot to the Packers with Aaron Rogers, but, you know, have less leverage, which is just like, the Cardinals aren't in a particular hurry. What do they care about being in a hurry? If they have to wait until April to feel like they're going to get the best draft pick possible, then they'll wait until April, and they're probably not getting a second round offer.

I believe if there was any team out there that was going to give up a second round pick, I think they would just do it right now. The same thing happens every year. Like six weeks ago, two months ago, we did a segment and we were floating trade ideas and it was like, yeah, nuke for a first. That makes sense, a late first. And then all of a sudden you get to this time of year and it's like, maybe he gets a second, maybe a third.

The veterans in the trade market, team to fetch less than you think. Brandon Cook's got a fifth and a six. And I'm not saying that the same player, but Brandon Cooks is, I would say maybe I take him over Dehony Hopkins in certain situations. It's like the way we as fans. I would not, but I hear you. Depends what team, but it's debatable. But a third, you know, I know he's turning 31 and that's a little bit of a concern.

A PED suspension followed by a bit of an injury. playing up and down season. Did you hear what Belichick said, though? I love you, man. He said, I love you, man. It was years ago. But, like, the Broncos are saying they want, or there's, the Jerry Judy is going to command like a first or a second.

Give me a break. How would you ever? See, Jerry Judy, I could see it more because at least he's young. I think Jerry Judy would have higher value. You don't have him for a couple years. And you don't have them for much money, whereas Hopkins costs a lot of money and is older. For the record, Mark, that Nuke Belichick sound was from this past season. When did I say?

Years ago. Well, that was last year. Felt like years ago. It was the Monday night football classic Cardinals Patriots. I don't, I have no idea what was happening literally one year ago today or who I was or who the Giants were. So that's a weird ten pull also. There's that too, I go.

How does the Giants get in the drop? All right. In other news, Lamar Jackson. Oh, the saga. The saga continues. Your old boss, Florio, Greg, is hot on this story. He's into it. and here's a report from pro football talk

that Lamar Jackson, per multiple sources, a representative for the quarterback has contacted more than one team in an effort to, this is Flores writing, spark negotiations aimed at a possible offer sheet. The rep is not certified by the NFL Players Association. As the source explained it, the person has said that Jackson does not want a fully guaranteed contract. Some regard this.

continuing to read Mike Floreo's writing. This as a possible exercise in semantics with Jackson still wanting a very significant amount of fully guaranteed money with one or more non-guaranteed years on the back end. Mark Sessler, is this our guy? Is this our dude? Is it the saint?

Is it St. Omni? I don't know, but I hope it is. If you were to line up a list of suspects, I mean, St. Omni's got to be in that list, if not the top of the list. I love this, dude. And one little thing is we talked about how St. Omni helped Laramie Tunsell

in that same like PFF, PFT reporting. Laramie Tunsell tweeted about St. Omni, in quotes, he was with me every step of the way. That's an agent. And, like, basically, the agents are going nuts because it's like, you're not certified. You aren't certified. Agents have to buy, like, malpractice insurance and go to all these union meetings and all this other stuff.

And St. Omni is just floating in on a spaceship and sealing the deal. I kind of love it, but I see why they don't love it. I think it's in violation of the CBA, though, to have a non-certified agent. You mean the CBA that's negotiated between the union and the NFL? Yes. And the union that's working with Lamar Jackson to get a deal done? But if Greg is all over this agent thing, like Greg's mentor, Mike Florio, is like doubly all over it, where like he is right in the NFL asking, why is no one doing anything about St. Omni?

And they aren't responding to him. He's on the other side of it. He's on the pro-agent side. It's also, though, the same place where we were reporting all the agents saying, look, if Lamar had an agent, we'd be tampering the head. hell out of this. We'd be breaking all the rules that now we care about. They're just mad that he skipped all the Zoom meetings. It's like, St. Omni doesn't have to go to the compliance plan meetings? I don't do Zoom meetings. Well, it's definitely like you're not in our group and you're

doing all this. Wait, he wasn't at the town hall. Exactly. He doesn't get to get the benefits. I mean, nothing about this. They were mad about Lamar for not sort of selling himself around and it appears someone is is doing it now. And the semantics of, whether like it's illegal or not I don't think are going to matter in the end it's more matters it like is someone going to do something about it Colts

it's like someone this is so weird it is it's moving so slow I don't know if this means that he is in a situation where he's like not panicking but I mean now he's reaching out to other options to try and get things moving

he knows that he needs to but I guess the longer he waits the more leverage he kind of has right in other news speaking of leverage speaking of guaranteed dollars our boss on some level Roger Goodell

on a very concrete level right that's the level his name is on the checks I love that Roger Goodell and NFL owners are expected to finalize a multi-year contract extension for the commissioner at next week's owners meetings in Phoenix

this is Roger Goodell's fourth extension or it will be since becoming commissioner taking over for Paul Tagliabu in September of 2006 Greg Gadell obviously has the faith of ownership

across the league to continue to get these extensions and the big paycheck that goes with it. Hey, Raj week. That was a bot. You know, us February 19th birthday boys have to stick together me and Raj.

Totally. And I'm hoping for a similar type extension at a similar level. There was reports years ago that this was going to be his last contract. And I think we've heard that. Those reports always happen. It's happened a couple of times. And then you get to the end and they're like, you know what Roger Goodell has been really great at making us a ton of money. And they all want to keep them.

And it's tough for him like many players when they get towards the end of their career. And they think maybe they're going to retire. and then they get offered a great amount of money to keep it rolling. So next stop, Roger Goodell, let's figure out what's going on with the old NFL media. Yeah, I mean, that would be the next bullet point, I guess. I mean, this isn't a secret thing. He's talked about it, that they've, you know, had these, you know,

putting it out there, trying to get a partner. And so I'm just curious what's going to happen. It's weird because he's always seemed. We are invested in that outcome. Yes. He seemed younger to me, but he'll be older. If he goes through the end of this extension, which he'd be 68, that's five years older than Peter.

Roselle was and three older than Paul Tagliabu who both Taglibu always seemed older than me than Goodell by the end of the old. I saw him in Arizona outside of the coffee shop as I was walking Watanabe son who was by the way a huge Tokyo Swallows fan. Love that man. That's your father and love.

Sat Taglibu walking by. What a large man. He got to be 6'6 or he works out. And he does not look young now. That is for sure. Um Gadell's going to have this job indefinitely. I mean, I wasn't going to say that. Yeah. I think that he can have this job basically as long as he wants if he continues on this course. If he gets, and there's a new report from ESPN about one of the bidders,

a Canadian businessman for the Washington commander. I mean, if he gets Snyder out the paint and gets a big stadium and billionaire owner, I think that's one of the best moments of Goodell's career. It feels like he's helping that. Long time coming. All right. Let's take a break and we'll be right back. All right, we're back.

In other news, the Houston Texans continue to build up their roster ahead of the very likely the new quarterback to come with the second overall pick. They signed running back Devin Singletary, formerly of the Bills one year, $3.75 million. He will join the backfield with Damian Pierce, who looked very good in his rookie season. They also, I like this move,

they signed tight end Dalton Schultz, formerly of the Cowboys one year, $9 million. So there you go. This is a Texas team that, yes, Justin. Just moments ago, as you were teeing that up, the Texans sign former Raiders linebacker Denzel Perryman to a one-year contract as well. Wow.

A pro bowler as recently as 2021. Very active time for Houston. Your thoughts, Mark. Well, I think it's, you know, you want to create an environment where the rookie quarterback you bring in who is, you know, you've got Case Keen and we could start the season, but build a good environment. And it's been a terrible environment for a long time. And you just move Brandon Cooks.

And so you're light on wide receivers, but I like their back. field. Dalton Schultz, Laramie Tunsell across from Titus Howard at tackle with Shaq Mason at guard. Their offensive line was a disaster for a long time. They are starting to build the semblance of an infrastructure to put a rookie quarterback in there. And I do think that the difference is you don't have another one of these one and done coaches that are propped up as total fall guys. You've got to Miko Ryans who the players already love. Yeah. And Dalton Schultz, he's going to be perfect for whoever they bring in there at quarterback as a security blanket. I mean, he did great

things with Dak Prescott, and I'm kind of surprised because Dak loved throwing to him. He was one of his best targets, or most reliable targets. So I think that this is going to be, this is a nice little sign in here. You asked me like a month ago. Nice job.

Like, do I what do I consider a win for this top 101 list and whatnot? You could look at the Dalton Schultz's lack of a market as an L, because I had him super high up. I was really surprised by that. I was shocked how, by that, he didn't get more money because he got the whole up to $9 million.

I don't know what's up with the up to this year. Everything has turned to up to, which is just a way to not say their real salary, which I think based on reports, we haven't gotten the details, is going to be like Mike Gaseki, which is about half of $9 million and with a bunch of incentives. I'm shocked that Schultz and Gaseki didn't really get much money, didn't get a lot of interest. They misread their market. And, like, Hayden Hurst got way more than both of them. I like these moves for the Texans. They're, like, real live NFL offensive starters. I do wonder, though, the tight end class this year is really deep and really talented.

So that actually makes sense. I think teams are waiting for that. But Dalton Schultz is a great signing. She's back. She's back. She needed a comeback take, and she got it. All right. And before we hit odds and ends and hold on to your butts for that.

Oh, no. Let's us into one of the forgotten important plays in recent Super Bowl history. Out of the shotgun, Ryan, gets hit. Ball is out. This is a fumble. New England has it. Hightower knocked it out. And Branch recovers for the Patriots.

That was Danta Hightower of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 53, the 283 game. It was 2812 at that moment with 8. Eight minutes to play in the fourth quarter of the Patriots. Eight minutes to play, it's third and one. They should call it the 28 to 12 with eight minutes to go on a third and one game. I know that's not as good as 28 to 3, but that's even more remarkable than just 28 to 3. How about this, Gregie? How about this, Gregie?

I thought we were teeing up a different highlight because he, Dante Hightower, linebacker, retired yesterday officially. He made the tackle on Marshawn Lynch at the one-yard line before the Russell Wilson interception by Malcolm Butler. and we were sitting in that stadium high up and when Marshaun got that ball it looked like he was going in and that would have put New England behind in that game with less than a minute's play or about a minute to play

that to me was like the play but another great patriot the man was called Mr. February by no less than Bill Belichick and that play those two plays actually kind of summarized on to Hightower well because he was a big guy who could blitz he was the only linebacker on the field

in that Rams game where they held them to three points, six guys up front, one linebacker because he could do it all. Blitz, run, stop, and that play where he stopped Lynch, like, he has the center on him and he disengages from that block and tackles one of the toughest guys to tackle

in the league, Marshawn Lynch, just a yard before. And, like, they literally don't win those two Super Bowls without Dante High Town. I think, like, the performance against the Rams is undersold because, of those two other games. He dominated Jared Gough. The Rams didn't get past New England's 26-yard line and it had a lot to do with High Tower, how he was dispatched, he missed the Eagles Super Bowl with a torn pectoral. You have to wonder, looking at that game with the fact that you're right, Belichick called him Mr. February, what happens in that insane back-and-forth contest if you have High Tower in there? Because he simply, he delivered every Super Bowl there was. The same result happens. No, I don't agree with you, Colleen. Not at all.

You got Hightower in Folk's face. You know, Gregi, the Patriots may not be special anymore, but all the kind of various homecoming anniversary half-time, that's part of having this great run like they had for 20 years. Those are going to be, they're always going to be lit, bro. You're going to have so many big-time guys that you get to roll out. As a Yankee fan with Old Timers Day, you have the same thing, especially like from the 50s and 60s, those runs.

So it would be like Brady, is DiMaggio and Belichick will be mantle in general. He got all these guys like Devin McCordy retired also and he was another vital cog in the Patriots machine. He will be coming out of that tunnel. You guys will always have that. And I believe it's highly magnanimous of me to bring it up. Matthew Slater is back. He's just, you know, their core special teamer. But McCordy and Hightower retiring this offseason does feel like kind of, okay, this is really the end of the last embers of the players that were there for the titles. still have the old Yankees.

Am I misremembering this? As a kid, like the old Yankees would come out and play like a squad versus squad game? Yes. Slightly depressing. Is that, they shelved that at this point? Or do they still bring like 49, 55 year old, 62 year old players out? Like actual graybeards.

They do. Yeah. They bring them out and they play like three innings. But you can do that in baseball. That's a nice thing. You can't even try doing that in football pads. Yeah. The less said about that, the better.

It's just, that would be a tough stitch. Oh, no. All right, from one depressing, scary situation to odds and ends, Connie. Oh, God, okay. Different kid. I don't know if I have another key. You have another key. It's in you.

It's high. All right. Let's go high. Three, two, one, one, go. Odds and ends, odds and ends. Hey, everybody, tell your friends, it's odds and ends. Oh, it's very good. But where was the...

When it's... When it's our ominous sin. When she's here, it's not ominous. It's happy. It's happy. It's happy. It's happy. as Greg said I thought because Colleen's here it's like it's a little more pleasant what is what are these conversations that I'm missing there were no conversations there was a synth there you just didn't quite catch it no Dan's going to have to talk to you after the show break down in communication

Justin Graver please report to the principal's office bring your playbook Dr. Kansas will see you. I did send you a bunch of options and you never got back. There he is. Two sides to every story. It's good. That will be struck from the record, though. All right.

Odds and ends. Here we go. Okay. Do we do eight o'clock delight with odds and ends? Yeah. Yes. All right, hit it, please. The bill.

make a move, adding Damien Harris to their backfield, former Patriot. Great move. A lot of juice. A lot of upside. It was terrific two years ago. More on the bills in a moment. Yeah, don't let it stop you from getting Derek Henry. Start her right away. Dante Fowler returns to the Cowboys, Connie. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, he did a great job last year. I think that he's going to be able to do a good one this year, too. Michael Parsons, DeMarcus, Lawrence. Come on, let's go.

Ronald Jones also there. I guess he replaces Zeke. Ben Rathosberger claims the 49ers contacted him last year, Mark. I mean, they went after Jimmy G. They asked about Tom Brady. They asked about Aaron Rogers in years past. They pulled a trade for a trade for Tray Lance. I think they probably don't know why they had to say it claimed it. Do we just assume that Ben Rothesburg is lying on the radio about this?

I think it's fair to question. What a weird thing to lie about it? Mid-season. It was mid-season. You know why? Why? Because Greg wrote that. Yeah.

I know. From our thing was Ben Rotspur claims the fort? Like, why would you just come on air and lie? It's hard to believe, though. It's also not that high octane of a thing to say. Like, so we're assuming you're coming from the place you think he's lying to us. I think as journalists, you want to have double two sources. Maybe get Cam Newton instead.

If it's a choice between Cam and Ben. The Pats bring back Jalen Mills, 80 Goldman unretires to join the Falcons. Andrew Van Ginkle returns the dolphins. Isaiah McKenney, McKenzie joins Colts, David Blow, back with Cardinals. Ooh, safe. The Blauards. He has a chance to start, I think, week one. I don't know if Colt McCoy will be there.

I don't think he has a chance to start week one. I mean, I hope not. Geez. You're right now. They've got Kyler Murray, who's not going to play for a month plus, and you've just signed another quarterback. A chance. Okay, that's fair.

I guess I'm just trying to think of a... I'm claiming he has a chance. Week one. That is a tough stitch. Yeah, unless you're trying to go... Unless you're doing the old desert tank job. What is it? What is the old...

You learned it in journalism class. Greg going muckraker. They would put out like actual newspapers of like, you know, yellow journalism. Yellow journalist, Greg Rosenthal. All right. You ready? Let's take a break. Get some power rankings.

All right, welcome back. You ready? Ready? Let's go. I've never been more ready. Let's call in time. Let's rush and doll this, bitch. All right.

Go. What? Hey, welcome to NFL power rankings, presented by Energizer. Is that what we're doing? Yeah, well, I don't know if we needed the presenting sponsor, but sure. I like batteries. I'm Dan Ansos with Colleen Wolfe and two very special guests today. Greg Rosenthal and Mark Sessler.

What's up? It's a pleasure to be here on your guys weekly, periodic pod about the power rankings, right, Greg? Yeah, what took so long to ask us? I think it's important to set boundaries, you know? I didn't think you guys would want to be coming in for a Tuesday Power Rankings taping and then do what Connie and I did, which is turn around and drill a Tuesday around the NFL taping. I'm not sure I buy that take at all, but we'll proceed forward with the today show. Also, I've heard Mike Flame, Mr. F, might be available for offseason sponsorship.

He let me know personally, he's an expert in escrow. He is? I bet. Mr. F. We've always wondered about Mr. F and what his true background is, where he gained immense wealth and traveling the world.

Is he still in the Hague? Eskro, bro. He's literally a math genius from Hague, the Netherlands. So knowing escrow wouldn't be that far out of bounds. He's now in Maine. It's true. You should outsource all math to him.

Dan. Yes, exactly. I put him on retainer. So he's an escrow math genius. I mean, I know he's ingenious enough to be teaching you know, hungry high school students about economics and math and mathematical concepts. He's laughing at this because he's like,

escrow's not complicated. What is wrong with these people? I don't know if it is complicated. And like 85% of our listeners are like, who's Mr. F? Go back to season two or three. Go back, baby. All right.

Power rankings. Yes, there's a new power rankings up written by me on NFL.com. You could find it NFL.com slash power rankings. or NFL.com slash handsis. And, yes, it's an assignment. Did you ever get assigned, by the way, Mark, the QB index, post-free agency? Post-free agency?

Yeah. I have not, and I would rather you not bring that up as a concept. That's so nice of you to remind. You have to say, though, because I was thinking about why not. Like, I don't think it makes as much sense for QB index. Nothing's changed. Like, what, why are we putting, like, some teams don't even have to happen.

I'm going to put in Ryan Tannahill in terms of its own personal performance. since I did it four weeks ago. If I could, let me just say, like, if Ali Bunpari, our editor is listening to this. He's not going to drive with this. These players, the quarterbacks that have switched teams, they change schemes, playmakers around them.

I think maybe a pretty thorough deep dive about their new arrangements, how it could change where they fit in the league as a whole. I think it's worth it. Well, right, because QB Index isn't just a ranking. It's like a culture. It's a way of life. Thank you.

And in the off season, sometimes when you don't do the rankings, you can still have interesting looks at the QB market. There's a lot to talk about. I don't entirely disagree with the concept. I don't know why the two of you are trying to take a weekday of mine and completely wash it aside. Like, where did Patrick Mahomes finish? Number one.

Okay. No left tackle right now. You lose Juju Smith-Schuster. I mean, I would assume he's probably still number one, but let's discuss it. No, I'll drop them down to eight or nine at this point. 300-word blurb. All right, let's get into it, because I did have to do this assignment.

Which makes entirely more sense. Yes, it does. I guess I should feel more urgency on that front, then. So let's kind of go through it. I'll read the top. That is not me from today if you're trapped in your car. I hope you're not trapped in your car right now. Also, call the authority to help you get out.

If you could reach to the on-star button, if you're in danger. if you still have that. Does that still exist? Here's the top 10 and kind of connected again to Mark's QB index. I have the chiefs at one, Eagles 2, they stay there. I got the Bengals still at 3, the Bills at 4, the Niners at 5. They swap spots. I don't know why.

The Cowboys 6, Jaguar 7, Chargers 8. Jets 9, Dolphins 10. So there's the top 10. And I'm going to, you guys can jump in whenever. I kind of went through it and I just wanted to share some. thoughts. And I'll start with the bills because we hit it quickly there in 8 o'clock to light. And I think I know your answer, Mark. But I like Damien Harris. I've always liked Damien Harris. And so I think he's an upgrade over Devin Singletary. But Connie, do you think

that they still need to do more to help that quarterback? Or would you be okay with them rolling forward with this and some draft adjustments? I kind of kept them where they were. basically because I feel okay about it, but at the same time, it did seem to me like this is going to be a missed opportunity. So it's such a pivotal year for Buffalo. Yeah, I don't love what they've done so far in free agency because they haven't done a lot here.

I think that they do need to help out Josh Allen. Obviously, that offensive line was an issue at the end of the year, too. So that's something that needs to be figured out. But, you know, I like the fact that they kept Jordan Poyer losing Edmonds though is such a big one for them and I think that's going to come back to bite them. Like I'd struggle and I know first of all when you're doing the list it's like

this stuff gets into a different place and it's not because you're using some deepest mathematical form but they were five and they're now four and like the nineers lost some guys but they didn't tangibly change to me and so my thing is more not about where they're ranked but it's like you mentioned DeAndre Hopkins

I think would be that's a good fit for Buffalo it's like go get them now he's got a couple seasons left. You've got one of the best quarterbacks in the league. You can pair them with the rest of that offense. Austin Eckler, you mentioned. That's a great idea. Like someone, or if you want to go Derek Henry, it's like,

if you're the bills and you've been this quiet and you're not going all in and you're saying the roster we had last year is good enough. When again, like, this is a team that's not suffered the devastating injuries that other teams have. They've relatively had on defense, maybe it on offense. That offense has been relatively healthy. And is this the best team in the AFC? like we presumed a year ago, I don't think so at all.

But I think they deserve to stay in the top five because they've earned it. They have continuity on defense. I think they're going to miss Leslie Frazier. That was a sneaky big loss to suddenly that McDermott maybe is calling plays again. They have more needs than they've had in previous years. I expect them to get creative and do more. It doesn't surprise me that they're kind of second wave of free agency team because they didn't have a ton of cap space. But to answer your question, Dan, no, they haven't done enough.

They got issues at receiver. they got issues on their offensive line. Now they got to replace Edmonds. Keeping Poir was nice, but I think they're going into this part of the season with a little more obvious needs than usual that they're going to have to address creatively or in the draft.

They signed Connor McGovern on the offensive line, but I think they still need more help beyond that. Yeah. I just are they going in the right direction? Like I said, they got to get over the hump this year and, you know, we'll see. Yeah, with San Francisco, Mark, that's just more like my kind of takeaway.

thinking about like do we feel better or worse or about the same with their quarterback situation this year i love that you know i was i didn't mention them as a winner with barnwell the other day but like you know fortifying that defensive line again which has been such a big part of what what they do um was very important um so they they did that in free agency um but we shall see i want to go to some tough ones tough ones the chargers at eight and i was thinking like should the chargers be dropped out of the top 10? I don't know. Like, I think there's some of that 27 zilch stink from the playoffs that I'm dealing with personally.

And Austin Echler came out and said he still wants to be a charger if they could get a deal done. So maybe that's not over at this point. But there's just, I don't know, maybe it's just a bad vibe situation with L.A. Do you guys see them as a top 10 team? It's a bad vibe. I think it's a bad vibe thing right now. Like, it's, they need, they need more speed at the wider season. Deaver position for sure. I know that they need some help on the edge too, but it just feels like

no matter what happens with the Chargers, they still can't get it done. And then when you have Austin Echler who's trying to get paid and he's such a good player and that whole situation, I just like don't feel great about the Chargers. Yeah, I feel like it's two years in a row where you're left. Like the Brandon Still had these early high moments where he was sort of seen as a genius and a great communicator. And then like that Raiders lost two years ago was ugly from a coaching angle. And last year to lose the way they did is just like his whole selling point when he came in his early Q&A's was like, I don't even understand what it means to Charger. This is not that culture. It's like, but you just, it's not just you, but the whole team collectively did

the biggest version of that ever. And they haven't had a lot of ability to do much in this offseason. So they've stayed put outside of the Austin Neckler News. For me, when I see the Jaguars at seven and charges at eight, it just tells me how quickly the league drops off from teams that you could trust to make an AFC or NFC title game to absolute middle of the pack everyone else. Right. I think you have the right top five and the Cowboys make sense as six. I think they've had a solid offseason so far and they've just got so much talent. And then after that, like, you could pick almost any team.

The Jaguars were the ones that stuck out to me the most is like, wow, seventh best team in the league. A lot went right for them a year ago. They do have Trevor Lawrence, but I guess I'm not ready to put Trevor Lawrence with Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow and those quarterback just yet because I just want to see it like a little bit more

and I guess I'm not just assuming that they are a house on fire that starts right where they were a year ago it's nice they're in that division they couldn't do as much spending obviously this year because what they did last off season but the Ridley trade when you add Ridley to the rest of the guys that are there Kirk Zay Jones Evan

Ingram Travis Aetian and Lawrence in year three who now has Mojo right I don't have a he's a He would be a buzzy MVP. I don't have a logical candidate for who then even would be ahead of them at seven. You can make a million cases. Like the Ravens to me are low at 13, but that's because they're the Ravens and the Lamar thing confuses everything. I might put those Detroit Lions up at seven.

Let's really get carried away. Why drop them two spots? Like I love what they did adding to the secondary. Yeah, I bumped the, and this county you'll remember with the AFC West last year, they were the darlings. They opened week one, three teams in the AFC West. the top 10 and two of them flatlined more or less. And so it's this year, it's the Jets and Dolphins who I just think have a lot of upside this year and there's a lot of positive buzz right now and that's what I'm writing it.

And it makes sense to me that they have top 10 team upside. And I guess it comes at the expense of the lions, but I mean, I have them from 9 to 11. I still, I love the lines. I love what they've done in the secondary with Sutton Mosley and C. G.J. That is a big upgrade and I guess they still need to get a little better in the front seven. Can you trust the defense at this point

beyond Aiden Hutchinson? They thought they had great depth last year and it didn't quite work out that way. They played better as the season went along but I like that the aggressively addressed one issue. The offense is in good shape but you're kind of just picking your favorite teams here. I probably would have

put the jets, the dolphins and I would put the lions, all of those guys ahead of the Jags and Chargers for now. I would have maybe bumped up the Saints a little higher. Ooh. I kind of like the Saints. They're at 22. And then you have

the Browns at 21, the Rams at 20. The Rams feel. That's stood out to me. Rough there. Okay. So let's start with the Saints then because that was one of the teams, Connie, you're on the right track. Hey, hey.

That was one of the teams when I was going through it again. I was like, you know what? I think I like the Saints more than I'm giving them credit in these rankings because their defense obviously was not the issue last year. In fact, the Saints defense were eighth and total DVOA last year.

They were third and weighted DVOA. And then you look at the offense and like the offense has got a chance here. So you got Derek Carr. Michael Thomas is such a huge piece here and a part of the mystery around this offense. But Alave and Thomas on the surface is one of the better pairings

of wide receivers in the league. Joanne Johnson could be a Pro Bowl type player. Jamal Williams now is there, and he's better than Mark Ingram at this stage, and he also gives them cover if Alvin Kamara misses a bunch of time with this off-the-field issue. So I think they're going to score points,

and I think the defense should be, maybe does the defense take a step back? Is that the concern? Because this does seem like a team that can win 10 games. I agree, but they're asking Dennis Allen to cook some magic in that defensive line. It's basically Cam Jordan in a lot of like,

who? They did lose some players, including Marcus Davenport, David On Yamada, and brought in guys, Kaelin Saunders, Nathan Shepard. We haven't talked about these moves. But these were guys that were like 300, 400, okay snaps for other teams that the Saints are going to ask to do a little bit more. 22 feels low, though. They feel very much like a middle of the road closer to 16 type of team.

I mean, I'm struggling with a couple things, like the Falcon. Oh, Cessors, come get my ass. I spent, we spent all this time listening to each other talk. And you've been off Atlanta Falcons for two years. And I've always thought that, like, if anything Arthur Smith has gotten into a better record than they should have had. They were seven and ten a year ago, imperfect, but he found a way to coach around some of their weaknesses. They're not the 27th team in the NFL to me right now. After what they, they've at least gone for it.

I mean, if you're going to take the jets without even having Aaron Rogers yet and propel them up seven spots, I see what you're doing there. Like, it's well set. but like I don't understand the Jets as the seventh best or the ninth best team in football and the Falcons at 27. What are the Jets have to do with the Falcons though? Because I don't see that disparity there like that difference. I just think that there's, I think, I think, I, Dan, I know you're not going to want,

I don't see the Jets as the ninth best team yet. I want to see that. Let's go back to there. Let's go back to there. Because I thought we breeze past that a little bit. It's like that was audacious. And I'm totally down to hear it. Tell me, and maybe it's as simple as you don't think Aaron Rogers can play anymore.

But what makes the Jets not a team that is at least in that conversation? I think, number one, I would flip the Dolphins and Jets to start. If we have the Jets at 10, I can look at that. I'd flip them with the Lions, though, and put them down at 11. And we're talking about a Giants team that just made the playoffs that I think is really well coached. I think the Jets are well coached too. I think you are hoping and presuming that you're probably going to get one year with Aaron Rogers, that you get a plugged in, much better version.

Right, but with the Ravens, they're getting dropped because they don't have Lamar Jackson right now and we don't know what's going to happen there, right? Amongst other things. I mean, the Ravens, to me, like... I think we're assuming we know what's going to happen with Aaron Rogers. That's big day.

But I don't know. I just feel to me, I guess as a stung Browns fan, this offseason reminds me of the offseason where they traded for O'Dell Beckham and they were being talked about as this thing that's just going to develop and happen. And there are a lot of X-factors that can get in the way of that. And it has not appear to me to be a put in Aaron Rogers about to turn 40 in a new city,

in a new, like it won't be a new offense, but with all new teammates, we don't know how long this is going to go on if he's going to actually miss the entire offseason, plug them in and they're essentially the fourth best team in the AFC. For you as my friend, I hope that, I don't see that right now. I need to see more proof of that of that. Dude, everything you're saying makes sense. Mark. Everything you're saying makes sense there.

There is two ways this can go. I don't think there's a middle. I think they can be very competitive and be a major player in the AFC or things can go very poorly with Aaron Rogers. I think the reason I have them here is there is a lot of upside here. And at this portion of the rankings and also when you look at the other AFC contenders, I think they have the potential to be better than any of those teams. you know, pointedly have them beneath the Jaguars and Chargers, but they're right there. I just think when you look at Rogers, and this is what a lot of this is about, their defense is ready to go.

We know that. That's going to be, that's going to be a strength of this team. And I think they have in Garrett Wilson, Alan Lazard, and Elijah Moore, a really good trio. I think Elijah Moore, with a actual quarterback, there's still a big-time player there, potentially. Okay? I think Breeze Hall comes back from that injury. If he comes back, okay, and again, these are ifs. he could be a star running back.

The offensive line is going to be better. They're going to use their draft to build it better. They're going to get healthier. And I think you put those things together. There's just a lot pointing to this being a good team. And I guess my pushback to you on that mark would be where would you have the Jets in this exercise? Who else in the AFC, for instance, should be ahead of it. Well, like I said, I would put them, first of all, I...

Besides the dolphins. All right, so I'd flip them with the dolphins. I'd flip them with the lions. So they'd be down at 11. I might have them above the giant. but I still, I look at the Seahawks at 14 and say, I think the Seahawks, after what they achieved a year ago, that feels low to me.

I think the Seahawks have showed me more than the Jets right now. The Jets do have all these things, but like last year they had a lot of those things too. They had terrible quarterback play, but they completely... But that's what it's about, you know what I mean? But they completely crumble down the stretch. That's part of your DNA as a team where the Seahawks who a year ago, I don't know where they were in these power rankings,

but we were laughing at the idea of Gino Smith and Drew Locke and fill in the blank doing anything. And they make the playoffs because of that, because of that organization. So if the Jets are selling us a massive organizational sea change, that's cool now. But it's like, you know is better than anyone. It's like when we get to October, November, it could look completely different. So it just feels a little. You said to me last week, Mark, when I was talking about how I understand there could be reasons to be negative and the history is tortured, none of that actually matters.

Like, what matters when the games kickoff is who's on the field. I think there's an organizational trust, especially from ownership, that when things go wrong and there's always going to be some adversity during the season, that are they an organization that's going to handle it well? Like, you hope it's different with this coach and GM and everything, and they're more important in ownership, but there is something in me that, like, looks at Ravens and looks at Jets and, like, if they're close, I'd probably just give the edge to the Ravens because they're the Ravens. And I'm not pitching this.

disaster scenario either. You had them at 16 at the end of the season. The Rogers thing is nice. All I'm saying is I, Seahawks, lions, dolphins above the jets for me right now, they're sitting down around 13, 14. There's promise and we'll, let's go. So you would have them at 13 and I have at 19. 13, 14, maybe. Okay. So not that far off. It's not that far off. But to vault the jets into the top 10 in this kind of exercise is a headline grabbing move. Colleen, these guys once hosted the debate club together. We're just sitting here as a bystander. Before we think they can move on, we just want to say this because I, the one thing that

does annoy me is when people twist this stuff, no one knows this has a chance to go terribly more than I do. Do not think, I think this means I'm certain the jets are going to be great. This is a projection of what they could be. And if Aaron Rogers is there and healthy, what their potential is. You never, you're not like this one-sided rose color. I'm out here saying there's no way the Jets aren't going to be awesome this year. No, but in this exercise, they're ranked 9th, so that's why we're discussing.

Dan's annoyed now. It makes sense to me. I'm not. Ninth is a borderline playoff team or like sort of lower-end playoff team, which sounds about right to me. I'd probably have him 11th or something, but that sounds or 10th, but that sounds about right. One of the teams in the middle that shocked me, first of all, I might have the Vikings

not in the top 22 or something. Oh, you know what's funny before we go to your thing there? Because that, in terms of on social media, after I posted this, on Twitter. The heat I was getting over Vikings fans that were annoyed with me that I have them

at 16. When are Vikings fans not annoyed with you? Well, they do the same with Kirk Cusins. They want them ranked fifth in the Cubian. Now I'm ready to reset.

They just feel like a rebuilding type of team. I think there's a decent chance I saw on mock draft live back on NFL Network hosted by Connie Fox. Hey, check it out, everybody. Every Tuesday.

DJ put Hendon Hooker, the 25-year-old quarterback prospect who's coming off an injury with Minnesota in the first round. So I think they could be like using a quarterback on their first round pick. It just feels like a transition year.

Carolina at 18 was as as surprising as almost any team on this entire list. I mean, I know they have some players on their defense and they do have the number one pick coming. But I just feel like they're like a bottom five or six team in the NFL at this point. They lost their receiver, DJ Moore. Like it's just a bad, it's not a great group. I know their offensive line played pretty well. I like Frank Reich in general, but it just feels like.

They're kind of a team that's, that's starting from scratch. We'll see how the number one pick plays. Maybe he'll be awesome right off the bat, but it's a lot to expect. Yeah, no, and that's not part of my projection is not about the number one pick, really. But going back to the Falcons now, yeah, you could definitely make a case they shouldn't be separated by 10 spots. I just, like, I see the Panthers of the team that's going for it, and they're being aggressive this offseason, and they're making a bunch of moves, and they're going for the quarterback they've wanted, and they're going to get the guy. they own the draft right now, and I see the Falcons as a team that's just, you know,

we talk about the Saints, they're okay with going nine and eight. Like, what are the Falcons trying to do? Like, they're just going to, in year three of Arthur Smith, they're just going to turn it over to Desmond Ritter and Taylor Heineke. And I'm supposed to get excited about that. I just, their ranking is about me and, you know, I write it. So, like, maybe it's not the most analytical breakdown, but it's like, what team is more kind of lost in the mist than the Falcons to me?

I mean, I'd say, I'd say, I, you could. From the quarterback angle, they believe in Desmond Ritter. If they stick with them, way more than you do and way more than a lot of people do. That's fair. But they've been as aggressive as any team out there to try to improve both sides of the roster. Bringing in Jesse Bates was good, but I just don't feel like the Falcons have a ton of juice. Also, I want to know, like, what are some of these other regrets that you have with? Regress.

Let's go through that. Because you said that you were kind of second guessing. That was a whole episode once. We should, remember we have the name. Regrets. I have the commanders too low. And I think that's, like, if the Giants are 12, the commanders can't be 29. Whoa.

I was annoyed about that. But also, I think some of that is like, I feel like the organization is just trapped in purgatory until they figure out this ownership thing. So I'm just kind of. Don't you feel like when you're doing this list, too? It's like, crap. Someone's got to be between 22 and 32. There's very little separating, like, 12. That's also because I'm down on the Giants, but very little separating 12, you know, to 15 and, like, some of the mid-20s teams.

But, like, the Giants is to cycle back to them. And like the reason why I have the jets above the Giants is a lot of this, especially this timing of power rankings, is like kind of a projection. I just think the jets have a higher ceiling than the Giants right now. So that's why I have them ahead. And I guess if I could do it again, maybe the Giants are down a couple spots and then the Washington commanders are up about three or four or five spots. But that was probably the big one that stuck out to me. Go ahead, Greg. I'm surprised that the Packers are so low.

I just have a feeling this is going to be one of my takes that we end up repeating for five months because it's the one ways to go. But I think the Packers were incredibly unlucky last year in terms of the close games that they lost, some of the injuries that they had certainly. I think I'm giving Lafleur some credit and their front office some credit

for winning 13 games, three straight years. I'm taking into account Aaron Rogers wasn't peak Aaron Rogers last year, and I'm taking their evaluation of Jordan Love into account and I'm thinking like if I look as a Lions fan now and that's what we all are like who's the team I'm worried about

in the NFC North it's still the Packers like if you told me the Packers come out this year and they go 11 and 6 and they've still got a lot of good players on the roster that wouldn't shock me at all and that's the organizational thing too where's the desert coming down right now in the NFC North is it Detroit

it's so early but my guess would be Detroit would be a slight favorite over Green Bay and Minnesota how about that? Vikings fans are going to come after you now. I think the Packers, they haven't done anything,

which is very annoying. Like, if I'm a Packers fan, why aren't you signing Dalton Schultz? Like, you have no one at tight end. Like, you haven't, you just, I know they'll do something eventually,

but there's some, there's some pieces there that you like a lot in terms of both sides of the ball, really. And, you know, the Ravens at number 13, which Connie, as we know, number 13,

what is number 13 in the power rankings? It's like the, the Twilight Zone. Yeah. It's like the team that I don't know what to do with them. They kind of confuse me. It's hard to figure it out

so I kind of just slap him at 13 and move on with my life. And like the Ravens, the reason why they're in that spot. They're a perfect 13. And why they're outside the top 10 is because, yeah, maybe Lamar's back. Maybe he's not. It's probably still leaning more towards

that he's not back, but I don't know. This may be one of the rare times where they think they belong at 13. They don't know what's going on. But because of the Lamar thing and maybe not because of some of their moves in recent years, I just feel like the whole organization

is frozen because remember even when Lamar was there last year and I know that changed the play caller and all that but like that offense wasn't so hot after the first couple weeks and they it was very clear like we need to like build around this quarterback we need to add some more weapons give them a chance to develop it as a pastor is that happening right now they haven't been able to do anything where is the moment the forward momentum of the Baltimore Ravens and that's why I couldn't

I couldn't have them in the top 10 that's why I have them behind the dolphins and the jets and the charges and the Jaguars because I can't usually I would just plug that. That's a top 10 team in this exercise in recent years this time of year. But I can't do it right now because I don't know what they're doing. I also say one of the thing for them that is this sort of raging X factors. You went out and got Todd Munkin as your offensive coordinator. And they're actually like probably having him go look at quarterbacks you like in the draft

that we can get somewhere because this is a guy that right now you're in the deep shadows trying to figure out a completely new offense. You're moving away from Greg Roman, away from Lamar Jackson Central, potentially. Like, that's not a good setup because it seems like we're a billion ways, a years away from the season. Not in this, not with this kind of stuff. Where you're like, what do the Ravens even look like on offense? Do our parts, do our players even fit? The draft's like four weeks away.

They lost Ben Powers. They cut Callais Campbell, who was visiting with the Falcons. They just had those veterans that, okay, it makes sense. You're not going to keep them forever. We'll see if any of them come back. But they were kind of key pieces for their team last year, Justin Houston, Marcus Peters, even at JPP who came in late. Like, I'm not worried about that, but they just feel like they have a lot more moves to go. And when Devin DuVernay is still your number two, it is a little concerning.

They seem, to me, like the most likely Hopkins team. They haven't made any. They just feel like they feel, that just feels right. Right? Just because of the Lamar? I mean, why would Hopkins want to go? And I guess, I don't know, does he have a no trade clause or anything? Like, why would Hopkins want to go there right now?

I don't see why I would. Oof, no. That might be part of it, too, that it's like, what offense are we going to build? We have to find out. who our quarterback is, too. There's got to be, like, we talk about, like, they talk about, like, you're, what are the Jets going to do if Aaron Rogers doesn't go there?

Like, what are the Ravens going to do if Lamar Jackson's there? What is their backup plan right now? What is their plan? If he's not there? Yeah. Well, because, hey, the theory, you get two first-round picks and you can, like, draft a quarterback. Have a little McCorkel Jones.

Let's go. Let's go. Give it to you. And that from the Tokyo Swallows. All right, there you go. Any other, I think we covered it pretty well there. Just a McCorkel for Lamar, straight up. You know, challenge trade.

That's depressing. All right. Good stuff. Great job. Anything else? Anything else anyone wants to share talking into a microphone. Big opportunity for everyone in the room right now. Justin, you as well.

Thanks, Dan. I have nothing right now, but I need a bigger heads up to think of things to say. God bless you. All right, let's go. I mean, unless somebody had something. Ooh, we're going out with the outro. That's it. I don't hate this.

This song. It's a good song. You know? It's a banger. It gets me ready for more power rankings. All right, we're going to be back with one more show this week. Connie, thank you. You said it all.

Of course. Anytime. next time he'd the call This is an I-Heart podcast.