NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Quarterback Island Season 2!

Episode Date: August 19, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Jourdan Rodrigue and Steve Wyche for the return of Quarterback Island! In the debut episode of season two, the crew decides the twelve players starting the new season on Quarterback Island. Things start with the players who can be automatically eliminated (03:10) and given (05:55) a spot on the Island. After the automatics, discussions on whether or not there is a spot on the Island for Jared Goff (09:50), Jalen Hurts (13:20), Dak Prescott (16:55), Drake Maye (21:30), Jayden Daniels (31:20), Bo Nix (34:00), Geno Smith (37:55), Baker Mayfield (39:30), Justin Herbert (41:50), Matthew Stafford (44:10), Jordan Love (47:00), C.J Stroud (51:20), and Brock Purdy (55:15). All leading up to the final spot (58:35) and complete starting cast of Quarterback Island Season 2!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. Twelve of the NFL's finest quarterbacks have left the comfort of their stadiums and luxury suites for the adventure of a lifetime. Get fucking set! These gridiron heroes are used to leading their teams. on the field, but can they outplay, outlast, and out throw each other in the ultimate survival challenge? You leave everything you have with the guy beside you.

We find a way to win the game no matter what. Let's go, baby! The stakes are high and the competition is fierce. Only one can claim the title of the ultimate survivor. Who will rise to the top and who will be sacked? They wrote me off. I ain't right back though. That's the problem. I ain't right back. Let's go. This is Quarterback Island.

Welcome to quarterback island. Here we are in the Chris Wesleying podcast studio where it's always island time and we have just been on a break. It is great to be back on the island. Yes. With the two people who have been here throughout, Steve Weish and Jordan Roderig,

who also has a co-executive producer credit for quarterback island. One of your favorite days of the year. Jordan, I ask you, what is quarterback island? How would you define how to get on to quarterback island? Quarterback Island is a place and an idea. It is categorizing in a non-ranked and non-listical way of the players who define what playing quarterback is this season in the NFL. I mean, even the intro is confusing that there's one winner. It was like so strategic.

I'm kind of like, hey, right now, whatever the number we choose, it's where the 12, best quarterbacks. Okay, that's your definition. That's why the 12 best quarterback with certain circumstances. I love how Greg says it's confusing. I literally went back and listened to our first episode last year of quarterback island.

And I almost verbatim used the exact description that Greg co-opted into defining what quarterback island is. And words can be used against you. And Greg's response to me, oh, it's confusing. I mean, 12, 12 men will finish this episode on quarterback ice.

To be clear. If you listen to last year's quarterback island, we did kick a few members off, made it smaller by the end. It ended with 10. But this is a brand new season. We're starting from scratch. We're not kicking anyone off per se,

or we're putting 12 guys on there. It's a level set. Five guys, actually, we went and checked. We've now got history. Stayed on the island throughout all of last season. Only five? I suspect those five will be back again this season. And yeah, we all have our different definitions

and we're going to talk about that during the show. To me, it's like who defines the quarterback position. It's not necessarily what I said when you asked me. I mean, you kind of were going. You were hemming and high and Steve was with me. Oh, my God. There's some extra verbiage in there, Joaquin. Yeah.

Oh, my God. But I will say this. Next time we have to get Mahomes' new haircut. Yes. In the picture. Yes. And if he's on it. You can check this show out on YouTube.

As always, I think it's safe to say that Patrick Mahomes is going to be on it. So let's just get right to it. There's 32 starting quarterbacks in the NFL, although we don't know who is starting for the New Orleans Saints. We did find out who is starting in week one for the Indianapolis Cold. So I thought one way to just speed through the top of this show is let's talk about the guys who just aren't on this island. Let's eliminate them. And I will read these 10 names.

And if you guys disagree at the end of it, we could have a longer conversation. I do want to talk about the Colts who named Daniel Jones their starter on Tuesday. But here are 10 guys, I think we don't need to really go too long about it. Joe Flacco with the Cleveland Browns. Whoever wins the Saints starting quarterback job. The Giants, Russell Wilson, you know, great career. Jackson Dardt, very interesting. I don't think they're on quarterback island right now.

I mentioned Daniel Jones. That's four right there. Last year we didn't put any rookies on quarterback. Island going into the year. I don't think Cam Ward is going to make an exception to this rule. Justin Fields with the Jets, you know, excited to see him play, not on quarterback on. J.G. McCarthy barely played any football at this point. Basically true for Michael Pennix, too.

Not a huge body work for Michael Pennix. And then the last of these 10 that I don't even think merits discussion because of how he played last year would be Aaron Rogers. I think he's pretty far from this list right now. do you guys disagree with any of those 10? And if you were choosing someone from these 10, if you do agree, that would make it onto the quarterback island at some point this year. I'm just curious.

Like pick one of these 10 that actually made the leap onto the island at some point. Yeah. Well, I agree with them. First of all, I don't think that these merit, thank you. I don't think that these merit further discussion about being off the island for sure. If somebody is going to ascend to the island at the next time we do this, I would say Mike Pennix has a pretty good shot. I would be either Pennix or J.J. McCarthy.

Interesting. Yeah. I mean, Penix is going to put up some numbers this year. When I thought of like the big picture of it all trying to answer my own questions, I am obviously an Aaron Rogers hater and not believing that he's going to play well this year. But if I take that bias away, he is playing for a pretty great organization. He is one of the all-time greats. He will be in the mix of, you know, the prime time.

games and everything. I think he has a shot here, like to prove us all wrong and to become at the center of the quarterback discussion again, if I had to choose one of these guys. But, uh, all right, we've eliminated 10 right off the top. That was fast. You're gone.

That's good. Next up, I mentioned five guys stayed on the island for all of last season. Four of them have kind of separated themselves to me in the quarterback discussions as the big four right now. That's Patrick Holmes, Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Joe Burrow. I'm all ears to any hot takes or anything you guys want to say about these gentlemen in general, but it seems obvious they are going to

be part of quarterback island. They increase the property there, you know, the rent. Like, just having these guys there is good for the island. Yeah, I don't disagree with any of these. These are established islanders. These are guys who you think about. when you think about, A, not just the best quarterbacks in the league right now, but also the people who collectively define the quarterback position as it stands right now in 2024, 2025. I also think it's also fair to say that I've got one eye on, I know Greg, you've been on this too, got one eye on Pat Mahomes, needs to play a little bit better. I think that, you know, it's still inside top 10 numbers for collectively, if you look at his advanced metrics and some

of his more simple stats, still ninth in EPA per dropbacks, still ninth in touchdowns. 26 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, but actually a sub 100 passer rating at 93 and a half. It's not a perfect stat, obviously. But Patma Holmes, I think, could ascend a little bit higher this year. Some of the people they've built around him in terms of his offensive line. You just really want to see him back in that completely defined status of being the best quarterback in the NFL, statistically by, you know, reputation.

By the eyes. Give me a little sizzle, Patrick wants. me quarterback on is much more of a feeling of like how they make you feel how center they are in and are they passing the eye test and he does to make the top four he is can he get back to the old mahome he is to me to me he's one of the two one two or three guys you could put on any team in any system under any head coach under any weather conditions and he is going to make your team better he's going to add wins a significant i think these four are the four i think these four i think these four?

Who's the guy you're leaving out there? Because I was going to ask you guys if you were picking one of these four to not be on the island healthy at some point this year. Like which one would you pick? Because the history of the NFL would say that they're not that consistent. And yet the all-time grades kind of are. These guys are. So I thought it was an unfair question because I couldn't answer it either.

Thank you for having that conversation with yourself in your own head and talking yourself out of it. That's literally what NFL Daily is all about. I will say this, though. The way you went about this is exactly how I did. I'm like, okay, who are the guys who are definitely on there? And right now you, so you knocked off 10 and I, 22, okay. And now we put on four.

So they're on the island. Four. Right. So you put on four. So I was like, okay, I got to 18. Then who are the, who are the guys who are definitely on? Okay. So we have 18 remaining starting quarterbacks in the NFL.

Oh, good luck, everyone. We're getting into the math portion. No, it should be easy. Oh, boy. We have eight spots. And what I wanted to do here, you know, 18 guys, eight spots is that we go around the room and we bring up quarterbacks for discussion and we will vote either yes, no, or table at the end of each

one of those three. And it doesn't, you don't have to bring up a guy that you think should be on, although you can. If you want to go strong and say, I think this person should be on, we'll go through these players. If you want to bring up someone you think shouldn't be on, just to kind of start eliminating some people, that that's fine too. And looking at the final 10 members of last year. And if you're curious, it was the four that we mentioned. And it was Jaden Daniels, Jared Goff, Justin Herbert, Sam Darnold,

Baker Mayfield, Gino Smith. This happened. We did the final QB Island, really before the playoffs happened right at the beginning of the playoffs. Only one of those guys stayed on the island the entire season from beginning to end.

So I'm just going to start the process and nominate and say I do support Jared Goff just staying on the island. because at this point, and yeah, if you're watching, we have some placards. Steve Weiss is holding up a yes. Yes. Jordan Rodriguez holding up a yes. No question.

And it's just kind of amazing that he's stamped himself as like this guy that is in that area of quarterback. I'm not saying he's the fifth best. This is where I disagree with you. Steve, I don't see this as like who's just the best. But if you're talking about who is defining the position and who is playing at a consistently high level, it has to be jerk. I would agree. And I think he's to the point now where even though Ben Johnson is left and everyone said Ben Johnson's the guy who got him going, I think Jerry Goff is somewhat on autopilot now in terms of he can dictate, he can read things better, he's got tremendous talent around him.

You know, you've got that offensive line, the receivers, the running backs. Again, I think unless he's just an absolute disaster, which I just don't see, I think he's a veteran quarterback now who can step right in and keep this thing rolling. Yeah, I don't worry as much about the changing. over of the coordinators that they're going to be going through in Detroit. And that's partially because, A, we know Dan Campbell can identify talent at coach and B, because Jared Goff's actually doing more at the line of bridge now than he ever used to do. And I think what really defines where Jared Goff is right now for me in terms of what this team building process has been over the years with Detroit is that he is a fixed point in the math equation where you know

when you're going to draft and scout talent, when you're going to bring in young talent when you're going to bring in free agents, you know exactly what the quarterback will give you to amplify and sort of magnify what those players are and how they fit as the rest of the pieces of the equation of your offense. He is a fixed point on the matter of them. And I think that

is, it's outstanding, first of all, for their offense, but as much change as happens, when you have that at quarterback, you're going to be okay. And look, he's not above a clunker. He started off last season slow. That playoff game turned on some Jared

Gough mistakes. Yes. But I agree that the guys we started with are the ones that you could put

in any situation and they would just elevate. And that's just next level. That's the Hall of Fame type of players. But the longer

we do this, it's like, you got to give Jared Gough the same grace I used to think about when people would talk about

Brady or Belichick or this or, you know, it's like Montana and Walsh. You can't divorce them. That's football. Like the system and the quarterback,

they work together. And this is the system that Jared Goff is in. And this is the era of football that he is very well built for and found the right coaches and he's just as consistent

as that haircut of Jared Gap. So, all right, we have five guys on quarterback Island. I'm just saying it's like the same every year. It looks great. He was really good on quarterback, by the way. I haven't made it all the way through.

Oh my gosh, it's the best one. Okay. I haven't made it all the way through. But he has spent weirdly more time on our televisions than almost any reality television Star. If you go back all the way to like how many hard knocks he's been on and all or nothing an NFL film, it's like, it's a lot of Jared Goff over the years. He's come a long way from being the

guy who doesn't know which direction the sun rises or sets. That's a great point. Let's have you bring up someone that you want on that you don't want on just to discuss. I would, first of all, I want this guy on the island. Second of all, I would like to write a wrong that we ended the season on last year. I think Jalen Hertz belongs on Quartheck Island. I'm also sort of channeling Colleen Wolf a little bit too. She's traveling so she's not here. She's on an actual island right now or a beach at the very least. I feel like it is only right, true and fair that Super Bowl winner, my quarterback for many reasons. Jalen Hertz is on quarterback island. And I think the vibes just are awesome with Jalen Hertz on quarterback island. Yeah, this is a easy yes for me too. Yeah. Let's hold him the sign.

Easy yes for me. Easy yes. Okay. I mean, again, supporting cast, great offensive line. You don't go by the passing numbers just, you know, solely. Yeah, but adds such a threat in so many ways and runs this offense. You can't, like you said, you cannot hold the system against the quarterback, Greg. You just said it. And I know we're all in agreement here. He is perfect for the environment around him and vice versa. It all works.

That guy's changed his coordinators every year and continues to be solid. And obviously they were a great regular season team last year, but he was not on quarterback island at the end of the regular season. we have to know. I mean, it does matter that you played your absolute best in the biggest game. Oh, yeah. And if you're watching the show, like, it's easy to forget how many big time throws he made in huge spots in the NFC championship game and the Super Bowl. There was the fourth and five down the field where it's still a two-point game at midfield,

late in the second quarter against Washington, and he hits that go ball to A.J. Brown. But some of the other plays that he made in this game on a third and long on the move, a beautiful. That touchdown. throw, where it ends up being a pass interference. It goes through Devante Smith's hands, Devante Smith's hands. But he had so many different plays. And then, of course, you remember in the Super Bowl, it wasn't just the big time touchdown up the middle of the field.

It was some great third and long. So it matters a little that you play your best in the biggest of spots. Jalen hurts. And he's throwing it. You mentioned it a couple times in sort of the breakdown of these plays that we're watching on the screen right now. Third and long, third and long, third and long. And he's going outside the numbers.

He's making extremely precise, difficult. throws. He's showing that he's got all of the tools that you could possibly want or need. And the quarterback, it's just not the way that their offense needed to be sometimes to the course of life. I mean, he struggled, though, too. Chris Bobona, who's doing the graphics in the back, you know, kind of negging him, noting that he was the Super Bowl MVP, but ranked 23rd by PFF grade in 2024. I mean, but yeah, by the week to week consistency in the passing game, they need to get better. But he got there in the end last year. Fine. My whole thing is there are a team that When you get to a certain part of the field,

once it's third down, it's two down territory. Yeah. Right? They're pushing it. They're going for it. He plays under a different metric than other quarterbacks because of the way they call their plays because of those situations. On third down, it doesn't,

most teams on third and five are throwing it. Outside of Detroit, they're going to run, the Eagles and the Lions are likely to run it. It's not a must pass down. It is not. They go automatic to third and fourth. 4,000 just because the way they're built.

It's a great point because like that, that interference on Devante Smith, we pointed out this great pass that sets him up on the goal line. What happens next? Touch push. He's just, he's a, he's a red zone off. And it's here for one more year, baby. So Jalen Hertz is on the island. Congratulations. On. Slight, slight apology

for last year, but, you know, circumstances. We got six guys on. We now have 16 remaining for six. Can I drop the first controversy bomb in here? Yeah, you could go, a guy that you say, don't want. You could do a guy you want. I'm going with a guy I want,

but it's more of a projection. Oh. Dak Prescott. Okay. Okay. And here's why I say they got him. Why receiver? Right?

You got George Pickens to go with CD land. You got us up. The offensive line is going to be a little bit better. We don't talk about the Cowboys. Right now we're talking about Jerry Jones and Michael Parsons, but we're not talking about the Cowboys. Right. That's usually when they play better at Shottie.

And I'm talking to coaches who have coached with him, who have coached against him. The level of respect he has. has among his peers is significantly greater than the uninformed public has a Brian Schottenheimer. They think he is the perfect type of temperament in everything to lead this offense and this team. I think Dak Prescott, he may not make the initial list, but he will spend a majority of the time on the island doing his thing with those wide receivers. So I'm so glad you brought him up because he plays into a massive question

I asked myself when I was going over kind of who I was going to argue for and who I was going to sort of sit back on at least for now. And I asked myself this question, who do I trust right now to not just be on quarterback island, but, you know, at the position with the entire collective of the offense. Who do I trust right now or who do I not quite trust yet for various reasons? Unfortunately for me, DAC was someone who I don't quite trust yet heading into this season specifically, not because he has a poor body of work. I think that he is, if you're thinking about running an offense and doing all of the little intricacies

that you need to do to manipulate coverages and make the throws that you need to make and he can move a little bit, all those things he's got. But I don't quite trust him quite yet because first of all, the body of work last season's incomplete. And the hammy, yeah.

But then also like a gnarly hammy, by the way, like off the bone situation. And then, but also because I have yet to see that they are going to give him a run game, which he will need, right? and I have yet to actually see this offense together work in a as a collective, you know, in a real game that matters. That sounds like a no or a table to eat for a table. I'm table. I mean, I have no problem to it because I think this is worthy of a discussion. Yeah. I have a problem with it. I'm voting them on the island. If you're saying yes, I'm saying yes. That's majority to me, Dak Prescott deserves to be there. When you ultimately look at this list, I am voting yes. And here's why. It's kind of my argument against Eli, Manning, taking astray for the Hall of Fame.

Tell me the point of Dak Prescott's career when he's played football. And I know it's not all about rankings, but when I looked at this list and the question marks, tell me the point of his career when he was playing football and he wasn't a top 10 quarterback. I agree. He's just that dude. And he's worked in a bunch of different ideas of what that offense can be. Yes.

I am looking at it contextually through the lens of 2025 specifically. Sure. I feel great about him. I really do. I want him. on the island. I want it and I think that it's going to happen. It's just I had to table it because for me it was an incomplete.

You got no choice now. We voted them on. I'm just explaining. It's a three person panel. It's a little different dynamic. But it's also, here's why. How we had it?

This is the first DAC Prescott conversation that's been had this summer. Well, we do a daily show, Steve. So we had every time. God knows. People are having the DAC Prescott conversation off of our show. I mean, I mean,

I know that, but I'm just saying like, when you watch. NFL network. When you watch ESPN, they're talking about Micah. They're talking about Jir. Yeah. They're not talking about DAC in this offense. Totally fair. And you know what I'll say is when you think about the situation that they've put themselves in with Micah, you, your next thought logically is, oh, thank God they still have DAC. You know, thank God they have someone stabilizing the organization in that way. To me, he is, he's getting the $50 million. Right. He doesn't elevate like those first

four guys, but I think he is proven in any, with any sort of surroundings that he is elevating in general. And yeah, can I be convinced by one day of practice that I happen to watch at Cowboys Camp and just him, him looking all trim and going, throwing bombs down the field?

I mean, he throws a beautiful football. And he's one of the smartest quarterbacks in the league. He has the experience. I just feel good about this. So he is the seventh man on quarterback Island. I'm good with that. A lot of yeses so far. I know. I'm fine with it. I'm good with it. And just because I like to, you know, mix it up a little, I'm actually going to bring up a guy that I don't think is going to make it.

I'm going to bring up Drake May. I love that conversation. You are going to bring up Drake May. What? And I'll say right out, when I ultimately did this list, I thought it was too much of a projection to put him on. So I'm voting no on Drake May. I think he has to show it.

I think it's starting from, not from scratch, because he has experience in the NFL. But it's a little like Trevor Lawrence throwing out that year with Urban Meyer. Obviously it went better, I think, for Drake May in his rookie season. But it is a new system that's complicated. I think there's major offensive line questions.

I think he can overcome all of that. But I think putting him on as a projection, I don't think he showed enough to give him that much leeway, that much grace, when there's all these other quarterbacks that we will get to, that to me have enough of a body of work to say like, all right, you got to earn it, bro.

like so I even though I'm a big believer in Drake May I'm voting no on Drake May I'm voting no on Drake May mostly for the reasons he gone you're saying however I I was gonna table Drake May just some other conversations but the nose have it yeah and and um Greg I will push back on you just a little bit though I actually think I don't think this system will be too complicated like I think when I was out at Vikings Patriots the way that they had to adjust the pressures that Brian Flores was bringing were We're tough and we're really, you weren't going to run the full version or be able to run the full version of your offense regardless against that group. But the way that he and Josh McDaniels sort of navigated that together and totally switched to being patient like a dink and dunk more offense and really being patient and waiting for the rotations to fail or for coverage breaks because they knew that they would come if, you know, when you're that defense, you're trying to communicate so much, something would happen to give them their opportunity. I really saw two people who seem like they're clicking so far. Love that. I just want to see where he's at. To me, he's almost like... It's a complicated system.

He's almost like a rookie in the sense that I'm really curious what he's going to look like in week 10, week 12. I'm not as worried about if September is a little rocky. It's not going to take that long. Look, Drake May, I cover, I was, I had the misfortune and the good fortune of covering in person a couple of Patriots games last year. he is he's got it right like you talk about a guy who's not besides a talent like he's got the tough stuff he's got

the moxie right he's got he's the type of dude when josh mcdianno starts eyeball on him and gritting on him he can look right back and be like yeah let's go let's figure this out you know we can if it takes an argument whatever we can figure this out like he's not going to with him he's not that guy to put up what he had to go through last year with that terrible offensive line they had 10 million guys doing it no real threats at skilled position and to perform the way he performed, that says a lot, but he's more than a tough guy.

I just think he's got some stuff to him. And once they get him more target, let's see when Stefan Diggs comes back, that offensive line already is better. We've seen Traveon Henderson adds him electricity to that offense that they have not had... He might be the number one receiver.

It should be better. Am I a little anxious about the constant reports in Patriots camp that the offensive line gets worse by the day that he's getting sacked seven or eight times by you both the Patriots, the Vikings, the Vikings. The Vikings are you going to get on. The Vikings are you going to get on. Even at Patriots practice, like their offensive

line throughout has some issues. So look, we put seven guys on. He's not, yeah, he's a, he's a, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, Drake May is a no right now. And I'm, I'm doing the math in, in my head. He's got time. It's a little difficult, but I believe we have five spots remaining. Yes. And I believe we have 14 guys who are eligible. There's a couple other slam dunks. For our listeners, Greg, just went cross-side. It really, it really hurts.

We are going to take a quick break. And we are going to find out who are the original members of season two. What's up, everybody? What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Stick. we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development

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Music's like a little, it's a little more ominous than fun. It should be fun. I feel like we should be outside taking a little break right now. We're bringing up the drama. I feel a mixture of dread and fun. Okay. You know, before we get back to the eliminating these men from what could be the greatest moments of their entire career, a couple things. Number one, I forgot to list Caleb Williams is one of the obvious 10 guys that I wasn't going to put on this list.

Like, he's just got to prove it in the same way we talked about. Greed. So he's eliminated. I said 10 people would be eliminated. I forgot to mention Caleb Williams. He could get there. Maybe he'd be the guy that lifts from that list. And then I did want to just get your thoughts a little bit on Daniel Jones winning this job, something we've

predicted here, by the way, on NFL daily, you know, listening to the Shane Steichen of it all. When he says we, he means I. Yeah. Greg. Greg predicted. He's up in the third person. Nick was there. Nick was there, too.

He gets a little credit. The reason I wanted to bring it up now is Shane Steichen said this will not be a short leash. Correct. That Daniel Jones will be the starter for the entire season. My vibe from everything going on in Indianapolis was the coaching staff had lost confidence in Anthony Richardson last season and that this now looking at it in hindsight was always weighted towards Daniel Jones winning because the reality is from everyone

that's been there and the preseason games, there wasn't a lot to separate them. They were kind of predictably good and bad where you would expect them to be. But I thought it was interesting. He said Anthony Richardson is not getting this job back. They asked him if he had a future in Indianapolis. And Shane Steak and said, that's hard to say, you know, he's going to be our backup. He'll have to go in there if Daniel Jones gets hurt. Makes me wonder if they would ever trade him. I would think now he's there's saying he is available. Like if he want him, you can have him. That's what I thought. I did reach out and he gave me permission to say this on the show. Ian Rappaport threw some cold water on that privately, now publicly, to me, that was just his

opinion. He thought ultimately like they're trying to win games and they need a backup quarterback and even if, you know, all the reasons we said they're out on it, Anthony Richardson is true, they need a backup quarterback and they know that they have to win games this year. They just think Daniel Jones is the guy to do it. I am so glad that you brought that up from Ian because to me that puts off all the alarm bells in the world in my head of like, okay, who would be the one that would have to actually say yes on a trade of Anthony Richardson, Chris Ballard? Yeah.

Who was the person talking to my colleague at the athletic, Zach Kiefer, being so adamant that they were going to have all the patients in the world with Anthony Richardson coming into this season. And Zach has a good BS meter and in a very believable, convincing way, said these things, Chris Ballard, who is the one standing up there at the lectern right now, casting doubt on the future of the player that they previously drafted with the highest pick that they had?

Shane Steichen, who is the one who is going out there and picking the guy who is going to run his offense, who he thinks can run his offense, the way he specifically wants to in potentially a make or break year for his own job, Shane Steichen, my red flag's going off here, all this to say, I think there's a split forming. Doesn't seem like it's great, does it? We've seen it before, Steve. You've seen it a million times in the NFL when things get really hot. Every man for himself. And a coach are on, you know, the firing block for a lot.

That's the ominous music, right? Yeah. And look, let's just also keep this real. When they drafted Anthony Richardson, who came out and said he's going to start right away? Jim Ursay. So, you know, Mr. Ursi no longer is with us. So there's a different dynamic in that building as well

in terms of who's got complete power. Let's not forget that. And I am with you. I think they lost confidence as soon as Anthony Richardson tapped out. Last year, talking about, I'm tired. If I'm his teammate, I can't roll with that. if you got a dude saying I'm tapped out and I'm an offensive lineman

get my elbows wrenched and everything to try to protect you and you're tapping out because you're tired I don't know if I can rock with you now he played better when he came back from the benching last year but coming in this is why I'm saying

if a team out there is that you know we can rescue Dan right rescue Anthony I think I thought so too but Ian said no but I mean look this is a coach and Shane Steichen who wants seven games that Gardner Minsch you

that's what I'm saying I'm saying I don't doubt at all that Shane Steichen would trade him in a second. I think that Ballard would be the one saying, no, got to make this work. I think if they could find, and there's going to be quarterbacks available when these cuts come down, one might be Kenny Pickett. If you can trade Trent Richardson for a first round pick, if you can trade Josh Rosen for a second round pick, I mean, you could maybe get a conditional fourth to third for Anthony Richardson.

Chase Claypool for a second round pick. I was going to say like, well, maybe there's no one in the league, you know. There's always, and I can fix him. There's always an I can fix him. Right. I was going to say there's no one foolish enough to like give up a late second for like what like the like Chris Greer and ownership did in Miami back then. I was like, oh wait, they're still there in Miami.

So who knows? I guess. We'll see how long. All right. Let's get back to it. I did just want to hit that because that's something we've talked about all offseason. Let's go, Jordan. Yeah, I had a gut feeling this would be a pretty automatic yes from both of you guys.

Really excited to see what he does in year too. But I'm going yes on Jaden Daniel. Slam done. I kind of forgot to mention him. He would have maybe been the fifth guy on for me. That's a slam dunk for me. We're all holding up our yes signs. And I want to say, too, first of all, so excited to see what he does with continuity at the

offensive coordinator spot in Cliff Kingsbury. We talked to Jared Goff, how later in your career, that doesn't always matter as much having that continuity. When you are as young as Jane and Daniels is, it can matter to have that same play caller who's there with you developing that rapport. and everything, I was up at Commanders Camp recently. Everything I saw there, the vibes are immaculate in terms of the love and respect that he commands and has from his teammates, the camaraderie that they have with each other,

despite a vast age difference between a lot of those players on the roster. And it's going to be exciting. They're still going to be, you know, helping him out a lot too with some of the things that Cliff and Anthony Lind do in the run game and some of the tight end personnel usage that they use. it's going to be, I think, an exciting and progressing year still for the commanders. Last year this time, they were figuring out if he was better in the pistol shotgun or under center. Now they know he functions mainly better under, you know, off the ball where there's pistol or shotgun. But they've got different pieces around him, right?

They know what he can do, but now you've got a new left tackle, right? You've got a different type of wide receiver in Debo's Samuel. Terry McClure, that deal is going to get done at some point. They're changing running backs, right? Brian Robinson clearly is out of the picture now. they're moving things in a little different direction offensively where they're going to open things up a little bit more

he's not going to be their leading rusher like he was last year defensively they're going to be better you see getting Trey Amos at corner to go with Marjohn-Ladamor who's healthy they're going to get a few more possessions per game and defensively one thing speaking to Dan Quinn and Joe Witt about

last year on first down they got tagged they were in second and fours and stuff all the time where teams were just rolling down the field so now they built a defensive front that's to stand up on first down. Johnny Newton getting some pop.

Correct. So now they can get guys in second and eight and they can turn some stuff loose so they could possibly feel they can get a couple extra possession, at least one extra possession in a game. Glad you mentioned Brian Robinson. Yeah, he didn't play in the preseason game on Monday night. And the reporting indicates that he might no longer be with that team. Chris Rodriguez was playing our guy, Bill, Jerry Cross Camarra in there.

All right, let's move on because we got a 13 guys still to talk about for four spots. And yeah, it's never bad, by the way, to just see Jane Daniels doing things. scoring a touchdown in preseason just to get back excited. But we have eight guys on the island. Jaden Daniels is on the island. I'm going to throw another bomb in here. I'm going to go controversy again because I'm going to stand up for this guy. Bo Nix.

You know, I love Bo Nix. It's a tough one. He's right on the border, I think. I know he's on the border because there's some other players. We got the Staffords, we've got the Herberts and guys we have to get to and have a conversation about whether we table or not, I think we'd have a conversation about Bo Nix because we saw him get better and better

in Sean Payton's offense. They got him more weapons this year, including a a Camara type running back in the draft. Offensive line is very good. The defense might end up being the best defense in the NFL. That's all stuff that's not in Bo Nix, though. And so that's the question. Is it the quarterback?

You can sit there and say that, but what Bo Nix did for them last year, one he showed besides the athleticism, he's tough as hell. They won games because of Bo Nix. He made plays to win them ball games in his rookie year playing for Sean Pate. Sean Pate, one thing we've seen about him is he always had veteran quarterbacks. he did with a young guy. Now he's got a guy in his pocket. So we can do all this.

And maybe he doesn't make the first iteration of the island. But I think he's in the boat. I think he might. I think he might. And I think this might be something where Broncos fans, be careful what you wish for. I don't know. Not everyone can handle the heat that comes with quarterback island.

Broncos fans have been asking, oh, give us our respect. Give us all this hype. And okay, you're building up the hype, Sean Payton, saying you're a Super Bowl champion. Maybe you get it all. We'll see if he can handle it.

I want to table him for now because he he's very intriguing. Does he define the quarterback position right now? It's like right on the border line. He swayed me watching him last year. I think he, we knew he was an old prospect coming out. So like this is not an old quarterback joke. But like he's beyond his years to me at the position.

And some of these second year guys, I mean, he played, you know, it was Jaden Daniels and then Bo Nix at the end of last season by the end of it. And it was a steady progression by Boenix. We did say at the top of. this show that we are not going to hold the system around the quarterback against the quarterback. We're going to define the quarterback by what the quarterback is able to do and how the system and the quarterback sometimes fit each other perfectly well. We're not going to hold

that against the quarterback. It's a mutualistic beneficial partnership between the two. So I think like for me, everything's great around him. They've, again, similar to Jared, they found the defining quantity in the math equation for their offense who helps make everything go. And in reverse, that offense helps make him better, too. It's just him versus the other guys that are coming up. So I'm going to table him for now. Let's table him. I agree to tail, but I think he's worth that discussion. I am a Bonix fan. You, and I will say, Steve argued for Bonix last year, too. So don't, I, I remember the lore. Okay. Nix is tabled. We still have four spots left. I'm, I'm trying to think if I want to eliminate guys or put him on. Let's eliminate a couple. Let's eliminate a couple.

All right. The two guys at the bottom of my remaining. quarterback list that I just think are worth mentioning are Trevor Lawrence and Bryce Young. There's reasons to believe we talked a lot about Trevor Lawrence. We hit him on the top 10 offenses show with J.P. Acosta. That's the last one in your feed. There's reason to believe it could get better this year. So far the body of work hasn't been there. Bryce Young loved how he finished last season. To me, it's not enough longevity at a high enough level to really merit serious consideration. But guys that are kind of on our watch list, I vote no on both Bryce and I'm with you Trevor Lawrence

I vote no on Bryce Young and Trevor Lawrence both of these guys you guys remember I said these are the big question I ask myself who do I not trust yet for various reasons Trevor Lawrence still I feel like I've been honking about this year over year at this point still don't necessarily know whether he will take the next step hopeful that he will believe it's possible and Bryce Young hopeful that it's possible but still haven't you know seen enough

enough data yet yeah Okay. Can we add some more takeaway discussion? Do whatever you want. It's your world. Your boy. You're the real island guy here. Your boy. Quarterback for the Las Vegas Raiders. Oh, no. Who I think is going to be fantastic. I just want to look at the other numbers and I look at his targets. Did you guys notice how we were like the family at Thanksgiving where it's like, we already know the topic that's going to come up at some point that we're going to fight about. We're just not going to bring it up.

Middle East, Rosenthal. But at the same time, I'm going to go with my boy, too, to be excluded. So you're already saying you're out on Gino.

And Tua cannot make the initial list. Wow. That doesn't seem to be categorized the same to me. I mean, I'm just saying like, two is my guy. Yeah.

Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And so I just, they seem like they got a little bit more stuff going on in Miami than most teams in the NFL.

I hear that. It's really tricky. I think Tua's been slighted your guy so much now that he's almost underrated when it comes to playing the quarterback position and this is also... That he knows how to do. Like him and Gino both do it at a very high level.

At best, I feel like they're tables for me, though. I agree that it seems like they're on the outside looking in, but I kind of want to hear the arguments for the other guys but if you guys want to vote them off right off the bat, do it. No, let's look at it. I don't feel too strong. This feels like a trap. There are some,

there are some landmines right here. Right? Let's get it. You want to get into the landmines? Okay. Baker Mayfield. Let's talk about it. He's a slam dunk.

I actually don't think Baker is a Mayfield. Yeah. Let's vote him on. No, it's to you. He's a landmine. No, I am, I am in on. I'm a yes on Baker Mayfield.

I'm a yes on Baker Mayfield. Yeah. I think here's where my personal rankings and Jordan, Jordan told me there was some internet chatter. I stay away from all that. About last week, we did a QB tears with Sando that I was somehow given away

my QB Island thoughts while talking quarterbacks with him. No, QB Island's different. Here's one way it's different. To me, Baker Mayfield, clearly is one of the men defining the position right now. Even if I was not starting

my franchise with him personally in this year, and maybe I should be compared to some of these guys. He clearly, the body of work, where the bucks are at, what he's done, absolutely. I think I'm just traumatized, Steve. because all year last year,

I feel like I fought Greg viciously about Baker Mayfield and advocating for Baker to be on the island. But, you know, actually a couple weeks ago, Greg said, congrats to Baker Mayfield on moving past, you know, a certain level in his esteem. And so I, I was,

that was on I can fix him. I said he's no longer eligible. So still, I can fix him, which is the thing we do. He's been fixed. He still kind of sent him astray, you know,

and a little. Here's where the pendulum was swung. Okay, two years ago, wow, Dave Canales got the, best out of Baker Mayfield. Last year, Liam Cohen got Baker Mayfield to his greatest year.

Kingmaker. Baker Mayfield's the Kingmaker. He's got two dudes head coaching job. Yeah, now he's got King Grizzard over there. And I think that this is going to be fun to watch. I know that they're dealing with some even more injuries at the receiver position right now with Jalen McMillan. But that team is so well built. When all systems are go midseason and on,

this team's going to start rolling. I mean, it's going to be fun to watch the bucks. again and Baker Mayfield is one of the most fun. And they've got a culture. When we talk about teams with culture, we do not talk about them. They've got it. They step on the field knowing they're going to win. And I'm telling you, Emeka, Buga, could be the offensive rookie of

the year. I love that. Love all of it. And Baker is the ninth guy onto the island. I'm doing the math here. If you guys are watching this, I'm like counting, my brain is hurt. And we have not mentioned the NFC West quarterbacks at all. Actually, I'm going to wait to do that.

So nine guys are on. Three guys have been tabled to a nix and gino for now to me there's only one guy left that i would stand on a tiny table i would stand on a large table and i just feel like is a pretty safe pick for quarterback island to start and then it gets really hairy and that's just in herbert now we are kind of in the herbert season of like show me like i feel like everyone there's a lot of herbert fatigue out there and that and i do get that play out that playoff game link like it's like it's like it's like it's like What is he really done? What he has done, kind of like DAC,

maybe not quite as consistent, is I think provide a real advantage on a play-to-play game-to-game basis overall that, to me, he still deserves. And maybe he's towards the back of this quarterback island right now when he used to be a little higher up, but to me he does deserve to be on.

What do you guys? I'm voting yes. I'm a Justin Herbert guy. Okay. So you vote yes. We talk about the epitome of playing the position. Okay, he's on. He's on, so we've got 10, yeah.

I'm voting yes. And I also want to point out last year he didn't make it on the first iteration of quarterback. Island because he was injured so he was disqualified your rule that was a rule you made on the fly yeah well no it was a rule we came in with certain other people made rule there was a lot of rules on the fly yes if you're curious and you're your fans of the infamous rip cord riptide nobody even knows the name what is it it was the riptide but ripcord got more pop it makes more sense because it's like a cord pulling you off we want to stay away from riptide we can't use that on this show that's in a future show

each one of us, and Colleen is included too, she's going to usually be on quarterback island. But like I said, she's on the beach right now. You can use the rip cord to what, Jordan? To without a vote. Yes. To immediately yank somebody off the island. Yes.

Which then leads to you presenting your candidate, that still has to be voted on. Okay. The reason why this was a big controversy last year with quarterback island is because Greg used the rip cord, which was at that point called the riptide and then change the name. But it's good. It's a better name, Greg. And then he put, he used it not to take someone off. He used it to put someone on. With no vote. If a rule is so confusing that no one there even

knows the difference between the rules, it's, it's, it's, you know, you got to be question it. I feel like I'm being gaslit right now. You kind of are. Okay, you mentioned injuries then. Let's get into it. I will throw out Stafford because he's, he's, he's, he's, one. of the most difficult discussions right now. Now, rumors, and I know you're tied in to the Rams, but this is not from Jordan Roderick. I talk to people too. There are rumors that Stafford got win that were taping quarterback Island this week. And he says, get me out there, Sean. He's not what get me out there, Sean. Let me out of the immortal chamber. I got to get out there and at least show that I could be ready for week one and get on.

you guys might remember, we were about to yank him off at one point last season. And then he like showed up in some primetime game right before the vote. And he was awesome. And he stuck himself up. So it means a lot to Stafford. It means a lot to Stafford. I don't know what to think. He was on mine. Like I wanted to see what you guys said. In all fairness. And yes, I am the Matthew Stafford person on this show. I get that. But he actually falls into the same exact category of the big question. I ask myself, can I trust this guy right now? The answer for me was no. Because he has not been on the field.

For Herbert last year, you mean. Like the injury-wise. No, no, no. I've been talking about it all show, Greg. Greg's just doing math in his head. He's not listening. The group of players who I was on the fence about, and I asked myself this question,

do I trust them to run this team to be available? Some of it was injury-related. Some of it was just inconsistencies or incomplete bodies of data last year. right now, for me, do I trust Matthew Stafford right now to open up the island? No. Because if he plays like how he finished last season, great. But he wasn't dealing with an aggravated disc last season. And even though he's back on the field, so I wouldn't disqualify him for an injury because he is back on the field practicing, I just, I don't trust it yet. And it's only been

two days and the season starts in two and a half, three weeks. That's why I think, again, I'm willing the table, Stafford, I think he opens week one, but my thing with him is getting through 18, getting through 18 weeks. That's the trust factor. This is starting to sound like a no, because I was thinking about it because I'm easily swayed by the latest thing I've heard and Sean McVeigh

saying on Tuesday, he looked better even than he looked at money. I'm like, okay, all right, we're feeling better about this. I think Stafford's going to be fine in the open the season. It's just wants that wear and tear. Okay, and we do want guys, it's important for guys on the island. We don't want injured guys on the island. That's, and that's why

he was a no for me, not necessarily because the injury, but because I couldn't trust it. No, no. No, just because I'm a staff or dude, but okay, so he's off. First, first mild surprise, at least to me, I was actually thinking he might get on. So we have two spots left, by the way. Okay. And we haven't talked to NFC. West much at all.

We haven't talked to NFC West, but I want to depart from there because there's another quarterback who I just, I'm not settled on yet. And that's Jordan Love. Yeah. Like, he's a guy who's just so talented. saw him last year. He did it, but he just right now he's got

the thumb thing. He's, you know, I think he's going to be fine. He's practicing. I'm not considering that. It's not throwing hand. He's back at practice. It's not the injury thing. And I think they've got some players who look really, the rookie wide receiver

looks like the freaking dude there. But I look at the other guys that are left. And I'm kind of like, I like Jordan Love in his circumstance more than I like a lot of these other guys.

Interesting. Circumstance. But do you like the quarterback on it? I do. Talk about trust. Like, I like him, but man, you're not exactly sure what you're going to get. That's exactly why I put him in my large trust bucket. Are we going to vote on Jordan Love? Are we just

going to table him? I want a table. Okay, so we're going to table. Okay. I actually think there's two guys that aren't that close to making it to the island. I am too. I know you're going to go. For me. They are both in the NFC West. I'm with you.

Like I was saying, there's two spots left on quarterback island, but we still have some more guys to talk about. It's Kyler and it's Sam Darnold. And Sam Darnold, one of the biggest upsets, one of the greatest achievements of his entire career,

he finished season one of quarterback island on the ice. As he should have. Never would have guessed it. Now, has he... And then the playoffs happen. Yeah, then the playoffs happened. Has he proven it year after year? He's in a different system.

Does he help define the position right now? Both him and Kyler Murray are both intriguing. I think they could get there in the end. It's hard for me to pick those two guys, even over the ones that we've tabled so far. There's no way I can put them in there. I mean, Kyler, we just don't know. He's a fun player to watch,

but he's been in this league for a little while. Yep. And we're still kind of asking what exactly is he? Yeah. He's early in his career. He elevated them. has he been able to do it? Is it his fault?

You just don't know. And Sam Darnold, I'm not even judging last year. I'm just looking at the circumstance this year. He's got one proven receiver in Jackson Smith and Jigba. Well, Cooper Cup, but again, how long is Cooper going to be on the field? Okay. They're going to run the football. This is going to be a different team that he played last year with Justin Jefferson

and Jordan Adderson and T.J. Hawkinson. So I think he's got the potential to get on, but starting, that's a news. Yeah, I put both of those guys in my guys I don't trust yet for various reasons, bucket. Not in the bucket. They are in the bucket. They're in the guys I don't trust. Don't trust bucket.

For various, the don't trust bucket. And so along with the Staffords, along with even C.J. Stroud, I have in there, along with, I said I had DAC in there earlier. Those guys all are in the same bucket with Sam Darnold. It's, okay, I think they're going to run the ball really well this year. I do think that can they pass protect still? That's still my question. for them with this offensive line.

They showed a lot of promise so far in the preseason. But I have questions about that. I have questions about the sustainability overall week over, week over week deep into the season after the Kubiak offense sputtered out in New Orleans last year. I have questions. A whole lot more sputtered out than just the offense. I have questions about Kyler for all of these reasons that Steve mentioned.

So yeah, I don't necessarily trust those guys yet. So I'm not putting them on. Really, I'm really excited to see both of them this year. I think Seattle's going to be a really good team. I think they're going to end up being really good. We just don't know when you look at him. Darnold can take his career to a totally different level. Become a guy that's going to be a starting quarterback for a long time.

He has to do it again. And then Kyler, this is really his last chance to lose. So it's a nose all around for Kyler and St. Darnel. We've been relatively efficient. Like I mentioned, two spots are remaining. It's always tough. We've tabled four guys, Bo Nix, Gino, Love, and Tua.

And there's only two players we have not discussed. You just mentioned one of them. It's C.J. Stroud. So, uh, yeah, let's, that's a hard one for me. He was the hardest one for me. And me too. I'll say, like, what is this list exactly? Because, you know, the C.J.

The staged old question. C.J. Stroud was the guy who illuminated that question more than anyone. because to me, do I believe that he plays football at a level that deserves to be on this list? Yes, I do. If I was starting my team, yes, I do.

Do I think he kind of defines a position in a way that just like, yeah, like I think he's got it for, he's got a lot of pop. He's got it for lack of a better word. But he's coming off a pretty rough season and am I only basing it off one rookie year? Him versus Knicks to me is an interesting question.

Like, they both say, statistically had two of the better rookie seasons that we've seen. Stroud was another level, frankly, but they both were really good. So, like, those guys versus each other. Stroud versus a love, for instance, like, I don't have the answer. For me, I would put Stroud in there over Jordan Love, not because I think that either of them lack different potential. I don't, I'm not trying to use it as sort of a negative quantification of anybody.

I just think that if I'm building a franchise around a, quarterback, C.J. Stroud, to me, separates a little bit in that conversation. Now, I will say he is also in my guys I don't trust yet, just this for this season for various reasons, because of how catastrophic last year went for him, not just not really because of what he specifically was doing, but because of how everything fell apart around him and it got so bad. And I just think that when you have chaos or tumultuous circumstances around you in the similar ways Jordan Love kind of has had with his receivers room, for example, then I think that it's really tough between those guys. And I have him, I couldn't decide on C.J. Stroud. I just had him in this I've decided

trust bucket section. I've decided because of when I go back and something I said about some of the guys you said earlier and about Jalen Hertz and guys like this, I think C.J. Stroud's a type of quarterback where you could put him in almost any scheme with any coach and he's going to he's going to be the guy to lead your team right last year they did have chaos right they had injuries like mad offensive line was terrible clearly there was some disconnect between the OC the O line coach and then they lost mixing yeah so but that's the year yes so I'm a yes but like you look at it this year they they got lost your mixing again they've got wide receiver concerns they got O line concerns but I'm going to say

when I look at the rest of the guys on here, circumstance and everything on here, I think C.J. Stroud is still a quarterback who I would say I believe in C.J. Stroud. I do I. I do too. But I would ask you this because this is going to be the question we're going to have to ask here in a second.

You might have to be deciding to put C.J. Strout on over Gino, which I know based on your previous that you would. But that's going to be the thing that might come up and also C.J. Stroud potentially, depending on how the rest of the debate goes, potentially over Bo Nix. I would put C.J. Stroud over Bo Nix right now. Then that tells me everything. Okay. So, so. To me, Steve is a yes on. Yeah. I'm a yes on T. I'm going to table him right now. Okay. And just, and just see. Because we haven't gotten to Brock Purdy yet. We have two spots left. We've tabled five guys. I think let's determine the final two spots of QB Island after the break.

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Yes, it is hot. This is like, this is tense, man. This is like coming up on the final episode. Weish and Jordan, their morals, their integrity are pristine. They're intact right now. Yeah. Don't worry. So we've tabled five guys, by the way.

Tua, Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud, Gino, and Nix. We haven't talked to Purdy. I tabled Stroud in part because and I think we're at the point where we need to just put our cards on the table I think Purdy is the one I feel the strongest should be on the island of everyone remaining

and I know I've been on a journey with Purdy and part of the reason is I'm a big Brock guy his season last year had a lot of CJ Stroud season to it I think he proved to me last season that he can elevate his number is still top 10

and all the advanced stats and all that sort of stuff. But more importantly, it was the eye test. I think, and I think his situation was better than CJ's, for instance. But his history, now that he played well enough to win a Super Bowl, that he played his absolute best when they absolutely needed it trailing in those playoff games, and that he has a little longer of a track record of all these guys remaining, I think he's the guy that I feel the strongest should be a yes. So that's why I wanted a table.

That's a good. for now, and I say yes on Brock. Yeah, it's... It's a yes on Brock Party for me. We got a unanimous this late in the game. I have to tell you, though, it is a very well documented. Like, at some point I'm going to bribe Eric

to make a super cut of your journey through because as a player improves, what I really like about your journey tumultuous at times with Brock Purdy, as it has been, as a player improves and shows that he can do

different things. You have also evolved and adjusted your evaluation of said player. Well, also, I might have been, like, wrong for a lot of the time, too, that I wasn't seen enough of the things that were there, of course. I mean, it's happened with a lot of people with Josh Allen. We went through it on the old around podcast. Chris Wesleyan was always in, in, in on Josh Allen, and I was not. And, like, ultimately, I just didn't see it right.

Well, that's like a lot of people with Justin Herbert. Like, oh, gee, well, and, you know, when, you know, we live in L.A., so we get to see a of Justin Herbert and it's like that dude put him on it put him on any other team put him on any team for the most he's going to be pretty darn good yeah and to your point Greg the the way that

he showcased making a range of different kinds of throws having to be the person who lifted the floor of that offense at times last year with all the injuries that they went through though that is and the fact that he is clearly one of their so to speak weight

bearing walls of trying to develop this roster forward this year. I think all of those things are in his favor. And yeah, I do think he belongs on the island. Plus he was in the original graphic with Josh Allen, C.J. Mahomes. Kyler is in there and Jalen Hurd. So that's just a little bit of a plus for him. So wow, he is on there. And he's got Christian McCaffrey back this year. He is on there, which means there's only one spot remaining for five players. Now, you essentially said no to Gino and Tua way, way back in the show, and we table him

because I just wanted to see where we were at. At this. point, I'm not making the fight for either of those guys personally. And so I will join you on the nose for Gino. I think Gino's closer than some of these other guys, but ultimately, I'm not, I'm not, if it was a little bigger of an island, I would do it. But I don't think he's defined. So we've got Jordan Love, Stroud, how sad. Stafford. I am sad. That's a no. I don't know if you were a yes or a no on those two guys. I want to, I'm a no on both of them, but I do want to push back just a little bit because actually, Greg, I think that there's a lot of questions about Gino right now moving to a different

team. Obviously, it's a team that really wanted him badly and a great fit with the coaching staff there and all of that. But the questions that have sort of circulated, as I think they tend to do with quarterbacks who move into different environments, whether it's a new regime coming into their old spot or for whatever reason. But I got to say, watching him and Brock Bowers and Ashton Janty, I think we're going to be voting him back on very, very soon. good preach i mean that what am i doing here then taking gino off the final island i know and this is just a projection because i'm actually shocked that greg went this direction well because i look at him versus stroud and nick specifically and for how i didn't think about the island for some reason i think

they they deserve it more so he would be my next guy after those two here's here's where i think he's going to be challenged and we're going to find out if gino's really that guy he's going to be playing from behind a lot more than he had to play from behind in Seattle. The Raiders defense is still going to get gashed, right? They're still going to get tagged playing in that division. He is going to have to put up some

numbers for them to win ballgings. He wasn't necessarily asked to do that in Seattle because at times he goes, that defense was pretty good. We saw Gino when he's having to play toe-to-to-toe or with a lead. That's why I think he's going to be a little bit challenged. Like Stroud's got a defense that's going to keep them in games. Right. Boenicks

has a defense that's going to keep them in games every week. So they might not have to show themselves as much as Gino. If I'm using that as the barometer, that's just something we have to see when we come back to that. Oh, yeah. You don't think Gino Nation is watching the Seahawks suddenly have a cohesive offensive line and running game. Be like, you couldn't have done that.

You couldn't have made him a little more quarterback friendly back then? We also don't have like an old guy badass on the island yet. Oh, that's a good point. Just to Pilly Devil's Advocate. It's weird that. Because I know you know you know you want to pivot so bad. Is this a stafford argument? argument?

No. It's weird to think of Gina as the old guy. How old is Gino? 34 years old now? Wow. Okay. It's down to three guys. And here's the thing about Jordan Love.

As much as I love watching him play, I don't feel like there's enough support. Like, maybe it's Steve, but of these three guys, Nick Stroud and love, I find love to be the harder argument, even though I think he's great.

Yeah. Yeah. What do you say? health and he's on. I mean, he's, he's special. But again, when we look at these three, I would have him behind Gino for what it's worth, too, Jordan left. Are we a no on Jordan Love compared to these two guys? I would say so. I'm a no. I'm a no on him, but man, the highs are so high with that guy. Yeah, he looks, he's a fun. If I was just drafting quarterbacks, like to move forward, I'd have him above all these guys except for Stroud. Yeah, well, that was what I was saying. That was what caught me

mentally. That was so hard because I was really just comping those two together. I mean, either way, you're in a great spot as an organization with either one of those guys. But for me, C.J. Stroud just had the edge slightly there. So we're down in Stroud and Bo Nix, right? There can only be one. That's easy. And what is it?

CJ Stroud. I think it's C.J. Stroud, too. But Broncos Nation, I kind of wanted to... He's got time. Bo's got time to get back in there. We're yeses all around on C.J. Strat. He is the final member of Quarterback Island 2025. There we go. At least the first one.

You know? We got to give Bo Nick something to fight for. Something to be hungry. You can't get it all before the season even starts. The Broncos fans, oh, they want it all. Oh, you're not pumping us up enough. Say that they're the best team that's ever been made. Okay, Bo Nix.

So when we come back, we five, we're 13th to 14th. We come back, we five, a week six to do this again. Which one of the guys who didn't get on? Well, see, I don't like to think that way. Let's project. Oh, who didn't get on. Who didn't get on. I know you're going to say that is on.

that is most likely to go off. No, no, no, who did not get on who's going to be the big threat? Will it be Gino? Will it be Bo Nix? Will it be Stafford? Now, Bo Nix has a lot of organizational support that I think, and he's going to grow in that system and they could be a really great team. Bro Nix.

Yeah, that's going to help his case, I believe. Jordan Love to me is the most talented. Jordan Love is the highest of any of those guys. He's the most likely to be in a. Hey, NFL.com is listing their top four MVP candidates after week four. Yeah. Of any of the guys not on the QB Island list, he's the most likely to be on that, don't you think? Yeah.

Yeah, his ceiling, like I said, the ceiling is the highest of anyone remaining. I think there's a good argument that because I'm thinking about how Sean McVeigh offenses have historically gone to start the season when he does have the health of the quarterback, it could, you know, Stafford could make a case. Gino, I think still will make a case before by the time we reconvene. But if I were going to say who would be on it, if we re-voted all things equal, if we've re-voted 10 times, Bo Nix might get the vote five times out of that 10. I, yeah, I mean, wow, these, this is a, I don't smoke, but I feel like I need a cigarette, you know?

Yeah, that's kind of, wow. I don't support that. I don't even really drink much, but I need a drink, you know, just the whole thing. I need a gummy. Because like I said, Gino, because I mean, I don't think the Raiders defense is going to be that great, but if Gino can come up here, make some plays to save the day. Yeah. He's got, to me, he's got more of an opportunity to be a hero than a lot of these other.

And honestly, among everyone, both him and Darnold have the most to be angry about in the sense that, like, we are writing Gino off. Will he write back? You know, Sam Darnold and Gino Smith finished last season on quarterback island. Yeah, whether legal or not. They believe that, you know, they were an important part in elevating this franchise to the point where we got picked up for season two. and this hasn't been publicly disclosed, but we all got huge pay bombs because it's a quarterback island.

I got a question. Bad joke that's not true. I heard he got a huge pay bomb. I have a question for you guys, though, actually, before we wrap, of the guys who for sure are not on the island, let's say you have to pick one of those guys to build the next season,

at least not the long-term future. You already said it. You already said it. Jordan, Michael Panics. Well, I'm saying like the guys that we voted, that we voted that are not off, not the sort of like unproven guys yet.

You know, like I wouldn't say you could pick J.J. I'm saying pick between like flaco, Rogers. Oh, you're talking about deep, deep in the way.

We answered that. Yeah. I think it's Rogers. I think it's Roger. I say Caleb. Way deep. Deep cut. I,

maybe it's because I, it's what I fear the most. But ultimately he didn't make not the most in my life. That's my mortality. But we've been through that. Yeah. A lot of death talk.

A lot of death talk so far. NFL daily seats. These 12 men are breathing. life into quarterback island. We are saying goodbye. We will be back in the feed with 40s and free agents next. We switched up the order and later in the week. But more importantly, we'll be back on quarterback island throughout the season. It's a quarterly decision of who gets to stay. Bring this on block. And I'm looking forward to the regular season because we've got more Steve Weish in the studio now that we're at the big time. Do it. The members of quarterback island, once again, Lamar Jackson,

Joe Burrow, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Jared Goff, Jalen Hertz, Jaden Daniels, Dak Prescott, Baker Mayfield, Justin Herbert, Brock Purdy. And the last one, CJ Stroud. Don't let us down. You've been given a huge responsibility. I think we nailed that. Hey everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters.

We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Lev Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?

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