NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Radio Row Day 1: Justin Jefferson, Jaxson Dart, Mac Jones and Brandon Graham

Episode Date: February 5, 2026

NFL Daily has touched down in the San Francisco Bay Area for Super Bowl LX! Gregg Rosenthal, Jourdan Rodrigue and Nick Shook play host to an endless supply of A-list guests, including Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, San Francisco 49ers QB Mac Jones and Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Brandon Graham. Spirts are high and the access is unlimited on the first day of Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl LX between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks!NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Welcome to NFL Daily, where Super Bowl 60 is off and running. I'm Greg Rosenthal here in the Moscone Center, surrounded by some of my favorite people on Earth. Nick Shook, the man, who I haven't even been able to talk to except for on air, my favorite kind of relationship. Jordan, Rod Rieg. next to him and sitting in for the top of the show. What a nice treat for the news, Will Gavin from Talk Sport,

who frankly is part of the NFL Daily family at this point as well. Turing the best to last, clearly. That's what he was doing. Thank you, guys. Thank you for having me. This is amazing. It's all because we just want to self-promote. Myself, Will, and Ross Tucker will be calling the Super Bowl for TalkSport.

So if you're in a position to listen to that or watch that on YouTube, check that out. But that's not until Sunday, and we got a whole big week ahead. So many cool guests lined up throughout the week, and especially today. Justin Jefferson is coming up on the show. Jackson Dart is coming up on the show. I cannot wait to talk to Mack Jones, baby. And who else do we have?

I believe Brandon Graham is going to join us as well today, too, and then a lot of great guests throughout the course of the week. But just setting the scene. Let's start with Shook, because you've been in San Francisco now for a few days. You've been embedded with the Patriots. I want to get some takeaways from your Patriots in a little bit. But just sort of the overall, how's the Super Bowl been? Because frankly, I just got off a plane and we came straight here from the plane.

Well, first off, welcome to San Francisco where it's probably a little bit chilly compared to what you were dealing with in L.A., the warmer temps in February. For me, the opposite. Came from 5 degrees to 65. I've been sweating walking around the city all week. but there's been a buzz in the air. It's very exciting. There's signage all over the place.

I'm seeing pop-up shops going up on every corner of every block. You can find a coffee shop anywhere. There's people all over the place. It's a great time. He's excited. He's in a city where there's a coffee shop on every corner. Hey, look, you gotta want blocks in Cleveland for that. He's just wired right now.

I think having the pro bowl in town this week has made a massive difference to how busy. It's been like, we normally come in on Monday, and there's not a huge amount going on. And instead, it's just been already three absolutely manic days. It's absolutely packed here today on Radio Row, and it's just ramping up and ramping up. I'm not sure I'm going to be ready to get to as high as we're going to be by the time we get to Sunday.

It's a good call about the Pro Bowl, which has lots of problems. It's almost all problems at this point. Even my son, who annually just loves the Pro Bowl and the Pro Bowl games, somewhere around the third quarter of that flag football game, started to get angry and actually was like, searching on my computer about like, are they going to cancel the Pro Bowl? You know, what's wrong? He misses the games. There's a lot going on. But the big positive is, yes, you get some of the players, big time players earlier on in the

week and you see that. So to set the stage, every radio row kind of has as a similar vibe, but you know. Overstimulated. It's overstimulated. It's so overstimulated. IHeart has set us up with a beautiful stage here, but like as we're waiting to go on, you know, right behind us, literally as we arrive, like Aaron Jones just standing there. Christian McCaffrey standing there talking to Brydon Baldinger, and that's just how Radio Row and this week is going to be.

So we're really looking forward to it. We're going to do, in this show, just a little bit of news. We're going to get some takeaways from Nick, and we're just going to enjoy our time with Will Gavin while we have it early in the week. Until I get too big time to come on your show anymore. No, that's, I mean, you've got a long way to go. Let's just start with the news about Drake May and his shoulder that weirdly we haven't really talked about here at all.

And I have thought that it's potentially more of an issue than maybe the Patriots have been leading on. You don't just sit out of practice for no reason. I don't think he sat out of practice because he was hurt. He said he felt better coming off the plane than he felt coming on, which says it was a factor for him as late as when he got on to that plane. Let's actually listen to Drake May in one of his many already media appearances so far this week. Yeah, I'm feeling great. You know, I'm so fortunate to be out here with these guys.

You got a full week of practice. You know, it felt good, you know, on Monday and looking forward to get back out there today and tomorrow and Friday and having a normal week. So looking forward to that and feeling good. Okay, and my guy, you know, he seems loose. He seems happy. He seems like a young man. I just, every time I look at Drake May, it just strikes me that, like, he is a child.

It's literally be the youngest quarterback to win the Super Bowl all time if he does it. Right. But just the, like even as an average 23-year-old goes, he gives up like a very young vibe. Being around the Patriots a little bit, any thoughts on the injury shook and just what you've seen out of May this week.

I was a little worried he might be kind of like stiff and overwhelmed, but he seems fine. He seems like the same always. He seems very built for the moment, actually. There's been a gaggle of media surrounding him anytime you try to find him at these availability sessions. And he seems like he's handling the entire, you know, pressure of it, the notoriety of it really well.

I'm most curious by how somebody turns a corner on a plane when it comes to health because when I get on planes. You know how. Because when I'm on planes, I end up coming off very stiff. So I'm happy that he had the opposite effect and that he seems to be trending toward playing. It's funny, though, that we look at the Super Bowl and we think about the other quarterback on the other side

was the one that was all worried about injuries throughout most of the posse. And now we got Drake May involved. I think both of them are going to be fine, but it's something that we have to continue to track. It doesn't seem like a big storyline or something that they're really concerned about right now. No, it's something we won't really know

until the game happens. And even then you're not, like there's no question. Obviously, both of them are starting if there was anything really wrong. But I think there probably was a moment after that game when maybe there was some real concerns about May inside that building.

I mean, I don't want to speculate, so I'll now proceed to speculate. Like the attrition and the reps that he's taken over the course of the season. He mentioned it flat out before Super Bowl media week even began, a week before even the gap week between the AFC championship game and this whole media circus and all of that. He was talking about how many times he had thrown over the course of the season.

For me, my alarm signal goes off in my head of like, oh, so they're going to try to rest him a little bit, especially in that gap week because he has the reps. He doesn't need to get any more rapport. The game install actually starts this week, the week of the Super Bowl, so it's fresh in players' minds. So, yeah, I think at best, it's probably just a rest scenario because he's been feeling it. Yeah, because what else is the gap week for other than they get some extra rest?

You have the extra week at your disposal. The way of your concern for me is maybe he's a little mentally tired. That sequence they showed on NFL films where he says to Josh McDaniels, like, this is really hard. I don't know if you saw that will. Like, he's just like, this is really hard. And everyone gave Josh McDaniel some credit for saying, Yeah, it's going to be hard six and a half minutes.

And I think it was taking like a tiny bit out of context. It wasn't just the Broncos are hard and I'm getting killed. It was I can't see. You can't see. You can't grip the ball. They were going against the wind. It was a very unique scenario. But he has played his worst football in the playoffs.

It is the most difficult defenses that he's played. It's been difficult conditions. And what you said in terms of all the reps he's taken, like we are so past whatever UNC season would have ended. I mean, they're not even making. making bowls half the time at UNC. Like that thing was over six months ago. And he's having to push past.

Should I be worried about my guy? No, no. I don't think you should be worried about your guy at all. He talked about him being young, but the maturity I think he showed in both that moment. And then in the moment that's been much talked about the naked boot on the fourth down, which picks up that first down, which ends the game, basically.

We spoke to a number of guys about that. Michael and Wendy, we spoke with Ashton Grant, the quarterback's coach and with Todd Downing as well. And for all of them, they're like, I didn't really realize. realized there was all that conversation about the fact that the lineman didn't know he was going to do it. But apparently he and Josh McDaniels discussed it on the sideline. He said he wanted to do it. Josh gave him the autonomy to do it and it was his decision to not tell anyone.

So I think he is a level of confidence that is exactly right for this moment. I think he is going to approach it in all the right ways. And I was amazed by his maturity every time. Like we've only seen him opening night. I've not been back and forth to Santa Clara to go and hang out with all the Patriots like Shook has. But I sound a little better about that. No, no, I'm absolutely fine with not spending two hours on a bus every day. That's not a problem.

I forgot. You know, Will Gavin boots on the ground for days. We can tap into that. Let's listen to Mike McDonald talking about Sam Darnold and his workload throughout the week in the last couple of weeks. Well, we'll see you today. It's definitely gradually increasing by the day. So some days more than others, but he's in a great spot. I know he's really confident.

we'll see how today plays out. Not entirely sure how many throws or what percentage of throws I can't really give you right now. Okay, so we think Donald, if he was healthy enough to have that sort of performance in the NFC championship, I'm not worried even in the slightest. And I think he's been kind of embracing the media night of it all.

I've appreciated that Mike McDonald definitely lets his guys be who they are because they've kind of been let loose on this. city and I think they are kind of enjoying being in the Super Bowl as I see Ricky Hollywood walk by this is this is an amazing radio row moment as she runs away in fear what have you seen out of the Seahawks any thoughts there yeah I have to say like opening night in previous years there's always been like generally you've seen one team who come in super loose particularly if they've been to Super Bowls before particularly if they have that experience and then you maybe see another team who come in a little bit tense a little bit kind of not ready for the moment

And I thought, and it kind of helped the opening night this year instead of being in a stadium with thousands of fans and kind of all that rigmarole around it. It was in a convention center. It was kind of quiet in there. You could actually have conversations with people, which was, I don't know, those of us have been covering for a while, was kind of delightful.

It was refreshing, yeah. I certainly enjoyed myself a little bit more, even if the TV product wasn't as good. And both teams came out seemingly super relaxed, seemingly super like just ready for the moment. And I think there is a huge amount of experience on the coaching staffs, particularly of the Patriots, that allow them to lean on that,

allow them to lean on the experience of those above them, if it's not going to come from a playing side. Some other injury news, Robert Spillane has talked openly, the linebacker of the Patriots, that he is expected to play in the Super Bowl. Harold Landry sounds positive, so this is not a game that's going to be dominated, I don't think, by, like, injury stories during the week.

While we got you, Shuck, you know, right off the top, I don't know if Will needs to go. No, no, I'm good. I'm good. My wife just text me. She's obviously seen a photo that we put out, saying the great Will Gavin Shackett tour of 2026. Hey.

She's described the Super Bowl so far. Yes. We need to keep a counter on how many times do you sign autographs for people. They have actually been keeping a counter on how many interviews I've done this week. And to set the scene, I mean, obviously we have one of the most famous people in NFL media on our stage right now. To set the scene up an entire, like, 30 rack of wings just walked by on a platter. the cast of workaholics is just behind Greg. It's very hard to focus on Greg talking right now

because there's Red Solo Cups happening as well. This is Radio Row in a nutshell. I want to hear from you, Shook, some takeaways. I'm going to put you on the spot before we race through just a couple little items of news and then get to our interviews. Takeaways from your time so far with the Patriots. I think it's interesting that this is a team

that, yes, they have a history of being at the Super Bowl, but this roster does not. yet they have a coach who has a history of playing in the Super Bowl. So you think, okay, you're going to come in with experience. You have Josh McDaniels on that staff. There's a number of other coaches. I just spent a lot of time talking with Doug Marone today about the offensive line. And the prevailing theme that I get from every interaction with every player,

no matter which side of the ball they play on, or what role they fill in this team, is that they are a tight-knit group. Togetherness seems to be dominating their whole process and how they got here. I don't know if I've seen, and this may sound hyperbolic, and I acknowledge that. But I don't know if I've seen in my, this is not my sixth Super Bowl, a team that just seems so tight-knit coming to the Super Bowl like this. And while they may be the underdog and they may be the team that most expect to lose or whatever, what have you, they sure seem to believe a lot in themselves right now. And it's because they all have each other's back.

I really love Shook mentioning Doug Marone. Because I've been saying this last few days, that coaching staff feels like a proper island of misfit toys. Like I mentioned Todd Downing already. Ashton Grant, the quarterback coach, who's 30 years old and never played in the NFL that came through the diversity program, the Bill Walsh Diversity Program. Like, it's a really interesting room of people and ideas. And seemingly, it's been encouraged by both Josh McDaniels and at the head coaching position to really be like a melting pot of ideas.

Like, I think it's really interesting. One of Braybill's best talents is hiring people. He's very, very good at it. And we joked at the beginning of the year that, yes, you hired Josh McDaniels, who's kind of coming into his, like, fifth or sixth era in a really refreshing way as an offensive coordinator. but you also set about hiring a lot of people to make up for the fact that Josh McDaniels is a very specific type of coach who's not necessarily going to be the player guy who's going to lead the room in that way. But they also have they have such a complimentary skill set staff like Thomas Brown who won a Super Bowl with the Rams.

Like he's over there now. Like he's in the room too. And these are people who they all have some sort of pocket of experience at this highest level. And I think Seattle on the converse is built that way, too, with some of the pockets of experience within the staff. And as Rob Grunkowski told me earlier, sorry, I'll pick that up off the ground. He thinks he's the best offensive coordinator of all time. So there you go.

There's a quote for you. But I love all these guys that are saying that because they're like, specifically, the best offensive coordinator, specifically. And like, hey, they're valid. And, I mean, he's got the chips, right? But it is funny because it's like, you know, hey, we're in, We're in the pocket here with Josh McDaniels. I love that.

Hold that thought on Grant. We actually are going to feature him in just a minute. Before that, I did want to get your takeaways. It was going to be three takeaways. That was one. Fire off the last two. That's the prevailing one for sure. The second one is this team is such an interesting blend of rookies and veterans.

And they, for some reason, have found this, maybe it's a secret sauce or a perfect, like, concoction of balance between the two. You talk to Will Campbell and Jared Wilson. couple of rookie offensive linemen. They're getting a lot of attention. They man the left side of the line. Of course, it's an easy storyline to follow in this week. And yet they continue to mention how,

not only that the veterans are important in their development, but how they keep them honest, how they told each of them, you guys are spoiled. You don't understand how hard it is to get here, and you're just doing this in year one. And I think that dynamic is very interesting for this team, given the fact that none of them have really been here,

save for a handful. I think the Patriots have five, and the Seahawks have three players of Super Bowl experience. So the majority of them have not been here, and yet they have enough combined experience and youthful talent, then it makes for an interesting blend that I'm very curious to see how it'll match up with the Seahawks on Sunday, who are very similar in some ways. I look at these two teams, and it really bothers me that I've seen reporters, a couple, like,

people that seem to know ball, that seem to like ball, that are like, eh, this Super Bowl's not doing it for me. Nonsense. It just it feels like there's, like, less. I'm just like, I'm having a hard time like getting excited to the most interesting like truly interesting the way they're built the the the the pivots in some cases the infrastructure the organizational

infrastructure to the most interesting teams in football this season do you even like ball like because Seattle I don't we're going to get one more point on the Patriots and it obviously no let's let's let's let this fly we've talked to a lot of Patriots

but if you look at where Seattle was and the way that they've built their team through these draft picks and free agency and the trades and the way that they play defense where they they are the cutting edge and obviously Darnold's story and an electric like first team all pro in JSA I just I don't get it like I love a little I mean what you you want you want the Eagles and the Chiefs again exactly let's not forget the biggest story on the other side of the pond which is defensive coordinator add and dirty the first Brits to coach in a Super Bowl so oh she's got to get in there yeah We had some time with him on Monday, and he's, he's sensational. I think he's going to be a head coach than two years. I'm happy you brought him up. You know what was really cool, Will, you'll love this, is, so the London Warriors, the football team, the British football team,

that he kind of came up around, F.A. Obata is a product of the London Warriors. My guys. Half of the team, so they're all still, a lot of those guys are all still friends with each other, half of that team and coaching staff and organization, quote unquote, because it's a little more on the casual side. no disrespect meant, came over to the states to that Seattle Rams game at SoFi Stadium to support Add and Dirty. It was the coolest thing. I love it. I love, I love his story. He's a great coach. Coaches I talk to on that staff are so high on him to be a future head coach. It's, I'm excited for him.

And if you want to say, you know, do you even love ball to the people that say the Super Bowl that lacks juice? You just mentioned the Seahawks defense. They are on the cutting edge. They bring a blueprint that every other team is going to try to mimic in the years to come, but you need personnel to make it work. That matchup against Josh McDaniels, a guy who all these players just said is one of the best, if not the best offensive coordinator. How can you not like that alone? Okay. Come on. Now I just feel like a shell. This is the meme. This is Mike McDonald. This is the meme. It's the grim reaper going down the hallway of doors. It's Kyle Shanahan. It's Sean McVeigh. Now it's Josh McDaniels coming up.

the offensive scheme lords, Mike McDonald's coming for them all. I like that. But what you miss there is Zach Kerr as his own. And everyone's like, who's Zach Kerr? And he's crossing off quarterback from Sam Donald. Unlike the last couple, I like this new theory we're throwing out there, that he was so familiar with the NFC West teams that this will, you know, that he got comfortable, that his eyes got a little faster in a positive way.

Let's hit, you know, speaking of, you know, all-time great coaches, Nathaniel Hackett's back in the league. He's the offensive coordinator of the Cardinals. Just quickly. I got you guys with that one. Yeah, I was like, you had me in the first half. I'm not going to lie. Yeah, interesting.

So, okay, so a lot of times when a head coach is going to be a play caller, Michael Flores said he's going to be a play caller, on its face, obviously this is a very eyebrow raising higher because that. He's with the Cardinals if I didn't say that, my fault. As the offensive coordinator. And Nathaniel Hackett was obviously a complete disaster as a head coach. But part of the reason he became beloved to play-calling head coaches, including Matt LaFleur, Mike LaFleur's brother, is because there's a lot of stuff that the play caller as a head coach cannot do infrastructurally and in install and in meetings and all these types of things. Just can't do it.

It has to be in all other parts of the building. You hire someone with experience doing sort of that secondary work like that. To me, that's what this hire looks like. Sure. If you go below the surface of it, not saying it's a good idea necessarily, but I can understand the process behind it. And hey, maybe Aaron Rogers becomes an Arizona carpool now. It also doesn't change the vibe of like, hey, we were the 10th team to hire a head coach

that he wasn't one of our top three or four picks and that he's not getting his top picks. So I hope they're able to change that around. Frank Wright becoming the offensive coordinator in New York with the Jets has a similar type of Now, Frank Reich has some great years running offenses in the NFL, and they weren't that long ago. But his last couple of years, Carolina and with the Colts did not go well. He's familiar with Aaron. Yeah, Aaron Glenn going well back. That too.

I'm not even counting that. Recent. That's a tricky one. So good luck to that man. And the Washington Post, I did want to just mention how heartbroken we are about them basically shuddering their sports pages. I hate that. A frequent guest, Deshaun Reed, had just gone there to cover the commanders, but you could just list so many great sports writers

and columnists over the years that have worked for that paper, and it's just horrible what they did there. Before we let you go, though, Will. Sorry, I'd like, I absolutely agree with everything you said there, and it was an important and somber moment, but the whole way through it, there was a dancing dog directly behind you doing routines, and that's the most radio moment of my entire week. The duality of man. Somebody from dog TV. Stay focused.

Stay focused, Will. We're about to give you some pop. And I know how you love pop. So you mentioned Grank earlier. He will be featured, actually, in this little clip that our great producer, Eric Roberts, clipped months ago, just hoping for the moment when it would come in handy. And now that moment has come. Will, who's been calling these games for Talk Sports.

and he's gotten some attention for it. We are underreacting to the emergence of the next great voice in play-by-play. And I'm very sad that the international slate is over for 2025. I need more. Will Gavin in my life? CBS, Fox, Westwood One, ESPN, Netflix, YouTube,

whoever it is. Please make a call to the UK and scoop him up. Bring him here. Gronk is on the show. We're going to talk. You know, yeah, you know some people at Fox. Call him up. Maybe give him a couple reps.

That was an incredible call. Well, Gavin. Where are you? Well, Gavin. It's not just that. We're having some Gavin now. Would you like to know the worst part about that clip? What?

That you play it to yourself every morning when you wake up. Is it your alarm? So much worse than that. It's my ringtone. Oh. It's not actually my ringtone. So whatever was it? My buddy.

Like the Will Gavin, Where Are You part? Yeah, so my buddy joked about me, set it as my ringtone. So what I did was I did send it as my ringtone and then got my wife to ring me while I was with him so he'd think I'd actually done it. Totally forgot about it. I work in radio, so my phone's on mute all the time.

Oh, no. And then I had Bluetooth headphones. It was listening to funnily enough NFL Daily. And suddenly in my eyes, it went, Will Gavin, where are you, Will Gavin? Because I hadn't changed it back off again. And so for a period of time, it was... You're our only hope.

Amazing. Wow, how you? Well, Gavin. Oh, God. What a come up and well-deserved, and can't wait for Sunday. Super Bowl is going to be spectacular. I'll be with Will on TalkSport.

Will, of course, myself, Jordan, and Nick be doing post-game recap on NFL Daily. But we have so much coming up all week long before that happens, including one of the best receivers to come in the NFL since I've been covering it. I don't think it's too early to already start calling him a future. Hall of Famer, but I'm not going to do that to his face because I think that's weird. But I did the numbers for the whole top 25 of the last 25 years. If it had been one year later, Justin Jefferson would have already made that list. He has a better resume than plenty of Hall of Famers out there anyways.

It's going to happen. Stay tuned right after the break, myself and Mr. Shook talking to Justin Jefferson. I'm Dylan Playfair. And I'm Tyler Smith. We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is Bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers,

proudly Canadian-owned and operator. Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances for over 50 years. And you can find Bromance on the IHeart Radio Network or wherever you get your podcast. Thrilled to be joined by Justin Jefferson. I said it before we threw the break, but I might as well say it now.

One of the best players to enter the NFL since I've been covering the league, which is now coming up on a couple of decades. He is here representing EA Sports, alongside Nick Shook, who often represents EA Sports too, works for him. I don't know if you guys know. You both work for EA sports. On a much, much smaller stage. What's going on, Justin?

Not much, man. Just trying to absorb all of this energy that's in here today. Of course, you know, being here on business, socializing, shaking hands, and just being a part of this Super Bowl experience for this week. Of course, I would like to be on the other side of things, and preparing for a game. But, you know, it is what it is. So, but it's definitely great to be here. Your sunglasses.

Do you find, like, it's almost easier because it's a lot here in Radio Row. It, like, provides, like, a little bit of a barrier between yourself and everyone. Oh, 100%. And that's one of the main reasons why I like to wear shades. Just kind of puts me in my own little bubble, kind of, like, allow everybody to be outside of that bubble. that I feel like. So it just feels like I'm kind of hitting a little bit, which I'm really not.

But, you know, just of course the fashion style, the color of them, the way they look, also gives off the stage. Plus, nobody knows your next move. No. You know, they've no idea where you're looking. Exactly. It's like wearing a visor on the field. Exactly. I love that.

I love it. That's why I wish I was better at football because, like, I can't pull that off. You have to. Honestly, like, even the number three receiver on your team, no, no offense. Like, he can't pull that off either. You've got to be Justin Jefferson. Hey, I can agree today. One thing I really appreciate, and I've watched you, and even though you come into the league,

obviously ahead of where most rookies are coming into the league. I think you've added a lot to your game throughout your course of your career. I got to watch you twice this year because I was overseas. I saw both your games overseas in Dublin and the UK. And I have my thoughts, but I want to hear from you. What do you think you're better at now specifically than you were even, let's say, say two years ago at play in the position? I would say learning my leverages, learning that especially, you know, getting double-teamed

and triple team out there, you kind of got to understand more of the game, more of the way they are playing you, understanding the routes and how you can win on different routes. I can say. So it's been different these last two years based on how I've just been getting covered. But, you know, of course, before then, there was more one-on-one coverages, me just going out there and just running off of one person and getting open. Now just having to really dissect the defense, understanding where I'm going to be at on the field,

where the quarterback wants me to be at on that field, and I got to get there having to go through a couple more different people. So it's just more about learning the game more than what I do. And then, of course, besides football, I got to lean more into being the line. leader more into being a captain of the team, especially based on this past season. There's a lot of different ways you can take with that, right? Because like, first off, how does that affect your offseason training?

But then you think about being a leader, you have a change in quarterback. You kind of need to be the veteran in that room when you were once, the up and coming youngster. Now you're proven. So, like, how does that affect the way you approach the entire season, starting with the off season? Yeah. I mean, the off season is where, you know, you kind of getting your tricks, your bagger tricks and you're trying to figure out the different things that kind of, uh,

that can kind of get you over that hump. And this year is all about just, of course, locking in with JJ and just understanding that we got a lot of work to do. And we got a place that we would like to go. And the only way is to get there is to put in that extra work when no one's watching, when no one is keeping the eye over us, that we're building that connection, building that relationship with each other.

So whenever it's time to go back into that building, you know, we're not starting off, you know, are fresh again. Right. You know, we're going back to the amount of work that we put in throughout the whole entire off season. Now, we have probably the longest off season in the history of sports with all of the different,

like with months of training, months of just having free time. So it's definitely going to be a long process into working with him and getting to where we would like to go. That's kind of a good thing though, right? Like the amount of time because, like, I mean, we can all be honest. Like, it was a frustrating season of times. And you could just tell you guys hadn't played together. For sure.

The amount of time probably is good for you, right? Great, great. And that allows us to kind of not really be in front of coaches, not really be in front of media and all of this. We can just kind of work on the things that we need to work on ourselves. And, of course, we can talk to each other about the different things that I see, the different things that he can see. We can kind of mix that all together and to really, you know,

put it a plan together into, you know, our routine of working together and running routes. And then, of course, mentally it's a, a big mental focus to have his mental right as well, especially off this past season or all their different negative comments. You know, is he going to be the quarterback? Is he going to be the quarterback? Is, you know, a lot of different things circulate around him that a lot of people are not thinking of, you know, they're thinking about their shoes, not really about in his shoes.

So as a young player, as a quarterback in this league, it's my job to, you know, make sure that mentally he's mentally focused and of course physically getting to get him to where we need to get so we don't have this type of season next year. And of course you had that season with Sam Darno. What is that like getting to see him on this stage? And what was it like playing with him?

It's pretty fire to see him on his stage, honestly. I mean, to build that connection with him from training camp all the way into the end of that season. And to see him win 14 games and be a valuable threat into our team. 14 games with you too. Yeah. That's what I'm saying.

This is very difficult to do. So for him to be able to do that back-to-back seasons, it's crazy, honestly. But I'm happy for him. I love to see Sam blossom into that top-tier quarterback that he was meant to be. You know, him being a first round, drive pick, him going to so many different teams, really not understanding or figuring out what the problem is. Him coming to Minnesota, having a couple more weapons around him than normal. him, you know, being that top-tier quarterback that we knew he was going to be.

And then, of course, doubling back with his consistency and having another great season as well. And I got him to win the Super Bowl. Yeah, yeah, of course. Him, well, not in the journey, but to continue the journey off with the Super Bowl win is going to be big time for him. So let's go back to that real quick. You said watching him become the top-tier quarterback that you knew he could be win when you guys were playing together, did you know that he could be a top-tier quarterback? Really just us being around, you know, of course he has the T.J. Hawkinson. He has me. He had Aaron Jones, Jordan Addison, you know, so many different guys around that office that he can really lean on to, to really blossom as a top-tier quarterback. So it was just mostly all about not turning over the ball. As long as you don't turn over the ball, you allow us to make those plays and to, you know, catch the ball in space and to go to work, then, really,

going to win the game majority of the time. And I felt like that was the main, the main objective last year when we had him. And of course, watching him this year, I feel like it's the same type of ordeal. You know, he has a top tier guys around him in that offense. It has a great offensive line, has a great officer coordinator to really put him in different positions to win. It's just all about him going out there, taking control of the ball, not giving the ball to the other team, then they're going to mostly win. And I feel like that's what's been the makeup of this whole entire season. I saw at this Roger Goodell press conference this week that he said that he's heard from a lot

of players that they like playing overseas because they like being ambassadors to the NFL. And I saw some players reacting to that. But I thought since we got you, you were there for two weeks. Yeah. What are your thoughts? Because you were on a little road trip there in the middle of the season. Definitely a road trip. What was that like?

It was different, I would say. I mean, obviously we're not. during the season you're not really prepared, I would say, to be there for 10 days, to be in one country and having to fly to another. I did the same and I wasn't prepared. I was just watching you. It's different. You know, of course, we've got to prepare for a game.

Of course, you know, our sleep routine is different. Diet is different. They have different food over there. So everything is a little bit different. So you're just trying to do as much as possible to feel as normal as possible when it's game time. But obviously, it never will feel normal. But I do enjoy being in the different environment.

Playing for a different fan base. I mean, probably 90% of those fans never seen me play. And of course, I played three times now in London. So the fan base is continuing to grow, but there's always going to be fans there that never experienced you or seeing you play this game of football. So that's the exciting part about it. States a regular season game, but did it feel like it took on more importance because of what you just described?

Yeah. Of course, you know, it's a, first of all, eight to nine hour trip. And then, of course, you got to get on another plane to fly to another country. So it was a difference. I was behind you guys in security going from Dublin and London. And I was like, I didn't know they were just going to be among the common folks like us. Regularly in the airport. Where in charter flights? They were just there. I think it was your guy, Jalen Naylor, was right in front. You know, we didn't have a big enough PJ to fly over. The owners didn't have a big enough PJ. So we had to fly commercial.

But, I mean, it was a great experience. I love, I love just being in that different environment, meeting new people and playing in front of a new fan base. But, you know, just the travel, the food, a lot of things go into it that, you know, a lot of people don't really understand. Before we let you go, you're here with Madden and EA. you good like my son's a player he's always searching for games and sometimes it'll be like some crazy like would you play a game with him you know like are you good i'm good for sure are you better than nick this guy's a pro he like writes about and stuff i'm not a pro but i am

very much in the video game space i mean i am not like the guys in the mcs let's be honest i think i'll do good enough you know i think i mean of course i know football i know the offense i know route concepts i was a quarterback growing up so I kind of know the ends and out of Madden. You might get me on the defense. You know what I'm saying? I'm not too fond of defense. What do you play as?

Are you always yourself? 100%. If you tell me, if you were a 99 overall in the game, without you having to switch any ratings, why wouldn't you play with yourself? I mean, you're living the dream. Exactly. You know, that's always a childhood dream

to be a 99 in a video game without having to touch anything, you know? Yeah. How about your defense, though, who you're using during the game? Don't tell me you're playing on the D-line. Don't tell me you're playing. No, I'm not a D-Lymin. I'm a linebacker.

I like to, you know, manage the middle of the field. Of course. Lerk. I feel like, yeah, exactly. I feel like most people throw in the middle of the field. You know, the crossers, the mesh routes. I'm going to bait you. You know what I'm saying?

So, you know, I'll play linebacker. I'm a linebacker. Or I'll play nickel. You know, playing the slot? Yeah, because you know those route concepts. You know what that cuts going to look like. It might be a video game, but you got the instinct. Exactly.

I'm telling you. I'm with you. This is how we get Justin Jefferson to perk up. Talk about Madden. We appreciate the time. We've enjoyed watching you over the years. Certainly this year overseas. Thanks again.

Yes, sir. Thank you. We are back on NFL Daily, and there's nothing better when we're welcoming a guest, like Mack Jones. Then to hear right before we start taping. that he's already heard from his mom and dad that were fans of his. So I was like, hold that. You're on the good side. You're on the good side.

Greg goes, stop talking, stop talking. Also, like, until the mics are hot. That's good PR. It's cool to have like a normal human interaction, but let's get this on the show.

Normal human interaction. Yeah, tell us more about that. Your mom and dad are checking out. Who's? I mean, yeah, they just, I don't really do social media as much during the year. So they always like send me articles that are positive.

And they're like, hey, keep doing a good job. and I remember seeing one of y'all. So I thought it's cool. We are, we've talked about you a lot this year. Thank you. Because you kind of were leading the crowd here in the year of the backup quarterback, quote unquote, I know. Yeah, yeah.

You started. I have aspirate. But the work that you did in San Francisco to kind of will that team through some of its harder moments. And I covered the game in Rams, San Francisco. You got the, you know what, beat out of you. But you still kept coming. What, that whole period.

of time to kind of gut your way through what that was and play some really good ball. What was that like for you? For sure. I think it's just the standard that's been set in San Francisco. And it was so cool coming in OTAs, learning from everybody, learning from Christian, Trent, George, like these guys that are going to be Hall of Famers. And I don't know, I just wanted to show my toughness this year and show that I'm ready to play. That's your job as a backup.

And I feel like we play with a lot of juice and energy every game. But especially, you know, when I was in there trying to sling it around and like the Rams game probably was being a little dramatic. There was definitely some injuries. So, you know what, I didn't say it. I mean, you got the crap kicked out of you at times. Well, I had multiple. Wait, what do you mean?

It's a little dramatic. What do you mean? I mean, there was some puking. Yeah, yeah. That one was real. But I had multiple systems that were not doing the right thing. So I was like cramping and I had my knee. And then I was like, all right, there's a lot going on here.

Do you feel bad at all for, like, hurting Jordan's feelings? Because deep down, she's kind of a Rams fan. Yeah, I saw that. As is. As is like my wife and my daughter. They're watching that game and you rip their hearts out that night. Yeah. That was, I mean, they're a great team, though.

And playing them twice this year was a huge challenge for me. And just so early in the year and then I played them again the second time. But they're incredible. And Matthew Stafford's playing great ball and their defense is playing great. So huge challenge each game. And we split one-on-one with them. But I feel like they're a really good football team. Are you just saying that to protect my feelings right now?

Yeah, I mean, I guess so. If you want to come to the good side, You can come to the good side. You know, covering Kyle Shanahan for a long time and something I've done. And I was at training camp and I was watching you take reps. And what I've always liked about your game and the way you play is you take no crap from anybody. Yeah. And you're going to throw the ball where you want to, like you're going to go for it, right?

You are not afraid. For sure. And they had some rookie DBs in and, you know, you are getting in their faces just as much as. And I watched it. I was like, oh, yeah, Mac Jones is back. You know what I mean? Like, I had that thought where I was like, oh, cool, like he's still the same. Yeah.

What was it like being kind of a veteran with a lot of really good experience, but then going in and like the juice of that defense and just the playing free, that team came in with very little external, at least, expectations. And everyone grew up along the way. Yeah, I think I just really challenged myself to play with that confidence from the start, first practice of OTAs and then training camp like you're talking about. And I feel like every day was so intense. tense, you know, in other teams. Sometimes there's days where it's like the dog days of camp,

right? But I feel like in San Francisco was just always, like we were going out of every day for the whole season. And that's what makes you play good football for a long time. I think it was Upton Stout. Was it up to him? Was it up to you? I'm sure. Yeah, I talk to those guys. And like, when I'm on scout team, it's, I'm talking every day. And I hopefully backing it up. But you've always, you've always liked to talk on the field. Like that was what the reporters were right when you were a rookie in New England and, And you're like, yeah, let's pause for a second. Mac, you should know if you don't already.

Patriots fan are here, not secretly. That's fine. That's fine. No, that's, I mean, I was a big supporter. I want to know, though, like, what does a Mac Jones trash talk sound like? It's very natural, I think. I don't like plan anything. So if something pops up in the game, like, I'll say something.

But in practice, too. Oh, practice for sure. You're going to let them know about it. Absolutely. It makes it fun. And, like, it raises the tempo of the practice. And I'm not, like, obnoxious about it. Maybe I used to be, but I'm more chill now.

I'm just out there throwing into the open guys. And I'm going to let them know if I made a good play or one of our receivers made a good play. Like, they're going to hear about it for sure. I think that's important. That's like when I'm a parent. I tell my kids that too when you're playing sports. You have to let the opponent know that you just won to really rub, you know, to really make sure. No, no, no, no.

Yeah, it's really like in a respectful way. But like, yeah, it's definitely true. Oh, I love that. What did you love about playing in that system? It gets talked about across. the league. I myself, yeah, yeah, way too much about it. Constantly, our listeners definitely let me know about that. But like, just the differences, the nuances that you see in that versus what you maybe were used to be for, not comparing good, bad or the other, but just the nuances

that maybe the outside does not see. Yeah, for sure. And I had some experience in college running a similar system, but this is like the PhD level, like Kyle Shanahan, 20 word play calls. And for me to just come in, I was like, I'm going to be like a rookie this year and just learn everything from scratch. Obviously had a lot of background with multiple coordinators from college and Patriots and Jaguar. So I'm trying to just learn everything from Kyle this year from a fresh start. And it's very like cookie cutter, just kind of how I am. I'm very like a like one, two, three, four type guy, you know, like that's my read. I was like, I don't know that I would have said cookie cutter specifically, but I get what you're saying progression passing and stuff. Exactly. It doesn't like allow you to like

freelance and make stuff up because you have rules. And once you follow your rules, you know that, all right, I'm going to have consistency in my play. And I think that's what you saw this year and what I learned the most was if I just stick to my rules, what they've taught me with my footwork and timing, like it'll be more consistent. It was. That raises a point because I'd like you to explain that when it comes to the Shanahan offense that you learned. And the differences between that sort of offense and Josh, Josh McDaniels here in the Super Bowl. For sure. For like an average football fan who doesn't necessarily even know what progression passing is or the X's and knows. Sort of what what's the biggest, like, top-level stuff between a Kyle's Lannin system and a Josh McDaniels.

Yeah, that's a great question. And so Josh has Earnhard Perkins system. So they've been running that for a long time. And Tom Brady obviously executed at the highest level. And they kind of mended it to their flavor, you know. And one of the big things in that offense is making mic points. And so every time you get up to the line of scrimmage, you have to make a mic point to tell the line where to go, which really you're directing all the traffic, right? And Drake's done a good job of that this year.

When I watch tape, like, it's tough. you have a lot on your plate before the snap even starts. And with Kyle, one of his big things is the opposite. Like, it's more, you know what your issues are, but you're not really going to change anything. You're kind of just going to go out there and play. And for me, as a guy who's played in a system where I could change everything in my whole career pretty much, it was different. And I really liked it because I knew what my issues were. But I also had a system, and it was just a lot less on my plate.

I feel like the thing that's often getting lost in this conversation, too, is those coaches. And Josh McDaniels is also excellent at this part of why. his system still carries as it does. But in terms of that coaching tree, that family, quote unquote, what I think a lot of people miss in this is that they understand defensive rules, and especially in zoning defense, is so well that that is why they are able to give you progression-based passing rules because they're breaking the defense's rules with what they're giving you.

Can you maybe expand a little bit more on? Yeah, for sure. I mean, Josh taught me so much about that too. And when we were together in New England, that was the first thing we did was learned defense. So that helped me throughout my career. And I'm thankful for that. But with Kyle, it's the same thing. He literally knows exactly what they're doing. It's just a matter of, like you said, if one is open, you're throwing one. Like, there is no, they can play cover two. They can play blitz zero. Like if the number one is open, I'm throwing it. And in my career, sometimes you

might be overthinking that, like, well, is you really going to be open versus this coverage? Or, you know what I'm saying? Yeah. So I'm very, like, blessed to be in the system this year because it allowed me just to be that, all right, one is there. I'm throwing it. If he's not, I'm moving on. You sound like you like being in that system. Yeah. You're going to be talked about on shows like this. We've already talked about it. Good things.

I'm talking about lists. Going to be on lists. I'm talking about lists of possible teams who might be looking for quarterbacks this offseason. Obviously, you're under contract. Or maybe it's not obviously, but the listeners should know you're under contract next year with the 49ers as their backup. I'm sure they value that really highly if other teams do come calling. and aggressively, like, want to get you. Do you welcome a trade?

Yeah, I think it's always a blessing to have people discussing those things. And for me, I did sign a two-year deal and really love working with Kyle. So I kind of know where I'm at with it. And we've had good conversations. And I feel good about where I'm at. So I understand it's a business and there's things that happen. But I think when you turn on the tape, like the proof is in the pudding. So all I want to do is play good football.

And whether that's a backup or a starter to me, like that's the whole point. to play good. So don't worry about all the external stuff. It's refreshing. And I think we all know when we see it when you play that you know you can start. Yeah, of course. But like there's something to be said for being happy too. Yeah. I feel like that's missed a lot. I think both can be possible. Yeah. We love saying that on the show. Both things are true at the same time. For sure. But like that's, I mean, the strain of kind of the early years and figuring out what this league was all about. Yeah. And then coming to something different, similar in a lot of ways, but different and then seeing the more of the world open up to you.

Yeah. What's that been like for you? It's been good. I think when you get you know, as a rookie, I was thrown in there and starting right away, which is awesome for me. And we went to the playoffs and had a lot of success. So that was amazing. And I wanted to keep doing that and stacking. And I don't know, being a backup now and having started a lot of games, too. Like, it's good to just get both perspectives. And I've done it and I've gone through a whole season. I played half seasons. I played in a quarter season. So it's just like every year is new for me and I just love the challenge, but I know what I would be getting myself into. Like this year, that's why I feel like I was just like, all right, well, here we go.

I'm starting. I know I'm going to have a couple games here and I've done this, you know, 60 times or whatever. And like, it's not my first rodeo. So I got in trouble on the old podcast. They thought it was like the hottest take ever that I, I remember I said I would not trade you for Russell Wilson straight up. This was like 2020, which was like a little bit of more of a hot take. I think history has proven me, proven me right. So Sam Darnold kind of, you know, He went to San Francisco. He was a backup. He's showing you one route where it can really work out.

For sure. And he stayed sort of in this similar system. And this is a team that beat you twice. Yeah. And they're going up against the Patriots who don't have a lot of the players from back when you were there. But they have a few. Yeah, definitely a few. They certainly have some.

And McDaniels, of course. For sure. So it makes me, like, think who you're rooting for. I knew this one was coming. How many times you've been asked this, but? A decent amount. I haven't really put too much thought into it. I think it is like when it's your division rival and former team.

I do have friends on the team. Like I literally just saw Mondre Stevenson yesterday at dinner. So like just, and we always text throughout the year. So I love those guys, Hunter Henry, guys that I played with. And I really want them to do well. So I don't know. I don't have too much of an opinion. I'm not going to pick a team.

Like yeah, you have people. Perfect for the show. I never pick either. Yeah. But I love like Josh and there's people like the video staff. How can you not be happy for people that you're close with doing well? On the other hand, there's probably a lot of. assholes, you don't want to see them get happy.

No, I mean, if they win it, good for them and that's awesome. Mack, before we let you go, we're so appreciative of your time. Yeah. You, I mean, your parents are a fan of the show. We're just going to assume here. We're putting words in your mouth at this point. But they must have then heard our favorite, it's a sound drop, basically a moment on the show that our producers that one of us has said that our producers collect and record and then

drop it, sprinkle it into conversations. And sports, you are actually the most popular sound drop of the season for NFL Daily. Wow, okay. We want you to listen to this probably for the first time, our favorite drop. All right, let's hear it. Wow. Mac Jones, baby! It's very quick.

I like that. It's very quick. I need to be my new ringtone. Just whatever. Just repeat. Whenever a good moment happens in your life, like you have a good grocery store trip. Mac Jones, baby! You know, just see that.

That's awesome. You gotta send me that one. I like that. We will. We appreciate having you on, Mac, and good luck to you. Thank you. Whatever happens this off-season, we'll be watching, and appreciate having you on. Thank you so much.

Thanks, fine. All right. I'm Dylan Clayfair. And I'm Tyler Smith. We're putting loneliness in the penalty box by talking to some of our favorite athletes about the importance of friendship. This is bromance. Bromance is brought to you by Charm Diamond Centers, proudly Canadian-owned and operator. Charm has been part of your love stories and bromances.

over 50 years. And you can find Bromance on the IHeart Radio Network or wherever you get your podcast. And we are back on NFL Daily. We are here with Jackson Dart of the New York Giants Pepsi Zero Sugar, NFL rookie of the year nominee. This is not really fair to you,

but I don't know if you remember this. You were actually in the room at NFL Network watching, I believe, Ravens Chiefs Divisional Round. You were there with your father. You were visiting, I think, with Daniel Jeremiah and just seeing, like, what was going around. I was watching that game with you, actually. I was in that, in that, you know, theater.

Yeah. I want to go back to that day and that Jackson, and then think about this Jackson, being the quarterback of the New York Times and going through a year like that. That can aid you like a president. Like, what is the difference between that Jackson? And that was what? of last year and this Jackson that's sitting here on radio row. You know, that's crazy to look back on.

Feels like a long time ago. It feels like forever ago. It's a key moment in my life. Yeah, it was big. In mine for sure. I thought this last year, I feel like I've grown like three years into one. You know, that rookie year, you're just kind of going from one thing to the next. And there's no time off.

So it's definitely been a whirlwind of a year. But I think, you know, from that Jackson of this one, like I think I've just matured a ton, you know, individually from a, identity standpoint, but also as a football player, like went through a ton of adversity, but also had, you know, successes as well. So there was a lot of lessons to learn and to grow from. And I'm just really excited for this future. Jackson, it can be difficult for any person coming of age through their 20s to like figure out who they are and become more of that person and lean into their identity. And to do it on such a stage, I mean, as the quarterback for

the New York Giants and somebody who is, you know, playing, you know, in these. these games where everyone's watching you. How did you, we saw your personality come out. Whether it's in the end zone or with Cam, with Scataboo, or with your teammates, your fellow quarterbacks. Like the jackets. Yeah, like the strong jacket game. My group chat would like me to tell you that.

Strong jacket game. But you know, you showed who you were, and I think the fan base really appreciated that. It could be scary, I think, but you really kind of leaned into it. And what was that process like for you just as a person growing into that job? Yeah, first of all, I'm just so thankful. And I'm grateful to have the people that are around me and support me. I wouldn't be here without that.

And, you know, it's been a dream of mine since I was a little kid to be, you know, at this point. And just going to continue to grow. But I'm definitely humbled by it. I think just in New York, like, you have to mature fast. You know, you have to, you know, be on your P's and Q's and to be a leader, especially with, you know, the position that we're in. And I just think for me, like, what a great opportunity for me to do my best to just be a really good person and to be there for others and to be, you know,

the best leader that I can be. I went through my notes, you know. It's rare that I do like this much homework. No, I was on the flight here going through some notes. I decided to look at like my game notes of the giant. And I have a few things I want to get to. But one of the things, which I was like, I want to ask them about that was your cadence. I'm a big cadence guy.

Like you've got a nice, there's some base to it. It's very loud. Like the mics really pick. it up. Do you take pride in the cadence? What's the thought process? And do you want to be like one of the best guys in terms of cadence in the NFL? Yeah, you know, it's crazy. A lot of people didn't think I was going to be able to do a cadence, you know, from like, I don't know if you seen the John Gruden. Good point. Good point. Yes, we have. Didn't even think about that. I was thinking more about. That's a content. That is a content king right there. He remembers, yes. I definitely remember that.

Because that was a knock. That's where people are like, I don't even know if he can do a cadence. But I definitely take a lot of pride in it. You know, I think that when you look at the best quarterbacks of all time, you know, they had great cadences and being able to, you know, put the defense on their heels as much as possible and give that advantage to the offense because it really is, you can turn into a really big advantage. And I had a lot of vets in the room that I was in with Russ and James. And I remember, like, walking into that.

And I was like, all right, like, I got to have a great cadence because these guys got a great cadence. Russ, from the beginning, it's great. Because some of it also is a little, like, God-given. You got to have, you're like Joe Flacco, all-time great. Ryan Tannahill has an all-time great one. So I think like you're studying, you know, your play on the field, you've got to study the greats when it comes to the cadence.

Absolutely. Other notes, though, like, do you feel calm or more calm when you're out of structure and making plays? Because it felt like you were pretty calm right off the bat. Like the first month in the league, you were already, like, the game didn't seem too fast for you when you were doing that. Well, I think that when you do that, I mean, first of all, there is, there is a big difference from college to the NFL. So, you know, going through training camp and OTAs, like, those are times for me to, you know, make some of those mistakes and to kind of experience those struggles a little bit.

You have the valleys and the peaks a little bit that you kind of have to go through. But I think when I got there out on the field, like I was just, like I said before, I've been surrounded by great people. So from a preparation standpoint, I felt confident. I felt ready. And I think when you're out there, like football is football. So you're just trying to play ball. You're trying to just have fun, just game out there. And a lot of instincts come into play, and you're just flown.

So, yeah, it was definitely really fun to have that experience. I think in every other profession, you want to make mistakes early so that you can sort through it. And you're not often in public. Again, in every other profession, you're not being watched by millions and millions of people as you do it. As a quarterback, like, mistakes are a part of the growth, right? And you just, you mentioned it yourself. How do you balance, like, staying creative with when you're,

either in structure or out of structure with how you want plays to unfold, but then knowing that some of them you know are riskier and are not going to work out, balancing the known fact that you're going to make these mistakes and staying free at the same time and still taking steps forward. It's like a trifecta that would be really hard to balance. Well, the answer a really good question. I think that like the thing that you have to keep in mind when you're out there on the field, like you have to be fearless.

Yeah. Like it's okay to make a mistake. Like there's a lot of game left. I mean, you see it in the NFL like this year like it's been crazy where teams have been down. Or, you know, maybe as a quarterback, you haven't been playing for a good half of football. But in that second half of football, somebody plays amazing and the game turns around. So there's a lot of football to be played. And I think that when you go out there, you just have to play fearless.

And I think that I had a great, like a great group of guys around me who, you know, were okay and kind of instilled my play style to play the way that I play. And I think that we all just played hard. Look, there was a lot of great performances. You know, you come out early, you get wins against the Chargers, playoff team, Eagles, you put up 30 points in Denver, like so close with a lot of great team. Bears were another one.

And you had ups and you had downs in the season. I think you finish strong. You're up for this, you know, rookie of the year nominee. And I kind of thought, like, because you came out so hot, it almost like people forgot, have you considered doing some negative campaigning against Tyler Shuck? that like maybe Shuck is getting a little too much pop and didn't even play the whole season. Well, first of all, shout out to Pepsi Zero Sugar.

I think just what a cool opportunity for all of us to come together and to be a part of this. To be honest, like, no, I have done zero. Like, I mean, the biggest thing to me that matters is, is one day hoping up, you know, hopefully more than one Super Bowl trophy. And, you know, that's in my mind from a standpoint of like whatever happened. like it is it is what it is like I feel like you know I was able to put out a really good product on display like you can just look at the numbers and I think that that really speaks for itself so obviously the most important thing is it's continued to find ways to win and I know that we're going to do that in the future but you know that's that's really the most important thing to me is there a moment this year it could it could have been a play and certainly I think of a lot of the ones where you are working at a structure you're creating crazy things are happening all around you and you're sort of willing things to happen for your offense But is there a play that or even a moment like behind the scenes that maybe we would not have seen where you're like, holy crap, man, I'm in the NFL right now. Jeez, I feel like there's a few of those for sure.

Yeah, every day. There's times where I'm going there on the field and I'm looking at guys and I'm like, dang, like, you did really good for my fantasy team like four years ago when I was when I was younger. That would be you, great, by the way. Just like being involved in this game and competing at the highest level is such an honor. and being around like these great players is so cool. I mean, like I said earlier, like part of this like the Pepsi Zero Sugar, like the rookie stuff, like all those guys are great players and have done amazing things. So I think it's just such an honor to be on the stage with them and compete with everybody at this level.

Have you had to say we have a streak going too. We've had the winner on our show every year. Really? That is good. You don't have to say it. I'm just putting it out in the universe. That's all I'm saying. I don't know if we can impact the voters. I don't know how that works.

I believe in that. Like I try to put out. I don't know if you guys saw like I got caught on a mic saying the thing about Harbaugh. Yeah, we saw it. Yeah. Thanks for breaking the news to us. Yeah. No doubt.

So I didn't know that was going to happen, but I'm with you. Like sometimes you just put things out good energy. Manifest it. Have you talked to Matt Nagy, your new offensive coordinator? Yeah, we have. We've talked a few times. Obviously, it's still really new. And I think it just came out yesterday.

So I'm excited to grow this relationship with him. I've heard a ton of really good things from people that I've talked to about him. And, you know, just from a cooperating. and collaboration as quarterback, offense coordinator. I'm really excited to build this with him. He's kind of a magician with concepts out of the gun specifically. We know you love to play out of the gun. You like to see the defense in front of you unfold.

And I guess how do you be allowed your brain to kind of get that far? I know you're so busy right now, but like creating and thinking, oh, what could be possible watching maybe some home stuff? Yeah. What could be possible here? Yeah, I love his, I think he has a very intelligent, brilliant mind of just being able to create, you know, cool plays and whatnot. So I'm excited to be a part of like an innovative offense.

in that regard. But at the same time, you know, it's, I've always watched, you know, Pat highlights for a long time and excited to kind of like, you know, form a little bit of similar things around with Coach Nagy. And I think he's just going to do a great job and have all the confidence in him. And that was one of the things they said too about you got that you got to learn a little more under center coming into the pros. That was on the notes too. That the under center was increasing. It was getting better and it was strong at various points in the season. So it was really cool to see your development. this year. Football is just going to be more interesting with the Giants having a fun quarterback to watch. We got that with Jackson Dart. Appreciate having you on. Yeah, thank you guys for taking the time. Really appreciate it. Thanks. Back on NFL Daily, and we are excited to be joined by a man who joined us on the field after just winning the previous Super Bowl, Super Bowl 59 hero Brandon Graham. Oh. And, oh, yeah, but we'll see. too. I mean, I get to ride the coattails. Let's be honest. Yeah, look, Brandon and Bo co-host a podcast for P-H-L-Y called the Unblocked

podcast. Bo is the host. And so I thought it'd be fun as a long time, you know, friend, colleague of Bo. I think we're friends. I think we're friends. I would hope so. To make him awkwardly sit here the whole time as we talk to the more interesting part of the duo Brandon the whole time. So welcome, Brandon. I appreciate y'all having this own. You know, we come as a package, for sure. It has been fun walking around with BG. It's kind of how I feel like it must be like for you, Jordan, just anytime you're in L.A.

walking with Greg because he can't take a step without just being mobbed by people who want to take pictures with him and tell him how much, you know, BG means to them. It must be just like walking around with Greg. That's actually completely true, except the reverse because first they have to see Greg. Oh, come on. He's a little.

Oh, no. It's similar. I mean, I'm sure you're easy to. to hide behind Brandon here. It's a little discrepancy here, I think. Okay. It's okay, Greg. I'm a wee lad. Look, how was that? That was crazy. You played football again this year. I remember we talked and you said to us, although you weren't ready to officially declare it in the moment, but you were expecting to walk away and then he had just retorn the thing that he had come back in that game. That's a crazy thing. And then you walk back into a pretty wild time

as a as a Philadelphia Eagle. And you were podcasting about it at the time. Yeah. How was that? That was cool, man. It was hard to keep that secret for a while because I was knowing. I found out in August that was opportunity that might come away. Of course, you know, Bow knew because we wanted to make show on the podcast that we, you know,

that do happen, that we do it the right way, coming back, surprise the people. But, yeah, man, I think the hardest part was that trying to hold on in that information because I was excited, wanted people to know what was going on. But, yeah, it was cool to come back. And my tricep was healed this time. I wasn't all the way there coming back for that Super Bowl, but I wouldn't have changed it for nothing because it was great to be a part of it, get those pitchers in uniform.

And I got to touch my homes one time, even though it wasn't the same. It was a pivotal moment, though. We remember it. We talked to you about it. I mean, it's funny, just for the listener, like there's so much adrenaline going through the players at the end of those games. So as BG comes up onto the stage with that today, I'm like, you definitely don't remember this,

but we talked to you on the field and you had so much adrenaline. And like your family was incredible. And he's like, I'm sure I was. I'm sure it was great. Like all this stuff. You know what I mean? Like you were so polite. But there's no way.

I mean, it's such like fractions of incredible moments in such rapid fire. And I guess when is the time? that you sit with it, that you decompress. Like, I accomplished this. And I got through this, first of all. But I also accomplished this monumental thing that I could not wrap my head around it, you know, if I were in that position. Well, you know what?

You start to really, like, relish in that moment when you at the parade. You're sitting on that, on top of the bus, everybody's getting ready for, like, the kickoff of the parade. And then we get to get to ride. And you're talking and you're looking around and you're seeing like, man, we did it again. We did it again. This was everything. And the way we did it, like to go, I wasn't a part of the 014, but then to play the Patriots against a team where it was a spy gate, 04. It was controversy in that.

Then you come back. Eight year anniversary today, by the way, of that Brady Stripz act. Happy anniversary, everyone. Oh, yeah, eight years. Dang, boy, time fly. But for me, it's like... I still haven't forgiven you for that, by the way. I grew up in Massachusetts.

It was hurtful. You know what? Y'all came back to next year, so it wasn't that bad. You're fair. Y'all came back and beat them boys of the Rams too at that. But, yeah, it was so cool to be able to, for one, go against Brady, beat him when he just beat, man, he went to three Super Bowls back to back them years. And for him to just beat Atlanta the way they did,

and for us to have that same type of momentum. where the drive is, like they got the last drive and they're getting momentum and they've been scoring. Man, I was so, I was so thankful. So in those moments when I relishing them, it'd be more so at the parades. It'd be more so, like, even this year, I knew, like, man, this was potentially my last little parade. I'm going out on top. Let me enjoy the moment.

Let me enjoy everything, videos, pictures with the kids. Because you really got to, that's what you got to do. You got to take those pictures for those moments because life definitely goes on. because it sounded good going out on top until reality hit. And it was like, dang, 2025 season is approaching. And I'm still itching. Well, and I think that's sort of been the interesting thing to watch it from the outside, but to have gone sort of through it next to you is when BG comes back,

there's some Eagles fans are like, oh, man, like, why would you ruin the perfect ending? Like, you went out on top, you had this great ending. You won the Super Bowl. And it's not the perfect ending if he wants to keep playing, right? And he still has that. It's it's up to him, right? It's not about creating the lasting memory for the thing. So life's short.

Like, life too short. Once you stop playing, you're never going to, you know. Don't nobody really care about how, like, they just know you two-time Super Bowl champion. That's it. And by the way, most efficient sack guy in the NFL this season. Three sacks and like 65 pass-right track. A height man. And you know what?

I was going to ask you, both the same question, like the moment for you. Like, do you go through like all your old podcasting clips from the season and like your articles? Your articles from the season, you're like, man, I really killed it this year. During the Super Bowl? This year. I'll tell you what, I will answer you seriously, even though the question isn't just. When you go into that locker room after the Super Bowl, what does overwhelm you is all the other people, you know, all of the staffers who are either assistant coaches or, you know, like the training staff and seeing those people get to have the moment of they come to work every single day in service of hoping to get this. to see them get to celebrate, you know, like the masseuses or everybody else, like the woman

who's in charge of the nutrition shakes. Like, seeing them get to celebrate, that to me is like, okay, that is very cool. Well, while we're here, because I want to... Way to make me feel like an ass-a-go. I love that. Usually it's usually vice versa. It's usually you making me feel that way. I love that for you.

Let's actually listen. We have a clip. This is not the one. We also had your kids on the show, which was a great moment. Yeah, yeah, that was great. birthday to his daughter Emerson today. Happy birthday. Happy birthday.

Happy birthday. Happy birthday. NFL daily guest, Emerson, happy birthday. Let's listen to Brandon, because this has some application to this Super Bowl right after the game. How about that play by Milton Williams? That looks just like your playback after the Super Bowl. Well, Tom Brady's covered it.

What do you think? I'm thankful for that boy. That's him, Sweaty, Nolan, I mean, J.C., even though J.C. He took two every play. So he opened up the day. door for a lot of guys with the one-on-ones, and we just won our matchups today. And very thankful for these guys. Yeah.

Milton Williams, like, give me something on Milton Williams. Look at you. You took some of them goods. Yeah, he's trying to do what we're calling the reverse Chris Long or the reverse Lagert Blunt, where you go Eagles, Patriots, back to back. He's flipping it on its head. Like, what can you tell me about what it's like playing next to that guy? Because he's a breath of fresh air.

Like not only a Patriot that that is that dynamic and is living up to that money, but a Patriot that's a great quote. I mean, it's been a while since we had one of those. Yeah, and I know for him, he is living right. That's how I look at it. Like, man, when you got these glory years right now, Milt enjoy them because they don't come around for a lot of people. Like, it's a lot of people that play 15 years and they sniffed the Super Bowl

because they weren't on the right team. And so for me, like to him, I would just say, enjoy the moment. Make sure you're taking video, taking all the pictures, putting all the work in that you can. It's not just to make it to the Super Bowl, it's to win it. And so for him, I know that from Jump, when he first came into our locker room, he's been like the guy that's always had that chip on the shoulder. So always keep that because, you know, nobody gave him nothing. He went out there and he earned it. And so even this year, already, when he paid him $100 million, I remember people talking like, man, who's this guy

we paying a hundred and he ain't he ain't been no starter he cutting off the bench and then he showed why and so i'm proud of him uh but the job is not done i know he knows that but uh y'all got a stud and i wish we could have retained them because uh he would have helped us this year and we probably would be playing against y'all this he gave you some props on media night said he took a lot of stuff from you to to new to england the other thing is that reverse legeritt chris long thing is interesting because back then lane talked about lane johnson you know they've won those titles but they don't seem like they're having fun, whereas, like, I would rather win one and have fun. And it seems like that has kind of flipped, whereas now, like, the Patriots on the team

on the come up who are having fun, whereas the Eagles are like, we won, but it's always Oh, yeah, I always kind of like, I listen to Chris Law and show. He is an eagle. He talks about how great that year was. He pretty much, he's like, yeah, the Patriots here. We won, but it wasn't that fun. Right. Yeah, I mean, it was like military style.

Military style. Hey, I'm sorry. I mean, he's a great, great coach, great all that, because they won a bunch of Super Bowl. but like did y'all really have fun? You know what I'm saying? When you talk about it, that's where it feels like the Eagles are. Yeah, yeah.

That's how I feel. Like talking about those years, man, they just fly by so fast because of how much fun you having. So you can see that you can win both ways, but I'd rather win having fun. That's an interesting point that you guys both bring up because I've had this question, you know, knowing that you guys do the show together

and then, you know, the Eagles have been through some complicated stuff, right? And some of it's very public. I'm sure there's so much more that's new. and it's a building full of human beings with big feelings, right, and a lot of different personalities. And so it's like, how do you, first of all, navigate that? You know, you've been a leader in that team for a long time. But then also, you've got to go on a show and talk about it.

So how do you talk about these things in a way that is, like, nuanced and it doesn't give too much away, but makes your point very clear the way that you guys want to convey these things that we hear and see coming out of the building? Well, go ahead. I'm going to let you. Well, I was just going to say it is not only that, but the schedule is also a difficulty because, you know, there was a game this year where it was the game in Green Bay. Yeah.

Oh, yeah. The team plane lands at like 3.30 in the morning. He comes straight to the studio to record the podcast that morning. He's falling asleep. Like, literally falls asleep. Oh, yeah, that will hurt. That's a real podcast. That's a real podcast.

This is the guy who was dedicated to the craft. But yeah, no, I think, I think people. People know that BG is someone who tells the truth. And that's part of why they tune into the show. But yeah, you are also someone who you're not going to give things away. But it is about giving people a little bit of a peek behind the scenes while. Except for that whole like AJ Brown and Jalen Hertz thing. You kind of give that.

You know what? That one was for, that one was for just making sure you handling your own business. Don't involve everybody. That's all I was really saying because, you know, if I got a friendship that I'm trying to protect, you can't let everybody in that. You know what I'm saying? And so that's where it'd be tough because you've got to be able to separate the business from the personal. And sometimes that's not always easy because, you know, we both are friends, but we want the same thing. We want to win it all, but we wanted to win it all look in a certain way because that's what the media and everybody say.

I mean, of course, Jaylor Hurts, he don't care how you win. It's just like, let's just win. And then we'll worry about the other stuff later. But I just wanted them to be able to talk about it and not just have everybody all in their mix. And so that's really what I was saying. But I know that was tough because I took it, I owned it, and we moved forward in that. And I felt like it helped us in a way where everybody, you know, we end up winning it all. And of course, this year coming back into it, it was tough.

Who's to say you don't win it all if you don't do that? I mean, you don't, right, I don't know. That's my question is because from the outside in, it felt like you were, sometimes we need a third party in to tell, say, like, guys, this is what it looks like. Yeah. And it kind of felt like you were doing that in a way that ended up. being extremely helpful to the overall. That's just me saying it from the outside looking at it.

I'm with you because all I want us to do is now I have no regrets when we look back on it and say, did we, did we let any, we didn't let this little thing block us from where we was trying to go. And of course, it's all about sometimes just having that conversation. And people don't know the whole story. I didn't know the whole story. All I know is communication works well when you go to the actual source and then y'all work things out and y'all come in the middle about things.

Life lesson. Bo kind of mentioned like maybe you guys were a little in the spot that the Patriots got into where even the winning wasn't always that much fun if it like wasn't the right style. Oh, my goodness. Is that true? Like, is that true from the outside? Because I'm curious, is Philly like, is there actually more drama or is there just more attention? And so the drama all comes out. It's just attention.

I look at it like this. People want, like people didn't care. When it come down to the. playoffs okay all year people wanted style points but then when it came down to the playoffs they wouldn't have cared if we'd have had a bad game and still won that game and the end and you know if we had that all the way going to the Super Bowl and won it all doing it like that then I think that we can always result back to say hey hey Philly we did it like this and y'all was complaining and we still won so what so what y'all got to cry about now you know what I'm saying so it's it's always

going to be something to talk about and cry about but as a leader of the team you got to to block it out because when it comes down to it, if we would have won that game in the 49ers after all the stuff that happened with the offensive stuff and we'd have won, they wouldn't have worried about it. And we'd have been in the Super Bowl with the coordinator. I mean, you would have had to beat a couple good teams too. Oh, yeah, we had some good ones, though. Don't get me wrong.

But the defensive side, we was trying to put that on our back for this year. But, man, it don't matter. The style points don't matter in the playoffs. It's just about winning it. I love that. I love this defense, by the man. I could go on grab. But yes, continue.

The toughness of playing in Philly thing is the thing that I don't think is understood is that, yes, the city is very difficult to play in, and they will reward you if you play well. But if you talk to people around the league who have been in that building and then left or have what they've heard of it, it is also intense scrutiny in the building from the top down. And that is something that is not the same everywhere else. And it's part of what's made them great. But it is not always the most joyous place to work. Yes. Good answer. Not as far as like player

Not in the locker. I'm talking about the upstairs Because they do have a high standard of how they do things And I mean, which I understand Some stuff you might have to learn And kind of back off a little bit But you, how I look at it too It's like you want to make sure that you just focus

When you're supposed to be focused And I want to have fun when I can have fun It's like I'm not trying to be serious the whole time It's like I find my little moments where I can make a coach laugh in the serious situation. And it's like, all right, coach, if this happened again, say we, he goes off on us on the sideline and then we talk about it in the meeting,

even though we won the game. It's like, coach, trust us. Because it's about trust too. Because when people yelling at you sometimes, it's like, do you trust me? Do you trust what we said? It's like, we said that we were going to be in a dog fight. I made a mistake.

But don't condemn you for it. We're still in the fight. Let's keep working. And we'll figure it out later. And then you find out that what you thought happened in the game didn't happen so bad because maybe you wasn't listening and I was trying to tell you but you don't want to be you don't want to stay as hostile so one person might take the fall and be like you know what coach you right I'll just take it right now but then later on it'll be like dang coach

you was wrong so you got to be able to own own it too because you can't just be throwing that stuff you got to have accountability in this because and then you got to be a little seasoned in it too because it's been moments where I had to take it even though I knew I was right I just say you know what coach, I'll let you, I let you have your moment right now. All right. And then when you look back on it, I don't say nothing, but unless coach just don't acknowledge it, then I'm like, coach, let's get back on what happened on the field. Hey, talk to me.

What, what happened on that? Oh, yeah, BG, you was right. Oh, okay. Yeah. That's what I do to Greg. I do that to Greg often. Kill him with kindness. That's what he says.

Hey, I'm telling you both because you see, you got to kill people with kindness. And it's a good lesson. I'm telling you, as hard as that is sometimes. It ain't about winning it. It's about, look, it's a problem right here. Me and you got to figure this thing out to attack this problem together. But sometimes people think it's a problem between me and you and they, even in marriage, why this is a problem right here that we just need to figure out.

I love you. I love you. And it's like, you know, all that stuff. But it's really communication because a lot of times when you see stuff on the sidelines because people have miscommunications or built up feelings that they needed to have a man-to-man talk sometimes. And you don't always get that in a work relationship. But in football, you should have that more than not. But a lot of people sometimes run from those hard, hard moments.

Because it ain't always easy to kind of tell someone, man, you're wrong, you know, and then take accountability to know that you're wrong. Life lessons with Brandon Graham. I love it. I love that. I know. I'm so excited. We got a guest coming up. So I'll leave you with this. This was too good from our research department, Chris Bobona and Eric Roberts, getting it done,

with a direct quote from the Unblocked podcast hosted by Bo Wolf. Brandon, you said if Howie made a splash with the coordinator, I think it'll spark some interest with people wanting to come back. So I ask you, is Sean Mannion a splash with the higher-up coordinator? I would say yes, because from what people have told me, Even people in the organization that knows him say, man, he is great. Y'all don't even know. Just the relationships he has already and how he tries to really build those relationships.

And I'm loving that it's going to start from the ground up. And he's all about that. And so with him and Jay, I'm sure they've been on the phone, been talking, how you envision us looking this year. And then we just go from there. It's the journey of these next six months. People coming back. He said he put 6040 on AJ coming back.

Yeah, 6040. communicator. Yes. And if you could communicate what you want and how you wanted to look, man, are you killing the game? And so I'm hoping that we can keep because like how we say, he ain't trying to get rid of no good players. And I know I don't want to see, I don't want to see him go.

I want to see everybody thriving. I want to see Devonte, AJ, shoot, Sequan back in the mix. I mean, let's go get that record again this year on top of the record. You know what, like let's have it worth passing yards and running yards. Like, let's have a complete package this year. And I think they could do that with the people that they got. Heck, we might have BG back in the mix. Our own Mike Garifolo reporting that he's going to think about it, but don't take,

we're not going to put you on this. I would just say, I would just say I already. He's already set on the show. I told him exactly how I felt. I want to do it before. I don't want to just jump in halfway through because as soon as I start really feeling good, then it was over. I was just like, dang, wish I had to start it earlier.

The ball's in Howie's court. He wants to come back. Yeah, yeah, he know. Okay. Howie, you know, he's a hard man to read, so who knows, 60, 40. All I say is, if AJ Brown is out, I don't think we're going to know about it until the second that he's out. Brandon Graham, Bow Wolf, our friends now that we've had Brandon Graham on the show a couple of times from the Unblocked podcast. Thank you very much.

Thanks, guys. Go, birds. All right, that is it for the interviews today. That was Brandon Graham and Bow Wolf. Delight. We're welcoming back Nick shook to the stage. He's everywhere. To wrap this thing up, we started with you, Nick.

And you stuck around with Justin Jefferson. And then after Justin Jefferson got off the stage, you did what a real man should do. And you got his Madden Handel. You guys can play later. We're not giving that thing out, but that was a good job by you. That's real journalism, Big J. journalism right there, getting the contact info, digging deep, get in the sources, so you can play on the virtual gridiron. I don't know if he was just, you know, being polite, but he seemed genuinely

excited to play some man with you. I mean, he took my phone and typed it. He did. I saw it. I was a witness. Yeah. I might have to try to steal that and see if I can. That would be an unethical.

Have a set up between Walker and. Well, here's the thing. Maybe Justin and I will play for the right. Let the relationship grow and then we'll see. Yeah. I'm not above trying to burn a relationship just for one moment of glory. What a show. Mac Jones was awesome. Jackson Dart and Brandon Graham.

It's like big picture takeaway. You're saying that the kids are out of control. You being the kids and me being the dad. I mean, you can be a kid too if you want. Yeah, if you want. At heart, you know. At heart. I feel like it.

No, it was great. I loved it. We talked about big Philadelphia Eagles feelings with Brandon. He was very honest about kind of some of the dynamics in that building. We talked to Jackson. and dart about whether he's going to launch a negative smear campaign against Tyler Shuck, which I thought that his soul was going to leave his body when you asked him that question, but then he laughed.

And then we found out that Mack Jones parents are big fans of the show. Oh! Which we love. We're big fans of Mac. Yes, we are. And we see, actually, as we're talking, I see him over literally live right now on NFL Network. I bet he had more fun with us.

Yeah. He did ours first. What, you're going to have fun with Pelicans? a Sero and rap sheet in a couple of suits. Judy's over there. Judy's fun. I specifically didn't mention Judy because I like Jews. That's it.

We have so many guests tomorrow. We might as well just say goodbye and set that up. It's kind of going to be a preview show. It's going to be a little different than most of our preview shows. We're going to have our preview, but that'll be a little condensed, the three of us. And we'll also talk to some guests that can give perspective, some players that just went against these teams like Garrett Bowles of the Denver Broncos. A very honest Garrett Bowles. Yeah. And many more Mad Dog will be joining us, me and Shook. And really looking forward to that. It's going

to be fun all week. Thank you, everyone that is checking out NFL Daily. And yeah, we're, we got something else in the feed for you on Thursday. This day really got better after the way it started for me, Greg. That's true. Someone hit Jordan in the head with what was it? A hydrant. A hydroflask. It was a bad omen and we've recovered. We'll see you Thursday. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.