NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Secret Weapons For Every AFC Team

Episode Date: June 3, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Colleen Wolfe and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic to give you the secret weapon for ever AFC team. Each team gets their time, starting with the AFC West (01:45), followed by the AFC South (11:40), AFC North (29:55), and AFC East (40:20). Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the 6th, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find anywhere else.

It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sunday. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Marcus Grant. And I'm Michael Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents.

Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're all just trying to keep a few feet away from Colleen Wolf. I'm sure I'm fine. We're in the Chris Wesley podcast studio. I'm Greg Rosenthal here with Jordan Rodrigue of The Athletic, my friend. And Colleen Wolf, Connie Fox, back in the studio.

Oh my God. Hi, guys. Hi. So I just said moments ago, I asked if it was really hot in here. It feels extremely hot. Maybe I'm having a hot flash. Who knows what's going on? But you guys clearly feel like it's totally normal and fine.

I feel like I'm about to break out in a sweat. And I think maybe I actually already have. And your voice is a little husky, which I like for the podcast, but it's, thanks, Greg. It might be indicative of, well, no, my asthma has been really bothering me. And I forgot my inhaler at my, one of my other jobs. So I haven't had it. One of your other jobs? Yeah, I only have two jobs.

Okay. Tell us about it. Oh, women sports now on Roku. Woohoo. I feel like we haven't mentioned this. Yes. That was a good way to do a plug. All right.

Well, we'll just get going then to get you. you out of here as quickly as possible. We're going to hit every single AFC team today, Jordan, and we're going to tell the listeners what each team's secret weapons are. Secret weapon. That's a fun, fun idea. I love it. So we will put two minutes on the clock.

We'll hit two divisions, take a break. Maybe we'll hear a little bit about Connie's trip to the forest to camping. I went camping for the first time. Maybe after the break. We'll hear a little bit about Jordan's got a big feat. feature that dropped today on the athletic. So I want to hear a little bit about that. But let's start with the AFC West because we always start with the East.

It's like East Coast bias. We're going to go from the bottom of the document up in the AFC West, which means we're going to start with my Las Vegas Raiders. Put two minutes on the clock. Oh, right. And I was trying to think about a secret weapon here. And I thought that Chip Kelly's personal growth would be a good one. Now, I want to hear from you who experienced the Chip Kelly era Connie in Philadelphia

where he just did not seem like he could manage the personalities and the people around him. And he had one idea of how he was going to do an offense. And that was his idea. And I think in all the years since, in different roles in college, he's found a way to adapt. And I was listening to him at the podium. He's in his 60s now. I think he's gotten a little older, a little wiser. I think he likes not being the head coach.

And that way he can manage the people. And the way he talked about, well, you can't just have an offense. you have to make it work around the players that you have. So we've seen him be run heavy. We've seen him be pass heavy. We've seen him do all sorts of things. I think he loves Gino. And so I think he's in a better position to make a difference in the NFL now than when he

was the head coach. And that started well. Well, that makes me so happy for Gino, first of all. And this coaching staff in general, first of all, they all look so much younger than their actual age when we're talking about Pete Carroll. Chip Kelly does not look like he's in his 60s. However, yes, you're right. I was in Philadelphia when he,

came to the Eagles. And what a switch that was for everyone, not just the players and the media, obviously for Howie Roseman as well, who was banished from the front office, essentially to like a storage facility and then resurrected himself from the ashes, like the Phoenix he is. But Chip Kelly, I remember it was so controversial because he came in and he was running practices and training camp so hard. the defense was like so gassed especially like middle of the year everyone was done exactly it said that time of possession didn't matter he was making all of these this was the first time that I was hearing about smoothies like customizable smoothies so maybe he was ahead of his time

there but I think yeah now his time he is grown he's matured and I think he kind of knows now how to how to work the team mm-hmm secret weapon he's getting older next up we are going to talk, Jordan, about your Los Angeles Chargers. My Los Angeles Charter. Yeah, you know what? I think that their secret weapon is keeping Jesse Minter for another year. I know that's not like a shocking thing that they were able to retain. What's he looked like?

At first, by the way. A lot of us knew what Jesse Minter looked like before the shows. So we checked it out. And he just looks like a very normal looking guy, who I bet gets told that he looks like a lot of other people. Like a riot or something. I was really surprised. Or Brent, or Brent. Like he looked like Brandon Staley, too, who also looks like a lot of people.

Wow. He's kind of an average looking guy. Yeah, or like a Greg Rosenthal who's set in claims. He looks like a lot of different people, which I've never. I think I look like, I'm just like an average looking. People are like, you just look like, yeah, it's because I'm just like sort of a normal. You know what? It's ironic that we're going in this direction in the start of my segment on Jesse Minter

because he is the multiple things are true at the same time. Defensive coordinator. I really like the way that he thinks about defense. I like the way that he thinks about staying multiple while keeping certain core principles and fundamentals in place. There was some chatter and whispers already starting through certain coaching circles that maybe he's going to be a head coaching candidate in these next cycle. So I think having continuity in the short term is really important. This is a guy who plays with light boxes yet still knows how to teach defense to stop the run, which they did so at a league leading rate, despite almost leading the league in light box rate last year. This is a guy who has move players all over the defensive backfield.

Derwin James was a master chess piece last year for him and seemed to have a lot of fun doing it. This is a guy who, despite being in the middle of the league in pressure rate, also they convert their pressure to sacks. So lots of good fundamentally sound football being played under Jesse Mentor, who like I said, keeping him for a second year, despite the fact that he is getting some, starting to get some chatter for head coaching positions, I think is significant. And I think he's the charger's secret weapon. Think how many times a guy landed with the Chargers last year and suddenly they looked way better. Tierre Tart was an example. A couple guys who got paid elsewhere. Dionne Henley, like a rookie player or a second year player who got way better.

These rookie like late round picks at cornerback did incredible. And Jim Harbaugh weirdly kind of got all the credit, but it should be. That's why he's a secret weapon. Even Cleo Mac like looked a little better when they arrived. All right. You got the chiefs calling. okay secret weapon gassing up free agent wide receivers like just getting every last drop out of these wide receivers that they bring in every single year like listen i love the way that they use their tight ends i love andy reed off of a buy it's like the best cliche ever uh in terms of secret weapons they always find rookies to fill in these massive holes that they have because they can't pay all of their guys they always do such a good job with that however when they bring in these free agent wide receivers who you think have nothing left or really aren't going to fit what they're doing,

they're still able to make them shine. Like, I mean, look at the run that Cadarius Tony went on. And this guy isn't even on its team right now. So it's what they're able to do with guys they pick up off the street. Right. Like, thinking about Hollywood Brown as a Kansas City chief. Uh-huh. Like, I'm excited about that and just assume it will work.

If he was on a different team, I would not necessarily be assuming that will work. And they're developing some young players too. Like even sprinklin and juju there as like just like your fifth guy. Yeah. And it's interesting. The floor is so high there in their passing game. They already have such a foundation established. And when you have Patrick Mahomes throwing the ball, like remains to be seen what their

offensive line kind of shakes out to be this year. And I think obviously that's the not so secret potential problem and certainly a solution they've needed to find and have tried to do so this off season. But calling to your point, like anytime they bring someone in, it can be somebody who underperformed. It could be somebody who's brought it in the middle of the season and previously had to have a job. You know that they're going to probably get the ball

in some big fashion, especially down the end of the season into the postseason. Worthy, Hollywood Brown, and Rishie Rice have the highest ceiling that they've had since it was, you know, Tyree Kill and Sammy Watkins in that group now a while ago. And Patrick Holmes kind of needs it. Yeah, he does. He hasn't been as good the last two years

as he was the rest of his career. Well, and then... Hasn't been protected well. No, there's reasons for it. But he hasn't been as good, partly because of the weapons, yeah. Keenan Allen, has he signed anywhere yet? No, that'd be. Oh, I would love that.

Oh, my God, I love that. The reporting, I believe, or some buzz was, he was really trying to latch on to one of the LA teams wanted to live back in L.A. And hasn't been able to. Also, it is hot in here, by the way. You're correct. It is pretty hot.

I'm not sick, everybody. You were like dying. It struck me right in the middle of that last segment where I was like, It's hot, right? Oh. It's going to come over to you, Greg, next. The lights, they're bright. Can you handle them?

Can you what stand? Let's go with the Denver Broncos. And I'm going to talk about their interior offensive line is the secret weapon to this whole team. Okay. Zach Allen was one of the best defensive linemen in the entire NFL last year. He had 44 combined QB hits and quarterback sacks. And no one else was even above 30. That was an interior defensive line.

So he was like one. of the best players in the league, full stop. And then the other guys who aren't as famous, Jonathan Franklin Myers had a lot of production last year, eight sacks, nine quarterback kids. Malcolm Roach is a guy they brought from New Orleans, who was very productive. DJ Jones just signed his second straight three-year,

30-plus million-dollar contract with the same team. That never happens. He's on his third contract, like an underrated player that they believe they had to play. So they're not household names, but these are all grown men. They also had a third-round pick, Savion Jones, which to me is kind of the,

the basis which they've built this really excellent defense off of. What I think they're really good at as a unit from the inside to the outside and then back to the inside is understanding when certain players will occupy more attention, dialing up pressure. And it's not just the coordinator who's doing that. It's a collective effort in terms of, hey, I understand the way that players are going to shift to you. There is where I take my opportunity. It's a very unselfish group that you can see how productive it can be.

because they all, they sort of all take their turns. And yes, there's some dominant games from certain players. But for the most part, especially some of the ascending talent, too. Like, they take turns. They sort of set each other up. It's a really, really cool group to watch. Yeah, you know, Certan gets all the love, you know, defense player of the year. Bonito, Nick Benito got some votes there.

You got, you got the Riley Moss, like, white, you know, cornerback thing. Like, let's give some love to the big guys in the middle. Yeah, John Franklin Myers, I know that this is like a little bit of a thing right now online with his PFF ranking. Did you? No, I didn't know about this. Tell me, please. I guess.

And I'm just like making sure that this is all, yeah, this was from four hours ago. Apparently he came in 18th in the rankings, but he was still listed as part of the Jets. So I'm not really sure how that happened. So he was upset or who's upset? Is anyone upset? We all are.

We all are. I'm upset for it. It was probably like a typo. Let him cook. That was a career year he had. he was really good and he wants more money and I believe he's so does Zach Allen I believe they are both or at least uh Jonathan Franklin Myers is not showing up to OTAs right now it is tricky to have to pay all these guys but they just paid like I mentioned DJ Jones they waited

until he got to free agency and they made him hold let's go to the Titans Jordan Roderig all right well I'm all over the place on this list um the Tennessee Titan secret secret secret weapon is Cam Ward's combined aura and talent because I want to say let me be clear this should not be a secret weapon. It is not a secret weapon to anyone who knows ball who appreciates watching quarterback play. He is a number one overall pick, but Cam Ward has received nowhere near the attention and fanfare of a typical number one overall pick. Partially to blame is the market he's in and the status of the team, but also blame us the media for not talking about him enough and Greg wrinkles up his face. I mean, we talked about it a ton. You're,

blameless, Greg, in all things. In this one. Cam Ward's aura and his oh, so steady, confident presence will be a huge asset for a team that's basically preparing for a deep rebuild. They have a long way to go. And their fan base is only used to being in the news where it comes to a quarterback lately. We've seen erratic play turning into viral moments and also straddling mayonnaise jars in a

white spot. So I can't wait to see... Those ads are good, though. I'll defend those ads. I can't wait to see the long game between Cam Ward and Brian Callahan. and it's going to take some time. But I think they're a really good match. And I think he's the perfect fit for a team that needs to grow a lot.

A player who is a steady leader and an extremely high talent ceiling who also will grow up with the team as they continue to try to actually become something significant and solid in that market. I think Cam is in the perfect position. First of all, everyone in the media who does talk about him talks about how nobody in the media talks about him. That's like the main thing that it's talked about. But when was last time? I'm a number one overall pick that was a quarterback wasn't talked about and didn't have all of these crazy expectations put upon him.

This is kind of great for him because now he can show up, show out. If he's really good, then everyone's like, damn, how did we not like talk about that? It's gravy. They're expected to be the worst team in the league. And I'd like that he has aura off the field. Like he's very engaging when he talks. But more importantly, aura on the field, like he plays with a cockiness. Oh, he's incredible. which is borderline, like, dangerous, but I just love it.

It's very Patrick Mahomes. But it's dangerous in a controlled, like, I can see your plan way, whereas previously when you'd see Will Levis go into danger mode, you feared for him and everybody around him. No, he did not give off, like, I'm playing. I know, but I'm just saying we got to, like, I'm excited for Cam Ward because he gives this franchise, like, solid ground to stay on. Spicey dangerous.

Yeah. Although I feel, I feel a little bad for Levis. I've watched some of his interviews this offseason. and he's handling it really well. Because, you know, your confidence has been knocked. But no, on the field, he never gave off an aura of confidence. He gave off an aura of panic. Kim Ward's always out there like, I'm the best.

Yeah, he's incredible. I can make it. He's a lot of his 25. So it's like to have all this happen for him to handle it well, I think he obviously is mature. He'll be fine. And I love the fit with Brian Callahan. I got to talk to Brian Cannon on a little bit. Kevin Clark actually introduced us at the league meeting this year.

and he's kind of awesome. I mean, I hadn't really talked a lot with him. I respected his work, obviously. But, like, he's just, he's very chill when you kind of get him away from football. I've only seen him yelling or being grumpy at the podium. I like him at the podium, too. I like him at the podium, too. And him and Kim Ward are now tied at the hip.

If they make it work, their careers are going to go off. Colleen, you have the Jacksonville Jaguars. Okay. For the Jags, their secret weapon is big wide receiver energy. That's what they have there. Brian Thomas Jr. was their shining star. And now they have Travis Hunter. So I would only expect big plays out of this offense.

But then also, when you look at their depth chart right now, they have 14 wide receivers on the depth chart. It's just like the quantity. So many wide receivers. Like they have more wide receivers than I have hair extensions. And that is so many. That is a lot. But like, and I was even looking at their.

looking at the names on here. Brian Thomas Jr. You have Diami Brown, Travis Hunter, Joshua Sefus, Austin Tramel. Parker Washington's probably going to be on the team. You know who they have? They have the former rugby player.

Who? Lewis Rees Dammit. Oh. It was a big story last year. Special teams returner probably, I would think. Yes. Yeah. So they have a lot of guys,

but they need to get it right for Liam Cohen. So that's nice that they're going to have few to choose from. Plus, the entire AFC South is just going to beat up on each other for no good reason. So just by being in that division, it's a force multiplier just by virtue of their opponents too. There's an incredible clip of

Travis Hunter making the best interception you've ever seen at OTAs on Tuesday and just getting the people going. Got me kind of excited. Because he's practicing on defense one out of three days and it's just like, what? That's been. big, big wide receiver energy even at cornerback. Also, GM Jimmy Stones was a receiver in college. So big receiver energy all over that roster.

And high drama as a receiver could only appreciate. I, at first was going to be like, is their receiver room like a secret weapon? But I think you're saying the energy. The energy. It gives what's been a little bit of a vanilla franchise some pop. Like it's not even like a wide receiver core. It's just like a wide receiver platoon. There's just so many.

When you have a quarterback as chill, it seems like a nice guy, but maybe not like getting the people going. As Trevor Lawrence, you need a little wide receiver energy to get. That's right, Greg. Get the party jumping. I am going to talk about Colleen's Indianapolis. Yeah, let's go. Okay.

Well, first of all, just Colleen Wolf's undying love that could power the moon. You know what's going to happen this year. The incredible. But then I like to do. at the receiver group, this is what everyone wants. It's weird to think that this used to be a weakness for them. Michael Pittman is exactly the possession receiver that every team kind of wants.

He's the prototype. Alec Pierce, I feel like this was quiet, averaged 22.3 yards per catch last year. Obviously, that led the league. It led the league by like four or five yards. Why do you think it was so quiet? Because he was on the Colts. But like that's a number out of 1967

and the San Diego charge. Like, no one does that. He is, he was just killing people down the field. Killing people. And then Josh, Josh Downs, I do think it's quite how good he is. I actually think he's the best receiver on the team. And maybe a future all pro slot guy who is that good. And then A.D. Mitchell, who is an enigma, uh, was wide open all the time last season.

A lot of drops. A little bit of, uh, up and down experience off the field, I, I think, but always open. So that's like, I think about the 2016 Falcon. you're building a basketball team where all these different types of receivers, the Colts have that. You're Colts. I don't know if they have anyone

who can throw it to them. Yeah, that was going to be my next point. Well, like details. I mean, we'll get baby steps, all right? But that's like what you want. That's what you want. Every, all these different types. They are a grenade launcher

without the grenade in it right now in terms of secret weapon status. I do feel like they're so complimentary. They even have a pretty solid tight ends room too. They are like a team that I think just has balance everywhere, but at quarterback, which is going to always be the caveat with this team and the biggest question about this team, because I think they're really solid. I think their defense will get better as well. And I also think that this, like you said, this receivers group is

just quietly outstanding. Yeah. I'm hoping, you know what, guys, this is going to be the year. This will be the year. She's in. They're going to figure it out. I went through all that. I didn't even, yeah, mentioned like the Joker, Tyler Warren at tight end kind of complimenting the whole group. You gave me a look and I was like, oh, no, did I step up? No, no, no, no. I just sort of. I was thinking the wideout group, but he offers another very different skill set to that. So it's just like, if you can just get solid play, I hate the feeling that they really want Daniel Jones to win this job. And I'm, I just have this feeling that Daniel Jones is the favorite for it. I just don't want that. I want, I want Richardson to be the guy. Maybe this is what Richardson needs. Maybe. Jordan, uh, let's do the Houston Texans. Okay, let me preface this by saying, this was actually kind of hard to pick because some of their weapons. or some of the ways that they've gone about trying to fix this team from last year as they sputtered out near the end and had issues with their offensive line and with pressure, they fixed a lot of those things or they're trying to. So it's hardly a secret this defense will continue to be among the best in the league, among the most well-coached in the league.

That's even with the retirement of Adept Corner Ronald Darby, a former second round pick of the Buffalo Bills, played about 10 years in the NFL, wish him happy trails. They also went in the draft at Corner at Position, Flexibility Corner. so they should be okay depth-wise there. They had some injuries last year, so that shouldn't be as big of a factor. But I think, and then the offensive line was obviously the biggest, one of the biggest issues that they had, especially in pass pro. They basically brought in, whether it's veterans or draft picks,

they brought in like eight or nine guys who are going to compete for those spots. So over time and certainly before C.J. Stroud's next, his contract extension is due, they should figure out at least the majority of continuity on that line, where I think, and I'm going to take this time, because you guys didn't give me Jesse Minter, okay, doubling up on the Ohio, excuse me, on the Iowa State receivers, Jalen Noel and Jaden Higgins, to me, is the secret weapon. Tankdell's recovery timeline is extensive and it's going to be really grueling for him to get back on the field. And I think you really, like we're talking about, you need to build a layered and balanced receivers room

for C.J. Stroud, who doesn't just need offensive linemen in the context of help. He also needs people to get the ball to outlets, a complimentary set of receivers that can go all around, they can basically satellite orbit around Nico Collins. Christian Kirk is going to be in the mix there as well. He's impressed at OTAs, although C.J. Stroud is not the one throwing it. So I think getting those two guys, they're basically doing what the Rams did. Nikali was with the Rams. They're basically doing what the Rams did last year, getting teammates. So you skip the chemistry building part and you go right into building the offense. In totality part, they're trying to skip some steps here because they know they're very close

to being a contending team. Wow. Sorry, that was a real rant. That was incredible, Jordan. You took that time and you ran with it. Yeah, they turned a potential big weakness despite Nico Collins being there this offseason and turned it into a potential strength.

Yeah. They took swings. Now, how it usually works, like they should be happy if two out of those three pickups work between Kirk and the two rookies. If two out of the three of those work, then they're in like amazing position.

I like that they really doubled up. Let's take a quick break. We still have two divisions to go with a secret weapon. And we'll be back to hear a little bit about Colleen lost in the forest. Hey, this is Matt Jones. And this is NFL cover zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts Pretzel?

That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're going to get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more.

What's up, everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week, we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else.

It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze matchups, and evaluate how teams put it all together on game day. Plus, we dig in the coaching strategies, roster construction, and the trends that shape the league year after year. Whether you're a diehard fan or just love understanding the game

on a deeper level, we give you the full picture. If you want insight that goes beyond the box score, this podcast is for you. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Six podcast on the iHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Marcus Grant.

And I'm Michael F. Florio, and together we host the NFL fantasy football podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season? Then you need the NFL fantasy football podcast, your ultimate source for player news, draft tips, and winning strategies. Whether you're a rookie manager or a fantasy vet. We've got the insight to help you crush your opponents. Listen to the NFL Fantasy Football podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more.

Back at NFL Daily. Colleen, you haven't been here in a few weeks. I know I've missed you guys. Last week. I still work here. You were up at Big Sur. I was. Where I went on my honeymoon.

Oh, my gosh. It's such a magical place. Incredible. Yeah. I just, I'm always happy to go back there. Not that I've been back. there much. How was camping? Was that the first time you've ever been camping? Ever. I've never been camping my whole life. I've always wanted to go. This was so exciting because also I had never been

to Big Sur and to kind of going into the camping trip, I decided that a quick weekend in Palm Springs would be a perfect way than to immediately come back from Palm Springs and go straight to Big Sur. Yen Yang. Yeah, exactly. But it was so awesome. There was like dispersed camping, which I I did not know was a thing and we had a camper and we drove up this mountain on this dirt road like 35 minutes or so, 40 minutes and got to this spot where it was like 360 degree views of everything out there. So you had green hills over one side and then the ocean and cliffs on another and Kima, my dog, she came and she had a great time. She had her first water experience. She drove. She drove.

She has her license now. She's getting so big. But she didn't know what water was. I hadn't taken her in the ocean yet. And she's a baby. So the only water she knows is getting baths. So she kept trying to bite the water as she was in it. It was very cute.

But yeah, it was super fun. I loved it. Camping, guys. Big Sur is ridiculous. It's so much prettier than I even could have imagined. Gorgeous. Yeah. It is incredible.

If you're a big Sir fan, like Henry Miller. The library. Yes, one of my wife's favorite writers. You know, he has a lot of Big Sur writing. And that's where he did all his writing, but a lot of like nature writing. That was part of the reason we went up there. The other part was like, you know, she couldn't leave the country as a, you know, permanent resident or whatever at the time. So we had to do we just like, let's go somewhere you can drive.

Big Sur is freaking incredible. It's just right there. Before we get back to the divisions, I did want to mention an item of news that happened right as we finished taping on Monday, which is going to impact the 2025 season and my early favorites to be the NFC champion, sorry, Colleen, the Detroit Lions. I don't feel quite as good about the Lions after learning that Frank Ragnow is retiring.

He was their longtime center and some of the numbers, Jordan, like when he's on the field and not on the field are pretty outrageous in terms of how much better they have been, especially running the ball. Yeah. hat tip to Nate Tice, who dug these up so that I did not have to. But since 2022, with Ragnow on the field, the lion's offense is third in success rate and tied for first in EPA per play.

Without him off on the field, they are 23rd in success rate and 12th in EPA per play. So quite the dip in offensive production between him being on the field and off the field. At one point, he played through a fractured throat. I was just reading that and that's so insane. He came back from a torn pectoral. last year in like a matter of weeks, which is outrageous. It just, um, he embodies like the, I think passion, physicality, um, heart for team and for teamate, but also the deep brutality of this game.

And, um, I just think that, you know, such a nod of respect to him from people across the league and then from people who played with them. And, but you also, it comes tinged with that sort of sadness of he, he's not feeling good. so he's decided to step away. Yeah, he essentially said in the statement that he thought his body, he was hoping it would bounce back and it just, he just doesn't feel good about it. And he's played through absolutely everything.

The type of player in person, I think that's either going to give you too much, give you everything and then more until it's out. And yeah, the age, it kind of reminded me of when Andrew Luck stepped away, obviously just a physical position that Ragnow played. I do expect that the Lions had some idea that this was possibly coming, but maybe not for sure. They did, you know, make an early investment on the interior line in terms of Tate Ratledge in the second round, and they've been talking him up.

So they'll figure out how that equation is all going to work. Who's at center? Who's at garden and everything. But it's a huge loss for them. When I think lions over the last eight years, even before Campbell, I think of Ragnow. kind of been the key to a lot of it. Which is kind of unusual when you're thinking of a team and you're thinking of center from the offensive line. Also, just all of the toe injuries that he had. He said that it was the most

severe degree of turf toe that he played and also had a separate injury to the same toe in another season. I mean, he's just been through it and all the while starting every single game he played in. Glad you brought that up because this is some beef that I have with some of the things that we call injuries. Turf toe hurts like a motherfucker. Really? It is awful. And it's called turf toe.

You've had it? Called something. No, but you hear people talk about how painful it is and like these really tough elite athletes talking about how painful it is and how it's difficult to walk and you have to spend most of your time sitting. And yet we've named it turf toe. Yeah. As if it's like soft and fluffy.

I think the problem is just toe is kind of a funny sounding silly name. Just sounds silly. Kind of like a Liz Frank injury. It's like, I don't really know what to do with this. That harlot information. Right. Like, even turf toe, like, it just sounds like you stubbed your toe. Yeah.

It's kind of like, yeah, Mooky Betts right now is out for the Dodgers. And they said he said he stubbed his toe like walking at night in the middle of the night. Yeah. It's like, is that a real thing? Oh, gosh. Yeah. I guess it is. You have a sharp or throbbing pain at the base of the toe, stiffness, difficulty moving it, swelling.

Okay, this is a bummer. Let's get back to the secret weapon. Plants our fasciitis. You just sound like you're into botany. You know, we got to think some real things to call these things. Fractured throat, that's so metal. Like, I understand that and it sounds awful. Fractured throat gives you broke your throat, man.

Gives you some credit in the locker room when you play through that. All right, let's get back to the secret weapons. Two minutes for team. Happy trails to Frank. Yeah. Much respect to you, man. So much. And I'm sure he'll be watching this Lions team.

And they're offensive line, by the way, was like, Not quite as good as a reputation last year. And so this is going to be another thing to kind of overcome now, him retiring. All right, Colleen, you are up with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Okay. So the Steelers, their secret weapon, is the first church of Tomlintology. This man handles the toughest of characters and all the time. And he does it with some type of divine intervention because there's no other way that you could see

how he's able to handle such big personalities and keep everything kind of so smooth and under the radar. He's strong. He's direct. I love his ideology. Um, his services on Sunday mornings. You know, I like the 1 p.m. Mass. That's my favorite. All of the homilies on the standard is the standard. It's really great stuff. Um, but, you know, I just think their creed. We do not live our fears. We walk into the light of topology. So, yeah. I mean, there is something to be said. I know it's like, even me saying it, if I was listening to me,

I'd roll my eyes about no losing season, but it's like, okay, what has you done in the playoffs? And like, how do they get over the hump? But it's like now they're just sitting here waiting on Aaron Rogers. And somehow, some way, I know that they'll figure out some way to not have a losing record, which is unbelievable. I'm falling into the trap of,

I'm like, man, I think this is the year it's going to fall apart. But that's happened to me every three years or so. and it's always wrong because I lost my faith and I should never lose my faith in the Church of Tomontology. Welcome to the light, Greg. It is such a great,

is it a metaphor? A simile? We're doing a metaphor. This is a metaphor, correct? That's the right one. So it is, it's interesting. It's a religion. I know, but it is,

it is interesting though because like the, you know, real life topic, very polarizing at times. And there is a wide growing vocal number of people who are either on one side or either on the other. And you can't change anyone's minds. It's almost like this is rushing to a boiling point and nobody's going to budge. Well, you know who's a great person to decide it? Especially when we're getting like, you know,

God talk in the mix. Aaron Rogers. You know. Perfect. Yeah. But also for real, their defense is kind of their secret weapon with T.J. and K.M. and Minka. That's absolutely true. Let's do the Cleveland Browns. I'm going to say their secret weapon, their low expectations this year. Quietly, since Kevin's DeFancy's gotten there, we've always thought they were going to be good. I went back and looked at their over under win total over the last five years. It's never been below eight and a half. This is the Cleveland Browns. And you know what?

They beat expectations a few times. They had those years where he won coach of the year. They won 11 games. But like, weirdly that season where Joe Flacco played like going into the year, they were nine and a half win over under. Like, we've thought they were going to be good each and every year. And for the most part, they've been average to very good until last year. And this year, they are tied for last place in terms of expected win total. Five and a half.

So the expectations are very low. I actually really do think that can be a secret weapon for teams. Maybe the Browns take advantage of it, despite the quarterbacks. Can I give you guys a hot take? Sure. Oh, my God. Yes. outside of Deshawn Watson, I really like the dynamic of their quarterback room with everybody that's in it.

I don't mind the fact that there's a multi-person, even more so than starter backup and third string camp arm. I like the fact that there's multiple people vying for reps. I like the fact that they seem to all be getting along with each other. I like the fact that they're going through an actual like evaluation of the quarterbacks before, like, I don't. know, like blindly signing somebody who they don't know whether they're going to turn out to be good or not in spending an exorbitant and egregious amount of money on that person. I do like this. I like that they're kind of going back to basics and basically troubleshooting how they evaluate quarterbacks through the entire process. I like that it's a couple of relatively short kings on that

roster and then like the towering veteran. Right. I just, I like all of this. I like the vibes. I like having young energy in that room. I think it's good. I hope it works out for Kevin Stefanski having all of these guys in there. Like, I just, this team in general has been so snake-fitten for so long and that position in general

has just been such a mess. I just don't know if I can get on board with the hot take. I want to. And yet, like, if they win seven games and they get decent

quarterback play, that's kind of, that's a win for Stefanski. He's going to keep his job. I really think it is. We're looking at another vote, coach of the year vote. I wouldn't go that far if he won

seven or eight, Like, Cynthia Freeland had them as their third to last in terms of like expected win total this year, which feels about right. So if he gets good quarterback, like decent quarterback play and they win seven or eight games, like, that's got to be more fun than the weight and the terrible feeling that the Deshaun Watson era has mostly been, certainly when he's played. Jordan, you're up with the Bengals. Got a real barn burner here for the Cincinnati Bengals. Okay, so the Trey Hendrickson contract drama is still not resolved. The Shemar Stewart contract drama is still not resolved. So I think that the secret weapon that the Cincinnati Bengals have working in their favor right now as of June 3rd is that it's almost time to talk about the Cowboys contract drama again.

It's a good call. Plus, if they wait forever on Michael Parsons, the Dallas Cowboys that is. is that kind of helps the Bengals out when it comes to Hendrickson, right? Sure. Because if Parsons comes in early, that's just like another guy. Yeah. That's your secret weapon. There are things.

Yeah, Bengals fans are like, you guys said something nice about every other team. There are things that were, well, their weapons are not secret. Like Joe Burrow is the weapon. Jamar Chase, you know, T. Higgins, they are the weapons. Like, it's all, that's all gravy. They have to prove a lot on defense this year. after Fall Guy Liu took the heat there. And Zach Taylor, I think, has a hell of a lot to prove as well.

And especially, they're sort of, it's a weird lobbying of like, is he the face of this contract situation? Is he not the face? How much communication is he having with players? There seems to be like a little bit of a weird snafu in that regard. They're kind of a national team though now. It's interesting. Like, they're tied for the league lead and over underwin total too.

Really? I think because of Borough, they're like a national team. Yeah. I don't know if the attention's totally going away. The weapons are not secret. If you were going to try to come up with a secret weapon for them, it's almost what's been, we've been calling their biggest weakness,

which is they didn't really do anything on defense, but they have great continuity. All those guys have been there. In theory, you could flip out over that weakness. They're just, they're just hoping that we all forget about this situation and talk about something else. What a glass half full?

Right. To get a look at it. They have the same guys. Good for you guys. Coming back. This is a compliment. Unfortunately. It's in the name, Jordan.

NFL daily. We're definitely going to be on the the Trey Hendrix and beat. Feels good. Colleen. Okay. Mark Andrews. Here we go.

I already know your pick. Ravens, yeah. The Mark Andrews Redemption Tour. So, yes. Yay. Instead of starting a new year by watching the ball drop, the Ravens ended theirs this way. And Mark Andrews' mission now is to make sure it never happens again.

So his entire offseason is dedicated to working to doing to obsessing because long after that locker room went quiet, the noise was still in his head, guys. And Mark Andrews, he didn't make excuses. He didn't disappear. He dipped into the shadows to rebuild. Haunted, not by the critics, but by the play he couldn't rewind. This offseason, there were no vacations at all. No distractions. Just sweat, just silence, just solitude for him. First, beating the sunrise to the field every day, running routes with ghosts, then re-watching film

until it burned into his memory like scripture. A single moment and obsession fueling thousands of reps out there. He caught balls in the rain with closed eyes, with weight strapped to his body. I mean, honestly, anything to make sure his hands would never fail him again.

Not out of fear, out of purpose. So Mark Andrews, he wasn't training to return. he was training to rewrite the ending. Wow. Is any of that true? All of it? I have no idea. Quick question.

Did you have some sort of extraterrestrial experience when you were in Bixir? Just not judging. Maybe. I don't know. You know, scripture and top ofology. I mean, it would be a great place to sort of zone out on nature. Put it that way. Yeah.

There was a lot of nature. The stars. I've never seen stars like that in my life. I didn't even know that there could be that many. The nature is a little over. There's overwhelming there. It's almost like that's the natural state and we've come in and kind of ruined it. Well, yeah. It's just like that. Man, some of the Mark Andrews quote.

The clock is ticking for all of us. Yeah. Where's the asteroid? The life clock. We're back here. Since you brought up Andrews, I was too sad to do his quotes from the other week when he first talked. And this is what he said. I hate for him.

He said it's tough. This is my life. I put a lot of work into this. everything I do is focused on that. Everything I do is focused. Everything I think about is focused on that. It wasn't the way I planned it, but it's all part of the story. And he said he's been using it and had an incredible offseason and is really excited.

As I mentioned in a previous show, every time I think about that moment, my entire body just clenches up. I feel so. And I know it's like he's a professional. He doesn't want you to feel bad for him, whatever. But like, oh, my entire body just clenches up in like empathy and pain. wouldn't wish that on anyone. It's great. He's still with the Ravens because there was a chance he wasn't going to be because I can guarantee you that fan base will lift him up and like

cheer the hell out of him early, especially that first game like early this season and let him know that he's one of their dudes. One of the all-time great Ravens. All right. I'm going to go with the Jets. We're wrapping up with the AFC East here. And their secret weapon is going to be a young offensive coordinator by the name of Tanner Engstrand. And it's taken me this long to like remember Engstrand. Like Strand is at the end. Like Hankstrand. Not.

No. Strand. Eng. E-N-G strand. Tanner Engstrand. And I just got to believe Aaron Glenn, who's been wanting this opportunity to be a head coach for this long, makes a good choice for his offensive coordinator. That he's going to think about that more than any other decision. He knows that's the biggest decision.

And this is the young man that he has entrusted. It's supposed to be a lion's type of offense. Offensive line first. It's a very good offensive line. A lot of RPO's. I Googled him and listened to his first press conference just to get a vibe. Normal guy. Another guy who's in the Jesse Minter mold.

Just like a normal looking regular guy. But I think I trust Aaron Glenn so much that this guy's going to have some great offensive ideas and has the offensive line to pull it off. One minute. That's it. I love that. I think we talked earlier this year about how the identity of the. the Jets offense is going to be run through an MFer's face.

And the defense has been strong with Aaron Glenn coaching it. I have no doubt. Like I mentioned this the other day because they also just added Sean Clement to their analytics staff and really well respected the analytics community. They are everything they've done. Everything the Jets have done has been pure high level competence. Like everything they've done this off season, it's like if you were to do the severance thing and just make this year exist and the rest of it not, You're like, oh, yeah, that's a top 10 team. They make smart decisions.

Wow. They make really sound organizational decisions. And, like, obviously there's a huge history of them not doing that. But this off season has been awesome for the Jets in almost every way. The Jets are back, baby. Let's go. We love the Jets. I like the Jets as off season.

I have been saying I love that over. That's one of my favorite over-unders. I'll be considering that for our draft, five and a half. I mean, they're blowing that out. Now, that position is really cursed. the Jets' offensive coordinator position. They've tried every kind of way. Rich Sommini has a good article about it.

Like the old guys, the new guy, like Chan Galey is the best offensive coordinator they had probably in the last like 15 years that Ryan Fitzpatrick season. So I think Angstrand breaks it. The secret. They brought in a guy who looks like every guy. And actually he turns out to be a superpower guy.

And what we call him is like Jesse, like Jesse Winter. Jordan is up with the New England Patriots. okay to be clear when i wrote this letter to the new england patriots from me i thought we were going top to bottom so just bear with me okay perfect what does that have to do with it the order you'll you'll see we'll find out okay new england you have a type and that type is a yes you like to be led like to be told what to do in every single way from the coaching staff to the field to the front office you have turned one of the most difficult personalities to interact with as a normal human into a total asset and a secret weapon,

a type A head coach as it pertains to your organization. Mike Brable's fingerprints are all over this offseason from free agency and the hiring process now to the succinct management of any off-the-field issues with a certain receiver and a certain substance on a certain boat. What incident were on to Cincinnati? It is their type. It's just like everyone's got a type.

Everyone's a little more comfortable. Yeah. Noted. What color was the substance? Pink. I thought it was purple. No, I think it was pink. I didn't know that was a thing.

One minute. He's going to be fine, though. They made it clear. By the way, Stefan Diggs reportedly looked great. There actually was some football news out of Stefan Diggs on Monday, and there was videos of it. Yeah. He's practicing.

He's practicing pretty close to full, like three quarters speed, individual drills, some other stuff. Like, he's coming off a tour in ACL. Did not expect that. It might be close to actually ready for day one of training cam. Closer to week one, maybe, than we expected. They're not going to do anything about it. No?

I mean, Mike Vrable. Mike Vrable is different than Belichick. He is a type A head coach. But he's cool. He's also like, we've got to have some different personality. He's cool.

What I like about, and my point really for all of this is like, yes, he does seem like a type A head coach in the same vein as Belichick. But I think he has this real connectivity and like ability to just vibe with players. I'm not saying that like you'd see him on the boat as well.

But I'm saying that like he can reach people. He understands how to blend different personalities together. If you look at his coaching staff, Yes, I mentioned this before. Yes, he hired Josh McDaniels who's notoriously difficult to work with and his offense is difficult to understand, but he balanced the rest of the staff out

with people who are very easy to work with and who can reach players and who everybody sort of has a part to play. And that's where I think he has a real gift where a type A personality in this regard is a real asset and a secret weapon. Yeah, McDaniels had some of these players before, I was reminded. He's very type A. But when he's a coordinator,

he's a little different. But he's had Hunter, Henry, he's had Bramandre. he's had Michael and Winnery. Like they were there in New England. It seems so long ago. Colleen, you're up with the Dolphins. Okay, this was tough. This team is pretty messy right now.

So I guess you could say their secret. It's not so secret though. Their secret weapon is they're always a threat in the running game, even when you know it's happening with Mike McDaniel. And Devant A. Chan is obviously the main character of this operation. But it does speak to the success of what McDaniel. Daniels is able to do because when teams are already preparing for it, they still are able to have success with it.

I mean, they also exceed on defense. And I think that they don't get enough credit for the amount that they pressure. That's always really good. But otherwise, this is a tough one. I think that's a good one because it did fall off a little bit last year. But if you're going over track record, McDaniel delivers running game. They certainly have the running backs to pull it off.

And that's like a great base. to start from. Anthony Weaver, too, to your point, and one-time guest on NFL Daily, did a great interview with myself and Gary. Yeah, friend of the show and had a really good year last year, which kind of got buried and lost

under the chaos of everything else they went through as an organization, especially on offense, how they sort of fell off and the injuries and all of these things, but those guys played really hard. And it's, there's like in a semi-rebuild,

we don't know if Jalen Ramsey's going to be there anymore going into next year. But as long as you have stability, it seems like they're really trying to identify, okay, what does culture actually mean to us on this team with Mike McDaniel as a head coach, finding his DC having some continuity on that side of the ball for the first time in a little bit.

I do think that there are a couple different, like sneaky secret weapons that they might be able to lean on, including always depending on the run game. Yeah. 30th in rushing DVOA last year. So it fell off a cliff from being so good. It does. And that's going to be their focus.

And they've talked about a lot this offseason of, getting back to the old me. Yeah, they still. And I think it's what we're all doing. It's like what they it's been a pattern for them is once it gets into the middle of the season and beyond, it's like they forget how to run the ball. When we

know, conceptually, we've seen this with Mike Me, Daniel for years to your point, Colleen, like, he has the plans. He has the designs. He has the players. Like, especially when he was in San Francisco. Yes, so run the ball. Bad vibes in Miami lately. Certainly at the end of last season.

Great vibes. in Buffalo. And that's it. Their secret weapon is their vibes. I really do believe in this. They did an article in The Athletic about Trudevius White returning and how happy Sean McDermott was to have him. It was his first ever traffic. He is great vibes, as you learned with the Rams, kind of like the veteran rejoining the room. He's got, you know, those hats that everybody eats hats. You know, everybody, that is sort of their mantra. And everyone buys in because that's Josh Allen. Josh Allen has great vibes. He just got married. The O.L. The offensive line, like Dion Dawkins is great vibes. Great continuity there. I just, I do think vibes matters. And I think they can handle the pressure

that comes with always coming close. And I think vibes takes them over the top. I love Trey White. I have a very quick Trey White story. Very briefly covered him for a year. And he was new. And he was learning his way around the building, learning where everyone parks. He drove this, like, giant SUV. into practice every day and had one of the parking spots up front. I had typically, I used to borrow one of the players who never, who like would be one of the veterans who'd like not be at OTAs. I'd ask him if I could use their parking spot as like an office space because the Rams former media room was like very bad.

I remember it. Yeah. And so so I used to take calls out there and sit on the curb with like my legs crossed and like basically be on my phone like talking doing an interview or something so that because there was nowhere else in the. entire space to do an interview without people listening. And Trey White would come out for the first couple days he was there and he would look at me and he would kind of like do a wave or like a polite nod or whatever and like be really quiet and like get in his car and like be super,

super quiet. And I'm like, hey, man, I'm sorry. I'm in your space. Like you don't need to worry about me eventually after a couple days. He goes, oh my gosh, you're actually doing work out here. I thought you were meditating. I wanted to be respectful. No. And I was like, oh, you're the best. You are awesome. I love him. How great. is he he rocks also imagine meditating in a on a curb training camp parking in a parking space bobby wagner shout out to bobby wagner was the first one who started who let me use that parking space because he would take a car and so he didn't have to deal with traffic a lot of pressure you know being the buffalo bills and yet like josh allen unlike their head coach where is it so

lightly you know yeah where you're going to assume meditation is happening and peacefulness and calm versus like the chaos of work like that's the vibes over there in buffalo right now how secret weapon i bet they have a lot of space to do phone interviews over there i'm just saying see you next tuesday yeah yeah the rams yeah it's been a minute but they they've got plans they're they're moving into their new facility eventually yes see you next tuesday not our secret weapon we're just we're on front street with see you next tuesday and uh before we see you're next tuesday i did want to mention you your article yeah your article oh okay yay you wrote about you tell you tell you tell us to all the list of to check it out yeah well um so over on the athletic um

i have a story i've been working on for a while a couple years actually um it's about a bond between sean mcvay and chris peterson um chris peterson and sean mcvey did not know each other prior to the 2023 season 2023 is a year in general and sean was going through a really hard time very publicly and Chris Peterson saw a video of some comments that Sean made about some of the mental struggles that he was dealing with as he considered stepping away from coaching and cold called him got his number from Kellan Moore his former quarterback at Boise State and cold called him and left him like the kindest voicemail and basically asked him hey man do you need help because I can help you if you need help or I can try and became a close confidant, a mentor. Chris Peterson has done a lot of

personal work, psychological work, because he himself dealt with some of the same issues that Sean McVeigh has dealt with in terms of burning out at the top of your field, running from your own success, kind of becoming a victim of your own success, not really knowing where to turn because your problems are very unique and you feel guilty that you even have them because you're at the top of your field. And so it was a really powerful story, really powerful reporting process and very heavy reporting process at times because it took place over the course of multiple years. It's not a story I would write if I didn't really see and know that the work was being done to personally improve. And I got to see that over the last couple of years. And it was really, really special,

really altering for me as well. Jordan, I can't wait to read this. And for Sean McVeigh, you can tell too this experience that he's had with Chris Peterson who I really recommend everyone check it out. I love great sports writing like the type of really inside stuff that I feel like there's not quite as much anymore because you need that relationship, you need that trust,

you need the time to do it all and you did a great job. Wes would love it. With that, yes. He absolutely would. We will be back I believe on Thursday with my friend Patrick Claibon and a special guest I believe Matt Harmon. and will be joining us in that episode.

Until then, yeah, it is an OTA's popping kind of week. We have mini camps next week. I'm recovering from the whiplash of laughing at your C.U. Next Tuesday phrasing to talking about a deeply serious and personal topic. Guys don't worry. I'm not sick. I mean, we don't need to pretend that C. You next Tuesday doesn't kill it. Football's back.

Yeah. I also, like, started working out. Everything feels tight. Hey, everybody. Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct

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