NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 10 Free Agency Moves That Changed the NFL Draft

Episode Date: March 13, 2025

Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers give you their 10 most impactful moves from the tampering/free agency period that changed how we now look at the 2025 NFL Draft

Welcome to the opening bell of the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. I'm Trevor Sikama. That's Connor Rogers. It feels like on our last breath here for free agency week, Connor, we were joking before we hit record. This week, the investment that Free Agency Week is for us as like content creators, I always underestimate. Same. Every single year. I don't know how I do not learn from this, but I underestimate what it takes to keep it. Because I go into this week going, oh, you know what? Oh, cool. A couple of guys are going to sign here, a couple of quarterbacks going. Yeah, it's going to be here. A couple of quarterbacks going. Yeah, it's going to be fun.

We'll be all good. You're basically glued to your phone for 72 straight hours. Terrible way to live. It's a wonderful way to live and I wouldn't do it any other way. How you doing my friend? I'm good, man. Frigid Sea Week is a lot of fun. It has that Christmas morning feel, but you're right.

You, it makes you think like, I can't wait for tomorrow, all these signings are gonna happen. And then the next three days are like, wait a minute, I have to not only react to all these on multiple shows, which is a time- Wait, where's my family? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

We have, but never heard of them. But then I also actually need to do my job and think about the ramifications for the draft, which is a lot of what we are going to talk about today because the beauty of free agency is it kind of gives you a little bit of a better roadmap for the draft. Yeah. So we're recording this on Wednesday night. So, um, you know, the ball has dropped on the new league year. You know, we are officially here. It's the 2025 calendar year, 2025, 2026 calendar year for the NFL season.

So that's officially underway, 2025 calendar year, 2025, 2026 calendar year for the NFL season. So that's officially underway, which means we got to actually get ink to paper of a lot of these agreements that we saw on Monday and Tuesday. A lot of the official trades got to go through. We're going to do a big episode where we totally redo all of the team needs post free agency for every single team. But we thought about doing that today because a lot of the big news has happened. But there are so many players, like for example, you know, we're going to get to one of these and this is just a topic that we're touching on today.

Like Evan Ingram going to the Broncos. Is it the biggest signing in the world? No, but it means a lot for the NFL draft. And so like even little stuff like that, that's going to happen. I think over the next couple of days, we'll get back with you guys next week to do the team needs episode. But here, as I just mentioned, one of them kind of teased the conversation, but we're going to have, we're going to take 10 moves, whether they're trades, signings, uh, re signings, whatever it is cuts sometimes.

And we're going to tell you the 10 that we think have been the most impactful for the 2025 NFL draft. And I think, dude, it was it was hard to narrow this down. But once we got to a solid 10, I felt great about. Yeah, these are the big storylines sort of moving forward as we had to April. Yeah, we were talking through them and there was a lot of you obviously look at the premium signings, the guys that get north of 20 million dollars per year, you look at the quarterback movement, you look at even like a big trade in DK Metcalf going to the Steelers and how that could

be a two for one where it's a, Hey, Seattle needs wide receiver help. And now the Steelers maybe don't, although that's could always be a TBD. You never know if there's a move after a move. So there is just so many- After the move, before the other move. Yes, exactly. Exactly. So yeah, I mean, that's the fun in all of this

is that once again, it just kind of gives you more puzzle pieces to work with. Yeah. So let's just start off and we'll sort of go about this in draft order for the 2025 Venafold Draft, because I think that's a good way to do it. You know, just start at the very top of the draft. Um, you know, with some of the teams that have quarterback needs, did they address them? Did they not? And then we'll sort of work our way down the first

round with all of that. And we could talk about some moves that really we thought impacted the first round. Some of them might be ripple effects more towards rounds two and round three. But, buddy, I think we got to start off at the very top and we got to talk about the quarterback position because as of right now, again, this is this is Wednesday evening. Sam Darmel signed with the Seahawks. Justin Fields has signed with your New York Jets. Daniel Jones is with the Indianapolis Colts. Jacobi Burset's a backup now for the Arizona Cardinals. Marcus Mariota is a backup as well. Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson have not signed yet. Geno Smith goes to the Raiders. We'll get to that a little bit later in the show. It feels like Aaron Rodgers is going to go to the Pittsburgh Steelers. It feels as though, you know, Russell Wilson, he's taken a visit to the Cleveland Browns.

He might go to Cleveland. He's also taken a visit with the New York Giants. But buddy, as we are recording this show, the number one move that was made that impacted the 2025 NFL draft is in fact a no move from the Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants right now. They have no changes at quarterback, none. We've done so many different draft conversations talking about, well, you know, the Titans, they'll be interested in Cam Ward, but hey, are they going to go after Justin Fields? Are they going to go after Sam Donald? Are they going to go after Aaron Rodgers? Nothing, nada, zip.

They have one quarterback on the roster right now, and it's the guy that they tried to make their franchise quarterback last year, and he couldn't do it in Will Levis. They're not going into next year with just Will Levis. So to me, the big storyline for the draft amongst a lot of storylines is the fact that I am now at like 80 85% the

Cam Ward's going number one overall. What else would the Titans do? What the Titans gonna do? Right. Which this number one, I don't think you're crazy at all. It almost makes me wonder how it got so carried away. And I know they were taking calls and they were open for business, but it felt like everyone just ran with, Hey, the Titans, they said they're going

to take a generational player. That means they're taking Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter. And, and I know like we even discussed this a little bit, but once the coaches get involved, things change so much in the draft process. And I would imagine a lot of coaches started watching tape and go, why is Cam Ward not the bona fide top pick in the draft where there's no other quarterbacks in our eyes? I'm saying from a coach's lens, whether people agree or disagree

however that is for a team that needs a quarterback, obviously you're right, Trevor. Like maybe they just sit, stay put, take cam ward and go because here's another breadcrumb trail. Throw it at me. They're making moves on the offensive line. Yes. So, which they had to anyway, but they are really reinforcing it because it's not just

signing Dan Moore at left tackle. Which, that's a hefty contract for Dan Moore Jr. It's hefty. Good money if you can get it. It's great money if you can get it. Especially if you're Dan Moore Jr. It's great Dan Moore. Good money if you can get it. It's great money if you can get it. Especially if you're Dan Moore Jr. It's great Dan Moore Jr. money if you can get it. It's premium Dan Moore Jr. money.

Like top of the food chain. Out of all the Dan Moore's, this is as good as it gets. It couldn't happen to a better Dan Moore, you know? No, no. He's the richest of the Dan Moore's. If there's a richer Dan Moore, please leave it in the comments below. Yeah, we know. There's gotta be some CEO of some stupid company

that's named Dan Moore. J.C. Latham moves to right tackle, which he's more comfortable. I was always floored that they drafted J.C. Latham and they're like, he's a left tackle now. When it just made sense to keep him at his home at right tackle, especially with his play style. Kevin Zeitler, who is just going to be a solid guard

until he's 80 years old in the NFL. It feels like he never declines. He's in the fold now at right guard. You have Skoronsky at left guard. You have Cushenberry at center, who was a big signing for them in previous years. They have a fortified offensive line right now, where you could draft a cam ward and play him right away

and say, we feel pretty good about him back there. We're not a complete offense, but this is the Callahan family running this team. This was always going to be priority number one for them before anything else. We already need to walk back our Dan Moore Jr. praise because Dan J. Moore is the president and CEO of Rockefeller Group. See? We're skin weird. Dan J. Moore is the president and CEO of Rockefeller Group. See? We're skinner.

I didn't know that, but there's gotta be a rich Dan Moore out there calling the shots somewhere. That's true. Is he number two? I hope. For his sake, I hope. I really do. He's gotta be.

Maybe he's gotta fight the other Dan Moore. Now we're getting carried away. No, he should. And Winter takes home the other one's wealth. Wow. And then the other guy's gotta change fight the other Dan Moore. Now we're getting carried away. Yeah, no, he should. And winner takes home the other one's wealth. Wow. And then the other guy's got to change his name too. Yes. And if Dan Moore from the Rockefeller group wins,

he also takes Dan Moore Jr.'s job. Yes, he plays left tackle in front of Cam Ward for the Titans. That absolutely is spot on. This is good. Somebody call up Dana White. We might be able to actually make this happen. Yeah, this is starting to check out here.

This is what they call a million dollar idea, folks. Yeah, Dana White. We might be able to actually make this happen. Yeah, this is starting to check out here. This is what they call a million dollar idea, folks. Yeah, Dana White, Trevor Sikamakana Rogers of the NFL Stock Exchange podcast. The line will go dead before we can stop. Would it ever technically be open? Saying the title of the podcast. No, but I agree with you. They're making moves along the offensive line.

The receiver group is not great, admittedly. They basically have Calvin Ridley and that's it. They signed Van Jefferson, but that's basically it. They made their moves along the offensive line. And if you're doing that, you're doing that for a quarterback. Certainly you could say, all right, we'll do in this way. If Will Levis is the guy next to you.

I can't hear the, if Will Levis thing. No. With them taking, we just did a mock draft. And when we did the mock draft post-combine, I talked about how I really felt as though the Titans were going to lean into that generational prospect thing. But that's because of what I've heard. The longer that we're around this league, that we cover this league, the more it reigns true, rings true, excuse me.

A lot of these teams, coaches, general managers, owners, whatever, they can lie with their words. They will not lie with their money. They don't do it. They don't just spend money to throw you off of their trail. And when I look at what they are doing investing in the offensive line and specifically what they have not done at the quarterback position, how they are using their money. I think Kim Ward is going to go number one to the Titans.

I really do. Which man, what a gut punch that kind of is for you think the Giants. So I feel really bad about the Giants because that's the that's the part two of this, right? Not only did the Titans not not only have the Titans not done anything at quarterback, the Giants haven't either. And unfortunately, for the Giants, it's not for lack of trying. Right. We learned last year that they were in on conversations to try to get to up to number three overall to take Drake May. Patriots ended up saying no. We knew that they were in the Matthew Stafford

conversation. I don't know how much they were in the Geno Smith conversation, but the Giants have been out there. They've been trying to do this. And it doesn't feel like Aaron Rodgers is interested in staying in New York. So he's not going to stay with the Giants. It looks like he's going elsewhere. And basically the only, because the Giants, the only quarterback the Giants have on the roster is Tommy Cutlets. It's Tommy DeVito. Yeah, that's it. So they're sort of in the same spot that the Titans are. So you would say to yourself, they've got to take a quarterback no matter what which now makes it even more interesting because I came on this show after the combine and said I don't think

Shador is a guaranteed top 10 top 20 even pick at this point but if the Giants have just Tommy DeVito going into the draft guess what's guess what's happening at number three. Right. They're drafting Shadrers-Sanders. Because it's either get fired or see if Shadrers-Sanders could save your job and maybe still get fired. But you're saying there's a chance. Right. Yeah, I'm with you.

It's amazing. And the Giants spent money like a desperate team, which is fine. I'm not saying they made bad moves out of desperation. No, they needed to get better, right. Like Paulson and Debo's a hell of a corner. Javon Holland's a hell of a safety. Love what they did in the secondary, I really do.

I think it's perfect. It just kind of fortifies the point that they can be cornered potentially into, yeah, it's gonna be real interesting. We know Russell Wilson's gonna visit with them after the Browns at the time of this recording, but that's not a guy that anymore. That's the long term answer for your franchise. Yeah, because Russ is going to sign a one year deal, Max, right?

Similar to what he did with the Steelers. It's going to be another one year deal. And basically at that point, everybody's going to be on one year contracts. Brian Dable, Joe Shane, Russell Wilson, the whole regime's basically just going to be on one year deals, which is sort of difficult to operate under. So look, I don't like speaking in absolutes like, oh, Cam Ward's absolutely going number one overall. Chaudhuri's absolutely going number three.

But it has been shocking to me the lack of quarterback movement that we have had for those two teams in particular, because the whole time I was under the assumption that they're going to do something. And again, I feel really bad for the Giants because they've tried to do something and they've tried to do things worthwhile, right? It's not like they've just thrown anything at the wall. They went after Drake May. They went after Matthew Stafford. Like these are worthwhile quarterback moves and they've just come up empty every time.

But it's hard for me to not think that, hey, just a week or a week and a half, whatever it's been after the combine, when we were slowing the role on the quarterback conversation at the top 10, we might have to ramp it up now because of the lack of moves between those two teams. For some perspective too, Cam Ward, as we sit here and record on the major sports books

right now, his odds to go number one overall range from the lower end of minus 295 to the higher end of minus 400. If I was the trader setting this price for a book, I would have it at minus 500 right now. I would not, I would not even give a better, a big chance to lay a huge bet and collect. It's just because if the Titans stay there, how did they not take them? If they don't stay there, somebody's coming up for cam.

So you're right. It's crazy how things could quickly solidify themselves. Yeah, at this point, again, like from the lack of moves of those two teams, it just feels as though he's going number one of the Titans or he's going number one of the Giants and they're going to trade up. Right. That feels like...

Or if the Titans trade it, maybe the Browns call, you never know. The point remains. Exactly. The point remains. And so that brings us to number two. So that was number one. Number two, I do want to talk about the Cleveland Browns because since we last recorded that mock draft episode, Miles Garrett signs the massive extension with

this team. He's making $40 million now per year. They also go out and they sign Joe Tryon Show Yinka, which is not the biggest signing in the world. I understand that, but it's another body along the defensive line at the edge rusher position. I now think that with Garrett back and with them taking a flyer on try on show Yinka, they really might have Travis Hunter, number one on their board, the quarterback, depending, depending on how they view the quarterback position, like of players who are not quarterbacks. I really do wonder if they have Travis Hunter at number one,

and they feel pretty confident that they're going to get him at number two, because they're mitigating some of their edge rush needs. Certainly bringing back Miles Garrett helps, but not that Abdul Carter can't go number two, Connor, but I feel more confident that Hunter would be the pick at number two than Abdul Carter at this point. And you brought up try on shanker The 40 million dollars to Miles Garrett How about a two-year deal for Malik Collins who's pass rush first in my mind on the entire defensive line?

Which that's a signing that came in really in the second wave of free agency. So they've now spent significant dollars up front like you said Trevor, it's not taking Carter off the board, but man, you look at what Hunter could do from them. I'm sure his ability as a wide receiver is something that excites them. Yes. Elijah Moore's out there in free agency. Cedric Tillman, before he got hurt, flashed as more of profiling as your number two or number three.

Judy will see, but man, you'd love the chance to get somebody that can help on both sides of the ball. I think you're onto that one. It's, it makes a lot of sense for the Browns and if they took Carter, so be it. But it's funny how things just kind of go full circle with the draft. Yeah, it is. And here we are sitting here and going, Hey, the top quarterback is probably going number one and Hey, our top players probably going number two. Yeah.

No, it feels that way, especially because when you look at the Browns roster might have a little bit of a cornerback cornerback need as well. Cause Martin Emerson has been okay, but he struggled a little bit last year. So you've got Greg Newsome, but he plays more in the slot for you. You have Den's award. You're happy with him on the outside, but it's like, yeah, like you said, you could play Travis Hunter full time as a wide receiver, but if the Browns are maybe one of those teams, like perhaps Kevin Stefanski

looks at Travis Hunter and goes, yeah, buddy, play both until you can't, like until you prove to us that you can't play both positions in the NFL. We'll play it corner. We'll play it wide receiver. We'll go through the lumps. We'll teach you along the way. We'll be in for the long haul. So again, given the needs that they have, they've got Jerry, Judy, the God said you're telling me, like you said, but how great would this wide receiver group be with those two guys? And then you're throwing Travis Hunter in there. You got David and Joku as well.

You still don't have quarterback figured out long-term, but at least you traded for Kenny Pickett, right? They traded something for Pickett. And so they feel as though, I guess they could start Kenny Pickett and feel decent about it. I know some fans might roll their eyes, but I'm just telling you the moves that they have made that feel like, like you said, the hints, the breadcrumbs of where they might go. It feels like Cam Ward's going number one. It feels like, uh,

Travis Hunter would be going number two. I don't want to be doing a full mock draft here, but things get very interesting for the, uh, for the New York giants at number three, do they force a quarterback selection there? And then, man, the New York giants, sorry, the new England Patriots at number four, right? That's not a talking point that we have. So I don't want to, I want to be kind of brief on it, but they just revamped their defensive line, right? They got Keon white. They got, they got Harold Landry.

They signed Mill Williams. They have Christian Barmore. Would they take up dual Carter or would he continue to fall? Would maybe a team try to trade up? Cause at that point, man, if he's on the board at number four, all of a sudden this brings up our number three team. Do the Carolina Panthers pick up the phone and they go, we need this premium pass rusher because a great idea. I like what the Carolina Panthers did in free agency here.

They signed Tershaun warden really good, strong interior defensive lineman to play next to Derek Brown. They got Bobby Brown, the third as well, who was a good run stuffer beef up the run defense last year. And then they went out and they got Patrick Jones as well. So I like Patrick Jones. Now, does Patrick Jones stop you from drafting Abdul Carter? Absolutely the hell does not. But man, if somehow you could throw Abdul Carter into this defensive line with Carolina, that is a massive shift in potential every single week with Wharton and Derrick Brown

fully healthy, Bobby Brown, the third, you already have other dudes on the interior defensive line, but you got J Davian Clowney, you'd have Patrick Jones, the second, you'd have the dual Carter. I'm getting excited. Just thinking about that and what could be for Carolina here. Yeah, that could be a prime time for Carolina. I mean, you got Trayvon Merrick now on the back end. It just feels like they're a team that's going to be much more

responsible against the run. Can you get the pass rusher that could take over, you know, to kind of close out drives, which is what Carter is. Or do they look at themselves and go, we love what we saw from Bryce young. We better get another playmaker in this offense ASAP, which will be on the table. And the good thing is you could still do that on day two of the draft. So the door is a little bit more open for a Panthers team where it felt very narrow for a long time. For sure. For sure. At number eight,

I really do feel as though just for the flurry of defensive line moves that they made in free agency, I know they took a swing on Milton Williams and he ended up going to the Patriots. And so that was kind of hard because I think Panthers fans for what was it like an hour, two hours thought that they were going to get Milton Williams because of the initial report. And then he ends Up going to the Patriots apparently he was on the our lads roster. I can't confirm or deny that but I've heard that I We have their fault. It was out there. We had the initial report You know the initial report was out there that he was going to be a member of the Panthers and then it just that's

That you know, that's showbiz baby, that's a tampering period baby. That's the legal tampering period. You can change your mind when somebody comes to the door with more money. Yep, yep. I don't know actually how the NFL does it, but you know how in college, how when you have those recruits,

you have to fax in your letter of intent, you know? Feel like we need that for the tampering period. Facts in the letter of intent. Don't they still fax in the pics for the draft? I'm almost positive they do. Do they really? I'm almost positive. It's like some kind of format of every NFL team is on the server seeing the pics come in.

And that's why the TV is so behind the actual draft right is that it's like that style that everybody's getting the pics see that's what we need to do we need to hack into you know yeah the server and change the pics yeah yeah yeah yeah no not sure wait not change the pics that's. That's complete chaos That's the move. I just want to look at the pig. Oh, no. I want to change the pics You're an animal. You know how many of my life woes would have been solved I can go back and get Christian Hackenberg away from the Jets around to

All my life long problems out of the way because we found our way into the fax machine. Hey, when's the last time you've played that this is who we could have had instead of Christian Hackenberg game? Because I feel like we should play that. All right, let's play it. All right. All right. Let's look it up. GiraffeHistory.com, here I come. Let's look it up. Christian Hackenberg. First thing that comes up is him in an Eagles jersey. That's stolen valor.

Good Lord. That's stolen valor. Okay, Christian Hackenberg, first thing that comes up is him in an Eagles jersey. That's stolen Valor. Oh, good Lord. That's stolen Valor. Okay, Christian Hackenberg, second round pick number 51 of the 2016 NFL draft. Let's see who was picked after pick number 51. Dion Jones, who was immediately after. Definitely better. Tyler Boyd, better. Yep. By far.

Me and you had a hell? Oh, no, hell of a ride on Roberto guaya what have I done Roberto guaya at pick 59 does not get brought up enough in draft lore I Played myself so hard you really did you forgot you I brought out my jean in Hackenberg Yeah, it is because it's the process. Like you don't trade- Didn't they trade up for him? Man.

Unfortunately, I think you are correct. Aguayo was in the NFL for one year and was 5 for 15. 5 for 15? They traded an extra fourth rounder to go up and get him, I forgot. And he's arguably the worst kicker in NFL history, like based on expectations.

It's actually amazing. So here's, this is honestly why I would never draft a single punt or kicker ever, no matter what. Never, I wouldn't do it. It's the Roberto Aguayo story, because the thing that is the most difficult to judge with kickers is always how they handle pressure. Roberto Aguayo should have been foolproof.

I'm not giving Jason Light a full pass here. Even though I liked the pick at the time, I would have been wrong as well. But this is basically a foolproof pick. You were picking a kicker that had kicked in the biggest games in college football. There was a major part of your national championship run that played in the college football playoff. He played in big moments in rivalry games, in bowl games, games to start the season, ranked opponents on the road,

national championships on the line. And he kicked beautifully at the time. I think he was the most accurate kicker in college football history. I mean, his first two years were absolutely insane and then he couldn't kick in the NFL. Just all of a sudden couldn't do it. I'd never, I'd never draft a kicker again. No, I wouldn't even acknowledge the position. I didn't, I didn't enjoy that exercise at all, actually. Let's see who's the better players taking after Christian Hackenberg. A Roberto Aguayo was a jump scare. Yeah, that was tough.

James Man, a lot of good players taking after Hackenberg and Aguayo. Yannick and God, Joe Tootie. Oh, no. I mean, the list goes on. Javon Hargrave was in this class. Malik Collins. Justin Simmons. Yannick Ngocwe. Jonathan Bullard.

This class was great after the Hackenberg and Aguayo picks. Oh, this is the Dak Prescott class. You almost couldn't miss in those spots. And we took the two worst players in the entire draft. And yet. Airball. We do, baby. Air ball. Boom.

Love that. All right, let's get off of this real quick. Fun trip down memory lane. Yeah, love that. Panthers, the defensive line signings, I love that. It gives them a ton of flexibility. There's no doubt about it. If a Tetra or a McMillan falls to yet number eight,

I think you could consider him here. I even think that if Tyler Warren is there on the board, the Panthers have done enough on the defensive side of the football to draft a guy like Tyler Warren. So that was our number three impactful sort of team signings and halls that we had there. Number four from us is the Raiders trading for Geno Smith. Now this is big of course, because at number six overall,

we roped in the Las Vegas Raiders with those other teams, with the Tennessee Titans with the Cleveland Browns with the New York Giants with the Jets at the time, but now the Jets have signed Justin Fields. So they're no longer in that conversation either. But the Raiders answer their quarterback question in a massive way going to get one of in my opinion, certainly the top 15 quarterbacks in the NFL. And I think that Geno Smith has just slept on for everything that he has done for the Seahawks

over the last couple of years. I am worried about Sam Darnley in that offense. Now, I think that the Clint Kubiak connection's a really good one there for Seattle. But until they fix that interior offensive line, holy cow, I felt like Geno made do with a lot of what he was given from that offensive line. So I'm excited to see him reuniting with Pete Carroll there in Las Vegas, but taking a quarterback off the board, quarterback needy team off the board in a big way there, frees up number

six overall to where who knows what's going to happen at this point. Ashton Jentzy come on down. For sure. I think he's absolutely in the conversation. He has to be. Tesoro McMillan in the conversation too. They don't have a wide receiver one on that team. There's so much they can do.

I love this move for the Raiders. The fact that cost them a lower end third round pick. You get a guy that it's proven he could play in this league and Gino's high moments are really, really good. He's thrown to Brock Bowers. He's got Jacobi Myers. Their offensive line, I think, is better than it gets credit for and could continue to get better throughout this draft.

I mean, there's there a team that quietly could take Armand Membu at six. And I like their offensive line. I don't know if I totally disagree with you, though. I like their line a lot. I know right tackle has been a little bit up and down for them over the years. True, true. Glaze was OK. It depends how they project Glaze, which is a different regime.

Yeah, right. It depends how they project Glaze. I think the four across the other way are gonna be fine. But. I agree. But if they took Gentie, would I blink? No, like, wouldn't shock me at all. Because, I mean, the reality is,

if you tried out an offense that the defense has to worry about Brock Bowers and Ashton Gentie, with Gino throwing the ball, it's like, oh, you know what? And I don't think, this is Pete Carroll, right? Let's remember this. Pete Carroll is Mr. I wanna run the football. I just picked one bad moment to not do that, but we'll ignore it.

But, but, you're not wrong. Pete Carroll, oldest coach in the NFL, he's gonna want somebody that comes in and makes his team as better as possible. Like identity day one, day one star.

And Genti is absolutely that. Yeah. I mean, right now, since here McCormick's is starting running back for him. All due respect, obviously. But I think that they are, in my opinion, a lock to draft a running back at some point, they have first three rounds. Yeah, yeah. And they have all of their three picks. They've got number six, number 37, number 68.

So they do have all those selections there. But yeah, I think an offensive piece, I think it's Ashen Gentile. But the fact that they now have Gino opens the door to Armand Membouz on the table, Tetro McMillan's on the table, Ash Njente's on the table. So that's what I would think of those guys. Now, I mean, speaking of Ash Njente, let's go to our team at number five, the Chicago Bears. For them to do what they did, speaking of Ash Njente destinations, I mean,

he is now on the table for the Bears at number 10 because of everything that they have done. Not only was it fixing the offensive line, bringing in Jonah Jackson, bringing in Joe Tooney, signing Drew Dahlman, which I think was just excellent all around. All of those moves, absolutely loved it. They also go out and get Deode Ingbo to play opposite Montez Sweat as a little bit of an insurance, depending on how awesome Booker develops. So now you get into a situation where, and didn't they also sign Grady Jarrett?

They did. Right? So look, Grady Jarrett's not what he used to be in his prime for the Atlanta Falcons but he's at least a veteran pass rush specialist now in a room full of younger interior defensive linemen will help the Chicago Bears in theory damn near complete of a team you are now you now have the Chicago Bears at a point on this roster where you go, here you go, Ben Johnson. You better win games because this is about as realistic as it gets for you to do that. And the only thing is, is that now they also have the cherry on top of number 10 overall, number 39 overall, number 41 overall. What a fun as hell draft

this could be for the Chicago Bears. I see it now. I see it in the comments. Oh, off season champs last year. What did that get them? Obviously, it's new coaching staff. I've got a lot more faith in what Ben Johnson's building than what I had with Matt Eberfluss. I think the Chicago Bears have done a masterful job and I think Ryan Pohl's has everything on the table for them at number 10. Yeah, we asked Chanty at the Super Bowl, you know, like, what if he's who, if he's looked for houses in Chicago yet?

Basically, we just said, you know, who are you looking to go to? And he lit up about the Bears, which how many guys are honest, like that? And he lit up about the Bears, which how many guys are honest like that honest? He lit up about the Bears. And the man might be right. He might have called his shot months before the draft. It's you're right, Trevor.

This this roster looks really, really good. It's it does. And it's on both sides of the ball. It's going to come down to what coaching gets out of this roster. But, you know, maybe one more elite pass rusher, like you said, we'll see how Austin Booker comes along, but they have starters up front. But man, it's you rebuild that entire interior of the offensive line. You can afford to take a gentia 10, assuming they're happy with Braxton Jones at left tackle, which I would think they are. There's not some bona fide left tackle I would take a 10 anyway.

So, you know, I know they paid Cole commit. I don't know if Warren's even going to be there. If Warren is there, that makes a lot of sense for them as well. The Bears become very difficult to figure out if it's not Gentie. Yeah. Yeah. I guess in theory you could start to talk about some of the past rushers, but I don't know, man. It's I was going to say it's like it's. I mean, does Chicago feel like they can now because what are their picks? Their picks are

I mentioned the top three. I guess they don't have 39. They don't have a lot after that. They, their next one. So it's 10, 39, 41, and then 72. That's great though. No, no, no, it's top 75. What I'm saying is have you navigated free agency well enough now to where the new England Patriots come on the board at number four, Abdul Carter is still there. Do you call up Mike Vrabel to go from four to 10 and give them what they need? One of those second round picks, obviously you're picking number 10 and then something next year.

I don't think you will have to give up an extra first. Like I don't think that's, that is what you would need to do to get up to the top four, even for a player like Abdul Carter, but something on day two, if you're the Bears do to get up to the top four, even for a player like Abdul Carter. But something on day two, if you're the Bears and you give up one, two, and then some sort of day two capital, I would start with a third round pick, of course,

to see if they go for it. Dude, you go up and get Abdul Carter? Gross. You draft the running back at 39 or 41, whichever one you keep. Yeah, Judkins. Sick. Love it. Incredible. Love it.

Incredible. No notes. Absolutely no notes. Super Bowl. Love what the Bears have done. Bears fans, we know you're a passionate bunch. This is an exciting time for you. I know last offseason was also exciting,

so you're probably trying to sell yourself to not give your hopes up. Get your hopes up. We want to hear the hope in the comments. What do you want the Chicago Bears to do at number 10? And that goes for all the other teams as well. By the way, while I'm here, if you guys are watching this show and you're not subscribed to the channel, please do so.

We're going to have so much great content for you between now and the end of April. We're going to continue our positional rankings. We're going to get into the Colab Mock Trap series. We're obviously going to, like we said at the top of the show, review all of the team needs and go through primary, secondary, and ciliary needs for all of these teams as we head into April. So if you're not subscribed to the show, please do so so you don't miss any of it. Before we get to our next five and the five most impactful moves

that we saw in free agency when it comes to the NFL draft, question for all the parents out there, what your child's future success look like for you? Maybe it's them traveling the world. Maybe it's just them, you know, living in a comfortable spot with a job that they absolutely love, in a house that they love, family they love, all that good stuff, just relaxing and being able to do that. Whatever their dreams are, big or small, you can help them get closer to that with a kids investment account for Fabric by Gerber Life. Fabric by Gerber Life, it was designed by parents, for parents, to make it easy to plan for and manage your family's financial path. With a

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but something that they did that was really intriguing when the new year league year opened up, they signed Jack Sanborn from the Chicago bears. And then they traded for Kenneth Murray Jr. At the linebacker spots. When I've been doing mock drafts, Connor, I have often had either Jalen Walker or Jihad Campbell go to them at number 12 because their linebacker need was that dire. I no longer think they have to have that on the table. I no longer think that Jahad Campbell is going to go

to the Dallas Cowboys at all whatsoever because now you get to sit here, you have that signing of Sanborn, you've got that trade that you obviously you think something of Kenneth Murray Jr. And now you have Demarvian overshown coming back from injury, which you feel good about, and you have Maris Leofo behind him. So I don't think, I went from, in the span of like 24 hours, I went from the Cowboys are drafting a linebacker at 12 to,

they're not drafting one at all, probably in the top 100. So I don't know now what Dallas does. They signed Javante Williams as well to have a chance to be there. Rb1 this upcoming year, but man, did the Cowboys feel like, uh, you know, if Will Campbell gets here, does he not drop any further? If, if Kelvin banks, Jr. gets here, does he not drop any further? You know, like, is that, are we turning our attention to now the offensive line with the Dallas Cowboys

at number 12? It feels like that's the logical assumption because that's such a typical Cowboys pathway and they have the needs on the actual line, which goes a long way. So, you know, this is a team that doesn't really partake in external free agency at big contracts. They take care of their own guys.

Say it lightly. Yeah. What was it? It was like since 2015, great. Like Greg Hardy was their big. Is Greg Hardy's the last guy that they have signed from outside of the building in the tampering or free agency period at more than $6 million a year? It's hard to do. Like it's almost 10 years, brother. Let's be real. Hold on.

Wait, it is 10 years. It is 10 years. It is 2025 partner. I mean, there's bums that get one year deals up to $9 million. Sorry, but like someone has to say it, but like certified bums. Steven A Smith clip. He's a certified scrub. He can't play.

Like the meme hall of fame is just literally clips of him on iPads as you walk down it. Dude, like 2017, 2018 was a golden time because the Stephen A Smith burner Twitter account was like popping off and it was just clips and memes of Stephen A Smith. And they all hit. I still have the one on my phone that I will use every now and then where I don't even

remember who he was talking about, but it was on his radio. It was on his podcast and he just goes, he's fat. You understand? And like, that's it. That's like the whole clip. Oh God. And I'll use it at the perfect time. Alright, so what are the cowboys? Alright, so offensive line you think they're doing? No, this is a good point by you because these aren't like, like Sanborn and Murray, people wouldn't think, oh my God,

Sanborn and Murray, but they now have a little bit of depth at a position that was a bleeding need. It was awful. I mean, they probably think both those guys are starters for them. So they did get some depth on the defensive line in Salomon Thomas and Peyton Turner. I'm not saying these are needle movers, but their goal was to go out and get guys they feel like they can play on defense. Which tells me in this league pretty much, you got to draft and develop and pay your offensive lineman. Going out and buy, what you're going to do is if you want to go get a guard in free agency, you're going to pay a mediocre guard as a great one more often than not.

Tackle? Good luck. Shout out to Dan Moore Jr. Hey. as a great one more often than not. Tackle? Good luck. Shout out to Dan Moore Jr. Hey. Shout out to Dan Moore Jr. He's fine. Fine. He's paid to be great. Whatever.

This is the larger point. So yeah, I would think offensive line for Dallas all day. All day. Unless there's a Tett Macmillan trick up their sleeve. I mean, I think it's a Tet McMillan trick up their sleeve. I mean, I think it's a great golden trick up their sleeve. Yeah. I think it's a great point by you. You can't find good offensive lineman hitting the market. It just rarely happens. And when, and when they do, you have to pay, pay a premium. You're either paying bad offensive lineman, like mid offensive lineman, mid offensive lineman, like lineman like starters or you're paying like starter guys like they're absolute stars

because you've got to outbid everybody else because there's plenty of offensive line needs around the NFL every single year so no matter what if you go fishing for an offensive lineman in free agency I mean bet you better have some expensive bait like that that's what it air you're just you're not going to get that fish to come home and so I agree with you the way that's what it is. You're just, you're not going to get that fish to come home. And so I agree with you. The way that you set it up there, the moves that they are making does feel like they're going to prioritize the offensive line. And I don't think it is lost on them that they are losing a future hall of famer in Zach Martin, that Zach Martin is retiring. And I think if they have the opportunity to draft Will Campbell, they will absolutely do it. And I think if they have the opportunity to draft Will Campbell, they will absolutely do it.

And I believe that they'll probably put him right at Zach Martin's spot and say, there we go. There we go. We're good to go for the next 10 years. And I think that they'll feel pretty good about it. Or there's, of course, the Ash and Gentie or, you know, like you said, Dallas could have a big trick up their sleeve. Dallas is the team that just shouldn't do that no matter what. They're just... Which team? Dallas should not be in the conversation to take Gentie.

I know they are, but they are the team that go get a day two running back to pair with Yvante, use your premium asset on offensive line or your number two wide receiver You're just you're just not good enough to use the 12th overall pick in the general people Like how could you say that when you just said that about the Bears? The Bears have filled out their needs. Oh, they need the quarterback to play better and they need the coach to actually coach That's the difference this is the Saquon Barkley conundrum, right? Giants fans, John Maura even, mad that Saquon's not there and watching what he did in Philadelphia. Saquon would not have done what he did in Philadelphia with the New York Giants. Ashton Gentry would not do what he could do with the Chicago Bears with the Dallas Cowboys. One of those teams is ready to draft the running back high.

The other one is not. So now I think it's the same conversation with Kelvin Banks or Will Campbell on this offensive line. Could cam scataboo or Travion Henderson or you know what I mean? Down the list. Could that work? Hell yeah, that could work. Hell yeah, brother. Brother. Number seven, number seven on the list.

I teased it at the very top of the show. It's a small move, but one that I really like. To the Denver Broncos, signing Evan Ingram, who was released by the Jacksonville Jaguars, as they have a new regime now, with a general manager a new head coach he was one of those old regime guys that they ended up moving on from now I love this for the Denver Broncos because it also pairs with Dre Greenlaw coming in as a linebacker Talenova Hufanga coming in as a safety and now they get a tight end

where they can lean on Evan Ingram is Evan Ingram exactly what he used to be with the New York Giants okay maybe not but you can lean on you can lean on Evan Ingram. Is Evan Ingram exactly what he used to be with the New York Giants? Okay, maybe not. But you can lean on, you can lean on Evan Ingram and feel pretty decent about it. Jacksonville did for two years. So that totally opens up the Broncos to do a lot of stuff. Dude, I know that people feel this listening to this podcast. Every single damn time we do a mock draft,

what do we do at 20? Take Coles and Loveland. Every single time. I'll do it again, damn it. Now, I'm not saying that it wouldn't still be a good pick for them to select Colson Loveland. He's still on the board. However, when we were doing one of the PFF live shows, a Broncos fan got in the super chat and said, hey, you got to think about this though.

Yeah, they need tight end, but it's a deep tight end class. Yeah, they need running back, but it's a deep tight end class. Yeah, they need running back, but it's a deep running back class. Next year, three of their starters along their defensive line, one of them being Zach Allen is an unrestricted free agent. Right. So do they get ahead of the curve and take a Kenneth Grant at 20, a Walter Nolan at 20, one of those really good interior defensive linemen to beef up the defensive line, similar to maybe how the Philadelphia Eagles have done it in the past. And then in round two and round three. So we ran a really quick Broncos specific mock draft.

And I think we came away with Walter Nolan at 20, Elijah Arroyo in the second round, RJ Harvey in the third. Yeah, you hammer your needs. So sign me up for that if I'm the Broncos. And I think that this move from the Broncos alleviates them from just taking Colson Lovell at 20. And it allows them to have so much more flexibility in how they want to navigate the first round

and their primary need. Without a doubt. And that's why they were so aggressive to get the DJ Jones contract done before free. Without a doubt. And that's why they were so aggressive to get the DJ Jones contract done before free agency because he's your big run defender. But John Franklin Myers, if you've been following Twitter is not happy right now,

which is, you know, the Jets moved on from last year, which was a mistake for the Jets, but they kind of knew this day was coming. And now he's not happy. He wants a payday. You brought up Zach Allen, who is vital. You're right, Trevor, like that defensive line, you blink in a year can get really thin,

even with DJ Jones back in the fold. Yep. So that's in play. You know, I think they, they're another team that could look for a number two wide receiver. I don't think they have to do that Cortland Sutton is a free agent. I think after this year, I'd have to double check that

But I do I do think wide receiver is on the board It's it's a need for them if they took like a Matthew Golden or Luther Burden. Would I be shocked? No Yeah, Sutton's got void years after this year, so he's a free agent unless they redo his contract, which they've redone it before. See, I like Marvin Mims. I like De'Von Vailay. I like Troy Franklin. Yeah.

Those dudes are fine, but they're wide receiver threes. They're all threes. I think they're still missing a wide receiver two, if you consider Cortland-Sutton a wide receiver one. So if they were to draft a Matthew Golden, that would make a lot of sense for me there as their wide receiver too. So I think that he is on the board as well. Broncos fans would love to hear from you. How does their free agency moves increase their flexibility of what they could do in the first round? Do you still want it to be Colson Lovin?

Would you love for it to be a different player? Let's hear from you. I'd love to. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the number eight impactful free agent moves team that changes things for the 2025 NFL draft because they acquired DK Metcalf for a hefty price number 52 overall and they're paying a lot of money 30 million a year over the next five years at least as an average of course there's the guarantees involved which could give you some flexibility for that to not be a five-year deal but they also go out and they sign Darius sleigh as well as the Eagles released him. So the Steelers, when, if we don't give the Steelers quarterback, which we gave them, should do Sanders in our most recent

post-combined mock draft. If we didn't give them quarterback, those are basically the only two positions that we draft for them. Defensive back corner and wide receiver. They hit those needs hard with those two signings. So now again, I think the Steelers have ultimate flexibility on what they could potentially do at number 21. And with no quarterback in hand, they're certainly a team that's going to be eyeing, potentially taking a quarterback, whether it's Chauder Sanders, whether it's Jackson Dart, whoever it is potentially at number 21,

especially because now that they don't have 52, they don't pick again until 83. So they go 21 and then 83. So this this number 21 selection for Pittsburgh could be anything at this point. What do you think about Pittsburgh's situation now that they have DK Metcalf, that they have Darius Slay, and just their team needs overall? Well, they really need Aaron Rodgers, number one, which I know is a weird thing to say with the state of Rodgers at this point of his career, but to say with the state of Rogers at this point of his career, but you don't go out and get DK Metcalf and Darius Slay on the tail end of his career. Metcalf, he'll turn 28 in December of this season, so he's in his prime, but you're paying him all this money in his prime. You're trying to have Slay be a bridge, a corner. this is a team that's trying to win and trying to get over this hump they can't get over.

So assuming that they're gonna bridge it at quarterback again, because they're not a team that plays a brand of football that needs the quarterback to be a hero every week, you're right, things are wide open. With this, you know, they also signed Brandon Echols from the Jets, they still need another corner, in my opinion. Like Echols wasn't a starter for the Jets.

He was a depth guy that started when people got hurt. Was he okay when he started? Like, could he? He's so volatile. He'll make an incredible pick six or interception or he'll get burned. It's like it's a it's a very You know Hot and cold kind of corner, which could be he can create takeaways Hmm, but he also can get beat because I have beanie Bishop too

Right who I thought kind of punched above his weight last year And I like Corey Trice and I know they like Corey Trice too, but he's Dealt with a lot of injury during his time when he was at Purdue. And I know he's gone through injury in the NFL as well. So are they just going to, are they a Walter Nolan team? Shamar Stewart, although it's a little late for him. I think Shamar might go before that pick. I'm wondering if like Omar and Hampton's on the table for them. Cause they signed

Kenneth Gainwell. they have Jalen Warren. If they do that again. And I love Hampton. Wait, what are you saying? Like drafts are running back in the first round? If the Steelers take a running back in the first round. Brother, it's a pitcher, come on, it's a Steelers. I know, this is the issue.

This is why you're where you are at this moment. That, that would be a hard sell for me. I wonder if George Pickens is on this team by the time they make it. That's the thing too. They come on the clock. Because if he's not, that's a big difference. Then we're talking about Luther Burden, Matthew Golden. I don't think they'll draft Jaden Higgins at 21, but wide receivers, other wide receivers.

Three guys walk into a bar. George Pickens, DK Metc Metcalf and Aaron Rodgers. Do you immediately run? Yeah, basically. I mean, that trio is going to I will watch every Steeler game. So here's something that I would love to pick your brain on about the Steeler situation, because I feel like we're in limbo right now with the Steelers, because I don't feel as in limbo right now with the Steelers because I

don't feel as though Pickens and Metcalf are going to still be on this roster maybe even before the draft but certainly before the season begins and that's because if they end up signing Aaron Rogers as their quarterback he's not the same quarterback that he was in Green Bay like he's not going to be this deep shot quarterback not him time anymore so you have two on the line of scrimmage, alpha deep ball receivers. And you're about to sign a quarterback who does not play that type of game. So to me, Metcalf in and of himself

might not be a fit necessarily for what Rogers wants to do. But certainly, it won't be a fit if there's both of these guys on the roster because that's how you would be building your passing attack and that just wouldn't line up with what Aaron right. So I want to ask you about like where was Aaron Rogers when it came to deep passes last year with the Jets that it was he still doing it was not luck to do it was it effective. Extremely reluctant for a variety of

reasons. Number one, he's old and gets hurt quickly now, which credit to Rogers, he plays through it. But once he's hurt, he doesn't want to stand back there and get sawed in half over and over again. So he's not going to hang in the pocket to push the ball down the field anymore. Like that's done. You look at who he connected with the best. Devante Adams wins immediately off the line of scrimmage. Garrett Wilson's really good off the line of scrimmage.

Garrett Wilson's really good off the line of scrimmage as well. Those guys are quick separators. Rodgers was, this is what happened to the Jets offense and why the run game fell off a cliff. They were never under center because of Rodgers and everything was trying to be quick at a shotgun or the pistol.

And that's like, you don't think of Pickens and Metcalf as hey the corner's playing eight yards off me let me just whip the ball to him and now he's gonna make things happen after the catch or he's gonna win right with a quick release right that's not what you think of when you think of those guys so I don't see if Rogers is their guy I don't see any way that it makes sense to have Pickens and Metcalf where the deep targets are already severely limited with Rogers under center. One of them will implode halfway through the season,

and I would bet the house it's on its Pickens. If if they if they still expect both of these guys to still be on the roster and coexist together. This team now becomes the favorite to draft Jackson Dart, in my opinion, because that's literally how Jackson Dart won as a quarterback at Ole Miss, right? It was just deep shot stuff. Yeah, Trey Harris is down there somewhere. 100%. And it was just, it was them, not that he couldn't hit the stuff underneath, but like he wants to throw the ball deep. So, whether it's at 21 or

whether it's them trading back or moving around the draft, like think that this becomes a Jackson to our destination if they genuinely want both of those receivers to stay on the team. Over under George Pickens brings back a fifth round pick. Under. I do think it's under. I don't know. Because dude, if it's over, you don't trade that guy. Yeah. Why would you trade George Pickett for a fifth or sixth round pick?

Yeah. That would be nuts to me. He's a free agent after this year, by the way. Yeah, I know. I think you just ride it out and hope for the best. It's not, I didn't do this. I didn't create this. I'm just saying.

Oh man. When Mike Tomlin has to answer questions about his wide receivers cryptically tweeting in weeks five, my brother in Christ, you made the sandwich. All right. That's the good stuff. This dealers are very exciting though. I have too. I'm loving this. I cannot wait to see how they navigate number 21 now, especially with what we think is going

to be Roger signing with them eventually. How they navigate the rest of the off season and then what they do with the draft. Pickens and Metcalf, when things are going right, are going to be like the Dudley boys. They're going to be breaking out the tables to put a cornerback, like the 3D, a cornerback through the tables. When things are wrong, they might be fighting each other, which is fine. You want me to tell you who's had the most unsportsmanlike

conduct penalties at the wide receiver position since DK Metcalf came into the league in 2019? Is it a trick answer or it's not? No, it's DK Metcalf. You want to know who number two is? It's got be George. It's George Pickens. He's throwing hands down the field all the time. It's George Pickens. All the time. Your Dudley Boyz meme, your Dudley Boyz meme checks out. It's either Metcalf has the most total penalties

and George Pickens has the second most, or it's specifically unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, which I know they both have a lot of as well. So they're one too. They will be must see TV. They're two peas in a pod. The best case scenario, if you're the if you're the Pittsburgh Steelers, just throw on Mighty Ducks D2. Just show them the bash brothers and be like, Hey, you know, these guys, you know, they were the both

of the enforcers, and then they hated each other. But then they became best friends, and they beat up a bunch of Icelandic people. And like they'd be like, that's what we're trying to do here. So they'd be like, Okay, now I see the vision. Nine, the Minnesota Vikings. So a little bit further down in the order, they're picking number 24. I love what the Minnesota Vikings did in free agents. Hell, yeah. Ryan Kelly and Will Fries along the interior offensive line,

major boost there. You brought back Aaron Jones. You brought back Byron Murphy Jr., which I really like for them. And then on the defensive side of things, John Allen on the defensive line, Jevon Hargrave. Okay, those players, maybe they're not exactly what they used to be, but they're still really good signings for this team that needed to get veteran presence and needed to raise the floor of what their interior trenches were going to be on

both sides of the ball. So yes, I understand you're losing Sam Donald. It's always going to be a bit of a mystery of what's going to happen when you make a change of quarterback could not have loved what the Vikings did anymore, especially because we talked about them not picking after 24, not picking again until 97. Now you have the flexibility to move back in the draft. Now you don't feel like, Oh, well we better, we have to draft a starting guard at 24 or we're screwed. Oh, we have to draft a starting interior defensive lineman at 24

or we're screwed. You don't feel that way anymore. So now you get to trade back and acquire some other picks and man, it's like the trade up for JJ McCarthy and the trade up for Dallas Turner. I don't want to say never happened, but it makes it a lot easier given how they were able to navigate free agency and get a lot of those interior trench players. Given how they were able to navigate free agency and get a lot of those interior trench players Yeah, I think when you look at what they were able to do by

Letting Darnold walk which wasn't the easiest decision is you can allocate so much of where that money would go to a defense that Brian Flores was Getting the most out of but didn't always have a ton of help Now you have two guys in Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave that can win one on ones. They can get after the quarterback and pass our situations where maybe you don't have to blitz to generate pressure all the time. You look at upgrading the secondary,

which was a big need for them. I guess the number one thing, and obviously the interior offensive line, it's not nitpicking because it matters a lot but Trevor they really need and I know they they wanted Daniel Jones In this role so badly and he went somewhere where he thought he had a better shot to play They need a real backup quarterback behind McCarthy and it's not because I'm sitting here going they don't have anybody nobody Or they're bread ribbon ribbons a practice squad guy for them right now, right? Brett Rippon.

Or Futures. Yeah. Futures. Futures contract. Respect Brett Rippon. McCarthy's coming off a significant knee injury and is a rookie quarterback. Yeah. You need that veteran voice.

I think they'll find a way to get that done, but you wouldn't want your season to go in the tank with all of this. They have a great roster and they have elite coaching on both sides of the ball. You don't want to be one quarterback injury away from your season going in the tubes because of that. Yeah. Yeah. They need stability, right? They need wisdom. Stoicism. James Winston, basically, is who I described there. Stability and James Winston. No, I genuinely think that Joe Flacco could be a legitimate target for them. Makes a ton of sense.

As a veteran quarterback, because I do agree. I think that it's a move for them there, but I just, I loved what the Minnesota Vikings have done. And I think it is more likely than not, they're not picking at 24 anymore. They are going to be moving back in the draft because they feel like they probably have that flexibility. We've talked about how we think the draft is deep as well. So maybe they don't believe the prospects that

are on the board at 24 versus just throwing out a random number, like 38 or something is really that vast. They get to pick up another pick in the third round or something and have another pick there. So it feels as though what the Vikings did allows them to navigate the NFL draft exactly the way they need to. We'd love to hear from Vikings fans as well. Do you want them to stick at 24?

If so, do you have a target or do you want them to move back? The last moves, two moves really, but from the same team that I think really impacted the 2025 NFL draft is with the Houston Texans did along their offensive line. This was a group that really struggled last year, especially on the interior of their offensive line. They were moving Titus Howard in and out. When I say in and out, I don't mean of the lineup. I mean a guard, a tackle. They were trying to have him at a couple of different spots to find out what

the best five out there could have been for that team. But their best pass protector, no question about it last year, was Larry Mithunsel. He was the only one who graded anywhere near an elite PFF passing grade. He was the 89.9. The next highest was Titus Howard.

He was like a 72.7. And after him, it was stuff in the 60s and even in the 50s, 40s and 30s for some of those guys that were starting along the offensive line. They ship off Larry Mutanzel to the Washington commanders for a decent haul getting back, but you're losing your starting left tackle, the best offensive lineman that you had. So you already had offensive line needs going into the offseason and going into the draft. Now you just made that that much more glaring. They also traded Kenyon Green, their failed first round pick as well to the Philadelphia Eagles.

They got back CJ Gardner Johnson, which I think was great for them to play in. Their secondary is stupid good. It's so sick. Like no fly zone part two level stuff. It's amazing. It is amazing. Especially with that rotation of like CJ Gardner Johnson and Jalen Petrie when he's fully healthy. I mean, I, I, I love it. I really do. They're going to be playing with their hair on fire, but the offensive line, I mean, you're kind of playing with fire

here. Now, after tonsil gets traded, Lance Zerline, who lives in Houston and has got close connections with the Houston Texans. He said, like, look, I was trying to give you guys hints of this for a while, because Lance knows the team pretty well. He's like, they were not happy with their offensive line last year, not just in their production and how they played, but also the leadership, the attitude,

how much dog they had in them. And he was sort of subtly saying that Laramie Tunsell was probably one of those guys in that chopping block for a reason. But that doesn't change the fact that you just traded your best pass protector, but that doesn't change the fact that you just traded your best pass protector. And it doesn't change the fact that CJ shroud is now halfway through his rookie contract.

And he is about to go into next season with the worst offensive line he has had since being in the NFL until me, unless major changes are made. So I can understand wanting to set the tone, wanting to get the culture right, all of those things. But you're playing with fire and now you're in a very pivotal season with CJ Stroud taking that next step and how much time he has left on his rookie contract. So what do you think about where the Texans are at? Do we think that with all those extra draft picks because let me see Since the New Year league year opened up

We should have all of their picks now to them No, we don't still okay like Tankathon doesn't have it updated with them. Oh, they're getting the Washington picks Because I think it's an extra third round and a fifth round this year this year. Yes, right So as I'm seeing it right now, they have picked 25 58 79 I think it's an extra third round and a fifth round this year. For this year, yes. Right? So as I'm seeing it right now, they have picked 25, 58, 79, and 89 in the top 100. Yeah. I think they should have, they should have commander's picks though. Cause none of those are the commander's picks. Um, you are right because one of these picks, no, the third rounder is for the tonsil trade.

It's just been passed around a lot. Oh, it was just Miami's. Have you seen how this pick has traveled? No. This apparently was the pick that the Eagles traded for Jahan Dotson. Do I have that right? But it was originally from Miami. How the heck is pick 79 in the draft?

I'm pretty- On Tankathon, it has this as Miami's pick, which could have been Miami's original pick, but that was the one that the commanders traded them? I need to figure this out. So it would have been Miami- If I have this right- Yeah, go ahead, go ahead.

This pick is trap... We're Sherlock Holmesing this shit right now. We're getting to the bottom of it. If I have this right, this is the fourth team this pick has sat with. If this is right. Draft Tech does a really good job of like, making a chart

that it's easy to see who picks where and then they'll put team names next to it. So I wanna find the Dotson trade. So Dotson was traded for a conditional third round pick that was the higher of the Eagles or Dolphins pick. How'd they get the Dolphins pick? So I think That's right Why did the Eagles have this Dolphins pick?

We gotta find that out We gotta get to the bottom of it I can't go to sleep without knowing this I thought you had it right in front of you You don't, we gotta do more digging after the show is over This is driving me insane We'll get to it But anyways, they've got some more ammunition now to be able to move up to get aggressive. I think if Armand Membou is within

striking range, if a Calvin Banks Jr., if Josh Simmons is within striking range, I don't think they're going to sit back at 25 anymore. I don't think they can. They can't just sit there at 25 and watch all the best offensive tackles go off the board. Now, unless you feel really great about all of them and when when all of them, I say basically, Armand Membou, Will Campbell, Kevin Banks Jr., Josh Connerly. Jalen Wright trade, right? Is that it?

Did they trade a future pick to move up to get Jalen Wright? That could be, that could be. Miami traded a 2025 third round pick to the Eagles in exchange for the 120th pick in the 2024 draft. They used the pick to take running back Jalen Wright. Okay. Okay. So Miami traded a future asset to go up and get Jalen Wright this year to the Eagles.

The Eagles in the Jahan Dotson trade was a conditional third. And now that pick went from the Commanders in the Laramie Tunzel trade. Holy shit. We did it. That's what you get with this show. Yeah, I mean, you guys could tell. Connor was not going to stop.

I had to know where that pick originated from. We were not going to stop this show until that happened where that pick originated from. We were not going to stop this show until that happened. You're going to see next time behind me is just like my drawing board of the trickle effect of the picks. Like True Detective. No, like it's the always sunny in Philadelphia. Yeah, that is just like, yes. Like foaming at the mouth. Yeah, exactly. Look, the train. I was gonna say, while you were just deep in it right there, I was explaining how I think the Texans are going to be a prime team to move up for an offensive tackle because they can't afford to sit there at 25.

Hell no. Hell no. They might get incredibly lucky and the offensive line run might start way later than we think, but to me, I don't think they can sit at 25 and just be like, Oh, well, you know, we like Josh Connerly. Like if you love Josh Simmons, you go up and get Josh Simmons. You just traded Laramie Tunsell. Like you, you, you now owe it to CJ Stroud to do everything you possibly can to put the right team around him. So that's the tough part. It feels like to me, Casario coming from New England his entire life, they do the get rid

of a player a year early rather than a year late. They clearly think the wheels are going to fall off the bus for Tunzel in his thirties. Yeah. Yeah. Now, even if they're right, even if they're right, I don't think any of us think the wheels are gonna fall off the bus for Tunzel this year. And you are not that different from the commanders, you're not.

CJ Stroud's going into year three. Jaden Daniels is going into year two. You need a franchise left tackle for your very young quarterback, your young quarterback that, not to his own faults all the time, but took a step back last year. He was unbelievable as a rookie.

The offense as a whole, the offensive coordinator got fired, and the line stunk, took a step back. So, but that's a long way of saying, I don't know if it's worth it, just because you think you're a year ahead on a guy falling apart Unless you have a surefire solution. Let's see if the Texans have it in this draft

I'm just not as confident when you're picking that far back They were picking seventh tenth even 14th. I'd be like maybe Yeah, it's there's a lot of risk with this a lot of risk and man if this shit looks the same next year This line and strout, it's the same thing People are going to be pissed. It's going to be tough because then your three years into stroud's rookie contract You'll get the sign of fame year with him on his rookie deal But then you will be up for an extension and guess what? They're not not going to extend cj stroud They're not going gonna extend CJ Stroud. They're not gonna play around with that. So you basically have this upcoming year

and next year for Stroud to be on that rookie contract. You can sign him to the fifth-year option and sort of extend his contract after that. So they might be able to get a little bit of life out of it, but I don't want to say that you're you're running out of time, but the clock is ticking on his rookie contract and you just made your offensive line significantly worse in the short term. Maybe you felt as though it's a situation where, hey, you got to cut the dead out or you got to cut the, cut the bad culture, people in the locker room out and it'll be better

in the long run, but the long run better come pretty quickly or else you're going to be having to build this team around CJ shroud making top five quarterback money. Cause that's where we sort of expect him to be. We will see. Those are the 10 moves that we thought were the most impactful when it came to changes in the 2025 NFL draft. We would love to hear from you guys as well. Let us know what you thought about what your team did in free agency or what they didn't do. Talk to me about our talk to us about some of your favorite moves and moves that you genuinely think changed the NFL draft,

either the ones that we mentioned or some new ones that you're thinking of there. Maybe some new draft targets for your team as well before we get to the team needs best way to do that youtube.com backslash NFL stock exchange. Obviously if you guys are still sticking around for the show and you're not subscribed to the show, please subscribe to the channel. We would absolutely love you for it. If you want to hit us up on not YouTube format at Tampa Bay tray at

Connor J Rogers on Instagram and Twitter. If you are an audio only listener, you could also follow the show at NFLSE show on Twitter, on Instagram, on Tik TOK, all that good stuff. Connor, you got anything else before we get out of here? No, obviously free agency has been a really fun wrench thrown into our entire draft process. It was good to get on here and kind of just do a free flowing show, breaking it down.

And obviously, we'll have a lot more on the way. Yeah, we're we're cooking up a lot of fun stuff that we're going to have over the next month and a half, getting you guys ready for the NFL draft. We're going to have a lot of fun guests, some of your favorite draft personalities here on this show to do some fun exercises. We'll continue to do our prospect rankings. We'll continue to do our prospect rankings. We'll continue to just look at everything that is changing and get you ready for the 2025 NFL Draft as best we can.

For Connor Rogers, I'm Trevor Sikamas saying thank you guys so much for watching and listening to the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. We'll see you guys next time. Thanks for watching!