NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 8. NFL Draft Strategies For Each New HC & GM Pairing In The NFL

Episode Date: February 8, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers breakdown each of the new head coach and general manager hiring in the NFL through a draft lens. The two talk general thoughts on each hiring process, and then give some background information for each of the new hiring when it comes to who and what they could be emphasizing in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. 0:00 - Intro, 3:25 - Raiders, 14:10 - Bears, 22:30 - Vikings, 34:45 - Giants, 39:10 - Broncos, 44:10 - Dolphins, 51:55 - Jaguars, 1:01:35 - Texans

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I got it this year. It's awesome. Sign up now at youtube.com slash BS, device and content restrictions apply. Local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday ticket for out-of-market games excludes digital-only games. Welcome to the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. In this episode, we're going to take a look at all of the official hirings for head coach and general manager that have happened over the last couple of weeks around the NFL. We're going to do so with an NFL draft focus.

We're going to look at the guys who fill the GM chairs and the head coaching headsets and talk about some draft strategies that they might have. What these hirings mean for the 2022 NFL draft. We're going to go through these guys' history, see what they've had their hand on when it comes to the draft room over the last couple of years. Look at some tendencies, some position groups, some position players specifically that they have really emphasized over the last couple of years and see if we can find out what they might be keying on when it comes to the draft this upcoming April.

I'm Trevor Sycamore. With me as always is my co-host, Connor Rogers. Let's get after it. What's going on everybody welcome to the opening bell the nfl stock exchange podcast i am trevor sycamore with me is my co-host connor rogers and today we have a treat for you guys we are breaking down all of the new gm and head coach signings around the nfl with an nfl draft twist we're going to be looking at all of these official hirings, give you our thoughts on all these guys, and then talk about what it means for the upcoming NFL draft. A little bit of free agency too, but it's basically going to be how do

these new head coaches and GMs change the 2022 NFL draft. Connor, it's been a whirlwind of a two weeks since the last time we spoke on this topic. Now we've got some official hirings. I'm excited to dig into this topic, man. This is one that you came up with, and I think it's a great idea. Yeah, I think, Trevor, so often we do this whole thing from, you know, last May, right? Starting with mock drafts that you're attaching players to teams, and then in the middle of it you get this giant roadblock this giant speed bump where and this year was very unique where there's what nine openings yeah that can change everything and nobody really breaks down how they just start churning out mock drafts again

nobody explains like oh this is the new scheme or this is the play you know for people you and i talk to this is the kind of player this guy likes this staff is gonna like so i think it's this giant you know piece of the puzzle that is never really allocated time because we go you know super bowl and then combine it's not like oh we had the senior bowl with the hiring process then the super process, then the Super Bowl, and then the combine. So I'm really, this is like very nerd draft level stuff, and I cannot wait for today's show. Yeah, we're definitely getting into the roots or the weeds or the whatever you want to call it with draft analysis here. Because I think team reporters do a really good job of obviously breaking down new head coaches and new GMs for the teams that they cover. But man, and I'm certainly guilty of this too over the years. You're right. We make such a big deal out of these head coach and GM

openings. And then once they get filled, we don't do the best job of coming back to them and saying, hey, here's what this means. You're right. We just go straight to the mock drafts. We just try to go straight to the good part. But in reality, we're going to try to give you as many details as we can throughout this entire draft process to where you're knowing your team and these prospects better than you ever have before. Before we dive into this, got to remind everybody that this show is sponsored by PrizePix. PrizePix is your go-to place for your over-under prop bets.

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this is the perfect time to do it. Go win some cash and some over-unders and get a free PFF subscription. It's the best way to do that. All right, let's jump into it. Jump right into it. Las Vegas Raiders. This is the first team that we're going to start with.

New head coach, Josh McDaniels, longtime offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots and then their their new general manager is Dave Ziegler who actually has an interesting crossover with McDaniels that might lead to that quote-unquote Patriot way coming out west to Las Vegas Connor what did you think about both of these hires and then this pairing of these guys being together in Vegas? There's a long history between these two, right? They played together at John Carroll University in Ohio, and they've kind of been together in the NFL for a while. Ziegler was working for the Broncos when McDaniels was a head coach there, and then McDaniels goes back to New England, and Ziegler's been a scout for New England for the last nine years.

Now, a little bit of an unconventional path, I would say, Trevor, where he was an assistant director for a bit, and then was regarded as the de facto GM when Nick Casario moved on, which was very, very recently, but really was just the director of player personnel for about a year, and is now a GM. So a guy that has been in the league long enough, but that's a big jump. I'll say it that way.

That is not very common. You see a lot of guys go from assistant GM or VP of player personnel roles that they've handled for a lot of years. And the really good organizations like the Colts under Chris Ballard, they'll give you a lot of different experience where if you've been a guy that's just been a scout your whole career, okay, let's get you involved in the contract side of free agency. If you've been somebody that's been a director of pro personnel where you're evaluating street free agents and obviously actual free agents for the Bonanza that takes place in March, let's get you involved a little

bit more in the college side when we go into April. So, you know, and I'm not saying what Ziegler did and didn't do in New England, but this is going to be a big step up for him. And it goes to show you how important it was to the top of the Las Vegas organization to get two guys that were going to work hand in hand. Now, I don't know what that says about the former dynamic between John Gruden and Mike Mayock, but all I knew coming into this Vegas GM coaching search was that it wasn't one and then the other. It was we're hiring a pair. All we care about is getting it right as a pair. Two guys that have worked together, have the experience together.

And like you said, Trevor, now we're going to see, is it going to be the Patriot way? Which replicating that has not gone well basically anywhere else, but obviously they were very high on the pairing of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler. Yeah, well, you and I talked a couple of weeks ago when we initially went over our podcast episode saying who we would like to see in both of these chairs, not just for the Raiders, but every opening in the NFL.

And we talked about continuity being so important when it comes to building the right roster whether it's through free agency or the or the NFL draft and so it makes total sense why they would want to do this in this order have guys that they want to go after who has chemistry together now do you pigeonhole yourself a little bit when you say hey we want guys that already have chemistry coming into it yeah I guess so and maybe that is the reason for such a steep jump for Ziegler coming over to the Raiders to be the GM now maybe I guess that goes into it a little bit but you want that chemistry I think that's really really important now when you go back to Ziegler's scouting days or when he was with the Denver Broncos at the same time McDaniels was there these guys were both very young at the time Ziegler was

just a scout I mean he wasn't in charge of a pro scouting or college scouting or anything like that he was simply on the scouting staff for the Denver Broncos and so I can't imagine he worked two hand in hand with McDaniels when McDaniels was the head coach even though there was a little overlap there but obviously plenty of overlap plenty of conversations with them being in New England now New England system it's hard to replicate right because as everybody knows Bill Belichick is the head coach GM decision maker everything he makes all the decisions he has the control over that roster whether it's free agency or the NFL draft or the depth chart or whatever it is and so it's hard to look at even McDaniels let alone Ziegler and say

okay what in their history are we going to take to say we can project some draft moves or maybe some draft tendencies so it is tough so you want to take this with a grain of salt but they were still in the system right they were still in what the Patriots were doing they were having a lot of success and I can't imagine they're going to zig too far away from how the Patriots were zagging if you will with draft strategy and when you look at the Patriots over the last almost 10 years now the thing that stands out to me the most with their draft history is that they have drafted 14 box players. So either linebackers or defensive linemen in the first three rounds since 2012. That is significant.

You look at all of their top premium picks, if you will, and they are using it up front on the defensive line and at the linebacker level. Now, this is a defense that was very multiple throughout those last 10 years they were three four they were four three they were throwing all different sorts of things at the pocket a lot of versatile players but they really wanted to make sure their defensive line was always as talented as it could be so i think the defensive line is still going to be a major priority of this team maybe not this year because they have yanni king they have max crosby right they have those guysick Ngakwe, they have Max Crosby, right? They have those guys there already. But as you look down the next couple of years,

look for them to continually go to that well of box players. And something else that I noticed, you only had 10 offensive linemen drafted since 2012. Only three of them were drafted within those first three, but only three of them were drafted. Now I can't even read my own handwriting 10 offensive players total drafted since 2012 only three of them were offensive linemen there we go that's a lot better way to do it two of them were in the third round so they only had over since 2012 right new england patriots so

much success in the world only had one offensive lineman that they drafted in the first round. It was Isaiah's win. Now they had Dante Skarnackia, the godfather of offensive line coaches to make up for a lot of maybe talent or draft round deficiencies that they may have had. So there's not a Dante Skarnackia on the roster or on the coaching staff in Las Vegas. And so it'll be interesting to see how they navigate it.

But Connor, I just thought that was really interesting when I looked at their draft history. Very, very, very heavy on the front seven, that defensive box, and very light on how they drafted, not just offense, but especially offensive line. Very interested to see if they continue that trend, emphasizing that defensive line moving forward. I think they always will be that, Trevor,

that the trenches are what matters to us. And I think they always will be that Trevor that the trenches are what matters to us. And I think with the offensive line numbers you pulled up it you nailed it that it helps when you have a developer there that you like the continuity on your offensive line, right? If you are trying to and maybe this will happen in Vegas. If you're trying to develop your offensive line for the next five to seven years, then maybe you're going to see a lot of premium capital allocated towards that early on. And then if you believe you have the staff in place and the scheme in place to develop that, that obviously teeters off years on after that because you have actual building blocks in place there. And I think that is something that New England believes in.

They believe in having legitimate building blocks up front. We've seen it in the Bilicek era for a long time like you said on the defensive side of the ball and we've seen it on the offensive side of the ball as well and obviously the thing with New England is they had the cheat code for a long time that is Tom Brady where maybe you felt like you could allocate more you know capital for a long time on the defensive side of the ball because you had the greatest quarterback of all time that can always get the most out of whatever's around him and you didn't feel like you needed to use those first and second round picks all the time that's on skill guys so I think that's what I'm curious to see how McDaniels and Ziegler work together when the promise to ownership in Las Vegas was,

we are going to give you the best version of Derek Carr. And I think, fortunately for the Raiders, they do have pieces on offense, right? You have Darren Waller in his prime. I think the fact they have Foster Moreau there, you can see a lot of two tight end sets. I think Foster Moreau can play. I think when you look at wide receiver, obviously now there is a legit hold there. And if you listen to the mock draft show yesterday, we filled that. Jahan Dotson was the pick for the Raiders.

They got the last of the big run on wide receivers. They got the speed element that they need. So I think they know they need a field stretcher because, and I just had this number up before, you know, they're a team that they're going to come in and they're going to use play action. And they are going to establish the run with Josh Jacobs. And they are going to try to build a big, beefy, powerful offensive line. You know, you look at them last year with Mack Jones in New England. They had play action on 14% of their plays.

I think that number can even be up with the Raiders if you feel like you can establish that run game. But you do need that field stretcher that can win over the top that you have a rounded out group. We know Waller can win short area and intermediate and Foster Moreau can win short area. You have Hunter Renfro, who is your slot guy,

that can definitely win short area and intermediate. I think that's what Brian Edwards is as well. So I think the one thing I outline when I look at the offense that's coming to Vegas Trevor is that they need speed they truly and that's not groundbreaking I mean it's not well you know the Raiders always look for speed but now it's a clearly defined hole for this team yeah and I don't know if that's going to be a free agency signing maybe it is but if it's not I think in those first two rounds you have to take a field structure i think this is a team honestly that can afford if he falls that can afford to take

jameson williams and be patient because the reward can be so great for that offense yeah no that could be that could very well be the case let's move on to chicago chicago getting ryan poles is the general manager general manager they are longtime kansas city chief then matt iberflues defensive the defense coordinator from the indianapolis colts coming over to be the head coach what do we think about this pairing connor what do you think about him individually and then both of these guys coming together as a package group well i understandably have questions of what is the development route of justin fields right because you you hired a defensive guy right it's kind of the same question as when the Jets hired Robert Sala last year.

Everyone was like, cool, that's great. Everybody likes Robert Sala, and he has a proven track record of success. That's Matt Iverflus. Everybody likes Matt Iverflus, and he has a proven track record of success. But who is the guy developing the first-round quarterback that you are going to take or now for the Bears that you just took? So that's the question that I'll just get out of the way and actually talking about the players at Ryan Poles offensive line background we know that that's going to be the priority of this football team

it has to be better for Justin Fields I'm very curious what the future for this team is at wide receiver they have the vertical guy in Darnell Mooney things have not gone as they had hoped for Allen Robinson do you look to go the volume route and maybe get two targets one in free agency and one in the draft that aren't number one kind of guys but you feel like can help Justin Fields and you out you know we did the mock draft right and they don't have a first round pick but that second round pick I believe you gave them Trevor Penning they got a guy that can come in and start for you on the offensive line I think that's what you're looking for the Bears with that top 40 pick. And you know what I wonder here is, are there veterans on the roster that they feel like

they can trade to get back some draft capital that they, you know, they are, to be fair to the Bears, yeah, you have Justin Fields coming back for year two, but they are kind of starting over in a way. You have a GM with a clean slate. You have a head coach with a clean slate. But then you have a veteran Latin defense that you're wondering okay are these pieces for their long-term future or do they see them as ways to acquire more capital but I think what the Bears are going to do is to give Justin Fields the best chance possible is look fully in on what how did they improve and develop an offensive line that's consistent yeah I mean

I think Justin Fields has to be priority number one for him no doubt about it when you look at they improve and develop an offensive line that's consistent yeah i mean i think justin fields has to be priority number one for him no doubt about it when you look at ryan poles only 36 years old man that's pretty crazy that he is able to get to the gm spot at just 36 years old we saw a movement a youth movement if you will with head coaches i think more recently it's not like it was unprecedented right john madden got a job as a young head coach and john gruden was the same way when he got the head coach gig with the buccaneers and so it's not like it was unprecedented right john madden got a job as a young head coach and john gruden was the same way when he got the head coach gig with the buccaneers and so it's not like it was unprecedented for younger guys to get head coaching gigs but gms for gms to be as young as they are now i think that that's oh yeah really in a testament to the youth movement

and how much trust a lot of these organizations have in some of these younger, let's just face it, less experienced guys, right? Ryan Poles didn't work out in the NFL, ended up getting in with the Chiefs very, very early on. He was 24 when I believe he got hired with the Chiefs. And so he's got 12 years of experience. He's got over a decade in the NFL front office, but still just 36 years old is not a long time. However, I think that what was really alluring about him, and you kind of mentioned, maybe this is missing with Ziegler, was the well-roundedness of what Ryan Poles has done with the Kansas City Chiefs.

He has made it through three general manager hires and not just survived all of them, been promoted by each of them during that time. So, you know, when you look at Scott, he was kind of the contract guy under Scott Pioli he was he was more of a scouting talent avail evaluator during John Dorsey's time there and then with Brett Veach he was he was the big draft guy with Veach he was kind of Brett Veach's right hand man right was able to orchestrate a lot of the draft boards they have there so I think that's what gives you faith in Ryan Poles really being able to make some

great decisions is that his resume where there aren't as many years as you would expect, or the age just isn't as high as you would think for the experience in the NFL. It's very well-rounded. He's got a lot of things that he has done in an NFL front office as for Iberflues. I think the big emphasis for him, certainly on the offensive side of the ball, I think that that's kind of to be determined, right?

Because Iberflues has always just been, it's just been a defensive guy. So when it comes to projecting what might be for some Bears defensive talent that they will acquire via free agency or the NFL draft, man, I think it's because uh hello duh we all want smart football players right we all want football players with high iq who know the plays to make it and all those natural instincts everything like that but when you look at who some of his cornerstone pieces have been those guys that have really taken his defense to the next level in indianapolis starius leonard it's kenny moore it's julian black. It's these guys that they ain't checking any boxes athletically. They ain't checking any boxes size-wise. There aren't these thresholds that they're hitting, but you know what they are? Really freaking smart, really instinctual football players.

And so we're going to go through some of these teams, and we've just seen it around the NFL where some guys, you mentioned it yesterday with Todd Bowles, when we were talking about what kind of corner Todd Bowles might want for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and we said well Andrew Booth fits the uh fits the athleticism and the arm length uh thresholds that Bowles has often operated on there I don't know if there's any of those thresholds that exist with Matt Iberflues I really do just think that he's going after really smart football players that is what his number one trait is

with any of these guys and so for offensive purposes yeah i think that poles is definitely going to run through the offensive line i think you're totally right there that's where the emphasis on a lot of their premium picks and premium capital is going to go on that side of the ball but on defense i think you're definitely going to see an emphasis towards you know maybe not the most athletic guys maybe not the most the biggest the longest the the good frame kind of a players there's not going to be the threshold if he can hit both of course he would want to but intelligence football intelligence smarts is going to be top priority for Ibraflus as he starts to add talent to this roster yeah I think you're right and I think sometimes the overall message of that is you're not looking to be you know the flashiest

or the sexiest kind of defense you're looking to be the most responsible that's you know you're trying to be the most responsible and those are often the wave two and three or maybe even tier four kind of free agent signings that nobody cares about sometimes the national insiders don't even report them they're reported by the local b and the fans go ah cool i don't really know much about that guy and then they're a legitimate starter for you that just gets the job done and week in and week out. And Ibrafluis has done that for the Colts for a long time. He's been able to, you're right, you know, Darius Leonard is a star. There's no doubt about that.

They do have really good players, but there's a lot of spots that they were able to get by with day three picks or guys that were, you know, even undrafted and developed. So I think for the Bears, their identity will be we can get the most out of what we need from our defense without pumping in an insane amount of money, which has been the opposite of the former regime, right? This is a regime that traded for coming off a regime, you know, the big Khalil Mack trade and a ton of money dumped into him, a ton of money dumped into Robert Quinn, who are both great football players. There's nothing wrong with them. But now I think you're

going to see the pendulum swing the other way where they got some money to play with, right? I think after some cuts, they'll be able to, you know, go in with at least $30 million in cap space and maybe you're able to armor Justin Fields with that cap space because you just don't have a lot of draft capital at the top of the draft that you know what you're getting you're kind of playing the waiting game there you know obviously and with a top 40 pick but you still are waiting a long time where you're gonna have to do your offensive firepower and damage and free very uh free agency yep no i i i just i'm very fascinated to see the bears over the next couple of years

because this is definitely a team, you know, for doing like stock up, stock downs on these situations. I'm big time stock up on what the Bears were able to do. It's true. It's true, man. I mean, you've got a new regime coming with the Minnesota Vikings as well. Who knows what's going on there,

depending on what happens with Kirk Cousins. We'll get to that in a second. Obviously, we're not exactly sure what's going to happen with Aaron Rodgers. The Green Bay Packers have owned that division for the last couple of years, but that might be coming to an end. Detroit Lions are a couple of years away still. Man, I just think the Bears can be right there, man.

I think that I genuinely look at their situation, and I think this could be a quick turnaround for the Chicago Bears. We're going to get to the Minnesota Vikings and what their situation is next, but before we get there, got to do everybody's favorite ad read. Roses are red. Violets are blue. Don't let a wild pew wreck you. Valentine's day is just around the corner and our sponsors at manscaped are here for you with the best tools to get your balls ready for the special

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Washington Commander, shout out. Anybody missed the podcast yesterday needs to go back and listen to that reference. New head coach, Kevin O'Connell, was the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Rams. Essentially was in the same room as Sean McVay once. So we knew that he was destined to be an NFL head coach someday.

And their new general manager, Kwestia Doflamence, who is a, you know, I want to say big brain as a cliche because he's an extremely smart guy. And that's a lot of reason why he was able to climb the ladder. But that was true, man. Right-hand man to Andrew Berry

in the Cleveland Browns front office over the last couple of years has a very interesting climb up the NFL ladder those two guys now in charge for the Minnesota Vikings Connor what do you think about these guys in this situation now that they're in control well one I think this might be one of the most promising duos we've seen hired in a while and a lot of people you know don't know a lot about O'Connell yet and even Adolfo Mensah they probably don't know a lot about either but I like that they went with two young hungry guys that are willing to you know use everything around them to make everything much better and what I mean by that is these are two that are I hate this cliche but they really are they've been around where the game is going right when you look at Adolfo Mensah, he was with a Cleveland organization that went from the really old traditional way of

building a roster with Dorsey and then obviously to Barry, where it was, of course, tape, analytics and a scheme under Stefanski that is obviously very popular and successful in today's NFL. And then you look at O'Connell like that with the last two years with the Rams under McVay, he's seen a bit of the same thing. So I think the direction is the right direction. Now, what I'll say here, Trevor, this might be, you know, bold, debatable, not well received. If I were the Vikings this year, and probably not a good time to bring this up with everything going on,

obviously with the Brian Flores lawsuit with tanking, and I'm not saying the word tanking, but what I'm saying is, you got a free year here if you're this duo. Kirk Cousins is not your future. If you could trade him with that massive cap hit, trade him, why not just roll Kellen Mond out there for the year

and have your eyes on CJ Stroud and Bryce at this point? And I know that's not... Okay, my point is, if you can do that and get one of those two young quarterbacks, you can own this division for a long time. Yeah. And I know it's impossible to think that way. It's hard to sell to the fans, especially a team that's won for so long.

They've won it. You know, they've been successful. But if you do your evals and you see something in Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud that you think is worthy of your franchise, then what are we doing here with this last year of Kirk Cousins? And maybe O'Connell really likes him, and they have a good year with Cousins, and they win nine games, and they sneak into the playoffs, and they get bounced in the first two rounds.

And then you're starting it all over again with less job security, maybe, because that clock starts to tick on how you're setting up the future. So I look at them and just go, they are the most fascinating situation to me out of all the new hires because I don't know if they're going to go all in on a rebuild or all in on winning right away. And I don't think there's necessarily a right answer, but I find it interesting with the Vikings that we're not talking enough about them as a team that maybe these new guys don't view Cousins as this long term,

and they think they can get more. And I'll close it out with one thought on Adolfo Mensah. Yeah. I think that we need to stop doing this collective charade that when a guy is hired that doesn't have a traditional football background, that he's an analytics guy. I think it's really unfair to the candidate that we're constantly in this world of, Oh oh he didn't play offensive line in college for four years and then wasn't an area didn't fetch coffees for five years and then wasn't an area scout for 10 and then wasn't a director for five and then an assistant gm for three oh he's an analytics guy oh he's young he worked on wall street he's an analytics

guy i do think i do think adolfo mensa is an analytics guy that's good like it's that's a good thing but i also think what they've done in cleveland i'm saying that they're more rounded than they get credit for i think what they've done in cleveland is balanced analytics and film and athletic testing almost perfectly at this point now i know what you're saying okay so that part makes sense because i think it's unfair to the candidate or the hire he did start his football journey obviously in the research and development department and he does a ton of really great stuff with data but you are saying that he's more than just a numbers dude like he is an actual qualified guy who could be a general manager being around front office for a long time he's not building the team off an excel sheet with one formula

is my point i mean like he might be building a team on the excel sheet with one formula. He might be building the team off an Excel sheet, but I totally understand what you're saying. He's more well-rounded than that. You're right. He deserves more credit for his football IQ than just saying that he's just a data guy. His path was different, so that doesn't just mean he's a numbers guy. Right, right, right.

He can be a fully well-rounded general manager candidate at this point in time you're totally right one i before we move too far away from kirk cousins i think it's absolutely hilarious that according to over the cap if they were to cut kirk cousins uh he would be all 45 million on the cap they would save absolutely zero dollars okay so you're not doing that but they can trade him and if they trade him then he's only 10 mil on the cap and they would save 35 mil if they trade him then he's only 10 mil on the cap and they would save 35 mil if they could find a trade partner for him but i doubt that's the only way which means he's probably playing for the vikings next year so uh i have this quote from jeremy

fowler who is an nfl uh reporter and he said this this is from this from a tweet from him quote soon to be vikings head coach, Kevin O'Connell, which is now official, conveyed a firm belief in Kirk Cousins during the interview process, I am told. He's high on him. The front office must decide on Cousins' future. He's due his $45 million cap hit,

but many coaches interviewed for the job liked Cousins, O'Connell included. And so O'Connell had one year where he was actually the quarterback's coach in Washington, the final year that Kirk Cousins was there so these two have worked together but he's also seen the other side of things right being the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams he was there when they traded Jared Goff and not just traded Jared Goff desperately got him off the roster right they upgraded with Matthew Stafford but in order to do so they had to give away two first round picks just to go make that little upgrade because the Los Angeles Rams saw

the ceiling in Jared Goff so that makes me think that just because Kevin O'Connell said that he could work with Kirk Cousins which let's face it it's a loaded question anyways because the vikings can't move on from kurt cousins so if you said to yourself yeah i can't work if you said to your bosses yeah i can't work with the guy that you owe 45 million dollars but you're probably not getting the job right no you're not so say what they want you that they want to hear you say what they need to hear to hire you and then in the back of your mind you have full freedom to reevaluate the situation a year from now. And they could very well just move on from Kirk cousins. Like it's nothing.

So him saying that he wanted to work with Kirk cousins could simply just be a Mike McCarthy. Yes. I watched every snap in the NFL last year. Please hire me, Jerry Jones, kind of a move to make it. I love analytics. I love math. Yeah, his journey to PFF made a lot. Sorry, I just kind of took a shot there in my own company. I always forget that.

Yeah, he did the whole, like, came to PFF thing, which, yeah. So PFF always gets crap for that. But we do not. Well, he didn't listen, so you guys don't deserve that crap. Right, we do not take any responsibility for any of the boneheaded, analytic driven decisions that Michael McCarthy chooses or does not choose to make on the football field. Just had to throw that disclaimer in there.

I think Kevin O'Connell is obviously very interesting coming from the McVay background. I think he understands how to work with quarterbacks. He's been a quarterbacks coach before. I think that Kirk Cousins is going to be the guy next year. I'd love to see them get as savage as you kind of painted the picture there and maybe start telling my – It's a scenario.

I'm not necessarily pushing for it. I see what you're saying. So something about Adolfo Mesa, though, that I – a quote that I liked from him that I was reading in some research is, quote, analytics is all about evolution, not revolution. We take this framework that has been used for years years and we're just applying it to different things. We're creating decision rules. We're determining how these decision rules will can occur in the future and is our job and obligation to study them understand the risks and choose a course of action that will put us in a situation no matter what happens i think the quote hope is not a strategy is basically just

for kirk cousins i think that that's just for the kirk cousins situation i really disney movie it's a good quote right no no it is definitely uh draft day two it reminds me it reminds me of uh in in in the first avengers movie which question are you are you a marvel movie guy i don't even know which is i know a huge problem that's going to present us. Have you seen any of them? The first one. The first Avengers. And I've seen, like, two Thor movies, and I like Spider-Man a lot. And I'm very jacked up for,

and I know this is, like, now getting completely off the rails. It's fine. I am all in on the new Batman. But, no, I'm, like, as behind as a human being can be on Marvel movies. Okay, well, we need to, all right, we need to get you up to speed,

especially when we start doing mailbag stuff, because I guarantee you, you're going to get the questions coming. But all that to say, in the first Avengers movie, which you have seen. Yes. Dr. Banner said, Dr. Banner says a quote, he says, a life for all mankind to see.

And he actually says the line, I think that was for you and points at Tony. And when Adolfo Mensah says, quote, hope is not a strategy. I the line i think that was for you and points at tony and when adafo mensa says quote hope is not a strategy i say i think that was for you and i'm pointing straight to kirk cousins i really do think that that's the situation to kind of bring it all back to reality here uh i don't think that they're going to just pigeonhole themselves into kirk cousins i think that they truly are going to give it this one year see what happens with kevin o'connell but i think that they are already behind the eight ball i think no matter what this is kirk cousins final year with the minnesota vikings i don't see anyone trading for him in that massive contract so i think that he

is still in minnesota this year i think minnesota will be fine with him i think they will be competitive and i think at the end of the year they will assess all of their situations and they will get extremely aggressive to upgrade a quarterback just like the los angeles rams did that was a lot of words on the minnesota vikings so i figured we should probably they're interesting man i'm excited to follow this new regime and curious how they they handle quarterback of the future new york giants couple of new york guys just a little north of the state in buffalo come down to the big city brian dable is the head coach now with the new york giants and joe shane the general manager there we talked a little bit about this before on the podcast but connor what do you think

about these two moving down from buffalo having that chemistry and now uh being in new york with the giants well it's a long drive the giants facility is right in my backyard and i did my first drive uh to buffalo last summer so hopefully they flew them private but how long of a drive is it oh man i mean it could take you about seven hours no way holy cow i didn't realize that oh yeah you're driving across the entire state of new york it's actually a really cool drive um so i mean listen this is one that just almost made too much sense i think everybody down around here felt this both hires coming. Shane was their favorite pretty much out of the gate. And once you knew that they were going to hire Shane, you knew Dable was to follow as much as I mean, Giants ownership really did love Brian Flores.

They love that he's from the state of New York. They love to what he did in Miami. I think there were serious conversations there. But if you hire Joe Shane, you obviously are going to let him make the coaching hire. And they went with Dable, who has really rejuvenated his career after having some unsuccessful stints as an offensive coordinator earlier. And then he does the New England, Alabama, and then obviously his big one with Buffalo developing Josh Allen and the powerhouse offense that they had. So I think this one starts out so simple, Trevor. I think they are not, especially ownership, ready to move on from Daniel Jones. They internally think that they did not do right by him. And I think they also think that they haven't done right by Saquon Barkley. It just might be too late to fix that one. And when you look at those two variables, it's trench play. It's trench play. They're going

to look at the offensive line. They know they have to improve the offensive line. They like the steps they saw from Andrew Thomas last year, but he's one piece. They need a lot more pieces. They are going to come in, build that foundation. Daniel Jones is going to have a chance to prove himself in that foundation with a better offensive line I think they'll have another pass rusher on the defensive line as well with early draft capital I think they'll look to get a tight end more in the mold unlike Evan Ingram that can block a little bit more and be a little bit more physically imposing team on offense that's something they've lacked for a while as well so it might be boring early going

for the Giants but you're going to see some foundational pieces and you're going to see what the quarterback can do with them and if he does fail within that structure then they will be one of the many teams in 2023 looking for a quarterback I agree with you I think this is definitely going to be a build through the trenches kind of team build the foundation if you will to quote you right there since Shane has been the gm in buffalo so he hasn't been the general manager making the final call but he's been right there building the draft board coming up with the draft strategy since 2017 is when he began as the assistant gm there in buffalo which he had his hand in college scouting and everything before that so he can go the pack but 2021 draft okay their first four picks trench

players 2020 top pick was a defensive lineman 2019 top two picks were trench players 2018 josh allen an inside linebacker and a defensive lineman right i mean that going back to kind of what it was with the patriots when we talked about um ziggler and mcdaniel's coming over if we're copying anything from what new england did if these guys are copying anything from what they did in Buffalo, the motto is going to be draft defense and develop offense. That's what it's going to be. A lot of their very top premium picks, more often than not, you're going to see along the defensive trenches and on the defensive side of things, you can go back even further than when they drafted Trey White with their first overall selection at the back end of the first round. And so I think that's what it's going to

be. They're going to spend a lot of premium picks on defense in the draft i think a lot of their offensive picks are going to come from day two rounds two three maybe even four you know you start signing free agents on the offensive side of the ball making trades like they were able to do for stefan diggs so i think that that's really going to be the strategy with these guys and i think that's something that has worked well for them in buffalo and i think that that's going to be a trend that continues for them that's that's what i think i think the motto draft defense develop offense that's what it's going to be uh for these two in buffalo or sorry in in new york in new york now what about the uh what about the denver broncos

you see this one on the board brother george payton is already the general manager he was hired last year so he wasn't going anywhere. But he is still new as a general manager. We're really to see him unleashed, if you will. Maybe this is the first year that we really get to see exactly what he wants to do. Nathaniel Hackett is their head coach now. So what do you think about that hire from Payton? Kind of how they went about things, getting rid of Vic Fangio,

and then the future of this team? I think it says that they want to win right now. I think it says that this is the team on the list out of all the ones we're going through here, and the Raiders are the runner-up, that believes we're in this thing right now. And we have a coach that we know can bring an offense here that can elevate the biggest problem with our football team.

We think our defense is absolutely ready to play in some big time football games. We think we have one of the best young running backs in the entire NFL in Javante Williams. We already locked up our wide receiver core with Cortland Sutton, Tim Patrick, and then you have Jerry Judy there who's waiting for the breakout. You got two tight ends that can play. The offensive line got better. Trevor, this one's easy. And we know how long Peyton waited to take a GM job. Nobody could pry him away from Minnesota. He denied interview after interview after interview. He took this job because he believed he can go there to win. Felt like the roster was in the right place. Felt like he could do a couple big things in the draft to get it where it needed to be now you got to finish it man the foundation's

been set the walls are up you need to put a roof on this thing and the roof is trading for a veteran superstar quarterback that can go win you a Super Bowl and if it can't be Aaron Rodgers which all indications of their process of this offseason should tell you that they're hoping it's Aaron Rodgers, then you've got to tap into something else, whether that's Russell Wilson. You've got to get creative here, or maybe you're the team that, if all else fails, maybe you do call about Kirk Cousins.

Obviously, that's more plan C or D. Yeah, I know. I'm getting reeled out. The point is, Trevor, they're not taking, they're not taking like Sam Howell or Malik Willis and waiting three years to see if it works. They can't afford to do that, dude. Yep. No, I'm with you. I'm with you 100%.

They're picking at number nine right now. I don't ultimately think that they pick at number nine. Something else is going to happen here. I personally believe that George Payton doesn't give a damn about his draft picks this year i think that he would be ready to move on from his premium draft picks this year and his premium draft picks next year to either make aaron rogers russell wilson or derrick carr in that order happen and get those guys um in the building now derrick carr probably not going to happen because

it's in it's a divisional opponent that's the issue that's the one that is probably the least likely to happen it also gives them the least amount of upside i think when you throw out those quarterback names so really when you look at it maybe realistically aaron rogers is at the top and i think that that's the most plausible to have make happen especially because they have hackett coming over from the green bay packers aaron rogers loved getting to work with nathaniel hackett when you look at okay he wasn't a play caller matt lafleur was the play caller but at the same time we talked about this before on this podcast Hackett was the one who designed a lot of the red zone plays and the Packers were damn good in the red zone because a lot of those plays and the things that worked so you know when you look at the pursuit of Aaron

Rodgers he's he's mulling over retirement right right? He thought about retirement last year, and I think Rodgers still has a couple years left in the tank. I really do. But does he want it to be in Green Bay? I'm not so sure that he does, and if he doesn't, he's going to pick the situation where he can win now immediately. And outside of maybe like Tampa, I guess, as another realistic spot for him to come in and just win right away, which I don't think that's going to happen. This is the one I think he wants to

be in Denver. I really do. And so, you know, when it comes to draft strategy, I'm not exactly sure with Hackett because he's never been close to this position to really make decisions. George Payton has, and we saw last year, he was into adding really good talent and he kind of ignored the quarterback position a little bit. I think that Rogers probably had something to do with that a little bit last year as well.

But ultimately, you can look at this roster and look at some of the things that they need, okay? Maybe an inside linebacker, maybe a little extra offensive line help. I mean, that's about it. Maybe some defensive line help because you could always use defensive line help. 40 mil. Yeah, dude, this is a no-brainer. I think this is a no-brainer. I think this is a no-brainer.

I don't even think they're looking to use their draft picks. And it's hard to say exactly how much this will impact drafts in the future because we don't really know what Peyton's tendencies are. We don't really know what Hackett's tendencies are. So instead, I'll just say I think they're looking to not use most of their premium draft picks this year, maybe even next year. They're looking to make a swing on a quarterback. They're looking to make a Super Bowl run.

So I'm with you. I think that that's what happens with the Denver Broncos. Go full Rams. I think that they're about to do it. I really think that they're about to do it. Miami Dolphins, Chris Greer is still in control. He's still the general manager down there in Miami, but their new head coach is Mike McDaniel,

the former run game coordinator, offensive coordinator this past season for the San Francisco 49ers. He is within that Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFleur, Sean McVay kind of tree. He was that wide receivers coach back with the Washington Redskins at the time when all of those guys were in that franchise. And so what do you think about this? We, we we've talked about this a lot of hope for this sign.

When it was pointing in this direction, I think a lot of people got very, very excited for it. What do you think about McDaniel becoming the head coach in Miami? Well, one, I think it was the right hire with what they were down to, right?

They were never going to get table. They made the bold choice to fire Flores. And I think a lot of their feelings were that they were never going to figure it out on the offensive side of the ball with Flores, whether that's right or wrong. And then they got down to a candidate pool that was not great. Like Kellen Moore was not ready for this job. That's my opinion. I think what I can tell you about McDaniel is there is no denying he's a genius. And he has every bit as much to do with the offensive success that the 49ers have as Kyle Shanahan does. Kyle trusts him with a lot of things.

And McDaniel is purely brilliant, honestly. The question Marks McDaniel is going to have to answer is, can you overcome, I mean, ownership already seems like force the staff to stay on him like that. And I know there's, you know, conflicting reports. I've heard McDaniel would be open to go getting one of the many successful defensive coordinators out there. You have Fangio on the market. I think that would be great.

We've already heard reports trickle in that the defensive staff might stay, and that's from ownership. They want the defensive staff to stay. So I think McDaniel has to overcome what's gone wrong in Miami for so long, and I don't know if anyone's good enough to do that. We'll see. I mean, Trevor, he has to make up for how many countless misses from Chris Greer and that scouting staff.

You have to make up for ownership that's already requiring certain things of you to do with your coaching staff. And the biggest one, the elephant in the room is, you got to turn Tua into a serviceable starting quarterback. Right. And I just, I don't know if anybody in the NFL can necessarily do that. If anyone can, McDaniel's got a shot.

He's good enough to do that. Players love him, the play for him. He's got great energy people love to work with him um but i'm curious to see what kind of hires he's granted to make that can get things right in that miami building but i think when you look at this one as a whole there's a lot of obstacles but greer has to listen to mcdaniel because you've missed on a lot of these offensive line picks already or ways to fix it. And McDaniel has gotten the most out of that offensive line in San Francisco.

He knows how to evaluate guys that can get your run game going, which is going to be the best friend to Tua getting better. So if they truly listen to Mike McDaniel, this has a shot to work. This guy can coach it up on offense and get you points, but you got to move aside and give him a shot to work. This guy can coach it up on offense and get you points, but you got to move aside and give him a chance to succeed. Yeah, I mean, who he brings in as a staff, how much he'll be able to, that's a big part of hiring a head coach, right?

It's a lot of their Rolodex as well, the guys that they can bring in with them. Now, it looks like there aren't a lot of spots in Miami. We'll see who he is able to bring in some different positions that he's able to fill from his own contact list if you will but man when you look at what he's been able to do in san francisco best rush game in the nfl and he's walking into a situation with the worst run blocking unit two undrafted running backs a seventh round running back and duke johnson right i mean it's just there has not been a lot of talent infused in this run game from the Dolphins.

Now, one might think, okay, well, if there's anybody who's going to get the most out of it, it's probably McDaniel because that is what he's been able to do in San Francisco. Like you said, I mean, you look at a late round drafted guy like Elijah Mitchell and how well he has been able to play under McDaniel in that offense. And so I think that there's hope that you can make the most out of the group as it currently is but you've got to infuse some extra talent in there they've got to be able to invest some capital when you look at guys like Mike McGlinchey guys like Aaron Banks those were two offensive linemen who were really good movers for their size so I would expect athleticism to play a role in the o-line upgrades in the draft that they're going to have

wherever they end up making those selections. It could be back end of the first round, could be at other spots too. But when you look at their current offensive line, guys that fit that narrative of being plus athletes along the trenches, you look at guys like Austin Jackson and Robert Hunt, who those are two guys the dolphins drafted to hopefully play offensive tackle but i think you've clearly showed that there are more guards in the nfl austin jackson played uh left guard this past season and robert hunt played right

guard this past season so i think you have your two guards and you're happy with their athletic profile there but the rest of the offensive line who knows right there's there's some decent offensive linemen out there right i mean like they could sign ryan jensen if they wanted to pay taron armstead man oh yeah they got the most cap space in the nfl definitely pay taron armstead to come down and that would be obviously a fantastic athletic offensive tackle to make it happen maybe if you draft a good offensive lineman maybe a bernard ryman uh the back end of the first round all of a sudden now you've got athletic left tackle athletic right tackle athletic left guard athletic right guard that's a lot better than what it was the previous season that's a really good way to start

but i think that when you look at draft tendencies that's probably where it's going to go there they're gonna emphasize those athletes along the offensive line and they have to but you know your point's a good one it's still chris greer who is in charge of the draft board and maybe mcdaniel will be able to sway him into some better offensive line picks here moving forward because it just hasn't been pretty and you're right i think the biggest biggest element that he has to overcome is what you do with to a tongue of ilo and and whether or not he can make him a a good quarterback or serviceable quarterback or a guy that you believe can be a franchise guy. Because shoot, man, you know, I say that out loud.

I say a serviceable quarterback, but that ain't even good enough. I mean, unless Tua shows franchise quarterback ceiling, this guy was billed to be a franchise quarterback. He was picked before Justin Herbert. He was picked in the top five. I mean, if he doesn't show franchise quarterback ceiling over the next year or two, they're going to move on. It doesn't even matter if he's solid. Like if he's just, if he doesn't show a Super Bowl ceiling over the next year or two, they're going to move on. It doesn't even matter if he's solid.

Like if he's just, if he doesn't show a Super Bowl ceiling, they're going to move on from him, which would be huge. I mean, it would be a huge blemish in the Chris Greer general manager tenure. So man, that might be tough. That might be tough. That's a lot for Mike McDaniel, a young head coach to walk into and really handle. I mean, they just, they got to spend is the biggest thing and they got to spend on offense.

It's got, there's gotta be a splash there, whether it's in Armstead for your offensive line, whether it's adult and Schultz that we know how much they need blocking tight ends that can also impact the past game. I mean, you got it. The good thing is with McDaniel, he's going to get the best and the most and the best out of Jalen Waddle. We saw it with Devo Samuel this year. Waddle's frame is with McDaniel, he's going to get the most and the best out of Jalen Waddell. We saw it with Devo Samuel this year. Waddell's frame is not the same, but the creative usage for Waddell will be expanded. And I think that's a really good sign.

We know the Dolphins pick late in round one. So with all that cap space, you've got to make some big splashes to give McDaniel a foundation on offense to build with. And give Tua a shot. That's all. That's all you could say about this. And there were a handful of plays this past season where they put Waddle in the backfield. Oh, it's great.

You know, it's not unprecedented, man. They could definitely kind of put him in. I hate saying like a Debo role because Debo is so unique, but you can get creative with Jalen Waddle. That's that's what I'll say about it. We talked about February 14th. We talked about Valentine's day. Well, from now until February 14th,

you can get 25% off any PFF subscription using the promo code SUPER25. What do you get with a PFF subscription? Well, glad you asked. You get all the locked article content that we have that displays all of the premium stats and data. You get the Greenline betting tool. You get the prop bets tool,

which we said you could also use if you sign up for prize picks as well you get the nfl draft guide you get the fantasy football guide and just so much more you can look up a lot of these premium stats yourself um all the snap count splits regardless of where guys are lining up what scheme the teams are using um what coverage they're deploying all that kind of stuff man run game all everything there's so much that you can get with a pff elite subscription go check it out over pff.com if you don't have a subscription right now use promo code super25 for 25% off

any sub but i'd encourage you to get the elite sub because it's a really good deal for it and you get a lot of stuff two more openings we're not going to fully talk about the new world because they haven't hired a head coach yet although we feel like it's going to be dennis allen but the last two that we have to talk about that have been filled jacksonville jaguars trent balky is still there as gm but it sounds like there's going to be an evp that's going to be hired to kind of like be above him which might be rick spielman who is a former general manager of the minnesota vikings uh could be somebody else it's not official yet but that's what we've heard their head coach though doug peterson the former super winning coach, not too long ago,

2017 with the Philadelphia Eagles. He was fired by the Eagles because, you know, couldn't really work well with Howie Roseman. I feel like that's a common occurrence with a lot of people. What do we think? What do we think about this from Doug Peterson? New spot in the Jacksonville Jaguars organization. Can he turn things around, Connor?

Give Jags fans some good news please what do we have here I mean considering how much of a joke their entire hiring process was they actually came out of this you know without egg on their face right not totally embarrassed I think Doug is a solid hire I think he's the right person to work hand in hand with Trevor Lawrence and I think most importantly I think Doug is respected enough that the people that will come with him will be the most important part of this. If they can get Spielman in there, like you said, to be EVP, which means you're just keeping Balky around because the owners like him as a person. They're not actually granting him football decisions. As crazy as it is to say, that's a good sign.

I sure wish I could get paid for just being a good person. The NFL is something, man. If you have some good friends in good places, you can make a lot of money and do not a lot of work. So when you look at that, I think that's a good sign. And I think that, obviously, once again, they're sitting here with a lot of capital in general, whether it's financial capital general whether it's financial capital whether it's draft capital I do think it's become because of this process maybe a little bit more

difficult place to lure free agents compared to other situations like we talked about how much money a Denver has or even players will go sign and play for Mike McDaniel with Miami but overall I look at this team and think it's one of those simple ones where we're going to talk about getting a foundational piece for the offensive line with that number one pick if they can't trade it.

And then I think you need a little bit more juice at wide receiver. And I think you do need to find a way, and this goes hand in hand with taking an offensive lineman number one. I really do think you need to find a way to get a creative run game to help out Trevor Lawrence.

Now, ETN coming back, I feel like people forgot he even exists. Like, that's a really good sign for Trevor Lawrence, getting ETN back next year. You know, how things went down with James Robinson this year is just terrible. Maybe they look for another workhorse back to pair with ETN behind a better offensive line. And then everything starts to click. And, you know, once again again this is a team that could probably use a little bit more speed at wide receiver and get the play action vertical game going with Trevor Lawrence so as bad as you know as uninspiring as this defense is it's kind of

like the Jets with Zach Wilson right the defense stunk the Jaguars defense stunk but all that gets put on this back burner none of it matters because because like the jets with their former number two, overall pick, it's the same with Trevor Lawrence, the former number one, overall pick. You're just going to dump all the assets into helping him. Yeah,

I agree. I mean, that's what this hire was. And that's what Byron left, which would have been same thing. And the hire had to be all about getting a guy who understands quarterbacks. And, you know,

when we went through our head coach GM prediction episode a couple of weeks ago, you remember, this was my guy. I wanted Doug Peterson in Jacksonville. Before he even interviewed there. That was my, right, before he even interviewed there, I said, this is the guy. I was like, Trevor, why would he take that job? And here he is.

Well, I think he takes the job because it's a good situation. He has Trevor Lawrence. Now you get Trent Baalke out of there. now we're talking right you throw rick spielman in there and if rick spielman's making all the decisions he doesn't really have uh any power at all then all of a sudden doug peterson and rick spielman i think that would be fantastic now yeah you look at this team and i think you could look at a couple of different positions on the defense that they would want to upgrade but i hate to say it doesn't matter but like it doesn't matter you got the number one overall pick last year and you had the true privilege and honor of drafting Trevor Lawrence this dude's

freaking good okay you cannot sit here and you know I was doing research for it and one of the things that I read one of the articles talked about how shod khan and the rest of the decision makers with the jaguars they know his son and bulky that's it right right right but like they came out kind of with the press conference after they hired doug peterson and they were like we know that this is not an overnight fix we know that this is going to take some time and it's just just, they're not wrong, but it's infuriating, right? Because take your time means that you are going to be maybe at the beginning of your winning window when Trevor Lawrence is up for contract extension. You have wasted this, the whole Urban Meyer thing and the way that they're kicking the can down with

Trent Baalke, it all spells out to me that they are going to finally get in a winning window just when they have to pay trevor lawrence mega money 40 million dollars a year and where that's not a kiss of death it's so crippling especially for the fact that you had an incredibly talented number one overall pick quarterback in your lap that you could have then had been having success for years and years and years and shoot man maybe Doug Peterson's going to come in maybe he's going to be fantastic with Trevor Lawrence maybe they'll get great wide receivers they'll draft good offensive linemen and they can turn this bad boy around in one to

two years maybe that's the case but the reality is probably the fact that the Jags aren't going to fully compete for another two-ish, three years. And two-ish, three years, Connor, is year four and five of his rookie deal. So it's just, it's frustrating, man. The Jags are so frustrating because of everything that they went through with Urban Meyer and the incompetence that they have showed in the front office and decision making over the last five to six years. and it's ultimately going to come out to i fear wasting one of the most talented quarterbacks that we've seen in the last decade that sucks that for that that sucks and i hate being super negative about it but you know if

anybody was going to fix it i think the situation is feeling and doug peterson could but it's hard not to look at the jag situation and think like shit man, man, like, like we had it. And, and hiring urban Meyer burned so much of that timeline more than it needed to. It just, that's, it's just, it's just frustrating. They have to hit on so many other draft picks. They have to hit such a high percentage and they've got to go out and acquire talent free agency over the next two years, or it's all going to be for not. And it's yeah. Right. It's. And that's frustrating. It's frustrating.

It is frustrating. It's the only way this thing turns around is if you hit some home runs. And, you know, this is a team that's picking number one overall. This is a team that has the 33rd overall pick. And again, here we are again, Trevor. Like, they're right. This isn't new to them. This is the repeat of last year.

Yep. This isn't new to them. This is the repeat of last year. And for the struggles that he had, the environment was a disaster. It's a laughingstock. And there's probably guys in there that are like, I can't come back here and take this seriously. And that's on Doug now to turn that image around. And I think he's capable of doing that. They're lucky.

And Spielman to draft. If they hand this draft to bulky just forget it forget it it doesn't matter not gonna go it does not matter because evan neal at one or or icky akwanu at one or charles cross at one whoever it is that's not enough at 33 you need a home run at 65 you need a home run. At 65, you need a damn good football player. Yeah. And that player needs to help Trevor Lawrence. So they have an internal problem that is not improving. And when that's happening, that's on ownership at the top. And the craziest thing is, I think Chad Khan cares a lot about this team

winning, but he just can't get out of his own way with the moves they've made. And if you could bring in a Spielman, that's somebody that you can lean on that actually has done this for a long time that you can trust with what he says. So I need to see that before I really believe in the turnaround I'm hoping for a burrow like impact from Trevor Lawrence now not to say the Jags are going to make the Super Bowl next year because they don't have nearly as you heard it here folks the Cincinnati Bengals do but I am hoping that Trevor Lawrence is able to elevate the rest of that team and really get them on the right track because Jags fans have suffered long enough speaking of fans suffering last thing that we're talking about are the houston texans

as of 30 minutes before we hit record on this podcast lovey smith i don't know how the f we got here man but firing david cully just to interview brian fl, interview Josh McCown, not hire either of them, and then just hire the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator who was already there. He's just sitting there. Hey, guys. Take it away, please, please. Sure.

Talk before I rip them to shreds. Yeah, I mean, speaking of hopeless, we went from the Jaguars to the Texans, and the order does matter here. I think the Texans right now look more grim than Jacksonville does. And, okay, I'll just tell you what I wrote in the rundown. Trevor and I do a rundown for every show where we put our notes so we kind of know where each of us are going to be,

and this was pretty easy for me. The first line says, I just can't figure out what they are building. I can't. Because you fired David Culley, who was the biggest fall guy hire of all time. And then you hire somebody on his staff. It feels like you're doing the same thing. How is Lovie Smith set up for success here? Easterby is still in the building.

Casario, who apparently is on the headset during games. I know that was a thing in New England as well. What have we seen from him during this tenure? They have no players right now. One of the good young players they had in Justin Reed, they basically have run out. Alienated. Completely alienated. Completely alienated him sat benched him against the jets this year because there was a disagreement and he reed was like what i didn't know that there was going on

i just don't know what they are trying to build and i and this just to me trevor this hiring process and i've heard i've heard this as well. This is interesting. He's just like, oh, guessing. They always wanted to hire Josh McCown, and they felt like from perception they couldn't. So then they tried to convince him to take an offensive coordinator role with them, and they were going to look at a Gannon from Philadelphia or a Lovey type of hire so that it's almost like McCown can get some reps as an assistant right and then maybe be elevated one day I don't think McCown was very interested in that I'm not sure about that part of it and they couldn't pull the trigger on the guy they wanted

and they just went with Lovey and here we are in year two of of what unbelievable there's so there's so many one-year deals that this team has signed over the last year that it's really difficult to actually predict what they might be doing in the future because you know you kind of mentioned obviously that's that's part of a rant to say what the hell are the Texans doing but it's also a way of us saying you know on this podcast we wanted to take a look at all the hirings and say okay what did this mean for talent acquisition where exactly we don't know for the texans we still don't know they are still completely up in the air they're illogical and how they go about their entire process and so it's very hard to predict exactly what we're going to get from them now to make matters maybe

worse for the texans doing a little research reading some quotes reading up on lovey smith since his since he started with the houston texans um I don't know if this is good news for any Texans fans out there, but this is kind of what I found. Right now, there's only four players who are listed as starters on Houston's defense who are under contract for next season. There are so many one-year deals that they sign that we don't even know who is going to be back. All three of their linebackers right now, their starting linebackers, are unrestricted free agents. Now, if they bring Christian Kirksey back, who they did a lot to bring in, he was a team captain, okay, then they're probably going to have him

be the centerpiece of that defense. But he's 30. He's 30 years old. So, honestly, man, they could hit linebacker heavy. Lovey Smith said before last season, as a defensive coordinator, man, they could hit linebacker heavy. Lovey Smith said before last season as a defensive coordinator, right? He talked about how the defense in Houston since 2011 has been a 3-4 defense. And Lovey said it's going to take time to transition the roster into what I want to run, the personnel that I want to run, which is very 4-3 heavy. A lot of Tampa 2 stuff, right?

That's what Lovey is known for. And so it's going to be four-man fronts. It's going to be some zone coverage stuff in the back it's going to be a lot of two deep looks and it's going to ask a lot from its linebackers Lovey said that he is looking for quote skilled athletes at the linebacker position as the centerpieces of his defense that's what he said a couple of months ago before last season connor devin lloyd at number three i mean that would be straight out and take them crazy to do but the texans have showed us that they have not been logical in their entire process up to this point devin lloyd has graded out extremely well as a tackler as a run defender as a blitzer and now as a coverage player this past season if devin lloyd tests well dude

i'm telling you he's going to be in the conversation for whenever the texans pick whether it's at three whether they trade back you look at the best defenses that lovey smith has had and there's been obviously two hall of famers brian erlacher derrick brooks he doesn't forget that he does not forget that he needs a centerpiece linebacker and Devin Lloyd for as well-rounded as he was if he tests as a great athlete I'm telling you man he's gonna be in this conversation as crazy as it is is to say with them picking at number three overall I think you're onto something here and I think it's the fact that Lloyd is going a lot higher than we all think

right it's almost like he plays linebacker so we're like cool pick like 28 right like you just kind of you know throw it up there like that and it's like okay no he's a freak and like Trevor said he's probably going to test really well and if he does I mean I think we need to brace ourselves in a draft that is so wide open and with the way the league is going there will be coaches that just value that kind of player in the middle of their defense and it goes back to what i said here when things look this low that usually means best player no matter the position and i put kyle hamilton question mark but the way you display it and there's people that think kyle hamilton can can play in the box or is a true that's another conversation the way you display it, and there's people that think Kyle Hamilton can play in the box or is a true set.

That's another conversation. The way you're displaying it is they just want a great player that they value as a foundational piece. And to them, that might be a linebacker. Right. So Lloyd at three is just, I love Devin Lloyd. And I know you're not advocating to take Lloyd at three. You're just saying this is something you need to prepare for. I don't think that's nuts.

Now, Casario has been, I think, the most out in front of, we will answer the phone. The problem is, what is that for? Say Jacksonville does take a tackle and then the Lions take Hutch. Is somebody trying to jump the Jets for Thibodeau? Is somebody trying to jump the Jets for Icky? Then maybe they can get out right and then they could take devin lloyd at whatever it may be but i think you're

right that this team is the most unpredictable in the entire top 10 yes i'm just i'm just picking up the breadcrumbs right that's that's all i'm doing that's a little more than that yeah there's little hints i think that are right there to say us drafting the same player for the texans might not be a realistic man they might be just all over the place i think the kyle hamilton could could be the pick as well but is lovey's defense gonna pick kind of this like hybrid player number three overall maybe he is maybe he believes he's a high impact player but everything about lovey's tenure really since he was the head coach at chicago and tampa bay with illinois as a defense coordinator like it's been all about this kind of structure that he has had i believe and so look man i wouldn't pick devon lloyd at number

three overall all i'm saying is we can never trust the Houston Texans really at this point in time. They have not earned our trust. So there we go. I mentioned that we probably weren't going to touch on the New Orleans Saints. I think Dennis Allen's getting that job. So I don't think it's too much changes with the Saints, even though Sean Payton obviously had a big hand in how they drafted and who they drafted. I think their philosophy in New Orleans is generally going to stay the same there.

Do you agree? I do. I think that's why you make that hire, right? You don't want to rock the boat. You believe in what you have. You believe in the continuity on the defensive side of the ball, and then maybe there's some assistance there that you believe can keep that on the offensive side of the ball as well.

And without a true identity at quarterback, it's, you know, it's a little difficult to figure out what they want to be right now in a non head coach personnel move just today, which is Monday when we're recording this podcast, the Falcons have mutually agreed to part ways with Steve Sabo, who was their director of pro personnel, who also looked worked in college scouting beforehand with Thomas to me trough.

And so he's been with the falcons for the last 12 years and with terry fontenot coming in as the general manager over from the new orleans saints now we get sabo out from the falcons okay now everything is gone right dan quinn is gone thomas dimitrov is gone steve sabo is gone so i think that we're going to shift maybe a little bit more towards maybe some new orleans saints kind of draft strategies and implementations in atlanta with what we're seeing with what fontenot is doing there as a general manager so i just wanted to throw that in there at the end that was fun man that was a blast i hope we were able to enlighten people a little bit give some people some background information that they

had not known before uh maybe give some panic to some teams and fan bases, but hopefully give you a lot more hope because I think we do really like a lot of these hires, even if it was Jacksonville falling upwards into getting Doug Peterson. I think a lot of teams did well for themselves this cycle. I love the midweek show because I think it's the most open one we do. Like when we come in hot on Mondays,

it's always like, okay okay this last weekend was crazy Trevor and I haven't done a show in how many days together feels like forever a lot of mock drafts and you know on Thursdays you're gonna get really hardcore player evaluation we've done the wide receivers should I tease what we're doing this week all right we're doing we're doing running backs this week um so you get your hardcore scouting and player evaluation and rankings and some player comps and some of those very pretty PFF stats. The midweek show is like, man, what do we want to do this week that no one else is doing that is a little NFL, a little draft,

a little bit everything in between, and this was a really good place to start. Connor said it. Next podcast coming out on Thursday, and we are going to be breaking down this running back class. It's deep. There's a lot of guys to like and as we've seen over the last couple of years in the NFL it's not just these bell cow guys anymore right these big time difference makers can come in all shapes and sizes from the running back room a lot of teams are going to buy committee now so we're going to see a lot of guys that

maybe didn't look like your prototypical RB1s who we might have really high in our rankings we might be pounding in the table for to say hey this is my guy in this class so the way that we're going to do it we're going to go through our top five running backs for the 2022 nfl draft kind of set that standard there for as we go through the next couple of months be able to talk about guys who are stock up stock down as we watch some more film as we get the combine as we get pro days as well but we're also going to give you some mid-round gems that we like some late round players like late lately i'm talking like sixth seventh round running back so we might be able to get there who could really help out the bottom of

the depth chart and you know just maybe some unsung heroes no matter where we see them getting drafted that's all on thursday's show thanks for listening we'll see you guys next week