NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 94. NFL Quarterly Awards (MVP, O/DPOY, O/DROY, etc.)

Episode Date: October 6, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers give out some quarterly awards one fourth of the way through the NFL season. The duo each give out their own awards for MVP, O/DPOY, O/DROY, Comeback player, Coach of the Year, Super Bowl matchup & who will get the No. 1 overall pick

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. I'm sure by now you've all got back into your Sunday routines, but they could be even better. With NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV, you get the most live NFL games all in one place, every game, every Sunday. And you can even watch up to four different games at once with MultiView, one of my favorite inventions of this decade. It's exactly what you need to catch all the action. Make your Sundays more magical. And also, YouTube TV is great. 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 are giving out our quarterly season awards. So all the major awards that you love to hear about in the preseason. We got MVP, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. We'll go over Comeback Player of the Year,

Coach of the Year, give you our Super Bowl match the year. We'll go over comeback player of the year. Coach of the year. Give you our Super Bowl matchup. And then who we think is going to be picking number one at the end of the year. We're four games into the season, so we're giving out awards. We want to recognize some guys that have had some really good starts to the year. It's going to be a fun time. I'm Trevor Sycamore.

With me, as always, is Connor Rogers. Let's ring the bell. Welcome to the opening bell of the NFL Stock Exchange podcast. I'm Trevor Sikama. That is Connor Rogers. I promise we're not wearing the same shirt. It's kind of the same color, but we did it on purpose. You could tell everyone we didn't call each other. Although, look, if anybody wants to sponsor the podcast out there with a clothing line, we'll match. We will match every day. That's our guarantee. We will wear the crap out of whatever free clothing that we could possibly get.

We are here on the show today to give out some quarterly awards for the season. You know, we did this in the preseason. Everybody loves these exercises. MVP, Offensive Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year Awards, Coach of the Year, Comeback Player, Super Bowl matchups, all of that. We're going to check in. Four weeks in, a quarter of the way through the season, we're going to check in and we're going to give away those awards for who we think wins them through four games of the season. Connor, how you doing, my friend? Good, man. This is an exciting show. I really like this idea from you. Especially, there are people that will like it. They like to hear their team or their player mentioned. And there are people that will like it that are watching the betting market and seeing how some of these guys have jumped up or staked their claims. So this is a really good time to kind of reset and see where we are as we head into week five.

So we're doing these awards. Hopefully, we are. I guess I didn't communicate this with you in these words this clearly but i'm doing it as if we are giving away the award absolutely right now okay so so we're doing that projecting anything we'll also mention like where they are in the betting like i've got bet mgm pulled up so i'll mention kind of where guys are in the betting pool whether they're first fourth fifth and odds whatever it is but we are doing this as if we're giving the award away on this show we should have worn like tuxedos or something you know if we were gonna match it we should i think how about half point of the year we really go all out it's uh business formal is what it is for half point of the year. This would be funny.

I'm actually into this. We should do this. I can cheat because I could have us do it on like a Sunday night where I don't take my dress clothes off. Yeah, see? Okay. All right. Well, look, I got a handful of suits.

I always love to dress up. So maybe we can make a full look. Yeah, you were a plenty TV guy when you were covering the Bucs. I was. I was. You know, I miss those days. I miss those days. I miss those days. So the categories that we have that we're going to go over. MVP, Offensive

Player of the Year, Defense Player of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, Defensive Rookie of the Year, Comeback Player of the Year, Coach of the Year. We'll give you our Super Bowl matchup as if it stands today, what we think the Super Bowl matchup is going to be. And we will end the show with a draft focus since this is a draft podcast. And we will tell you who we think is going to be, and we will end the show with a draft focus since this is a draft podcast.

And we will tell you who we think is going to be picking number one overall. So Connor, I will let you start with who you would give your MVP to one quarter of the way through this 2022 NFL season. I was torn between two players here. And ultimately I went with Josh Allen, which I know, cool, right know cool right like yeah he's

the favorite but i mean we're being honest here these are who we think through four weeks has really earned it josh allen ironically is the ninth graded passer for pff right now at least in the ultimate database that i have open now that's not a fair way to fully analyze Josh Allen because he is such a gifted runner and playmaker. He does have eight big time throws, which is a pretty significant metric because he's tied with Mahomes and Rodgers for the lead league in that. So Josh Allen has made some crazy plays. He can do things that not a lot of guys in the NFL simply can do. And he has turned the bills into what everybody expects to be a juggernaut. And I think they have fully lived up to the expectations,

because even when you look at the loss against Miami, Trevor, they had a gazillion yards. So Josh Allen, to me, is a total game changer. It's been fun to watch his development since he was at Wyoming. His second to last year and the player that, you know, the ups and downs his final year and then through the draft process and how he's developed with Buffalo. And I think he's been easily the most valuable player

four weeks into the season so far. It's hard to argue against Josh Allen, who I believe is still the betting favorite right now for the MVP award at the end of the season. He just does so much for that team. And, you know, whether it is things going according to plan and him not having to take too many hits and him winning the game with his arm, or as we have seen against a couple of matchups already this season

and certainly going back to last year's playoff run for them, he can make it happen with his legs. You know, when his back is against the wall wall when the defense plays really well against him if the team they're going up against happens to get pressure with just four guys he can escape it he can make things happen with his legs he picked a lot of first downs and that's an added weapon for him so when you talk about value right that literal word of value what a guy brings to the table it's hard to find many who do what josh allen can do whether it's that rushing ability rushing with power even being able to take a lot of hits staying healthy in that regard

having that absolute howitzer of an arm in which he can hit any throw on the field at any given time the value that Josh Allen brings is so incredible and even though there's a lot of good pieces around them even though they have a great defense behind him it is still Josh Allen brings is so incredible. And even though there's a lot of good pieces around them, even though they have a great defense behind him, it is still Josh Allen that makes that team Superbowl caliber. I'm going to go with Patrick Mahomes as my MVP. And I didn't, I wouldn't have had Patrick Mahomes as my MVP before last week. And it wasn't just because he torched my team in Tampa Bay, but, you know,

after four weeks, we sat here in the off season. And a lot of people I think asked the wrong question. They were like, Oh, you know after four weeks we sat here in the offseason and a lot of people I think asked the wrong question they were like oh you know are the Chiefs going to be good enough on offense without Tyreek Hill the Chiefs were always going to be good at offense because of the weapons they still had because of whom Patrick Mahomes is But the question that we should have been asking is, can the Chiefs still be as creative without a unique speed athletic talent like Tyree Kill? And you know what, Connor? The answer is absolutely yes,

because that creativity, it doesn't center around the speed of Tyree Kill. It doesn't center around the mismatchability of Travis Kelsey. It doesn't center around the offensive line, which is playing incredibly well. It centers around an absolute star of a quarterback destined for the Hall of Fame in Patrick Mahomes. And I think that we've seen this now week in and week out. There are simply not many players, if any, who can play the game the way that he does. Patrick Mahomes brain is what makes him so unique yes he's got incredible

talent he's got a fantastic arm he's got the mobility to him he checks all the boxes that you would want in that regard but i go back to that little flip pass to the back of the end zone to clyde edwards elair where you just look at that play and it's such a simple backyard play we were right we say that to ourselves we're, you know, he's back playing on the playground. It's just like a little talk. Guys, when you get to the professional level, you're thinking about so many things. You're thinking about technique.

You're thinking about not turning the ball over. You're thinking about so many things of what you should do. And Mahomes' mind just doesn't work like that. Mahomes' mind, the only way that he approaches the game is, how can I get this ball in the hand of a playmaker to gain the most yards on a single play? ball in the hand of a playmaker to gain the most yards on a single play and whether it's a deep bomb pass straight through the air in a traditional sense or whether it's an underhanded flip while he's getting tackled by a linebacker

straight over two defenders in the back of the end zone his mind just works so differently and I think that is an quantifiable thing that i also think about when it comes to mvp and ultimately why if i had to give the mvp away award away right now i would be giving it to patrick mahomes it's going to be a wild finish of the year because i think that my other guy by the way was lamar jackson that i was debating between with josh allen because i was thinking of value to their team and when i watched the three guys that we just talked about, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson, I think of their offense, not without them,

because I don't think it's the right way to do the exercise. I think of it with an average player at the helm. And it's just impossible to see functionality, to be honest with you. And Andy Reid's a great play caller, and the Chiefs have some good players. And the Bills have Stephon Diggs, who's amazing. But, you know, Gabe Davis has been hurt. They don't have a great backfield. When you look at Lamar, I mean, what else do you need to say these first four weeks?

Yes, Dobbins is back now in the Gus bus, know Bateman's been dealing with injuries it's crazy so those guys just hold a premium value in my my eye Trevor and uh this next guy because it's offensive player of the year time yep it fits that mold in the non-quarterback way and for me that's Saquon Barkley and what a comeback story he's been wow Wow. And I won't repeat rewards. So, you know, if I give Saquon Offensive Player of the Year, he won't have any other. I'll try not to do. I'm not going to do that today. Okay.

So he's my Offensive Player of the Year. Wow. Nice. I mean, the Giants are 3-1. And my honest take is, I don't think the Giants are very good. And I don't think the Giants expected themselves to be very good, and I think that's a testament to two things. One, I think they really got it right with the

coaching staff. I think they are a well-coached team that has an identity on offense, and that is going to have an identity on defense, and they're going to build an identity on offense when they get the right players. Andrew Thomas has taken a massive, massive step, but the line besides him is a little shaky. Daniel Jones has not taken a step forward

and has been hurt. The wide receiver situation has been a disaster, and the new regime inherited these things. It's not their fault. So the fact the Giants are 3-1, and I don't care who they played despite that, is very, very impressive. But a other huge part of that is Saquon Barkley. Saquon Barkley this year has been the player that everybody's always wanted him to be. And yes, we've seen flashes of that throughout an injury-ridden career. But this year right now, he's got 463 rushing yards. 342 of them are after contact. So this is a player that is constantly creating for himself

right despite the situation around him uh 16 missed tackles forced on just running plays he's only fumbled the ball once despite that huge workload he's got 12 explosive runs those are run plays of 10 or more yards i mean he is somebody that can hit the big play at any given moment. He's also chipped in 15 catches for 107 yards. So I just look at Saquon and go, man, this is an example of him being an offense like a lot of people thought he could be and why he was always going to be a top 10, a little bit of a surprise, top 5 pick at the time. And I'm so fascinated, Trevor, by his future. Do the Giants sell high right now?

Do the Giants make him the highest paid running back in the NFL and make him a focal point of their rebuilds? They are openly going through. When you hear Joe Shane speak, he's pretty honest about things. So I'm just enjoying these four games where Saquon Barkley, to me, was the offensive player of the first quarter of the NFL season when you said the contract part I was like is he up after this year oh my gosh he is yeah I'm highlighting the wrong year he's on his fifth year yeah he is on his

fifth year it goes quick that is going to be fascinating lord we're all Saquon Barkley's already on fifth it really is kind of just insane holy cow well like that i'm gonna talk plenty about saquon barkley i don't i didn't have as as a offensive player of the year but if you hear me say i'm gonna talk about saquon barkley you probably know what award that i'm gonna give him later so i'll give some thoughts when we talk about him for a different award but you're right he's playing fantastic he is the identity of the new york giants right now and i agree with you that's not a great football team on paper but i think brian dable looked at this roster and said this is how we win is it the ideal way to win probably not they would be they would much rather

be passing the ball a lot more having more success through the air but that's not their identity right now that's not the cards that they were dealt instead they've got an absolute workhorse of a back and a unique talent uh in saquon barkley they're leaning on it and they're reaping the rewards here early on in the season my offensive player of the year is lamar jackson you talked about him as mvp before this week i would have had lamar as my mvp because of what i'm about to talk about here tied for the most passing touchdowns in the nfl with 11 tied for the most passing touchdowns in the NFL with 11. Tied for the second most big-time throws with 7. He's top 10 in average depth of target at 9.9, so you know that he's pushing the ball down the field.

It's not just easy stuff. But then when it comes to him being a total offensive player of the year, I think you've got to affect the game in more than just a passing game. It's rare for a quarterback to win this award. You've got to be able to really affect it in different ways unless you're Patrick Mahomes and you're throwing 50 touchdowns in the year that he won it in 2018 when you look at Lamar's rushing numbers top 10 in total rushing yards that's not versus quarterbacks that's versus everybody he is top 10 with 316 yards already and

he's top 10 in explosive play so he is gaining those chunk uh gains on the ground with his legs him being as explosive as effective in both areas of the game as a passer and a runner is what gives him that offensive player of the year potential for me there's not a wide receiver that's really blowing us away yet there's some guys at the top you know Tyree Kills leading the league in in um in receiving yards Cooper Cup in receptions, Justin Jefferson's part of the conversation, but he's had two games that were below his standards of output. And so it's not like he's blown the doors off of anything for running back. I think it's still kind of crowded at the top of running back as well.

So there's nobody really standing out as a receiver or a rusher as much as Lamar is standing out as a true dual threat bringing positive plays to both the passing and the run game so as of right now I have Lamar Jackson winning offensive player of the year because of everything he can do for that offense from the quarterback position listen man I he was neck and neck with Josh Allen for my MVP I think when you really watch the Ravens closely you grow a different appreciation for Lamar knowing what is placed on his shoulders compared to a lot of other quarterbacks and that's not a knock on you know I think the examples would be like Jalen Hurts and Justin Herbert right or you know and Herbert's dealt with injuries as well but those guys just always feels like they have a good amount to work with.

And Herbert, his team has dealt with a lot of injuries recently. But when the season started, when you look at Lamar, it's just crazy to me, man. And I know I kind of go on this rant every show, but it just feels like he needs, besides Mark Andrews, that real consistent target.

So I like that pick a lot. If you do the exercise that you did for MVP, where you go, let's replace this guy with an average player at his position. They're doomed. Nobody is that more, I guess, like the drop off is crazier than probably with Lamar. And that's why I would have had him in for the MVP.

The creativity and what I talked about before with Patrick Mahomes, just that mind that he has is what put him over the top for me to give him that award right now. But there's no doubt about it that if you kind of go about the exercise the way you did, you replace him with an average player. Boy, does that Ravens team look a lot different because of everything that he brings to the table. He will win his contract standoff. He will. Yes. As long as he is, I am knocking on wood,

as long as he stays healthy for this entire year, my man is going to deservingly cash out. And we hope that we can say we'd love to see it when that day comes. Who you got as a defensive player of the year? Nick Bosa. And, man, I'm floored by where the summer lines were for Nick Bosa. He was more than a 10-1 favorite to win this award. I was confused by his market.

It's one full transparency that I pounced on as a future. And what else do you want to see? He leads the league in sacks. I do laugh that the niners put into the league office that he's held every play because it's not a lie he is they're not lying trevor i mean besides the six sacks he's got 10 more quarterback hits 14 hurries on top of that so he's got 30 total pressures he's reliable against the. He's the every definition of game wrecker, every definition of game wrecker. He is an incredible player that single-handedly,

in my opinion, changes a defense. What he is able to do from his side rushing while not giving up any as a run defender is as good as it gets. obviously michael parsons is making this award chase really interesting tj watt getting hurt you know takes him out of yeah it sucks right yeah bosa though who is freaking 24 years old as we sit here and record this show is unbelievable i i my hot take and this award given out is based on what he's done, but a little sneak peek going forward, I think he's going to get 20 sacks. I really do.

I mean. I think pretty easily. And I think he's going to do it in 16 games. I'm not looking at that 17th game. I don't think he needs the 17th game to get to the 20 mark. That's how good he looks right now. Argument for me. I've got nick bosa as my defensive player of the year as well you talked about him leading the league in sacks you mentioned

those 30 pressures that also leads the nfl he leads the nfl in pass rush win rate with almost 30 percent 29 that's ridiculous that number it's it's absolutely stupid you know if you look at the odds right now bosa has the second highest odds michael parsons has the highest but they're not even close michael parsons right now is plus 175 nick bose is plus 700 you think that's the cowboys effect i do think it's a cowboys effect because i i do believe that if michael parsons continues to play as well as he is that even if nick bosa beats him in all of those categories, like even if Nick Bosa beats him in sacks and pressures,

I wonder if Parsons is close at all, if they would just give it to Parsons. Because I feel like Parsons is probably going to get a couple of interceptions as well this season. Maybe not a ton, but he gets a couple, and then the voters get to tell themselves like, oh, he affects the pass game as well. And then because he has all those interceptions, maybe you look at the pass as defense, themselves, like, oh, he affects the pass game as well. And then because he has all those interceptions,

maybe you look at the pass as defense, and you go, oh, he's got those sacks too. And then because he's a linebacker, he's going to have more tackle totals. So all of those things, I think, go into why Parsons has so much higher of odds. But I'd be giving it to Nick Bosa, dude. I don't think it's very unblockable. He's an animal. He's a game changer.

And something I think is going in Bosa's favor, something that maybe he can't control totally on himself. The Niners defense is the number one defense in the NFL when it comes to EPA per play at defending the, the Niners defense is clamp down elite right now an incredible defensive mind like the Meeko Ryans has Nick Bosa has Fred Warner and has Talanova Hufanga on it and they are making the most of it they are making life hell for all sorts of teams and so if we get to the end of the year and it's like oh look at the feared San Francisco 49ers defense

led by the NFL sack leader in Nick Bosa. Then all of a sudden, like those words, those titles, that praise for a commercial sounds really nice to AP voters. So maybe we will get Nick Bosa in there. But a fourth of the way through the season, I'm giving it to Bosa. I don't mean it to be any slight to Micah Parsons, who affects the game in so many ways. He does. He's unbelievable. But I'd be giving it to Bosa. I don't mean it to be any slight to Micah Parsons, who affects the game in so many ways. He does. He's unbelievable.

But I'd be giving it to Bosa. I would, so I agree with you there. Man, I think that's the only one that we aligned on today, which is pretty fun. I think it kind of speaks... The reason it's fun to me is because he's not the favorite, like you said, and you and I still both saw this one the same without doing this exercise together

until we got to the show so okay i'll do my rookies of the year together um offensive rookie of the year and defensive rookie of the year my offensive rookie of the year is damian pierce man it's it's really cool right because we had the summer of pierce you and i really liked him a lot throughout the spot it was the summer of pier I mean, because as we've gone over on this show, when the fantasy community gets their mitts on someone, it turns into a volcano. And that's not an insult to the fantasy community. It's the reality.

It's great. It's awesome. Because you and I have been like, this guy rules. And then it's like July, and everyone's like, this guy rules. It's like, so anyways, Damian Pierce through four games and he really won this award in my eyes just from his last two games. He's got 60 carries, 313 yards, over five yards per carry, two touchdowns. I mean, he not doing a ton in the passing game until um until he caught a couple passes once again this last week but you saw the last two games when they lean on him the damage he can do where those last

two games combined he's gotten 211 yards on the ground two touchdowns and the hard running the burst the big play ability this one was really tricky because the truth is with this award right now after four games is that it's wide open. Alave. Absolutely. Alave has a lot of yards. Drake London had been pretty good. Garrett Wilson had been pretty good. Brees Hall is starting to trend towards Brees Hall's backfield now, but that was really last week. That's going to pick up after this, and this is for the first four weeks. What Pierce has done once they finally, after week one, were like, eh, Rex Burkhead, why are we doing this?

Let's go all the way to Pierce. It's really, really helped them. He's playing in a really bad offense, and he's producing at that level. So for me, I think he's exceeding his draft status, which was a fourth-round pick outside the top 100. Yes. But he is now living up to the fantasy hype. And that is because of the kind of player he is,

not because of the team he's on. Yeah. What was it after the first game? You know, they asked Lovey Smith, like, hey, what are you doing? Well, what are you doing with Damian Pierce? And Lovey Smith was like, yeah, we need to give Damian Pierce the ball a lot more. And so far they have.

You look at last week, nobody else got a single carrier than Damian Pierce. I think we brought that up on the Monday podcast. And so it certainly is warranted that Damian Pierce is getting some love here for an early season offensive rookie of the year award. I'm going to go with Drake London, the Atlanta Falcons wide receiver for offensive rookie of the year, a fourth of the way through the season. Third in targets with 31. Fourth in catches the season. Third in targets with 31.

Fourth in catches with 18. Third in yards with 231. He's got two touchdowns, and he's got, most importantly, a 32% threat rate, wide receiver usage, how often they're using him in the offense. That's pretty unheard of for a rookie and a rookie wide receiver

for as much as the NFL likes to spread it around. So they really are going to Drake London early, often, and always, it seems like. You mentioned Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson. I think those guys have more catches or more yards than he does. Jahan Dotson has more touchdowns, but he's right there. It feels like Drake London is top three or four in every single category when you weigh him against rookies, and I think all those things average out. Then you get the wide receiver usage, how much he's being used and leaned on in that offense.

And it just, that's, that's what separates him for the award there. You mentioned it and you're right. There's a lot of other guys that could be in consideration. I mentioned a lot of a, I mentioned Wilson, Romeo Dobbs as well.

He hasn't done a ton lately, but like, if we revisit this in four weeks, when, you know, when we throw the tuxedos on and we do a midway award giveaway, Romeo Dobbs might be Aaron Rodgers' number one wide receiver, right? That might be the case.

This award, I think, is so fluid. But judging the games that we have already seen, I think it's Drake London's award. I think I'd be giving it to drake london for how much that falcons passing attack is leaning on him already in his rookie year so that's what i'm going with drake london there for offensive rookie of the year give it to him now because this team is not throwing the football as long as marcus mariotta clearly is there which is mind-boggling no drake has had drake has lived up to expectations and had a really good start to the season and he will take a massive leap when they get that situation under center right because

Arthur Smith knows what he's doing despite Kyle Pitts having a tough start to the year Kyle Pitts is still a really good player coming off a thousand yard season that's going to help Drake London matchup wise so I like that one as well it was very wide open race and I think the same can be said about defensive rookie ofookie of the Year, where there is no guy, in my opinion, that makes a lot of sense as a leader of the pack, especially when Hutchinson has not, you know, Hutchinson and Trayvon Walker and Thibodeau,

the guys that have a chance to put up big stats right out of the gate because the positions they play have not exactly done that. So in all reality like no bias here i really mean it oh here we go it's sauce gardner no i'm just sauce gardner no and it's funny to me i did check the board sauce gardner is like on planet mars on the defensive rookie of the year board which yeah he's he's i don't i think he's like 22 to one. He's miles off the board. Way. I'm a little confused by that. And it makes you wonder,

if he had an interception, would he be the favorite? No, they bumped him up. He's plus 1,400. That's not good at all. What is he, like 10th on the board? Sixth, I think. Okay. Yeah, he's sixth.

That's a big... That's crazy to me because i checked it this morning and he was 22 to 1 it makes me wonder that's interesting are they listening to the pod that's what you know is vegas keying in on the pod we are called the stock exchange they should when draft props come out because i guarantee we'll be able to not move some markets but maybe give some shifts anyway sauce gardener he's been targeted 19 times uh per pff he's allowed nine completions for 101 yards so less than 26 yards a game he surrendered they have him in here surrendering a touchdown against the browns this touchdown was not on him it's a play where la marcus joiner leaves his zone

and comes into sauces and amari amari Cooper just sits in the end zone where LaMarcus Joyner is supposed to be sitting and catches a touchdown. Sauce isn't even in the play, and it's credited to Sauce. So these things happen. Need to give him a call. Yeah, it's not his touchdown. So Sauce Gardner didn't allow a touchdown in college,

hasn't done it in the NFL. Sorry, he hasn't done it. So Sauce Gardner is my defensive rookie of the year. He has exceeded the hype as a top five pick. He had the tip pass play that led to an interception against the Steelers at the end of the game that gave the Jets the ball back and they won. These are things that do not show up in the box score, but he's every bit of a number one corner. Boy, does he look good. He looks real good. And I will reiterate, he gets this because I don't think anybody was really that good for four weeks. And I think he was. I think it's been a pretty flat defensive rookie of the year chase.

I'll get to my defensive rookie of the year right after I have a good segue here. A good excuse to bring up our friends over at Symbol because the Jets got a big dub last week. You're talking about Sauce Gardner right there. And now you're rich. Last week on the pod, I bought stock in the New York Jets, get a huge win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. And how did I do that? Well, I did that with our friends over at Symbol,

the stock market for sports. Symbol lets you trade pro and college teams like stocks and even earn cash, dividend payouts when your teams win like the Jets. Let's go, baby. It's a great way to speculate on sports teams in a long-term stock market style format. Here's a little mid-season update of how a few teams are performing

since week one. Okay, the Vikings, they're up over 5% after knocking off the Saints. Buccaneers down 7%. Hate to see that after back-to-back losses. Chiefs are now up over 3%, even though they were one of the higher value teams going into the season. Broncos down 4% after falling to the Raiders this week. And the big winner, Philadelphia Eagles, up over 9% on the season,

if you bought them at the beginning of the season, for their 4-0 start, which I believe I did. I believe I did that. I've got stock in the Eagles. So your boy's up 9%. Dude, you're on fire. I can't be stopped. It's like I should host a podcast with the word stock in the Eagles. So your boy's up 9%. Dude, you're on fire. I can't be stopped. It's like I should host a podcast with the word stock exchange in it.

We kind of need you to slow down because I don't need you leaving this podcast because you're a day trader. I've become like a symbol day trader. You're literally a symbol day trader. I can see what outlet would release this. We'll say Variety or GQ. Meet the man who is a new age day trader. He only trades athlete stock or team stock.

Unreal. That's, yeah, that's, I could see it now. I could see the headline now. I'll still be wearing the tuxedo after the mid-season awards show. You can check out the entire market by downloading Symbol on the iOS app store by searching S-I-M-b-u-l-l in

the app store using the promo code nflse and you will receive a free team stock valued up to 150 upon signing up it's a really fun market way to get to speculate on teams that are rising and falling download the app create an account use the promo code nflse and get 150 after signing up also want to talk to you guys about No House Advantage. Similar thing, but changing the game by offering the most dynamic fantasy sports platform available today. Play in pickup contests versus other people, and you got a shot at winning $250K plus in cash.

Download the app, choose a contest, select your player props, and earn points for correct picks. Climb that leaderboard and get your shot to win big money every single day this is also how i'm going to become a day trader i'm just going to take that money go straight back into no house advantage and then uh just going to multiply my money right there just i'm just going to change all my bios connor to just have the word entrepreneur in it that's it and i can't say anything other than just entrepreneur and a period right after it you can also test your skills versus the house get 20 times your entry if you hit on all your picks bet at the five player props over unders

or individual matchups across every major sport including nfl nba mlb pga mma and even nascar sign up with the promo code stock at no house advantage.com or download the app on the app store to get your first deposit match up to $25. Make sure you check out No House Advantage today. Get the experience for daily sports redefined because it's not about how you play. It's also where you play, and you won't want to miss out on this. Taking a breath. Defensive Rookie of the Year.

You will mention it's very wide open. It is. And so maybe I'm going to be a little bit old head votary here, but I'm going to go with Devin Lloyd because of the stats that he's been able to rack up in this early season for a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that is fourth in the NFL in EPA per play allowed. They are playing fantastic. It's not just what Doug Peterson is doing with that offense. This is a damn good football team.

Devin Lloyd against other rookies he's first in tackles he's first in defensive stops which are solo tackles that lead to a failure on offense he's got two interceptions already he's got four forced incompletions those are both tied for first for rookies as well he's lighting it up on the stat sheet and is every play perfect for Devind no of course not he plays a lot he plays in the middle it's not like the grades are stellar it's not like he's an elite football player yet but he's standing out he's making a lot of big time plays in a lot of different ways for that jaguars defense so for defensive rookie of the year four games in i'll give it to jags linebacker devin lloyd i that pick. I feel like it's hard for, you know, a guy that wasn't a top 15 pick to get that spotlight until we're kind of deep into the season. And obviously he

shot up the odds board. So I really, really liked that pick. All right. Comeback player of the year. This was probably my favorite one that I did on this because I say this with a lot of pride. It's Gino Smith for me geno smith is the comeback player of the year man i mean good for geno i you know who would have thought that geno would have this kind of resurgence at 31 years old actually today as we sit here geno happy birthday geno this week you know we'll turn 32 on october 10th so geno turning 32 years old hung around the nfl for a long time as a backup after things did not really work out after being drafted by the Jets, was on the Giants, the Chargers,

then has been on Seattle the last three years. And I mean, call it what it is. Geno has played really, really well. Geno has done everything they could have asked for and more. He has a good connection with DK Metcalf. He has made this offense viable. And the most important thing, Trevor, he's been really, really accurate and smart with the football. He's only thrown two interceptions. He's completing over 77% of his passes. He's been able to throw the ball down the field over eight yards per attempt. So, or right at eight yards per attempt. Gino is the guy for me for this award. And obviously, you know, I would have given it to Saquon Barkley if I didn't do Offensive Player of the Year for him.

But I wanted to divvy these up. And a big credit to Gino, and I'm excited to see if he can keep this going. Can Gino win it if he's not hurt? Yes, he is on the board. He is? Okay, okay. I just want to make sure. Because, like, they get really weird with Comeback Player of the Year. Did you know this?

I just found this out recently uh-huh the criteria is not released to the public but comeback player of the year yeah see that's why it's always weird for me because you you're talking about gino and like gino being a comeback player literally like his his career is getting revived he is a comeback player we didn't get hurt so i wondered if that was i didn't yeah obviously i checked that he was on the board for this but the board has been wrong before the board has apparently listed players and because the criteria is not publicly released at times they are not eligible so interesting i mean gino's on the board he is not the favorite but he exists on the board so that's

who i'm rolling with but you're right right. It's... Like, what is the definition of comeback player of the year? Is it injury only? Is it that you stunk last year? Is it that you didn't play last year? Is it... What is it? I don't know. This is our show. So Geno Smith's comeback player of the year. I make the rules. That's right.

And now you get to make the rules. Who's your player? Alright, my comeback player is Patrick Mahomes. No, I'm kidding. That would have been actually freaking incredible. Freaking incredible. No, my comeback player of the year, I alluded to it a little bit earlier.

You had him as your offensive player of the year. It's Saquon Barkley. I think if you look at a lot of books, Saquon Barkley will probably be at the top or right within that top two or three for the best odds to win this award because of what you mentioned. He's first in rushing yards with 463, first in yards after contact with 342, second in explosive runs with 12,

fifth in missed tackles forced with 16. He's also on pace to have the second best receiving year which i mean targets catches yards everything basically since that rookie season where he was a takeover player as both a rusher and a receiver so i you know i said it last week and i feel like i get to say it every week and i love getting to say it we're getting old saquon back man and i wasn't sure that we were going to get it because running back is such a here today, gone tomorrow in the NFL. You know, you suffer one injury and sometimes that could be it because these dudes take so much punishment. You know,

a lot of times these guys suffer these lower body injuries, whether it's ligament damage, like an ACL or a PCL MCL, something like that. You know, it could be broken bones with an ankle, but sometimes it's things even worse. Like you're messing with ligaments in the ankles, Achilles injuries, Liz Frank foot injuries, like anything, man, can derail a career of a running back. And, you know, when Saquon goes down

and he gets a little bit injury prone for a couple of years, you just wonder. You wonder if he becomes damaged goods. You wonder if we're going to see that incredible Penn State Saquon Barkley that was the reason why he was drafted as high as he was. And I still think that he's even still getting his feet underneath him and he's getting that confidence, but he's as close to what we've seen from that 2018 season.

This is the best that we've seen him since that rookie year, and it's just really fun to watch. That's why I got him as Comeback Player of the year because he has such an incredible talent and um i'm just glad that we're getting to see it again so saquon barkley is my comeback player of the year coach of the year this one for me mike mcdaniel i've been really impressed with the dolphins offensively which is what he was brought to do there their defense has had its problems but which is interesting because it's the old staff that they kept but mike mcdaniel it's just he's one of the best offensive minds in the nfl and that's been a secret for the general public because he worked for kyle shanahan

so all of the great things he was responsible for by default kyle shanahan got credit for and i'm not saying kyle shanahan's not a good coach. He's a very, very good coach. But McDaniel was such a key member of orchestrating their run game. He had his handprints on everything they did offensively. And now he gets his shot. He was a bit of a surprise hire, I think, for the Dolphins. And dude, he's been awesome.

They have one of the best offenses in the NFL. I hope the best for Tua, but I think that they're going to be okay with Teddy. Are they going to be as good? That would be a bit of a surprise, but they're going to be okay because one, Teddy can be efficient. Two, McDaniel has constructed an incredible offense

that is efficient in getting the ball and Tyree Kill and Jalen Model's hands, which is the reason you pay or draft those guys so early, despite their offensive line still having some question marks, despite them not having a star in the backfield, they are getting the most out of Raheem Moster and Chase Edmonds in this situation. And I think Mike McDaniel, for as quirky as people like to label him,

is highly respected by his players, and that's why the Dolph dolphins are a legitimate contender in the afc right now i got it as nick sirianni and to be fair you know when we talked a little bit pre-show we didn't get into the weeds of what we're talking about but you actually named a coach of the year for afc and nfc and i was like do they do that and i couldn't remember if they did give two separate rules you right but you also had nick sirianni in the nfc dude he's been fantastic what more can you say last undefeated team in the nfl 4-0 and the eagles and and they're winning in so many different impressive ways they're winning um down with downfield passing game i love seeing jalen

hurts being able to hit over the middle now it's great to see the confidence that he has in davonta smith in aj brown dude that offensive line is playing so so well which is fantastic see so that's one of the best offensive lines maybe the best offensive line is playing so so well which is fantastic to see so that's one of the best offensive lines maybe the best offensive line in all of football the offense is clicking on all cylinders which you would figure would be the case with Sirianni at the helm there but defense as well defense is playing aggressive they're playing fast they're getting after the quarterback they're getting turnovers James Bradbury is a huge addition to this team which I feel like I talk about every week but I felt like it was such an underrated edition of him leaving the Giants and then ending up on Philadelphia.

Getting to pair him with Darius Slay has been just so fantastic for them. I think that we've already seen them reap the rewards of that. This is an incomplete team. Talked about it on the Monday podcast. They go up against the Jacksonville Jaguars. They go down seven. They throw a turnover.

They end up going down 14. They're down multiple scores. The weather is bad. It's not ideal conditions. And what did they do? Stayed calm. Didn't panic. Didn't lose their identity.

They stayed true to who they were. They knew that at the end of the game, they would be victorious if they did that. And guess what? That's what happened. Jalen Hurts is playing unbelievable. And I think that... I don't mean this to take any credit away from jalen hurts

himself because he has put himself in a situation to be able to be this kind of a guy an mvp conversation kind of a player but sirianni clearly trusts his quarterback there is putting him in incredible places to succeed it is a great pairing there and i think you got to give sirianni credit for doing that as a coach because unfortunately we don't see that happen as much as we probably should at the pro level so sirianni in so many ways how he's managing the staff the guys he's put there how he's coaching these guys up undefeated speaks for itself i got him as coach of the year it's funny with the eagles everybody looks for the like why are they this good like oh how he made a great roster or jalen hurts has taken a huge step or nick sirianni is a great coach and it's like guys it's everything it's all that they're a great football

team they are a great roster with a balance of veterans and young ascending talent they have excellent veteran leadership they are well coached both offensively and defensively and they have a dude at quarterback like it, it's everything. It makes a fun team, man. It makes a fun team to watch. And that's why Super Bowl matchup, segue, for me is Chiefs-Eagles. Chiefs-Eagles. I mean, I've been on the Chiefs being in the Super Bowl this year from the AFC, and I haven't really been given a reason of, you know,

why that's not going to happen yet. And listen, the Bills look great, right? There's no denying that. But I've been very vocal on this show and everywhere that, you know, until they get over the hump, that in my eyes is the Chiefs. I'm going to roll with the Chiefs. And everything I just said about the Eagles, on top of the fact that the NFC is kind of cheeks, dude. It's kind of cheeks.

Like, let's have a real combo about this. The Rams look awful. The Rams aren't good. The Rams are not bad. The Rams are not good. Green Bay's been okay. Green Bay does not... Green Bay, no one is afraid of Green Bay.

Nobody's afraid of Green Bay. Not right now. The run defense leaves a lot to be desired. They are figuring it out on offense, and it's been fine once again i'm just they don't scare you yet and maybe that train gets rolling i agree i am buying that the niners are just always going to be slow starters and the niners are going to be a problem by the time it gets real cold outside but man what gave me a reason of why it's not the eagles

who everybody like oh you know what no i can't and I can't. Oh, you know what? No, I can't. And I can't believe you didn't do this. Brady looked like Brady when everybody came back. No, Brady's looked like Brady the entire year. But there's plenty of time for Tampa to all come together. But if Tampa played Philly in the playoffs this weekend, Philly would be the favorite, and they absolutely should be the favorite.

So it's not to say that Tampa can't become a threat. If they get healthier down the season, shoot, especially if they maybe get Ryan Jensen back at some point before the regular season ends, sure, maybe they might be able to compete with them, but not to the point where you'd be taking them over the Eagles. I got the Eagles in the Super Bowl as well, except I have them facing the Bills.

And I look at the Bills, and it's less even of what they're doing on the offensive side of the ball because I figured that they'd be dominant on the offensive side of the ball with Josh Allen and Stephon Diggs and the cast of characters that they have there. It's defense, man. They are the number one pass rushing team in the NFL, and yet they are rushing for the, I think, fourth most in the NFL.

It's crazy. They've got a pass rush win percentage of over 70% as a team when just rushing for. So the Bills have the ingredients for the recipe that everybody is searching for, which is rush four, hopefully get pressure with them, and allocate more resources in the secondary. I think that as the season goes on, that is going to prove more and more useful. I still think this team is fantastic. I think that they end up getting to the Super Bowl.

If I had to say it right now, I would say Bills, Eagles in the Super Bowl. Listen, man, those are the picks right there. I mean, that's what it comes down to like it's it's hard to you can i'm sure people can make arguments of four other matchups but i think everybody right now is is really zoning in on bill's chiefs again and it's been that way since that clock ran out and the powerhouse that is the eagles all right so the one that we set you tease that's going to be the end of the show is who we think will be the number one pick, judging off of what we have seen

for the first four weeks of the season. I hope this team gets the number one pick because I think it would actually be the best for them in the long term, and I actually wouldn't be surprised if their fans feel the same way. It's the Houston Texans for me. I just, there's good that, you know, it's funny when you look at the Texans through four weeks,

they tied with the Colts week one. They did indeed. They lost by a touchdown to the Broncos. They lost by a field goal to the Bears and they lost by 10 points to the Chargers. That's not really like that bad. It's not like they're two one and one against the spread i was gonna say they are hanging around they are being a little annoying they are showing

signs of life this is actually what you want if you are a fan of a bad team you want them to have young players or even middle tier players that are buying into what the new staff is doing but you don't always want to win because you do need a little bit of a savior under center you do need a Bryce Young or CJ Stroud as your draft pick or hey say Davis Mills has a really really good season going forward you get Will Anderson or Jalen Carter. Like, this, you know what it is, Trevor? The Texans lack star talent. Of course, yeah. For so long, the Texans were defined by star talent.

J.J. Watt, Nuke Hopkins, they had star players. And it's just right now they are lacking difference makers sure I think they have guys buying into the staff and they have guys that can be good NFL starters they need difference makers and I think ultimately as they get into it here they got Jacksonville the Raiders who are going to turn things around here the Titans feels like they're finding their groove a little bit and then the eagles that could easily be four losses or three losses you know it's i think if you ask anybody this question who's going to get the number one overall pick as it stands today you would mostly hear one of two answers yeah houston texans would be one of them i think the carolina panthers would be the other

i'm gonna go with the carolina panthers because playing off a little bit of what you said there i completely agree with you houston looks competent houston looks like they're playing inspired actual football they do they don't look like they're about to give up that's a young football team they're trying to get better every single week. Carolina is in a dangerous spot right now where if they lose a handful more games here, does Matt rule get fired in the middle of the season? And then if Matt rule gets fired in the middle of the season, could the wheels completely fall off,

right? That's what worries me with Carolina. I think Carolina is more talented than Houston, but I'm worried about if we get one or two more losses here for the Carolina Panthers, if they start this season one and five, I mean, these players are going to start to feel a lot less inspired to go out and really lay everything out on the line for the current regime for the current season they just are and i think that if you take that uninspired part of what would be their season and then if matt rule gets fired shoot if they don't have that spark because that can sometimes happen right if you fire a head coach sometimes you can get this like spark and you win a couple of games maybe that happens but maybe the opposite

happens maybe they just continue to look like a train wreck because no quarterback saviors walking through that door Baker Mayfield's not it Sam Darnold when he comes back we know that he's not going to be it they don't even have Matt Corral to turn to because he's out for the year so it's just not there's not a lot to look forward to in Carolina. And I think the first, I think the number one overall pick this year is a team that gets three wins. Houston doesn't have a single win right now. Carolina's got one. It's tough for me to think that this Panthers team on paper wins less games

than the Houston Texans, But because of their coaching situation, I don't see this season going very well. I think Matt Rule gets fired in the middle of the year. And I don't even think it will take us up to that point of him getting fired. I think this team loses faith and loses interest in this current coaching staff soon. I really do.

And that's when things start to get dangerous, where teams start to lose a lot more games than they should maybe then you think that they would win just because it's professionals going up against professionals so you got the houston texans i got the carolina panthers i think those are probably the two names that a lot of people are thinking about for number one overall right now good call on the panthers the loss of inspiration at some point is always the biggest factor of a team picking number one you can be the worst team in the nfl and not pick number one very very easily

and i mean that might be houston that might that might be houston because if you get it on paper houston houston's the worst team in the nfl they're the worst team in the nfl right i think so i think so i don't think i don't think i'll be in a harsh by saying that they're in massive rebuild mode yeah and when you just i'm looking at the panthers schedule right now i don't want to ever be the like i can't find a win guy because i made fun of those people that did that to the jets in nine games and you and i were on here like this is pretty scary for the jets jets are two and two like these things football doesn't go the way you think but after four games right you start to get a little bit of an idea okay list it off list off the games they got what do we got all right do this the niners okay l rams probably you know i get how bad the Rams look. Yeah.

The Rams are home against the Panthers. The Bucs. Probably an L. The Falcons, who look competent. Bengals. Yeah, not great. Falcons again. Okay, they got to win one of those.

Ravens. Broncos. Seahawks that don't look awful. Their defense stinks, but they can score. Yeah, keep going. Steelers, maybe Kenny Pickett finds his groove by then. Okay. The Lions, who put up 50 in their sleep.

Oh, jeez. Okay. Bucs, Saints. I think they win four or five games. I was going to say, and I was like, oh, I think the Panthers will be okay. Wrong. I think four or five games. I was going to say, I think that, and I was like, oh, I think the Panthers will be okay. Wrong. I think four or five games. Yeah, it's going to be fascinating. The chase for the number one pick is going to be fascinating.

Here's the good, here's like the good thing. If they finish as the one and two teams, either or, I mean, you and I like Bryce Young and CJ Stroud enough where it's like, eh. Yeah. You just got a franchise, we think a franchise quarterback, and those evaluations will be finished you know closer to january for those top guys but right this is a class where it's like hey

the top two teams should walk away with answers at quarterback which it's fascinating because you have such interesting situations with davis mills and matt corral they're not enough to prevent you from drafting a quarterback with a top two pick but but they are enough where it's like, what now with them? And that is why it's, you want the Falcons to play Desmond Ritter so badly as well in all of this. It's just, that's the story of the draft. Yeah. Maybe the draft isn't as deep at quarterback as we thought it was maybe a

month or two ago, but I still think at the very top, Bryce Young and CJ Stroud are damn good quarterbacks. And I think that they would be welcomed options for those teams. They're picking a top three, top five. All right, there we go. That is the quarterly season awards here on the NFL stock exchange podcast.

That was a lot of fun. This is our last podcast of the week. So this is the last thing you will hear of us before Monday, which as we always do, Connor and I will give you what matters most from the Sunday schedule that we're about to see upcoming in week five. Connor, you got any early thoughts on Thursday Night Football? You got any early takes on the matchup that we got going on on Thursday night?

My prediction is that the Broncos win pretty big. I know they are only, last time I saw, three and a half point favorites at home over the Colts. Jonathan Taylor has been ruled out. Nothing's gone right for Matt Ryan. I think this line should be six points for the Broncos, who have had their own problems. They're without Javante, but that's my thoughts, Trevor.

I don't think this, my take is, I think this will be one of the worst Thursday night football games of the year. Unfortunately so. But, with that being said, Bengals play the Ravens on Sunday night football. That is dynamite. Sundays are always fun, man. And we got another London game. We are starting at the very beginning of the day on Sunday.

And it is jam-packed football that entire day. Not going to be able to get enough of it. Promise you. It's going to be so much going on. It's going to be the same thing that we had last week, which means you're going to get the same great recaps on Monday morning. Make sure you guys tune in then. I'm Trevor Sikama.

That is Connor Rogers. Thank you guys so much for listening to the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. We will see you Monday morning.