PHLY Philadelphia Eagles Podcast - EAGLES MAILBAG: Sizing up Jaelan Phillips' market, a shift for A.J. Brown | PHLY Eagles Podcast

Episode Date: February 18, 2026

Can the Eagles afford to re-sign Jaelan Phillips before free agency? Is the tide turning on a potential A.J. Brown trade? EJ Smith and special guest Zach Berman of The Athletic dive into the mailbag to answer the biggest questions facing the team ahead of next week’s NFL scouting combine. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome in everybody to the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast. We are live from the Xfinity Studio and brought to you by the good people at Bet365 and Ashley. I am your host for one more day. E.J. Smith and I am joined by a man with many titles. I would say that the title I would choose to use for you is one of my most influential and favorite people I have ever been around in this industry. Somebody who I've been very fortunate is a career climber because it just feels like every time you leave a job, I get that call, which I'm very fortunate and grateful for. And yeah, again, one of the best reporters I've ever been around. So without further ado, Zach Berman, welcome back to the show. I appreciate that. Great to be here. I appreciate that introduction. I would say that in each of those stops, you far exceed me.

So I kind of feel like right now Mario Cristobo, you know, seeing Dan Lannig and being like, wait, I went home and, you know, you came in and elevated the program to a different level. But now, I appreciate you reaching out for me to come on. That's probably going to be just the first of many college football coach references. The audience is going to be so happy to have you back here. And I know some of you are curious, what is Bo going to think about Zach being back? You know, I know you guys like to. That was good. I know you guys like to stir the pot.

So, you know, let's figure out how does Bo feel about Zach in studio in his seat, nonetheless. Yeah, I'm not worthy of this seat. Bow. Double thumbs up over here. You guys see Vacation Bo. So I'm not worthy of this seat right now. This is awesome. Is it weird for you being in this seat? Like, I know I kind of took your side of the desk here. Yeah. It's, it's, it's, you know, I did sit here a few times when I, when, when Bo was out of town, actually. And I would take over the hosting because.

Like the intro, I would have to look at this camera here. But for the cold open, but it was, no, I'm so used to that seat you're in. It's just, it's awesome to be back. And I wish I saw more people in studio today, but it's awesome seeing the people I have. Yeah, yeah. Well, as an homage to you here, we are going to get right into the news. We are going to talk about the Wawa Big Deal. And that is going to be something that you and I have maybe seen a little bit differently here,

which is Jalen Phillips's potential market and free agency. You had a great piece in The Athletic. I should have said, Zach Berman of the Athletic. Thank you. I claimed author. You guys need to go check out Leap Year. If you don't already own a copy, what are we doing? Sold wherever books are sold.

You and I... I'm glad you mentioned... I was thinking the back of my head. It's my employer watching. I want them to know that I'm... Yeah, I apologize. No, good. You are a man who needs no introduction, of course.

But yeah, so the Jalen Phillips conversation... Yeah. I said earlier in the week, this show that I thought that Chase Young's deal was a good benchmark for Jaylen Phillips. And I do think, you know, the natural inflation of the market should be reflected. And I think it's probably the floor for Jalen Phillips. But I was thinking multi-year deal, $17 million a year for a player with draft pedigree, the injury history that he has.

And really, again, like maybe not high-level production going into free agency. I thought that that was a good benchmark. But reading your piece in the athletic this morning, I do think it seems like you think his market starts a little bit higher than that. I do. And look, I know that like you didn't pick that comp out of left field, right? So it's, it's, it's, it's an educated view. And I think a lot of it depends on how teams view the injury history. But in my experience of covering free agency, when you hit the open market and you're one of the top guys, you always err on the side of getting paid more, not less, right? I mean, look at Milton Williams last year. And he is, he is one of

the top free agency. The athletic had their list of top 150 today. Daniel Popper did a great job with that. Jailen Phillips was number three on that list. And when I've, like some of the comps that I've heard is the George Karloffa seal, which was $22 million thereabouts per year, up to like Nick Benito, which was $26 million. So if you're looking in like that- So Benito is way too rich for me at that point. Yeah.

But I understand where you're coming from. If you're looking at like $23 to $25 million and, you know, what Popper had today was, I think, four years, $98 million. Yeah. I've seen some other places like four years, $100 million. And look, maybe it's four years 85, but I would be surprised if it's below 20, is my point. And then that makes it an interesting question for the Eagles

because he's the best free agent they have, and he fits the defense. It's a premium position. He's a premium player. He fits the locker room. It's hard to find guys 6'5-260 plus who can drop in the coverage, who can rush the quarterback, who can set an edge, can play with power, it can play with speed.

That said, if they were to sign him at that number, it's like the Zach Bond deal last year, where it precludes you from doing much else. If they let him walk, then there's more flexibility for other guys. So I really think outside of like, you know, A.J. Brown or Lane Johnson, really, that's the big pivot this offseason is do they bring Jaylon Phillips back or not? Yeah. So that's the next thing that I wanted to ask you about is that you also, in your piece had that Jalen Phillips would be the player that you'd prioritize resigning.

Yeah. So, I mean, I hear what you're coming from on the $17 million to $20 million range and expecting it to be above $20 million. To me, if it's above $20 million, I'd be surprised if the Eagles re-signed him at that number. But again, I'm going to defer to you on this one. You mean, you're our guest. I have to defer to you. Well, no, you never have to defer to me.

You're the, I mean, anyone who's been watching the show for the past few weeks, E.J's been killing it with his news, with his info, with his, Intel. I feel like every day at the Super Bowl, there was another nugget. So I should, I should defer to you, number one. But, but no, the thing is with free agency is like, no, it's not like a template. It's not like a rookie contract where you know what they're going to get. And I remember over the years, you know, Christian Kirk, for instance, one year, it's like teams thought there was going to be a range and then Jacksonville paid a certain number and seems like, whoa, go sign that. Bill Williams last year, I think, and you spoke about that

at the Super Bowl. I wasn't there, but he thought he was going to Carolina at one point, right? And then New England offers him more. And so really, it's the highest bidder or the highest bidders. And so that's why I say, well, you're one of the top guys. If you're in that like middle range, sometimes you don't get the contract you're looking for, but the top guys tend to get paid more, not less. That's the benefit of hitting the open market. I'm curious when you say the Eagles wouldn't do it is because of the evaluation of the player, the valuation of the contract. Well, I mean, they certainly like the player. I mean, they already spent a premium draft pick to get him in the door.

So I do think that there's incentive there. But if we're talking north of 20, 21 million there, especially like even that George Carlottis deal, the injury history would give me real pause there. You know, I think the scenario where Jalen Phillips is back, to me it looks more like he tests the market doesn't get that high, that, you know, that top of the market deal that, you know, doesn't get the Nick Minito money. and then, you know, comes back to the negotiating table. So I guess to tie the conversation up here,

what would you, what number would you say, a multi-year deal for Jalen Phillips? Do you think the Eagles would do to get him, to keep him from testing free agency? It's a great question because a lot of that depends on your tolerance to the other free agents leaving, in particular, read Blankenship, Dallas Goddard. I think the COVID-Dien's gone unless they were to, you know,

trade a different linebacker, but, but, but the other top free agents, like, your tolerance to them leaving, because it's, it's hard to see a Dallas Goddor, or I'm sorry, it's hard to see a Jalen Phillips contract and then paying Dallas Godder. Yes. Above what he paid best year. I think it is probably have to choose one or the other there. Or, and then re-blanketship. And so it, so that's, that's the question.

I mean, I personally think, I'm, I'm high on John Phillips as a player. I think he's, he's a, if he's in that George Carloftus range, I think you, you pay more when a guy hits hits the market. The caps up this year. So that's why I would think that it's in that 20 to 25 range. And I would go there. But the reason I kind of hesitated when I say that is there are some other players who I wouldn't be worried about pivoting to.

And, you know, Adafioa, Adafio way. I mean, I'm a writer now. I'm not feeling special. So I still need to know pronunciations. The ringers Philly Special. Shout to the Ringsings, by the way. So I still need to know pronunciations, but, you know, there's some good edge rushers there who maybe if they're in that, you know, 17 to 20 range, you pivot and you redistribute

some of that money. But I think Jalen Phillips outside of Trey Hendrickson is the best edge rusher on the market, and I would pursue him. But I know Howie, he has a walkway number. Yeah. And if it gets above that walkway number, I think they wouldn't, they wouldn't be afraid to walk away. Yeah, to me, like... So what's your walkway number?

That's what I was going to say. Mine's probably like 21, 22. Okay. When you said 20 to 25, the low end of that range doesn't scare me. Okay. When you get to 25, 24, again, like that car lofty deal to me would be where I'd feel like I'm hitting my head on the seal. So that's probably a 23 range is probably my walkaway number before free agency. And then honestly, at that point, you're hoping, if you're the, from an ego standpoint,

point, you're hoping that the injury history scares some teams away. But I think you're right. I do think he's going to have a market. So I think it was a good point. Change my perspective on it a little bit there. Well, the thing about the injury history, though, is to me, the injury history only concerns you if you don't feel he's recovered from an injury. You can't predict an injury occurring. So that's that's why I get what. I mean, it's a real thing. Teams are saying you have to have to account for that. I think injury history in free agency matters. more for guys coming off an injury and you're like, is he going to return to that form? Jalen Phillips returned to that form.

That's like saying about Nacobi Dean, am I going to sign him because he has an injury history? He already recovered from that injury history. Yeah, I hear what you're saying, but especially with a multitude of serious injuries, I do think that that factors in. But that's going to do it for the Wawa, big deal. You guys can get any sizzly, any hot or iced coffee, and to Hatch Brown for $5 from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. from Wawa.

Yeah, I mean, it's a good deal. Yeah, especially, you know, me. I'm always, you know how much commuting you do for this job. So I'm always in a wawa. I also wanted to ask you about A.J. Brown. We spent a lot of time talking about A.J. Brown, but this week has been, it's been good because, you know, obviously, Bo has been out. And we've had a rotating cast. That's not good, though.

I mean, it's not good that Bo's gone. But it's been an opportunity to hear, it's almost been like, you know, taking advantage of the marketplace of ideas. You know, like this is my offensive coordinator interview. Ariselle where I can talk to a lot of different people about AJ. Great, great reference. Thank you. Thank you. You know, we spend a lot of time talking about the, or thinking about the Eagles in these

jobs, right? So I am curious what you're, where you, where you stand with, where, A.J. situation and especially in light of some recent reports, Derek Gunn prominently said on, I think it was 975, the fanatic about how he feels like the Eagles will not want to move on from AJ Brown and that A.J. might not want to move on. I guess what's your read on the situation I guess where it stands now. Well, Dgun's the man.

He's a dear friend and if he says something, I take it to the bank. I'll preface it with that. To me, the question is not, do the Eagles want him back? I mean, I think, and I've said this and I've written this, they shouldn't want to trade him.

AJ Brown's an elite player. Howie Roseman moved mountains to get a guy like that. Like the, you know, and you've covered the team for a long time too. Like I know how much they were looking for that type of wide receiver. And then they get that type of wide receiver. I don't think they want to move on from A.J. Brown. So the question to me has never been what do the Eagles want.

It's what is A.J. want. And does A.J. forced the issue. And it would be disingenuous for me to tell you what A.J. wants. I can only go based on like things that I hear. And the things that I've heard is more like, you know, he's, He wasn't thrilled with the way things were last year. We all saw that, right? And I think, and you guys discussed this on a show last week,

I apologize if I don't have the day. How dare you? I think it was after the show. I think it was Monday's show that a healthy market could generate when you see the Patriots and the Ravens and the bills. Those are all, you know, even like the Broncos, four of the top teams in the AFC need wide receivers. And so that could create a bidding war.

And so a lot of it really, depends on like what what's a.J's interest in running it back here in terms of like does he think he can be the best receiver in the NFL in this system with the personnel around him? And I mean, I think like I think AJ is elite. I still think he's elite. I've talked to people who make the argument that if you want to get a return for him, you do it now because you're not going to get a return next year. And to me, like, the return is the production you're getting. Yeah. For with AJ Brown on the field. I'm not worried about like the compensation for, I'm worried about like, can't, you know, you have a window, in my opinion, with this talent on

the offensive side of the ball. And there, we, you have talked about on the show this transition that's going to be taking place. And so while that's there, you have a receiver who I still think is really productive, is still, is still one of the top guys. I would do everything to keep him. But it's ultimately, in my opinion, going to be about what does he want to do. Yeah, this isn't necessarily me addressing like Derek Guns reporting, because I agree with you. He is very plugged in. And, you know, I would not contradict anything that he says. I just, I do think that with AJ, like the two questions that I've constantly gone back to is,

A, what does AJ want? And we really don't know the answer to that. Yes. At least I don't know the answer to that. And then the second part of it is can the Eagles get the necessary compensation where it makes sense to move him? Because I think there's two straw man arguments that I hear a lot, which is that you shouldn't trade AJ Brown. He's really, really good.

And it's like, well, obviously. You know, you could use the same, not to get too into the weeds on it, but you could use the same argument for you shouldn't lose Jeff Stalynne as your offensive line coach. He's really, really good. You know, there are. Boom. I feel like you need a drum. Yeah, I don't know how to play the drums.

You do it. I don't know how to play drums. You need a drum roll. Other instruments, sure, but not the drums. And then the second part of it is, oh, well, the Eagles shouldn't trade him for, you know, a third-round pick or a, you know, the Eagles shouldn't just give them way. It's like, well, obviously, you know, if the Eagles don't get, you know, a competitive trade market for A.J. Brown, then he is going to come back. And I think that we can establish

those two things and then we can have the conversation that we just had, which I think is still one that's going to be ongoing. You know, I know that some Eagles fans want this to not be a conversation, but I do think that there's still a lot that can happen in the next few months in regards to A.J. Brown. So that's, yeah, that's where I'm at with it. But I do think that Derek on reporting that, the way that AJ handled the media tour at the Super Bowl, I do think that if you are someone who wants AJ Brown to be back in Eagles uniform next season, those are positive steps toward that happening. I just don't think we are really on solid ground there yet. Yeah, I would agree with you there. I don't put as much stock into the media tour last

week as much as. He could have poured gasoline on it, right? You know, I think he said all the right things, which again, I said on the show, your interpretation of that could be, maybe you doesn't feel like he has to rock the boat to get off the boat. But at the very least, it wasn't like he, you know, raised, raised it to the ground for that week. Yeah. But I think in how he's not asking me for advice on this, but I would, I would like do everything you can to make this guy feel valued to make him feel as if the best football of his career can still come into in Philadelphia.

That this can look like 22 and 23 because I don't see, you know, I know you can, well, here, I'll put it this way. if they were to move from him, it can't just be draft a receiver in the top 50 and put him with Devante, run the ball more, play more 12 personnel. No, it, you need to get another difference maker. It would need to be, in my opinion, redistributing that pick for a player on it on another team. Yeah. And maybe who's not comparable to AJ, but if it's like a Brian Thomas or someone like that where you're like, all right, you have someone who has at least some proven ability.

I think you heard that name, Brian Thomas Jr. on the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast. We're going to take our first break. And then on the other side, we're going to do our mailbag exercise. You know, Bo isn't the biggest fan of mailbags, but Zach and I, we like mailbag. So we're going to take some questions. You guys can get in the chat. I see a lot of love Zeeby in the chat. And that would appreciate that. It's well earned. It is great to see you. So, yeah, stay tuned on the other side of this break. And we are going to go through some mailback questions. We all know the feeling.

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You know, Bo's out this week. Tell them it was me. You guys know I have a long commute in and out of the office every single day, and I cannot tell you how many times I realized I didn't pack lunch. I'm on my way home. I'm hungry. I want something affordable. And I also want something healthy. And that is why I've really loved what Wawa has to offer over the last couple of weeks.

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They've even got a new terriaki recipe for a limited time. So start your day strong and fuel up whenever you need with Wawa's $5 deals. Limited time exclusions apply. See Wawa.com for details. Gotta have a Wawa. All right, we are back on the P.H.O.I. Eagle Show. How does it, like, have you, is it, do you ever remember some of the names in the chat? Do you remember?

Well, Paul, I watch the show, so I see the names in there. Of course, I remember, number one, I'm so grateful for the chat. I'm still on the Discord. And I read everything. I read the comments on the show. I, so I, yeah, this is, this is like, it's like an old reunion, if you will. Although that, that F, that F. Duffy three guy.

He's, he's kind of new to me. No, but to say, you got to be careful. You got to be careful because I heard that when you shouted out

the draft analyst on Shields show, you said Dane Bruegler and Fran Duffy. Yeah, Fran's amazing. I mean, Franz draft guide. France draft guide is awesome. Make sure you're subscribing

to get Franz draft guide. And, and yeah, Dane is outstanding and France outstanding. Like, it doesn't need to be either or it can be both and. I agree.

You ever heard the Eagle say that? Yeah. I've heard them say that before. Almost as much. I've heard them say tools in the body. Tools in the body. So let's go to the mailbag. We're going to open it up.

We're going to start with Mike from Twitter. His Twitter handle is Boston sucks. He asked a very interesting question, Zach. If Howie and Jeffrey Lurie could undo two decisions that they've made in the past year can be a hiring, firing, trading, signing, letting a player leave, et cetera. What decisions do you think they'd undo? Yeah, so the Patula one's interesting because I think that's probably where where most people would go.

But I mean, I think that given the timing of it, given the fact that Kevin was very respected in the organization, and they did have a natural succession plan, I don't know if they would, if that's the one they would undo. I think they would undo. I mean, knowing what it materialized, I certainly think that day two of the draft, Howie would want to mulligan on that. And some of that's like you just don't know how the board's going to fall. But if you said to Howie that you'd come out of day two of the draft with a safety and that's all,

I don't think that would be the desired outcome. And so that I probably go back to day two of the draft. As, you know, when you sent this, I was thinking like what could it be? I don't think the Saquine extension, they would second guess because I feel that was something that they felt that they had to get ahead of. So it would probably be Kevin Petulow, but I was about to say it's hard to do an earnest search after winning the Super Bowl. But we literally just saw Seattle do an earnest search after winning the Super Bowl and hire. Are you trying to butter me up by using my government name here? There you go.

I like that. So I was referring to Ernest Jones, actually. Yeah, so I, I guess given the way the season materialized, Kevin Patullo, but I think that the draft was so unhally like in terms of taking a linebacker and a safety. And those are the only picks you get in, you know, the first three rounds just strikes me as like this. This doesn't. So I think here, I'll put it this way. I know I'm thinking out out loud. not having more of on the offensive line,

not having more young, like ascending depth on the offensive line is what I think Howie would probably do over there. Yeah, so we're on the same wavelength. I thought Kevin Petulow was the obvious one because I read this exercise as you step into a time machine knowing everything you know now and you go back a year. I do think knowing how it unfolded for Kevin Petulow, somewhat to his fault, somewhat to no fault of his own.

I just think that getting an experienced play caller in for this season would have been a priority for that, if you could do it over. The second thing, I actually would take it one step further. Instead of saying day two of the draft, what if the Eagles had taken, and I know that they're not exactly the same type of player, but instead of taking Andrew McCuba in the second round, what if they took Nick E. Manwari in the first round and prioritized offensive line on the second day of the draft?

I know that, like, again, it's not apples for apples. Nick Emanuari is a versatile player, but I do think if you go back in the time machine and you know that Niko B. Dean is going to play at the level that he's playing at, then you can pass over a Jihad Campbell. As good as Jihad Campbell looked as rookie season, you can pass over Jihad Campbell, keep a homegrown player in-house and Nikobe Dean and prioritize the safety position a little bit higher and then move on and then focus on offensive line on the second day of the draft where the Eagles have had a lot of success.

And again, you know, not to keep bringing up Jeff Stoughtlin on the show, but having that second, that day two pick, one year under Jeff Stoughtland, you probably feel pretty good about that if you could do it over again. Yeah, you bring up a good point, and you probably could even trade it back a few spots. Sure. Added some draft inventory, gotten some more depth,

even had the flexibility that trade up in round two. When it didn't go as you expected. Exactly. So that's a really good one. And as you mentioned, Stoutland, you wonder if there's things they could have done, in that coaching staff in the front office level during the season to better navigate what materialized during the past few weeks.

That's a good one. That's a really good one. So the next question we have here is from, I'm just going to let you flash it up, Lindsay. It was, yeah, thank you. From the Butler, do we think this offseason the Eagles are prioritized compics formula or make additions best free agent targets for the current team along with expectations are current free agents. I feel like you and Bo have always had the most like firm grasp of like the comp pick game. You know, I feel like I used to listen to your show when you guys were sitting at

this desk and you guys would make me go like, oh yeah, you do have to keep in mind like that they're going to try and get compics out of this free agency period. Do you think this is a year where that's, you know, particularly evident? Or do you think that because of the nature of the guys that they have on the market, they might not prioritize it as much? I want to frame it as as prioritize it. I I think they're going into this offseason, similar to last year, understanding that they're not going to be able to keep everybody. And if you're not going to be able to keep everybody, if you know you're going to lose valuable free agents,

then it would behoove you to consider like, all right, the players were signing, how does this do this? Now, I don't think it's going to be as intentional as it was last year because I do think there's some more wiggle room to be active in free agency. And if they don't resign Jaywin Phillips, then they probably have more money if they want to sign. an external free agent. So I don't think that's going to be as much of a motivation.

I think that when you have a good roster and you know that you're going to lose guys, you're always thinking, all right, how can we add some draft picks? And maybe if like there's two players that are equal at edge rusher, if Jane Phillips leaves, and you're looking at Bradley Chubb and an unrestricted free agent who affects the compic formula,

you're like, maybe we go with Chubb. So it doesn't cancel. out someone else. But I don't think they're going to avoid activity in free agency for the possibility that they can get a compick out of it. Yeah, the Chubb getting released makes a lot of sense for me for the Eagles. Obviously, a lot of experience with McFangio. Yeah, that might be a, like, it's funny to think because we were talking at the trade

deadline on whether they trade for Jalen Phillips or Bradley Chubb. And yeah, and I think it would make sense if Phillips leaves that he might be a name that would make sense for them. We got a bunch of super chats. Thank you to Lindsay for like blowing these up for me because I do not have Bose eyesight. How is your eyesight? Can you, obviously, you can read that?

I can read that. Could you read the normal chat if it was like small like it usually is? Probably. No, I definitely can't read that. Yeah, I can't read that. Shout out to Bose. Yeah. Great vision.

Has he ever let you know that? You know, he's mentioned it. From Idiot Sandwich, Zach, how much do you miss daily chats with the sickos? Oh, I mean, I miss the people for sure. Like, I love my job now. I love the, I love where I work. I love doing the show with Shield. But, yeah, I mean, I definitely miss the interaction with the audience.

I use the pizza shop analogy a lot, right? Like, I love the people who came to the pizza shop. And so the cool thing, I've said this before, and I'll frame it this way, is that the best thing about podcasts, or a show like this is the interaction you have with an audience. Like when you, you know, it's because you're an amazing writer, when you write something and you pour everything into it, you don't have that sense of community with the audience

that you might have when you do a daily show. So like anything else in life, some things you miss, some things you don't miss, but one of the things I do miss is the people that I interacted with, both in person and then watching the show as well. Well, said, did you rehearse that, like on your, drive in. I feel like you had some, I feel like that was on your list. I know you do a list of things you want to hit on. Yeah. No, that was a message you wanted to convey. No, that was not a message that I planned

on conveying, but it's from the heart. When you believe something, you don't have to search for it. All right. I respect that. $20 super chat from Dinkleberg. Thank you, Dinkleberg. Very generous. I would say thank you, but it doesn't help me anymore. I mean, listen, it's a, it's a very kind gesture. I would let Phillips walk and save that money for Quinnion and DeGine, among others, perhaps Jalix Hunt. that's not considering potential contracts for Carter and Davis and dead money from other contracts or guys who may be gone soon. Yeah, they do have a lot of guys coming up for contract extensions. You know, I think that it's one of the things when we talk about a potential A.J. Brown trade is actually one of the benefits,

one of the few benefits of, you know, trading a player as good as A.J. Brown is you do save that cash and cap in future years. And they do have some tough decisions that they're going to have coming up. Maybe not tough decisions, but big contracts that they have to account for. And they've already started planning for it, I think we should say. Yeah, you're absolutely right. And now, I think the, if you kind of look at the balance or the pendulum, however you want to frame it, it's the offensive players, you know, Lane Johnson down the lot in, let's say, 27 or A.J. Brown in 27, like some of these really big contract players, big money players who are soon to be off,

who could be off the books beyond this season, that's probably where you see some of those defensive contract extensions coming. I think where the Jalen Phillips, a potential Jailen Phillips deal, where that really affects you, in my opinion, is Nolan Smith. Yeah. Because if you're paying Jalen Phillips, you're probably not going to pay Nolan Smith at some point. And if you pay Jail Phillips and Nolan Smith, you're not paying Jail on at some point, right? And so I would think that Nolan Smith's kind of long-term future with the team becomes somewhat more of a question if Jalen Phillips is here. I think that the Quignan Cooper the Gene, Jordan Davis, Jalen Carter contracts,

like those are all kind of already baked in. Like they're not, I've said this many times about Howie and the front office. They don't wake up and like, oh, shoot, we got to pay these guys. Like there's there's charts in there projecting 28 and 29 and 30. And what's really affected them in the past is and they kind of counted on the cap rising. and that's why they push money down in future years. What affects them is if their projection on a player or their projection on a cap is not what they think it's going to be.

Yeah, yeah. From Yeager, lasagna, FIFA, fofum, I can't do the David Baker voice. I'm sorry. I did think David Baker had a nice interview with you in the sense of he asked some good questions, but I couldn't find the mask. I didn't really look forward if I'm being honest.

So we're going to, I know what, you know, what does Vacation Bo think of the David Baker? super chat, Lindsay? He's a fan. $10 super chat from Joe Rockhead. Thank you, Joe Rockhead, very generous. Zibi loved Leapier. Yeah.

Oh, thank you. We all love Leapier. Thank you. I mean, I am, one of the things that our audience should be grateful for, it's a silver lining that the Eagles didn't win the Super Bowl because I don't know what it would have done

to your personal life and your energy levels if you had to write another book. But now people can savor leapier a little bit longer. He said, Joe Rockhead says he bought a signed copy. You were so nice to meet, and I believe that.

You made time for everyone and packed at a packed B&N, Barnes & Noble? Yep. Sorry, I'm not up on the B&N acronym. You're not going to book stories. Listen to you and CLE every week. Please stop back more often. Hate David Baker. Joe, I appreciate the nice words about leap here.

It was the expression is so true that it's far better to have written than it is to write. The process of writing a book, I have, you know, know, you almost want to pull your hair out or something, but it's awesome when you see the finished copy. And yeah, I mean, anytime you have like a book signing or an appearance, it makes my day knowing someone took time out of their day to come. So the least I could do is, uh, is chat with you. But that, I appreciate the sentiment. It's available, pull wherever books are sold. And if you want to send me a DM, but if you want to send me a DM, um, and I will mail you a book, a signed copy with whatever you want in it except for a few terms that I won't use.

Yeah, fair enough. All right, we're going to take our second break and get back to some more of the mailbag on the other side. My first loan out of college for my first car, my first real car, was through True Mark Financial, which is why I'm excited to tell you guys about their home equity line of credit. You can tap into your home's equity to handle renovations, upgrades, or whatever's next on your list. A True Mark Financial Helox Select gives you the flexibility, to borrow when you need it on your timeline. You start with a revolving line of credit.

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If you can't find the ingredients, just put it back, guys. Seriously. Put it back. And then go find yourself a crooked tea. Again, it's got zero sugar. It's real tea. It's fully transparent. You know it, Philly.

Real recognizes real. So why would you drink the fake stuff? Crooked tea, the only thing better? it's a strip sack in the Super Bowl. Shout out to our guy, Brandon Graham. So again, visit crooked tea.com to find a store near you. Again, that's crookedtie.com to find a store near you so you can get the real stuff. All right, we are back on the P.H.O.I. Eagles podcast.

Before we go back to the mailbag, we do have an exciting announcement for you guys. Our new Philly show featuring the great Corey Seidman and our good friend Jamie Lynch. It's going to be three days a week with a rotation of special guests that includes Anthony Gargano. I'm a big fan of Corey's work. So make sure that you, if you haven't subscribed, make sure you subscribe for our Phillies coverage coming up. Again, make sure to check out Corey's hit with Anthony on the Anthony Gargano show this morning. It was a really good hit. A lot of energy.

So excited for that. I know you're a fan of Corey, so I feel safe asking you about Corey here. Yeah, enjoy Corey's work. And really, you know, thrilled to see, you know, Philly's coverage on PHOI. And, yeah, it'll be, I'll be tuning in and I'll be reading. Yeah, absolutely. All right. So we are going to go to a question from Philly's Freak on social media.

They wanted to know, with the new name for the Eagles practice facility, no longer the NovaCare complex, the Jefferson Health Complex. Do you think that there are any upgrades coming for the practice facility? I know that was always mentioned with the stadium conversation that is going to happen, but the Eagles facilities seem to be behind the standard in the NFL on most of the player report cards. Yeah, good question, Jamie. I don't think the two events are related, but I do think it's something that is necessary, and it's something that they're absolutely looking, or that I believe they're looking into. Now, there are certain things that they're just kind of restricted by the space, right?

And you got to think about it this way. Like, so you saw it was the NovaCare complex since 2001. So 25 years now. That facility existed for 25 years. And I've spoken to Jeffrey Lurie about this. I've spoken to Joe Banner about this. Like when they built this, this was like a state of the art facility, right? But the organization is so much bigger now than it was then.

The football business is bigger now than it is then. The how you use, whether it's the weight room and even the roster sizes are different than it was then. And Brian Dawkins used to have two lockers. Now there's literally makeshift stalls in the middle of the locker room. So I do think they need a locker room expansion. I think there's a lot of things that need to be done. I mean, we've spoken for years about the indoor facility, how that's not even 100 yards.

But they're kind of landlocked in South Philly. And there are certain restrictions that they can do. so um but whatever they're able to modify in terms of it i'll say this i think the the locker room's a badly needed upgrade and i think that's something that should be high on their priority list but something i've learned a long time ago is that it's easier to spend someone else's money than your own money so i can tell them they need to do this but ultimately like you know capital expenditures are uh it's incumbent upon them having the capital and wanting to do that yeah no i completely agree that like when you go to other, you know, we, we don't often go to other teams practice

facilities, but for joint practices over the years, we've seen some other ones. And when we were in Miami, like, yeah, they had that new state of the art practice facility, full length field, air condition, like, and it's just like, man, this is, this, the Eagles facility pales in comparison in that regard. And yeah, the locker room is tight. So it definitely feels like there, there's changes needed, but you're right. It's more complicated than that. And by the way, like credit to you, because you know more about like the details and the numbers of the Eagles practice facility than I think any other beat reporter and that is a testament to the work that you do. I wish I wish I had the encyclopedic knowledge that you have in some of these things. Well, it's nice you say. No,

you know, the way I look at it and I think that it's always something important to consider when you cover like professional sports is that the front facing people, it's like a very small part of what makes an organization work. So the front facing people meaning like the players, the coaches, the high-profile executives. There are so many people in that building behind the scenes who, that's their office, right? And so in order for an organization to work, it takes far more than like the left guard. You know, and so, I mean, no shot at Ben Dickerson. So, so that, that, yeah, I always try to keep in mind like, you know, you're not just covering a team.

you're covering a big business in the city as well. Absolutely. All right. We're going to take Fritz Tastic on Blue Sky. He asks, I'd love to hear you to discuss thoughts on the heir apparent Julian Lori. Yeah. Julian's going to be a key figure in this organization over the next, let's say, you know,

I don't want to retire Jeffrey now, right? I mean, that's his decision. Yeah. But, you know, let's say the next two decades, you know, I think it's probably, probably the next step in. Joyan works for the team. He's involved. He's involved in to sit, you know, he sits in on big decisions.

You see him in the draft room. Yeah. He's involved in coaching searches. He's at the owner's meetings. Like he's, he's someone who it's not like one day. They're just going to pull, you know, they're going to pull them in and say, here's a football team. He's spending a lot of time behind the scenes on the football side, on the business side. And so I actually think that's, that's, that's.

smart of Julian and of Jeffrey is is that he's he's going to take over one day and when he does he'll he'll have a reservoir of experience from which to build he'll know all the key personnel in the building and I think I think that's pivotal because sometimes what you see is the succession plan where the the child or swoops in something yeah they they they come in from outside and they don't have the context that's that's that's necessary so I know Jeffrey and Julian have been intentional about doing it this way. Yeah, no, I was going to say, I know there was a big reaction when he was on the field at the Senior Bowl a few years ago.

I think that is a good thing. I think it's a good thing for him to understand all the elements of the organization. That's not to say he's going to make great decisions when he gets there, but I think preparing him for these things makes a lot more sense than, you know, like you said, having them swoop in. I think those are usually the cautionary tales. You know, that's anecdotal for me. I don't have, you know, a long list of examples of owners.

that swooped in, but I do think, again, trying to make sure that he understands what makes the organization successful is important. A quick thing, do you know who broke that story of his role in the organization? I want to say, was it was, was it you? No, it was Bo Wolf. Oh, oh my, you just set me up. No, Bo is an opposing awesome reporter. Great guy, but awesome reporter, too. And I would agree with, I would 100% agree with that. And so, yeah, that's, there's, there's a lot of good stuff that he's reported, but, but, but that's, that's one of them. One day I'm going to get you two in a room together. I hope so.

For a podcast. I hope so. No masked. Yeah. I love talking about it. Yeah. I'll work on it. All right.

The next question we have is on Parks Frazier from R. Jankowicz on Blue Sky. He says, why is Parks Frazier the new QB coach? Can we infer that Frazier was kept on staff because he was in charge of Red Zone play design last year? Did Mannion choose him over Olson or did Nick make that's higher? Would Hertz have been consulted? Okay. I'll let you pick which of these questions you want to answer, but I do want to get your thoughts on Parks Fraser, just generally. Yeah, so first of all, credit to Matt Zanitz from CBS. Matt doesn't also be he's been all over. Yeah. Yeah. Former Ravens beat writer, Matt, someone I got to know pretty decently. So, no, my understanding is that Kevin Petullo was responsible for the Red Zone play calling. And I know there's been a lot of speculation was just Scott Leffler. It's the first time I've seen, speculation.

That's Parks Frazier. My understanding is it was it was Kevin Petullo and I think Kevin deserves credit for it because we know Kevin deserved or Kevin got blamed for things that didn't work. For something that that did work, he rightfully deserves credit for that. Parks Frazier, I need to do more reporting in terms of understanding Jalen's role here, what, you know, Mannion's input is here. I can say that Mannion has a lot of say with the staff, like him and Nick are putting this together,

but clearly they're going in a certain direction. Parks Fraser has an interesting history in terms of, like if you're talking about that Shanahan tree, he worked for Mike McDaniel in Miami, so he has exposure to that. He obviously worked with Siriani. He's worked with Frank Reich. So he's been exposed to different schemes,

but I can't tell you specifically, like they chose him because of this. I'm hoping that if we have this conversation, well, it wouldn't be for me on this show, but when I'm talking to Shield or when I'm writing about it in the athletic, that I'll have more insight as far as why Parks Frazier would be the way they go.

I like the tease. You know, you got to make sure you're following Zeeb's work here. Yeah, no, I do think the way that Fran put it the other day, I thought was really good, which is that Parks Frazier can serve as a translator for some of these things because he does have experience with kind of both sides of this offensive staff at this point. So for that reason, I do think it's valuable to have them in the quarterback room. It still surprises me that they didn't

go with someone with a lot of experience in a McVe-Shannahan influence system. But I do think it makes sense. Just I think something you said on Shields podcast, I think you could also apply to this, which is that you're kind of hiring like a mind. Yeah, yes. Yeah. And I do think they were, they've spent time around Parks Fraser at this point. And it's clear that they thought that his voice in the quarterback room would bring value. So I'll be curious to see how it plays out. Yeah, big mistake that organizations make, in my opinion, is when they chase a scheme. Yeah. And thinking that, all right, just because this scheme works in this place, you can find someone who knows that scheme and they'll bring it and you'll have that scheme. No, I mean,

the scheme's good, obviously, but the reason why Kyle Shanahan and Shaw McVeigh and Kevin O'Connell and Matt LaFleher, the reason why they've had success is because of their football minds. Yeah. It's not this like cookie cutter scheme that you bring it here and you're going to get that. So I've heard overwhelmingly positive things about Sean Mannion, but it would behoove the Eagles to hire Sean Mannion because of the type of football mind he is and not just because he has background with Sean McVeigh and background with Kevin O'Connell and go on down the list.

Yeah, you know, it'll be interesting when we finally do hear from Nick Siriani and Howie Roseman about this hire because to me it will be interesting to hear which part of his experience really stood out to them, or if it really was just the interviews that, the interview process and the way that he spoke in the room. But to me, you would almost feel more encouraged if it was the Seahawks stuff, you know,

the Clint Kubiak stuff. I know that is influenced heavily by Kyle Shanahan, but I don't know, there are different branches off this tree. I'm curious which branches they really pinpointed as the ones that make Sean Mannion's offense more modern, you know, more cutting edge. Because I heard what you said on Shields podcast. And I agree, or on the ring is really special.

Sorry. And I agree that they are a little late on the Shanahan McVeigh influence. Like if you're looking at that tree, that tree has been around for a long time. At this point, like Declan Doyle, like a part of the Ben Johnson tree, that one is like the one that kind of feels a little bit more, you know, pushing things forward. So that's not to say that Sean Mannion won't be influenced by innovative thinkers. But I do think, yeah, if it's as simple as McVe-Shannahan, you are kind of late to that party. Yeah, my understanding was they were very interesting. in Declan Doyle. Yeah and and Declan Doyle chose not to take this job or like I can't tell you

What like an offer would have been but yeah lines the Ravens job and but he was interested in an offensive coordinator play calling position that wasn't here yeah But I I I know sometimes like there's there's this idea that You know just because There were some guys who They were interviewed but don't conflate the interview with interest right I think in Declan Doyle's case and Charlie Weiss Jr. I think in Declan Doyle's case and Charlie Weiss Jr. year's case. I do think there was legit interest in those cases. But people have valid reasons why they take a job and valid reasons why they don't take a job. Yeah, absolutely. All right, we're going to go with a basketball player comparison mailbag question. But then I'm going to buy you

some time with the break. So we're going to flash it up and then I'm going to give you a couple of minutes to think about it. And on the other side of the break, I want you to answer it. So this one is from, I got to be honest. This is one of my friends, but he's a sicko. So I'll allow it. Shout out to Sean O'Neill. He asks Zeeby for basketball player comps. I think he's hoping that you give him your comp as a player because I know that I know what kind of player you are. I'm curious to hear you compare yourself to. And if you can come up with some Eagles ones, I would enjoy that. And he says that I am a lefty baby Yokic from the high post. That is not true. That is, couldn't be further from the truth. I can't shoot. All I do is rebound in pass. So in that way, maybe like, I usually say Kyle O'Quinn

for myself. Like that's kind of the player that I'd like to envision myself being in the very you know, reductive pickup basketball world if you could use an NBA comp there. So I'm going to give you some time. I can answer it, but I can wait for after the break. Yeah, let's give you a little bit of time. We're going to take our final break

and you're going to have to wait to hear his basketball player compass. Whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet365. They pioneered live in-game betting and have 90 million users worldwide. Bet365 live streamed 780,000 events each year and offers the widest range of games and markets

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I gave you some time. We got the Sixers show coming up after this. Yeah. You've got a, I mean, I would say you've got big shoes to fill here with these NBA comps. What have you cooked up? Yao Ming. No. For you?

That's a joke. That's a joke. No, I would say 20, 25, Kyle Lowry. I'm on the bench. Yeah. I'm a, I don't want to say vibes guy, but yeah, you know, you're trying to bring energy on, on the bench. There's a leadership component there. But on the, on the court, I'm probably like Eric Snow is the comp that I would use in that

I don't shoot a lot. You try to get the ball to the right people. You try to make smart basketball plays. And if you can get an assist here, steal there, rebound there, then, you know, that's it. And your team wins.

That's a good night. Okay. I have heard enough of your recounts of your basketball games to know that you really don't shoot. Yeah. Like, I don't shoot a lot when I play pickup basketball.

And by the way, good for you, because, I mean, I don't want to put your age out there. But 39. Okay. Well, there you go. I feel like, oh, Fran, get out of here. I know who Eric Snow is. I was playing NBA Live 2001.

I was up on the sixers at that point. I might be young, but I'm not that young. But yeah, 39 still playing pickup basketball. I respect that. You know, like I'm 31. Yeah, plays a stretch on a team. I'm bigger than you, but I am always worried about the ACS. Elter, the Achilles rupture.

Yeah, that's fair. They always tell you you don't heal as quick when you get older. No, that's, that's fair. I think the shooting thing. So I took my son, Reed, to one of my games. You know, the games are like seven, you know, they're scattered out there. The late games are like 830, right? And so I had one of the earlier games, and I brought him.

But he was like dribbling on the side. And so he wasn't watching. And I hit a corner three. Oh, no. And I turn around, he's not watching. And I felt like, this is probably a reference you won't understand. The Seinfeld episode when George Costanza gave the tip at the Calzone shop, but the person didn't see him.

So I was like, breathe. I shot it. He didn't see it. Because so, yeah. And he believed you. He believed me because my teammates said, did you see your dad hit that corner three? I had five points that night. I was two for two shooting.

You see the, and get those shots up, Zach. But, no, I think, number one, I know my limitations. and number two, like, the point is to find the best shot. So if someone, I think someone's shooting, someone else shooting, is a better shot than me shooting, personally. I think you need to give yourself a little bit more credit. But I understand where you're coming from as someone in my, like, when I was in college, I would compare my game to Ben Simmons.

Okay. Didn't shoot threes. Yeah. Didn't really shoot at all. Always looking for that extra path. Okay. Always looking for the extra. But people want to play with the guy who makes the extra pass.

That's right. No one wants to play with the gunner. So. Yeah, I've always tried to be a courteous basketball player, which I think if you, as the viewers will know, both of our personnel,

yeah, kind of, you know, would affirm that we are distributors on a basketball court. I'm curious what Bose like on the court. You should ask you that. He's got a, he's got a good jumper.

I've seen it out there. Yeah. No, I've seen it. Oh, okay. Yeah. He's, he's got a good jumper. So I bet you he shoots

a little bit more than we do. Okay. I've got more nonsense for you. Yeah. I feel like every day this week I've said to these guys, I gave you guys like 54 minutes of Eagles talk. We got to have a little bit of fun. So from Matthew... Although Eagles Talk is fun.

I just want to say it. It is fun. But you know, you got to find the balance. You guys have an hour-long mailbag. Yes. It's really special. Shout out to Sheal. I do miss the mailbag with Sheal.

Yeah. It's fun, man. It is awesome. Now you get as much heat on the mailbag, like when you, with some of your takes? Because, I mean, I felt like I got a lot of heat when I was in that. Yeah, I'm reading the Reddit forms. I'm reading the comment. Oh, you shouldn't be on that side.

Absolutely. If you have a pizza shop, you know, you want to know what they like your pizza. Yeah, I mean, I think if I think like anything in life, reasonable minds can disagree. So I might say something that they might disagree with sometimes. But if it's, you hope it's coming from a well-founded place. Okay. I mean, just be kind to yourself when you're in there. And be nice to-

Can I defend you, by the way? Can I defend you? What is this going to be about? And this is, I know people are, yeah, yeah, people are going. to people are going to push back on this, okay? And I can stop here because I know that you don't want to keep bringing up the chocolate cake on the show. No, I mean, you're on my side, so.

So here, I'm going to say this. I personally would not call that a chocolate cake, okay? But I have frequented restaurants in the South where they call that a chocolate cake. And I vividly remember, like, there was a place where they had, they had the chocolate, They had that cake, what I would call like a yellow cake with chocolate icing, but they called a chocolate cake and they had a red velvet cake. Yeah. Okay.

And I personally think that just because someone doesn't view it the way you do, it doesn't mean that they're wrong and you're right. And if I'm not well traveled internationally, the extent of my travel is like NFL cities, but I did go to London a few years ago. And they call what I would call a cookie there, a biscuit. right? And so I'm not going to come home and say like they don't know what a cookie is. It's like, no, they have a different term for it. I've been to places where they call cheese steak and cheese where they call a hoagie a hero or a sub. And to me, it's like there are people who call that chocolate cake. And if that's how they know it to be, then doesn't mean that. So I would have liked in that conversation like instead of like,

I would like to be more open-minded as opposed to, like, being closed-minded to it. That's just my personal opinion. I appreciate that, Zach. Yeah, it's a good analogy. Like, if you go over to England, they call chips crisps. Yeah. And they call French fries chips. I called a chocolate cake.

I never said that you guys had to call it chocolate. Yeah, exactly. I will hand up. I did scream into a camera. That's a chocolate cake. And I think that I can acknowledge that I came in forceful. But yeah, I appreciate you taking you at least. coming around to my side or acknowledging my side of this argument.

Yeah, if it's not hurtful and it's not hateful, then like be welcoming of other people's opinions. Yeah. I got a quick one for you. Toilet paper over or under. Toil paper over or under. Over. Is that right? I think I go over as well.

Okay. I remember my freshman orientation at Syracuse. This came up and it's one of those things that like I had never thought about. And even when I put the toilet paper roll on, it's not like, I just kind of put it out. You know, I hadn't even thought like the over or under thing, but I know people have like strong. I don't have a strong opinion on it, but I think that this was, I think this was one of our viewers' ways of trying to get you to talk about non-football things. And look, I'm happy to talk about non-football things. I'm, I'm your guest, anything you want to talk about.

Yeah. Yeah. I'll say this. when I was a co-host I had to worry about the show numbers I had to worry about the retention rate I'm your guest today yeah whatever you want I'm here we have a couple more mailbags to get through but we are going to get to them in Zee-B time

how'd I do with overtime Lindsay oh no I can't see I can't see it I mean we were close I'm gonna give what did a vacation both think of my Bovertime timing. Oh, sorry. No, that's my fault. Don't you just follow the clock, though?

No, I don't follow the clock. You have to follow, like, that's show time. Ah, okay, all right. Lindsay runs a tight ship in a good way. She keeps us in line. I have an email from someone. Well, I've got a couple emails, one of which maybe we'll do after the show. But from Kevin, he says he heard, Fran and I talk about the TV

Mount Rushmore yesterday. And it inspired... I can't read that. Yeah, it's all text. It was well written, though. So, you know, she'll usually like to read the well-written ones. He said that he feels like him and I have similar taste in science fiction and fantasy and is also a fan of a Song of Ice and Fire in Dune. He was curious if I've ever read anything from Brandon Sanderson, specifically his Cosmere universe. We're going to, again, we'll skip the rest of it. But the question is, have I ever read a book from Brandon Sanderson? I don't think you would have read anything from Brandon Sanderson, but I promise there's an Eagles tie here that you will appreciate.

Okay, I want to hear this. But have you, have you read any Brandon Sanderson? I'm a nonfiction guy, so yeah, I read nonfiction. Yep. Figured you would say that. Can you guess the Eagles player that told me to read a Brandon Sanderson book? So what's an example of a Brandon Sanderson book? I mean, I don't, the examples, it's like a sci-fi fantasy series of books. Okay. You can get involved in the chat, try and figure out who you think told me last season that they were reading a Brandon Sanderson book and that they thought I would enjoy it. Okay, I'm going to go with Moro Ojimo. No, I don't think, I think Moro was probably like you. He's probably a nonfiction book. He's written business books. Let me, let me sneak in the chat if you need a, if you need some help. Britain Covey?

It was Britt and Covey. Shout out to gratuitous D. Okay. I guess I can say that. It's Bovertime. You know what he refers to, yeah. Britt and Covey. I mean, Britain Covey always has several books, including your own book, Leapier.

You can find it wherever books are songs. And yeah, no, he was the one who gave me that recommendation. I appreciate the, um, some of a few of the guys on the team have asked me for a copy. Yeah, flex. That I pre. I mean, I gave a few of the guys copies, like, who were like, feature prom. in the book because I wouldn't be able to write the book without them, but it's, it's like, it really warmed my heart when some guys reached out and are like, hey, can I get a copy of the book?

Like, that's, that's been really cool. Who, you're not going to out anybody, are you? Will you say anyone? No, I know. I'm not going to say that. Okay. I received a very nice DM recently from, from this. Yeah, someone asking for the book, and I appreciated that.

Recently. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, recently. All right. I'll ask you after this. I'm curious. All right, we got a couple more super chats here from Rob Milner.

Thoughts on Devante Smith becoming the feature in the passing game, similar to Jackson, Smith, and Jigba and heavy personnel where the league is trending. It allows for AJ to be dealt. Yeah, Rob, this is a great point, but it doesn't, you know, you don't need that last sentence for that to happen. Sure. You don't need the DOAJ and feature Devante in the passing game. I don't think the coaching staff has maximized Devonte Smith's ability.

it here. I think Devante Smith can be more of a high volume wide receiver. I think they can use him differently. When you look at the route tree of Jackson Smith-Jigbara, you look at the route tree of Pooka Nakuwa. I don't think there's a reason why you can't have that type of route of like the route chart, not the route tree, the route chart from Devante Smith. So I think you can do that in conjunction with A.J. Brown being one of the best receivers in the NFL. Now, certainly if AJ were not here, you know, you'd, you'd have. have 150, 200, you know, targets to, to distribute. But I think that in Devante's case, he can be a high volume player with AJ here because

we saw that in 2022. Sure. Right. And so I don't think that the two things are mutually exclusive. The reality is now they do run the ball a lot, but if you extend drives, you're going to get more plays. Like that's just the nature of it. And so fewer three and outs, more drives, more times to throw Devonte Smith.

the ball, more routes for him to run. Yeah, I definitely think that he is a big beneficiary of the Sean Mannion hire. I push back a little bit on the Puka Nakua comparison because Puka is so physical. Yeah. And Devante Smith is incredibly tough, but he's not someone who's going to run through a defender. But in terms of leveraging him with motion, leveraging him over the middle of the field, even with that lack of being able to maybe win, you know, drive-through contact, I definitely think that he is someone who could have a really big year with Sean Mannion.

I'm not comparing him to Puka. I'm simply saying look at like how you're playing him around the field. It's not just someone that you line up on the left side and say, you know, go run these five patterns. Yeah, absolutely. All right. Last super chat here from Khalif. EJ. Defop and Stir Fry Girl Love Shea sent an important email for the mailbag today.

I humbly ask that you review it accordingly. Also, Zibi, good to see you. I know the emailing question. Okay. We'll talk about, maybe we'll get a video reaction after the show. That's what I would say. Is it inappropriate for the show? I don't know if the All-City Overlords would be happy with me reading this email on the air.

Oh, okay. Yes, yes. Yeah. Definitely keep your job. This is a great job you have. I was what to say. I was very fortunate to get this job and I'm not going to risk. You already got fired in the parallel universe.

Yeah, so I can't get fired in my actual universe. I don't think my wife would be a bit of family. No, don't do that. Yeah. Preserve your job. That's a good lesson. All right, Zach, you got anything else you want to get off your chest? Anything to plug?

Well, first of up, I would say anything you want to ask. I'm here. Any more super chats? I'm here. But what I don't want to plug? I mean, I would say I can plug for a while. Please, fine. Read my stuff at the athletic.

Read leap year. Please reach out if you want to sign copy. Listen to me every week with Shield and Cliff on the ringers philly special. And no, I hope that I have the opportunity to come on more often because it's great talking to you guys. Yeah, it's good to see you. I get to see you all season. I see every single day we talk. But you and I do talk a good amount even now.

Yeah, absolutely. But it's good to see you. It's good to sit with you. Oh, we got a buzzer-beater super chat here from CDP. How can I get my coworkers to consider me one of the guys? I am naturally introverted and I'm worried I am alienating my coworkers. It's okay. Here you go.

So this is a little life advice. How can I get my coworkers to consider me one of the guys I'm naturally introverted and worried I am. I think you got to do this. So here you go. All right, go ahead. You go first. I mean,

you know, you know, to me, just show genuine interest in somebody else. You don't need to share everything in your life. You can ask what's going on and, you know, you can ask,

ask about them. Ask, ask, ask, ask, you know, I saw, it's funny. I was watching this recent. recently because there was a Reddit forum with the best moments in like Birds with Friends history.

Okay. And PHY Eagles history. And the person like had the clips saved up. And there was one from the owners meetings back in 22 when I was in an elevator in Phoenix at like 7 a.m. And I was talking to a guy in the elevator about the shirt he was wearing, which was my dental, which was our company's dental insurance at the time. And Bo was giving me crap about talking about dental insurance with this guy at 7 a.m. And I said, like, that's what, you know, that's what his shirt says it.

That's something you have in common. You bring it up. So, yeah. So to me, just show natural, you know, the two things you want to be is interesting and interested. And if you've heard that meant multiple times. So if you're not interesting, at least be interested. I respect it. I'm going to borrow from the Zach Seams folder for CDP.

Okay. Be yourself. Everyone else is taken. You know, if you, what did LeBron say? You don't want to fit in, fit out if you have to. I think be yourself. You know, I think being genuine goes a long way. I like that.

We have another question from, I would say, out my favorite draft analyst. He's amazing for him. I would say all city's favorite draft analysts. And many of our viewers' favorite draft analyst, Fran Duffy, says, what player does Zach think I am most wrong on? in the draft guy. Yeah, two guys come to mind right now. You had these ready.

Yeah. First off, the draft guide is incredible. It is absolutely incredible. Fran, like, Fran is a superstar, not just a star. Fran is a superstar. And it's like everything you want is in that draft guide. And I love that. It's constantly updated, right?

And so you go on each day and there's something new on there. And the evaluations are awesome. And I love that Fran has conviction. Fran knows two of the guys. I'm going to mention here. The first one is Eli Stowers, the tight end from Vanderbilt. And we had this conversation last year about Arronda Gadsden. And I actually think of Ronda Gadsden had a good season with the Chargers.

Now, you know, he's not a great blocker and he's more of, you know, but Eli Stowers was a really productive past catching tight end in the SEC. Vanderbilt was awesome to watch. He was a key part of that. a former quarterback, like I think he's one of the top, you know, three, four tight ends in this draft. And Fran's draft guide has him a little lower. Rizmo Minds can disagree. Fran would say that's the type of player that I like. And yeah, guilty is charged.

I mean, I liked Ronda Gadsden. I like Kyle Pitts. I like tight ends who create a mismatch in the passing game because I think defenses need to account for the type of player that they're. They are. And I'm not saying blocking is unimportant, but what I'm saying is that you want someone on the field who is going to force a defensive coordinator to think. And I think Eli Stowers does that. Do you want, should I get the second one or do you have a...

I just wanted to quickly say, I feel like players like Kyle Pitts or Ronda Gatz and even like, like, I just, the types of players you like, even on the defensive side, I feel like you like players that are specialists that require a lot of work from the coaching staff to a accommodate them, which is fine, but I do feel like, Arrana Gadsden had a good season, but I do think his role was like very specialized. And it kind of like, you have to almost build around those players. Now, if you've got a good coaching staff, then absolutely. But I can understand my friend might be lower on some of those guys.

Yeah, so I'm going to push back on specialist. I like special. What can you do special, right? And I think too often in the draft, I think too often in the draft process, you get fixated on what a guy can't do and try looking at what they can do. And I think a lot of like the disagreements that I've had on the show with Bo and about like draft player, about draft prospects is like when you get fixated on on what a guy isn't as opposed to like what are they, you know? Because ultimately if you if you can do something better than someone else, you're going to have a role in the NFL. So I want to know what can you do better.

And then the second player I would say is is Harold Perkins, the linebacker from from L.S. you. And I understand that you kind of got to figure out what position he is. And Brian Kelly can never quite figure that out at LSU. Man, you just can't quit these like no positional versus like positionless linebacker types. Because I've seen him be an absolute menace in terms of getting to the quarterback. Now he had a real bad injury two years ago. And and, and, but to me, he's like, he's, he is, he, he, he can do something. He can be really effective. I've seen him get to the quarterback. I, I've seen his, his, his, his, movement ability.

And so those are our two guys that jumped in mind. Now, there are a few more that I could bring up, but I don't want to take the air out of. I mean, Fran, Fran, I want to make this clear. Fran, Fran's forgotten more about this draft class than I know. And I will defer to Fran's judgment in terms of like the players. I'm just saying there are certain guys who like reasonable minds can disagree. Fran said Harold Perkins is the Eli Stowers of linebacker prospects. I mean, I'm not trying to like, you know, I've gotten plenty wrong, but I've gotten.

Yeah, I was going to say you kind of name dropped like Arronda Gadsden as like a player that you had gotten right. So we do have to say like you, this is the Isaiah Simmons mold and that did not, that did not pan out. Yeah, now Isaiah Simmons was a top tip pick. Harold Perkins isn't going to be a top tip pick. And also Isaiah Simmons was a safety linebacker hybrid. This is more of like linebacker edge rusher hybrid. So I, but I see your point. but I also think sometimes like there's now as I as I

as I'm as I think some of that was the situation but it's been long enough to make a determination on on him there are other guys like Emmanuel Forbes has turned into a better player than than the credit if you were like there were betting odds for the show Emmanuel Forbes coming up I feel like was probably would have been like one of the locks I didn't even think about that I mean I I did go back recently though and watch like the the my guys clip that he put up from the the draft and I remember Kaelan Bullock was someone who I was like really high on because to me it goes back to like what do you do well and his range and his ball skills were two things that he

did really well and so yeah I I am wrong about a lot but like philosophically when looking at a prospect I try to say what can he do that's special as opposed to what can't he do yeah we got another buzzer beater super chat here from Claire ZB Kyle Pitts to the Eagles How happy would you be? Well, I'm not an Eagles fan. I cover the team. I think it'd be great from a storyline perspective. You know, so I always like when they sign a local player because, you know, I think it's a cool story.

I mean, we grew up in this area and, like, there's something special about that. Kyle Pitts is going to get paid, paid. Like, he's going to, and he's going to be a really good player wherever he goes. Like I feel I feel strongly about that. I think the injury he had affected him quite a bit and took some of the air out of his sales. I think you saw last year what he can do. Now is he, I mean, is he better than, you know, something like, you know, Panais Seul or, you know, Jamar Chase? No, I would take Sewell.

I would take Chase. That becomes a sunk cost at that point. Can he be a difference maker for a team in the passing game? Yeah, and if, like, the Eagles were to trade AJ Brown, and I think Bo brought this up on a show last week. Like, I don't think the worst. I don't think you're going to get a wide receiver who can be as effective as as AJ Brown. So you say, all right, where can you find a Delta? And I think you can find a Delta with Kyle Pitts if you were to go in that direction.

He's still, what, 25 years old, 24 years old? Yeah, it's 25. Yeah, so. 25. Yeah, so I don't think that'd be the worst idea, but I think the best idea would be to keep AJ Brown. Yeah, we're both big Chego Conquo. Yes. You know, the O'Connell guy here.

I'm a short one. I'm a short Chicokego Concoe, yeah. But, yeah, I mean, he's, he was consistently productive with, with bad quarterback play. And then they kind of draft, they drafted over him this year in Gunner Helm. But I like the athletic profile. I like when he's been out there in terms of like yards after the catch, making plays. Now, I still think that Michael Mayer in a trade would be a better option if, like, Colt-Comet, if he's available, he's someone that I think I would look at, depending on the price. Colquette's still like 26 years old.

He's a good blocker. So I think there are places where they've kind of tracked a tight end. over who you can look, but on the free agent market, yeah, Cheag is definitely someone who jumps out to me. Yeah. So we got two more here. I'm going to go with the idiot sandwich first, Lindsay. It's just, it's big news. He said ZB tips on being a dad, AB sandwich coming in July. Congratulations, idiot. Congratulations. Yeah, that's amazing. That is awesome. You have to speak. You're the father among us here. Yeah, I mean, first off, the first thing I would preface with the tip is no one's figure this out, right? And so, like, anyone who gives you advice, take out the greatest thought,

like, everyone's trying to figure this out. The second thing I'll say is, is there's, there's what, six billion people in the world, seven billion, you know, I don't, I don't know what the latest. Yeah. And everyone was a baby at some point. And that we know of. And so, so I bring it up as a way of saying idiot sandwich my guess is that a lot of people were raised with a parent or parents who a parent who aren't as uh as with it as you are and so like you know give yourself some grace that you'll figure it out the third thing i'll say is that like enjoy every moment including like the moments that seems so frustrating because they are fleeting like every stage is different and rewarding in it's in its in its own aspect um

And then the final thing that I'll say is, and this is probably more applicable in like a few years, but like they are always listening and always watching. And so it's not as much like what you directly say and do to them, but like they're watching how you are and who you are every day. And so always keep that in mind. Very good perspective. Oh, thank you. You have been insightful on so many different topics today. I've got a lot to get off my chest. It's been a while, right? Yeah, we're doing this once a week now. So, yeah.

Final super chat from Khalif. Any moving tips, gang? I'm selling my house soon. I love how everybody's like updating you on like what's going on in their lives. Yeah, you like, hey, Zach. Yeah, Caliph, congratulations. My wife runs a home organization company. Can I say that?

You said you got a lot to plug. I can get in trouble for giving a free ad here, right? Yeah. So I would say, You can call up the neat method and help you with your move. No, honestly, I think that I'm the wrong person to ask with this because I am a hoarder. And I... It surprises me about you.

I keep, like, books and newspaper. You know, I have newspapers from when I wrote from the Washington Post. Yeah, but you don't get to start on that. Like efficiency and streamlined when it comes to, like, furniture and stuff like that. Yeah, no, but it's more in terms of like, you know, every picture that my daughter's drawn for me, I keep. Hmm. Okay. That's the good stuff.

And so I have just like boxes of stuff that just end up sitting there. But otherwise, I would, that would be kind of, is like be efficient in your move. Don't be afraid to throw stuff out. I would just say lift with your legs, not with your back. That's a good one too. I could use that with shoveling, man. Yeah, no, I mean, listen, it's been tough. Been a couple weeks for us in the shoveling department.

All right. I want to say that like everybody sending the super chats in really shows how much our audience loves you. I appreciate you coming in. You know how much I appreciate you as a mentor, as a friend. So yeah, we're killing it though, man. I'm looking up to you now. I'm chasing you. There are times when I'm up at night.

I'm like, shoot, what did E.J. just get? Likewise. Likewise. So, all right, that is going to do it for us today. But we'll be back tomorrow. At least I think you'll be back tomorrow. So we've got plenty of surprises left for the rest of the week. But for now, thank you to Zach Berman for being here.

Thank you to Lindsay. Thank you to you guys. Appreciate you all. And as always, we love you.