The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Franchise tag roundup, the Mike Evans deal, and Russell Wilson and the dead cap doldrums; Plus, Dane Brugler breaks down his post-combine mock draft

Episode Date: March 6, 2024

March 5 was franchise tag day across the NFL, and it brought us mostly what we expected. Robert Mays and Nate Tice wade through the decisions, the potential extensions, and what comes next on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. They also dig into Mike Evans' deal with the Buccaneers, and the Broncos ripping off the Russell Wilson band-aid.Then, Dane Brugler joins Robert to break down his post-combine mock draft.Take our listener survey! theathletic.com/survey24Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmaysFollow Nate on Twitter: @Nate_TiceFollow Dane on Twitter: @dpbruglerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show. Welcome to the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. Joining me today. It's my good friend Nate Tyson. How you doing, buddy? I'm doing well. Relatively.

I have battled through three sicknesses in the month, which is a new record. I guess that's how happens when you have a one-year-old and you just catch everything. And you do the Super Bowl. And you do the Combine. I'm just going to beg everybody in media to wash your hands always because I'm blaming all of you guys. I wash my hands thoroughly these weeks because I knew I had a one year old and I didn't want to do this. But I'm actually doing a lot better because I'm over the hump.

I'm a person, if I sound bitter, I never get sick. And so now all of a sudden I get three in a month and I'm like, what is happening to me? What is this? This is your 30s? This is just, you just get sick all the time. But apparently that is. But I am. Yeah, I'm doing well.

I really am actually. You know, it's good to get back. I think everyone's been doing that. Dane was sick for a little while. I was sick and I'm never. sick. I managed to get sick in Mexico, and I bounced back when I got to the combine, but it seems like everyone was going through that this year, especially the people who did the Super Bowl combine back to back. A lot of crowded rooms, a lot of dry, right? Like, the Vegas is very dry.

The weather was a little bit dreary. It's dry on planes. These are things I never thought about before. When I was 26, I was invincible. There was nothing that I, that no, nothing concerned me. I could move through the world in whatever way I wanted to. with no concern for how the outside environment would affect me. And that's just no longer the case. You have a cold? That's nice. Whatever.

I don't have to worry about that. Or if I do catch it, it's like, oh, whatever. I only felt it for like half a day. That's it. But nope. I actually have to be conscious. Oh, that guy just covered his mouth. Eh, elbow bump.

We're elbow bumping right now. You know, we got to do that. But it's a long month, but it actually feels nice. Here we are in March. The shortest month is the longest month, it feels like. But here we are in March. For us, it certainly is. For us, it certainly is.

I always think when I get to March first, I rejoin society. That's always how I say. When we get to March, I rejoin society. I have six dinner reservations stacked up, like over the next six weeks. We have plans with friends every single weekend from here on out because that's what March is. We now live a normal schedule and a normal life. Again, we have rejoined society. I think I have plans every weekend for the next month and a half.

I think I'm exactly right there with you. Yeah, yeah. Some are March Madness related. But yes. Which they should be because now you get to be a sports fan again, everything. So it's all falling into place. It's awesome. March 5th this year is the franchise tag deadline, which we are going to dig into today.

This is going to be a news-filled show. We were going to look forward to free agency a little bit, start talking about a couple of those guys. But I have amnesia every single year. I forget how much news rolls in on franchise tag day. And we were talking about it in the pre-show, even this year, I, put it in my phone. There was a notification in my phone. Today is the franchise tech deadline.

But in planning the podcast that I'm in charge of programming, I just completely ignored that. So baby steps. Next year, I'll put it in my phone and I will plan to do a show about it. That's what we're doing today. Dane is going to be joining us a little bit later to dig through his post-combine mock draft. A lot of stuff we're chewing on there. We got quarterback trades.

We got a lot of movement in the top 10. The Bears move up for a receiver, which we were. were at dinner, Wednesday of the Combine. So Dane managed to sneak away for however long he gets to sneak away. And I moved closer toward him at the table at one point during dinner. And I was like, all right, this Bears trading up thing. We need to talk about this. So he and I and you have been willing it into existence here over the last few weeks on

prospects to pros. So tons to dig into with Dane's mock. One other bit of housekeeping that we wanted to get to. You guys listen to us, which we sincerely appreciate. Now we want to hear from you. We're asking you to fill out just a quick survey about you and your podcast habits by going to theathletic.com slash survey 24. Three lucky entries will win $100 worth of Amazon gift cards as well.

So whether you're a long-time listener or a new one, we want your feedback. Go to theathletic.com slash survey 24. That's theathletic.com slash survey 24. The link will also be in the episode description below. So please go check that out. we would sincerely appreciate if you guys took the time. With that out of the way, let's dig into this. It has been a fire hose of news over the last 24 hours or so.

Let's start with kind of the big domino that kicked it off. Mike Evans back to Tampa Bay. Original numbers reported two years, $52,000, $29 million fully guaranteed at signing. As we've come to realize in this day and age, you tamp that down a little bit when we get to the actual numbers. It's actually two years, 41 with $11 million. and incentives and some other escalators involved here. This is huge because it really did seem like we were so deep into the process, and he's of the age where the tag might not have made sense.

There was a timeline here where Mike Evans was actually going to hit free agency, and I have to assume there was going to be a laundry list of teams that were going to line up and try to give him a deal like this. So for the bucks to get him back in the fold at this price tag, I think is a win for Tampa. And I also think it's an indication of the way that Tamer, campus sees itself. Because if they had let him walk, it would have just been a weird kind of hodgepodge of timelines with where this roster is. So then bringing him back at this number, him getting to

retire a buccaneer most likely. This made sense to me on a few different levels. Yeah, it did, especially once the real number came in. I was like, oh yeah, that that makes a lot of sense. So essentially 20 and change a year, 23 guaranteed first year, six mil guaranteed the second year, plus all that in the sem's escalator stuff. So to me, I was like, Yeah, that's that's kind of what I thought he would kind of get around 20 mil. That's the type of guy Mike Evans is. And I actually thought he was just going to be this huge. I don't know.

Even last year with the box, it kind of felt like, oh, are they going to rip the Band-Aid off? Are they can move on from anyone, especially these receivers they got? Oh, well, they're bringing back both corners over the last couple of years. Okay, all right, that's interesting. Kind of like they were just trying to keep that timeline going, keep that build going. And we've talked about this with this Bucks team where it's like, they have a lot of talent, but they just didn't have a quarterback. So it was kind of a weird team.

Baker, of course, outplayed his contract, had a fine year on a very cheap deal. But now it feels like that they're kind of keeping that going a little bit going like, hey, let's eke out this talented roster that we have. Mike Evans, of course, being kind of the crown jewel, I guess, of that kind of, I would say class, but class of player, bucks players, I guess, or this regime of bucks players. So it makes sense. And I guess when you look at it, especially what you said, it indicates what the bucks are trying to do.

There's a scene in 30 Rock that I always think about with stuff like this when we're talking about competing timelines. And Jack is talking to Pete. And he's trying to get Pete to be this fully formed like masculine man. He makes him wear a wig so he's not bald anymore. All this stuff. And they get further down into the process and he's like,

I never should have done that to you. I never should have pushed you all the way to the tiger. I should have pushed you the other way where you just had nothing left to lose. And so every time there's a timeline thing with this, I'm like, just push it to the side that makes the most sense. So after last year, after you bring back Jamel Dean, after you've proven that this core can be competitive, why would you take a step back?

Just push it further in the same direction. Bring back Mike Evans. Bring back Baker Mayfield and see what you have in this group of players. And it does seem like they're getting pushed in that direction with the decisions that they're making. Well, especially how many young guys they hit on in the draft, too. It's like, well, all right. Well, this changes some of the calculations of where we're like how we are, how we stack up. They had some ascending young players too.

So it's, yeah, guys really stepped up. Like they, again, it was the Bucks made the playoffs. They won a playoff game and surprise everybody. But when you look at the roster, it's like, oh, okay, makes sense keeping this all around. So yeah, I'm laughing at your 30 rock analogy because now Lauren and I, my wife and I are rewatching it or I'm rewatching it. She has never seen it. And so I know exactly what you're talking about finally. It's been a while.

But now I know, I know these references finally. We're finally getting there after all these years. God, say, Kornberger, the dummy is winning. I'm submitting to its strength. All right. So now we have $20 million in cap space after the Winfield tag and whatever the Evans contract looks like. I wonder if they move some money around. Chris Godwin has an $18 million based salary.

Vita Valleah has a $15 million based salary. So there are some pretty easy levers that they can pull just for restructures if they want to. And we'll see how aggressive they end up getting. And I'm fascinated where the Baker number falls. Is this going to be closer to the Daniel Jones number? Is it going to be closer to the Gino Smith number? And I assume that push and pull is exactly what's happening with the buck's. and Baker's people here as we inch toward free agency.

But we will have a lot of time to dig into that. Other bit of news from yesterday, the Broncos officially released Russell Wilson, or they at least announced that it will happen when the league year starts. The benefit to that is that they can make him a post-June 1st cut. Two years after they trade all of that for him and give him a five-year $245 million extension, Russell Wilson is out of Denver and they will take on an $85 million cap hit. spread out over two years because you can't take it all at once. You truly, I don't think you could feel the team if you took on the $85 million hit all at once.

So it's going to be $35 this year and $50 million next year. I have so many questions. I get this. This is always going to happen. But now that it's happened, who's going to play quarterback? What kind of team are you? Because if you look at the 2025 roster, they got a shitload of money, but they don't have any players. Do they have like five guys under contract?

Yes, and it's all the guys they signed in free agency last year. So your big, big spenders in free agency in 2023, you go get McGlinchy, you go get Ben Powers, you go get Zach Allen. It's like, oh, yeah, we want to compete. Now you cut your quarterback. You're eating $85 million in dead money, and you have no other players on the roster. So I have absolutely no idea how this team sees itself and how that vision of themselves is going to inform the decisions they make this spring.

I truly don't. I have no clue. They moved up in last year's draft to draft somebody. Riley Moss, who still might not be a starter, so they still might need a starting corner. Traded for Peyton, traded a pick for him to get him in there. And it's, what do you got? I saw the, I mean, remember when Scott, you know, shoved aside and Philly and got traded. His cap hit was, what, 33, 34 million?

Something like that. Him and Gough both had big ones because they had just signed those exceptions. Being like, what? 30-something million. crazy that a team would do that. 30-something million. $85 million in debt cap. It's like that is a whole new role.

But the options, okay, so like Sean Payton getting in there and basically pushing it to more or less going like, hey, we're going to quasi-compete this year. Those free agency moves, that was like a quasi, we're doing the Saints kind of thing. We're going. We're always competing. Is Sean Peyton going to really do a rebuild? Like a full tear down, every position, hand-enointing? every pick, like accumulate picks, like go bargain bin shopping, you have to get creative with this stuff rather than just being super aggressive

and overpaying everything. It's, Broncos are bizarre. Every bit of evidence would tell you no. Because when they could have taken a slight step back last year, they absolutely refused. So I, again, I just don't know how they see their path forward.

When they brought and Peyton, we kind of respect. Sean Payton. The fact that the GM and the head coach at the same last name is annoying. And the GM's still there. But Sean Peyton. Yeah, he's there. Yeah, he's there.

He just walks around. But Sean Peyton, okay, bringing him in, obviously it was palpable on the sideline that they had agreed him and Ross didn't like each other. I mean, you can just teach. I don't need to talk to anybody to see that. It wasn't going to work. This marriage was not going to work. That's why even when they got in and Sean Payne has his comments, oh, you know, a politician, all this stuff, all the, all of these things. It's like, all right, well, you knew that.

So just this year, just take. a deep breath. And like, just go, hey, whatever happens here, whatever happens. If I coach up Ross, it's a feather in my cap. Cool. But 2024 is just a kick the can year. But like, Sean Payton couldn't handle not being Sean Payton. So he's just like, we're competing. You know, double did you win. So this is what we got to do. But now it's, I mean, there's the answers, the means to the answers are just so dire. I mean, because it's just like, again, you're not like, you didn't do that rip the Band-A thing off where you're accumulating all these assets. They lost the one big of their assets, which is cap space.

That's something that they had, or at least the cap of Russell or the bank of Russell Wilson. So are you going to try and move up for a quarterback? I don't see that being possible. You're going to trade away more future stuff. And it's going to be a King's ransom at this type of draft. Everyone knows the whole type of leverage that you have. But where else are they going to turn a quarterback? Are they going to have some stopgap, cheap, replaceable option as a starter this year?

Is it going to be a Jared Stidham-like figure? That's just so hard for me to imagine based on everything else we've seen about his mindset. but I don't know what the pathways look like to another sort of quarterback this year. They have so many holes. They're still $16 million over the cap with Russ eating $35 million of it. So they still have to shed money. No one knows what's happening with their receivers. Their offensive line is going to have a lot of questions down the road,

the bowls and the interior guys. Cush and Barry might be gone. Their center. The defense, shoot, they need a corner, a starting corner outside. You know, opposite of Sir Tan. Okay. Simmons is still getting older. You're still a good player.

But it's just like, you look at the roster and it's like, all right, who your ace is? They brought in Zach Allen. You know, but who are your guys you're building this roster around if you want to transition to this new thing? So again, it's just like they have some good players, but they don't have like guys like the Rams last year. Well, we have Stafford and we have Aaron Donald and Cooper Copp. We'll figure the rest out and it worked out great.

I don't think this team has it in them because of course they don't have Aaron Donald, a Matthew Stafford or a Sean McVe who was like really amped up doing all this. Champagne seems like the opposite where it's kind of like, yeah, whatever. We'll figure it. We'll figure it out once I do it. Like, even the fact that they could have cut Russell Wilson like for weeks and they just like did it now, you know, or a couple days ago. That, that's weird to me too rather than just doing it early, maybe before the combine,

during the combine, something like that. I don't know. Just Denver is in a weird, weird spot right now. It's totally in bizarro land. They can save some money by moving out from Tim Patrick. I assume they do that. That's a previous previous. I mean, even though George Payton handed out that deal, it's a previous coaching staff.

They can save $16 million by. cutting Garrett Bowles, who's 32 years old, but then you need a left tackle. So every single move that they can make is one step forward, one step back. They're in such a strange spot. Let's talk about landing spots for Russell Wilson potentially. Where the hell does he end up? If you can get him for a couple million bucks, if you can pay him the minimum because of the offsets, which teams does that make sense for?

And when the music stops, where do we think that he ends up? It's hard for me to pick a landing spot right now. I so me the one that makes sense is potentially the Raiders that's number one If the Raiders don't end up with anyone else is that the spot where that would make And they're in that weird no man's land of this draft with the quarterbacks too yep that that's that's that's that's any he'll be on the vet minimum deal essentially that's what's been reported So like they made sense to me and Las Vegas was one of his teams that he said I don't want to be traded but if I were traded Las Vegas I'm not demanding a trade but if I were demanding a trade these are the places I would go if you twist my arm and ask me this is where I would say Las Vegas is one of those.

But, I mean, look at the other teams. Steelers is one that's brought up. I don't think Arthur Smith would like Russell Wilson. I don't think so I've said. No, Russell doesn't throw over the middle. Arthur Smith needs somebody to throw it over the middle. They couldn't be any more opposite for their offenses. Like the Bucks, I think they'd rather just go a baker.

Vikings, I think, would probably rather go youth, you know, or if the Kirk Cousin stuff doesn't work out. And the Falcons, I think, I mean, obviously, some inklings with the Kirk Cousins stuff. So that's the other one, too. Even if you want a veteran option and you want the stability that would theoretically come with a veteran option and you have to pay nothing for him, even if you have to pay nothing against the cap, you have to pay for the specter of Russell Wilson. And I don't know how many teams. Exactly. It's honestly the exact opposite of bringing in Jacoby percent.

So if you're the Vikings and you can theoretically afford him and you want to give yourself some flexibility just in case the draft doesn't shake how you want to, you got a good thing going. Remember the report card that just came out last week about how hunky dory it is in Minnesota? People are feeling real, real good. You want to bring in that potential element? Isn't it funny that the Vikings are now, they pump resources in the facility? It's like the most pristine building in the entire NFL. Dude, they're very far away from your experience. When I went there for camp last year, my jaw was on the, like, on the end.

I walked around. Everyone was so nice. You know, all the people I grew up. with really. And like they were showing me around the whole time I was flabbergasted. I was like, what? You get this, this, it looks like it's palatial. I mean, it's absolutely ridiculous. It's a campus. It's a true campus. Oh, I got lost in there once or twice. Oh, I got lost. I got lost. Ari Fassad actually had to help me out. Kevin Sefer, those guys had to help me out a little bit. But yeah, those, um, no, but like, but yes, I, that's a tax with him because he has that personality and

he wants to be that and are you going to come in and be, you know, credit to like Baker Mayfield, former number of a pick, got humbled last few years. And by all accounts, Baker came in and it just worked his butt off into everything. Different time spans, too. Baker's what now, 27, late 20s? Yeah, late 20s. He was a little bit older than he came in. It was 28.

So that was six years ago. So I think he's probably 28. 28. And Russ is 35, 36. You know, that's a totally different time span of that stuff, too. So it's, yeah. That's such a great point with that. So, like, to me, it's like the Raiders just by process of elimination.

It was the only one that makes sense to me. Yeah. I think it makes sense, too. I think that's one where they can afford to take the risk. They wouldn't have to pay him at all. I think there are benefits there. And if you're paying it into a corner and he's the only option left, I think that would potentially be a decent fit.

Let's get to the most important move that's happened over the last 24 hours or so. And that's the Bears trading a fifth round pick for Ryan Bates. Ryan Poles, it took two years. But Ryan Poles finally gets his guy. For everyone who doesn't know the backstory here, which I assume is most humans. So funny. The Bears tried to sign Ryan Bates.

in 2022 as a restricted free agent. The bills matched that offer sheet. I'm wondering, and this is interesting to me and like 20 other people, but the Bears doing this trading the fifth rounder for Ryan Bates. A fifth round pick isn't nothing. And I wonder if they potentially see him as their starting center at the end of all of this. So he's making $5 million this year and $5 million next year.

And by doing this, because they need a center, you potentially get ahead of the market. So if you look at projected. contracts for guys like Connor Williams, guys like Tyler Biotish, guys like Lloyd Cush and Barry, all the center's set to hit free agency. It's a heck of a lot more than $5 million per year. So you're almost paying a tax in a way if you do see him that way to get ahead of the market and not have to worry about bidding against these other teams for your starting center. There's also a chance they'd to see him as interior offensive line depth. I don't know the answer to that. Which is having bears have needed line help anywhere. Bodies.

tangible NFL starting, not even starting, just playable bodies. Yeah, I think the swing ability of Bates is, like you said, center. You can play both guard spots. And also it's like, we don't know how this draft shakes out. Is there a drop off after, you know, day two? The bears have the funniest kind of like draft selections, too. So they have two top 10 picks now. They still have a third round pick.

But I believe they still also have a fourth round pick. But the, my thing is now, let's see what you can get for fields. And then as we talked about with Dan a little bit later on the show, you still have the Carolina second next year. So you have more ammo than it might seem, even if you don't have mid-round picks this season. But I wonder if them giving up this, them giving up the sweat pick, even if we want them to move up for a receiver, is this pointing to them potentially moving back in this year's draft as there's a team that wants to come up and get one of the tackles?

And there's some really good interior line prospects, at least center prospects, kind of around the swing of the draft or the end of round one, start around two. Dane talked about it a little bit, but Jackson Powers Johnson from Oregon, Zach Frazier for West Virginia, Graham Barton from Duke, three guys, Zach Frazier is kind of a center only, but the other two guys could play guard as well. But it's like,

you never really get that many type of guys that are like legit top 40 guys, top 35 guys, I would say, even higher than that. But bears aren't selecting there. You know, so again, I'm like, oh, okay, well,

we want an interior guy to build our potentially Caleb Williams with the pair of that battery mate, but you can't really find a guy. We can't guarantee that we're going to find that guy that we really want. There's not going to be that guy on day two that we can might be get just because of their assets right now. So I think it's a nice insurance. Like I never mind the offensive line insurance swaps. I guess a good way to put it.

Let's get to some moves that matter to more than me and 20 other people listening to the podcast. The Seahawks did some pretty dramatic stuff today. They cut Jamal Adams. They cut Chondra Diggs and they cut Will Disseley. So this is a savings of about $27 million in overall space. I didn't realize how big the cap hits were for those. guys. For Adams it was 26 and for Diggs it was 21. So even independent of the cap savings, they saved a lot of cash by making these moves. And my biggest question now isn't why do they move on from those

guys? You can understand it. Their defense was old. They're undergoing a reset of sorts. But now the thing that's lingering over this for me is what do the Seahawks want to be? They've gotten pretty young now, but they have Gino. And now really the only other pieces are expensive pieces are, Lockett, D.K., Matt Calfe, and Draymont Jones. So are we heading to more of a reset than we might have thought with the Seahawks team based on these moves? Or is this about freeing up a little bit of flexibility? Why would we pay Quadra 21 against the cap and we can't pay Gino Stone 8? So I just, they're one of those teams where I don't know what the paths are.

I don't either. I think giving themselves flexibility is the number one thing. Hey, yes, we want players, but also we would just want to not, or cancel. out moves that we can make down the road too. And I think, I think they're going to be a smart staff and everything who they're putting together. Diggs is 31, which shocked me. I actually, for whatever reason, I thought he was a couple years younger. But I'm going to just say, if you need a one-year rental at safety, he's still a player. He's still a player. This is just a cap casually thing. Is he an all pro? Yeah, no, but he's good. He's a good starter at this, maybe to very good.

So like a one-year rental, that makes sense. Adams's injuries caught up with him. I thought he was a below average player this year. I've talked plenty of times about the Seahawks' defensive woes. Some of it was him. So that one made sense. But I think this is a flexibility. Maybe, like you said, rather I'm paying $20 million for this, let's just find some cheapy, some one-year guy that other teams do all the time.

But the Ravens have done, too, the last few years and just find some guys that can just get us through this. And then we can tie up our assets, some more important spots. Do we bring back Jordan Brooks at linebacker? You know, kind of keep him, maybe he's more important to what we want to do. Think of how McDonald uses those linebackers and boling. Baltimore. So maybe he's like, oh, I want to make sure we get him as opposed to those guys.

I can make the other guys work. So, yeah, the Seahawks are just a fascinating team, period. The staff is wild. Like, I mean that in a good way, but it's just, I'm very curious. They're just one of the all curious teams in the offseason. I'm trying to think of where a quandary digs might make sense. I'm looking at, we're talking about teams that needed safeties last week. Yeah.

You moved Jimmy Ward to the slot. You sign him to. Oh, in Houston. Houston. They, there's a lot of exposure to him over the last couple of years. years with that staff in San Francisco playing against him twice year in Seattle. He fits in any type of scheme too because he's smart and everything. Something like that.

That's the one that jumps off the page to me as I'm looking at this right now. Let's go away. He's also, I mean, the Rams. The Rams potentially. The Eagles love these guys. The veteran players that they can get. So you get blanket shipped. You drop him in next to re-blanketship even though Sidney Brown is somebody you draft.

And now Patricia's gone from Philly. so you don't have to worry. Ooh, I got it. Green Bay. And that's kind of what I'm saying. Think about, think about schematically. I mean,

think about what this type of stuff they want to do. And, I mean, that that entire tree from, like, what Pete Carrow was and then what the Seahawks used to be, when Jeff Halfley was there. That,

that one actually makes the most sense to me. Green Bay. You drop him in there. It makes sense. They need two starting safeties. They're not going to splurge, but they'll take a one-year rental on a guy. Hell yeah.

Like, because what they get Amos for? like, you know, like that. It was like $8 million at the time because he was coming off a pretty big year. He was right. Yes. Yeah. Okay.

But I'm saying that they are willing to, they'll actually pay for something like this. So actually it makes a little bit of sense. That would actually make that all that sense. Okay. Well, that's a leader type, captain type. Oh, yeah. Does it veteran presence? That's one to keep an eye on.

But his landing spot, I'm particularly interested in. So the Seahawks now with all this flexibility become a team to watch over the next week or so as we get into free agency. Their plan is something out. I will be keeping close eye on. All right. The wave of news today was mostly about the franchise tag decisions. Many of these we knew were coming, right? So Brian Burns, tagged by the Panthers as a linebacker, so it puts him at $24 million a year.

Apparently the discussions on a long-term deal broke down with him last week. This has been an ongoing saga. I mean, the fact that they could not come to an extension for him, them turning out two first-round picks from the Rams of the deadline two years ago, becomes one of the ultimate sliding doors moments over the last couple seasons in the NFL. I mean, imagine this Panthers team with two more first round picks instead of Brian Burns based on where they are right now in their process.

Wouldn't they like that? Wouldn't they like that a little bit? Yeah. And how about the Rams is gone? Oh, sweet. We got Byron Young. We found someone that's decent. At least they're in third round.

That was okay. So many, very often, the best deals that you can make are the ones that you don't make. And that is exactly what happened with Brian Birds and the Rams. He's a good player, but that's just not where they were. No. And the Eagles, Alan Robinson won's the whole time one.

Yeah. They didn't get Alan Robinson, so they trade for AJ Brown. It's like, oh, that worked out. Okay, whew! But yeah, like you said, with the Brian's Burns thing, especially where these teams are at. Like the Rams weren't as close as they thought, and the Panthers thought they were closer than they actually were.

And that's where you end up with this. If we get to a place where it's DeNeal Hunter and not much else with the edge rushers and Jonathan Grenard as well, There are a couple of guys that we'll dig into later this week on another show that after the pre-agent class actually comes into view. But Burns is one of those guys based on where Carolina is right now. I'd call. I would call and see what it would take.

Can you get him for a two and change because of how desperate this team is for draft capital? And are they a little bit more realistic about their timeline where they would maybe be willing to do that? That's absolutely one of them. A lot of these I wouldn't. A lot of these, I do think are placeholders to, get to a long-term deal. And even where a lot of these teams are, the Colts, the Jags, the Bucks, the Ravens, even the Bears, these are teams that want to make the playoffs.

These are teams that have designs on it. And I think a realistic shot, they don't want to trade these guys for draft capital. Panthers are in a different situation. So if I'm a team that needs pass rushing help, I'm picking up the phone immediately before free agency starts. Yeah, all the others, this is like, oh, this is just a time. This is hitting the button for extending, extend the time. Just extend the time so we can talk it out.

Yeah. I mean, looking, like, since 2019, 45 players are franchise tag, 25 players play with the tag, and the 15 were extended, five were traded. So, kind of looked at those numbers and you look at these. How many do I actually think that we're going to play on that? Maybe one or two? Like, you know, like that's how many guys were tagged? Eight, nine, eight, one, two, three, four, six.

One, two, three, five. Great radio. Seven. But, no, but it was just looking at that. Okay, just by math. But I don't know. I don't looking at, like you just said, like Justin Matabeeke, Maddibi, but it's just like you look at him. It's like, they want to bring him back.

This is, this is, this is, this is, this is, this is, this is, yes, I know they want to do with the compics and everything. But this is the type of guy that you would splurge on. This is type of guy that's like a winchpin of your defense. Josh Allen, the Jaguars probably just woke up, you know, Trump Alki woke up today ago, oh, it's just like we did. Oh, yeah, it's tag day. So yeah, we should, we should, we should call Josh Allen's people, get that going. That's legit how it felt for them. Jamlin Johnson, like you said with the Bears, that one makes total sense, like, especially where they're at.

That's the only one where, just because it's a corner and corner play is so volatile, right? He's been banged up over the last couple years. He played an extremely high level last year that was definitely a step up from where he'd been. That's one where if I'm polls, I can say, you know what? Let's play on the tag. Let's just see how this goes. And then maybe next year, we get to a place where an extension is worthwhile or things fall back to Earth a little bit and you don't want to do that. So corner specifically is one where I think the weight.

and C game makes sense. But for a lot of these others, I do think that we're just pushing toward an extension. And let's get into some of those here. The Colts tagging Michael Pittman, I think they want him back. And this is one of those, we talked about this. And after being in indie, I had a couple discussions about him in this market just because I was really curious about how teams saw him. So that, that Evans number that we saw, where it's 25, but it's really 21.

I would imagine that Michael Pittman, even at his age, he's a little bit younger, but he's not the level player that Mike Evans is. Does he fall in a similar range? And even if you're overpaying, quote unquote, for his production, if you give him $24 million a year, he's a homegrown guy. You like to reward homegrown guys. He's a good guy. He's good in the locker room. I do see this getting done, even if the number they eventually get to is quote unquote a slight overpay for a guy that really is a high end number two receiver. Yeah. These are the ones I struggle with because it depends on the rest of your past catcher room. You know, then it's like, oh, okay, if you get another guy, a young guy on a rookie contract,

you know, potentially a first round pick or a second round pick, you know, maybe that can potentially be that guy. Yeah, I could totally understand that. It's, I, I, Pittman is a player I just struggle with. And even when we talked about it last week and you just said, it's like, is he a high end two or one? What do you pay that? Because I, I trust when the ball goes to him, but is he that true alpha of the past

catching or the past game. All right, let's talk about guys in this range. This market in Exeter. So what about, this is a bad question to ask you. But if I asked a person, an average evaluator in the NFL, would you rather have Chris Godwin or Michael Pittman? What do you think their answer would be? Oh, I don't have Godwin.

Yeah. But it's, and so Godwin made $20 million a year two years ago when he signed that extension. Yeah. So this is kind of what we're talking about where like Mike Evans is theoretically the number one. Yep. If Godwin's a high end number two, that's still in this market is like $24 million a year. you look at it have almost like a $2 million inflation a year. So that makes sense.

So Kirk, Kirk's number is just always the one. That was 17. I like Pittman over Kirk because he could play outside. I know Kirk was a huge overpaying all that stuff. But that's, it's this realm. I'm trying to grasp what the number is.

Because in my head, I'm like, oh, 18. You know what, Pittman. 18, maybe, maybe get up to 20 a year.

But it's like, but that's not how the market works. And that's not how long. And I think there are enough teams that if he were to hit the market would be willing to pay him at that spot. because teams need receivers. Even if we're moving toward a saturation moment because of all the guys coming in, I still don't think we've reached it because I still think there are teams that would pay him $20 million.

Yeah, you need past catchers. Yes. You need multiple. Yeah, so you have to start with one. It was just, I mean, honestly, it almost is like the conversation about Montef sweat when we had on here where it's like, yeah, but you need one of the, you need this type of guy because to build the whole room, you need multiple of them. That's why I'm, I'm so guilty of this. I think we have to, you have it in your mind that when you're giving out every single one of these deals, you have to win the deal. Every single time you have to win the deal.

Are you getting the most value possible out of this? And I can tell you for a fact, that's not how the Colts are viewing this. So I assume that he will be back just because it, the room comes together if he's one of those guys. Yes. He's a rug. Yes. He's a rug in the room. Yes, yes. But you're so right.

With team building, it's not just one individual move. It's all of them on the whole. So it's like you get your surplus elsewhere, quote unquote, surplus. quarterback contract and have a little bit more flexibility. So I do think he's back and I do think he's back on an extension. No, this makes a lot of sense. I'm actually glad we talked this out because he has been in my head for about two weeks now, just trying to figure out what I would pay him because I was really curious how they saw him.

And after some conversations, I was like, okay, that makes sense. Again, it's not the most scientific way to view it. I do think the way that they're looking at it makes sense. The Josh Allen thing here is interesting on a couple different levels. He gets guaranteed $24 million from the Jags on the outside linebacker tag. It's funny that the linebacker tag is now higher than the defensive end tag. So funny. We've flipped over the last like seven years.

But it makes sense when you consider how many three, four defenses there are in the NFL. So he gets 24 million. What this means now is that with him on the tag, it seems like Calvin Ridley is going to hit free agency. And I just, this team is frustrating. Every single little song and dance that they've gone through over the last two. One of my favorite annual events every single year is the Jaguars cutting all the guys they signed two off-season prior. You just know it's coming.

Every single one. The Fatsu-Case deal was signed for him to be cut. Like, that's exactly what that deal is. And it's not his fault, but that is the position that that team is in because they can't, they hadn't drafted any players. So they have to overpay for these guys. So two years later, when theoretically you should try, be trying to compete, you need the flexibility.

It's like, oh, well, we can't afford these guys. It's just inevitable. It happens every single year. I'll never, ever forget the argument I had with Barnwell, the year that they signed, it was Jared Odrick, and then who was the right tackle from the Cowboys that was kind of a rotational piece that had some starting experience and then ultimately went to Jacksonville. They spent so much money on him. His name I cannot remember. But it was one of the first moments where I started to finally on Jeremy Parnell. That's who it was.

So it was one of the first moments. I was young. You know, this is probably like the 2014, 2015 off season. This is almost 10 years ago. So I'm like 25, 26. I just started covering the league a couple years ago. And I remember vividly, I was sitting in my ex-girlfriend's apartment doing the show and arguing with Barnwell. And I was like, I mean, they don't have any players.

They might as well do this. And he's like, that's a terrible way to think about it. And then 18 months later, every single one of those guys got cut. It was a very important lesson for me to learn. And the fact that the Jags themselves don't. seem to have learned that lesson is just one of those things. The NFL, the beat, the beat goes on, man. It just never, ever stops. Cosmic ballet of the Jaguars. It's, I mean, just look at the roster. And again, it's like, they need Lyman. They need a corner. They need more pass rushing help.

And that's the thing. The thing is like, why don't you sign? The thing with Josh Allen thing that frustrates me so much is they should have locked them up before this year. And they could have gotten a discount. Josh Allen had all the indications that he was not only a good player, but one that was going to like excel. You know, some of the sack numbers were going to come up and all that because of pressure rates and everything. And it's just like, their self-scouting is just awful. I mean, look at, look at guys like Quincy Williams flourishing elsewhere.

You know, like, you just like, God, you guys, what are you guys watching when you guys, how do you assess your team? If this is what you guys are sitting at, even when they signed Fokossey, I remember when we did that show, I was like, oh, this is an under the radar defensive tackle guy I like, and then the jack spent on him. And everyone's like, oh, you like that, right? I'm like, not for that much. Yeah.

Like it was like, even that was an overpay. It was just, but again, what you say was. Oh, it undeniably was. Yeah. But it's just, they're so frustrating. The most frustrating team in the league right now. So now with all those cuts, they have $49 million in cap space. That's before the tag for Josh Allen kicks in.

So that goes down to about 25. And this is what happens. When you cut all these starters, you need to replace them so much. So now you have a hole at corner. Now you have a hole at one of your receiver spots if you don't bring Ridley back. If they don't bring Ridley back and they're, trotting out there next year was Zay Jones, Christian Kirk, and the same approach as before. And then they're in a position where they have to draft another receiver that they keep making

these moves where they give themselves such a narrow window to get where they want to go. And that's what's so frustrating. You've used this word about them multiple times. It feels so fragile. And even now, as they've created all this cap space, the build of the roster still feels fragile. And it's just an unfortunate place to be when you have a young quarterback. a young good quarterback who gives a shit with tier you want to put them in on a very reasonable,

workable deal. But that is exactly where the Jacks consistently and continue to find themselves. Oh, but even like, okay, so Evan Ingram, they get on a cheapy deal. You know, hey, whatever, prove it contract one year. I'll place his contract. And then they're like, well, well, they tagged him last year and I was like, whatever, but then they extended them. And now they're paying them a decent amount of money.

But again, Evan Ingram has some skills, but he has a lot of warts too because he can't do certain things than Christian Kirk. I like Christian Kirk. Christian Kirk is fine when he's out on the field, but he's a very specific type of player. But again, when you're building around specific type of players that aren't scheme proof, that can't line up everywhere, they only can do certain things really well, and you're paying them. They're not auxiliary pieces. They are the, they are the guys that are supposed to be the cogs of your passing game or cogs of your defense or whatever. That's why it just doesn't make sense to me because you're paying those. Those should be cherries on top, not the building blocks of the ice cream of your entire offense.

It's just so frustrating because when they make the moves, I see them go, well, we check that box. Now we don't need a tie. You know what? We're going to draft Brennan Strange who has the same exact skill set as as Evan Ingram or a guy that can block because, well, that works for us, right?

We like these run around. It's like, oh my God, what do you? You guys, get how this works. Like any of this works. So, yeah, very, very frustrating team. Because every move they make, you can see it in real time going, oh, don't do that. What they feel like is a team where the guys in charge of deploying the players and the guys in charge of picking the players are completely disconnected.

And we've heard rumblings about that, but I think every single thing that happens with this franchise gives you more and more of an indication that that is the operating procedure that is currently happening in Jacksonville. And it will continue to be frustrating as long as that is the case. luckily the GM and the head coach did not have power struggles at their previous stops. It didn't end horribly in both of those previous spots. No history of it. Also, the GM has shown a lot of reasons why he should continue to be the GM. Absolutely. There's a lot of skins on the wall here over the last couple of years.

He's nothing. He has nothing. Oh, my God. Drafting injured players earlier than they should go. Let's get to see. That's a straight mark. Where the vibes are a little bit better here. Okay.

You mentioned Matt at BK. He's on the tag now. Guaranteed him. million this year. The Ravens do not have a ton of financial flexibility. Lamar's on a huge cap hit now. They've made some moves where they've spent on players. But he's just one of those guys that the assent makes sense. There's some of these guys where the jump comes out of nowhere. And I know his sack numbers are probably a tiny bit inflated based on what he is down to down. But this to me was the natural progression of who he was as a

player. The Ravens have been willing to walk away from guys that maybe aren't in that same range or it is maybe a one year blip or they've said you know what this wasn't part of our original plan even if we have to take a little bit of medicine and take the compick a little bit further down the road we're willing to do that I wonder if they see him a little bit differently than that hmm I I'm I'm curious because he had for him it was just I mean I didn't think he'd be all pro pro pro pro I thought he had pro bowl potential and also he was an all pro this year and I think some of the noise I I don't know because there I think you even get had it in the notes right here.

Six of their eight players that they've tagged the Ravens, they've committed to long-term deals. But also the Ravens reputation is, oh, they find all these pass rushers and let them walk to get cop picks. So it's like which philosophy is winning out here? They've never paid a guy among the defensive line market rate since probably sucks, right? Think about all the guys they've let walk.

Pernel McPhee, they let walk. Cedarius Smith, they let walk. Matt Judon, they let walk. They assigned Michael Pierce to an extension. Like, they, a couple interior guys. guys, but those weren't high, high top of the market type players. Yeah. So they very rarely have been willing to shop in this aisle when it comes to pieces up front

because they've trusted their ability to put it together. And also we're getting into a new era because they put, like you said, they paid Lamar. And so does that change their philosophy too? Rather than going like this kind of always compete kind of, or kind of always trying to find these assets kind of thing. So yeah, that's another thing. How aggressive are they with stuff? I think they are pretty aggressive with it.

I feel like they feel like they have some. somewhat of a window, obviously, when you have Lamar. But again, new DC, you know, okay, does that change things? But same system. And I think part of the mindset that has, that kind of was overarching when it came to how they build their defensive line over the last 10 years is when you're blitzing, 45% of the time, there's no reason to spend top five money on one individual pass rusher.

But as that philosophy has shifted a little bit, are they now more like a normal team, quote unquote, where you need that linchpin to your pass rush. So that's why in multiple different levels, it seems like they've kind of entered a new era. So is that going to affect their thinking with Madabike specifically? Yeah. I think they keep them. I hope they do. It's just a fun story.

It is. He's come into his own just as they've kind of shifted their philosophy. I just, I want to see him continue to do what he's doing in Baltimore. Yeah. All those flashes just come to fruition. I mean, it was just, I mean, it was a joke. I was my breakout player for two years. years. Finally didn't do it this year and he breaks out. That's how it goes. But no, but it's a testament to

the Ravens, man. They're coaching so good. They grow these players. They have plans for all of them. And again, what was the plan? I'm sure they didn't expect an all pro type year. But like, what was their plan knowing like, oh, maybe his underlying numbers might show he's breaking out. So we're going to pay him this. You know, I'm just, I don't know they're thinking, but I'm just very curious what they do. Think about this. And they've let guys walk in the past. But as Bellar points out here, like you said, when they've tagged guys, they have traditionally come to an extension with those players. If a guy's worth tagging, he's worth keeping for the most part with the way that Baltimore operates. So just something to keep in mind. Let's talk about Christian Wilkins now, because this is

an offshoot of the defensive tackle market. If Matabike is not going to hit the market, then Christian Wilkins become, and I assume Chris Jones won't either. I just am under the assumption, under the impression that Chris Jones will be back in Kansas City. So now that Super Bowl speech? Is that? I just think all science point to him be back. It does. I don't. They put the tag on Sneed, so we know about that. Once they tag Sneed is when I was like, okay, that makes sense for Jones. And Sneed also, I think that Sneed and Burns are the two guys where I would call. Because Sneed is, if you look at the development plan that the chiefs have gone or gone

on the back end of their defense, they've always found players consistently. They have done such a great job of taking guys drafted in the fourth round, the sixth round, undrafted free agents, and turn them into high-priced players. So on the Sneed side of this, I think it makes sense for them to get a two for Sneed now and be able to draft whoever they want with that pick rather than eventually letting him hit free agency after a year on the tech. That's how I see it. I wouldn't be surprised at all if the Lions called and said, we'll give you a two and they said, cool. Yeah, I'm sure they're way over with Sneed. Sneed will have a market too.

I mean, Sneed, again, another versatile guy inside outside. I can boy, it's coverage and all this stuff. So I think that the Sneed thing is more like just the cheap. chiefs have options of however they want to push it, how what they want to commit to. It's nice when you have my homes. And you can just do that. It's very nice. Now this is like, it feels make or break.

It's like important. Don't get me wrong. But none of it feels like, ah, well, this is going to cripple the entire. Well, Chris Jones got it. The opposite of the fragility we're talking about other places is how the chiefs feel. So if Chris Jones and Matt a beak air staying, which it seems like they are, that leaves Christian Wilkins with what I assume is going to be a robust free agent market. The dolphins did not bring Christian Wilkins back.

and they just cut Jerome Baker. So for anyone wondering, the salary cap is very real. It's a very real thing. So if he ends up hitting the market, Brad Spielberger, who does a very good job of hitting numbers

in his free agent projections, has him at four years, $100 million with $67 million guaranteed, which would not shock me if he's the last guy standing. Where do you think he makes the most sense? I don't know. Look at teams with cap space,

team like the Texans, who need, I think, help along their spine and have a lot of space. that timeline kind of works. You know, he's entering his prime. I mean, he's entering his mid-late 20s kind of guy you want. Wilkins, to me, is tier two detackle, a very good one, not that tier one type of guy.

That's why he's hit the market like this. That's how it kind of goes. Unlike a guy like Fatu Kasi, though, he does have pass rush juice. So even if he's a step down, he can affect the game on every single play. And he plays a shitload of snaps. Three down, and he's playing multiple defenses, types of defense. He was in a four-as defense, and then now a Fangio defense, excelled him both, Excel playing head up, Excel playing over a guy's shoulder, you know,

two gaping, one gaping. I think he's a guy, yeah, you're going to overpay. It's how the sticker price is always going to be high. But he makes sense to me as a guy that, like, hey, if we're close, we feel like we can push, I'll bring him in. Like the Lions have a ton of cap space too, but it's like, are they going to go with like a Lee McNeil and just kind of keep him rolling because they kind of have some sameness as some of their play style.

So I don't know. The Texans to me is the one that makes the most sense because I just think of who's leaving the guys that they already have. I actually really like him pairing with like a Will Anderson. That'd be really fun. Just press, press, press, press that pocket. So that's the one that stands out the most to me. Texans is fun.

I think there are a bunch of teams up there near the top that you get Cardinals. Cardinals mean pieces on defense, period. The Cardinals have pieces on defense. That one makes sense. The readers have 62 players under contract and they still have some of the most cap space. That cracks me out. And even with the quarterback making it fit.

$50 million a year. They've got $57 million in castries. The Cardinals, the Raiders, the Raiders desperately need interior defensive line help. And the other one I would say, even though, you know, well, they can't pay T. Higgins, da, da, da, da, da. The Bengals. The Bengals have made a couple splashes in recent years. And DJ Readers hitting free agency. So is that one where, okay, that one seems the least likely to me, but just one more team to throw out.

And by the way, Christian Wilkins last year, 968 snaps. most among interior defense linemen in the NFL by 20 snaps, 2022, 1,000 snaps, 122, second in the NFL to Chris Jones. And that was playing two fewer games than Chris Jones because that includes the playoffs. So over the last two years, he has played the most snaps of any defensive interior player in the entire NFL. That matters. If you're paying $25 million a year, having consistent production, I think is something absolutely

to keep in mind. A winning player up front is huge. that plays that many staffs, and he's not a specialist. Yeah. And I, they had the hint like whatever two months ago when they were like, you know, Christian's guys earned the right to test the market. And I was, oh, ho, ho, ho. Wow.

At the beginning of the year, was not expecting that. So I'm curious what he's market is because he's a good player. And usually don't see these guys hit the free market. A couple more tags to run through here. The buck's tag Antoine Winfield, not surprising at all. 17 million for the safety tag. Adam Schaftor reported this is a placeholder until they get a deal done, which I think makes total sense.

I think he would have had a monstrous market in free agency. I had a GM tell me in Indianapolis that they would have paid him to reset the market at safety if he had a free agency. Really? More than Derwin, more than anyone. So that is the type of player that we're talking about in the eyes of the NFL. Yeah. No, everyone loves him. Everyone loves him.

He's a great player. I actually was, what did Jesse Bates get last year? He's going to break that. Oh, it's because Jesse Bates isn't even the biggest safety. safety contract. No. So it's, Jesse Bates is up there,

but I think Derwin still has the highest AAB of anyone at safety. And so it's still 19 million. So I, I think if he had hit free if he had hit free agency,

who would have gotten paid $20 million a year? Yeah, he's that's kind of difference maker though. He had multiple fumble, first fumbles at the one yard line, you know, this year.

He's just a good player that he makes, it's one of these things where some players make impact plays, especially DBs, but then they'll, the down to now minutia, you know, kind of don't do so much. He does everything. He covers everything.

He plays the run. He makes explosive plays for the defense. Good player. Yeah, he deserves, though. Every penny he's going to get. Safety over the next couple of years, I can't wait to watch how it goes. Because there's a difference between a position being easy to find production at, because you can get guys in the third and fourth round because it's more based on what's going on between the years than it is your 40 time.

and whether or not it's worth paying one after you find one. Both of those things can be true at the same time. I think that linebacker is very similar. Just because it's hard to identify talent, so using a top five pick on it isn't worth it. But when you've identified the talent, it's probably worth paying for. Winfield is going to be that conversation and what Kyle Hamilton ends up making.

Those are like sort of the pivot point things that are going to be worth watching at that position. How these teams are used all of them. I mean, they're on the field everywhere now. So it's like, they make them, we've talked about the green dot for the safeties. Like they've become such an important position. So I'm with you. It's like you don't have to spend that initial capital, but you need them.

Just like we talk about linebackers, you got to invest a little bit because then you got to find someone that can be out there because it matters so much. And I think some of these defensive coordinators have DB backgrounds now that that that's why they prioritize it so much because they're playing so much top down stuff. So yeah, very interesting market. We already talked about Jaywin Johnson. I think that was always the end point. I assume the bears are going to try to get a long-term deal done there, but he was always going to be back with Chicago. The last tag thing that happened,

we had a wild transition tag. It's so very rarely do you see them in the wild. But here we are. Kyle Dugger gets the transition tag from the Patriots. For people not familiar with the transition tag, because it doesn't happen very often. There have only been four of them in the last decade. Kenyon Drake in 2020, Kendall Fuller in 2018,

Charles Clay and Kyle, in 2018. I'm sorry. I don't know why I said Kendall. I remember it happening. I nodded. I nodded too. Kenyon, Drake, Kyle Fuller, Charles Clay in 2015, and Alex Mack in 2014. I remember the Alex Mac one vividly for some reason. He signed an offer sheet with Jags and the Browns matched. So the way the transition tag works is teams can sign you to an offer sheet. Your team has the right to match that deal. If they do not choose to match it, you're gone for nothing, unlike the franchise tech. And the reason the teams would do that is you save a little bit of money. So for the Patriots specifically, this is $13.8 million instead of $17 million plus,

like the bucks had to pay for Antoine Winfield. And the Patriots have the money, right? Like they'll be able to match any contract that he's given if they want to. And a position like safety, maybe in a unique player like Kyle Dugger, who is like, are you just a fit in our defense, which I kind of think he is, you know, that Patriots type of defense. Okay, what's let the league establish your mind? market and see what they like what because we feel this way do other teams show that way right so like you say maybe we save that three million that we could you know we're paying you

12 instead of 16 or something like that but no I think that Alex Mac is the greatest example of this because again yeah we actually worked how you would think this would works they match some team that's that happened with Cal Fuller too I mean and that happened a few different times Charles Clay didn't end up getting matched so he went to Buffalo from Miami but yeah several times when this has happened, a team has ultimately matched a contract that the offer sheet that a player got. I was curious to what I was a dougar because anyone who listens to the show knows I love him.

But it's just, again, he's a unique player. Like he has a unique skill set that he's really good at. But again, I actually don't know what I would pay that. It was like, am I, is a Belichick running my defense? No. I don't know. Or a Mayo or anything like that. Is Brian Flores calling my plays?

Okay, yeah, then it's a different incentive, different way I'll look at this. but is Gus Bradley calling my place? Yeah, I don't know if I want Kyle Dugger in that type of defense or, you know, one of the, you know, Damico Ryan's. Like, I don't know. That's a weird fit. I'd be like, oh, I'll see more just a linebacker. So, yeah, I think this is one of those where they're like, we don't know either.

Let's see. Let's see what everyone thinks about you. So their defense coordinator, DeMarcus Covington, was their defensive line coach. So they did go in-house for their defensive coordinator. So you'd assume there's some carryover and is that going to inform how they ultimately make this decision. last one I wanted to hit here, Dalton Schultz back to the Texans on a three-year deal that's going to pay him $12 million a year. That's borderline top 10 tight-end money. And for where the Texans are right now and for what sort of production he gave them last year, don't have any issue with it whatsoever.

Nope. Midline secondary pass catcher pay. That's what he's getting. That's what you are. And even look at other tight-end contracts, like Evan Ingram was three years, 41-mill, 24 guaranteed. Cole Comette was in that range Colquette was 4, 50, and 33 guaranteed. So basically kind of same.

This kind of tier-thre-ish tight end tier, I would say, that's kind of what seems to be the going rate, that kind of $11, $12 million a year. And I think that, again, giving your very good young quarterback a weapon that he's familiar with that you can afford is a good way to use that excess cap space that the Texans are walking into this off season with.

All right, that's all we got. There's stuff about Sequin Barclay, the guys who didn't get tagged. We'll have plenty of time to talk about that on our second show this week as we actually look forward and do a little previewing of what this free agent class looks like now that we know who's going to be on the move and who is not after that dead deadline has passed. So that is all we've got. Let's get to Dane and let's dig into some mock draft wonderfulness here. Joining us now is the athletics own draft expert.

Dane Bruegler. Dan, it's very good to be doing this with you again. To me, this is the signal the draft season has begun. The fact that you and I are back on a podcast together. Yeah, it was good to see you in person, Robert, in Indianapolis. But yeah, now it feels like as you leave Indy, it's like, okay, information overload. A lot happened at the combine. Now it's about, okay, how does this all play into context with the draft? All the meetings, all the conversations, all the testing data, all the notes from the

positional drills, what does it all mean? And, you know, for some of these guys, it's back to the tape. you know most times it's like when you fire up godfather three thinking hey I was too harsh maybe be better this time turns out now first instinct was right so uh but that's for most of these guys guys do surprise you but yeah now it's out of the combine it's all about trying to make it all make sense and that's what we're trying to figure out here the next six weeks or so your postcombide mockers is what we're going to talk about today for anyone who hasn't looked at it or read about it on the athletic is available to you a lot of

of really interesting stuff in there. That's what it feels like things have kind of clicked into place. Things are starting to become real because after the Senior Bowl, we've had our real first long look at everybody. Every single guy who is draft relevant, even if they didn't test, even if they didn't measure, even if they didn't do whatever guys aren't doing these days, this is still the moment when everyone was collected in indie, teams are around these players for the first time, underclassmen and seniors.

There's a reason that the Combine feels like a touchdown moment in the draft process. And in your mock today, you tried to make this thing as realistic as possible. We've got seven trades in the first round, including three in the top 10. So this is no longer a frivolous exercise. When we get into March, this becomes something where you're really trying to pinpoint why teams are going to make these decisions in which directions they're going to go. Mock drafts are all about scenarios. That's what the whole point of this is.

And let's be honest, trades are going to happen in the first round. It could be three trades, could be eight trades. We don't know, but trades are going to happen in the first round. And it feels like this could be a trade heavy first round with these quarterbacks, some teams that are like one player over the other. It feels like there's a lot of that this year. So why not do a mock where you're projecting some of these trades? And that's what this is.

There's seven trades. A lot of them are interesting. Some fans really like them. Some don't. But yeah, let's go through it. I'm sure everyone was totally fine with. everyone you mock to their team. I guarantee you that's been the reactions so far. I have a lot of new best friends today. Let's start at number three with New England because I think that's really the

first big pivot point in the draft, even though there's some smoke about Washington potentially looking to trade down, but I'll believe that when I see it because they're in a position to really find a game-changing quarterback with one of those first two picks. You went shock with one and two. Caleb Williams goes number one. Drake May goes number two to Washington. The Patriots feel like a pivot point for a bunch of different reasons. This is one of the last spots for a quarterback if you want to trade up. they're a team in a front office in transition. So where you ultimately landed here is you had the Falcons coming up from number eight to number three, giving up a two this year and a 20-20-first to do it.

Why Atlanta and why Jaden Daniels in this spot? So, yeah, it feels like Kirk Cousins is plan A, right? That just listening to Diana and others talk about the situation. It feels like the Falcons are going to make a strong play for him. Arthur Blank wants to compete now. but if cousins goes back to Minnesota, doesn't want to uproot his family, the plan B for Atlanta,

it feels like this is what it is, trade up for that third quarterback. And from what I heard, they really like Daniels, if that is who ends up being that third quarterback still available. And, you know, on the flip side for the Patriots, too, let's, you know,

I think they're in a position where they're not a rookie quarterback away from seriously competing. And what we know about Elliot Wolf and what I've been told about Elliot Wolf, obviously his Packers background, he wants picks. He wants to build that roster. So if they're not head over heels in love with the quarterback that's available there,

I think you can pass on that guy and trade back. They'll have plenty of options. There's a lot of teams picking top 14 that will be at least examining those scenarios. But it's interesting with the Patriots as well, because let's be honest, if you're picking a quarterback in the top 10, if you're any pick in the top 10, it's an owner pick. And you know the Kraft family, watching that offense last year were disgusted with what they were getting from the quarterback position.

So what's the quarterback plan for the Patriots? Is it Justin Fields? Is it Pennix in the second round? If they do trade away from this pick, they have to have something in place because status quo is not going to be good enough. But it does feel like they're in a spot where they want to compile picks more than anything. It makes total sense. This is one of those scenarios where if you were to drop a quarterback into the current Patriots offense, the way that it exists right now, it's a bad situation.

And even if you have a lot of money to throw around in free agency, what sort of game-changing receivers or offensive linemen are going to be available in free agency? Tyron Smith's probably the best available left tackle. He's in his mid-30s. You need a left tackle. You need weapons of every kind. So if you're going to take Jayden Daniels here and not stockpile of those picks, you're setting that guy up, if not for failure, then to have a real struggle early in his career. And the other side of it is, think about all the conversations we had last week, Dane, about the Patriots changing their entire scouting process, heading into this pre-draft process. Doing that and getting to a point where you feel comfortable taking a quarterback in what is going to be a two and a half, three-month period, that is a huge decision to make in that truncated space when you're going through so much upheaval and change at every single level of the organization.

It really is an overhaul of what they're, the identity of what they want to be as an organization from the front office. It's, there's going to be a lot of upheaval. There's no question about it. And we just don't, there's a lot of unknowns right now. We don't know how they feel about these quarterbacks. Because if you are in love with these quarterbacks, it's hard to pass, regardless of the rest of your roster. You just don't know when you'll have a shot at one of these guys again. But we also don't know how they feel about the rest of the roster.

They might feel like a total tear down as necessary. So there's a lot of unknown with the New England right now, but it does feel like a tradeback feels like the most likely scenario. It's just a matter of how far back will they be most comfortable going? Because you look at Atlanta going back to eight, you can understand that. But Broncos at 12, the Raiders at 13, would the Patriots be open to moving back that far? That's also a part of this conversation as well. Going to eight, you have them taking Joe All from Notre Dame, which I think makes perfect sense.

You still get a foundational piece and you add more picks as part of the process. And I think the contrast between where the Patriots are and where the Falcons are is a notable one here. The Patriots are at step one, truly step one. Even if they're not framing it as a teardown, it's a teardown by definition. They have no players on the roster. Typically, you have to cut a couple guys to get to a teardown. They don't even have to do that. So them stockpiling the supporting cast, making sure that when we end,

end up making our move for a quarterback, we can put him in a decent spot. Atlanta's already there. This may be year one of the Rahim Morris regime, but this is year four of Terry Fontno building this team. And they started that urgency last year in the way that they spent money in free agency. So I think that real push to say, we have to come out of this spring with a quarterback, makes total sense for the Falcons in a way it doesn't for New England. Yeah, urgency is the best word for it. No doubt about it. Let's keep moving here. You have another big trade in the top five, and this one is music to my ears. I was, we were, I was yelling at you over dinner about this last week because I was so excited about it.

You and Nate multiple different times on Prospects to Pros over the last couple weeks talked about the bears potentially moving up from nine, it further up into the top 10 to get one of three these receivers. And that's what ultimately happens here. You have Marvin Harrison Jr. going to Arizona at four, which has been mocked in this entire cycle. But then you have Chicago going from nine to five to go get Roma Dunezay from Washington. Why does this pairing make sense to you? Yeah, and I don't, obviously the Bears only have so many draft picks right now. Is it five? If the Ryan Bates trade prevents the Bears from getting Roma Dunez, you don't even have to.

I can't even describe to you how upset I'll be. I understand why they went to get Ryan Bates. We already talked about that made earlier today, but still, they're running out of picks here. Yeah, and I don't think they'd be excited to give up picks to go up there, but, you know, Poles isn't trying to give away picks here. So I understand if there is pushback on this, especially considering the depth of this wide receiver class. But I think that this trade-up scenario speaks to how good these receivers are at the top.

Knowing what pulls values, I just, I love the fit of a Dune Zeta Chicago. He really is what a complete receiver looks like. The physical profile, the position specific traits, the route running, the ability to finish through contact, the competitive mentality. And this isn't a raw player. This is, you know, it's not a guy like you're betting on upside. This is an NFL ready. No batteries required.

right out of the box type of guy. And like at the combine talking with different teams, oh, Dunezay is the number one receiver for several GMs in this draft. That's, I 100% believe that. And, you know, I think most teams, they have a goal to come away from any draft with four starters. And, you know, that's the realistic goal. This trade would leave Chicago with, I believe, four picks with what I laid out. And so two first rounders, two fourth rounders.

But, you know, we also have to count the second rounders, Montes, what, the fifth rounder would be Bates and so offensive line depth. And so it's not just four picks, but we also have to look at it as your first two picks or two cornerstone players, the quarterback, the receiver. And, you know, you're drafting them to be cornerstone guys of your team, your franchise moving forward. So I think regardless, Chicago would feel great about this draft, if that's, regardless of the fourth rounders pan out. The first two guys you get, you have to feel really optimistic moving forward with those two guys. And there are two other things to keep in mind with Chicago's overall draft capital.

One, they're probably going to get something for Justin Fields. Even if it's underwhelming, if it's a third round pick or it's a fourth round pick, you can recoup some of the price here. The other thing to keep in mind, they have Carolina second in 2025. They still have one more piece of that hall from Carolina. So if that gets involved, do they have to dig into this year's draft capital to the same extent? So there are still picks looming out there.

Getting back to that urgency word, this is a sign and a reminder that the bears are not in a position that teams typically are in when they're drafting a quarterback number one overall. We're a couple pieces away here from a real, if not complete, then a fully formed offense that you can drop the number one pick into. There's so many aspects to this that make it a unique circumstance for a team drafting a quarterback number one overall. And I think the push and the feel and the motivation to go do something splashy like this because of how many pieces you've already put into place is another reminder of that. And I think it would be interesting to see where the bears feel like they need to move up to get one of these receivers. Assuming quarterback, quarterback, quarterback, then wide receiver at four. Could we see a team trade up to get J.J. McCarthy, say at five. And if that happens, then maybe if you're the bears, you trade up to number seven,

if you're comfortable with, you know, the third of the three receivers that'll be left. So, you know, it'll be interesting, five or seven, if that would be the target. I just have a hard time believing one of these receivers is going to make it all the way down to nine, just with the way that I know the league feels about them. But, yeah, I think if they're bold about this, it's something they would not regret. So let's talk about the receivers and the picks available in that range. Two things to keep in mind for me. The Cardinals right now, because of the DJ Humphrey's injury, do not have a starting left tackle.

They do not have one. So as you keep in mind what might happen in the top 10 and whether they'd be willing to trade back, even though Marvin Harrison would be there, that lack of a starting left tackle within that offense and the amount of them in the back half of the top 10 is something to think about. And the other one within this top seven or so, people kept mocking. tackle, tackle, tackle to the Titans. I want people to go back and look at Brian Callahan's history specifically. The offenses he's been a part of and where those teams have drifted when it comes to their draft picks. He was in Denver when they had Demarius Thomas and Eric Decker and West Walker on Peyton Manning, and he was just in Cincinnati when they picked those two receivers essentially in the first round to build around Joe Burrow.

So even though they have a need for offensive Wyman, I think a lot of things about his history would indicate to you that those three receivers might be gone by number seven if the bears wanted to stand Pat. Yeah. And the, obviously, the Titans drafted an offensive lineman in the first round last year year with Peter Skoronsky. And honestly, when it comes to the Titans, maybe this is, I'll throw this out there. This is maybe where we start the Brock, Brock Bowers watch. You know, in terms of positional value, it would be kind of hilarious if Rayne Carthong, his first two picks as a GM in the first round or a guard and tight end. But, I mean, I think, you know, where did he come from?

He came from San Francisco. He, you know he sees Brock Bowers and he can see a little bit of kiddle there and how impactful that was to the 49ers offense. So, but yeah, I think your overall point is spot on. The Titans are going to look to get more dynamic on offense. What that looks like and how they do it is definitely up for debate because there's different ways they can attack it. But receiver is certainly in the mix here.

as well as tackle, especially if they move back. You takes two to tango here. The Chargers need to be willing to do this. What have you heard about the Chargers' willingness and motivation to move back from number five? Yeah, I think it's when I do a mock draft, I always run through the teams with my guys in the league and just to get their opinion about what they've heard, what they think will happen, what direction they think each team is headed. And whenever the Chargers comes up, it's always the first thing they say, well, they want to. out of there. They're not going to, they'll kick back. And it makes sense, right? I mean, you and Nate have talked about the state of the roster and how it's not as ready made as maybe

some people think it is. And Jim Harbaugh obviously wants to build the roster his way, with the way, his identity he wants to bring to the franchise. So in this mock, I have him charges trading back to nine. And I think it's a perfect fit here. Talese Fuaga, Oregon State tackle, the best run blocker in the class. He's a natural right tackle. He's a natural a right tackle. He can play tackle. He can play guard. I think when you look at that Chargers offensive line, he'd be a perfect fit, whether he is starting at guard initially or they just put him at right tackle right away. Fugga is a guy that when I talk to teams about, hey, who impressed you this week in terms of the interviews? You know, who really stood out? Fulaga's name came up

more than a few times just with the way he carries himself, how bright he is. So I think he's going to be a team favorite type of guy. And if he's there at nine and the Chargers move back, I think that'd be a perfect fit. They have tried Pipkins there under contract for, I believe, one more year at right tackle if they wanted to play McGard and Bupamott's tackle next year. That's a totally reasonable development plan. Outside of Fuaga, and I'm assuming he fits this bill for you, what other guys in maybe the top half of the first round were you surprised, we're like, I can't believe I'm putting him this high. But after the week that we just had and after all the work that I've done, this seems right.

Well, the first defensive player drafted was a MAC player, which has never happened before. Quignon Mitchell going 13. Just the fact that the first defensive player was at 13 was crazy. I don't think that's ever happened before. But for Quinnion Mitchell, he's just crushed every part of the process. I mean, I thought back in October around Halloween when I did my top 50 update, I thought I was being bold by putting them 34, 35 in my top 50. And by the end of the season, it was like, okay, no, this guy is a definite first rounder coming out of the senior bowl.

It was like, okay, this guy is going somewhere in the top 20 picks. And he was expected to test well. We knew he was going to run in the four threes. But for him to go out there and perform the way he did during the on-field drills and everything else, the way he interviewed. Quinion Mitchell, if he is the first defensive player drafted, I think that would certainly catch a few people by surprise. You had him going to the Raiders who have a definite need for corner. I think that lines up for them actually very well, as all these other teams need receivers and offensive line that,

if they can get the best corner in the draft or, in your opinion, the guy we're taking the highest, that's a win for them. Quinnette Mitchell's from Toledo, by the way. And he had a really good senior bowl week as well, didn't he? He crushed it. I mean, he was, you make the argument he was the best player there. You see the speed.

There's no panic in his game. He's a guy that just checks every box. The last two years at Toledo, he had 46 total passes defended. That's insane. Elite ball skills, the physical profile, his upbringing. Our Nick Baumgarter did a great profile on him on the athletic last week. People should read that to learn more about him. He's just overall a really quality player.

So let's get back into the top 10 here. You have the Giants taking Malik neighbors at 6, which makes total sense. Whatever weapon is available to them there, whichever the receivers is available to them. I think you run the card up. You just need to do that at some point. Even if it's so much disappointing. So much pushback from Giants fans about that not being a question. quarterback there. I was surprised. Well, that's the other door, right? Yeah. I mean, it's and okay,

and if they can't trade up, do the like J.J. McCarthy enough to take him there. I mean, it wasn't that long ago. They took, uh, you know, a quarterback at number six that some people might have said it was too early and, uh, you know, we're still talking about that. But J.G. McCarthy, not to totally pivot to J.G. McCarthy right now, but, but that's what we're going anyway. So that's the wild card. Uh, it really is because I, you talk to some. people run the league and they think that he's going to go top five. Others think it's going to be more like top 10. It's really interesting.

And so I did have J.J. McCarthy going seven. I have the Vikings trading up to get him, which I think would be the perfect kind of plan for them is to bring back Kirk Cousins, go draft J.J. McCarthy. You've got your quarterback situation set. With what we know right now in, what is it, early March, there's going to be multiple teams that are going to try and land McCarthy. You have the Vikings at 11, the Broncos at 12, Raiders 13, Saints 14. We can't rule out even like a Patriots trade back.

They could be in the mix there. Like we said, the Giants at six are a possibility. So the conversations for all these trades, they really start at the combine. And our Raiders guys, Vic and DeShan, do such a good job covering that beat. They mentioned how the Raiders were examining options to get in that five to seven range, either to trade up again for to get into the top three or maybe to take McCarthy if that's the direction they wanted to go. They just, we know they need a quarterback.

They're at such a disadvantage picking at 13, but we'll talk more about them in a bit. But back to McCarthy, it was funny, leaving the senior bowl, I tweeted out that J.J. McCarthy was going to be a top 12 pick because that was the vibe I was getting from teams. It's what made the most sense. And that just feels like he's not going to get out of there. There are too many teams that almost have to come out of this. with a quarterback. Like there's almost like,

it's almost like a panic at this point. That's why just to me it doesn't make any sense for him to get out of that range. Well, and now because of that, I don't think he gets out of the top seven. I think JJ McCarthy's going to be a top seven pick. It's just a matter of where.

At what point does a team trade up to get him? And again, this is what I'm being told. This is how teams are feeling as well. They think the Giants at six or a team trading up to five to seven, they're going to, they're expecting a great.

moves to go get the quarterbacks and the Vikings could be one of those guys. So I think another important thing to mention with McCarthy because it doesn't get talked about enough with him is most general managers, the way they think with when it comes to quarterback prospects, they believe it's the arm talent and the physical traits that sets the floor. So much we talk about these guys as, oh, the ceiling because of the physical traits. No, the physical traits is what sets the floor. And then it's the interviews and the board work. That determines the ceiling. And that's where McCarthy really shines. because of the intangibles.

Yeah, he has the tools. You can feel good about the floor. The body of work is not quite there, at least to the level you want. He only has, what, 750 dropbacks or so. But it's the intangibles that are really going to have teams hook, line, and sinker. And, I mean, when you meet and talk to the guy for five minutes,

you can understand it. You have the Titans going back to the range where all those tackles are going. So they still get one of those tackles, even while trading back, which I think makes a ton of sense. But I'm with you. I just think that the price they'd pay,

you had them trading 109 in a 2025 second Minnesota to go out from 11 and 7 to make this happen. And I think that they'd be willing to pay that sort of price. They know they have to get on the rookie quarterback time when at some point. Justin Jefferson's about to make $35 million a year. They've already extended T.J. Hawkinson. Christian Derisaw is going to be up before you know it. Their front office is motivated to get this done.

The question becomes, how do they pair that move with a usable quarterback right now to placate their head coach who wants to still be competitive. Like I mentioned, it's in a perfect world, the Vikings bring back cousins, draft McCarthy for the long term. And it's always felt that way with the Vikings, with Quessie and Kevin O'Connell. They wanted to walk that fine line of reloading while still competing. Competitive rebuild. Yeah, exactly. Rebilt. Yeah, and you guys have talked about it. It feels like that's the direction they want to go with the quarterback position as well. So, and look, last year, things fell apart quickly.

after that cousin's injury. So having the long-term plan in place is also part of having some insurance. So you have a guy ready to go. And so O'Connell met with all the top quarterbacks in Indianapolis. They wanted to draft a quarterback early last year. They had to settle until the fifth round and drafted the BYU kid. So I just don't see it happening this year where they're going to have to wait and sit. They're going to be aggressive, especially if Kirk Cousins ends up going somewhere else.

that might accelerate their need to go get one of these guys. I know that they're interested in doing this, let's have the guy sit for a year model. I don't think, I don't know if they believe that's the best path to success because we've seen it work a lot recently. Mahomes, it worked, Jordan Love it worked. Every time a guy sits, it seems to work.

Whether or not that's causal, I think is a question worth exploring. But I know they're interested in that model. Whether that includes Kurt Cousins or some other veteran stopgap quarterback, that remains to be seen based on a curse market. after we have McCarthy going at 7, the run-on offensive tackles begins. You have Joel going at 8 to New England, Fulag into the Chargers at 9, Foshano from Penn State going to the Jets at 10, and J.C. Latham going to Tennessee at 11. This to me sets up very well for all of these teams.

I think you could throw the Chargers, the Patriots, and the Titans all into the same category. You have new regimes to an extent for all three, and you have a need to stockpile picks. So why not move back and get a starting. caliber tackle in a class ripe with them and then add more picks along the way. So this stretch right here and the Jets sit in a 10, it always set up well for them. They're going to need a tackle coming out of this process. There's going to be one there. So the way that this falls for you right here, this feels very clean to me.

Yeah, it really does. And I think that's how there's a good chance that's how it plays out because, again, the tackle class this year is top heavy. I think I had eight total going in the first round in this mock draft. But every team's going to have their favorites. right, you know, and for different reasons. You know, like I said, Fuauga is the run blocker. Alt is kind of the all-around guy with upside.

Why I think Alt's going to be the first tackle drafted. Foshanoo is, you know, a really good pass protector, but developing as a run blocker. Latham, the right tackle from Alabama is maybe the strongest player in the entire draft, but he has some hiccups, especially, you know, inside moves and guys crossing his face. But all these tackles are a little bit different. With Callahan, bet, though. With Callahan specifically, you can take the monster upside guy because you can bet on player development. It's just a sort of gamble that the Titans may be able to make that other teams couldn't in this range. Exactly. And so, yeah, these tackles, we're going to see a run on them, and it could start with those tradebacks. It makes sense. These four in a row, in the order they go in. Is this what you thought it was going to be two months ago, or has this shifted a little bit for you? Yeah, I think it's shifted a little bit just as you learn more about which teams,

what they might be looking for. Like, Fuaga is a guy that doesn't have necessarily like the, like, when you deconstruct him, he doesn't have the wow traits, but he has the best film of this group. And at the end of the day, it's kind of what matters. Give me the best football players. And so Fuaga, if he's the first or second tackle drafted, I don't think that'd be a surprise. Whereas, you know, back in October, that, that, That would have been somewhat of a surprise.

Foshan new to the Jets, you know, I think that's a match that, I still think we're going to see the Jets be proactive in free agency, whether it's, you know, Taryn Smith or somebody to bring, you know, more depth of that offensive line, but also they're in a good spot to sit there and get a tackle that probably would have been a top 10 pick in last year's draft. So, yeah, I'm still in these offensive tackles, it's really preference. And if Marius Mims from Georgia, who I think is the most fascinating, player in this entire draft. If he's the second or third tackle drafted, to me, it's not a surprise.

It just depends on how balls he want to be because he has the most upside of this entire group. You have the Steelers getting aggressive and going up to 16 to get him. So where he ends up falling after getting measured, after seeing the way he moves, is going to be absolutely fascinating here over the next couple months. You have Brock Bowers falling to the Broncos at number 12. It seems like one of the best players in the draft falls into their lap based on how the first 11 picks go. And then, like you said, you had Quinean Mitchell going to the Raiders at 13. Two very good players, two positions of need, two potentially foundational pieces as these teams kind of retool themselves,

but not quarterbacks. So now both of them are in this position where, where is that guy going to come from and what are the avenues to find one? That's the number one question I had after seeing you mock these two to those spots specifically. If you pull 10 different people in the league who will be the Bronco starting quarterback in week six this year, I bet you get some wildly different answers from all those 10 people because it's, I'm not sure what their plan is. Obviously they both, both these teams, the Broncos Raiders, they want quarterbacks,

not a secret. Are they going to have to overpay in order to entice a team to get back to 12 or 13 makes it tough? Maybe we see them trade up twice like the Eagles did back in 2016 for Carson Wentz. They went from 13 to 8. And that was right around this time. I remember it was right out of the combine. One of the weirdest sets of two trades ever Because the one from 13 to 8 was just a player trade

There's two players, right? Kiko Alonzo, Byron Maxwell It was just such a strange set of trades The likes of which we don't often see these days And this year The bills did the same thing by the way, remember? And the bills went up halfway when they traded Oh man, who was the left tackle that they had?

Yeah, um, Cordy Glenn? Cordy Glenn. They traded Cordy Glenn and moved up halfway because they traded him to Cincinnati. That was another one. Yeah, 100%. But this year, will they find a taker willing to play ball? Because I think the strength of this draft is the top 10, top 12.

And so, you know, like you said, takes two to tango, and will they be able to be creative enough to find that avenue to get up there? It's going to be really interesting. Two guys that I was interested when I saw their Atlantic spot. Dallas Turner from Alabama at 14, Jaredverse from Florida State. at 19, both pass rushers. You have them going to the Saints and Rams, respectively. The picks make a lot of sense. New Orleans desperately needs to get more explosive up front and younger, and the Rams just need another edge rusher, period. It doesn't matter what age or however you want to get there.

I'm curious, what type of prospects do you see these guys as? Because getting the top two pass rushers in the draft at 14 and 19 is pretty good for this teams, but are we talking about maybe a step down from other first round pass rushers we've seen in recent years? Yeah, obviously, no Miles Garrett. no Bosa's in this group. It feels closer to that 20-21 group with the Jalen Phillips, Quitty Pay, Rousseau, you know, guys that went in the back half of round one. Dallas Turner, he's been the top pass rusher from start to finish

this entire draft process and going back to the summer because he's just a freaky, freaky guy. And we saw that at the combine. Humongous wingspan, the way he moves, the way he can run, he can stand up, he can play the run, he can be a middle linebacker if you want him to be. he can really be that Micah Parsons type. He's not quite that type of athlete,

but he has the versatility to be all over the front seven. And, you know, his limitations are only bound by your lack of creativity. So I do think Dallas Turner could be that first guy drafted among these defensive players. And then Jared Verst, he's just, he's a power guy. I mean, he explosive power. But yeah, these guys are not, they're closer to that 2021 group than the true Miles garrets of the draft in terms of top, top prospects. Makes a lot of sense.

A tons of others we can get into here before we get out of here. Two pretty notable flashy moves to receivers in the back half of this draft. You have the bills going from 28 to 24 for Ad9 Mitchell from Texas. And then you have Carolina coming back into the first round to go get Ladd-McConkie. Both of these are very fun. The idea that McConkey is now a first-rounder and Carolina would feel the need to go do this. Did you think that would be the case when you started thinking about this class? Well, back in my, when I did my updated top 50 back around Halloween,

I remember I snuck McConkey on there at like 45 thinking like, I don't know if he's going to go this high, but I just wanted to get his name in there. And here we are. But yeah, I think when you look at Carolina, it's got to be offensive line or receiver, right? And if I'm going wide receiver, give me the guy you can get open. And that's Ladd-McConkey. It's not just that he's fast, quick, sudden. He's very polished as a route runner, can create his own space underneath.

Think about Bryce Young and what he knows. needs, he needs a lad Baconki. Separation. Yeah, exactly. And so if you're Dan Morgan, first year general manager, are you really going to wait and watch him go at 32 to the chiefs? It's straight a fourth or fifth rounder. Go up, get that extra pick. And I think you're cooking.

With Buffalo, we know Brain and Bean is going to be aggressive. It just depends on how these receivers stack up for him. Mitchell's one of the few guys left who actually has X traits. Question with him is, is he a culture fit there? We know Buffalo wants competitive guys. they want to figure out the way he's wired, all of that. Mitchell has the talent to be a top 15 receiver in the league.

It's just a matter of does Buffalo feel like he is a good fit? And just to throw it in there, the other receiver in this mix, went to the Colts at 15 with Brian Thomas. Pittman insurance maybe. We know he's going to be there for the short term, not sure about the long term, but he also gives you an immediate number two.

Alec Pierce, not quite what maybe they wanted. Anthony Richardson, get more talent around him, get the 6-3-2-10 guy with 4-3 speed, better route runner than advertised, loves the block. Yeah, I think Chris Ballarder sign up for that. I think you would as well. I'm curious whether or not they believe dropping Richardson back into the mix

is enough to warrant patience with a guy like Alec Pierce. Because Gardner, Minchu did not have the skill set to get the most out of the type of player that Alec Pierce is. So I don't know if they believe, all right, we're going to get more juice simply from dropping the quarterback in here. We're going to show patience with the past catcher. because we've wanted Chris Bauer to do this for however long, and he refuses to do it with these receivers.

He just refuses to budge on it. So that team, I'm just so interested in how they're approaching this offseason, period. And if they think that that's the best fit, I don't necessarily disagree. All right, Dan Bruegler. Thank you very much, sir. Very fun to be doing this again with you, and we'll be doing it again very, very soon. Can't wait. All right, guys.

That's all we got. Thank you to Nate. Thank you to Dane. Really fun to be back with you and back into our normal. schedule here post combine. We will be back tomorrow with Diana Rossini. Very excited about digging into this with her. She's got lots of fun nuggets about how free agency might unfold.

What's the latest on Kirk Cousins? What's the latest on Baker Mayfield? What could the markets for some of these higher profile players look like when free agency kicks off next week? A reminder that we'll be doing shows every single day next week as free agency gets going starting on Monday all the way through Friday. one of my favorite weeks of the entire year, getting to respond to some stuff in real time.

So very, very excited about that. And I won't have a cold. It'll be great. Energy. It's going to be awesome. Can't wait. Please be on the lookout for all of that. For now, that is all we got.

Sincerely appreciate you guys listening. We will talk to you soon. This was the Athletic Football Show.