The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Ranking the QB Supporting Casts in the AFC

Episode Date: June 25, 2024

Which AFC quarterbacks have the best supporting casts around them? Damien Harris joins Robert Mays to rank them 1 to 16 and explore who’s got the best play-callers, line play, pass catchers and runners to back them up.Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmaysSubscribe 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. It's a great show for you guys today. I wanted to use this time, we're going to do two of these over the next couple weeks, to take a step back and just think about how much support every quarterback in the league has.

And to break this up, I wanted to do an AFC show and an NFC show. It's pretty simple. We're ranking the supporting casts for every NFL quarterback in each conference. Taking into account the past catchers, the offensive line,

the play caller slash infrastructure, how much do the coaching staff, the construction of the coaching staff, and just the vibe in that building and how they approach offense, combined with the roster talent, how much does it set each quarterback up for success? So we're going from 16 to 1

in each conference. We'll do the NFC next week today. Joining me to help break down the AFC is our old buddy Damien Harris. He did such a great job on the show a couple weeks ago. Wanted to have him back to do kind of a nuts and bolts football conversation. Very excited for you guys to hear the discussion I had with Damien on all things AFC. Let's get to it. Joining us now, returning to the show, doing something a little bit different

that we are very excited about. It's Damien Harris. Damien, how you doing, man? Man, I'm blessed. Can't complain. The sun is shining. Me and my son. I actually had a one-on-one morning with my son, so my wife had to leave for work a little bit. And she was hell of nervous. It's like, are you guys going to be okay? Do I need to leave this? I need to leave you guys. And I'm like, babe, we're going to be fine. Leave two dames alone together.

We're going to be just fine. It would be nothing but fun. So we had a good little morning. Got to play with the dogs. My wife is back now. So, you know, just another day in the great life. Love hearing it. It is that time of year.

I think everybody's enjoying themselves a little bit, which we always like. All right, we're going to dig into this today. And like I mentioned in the intro, we're going to run through the supporting castes for quarterbacks in the AFC. I think it's just a good time of year to do stuff. like this. It was something I was thinking about recently, just considering, okay, how much are each of these guys propped up? And like I mentioned, we're going to look at this from a few different perspectives. Past catcher skill position players, offensive line, and what I'm calling play caller

slash offensive infrastructure, because I think those two things, it's not just the guy who's calling plays. I think it is the overall ecosystem on offense that exists within that building. And I thought this exercise was surprising. I thought it was interesting. I thought it was interesting. I thought there were some things that, all right, I thought that team would be higher. I thought that team would be lower. So I hope there were a couple nuggets like that for you along the way as we made you do a little bit of homework here. Yeah, no, definitely. And there's definitely like a range, I want to say like maybe like nine through 12, 10 through 12.

Or like some of the teams you could see them as being interchangeable based on the criteria that we're talking about. But, you know, one, first of all, I mean, obviously this is opinion based. But, you know, when you really try to nitpick and, you know, try to pick out, okay, well, what gives this team an advantage? What gives this quarterback an advantage? You know, it gives you, you learn a lot of information. So that's what I did. And shoot, I just try to put together the best list that I could. So I'm honestly excited to see how it compares to yours.

I'm so glad you said that about the interchangeability, though, because I feel that way about, like, 14 through like 9. I think I could have done virtually anything. And I actually moved them around a bunch. really did want to say like eight through 14, eight through 13, but I want to give it too big of a range. But honestly, like I feel like in that range, I feel like, I don't know, in my opinion, I think 16 is a lot. I think number one is a lock. I think two through five, you know, the more you look at it, the more it kind of makes sense, but you could change a few spots in there. But again, you know, this is all just opinion based. And, you know, at the end of the day, whenever,

whenever the season starts, all these guys have to show up on Sunday. So, you know. Let's get to it. Yeah, let's do it. You say it's 16 is a lock. I'm very curious what your answer was. Who did you have at 16 for supporting cast in the AFC? 16, I got to go with the Raiders. The Raiders were a lock at 16 for me.

And based on your, based on the look on your face, you were shocked. It was not what you were. I'm a little bit surprised. I have them slightly higher than that. What is your reasoning for the Raiders being that low? So first of all, you got a whole new turnover in the head coaching spot. I mean, obviously you had Josh McDade. who was an offensive guru. Obviously, he had a lot of issues, you know, with the team chemistry

and everything like that, you know, they ended up moving on from them. And they hired a new coach. And granted, that's all nice and well. But what's this guy's offensive background? You know, what's this play caller going to look like? What's this, what's this scheme going to look like? Obviously, I don't want to, you know, get too deep into it. But, I mean, you have a quarterback battle in itself. That's a little bit of a question mark. Aida McConnell, Gardner, Menshoe. I think when you combine a question mark quarterback, a question market coach, which a question mark, a play caller, also with the loss of Josh Jacobs. I mean, you've got two good weapons in Devante Adams and Jacoby Myers,

but, you know, Devante Adams showed a lot of frustration last year, you know, when things weren't really going their way. So like I said, with a couple of those question marks, if those things don't get resolved, are you going to see more frustration from him? Because he's kind of like, he's your guy on offense. And you have to keep him happy. But in order to do that, you have to have a good scheme. You have to have a good quarterback and you got to get him the ball.

So I think that, you know, with that combination, of question marks. Like I said, Devante Adams has shown a little bit of frustration in the past when things don't necessarily go their way.

That puts the rate as a 16th grade. We mentioned this. I think anything from like 13 to 9 was a pretty interchangeable like 14 to 9. I had them at 12.

What? I had, okay. Devante Adams is really, really good at football. And I, and I honestly, I think Jacoby Myers

is still underrated. He had a really good season last year. To me, it was the, The past catchers did it for me. Having those two guys at the core of it, and then they drafted Brock Bowers and rookies are always a question mark,

but you drop Brock Bowers into there, in Michael Mayer in year two. It was hard for me to put them any lower just because I have faith in what the past catching group looks like. And I think the offensive line is not that bad. I actually think it's a solid group. Not that bad. Because they had a lot of no-name guys in there.

I mean, they're starting Thayer Munford at right tackle. But I think they actually, got decent play from that group overall. So as a past catching group, I think they're closer to the top of the AFC than the bottom. So the things that weighed them down a little bit

is I think the offensive line is unspectacular. No, let's say it's the 12th of the 16th, the play caller to me is a question mark. You know, Luke Getzzi, he was in Chicago for the last couple years, did not go well. There's a reason they moved on from him. But I don't think he's a disaster. So that's why it kept, for them,

it kept them away from the bottom, bottom, just because I think the receivers are so good. And even if it's the other two components of it are lackluster or middling, I thought the past catchers were good enough to lift them up just a tiny bag. Okay. You sound like a Raiders fan to me.

I'm really not. That's the irony here is that I get so much shit from Raiders fans all the time. I don't know. I don't know. I think, see, to me, you know, with my experience in the league, like when you have, like I said,

uncertainty at play caller, I still say a huge question market quarterback, and you have a less than average line. I think that those three things right there off the top. Because, again, Devante Adams or Jacobi Myers, great, great pass catchers, great receivers, run after catch, deep ball, whatever you want. Great, go geters. But you've got to have somebody to get on the ball. You know what I mean?

And a guy like Devante Adams, and I brought it up, like I said, he's been frustrated. If whichever of these quarterbacks end up winning the job, if they still can't get on the ball, then that's just, you know, I mean, that's where trouble starts. So I don't know. I still want the ratings is 16. I'm saying it loud and proud. I understand that. My one thing that I could see is a silver lining.

Luke Getsy was in Green Bay when Devante Adams was uber, over productive a couple years ago still with the Packers. So if there's somebody who has an understanding of how to deploy him, how to construct an offense where you're getting him the ball as often and as many ways as possible, he does have some experience there. that that to me is a little bit of a selling point. For me, this was easy. And I hate to, I hate to say this to you.

I thought it was easy for me. I had the Patriots at 16. I knew it. I knew it. Okay, all right. Let's go through this. Who is the Patriots number one receiver right now? Time will tell.

Honestly, Kendrick Bourne, Kendrick born right now coming out. Granted, he's coming off a huge injury. He is their number one pass catcher. I had New England at 15. And the reason I put New England at 15 instead of the Raiders. of 15 was because to me, New England has a better offensive line, angered in the middle by David Andrews, you got Mike Anwena, who just signed a pretty decent contract, and some of the other guys that they're putting in these pieces, left tackle, left guard, moving guys around.

Like you said about the Raiders, these are no-name guys, but guys who can't play. I think that no disrespect to the head coach of the Raiders, but I think that, you know, coaching-wise, I would go the route of Drodmeo because, you know, he went through the system. he's been through, he's had success, and now he coached for a while, now he's just taking over the ship. I think you combine that with a great running game. I mean, they just paid Ramadjay Stevenson, you know, one of the best deals out of all backs in the league. So I think you combine the veteran leadership on the offensive line with some good interchangeable parts. You get a good run game, and you've got a top three pick at quarterback.

I mean, to me, when you add all those things up, it gives me just a slightly better feeling than I would be. if I was a quarterback of the Raiders. I would definitely have a much better feeling and feel like I was set up more successfully in New England than Vegas for sure. I think that the presence of a true number one receiver with the Raiders and I think,

and Jacobi Myers, a better receiver than anybody that's currently on the Patriots. Like, the past catching options worry me. I'm not as bullish law on the offensive line. Like, the left tackle spot still concerns me. Like, right now it looks like

it's Chuck Sikorikorfor, who is somebody who was replaced in Pittsburgh, and I think that they did that for a reason. And you got some question marks. Like, you know, City South is coming into his second year as a fourth round pick. Like, I think there's still enough question marks there. There are still plenty of question marks at the past catching spots.

And it's a first time play caller. We've never seen Alex Van Pelt as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. He's been an offensive coordinator, but he has never been the primary play caller because he was in Cleveland with Kevin Stefansky. So I think there are enough question marks and enough definitive low points that they were a pretty easy answer for me at 16. That's fair. Like, I ain't mad at it because like I said, I had New England at 15.

I wouldn't far off. Again, I do think that, again, I would edge out New England's offensive line just a tad. When it comes to the Raiders, the Raiders do have obviously better skill players. But I think you combine a good offensive line, a good run game, a solid quarterback. And even if you have guys who aren't known to be great threats or receiver, I think that if you can get Kendrick Boren back to shape, if you can get some of these other guys to just show up, I think that they, I think they've got a chance. Who'd you have at 14?

Well, now you got me scared to say the rest of my list. That's what this is for, though. At 14, I win Chargers. Herbert, high-level quarterback, obviously. They just signed Harbaugh. Great coach. The OC has had a lot of experience with Harbaugh. He's been with them at different places.

A lot of experience from a head coach to play caller standpoint. They've got a pretty decent O-line when they're all healthy. I think that when they're not healthy, obviously, they're not very good. whenever all of their five starters are available. I think that they have a pretty steady offensive line to protect Herbert, but they have no skill players, no, no skill players whatsoever, no pass catchers, no run game. I see a huge struggle with offensive production with the charges because I just,

other than Justin Herbert, I mean, who is the guy? Who is the guy that can relieve some of the duty of Justin Herbert? Because he can't throw it to himself, he can't hand it off to himself. I mean, to me, I thought the charges were pretty easy picket for you. I had them at 15. So we're very much on the same page here. I mean, I think even if you're bullish on the infrastructure around the offensive line, because I think that was an issue over the last couple years. I don't think that the coaching staff or kind of the ecosystem there did that line any favors. So even if they're only bringing in Joe Walt, who's a top five pick at right tackle, everyone else is the same, essentially. They're probably downgrading from the best version of that line over the last couple of years and going from Corey Winsley to Bradley Bozeman. But I still think that that group with Greg Roman, Mike Devlin coming in as their offensive line coach in Harbaugh. I have a better, I have more faith in that offensive line playing up to the level of their talent than they have over the last couple years. But outside of that, it's like you're bringing in a second round pick similar to the Patriots as potentially the best

receiver on your team in Ladd-McConkie. And even with faith in Harbaugh, faith in that line, faith in their ability to construct a running game that they have not had over the last couple years, it's hard to get on board with that group of past catchers, even compared to some of the other teams in the AFC. 100%. I'm with you. Again, Herbert, he's a great quarterback. I think he can be protected.

Obviously, they just added Joe Alt, Bozeman, who I played with at Bama, he's a stud center. But again, they just don't have any weapons. I mean, it's hard, it's hard to have any faith in their offense. I mean, right now, staring at the depth chart,

like Will Disley is the second best pass catcher on their team. And he's been a solid tight end, but that's what we're talking about here. The only thing I'll say about the Chargers is that I wonder what sort of secret sauce Jim Harbaugh is going to bring to this like overall equation because you watch what they did at Michigan and that was a really efficient offense. And I think it was well constructed,

well designed. There were just a lot of component parts that make you feel good about what Jim Harbaugh what offense will look like in the NFL. But I still haven't seen it. And it still gives me pause about how much faith and how much stock I want to put on that. So that's why I just kind of had the past catchers weigh them down a little bit. Absolutely. I'm with it. Who'd you have at 13? 13. I went Tennessee Titans. I had them a little bit higher than that,

but this is one of those where, again, 13 through 9, you could pretty much change any of them. So I have no issues with that at all. Why Tennessee at 13? Well, I think, I mean, obviously it starts with the quarterback. I think we'll leave us to play a lot better

than he did last year. I mean, to give you, first of all, give yourself some support. You know what I mean? You've got to play better than he played last year. You know what I mean? You have to.

He did not play well. It was banged up. It just, it wasn't a good look for the Titans. Obviously, you lose Derek Henry. That's going to hurt any offense, anywhere, any time. You're coming off having the worst offensive line, well, arguably one of the worst offensive lines in pro football. That's allowed you could say the worst offensive line,

because I think it might have been. Allegedly, the worst offensive line in pro football. But I think with the addition of Bill Callahan, I think that that could definitely help. I think they could definitely upgrade their offensive line on top of the fact that they drafted J.C. Latham to play left tackle to protect Levis. They just brought in Lloyd Cushingberry.

It was one of the top centers from Denver. So I think if you really beef up their offensive line, you get better quarterback play from Will Levis. Bill Callahan does this thing with the offensive line. I mean, you've got good options to get the ball to. I mean, you got DeHop. You got Calvin Ridley, who just signed a big deal. You've got Tyler Boyd from Cincinnati.

You just signed Tony Pollard. You know, granted, it's not going to replace Derek Henry, but, you know, that's a good option to have it running back. So I think if they can pull all those things together, that gives me a little bit of confidence to have a better year than they did last year. I had them at 10. And again, I could have put them at 13.

You could move a lot of these teams around. I like the past catchers. I don't think any of them are spectacular at this stage of their career, right? Deandre Hopkins is on the back end. Calvin Ridley did not have a great season last year in Jacksonville. I'm a little worried about the usage because if you look at the archetypes of what types of players

those three guys are. with Ridley, Hopkins, and Tower Boyd. Tile Boyd is a slot 100% all the time player. That's what he is. Calvin Ridley was at his best last year in Jacksonville when he was the Z and they were moving him around the formation. When he was just stuck on the line as the X, I don't love how he played last year.

That's not what he is. And so if you're looking at this group, if he's not, that means that's what you're doing with the Andre Hopkins. And I actually think some of the best work Hopkins was doing at this stage was inside. And so I think that the way that they have all three of these guys slotted, I don't think you're going to see the best versions of any of them,

even if individually, I still like them all as players. So that's- So what means you put them at 10? I really have faith in the, again, the infrastructure part of this. I think the receivers are solid. I think they're better than some of the teams I have below them. And I actually like, I have faith. And this is a lot of faith that I'm putting in the Brian Callahan, Bill Callahan kind of

partnership here. I think having one of the best offensive line coaches in the league is such a cheat code for getting more out of your talent than you have on the roster. So them bringing in a guy like Callahan not only to develop those guys, but also create the run game for them, I have a lot of faith in that succeeding. But that's not to interrupt you, but that's an infrastructure guy. Like Bill Callahan is an infrastructure kind of guy.

Like he brings that to the infrastructure of the team. Obviously it starts with the offensive line, but then that translates to the backs. that translates to the quarterback, known he's going to be protected, that translates to the receivers knowing the quarterback is going to be protected. That's exactly right.

And so if you have that, where you have somebody that can kind of be a rising tide for the offense overall in that sort of role, I think that goes a long way. And I really am curious to see, I know he's never done it before as a play caller, but the second half of the season last year from the Bengals and what that offense looked like

with Jake Browning and a banged up T. Higgins, they were a top 12 offense. If you look at the numbers in the second half of last year, they were 12th an offensive success rate with Jake Browning at quarterback. And the way the offense looked entirely different than it did with Joe Burrow, I just think the problem solving

and sort of the ingenuity that went into that, I'm curious what that looks like grafted onto the Titans talent that they have on the offensive roster. I may be overstating how important that is, but I have enough faith in it to give them a slight bump combined

with the past catching talent and Bill Callahan, over some of the other teams I have a little bit below that. Yeah, when you say it like that, it makes a lot of sense. I mean, because I was going to say, you could argue that the Bengals in the second half of the year look better than they did with Joe Burr at the beginning of the season. And then you take that, and then like we said, we're bringing in Bill Callahan, who's going to, you know, I'm not going to say change the infrastructure, but definitely help the infrastructure, you know, hopefully get guys like J.C.

Latham, very disciplined, very hands-on without the penalties, you know, be a real standout left tackle, you know, you've already got a good anchor in the middle. then you've got, you know, obviously we're saying they're not at the height of their career, but you've got pretty good options at receiver. You put it all together. It makes a lot of sense. I have a question for you about their running back room. So they have Taji Spears and Tony Pollard, and their skill sets and the feel of those two guys is very

similar. You know, they're almost interchangeable in terms of the dynamic they bring the offense. What do you think about that approach for a running back room compared to a room where the roles are clearly defined between them and there's a different feel to the two guys that you have back there. Well, I think that that just depends on the identity of your team. I think it depends on what you're looking for at that position. You know, some teams at which Tennessee might be one of those teams where they're looking to have, you know, guys that are just interchangeable whenever they take one guy off the field, the next guy that they put in is

going to give you exactly what you got out of running back one. RB2, you know, whatever it is, they're going to give you the same production, the same type of play. Some teams like more of a, okay, I need a first and second down back and then I need a third down back. You know, that's how it was when I was in New England. It was like, Sonny Michelle was the first and second down back. James White was the third down back. Rex Burkhead was kind of the do-it-all Swiss Army knife back. And even whenever I eventually started starting, I knew that if we were in regular personnel, I was going to be in. And if we were in sub, the James White was going to be in. So I think it's, you know, different flavors for different folks. I think that, you know, it just depends on what you

want the identity of that position to be. I do think that the league is starting to transition into more of guys being, especially at the running back position being a little bit similar. I think that we're obviously getting away from the two-headed monster of Derek Henry, James White, having a first, second-down kind of guy, then a guy to come in on third down, pass-proteg, run routes. I think we're kind of getting away with that, and I think that they're starting to obviously want backs to be able to do it all, run, catch, run routes, pick up pass protection. So I think that we're kind of starting to get to that point where you'll see a lot of backs, you know, whether it's 1A, one B, or, you know, running back one, running back two,

they're probably going to give you a little bit of the same flavor. Were you at 13 now? We just, I just did 13. Okay, who do you have for 12 then? Well, who did you, wait, who'd you have for 13? Or am I just, am I just giving you my list and you didn't give me? So I had, we talked about the Patriots, the Chargers. I had the Raiders and Titans a little bit higher than you did.

So I, we still have not gotten to my teams at 14 or 13. yet because I had the Raiders and Titans a little bit higher. So who'd you have at 12? I'm going to keep rolling. At 12, I went New York Jets. I had the Jets at 13. So we're pretty similar to that. Yeah, we're thinking the same. I think that just first of all, I mean, it's the Jets. Let's just start off. I say, let's be honest, it's the New York Jets. That program has been looking for resurgence for a long time. I would say their entire staff is on the hot seat. I mean, I think we've all seen reports of Rob Sala being on the hot seat.

People have been calling for the Daniel Hackett's head for a long time. Aaron Rogers is old. I mean, we can sit here and talk about, you know, everybody gets lost in this. Like, oh, well, he's still playing. He's still, you know, it's year 20. It's year this. Like, Tom did it for this long. And, oh, my God, he's still playing.

Well, that doesn't mean that he still is high of a caliber player as he once was, especially coming off a big-time injury like an Achilles. And it seems like he's come back a lot faster than what was expected. So I think that that is a huge question mark. I mean, obviously, if the judge are going to have any kind of success, they've got to protect Aaron Rogers anyways. And they haven't done that. I mean, you look back to the first game of the season last year, and they didn't do that.

So, you know, it's like they need to, but will they? You know what I mean? Are they going to protect Aaron Rogers? We don't know. I mean, he's got options. Obviously, he's got guys who can throw the ball too. Garrett Wilson, I think is a superstar in the making. I think he'll be that next, you know, in that next category with Justin,

Jefferson, T. Higgins, like all those guys, Brandon and I, you'll be there soon. I mean, he's been in the league, not that long, but he's already in that conversation. So obviously, I mean, they have some skill players. They got a good running game with Breeze Hall. But again, just the question marks with the coaches, you know, Aaron Rogers' health, his age, you know, is he still that same Aaron Rogers? Are they going to protect them? I mean, I think that puts him pretty high on my list. I'm with you.

And I think the offensive line, much improved on paper, right? If they stay healthy and Tyrone Smith plays the way that he did last year, this is a much better group than it was a year ago. Obviously, they draft a little bit for Shano in the first round. They kind of protect themselves a little bit there. But Tyron Smith has missed a ton of time over the last five years. Last year was an outlier. Morgan Moses is getting older.

He was a little bit banged up last year and was kind of in and out of the lineup. Elijah Vera Tucker has consistently been hurt pretty much every year he's got into the league. If they stay healthy, this can be a top 10 to 12 group. My question is whether or not they can stay. healthy. The pass catchers, I love Garrett Wilson, but other than that, there's not a lot you can rely on. Mike Williams has constantly been hurt over the last few years. Malachi Corley is a third round rookie, right? And so that's really it. The tight ends are fine, but there's nothing great there. I will say, Breece Hall is a fantastic pass catching option out of the backfield. He is a really,

really good running back, and I think that shouldn't be discounted. But overall, it's a kind of forgettable group outside of Garrett Wilson. What weighs it down for me, is a really, is the coaching and the infrastructure involved there. You're looking at Nathaniel Hackett as the O.C. And then the other two guys that I think have the biggest voices in the shaping of the offense are Keith Carter, who's their offensive line-to-run game coordinator, and Todd Downing, who's their past game coordinator.

Though both of them were heavily involved in the 2022 Titans. Downing was the offensive coordinator. Keith was the offensive line coach. So the three guys most responsible for the shape of this offense are the play caller for the 2022 Broncos, the play caller for the 22 Titans, and the offensive line coach for the 22 Titans. The Broncos finished 30th

and offensive success rate in 2022 and the Titans finished 27th. So I just don't have a lot of faith in the people who are in charge of overseeing what that offense looks like. And I'm sure Jets fans are going to say, well, Aaron's the offensive coordinator. Well, fine.

But that still means a lack of support for the guy outside of the quarterback. And like we've talked about infrastructure, and when I say the Jets or the Jets, it's bad infrastructure. from and honestly and it starts at the top and I think it kind of filters its way through the team it filters its way through the players I mean obviously you've seen how frustrated players have been oh garrett Wilson was doing post game media last year like man I'm tired of losing I'm just tired of it

man I'm tired of this you know what I mean and I think that you know even having guys willing to come out and say stuff like that in the media that lets you know that it's not even just like a it's not a talent problem necessarily it's not it's just bad infrastructure guys I'm sure when they know that the people in charge of constructing a design and the offense aren't setting them up for success and aren't setting them up to get the most out of them. I can't imagine something that's more frustrating as an offensive NFL player

than going to work every day knowing that's what you're stepping into. Oh, it's frustrating. I promise you that. It is frustrating. All right, so you're at 11 now? 11, yes. I went Broncos at 11. Okay, I had them at 9, but again, I think that you can move any of these teams around. You can.

And honestly, if I were going to move the Broncos at all, I would move them closer to one. I wouldn't move them closer to 16. I would move them closer to one. I think that Bo Nix, I think he's the most NFL ready quarterback out of all the quarterbacks in this year's draft. I mean, he had a ton of, ton of games in college. I mean, literally a million it seemed like. And I think to him with Sean Payton, just and honestly, you know, from what I know, Sean Payton is the head coach. He has, he's fully hands on with the offense. He's the play caller.

You know, he takes the offense by the reins. You see what he did with Drew Breeze and New Orleans for all this time. I think that that is the type of infrastructure that you want to be in if you're a rookie quarterback coming into this league. Obviously, we don't know if he's going to start yet. We don't know if it's going to be him. It's going to be Jared Stiddle. But either way, I think with Sean Payton, I think that that is a good, that's a good chemistry right there between quarterback, play caller. I don't even want to get it like, say, head coach, but the quarterback play caller, that's a great relationship to have. The guy in charge of setting the vision for the offense is Sean Payton.

I think that is a strong selling point. Yes, and who would you want? Who would you want? A great quarterback and a great coach like Sean Payton. Those are the two guys that you would want to sit and paint out the blueprint for what the offense is going to look like this year. This is what the past game is going to look like. This is how the run game is going to affect the past game.

This is how the play action game is going to affect the run game. I think that that's a great relationship that they can develop. You know, they finish ranked 7th, last year. Their offensive line ranked seven last year by PFF. Obviously, like I said earlier, they lost Lloyd Cushingberry. You know, they need somebody else to step up at that center role. But just kind of like a lot of the other teams that we've been talking about, not a lot of talent and skill player. I think that I think Cortland Sutton is their number one guy. He's their number one pass catcher. And I'm not in love with his game. I think that he can play better. I think

that he can be better. I think that he's a better player than he shows on tape. And I think the other guys besides him are going to have to stuff up as well. Because again, like we said, you know, it'll be great for Sean Payton and Bo Nix to figure all this out. But if they don't have anybody to get the ball to, then that's one problem. I thought he was okay. I mean, obviously, he had a ton of touchdowns last year. It was tough to judge elements of their passing game last year just because I felt like they were trying to operate in such a small box because of the tension between Sean Payton and Russell Wilson. And I actually thought that playing and play out, I was encouraged by what

Cortland Sutton can still be at this stage of his career. I mean, they were going to trade him. So the fact that he had the type of season he did last year where he was moderately productive. I'm fine with him, but it's big question marks outside of that. Tim Patrick's coming off two straight injuries. And then you have young guys. Marvin Vims was barely a part of the offense last year. They draft Troy Franklin in the fourth round.

So I think there's a lot of questions there. But the offensive line and the Peyton presence, that's what pushes them up for me. Because that group, even outside of Cushingberry, they got some decent players there. Quinn Miners is a monster. You know, the left side is solid when healthy. And even if the results, the end results, weren't overwhelming last season, I still think that I'm giving Sean Payton the benefit of the doubt. We've seen him be such a strong, again, setter of that vision for so long.

I'm curious what he still has in a post-Russell Wilson world. Maybe we're doing this again next year, and I have them at 14 because he's lost some with that heat that he once had. But right now, I'm still giving Sean Peyton enough credit and enough respect to kind of push them up a little bit further. Yeah, it's almost like the conversation we're having with Harbaugh.

Like, it's like there's some sort of special magic, some sort of special ingredient. It's just like we don't know yet. We couldn't see that special ingredient, like you said, because of the overwhelming tension with him and Russ last year. But, you know, obviously Stidham, Bownicks are more of his traditional type quarterbacks.

You know, it's a clean slate. and hopefully, you know, for Bo Nix's situation, or Jared Stidham, whoever ends up being in QB1, hopefully he can bring out something that can, you know, really vamp up that offense and really just highlight great quarterback play. Because I think Stidham, I think Stidham and Bo Nix are both good quarterbacks. I think they can both play at a high level, given the right situation, given they're protected and given they have skilled players get the ball to.

You're a bad person to ask this because I don't send, I don't know who your high school coach was, but in college and in your two stops in the NFL, you only played for defensive-minded head coach. correct? Yeah, that's it. And I'm wondering, because I do think this is real. I think that there is a different feeling when you are an offensive player on a team with

an offensive-minded head coach who may or may not be the play caller, and when you walk into an offense where it's a defensive-minded head coach, I just think that there is a difference in playing in those two sets of offenses. And so that's why when I'm talking about just the feeling and that kind of the ineffable quality of a hardball or a Peyton, when they're the guys in charge of. of the building. I think there's something to that. I don't know how to necessarily articulate it,

but I do think it's worth weighing. Yeah, no, definitely. But, well, I mean, the best way to articulate is, like, we're talking about which teams have the best supporting cast for quarterbacks. And literally, that's what it is. You have an offensive-minded head coach who, you know, ultimately he has his hand in everything

offense, defense, special teams. But at the end of the day, his primary focus is on the offense. You know every day when he show up to work, the head guy, the head of the snake is focused on making me the best quarterback, making us the best offense. Like, that's definitely a, I mean, it's got to be a different feeling. I never really experienced it, but I could definitely, even when I was in New England, not to get back on this, but, you know, Josh McDaniels was so involved, obviously,

with the entire offense. Like, he was our offensive coordinator, but if we weren't in a meeting with Bill, we were just with Josh. We were with Josh the whole time. And it was almost like, you know, he was the head coach of the offense. But we knew that Josh was only focused on, like, literally the entire offense, It's not even just like putting together this scheme and this and that. And then, you know, dispersing us to everybody else.

Like, no, we were in meetings with him before practice, after practice, before games, after games. And it kind of gave me that same feeling, I guess I would, you know, what we're talking about here, where if you just had an offensive head coach, because at the end of the day, we spent all our time with him. And he literally just, he took the entire offense over. I mean, every position, every player, he coached everybody. So I would think that that would definitely be a great feeling for a quarterback at that year, if you're head coached an offensive guy. you at 11 now?

I'm at 10 now. What do you have at 10? I went Indy at 10. So my 14, you have not said yet. This is going to be the one where the biggest gap on. You still haven't said it yet. I actually had Indy higher than that. I had them considerably higher than that.

Why did you have the Colts at 10? I had them at 6. Really? Okay. So why did you have the Colts at 10? So I had the Colts of 10. First and foremost, what brings them down for me is there is, again, their skill players. I mean, you got Michael Pittman. I mean, he just signed, you know, a pretty good

deal, so hopefully he'll show up. But I mean, after that, it's like question mark, question mark, question mark, question mark, question mark. Obviously, the Colts have had, you know, one of the best offensive lines in pro football, you know, for the past couple years. You get Jonathan Taylor back, a healthy Jonathan Taylor. I think that if you can use him and Anthony Richardson and a little bit of a, you know, two-headed monster in the run game, I think that that opens up an endless plethora of options for them. He's a great quarterback. I think he's got a strong arm. He can get the ball down the field.

I think he's smart. I think he sees the field well. But again, it's just there's question marks. There's too many question marks at the skill player. And I don't think that a run game with him and Jonathan Taylor, like, granted, that obviously does set him up to have success in the offense. But, you know, you look at quarterbacks who have been beat up over their careers by running the ball. That doesn't really, that doesn't really set him up for, you know, longevity in his career.

So obviously they're not going to want to overload him in the run game. So you got to make them, you got to have your quarterback throw the ball, but who's going to throw the ball too? The past catchers are definitely a question mark. They drafted 80 Mitchell in the second round. I think that they knew they needed a little bit of shot. They need a little shot in the arm talent-wise. And that's why you take a swing on somebody like that.

I will concede that. I think Josh Downs is intriguing. I think he was solid as a rookie. And I think Pittman is a good 1B. But I still think they need more from the past catching group. What pushed them up for me is that the offensive line, bounce back in a huge way last year. I mean, this went from being a bottom

quarter of the league unit in 2022 to a top quarter of the league unit last season. And so I like what this group can be one healthy. The reason I have them so high, though, it is exactly what we were talking about with this offensive play calling head coach and just the feeling it gives your team. I am all the way in on Shane Steichen.

You love, you love offensive-minded head coaches. You do. I consistently think it is the best way to set yourself up for success on offense. And I think that setting yourself up for success on offense is the quickest way to be a relevant NFL team over and over and over again. And if you look at what Stuyken has done over his career so far, he was Herbert's offense coordinator as a rookie when Justin Herbert had that monster year in year one. Monstrous. When he went to Philly, he was very good as soon as he got the reins to be the play caller.

That was about halfway through their first year together. The Philly offense, I think, underwent a pretty fascinating transition in that week's six time. when he took over. And then in 2022, when they got A.J. Brown, this was a Super Bowl team. I mean, there were a handful of plays away from winning the Super Bowl. I think the argument against him is, okay, well, what does he look like in an offense where you don't have A.J. Brown, Devante Smith and the best offensive line in the league. That was literally going to be my question because I was sitting here listening to these teams.

And I was like, okay, Justin Herbert, Rookiee year, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams. And you're talking about Philly. And I'm like, okay, Devante, Devante, DeVette Smith, AJ Brown. And like, I hear everything that you're saying. Like, I don't trust me, I'm with you. But it just, the question marks as skill player, it just, because to me, obviously, you know, in my years of playing ball, you know, you always talk about the run game affects the past game, how you run the ball, affects how you throw the ball and so on and so forth.

But we know that this is a quarterback past heavy league. So the quarterback has just got to have options. And to me, you can have a great offensive line. You can have all the time in the world and have a great running game. but if you just cannot throw the ball down field. Like, defenses have very much, and I learned this from my, you know, my time in the league, teams are very much bend but don't break, make them drive the entire length of the field. Even if they run the ball for three yards of carry all the way down the field,

like eventually, once you're inside the 25, once you're in the red zone, there's, the boxes are much heavier. You don't have to defend as deep in the field. So your safety's a little bit lower. Your corners are pressed. They got more run support. So again, it's like if you don't have guys that you can throw the ball too, get chunk plays, throw the ball,

expand the vertical part of the field, I think that it just, that is just a, it is a support system killer to me. So that's why I'm intrigued at what A.D. Mitchell and Anthony Richardson specifically bring to this offense. I think there would be much more vertical presence with Richardson.

I hope that A.D. Mitchell can come in and solve all of this, because he slid a lot in the draft and he was supposed, in my opinion, he should have been drafted higher. You know, there were questions, question marks about, you know, his character and this, that, and the third, that, you know, once it was really brought into question, well, who said this and where did this come from? You know, it's kind of like crickets and everybody's like, oh, well, that's interesting.

I don't really know where that came from. So, you know, that was a bunch of BS to me. And I thought, honestly, the GM of the Colts, I don't, I can't think of his name, but when I saw that video of him standing up for A.D. Mitchell, I thought that was one of the most badass things I've ever seen from, you know, for somebody that works for an organization to stand for a player like that. Because truly, I mean, to come out and give these reports about, oh, well, this guy is this and this guy is that one, there's literally no basis to, that's just, that's bad. That's bad news bears. You know what I mean? Like, that's, that's not good for,

that's not good for media. That's not good for sports. It's not good. It's not, it's just not good. You know what I mean? So I really, I really hope that he emerges as a guy that can take the top off for for Anthony Richardson. And I think that if he does, if he does, combine with that offensive line, combined with Jonathan Taylor, I think that they could be a team to look out for in the I'm in the I'm with you. And I do think that Richardson's willingness to push it will kind of unlock that element of the offense, independent of who's catching the ball. But for me, it was, I don't think Gardner Minshu played that well last year. And this was an above average offense. The fact that this was consistently an above average offense with Gardner-Minshu a quarterback with Michael Pittman as your number one receiver, that answered some of those questions to me about, okay, what does Stuyken look like when he doesn't have a team of aliens around him? The answer was pretty damn good. So I understand that this is an aggressive. vote of confidence for, again, the ecosystem and the play caller in Indianapolis. But that's how I am seeing them. And that's how much I have in a team full circle with that.

You really did. Like you went all the way around and it was like, and that's why I got him at number six. I like that. Again, and it's the two teams I have them ahead of, we'll talk about them. It's guys, it's situations where I like it. I think they have good play callers, but their defensive minded head coaches. It's just like there's just something about what the Colts have right now. And I think what they're building there that I'm willing to get on board.

with. All right. So you're at nine, correct? Yeah. Yes, sir. I went Steelers at nine. And this was this was a tough one for me. I had the middle 11. Yeah, I swear between the Steelers, the Colts, the Broncos, and the Titans, and honestly the Chargers. I was reshaping it, reshuffling it over and over. But I think the Steelers at nine, one, because I personally, and this is just a vote of confidence, I think that Russ's personality mixed with Mike Tomlin's personality, that seems like it's going to work out well for me. You think so? Why? What makes you say that? Because as much as Russell seems like a, like a, I'm going to be honest to say a cheeseball sometimes, he does seem like a guy that shows up,

is ready to work, does things the right way, practice is hard, tries to perform his best, and at the end of the day, and that's from guys that I've played with that have also played with Russ. You know what I mean? Granted, the media circus and, you know, people talk about he's got an office, here and, you know, he does this on the plane on the way home. I mean, all of that is extracurricular. But from what I know of Russ, he's a guy that shows up, ready to work, does his job, goes home. And to me, that's what Mike Tomlin is. Show up, do your job. Roll the ball out there. Let's play football. Let's go try to win games. And that's what is going to be. I think that, you know, obviously, Russ's a situation in Denver, I think that that definitely put a, put a little bit of a

cloud on, you know, what he's done over his career, the talent that he had. Granted, he's not, again, he's kind of in the Aaron Rogers conversation. He's not at the height of his potential anymore. But I think that something about Mike Tomlin can bring goodness out of him. That and the fact that Justin Fields is right behind him. I think that can bring a lot out of Russell Wilson. The quiet elements of the offensive infrastructure for the Steelers. Yeah. Yes. And I think that honestly, I think that, well, I don't have to think it, but, you know, how many straight season, straight winning seasons as Mike Tomlin had? Non-losing seasons. He's never never had one. Yeah.

Excuse me, yeah, non-losing seasons. So I think that, you know, that is almost like a guarantee that you're going to be set up to have a successful winning season. Their offensive line, I think, finished like 10th last year. So you got a solid O line. You've got good skill players, Najee Harris. You know, he's a good running back. Honestly, he can be good out of the back field, too. You can throw on the ball.

You got a potential superstar in George Pickings. You know, he just has to zero in and lock in on being the absolute best that he can be. be and, you know, and again, I think that I really do think that Justin Fields being behind Russell Wilson, I think that that'll propel him to play a little bit better. The Steelers were tough for me because I think the pass catchers are a significant question outside of Pickens. They trade Deontay Johnson. So now you're looking at Van Jefferson. They drafted Roman Wilson in the third round. That's a big question for me. But I like the other elements. Byron moves. Go out of Fire moot. That's a great point. Fire me with that. I also think

Jaylon Warren is a good pass catcher. So I think that the wide receivers, I guess, is what gives me a little bit of pause. But I think the offensive line, although on proven and still a question mark, there's a real ceiling there, especially as a run blocking group. They draft Jack Frazier in the second round. They go out and get Troy Fontenou. I thought Broder Jones really tapped into something last year in the second half of the season. And I like Isaac Salmalo.

I think he's a really nice player. And I just think that group, even if there are still some questions about who they want to be, how they want to approach this, with, Arthur Smith as their offensive coordinator and with that offensive line, I see a pathway to an identity. I see a pathway to them understanding what they're good at. And that's why I'm willing to bump them up over a couple of these other teams, even if the past catching spots don't necessarily have some of the marquee names. That was my thought process and kind of what kept inching them up for me. Yeah, no, I hear you.

Let me ask you this because this was something I did not factor this into my list at all. but this is just a thought. How do you think that, you know, obviously we're sitting here talking about, you know, with the ceiling of the offensive line, combined with the offensive coordinator, then trying to establish an identity. They've run the ball in the past with Najee Harris. Obviously, Jaylon Warren's a great back. Do you think they use Justin Fields in that identity setting, kind of run game,

what they're trying to get at? Like, do you think that, how do you think that, like, because I just don't think that it's possible for you to, not put Jalen Fields on the field. I don't disagree with you. What I would like to see, personally, I would like to see, and this isn't, I think people are going to misconstrue this as a negative.

This is not what I mean. I think he's more than this as a player, but I think if you're going to have him as your number two quarterback, I would be really interested in seeing what he would look like in a Taysome Hill sort of role within this offense. You get down into the red zone, you flip the math, and you add one more piece in there when you're trying to run,

the ball. Arthur Smith has a lot of history with kind of a diverse run game. So him being mixed in in some of those looks, I think that would ultimately be a positive for the offense overall. And honestly, that was kind of what my thought. I didn't want to add it into my, you know, into what I was using to my criteria here, but. Because it's not really support system for the quarterback because Russ is off the field. But as for the offense overall, I think it's worth talking about. Exactly. Yes. But I think that that also can pay off. I mean, obviously if the offense is doing good, it makes your quarterback look good. And at the end of the day, that'll be a win-win for Russ.

It'll be a win-win for Justin. Obviously, you know, Justin would not like to be QB-1. If he's not at QB-1, he can still get on the field and help in the run game. I think that takes some of the load off of Russell, that takes some of the expectation off of Russell, but that also gets Justin on the field to keep him happy enough. Yeah, I had, and I think that Arthur Smith, even though last year was a disaster in Atlanta, the last time he was an offensive coordinator, the Titans were one of the most efficient offenses in the league for multiple years in a row.

And if you look at the 2022 Falcons, they were a good offense. Like a decidedly good offense with Marcus Mariotta, a quarterback for a majority of the season. I think that staff in Atlanta got a little lost in the sauce last year overall, but we have still seen lost in the sauce. Listen, it was a tough year. As somebody who spent a lot of time in the preseason pumping up the Atlanta Falcons offense, it was a long season for me.

But I still think if you look at his body of work. overall, he can really be a stabilizing force for this offense that has not had somebody in that role in a while. So that's why I had the Steelers at 11. All right. So you're at 9. Eight. I keep screwing this up. Who do you have at 8? You do. Can't count. It's all right. I'm going Jacksonville at number 8. Okay. So this is the one that we're very far apart on. I had the Jags at 14. Really? Yes. Wow. Tell me why. Okay. I, I'm still, I still have real concerns about the offensive line. Even bringing in Mitch Morse, even with, I still just, that group overall, I expect Anton

Harrison to play better in year two. I mean, he was solid for a rookie, but there's still question marks with that group for me. The past catching group, it's fine, right? Like, I like Christian Kirk. I think Gabe Davis is fine, but Brian Thomas is a rookie. Evan Ingram is nice. I think that group may be a little bit overrated overall.

What weighs them down to me, and one of the things that. I think was a little bit of a tiebreaker with, again, if you could interchange them all from 14 to nine, the thing that kept pushing them down for me is it's just an offense. If you look at what they were last year, they don't know what they want to be. Like the ecosystem and the infrastructure for that offense overall, I think is really bad. I mean, this is a team that was one of the least efficient running teams in the league last year, the amount of value they lost on screens and underneath throws. I just don't think they ever had a fully formed understanding.

This is who we want to be on offense. And I don't know if they're there yet. And that's what still is just holding me back, even with some of these other teams I have serious concerns about. Like, you could put them above the Jets. You could put them above the Raiders. I would be fine with any of that. But the way that offense looked last year and just the lack of cohesive vision for it,

that's what kept dragging it down for me, even if I wanted to put them a little bit higher. So let me ask you this. Do you think that with Trevor Lawrence signing this mega deal, do you think that that would provide a sense of urgency to get things figured out? Because to me, this is the way I look at it. This is the way I look at it. You bring in improvements on the offensive line, like you said, with Mitch Morris.

I think they have definitely tried to up their past catchers, their skill players. I think they have definitely tried to do that. And then you sign your franchise quarterback to, what was it, four years, five years, $200 million. Five for $275, I think. Yeah, $275. I mean, when you look at that, I think that you sign this guy to a huge deal and then you're putting the pieces together. To me, that says, okay, even if we don't have our exes and O's figure out, we are trying to maximize our franchise quarterback.

Like, we are trying to, again, we're talking about supporting cast. We are trying to support him the best that we can. I think that obviously with their offensive line not being as good, I think that definitely could bring them down. But I think there's skill players are just good enough. I think the ETN and their run game, I think you even use him out of the backfield a little bit. But I think that with the deal that you just gave, Trevor Lawrence, he's had the same offensive coordinator, you know, the past couple years in Jacksonville. I think that to me, it just seems like they are trying.

Maybe they're not there yet, like you're saying. They don't have everything figured out. They don't know what their offensive identity is going to be just yet. Maybe they're trying to figure it out. Maybe they still haven't gotten there. Who knows? Maybe through OTAs and through training camp, maybe they'll get, there. I just see Jacksonville as one of those teams who is like here, we have our franchise

generational quarterback, even though, in my opinion, I think that Trevor Lawrence still needs to get over the hump of just being your average quarterback. Like, that's just my, that's my, that's my own opinion. But that they feel about him like he's their superstar, franchise quarterback, they gave him all that money. You beef up your offensive line. You try to bring in more skill guys. To me, that just shows we are trying our best to support you. And honestly, that is what put them there for me. Like I said, it might not be there, but the attempt to support Trevor Lawrence to 100%. I think that's an overwhelming, that's an overwhelming yes to me. I love this because this is, well, we talked about this.

If you could flip anybody from like 14 to 8, you can move them around. What you chose to do is you chose to take the optimistic view of all the things that they've done. It's like, okay, I can see this all coming, sliding into place. If Brian Thomas gives them a vertical threat in year one, having Gabe Davis, is that true X receiver within that offense. They lacked that last year. So now the roles make a little bit more sense. You still have a good back in ETN.

That's the optimistic view. I can't help but take the pessimistic view because I watched so much Jacksonville Jaguar's offensive football last year, and it hurt me so much. Because it was just such a tough experience because, again, I saw a unit that was grasping at answers. And I think you're totally right on the personality. side. They've shown urgency. They know

they need to add these pieces to get the most out of that guy. That's why you go Brian Thomas in round one compared to going to get a corner in that spot with some of those guys still on the board. And I think in terms of the offense of what it looks like, they're aware of this stuff. They know

they need to pair stuff down. They know they need to distill this and try to figure out who they are. There is a chance. We're in week eight and this looks stupid. Like I cannot believe that you put them But again, coming off of last year, I just think that what that offense looked like for most of last season is wedged so deep into my mind that I'm choosing to take the most pessimistic outlook on this. It's okay.

That's all right. I definitely, I get it. I get it. I, you know, I did not get that same. Like, I could definitely tell there's a little bit of uncertainty with their offense. I can't say that it pained me to watch, but I could definitely tell a little uncertainty. but just I think from a former player's perspective, like when you see a quarterback that they, you know,

are willing to do everything for, to me that, like you said, I would like to take the optimistic side of that, especially when you give a guy that much money. I mean, I would pray that you would not sign a guy to that much money for that long to not give him the support that he needs. To me, that's horrible infrastructure.

I'm with you. And I do think that adding Mitch Moore, you played with Mitch Morris last year, Like having a veteran smart center that you're dropping into the middle of things, that's a force multiplier for an offense. Having somebody that can take protection stuff off of Trevor's plate, having somebody that's just kind of a stabilizer at that spot. Because they drafted Luke Fortner in the third round two years ago. I mean, that's not, that's pretty good draft capital for a center. But when you have a young center with a young quarterback, those guys are trying to figure it out at the same time.

I've never loved that as a plan. you mentioned David Andrews in New England. Like, I like having that. Somebody that's smart, that's been there. And so I think bringing Morse in there, there's a chance the entire group gets better. But again, that's the optimistic way to spin this. I'm looking at what it felt like last year and just unable to kind of pry that out of my head. I'm with you.

They did a lot of bad to you. It was not good. It was really not good. And again, this is one of those moments where I hope I'm wrong because I like watching Trevor Lawrence. I think that this group does have potential, but this is a, I'll believe it, when I see it sort of ranking for the Jaguars.

Okay, well, I hope they show you, because I do not want to look that wrong. All right, you're at seven? Seven, I went Bengals. Okay. I went Bengals at seven. I think with Joe Burrow coming off some injuries, you know, I thought it was even interesting

to hear Joe Burrow kind of come out, and, you know, obviously he wasn't highlighting the fact that, you know, he's had a lot of injuries and, you know, like he's some beat-up guy that he's not durable. But, you know, he even said that, you know, some of the injuries he's had, being a little banged up here and there, you know, it starts to put a little bit of doubt in your mind. It's, you know, some thoughts start to creep in your mind of like, well, what about this? What about that? And to me, like, to me, that is like this dude has not been protected.

He's been one of the most sack quarterbacks in the league since he's been in the league. They haven't protected them. I mean, you've got, I mean, obviously, I know that we'll get to this, but you've got superstars at receiver. You've got a, you know, some of the world's greatest receivers. That's all fine and well. But if you can't protect Joe Burrow, if you can't keep him healthy,

I just, that's what puts the Bengals a seven to me. Because, again, you've got, even you take away the infrastructure, you take away everything other than having Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase is still having T. Higgins. To me, that is good enough to put the Bengals up against almost any team when it comes to supporting cast.

But then you look at just the lack of protection that he's had year after year after year, the injuries, you know, and I don't want to sit here and label him as, you know, somebody who has any doubts or any fears, but, you know, hearing somebody come out and talk about like, well, you know, I've dealt with this, I've dealt with that. And, you know, it starts to make things creep into your mind. Like, that's enough to, that's enough question marks for me to put them at seven. Granted, they've had, you know, last year wasn't their best year. You know, they finished better with Jake Browning. But, you know, years, in years past before that, you know, they had a trip to the Super Bowl.

And, you know, they've been a great team, but to me it's just, as far as supporting cast, like, you can have a great quarterback. You can have a great trio or great duet receiver. But if you can't protect Joe Burrow long enough to get the ball down the field, then it's just that leaves you out of the top five when we're talking about, you know, the best teams in the AFC. I had them at three, but I can, I can understand everything that you just said. This is, to me, Jamar Chase and T. Higgins thing.

I just think having those two guys it is such it's such a comfort as a quarterback. The fact that you have a guy that in Chase can turn anything into a touchdown.

You have a guy in T. Higgins where you can throw any 50-50 ball you want and there's a chance that he goes and gets it. I'm more confident in this version

of the offensive line than I've been in any version that they've had since Joe Burrow got there. So you're optimistic about the defense line.

And I'm and I'm pessimistic. Because they haven't protected the guy at all. They bring in Trent Brown this year and not only, not just Trent Brown, because again,

he's had trouble staying healthy as well. They draft Aramarius Mims in the first round. They have options at tackle now. And I do think that the free agency moves that they made two years ago,

three, I guess it was two years ago on the interior. It's a solid, if unspectacular group. I think that they can be an average or an average or slightly above average offensive line.

And when you combine that with the pass catchers, that's where it starts to get interesting to me. The problem I have with the Bengals and how I slot them is the infrastructure part of this because Joe Burrow set so much of what the offense looks like and feels like. So some of the things that they do where we're spreading it out, it's going to be this kind of spread and let him play point guard sort of approach on offense,

you're asking a lot of your quarterback there. And in some situations, I would ding a team for raising the level of difficulty that way. but that's how he wants to play. So I don't know what to do with that, right? You're watching what they did with Browning last year, and it's like, oh, there's all this play action and there's all this movement. They're giving him easy throws. Like, why don't they do that with Joe Brown?

Well, he doesn't want to. So you can't ding the coaching staff for that. And I do actually think they've done a really good job. We've talked about this ad nauseum on the show over the last two years. The different iterations of that offense that we've seen, where they kind of leaned into more gap scheme runs out of the shotgun. They went away from the inside zone stuff that just was pounding their head against the wall. I think some of the stuff they were doing last year before Joe got hurt where there is more

motion. There is more under center play action. It does feel more dynamic. I have faith in that coaching staff to find a path forward for them eventually. So when you combine that with an average offensive line and to me, even with a question mark at the third pass catcher spot, those two guys on the outside, I want to, wanted to put them lower and I just couldn't do it because those factors were in my head. That's understandable.

I mean, again, like I said, when you got two superstars a receiver like that and a superstar quarterback, that's going to make life easy nine, ten times out of ten almost, nine and a half times out of ten. But it always just goes back to his lack of protection for me. It does because eventually, I mean, knock on wood, because I don't ever want to see this happen to anybody. But if you get a quarterback and he's banged up and he's banged up and he's not protected and he's not protected and he's not protected, like, yeah, his talent is up here. But if he's not on the field, then granted, again, we talked about they did look better with

Jake Browning towards the end of the year. But still, we're talking about this is Joe Burroughs team. I'm talking about him with T. Higgins and Jamar Chase. But if he's banged up all the time and you cannot protect, I just, I wanted to put them higher. Believe me, I wanted to put them closer to like the top three, the top four. But that was just a huge. huge. I guess that's just like the running back in me. Just like poor not protecting the quarterback is just odd. It gives me the creeps, man.

He really does. It gives me the creeps. Here's what I'll say. He heard his calf last year running in training camp. I mean, it has been a while since he got hurt getting crushed in the pocket, right? I mean, for the most part, the things that had him banged up, appendix, you know,

calf injury, like these things were not necessarily a lack of protection. It's just him having some bad luck and potentially being a little bit more fragile than we want him to be. Well, yeah, I would combine bad luck with being one, again, just being one of the most sacked quarterbacks in the league since he's got there. Granted, his injury, I get what you're saying. His injuries have not primarily come from lack of protection.

But I think that obviously the more beating your body takes, the more susceptible is the injury. You're at six now. Would you have at six? Six. Now, this is a real, once I like scaled this down and once I came to this team, at number six, I was kind of confused as to how I got them at six, because I feel like you might say that they should be closer to like 16, well, not all the way at 16, but, you know, not as high as they are. But I went with the Browns at six. I had them even higher than that.

So I had them at five. Oh, okay. Hey, cool, go, go, go. We're on the same both then. Okay, okay, okay. Well, tell me why you like the Browns at five. Their offensive line is very good one healthy. Like, this is still a very good group one healthy. And I was part of he was like, all right, well, that, if healthy caveat, like, how real is that? And Jack Conklin is really the only guy that's missed significant time over the last couple of years. Betonio,

Wyatt Teller, those guys being out, that was an exception last year. So I think you can count on the offensive line there as a stabilizing factor for this team. The pass catchers are good, man. Like, Amari Cooper is still damn good at football. Jerry Judy, even if he's been maybe a

slightly underwhelming for what he was supposed to be, I think that element where they have like a vertical stretch slot within this offense, combined with Cooper. I'm intrigued by that. And I think that David Injoku was like a dude. That guy is a real player. So you combine that with the infrastructure play calling thing.

It is not what it was last year because everything we said about the Titans now having Bill Callahan, you have to ding the Browns for not having Bill Callahan. But Stefansky, I think, has done a very good job as a play caller and just as an overall kind of setter of the offense since he got there. Andy Dickerson, their offensive line coach, he's not unproven. He was in Seattle last year when they dealt with a ton of injuries. And I think that what he did with Charles Cross and Abe Lucas's rookies was admirable.

So this is a guy who's done it before at the very least. And Ken Dorsey is their offensive coordinator. And I think that the ideas that he's bringing there, and I think that some of the, here, this is very long-winded, but the Browns last year, they were trying to bring. these two worlds. They had this Stefansky kind of under center play action world, which is where he comes from in that Kubiak universe, and they had this RPO-centric shotgun-based world that they wanted to deploy with Deshaun Watson. And it was kind of clunky sometimes in how they were trying to merge all

of those things. Well, what did Ken Dorsey do with Josh Allen over the last like three or four years? That's the world they lived in. So I actually think that bringing in Ken Dorsey as a way to expand your dropback game, but also be somebody who's kind of fluent in those RPO spread ideas, I really like the direction and the composition of the offensive coaching staff, even with Bill Callahan, no longer there. So that's in totality why I had them that high. Yeah, no, and I agree with everything that you said. They have, again, when healthy, phenomenal offensive line. They've got great weapons as skill player. They've got great receivers that we just talked about, Coup, Jerry Judy, David in Juko. I definitely did get a lot of, it interested me a lot with Ken Dorsey going there,

because just like you said, he basically takes the world of, you know, letting your quarterback play point guard, spreading it out, kind of like what we talked about with Joe Burrow, having little RPO runs, gap scheme runs from the gun, but also, if you know, Josh Allen was under center a lot. Josh Allen was doing play actions, waggle right, waggle left, you know what I mean? A lot of stuff underscender that really can. They already merged those ideas in Buffalo, right? Exactly. Exactly. So I think that if you, like you said, with the clunkiness of Cleveland trying to figure that out and trying to figure out the kinks, then I think that you get somebody like Ken Dorsey who obviously is coming and played with a or coached a very high level quarterback who can do both. So, you know, he takes whatever experience he's had with Josh Allen. And I'm going to say something and I do not want to get berated for it. You take away all the off the field accusations, all everything off the field that. doesn't pertain to actual quarterback play.

You take that away. Deshaun Watson is a good quarterback. He's a good quarterback. He is. Not at the top of the league, but he's a good quarterback. So if you get him a system that he can figure out the spread world, the under center world, great offensive line, great pass catchers, hopefully Nick Chub comes back, returns to form. I think they've got a hell of a chance to be a team to watch.

That's a big question. It's like what the running game looks like. How healthy is Nick Chub, the construction of the running game without Bill Cowahan, all that stuff. I think even without Nick Chubb, obviously, I think Bill Callahan is the biggest piece to that. That's the biggest question mark piece to what is the, what's the run game going to look like?

But I will say, you know, obviously I mentioned Nick Chub returning to form, but I think even without him, I think if they have a good identity with how they want to run the ball, a good scheme with running the ball, drone forward is a more than capable running back, you know, if Nick Chub is not the same Nick Chub that we all know and love. You know, I play with him for a short stint in Alabama. I remember he was there, and he was a young guy when I was there.

And he was one of those guys, which I'll say it loud and I'll say it true. Like, he was one of those guys that I looked at. I was like, you know, I'm just not sure if he's going to make it because I don't know that he gets it. And now when I watch him on Sundays, I'm like, yo, this dude gets it. And he gets it, well, you know what I mean? So I think that I just think that the Browns have a lot of good people. I think they got good infrastructure. I think they've got good players, you know, and I think that they have a lot of weapons to help them be successful in office.

How much were you around last year when Joe Brady took over for Ken? A lot. What would you say was the biggest change, the biggest difference in those two versions of the offense that the bills had last season? I would just say chemistry. Honestly, I would say that, and, you know, I'm going to just go ahead and segue into number five because I put the bills at number five. There you go. I think that Josh Allen, and this is no knock to Ken Dorsey or is this has nothing to do with Ken Dorsey. but just from being around Josh Allen, being around Joe Brady,

they went together like peanut butter and jelly. Like it was smooth as part. The transition was smooth because, I mean, obviously you change coordinators in the middle of a season. Like, that's not easy to do. But Joe's relationship with Josh was, I mean, it was incredibly smooth, which it should be because the bills are basically Josh Allen's football team. I mean, defense aside, special teams aside, Josh Allen is the leader of the Buffalo Bills.

I love Sean McDermott, Brandon Bean, all those guys, but this is Josh's team. So having an OC that calls what he wants called, when he wants it called, how he wants it called, that just benefits Josh Allen. You know, they lost Stefan, which obviously is going to be a huge hit to them, but, you know, you look at the way that

Stefan's production kind of dwindled at the end of the year, but as it dwindled, it wasn't like the production of the offense dwindled. Other guys started stepping up, Khalil Seeker, Dalton Kincaid, who I expect Kincaid to have a miraculous year this year. And that's only, the only person that that's going to help more than Dalton Kincaid is Josh Allen. I think that, you know, combine him, Keon Coleman, obviously Jimbo Cooks, you know, he had a pro bowl year last year, unbelievable back that you can run the ball with, throw the ball to out of the back field.

You know, there's not really a lot of knocks that I would say for the bills. You know, I think there are just other teams that are set up to have a little bit more success, to have a little bit better supporting cast. But just back like we were talking about, the chemistry between Josh Allen and Joe Brady is next to none. I think that there was, I don't really know what the issue was, you know, as far as, you know, with Dorsey and things just weren't really going the way they were supposed to.

I think that whenever we looked at our offensive production at the beginning of the year, it just wasn't what it was supposed to be. And nobody really could figure it out why. And now after, you know, seeing the transition and seeing Josh with Joe Brady, you know, like I said, things were being called as Josh wanted. Things were being called when Josh wanted them to be called. You know what I mean? So to me, I think it's just a chemistry thing. You know what I mean?

I don't think that it's not like Joe Brady is, you know, more knowledge or, you know, has a better understanding of how to, you know, fit a scheme to Josh Allen. I don't necessarily think that's true. I think it was just a chemistry thing. So that, I think, explains the difference between why you have the bills at five and why I have the eight is your window into understanding that relationship because to me it's like i'm with you on the pass catchers by the way they that offense was still cooking last year even with digs not producing at the level he had before i like calil shakir a lot i think he is a really nice piece i'm excited to see him used more but outside of that it's like oh keon coleman's a rookie you know

curtis samuel's a nice player but like what does that look like even as somebody who really i'm with you on dalton kincade i still have enough question marks about the past catchers in total that it pushed them a little bit further down to me. But I have no issues with having them in the top five. Because I also think the offensive line is a good group. And I think that last year, they played at a higher level than they had at any point, I think during Josh's tenure. And their ability to run the ball consistency all year, consistently all year last year,

and just have that be a reliable piece of the offense. I have so much, I have a lot of faith in that carrying over and then figure out the past catcher spots. So I had them at eight, but I completely understand the argument for having them in the top five. Good, good. Again, they could have been moved around,

but just I think that Josh Allen and Joe Bray, I think they'll figure it out. I really do, especially when it comes to the past catchers. I really do. At four, I went Texans because Houston is red hot. I don't have anything negative to say about Houston at all. When I originally did my list, I think I had them like around four,

And then I kept thinking about it. And I was like, I don't think that's high enough, man. Like, I think that they're higher than that. I'm looking at it. And I'm going to tell you, I almost want to switch four and three. I almost do. But this is what I put. So I'm going to stick to it.

I think CJ has it all. He's got the aura. He's got the coach in Domingo Ryan's. He's got a stand-up left tackle. Good line overall, but absolute stand-up, stud left tackle. I mean, riches at receiver. Obviously, you ask Stefan Diggs. I think that CJ Stroud is just walking into an unbelievable situation.

I mean, obviously, he is not only the beneficiary of it, but he also kind of culminates all of this. Like, he is QB1, and he touches the ball in every play, and he makes all the magic happen. But, you know, he is really just, he's been set up well. And I think that even though, like, we talked about offensive coaches, defensive coaches, I think even though Demico Ryan's is a defensive guy, I think the swagger, the aura, just the mentality that he brings, the infrastructure that he brings, I think that that is like, because CJ Stroud is just like, he's not your typical QB.

Like, he's a dog, dog on dog on dog. So I think that, you know, he even benefits from having somebody like Damico Ryan's who was a dog on defense and kind of brings a little bit of that tenacity implies that in the QB spot. And he takes that. He just, it's like C.J, everything C.J. Stroud is, is starting to take over the entire Houston, Texas. It's so funny you say that because I think that is real. Like, DeMiko's energy and just like the general kind of attacking.

mindset that that entire team seems to have, it does feel like it spills over to the offense. And I think the Niners have always played like that on offense. Like the way the Niners' offense feels, I think that the fact that they have sort of like a defensive attacking mentality on that side of the ball, that's real. And that manifests. And I think Bobby Sloak has brought that. So I'm with you on that. For me, the reason I kept moving them up and up and up and up, I think this is the

best collection of skill position players, past catchers in the league. I really do. I love what the dolphins have in the top two spots. We'll talk about the dolphins here in a second. But the fact that Tank Dell is pretty much your number three receiver among this group, Tank Dell is incredible. He was so good last year. And I went back and watched a lot of Texans.

I've been doing these shows on every division. And whenever I can watch a defense and they have a game against the Texans, I always feel like I've clicked on it in order to watch more CJ Stroud. And every time I'm watching games of theirs before Tankdale got hurt, I'm just getting more and more impressed about what sort of player this is. And then you drop digs into that mix. Noah Brown was really productive for them last year. Like, he's their fourth receiver. Dalton Shultz was really productive for them last year.

So you have that group. I think Bobby Sloak is not a tremendous job. Like, the levers they're pulling structurally. We're going to use heavy personnel to get you into base. You're playing a ton of cover three. We know how to pick you apart. They're pulling the right lever. and I think that offensive line went healthy,

which they were the most injured line in the league last year, can be a solid group. And you combine that with the play-calling acumen and the past catchers. I was surprised that I had them this high, but I ran out of reasons to keep them out of the top two when you consider all of that. I feel like I was looking for reasons

to keep them out of the top, too, honestly. And I don't know why, honestly. It's fast. It is fit. You saw for one year, and it's fast. I'm with you on this. I think that's why. Just because, I mean, he's going, he's going in a year two, and it's like to put them there already.

I mean, but you make a good case. You do. You say, you're saying all the right things. You're telling me what I like. I mean, like I said, you already got me one to flip three and four, but I think that, you know, I think the Texans, I think the Texans are the team to watch the NFL this year period. I think a lot of people feel that way, and it almost makes me think I'm not seeing something that I should. Like, there's something below the surface that I'm. not paying enough attention to because it feels like everybody's on that.

But in this exercise specifically, it was hard not to get excited about them. All right. Would you have a three? Three, I went Dolphins. I think that Tua is set up for success every year. I think that he has been set up for success since he got in the league. Their offensive line has always, to me, been up and down, kind of like, good and bad. but you have the two fastest running backs in the league.

You have two of the fastest wide receivers in the league. You just added one of the fastest tight ends in the league. You have an embarrassment of riches. I know we just talked about the Texans have the most complete skill group of past catchers in the NFL. But I think when you just talk about skill, speed, playmaking ability, get the ball in their hands and just watch them go, I don't think anybody has more guys that you can say just get on the ball

and then just essentially get out of the way, let them do their work, than the Dolphins. I don't think that you have any better group of guys that can take this, take it from zero to 80 in the blink of an eye. I think that year after year after year, the dolphins just get to a place where they just cannot get past the home. I don't necessarily think that that is because of the players. I don't think that that's because of Tua.

I don't think that's because of coaching. I think they just are. It's almost like they're a team. of front runners and once it really gets hard and once you get to that certain point where you have to get over the hump, they're just not getting there. So to me, that's why I put them in three because I feel like based on what they're obviously outside of the offensive line being their strong suit, I think that they have about everything that you could ever ask for and imagine as an offense. But I think that they're just not getting done what needs

to be done when it matters. I have them at one. Wow, really. And I am a surprised surprised as you are because I the offensive line is very frustrating to me and the fact that they didn't do anything to address the offensive line really they brought an Aaron Brewer to be their starting center but that's replacing Connor Williams who I think was actually pretty good in the type of offense they wanted to play but that is how good I think Mike McDaniel and the past catchers are we I said and you're right you are absolutely and I also think that there this is a and I honestly think this is part of why they're running into a wall late in the season is because the lack of offensive line talent

limits how diverse the running game can be and I think that they have to be too specific in the way that they play but I think there's the structure of the offense the way that they play mitigates offensive line talent

better than any other scheme in the NFL. The way they get rid of the ball the way like the way the running game is constructed on the perimeter they can get away with skimping along the offensive line more than most teams can

and that's why even with a bottom five offensive line, I'm willing to do this. I just think that when it's humming, their offense sets their quarterback up for success better than any other offensive support system in the AFC, even with the offensive

line concerns. Because even if the Texans have the most complete past catching group in the league or in the AFC, the dolphins have the most impactful past catching group in the league. And I think that's why even if it gets tight here and even with the concerns up front, I'm like,

I can't not do this. They had the most effective running game in the league last year when you look at EPA per rush. They were fourth and success rate running the ball. They can do a little bit of everything. And I do think the lack of flexibility hurts them when we get into January, February. But in an exercise like this,

how much are you setting up and supporting your quarterback for success? I think they're number one for me. I think they still are. Yeah. I ain't mad at it. I'm really not. I'm not mad at it at all, truly.

So maybe I didn't need a four and four. Maybe I got three and four right. Maybe I'll just keep it. So now you're at two now? I'm at two. I want you to guess because there's only two teams left. And we know, Ravens and Ships. Who do you think I put in number two?

The Ravens. I did. I went, I went Ravens at number two. I had the Ravens at seven. I'm very curious about your argument for the Ravens at two. Really? Because I want to hear your argument of why, at seven first.

This is really what I want to hit. I think that that group last year, with Morgan Moses coming in, John Simpson having a career year, they deserve the benefit of doubt in terms of getting the most out of guys up there, but there are a lot of new starters potentially in that group.

Andrew Vorhees is slotted in to be their left guard. We've never seen him play. There's a chance of Roger Rosengarten starts for them or right tackle as a rookie. There are enough question marks up front for them where I'm like, all right, we'll see how this goes. and I love Zayflowers.

I feel like I'm one of like the biggest Zayflowers fans in America, but I still don't think outside of Mark Andrews, this is a very good to borderline elite pass-kechatching group. It's okay to me, and that's why it weighs it down a little bit. I honestly thought 7 was pretty good, and that's because I was giving a lot of credit and a lot of weight to the job that Todd Munkin did last year, because I think he did a pretty damn good job.

So to me, it's offensive line concerns, and I think a capped, level of quality among the past catching group. I very much so hear you. I agree with what you said about Munkin, the scheme that they had. I think that it, again, I think that it brought the most out of the players that they had.

And I think that to me, the question marks of like, okay, well, have we seen this guy start on the offensive line? Have we seen this guy start on the offensive line? See, to me, that's where infrastructure comes. That's a great point. Because if you have the proper infrastructure, which you can tell me if I'm wrong, but I would be willing to say that Baltimore is one of the top teams in the league when it comes to like infrastructure.

I think that's totally fair. 100%. So I think that if you have a coordinator who's bringing the best out of all of his players, that's his job, not to just bring out the best in his skill players, but in all of his players, skill players, skill players, running backs, quarterbacks, and offensive line. You have a great infrastructure. It's molded the way that it is, right? And in order to fit that mold, you have to fit that mold. You're not going to come in and be a guy. that's going to be plugged into a situation if you don't fit the infrastructure, if you don't fit the mold.

To me, that gives me enough confidence to be like, okay, well, yes, there might be a few guys that we're plugging in that we haven't necessarily seen yet. But if the stand, it's what we say at Alabama, if the standard, then you're going to rise to that occasion. And if not, you're just not going to play or they'll find somebody that will. And I think that Baltimore very much has the type of infrastructure to where it's like, if you are not up to par, you will end up not playing. somebody, we're going to find somebody to fit this role that is going to play up to the standard and the infrastructure that we need. I think that that, again, I'm with you. I think that outside of Zayflowers and Mark Andrews, I don't think that, you know, the Ravens have an elite group of receivers or an elite group of guys you can get the ball to.

I think that adding Derek Henry, I 100,000 million times think that that can override your lack of past catchers. I also think it overrides questions along the offensive line. And I will admit this. There are two things in my, let's call it apprehension about how good the Ravens can be on offense. There are two things that I'm overlooking and that I think could make me look stupid down the road. One is what Derek Henry can do for this running game.

I mean, Gus Edwards is a solid player, right? But we're talking about a different sort of situation, even at this stage in his career, with what Derek Henry can bring you as a home run hitter and as an engine of your offense. And the other thing is, I, I am, I thought they were so good last year. I mean, Lamar won the MVP. I'm not giving enough credence to how much of a jump offenses typically take from year one to year two in a scheme. Like what they, they were a good offense last year. They were a top five ish offense in year one in a dramatically different sort of offensive system. And I think going into year two with an offseason to refine it, an offseason be like, all right, this is what we liked. This is what we

didn't, let's pick this, let's pluck this. I think that they could be really, really good from a structure standpoint in year two in a way I'm maybe not considering enough. And that's honestly, that's what I, that's what I emphasize on my list. Like they brought the whole band back together. And they were damn good last year. Like you said, Lamar won an MVP. Everybody around Lamar made Lamar look great last year, honestly.

Lamar played his tail off, but everybody around him made him look great. You bring the whole band back together. and then you bring Derek Henry. Let me ask you this. When was the last time there was another number one rushing option outside of Lamar Jackson? Well, there hasn't really been one because they drafted JK Dobbins to be that guy

and he just hasn't been on the field. So we've had a lot of Gus Edwards over the last couple of years, which again, solid back, but we're talking about a different thing here. Yeah, and so what I'm saying is, so when you look at Gus Edwards, and if you're, let's put your defensive coordinator hat on, if you're looking at the Ravens, and you're like, okay, who's the Ravens

number one rushing option right now? Gus Edwards or Lamar Jackson? Right now? Well, no, I'm just saying, hypothetically. Lamar Jackson. Lamar Jackson would be the guy I'd be most worried about if I were a defensive coordinator. 100%.

Now, if you, now you look at the Ravens this year and you're like, oh, shit. Derek, like, granted, Lamar Jackson is Lamar Jackson, but Derek Henry is the ball carrier. What does that do for Lamar Jackson? Oh, you've swayed me. All right.

I think the infrastructure argument is a very good one. And this is one of those things where the fact that John Simpson came in last year is somebody who was waived by the Raiders and then is now like a $4 million a year player in free agency. It's not an accident, right? Like their ability to find this year's version of John Simpson, they deserve the benefit of the doubt there. And I wish I would listen to myself. So, okay, if I were to do this list again, the Ravens would probably be clear.

closer to the top five. You have pushed me that far. All right. So that means you have the Kansas City Chiefs at number one. 100%. And I'll just say this. Andy Reed, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelsey, good offensive line. Until further notice, nobody has a better situation than them. Nobody has a better supporting cast. They're back-to-back defending champions. I think the offensive guru that is Andy Reid mixed with the, you know, Steph Curry-like Patrick Mahomes, you know, who is the best player in the NFL right now without a question. I mean, and then on top of that, I mean, you add Hollywood Brown, Xavier Worthy. I mean, come on.

Like, why on earth does Patrick Mahomes deserve Xavier Worthy? Why? You know what I mean? It's like, why? Why, he doesn't need all that? You know what I mean? But at the end of the day, I think that when you look at just what the chiefs have done, I mean, I feel like it really just speaks for itself.

I mean, do we really have to talk about, you know, how. smart Andy Reid is, how great of a play call Andy Reid is, how creative Andy Reid is. Do we really have to talk about how great, you know, because I remember there was a point in time obviously after Tyreek Hill left. When everybody was talking about like, oh, he doesn't have Tyreek Hill anymore.

What is he going to do? Well, then he was throwing to Marvez, you know, I don't want to butcher his name. Marquez Valde Scantley. Yeah, okay. I just wanted to make sure. I was like, about it? No, he was throwing to Marquess,

Valdes Scantley, Rashid Rice. I mean, then all of a sudden, these guys who you're looking at it like, okay, well, he's got to throw to this guy. Then at the end of the year, we'll talk about it. Here's my argument, though. Here's my counter to that. How much of that is Patrick Mahomes?

A lot. So that's what makes this hard. Is separating the supporting cast from the quarterback here is difficult? Is it? Because to me, to me, in a situation like that, all you need are guys to show up and do the right thing. If you get a handful of guys, even if they're not, to me it's no different thing,

which granted, this is going to be a totally different. I'm not trying to get off the script here, But like, take a Julian Edelman, for example. Like, Julian Edelman wasn't your Randy Moss or your, you know, your top receiver, but he showed up every day for Tom. He was in the right place. He was there at the right spot. And Tom made him, along with himself, making him who Julian Edelman is today.

But that started off with him being a piece, a smaller piece to a bigger puzzle, essentially. Tom Brady having a spot. Like, that was what it was all. that's what it always was, you know, whether it would be Julian Edelman or, you know, back before West Wilker was really West Walker or Danny Amandola, before Danny Amandola was Andy Amandola. It's like these are just like, these aren't like an embarrassment of riches at skill player. You know what I mean? But what did they do? They showed up. They were at the right spot. They caught the ball. They did what they were supposed to do. So then you take guys with Kansas City. You've got another generational quarterback, the best quarterback in the league. All you need are guys to show up and do the right thing. And that's what these guys have done. And that's what has allowed Patrick. Mahomes to be successful. That's what has allowed Patrick Mahomes to make these other guys successful. And that is why the chiefs keep turning this thing around because it's not,

you don't have to have the most elite core group of receivers to make your quarterback successful. If you got somebody like Patrick Mahomes, again, you just need guys to show up and do the right thing. That's what makes this hard, though, because in that, your argument is that the quarterback is almost creating his own infrastructure, which isn't wrong, but I don't really know, I don't know what to do with that. We were just talking about Joe Burrow creating infrastructure in Cincinnati. He wanted to be the point guard and spread everybody out and let him do his thing. So I think that in, I'm not even going to say in certain situations, in the right situation, obviously being with Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes, I think that his ability to make the guys around him better,

that sets him up for success. Granted, it's him giving himself more support, but I think that that's an underlying thing that we have to evaluate. Like, if you can make these guys good, then who is that going to benefit? Yeah, it's going to benefit them, but it's going to benefit you as a pass catcher. Because I remember Tom would tell a guy, even when I was a rookie, Tom would tell a guy, some of the younger guys, just be at this spot at the right time. I will get you the ball when it's supposed to be. I will, I'll do the hard work. I'll do all the thinking, just go here where I tell you to be. That's it. And that elevated the guys around him. And as those guys got better, what did Tom get? What did Tom do? He got better. I see the same thing with Patrick Mahomes. You just have to be right here, which is crazy because

there's not just like one spot, obviously, Andy Reid's offense, because he's got guys lining up all over the place, doing, you know, ring around the Rosie and the huddle, all kind of crazy shit, right? But at the end of the day, if you are where Patrick Mahomes thinks you're going to be, he will get you the ball, it will make you a better player. And in turn, it comes back full circle. He's a better quarterback because of it. And he's basically creating more support for himself. I could be, be, I could just be talking out of behind right now, but to me, it makes sense. But that's what's hard about this is it's so hard sometimes to extricate the quarterback's effect on his past catchers and the past catchers effect on the quarterback. And so the

reason I had them a little bit further down is like, I don't know what the past catching group is going to look like. It should be better than it was last year, but how much is Rishie Rice going to be on the field? What is Xavier Worthy as a rookie? Like, Hollywood Brown is better than the guys they've had, but like even that, it's like, how do those roles shake out? And that's ultimately would push them a little bit further down to me. Either you make an argument that they should be above the Bengals. And if I had to do this all over again, you've convinced me enough. But the lack of certainty or the lack of proof in the pudding with these past catchers in Kansas City, that's what

ultimately gave me a little bit of hesitation. But everything else, the offensive line is good. Right? Like, the offensive line is just a good group. We know what Andy Reid is. And then the offensive, the offensive line coach they have there is consistently done a really good job, Andy, heck. So that's why I had them in the top five, even with some of the past catching concerns. And I guess the other part is, Travis Kelsey's 34, right? Like how much longer can he do this? He's trying to look great.

He is. He's starting to look more like Jason Kelsey. So I, that's what ultimately led me to push them down a tiny bit. But I am willing to concede that there's a strong argument for them to be in the top three. I would, yeah, I think that, I think for me, I know I just went on a whole rant about, you know, obviously how Patrick Mahomes make the receivers better than receivers make him better. But I think what it ultimately comes down to is like the potential question. Because like we just said, their receivers should, their receivers should, their receivers should. second course should be better than what it was last year. And they just wanted Super Bowl last year.

So those question marks are not enough to deter me from the obvious, which is Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes. Above all else, Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes, I think that is a two-headed monster that I think that they have shown, obviously without Tyreek Hill, they can have success. I think that whenever Travis Kelsey's time comes, I think that they'll find a way around that as well. So I just think that there are question marks of, oh, well, we don't really know if they're, you know, how their receivers are going to play. We don't know this. We don't know that. They're two-time defending champs. Like nobody, nobody has figured out how to stop Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes yet. And until they do, I think that Andy Reid is all the support that Andy Reid is all the support. Andy Reid and Travis Kelsey, even at this age of his career, are all the support Patrick Mahomes. He's got to go. That's the best argument right there is that Andy Reid and Travis Kelsey, even at this age of his career, are all the support Patrick Mahomes. and an offensive line, right? Like, we saw that in the Super Bowl. If they have five guys in front of him

and they have Andy Reed and Travis Kelsey, that's mostly what they need. That is an argument that I'm willing to hear because I think that that's not far off. All right. Okay. You see, then why did you make me see all this other crazy shit that you even want to hear you?

Because it's fun to talk it out and it's fun to kind of the score why it comes down the way that it does. Damien Harris, sincerely appreciate you take it all the time, sir. This was very fun. Thank you for spending it with. us and we will talk to you very soon.

Yes, sir. Appreciate you. Thank you very much for your time. All right, guys. That's all we got today. Thank you so much to Damien. Thank you so much to all of you for checking out the show. We will be back on Thursday.

We have two more shows this week. Again, come on Thursday, Friday, normal three-day-a-week schedule. So please be on the lookout for those for now. That's all we got. Appreciate you listening. We will talk to you very soon. This was the Athletic Football Show.