The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - The 2026 TAFS Wins Pool Draft

Episode Date: September 7, 2026

Most competitions are about winning. Some, however, are about not losing. This is one of the latter. That's right, it's time for the 2026 TAFS Wins Pool Draft. Come in first or second, and breathe a sigh of relief. Finish in last, and get ready to embarrass yourself in front of all of cour colleagues at the Super Bowl. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman pick eight teams apiece in front of a live audience on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. Brought to you by the U.S. Bank Smartly Visa Signature Card. I'm Robert Mays. We got a good one for you guys today. It's the Winspool Draft. One of my favorite things we do each and every season. We didn't really explain the rules at the top of this. So just a heads up.

Each year, we pick a collection of teams, the three of us, and whoever has the least amount of wins at the end of the season has to pay off a bet on Radio Row. Last year, Derek had to wear a wolf costume because the standard of the bet was that whatever team did you in the worst, you had to dress up like a super fan of that team. We're not exactly sure what the punishment is this year, but same general idea with how the competition is going to work.

The only thing is we did eight teams each this year, eight good teams rather than picking a selection of bad teams. So those are the rules as we get started. One wrinkle to this. We recorded this live at Lincoln Hall in Chicago, which was great. It was really fun to do it in front of an audience. Ran into one small hiccup.

There was an issue with the audio that cuts out at some point during the recording. It was right in the middle of Derek's picking the chiefs again, which is very funny. And then it missed a couple picks right after that. It's me taking the Niners and then Dave picking the Bears at 15 and then it comes back during the discussion of Dave's pick of the Bears. We're sorry about this. It's obviously something we can't really control.

This is just the nature of it when you're doing a live show and kind of in somebody else's hands when it comes to the audio itself. We are going to hopefully go get the actual recording off of the hard drive from the venue at some point this week and re-upload the entire show at some point if we can do that. And so apologies, obviously, I hate when stuff like this happens, but there was really nothing we could do about it. And we absolutely wanted you to have the majority of the show in your guys' feeds. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to the live show.

We love doing them. We'll continue to do them in some capacity. Hopefully do them in some different cities moving forward. But that's what we got today. It's the Winspool draft with a little chunk left out of the. middle, which we're sorry for. Let's get to it right now. I'd like to say we were cultivating an air of mystery back there, but we were just working through some technical stuff. I was trying to do my best Axel Rose impression. That's not our vibe. Far from it. It could be. I've listened to enough

guns and roses. You are the most mysterious rock star of the group for sure. Sincerely appreciate all of you guys coming. We are really looking forward to this. The Winspool is obviously an important part of the athletic football show lore and has been for many years. If you guys have forgotten, what is it stake with this show and with this exercise? A quick reminder. Oh, yeah. So if anyone here is unfamiliar with how this is gone, that is you. That's you, buddy.

That is you dressed as a wolf on Radio Row. That is, that is you. If anyone is unfamiliar with how, what? Oh, yes, exactly. So that's, if anyone's unfamiliar with this, we have done this show for three years now. I lost the first two years. The first punishment was that I had to dress in the, I think you should leave hot dog suit

in a very professional environment and the sheer amount of looks I got from people working there at the convention center in Los Angeles was worth it. The next year was actually my wife's friend's idea. The punishment was we had to get our face painted like a child at a kid's birthday party.

I don't know if I ever talked about this. I literally had a, I found a woman in New Orleans that would come do it at your hotel room. Great city for it. And so I had a woman come to my hotel room and paint my face. And every 10 seconds, she was like, we need more glitter. And she just kept throwing out of me. She knew what this was about.

I was finding glitter in my clothes for a month after we did this. And so I was so happy last year that I did not lose and that Derek actually had to bite the bullet. And you took it like a champ. I wish that you had kept the wolf face more than you did. but well it's hard because you want to walk the line of like make it look like a wolf but still make it obvious that it's me if it's full wolf mask it's like well that's not that bad because nobody knows that it's you uh i think what it really set in for me was it's maybe like 30 45 minutes into like because i did a

couple of laps i'm trying to make sure that everybody sees me you're a good sport about it and one of the giants reporters i forget who it was but i they had posted something on twitter about like that's day two at radio row and it's it's me and i'm like i know him like what players or coaches did you have to talk to that day? Do you remember? I don't think I had any of my player stuff that day. So I didn't have to do any work in it. That's a mistake on our part.

We should have made that make sure that happen. Anybody but Fred Warner, I would have been okay. You couldn't have made me do Fred Warner in that. My biggest fear with this, like I don't take myself seriously, obviously, if you've ever looked at me.

But the idea of like having to talk to Kyle Hamilton or somebody dressed like that just sends shivers down my spine. All pros should be off the board. I did have to do it. I can't remember who it was. The hot dog suit, I definitely had to talk to someone. The fact that I can't remember is an indication that I pushed it all out of my mind. What is, what's our punishment this year?

Have we figured that out? We've not figured that out yet. I think it was going to be a similar sort of deal because I do like this because it changes every single year depending on the fan base. And so we haven't settled on it yet. If you guys have suggestions, we would love to hear from you. But I think we're aiming and leaning this direction. Something super fanish. Yes.

Okay. So the nice wrinkle with this is, we do not know the. order that these picks are going to happen in. We're all going to find that out together because we're going to do the 100 yard dash live to figure out what the draft order is. Katie, you cue it up when you're ready. Now, I'm very invested in this.

Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Oh, oh. Oh. I think this is the first time Dave has won one of these. So he's very excited. I've been, I foresaw that this morning. I was like, I'm going to win the, I'm going to win. I'm going to win. I'm going to win. Oh, I can't say I love that I'm wearing the same shirt.

I can't say I love that. I can't say I love that. I can't say I love anything about that photograph, which I communicated to Katie when I saw that she put it on there. I love you. Thank you. The best part about this is,

you guys have listened to the show. There's some preparation that goes into it. There are some numbers that we look up. You know, we take it very seriously. We want to do a good job. There is nothing like that associated with this exercise. This is 100% vibes based. I have a list of team.

There's no notes. There's no numbers. This is just all about who you want to believe in over the course of the season. And it's the most punishing show we will do. Yes, we should do the most research with this. Dave literally pulled a piece of paper out of his shoe. That's what we're doing here. Like the offenses and defenses draft. If we lose, okay, we've got to buy a dinner, but that's not like emotionally and personally embarrassing. Losing this is is a different level. The late Mike Leach always said like you should be able to fit your offense on a five by three index card. I mean. don't overcomplicate this. So that's what I'm doing tonight. All right, well, you have the first pick. I assume I know what you're going to be doing with us. You know, it's funny. If you've listened to the show this summer, I've been trying like hell to hedge against the L.A. Rams

because it's terrifying to have that much expectation of success. Matthew Stafford's 38. The tackles, we know. There's a lot of old players on this team. I just want to be invested in the L.A. Rams. And I spent the summer hedging. I'm not going to over. overthink it tonight. I want to, I want to be involved with this team. I want to be rooting for

the Rams and enjoying watching them play football this year. There are a few ways I could have gone with this to try to overthink it like I did with the bills in the offense draft. I'm not doing that tonight. I'm taking the L.A. Rams. They're the Super Bowl favorite. Their odds are insane. Aaron Donald's going to play with Miles Garrett this year. I'm over the moon. I'm extremely jealous. I'm extremely jealous. Just having any sort of stake in what they are, I'm extremely jealous. I would be so mad if I talked myself out of the Rams and then just watched them steamroll everybody all season. I don't want to do that.

And of course, it could blow up in my face, but that's a risk I'm very comfortable with. The unfortunate part of having the second pick is that no matter what I do, I'm going to piss somebody off. Somebody's going to be offended that I did not choose them. You have the easy one. No one's going to be offended if you go with the Rams. Except Seahawks fans.

But they're not going to be offended. They understand the regular season wins, whether they should be the Super Bowl, all that stuff. Treating the Rams winning the Super Bowl as a foregone conclusion should piss C, talks fans off. Picking the Rams to win the most games in the regular season in the NFL this year, I think, is a completely reasonable place to land. Yeah, that's fair. I have a board, and I'm already just ignoring it. That's the beauty of the exercise. I'm just completely ignoring it already. How are you already second-guessing this when you knew what I was going to do? To make him feel better, I looked at my board just now, and I have three teams in the top category, and

I was like, maybe the fourth one is actually the one that I should be paying. That's the past problem. It's essentially a tier of four teams or three teams after the Rams that you could choose from. All right. I already regret this. I'm going to go with the Ravens. Oh, man.

Okay. You heard it here, folks. Robert May is back to Baltimore Ravens. That's the team I wanted to ride with. They have the same over and under as the Rams. It's 11 and a half. Do they really? Which would probably shock most people.

Shocked me when I saw it. I feel okay about this. I believe in the Jesse Mentor thing. I've hitched my wagon emotionally now to Declan Doyle, which I'm comfortable doing. I'm okay with it. I'm going to go with the Ravens. It's in part because the Seahawks play in the same division as the Rams and the 49ers.

I just think that, and the Ravens played not a first place schedule. They didn't make the playoffs last year. And so this is more about the tiebreaker considerations with the Ravens compared to a team like the Seahawks or even the bills. Giddy to draft the Ravens last year. And we saw how that went. So it might be, it might be sour grapes on my part. That's also part of it is that they had the down year last year. I don't know if it's going to happen.

And so you had to endure that. I don't know if I'll have to. And I also think, like, on a very simple level, not that quarterback wins is everything. But, like, since Lamar Jackson has been the starter, they're like the second or third most winning team in the NFL. Like, they just pump out wins. Like, they will most likely be a very good football team. And this is not scientific whatsoever. But every time Lamar has had a new offensive coordinator in the last five years, he's won the MVP that season.

And so I'm just, we have an on again off again sort of situation with the Ravens. I'm hoping this is one of the on again seasons. You're up at three. Eric, what are you doing? That actually made my decision easier. Yes. To me, which leaves me with the Buffalo Bills, and I feel pretty good about that. I feel pretty good about taking the Buffalo Bills.

There's a little bit of uncertainty. I don't know if I love Joe Brady being the head coach, but Josh Allen is consistently elite, and I'm okay writing with that. What's going? What are you thinking over there? Well, I just love the fact that you shouldn't pick the Seahawks now because mathematically, because you're limiting your chances of maximizing your win total. I don't give a shit.

They only play each other twice. I'll be okay. Sorry, we're stepping on Derek's thing. There's not a whole lot to say. They're the bills. Even if I have some questions about the defense, I do think that injecting some new ideas there is nice. And it's what you said on the offense show.

When Josh Allen is out there, they're a top five offense every single time. I'm pretty sure so long as the defense is not a burning crater, they will be an 11-win team. And I'll be okay with that. It is a pretty safe pick for that reason. I just, maybe we really do hate the Seahawks. We just, we always let them fall in these exercises, but I won't let that happen.

I'll take them right here with my, what is it, fourth pick? Yeah, I just, they're, they're better than fourth, right? This is not about who's the best team. This is about who's going to win the most games. These are two different questions. I think they're going to pile up wins this year. Even in the NFC West, I think it's okay. Like, they beat.

I just think the division is harder. The schedule is going to be harder. They won the division last year. That is, that was the rationale for the Ravens. It's a coin flip between the Ravens and the Seahawks. I want to be very clear. about the fact that it was a coin flip between the Ravens and the Seahawks.

This is mostly not for you guys. This is for the audio audience of Seahawks fans that are going to be listening to this later on. There are real reasons to be concerned about Seattle. Like, I mean, the offense was what it was down the stretch of last year. You're changing offensive coordinators. I think Reekwill and leaving is flying so under the radar on a national level, in my opinion.

And I've brought it up before, too. They were even, I know they dealt with injuries at times. during the season, but they were very healthy for a team that relies on guys like Demarchus Lawrence and Leonard Williams to be a big part of the reason why they're successful. I'm still a hundred percent comfortable banking on this is like an 11 plus win team and I like the division's tough the Rams are there I don't really care I think that stuff will even out in the end I only have to sweat this twice over the course of the season I'm not even that worried about them I mean again it's it comes down to like

some tiebreaker stuff I would have been more than comfortable taking them a two the corner stuff is fine. The corner injuries are real and they're dealing with a lot of defensive back concerns over the course of training camp, independent of the guys they lost. I believe in Mike McDonald, and I'm excited about the offense.

You see me just trying to convince everyone that I feel better about the Seahawks. We're really just protecting ourselves. You guys don't understand what Seahawks fans were like this summer. None of you understand it. It was tough. I would have taken them at three

if the bills were not on the board. But the bills, to me, just felt weirdly safer even if the Seahawks are the Super Bowl winners. You would have taken the Seahawks over the Ravens. My heart wants to take the Ravens because I love more of my future children. The Seahawks feel a little bit safer given that Mike McDonald is the best defensive play caller. All right, so I'm up at five now. Five, right?

Yes. This isn't an easy one for me. I'm going to take the Detroit Lions. See, the lion's schedule is horrendous. Go look at the lions are favored in every game they play this year except for like one or two. So this is a schedule choice. I do think the lions are going to be good. But if this is about who wins the most games in the regular season,

I feel good about this. I came in here feeling smart as hell because I thought y'all are going to leave the lions to me. Absolutely not. I didn't dream. I didn't dream about having the Seahawks available. I think the lions are an amazing pick. I debated taking them a lot higher just because they're going to be scheduled merchants. They're going to win like 13 games this year.

I don't know if that means they're good. Stop trying to jinx me already. They're scheduled to suck. like 11 games and I'm going to be happy with it. But I feel very good about... If you get 11 wins from your second pick, that's not bad at all. I think I took the Ravens first overall last year. It's so embarrassing.

But good luck with that. It'll be fun. I feel okay about it. I think the offense, the floor of the offense is extremely... Last year, they fired the offensive coordinator like six weeks into the season and they were the third highest scoring offense in the league or some bullshit. I mean, they were so good offensively and in a down year. The pressure is completely.

off when I don't have to worry about whether you're going to win the Super Bowl. Just like, oh, yeah, they're going to win 12 plus games. They get to play like the Giants and the Titans. This is going to be great. The defense might be a flaming wreckage of a disaster. Sure. But I'm okay with that. I think the offense will be good enough.

And with the schedule, that was, it was an easy choice for me. You're up at six, Derek. What are you thinking? This is the worst spot in the draft. I disagree. I don't know. To me, there were five teams where I was like, I would feel electric if I got any of these with my first two pick.

And I think this next year, there are like eight teams here I feel pretty good about. But to me, it's a pretty precipitous drop. That being said, I think I'm going to take the Houston Texans. I just... I can read you like a book, dude. I mean, listen, I believe that that defensive will be the best in the NFL again. And like, even if the offense is 8% better than it was last year, I think that that's enough for them to win 11 games again. I'm not saying you're wrong, but this, you just want to root for the Texans.

Absolutely. If part of this... That is part of this exercise. Because listen, if part of this is going to be, I'm going to lose how I want to lose. Last year, I picked the Bengals, and they f-ficked me, and I don't like that team. There's your first F-bomb, Katie. The best part about this is I just know that there are landmines that you won't choose. And so it does make the draft a little bit easier to predict.

And the Bengals are the most obvious example. And you just never do that again. No, I won't do it again. And if I'm going to go down, I can go down with D'Amico Ryan's in his defense. That's fine by me. I just, I can't remember an offense with this level of uncertainty going this high in the winspool draft. And they probably shouldn't.

It is a signal. They probably shouldn't. I'll be on the defense could potentially be. It's going to be great sitting in the studio on Sundays watching Derek watch the fourth quarter of like a 1916 Texan's game. That's the problem is that even if the defense is phenomenal, the amount of just disgusting football games you may have to be emotionally invested in, you're going to be torn in both Two directions.

You want to believe in the defense, but just you should have thought more about the in the moment experience that you're going to have to endure with this. It's not going to be good. All right. So Dave, you're up at seven. There's two teams I could pick. I think I know the two teams that you're picking between. And I'm comfortable with either of them. And so I feel okay about this.

I've been kissing their asses all off season. So I don't think it's a big mystery. I am going to, I could say put my money where my mouth is with all of these teams. But I really believe in Denver. I believe in the Denver Broncos. That is not what I expected you to do. I believe in the Denver Broncos. I think the defense is what it is and the offense is going to be better this year.

Jalen Wattle go burr. Wow. That's surprising to me. I don't think it's terribly surprising. I don't want to give away who I thought you were going to take because I'm going to wait. Well, the fact that you felt comfortable with the other team, we're just giving away all our strategy here. But I could have taken Philly.

I assume that's what you think I'm talking about. No. No. That is what I should have done and would have been a lot more reasonable and rational. But again, if I'm going to go down with someone, it's not going to be Bonix. I'm, see, here's my, here's my take.

I'm just, I did do that last year to be fair. I didn't have the Broncos and it was really good for me. This is not a, this, as we've gotten deeper and deeper into the exercise, and we've done it over multiple years, this is no longer about winning. This is about being comfortable with the way you are going to lose. See, that is 100% what this is about now. Bo Nex is orange Jalen Hertz at this point.

Yeah, I don't know. It's exactly right. I don't care if you don't like the way it looks. Does it work? And it does work. I don't think they're going to win 14 games this year, but they are one of the most complete teams in the entire league. I appreciate you because Derek and I,

and I say this with all the self-awareness in the world and understanding that is a fault of mine. Derek and I have a very hard time separating the aesthetic from the practical. Correct. And you do not have that problem. And it's almost a superpower in something like this. But I envy it. But I also wouldn't want to live that way.

Picture a Sunday night and like Denver just did some Denver bullshit. And Mays and Derek are just like. They're not four touchdowns of the giants and then come back and win. Just infuriating. But I'll benefit from it. It's okay. all right so talking about putting our money where our mouth is i've done it all off season oh the other oh okay yeah if if i wasn't going to believe in it now was it ever even real i hate

myself for doing this i've hated myself for believing in them the entire summer i'm going to take the dallas cowboys the degree to which this show has put the cowboys correct eschelon it is and like I have personal stakes in the Cowboys being good. It would be fun for me if they were. But like taking them eighth overall in an exercise like this coming off

of last season is a bridge too far for me. I just can't and you know what? What is the obvious choice? We've already, I put them on the table over the Eagles. Who would else I even pick? The other team that you hate, New England. Oh, absolutely not.

Absolutely not. See, that's the landmine. He's not going to There's a couple where you guys just know I'm not going to take them as high as you know, especially you. You took Seattle last year and it's why you won the wins pool because you saw that coming better than we did. So maybe you're right, but I just I can't wholeheartedly believe in such a drastic change on one side of the ball. It's too much for me. This is, we do this every preseason and it kind of drives me nuts. The NFL changes so much from year to year.

It changes so much. Somebody is going to be this year's commanders. That's going to happen. Some team that was wildly successful, we just get into this place. And I think part of it is that you don't want to be the contrarian that's going against it because the idea of spitting in the face of a fan base that made the playoffs last year feels cruel and rude.

But at the same time, that's just not the way the league works. Like, there are going to be teams that were borderline. The Seahawks were not a dominant, clear favorite to win the Super Bowl last year. This happens every single year. And so just going based on what happened last season, there's a safety to that, but there's also limitations to that.

Right around the time, I don't remember if it was Tucker Kraft or Luke Musgrave, but a tight end for Green Bay caught a pass in that playoff game against Dallas where there was nobody else in the screen. Like there was no one standing by him. And when that happened, I was like,

I'm never believing in this team again until somebody gives me a reason. So there's a chance I This is one of those where if it goes poorly The level of self-loathing that I will have to do over the course of the season There's a lot of risk involved in this and it's not just about the results It's about the process of actually having to live it every single week But I've got so much shit out there on record at this point like in for a penny in for a pound Let's do it

It's like a fantasy football draft where you draft your guy in every league like that's what you're doing with the cowboys and I respect I've done it I've committed to it there's no walking it back now All right, Derek, you're up at 9. What do you got? Nothing good. You guys are so mean. There's still like five teams I'm excited about. There's plenty of teams that feel okay about.

But all of them at this point, you're making a bet on something. And it's not low enough in the order that you feel okay. Just taking bets. This is like you really want to land it. I think because of some of the other teams that I've taken, I think I'm actually going to take the Los Angeles Chargers. I think that's fair. They're in like this little grouping that I had here.

There's, all of these teams have something, but something about the vibes about the Chargers just feel better. I think I just like Mike McDaniel. It's a lot of it. Speaking of things we do every offseason, Derek watched the one Justin Herbert 65-yard throw and everything that's happened in the last five years cease to matter. To Quentin Johnston, who might be good now.

It's I'm going to be the person, though I did draft Justin Herbert in every single fantasy league. It was kind of accidental. Like I don't believe in them to this extent, but I am, I'm trying to keep the charges at arm's length as much as I can. I'm just, I'll let, if it happens and I wasn't on the train, I'm fine living that way. I can't do it again. And listen, I don't even think that they're going to be an elite team or contender or anything like that. But this team consistently won 10 games with whatever they were doing the last couple of years. And I know that Jesse Minter was a big part of that, But if you can tell me we can supercharge the Justin Herbert offense,

I think that they will get at least to that level again. I feel pretty good about that. It feels like a safe pick. Yeah. If we were picking Super Bowl champion, but it feels like a fairly high floor pick. Chargers and Justin Herbert are going to win 10 games. Back to back, back, 11 win seasons, right? You can do it again.

do a lot worse than that. All right. So Dave, you're up. All right. You just pick 10. You all are making this easy. I didn't think I'd get both of them, but I'm ecstatic to take. Oh, oh no, I guess I'll just take the MVP runner up who added AJ Brown to his team. Yeah, I'm cool with that.

I'll take New England. This is okay with me because I was never going to pick them. And so that's why I'm fine with this. I only didn't because I have Buffalo. And that was kind of the tiebreaker. Oh, that's fair. I will I didn't think about that. Hmm. I get to root

for Drake May and the Rams this year. Like, who's got a better? Who's got it better than me? I had a pretty obvious choice of who I was going to take next and now I have to second guess it. They do only play twice though. It's two games, dude. And you're guaranteed a win.

It's less than you think, but those games feel bad that week. When you roll up to the, when you roll up looking at the wins pool. That you can do is one in one. Yes, when you look at the wind pool spreadsheet and you've got like two auto losses, you're like this sucks.

This is how I know. This is how I know. I know y'all aren't like gifted slackers. Because like a guaranteed B is great. Like, oh, I don't have to worry about this. I'm guaranteed a one in one record. No, we're high, Roland. No, I'm fine with that.

I, the two teams that I was picking between a round ago, you did not mention either of those teams. And the fact that I have both of them now, because the team I'm going to take with my next pick, is terrifying because they are the same team. You're going to, oh. They have been the same team in every way over the last like three years. This is partially schedule driven.

Their schedule is also hot garbage. And I'm betting on that. And I do think they will be better. I'm picking the Cincinnati Bengals. I wish I could go back to January and tell you that you are going to get up here in front of so many wonderful people and the Tafts audience in general and back the Cowboys and the Bengals together at the same time. I just said the self-loathing that's going to happen with the Cowboys is extreme.

I'm owning all of this. Now that, I mean, okay, so it's the team that I covered for a decade and the team that employs all of my favorite players. So now that I have been too cowardly to draft them, they're both going to just go apeshit this year and win like 12 plus games and you're going to benefit. So congrats. Joe Burrow getting hurt is the only thing I'm worried about.

And you should be worried about that. I mean, it happens like every 10 minutes, but I think that it feels a little bit sturdier this year than it has felt. I think the defensive improvements, personnel-wise. This is not winning the Super Bowl, by the way. This is a different exercise. So the idea of their defense being good enough to win the Super Bowl,

we're not talking about that. I'm talking about them winning 10 games with a terrible schedule because they have the 18th best defense, Joe Burrow, Jamar, Chase, and T. Higgins. And I do think that is possible. I'm just imagining Zach Taylor playing for field goals from the 35-yard line in overtime. I didn't think about that part.

Yeah. In terms of what it looks like that part of it might not be very fun. I actually do think that they are in for like an 11 win season. So long as Joe plays like 14, 15 games. I don't know how it adds. I just, but I feel decent about that sort of outcome. And this is like bad strategy,

but because of what they did to me last year, like they would have needed to, I think, go another round for me to feel better about it. You absolutely can't do it. It would have just hurt. Speaking of teams that have hurt you, I'm curious what your next pick is going to be here.

Yeah, I'm in a pretty weird position here. Um, Man. It's, it's, it's, oh man. It's either a team I really don't enjoy. I think I have to take one team I don't enjoy. I'll take the Philadelphia Eagles.

Okay. That is surprising. I was good. I don't feel good about it. I don't feel good about it, but I do think, and maybe I'm gaming myself too much about, like, which to who, how many teams I have in each division and all that stuff. But I do think that there's a chance that the defense is really, really good.

And I don't believe in the offense, but I don't know if I need to believe in the offense that much when they have four scheduled wins and maybe the best defensive football. I would have taken them if you hadn't. That does make me feel better. Don't overthink it. You are more clear-eyed than me, so the best one I wouldn't have. Because you are with me on the Jalen Hertz thing. Again, I'm not going to fly in the face of things I've been saying all offseason. We had a fantasy draft last night.

I refused to pick any Eagles offensive players because I was like, I either believe it or. I don't. Yeah. I got Don Tavian Wicks late and I'm elated. I was a little bit jealous about that. That is the one guy where it's like I do have, I still have a candle lift for Donatian Wix. I just think inevitably we're picking eight teams.

There's going to be one or two of them I don't feel that good about. And last year I did not feel very good about picking the Denver Broncos. And this is a similar-ish sort of team to me. And so again, I don't feel great about it. So you didn't feel good about picking the team that went 14 and 3. Well, going into it,

I was like, it's the Bo Nix's, team and I know the defense is good but not elite. There's a lesson in there is there not. We'll see. I didn't feel good. I didn't feel good about the Bengals and then they won six games. That's fair. All right.

So you're up. No, we're reversing it now. So this was always the plan. We were going to reverse the order after the first 12 picks in order to make it seem fair. Even though I really don't care. Like the idea that we should do more snake drafts with this. This is a fake winspool draft on a podcast.

I do. Okay. The competitive integrity of this exercise is not important to me. When we're wagering dinner in L.A., I don't really care that much. But, like, if I have to... You got the first pick. You give a shit? I mean, yeah, I'm looking for every advantage I can get. I don't want to... If we didn't reverse it, you wouldn't

have had the advantage the whole time. Oh, wow, shit. I'm arguing against myself. Yeah, yeah, no. I don't like this. Because I don't want to dress up like Patriot, Pat, or whatever his name is. I don't know. It'll be a terrible one. We'll get there. That's a tough one.

my god, that's actually one of the best ones. You have to dress like a minute man. I don't know if they'd let you bring the musket to Radio Row. No, that would be a tough sell. I just, you're not up, by the way. I signed up for my own punishment. So I'm up again. Okay.

You're up twice. Now we'll just reverse the order for the next four rounds. So now you have two picks in a row. I think I'm going to bet on the best quarterback in football. I'm shocked that you didn't do this with your last pick. Yeah, I'm, I'm, I'm just like, truly shocked. Maybe so consciously I knew that I had two picks. You did not know that.

I'm going to say that I knew. that now. I'm shocked that you didn't do this with your last pick and I'm a little bit pissed off because I was ready to take them. Yeah, I'm going to take the Kansas City Chiefs and there again, they're a team I feel weird about but if we're talking about teams that I am backing what I've said. I've said a lot this offseason like anytime Mahomes is

out there I believe the offense will be fine and I believe in the defense like a lot of the young players are bringing in Spagnolo has done this a million times before so I don't love that I already have a team in the division but like at this point you're kind of just going to be stuck doing that so I will bet on Patrick Mahomes bouncing back. Yeah, I think

that's a completely reasonable thing to do. Yeah. And even if you look at the record last year, and I think a lot of people are going to say, well, they were going to miss the playoffs before home's got hurt. Yes. The Chiefs were a very frustrating team last year.

If you look at the luck-based numbers for them last season, it was the exact opposite spectrum of what had happened the previous couple of years. Their record in one-score games last year is hilarious. It's horrible. They lost every single one of them. Is that like the biggest oscillation

between winning every close game and losing? Oh, I'm sure there's plenty of examples of it. Because like the year before, They won, they were like 11 and O or something. People were trying to like boycott the NFL over the Chiefs like close game luck in 24. And that's my other thing. I get why there are parts of the Chiefs that feel like maybe the dynasty is over.

I think it's just like, I think it's more likely the team that was the best in the NFL for six years is probably going to be good after one mediocre season. Keep talking. I don't like what might be happening here. Are you on the phone? Hey, I have a quick question for you. The Chief's vacillation, just by the way, you're on speakerphone in front of 200 people at our live show in Lincoln Hall in Chicago. So the Chief's going to what? The Chief's score and one score games was what last year?

What was it, though? You know what it was. It was like one in seven or something? It was like one at eight. Okay. Is that the difference between last year and the year before? Is that the biggest one-year swing you can remember? It is the biggest one-year swing, and it's not particularly.

Is that Bill? Yeah. Hey, Bill, thank you for making me feel better about my pick. We figured you would know the answer, so I just wanted to call and get it just and so we knew.

Thanks, buddy. Appreciate you. That was Bill Barnwell. Friend of the show of Bill Barnwell. I would like to thank Bill for making me feel significantly better about my pick. I already felt good about writing with Patrick Mahomes, but, you know.

I knew he would know. Do you know how many people in your life would pick up the phone on the first ring without any sort of like notice or whatever? It's like, it's my mom. And Bill Barnwell are like the two people in my life that would actually. do that. And be ready

with obscure stats about the Kansas Chiefs. I deeply love him. All right, so you pick the Chiefs, which I think is the correct choice, and I absolutely would have picked them if you did not. Now, we're in really painful territory. I just want to let you guys know right now,

other than like a precipitous fall, I cannot pick the Chicago Bears. I just want you guys to know this. Explain to me the upside of doing that. Put yourself in... But if they win 14 games, I'm already enjoying it.

If they win six, then I get f-t twice. That's two F-bombs, Katie. I can't do it. I cannot do it. This man understands me. I believe so much I don't need to be invested here. That's how much I believe. I can't do it.

I don't believe in the concept of an emotional hedge. It's not going to make you feel any better. That we are wired, like, very different people. people. Yeah, I don't know. I talked about this before. Consolidate everything. All of the players I love, put them on my fantasy team, drafts all the players, screw it. I, picking them in the Woffense's draft, which has no stakes whatsoever except one bill, was hard for me. This is, what if I had to dress, who's the, the bear man? No, no, no, the guy that with the claws, he's called bear man. Yeah, the idea of having to dress like the bear claw guy at Radio Row. Like, that's embarrassing. for me on multiple different levels.

There's no way. That part is worse if you have to do your own team. For that reason, I get what you're saying. I can't do that. I can't do it. Yeah, like, people know you're a Bears fan too. So like if you were on Radio Row dressed like the bear man. It's already unprofessional.

Yeah. It takes it to an entirely different level if I have to do that. I kind of want it now. Like, I want to see that. Part of the reason that I'm doing this is that I'm stalling because I don't feel good about any of the next choices. All right. I already pick them in the offense's draft.

And so I'm already invested in them. No. This is the tough spot. I was so excited about being able to pick the chiefs. And now I really don't like any of the options that are left. I am going to choose the San Francisco 49ers. Ooh. It's the right pick.

This is your version of the Eagles in some sense. We're pretending the substation doesn't exist. You said all offseason. don't know about the 49ers. And then I pick them in the offense's drafts. Yes. Honestly, the fact that what pick is this?

This is the 14th pick? Yeah. I feel okay about 14. The conversation was like them being the eighth best team in the league. I think I'm okay with this. I also, I feel a kinship with the roster as my body starts to break down.

I think I just, I feel closer to them as an idea as every part on me stops working. Mike Evans being held out of practice as like a precautionary. everything most of days. That's how I feel every single day. You and the Niners both. Do your stretching like 15 minutes every morning.

Yes. Derek was stretching. Backstage. Just talking about he stretches every single day as if he's not 10 years younger than all of us. I got to make us to share that way. Real, real self-care moment. I'm going to go with the Niners. I think that the offense, even if we have so many concerns about going, how they look going into it,

we have such a floor with them when they're even moderately healthy. they were a top seven offense last year, I think just by DVOA, but if you look at other numbers, they were even better than that, especially when Brock Purdy got back. And the stribling stuff, I'm kind of buying into it.

Not in terms of like what he is in the hierarchy of NFL receivers, but compared to what they had last year, I think he could be even like more dynamic and useful than some of those guys. He just has to, in like what you're talking about, if he's just like better than Kendrick Bourne.

That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. If he's just like, if he's slightly more giddy up, Juan Jennings by the end of the season. That's probably enough with Evans, with kiddleback. I don't feel good about this, but I think it's my favorite pick that's still remaining. Hey guys, it's Robert.

Just a heads up. This is where the audio cuts out. So the picks discussed during this were Derek taking the chiefs at 13, me taking the 49ers at 14, and then Dave taking the bears at 15. You'll hear the end of that. Again, apologies. Wish this didn't happen. But we're hopefully going to rectify it at some point this week.

I have, I have post. pick clarity right now and I'm just thinking about I'm thinking about the defense I'm thinking about kind of this is going to be fun because I'm going to get to counsel you as you're working through these things because these are all experiences that I've had before just ignore it just every time that thought crosses your mind just think about what Colston Love one was in the playoffs that's all that's all you have to do that's all I do every time this is true by the way every time I have sat there this offseason and thought about the depth chart or when the Kobe Bryant news came across.

The funniest part about that day was that so many people when it came out that he was not out for the season were like, oh, this isn't that bad. And on the show, I was like, this is a disaster. And it was a disaster. And so many things about the defense are disasters. And every time I think about them, I just go back to the dozen or so conversations I had with people in the NFL this offseason about Ben Johnson. And it soothes me.

Like what they say, I don't know if you guys saw this. I tweeted it out the other day. It was very funny because I said something on the show about Declan Doyle being a member of the Ben Johnson Coaching Tree. And people were like, well, actually, he's part of the Sean Payton Coaching Tree. And then like three days later, Ben Johnson, or Declan Doyle had a profile written of him

on the Baltimore Ravens official website. The things he said about Ben Johnson in that profile are the things that I would reserve for like my father. And the thing, and the impact he had on my life and how he was a great man and how everything he taught me is why I am the person that I am, except it was Declan Doyle talking about Ben Johnson. So every time I get a little bit worried about what Cam Lewis is going to look like,

I find real comfort in knowing that Ben Johnson is the person that he is. I feel better. Thank you. That's it. See, whenever this comes up, I will be there to help you and there to counsel you. Derek, you are up again. You have the first pick in these rounds. We're at 19 now? Yeah.

And I think... 16. Dave talked about the Jaguars. I'm already emotionally invested in them, and I think they will be good. I think I'm going to swing for the fence a little bit. I think I'm going to take the Minnesota Vikings. Wow.

Wow. Wow. Can you imagine a Packer fan listening to the Bears and Vikings go off the board ahead of Green Bay? They won what? Eight, nine games last year with the worst quarterback play I've ever seen. Kyler Murray, at worst, is an average NFL quarterback. Justin Jefferson, when he has anyone but J.J. McCarthy playing quarterback,

averages like 100 catches, 1,600 yards, and 10 touchdowns. We're doing that. They will be electric. This is just a preview of what my life is going to feel like when Derek is talking about, just talking himself into Kyle Murray instantly. He's never been a bad player. And I just believe that, like, he wasn't great last year. He was.

Well, he wasn't, but even, it wasn't as bad as people say that it was. he's better than J.J. McCarthy. He's not any worse than Sam Darnold. There is a... Oh, they didn't like that one. This is a controversial stance of his. Does anybody remember Sam Donald playing football before this year? Yes.

It was mostly not that good until the Minnesota year. I'm not letting you do that. Yes, in Minnesota. That's what I'm saying. The Minnesota year was electrifying. San Daryl was good that season. Yes, and Piler Murray was better than that. for like 80% of his career.

Kyler Murray was also like statistically, go look it up. Kyle Murray was that good in Arizona in 2020. Yeah, we're not talking about that tomorrow. The numbers are actually weirdly similar. I'm mainly just mad. Like, I want my bit to be that I like the Vikings

and Derek just won up to me and took them way before I would have. So the, I, this is about the range where I had the Vikings. I have other teams. Just talk me through Vikings over Packers. Just talk me through that. You're trying to convince your, stuff that Kyle Murray is good. Jordan Love is just good.

Yes, he's incredible. The Packers' floor is higher. I'm pretty sure the Packers are going to win even in a disaster season, eight games. A disaster season for the Vikings might mean like six or five. But I do think that there's a chance that the Vikings are really good on offense

and defense. I cannot get there at all with the Packers. I do not think the Packers' defense has that set or talent or defensive play calling. The Vikings, I was about to tell you, the Packers' defensive talent is actually better than the Vikings. but the demons of play calling is a different conversation. I say this because I was just staring at the Vikings Deptart upstairs

because I was prepping for tomorrow's podcast. It's a dark situation. Yes. Brian Flores, we should build his Hall of Fame bust now if this is a top eight defense again, which it might be. And I don't even think they'll be top eight necessarily.

If they're like 12, I can totally see that. I just think that the offense has a much higher gear to them than they showed definitely last year. And I think they can even be much better than they were in 2024. There's an argument for that. I just think there's a lot of guesswork. There is definitely a lot of guesswork.

I just think that the bar has been set so, so low for them because the Vikings' offense last year was the worst we'd ever seen it under Kevin O'Connell. And Kyla Murray was the worst he'd ever been. And I think it's easy to be like, well, those two things will just stay the same. I'm just betting that that's for 85% of both of their careers before that, it was much, much better than it was last year. I will give them each a Mulligan. I think they're going to be pretty good.

This is genuinely shocking for you to pick them over Green Bay, just solely based on the quarterback. This is also a reminder that your sizeism thing does not apply. Kyler Murray is an exception to this rule. Yes. You don't watch Kyle Murray with disgust the way that you walk in right young. Because he's talented.

Most of the other small players are not that talented, especially a quarterback. Kyler does have like an elite trait for a guy his size. Multiple. I'm not dismissing that. I'm just saying he is the exception. He is the exception. All the other small guys.

Derek's like they should live. Most positions I have like one. Like running back, Devon A Chan, unbelievable player. I absolutely love him. He's like 185 pounds. There's one slot every year. Yeah, one slot. There's one guy.

In each position. We're going to build that team this year. We can do it. That's a big. Middle of the season. Bellar, write it down. Who is the one exception for size in every position in the NFL for Derek? We know it's Cala Murray and Devon H.

That's some really great late May content right there. Now, we're going to do a week one in the recap. All right. So I'm up again. I would pick. the Packers here if I didn't already have the Lions. So just want to want to be very clear about that as Packers fans get more progressively pissed off. I'm going to pick the team you were going to pick.

Sure. Because of all the teams that are left. They're the best team on the board. They're the best team. I think the Packers, you can make an argument. But again, I'm not going to do that with the NFC North. I have no other teams in this division. I'm going to pick the Jacksonville Jaguars. I don't feel super great about the Jags just overall heading into the year. It's flinty.

It's flimsy. Like the offensive line stuff is real. The defense played at the highest level it possibly could last year. I really do. I mean, I really like the coaching staff. I think that's also part of it. Even if the talent leaves somebody to be desired in some important spots,

I think that the overall, like what they have on offense, what they have on defense maximizing the players, I believe in that. So I feel like they're the last team other than Green Bay and like a very hard line tier for me before we get to a whole subset of teams that I would feel disgusting.

having a draft and we will in a second. So I'm going to go with the Jags. The Jax are the only team left to me other than Green Bay. Just keep saying that. Maybe one other team where I feel like they have the ceiling for like a top five

to top three offense. The Jags have that. There's no one else other than the Packers that's left here. Other than one, maybe one team that I could say that about. I broke my list up into tiers and Jacksonville is like a whole tier higher

than everybody else left on the board. It would about the Packers. I have there's too many questions with the Packers for me to like what's my what's your pick right now oh are we going here now yeah okay having said that yes I dropped the Packers a tier because of the injuries and the offensive line and so many other things the Packers are a fun thing that happens during a draft like last night you look at the board and you're like I can't take Alec Pierce here he hasn't had a training camp and then three rounds later you're like come on Alec Pierce just get to me let's go

And that's how I feel about Green Bay. And I'm thrilled to take Green Bay here because they are not. I know, I know. We're in Chicago. You already took the Bears. Let's see. Yeah. I'm just pitting.

I'm pitting everybody against each other. So telling that any goodwill you had bought immediately is gone. Immediately. This is also, this reminds me of drafting. Like, I am a caricature of myself. I drafted Jordan Tyson last night. And I was like, oh, I'll just stash him on IR. I'm stashing Green Bay on IR until Michael Parsons is healthy.

Oh, that our Packers... The Packers at 18 is pretty... It's pretty good. I mean, that's really, really good. This is amazing value. And like when Parsons... I love Katie editorializing in the pick section. The frowning face.

Yes. When Parsons comes back, Tucker Kraft is talking about playing week one. Like, at this draft slot, this is phenomenal value for Green Bay. I agree with that. Again, the only reason I didn't take them is because I already had the lions, but I feel okay about the Jags at 17 as well. All right. Derek, you're up again, buddy.

That's, to me. The tear breaks are left. Typically, we cut it off at 15. That's most years we've done this. We decided to extend it a little bit because we thought that being invested, if you didn't listen to the other versions of this, we used to pick a group of bad teams, and we just didn't want to live that way again.

So we just decided to extend it to 24. But we did not really consider the fact that after you hit a certain line, you are going to have to pick some teams that even if they are not markedly or nominally bad, you don't feel good about yourself by after picking them. Having said that, I think I'm going to take the Tampa Bay Bucks. I have said all offseason, I kind of believe in the defense. Not to the extent that they will be elite, but that they will be significantly better than they have been the last couple of years.

And I just think that, like, I think their offense is probably imperfect. I don't know how good Zach Robinson is going to be as a play caller for them. But last year they started off incredibly hot. And when that offensive line is healthy, it can make a lot of other things just look pretty good. They are a division pick. And it's a division pick. And games and just win the division. I understand that as the thought process here.

They probably should have been higher. I just thought it'd be funny to put all the NFC style teams in a row when I was ranking. They made them 21, 22, 23, 34. That's what I did. I was mostly going for a bit just for myself and how I was ranking that. But I do think the bucks are probably the right. I just think that because last year ended so stinky, I think it's easy. And I think we've been questioning bowls for a couple of years now.

And nobody thinks the Baker is like this elite quarterback. but I just think that the roster is like still relatively healthy and I do feel good about some of the young players they're bringing in. If the Bucks offensive line is okay, I think they could be a much better team than we give them credit for. Like they were abysmal to watch in the second half of last year, but there are reasons why that happened that you can, like you feel good about heading into a new season.

I would have taken them with my next pick. I'm going to stick in the NFC South. And why I'm very excited about this pick is that when we were doing the NFC South preview, we do a category for all the teams, and it's what is keeping you up a night about this team? And the only team I couldn't figure out

an answer to was the Saints, because in my mind, it's like, how bad could it be for you to feel bad? Right? It's like, it's like, what could happen this Saints season where you're just like,

man, I'm really disappointed. If the Saints won like six games, be like, I mean, that's fine. I don't, but I, so at this point, getting them at 20 or whatever, I kind of am in the same boat where I'm just like, well, whatever. Like if they win seven games, I'm not that disappointed,

but I also get to chase the high of them being like the team du jour and them being the fun team this year. And so I'm going to ride with the Tyler Shuck experience. I enjoyed it last year and I'm ready to try to enjoy it again. So I'm going to go with the Saints. I had the Saints last year and I did not enjoy it at all. You picked them as a bad team and it's the only reason

you didn't have to be the Chiefs. That is true. The Saints actually is true. Yeah, what are you talking about? The Saints were. refined bad team experience last year. They were pretty bad until December. I'll give him that.

Until December it was done. The Saints, I felt like I was about to go to the gallows. And the Saints were like a pardon. Like at the last minute, I was like, oh my God, Tyler Shuck, thank you. You're saving me at the last minute. I don't want to risk that again. I'm fine letting you take them.

All right. So this is 21. You're up at 21, Dave. This is pick 21. 21. So this is my last pick. Your last pick. No, you have one more.

You'll get 24. You're the last pick. This is the last pick of the seventh round, and then Derek will start again for round eight. They're on the list. There is nothing. I would hate more than watching Aaron Rogers do this this year. Having my fate tied to watching him play the way that he plays right now,

I refuse. There's no way. You know what? For similar reasons, and you guys can listen to it tomorrow. We did the AFC South today. And there's, there's a floor in Indianapolis that you can talk yourself into.

So part of the reason I took the Saints is that after recording the show today, I didn't think either of you would take the Colts and I thought I could get them with my next pick. I might despise myself in a month, but like if Daniel Jones is as healthy as everybody keeps telling me he is, Jonathan Taylor still kicks ass. Like I just, I don't think this will be an outright abysmal team. They might not be the best team in the AFC at the midpoint of the season, but. I really regret my choices now. I don't think they'll be awful.

And so, I mean, I have to keep reminding myself, this is pick 21. Like, this is a perfectly valid place to take the Colts, and that's what I will do. I really, the Saints probably would have been there at 23. I really should have waited because now I'm sad. I thought I was going to be able to get the Colts of 23. As far as teams that are left, that's probably the highest upside that you can get. Absolutely. Like, if Daniel Jones is healthy and the offensive line looks good and Pierce comes back healthy by, you know, early October, it's like, okay, this, this could be

a pretty good team again. Oh, I regret that. I don't know if I believe that. I believe that's on paper somewhere. It's okay. Jordan Tyson will be back eventually. But it's not about that. It's about the next choice I have to make.

Did you pick the same because you were gaming? Yes. I thought I was going to be able to get the Colts coming back around. I've learned. Because you got to shed on them for half an hour today. We were, we were pretty mean to the Colts today. Yes.

Through the many drafts. You clearly didn't believe any of it. I came out of it though. No. But it's picked 21. You got to pick somebody. You guys are liars. They have a ceiling that is higher than anybody left you can take.

Through the many drafts that we've done, I've realized that even if I can read you to, trying to game it is not a worthwhile extra. I'm really sad. I'm not going to do that. I'm not looking forward to it. So I'm up right. You're up.

You're the last pick of the last round. I will take the Pittsburgh Steelers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. All right. There we go. I don't believe in the ceiling at all, really.

I don't believe in them whatsoever, but I will take that. Aaron Rogers. Not time paraphrasing Derek. Aaron Rogers at this stage, I don't know what the ceiling is, but like I really do believe in that offensive line. I think bringing in Pittman and Jeremy Bernard, who I know it's preseason, looks fucking awesome with the ball in his hands. And that's all that Aaron Rogers is going to do. If Jeremy Bernard gets all of the Kenny Gainwell touches from last year, I know they play different positions. But like, that's a proposition that I'm willing to live with relative to where we're at in the draft.

And I do think the defense can be like pretty good again. And so I don't think it's going to be football that I want to watch. I might just have to turn it off and hope that they win. This is a fine choice. I think right now... They feel the safest to me, weirdly. The Steelers defense is easily the best unit

left on the board. Easily. Like, by far. And so I completely understand that as part of the thought process. What does it say that the Steelers have made the playoffs? I think, is it two years in a row or three? We got a Steelers fan in the house. Is it two years in a row or three?

Two. But also like five out of the playoffs. last six years they make the playoffs hang the banner well for this exercise I will that's pretty good for me we're talking about winning games not championship if my eighth pick that's good one nine wins it's a good point cash it all right I I really really wish I had picked the Colts with my last pick and because I think the Saints would you pick the Saints over the Steelers I'm talking to Derek oh so me absolutely that's unfortunate I think I think it's easier to see the ceiling

with them, but I just it's, I don't know if I believe it as much as, to me, picking a team du jour in the NFC South feels like a fool's errand. It's the NFC South. I really thought I was going to be able to get the Colts coming back around. So I have, well, this is, so yes. So I have, I'm between two teams here. One is in its division that I just picked a team in,

and I think that would be a bad choice. The other is a team that is terrifying. Like, who if you guys... Oh, they're all terrifying. Which team... Which team... Which team in the NFL over the last month

would you say has the most rancid vibes about it? Like, what is coming out of their training camp and what people are saying about... The Browns don't count. The Browns don't count. A team that theoretically has like actual hopes to win football games this year. It's Washington.

It's Washington by far. And yet. I'm going to take the commanders. Yeah. Oh, no. I just can't. I don't want to take the Panthers because I just took the Saints.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That makes sense. I mean, I guess I took the Cowboys too. But, but taking two teams in the same division makes sense when you can convince yourself they might both win 12 games.

When you are hoping they both win nine games, I think that's a tougher proposition. I also just think, I'm picking the best quarterback that I think is left. Jay Daniels is a good player. And so I feel comfortable doing that. It could be an absolute horror show. It could be.

I'm open to that. But I, I don't like any of the other teams that I would be on the pick. I'm not saying Washington's going to go 12 and 5, but it perked me up a little bit when I thought about how good Stefan Diggs was last year. And like, Stefan Diggs and Terry McLaurin is, you know, they qualify for the early bird special at this point. But like that's not a bad receiver duo.

And Jaden didn't even have Laramie Tunzel in 2024. So like if I'm trying to talk myself into some shit at the end of this draft, I don't think that's crazy. I could have picked the Giants, I guess. I wouldn't have felt good about that either. I don't think you want to do that either. When you get down to this part, in this part of it,

there's just nothing's going to make you feel good. All right. Is it the last pick? Last pick of the draft? I have one team remaining on my board. Yeah, there were 24 picks. That makes sense. Shut up.

I thought, I'd always go off the board. I thought that sounded really profound in the moment. I ranked 24 teams, and I have one more. Okay. I do feel good. All my teams, even my mid teams got picked. So like we were pretty well aligned here. So I can't say I feel good about this,

but I didn't take another team in their division. And I'm, he's my guy. So I'm going to ride with Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers. Okay. See what happens. I can't say I feel great about it. But when we were getting down here, no one was going to be happy about their choices.

No. I do think, I don't know. I think six wins is the Panthers, five or six wins is probably their floor. I think of the teams remaining, they are the healthiest overall roster. I have expressed my concerns about the quarterback, but like quarterback aside,

I think they're pretty clearly the healthiest roster other than that. I agree. I'm making the exact opposite choice. By picking the commanders over the Panthers, I'm making the exact opposite choice, where I believe in the quarterback and his ability to bounce back, and I don't believe in so many other things about the roster. You know, Dave is, you're betting on a decent football team. And it's an embarrassing.

I mean, Bryce soon is fine, but it's, you're betting on the rest of the roster here, which I completely understand. I'm just trying to figure out like how bad I should feel about myself. Did you see Katie's editorializing with the Saints?

Yes. Thanks, mom. Cowboys said. I wish I would have picking the Colts, but that's okay. Cowboys bingles back to back is. Oh,

I've set myself, Cowboys bingles and Niners. Like I have set myself off, Checks. I've set myself up for some real disappointment. Seeing it, seeing it all laid out for you is, it's humbling.

Yes. Something about seeing chiefs and then Vikings makes me feel weird. It didn't feel that weird to me picking the Vikings in the moment, but for some reason, seeing the chiefs there feels weird. All right, who do you guys feel best about as you look at these teams? Oh, no. No one thinks me.

What's that? Oh, I know. We just said, what? I looked at it. I looked at it and I was like, man, I'm really banking on last year, or this year playing out exactly the same as last year, probably, probably bad, actually. This will be the year,

no matter how it goes, that I went in on, I chose to believe in the Cowboys. It sure is. This will be the year where it happened. And I think it will come with profound regret. But I, I'm leaning into it.

Maybe this is what we were waiting on this entire time, you know? Maybe the Cowboys just had to win you over to get over that hump into. I would think about the exact opposite way. I've also now I'm in means it's never been more over. I've also now realized that because we've done so many draft, we've done this,

the offense's draft and the defense's draft, what we're actually rooting for is so tangled that I'm not even sure what I want on a given week. This is priority, but it's still a lot. If I have to buy you dinner, I'm not going to worry that much about it. It's going to go horribly.

I already know it. All right. That's all we got. I just wanted to say thank you so much to everyone for coming. Like, we're on the eve of another season. This is year seven of doing the podcast. I had never been anywhere for more than four years

before I got this job. And I cannot tell you guys how incredibly rewarding and satisfying it is to be able to do the show we do on our terms and talk about things the way we want to talk about them and talk about things in a way that feels authentic, to us. I say this to people behind the scenes all the time, and this is true. And Bellar can tell you this as well. We've gotten, I've never gotten a single note content wise about like, what if you guys did this?

You know, what if you made it a little spicier? What if you were a little bit more controversial? What if there were a couple more hot takes? Never one time. And it is so incredibly gratifying. And I feel so much gratitude about the fact that we are able to do this how we want to and in a way that feels true to us and they still have it be sustainable. And that is only possible because people are invested in it, because you guys are willing to listen, because you guys are here. And so I can't even describe to you how much I appreciate that. Like getting to do it this way, I know how lucky we are. And I know that it may not be like this forever. And so I sincerely appreciate everybody who is ever listened, ever put the time in, ever shown us any sort of love because that's what makes it possible.

And it puts us in a place where I just feel so, so lucky. So thank you to everybody for coming. Thank you for listening. We're incredibly excited about the season. We'll be out there in a little bit. And we'd love for you guys to come say hi.