The Fumblerooski Podcast - Dawg Days -Ep 192 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: June 3, 2023

Where would be the best fits for the best remaining NFL Free Agents? Could Dalvin Cook become a Dolphin soon? Who are some early dark horse contenders? Adam Wright and Justin Tucker host special guest Ian Mulhearne to discuss these topics and more!

Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch! Oh! Giggs! Side-line! Touchdown! Unbelievable! it's it's caught to Yanks side line touchdown unbelievable swings it way down the field

to Watkins Sammy Watkins for the touchdown lots of free agents still available on the market as we head into the summer with another one possibly set to join them, who happens to play running back for the Vikings, hint, hint. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast by Power88 and Secret Weapon Consulting. Adam Wright with Justin Tucker. And as I mentioned, we have a great show planned for you tonight.

We're going to talk about the top free agents remaining and possible fits for them. And also a strong possibility that Dalvin Cook could become a free agent fairly soon, and he would be released, if not possibly traded. We're not sure. With a big announcement coming up at the end of the show, so stay tuned for that. And joining us to cover all of these topics, we have special guest and longtime fan of the show,

Ian Mulhern, for what, the third, fourth time? Yeah, third time. Well, welcome to the show. Thanks for joining. No problem. What's that? I said no problem. Of course. All right. Well, we're going to jump right into it. And we have got a vacuum going in the background. That's what's great about graduating, right? Living with your parents right after for a couple of months. So bear with me with that. I hope it shuts down soon. All right.

So according to ESPN and Vikings beat reporter, Kevin Seifert, there's a strong possibility Dalvin Cook is going to be released soon. So immediately, obviously, we're going to just cover all of the best fits for Cook as he possibly departs his longtime team that he has been a part of since, what, 2017, I want to say? He's been in the league for some time now. 2017, he came in the same draft class as Leonard Fournette

and Christian McCaffrey. Yep. Pretty good draft class, if I might say so myself. The running backs, yes. The running backs were awesome. It was stacked, that draft. And that was also back when drafting running backs in the first round was not frowned upon, which was not the best thing.

I'm glad it's fallen out of favor now, even though it's still happening. It happens, but it's not nearly as often as it used to earlier in the 2010s. I mean, it was getting ridiculous. But there's a strong possibility also becomes a dolphin via barry jackson of the miami herald so already it looks like uh according to the league uh league consensus the front runner here early on is miami and with the state of their backfield, it makes sense for him to go there. But I don't know what you guys think.

I'll throw it to you, Ian. Yeah. I mean, if I'm Miami right now, I mean, I would make that move because your offense does need a lot of help in that run game. And plus it could build up a deadly play-action game with Jalen Waddell and Tyreek Hill already there and would actually make the Dolphins, if they made this move,

my favorite to win that division, possibly. Really? Yeah, I don't really believe in the Bills anymore. I'm sorry. Buffalo, you've fallen off that train. In the playoffs, Josh Allen, you've choked too many times and got your butt kicked by the Bengals and lost in a coin toss. Sorry, Josh Allen.

All right. That's bold. What do you think, Justin? If he does go to the Dolphins, I think they could be like the immediate contenders because now they actually have a proven running back and a strong running game to go for. I believe him and Raheem Mozart could be a crazy one-two punch and a crazy running back tandem. What should I call it? I believe that the additions that the Dolphins have made have made them a threat not only in the AFC East, but in the AFC as a whole.

And I think that makes them contenders to at least fight for the AFC title and be one of the dark horses in that. But overall, I'm not ready to give up on the Bills just yet. I think Josh Allen is still a good quarterback. I believe Stephon Diggs still has a few good years left at the wide receiver spot. I believe that that team as a whole is still better because I still believe the Bills defense is better than the Dolphins. So all around, I still think it's the Bills division to lose, but it's closer than it was last year. I don't give them that.

Yeah. While we're on the topic of the Bills, I think the best spot for Dalvin Cook would be Buffalo. And it would work out for both sides. If you think about it, Buffalo is a very – it's a cold weather city where once you get later on in the season, you know, when the winter gets at its worst over in Buffalo, the passing game,

isn't all that, isn't going to be all that effective, which would make sense considering the, that Buffalo plays some of its worst football during that time of year. And once the playoffs come around, they, their, their offense becomes offense becomes a lot more quiet, meaning they need a running game. They need a more balanced attack. And it's a problem that their strength is the passing game. It's unfortunate because they're a cold-weather team, and when you lean on that passing game in the cold,

then that is going to backfire. It doesn't matter if you're playing at home or away. So if you get Dalvin Cook here, I thought they should take a running back in the first round of the draft if Jameer Gibbs or the other guy, Bijan Robinson, fell to him. But it didn't happen, so I think this is the next best thing. Go and get Dalvin Cook if he becomes a free agent. Well, and on that point, I i mean you also mentioned cold weather climates i mean minnesota also very cold place

over there i mean that would actually make a lot of sense it's a dome though it doesn't count it used to it used to they used to be aather team. I don't know if Dalvin Cook was still a – when did that dome form? 2017 is when I remember it actually being a thing. Yeah. So it was his rookie year when they already – so he just missed it. But the running game travels. So what I'm saying – like it would it would make sense for cook to go over to buffalo because he's you know he's a running back if it that actually

translates into in fact it actually helps because players are going to be more uh hesitant to tackle you because it's it hurts a lot more to tap to try and tackle a running back in cold weather than warm. So it helps him in that sense. And also, he's going to be able to help that team when they need the running game most, which will be in those later months in December and January, and maybe February if they make it that far. So I think that's important for them.

Fair enough. I just want Delvin Cook to go to a team that actually has a chance to win the Super Bowl. Every time I saw him in Minnesota, I was like, God, he's good, but I don't trust Minnesota to go anywhere near the NFC title. I don't know why that is. Just when I want to trust them, they fail me the most, including last year when they looked good. But something told us that they were frauds, and I didn't want to believe so. But then they lost

to New York, and that just proved that they were frauds. So I don't know. I want him to go to a team that actually has a chance to win the Super Bowl because I believe he's one of the best running backs in the game right now. I think he deserves to go to a team that needs his talents. Yeah. And it has to be a team that's looking to win now because it just wouldn't make sense for him to go to a team that is building for the future because Cook is getting up there in age. This upcoming season is going to there in age. This ups,

this upcoming season is going to be his age 28 season. And I know, I know he's still in his twenties, but unfortunately with the way the running back position works, it's the only position in any sport where you get up to where you are considered past your prime or in the middle of it. When you're in your, when you're still past your prime or in the middle of it when you're in your when you're still in your 20s which is insane yeah because you think about it there's some like some running

backs still last um frank gore was able to last for for quite a while um adrian peterson but you can also name a lot of running backs who who their best years were behind them by the time they were 25, which is insane. So it's just the way the running back position works. Yeah, I think what really concerns me with Dalvin Cook is he does have a little bit of an injury history. So that's kind of what concerns me about Dalvin Cook. But if he can stay fully healthy on a contender,

that team could be extremely dangerous and can make a run, like the Miami Dolphins. You're talking about? Yeah, Dalvin Cook staying healthy. Yes, but the running back is never going to be. With the way the running game works in the nfl it feels like it's that position where it's not going to help you win they're not going to be the singular reason you win a championship but the absence of it is going to be the reason that you don't make it if that makes sense sense. Not unless you're the Patriots with James White.

And the 2015 Broncos, because I'm not going to lie, once Brett Manning's arm went down, they had nothing offensively. Yeah, but it wasn't the running game. It was more the defense. Yeah, but they had nothing offense. I don't care how good your defense is. If your offense ain't giving you nothing then it is what it is you could have had another running back in in there at that time could have had you you could have put ezekiel elliott in there and it would have been an

upgrade over cj anderson anderson had a very good year of course of rookies a rookie ezekiel elliott is better than cj anderson that's not, I'm not. You see, that's what I'm saying. Like you don't need that much at the position. You don't, you really don't. Yeah. It is considered the most replaceable. Time out. Rookie Ezekiel.

Elliot is, I think you guys are underrating how good Ezekiel Elliot was as a rookie and then his eventual downfall. But that's for another day. That's, that's another day in time i think i'm not underrating it i'm just i'm just stating that um there are better players than cj anderson that year of that year it was 2015 so this is before ezekiel elliott's time but i could

bring in i you we could mention toddley. I'm just saying like, if you could be the best running back in the game and never win a Superbowl, because it's a position in football that does not influence championships enough. It just doesn't. It's very replaceable. And having that high end talent that you draft fourth overall, like Ezekiel Elliott or Leonard Fournette or Saquon Barkley. All of those guys went fourth overall, by the way. None of those guys won a championship. What does that say about the nature of that position? I believe Ezekiel Elliott went to the Cowboys. That's what happened to him. He went to the

Cowboys. That's not fair. Did you say Leonard Fournette? What's that? Did you say Leonard Fournette in there? I did. Yeah, he did win a championship. But he didn't win with the team that drafted him. He got released. Then he went to a team that was more of a pass-heavy offense

where their quarterback threw for 40 touchdown passes. So I stand corrected there. And didn't make the Pro Bowl. The team was not centered around Leonard Fournette that year. And it was much more of a – it was kind of balanced, but it was more – the running game was a sideshow. It just didn't mess up. It was more Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Ron Kowski,

and then Tom Brady leading the charge. I don't think it's the lead thing, but I feel like it could be. It could be. I'm not saying it should be, but it could be for a season. I'm not saying it's going to be the consistent thing, if anything, as an aberration, but I could see a running attack win a Super Bowl. Yeah.

And I'll give you this. So let's set – how about the Buffalo Bills? They don't have enough at the running game right now. Just what they have isn't working. You add Dalvin Cook to that. It's a good complimentary piece. They're still going to be a pass first team, but now they will have a running attack that is good enough so that other teams will respect it and that they don't disappear offensively during the postseason, which happens so often with them because their offensive attack is such a path-first air show. So when you have a

very windy day at Buffalo or when it's snowing out, they're not going to be as effective because they're just so used to slinging it all over the field and they won't be able to do it as effectively. Now they can just hand the ball off to Dalvin Cook or do short passes and they will at least be able to have teams respect that run game and it'll be more of a balanced attack. And the Bills really need that because that offense is so one-dimensional. It's one of their biggest weaknesses on that team. Actually, if not, it is the biggest weakness. So big that it's the reason that they are not able to win a Super Bowl and even make it there, let alone.

All right. But I wanted to change gears here. And so as we talk about one potential free agent, we're going to talk about some top free agents that are still remaining who aren't DeAndre Hopkins, by the way, because we have touched on him about how many times, like three, four times just in the past few months. Now that he is a free agent, but we've already covered it.

But there are still so many defensive free agents left, and some on offense, and we'll cover those next and where they could possibly go. This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast. Here's Edelman broken up and the pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football and they're saying it's a catch. It's a catch! It's a catch! Sideline!

Touchdown! Unbelievable! This is the Fumble Ruski podcast by Radiate and Secret Weapon Consulting. Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, special guest Ian Mulhern. So we have reached the portion of our show where we are going to cover some of the top free agents remaining. And it's been a while since we've last covered the free agents on this market. Because free agency started and kind of winded down weeks before the draft even started. Yet there's so many who are still available out there. And we'll give you a list of some of the top ones, because there's a lot.

And it would take all day if we were going to just cover every single free agent left and their possible spots, but among those are Yannick Ngokwe, Leonard Floyd, Deion Jones, Marcus Peters, Leonard Fournette, Ezekiel Elliott. Just on that list is just... And that's not mentioning Deandre Hopkins who are not going to cover tonight. Sorry. Um, we already,

we already covered that on our last episode. You guys want to see it, uh, go check it out. I think it was the one before that. Um, but any spots for the, for the,

some of these, uh, some of these names out here? What are you guys thinking? I'm going to do one you didn't name yet. And this might sound crazy, but I feel like he could go back home. I could say Marcus Peters going back to Kansas City. That wasn't the home I was thinking of.

I was talking about home in Baltimore. I was thinking he comes back here. Just resign him. I don't know. That's just, you know. Also, I did mention Marcus Peters, by the way. Oh, did you? Yeah, but I like that one.

Marcus Peters at Kansas City. It would be a good fit. They could use some help in that secondary. They could use a lot of things. Cap room isn't one thing. They don't have any cap. Yeah. The cap space, the salary cap exists so easily manipulated.

If they chose that they wanted to sign Marcus Peters, they would probably be able to do it. But also, I just think they have such a need at the wide receiver position that they need to go after DeAndre Hopkins. That's a team that really needs DeAndre Hopkins bad. But I think Marcus Peters, here's one spot that I think would work perfectly. And I hope there's not too much bad blood between division rivalries here. And that's a lot to ask for an AFC North rivalry here.

Marcus Peters to the Cincinnati Bengals. I just think that would be such a good fit for both. And, you know, you have the Cincinnati Bengals here who are, I mean, they filled every other need that they have needed. But their secondary, namely in the cornerback room, is a little bit on the lacking side. You have Chidobe Awuze, who's solid, but you don't have another corner across from him. Your

safeties are fine. You have Dax Hill and Nick Scott, but you still need that extra corner to go across and it should not be Eli Apple. You can't do that. A.K.A. burnt toast. Right. So I think Marcus Peters, and they get to milk the last ounce of good football that he has left in him.

He gets some value out of him. He goes out a Super Bowl champion, and then going into next offseason, because this would probably be a one-year deal, he would have more value and some team would sign him for a larger deal. I think this would be good for both sides. Don't ever say Marcus Peters to Cincinnati ever again.

That should never happen. As a matter of fact, the Ravens should resign him just to take that possibility off the board. If we can't get DeAndre Hopkins, we're definitely getting Marcus Peters. Let's just erase that possibility off the board. I don't want to face Marcus Peters twice a year wearing Cincinnati orange and black.

Just the mere thought of it makes me sick. He's a Raven. He wasn't drafted as one. You know, he was drafted as a Kansas City Chief. Yeah, but he found a home in Baltimore. Nope. He was also a Ram. Found a home in Baltimore. Nope. He was also a Ram. Found a home in Baltimore.

What's that? He found a home in Baltimore. He wants to stay here. Whether we want him here or not, I want him to stay. Well, I'm sure the living in Cincinnati isn't too bad. And also, he can go out a Super Bowl champion. That's a huge if because they can't get over the hump either. Yeah,

but they've had a, they've had a, they've had much better success with it. And I honestly, this is the best shape that they've looked in years. They look suspect against us. I don't care what you guys tell me. I believe this team will get bounced in the first round this year.

I don't trust Cincinnati at all defensively. Really? At all. If they add Marcus Peters, I'm not going to lie to you, it'd be a great addition for them, considering they're upgrading from Eli Apple, which, by the way, they should resign. But I don't need to see it.

I don't need to see him lining up against our guys twice a year, potentially three times a year in the playoffs. I don't need that. Let's just resign him and call it a day. All right. Can I give you another one for another player on this list? Yeah, let's go. Deion Jones.

So an off-ball linebacker. He goes to the Patriots. That's actually not bad. That's a good one. I can see that. He replaced Dante Hightower. Tim Hightower. Isn't he the running back who was on the Saints way back when?

Man, I remember that. I had him in fantasy as a sleeper. Traded him away, but I had him for a little bit. But I like Deion Jones, and I think he's at that point where he's still trying to – he's at that point in his career where he's trying to prove himself to still be a capable player at the NFL level. And what better place to do that with than with New England, a team that loves to say, okay, your trash is my treasure.

Deion Jones is Cleveland's trash, and we are going to turn him into a jewel. He was in Cleveland? Yeah, he got traded from the Falcons to Cleveland. Why do I not remember this? Maybe because Cleveland was trash. Why do I not remember this? So he was Atlanta's trash too. No, he was actually good with Atlanta.

That's what I'm saying. And they traded him. So he was Atlanta's trash. And now, just like in 2016 with that 28-3 lead, I'm going to make a fool out of Atlanta yet again. You know what? I could also see, I mean, this might be a little crazy, but, I mean, pairing Deion Jones next to Roquan Smith

would be something else, too, in Baltimore. We already have Patrick Queen. We're not doing that. That is true. Maybe move him to an edge or something. Could do that too. Just I don't know. I don't know.

I like what we got going on, but if we're going to make it anything, a three personnel is usually our safety. So we're not going to put three off-ball linebackers out there unless we absolutely have to all right so we've kind of covered we've covered the corner and the linebacker here Yannick and Gawkway Leonard Floyd uh where where are the better fits for these two guys both uh both defensive ends both have proven themselves to be still productive at the pro level. Where are they going?

Well, that depends on who needs a pass rusher. I believe Kansas City needs one. Yeah. They got rid of Frank Clark, so I believe they're in need of an instant pass rusher right now so either of them would do the trick I believe Jadeveon Clowney has been tied to uh the Ravens he keeps on getting tied back to us for some reason I'm all for it but he keeps on I don't know why he keeps getting tied back to us but I wouldn't be against it because I believe he's a

great run stuffer not necessarily the best pass rusher so overall I think he'd be a good fit in Baltimore but outside of that I'm just not I'm maybe I'm not like fully thinking of like the potential places where people need pass rushers maybe I'm just not seeing it yet maybe someone in can't I mean in this LA with the Chargers but outside of that not really sure but you can never have too many pass rushers i've seen jadeveon clowny get tied to the carolina panthers because they do need somewhat more of an edge i mean they have brian burns they have yet tier gross matos but one more guy wouldn't hurt. Yeah.

I think Leonard Floyd, so he's 31. Actually, I think he's 30-31. I think that would be a good spot for Kansas City because they are looking for a pass rush, and Leonard Floyd needs somewhere where he can win right now. And Kansas City needs it. I think that's a good spot. Same thing with Yannick Ngakwe. These are two players that really are looking for a home.

And I think this would be a good spot. Also, and if these players are willing to stick around for a couple of years, the Chicago Bears, that's a strong possibility. They're in dire need for pass rush. They've added a few pieces, but not really enough so that they can say that their pass rush is revamped. Like it's not the bottom of the barrel worse that they have been, but they could use some pieces there.

Yeah, LA, I could see the Rams too. I mean, the Rams after some of their departures and releases, they could use an edge besides Aaron Donald. Yep. Another team would be the Broncos. Broncos need a pass rush. They just got rid of Bradley Chubb. They're going to need that pretty bad.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, Adam? Yeah. Just lots of noise in the background that's all anyone else we're missing

um alright here's the last two that I wanted to cover Leonard Fournette and Ezekiel Elliott ah this is tough um Zeke is probably the toughest

Not necessarily I wouldn't use him as necessary I could use him on all three downs Because he can actually pass He's probably one of the better pass protectors So both of these players are very capable North-south runners Like they can just plow through guys pretty easily.

Easy there. Yeah. So if you wanted to go to Buffalo, where, like I said earlier, when we were talking about Melvin Cook, it's very cold over there, and they need somebody to reignite that offense when the uh no pun intended when that when that passing game goes cold so they're going so i think leonard fournette would be a good would be a good spot for the buffalo bills and i think i would say the same thing about kansas city. We say a lot about

their passing game, that they need someone for Patrick Mahomes to throw to. But they've also been very one-dimensional ever since. And they've been able to figure it out over the years. But ever since Kareem Hunt got into trouble off the field, they haven't really had that one guy who's a dynamic rusher. And I think Leonard Fournette can still do that. Ezekiel Elliott, probably not because he's at that point in his career where he's starting to go downhill. He's still a productive rusher, but he'll probably need to be in a committee to be still as as effective as he possibly can you know i mean i remember i i think i know a fit here possibly it's underrated because i know sean payton like to run a two running back offense between kamara and ingram yeah very possibly because you know it

is sean payton he could i mean besides you know, it is Sean Payton. He could, I mean, besides, you know, Jamal Williams, I think Zeke back there could also help with some leadership, some betterness. Jamal Williams. Do you? Not Jamal Williams. Oh, my God. I'm messing up.

Jamal Williams isn't a. Yeah. He's not Denver. Williams. It could be Javante a – Yeah. Williams. It could be Javante. Javante Williams. Javante. I thought that you thought Sean Payton was going to say – I was thinking of Javante Williams,

and I think pairing Zeke there could actually help. You know, they need him on like a second and five or I mean you're right this guy could play all three downs but I mean he is a good relatively you know starter dash backup because if Javante gets injured you have Zeke to kind of back him up there yeah and Javante and also Javante williams is coming off an acl tear and it might be a year or so before he's actually at his uh back to where he once was and that that's a the broncos are kind of a team that are still looking to contend so leonard fournette could be a player that they could plug in there and he could still do the job. That's why I was also thinking about the Jets in particular, because they just got

Aaron Rodgers. They just got weapons surrounding him. And I want to say Brees Hall is just coming back from his injury. He suffered in his rookie year. I don't want to rush our future running back from injury. So I believe you should do that by committee and get in someone like Ezekiel Elliott or Leonard Fournette to fill the position because they are healthy. They may not be the runners that they used to be, but they're still durable. They can still give me, I want to say, three, four yards of rush, not necessarily be the bulk, like tote the rock 400 times a year. But again, they can hold it like 200 times, give Brees hole 200 times, the ball 200 times,

just to not rush him back from injury. And I think that could help the offense get where he needs to go. So how about Michael Carter then? I keep forgetting about him. I keep forgetting about him. I keep, I keep forgetting about him. He's okay. Like I don't,

I think Michael Carter is best when he's in a, he's kind of in a committee. Um, so if you add either one of these players and like Brees hall is coming off an ACL tear, people are, are really over hyping him this season. I know he had,

I know he was awesome to start last year but he's there's only so much that he can do when he's coming off an acl tear and i don't know if he's like it very rarely happens a year removed from the from the acl tear it usually takes some time and then the year after the next year, he they're back to their normal selves. Look at Saquon. Yeah. This past season, the year before this past one,

he wasn't very good this year. He looked like his old self again. It was probably his statistically, arguably his best season he's ever had. So that just tells you about what, about the nature of the injury. It's very rare. So Leonard Fournette or Ezekiel Elliott,

that could be a good spot where players could, where, you know, you could have the jets could be a good spot where the, either of these players could fill in while they're waiting for Brees Hall to get healthy. And then the next season. If Aaron Rodgers is still there, they can still contend.

Also, Seattle. Low-key Seattle. That's it. Yeah. Yeah, I guess. But they have – They have Kenneth Walker, but I look at him as more of an East Coast runner. They could have a North-South runner in Ezekiel Elliott or Leonard Fournette,

and then Kenneth Walker could kill them going side to side yeah they could do that all right well we're up against the clock so we are going to move to ian's guest segment where he is going to do same uh some analysis for early dark horse contenders for the 2023 season that's next this is the fumble ruski podcast Pass is no sign yet. Edelman comes down with a football. They're saying it's a catch. It's caught. It's a catch. Side-line.

Touchdown. Unbelievable. Swings it way down the field to Watkins. Sammy Watkins for the touchdown! This is the Fumble Rooski Podcast by PowerAdiot and Secret Weapon Consulting. Adam Wright, Justin Tucker, special guest Ian Mulhern. We welcome you to the guest segment of our show sponsored by Secret Weapon Consulting. For business plans, secret shoppers, bar spotting, server and manager training, and so much more, visit www.secretweaponconsulting.com. So for our guest segment, we have Ian Mulhern, who's going to talk about some early dark horse contenders for this upcoming season. So Ian, what do you got?

I have to say this one has to be one of my favorites is the Denver Broncos because I am a huge Sean Payton fan and you know, he might used to be a division rival, but the one thing I'll always give this guy is he really is the king at developing quarterbacks. I mean, hell, he makes Taysom Hill look like a superstar. I mean, with that whole locker room, Russell Wilson coming off a very disappointing year last year, his receivers injured, Timothy Patrick was out. But now you got everyone pretty much coming back. And I feel like with this Denver team, they can really make a run at it. Because if I'm being honest, I think Russell Wilson was holding back last year because of Nathaniel Hackett.

Yeah, I like that one. I mean, listen, think denver is automatic they're already going to be better than they were last year now how much better is going to be we'll see but they finished with four with four wins last year you can't get worse than that when you have the targets that you have for russell wilson who is a perennial pro bowl quarterback over in his last place and in uh seattle and a pretty solid defense their you know their secondary is good their their front seven is fine it was all a lot of it was their coaching and also their offensive line it got hurt and it also wasn't very good so they revamped that over the offseason they have better depth there and they have better coaching so i mean they have to they have to be better i would like to say that

this team will be a playoff caliber roster and that they will reach the post season. It'll be tough though. I think they'll at least be in contention for it, but just their division alone is going to be hard. They have Kansas city in there. They have the, they have the chargers.

I'm not that worried about the Raiders with them. They should be able to beat out Oakland, Jesus Oakland. That's a throwback. They should be able to beat out Oakland. Jesus, Oakland. That's a throwback. They should be able to beat out Vegas. Oakland should never have left. The Raiders should never have left Oakland. It is what it is. It is what it is. I think, I mean, there's so many teams, but I have to say this team can really contend.

And you know what? They're in the AFC North, and yes, they're a very big rival of the Ravens. I hate to say it myself, the Steelers. Between the Steelers and the Browns, I mean, just those two teams alone, if the Browns get DeAndre Hopkins on one hand, they got wide outs, and then they could possibly contend. But the real question is, can Deshaun Watson get back to his old ways? That's the toughest question.

And as for the Steelers careful how you word that um drafting Joey Porter Jr. adding to that secondary you know that defense alone with TJ Watt they're they're always you know relatively a dark horse and depending on how Kenny Pickett, yes, Larry Lee forms a sentence, can he pick it, can he do well this year? Can he have a breakout year? And if he does, possibly, you know, maybe like a mid-tier playoff team. Yeah. maybe like a mid-tier playoff team yeah this i mean the steelers are definitely a team that could uh i mean while we're on the dark horse contenders i guess like this the steelers are a team that um they are flying under the radar they have piece they they have pieces their defense has

always been solid and it looks looks like they have at least kept it to the level that they had it at last year. They improved their offensive line, which is important because their offensive line has been god-awful for the past couple of seasons. And it looks like we've seen

something from Kenny Pickett this past season. Now, will it translate to statistics and winning? We'll see. We'll see what happens. It'll take a couple of years. He looks like he's been a project of a quarterback, and he's been coming along.

They also have pieces on that offense in the passing game. You've got George Pickens. You've got Deontay Johnson. You got Pat Fryermuth. That's pretty good right there. And also, I didn't even get to mention Alan Robinson yet. Oh, yeah. I did forget about that one.

They've got pieces there. They just have to put it together. I don't hear none of that. Ravens beating them twice. they've got pieces there. They just have to put it together. I don't hear none of that. Ravens beating them twice. I don't hear none of that. They probably will. I'm saying they probably will.

But the Ravens aren't a dark horse, Justin. I know we're not. The Bengals are not a dark horse either. Those are the consensus top two in the division right now. Yeah. So, like, yeah, you're probably right. But we're just talking about the Steelers as a possible contender. Yeah. Same thing with Cleveland.

Two teams that are kind of flying under the radar right now, but do have potential to make a run if they wanted to. I mean, everyone wants to. You know what I mean? Yeah. But, yeah, I like those ones. I like those ones, especially Cleveland. I'd say the best one, though, really, I mean, I had it down to these two,

but I have to say the one that takes it for me, I was going to say the Jaguars, but they, you know, did well last year, so I'm going to say the Seattle Seahawks. I think Seattle has that potential to be good. but they did well last year, so I'm going to say the Seattle Seahawks. I think Seattle has that potential to be good. Think about it, though. You have the 49ers quarterback situation. You got the L.A. Rams. You don't know how Stafford's going to do.

I mean, that division is so wide open. And Seattle last year, a team that I thought was going to be a bottom five team, made it into the wild card. So this team has been flying under the radar too. Absolutely. Yeah, and they made additions through the draft with Jackson Smith and Jigba and Devin Witherspoon. Yep. They actually might be good.

They actually might be better because they made the playoffs last year, and they made additions like those. And they will this year, and they're going to be better. And they'll probably be up there with the rest of the teams in the NFC because the NFC isn't that strong of a conference. But for them to be contending, like to win a championship, the only question I have for them is on under center, the quarterback position.

I'm sorry. I just don't believe in Geno Smith. Very happy for him. I'm very happy for him and the success that he had in that one season, but one season does not an elite quarterback make. But Adam, he didn't write back. Come on now. Come on. I ain't writing back either listen i'd be happy to be proven wrong but he's he's and he'll probably be good again but not good enough to win them a championship. He's just not that caliber of a quarterback. Are you saying he's not that guy? Are you saying he's not that guy? I am saying that.

I mean, compared to a guy who, you know, this guy, I still have questions about Brock Purdy, who did well for like eight or nine games. You know, that division is just wide open. I think I could argue that he probably is the best quarterback in that division. Certainly. All right. So before we end the show tonight, we have an announcement for our show.

So we have – we've been lacking in our content. No two ways about it. We've still been publishing episodes. We apologize. It's just been a very busy schedule. But for this summer, it is going to be different. And we are proud to announce that we are bringing back for the third annual player rankings

and the second annual division previews. so the friday episodes this are going to go away it's going to be once a week tuesdays so our g we have four june episodes four july episodes and two august ones and we are going to to be ranking all of the every skill position in the top five, just like we did last year and AFC East first, linebacker, AFC North, cornerback, AFC South, defensive end, AFC West, tight end, NFC East, running back, NFC North, wide receiver, NFC South, quarterback, NFC West, team rankings, and then NFL honors predictions stretching all the way to August 8th. So we are going to take you all the way up to the start of preseason and we'll give you our coverage then. So we are going to take you through the NFL's great dead spot or just the biggest dead spot in all of sports, because let's face it um you do get sports

you do get the mlb but who cares about the dog days of august at that point um and also july as well so this is going to be a fun off season we are going to take take you every step of the way through the summer but that is going to be starting this Tuesday, June 6th. So without further ado, that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for listening to us. We have new episodes out on Tuesdays and Fridays at 7 30 PM. Eastern standard time. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

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