The Fumblerooski Podcast - Running It Up Ep 367 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: June 23, 2025

On this week's episode, Chris Costich and CJ Medeiros get into the contract dispute of Shemar Stewart, how unprecedented is the language of the offered contract from the Bengals? Could we see him get traded? What does this mean for the Trey Hendrickson hold out? Along with this, a preview of the NFC North and our Top 5 Running Backs heading into the 2025 season!

Is Saquon Barkley still the best running back in the league? Is Derek Henry gonna get 2,000 yards this year? Are the Detroit Lions gonna repeat as NFC North champs? We'll talk about it more. This is the Full Marouski Podcast. It may not have always showed it in the staff sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws. Back to back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's gotta get that six or seven spot. I've always showed it in the staff sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back-to-back games

Where he has three touchdowns someone's got to get that six or seven spot He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides Welcome to the full Bruce podcast by power 88 Dean radio and secret weapon consulting. He's CJ Medeiros I'm Chris Kostich. Got a good one lined up for you today is going to preview the NFC North heading into the 2025 season. And CJ and I are going to give our top five running backs heading into the 2025 season as well. But first, just general news, which wasn't a lot going on. Unless you're paying attention to Antonio Brown being charged for murder.

You know, at this point, it's par for the course. You know, your weekly update of whatever wacky a Tony Brown's doing let me come yeah But they're not a lot going on with that at the moment Besides that he has a warrant for his arrest or whatever They're not a lot of details have come out about that. So there's really no point talking about that, but What is worth talking about is the Bengals first round pick Shamar Stewart still in a contract holdout and abruptly left minicamp last week because of this and probably one of the more interesting contract holdouts and it's not because of you know a player's holding out because he

wants more money which is the usual type of holdout that goes on but in this case it's what the Bengals are trying to put in in terms of the language of the contract so basically in short the Bengals want the language in place that voids guarantees if necessary. So, it could pertain to non-football injuries, off-field issues, or similar to that, but nothing too specific. But either way, it's basically, if Stewart had his guarantees voided, it doesn't remove

pay and would, unless cut or traded, still have a chance to earn the non-guaranteed money, but there's a lot of, basically a lot of money that the Bengals are pretty much not trying to throw at Schmerz Stewart, but it's interesting because you have this whole Trey Hendrickson thing going on and how he's requesting a trade, how he wants more money, wants to be paid like the top defensive end in the league. And you draft Shemur Stewart to use leverage on Trey Hendrickson and say, hey, we found your replacement. He's right here. He could take your job and whatnot. But instead, Shemir Stewart has flipped it on them and used the Trey Hendrickson thing as leverage to try to get more money out of them or in this case, not try to fall as the same victim as these horrendous practices that Cincinnati loves to

loves to do with their players in terms of just trying to not pay them at all. Thankfully, the Boston Red Sox just took over as probably the worst run organization in the league. This is a football podcast though, not a baseball podcast. So we'll keep it with the Bengals. So that's the other thing about this too is that now the Bengals have resume talks with Trey Hendrickson and that in this, it's kind of a domino effect at this point. Trey Hendrickson gets the is in this contract holdout they draft Shimmer Stewart and Because of this holdout Shimmer Stewart is like okay Let's leverage this and because of this leverage the Bengals are now talking with Trey Hendrickson again

So it's just a whole fuck show at this rate That is the best way to put it, unfortunately. And look, I've seen all these Bengals fans on social media saying, Stewart's being a diva. He wants more money than what he's worth. He wants more than the standard rookie contract. I'm here to put this to bed right now. No, he doesn't. The Bengals are actively

trying to screw him over. There. I just this is shady man. Like, here's the thing. They basically want to say, Hey, if you blow out your knee or do whatever, we can cut you and take no dead money. Like basically it's like the Bengals want to be able to just avoid all of his the guaranteed money on his rookie deal at the drop of a hat. Like oh if you're cut or traded for whatever reason, we don't have to pay you. And I see these Bengals fans huffing an insane amount of coke Saying like oh this kind of contract talk

Isn't unprecedented Like yeah It's not but it is for rookies like this kid just made it into the league And you're trying to screw him over That's what it is. No ifs ands or buts they are actively like trying not to screw him over. That's what it is. No, ifs, ands, or buts, they are actively trying not to pay him. They are actively going out of their way not to. And why?

Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's something to do with the Trey Hendrickson thing, maybe not, I don't know. But I haven't seen whatever you feel like. I think I read somewhere that like he can't start talking about an extension unless they pick up his 50 year option or whatever. Like they're active. Like I mean, I know I keep saying it, but there's no way around it. They are trying to screw him over. I, I, and the way the Bengals fans spin this is genuinely hilarious because they're like, Oh, well, he was a project player.

They're just trying to make sure it doesn't blow up or or he's this or he's that to which I would then say that why the hell did you draft him top 20? Correct me if I'm wrong, he was the 17th overall pick pick So if you really have all these issues with him why the hell did you draft him And then I'll make no mistake. I fully side with Shamar Stewart here. It's not an issue of money It's an issue of he doesn't want to be screwed over and I totally understand not wanting to be screwed over Yeah I totally understand not wanting to be screwed over. Yeah. I will say that this is like, it's unprecedented because none of the other picks for the Bengals

have this type of stipulation going on. Like all their other draft picks don't aren't having this problem. And it's never happened before either. It didn't happen to burrow or chase. Yeah Exactly. It does happen around the league Well No, I was actually it does for rookies. I was just looking bleach report reported that um

that Sorry, I'm going back to the article right now because I left it for a second, but per the Bleacher Report article, but basing it off of something from the Athletic. So a couple of people from the Athletic reported that the default language in the Bengals offer is the same that the Arizona Cardinals and Seattle Seahawks used to sign their first round picks Walter Nolan and Gray Zabel respect. Hold on, hold on, Chris, what's the source on this again? It's Bleacher Report per the Athletic, Jaina Bardahl and Paul Denner Jr. Okay, no names. Like I don't hear reputable sources. I mean, I don't care who they work for these are if Schefter said it then that's fine

But I mean if you have to say and that's cool if Rapport said it it's cool But and also let's be real. Are you real? Do you really want to emulate the Cardinals of all teams? the post Carol Seahawks, do you want to emulate that like still like either way, it's still wrong and i'm tired of this excuse of like yeah, will other teams do it like okay? That doesn't make it right No um, there's There's even similar language to um, there's even similar language in the saquon barkley

contract as well Well, he's not a rookie though like that. No, no, I'm looking deals should pretty much be cut and paste. Yeah Yeah, no, I'm building off of what you said that it doesn't happen to rookies Or rookies often is what I'm saying Yeah and of course with all this going on, a lot of people have also gone with the theory that or are hypothesizing that, you know, there's a potential that Shemar Stewart could just opt out of this season train for a whole year and then go back into the draft next year, which you do that, you're just asking to lose millions

of dollars at that point. Yeah, I mean, that really does suck, but that- The team is gonna draft him for his only option. What was that? As that does seem like his only option. I will say one thing though, he was, and I said this during the pre-draft process No, ifs ands or buts he was a

Project yeah So, I don't know if you really want to risk that but I don't know I wouldn't rule out him getting traded either personally. Yeah trade when Wouldn't rule that one out either way if he were to go and do this, you're just asking to, uh, forgo millions of dollars and no, it's, it's kind of the same thing with the Haas, a son, Reddick thing last year, right? Like in his agency dumped him as a client because no agency in their right mind is going to tell you it's a good idea to lose half a million dollars week by week so obviously summer Stewart isn't losing half a million dollars week by week but still the same logic all right let's move on we're gonna take a quick break when we come back we're gonna get into our NFC North preview Here on the full marushki podcast

It may not have always showed it in the staff sheet But you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back to back games where he has three touchdowns Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie truly a lose-lose scenario for both sides This is the full marushki podcast, ECJ. I'm Chris. Let's get into the NFC North. Probably, or not probably, it was the most competitive division from last season with three of the four teams making the playoffs. And halfway through the season, it was a question of if all four teams were going to make the playoffs. And obviously Eagles coming out on top, winning the division at 14 and three.

Wow. Tough start. Lions won the division and were the number one seed in the conference at 15 and two. Their biggest thing was that they were kings on the road, 8 and 0 road record. They were 6 and 0 in the division, only lost once in the conference. Vikings finished second at 14 and 3, of course. Their season abruptly came to an end. The wild card round when they lost to the Rams and with a chance to also have the one seed,

they could have possibly been 15 and two having a home game themselves and losing to the Lions in week 18. Packers finished third at 11 and six. They also lost in the wild card round to the Philadelphia Eagles who would later go on to win the Super Bowl. And then the Bears. 5 and 12 record finished in last place. Started 4 and 2 and then proceeded to go one and 10 the rest of the way. Uh, disastrous, uh, very, very disastrous to say the least. Yeah. Pretty much.

Yeah. And that's where we'll start is the Chicago bears. Uh, biggest thing they did was fire, Matt Iberfluss and new head coach, Ben Johnson. That's already you're looking at a big upgrade. Looking at the draft, Colston Loveland was their 10th overall pick, tight end for Michigan. A lot of people were kind of interested in the fact that Loveland went before, what's his face from Penn State? I can't think of his name right now. Yes, Tyler Warren. What's his face from Penn State? I can't think of his name right now.

Yes, Tyler Warren, but it wasn't out of, uh, it wasn't the most ridiculous thing in the world to say the least. Either way, still a solid pick. If you're the bears, um, other than that, you're basically keeping a bunch of guys. The only real big loss that you had was Kenan Allen, who's by the way, still a free agent. Second year for Caleb Williams, you got Deandre Swift back in Chicago for his second year. Roma Dunezay, second year in the league as well. So basically all eyes are going to be on Caleb Williams once again, because last year he didn't have a terrible season, but obviously a lot of things to work on as most rookie quarterbacks are going to have.

But a lot of people are probably thinking this this is gonna be the year that the Bears finally have their 4,000-yard passer, which I think is very, very possible. Very possible. Now they actually have what you should assume to be a good offensive-minded head coach, probably one of the better head coaches they've had since Lovey Smith. And that's the thing is like, this is probably the best head coach they've had in the last 20 years. But is this team actually gonna be good enough to make the playoffs? Cuz that was the big stink last year was that they made a ton of moves in the offseason and then proceeded to lay down an absolute stinker

after they lost on that Hail Mary to Washington. So at that point, will they be able to do it? Will they actually be able to exceed expectations? be able to do it? Will they actually be able to exceed expectations? Call me crazy, but yeah, I mean, whether or not Caleb Williams gets to be their first ever 4,000 yard passer, that remains to be seen. I mean, I know it's a big talking point, but let's be real. If that does happen, that's just gravy. You know, I mean, that's cool, but we've seen the be real if that does happen, that's just gravy. You know, I mean that's cool but we've seen the many

quarterbacks, you know, who stuff the statue of stats don't always translate into wins, you know, but the thing for the Bears that you retool the offensive line and do is a supposed to take another step. Williams is supposed to take

another step Colston Loveland, well Warren was superior or prospect. Loveland apparently was taken more for his scheme fit and it's true he didn't fit the scheme. Like don't get me wrong Warren's better in almost every way but he just didn't fit their scheme which I get but at the same time. I still don't understand the Loveland pick you you know, because they had Cole Comet as well, which I don't know I mean, I think getting rid of him probably what I But yeah, no, he's gonna be a good target for Williams and the defense By the defense is fine last year and I think it should be better

You know given that it's gonna have some more room to improve and the biggest thing too Is that you actually have a real like head coach you know or you should have one in bed Johnson I mean obviously we don't know until you actually coaches you know very real thing very real thing so that being said I am going to mention as far as records go possibly I Don't know what probably minimum eight wins you probably max out around 10 or 11 and I don't think they're gonna finish last this year Worst is third best is probably second

Yeah, no, I agree. I'd say ceiling is probably 10 or 11 wins. They're not they're winning more than five games. That's for sure. I mean, you talk about the additions of Joe Tooney upgrade the wide receiver room just a little bit with all of my day. Zekeis signing him to a contract and greedy Jared also getting signed over the off season from Atlanta. So definitely some improvements and I mean, just the improvement of at the head coach position alone is gonna earn you at least three more wins. Looking now to the third place team, the Green Bay Packers.

Well, biggest thing from them is that they just dropped Jair Alexander. That's probably, I guess, start there, I guess. I mean, they get rid of Jair Alexander, So now their cornerback room is Isaiah McDuffie, Carrington Valentine, you got Xavier McKinney as still in free safety land, Keyshawn Nixon and Nate Hobbs, your nickelback. So you're asking for a number of guys to step up in the secondary, to say the least, especially for a Packers defense that was a little inconsistent.

It's been better than some of the Rodgers years, that's for sure. But probably their biggest key addition that they've got was Matthew Golden, who they got with the 22nd overall pick. That was definitely wrong. Don't listen to me. 21st pick. I did that without looking. Did that without looking.

You want to give me a cookie CJ? Sure, whatever I wouldn't be surprised if Packers find themselves back in the three spot At 11 wins again this like we're looking at pretty much the same exact team as last year Like I said minus Jair Alexander. So It's really gonna depend on how the how the secondary holds up without him. Yep. So, and Jordan loves health should also definitely mention that.

Um, but with that also being said, the Packers do have Matt LaFleur as their head coach and we're able to still win games without Jordan Love at quarterback and Malik Willis at the helm for a couple games. Yeah, Malik Willis is one of those quarterbacks where he can start for you in a pinch, especially where he seems to benefit from the Packers system. By himself, like by himself, like in a vacuum, he's not very good, but you have to put him in the right place, kind of like, you know, what Green Bay did. But if you're rolling with him for a season, I

don't know if that's necessarily a great idea. However, I will tell you that the Packers are just, they're an interesting team. For the first time in like what, 22 years, they finally drafted a receiver, Matthew Goleman from Texas, and you've got, I mean look, you got Josh Jacobs at running back, that's cool. You know, the secondary without Jay Alexander, that's going to be something because their pass rush like the front seven not to lie to you. It's not that great either. I mean, outside of like, Rashawn Gary, the Packers pass rush really does not scare me.

And without somebody, look, don't get me wrong. Alexander always misses like more than half the year, I'm not scared. But the one thing about Green Bay that really does interest me is their receiver room. It's probably the most crowded wide receiver room and I know Chris we off camera we said oh New England might have the most crowded room but it's crowded bad there's a lot of, a lot of mediocre. The Packers have a bunch of guys who, their floor is at their starting caliber, but they don't seem to be much better than starting caliber, you know? Yeah. And I was just gonna say,

you can't bury Gold with a depth chart. He can't be wide receiver four. So who's the odd man out? It can't be Jayden Reed He's really good. It's gonna be Watson or dubs Yeah, I would probably I Would almost lean Watson because of his issues with his quad. I Would almost lean that way mmm I would almost lean that way. Right here. But it's tough because I myself think very highly of the Packers wide receivers like you just did, of course.

All of them are starting caliber. I don't know how many of them I would consider wide receiver ones on other teams. But that's the other thing is like, they've also, this is kind of the same thing the Packers have been doing is been doing this for decades of having receivers that start in caliber, but are they wide receiver ones on other teams and whatnot? Or are they superstars on other teams and whatnot? I'm very interested to see what kind of year Tucker Kraft has. Very curious to see what kind of year Jayden Reed has. Of course, Matthew Golden as well. And all eyes are going to be on Josh Jacobs as well, considering he had quite the, if you can call it career revivment, I guess, right? Yeah. Career revivement, I guess right. Yeah top ten and rushing yards was an absolute force

especially behind fancy me But 1300 rushing yards 15 touchdowns Unbelievable season I'd expect him to do the same thing But yeah, I'd say Second maybe third 11 maybe 12 wins. Yeah, I feel like the Packers probably 10 and 12 wins. I feel like, and I like Matt LaFleur enough as a coach

to the point where I'm comfortable saying that, especially if Jordan Love stays healthy. Yeah. I don't see him finishing bottom. I feel like they're probably gonna be second. If the Lions sputter a bit which they might will get to that late I could see them going first, but they're gonna be first or second. My gut says second Yeah and

I'm gonna have to say the same second and it's I Guess we'll transition to the Vikings at this point. I Guess it really just is how JJ McCarthy It really just depends on how JJ McCarthy plays this year for Minnesota Like who who did who did the Vikings lose? Let's start with that Sam Darnold first and foremost most infamously, right? Yeah I'm darn old first and foremost most infamously right yeah I don't know I feel there's someone I'm missing I just

Did they lose Byron Murphy, no, I don't think they did I'm like trying to hustle over to the Vikings team right now But whatever just keep going. But yeah, it's going to come down to how JJ McCarthy plays. Of course, last year missed the entirety with a torn ACL. You still got Aaron Jones, Aaron Jones, senior, by the way, you added Jordan Mason to provide some more help in the running game, which is huge. Because Aaron Jones, he's now 30, not getting any younger. Your receiver room is still pretty solid with Jedis and Jordan Addison as your top

two guys, Jalen Naylor as your wide receiver three right now, which. TJ Hawkinson has your tight end. McCarthy has a lot of weapons, a lot of very comfortable weapons that he can work with. That's for sure. Andrew Van Genkel added Still got Jonathan Greenard, still got Harrison Smith, Mackay Blackman, Stephon Gilmore and Shaquille Griffin in the secondary as well, as in they lost them. Those were pretty much the two biggest losses, which Gilmore for East, I think he's still great. But of course, with his age, got to move on. Cam Robinson and Bradbury also not in the secondary for the

Vikings anymore either. so a lot of new Names to say the least so your secondary looks like Isaiah Rogers Josh Mattel is as Mentioned Harrison Smith still there McKay Blackman and Byron Murphy jr And Jeff Acuta Yeah You know they did lose a lot of pieces and I know what you said. You're saying these things like oh well he's got Hockinson. He's got Jefferson and he's got Addison. That's good. I like that for him, but I really take into consideration here that I don't care what the numbers technically say. It's that this is his rookie year. No ifs, ands, or buts, no matter how you slice it, this is JJ

McCarthy's rookie year and everyone's like, oh, but he's had time to marinate. He's trying to develop. They've been grooming him. Pause. No, did he do those two just to be safe. Yeah, Adam. Adam's freaking out behind the scenes. Calm down. I'm just saying this is his rookie year and for all these people say, oh well, he's

going to uh you know, he's going to be like, oh my god. Oh my god. He's not going to have any problems. He was able to sit for a year. That's not how it works sitting You learn the playbook which he's been doing is great and maybe could give him a leg up But it's I just I don't know like you got to actually put the skills to use you You've got to have some leniency with him. That's all I'm saying Like like I said, he's he's basically still a rookie and as a result and

look, I know what a lot of people are going to say. Oh, but look what they did with Sam Darnold. Well, Darnold had a lot of time, you know, he learned under Kyle Shanahan and they all like to dunk on Shanahan a lot because he's a

serial choker. He's also uh a good offensive mind. Then great offensive mind went to uh the Vikings where he did have all the weapons. I think he's also a good offensive mind. Then. Great offensive mind. Went to the Vikings where he did have all the weapons. I think JJ McCarthy is gonna be fine, but there's gonna be some growing pains. I don't see the Vikings finishing second. They're gonna be bottom half.

They're gonna be third or fourth. Maybe tilting fourth because there's really no even guarantee that McCarthy stays healthy either. Like when you get that bad of an injury when you're like a rookie, it's no in between. It's either a one-off and you stay healthy for the rest of your career or it just snowballs. Right now I have the Vikings finishing third or last. I mean like they're gonna be fine, but when you compile McCarthy's inexperience with the people that they've lost, and these aren't big names, but when you lose enough people, it starts to add up, then yeah, I'm not really too confident in their ability to win the division.

Yeah. And here's another point I want to throw out there, because I feel like this hasn't really confident in their ability to win the division? Yeah and Here's another point I want to throw out there because I feel like this hasn't really been talked about enough the schedule makers did the Vikings not a ton of favors in terms of I mean when you're a team you want to get the primetime nights, of course, but By the way torn meniscus not, my apologies in terms of JJ McCarthy. But when you look at the Viking schedule, first two games of the year, primetime, Monday night football against the Bears in Chicago, and then Sunday night football at home against

the Vikings. And then you go to the end of September, you got back to back weeks where you're facing the Steelers in Dublin, and then you're facing the Browns in London. So for the first five weeks of the season, you're a standalone game. You go two weeks from then, you're in LA facing the Chargers on Thursday night football so the first Doing the math right now first the five of the first seven games that they'll be playing are standalone prime time games

I'm gonna count the Dublin and London 930 a.m. Games, I guess. I mean, it's overseas accounts. Yeah. Seven total on the season. So a lot. So JJ McCarthy is going to have a ton, a ton of pressure on him this year. Yeah. I mean, I'm not going to outright say that he's going to fold under the pressure, the again, if you get upset with him during the season, please remember for all intents and purposes, he's a rookie. I mean, I know technically he's not, but this is, but if there's one thing that I need you to take away from this, this is his rookie year.

Yeah. So I, same time he's got himself a good support and, a good situation around him to get the job done. A good coach, good pass catchers, just solid offense around him in general. So he's got the tools to succeed. At this point, it's just his mental. Moving on to the NFC North division winner the Detroit Lions This is a team that Won the was earned the first overall seed in the NFC

And lost in the divisional round to the Washington commanders. I Wouldn't say embarrassing fashion but Embarrassing enough as an upset can go. This was a team that had a plus 222 point differential in the regular season. No other team in the league was over plus 160, and that team was the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. Fantastic team last year and unfortunately ended up becoming the highest point differential for a team that didn't make the Super Bowl. There's your staff for the day. Most wins in franchise history last year. And really the biggest, the biggest

questions around this team is going to be the coordinators. I think that's where all eyes are going to be focused this year. Because you lost Aaron Glenn, your defensive coordinator to the Jets, lost Ben Johnson, your offensive coordinator to the Bears, your coordinators this year, offensive coordinator John Moran and Kelvin Shepherd is your defensive coordinator. Now the good news that these guys, you hired him within the building. John Moran was the within the, within the building. John Morin was the team's senior offensive assistant in 2022, also experienced as pass game coordinator for the Broncos. And, of course, Morin familiar with the Lions' offensive scheme. Kelvin Sheppard, promoted from linebacker's coach to defensive coordinator, was with the Lions since 2021 under Aaron Glenn. So also another, another guy that is familiar with the system.

But we've also seen that that doesn't also tend to work out a lot of the times. Yeah. Yeah. I'll send it right to you, Cedar. I just, there's really not a lot to say about the Lions other than the coordinators. For me, that's the biggest concern. These things should terrify you as a fan. I feel like the importance of good coordinators cannot be overstated and something that frankly

a lot of people don't talk about. I mean we have seen teams really stumble when, forget one, just when both of their coordinators are poached. Remember when the Eagles went to the Super Bowl for the first time against the Chiefs and narrowly lost. Both of their coordinators got swiped from them and there was an immediate drop off. And in other scenarios too, remember when Indy lost both their coordinators? How they had like that one good year with Frank Reich and then they lost Matt Eber, I mean then they immediately lost Nick Sirianni, they lost Matt Eberfluss a year later, and then they completely crashed and burned. And this isn't about how these coordinators turned out as

a coach. It's just when you lose, either at the same time or within the span of two seasons, when you lose both your coordinators, it gets ugly. It really does. I mean, how you gotta remember also the span two seasons my the san francisco 49ers they lost to miko ryan's and They lost Mike McDaniel and yeah, and you know, they they did end up going to a Super Bowl Without a then and then immediately after that it was just all downhill like I mean sometimes it's delayed but Losing both of them can really hurt and that's the one thing I think can trip up the lions

Guys are really good coordinators guys like erin glenn guys like ben johnson They're not guys you could just replace overnight and obviously staying in the house was probably the best thing you could do But it's going to be tough regardless. Yeah. In terms of the roster build up, it's pretty much same roster as last year. You still obviously still got Gop Gibbs, Montgomery, St. Brown, Jameson Williams, Tim Patrick. Tim Patrick, of course, yeah, really blew up last season.

And I guess like in terms of the defense, you're starting out fresh, right? You had a million injuries on the defensive side of the football last year. And now you. It's basically like, you got a clean sheet. You got Aiden Hutchinson back for the start of the season. Alex Ancelone isn't dealing with a broken arm. Terryon Arnold isn't dealing with an injury. Herbie Joseph, DJ Reed, yada, yada, yada. You name it, then they were hurt. So now this is going to be a an actual revamp defense minus like getting guys in free agency, so Like I said, it's it's really just how the coordinators show up at this rate

Yeah, I don't think I could put it any better like it's it quite literally like Exclusively is all about the coordinators. Yeah, which Yeah This is like one of the few like seasons where it really does come to that like I mean besides Excuse me besides like the Eagles they lost Office coordinator Kellen Moore Vance Joseph or Vic Fangio still on the team, right? Yeah.

Yeah. Fangio is one of those ones where I think he's, uh, too old to really get another look at head coach. Yeah. But yeah, but that's only going to help. Uh, that's only going to help them. Yeah. I, I was going to say anyways, uh, probably gonna help them. Yeah, I was gonna say anyways

probably be better for I would assume he would probably also just want to stick as a coordinator as well, maybe like a Cliff Kingsbury thing where he came back as coordinator. He does not want to even think about taking a head coaching job Yeah, which is great for commanders Yeah Yeah, which is great for commanders. Um, it is. Yeah In terms of Alliance, where are they finishing this year? I Got him winning the division again Yeah, I think they're gonna win the division max 13 games minimum like 11 because you gotta remember they did all that even with both Their coordinators, but the entire team was hurt. So yeah At least the entire team was hurt. So, yeah, at least the entire defense was hurt.

Like, I think they only had like one or two of their original starters from like week one still there, like maybe two or three. Yeah. Yeah. I still remember the division probably like 12, 13 games. Yeah, I think it's like I think it's safe to assume that something like that is not going to happen again this year, or else you're firing or strengthening conditioning coach at that point. Absolutely.

Yeah. All right. That was our NFC North preview going into the 2025 season. Take a quick break. When we come back, we're gonna give our Top 5 Running Backs heading into the 2025 season. You're listening to the Fulmer Rouski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the staff sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throws back to back games where he has three touchdowns. Someone's got to get that six or seven spot. He's an elite wide receiver as a rookie, truly a lose lose scenario for both

sides. You're listening to the Full Marouski Podcast by Powerade 18 Radio and Secret Weapon Consulting. He's CJ Madero, Sam Krascostich. All right, final subjects of the night. That's our top five running backs heading into the 2025 season. All of course all part of our offseason summer. CJ handed off to you. No pun intended.

Ah, thank you. Very you. Thank you. I put him there, but I just, I don't know. He's on the wrong side of 30 or he's either that or 30 exactly. He's coming up. He's 29 right now. He's about to. Wait, when's he turning 30? Give me one second.

Hey, we're gonna, so just gonna keep going. He's getting up there for running backs and the injuries are starting to snowball. It's just a real crap shoot. If I'm being honest, whether or not he's going to be healthy, I would just say like if he is then slam dunk. He's going to be top five. But so I just left him like right there. And he just turned 29. Okay, so either way I still think he's gonna be fine but he might even get some more touches because you know how the Niners just got completely picked apart. My number four, B. John Robinson and that's right Falcons fans, finally like it's something

happened I know we have this nothing ever happens mentality with him but last year he really came to life under a new coach. You know a coach that actually uses him over 1400 yards, 14 rushing touchdowns, and 400 or over 400 receiving yards and receiving touchdown to boot. Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about saying it's Bijan season. and 400 or over 400 receiving yards and receiving touchdown to boot Yeah, I'm feeling pretty good about saying it's Bijan season. It really is And

There's something I'd like to address real quick and I it's a spoiler alert some people might be expecting Ashton Gentry on this list and I know some people already have them in their top 10. My response is, yeah, nah, he's a rookie. You can't rank a rookie like off the rim. You have no idea what's gonna happen. Cause you gotta remember, all these rookies start out great and they're one injury away from just never panning out. So I think Bijan's gonna be good, but it's impossible to predict

I mean at least these guys we have some knowledge kind of like our number three Jamir Gibbs and all you stupid fantasy bros Shut up and don't lecture me about erm the handcuff Because that's all we ever hear about jemir gibbs is his handcuff and david montgomery to which i say yeah that's awesome go touch some grass or whatever i mean think about it despite his handcuff this man still had 16 rushing touchdowns 1400 rushing yards 517 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns. I have successfully obliterated your handcuff argument.

Whomp, whomp. Number two, Derek Henry. Now I know we like to say, oh, running back's over 30, terrifying. Well, there's an exception to every rule and meet your exception right here 31 year old Derek Henry literally coming off his age 30 season where he had 1,921 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns and he also into receiving touchdowns to boo which he's never really been a dual threat type of guy.

But yeah, Derek Henry, what do you want? And you give him to a guy like John Harbaugh, who do I have my misgivings about him? Yeah, but he can at least run a ground and pound offense. He's taken the pressure off of Lamar, whose arm has developed amazingly. I don't see Derek Henry getting hurt. That man is just a workhorse.

He's durable. Come on. It see Derek Henry getting hurt. That man is just a workhorse. He's durable Come on It's it's Derek Henry. I think he's gonna be just fine And then of course my number one is say quam Barkley, you know why screw the Madden curse that is precisely why a 2,000 yard season 13 touchdowns, two receiving touchdowns as well,

and almost 280, basically 278 receiving yards. There's no reason to believe that he won't stay this way. I mean, the Eagles offensive line has basically stayed the same outside of McKay Bekton, but you still have Lane Johnson, you still have Jordan Milata, you still have Landon Dickerson, you still have Cam Juergens.

The only thing that's gonna stop him is injuries, to which I say the Madden Curse, it's theory, and that's putting it nicely. It's just conjecture. It's not empirically proven. So yeah, I see no reason that Saquon shouldn't repeat. Yeah, I see no reason that Saquon shouldn't repeat. Yeah. I like it.

Very well done, CJ. Thank you, Chris. I'm just going to, I'm just going to say right now, Christian McCaffrey's not in my top five. You said, I think that for me, I'm going to use your words against you. Unfortunately, for me, it's, it's you say what he can do is why you're keeping him at five or keeping him in your top five at the very least.

To me, it's what he will do, or in this case, what he won't do. And I guess the question is, can he stay available? And there's really only been one season where he was actually available for a whole season, which was the season they went to the Superbowl. I just can't trust, I can't trust him to be healthy for a full season at this rate, especially one, especially considering that he's getting

this close to 30. There's no denying his talent, there really isn't. But at the end of the day, I believe that because of availability, he's just not gonna be top five for me this year. Fair enough. Also, I do feel like the 9-1-0 I will say handles injury terribly. But then again, probably if I'm wrong, Chris, I do believe your number five also has some injury concerns. What are you only playing? 14 games this year go 14 games But he was still the fourth leading rusher and played in three less games than everybody else Or besides take one, but that's because he didn't play the last game of the year

Yeah, so we'll start out with that number five for me is Jonathan Taylor Like I said three less games and he still finished fourth if he played in those other three games and I know i'm talking out of my ass when I am what when I put the averages together but he could have jumped up to Third behind derrick henry and uh seyquan at 1700 yards Um,, you have a point. The only reason I didn't have him by the way

would have been my number six if we were doing top ten. Okay. Hey, I just don't trust the Colts. I just don't. Stikens terrible and I'm sorry. He had a good year but for the most part, Jonathan Taylor is a one year wonder.

Never had more than 1500 yards or anything more than 11 touchdowns outside of one year. He's a one year guy. That's okay and she still had. He still has three years of over 1100 yards rushing in general. OK, so but the thing is, yeah, the last or he the beauty is he's a. He's a volume carries guy. He's not a guy that can make something out of nothing. He relies on being force fed. And the thing with the Colts this year is that they're going to try and not rely on being force fed. He had 325 carries.

Okay. Now let's compare passing offenses. The Ravens passing offense blows the Colts out of the water. So the fact that the Ravens actually throw the ball and Indy does not completely destroys your argument. Okay. And what do you mean okay? No, I'm saying okay as in like I'm saying okay as in like I'm I'm saying okay like with like I I'm okay with that point No, I mean Chris like I understand like your point and like I said the thing with that

is uh the only reason that another reason that I didn't really put him there is because I feel like Indy's going to try to move to more of a passing offense. They're going to I feel like they're going to put more on Anthony Richardson's plate just to see if he can because you know you don't want to waste like a top 10 pick and like never really see what he can do, but I think it's gonna fail look don't get wrong. Jonathan Taylor's good. I just I Just don't think I just don't think that's a fair comparison because of where both like it's not Jonathan Taylor's fault that Anthony Richardson Can't throw it 15 yards downfield Or you can't throw the short game Like John like Jonathan Taylor is just the product of what they have going and it works he still averages

over 100 yards per game. If Indy ever develops like a semi competent pass game, and the volume decreases, he'll be lucky to crack 1000 yards. Whatever just keep anyways, John the tailor number five for me. But whatever, just keep. Anyways, Jonathan Taylor, number five for me. Number four, I got Jameer Gibbs. And I think the reasoning for me is that like the reasoning I don't have him at three compared to four like you do is because I feel that Bijon Robinson is due to absolutely explode this year.

He's been hampered down for the last few years, had 14 rushing touchdowns this past season. He's been hampered down so much by coaching. And yeah, last year still wasn't great, but you could finally see what kind of superstar Bijon can be when he's not hampered down by shitty coaching. So that's why I think that I'm not trying to say, like, I guess, yeah, I guess I am saying Bijon Robinson is going to be better than Jemir Gibbs this year. But I feel like in that sense, I also want to say that you can really interchange those two because that's just how good both guys are. Not to knock on one or the other.

Number two, Derek Henry and number one, Saquon Barkley. I feel like that you could also make the case to flip-flop these two as well because of the potential mad and curse and how often it is to have back-to-back years of this type of production. Now, a lot of people are saying this year that Derek

Henry is going to hit 2000, which I say, good luck with that. There's still a very few amount of guys that have hit 2000, including Derek Henry. But this also isn't 25 year old Derek Henry that we're talking about right now either. But still again, Derek Henry still got to 1900 rushing yards as well. But either way, when you'll I like Saquon for what he can provide in the just in his explosiveness is what I'm saying. Yeah. When you think of Saquon,

you know that a big fucking play is gonna happen. Derek Henry, you know a big fucking play is gonna happen, but I think Saquon just has more of that. I guess he just has, feels like he has more of that tendency if that makes sense. Yeah. Yeah. I hear you yeah, okay So just to recap John the Taylor Jamiro Gibbs B John Derek Henry Saquon Barkley five through one. That's my top five Fair enough. Ours is pretty similar though. Yeah Running backs another position kind of like tight end but not as bad where it's really top-heavy

I mean, that's the other thing too Is that you could really argue a lot of these other guys to be top five guys as well like Josh Jacobs Kyron Williams had a fantastic year last year. I Would maybe put Aaron Jones in that hovering area, but he's also on the wrong side of 30. By the way, signed that three-year extension with the Vikings. There's just a lot of guys that are running backs in this league that definitely have a lot of potential to really explode onto this scene. Joe Mixon's another one, but Joe Mixon had the problem of, Joe Mixon kind of had the Dak Prescott problem last year where he just beat up on really bad run defenses. Yeah, no, no, I definitely agree. Yeah, but that is our top five running backs heading into the 2025 season.

Do you have any other problems with my list or was Jonathan Taylor, the only one? No, it's not really even that I had a problem with them. You're you're fine. Yeah. All right. Uh, that's all the schedule content that we have for you today. I don't think no news broke while we were recording.

We're recording this on Monday. Yes, very nice. Very nice. Yeah, we're recording this on Monday. So if anything happens today, Tuesday, then don't expect it to be heard on this episode because unless we want to do, unless we emergency record. We really don't want to do that by the way, people.

I don't mind. But that'll do it for us tonight. Thank you for tuning in. New episode next Tuesday at 7.30 PM Eastern Standard Time. And be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel. Also have all our episodes available on Spotify speaker Apple podcast I heart radio Google podcast And so much more

Really quick for next week be sure to tune in as we're gonna be going over the You know on second while I pull it out NFC South and our top five wide receivers. Number one, basically, it's up to Jett as a chase. So tune in for who we think is number one. Be sure to follow our Instagram, Fulmarouski Underscore podcast to keep up with the pod and latest coverage on the NFL. And that's where you'll also be able to see our summer offseason schedule. Otherwise, CC, Jai Madero, some Chris Kostich, Adam Wright, our executive producer.

We'll see you next Tuesday. Over and out.