The Fumblerooski Podcast - W.A.O -Ep 459 The Fumblerooski Podcast

Episode Date: July 7, 2026

On today's episode, we give a preview of the NFC South and give our Top 5 Wide Receivers heading to the 2026 Season. Is Chase still the best receiver? Where does JSN rank? Who will win the South? CJ Medeiros, Justin Tucker, and Chris Costich talk all this and more!

On today's episode of the Fumbleruski podcast, happy 4th of July. Hope everyone has come down from their Sunday scaries and their hangover from the long weekend. Today we'll be doing our top five wide receivers and a preview of the NFC South heading into the 2026 season. It may not have always showed it in the stat 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 Fumbaruski podcast, powered by Secret Weapon Consulting. We got CJ, we got Tuck, we got myself, Chris. Happy Fourth of July. I hope everyone is coming down from their Sunday scleries. I know I finally have gone away from those. But Fourth of July was good for you, boys? Yeah, it was pretty good. I got to be some fireworks.

Hell yeah, brother. I like it. Yeah, I was at a wedding and it was cool. There wasn't like fireworks at the wedding itself, but we were basically on a very elevated view that we could see like a 50 mile radius of where we were at. So we saw lots of fireworks in the distance, which was really fucking cool.

Like I would say probably 9 o'clock, 930 was when like almost everybody started ripping fireworks at that point. So it was a very good show. Hope everyone enjoyed the fireworks, enjoyed their beers. Enjoyed the 250th birthday for America. Congrats everyone. And of course, by the time of recording this, the USA and Belgium will be playing

later tonight. So hopefully the Americans with Balagoon being reinstated from his red card can get the dub as well. I'm pulling for the U.S. as well. But before that game, there's the Portugal game. Oh, yeah, that's getting started up in an hour. That one, that one would be interesting.

You guys see the England-Mexico game from last night? Yes. Cinema. That was too close. That was really close. Yeah, that was a fucking insane game. Insane. It said 3-1.

I thought, oh, no, it might be over. but then Mexico scored again. I was like, hold on now. The Brits might bottle it again. Yeah. Well, true. No,

when England, when Harry Kane got that PK, I made a 3-1, I was kind of like, yeah, that might have been, that might have been it for Mexico. Obviously,

they got the PK of their own, but like, soccer's a weird sport. Soccer's a weird sport. You can be down a man for a whole half hour, 40 minutes, or, damn near an hour and you'll probably still only let up the one goal.

It's going to come on a PK and that's going to be the only opportunity you'll have all game. That's soccer or football, which I love the Monday Night Football memes for the game tonight because it's in Seattle and the 12th man's probably going to be out, which when the U.S. and Australia played in Seattle during, and group play. I don't know if you guys saw there was one of the two goals

registered an earthquake on the Richter scale. No, I didn't see that. That's funny. Yeah, I don't know. I don't think it was like to the extent of beastquake, but it was still, you know, there's still some seismic activity. So it's good to see that the 12th man

registers to soccer as well. Yep. Ro. Oh, I love Norway. I love Norway. I'm surprised they made it this far. They beat, they beat Brazil. Yeah, that that was pretty good. Brazil is in a weird spot because they've had a lot of their younger talent, kind of started to fall off a little bit, especially with Namar, just announcing retirement. But yeah, yeah, a guy that's probably going to be announcing their retirement pretty

soon. Brandon Ayukh. Obviously not going to announce this retirement anytime soon. But the situation with Brandon IUC has reached a, we'll call it a new low, call a new low. From, I would assume everyone remembers his, the video that he came out with on his story. I want to say a couple weeks ago to a month ago, I forget. I'm very, very spotty with timelines at this point, especially during the off season. But made a video basically saying that he wanted to play for the band. with jaden daniels who wouldn't who won't jane daniels is a is a high promising quarterback that anybody would want to play with uh i think they played together at arizona state too

yeah so there's now then a video of a 49ers fan or command football fan we'll say uh is going by jaden daniels and basically saying uh fuck the 49ers or fuck brain and Iyuk and Daniels kind of gives him this look of like yeah you right you right you're not going to say it outright but you right and then Brandon Iyuk basically said that hey you work for me da da da and basically burning a bridge as as soon as it was semi built up not even um so I feel like that the case of Brin and I you playing football in the year 2020 may be pretty, uh, pretty low again, pretty low again. But for some reason, San Francisco's just keeps holding out hope for him. I don't know what it is, but. I don't even know where to begin with this story. Yeah.

I, I want to see him on the field again because I want to know if he's still that wide receiver that we know him to, he could be. If he's not, then quite frankly, there's nothing to talk about here. But it's this weird place like they're stuck in limbo. Like the 49ers have been trying to get rid of him, but they can't. So they're stuck with him and they're stuck with the contract they have. Granted, sooner or later, it has to get to the point where it's like, he's not worth this headache. Let's just get rid of him.

And he's quickly reaching Antonio Brown levels of, we need to get rid of him. Damn the consequences. But until they feel it necessary, they're kind of stuck with him. They can't trade him. No one in the league is going to give up anything of value for him. They don't know what he looks like. He just came off an injury a year ago, and he still hasn't played. He's more troubled.

The perception is more trouble than it's worth from the Instagram videos, him speeding past the stadium on his way home, I assume. It just, it doesn't seem like a good situation right now for the 49ers for Brandon Iyke or any team that wants to trade for him. They don't know what they're getting. They know they're getting a headache and probably don't want to deal with it or help the 49ers. at all. So that's the situation. I don't see anyone trading for him right now, just based upon the videos and not knowing what they're going to get on the field as far as production. Don't know what a value they can give them because, again, I have nothing to look at. And so it's just limbo. And until someone bites, Brandon Ayuk is stuck until either his contract expires,

the 49ers just say Eff it, leave, here's all your money, or a team trade's form damning the consequences because they need weapons. Yeah. And looking at his contract real quick, he's currently still on his rookie extension, which was a four-year, $120 million extension that he got.

Yep. From 2024 to 20228. So by 2009, he'll be a free agent. be 31 by then. And looking at just like cap hits in general, he's, for this year, he's in at a 13.6 mil cap hit and a 33.6 mil dead cap. Yeah. They do have a potential out on him for 2007.

But the cap hit at that point is going to be 41 mil. and 21 mill in dead cap which might be crippling depending on who they want to sign yeah well just in general just looking at it iuk and how everything is gone that's right now we're looking at a really really bad contract that as you mentioned no one's going to want to trade for so it's i guess you got a you got to figure out a way to to be able to just live with eating the cap money i guess but Another thought that I had, and C.J. I let you go after I make this thought. If it gets bad enough, could we see IUC being a training camp pre-season cut? Possibly. Possibly. I don't know. It's not all. It happens, but I'm not sure if it'd be a good idea for them to lose them for nothing, but they might not have a choice. Yeah. Honestly, I think I you getting cut is probably the most likely scenario here.

I mean, he won't even show up to the building. The only time he is in any sort of proximity to Levi's stadium is when he's speeding by it on his Instagram live. That's it. Like, that's literally it. That is all he does. like, golly, it's so frustrating, too. And I hope the irony isn't lost on anybody about his big contract dispute.

Do you remember that? Yes. He was drafted in 2020. He was okay then and 21. He was first 1,000-yard breakout year in 2022, followed up with a similar performance in 23. And then that off-season, there was the big, Brandon Ayyuk trade saga about how he wanted out.

And there were other teams like I think Pittsburgh and New England were sniffing around him. And it was a matter of if not when he got traded only for the Niners to cave and give him what he wants. And then, are you ready? And then in 2024, he played a whopping seven games. We're literally over seven games. he amasses 25 catches for 374 yards and no touchdowns. Well, being targeted 47 times, I might add. And, yeah, and then he got hurt.

And then he, and even though it was a relatively early season injury, he didn't come back, he didn't play it all last season. And now he's out here making demands again. look, I'm going to be real. I think the Niners screwed up by offering of that extension. You should have just offloaded him somewhere else, frankly. Because when you're a wide receiver who's will, or forget position, any player who's willing to do all this nonsense for a new contract,

that I don't care if you have any leverage. That player is a headcase and you're actually best suited letting said player walk. Oh, no. but the Niners just had to get him back and it completely and utterly bit them in the ass. And as of now, like, I don't even know if they can't cut him. He won't show up to the building.

Like, he's done. He's essentially cut, but don't tell him that because he thinks he's actually cut. Like, oh, I'm going to go play with the commanders. Like, no, you're still member of the 49ers. And nothing can happen. Like, you can't even ask for a release because you won't go to the building. It's the dumbest stalemate in NFL history. And like I said, after that whole off-season temper tantrum about getting an extension, he pulls this stuff after getting what he wants.

Hell, even if he was cut, what team would want him? I mean, maybe the commanders, but I highly doubt it. I mean, I don't even know if he's worth taking a flyer on. Because I, uh, I don't even know if he's worth taking a flyer on. Because I'm not going to lie. Are you going to, even if it's like a vet minimum, is he really worth it? The headache for a guy who's coming off a horrible injury hasn't played in well over a calendar year. And on top of that, if that were not enough, no Pro Bowls, no all pros, no major accolades, like nothing. like this is you know we talk about oh high risk high reward whatever

no no no this is like high nuclear code black level risk to literally no reward zilch in the upside whatsoever yeah yeah and like immediately as soon as he got that contract to like those first few games he was docks and he still was dog shit up until he got injured again. And I remember, too, like, when the, you know, early in the off season, they, when they were talking about Brennan Ayuk,

the whole reason with like, you know, him driving by the stadium and all that, like, a lot of that was just more or less kind of attributed to, like, frustration over a setback in the injury, which is why you ended up missing the entirety of the, this past year. And now it's accumulated to this. And now it's like you can't even rule it out to frustration that you had a setback. You just,

you have an issue. He has a problem. Does he need help? Maybe. I don't know. But either way, it's shitty. Speeding is the commanders.

They signed Resul Douglas to a one-year deal. He's a good player. Yeah, it's 30. Sign with the Dolphins and played 15 games last year. It began the season behind Jack Jones and Storm Duck. Surred himself in the starting lineup after Duck had an injury and he established himself as a top cornerback for the team by the season end. So, um, good for him.

Yeah. You know, I mean, if the commanders are going to try to get younger on defense, this isn't exactly the way to go getting a third year old corner, but his old Douglas has been on teams that have made playoff runs. So he's got playoff experience. Yep. And he has experience that can teach the younglings that can teach. Teach, teach indeed. C.J. any, any thoughts?

no not really it's a good signing yeah not bad at all uh do you guys see keelb williams gifted uh the pope with a autographed jersey yeah i saw that no i did not see that but can i guess congrats to the pope didn't know he's a bears fan oh yeah he's a chicago guy man didn't know he was that biased but okay he's uh bears and a white socks from chicago like that's that's this is our American Pope you're talking about. I know what he'll be praying for when he's down at the Vatican. Oh, man. Chicago wins a Super Bowl.

I won't even be mad at them. I'll be mad at the Vatican for allowing this to transpire. Jersey was gifted through Williams Killed Cares Foundation and was presented to the Pope by Brian Birch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See on July 4th. And, uh, described to his number 18 with AMDG, which stands for Admajoram de glorium, a Latin phrase that translates to for the greater glory of God. Um, which is also a nod to his high school, Gonzaga College High School,

which is founded by the Jesuits in 1821. Congrats to the Pope. There's your, uh, There's your fun religion segment for the day. Tuck, I can imagine this was, this story was kind of a weird one from the last week. The Clayist Campbell and his brother murdering their mother's story. That is a crazy one. Yeah, unbelievable.

And reading through the ESPN report, unfortunately, it seems like it's a bad mental health issue that his brother ended up with. Have you seen it the entirety, Tuck? From my understanding is that his mother died and the prime suspect has to be his brother and that he has a condition like a mental illness. And it's not looking very good right now. It's looking very bad. Yeah. Basically to round it up, according to a police incident report, sister of CIA, Canada. Campbell called police on April 24th and said her brother was inside the house and had started a fire to rid the house of the demons.

So we, yeah, so we're, send all of our gracious prayers to the Campbell family during this trying time. Yep. Never want to see shit like that. Yeah. Congratulations to Travis Kelsey, marrying Taylor Swift in the most performance. wedding you've ever seen in your life. And Chris Johnson is, well, we talked about it. We talked about it last week.

Let's bring back the Ice Bucket Challenge. Chris Johnson's trying to do just that. Yep, slowly but surely more and more people are doing it. And they got married at Madison Square Garden. That, that just, you see the, uh, the Swifties that were waiting outside on, like, the sidewalk. And they're like, yeah, we were waiting for our invite. Shut the fuck out. invite?

You know, these parisocial relationships with celebrities are, I believe, causing the decay of our country. I won't lie to you. Like, you know, Chris, they're like, oh, I was waiting for my invite. She doesn't know you. Like, what?

Kind of like when the rapper, Megan the Stallion, who was dating the NBA player Clay Thompson got cheated on, they're like, oh my God, we're going to leave our boyfriends for Megan, said her fans. It's like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what? You know, there was

once a study somewhere that said that obsession with celebrities is a sign of a low IQ. I do believe these individuals prove it. That's not, hey, it's just a study show. I think the most hilarious part about the, uh, the Megan D. Stallion and Clay Thompson thing was

like, Megan D. Stalian made Clay famous. Shut the fuck up. Yeah. Shut the fuck. I think cheating's wrong and he shouldn't have done that. But we can also be truthful. Oh, she made him. Like, nah, not. And, you know, you know.

Yeah. Man had 60 on 11 dribbles. We know about... We got 11 dribbles. On 11 dribbles. We had 30 in the third quarter. Yeah. Also, who could forget?

I'm just going to say it. There's this video of some British woman. She's like a influencer that's like, well, the thing is, a Megynastalia made Clay famous. It's like, you're British. What do we care what you think? You don't know ball. Like you actually literally being from over there don't know ball.

Basketball, that is. But the whole thing, but imagine the whole Taylor stuff. Like, well, yeah, congrats to Taylor and Travis for getting married. Like, I hope they're happy together. I hope it works out. I wish them nothing but the best. But like the people waiting out there. Like, oh my God, I was waiting for an invite.

Like, I hope you're able to find that fulfillment in your own life. Don't live vicariously through celebrities. Live through yourself. Live for yourself. And that's not even me to them. That's me to everyone. Like, come on. We got to live for ourselves here, fam.

That's just the way it is. I'm just the messenger. But you've got to live for yourselves. I'm trying to imagine one of them actually did get an invitation. It just got lost in the mail. That'd be funny. But, you know, I don't quite believe it's how it works. Yeah, you know, maybe it's.

I'm about to turn into a really shitty person real quick, but maybe it was a lesser fortunate fan that actually was getting invited. And nope. No. You don't have your invite? Sorry, pal. Get the fuck out here. Also, speaking of celebrities,

I know we don't want to turn to TMZ, but you see all the athletes showing up to Michael Rubin's white party? No. I don't pay attention to that. Yeah. The reason I ask, all right I saw nothing about that white party

well yeah it was a thing that happened it wasn't as big as like when it happened last year but like as you know it was something that a lot people were finally catching on about am I the only one that gets very weird vibes from that no you're not the only one absolutely once again

once again this is my opinion I'm not saying it's true you cannot sue me should anyone hear this it just gives me the weirdest vibes like some Illuminati eyes wide shut type of shit

you know what I mean like there is now I'm not going to say you know that perhaps it is a Diddy style party but it would not surprise me once again I'm not passing this office fact just my own two cents well I

think it's definitely interesting when you have the main discourse is who is this weirdo that's trying to take over the Diddy Party essentially like that that was Diddy's thing was the white parties which oddly enough

have you guys ever seen you guys ever seen Winning Time the The Lakers show Oh you can hold on time out No no I've seen Parts of it but not the show itself I thought you were talking about the other one Like the Clippers one with

Oh not that one no that's that's a different title I forget what the title that one It would not be called winning time. I think that one was actually called Clipped, to be honest. Yes. Okay. No, there's a Jerry Bust, the deceased owner of the L.A. Lakers. There's a scene where he actually was holding white parties himself.

And like it's actually kind of a funny scene because magic shows up. He shows up in his pink shirt. And, you know, he invites the whole team, da-da-da. But he shows up and he shows up in this pink shirt and the butler or the security guy or whatever comes up and he's like, sorry sir, this is a white party. And magic's like, what the fuck are you talking about? You say, I can't come in because I'm black? No, brother. You don't got a white shirt on.

So they ended up giving him a white shirt and the rest of the scene pursues. But that's always going to be like kind of a funny scene in my opinion. That's funny, but like once again, that whole Michael Rubin thing, that just doesn't sit right with me. Something about that whole thing seems off. Yeah. To me. To me. Just my opinion.

It's not a bad opinion to have. Mm-hmm. All right. Let's move on. We'll take a quick break. When we come back, we'll get into our top five receivers and a preview of the NFC South. This is the Lomberuski podcast. It may not have always showed it in the stat sheet, but you can see him making throws when he needs to make the throw.

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. All right. Top five wide receivers in the NFL. All righty. I think last year we had like the same exact top five.

Mine has changed. Yeah. Same. But I feel like no matter who you are, where you fall on this issue. There are four that are locks. And the top four are locks. Five, you can go any which way.

Yeah. There's a whole bunch of receivers that could be on this list, and I wouldn't give you too much pushback. Yeah, there's a lot of receivers that could be considered top five. Top ten as well. A lot. I went first last time. I went first last time.

I was hoping you would. start. Yeah, C.J. You want to go first? All right. Fine. I'll buy you guys some time. Cool. Very nice. All right. So, off the bat, my number five, you know, give me, I'm on Ross St. Brown. I understand that he's coming off, like, you know what, he's not coming off a down year. The lions are coming off a down year. I'm on Ross St. Brown. God bless him. He did his job. He did. He was very productive. Last season, he had 117 catches, 1,401 yards, along with 11 touchdowns. So, yeah, safe to say, he handled his business. The rest of the teams couldn't get their heads out of their collective assets. So quite unfortunate in my own eyes. So that's my number five. And now my number four, this is where I feel like

they're all, you know, locks for the top five. Can't believe I'm about to say this. You guys are about who dragged me over hot coals for this. But I got to speak my truth here, kids. My number four is Justin Jefferson. All right. All right. All right.

All right. He was fine, you know, 84 touches a little over 1,000 yards, only two touchdowns. His QB proof reputation, and I said this, last episode, you guys disagreed, but I will say it again. The whole thing about, oh, he's quarterback proof. Is he, though, because I'm not going to lie, J.J. McCarthy did his damnedest to make them suck. I mean, a career low in touchdowns, career low in yards per catch.

The only reason he's still here is because, you know, Kyler Murray can at least function like a quarterback, unlike nine. So, so, yeah, but don't get me wrong, though. He's an absolute beast. All right. Well, let's be honest. guy's a monster. So he's top five regardless. Putting up those numbers with nine is still pretty noteworthy. So let's cut him some slack. My number three, give me the man himself, you know,

Mr. You have been banned from the chat, Puka Nakua. Puka last year led the league in catches and I believe in first downs receiving with 129 catches, 80 first downs receiving, and with a career high 1,715 yards and 10 touchdowns with a handcuff in Devante Adams. Now, he does some if he stuff off the field, but on the field, oh boy, that guy is dangerous. And I expect him to do it again, especially now that old Devante Adams is a little older. Cuka is going to keep on, keep it on, as the kids say. And he's definitely going to carve more touches for himself or catches for himself. And some people might say, what's coming next is blasphemy.

I don't care. My number two is reigning offensive player of the year. Jackson Smith and Jig. He led the league last season in receiving yards with 1,793. He had 10 touchdowns and 119 catches. J.S.N, man, he's here. He has arrived. He's established himself as a top five wide receiver.

Arguably the best pure route runner in the game. He's not the biggest. He's not the fastest. But the routes are just beautiful to see. And I'm not going to lie, though. Emerald City route artist is sincerely one of the pure, like, just worst nicknames I've ever heard in my life. But that's not a JSN thing. I just call them JSN because it's so cool.

It's cleaner. It rolls off the tongue better. I love JSN. I do. But my number one, tuck, I'm very sorry. You're going to be able to this. Don't do this. Don't believe.

The man had 1,412 yards and eight touchdowns on a hundred, under 25 catches without Joe Burrow. So this guy, here in and year out, with a quarterback who has some severe injury problems, is still giving defenses straight belt to ass. I mean, you know who Chase is. He's been in the league for five years now. He's a five-time pro bowler. He's a two-time all-pro.

Like, this guy is an absolute beast. And the more I look into his numbers and especially what he's been able to do without Joe Burrow and with a handcuff in T. Higgins is nothing short of amazing. Jamar Chase is, in my eyes, the best receiver in the league. Okay. Real quick on the nickname thing. I know that paints you just. It's not a, it's not a Emerald City route runner is not a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a, a. bad nickname, but I think the issue is.

Yes, it's ridiculous. Dude, I know Seahawks fans. I have friends with Seahawks fans that think it's, it's just silly. That's what they say. Like, I know Seahawks fans that do not like it. And it's like, all right, it's a little silly, it's a little corny. It's a bit of a mouthful. But like I, and here's the thing.

Coming from a guy, look, even though the Patriots lost the Seahawks in the Super Bowl, I love JSA. I really do. I'm a huge fan of this game. Loved him in the pre-draft process coming out of Ohio State. I just think he deserves a better nickname. Oh, yeah. I think the issue is that all the good nicknames are he taken.

And that, like, I don't know if you've noticed this, but just throughout sports in general, like every single person's, like, nickname is basically their initials, basically from like 2010 onward. True. Unless you're, you know, unless you're, you know, just his nickname is his full name. Yeah, true.

All right, tuck. Give me a, give me a, back when Mike Thomas was in his prime, Cant Guard Mike was his nickname. That was a solid nickname. Oh yeah, and Megatron too, but if we're talking just the majority, like the majority is just their initials.

Yeah, but RG3 was so small. Yeah, RG3, that was nice. Yeah. Also, you guys love to the goat, TB12, the alliteration there. Oh, yeah. Yeah, but the thing is, they try to do it to other players and it's weird.

Like the Bills fans try to do it for Josh Allen. Oh, JA 17. What the hell? That sounds like a fighter jet, not a quarterback. Bill's fans let JA 17 die. Where are soldiers a much cooler nickname for him? Roll with that. J.A. 17.

But saying it sounds like the name of a fighter jet, though, doesn't that make it cooler? No. Because he's on as cool as that. Look, as a guy who's fresh Shalyn's game, come on, fire games. But sometimes it works like Elvin Camara. AK-41 is a cool.

That is a thing. Well, yeah, AK4 already, like, you're one number away from pure greatness, but JA 17, it just, it doesn't. What about Austin Reeves? AR-15 is solid as hell. That is a different sport. Because an AR-15's a real thing,

and what about, what's his name? Like, if you want to go basketball, there's another dude, it was like, Austin, Kirolenko, or whatever, some big Russian guys. who wore the number 47. His name was literally AK-47. But you guys get what I mean, though.

Every single nickname has something to do with the guys' initials at this point. Like, it's not like, it's not like, I'm going to terrible nickname, but the anomaly for Jason Tatum, like, it's nothing that's like that. Is that even a good nickname for him? No, it's not. The anomaly, as a Celtics fan, not a great nickname. I like calling him the anomaly just for jokes. I still love Jason Day.

And he's my favorite player, but honestly, it's better than his other nickname. What, J.T? No, they call, because his son's name is Deuce sometimes in Tam's father, they call him Big Deuce, which I'm sorry. As a Celtics fan,

I can't get behind that. I just can't. If somebody, if I had a child that was named after me and someone, you know, like, oh, C.J. Jr., and they would say something like, oh, what's up, big deuce? I would I would beat that person within inches of their life

Like that is it that's not a nickname that's an insult Yeah just call me just call me like big C or something at that point Big C Isn't that a name for cancer? Is it? Is it? Oh, I don't know But or just call them Big J

He's sterling information I don't know like my like my cousin is is a junior and they call his dad Big B They don't call me big. Big B, Lil B. Yeah. Oh, my God. It's literally, apparently Big C is literally like a show starring Laura Lennie as a teacher diagnosed with terminal melanoma.

That's not just cancer. So, yeah, so like literally big, you know, don't call me that either. All right. All right. What's your top five? All right. Honorable mention, I actually thought really hard about this. I can't put, I can't put CD.

I mean, not C.D. George Piggins numbers in the top five. He's six. He saw. He took a big step. He actually looked better than he's ever been. But unfortunately, I don't think he's better than everyone else on this list. He's finally in an offense that lets him fucking. Yes. Float. Let's him fly. He's a peacock. He's finally peacocking.

But they won't pay him. They won't feed him. Which seems he's another. last season. Seems like he really doesn't have a big problem with not getting paid the money he wants, at least for this year. Fair enough. Hopefully they get him eventually. But if it's not a big deal, he's number six right now.

Now he could move up depending on how this season goes for my number five entry. But unfortunately, CJ is right. Justin Jefferson is number five in my list. Now, granted, it has nothing to do with him. and quarterback proof is still on the thing from me. I don't care what CJ says about what, which I call it, J.J. McCarthy was trying to do. He got the damn job done.

He got a thousand yards. Look at his quarterback carousel. It is never, DeAndre Hopkins, at his worst, never had to deal with what he's going with with with. Justin Jefferson is dealing with in Minnesota. What was the quarterback's name,

New England legend. You know who I'm talking about. Oh, Max Brosmer. Yes. UNH legend. And yet you guys are trying to tell me that Dandre Havkins had to deal with that. And then nine. T.J.

8. Nine. He's number five, but it has nothing to do with him. He just has bad quarterback play. And oh my God, if Kyler Murray plays worse than those two, I demand a trade by week eight. I'm not dealing with this. But right now, Justin Jefferson is five. Nothing to do with him, just the situation he finds himself in.

Number four, Amunrah St. Brown. He was one of the light spots in a very, I wouldn't say bad season, just at a very injury-writtled season for the Detroit Lions. Fourteen hundred yards, what'd you say, 11 touchdowns? He produced when he needed to. He was one of the best players on the team, was reliable for Jared golf. He showed once again that he is a qualified, bona fide top five wide receiver. I don't think there's any doubt about that.

Number three, I will say this again. This is where he belongs. Jamar Chase is number three, and he's not going any further. He is great. He is fantastic. I'm not saying underrated, but his season is better than what I thought it was. but I don't think he had a better season than the two in front of him. That's just the way it was.

His season wasn't better. The performance of the team wasn't better. His stats aren't even better. And I understand you want to say, but he didn't have Joe the whole season. So we're not giving the same grace to Justin Jefferson. Because Jamar Chase actually has a quarterback to throw to him, Jefferson does not. So shouldn't that go more towards Jefferson because he has bad quarterback play? And so did Chase and Chase put up better numbers?

Chase did not have as bad quarterback play as Justin Jefferson. I'm not letting you get away with that. Okay, cool. Let's save the debate. Let's just save the debate for when my top five comes around, to be honest, at this rate. Okay, fair enough. Number two, Pook and Nicole. He's definitely not top five off the field.

On the field, however, very different. He is, without doubt, one of the best receivers in the game. And his connection with Matthew Stafford is unbelievable. Even though the catch against Atlanta was incomplete, the mere fact that that catch almost got completed and almost put them in field goal range was unbelievable. I'm impressed by the things he was able to do. That catch he had against the Carolina Panthers with Michael Jackson, cornerback from Carolina, all over him and still made a play on.

that ball ridiculous. I think he his contested catchability is unreal, especially for a guy his size. And he's a touchdown machine. I just think there was one more that had a better season than him. And just overall performance and team wise. And it's J.S.N. Justin Jackson, Smith, and Jigba from Seattle. He's the best receiver in the NFL right now. At the most yards, had the better team success, had the better overall season. That doesn't mean he will stay number one. I don't think overall he's the best receiver. But if we're talking about for this season going forward,

I see it as him being number one and everybody else below him right now. Now, I could definitely see this changing with this top five. But right now, J.S.N. is number one. Nice. Good top fives. Good top fives. Thank you. For my top five, I'm also going to start out with Monra. normally I probably put CD in my top five, I think, if it wasn't for the injuries.

And George Pickens, of course, too, is right on the cusp of that as well, having a career year. George Pickens, I just don't think is top five just yet in CD. Just best availability is available. Or best ability is availability. And despite missing three games, he still put up great numbers. But anyways. and even if he played in those extra three games, he still wouldn't have cracked 100 catches, most likely, unfortunately.

He would have had to get 25 catches in three games, which is pretty hard to do, unless they just force fed him the fucking ball. But anyways, Montreau St. Brown, not much else to say he had his best season, 117 catches, 1,400 yards, 11 tugs. Basically, outside of, outside of, he was probably the only bright spot on the team that or really the rest of the office i should say uh moving on to number four um number four i'm going to go with jism i know he was offence player of the year um this obviously is his best season um i want to see if he can basically do the same thing next

year and maybe I'll put them in top three. But when it comes to my top two, though, it's pretty much the same guys at this rate. But moving on to three, I'm going with Puka as well. Definitely a better football player than he is a person. And I mean, when you think about how he played with Devante Adams as the number, essentially the number two. Unbelievable stuff. 129 receptions,

1,700 yards. He was led all receivers in Yak real quick. He was, the two guys that led in yak this year, by the way, were running backs. Christian McCaffrey and Bijan.

Christian McCaffrey at 720. Bejohn was the only receiver or skill guy that had 800 yak yards. That's kind of just, that's real. That was basically just me hammering my point about Bijan being the number one running back by anyways. My top two will always is going to be Jamar and Jeddah's. Jeddah is going to be my number two because of, yeah, shit quarterback play.

But I truly believe that Justin Jefferson is still a top two receiver. regardless of who is throwing him the football. And I'm more on the fence of if he's a quarterback receiver to what you guys are arguing. And I do think that him getting 84 catches for a little over 1,000 yards still impressive in that right. I did make the point that with the shit quarterback play, he's basically just 32-year-old Stefan Diggs, which the numbers will not lie to you on that either because, Diggs have one more reception, 35 less yards and two more touchdowns. So I'm not that far off with also Diggs getting 39 less targets, by the way.

But I think that when you still put Jetta's side by side with a lot of these receivers, he is still a top two receiver. And then Jemar Chase, of course, is my number one, putting up 125. 125 catches for 1,400 yards while also being second amongst receivers in Yak is still insane to me. He's still a big play guy that's going to be able to put up points for your team. That's my top five. So I guess I'm more on the fence on the jet as being a quarterback receiver, but I guess this makes me more on the tuck side of the argument than I am the CJ argument. I don't know.

I literally never said he was a quarterback receiver. I just said the narrative that he is a quarterback proof just may or may not have taken a hit. No, I agree with that. It definitely took a hit, but in my opinion, he's still top two. And I think the last two years I've had the rotation of Jetta Zinjamar as one and two. So there's three in a row for me. I can't be mad at the list because I want to believe. it, but the stats indicate

Jeddus can't be top five. And the stats indicate, regardless of how good Jamar Chase looked, he didn't look better than Puka or JASN last year. I can't, I can't just do that. As much as I believe in Jeddus

and Chase, I can't just put them one and two unanimously just because I know how great they can be. And ignore everyone else production. Yeah. Yeah, I think that if Jeddaz has another season like he just had,

I will probably be more willing to move him out of top two. I think that you can just argue that Jamar, even though he had freaking old man Joe Flacco still throwing the ball, when he gets the ball thrown to him, he's more than likely going to come down with it. And yeah. All right. anything else in regards to

top five wide receivers? No. Cool. Let's move on to the NFC South. The only division where you really cannot predict who the fuck's going to win the division ever in your life. We'll start from the bottom. Probably the team that we thought was going to be

the worst team in the league, which was the New Orleans Saints, ended up being one of the more fun teams with the most that shows a lot of promise going into this season. They finished last year, 6 and 11. They were a minus 77 point differential. But in terms of, you know, offensively, passing yards wise, Tyler Shuck was able to roam pretty free.

They were middle of the pack in passing yards. They weren't a good rushing team. And they were middle of the pack in terms of points against. And year one of killing more. ended up being pretty solid. Ended up being pretty solid. It's definitely going to be... This is the improvement year now.

Can you get yourself to be above six wins at this rate? You added Travis Aetian, which was a big ad. Devon Valley, that's a number three. Cameron Jordan's back as well. Yeah. So I see a lot of improved. improvements in the Saints this year. Especially, you know, offensively, they improved, too.

Jordan Tyson going eight overall from ASU, Kristen Miller, out of Georgia. It wasn't a terrible, was a pretty good draft. So I think they're set up pretty good for the 2020s season. I want to believe in the Saints, but I need to see more out of Tyler Shook before I'm, like, convinced. Travis Settian. will hopefully help put some of the pressure off of him.

And Jordan Tyson is a good quality receiver that they desperately need right now. To be opposite of Chris Alave. That defense, maybe I want to believe in it, but I'm not sure now. Cameron Jordan's not getting any younger, so you have to ask yourself, how much does he have left? You have to do that every year now because he's at that age. But it's the NFC self. So I could see them winning the NFC self, weirdly enough, just based on how bad the division was last year. Yeah, I mean, your division champ was 89.

Three teams, three teams were 89. And, like, the funniest part about it is that the Atlanta Falcons were also 89. They were eliminated, like, three weeks prior. And literally all they had to do was just do better down the stretch, win a couple more. games in there right there to have a playoff spot. Yep. C.J. The Saints improved a lot this offseason.

I've seen you mentioned guys like Travis, ETN and Devon Valet. That's cool. But they poached David Edwards, the guard from the bills on a four-year deal. They got Caden Ellis and Cameron Jordan back. They got Noah Fantit tight end,

John Ridgeway, defensive tackle on a two-year deal. That's pretty good. but this draft class, oh boy, this was a good one here. Let me tell you, my fellow Americans. So off the rip, you know, you mentioned Jordan Tyson. That's cool. Round two, Christian Miller defensive tackle from Georgia. Now, look, we all know those Georgia defensive tackles are built different.

Don't give them the keys, but you can let them run while on the field all we want. Speaking of Georgia, you got Georgia tight end, Oscar Delp in the third round. I bet he's going to be a good little safety blanket there for Mr. Shuck. The fourth round, you got Auburn Guard, Jeremiah Wright, and North Dakota State, Bryce Lance, who is the brother of quarterback Trey Lance, and hopefully his career ends up better. You got Lorenzo Stiles Jr. D.B. from Ohio State in round five,

round six, Barion Brown, wide receiver from LSU. They triple-dipped at wide receiver in the draft, for those you keep you track at home. And, of course, you get Iowa DB, T.D. J. Hall in the seventh round. This is a really nice draft class, and I think they're pointing together a good team. I don't think they're contenders just yet. This is another, like, improvement year. Not just from Kellamore, because I think Kellamore's a good coach, and I believe when he was hired, he was told that he has a bit of a long leash because the Saints knew that they were in

Cappell and stuff, and it's going to be a long arduous road back. However, let me tell you, my iffiness is with Tyler Shuck. I'm not writing them off, but I need to see more. And I think he can do it. I really do. Yeah, it's going to be a big year, too, for Tyler Shuck, say the least.

You know, we saw what he was able to do, tail in the last year. Now he's going to have a full 17 in front of him to really show what he's made of. And I think there's a lot of believers in Tyler Shuck. I'm a believer in Tyler Shuck. Can he get this team? team above six wins.

Over under six and a half. Over. You know what? Give me the over. I'm going with the over. I say they get eight or nine wins. Tuck? Over.

I think they might get ten. I think they might get nine or ten. This team, this division, this damn. I'm going nine, nine. Yeah, I can see them getting nine. I'll take the over. I like it. I like the over here.

Moving on to the Falcons. One of the three teams that finished eight and nine. They ended the year on a four-game winning streak. The big, really the big story for them is who's going to start a quarterback either Michael Penix or Tua Tegala Lava.

Tegovua. Tegababa. Two are a Pennix. Penis. Two are a penis. What? also one thing that I wanted to bring up while we were doing top five receivers was who we thought would be a frontrunner to crack the top five for this year and one of my guys was going to be Drake London. But that really depends on if he could stay healthy and what type of quarterback play will get from either Pennix or to this coming season. another one I was going to throw

was AJ Brown, but anyways Falc, yeah, really it's this season's going to come down to quarterback play because when you look at the rest of the team's pretty good. The rest of the team is pretty good. Yep.

They just, especially the run game, they were top 10 in rushing yards this year, thanks to Bejohn. Everything else, they were kind of middle of the pack, but I think if you, if you get some good quarterback play this year,

then this is a team that's going to win the division. Here's my thing. They have everything around them to be very competitive and not just the NFC self, just in the NFC period. Now granted, this is going to depend on a lot of things, but based upon how they played last year, if they could just bottle some of that up this year,

I think they could be very good as far as, like, making the playoffs. They have two pass rushes on the end, James Pierce Jr. and Javon Walker. Now, James Pierce Jr. can stay on the damn field. This won't be a problem, but again, that's a huge if. They have two safeties I really like in Jesse Bates and Xavier Watts. They have quality all around them, A.J. Terrell, and then his younger brother, Avian Terrell, I believe. That defense is solid.

That offense has weapons. Bejohn, they have Brian Robinson, they have Darnell Mooney, they have Drake London. Do they still have Darnell Mooney, right? No. No. They have quality is what I'm getting at. I really thought they still had him. Basically the top three is Drake London, Johan Dotson, and Olimadei, Sekeos.

Is that chaos? All right, I can work with John Dotson. I don't think he's bad. He's just moved around a lot. but John Dotson and Drake London makes up a decent wide receiver one to a duo

but it really will all come down to whether or not peanut penis or Tua can summons it up once more and be the quarterback that they need to run this offense if

can we play the penis game no it's my favorite game The point is, if we don't get competent quarterback play out of these two individuals, either or this team isn't going very far. This team could either go 11 and 6, 12 and 5, or if the quarterback play is bad, 3 and 14, 4 and 13, 1 one of those type of things. then you can either go very far or very low. And so I don't know where to rank them. I think over under, if you gave me like 10 wins, I'd take the over.

Well, you could make the argument, too, that like we could consider last year as like the bottom barrel essentially in terms of quarterback play potentially. I mean, even with the very mid-quarterback play, we got out of penis last year, they were still eight and nine. It throws me off every time you call them that. And I didn't even try to do it intentionally. It's, it's on. CJ, your thoughts on the Falcons. All right.

So I think you guys are underestimating their biggest addition. Head coach and offensive wizard Kevin Stefanski. He won't coach a year twice with the Cleveland Browns. So clearly, this is a guy. who is not to be taken lightly, I'll say. And when you have all the weapons they have on their offense, like Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bejohn Robinson, an offensive line that can keep penis up right.

Stop that. Stop that. Both of you. Just tossing alley-oops here, man. We're just tossing. I had to. I had, do you know. I'm talking what are you guys tossing?

Allie oops, baby. Yeah. But I don't know. I can keep them up, right? I'm saying. But, yeah, with that. And, Chuck, you mentioned that defense. That defense is good. That's a great.

I really think it's got a lot of potential. But I got a problem. It's with their free agency. You see, in free agency, and we go over some of the big ones, they brought in Brian Robinson Jr., Samson Ebukom, Aziz Ojolari, Christian Harris, Channington,

Dundle, the Sean Hand, Austin, Hooper, as well, Tuataka Vaila. Some of the big ones. You, they all have in common? They're all on one-year deals. Literally, all of their big name for agents are one-year rentals. Jahan Dotson, at least, is on a two-year deal.

All of Meads a KAS is on a two-year deal. New kicker, Nick Fulk, and new punter Jake Bailey, are on two-and-three-year deals, respectively. Old man, Nick Fulk. Hey, hey, he's still. be so good though. He's still automatic. He's still automatic within 40, baby.

So do that what you will. Their entire off-season are just handing out one-year deals, but this draft class, obviously didn't have a first round pick because they shipped it off to L.A. For getting James Pierce last year, who, by the way, had 10 and a half sacks for our call correctly. But unfortunately, you know, he likes to break the law. But, hey, if he can get his head screwed on right, and, you know, not do that again, it should be fine. I think it will be fine, especially because he's not going to get punished at all.

So the draft, they made the most of it, despite of having their first round pick. You got A. Beyond Terrell, A.J. Terrell's brother, as Tuck noted, in the second round, round three, Zachariah Branch added Georgia, so he doesn't have to go too far, just going from Athens to Atlanta. Don't let him drive, though. Don't let Georgia players drive. It's just the defensive guys, just the defensive guys. okay, never mind. Zachariah Branch, here's the keys, buddy, enjoy. Round four, they got Oklahoma linebacker, Kenil Daniels, a pick that I wasn't crazy about.

Then you got Ontario Thompson, defense tackle from Washington, round six. You know, round six, I could forgive a reach. But here's a steal. Harold Perkins, linebacker from LSU in round six, and Ethan Oninawa, the offensive line from Ohio State in round seven. And overall, I think this was a pretty solid draft. And that and their army of one year rentals should supplement the Falcons for at least this year. Yeah. All right.

Over under eight and a half. Over. Give me the over. I'm running the over. I'll run the over. Yeah. I still think that we're not going to see the quarterback play that needs to be had, unfortunately.

And this is going to be a 9 and 8 team. And they'll probably, they'll probably. Just with their luck because it's Atlanta, they'll probably end up finishing 9 and 8, but they get bounced from the playoffs in like week 15, week 16, and go on a run that they should have had, like, before they got eliminated. So you think the offense, especially the quarterback play, is still going to be iffy? Yeah. Do you describe the quarterback play as soft, perhaps? Yeah, yeah, be pretty soft.

last it even someone said yeah I'm letting you guys know I almost hit the button I almost hit the button enough with with these come I you guys started it I'm just finishing it you know what you need to laugh you need a laugh

we all of us you got learned to laugh that's the only way you're going to make it in this world you know you got to laugh to keep you crying so you know what we got to make some some Michael penis joes Mike Penix. That's just how it is. Yeah. Moving on to the Buccaneers.

Finished 8 and 9, missed the playoffs. First time since Baker Mayfield had arrived that they've missed the playoffs. It's the first time since 2019. Yeah. First time under Todd Bowles. Yeah, under Todd Bowles. Thank you for some reason. I was blanking.

Defensively, they improved. Got Ruben Bain Jr. Really, the big loss that they had was letting Mike Evans walk to San Francisco. But another big move that they had was getting Alex Anzolone in terms of defensively. But other than that, this was a team that was riddled with injuries last year. Mike Evans missed more time again. Chris Godwin was in 100%. I just dropped my last drive.

I don't know. I'm a fucking idiot. That's why. Amika Agbuko is great for the first half and then seemed like he kind of got figured out. This was somehow they were still able to get the record they had with the injuries that they had, basically with Baker throw into like his fourth and fifth wide receivers. I'm hoping as a dynasty fantasy owner of Chris Godwin, I'm hoping that he has a good full season. health and goes back to where he was at from the year prior or up to the year prior and years

past. But I got a bad feeling that this is going to end up being another repeat as well. And probably going to say the same damn thing about Carolina. But if I were to choose a team that's going to win the division, it'd probably be Tampa Bay. Because I do see them being a 10 to 11 win team this year. The bucks being 10 and 10 or 11 wins. It really depends on health. It does.

It does. It really depends on how good Baker Mayfield will play as well, because he played like an MVP in the first half, but then he fell back in the second half as well. He goes playing that too. Yeah. Yeah, depending on how healthy they can keep him. He was forcing himself to play through injury again.

But now he's got, like, old man strength because he's now a dad. So who knows, maybe. I mean, credit to Baker, though, I mean, he was still top 10 in passing yards. He was still top 10 in passing touchdowns. Like, it was all still there just outside the top 10 in QBR. Yeah. I think he'll be, hopefully he'll bounce back this upcoming year. I believe in big, not even so much bounce back.

Just get back to like a better standard to play. I think Baker will be better. Hopefully they have a better. O line, a better, I'm not even, I hope Ruben Bain plays well, because I didn't think you should have been waiting that long to be drafted. The fact that the Buccaneers got him next to Vita Vaya is criminal. In Kalagicante, canty, that line is about to eat, and I'm just now thinking about, yep, they're going to be a problem, even though they just lost the middle linebacker, he just retired. Y'all know who I'm talking about. Don't.

Rompante David out of Nebraska, the Brasca legend. Yes, he just retired. But I'm more concerned about the outside, like the quarterback play. I hope Benjamin Morrison can be that guy that he was in college. And James Dean is solid, but I'm not sure. But all in all, I think they're good enough to win the division. But again, I've said that about all three teams we've talked about so far. and it doesn't make a difference.

So over under, I think they do get like 10 wins, but just barely. I think 10 and 7, 11 and 6. Yeah. So the key for the Buccaneers this year is health. Their entire team, especially on offense, just got banged up. Baker was playing hurt. They were without Mike Evans for a lot of the time. Even a mechukkah couldn't escape the injury.

Chris Godwin was obviously hamper with injury to start. And he picked it up later, but still, it was just, they never had all their guys healthy at the same time, and it showed they ended up falling just short of the playoffs. Honestly, which is weird because they started out on that tear, but ever since they lost New England about halfway through the season, it was just dead, like the entire time they'd just died right. there because I think they were like what like six and two at one point and they

ended the season at eight and nine you do the math on that one that's brutal they were they were six and two ended into that game yeah gross and uh free agency they didn't have a lot of money to play with but they brought in kenneth gainwell and a sean robinson Alex Anzolone as well and Jake browning for some better backup play out right So what I like for them is the draft. Ruben Bain at Pick 15. You guys know, I love Ruben Bain, and I think he's going to eat. Then you got Weinbecker, Josiah Trotter, out of Missouri in round two.

Round three, Georgia State wide out, very underrated Ted Hurst, the Tall Lanky vertical threat. Then, of course, round four. Yet, Yante Scott out of Miami, who can completely. play outside or slot. Round five, you got a defensive tackle, Demonte Kpar out of Clemson, and Guard Billy, I think it's Shroff, Shrath out of Notre Dame, and in round six, Bauer Sharp, the tight end from LSU. So overall, I think this is a really good draft class, and they are my pick to win the NFC South next year and probably save Todd Bull's job in the process.

But once again, it's hell. That's all what a comes down to can they stay healthy now i'm a little lippy on that yeah yeah it really is and i mean i'm kind of just looking at i was more or less looking at baker's numbers but also uh from the back half of the season getting up the first nine games of the year uh he had two interceptions the final eight games he had nine interceptions that this is also a buck's team that in two-thirds, two-thirds of the season were one-score games. Two-thirds. Pretty insane stuff.

And obviously this was, and half of those wins in those one-score games came at the beginning of the season. After that, in one-score games, they had two wins, the rest were losses. They were, let me do the math real quick. but 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1, 4-1, 4-2, 5-2, 5-and-3, 5-and-3, 5-and-4, 5-and-5, they were 6-and-6 in 1-1 in 1-6 in 1-6 in 1-6 in 1-6. Like I said, as you heard me counting it out, most of them were in the beginning of the year. So they need to fix that one up. Over under 8-and-a-half wins. You guys heard me, I think 10 or 11, but they can't stay healthy.

They're looking at another 8, 9 year, maybe even worse. But, yeah, I'd say, if anything, this is going to be a big year for top holes. I've been planning to agree. Over under 8 and 1 half. Over. Grummede over. Carolina, the winners of the NFC South, and boy, they gave The Rams hell on Wild Card Weekend.

Yes, they did. This was a team that was so frustrating because I really wanted this team to do good and, like, consistently good as well. And we saw so many flashes of Bryce Young, and it was a matter of can they finally, can they finally just go on a run, a good run? No. No. They gave us a hell of a wild card game to watch, thank God. But other than that, in terms of this year's edition of the Carolina Panthers, I'm hoping that there's a lot of improvement and that they can get themselves above that eight win mark.

The Carolina Panthers, where do we even begin with them? first off I expect this is a big year for Bryce Young I think it is a big year for Bryce Young it's a make or break year for Bryce Young this will tell us whether or not they believe he is what we believe he will be I think he has to take a step forward this year this will make or break how they see him going forward

they tried several years before he's been showing flashes here and there more consistently this year he stepped up in the playoffs now it's time it feels like it's now time for him to decide what type of quarterback he wants to be and so i think how well he does we've been i think how well he does is not important but it's important in a way i think they can still win without him because of how good that defense is i think that defense is underrated how sneaky good it is everyone was talking to about the Texans and Denver. The Carolina Panthers has a scary good defense as well.

They have pieces scattered here, there, where they could be problems no matter who the team is. And they're schematically good. I can see that defense solely winning games for them. So the question is, it's not whether or not they can win games. It's going to be how many games they'll win because of the quarterback. That's where the importance comes in. I think he has enough weapons around him to do well.

Xavier Liget is the wide receiver number two. Tetero McMillan will be the number one for obvious reasons. The running back field is good because they have Rico Dottle and Chuba Hubbard. I think they have the pieces in that offense to be competitive and outright won the division. Now it's just a matter for Bryce Young to show the flashes that we've seen and him to be more consistent. And if you can do that, I believe the Panthers are going to be a scary good team this year. It just depends on how far or how much development Bryce Young has made. So I think they can be a scary good team.

So the Carolina Panthers. Well, you guys already hit the nail right on the head. This year, it's all on Bryce Young. He has the future of himself and his franchise in his franchise. his hands, you know, as far as a successful season for Bryce Young, there's a lot of debate, of course, as to what that could look like. But I want to see him get over 3,500 yards. Last year, he had a career high 3,011 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, 11 picks.

I would like to see Young get over 3,500 yards, hover around the vicinity of 24 to 25 touchdowns, and keep the interceptions in single digits. For me, that would be a successful season for him. And, of course, make the playoffs. It's going to be huge. I mean, I'm sure you guys have heard this. He's actually gotten one of the cooler nicknames in the NFL. Maybe you've heard it. It's the Carolina Reaper.

Really? That's the nickname they've been throwing around, and that's, that's fucking sweet. I love that nickname. So, yeah. So, dude, you got to live up to that. But that defense, you see how beefed up a guy when they signed Devin Lloyd and Jalen Phillips, beefed up the offensive line by grabbing Stone Forsyth, Luke Fortner, and Rashid Walker, and they added A.J. Dillon to the backfield rotation as well.

And just for shits and giggles, they got John Mechie to join his college quarterback. And of course, the draft. They use Monroe Freeling, or they use their first round pick on Monroe Freeling at 19. That's a great pickup. You know, him and Rashid Walker on the left and right side, I think it would be great. Lee Hunter, defensive tackle from Texas Tech round two, pick 49, solid pickup. Chris Brazel, the second wide receiver, Tennessee. Will he finally break the Tennessee wide receiver's curse?

We can only hope. Round four, Will Lee the third from Texas A&M. Round five, Sam Heck from Kansas State, he's a center, and a bit of a skill here is a key Wheatley, the Penn State safety. And in round seven, you got Mack Legend from Miami of Ohio, Jackson Koo-Watch. So once again, this is a really good draft class. They have a good infusion of young talent and veterans from free agency. It's just can they put it together? Chris, what's the over under for Carolina?

Eight and a half. I'm not going to lie to you guys. I'm going under. Yeah. I'm not sure if I really believe in Bryce Young. Maybe I'm just prejudiced against short quarterbacks, but these guys, they're like five, ten, and under. Like, I just, they're a little iffy to me.

They always have been. Like, you know, six ones, like I think should be the cutoff. They're obviously exceptions to the rules. rule like Russell Wilson, but that's really it for me. Like, I just, I don't know. Something about the Panthers, like they made the playoffs and everyone's like, oh, that's time for them to take the step. And I agree, but a lot of people are saying, oh, they're about ready to turn it

around. And honestly, I think he's more of a Bryce Young thing than a Dave Canales thing. I think Dave Canales is a great head coach. I think at bare minimum, he can be a solid one. But young, I just, I think they go eight and nine again. Yeah, if anything, I think floor is eight and nine again, I think. The issue is that I unfortunately see the ceiling as nine and eight. Like they just do, they just do enough to compete for the division title and probably just barely miss a wildcard spot, if anything.

Taking the over at 10 and 7. Okay. I don't mind 10, 7 either. I like the idea of 10 and 7. It's just, I just want to see more consistent play. That's all. Same here. Yeah.

All right. I have the bucks winning it all for the division. What about you guys? Same. Say that again? Bucks winning the division or you have someone else. I got the books. I got the books.

All right. That's all of our scheduled content. But let's do a tier list. Let's do a quick tier list. All right. Yeah. So guys, for those who don't know, we were talking off the camera. And we were like, oh, hey, a tier list, that would be pretty cool.

So we, well, by we, I mean me, I was able to whip one up. And here we go. Drum roll, please. NFL quarterbacks. This isn't just who's going to be good. No, no, no, no, no, no. this tier list is how much pressure is on each quarterback going into next season. We have all the starters plus a few backups who could play.

For those of you listening, I'll explain the tiers. You know, listening, you know, not on YouTube. First up, the worst tier is do or die, as in your futures in your hands. You suck this year. It's over. Next, there's ice is thin. Like you at least have another year if you stink it up this year, but it's your future's kind of iffy. Then there's step it up, which is you've shown flashes in some capacity, but I want to see more.

You know, it's now time to piece it all together. Then there's need a repeat, which is where you're coming off a really good year, but can you do it again? You know what I mean? Maybe guys are like one year wonders I want to see more from. then just under that there's you can handle it which is maybe you have a small question mark or two but i'm confident that you'll be fine then of course there's just you're fine you know these guys are the known commodities of the football world that they're be sure there's always pressure to be starting quarterback but these guys are safe with their

current teams and then the bottom tier is just show some flashes where obviously this is like if you're a backup or a rookie or anything else where if you want to stay in the league, you just have to show something, anything. Are we all good? Yeah, let's do it. Here we go. First up is the reigning MVP, Matthew Stafford. You're fine.

He's fine. Obviously, like I said, there's pressure on him to win another Super Bowl, but that's pressure for every quarterback, but he's fine, you know? I would argue maybe even, like, say, need a repeat because of the fact that this is now, you know, we're looking at a team like the Rams that are pretty much expected to win the Super Bowl, if not 14 games. But I'm still like, but he's fine. Yeah, yeah, no, exactly. He has nothing to prove.

That's why I think you're fine. Yeah, he does. You're right. In the fact, he does have nothing to prove. Yeah. So I'm going to be honest, guys. Next up is Patrick Mahomes. Just show some flashes.

No, no, no. I'm putting him and you can handle it. because look, look, it's the injury. We don't know if he's going to be ready for week one. And on top of that, what people seem to forget is that pre-injury, he looked bad. Like, he looked really bad. And honestly, if he stayed healthy the entire season, the Chiefs were missing the playoffs, they lost that game that he played like 95% of.

There was the game that got them bounced. So he's coming off, even with the injury, he had a down year, but he'll be fine. The injury is the only reason why he's not and you're fine and why he's in. You can handle it. Next, Joe Burrow. Step it up. No, talk. It's, this is a weird one because, like, he, the issue is, is that he can't stay healthy.

So it's like, and, like, outside of him having injuries, he still performs as a top five quarterback. Yeah, that's the thing. He plays, like, a top five, top six quarterback. the league, but he just cannot stay healthy. This is another one where I think you can handle it, especially that the Bengals' defense and offensive line have improved. But the injuries are such a concern for me. Next, Lamar Jackson, think we're all in agreement.

You're fine. Yeah. Especially that new coach. Same thing for Josh Allen, who's up next. You're good. I don't think they're both. I still think that there's pressure on both of those guys. But their futures are safe is what I mean.

There's always going to be pressure if you're a starting quarterback. It's almost like I said that. But for those two in particular and Joe Burrow, I feel step it up and step it up would be where they should be. Just because of the caliber and like when you look at the three quarterbacks, like, yeah, Josh Allen has had the majority of the playoff runs here. But like the playoff runs that are in question have always fluttered out into nothingness. it. Brock Purdy is up next. Need a...

I'll take... He's one where I do want to repeat, you know? Like, you were falling out without your stars, but now with a healthy team, knock on wood, do it again. Yeah. Same thing with Sam Darnold.

Yeah, Sam Darnold's up next. You know, reing, supero winning quarterback. I want to repeat. Show me you're not a one and done. Do it again. Drag. Same thing.

Yeah, Drake May. Second, an MVP voting. Now, there's a lot of uneducated knuckle-draggers that are saying, oh, it's just the schedule, you know, even though, you know, he did throw for free touchdowns on the Texas defense. It's either here nor there. Yeah, I want to repeat out of Drake May just as a fan. D. Yeah, especially when you consider all the improvements to the wide receiver room, too. Absolutely.

Dack. You're fine. I'm debating need a repeat because he was really good last year and you can handle it. I think that. He's always had good seasons like that. Yeah. Honestly, that can handle it.

I think he can handle it. He had a sneaky good season last year. I generally think he's probably an MVP conversation if the Cowboys end up making the playoffs. And he should be in the MVP conversation this year. And as someone who's not a Cowboys fan, I'm going to tell you, that's just the way it is. Yeah. Sure. Jared Scott.

Dude, I'm sorry. Step it the fuck up. Why does he have to step it up? He played good last year. Yeah, he did, but I will counter with, you know, they didn't make the playoffs. And they were the one seed the year before last season and they got bounced. Yeah, unfortunately. I want to see more, not to mention, just hear me out.

There's literal, like, just, okay, just walk with me here. there's a lot of talk around Jared Goff, you know, good but not great, system quarterback. You know, like he'll get you to the playoffs, not that much farther. Like maybe he's very team and scheme reliant. I just, I want to see him take that next step. He's been flirting with that, you know, top five, top six quarterback. He keeps flirting with that line. I want to see him actually cross it.

Please, Jared Gawf. there's no reason you shouldn't. And unfortunately too, I mean, when like you talk about that first round exit that he had, like yeah, the defense gave up 40 fucking points. But let's not forget, he also had three interceptions in that game. He did, yes. And I'll give him some credit to, you know, he was second and passing yards, second and passing touchdowns. He had eight interceptions on the year, too.

His QBR was middle of the pack. The unfortunate thing about Jared Goff is when you put him into, to discourse, it's always going to be, as he said, he's a system quarterback, and that's going to be how it is every single year that they need to see him step it up. Yeah, the stats are pretty, but when you look at how some of these games went along for Detroit, quarterback play was missing. True. Yeah. Next up, if man, Justin Herbert, for the love of the right, step it up. No playoff wins, social media quarterback. We've done this to death.

And that's not even to sit, like, Justin Herbert is the franchise quarterback of the Chargers. He's going to be there for probably his entire career. Yeah. Regardless of his playoff success. But it'll always be a step-it-up type of thing for me too. All right.

We got an if he one up next. Jalen Hertz. You can handle it. I'm not going to lie. that it can't be step it up. He's already proven he can step it up. But even then with, yeah, he's proven he can step it up. And there's a lot of different factors with the Eagles last year

in terms of the O.C. In terms of the offense and the issue is that he's, Jalen Hertz is always going to be at the center of it, regardless of who's calling the plays. So part of me thinks that it's also step it up regardless of that ring or not. What if we go need a. repeat as in like from his Super Bowl year. Okay. That's the thing. I want to see that again. However, if he sucks for a second straight year, his ass is going to end up in ice is thin because there are a

lot of Philly sports pundits calling for his job already. Up next, Jordan Love. Hot take, step it up, please. I'm not sure that's a hot take. Okay, because a lot of people like him, but he's just never really passed the eye test for me. I know his stats are good, but he's like the, remember we were talking about Caleb Williams last week and how I said his stats are so iffy, but, but he just aces the eye test. Love is the inverse. Love puts up good numbers, but God, he just, he makes it look difficult. But guys, guys, Toyota Thon. Yeah, not last year. No Toyota Thon for him. I'm a Jordan Love guy. I do think that. Step It Up is not a bad spot for him.

Yeah. I could see him being in the middle of Step It Up and need a repeat. But it's just so weird because I do think that it's, in terms of the Packers, it's not necessarily the Jordan Love problem. You could say it's a coaching problem at that rate. But I wouldn't mind putting him in the Step It Up part, especially where he is in his career now. Up next, Baker Mayfield. You can handle it?

Yeah, you can handle it. Last year is largely due to injuries. And when we talk about our issues with the Bucks, it's not about Mayfield, it's about bowls. Yeah. So, yeah, next, Aaron Rogers, hot take, just show some flashes. That's not a hot. He ain't got it like that.

Yeah. He's a future first ballot hall of famer, arguably a top five quarterback of all time. Like, nobody, he doesn't have to prove anything anymore. Just don't go out with a whimper. Just show some flashes. You'll be good. Man, I don't know what a future first ballot quarterback looks like anymore.

Just say future Hall of Famer. I don't know what a first ballot Hall of Famer looks like. Okay. Okay, cool. All right. Trevor Warren, I want to repeat. I'm sorry. Yeah.

Don't be sorry. Don't be sorry. Whenever he has a good year, which he has had before, do we ever trust him to follow it up with another? similarly good year. No, like, I don't, and I said this weird. I believe I said this when we were talking about the AFC South. It's like, I think Trevor Lawrence is a good quarterback, but do we really expect him to do

it again? I think he should do it again, but that's why I'm putting him here. Like, I need a repeat. Please, it's like Jalen Hertz, please string two good years together. Thank you. Yeah. Never mind years. It's just games, to be honest.

Like, there's a lot of. consecutive games where he doesn't put up, you know, that extra good game or the, just string along more wins. Yeah, they, they won the division. But really, like, when you really look at Trevor Lawrence, like, he doesn't string together good games consistently. That's correct. But I think we're all in agreement.

Kyler Murray. Do or die. Yeah. Do or die, buddy. Do or. die. Like, if you suck with Jordan Addison, Justin Jefferson,

and T.J. Hawkinson, then it's curtains. Lights out, buddy. Yeah. I would agree with that as well. Jane and McDaniel. Uh, Jaden Daniels. I want to repeat. You were hurt a lot last year. Show me what you...

Like his rookie year, you know? Yeah. Caleb Williams, once again, same reason as Drake May. I need a repeat. I would honestly argue step it up just because of the, just because he's now got this, he's got this expectation to crack 4,000. Yeah, you know, yeah, I can see step it up.

Yeah, you're right, you're right. Like, statistically, he wasn't that great. So, dude, no, not even need a repeat. I don't want to repeat. Actually, step it up. Play four quarters of football, not two. Thank you. I would be willing to put him like, right,

that middle of step it up and need a repeat because you're not wrong like and like he was just south of 4,000 like and with the quarterback play that they had last year with them they were still they still won the division um so i wouldn't even mind putting him ray in the middle but i think the general thing for me is step it up yeah all right bow nicks you can handle it yeah because i don't know, like, step it up. I found him to step it up because he was injured in the AFC divisional game, didn't play in the championship.

Like, he's shown flashes, like, I don't think we're quite a need of repeat tier, but he has a very high... I, low-key, and thinking need a repeat. I mean, if we're talking Trevor Lawrence

the way we're talking about, and we I feel like we got to talk about the same way about Bone next year. Yep. He didn't even crack 4,000. Now he didn't, you're right. Now, he was also like Caleb Williams of just being south of it. But the Broncos, just like the Jaguars, were team.

Yeah, the Broncos won games, but that was also a team where it was like, what the fuck is this offense? Yeah. Moving on. Daniel Jones, very weird. Vanilla Big strikes again. I don't even. I don't even know if he's going to play it all this year.

Yeah, that's... No, I don't know. I think neither real. Because granted they gave a lot of money, but it's only a two-year extension, and one of them's going to be an injury year. And so this is a glorified one-year deal that he's getting. I think the ice is thin. I don't think it's a do-or-die, but, you know?

It's a glorified, prove it year. Yeah, this is a purview year. I think the ice is thin. I don't think the situation's dire, dire, because I obviously wanted to keep him around, but it's a little iffy for him over there. Speaking of stepping it up. Speaking of ICE is thin, to be honest. I didn't want to put him there yet. There's do or die for CJ Stroud.

I don't think it's do or die for him yet. I think it's ICE is thin or step it up. I just, we know what he can do. We know it, but he hasn't been able to do. I'll agree, though, the ice is thin for him at bare minimum. I'd be down to put him in do or die next year, that's for sure. Yeah, okay, if he sucks this, because I do know they picked up his fifth year option. So at minimum, they got two more years.

So if they declined it, I would say do or die. But you know what? Cooler heads have prevailed. The ice is getting pretty thin to quote, what's is there called? Smash mouth. There we know. But, okay, Bryce Young, would it be wrong to? put him there? No, I don't think so either. I think when you think of both C.J. Stroud

and Bryce Young, they've always been in the same conversation. And lo and behold, they're in the same conversation of like, what the hell are we going to expect from the both of them this year? Yeah, but one seems like they're regressing. The other one seems like he's progressing. But that's just vibes. I will not lie to you. The vibes in Carolina are much better than the vibes in Houston. That's just the way it is. But as we sit right now, right now, now I do not, I'm not confident. Yeah, especially because, you know, we're in year four for both of these guys. And as you mentioned, C.J. Stroud is the one that's regressing.

Bryce Young, yeah, he seems like he's progressing. But like it's probably an extremely, extremely slow progression. Yeah, he had his best year. But this is the best year. This third year ends up being his best year. you could even say need a repeat step it up but I also think that this could be the as we were talking about during our division preview

this is the year they it's going to be make a break for him yep you're right so up next we have Tyler Shuck of the new level of it's step it up buddy yeah it's step it up because here's the thing he wasn't a first round pick meaning that he does not have that fifth year option and since he wasn't a first round pick, there's no incentive to treat him like one either.

And not to mention that he came to the league on the older side, there's, you know, the wiggle room is not as much as perhaps it would be if he's a younger first round pick. Yeah, he's... Especially on what's coming up, what could be a very stacked quarterback class in this upcoming draft.

Nobody's irreplaceable. Yeah, he's, low-key playing for his career, to be honest. Kirk Cousins, dude, just show some flashes. You're not there to be the long-term guy. Yeah. Yep, that's fine. Cam Ward.

You're fine. Nah. There's expectations now in Tennessee. What expectation of the offensive overhaul? I don't expect them to be a playoff team. I expect Cam to be Cam. Well, yeah, I'm expecting him to step it up more. Like maybe crack 4,000 yards, you know, maybe have a few more touchdowns.

Like, we know we can do it, but I want to see him to do it consistently. This is a growth year for him, so step it up. Yeah. Malik Willis. You're fine. They just paid him, but we know he's probably not the long-term answer. He's, this is very weird. I'd just put him in just show some flashes just because where the freaking dolphins are expected to be.

you're right you're right Mac Jones we're not doing Mac Jones I can't be fucking asked he's a backup yeah a few of these guys if they do end up playing you know but yeah I don't see

I think if I think the issue though is if we're considering Brock Purdy's injury history we're going to see some Mac Jones this year yeah so just in case I would say to show some flashes do what you did last year and you're showing

yeah Jackson Dart I'd probably say also in the middle I'd need a repeat didn't step it up, but I'd probably lean more step it up because he is now a bona fide starter for the Giants. They improved this year. They got all their guys back. And well, the biggest thing really is that Jackson Dart needs to not play like a fucking idiot. Yeah, you're right. Up next is Jacoby Percette. In Arizona. Just show some flashes. Yeah. That or a repeat? Because he looked pretty good last year. Yeah, he wasn't bad. He wasn't bad. Yeah, they only won three games,

but I mean, some of those, some of those games, see played for me. No. Man, Mendoza, just throw some flashes. You're a rookie. Yeah. Gino Smith. He's the Jets quarterback, so. Yeah, it's do or die. He's playing for, at this point, he's not playing to win. He's playing more so for his next contract, show that you can be a good bridge quarterback, you know? Because if you fail at this, then you're probably not going to be brought in

to be a bridge quarterback again. Yeah, he's in a weird spot too, where it's like we're kind of in that cusp of, like, he is on the much older side now of quarterbacks in the league. So he really doesn't have much time left to begin with.

Yeah. Literally this season could be the difference if he gets another contract. or not. Yeah. J.J. McCarthy. Do we really have to cover him? Well, yeah, you know, because if Kyler sucks, then he could do or die.

Do or die. Tua, thin ice. Yeah, same thing, because Tua, I think, is more potential than McCarthy at this stage, especially with that, well, you know what I mean. As far as what we know Tula is capable of, but it's looking grim for him. Yeah, you may as well put Penix there too. Yeah, Penix. Yeah, Peddick's also the ice is thin for him.

It's not as bad as McCarthy, but it's pretty bad. Up next, Ty Simpson. I don't think he's going to play a bit if he does. You may as well not even put him in the tier list. He's not seeing the field. Yeah. Unless Matthew Stafford gets carried off, he's not seeing the field. And even still, allegedly he might be QB3.

Next is Shador Sanders. I'm not even sure they want him to see the field. I'd say, look, I think just from Shudor being Shudor, at low-key Isis then. Yeah, I do think the ice is thin. He's got to, he didn't set the world on fire last year. Anthony Richardson. Do or die.

Do it. But not for the reason you think. It's kind of like Gino Smith, where. You don't really have a future with your current team. Granted, Richardson is much younger, but once again, stay with me. He's, it's in the sense that he's playing for his next contract. He could very well be out of the league if he does not perform well in the absence of Daniel Jones. Yeah.

I mean, there's probably going to be some dumbass team to take a flyer on him anyways, regardless. But then, of course, oh, brother, Deshaun. John Bad Touch, Watson. This is very much do or die. Because I don't know if you guys know this. This season is the last year of his deal. Yeah. So he's another one where his future at the Browns is non-existent.

But it's another case, like I said, with Richardson and Gino Smith, where flat out, he's playing for his next deal. Yeah, I think just never mind like the rape shit and all that. you count his terrible time with Cleveland, but I think if you even account Bill O'Brien's comments from when he was in Houston and how they were like, yeah, we were basically just playing with his college playbook, and now he's actually playing an NFL playbook, and he sucks. And just for fun, here's Justin Fields,

because we don't know if Mahomes is going to be starting week one. Is he want? Isis thin. Yeah, the ice is thin for him. Because if he does play, then he has to look good. Yeah, and at the end of the day, too, he still ends up getting used in a lot of, like, different runs scenarios, too. Like, the Jets, the Steelers, they used him in a lot of option games. So, uh, yeah.

Also, do you want to rank Carson Beck because I think there's a greater chance he plays than Ty Simpson, especially if something happens to Brissette? Yeah. Uh, just show some flashes. So yeah, there you have it. that's our tier list nice um all right i like it i'm solid with it everybody else for those you watching on youtube all these other quarterbacks i don't even think they're going to see the field unless like qb one and two goes down some of them i don't even think we're on teams so right now this is our tier list yeah all right so right so

Very nice. Well, that'll cap off a longer episode for you folks at home. But, hey, you know, considering it's off season and we were able to find a lot of shit to talk about, I'd say we did another good job here. Anything else we want to touch on before we end the show? Nope. Cool. That'll do it for us today.

Thank you for tuning in to another Tuesday episode of the Fulmaruski podcast. New episode, we're coming out next Tuesday at 8 a.m. where we'll talk about the NFC South and our top five quarterbacks. Then after that, we'll be neck deep into training camp. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel, and we also have all our episodes available on Spotify, speaker, Apple Podcast, IHeartRadio, and everywhere that you can listen to podcasts.

Also be sure to follow our Instagram, Fulble Ruski underscore podcast, keep up the pod and the latest coverage on the NFL. Otherwise, we'll see you next Tuesday. Go USA. Over and out. See it. Thank you.