The Kevin Sheehan Show - Top 5 Washington Players

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

Kevin opened with Belichick's disasterous debut last night in Chapel Hill. Plenty of Commanders' defensive talk in the opening segment. Nicki Jhabvala/The Athletic joined Kevin to talk Commanders and give her season prediction. And then Kevin finished up the show with his list of the "Top 5 Washington Players".  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it. But you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Cheehan Show. Here's Kevin. No Tommy today. He had something he had to take care of. He'll be with me on Thursday's show.

That show we will give you all of our 2025 NFL season predictions. I do have one guest on today's show. Nikki Jabaluk will join me in the next segment. Also, a quick heads up. Jay Gruden is back for another year on the podcast. He'll join me on Fridays during football season to preview Washington's game, the entire NFL card, and Jay will give us weekly his lock of the week, something that's actually gone pretty well for him the last couple of years on this show.

This show's presenting sponsor is Windonation, 86690 Nation, windonation.com, if you need. new windows. How about college football's first full week ending last night in Chapel Hill, North Carolina? The debut of Chapel Bill. It ended a week one in which the three biggest storylines were major negative storylines, highly critical storylines. It started with Heisman favorite Arch Manning. Looks like he can't play. It was followed by, Alabama head coach Kalin DeBoer on the hot seat one week into his second year in Tuscaloosa. And it finished off last night with everybody scratching their head and wondering what in God's name was Bill Belichick thinking coming back to coach in college.

It was not the debut he was looking for a 48 to 14 blowout loss at home to TCU in front of a wound-up crowd. I mean, the pageantry last night at Keenan Stadium. It's such a beautiful stadium, beautiful backdrop. You know, the Carolina light blue. It looked beautiful. There were a lot of social media videos of his 24 or maybe now 25-year-old girlfriend on the sideline with him before the game. TCU was the better team.

They had better players, clearly. Nobody really paid attention to that heading into the game. 48 points given up by Carolina last night, the most ever for a Bill Belichick coached team. The Patriots gave up 47 in a Mac Jones-led playoff loss in Buffalo a few years ago. That was the most Belichick had ever given up, 47, until last night. He looked like a fish out of water. He really did. It does make you wonder why he's.

doing this, but it could be as simple as he's a coach and he loves coaching and he wants to impact young men, even if his program doesn't end up getting great players to compete at the highest level of the sport. I wouldn't bet against him even after last night. But it could be that this just makes him happy and he wants to do it. How about, by the way, last night, part of the, you know, seen last night at Keenan Stadium, Michael Jordan, Lawrence Taylor, sitting together with Roy Williams last night. You had the greatest basketball player of my lifetime and the greatest football player, not defensive player, the greatest football player of my lifetime, Lawrence Taylor. L.T. and MJ both tar heels. Belichick and the heels get their

next chance on Saturday night against Charlotte. They are early 14-point favorites, even after last night. Charlotte must be terrible. So Washington worked out a veteran wide receiver today. Kendrick Bourne was in town working out. As of the recording of this show, no news yet indicating the team has signed him, but there is a belief that he wouldn't have flown all the way here from the the West Coast, where he was recently working out with the 49ers, the team he started with.

There is a belief that he wouldn't have flown all the way here unless there was a decent chance at a deal. Bourne made the 49ers in 2017 as an undrafted free agent. He was with the Niners for four seasons. Adam Peters, of course, was there. He knows Kendrick Bourne well. born in three years as a niner, the last three years, caught 121 balls in three seasons, had two catches for 42 yards in the Super Bowl loss in February of 2020 against the Chiefs.

He's played in some big games. He went to New England in 2021 on a three-year deal. He caught 55 balls for 800 yards in that first year in 2021. He tore his ACL two years ago. And he was cut by the Patriots last week. Depth at wide receiver is certainly something they are looking for. And veteran depth in particular is something they're looking for. We'll find out tomorrow with the first injury update,

the latest on Noah Brown's status for Sunday against the Giants. This from Charles K. Charles writes, Kevin, my biggest concern about the team this year is Joe Witt, Jr. I don't think there's been enough talk about his role in last year's disaster on defense. The talent was better than the results. They tackled poorly and seemed to be out of position a lot. This is a big season for Witt Jr.

You know what, Charles? I think there has been a lot of talk about Joe Witt Jr., at least on this program. I don't know for sure if we can pin last year's performance on him, but he did have a very interesting quote from a few weeks ago in training camp when he was asked about, you know, what he learned from his first year and if he was more comfortable in year two as a defensive coordinator. And he said, quote, a lot more comfortable,

just understanding how to deal with managing the staff and allowing the staff to do their job, not trying to be overbearing from that standpoint. And the focus on just making sure that we're detailed, we're structured with where we need to be, and allowing the coaches to coach. And then, like I said before, I want to make sure I do a better job of what I've always done in the past, which is taking players and maximizing their skill set.

So let's make sure we put players in position to do what they do best and negate what they don't do. And so that's where my focus has been. There's more of a calmness with me in the building just because I'm not trying to necessarily do everything. I'm allowing the coaches who are outstanding to do their job and just make sure that we're structured. We're on time. We're detailed. The players understand what we're doing. And then let's go play fast. I think I read that quote when it came out a few weeks ago early in camp because there was some self- awareness there. And I think the self-awareness, and not that we knew this, but what he's saying

is I micromanaged. I got to let my coaches do it. And I think Quinn actually followed up on that at some point saying that Joe's taking a more macro view. He's setting the agenda and then letting the coaches coach. Dan Quinn, who was on with me last week on Thursday's show, the August 28th show, go back and listen to it. He talked a lot about just the defense in general. I asked him if the team could duplicate last year's season if the defense wasn't significantly improved. Here's what he said.

Do you agree with the following statement that the defense has to be better or will be really hard to duplicate what you did last year? Agreed. I think any time you want to go compete for a championship, all three phases, man, you've got to be on it. I love the way last year we covered kicks. I love the way that, you know, in the passing game, Joe and the guys had, you know, real resolve and how it was done. But there are definitely areas that you're going to see improvement from the defense. And that's a really important part of it. So just like a turnover margin is to winning, that's the offense taking care

of the ball. And it's also the defense creating takeaways. So those are just a few of the things for us to play our best, we'll need to be our entire team hitting the mark. So it sounds like you've got confidence that the defense will be improved in 2025. I do. I do. But like most of the men, you've got to go show it and demonstrate it. Tackling, creating takeaways, creating the havoc up front. Those are the ways to play, you know, good defense. In this game where people are trying to create space, you better be a good tackling team. because that eliminate a lot of the big plays.

You know, and the second piece is, man, we've got to do a better job of creating takeaways. Forcing fumbles that get recovered, the interceptions. If we do that part right, we'll definitely improve defensively. Dan Quinn last Thursday with me here on the podcast. At the very beginning of that answer when he was saying, you know, it takes all three phases to compete for a championship. You heard him say, you know, past D. with Joe was okay. And then he got to the tackling issue and the takeaway issue. You know,

there were only six teams in the league last year that had fewer takeaways than Washington did. Washington had 17 takeaways. None of those six teams that had fewer made the postseason. And listen to this, because I went back and looked this up, there was only one other playoff team out of the 14 that had the same number. of takeaways, 17. That was Baltimore. The other 12 teams that made the postseason averaged 26 takeaways for the season. So that average was nine more takeaways than Washington's number. It's so interesting to look at the turnover margin every year because turnover margin, the takeaway part of that always leads to the bulk of teams that make. the playoffs. Last year, here's the takeaway list. Minnesota's number one tied with Pittsburgh with

33, both playoff teams. Then it's Buffalo at 32 takeaways, playoff team. Green Bay 31 playoff team. Houston 29 takeaways playoff team. Philadelphia 26 takeaways, playoff team. Then Cincinnati, 25, not a playoff team. Denver, 25, playoff team. So literally, that is seven of the top. eight takeaway teams made the post season. Overall, the turnover margin, Buffalo led the league with plus 24 playoff team. Then it was Pittsburgh at plus 16, playoff team. Green Bay plus 12, playoff team. Chargers plus 12, playoff team. Minnesota plus 12, playoff team.

Philadelphia plus 11, playoff team. Houston plus 10, playoff team. Detroit plus nine playoff team. Then Chicago plus eight, not a playoff team, but then Baltimore, Denver, Kansas City, and the Rams were all next

in turnover margin, all made the playoffs. So that's three, six, eight, 11, 12 of the top 13 turnover margin teams made the postseason. The other two playoff teams,

Washington was, plus one and Tampa Bay was minus five and made the postseason. Last year overall defensively, it was a struggle, man. This was the team that was 30th in traditional yards allowed rushing defense. They were 26th per DVOA in rush defense, 23rd overall per DVOA in total defense. but, you know, Quinn emphasized tackling and takeaways, and you know what? Sometimes better tackling leads to more takeaways.

So that is something to keep an eye on. You know, early in the season, typically tackling is sloppy because they don't do it, you know, during camp. They don't do two a days and lots of hitting. And the preseason games, the starters don't play enough. So tackling tends to be a problem early. in the season. It will be something to watch this year.

I think run fits will be very important, too. That was something that I thought they struggled with last year. I remember, I think after the season I had Logan Paulson on the show. He actually thought tackling was the bigger issue that they were there a lot of the times. They're going to have to be a better tackling team for sure. Or it's going to be, you know, another nightmare against the run. they're just playing too many good offensive teams, at least, you know, as it looks like right now. And I've said this before, but the number one key to beating Washington each and every week

will be to keep number five on the sideline. And to do that, you've got to possess the football and limit the possessions, you know, not 12, 13 possessions a game, but more like eight or nine. because if Washington gets 11, 12 possessions a game and they're scoring on half of them, you know, you're talking about 30 a game, you know, somewhere in that neighborhood. That's going to be, we used to say that all the time. You know, Washington beats whomever they're playing if, and it was like, keep that quarterback from the other team on the sideline.

Now that's what every team will be saying about our team, that the number one key is to keep Washington. Washington's offense on the sideline and keep number five there instead of them being on the field. And you've got to be good defensively to do that. So the unofficial first regular season depth chart is out. The team put that out. They're required to do that today. What's interesting about it?

I don't think much. The one thing I would point to is right guard, where essentially there is a, a, two-player mention as Nick Allegretti or Andrew Wiley at right guard. So, you know, Connerly Jr. is there at right tackle, Beaudish, Coleman, Tunsell on the other side. And then if you're interested in the backs, Eckler's listed first, Jeremy McNichols is listed second, Rodriguez third, and Bill Kroski Merritt is fourth. Jalen Lane is. Jalen Lane is. is the punt returner, that's not a surprise. Kickoff return, Debo Samuel, and Luke McCaffrey. Remember, that kickoff return this year, because of the rule that sends the ball out to the 35-yard line

on a touchback, we're going to see a lot more kickoff returns. We're going to see a lot of kicks into the landing zone. You've got to have two returners back there to cover it. And then because of where, you know, those two, the return team and the kick coverage team, where they line up, it becomes more of something similar to a scrimmage play rather than a return, which is why Debo and Luke McCaffrey, I thought there was a chance that maybe somebody like Chris Rodriguez might be back there. But it's possible that Rodriguez or Kroski Merritt could be inactive. Who knows? Because are you going to really carry four backs on the active? you know, the active list for game day. Maybe this team will.

We'll see. That should be an interesting development. Ben and I were talking about that on the show, radio show earlier today. I'll talk to Nikki about that and see what she thinks about four backs being up Sunday against the Giants. But really, that was it from the depth chart. No other major sort of, you know, surprises. They do have Trey Amos, along with last. Baltimore and San Francisco is the three corners.

They will probably be a nickel more than they'll be in base defense. All right. Let's get to Nikki Jabala. We'll do that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. Are we finally ready for some football? Well, a new sponsor on this podcast will help out, and it's a good one, guys. Chubbies is ready to help you with their NFL collection, whether you're tailgating, grilling, or riding the highs and lows of the game from your couch,

Chubbies has the officially licensed NFL gear to keep you looking like the ultimate fan. If you're not a Jersey guy, this is a good alternative. It's an elite alternative. If you are a jersey guy, something tells me you'll love their NFL collection, because when you're invested in the game, your outfit should be too. For a limited time, use my exclusive code, Sheehan for $10 off at chubbies shorts.com slash sheen. Yes, that includes the NFL collection.

Let the thighs out and let the good times roll. Chubbies is the ultimate football apparel brand, so much so. They created their own fantasy football league. George Kittle, Ian Rappaport, and others have come together to assemble the Chubbies League. on NFL fantasy. Each week, the top five scorers will win a chance at Chubby's Polo Shorts combo with their

team's logo. The Grand Champion gets the chance at an ultimate fan experience, a five-city, five-stadium NFL game tour with a plus one. While the fantasy flop faces a hilarious and unforgettable punishment, only Chubbies could pull off. Head to chubbyshorts.com slash the Chubbies League to learn more and have some fun. Get ready for the most outrageous fantasy football season of your life. And would you look at that? For a limited time, our friends at Chubbies are giving you guys the listeners $10 with the promo code Sheehan at chubbyshorts.com slash sheen. That's $10 off your

order with the promo code Sheehan and that includes the NFL collection. Support this show and tell them we sent you. This segment of the show is brought to you by Window Nation. Now is the best time of the year to buy new windows. Whether you have old drafty windows or cheap builder grade windows, September is the perfect month to protect your home from cooler weather. And right now, Window Nation is offering their most popular offer. Buy to get two for free without paying anything for two years.

no down payment, no monthly payments, and no interest. You heard that right. Window Nation is giving you the option to pay nothing until the year 20, 27. Did I mention their installation crews? They can replace a house full of windows in a day or less. With Window Nation, you get top quality windows from a trusted company all at a reasonable price because they know replacing Windows is an investment and they want to make it affordable for you. Don't miss Wind Donation's most popular offer.

Right now, buy to, get too free, and pay nothing for two years. Call them at 86690 Nation or visit Windonation.com to get your free quote today. All right, let's welcome back to the show, Nikki Javala. Nikki is with The Athletic now. She moved from the post to The Athletic a few weeks ago. I'm a subscriber to The Athletic. I would urge you to do the same where you can read, Nicky's coverage of the team. You can follow Nikki on X on Twitter at Nikki, J-H-A-B-V-A-L-A.

So let's get right to it, Nikki. You've been out there watching the team all summer. You've been talking to people all summer. What are you expecting? Are you expecting a better team in 2025, a worse team, or something similar to last year's team? I'm expecting slightly worse. Just because I feel like last year, I didn't really have any expectations. Everything was so new. I mean, the front office is new, coaching staff, quarterback, everything was so new.

And the bar was, of course, set very low from the previous season. But this year, I just think they're facing a lot of challenges, the travel, their opponents. You know, everybody, like, and myself have said this as well. You know, everybody is the year of film on Jane Daniels, but, you know, he also has a year of film on himself and self-stouted and went through all of that. But I just feel like you're starting to see, you know, their bright spots coming in, right?

You know where they're deep. You know their strengths after last season. So I feel like I was looking more for, okay, what are their weaknesses that defenses or offenses? will exploit. And, you know, there are a few. There are a few concerns. They may turn out to be fine and pleasantly surprise me, but there are some concerns. I mean, that one of the biggest to me right now is the receiver depth, the linebacker depth, you know, God forbid anything happens to Frankie Lou who are Bobby Wagner. I don't feel great about that group right now.

And I just don't know what the defense will really look like. You know, they built that line to try to stop the run, but will they actually stop the run? We didn't really see a whole lot in camp, so it's hard to know. So you've identified, you know, a couple of your concerns, you know, wide receiver depth defense, stopping the run in particular, which of course was a major issue last year, which they still week in and week out somehow overcame, including in two playoff games.

What are you confident in in terms of their strengths? the quarterback hands down I mean he's very good obviously he was good last year very good last year and I think he's only gotten better

you know well he you know have success at the same pace that he did last year probably not I mean a lot of that was just you know

you can't do that year after year but I think he's a very smart quarterback who has you know insane physical gifts as well you just don't

find that every day. You know, this is the type of quarterback that teams are chasing, and they got one. So, yeah, obviously quarterback with Jane Daniels. I think their secondary is really good.

There's an if in all that. If Marshawn Lottimore can stay healthy, he looks more like the cornerback he did a few years ago. Obviously, did not look anything like that last year with the hamstring injury and I mean, I think he had as many penalties as games played last year.

So if he can say healthy, I think that that group is really good and deep, the safeties especially. Jeremy Reeves, I think, gets better every year. He had a lot of plays in camp, so I think you don't feel like you're going from starters and then a steep drop off to the reserves in the secondary, which is obviously what you want at every position, but I feel like they're especially deep. I think Trey Amos, the Rookie Corner, is very good. Not what you would expect in a Rookie Corner. And, you know, there have been a lot of issues with corners with this franchise in recent years, especially a rookie corner.

But he's very polished. His technique is sound. His eyes are where they need to be. He just plays like a veteran. So I think Lattimore and Amos as a tandem could be really dangerous. and you know you have sanderson still who plays more confidently after a year with this team

is back in the slot. I think he's, I think he's quite good and seems to get along well with everybody in the secondary. You know, the communication is good back there. And Kwan Martin, I still think, is like one of the more underrated players on this team in the league in general.

I just think he's a really good player. And he too seems to get better with every season, and it may not always be the flash that you see with other positions, but he is, he's a quarterback back there. And he's, yeah, he deserves more praise than he's probably getting. All right. The first part of your answer was the quarterback.

You wrote recently, Jaden got better. How did he get better? So when I was talking to him, he was saying how he went back to California, obviously, and we watched a bunch of his film. This was something that Bobby Wagner encouraged him to do. and college kids generally don't do this. I don't know. Most just aren't into heavy film studies,

not nearly as much as they are on the pros, I'd be like. But he went back and really studied his film and tried to find the things that defenses would exploit. And one of them, of course, which has been talked about, is the footwork. You know, just make more seamless as he's getting in and out. And, you know, to help with the run game and past gaming, you know, you can see it.

too when you're out there. I'm trying to describe it without sounding like a moron. It's all right. Yeah. But it does more seamless and helps with velocity too. I mean, it all works together. So he feels like that's been better. And this is overall command of the offense. You know, having a year within it, I think he feels more confident to tell Cliff King's very right. I like this. I don't want this. And, you know, his leadership, too, you see it on the field. There was that one now infamous play during training camp where, you know, he sent one of his receivers off the field after he fell started and, you know, turned to the sideline with the coaches and say, give me somebody else. You know, not a rookie is generally not going to do that, right? He's the new guy stepping in with veterans. But in year two, you can see him really making a concerted effort to really become the face of the franchise.

Yeah, I had Quinn on the show last week, and I asked him about, you know, the thing that fans and media people talk about a lot, you know, when there's a great player or a great offense that's new, you know, just give defensive coordinators an offseason and they'll figure out a way to slow that offense down or slow that player down. And I asked Quinn if that's, you know, a thing, you know, within the league or is that something that just fans talk about? and he dismissed it, you know, pretty quickly and said, yeah, that's not really a narrative that we have in our league. But I also got the sense that one of the reasons he answered it that way is he's got a generational talent at quarterback. It really doesn't matter what people do in the offseason to try to figure him out. He's too good and he'll be one step ahead. I'm wondering if you've gotten the sense from him, from Kingsbury, from, you know, the, offensive coaching staff, if the expectation is like the opposite of a sophomore slump,

like they think he is going to have a big step forward season? Yes, I think they fully believe that. And I think he believes it. He's not really the type to show it. I mean, he's insanely humble for the things he's done and where he's. been. I mean, he came in a pro after playing at LSU. I mean, let's be real. He was a pro

coming in. So, yeah, I think they fully believe it. I think they've seen it, too. I think for us from afar, it's been a little bit more difficult to see. Well, it's not been more difficult. I think

you don't see the full picture of the offense just because a lot of it was missing. You know, with Terry and Noah around being out and Sam Cosmy is still out and Brandon Coleman out for a stretch. So it didn't look, the offense didn't look anything like it did last season, anything. And you know, to amateur eye, you may think, all right, well, he's not that good.

I mean, look at this offense. Well, no, he is quite good. It's sort of the pieces around them that aren't really falling in a place. But, you know, I just think his, there's just something. that's different about him. It's a confidence. It's by no means in arrogance. He does not have a shirt of arrogance in him.

I think it's, he's just naturally himself. And you don't see that for in a 20-something generally. I just, you don't. I mean, they're still figuring life out, right? But he's just naturally himself on the field

and other guys sense it. And it seems to have sort of this calming presence on the field and guys relate to him and he can naturally be a leader in his way. It doesn't feel forced and, you know, he can do these insane athletic things, but it doesn't feel like he's always trying to make the big play. He's not afraid to take the check down. So I don't, I feel like things just seem natural to him. Yeah, I mean, what you're also describing, I'm wondering if it has extended to, if you've seen, because you've talked about sort of the way he naturally leads. It's not forced.

Have you seen an increase, I don't know how players in that locker room could be any more confident in the quarterback position than they were in Detroit, you know, in the divisional round of the postseason. But do you sense like an increasing confidence that, oh, my God, this guy's ready to light the league up again? Um, I guess, yes, because I don't want to say no either. It's not like they lack communism. I just don't think they see it that way. I just, I just think they've, they just like them. No, no. I think they've always had like a really high level of confidence. Right. Yeah. A lot of it, they see the way he works. You know, it's not like this guy just was born with this talent. And wow, he's, you know, A savant, he really works at it. I mean, he's still the first one in the building, and he's, you know, he's always, from what they say,

they're always trying to find ways to get better, and I think they really respect that. And he takes advice. He takes coaching. And I think that's why the veterans really respect him. You know, Bobby Wagner will tell him stuff, and he'll do it, you know. He wants to learn from them. and for a player who has already reached through the peak as a rookie, you don't always see that, you know.

I think we've seen here in this franchise where, you know, you have one good rookie season and maybe you're, you know, you lose a little bit of that humility and you're not as good the next year. I can think of one player where we've seen that. You don't see that in him. You just see, you know, even more hunger to get better. And that's where I think that confidence comes from with his teammates. will Terry be ready for Sunday for a normal you know game load of of you know snap count?

I think he believes he will be, yeah. I mean, it's not like he, you know, was totally out of shape coming into this. It was more to, you know, get into football shape and hitting and whatnot. But, I mean, they didn't do much hitting in this camp at all anyway. So it was a very light training camp. Surprisingly so in some ways. You know, we're a week now since, actually over a week. It was a week ago yesterday that the news broke that Terry had reached an agreement with the team.

We've learned a lot about that deal, and it was a lot different than the agent sort of presented it in those first few hours. Do you think he's solid on this, that he's happy, that he, I mean, he's a pro's pro anyway, right? even if he had played on this last year of his deal, I think we would have gotten the best of Terry McLaren. But what do you think his overall takeaway from the last few months is? That's a good question. And I don't feel like we've gotten clarity on that, totally. Yeah. I think he's happy that they extended something to him.

Like, it wasn't just a hard no. I mean, I do agree with Adam Peters that they didn't have to do this. You know, he had a year. They didn't have to do this. And I think he could take some solace in fact that they did want to do this, and they said they wanted to do this back in March. But is it the deal he wanted from the outset? Absolutely not.

I mean, I'm so glad you brought this out because one of my stories is going to be on this. So thank you. Well, the reason I brought it. up. I've been thinking about it the last couple of days and I even watched him in that press conference very closely and my gut is that

they're not thrilled. You know, I don't see how they could be. It's essentially a one-year extension. Right. And I... Really? Yeah. And it was such, it's so far from what they wanted. But yet, I don't know how you think and believe. I've been saying all summer, if it ends up being

50 million guaranteed and it's less than that. You've got to take it. You'll never have this opportunity again. Yes. And I think they knew that much. So you got to take it. I would not have taken their approach that Terry and his

agent took. And I understand why they took it. He's the agent. He's the client. Like, it's their prerogative to approach it as they wish and they feel as best for them. I don't know that it was, it wouldn't have been the right play for me. I'm all four players getting every penny they can, especially in this game where you don't

know what you'll be left with physically and mentally, right? You should get every penny you can. But this one, some of it just didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Like, you know, beginning training camp as a holdout only to hold in four days later. like it just it doesn't send a consistent message if that's what you're going for

and you know ultimately they have more leverage you know because you'll end up being a 31 year old receiver on the free market otherwise it's it just the Asian market it just

some of it didn't make a ton of sense and then you know the I know he's all for the fans and I respect the heck out of of them for that. He's done a lot in the community and deserves all of that. I, you know, to come on do the signing with the fans, you know, four times, it's some of it just didn't, it didn't feel natural, I would say.

But again, you know, it's, they got to do things the way they think is, is right. And do I think this is a deal they want? Absolutely not. I know it was. Like, we know what they were asking for. It was not this. but he's you know is he going to do better as a 31 year old free agent no i don't think so yeah the question is will the disappointment manifest itself in a way that ends up being you know nonproductive and i don't yeah i don't believe that i think so i think i don't think he's

a type of player i totally agree that's why if he had played the last year on the contract i still think he would have gone out and then terry mcclorn all right let's talk to you defense and in particular run defense. You mentioned earlier in the conversation that, you know, the concern areas for you are depth at wide receiver defense, run defense. I think run defense in particular. Defense overall is probably the biggest mystery, the biggest concern for everybody, despite the additions and changes defensively. Do you have a sense, even though it's a concern area for you. Do you have confidence, not a sense, but confidence that they will be improved in that area with the changes they have made, especially up front? Yes. Oh, God, I hope so. I mean,

they were, what, 30th against the run last year? So, yes, I think it will be improved. And I think we saw glimpses of it in camp and preseason. The sample size is just so small. I mean, I think the most we saw the starters on the field together was at the joint practice in New England. I mean, the starters played all of 10 snaps in preseason. So we've seen glimpses of it, and I think they will be better. It's just will they have that consistency and will they hold up against Sequin Barclays, who's going to wreck a defense no matter what, just you hope it's not to the degree that it was last year. They face, you know, right now, who knows what it will look like when they get there,

but they face much better offensive football teams and a lot of great backs once again like they did last year. All right, two more, and I'll let you run. Who's the player that you've kind of identified as a player that will end up contributing a lot more than most fans think he will? Hmm Oh, that's a good question Um I'm going through the roster in my head right now You're not in the roster

Yeah I mean Von Miller I mean But do people not think he's going to contribute much I don't Well I mean If you said

If you said he's going to have 1213 sacks I think people would be surprised Yeah I don't know if I'll hit that many but I mean, I could see him leading the team in Sacks. Do you want me to give you a couple of options here, since you don't have the roster in front of you?

Help me along. All right. Jordan McGee. Um, uh, I think people are. I want to see the rookie running back. I know, but people, yeah, but I think people are already expecting it. Yes, I agree with that. I think people are already expecting it.

Um, Javan Kinlaw. I mean, they've got to be expecting that, right? Top three agents signing. I know, but will he be having the best year of his career? What did you say? Well, okay, that's fair. That's fair. I'll give you that one.

So I didn't give you good options is what you're saying. That's fine. But I'm thinking of the players. I'll give you one. This is a guy that I'm high on this year because he played very well at the end of last year. And I don't think anybody would answer. he'll lead the team in sacks or be close to it.

Dorrance Armstrong. Oh, I like that one. He had a really good camp. He looked really good. I like Doran's. I would go with that. I'm also going to give you, I'm going to give you too. I go to Doran's Armstrong.

I'm also going to go with John Bates. John Bates. I mean, he does a little dirty work. Yeah. But I actually think he could get involved more in the past game. And I think if people watch more closely, Like, he is involved in a lot of... He was the one that was blocking on, two of the biggest runs.

Yeah. And that bangles. Cincinnati, yeah. Yeah, so I'm going, yeah, let's go Bason Armstrong. Those are good ones. You know what? I lied. I have one other question before I ask you for your final, you know, record prediction.

You know, I was talking to Ben about this this morning on radio. Are they going to actually have four running backs active on Sunday? because I was thinking about this over the weekend. McNichols and Echler, you know, will be up because McNichols plays special teams. Is it possible that a big surprise on Sunday is that old Bill is inactive? Yeah, I think it's possible. I also think it's possible he's active and Chris Rodriguez is inactive. Right.

I think you kind of have to, I guess depending on your needs, but like, you know, you've got to sacrifice somewhere if you're going to keep four up. So, you know, who you put in down? Do you want to sacrifice alignment? That seems risky. So, yeah, I mean, I would expect them to have three up, and, you know, especially in time of injury, but I could see where either of those are down. All right. What do you think happens in 2025? What's your final record prediction? Are you doing this yet? Am I beating everybody, am I beating you to the punch on this because you're going to save it for your readers? No, I already did it. Okay.

So I went eight and nine. Eight and nine. I know. I know. I feel like such a pessimist, but I think that the travel alone is brutal this year. It's brutal for me anyway. It's brutal for you. L.A., Madrid.

What else? Those are the long trips. Maine Bay on Thursday night. Oh, yeah. It's a two-hour, two-and-a-half-hour flight, three-hour flight. Hey, I'm old. No, you're not old. I'm thinking about me.

You're not old. But, no, they go Atlanta and then L.A. and consecutively. Right. And then the back end of the schedule is, why do they always get all these divisional games in the back end? And, I mean, I guess the Cowboys are not what the Cowboys were a week ago. But, yeah, I don't think it's not a great schedule. Eight and nine. Nikki's got eight and nine.

But you know what? You're out there. You're out there. I mean, if it's, yeah. You might be right. You might be right. I'm trying to temper expectations, you know. You've done that.

Thank you, as always. Hope you're well and hope the new gig at the athletics going well. I appreciate. Thanks for having me. Nikki Javala, everybody, from the athletic. Always good to catch up with Nikki. When we come back, my top five players on Washington's roster.

We'll get to that right after these words from a few of our sponsors. This episode is brought to you by prize picks. Guys, football season is finally here. And my favorite daily fantasy sports app during football season is definitely prize picks. Prize picks is fun, exciting, a game of skill, and it's easy to play. Prize picks present you with stat projections, and all you have to do is pick more or less. Example, how many yards will Jaden Daniels throw for on Sunday? Prize picks gives you the projected number, and all you do is pick more or less.

How many touchdown passes for Mahomes this weekend? You see the number, you feel good about it one way or the other, and you pick more or less. That's all it is. more or less on between two and six players and their stat projections. If you get your picks right, you cash in. Prize Picks puts their users first. All withdrawals are fast, safe, and secure. Prize Picks offers Venmo, Apple Pay, MasterCard, and more for quick and easy deposits into your account all season long.

Prize Picks also offers injury reboots. If one of your players leaves the game in the first half and doesn't return, Prize picks won't count it as a loss. Make your picks in less than 60 seconds and turn your takes into cash all season long on prize picks. Prize picks is the best place to win cash while watching sports. Join millions of users and sign up today. Download the app and use Code Sheehan to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That's Code Sheen.

to get $50 in lineups after you place your first $5 lineup. Prize picks, it's good to be right. This segment of the show is brought you by My Bookie. I want you to listen carefully because there are new instructions to log on to my bookie if you're a listener to this podcast and you want the best opportunity for a cash bonus. From now on, go to the Kevin Sheehan Show. slash my bookie, M-Y-B-O-O-K-O-K-I-E.

The Kevin-S-Hian Show.com slash my bookie. And then when you get to the promo code section, whether you are a new customer or you're an existing customer that is looking to put more money into your account to gamble with, the promo code is reload. R-E-L-O-A-D, reload. Erase what's in promo code, whatever it is, and write reload. R-E-L-O-A-D, and that will entitle my listeners to a 50% cash bonus opportunity.

So if you deposit for the first time $100, you'll get $50 extra. If you are reloading and you're coming back to my bookie as an existing customer, you too will get a 50% cash bonus match. So if you put in 500 bucks, they'll give you an extra $250 to bet with. The Kevin Sheeonshow.com slash my bookie promo code reload. This is as good of an opportunity as you're going to get anywhere, even if you have another place in which you're betting on sports,

If you are a customer but you haven't gone back to MyBooky because your account got down to zero or your account got down to something that you decided not to play with, you can go reload and get a 50% cash bonus match. Just go to the Kevin Sheeonshow.com slash my bookie promo code reload. That's for everybody, including new customers. R-E-L-O-A-D. Take that 50% cash bonus, man. Even if you've got another spot, take the free money. Yes, you've got a wager. You can't just sign up or reload your account and then try to withdraw.

You have to play. It's a five-time rollover. So you've got to play that money during the course of the season, but it's worth it. 50% cash bonus, a real attractive opportunity for my listeners only at the Kevin Sheeonshow.com slash my bookie promo code reload. All right. Real quickly before I get to what I'm going to finish up the show with today, did you see the news that Alex Saar was injured in the Eurobasket 2025?

That's the Euro championships. apparently his injury isn't so serious, but it's a calf injury that's going to cost him the rest of that tournament. Just always concerned about calf injuries. But Josh Robbins with the Athletic did report that no surgery required and the Wizards expect Alex Tsar to be ready for the start of the 2025-2020-6 season. It seems like these days, the only news is something dealing with injury or trade or it's not results of games.

Hopefully the results of the games will start to matter a couple of years from now. But those young players that they've picked, they've got to be healthy and they've got to develop. And then how about last night the Nats, first of all, stopping, you know, what was another long losing streak. This was eight games. and they break out of the losing streak, beating the Marlins 2-0 with Andrew Alvarez in his 26-year-old debut with the Nats. He was a 12th rounder back in the 2021 draft. He allows just one hit over five innings, and he becomes only the second Washington starter in 15 years to win his Major League debut. They beat the Marlins 2-0.

They are a bad baseball team. They really have turned into one of, other than Colorado, one of the worst teams in the league. And by the way, James Wood three more strikeouts yesterday. All right, my top five players on Washington's roster. We did our top five NFC East players. That list for me was number five, Dexter Lawrence. Number four was Malik Neighbors, number three was Jaden Daniels, number two was Sequin Barclay and

number one was Jalen Carter. I had a lot of feedback to that list, and it was not overly positive. I made it clear that I was not talking about the most important or the most impactful. It was more pound for pound best player. Obviously the most impactful, the most important. I would have had Jaden number one. Now, in terms of my top five players on the roster, I do think the top three are easy, and two and three you can put in either order, in any order, excuse me. Jaden's number one, clearly.

Number two, I have as Frankie Louvre. I think the best pound for pound, and by the way, also his impact. I think Louvoo's on the verge of becoming a star player in this league. He was a second team AP All-Pro last year. And then number three is Terry. If you want to put Terry two, Louvoo three, that's fine. Jaden's obviously number one. And then two and three are Terry, Frankie Louvue in some order.

The debate comes with four and five. So number four, man, there are a lot of choices for this, actually. I did not consider Sam Cosme for right now. I don't know when he's going to be ready. I think Sam Cosmy is in the conversation of the top five best pound-for-pound football players on the team. There was a day that Duran Payne would have easily been in that top five for me. You could make the case for Bobby Wagner in the top five.

But I went with Laramie Tunsell at number four. I think this is a massive upgrade at left tackle. He is certainly from a past-blocking standpoint, a top five. left tackle in the game. Pound for pound, I think Laramie Tunsell is a top five player on the team. I have them at number four. And then at number five, I have Debo Samuel. Debo Samuel at his best is really good. And so all around, the versatility is incredible. I think he's going to have a big year. I am very high on Debo Samuel's 2025 contract season. I am.

He's healthy. He's in shape. He's got to stay healthy. That's been the issue here recently. But I think, you know, you can make the case. And I'm going to that Debo Samuel pound for pound is the fifth best player on this roster. He is the versatility, the strength, the tackle breaking, the quickness in short, spaces, the ability after the catch might be the best on the team. You know,

Ertz is in the conversation. I mean, the way he played last year and the way people believe he will play this year, but I'm going with Debo. I'm going with Debo basically over San Ristill, Kwan Martin, Bobby Wagner, Marshawn Latimore, in terms of just the best potential player, Sam Cosme and Zacherts. You could make the case for John Bates. But that's more impactful. He does one thing exceptionally well.

My top five players. Jaden 1, Frankie Louvo, 2, Terry McLaurin 3, Laramie Tunsell 4, and Debo Samuel 5. We're going to have a fun season to watch if Debo has a Debo kind of year. And it's been a while. I understand that. All right. That's it for the show today. Back tomorrow.