March 26, 2020 • 53 mins
Dane Martinez and Jared Smith discuss the latest NFL news including the recent video of Tua Tagovailoa throwing a football after his injury. Will the short video affect his value in the upcoming draft?
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
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Enjoy the show and thanks so much for listening. At
(00:21):
the Window, Hello everybody again, welcome again to yet another
edition of At the Window. Here on Sports Grid, Dame
Martinez and Jared Smith giving you everything you need to
win your leads and win that cash here on Sports Grid. Jared,
we've seen more moves, We've seen more odds changing, We've
(00:41):
seen more things shut down, more drama around if the
draft will or will not happen, and we're realizing in
these changing days, we may all have to learn how
to do things in a slightly different way, whether that's
remote conferencing or distance learning. Or if you can't have
(01:02):
a physical because before the draft, or can't meet with
teams before the draft, Jared, what you can do is
put out a video of yourself working. And that's exactly
with all the biggest names going into the draft has
done and that is our lead story here on at
the window. Is that to a taga vloa have posted
(01:23):
a video of himself working out, but if you blinked,
you may have missed it. Jared, what are your initial
thoughts on this? Him posting like a ten second video
thing a bad thing? How should you respond in this
day and age when you see two on film? I'm
glad I saw him out there. I mean, I think
that was definitely a positive. You're right, it was very short.
(01:44):
We had no idea how good the throw was, if
it was even accurate, because all we saw was him
running to his right. Yeah, it was just it was
just one of those situations where we saw him throw,
and I'm glad that we did. But I just don't know.
I just don't know if it's a situation where I
can immediately just say, okay, he's to go. I'm ready
to go all in on this guy. Yeah. So here's
the thing, Right, does it matter if he's throwing? And
(02:07):
I guess it does. But my point is this happened
in what November? Jarrett? Right, Like, we what are we
supposed to expect at this point in his rehab? You know?
Like the question is will a team spend the significant
draft capital that it takes with their kind of reputation
on the line. If you get this wrong, you're set
(02:29):
back for years. Right We've seen it with Blake Bortles
in Jacksonville. I think we're seeing it right now with
Mitchell Robinski in Chicago. So do you think a team
is going to make the investment, whether that's taking him
in the top five or trading up to go get
a guy like Tour. I think both teams both the
(02:50):
are both the Dodgers, both the Chargers speaking of l
a uh and the Dolphins are both in very intriguing
positions right now. I think both teams have enough draft
cab but all they have enough kind of direction with
their franchise to know that one of these two guys
is probably going to change the course of the franchise,
either for positive or negative over the next five to
(03:10):
ten years. The thing that we don't know, and the
thing that we have to handicap is which team likes
which guy better. You would imagine that tah is the choice,
but there could be some run on Justin Herbert because
he has had a pro day, he had a much
healthier campaign, and he also is a guy that showed
some moxie in the Rolls Bowl. I like what I
(03:31):
saw from Herbert in that Rolls Bowl. Now, Oregon's team
as a whole, I thought didn't help his case last year.
Mario cristal Ball is a very offensive line coach at heart,
so he's not a guy that really decided to showcase Herbert.
I thought Oregon's game plans were a little vanilla at
times last season, while while Alabama really showcased t at
at any stage that they could until he got hurt.
(03:53):
So I think Alabama kind of put him in a
better chance to succeed. But Herbert is an interest in case,
and who knows, maybe the Chargers really like Herbert and
they're okay was sitting at six and taking Herbert and
then using the rest of their draft capital as allocated.
The Dolphins certainly have more first round picks. They could
actually make the move up to one if they really
(04:13):
like Joe Burrow. That seems like a stretch to me,
but I wouldn't be surprised if both of these teams
just helped firm and took the guys in their spots. Listen, Jared,
you have heard me before on this network. Everybody has
heard me before say I actually think Justin Herbert will
be the best quarterback coming out of this draft in
terms of his NFL career. I think he is the
blue chip guy that people forget there's someone like that
(04:35):
every single year. And I've said, the Chargers may be
happy to have him fall in their lap at number six,
but we can make money. Jared on this idea of
fading to a right now, our partners on fans will
have an over under prop on his draft position at
two and a half. Granted, there is ridiculous juice on
(04:56):
the over right, which would mean at pick three or later.
But the way I see it is this is a
prop that on will Washington trade out of the number
two spot right because it will take a team I
think to want to hop Miami hop the Chargers, or
a kind of who will blink first game of chicken
(05:17):
cold war between Miami and the Chargers to see do
they go up to say three or four with Detroit
when the Giants, or do they ensure that they can
have their first bite at the apple by going all
the way up to two. I, in fact think it's
really about what Washington wants to do for this bet specifically,
and with new head coach Ron rivera new defensive coordinator
(05:39):
Jack del Rio, I think they are very, very excited
and happy to have by many accounts, the best player
overall in the draft, Chase Young, be ready and willing
and able for them right there at number two. They've
made moves recently to dictate that they will in fact
look like trust Dwayne Haskins for at least another year
(06:00):
under this new regime, and so that to me means
there is no way to a is one of the
first two people that hear their names called. The question
is for sports investors out there, Jared, are you willing
to lay minus three bills on it? I personally am
because I think it's a lock, and I am not
one of those people that believe that a minus in
(06:22):
front of a pick means there's no value there. I think,
to me, the question is what is the chance that
Washington says we don't want Chase Young? And I don't
think that is a high probability. I do agree with
everything that you said about Chase Young's prospects in the NFL.
I think he's the best overall player top to bottom
(06:43):
in this draft, and I think he should and will
be taken with the number two pick. The thing that
could throw all of this out the window is if
somebody is in love with Twah or Herbert and they
want to take him one past Borrow. I don't think
that's gonna happen either. So I think to Ah is
a great prospect. There's a little bit of a question
mark around his health, and that's why I think he's
(07:05):
gonna be taken third or later. And that's why I
think that pick of the over two and a half
at minus three is almost a virtual lock at this point.
And if and if you do have some capital, if
you're stashing some cash right now, I think it's a
good way to go. Listen, I'm continuing to use this platform, Jared,
to convince you about the Chargers doing thinking the right way,
whether it's their defense or be telling you that he
(07:28):
may be the choice if they just sit pat at six,
it's very possible. Let me tell you something though, that
Joe Rohnery and I were talking about a little bit
earlier on Okay, and you know, we talked about the
Detroit Lions at three, and we talked about how they're
open for business. Right, we posed another scenario. Many people
have talked about Matthew Stafford getting up in age and
(07:51):
how teams need to be you know, early and planned
for this, everyone from Pittsburgh to the Giants to New
England and know when that wave goes, we're talking about
elder statesman like Matthew Stafford. I also want to remind
you that the Chicago Bears moved up from three to
two a few years ago to get Mitchell Travisky right,
(08:14):
and when you talk about the Cold War aspect of
it all right, just so that no one else can
hop you could there be a universe where the team
that does move up to two that wouldn't have to
pay a huge price, could be the Detroit Lions. That
would be something, Um, you know, I think. I think
if Detroit decides it's time to make a move at quarterback, uh,
(08:39):
this is the draft to do it. Because you're right,
they do have an opportunity at three to even take two. Uh,
because you would think because you would think that, yeah,
like they might not need to get up to two
to take the quarterback of the future that they want.
That's right, and then all the other dominoes fall in line.
And even Miami of the Chargers are left holding the bag.
(09:02):
And that's when certain phones around the NFL start to ring.
Let me spend it for you, for you another way, Jared, Okay,
And we're trying to make a little bit of cash
here in these times, whether you want to put it
in cash or put it in futures in whatever market
it is, whether it be soybeans or in this past Jared,
the offensive rookie of the year you're thinking about now,
(09:24):
maybe there's reasons because of a red shirt year right
or to and not being fully healthy. The situations people
are in. I draw your attention to our friends at
FanDuel and the offensive Rookie of the year. It sounds
like you don't necessarily believe Joe Burrow is the number
(09:45):
one rated overall player on the board. You don't necessarily
believe that to his health is one locked in, or
even that the team that drafts him has any intention
of running him out there in Week one. Right, So
when I look at these odds, Borrow is a two
fifty plus plus two fifty favorite. Then you have tour.
(10:06):
Then you have quarterbacks that may start like Justin Herbert,
or the running back position guys like Swift or Taylor.
Who do you think could be in best position, given
a fit to truly blow up in year one? Who's
going to have the best year. I'll tell you what
if the Chargers draft Justin Herbert and if he's the
(10:28):
starter on day one with that defense and those weapons,
thirteen to one, Justin Herbert doesn't sound too bad. First
of all, I think a quarterback in this spot makes sense,
especially if it's a quarterback on a team that has
a chance to win. Last year it was Josh Jacobs,
so last year it was certainly you know the years
before that the running back sometimes has an easier path.
(10:51):
That's true, that's true. I think the question I would
have to ask, though, is which teams these players are on.
This is a hard thing to predict now. Knowing that
we don't know which teams these players are gonna be on,
these odds are gonna change immensely after the draft, because
let's say a guy like Jonathan Taylor goes to a
team like I don't know, the Ravens or something like that.
(11:11):
I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but you put him
on a team that is already equipped with an immediate
plus rushing offense. Yes, Jonathan Taylor is gonna have a
great season because he isn't one of the best running
backs in the history of college football. Uh and he
is on a team now with an elite running game
and an elite quarterback. If you put him on a
team like the Bengals with a first round pick at quarterback,
who have a little bit of uncertainty at their offensive
(11:33):
line in another spots, then it's really hard to give
him that nod. So I think a lot of this
is depending on which players h link up with which teams.
But I'll tell you what, Herbert one, I can see
a future with him on the Chargers and him playing
really well in year one. Yeah, absolutely, you're right. You know,
we lean quarterbacks generally speaking in these awards, right, Um,
(11:55):
But it depends on who has the path to production
and fan it's the statuses, you know, These are the
guys you're gonna be thinking about in dynasty leagues to
stash away, right. But the running backs are the ones
who usually kind of emerged right off the bat, you know.
And one of the points we've made before, right is
the game translates a little bit more for the running
(12:17):
back position than say a wide receiver, than say a
tight end or even an offensive lineman. Right, um, I think,
I mean, actually, the wide receivers on this list are
intriguing as well. Uh, the running backs. I'm not surprised
that you see Swift and Taylor as as two of
the top four names on the board. I do definitely
think so I don't know enough about where Swift might
(12:41):
go and where Taylor might go to really make an
accurate description. I would say running back right now would
be my initial lean here because we're unsure about the
health of two I don't think Burrow is gonna play
enough right out of the gate, at least we don't
know if he does go to Cincinnati what that situation
is going to be with Andy Dalton, and then Herbert
obviously is a massive wild card because we don't know
which team he's gonna be on either. So I would
(13:01):
say right now, I'm not surprised to see two running
backs in the top four. The running backs and the
wide receivers might have a significant edge because they would
theoretically be playing on better teams, especially the running backs.
The running backs could go in the second or third
round of this draft, and they could go to contenders.
I mean they could go to you know, super Bowl
title contenders. So I would say the running backs right
now would be my lean. Alright, fair enough. Funny when
(13:23):
you look at the defensive rookie of the year five
to one for Chase Young, then a big time gap, Jared.
One of the things we were talking about is what
the Detroit Lions could do. Could they go get the quarterback? Right?
Could they have a high end talent fall into their lap?
And our friends over at Fanzel, you know, we talked
about um certain leans one way or the other. What
(13:43):
you think on the board on tour. One of the
things I've told you earlier this week was, you know
they had the worst past defense in the entire NFL. Right,
they traded away Darius Slay, their number one cornerback, right,
and then you can a bet on fan duel the
number one pick overall, the number to pick overall, and
(14:06):
to do number one. We're all penciling in Joe Burrow
minus thirty. I'm not doing that. Number two. There's Chase Young,
And to a I think vetting on the number three
pick is very very interesting. So I want to kind
of hold your feet to the flame on Detroit. Actually,
you know, succession planning for Matthew Stafford versus the need
(14:28):
they may get TOA is the favorite for the number
three pick, So that would mean, yeah, maybe the Detroit
Lions are looking a little bit to the future, or
maybe that is the trade partner. Then you have the
second choice, Jeff Acuda, who is the cornerback from Ohio State.
We've talked about it, you know, probably the second best
(14:49):
defensive player in this draft, along with Isaiah Simmons, the
person not named Chase Young. Where do you think, ultimately,
what does Detroit do. I've actually to put the GM
had on before. If you're Detroit, you trade it. Do
you go with the quarterback of the future, or you
build on the defensive side of the ball. If I'm
matt Patricia, I know that I just traded away Dariusly,
(15:13):
and I know that I've had massive issues in the secondary,
and I know I've had massive, massive issues on the
defensive side of the ball, and I know I'm a
defensive coach. So that would lead me to believe that
they are going to go with Jeff Acuda, and I
think that's a very smart pick. But I'll take it
one further. I'm looking at some interesting odds right now
on family the first three picks in exact order. Borrow
(15:33):
young Tuah is even money. Borrow young Okuda is plus
two twenty so right now and again, you mentioned that
the number three pick right now the favorite is to uh.
That would lead me to believe that there's some talk
of the Lions either moving out of three or taking
two oh with the third pick. I think the former
(15:56):
has a better chance of happening. I think the Lions
know that if they trade with the Chargers of the
Dolphins and they dropped back to five or six, they
can they can They can still get a Kuda and
pick up some capital, I think. And I also think
the Giants are an intriguing trade partner as well, because
right now the giants biggest need is offensive tackle. There's
four of them that are basically stud can't miss right
(16:19):
tackle prospects. We talked about him earlier this week. The
Giants could trade from four back to five or six,
still get one of those offensive tackles, pick up a
little bit of draft capital, and make everybody happy, because
then the Chargers of the Dolphins theoretically will be moving
up to get their guy. To me that the part
of this that we can handicap is the difference between
(16:40):
how the Chargers feel about to Uh compared to how
the Dolphins feel about to UH and vice versa about
Justin Herbert. Do the Chargers or the Dolphins do they
think that those two quarterbacks are interchangeable? Probably not. Each
team probably has their guy. My guesses each team probably
has the same guy. My guess is each team probably
really likes to more than Herbert. That's just my guest.
(17:02):
I don't know that for a fact. I'm not in
these war rooms. But if that's the case, we talked
about it the Cold War, the bidding war, that could
happen between now and whenever the draft does take place.
Of where these teams are going to slot. Maybe one
team gets to four and then the other team says, no,
I'm going to three. I mean, it could be one
of those type of one up scenarios, and it is
(17:25):
going to be absolutely fascinating on draft night to see
how this pois out. It's an arms race, as it
always is. Winston Mariotta wanted to golf wins. That's how
it goes. You go up as far as you can.
At this point of the calendar, Jared, before the NFL Draft,
you're really one of two teams. Either you have the
quarterback or you're going to get the quarterback. You're not
(17:47):
going up for the offensive lineman. But in any event,
Jared and I will continue to break it down. This
is at the window. When we come back on the
other side of the great Jared, we're gonna talk about
if and when the draft is going to go on
a schedule, then what will it look like if and
when it does. That's what we're gonna talk about. Come
on back on the other side of the break. It's
at the window, Dan and Jared. If you want the edge,
(18:08):
get on the grid sports grid dot Com betting insights
and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers the
most important topics in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive
betting models, expert picks and more. Want the edge, then
(18:28):
get on the grid sports grid dot Com. Welcome back
everybody to at the window. Dane Martinez and Jared Smith.
Here I'm holding you down on sports grid. Given everybody
the edge they need in these times. Many people are,
you know, staying at home when you got something to do,
you can still find ways to get ahead of the
(18:49):
curve here and get the edge. That's what we're doing here.
We were talking about kind of the draft ways to
make money on the top part of the draft, what
tourist position would be, what the number of three pick
would be, how you can find some inefficiencies in the market.
But Jared, you know, one of the things that we've
heard recently is, you know, not all the gms around
the NFL are you know, kind of on board with
(19:13):
the draft happening in the first place. Right We've heard
first that it's not going to be this big Vegas event.
It won't be the fashion show with the guys walking
across the red carpet at the Bellage CEO. But now,
you know, we've heard that there are some general managers
out there. The sub committee actually voted unanimously to postponent
a little bit because, as we've discussed, you know, physicals
are tough right now, Travel is tough right now. Having
(19:35):
those kind of team meetings in the same room with
each other is very tough right now. What kind of
impact does this have on the draft and what do
you think is you know, ultimately gonna happen here massive impact, Dane.
I think the key for me right now is to
hear something thrown away around as unanimous and and that's
that's a powerful word. In the NFL. It's not often
(19:58):
that teams are lining up unanimously to vote in one
direction for an issue. And I think there's even some
smaller owners that are kind of on par with this
being moved in some capacity. However, the big power brokers,
the Jerry Jones is, the Robert Crafts, the Maras. They're
kind of running the NFL, for lack of a better word.
(20:20):
They want this thing to go off at the end
of April as planned. I'm a little bit concerned though,
based on the rhetoric that we're starting to hear, and again,
we're taping this on Wednesday afternoon. It's not gonna air
until Thursday or Friday at at the absolute latest, so
we don't know by then if we do hear news.
Our expectation right now is we're handicapping this as a
(20:40):
late April draft. If that changes, what that does, Dane
is it starts to put the rest of the league
calendar in jeopardy, because if you push the draft back
to May or June, and you don't get these rookies
in camp until July. You really can't have an August
training camp with preseason games. It makes things very squeezed,
(21:02):
and we've already seen it with baseball. Their spring training
has been basically totally eradicated, and we're gonna get a
new spring training at some point later this summer, and
we don't know when that season is going to start
as well. We could hear news on that this week
as well. We're just kind of in limbo right now.
But the way we're handicapping this still the good news
about it to a tackle, blow is probably gonna get
taken the same whether the draft happens in April or
(21:23):
in May. I don't think where these players get taken
will get impacted that much. However, the rest of the
league calendar could certainly be in flux if this draft
gets pushed back. All right, So you know I am
a cynical New Yorker. We just posted on social media
at sports Grade that I'm hanging outside my fire escape.
You know, right before we get on to discuss this,
(21:43):
what we have to, let me ask you this. Okay,
you said unanimous, this like sub committee of the GMS.
What do you think is truly motivating the gms. Is
it the public health concern or is it the risk
of their hit rate as a general manager in the
first and second round when they have limited information, right,
they can't interview these kids, they don't have top thirty visits,
(22:05):
that many of them not having pro days. This is
limited information for these general managers to go and it
is their jobs, their reputations on the line, to like
get it right. In two or three years, when the
Beat reporter does the article on the GM on the
hot seat, they're not going to talk about the context
of this draft. They're gonna say, and four of the
draft picks from this draft are no longer on the roster. Okay,
(22:28):
so how about this? And yeah, we're recording this on Wednesday.
But this is a question for your opinion regardless of
when this happens. Do you think what's motivating this is
really respect for the process and the public health concern
that's out there or one reputation. I think it's the
public health concern. I think it's the fact that the
facilities are closed. Everything is closed. I mean, we're going
(22:50):
through it, you know, both of us live in New
York City. We both understand the kind of adaptation our
lives are going through right now. And I don't mean
to be like a doomsday office is, but it's not
like we're just gonna wake up one day and this
is gonna be gone and everyone's gonna go back to
normal life. This is gonna be months of a new normal.
And you know, I think the NFL is not immune
(23:10):
from that in terms of how these teams operate, how
the facilities stay open, what they're gonna what to travel.
I think to travel to me is the biggest part
of this. You're asking all of these teams and when
these players get drafted, what's the first thing they do?
After they get drafted. They get on a plane, They
fly to the team facility. They do their little signing
where they're in the room and they're meeting all the
coaches and the players. You can't do that right now,
(23:32):
you know, you can't have these guys getting on planes
and flying all over the country. So the entire process
that we're used to going through, it is a new normal.
Everything has to be changed. I vote yes with the GMS.
I agree. I'm on the side of the g MS here.
I do think the draft needs to be moved. I
don't know if it will be, but I do think
it needs to be moved. I think we need to
(23:54):
respect the process of this public health crisis and we
need to let things. I mean, this is gonna be
happening in April day and apparently, according to some of
the sources we're hearing here in New York, especially Governor
Cuomo has been incredible getting on the front lines of this.
That's when the peak of this virus is going to
be sweeping through New York City. It's kind of distasteful
to be having an NFL spectacle like this right in
(24:16):
the peak of this virus. So I I do think
that's why everything was canceled until June at the earliest
with a lot of these NBA teams and NHL teams,
And I think the NFL should heed that call. Right now,
the NFL is open for business. It's been great for us,
but I think it's a bit of a bad look
if they do have this draft on schedule at the
end of April. All right, it's once again in time.
(24:37):
Jared's you put your general manager of sports grade hat on. Okay, Um,
we have talked about this draft process before and one
of the things you have said is we see the
player on tape, right, So all the general managers still
have access to these players on tape. And then what
happens is the combine what happens or pro days, what
(24:58):
happens our team meetings, what happens are interviews. What do
you put more stock in as the general manager of
sports grade the tape we see on a guy like too, well,
he's maybe a bad example because of the health, right,
But a guy you see on tape, like an offensive
lineman like and Andrew Thomas from Georgia or an Isaiah Simmons, right,
(25:19):
you can't bring him in, you can't have your doctor's
checks him out, you can't have you know, but you
do have the tape. What do you put more stock in?
Good question? I think in the pre draft process, which
is right now, I think the interviews are more important.
I think the tape is the tape, especially the offensive
(25:39):
line that that moved the lever for him. Yeah, I
think I think it absolutely did. I mean, if you
were going to tell me that DK Metcalf didn't turn
off some teams or turn on some teams, not not literally.
Pete Carroll, though he might have been turned on by
seeing d K without a shirt, might have been very
excited about exactly. But I think d K probably turned
(26:02):
off some teams with that as well. Uh, some teams
that maybe have a little bit of a weaker locker room,
a weaker head coach that can't handle that kind of personality.
And on the flip side of that, I think some
teams might be turned off by the fact that Justin
Herbert has been a little quieter of a demeanor, a
little you know, burrows more of an outspoken, charismatic person,
(26:23):
you know, especially at the quarterback position. I mean, to me,
the personality is almost more important than the tape because
how they handle the room, how they handle the huddle
is paramount, and how they can lead a team. Offensive lineman,
the tape is the tape. Is he big? Can he
pump out a lot of weights? And can he move
his feet? Those things are pretty set in stone. I
(26:44):
think the tape kind of dictates that, and you're not
gonna get a lot of discrepancy with how grades are
handed out with offensive lineman. Where the offensive lineman is
different is in that room is this guy going to
be a mentally strong person. I think we saw that
a little bit. It was of the offensive lineman that
we've seen in the past. I mean Eric Flowers. He
was a mental midget at times when he was drafted
(27:05):
in the first round by the Giants and he got
shipped out of town. But he was a can't miss
prospect on paper. But obviously there was some disconnect in
the locker room. So I do think the interview process
is vital. One of the interesting markets though Jared in
this draft, and we've talked about it previously on At
the Window here on Sports Creed, is the wide receiver market.
We talked about so many different wide receivers that are
(27:28):
coming out this year that you know have grades in
the top two or three rounds. We talked about some
of the biggest names and their potential fits previously on
At the Window. But my point also is that if
you have just taped to look at right now instead
of team meetings, instead of pro days, instead of official
free agent visits, then I'm more likely to go trust
(27:49):
the tape at the NFL level then at the college level,
and some of these teams that we have previously discussed
that we're in the wide receiver market, have recently instead
addressed their needs in the free agent wide receiver market.
No shortage of moves over the last forty eight hours
in the wide receiver market, Jared, and we start with
(28:10):
who we had when you were the GM at the
top of your wide receiver kind of wish list. Robby Anderson,
You and I are Jets fans. He is no longer
a Jet moving on. It is the Carolina Panthers that
signed him two years, twenty million dollars. And Jared, what
do you know another example of our kind of lessons
(28:31):
in the off season. Matt Rule, head coach of Temple
previously Robbie Anderson, undrafted free agent from Temple University. It
happens again. First, what do you think about the signing
and the fit? Going back to familiarity, I think it's
a good signing. Again, You've got p J. Walker now
uh and Robbie Anderson. So the Boca ritron Ball champion
(28:53):
Temple Owls are very well represented with Matt Rule as
the head coach on the Carolina Panthers. Right now, I
will say this about the Jets. People asked me yesterday,
I was listening to some sportstock radio here in the
city after we heard that that he had signed with Carolina.
It wasn't like outrage that Joe Douglas didn't sign him
for two years and twenty million. I think the Jets
got the most that they possibly could out of Robbie
(29:15):
Anderson as an undrafted free agent with basically no upside
coming out of college, and they squeezed I don't want
to say all Pro or Pro Bowl, but a pretty
decent lide receiver career out of him with the Jets.
And what does New York turn around and do right
after they lose out on Anderson, Well, they go signed
for Shot Parraman, who I think is another young, up
(29:36):
and coming receiver who had a lot more upside than
Anderson did coming out of college as a first round
pick by the Baltimore Ravens. Things didn't quite work out
in Baltimore, they weren't bad in Tampa. At the end
of last season. I think Tampa's gonna miss Powerman a
little bit more than the Jets could miss Robbie Anderson,
because to me, Parraman slots into that little position where
now he hopefully builds a rapport with Sam Donald, But
(29:58):
to me, Jamison Crowder was the bigger kind of keep
for the Jets this year. I loved what I saw
with Crowder and Donald last season. He's that safety net,
He's that safety valve for Donald coming out of the slot.
So you've got Crowder back, you add Parraman to the mix.
And theoretically, we talked about it a little bit earlier
this week. We don't necessarily think, Dane that the Jets
need to draft a wide receiver at eleven. I would
(30:20):
prefer one of these blueship tackles because there's a lot
more depth later in the draft at wide receiver. That
Jets have a second round pick and they have two
third round picks, that's when you can address a little
bit more depth at the wide receiver position. I'm happy
with how the Jets rebounded with Perriman and the position
that they're in to add to their wide receiver corps
in the draft. Yeah. And you know what's interesting with
(30:40):
these two signings here, Robby Anderson and Bischard Perriman. You
know many people liking them similar profile of the kind
of wide receiver that they are, similar age and similar
contract structure. I think, as I put my fantasy hat
on Jared. You know, I think they moved in opposite
directions in terms of their potential for fantasy production. Right.
Rashad Perryman, for example, was with Tampa Bay having his
(31:03):
quasi breakout after being a first round pick, but that
only happened after Mike Evans went down. After Chris Godwin
went down. He was the third fourth option for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. He now moves to the
New York Jets, where there is a vacancy at the
number one wide receiver with the targets that come along
(31:24):
with it. Right. You mentioned Jamison Crowder. He had a
game of like fourteen catches or seventeen targets when they
were you know, in vibe together and both healthy for
the Jets last year. But Brischard Perriman becomes that outside
wide receiver, and regardless of what the Jets do in
the draft, I agree with you. I think they should
use not the first round pick, but one of their
four picks in the top three rounds to address that
(31:47):
need and complete the wide receiver room. But I think
Rashad Perryman's kind of fantasy stock improves on the flip side,
Robby Anderson moves from being the number one wide receiver
you talked about a fringe Robowl caliber player because of
the production he put up in that offense, with the
amount of attention he was receiving from Sam Donald, with
(32:07):
what he was building with Sam Donald. He now moves
to the Carolina Panthers, where I don't care who the
head coach was, I don't care what his you know,
opportunity and familiarity and previous relationship is. He is probably
gonna play the role of this wide receiver that takes
the top off a defense that is somewhat of a
decoy that will get is you know, two for one
(32:30):
oh seven and a touchdown lines, but we'll also get
lines that are disappointing to your fantasy team. Okay, And
when you look at Carolina, Christian McCaffrey is a true
workhorse bell cow for that offense. D J. Moore is ascending,
Curtis Samuel is a piece in that offense. Robbie Anderson
slides in, albeit with a very important role and an
(32:52):
improving skill set, as the fourth or fifth option. So
when last year and in years past for the New
York Jets, he was a wide receiver two or three
in fantasy. I don't know that he's necessarily startable in fantasy.
So kind of in some ways, not only do the
Jets make out, but in the kind of production and
fantasy Brochard Perriman I think makes out because the fit
(33:14):
I agree, and and and again. I think Crowder and
Perriman together playoff well because Crowder is an underneath guy.
He's not really a deep thread. He kind of a
slot guy. He can get you deep, but he is
more of a guy that's gonna eat up targets, where
Perriman is a guy that's gonna stretch the field. We
saw that very well with Jamis Winston last year. And hey,
if Jamis Winston can can can find Breshad Perriman, Sam
(33:36):
Donald can't too. I mean Donald throws the deep ball
very well. Uh and and again keep Donald upright. Address
the offensive line. Joe Douglas has spent about I don't
know hundred pounds they brought in of offensive lineman free
agents this offseason. Great. Keep adding to that in the
draft backed in Willis works. Probably worse will be off
the board, but one of these guys is gonna be
(33:57):
there at eleven hopefully, and that is your blue chip
right tackle. In addition to the entire renovation you've made
at center, at right guard, basically the entire offensive line
is going to be fresh for the Jets next season,
which is a breath of fresh air, because the key
for Gang Green to be healthy is to keep the
Sam Donald upright. If he's upright, the Jets have a
(34:17):
very bright future because they've got weapons in Toe and oh,
by the way, and Levian Bell is still on the team,
so there are a ton of toys for Sam Donald
to implement. You would hope Adam Gates can put him
in the right place and going forward, if this offensive
line is remade. I love that defense. I mean to me,
the Jets defense. You know, it was a little underrated
(34:37):
last season, and they made every signing possible to kind
of keep these defensive guys in Toe and Greg Williams
of course a great defensive coordinator. Jets might be a
surprise team that win total six and a half. I
know I'm an optimist, a hopeless romantic when it comes
to my Jets, but six and a half seems a
little under priced for a team with an elite quarterback
and a remade offensive line and a solid defense and
(35:00):
elite quarterback. My man Jared Smith just called Sam Donald.
I'm a Jets fan, but you know, let's see, he
was getting over Mono only about six months ago. We're
all getting over different things right now. We understand that.
That's why we are still here bringing you the content
that you need on sports grout. If you want the edge,
get on the grid, Come on right back. It's at
(35:20):
the window, Dane and Jared. We have more looks at
the NFL after this sports grid dot Com Betting insights
and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers the
(35:41):
most important topics in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive
betting models, expert picks, and more. Want the edge than
get on the grid sports grid dot Com. All right, everyone,
(36:03):
welcome back to at the Window. Here on sports Care
Dave Martinez and Jared Smith touring you around the NFL
of what we're doing. We're talking about the wide receiver market.
There were two very interesting signings kind of at the
top of the wish list, you know, as we move
along in this process, Robby Anderson and Bashad Perriman signing
with the Panthers and the Jets, respectively. But those weren't
the only wide receiver uh names to kind of go
(36:26):
off the free agent board. Jared, there's another signing that
we want to discuss here. First of all, Devin Funches
signs with the Green Bay Packers. I think this is
very interesting, Jared. You know we've talked about the X
Y Z affair before. One of the things the Green
Bay Packers did was lose Jimmy Graham right offseason already.
So when you talk about Davante Adams, and you know,
(36:46):
there was already a ton of kind of attention paid
that way. But this does, in fact give Aaron Rodgers
another red zone target as he kind of you know,
enters the you know, the last few holes of his career.
All the talk is out Rivers and Breeze and Brady
and Big Ben and some of these older quarterbacks. I always,
and we've talked about it earlier in this show. I'm
(37:07):
thinking about guys like Aaron Rodgers. I'm thinking about guys
like Matthew Stafford. I'm thinking about guys like Matt Ryan
what they need to do with the remaining parts of
their career to get weapons and get protected and Devin
Funches provides that a little bit for the Green Bay Packers.
And it's interesting, Dame, because we we haven't talked, you know,
during these free agent discussions h that we've had a
(37:27):
lot of over the last couple of weeks. We haven't
talked a lot about the big teams, the big quarterbacks,
because usually those are the teams that kind of hang
back in free agency because they had successful seasons last
year and they don't have as many holes to fill.
I don't think the Packers are in that category. I
think the Packers did have a massive hold at wide receiver.
Uh it's Davante Adams and everyone else. I mean, do
you really trust, you know, Alan Lazar to be that
(37:48):
next great wide receiver for the Packers, a guy that
you really didn't even know who existed until about mid
season last year. I think what Funch just does is
he kind of fills two spots. Yes, he gives them
some depth in the wide receiver of a room. But
as you mentioned, no Jimmy Graham and how much does
Aaron Rodgers love finding tight ends? And he certainly does.
It goes back to even the Brett Farve days with
Mark Romorrow. Packers and tight ends have always been a thing,
(38:11):
and I think right now with Green Bay Bunches six
four tow he's had some really good seasons with Carolina.
Injury played year last year with the Colts. If he
bounces back and he's healthy, he gives Rogers an immediate
upgrade in the red zone. It was a collar bone
last year, but if he can stay healthy, he could
absolutely be a productive wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.
(38:33):
We are not done, though, Jared. There was another signing recently.
The Seattle Seahawks go ahead and signed Philip dorse Set
to a one year deal. This is a different kind
of wide receiver, Jared, then devon Bunches, that is to
be sure, right, So what do you think kind of
role can Philip dorse Set actually play with the Seattle Seahawks.
(38:53):
They already have a Tyler Lockett, They already have a
dk Metcalf, who we mentioned a little bit earlier in
the show. Where do you think Dorset fits in? I
think he fits in very well. I mean I kind
of liken him a little bit to Locket's game smaller
five ten, you know, two pounds, probably soaking wet had
a couple of interesting seasons with New England. Uh never
really kind of meshed with that Patriots offense. He was
(39:16):
kind of just like a weapon that they would put
out there in random spots. He never really found that
elite chemistry with Tom Brady Grant, and Tom didn't find
a whole lot of chemistry with any Patriot wide receivers
last season, and I think maybe that's one of the
reasons why he's in Tampa Bay right now. But what
I see with Dorset is another game breaking talent on
this Seattle Seahawks offense, which is now going to be
(39:38):
really focused on DK Metcalf. Obviously, Metcalf emerged at the
end of last season as that number one wide receiver
that Seahawks fans have been craving, and he certainly has
the physical tools to be just that. We'll see if
he can continue to grow from a mental standpoint. But
obviously Tyler Locketts very talented, and now you add a
guy in Dorset, it was kind of like a Philip Uh,
you know, it could kind of like a Tyler Cket Jr. There.
(40:00):
He's got similar tools, has the ability for some game
breaking plays, and they can move him around a little bit.
The running back position obviously is gonna be a massive question.
Marshawn Lynch. We don't know if he's gonna come back,
probably not. They have Rashad Penny who's also in an
interesting situation as well, and Chris Parson injury exactly. So
you can use door set as kind of like that
(40:21):
scat Swiss Army knife wide receiver, similar to how they
use uh locket as well, where they kind of move
around the offense a little bit. So I like to
move for Seattle. Okay, let me ask you this, um.
We just named three wide receivers and we just talked
about doubts of three Seattle Seahawk running backs. What does
(40:42):
that mean when I ask you the rest of free
agency and the draft, and what does that mean for
the identity Jared of the Seattle Seahawks. This is one
of the more run heavy teams in the NFL. This
has been running and then Russell Wilson making plays. Is
this a team that is evolving more to the passing
(41:03):
game when they see Russell Wilson be the third choice
for m v P. Could they be putting more on
Russell Wilson in the past game or do you think
this team remains with their identity something you've talked about consistency,
identity being even more important. What is the identity of
the Seattle Seahawks? Is it changing? Jared? I think it
(41:24):
is and I think we saw them remake their offensive
line a little bit. They brought in Brandon Shell from
the Jets to play right tackle, and I think that
is a huge coup, uh for the Seattle Seahawks team
because I think what it shows me is that the
Seahawks team is now a little bit more worried about
the right tackle position, which is an offensive passing position,
uh than a right guard or center or left guard position.
(41:46):
I think the rest of their offensive line needs a
little bit of work as well. But I think right
now what you've got with Russell Wilson, Wilson's been around
the block. I mean, this is what a seventh sixth,
seventh year in the NFL. Yeah, he's not a rookie anymore.
He is kind of getting to that to the turn,
as they say, where he's approaching the back nine of
his career. So they don't want him to be this
guy that runs around and makes all these crazy plays.
(42:08):
They want to build around the passing game. Russell has
shown that when he has time in the pocket, he
can make elite level throws down the field. And I
think DK Metcalf is gonna be a big emergence as
he continues to mesh into the Seahawks offense. But I
think what you're seeing with Seattle is a little bit
of that identity crisis. I think that's a good call.
You know what's so interesting to me, Okay, normally, Jared,
(42:31):
when we have a quarterback and you're talking about them
after the turn, right, what offenses do is support them
more in the running game. Look at what happened with
Tom Brady as they evolved with New England more of
the running game, Drew Brees as he got older, they
put more focus on the running game over the last
few years, right, more of the running game, more of
(42:52):
the defense. I find it it's very interesting that when
you say, because Russell Wilson has been a master at
school hard football for the better part of a decade,
that the way to support him on the back nine
is a completely different way than what we see with
these pocket quarterbacks. I wonder if that's in vogue, you know,
(43:15):
if that will happen towards the end of Deshaun Watson's career,
to the end of Patrick mahomes career, to the end
of Kyler Murray's career. Talk to me a little bit
about what you see this big picture idea of where
the league is going at quarterback. Now, when you think
about the dual threat quarterbacks versus these pocket passers that
(43:36):
are still kind of hanging on and getting new contracts,
where is this league going? Well, I think the key
is is where the offenses have gone. Uh, running games
are kind of a thing of the past, and you know,
to just base your entire offense on Hey, we're gonna
set up the run and then we're gonna throw play
action on second and third downs, and we're gonna know
(43:57):
this is how you win in the NFL. You throw
on fort down. That is how you win in the NFL.
You run play action on first down, and then maybe
second down is your if I want to run, check
with me and let's see what the defense does. And
then third down, most likely, unless it's third and short,
is always a pass. So I just I think the
NFL is going towards a pass happen. I mean, it's
gone towards it's not going. It is there right now.
(44:19):
So just to say, all right, well this quarterback is
getting older, let's just surround them with a really good
offensive line and two really good running backs and let
them just hand it off. You know, most more often
than not, that doesn't work in the NFL anymore, Dane.
You have to stay active and nimble in the passing game.
And what the Seahawks are starting to do is they're
starting to realize that we have to build around Russell
Wilson in the wide receiver position, the running back position.
(44:41):
They're a dime a dozen. You saw Chris Carson, you
saw Rashaan Penny, you saw Marshawn Lynch in the playoffs
last year. These guys are a dime a dozen. But
you need to continue to build weapons in the passing game,
and regardless of how old or how young a quarterback is,
those weapons need to be solid, and they need to
be deep, and they need to be healthy. And that's
(45:01):
something we haven't been able to see on a consistent
basis with a lot of these teams. Seattle's had tons,
tons of injury issues at wide receiver over their past,
and now they got just a little bit of depth
there with Dorset. Yeah, it's so interesting, Jared. You know,
as we talk about the evolution of the NFL, the
value of certain positions, whether it be the tackle position,
(45:24):
the cornerback position, the edge rusher right, and the devaluing
of some other positions, whether that be the full back,
the three down middle linebacker like Tequillo Spikes, or the
running back position and contracts, and Jared, as we've talked
about earlier on at the Window, the idea of the
over under on how many running backs will be drafted
in the first round. We see it all over the
(45:45):
place in the NFL, and we will continue to break
it down for you here on at the Window, giving
you the edge you need on the Grid sports grids
dot Com. But Jared, you know, we've been talking about
the NFL a lot lately, right, but there is also
news in other places as we're in this kind of
pause in the sports world. And one of the things
that came down big headlines from New York but for
(46:09):
the baseball teams is New York Mets starter Noah Syndergard.
They call him thor here in New York. He's going down.
He is going to have Tommy John surgery. Um. They've
announced it over the last couple of days, and that
takes away all of regardless of how many games has
played and what the season looks like, even into what
(46:31):
do you do here? Do you think this is the
right call to just get it done now given the
time we're in and what's the impact on the New
York Mets. I mean, I think going forward the impact
is not going to be as broad as we think.
I am not a Noah Syndergard fan. I'm not a
Mets fan, but in terms of the way that he
goes about his business, I think it's it's been selfish
(46:52):
in the past, and there's been some issues with the
with not only the front office but the training staff.
I don't know if you remember Dame, but in Seen
the Mets asked him to get an m R I
on his arm after leaving a start and he said no.
He said no. When your training staff of the team
you play for, says get an m R I because
(47:14):
we think your arm is hurt, and you say no,
I'm good. That's a bigger issue to me than just
all right, he's hurt. To me, that is an underlying
disconnect with him and the training staff and the front
office of the team that he plays for. Do I
feel bad for him that he got hurt and he's
gonna miss some time. Yes, Obviously I don't wish ill
will on any player or human being, especially in these
(47:36):
very trying times that we are living in. However, what
I see with Noah Synderguard is a bit of you know,
immaturity in the way that he's handled his body over
the last few years. And I don't want to say
that this is karma, but I think this was inevitable
because of just the way that he has handled not
only his workout routine, but his offseason routine as well.
He has repeatedly come in a bit bulkier than teams
(47:58):
have wanted, than his training staff has wanted, and he
has also continued to be a little bit subordinate with
how he handles the locker room. So I think that
this is something for the Mets. It's probably a good
time for them to take a step back from Noah Syndergard,
reassess his situation, and we'll see where he comes out
on the other side of this. In terms of their
depth chart, they're actually equipped to handle this. They signed
(48:19):
Michael Walker, they signed Rick Porcello in the off season.
You've got Seth Lugo, Robert Kaseelman in the bullpen. Obviously
those guys are good bullpen pieces. You'd like to keep
them in the bullpen if possible. You've also got your
You've also got Edwin d As as well, and you
hope Juris Familiar comes back. So I think there's some
pieces in place for the Mets to rebound from this,
But in terms of their depth, I don't think it's
(48:39):
going to affect them mentally as much as it will physically.
I think mentally Syndergard needs a break from the Mats
just as much as the Mets need a break from Synergard. Yeah,
you know, you do outline the history that the team
has had with the player. I even remember the spring
training that happened in the Carrier Dome when the field
conditions weren't right. It was Syndergard was one of the
Mets who were vocal about that. You know, they have
(49:00):
had issues in that kind of era with their training
and staff for a long long time. But let's spend
in phoo Jared, right, because what we're trying to do
is help people win a little bit of extra cash
these days. Right, So you know in the NL East, alright,
there reasonable people could make arguments for four teams in
this division. I think I don't think there's many divisions, Jared,
(49:21):
where the fourth choice in the division is only plus
three thirty. Right? What does that say about the competitive
balance of up to four teams in the division? As
I look at it? Right now, the Atlanta Braves are
the favorite in the NL East at plus one five,
the defending World Series champion Nationals or a plus two fifty.
Then the Mets at three to one, and you know,
(49:42):
maybe there hasn't been enough movement for Syndergarten. You talk
about their depth, they still have starting pitching out the
Yan Yang everybody from the multiple Times Side Young Award
winner to de Gram to Stroman, you know, to others
who you've outlined. But there's still three to one. And
then the Philadelphia Phillies have added big time over the
course of the last two off seasons at plus three thirty.
(50:02):
How much of this Syndergraden news moves the needle for
you in the NL East as a whole. And if
I put your feet to the fire, regardless of how
many games are being played this season, what do you
like in the NL East. I think it's even harder
to pick the Mets and the Phillies based on the
situation that we're seeing with their lineups as as well.
(50:23):
I'm not as high on the Phillies as other teams are.
I actually think the Phillies are a cell to me.
I like Joe Girardi a lot, but I just don't
see at the rotation, and you know, they're really banged
up at the bottom of that rotation. They've got some
real big question marks as Arietta and and e f
Lyn really gonna be able to finish the season as
the three and four starters. Uh. Even Zach Wheeler is
the number two starter. I think there's some question marks
(50:44):
there as well. After signing a big deal. I think
Aaron Nolan is a stun. I think Bryce Harper is
a good player, but I don't think he is an
elite level player based on the type of numbers that
he's put up over the last two seasons, even though
he's being paid as one of the best players in baseball,
I don't he stacks up at all compared or to
the Mike Trouts of the game or even the Ronald
Lacuna is in his own division compared to the numbers
(51:05):
that he has been putting up over the last couple
of seasons now his second season, uh in Philadelphia. On
the flip side of that, man oh Man, I'm looking
at the Braves depth chart right now, and besides a
little bit of inconsistency in the bullpen, I don't see
a lot of holes here, Dan Uh, this outfield is
the best outfield in baseball. Oh souna in a kuna,
(51:25):
I mean that is an absolute powder keg. And you've
got Johann Camargo at third, You've got Dan's By Swanson,
former number one pick at short as the Albis has
been incredible at second, and Freddie Freeman at a near
MVP season a couple of years ago. So I think
the Braves hands down, are the best division in this
or the best team in this division. The rotation leaves
a little something to be desired. Sirocca, Fultonevitch Freed, and
(51:48):
then you've got Hammil's and Felix Hernandez will see what
he gives you, the former Mariner as the number five
starter in Atlanta. But man oh Man, this Braves team
with Freddy Hernandez is apt or Freddy Gonzalez is absolutely stacked.
Their lineup is probably the best line up in the
National League, beside the Dodgers, who also are incredibly stacked
up and down their line up with the addition of
(52:09):
Mookie Bets. As these things change, I'll tell you one
thing that I can bet on, Jared, you and I
will be here to talk about it on the grid
here at sports grid dot com. Another episode of at
the Window in the books. All right, keep following this news.
We'll be here to do it with you. Stay safe
out there, you know, take this stuff seriously, wash your hands,
(52:30):
and come on back and see us tomorrow. That is,
of course, if you want the edge, have a good one, Jared,
Same bad time, the same batch channel tomorrow on the
Grid sports grid dot Com Betting insights and entertainment at
(52:58):
your fingertips as our team covers the most important topics
in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive betting models, expert picks,
and more. Want the edge than get on the grid
sports grid dot Com
Hey, thanks for downloading the podcast. If you want to
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Enjoy the show and thanks so much for listening. At
(00:21):
the Window, Hello everybody again, welcome again to yet another
edition of At the Window. Here on Sports Grid, Dame
Martinez and Jared Smith giving you everything you need to
win your leads and win that cash here on Sports Grid. Jared,
we've seen more moves, We've seen more odds changing, We've
(00:41):
seen more things shut down, more drama around if the
draft will or will not happen, and we're realizing in
these changing days, we may all have to learn how
to do things in a slightly different way, whether that's
remote conferencing or distance learning. Or if you can't have
(01:02):
a physical because before the draft, or can't meet with
teams before the draft, Jared, what you can do is
put out a video of yourself working. And that's exactly
with all the biggest names going into the draft has
done and that is our lead story here on at
the window. Is that to a taga vloa have posted
(01:23):
a video of himself working out, but if you blinked,
you may have missed it. Jared, what are your initial
thoughts on this? Him posting like a ten second video
thing a bad thing? How should you respond in this
day and age when you see two on film? I'm
glad I saw him out there. I mean, I think
that was definitely a positive. You're right, it was very short.
(01:44):
We had no idea how good the throw was, if
it was even accurate, because all we saw was him
running to his right. Yeah, it was just it was
just one of those situations where we saw him throw,
and I'm glad that we did. But I just don't know.
I just don't know if it's a situation where I
can immediately just say, okay, he's to go. I'm ready
to go all in on this guy. Yeah. So here's
the thing, Right, does it matter if he's throwing? And
(02:07):
I guess it does. But my point is this happened
in what November? Jarrett? Right, Like, we what are we
supposed to expect at this point in his rehab? You know?
Like the question is will a team spend the significant
draft capital that it takes with their kind of reputation
on the line. If you get this wrong, you're set
(02:29):
back for years. Right We've seen it with Blake Bortles
in Jacksonville. I think we're seeing it right now with
Mitchell Robinski in Chicago. So do you think a team
is going to make the investment, whether that's taking him
in the top five or trading up to go get
a guy like Tour. I think both teams both the
(02:50):
are both the Dodgers, both the Chargers speaking of l
a uh and the Dolphins are both in very intriguing
positions right now. I think both teams have enough draft
cab but all they have enough kind of direction with
their franchise to know that one of these two guys
is probably going to change the course of the franchise,
either for positive or negative over the next five to
(03:10):
ten years. The thing that we don't know, and the
thing that we have to handicap is which team likes
which guy better. You would imagine that tah is the choice,
but there could be some run on Justin Herbert because
he has had a pro day, he had a much
healthier campaign, and he also is a guy that showed
some moxie in the Rolls Bowl. I like what I
(03:31):
saw from Herbert in that Rolls Bowl. Now, Oregon's team
as a whole, I thought didn't help his case last year.
Mario cristal Ball is a very offensive line coach at heart,
so he's not a guy that really decided to showcase Herbert.
I thought Oregon's game plans were a little vanilla at
times last season, while while Alabama really showcased t at
at any stage that they could until he got hurt.
(03:53):
So I think Alabama kind of put him in a
better chance to succeed. But Herbert is an interest in case,
and who knows, maybe the Chargers really like Herbert and
they're okay was sitting at six and taking Herbert and
then using the rest of their draft capital as allocated.
The Dolphins certainly have more first round picks. They could
actually make the move up to one if they really
(04:13):
like Joe Burrow. That seems like a stretch to me,
but I wouldn't be surprised if both of these teams
just helped firm and took the guys in their spots. Listen, Jared,
you have heard me before on this network. Everybody has
heard me before say I actually think Justin Herbert will
be the best quarterback coming out of this draft in
terms of his NFL career. I think he is the
blue chip guy that people forget there's someone like that
(04:35):
every single year. And I've said, the Chargers may be
happy to have him fall in their lap at number six,
but we can make money. Jared on this idea of
fading to a right now, our partners on fans will
have an over under prop on his draft position at
two and a half. Granted, there is ridiculous juice on
(04:56):
the over right, which would mean at pick three or later.
But the way I see it is this is a
prop that on will Washington trade out of the number
two spot right because it will take a team I
think to want to hop Miami hop the Chargers, or
a kind of who will blink first game of chicken
(05:17):
cold war between Miami and the Chargers to see do
they go up to say three or four with Detroit
when the Giants, or do they ensure that they can
have their first bite at the apple by going all
the way up to two. I, in fact think it's
really about what Washington wants to do for this bet specifically,
and with new head coach Ron rivera new defensive coordinator
(05:39):
Jack del Rio, I think they are very, very excited
and happy to have by many accounts, the best player
overall in the draft, Chase Young, be ready and willing
and able for them right there at number two. They've
made moves recently to dictate that they will in fact
look like trust Dwayne Haskins for at least another year
(06:00):
under this new regime, and so that to me means
there is no way to a is one of the
first two people that hear their names called. The question
is for sports investors out there, Jared, are you willing
to lay minus three bills on it? I personally am
because I think it's a lock, and I am not
one of those people that believe that a minus in
(06:22):
front of a pick means there's no value there. I think,
to me, the question is what is the chance that
Washington says we don't want Chase Young? And I don't
think that is a high probability. I do agree with
everything that you said about Chase Young's prospects in the NFL.
I think he's the best overall player top to bottom
(06:43):
in this draft, and I think he should and will
be taken with the number two pick. The thing that
could throw all of this out the window is if
somebody is in love with Twah or Herbert and they
want to take him one past Borrow. I don't think
that's gonna happen either. So I think to Ah is
a great prospect. There's a little bit of a question
mark around his health, and that's why I think he's
(07:05):
gonna be taken third or later. And that's why I
think that pick of the over two and a half
at minus three is almost a virtual lock at this point.
And if and if you do have some capital, if
you're stashing some cash right now, I think it's a
good way to go. Listen, I'm continuing to use this platform, Jared,
to convince you about the Chargers doing thinking the right way,
whether it's their defense or be telling you that he
(07:28):
may be the choice if they just sit pat at six,
it's very possible. Let me tell you something though, that
Joe Rohnery and I were talking about a little bit
earlier on Okay, and you know, we talked about the
Detroit Lions at three, and we talked about how they're
open for business. Right, we posed another scenario. Many people
have talked about Matthew Stafford getting up in age and
(07:51):
how teams need to be you know, early and planned
for this, everyone from Pittsburgh to the Giants to New
England and know when that wave goes, we're talking about
elder statesman like Matthew Stafford. I also want to remind
you that the Chicago Bears moved up from three to
two a few years ago to get Mitchell Travisky right,
(08:14):
and when you talk about the Cold War aspect of
it all right, just so that no one else can
hop you could there be a universe where the team
that does move up to two that wouldn't have to
pay a huge price, could be the Detroit Lions. That
would be something, Um, you know, I think. I think
if Detroit decides it's time to make a move at quarterback, uh,
(08:39):
this is the draft to do it. Because you're right,
they do have an opportunity at three to even take two. Uh,
because you would think because you would think that, yeah,
like they might not need to get up to two
to take the quarterback of the future that they want.
That's right, and then all the other dominoes fall in line.
And even Miami of the Chargers are left holding the bag.
(09:02):
And that's when certain phones around the NFL start to ring.
Let me spend it for you, for you another way, Jared, Okay,
And we're trying to make a little bit of cash
here in these times, whether you want to put it
in cash or put it in futures in whatever market
it is, whether it be soybeans or in this past Jared,
the offensive rookie of the year you're thinking about now,
(09:24):
maybe there's reasons because of a red shirt year right
or to and not being fully healthy. The situations people
are in. I draw your attention to our friends at
FanDuel and the offensive Rookie of the year. It sounds
like you don't necessarily believe Joe Burrow is the number
(09:45):
one rated overall player on the board. You don't necessarily
believe that to his health is one locked in, or
even that the team that drafts him has any intention
of running him out there in Week one. Right, So
when I look at these odds, Borrow is a two
fifty plus plus two fifty favorite. Then you have tour.
(10:06):
Then you have quarterbacks that may start like Justin Herbert,
or the running back position guys like Swift or Taylor.
Who do you think could be in best position, given
a fit to truly blow up in year one? Who's
going to have the best year. I'll tell you what
if the Chargers draft Justin Herbert and if he's the
(10:28):
starter on day one with that defense and those weapons,
thirteen to one, Justin Herbert doesn't sound too bad. First
of all, I think a quarterback in this spot makes sense,
especially if it's a quarterback on a team that has
a chance to win. Last year it was Josh Jacobs,
so last year it was certainly you know the years
before that the running back sometimes has an easier path.
(10:51):
That's true, that's true. I think the question I would
have to ask, though, is which teams these players are on.
This is a hard thing to predict now. Knowing that
we don't know which teams these players are gonna be on,
these odds are gonna change immensely after the draft, because
let's say a guy like Jonathan Taylor goes to a
team like I don't know, the Ravens or something like that.
(11:11):
I'm not saying it's gonna happen, but you put him
on a team that is already equipped with an immediate
plus rushing offense. Yes, Jonathan Taylor is gonna have a
great season because he isn't one of the best running
backs in the history of college football. Uh and he
is on a team now with an elite running game
and an elite quarterback. If you put him on a
team like the Bengals with a first round pick at quarterback,
who have a little bit of uncertainty at their offensive
(11:33):
line in another spots, then it's really hard to give
him that nod. So I think a lot of this
is depending on which players h link up with which teams.
But I'll tell you what, Herbert one, I can see
a future with him on the Chargers and him playing
really well in year one. Yeah, absolutely, you're right. You know,
we lean quarterbacks generally speaking in these awards, right, Um,
(11:55):
But it depends on who has the path to production
and fan it's the statuses, you know, These are the
guys you're gonna be thinking about in dynasty leagues to
stash away, right. But the running backs are the ones
who usually kind of emerged right off the bat, you know.
And one of the points we've made before, right is
the game translates a little bit more for the running
(12:17):
back position than say a wide receiver, than say a
tight end or even an offensive lineman. Right, um, I think,
I mean, actually, the wide receivers on this list are
intriguing as well. Uh, the running backs. I'm not surprised
that you see Swift and Taylor as as two of
the top four names on the board. I do definitely
think so I don't know enough about where Swift might
(12:41):
go and where Taylor might go to really make an
accurate description. I would say running back right now would
be my initial lean here because we're unsure about the
health of two I don't think Burrow is gonna play
enough right out of the gate, at least we don't
know if he does go to Cincinnati what that situation
is going to be with Andy Dalton, and then Herbert
obviously is a massive wild card because we don't know
which team he's gonna be on either. So I would
(13:01):
say right now, I'm not surprised to see two running
backs in the top four. The running backs and the
wide receivers might have a significant edge because they would
theoretically be playing on better teams, especially the running backs.
The running backs could go in the second or third
round of this draft, and they could go to contenders.
I mean they could go to you know, super Bowl
title contenders. So I would say the running backs right
now would be my lean. Alright, fair enough. Funny when
(13:23):
you look at the defensive rookie of the year five
to one for Chase Young, then a big time gap, Jared.
One of the things we were talking about is what
the Detroit Lions could do. Could they go get the quarterback? Right?
Could they have a high end talent fall into their lap?
And our friends over at Fanzel, you know, we talked
about um certain leans one way or the other. What
(13:43):
you think on the board on tour. One of the
things I've told you earlier this week was, you know
they had the worst past defense in the entire NFL. Right,
they traded away Darius Slay, their number one cornerback, right,
and then you can a bet on fan duel the
number one pick overall, the number to pick overall, and
(14:06):
to do number one. We're all penciling in Joe Burrow
minus thirty. I'm not doing that. Number two. There's Chase Young,
And to a I think vetting on the number three
pick is very very interesting. So I want to kind
of hold your feet to the flame on Detroit. Actually,
you know, succession planning for Matthew Stafford versus the need
(14:28):
they may get TOA is the favorite for the number
three pick, So that would mean, yeah, maybe the Detroit
Lions are looking a little bit to the future, or
maybe that is the trade partner. Then you have the
second choice, Jeff Acuda, who is the cornerback from Ohio State.
We've talked about it, you know, probably the second best
(14:49):
defensive player in this draft, along with Isaiah Simmons, the
person not named Chase Young. Where do you think, ultimately,
what does Detroit do. I've actually to put the GM
had on before. If you're Detroit, you trade it. Do
you go with the quarterback of the future, or you
build on the defensive side of the ball. If I'm
matt Patricia, I know that I just traded away Dariusly,
(15:13):
and I know that I've had massive issues in the secondary,
and I know I've had massive, massive issues on the
defensive side of the ball, and I know I'm a
defensive coach. So that would lead me to believe that
they are going to go with Jeff Acuda, and I
think that's a very smart pick. But I'll take it
one further. I'm looking at some interesting odds right now
on family the first three picks in exact order. Borrow
(15:33):
young Tuah is even money. Borrow young Okuda is plus
two twenty so right now and again, you mentioned that
the number three pick right now the favorite is to uh.
That would lead me to believe that there's some talk
of the Lions either moving out of three or taking
two oh with the third pick. I think the former
(15:56):
has a better chance of happening. I think the Lions
know that if they trade with the Chargers of the
Dolphins and they dropped back to five or six, they
can they can They can still get a Kuda and
pick up some capital, I think. And I also think
the Giants are an intriguing trade partner as well, because
right now the giants biggest need is offensive tackle. There's
four of them that are basically stud can't miss right
(16:19):
tackle prospects. We talked about him earlier this week. The
Giants could trade from four back to five or six,
still get one of those offensive tackles, pick up a
little bit of draft capital, and make everybody happy, because
then the Chargers of the Dolphins theoretically will be moving
up to get their guy. To me that the part
of this that we can handicap is the difference between
(16:40):
how the Chargers feel about to Uh compared to how
the Dolphins feel about to UH and vice versa about
Justin Herbert. Do the Chargers or the Dolphins do they
think that those two quarterbacks are interchangeable? Probably not. Each
team probably has their guy. My guesses each team probably
has the same guy. My guess is each team probably
really likes to more than Herbert. That's just my guest.
(17:02):
I don't know that for a fact. I'm not in
these war rooms. But if that's the case, we talked
about it the Cold War, the bidding war, that could
happen between now and whenever the draft does take place.
Of where these teams are going to slot. Maybe one
team gets to four and then the other team says, no,
I'm going to three. I mean, it could be one
of those type of one up scenarios, and it is
(17:25):
going to be absolutely fascinating on draft night to see
how this pois out. It's an arms race, as it
always is. Winston Mariotta wanted to golf wins. That's how
it goes. You go up as far as you can.
At this point of the calendar, Jared, before the NFL Draft,
you're really one of two teams. Either you have the
quarterback or you're going to get the quarterback. You're not
(17:47):
going up for the offensive lineman. But in any event,
Jared and I will continue to break it down. This
is at the window. When we come back on the
other side of the great Jared, we're gonna talk about
if and when the draft is going to go on
a schedule, then what will it look like if and
when it does. That's what we're gonna talk about. Come
on back on the other side of the break. It's
at the window, Dan and Jared. If you want the edge,
(18:08):
get on the grid sports grid dot Com betting insights
and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers the
most important topics in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive
betting models, expert picks and more. Want the edge, then
(18:28):
get on the grid sports grid dot Com. Welcome back
everybody to at the window. Dane Martinez and Jared Smith.
Here I'm holding you down on sports grid. Given everybody
the edge they need in these times. Many people are,
you know, staying at home when you got something to do,
you can still find ways to get ahead of the
(18:49):
curve here and get the edge. That's what we're doing here.
We were talking about kind of the draft ways to
make money on the top part of the draft, what
tourist position would be, what the number of three pick
would be, how you can find some inefficiencies in the market.
But Jared, you know, one of the things that we've
heard recently is, you know, not all the gms around
the NFL are you know, kind of on board with
(19:13):
the draft happening in the first place. Right We've heard
first that it's not going to be this big Vegas event.
It won't be the fashion show with the guys walking
across the red carpet at the Bellage CEO. But now,
you know, we've heard that there are some general managers
out there. The sub committee actually voted unanimously to postponent
a little bit because, as we've discussed, you know, physicals
are tough right now, Travel is tough right now. Having
(19:35):
those kind of team meetings in the same room with
each other is very tough right now. What kind of
impact does this have on the draft and what do
you think is you know, ultimately gonna happen here massive impact, Dane.
I think the key for me right now is to
hear something thrown away around as unanimous and and that's
that's a powerful word. In the NFL. It's not often
(19:58):
that teams are lining up unanimously to vote in one
direction for an issue. And I think there's even some
smaller owners that are kind of on par with this
being moved in some capacity. However, the big power brokers,
the Jerry Jones is, the Robert Crafts, the Maras. They're
kind of running the NFL, for lack of a better word.
(20:20):
They want this thing to go off at the end
of April as planned. I'm a little bit concerned though,
based on the rhetoric that we're starting to hear, and again,
we're taping this on Wednesday afternoon. It's not gonna air
until Thursday or Friday at at the absolute latest, so
we don't know by then if we do hear news.
Our expectation right now is we're handicapping this as a
(20:40):
late April draft. If that changes, what that does, Dane
is it starts to put the rest of the league
calendar in jeopardy, because if you push the draft back
to May or June, and you don't get these rookies
in camp until July. You really can't have an August
training camp with preseason games. It makes things very squeezed,
(21:02):
and we've already seen it with baseball. Their spring training
has been basically totally eradicated, and we're gonna get a
new spring training at some point later this summer, and
we don't know when that season is going to start
as well. We could hear news on that this week
as well. We're just kind of in limbo right now.
But the way we're handicapping this still the good news
about it to a tackle, blow is probably gonna get
taken the same whether the draft happens in April or
(21:23):
in May. I don't think where these players get taken
will get impacted that much. However, the rest of the
league calendar could certainly be in flux if this draft
gets pushed back. All right, So you know I am
a cynical New Yorker. We just posted on social media
at sports Grade that I'm hanging outside my fire escape.
You know, right before we get on to discuss this,
(21:43):
what we have to, let me ask you this. Okay,
you said unanimous, this like sub committee of the GMS.
What do you think is truly motivating the gms. Is
it the public health concern or is it the risk
of their hit rate as a general manager in the
first and second round when they have limited information, right,
they can't interview these kids, they don't have top thirty visits,
(22:05):
that many of them not having pro days. This is
limited information for these general managers to go and it
is their jobs, their reputations on the line, to like
get it right. In two or three years, when the
Beat reporter does the article on the GM on the
hot seat, they're not going to talk about the context
of this draft. They're gonna say, and four of the
draft picks from this draft are no longer on the roster. Okay,
(22:28):
so how about this? And yeah, we're recording this on Wednesday.
But this is a question for your opinion regardless of
when this happens. Do you think what's motivating this is
really respect for the process and the public health concern
that's out there or one reputation. I think it's the
public health concern. I think it's the fact that the
facilities are closed. Everything is closed. I mean, we're going
(22:50):
through it, you know, both of us live in New
York City. We both understand the kind of adaptation our
lives are going through right now. And I don't mean
to be like a doomsday office is, but it's not
like we're just gonna wake up one day and this
is gonna be gone and everyone's gonna go back to
normal life. This is gonna be months of a new normal.
And you know, I think the NFL is not immune
(23:10):
from that in terms of how these teams operate, how
the facilities stay open, what they're gonna what to travel.
I think to travel to me is the biggest part
of this. You're asking all of these teams and when
these players get drafted, what's the first thing they do?
After they get drafted. They get on a plane, They
fly to the team facility. They do their little signing
where they're in the room and they're meeting all the
coaches and the players. You can't do that right now,
(23:32):
you know, you can't have these guys getting on planes
and flying all over the country. So the entire process
that we're used to going through, it is a new normal.
Everything has to be changed. I vote yes with the GMS.
I agree. I'm on the side of the g MS here.
I do think the draft needs to be moved. I
don't know if it will be, but I do think
it needs to be moved. I think we need to
(23:54):
respect the process of this public health crisis and we
need to let things. I mean, this is gonna be
happening in April day and apparently, according to some of
the sources we're hearing here in New York, especially Governor
Cuomo has been incredible getting on the front lines of this.
That's when the peak of this virus is going to
be sweeping through New York City. It's kind of distasteful
to be having an NFL spectacle like this right in
(24:16):
the peak of this virus. So I I do think
that's why everything was canceled until June at the earliest
with a lot of these NBA teams and NHL teams,
And I think the NFL should heed that call. Right now,
the NFL is open for business. It's been great for us,
but I think it's a bit of a bad look
if they do have this draft on schedule at the
end of April. All right, it's once again in time.
(24:37):
Jared's you put your general manager of sports grade hat on. Okay, Um,
we have talked about this draft process before and one
of the things you have said is we see the
player on tape, right, So all the general managers still
have access to these players on tape. And then what
happens is the combine what happens or pro days, what
(24:58):
happens our team meetings, what happens are interviews. What do
you put more stock in as the general manager of
sports grade the tape we see on a guy like too, well,
he's maybe a bad example because of the health, right,
But a guy you see on tape, like an offensive
lineman like and Andrew Thomas from Georgia or an Isaiah Simmons, right,
(25:19):
you can't bring him in, you can't have your doctor's
checks him out, you can't have you know, but you
do have the tape. What do you put more stock in?
Good question? I think in the pre draft process, which
is right now, I think the interviews are more important.
I think the tape is the tape, especially the offensive
(25:39):
line that that moved the lever for him. Yeah, I
think I think it absolutely did. I mean, if you
were going to tell me that DK Metcalf didn't turn
off some teams or turn on some teams, not not literally.
Pete Carroll, though he might have been turned on by
seeing d K without a shirt, might have been very
excited about exactly. But I think d K probably turned
(26:02):
off some teams with that as well. Uh, some teams
that maybe have a little bit of a weaker locker room,
a weaker head coach that can't handle that kind of personality.
And on the flip side of that, I think some
teams might be turned off by the fact that Justin
Herbert has been a little quieter of a demeanor, a
little you know, burrows more of an outspoken, charismatic person,
(26:23):
you know, especially at the quarterback position. I mean, to me,
the personality is almost more important than the tape because
how they handle the room, how they handle the huddle
is paramount, and how they can lead a team. Offensive lineman,
the tape is the tape. Is he big? Can he
pump out a lot of weights? And can he move
his feet? Those things are pretty set in stone. I
(26:44):
think the tape kind of dictates that, and you're not
gonna get a lot of discrepancy with how grades are
handed out with offensive lineman. Where the offensive lineman is
different is in that room is this guy going to
be a mentally strong person. I think we saw that
a little bit. It was of the offensive lineman that
we've seen in the past. I mean Eric Flowers. He
was a mental midget at times when he was drafted
(27:05):
in the first round by the Giants and he got
shipped out of town. But he was a can't miss
prospect on paper. But obviously there was some disconnect in
the locker room. So I do think the interview process
is vital. One of the interesting markets though Jared in
this draft, and we've talked about it previously on At
the Window here on Sports Creed, is the wide receiver market.
We talked about so many different wide receivers that are
(27:28):
coming out this year that you know have grades in
the top two or three rounds. We talked about some
of the biggest names and their potential fits previously on
At the Window. But my point also is that if
you have just taped to look at right now instead
of team meetings, instead of pro days, instead of official
free agent visits, then I'm more likely to go trust
(27:49):
the tape at the NFL level then at the college level,
and some of these teams that we have previously discussed
that we're in the wide receiver market, have recently instead
addressed their needs in the free agent wide receiver market.
No shortage of moves over the last forty eight hours
in the wide receiver market, Jared, and we start with
(28:10):
who we had when you were the GM at the
top of your wide receiver kind of wish list. Robby Anderson,
You and I are Jets fans. He is no longer
a Jet moving on. It is the Carolina Panthers that
signed him two years, twenty million dollars. And Jared, what
do you know another example of our kind of lessons
(28:31):
in the off season. Matt Rule, head coach of Temple
previously Robbie Anderson, undrafted free agent from Temple University. It
happens again. First, what do you think about the signing
and the fit? Going back to familiarity, I think it's
a good signing. Again, You've got p J. Walker now
uh and Robbie Anderson. So the Boca ritron Ball champion
(28:53):
Temple Owls are very well represented with Matt Rule as
the head coach on the Carolina Panthers. Right now, I
will say this about the Jets. People asked me yesterday,
I was listening to some sportstock radio here in the
city after we heard that that he had signed with Carolina.
It wasn't like outrage that Joe Douglas didn't sign him
for two years and twenty million. I think the Jets
got the most that they possibly could out of Robbie
(29:15):
Anderson as an undrafted free agent with basically no upside
coming out of college, and they squeezed I don't want
to say all Pro or Pro Bowl, but a pretty
decent lide receiver career out of him with the Jets.
And what does New York turn around and do right
after they lose out on Anderson, Well, they go signed
for Shot Parraman, who I think is another young, up
(29:36):
and coming receiver who had a lot more upside than
Anderson did coming out of college as a first round
pick by the Baltimore Ravens. Things didn't quite work out
in Baltimore, they weren't bad in Tampa. At the end
of last season. I think Tampa's gonna miss Powerman a
little bit more than the Jets could miss Robbie Anderson,
because to me, Parraman slots into that little position where
now he hopefully builds a rapport with Sam Donald, But
(29:58):
to me, Jamison Crowder was the bigger kind of keep
for the Jets this year. I loved what I saw
with Crowder and Donald last season. He's that safety net,
He's that safety valve for Donald coming out of the slot.
So you've got Crowder back, you add Parraman to the mix.
And theoretically, we talked about it a little bit earlier
this week. We don't necessarily think, Dane that the Jets
need to draft a wide receiver at eleven. I would
(30:20):
prefer one of these blueship tackles because there's a lot
more depth later in the draft at wide receiver. That
Jets have a second round pick and they have two
third round picks, that's when you can address a little
bit more depth at the wide receiver position. I'm happy
with how the Jets rebounded with Perriman and the position
that they're in to add to their wide receiver corps
in the draft. Yeah. And you know what's interesting with
(30:40):
these two signings here, Robby Anderson and Bischard Perriman. You
know many people liking them similar profile of the kind
of wide receiver that they are, similar age and similar
contract structure. I think, as I put my fantasy hat
on Jared. You know, I think they moved in opposite
directions in terms of their potential for fantasy production. Right.
Rashad Perryman, for example, was with Tampa Bay having his
(31:03):
quasi breakout after being a first round pick, but that
only happened after Mike Evans went down. After Chris Godwin
went down. He was the third fourth option for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers last year. He now moves to the
New York Jets, where there is a vacancy at the
number one wide receiver with the targets that come along
(31:24):
with it. Right. You mentioned Jamison Crowder. He had a
game of like fourteen catches or seventeen targets when they
were you know, in vibe together and both healthy for
the Jets last year. But Brischard Perriman becomes that outside
wide receiver, and regardless of what the Jets do in
the draft, I agree with you. I think they should
use not the first round pick, but one of their
four picks in the top three rounds to address that
(31:47):
need and complete the wide receiver room. But I think
Rashad Perryman's kind of fantasy stock improves on the flip side,
Robby Anderson moves from being the number one wide receiver
you talked about a fringe Robowl caliber player because of
the production he put up in that offense, with the
amount of attention he was receiving from Sam Donald, with
(32:07):
what he was building with Sam Donald. He now moves
to the Carolina Panthers, where I don't care who the
head coach was, I don't care what his you know,
opportunity and familiarity and previous relationship is. He is probably
gonna play the role of this wide receiver that takes
the top off a defense that is somewhat of a
decoy that will get is you know, two for one
(32:30):
oh seven and a touchdown lines, but we'll also get
lines that are disappointing to your fantasy team. Okay, And
when you look at Carolina, Christian McCaffrey is a true
workhorse bell cow for that offense. D J. Moore is ascending,
Curtis Samuel is a piece in that offense. Robbie Anderson
slides in, albeit with a very important role and an
(32:52):
improving skill set, as the fourth or fifth option. So
when last year and in years past for the New
York Jets, he was a wide receiver two or three
in fantasy. I don't know that he's necessarily startable in fantasy.
So kind of in some ways, not only do the
Jets make out, but in the kind of production and
fantasy Brochard Perriman I think makes out because the fit
(33:14):
I agree, and and and again. I think Crowder and
Perriman together playoff well because Crowder is an underneath guy.
He's not really a deep thread. He kind of a
slot guy. He can get you deep, but he is
more of a guy that's gonna eat up targets, where
Perriman is a guy that's gonna stretch the field. We
saw that very well with Jamis Winston last year. And hey,
if Jamis Winston can can can find Breshad Perriman, Sam
(33:36):
Donald can't too. I mean Donald throws the deep ball
very well. Uh and and again keep Donald upright. Address
the offensive line. Joe Douglas has spent about I don't
know hundred pounds they brought in of offensive lineman free
agents this offseason. Great. Keep adding to that in the
draft backed in Willis works. Probably worse will be off
the board, but one of these guys is gonna be
(33:57):
there at eleven hopefully, and that is your blue chip
right tackle. In addition to the entire renovation you've made
at center, at right guard, basically the entire offensive line
is going to be fresh for the Jets next season,
which is a breath of fresh air, because the key
for Gang Green to be healthy is to keep the
Sam Donald upright. If he's upright, the Jets have a
(34:17):
very bright future because they've got weapons in Toe and oh,
by the way, and Levian Bell is still on the team,
so there are a ton of toys for Sam Donald
to implement. You would hope Adam Gates can put him
in the right place and going forward, if this offensive
line is remade. I love that defense. I mean to me,
the Jets defense. You know, it was a little underrated
(34:37):
last season, and they made every signing possible to kind
of keep these defensive guys in Toe and Greg Williams
of course a great defensive coordinator. Jets might be a
surprise team that win total six and a half. I
know I'm an optimist, a hopeless romantic when it comes
to my Jets, but six and a half seems a
little under priced for a team with an elite quarterback
and a remade offensive line and a solid defense and
(35:00):
elite quarterback. My man Jared Smith just called Sam Donald.
I'm a Jets fan, but you know, let's see, he
was getting over Mono only about six months ago. We're
all getting over different things right now. We understand that.
That's why we are still here bringing you the content
that you need on sports grout. If you want the edge,
get on the grid, Come on right back. It's at
(35:20):
the window, Dane and Jared. We have more looks at
the NFL after this sports grid dot Com Betting insights
and entertainment at your fingertips as our team covers the
(35:41):
most important topics in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive
betting models, expert picks, and more. Want the edge than
get on the grid sports grid dot Com. All right, everyone,
(36:03):
welcome back to at the Window. Here on sports Care
Dave Martinez and Jared Smith touring you around the NFL
of what we're doing. We're talking about the wide receiver market.
There were two very interesting signings kind of at the
top of the wish list, you know, as we move
along in this process, Robby Anderson and Bashad Perriman signing
with the Panthers and the Jets, respectively. But those weren't
the only wide receiver uh names to kind of go
(36:26):
off the free agent board. Jared, there's another signing that
we want to discuss here. First of all, Devin Funches
signs with the Green Bay Packers. I think this is
very interesting, Jared. You know we've talked about the X
Y Z affair before. One of the things the Green
Bay Packers did was lose Jimmy Graham right offseason already.
So when you talk about Davante Adams, and you know,
(36:46):
there was already a ton of kind of attention paid
that way. But this does, in fact give Aaron Rodgers
another red zone target as he kind of you know,
enters the you know, the last few holes of his career.
All the talk is out Rivers and Breeze and Brady
and Big Ben and some of these older quarterbacks. I always,
and we've talked about it earlier in this show. I'm
(37:07):
thinking about guys like Aaron Rodgers. I'm thinking about guys
like Matthew Stafford. I'm thinking about guys like Matt Ryan
what they need to do with the remaining parts of
their career to get weapons and get protected and Devin
Funches provides that a little bit for the Green Bay Packers.
And it's interesting, Dame, because we we haven't talked, you know,
during these free agent discussions h that we've had a
(37:27):
lot of over the last couple of weeks. We haven't
talked a lot about the big teams, the big quarterbacks,
because usually those are the teams that kind of hang
back in free agency because they had successful seasons last
year and they don't have as many holes to fill.
I don't think the Packers are in that category. I
think the Packers did have a massive hold at wide receiver.
Uh it's Davante Adams and everyone else. I mean, do
you really trust, you know, Alan Lazar to be that
(37:48):
next great wide receiver for the Packers, a guy that
you really didn't even know who existed until about mid
season last year. I think what Funch just does is
he kind of fills two spots. Yes, he gives them
some depth in the wide receiver of a room. But
as you mentioned, no Jimmy Graham and how much does
Aaron Rodgers love finding tight ends? And he certainly does.
It goes back to even the Brett Farve days with
Mark Romorrow. Packers and tight ends have always been a thing,
(38:11):
and I think right now with Green Bay Bunches six
four tow he's had some really good seasons with Carolina.
Injury played year last year with the Colts. If he
bounces back and he's healthy, he gives Rogers an immediate
upgrade in the red zone. It was a collar bone
last year, but if he can stay healthy, he could
absolutely be a productive wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.
(38:33):
We are not done, though, Jared. There was another signing recently.
The Seattle Seahawks go ahead and signed Philip dorse Set
to a one year deal. This is a different kind
of wide receiver, Jared, then devon Bunches, that is to
be sure, right, So what do you think kind of
role can Philip dorse Set actually play with the Seattle Seahawks.
(38:53):
They already have a Tyler Lockett, They already have a
dk Metcalf, who we mentioned a little bit earlier in
the show. Where do you think Dorset fits in? I
think he fits in very well. I mean I kind
of liken him a little bit to Locket's game smaller
five ten, you know, two pounds, probably soaking wet had
a couple of interesting seasons with New England. Uh never
really kind of meshed with that Patriots offense. He was
(39:16):
kind of just like a weapon that they would put
out there in random spots. He never really found that
elite chemistry with Tom Brady Grant, and Tom didn't find
a whole lot of chemistry with any Patriot wide receivers
last season, and I think maybe that's one of the
reasons why he's in Tampa Bay right now. But what
I see with Dorset is another game breaking talent on
this Seattle Seahawks offense, which is now going to be
(39:38):
really focused on DK Metcalf. Obviously, Metcalf emerged at the
end of last season as that number one wide receiver
that Seahawks fans have been craving, and he certainly has
the physical tools to be just that. We'll see if
he can continue to grow from a mental standpoint. But
obviously Tyler Locketts very talented, and now you add a
guy in Dorset, it was kind of like a Philip Uh,
you know, it could kind of like a Tyler Cket Jr. There.
(40:00):
He's got similar tools, has the ability for some game
breaking plays, and they can move him around a little bit.
The running back position obviously is gonna be a massive question.
Marshawn Lynch. We don't know if he's gonna come back,
probably not. They have Rashad Penny who's also in an
interesting situation as well, and Chris Parson injury exactly. So
you can use door set as kind of like that
(40:21):
scat Swiss Army knife wide receiver, similar to how they
use uh locket as well, where they kind of move
around the offense a little bit. So I like to
move for Seattle. Okay, let me ask you this, um.
We just named three wide receivers and we just talked
about doubts of three Seattle Seahawk running backs. What does
(40:42):
that mean when I ask you the rest of free
agency and the draft, and what does that mean for
the identity Jared of the Seattle Seahawks. This is one
of the more run heavy teams in the NFL. This
has been running and then Russell Wilson making plays. Is
this a team that is evolving more to the passing
(41:03):
game when they see Russell Wilson be the third choice
for m v P. Could they be putting more on
Russell Wilson in the past game or do you think
this team remains with their identity something you've talked about consistency,
identity being even more important. What is the identity of
the Seattle Seahawks? Is it changing? Jared? I think it
(41:24):
is and I think we saw them remake their offensive
line a little bit. They brought in Brandon Shell from
the Jets to play right tackle, and I think that
is a huge coup, uh for the Seattle Seahawks team
because I think what it shows me is that the
Seahawks team is now a little bit more worried about
the right tackle position, which is an offensive passing position,
uh than a right guard or center or left guard position.
(41:46):
I think the rest of their offensive line needs a
little bit of work as well. But I think right
now what you've got with Russell Wilson, Wilson's been around
the block. I mean, this is what a seventh sixth,
seventh year in the NFL. Yeah, he's not a rookie anymore.
He is kind of getting to that to the turn,
as they say, where he's approaching the back nine of
his career. So they don't want him to be this
guy that runs around and makes all these crazy plays.
(42:08):
They want to build around the passing game. Russell has
shown that when he has time in the pocket, he
can make elite level throws down the field. And I
think DK Metcalf is gonna be a big emergence as
he continues to mesh into the Seahawks offense. But I
think what you're seeing with Seattle is a little bit
of that identity crisis. I think that's a good call.
You know what's so interesting to me, Okay, normally, Jared,
(42:31):
when we have a quarterback and you're talking about them
after the turn, right, what offenses do is support them
more in the running game. Look at what happened with
Tom Brady as they evolved with New England more of
the running game, Drew Brees as he got older, they
put more focus on the running game over the last
few years, right, more of the running game, more of
(42:52):
the defense. I find it it's very interesting that when
you say, because Russell Wilson has been a master at
school hard football for the better part of a decade,
that the way to support him on the back nine
is a completely different way than what we see with
these pocket quarterbacks. I wonder if that's in vogue, you know,
(43:15):
if that will happen towards the end of Deshaun Watson's career,
to the end of Patrick mahomes career, to the end
of Kyler Murray's career. Talk to me a little bit
about what you see this big picture idea of where
the league is going at quarterback. Now, when you think
about the dual threat quarterbacks versus these pocket passers that
(43:36):
are still kind of hanging on and getting new contracts,
where is this league going? Well, I think the key
is is where the offenses have gone. Uh, running games
are kind of a thing of the past, and you know,
to just base your entire offense on Hey, we're gonna
set up the run and then we're gonna throw play
action on second and third downs, and we're gonna know
(43:57):
this is how you win in the NFL. You throw
on fort down. That is how you win in the NFL.
You run play action on first down, and then maybe
second down is your if I want to run, check
with me and let's see what the defense does. And
then third down, most likely, unless it's third and short,
is always a pass. So I just I think the
NFL is going towards a pass happen. I mean, it's
gone towards it's not going. It is there right now.
(44:19):
So just to say, all right, well this quarterback is
getting older, let's just surround them with a really good
offensive line and two really good running backs and let
them just hand it off. You know, most more often
than not, that doesn't work in the NFL anymore, Dane.
You have to stay active and nimble in the passing game.
And what the Seahawks are starting to do is they're
starting to realize that we have to build around Russell
Wilson in the wide receiver position, the running back position.
(44:41):
They're a dime a dozen. You saw Chris Carson, you
saw Rashaan Penny, you saw Marshawn Lynch in the playoffs
last year. These guys are a dime a dozen. But
you need to continue to build weapons in the passing game,
and regardless of how old or how young a quarterback is,
those weapons need to be solid, and they need to
be deep, and they need to be healthy. And that's
(45:01):
something we haven't been able to see on a consistent
basis with a lot of these teams. Seattle's had tons,
tons of injury issues at wide receiver over their past,
and now they got just a little bit of depth
there with Dorset. Yeah, it's so interesting, Jared. You know,
as we talk about the evolution of the NFL, the
value of certain positions, whether it be the tackle position,
(45:24):
the cornerback position, the edge rusher right, and the devaluing
of some other positions, whether that be the full back,
the three down middle linebacker like Tequillo Spikes, or the
running back position and contracts, and Jared, as we've talked
about earlier on at the Window, the idea of the
over under on how many running backs will be drafted
in the first round. We see it all over the
(45:45):
place in the NFL, and we will continue to break
it down for you here on at the Window, giving
you the edge you need on the Grid sports grids
dot Com. But Jared, you know, we've been talking about
the NFL a lot lately, right, but there is also
news in other places as we're in this kind of
pause in the sports world. And one of the things
that came down big headlines from New York but for
(46:09):
the baseball teams is New York Mets starter Noah Syndergard.
They call him thor here in New York. He's going down.
He is going to have Tommy John surgery. Um. They've
announced it over the last couple of days, and that
takes away all of regardless of how many games has
played and what the season looks like, even into what
(46:31):
do you do here? Do you think this is the
right call to just get it done now given the
time we're in and what's the impact on the New
York Mets. I mean, I think going forward the impact
is not going to be as broad as we think.
I am not a Noah Syndergard fan. I'm not a
Mets fan, but in terms of the way that he
goes about his business, I think it's it's been selfish
(46:52):
in the past, and there's been some issues with the
with not only the front office but the training staff.
I don't know if you remember Dame, but in Seen
the Mets asked him to get an m R I
on his arm after leaving a start and he said no.
He said no. When your training staff of the team
you play for, says get an m R I because
(47:14):
we think your arm is hurt, and you say no,
I'm good. That's a bigger issue to me than just
all right, he's hurt. To me, that is an underlying
disconnect with him and the training staff and the front
office of the team that he plays for. Do I
feel bad for him that he got hurt and he's
gonna miss some time. Yes, Obviously I don't wish ill
will on any player or human being, especially in these
(47:36):
very trying times that we are living in. However, what
I see with Noah Synderguard is a bit of you know,
immaturity in the way that he's handled his body over
the last few years. And I don't want to say
that this is karma, but I think this was inevitable
because of just the way that he has handled not
only his workout routine, but his offseason routine as well.
He has repeatedly come in a bit bulkier than teams
(47:58):
have wanted, than his training staff has wanted, and he
has also continued to be a little bit subordinate with
how he handles the locker room. So I think that
this is something for the Mets. It's probably a good
time for them to take a step back from Noah Syndergard,
reassess his situation, and we'll see where he comes out
on the other side of this. In terms of their
depth chart, they're actually equipped to handle this. They signed
(48:19):
Michael Walker, they signed Rick Porcello in the off season.
You've got Seth Lugo, Robert Kaseelman in the bullpen. Obviously
those guys are good bullpen pieces. You'd like to keep
them in the bullpen if possible. You've also got your
You've also got Edwin d As as well, and you
hope Juris Familiar comes back. So I think there's some
pieces in place for the Mets to rebound from this,
But in terms of their depth, I don't think it's
(48:39):
going to affect them mentally as much as it will physically.
I think mentally Syndergard needs a break from the Mats
just as much as the Mets need a break from Synergard. Yeah,
you know, you do outline the history that the team
has had with the player. I even remember the spring
training that happened in the Carrier Dome when the field
conditions weren't right. It was Syndergard was one of the
Mets who were vocal about that. You know, they have
(49:00):
had issues in that kind of era with their training
and staff for a long long time. But let's spend
in phoo Jared, right, because what we're trying to do
is help people win a little bit of extra cash
these days. Right, So you know in the NL East, alright,
there reasonable people could make arguments for four teams in
this division. I think I don't think there's many divisions, Jared,
(49:21):
where the fourth choice in the division is only plus
three thirty. Right? What does that say about the competitive
balance of up to four teams in the division? As
I look at it? Right now, the Atlanta Braves are
the favorite in the NL East at plus one five,
the defending World Series champion Nationals or a plus two fifty.
Then the Mets at three to one, and you know,
(49:42):
maybe there hasn't been enough movement for Syndergarten. You talk
about their depth, they still have starting pitching out the
Yan Yang everybody from the multiple Times Side Young Award
winner to de Gram to Stroman, you know, to others
who you've outlined. But there's still three to one. And
then the Philadelphia Phillies have added big time over the
course of the last two off seasons at plus three thirty.
(50:02):
How much of this Syndergraden news moves the needle for
you in the NL East as a whole. And if
I put your feet to the fire, regardless of how
many games are being played this season, what do you
like in the NL East. I think it's even harder
to pick the Mets and the Phillies based on the
situation that we're seeing with their lineups as as well.
(50:23):
I'm not as high on the Phillies as other teams are.
I actually think the Phillies are a cell to me.
I like Joe Girardi a lot, but I just don't
see at the rotation, and you know, they're really banged
up at the bottom of that rotation. They've got some
real big question marks as Arietta and and e f
Lyn really gonna be able to finish the season as
the three and four starters. Uh. Even Zach Wheeler is
the number two starter. I think there's some question marks
(50:44):
there as well. After signing a big deal. I think
Aaron Nolan is a stun. I think Bryce Harper is
a good player, but I don't think he is an
elite level player based on the type of numbers that
he's put up over the last two seasons, even though
he's being paid as one of the best players in baseball,
I don't he stacks up at all compared or to
the Mike Trouts of the game or even the Ronald
Lacuna is in his own division compared to the numbers
(51:05):
that he has been putting up over the last couple
of seasons now his second season, uh in Philadelphia. On
the flip side of that, man oh Man, I'm looking
at the Braves depth chart right now, and besides a
little bit of inconsistency in the bullpen, I don't see
a lot of holes here, Dan Uh, this outfield is
the best outfield in baseball. Oh souna in a kuna,
(51:25):
I mean that is an absolute powder keg. And you've
got Johann Camargo at third, You've got Dan's By Swanson,
former number one pick at short as the Albis has
been incredible at second, and Freddie Freeman at a near
MVP season a couple of years ago. So I think
the Braves hands down, are the best division in this
or the best team in this division. The rotation leaves
a little something to be desired. Sirocca, Fultonevitch Freed, and
(51:48):
then you've got Hammil's and Felix Hernandez will see what
he gives you, the former Mariner as the number five
starter in Atlanta. But man oh Man, this Braves team
with Freddy Hernandez is apt or Freddy Gonzalez is absolutely stacked.
Their lineup is probably the best line up in the
National League, beside the Dodgers, who also are incredibly stacked
up and down their line up with the addition of
(52:09):
Mookie Bets. As these things change, I'll tell you one
thing that I can bet on, Jared, you and I
will be here to talk about it on the grid
here at sports grid dot com. Another episode of at
the Window in the books. All right, keep following this news.
We'll be here to do it with you. Stay safe
out there, you know, take this stuff seriously, wash your hands,
(52:30):
and come on back and see us tomorrow. That is,
of course, if you want the edge, have a good one, Jared,
Same bad time, the same batch channel tomorrow on the
Grid sports grid dot Com Betting insights and entertainment at
(52:58):
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in sports wagering, real time odds, predictive betting models, expert picks,
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