August 5, 2025 • 34 mins
Gregg Rosenthal and Daniel Jeremiah are back! On the latest episode of 40s and Free Agents, the duo looks toward the new season and shares their picks for biggest additions to the NFC West. Find out why players like Davante Adams, Tory Horton, Bryce Huff, Josaiah Stewart, Calais Campbell and more will make a major impact for their new squad next season!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Good. Welcome to Forties and free Agents, the podcast where myself,
Greg Rosenthal and Daniel Jeremiah break down all the impact
of the free agency market and the NFL Draft. And
you might be wondering, it's August. Why are we talking
about free agency and the draft? The fans demanded it, DJ,
(00:22):
and we're back looking at the season, going over the
biggest additions in the offseason and how they're going to
play now that we're getting to the regular season. How
is your summer, buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh? It was great, man. I will say, though I'm
a little disappointed because I didn't for some reason, the
audio wasn't able to hear the theme song, And in
terms of things I enjoy about the show, theme song
is pretty high up there on that list, So not
getting to hear that was painful. But I'm sure the
audience heard it and they loved it. And it is
also good to see you and the people did demand
this because we talked about paper. We talked about paper
(00:52):
all spring. Oh, paper, this is what they got in
free agency, this is what they got in the draft.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
You know what we get to talk.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
About now, Greg, what they're doing on the grass or
I guess for some of them, but way more fun.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, we're we're already into the dog days of training camp.
And yeah, we appreciated the demand, the big pop we
got from this show. And if you like the show,
do us a favor. Go ahead and subscribe to forties
and free Agents on iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get it.
I want to make it so that you don't have
to subscribe to NFL Daily or move the sticks that
(01:23):
we're like. We're like a bird that can start going
off on our own and subscribe to forties and free Agents.
So a lot of people don't know this about you, DJ,
but you've never actually watched NFL games. You only watch college.
So I'll do all the NFL big additions. You do
the college guys, and why don't you get going. We're
going to do the five biggest additions in the entire
(01:43):
division of the NFC West, and you can start wherever
you want.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So I'm doing this because we have the freedom to
do how we want it. I'm not saying this is
going to be five years from now the you know,
the best player, because it would all be first round
picks for the most part, all the talent, the upside,
the ceiling. I approach this as these guys are going
to have an impact right away. I'm expecting big things
from these five rookies right out to shoot. So forget
about what the draft status was, what round they went.
(02:10):
I'm looking at their talent, how they're ready to get
on the field make an impact right away. So I'll
give you one to start off here, and it's a
spicy one here. I'm going to start out NFC West.
I'm going to go to the Seattle Seahawks' fifth round pick,
someone who I was much higher on during the draft process.
He went much later than he should. And that is
Tory Horton, a wide receiver from Colorado State, who, if
(02:32):
you go back to twenty three, would have been a
top fifty pick. If you're sorry, go back to two.
What year are we in twenty four? So it'd been
the twenty four season, the twenty five two years ago.
He was awesome. Last year he was injured. He wasn't
the same guy, didn't have the same performance. But by
all accounts, he's lighting up training camp with the Seattle Seahawks.
So I'm excited to see Tory Horton. I think he
(02:54):
has a media impact with the Sam Donald's quarterback.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I love that call. And yeah, DJ has been out
on the road as part of Inside training Camp and
he's talking to all the gms and say, you know,
there's always like a little something extra. I'm gonna use
this information on my show. I'm gonna steal it. And
it is interesting because they need someone to step up
there right now. Marcus Valdez Scanting is set up as
(03:17):
their number three receiver. Jake Bobo, who I've liked as
as a number before.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
The Jake Bobo Show record.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
By the way, he's I think, I don't know the
last time we had an episode where Jake Bobo didn't
get a shout out from Gregor.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
He was apparently like struggling. Now maybe to make this
roster because they are a little deeper. I guess I'll
just go with Cooper Cup now then, because we can
just have the conversation. So we're going back and forth.
And I looked at it in terms of impact players,
but it doesn't have to be positive or negative. It
can be a guy that can just make or break
(03:49):
their season, and I just think Cooper Cup is so important.
I've been a little skeptical that he can be close
to the Cooper Cup of old and I thought it
was interesting looking at his contract when you really dig down,
it ultimately is a one year, seventeen million dollar contract
and they got to make a decision very early next offseason.
(04:10):
But to me, he's ultimately playing to be part of
this team, and I just think they need him DJ
And yeah, it'd be great if Tory Horton steps up
and is a nice role player, but obviously they're not
going to expect him to have the volume that a
Cooper Cup has. I think when you look at this
Jack Jackson Smith and Jig but is a really good player.
I think in as sending number one. But are there
(04:30):
two skill sets a little duplicative redundant however you want
to say, I think they could be. And I do
worry based off the film from last year, that Cooper Cup,
you know, isn't maybe ready to be a true number two.
So he he to me, is going to have a
huge impact on whether the Seahawks are good or bad
this year. I'm a little skeptical. I know you don't
(04:52):
agree with me there.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Well, I there's trends every year and you're always looking
to see how the games can change what people are
doing to to spice it up a little bit. One
thing I've heard talking to some coaches on this little
tour and talking to guys during training camp is because
there's more guys like Cooper Cup, there's more guys who
are a little bit older, don't move quite as well,
but they're smart, physical, tough guys who have a good
(05:16):
feel right. And so the whole process was, Okay, well,
if we've got a slot, we see we've only got
room for one of those guys. And I've talked to
some teams that have toyed with the idea of we're
going to use that bigger, aging receiver, We're going to
take the tight end off the field. We're going to
flex him out. He's basically going to be functioning as
a you know, obviously a much undersized tight end, but
that gives him an opportunity to them have both that
slot receiver, impact player and maybe that slower but tough,
(05:39):
physical veteran that can run those types of routes. So
I'm curious to see, I'm fascinated to see if some
of these tight ends come off the field a little
bit for some of these teams, it would make a
It makes a lot of sense to me, and it's
kind of a question of why we haven't seen something
like that in the past.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, that's fascinating. As the league kind of gets into
these bigger personnel groups, and it's interesting got rid of
Noah Fan and they have two good young tight ends
and Elijah Royo and aj Barner, but maybe they get
rid of Fan because they see him as maybe more duplicative.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Of those guys are kind of like seam stretchers, like
vertical tight ends. I'm talking about, like, hey, it's third
and six and I've got option routes and I've got,
all of a sudden, now I've got Cooper cup snug
on the left side, and now I've got JSN Like
those are gonna be tough covers with a lot of
you know, with three way gos and a lot of
field to work with.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
And one one thing he did not slack off on
when he was with the Rams is that blocking, and
that's when things nails. Yeah, you just you worry a
little bit at his age and he's had some of
the injuries with like you know, throwing those those big blocks,
but that's what they are paying him for. Give me
another rookie that you think is going to make a
big impact.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah. First of all, if you've if you're using a
stopwatch right now, you notice that I got maybe forty
five seconds talk about mine. We probably spent five minutes
on Greg. So that's not part for the course. I'm
gonna go.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I mean, it's Cooper Cup versus Tory Horton. What am
I gonna say about Tory Horton.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Maybe we look back at the end of the year
and we rerack this. Okay, say Tory Horten ended up
having a pretty darn good year. All Right, I'm gonna go, uh,
San Francisco fourth round pick. See, I'm not just picking
these top tier guys. Fourth round pick, CJ. West, defensive tackle.
This is a a front for the Niners. Looks a
lot different than it did and it's you know, in
(07:18):
their core group from three or four years ago. They
have completely revamped.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
At MIKEL.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Williams, I'm excited about him their first round pick, big
heavy edge setter. I think he can kick inside and rush.
He's a really good player. But CJ. West, I'm talking
about somebody who's strong, who can penetrate, can get up
the field inside and then someone who's just a little
more polished. I think he's just more ready to have
an immediate impact, and I think there's opportunities on this
defensive line that's completely revamped over the last couple of years.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, there is really no one locked in there at
defensive tackle, and so you look at that group and
there has been good buzz so far out of your
boys CJ. West at camp. They also drafted out Alfred Collins,
who's kind of a maybe a different sort of defensive tag.
You have a plugger, you could explain that to me.
And then they have these veterans Jordan Elliott, Kevin Gibbons,
like not not top level starter types. To me, it's
(08:06):
it's one of the huge questions for the forty nine ers,
like can this defensive line be great? Looking at three
rookies potentially starting eventually or certainly playing all.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
The time, I'm just going back through and looking at
my notes. Not that I wasn't listening to you, but
the uh, you know the fact that he's he's able
to function in a phone booth, him be kind of
stout and strong. But then again, it's that quickness trying
to find interior pass rush, especially when you got you know,
guys like Kyler Murray running around inside this division. There's
value there.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
See, we're we're first day of training camp right now.
We haven't gotten the reps. Like I would have kept
talking longer if I knew you were looking at your notes,
but you just scolded me very suddly about talking too much.
So I tried to be a little quicker.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I have and I have lunch appointment two hours, so
it's you can get through your second guy here? What
do you got?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
So we're gonna stay thematic here because we were thinking
of similar position groups, and I'm actually gonna go with
a trade acquisition we never got a chance to talk about.
Was Bryce Huff. Bryce Huff with the forty nine ers,
to me, plays a crucial role because I know Michael Williams.
They're very excited about how tough he is and setting
(09:18):
the edge. Maybe he didn't have the best one on
one pass rush moves at least yet on that film.
That's not why they took him so high. And this
defensive line just needs some juice. Robert Sala is back there.
Everyone is excited about Robert sala being there, and he
brings in a guy in Bryce Huff who played his
best football under him with the Jets, and I just
(09:41):
think you need two three edge rushers. And right now
he's probably number two behind Bosa. He's probably not starting,
but he's going to have a big role on a
person att basis. He was fantastic. I'm ready to just
throw out whatever happened in Philadelphia now that he's back
with his buddy Robert Sala.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yeah, and I think he's best on a pitch count.
I think he's best, you know, just rotate him in,
give him those twenty snaps, let him just be the
fastball that he is off the edge. They just I
don't think he was really rugged enough for Phillies liking.
And it just didn't really They had so many guys
too that, you know, even like Nolan Smith, who is
not the biggest guy in the world, was a savage.
(10:19):
You know, you look at him, how he treated like
polars and how strong he was. I don't think that
was really Huff's game. Huffs game is I'm gonna throw
fastballs as a rusher off the edge, and I think
by the fact of limiting that a little bit, I
think that's who he is, and I think there's a
sweet spot in your sweet spot in some of these guys'
careers too, Greg, where it's like, I've excelled in this role. Okay,
let's expand the role didn't work, that's not really who
(10:41):
I am. Now he should know exactly who he is,
and Robert solid knows who he is.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
So I like that fit.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And I like the fact that they gave up something
for him. It was a mid to late round pick.
They never did announce what the exact pick was, but
if I had to guess, it probably a fourth or
a fifth round pick. And they're paying him eight million
dollars a splitting the money with the Eagle. But that's
not nothing. The fact that people't committed right, they're putting
resources into him. I think he is going to have
a sneaky, big impact on that defense, getting a lot better.
(11:09):
I'm pretty optimistic about the forty nine ers this year.
All Right, who else he got?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
All Right, I've got a couple rams coming up here,
So I'm going to start first of all, third rounder
Josiah Stewart at a Michigan again, personal favorite of mine,
just the way he played in the fall. Now he
did not test for a long period of time, then
he tested late, did not test well. I think that's
one of the reasons why he was available there in
the third round, undersized someone who I think some people
(11:35):
dismissed because of that, and I think less Snead has
proven over the years. You look at kyn Williams, who
didn't run very fast. He's been able to find these
just really really good football players who maybe don't fit
the heightweight, speed rex for a lot of these teams
around the league. But and this is based off this
is and I haven't talked to anybody at RAMS camp.
I don't know. I haven't seen his name pop up
(11:56):
as someone who's lighting it up at training camp. I
just know the type of player that they've hit on,
and this fits that to a t. So I'm gonna
go Josiah Stewart finding a role on this very talented,
fast athletic front seven.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
I love doing this show with you because I'm learning
and you know, first I get a little Tory Horton pop,
which I like that things are going well. I haven't heard,
you know, we were out at RAMS camp. I haven't
heard anything in particular with Josiah Stewart. He's in a
perfect situation, maybe a Bryce Huff type of situation where
he's behind, you know, two good ed rushers and Byron
Young and Jared Verse. But maybe it's a way that
(12:28):
they mix him in, like.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
What roll them through?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Like what style of play? Because I'm not as familiar
with him, like it what kind of player is Josiah Stewart.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
So I'll give you. I'll just pull up my notes
so you can. I don't want to speak out of
school here, so let's just go right to where I
had him here, Josiah Stuart. All right, So he's six one,
two hundred and forty nine pounds, undersized, bolt of lightning plays.
Can I say balls for the wall? I think I
can on forties and free agents. It's a podcasts got
(12:57):
a little Yeah, it's a podcast shake bowlpower, got a
dip rip. He plays much bigger than his size. He
attacks block blocks, and then I put in all caps energy,
Greg like, he plays with passion and energy. Think about Obviously,
Jared Versus on another level is a talent, but one
of the I think one of the first few words
we would use to describe Jared Verse after we called
him a bad man and explosive would be the energy
(13:19):
part of it, and this guy brings that same type
of energy. I just think you'll roll him through. He'll
fit right in.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It might almost be too much energy, I mean that
that defense they're they're wild. I don't know. Can you
have too much energy? Maybe at like a training camp
practice where guys are flying around and possibly heard.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
By the way, quick question for you. Yeah, just it
does surprise me you're not this familiar with Josiah Stewart's game,
considering you spent a good three months on forties and
free agents just evistrating his teammate Mason Graham. So I
don't know how you didn't notice him.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
But you know, I was scouting the players that you
had ranked too high. If you had had Stuart like
a little bit higher.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
It was in my top fifty at one point.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Okay, that's a good call. You did a good job
with some of your guys. I'm already seen. But I
know what you often say in the preseason. Don't start
it's a liar.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
It's a liar.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Don't start patting your back yet. Here's what I do.
I don't need to see anything in the preseason. Anything
in practice from Davante Adams. To me, this is the
number one if we were ranking it, we're just going
back and forth. It's not a ranking. But to me,
the biggest addition in the offseason this entire division, forget
even Sam Darnold, it is Davante Adams. And I think
(14:24):
on film the last couple of years that he has
shown that he is still a top fifteen wide receiver.
I think people just weren't watching the Jets. They weren't
watching that They all twenty.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
It's such a random number, by the way, Why you
set it up for such a power statement like he
is still and I'm like, he's going to say a
top three receiver, maybe maybe he's gonna go top five.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
He is still a top fifteen.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
They just didn't have the punch that the way you
set that up, in the way you delivered it didn't match.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
It's good coaching by you, it's it's just I don't
like to be that guy because when you actually make
the is like, is he better than Nico Collins, Is
he better than Brian Thomas. He's in the To me,
he's in that category of guys question after the very top.
So but I could go ten. I could go ten.
If that makes you feel.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Your parents you come home from school, Gregory, how'd you
do on the test?
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Mom, it was amazing. I knew I just I crushed it.
I felt so confident I already got my grade back.
It was what would you get? Greg He did one
hundred and ninety eight. I got eighty four. Like that
was not It just doesn't marry the hype that was
given at the front.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
That's first of all three g's and greg sixty percent g.
That just closed the name right there. There's no Gregory second.
It is a good life lesson. Set expectations very low
and then and then go over under to promise over delivered.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Greg.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I want to put the expectations for Adams very high.
So I was saying on film it looks great, and
then yeah, he's a.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Perfect fit for that system.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I mean, come on, everything you hear from the rams
so far. When we were out there, like he was
taking a veteran rest day, so you know, I didn't
get to see him playing, but you see him coaching
up like immediately the Jordan Winnington's and the younger players
on the roster. I saw a couple of them you know,
they were walking right by our studio, like in a
deep conversation about the different types of routes that weren't
(16:17):
working that day for some of the young receivers. And
so I think he brings all the knowledge in the world.
But he also, to me, is a canvas for Sean
McVay and Mike Lafleur, who we had Micha Lafluer on
NFL daily to create really difficult matchups with him and Pukinakud,
those two guys together, if it's one A, one B,
I think they compliment each other so well. And I
(16:38):
really am looking forward to how the Rams change their
offense up a little bit each and every season to
stay ahead and what they're going to do to stay
ahead of defense is what do you think it'll look
like with Adams and Puka together.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
I think it's gonna work. And I think you've got
interchangeable guys. I think the fact that I think they're
both capable of going outside and went and out there
playing inside, I don't. My question is I don't. I
think they're gonna win a lot at the intermediate and
uh and underneath level. I don't know how much vertically
on top of guys they're going to get unless they're
just running crossers and picking guys off and all that
kind of stuff. So I'm who's going to fill that
(17:11):
role for this team right now?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
It's a ten million dollar man to two out well two.
I don't know if they ran a play the practice
I was there where two two out well was not
in motion. Whether whether it works or not, I think
this group is determined to make that signing, which which
some people made fun of a little bit, kind of
set the market for a number three four receiver. I
think they're disordered.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Because I haven't been out there. As I mentioned, It's like,
does he have like cookies or like, what's his apology
to Jimmy Goppolo in his locker? Did he put anything
in there, like hey, sorry about that, dude, Like we're
good now.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
They're saying all the right things. But I had to
admit watching it and seeing Puka Nakua just absolutely dust
some of these rams cornerbacks and then stop so quickly
and just wide open, no one's even near him. And
then Jimmy throws him the ball and it's like an intermediate,
like twenty yard throw, and he's just waiting. He's just
waiting for that ball to get there, and then the
defenders along are coming in and I was thinking about
(18:05):
some of those clips from the Devanta Adams Jimmy Garoppolo era.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Have we talked.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I know this is I don't want to get too
off topic, but we talked about my uh, the one
stat that I'm going to question now forever because I
just had an epiphany on it at some point in time,
which was because I was doing a college quarterback. I
remember who it was, but it was I questioned his
arm strength, but his tight window throw percentage was excellent,
(18:32):
and it finally hit me Greg on that particular stat.
And you talk to men about this too, because I
think she'd get it. On this discussion, I think we
need to distinguished tight window throws. I think there are
when the ball is released what the coverage is, and
I think when the ball is caught where the coverage is.
Because one of them tight window throws is arm arrogance
(18:53):
and arm talent. The other one is a result of
a lack of arm strength, which has allowed defenders to
converge to make an unnecessary tight one throw. So that's
my soapbox. I'll get off of it.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
I love that, and I think the two Rams quarterbacks,
and I am a little worried about Matthew Stafford still
out with a back injury. They would be perfect examples
of the two different types of ways you can win
against tight window throws, Jimmy Garoppolo and Matthew Stafford. I
thought you were gonna say yards per attempt, which is
a pretty basic stat DJ. Yeah, because Jimmy Garoppolo still
(19:23):
ranks first among all active players in yards per attempt
and first in the history of the NFL post merger.
Now you want to put them behind Otto Graham and
Sid Luckman, you can, But Jimmy Garoppolo, in a very basic,
like popular stat is the greatest of all time in
yards per attempt.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, that was Kyle Shanahan. Hey, they unleashed on the
league before they knew, you know, before nine of his
assistant coaches were coaching around the National Football League and
people got a little more familiar with what they were doing.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Well, it's absolutely insane. Let's put a pin in that.
Let's take one quick break and we will be back
to wrap up that. The five biggest impact rookies and
additions in the NFC West this offseason. All right, we
are back on the forties and free agents. We're going
(20:17):
to be here all August twice a week previewing the season,
going through each division. We're starting with the NFC West.
Biggest impact players that are gonna be rookies and free
agents or trade acquisitions. Give me another rookie DJ.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
All right, so this one again, I'm going to go
back to the rams. And this is as I've mentioned,
I've not been out to training camp. I have not heard,
I've not talked to anybody that's provided the buzz here.
This is my working theory because it's been pre accurate
over the years in the run up to the draft.
And I'll tell you the name of Sharks Hunter, the
running back. So the theory is this when I talked
(20:55):
to and I talked almost every single GM around the
league as we get closer to the draft, and there
they will go over a lot of players, mention a
lot of names. Sometimes they mentioned a player they might draft,
but they don't go on an effusive because they are
trying to keep their cards close. On occasion, there's some
players that they're not talking about first round players, but
mid round players that they love so much that they
(21:16):
can't help but even talk about them, and then they
end up coming up and then they end up taking
that player, and the odds are there's such a love
there from the team side, and they believe how well
that player matches and fits what they do that if
they do get married on a roster, it ends up
working out pretty well. And talking to Less in the
run up to the draft, and I thought, maybe it's
(21:36):
because he's an Auburn guy, and Less is an Auburn guy,
but he talked a lot about jar Quest Hunter and
how excited he was about him, and how hard he ran,
how physical he was. So that's stuck in the back
of my mind to the point when he gets picked
in the fourth round, Like, I know you've got Kien Williams,
but I think this Hunter, and I think they really
really like him. I think they have a vision for him,
and I'm excited to see what he does.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
You're getting a little bit of Blake Korum pop in camp.
He's a you know, the third round pick who kind
of had a slow start to his rookie year. That
happens a lot where that that the second year guys
naturally get a lot of kind of features written about
them that they've they figured some things out. Is Hunter
a big play type of guy? Because that is something
where it was really noticeable. They were top at six
(22:19):
or seven.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
No other yards were.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Over expected for Karen Williams last year. No zero. Yeah,
double check me on that pull. You can pull that
up and you can correct it if I'm wrong. But
I believe in the draft prep last year that there
was there was literally nothing that wasn't there that he
was that he was providing.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Which which is something maybe they're going to bring up
in contract negotiations. Supposedly they've made some progress. I think
that deal is actually going to get done, but it
might be because Kyrien Williams is not looking to totally
break the bank. Yeah. They're very high DJ in success rate,
like top six or seven, which means, you know, did
you get four yards on first down? But bottom five
(22:57):
in explosive play rate, like just they're just not hitting
anything down the field. Do you think Hunter can be
that sort of guy? Four four?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Hunter ran four to four to four. He's got speed,
he's downhill, he can extend and pluck in the past
game as well, only fumbled the ball one time. I
thought he had a good cutback vision, kind of a
decisive runner. But yeah, four to four speed, like legit speed.
And when you look at their offensive line and how
they've kind of mulled people as they've gotten bigger and
embraced a different style of run, being more gap scheme
(23:26):
than they were traditionally, they left some yards out there, man,
And I think you throw a dynamic player in that mix.
Some of those eight ten twelves, fifteens turned into thirties, forties, fifties.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah, that would be huge for them. That to me
is typical of this roster. I think they, with the
exception of the Cowboys, are maybe the biggest boomer bus
team in the NFL. Because Stafford's back thing worries me
a little bit at his age, I think it should Alerc,
you know, their two tackles, Alerc Jackson has his blood
clot issue that he's working back from, and Robin having
signs is up there in years like that's kind of
(23:58):
a boomer bus position. But man, if everything goes well,
they have the talent. Certainly on offense they're mauling. Can
Steve aviol I get back to kind of where he
was as a as a rookie, like, they have the
talent to be one of the best teams in the
league to make the Super Bowl, and yet I think
there are some routes there it could go wrong.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Hold on, hold on, because I was trying to look
this up while you were talking. Before I could look
it up, producer Drew, you know there's a researcher background there, right, Yeah,
you can take you can take Drew out of the research,
but you can't take the research. I don't know somebody.
So only other one thousand yard rusher without any yards
over expected last year, Najie Harris. So and if we've
(24:40):
talked about nase the the talking point with Naji has been, look,
you need three yards, he'll get your three yards. You
need six yards, he'll get your three yards. Like that's
just kind of been the talking point. And we don't
think about that with Kyle Williams with that's what the
that's what the Roopers say.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I will not stand for this Kyrine Williams slander. But
there there is something you know, Yeah, if he when
he gets twelve, it's not gonna be forty. That's yeah,
that's kind of the issue with Kyri Williams. So for
who you got my pick, Like, if you're just going
by the money, Josh Sweat would be the logical defensive player.
And actually, if you're just going by the money, the
(25:15):
next most logical two defensive players for the Cardinals would
be Dalvin Tomlinson and Baron Browning, who they brought back.
And yet year after year a team signs Kalaeis Campbell
and by the end of the year, you think, man,
this guy actually is the best defensive lineman the best
team or the second best defensive lineman on this team
(25:36):
and is building up a Hall of Fame case and
is a Walter Payton Man of the Year type of
guy and changes the locker room and and so ultimately,
when we're talking impact, I decided to go Kalais Cambell.
Now he's representing the Cardinals defense that I think is
a lot more exciting. I mentioned the additions that they
made up front. I think they're more talented. They've been
really creative. But don't like get a tow twisted on
(26:01):
the field. Kalais Kimball was awesome for the Dolphins last year.
If you go back and watch that Dolphins like he
is still wrecking shop, pushing the pocket, great in run defense.
Obviously more of an, you know, an interior player, but
when it's three down linemen, he's on the outside like
he can do everything and he's just the man. So
I'm not going to doubt Kalais Campbell being the biggest
(26:21):
impact player. And I think that was an under the
radar signing I really love from the Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah. I know in baseball they say speed never goes
in a slump, and in football you can say size
and never really goes into Like he's gonna be all
of six foot eight, three hundred plus pounds each and
every time he steps out onto the field, and he's
going to make an impact. And he just he's been
such a consistent player throughout his career. He's not the
dominant guy that he was, but he's still a consistent player.
You got to worry about him. So I'm gonna stay
(26:46):
with the Cardinals for my last one. I'm gonna go
Will Johnson, Who's someone that would have gone in the
you know, in the first round if he was healthy
and had a healthy process, you know, some issues on physicals.
It showed up wasn't able to work out at all,
there's some speed questions there. You know, some tackling wasn't
great his last year at Michigan, But do you go
back the year before. All he did was make a
(27:06):
zillion plays on the ball, super instinctive. I think the
top down corner used that size and length. He can
clog lanes, he can see routes, he'll jump throw, as
he did it last year against sc with a pick six.
I think in this defense, if they can get all
this talent in the front seven to get some pass rush,
I think you look up at the end of the
year and Will Johnson's had four or five picks.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Their secondary is really intriguing to me. Now, they lost
a couple players which you hate to do in the
offseason for the season that were projected to play a
lot for them, Starling Thomas who's a veteran, and Sean
Murphy bunting, and yet the guys that they still have
there are extremely talented. Will Johnson, like you mentioned how
(27:49):
high level of a prospect he was. Garrett Williams has
been one of the best young nickelbacks in the league
that people don't know about. And Max Melton played really
well for a second round pick. There and then they're
great at safety of course with Buddha Baker Jalen Thompson.
So it's a young, fast, like dynamic group. I know
we're not predicting like who wins this division at least
I'm right now. Maybe later in the month we'll see
(28:11):
if we could make you. But like, where do you
see the Cardinals in general? Because I'm really intrigued by
this team.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
So I look at teams this type of year and
I kind of go, Okay, there's the nones at the
tops and the bottoms right, Like, I feel pretty good
these teams are going to be top you know, five
teams in their conference. I feel the bottom five teams
the Cardinals are in that swing zone where if I
told you at the end of the year the Cardinals
won eleven games, I wouldn't be shocked. I think if
(28:38):
you told you that they won you know, six or
seven games, I think there's more variance with them. I
think in golf they refer to it as dispersion, right
shot dispersion. I feel like with the Cardinals that you
could go off the right side or the left side
of the farewell. You don't know where that's going.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
I feel that I was saying. I think the Rams
are maybe an extreme example that the downside for them
is similarly bad, but the upside is playing in the
super Bowl, which would be great for them in their
in their rival stadium up in Santa Clair. All right,
let's wrap it up with I'm going DeMarcus Lawrence. Now
I could go Sam Darnold. I'm thinking about this podcast
for people who are are coming back to the NFL.
(29:13):
It's August, trying to catch up, and I feel like
the DeMarcus Lawrence signing has been pretty under the radar,
and he's a great player, similar to Cooper Cup. It's
it's kind of like a one year deal that if
he plays well, will turn into a three year type
of deal. And I know he was fighting through the
injury last year, but everyone there in camp is already
(29:35):
saying this is the best practice player we've ever had.
Like Mike McDonald cannot stop talking about DeMarcus Lawrence, that
he is literally changing their culture in terms of his
attention to detail, his energy, everything you ever heard about him.
He kind of reminds me of of a Kaleis Campbell
type that, like, if DeMarcus Lawrence is on the field
in an NFL game. He to me is an impact player.
(29:56):
I think one of the most underrated players of his generation.
And it's one of those rare deals in free agency
that might be a good value. Like these these aging
guys who have one or two good years and you
add him to a group DJ that that's pretty deep.
I mean, they have a lot of different ways they
can attack you. I think he's a nice final piece
to Marcus Lawrence to what to me, it could be
a top five defense.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, And talking to some guys up there too. In
the draft, a lot of the edge rushers, there was
a lot of guys that had some physical questions that
showed up in terms of the physicals and not passing
and concerns longevity. Then you had some guys with you know,
other issues may be off the field or what have you.
There's weren't as many clean guys. There's a lot of
guys very deep class, but there was enough, you know,
(30:40):
cause or concern that I think that's when they looked
at it and said, look, we know exactly what we're
getting here in tank Lawrence like he we know who
he is and what he is, and there's some certainty
that they bought there, so I thought that that made sense.
They know exactly who he is and what he is,
and I do find it on brand that even when
you don't even have him as one of the five
impact guys kind of took a Sam Donald shot in there,
(31:02):
like it was just kind of a kind of a
way for you to get your dig in there. Like
I could have gone with him, but I don't want
to do that.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Well, it's like everyone's heard enough about Donald. We already
talked about Cup in the pass again, we can't go
to Seahawks heavy, but yeah, Tank Lawrence.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Well favorites. You cannot go to Seahawks Heavy, which is
gonna get me to the player I'm keeping an eye
on Jalen Milroe. Okay, it's my player that I'm keeping
an eye on just because I look.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Are we going to see him at all?
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Don't know is he gonna start a game or two
to Sam get hurt? Does he get some action there?
Are they going to have him in some I feel
like every year we have a quarterback, we talk about
that's gonna be the short yardage red zone. We're gonna pop.
It never happens. Ever, it's always talked about it never
is execu.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
What about Lamar's rookie year before he actually was starting.
That's that it did happen there a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Remember how much he was even reallysed like.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Five plays a game, but he would like get a
first down run or whatever for eight yards. But you're right,
it wasn't. It wasn't a till.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
It doesn't happen very often, and every I can literally
every single year, there's someone who's talked about like this, Yeah,
we'll see. That's why. To me, it was presented to
me as the five guys to impact, and then it
was who you're keeping an eye on. So keeping an
eye on means not going to start, not going to
be in the mix, but I'm keeping an eye to
see if in how they use.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Jalen Millier just a wild card. I don't know what
it says about me. But if you tell me that,
give me a list of five, then I just want
to do six. I don't know why. So my wildcard
is also a quarterback who won't be starting. It's not
Jacobe Brissett, who is the new backup in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Good back, not know that good knowledge.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
It's Mac Jones. We're here in the good Camp re reports,
Kyle Sanahan finally got his guy Mac Jones, five years
after they took Trey Lance over him. The forty nine
Ers reporters are like, hey, Mac Jones looks pretty good.
I'm just saying I hope he doesn't get into the
lineup because that would mean black Purty is hurt. There's
no competition. I think Brock Purty has turned into a
(32:50):
legit top ten quarterback in the league. But I just
wouldn't be surprised DJ. If everyone's tuning into some random
Thursday night football in November, Rock Perty's out one or
two weeks and all of America is like, what Mac
Jones is on the forty nine and he's lighting them up.
He's looking good again. Mac Jones in the right system
(33:10):
that made Jimmy Garoppolo the all time leader in yards
per attempt.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Yeah, it's fun. That's a good wildcard. You'd finished strong.
I didn't think it was your best show, but I
thought you finished with some gusto.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You don't seem like you're that convinced. I'll try to
make it up to you, DJ. Later this week, we
are doing the AFC West five Biggest Impact Players from
the draft and from free agency. That's going to be fun.
We're back, DJ, you.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Are free agents, looked, I didn't. I mean the people
wanted it, man. But again to reiterate what you said
at the top, subscribe to to this feed.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Yes, so we don't want to keep back in a
cross post. We got to convince him that we don't
need to do that anymore. Forties and free agents. We
will be back later this week.
Good. Welcome to Forties and free Agents, the podcast where myself,
Greg Rosenthal and Daniel Jeremiah break down all the impact
of the free agency market and the NFL Draft. And
you might be wondering, it's August. Why are we talking
about free agency and the draft? The fans demanded it, DJ,
(00:22):
and we're back looking at the season, going over the
biggest additions in the offseason and how they're going to
play now that we're getting to the regular season. How
is your summer, buddy?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Oh? It was great, man. I will say, though I'm
a little disappointed because I didn't for some reason, the
audio wasn't able to hear the theme song, And in
terms of things I enjoy about the show, theme song
is pretty high up there on that list, So not
getting to hear that was painful. But I'm sure the
audience heard it and they loved it. And it is
also good to see you and the people did demand
this because we talked about paper. We talked about paper
(00:52):
all spring. Oh, paper, this is what they got in
free agency, this is what they got in the draft.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
You know what we get to talk.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
About now, Greg, what they're doing on the grass or
I guess for some of them, but way more fun.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Yeah, we're we're already into the dog days of training camp.
And yeah, we appreciated the demand, the big pop we
got from this show. And if you like the show,
do us a favor. Go ahead and subscribe to forties
and free Agents on iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get it.
I want to make it so that you don't have
to subscribe to NFL Daily or move the sticks that
(01:23):
we're like. We're like a bird that can start going
off on our own and subscribe to forties and free Agents.
So a lot of people don't know this about you, DJ,
but you've never actually watched NFL games. You only watch college.
So I'll do all the NFL big additions. You do
the college guys, and why don't you get going. We're
going to do the five biggest additions in the entire
(01:43):
division of the NFC West, and you can start wherever
you want.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
So I'm doing this because we have the freedom to
do how we want it. I'm not saying this is
going to be five years from now the you know,
the best player, because it would all be first round
picks for the most part, all the talent, the upside,
the ceiling. I approach this as these guys are going
to have an impact right away. I'm expecting big things
from these five rookies right out to shoot. So forget
about what the draft status was, what round they went.
(02:10):
I'm looking at their talent, how they're ready to get
on the field make an impact right away. So I'll
give you one to start off here, and it's a
spicy one here. I'm going to start out NFC West.
I'm going to go to the Seattle Seahawks' fifth round pick,
someone who I was much higher on during the draft process.
He went much later than he should. And that is
Tory Horton, a wide receiver from Colorado State, who, if
(02:32):
you go back to twenty three, would have been a
top fifty pick. If you're sorry, go back to two.
What year are we in twenty four? So it'd been
the twenty four season, the twenty five two years ago.
He was awesome. Last year he was injured. He wasn't
the same guy, didn't have the same performance. But by
all accounts, he's lighting up training camp with the Seattle Seahawks.
So I'm excited to see Tory Horton. I think he
(02:54):
has a media impact with the Sam Donald's quarterback.
Speaker 1 (02:56):
I love that call. And yeah, DJ has been out
on the road as part of Inside training Camp and
he's talking to all the gms and say, you know,
there's always like a little something extra. I'm gonna use
this information on my show. I'm gonna steal it. And
it is interesting because they need someone to step up
there right now. Marcus Valdez Scanting is set up as
(03:17):
their number three receiver. Jake Bobo, who I've liked as
as a number before.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
The Jake Bobo Show record.
Speaker 2 (03:23):
By the way, he's I think, I don't know the
last time we had an episode where Jake Bobo didn't
get a shout out from Gregor.
Speaker 1 (03:28):
He was apparently like struggling. Now maybe to make this
roster because they are a little deeper. I guess I'll
just go with Cooper Cup now then, because we can
just have the conversation. So we're going back and forth.
And I looked at it in terms of impact players,
but it doesn't have to be positive or negative. It
can be a guy that can just make or break
(03:49):
their season, and I just think Cooper Cup is so important.
I've been a little skeptical that he can be close
to the Cooper Cup of old and I thought it
was interesting looking at his contract when you really dig down,
it ultimately is a one year, seventeen million dollar contract
and they got to make a decision very early next offseason.
(04:10):
But to me, he's ultimately playing to be part of
this team, and I just think they need him DJ
And yeah, it'd be great if Tory Horton steps up
and is a nice role player, but obviously they're not
going to expect him to have the volume that a
Cooper Cup has. I think when you look at this
Jack Jackson Smith and Jig but is a really good player.
I think in as sending number one. But are there
(04:30):
two skill sets a little duplicative redundant however you want
to say, I think they could be. And I do
worry based off the film from last year, that Cooper Cup,
you know, isn't maybe ready to be a true number two.
So he he to me, is going to have a
huge impact on whether the Seahawks are good or bad
this year. I'm a little skeptical. I know you don't
(04:52):
agree with me there.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Well, I there's trends every year and you're always looking
to see how the games can change what people are
doing to to spice it up a little bit. One
thing I've heard talking to some coaches on this little
tour and talking to guys during training camp is because
there's more guys like Cooper Cup, there's more guys who
are a little bit older, don't move quite as well,
but they're smart, physical, tough guys who have a good
(05:16):
feel right. And so the whole process was, Okay, well,
if we've got a slot, we see we've only got
room for one of those guys. And I've talked to
some teams that have toyed with the idea of we're
going to use that bigger, aging receiver, We're going to
take the tight end off the field. We're going to
flex him out. He's basically going to be functioning as
a you know, obviously a much undersized tight end, but
that gives him an opportunity to them have both that
slot receiver, impact player and maybe that slower but tough,
(05:39):
physical veteran that can run those types of routes. So
I'm curious to see, I'm fascinated to see if some
of these tight ends come off the field a little
bit for some of these teams, it would make a
It makes a lot of sense to me, and it's
kind of a question of why we haven't seen something
like that in the past.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
Yeah, that's fascinating. As the league kind of gets into
these bigger personnel groups, and it's interesting got rid of
Noah Fan and they have two good young tight ends
and Elijah Royo and aj Barner, but maybe they get
rid of Fan because they see him as maybe more duplicative.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Of those guys are kind of like seam stretchers, like
vertical tight ends. I'm talking about, like, hey, it's third
and six and I've got option routes and I've got,
all of a sudden, now I've got Cooper cup snug
on the left side, and now I've got JSN Like
those are gonna be tough covers with a lot of
you know, with three way gos and a lot of
field to work with.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
And one one thing he did not slack off on
when he was with the Rams is that blocking, and
that's when things nails. Yeah, you just you worry a
little bit at his age and he's had some of
the injuries with like you know, throwing those those big blocks,
but that's what they are paying him for. Give me
another rookie that you think is going to make a
big impact.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Yeah. First of all, if you've if you're using a
stopwatch right now, you notice that I got maybe forty
five seconds talk about mine. We probably spent five minutes
on Greg. So that's not part for the course. I'm
gonna go.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
I mean, it's Cooper Cup versus Tory Horton. What am
I gonna say about Tory Horton.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Maybe we look back at the end of the year
and we rerack this. Okay, say Tory Horten ended up
having a pretty darn good year. All Right, I'm gonna go, uh,
San Francisco fourth round pick. See, I'm not just picking
these top tier guys. Fourth round pick, CJ. West, defensive tackle.
This is a a front for the Niners. Looks a
lot different than it did and it's you know, in
(07:18):
their core group from three or four years ago. They
have completely revamped.
Speaker 3 (07:22):
At MIKEL.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Williams, I'm excited about him their first round pick, big
heavy edge setter. I think he can kick inside and rush.
He's a really good player. But CJ. West, I'm talking
about somebody who's strong, who can penetrate, can get up
the field inside and then someone who's just a little
more polished. I think he's just more ready to have
an immediate impact, and I think there's opportunities on this
defensive line that's completely revamped over the last couple of years.
Speaker 1 (07:43):
Yeah, there is really no one locked in there at
defensive tackle, and so you look at that group and
there has been good buzz so far out of your
boys CJ. West at camp. They also drafted out Alfred Collins,
who's kind of a maybe a different sort of defensive tag.
You have a plugger, you could explain that to me.
And then they have these veterans Jordan Elliott, Kevin Gibbons,
like not not top level starter types. To me, it's
(08:06):
it's one of the huge questions for the forty nine ers,
like can this defensive line be great? Looking at three
rookies potentially starting eventually or certainly playing all.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
The time, I'm just going back through and looking at
my notes. Not that I wasn't listening to you, but
the uh, you know the fact that he's he's able
to function in a phone booth, him be kind of
stout and strong. But then again, it's that quickness trying
to find interior pass rush, especially when you got you know,
guys like Kyler Murray running around inside this division. There's
value there.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
See, we're we're first day of training camp right now.
We haven't gotten the reps. Like I would have kept
talking longer if I knew you were looking at your notes,
but you just scolded me very suddly about talking too much.
So I tried to be a little quicker.
Speaker 2 (08:51):
I have and I have lunch appointment two hours, so
it's you can get through your second guy here? What
do you got?
Speaker 1 (08:56):
So we're gonna stay thematic here because we were thinking
of similar position groups, and I'm actually gonna go with
a trade acquisition we never got a chance to talk about.
Was Bryce Huff. Bryce Huff with the forty nine ers,
to me, plays a crucial role because I know Michael Williams.
They're very excited about how tough he is and setting
(09:18):
the edge. Maybe he didn't have the best one on
one pass rush moves at least yet on that film.
That's not why they took him so high. And this
defensive line just needs some juice. Robert Sala is back there.
Everyone is excited about Robert sala being there, and he
brings in a guy in Bryce Huff who played his
best football under him with the Jets, and I just
(09:41):
think you need two three edge rushers. And right now
he's probably number two behind Bosa. He's probably not starting,
but he's going to have a big role on a
person att basis. He was fantastic. I'm ready to just
throw out whatever happened in Philadelphia now that he's back
with his buddy Robert Sala.
Speaker 2 (09:58):
Yeah, and I think he's best on a pitch count.
I think he's best, you know, just rotate him in,
give him those twenty snaps, let him just be the
fastball that he is off the edge. They just I
don't think he was really rugged enough for Phillies liking.
And it just didn't really They had so many guys
too that, you know, even like Nolan Smith, who is
not the biggest guy in the world, was a savage.
(10:19):
You know, you look at him, how he treated like
polars and how strong he was. I don't think that
was really Huff's game. Huffs game is I'm gonna throw
fastballs as a rusher off the edge, and I think
by the fact of limiting that a little bit, I
think that's who he is, and I think there's a
sweet spot in your sweet spot in some of these guys'
careers too, Greg, where it's like, I've excelled in this role. Okay,
let's expand the role didn't work, that's not really who
(10:41):
I am. Now he should know exactly who he is,
and Robert solid knows who he is.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
So I like that fit.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
And I like the fact that they gave up something
for him. It was a mid to late round pick.
They never did announce what the exact pick was, but
if I had to guess, it probably a fourth or
a fifth round pick. And they're paying him eight million
dollars a splitting the money with the Eagle. But that's
not nothing. The fact that people't committed right, they're putting
resources into him. I think he is going to have
a sneaky, big impact on that defense, getting a lot better.
(11:09):
I'm pretty optimistic about the forty nine ers this year.
All Right, who else he got?
Speaker 2 (11:13):
All Right, I've got a couple rams coming up here,
So I'm going to start first of all, third rounder
Josiah Stewart at a Michigan again, personal favorite of mine,
just the way he played in the fall. Now he
did not test for a long period of time, then
he tested late, did not test well. I think that's
one of the reasons why he was available there in
the third round, undersized someone who I think some people
(11:35):
dismissed because of that, and I think less Snead has
proven over the years. You look at kyn Williams, who
didn't run very fast. He's been able to find these
just really really good football players who maybe don't fit
the heightweight, speed rex for a lot of these teams
around the league. But and this is based off this
is and I haven't talked to anybody at RAMS camp.
I don't know. I haven't seen his name pop up
(11:56):
as someone who's lighting it up at training camp. I
just know the type of player that they've hit on,
and this fits that to a t. So I'm gonna
go Josiah Stewart finding a role on this very talented,
fast athletic front seven.
Speaker 1 (12:08):
I love doing this show with you because I'm learning
and you know, first I get a little Tory Horton pop,
which I like that things are going well. I haven't heard,
you know, we were out at RAMS camp. I haven't
heard anything in particular with Josiah Stewart. He's in a
perfect situation, maybe a Bryce Huff type of situation where
he's behind, you know, two good ed rushers and Byron
Young and Jared Verse. But maybe it's a way that
(12:28):
they mix him in, like.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
What roll them through?
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Like what style of play? Because I'm not as familiar
with him, like it what kind of player is Josiah Stewart.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
So I'll give you. I'll just pull up my notes
so you can. I don't want to speak out of
school here, so let's just go right to where I
had him here, Josiah Stuart. All right, So he's six one,
two hundred and forty nine pounds, undersized, bolt of lightning plays.
Can I say balls for the wall? I think I
can on forties and free agents. It's a podcasts got
(12:57):
a little Yeah, it's a podcast shake bowlpower, got a
dip rip. He plays much bigger than his size. He
attacks block blocks, and then I put in all caps energy,
Greg like, he plays with passion and energy. Think about Obviously,
Jared Versus on another level is a talent, but one
of the I think one of the first few words
we would use to describe Jared Verse after we called
him a bad man and explosive would be the energy
(13:19):
part of it, and this guy brings that same type
of energy. I just think you'll roll him through. He'll
fit right in.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
It might almost be too much energy, I mean that
that defense they're they're wild. I don't know. Can you
have too much energy? Maybe at like a training camp
practice where guys are flying around and possibly heard.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
By the way, quick question for you. Yeah, just it
does surprise me you're not this familiar with Josiah Stewart's game,
considering you spent a good three months on forties and
free agents just evistrating his teammate Mason Graham. So I
don't know how you didn't notice him.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
But you know, I was scouting the players that you
had ranked too high. If you had had Stuart like
a little bit higher.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
It was in my top fifty at one point.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
Okay, that's a good call. You did a good job
with some of your guys. I'm already seen. But I
know what you often say in the preseason. Don't start
it's a liar.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
It's a liar.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Don't start patting your back yet. Here's what I do.
I don't need to see anything in the preseason. Anything
in practice from Davante Adams. To me, this is the
number one if we were ranking it, we're just going
back and forth. It's not a ranking. But to me,
the biggest addition in the offseason this entire division, forget
even Sam Darnold, it is Davante Adams. And I think
(14:24):
on film the last couple of years that he has
shown that he is still a top fifteen wide receiver.
I think people just weren't watching the Jets. They weren't
watching that They all twenty.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
It's such a random number, by the way, Why you
set it up for such a power statement like he
is still and I'm like, he's going to say a
top three receiver, maybe maybe he's gonna go top five.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
He is still a top fifteen.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
They just didn't have the punch that the way you
set that up, in the way you delivered it didn't match.
Speaker 1 (14:54):
It's good coaching by you, it's it's just I don't
like to be that guy because when you actually make
the is like, is he better than Nico Collins, Is
he better than Brian Thomas. He's in the To me,
he's in that category of guys question after the very top.
So but I could go ten. I could go ten.
If that makes you feel.
Speaker 2 (15:10):
Your parents you come home from school, Gregory, how'd you
do on the test?
Speaker 1 (15:14):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (15:14):
Mom, it was amazing. I knew I just I crushed it.
I felt so confident I already got my grade back.
It was what would you get? Greg He did one
hundred and ninety eight. I got eighty four. Like that
was not It just doesn't marry the hype that was
given at the front.
Speaker 1 (15:29):
That's first of all three g's and greg sixty percent g.
That just closed the name right there. There's no Gregory second.
It is a good life lesson. Set expectations very low
and then and then go over under to promise over delivered.
Speaker 2 (15:44):
Greg.
Speaker 1 (15:45):
I want to put the expectations for Adams very high.
So I was saying on film it looks great, and
then yeah, he's a.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Perfect fit for that system.
Speaker 1 (15:55):
I mean, come on, everything you hear from the rams
so far. When we were out there, like he was
taking a veteran rest day, so you know, I didn't
get to see him playing, but you see him coaching
up like immediately the Jordan Winnington's and the younger players
on the roster. I saw a couple of them you know,
they were walking right by our studio, like in a
deep conversation about the different types of routes that weren't
(16:17):
working that day for some of the young receivers. And
so I think he brings all the knowledge in the world.
But he also, to me, is a canvas for Sean
McVay and Mike Lafleur, who we had Micha Lafluer on
NFL daily to create really difficult matchups with him and Pukinakud,
those two guys together, if it's one A, one B,
I think they compliment each other so well. And I
(16:38):
really am looking forward to how the Rams change their
offense up a little bit each and every season to
stay ahead and what they're going to do to stay
ahead of defense is what do you think it'll look
like with Adams and Puka together.
Speaker 2 (16:50):
I think it's gonna work. And I think you've got
interchangeable guys. I think the fact that I think they're
both capable of going outside and went and out there
playing inside, I don't. My question is I don't. I
think they're gonna win a lot at the intermediate and
uh and underneath level. I don't know how much vertically
on top of guys they're going to get unless they're
just running crossers and picking guys off and all that
kind of stuff. So I'm who's going to fill that
(17:11):
role for this team right now?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
It's a ten million dollar man to two out well two.
I don't know if they ran a play the practice
I was there where two two out well was not
in motion. Whether whether it works or not, I think
this group is determined to make that signing, which which
some people made fun of a little bit, kind of
set the market for a number three four receiver. I
think they're disordered.
Speaker 2 (17:32):
Because I haven't been out there. As I mentioned, It's like,
does he have like cookies or like, what's his apology
to Jimmy Goppolo in his locker? Did he put anything
in there, like hey, sorry about that, dude, Like we're
good now.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
They're saying all the right things. But I had to
admit watching it and seeing Puka Nakua just absolutely dust
some of these rams cornerbacks and then stop so quickly
and just wide open, no one's even near him. And
then Jimmy throws him the ball and it's like an intermediate,
like twenty yard throw, and he's just waiting. He's just
waiting for that ball to get there, and then the
defenders along are coming in and I was thinking about
(18:05):
some of those clips from the Devanta Adams Jimmy Garoppolo era.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
Have we talked.
Speaker 2 (18:09):
I know this is I don't want to get too
off topic, but we talked about my uh, the one
stat that I'm going to question now forever because I
just had an epiphany on it at some point in time,
which was because I was doing a college quarterback. I
remember who it was, but it was I questioned his
arm strength, but his tight window throw percentage was excellent,
(18:32):
and it finally hit me Greg on that particular stat.
And you talk to men about this too, because I
think she'd get it. On this discussion, I think we
need to distinguished tight window throws. I think there are
when the ball is released what the coverage is, and
I think when the ball is caught where the coverage is.
Because one of them tight window throws is arm arrogance
(18:53):
and arm talent. The other one is a result of
a lack of arm strength, which has allowed defenders to
converge to make an unnecessary tight one throw. So that's
my soapbox. I'll get off of it.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
I love that, and I think the two Rams quarterbacks,
and I am a little worried about Matthew Stafford still
out with a back injury. They would be perfect examples
of the two different types of ways you can win
against tight window throws, Jimmy Garoppolo and Matthew Stafford. I
thought you were gonna say yards per attempt, which is
a pretty basic stat DJ. Yeah, because Jimmy Garoppolo still
(19:23):
ranks first among all active players in yards per attempt
and first in the history of the NFL post merger.
Now you want to put them behind Otto Graham and
Sid Luckman, you can, But Jimmy Garoppolo, in a very basic,
like popular stat is the greatest of all time in
yards per attempt.
Speaker 2 (19:43):
Yeah, that was Kyle Shanahan. Hey, they unleashed on the
league before they knew, you know, before nine of his
assistant coaches were coaching around the National Football League and
people got a little more familiar with what they were doing.
Speaker 1 (19:54):
Well, it's absolutely insane. Let's put a pin in that.
Let's take one quick break and we will be back
to wrap up that. The five biggest impact rookies and
additions in the NFC West this offseason. All right, we
are back on the forties and free agents. We're going
(20:17):
to be here all August twice a week previewing the season,
going through each division. We're starting with the NFC West.
Biggest impact players that are gonna be rookies and free
agents or trade acquisitions. Give me another rookie DJ.
Speaker 2 (20:33):
All right, so this one again, I'm going to go
back to the rams. And this is as I've mentioned,
I've not been out to training camp. I have not heard,
I've not talked to anybody that's provided the buzz here.
This is my working theory because it's been pre accurate
over the years in the run up to the draft.
And I'll tell you the name of Sharks Hunter, the
running back. So the theory is this when I talked
(20:55):
to and I talked almost every single GM around the
league as we get closer to the draft, and there
they will go over a lot of players, mention a
lot of names. Sometimes they mentioned a player they might draft,
but they don't go on an effusive because they are
trying to keep their cards close. On occasion, there's some
players that they're not talking about first round players, but
mid round players that they love so much that they
(21:16):
can't help but even talk about them, and then they
end up coming up and then they end up taking
that player, and the odds are there's such a love
there from the team side, and they believe how well
that player matches and fits what they do that if
they do get married on a roster, it ends up
working out pretty well. And talking to Less in the
run up to the draft, and I thought, maybe it's
(21:36):
because he's an Auburn guy, and Less is an Auburn guy,
but he talked a lot about jar Quest Hunter and
how excited he was about him, and how hard he ran,
how physical he was. So that's stuck in the back
of my mind to the point when he gets picked
in the fourth round, Like, I know you've got Kien Williams,
but I think this Hunter, and I think they really
really like him. I think they have a vision for him,
and I'm excited to see what he does.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
You're getting a little bit of Blake Korum pop in camp.
He's a you know, the third round pick who kind
of had a slow start to his rookie year. That
happens a lot where that that the second year guys
naturally get a lot of kind of features written about
them that they've they figured some things out. Is Hunter
a big play type of guy? Because that is something
where it was really noticeable. They were top at six
(22:19):
or seven.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
No other yards were.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Over expected for Karen Williams last year. No zero. Yeah,
double check me on that pull. You can pull that
up and you can correct it if I'm wrong. But
I believe in the draft prep last year that there
was there was literally nothing that wasn't there that he
was that he was providing.
Speaker 1 (22:36):
Which which is something maybe they're going to bring up
in contract negotiations. Supposedly they've made some progress. I think
that deal is actually going to get done, but it
might be because Kyrien Williams is not looking to totally
break the bank. Yeah. They're very high DJ in success rate,
like top six or seven, which means, you know, did
you get four yards on first down? But bottom five
(22:57):
in explosive play rate, like just they're just not hitting
anything down the field. Do you think Hunter can be
that sort of guy? Four four?
Speaker 2 (23:04):
Hunter ran four to four to four. He's got speed,
he's downhill, he can extend and pluck in the past
game as well, only fumbled the ball one time. I
thought he had a good cutback vision, kind of a
decisive runner. But yeah, four to four speed, like legit speed.
And when you look at their offensive line and how
they've kind of mulled people as they've gotten bigger and
embraced a different style of run, being more gap scheme
(23:26):
than they were traditionally, they left some yards out there, man,
And I think you throw a dynamic player in that mix.
Some of those eight ten twelves, fifteens turned into thirties, forties, fifties.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
Yeah, that would be huge for them. That to me
is typical of this roster. I think they, with the
exception of the Cowboys, are maybe the biggest boomer bus
team in the NFL. Because Stafford's back thing worries me
a little bit at his age, I think it should Alerc,
you know, their two tackles, Alerc Jackson has his blood
clot issue that he's working back from, and Robin having
signs is up there in years like that's kind of
(23:58):
a boomer bus position. But man, if everything goes well,
they have the talent. Certainly on offense they're mauling. Can
Steve aviol I get back to kind of where he
was as a as a rookie, like, they have the
talent to be one of the best teams in the
league to make the Super Bowl, and yet I think
there are some routes there it could go wrong.
Speaker 2 (24:15):
Hold on, hold on, because I was trying to look
this up while you were talking. Before I could look
it up, producer Drew, you know there's a researcher background there, right, Yeah,
you can take you can take Drew out of the research,
but you can't take the research. I don't know somebody.
So only other one thousand yard rusher without any yards
over expected last year, Najie Harris. So and if we've
(24:40):
talked about nase the the talking point with Naji has been, look,
you need three yards, he'll get your three yards. You
need six yards, he'll get your three yards. Like that's
just kind of been the talking point. And we don't
think about that with Kyle Williams with that's what the
that's what the Roopers say.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
I will not stand for this Kyrine Williams slander. But
there there is something you know, Yeah, if he when
he gets twelve, it's not gonna be forty. That's yeah,
that's kind of the issue with Kyri Williams. So for
who you got my pick, Like, if you're just going
by the money, Josh Sweat would be the logical defensive player.
And actually, if you're just going by the money, the
(25:15):
next most logical two defensive players for the Cardinals would
be Dalvin Tomlinson and Baron Browning, who they brought back.
And yet year after year a team signs Kalaeis Campbell
and by the end of the year, you think, man,
this guy actually is the best defensive lineman the best
team or the second best defensive lineman on this team
(25:36):
and is building up a Hall of Fame case and
is a Walter Payton Man of the Year type of
guy and changes the locker room and and so ultimately,
when we're talking impact, I decided to go Kalais Cambell.
Now he's representing the Cardinals defense that I think is
a lot more exciting. I mentioned the additions that they
made up front. I think they're more talented. They've been
really creative. But don't like get a tow twisted on
(26:01):
the field. Kalais Kimball was awesome for the Dolphins last year.
If you go back and watch that Dolphins like he
is still wrecking shop, pushing the pocket, great in run defense.
Obviously more of an, you know, an interior player, but
when it's three down linemen, he's on the outside like
he can do everything and he's just the man. So
I'm not going to doubt Kalais Campbell being the biggest
(26:21):
impact player. And I think that was an under the
radar signing I really love from the Cardinals.
Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah. I know in baseball they say speed never goes
in a slump, and in football you can say size
and never really goes into Like he's gonna be all
of six foot eight, three hundred plus pounds each and
every time he steps out onto the field, and he's
going to make an impact. And he just he's been
such a consistent player throughout his career. He's not the
dominant guy that he was, but he's still a consistent player.
You got to worry about him. So I'm gonna stay
(26:46):
with the Cardinals for my last one. I'm gonna go
Will Johnson, Who's someone that would have gone in the
you know, in the first round if he was healthy
and had a healthy process, you know, some issues on physicals.
It showed up wasn't able to work out at all,
there's some speed questions there. You know, some tackling wasn't
great his last year at Michigan, But do you go
back the year before. All he did was make a
(27:06):
zillion plays on the ball, super instinctive. I think the
top down corner used that size and length. He can
clog lanes, he can see routes, he'll jump throw, as
he did it last year against sc with a pick six.
I think in this defense, if they can get all
this talent in the front seven to get some pass rush,
I think you look up at the end of the
year and Will Johnson's had four or five picks.
Speaker 1 (27:28):
Their secondary is really intriguing to me. Now, they lost
a couple players which you hate to do in the
offseason for the season that were projected to play a
lot for them, Starling Thomas who's a veteran, and Sean
Murphy bunting, and yet the guys that they still have
there are extremely talented. Will Johnson, like you mentioned how
(27:49):
high level of a prospect he was. Garrett Williams has
been one of the best young nickelbacks in the league
that people don't know about. And Max Melton played really
well for a second round pick. There and then they're
great at safety of course with Buddha Baker Jalen Thompson.
So it's a young, fast, like dynamic group. I know
we're not predicting like who wins this division at least
I'm right now. Maybe later in the month we'll see
(28:11):
if we could make you. But like, where do you
see the Cardinals in general? Because I'm really intrigued by
this team.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
So I look at teams this type of year and
I kind of go, Okay, there's the nones at the
tops and the bottoms right, Like, I feel pretty good
these teams are going to be top you know, five
teams in their conference. I feel the bottom five teams
the Cardinals are in that swing zone where if I
told you at the end of the year the Cardinals
won eleven games, I wouldn't be shocked. I think if
(28:38):
you told you that they won you know, six or
seven games, I think there's more variance with them. I
think in golf they refer to it as dispersion, right
shot dispersion. I feel like with the Cardinals that you
could go off the right side or the left side
of the farewell. You don't know where that's going.
Speaker 1 (28:52):
I feel that I was saying. I think the Rams
are maybe an extreme example that the downside for them
is similarly bad, but the upside is playing in the
super Bowl, which would be great for them in their
in their rival stadium up in Santa Clair. All right,
let's wrap it up with I'm going DeMarcus Lawrence. Now
I could go Sam Darnold. I'm thinking about this podcast
for people who are are coming back to the NFL.
(29:13):
It's August, trying to catch up, and I feel like
the DeMarcus Lawrence signing has been pretty under the radar,
and he's a great player, similar to Cooper Cup. It's
it's kind of like a one year deal that if
he plays well, will turn into a three year type
of deal. And I know he was fighting through the
injury last year, but everyone there in camp is already
(29:35):
saying this is the best practice player we've ever had.
Like Mike McDonald cannot stop talking about DeMarcus Lawrence, that
he is literally changing their culture in terms of his
attention to detail, his energy, everything you ever heard about him.
He kind of reminds me of of a Kaleis Campbell
type that, like, if DeMarcus Lawrence is on the field
in an NFL game. He to me is an impact player.
(29:56):
I think one of the most underrated players of his generation.
And it's one of those rare deals in free agency
that might be a good value. Like these these aging
guys who have one or two good years and you
add him to a group DJ that that's pretty deep.
I mean, they have a lot of different ways they
can attack you. I think he's a nice final piece
to Marcus Lawrence to what to me, it could be
a top five defense.
Speaker 2 (30:17):
Yeah, And talking to some guys up there too. In
the draft, a lot of the edge rushers, there was
a lot of guys that had some physical questions that
showed up in terms of the physicals and not passing
and concerns longevity. Then you had some guys with you know,
other issues may be off the field or what have you.
There's weren't as many clean guys. There's a lot of
guys very deep class, but there was enough, you know,
(30:40):
cause or concern that I think that's when they looked
at it and said, look, we know exactly what we're
getting here in tank Lawrence like he we know who
he is and what he is, and there's some certainty
that they bought there, so I thought that that made sense.
They know exactly who he is and what he is,
and I do find it on brand that even when
you don't even have him as one of the five
impact guys kind of took a Sam Donald shot in there,
(31:02):
like it was just kind of a kind of a
way for you to get your dig in there. Like
I could have gone with him, but I don't want
to do that.
Speaker 1 (31:07):
Well, it's like everyone's heard enough about Donald. We already
talked about Cup in the pass again, we can't go
to Seahawks heavy, but yeah, Tank Lawrence.
Speaker 2 (31:15):
Well favorites. You cannot go to Seahawks Heavy, which is
gonna get me to the player I'm keeping an eye
on Jalen Milroe. Okay, it's my player that I'm keeping
an eye on just because I look.
Speaker 3 (31:25):
Are we going to see him at all?
Speaker 2 (31:26):
Don't know is he gonna start a game or two
to Sam get hurt? Does he get some action there?
Are they going to have him in some I feel
like every year we have a quarterback, we talk about
that's gonna be the short yardage red zone. We're gonna pop.
It never happens. Ever, it's always talked about it never
is execu.
Speaker 1 (31:42):
What about Lamar's rookie year before he actually was starting.
That's that it did happen there a little bit.
Speaker 2 (31:48):
Remember how much he was even reallysed like.
Speaker 1 (31:50):
Five plays a game, but he would like get a
first down run or whatever for eight yards. But you're right,
it wasn't. It wasn't a till.
Speaker 2 (31:55):
It doesn't happen very often, and every I can literally
every single year, there's someone who's talked about like this, Yeah,
we'll see. That's why. To me, it was presented to
me as the five guys to impact, and then it
was who you're keeping an eye on. So keeping an
eye on means not going to start, not going to
be in the mix, but I'm keeping an eye to
see if in how they use.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
Jalen Millier just a wild card. I don't know what
it says about me. But if you tell me that,
give me a list of five, then I just want
to do six. I don't know why. So my wildcard
is also a quarterback who won't be starting. It's not
Jacobe Brissett, who is the new backup in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (32:27):
Good back, not know that good knowledge.
Speaker 1 (32:30):
It's Mac Jones. We're here in the good Camp re reports,
Kyle Sanahan finally got his guy Mac Jones, five years
after they took Trey Lance over him. The forty nine
Ers reporters are like, hey, Mac Jones looks pretty good.
I'm just saying I hope he doesn't get into the
lineup because that would mean black Purty is hurt. There's
no competition. I think Brock Purty has turned into a
(32:50):
legit top ten quarterback in the league. But I just
wouldn't be surprised DJ. If everyone's tuning into some random
Thursday night football in November, Rock Perty's out one or
two weeks and all of America is like, what Mac
Jones is on the forty nine and he's lighting them up.
He's looking good again. Mac Jones in the right system
(33:10):
that made Jimmy Garoppolo the all time leader in yards
per attempt.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Yeah, it's fun. That's a good wildcard. You'd finished strong.
I didn't think it was your best show, but I
thought you finished with some gusto.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
You don't seem like you're that convinced. I'll try to
make it up to you, DJ. Later this week, we
are doing the AFC West five Biggest Impact Players from
the draft and from free agency. That's going to be fun.
We're back, DJ, you.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Are free agents, looked, I didn't. I mean the people
wanted it, man. But again to reiterate what you said
at the top, subscribe to to this feed.
Speaker 1 (33:45):
Yes, so we don't want to keep back in a
cross post. We got to convince him that we don't
need to do that anymore. Forties and free agents. We
will be back later this week.
Host
Gregg Rosenthal
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