August 8, 2025 • 33 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 AFC West. Find out why players like Omarion Hampton, Josh Simmons, Dre Greenlaw, Evan Engram, Ashton Jeanty 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 (00:04):
Welcome to Forties and Free Agents. I'm Greg Rosenthal, joined
as always by my friend Move the Sticks, Daniel Deeremiah.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Can I call you a friend? J Yes, you can
call me a friend, and I can tell you that
I thought you did a wonderful job after having to
retape this open six times. Gregg's a little rusty.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
That is not true. I've retaped it one time and
I knew you would. You would bring it up, and
it's fine. It's a it's a podcast. You could re
record things if you want. Speaking of which, everyone that
signed up for the Forties and Free Agents Feed this week,
we noticed you, We saw you.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
If you are listening to this show and you are
not yet signed up for Forties and Free Agents on iTunes, Spotify,
wherever you get your podcasts, do us a favor and
please do that and you'll hear all of our big takes.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well. Can I can I also add on to that,
throw a little throw a little review in a little round,
Yeah too. Look, give us a little little of that action.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
It would help as we're launching this thing into the sun.
Let's go through the five rookies. DJ in your division,
the AFC West. You cover the Chargers as their radio voice,
so you know this division very well. You're going to
give us five rookies that are going to make a
big impact this season. I'm going to give you five
veterans that were added in the offseason.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
But you can get us going. Yeah. Sure, And if
you missed it, go back listen to the NFC West episode.
On that one, we had a lot more mid round picks.
You know, I just felt the way it shook out
that there was more guys in that range of the
draft that would have an immediate impact. And this is
what we're doing on this study is again I'm looking
for these guys step on the field impact right away.
In this division. It's a lot of chalk. And I'll
start first of all with the team that I cover
(01:42):
in the Chargers of Marion Hampton, their first round pick.
This is someone the size, speed, you know, can catch
out of the backfield. All those things are there. There's
the two things that I would say that have stood
out in terms of talking to coaches, being out there
at practice, seeing him in the preseason the other night.
This is someone who in pass protection, coaches rave about him.
(02:03):
So what's the biggest hurdle for young backs just get
on the field. Stay on the field. It's pass protection.
He's he's really really good in that department. So that's
gonna bode well for him getting a lot of playtime.
Number two is, you know, talking to coach Harball before
this last preseason game, he's been really impressed with his vision,
which was, you know, some of a question mark with
(02:23):
him coming out. I was like, Okay, he's got the height, weight, speeds,
he can catch it, he can block to all these things,
but how is the vision? And he said he's been
very impressed, even in practices where they aren't padded up,
which can be a little bit difficult for running backs.
Gets a lot of mud you don't see. It's a
lot of you know, walls of people and there's not
a lot of seams that create Harbo actually uses those
periods to kind of gauge and see how these guys
(02:44):
are seeing things. Sit a nice job. Now in the
first preseason game, there's a run to the left outside.
I would like to see him square his shoulders, get
north and south and plow through. I believe it was
your sin a rock, you sin gonna ran through him
for a touchdown, he tries to stretch, it doesn't get there.
I think that's a learning experience for him. Long way
of saying, he's going to play an awful lot Greg
(03:04):
and I think behind this offensive line, I think he
has a really nice year for the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah, Nase Harris coming off that eye injury. Not that
I thought Nase would be the one a to Hampton's
one be anyways, but just giving Hampton a large, longer
runway to be the man. And I love hearing that.
I love that you're there at practice hearing that that.
You're literally hearing it from Jim Harrock because fantasy football,
(03:28):
I am going big on a Marion Hampton. Like reality,
I'm going big on a Marion Hampton. I hear you, wait,
are you are you sticking your guy KeAndre Lambert Smith
in here? Because you said, you know you're mostly going
with Chalk And that was a fifth round pick. He
was a young receiver for the Chargers, already making some
noise who I couldn't help. But notice you had higher
than just about anyone, you know, you had him in
(03:50):
your top one fifty. People are like, I've prepped for
forty wide receivers. I never even heard of this guy,
and then the Chargers take him, and it really supports
the accusation that you are a shadow GM of the
team that you work for. Would you like to answer
those accusations?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
What's the what's the last thing we're supposed to doing.
We're supposed to be doing a wildcard? A wildcard? But well,
I guess should I just do my wildcard?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Now?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Do you want to just steal the rest of the
rundown here?
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Or I mean, we don't have a rundown. That's you know,
I didn't know who you're gonna pack?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
How faith and trust in your partner here?
Speaker 1 (04:22):
We could share the rundown ahead of time, or you
could just go along with it and have a nice
Chargers conversation, right, I can.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Talk about it like this is like we talk about
in scouting. We use the term FBI Okay, football intelligence.
It's instincts, it's awareness, it's an understanding.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Gregg's podcast FBI atrocious. Just no feel whatsoever? You knew
I liked the guy going into the draft. He lights
up practice, he scores in the freaking Hall of Fame game.
You think I'm not gonna mention, Come on, dude, like
just a little faith and confidence in your partner here.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Bud Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So if I was like a football player, you know,
obviously physically talented, uh, but just not really with the instincts.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
You can't finally play the ball. I mean it's like, oh,
you're in great coverage down the field, but like, hey,
let's locate the ball. You just you know, balls just
get completed.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Jeff Okuda in my first three stops. So though, there
is some good positive pop that he's turning it around,
all right.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Go on with that Keyadre Leaverard Smith.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, look, he's been he's been really good and he's explosive.
The one thing that was great to see in the
preseason is I go back through my notes, the speed
was there. He's a pen straight transfer who then you know,
goes to Auburn, big plays down the field. I mean
he looks beautiful. He is a big, just physical, fast dude.
The question was pressed like there were some times in
college where they got up into him in press coverage
(05:44):
and he struggled with it. So we go to this
preseason game and he ends up It was Raykestraw and
it's Rakestraw from the Lions. He lined up nose to
nose and they're a press man team. Detroit is and
and the first time I literally that was I told
the Money as we're calling on the game, like ooh,
they we got press coverage down here, Lambert Smith excited.
Literally boom right, he beats Wins right off the line.
(06:06):
It's like a twenty nine thirty yard completion on a
fade from Trey Lance. We're like, well, that's a great sign.
And then a couple more times they get pressed, including
on the goal line, he jabs him hits a slant touchdown.
I'm like, okay, like this is if he's getting off
press coverage, with all the other skill set that he possesses,
he is going to get on the field and have
an impact for true. But there you go, Greg, I'm
(06:27):
getting excited.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
You mentioned doing the game with money, and I can't
help think back to last weekend Canton when Antonio Gates
gets inducted. The very last thing you hear before Antonio
Gates walks on the field is Matt Muney Smith's fantastic
call of him setting a touchdown record. I think what
you need to do, DJ is you need to start
shoehorning in on some big time calls of stepping on him,
(06:51):
stepping on him like if Khalil Mack. I'm trying to think,
who could possibly Khalil Mack if he breaks some sort
of record or justin herber as his career is developed.
I mean, you want to get into that spot. Don't
let money get all the shine there.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
You know what I used to do? This is this
is sad to say, but when I first started doing
these games, the times where you will hear that I don't,
you know, I don't just who does inside the NFL
because you showed the clips from the game and they
would have some audio on there and stuff I didn't have.
I don't have HBO or any of the stations that
was on. So that was not my jam. But my
jam is when this top one hundred list would come out,
(07:26):
because the top one hundred list would come out, and
then they play some of the radio calls as they're
you know, they're going over those players, and then I
quickly realized, this is a play by play sport, man.
This is not a this is not a color analyst sport.
This is a play by play sport. And so you're
gonna get money, and that's what the people want, and
that's what the people deserve.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, that was a big diversion there, But I want
you getting in there. And look, we play you on
NFL daily. We're doing highlights each and every week. So
if the Charges win a lot of games and KeAndre
Lambert Smith is scoring touchdowns, then.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Then we should do it.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Let's let's I'll throw out my our just to keep
us on the same page now, and it is a
former Charger. It's Christian Fulton with the Chargers. The reason
I point that out and I mentioned this on our
AFC Takeaways, and I kind of forgot about Fulton, to
be honest, because he hasn't been on the field, which
is something that's happened a lot for him throughout his career.
(08:19):
He really hasn't been on the field consistently enough. He
was for the Chargers a year ago. But he's a
cornerback that I think they're counting on a lot, because
if you look at their problems in that Super Bowl,
they really just didn't go deep enough at the cornerback.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I mentioned that he's with the Chiefs, not with the
Chargers anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
By the way, that would be good. He is with
the Chiefs now so he changes places in the division.
I think he's a good player, and you can you
can tell me what you think about him and what
you saw to the t. I think he's a really
good player. And so to me, he's kind of a
boom or bust player for them because after him it
gets pretty thin where it's Schamari Connor and Nase Johnson
and some of these guys who were getting torched in
(08:55):
that Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well McDuffie's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Right, but you need you need three cornerbacks. You got
Jalen Watson as your two. I think in today's NFL
you need you need four, and I think it falls
off pretty steeply maybe after McDuffie and Watson. So to me,
Kristin Fulton is my wild card, and uh that's.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
A good one. He's look, he can play. He can
play any way you want to play. When he's healthy
and on the field, he can play plus press, he
can play off. He's got good eyes. He's got it.
You know, he can play the ball. He's a good player.
He just had to be able to stay healthy. That's
been That's it, and that's it. But that's a good one,
all right, give me another. Uh with the Chiefs. I
mean Josh Simmons, you know, and this is one you've
(09:35):
already heard all the buzz. He's the left tackle, like
he just plug him and play him. The talent was
never a question. You know, he got hurt at Ohio
State last year. But his tape when he's on the
field is good or better than anybody else in the draft.
I mean it literally is the He had the best
left tackle tape if you're just going to go off
of the tape. So how the league let the Chiefs
get him because because you had injuries and you had immaturity,
(09:56):
and it was that combination that scared people off. So
look there, Joe Rosenhouse brought him to the Senior Bowl
when he wasn't playing in the Senior Bowl because he
knew that there was concerns about him and he wanted
him to be around the team so they could get
to know him and get more comfortable with him. That
doesn't happen if you're sitting there knowing you're the most
talented tackle on the draft and there's no cause for concern.
(10:17):
You're not parading him down there to the Senior Bowl,
so that that was where the league is, and I
mean the the ability was never a question with him.
Now it looks like he's come back really really quickly
and strong from this injury, and so far, so good
all accounts, he's doing everything he needs to do. But
there's guys like this every year, Greg, and what happens
(10:37):
is there's some of them will go on and have
unbelievable careers and you say, the whole league is stupid,
why were they worried about this? And then what happens
is those are the ones that are remembered. The ones
that aren't remembered are the guys who a year or
two in like, there's some things that pop up where
there's immaturity or you know this, and then the guy
kind of fades away and it's like nobody ever gets
an apology for they or why they passed on someone
(10:59):
or you know, within reason, all of a sudden, that
injury ends up being a major issue year two or three.
I'm just telling you. We talked about it in forties
and freems before the draft, about the gift. You know
how gifted he is, and it talented he was. This
was not one of those issues with him.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
I hear all that, and I do wonder if the
teams overrate the injury at the time of the draft,
Like you want everyone to be one hundred percent pristine,
but this is a four or five year commitment for
first round picks and you got to have the long view.
I do think sometimes team overrate like a guy coming
off an injury a little. But now the immaturity stuff,
(11:34):
I would like to ask, like, what does that mean?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Like, I've never traded in that information, so okay, I've
always just kind of put it under that umbrella. It
just served no purpose for me to get into that.
So I've never done it with any player. It was
just it was enough where I call around to people
and say, is there you know anything, Are there any issues,
any concerns? And with him there was some There were
(11:58):
some concerns, so I put it under that umbrella. I
don't want to be an investigative reporter and I don't
want to ever trash anybody, so I don't ever trade
in that.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
This is how DJ plays the long game. He just
keeps he keeps his hands clean.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Everyone winning in that day, and I want all these
guys to do great, so I mean that's there's no
there's no winning in that. I'm just saying, that's rap sheets.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Job like everyone can dislike rap sheet and that's it.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
That's and that's literally at the draft. I mean that's
that I'm sitting here. Ian's there to serve that purpose?
Why is this guy still there when he's really really talented?
That's why.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
So I could have gone with Jalen Moore. I was
thinking about him. If you're not familiar with him, he
was the backup to Trent Williams. He was a left
tackle for the forty nine ers last year when Trent
Williams got hurt and they they gave him fifteen million
dollars a year DJ And now they've got what's called
a great problem where he is now battling at right
tackle with Juan Taylor and at left guard with their
(12:48):
former second round pick Kingsley's Sua Mattea. It's a lot
of Chiefs offensive line talk, but to me that that's
a bonus because he'll probably wind up starting in one
of those spots and there's injuries and you're gonna need him.
So now, after not having enough offensive lineman, somehow they
traded away Joe Toney and they might have too many,
which is a great thing, so forget him.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'm let me let me ask you this question quick
on this topic before we keep it moving. If they
had I don't know, it's it's in a pretty extreme
vision of this. But like, if if the Chiefs had
my Latta and Lane Johnson and the two super Bowls
they lost, did they win those two Super Bowls?
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Well do you take it away from the Boys.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
And I was going to say, because suddenly the Eagles
have their tackles, then yes, I think the answer might
be yes. That Bucks night was I think even more
than just two players.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
That was that was too much, oh may Jack Barrett.
And though they eviscerated them on the head.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Then again, like the Eagles got it done on both
sides of the ball. It is really crazy to think
two of them. I would say the Super Bowls of
all time were quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes at least in
the last fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
It is crazy, But I mean I think you would
say that if that, what was the biggest weakness of
those chief teams that didn't seal the deal and didn't
it was the tackles. So not surprised that they addressed
it in a big way. Here am I up next?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
No, that wasn't even one of mine. I'm going I'm
going Evan, Well, I just was saying, like, you know,
I just wanted to mention that he was he.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Counts one of you. You just did all that and he
doesn't count as one of your guys.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
We're gonna have to ask our producer Drew does that
count as one of the guys. He says no, So
I'll do it very quickly. Evan Ingram is added to
a Broncos mix at receiver slash tight end that to
me needed a little more juice, a little more after
the catch ability. It's a pretty big drop from Courtland Sutton,
who is a great guy on the boundaries. But we
(14:42):
need some guys who can make some plays after the catch,
and I think Evan Ingram could be very important for
this Broncos team, who to me, does need a little
more juice in terms of their skill position players.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
And gives them some explosive plays. And I want to say,
I have to go back and look, but I want
to say the Chargers had him in and he was
in the mix, and then they ended up pivoting from him,
I think to Conkland. So they brought in Conkland from
the Jets, but he was coveted by a team in
the division as well, and it does give him some
explosiveness and a dynamic piece of that offense. So I
(15:13):
know that was you know, much was made about Sean
Payton saying he wanted his joker, which is going to
get me to my next guy that I'm going to
mention here in a minute, But all the great Sean
Payton offenses have had middle of the field mismatch players,
whether that's backs h Bax, tight ends or whatever you
call Taysom Hill. So having someone like that, I think
(15:33):
is was definitely on his checklist in the offseason. Wait,
so what's who's your next play? R J Harvey? R
J Hartvey second round pick, who is like a Darren
Sproles clone, you know, just a bolt of lightning out
of the backfield, big time speed, you can he can
separate and win one on one the pass game. So
(15:55):
to me, that's that every offense of Sean Payton's has
had a back that can do the things that RJ.
Harvey does, and I think he is a great fit there.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, I think you know, fantasy football players were alarmed
when they add JK. Dobbins deep into the offseason. It's like, no, JK.
Dobbins is there to upgrade what was I guess the
object estimate spot. And those two guys do different things
and they're not going to count on Harvey. You don't
think to touch the ball twenty times a game or anything.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Dude, he doesn't need to. Yeah, he doesn't need to.
He's gonna have some hundred yard games, like combined yards,
hundred yard games with ten to twelve touches like that's
always going to need to get one hundred yards. He's
going to make some explosives.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I think it could be one of the best defenses
in the entire NFL.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You're a good team, man, and we'll get.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
To them and their defense. Actually, right after this break,
oh back on forties and free agents, and you heard
it before the break. DJ loves the Broncos. Everybody, Jordan
Rodrigue loves the Bronco. Everybody loves the Broncos. My theory
(16:58):
on that, just a little bit, Jay, is everyone just
likes Sean Payton and his buddies with Sean Payton, so
they're rooting for him. Not in your case, really, but
I think the rest of the meetia.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I can honestly tell you, I'm trying to think of
who all is in their personnel department. I have. I
have one friend in their personnel department, but he's a
friend that I'll talk to him and see him twice
a year with the Chargers. Don't have Sean Payton's number.
I don't think he would know who even know who
I am, So come ons. He knows the game. He's
come in the booth, He's come in the booth a
couple times at the Combine, but I've never had a
(17:30):
one on one conversation with him. He knows, he knows
the media game.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And yeah, I understand all the Broncos buzz because they
have a lot of continuity. They have a rookie quarterback
who really played better than you could have possibly expected.
I still worry that they don't have quite enough juice
on offense to really battle with the big boys. But
then you look at that defense DJ after adding my
pick here Dray green Law, and you just think, man,
(17:56):
what can't this defense too? It is rare to see
a defense that at every level feels loaded and after
adding dra Greenlaw, who to me is is a tone
setter who can rush the passer certainly is great and
run defense, is a tough guy. And you get Alex
Singleton back from an injury. You had this kid justin
(18:18):
Strnad last year who they were using the blitz, who
actually played quite well for them as kind of a
fourth or fifth year player, And I think that's no
longer a weakness either. And I just love everything I've
heard in terms of what Greenlaw has added so far
to that mix. He's got to stay healthy. He's been
a little bit in and out of practice already this offseason.
(18:39):
But when you look at Drake Greenlaw, what kind of
impact do you think he can have on this defense?
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I like him. I mean you touched on his skill set.
I'm going to tell you that I think you picked
the wrong guy. I think you had the right side
of the ball. I think you had the right former team.
I think you had the wrong player.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I had to go one to represent it, so yes,
I could have gone with Tellneya who Funga who's playing
at safety?
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I mean he talk about him place Hufanga And I'm
just throw out a number here. If I told you
that we looked up at the end of the season
behind this front seven Whufunga has seven picks next year?
Would you would that shock you? No?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Not if he uh not, if he stays on the field,
because he is also he's a safety that's going to
be supported by some excellent cornerback play around him, which
which was going to be give freedom.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
He's going to be freed up and he's that's who
he is, like he is to me. He's not high
weight speed yet he is all instincts and all feel
and instinct. Field guys don't work great when you need
him as helpers, like when you need him to help
cover someone that you're not capable of stopping. And he's
got a shadow. What those guys are at their best
is when you say, hey, you're free. You're gonna end
(19:46):
up over here, over there, up to you. Whatever you
see and feel, go do it. And if that's how
I and I think that is how he's going to
be using this defense, he is going to touch a
lot of footballs. Okay, I hear that.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Part of the reason I didn't choose him was there
secondary was already very good. They also add today Baron
maybe he's on your list. I don't know. I know
you liked him a lot in the draft. How's my
football instincts here wrong?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
But I do like him.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I do like him him as like a top twelve player.
But that was partly why I didn't pick Whufungo was.
I thought you might pick Baron and their secondary was
already good.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
My first three guys that I went with, I mean,
I get to the third one here because I jumped
out of order. But as I was composing this, we're
all first rounders, and I'm like, I don't want It's
not a good show if I'm just doing six first
round guys.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
I mean, if we're getting the great move the sticks analysis.
One last thing on this Broncos defense, and on Greenlaw specifically,
one thing I'm hearing this offseason is like, because linebackers
are killing defenses. It's like the difference between a great
defense and not are your linebackers killing you or not.
I'm talking about, you know, a guy like Trey green Law.
(20:55):
And what I think a lot of teams say they
really need now is they need a linebacker that need
to be part of like the rush package. You know,
like why why is that so important now do you
think compared to maybe five years ago.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Well, it's you know, running cover has always been a
big thing with linebackers. We went through the era with
the plugger like that got eliminated. Those guys no longer
exist anymore. So there's a big emphasis on coverage. And
then what's happened is it's become so hard to get
to the quarterback by traditional means, and they can know
where your big ash, you know your premier edge guy,
and they can direct attention. So you're seeing a lot
(21:30):
of these kind of mug fronts and then you're trying
to just find one on ones and can you win
with a back? And you know, there's the old saying
that backers on backs equal sacks, Like there's that's the
best matchup in terms of pass rush is going to
be a linebacker on a running back. So those guys
are valuable when you can when you can win inside,
it's in the face of the quarterback and it's a
favorable matchup on a back. So that's kind of where
(21:51):
is the other trend I would say is we're hitting
little sidebar trend topic here. Used to be talking to
teams around the league this time you that bad teams
wanted to get better, it was always you know, we
got so much faster, We're so much more athletic, we're
more explosive. I feel like this year because and we
talked about this on Move the six the other day,
because everybody's playing shell coverage, everybody's playing with two high safeties. Everybody,
(22:14):
I talk to you, like, man, we're just we're a
lot bigger. We're a lot bigger and stronger up front. Now,
like it just ebbs and flows how the league goes
and what you're looking for. But it's like everybody has
tried to get bigger upfront with their defensive line, and
it all makes sense.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
And yet if everyone's doing it, you know, you do
you get the advantage that you need. It's the teams
that can obviously do it, the best, that have been
doing it the longest, that a redly have a year
head start, Like you're Jim haw Jim Harbaugh Chargers, all right,
give me give me another rookie.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So the one that I had, which was the third
one that I bounced around the order a little bit
here was obvious ash and gent with the with the Raiders,
I mean, the offense is gonna run through him. Pete
Carroll has a style. I mean, I know he's a
miniature version, but you know, the Marshawn Lynch, the battering ram,
the tough you know, it's an He's an identity back.
There aren't many backs. A lot of great, but there's
(23:00):
not many backs that literally provide the identity to an
offense and to the team. This is what Pete Carroll
every you know, good team he's had has had this
style of players. So I think they feed him early
and often. I'm curious to see how this offensive line
comes together. They got some good young pieces like Powers
Johnson is a good player, but I think as that
offensive line kind of gets going, I think you're gonna
(23:21):
see Ashon Genty have a really.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Good year moving Powers Johnson to guard, which is very
surprising to me. Looks like that's kind of I like
Convet center, But yeah, I was surprised by that. Maybe
it's just about getting the best five. And they didn't
feel great about Alex Kappa, who they brought in as
a free agent.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well we'll see.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah. All the reports on Gentis so far are really
encouraging in terms of his pass protection and his past receiving,
which you know wasn't his the thing he majored in college, right,
and they're they're saying they just didn't know, like how
how he would adapt, And so far, so good. I mean,
I might as well go with who is clearly the
(23:59):
biggest in this entire division. It's it's the guy who's
going to be throwing some swing passes, some screens.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
It's Gino Smith.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I mean, they're counting on Gino to do a lot
because you could say that the offense runs through Ash Jenny,
and I would agree with you, because he doesn't have
a lot of outside receivers. He's got maybe the best
tight end in the entire league. Forget just young tight end,
just tight end and Brock Bowers that's their number one.
Jacoby Myers is an inside guy as well. Michael Mayer
(24:28):
is a good young player and he's inside as well.
So it's a lot of inside receivers and Gino Smith
has won over the middle quite a bit throughout his career.
It's a big year for Geno nation DJ because this
ride that we've been on where ball knowers know that
he's even better than you realize and just throws a
(24:48):
beautiful football and was held down by the Jets way
back in the day. It's been amazing, but this could
take it to another level. What you're dj is now
on the phone. I'm sorry you're saying, I'm talking too loud.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Hold on one second. I'm just calling my brother. I
was going to meet him for lunch and two hours
I'm pushing. We push it back. We just yeah, he's
talking about Geno Smith. We push that back just probably
another hour. I mean, what are your thoughts that, Yeah, yeah,
worry about that. I just had to make a change of
schedule on them. Plans go ahead. Anything else you want
to add on Geno? Right?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
I know it's tough because you know your kids are
getting old and they're moving out of the house and stuff,
and so you don't have a place to use all
your dad humor.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
So just bring it, bring it here, give it to me.
There's nothing better than dad humor. Have you settled into
your dad humor yet? Are your kids old enough?
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Do your kids think you're funny?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
No?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Smart kids?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah, they're thirteen and ten and I have settled into it.
I mean I think I'm funny, but they they definitely
don't think them.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Did they ever think you were funny?
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Yeah, back, I think I think when they were not
like like hah.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Like tickle you like, but like really like they made you,
you made them laugh.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Yeah, back in the day, sneaky funny. You know.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
I think you bridge just bring Jeszelneck over to the house.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I was gonna say, I did host a long running
successful comedy podcast, The Justin Lick and Rosenthal Vanity Project.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
I mean, yeah, And that's like Jim Sorgie's saying he
was part of a very successful quarterback room with the Colts.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
DJ is sneaky funny. But I don't think your kids
ever thought you were funny, did they? Well?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I think I disagree with you on that.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
But what do you think about Gino? Like for real?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
No, I like Gino. I like Gino. I don't know
if they have the pieces on the outside for this
to be a prolific passing offense. And I think Pete
Carroll's going to want the identity of this team to
go through the ground, So I think I don't think
he's going to post you know, wow numbers. But I
think they're going to be competitive. I think they're a
team that's good enough to be in a lot of games.
I don't know if they're good enough to win a
lot of games, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Well, the talent on defense, and we'll get to that
is just not there, at least not on paper. So
I do feel like it could be another season where
Gino is better on film than he is in terms
of justice stats, which is the last thing that I.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Want to be.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Litigating again. Twenty twenty five as the as the Seahawks
give up like the fifth highest pressure rate in the
entire NFL. All right, I'm just gonna stay with the Raiders. Yeah,
I don't want to just keep talking though. Malcolm Koons
to me, is so important for this team who they
brought back. And I don't think a lot of people
know about him too much, but was on fire before
he tore his ADL a couple of years ago. And
(27:19):
I put him here just because, you know, after Christian
Wilkins was cut and you look at the back seven
of this even like just not a lot of talent.
They need him to kind of help provide an identity
with Max Crosby.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Yeah, that's a that's a Mike Mayock special there. He's
got speed, he's got burst, you know, the question is
going to because Max can freelance a little bit and
then he's kind of an up the field speed guy.
I think there are going to be times so they're
going to get gashed a little bit with those guys
getting up the field. But he is going to be
a pressure player in a division with the three quarterbacks
(27:51):
that they're going up against him, Mahomes, Herbert and Knicks. Like,
having somebody that can win off the edge is going
to be big, and I think he's he's proven he
can do that when he's out there and healthy. I'm
going to go just because we are just so Rader
heavy right here, because my last one is another Raider.
It's Jack Besh who talking to guys out there. The
expectation is he'll he'll emerge as the third wide out,
(28:14):
so you'll see how he settles in there. It sounds
like in camp he's just kind of getting better and
better and better. But someone who man, he's got such
an incredible story, the adversity has been through. He's easy
got to root for first and foremost. But he's big.
He can he can win in the middle of the field.
He can win on fifty to fifty balls so Gino.
I think I think he'll get Gino's trust. You know,
(28:35):
whether he's in the slot you're trying to hit fades
with him there, or whether you're down in the red zone.
I think he's going to be someone you feel okay
putting the ball in harm's way because he's either going
to get or he's gonna he's gonna get it away
from the defense. He's just too competitive. He's not going
to lose many of those situations.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
It's interesting you hear that, and I think Raiders fans
will be excited to hear that that there is the expectation,
that the hope that he gets up into that third spot.
You've actually been hearing more about Dante Thornton, and this
is why I like hosting forties and free agents. We
can have a structure and a bit, but I just
want to know something about Dante Thornton. Not a guy
(29:11):
I know much about and a fourth round pick who
has a real chance to be the starting X for
the Raiders. So I'm just curious if you had any
takes about whether he could be a guy that contributes
right away. Supposedly he's impressed that qb Room there that Gino,
you know, made a comment that he can trust throw
into Thornton on the outside to win.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Well, he's ginormous. So he was six oh four five,
so almost six foot five, two hundred five pounds. He
ran four to three flat, so he's got big, big speed.
The way they used him at Tennessee they have those
super wide splits, so he's way outside. He had a
lot of bang eights, so you know those are you
know those skinny posts things about the old school cowboys,
(29:52):
Michael Irvin. You know he lived on that, on that route,
so those skinny posts. He was excellent. Lots of vertical winners.
Tracks the ball well over his shoulder. You can get
him the ball out on some of those RPO slants
in that Tennessee offense. Now, the thing was he just
didn't have a lot of wiggle as a route runner.
Telegraphed his routes a little bit, which, by the way,
that probably falls into my antiquated scouting terminology telegraphs as
(30:17):
routes like I don't know if many young folks know
about telegraphs. So, but he's he's he's not great in
terms of the nuance of the position.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
I mean, it's just a word that over time no
longer really meant how it was originally meant. I think
everyone knows what telegraphing a pass would be like in
basketball or football.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I didn't even really do. I think maybe our generation does.
I don't know that.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
It's not like we were sending telegraphs to each other.
Maybe you were, no but I know, but I don't.
I don't our coaches said that to us. I go
to my kids. My kids have made it through the
high school process. My youngest is a senior. I've been
to some practices I don't remember with my kids. Then
hearing don't telegraph. I'm just saying it's not all about
the technology staying up to date. Like lithograph. I think
(30:58):
the gone was just kind of kind that's gone. But
telegraph booth, we've talked about it. Yeah, booth can't get open.
It's funny you talking about Thornton, you know who? He
sounded exactly like DJ Who, every single wide receiver that
Al Davis used to draft. So that sounds like a
great rader.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Serious, Hayward Bay, is that where you're going with.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Just like size, weight, speed, you go back to the eighties, nineties,
So yeah, to bring it back to Irvin. They're not
losing recipes there, you know, with the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
That's a good phrase that's held up.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I really do feel like Michael Irvin losing recipes is
the number one moment in the history of NFL network.
But I think maybe me and you j we could
top that at some point in this little build up.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Do you have another one about is that ed? Or
do you have another one that's it? We did it
next week? Can you encourage the folks to subscribe to
this bad boy and then leave us a little rating
and review.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
You just did it. I mean they'll listen to you more.
You're more of an authority.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
But yes, what's the Reddit thread going to have to
say about this thing coming back? Is my question.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I just like, as we're texting and they must have
heard it through through NFL Daily. I just got a text,
uh from a friend, a listener just that says, yeah
forties and freems the people. The people are excited and
and maybe even more excited. I think, if you don't
need to see it in your feed multiple times? So
I'm trying to convince the iHeart our bosses that we
(32:26):
don't need to do that anymore forties and free agents
can live on its own. So for that to happen,
everyone needs to subscribe and then yeah, hit that five
star review, write something nice about DJ's polo.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
And for those that don't have it, as Greg was
just mentioning a listener at texting them. So if you
don't have Greg's number, it is three to one zero.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
No sorry, anyways, I still got that six fort to say.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Take about your phone number to listeners, I love you
my New York. I mean he's is that gorilla marketing?
Is that what we're a friend.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
He's a friend, a friend and a listener. But I'm okay,
I'm a businessman. I've of you everyone as a listener.
You're a listener to me. DJ hope, I hope you're
checking out NFL Daily. We will be back next week
a f C North NFC North will see that
Welcome to Forties and Free Agents. I'm Greg Rosenthal, joined
as always by my friend Move the Sticks, Daniel Deeremiah.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Can I call you a friend? J Yes, you can
call me a friend, and I can tell you that
I thought you did a wonderful job after having to
retape this open six times. Gregg's a little rusty.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
That is not true. I've retaped it one time and
I knew you would. You would bring it up, and
it's fine. It's a it's a podcast. You could re
record things if you want. Speaking of which, everyone that
signed up for the Forties and Free Agents Feed this week,
we noticed you, We saw you.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
We appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
If you are listening to this show and you are
not yet signed up for Forties and Free Agents on iTunes, Spotify,
wherever you get your podcasts, do us a favor and
please do that and you'll hear all of our big takes.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Well. Can I can I also add on to that,
throw a little throw a little review in a little round,
Yeah too. Look, give us a little little of that action.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
It would help as we're launching this thing into the sun.
Let's go through the five rookies. DJ in your division,
the AFC West. You cover the Chargers as their radio voice,
so you know this division very well. You're going to
give us five rookies that are going to make a
big impact this season. I'm going to give you five
veterans that were added in the offseason.
Speaker 2 (01:20):
But you can get us going. Yeah. Sure, And if
you missed it, go back listen to the NFC West episode.
On that one, we had a lot more mid round picks.
You know, I just felt the way it shook out
that there was more guys in that range of the
draft that would have an immediate impact. And this is
what we're doing on this study is again I'm looking
for these guys step on the field impact right away.
In this division. It's a lot of chalk. And I'll
start first of all with the team that I cover
(01:42):
in the Chargers of Marion Hampton, their first round pick.
This is someone the size, speed, you know, can catch
out of the backfield. All those things are there. There's
the two things that I would say that have stood
out in terms of talking to coaches, being out there
at practice, seeing him in the preseason the other night.
This is someone who in pass protection, coaches rave about him.
(02:03):
So what's the biggest hurdle for young backs just get
on the field. Stay on the field. It's pass protection.
He's he's really really good in that department. So that's
gonna bode well for him getting a lot of playtime.
Number two is, you know, talking to coach Harball before
this last preseason game, he's been really impressed with his vision,
which was, you know, some of a question mark with
(02:23):
him coming out. I was like, Okay, he's got the height, weight, speeds,
he can catch it, he can block to all these things,
but how is the vision? And he said he's been
very impressed, even in practices where they aren't padded up,
which can be a little bit difficult for running backs.
Gets a lot of mud you don't see. It's a
lot of you know, walls of people and there's not
a lot of seams that create Harbo actually uses those
periods to kind of gauge and see how these guys
(02:44):
are seeing things. Sit a nice job. Now in the
first preseason game, there's a run to the left outside.
I would like to see him square his shoulders, get
north and south and plow through. I believe it was
your sin a rock, you sin gonna ran through him
for a touchdown, he tries to stretch, it doesn't get there.
I think that's a learning experience for him. Long way
of saying, he's going to play an awful lot Greg
(03:04):
and I think behind this offensive line, I think he
has a really nice year for the Chargers.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
Yeah, Nase Harris coming off that eye injury. Not that
I thought Nase would be the one a to Hampton's
one be anyways, but just giving Hampton a large, longer
runway to be the man. And I love hearing that.
I love that you're there at practice hearing that that.
You're literally hearing it from Jim Harrock because fantasy football,
(03:28):
I am going big on a Marion Hampton. Like reality,
I'm going big on a Marion Hampton. I hear you, wait,
are you are you sticking your guy KeAndre Lambert Smith
in here? Because you said, you know you're mostly going
with Chalk And that was a fifth round pick. He
was a young receiver for the Chargers, already making some
noise who I couldn't help. But notice you had higher
than just about anyone, you know, you had him in
(03:50):
your top one fifty. People are like, I've prepped for
forty wide receivers. I never even heard of this guy,
and then the Chargers take him, and it really supports
the accusation that you are a shadow GM of the
team that you work for. Would you like to answer
those accusations?
Speaker 2 (04:05):
What's the what's the last thing we're supposed to doing.
We're supposed to be doing a wildcard? A wildcard? But well,
I guess should I just do my wildcard?
Speaker 1 (04:12):
Now?
Speaker 2 (04:13):
Do you want to just steal the rest of the
rundown here?
Speaker 1 (04:15):
Or I mean, we don't have a rundown. That's you know,
I didn't know who you're gonna pack?
Speaker 2 (04:19):
How faith and trust in your partner here?
Speaker 1 (04:22):
We could share the rundown ahead of time, or you
could just go along with it and have a nice
Chargers conversation, right, I can.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Talk about it like this is like we talk about
in scouting. We use the term FBI Okay, football intelligence.
It's instincts, it's awareness, it's an understanding.
Speaker 3 (04:38):
Gregg's podcast FBI atrocious. Just no feel whatsoever? You knew
I liked the guy going into the draft. He lights
up practice, he scores in the freaking Hall of Fame game.
You think I'm not gonna mention, Come on, dude, like
just a little faith and confidence in your partner here.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Bud Okay.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
So if I was like a football player, you know,
obviously physically talented, uh, but just not really with the instincts.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
You can't finally play the ball. I mean it's like, oh,
you're in great coverage down the field, but like, hey,
let's locate the ball. You just you know, balls just
get completed.
Speaker 1 (05:12):
Jeff Okuda in my first three stops. So though, there
is some good positive pop that he's turning it around,
all right.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Go on with that Keyadre Leaverard Smith.
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:22):
Yeah, look, he's been he's been really good and he's explosive.
The one thing that was great to see in the
preseason is I go back through my notes, the speed
was there. He's a pen straight transfer who then you know,
goes to Auburn, big plays down the field. I mean
he looks beautiful. He is a big, just physical, fast dude.
The question was pressed like there were some times in
college where they got up into him in press coverage
(05:44):
and he struggled with it. So we go to this
preseason game and he ends up It was Raykestraw and
it's Rakestraw from the Lions. He lined up nose to
nose and they're a press man team. Detroit is and
and the first time I literally that was I told
the Money as we're calling on the game, like ooh,
they we got press coverage down here, Lambert Smith excited.
Literally boom right, he beats Wins right off the line.
(06:06):
It's like a twenty nine thirty yard completion on a
fade from Trey Lance. We're like, well, that's a great sign.
And then a couple more times they get pressed, including
on the goal line, he jabs him hits a slant touchdown.
I'm like, okay, like this is if he's getting off
press coverage, with all the other skill set that he possesses,
he is going to get on the field and have
an impact for true. But there you go, Greg, I'm
(06:27):
getting excited.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
You mentioned doing the game with money, and I can't
help think back to last weekend Canton when Antonio Gates
gets inducted. The very last thing you hear before Antonio
Gates walks on the field is Matt Muney Smith's fantastic
call of him setting a touchdown record. I think what
you need to do, DJ is you need to start
shoehorning in on some big time calls of stepping on him,
(06:51):
stepping on him like if Khalil Mack. I'm trying to think,
who could possibly Khalil Mack if he breaks some sort
of record or justin herber as his career is developed.
I mean, you want to get into that spot. Don't
let money get all the shine there.
Speaker 2 (07:04):
You know what I used to do? This is this
is sad to say, but when I first started doing
these games, the times where you will hear that I don't,
you know, I don't just who does inside the NFL
because you showed the clips from the game and they
would have some audio on there and stuff I didn't have.
I don't have HBO or any of the stations that
was on. So that was not my jam. But my
jam is when this top one hundred list would come out,
(07:26):
because the top one hundred list would come out, and
then they play some of the radio calls as they're
you know, they're going over those players, and then I
quickly realized, this is a play by play sport, man.
This is not a this is not a color analyst sport.
This is a play by play sport. And so you're
gonna get money, and that's what the people want, and
that's what the people deserve.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Yeah, that was a big diversion there, But I want
you getting in there. And look, we play you on
NFL daily. We're doing highlights each and every week. So
if the Charges win a lot of games and KeAndre
Lambert Smith is scoring touchdowns, then.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
Then we should do it.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Let's let's I'll throw out my our just to keep
us on the same page now, and it is a
former Charger. It's Christian Fulton with the Chargers. The reason
I point that out and I mentioned this on our
AFC Takeaways, and I kind of forgot about Fulton, to
be honest, because he hasn't been on the field, which
is something that's happened a lot for him throughout his career.
(08:19):
He really hasn't been on the field consistently enough. He
was for the Chargers a year ago. But he's a
cornerback that I think they're counting on a lot, because
if you look at their problems in that Super Bowl,
they really just didn't go deep enough at the cornerback.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
I mentioned that he's with the Chiefs, not with the
Chargers anymore.
Speaker 1 (08:34):
By the way, that would be good. He is with
the Chiefs now so he changes places in the division.
I think he's a good player, and you can you
can tell me what you think about him and what
you saw to the t. I think he's a really
good player. And so to me, he's kind of a
boom or bust player for them because after him it
gets pretty thin where it's Schamari Connor and Nase Johnson
and some of these guys who were getting torched in
(08:55):
that Super Bowl.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
Well McDuffie's pretty good.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
Right, but you need you need three cornerbacks. You got
Jalen Watson as your two. I think in today's NFL
you need you need four, and I think it falls
off pretty steeply maybe after McDuffie and Watson. So to me,
Kristin Fulton is my wild card, and uh that's.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
A good one. He's look, he can play. He can
play any way you want to play. When he's healthy
and on the field, he can play plus press, he
can play off. He's got good eyes. He's got it.
You know, he can play the ball. He's a good player.
He just had to be able to stay healthy. That's
been That's it, and that's it. But that's a good one,
all right, give me another. Uh with the Chiefs. I
mean Josh Simmons, you know, and this is one you've
(09:35):
already heard all the buzz. He's the left tackle, like
he just plug him and play him. The talent was
never a question. You know, he got hurt at Ohio
State last year. But his tape when he's on the
field is good or better than anybody else in the draft.
I mean it literally is the He had the best
left tackle tape if you're just going to go off
of the tape. So how the league let the Chiefs
get him because because you had injuries and you had immaturity,
(09:56):
and it was that combination that scared people off. So
look there, Joe Rosenhouse brought him to the Senior Bowl
when he wasn't playing in the Senior Bowl because he
knew that there was concerns about him and he wanted
him to be around the team so they could get
to know him and get more comfortable with him. That
doesn't happen if you're sitting there knowing you're the most
talented tackle on the draft and there's no cause for concern.
(10:17):
You're not parading him down there to the Senior Bowl,
so that that was where the league is, and I
mean the the ability was never a question with him.
Now it looks like he's come back really really quickly
and strong from this injury, and so far, so good
all accounts, he's doing everything he needs to do. But
there's guys like this every year, Greg, and what happens
(10:37):
is there's some of them will go on and have
unbelievable careers and you say, the whole league is stupid,
why were they worried about this? And then what happens
is those are the ones that are remembered. The ones
that aren't remembered are the guys who a year or
two in like, there's some things that pop up where
there's immaturity or you know this, and then the guy
kind of fades away and it's like nobody ever gets
an apology for they or why they passed on someone
(10:59):
or you know, within reason, all of a sudden, that
injury ends up being a major issue year two or three.
I'm just telling you. We talked about it in forties
and freems before the draft, about the gift. You know
how gifted he is, and it talented he was. This
was not one of those issues with him.
Speaker 1 (11:12):
I hear all that, and I do wonder if the
teams overrate the injury at the time of the draft,
Like you want everyone to be one hundred percent pristine,
but this is a four or five year commitment for
first round picks and you got to have the long view.
I do think sometimes team overrate like a guy coming
off an injury a little. But now the immaturity stuff,
(11:34):
I would like to ask, like, what does that mean?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
Like, I've never traded in that information, so okay, I've
always just kind of put it under that umbrella. It
just served no purpose for me to get into that.
So I've never done it with any player. It was
just it was enough where I call around to people
and say, is there you know anything, Are there any issues,
any concerns? And with him there was some There were
(11:58):
some concerns, so I put it under that umbrella. I
don't want to be an investigative reporter and I don't
want to ever trash anybody, so I don't ever trade
in that.
Speaker 1 (12:05):
This is how DJ plays the long game. He just
keeps he keeps his hands clean.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
Everyone winning in that day, and I want all these
guys to do great, so I mean that's there's no
there's no winning in that. I'm just saying, that's rap sheets.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
Job like everyone can dislike rap sheet and that's it.
Speaker 2 (12:20):
That's and that's literally at the draft. I mean that's
that I'm sitting here. Ian's there to serve that purpose?
Why is this guy still there when he's really really talented?
That's why.
Speaker 1 (12:28):
So I could have gone with Jalen Moore. I was
thinking about him. If you're not familiar with him, he
was the backup to Trent Williams. He was a left
tackle for the forty nine ers last year when Trent
Williams got hurt and they they gave him fifteen million
dollars a year DJ And now they've got what's called
a great problem where he is now battling at right
tackle with Juan Taylor and at left guard with their
(12:48):
former second round pick Kingsley's Sua Mattea. It's a lot
of Chiefs offensive line talk, but to me that that's
a bonus because he'll probably wind up starting in one
of those spots and there's injuries and you're gonna need him.
So now, after not having enough offensive lineman, somehow they
traded away Joe Toney and they might have too many,
which is a great thing, so forget him.
Speaker 2 (13:05):
I'm let me let me ask you this question quick
on this topic before we keep it moving. If they
had I don't know, it's it's in a pretty extreme
vision of this. But like, if if the Chiefs had
my Latta and Lane Johnson and the two super Bowls
they lost, did they win those two Super Bowls?
Speaker 1 (13:22):
Wow?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
Well do you take it away from the Boys.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
And I was going to say, because suddenly the Eagles
have their tackles, then yes, I think the answer might
be yes. That Bucks night was I think even more
than just two players.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
That was that was too much, oh may Jack Barrett.
And though they eviscerated them on the head.
Speaker 1 (13:43):
Then again, like the Eagles got it done on both
sides of the ball. It is really crazy to think
two of them. I would say the Super Bowls of
all time were quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes at least in
the last fifteen years.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
It is crazy, But I mean I think you would
say that if that, what was the biggest weakness of
those chief teams that didn't seal the deal and didn't
it was the tackles. So not surprised that they addressed
it in a big way. Here am I up next?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
No, that wasn't even one of mine. I'm going I'm
going Evan, Well, I just was saying, like, you know,
I just wanted to mention that he was he.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
Counts one of you. You just did all that and he
doesn't count as one of your guys.
Speaker 1 (14:18):
We're gonna have to ask our producer Drew does that
count as one of the guys. He says no, So
I'll do it very quickly. Evan Ingram is added to
a Broncos mix at receiver slash tight end that to
me needed a little more juice, a little more after
the catch ability. It's a pretty big drop from Courtland Sutton,
who is a great guy on the boundaries. But we
(14:42):
need some guys who can make some plays after the catch,
and I think Evan Ingram could be very important for
this Broncos team, who to me, does need a little
more juice in terms of their skill position players.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
And gives them some explosive plays. And I want to say,
I have to go back and look, but I want
to say the Chargers had him in and he was
in the mix, and then they ended up pivoting from him,
I think to Conkland. So they brought in Conkland from
the Jets, but he was coveted by a team in
the division as well, and it does give him some
explosiveness and a dynamic piece of that offense. So I
(15:13):
know that was you know, much was made about Sean
Payton saying he wanted his joker, which is going to
get me to my next guy that I'm going to
mention here in a minute, But all the great Sean
Payton offenses have had middle of the field mismatch players,
whether that's backs h Bax, tight ends or whatever you
call Taysom Hill. So having someone like that, I think
(15:33):
is was definitely on his checklist in the offseason. Wait,
so what's who's your next play? R J Harvey? R
J Hartvey second round pick, who is like a Darren
Sproles clone, you know, just a bolt of lightning out
of the backfield, big time speed, you can he can
separate and win one on one the pass game. So
(15:55):
to me, that's that every offense of Sean Payton's has
had a back that can do the things that RJ.
Harvey does, and I think he is a great fit there.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
Yeah, I think you know, fantasy football players were alarmed
when they add JK. Dobbins deep into the offseason. It's like, no, JK.
Dobbins is there to upgrade what was I guess the
object estimate spot. And those two guys do different things
and they're not going to count on Harvey. You don't
think to touch the ball twenty times a game or anything.
Speaker 2 (16:19):
Dude, he doesn't need to. Yeah, he doesn't need to.
He's gonna have some hundred yard games, like combined yards,
hundred yard games with ten to twelve touches like that's
always going to need to get one hundred yards. He's
going to make some explosives.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
I think it could be one of the best defenses
in the entire NFL.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
You're a good team, man, and we'll get.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
To them and their defense. Actually, right after this break,
oh back on forties and free agents, and you heard
it before the break. DJ loves the Broncos. Everybody, Jordan
Rodrigue loves the Bronco. Everybody loves the Broncos. My theory
(16:58):
on that, just a little bit, Jay, is everyone just
likes Sean Payton and his buddies with Sean Payton, so
they're rooting for him. Not in your case, really, but
I think the rest of the meetia.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
I can honestly tell you, I'm trying to think of
who all is in their personnel department. I have. I
have one friend in their personnel department, but he's a
friend that I'll talk to him and see him twice
a year with the Chargers. Don't have Sean Payton's number.
I don't think he would know who even know who
I am, So come ons. He knows the game. He's
come in the booth, He's come in the booth a
couple times at the Combine, but I've never had a
(17:30):
one on one conversation with him. He knows, he knows
the media game.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
And yeah, I understand all the Broncos buzz because they
have a lot of continuity. They have a rookie quarterback
who really played better than you could have possibly expected.
I still worry that they don't have quite enough juice
on offense to really battle with the big boys. But
then you look at that defense DJ after adding my
pick here Dray green Law, and you just think, man,
(17:56):
what can't this defense too? It is rare to see
a defense that at every level feels loaded and after
adding dra Greenlaw, who to me is is a tone
setter who can rush the passer certainly is great and
run defense, is a tough guy. And you get Alex
Singleton back from an injury. You had this kid justin
(18:18):
Strnad last year who they were using the blitz, who
actually played quite well for them as kind of a
fourth or fifth year player, And I think that's no
longer a weakness either. And I just love everything I've
heard in terms of what Greenlaw has added so far
to that mix. He's got to stay healthy. He's been
a little bit in and out of practice already this offseason.
(18:39):
But when you look at Drake Greenlaw, what kind of
impact do you think he can have on this defense?
Speaker 2 (18:44):
I like him. I mean you touched on his skill set.
I'm going to tell you that I think you picked
the wrong guy. I think you had the right side
of the ball. I think you had the right former team.
I think you had the wrong player.
Speaker 1 (18:56):
I had to go one to represent it, so yes,
I could have gone with Tellneya who Funga who's playing
at safety?
Speaker 2 (19:02):
I mean he talk about him place Hufanga And I'm
just throw out a number here. If I told you
that we looked up at the end of the season
behind this front seven Whufunga has seven picks next year?
Would you would that shock you? No?
Speaker 1 (19:16):
Not if he uh not, if he stays on the field,
because he is also he's a safety that's going to
be supported by some excellent cornerback play around him, which
which was going to be give freedom.
Speaker 2 (19:26):
He's going to be freed up and he's that's who
he is, like he is to me. He's not high
weight speed yet he is all instincts and all feel
and instinct. Field guys don't work great when you need
him as helpers, like when you need him to help
cover someone that you're not capable of stopping. And he's
got a shadow. What those guys are at their best
is when you say, hey, you're free. You're gonna end
(19:46):
up over here, over there, up to you. Whatever you
see and feel, go do it. And if that's how
I and I think that is how he's going to
be using this defense, he is going to touch a
lot of footballs. Okay, I hear that.
Speaker 1 (19:57):
Part of the reason I didn't choose him was there
secondary was already very good. They also add today Baron
maybe he's on your list. I don't know. I know
you liked him a lot in the draft. How's my
football instincts here wrong?
Speaker 2 (20:11):
But I do like him.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
I do like him him as like a top twelve player.
But that was partly why I didn't pick Whufungo was.
I thought you might pick Baron and their secondary was
already good.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
My first three guys that I went with, I mean,
I get to the third one here because I jumped
out of order. But as I was composing this, we're
all first rounders, and I'm like, I don't want It's
not a good show if I'm just doing six first
round guys.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
I mean, if we're getting the great move the sticks analysis.
One last thing on this Broncos defense, and on Greenlaw specifically,
one thing I'm hearing this offseason is like, because linebackers
are killing defenses. It's like the difference between a great
defense and not are your linebackers killing you or not.
I'm talking about, you know, a guy like Trey green Law.
(20:55):
And what I think a lot of teams say they
really need now is they need a linebacker that need
to be part of like the rush package. You know,
like why why is that so important now do you
think compared to maybe five years ago.
Speaker 2 (21:08):
Well, it's you know, running cover has always been a
big thing with linebackers. We went through the era with
the plugger like that got eliminated. Those guys no longer
exist anymore. So there's a big emphasis on coverage. And
then what's happened is it's become so hard to get
to the quarterback by traditional means, and they can know
where your big ash, you know your premier edge guy,
and they can direct attention. So you're seeing a lot
(21:30):
of these kind of mug fronts and then you're trying
to just find one on ones and can you win
with a back? And you know, there's the old saying
that backers on backs equal sacks, Like there's that's the
best matchup in terms of pass rush is going to
be a linebacker on a running back. So those guys
are valuable when you can when you can win inside,
it's in the face of the quarterback and it's a
favorable matchup on a back. So that's kind of where
(21:51):
is the other trend I would say is we're hitting
little sidebar trend topic here. Used to be talking to
teams around the league this time you that bad teams
wanted to get better, it was always you know, we
got so much faster, We're so much more athletic, we're
more explosive. I feel like this year because and we
talked about this on Move the six the other day,
because everybody's playing shell coverage, everybody's playing with two high safeties. Everybody,
(22:14):
I talk to you, like, man, we're just we're a
lot bigger. We're a lot bigger and stronger up front. Now,
like it just ebbs and flows how the league goes
and what you're looking for. But it's like everybody has
tried to get bigger upfront with their defensive line, and
it all makes sense.
Speaker 1 (22:26):
And yet if everyone's doing it, you know, you do
you get the advantage that you need. It's the teams
that can obviously do it, the best, that have been
doing it the longest, that a redly have a year
head start, Like you're Jim haw Jim Harbaugh Chargers, all right,
give me give me another rookie.
Speaker 2 (22:40):
So the one that I had, which was the third
one that I bounced around the order a little bit
here was obvious ash and gent with the with the Raiders,
I mean, the offense is gonna run through him. Pete
Carroll has a style. I mean, I know he's a
miniature version, but you know, the Marshawn Lynch, the battering ram,
the tough you know, it's an He's an identity back.
There aren't many backs. A lot of great, but there's
(23:00):
not many backs that literally provide the identity to an
offense and to the team. This is what Pete Carroll
every you know, good team he's had has had this
style of players. So I think they feed him early
and often. I'm curious to see how this offensive line
comes together. They got some good young pieces like Powers
Johnson is a good player, but I think as that
offensive line kind of gets going, I think you're gonna
(23:21):
see Ashon Genty have a really.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
Good year moving Powers Johnson to guard, which is very
surprising to me. Looks like that's kind of I like
Convet center, But yeah, I was surprised by that. Maybe
it's just about getting the best five. And they didn't
feel great about Alex Kappa, who they brought in as
a free agent.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Well we'll see.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
Yeah. All the reports on Gentis so far are really
encouraging in terms of his pass protection and his past receiving,
which you know wasn't his the thing he majored in college, right,
and they're they're saying they just didn't know, like how
how he would adapt, And so far, so good. I mean,
I might as well go with who is clearly the
(23:59):
biggest in this entire division. It's it's the guy who's
going to be throwing some swing passes, some screens.
Speaker 2 (24:05):
It's Gino Smith.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
I mean, they're counting on Gino to do a lot
because you could say that the offense runs through Ash Jenny,
and I would agree with you, because he doesn't have
a lot of outside receivers. He's got maybe the best
tight end in the entire league. Forget just young tight end,
just tight end and Brock Bowers that's their number one.
Jacoby Myers is an inside guy as well. Michael Mayer
(24:28):
is a good young player and he's inside as well.
So it's a lot of inside receivers and Gino Smith
has won over the middle quite a bit throughout his career.
It's a big year for Geno nation DJ because this
ride that we've been on where ball knowers know that
he's even better than you realize and just throws a
(24:48):
beautiful football and was held down by the Jets way
back in the day. It's been amazing, but this could
take it to another level. What you're dj is now
on the phone. I'm sorry you're saying, I'm talking too loud.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Hold on one second. I'm just calling my brother. I
was going to meet him for lunch and two hours
I'm pushing. We push it back. We just yeah, he's
talking about Geno Smith. We push that back just probably
another hour. I mean, what are your thoughts that, Yeah, yeah,
worry about that. I just had to make a change of
schedule on them. Plans go ahead. Anything else you want
to add on Geno? Right?
Speaker 1 (25:18):
I know it's tough because you know your kids are
getting old and they're moving out of the house and stuff,
and so you don't have a place to use all
your dad humor.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
So just bring it, bring it here, give it to me.
There's nothing better than dad humor. Have you settled into
your dad humor yet? Are your kids old enough?
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Do your kids think you're funny?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
No?
Speaker 2 (25:37):
Smart kids?
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Yeah, they're thirteen and ten and I have settled into it.
I mean I think I'm funny, but they they definitely
don't think them.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Did they ever think you were funny?
Speaker 1 (25:47):
Yeah, back, I think I think when they were not
like like hah.
Speaker 2 (25:50):
Like tickle you like, but like really like they made you,
you made them laugh.
Speaker 1 (25:54):
Yeah, back in the day, sneaky funny. You know.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
I think you bridge just bring Jeszelneck over to the house.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I was gonna say, I did host a long running
successful comedy podcast, The Justin Lick and Rosenthal Vanity Project.
Speaker 2 (26:08):
I mean, yeah, And that's like Jim Sorgie's saying he
was part of a very successful quarterback room with the Colts.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
DJ is sneaky funny. But I don't think your kids
ever thought you were funny, did they? Well?
Speaker 2 (26:19):
I think I disagree with you on that.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
But what do you think about Gino? Like for real?
Speaker 2 (26:24):
No, I like Gino. I like Gino. I don't know
if they have the pieces on the outside for this
to be a prolific passing offense. And I think Pete
Carroll's going to want the identity of this team to
go through the ground, So I think I don't think
he's going to post you know, wow numbers. But I
think they're going to be competitive. I think they're a
team that's good enough to be in a lot of games.
I don't know if they're good enough to win a
lot of games, if that makes any sense.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Well, the talent on defense, and we'll get to that
is just not there, at least not on paper. So
I do feel like it could be another season where
Gino is better on film than he is in terms
of justice stats, which is the last thing that I.
Speaker 2 (26:55):
Want to be.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Litigating again. Twenty twenty five as the as the Seahawks
give up like the fifth highest pressure rate in the
entire NFL. All right, I'm just gonna stay with the Raiders. Yeah,
I don't want to just keep talking though. Malcolm Koons
to me, is so important for this team who they
brought back. And I don't think a lot of people
know about him too much, but was on fire before
he tore his ADL a couple of years ago. And
(27:19):
I put him here just because, you know, after Christian
Wilkins was cut and you look at the back seven
of this even like just not a lot of talent.
They need him to kind of help provide an identity
with Max Crosby.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
Yeah, that's a that's a Mike Mayock special there. He's
got speed, he's got burst, you know, the question is
going to because Max can freelance a little bit and
then he's kind of an up the field speed guy.
I think there are going to be times so they're
going to get gashed a little bit with those guys
getting up the field. But he is going to be
a pressure player in a division with the three quarterbacks
(27:51):
that they're going up against him, Mahomes, Herbert and Knicks. Like,
having somebody that can win off the edge is going
to be big, and I think he's he's proven he
can do that when he's out there and healthy. I'm
going to go just because we are just so Rader
heavy right here, because my last one is another Raider.
It's Jack Besh who talking to guys out there. The
expectation is he'll he'll emerge as the third wide out,
(28:14):
so you'll see how he settles in there. It sounds
like in camp he's just kind of getting better and
better and better. But someone who man, he's got such
an incredible story, the adversity has been through. He's easy
got to root for first and foremost. But he's big.
He can he can win in the middle of the field.
He can win on fifty to fifty balls so Gino.
I think I think he'll get Gino's trust. You know,
(28:35):
whether he's in the slot you're trying to hit fades
with him there, or whether you're down in the red zone.
I think he's going to be someone you feel okay
putting the ball in harm's way because he's either going
to get or he's gonna he's gonna get it away
from the defense. He's just too competitive. He's not going
to lose many of those situations.
Speaker 1 (28:49):
It's interesting you hear that, and I think Raiders fans
will be excited to hear that that there is the expectation,
that the hope that he gets up into that third spot.
You've actually been hearing more about Dante Thornton, and this
is why I like hosting forties and free agents. We
can have a structure and a bit, but I just
want to know something about Dante Thornton. Not a guy
(29:11):
I know much about and a fourth round pick who
has a real chance to be the starting X for
the Raiders. So I'm just curious if you had any
takes about whether he could be a guy that contributes
right away. Supposedly he's impressed that qb Room there that Gino,
you know, made a comment that he can trust throw
into Thornton on the outside to win.
Speaker 2 (29:31):
Well, he's ginormous. So he was six oh four five,
so almost six foot five, two hundred five pounds. He
ran four to three flat, so he's got big, big speed.
The way they used him at Tennessee they have those
super wide splits, so he's way outside. He had a
lot of bang eights, so you know those are you
know those skinny posts things about the old school cowboys,
(29:52):
Michael Irvin. You know he lived on that, on that route,
so those skinny posts. He was excellent. Lots of vertical winners.
Tracks the ball well over his shoulder. You can get
him the ball out on some of those RPO slants
in that Tennessee offense. Now, the thing was he just
didn't have a lot of wiggle as a route runner.
Telegraphed his routes a little bit, which, by the way,
that probably falls into my antiquated scouting terminology telegraphs as
(30:17):
routes like I don't know if many young folks know
about telegraphs. So, but he's he's he's not great in
terms of the nuance of the position.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
I mean, it's just a word that over time no
longer really meant how it was originally meant. I think
everyone knows what telegraphing a pass would be like in
basketball or football.
Speaker 2 (30:34):
I didn't even really do. I think maybe our generation does.
I don't know that.
Speaker 1 (30:37):
It's not like we were sending telegraphs to each other.
Maybe you were, no but I know, but I don't.
I don't our coaches said that to us. I go
to my kids. My kids have made it through the
high school process. My youngest is a senior. I've been
to some practices I don't remember with my kids. Then
hearing don't telegraph. I'm just saying it's not all about
the technology staying up to date. Like lithograph. I think
(30:58):
the gone was just kind of kind that's gone. But
telegraph booth, we've talked about it. Yeah, booth can't get open.
It's funny you talking about Thornton, you know who? He
sounded exactly like DJ Who, every single wide receiver that
Al Davis used to draft. So that sounds like a
great rader.
Speaker 2 (31:18):
Serious, Hayward Bay, is that where you're going with.
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Just like size, weight, speed, you go back to the eighties, nineties,
So yeah, to bring it back to Irvin. They're not
losing recipes there, you know, with the Raiders.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
That's a good phrase that's held up.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
I really do feel like Michael Irvin losing recipes is
the number one moment in the history of NFL network.
But I think maybe me and you j we could
top that at some point in this little build up.
Speaker 2 (31:47):
Do you have another one about is that ed? Or
do you have another one that's it? We did it
next week? Can you encourage the folks to subscribe to
this bad boy and then leave us a little rating
and review.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
You just did it. I mean they'll listen to you more.
You're more of an authority.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
But yes, what's the Reddit thread going to have to
say about this thing coming back? Is my question.
Speaker 1 (32:06):
I just like, as we're texting and they must have
heard it through through NFL Daily. I just got a text,
uh from a friend, a listener just that says, yeah
forties and freems the people. The people are excited and
and maybe even more excited. I think, if you don't
need to see it in your feed multiple times? So
I'm trying to convince the iHeart our bosses that we
(32:26):
don't need to do that anymore forties and free agents
can live on its own. So for that to happen,
everyone needs to subscribe and then yeah, hit that five
star review, write something nice about DJ's polo.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
And for those that don't have it, as Greg was
just mentioning a listener at texting them. So if you
don't have Greg's number, it is three to one zero.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
No sorry, anyways, I still got that six fort to say.
Speaker 2 (32:50):
Take about your phone number to listeners, I love you
my New York. I mean he's is that gorilla marketing?
Is that what we're a friend.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
He's a friend, a friend and a listener. But I'm okay,
I'm a businessman. I've of you everyone as a listener.
You're a listener to me. DJ hope, I hope you're
checking out NFL Daily. We will be back next week
a f C North NFC North will see that
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!