July 17, 2025 • 44 mins
In the latest episode, Bucky Brooks is joined by draft analyst Lance Zierlein for a deep dive into some of the biggest storylines across the NFL. The duo kicks things off with the New York Jets’ bold moves, securing their core by making Sauce Gardner the highest-paid cornerback in NFL history and locking in Garrett Wilson with a new extension. Bucky and Lance break down how these signings are helping the Jets shape a true team identity. Then, the conversation shifts to the recently released Top 10 Quarterbacks list, voted on by execs, coaches, and scouts, with the guys giving their honest reactions to the rankings. Finally, they explore the ripple effect of the Texans giving second-round pick Jayden Higgins a fully guaranteed contract, and how it’s led to an unusual number of unsigned second-rounders across the league.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And now move the sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What was up about world?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
We're going to move the sticks. I'm Bucky Brooks and
stepping in for DJ to day. My man Lance Z
doing the most represented. Acetown is going down. Football season
is on the horizon. You got things brewing. Kd's coming
to town. Everything is going up, Beyonce selling out uh
tours everywhere. I mean, look, man, Lance right now, Htown
(00:29):
is the center of the universe.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, we got a lot. We swept the Dodgers.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
And a couple of weeks ago, those couple weeks we
went one to five.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
No one cares now, Yeah, we got a bunch of
injured players.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
The Houston Texans. It's funny. We're getting into that too.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
You know, we're I'm on sports talk radio every morning
and people are getting starting to get excited about the Texans.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's that time of the year.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So we've got some stuff we'll talk about a little
bit later about second round picks. Because the Texans comes
from drama across the NFL that still hasn't settled itself
because of their fully guaranteed contract to Jayon Niggins at
number thirty four, So they kind of threw a monkey
wrench and everyone getting their rookies in from the second round.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Yeah, they have thrown a monkey wrench.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And before we talk about the Texans and then we
talk about these quarterbacks, because the executives got together, they
had some some polling and they ranking top ten quarterbacks
and that has created a bit of a reaction from
some So we'll talk about that. But before we get
into that, let's talk about what's brewing the New York Jets.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Your guy, Aaron Glenn has been on the front of
the movement making sure that the Jets re.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Signed their star players. So first we saw Garrett Wilson
sign a four year, one hundred and thirty million dollars extension. Next,
Sauce Gardener signs a four year, one hundred and twenty
point four million dollar deal that makes them the highest
paid cornerback of all time. Let's start right there, Sauce Gardner,
I got to know, one, what did you think about
(02:02):
him when he was coming out as he lived up
or exceeded those expectations? And how do you feel about
the New York Jets bringing the bank on there?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, you know, I liked him coming out buck.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I thought you couldn't really look at that his final
year tape like it wasn't you didn't have three years
of that same level play or production because he was
kind of a late bloomer, and there's talk about him
being too thin and things like that.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
But he's kind of wiry, strong, he's long.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
When he got his hands on guy, he was extremely
disruptive in the first Frankly, you know, they let you
keep hands on longer in college football, so the first
yards were a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
For receivers when he was in that press, and he
used his hands to his advantage.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I mean, you know, that's one of the things that
once you get into the NFL, the skill level on
the footwork gets a little more important because they will
start throwing the flags on you beyond five yards.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
But I liked him coming out. I had a high
grade on him. I think he's played up to it.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I think last year, you know, he got picked on
a little bit, which will happen.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I do think that, you know, you couldn't have.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Seen this coming after their rookie seasons. But but Stingley
I think has surpassed Sauce. Gardner's a top corner out
of that class and really I think the second best
corner to Patrick Sir Tam. But it's who's up next,
and that's why Sauce Gardner got that big deal making
him the highest Bay cornerback because he was next up
to reset the market. Interestingly enough, the Texans kind of
(03:25):
set it by by paying a lot higher on Derek
Stingley than people and some of the agents I talked
to were expecting they were expecting it to be a
small a smaller percentage, but they went to a higher number,
which kind of, uh, you know, shot.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
The market up a little bit on the cornerback position.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So that's a foreshadowing of another conversation that we're going
to have in a little bit.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But that Sauce Gardner definitely benefited.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
All players benefit from good deals with that question almost always.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So that was one.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And you know, good defensive play has dog mentality, ag
is gonna like playing some Mando man. And then you have,
you know, Garrett Wilson, which to me, that was a
must that was a must sign.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It must have is a It was a good deal
for Garrett Wilson.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Garrett is a player who I think, no matter who
the quarterback is can be a really good wide receiver,
not the biggest guy in the world, but a really
really talented ball winner in the air and good speed.
And uh, you know, Aaron Glenn definitely wants to get
Aaron Glenn type guys in the building and keep him there.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
And I think he wants to get guys out.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And I thought the interesting thing that happened was and
it was no secret, like you heard the discussions about it.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
People the Jets let it be known. I think Aaron
wanted Aaron Rodgers out of the building. Aaron, there was
no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I mean, that's just that's what it is. And he
wanted everyone on the same page. It needed to be
about the Jets, and it needed to be about working
together in a in one common direction. And this is
what we see. Know you briefly talked about the Rockets.
I saw it with the Houston Rockets when imad. I
think any coach that comes in wants to put a
(05:08):
stamp on the team, and they want to get rid
of certain players that they think are going to make
their job harder, and they want to bring in culture guys,
maybe from outside the organization. And Aaron Glenn is definitely
a culture guy type of coach. He's you know, Dan
Campbell and him got along great because I think they
see them similarly. So it's at he's got his work
(05:28):
cut out for him. But I do think they've got
some players over there. It's it's not like they're devoid
of talent. They've got a better roster with the Jets
and a lot of teams in the NFL who are
predicted to have more wins.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I think they have a better roster than a lot
of those teams, to be honest with you.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Yeah, no, it's funny, right.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So Aaron Glenn, same draft class, have watched him grow
up as a player, has watched his progress from a
scout to a head coach, the many different things that
he's learned. He's attacking this the right way. Don't know
what it's going to look like on the field, but man,
he is going about it. He wants his people in there.
They're resigning their folks. He's throwing his weight behind Justin Fields.
(06:06):
I think the signing of Garrett Wilson, I think it
relates to Justin Fields a bit. College teammates at Ohio State.
Connected on a lot of tubs when they were at
oh Io, as they would say, and there's a belief
in that building that Justin Fields is going to play
at a high level. Then when you think about Sauce
Gardener and how Aaron Glenn wants to lock people on
(06:27):
the perimeter, he wants to have those cornerbacks, as you said,
with a dog mentality, much like he had when he
was an All Pro Pro Bowl corner in the league.
To me, the Jets are naturally creating an identity because
they're taking on the identity of their coach.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
And if this works like it worked.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
In Detroit where they become a feisty, fiery, gritty bunch
look out.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
In the AFC East.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Because look, man, what I do know about Age, He's
gonna get them to play hard and he got some
of that Buo par Sales in him. And so if
they play hard, they executed a high level, they're gonna
be a tough team to be.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yeah, I agree with that, And you know they do
have some real They've got some real talent on the
defensive side of the ball especially. I just think that
when they've got a good running back crew, you know
they've got that behind him, I think it's going to
be interesting to see how you use justin feels mean,
Justine is not a standard. We're gonna throw at sixty
five percent of the time and run the ball.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Thirty percent of the thirty five percent of the time.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
A sixty forty I think you've got a it's a
different style of passing game where I think you need
to do what he's most comfortable with. You've got a
lot of tape on him from two different teams organizations.
What you do now, if you're the Jets, as you say,
this is who he is. He doesn't do this that well,
so we're not going to ask him to do that.
He does this well, and let's take what he does
well and let's build an offense around that. Because to
(07:52):
be successful, I think with guys who are a dual
threat quarterbacks who are going to be more productive relative
speaking as runners and passers.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I'm good with that. I'm not here.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
I'm not here to say you're lesser of a quarterback
or more of a quarterback if you can do this
or do that. I'm saying, if you do something really well,
it's my job as a coordinator to put you in
position to do that to the best of your ability,
so the offense flourishes. And so we know that Justin
is very dangerous with his feet. He could throw the
(08:24):
ball a little bit. It's not like he can't throw
the ball. We saw him do at Ohio State. He's
had his ups and downs in the pros. But it's
just finding the right kind of fit for him offensively
that allows the Justice score more points than they did
last year.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I mean, it was it was rough, and I.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Thought the defense didn't step up the way they needed to.
Aaron Glynn's going to get that attitude right. You almost
had the feeling over the last two years with Aaron
Rodgers in that building that and I talked to I
talked to a couple of people who were in that
building and they just said, you know, it was it
was especially two years ago.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
It was you had Joe Douglas on the hot seat, you.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Had to own who was out of the country, and
then coming back in the country, it was just Aaron
Rodgers who was in the building asking for certain players,
you know, to come under the roster that maybe the
GM didn't want on there.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
It was just a mess. It was just a mess.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
No, you're talking about it being a mess.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
It is one of those things that we love it
being a players league, but everyone has a responsibility and
a role. Players play, coaches, coach, general managers and executives
go about building the team, and while there are levels
of partnership, you can't have the players dictating the terms.
And to me, what I'm seeing from the Jets is
a clear line of delineation when it comes to the hierarchy. Players,
(09:41):
We're going to take care of you, but just understand
this is above you and everyone's going to be a compliant.
It appears to be one voice. The messaging is clear
when it comes to that, and really, in a lot
of ways, it reminds me of what Dimiko Rans did
when he took over at Houston.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Eliminated all the stuff that.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Led to distractions and made it about hey man, we're
one voice, we're one team, We're about the Texans and
all this other stuff. And as we're seeing so many
coaches turnover and take over at respective spots, it's really
important that you get a hold of it, that you
set the culture and that everyone falls in line with
it from day one.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, and doing that there's different ways. Aaron is a
more in your face, direct Dimiko's more of a rah rah,
clap you up, love you up. Look, the Texans roster
was a disaster when he came in. You had a
few guys who could play a little bit. Obviously Stingley
could you know he was there, but he was coming
off of a rough rookie season, had injuries. And for
(10:42):
the Texans, it was about the combination of Will Anderson, C. J.
Stroud and Jamiko Ryans as a kind of a leadership
trio in all three levels offense, defense, and on the
coaching side with Aaron Glenn, They've got more, They've got
more help. But I always find that fascinating, Bucky. In
any sport, baseball, basketball, football, the majors, I always find
(11:04):
it fascinating because I really do believe after watching sports
for so many years and analyzing.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
It, it's always so much fun to me to see
a coach who can come in, or a general manager
or a coach, or a quarterback whatever, or a defensive
lineman whoever it is, that can come in and make
things different, like I always think of.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I had a conversation with Well, I saw James Gladstone.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Your guy mentioned you he was at the Masterminds clinic
with Tony Basselli, and they were there at Duke Manyweather
and Lane Johnson's O line clinic where a lot of.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Offensive linemen from college and pro come in.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And James Gladstone was one of the only executives I
saw there and I had a chance to fix first
year in.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
The mix man.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
He and Tony are like that, and they are they
do not turn down any opportunity to not only look
at starts, but to learn that ends and out because
as you learn from people training, it becomes it helps
you become better at evaluating because now you have the
greatest sense of what they're being taught what to look for.
(12:09):
You know, Atlanta, we all have a blind spot when
it comes to scout in certain positions. So normally, if
you're a perimeter player, it's hard to look in the
trenches at offensive line and know the nuances of the position,
so you can fairly evaluate whether a player can or
can't play.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Right.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
To hear that James is down there, to me, oh yeah,
that's worthy of a.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Tip of the cap because that is somebody who's humble
enough to know I don't know everything about this stuff.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Let me go down and learn well.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
He's learning from Lane Johnson, who's showing stuff on tape.
He's learning from Kevin Malay, who's a pro bowler, Toront Armstead.
I mean, it's a who's who, Owen Cruits. You just
had an absolute who's who of offensive line, hall of
famers and pro bowlers and things like that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Who are there?
Speaker 1 (12:58):
You had entire the four of the three, I should say,
three of the five starters for the Louisiana Lafaette offensive line.
They got together and came out and they included their
guy who plays Nathan Is it Nathan Brown? He's with
the Dallas Cowboys. Now I wrote him up because I
had to read my scoutering. I let him read my
scoutering report of what I said about him. I always
(13:19):
like to get get a little thought on the guys
I write.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Was this fair?
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Was this fair?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
What I wrote about you? When you came out? But No,
Gladstone and Tony were there. They were listening.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Of course, Tony BISSELLI was an all time great offensive lineman.
But James Gladstone, I really thought that was great for
him to get out there. He's networking, he's learning, he's
very very smart. And we were talking a little bit
about culture. I told him I liked that He's you know,
I thought it was great that he came out and
said we're gonna swing for the fences.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
With Travis Hunter.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Whether it works or not, you're basically saying this is
who we are, and we're gonna plan our flag and we're.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Gonna get behind it.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
We're not gonna you know, we're not gonna lay up
on a par five. We're trying to get to the
green in two. And But to that point, talking about culture,
I mentioned the Baltimore Ravens, and I don't think I've
ever seen an organization. Now, Ozzie Knewsome has a lot
to do with this, but I also say Ray Lewis
and Ed Reid Ray's insatiable work ethic and physicality and attitude,
(14:19):
and then ed Reid's instincts and and and ability to
make clutch plays, and then film study because his film
state was supposedly legendary. Those two guys changed a Ravens culture.
And to this day, Bucky, I feel like when you
say Ravens culture, you still know that it goes back
into the late nineties when it was you know, first
(14:40):
begun by Ozzie.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
And Ray and then ed Reid like it's still Ravens.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
The Ravens feel like the same team as though Ray
just played a couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
No, it's funny about that, right. We talked about like
player led organizations and teams and cultures, and the Ravens
for so long were synonymous with the saying play like
a Raven And they were revered in scouting circles for
the ability to actually nail the first round in particular,
but to find players at every stage of the draft
because they stuck to some very very simple but very
(15:11):
difficult principles to adhere to, and you know, players play,
and they've always believed in that, And you know, I
just think it's so great as we're talking about players
and as we're getting to this time of year when
it comes to the scouting, that we're able to kind
of harken back to some of those things that we've
learned along the way.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
When it comes to it.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
ESPN dot Com add an article that they pulled a
handful of executives on top ten players at respective positions.
Jeremy followers the one that kind of moderated discussion got
of got it going or whatever in lance really interesting
discussion when it comes to who's on this list, who
ranks on this list, where they rank in those things.
(16:00):
Then let me pull it up because it is one
of those things that we gotta we gotta chat about
because it is it's been all the buzz there, all
people mad about this LZ and there's nothing more that
gets people's go than to put a list where you
put your top ten, You put people out there, everyone
doesn't make it, and it goes.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
So let's start at the top, and.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Look, I don't think this part is the part that
really shock people, but I'm gonna go through the list.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Some of the names in order are interesting.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
So let's go Patrick.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Mahomes at number one, which I think everyone expected, Josh
Allen at number two, Joe burrow bro at three, which
might be a little surprise considering the Bengal struggles. Lamar
Jackson at four. Uh, the guy who has created a
lot of buzz and a lot of confident conversation and consternation.
(16:57):
Jayden Daniels at five. For the Washington Commanders, we have
Matthew Stafford at six.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
We got Justin Herbert.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
At seven, Jared Goff at eight, Jalen Hurts at nine
and Old Baker Mayfield at ten.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
So we'll be talking about.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
The guys on ten we just talked about, and I
love this a little honorable mention guys that didn't make
the top ten.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
C J.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Stroud, Jordan love Caler, Murray Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Aaron
Rodgers to a take of a little bownixt. Those guys
were not included in the top ten. So let's go
to the top. Let's talk about number one. Do you
have any questions or doubts or anything about Pat Mahomes
being number one on the list?
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I think I would take right now, just today, I
would probably take Josh Allen over Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
But on a list, you can't do it. I mean,
to be the man, you gotta beat the man.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have had a hard
time getting past you know, have had a hard time
getting deep into the playoffs, obviously championship game, gut in
all the way to the Super Bowl. Josh, so you
know he's at four. Joe Burrow's had injuries. He was
two last year, he's three this year. Josh Allen I
thought played incredible football last year, and so did Lamar Jackson.
(18:10):
They were both tremendous. But Josh Allen can't beat Pat Mahomes.
I wouldn't say it's necessarily. He's had some games that
were really really strong against Kansas City, but until you
not Kansas City off that off that pole, I don't
see how you can take Mahomes off it. And for me,
once I get to Alan Jackson Burrow, I think in
(18:30):
a in a in a vacuum, you can rearrange him
however you want to, and you're okay. I will say
that Lamar has been healthy for two years in a row.
Josh Allen is always healthy and always productive and made
smarter plays around the red zone last year which really
helped him.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
And Joe Burrow is a great passer.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
It's just you know, he he has had some injuries
that that you have to talk about a little bit,
and then the wins didn't materialize. But I think this
list shows you the NFL teams don't hold that against him.
They hold it against the others around him, the defense
most specifically, do you have a problem with Like to me,
(19:08):
two three four interchangeable and I think you have to
put Mahomes one, even though I'm not sure he's the
very best quarterback in football right now.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Until we know he's not, I'm not taking him out
of one.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Yeah, it's interesting. And before we get to Atlantce, I
jumped a gun. Let me make sure everyone knows that
it's time for a hot or not. I brought to
you about Whatsabi hot cloud storage. I was supposed to
say that at the top, but I got that in
so I want to make sure we did it. And
so since we're so hot, it's interesting that conversation. You
talk about Josh Allen overtaking Pat Mahomes and how quarterback
wins matter when it comes down to shootouts, and Josh
(19:43):
Allen simply has not been able to knock out Pat
Mahomes when it matters. We can blame his defense, we
can blame a bunch of different things, but at the
end of the day, we treat quarterbacks like pitchers. When
we hand you the ball, you ultimately decided for the
win and loss. You get it into it. Until he's
able to knock off Pat Mahomes, he's going to have
to be.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
The runner up.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Now, what about Joe Burrow at three? I know Joe
Burrow has gone to a super Bowl. Joe Burrow when
he has his full confident of weapons. Look, man, there's
no doubt that he's one of the best in the game.
But we have Joe Burrow over a two times MVP
and someone said what should be a three time MVP
and Lamar Jackson. Let's talk about that debate. Joe Burrow
(20:22):
Lamar Jackson. Is it right that he is over top
of him?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
I think it just shows I would I would not
say it's right necessarily. I would think it shows that
the NFL still has a bias towards an elite pocket
passer as opposed to an elite dual threat quarterback.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
The pocket passing thing.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
While every gym will tell you they want a mobile
quarterback and they'd like a guy who can hurt you
with his legs, they still, at the end of the
day covet elite passers from the pocket. And I think
that's why Joe Burrow ends up on this spot now.
Production wins Akoale. I don't really see how you could
(21:03):
put I granted, Joe has been to a super Bowl
in his second year, but he hasn't gotten back there
since then. I'm not sure, how you put a Burrow
ahead of Jackson other than a bias of elite pocket
passer over elite dual threat quarterback.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
That's the only way I could even look at that.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Yeah, no, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I mean, you can talk about him going to a
Super Bowl, then some would argue that the Cincinnati being
was really We're right there to win the Super Bowl
if not for a faulty drive that allowed the Rams
to steal it at the end. But man, it's hard
to talk about Lamar Jackson. So here's the thing about
Lamar Jackson. You're talking about someone who is a two
time MVP. We talked about potentially three time MVP. First
(21:41):
guy in NFL history to have more than forty passing
touchdowns in fewer than four interceptions. He has two to
one thousand yard seasons on his ledger. But the bigger
thing is he's won over seventy four percent of his
games in the league lance And I know we're at
this weird stage where people don't like to credit quarterbacks
with QB wins, But at the end of the day,
(22:02):
the quarterbacks job is to win the game. Darnia seventy
five percent games, three out of four games that the
Raven has played, they win since Lamar Jackson has been
the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
It's hard to knock that, man.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I know we can talk about the better team and
all that, but it's hard for me to say that
Joe Burrow goes over top of Lamar Jackson exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
And I think that sometimes there's some arguments that you
could have made in the past where using the Lamar
Jackson argument for wins was a little bit of a
cop out because you're just trying to win an argument.
But then after last year's performance, which to me he
got better as a pocket passer, like Lamar elevated, I
(22:43):
don't think enough was made about how good Lamar got
as a passer last year, decision making, quickness of processing
like Lamar across the board was a much better passing
quarterback than he's ever been. And I think his game,
he took his game to another level last year, which
has to be mentioned more. In my opinion, I think
(23:04):
that the quarterback wins sometimes are overblown. As you said, However,
when you take it in perspective, if you actually go
and take a look at games, if if a quarterback
is having off games or lower statistics, it's the Steve
McNair factor.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
The stats didn't look nothing was going to blow you
away with Steve McNair. But what happened when you're in
the fourth quarter and you're a third and six and
he makes a play, an incredible play, a single handed
play to convert a third down and keep a drive
alive when you're trying to come from behind and win
like that's a winning play that deserves you know, it's
not going to look like anything on the stats, but
(23:41):
making plays like that wins games. And that's why Steve McNair.
So the fantasy football world may not have loved him
as much. Well, the running stats they probably liked a
little bit, but you know when you like my kids, right,
they just look at they just look at stats. They
go to the stats and they put their list together
based on the stats. They didn't have to watch anyone
and play. They can tell you who the best was
(24:01):
based on their stats. And there's just times where you've
got to understand that making the biggest plays we kill
players from not performing in a clutch. We should exalt
them when they do. If they're the Robert Or of
NFL quarterbacks, then so be it. But making much plays
is making clutch plays.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
I mean there's something too. You got to be able
to make the clutch plays and you.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Want to be able to lean on your quarterback independence
to be able to get it done. And for whatever reason, look,
it hasn't consistently happened for Lamar Jackson, so he's downgraded
from that. So we're four, but now we got to
go to five because this is the one that I
think really has people buzzing.
Speaker 5 (24:42):
It's the Jamie Daniels thing.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
We created a bit of a stink headed into the
playoffs when I talked about Jaye Daniels being a Tier
one player, maybe anointing him before the oil should have
been dripped on his head.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
But I like to say that the executives agree with me.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
Jane Daniels at five.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Well, so last year it was pick number seven was CJ.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Stroud and he was the talk of the town and
the Texans were, you know, the the Texans were the
sneaky Super Bowl team to come out of the AFC
and all that, and then he caught that, you know,
CJ got a little taste of the of the sophomore Blues.
Twenty touchdowns, twelve interceptions, an offensive line that that really
broke down.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
But CJ didn't play great.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
He was not as accurate on some easy throws, like
some of it was on CJ one PC. A lot
of people like to just try to give him a
pass and put it all on the old line. He
didn't play his best football and he'll tell you that
it just wasn't great.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
And so I wonder if Jayde and Daniels.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Obviously what we saw in the field one hundred percent
Jay and Daniels number five and that's all you can
work off of. But I'm kind of curious if you
think that sophomore we call it a slump, but if
you think that sophomore uh, that sophomore season catches up
with Jayden Daniels, because more and more teams are gonna
say he does this, well, well, this is where he struggled.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Once we got to get into the data and we
figure out.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Where his throws were most difficult, where he was least effective,
they're going to start game planning specifically to push him
in that direction.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And so I'm curious if you think that he could.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
See a little bit of a regression from that outstanding
freshman years that rookie year, it could be.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
I mean, it's gonna be tougher for him. But here's
the thing.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
You would like to think that these things build upon
one another. Jade Daniels did it with a lesser cast
last year. Talk about Terry mclauren was the only established
playmaker that he had. He had an older Zach Erks
in the middle, but really it was the Terry McLaurin show.
This year, you now have Deebo Samuels coming on board.
You have better protection with Larry my Tunsel. You just
(26:44):
think about the way that they are positioned, knowing this
offense here to Cliff Kingsbury, knowing him, how they can
go to a higher level and a more advanced level
when it comes to the scheme and those things. To me, man,
it's hard for me to imagine the Washington commander is
taking a step back because they're a better team. But
we know it's not played on paper. But I don't
(27:07):
foresee a sophomore slump in his future just given the
upgrades did they put around you?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Yeah, I would agree with you, and I think his
game is like where CJ. Stroud is not as mobile
and when he's actually being more mobile, he gets into
a groove a little bit better. Jayden Daniels to me,
I mean, even if he gets rushed, he's still gonna
make big plays. So I'm kind of with you. As
long as he doesn't turn it over and as long
(27:33):
as there's no bickering, you know, as long.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
As the contract stuff doesn't cause.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
That team to short circuit a little bit, which I
don't think that will be the case. I think they'll
get something done with McLaurin. I have a hard time
believing that he kind of drops off like CJ did
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
CJ.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Stroud, of course, was an honorable mention. Matt Stafford's thirty
seven years old. Bucky his picture. He was a battery
mate in high school or was it high school or
when they were youth baseball. You had Matt Stafford and
Clayton Kershaw pitching. Kirshaw just had his last All Star
game and he's shutting it down and he's like, I'm
out of here. Matt Stafford sixth in the NFL according
(28:11):
to this list. I mean, how incredible is that physical sort?
Speaker 3 (28:15):
Yeah, Look, I can't imagine both of those guys. Can
you imagine having that kind of pitching rotation in high school.
One could be the one guy, which I'm assuming Kershaw
Matthew Stafford. If he was too like that would be
unbelievable to have two guys like that on your rotation.
But what he can learn from Kershaw is just the
longevity and the reliability. The thing about Matthew Stafford that
really gets me is, man, this dude was gifted coming
(28:36):
out of Georgia. Everyone knew that he was a gifted passer.
When you watched him in Detroit, you fell in love
with his toughness, his grittiness, the way that he would
consistently bring them back. There was a time I remember
advocating for him to be an MVP based on how
well he played in Detroit.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
You bring him to LA, you.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
Pair him up with Sean McVay.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Sean McVay is able to do some different things because
he has a more talented quarterback than he had in
Jered Goff. But yet this team has been able to
bounce back in the.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Past two years.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
One in four three and six starts, they've been three
games under five hundred and bounced back and made the postseason.
And a big part of that is due to Matthew
Stafford's ability to put this team on the back when
he needs to.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
It's really remarkable to watch.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
And I know there's a lot of conversation about them
trading away from him getting them out, But I understand
why Sean McVay wants to hold on to him because
he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down as an
aging player.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
No, I mean we're and I think Aaron Rodgers shows
you like Matt Stafford's game, I don't really as long
as his arm as long as his arm health health
is okay, I don't see why he can't go to
age thirty nine or forty, to be honest with you.
And that's why he's number six. I mean he's year
in and year out. This guy is productive talented, He's
(29:50):
very talented.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
We talk about arm talent.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Matt Stafford is a great example of what it looks
like you guy number seven, Justin Herbert, I should say,
Money's guy, DJ's guy with the guys who call the
Chargers games, Justin Herbert. So here's one of the here's
here's a fuss, and this is a difficult conversation. Is
Justin Herbert has all the tools that you could possibly want.
(30:13):
It is a little unsettling for people to see Justin
Herbert's who hasn't really done it and his last the
last taste we had of Justin Herbert was an atrocious
playoff in Houston, Texas, probably the worst he's ever played
in the NFL. And then you have Jalen Hurts at
number nine, a guy who's been to the Super Bowl
twice and won at once and makes a lot of
(30:33):
winning plays. How does that suit on golf at eight?
And I'm cool with golf at eight. There's a lot
of respect for him. It's a great story how he
and Stafford both ended up helping their teams. But Herbert
at seven, with all the tools and talent in the
world at seven versus the guy that maybe is a
little more limited but just wins at a higher level,
makes a lot of those winning plays that we talked about.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
So yeah, to me, this is the perfect example of
the debate that you have in war rooms or draft
rooms around the league is are you going for the tools?
Are you going for like the intangible traits? Because if
you're going for the tools, then it's Justin Herbert all day, right.
You just don't see him. I mean, he's body, beautiful kid,
(31:15):
talk about coming in size, arm, talent, athleticism can make everything,
super smart, graduated with a biology degree, all of those
things you love. He's shown fifteen game winning drives in
his five seasons with the Chargers. He has over twenty
one thousand past yards, most in NFL history through five seasons.
Those things check off a lot of boxes. But I
(31:39):
got Jalen Hurst has been to two Super Bowls. I'll
play Pat Mahomes and both of those Super Bowls. Last
year came away and did it in a major way.
He has the toughness, the grit, kind of like a
maturity beyond his years as a leader. How can you
not like that? I mean, four seasons with ten at
least ten rushingtons, and I know we talk about they
(32:03):
have the supporting cast around them, and you know his
pitch count needs to be held.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Down under thirty and all that.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
But when Jenleen Nurse is healthy and right, they win
and they went a ton in Philadelphia. It's hard because
we talk about winning being the goal. It's hard to
justify Hurts ranking behind Herbert and that you're talking about
the tools and the tool built that justin Herbert might
be bigger and better, but it certainly hasn't been a
(32:31):
better overall result for Herbert and charges right.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Now, No, And I understand that one guy once again,
that's that pocket pocket passing bias.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
And I think I think a lot of these executives are.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Kind of betting on the come on this one, like
what they think justin Herbert's going to become.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
And that's fine with me. But what is Hurts right now?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Hurts is a guy who has rushed for fifty five
touchdowns over five years. He's rushed for fifty two rushing
touchdowns over the last four years.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Those are scores. Now, Yeah, you get some toush push
in there.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I get that you can take some of those away,
but also the toush push like it doesn't work for
a lot of teams. You know why, because they got
a quarterback bench press in six hundred I mean squatting
six hundred pounds running that quarterback sneak like Jalen Hurts
is specifically suited to run that to run the most
unstoppable play in football going today.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
I just think that when you take.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Everything into account, the rushing yards, the passing, I know
you're not going to get super excited about all the
passing stats. But he wins games and he's important in
winning those games. Yes, he's helped out by AJ and
DeVante Smith, and of course there's no question having a
(33:47):
Saquon Barkley on that team. He's got a great offensive line,
he's got everything you want, he's got a Bagatti around him,
everything you could want, but he's but he drives it
the way he's supposed to. So I can't. I can't
downgrade a guy for doing what he's supposed to do
with the players who's around him. What I'm gonna downngrad
him because Howard's done a good job of building that team.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I'm not gonna do that.
Speaker 4 (34:07):
No, you can't do and you shouldn't do that.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
I mean, it's just a look, it's a very unique situation.
It's one of those things that everyone aspires.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
They have that kind of talent, those kinds of players
around them.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
But it's debate.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Do you want, like in baseball when they're drafting prospects,
do you want the gap with the tools or do
you want to finish product when it comes to the
polish in those things. Justin Hurst has the tools, but
in terms of the Polish, in terms of winning, not
many better than Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Let's go to Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Number one overall pick comes in at ten, quite the
bounced back comeback story.
Speaker 4 (34:43):
Number one overall goes.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
To Cleveland, leads them to the playoffs, unceremoniously dismiss bounces
around Carolina, la makes his way to Tampa, and in
Tampa he has seventy three touchdowns in the last two years.
The only people with more touchdowns Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. Yeah,
think about that to see.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
What That's what Baker is doing right now. That's what
Baker's doing.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I knew my draft I knew my scouting reporter was
right on him. I just needed to wait about six
years and eventually came true.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Same thing.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Sam Darnold, Well, I guess guys from that draft class
really so. I think Baker is a great story. I
love the Baker Mayfield career arc. I think when he
came out it's not really a secret in a lot
of circles A Baker's real arrogant guy.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
He was.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
I think he was very full of himself headed into
the draft process, going into his rookie season, they put
him on all the commercials and look, he didn't have
a He had a tough locker. He had a tough
locker room with wide receivers, with juice. Landry, He's got
a lot of juice. You got Odell Beckham. You know
how he's going to be. I mean, you know, I
think I think Baker's personality, I think he took things
(35:54):
to you know, he was a guy that was a
little sensitive about stuff. I think he had a hard
time compartmentalizing certain failures and it just didn't work out.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
This is a more humbled version of himself.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
If you listen to him talk, he is somebody who
understands what it means to be a pro.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Now, it took him going to his fourth.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
Team the job that he did winning that game with
the Rams.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
He was in for less than a week and they
had to really tighten up the playbook.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
And he comes in and gets a win on Thursday
night and play terrific in that game. I think what
Baker's done in Tampa Bay is fantastic because it's a
reminder not to write talented quarterbacks off too quickly. Sam
Donald is another one that showed, hey, hey man, look
at Sam Donald.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Look at Geno Smith. Gino Smith was a two.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
Thousand and like what thirteen draft I think so a
lot of these talented quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Sometime it just takes getting the mind right.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Sometime it takes getting enough reps, enough snaps, getting with
the right offensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I don't know what it is, but I think the
ak Or Mayfield story is great.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
I'm really happy for him, and I think that he's
living up to the talent that we saw him play
with that senior season at Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
Man's anybody that we talked about being left off that
you believe deserves to be.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
In the top ten in any obvious omissions.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
No, not for me. I mean Aaron didn't play well,
Dak Prescott was hurt.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
I think Dak is the guy that makes it back
on the list next year. I was going to ask
you that question, who's going to make it back on
the list next year? You got George Pickens and Ceedee
Lamb to throw to. I think Dak gets back on
that list. He was on there in twenty twenty four.
I think he gets back on that list in twenty
twenty six when they do that list list again. Of
(37:45):
all the guys, I don't know if I'm ready to
believe that Bo Knicks or Caleb Williams is going to
be there just yet.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
I wouldn't put them. I think I think they're going
to be in for some tests this year. They're not
they're the hunted. Now, they're not the hunter, they're the hunted.
So I think it's gonna be a.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Little, a little uh tougher sled sledding.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
But I do think Caleb Williams, I don't think he's
gonna be top ten, but you got Ben Johnson and
you got plenty of talent.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I think Caleb and the Bears are set for a
big bounce, a big bounce.
Speaker 5 (38:15):
Yeah, it'd be interesting to see how that plays out.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
That was this week's how To Not segment, brought to
you by with Sabi Hoigh cloud storage, store more and
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Speaker 5 (38:24):
Try them for free at Withsabi dot com.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Last, before we get out, there's some buzz in the
league about these second round picks. A bunch of second
rounders were not signing their contracts. You've talked to some people.
What's the deal? How come the second rounders aren't signed?
I was the second round pick. I was able to
get in before campber. How come what are these guys
waiting on?
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Let me ask you a question. Did you get four
years fully guaranteed when you sign?
Speaker 4 (38:48):
No, but I don't even have reparations.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
I need that right now, guaranteed right.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
Now, like all of that. They need to pay that
back for all the whole time. I need some of that.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
So the Houston Texans would pick thirty four Jayden Higgins,
they liked him so much if they just said, look,
we're just going to guarantee the whole you know, we're
guaranteeing like high eighty percent anyway with these picks, We're
just going to guarantee the whole thing. That little move
caused a massive uh what those the shock waves?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
What do y'all call them?
Speaker 1 (39:22):
When when there's an earthquake, you get the little trimmers rights.
So that caused the aftershocks around the second round because
immediately the pick before him, Carson Swetsinger, he signed, you know,
thirty three had no choice. Now the Browns had to
give him a fully guaranteed deal as well. So this
is not around where you have given fully guaranteed money.
(39:43):
Now you typically what a GM told me is he said, look,
eighty eight to ninety percent is going to be the
guaranteed number on second rounder, so it's most of it
is guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
But I think this is the agent's right now. Once
once the thirty fourth pick win fully guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
I think everyone's taking a shot and saying, look, let's
try to get fully guaranteed as well for the second round,
and next we move to the third round and see
if we can get a higher percentage in the future
of third round picks guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
NFL is going to fight against that. They're not just
going to give you fully guaranteed, even if it's not
a fight.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Over millions and millions. It's a principle of not giving
in to fully guaranteed. But the real thing you need
to look for here. So the Texans kind of screwed
the whole second round up for everybody, they caused all
this drama. We're only thirty where thirty of thirty two
picks are not signed as of the recording of this
from the second round. But Tyler Shuck, who was picked
(40:38):
by the Saints at somewhere around forty forty one, I
believe buck Derek Carr retired, so his agent Eric Burkhard's like,
we're going for fully guaranteed too, because we've got all
the leverage right now. So if forty, if Tyler Shuck
gets it, every pick before him it's going to Domino
and go fully guaranteed. It's almost it's almost the luck
(40:58):
because that precedent is now set. I don't know about
the picks after him, and my guess is, oh, so
I did see that a second round pick today there
was a second rounder who just signed as of this morning,
when we're like the forty third pick of the draft
ended up signing a second rounder. And I think that
(41:19):
you'll see a lot of second rounders start signing their
deals at eighty eight percent to ninety percent fully guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
I think they will get done.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
I don't think anybody before the Tyler Shuck pick is
going to do their deal until Tyler Shuck goes. So
that has caused a real mess, and in fact, the
Houston Texans other second round pick, arionte Erser, he's not
even in a camp, So I think the Texans inadvertently
caused some drama for themselves because now they can't get
their other second rounder in because they guaranteed the first
(41:46):
second rounder his money. So that's what we're dealing with.
I do think it's going to work itself out fairly quickly.
I think the dominoes will fall fairly quickly. But we've
never seen anything like this. Thirty of thirty two second
rounders are not in camp, and we're already like we're
in camp. Trey Harris is a holdout, a second rounder
from all miss He's a holdout right now.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
Yeah, Like, it's so bananas when you think about just
all those things. And here I am thinking about the
Cincinnati beingers can get their first round in. We got
a bunch of second round is at the beginning to
trickle in. But yeah, like I understand it.
Speaker 4 (42:19):
Man.
Speaker 3 (42:20):
You don't want to go before the guy in front
of you or the guys around you go because you
want to make sure you get what they get.
Speaker 5 (42:26):
You don't want to leave any coins on the table.
More importantly, you don't want to leave any guarantees on
the table. Because we talked about setting precedent. Agents don't
like being the ones that others point.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
To and be like, hey man, this guy messed it
up for everybody, because it affects your client that's going forward.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Yeah, and know exactly.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
And I think that's something a lot of people don't understand,
is that these Tyler Schuck by the way, it's a
fortieth pick.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
These agents, I mean, their their relationship with future players.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
The ability to sign, the ability to show out and say,
look what I did for my client, or be negative
recruited against that he couldn't even get a guaranteed deal.
Look what we get did for our second round client.
So the agents have a dog in a fight in
this one too. They're they're paying attention to this because
they're trying to win theirs as well. Alfred Collins was
the pick who signed the forty third pick. Actually four
(43:17):
picks have signed now, Shamar Turner. With the Bucks signed,
you have Alfred Collins signed, Jayden Higgins, and Carson Schwessinger.
So you've got four second rounders right now currently who
have signed with their teams. And now that forty three
goes out for Collins, I think, Bucky, we'll start seeing
a lot of the second rounders start coming in.
Speaker 5 (43:39):
Yeah, I think I think we'll start seeing this stuff.
Speaker 3 (43:40):
It's funny, man like, sometimes it takes deadlines to make deals,
and we're at the deadline. With training camps opening up
around the league this weekend, so we're seeing more of
these guys trickle in las Man. This has been great Man,
I love having you on. It was great so glad
you were able to join.
Speaker 5 (43:56):
Move the sticks way to hold it down.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
For a sound I mean and last
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Mhm
And now move the sticks with Daniel Jeremiah and Bucky Brooks.
Speaker 2 (00:07):
What was up about world?
Speaker 3 (00:08):
We're going to move the sticks. I'm Bucky Brooks and
stepping in for DJ to day. My man Lance Z
doing the most represented. Acetown is going down. Football season
is on the horizon. You got things brewing. Kd's coming
to town. Everything is going up, Beyonce selling out uh
tours everywhere. I mean, look, man, Lance right now, Htown
(00:29):
is the center of the universe.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Yeah, we got a lot. We swept the Dodgers.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
And a couple of weeks ago, those couple weeks we
went one to five.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
No one cares now, Yeah, we got a bunch of
injured players.
Speaker 3 (00:45):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
The Houston Texans. It's funny. We're getting into that too.
Speaker 1 (00:50):
You know, we're I'm on sports talk radio every morning
and people are getting starting to get excited about the Texans.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
It's that time of the year.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
So we've got some stuff we'll talk about a little
bit later about second round picks. Because the Texans comes
from drama across the NFL that still hasn't settled itself
because of their fully guaranteed contract to Jayon Niggins at
number thirty four, So they kind of threw a monkey
wrench and everyone getting their rookies in from the second round.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Yeah, they have thrown a monkey wrench.
Speaker 3 (01:17):
And before we talk about the Texans and then we
talk about these quarterbacks, because the executives got together, they
had some some polling and they ranking top ten quarterbacks
and that has created a bit of a reaction from
some So we'll talk about that. But before we get
into that, let's talk about what's brewing the New York Jets.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Your guy, Aaron Glenn has been on the front of
the movement making sure that the Jets re.
Speaker 3 (01:39):
Signed their star players. So first we saw Garrett Wilson
sign a four year, one hundred and thirty million dollars extension. Next,
Sauce Gardener signs a four year, one hundred and twenty
point four million dollar deal that makes them the highest
paid cornerback of all time. Let's start right there, Sauce Gardner,
I got to know, one, what did you think about
(02:02):
him when he was coming out as he lived up
or exceeded those expectations? And how do you feel about
the New York Jets bringing the bank on there?
Speaker 2 (02:10):
Yeah, you know, I liked him coming out buck.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
I thought you couldn't really look at that his final
year tape like it wasn't you didn't have three years
of that same level play or production because he was
kind of a late bloomer, and there's talk about him
being too thin and things like that.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
But he's kind of wiry, strong, he's long.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
When he got his hands on guy, he was extremely
disruptive in the first Frankly, you know, they let you
keep hands on longer in college football, so the first
yards were a nightmare.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
For receivers when he was in that press, and he
used his hands to his advantage.
Speaker 1 (02:42):
I mean, you know, that's one of the things that
once you get into the NFL, the skill level on
the footwork gets a little more important because they will
start throwing the flags on you beyond five yards.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
But I liked him coming out. I had a high
grade on him. I think he's played up to it.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
I think last year, you know, he got picked on
a little bit, which will happen.
Speaker 2 (03:00):
I do think that, you know, you couldn't have.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Seen this coming after their rookie seasons. But but Stingley
I think has surpassed Sauce. Gardner's a top corner out
of that class and really I think the second best
corner to Patrick Sir Tam. But it's who's up next,
and that's why Sauce Gardner got that big deal making
him the highest Bay cornerback because he was next up
to reset the market. Interestingly enough, the Texans kind of
(03:25):
set it by by paying a lot higher on Derek
Stingley than people and some of the agents I talked
to were expecting they were expecting it to be a
small a smaller percentage, but they went to a higher number,
which kind of, uh, you know, shot.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
The market up a little bit on the cornerback position.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So that's a foreshadowing of another conversation that we're going
to have in a little bit.
Speaker 2 (03:47):
But that Sauce Gardner definitely benefited.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
All players benefit from good deals with that question almost always.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
So that was one.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
And you know, good defensive play has dog mentality, ag
is gonna like playing some Mando man. And then you have,
you know, Garrett Wilson, which to me, that was a
must that was a must sign.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
It must have is a It was a good deal
for Garrett Wilson.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
Garrett is a player who I think, no matter who
the quarterback is can be a really good wide receiver,
not the biggest guy in the world, but a really
really talented ball winner in the air and good speed.
And uh, you know, Aaron Glenn definitely wants to get
Aaron Glenn type guys in the building and keep him there.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
And I think he wants to get guys out.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And I thought the interesting thing that happened was and
it was no secret, like you heard the discussions about it.
Speaker 2 (04:38):
People the Jets let it be known. I think Aaron
wanted Aaron Rodgers out of the building. Aaron, there was
no doubt about it.
Speaker 1 (04:46):
I mean, that's just that's what it is. And he
wanted everyone on the same page. It needed to be
about the Jets, and it needed to be about working
together in a in one common direction. And this is
what we see. Know you briefly talked about the Rockets.
I saw it with the Houston Rockets when imad. I
think any coach that comes in wants to put a
(05:08):
stamp on the team, and they want to get rid
of certain players that they think are going to make
their job harder, and they want to bring in culture guys,
maybe from outside the organization. And Aaron Glenn is definitely
a culture guy type of coach. He's you know, Dan
Campbell and him got along great because I think they
see them similarly. So it's at he's got his work
(05:28):
cut out for him. But I do think they've got
some players over there. It's it's not like they're devoid
of talent. They've got a better roster with the Jets
and a lot of teams in the NFL who are
predicted to have more wins.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
I think they have a better roster than a lot
of those teams, to be honest with you.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
Yeah, no, it's funny, right.
Speaker 3 (05:44):
So Aaron Glenn, same draft class, have watched him grow
up as a player, has watched his progress from a
scout to a head coach, the many different things that
he's learned. He's attacking this the right way. Don't know
what it's going to look like on the field, but man,
he is going about it. He wants his people in there.
They're resigning their folks. He's throwing his weight behind Justin Fields.
(06:06):
I think the signing of Garrett Wilson, I think it
relates to Justin Fields a bit. College teammates at Ohio State.
Connected on a lot of tubs when they were at
oh Io, as they would say, and there's a belief
in that building that Justin Fields is going to play
at a high level. Then when you think about Sauce
Gardener and how Aaron Glenn wants to lock people on
(06:27):
the perimeter, he wants to have those cornerbacks, as you said,
with a dog mentality, much like he had when he
was an All Pro Pro Bowl corner in the league.
To me, the Jets are naturally creating an identity because
they're taking on the identity of their coach.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
And if this works like it worked.
Speaker 3 (06:48):
In Detroit where they become a feisty, fiery, gritty bunch
look out.
Speaker 5 (06:54):
In the AFC East.
Speaker 3 (06:54):
Because look, man, what I do know about Age, He's
gonna get them to play hard and he got some
of that Buo par Sales in him. And so if
they play hard, they executed a high level, they're gonna
be a tough team to be.
Speaker 1 (07:06):
Yeah, I agree with that, And you know they do
have some real They've got some real talent on the
defensive side of the ball especially. I just think that
when they've got a good running back crew, you know
they've got that behind him, I think it's going to
be interesting to see how you use justin feels mean,
Justine is not a standard. We're gonna throw at sixty
five percent of the time and run the ball.
Speaker 2 (07:28):
Thirty percent of the thirty five percent of the time.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
A sixty forty I think you've got a it's a
different style of passing game where I think you need
to do what he's most comfortable with. You've got a
lot of tape on him from two different teams organizations.
What you do now, if you're the Jets, as you say,
this is who he is. He doesn't do this that well,
so we're not going to ask him to do that.
He does this well, and let's take what he does
well and let's build an offense around that. Because to
(07:52):
be successful, I think with guys who are a dual
threat quarterbacks who are going to be more productive relative
speaking as runners and passers.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
I'm good with that. I'm not here.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
I'm not here to say you're lesser of a quarterback
or more of a quarterback if you can do this
or do that. I'm saying, if you do something really well,
it's my job as a coordinator to put you in
position to do that to the best of your ability,
so the offense flourishes. And so we know that Justin
is very dangerous with his feet. He could throw the
(08:24):
ball a little bit. It's not like he can't throw
the ball. We saw him do at Ohio State. He's
had his ups and downs in the pros. But it's
just finding the right kind of fit for him offensively
that allows the Justice score more points than they did
last year.
Speaker 2 (08:37):
I mean, it was it was rough, and I.
Speaker 1 (08:39):
Thought the defense didn't step up the way they needed to.
Aaron Glynn's going to get that attitude right. You almost
had the feeling over the last two years with Aaron
Rodgers in that building that and I talked to I
talked to a couple of people who were in that
building and they just said, you know, it was it
was especially two years ago.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
It was you had Joe Douglas on the hot seat, you.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Had to own who was out of the country, and
then coming back in the country, it was just Aaron
Rodgers who was in the building asking for certain players,
you know, to come under the roster that maybe the
GM didn't want on there.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
It was just a mess. It was just a mess.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
No, you're talking about it being a mess.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
It is one of those things that we love it
being a players league, but everyone has a responsibility and
a role. Players play, coaches, coach, general managers and executives
go about building the team, and while there are levels
of partnership, you can't have the players dictating the terms.
And to me, what I'm seeing from the Jets is
a clear line of delineation when it comes to the hierarchy. Players,
(09:41):
We're going to take care of you, but just understand
this is above you and everyone's going to be a compliant.
It appears to be one voice. The messaging is clear
when it comes to that, and really, in a lot
of ways, it reminds me of what Dimiko Rans did
when he took over at Houston.
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Eliminated all the stuff that.
Speaker 3 (10:01):
Led to distractions and made it about hey man, we're
one voice, we're one team, We're about the Texans and
all this other stuff. And as we're seeing so many
coaches turnover and take over at respective spots, it's really
important that you get a hold of it, that you
set the culture and that everyone falls in line with
it from day one.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
Yeah, and doing that there's different ways. Aaron is a
more in your face, direct Dimiko's more of a rah rah,
clap you up, love you up. Look, the Texans roster
was a disaster when he came in. You had a
few guys who could play a little bit. Obviously Stingley
could you know he was there, but he was coming
off of a rough rookie season, had injuries. And for
(10:42):
the Texans, it was about the combination of Will Anderson, C. J.
Stroud and Jamiko Ryans as a kind of a leadership
trio in all three levels offense, defense, and on the
coaching side with Aaron Glenn, They've got more, They've got
more help. But I always find that fascinating, Bucky. In
any sport, baseball, basketball, football, the majors, I always find
(11:04):
it fascinating because I really do believe after watching sports
for so many years and analyzing.
Speaker 6 (11:09):
It, it's always so much fun to me to see
a coach who can come in, or a general manager
or a coach, or a quarterback whatever, or a defensive
lineman whoever it is, that can come in and make
things different, like I always think of.
Speaker 2 (11:24):
I had a conversation with Well, I saw James Gladstone.
Speaker 1 (11:29):
Your guy mentioned you he was at the Masterminds clinic
with Tony Basselli, and they were there at Duke Manyweather
and Lane Johnson's O line clinic where a lot of.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Offensive linemen from college and pro come in.
Speaker 1 (11:41):
And James Gladstone was one of the only executives I
saw there and I had a chance to fix first
year in.
Speaker 4 (11:46):
The mix man.
Speaker 3 (11:47):
He and Tony are like that, and they are they
do not turn down any opportunity to not only look
at starts, but to learn that ends and out because
as you learn from people training, it becomes it helps
you become better at evaluating because now you have the
greatest sense of what they're being taught what to look for.
(12:09):
You know, Atlanta, we all have a blind spot when
it comes to scout in certain positions. So normally, if
you're a perimeter player, it's hard to look in the
trenches at offensive line and know the nuances of the position,
so you can fairly evaluate whether a player can or
can't play.
Speaker 4 (12:26):
Right.
Speaker 5 (12:27):
To hear that James is down there, to me, oh yeah,
that's worthy of a.
Speaker 3 (12:30):
Tip of the cap because that is somebody who's humble
enough to know I don't know everything about this stuff.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
Let me go down and learn well.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
He's learning from Lane Johnson, who's showing stuff on tape.
He's learning from Kevin Malay, who's a pro bowler, Toront Armstead.
I mean, it's a who's who, Owen Cruits. You just
had an absolute who's who of offensive line, hall of
famers and pro bowlers and things like that.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
Who are there?
Speaker 1 (12:58):
You had entire the four of the three, I should say,
three of the five starters for the Louisiana Lafaette offensive line.
They got together and came out and they included their
guy who plays Nathan Is it Nathan Brown? He's with
the Dallas Cowboys. Now I wrote him up because I
had to read my scoutering. I let him read my
scoutering report of what I said about him. I always
(13:19):
like to get get a little thought on the guys
I write.
Speaker 2 (13:23):
Was this fair?
Speaker 4 (13:24):
Was this fair?
Speaker 2 (13:24):
What I wrote about you? When you came out? But No,
Gladstone and Tony were there. They were listening.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Of course, Tony BISSELLI was an all time great offensive lineman.
But James Gladstone, I really thought that was great for
him to get out there. He's networking, he's learning, he's
very very smart. And we were talking a little bit
about culture. I told him I liked that He's you know,
I thought it was great that he came out and
said we're gonna swing for the fences.
Speaker 2 (13:46):
With Travis Hunter.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
Whether it works or not, you're basically saying this is
who we are, and we're gonna plan our flag and we're.
Speaker 2 (13:52):
Gonna get behind it.
Speaker 1 (13:53):
We're not gonna you know, we're not gonna lay up
on a par five. We're trying to get to the
green in two. And But to that point, talking about culture,
I mentioned the Baltimore Ravens, and I don't think I've
ever seen an organization. Now, Ozzie Knewsome has a lot
to do with this, but I also say Ray Lewis
and Ed Reid Ray's insatiable work ethic and physicality and attitude,
(14:19):
and then ed Reid's instincts and and and ability to
make clutch plays, and then film study because his film
state was supposedly legendary. Those two guys changed a Ravens culture.
And to this day, Bucky, I feel like when you
say Ravens culture, you still know that it goes back
into the late nineties when it was you know, first
(14:40):
begun by Ozzie.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
And Ray and then ed Reid like it's still Ravens.
Speaker 1 (14:45):
The Ravens feel like the same team as though Ray
just played a couple of years ago.
Speaker 4 (14:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
No, it's funny about that, right. We talked about like
player led organizations and teams and cultures, and the Ravens
for so long were synonymous with the saying play like
a Raven And they were revered in scouting circles for
the ability to actually nail the first round in particular,
but to find players at every stage of the draft
because they stuck to some very very simple but very
(15:11):
difficult principles to adhere to, and you know, players play,
and they've always believed in that, And you know, I
just think it's so great as we're talking about players
and as we're getting to this time of year when
it comes to the scouting, that we're able to kind
of harken back to some of those things that we've
learned along the way.
Speaker 4 (15:30):
When it comes to it.
Speaker 3 (15:37):
ESPN dot Com add an article that they pulled a
handful of executives on top ten players at respective positions.
Jeremy followers the one that kind of moderated discussion got
of got it going or whatever in lance really interesting
discussion when it comes to who's on this list, who
ranks on this list, where they rank in those things.
(16:00):
Then let me pull it up because it is one
of those things that we gotta we gotta chat about
because it is it's been all the buzz there, all
people mad about this LZ and there's nothing more that
gets people's go than to put a list where you
put your top ten, You put people out there, everyone
doesn't make it, and it goes.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
So let's start at the top, and.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Look, I don't think this part is the part that
really shock people, but I'm gonna go through the list.
Speaker 5 (16:31):
Some of the names in order are interesting.
Speaker 4 (16:34):
So let's go Patrick.
Speaker 3 (16:35):
Mahomes at number one, which I think everyone expected, Josh
Allen at number two, Joe burrow bro at three, which
might be a little surprise considering the Bengal struggles. Lamar
Jackson at four. Uh, the guy who has created a
lot of buzz and a lot of confident conversation and consternation.
(16:57):
Jayden Daniels at five. For the Washington Commanders, we have
Matthew Stafford at six.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
We got Justin Herbert.
Speaker 3 (17:05):
At seven, Jared Goff at eight, Jalen Hurts at nine
and Old Baker Mayfield at ten.
Speaker 4 (17:13):
So we'll be talking about.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
The guys on ten we just talked about, and I
love this a little honorable mention guys that didn't make
the top ten.
Speaker 2 (17:21):
C J.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Stroud, Jordan love Caler, Murray Brock Purdy, Dak Prescott, Aaron
Rodgers to a take of a little bownixt. Those guys
were not included in the top ten. So let's go
to the top. Let's talk about number one. Do you
have any questions or doubts or anything about Pat Mahomes
being number one on the list?
Speaker 1 (17:39):
I think I would take right now, just today, I
would probably take Josh Allen over Patrick Mahomes.
Speaker 2 (17:45):
But on a list, you can't do it. I mean,
to be the man, you gotta beat the man.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
And Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have had a hard
time getting past you know, have had a hard time
getting deep into the playoffs, obviously championship game, gut in
all the way to the Super Bowl. Josh, so you
know he's at four. Joe Burrow's had injuries. He was
two last year, he's three this year. Josh Allen I
thought played incredible football last year, and so did Lamar Jackson.
(18:10):
They were both tremendous. But Josh Allen can't beat Pat Mahomes.
I wouldn't say it's necessarily. He's had some games that
were really really strong against Kansas City, but until you
not Kansas City off that off that pole, I don't
see how you can take Mahomes off it. And for me,
once I get to Alan Jackson Burrow, I think in
(18:30):
a in a in a vacuum, you can rearrange him
however you want to, and you're okay. I will say
that Lamar has been healthy for two years in a row.
Josh Allen is always healthy and always productive and made
smarter plays around the red zone last year which really
helped him.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
And Joe Burrow is a great passer.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
It's just you know, he he has had some injuries
that that you have to talk about a little bit,
and then the wins didn't materialize. But I think this
list shows you the NFL teams don't hold that against him.
They hold it against the others around him, the defense
most specifically, do you have a problem with Like to me,
(19:08):
two three four interchangeable and I think you have to
put Mahomes one, even though I'm not sure he's the
very best quarterback in football right now.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Until we know he's not, I'm not taking him out
of one.
Speaker 3 (19:21):
Yeah, it's interesting. And before we get to Atlantce, I
jumped a gun. Let me make sure everyone knows that
it's time for a hot or not. I brought to
you about Whatsabi hot cloud storage. I was supposed to
say that at the top, but I got that in
so I want to make sure we did it. And
so since we're so hot, it's interesting that conversation. You
talk about Josh Allen overtaking Pat Mahomes and how quarterback
wins matter when it comes down to shootouts, and Josh
(19:43):
Allen simply has not been able to knock out Pat
Mahomes when it matters. We can blame his defense, we
can blame a bunch of different things, but at the
end of the day, we treat quarterbacks like pitchers. When
we hand you the ball, you ultimately decided for the
win and loss. You get it into it. Until he's
able to knock off Pat Mahomes, he's going to have
to be.
Speaker 4 (20:01):
The runner up.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Now, what about Joe Burrow at three? I know Joe
Burrow has gone to a super Bowl. Joe Burrow when
he has his full confident of weapons. Look, man, there's
no doubt that he's one of the best in the game.
But we have Joe Burrow over a two times MVP
and someone said what should be a three time MVP
and Lamar Jackson. Let's talk about that debate. Joe Burrow
(20:22):
Lamar Jackson. Is it right that he is over top
of him?
Speaker 1 (20:25):
I think it just shows I would I would not
say it's right necessarily. I would think it shows that
the NFL still has a bias towards an elite pocket
passer as opposed to an elite dual threat quarterback.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
The pocket passing thing.
Speaker 1 (20:40):
While every gym will tell you they want a mobile
quarterback and they'd like a guy who can hurt you
with his legs, they still, at the end of the
day covet elite passers from the pocket. And I think
that's why Joe Burrow ends up on this spot now.
Production wins Akoale. I don't really see how you could
(21:03):
put I granted, Joe has been to a super Bowl
in his second year, but he hasn't gotten back there
since then. I'm not sure, how you put a Burrow
ahead of Jackson other than a bias of elite pocket
passer over elite dual threat quarterback.
Speaker 2 (21:17):
That's the only way I could even look at that.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Yeah, no, it's crazy.
Speaker 3 (21:20):
I mean, you can talk about him going to a
Super Bowl, then some would argue that the Cincinnati being
was really We're right there to win the Super Bowl
if not for a faulty drive that allowed the Rams
to steal it at the end. But man, it's hard
to talk about Lamar Jackson. So here's the thing about
Lamar Jackson. You're talking about someone who is a two
time MVP. We talked about potentially three time MVP. First
(21:41):
guy in NFL history to have more than forty passing
touchdowns in fewer than four interceptions. He has two to
one thousand yard seasons on his ledger. But the bigger
thing is he's won over seventy four percent of his
games in the league lance And I know we're at
this weird stage where people don't like to credit quarterbacks
with QB wins, But at the end of the day,
(22:02):
the quarterbacks job is to win the game. Darnia seventy
five percent games, three out of four games that the
Raven has played, they win since Lamar Jackson has been
the quarterback.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
It's hard to knock that, man.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I know we can talk about the better team and
all that, but it's hard for me to say that
Joe Burrow goes over top of Lamar Jackson exactly.
Speaker 1 (22:23):
And I think that sometimes there's some arguments that you
could have made in the past where using the Lamar
Jackson argument for wins was a little bit of a
cop out because you're just trying to win an argument.
But then after last year's performance, which to me he
got better as a pocket passer, like Lamar elevated, I
(22:43):
don't think enough was made about how good Lamar got
as a passer last year, decision making, quickness of processing
like Lamar across the board was a much better passing
quarterback than he's ever been. And I think his game,
he took his game to another level last year, which
has to be mentioned more. In my opinion, I think
(23:04):
that the quarterback wins sometimes are overblown. As you said, However,
when you take it in perspective, if you actually go
and take a look at games, if if a quarterback
is having off games or lower statistics, it's the Steve
McNair factor.
Speaker 4 (23:18):
Right.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
The stats didn't look nothing was going to blow you
away with Steve McNair. But what happened when you're in
the fourth quarter and you're a third and six and
he makes a play, an incredible play, a single handed
play to convert a third down and keep a drive
alive when you're trying to come from behind and win
like that's a winning play that deserves you know, it's
not going to look like anything on the stats, but
(23:41):
making plays like that wins games. And that's why Steve McNair.
So the fantasy football world may not have loved him
as much. Well, the running stats they probably liked a
little bit, but you know when you like my kids, right,
they just look at they just look at stats. They
go to the stats and they put their list together
based on the stats. They didn't have to watch anyone
and play. They can tell you who the best was
(24:01):
based on their stats. And there's just times where you've
got to understand that making the biggest plays we kill
players from not performing in a clutch. We should exalt
them when they do. If they're the Robert Or of
NFL quarterbacks, then so be it. But making much plays
is making clutch plays.
Speaker 5 (24:21):
I mean there's something too. You got to be able
to make the clutch plays and you.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Want to be able to lean on your quarterback independence
to be able to get it done. And for whatever reason, look,
it hasn't consistently happened for Lamar Jackson, so he's downgraded
from that. So we're four, but now we got to
go to five because this is the one that I
think really has people buzzing.
Speaker 5 (24:42):
It's the Jamie Daniels thing.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
We created a bit of a stink headed into the
playoffs when I talked about Jaye Daniels being a Tier
one player, maybe anointing him before the oil should have
been dripped on his head.
Speaker 5 (24:55):
But I like to say that the executives agree with me.
Speaker 4 (24:58):
Jane Daniels at five.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Well, so last year it was pick number seven was CJ.
Speaker 1 (25:04):
Stroud and he was the talk of the town and
the Texans were, you know, the the Texans were the
sneaky Super Bowl team to come out of the AFC
and all that, and then he caught that, you know,
CJ got a little taste of the of the sophomore Blues.
Twenty touchdowns, twelve interceptions, an offensive line that that really
broke down.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
But CJ didn't play great.
Speaker 1 (25:25):
He was not as accurate on some easy throws, like
some of it was on CJ one PC. A lot
of people like to just try to give him a
pass and put it all on the old line. He
didn't play his best football and he'll tell you that
it just wasn't great.
Speaker 2 (25:38):
And so I wonder if Jayde and Daniels.
Speaker 1 (25:42):
Obviously what we saw in the field one hundred percent
Jay and Daniels number five and that's all you can
work off of. But I'm kind of curious if you
think that sophomore we call it a slump, but if
you think that sophomore uh, that sophomore season catches up
with Jayden Daniels, because more and more teams are gonna
say he does this, well, well, this is where he struggled.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
Once we got to get into the data and we
figure out.
Speaker 1 (26:04):
Where his throws were most difficult, where he was least effective,
they're going to start game planning specifically to push him
in that direction.
Speaker 2 (26:13):
And so I'm curious if you think that he could.
Speaker 1 (26:15):
See a little bit of a regression from that outstanding
freshman years that rookie year, it could be.
Speaker 4 (26:21):
I mean, it's gonna be tougher for him. But here's
the thing.
Speaker 3 (26:24):
You would like to think that these things build upon
one another. Jade Daniels did it with a lesser cast
last year. Talk about Terry mclauren was the only established
playmaker that he had. He had an older Zach Erks
in the middle, but really it was the Terry McLaurin show.
This year, you now have Deebo Samuels coming on board.
You have better protection with Larry my Tunsel. You just
(26:44):
think about the way that they are positioned, knowing this
offense here to Cliff Kingsbury, knowing him, how they can
go to a higher level and a more advanced level
when it comes to the scheme and those things. To me, man,
it's hard for me to imagine the Washington commander is
taking a step back because they're a better team. But
we know it's not played on paper. But I don't
(27:07):
foresee a sophomore slump in his future just given the
upgrades did they put around you?
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Yeah, I would agree with you, and I think his
game is like where CJ. Stroud is not as mobile
and when he's actually being more mobile, he gets into
a groove a little bit better. Jayden Daniels to me,
I mean, even if he gets rushed, he's still gonna
make big plays. So I'm kind of with you. As
long as he doesn't turn it over and as long
(27:33):
as there's no bickering, you know, as long.
Speaker 2 (27:37):
As the contract stuff doesn't cause.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
That team to short circuit a little bit, which I
don't think that will be the case. I think they'll
get something done with McLaurin. I have a hard time
believing that he kind of drops off like CJ did
a little bit.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
CJ.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Stroud, of course, was an honorable mention. Matt Stafford's thirty
seven years old. Bucky his picture. He was a battery
mate in high school or was it high school or
when they were youth baseball. You had Matt Stafford and
Clayton Kershaw pitching. Kirshaw just had his last All Star
game and he's shutting it down and he's like, I'm
out of here. Matt Stafford sixth in the NFL according
(28:11):
to this list. I mean, how incredible is that physical sort?
Speaker 3 (28:15):
Yeah, Look, I can't imagine both of those guys. Can
you imagine having that kind of pitching rotation in high school.
One could be the one guy, which I'm assuming Kershaw
Matthew Stafford. If he was too like that would be
unbelievable to have two guys like that on your rotation.
But what he can learn from Kershaw is just the
longevity and the reliability. The thing about Matthew Stafford that
really gets me is, man, this dude was gifted coming
(28:36):
out of Georgia. Everyone knew that he was a gifted passer.
When you watched him in Detroit, you fell in love
with his toughness, his grittiness, the way that he would
consistently bring them back. There was a time I remember
advocating for him to be an MVP based on how
well he played in Detroit.
Speaker 4 (28:50):
You bring him to LA, you.
Speaker 5 (28:52):
Pair him up with Sean McVay.
Speaker 3 (28:54):
Sean McVay is able to do some different things because
he has a more talented quarterback than he had in
Jered Goff. But yet this team has been able to
bounce back in the.
Speaker 4 (29:02):
Past two years.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
One in four three and six starts, they've been three
games under five hundred and bounced back and made the postseason.
And a big part of that is due to Matthew
Stafford's ability to put this team on the back when
he needs to.
Speaker 5 (29:16):
It's really remarkable to watch.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
And I know there's a lot of conversation about them
trading away from him getting them out, But I understand
why Sean McVay wants to hold on to him because
he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down as an
aging player.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
No, I mean we're and I think Aaron Rodgers shows
you like Matt Stafford's game, I don't really as long
as his arm as long as his arm health health
is okay, I don't see why he can't go to
age thirty nine or forty, to be honest with you.
And that's why he's number six. I mean he's year
in and year out. This guy is productive talented, He's
(29:50):
very talented.
Speaker 2 (29:51):
We talk about arm talent.
Speaker 1 (29:52):
Matt Stafford is a great example of what it looks
like you guy number seven, Justin Herbert, I should say,
Money's guy, DJ's guy with the guys who call the
Chargers games, Justin Herbert. So here's one of the here's
here's a fuss, and this is a difficult conversation. Is
Justin Herbert has all the tools that you could possibly want.
(30:13):
It is a little unsettling for people to see Justin
Herbert's who hasn't really done it and his last the
last taste we had of Justin Herbert was an atrocious
playoff in Houston, Texas, probably the worst he's ever played
in the NFL. And then you have Jalen Hurts at
number nine, a guy who's been to the Super Bowl
twice and won at once and makes a lot of
(30:33):
winning plays. How does that suit on golf at eight?
And I'm cool with golf at eight. There's a lot
of respect for him. It's a great story how he
and Stafford both ended up helping their teams. But Herbert
at seven, with all the tools and talent in the
world at seven versus the guy that maybe is a
little more limited but just wins at a higher level,
makes a lot of those winning plays that we talked about.
Speaker 3 (30:54):
So yeah, to me, this is the perfect example of
the debate that you have in war rooms or draft
rooms around the league is are you going for the tools?
Are you going for like the intangible traits? Because if
you're going for the tools, then it's Justin Herbert all day, right.
You just don't see him. I mean, he's body, beautiful kid,
(31:15):
talk about coming in size, arm, talent, athleticism can make everything,
super smart, graduated with a biology degree, all of those
things you love. He's shown fifteen game winning drives in
his five seasons with the Chargers. He has over twenty
one thousand past yards, most in NFL history through five seasons.
Those things check off a lot of boxes. But I
(31:39):
got Jalen Hurst has been to two Super Bowls. I'll
play Pat Mahomes and both of those Super Bowls. Last
year came away and did it in a major way.
He has the toughness, the grit, kind of like a
maturity beyond his years as a leader. How can you
not like that? I mean, four seasons with ten at
least ten rushingtons, and I know we talk about they
(32:03):
have the supporting cast around them, and you know his
pitch count needs to be held.
Speaker 5 (32:07):
Down under thirty and all that.
Speaker 3 (32:08):
But when Jenleen Nurse is healthy and right, they win
and they went a ton in Philadelphia. It's hard because
we talk about winning being the goal. It's hard to
justify Hurts ranking behind Herbert and that you're talking about
the tools and the tool built that justin Herbert might
be bigger and better, but it certainly hasn't been a
(32:31):
better overall result for Herbert and charges right.
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Now, No, And I understand that one guy once again,
that's that pocket pocket passing bias.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
And I think I think a lot of these executives are.
Speaker 1 (32:42):
Kind of betting on the come on this one, like
what they think justin Herbert's going to become.
Speaker 2 (32:47):
And that's fine with me. But what is Hurts right now?
Speaker 1 (32:51):
Hurts is a guy who has rushed for fifty five
touchdowns over five years. He's rushed for fifty two rushing
touchdowns over the last four years.
Speaker 2 (33:00):
Those are scores. Now, Yeah, you get some toush push
in there.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I get that you can take some of those away,
but also the toush push like it doesn't work for
a lot of teams. You know why, because they got
a quarterback bench press in six hundred I mean squatting
six hundred pounds running that quarterback sneak like Jalen Hurts
is specifically suited to run that to run the most
unstoppable play in football going today.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
I just think that when you take.
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Everything into account, the rushing yards, the passing, I know
you're not going to get super excited about all the
passing stats. But he wins games and he's important in
winning those games. Yes, he's helped out by AJ and
DeVante Smith, and of course there's no question having a
(33:47):
Saquon Barkley on that team. He's got a great offensive line,
he's got everything you want, he's got a Bagatti around him,
everything you could want, but he's but he drives it
the way he's supposed to. So I can't. I can't
downgrade a guy for doing what he's supposed to do
with the players who's around him. What I'm gonna downngrad
him because Howard's done a good job of building that team.
Speaker 2 (34:06):
I'm not gonna do that.
Speaker 4 (34:07):
No, you can't do and you shouldn't do that.
Speaker 5 (34:09):
I mean, it's just a look, it's a very unique situation.
It's one of those things that everyone aspires.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
They have that kind of talent, those kinds of players
around them.
Speaker 4 (34:19):
But it's debate.
Speaker 3 (34:22):
Do you want, like in baseball when they're drafting prospects,
do you want the gap with the tools or do
you want to finish product when it comes to the
polish in those things. Justin Hurst has the tools, but
in terms of the Polish, in terms of winning, not
many better than Jalen Hurts.
Speaker 4 (34:36):
Let's go to Baker Mayfield.
Speaker 3 (34:37):
Number one overall pick comes in at ten, quite the
bounced back comeback story.
Speaker 4 (34:43):
Number one overall goes.
Speaker 3 (34:44):
To Cleveland, leads them to the playoffs, unceremoniously dismiss bounces
around Carolina, la makes his way to Tampa, and in
Tampa he has seventy three touchdowns in the last two years.
The only people with more touchdowns Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. Yeah,
think about that to see.
Speaker 4 (35:04):
What That's what Baker is doing right now. That's what
Baker's doing.
Speaker 1 (35:09):
I knew my draft I knew my scouting reporter was
right on him. I just needed to wait about six
years and eventually came true.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Same thing.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
Sam Darnold, Well, I guess guys from that draft class
really so. I think Baker is a great story. I
love the Baker Mayfield career arc. I think when he
came out it's not really a secret in a lot
of circles A Baker's real arrogant guy.
Speaker 2 (35:33):
He was.
Speaker 1 (35:34):
I think he was very full of himself headed into
the draft process, going into his rookie season, they put
him on all the commercials and look, he didn't have
a He had a tough locker. He had a tough
locker room with wide receivers, with juice. Landry, He's got
a lot of juice. You got Odell Beckham. You know
how he's going to be. I mean, you know, I
think I think Baker's personality, I think he took things
(35:54):
to you know, he was a guy that was a
little sensitive about stuff. I think he had a hard
time compartmentalizing certain failures and it just didn't work out.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
This is a more humbled version of himself.
Speaker 1 (36:07):
If you listen to him talk, he is somebody who
understands what it means to be a pro.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
Now, it took him going to his fourth.
Speaker 1 (36:15):
Team the job that he did winning that game with
the Rams.
Speaker 2 (36:19):
He was in for less than a week and they
had to really tighten up the playbook.
Speaker 1 (36:24):
And he comes in and gets a win on Thursday
night and play terrific in that game. I think what
Baker's done in Tampa Bay is fantastic because it's a
reminder not to write talented quarterbacks off too quickly. Sam
Donald is another one that showed, hey, hey man, look
at Sam Donald.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Look at Geno Smith. Gino Smith was a two.
Speaker 1 (36:45):
Thousand and like what thirteen draft I think so a
lot of these talented quarterbacks.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Sometime it just takes getting the mind right.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Sometime it takes getting enough reps, enough snaps, getting with
the right offensive coordinator.
Speaker 2 (36:58):
I don't know what it is, but I think the
ak Or Mayfield story is great.
Speaker 1 (37:02):
I'm really happy for him, and I think that he's
living up to the talent that we saw him play
with that senior season at Oklahoma.
Speaker 3 (37:13):
Man's anybody that we talked about being left off that
you believe deserves to be.
Speaker 5 (37:16):
In the top ten in any obvious omissions.
Speaker 2 (37:19):
No, not for me. I mean Aaron didn't play well,
Dak Prescott was hurt.
Speaker 1 (37:24):
I think Dak is the guy that makes it back
on the list next year. I was going to ask
you that question, who's going to make it back on
the list next year? You got George Pickens and Ceedee
Lamb to throw to. I think Dak gets back on
that list. He was on there in twenty twenty four.
I think he gets back on that list in twenty
twenty six when they do that list list again. Of
(37:45):
all the guys, I don't know if I'm ready to
believe that Bo Knicks or Caleb Williams is going to
be there just yet.
Speaker 2 (37:51):
I wouldn't put them. I think I think they're going
to be in for some tests this year. They're not
they're the hunted. Now, they're not the hunter, they're the hunted.
So I think it's gonna be a.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
Little, a little uh tougher sled sledding.
Speaker 2 (38:04):
But I do think Caleb Williams, I don't think he's
gonna be top ten, but you got Ben Johnson and
you got plenty of talent.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
I think Caleb and the Bears are set for a
big bounce, a big bounce.
Speaker 5 (38:15):
Yeah, it'd be interesting to see how that plays out.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
That was this week's how To Not segment, brought to
you by with Sabi Hoigh cloud storage, store more and
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Speaker 5 (38:24):
Try them for free at Withsabi dot com.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
Last, before we get out, there's some buzz in the
league about these second round picks. A bunch of second
rounders were not signing their contracts. You've talked to some people.
What's the deal? How come the second rounders aren't signed?
I was the second round pick. I was able to
get in before campber. How come what are these guys
waiting on?
Speaker 2 (38:44):
Let me ask you a question. Did you get four
years fully guaranteed when you sign?
Speaker 4 (38:48):
No, but I don't even have reparations.
Speaker 3 (38:50):
I need that right now, guaranteed right.
Speaker 4 (38:53):
Now, like all of that. They need to pay that
back for all the whole time. I need some of that.
That's right.
Speaker 1 (39:01):
So the Houston Texans would pick thirty four Jayden Higgins,
they liked him so much if they just said, look,
we're just going to guarantee the whole you know, we're
guaranteeing like high eighty percent anyway with these picks, We're
just going to guarantee the whole thing. That little move
caused a massive uh what those the shock waves?
Speaker 2 (39:21):
What do y'all call them?
Speaker 1 (39:22):
When when there's an earthquake, you get the little trimmers rights.
So that caused the aftershocks around the second round because
immediately the pick before him, Carson Swetsinger, he signed, you know,
thirty three had no choice. Now the Browns had to
give him a fully guaranteed deal as well. So this
is not around where you have given fully guaranteed money.
(39:43):
Now you typically what a GM told me is he said, look,
eighty eight to ninety percent is going to be the
guaranteed number on second rounder, so it's most of it
is guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (39:53):
But I think this is the agent's right now. Once
once the thirty fourth pick win fully guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (39:59):
I think everyone's taking a shot and saying, look, let's
try to get fully guaranteed as well for the second round,
and next we move to the third round and see
if we can get a higher percentage in the future
of third round picks guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
NFL is going to fight against that. They're not just
going to give you fully guaranteed, even if it's not
a fight.
Speaker 1 (40:16):
Over millions and millions. It's a principle of not giving
in to fully guaranteed. But the real thing you need
to look for here. So the Texans kind of screwed
the whole second round up for everybody, they caused all
this drama. We're only thirty where thirty of thirty two
picks are not signed as of the recording of this
from the second round. But Tyler Shuck, who was picked
(40:38):
by the Saints at somewhere around forty forty one, I
believe buck Derek Carr retired, so his agent Eric Burkhard's like,
we're going for fully guaranteed too, because we've got all
the leverage right now. So if forty, if Tyler Shuck
gets it, every pick before him it's going to Domino
and go fully guaranteed. It's almost it's almost the luck
(40:58):
because that precedent is now set. I don't know about
the picks after him, and my guess is, oh, so
I did see that a second round pick today there
was a second rounder who just signed as of this morning,
when we're like the forty third pick of the draft
ended up signing a second rounder. And I think that
(41:19):
you'll see a lot of second rounders start signing their
deals at eighty eight percent to ninety percent fully guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (41:25):
I think they will get done.
Speaker 1 (41:26):
I don't think anybody before the Tyler Shuck pick is
going to do their deal until Tyler Shuck goes. So
that has caused a real mess, and in fact, the
Houston Texans other second round pick, arionte Erser, he's not
even in a camp, So I think the Texans inadvertently
caused some drama for themselves because now they can't get
their other second rounder in because they guaranteed the first
(41:46):
second rounder his money. So that's what we're dealing with.
I do think it's going to work itself out fairly quickly.
I think the dominoes will fall fairly quickly. But we've
never seen anything like this. Thirty of thirty two second
rounders are not in camp, and we're already like we're
in camp. Trey Harris is a holdout, a second rounder
from all miss He's a holdout right now.
Speaker 3 (42:07):
Yeah, Like, it's so bananas when you think about just
all those things. And here I am thinking about the
Cincinnati beingers can get their first round in. We got
a bunch of second round is at the beginning to
trickle in. But yeah, like I understand it.
Speaker 4 (42:19):
Man.
Speaker 3 (42:20):
You don't want to go before the guy in front
of you or the guys around you go because you
want to make sure you get what they get.
Speaker 5 (42:26):
You don't want to leave any coins on the table.
More importantly, you don't want to leave any guarantees on
the table. Because we talked about setting precedent. Agents don't
like being the ones that others point.
Speaker 3 (42:36):
To and be like, hey man, this guy messed it
up for everybody, because it affects your client that's going forward.
Speaker 2 (42:41):
Yeah, and know exactly.
Speaker 1 (42:43):
And I think that's something a lot of people don't understand,
is that these Tyler Schuck by the way, it's a
fortieth pick.
Speaker 2 (42:49):
These agents, I mean, their their relationship with future players.
Speaker 1 (42:54):
The ability to sign, the ability to show out and say,
look what I did for my client, or be negative
recruited against that he couldn't even get a guaranteed deal.
Look what we get did for our second round client.
So the agents have a dog in a fight in
this one too. They're they're paying attention to this because
they're trying to win theirs as well. Alfred Collins was
the pick who signed the forty third pick. Actually four
(43:17):
picks have signed now, Shamar Turner. With the Bucks signed,
you have Alfred Collins signed, Jayden Higgins, and Carson Schwessinger.
So you've got four second rounders right now currently who
have signed with their teams. And now that forty three
goes out for Collins, I think, Bucky, we'll start seeing
a lot of the second rounders start coming in.
Speaker 5 (43:39):
Yeah, I think I think we'll start seeing this stuff.
Speaker 3 (43:40):
It's funny, man like, sometimes it takes deadlines to make deals,
and we're at the deadline. With training camps opening up
around the league this weekend, so we're seeing more of
these guys trickle in las Man. This has been great Man,
I love having you on. It was great so glad
you were able to join.
Speaker 5 (43:56):
Move the sticks way to hold it down.
Speaker 4 (43:58):
For a sound I mean and last
Speaker 1 (44:09):
Mhm
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Daniel Jeremiah
Bucky Brooks
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