NFL Network Insiders Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo hold down the fort and deliver the biggest football headlines of the day. First, the Insiders welcome Jane Slater and Brian Baldinger for a discussion about the Dallas Cowboys' acquisition of WR George Pickens. Then, Steve Wyche reports on San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey working out at full speed. Later, Cam Wolfe reports on Jacksonville Jaguars WR/CB Travis Hunter, followed by Michael F. Florio delivering fantasy football analysis on rookie tight ends.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
The newest cowboy has spoken.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
George Pickens has a message for anybody doubting what he
can do in Dallas. Jane Slater and Brian Baldinger will
join us tonight to break down what Pickens had to
say and the potential impact of a big post draft
trade from the.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Star to New Stars.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Rookie minnie camps are hoping to cross the league, which
means a lot of those slotted rookie deals are already
getting done. We will take you around the NFL for
some very early analysis on the class of twenty twenty five.
Michael left Florio has more than that. He is already
prepared to tell you which rookie tight ends could be
fantasy sleepers as you prepare for that annual Mother's Day
(00:49):
weekend draft with your degenerate cousins. Welcome inside with the
insiders alongside Mike Garafollo, I am Tom Pellisero. One hundred
and nineteen days out now from the kickoff to the
NFL season, we got twenty six teams with their rookies
on the field for mini camp starting on Friday. But
our top story tonight is still the blockbuster that we
(01:12):
got early yesterday morning. George Pickens headed to the Dallas
Cowboys in a deal that brings Pittsburgh a twenty twenty
six third round pick. The team's also swapping late round
selections in twenty twenty seven. George Pickens got his first
taste of the Dallas media today. Here's what he had
to say about the new uniform he's putting on.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I like my old draft reaction, honestly, Jess, I kind
of found out when everyone else found out. To be honest,
I feel great. I like the mojo here. I like
the swag. You know, everybody.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It's a lot of new players that I've been meeting
all around a long way, so I feel like they
got a great thing going for sure. From your time
in Pittsburgh, obviously a lot of upsquad of downs. What
would you say, led to the spot it from your perspective,
you know, business, you know, this game is just as
much as the business as it is football. So it's
kind of like out of my control. I'm just like
(02:10):
I said, I'm glad to be here at Dallas and
able to continue to win a coach that they have.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Let's welcome in our Jane Slater and Brian Baldinger to
the conversation, Jane, I know you were on that call
today with George Pickens. You've had a couple of days
now to process this trade. What did you make of
what he said and what you're hearing down there in Dallas.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
You know, I'll say this Tom. He was very careful
about sticking to the script. Now I talk to someone
close to me says this is who George is. In
other words, he wasn't going to step in it. There
was questions asked about, obviously the divorce here and the
moving on from Pittsburgh, and he said, you heard it there.
You know this is as much a business as it
(02:52):
is a football. Then he was asked about, you know,
playing alongside CD Land. He said, they've actually trained together
the off seasons before. Now he didn't have a direct
impact into him coming to the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
In other words, he wasn't in his ear.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
But I did say, how do you marry this want
and need to have an impact in the game when
you've got a guy like Ceedee Lamb on offense And
he says, there's no Oh, he gets the ball, I
get the ball. We're working off of each other. He
also said he doesn't really see them as one A,
one B or him as wide receiver too. He says
(03:30):
he's embracing the role that he has here and that's
working off of each other because if someone's focused on
Cedee Laam, they can't focus on Pickens and vice versa.
And so I really appreciated the way that he was
coming into the building. He talked about the excitement of
playing with Dak Prescott that he had already talked to him.
He went and talked to Jerry and Steven for the
(03:52):
first time after our call with reporters, and then he
was getting to know some of the guys at the
locker room. He's not here in the DFW area just yet.
He says, he still has to find a place to live.
He's got to get a vehicle. But I think the
approach is the right one.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
Now.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
A lot of people have wondered, what about the contract?
Does he want the contract? The Cowboys have got to
play Micah Parsons here pretty soon. He says, he's just
where his feet are. And then he also talked about
just growth. You know, there's been a lot of questions.
I think a lot of talk about the need for
some maturation. The way he handles himself on the field.
He consistently talked about growth and wanting to be a
(04:26):
part of the winning culture that already exists in Dallas.
But he says he very much sees himself on the
outside something baldy. You know, the Cowboys have really been
missing and freeze CD to do what he does well,
and that's work on the inside.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
Yeah, Jane talked about a baldy. Let's talk about the
fit here for George Pickens with the Cowboys and Russell
Wilson was throwing those moon balls. Let's see if Dak
Prescott can lob a few up to him.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, a couple of things, Mike one.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
To Jane's point, CD plays a completely different position than
does George Pickens. They haven't had a next receiver like
George since Amari Cooper left four years ago. So he
plays outside the numbers and he's excellent at what he does.
All these highlights are gonna be outside the numbers. It's
where he lives. These fade routes, these go routes, these
back shoulder catches, He's phenomenal at all of them. Outside
(05:17):
of the CD works the middle of the field. C
D is your moved guy, he's your receiver, receiver, you
don't have to get caught up in Samandas. Then this
is gonna be the best quarterback he's ever played with,
like nothing against all five guys that have thrown them
footballs in Pittsburgh. Dak Prescott's a better quarterback than all
of them. So he's gonna get a better quarterback and
a more accurate quarterback and an offense that's gonna try
to run the ball a little bit better. And if
(05:39):
they do, it's gonna open up a lot of things.
I mean, you play outside the numbers, you're gonna get
one on ones. If you're a good receiver in his business,
you won a second contract, you go win your one
on ones. And I promise George that Dak will get
him the ball. He'll find him. I think this is
a good fit for the Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
And I'll say that Green Baldi.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
You know, for whatever happens there in Pittsburgh, a lot
of people were not excited about Amari Cooper when he
came here, and then you put him in this offense,
and all of a sudden you had three one thousand
yard receivers and you heard Coop getting loudly said at
at and T Stadium. This city loves big personalities, they
(06:23):
love guys that want to be here, and they love
big playmakers. I think this thing is crazy enough to work.
But you can check me at the end of the season.
I'm sure old takes exposed. We'll have something to say
about that. But I do think this is crazy enough
to work, even.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
If it is just for one year.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
We'll think about this too.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
For George Pickens here, he's looking at the prospect of,
because it was a second round pick, either being franchise
tag cum March, getting a big deal come March, or
potentially re signing with the Cowboys. There is a lot
at stake financially and otherwise for George Pickens on a
Cowboys team that has the type of receiver opposite him.
As you said, Jane and c Lamb, who now, teams
(07:01):
are going to have to decide which way one of
these guys are they going to double on a down
and down out basis, Baldy, Jane, thank you very much, Baldy.
You'll be back in just a little bit. From some
drama around receivers to a lack of drama in Minnesota.
For all the conversation about JJ McCarthy through the course
of this off season, and here's all systems go. All
(07:22):
systems are go in Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Carthy's put the weight back on.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He's in the midst of the off season program, and
Kevin O'Connell sounds like he's happy with where things are going.
Speaker 7 (07:34):
He's able to attack the offseason once the season kind
of ended and really be in this building every day.
He's bigger, he's stronger. I can see it in his arm,
I can see it in his movements. I can see
just the ownership of playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
He gained a lot from last year, albeit not how
we all drew it up, but he's already showing early
(07:56):
on here. Today was our third day of Phase two
on the ground, but I think all his teammates feel it.
I know the coaches do, myself included. And now can
we just build and build and build and progress towards
when we get our first competitive opportunity come training camp.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
It's right an unprecedented situation with JJ McCarthy being a
top ten pick a year ago. We didn't play a
regular season snap as a rookie because of injury, didn't
get any snaps in practice for the entire year as
a rookie MIC. So even though we can sit there
and say there's some unknowns with JJ McCarthy, that's absolutely true.
From everything the Vikings are saying, both publicly and privately,
(08:35):
it seems like he's hitting all the checkpoints they want
to see. Now, the next step, of course, is going
through the rest of this offseason and then get into
those games accounts again.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Tom, he needs this. I mean this is you can't
replicate games. You can't replicate preseason games, You definitely can't
replicate regular season games. But he needs an offseason as
almost an extension of his rookie year to walk in
that building and have a clear runway and know that
he's the guy. And you saw him just on that
(09:04):
footage that we had of him at practice, the way
that he was kind of dictating things for guys. He
needs to show them that it wasn't wasted time.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Last year.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
I did pick up on things. I got the mental reps,
and now I'm here as the starting quarterback trying to
catch up as much as he possibly can. And if
you bring in theoretically, like if you brought in Aaron
Rodgers and I know that that was never really on the
Vikings end of things, a possibility, But if you did,
that's not a clear runway, and that's a guy looking
over his shoulder, and that's a guy that's going to
(09:33):
take reps away from him. Right now, the Vikings are
doing everything they can to It's still confidence in JJ
McCarthy and also confidence in the other people to say,
this is our guy. We saw very little last season
in the preseason. You're going to see even more now
and then by the time we get to Week one,
everybody's going to be comfortable with this as our starting quarterback.
That's the hope.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Anyway, JA J.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
McCarthy in the building every day in Minnesota. Not in
the building at all right now in Buffalo is running
back James Cook, who has made clear that he anticipates
getting paid in a big way. He is not participating
in the voluntary portion right now of the off season.
General manager Brandon Bean has said, I was trying to
play football. He'll be ready, Mike. But James Cook's put
(10:17):
a number out there already, fifteen million dollars per year.
We'll see exactly how this thing plays out through the
course of the offseason. But does not sound like there's
a whole lot of urgency on either side right now
to try to push this thing forward.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Didn't I see Dalvin on social media at one point
try to push twenty million dollars a year, which is
where Sae kwon Barkley Cross. But it's apples and oranges.
It's a deal on top of a deal. It's hard
to kind of compare these things. But to think that
you're going to get close to twenty million, if not
over twenty million, I just don't see that right now.
That doesn't seem to be a feasible number for me.
(10:49):
And if I'm the Buffalo Bills, I'm not going there,
certainly not yet, if ever here And I think you
just got to have a little bit of a staring contest.
And I think that that's a message from Brandon Bean
saying you could be away. We'll let you have your moment, right,
We'll continue to have discussions along the way as best
we can. Well, we'll let you have your moment, but
you got to get back here at some point. You
gotta be ready to play, because if you're going to
do this staring contest as long as possible and push
(11:10):
it close to the regular season. It's only going to
hurt you. It's really hard to do this from a
running back standpoint. You're not going to stay away, certainly
for an entire season. Le'Veon Bell did that. Nobody ever
wants to go and do that again because we saw
what that did to his career. So I think the
Bills are confident that, yeah, there might be some absences
here in the spring, but push comes the shob James
Cooks can be back into the building and then at
(11:31):
some point in the future they get a deal done
at a number that both sides are comfortable with.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
There also is a formula to this.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You remember when James's brother Dalvin was in Vikings training
camp all awaiting his rookie deal and he was a
hold in of sorts. It was very limited reps through
the course of training camp. They have the same agent here,
not say that direction will go. I'm just saying we've
seen this play out literally with the same family and
the same agent before.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Certainly a situation to keep an.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Eye on elsewhere in the AFC East, Mike, We've got
a signing.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
The quarterback.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Yeah, AFC East quinn Ewers signing his deal as the
two hundred and thirty first pick in the draft, the
quarterback out of Texas. There he is Quinn Yours. There
was the board when they made that selection, the Dolphins.
We talked about a number of teams. I don't know
that we mentioned the Dolphins, but you get to the
seventh round there and look at their quarterback situation.
Speaker 8 (12:23):
To a tongue of Ilowe, we know.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
That there's been health concerns with him before Zach Wilson
in as their number two. Youwers comes in, Yeah, he
could push Wilson there potentially. We know that there's the
potential there for yours. He was a highly recruited quarterback
out of high school, went to Ohio State, eventually transferred
to Texas. So this is gonna be an interesting one
to watch to see if Youwers can push Zack Wilson
(12:46):
for that number two spot and earn his way up
the depth chart there in Miami. Whether it's this year,
next year, or whatnot. But he's locked in for four years.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Tom there was just a forty nine Ers fan of
bar somewhere who saw the closed caption and come up
with we've got a quarter back signing in the footage
of Brock Party. No, that's not actually where we're going,
or Brock Party on the field with the forty nine
Ers while awaiting what he anticipates is going to be
a massive new contract in San Francisco.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
More notable to me in watching this video that.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
The forty nine ers posted yesterday from their offseason workouts,
is the other guy wearing that sports bar with the
GPS unit in it Christian McCaffrey, who, of course had
a extremely rough twenty twenty four season dealing with an
achilles issue that ended up being in both of his legs.
The fact he's on the field and even in slow
motion moving like this would seem to bode well. As
(13:37):
we'll bring in our Steve Whites to the conversation here. Steve,
you spent a lot of time around that forty nine
ers team. What are you hearing right now about the
status of one mister Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 8 (13:47):
Now, when it comes to CMC, I heard from somebody
today who basically said, in quotes, he is a full go.
He's running routes, he's doing the conditioning. It's all voluntary,
remember that. But he's good to go. There's no concerns
of course they're going to measure his reps to see
where he goes, but they said he looks just as
explosive as he's always looked. You even heard his new
(14:08):
offensive coordinator, Klay Kubiak come out today said he's been awesome.
It is our every intention to design and run our
offense through CMC. So we know that the forty nine
ers offense runs better when McCaffrey is in there. Remember
they also drafted a running back. They've got Isaac Garundo
coming back for the second year, so they've got depth
there as well, just in case McCaffrey the durability issue
(14:29):
pops up again. But again as of right now, no
pads here in early May, he looks like he's back
in full form.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Yeah, I just think about this the other day. Everybody
expects Christian McCaffrey to be ready week one, all of
a sudden, he's a surprise and active, and then it
just kind of snowballed, and that really started the injury
karma for the forty nine ers. And when you look
at teams that are potentially going to bounce back in
the NFL, it's teams that one had a bunch of
injuries because that's sort of random and kind of swings
back the other way sometimes. And also teams that lost
(14:59):
one score games. The forty nine Ers had a bunch
of losses in one score games, particularly early in the season,
so this season just sort of seemed to get away
from them. So if you're looking for a bounce back team,
and we've seen them, they've been in the Super Bowl
a few times before, in the Kyle Shanahan era. So yeah,
and then this, I mean this is we were starting
to get ready for the schedule release next Wednesday, eight
pm Eastern here on NFL Network, so tune in for that.
(15:23):
I started to look at the opponents. Here's our friend
Cynthia Freelan's wine excuse me, strength of schedule based on
projected wins like you could do last year. Last year,
I don't mean much. I'm looking forward to this year.
So this is all the projected wins one hundred and
thirty two combined projected wins for forty nine Ers opponents.
So the schedule sets up extremely nicely for the four
(15:45):
We got to see the order, so again, tune in
next week Wednesday, eight pm Eastern right here on NFL
Network to find out the order, But there is a
runway here for the forty nine ers to get back
into contention. We're always looking for the worst to first team.
This could be it here in the NFC West.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
We talked so much about the forty nine ers offense,
the changes theyre getting. McCaffrey, they hope back in full form. Obviously,
perty ongoing situation with the contract.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Who's he going to be throwing to.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Brandon Ayuch's probably not gonna be ready at the start
of the season. Deebo Samuel obviously is gone. But Steve,
let's talk about the defense, which this feels like a
familiar storyline. Robert Sola cruises in there to save the
day and turn things around on that side of the ball.
Speaker 8 (16:24):
Cruises right in right, Well, we don't know if he
necessarily he's going to save the day because you talk
about a side of the ball that's taking a hit.
I mean, Dray Greenlaw's gone, Tallano, Whu Funga. A lot
of key pieces to this defense are gone, especially along
the defensive front. That's why they drafted so heavily early
in the draft to reload. Okay, they get mikel Williams
the defensive end, the edge guy out of Georgia. He
(16:44):
is a prototype of what Robert Salo likes. Now, he
wasn't a high sack volume guy, but he's expected to
come in, set the edge, let Nick Bosa do some
stuff in the pass rush game. He's a developmental guy,
much like Treyvon Walker who went to the Jaguars first
overall because he moved up and down the line of scrimmage.
But again, you set the edge right there. That helps.
So they also FORTI five things on the defensive front.
(17:07):
Defensive tackle Alfred Collins, he gets drafted. They drafted inside
linebacker Nick Martin to replace Drake Greenlaw. And they've got
really skilled veterans in there to help them understand what
the standard is there. And not only does Robert Solid
come back, and those are three key positions that he
coaches well. He has Chris kuserk as his defensive line coach,
arguably the best defensive line coach in the NFL. So
(17:29):
this is a guy who can get players ready early
and to contribute to a familiar scheme that a lot
of these veterans know how to run.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Thank you, Steve Moore from you on the Raiders opening
up Rocky Mini camp with Ashton Genty in just a
little bit everyday at NFL Network is Steve White State.
But did you know after fourteen years in New Orleans,
Cam Jordan finally has his day. May eighth is now
known as Cam Jordan Day in the Queen City. Jordan
has been a great player for the Saints, but maybe
a better citizen off the field. The defense vend has
(17:58):
over three hundred visits to local area schools, and through
his foundation, Jordan will send his first group of students
this fall to Louisiana colleges and universities on full ride scholarships.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Awesome stuff as always for Cam Jordan.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
A lot more to come on this episode of The Insiders,
including I just sent an Ashton Genty. He just got
paid signing his rookie deal. Now the work begins on
the field. We'll dive into the twenty six teams opening
up rookie mini camp, including the boys in Las Vegas.
But first, will Travis Hunter be dancing on offense and
(18:33):
Defense in Jacksonville? Cam Wolf as all the details right
after this on The Insiders. Travis Hunter will make his
debut on the field for the Jaguars rookie Mini Camp
on Friday, but today he had something even more important
to do, graduating with a degree in anthropology from the
(18:57):
University of Colorado at Boulder. A big right there for
the academic All American.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
He was pretty good at football too.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Welcome back to the Insiders, Tom Pilisera, Mike Garafalo, and Camera. Well,
if you first told us Cam a couple of days ago,
this was going to be how the week played out
here for Travis Hunter. What else are you hearing about?
A pretty significant week in his life.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
Yeah, a pretty cool moment from Travis Hunter. Heisman Trophy Warner,
two time Academic All American now gets to graduate in anthropologist.
He said, I had never heard of it, and so
I looked more about it, study humanity. It makes sense
that he's trying to do something that is not very
human playing both sides of the ball in the NFL.
And it's one thing that you'll notice you maybe had
a seat in this video. He actually wore Jaguars put
(19:40):
jamas underneath his gown today during his graduation. So he's
already bleeding that duval energy as he was going abound graduation.
And look all the coaches I talked to talk about
how intelligent he is, and we see it in his studies.
That's why they believe he will eventually be a two
way star there. But when he starts rookie Minnie camp
tomorrow and he will practice, from what I told, he
(20:02):
will start primarily on the offensive side of the ball,
try to get confirmation on if that means he's going
to do zero defensive snaps. They want to keep that
in anticipation for the fans who are coming to see
that on Saturday. But he's going to major in offense
at wide receiver first. That's where they feel like he
can make the biggest impact, and then he'll learn defense
as the spring and summer goes on. Eventually they hope
(20:23):
that he can double major at both of those positions.
But it's so interesting because one he'll wear number twelve,
the number he wore at Colorado. They anticipate him being
that sort of player, and I did some work with
our research team. He played one hundred and twelve and
a half snaps per game last year in Colorado. No
player has ever played over one hundred snaps since twenty
(20:44):
twelve in NFL, so he's already trying to do something unique.
But his conditioning. His work ethic is what separates them.
So they're going to see his ball skills in action now,
and then you'll see him a little bit more on
defense later on.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
In the Summer Cam, you mentioned that the fans in
attendance for rookie mini camp, and if you have followed
this league closely, if you're a fan of a team,
you might say, well, yeah, my team's practice is not
open to the No. No, the Jaguars are leaning into this.
This thing is open to the public and part of
the Travis Hunter draft pick. Along with this change in regime,
(21:17):
this franchise, in this fan base is energized down there.
So Travis Hunter being an anomaly playing both sides of
the field, playing both sides of the ball, frankly, is
something that is great for this fan base and the
chance to be a star. We talked about this. This
team plays overseas every single year. An international star he
could be. Find out who's playing internationally next week when
(21:39):
we reveal the full schedule Wednesday, eight pm here on
NFL Network. That's two, actually three promos so far.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
You're welcome.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Well down, Flowers. Let's go to the Panthers now, because
they drafted. I guess you don't want to screw his
name up.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I can't call him Ted.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
He doesn't like Ted teed.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
No, T mac tam Ac McMillan.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Just go with team mac T mack McMillan. For the Panthers,
Bryce Young, look, he started to turn the corner again
last year late in the season. What does this mean
for him? Adding another weapon of big body there.
Speaker 9 (22:09):
Yeah, this is all about getting Bryce Young a potential
number one wide receiver. Their general manager Dan Morgan has
been clear they were looking at pass rushers, they were
looking at offensive defensive lignment, but they saw a difference
maker who could change their offense in t mac McMillan.
As you were just discussing in. He's to six four,
two hundred and twenty pound dude. He's a guy who
(22:30):
can catch the ball with great hands, great playmaking ability
down the field and look, talent hands, frame, all things
they rave about.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
But the impact for Bryce.
Speaker 9 (22:39):
Young is so interesting because I was at their season
finale game week eighteen. It was meaningless for the Panthers,
but it was so meaningful for Bryce Young. He played
amazing and after that game, the owner, David Tepper, we
were walking out together. He said, I think we've got
our quarterback, and everything this offseason has been through that frame.
They have their quarterback in Carolina, they went to go
(23:00):
get him a pinch potential number one receiver, and you
think about it. Their head coach, Dave Canalis was in
Tampa the offensive coordinator there with Mike Evans. Te Matt
gets a lot of comparisons to Mike Evans. Maybe they
have their new top receiver and they can go chase
this NFC South title.
Speaker 8 (23:16):
One other thing that was interesting.
Speaker 9 (23:17):
You mentioned Jadevion Clowney earlier, Nick Skeraton. I'm told they
had a first round great on He gets a chance
to play a lot more without Clowney. And they also
drafted Trevor Etn in the fourth round. With Jonathan Brooks
out for the season, he's got a chance behind Rico
Dwell and Chewba Hubbard to get some playtime. So interesting
draft for the Panthers and potentially some early key contributors.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Tamak one of several first round picks who signed their
deals today, Thank you very much, Cam Wolf Steve. Panthers
also did make the move releasing Jadevian Clowney, who just
turned thirty two years old, has been on six NFL
teams now looking for a seven. Some big names still
out there in terms of notable free agents. Amari Cooper
is out there ste same well obviously, Aaron Rodgers. We
(24:01):
haven't talked about that at all. Keenan Allen another name
that's not on the board. A lot of big names
and still one hundred and nineteen days for them to
sign before we get to Week one. Rookie Minicamps launching
around the NFL for twenty six teams. That means guys
like Mason Graham, the number five overall pick, rolling into
(24:22):
the building in Beria for.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
The first time.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Shador Sanders also there in what has to be the
first time that a team social media account has done
a locker reveal with a fifth round draft pick. Everything's
a little different, wish Chador who's now going to be
wearing number twelve for the Browns. Trey Hendrickson not wearing
any particular number at all right now. It's early in
the process, obviously in the offseason and the voluntary portion
(24:46):
for veterans. But Trey Anderson the Bengals, after months of conversations,
still have not come to terms on a new contract.
Cincinnati has been chipping away at some things in terms
of cash and cap space, and veteran Geno Stone just.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Took a pay cut. Ay, he's got a little bit
of an in clean wine.
Speaker 10 (25:05):
I would say, so, you know, as a guy, we
really want so you know it's coming to something.
Speaker 11 (25:09):
I was willing to different team.
Speaker 10 (25:10):
He has a safety you know, you want to you
want a pass rusher, you know, that makes the quarterback
at the ball pass or makes the quarterback, you know,
throw the ball in the wrong spots for you to
go make plays. And just the guy he is, you know,
he's uh, he's obviously we want either top the end
or one of the best in the league. So I
mean you want that on your team.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Welcome in our Brian Baldinger to the conversation. Baldy, I
know you're a big Trey Hendrickson fan. He's a little
bit older than some of the guys, guys who have
gotten paid. But he said two monster sacked number of
seasons over the past two years led the league last season.
They've yetn't have to find middle ground in terms of
a new contract. How important is it for the Bengals
to not have this lingering in the in the training camp,
(25:49):
but potentially beyond.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
That's important, Tom, But let me just start off by
saying this Trey is from a popka, Florida. Warren sapp
is from a popka. Warren told me that if you're
from a pop of Florida, you better show up and
show out. Well, Trey Hendrickson has got thirty five sacks
and thirty four straight starts and sixty one quarterback hits.
He shows up and he shows out, and hell had
(26:11):
a whole lot of help here the last couple of years.
He gets double team, he gets, they slide to him,
running backs chip him, and he's still getting home and
is still affecting quarterbacks here hit five against the Raiders
last year. You got to build your defense all right
with starting with their defensive front, and they're hoping some
of these young guys like Miles Murphy and Shamar Stewart,
(26:34):
Joseph Hassai got to step up. But I can't imagine
this defense are al Golden al Golden back now and
Cincinnati was a linebacker coach when they went to a
Super Bowl. Al Golden's back. I mean, you need your
dogs up front to kind of set the table here
to get things started. Gino Stone mentioned it like it's
a whole lot easier to get some interceptions and make
some big plays down the field if you're getting home
(26:56):
with your pass rush, and Trey does that. Every team
needs at least one up front to get the party started.
Trey has done that. He has proven that he shows
up and he shows out.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
They need him well, and the Bengals established how much
he means to the team, more so via trade talks
with other teams, like they weren't just gonna give him away.
They wanted to be blown away if they were going
to do a deal there number one and then number two. Financially,
like Tom said, they're trying to work out a way
to make this happen. Although Katie Blackburn did poke the
bear at the NFL Annual Meeting when she said he
(27:30):
better be happy at certain rates as opposed to where
he thinks he should be. I'm paraphrasing that one. So
be curious once Hendrickson can get a chance to get
in the building, potentially if he doesn't have a deal yet,
and potentially counter that statement. We shall see. Meanwhile, the
Arizona Cardinals, amongst the teams getting ready for rookie minicamp.
Will Johnson, the cornerback who slid to the second round
(27:52):
in large part because of concerns with his knee, speaking
to reporters down there, as Will.
Speaker 12 (27:56):
Johnson super exciting. I mean that scheme is it is amazing.
It's a cornerback of dreams. So I'm excited to play
in it. I'm excited to get comfortable with it and
just just learn more about it. I've learned a good
amount so far, so just continue to learn and get
comfortable in it and make a lot of plays.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Baldie.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Look, if he's healthy, you know what the value is there.
And I know there's been ta is it degenerative or whatever?
The Cardinals feel good enough or felt good enough at
that point to select them. Your thoughts on the entire
Cardinals draft class, particularly what Johnson can break.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Oh, I'm excited.
Speaker 6 (28:31):
I'm excited because I believe in Jonathan Gannon and Nick
rail is the youngest defensive coordinator in the league. They
do a lot, to be honest with you, they have
a lot of multiple fronts, their pressure packages, confused quarterbacks.
I don't care who it is. Across the league. They
had forty one sacks, and you couldn't tell me who's
the leader up front because it came from multiple waves.
Buddha is their star, he's their rat. They build the
(28:54):
defense around him from the secondary. He had an amazing
season last year. Nobody tackles like the Cobra, but I
think that Will Johnson can enjoy because of how much
they do and really how confusing it is to quarterbacks.
They get free hitters coming after these quarterbacks. They play
multiple fronts. He'll play some man covers, he'll play a
(29:15):
lot of matchup zone, same things he did at Michigan.
Many of the same things at Michigan. Mike McDonald was
there at Michigan when Will was there, and they played
a lot of matchup type zones. And so you're gonna
get a chance to get your hands on a lot
of footballs. And I'm sure Will Johnson's excited about that prospect.
They have built up their defensive front. They got some
(29:35):
real name players up there right now, and they've drafted
there as well. Darius Robinson was the first round pick
last year. He gets a chance now to really develop
in a second season. Amongst all the other free agent
pickups they had I feel like this group that finished
fifteenth in the NFL last year quietly finished fifteenth, has
a chance this year to get into a top ten
(29:55):
defense in this league.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
If I'm Jonathan ga nick Rolis, I feel like I've
got three first round picks this year because Darius Robinson
barely played last year, dealt with all the injury issues,
and then on top of that, you got Will Johnson
in the second who, in terms of talent, was probably
a first round type of guy. A lot to be
excited about right now in Arizona, Baldy, thank you very much.
Not to be excited about in Las Vegas as well,
(30:20):
where Ashton Genty has put pen to paper the number
six overall pick, agreeing to terms and signing on a
four year, thirty five point eight million dollar rookie deal.
He gets over twenty two million dollars in terms of
a signing bonus. It's all slotted, but pretty good money
when you're coming out of college, even though now you
can make a little bit of money in college. As
we welcome our Steve Weitch back into the conversation, Steve
(30:43):
Ashton Genty was probably in an unpredictable draft, the most
predictable pick. Every mock draft for months had him go
to Las Vegas. That's exactly the way the board fell.
How do you envision this playing out now as the
Raiders integrate him into a completely new look offense.
Speaker 8 (30:59):
Well, it's going to be Kelly's new offensive coordinator there.
And we've seen him evolve his schemes assistance a lot
from the NFL to college and everything. So how he's
gonna work at ashing genty in more than anyways to
find ways to get on the ball and the run
and the passing game. And you've seen the things he
can do. You're seeing the inside run here, he's gonna
break a tackle. He's got the speed. He's gone right
in the NFL. He might not be able to run
(31:20):
away from as many guys like this, but again, the
strength and the contact balance is exactly what Pete Carroll
had in a running back in Marshawn Lynch. Very similar
with some of the things that they do. But let's
not forget they added Raheem Moster, a veteran with speed.
They've got some guys. Pete Carroll always finds somebody in
the sixth round who can do some things. The offensive
line is pretty good. They really added to their wide
(31:40):
receiver group as well. You know, so offensive they're gonna
be far more competitive with Gino Smith calling things. And
then defensively, you're gonna get players back like Christian Williams,
Christian Wilkins and Malcolm Coots who missed a lot of
time with injuries last year. That defensive front is gonna
be solid. They got tackling machines at linebacker. Jeremy Chin
comes over to play safety. On paper, the Raiders are
(32:01):
so much better, and you know they're gonna play hard
for Pete Carroll. But you know they also played hard
for Antonio Pierce, so it is an upgrade in talent.
The matter, the thing, big thing is how's it going
to work out in the AFC West. Because you've got
the Kansasity Chiefs there, You've got the Chargers there, and
you have the Broncos. There are three playoff teams and
the Broncos and all those and the two other teams
look like they've had very good offseasons. Again on paper,
(32:24):
so right now you look at the AFC West top
to bottom, this might be the most competitive division in football.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
All the people will.
Speaker 8 (32:29):
Say the NFC North might be, but again, adding Ashton
Genzy to the Raiders, on top of all the other
moves they made with young players and veterans, they should
be far more competitive with Pete Carroll calling.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
The shots yeah, and Charles Grant coming from William and Mary,
the big offensive tackle with the big frame and the
basically the frame and the blueprint for what you need
to be to a successful tackle in the NFL. The
question is can he make that step up to the
NFL level? And it might take some time before he
figures out the finer details of playing ten uh in
(33:01):
the league, But that to me is the most fascinating
pick because that could be one where you go, how
did they get him at that point of the draft
in the third round. There, I'm looking at Grant to
be a guy that could be a cornerstone for this
franchise moving forward.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Steve, thank you more from you on the Falcons in
a little bit here. You're in all three of the
four time zones tonight, so good job by you.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Coming up after this.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Though, Michael f Florio has some fantasy advice. It is
never too early, especially when you're trying to figure out
which tight end is going to be a sleeper fantasy pick.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
We'll get answers from Florio right after this. On the Insiders,
misu with play action of his back foot deep down
the middle of the.
Speaker 8 (33:44):
Field, Borers jump all at the thirty five how he
takes off down the side That touchdown.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
Raiders pomp Bowers first career NFL touchdown is a fifty seven.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yard jump ball that he called it took.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Off first goal.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Time. Now for Michael F.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Florio to bring us some more of his fantastic fantasy fasters.
Brock Bauers certainly in that category. The fourth most rostered
player across all the championship teams last year on NFL
dot Com, obviously the most rostered tight end as well.
So I posed this to you, Michael Laflio. There were
a couple of tight ends drafted in the early stages
this year who potentially could have a brock Bauers level
(34:27):
of impact on somebody's fantasy team.
Speaker 13 (34:31):
The best tight end in fantasy two years in a
row has been a rookie, and it is appropriate that
we start with brock Bauers to ope in this segment
because at this time last year, what were people saying
about him?
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Bad QB play tied.
Speaker 13 (34:44):
To a bad offense, a lot of target coump there.
They're saying the all the same stuff about Tyler Warren
on the Colts this season.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And look, I get it with the QB play, but.
Speaker 13 (34:54):
Both Jones and Richardson are at their best when targeting.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
The middle of the fields.
Speaker 13 (35:00):
Warren is a massive middle of the field target who
thrives after the catch, and I think he brings a
ton of upside here, just like Brock Bauers last year. Though,
you could get him as your second tight end pairing
with the veteran or something like that, and you could.
Speaker 5 (35:15):
Get him in the double digit rounds of drafts.
Speaker 13 (35:18):
They could be said for Colston Lovelin with the Bears,
and I get it, he comes with some cons right
heavy target count there with Dj Moore, Roma Donz, Luther Burden,
Cole Kmet is still there.
Speaker 14 (35:31):
But the pros he is a hand picked prospect by
Ben Johnson, who comped him to Sam Laporta, who finishes
the best tight end in Fantasy two years ago in
this exact system. So you could get him, just like
Warren in the double digit rounds as your second tight
end pairing with the veteran someone like Evan Ingram, or
you take your pick of whichever late round veteran you
(35:52):
like most to cover your floor, and then these rookies
provide all of the upside that you want at the
fitness position in fantasy football.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
Hi Florio, but are there sleepers in this rookie claff
rookie tight end? Dude? You know what I'm asking? Are
there sleepers?
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Yes? There are? And look, there's a team right now
that wears green.
Speaker 8 (36:13):
That's having a really tough time with New York.
Speaker 13 (36:15):
But I like the tight end that wears green for
New York in Masonkeler.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Look the Jets.
Speaker 5 (36:21):
That was my way of taking a shot at the Celtics.
Speaker 13 (36:24):
The Jets are metal thing pass catcher wise behind Garrett
Wilson and Fields has always targeted tight ends at an
above average rate and that's why Cole Kmett finished as
a top ten fantasy tight end twice with Justin Fields
and then their OC comes from Detroit. Heavily targets the
tight end in that system as well. He is a
late round pick, maybe even a waiver wire option in season,
(36:47):
but there is opportunity for him to carve out a
consistent role and volume as the year goes on.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
And then a personal favorite of mine, Elijah Arroyu.
Speaker 13 (36:55):
From the Seahawks, who is a big body tight end
that can move really well with the ball in his
hands after the catch. He could blossom into their top
tight end red zone and end zone option there as
the big tight end, and all he has to do
is beat out Noah Fat for playing time in targets.
So the Seahawks right now I would say they are
(37:16):
thin behind JSN and Cooper Cupp, who best ball is
probably behind him right now. Arroyo probably more of a
waiver wire name, but someone that definitely brings a lot
of upside in a good situation.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Fourio great stuff.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
As always always walk out of these segments going I
want to draft right now.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
I gotta wait, like three three and a half games.
We'll get to that. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Longtime NFL center Alex Mack was one of five inductees
to the Senior Ball Hall of Fame over this past weekend.
I talked with Mac Inmobile before the induction ceremony and
he told me that first time out on the field
in Mobile was not entirely a smooth ride.
Speaker 11 (38:00):
We had three quarterbacks who had never take a snap
from under center. They only exclusively did chotgun and we're
running an offense. It's only like under basically, so like
three quarterbacks, I can't get a snap with a quarterback.
We're fumbling everywhere all the time, messing things up. And
then they had BJ Rodgy, who's like lined up on
(38:21):
a tilt on your shoulder, just flying up field. I
left the first practice like I'm not getting drafted, Like
this is over, Like I can't block anybody because it
was just like a terrible and you got your legs
under and we figured it out. But it was a
big challenge. I think NFL teams want players who are
up for a challenge and want to work and get better.
(38:42):
I think coming to the Senior Bowl is a great
way to showcase that I'm willing for a challenge, I'm
willing to work. I'm here to put in the effort,
and I'm chopping at the bit for a way to
showcase how good I am. And I think that's what
it's here for.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
The quarterback currently taking stamps for the Falcons is celebrating
today Happy birthday Michael Pennis Junior. I remember he was
a little bit older rookie. He turned twenty five today.
Welcome back to the Insiders, Tom Pellasero, Mike Garrofolo, joined
once again by Steve Whites. We've talked so much the
entire offseason, Steve about the Kirk Cousins drama, exactly what's
gonna happen. Also looking ahead to the first full year
(39:27):
with Michael Pennix. But if there's been a theme for
the Falcons in this offseason, it has been addressing that defense,
and that includes a couple of the guys who are
going to be out there for rookie mini camp tomorrow.
Speaker 8 (39:36):
Well, what hasn't been a theme for the Falcons defense
is having an edge rusher or maybe two get to
the quarterback over the past fifteen years. So now they
go out and they add James Pearce and Jalen Walker,
two scoops in the first round. And what's intriguing to
me when they as they start their rookie training camp
is how Raheem Morris it has gotten in the defense.
Jeff Albrick, the new defensive coordinator, are going to use
(39:58):
both of them because they have veterans and Leonard Floyd
and Evi Ketty Arnold Ebic Ketty who could play on rundowns,
and both these guys might start out the season just
as designated pass rushers, which also good about both of
these and I didn't think about this right away when
the Falcons made this move. Is both of these edge
players they can play anywhere. They're not necessarily a right
(40:20):
end or a left outside linebacker. They can mix it up.
They can flip flop strong side, weak side. So they're
gonna have a lot of opportunity during this mini camp
and all off season to figure out where they've worked
best and how they can best utilize them with a
couple other pieces that they have on this defensive are interchangeable,
like Cayden Ellis, who might be the one of those
versatile defenders in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (40:43):
Yeah, second few of sacks in the league last year
with thirty one, so you knew they were gonna get
some edge help. Off the top of fact, we had
heard a lot that they were hot for Pierce, So
when they didn't take them the first time around, was like, oh,
you know what, sometimes around the draft you get bad information.
Then they come up they give up a first round pick.
That shows how much they liked him. And he was
in the conversation earlier in the first round, so to
(41:04):
get him at that point shows the value that they
believe that they were able to get from it. We're
going to pass on the first round or next year.
We feel like we're getting another one right now in
a guy that is going to have an impact right away.
So the Falcons hopeful that both of those will payoff
and have an impact on their entire defense.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Get ready for the twenty twenty five NFL season like
never before. With the highly anticipated NFL schedule release, Every
game revealed, every robbery, every rematch in every rookie debut. Wednesday,
eight pm Eastern, Mark your calendar. Get all the details
at NFL dot com slash schedule release. Welcome back to
the insiders, Tom Pelasero, Mike Carofolo, and Steve Weis. There's
(41:45):
also gonna be a handful of games, Steve, like there
are every year. They're announced on various morning shows over
the seventy two hours before the full schedule release. The
kickoff game is Offen one of those who do you
want to see the Eagles host?
Speaker 1 (41:56):
In Week one?
Speaker 8 (41:56):
I wanted him host of Denver Broncos. Look by the
time this game is played, you think the Tush push
is going to be history. So how will the Eagles
call their game against what I think is gonna be
one of the top five best defenses in the NFL.
And there's bon Nicks, an intriguing second year quarterback. Once
him against that defense?
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Good one.
Speaker 5 (42:15):
But give me the Lions. They have shown that they
are worthy of this stage with the way that they
played the Chiefs a couple of years ago. Uh, and
a team that we should have seen or maybe thought
we were going to see in the NFC Championship game
against the Eagles. So let's get it this time at
Linka Financial Field instead of Ford Field.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
I'm gonna say the Rams, that's kind of the forgotten
playoff game last years. Well, the hardest task that the
Eagles had. They did a lot of things right the
Rams did. Just forgot about the stop in Saquon Barkley.
Think he went for over two hundred yards and two touchdowns.
Maybe another try, maybe things go a little bit differently.
We got to try at this show. We'll try to
do better tomorrow. See it some PM Eastern
The newest cowboy has spoken.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
George Pickens has a message for anybody doubting what he
can do in Dallas. Jane Slater and Brian Baldinger will
join us tonight to break down what Pickens had to
say and the potential impact of a big post draft
trade from the.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Star to New Stars.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
Rookie minnie camps are hoping to cross the league, which
means a lot of those slotted rookie deals are already
getting done. We will take you around the NFL for
some very early analysis on the class of twenty twenty five.
Michael left Florio has more than that. He is already
prepared to tell you which rookie tight ends could be
fantasy sleepers as you prepare for that annual Mother's Day
(00:49):
weekend draft with your degenerate cousins. Welcome inside with the
insiders alongside Mike Garafollo, I am Tom Pellisero. One hundred
and nineteen days out now from the kickoff to the
NFL season, we got twenty six teams with their rookies
on the field for mini camp starting on Friday. But
our top story tonight is still the blockbuster that we
(01:12):
got early yesterday morning. George Pickens headed to the Dallas
Cowboys in a deal that brings Pittsburgh a twenty twenty
six third round pick. The team's also swapping late round
selections in twenty twenty seven. George Pickens got his first
taste of the Dallas media today. Here's what he had
to say about the new uniform he's putting on.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
I like my old draft reaction, honestly, Jess, I kind
of found out when everyone else found out. To be honest,
I feel great. I like the mojo here. I like
the swag. You know, everybody.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (01:49):
It's a lot of new players that I've been meeting
all around a long way, so I feel like they
got a great thing going for sure. From your time
in Pittsburgh, obviously a lot of upsquad of downs. What
would you say, led to the spot it from your perspective,
you know, business, you know, this game is just as
much as the business as it is football. So it's
kind of like out of my control. I'm just like
(02:10):
I said, I'm glad to be here at Dallas and
able to continue to win a coach that they have.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Let's welcome in our Jane Slater and Brian Baldinger to
the conversation, Jane, I know you were on that call
today with George Pickens. You've had a couple of days
now to process this trade. What did you make of
what he said and what you're hearing down there in Dallas.
Speaker 4 (02:31):
You know, I'll say this Tom. He was very careful
about sticking to the script. Now I talk to someone
close to me says this is who George is. In
other words, he wasn't going to step in it. There
was questions asked about, obviously the divorce here and the
moving on from Pittsburgh, and he said, you heard it there.
You know this is as much a business as it
(02:52):
is a football. Then he was asked about, you know,
playing alongside CD Land. He said, they've actually trained together
the off seasons before. Now he didn't have a direct
impact into him coming to the Dallas Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (03:06):
In other words, he wasn't in his ear.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
But I did say, how do you marry this want
and need to have an impact in the game when
you've got a guy like Ceedee Lamb on offense And
he says, there's no Oh, he gets the ball, I
get the ball. We're working off of each other. He
also said he doesn't really see them as one A,
one B or him as wide receiver too. He says
(03:30):
he's embracing the role that he has here and that's
working off of each other because if someone's focused on
Cedee Laam, they can't focus on Pickens and vice versa.
And so I really appreciated the way that he was
coming into the building. He talked about the excitement of
playing with Dak Prescott that he had already talked to him.
He went and talked to Jerry and Steven for the
(03:52):
first time after our call with reporters, and then he
was getting to know some of the guys at the
locker room. He's not here in the DFW area just yet.
He says, he still has to find a place to live.
He's got to get a vehicle. But I think the
approach is the right one.
Speaker 5 (04:05):
Now.
Speaker 4 (04:05):
A lot of people have wondered, what about the contract?
Does he want the contract? The Cowboys have got to
play Micah Parsons here pretty soon. He says, he's just
where his feet are. And then he also talked about
just growth. You know, there's been a lot of questions.
I think a lot of talk about the need for
some maturation. The way he handles himself on the field.
He consistently talked about growth and wanting to be a
(04:26):
part of the winning culture that already exists in Dallas.
But he says he very much sees himself on the
outside something baldy. You know, the Cowboys have really been
missing and freeze CD to do what he does well,
and that's work on the inside.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
Yeah, Jane talked about a baldy. Let's talk about the
fit here for George Pickens with the Cowboys and Russell
Wilson was throwing those moon balls. Let's see if Dak
Prescott can lob a few up to him.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
Well, a couple of things, Mike one.
Speaker 6 (04:55):
To Jane's point, CD plays a completely different position than
does George Pickens. They haven't had a next receiver like
George since Amari Cooper left four years ago. So he
plays outside the numbers and he's excellent at what he does.
All these highlights are gonna be outside the numbers. It's
where he lives. These fade routes, these go routes, these
back shoulder catches, He's phenomenal at all of them. Outside
(05:17):
of the CD works the middle of the field. C
D is your moved guy, he's your receiver, receiver, you
don't have to get caught up in Samandas. Then this
is gonna be the best quarterback he's ever played with,
like nothing against all five guys that have thrown them
footballs in Pittsburgh. Dak Prescott's a better quarterback than all
of them. So he's gonna get a better quarterback and
a more accurate quarterback and an offense that's gonna try
to run the ball a little bit better. And if
(05:39):
they do, it's gonna open up a lot of things.
I mean, you play outside the numbers, you're gonna get
one on ones. If you're a good receiver in his business,
you won a second contract, you go win your one
on ones. And I promise George that Dak will get
him the ball. He'll find him. I think this is
a good fit for the Cowboys.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
And I'll say that Green Baldi.
Speaker 4 (06:03):
You know, for whatever happens there in Pittsburgh, a lot
of people were not excited about Amari Cooper when he
came here, and then you put him in this offense,
and all of a sudden you had three one thousand
yard receivers and you heard Coop getting loudly said at
at and T Stadium. This city loves big personalities, they
(06:23):
love guys that want to be here, and they love
big playmakers. I think this thing is crazy enough to work.
But you can check me at the end of the season.
I'm sure old takes exposed. We'll have something to say
about that. But I do think this is crazy enough
to work, even.
Speaker 5 (06:36):
If it is just for one year.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
We'll think about this too.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
For George Pickens here, he's looking at the prospect of,
because it was a second round pick, either being franchise
tag cum March, getting a big deal come March, or
potentially re signing with the Cowboys. There is a lot
at stake financially and otherwise for George Pickens on a
Cowboys team that has the type of receiver opposite him.
As you said, Jane and c Lamb, who now, teams
(07:01):
are going to have to decide which way one of
these guys are they going to double on a down
and down out basis, Baldy, Jane, thank you very much, Baldy.
You'll be back in just a little bit. From some
drama around receivers to a lack of drama in Minnesota.
For all the conversation about JJ McCarthy through the course
of this off season, and here's all systems go. All
(07:22):
systems are go in Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (07:25):
Carthy's put the weight back on.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
He's in the midst of the off season program, and
Kevin O'Connell sounds like he's happy with where things are going.
Speaker 7 (07:34):
He's able to attack the offseason once the season kind
of ended and really be in this building every day.
He's bigger, he's stronger. I can see it in his arm,
I can see it in his movements. I can see
just the ownership of playing quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.
He gained a lot from last year, albeit not how
we all drew it up, but he's already showing early
(07:56):
on here. Today was our third day of Phase two
on the ground, but I think all his teammates feel it.
I know the coaches do, myself included. And now can
we just build and build and build and progress towards
when we get our first competitive opportunity come training camp.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
It's right an unprecedented situation with JJ McCarthy being a
top ten pick a year ago. We didn't play a
regular season snap as a rookie because of injury, didn't
get any snaps in practice for the entire year as
a rookie MIC. So even though we can sit there
and say there's some unknowns with JJ McCarthy, that's absolutely true.
From everything the Vikings are saying, both publicly and privately,
(08:35):
it seems like he's hitting all the checkpoints they want
to see. Now, the next step, of course, is going
through the rest of this offseason and then get into
those games accounts again.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Tom, he needs this. I mean this is you can't
replicate games. You can't replicate preseason games, You definitely can't
replicate regular season games. But he needs an offseason as
almost an extension of his rookie year to walk in
that building and have a clear runway and know that
he's the guy. And you saw him just on that
(09:04):
footage that we had of him at practice, the way
that he was kind of dictating things for guys. He
needs to show them that it wasn't wasted time.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Last year.
Speaker 5 (09:12):
I did pick up on things. I got the mental reps,
and now I'm here as the starting quarterback trying to
catch up as much as he possibly can. And if
you bring in theoretically, like if you brought in Aaron
Rodgers and I know that that was never really on the
Vikings end of things, a possibility, But if you did,
that's not a clear runway, and that's a guy looking
over his shoulder, and that's a guy that's going to
(09:33):
take reps away from him. Right now, the Vikings are
doing everything they can to It's still confidence in JJ
McCarthy and also confidence in the other people to say,
this is our guy. We saw very little last season
in the preseason. You're going to see even more now
and then by the time we get to Week one,
everybody's going to be comfortable with this as our starting quarterback.
That's the hope.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
Anyway, JA J.
Speaker 2 (09:55):
McCarthy in the building every day in Minnesota. Not in
the building at all right now in Buffalo is running
back James Cook, who has made clear that he anticipates
getting paid in a big way. He is not participating
in the voluntary portion right now of the off season.
General manager Brandon Bean has said, I was trying to
play football. He'll be ready, Mike. But James Cook's put
(10:17):
a number out there already, fifteen million dollars per year.
We'll see exactly how this thing plays out through the
course of the offseason. But does not sound like there's
a whole lot of urgency on either side right now
to try to push this thing forward.
Speaker 5 (10:29):
Didn't I see Dalvin on social media at one point
try to push twenty million dollars a year, which is
where Sae kwon Barkley Cross. But it's apples and oranges.
It's a deal on top of a deal. It's hard
to kind of compare these things. But to think that
you're going to get close to twenty million, if not
over twenty million, I just don't see that right now.
That doesn't seem to be a feasible number for me.
(10:49):
And if I'm the Buffalo Bills, I'm not going there,
certainly not yet, if ever here And I think you
just got to have a little bit of a staring contest.
And I think that that's a message from Brandon Bean
saying you could be away. We'll let you have your moment, right,
We'll continue to have discussions along the way as best
we can. Well, we'll let you have your moment, but
you got to get back here at some point. You
gotta be ready to play, because if you're going to
do this staring contest as long as possible and push
(11:10):
it close to the regular season. It's only going to
hurt you. It's really hard to do this from a
running back standpoint. You're not going to stay away, certainly
for an entire season. Le'Veon Bell did that. Nobody ever
wants to go and do that again because we saw
what that did to his career. So I think the
Bills are confident that, yeah, there might be some absences
here in the spring, but push comes the shob James
Cooks can be back into the building and then at
(11:31):
some point in the future they get a deal done
at a number that both sides are comfortable with.
Speaker 1 (11:36):
There also is a formula to this.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
You remember when James's brother Dalvin was in Vikings training
camp all awaiting his rookie deal and he was a
hold in of sorts. It was very limited reps through
the course of training camp. They have the same agent here,
not say that direction will go. I'm just saying we've
seen this play out literally with the same family and
the same agent before.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Certainly a situation to keep an.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Eye on elsewhere in the AFC East, Mike, We've got
a signing.
Speaker 1 (12:01):
The quarterback.
Speaker 5 (12:03):
Yeah, AFC East quinn Ewers signing his deal as the
two hundred and thirty first pick in the draft, the
quarterback out of Texas. There he is Quinn Yours. There
was the board when they made that selection, the Dolphins.
We talked about a number of teams. I don't know
that we mentioned the Dolphins, but you get to the
seventh round there and look at their quarterback situation.
Speaker 8 (12:23):
To a tongue of Ilowe, we know.
Speaker 5 (12:24):
That there's been health concerns with him before Zach Wilson
in as their number two. Youwers comes in, Yeah, he
could push Wilson there potentially. We know that there's the
potential there for yours. He was a highly recruited quarterback
out of high school, went to Ohio State, eventually transferred
to Texas. So this is gonna be an interesting one
to watch to see if Youwers can push Zack Wilson
(12:46):
for that number two spot and earn his way up
the depth chart there in Miami. Whether it's this year,
next year, or whatnot. But he's locked in for four years.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Tom there was just a forty nine Ers fan of
bar somewhere who saw the closed caption and come up
with we've got a quarter back signing in the footage
of Brock Party. No, that's not actually where we're going,
or Brock Party on the field with the forty nine
Ers while awaiting what he anticipates is going to be
a massive new contract in San Francisco.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
More notable to me in watching this video that.
Speaker 2 (13:15):
The forty nine ers posted yesterday from their offseason workouts,
is the other guy wearing that sports bar with the
GPS unit in it Christian McCaffrey, who, of course had
a extremely rough twenty twenty four season dealing with an
achilles issue that ended up being in both of his legs.
The fact he's on the field and even in slow
motion moving like this would seem to bode well. As
(13:37):
we'll bring in our Steve Whites to the conversation here. Steve,
you spent a lot of time around that forty nine
ers team. What are you hearing right now about the
status of one mister Christian McCaffrey.
Speaker 8 (13:47):
Now, when it comes to CMC, I heard from somebody
today who basically said, in quotes, he is a full go.
He's running routes, he's doing the conditioning. It's all voluntary,
remember that. But he's good to go. There's no concerns
of course they're going to measure his reps to see
where he goes, but they said he looks just as
explosive as he's always looked. You even heard his new
(14:08):
offensive coordinator, Klay Kubiak come out today said he's been awesome.
It is our every intention to design and run our
offense through CMC. So we know that the forty nine
ers offense runs better when McCaffrey is in there. Remember
they also drafted a running back. They've got Isaac Garundo
coming back for the second year, so they've got depth
there as well, just in case McCaffrey the durability issue
(14:29):
pops up again. But again as of right now, no
pads here in early May, he looks like he's back
in full form.
Speaker 5 (14:37):
Yeah, I just think about this the other day. Everybody
expects Christian McCaffrey to be ready week one, all of
a sudden, he's a surprise and active, and then it
just kind of snowballed, and that really started the injury
karma for the forty nine ers. And when you look
at teams that are potentially going to bounce back in
the NFL, it's teams that one had a bunch of
injuries because that's sort of random and kind of swings
back the other way sometimes. And also teams that lost
(14:59):
one score games. The forty nine Ers had a bunch
of losses in one score games, particularly early in the season,
so this season just sort of seemed to get away
from them. So if you're looking for a bounce back team,
and we've seen them, they've been in the Super Bowl
a few times before, in the Kyle Shanahan era. So yeah,
and then this, I mean this is we were starting
to get ready for the schedule release next Wednesday, eight
pm Eastern here on NFL Network, so tune in for that.
(15:23):
I started to look at the opponents. Here's our friend
Cynthia Freelan's wine excuse me, strength of schedule based on
projected wins like you could do last year. Last year,
I don't mean much. I'm looking forward to this year.
So this is all the projected wins one hundred and
thirty two combined projected wins for forty nine Ers opponents.
So the schedule sets up extremely nicely for the four
(15:45):
We got to see the order, so again, tune in
next week Wednesday, eight pm Eastern right here on NFL
Network to find out the order, But there is a
runway here for the forty nine ers to get back
into contention. We're always looking for the worst to first team.
This could be it here in the NFC West.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
We talked so much about the forty nine ers offense,
the changes theyre getting. McCaffrey, they hope back in full form. Obviously,
perty ongoing situation with the contract.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Who's he going to be throwing to.
Speaker 2 (16:11):
Brandon Ayuch's probably not gonna be ready at the start
of the season. Deebo Samuel obviously is gone. But Steve,
let's talk about the defense, which this feels like a
familiar storyline. Robert Sola cruises in there to save the
day and turn things around on that side of the ball.
Speaker 8 (16:24):
Cruises right in right, Well, we don't know if he
necessarily he's going to save the day because you talk
about a side of the ball that's taking a hit.
I mean, Dray Greenlaw's gone, Tallano, Whu Funga. A lot
of key pieces to this defense are gone, especially along
the defensive front. That's why they drafted so heavily early
in the draft to reload. Okay, they get mikel Williams
the defensive end, the edge guy out of Georgia. He
(16:44):
is a prototype of what Robert Salo likes. Now, he
wasn't a high sack volume guy, but he's expected to
come in, set the edge, let Nick Bosa do some
stuff in the pass rush game. He's a developmental guy,
much like Treyvon Walker who went to the Jaguars first
overall because he moved up and down the line of scrimmage.
But again, you set the edge right there. That helps.
So they also FORTI five things on the defensive front.
(17:07):
Defensive tackle Alfred Collins, he gets drafted. They drafted inside
linebacker Nick Martin to replace Drake Greenlaw. And they've got
really skilled veterans in there to help them understand what
the standard is there. And not only does Robert Solid
come back, and those are three key positions that he
coaches well. He has Chris kuserk as his defensive line coach,
arguably the best defensive line coach in the NFL. So
(17:29):
this is a guy who can get players ready early
and to contribute to a familiar scheme that a lot
of these veterans know how to run.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
Thank you, Steve Moore from you on the Raiders opening
up Rocky Mini camp with Ashton Genty in just a
little bit everyday at NFL Network is Steve White State.
But did you know after fourteen years in New Orleans,
Cam Jordan finally has his day. May eighth is now
known as Cam Jordan Day in the Queen City. Jordan
has been a great player for the Saints, but maybe
a better citizen off the field. The defense vend has
(17:58):
over three hundred visits to local area schools, and through
his foundation, Jordan will send his first group of students
this fall to Louisiana colleges and universities on full ride scholarships.
Speaker 1 (18:10):
Awesome stuff as always for Cam Jordan.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
A lot more to come on this episode of The Insiders,
including I just sent an Ashton Genty. He just got
paid signing his rookie deal. Now the work begins on
the field. We'll dive into the twenty six teams opening
up rookie mini camp, including the boys in Las Vegas.
But first, will Travis Hunter be dancing on offense and
(18:33):
Defense in Jacksonville? Cam Wolf as all the details right
after this on The Insiders. Travis Hunter will make his
debut on the field for the Jaguars rookie Mini Camp
on Friday, but today he had something even more important
to do, graduating with a degree in anthropology from the
(18:57):
University of Colorado at Boulder. A big right there for
the academic All American.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
He was pretty good at football too.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
Welcome back to the Insiders, Tom Pilisera, Mike Garafalo, and Camera. Well,
if you first told us Cam a couple of days ago,
this was going to be how the week played out
here for Travis Hunter. What else are you hearing about?
A pretty significant week in his life.
Speaker 9 (19:18):
Yeah, a pretty cool moment from Travis Hunter. Heisman Trophy Warner,
two time Academic All American now gets to graduate in anthropologist.
He said, I had never heard of it, and so
I looked more about it, study humanity. It makes sense
that he's trying to do something that is not very
human playing both sides of the ball in the NFL.
And it's one thing that you'll notice you maybe had
a seat in this video. He actually wore Jaguars put
(19:40):
jamas underneath his gown today during his graduation. So he's
already bleeding that duval energy as he was going abound graduation.
And look all the coaches I talked to talk about
how intelligent he is, and we see it in his studies.
That's why they believe he will eventually be a two
way star there. But when he starts rookie Minnie camp
tomorrow and he will practice, from what I told, he
(20:02):
will start primarily on the offensive side of the ball,
try to get confirmation on if that means he's going
to do zero defensive snaps. They want to keep that
in anticipation for the fans who are coming to see
that on Saturday. But he's going to major in offense
at wide receiver first. That's where they feel like he
can make the biggest impact, and then he'll learn defense
as the spring and summer goes on. Eventually they hope
(20:23):
that he can double major at both of those positions.
But it's so interesting because one he'll wear number twelve,
the number he wore at Colorado. They anticipate him being
that sort of player, and I did some work with
our research team. He played one hundred and twelve and
a half snaps per game last year in Colorado. No
player has ever played over one hundred snaps since twenty
(20:44):
twelve in NFL, so he's already trying to do something unique.
But his conditioning. His work ethic is what separates them.
So they're going to see his ball skills in action now,
and then you'll see him a little bit more on
defense later on.
Speaker 5 (20:56):
In the Summer Cam, you mentioned that the fans in
attendance for rookie mini camp, and if you have followed
this league closely, if you're a fan of a team,
you might say, well, yeah, my team's practice is not
open to the No. No, the Jaguars are leaning into this.
This thing is open to the public and part of
the Travis Hunter draft pick. Along with this change in regime,
(21:17):
this franchise, in this fan base is energized down there.
So Travis Hunter being an anomaly playing both sides of
the field, playing both sides of the ball, frankly, is
something that is great for this fan base and the
chance to be a star. We talked about this. This
team plays overseas every single year. An international star he
could be. Find out who's playing internationally next week when
(21:39):
we reveal the full schedule Wednesday, eight pm here on
NFL Network. That's two, actually three promos so far.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
You're welcome.
Speaker 5 (21:45):
Well down, Flowers. Let's go to the Panthers now, because
they drafted. I guess you don't want to screw his
name up.
Speaker 1 (21:54):
I can't call him Ted.
Speaker 5 (21:55):
He doesn't like Ted teed.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
No, T mac tam Ac McMillan.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Just go with team mac T mack McMillan. For the Panthers,
Bryce Young, look, he started to turn the corner again
last year late in the season. What does this mean
for him? Adding another weapon of big body there.
Speaker 9 (22:09):
Yeah, this is all about getting Bryce Young a potential
number one wide receiver. Their general manager Dan Morgan has
been clear they were looking at pass rushers, they were
looking at offensive defensive lignment, but they saw a difference
maker who could change their offense in t mac McMillan.
As you were just discussing in. He's to six four,
two hundred and twenty pound dude. He's a guy who
(22:30):
can catch the ball with great hands, great playmaking ability
down the field and look, talent hands, frame, all things
they rave about.
Speaker 1 (22:38):
But the impact for Bryce.
Speaker 9 (22:39):
Young is so interesting because I was at their season
finale game week eighteen. It was meaningless for the Panthers,
but it was so meaningful for Bryce Young. He played
amazing and after that game, the owner, David Tepper, we
were walking out together. He said, I think we've got
our quarterback, and everything this offseason has been through that frame.
They have their quarterback in Carolina, they went to go
(23:00):
get him a pinch potential number one receiver, and you
think about it. Their head coach, Dave Canalis was in
Tampa the offensive coordinator there with Mike Evans. Te Matt
gets a lot of comparisons to Mike Evans. Maybe they
have their new top receiver and they can go chase
this NFC South title.
Speaker 8 (23:16):
One other thing that was interesting.
Speaker 9 (23:17):
You mentioned Jadevion Clowney earlier, Nick Skeraton. I'm told they
had a first round great on He gets a chance
to play a lot more without Clowney. And they also
drafted Trevor Etn in the fourth round. With Jonathan Brooks
out for the season, he's got a chance behind Rico
Dwell and Chewba Hubbard to get some playtime. So interesting
draft for the Panthers and potentially some early key contributors.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
Tamak one of several first round picks who signed their
deals today, Thank you very much, Cam Wolf Steve. Panthers
also did make the move releasing Jadevian Clowney, who just
turned thirty two years old, has been on six NFL
teams now looking for a seven. Some big names still
out there in terms of notable free agents. Amari Cooper
is out there ste same well obviously, Aaron Rodgers. We
(24:01):
haven't talked about that at all. Keenan Allen another name
that's not on the board. A lot of big names
and still one hundred and nineteen days for them to
sign before we get to Week one. Rookie Minicamps launching
around the NFL for twenty six teams. That means guys
like Mason Graham, the number five overall pick, rolling into
(24:22):
the building in Beria for.
Speaker 1 (24:24):
The first time.
Speaker 2 (24:25):
Shador Sanders also there in what has to be the
first time that a team social media account has done
a locker reveal with a fifth round draft pick. Everything's
a little different, wish Chador who's now going to be
wearing number twelve for the Browns. Trey Hendrickson not wearing
any particular number at all right now. It's early in
the process, obviously in the offseason and the voluntary portion
(24:46):
for veterans. But Trey Anderson the Bengals, after months of conversations,
still have not come to terms on a new contract.
Cincinnati has been chipping away at some things in terms
of cash and cap space, and veteran Geno Stone just.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
Took a pay cut. Ay, he's got a little bit
of an in clean wine.
Speaker 10 (25:05):
I would say, so, you know, as a guy, we
really want so you know it's coming to something.
Speaker 11 (25:09):
I was willing to different team.
Speaker 10 (25:10):
He has a safety you know, you want to you
want a pass rusher, you know, that makes the quarterback
at the ball pass or makes the quarterback, you know,
throw the ball in the wrong spots for you to
go make plays. And just the guy he is, you know,
he's uh, he's obviously we want either top the end
or one of the best in the league. So I
mean you want that on your team.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Welcome in our Brian Baldinger to the conversation. Baldy, I
know you're a big Trey Hendrickson fan. He's a little
bit older than some of the guys, guys who have
gotten paid. But he said two monster sacked number of
seasons over the past two years led the league last season.
They've yetn't have to find middle ground in terms of
a new contract. How important is it for the Bengals
to not have this lingering in the in the training camp,
(25:49):
but potentially beyond.
Speaker 6 (25:51):
That's important, Tom, But let me just start off by
saying this Trey is from a popka, Florida. Warren sapp
is from a popka. Warren told me that if you're
from a pop of Florida, you better show up and
show out. Well, Trey Hendrickson has got thirty five sacks
and thirty four straight starts and sixty one quarterback hits.
He shows up and he shows out, and hell had
(26:11):
a whole lot of help here the last couple of years.
He gets double team, he gets, they slide to him,
running backs chip him, and he's still getting home and
is still affecting quarterbacks here hit five against the Raiders
last year. You got to build your defense all right
with starting with their defensive front, and they're hoping some
of these young guys like Miles Murphy and Shamar Stewart,
(26:34):
Joseph Hassai got to step up. But I can't imagine
this defense are al Golden al Golden back now and
Cincinnati was a linebacker coach when they went to a
Super Bowl. Al Golden's back. I mean, you need your
dogs up front to kind of set the table here
to get things started. Gino Stone mentioned it like it's
a whole lot easier to get some interceptions and make
some big plays down the field if you're getting home
(26:56):
with your pass rush, and Trey does that. Every team
needs at least one up front to get the party started.
Trey has done that. He has proven that he shows
up and he shows out.
Speaker 5 (27:06):
They need him well, and the Bengals established how much
he means to the team, more so via trade talks
with other teams, like they weren't just gonna give him away.
They wanted to be blown away if they were going
to do a deal there number one and then number two. Financially,
like Tom said, they're trying to work out a way
to make this happen. Although Katie Blackburn did poke the
bear at the NFL Annual Meeting when she said he
(27:30):
better be happy at certain rates as opposed to where
he thinks he should be. I'm paraphrasing that one. So
be curious once Hendrickson can get a chance to get
in the building, potentially if he doesn't have a deal yet,
and potentially counter that statement. We shall see. Meanwhile, the
Arizona Cardinals, amongst the teams getting ready for rookie minicamp.
Will Johnson, the cornerback who slid to the second round
(27:52):
in large part because of concerns with his knee, speaking
to reporters down there, as Will.
Speaker 12 (27:56):
Johnson super exciting. I mean that scheme is it is amazing.
It's a cornerback of dreams. So I'm excited to play
in it. I'm excited to get comfortable with it and
just just learn more about it. I've learned a good
amount so far, so just continue to learn and get
comfortable in it and make a lot of plays.
Speaker 1 (28:16):
Baldie.
Speaker 5 (28:17):
Look, if he's healthy, you know what the value is there.
And I know there's been ta is it degenerative or whatever?
The Cardinals feel good enough or felt good enough at
that point to select them. Your thoughts on the entire
Cardinals draft class, particularly what Johnson can break.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Oh, I'm excited.
Speaker 6 (28:31):
I'm excited because I believe in Jonathan Gannon and Nick
rail is the youngest defensive coordinator in the league. They
do a lot, to be honest with you, they have
a lot of multiple fronts, their pressure packages, confused quarterbacks.
I don't care who it is. Across the league. They
had forty one sacks, and you couldn't tell me who's
the leader up front because it came from multiple waves.
Buddha is their star, he's their rat. They build the
(28:54):
defense around him from the secondary. He had an amazing
season last year. Nobody tackles like the Cobra, but I
think that Will Johnson can enjoy because of how much
they do and really how confusing it is to quarterbacks.
They get free hitters coming after these quarterbacks. They play
multiple fronts. He'll play some man covers, he'll play a
(29:15):
lot of matchup zone, same things he did at Michigan.
Many of the same things at Michigan. Mike McDonald was
there at Michigan when Will was there, and they played
a lot of matchup type zones. And so you're gonna
get a chance to get your hands on a lot
of footballs. And I'm sure Will Johnson's excited about that prospect.
They have built up their defensive front. They got some
(29:35):
real name players up there right now, and they've drafted
there as well. Darius Robinson was the first round pick
last year. He gets a chance now to really develop
in a second season. Amongst all the other free agent
pickups they had I feel like this group that finished
fifteenth in the NFL last year quietly finished fifteenth, has
a chance this year to get into a top ten
(29:55):
defense in this league.
Speaker 2 (29:58):
If I'm Jonathan ga nick Rolis, I feel like I've
got three first round picks this year because Darius Robinson
barely played last year, dealt with all the injury issues,
and then on top of that, you got Will Johnson
in the second who, in terms of talent, was probably
a first round type of guy. A lot to be
excited about right now in Arizona, Baldy, thank you very much.
Not to be excited about in Las Vegas as well,
(30:20):
where Ashton Genty has put pen to paper the number
six overall pick, agreeing to terms and signing on a
four year, thirty five point eight million dollar rookie deal.
He gets over twenty two million dollars in terms of
a signing bonus. It's all slotted, but pretty good money
when you're coming out of college, even though now you
can make a little bit of money in college. As
we welcome our Steve Weitch back into the conversation, Steve
(30:43):
Ashton Genty was probably in an unpredictable draft, the most
predictable pick. Every mock draft for months had him go
to Las Vegas. That's exactly the way the board fell.
How do you envision this playing out now as the
Raiders integrate him into a completely new look offense.
Speaker 8 (30:59):
Well, it's going to be Kelly's new offensive coordinator there.
And we've seen him evolve his schemes assistance a lot
from the NFL to college and everything. So how he's
gonna work at ashing genty in more than anyways to
find ways to get on the ball and the run
and the passing game. And you've seen the things he
can do. You're seeing the inside run here, he's gonna
break a tackle. He's got the speed. He's gone right
in the NFL. He might not be able to run
(31:20):
away from as many guys like this, but again, the
strength and the contact balance is exactly what Pete Carroll
had in a running back in Marshawn Lynch. Very similar
with some of the things that they do. But let's
not forget they added Raheem Moster, a veteran with speed.
They've got some guys. Pete Carroll always finds somebody in
the sixth round who can do some things. The offensive
line is pretty good. They really added to their wide
(31:40):
receiver group as well. You know, so offensive they're gonna
be far more competitive with Gino Smith calling things. And
then defensively, you're gonna get players back like Christian Williams,
Christian Wilkins and Malcolm Coots who missed a lot of
time with injuries last year. That defensive front is gonna
be solid. They got tackling machines at linebacker. Jeremy Chin
comes over to play safety. On paper, the Raiders are
(32:01):
so much better, and you know they're gonna play hard
for Pete Carroll. But you know they also played hard
for Antonio Pierce, so it is an upgrade in talent.
The matter, the thing, big thing is how's it going
to work out in the AFC West. Because you've got
the Kansasity Chiefs there, You've got the Chargers there, and
you have the Broncos. There are three playoff teams and
the Broncos and all those and the two other teams
look like they've had very good offseasons. Again on paper,
(32:24):
so right now you look at the AFC West top
to bottom, this might be the most competitive division in football.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
All the people will.
Speaker 8 (32:29):
Say the NFC North might be, but again, adding Ashton
Genzy to the Raiders, on top of all the other
moves they made with young players and veterans, they should
be far more competitive with Pete Carroll calling.
Speaker 5 (32:40):
The shots yeah, and Charles Grant coming from William and Mary,
the big offensive tackle with the big frame and the
basically the frame and the blueprint for what you need
to be to a successful tackle in the NFL. The
question is can he make that step up to the
NFL level? And it might take some time before he
figures out the finer details of playing ten uh in
(33:01):
the league, But that to me is the most fascinating
pick because that could be one where you go, how
did they get him at that point of the draft
in the third round. There, I'm looking at Grant to
be a guy that could be a cornerstone for this
franchise moving forward.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
Steve, thank you more from you on the Falcons in
a little bit here. You're in all three of the
four time zones tonight, so good job by you.
Speaker 1 (33:22):
Coming up after this.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
Though, Michael f Florio has some fantasy advice. It is
never too early, especially when you're trying to figure out
which tight end is going to be a sleeper fantasy pick.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
We'll get answers from Florio right after this. On the Insiders,
misu with play action of his back foot deep down
the middle of the.
Speaker 8 (33:44):
Field, Borers jump all at the thirty five how he
takes off down the side That touchdown.
Speaker 6 (33:50):
Raiders pomp Bowers first career NFL touchdown is a fifty seven.
Speaker 1 (33:56):
Yard jump ball that he called it took.
Speaker 2 (33:59):
Off first goal.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
Time. Now for Michael F.
Speaker 2 (34:04):
Florio to bring us some more of his fantastic fantasy fasters.
Brock Bauers certainly in that category. The fourth most rostered
player across all the championship teams last year on NFL
dot Com, obviously the most rostered tight end as well.
So I posed this to you, Michael Laflio. There were
a couple of tight ends drafted in the early stages
this year who potentially could have a brock Bauers level
(34:27):
of impact on somebody's fantasy team.
Speaker 13 (34:31):
The best tight end in fantasy two years in a
row has been a rookie, and it is appropriate that
we start with brock Bauers to ope in this segment
because at this time last year, what were people saying
about him?
Speaker 5 (34:42):
Bad QB play tied.
Speaker 13 (34:44):
To a bad offense, a lot of target coump there.
They're saying the all the same stuff about Tyler Warren
on the Colts this season.
Speaker 1 (34:51):
And look, I get it with the QB play, but.
Speaker 13 (34:54):
Both Jones and Richardson are at their best when targeting.
Speaker 1 (34:58):
The middle of the fields.
Speaker 13 (35:00):
Warren is a massive middle of the field target who
thrives after the catch, and I think he brings a
ton of upside here, just like Brock Bauers last year. Though,
you could get him as your second tight end pairing
with the veteran or something like that, and you could.
Speaker 5 (35:15):
Get him in the double digit rounds of drafts.
Speaker 13 (35:18):
They could be said for Colston Lovelin with the Bears,
and I get it, he comes with some cons right
heavy target count there with Dj Moore, Roma Donz, Luther Burden,
Cole Kmet is still there.
Speaker 14 (35:31):
But the pros he is a hand picked prospect by
Ben Johnson, who comped him to Sam Laporta, who finishes
the best tight end in Fantasy two years ago in
this exact system. So you could get him, just like
Warren in the double digit rounds as your second tight
end pairing with the veteran someone like Evan Ingram, or
you take your pick of whichever late round veteran you
(35:52):
like most to cover your floor, and then these rookies
provide all of the upside that you want at the
fitness position in fantasy football.
Speaker 5 (36:00):
Hi Florio, but are there sleepers in this rookie claff
rookie tight end? Dude? You know what I'm asking? Are
there sleepers?
Speaker 1 (36:09):
Yes? There are? And look, there's a team right now
that wears green.
Speaker 8 (36:13):
That's having a really tough time with New York.
Speaker 13 (36:15):
But I like the tight end that wears green for
New York in Masonkeler.
Speaker 1 (36:20):
Look the Jets.
Speaker 5 (36:21):
That was my way of taking a shot at the Celtics.
Speaker 13 (36:24):
The Jets are metal thing pass catcher wise behind Garrett
Wilson and Fields has always targeted tight ends at an
above average rate and that's why Cole Kmett finished as
a top ten fantasy tight end twice with Justin Fields
and then their OC comes from Detroit. Heavily targets the
tight end in that system as well. He is a
late round pick, maybe even a waiver wire option in season,
(36:47):
but there is opportunity for him to carve out a
consistent role and volume as the year goes on.
Speaker 5 (36:52):
And then a personal favorite of mine, Elijah Arroyu.
Speaker 13 (36:55):
From the Seahawks, who is a big body tight end
that can move really well with the ball in his
hands after the catch. He could blossom into their top
tight end red zone and end zone option there as
the big tight end, and all he has to do
is beat out Noah Fat for playing time in targets.
So the Seahawks right now I would say they are
(37:16):
thin behind JSN and Cooper Cupp, who best ball is
probably behind him right now. Arroyo probably more of a
waiver wire name, but someone that definitely brings a lot
of upside in a good situation.
Speaker 1 (37:29):
Fourio great stuff.
Speaker 2 (37:30):
As always always walk out of these segments going I
want to draft right now.
Speaker 1 (37:33):
I gotta wait, like three three and a half games.
We'll get to that. Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Longtime NFL center Alex Mack was one of five inductees
to the Senior Ball Hall of Fame over this past weekend.
I talked with Mac Inmobile before the induction ceremony and
he told me that first time out on the field
in Mobile was not entirely a smooth ride.
Speaker 11 (38:00):
We had three quarterbacks who had never take a snap
from under center. They only exclusively did chotgun and we're
running an offense. It's only like under basically, so like
three quarterbacks, I can't get a snap with a quarterback.
We're fumbling everywhere all the time, messing things up. And
then they had BJ Rodgy, who's like lined up on
(38:21):
a tilt on your shoulder, just flying up field. I
left the first practice like I'm not getting drafted, Like
this is over, Like I can't block anybody because it
was just like a terrible and you got your legs
under and we figured it out. But it was a
big challenge. I think NFL teams want players who are
up for a challenge and want to work and get better.
(38:42):
I think coming to the Senior Bowl is a great
way to showcase that I'm willing for a challenge, I'm
willing to work. I'm here to put in the effort,
and I'm chopping at the bit for a way to
showcase how good I am. And I think that's what
it's here for.
Speaker 2 (39:04):
The quarterback currently taking stamps for the Falcons is celebrating
today Happy birthday Michael Pennis Junior. I remember he was
a little bit older rookie. He turned twenty five today.
Welcome back to the Insiders, Tom Pellasero, Mike Garrofolo, joined
once again by Steve Whites. We've talked so much the
entire offseason, Steve about the Kirk Cousins drama, exactly what's
gonna happen. Also looking ahead to the first full year
(39:27):
with Michael Pennix. But if there's been a theme for
the Falcons in this offseason, it has been addressing that defense,
and that includes a couple of the guys who are
going to be out there for rookie mini camp tomorrow.
Speaker 8 (39:36):
Well, what hasn't been a theme for the Falcons defense
is having an edge rusher or maybe two get to
the quarterback over the past fifteen years. So now they
go out and they add James Pearce and Jalen Walker,
two scoops in the first round. And what's intriguing to
me when they as they start their rookie training camp
is how Raheem Morris it has gotten in the defense.
Jeff Albrick, the new defensive coordinator, are going to use
(39:58):
both of them because they have veterans and Leonard Floyd
and Evi Ketty Arnold Ebic Ketty who could play on rundowns,
and both these guys might start out the season just
as designated pass rushers, which also good about both of
these and I didn't think about this right away when
the Falcons made this move. Is both of these edge
players they can play anywhere. They're not necessarily a right
(40:20):
end or a left outside linebacker. They can mix it up.
They can flip flop strong side, weak side. So they're
gonna have a lot of opportunity during this mini camp
and all off season to figure out where they've worked
best and how they can best utilize them with a
couple other pieces that they have on this defensive are interchangeable,
like Cayden Ellis, who might be the one of those
versatile defenders in the NFL.
Speaker 5 (40:43):
Yeah, second few of sacks in the league last year
with thirty one, so you knew they were gonna get
some edge help. Off the top of fact, we had
heard a lot that they were hot for Pierce, So
when they didn't take them the first time around, was like, oh,
you know what, sometimes around the draft you get bad information.
Then they come up they give up a first round pick.
That shows how much they liked him. And he was
in the conversation earlier in the first round, so to
(41:04):
get him at that point shows the value that they
believe that they were able to get from it. We're
going to pass on the first round or next year.
We feel like we're getting another one right now in
a guy that is going to have an impact right away.
So the Falcons hopeful that both of those will payoff
and have an impact on their entire defense.
Speaker 2 (41:22):
Get ready for the twenty twenty five NFL season like
never before. With the highly anticipated NFL schedule release, Every
game revealed, every robbery, every rematch in every rookie debut. Wednesday,
eight pm Eastern, Mark your calendar. Get all the details
at NFL dot com slash schedule release. Welcome back to
the insiders, Tom Pelasero, Mike Carofolo, and Steve Weis. There's
(41:45):
also gonna be a handful of games, Steve, like there
are every year. They're announced on various morning shows over
the seventy two hours before the full schedule release. The
kickoff game is Offen one of those who do you
want to see the Eagles host?
Speaker 1 (41:56):
In Week one?
Speaker 8 (41:56):
I wanted him host of Denver Broncos. Look by the
time this game is played, you think the Tush push
is going to be history. So how will the Eagles
call their game against what I think is gonna be
one of the top five best defenses in the NFL.
And there's bon Nicks, an intriguing second year quarterback. Once
him against that defense?
Speaker 1 (42:14):
Good one.
Speaker 5 (42:15):
But give me the Lions. They have shown that they
are worthy of this stage with the way that they
played the Chiefs a couple of years ago. Uh, and
a team that we should have seen or maybe thought
we were going to see in the NFC Championship game
against the Eagles. So let's get it this time at
Linka Financial Field instead of Ford Field.
Speaker 2 (42:32):
I'm gonna say the Rams, that's kind of the forgotten
playoff game last years. Well, the hardest task that the
Eagles had. They did a lot of things right the
Rams did. Just forgot about the stop in Saquon Barkley.
Think he went for over two hundred yards and two touchdowns.
Maybe another try, maybe things go a little bit differently.
We got to try at this show. We'll try to
do better tomorrow. See it some PM Eastern
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