June 20, 2025 • 41 mins
Summer rolls on with another player chat and divisional preview. Bradley Chubb stops by for a chat with Travis. Plus, previewing the 49ers, Rams, Seahawks and Cardinals in the NFC West.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield Again. You're damn Ryot's
Draft Time with Travis Wingfield. What is up? And Welcome
into the Draft Time Podcast. I am your aforementioned host,
Travis Wingfield, and on today's show, we are two episodes
(00:20):
into the summer content series. Your boy is officially on
paternity leave. If it sounds different, I am recording from
my home studio, so no more from the Baptist Health
Studios on the podcast, but I'm gonna say it anyways,
just to give you guys a heads up, we have
Bradley Chubb on the podcast today, probably the best interview
I had of the sixteen you're gonna hear over the
(00:41):
course of the summer. Plus we're previewing more NFL divisions today.
The NFC West goes under the clock under the microscope.
I don't know why I said clock. From the Travis
Wingfield Studios inside the Travis Wingfield Homestead. This is the
Draft Time Podcast. Let's go ahead and jumps to art
this thing. Kick it off with some juice. Bradley Chubb,
(01:02):
he is the man. He is back. He's gonna wreak
havoc on opposing quarterbacks this season. But first he talked
to me. Joining us today on the Draft Time podcast
is Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. Be Chubb. What's up, man,
It's really good to see you and talk to you.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes, they're good to see as well. Man, feel good,
glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
You talked you had your first media availability and sometime
a little bit ago. But I kind of want to
just you know, repeat that here. Just talk to us
a little bit about the process and where you are
mentally physically today.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah. Man, it's a long process. When you know, when
people tell you, oh, trust the process and everything's greatness
comes on the other side of the work and all that,
it's easy to be like, okay, yeah, I hear you.
But when you actually got to live in and go
through it, you see it full full face, you know
what I mean. And having to go through those hard times.
You know you have your support system, but you know
nobody's going to do the hard work for you. Nobody's
(01:50):
gonna hold your hand while you do things. So going
through it and making the mistakes and you know, coming
back on the other side and seeing the games and
all that, it's a it's a beautiful thing. And when
you sit back and look at it. I'm grateful to
be where I am now. I'm a really good headspace
now compared to where I was when I first started.
So it's a it's a beautiful journey, but I'm glad
(02:11):
I am where I am now.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Stuff like that makes you appreciate even even the lows
right of that entire process because it shapes you into
who you are really.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
One hundred percent. It's about how you respond. Everything is
about how you respond. In life and college, we had
a E plus our equals our was our mantra, event
plus reaction egals outcome. So each everything is something's gonna
happen each and every day is about how you react
to it and how you respond to it.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
How's it failed to get it back on the field.
I know you had the practices last December, but how's
it felt to be out there for OTAs?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It feels amazing because like you said, the practice is
kind of I'll still put my foot in the water
trying to figure out, Oh, how's it feeling, how's this?
What's the call? But like you know, having a year
and a defense, sitting back and understanding the defense and
understanding the guys getting to know him on the personal
level instead of just the football level. So when I
am on the field, it's more of that brotherhood that
we've been you know, chasing and looking for. So it's
(02:59):
been fun, man's and amazing just to kind of like
just be around the guys go through those hard times,
like those tough workouts and those hot, hot practices, because
on the sideline saying oh yeah, it's hot out here,
VERSU actually going through it. You know, with the guys,
it's a whole other level of respect and the level
of a love. So it's been great.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Man. You just feel like you don't have the proper
voice when you're not in it right.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Right, because no matter what your accolades are, no matter
who you are, people gonna be like, okay, you do it,
like I'm not here doing it, You're not doing it
with us. So just being able to do it with
the guys, it's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
When you take that much time down, and I mean
every football player has gone through an injury, and it's
a serious injury. For the most part, you always learn
a lot about yourself. But I'm curious because you know,
and I'll relay football back to golf. Like I always
do on the show. The fans are probably stick of
hearing it by now. But if I take a week
off or a month off, especially like I almost have
to kind of retrain the swing. Is it similar in
terms of football technique? Like what was it like to
(03:51):
get back on the field, because obviously you're you're you're
repairing like the muscle and the tendon and everything, and
then you're trying to get back into football shape and
it's time to actually go play football. Like how long
is take to ramp up to get back to where
you were from the technique and fundamental stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, Man, I feel like that just comes with reps,
and I'm still going through those reps. I'm still trying
to find how I stepped in this certain situation and
stuff like that. I find my foot and so I
feel like that's one of those things. It's not gonna
be a finished, polished product until after training camp, after
you know, getting those lives of tackling guys and going
to the ground and finishing on the quarterback. So I'm
(04:24):
still got a little ways to go, and I'm excited
to go through that journey and find out the new
player I'm gonna become you know what I mean. But
like you said, man, if you take a week, a
year or whatever, however long off. Like another thing my
college coach us to always say the skills, use them
or lose them, Like you're either gonna use them every
day or you're not gonna use them at all, and
you're gonna lose everything that you work for. So being
down trying to stay on top of the little things.
(04:45):
But you know, it's hard when you limit it. But
this whole off season and as I've been like towards
the end of the season, getting back into the groove
of things, and this all seasons been been great for
doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, I'm so excited to watch you and the entire
Edge group play and I kind of feel like, you know,
it's it's funny you guys are the Edge group because
I feel like there's an edge to you guys based
upon recent experiences. How excited you for this group to
come out, because it seems, you know, last year JP
was coming back, you were coming back. We didn't know
what it's gonna look like. And Jalen goes down again
and that that just sucks so bad. How do you
think that kind of the way the last few years
(05:17):
have gone for you, guys can kind of shape the
group this year, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Man, shape it. I mean, like you said, we got
an edge to us. Everybody in there has, you know,
been through adversity, been told they can't do something, been
through an injury. So everybody's just hungry to go in
there and prove not only people wrong. It's not about that,
but proving ourselves right, knowing what we can do. And
you know, we talked all the time about how we
want to be the engine for the team and how
it starts and ends with us. But you know you
(05:41):
can't just talk that. You got to practice it each
and every day. And that's what the guys in that
room do. Man. We push each other to be great,
and we put each other to be better than we
were yesterday, you know. And that's one thing that's specially
about that room and that I love so much, is
just everybody's hungry. Everybody's loving of each other and wanting
to see the other one win.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
And Coach Crow kind of facilitates all that, right, He's
the guy that brings you all together for.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Sure, brings us together. Man, finds ways to make learning
fun finds ways to make competition fun, you know what
I mean. And he's been a great ad to the
room for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So one of the guys that I mean, Chop, I'll
just go ahead and say him off the top, Chop.
Robinson has talked about you and JP a lot in
terms of the tute legit mentorship. What have you seen
from him in terms of not just the physical skills
which are obvious to all of us, but the way
he approaches the game and leans on you guys.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, he approaches it like he's a season vet man.
And to see a young guy have so much love
and so much care for the game, and like so
much care for the technique and the little things about
the game, it's dope to see because you know, you
see him getting better each and every week as well,
like throughout the season where he was in training camp
versus where he was week eighteen, was a whole different player.
And to see him during these OTAs now moving around,
(06:45):
it's like, bro, I told him, you're gonna have a
long career in this league. Gonn make a lot of money.
It's gonna be a lot of good things. To continue
to do what you're doing and never let up, you
know what I mean. And he's been doing that and
it's been great to see.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
That's good news for him and Dolphins fans. Bradley. I
want to go back to something that you and I
have discussed off the record a few times, and it's
my favorite highlight. I think of like the draft process
of all time. I showed it to you one time,
to flop right, the famous flop and the three rollover
and you get the flag and the end zone. You
pulled the flag out of the raft that day. Take
me through that? Is that like something that you like,
(07:17):
You just kind of like you're serious about your game obviously,
but you can joke in the moment as well.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
No, for sure, and especially in college man I was.
I was a loose cannon man, be mad and be happy.
I was all over the place. And that was one
of those things. We were playing Syracuse. I was having
a decent game, so I wasn't like so like, oh
I got to do this and do that, you know,
And we got down to the end zone and I
forgot what the play was, but I was doing something
extra in the office. A lineman pushed me. I said, oh,
(07:42):
this is my chance. I don't know what I'm gonna do,
but I could try to get a flag or something.
And so I flopped the first time in a flag,
and so I rolled over and I saw like my
teammates playing into us. I just kept rolling over, you
know what I mean, and ended up getting a flag,
which was crazy. I don't know how I got the flag,
but a shame on that office of the line and
for pushing me.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Hey, he picked the wrong one correct. So that that
just kind of takes me to my last question here
about like personality and sports, because you know, I grew
up in an era where it was like serious and
you're you're dialed in and you need to be locked
in all times obviously, but I do have gotten to
a place where personalities and the people can kind of
show more in modern sports than they used to. How
do you feel about that? And like how does that
(08:19):
kind of match who you are?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah? For sure, I don't. I don't know if it's
ever been a time where I've been so serious and
locked in on sports, Like I've always approached it as
a game and you know, and having fun doing it,
and I feel like that's when I'm my best, So, uh,
you know, in the past, you know, people like get serious,
were trying to do this, like it's a level of
seriousness that you have to have. But at the end
(08:41):
of the day, you know, it's it's a it's a
child's game that we get to. You can't be too
serious about your life, you know what I mean, can't
take stuff too serious. It's a child's game that we
get to do at a high level. Yes, but it's
a child's game, you know what I mean. And if
you go about it with a frowny face and trying
to be locked in and all this, it's I feel
like it takes away from that, from the joy and
stuff like that. But like I said, there's a level
(09:01):
of here that you do have to have for sure,
to approach each and every day. And it's just finding
the balance.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
It can't be too silly and can't be too serious.
Just about finding the balance.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It seems like we have
the coaching staff in place that understands how that all
that kind of goes together. What excites you last question
for you here, Bradley, what excites you most about this
upcoming season?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Man? Just the doubt that we're getting from the outside.
That's what excites me most because it's not even like
we harp on it in here, but like it's a
known thing, like we feel it, we feel the doubt,
we feel the oh this team hasn't the Dolphins organization
hasn't won a playoff game, and yet we feel that,
you know what I mean. And it's not like we're
making a big deal out of it, but everybody's working
(09:41):
towards to changing that. And that's what I love about it. Man.
Nobody's front running, nobody's doing anything. Everybody's just putting their
head down, getting to work, and we're sticking together early.
This is the earliest I've seen a group come together,
and it's been dope to see. So I have real
high hopes for the team, man, and I hope that
we could do what we know we.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Can do if I could just fall up on that
real quick. Us. The value of that of all the
guys being in here compared to where it's maybe not
as well attended.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, it's huge value to it, especially when you're a
team like us man trying to find trying to find
that last little piece. Because we've been to the playoffs,
we've been on the edge of winning the game. But
we haven't done that yet, so it's easy to we'll
figure it out when camp comes out. It's hard to
lean into it, figure out what the problem is and
how we can how we can fix it, and to
(10:26):
do it this early is amazing too. So it's been
great to have everybody here. Man. You know, guys missed
a day or two, but for the most part, it's
been perfect attendance. So it's been it's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Dolphins alsodlinebacker Belly Chub. Appreciate you, man, thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Kyle Crabs is a great film. Watch on him on
his Patreon CHANNELF you haven't checked it out, go ahead
and do it. Because he talked about how Beachub can
really give this defense some juice and something they didn't
have last year in more depth at that edge position
and give the Dolphins waves of pass rush. We saw
Chop kind of be the four front guy in that group.
Obviously Zach and Kalay has big, big pieces inside, but
(10:59):
to build a get JP and Beachubb back out there
with Zach and now KG, I'm looking forward to it.
All right, We're gonna take a break right here. Come back,
and then we have As you guys know, the division
previews are long, so we'll do that over the course
of two segments. That's Next Draft Time podcast, brought to
you by Auto Nation. I love this time of year
for multiple reasons. One, the golf swing kind of getting
(11:21):
back on track here a little bit gonna be going
away for a while. Those I'll probably lose that as
I say hello to my third child. We still are
undecided on the name as of today, and she is
coming next week, so we will see what it comes
out to be. I have my pick, wife has her pick.
We have to find out who wins that power struggle.
But this time of year gives me a chance to
go look at all thirty two teams, well thirty one
(11:42):
because I look at the Dolphins pretty much every single day,
and I love it because it teaches me things like this.
We're gonna kick this off in the NFC West here
with the San Francisco forty nine ers, and I think
the Niners are going to be as we review their
changes here off the top a sort of litmus test
for something that has sort of slid for me as
a football analyst over the last couple of seasons. We
(12:04):
get all excited about these potential upstart teams, and who
knows that better than Dolphins fans over the last you know,
twenty years. I guess the twenty and six team you
thought was gonna be that team, right with Dante Colepepper.
I think twenty was it twenty fifteen after the Kenny
Stills trade with Ryan Tannehill coming off a great year
under Bill Laser, the kind of felt the same way
(12:24):
the twenty seventeen team, maybe not justified in that, but
coming off a playoff year with Tannehill in the first
year of Adam Gase. You get these you know, contingencies
of the football cognacenti. Who pushes their chips at the
center of the table on those teams, and then what
happens You have an unproven head coaching quarterback combination that
doesn't unseat the ones that we've seen with proof of concept.
(12:47):
The Bears last year are a great example of that.
The Jets each of the last two years are a
great example of that because who could have possibly seen
Nathaniel Hackett's offense not clicking and vibing and making Aaron Rodger,
who's been an MVP quarterback for as recently as three
or four years ago, not play that great a football.
And so where everyone fades the Niners this year, and
(13:08):
where everyone's kind of fading the forty nine ers, your
boy's gonna double down this year, if you will on
Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purty. I almost said Kyle Perty.
I went to high school with Kyle Purty. That kind
of threw me off there. Let's go ahead and get
to the changes here for this team, though they are
vast Robert sala is back. I like that fit for
him a lot. I think he's one of the best
moves any team made this offseason. Clay Kubiak, not Clint Kubiak,
(13:33):
but Clay gets a promotion to the offensive cordator position,
the first time Shanahan has had an OC since twenty
twenty one. Go ahead and raise your hands. Anybody out
there in the class know who that was. Mike McDaniel.
Kubiak was a past game specialist last after coaching the
quarterbacks there in San Francisco. Now the personnel changes. Brace
yourself because there are so many names in here. Gone
(13:55):
are Traverius Ward, He's out the door. Dre Greenlaw's out
the door, Javon Hargrave, Malite Collins, Isaac Yadam Rakya, Sin
Talanoah Hufonga, Elijah Mitchell, Deebo Samuel Aaron Banks, Jordan Mason,
Jalen Moore, Charlie Heck. These are the guys that have
all started games for the Niners. Some of those guys
are star players you know about, and free agency wasn't
(14:17):
about the brand names for them. Akin to how your
Miami Dolphins approached this offseason. They did snag Richie Grant,
the former Falcon safety Mac Jones to back up Brock Purty.
DeMarcus Robinson's a nice little sneaky deep receiver room addition
there for them. Andre Dillard go Koog's has not worked
out into the NFL career, and former Dolphins Sir Ran
Neil the film for the Niners. They're calling cards. So, Travis,
(14:40):
why are you so bullish on this football team that's
lost so much star talent? Because I believe in the
system and the quarterback and guess what, they still have
some absolute friggin studs there. This reminds me of the
Patriots will lose talent. Well, that's a bad comparison, but
the Patriots were a team that used to always lose
talent every year. And you boy at like eighteen years
old going on message boards saying this is the Dolphins overtake.
(15:03):
You like I was wrong, and that's how it usually goes.
But it's essentially a copy paste of the Dolphins, right.
Getting Christian McCaffrey back for them, I would say, is
akin to us landing Jonas savit Naya and James Daniels
in terms of the boost of the running game. And
then you get the matchup coverage declaration with horizontal stress
and creates windows in which Brock can play point and
(15:24):
shoot quarterback and just keep that thing rolling. He's only
going to get better as he goes along. It's how
these quarterbacks that play on anticipation and processing operate. I
think you'll see them back in more favorable down in
distances and get their efficiency back rolling. Sound familiar, and
I know he kind of worked us, But Deebo Samuels
to Samuel is not Samuels. Samuel is to me additioned
(15:46):
by subtraction for that offense because he's gotten slow and
he requires a high volume of targets to be productive.
And that's just not how this offense works. Just getting
Trent Williams and McCaffrey back on the field were the
biggest additions this team could possibly make. But they also
hit last year on Dominic Puney, a guy that when
I asked Daniel Jeremiah at his annual draft press conference,
(16:08):
who's a good interior offensive line fit for the Dolphins,
he said, Dominic Puney. The Niners snatch him up and
he goes on to be a really good player for them.
I think Spencer Berferd, Jake Brendle, Colton mckivitz. It's not
an eye popping offensive line, but they've gone to the
Super Bowl with pretty much the same offensive line, and
that's when they're healthy. There's value in that continuity there
as well. Brandon Ayuk is healthy, George Kittle, if he's healthy,
(16:31):
is George Kittle. Ricky Piersol is not going to have
to recover from a freaking gunshot wound this year. Juwan
Jennings is a guy that we talked about as a
possible restricted free agent addition should he shake free from
San Francisco a couple of years ago. That with the
addition of Robinson Russell, Gage there's some good route runners
and guys that can get open and find those soft
spots for pretty to point and shoot, and they're going
(16:51):
to score points. I think if all those guys are healthy,
and then defensively, we have proof of concept here with
Ta Tada, and I think the way he balanced the
Shanahan as akin to how we even McDaniel co exists
so well done here in em and he's so and
he's still got Fred Warner. So I think their first
two picks, Mikel Williams and Alfred Collins are going to
be studds in that defense. To me, Mikel's a dark
(17:12):
horse for defensive Rookie of the Year. I just think
that he's was slept on heavily in the draft process.
I love the Bryce Huff trade. I was a big
fan of CJ. West out of Indiana in the draft process.
And now Nick Bosa's back, and I think there's some
unknown in the secondary, but I trust this coaching staff
on defense as well as the offense to put up
twenty eight plus points per game. The question is the
(17:33):
secondary and is it healthy? You know? Is really it's
really what comes down to this team is the entire
roster healthy, and how does the secondary kind of acclimate
here this season. I think they have the parts to
play that Sola aggressive scheme and really ease some stress
on that back end. But there would could be some
deep teams that stress their matchups, like, for instance, the
(17:54):
team that we just talked to, or we're going to
talk about here in a second, the La Rams. But
really it's keeping McCaffrey, Kittle, Williams, Yuke on the field.
If they have those four and their quarterback. There's not
a lot of teams I would pick to beat the
Niners on any given Sunday. The miscellaneous factors here this
gets repetitive, but the health of the football team, right,
But also Shanahan discussed the deep runs and quick turnarounds
and the overall fatigue of this team, which you can say, hey,
(18:17):
look at the Chiefs the last eight years. They don't
get fatigue. They go to the super Bowl every single year,
but the Niners don't have to. You know, they were
able to rest and recover all of January because they
make the playoffs last year. And we've seen this movie
several times. The Niners have down years solely because of injuries,
and the next year, they're back to twelve plus wins.
I also think they're going to start four to zero
at Seattle and then the Saints, then home for Arizona
(18:40):
and Jacksonville before a big TNF showdown against the Rams.
At worst, that's three and one going into a massive
divisional game there. And they pivot this year to the
NFC South, which is, you know, to me, four teams
that are all gettable coming off of a schedule last
year that was much tougher the trapdoor scenario this year,
now there's this pretty significant the names I just gave you. Williams, mccare,
Affrey Kittle, and Ayuk Mistate combined thirty one games last year.
(19:03):
That's the trap door. The conclusion, I mean, I feel
like we kind of talked about it already, but very
very bullish on the Niners on this team, privy to
the pitfalls that they could face. All in all, I
think the West is the most likely division to produce
three playoff teams, because again we'll talk about it with
every single one of them. Just look at their schedules,
and the Niners get to play the fourth place schedule,
(19:23):
which is the Bears compared to the Lions and the
Giants compared to the Eagles in the East. That alone
could be a two game swing, and that helps me
push them over the goal line as a potential division winner.
Their biggest competition to me is the Los Angeles Rams.
Let's go ahead and review their changes from a personnel standpoint,
Those two games against these teams from California are going
to be pivotal this year in not just the NFC West,
(19:45):
but the NFC playoff pecking order and who might challenge
the Eagles and Commanders and the Lions this year. And
that fourth versus first place schedule I mentioned applies here
because the Rams are every bit as good as the Niners,
but they do have to play the Eagles and the
Lions compared to the Giants and the Bears. And the
Rams are also in a position I think the Niners
(20:05):
would like to get to in a year or two
with the trajectory of their team cycle. Right, They've entered
this new cycle, and the Niners are sort of beginning
that process of like soft reset, kind of you know,
unload some big name value talent and try to go
back to the draft and re establish our core with younger,
foundational pieces. But the Rams are already there and they're
(20:27):
loading up now with guys like Davante Adams. Coaching continuity.
Chris Shula was awesome last year. Mike Laflora is back
for a third season after a two year stint running
his system with the Jets and kind of you know,
trial and erring it there before coming back to McVeigh
and running it successfully here. He was also in San
Francisco four years prior to that. He also worked with
these guys in Atlanta and Cleveland. He's honestly kind of
(20:49):
the same track that McDaniels on a couple of years
ago SAMs. McDaniel never got fired from a job the
way Lafleur did leaving the Jets, leaving the tree right,
he left the trust Tree, got out of the Trust Tree,
the all of Garden, and he got fired for that.
I think DeVante Adams will be one of the biggest
additions anybody made this offseason, much like Salah for the
forty nine ers, him and Puka Nakua with a healthy
(21:10):
Matthew Stafford. I laugh because that and that run game.
Who buddy, I like this squad a lot they've spent
I like this guy. I really like this guy. They've
spent some time really fortifying the offensive line. Back to
the changes. They brought back two to at well to
give them three studs at wide receiver. They loved Terrence Ferguson.
I wasn't as crazy on him as they were, but
(21:32):
I trust them more than I trust me. And as
I was writing this, it was reported that Alaric Jackson
is dealing with blood clots once again, and I hope
he's okay, but that could be a big blow. They did, however,
bring in DJ Humphries, and that's a good fallback plan.
But you have to have three tackles, and if you're
already down one here in June, like, at some point,
you're gonna have to play like a rookie in that
spot because they don't have anything else besides that for
(21:53):
left tackle, right tackle, or for the swing tackle. I
should say, honestly, there's not a ton outside of Adams
the changes. They're such a young team. They can kind
of press forward with the progression of the incumbents and
some rookie contract players that are absolute studs. It's what
allows them to go get DeVante Adams and his big contract.
They did swop out Bobby Brown, a guy that we
highlight as a possible Dolphins fit for poona Ford who's
(22:15):
even better in my opinion. They lost Michael Hoyt, who
was really good for them, a guy that popped off
the tape last year watching the Rams in preparation for
that Monday night football game. Same deal with Christian rose Boom.
They also lost Cooper Cup, but I think that he's
kind of taken a step back. Jona Jackson was available
for trade. He goes to the Bears. Hunter Long is gone,
and DeMarcus Robinson, as we talked about, has gone up
north to sand in front of Soisco the film, you
(22:38):
know the drill for the calling card here, horizontal stretch,
displace the passing windows and attack aggressively. However, they made
a pivot a couple of years ago with more stature
inside and the incorporation of more inside zone and duo
with a back who excels at what at that but
doesn't lose anything when they go to their bread and butter,
which is outside zone. Kyron Williams is just another one
(23:02):
of the embarrassments of riches they have with the skill
spots here and then Matthew Stafford. People sleep for some reason,
and he's had some years like maybe hasn't been as
consistent year to year as the Lamars and Josh's and
Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrows of the world, although Burrows
had some inconsistent years too, But he's still a top
what seven quarterback at worst, Like I would say two
(23:23):
was like right behind Stafford my pecking order, and I'd
say Stafford's in that seven to eight range. And that's
why I'm still so geeked over the tape that we
had defensively last November. We stomped out a pretty good
offense that day, and a good quarterback Adams gives them
just a field flipper they didn't have in the past. Though.
I don't know how you contend with their power run game,
their wide run game covering two guys that require double
(23:46):
teams and Adams and the Kua with the fastest player
on the field not getting any help because you're not
gonna help on at Well, then you've got Tyler Higbee.
Then you've got this guy. They apparently were like, you know,
they thought he was the key to unlocking the offense.
Further in terres Ferguson, it's just too much. This might
be my Super Bowl pick if I don't pick them
to lose to the Niers in the division. I'm having
a tough time with that right now. Today, I think
(24:07):
the most impressive thing about Chris Shula is the way
his scheme was able to grow and adapt with the
roster that was similar. Now they'll be able to bank
on experience of last season and having those highs and
lows because they had some games where it just wasn't
very good, and having that further along starting point to
kick things off. Like we talked about for coach Weaver
here and the Dolphins defense, they'll play out of a
lot of odd fronts, which inherently helps shore up inside
(24:30):
gaps because of the presence of the nose tackle, but
because of their athletic ability, they can really do more
true one gapping off a traditional two gap look. They
play that three three five look with gap and a
half philosophy, which has some aggression to it, but you
also have to play discipline. But one of the questions
will be how they replace Hoyt and rose Boom in
that second level. Jared Verse, I remember talking to toront
(24:51):
Armstad about him after that game last year, and he
was like, dude, they might have another Aaron donald Enuff
said there, Braden Fisk had a great first year and
Kobe Turner's probably the better of the three players since
he got in the league. They mixed their coverages pretty evenly,
including a ton of hybrid coverages, which is why you've
heard them attached to Ramsey again, because that's kind of
what Ramsey's bread and butter in is when he's not,
(25:13):
you know, being displeased where he is. After a year
and a half, Omar Spates and Srey Troy Reider figured
to step in an inside linebacker. And that's kind of
a question mark there because those were rotational pieces last year.
Now they might be starting or playing more significant roles there.
They stole a Kello Witherspoon from the Niners. They brought
Darius Williams back, and Cameron Curls a pretty versatile, nice
piece in the safe in the safety room there. The
(25:34):
other positions are up for competition come camp, and the
question here is I kind of keep spoiling them ahead
of the time. But the secondary right, this is not
just a Dolphins thing. Across the league man like defensive backs.
As we get this receiver boom and run. You're going
to see less defensive backs because those are the same
body types and archityps archetypes, and all these college players
and high schoolers are going after receiver jobs and leaving
(25:57):
corners and safeties out there that there's one enough of them.
The supply and demand is not enough. How they continue
their momentum though with a young defense after an impressive
showing in the first year under Chrishula. That's kind of
the key here the question, right, But man, that offense,
you guys know, I subscribe to the idea that a
great offense that scores twenty eight points a game is
going to win you at least ten games. But I
(26:18):
think the odds are this defense will be pretty good too,
And I think how good they are will tell us
how far they will go. The miscellaneous factors, the continuity,
the weapons. This probably has a chance to be the
best team in the NFC, even with some questions at
a few spots in that defense. That schedule I think
is going to help them cruise to eleven plus wins.
They have a stretch beginning in week seven where it
(26:38):
goes Jags, buy Saints, Niners, Seahawks, Bucks, Panthers, Cardinals. Only
one of those teams won more than seven games a
year ago. The trapdoor scenario. We saw what happened when
Stafford got hurt in twenty two. McVeigh had that burnout
around that time, but has proven his reinvigoration of the game. Honestly,
I think there aren't many here for them. The continuity,
(26:59):
improved veteran talent with adaptable schemes to withstand attrition makes
the Rams one of the safest bets for the playoffs
in twenty twenty five. Sands the quarterback getting hurt. That's
the case for every team across the league. The conclusion
great coaching, great quarterback, very good roster, adaptable approach, softer
schedule than last year. Outside of Philly in the NFC,
I don't think there's a more sure thing to go
to the playoffs than the Rams. Saquon did run for
(27:22):
two fifty five and two to oh five in the
two games against them last year. They have to shore
that up. Okay, last break, Right there, We're deep into
the show already, Seahawks and Cardinals. That's next Draft Time podcast,
brought to you by Auto Nation. Back to the two
oh six, the four two five, the two five three.
That's the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle area for my hometown Seahawks,
(27:46):
not anymore three oh five b B actually nine to
five to four. I'm whn talking about the changes for
the Seahawks here. The biggest one occurs at offensive coordinator.
As they went I guess somewhat experimental last year calling
up Ryan Grubb from the college game that you go Kooks,
but that's not the same college. Just fyi. I get
people tell me, I'm like, oh, you a Husky. It
got drafted by the team. You're excited about that. No,
(28:08):
I'm a Washington State couper, not a University of Washington husky.
Just fyi. But they've pivoted since that to Clint Kubiak,
which I talked about Klay Kubiak for the Niners, and
the same structure that we have here in Miami that
Shanahan Tree offense, McDonald Tree defense. Right, Kubiak had all
the magic working in the first two games last year
with the Saints. We have a Louisiana native in our
(28:29):
staff who was very excited about the Saints two and
oh start last year. I said, just just temper your expectations.
Dimper them a little bit. But prior to the car injury,
you know, they were, they were rolling offensively, and then
things began to get sideways pretty quick. But that comes
with a new system and plenty of personnel changes to
go along with it, and not too often do we
get this type of veteran movement at the position. Not
(28:50):
anymore anyway. I'm old enough to remember when the teams
traded guys like Donald McNabb to an Indivision rival, or
Jay Cutler got traded like it doesn't really happen that
way anymore. But Gino Smith got traded here and Sam
Darnold signed to the Seahawks, and they drafted Jalen Milroe,
and the Seahawks have already communicated they have a plan
to use certain packages for Jaln Milrow to get playing
(29:11):
time as a rookie. I don't think it's that crazy
that there's a scenario where Millo starts games for them,
but we'll talk about that more as we go along here.
They also moved dk Metcalf to the Steelers in a trade,
and they signed Cooper cup Davis High School in Yakam,
Washington shout out. They add Elijah Arroyo from the three
zho five in the draft to solidify their tight end position,
but also the interior offensive line, which they desperately needed.
(29:34):
To remember that game last year, Week three, the Dolphins
beat the crap out of the Seahawks offensive line. That
was the case for them all year long. They go
get grays Able to drink rainier beers. That's our Pacific
Northwest like bush light basically. And to me, in this draft,
there were two guards that were going to be Coggs
from day one. They were grays Able and this one
certain guy named jonas of I Naya. On defense, they
(29:54):
add to Marcus Lawrence, They extended Ernest Jones after a
mid season trade from Tennessee. They draft Nicky man Worri,
which you guys heard me talk about him as a
Dolphins fit, so of course he goes there. For Mike McDonald,
they brought back Jonathan Hankins, Jeron Reed, Donald, cup Lawrence.
With the big additions, they also added Josh Jones. That's
got to ease Seahawks fans minds a little bit. Last
year after losing Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, go Koog's
(30:19):
for big chunks of the season to have an actual
third tackle there. Remember, Josh Jones is a guy that
I thought was a fit for us, so that makes
a lot of sense that he goes to a Koubiak
system up there in Seattle. They lost Draymont Jones already, Burns,
Pharaoh Brown, Roy Robertson, Harris and Lake, and Tomlinson addition
to Gino and DK, so not crazy losses on the
film they're calling card. I am kind of curious to
(30:41):
see what it looks like on the surface. You had
Sam Donald last year go scorched earth on the entire league,
running a similar system with Kevin O'Connell, but the end
of their season and dealing with O line attrition. Actually,
let's go ahead and put a pin in that until
the questions portion. The strength is the way Sam played
in rhythm and was able to quickly decipher and distribute
(31:02):
the football right, and the Vikings run game inherently offers
some of those strengths. But I think he's got better
personnel here in Seattle with Kenneth Walker, Zach Sharbona, Damien
McIntosh and now Damien Martinez all polished outside zone runners.
And this is where Metcalf and cup the swap makes
sense because Metcalf, good as he is, has a limited
(31:22):
route tree, and I remember Dolphins fans talking about him
as a fit like, No, he never was, because he
doesn't run the routes we run effectively, doesn't transition out
of breaks effectively, doesn't settle himself into saft spots, doesn't
releverage properly. But Cooper cup is one of the greatest
route runers of all time who can do all those things,
and maybe the best run blocking receiver in the game
not named Hines Ward like in the history of the game,
(31:44):
which you know how valuable that is in this offense.
And then I think Jackson Smith and Jigba is poised
for stardom, but they have to be better on the
offensive line, like way better they played most of the
year without Lucas and Cross. They'll get those guys back.
Zabel's a great start inside, but there's still some questions
about the other two spots, and in fact, Anthony Bradford's in
line right now as a starter, and Seahawks fans are
not going to want to hear that. Defensively, I think
(32:05):
this could be sneaky one of the best defenses in football.
Their corner play with Devon Witherspoon, Reek Wollen and Kobe
Bryant is really good. You drop e Man worry in.
There is a scheme fit that can kind of line
up all over the place, and how quickly he gets
acclimated could be a big part of how that defense
goes this year. And you pair that with Byron Murphy,
Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence Hankins, Jaron Reid up front like
(32:28):
have Mercy. It's a multifaceted sim pressure, aggressive, physical in
the secondary defense. Talking myself from the Seahawks here as well,
the question I genuinely am worried about replicating success for Donold.
That's the big question for this team this year. I
think that that book from those final two games and
how to shift and reroute and really disrupt his site
lines and lanes with pressure and well disguised zones is
(32:51):
something teams can hone in on him. And they're in
line to return two interior offensive line stars who quite frankly,
just did not play well last year, and I think
that has trapdoor potential there. Defensively, I would say depth
is the big question. But gosh, I love their scheme
and the first eleven to thirteen players or so on
that side of the football. The miscellaneous factors here, same
schedule deal as the rest of the division, and I
(33:12):
found this interesting, a tough building to play in. Right,
they're getting polished veterans in just about every home game
until like December. It's pretty than the Saints. But so
that doesn't count because it's probably going to be Rattler
or Jake Hayner and then Baker or wait, who else
did they draft sh I should probably look into that.
Who do they draft? Oh, Tyler Shook? That's right, that's right,
(33:33):
that's it's right, right, Yeah, it's a rookie, twenty five
year old rookie, Baker Stroud and then Kyler. Like, it's
all going to be polish quarterbacks. I think this team
could start slow and finish strong as they find their
footing offensively, and with that schedule, the trap doors narrow.
The offensive line has some of the same hatches as
last year. If they lose a piece or two, and look,
I think Sam was awesome last year, but a one
(33:54):
year outlier, changing cities. It's a similar scheme, but no
two schemes are the same. I think you have to
consider that potential for that not working, but I'd be
very intrigued at the idea of mil Row makes for
a fun team. The conclusion here, I do think all
four teams in this division are going to be in
the playoff hunt come like mid December. But I think
there's a decent gap between LA and San Francisco and
(34:15):
then Seattle and Arizona. It's a well rounded division. A
year ago and I think at least three of the
teams got better. But also I think Gino was vastly underrated,
and sometimes you have to wear a little egg on
your face to realize what you had, not saying it
will happen, but I do think we could look back
and say, hey, we had a pretty good quarterback previously.
Should have hung on to that guy. Let's close it
up here in the desert with the Cardinals. The change
(34:36):
is big year for Jonathan again and that staff. Third
year of the build, it looked like they were starting
to turn the corner after a surprisingly good first year.
They were picked to be a last team and they
only won four games, but they were competitive in a
lot of games down the stretch, including a game where
they almost beat the Eagles. When they did beat the
Eagles in twenty twenty three, I forget and that upturn
start with back to back wins last year over the
(34:57):
Chargers and then against US with Tua coming back. Hey,
Jordan Poyer, just catch the freaking pick and run it
back for six. They went on to beat the Bears
and Jets to get to six and three, and then
proceeded to lose five of their next six and they
finished eight to nine. Two losses of the Seahawks and
then the Panthers at on the road. That has to
haunt those fans still to this day. So Gannon, Drew Petzing,
(35:18):
and Nick Rayless are all back. They lost a key
part to an injury this spring and Sean Murphy bunting,
but the losses in a free agency weren't that many.
Julian o'quara, Roy Lopez, and Chris Tonga. They brought in
Josh Sweat, Mike helt Walker, Jalen Jones, Barren Browning, Dalvin Thomlinson,
a Keem Davis Gathier, and Kalais Campbell. That's a lot
of lot of names to add to that defense, so
(35:39):
a lot of help in the pass rush department. They
also add Jacoby Brissett to back up Kyler. Jake Briskett
back in Arizona. Their first five picks were on defense,
Walter Nolan, Will Johnson, Jordan Burch, Cody Simon, and Denzel Burke.
They told you what they had to get better at
this year, right it was the defense. The film the
calling card. Trey McBride talked about the third year in
the system coming with more window dressing and the same
(36:02):
concepts they've run in the past, just dressed up differently,
and that looks like they're gonna get a lot of
heavy looks to run the ball and then utilize those
players in the passing game. They had two hundred pass
targets last year, go to McBride and Connor. They're tight
end and running back. After Marvin's Marvin Junior's one hundred
and sixteen of Michael Wilson's seventy one targets. That was
pretty much it. It's a four player passing game, but they
(36:23):
want to play the game from those twelve groupings one
tight end or one running back, two tight ends and
let Kyler's escapability get him on the edge and try
to find the big plays. Hunting the passing game or
with his legs. That way, they don't allow a ton
of sacks. As a result, They've got a nice rpo
game with design quarterback runs that kind of holds that
pass rush at bay, which is a good wrinkle off
(36:43):
of what they do from their bread and butter. But yeah,
it's a pretty good skill group. They brought back Kelvin
Beacham for what feels like his ninety eighth season. Evan
Brown's back, Jonah Williams is supposed to be healthy for
the first time in a while. Halty Froholdt is the
best center you have not heard of, and I'm really
curious to see what we get from Paris Johnson this season.
I love that they get Josh Sweat because he was
the guy that kind of helped Gannon and Realis accomplish
(37:05):
what they did with the Eagles. Ideally, they want to
play coverage. They'll incorporate some fire zones. They want to
rush for and play seven and coverage with a variety
of zones. On the back end. They keep the roof
on the defense and play from two deep almost all
the time. And yes, they'll obviously move Buddha Baker about
the formation, but they want to defend the run with
their defensive line and linebackers, and I think I'm getting
(37:26):
Raylists right. I could be pronouncing that wrong. I am
aware of that. They add Kalayis Campbell, Walter Nolan, Dallan Thomason,
and LJ. Collier to go along with Justin Jones, Blala
Nichols and Darius Robinson. So that tells me they want
to get big and physical and have two gappers and
then let a guy like Walter Nolan use his rare,
rare twitch to get upfield as a one tech and
a three tech on that defense. They signed Cody Simon
(37:47):
and MIKEL. Walker, and with Baron Browning they have a
nice edge group there. I love Baron Browning's game on
the back end. Baker and Geleen Thompson are in elite
safety combo. Go Koug's not go Huskies. The UWWSHU backfield
back there. If they can get Will Johnson up to speed,
who is just a great zone corner in college but
already has injuries he's dealing with again, which sounds like
(38:08):
kind of a thing for him. With Max Melton and
Garrett Williams. Probably some cornerbacks you aren't familiar with their names,
but they have some pretty good game there with Jalen Jones.
They can have a nice group back there. The questions here, Honestly,
I think this is a pretty good team. They need
that offensive structure and that quarterback to take a big step.
They have the pieces and the scheme to I think
mask what would be construed as a weak spot on
(38:28):
the offensive line, and they have the parts there too.
I think you're relying on a lot of first year
players to be studs on that defense, and that can work,
but it could go belly up as well. The miscellaneous
factors here, the de facto schedule comment. Losing Murphy Bunting
already is a killer for that defense. And man, this
is six tough division games. If they were in the South,
(38:49):
I'd call him a lock for the playoffs, but it's
tough sledding out here in the West. The trapdoor scenario.
Kyler has some injuries in the past, but he's also
a sort of plateaued down the stretch. They used think
it was Cliff Kingsbury's FAO, but Kingsbury got over it
last year in Washington, Kyler did not had the same face,
so curious to see how that goes this year, they
have to find a way to fight through that wall.
And then the injuries on the offensive line cost some concern,
(39:11):
and then the melding of a bunch of new parts
that can be risky on defense. Maybe it's maybe it's
something that Gannon if it doesn't go well this year,
doesn't get a chance to see through. When we see
this team kind of explode into a new coach like
that could possibly happen. It happens all the time. Right
the conclusion improved good team, tough division, with an easier
schedule than last year. But it's all going to come
down to those six divisional games. You won't make the
playoffs doing anything worse than three and three division superlatives.
(39:35):
I have the Niners right now. That could change. Right now,
I'm going Niners as the winner. The best quarterback is
Matthew Stafford. The best non quarterback is still Christian McCaffrey,
even off the injury, although Pooka Nakula says, what's up
a best defensive player? I'm gonna go Boodh Baker after
last year over Fred Warner, but I could easily switch
those two. The best coach that's to me is Shanahan,
(39:55):
the best rookie. I'm gonna go graz Abel for the Seahawks,
and the best under the radar stuff from Washington State
Jalen Thompson. I almost put fro Holt there, but yeah,
close enough. We'll go with the Cardinals safety from WSU.
Go Kooks. All right, there you go. Podcast done, two
divisions done, a couple player interviews done. We're gonna come
back next Tuesday and do the AFC South. We'll talk
about the Colts, the Dolphins Week one opponent, plus we'll
(40:17):
have some more player interviews on that podcast as well.
But until then, you will please be sure to enjoy
your summer. On that Tuesday, I'm supposed to be at
the hospital give welcome to my daughter to the world,
So uh yeah, that's where I'll be there and bring
in podcasts to you guys every Tuesday and Friday all
the way up until the week of training camp. Until then,
you all please be sure subscribe, rate, review the podcast,
(40:38):
follow me on social at winked NFL, the team at
Miami Dolphins. Check out the YouTube channel for drave time content,
Dolphins HQ, media availabilities, and so much more, and last
but not least Miami Dolphins dot Com Until next time,
Caroline Caperin Daddy, He's already home.
This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield Again. You're damn Ryot's
Draft Time with Travis Wingfield. What is up? And Welcome
into the Draft Time Podcast. I am your aforementioned host,
Travis Wingfield, and on today's show, we are two episodes
(00:20):
into the summer content series. Your boy is officially on
paternity leave. If it sounds different, I am recording from
my home studio, so no more from the Baptist Health
Studios on the podcast, but I'm gonna say it anyways,
just to give you guys a heads up, we have
Bradley Chubb on the podcast today, probably the best interview
I had of the sixteen you're gonna hear over the
(00:41):
course of the summer. Plus we're previewing more NFL divisions today.
The NFC West goes under the clock under the microscope.
I don't know why I said clock. From the Travis
Wingfield Studios inside the Travis Wingfield Homestead. This is the
Draft Time Podcast. Let's go ahead and jumps to art
this thing. Kick it off with some juice. Bradley Chubb,
(01:02):
he is the man. He is back. He's gonna wreak
havoc on opposing quarterbacks this season. But first he talked
to me. Joining us today on the Draft Time podcast
is Dolphins outside linebacker Bradley Chubb. Be Chubb. What's up, man,
It's really good to see you and talk to you.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Yes, they're good to see as well. Man, feel good,
glad to be here.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
You talked you had your first media availability and sometime
a little bit ago. But I kind of want to
just you know, repeat that here. Just talk to us
a little bit about the process and where you are
mentally physically today.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
Yeah. Man, it's a long process. When you know, when
people tell you, oh, trust the process and everything's greatness
comes on the other side of the work and all that,
it's easy to be like, okay, yeah, I hear you.
But when you actually got to live in and go
through it, you see it full full face, you know
what I mean. And having to go through those hard times.
You know you have your support system, but you know
nobody's going to do the hard work for you. Nobody's
(01:50):
gonna hold your hand while you do things. So going
through it and making the mistakes and you know, coming
back on the other side and seeing the games and
all that, it's a it's a beautiful thing. And when
you sit back and look at it. I'm grateful to
be where I am now. I'm a really good headspace
now compared to where I was when I first started.
So it's a it's a beautiful journey, but I'm glad
(02:11):
I am where I am now.
Speaker 1 (02:11):
Stuff like that makes you appreciate even even the lows
right of that entire process because it shapes you into
who you are really.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
One hundred percent. It's about how you respond. Everything is
about how you respond. In life and college, we had
a E plus our equals our was our mantra, event
plus reaction egals outcome. So each everything is something's gonna
happen each and every day is about how you react
to it and how you respond to it.
Speaker 1 (02:34):
How's it failed to get it back on the field.
I know you had the practices last December, but how's
it felt to be out there for OTAs?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
It feels amazing because like you said, the practice is
kind of I'll still put my foot in the water
trying to figure out, Oh, how's it feeling, how's this?
What's the call? But like you know, having a year
and a defense, sitting back and understanding the defense and
understanding the guys getting to know him on the personal
level instead of just the football level. So when I
am on the field, it's more of that brotherhood that
we've been you know, chasing and looking for. So it's
(02:59):
been fun, man's and amazing just to kind of like
just be around the guys go through those hard times,
like those tough workouts and those hot, hot practices, because
on the sideline saying oh yeah, it's hot out here,
VERSU actually going through it. You know, with the guys,
it's a whole other level of respect and the level
of a love. So it's been great.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Man. You just feel like you don't have the proper
voice when you're not in it right.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Right, because no matter what your accolades are, no matter
who you are, people gonna be like, okay, you do it,
like I'm not here doing it, You're not doing it
with us. So just being able to do it with
the guys, it's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:29):
When you take that much time down, and I mean
every football player has gone through an injury, and it's
a serious injury. For the most part, you always learn
a lot about yourself. But I'm curious because you know,
and I'll relay football back to golf. Like I always
do on the show. The fans are probably stick of
hearing it by now. But if I take a week
off or a month off, especially like I almost have
to kind of retrain the swing. Is it similar in
terms of football technique? Like what was it like to
(03:51):
get back on the field, because obviously you're you're you're
repairing like the muscle and the tendon and everything, and
then you're trying to get back into football shape and
it's time to actually go play football. Like how long
is take to ramp up to get back to where
you were from the technique and fundamental stuff.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Yeah, Man, I feel like that just comes with reps,
and I'm still going through those reps. I'm still trying
to find how I stepped in this certain situation and
stuff like that. I find my foot and so I
feel like that's one of those things. It's not gonna
be a finished, polished product until after training camp, after
you know, getting those lives of tackling guys and going
to the ground and finishing on the quarterback. So I'm
(04:24):
still got a little ways to go, and I'm excited
to go through that journey and find out the new
player I'm gonna become you know what I mean. But
like you said, man, if you take a week, a
year or whatever, however long off. Like another thing my
college coach us to always say the skills, use them
or lose them, Like you're either gonna use them every
day or you're not gonna use them at all, and
you're gonna lose everything that you work for. So being
down trying to stay on top of the little things.
(04:45):
But you know, it's hard when you limit it. But
this whole off season and as I've been like towards
the end of the season, getting back into the groove
of things, and this all seasons been been great for
doing that.
Speaker 1 (04:55):
Yeah, I'm so excited to watch you and the entire
Edge group play and I kind of feel like, you know,
it's it's funny you guys are the Edge group because
I feel like there's an edge to you guys based
upon recent experiences. How excited you for this group to
come out, because it seems, you know, last year JP
was coming back, you were coming back. We didn't know
what it's gonna look like. And Jalen goes down again
and that that just sucks so bad. How do you
think that kind of the way the last few years
(05:17):
have gone for you, guys can kind of shape the
group this year, if that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
Man, shape it. I mean, like you said, we got
an edge to us. Everybody in there has, you know,
been through adversity, been told they can't do something, been
through an injury. So everybody's just hungry to go in
there and prove not only people wrong. It's not about that,
but proving ourselves right, knowing what we can do. And
you know, we talked all the time about how we
want to be the engine for the team and how
it starts and ends with us. But you know you
(05:41):
can't just talk that. You got to practice it each
and every day. And that's what the guys in that
room do. Man. We push each other to be great,
and we put each other to be better than we
were yesterday, you know. And that's one thing that's specially
about that room and that I love so much, is
just everybody's hungry. Everybody's loving of each other and wanting
to see the other one win.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
And Coach Crow kind of facilitates all that, right, He's
the guy that brings you all together for.
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Sure, brings us together. Man, finds ways to make learning
fun finds ways to make competition fun, you know what
I mean. And he's been a great ad to the
room for sure.
Speaker 1 (06:10):
So one of the guys that I mean, Chop, I'll
just go ahead and say him off the top, Chop.
Robinson has talked about you and JP a lot in
terms of the tute legit mentorship. What have you seen
from him in terms of not just the physical skills
which are obvious to all of us, but the way
he approaches the game and leans on you guys.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, he approaches it like he's a season vet man.
And to see a young guy have so much love
and so much care for the game, and like so
much care for the technique and the little things about
the game, it's dope to see because you know, you
see him getting better each and every week as well,
like throughout the season where he was in training camp
versus where he was week eighteen, was a whole different player.
And to see him during these OTAs now moving around,
(06:45):
it's like, bro, I told him, you're gonna have a
long career in this league. Gonn make a lot of money.
It's gonna be a lot of good things. To continue
to do what you're doing and never let up, you
know what I mean. And he's been doing that and
it's been great to see.
Speaker 1 (06:56):
That's good news for him and Dolphins fans. Bradley. I
want to go back to something that you and I
have discussed off the record a few times, and it's
my favorite highlight. I think of like the draft process
of all time. I showed it to you one time,
to flop right, the famous flop and the three rollover
and you get the flag and the end zone. You
pulled the flag out of the raft that day. Take
me through that? Is that like something that you like,
(07:17):
You just kind of like you're serious about your game obviously,
but you can joke in the moment as well.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
No, for sure, and especially in college man I was.
I was a loose cannon man, be mad and be happy.
I was all over the place. And that was one
of those things. We were playing Syracuse. I was having
a decent game, so I wasn't like so like, oh
I got to do this and do that, you know,
And we got down to the end zone and I
forgot what the play was, but I was doing something
extra in the office. A lineman pushed me. I said, oh,
(07:42):
this is my chance. I don't know what I'm gonna do,
but I could try to get a flag or something.
And so I flopped the first time in a flag,
and so I rolled over and I saw like my
teammates playing into us. I just kept rolling over, you
know what I mean, and ended up getting a flag,
which was crazy. I don't know how I got the flag,
but a shame on that office of the line and
for pushing me.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Hey, he picked the wrong one correct. So that that
just kind of takes me to my last question here
about like personality and sports, because you know, I grew
up in an era where it was like serious and
you're you're dialed in and you need to be locked
in all times obviously, but I do have gotten to
a place where personalities and the people can kind of
show more in modern sports than they used to. How
do you feel about that? And like how does that
(08:19):
kind of match who you are?
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah? For sure, I don't. I don't know if it's
ever been a time where I've been so serious and
locked in on sports, Like I've always approached it as
a game and you know, and having fun doing it,
and I feel like that's when I'm my best, So, uh,
you know, in the past, you know, people like get serious,
were trying to do this, like it's a level of
seriousness that you have to have. But at the end
(08:41):
of the day, you know, it's it's a it's a
child's game that we get to. You can't be too
serious about your life, you know what I mean, can't
take stuff too serious. It's a child's game that we
get to do at a high level. Yes, but it's
a child's game, you know what I mean. And if
you go about it with a frowny face and trying
to be locked in and all this, it's I feel
like it takes away from that, from the joy and
stuff like that. But like I said, there's a level
(09:01):
of here that you do have to have for sure,
to approach each and every day. And it's just finding
the balance.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
You know.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
It can't be too silly and can't be too serious.
Just about finding the balance.
Speaker 1 (09:10):
Yeah, that makes perfect sense. It seems like we have
the coaching staff in place that understands how that all
that kind of goes together. What excites you last question
for you here, Bradley, what excites you most about this
upcoming season?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Man? Just the doubt that we're getting from the outside.
That's what excites me most because it's not even like
we harp on it in here, but like it's a
known thing, like we feel it, we feel the doubt,
we feel the oh this team hasn't the Dolphins organization
hasn't won a playoff game, and yet we feel that,
you know what I mean. And it's not like we're
making a big deal out of it, but everybody's working
(09:41):
towards to changing that. And that's what I love about it. Man.
Nobody's front running, nobody's doing anything. Everybody's just putting their
head down, getting to work, and we're sticking together early.
This is the earliest I've seen a group come together,
and it's been dope to see. So I have real
high hopes for the team, man, and I hope that
we could do what we know we.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Can do if I could just fall up on that
real quick. Us. The value of that of all the
guys being in here compared to where it's maybe not
as well attended.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Yeah, it's huge value to it, especially when you're a
team like us man trying to find trying to find
that last little piece. Because we've been to the playoffs,
we've been on the edge of winning the game. But
we haven't done that yet, so it's easy to we'll
figure it out when camp comes out. It's hard to
lean into it, figure out what the problem is and
how we can how we can fix it, and to
(10:26):
do it this early is amazing too. So it's been
great to have everybody here. Man. You know, guys missed
a day or two, but for the most part, it's
been perfect attendance. So it's been it's been amazing.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
Dolphins alsodlinebacker Belly Chub. Appreciate you, man, thank you.
Speaker 2 (10:37):
I appreciate you.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Kyle Crabs is a great film. Watch on him on
his Patreon CHANNELF you haven't checked it out, go ahead
and do it. Because he talked about how Beachub can
really give this defense some juice and something they didn't
have last year in more depth at that edge position
and give the Dolphins waves of pass rush. We saw
Chop kind of be the four front guy in that group.
Obviously Zach and Kalay has big, big pieces inside, but
(10:59):
to build a get JP and Beachubb back out there
with Zach and now KG, I'm looking forward to it.
All right, We're gonna take a break right here. Come back,
and then we have As you guys know, the division
previews are long, so we'll do that over the course
of two segments. That's Next Draft Time podcast, brought to
you by Auto Nation. I love this time of year
for multiple reasons. One, the golf swing kind of getting
(11:21):
back on track here a little bit gonna be going
away for a while. Those I'll probably lose that as
I say hello to my third child. We still are
undecided on the name as of today, and she is
coming next week, so we will see what it comes
out to be. I have my pick, wife has her pick.
We have to find out who wins that power struggle.
But this time of year gives me a chance to
go look at all thirty two teams, well thirty one
(11:42):
because I look at the Dolphins pretty much every single day,
and I love it because it teaches me things like this.
We're gonna kick this off in the NFC West here
with the San Francisco forty nine ers, and I think
the Niners are going to be as we review their
changes here off the top a sort of litmus test
for something that has sort of slid for me as
a football analyst over the last couple of seasons. We
(12:04):
get all excited about these potential upstart teams, and who
knows that better than Dolphins fans over the last you know,
twenty years. I guess the twenty and six team you
thought was gonna be that team, right with Dante Colepepper.
I think twenty was it twenty fifteen after the Kenny
Stills trade with Ryan Tannehill coming off a great year
under Bill Laser, the kind of felt the same way
(12:24):
the twenty seventeen team, maybe not justified in that, but
coming off a playoff year with Tannehill in the first
year of Adam Gase. You get these you know, contingencies
of the football cognacenti. Who pushes their chips at the
center of the table on those teams, and then what
happens You have an unproven head coaching quarterback combination that
doesn't unseat the ones that we've seen with proof of concept.
(12:47):
The Bears last year are a great example of that.
The Jets each of the last two years are a
great example of that because who could have possibly seen
Nathaniel Hackett's offense not clicking and vibing and making Aaron Rodger,
who's been an MVP quarterback for as recently as three
or four years ago, not play that great a football.
And so where everyone fades the Niners this year, and
(13:08):
where everyone's kind of fading the forty nine ers, your
boy's gonna double down this year, if you will on
Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purty. I almost said Kyle Perty.
I went to high school with Kyle Purty. That kind
of threw me off there. Let's go ahead and get
to the changes here for this team, though they are
vast Robert sala is back. I like that fit for
him a lot. I think he's one of the best
moves any team made this offseason. Clay Kubiak, not Clint Kubiak,
(13:33):
but Clay gets a promotion to the offensive cordator position,
the first time Shanahan has had an OC since twenty
twenty one. Go ahead and raise your hands. Anybody out
there in the class know who that was. Mike McDaniel.
Kubiak was a past game specialist last after coaching the
quarterbacks there in San Francisco. Now the personnel changes. Brace
yourself because there are so many names in here. Gone
(13:55):
are Traverius Ward, He's out the door. Dre Greenlaw's out
the door, Javon Hargrave, Malite Collins, Isaac Yadam Rakya, Sin
Talanoah Hufonga, Elijah Mitchell, Deebo Samuel Aaron Banks, Jordan Mason,
Jalen Moore, Charlie Heck. These are the guys that have
all started games for the Niners. Some of those guys
are star players you know about, and free agency wasn't
(14:17):
about the brand names for them. Akin to how your
Miami Dolphins approached this offseason. They did snag Richie Grant,
the former Falcon safety Mac Jones to back up Brock Purty.
DeMarcus Robinson's a nice little sneaky deep receiver room addition
there for them. Andre Dillard go Koog's has not worked
out into the NFL career, and former Dolphins Sir Ran
Neil the film for the Niners. They're calling cards. So, Travis,
(14:40):
why are you so bullish on this football team that's
lost so much star talent? Because I believe in the
system and the quarterback and guess what, they still have
some absolute friggin studs there. This reminds me of the
Patriots will lose talent. Well, that's a bad comparison, but
the Patriots were a team that used to always lose
talent every year. And you boy at like eighteen years
old going on message boards saying this is the Dolphins overtake.
(15:03):
You like I was wrong, and that's how it usually goes.
But it's essentially a copy paste of the Dolphins, right.
Getting Christian McCaffrey back for them, I would say, is
akin to us landing Jonas savit Naya and James Daniels
in terms of the boost of the running game. And
then you get the matchup coverage declaration with horizontal stress
and creates windows in which Brock can play point and
(15:24):
shoot quarterback and just keep that thing rolling. He's only
going to get better as he goes along. It's how
these quarterbacks that play on anticipation and processing operate. I
think you'll see them back in more favorable down in
distances and get their efficiency back rolling. Sound familiar, and
I know he kind of worked us, But Deebo Samuels
to Samuel is not Samuels. Samuel is to me additioned
(15:46):
by subtraction for that offense because he's gotten slow and
he requires a high volume of targets to be productive.
And that's just not how this offense works. Just getting
Trent Williams and McCaffrey back on the field were the
biggest additions this team could possibly make. But they also
hit last year on Dominic Puney, a guy that when
I asked Daniel Jeremiah at his annual draft press conference,
(16:08):
who's a good interior offensive line fit for the Dolphins,
he said, Dominic Puney. The Niners snatch him up and
he goes on to be a really good player for them.
I think Spencer Berferd, Jake Brendle, Colton mckivitz. It's not
an eye popping offensive line, but they've gone to the
Super Bowl with pretty much the same offensive line, and
that's when they're healthy. There's value in that continuity there
as well. Brandon Ayuk is healthy, George Kittle, if he's healthy,
(16:31):
is George Kittle. Ricky Piersol is not going to have
to recover from a freaking gunshot wound this year. Juwan
Jennings is a guy that we talked about as a
possible restricted free agent addition should he shake free from
San Francisco a couple of years ago. That with the
addition of Robinson Russell, Gage there's some good route runners
and guys that can get open and find those soft
spots for pretty to point and shoot, and they're going
(16:51):
to score points. I think if all those guys are healthy,
and then defensively, we have proof of concept here with
Ta Tada, and I think the way he balanced the
Shanahan as akin to how we even McDaniel co exists
so well done here in em and he's so and
he's still got Fred Warner. So I think their first
two picks, Mikel Williams and Alfred Collins are going to
be studds in that defense. To me, Mikel's a dark
(17:12):
horse for defensive Rookie of the Year. I just think
that he's was slept on heavily in the draft process.
I love the Bryce Huff trade. I was a big
fan of CJ. West out of Indiana in the draft process.
And now Nick Bosa's back, and I think there's some
unknown in the secondary, but I trust this coaching staff
on defense as well as the offense to put up
twenty eight plus points per game. The question is the
(17:33):
secondary and is it healthy? You know? Is really it's
really what comes down to this team is the entire
roster healthy, and how does the secondary kind of acclimate
here this season. I think they have the parts to
play that Sola aggressive scheme and really ease some stress
on that back end. But there would could be some
deep teams that stress their matchups, like, for instance, the
(17:54):
team that we just talked to, or we're going to
talk about here in a second, the La Rams. But
really it's keeping McCaffrey, Kittle, Williams, Yuke on the field.
If they have those four and their quarterback. There's not
a lot of teams I would pick to beat the
Niners on any given Sunday. The miscellaneous factors here this
gets repetitive, but the health of the football team, right,
But also Shanahan discussed the deep runs and quick turnarounds
and the overall fatigue of this team, which you can say, hey,
(18:17):
look at the Chiefs the last eight years. They don't
get fatigue. They go to the super Bowl every single year,
but the Niners don't have to. You know, they were
able to rest and recover all of January because they
make the playoffs last year. And we've seen this movie
several times. The Niners have down years solely because of injuries,
and the next year, they're back to twelve plus wins.
I also think they're going to start four to zero
at Seattle and then the Saints, then home for Arizona
(18:40):
and Jacksonville before a big TNF showdown against the Rams.
At worst, that's three and one going into a massive
divisional game there. And they pivot this year to the
NFC South, which is, you know, to me, four teams
that are all gettable coming off of a schedule last
year that was much tougher the trapdoor scenario this year,
now there's this pretty significant the names I just gave you. Williams, mccare,
Affrey Kittle, and Ayuk Mistate combined thirty one games last year.
(19:03):
That's the trap door. The conclusion, I mean, I feel
like we kind of talked about it already, but very
very bullish on the Niners on this team, privy to
the pitfalls that they could face. All in all, I
think the West is the most likely division to produce
three playoff teams, because again we'll talk about it with
every single one of them. Just look at their schedules,
and the Niners get to play the fourth place schedule,
(19:23):
which is the Bears compared to the Lions and the
Giants compared to the Eagles in the East. That alone
could be a two game swing, and that helps me
push them over the goal line as a potential division winner.
Their biggest competition to me is the Los Angeles Rams.
Let's go ahead and review their changes from a personnel standpoint,
Those two games against these teams from California are going
to be pivotal this year in not just the NFC West,
(19:45):
but the NFC playoff pecking order and who might challenge
the Eagles and Commanders and the Lions this year. And
that fourth versus first place schedule I mentioned applies here
because the Rams are every bit as good as the Niners,
but they do have to play the Eagles and the
Lions compared to the Giants and the Bears. And the
Rams are also in a position I think the Niners
(20:05):
would like to get to in a year or two
with the trajectory of their team cycle. Right, They've entered
this new cycle, and the Niners are sort of beginning
that process of like soft reset, kind of you know,
unload some big name value talent and try to go
back to the draft and re establish our core with younger,
foundational pieces. But the Rams are already there and they're
(20:27):
loading up now with guys like Davante Adams. Coaching continuity.
Chris Shula was awesome last year. Mike Laflora is back
for a third season after a two year stint running
his system with the Jets and kind of you know,
trial and erring it there before coming back to McVeigh
and running it successfully here. He was also in San
Francisco four years prior to that. He also worked with
these guys in Atlanta and Cleveland. He's honestly kind of
(20:49):
the same track that McDaniels on a couple of years
ago SAMs. McDaniel never got fired from a job the
way Lafleur did leaving the Jets, leaving the tree right,
he left the trust Tree, got out of the Trust Tree,
the all of Garden, and he got fired for that.
I think DeVante Adams will be one of the biggest
additions anybody made this offseason, much like Salah for the
forty nine ers, him and Puka Nakua with a healthy
(21:10):
Matthew Stafford. I laugh because that and that run game.
Who buddy, I like this squad a lot they've spent
I like this guy. I really like this guy. They've
spent some time really fortifying the offensive line. Back to
the changes. They brought back two to at well to
give them three studs at wide receiver. They loved Terrence Ferguson.
I wasn't as crazy on him as they were, but
(21:32):
I trust them more than I trust me. And as
I was writing this, it was reported that Alaric Jackson
is dealing with blood clots once again, and I hope
he's okay, but that could be a big blow. They did, however,
bring in DJ Humphries, and that's a good fallback plan.
But you have to have three tackles, and if you're
already down one here in June, like, at some point,
you're gonna have to play like a rookie in that
spot because they don't have anything else besides that for
(21:53):
left tackle, right tackle, or for the swing tackle. I
should say, honestly, there's not a ton outside of Adams
the changes. They're such a young team. They can kind
of press forward with the progression of the incumbents and
some rookie contract players that are absolute studs. It's what
allows them to go get DeVante Adams and his big contract.
They did swop out Bobby Brown, a guy that we
highlight as a possible Dolphins fit for poona Ford who's
(22:15):
even better in my opinion. They lost Michael Hoyt, who
was really good for them, a guy that popped off
the tape last year watching the Rams in preparation for
that Monday night football game. Same deal with Christian rose Boom.
They also lost Cooper Cup, but I think that he's
kind of taken a step back. Jona Jackson was available
for trade. He goes to the Bears. Hunter Long is gone,
and DeMarcus Robinson, as we talked about, has gone up
north to sand in front of Soisco the film, you
(22:38):
know the drill for the calling card here, horizontal stretch,
displace the passing windows and attack aggressively. However, they made
a pivot a couple of years ago with more stature
inside and the incorporation of more inside zone and duo
with a back who excels at what at that but
doesn't lose anything when they go to their bread and butter,
which is outside zone. Kyron Williams is just another one
(23:02):
of the embarrassments of riches they have with the skill
spots here and then Matthew Stafford. People sleep for some reason,
and he's had some years like maybe hasn't been as
consistent year to year as the Lamars and Josh's and
Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrows of the world, although Burrows
had some inconsistent years too, But he's still a top
what seven quarterback at worst, Like I would say two
(23:23):
was like right behind Stafford my pecking order, and I'd
say Stafford's in that seven to eight range. And that's
why I'm still so geeked over the tape that we
had defensively last November. We stomped out a pretty good
offense that day, and a good quarterback Adams gives them
just a field flipper they didn't have in the past. Though.
I don't know how you contend with their power run game,
their wide run game covering two guys that require double
(23:46):
teams and Adams and the Kua with the fastest player
on the field not getting any help because you're not
gonna help on at Well, then you've got Tyler Higbee.
Then you've got this guy. They apparently were like, you know,
they thought he was the key to unlocking the offense.
Further in terres Ferguson, it's just too much. This might
be my Super Bowl pick if I don't pick them
to lose to the Niers in the division. I'm having
a tough time with that right now. Today, I think
(24:07):
the most impressive thing about Chris Shula is the way
his scheme was able to grow and adapt with the
roster that was similar. Now they'll be able to bank
on experience of last season and having those highs and
lows because they had some games where it just wasn't
very good, and having that further along starting point to
kick things off. Like we talked about for coach Weaver
here and the Dolphins defense, they'll play out of a
lot of odd fronts, which inherently helps shore up inside
(24:30):
gaps because of the presence of the nose tackle, but
because of their athletic ability, they can really do more
true one gapping off a traditional two gap look. They
play that three three five look with gap and a
half philosophy, which has some aggression to it, but you
also have to play discipline. But one of the questions
will be how they replace Hoyt and rose Boom in
that second level. Jared Verse, I remember talking to toront
(24:51):
Armstad about him after that game last year, and he
was like, dude, they might have another Aaron donald Enuff
said there, Braden Fisk had a great first year and
Kobe Turner's probably the better of the three players since
he got in the league. They mixed their coverages pretty evenly,
including a ton of hybrid coverages, which is why you've
heard them attached to Ramsey again, because that's kind of
what Ramsey's bread and butter in is when he's not,
(25:13):
you know, being displeased where he is. After a year
and a half, Omar Spates and Srey Troy Reider figured
to step in an inside linebacker. And that's kind of
a question mark there because those were rotational pieces last year.
Now they might be starting or playing more significant roles there.
They stole a Kello Witherspoon from the Niners. They brought
Darius Williams back, and Cameron Curls a pretty versatile, nice
piece in the safe in the safety room there. The
(25:34):
other positions are up for competition come camp, and the
question here is I kind of keep spoiling them ahead
of the time. But the secondary right, this is not
just a Dolphins thing. Across the league man like defensive backs.
As we get this receiver boom and run. You're going
to see less defensive backs because those are the same
body types and archityps archetypes, and all these college players
and high schoolers are going after receiver jobs and leaving
(25:57):
corners and safeties out there that there's one enough of them.
The supply and demand is not enough. How they continue
their momentum though with a young defense after an impressive
showing in the first year under Chrishula. That's kind of
the key here the question, right, But man, that offense,
you guys know, I subscribe to the idea that a
great offense that scores twenty eight points a game is
going to win you at least ten games. But I
(26:18):
think the odds are this defense will be pretty good too,
And I think how good they are will tell us
how far they will go. The miscellaneous factors, the continuity,
the weapons. This probably has a chance to be the
best team in the NFC, even with some questions at
a few spots in that defense. That schedule I think
is going to help them cruise to eleven plus wins.
They have a stretch beginning in week seven where it
(26:38):
goes Jags, buy Saints, Niners, Seahawks, Bucks, Panthers, Cardinals. Only
one of those teams won more than seven games a
year ago. The trapdoor scenario. We saw what happened when
Stafford got hurt in twenty two. McVeigh had that burnout
around that time, but has proven his reinvigoration of the game. Honestly,
I think there aren't many here for them. The continuity,
(26:59):
improved veteran talent with adaptable schemes to withstand attrition makes
the Rams one of the safest bets for the playoffs
in twenty twenty five. Sands the quarterback getting hurt. That's
the case for every team across the league. The conclusion
great coaching, great quarterback, very good roster, adaptable approach, softer
schedule than last year. Outside of Philly in the NFC,
I don't think there's a more sure thing to go
to the playoffs than the Rams. Saquon did run for
(27:22):
two fifty five and two to oh five in the
two games against them last year. They have to shore
that up. Okay, last break, Right there, We're deep into
the show already, Seahawks and Cardinals. That's next Draft Time podcast,
brought to you by Auto Nation. Back to the two
oh six, the four two five, the two five three.
That's the Pacific Northwest, the Seattle area for my hometown Seahawks,
(27:46):
not anymore three oh five b B actually nine to
five to four. I'm whn talking about the changes for
the Seahawks here. The biggest one occurs at offensive coordinator.
As they went I guess somewhat experimental last year calling
up Ryan Grubb from the college game that you go Kooks,
but that's not the same college. Just fyi. I get
people tell me, I'm like, oh, you a Husky. It
got drafted by the team. You're excited about that. No,
(28:08):
I'm a Washington State couper, not a University of Washington husky.
Just fyi. But they've pivoted since that to Clint Kubiak,
which I talked about Klay Kubiak for the Niners, and
the same structure that we have here in Miami that
Shanahan Tree offense, McDonald Tree defense. Right, Kubiak had all
the magic working in the first two games last year
with the Saints. We have a Louisiana native in our
(28:29):
staff who was very excited about the Saints two and
oh start last year. I said, just just temper your expectations.
Dimper them a little bit. But prior to the car injury,
you know, they were, they were rolling offensively, and then
things began to get sideways pretty quick. But that comes
with a new system and plenty of personnel changes to
go along with it, and not too often do we
get this type of veteran movement at the position. Not
(28:50):
anymore anyway. I'm old enough to remember when the teams
traded guys like Donald McNabb to an Indivision rival, or
Jay Cutler got traded like it doesn't really happen that
way anymore. But Gino Smith got traded here and Sam
Darnold signed to the Seahawks, and they drafted Jalen Milroe,
and the Seahawks have already communicated they have a plan
to use certain packages for Jaln Milrow to get playing
(29:11):
time as a rookie. I don't think it's that crazy
that there's a scenario where Millo starts games for them,
but we'll talk about that more as we go along here.
They also moved dk Metcalf to the Steelers in a trade,
and they signed Cooper cup Davis High School in Yakam,
Washington shout out. They add Elijah Arroyo from the three
zho five in the draft to solidify their tight end position,
but also the interior offensive line, which they desperately needed.
(29:34):
To remember that game last year, Week three, the Dolphins
beat the crap out of the Seahawks offensive line. That
was the case for them all year long. They go
get grays Able to drink rainier beers. That's our Pacific
Northwest like bush light basically. And to me, in this draft,
there were two guards that were going to be Coggs
from day one. They were grays Able and this one
certain guy named jonas of I Naya. On defense, they
(29:54):
add to Marcus Lawrence, They extended Ernest Jones after a
mid season trade from Tennessee. They draft Nicky man Worri,
which you guys heard me talk about him as a
Dolphins fit, so of course he goes there. For Mike McDonald,
they brought back Jonathan Hankins, Jeron Reed, Donald, cup Lawrence.
With the big additions, they also added Josh Jones. That's
got to ease Seahawks fans minds a little bit. Last
year after losing Charles Cross and Abe Lucas, go Koog's
(30:19):
for big chunks of the season to have an actual
third tackle there. Remember, Josh Jones is a guy that
I thought was a fit for us, so that makes
a lot of sense that he goes to a Koubiak
system up there in Seattle. They lost Draymont Jones already, Burns,
Pharaoh Brown, Roy Robertson, Harris and Lake, and Tomlinson addition
to Gino and DK, so not crazy losses on the
film they're calling card. I am kind of curious to
(30:41):
see what it looks like on the surface. You had
Sam Donald last year go scorched earth on the entire league,
running a similar system with Kevin O'Connell, but the end
of their season and dealing with O line attrition. Actually,
let's go ahead and put a pin in that until
the questions portion. The strength is the way Sam played
in rhythm and was able to quickly decipher and distribute
(31:02):
the football right, and the Vikings run game inherently offers
some of those strengths. But I think he's got better
personnel here in Seattle with Kenneth Walker, Zach Sharbona, Damien
McIntosh and now Damien Martinez all polished outside zone runners.
And this is where Metcalf and cup the swap makes
sense because Metcalf, good as he is, has a limited
(31:22):
route tree, and I remember Dolphins fans talking about him
as a fit like, No, he never was, because he
doesn't run the routes we run effectively, doesn't transition out
of breaks effectively, doesn't settle himself into saft spots, doesn't
releverage properly. But Cooper cup is one of the greatest
route runers of all time who can do all those things,
and maybe the best run blocking receiver in the game
not named Hines Ward like in the history of the game,
(31:44):
which you know how valuable that is in this offense.
And then I think Jackson Smith and Jigba is poised
for stardom, but they have to be better on the
offensive line, like way better they played most of the
year without Lucas and Cross. They'll get those guys back.
Zabel's a great start inside, but there's still some questions
about the other two spots, and in fact, Anthony Bradford's in
line right now as a starter, and Seahawks fans are
not going to want to hear that. Defensively, I think
(32:05):
this could be sneaky one of the best defenses in football.
Their corner play with Devon Witherspoon, Reek Wollen and Kobe
Bryant is really good. You drop e Man worry in.
There is a scheme fit that can kind of line
up all over the place, and how quickly he gets
acclimated could be a big part of how that defense
goes this year. And you pair that with Byron Murphy,
Leonard Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence Hankins, Jaron Reid up front like
(32:28):
have Mercy. It's a multifaceted sim pressure, aggressive, physical in
the secondary defense. Talking myself from the Seahawks here as well,
the question I genuinely am worried about replicating success for Donold.
That's the big question for this team this year. I
think that that book from those final two games and
how to shift and reroute and really disrupt his site
lines and lanes with pressure and well disguised zones is
(32:51):
something teams can hone in on him. And they're in
line to return two interior offensive line stars who quite frankly,
just did not play well last year, and I think
that has trapdoor potential there. Defensively, I would say depth
is the big question. But gosh, I love their scheme
and the first eleven to thirteen players or so on
that side of the football. The miscellaneous factors here, same
schedule deal as the rest of the division, and I
(33:12):
found this interesting, a tough building to play in. Right,
they're getting polished veterans in just about every home game
until like December. It's pretty than the Saints. But so
that doesn't count because it's probably going to be Rattler
or Jake Hayner and then Baker or wait, who else
did they draft sh I should probably look into that.
Who do they draft? Oh, Tyler Shook? That's right, that's right,
(33:33):
that's it's right, right, Yeah, it's a rookie, twenty five
year old rookie, Baker Stroud and then Kyler. Like, it's
all going to be polish quarterbacks. I think this team
could start slow and finish strong as they find their
footing offensively, and with that schedule, the trap doors narrow.
The offensive line has some of the same hatches as
last year. If they lose a piece or two, and look,
I think Sam was awesome last year, but a one
(33:54):
year outlier, changing cities. It's a similar scheme, but no
two schemes are the same. I think you have to
consider that potential for that not working, but I'd be
very intrigued at the idea of mil Row makes for
a fun team. The conclusion here, I do think all
four teams in this division are going to be in
the playoff hunt come like mid December. But I think
there's a decent gap between LA and San Francisco and
(34:15):
then Seattle and Arizona. It's a well rounded division. A
year ago and I think at least three of the
teams got better. But also I think Gino was vastly underrated,
and sometimes you have to wear a little egg on
your face to realize what you had, not saying it
will happen, but I do think we could look back
and say, hey, we had a pretty good quarterback previously.
Should have hung on to that guy. Let's close it
up here in the desert with the Cardinals. The change
(34:36):
is big year for Jonathan again and that staff. Third
year of the build, it looked like they were starting
to turn the corner after a surprisingly good first year.
They were picked to be a last team and they
only won four games, but they were competitive in a
lot of games down the stretch, including a game where
they almost beat the Eagles. When they did beat the
Eagles in twenty twenty three, I forget and that upturn
start with back to back wins last year over the
(34:57):
Chargers and then against US with Tua coming back. Hey,
Jordan Poyer, just catch the freaking pick and run it
back for six. They went on to beat the Bears
and Jets to get to six and three, and then
proceeded to lose five of their next six and they
finished eight to nine. Two losses of the Seahawks and
then the Panthers at on the road. That has to
haunt those fans still to this day. So Gannon, Drew Petzing,
(35:18):
and Nick Rayless are all back. They lost a key
part to an injury this spring and Sean Murphy bunting,
but the losses in a free agency weren't that many.
Julian o'quara, Roy Lopez, and Chris Tonga. They brought in
Josh Sweat, Mike helt Walker, Jalen Jones, Barren Browning, Dalvin Thomlinson,
a Keem Davis Gathier, and Kalais Campbell. That's a lot
of lot of names to add to that defense, so
(35:39):
a lot of help in the pass rush department. They
also add Jacoby Brissett to back up Kyler. Jake Briskett
back in Arizona. Their first five picks were on defense,
Walter Nolan, Will Johnson, Jordan Burch, Cody Simon, and Denzel Burke.
They told you what they had to get better at
this year, right it was the defense. The film the
calling card. Trey McBride talked about the third year in
the system coming with more window dressing and the same
(36:02):
concepts they've run in the past, just dressed up differently,
and that looks like they're gonna get a lot of
heavy looks to run the ball and then utilize those
players in the passing game. They had two hundred pass
targets last year, go to McBride and Connor. They're tight
end and running back. After Marvin's Marvin Junior's one hundred
and sixteen of Michael Wilson's seventy one targets. That was
pretty much it. It's a four player passing game, but they
(36:23):
want to play the game from those twelve groupings one
tight end or one running back, two tight ends and
let Kyler's escapability get him on the edge and try
to find the big plays. Hunting the passing game or
with his legs. That way, they don't allow a ton
of sacks. As a result, They've got a nice rpo
game with design quarterback runs that kind of holds that
pass rush at bay, which is a good wrinkle off
(36:43):
of what they do from their bread and butter. But yeah,
it's a pretty good skill group. They brought back Kelvin
Beacham for what feels like his ninety eighth season. Evan
Brown's back, Jonah Williams is supposed to be healthy for
the first time in a while. Halty Froholdt is the
best center you have not heard of, and I'm really
curious to see what we get from Paris Johnson this season.
I love that they get Josh Sweat because he was
the guy that kind of helped Gannon and Realis accomplish
(37:05):
what they did with the Eagles. Ideally, they want to
play coverage. They'll incorporate some fire zones. They want to
rush for and play seven and coverage with a variety
of zones. On the back end. They keep the roof
on the defense and play from two deep almost all
the time. And yes, they'll obviously move Buddha Baker about
the formation, but they want to defend the run with
their defensive line and linebackers, and I think I'm getting
(37:26):
Raylists right. I could be pronouncing that wrong. I am
aware of that. They add Kalayis Campbell, Walter Nolan, Dallan Thomason,
and LJ. Collier to go along with Justin Jones, Blala
Nichols and Darius Robinson. So that tells me they want
to get big and physical and have two gappers and
then let a guy like Walter Nolan use his rare,
rare twitch to get upfield as a one tech and
a three tech on that defense. They signed Cody Simon
(37:47):
and MIKEL. Walker, and with Baron Browning they have a
nice edge group there. I love Baron Browning's game on
the back end. Baker and Geleen Thompson are in elite
safety combo. Go Koug's not go Huskies. The UWWSHU backfield
back there. If they can get Will Johnson up to speed,
who is just a great zone corner in college but
already has injuries he's dealing with again, which sounds like
(38:08):
kind of a thing for him. With Max Melton and
Garrett Williams. Probably some cornerbacks you aren't familiar with their names,
but they have some pretty good game there with Jalen Jones.
They can have a nice group back there. The questions here, Honestly,
I think this is a pretty good team. They need
that offensive structure and that quarterback to take a big step.
They have the pieces and the scheme to I think
mask what would be construed as a weak spot on
(38:28):
the offensive line, and they have the parts there too.
I think you're relying on a lot of first year
players to be studs on that defense, and that can work,
but it could go belly up as well. The miscellaneous
factors here, the de facto schedule comment. Losing Murphy Bunting
already is a killer for that defense. And man, this
is six tough division games. If they were in the South,
(38:49):
I'd call him a lock for the playoffs, but it's
tough sledding out here in the West. The trapdoor scenario.
Kyler has some injuries in the past, but he's also
a sort of plateaued down the stretch. They used think
it was Cliff Kingsbury's FAO, but Kingsbury got over it
last year in Washington, Kyler did not had the same face,
so curious to see how that goes this year, they
have to find a way to fight through that wall.
And then the injuries on the offensive line cost some concern,
(39:11):
and then the melding of a bunch of new parts
that can be risky on defense. Maybe it's maybe it's
something that Gannon if it doesn't go well this year,
doesn't get a chance to see through. When we see
this team kind of explode into a new coach like
that could possibly happen. It happens all the time. Right
the conclusion improved good team, tough division, with an easier
schedule than last year. But it's all going to come
down to those six divisional games. You won't make the
playoffs doing anything worse than three and three division superlatives.
(39:35):
I have the Niners right now. That could change. Right now,
I'm going Niners as the winner. The best quarterback is
Matthew Stafford. The best non quarterback is still Christian McCaffrey,
even off the injury, although Pooka Nakula says, what's up
a best defensive player? I'm gonna go Boodh Baker after
last year over Fred Warner, but I could easily switch
those two. The best coach that's to me is Shanahan,
(39:55):
the best rookie. I'm gonna go graz Abel for the Seahawks,
and the best under the radar stuff from Washington State
Jalen Thompson. I almost put fro Holt there, but yeah,
close enough. We'll go with the Cardinals safety from WSU.
Go Kooks. All right, there you go. Podcast done, two
divisions done, a couple player interviews done. We're gonna come
back next Tuesday and do the AFC South. We'll talk
about the Colts, the Dolphins Week one opponent, plus we'll
(40:17):
have some more player interviews on that podcast as well.
But until then, you will please be sure to enjoy
your summer. On that Tuesday, I'm supposed to be at
the hospital give welcome to my daughter to the world,
So uh yeah, that's where I'll be there and bring
in podcasts to you guys every Tuesday and Friday all
the way up until the week of training camp. Until then,
you all please be sure subscribe, rate, review the podcast,
(40:38):
follow me on social at winked NFL, the team at
Miami Dolphins. Check out the YouTube channel for drave time content,
Dolphins HQ, media availabilities, and so much more, and last
but not least Miami Dolphins dot Com Until next time,
Caroline Caperin Daddy, He's already home.
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