April 1, 2025 • 15 mins
Host Eric Allen is joined by Jets General Manager Darren Mougey for a conversation at the 2025 NFL Annual League Meeting. Mougey discusses the additions to the roster during free agency, including QB Justin Fields. He outlines his vision for the roster as the Green & White continue to build during the 2025 offseason.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into the Official Jets Podcast. I Eat, Breathe, and
Sleep the New York Jets. My team that is a
tightrope walk across Niagara Fall. That's hard to do.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's a game of inches, so finding that one little
inch to be successful, it all matters.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott, the
jewelry company that's shining bright and doing good. Shop Game
Day Ready, jewelry styles and so much more at kendrascott
dot com.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Darren, thanks for joining us your first NFL League meetings
down here in West Palm Beach. What's it been like
since you were hired as GM and the Jets January
twenty fifth to now March thirtieth, as we tape.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
It's been really good, you know, And I feel like
it's been pretty seamless, and I've acclimated really well. And
I oh that, I mean, I got to credit that
to a lot of the people that are around me
in the building, you know, starting with Dan z Rick Spielman,
Robbie Payton, the whole pro department, you know, like Ray
Evan Murph.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
The whole crew, Witty dumb, those guys.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I mean, I actually want to give credit to all
these guys while we're here on the line, because they
really have helped me acclimate kind of seamlessly.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Mary Joe, Ashley.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Shields in the analytics department, I'm throwing them things all
the time. They've been responsive him, Mastrodi. The whole crew
has really made it seamless for me and allowed me
to acclimate pretty pretty well and feel really comfortabout the
whole process.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Have you been running on adrenaline.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
A bit, A bit?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, it's been it's been a whirlwind. You hit the
ground running, but it's been a lot of fun. And
like I said, I've enjoyed doing it with the people
around me. One other one, Nick Sabella, who's been awesome
through the free agency process, working with him closely on
a day to day basis.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So it's been awesome.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
You just mentioned free agency.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
When we look at the class, what was the overall
philosophy heading in to the market.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, heading and you know, we wanted to address the
quarterback on the quarterback position on the east side of
the ball. Obviously we did that with just on the
offensive side, and we're able to keep Jamie wouldin the
building on the defensive side, you know, as the as
the green Dot dot Green Dot player and Mike Becker.
So that was one of our priorities going into it,
and then address some holes in the secondary, but also
do it, you know, with an emphasis on keeping the
(02:14):
team young with youth second contract players kind of stay
out of the aging maybe top of the market players,
and then supplement and just fill in the spots with
some good value signings.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
We'll get the process.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
Yeah, we'll get to the youth there at the second.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
At what point when you guys were going through your
internal meanings, did it be clear that, hey, listen, we
can't let Sure would hit the market, He's going to
be a priority.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Absolutely, Mean before I even took the job, just watching
from the outside, watching Sure would play, seeing this player
that kind of hit the scene, got his opportunity and
made the most of it. Right, was still a young player,
but made a ton of plays. He's long, he's athletic,
you can run. So I was really encouraging Intreague coming
into the job. Then once I got in the building
and had a lot of conversations internally with different staff, coaches, players,
(03:00):
I mean, it was rave reviews about the person and
the player, so made it easy.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I tried early to get.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
On Drew and get something done and was always in there,
in there, But at that point he was going to
hit a free agency and he deserved that. But we're glad,
glad to keep him and glad he's.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
On the team.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Yeah, but how did you guys make it happen?
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Because a lot of young dudes might be like, Hey,
I like you guys, and I think I like the
direction the organization is going to go in, but I'm
going to test the market.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
No, And that's fair and he deserved at that point
getting there. But we had a lot of good conversations
with Jamie and throughout the process. You know, he's passionate
about the Jets and this team and some of his
teammates here. He got to know the current staff, So
I think it was a win win for both.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
How about the being advantageous that here's a guy that
you had an opportunity to actually talk to before free
agency and did he hit it off with the coaching
staff from you, it's.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
A It's a big advantage when you have your own
that you kind of prioritize and want to sign it.
And that's what we want to do right. You want
to draft, develop, and sign your own. That's ideal because
when you get into this free agency market, you never
really know what you're getting. We do a lot of research,
We talk to a lot of people, We try and
gather as much medical information, but you don't know really
what you're getting.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
But when you have these guys in your building.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And you know them intimately, you have people that know
them as people and players, and you have all the
medical information, you feel a lot better about that. And
that was the case with Jamie, no doubt.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
All right, so you get sure with Dove and then
can you talk about Justin Fields? Can you talk about, Okay,
the preparation heading into free agency and why you thought
Fields was going to be a good fit.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, so obviously we'll evaluate the whole quarterback market, free
agency draft, you're looking at the whole big picture. And
Justin was a guy that kind of stuck out, young,
talented player, has a unique athletic skill set that's hard
to defend again doing research down people. Was someone that
is a professional, good person, has some leadership qualities, still young,
and we were excited about Justin. Glad we got them,
(04:55):
believe in justin believe we can win with Justin playing quarterback.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
How has he changed as a signal.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Caller since the guy that you were scouting twenty twenty
one when he's coming out.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I mean just experience in the league. Now.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
I can't speak to his unique situations in Chicago and
Pittsburgh and those things, but I just know the makeup
of the person and the player, and we're excited to
get him in the building here and have him lead
that quarterback.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
So I'll have the opportunity to be QB one here.
When you look at the league, do you look at
some other guys who've had better outcomes there's second times
is around or third times around, and look at fields
and say, okay, he's been with two teams, but he's
still in the same player.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
You've seen that, you know, more recently around the league
with the Baker Mayfields, the sam Donolds. You see different
stories of guys just maybe they just need to change
the scenery, some different piece around, some consistency, and we
believe that can be the case with Justinus.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Well, how unique is his skill set?
Speaker 4 (05:54):
You're talking about a guy who rushed for more than
a thousand yards a couple of years ago with the Bears,
he's averaged more than fifty yards per game on the ground,
but when you look at fields, he's really become more
of an accomplished pass or throughout his tenure in the league,
including last year putting off career high numbers with Steelers.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, exactly, you said as of late too, and just
to see the progression as a quarterback from playing the
quarterback position and his numbers and you know, going four
and two last year as a starter at Pittsburgh and
you've just seen those passing numbers increase. So it's I mean, really,
with any position, the more reps you get, the better
you should be getting.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Right. So we've seen that and that's a positive thing
for Justin.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Oh what did Tanner say in terms of the process,
that hey, we're going to be getting a guy he's
a little bit different than Jerry Goff.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, but that's no different with any position.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Right, With all the players we get and bring in
the building, we want to know what their strengths and weaknesses,
maybe just put them in positions to have success, put
people around in them to have success, and play to
all players strengths. It's no different with Justin so.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Now, overall thoughts on the quarterback group as we sit
here today a few weeks out for the drafts, you.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Know, we're excited with the guys we have the room.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Another guy we didn't really talk about is Tyrod Taylor,
but the room with Justin is huge. We all know
he's a pros pro. He knows what it takes to
prep and be prepared to play in the NFL. I
think that's going to be a great help to Justin
as well. And then the landscape going into the draft
will evaluate every player in the draft, you know, from
the centers to the long snappers to the quarterbacks. We
(07:22):
put these all these guys under a microscope. We taught,
we have at length discussions about them and place them appropriately.
And that's no different from the quarterback position.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
I'm glad you've mentioned Tyrod. Do you like the match
there because Tyrod throughout his career he's been a dual
threat as well.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah, I know, I love I love the match really
because Tyrod's such a professional and he's been around the league,
He's seen a lot. He's a smart football player, He's
a smart quarterback. He knows what it takes and to
have that person in the room with Justin is good
for both and good for Justin, and I think I
believe they've had a pre existing relationship to that where
they've trained in the offseason together down in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
You mentioned the secondary before Brandon Stevens, he's signed all
so he ed Andre Cisco. Can you speak to those
guys and not only them as players, but also what
you have here on the coaching staff and guys like
Chris Harris and Dre Blithe. Steve Wilkes, the defensive coordinator,
has worked a lot throughout his career with the defensive backs,
(08:18):
and then your head coach was a great cornerback.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Talking about those defensive backs, those two players in particularly,
we felt like they they fit the profile of what
we're looking for, both athletic profile and skill set. You know,
talking with Brandon Stevens, he's long, he's athletic, he can
play physical press man, he can run with speed, something
we really were looking for, and he kind of attracted
us to him.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
You you mentioned that AG's played the position. He's going
to help Brandon. You get back to the secondary, the
safeties in AG's systems have played well. Cisco was another
guy athletic profile fit what we're looking for and really
getting Isaiah Oliver back and Tony Adams as well. Isaiah
Oliver's played for Wilkes. He's a long guy, versatility. We're
excited to get him back. Tony Adams, you guys know
(09:03):
the player well, so we're excited to get the whole
group back.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
What do you look at Cisco?
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Why is he a good match for the Jets because
throughout his career you go back to Syracuse, guy always
was a ballhawk. Yeah, and a couple of years ago
with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oliver plays in defensive second exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I mean high weight, speed, he's got, He's got all
those things.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
He's got ball skills. He's been productive in the league
and we think he's going to continue to excel here.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
How about Stevens you just mentioned before you like the
size speed combination.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Do you speak to that when you
have him in sauce outside. Now you've got two guys
with size, both can run, both can play press man.
Some things we might try and do, so he's a
good fit.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott. The
Jewelry company that's shining bright and doing good. Shop Game
Day Ready, jewelry styles and so much more at Kendra
Scott dot com.
Speaker 4 (09:58):
How about the defensive tackle position. Let's start with Derek
Noddy and a guy in here who's self at thirty
but he's got three Super Bowl ricks.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, he's he's been a part of a
great program in the league. And another guy that has
size has played well. So we'll just add in depth
and good players to the to the room.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Yeah, do you like what you did there in terms
of you listen and this is going to be a
very good defensive line class, and especially on the interior.
You can go jump at defensive tackle in the draft
if you want to. We have the flexibility as well.
But yeah, you got some numbers. We'll be open in
the draft. You know, we've got eight picks. We like
where we're picking.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
You said it it's a it's it's a really good.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
D line class from DT to d n S. There's
a lot of depth there, so we're excited about that,
and uh yeah, the possibilities there.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
How about let's flip into the offense set of the
ball on the line, Josh Myers, it comes in you
got a lot.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Of starting experience.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
And also can you talk about Chokes or four four
who's got who had a lot of starting experience with Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Yeah, you said it with Josh Myers.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Starting with Josh, he's the guys play a lot of football,
played played good football in this league, a lot of experience,
and it never hurts to add good depth to the
position and competition.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
He's going to come in, he's going to compete, He's
going to give us.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Good reliable depth. A former teammate, a justin fields. It's
just happened to be, you know.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
The case.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
And then you said Chukes there, Chukes played a lot
of football, you know in Pittsburgh. Didn't work out last
year in New England, but still young under thirty has
played at the right tackle.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
So excited to add both those guys.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
And that's something you're going to continue to hammer home
here right as far as you want to fortify that
offensive line, and you bring into those two pieces. I
know a lot of people were thinking, Okay, you sign Myers,
that means maybe somebody's going to move, but that's not
the way You're necessarily, not.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Necessarily you know, you just like we just want to
add good football players to the team and add competition
and good depth. And that's a great depth. Now, that
does give you some flexibility as well. You know, we
we know Timmans played right We knows Bear Tuger's played
right tackle. That gives you some flexibility. But really we're
just the emphasis was adding competition to the room and
good depth.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Speaking of the competition wide receiver position, you got a
young star and Garrett Wilson.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
What about a couple of pieces that you added.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Obviously Tyler Johnson who played with the Rams last year,
and then most recently Josh Radold's system familiarity go back
to Detroit.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, exactly, Josh Reynolds, is there a system familiar with you?
But when he's been around AG, he's been around Tanner
and Detroit. We had him last year in Denver, an
experienced vet. It was a good ad to the room.
You said it, Garrett Wilson, I mean he's a stud.
So we feel good about that group, and like all
these positions, will continue to look to add, whether that's
in the offseason, different avenue, is the draft or maybe,
(12:41):
but we'll always be looking to add good depth pieces
and as much star power or firepower, I should say,
as we can.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
What about the tight end position?
Speaker 4 (12:50):
You add a former guy who played a quarterback in
Stone smartd Tyler Johnson as well. Hey, they followed you
quarterback and then player I got but as pats sketchers.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
No, but we're excited about Stone Smart his athletic upside.
There's still a lot of upside and growth there. And
you said it former quarterbacks still learning the position, but
athletics so in another position. Will continue to evaluate throughout
this you know, this next step really the draft, those
meetings starting next week and then through the offseason will
always be looking to add.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
How about overall philosophy.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
When you look at the roster, listen, you only have
five guys who are thirty or more, and three of
those are specialists in Thomas Tannessee, Greg Zerline and your
punter Thomas Morris Dad, and you actually signed somebody a
free agency as well, another punter, another leg and the
(13:44):
fourth guy in that mix would be Tyrod Teler as
you back up quarterback and he's ageless. And then yeah,
and then you got Reynolds as well. You only have
five guys north to thirty.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
No, we talked about it in the offseason, made an
emphasis on it going into the free agency market that hey,
we did want to put emphasis on staying young. You know,
second contract guys continue the lead youth movement, and it
worked out.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Can you speak to way these contracts were formed that
you got three guys I think with multi year deals,
but also a lot of one year deals. Yeah, so
don't have an opportunity to blossom under this coaching staff,
under Aaron Glenn, but also from a team perspective, you
guys are going to have some flexibility.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah, it's always case by case when.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
You go into free agency, you know, whether you're doing
multi year deals or one year deals. It wasn't necessarily
an emphasis, but when you get into these players and
you start negotiating, it just turns into case by case.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
But we're excited about all the players we added.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
We feel good about the contracts and the value, and
we like where we're at heading into the draft.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
How about draft preparation.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
You just mentioned a great transition right there. What's it
been like for you and what are you doing. Have
you been able to go out of the road.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
It's been good.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
I've been kind of going back and forth through free agency.
I haven't got out much, but we got a lot
of our coaches, all of our scouts are out. I'm
really looking looking forward to getting back next week in
the building, will have our scouts in and dive full
into the draft prep, start those draft meetings, and we'll
be bunkering in for the next three weeks leading up
to the draft.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
You and a G want to build a sustained winner here.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
That's so important. How critical is the draft? It's it's
very important.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
It's critical, like you said, and we we feel good
about our ability to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
And we got eight picks this year and we'll start
doing that.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Are you golf and all?
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Not much?
Speaker 5 (15:24):
No, are you gonna have a time?
Speaker 1 (15:27):
No time, No time, especially right now. No time. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Really appreciate you stopping by.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Appreciate it. Thanks, It was awesome.
Welcome into the Official Jets Podcast. I Eat, Breathe, and
Sleep the New York Jets. My team that is a
tightrope walk across Niagara Fall. That's hard to do.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
It's a game of inches, so finding that one little
inch to be successful, it all matters.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott, the
jewelry company that's shining bright and doing good. Shop Game
Day Ready, jewelry styles and so much more at kendrascott
dot com.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Darren, thanks for joining us your first NFL League meetings
down here in West Palm Beach. What's it been like
since you were hired as GM and the Jets January
twenty fifth to now March thirtieth, as we tape.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
It's been awesome.
Speaker 2 (00:41):
It's been really good, you know, And I feel like
it's been pretty seamless, and I've acclimated really well. And
I oh that, I mean, I got to credit that
to a lot of the people that are around me
in the building, you know, starting with Dan z Rick Spielman,
Robbie Payton, the whole pro department, you know, like Ray
Evan Murph.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
The whole crew, Witty dumb, those guys.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
I mean, I actually want to give credit to all
these guys while we're here on the line, because they
really have helped me acclimate kind of seamlessly.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
Mary Joe, Ashley.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
Shields in the analytics department, I'm throwing them things all
the time. They've been responsive him, Mastrodi. The whole crew
has really made it seamless for me and allowed me
to acclimate pretty pretty well and feel really comfortabout the
whole process.
Speaker 5 (01:28):
Have you been running on adrenaline.
Speaker 1 (01:30):
A bit, A bit?
Speaker 2 (01:31):
Yeah, it's been it's been a whirlwind. You hit the
ground running, but it's been a lot of fun. And
like I said, I've enjoyed doing it with the people
around me. One other one, Nick Sabella, who's been awesome
through the free agency process, working with him closely on
a day to day basis.
Speaker 1 (01:45):
So it's been awesome.
Speaker 5 (01:46):
You just mentioned free agency.
Speaker 4 (01:47):
When we look at the class, what was the overall
philosophy heading in to the market.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Yeah, heading and you know, we wanted to address the
quarterback on the quarterback position on the east side of
the ball. Obviously we did that with just on the
offensive side, and we're able to keep Jamie wouldin the
building on the defensive side, you know, as the as
the green Dot dot Green Dot player and Mike Becker.
So that was one of our priorities going into it,
and then address some holes in the secondary, but also
do it, you know, with an emphasis on keeping the
(02:14):
team young with youth second contract players kind of stay
out of the aging maybe top of the market players,
and then supplement and just fill in the spots with
some good value signings.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
We'll get the process.
Speaker 5 (02:26):
Yeah, we'll get to the youth there at the second.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
At what point when you guys were going through your
internal meanings, did it be clear that, hey, listen, we
can't let Sure would hit the market, He's going to
be a priority.
Speaker 1 (02:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:38):
Absolutely, Mean before I even took the job, just watching
from the outside, watching Sure would play, seeing this player
that kind of hit the scene, got his opportunity and
made the most of it. Right, was still a young player,
but made a ton of plays. He's long, he's athletic,
you can run. So I was really encouraging Intreague coming
into the job. Then once I got in the building
and had a lot of conversations internally with different staff, coaches, players,
(03:00):
I mean, it was rave reviews about the person and
the player, so made it easy.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
I tried early to get.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
On Drew and get something done and was always in there,
in there, But at that point he was going to
hit a free agency and he deserved that. But we're glad,
glad to keep him and glad he's.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
On the team.
Speaker 5 (03:14):
Yeah, but how did you guys make it happen?
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Because a lot of young dudes might be like, Hey,
I like you guys, and I think I like the
direction the organization is going to go in, but I'm
going to test the market.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
No, And that's fair and he deserved at that point
getting there. But we had a lot of good conversations
with Jamie and throughout the process. You know, he's passionate
about the Jets and this team and some of his
teammates here. He got to know the current staff, So
I think it was a win win for both.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
How about the being advantageous that here's a guy that
you had an opportunity to actually talk to before free
agency and did he hit it off with the coaching
staff from you, it's.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
A It's a big advantage when you have your own
that you kind of prioritize and want to sign it.
And that's what we want to do right. You want
to draft, develop, and sign your own. That's ideal because
when you get into this free agency market, you never
really know what you're getting. We do a lot of research,
We talk to a lot of people, We try and
gather as much medical information, but you don't know really
what you're getting.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
But when you have these guys in your building.
Speaker 2 (04:10):
And you know them intimately, you have people that know
them as people and players, and you have all the
medical information, you feel a lot better about that. And
that was the case with Jamie, no doubt.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
All right, so you get sure with Dove and then
can you talk about Justin Fields? Can you talk about, Okay,
the preparation heading into free agency and why you thought
Fields was going to be a good fit.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Yeah, so obviously we'll evaluate the whole quarterback market, free
agency draft, you're looking at the whole big picture. And
Justin was a guy that kind of stuck out, young,
talented player, has a unique athletic skill set that's hard
to defend again doing research down people. Was someone that
is a professional, good person, has some leadership qualities, still young,
and we were excited about Justin. Glad we got them,
(04:55):
believe in justin believe we can win with Justin playing quarterback.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
How has he changed as a signal.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
Caller since the guy that you were scouting twenty twenty
one when he's coming out.
Speaker 1 (05:05):
I mean just experience in the league. Now.
Speaker 2 (05:07):
I can't speak to his unique situations in Chicago and
Pittsburgh and those things, but I just know the makeup
of the person and the player, and we're excited to
get him in the building here and have him lead
that quarterback.
Speaker 4 (05:20):
So I'll have the opportunity to be QB one here.
When you look at the league, do you look at
some other guys who've had better outcomes there's second times
is around or third times around, and look at fields
and say, okay, he's been with two teams, but he's
still in the same player.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
You've seen that, you know, more recently around the league
with the Baker Mayfields, the sam Donolds. You see different
stories of guys just maybe they just need to change
the scenery, some different piece around, some consistency, and we
believe that can be the case with Justinus.
Speaker 5 (05:51):
Well, how unique is his skill set?
Speaker 4 (05:54):
You're talking about a guy who rushed for more than
a thousand yards a couple of years ago with the Bears,
he's averaged more than fifty yards per game on the ground,
but when you look at fields, he's really become more
of an accomplished pass or throughout his tenure in the league,
including last year putting off career high numbers with Steelers.
Speaker 2 (06:12):
Yeah, exactly, you said as of late too, and just
to see the progression as a quarterback from playing the
quarterback position and his numbers and you know, going four
and two last year as a starter at Pittsburgh and
you've just seen those passing numbers increase. So it's I mean, really,
with any position, the more reps you get, the better
you should be getting.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
Right. So we've seen that and that's a positive thing
for Justin.
Speaker 4 (06:31):
Oh what did Tanner say in terms of the process,
that hey, we're going to be getting a guy he's
a little bit different than Jerry Goff.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, but that's no different with any position.
Speaker 2 (06:41):
Right, With all the players we get and bring in
the building, we want to know what their strengths and weaknesses,
maybe just put them in positions to have success, put
people around in them to have success, and play to
all players strengths. It's no different with Justin so.
Speaker 4 (06:53):
Now, overall thoughts on the quarterback group as we sit
here today a few weeks out for the drafts, you.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Know, we're excited with the guys we have the room.
Speaker 2 (07:01):
Another guy we didn't really talk about is Tyrod Taylor,
but the room with Justin is huge. We all know
he's a pros pro. He knows what it takes to
prep and be prepared to play in the NFL. I
think that's going to be a great help to Justin
as well. And then the landscape going into the draft
will evaluate every player in the draft, you know, from
the centers to the long snappers to the quarterbacks. We
(07:22):
put these all these guys under a microscope. We taught,
we have at length discussions about them and place them appropriately.
And that's no different from the quarterback position.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
I'm glad you've mentioned Tyrod. Do you like the match
there because Tyrod throughout his career he's been a dual
threat as well.
Speaker 2 (07:36):
Yeah, I know, I love I love the match really
because Tyrod's such a professional and he's been around the league,
He's seen a lot. He's a smart football player, He's
a smart quarterback. He knows what it takes and to
have that person in the room with Justin is good
for both and good for Justin, and I think I
believe they've had a pre existing relationship to that where
they've trained in the offseason together down in Atlanta.
Speaker 4 (07:56):
You mentioned the secondary before Brandon Stevens, he's signed all
so he ed Andre Cisco. Can you speak to those
guys and not only them as players, but also what
you have here on the coaching staff and guys like
Chris Harris and Dre Blithe. Steve Wilkes, the defensive coordinator,
has worked a lot throughout his career with the defensive backs,
(08:18):
and then your head coach was a great cornerback.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Talking about those defensive backs, those two players in particularly,
we felt like they they fit the profile of what
we're looking for, both athletic profile and skill set. You know,
talking with Brandon Stevens, he's long, he's athletic, he can
play physical press man, he can run with speed, something
we really were looking for, and he kind of attracted
us to him.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
You you mentioned that AG's played the position. He's going
to help Brandon. You get back to the secondary, the
safeties in AG's systems have played well. Cisco was another
guy athletic profile fit what we're looking for and really
getting Isaiah Oliver back and Tony Adams as well. Isaiah
Oliver's played for Wilkes. He's a long guy, versatility. We're
excited to get him back. Tony Adams, you guys know
(09:03):
the player well, so we're excited to get the whole
group back.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (09:07):
What do you look at Cisco?
Speaker 4 (09:10):
Why is he a good match for the Jets because
throughout his career you go back to Syracuse, guy always
was a ballhawk. Yeah, and a couple of years ago
with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Oliver plays in defensive second exactly.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
I mean high weight, speed, he's got, He's got all
those things.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
He's got ball skills. He's been productive in the league
and we think he's going to continue to excel here.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
How about Stevens you just mentioned before you like the
size speed combination.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Do you speak to that when you
have him in sauce outside. Now you've got two guys
with size, both can run, both can play press man.
Some things we might try and do, so he's a
good fit.
Speaker 3 (09:47):
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Speaker 4 (09:58):
How about the defensive tackle position. Let's start with Derek
Noddy and a guy in here who's self at thirty
but he's got three Super Bowl ricks.
Speaker 2 (10:06):
Yeah, yeah, exactly, he's he's been a part of a
great program in the league. And another guy that has
size has played well. So we'll just add in depth
and good players to the to the room.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
Yeah, do you like what you did there in terms
of you listen and this is going to be a
very good defensive line class, and especially on the interior.
You can go jump at defensive tackle in the draft
if you want to. We have the flexibility as well.
But yeah, you got some numbers. We'll be open in
the draft. You know, we've got eight picks. We like
where we're picking.
Speaker 1 (10:34):
You said it it's a it's it's a really good.
Speaker 2 (10:36):
D line class from DT to d n S. There's
a lot of depth there, so we're excited about that,
and uh yeah, the possibilities there.
Speaker 4 (10:43):
How about let's flip into the offense set of the
ball on the line, Josh Myers, it comes in you
got a lot.
Speaker 5 (10:50):
Of starting experience.
Speaker 4 (10:51):
And also can you talk about Chokes or four four
who's got who had a lot of starting experience with Pittsburgh.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Yeah, you said it with Josh Myers.
Speaker 2 (10:58):
Starting with Josh, he's the guys play a lot of football,
played played good football in this league, a lot of experience,
and it never hurts to add good depth to the
position and competition.
Speaker 1 (11:06):
He's going to come in, he's going to compete, He's
going to give us.
Speaker 2 (11:09):
Good reliable depth. A former teammate, a justin fields. It's
just happened to be, you know.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
The case.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
And then you said Chukes there, Chukes played a lot
of football, you know in Pittsburgh. Didn't work out last
year in New England, but still young under thirty has
played at the right tackle.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
So excited to add both those guys.
Speaker 4 (11:28):
And that's something you're going to continue to hammer home
here right as far as you want to fortify that
offensive line, and you bring into those two pieces. I
know a lot of people were thinking, Okay, you sign Myers,
that means maybe somebody's going to move, but that's not
the way You're necessarily, not.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Necessarily you know, you just like we just want to
add good football players to the team and add competition
and good depth. And that's a great depth. Now, that
does give you some flexibility as well. You know, we
we know Timmans played right We knows Bear Tuger's played
right tackle. That gives you some flexibility. But really we're
just the emphasis was adding competition to the room and
good depth.
Speaker 4 (12:02):
Speaking of the competition wide receiver position, you got a
young star and Garrett Wilson.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
What about a couple of pieces that you added.
Speaker 4 (12:10):
Obviously Tyler Johnson who played with the Rams last year,
and then most recently Josh Radold's system familiarity go back
to Detroit.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
Yeah, exactly, Josh Reynolds, is there a system familiar with you?
But when he's been around AG, he's been around Tanner
and Detroit. We had him last year in Denver, an
experienced vet. It was a good ad to the room.
You said it, Garrett Wilson, I mean he's a stud.
So we feel good about that group, and like all
these positions, will continue to look to add, whether that's
in the offseason, different avenue, is the draft or maybe,
(12:41):
but we'll always be looking to add good depth pieces
and as much star power or firepower, I should say,
as we can.
Speaker 5 (12:48):
What about the tight end position?
Speaker 4 (12:50):
You add a former guy who played a quarterback in
Stone smartd Tyler Johnson as well. Hey, they followed you
quarterback and then player I got but as pats sketchers.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
No, but we're excited about Stone Smart his athletic upside.
There's still a lot of upside and growth there. And
you said it former quarterbacks still learning the position, but
athletics so in another position. Will continue to evaluate throughout
this you know, this next step really the draft, those
meetings starting next week and then through the offseason will
always be looking to add.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
How about overall philosophy.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
When you look at the roster, listen, you only have
five guys who are thirty or more, and three of
those are specialists in Thomas Tannessee, Greg Zerline and your
punter Thomas Morris Dad, and you actually signed somebody a
free agency as well, another punter, another leg and the
(13:44):
fourth guy in that mix would be Tyrod Teler as
you back up quarterback and he's ageless. And then yeah,
and then you got Reynolds as well. You only have
five guys north to thirty.
Speaker 2 (13:54):
No, we talked about it in the offseason, made an
emphasis on it going into the free agency market that hey,
we did want to put emphasis on staying young. You know,
second contract guys continue the lead youth movement, and it
worked out.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Can you speak to way these contracts were formed that
you got three guys I think with multi year deals,
but also a lot of one year deals. Yeah, so
don't have an opportunity to blossom under this coaching staff,
under Aaron Glenn, but also from a team perspective, you
guys are going to have some flexibility.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
Yeah, it's always case by case when.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
You go into free agency, you know, whether you're doing
multi year deals or one year deals. It wasn't necessarily
an emphasis, but when you get into these players and
you start negotiating, it just turns into case by case.
Speaker 1 (14:39):
But we're excited about all the players we added.
Speaker 2 (14:40):
We feel good about the contracts and the value, and
we like where we're at heading into the draft.
Speaker 5 (14:44):
How about draft preparation.
Speaker 4 (14:45):
You just mentioned a great transition right there. What's it
been like for you and what are you doing. Have
you been able to go out of the road.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
It's been good.
Speaker 2 (14:53):
I've been kind of going back and forth through free agency.
I haven't got out much, but we got a lot
of our coaches, all of our scouts are out. I'm
really looking looking forward to getting back next week in
the building, will have our scouts in and dive full
into the draft prep, start those draft meetings, and we'll
be bunkering in for the next three weeks leading up
to the draft.
Speaker 5 (15:08):
You and a G want to build a sustained winner here.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
That's so important. How critical is the draft? It's it's
very important.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
It's critical, like you said, and we we feel good
about our ability to do that.
Speaker 1 (15:20):
And we got eight picks this year and we'll start
doing that.
Speaker 5 (15:22):
Are you golf and all?
Speaker 1 (15:24):
Not much?
Speaker 5 (15:24):
No, are you gonna have a time?
Speaker 1 (15:27):
No time, No time, especially right now. No time. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Really appreciate you stopping by.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Appreciate it. Thanks, It was awesome.
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