Chargers Weekly: 60-Minute Free Agency and Draft Q&A

Matt "Money" Smith and Chris Hayre discuss the latest news around the NFL (01:15) and answer fan questions about the start of free agency and the 2023 NFL Draft (24:14).

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The late fifteen ten touchdowns. What's up, guys, Welcome into
another episode of Chargers Weekly, as always, joined by Matt
Money Smith Money in the Midwest for some March madness. Yeah,

(00:21):
worked out get the IU Michigan game on Sunday on Bloomington,
So flew in to Indie on Saturday afternoon and was
able to connect with our friend Lancer Line, who I
worked with for a long time covering the combine, and scouts,
a couple of GMS got to hang out with on
Saturday night chop it up about the Combine, and then

(00:42):
Sunday called the game and after the game ended up
having dinner with our colleague and friend Daniel Jeremiah and
more scouts. More GMS talked to some coaches that we're
kind of floating around the hotel a bunch of old
NFL Network colleagues, so it's kind of fun. It was
almost like I was able to get some good comic
because you learned so much at the combine. You know,
a lot of it's off the record, but at least

(01:03):
it kind of gives you an idea. I'll tell you
I didn't think I went to bed. I went to
bed on Sunday night or maybe Saturday. I went to
bed on Sunday night, I think, and Derek Carr was
going to be a Jet, uh, and woke up and
he was a saint. So it's kind of funny, you know,
speaking to just maybe how kind of close and tight
that was, and you see just how it's kind of

(01:24):
put the league on its head and how desperate the
Jets look here at this moment when we're recording this
podcast to get Aaron Rodgers, you know, basically sounded like
in talking to some people like yeah, it's it's an
air ab, It's it's Aaron Rodgers, it's Derek Carr. It's
got to be one of those two. So I don't
think i'd be surprised, unless, of course Aaron doesn't want
to go there. I won't be surprised to see them

(01:45):
really put together a pretty substantial offer to get him
out to New York. It sounds like they really want
to make that happen. Yeah, the full court Press has
to be on there. And then you mentioned Derek Carr
out of the AFC West now in New Orleans, and
then this whole Lamar Jackson thing is wild too, because
he's going to have the ability to kind of shop
himself around in the league. You're seeing teams that say

(02:07):
they're not interested, which I find to be kind of
funny because it's Lamar Jackson an MVP. So where is
Lamar Jackson going to go? I think between Rogers and
Lamar will get to all the extensions with Burrow and Herbert,
but those are the next two dominoes. No. Yeah, So
you know, I heard a couple of different things, you know,

(02:30):
and nobody's ever being honest with you. They know I'm
in the media. They may want me to put out there.
They're what they're selling. I always am cognizant of that.
But I heard kind of two different theories. One that
teams are reluctant to engage with Lamar because they're convinced
Baltimore is going to match that. That's all this is.
It's why they put the lower tag on them, because

(02:50):
they are just beating their heads against the wall, you know,
with what he wants and what they think is realistic,
and they're just content to let the market set itself
for him. Now, that doesn't mean that a team can't
put together an offer that Baltimore deems is too expensive.
And they'll take the two first round picks. But that's
sort of the impression I got that they just feel

(03:12):
like this is a waste of time, that whatever they
put together for Lamar is going to be matched, and
he's going to be back in Baltimore, and this is
just an opportunity for them to say, hey, man, we're
not trying to screw over, we're not trying to get
one over on you. Go out and see for yourself
what we think is a fair deal for you, and no,
we want you. You know, we're going to match the deal,

(03:32):
like we have no interest in seeing you leave. But
this is an easier road than putting the exclusive tag
on at forty five million and just continuing to bud hes.
The other thought is that teams aren't going to be
as interested that the numbers too big, that they're concerned
about the injuries that you know, well, why would you

(03:54):
trade two ones to go up and get you know,
Anthony Richardson or c. J. Strout If you're the Polts,
you know, why trade four and a future one and
a two and a future two to go get Strout
or Bryce Young or whoever when you can just trade
the two ones and get you know, Mark Well, one
because C. J. Strout isn't going to cost you fifty

(04:15):
million bucks a year. And two, I think there's there's
some legitimate concern about just like there was when he
came out, just like there is with Bryce Young. You
know that quarterbacks that are light, you know, it's it's
a concern. You know, it is a concern when you're
at that number, you know, under two hundred and whatever,

(04:37):
ten pounds or fifteen pound. I don't know what the
threshold is, but I think there's some legitimate concern about
a we get rid of two draft picks that you
kind of need when you have a fifty million dollar quarterback.
That's how you have to build your roster out with
those draft picks. And now those are gone. And you know,
be here's a guy who's missed you know, four or

(04:58):
five games in each of the last two years, and
is that because of his slight build? So it'll be interesting,
I know for a fact. Look, I know if it
were me, and I know there's people that are pro
Lamar and people that aren't sold, I'd take the flyer,
you know, I'd do it if I were you know,

(05:19):
I'd be all about it, I'd be like, man, you
want me to give up two ones and get a
guy who's twenty six who can do what he can do?
And like, if you have a good offensive mind, like
Arthur Smith in Atlanta, you know, I think the question
Chris just becomes timetable, you know. Like to me, I
look at the Raiders and I say, why the hell
wouldn't you drop him in there? You've got Waller, You've
got renfro You've got Davante Adams, you've got Josh Jacobs,

(05:42):
you've got Colton Miller. Like, to me, that's the one
that I'm like, Man, if I'm the Raiders and I'm
thinking about giving up seven and maybe a future one
to get up to number two or number one, and
I wouldn't much rather just be like, here's the twos,
here's the money, let's go, let's let's get a division
with Herbert Lamar Holmes and Russell Wilson and see what

(06:05):
the heck happens. That's what I'm wondering, money, is what
are the Raiders going to do? Because with car leaving,
that's like the one kind of big piece in the
AFC West that we're unsure about right now like, who's
the quarterback going to be for Josh McDaniels. Is it
going to be a guy like Lamar Jackson. You hear
that they're maybe they're not as interested in Aaron Rodgers
because of the fact that they don't know how long

(06:26):
he's gonna play the rookies in this class. I mean,
and we can kind of start there, because listen, this
is a position the Chargers have no interest in, but
it does nothing but benefit them. If four quarterbacks are
gonna go ahead of them, maybe five, who knows, you're
back at seventeen seventeen overall. Again, So the Lamar Jackson

(06:48):
thing is fascinating. I think Deshaun Watson set this precedent
that Lamar is not gonna let people off the hook
with like, hey, you gave him guaranteed money. I want
guaranteed money, and the quarterbacks behind me, I want to
guaranteed money. So I think that's the kind of the
big sticking point too, is is Lamar is asking for
something that I don't know the Ravens are comfortable giving

(07:10):
up at this point. Yeah, so I think you know, look,
I I know of it. You know, we work for
the Chargers, and how does this. You know, do we
have a bias toward ownership in the front office because
we're under their employee. Maybe I don't know, but that
the way I try to explain it to people that
just stick their feet in the ground and say, selfish owners,

(07:32):
Why aren't these these these contracts guaranteed? And you know,
and there's there's a couple things, you know. One and look,
I've said it on this podcast before. I think the
I think the owners hide behind it. The whole escrow thing,
like I you know, you have to put a certain
amount of money into escrow that is guaranteed. Now you

(07:52):
can structure the contract where you don't have to put
two hundred and thirty million dollars if Deshaun Watson's into
an account immediately. You know, you can guarantee that money,
but say it is guaranteed at this particular date and
then you can arrange that with the league where then
you can put it into the escrow as it coincides
with those dates. So you don't have to do it
for two hundred million bucks immediately. But that's you know,

(08:13):
to have two hundred million dollars of liquidity, it's not easy,
like you've got to have a certain amount of means
in order for that to happen. I know these franchises
are valued. You know, we're talking about the Washington Commanders
at seven billion dollars, but yeah, that's not realized until
you sell the team. Until you actually sell the team,
you're still on operating income. And what does our ledger
look like? And we know for you know from the

(08:35):
ESPN reporting it didn't look good in Washington and that
the Namal Snyder was pulling fifty million bucks out to
aline his pocket. So it's not like you have that
money liquid. The second thing, and I think this is
the more important part of it, is this isn't basketball.
It's not twelve guys. It's not even baseball at twenty

(08:55):
five guys. It's fifty three guys and a practice squad,
and guys get hurt. It's a violent game. You know,
you sustain we know it well as the Chargers from
last year horrible injury luck. So you've got to build depth.
So when you're talking about guys that are making an
average of thirty five to fifty million dollars a year,

(09:19):
the way you can build these contracts out gives you
that leeway. So it's like, yes, I'm guaranteeing you one
hundred and sixty million bucks. Justin Herbert, you are going
to get one sixty guaranteed, and I'm going to give
you eighty million dollars of it over your first two years,
or ninety million dollars. But the way it works is

(09:41):
now you can build in that cushion, so his cap
hit is not like the Shaun Watsons with a fully
guaranteed deal where you've got a number on your books
for that year of forty five or fifty million bucks.
Now that number can be twenty eight. And for people
that say, and we went through this with Poper last week, well,
eventually you've got to pick He's right. However, you can

(10:03):
build it out now. Now it's like, okay, well when
that fifty three millions do in four years, because Justin's
only twenty eight. Now I can build it out and
I can make that fifty four thirty six again, and
I get while he's still giving his money. So that's
what you know. And in a situation like this, you
can then build in you know, you can build in

(10:24):
protections for the rest of your roster, where okay, now
I've got Joey making thirty. Well, guess what, I can
now dig back into Herbert's contract because he's not going
to complain for me converting future salary and assigning bonus
that I can now stretch over three more you like.
That's why they like to structure these deals, particularly the
quarterback deals, this way, because it's a built in safety

(10:47):
for them where they can always deduct you. I think
you use the term last week, the Bank of Bosa, right,
So you can use those banks to take money out
and help the roster out. And I'm not Look, You're
worth whatever someone's willing to pay you. So I do
not fault the quarterbacks or the players for wanting to
get all this money guaranteed. They've earned it, they deserve it.

(11:10):
You know, there aren't a lot of quarterbacks that can
play this game. However, it does help the team out
incredibly to be able to have a contract like Patrick
Mahomes that's a half a billion dollars, but it's stretched
over ten years and you can just pull and use
a number, you know, to use the term that Popper
used last week, could pull so many different levers to

(11:30):
help your team out. To negotiate that salary cap, that
hard cap that they have in the NFL. It's funny.
Speaking of Levers, I saw the Saints converted. I think
it was Taysom Hill or something, and I almost tweeted
Levers to you it's like they do you know. Look,
I know, I know, Poppers. You know. It was the
sticking point between the two of us. And I'm not
trying to have a one sided argument with him, not

(11:52):
here to defend his position, but I told him as like, hey,
let me know when it happens. Because every single year,
and yeah, they had the lets her Armstead go and
they had to let Garter Johnson go. Sure every team
has to do that, but they were fifty five million
bucks over the cap, and somehow they signed Derek Carr,
who a seventy million dollar guaranteed deal and he's going

(12:13):
to be their quarterback now. Like it's just every single
year they do it. And I think, for me, like
I encourage it. I think it's great. I think if
you're a Saints fan, you know, I don't care about
future years. I care about this year. I care about
this year and next year, and I want my team
to win the division. If I'm a fan, I want

(12:33):
my team like I don't I don't want my team
like like to me, it's great for the fans, you know. Now,
look there's a flip side to that, and that's what
the Rams are going through. The Rams were incredibly aggressive
to win that Super Bowl two years ago, and they
want it and now they're really paying for it. You know,
this is a team that is really getting torn down

(12:55):
to the studs. And now with some reports about Matthew
Stafford's future and how cloudy that could look, Chris, that's
the one to look at, like, wow, that's a team
that really Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald, Alan Robinson, Cooper cup
Matthew staff If they paid these guys big freaking money,
like six dudes, and now look at what they're dealing with.

(13:16):
Now it's a real mess there because you know they
just they That's the one, not the Saints. It's the
Rams that you should look at for like, oh, I
hope we're not in that sort of situation. Yeah. The
Hords of the Lombardi though, so again it's like, Okay,
did they do what they set out to do and
were they aware that this was going to happen at
some point and how quickly can McVeigh build it back?

(13:38):
You know money. Rich Eisen had Joe Banner on his
show yesterday. He brought up a really, really good point
about these guaranteed contracts. If you're in your mid twenties,
like Lamar Jackson or Justin Herbert, there is a very
very high probability that you're going to see every single
cent in your contract anyway. Like it's just it may

(14:00):
it may not say, hey, this is guaranteed money, but
there is a very high probability you will see every
dollar of that contract and then you'll get another one.
So the fact that we talk about guaranteed money and
kind of what the Browns did with DeShawn Watson, if
you're in that position that Lamar Jackson is in right
now and you continue to just beat Lamar Jackson and

(14:23):
don't change anything, you're gonna see all that money. So
I think that's an it's an interesting way to kind
of look at it. And these contracts, we're just it's
whatever the moment is. Daniel Jones is making more than
Patrick Mahomes right now, you know, and that's just kind
of what it is right now. But you know, Patrick
Mahomes will probably get another huge contract or restructured or whatever.
But this is the year that you know, Kyler Murray

(14:45):
got his last year, Daniel Jones got huge money this year,
and then it's just gonna keep going. You know, Burrows next,
Herbert's after that, and you know, we'll see what happens
in twenty twenty four and who's up next. But each
quarterback is gonna benefit by the previous guy getting paid.
And you know we saw that with even with Derek Carr,

(15:06):
who you know isn't a top ten quarterback, maybe top
ten to top fifteen quarterback, top getting guaranteed, yeah, yeah,
top five yea. And I think it's funny, Chris, I
think like the you know, Tom Talasco said it at
the combine, Herbert's gonna get done and that that's that's
an easy one, that's not a hard one. That deal's
going to get done. They'll figure out how he wants

(15:27):
to structure it, how the Chargers want to structure it.
He's going to be the highest paid player or the
second highest paid player in the league. However, whenever it
gets done. The more interesting one to me is Austin Eckler,
who is in the last year of his deal. And
I bring it up because you brought up Daniel Jones. Right,
Look what the Giants did, Look what the Raiders did,

(15:47):
Look what the Cowboys did. You know, you're talking about
guys getting franchised at the running back position not getting extensions.
How do you feels getting ten million and then seeing
his quarter might get all that? That's what I mean.
So like that to me is the more interesting one.
You know, Austin Ekeler, who has been a touchdown machine,
who has been a bargain for this team. You know,

(16:10):
that's the one that I'm interested to see how they
want to work on that, because when you're in the
last year of the deal and you're a running back,
we know that's when things start to get sideways at
that position. We've seen it repeatedly year after year. So
that's the one deal I'm looking at a little bit
more as to how do you guys want to work this.
You know, he's got with all these franchise tags, he's

(16:35):
going to end up being again like the eighth or
tenth or twelfth highest paid player at his position, And
how's that going to work out in the last year
of his deal? And what are you what are you
probably going to have to do in order to get
this thing right because we know how important he is,
how unique of a player he is, but we also
know he's on a team. This is twenty two million
bucks over the gap right now. So that to me

(16:57):
is going to be an interesting one just because of
how that how this league treats that position. And you
think about the identity of the Titans and how important
Derrick Henry is to what they want to do, the
type of team they are, and it's like, yeah, go
up shop for a shop for a new deal. We're
we're happy to let you try it. You know, Tony Pollard, No,

(17:18):
don't watch that a long term deal. Franchise, Sequan franchise,
Josh Jacobs franchise. So Rashod Penny. I know he look
he can't stay healthy, but he's an incredible runner. We
know how important he is to Seattle and what they
want to do. You know, go ahead, let's see what
you can get on the open market. You can't stay like.
That's a different deal. That's the one that I'm going

(17:38):
to find that that I find interesting as to how
they're gonna try to piece that one together and if
they're going to have to piece it together and money.
That's that's why we talk about it beat John Robinson,
because you know, we're not We're not just looking at
twenty twenty three. You're looking at three four years down
the line. And if you have an elite player at

(17:58):
that position on a rookie deal, it just makes sense
to bring a guy on because he can play with
Austin and he can also carry the load on his own. So,
like I understand Popper's argument, Hey, you know, never drafted
running back in the first round. But if it's a
generational guy, I think you have to think about it
a little bit. And you know, we also talked about okay,

(18:20):
well if he's the final piece, then go for it.
Who's to say he's not the final piece? I mean,
this this team was a super Bowl contender. We we
thought this team was a super Bowl contender going into
this past year. Right, they had injuries, but a ton
of guys back. You're gonna get Slater back, You're gonna
get Austin Johnson back. Hopefully Joey stays healthy. You know,
we'll see what happens with Khalil and and hopefully Khalil

(18:42):
can do what he did this past year and play
for seventeen games. Um, Mike and Keenan. I mean, Justin
was hurt all year, So who's to say that the
team that they currently have constructed can't get deep into
January maybe February, and then you throw a guy like
v Jean Robinson into the mix. That's why I think
that that position in particular is fascinating. And you have

(19:05):
to think about the future with the running back position
because of exactly how you laid it out, these guys
have a shorter shelf life the franchise, tach. That's the
one thing I want. I'm wondering in New York is
how happy Saque is going to because you know, he
probably wanted to to see how much he was going
to get on the open market. Now he's not able
to do that. Yeah, I think, you know, I think

(19:27):
for running backs, unfortunately, it's just the reality of the
position of the market. And look, there's nothing wrong with
getting ten million bucks for a year, you know, or
and that's this is where this is where the conversation
of a first round back you could argue, make sense. Right,

(19:48):
so you get four years, you get the fifty year option,
and then you can do two franchise tags. Let's say
you have an elite back. You get four years of
locked in salary from the first for being a first
round pick. Then you get the fifth round option, which
averages that it's like a franchise tag. Right, so now
you have five Now you have two franchise tags to

(20:08):
work with, and nobody's paying running backs, like to me,
that's that's the argument. Or if you want to draft
them outside of the first round, now you get four
years and two franchise tags, so you get six or
seven years and then you get to the next one.
Because it's just a position that takes so much punishment.
And I think that's where Austin is interesting because he's

(20:30):
so different. He's such a different player than your standard
running back and why his situation is unique and how
they're going you know, to sort through that. But just
imagine you take you know, Robinson. Let's just say he
immediately becomes one of the five best backs in the league.
You know, if you're projecting him to be what everybody

(20:51):
thinks he's gonna be. So now you've got an elite
player and that's what you're looking for, right, do you
have a player that is top five at their position
at edge rusher, Joey Bosa at quarterback, Justin Herbert at
wide receiver, Keenan Allen at you know, left tackle, Rashaan
Slater at like at defensive back, you know, in the

(21:14):
defensive backfield, Derwin James. Like, that's when you're talking about
building a Super Bowl contending team, you need to have
these blue chippers at positions. Well, now, if you tell me,
I can plug in a guy at running back and
he's gonna be one of the five best players in
the league at his position, and I'm gonna have cost
certainty for seven years and it's going to be affordable,

(21:37):
you know, because the franchise tag for running backs is
ten million bucks. It's nothing. So it's like, that's where
that to me, that's where that conversation starts to make
sense and why it made sense to tag Hunter. You know,
we know that the Chargers don't tag a lot of guys,
you know, they tag Hunter because it makes sense to
tag tight ends. Ten million bucks for elite for someone
who was as elite as Hunter, you know, like a

(21:59):
sicky last year done, Let's go bargain draft the tight
end in the first round. Fifty year option, franchise, franchise,
and there's seven years of cost certainty at a position
that's not gonna crush you when you drop that tag
on him. Yeah, I'm with you, and I just I
think we forget about Rashaun Slater and just how good

(22:19):
he is. If you put an elite back again, I'm
not saying Austin's not elite. Austin's just a different type
of running back. Austin has been awesome. He leaves the
league in touchdowns of the last two years. But if
you get I do think though, Chris, you know what,
I just to jump in, you know what I think,
And you've got to find a speed receiver because you've

(22:40):
got to open things up. That that that was the problem.
That was a big problem with the running game last year.
It's just teams did not respect the downfield throws for
someone that has arguably the best arm in the league.
And it's crazy like they just didn't. And so that's how,
you know, So that's something that has to get worked out.
However they figure it out. They've got to figure it out.

(23:01):
You have got to get speed in that wide receiver room.
All right, Hey, let's take a quick break. We got
a bunch of questions that relate to the combinind the
draft and free agency. Will answer them on the other side.
All right, guys, is the official hospitality provider of the NFL.
On Location offers unrivaled access to experience all premiere NFL

(23:22):
events like never before. On Location brings you up close
for all the action, providing fans with unforgettable moments from
Draft Day to Super Bowl Sunday and everything in between.
On Location thrilled to announce its new partnership with the
Pro Football Hall of Fame this August, kickoff football season
and Ken Ohio and be there live to witness the
class of twenty twenty three enshrinement. The NFL is headed

(23:45):
back to London and Germany for the twenty twenty three
NFL International Games. On Location official packages will feature game tickets,
deluxe hotel accommodations, private tours, pregame hospitality, end to end planning,
and more. Sure to secure your priority access today, visit
NFL onlocation dot com or search NFL on location today

(24:07):
your football experience of a lifetime of weights only with
on Location So money, I put a tweet out, I
put out the bat signal this morning for Chargers fans
to ask questions about the draft and free agency. I
want to just start with this one though. Let's just
get an origin story. How did mister Smith get his
nickname money? I wish it was a great story, it's not.

(24:31):
I just worked on a morning show in Los Angeles
Hall of Fame morning show. Kevin and Bean got the
job when I was still in college answering their phones,
and thankfully their sports guy took a liking to me
and wanted to use me to do some voices and
allowed me to kind of write some comedy for them

(24:52):
and be able to get on air. That guy was
Jimmy Kimmel, so that was super cool to have him
sort of bring me in under under his wing and
kind of walked me through and still remains a friend
of this day. Is just one of the best people ever,
as loyal as anyone could ever be to his friends.
And that's why you see his show look the way
it does, with his aunt Chippy, and cousin Sal and

(25:15):
Guierrimo and his uncle Frank who sadly passed away, you know,
and Clito who's been his best friend, who's his band leader.
Like that's just Jimmy, so he was nice enough to
kind of take me in and helped me out when
I was still a junior in college. And for some reason,
the guys over there just gave me the name Money.

(25:36):
I don't know why, because everybody on their show had
a nickname. You know, we had Lightning, and we had
Big Leo, and I was Money and you know, you
just that's just what it was everybody. Yeah, I had
a nickname, and they gave me the name Money. We've
speculated why, but no one's given me a good answer.
So I don't know if it's because I was gambling

(25:56):
with cousin sal when he was coming by, or or what.
But that's I wish I had a better story. It's
a hopefully then that story pretty was Jimmy Kinder put
you in a position to get the nickname money, right,
I mean there you go. Yeah, so pretty great. That's awesome,
Pretty great? All right? Camp see four? That that was?
That was your answer? Uh, this is from Junius Lim.

(26:19):
If we go wide receiver slash tight end in the
first two rounds of the draft, who are the players
that define Kellen Moore's prototypes? Well, I guess you look
look the Cowboys event some really good receivers. I mean
Gallop and Ceedee Lamb and Amari Cooper, and I mean
that's you're talking about really good receivers. So I don't

(26:43):
think there's necessarily a profile for Kellen Moore. Um. I
think because you've already got Mike Williams, Josh Palmer, Keenan Allen.
So you've already got ones, Like you could make a
case that both Mike Williams and Keenan are ones. You've
got a one in a one A, which very few
he had. You know, you can argue that that he
had when he had Cooper and Ceedee Lamb, he had

(27:04):
a one in a one A and they were able
to move off of Cooper, you know, because of that
what I have. Heck, no, not for the number he was.
I think he was making eighteen million bucks for a
Marie Cooper. Absolutely would have rather have kept Cooper there
than trade him for whatever it was, A four or
five from the Browns. But so I think any receiver
could could fit in. I think, you know, if you
want sort of the smaller guy that's fast as they flowers.

(27:28):
You know, I got a chance to watch some of
the wide receivers. Man, I love Downs was so smooth
out of North Carolina. That's a potential maybe second instead
of a first. Josh Downs, dude, he is smooth and
I mean you talk about beautiful looking hands, Addison was
super smooth too. Now, I don't you know he tweaked out.

(27:48):
I think I don't know if he tweaked a hammy
or calf or what it was. It was something going
on that he ended up having to cut his workout short.
But you could just see the fluidity in his movement.
So I think there's a lot of guys, you know,
flowers look great. He looked explosive. I know DJ likes
him a lot um, So I think I think we
saw it right. So here's high. He gets the Richardson

(28:09):
throw um downfield and what happens he drops it, you know.
So that's a bit of a concern is that he's
just one he's a one year producer and two he's
a one trick pony. So I think that's the thing
you have to be concerned about a little bit. Whereas
you know, Addison was great last year, has some injury

(28:30):
issues and he's slight, and that's the one thing to
be concerned about I think he waiting at like one
seventy one, So you're talking about a much smaller guy,
much you know, thinner frame that you maybe have to
worry about a little bit. But man, he was good
at Pittsburgh. If you just go back two years and
watch what he and Tenny Pickett were doing, it was
so impressive. And I like that. I know the the
Steelers are probably the best drafting wide receiver team in

(28:52):
the NFL. It's incredible what they come up with, you know,
in those second, third, fourth rounds. But I do think
there's something to be said about, you know, getting guys
back together. You know, the way that Joe Burrow and
Jamar Chase got back together. You know that that. I
do think there's something to that. Um, you know, DeVante

(29:12):
Smith and Jalen Hurts and so Jalen Waddling too. H
you know, there's just something about that familiarity in connection.
So I don't know if Addison will be there. But
in terms of tight ends, you know, Dalton Schultz is
you know, I'd say he's more of a pass catcher
at tight end as opposed to a you know, full

(29:33):
service big body can block his tail off I think
you saw, you know, Washington certainly play his way into
the first round out of George. Can't any question that
he's going to go in the first round. Right handed catch,
Yeah on the sledge just I mean that the sled
is still crying for um. So I think that's a
real interesting one because there's not a lot of pass

(29:54):
catching production there because they didn't need it. But the
idea that you have a six offensive lineman anytime he's
on the field that is going to be able to
match with your defensive end and just obliterate your linebacker
defensive back, he's super intriguing. And it's just a question of, Okay,
how good is he in the past game? How good

(30:14):
can he be in the past game, you know, versus
someone like a Dalton Kincaid, who would be more like
your Dalton Schultz and you know, just exceptional, but he'd
be an upgrade on Schultz. You know, just a ridiculous
route runner separation. You know, we talked about it last week,
you know, Travis Kelsey asked, you know, and you saw

(30:35):
you know, Mayor who's you know, looked incredible. I mean,
he was the body beautiful guy out there. You saw
him all muscled up, and you know, it looks like
he's perfectly proportioned and it's kind of that that signature
full service tight end. So I think I think in
the you know, I think you're more I know, the
kind of the the vibe that I got from people

(30:56):
was that it's not as good of a wide receiver
draft as you might like, and then it's a really
good tight end draft. So I think along those lines,
you're probably more likely to get a good tight end
in the second round. And maybe you got to you
gotta spend a little bit more to get the wide receiver,

(31:16):
or you know, is it not worth the first round
pick for the wide receiver because you feel like the
tight ends are a little more talented, So why not
go for the talent with that first round pick. It's
it'll be interesting to see how they how they sort
it out. But yeah, I would say there's a number
of tight ends that you could probably say reflect a
Schultz type of tight end. You know, Mayor Musgrave, super athletic,

(31:42):
looked really good body, beautiful, guy Washington was just an alien,
a complete alien out there. So that would be a
real interesting, one good problem to have for the Chargers.
Selected at seventh. Yeah, one of those guys is going
to be there, you know, one of those elite tight
ends or who knows ofs and drops. Such a great point.
I'm glad you brought that up, Chris. It's it's a

(32:03):
great way to look at it. You're not picking at
twenty one, you're picking at seventeen because there's gonna be
four quarterbacks. So now just set your old line, D line,
defensive backs, tight ends, wide receivers, and the one running back,
and there's six positions. You know you're going to probably
get the second best player at one of those positions,
you know, guaranteed, because you're talking about seventeen guys that

(32:26):
are going to come off the board. Jermaine out of Wilmington, Delaware,
how do you guys feel about us adding a guy
like Mikole Hardman? Would he come at a discount considering
his injury? Jermaine's looking for speed money. Yeah, I think
it's a great I think it's a great point. You know,
is there is there someone on the free agent market?

(32:48):
You know that, and you saw it last year. You know,
you saw some of these guys that were floating out
there that were speed guys. That you take a flyer on,
you know that that you hope pan out, and sometimes
they do, sometimes they don't, you know. And and look,
Mikole has not had the career that the Chiefs had hoped,

(33:10):
you know. It's just he's kind of been a little
more effective on those jet suits and stuff and just
really wasn't the guy that could take the top off.
He would he would flash every now and then. But
certainly that's the one concern, right is you've got Patrick Mahomes,
who can extend plays, who's got a huge arm, should
be a no brainer, should be an absolute perfect weapon.
And they were hoping that Hardman was going to take

(33:32):
over for you know, for Tyree Hill, and it just
never happened. So that's the I think that's the one concern.
I'm blanking. I'm sure I'm vamping because I'm trying to
think of the name. And why can I not remember
the notre dame receiver that was in Houston that signed
the one year deal will will Fuller, Like look what
happened with Will fer Fuller last year? Right like, Hey,
here's this elite speed, let's go get him. And then

(33:54):
he just barely plays and it just ends up, you know.
So that's guys that are hurt and to get hurt,
you know, And there's a reason why guys with four
three speed find themselves on the open market. So that's
just the one thing you got to be aware of.
Why Why couldn't the Chiefs make it work? Why did
they have to bring in Marquess Valdez Stantling to be
that speed guy when they already had Mcole Hardman on

(34:15):
the roster. And why did they have to go trade
a draft pick for Kadarius Tony to do a lot
of the things that we thought Nicole Hardmen was going
to be able to do when they already had him
on the roster. So that's the one I think concern
with that. Yeah, you know, someone else asked about Jalen
Guyton He's a free agent now, and I think the
silver lining to having a terrible injury like that is

(34:36):
that had happened earlier in the year, so maybe maybe
he could be fully recovered by the time you get
to the beginning of the season. It's jail and a
guy worth bringing back. You know, he's twenty five years old.
You know, if if he can if he can still
flash that speed. Um you know, you just you just
hope that you know he can he can be close
to the same guy that he was, because when you

(34:58):
have an injury like that, you probably do lose a
little bit of speed. Yeah, at a leage minimum deal,
which is what I think it would be. Yeah, hundred percent,
I'd bring him back up. You're familiar with him. It's
a great teammate. Guys love him great in the room.
Herbert's got a special chemistry with them. We know there's
been some sensational place that those two have made together.
I think when you're talking about filling out the back

(35:18):
side of your roster, Yeah, I would much rather have
guiding as a depth piece as maybe a couple of
the other receivers. You know that they were carrying in
that position, So that makes sense. I'll be honest, like,
I'm I'm really interested with how how it's gonna I'm

(35:38):
trying to figure out the best way to say this
without kind of saying anything weird. Like I'm anxious to
see if it's the same receiver room next year. If
I just think about like last year, like the year before,
So what do teams want to do with young quarterbacks? Right?
Like just look at what the Bills did with Josh Allen.

(36:00):
They traded a one for Stefan Diggs. Look what the
Eagles did with Jalen Hurts, they traded a one for
a J. Brown. You've got, you know, potentially a Houston
team that's going to be drafting a quarterback. You've got
a Colts team, You've got you know, some a Panther's team.
Now they have DJ Moore and stuff. But like, I

(36:23):
just wonder if you know, if the Chargers are going
to get calls, you know, if they're gonna get calls,
because it's like, hey, you've got two receivers that are
making twenty million bucks apiece. Let's see if we can
pluck one of them. Let's see if you know, we
can offer you a second round pick or something and
pluck one of those guys and help our young quarterback out.

(36:45):
Because you kind of have this embarrassment of riches of
two ones, you know, which not a lot of teams have.
And I think I just there's something about it that
that's kind of been nagging at me. And I wonder
if how you know when you're when you're over there
cap when you're trying to build out a roster when
you're trying to get depth and you've had two receivers
that dealt with injuries last year but are really, really good.

(37:08):
You know what happens if you get that call? You
know what do you do? Because we know the way
those contracts are structured, they can move them, you know,
and they're not going to take on a lot of
dead money for either Mike or Keenan. So I know
what Tom said, but I think it's different from Hey,
we're just straight cutting this guy for cap relief too.

(37:31):
You got you got Will Levis coming in, you got
you know, Anthony Richardson, who's got a huge arm, and
we want to pair him with a guy like Mike
who can high point. We'll send we got two ones,
We'll send your other one. Let's I'm interested to see
how that would shake out. I'm not saying I would
do it. Yeah, what I'm saying is I think they're

(37:53):
gonna get that call. I would not be surprised. And
I think that's when you now you have to start saying, Okay,
if we do this, we take this piece away, what
do we replace it with? And look, you saw what
happened in Tennessee it totally fell apart. Aj was a
Jenga piece and it absolutely fell apart um. So I
think you have to be you know, and let and

(38:13):
then look what happened in Minnesota. They pull out digs
and they plug in Justin Jefferson and they upgrade it him. Yeah,
so it's like it works both ways. So I'm anxious.
I'm anxious to see if if they do get that call,
and what would happen if they did. We've seen We've
seen stranger things. You know. Remember last year the Cardinals
tried to do the same thing with Kyler Murray. Let's

(38:35):
get Hollywood Brown, let's trade. Let's trade a first round
pick for Hollywood Brown, and the Ravens said, Okay, go
for it. You know, it didn't really work out, That's
what I'm saying. But they had Hopkins there too, so
they were they were trying to just just load it
up for Kyler. Right. Hey, now they're going to trade Hopkins.
I wouldn't or he's a free agent. Who's that? I

(38:55):
said it? Now? Hopkins is gonna be gone now, like
you know, he's he's on the market. So yeah, it's
just a trend. People follow the trends, right Look at
what Diggs did for Alan, look at what A. J.
Brown did for you know, for for for Jalen hurts
like it's there's a reason why, you know. Doug Peterson
went out and said, hey, let's get some vets down here.

(39:17):
Let's get Evan Ingram, Let's get Christian Kirk. We got
a young guy, we need to get veteran receiver. Yeah,
to help him. Now they got Calvin Ridley. I mean,
my god, it's crazy. Hey, you know what I wouldn't
put I wouldn't put anything past this draft. I think
the Bears are gonna do some wheel in and dealing.
They're gonna have a ton of We're gonna have a

(39:37):
ton of picks. Chase Claypool isn't enough for Justin Fields.
So I could see that was Yeah, I could see
the Bears saying, Okay, hey, let's go get d Hop.
Let's go look in the in the AFC, see who's
available for our guy. So we could take this offense
to another level. So it's fascinating, and you know, anything
can happen. I think Joshua Palmer, the way that he

(39:59):
played in the absence of Keenan and Mike, I think
maybe showed the fraud office that, hey, Joshua is capable.
He's only going to get better the way he works
with Justin after practice man that that has just been
a thing that we've seen since his rookie season. So
who knows. How about let's see. Gerard Robertson asked about

(40:19):
the time frame on Pipkins. I think people are understanding
the Pipkins thing among the unrestricted free agents. We talked
about Drew last week too, But getting trade it's back
in the folds important. We you know what, we ended
up getting some really and I want to try to
find it here. Where the heck did it go? You

(40:41):
ended up getting a huge break on the tackle market.
Let's see, I'm trying to find here we go. I
could not believe how many tackles did not get tagged.
I thought for sure that you were going to see
Orlando Brown get a second tax. This is the benefit

(41:01):
for the Chargers is there's a lot of tackles out
there that are free agents. Orlando Brown, Jewan Taylor, Caleb McGarry,
Mike mcclinchey, Taylor, the one, Isaiah Wynn, Donovan Smith yesterday
released by the Bucks, Calvin Beecham Andrew Wiley of the Chiefs.
So like that's a lot like if you're the Bears,

(41:22):
and like that's where which we said, these guys never
hit the market, you know, and yet here they are
hitting the market. So that's where it could benefit the
Chargers that you know, maybe Trey finds himself a little
bit further down in that pecking order because they don't
know him like the Chargers know him and how he
has developed and how he has gradually taken these steps

(41:45):
to have his best year and to be a really
good right tackle that fought through a lot of toughness,
and they wouldn't value him as much as maybe a
couple of the other guys that have just had you know,
they were first round draft pick, first or second round
draft picks, so they always have that stigma attached to them.
They won a Super Bowl in the case of Orlando Brown,
they were the highest paid tackle in the league at

(42:06):
one point, and Taylor of the one, like they all
have that sort of resume. That's a little more flashing
lights for these teams with a ton of cap space
to go, you know, the Raiders to go out and
get one of them. The Bears to go out and
get one of them. With what we were talking about,
that maybe it works out for the Chargers money, or
on the flip side, if somebody really falls in love
with Trey and his youth and the fact that he's

(42:28):
ascending and they pay him a lot of money. You
just named a bunch of guys who could be potential replacements.
You know. Obviously it would be nice to have Trey
in here and to just kind of continue what he
started here with the Chargers. But it's a great point
because there weren't a many tackles tagged, and there's you know,
I couldn't believe Peter Peter King, I think in his

(42:49):
column said that this was going to be a very
boring free agency. That's one position though, where you just
named a ton of guys who you know, really kind
of fit with the Chargers need, even like from a
swing tack whole perspective, if you can get another guy
in here to back up, you know, I know we
have Sawyer in the mix. I don't know if they're
gonna move him to guard. He's a candidate to be
a swing tackle too, But I just think that that's

(43:12):
one position the Chargers they could look at closely and say, okay, hey,
let's get Trey back. But if not, there's a couple
of other guys that may fit the bill, no doubt.
I think if you ask them ultimately, they probably prefer
to get trade as opposed to trying to figure out
if there's an upgrade out there. But I think that

(43:32):
benefits them. I think, you know, teams would be apt
to lock in on somebody like a mc gary, a Taylor,
a Brown before you know those. I'm talking about the
teams with a big numbers in cap space. They can
go out and spend some serious cash as opposed to, like,
you know what, let's take the assenting player. Let's take
the guy that that had a solid season last year,

(43:55):
as opposed to someone like Donovan Smith, who everybody knows
is just a Rocks solid league average tackle. Is he elite? No,
but that's not necessarily what you're going to get in
free agency. You're going to get is he replacement level?
He is he one of the twenty best tackles in
the league, one of the eighteen best tackles in the league.
If he is, let's go get him because that's all

(44:16):
you need. Because because to search for something else is foolish.
It's just it's it's so hard to find. But I
think it ends up benefiting the Chargers quite a bit.
Same same with linebacker. You know we were talking about tranquil.
You look at the linebackers that that are going to
be available, Let's see where did they go. I was like,
holy cow, look at all these freaking linebackers that ended

(44:39):
up making their way. I had no idea. You know
how many of those guys ended up not getting deals.
Bobby Wagner, Tremaine Edmond's taken one pick ahead of Darwin James.
They didn't pick up his fifth year option. He's a
free agent. Lavante David David Long, who I absolutely love
from the Titans. I didn't know he was a free agent.
Bobby o'karaka or Okarek if you call these games in college, uh,

(45:02):
Jermaine Pratt, Eric Kendricks is a little bit old um
Layton Vandersch who's had some injury issues, but you know
what I mean. It's also done the commercials with Justin
Herbert exactly. Like those are flashy names that slot perhaps
ahead of Drew and now you know, because of the market,
you have an opportunity to keep your guys up. We're

(45:23):
a little short on time, so I'm gonna try to
combine some of these questions because some of the sorry
it's not you, it's we have we have a lot
of questions. It's great, um Luise, Andrew, Jeff and Chris.
I'm just gonna kind of combine these. Assuming the charges
resigned Pipkins and cut Feiler to slot saw, you're in
the left guard, how do you think they addressed the
backup swing tackle position. We kind of just alluded to

(45:45):
that what extensions could be done to keep the cap,
to help the cap and keep the team together. And
then somebody asked about maybe offering extensions to eck and
Vato to help with cap relief. And if they don't
draft to tight end in the first round, who would
be your favorite targets in later rounds? So a lot
there about the offensive line. Would you like to build

(46:06):
the offensive line through free agency or the draft money?
You can kind of attack this however you want. Maybe
we just start with would you offer guys like like
Mike Davis and Eckler extensions to help with kap relief? Well,
I mean, their numbers so small, right, Now that's the thing.
They're both bargains, you know, Mike, is what ten million
bucks for a starting corner and that's nothing. I'm talking

(46:29):
about guys that are making twenty five million bucks a
year at that position. And I'm sure Mike he's content
to be like, hey man, either you're gonna pay me
a bunch of scratcher, I am getting to free agency.
So I think that's the one issue there is. I
don't think that's the place to find Kap relief. The
place to find Kapp relief is where that. To me,
the big one is Joey Bosa. It's thirty million bucks,

(46:50):
you know, and you can you can toy with that
as long as you're comfortable stretching Joey out, which I'm
assuming they are. You know, he seems to be a
core piece, So I would guess that's one that you'd
want to take that. That's a big one. Yes, Plugging
Jamari in at guard serves two purposes. One, you feel
good about him to Matt Feiler, saves eight million bucks.

(47:13):
It's just salary that's off the books. But as Popper
pointed out last week, Jamari played tackle and you know,
yes he played. He played everything. He played up and
down that Georgia line. You know, they kicked him inside
when they needed him inside. They kicked him outside when
he needed him outside. But that's projecting. Okay, he's going
to be a style. I think he's going to be
a better guard personally because once he locks onto you,

(47:35):
that's where he wins. You know, some of the speed
rushers that he kind of had trouble getting out too quickly.
So I think that's a solution there. Yeah, I said it.
I think at tight end, you saw all the athleticism
out there. The one thing I would say about tight
End though and trying to pick one up in the
third fourth, I think was Porter right was the one
that really kind of raised his hand out of Iowa,

(47:55):
so that the laporta. Yeah, So I just think it's
such an important position. I think it really changes the
math when when you have a dominant player at that position.
So to me, if you have one of those elite
guys sitting there, um to me that I would get it.
I wouldn't mess around with, Hey, let's see if we

(48:16):
can pluck this guy in the herd, for they've been
doing that since they let Hunter Henry go you know,
it's one year it's it's it's Jared Cook, the next
year it's Gerald Everett. Like, get that guy and get
that position settled, because man, Justin is he can exploit
the hell out of it. Jack Foley says, I know
Matt money Smith is on the Concade train, but would
the team take him over Mayor if both available at

(48:38):
twenty one? The Chargers have have a track record of
liking there's notre dame guys Money They sure do. Um,
I don't know. I think there's you know, there's there's
so many different styles. There's so many different types, body types,
styles of play. I think it's just what they think

(48:58):
fits the team best. Um. You know, do they want
someone who's more of a blocker, um and not as
good of a pass catcher, then yeah, then then you know,
Meyer might be your guy, or Washington might be or guy.
If that's what you want. Um, you know we said it.
If you want someone at that position that's a little
bit more of the Travis Kelsey. You know, I don't

(49:21):
even want to put up an Ingram in there. He's
so much more of a wide receiver, he's not even
really a tight end. Um Kin Kaid is a more
Kelsey esque style tight end um. So I think it
just depends. I wouldn't have a problem with either of them,
you know, with Washington, with Meyer, with with Kinkaid, I'm
good with all that, you know, give me some of
that for her. But I just think you get those

(49:42):
trees in the in the red zone in the middle
of the field. It's such a it's such a It's
just it's easy completions to me, when when you can
find one of those guys, the likelihood the charges will
trade down even out of the first round. You know,
I think you gotta get a blue chip type player
where you're at because of the fact that the quarterbacks

(50:03):
are going to go there. But what do you think?
Yeah to me, you know, we've said it. It's just
what how many players do they have first round grades
on and is one of them available? And if that
player isn't available, what is the offer you know that
for someone that wants to come up that clearly adds
one of those players as a first round grade. So

(50:24):
that's again, that's just math. It's it really does typically
come down to that and whether or not you have
a player that you really like and how big. The
gaps are on your horizontal board. You know, horizontal, you
have each position, and you have each position ranked, and
then you have a vertical. However, many players they put
on their verticals. Some things put seventy, some have one hundred,
some have one hundred and fifty in order, and what

(50:47):
does that look like based on what's available to you.
It doesn't sound, you know, it doesn't sound like there's
a lot of action in this draft. I didn't quite
get that vibe when I was out of the combine.
There's gonna be a lot of those teams that want
to jump up. Now if what you say goes, Chris,
and let's just say Hendon Hooker ends up going and

(51:07):
someone falls in love with him, and he ends up
going in the first round, and you get five guys,
and now you've got sixteen players. You know, you're the
sixteenth best non quarterback that you get to draft. Okay,
now that looks like a back end of a first
round grade, and that's that tends to be the sweet spot.
That's what you usually hear from guys is Yeah, it's
usually about seventeen to twenty guys that get first round

(51:29):
grades in an average draft. So now, yeah, you could
be in a position to trade back because it may
be the very back end of Okay, this guy we
have and he should have gone at twelve, but the
quarterbacks pushed him down and old, my god, he's available
at twenty one. Let's get him and offer him, you know,
a two this year and a two and a three
next year, and okay, let's go. You know, Chargers have

(51:49):
no two, so replaces there are. They lost their two
last year. So now you replace that two that you
lost last year maybe and you get the extra pick
out of it the following year, a couple more, and guys,
we get a bunch porn in so we always appreciate you. Listen,
we'll do another one of these guys soon. Of Bolts
nine four, I think we kind of answered this. How
do the Chargers fix the running game? I think it's
a combination of a lot of things. You either get

(52:10):
that generation or running back. He talked about a speed
receiver in this question, and then obviously upgrading the offensive line.
But I also think the Kellen Moore scheme is gonna
help or sent right is going to help that running game.
John Bingham Money wants to know how and when did
the Chargers get a backup center who can take over
in twenty twenty four? I guess he's looking for the

(52:30):
next Corey Lensley. I'm very happy with the current set up,
but I appreciate the future question. You know, that's just
going back to a prior question, restructure in Vato or Austin.
How about restructure and Corey? You know, I don't want
to do center in twenty twenty four. I don't either,
you know, And he's doing great so and he's young
enough that you know, and centers tend to last a

(52:51):
little bit longer than tackles. Um so I think that's
an interesting contract to maybe extend because I would assume
they want him here so that instead of finding the
next one. And I think the good thing about center
is if if we feel so, you know, if we
feel really good about this nucleus that the Chargers have,
you can you can get the best center in the draft.
Typically in the twenties, you know, those those guys, you know,

(53:15):
of all the positions on the offensive line, they tend
to last the longest. They're the last ones that are drafted.
Remember when they when the Cowboys took Travis Frederick everybody
freaked out. They're like, you're taking a center in the
first round, and now it's commonplace where the number one
center ends up going at the back end of the
first round. So I think that's something you can replace.
If the Chargers stay competitive like we think they're going to,

(53:36):
and their first round pick ends up in the twenties
somewhere every year, you know, and hopefully one year it
ends up at thirty two, then yeah, I think that's
still a good spot for a center. Last one, if
Trey Pitkins does sign with another team, how high of
a draft priority aka what round does right tack will become?

(53:56):
So that's something we talked about with all the guys
that you mentioned in the free agency market. Or do
you spend a second let's say, on a right tackle? Well,
I think or does Jamari saw your becoming your right
tackle and now you're drafted interior alignment? You know. So
that's the other thing is is if Trey leaves, because
Jamari helps so much, you know, with that issue, because

(54:20):
he can play tackle or guard. So if Trey leaves
and you're sitting at twenty one and like you were
last year with Zion, you feel like, oh, we're gonna get,
you know, the second best guard, our number two graded
interior alignment in the draft, and you plug him in
at left guard and move Jamari over to right tackle,

(54:41):
and you still have an opportunity to move on from
Matt Filer's money if you want to do that. And
I don't want to cut Matt Filer. I don't want
to put him out of a job. You know. I
think he had a little bit of a rough goal
last year, but he had a really good year of
the year prior. And then it's a slater. I think
that's what people have to remember, Like when it was
Lindsay Filer Slater, that was a really good left side
of the line. And if you can have to come back,
then yeah, that would be ideal and you don't have

(55:02):
to expend a pick there. Um. I think they're hoping
that Brennan Himis takes the step that that Trey took
this year last year, that that Heimus can take that
step this year. Haven't drafted him where they did, and
he's got center guard flexibility and tackle flexibility for that purpose. UM,
So that's that would be my guess, is that their
first goal would be in house. UM and have that

(55:25):
inexpensive option six round pick you know, Jamaria right tackle
instead of having a hand out seven eight million bucks
to somebody just trays going, what do you have about this?
We went sixty minutes on March eighth talking Charges football.
It's pretty good and a ton of questions. So people
definitely engaged an intrigue by what the Chargers are going
to do. But it's March madness. You got to get

(55:47):
to the United Center in to talk some Big ten,
cover some Big ten who do the games today? Today
I've got the basically like the plans right, the buys
start tomorrow, so today we've got eleven, twelve fourteen, So
it's Wisconsin. As hard as it is to believe, Wisconsin
in Ohio state are the twelfth and thirteenth teams to

(56:07):
Big Ten. That's how stacked the Big Ten was this year.
They're going to get ten teams in the tournament. And
then eleven fourteen is Nebraska, who, by the way, Nebraska,
who's the eleventh team, won six of their last eight games,
swept Iowa and they're playing a Minnesota team that's just
really struggled this year. So should be I mean having
Wisconsin Ohio State in the play ins Chris, you're near

(56:30):
a Northwestern alumnus, so you know it's usually Northwestern Minnesota, Rutgers,
Penn State is typically what we get on this day,
and today we're getting Ohio State Wisconsin. It's just crazy
to have those two teams or typically Nebraska's is here,
you know, and they're here this year again. But they're

(56:52):
a really good team. So it's just kind of funny
that we got Wisconsin in Ohio State. I think between
them they have I want to say they have seven
big ten turns them in titles between them, and they're
playing as the twelve and thirteen seed this year. Those
Chris Collin Wildcats get the feed up today. They're relaxing.
I think they're going to the two. They are the
two seed. They're opposite Perdue with the double buy. It's crazy, man,

(57:17):
They're they're enjoying life. They're loving it, man. Unbelievable. Hey
man in Jewish, good luck to your cats. Yeah, you
know what, I'm just glad they're gonna get in, you know,
and maybe maybe win a game or two. Hey, they
got a good team, man, they're their backcourt. They they
got two vats. You know, boo boo and Chase Audies
those are good. Audis is one of the best defensive
players in the Big Ten and and boo boo, he's

(57:39):
one of the best all around players in the Big Ten.
And you know that's the old you know, benefit of COVID.
They stuck around in extra years. So you got guys
that are like twenty four years old out there roughing
up these kids because it's Northwestern and why not, man,
Let's go have some fun and see if you know
you can get the city of Chicago a Final Four appearance.
You know, so gonna be fun, alright, enjoy it. We'll

(58:01):
talk next week for money. I'm Chris. This has been
charges weekly, all right, guys. Is the official hospitality provider
of the NFL. On Location offers unrivaled access to experience
all premiere NFL events like never before. On Location brings
you up close for all the action, providing fans with
unforgettable moments from Draft Day to Super Bowl Sunday and

(58:23):
everything in between. On Location thrilled to announce its new
partnership with the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This August
kickoff football season and Ken Ohio and be there live
to witness the class of twenty twenty three enshrinement. The
NFL is headed back to London and Germany for the
twenty twenty three NFL International Games. On Location official packages

(58:43):
will feature game tickets, deluxe hotel accommodations, private tours, pregame hospitality,
end to end planning, and more. Be sure to secure
your priority access today visit NFL onlocation dot com or
search NFL on Location today. Your football varience of a
lifetime awaits only with on location m