2025 All-Pro Teams with Ollie Connolly

24:23I do think games played matters here. For a quarterback to win an award, for any player to win an award in those nine games, he's got to be one of the greatest of all time, like one of the greatest rookie seasons we've ever seen. He'd have to be like Dan Marino rookie season, but only over nine games or whatever. And Chuck isn't even close to that. Like you could still make the argument if you want, like Jackson Dart versus like Chuck for the season. It's not crazy to me. There's not an obvious choice. I'm leaning McMillan for rookie of the year. We'll talk about that. That is interesting what you say.

24:58You're like, look, Harold Fannin Jr. has like got a top 10 tight end, you know, receiving yards in the history of the game right now. Loveland, like there's a lot of guys. Loveland and Warren, I guess, has fallen off. But I have a hard time with that too. Okay, with your input, I will put George Pickens on my second team. I had him there. He was right on the borderline. But I'm at least going to put him on my second team. I am going Nico Collins on my first team. You made me feel better about it. So I'm going to go Puka, Jackson Smith, and Jigba, and Nico Collins with my first team. And then I'm going Jamar Chase, Amon Ross, St.

25:32Brown, who at this point, I don't think it's fair to even say he's underrated, but he's not just a Lions slot scheme merchant. He is a very unique player, and so he's on the second team, and that's where I put George Pickens, too. So there's our first and second team wide receivers. What did you think about this Amon Ra season, other than kind of ruining the mini Lions dynasty by doing the Trump dance? yes it hasn't been the same since that that at least takes about a first team consideration for

26:08Ollie Connolly:the season imploded from there and then dan campbell a guy i love i know everyone loves but kind of disgraced himself down the stretch this season by turning the lines into this vertical passing attack whilst having no interior offensive line and rotating his centers one that one of the silliest things any coach and this is a coach of one of the sharpest brains in all of football to try and pivot the offense that way which limits what a mom rock and do was just laughable so So Amar in the circumstances, I think we can only really go off the pre-Trump dance portion of the season when the offense was designed differently and was featuring Amar Amar and played to his strengths, and he fried everyone in front of him.

26:40Okay, so we give him his love, and he gets the second team. I like the Devontae Smith shout-out as like a third-team type of guy in this season. All right, let's do a tight end, and then we'll take a break. Trey McBride has the numbers. He broke the all-time receptions record for tight ends. He was the offense statistically. He is far and away the choice. And then I think of what they ask him to do as a complete player, blocker. It seems like it's one of the more obvious consensus first team picks at any position. Do you agree? I agree. I don't think it's all that close. Okay. Then who's your second team?

27:24This is one where I was like, oh, I'm not I don't really know where to go here. You could you could make the case for about five different guys. So who was who was on your short list and where did you go in the end?

27:36Ollie Connolly:Yeah, we've been cleaned out by injuries, I feel, in this category, which makes it really difficult. I ultimately went with George Kitzel, who I know hasn't played as many games as other guys, which kind of, you know, dings some of my other arguments about what you should do with awards over the course of a season. But when he has played, he's just been a tier above everyone, including McBride. He's a significantly better blocker than McBride too. He does make them completely whole in the run past conflict for everyone and makes that offense sing a completely different clip when it's him and McCaffrey and you stick together.

28:02Ollie Connolly:So I just went with Kittle over everyone else. Yeah, because the other guys would be like, I mean, Brenton Strange missed a lot of time. If he had played the whole season, I don't think he would be out of the mix. Darnell Washington would be in the mix, I think, just for second team. If Kittle hadn't played all season, then you get to the rookies. Like, you know, Loveland wouldn't be that crazy of a pick. But ultimately, I think it's all of a stretch. I was like you. I thought Kittle ultimately is so much better than everyone else. It's kind of like I was saying with Tyler Shuck, that like you would have to be so much better than everyone else for your games.

28:42And Kittle did still play 10 games. It's not like he didn't play for much of the season. It's interesting to me you would say that you would have taken him over McBride if he had stayed healthy for the season. It's kind of crazy that we've gotten two vintage, total peak Kittle seasons right now at this stage of his career. Like, guys, I mean, considering how much they've put on him over the years, this is usually when tight ends would start declining. And he really hasn't, at least when he's been on the field.

29:10Ollie Connolly:Yeah, the decline with him is just, is he on the field or not? If he's on the field, he's one of the five, six most valuable offensive players in the league. It's just whether he stays healthy or not. And it's been awesome to see McBride kind of sustain his gains and continue to improve. That's one of the hardest things to do as a pro. And it's what puts you in Canton right now. And it's crazy to think about. But Faye McBride is very young. But this is what Hall of Fame tight end careers look like early in their careers. That's the type of start that McBride has had. Let's take a break. We're going to come back.

29:43We're going to talk line play. We're going to talk defense. And we're going to talk linebackers, which are just Olly Connelly's favorite people on Earth.

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34:16And I'm sick of pretending I have super hot takes on offensive line at this point. I really do want to dive more into the all 22 and going back over this season when we get to the offseason. But with this blur of the season, and I watch all the games as quickly as I can and stuff, it's like I have general feelings about who's played well on the offensive line. But I'm going to lean on you and your picks because I'm curious. These will be fresh to me. And it is a lot of the same names that you would think at tackle, I think would pop up. Like Trent Williams started off the season poor, but by the end of the season, he just seemed like Trent Williams again.

34:57which is hard to ever leave off. Same thing with Tristan Wirfs after an early start. Like, you know, wasn't healthy, but then he was very much Tristan Wirfs. Garrett Bowles is a guy maybe that stood out to me that had a really good year, but I'm curious where you went for tackle.

35:12Ollie Connolly:I appreciate your humility. You could do the traditional voter thing of just pull up PFF and treat it as gospel and file your ballot, which I think is what most people do. I went with Bowles and Tristan Wirfs as my starting tackles. Well, so then I didn't, who needs you anyways? I nailed it. Oh, wait, so that's over Panay Sewell this year. And why, okay, why would that be? Sewell has had now back-to-back seasons where in pass pro, he just isn't the caliber of play. He leaps off the screen so much in the run game, particularly when they feature him, when he's a puller and a mover in space. He's so clearly at head and shoulders above everyone else in the league as a mover in space.

35:44Ollie Connolly:But he just has so many major Ls in pass pro when it's straight one-on-one. The other guys get caught up when there's some kind of two-on-one conflict. You put two guys over, then they got to figure it out. It becomes more about the protection plan And then just those guys are straight up pass pro players. Soldus has more losses in straight one-on-one pass pro than the other top guys in the league. No, if I actually had a vote, and not that voters are listening to this show, maybe a few. You know, I would, that's, those are the positions, and I would try to do this with all the positions to some degree, but where I would just talk to people inside the teams who have been game planning and preparing and watching and who's giving you the most, like all that sort of stuff versus, yeah, checking PFF.

36:25Or asking people like me.

36:25Ollie Connolly:See, that is difficult, though, because Penny Sewell is when you have to game plan for, whereas I don't think you go in worried about Garrett Bowles. You just can't get past the guy for the entire season. He's gotten, yeah, what has stood out to you about him as he's gotten older in his career? Because he does seem like someone who, his development arc has been really fascinating, but now he's at the point where, yeah, he might be the best pass protector in the entire league. Yeah, and he's not as flashy as the other guys. Trent is obviously more flashier and has more of a size speed combination doing than Garrett Bowles is even at his size.

37:00Ollie Connolly:What he has going for him is he's in the best protection based unit in the entire league. Sean Payton is just the best at devising protection plans. The interior is outstanding, but he gets isolated a lot one on one on his own to one side of the formation. And he's just never wrong. And that is the job ultimately at the end of the day is just stay in front of the blocker. It doesn't have to be as flashy as everyone else when you've got to be aggressive and engage early against someone. He does that stuff when you got to sit back and play more patient football. He can do that, too. So he can just play in a varied number of ways.

37:27Ollie Connolly:And he just doesn't let guys past him, which is ultimately the job. Yeah. He's been that dude, too. When you when you hear from people that are around the Denver Broncos, like he is maybe the biggest leader on that team. He is kind of Mr. Denver Broncos, certainly for the offense. So yes, Garrett Bowles, Denver Broncos, Tristan Wirfs, of course, a left tackle now of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. And he's just someone that I don't think you need to have as great an eye for offensive line play when it comes to him. When I watch Tristan Wirfs, I just think like, oh yeah, that's exactly what you want in a left tackle.

38:06That's kind of teach tape. That's athleticism. It's everything that you want. And I know he just missed week 17 for the Bucs. He missed a couple games early, but ultimately he hasn't missed that much of the season. It sounds like he will be back on Saturday for the Buccaneers for what could be Gene Deckerhoff's final game. But we won't know. Big news breaking on, what was it, Wednesday here. But yeah, what stands out for you for Tristan Wirfs?

38:33Ollie Connolly:Wirfs is just the combination of intellect and size and speed. It just should not be allowed to be in one package. You'd have to take one of those out to make it a fair fight for everyone else. In the run game, everything is on the menu. he can kill people on the backside to have people pull around him he can pull into space himself opens up the screen game for them entirely so he is truly like in that bucket of penny sewell where it's he's a weapon offensive line which is so rare to find a tackle spot because you're so worried about pass pro it's hard to make that guy be a featured weapon he can do that stuff and then he just also doesn't make any errors or mental mistakes in pass pro whereas with sewell you get more of those breakdowns yeah and like it's one thing when they're missing their guards it's another thing like last week you could really see it when they're missing Tristan Wurfs I think that was a big reason why they lost that game against the Dolphins all right who are your choices give me give me the players and the teams for the interior offensive line I'm handing this one over to Ollie Connelly okay we'll start at God we'll go with Joe Tooney from the Bears at God and we'll go with Quinn Minots the God from the Denver Broncos okay so you think that Quinn Miners who I know you have loved his development has kind of kept up his run blocking more than anything as like the definitive run blocker in the NFL right now he is definitely the definitive run blocking NFL just one on head of man-to-man football in the trenches he controls big human beings better than anyone else in the league and I actually think the separation with him to every other line position the season is the biggest gap we have the biggest goal if you can make a case for different right tackles different left tackles he is like streaks ahead I think of every other guard in the league because now he's added so much more balance and fleet footedness in pass pro where he used to not lose the initial phase of the rep but his guys would throw moves at him he would kind of get lost and confused now he just doesn't let anyone buy him for entire stretches and then he is an absolute mauler in the run game he moves the pile individually more than any other player in the league so when you combine those two things together you get the all-around guard that you need not quite the overall skill set as some of maybe the most explosive guards in the league but for what he's asked to do he's doing a complete you know maximum capacity and there's no one else i I see the league doing it quite at that level as consistently week to week.

40:38And you got to give Ryan Poles, or maybe it's Ben Johnson really pulling the strings, but ultimately the Bears executing that trade for Joe Tooney. And you think about all the different reasons why the Chiefs fell apart this year. Trading Joe Tooney and giving Trey Smith all that money, it would have been part of it. I get it in terms of age, but it's interesting to me that you think he ultimately, even though there's a gulf between minors and the rest of the guards deserves that spot as kind of the guy who helped ignite a running game and really a transformation on that offensive line, which really came, especially after the bye week, Joe Tooney getting it done, possibly got to make the speaking of the hall of fame, like him doing it now for another team, I think is going to be a big feather in his cap one day when, when they're talking about him for

41:30Ollie Connolly:canton too yeah and a bit of a mea culpa pick for me i like to do that with these teams when i just get takes wrong to open the season i reward the people for myself being wrong um i i thought that was a a reasonable trade i thought he really backslid last season was kind of getting through on some of the the name brand value looking at how he's played this season i wonder if he was fully healthy at the end there with the chiefs not just when he was forced to play out a tackle which he couldn't play in space like that he just has such a beautiful like old man vet savvy game in pass pro particularly gets away with all kinds of dirty deeds inside to just end the rep as quickly as possible then you mentioned the run game stuff no one is more sound and assignment based than joe tweeting the run game he has a i would say an easier assignment down to down someone like quentin nelson it's so double team based he's getting an awful lot of help but he's just been as clean as anything throughout the season i i love also that you're going so hard in the paint for minors because i don't think his his pff grade is incredible because they knock them uh uh for pass pro and so uh we're planting our flag here all pro first team Quinn Miners by by a lot who's your center uh for the all pro team Aaron Brewer from the Dolphins has to be we we've given him a lot of pop this year he was on our all underrated team and uh I do think that one has sort of caught uh fire on in terms of the cognoscente not necessarily from here but I do think people are recognizing Aaron Brewer, Miami Dolphins.

42:54A lot went wrong for the Miami Dolphins this year, but the development, not just of Aaron Brewer becoming an all-pro type player at center, but the development of Patrick Paul at left tackle was definitely a positive, although I feel like he's had some up and down games lately, but overall he's been good at left tackle. Not an all-pro though. Aaron Brewer is. We got to get to defense. We spent a lot of time on offense. Let's go to edge annually is the deepest position feels unfair that there's only two edge players it's like you almost want to find a spot for everyone else I guess we got to go top down because in the end as deep as it is maybe I'm wrong but I actually didn't have that hard a time with my first team I think it is Myles Garrett and Will Anderson am I crazy oh well you say Will Anderson I think Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons.

43:46I think. OK, I mean, he was my solid number three. And so that was my thing was I figured if Micah had stayed throughout and maybe I'm knocking him too much for the injury that it's it's Garrett and Micah and Will's a nice like kind of third. But because of the injury, I just bumped up Will and moved Micah Parsons down, I guess make the case for why missing how many games is it now for Micah Parsons uh isn't that big of a deal because yeah when he was on the field I think it's pretty clear one and two uh him and Garrett

44:22Ollie Connolly:I think it's perfectly valid to have Will Anderson ahead of him um I would say that they've been comparable production wise there's a slight added benefit of the defense one plays on versus the defense to the place for where Mike was like was the entire engine that made the thing run when he comes off the field you see what that really looks like when Jeff Halfley's left to his own devices without maybe the most dominant pass rusher in all of football. I just think with Garrett and Parsons, these are the two Hall of Famers at the peak of their powers and everything else is kind of overthinking it.

44:49Ollie Connolly:I adore Will Anderson. I love him so much. He is as technically sound as any edge defender we have in all of football. He is a dominant one-on-one pass rusher. He is as good at run defending as any player in the league. So putting him there would be no shame. And if he's played more games, I think it's entirely justified. I just think Parsons and Garrett have been as good as you could ever hope a pass rusher to be. I just put them there. Yeah, and I hate, and I do kind of like putting Parsons in some way on the first team because it pushes back against just some of the light grumbling over the year.

45:22During the season, it was like, was he worth the trade? Or Cowboys fans or even Bears fans trying to say, because the sack production wasn't there early, although it got there in the end anyways, that he somehow wasn't Micah Parsons But in that, he didn't make a massive impact on their run defense, which I think you've seen over the last couple of weeks. So ultimately, he plays 14 games, and Anderson will play 17. It's not that huge a difference. Parsons was a little limited on his snap count early. I don't know. I kind of like rewarding just total greatness. You maybe have convinced me to just go Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons still as a first team because years from now, I'll just want to see that extra all-team, all-pro first team.

46:07Not that my vote actually counts. All right, let's put Micah and Miles Garrett as the first team. And anyone listening will know that I have Will Anderson as a very solid 1B, number three. The hard part, I guess, is going number four. I'll throw out some names. Nick Bonino is certainly in there. One of the things I like about him, which I, I mean, I like a lot of things about him, but his time to pressure just stands out compared to the rest of the league, where that matches what your eyes are, that when he gets the pressures, it's not the same as the other pressures because he's there and the play is just ruined.

46:48Even compared to Miles Garrett and Parsons, when he gets there, it's there right of the way. Aiden Hutchinson, I think, fell off a little bit down the stretch, but still an outstanding season. I think Josh Hines-Allen had a great season and closed very strong. on Daniil Hunter and Byron Young. If you're going to like a third team, are players worth mentioning at least? Is there anyone I'm forgetting there? And where are you leaning for that last spot?

47:15Ollie Connolly:Jared Verse, I would throw in there as well. I think that it came down to me, really difficult to pick between all those guys. It came down between Benito, Josh Heinz, Allen, and Hutchinson, which is again, is a three-man shortlist for one spot. It's just really difficult to pick those guys apart. I would maybe lean Hutchinson, but I think the impulse of Benito is probably, as I think about it, more the right one. He was my, you know, and that was my list. In order, Benito, Hutch, Hines-Allen as the next three. It sucks because this is where I wish there was, and you have a third team so you can give a third team, but I just wish there was an extra spot for edge.

47:52I just feel like they deserve it more than like a second safety or off-ball linebacker.

47:56Ollie Connolly:It is difficult because you want to reward the players who you feel don't get enough publicity for being excellent. Josh Hyans Allen is so unbelievably dominant. And I don't think many people even know who he is at this stage of his career. But it just so happens that Myles Garrett and Mike Barnes are famous because they are just the best at what they do. So what can you think about that? And Benito this year, he's had a couple quieter games in December. But overall, that is where I'm leaning. Even though Hutchinson, first half of the season, would have been on my second team. I'm going Nick Benito.

48:26Also because I'm afraid of him because he tweeted negative things about me. defensive tackle maybe you said guard was the biggest gap from one to two could I could I argue that Jeffrey Simmons the gap at defensive tackle maybe the from one to two maybe not an overall play but just in terms of I feel like he obviously to me has to go on the all pro team and then the other spot I wasn't really sure about is there do you think there is that big of a gap or is Jeffrey Simmons, for all the big play, he sometimes is not a big play merchant, but his great snap, his 20 best snaps are the best 20 snaps of any defensive lineman.

49:07Whereas down-to-down consistency, maybe you can convince me that other defensive tackles are in the mix there too.

49:13Ollie Connolly:No, I still think his down-to-down consistency is outstanding, frankly. His average time to pressure the season is 2.58 seconds. That is by far the biggest gap of any interior defensive lineman. it's almost half a second quicker than everyone else in the league over than christian barmore who plays real snaps um so he it just shows how quick and dominant he is off the ball the other guy i had in the first team who i think is just having one of the most underrated seasons we've had in a long time is cam haywood with the steelers yeah for him to still be doing it at the level he is at this stage of his career playing hundreds of snaps more than the other guys on the list who are 10 12 13 years younger than him is one of the wildest things i've ever seen he is still the fulcrum of the defense without him the entire thing collapses you watch the steals against the Browns and it's just him and Highsmith trying to make up for everyone else losing their mind every the plane being in the wrong spot I think he has been so so dominant and to do it at this stage of his career I think it's pretty close with him and Simmons there may be a slight gap to to the second team so that my I had Simmons kind of by himself and then yeah I had Hayward and it was just a list, but this was the order, rough order.

50:17Hayward, our guy, Kobe Turner on the all underrated team, we could give him even more love, had him in the mix. Leonard Williams is still Leonard Williams and playing well, having a good season. Zach Allen has like the splash production. Give a little love to Jordan Davis and Vita Veya, maybe if you're getting further down. But ultimately, I think we parked our car in the same garage, which is cam hayward i don't know if there's anyone on a long list that you just uh want to give love or if any of those names stood out to you but just the fact they even wrote down jordan davis on a

50:49Ollie Connolly:long list was fun i think on that second team for me it was the two seattle guys i think leonard williams and byron murphy are comfortably the the number two guys think murphy's intelligence is one of the most jarring things i've seen in a young play come into the league at that position when he has all the physical capabilities of someone like a jalen cards the size weight speed phenom that's all in there he's just so far ahead of guys uh where he's at in his career in terms of his development addressing blocks taking on blocks double team single stuff it's just freaky to watch him play at the moment so that could maybe be something where by the end of next season it's like oh this is the guy we were looking for jalen cards to be a down-to-down absolute destroyer it's actually byron murphy but that has happened over the course of the final 10 weeks of the season and leonard williams if you think of his career play playing you know for those two new York teams and he still is getting a little lost in the shuffle in Seattle just because there's so many good players there there's like another world where I just feel like he would have been more recognized consistently throughout his career and will would have a better Canton case in in the end where right now I just knowing how these things go I don't think he's gonna get seriously uh you know considered because he's always like the the fourth best interior defensive line which is an incredible thing to do for 10 straight years and is probably worthy of that and now he's fallen into this spot where you get with like the the march madness tournament where it's like the coach and them boys is like how people describe teams in march madness it's like well mike mcdonald is the guru so the defense is good because mike mcdonald is there and then you rattle off maybe five six players and maybe he's the fourth or fifth player in the list that thing does not roll without Leonard Williams, in my mind.

52:29Ollie Connolly:He would need, I don't know, like a Super Bowl MVP with a strip sack fumble, I think, to actually wind up, you know, getting the case. That is not off the table this season, I guess. But he's unfortunate in the sense that I think that by next season, he won't even be the best interior defensive lineman on his own team, even though he's one of the five best in the league. He's never made All-Pro. That's crazy. I thought he did last year because there was like a little bit of like Leonard Williams defensive player of the year buzz, and he did get 14th place in defense player of the year. So not a lot of buzz, but only a couple of Pro Bowls, like was almost defensive rookie of the year.

53:04Just the guy that, yes, is not created by Mike McDonald because he's been the same guy basically his whole career. Let's go to the linebackers. This is your favorite position. I don't know if it was obvious. I feel like who stood out to me the most this year when he's on the field, it was Devin Lloyd. so I'm not going to knock him for his injured weeks and then I I think it's running back Zach Bond for me do you want to make a case for anyone else on the first team no those two I think are

53:36Ollie Connolly:the correct answers you get more of the splash plays with Devin Lloyd Bourne gives you some splash plays he's the best all-around linebacker in the league when Fred Warren is not healthy and playing so Bourne is the obvious one then I think it's Lloyd but it's a pretty small margin for me to the second team where I had Aziz Alshair who I still think is understated for how good of just a player he is because he's more of like a brand as being like this absolute freakazoid on the field trying to decapitate everyone in his line of sight then my other second team guy was devin bush who we've always the cognoscenti you mentioned talked about carson swestri throughout the season who's had a sensational rookie season i think is the defensive rookie of the year but overlook just how excellent down-to-down devin bush beside him yeah wow what a what a career arc and uh i was afraid i mean he he shows up every week including that he was great in that stealers came last week um i first of all we agree too much i purposely didn't listen to your show just to you know have my own things but i guess that's good that we're agreeing a lot i had i had lloyd and bond and then i had jordan brooks and al shayir jordan brooks to me just he is from that position what i want is someone i see every single week like making a real impact and is consistent so maybe i'm overrating him slightly but i had him in in al shayir and uh that was that That was my second team, but a nice season for Jordan Brooks, too, coming from Seattle and going to Miami.

54:56Ollie Connolly:I think a little bit of inflated production with Jordan Brooks. When the defensive line is getting bench-pressed into your lap, you really do rack up the tackle numbers. It makes people inflate actually how well you play. Devin Bush hasn't been fortunate with that because defensive line is completely dominant. You can't just kind of play sift and find football. So I would have Bush pretty comfortably ahead of Jordan Brooks, but he has had a good season. Yeah, and Jordan, you know, Devin Bush with the Browns, we should point out. I mean, he was basically viewed as a first round bust, has been bouncing around the NFL since then.

55:28So it's cool to see him develop like this. But yeah, Bond. And I feel like I'm forgetting one other person at linebacker, but I don't know who it is.

55:36Ollie Connolly:But you could throw in Demario Davis, who has been unbelievable at this phase of his career. You could throw in Edge Cooper. You could throw in Nate Landman, Divine Diablo. That would be kind of long list. But I think there's a pretty clear separation. Just because of the impact in production with Lloyd, with the pass deflections, all the interceptions obviously he's had game-breaking plays and has been good enough down to down where the other guys have been probably just as good down to down but haven't quite had the game-breaking plays okay we're we're to the secondary and you sent me a video of Kamari Lassiter before we started uh upon the threat of um like physical harm that if I did not put Kamari Lassiter on the first team you would get on a plane and come after me and so So I guess we got to do it.

56:20So, yeah, if you're watching on YouTube, you can put together or watch a video that Ali lovingly put together. And I felt good about putting him on the first team. Let's just start with him before we get to maybe who else would be there. Why is Lasseter your guy?

56:35Ollie Connolly:He just looks everything like an all-pro corner show like in 2025, which is in-out versatility, the tights, the formation, playing on the boundary, all the run defense stuff. He is by far the best perimeter run defender in the league now. And in a league that includes Quinone Mitchell and some really good attack the run type cornerbacks, he's just leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else. Then in coverage, he does every single thing you want to. Textbook technique where it's bump and run, picking guys up on the fly, play more off coverage. And he's doing this in a defense with no bells and whistles.

57:03Ollie Connolly:They are declaring what they're going to run before the snap every single time. He's opposite Derek Stingley. So, you know, he's going to get targeted more. He's like, what, in the top 10 in targets this season. People know they got to go after him. Stingley freelances a whole bunch. Lassiter just placed his assignment and is perfect basically every single snap and you see the impact when he goes off the field with the knee injury against the Chargers the first thing the Chargers do say we got to go hunt the new fish Lassiter's off the field they hit a 60 yard shot right down the field because they know that Lassiter's no longer there just to me he is by technique the best all-around corner in the league this season in part because Pat Zetan has dealt with some health stuff he's not moved quite as fluidly for stretches of the season whereas Lassiter has been able to do that I just think he is as like coaching goes and what do I want a cornerback to look like, both attacking the run game and playing in coverage.

57:47Ollie Connolly:He's had the best all-around season of everyone. I love that, and I love a complete physical corner who also just moves as fluidly as he does. He is an awesome player. So he is part of our first team. So you mentioned Sertan, who has had great moments this year, had the injury, and it seemed to affect him for a little bit. The All-Pro team does give three cornerbacks because they kind of reserve a spot for a slot, which I don't think you have to make it into a slot unless one is obvious. But Cooper DeGene is certainly a good option to put there if you wanted to. You mentioned Quinjan Mitchell.

58:28You mentioned Stingley. I think those are some of the best options there for the first team. I was leaning... I was probably leaning Quinone and Dijin, but I don't know. Where are you looking?

58:48Ollie Connolly:I think Dijin, if you're just having a set nickel spot, you go with Dijin, and that is really tight because then you can bring in Petrie, you can bring in Brian Branch. It gets pretty squirrely. I think I want Petrie on either my second team or he's at safety. It gets a little confusing, yes. Yeah, but I would go with Dijin at nickel. The second cornerback spot, if you're just saying perimeter, outside boundary corner, That is really tight. I went with Stingley. I like the playmaking upside with Stingley. I like rewarding the Texans for having, I think, the best back seven in recent times. They are the best defense in the NFL playing, as I said, head up, straight up.

59:20Ollie Connolly:You know what we're doing in football. Everyone else is running all these confusing systems and schemes, and they say, no, we run exactly what we run. Every other down, you know what's happening, and we lock people down because our corners are so dominant. And so I wanted to put Laster and Stingley on the team together. And some of Stingley's coverage numbers in terms of just, you know, people not throwing at them, and when they do throw at them, they are just absolutely outrageous. I do like making a statement that it's this epic, historic secondary. Caden Bullock isn't that crazy of a guy to think about for a first or second team at safety, but there is a world where we put Stingley on the first team and then we put Petrie at safety and you have three Texans defensive backs on the first team all pro.

1:00:05Are you comfortable with that? because I think Petrie is where I would go as my safety. If that was the case, then taking care of the cornerbacks, I think I'm putting Quinian on the second team. Let's wrap the cornerback discussion because I think that's where I'm ready to go along with you there, that I would put Quinian on the second team. And then there's some other interesting names. DJ Turner is not a crazy name. I don't think Christian Bedford is not a crazy name. Jamel Dean had his moments this year maybe doesn't get across the finish line here I love me some Jordan Lewis like if I'm making a third I don't know if he quite makes the second team here but if we're allowed to reward six cornerbacks basically we'd have the two Texans and Dejean on the first team I think man I guess then you gotta go Sertan and Quinian tell me your thought process going through the second team

1:01:05Ollie Connolly:yeah so Tan has to be on the best corner i've studied since daryl revis and as long as he's alive and healthy he's making my team every single year i just pencil him in there and he's had a good season it's not exactly like he's been surpassed i think this year right of the guys the one that is difficult to leave off if you take it down to three i think is christian bentford then kind of changing midstream and saying we have no pass rush and no way to stop the run the only thing we can do is fire christian bentford into the line of scrimmage as often as possible to fix everything for us and it actually worked for a time people see the first fumble against Joe Burrow and the game against the Bengals where he made a whole bunch of plays but that was just their recipe down the stretch of the season it's like the only thing that can save us is more Benford and so if I see a defensive staff decide to do that with a defensive head coach tells me they believe the guys won the best in the league all right I and I think he was right on the border and so that means the second team for me, I'm not putting Petrie there, at cornerback would be Quinion Mitchell, Christian Benford, and Pat Sertan, which is an outrageous second team at cornerback.

1:02:09And so that's our second team. And then I'm bumping Petrie back to safety because I wasn't sure where else to go at safety other than him and Kyle Hamilton. There's certainly other options like Caden Bullock. Who else stands out are you okay with petrie and hamilton as your safeties i'm okay with all things

1:02:28Ollie Connolly:i would have petrie's the mvp if the you know the league would allow it if it wasn't just a quarterback if i don't have children if i had children i'd have a hard time loving them more than i love jalen petrie i just think he's i mean you're similarly aged you're a young man uh so maybe maybe a brother would make more sense yes um go and look at the on-off splits which is tricky with football compared to the nba or something like that but the on-off splits with jalen petrie are so profound for a team we know is loaded with talent. You just put two corners on the first team all pro. You talked about Bud and Will Anderson on the first team all pro.

1:02:58Ollie Connolly:It is dramatic night and day difference from being historically one of the greatest defenses in the history of the league to really, really good when Jalen Petrie is on the field or off the field in every single facet of the game, run game, pass game, everything. So I think it's difficult to not have Jalen Petrie on there. If you don't put him at nickel, you've got to put him back there at safety. Other people are doing James, I think has been unbelievable this season in a redefined role. has to play more of a blitzer close to the line of scrimmage has answered that bell so he's the other tight one but if you're into a one-off head-to-head I can't book Derwin James ahead of Kyle Hamilton yeah that's I he was the next guy I wrote down Derwin I mean it's really picking nits because he's been incredible there was like a three-week stretch where that defense didn't seem like they knew what they were doing and he was a part of it but the rest of the season he's been like a new I wouldn't even say peak Derwin James because it's like a new Derwin James and an incredible career.

1:03:48He's going to have an interesting case for Canton someday. So if we're doing a second team, he can go there. But let's go Hamilton and Petrie on the first team. And then Quentin Lake was having a great season. Xavier McKinney's still a good player and is in the mix. Antoine Winfield, I think, rebounded this year. Kevin Byard's still making plays at his age. But I feel good about our first second team.

1:04:10Ollie Connolly:The other guy I would throw in there is Telenoa Hufanga, who, again, another Meo Cup one from me, aware. I thought he was completely cooked in San Francisco and had gone from underrated to grossly overrated because he flies around and has the hair. People could just see him on the field and thought he was outstanding. And I just thought his legs had gone by the time they got him to Denver. And Denver hired Jim Lend from Wisconsin this offseason to get more of the safety involved in attacking the line of scrimmage. And he has returned and played at a level, I think, even better than he was in San Francisco.

1:04:38Ollie Connolly:You go and look at some of the run stop numbers, the run stuff numbers. He's just all over the field at all times. And they've changed their entire pass for a structure over a couple of seasons from the all-out crazy wonky blitz stuff to more of a four down rush because they've got nick benito and this season a five-man pass rush because they tagged talanoa hafanga into the thing and he's played at a crazy level so i think him and derwin for me is is pretty tight we need to write these downs etch them in stone i want to get it onto the pff site that our all pro team also gets there and i want them to recognize kaimi fairbairn too is my all pro kicker.

1:05:12I don't know if you went all pro kicker, but I love me some Kayemi. You can go in a few spots. The kicker position has never been better, but I'm going Kayemi-Fairbairn.

1:05:20Ollie Connolly:Why not? And Chimiri DK for all pro returner, getting a rookie to do that. Yeah, it kind of snuck up on me that he set the all purpose record, which is like a weird stat, but because he was, you know, punt returner, kick returner, and also getting it done as a receiver. Yes, he would be the all-pro returner this year. What a sneaky good rookie class by the Titans. They just got to build on that and find a coach other than Mike McCoy. As we got to the end of the season, I was like, what was the point of hiring, I mean, of firing Callahan and Dable so early? Like, yeah, I guess they were worth getting, but there was no point to it.

1:06:05It just got worse.

1:06:06Ollie Connolly:Whenever you can get a head start on interviewing Matt Nagy, It's got to be done. You just got to do it. Like at the time, I wasn't questioning it. And then, and I get it. You just feel like you need to get like some, some satisfaction and make the fans happy. But then the rest of the season was pointless and your quarterbacks probably were worse off for it. But that's, that's another podcast. We did it. We went longer than I expected, but I'm really glad we got our all pro team in. And like I mentioned, we'll, we'll do some awards talk next week, but we got big games to talk about this weekend.

1:06:37and then the playoffs, you're going to be along for the ride. Are you scouting these college football playoff games over there in the UK? I'm excited.

1:06:47Ollie Connolly:I am deep into them. The most loaded linebacker class we've had in a long, long time. On one team, we got two first-rounders. It's very, very exciting. Oh, I'm going to put you on the spot then. Give me like a non-quarterback. Give me a defensive player or two to watch this week specifically that's playing in these college football games that you like. You go to just watch the Ohio State defense. My boy, Matt Patricia, cooking everyone alive in college football. You watch Arvel Reese and Sonny Stiles, the linebackers from Ohio State. Arvel Reese, the most dominant player in the country, should be the second overall pick in the draft.

1:07:22Ollie Connolly:Probably won't be by the time the draft rolls around. Sonny Stiles should be a top 10 pick in the draft. CJ Allen with Georgia, another dominant linebacker. So we are truly rolling about six, seven, eight linebackers deep who should be worthy of first-round consideration in a pretty, I would say, weakish, mediocre top end of the first round this year. All right. Get you an analyst that can do both. We're going to be hitting the draft heavier than ever on NFL Daily this offseason with the help of Ollie Connelly and then on 40s and free agents with Daniel Jeremiah, which will be back weekly pretty soon.

1:07:53Before that, though, we will have our pick show in the speed on Friday. Cynthia and I unfortunately my 12 straight winning week streak came to an end because of the Atlanta freaking Falcons but we're going to get back on the winning side this week so that'll be on Friday before all the games this weekend we will see you then

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