2026 AFC East Preview with Taylor Kyles: Bills or Patriots?

24:46because it's been a while since Frank Reich coordinated a great offense. And you mentioned the talent that they have up front. They give Joe Tippman, who moved from center to guard, a big contract. You have these bookend tackles. I think Membu could make that Will Campbell pick look bad in the division for years. He could be a future superstar. Fashionu's got more to prove. He's been a solid starter on the other side. But yeah, it all goes wrong, I think, if like Brees Hall is not there. They can only afford so many injuries. Scheme Dream is our next category. And I find that it really interesting, Taylor, I'm not sure what you think about this, that Aaron Glenn got rid of 12 of 22 coaches.

25:31He did not want to call plays. He said that was not his plan when he became a head coach. It was not his plan even going into last offseason. Then suddenly he ended up firing a lot of coaches that he wasn't expected to fire. It seemed like ownership was in the mix there. Now he is calling plays. And the flip side of kind of the last chance saloon way I started this, you know, group is like, does Aaron Glenn have it as a play caller? We haven't really seen it. And does Frank Reich still have it as a play caller? Either side of the ball, I don't know what you want to hit on, but you're counting on a lot of like winning before the snap from Geno Smith.

26:08And then looking at the talent here, it's better defensively for Aaron Glenn, but he just hasn't shown in a while because the Detroit teams were pretty up and down that he called the plays for that he can make a difference as a play caller. Yeah, for me, I have just a good start would be, hey, maybe play less man coverage. I think that's going to be a big step in the right direction because one, you don't have the horses. You didn't have the horses either. I really like D 'Angelo Pons, but I don't think he's going to be the guy that unlocks their man coverage potential. And the amount that they played, it just didn't make any sense.

26:37It's just, they weren't good at it. They got burned doing it and they would never adjust. It was kind of baffling to watch. And then their switch up in zone is quarters, which in a lot of ways, if you're getting stressed vertically, turns in demand coverage. A lot of these zones do, but specifically quarters, it just didn't feel like the scheme matched the personnel. And I thought that was very bizarre last season. And we also have the whole problem of, Hey, they can't get a turnover to save their lives. Helps to get interceptions when your back's not turned to the ball and you're not getting burned.

27:06Right? So I just think more zones, they can do whatever else they want. I just think that would be a huge step in the right direction, not to just give them a fighting chance, but also give them opportunities to look at the football and take it away. The issues that they had seemed to be directly stemming from the types of defense they were playing. So if you kind of pivot away from that, I think it's positive. Again, I still have a lot of skepticism around this defense, but if they're going to play like Aaron Glenn still thinks he's on the Lions, that's going to be a pretty big issue so my dream is just stay away from man it did feel like you just trying to fit like players that didn't fit into his scheme and then this offseason what they did was go out and get veterans and i've warmed up to it over time at first i thought it was a joke it's crazy and that's that's like my things go wrong if these these elder free agent signings don't work out.

28:01They need at least like 50 % plus to work. If you weren't paying close attention during free agency, like they traded for Tavondre Sweat, who's actually a younger veteran who had some question marks, like a nose tackle for the Titans. David Onyemata, who's in his mid-30s and is going to play big snaps from him. Joseph Asai, who's more of a prime player, has been out for most of camp. Nashon Wright is a cornerback from the Bears that they brought along. And then the important guy here is Minka Fitzpatrick, who reportedly is having a great camp. And he's had one of those careers where like he'll pop up every few years with a monster season.

28:36He would be massive. And so my idea of like things go wrong if it's just like they did not evaluate the right sort of guys to bring in for this system, because you saw the positive example of it last year with the Patriots. Free agency can work. Guys can come in and fit in right away. But man, they are counting on a lot of different pieces that weren't there a year ago to come in and just start right away. And I do want to give Nayshawn Wright some credit. I do like him as a player. And yeah, you're just relying on a lot of guys. Taking time bomb just feels like the right word to use. That's pretty much really all I got on them.

29:14I just I really hope that they actually adapt and make changes when they need to and cater to the people that are playing the football for them and not just, you know, the best play that they think they see on the play sheet. Yeah. The other somewhat obvious thing listeners might be screaming at me about is like, yeah, they're done if Gino is cooked. I mean, that's for sure. Gino needs to play a lot better. This is a system that really relies on the quarterback to read the defense, get rid of the ball quickly, point and shoot, run. He's going to have as much control behind the line of scrimmage as just about anyone.

29:48That should lean into what he does well. His arm wasn't there last year. The decision making, the system was not right. but they are really counting on a huge bounce back because Cade Klubnick is their backup quarterback. And that is like aiming for number one overall draft pick if Geno doesn't work out or something bad happens. We do do a section occasionally, Taylor, if we have time, called Lanyap. And that's just like a little something extra I just wanted to point out, which is that the Jets have three first-round picks next year, which is crazy. So they have their own. They have the better pick of the Packers...

30:26and the Cowboys in by better, I mean better for the Jets. So if you're a Jets fan, you're just hard rooting against the Packers and the Cowboys this year. And if one of them ends up being a big disappointment, you you're going to have another high pick. And then the Colts, you're also going to be rooting against the Colts. So that's just something a little extra for the fun Jets fans out there to root for. Let's go to ceiling floor of this Jets team. The floor feels a little obvious. What is your ceiling for this team? it's not as optimistic as it was a little earlier or like during the offseason i would say like six wins i think and that's if like everything goes right on defense and some of these young guys on offense step up because really for me you nailed it i thought if things go wrong it's going to be because gino continues to regress and i understand he was in a really bad situation last year and maybe he was trying to force the issue but some of the turnovers he committed were egregious and you can't take bad sacks you can't throw the ball i know when i was studying kevin Kevin Byard when the Patriots signed him.

31:23I mean, he got picked off twice with Kevin Byard playing Robert. That's rough. So I think the ceiling is if everything goes right, six or seven wins. I think the floor, talking about like three to four, three to four. That was a tough one because if I remember right, was it like the exact same route, like concept and everything, and Gino got picked off? Just trying to throw that in cut, man. You can't do it. You can't do it. You know, we'll always have week one. the Gino Nation supporters throwing it up and down the field on the future Super Bowl Patriots. Week one can often be a liar. I think the ceiling, it's a tougher schedule that they're just a tough out to me.

32:05And yeah, six or seven wins sounds about right. The floor is that they're picking first overall. It's all about the young players. If they feel good about this trio of high picks that they have and you can throw in D 'Angelo Pons as a third round pick, You know, we've got some injuries already with Sadiq and Pons, but if the rookies look good and Membu keeps developing and looking like a future star, that's the most important thing. And yet, because it's the Jets, there's has to be a big question over whether it'll be the same regime, whether it's the same GM or just a new coach or who knows. They'll have to win some games probably to keep their jobs.

32:40Let's take a quick break. We will be back after the break with another team contending for a potential Super Bowl, the team that Taylor covers, the Patriots, in just a minute.

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35:34All right, we are back here on NFL Daily. The New England Patriots, the team you cover, the team I was unnecessarily low on going into last season. We'll put 12 minutes on the clock. Were you high on them last year? What did you have as a potential outcome for them? I predicted 13 wins and I got swayed by everybody. So those victory laps were kind of fun. I tried to play a little modest, but it felt good to be. I was actually wrong, which is the crazy part. I underestimated them as well. But, you know, you do your best. What's giving you joy? You're out there watching them in practice every day, whether it's big picture, whether it's something small.

36:16Like, what are you really enjoying covering this team? Tier 3 of Drake May, man. He's been really good in camp. And this is actually today was the second near perfect day that he's had where only like one or two balls actually hit the ground. He was dialed in. You see his chemistry with A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs progressing. But even more than the personnel improvements around him, which the Patriots have made a pretty big priority. It's also just him getting smarter, having a second season in this Josh McDaniel system. And in that system, the amount of control that quarterbacks have is very rare where you truly are a field general.

36:48And the more you know the playbook, and especially when you have other veterans that can retain a lot of information and do a lot of the kind of inner complexities of the offense, the better the quarterback's going to be. And Drake has all the talent in the world, but he's also very smart. And I think one of the biggest things that held him back last season in this offense was just the fact that it was kind of limited. The playbook wasn't as wide as it necessarily could be. as good as drake was pre-snap for a second year player there was also just a lack of command of being able to make certain adjustments and control tempo and really put defenses on the back foot consistently like very rarely did you see the patriots incorporate tempo last season this year you're starting to see drake get the opportunities where he'll rush to the line sometimes it's a dummy count and he's just trying to see what guys are doing around him then get the offense into the right play and when you're going up against defenses like the seahawks where answers are not going to be easy.

37:38I need a little something extra to really make things tough on them. I think Drake, not just being talented and having more experience, knowing what teams want to do to him, what kind of coverages he's going to be facing and where he struggles, but also truly being able to dictate terms and not just basically, you know, being an extension of Josh McDaniels out there. I think that's going to be huge for his progress. And even if he isn't as statistically impressive, like I don't think he's going to have the same completion rate that he did last year. I still think you're going to see him just be a smarter quarterback, make some better decisions, not take as many bad sacks and just mitigate the mistakes to keep this offense on schedule, which I mean, I know they were very successful last year, so it might sound crazy.

38:16But I really do think that he could take another step, which is insane given what he was able to do in just his first year working with Joplin James. Yeah, you're speaking my language. It's the same thing for me. I love quarterbacks and there's no quarterback I was higher on even before the Patriots took him coming into a draft in years. Like definitely you have to go back to Burrow and Herbert, but I like May more just because of the physical attributes and to see his development and to think how far ahead he was of schedule. He's still 23 years old as we're taping this. His birthday is at the end of the month.

38:50So even though he's had a lot of experience for such a young player, it is exciting to think about, OK, he was able to handle a very difficult system in his first year with Josh McDaniels. But what you said about, you know, from the neck up, the maturity that he can get is is fun to think about because of what it could unlock when, you know, you add weapons like Brown and Dobbs and you're covering them every day. So I kind of I'm going to skip ahead to the scheme dream part, because I do want to ask you, you brought up like the tempo of what McDaniels has shown you a little bit of practice. And I do think that's going to be a counter for a lot of offenses potentially this year to really stop what defenses have done to be really controlling the line of scrimmage and kind of controlling the mind games between coaches.

39:40And tempo is a great way to come up with that. What have you seen like out of this offense? Is it just tempo that's a little different this year compared to like last training camp? I would say it's the tempo, but also the diversity of personnel. And it's not like the Patriots are just trotting one thing out there necessarily, but now they can send out different personnel groupings and they're actually intimidating. Like I love Jack West over their fullback from last season, but I think you saw in certain matchups that, you know, he was kind of a backup plan for them. And I think that manifested on the field where he did his best, but he's not someone that you really think we got a scheme against.

40:14And Austin Hooper also was solid for what he was. I really appreciate what he did for the Patriots, but now hunter henry's complimented by eli raritan who i think is going to have a much larger role in this offense than people realize because hunter henry just signed the extension if anything that extension told me kind of in a weird way that they're actually going to dial back how much they use him because he's getting up there in age his skill set's a little bit more limited you don't really want him on the field in running situations sometimes they'll have him as almost a wide receiver where he's standing up and he's kind of that flanker where he's close to the formation and can kind of dig out safeties which is an easier assignment for him but eli Eli Raritan is going to be involved in some of those base packages and as a blocker, but he's also a big body.

40:54Like, actually, he was my guy for the Patriots in the draft because what Josh McDaniels with the tight end, he's not just going to be in line. It's kind of like at Notre Dame. He's going to be off the ball. Sometimes he's in the slot. Sometimes he's out wide. Like, I think there's things the offense can do with Eli Raritan that they just couldn't really do with Hunter Henry because of just his skill set at this point in his career where Drake can put the ball on his back shoulder and do all these things. but you're not throwing 100, 150, 50 balls, right? You're not asking him to beat guys up the seam or necessarily one on crossers all the time.

41:23He can do it, but you got to give him some advantages. So I think when you have Reggie Gilliam in the backfield as well, and Eli Raritan, like those are two guys that can block, but also are damn good receivers as well. Reggie Gilliam gets slept on in that part of his game where even if it's just an under route or a hitch or a check down, he can break tackles. He's more explosive than what they've had in the past in James Devlin and Jakob Johnson. And I've even gotten to the wide receiver. where you can take your pick. It's A.J. Brown and Romeo Dobbs at the top, but then you've also got Matt Collins, who I think is pretty underrated as a receiver.

41:54Drake had a lot of chemistry with him on those in cuts and some vertical routes and hole shots. Demario Douglas is the third receiver, and he's getting slept on where he was known as more of an underneath threat because that's how he was used. But if you look back at his college tape, he was a vertical threat. And this is a guy with some 4 '3-esque speed, and he's been entrenched in the slot when they go with their three receiver groupings. And Drake's trust in him, I think, is continuing to grow, especially downfield. You got Kyle Williams, who is kind of like the seventh guy on the depth chart for them, but is a home run threat.

42:24He had 10 catches last year and three of them went for long touchdowns. So the number of personnel groupings, it looks that they can throw at you. And then when you incorporate the tempo where, okay, we're going to come out and we're in the I formation, oh, now we're going to go fast and we're going to go empty. And now you've got to find out where everybody is. Like, is A.J. Brown the number three running, you know, juke? Is he running the seam? it's just the amount of things they can throw at defenses is going to be nauseating for them fun for me to cover but I just think they can really overwhelm opponents with the amount of different things they can throw out it is a fascinating you know team build to think of the Patriots of all team have such depth in terms of pass catchers and like they're rather thin in other areas I think they're pretty thin on the offensive line and I have questions about the pass rush and the secondary in general, but of all positions, the pass catchers for Drake May, and it's not like they're all going to be super duper stars.

43:18But you traded for a superstar in age around. He could have been my choice as most important non-quarterback because I do think everything will flow through him to start and you do want him to maintain the level he's been at before. But I went with Zach Kaur, the defensive coordinator. I think they're going to have to scheme it up. Tell me, tell me I'm wrong because I see some of these lists that have them as a top 10 potential defense and they finished last year great do you think he can be like a scheme wizard because on paper I I do have questions Tara Landry's been hurt in camp they they signed Draymond Jones as an edge uh they're hoping to get something out of Gabe Ackes uh their second round pick but I I see it like if you're slow at linebacker and you're slow at safety they bring in Byard and then you tend to be a slow defense they looked a little slow in the Super Bowl and And I do think I do see like them being a boomer bus type defense that almost maybe needs a little bit of a coaching advantage to maximize.

44:16Do you think I'm right there? Defend the Patriots defense for me. I think that's valid. Or don't. No, I mean, I think Zach Corwin, he was able to do, especially in the playoffs, was very impressive. Early on in the season, I thought the Patriots defense, frankly, was a little boring. I thought you saw a lot of similar looks and I felt like I don't want to say predictable necessarily, but I just stunning them. I wasn't necessarily wowed. by the time they got to the playoffs the number of pressures they were sending and blitzes they were very very aggressive more so than they were for most of the season and then when you get an obvious passing situations the number of just looks they'll give you where they'll give you mug fronts you'll get load fronts you got Milton Williams and Christian Barmore a defensive end you got edge guys that are dropping downfield like there was so much going on I think that you even saw with veteran quarterbacks like their heads were kind of spinning because it's not just the old kind of typical Patriots defenses where they're just going to line up and man coverage and it's not a whole lot of trickeration.

45:10They're just going to do what they do. And then if it's a unit that's been together for a while, that's where you start to see them layer things on top of it. Zach Moore took over for Terrell Williams early in the season and really made the defense his own. So, but I think it's going to be predicated on some scheme to pressure because Draymond Jones, I think is solid. I don't think he's a world beater. Elijah Ponder is a player, I think can really take a step forward and is someone who's maybe slept on, but even still, He was an undrafted rookie last year, so you can only expect so much. I'd rather be wowed than, you know, put a lot of expectations on him.

45:40And Gabe Ackes, I will say, Gabe Ackes looks better than I anticipated. And he was one of the guys I really wanted for the Patriots. When he stands next to Elijah Ponder, and Elijah Ponder is a freak athlete. Ackes looks like an action figure. It's insane. I think he's going to work his way into the mix. But your edge rush is really relying on Ackes, I think, taking that step. Or Ponder. And again, young guys, I don't love that. and then when you talk about the spine of the defense roberts flane is a very good player but he's someone where like he's going to get to his depth and zone he's going to make the tackle do all the things but there are some limitations to his game if you look back at the dolphins early on last season they had him in main coverage on atran a couple times and it went exactly how you think that would go and then kevin byard even this is a defense that unlike in the bill years where everything they wanted to look like man coverage and then they'd surprise you with zone They still play a ton of man, but now they want their man to look like zone.

46:32So a lot of the times you have safeties covering receivers because, you know, if Marcus Jones doesn't follow you, oh, that's a zone indicator. No, it's not because now Craig Woodson or last week's Jalen Hawkins is going to be following you. They keep putting Byard in those situations. As solid as he is, as savvy as he is, there's only so much you can control. So I do think that Zach Corr is going to have to be in his bag and on top of his play calls to make life easier on some of those older veterans. But I still see them having the potential to be top 10 because Cork killed it last year. It seems like they're only building on it.

47:03And there's enough continuity that I think they should be okay. Plus, Shane Bowen is in the building now. He was really good dialing up simulated pressures. Hopefully they can get in creepers as well. So hopefully they can add that to the mix to keep offenses on their toes. I will give you your choice of just what you want to talk about here, whether it's your most important non-quarterback, whether it's your things go wrong if, just what is like standing out to you about this Patriots team? I'll go most important because I think the biggest thing is injuries. I think if they get hit by injuries more than they did last year, that's really going to be kind of rough to try to overcome with their lack of depth in some spots.

47:37But I got to wax poetic about AJ Brown. Cause is he the player that he was in his prime? Maybe not. But according to the practices I've seen, he's still pretty damn good. And I think it's not just that, Oh, AJ Brown and Drake may, their skill sets fit each other very well. There's the Josh McDaniel aspect of this. that I think is going to allow A.J. Brown to have one of the better seasons of his career. Because unlike last year where you saw him lining up outside like 90 % of the time, Josh is going to move him everywhere. You're going to see him in the slot and some empty looks where he's going to be going up against smaller cornerbacks, linebackers, safeties, just hunting mismatches and putting him in spots where he's going to have some of those more favorable matchups.

48:15I think play action is going to be huge. Like you're going to see a lot more of what you saw when he was on the Titans, where a lot of really hard run fakes because he's one of two receivers on the field. They're only running two routes, but as soon as those linebackers step up, you got A.J. Brown on a glance route, wide open over the middle, and then a safety habit to tackle him in space. And even Josh, when he gets funky, he's going to put him in the backfield at times. I just think that Josh is going to be able to put him in a lot more advantageous situations and not just say, hey, be on the backside of a three-by-one and attack that one corner.

48:45It's going to be, no, we're going to put you off. We're going to find ways to get you matched up on their worst corner and let you bully that guy. They're not going to ask him to only do difficult things. And then on top of that, you got Drake May putting the ball where only he can get it, being aggressive, where Jalen Hurts kind of pulled back in that area of his game last year. AJ's going to get all the opportunities. He's going to get scheme advantages. And so far, he's done a really good job taking advantage of him. So I'm going to have a really fun time studying how he gets used this year.

49:11And he's going to put up some big numbers. I don't think that's surprising anybody, but I don't really see this as a potential regression year. I think he's going to be much better than he was last season. People are a little down on AJ Brown in general. And I'm with you. The willingness for May to throw the ball into tight contested spots. And it's crazy. His, you know, tight window throw percentage, considering the completion percentage he had last year. And it's partly because the Patriots had one of the best pass catching groups in the league, just in terms of like catching the ball, which is an underrated skill for wide receivers.

49:42Like not a lot of drops, a lot of tough catches. I think it goes wrong if like if free agency doesn't have the Midas touch again this year, Elijah Vera Tucker is a very important signing for them to stay healthy at guard. I think the offensive line, Will Campbell, reportedly having a good camp at left tackle could take a step forward, certainly, but they have a lot to prove. They weren't a good run blocking group last year. They have to show that they can. There is a route here where the offensive line holds this team and offense back. And despite everything you said about the defense, I kind of think that the way this team is a Super Bowl contender is if the offense, like last year, is pretty close to lights out and that the offensive line to me is the fly in the ointment that could hold them back.

50:27To me, they have a lot of a lot of variance like this team does. I'll go first on ceiling and floor. They are. They are one of the teams I think could win the Super Bowl. I think there's six or seven teams in the AFC that you could have a hot take and a strong take that there's a big difference. I just don't see much of a gap between the top six or seven teams in the AFC. at this point. I think there's a lot of talent at the top and a lot of good quarterback play. I think the Patriots are one of those teams. I think their floor is a little lower than the Bills. I think it could go wrong a little bit.

50:59So much went right. It's not just the schedule last year. The lack of depth you mentioned, we're trying not to get too deep into injuries here, but I think the defense could regress. So to me, the floor would be missing the playoffs like a nine and eight type of season, just like a good, not great season. but I think Patriots fans would be pretty upset about that. Ceiling floor for you. I do think, I see their ceiling and floor similar to the Bills. I think they could get back to the Super Bowl. You get A.J. Brown. That's, I think, what the expectation is, or at least you're going to be knocking hard on that door.

51:29I don't think they missed the playoffs. And that's really the coaching staff, a lot of it. And the depth is absolutely an issue. And if they do, I think it's going to be because they got bit by the injury bug in a way they didn't last year. But I think this coaching staff understands their personnel very well. I think they know how to come up with contingency plans to just kind of stop the bleeding where they need to. Like last year, they had some issues in coverage and with their pass rush. And then they kind of got better in that area, but they sacrificed their run defense. And they said, look, if that's how you're going to beat us, go ahead.

51:56We have Drake May. We'll do what we got to do. And I think that willingness to kind of make tough choices is going to keep them from being the kind of team that actually does miss the playoffs. But again, the reason I think that the Bills and the Patriots could get to like really nine-ish wins is because of that schedule. It's not easy. And while AJ Brown likely flips the odds in your favor in some of those games that are coin flip, it's coin flip for a reason. So I agree. I think they can get back to the Super Bowl. But I think if things go really poorly, you're talking about probably a nine win.

52:23Plus, like last year, you're starting out 0-1 unless you can pull off a big upset on the kickoff game in Seattle. But you never know. It's happened like once. The home team for those kickoff games almost never lose, as Patriots fans know pretty well. Let's wrap with the Dolphins. And what's bringing me joy about this Dolphins team is my guy, Malik Willis, had him number one overall in my top 101 free agents list. I think he's going to be really fun to watch play quarterback. All it took was one great preseason drive of him, you know, diming up Caleb Douglas, although that was a crazy catch that he made.

52:58But in general, Malik Willis has shown a really improved level of accuracy as a pro compared to college. And I'm just excited to watch that development because it could be a really exciting career arc. I think it was a great risk for the Dolphins to take because I don't think there was any risk to it at all. They can absolutely draft a quarterback in the top five next year if it doesn't work out. But I think he's the best running quarterback in the league right now, like in terms of running the ball and the combination and what that will give you as an offense, especially when Devon Achan is on the same team as you with a pretty accurate quarterback and he's got to prove it over 17 games is exciting.

53:36I just think he's going to be box office. If you're into fantasy, they're going to be trailing a lot. He's going to be running a lot. I think he will be a very watchable, exciting quarterback. What do you have in terms of bringing you joy for the Dolphins? I've got their defensive front. Now, I'm not sure how their run defense is going to be exactly, but they got some fun names. I think Zach Seeler's been underrated for years. I really like Kenneth Grant as well. And then on the edges, Chuck Robinson's having a great summer. He's a really good player. So I'm excited to see how he continues to grow.

54:08Joshua Uche kind of rebounded last year after really struggling towards the end of his Patriots tenure. I held out hope as long as I was going to say, you're not giving up on Josh Uche. The few, the proud. He's still a good pass rusher. Just get him off the field on first and second down. No use of more. He's valuable. But I mean, I really like the explosiveness and the potential that they have. And then at linebacker, I am pissed at the Dolphins linebacker depth because it's really fun. Jordan Brooks is one of the best players in his position. Another guy I think is really, really underrated and should get more love than he does.

54:39Malcolm Rodriguez. I did so many mock simulations to just try to figure out how the Patriots could justify taking him because I just really like the tape. I know he's undersized, but I mean, the guy's really good playmaker, really good instincts. I'm interested to see how he's going to fit, especially learning from someone like Jordan Brooks. And Kyle Lewis, kind of a similar story where I was trying to figure out if the Patriots could use him. Kind of that like wheel slot hybrid. I just think he's a really interesting player where with Jeff Hathaway, I like how he deploys his guys. So I think he's going to maximize what Kyle Lewis does.

55:09Like, again, run defense necessarily, I don't know if they're going to be great, but just the name and the potential of what they can be. And maybe, you know, as you continue to add or bolster or whatever, I think it's a fascinating group, but I'm looking forward to seeing what exactly they do this year. The defensive line in general, and I went with Chop Robinson if I had to choose one, was my choice for most important non-quarterback. And it's really a larger point about this team. This is a developmental team. We just don't see that too often in the NFL. But when you have seven high draft picks in the same season, when you just take on the most dead money in the history of the NFL, that's just what this is.

55:48And so I thought Chop Robinson specifically, who's having a good summer, as you mentioned, kind of as a symbolic piece of this development, because we'll get to the rookies. You mentioned Jacob Rodriguez and what he could do, but how about taking some of the guys that were there last year and making them better? That's the ultimate test to me of a difference-making coaching staff is our guys are better with us than they were with y 'all. Like Mike Rabel did that last year. It to me is a real testament. He took some of the guys and really improved those same guys. So specifically, you mentioned Kenneth Grant didn't have a great rookie season.

56:26Jordan Phillips was a good rookie for them at defensive tackle last year. And then Chop Robinson, who really had a poor year last year in his second season. So develop these young guys, kind of show us you're a good coaching staff because, yeah, you got to hit on the rookies, but it would really help their build to speed up if they also can develop some of the younger players that the previous regime had other than the veterans that they re-signed. And they do have a couple good ones. I don't know if any of them are your choice for most important non-quarterback. They're not. I've got Devon HN because I think if this offense is going to do anything, I also like Malik Willis.

57:02I do not like Malik Willis' supporting cast very much. And I think if they're going to have any success, Devon HN is going to have to be a monster yet again. And I still, I don't know how he manages his workload at his size. It is absolutely incredible. But the explosive potential that he brings, the versatility as well, his ability to not just contribute as a rusher and i'll be interested to see what this dolphins offensive line looks like because on paper looks pretty good i know austin jackson has been a little up and down so we'll see how that progresses exactly but if they can open up some holes for him and just keep malik willis out of obvious passing situations it's a lot of pressure but it's why he's the most important player and also what he can do is a receiver out of the backfield i think that's going to mitigate a lot of the issues that they have uh with that receiver room so i wanted to talk about the defense That's a little bit more, but he's kind of the only guy on offense other than Malik Willis that I'm actually excited about.

57:51And he's earned it in that big contract. So, holiday champ. I am excited about what this offense looks like, too. That leads into my scheme dream here because the receiver group, it's crazy that a third round rookie people thought was a reach, Caleb Douglas, might be wide receiver one. It's him and Malik Washington. I mean, it's nuts. Greg Dulcich at tight end, they're excited about, but he's always hurt. Like it's one of the most talent, poor receiver groups we've seen. And yet if you're half Lee and then offensive coordinator, Bobby slow, it, you can start off by squinting and saying, well, we're a run-based scheme.

58:29We have a Chan. We have Malik Willis. Those two will be forced multipliers for each other behind the line with a lot of potential. Patrick Paul is a third year player who really improved in his second year. Can he take it the next step? Aaron Brewer was a all pro. He's legit one of the best centers in the league. Jonah Savanea, disastrous rookie season, reportedly having a good camp. We'll see, but had a really good preseason opener. They have a top 15 pick in Caden Proctor. Like, if they actually could coach it up and you squint really hard, like, you can see some, like, you know, Lamar Jackson Ravens build similarities where it's more just about, like, the running game and the running quarterback.

59:08Obviously, it's not going to produce at that level, but just in terms of being respectable, and being watchable. My question is more about Bobby Sloick, who had a chance with the Texans and had some talent there. And it didn't go great. It also wasn't a total disaster when people talk about CJ Stroud's good rookie year, like that was with Bobby Sloick. So we'll see. It's a second chance for an offensive coordinator we don't know that much about. But that's the kind of thing I'm watching schematically. If you want to talk defense, you said you wanted to. I mean, you're welcome to do it here. I mean, can I lead into my team dream?

59:41do whatever you need i want to see what this nascar package looks like like when the defense gets an obvious passing situation specifically this chop robinson gets used a little bit like micah parsons where you're just hunting the mismatches on the offensive line put him against the center they can't move just have new little basketball hoop thing in front of them and then just go nuts with the explosiveness like i'll be very interested to see if he's able to move some of these pieces around and create favorable looks because i think chop is going to have a really good season this year but I think he can put up stupid numbers if you don't put him in just one spot and allow him to be a real versatile weapon for you and obviously with Uche as well there were times where he got opportunities to rush inside it was a little bit more hit or miss I don't think that's a perfect role for him but at least having one guy on the edge that you know you have to respect when he's pinning his ears back and then having chop is kind of that moving piece if I'm preparing for the Dolphins that's something that I'm not necessarily looking forward team man they are just going to be underdogs in every game except I guess home versus jets potentially it's overall on paper like a team that you you squint and you look at and like they're one of if not the favorites to to draft last and yet like I said we've been pointing out a lot of the positive especially on offense but you mentioned the linebackers I think that could be a difference making group it's a defensive minded head coach and Jeff Halfley who has a

1:01:02It's easier to win five or six games, surprisingly, with just like cohesiveness and enough talent and a good enough line play than people realize. So in that way, they could be surprising. That leads to my things go wrong if section of the show, Taylor. I struggle with the Dolphins more than anyone for this because like the expectations are so low. I don't even know what wrong is here. Like they're expecting to have a top five pick. And then I thought about it and it's like, well, it's all about the rookies. Like things go wrong if this rookie class doesn't hit. It's a total success this season.

1:01:36If Caden Proctor, their rookie guard looks good and Caleb Douglas looks like a piece. And Chris Bell, who I was really excited about as a wide receiver, who just got taken off PUPs coming off a torn ACL, shows some promise. They had a first round picking Chris Johnson at cornerback. Jacob Rodriguez, you mentioned, could be a future star. Like that's the whole point of this season. They're not all going to be great. But let's say out of those five or six guys, if you find four real deal contributors, maybe starters, and maybe one or two of them could be plus starters, that's it. That's a win for the Dolphins.

1:02:08So things go wrong if they mis-evaluated and it's a stinker of a class and you never really know until you see it on the field. I agree. For me, what goes wrong is the passing offense lives up to expectation. Unfortunately, if this Bazman game looks like what we think it's going to look like and Bobby Slowick didn't learn from his year off, I hate to be this negative, but like, it could be a genuine disaster because I mean, if you go up against like the Patriots secondary, for example, I don't see how you're completing passes, maybe some schemed opportunities. Sure. But if you get an obvious passing situation, I think you're looking like what the jets tend to look like on offense.

1:02:44Just like, how are you getting downfield? You don't have a lot of size there either. So of course, like if you can get the ball in their hands, that's one thing. I just, it's really hard for me to see reality where they get behind and it doesn't just turn really really ugly and then we'll get to the record but I mean if you're talking about end of half drives where are you going with the football like who is your guy is it Caleb Douglas is that the world you want to live in I don't know I just I I I'm not optimistic at all about this pass game I hope that they pleasantly surprised because I don't want to have to watch that and I don't want Dolphins fans even have to suffer that but i just i i don't see how this is more than at best a somewhat functional passing attack yeah i think you're really counting on the threat of the run and the play action and rpos like the confusion of of malik willis's legs too to really open things up for you and you know what i just checked while you were talking caleb douglas 63210 that's a big guy oh my god i'm sorry I'm sorry.

1:03:46I'm sorry. Tutu Atwell. Let me pull. I have the depth chart somewhere. So I'm sorry. Shout out to the Tutu fans out there. Like Sean McVay. I don't know if he's making this team. I was watching their preseason game and he was still out there deep in the fourth quarter. And I was like, oh, Tutu may not make this cut. We'll see. He could just be the return guy. Ceiling floor. I'll let you go to begin with. My floor is honestly, I think they could not win a game. If you don't have a pass game in the modern NFL, that's how I'm sorry. I think that they could go literally win zero games. And then again, because I think if you're in a tight game, a lot of the times you're just going to have to pass to get in the field goal range, whatever you got to do.

1:04:28I think three is probably the best case scenario for them. I think they see that some. I don't think I just, I have four. Oh, I'm sorry. Three is my ceiling. I just don't have very high expectations for this team. I'm sorry if that's really mean, but I. Clearly. You know, the Dahl fans out there, they are proud. They are an intelligent fan base. They know bad ball when they see it, and they're going to be tracking this team, and they're going to come back in full force when it's a little more competitive. But they are going to take offense to a three-win ceiling and a zero-win floor. So that was nice.

1:05:01I also messed up Jacob Rodriguez's name, too. I got to get it. No! I'm sorry. This is not my best segment. And if you come for me, if you must. I agree. But I just don't see the vision, unfortunately. Maybe I've been sitting next to Jordan Rodrigue too long, and she likes some of the long-term planning of this build and thinks they're making right moves. And so far, so good of what I hear from camp in terms of the rookie class. Although, when they had the joint practice with Washington, it was one-way traffic. Things looked better in the preseason because they were playing their starters against Washington's reserves.

1:05:37Clearly, they're the slight favorite to me to be the number one overall pick. But would I take them against the field? No, I still would take the field because I think the NFL is just too unpredictable. So I'm going to give them a two-win floor. I was going to give them a three-win floor. I do think Malik Willis and the running game and the coaching and enough defensive pieces gets them some wins that they're competitive and not the worst team in the league. So to me, their ceiling is I don't think it's that crazy for them to finish ahead of the Jets and win five or six games. Like, I think that's possible.

1:06:16I'm not going to pick it. We're about to pick it in order. I do have the Dolphins last. But I like if you told me they go six and eleven and it becomes like a nice story of improvement. I think that could happen. That to me is actually easier to do than build sustained success. And and it would show something with Malik Willis. It would mean they really found like a guy in Malik Willis, which would be incredible fine for them if that actually happened. We'll see. All right, let's pick this division, Taylor. I know where you're going in terms of your last place team. I don't know where you're going for your first place team.

1:06:50Are you going to be a homer and go with the Patriots first overall? I'm going to be a homer. And I'm just, it's an optimistic perspective of like, they don't get bitten by the injury bug because I really do like the pieces that they've added. And I think that they are the kinds of pieces where they can actually live up to the success they had last year, where they did get very fortunate last season to make it all the way to the Super Bowl. But I feel like they did enough to outside of maybe the edge room. That's still a pretty big question mark for me. But I think they shored up a lot of the weaknesses they had where they can truly go toe to toe with any team.

1:07:21So I have the Patriots winning. I think the Bills are going to be right behind them, though. I think it's close. If the Bills win the division, I will not be surprised at all. obviously Josh Allen bare minimum you're going to be uh one of if not the best team in the division and I like the DJ Moore edition I just don't think it moves needle enough for me that I put them at the top uh then third yes I have the Jets um gonna be interested to see how that goes but the Dolphins I just I I hope they're more for the sake of Dolphins fans I hope they're more entertaining than I think they will be um but it really is just the pass game for me that I like the piece I like the direction they're in as well I will say I think in two or three years this could look like a very smart rebuild.

1:07:59And I think they're eating a lot of crow early. I respect what they're doing, but I think this is like a development year. Like you look it up in the dictionary and this is a rebuilding year. So, you know, you got to suffer for one year and hopefully, you know, pays off. Yeah. And maybe get the number one overall draft pick. And that's either a quarterback to build around or if you're really loving what you're seeing out of Malik Willis, a bevy of draft picks to maybe not move that far down in the draft and get some high octane talent at other positions. So I think they're in a good position. The Jets are going to be angling for a top five pick.

1:08:34These are teams where if there's an injury or two early, could absolutely be trade partners with teams. But I do have the Jets third, the Dolphins fourth. I have the Bills winning the division. You could probably guess that based on the tone and the Patriots second. Maybe I'm just harder on the team I grew up rooting for. And I used to just always pick them to make the Super Bowl, win the Super Bowl in the Brady Air because it's like, well, why wouldn't I? I want to like not be annoyed that I didn't pick them, but they're going there every other year, if not more. You might as well pick them to get there.

1:09:05Now I'm kind of going the opposite route. I was a little too low on them last year and and they weren't the only team with an easy schedule, Taylor. The Bills had the second easiest schedule in the league last year, according to DVOA. And the Broncos have the fourth. So it's like, yeah, easy schedules help teams get better records. So I think it'll be tougher. But I think both the Bills and the Patriots are at the top of the AFC to stay. I think they're both going to the playoffs. I just have the Bills. I just think they have a little more margin for error. Maybe I'm wrong. And look, either you're right with the prediction and you're right or you're wrong.

1:09:38And they're going to be really good again. So, you know what? You went either way. But then you don't fully win either way. You know, it took me until like the Super Bowl last year to be like, all right, maybe they'll win. And then, no, not so much. Tell them where they can find you. CLNS Media and Taylor Kyles, you and the crew there are great covering the Patriots every week. You got you got the Patriots Daily Podcast, right? You're not messing around. Pass Daily, brother. We try our best to live up to the name. First of all, thank you so much for having me on, man. This was a delight. You're one of my favorite people in the industry, so I'm very honored to be here.

1:10:10But yeah, you can find me on Twitter at tkyles39, K-Y-L-E-S for Kyles. And on YouTube, that's where a lot of my content is. It's Patriots on CLNS. And then the website for my written stuff, clnsmedia.com. I love it. And if you want to go deeper, really like learning about the game, listen to Mike Rabel. He knows what he's talking about. And check out Taylor's coverage of the Patriots and the entire AFC East and AFC as a whole. I always learn a lot when I do that. So that's not it for our division coverage this week. We got Patrick Claibon coming for NFC East talk in just a bit. But next on the feed, you will hear myself and Nick Shook catch you up on all the camp buzz around the league.

1:10:55That is coming on Tuesday. We will see you then.

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