40s and Free Agents: March Sadness - Fixing The 5 teams Without a 1st Round Pick

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. You know how it's never really about where you're going. It's about who you're going with. The right people can turn any drive into a great memory. That's something Toyota really believes. They design vehicles around real life and real people. The ones who make plans happen and bring everyone together. Inside, everything's built with passengers in mind. Comfortable seating, smart layouts, and space that actually works so everyone can relax and enjoy the ride. There's room for the people, room for the stuff, and room for the moments that happen along the way.

0:35Because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more at toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people. Wasabi is purpose-built to free your business from skyrocketing storage costs and fees. Wasabi is the go-to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams around the world. Check out Wasabi's AI-enabled intelligent media storage, Wasabi Air, to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cyber criminals. Wasabi, driving innovation in data storage for up to 80 % less than market competition. Try for free at Wasabi.com. Wasabi Hot Cloud Storage, proud partner of the iHeart Podcast Network.

1:16March is here and Uber Eats is delivering deals all month long. Score big savings on all the delicious food you need to fuel your sports fandom. Whether you're ordering in or hosting the whole crew, Uber Eats is serving up deals on wings, burgers, pizza, all from your favorite restaurants, plus snacks from top stores. Perennial powerhouse, underdog. However the madness unfolds, these deals keep it going all month long. Visit the Uber Eats app for all the latest deals and start saving today. Lowe's knows Sundays are for football. So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on LG and Bosch appliances.

1:54select bounty and swiffer cleaning products, and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the game. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL.

2:12Welcome to 40s and Free Agents presented by Toyota. I'm Greg Rosenthal alongside my frenemy, Daniel Jeremiah, a.k.a. Move the Sticks, a.k.a. the best draft analyst. In the business, DJ, when we last taped your mock draft 3.0 was about to come out. What was the response? What was the pick that the most people got mad at? Without question, Chiefs taking a tackle at nine. They did not want that. Why not? They were upset because I think because they paid more in free agency last year. And then, you know, Simmons is a rookie. Played well when he was out there. Wasn't out there the whole time. And my whole thing was I watched more play.

2:53was not in love with what I saw from that video. So this to me was a major upgrade at right tackle. But inevitably half the comments are, we are taking a pass rusher. What are you doing? And I'm like, I don't interact with these anymore. I used to, but that's useless. But well, when the top three guys are gone, so then you're going to take Hakeem Mesidor with the ninth pick. So are you okay with taking Hakeem Mesidor because the other three guys are gone? I'm not going to have those conversations on there. And then I just I also put in there that Andy Andy Reid has a very close relationship with Kyle Whittingham and Kyle Whittingham.

3:27You know, I was going to give him a glowing endorsement of this player and that'll matter. Kyle Whittingham's son works for Andy. He's on the staff there. And people and then so the response was like, just because he's a Mormon doesn't mean that he's going to take only a month. It's like, OK, that's that's the that's what you get in some of the comments there. uh hey being a mormon doesn't hurt though uh look newsflash chiefs fans uh andy reed loves taking big guys up front and i hate to break it to you jalen moore on the last year of his contract might not be your long-term tackle i think they'll take the best player i like that i said the patriots fans were a little upset you got it you went for a nose tackle well maybe just because or a defensive tackle just because i follow them on twitter hold on real quick because i was gonna look that up real quick um okay i didn't have any glaring and there was no glaring in your face stat there that would have pointed me in that direction.

4:16So fair, fair criticism from the Patriot fans. But to me, he's a nice compliment to what they have there. You want Milton to get up the field, see what Barmore, those guys are up the field guys. Now you've got somebody who can just do all the dirty work, let McDonald just eat up blocks. Also, it's absolutely a type of defensive lineman that they like. At 31, you can't get mad about anything. What are we doing today, Greg? Our show today is going to be teams without a first-round pick. So all your average draft shows out there are focusing on the teams with picks a plenty. But today we're going to give a little love to the teams that don't have any first round picks because of the trades that they made.

4:56Kind of look at where they are at after free agency and what they can get done in the draft. So let's start with the Falcons. They do not have a first round pick as a result of that 2025 draft trade for James Pierce where they moved up with the Rams. They really have a pick in the next three rounds, the second, third, and fourth. They don't have a fifth-round pick. They're fourth and sixth. They're actually from Philadelphia because of a separate trade. So, look, they don't have a lot of draft capital. And that James Pierce trade, I thought, looked bad when they made it. Then it started looking better as the season went along, although they had a mediocre season.

5:32You'd love to have the first-round pick. And now it looks terrible because of the off-field legal situation that he's facing, his status for 2026 is totally up in the air. And they have a new regime, DJ, that we don't know what exactly they're going to do. And they don't have a first round pick to use because of the previous regime. Yeah. And if you look at the thought process behind this particular podcast, it's like, look, there's a lot of college basketball podcasts right now. Hey, March Madness, March Madness. But no, no, March Sadness. Let's talk about the teams who didn't make the tournament.

6:03You know what I mean? Like that's the vibe that we're going for here. And I dig it. I was a fan of it. I was a proponent of it. So when you look at the Falcons, I'm looking at the wide receiver position for them. And at pick number 48, it just so happens my 48th player is Antonio Williams out of Clemson. Now they're not all those 47 other guys are going to go. There'll be some other guys that fall around there. But I do think that's a good range to find a complementary receiver that could really help them out. Antonio Williams, ultra, ultra quick, competitive, great after the catch. Just a really solid player there at Clemson, I think, would fit in well in that offense.

6:37Yeah, so I did kind of want to go through, like, what are their biggest needs? And we're on the same page. I don't know if you saw my notes. I did not. Our producer said, put the notes into the doc. So I did it this time. I think their biggest needs, number one, wide receiver. So they do pick up a couple wide receivers in free agency, Alamide Zaccheaus and then Jahan Dotson, who, you know, right now are 2-3 on their list, probably on a best-case scenario would be 3-4 on an NFL team. so they have some receivers but I had cornerback after that where Mike Hughes was getting torched quite a bit last year they lost Caden Ellis and free agency linebacker defensive lineman I really have kind of a bigger question for this team which is like what is this regime's vision gonna be I don't think free agency gave us a ton to work off because they were really going for guys at the margins they got to a tongue of my law at quarterback they get Samson and Ebicom as an edge and Deshaun hand.

7:36I thought they did an okay job filling in some just huge holes so they can draft wherever, but it's also a team when I look at it, DJ where they don't have a lot of clear strengths. Like what are the Falcons really good at right now? Well, I think you look at some of the key players, obviously with Bijan, the offense running through him, but it feels to me like they've almost in some ways with what they've done in free agency built around the style of Tua more so than the style of Penix, where Penix is more of a drive the ball down the field. two is going to be more about run after catch, make quick decisions, get the ball out, be accurate.

8:09And the kind of guys they've added so far to run after the catch guys. So that's another reason why I put Antonio Williams in there. But that seems to be more of the identity is we're going to play in space. We're going to get our athletes. We're going to get Bijon out in space, pits, London, you know, add some more weapons there, but we want to get the ball out quick, get it to them and let them go. Yeah. Kevin Stefanski inherits the exact same offensive line as a year ago. I think that's a strength for them overall. and they lose a lot of players who played a lot for them last year. Darnell Mooney, Tyler Algier, David Onyemata, Caden Ellis, Arnold Abichetti.

8:42These guys were resourceful, good players for them a year ago. They're a team where I look at them. It's hard to see why are they better right now. It's a team that could use extra draft picks, and instead, because of the situation that they're hearing, they're light right here. So I feel like they could go in a few directions, and I still don't know what is a Matt Ryan team. it does surprise me. Are you a little surprised that they've been very hands-off with committing to Penix to the point where it's almost disrespectful? They're kind of making it clear that Tua is probably the leader in the clubhouse and that Penix will have to earn that job back whenever he does get healthy.

9:19Yeah, which is interesting because when I talked to some of their folks at the Combine and the organization, I thought they were excited about Penix, but there was some trepidation there of like, hey, if he stays healthy, We feel like we can, you know, we can win this division. And that was before they brought in Tua. And then it was like, okay, was that insurance or competition or replacement? And it definitely leaning more away from the insurance side of that argument. They also traded for Sidney Brown, the safety from the Eagles over the weekend. They're pretty good at safety with Jesse Bates, Xavier Watts there.

9:53But like I said, like they signed these guys, Christian Harris at linebacker from the Texans. That's not necessarily a starter. you could certainly use another starting edge and then, I mean, a starting linebacker and then yet edge, they sign Ebicom and hand who are useful players again. But I think it speaks to that. You can't count on James Pierce. I don't know about this team. I kind of slot them unless they have like a great rest of the off season behind the saints and the bucks and maybe even the Panthers in that division. Wow. Team in transition. Am I crazy? No, I mean, what are they excited about?

10:26Even John, who's amazing. They don't have a backup running back. You can find one, but that's a position I would say they could absolutely use. All right, let's go to the Colts. They do not have a first-round pick as a result of the Sauce Gardner trade. With the Jets, they have a second, a third, a fourth. They have a couple of sevens. In general, they just have their regular picks. They did get a sixth back from the Michael Pittman trade, but that was just a swap. In free agency, they've watched some good players go out the door. They traded Zaire Franklin. They traded Pittman away, Quidipe and Braden Smith and Nick Cross all got paid elsewhere.

11:03So it's another team to me, kind of like the Falcons, who on paper, they're a rare team that I don't think their fans even can look at them and say, oh, we're better than we were at the end of the season. The linebacker the Colts took in the second round that was rookie of the year when they also took the guard, right? Didn't they get the offense and defensive rookie of the year? This is going back. Jack Leonard? Jack Leonard. Back in the day? Yeah. So I'm looking at this team and I'm going, okay, he's going to revisit the past and he's going to try and take a linebacker in the second round that could very easily be the defensive rookie of the year and Jacob Rodriguez out of Texas Tech.

11:42So that's one that I like for them. Ultra, ultra productive, instinctive, all that stuff that doesn't require the athleticism. And then he goes out and ran, I think, 4-5-7. and proved he was a better athlete than people thought. So all that stuff together, I remember Shaq Leonard watched him coming out. He was 218 pounds. But it was like, this guy is just a stat stuffer. Like, there's picks, there's forced fumbles, there's sacks. Like, Rodriguez is not as long as him, a little different body type, but the same type of stat stuffing. So to me, I think that would kind of be on brand for them in the second round.

12:14That would be an interesting pick. Now, they pick up 47th. It's actually one pick ahead of the Falcons, who I think could use an off-ball linebacker. So maybe they'll be sniping the Falcons with that pick. There you go. In the DJ mock. When do you have to do like a two-round mock? Do you ever have to do that? Never. You're not slumming it like that. They got Eric Edelman doing like seven rounds or something. Oh, dude, they get after it. They get after it on those. Much respect for Chad Ryder for doing that. What do you think about this team overall? Because, look, they are a team that in free agency, they were supposedly going to be in on Trey Hendrickson.

12:49They thought they had a chance for him. He ends up going to Baltimore. Instead, they sign Arden Key and Michael Clemens to kind of replace Quiddy Pay. They bring back, you know, a couple of really low wattage guys. Cam Taylor Britt, who was with Lou Anarumo in Cincinnati. They have Nick Westbrook-Akini. Like, that's a downgrade from Michael Pittman. That's why, like, even though I like what they've done developing their offensive linemen, in general, this is a team that I don't quite see the vision because it's kind of like, hey, we're bringing back the gang, except we have our two best players, Daniel Jones and Sauce Gardner, or maybe our most important players, I should say, when it comes to Jones, coming off major injuries.

13:28You're like, yeah, we get them back, but are they going to be as good as they were before? Yeah, that's a tough one for me because look at some of these other teams inside the division, and you see them trending north. Now, we'll see what happens with the Texans and the offensive line with the swap out and the swap in, if that's an upgrade at all for them. But I think Jacksonville is going to be better. Tennessee's got no choice but to be better and they're going to have more resources to throw at their roster after an aggressive free agency I don't really see this team as improved over last year and so everybody else is getting better and you're kind of staying still, that's not a great combination Do you think they believe in Riley Leonard more than the outside believes in Riley Leonard?

14:09To start early in the season I think all signs point towards that I mean they haven't been in on anybody So, um, or, or they believe in the super healing powers of Daniel Jones. One of the two. I mean, he'll be back at some point and maybe it's early in the season, but you have to at least be ready. And at this point, Riley Leonard's taking first team snaps. I'll be interested to see who they sign at some point. They should sign someone. Anthony Richardson is still on the roster. I also think they need, uh, some defensive tackles. They've been, they've been trotting out Buckner, who was talking about, you know, was he going to even retire?

14:43Potentially he's still there. Grover Stewart is on the roster. They lost Nick Cross. There's kind of a hole at safety. I actually think they need a wide receiver. I think that's a sneaky position for them because you trade Pittman away, and now Josh Downs is hitting free agency. You also traded A.D. Mitchell away in the Sauce Gardner deal. Suddenly that actually is kind of a thin position, and he's been great at drafting wide receivers. So it wouldn't shock me if they look wide receiver in the second round either. Oh, there you go. I like that idea. There'll be good options, and we just talked about that in that range.

15:13So there'll be tons of whiteouts. If you want a white, I think you can afford to wait on that one. And they're another team that needs a backup running back. Don't really have anyone behind Jonathan Taylor right now. Let's talk about the Packers who have no pick as a result of the Micah Parsons trade with the Cowboys. They also, you know, will be sending next year's first to the Packers. They could go in a lot of directions. I counted seven starters that they lost in free agency. DJ, I think that's the most of any team. in addition to trading away Colby Wooden, who's a young rotational defensive tackle who helped them losing their backup quarterback in Malik Willis, losing their backup running back in Manuel Wilson.

15:51That is a lot of contributors. They have been a draft and develop team. Like to me, they have a lot of needs. Where do you think they look first? Well, at the running back position, if Jadarian Price was somehow there, I would take him there because I just think he's a really, really good player. I think this is a two running back class, So I would imagine he won't be there, but that would be a fun one-two punch there if they brought him in there. And he's already used to being a complimentary back after being with Jeremiah Love at Notre Dame. So it would be a fun fit there for that offense. But I'm going to go edge rusher, getting another guy that can roll through there.

16:25I think you are going to see, in terms of the copycat thing we talk about every year with the last two teams, being so deep along the front and having so many waves of guys, I think you are going to see teams really, really reinforce the trenches. So I'll go R. Mason Thomas at 52, edge rusher out of Oklahoma. He's a little bit light, but he's got big-time juice, plays extremely hard. And somewhat, I think, as you're rolling guys through, I think he – think about how Cheninowosu is used and how he's played and what he's been. I could see R. Mason Thomas having that type of impact. Do you know what the R in R.

17:00Mason Thomas stands for? Nothing. Okay, so you beat me to this. I thought I would have one little nugget that – No, that was it. It just sounds cool. It does sound cool. Like I said at the combine, it sounds like the name of an author to go back to our library theme. And I brought that up to somebody in the league, and they said his best-selling novel would be To Kill a Quarterback. And I thought, I wish I would have thought of that before you did, but I will steal it. You know what's crazy? To me, like the answer of where they go, it was, I agree, like by far their biggest need is edge. I mean, you just traded for Micah Parsons, and it's not even close.

17:34like Michael Parsons, you got to assume is not going to be ready for week one. Lucas Van Ness is your number two. He's been a disappointment overall. Like he's an NFL player, but he hasn't really developed in the way that you would hope someone with his skill set would. And you don't have a number three. Their number three edge right now is Baron Sorrell. Is that pronounced correctly? I don't know if you remember. Yeah, like a day three pick and they don't really have a fourth. At this point, if you had to play a game, that's your week one starting edge, Barron Sorrell. I assume they're going to get in the mix for some of these veterans that are out there.

18:11They're a team that screams for second wave once the comp pick form. Give me Joey Bosa. Joey Bosa, Clowney. Get like two of these guys. Cam Jordan is still out there. There's still a decent amount of people. They just need NFL players. And they need their first-round picks, like some of their old picks, to step up too. Jordan Morgan is now going to be their left tackle. Did you remember your Jordan Morgan? Yeah, out of Arizona. Out of Arizona. Give me the year. Give me the year, Greg. It was two years ago, right? He's going to be entering his third year, so that's a 24 draft pick, right? And they've used him a lot at guard.

18:48This is me talking to fill in the time. Yeah, go, go. Keep going. Look it up. Okay. And this year, they say goodbye to Rasheed Walker, and they're basically saying, all right, big boy, you've developed. now you're going to be our left tackle. All right. Jordan Morgan, Arizona. He was 6 '5", 3 '11". He just under 33-inch arms. Left tackle coming off an ACL. Quick feet. Can absorb twists. Redirect. A little bit soft with the inside shoulder. Does have good FBI football intelligence. He can recover. Takes good angles. Plays with balance. He was my 47th player in that draft. So there you go. So you thought they had a little bit of a reach.

19:25and so far his relative lack of playing time, you know, would indicate. Would you suggest that? Yeah. I have a question. This is one asked from our producer, Drew. Do you think Josh Jacobs could be a tradable asset to maybe get more picks if they got a running back? The problem is it's just there's no – it's a two running back draft. So last year there was a lot more options there to do something like that. So, you know, I don't know. I don't think I'd be parting with a Ryan back of any skill at this point in time with this class that we have in front of us. I have to say I'm confused by their offseason because usually they are all about the young guys.

20:08They are still the youngest team in the entire NFL. So they are a draft and develop team. Their entire offensive line was drafted except for Aaron Banks. All those receivers were drafted in the last four or five years. Tucker Craft, obviously, like these are all their guys. But then they trade for guys, Zyre Franklin and Javon Hargrave, who are coming off kind of bad years. The guys, the teams that just had them didn't really want. I'm just a little confused about where the Packers are at. I want them to be, like, better than they are. Better than the Seamon Seed. Yeah. Well, it'll be a big year for them in that division because Chicago is not getting any worse.

20:44They're in continued build mode right now. And Minnesota is going to be fun, if nothing else. We'll see with Kyler what that looks like. It's an intriguing division. Detroit's going to be all ticked off coming off last year, see what they do. So interesting division. And yet there is one year I think Jordan Love's just going to be full Jordan Love and be like in the MVP conversation with three weeks left of the season. Maybe that will be 2026. Let's take a quick break, as you suggested, DJ, and we'll come back with a little Broncos talk.

21:19For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tremphaya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tremphaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tremphaya, proper training is required. Tremphaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions and increased risk of infections and liver problems may occur.

21:58Before treatment, your doctor should check you for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or if you need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about TREMFIA today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit TremfierRadio.com. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes.

22:43Subject to credit approval, Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Terms and more at AppleCard.com. You know how it's never really about where you're going? It's about who you're going with? Like, the destination could be totally average, but if the right people are there, it becomes a great memory. Toyota really gets that. Toyota designs vehicles around real life and real people, the ones who bring everyone together and somehow make the drive part of the fun. There's room for all the stuff that comes with togetherness. Luggage, golf clubs, camping gear, plus comfortable seating, smart layouts, and space that lets everyone relax.

23:22And Toyota's lineup makes it easy to find your match. The RAV4 is perfect for everyday adventures. The Grand Highlander brings serious space for up to eight with generous legroom and expansive cargo space. The Highlander also has space for up to eight. It's ready for big moments and spontaneous ones, balancing style and flexibility. and the Sienna is built for everyday life, carpools, road trips, snacks, spills, and it even has a built-in vacuum for when things get a little too messy because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more at toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.

24:00Innovation is what gets your business to the big leagues and Wasabi is designed to give every business a shot at competition. Break free from skyrocketing storage costs and unpredictable egress fees from old and top-heavy legacy providers. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company and the go-to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world, and here's why. Innovation. From Wasabi's AI-enabled intelligent media storage, Wasabi Air, to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cyber criminals, data deletion, and ransomware, Wasabi has taken the lead in big league data storage.