40s and Free Agents: Position-by-Position Rookie Check-In

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2:33And we can look back a little bit on that rookie draft class of 2025 and some of the free agent moves that have really shaped this season. Good to talk to you again. Good to be with you, buddy. I missed that song, by the way. It's a shame to have that great of an intro song and not use it more often. But I'll tell you what, you look up and here we are doing the halfway point of the season episode. And Greg, you're going to blink and we're going to be cranking out a lot more forays and free agents in the offseason. Yes, the plan, once we get to the new year, we are going weekly. And we got a lot of new information this week.

3:07Of course, we had our trade deadline episodes over on NFL Daily and reaction on Move the Stick. So we're going to focus on what we do here during the season, which is look back a little bit on how this draft class is looking. And we'll do it position by position. I'll throw in some of the free agency moves that have really changed teams. And why don't you get us going? We might as well start at quarterback. Yeah. Unless you want to start elsewhere. Yeah, no, I'm just going to hit a couple of guys on these positions here. So I want to just, with the quarterbacks, let's start with Cam Ward. Because I just saw him last week live.

3:42I prepared for the game with the Chargers and the Tennessee Titans. So studied him and then seen him live and in person. And I would just say anybody that's panicked or freaking out, he's going to be fine. You can pull out. My test with a lot of these rookies is can you pull out the five to ten plays a game that gets you excited? And those flashes of hope that he provides. And he has done that. Now, the arm strength is plenty good enough. He can move around. He's not going to move around to run. He's going to move around to throw. Everything I get from the folks there is that the wiring is great.

4:14He's working hard, doing all the stuff he needs to do. There's some mechanical stuff to fix. They're not good up front. I like the fact that they're getting the younger guys in play. Shamir Dike has really turned into a good player. We'll see what Io Manor can develop into with more opportunities. They need to get the tight end of the ball more. Helm, who's been a really good rookie for them. but uh with cam when i talk about the mechanical things when he's when he's on time and throws it fine when he's on the move off platform change arm angles fine those are two great areas when he moves and resets his accuracy is bad like he is really struggle from that standpoint so to me it's just getting him a little more comfortable in that environment where moving being able to it's like the ability to speed up you know urgency speed up get away but then you've got to slow back down to get in your legs and deliver the ball accurately.

5:02He's not doing that. And that's why you're seeing some of these misfires, which I think is entirely coachable. Yeah. I've been watching them every week and it's such a weird situation because I think there's a lot to like about that rookie draft class, but you also have the feeling like we've had with Trevor Lawrence and Caleb Williams last year of these quarterbacks that are kind of wasting the year. I know it's helpful to be in the NFL and get these reps, but his ultimate coach is not there right now. So that's that's frustrating but look it's not easy to find three pass catchers in the middle rounds i think they did it gunner helm i o man i o manners out there blocking like a tight end everyone wants a wide receiver like that yeah no i and we get to those other positions but i and even talking to some folks with the organization like the they know they need to get a tight end of the ball more he only got he had one ball last week against chargers made an unbelievable catch they got to figure out a way to get him more involved he's gonna end up being a real value pick for him and dk leading the league in all purpose yards he's been awesome so um good find there uh jackson Dart will be the other one that I'll hit.

5:59Obviously, they feel great inside the organization. They've got their guy. They've got absolutely nothing with Scadaboo goes out, unfortunately. Neighbors is gone. I mean, it's just not a lot for him to work with there. And yet he still finds a way to make plays and brings the energy and enthusiasm and excitement there. He's advanced further than I thought he would be at this point in time. I love the upside with Jackson Dart. thought he would require some more patience but to be as competitive as he's been with what he has and their offensive line has been better but um i mean they that that's all you can hope for when you take a quarterback in the first round no matter where it is is you're hoping after a year there's a calm and an ease of like we're out of that market and i think they clearly know that they're out of that market and i'll pose this question to you greg getting it back to you is you know i i i loathe redrafts i think it's i'm just not i think it's lazy it's kind of dumb thing but i i would say i made this statement i'll see if you are on board with it in a everything we know now go back draft it over again i said at worst cleveland would take him at two at worst they would not do that trade they would not trade out of two they would have stuck and picked if if not and i'm saying that's the worst if not he would have been tennessee's pick at one i'm saying that that's and dart would have been the first or second pick based off what we've seen right now tell me i'm wrong i can't because i like abdul carter i'm still holding on to my travis hunter stock i'm going to buy it up from people who are doubting but i can't go against you i would i would still have ward personally over dart but he has been dart that is way better way faster than i expected and he upgrade like he's made that team better as a rookie quarterback that that is not easy to do so i think you're right that's a good way to think about it i i had not so thinking back to like decisions in the offseason like that that you might change around you know would sam darnold and his agent have asked for more money than 100 million dollars over three years so we're going to do some of the free agency moves here and i kind of wanted almost to focus on the contract of it all because we know how well sam darnold's taking i've never taken a bigger l in my entire life as an analyst uh than seeing him play better this year and seeing him obviously upgrade that team compared to where geno smith was and i think he was the better system fit, which I should have given them credit for.

8:25But man, he's only making 31 a year over the next two years. He might be going back to the table in a year or so, but man, they have to feel great because he's a legit MVP candidate. Yeah, no, he's been awesome. It's been fun to watch. I was looking at their tape from this last week and there was a moment in that game where they end up emptying out the formation. So they go empty and you see him go one to two to three and it is so fast they did in that Washington game and I wrote it down and I'm like I know you know people say that's too rich but I'm watching I'm like that was a Joe Burrow look to it there was a the speed of which he's seeing things but the calm and poise and the ball placement was pristine like that's what there's you know like he's got to flush that one play he still has one play game you'd like to have back but I mean it was a perfect first half in last week's game and let me give you my other exercise that I did here because I want to get your thoughts on it.

9:20I did this on, I think I did this on Move the Sticks the other day, but just to get your thoughts on it. If you look at Sam and the group that they have around him, I know we're focusing on the free agents and the draft picks here. But if you look at Sam with this Seattle team, and I took their top seven to nine players, which is Sam, JSN, Leonard Williams, Byron Murphy. You could put Cross, Eman Worry, Witherspoon, Zabel, Abe Lucas. You could put Ernest Jones in there. That's like the top 10-ish guys. And you look at the team that won the Super Bowl last year with Saquon, Lane Johnson, Carter, Quinone Mitchell, Zach Vaughn, A.J.

9:54Brown, Hurts, Devontae Smith, Mylotta. It's a fair fight. Now, you could say it leans Philly, but when people ask, could Sam Darnold lead the Seahawks to a Super Bowl? And you look at the top part of their roster, it's not that far off the team that just won it man no i i've been saying i don't know if they're the super bowl favorites but i think they're the team that's played the best football so far even before before last week so that eagles team was so talented i'm still giving the edge to the eagles but is that a super bowl beyond but that's the strength is that they had eight eight defensive linemen they could roll all the way through there yep and i i think look they only got more talented this week with rashid Shahid, who I think is a great fit for Sam Darnold.

10:39So that's interesting. The other quick quarterback things. It is interesting. It's supposed to be so hard to get quarterbacks in the offseason, but they got Daniel Jones in Indianapolis for$14 million, and I'm sure they're going to sign him long-term. And I think Pittsburgh is glad they didn't get Stafford or Darnold, but I think they're happy with how the Rodgers move ended up, and both those teams got bargained for what they're getting. So apparently, you can get quarterbacks in the offseason sometimes. No doubt. Where do you want to go next? what position i'll just run through the the running backs quickly which is to me it's just interesting you can still get the guys at the bottom of the barrel that are going to come in and be a bell cow for you and be effective rico dadle and javante williams are making combined 5.75 million dollars about the same uh right around three million dollars each and they'll both be free agents again and they'll get a little more this offseason but that's just awesome for those two guys and those two teams it does show you know you can get good bargains i think with that second contract for running backs that haven't been used too much.

11:37Yeah. And I would say in the draft, you know, it's always been the case. You can find them kind of up and down throughout the draft. We've seen RJ Harvey who popped. We've had these guys who've kind of had their week or two where they've really popped. Scadaboo was doing great until he was lost for the year, which was unfortunate. Gentile's in a tough spot there. At least he's got a running mate now with Bowers back healthy. So he's got a chance without everything having to go all through him. He's been solid. I was asked the question of if you could take one running back from this class for the future.

12:06So what you've seen thus far and then could carry him into the future. I actually, and I always preface it, and I want to make sure I'm honest and transparent. I do the Charger games, and I know he's missed time, but I would take Omari and Hampton over any running back in this draft. When he's been out there and healthy and considering who is not in front of him blocking, size, speed, ability to catch the ball, versatility. unfortunately he's missing a huge chunk of the season with this with this injury but he would be the one that i would take out of all these running backs i hate to agree with you but i i would and i thought genti looked better coming off the bye week i don't know if it was how they used him or just getting a little bit of a break he had some juice yeah they've got it he's got a good player they actually have another they actually have another somebody actually they have to look at and worry about on the other side of the ball which is nice it's nice help to have that four tutties for gino he's back um maybe not but yeah i i agree with you hampton is the complete package uh what do you think at wide receiver yeah wide receivers abukas you know he's been the story he's been the class of of the group uh tedaroa mcmillan's been solid um this team and to no fault of his own but they've realized that their path and their formula to win football games is not through the air it's running the ball with an offensive line that's equipped to run it with backs that they have Rico Datil being at the top of that list they're just more equipped to play that style of football so you're going to see that impact his numbers but he's clearly their their number one guy and and been solid I mentioned Shamir DK a little bit earlier I wanted to give him some love I you know when I was in their training camp there was excitement about the young receivers with him and I.O.

13:40Manor and you know as a kick returner he's been awesome I just saw him take a punt you know back for a touchdown last week against the Chargers leading the league in all-purpose yards, but he's more than that. And a lot of times you've seen receivers, young in their career, impactful guys in this role, and you've seen them grow and evolve into more. I think you're going to see that with him. I'm excited about him. Yeah, it makes you wonder what they were doing, giving those snaps to your buddy Tyler Lockett early in the season. The rookies were playing too well, and they had to get Pete Carroll's buddy back to Vegas.

14:10I did want to follow up on the TMAC point. Yeah. You had, and by the way, you had Hampton very high before the draft too. So I think that's been borne out. I think he's even better than solid. And I know the numbers aren't crazy, but just eye test. He reminds me a little bit of Drake London where maybe the numbers aren't going to be crazy, but he's a one. They found it. Like he's, I think he's awesome. I'm convinced he is going to be like a top 15 type of receiver in the league. Like he's really good as a rookie. It's just the situation. and maybe keeping his numbers down. I'm pulling it up because I wanted to see my report on him as you mentioned that.

14:54Here we go. The end of it. Okay. McMillan is – this is the first line. McMillan is a tall, rangy receiver with a Drake London-like skill set. And the last thing I said overall, I thought London played with a little more urgency as a prospect, but McMillan has the potential to provide a similar impact at the next level. So there you go. And I can't pretend I'm breaking down the all 22 of every single one of his snaps, but he has played aggressive. He is out there fighting for balls. Not a lot of like perfect location passes. And he looks pretty awesome to me. So I think they're happy. I think about the wide receivers in terms of free agency.

15:30And it's a trend of all the rest of these positions. There's a lot more misses than hits. And Devontae Adams is what the Rams wanted him to be, of course. But I think about Josh Palmer, like those mid-tier wide receivers, it doesn't often work out. Christian Kirk for the Texans. And I do think about how the Patriots might have dodged one. And this is just injury related. But Chris Godwin coming off a really serious injury at his age, they wanted to give him a lot of money. The reports from our guys in Rapport were that he passed down more money from the Patriots to return to Tampa. So they end up in the end, quote unquote, settling for Stefan Diggs, who's been a really nice fit for them at a little lower price and has been healthy, got back from his injury.

16:15So that ended up working out well for them. I think that'd be a different Patriots team right now if they did not have Stefan Diggs. Yeah, sometimes it's the guys you don't get right. That ended up being the good moves and they they've gotten younger there. and uh and again i know we're not talking you're gonna sit here and talk about your patriots the whole time but like you said it at the time that they that that was my favorite draft and you look at the young core that they've got assembled it's gonna be fun man you're kind of set up for a decade of fun with the patriots you know you know unfortunately who's the only rookie on the team that i still believe in but isn't really hasn't got cranked up no that wasn't even the guy i was mentioning because he looked great last week uh was my favorite guy in the draft kyle williams you know, there's too many good guys ahead of him.

16:58Kayshawn Booty, you can't get him off the field. That's right. I mean, there's only one Kayshawn Booty in this league. Can we do my favorite position in this entire draft right now? Tight ends. Tyler Warren has been an elite player. He's already, you know, kind of playing like a top five player at his position in the league. He's done it the whole year. It's run after catch. It's the physicality. It's the instincts. All that stuff's been excellent. So start there. But then I'm telling you, who's nipping at his heels is a Rondé Gadsden, seeing him every week with the Charger. He's on a heater. He's on about a four-week heater, and I don't think it's going to slow down.

17:34And I don't know if it's the 86 that he's wearing, but I'm like, this gives me prime Zach Ertz vibes of someone who's just got the trust of his quarterback. And it sounds hard to describe, but he presents such a good target where he gets in and out of breaks, he presents himself well. It makes it very inviting for throws and catches everything. He can catch it. Nice catch radius over his head back. If it's behind him, he's been excellent. So he kind of that's the role I could see him kind of playing. And I wouldn't be surprised as great as Warren is if we looked up in three to five years because he's getting a chance to play with Justin Herbert that you're going to see, you know, statistically he could be at or eclipse where Tyler Warren is.

18:17So that's my that's my fun one there. You sound like you want to jump in here, Greg. No, that's awesome and outrageous. It just shows how crazy draft value can affect things because there was that one week after his first big game that he's on every single fantasy football waiver wire. I remember talking about with my kids and seeing other people and a lot of people were like, I don't know, that's probably a flip. Like, meanwhile, if he had gotten drafted where Colston Loveland got drafted, everyone I think would be talking about him as a legit rookie of the year candidate. And it's a good offensive rookie of the year class.

18:51There's a lot of fun options, including the guys we've talked about, like Dart. But Gadsden's got a chance. I mean, that's crazy to get an undrafted guy that could be. He was undrafted, right? No, no. He's like fifth round. Okay, my bad. My bad. Right as I'm setting up, that's insane. There's not much to talk about. the tight end position in terms of free agency, Evan Ingram got in there. I bought that. I told you that before. I got sold to Bill of Goods on that one. Didn't know how to help the fantasy team. He's like a lot of Broncos receivers. There's one or two plays every week where he's wide open and they just miss hitting him for like a long touchdown last week.

19:30And so he's been – I'm not giving up on him. He's been close. But, man, that's exciting that the Tigers got that. By the way, Colson Loveland coming off his big game. So hopefully he's coming on. Harold Fanning's been good for Cleveland. I mentioned Helm needs to get the ball more in Tennessee. It's shaping up to be an excellent tight end class. That's why I think it's, as I mentioned, it's my favorite of all these groups. Just I think there's a really good group of guys there. There's a really good group of free agent tight ends that we'll hit on next year. But as we wrap up the offense, who stands out to you in terms of the offensive line picks so far?

20:05Yeah, I'm just going to hit Zabel. I mean, the two tackles have had their moments and played well. Will Campbell, you know, like you run into Miles Garrett, it is what it is. Membu's been solid. Those guys have been solid. Simmons hasn't been out there, unfortunately, for the Chiefs. Played well when he was out there, but haven't got to see more of him. But Gray Zabel, to me, has been a real difference maker as an interior offensive lineman on that Seattle team we were just talking about a little bit earlier. He's been awesome. This is the position more than any other where, man, And you need to be able to draft and develop them.

20:37Because when I'm looking for the list of the best offensive linemen that changed teams last offseason, it's a pretty short list. Jalen Moore got paid a lot from the Chiefs. I think he's been okay. He's supported the idea that they needed that insurance when Josh Simmons left and they haven't fallen apart. But the guys who got big money, like Dan Moore from the Titans, I don't think the Vikings are really loving the experience they've gotten out of Will Fries and Ryan Kelly. Kelly's been hurt, but that was part of the risk when you signed him. It's just not a lot of quality guys that change teams.

21:12And you look at the signings that have already happened this season that are kind of under the radar, like guys like Colton McKivitts and Luke Gedeke, they have already been re-signed. So you're just not going to find solid to good offensive linemen in free agency. Why don't we take a little bit of break unless you got something to say about offensive line? No, no, I'm tapped out there. Okay, let's take a quick break and we'll talk about defense after this.

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24:58All right, everybody. We're back here, 40s and free agents with my guy, Greg. Greg didn't know this was coming, but I wanted to bring this back. We had a Super Bowl draft before we get to the defense. We'll get to the defensive players. Just wait. But we had a Super Bowl draft. We went teams. You picked teams. We went through every team in the AFC, every team in the NFC. And I thought this would be a good time to revisit. We're at the halfway mark, Greg. You want to see where we landed with that draft and tell me where you feel great and where you don't feel great? Well, I know that you're sneak attacking me here.

25:28And the only way you would possibly do that is if your draft looks better than mine. This would not be a segment. This would not be a segment if my draft was good. Well, I'll leave that to the viewers or the listeners to see what they say there. Let's start with the AFC. Let's go back through that draft, okay? You went Ravens first overall pick. How are you feeling there, Jay? Not great, but we're not out of it yet. I still think they could win that division, and the playoffs are what matters. But, yeah, not great. I went Bills with my first pick. Feel fine there. Okay. You went Chiefs with the next pick.

26:04Feel great. That would be my number one overall pick, I think, right now. Even though they're 5-4, I think I'd take them. I went with the Chargers. Obviously, the injuries of the two tackles not helping, but they're a playoff team. You went with Texans with your fifth pick. How are you feeling about that one? That's a cross-off. Well, I'm going to be able to come right back with you because I went with the Cincinnati Bengals with my pick. Don't love that at all. Here's a great back and forth here. You went with the Steelers at 7. right they're in feel good i'll take it value picked good value i got the denver broncos at eight how that's a fantastic value better value uh and then those teams could have home games in the playoffs how about you come back with the patriots at nine okay i thought i thought i was gonna get no no take into the woodshed here let's go i want all the more reason i want jacksonville at 10 don't love that and now we get to the ugly part i mean that's good that's good for a 10 pick They're in the playoffs today.

27:05You go Miami at 11. No bueno. I go Raiders at 12. No bueno. You go New York gets at 13 gross. But here we are with the 14th pick in the draft. I got the Indianapolis Colts home to sauce Gardner and a newly revamped defense to accompany the league's best offense. And without question, the best value pick of this draft. You go Titans at 15. I go Browns at 16. But that's that's the AFC. So you feel good about the fact you've got Casey that like legitimately you think could win it. Like you still feel like Baltimore, if they could get in, go on a run, they could win it. Sure. And the Patriots are a good dark horse.

27:43I do regret a lot about our Colts predictions. At least I'm talking on our show, NFL Daily, because there was more there to see. If we forget, just seeing the vision, they're actually kind of a win now team with a bunch of good players, continuity in their prime. That was a good value pick. All right. So let's get to the NFC. I go Eagles at one field. Okay. Fantastic about that. You go Detroit at two. I'm fine with that. I know it's been a little rocky, but the defense is better than I thought. I'm fine with that. I go Rams at three. Love that one. That's pretty good. But you came back with Tampa at four.

28:19I think we're doing pretty good here. I think those first four picks are all legitimate Super Bowl contenders. I came back with Green Bay at five. A little bit of an up and down roller coaster here. Minnesota at six. I don't think you're feeling great about that, are you? I don't feel good about that. And this, I remember now, was made before the Micah Parsons trade, by the way, that you got Green Bay. Yeah, those top five teams, they could all make the Super Bowl. The NFC is so good. So then I go, you know, last year in the NFC Championship game, I thought I was getting a good value with the Commanders at seven.