In short
Week 1 NFL takeaways plus NFL rookie/young-player stock, framed by a college football highlight: Texas’ comeback vs Ohio State led by Arch Manning, and broader “what we learned” themes (physicality, quarterback reads, and fit).
Guests
Bucky Brooks (NFL analyst/scout) and LZ (co-host). No other guests named.
Key claims
- Texas’ comeback was a signature win for Arch and Steve Sarkisian, but the bigger evaluator takeaway was Texas’ front physicality and late commitment to the run.
- Ohio State’s offense struggled because Julian Sayin locked onto Jeremiah Smith too much; the quarterback class is “wonky” early.
- A “tell” concern is raised about Dante Moore’s footwork/stagger on passes.
- Rookie success is often about scheme/fit: examples include Jacksonville’s Nate Borkettcher and Baltimore’s Ravens-style trench dominance.
Notable examples
- Texas: Brandon Baker (OL), dual running backs (Hollywood/Brown), check-down management.
- NFL rookies: Jacob Rodriguez (green-dot LB, 14 tackles), Jadarian Price (10-52), Jeremiah Love (11-41), Caleb Douglas (5-94), Nate Borkettcher (run-blocking/TE role), Josh Cameron (banana TD catch), Anthony Hill (16 tackles), Deontay Banks (new staff fit).
Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.
Chapters
Tap a time to open that second in VOArch Manning's Comeback Performance
1:07 to 1:37
Discussion on Arch Manning's comeback win and the game's atmosphere.
“How do you turn 16 games, injury reports, team notes, betting lines, and matchup trends into one clear weekend preview?”
Arch Manning's Comeback Performance
2:46 to 5:32
Discussion on Arch Manning's comeback win and the game's atmosphere.
“The great Arch Manning pulled off an improbable comeback.”
Evaluating Player Performances
5:32 to 7:38
Analyzing player performances and implications for scouts.
“do you think this is the biggest win for him?”
Texas' Physicality and Grit
7:38 to 9:59
Exploring Texas' improved physicality in their game strategy.
“And in this game, I saw some – those two running backs, I mean, Hollywood's brothers, Brown, they kind of put it down in the fourth quarter.”
Ohio State's Struggles
9:59 to 12:25
Discussion on Ohio State's performance and quarterback challenges.
“And the way they've matured and the way they've grown.”
Concerns Over Quarterback Play
12:25 to 14:01
Exploring issues in quarterback play and potential tells for defenses.
“And I thought Sane really did a disservice to his offense by not finding other options available.”
Evaluating Quarterback Prospects
14:01 to 19:17
Insights into what makes a quarterback prospect successful, including poise and leadership.
“those things, and people are calling it out.”
Rookies Making an Impact
21:59 to 28:00
Discussion on standout rookie performances and their potential.
“Someone that has a lot of production in college, someone who blows up the combine.”
Evaluating Top Draft Picks
28:00 to 29:00
Discussion on standout draft picks and their fit in teams.
“we can't rate him as a top 10 guy and this and that.”
Rookie Performances and Fantasy Insights
29:00 to 30:50
Analysis of rookie wide receivers and their early impacts.
“knowing a guy can't bust, because of course anyone can bust, I get it.”
Show all 15 chapters
Tight Ends and Tactical Decisions
30:50 to 33:30
Examining the role of tight ends and team strategies in games.
“You know, a guy who, in case he can't see, he only had four catches, 43 yards.”
Learning Experiences for Young Players
33:30 to 35:40
Insight into the learning curves faced by rookie players during games.
“Like, you know, there was so much heat during draft season with Ruben Bain.”
Standout Defensive Players and Their Impact
35:40 to 39:50
Highlighting notable defensive plays from rookie players in the league.
“This will be a great learning experience for him.”
Standout Defensive Players and Their Impact
40:06 to 40:37
Highlighting notable defensive plays from rookie players in the league.
“Hey, this is Anthony from Raiders of a Lost podcast.”
Standout Defensive Players and Their Impact
40:43 to 41:30
Highlighting notable defensive plays from rookie players in the league.
“And Birdie Box from She's Birdie was made for exactly that.”
Transcript
Automatic transcript. May contain errors.0:00Lance Zierlein:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. When the people speak, McDonald's listens. Back by popular demand, McDonald's is firing up spicy McNuggets plus mighty hot sauce to turn up the heat. Dig into the crispy crunch of a McNugget, coated and seasoned perfectly, then dialed up and dipped in mighty hot sauce with added kick and a touch of sweetness. Grab some extra napkins and get going. Get them while they're literally hot at a participating McDonald's for a limited time. Scams don't always look like scams anymore. AI can make a fake ticket offer look legit or a sportsbook text sound official.
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1:16Lance Zierlein:Chat GPT work can help. Give it the goal, plus real inputs like notes, files, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an analysis, tracker, deck outline, or workflow you can keep shaping. You stay in control, reviewing the work, and choosing the final result. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at chatgpt.com by selecting Work Mode. Available on Plus and Pro plans. Football is the ultimate team game. On any single play, it takes all 11 guys to execute it successfully. And whether they're pounding the A-gap or taking a deep shot, the best teams win in multiple ways.
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2:36Lance Zierlein:What's up, football world? I'm Bucky Brooks. That's my man, LZ, the one and only. Welcome to 40s and Free Agents, and we are talking about a little bit of everything today. My man, LZ, was in the building. The great Arch Manning pulled off an improbable comeback. back um look this did a lot you're in the building like first one how you doing and then let's talk
2:56Bucky Brooks:about arch good yeah we're good I got some uh some not great news on a bunch of foundation work I have to have on my house but you know that's that's that's grown people like tell your daughter I know your daughter's at University of Texas I know she went to the game tell her to take her time in in college land take all the time she needs spend Bucky's money as much as you can because when you get out here in the grown folks world, it's a whole lot different.
3:20Lance Zierlein:Yes, a whole lot different. And, man, she was sending pictures and videos from the thing. It looked like quite the atmosphere. And it certainly wasn't. I think, Lance, you know this, as a scout, just being able to see so many great players on one big field in an environment that kind of had like a playoff atmosphere. Man, what was it like?
3:41Bucky Brooks:Well, I've gone to plenty of University of Texas games. My wife went to school there. And so, you know, dating back even pre-events young times. And the atmosphere is fantastic. It was great. Before the game, I was on the field looking at the players, and there were Woody Harrelson. Of course, Matthew McConaughey was there. Woody Harrelson was there. I went over and talked to Mac Brown for a little bit because I've known Mac for a little bit. Kevin Durant just comes over. Actually, Greg Sankey comes over and interrupts us for a second to say hi to Mac. I introduced myself to Greg. Then Kevin Durant jumps in and interrupts them to dap up Mack Brown and introduce himself to Greg Sankey.
4:20Bucky Brooks:In the meanwhile, everyone's ignoring me, Buck. I can't get anyone to say hi to your boy. No, it was a lot of people, Mo Bama on the sidelines they had. There was a lot of former Longhorn players were there. I'm sure there were some Ohio State players there as well. I didn't say C.J. Stroud. I thought he might show up just because, you know, that's a drive, drive there, drive back. But the day before his first game coming off the playoffs from last year, I probably thought it was best to keep it tight to the crib. But, no, the atmosphere was great. It felt like a game that could be a boat race if Ohio State just stuck with the run game, if they just, you know, handled their business.
5:10Bucky Brooks:But honestly, I thought Texas did a good job, and Arch did do a good job, of managing the game, getting the check downs, maybe a few too many check downs there in the third quarter. The fans started to boo a little bit. They weren't real happy with how things were going. But they stuck it out. That was a signature win for Arch. It was a signature win for Steve Sarkeesian. I was a Longhorn fan that I spoke with said, do you think this is the biggest win for him? And I thought, well, the win over Clemson elevated him to the next step of the playoffs.
5:43Lance Zierlein:Yeah.
5:44Bucky Brooks:But really, down like he was, down 20 points to Ohio State, who's the number one team in the nation, in a highly anticipated night game on ESPN, this probably was his signature win. It probably was. And, you know, there's a few things we could say about it. I thought Arch, you know, like I said, did a nice job. it didn't really move my needle in terms of an evaluator so much. But, you know, it didn't move my – Jeremiah Smith didn't move my needle either because like we talked about last week, he just showed who he was. I mean, we already knew who he was. That was just a show and prove game. But Brandon Baker, I think that's his name, the right guard for Texas 73, I thought had a terrific game.
6:28Bucky Brooks:Like this is the kind of game when all the scouts are watching, you know, three, four, five different players that if you put on a big performance, if you look good on tape, you're elevated. Like this is a great stage for offensive linemen, defensive tackles, linebackers and safeties who are kind of off the radar a little bit.
6:47Lance Zierlein:Yeah. You know, it's funny because you talked about Jeremiah Smith. I thought this game would have been huge for Cam Coleman. Right. So at a time where we like to manufacture debates about who's number one, I wanted to see Cam Coleman had a big game so we could have that discussion like, hey, maybe it's not just Jeremiah Smith. And then the game is played and you're like, yeah, no, it's not going to be a debate that we can't have later on. Like he's a good player, but there's a difference between him and Jeremiah Smith. And it was clear and apparent. But what I love from Texas and talking about the game for so long, going all the way back to the Mack Brown era, there was always this hint of softness that scouts would talk about with the team.
7:29Lance Zierlein:Like, hey, if it got hard, would they collapse? They always had really good players. But you want to know, did they have, like, the grit and grind to be able to get it? And in this game, I saw some – those two running backs, I mean, Hollywood's brothers, Brown, they kind of put it down in the fourth quarter. And that physicality that you saw from the offensive line, that showed up. And so people are talking about Arch. But to me, I was more impressed with the way that they stuck with the running game in the late stages of the game, as opposed to like, hey, Arch, throw it all over the yard. We're going to need you to throw for 300 yards to bring us back.
8:07Lance Zierlein:That's not really what happened in that game.
8:09Bucky Brooks:No, I'm glad you brought that up because that's been a running theme for, you know, Mack Brown took over in 98. This has been a running theme in the scouting world because even before I started doing this job, you know, I've been friends with NFL evaluators for a while. And that has been a common theme. And Longhorn fans don't like it. They get mad when you bring it up. But it really is behind the scenes, Texas is soft. That's what it is. This coach coddles the players. It's not as competitive. Once you get the job, this is back before all the transfer portal stuff, but once you get the job, a lot of times they won't recruit behind you because they want to make sure that you're comfortable in your job and there's not as much competition.
8:51Bucky Brooks:And so that's been out there for a while on Texas. And I totally agree with you. I'm glad you brought this up because Texas, the physicality up front is unlike anything I had seen. And I was talking about this with with the guys in the Joe Moore Award texturing we have. I'm in the selection committee as for the top offensive line in college football. And, you know, we're on tape the very next day after these college games. And I got to tell you, Aaron Taylor saw it the way I did. Like this is the most physical Texas has been since I've been studying them, you know, as closely as I have, which has been like 12, 13, 14 years.
9:26Bucky Brooks:And I've watched them a lot longer than that. This was as physical as they were. Sark didn't get away from the run. And then you had two running backs. You know, Indiana had two running backs last year, Bucky, that were hammerheads. And they were physical. And Texas has that same kind of dual mentality where we want both of these guys to be yards after contact, physical guys, not slashers. We want guys who are going to pound and wear teams down. And they finally have an offensive line that is built for something like that. So that was my big takeaway, too, was the physicality of Texas was something I wasn't used to up front.
9:59Lance Zierlein:No, not at all. And the way they've matured and the way they've grown. And I think everyone understood with Ohio State that, look, they had to plug a lot of new pieces into it. But they're so talented that you expect them to continue to operate at a high level. And look, you're up 20 points or whatever they were up in the fourth quarter. They got to close that out. Like that has to be a thing, whether blame Ryan Day, blame me. I don't know who you blame, but Ohio State needs to win that game. What were your thoughts on the Ohio State squad? What do you think about Julian saying? What do you think about that young person?
10:31Bucky Brooks:So from the stands, I was a little, you know, first half looked good. Then when Texas was really, they were throwing a lot of double teams. I mean, everything was shaded to Jeremiah Smith as it should be. And it seemed like Sam had a hard time getting away from that read. And when you do that in college football, and it's easy. I remember watching Deshaun Watson do it with DeAndre Hopkins. And you can still be successful. It wouldn't be the first guy that's locked in on a primary target a lot. Matthew Stafford did it with Megatron all the time. But it concerns me in college because I need to know that you can get through the construct of the route designs, the route combinations.
11:14Bucky Brooks:And you've got to be able to read and take what the defense gives you. And I didn't think Julian Sand did a very good job, especially the second half of taking what the defense gave him. There were other opportunities on the field out there that I could see from the stands, but he was so dialed into number four that he had a hard time. Everything was about, okay, if it goes off structure, I want to see if number four can get open on a scramble play and I'm going to make something happen now. Interestingly, he was doing that when he got out of the pocket and made that throw all the way across the field to the tight end who had leaked out, barely to quarterback seat across the field like that.
11:49Bucky Brooks:So I give him credit. But after that happened, I thought, okay, this game's officially over now. And they couldn't kill the game off after they got that first down. But I thought saying, you know, down on the field, he's a – I mean, he's a true baby face. This guy looks like he's – Yeah, he's a little young.
12:04Lance Zierlein:He's from out this way.
12:04Bucky Brooks:Maybe he looks like he's 18 years old. But he throws a nice ball, you know, good tight spiral, good catchable ball. But I didn't think he did a very good job in the second half of really feeling the Texas defense and beating them where they were there to be beat. He just wanted to let four win the game. And sometimes he will, but in this game he didn't. And I thought Sane really did a disservice to his offense by not finding other options available.
12:35Lance Zierlein:Yeah, you know, that's really interesting because going back to the summertime, doing my work on him, I was really impressed with the way that he looked. I thought he threw the ball all over the yard well. I thought he was one of those, I won't say Baker Mayfield types, but an undersized gunslinger that could have a lot of success that you could set him up and go. And in this game, what you're hoping for is that you see those flashes that kind of confirm some of the positive thoughts that you have. And I think for both quarterbacks, Arch and Julian, like we're still not quite getting that. And it speaks to a larger thing, like through two, three weeks of the college football season, this Ballyhoo quarterback class has kind of been wonk, wonk, wonk, wonk.
13:18Lance Zierlein:It has not been what we thought or what we build it to be.
13:22Bucky Brooks:We needed we needed Dante more upset by a team who got beat by Tulsa last week. double-digit favorite. They lose to Tulsa by double digits, Oklahoma State. Then they come in and beat, you know, I mean, they handle Oregon. That was hammered. And Dante Moore had a bad game.
13:42Lance Zierlein:Bad game. Did you hear about the tail that came out about him and his footwork? No. So Oklahoma State said they had a tail on Oregon, how they knew it was run past. Now, they said the offensive lineman, but people dug a little deeper and they're looking at Dante Moore stance. He staggered when it's a pass. It's a little more level when it's a run, those things, and people are calling it out. Now, it's not a 100 % tail, but it's something that people are beginning to look at. And for a high caliber quarterback prospect in a program that is a top five, top 10 program, man, to have a tail that goes unnoticed like that, man, It's really significant.
14:25Bucky Brooks:Yeah, it's a concern because you allow people to fire up the field on you. I mean, that's the big difference is when they feel like they have a tell on your pass, you may think, well, they don't know the routes. Well, it's about getting up the field. You know, it's about getting off the ball, and you're no longer read, react. You are literally attacking, and it's a completely different energy in the first half snap. You know, in the first one step, in the first step, first two steps, it's different if they know a pass is coming. That's why you, you know, that's why you want to keep things manageable.
14:54Bucky Brooks:We talk about being, you know, when you hear the phrase, you know, stay in front of the chains, you don't want to get behind the chains. That's because when you're predictable, you'll pin their ears back phrase comes out and that's that shows up. Yeah, the quarterback, the quarterback position, it is not shown up yet. There's still a long way to go, but we still have a lot of work that needs to be done on the college level before. I'm very excited about, you know, I'm excited about who these quarterbacks could be, but we're not seeing it just yet. Now, Julian's saying, I will say, I liked his feel on the field.
15:32Bucky Brooks:I liked his feel. Like, he doesn't strike me as a guy that's easily rattled. There's something about his composure and the way he handles games and the way he handles his team, the huddle, just everything. I liked him on the sideline when I was paying attention to him. And that is something. I mean, that is something. That is something you want to look for because you can get better in terms of, all right, I'm not going to lock it on this receiver. I need to do a better job of getting through my progressions, et cetera, et cetera. If you don't have poise or if you don't have command or if you don't have the confidence of teammates on the field, that's stuff that's really hard.
16:12Bucky Brooks:A lot of times, Bucky, I think that's innate. Like you're either that guy or you're not that guy. Now, maybe you're that guy and you just need to be pushed to be more vocal. But I think it's in you or it's not in you personally.
16:23Lance Zierlein:A hundred percent. Either you have it or you don't. And there's a way to be able to do it. And I'll say this, like with Trevor Lawrence, like watching his maturation as a player and the way that he's descending. He is a guy that that's not his it's not his thing per se, but he's grown and become more vocal, more demonstrative, more demanding of his teammates. And so a lot of it is digging down deep and kind of trying to find out, do they have that capacity to kind of bark when they need to bark or to challenge their guys when they need to challenge them? Because that's really important. And it's really important in this era when we're talking about number one receivers being more vocal about wanting to get the ball.
17:06Lance Zierlein:is he bold enough to shut that down and be like, no, no, no, no, no. I'm going to the open guy. Like you got to have some bar. And I hate to say this, but the best quarterbacks that I've seen, they got a little jerk in them. You know what I mean? They got a little jerk. They don't mind kind of being however they are. They don't mind confrontation.
17:26Bucky Brooks:Yeah. They don't mind confrontation. You kind of, you think about the best pitchers, the best quarterbacks, some of the best basketball players. they got that a-hole gene and it's kind of you know it's it's kind of in there it's who they are now you know they may they may still be good personality and all that but when when it comes nut cutting time there's a there's a switch they can hit where they get a little nasty and I think that is something that you have to have you know I had somebody Cleveland tell me that Baker kind of had a hard time dealing with the in Cleveland with you know OBJ Juice Landry there was there was a lot of energy in that locker room once OBJ came in.
18:08Bucky Brooks:And I think he had a hard time, you know, dealing with that. Like he wasn't able to keep up with that. And that is a big part of it too, is how do you handle a wide receiver that's going to have a big personality? You have to have some of that, whether it's learning how to, I don't want to say manipulate, but Buck, you know how it is. Like sometimes you just have to know how to talk to a guy to keep him under wraps. You know, you don't have to necessarily be yelling at the guy, you know, something like that. But you have to know he has to respect you enough that when it's time to get down, it's time to get down.
18:38Bucky Brooks:And that's the way it is. And you got to you know, everyone has to to to manage their role. Eventually, like with Hertz and A.J. Brown, eventually, if it is what it is, it's going to break up, you know, but they kept it together long enough to win a Super Bowl.
18:51Lance Zierlein:Yeah. And that's it. And that's one of the things. And we talk about leadership and the quarterback position being a relational position. You got to be able to relate to all the people in the huddle, the people on the other side of the ball, the people in the building. So communication skills, leadership skills are coveted at a premium on top of the other stuff that you look for. Intelligence, toughness and in the playing ability. Look, we're going to take a break right now. But when we come back, I want to talk about some of these young rookies that are popping. I think I think we might quiet the consensus board.
19:26Lance Zierlein:I think there's some people.
Read the full transcript
19:31Lance Zierlein:How do you turn 16 games, injury reports, team notes, betting lines, and matchup trends into one clear weekend preview? ChatGPT work can help. Give it the goal, plus real inputs like notes, files, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an analysis tracker, deck outline, or workflow you can keep shaping. You stay in control reviewing the work and choosing the final result. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects. Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode available on plus and pro plans. Football is the ultimate team game on any single play. It takes all 11 guys to execute it successfully.
20:11Lance Zierlein:And whether they're pounding the A gap or taking a deep shot, the best teams win in multiple ways. That's why Bet365 is giving fans options all season long with their early bird special cash out availability or or early payout. Bet 365 offers a bunch of different ways to play. Whether it's boosted profits before the game or getting paid out when your team goes up big, there's no shortage of exciting options. Plus, you can cash out anytime. Bet 365, where winning is everything. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET. Must be 21 plus and present in a state where Bet 365 operates.
20:48Lance Zierlein:Please gamble responsibly. Restrictions and terms and conditions apply. Void where prohibited. Download the app today. Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company.
20:58Bucky Brooks:They're one of America's largest financial services companies. Just like I'm so much more than quarterback Peyton Manning. I'm also Peyton Manning. Insurance and financial services together, it's a masterpiece. Peyton Manning does it again. For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side. Nationwide Investment Services Corporation, member FINRA, Columbus, Ohio. 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, select Ego, DeWalt, Filtree products, and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax, and enjoy the game.
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21:59Lance Zierlein:all right lz look exciting weekend like we love kickoff weekend and i'm not saying that we are keeping score on our draft grades or whatever but there were some young dudes that really showed up i got a chance to see jacob rodriguez do what he did at texas tech he's all over the place and i'm I'm like, oh, mind this. Someone that has a lot of production in college, someone who blows up the combine. Oh, he goes to the pros and plays at a high level.
22:23Bucky Brooks:And just like Carson Schlesinger, I mean, he's very instinctive, smart in coverage. There's so many comparisons with Schlesinger. I think Schlesinger is a better, a little better athlete. Actually, he tested better. Jacob Rodriguez tested better than a lot of us expected. But he's a green dot linebacker already as a rookie. and here he was with 14 tackles. Now, five of them were solo, but he's 14 tackles. There's a good chance that he's going to be right there in the mix for Defensive Rookie of the Year. I mean, like Carson Schwestinger, and I think that may have been my comp on him because he's smart and he's all over everything.
22:59Bucky Brooks:Like, wherever the ball gets to, he's going to get to. And it's going to be like that all year as long as he stays healthy. And let's face it, on that team, he's going to have a lot of work to do. So he's going to get a lot of tackle opportunities unless that defense really, you know, bucks up and gets really stout because the offense, I think, is going to struggle to maintain possession of the ball. So same thing with Carson Swessinger last year. He had a lot of opportunities because the offense didn't do much in Cleveland.
23:26Lance Zierlein:No, offense didn't do much in Cleveland. But, yeah, like he was showing and proving. And, you know, Jacob Rodriguez is interesting because, like, everyone loved the instincts, the awareness, the ball skills. He made a ton of splash plays. You see that sometimes as an evaluator. You've got to trust the tape more than you trust the tape measure. And he certainly had all that, even though he did have the tape measure skills. But let's go to running backs. And so there were three guys that stood out, Kalen Black, Jadarian Price, and Jeremiah Love. None of them went over 100 yards, but they certainly flashed in week one.
24:00Lance Zierlein:Who was the most impressed? Who caught your eye?
24:02Bucky Brooks:I thought Jadarian Price caught my eye. I felt like in that game, Seattle was giving New England a pass every time they rushed with George Helani. And there's nothing wrong with George Helani, but Price could feel – and even when they had – they were kind of mugged up to the front, Price felt it. I thought Seattle did a good job up front. He had 10 carries for 52 yards. Yeah, there was some where he got stopped when they got real tight to the front with Sam Darnold out. But I felt like you could have given him 14, 15 carries, and he was going to keep hitting yards. It just felt like whether they were running inside, whether they were running outside.
24:41Bucky Brooks:I thought he had a good feel for the blocking schemes and did a nice job to elude or break initial tackles. Jeremiah Love looked good in the first half of that game. Didn't do a whole lot in the second half. Had 11 carries for 41 yards. Got the first touchdown of the game in a super impressive upset win. I never saw Arizona coming in and punking the Chargers like that. I mean, they punked the Chargers offense out. The Chargers offense did nothing under Mike McGee, not relative to expectations.
25:13Lance Zierlein:No, it was – that was not on my bingo card. Not the Cardinals winning. Not the Cardinals winning the battle of physicality and toughness and violence and all that. I did not see that. I thought what was interesting is their ability to squat on the ball. They control the ball, control the game. time of possession and those things. I think that is a thing that showed up over the course of the weekend. Teams able to run the ball. Teams going back to the physical approach. More under center work. More emphasis on the bigs being on the field. The offensive line and that stuff. Speaking of offensive line play, anybody that kind of caught your eye that stood out to you when you had a chance to check out some of the games?
25:51Bucky Brooks:No. Well, I mean, I thought Vanga Ioani was really good. I liked what he did. I can tell you from watching closely, because I still got to go back and see Blake Miller and Caden Proctor. Keelan Rutledge was in there just, he's a pig pen, man. This guy is a dirt diver, dirt dog. Everything about him is he wants to make it a fist fight every single time. He's got some of the Clinton Nelson mentality where he wants to dominate every time. And what was interesting is that Texans have been very bad in short yardage carries over the last few years, and it starts with up front. And they actually converted three different times on short yardage, including fourth and one.
26:34Bucky Brooks:And he was a big part of two out of those three. So I think Keelan Rutledge is going to – the Texans have already hinted, not even hinted, Nick Casario even admitted, he thinks Rutledge is their best offensive line. This is a rookie who had never played, and before he even played, Nick Casario, the GM, is saying he's the best offensive lineman we have right now. And that was with Braden Smith, Wyatt Teller, Ed Ingram, Ariante Urshry, Trenton Brown. You had all those guys there, and he liked Rutledge the best. Vanga Iwani, I think, boy, they blasted. I mean, just blasted the Colts. And they ran the ball well.
27:13Bucky Brooks:You had a great game by Lamar Jackson. I felt like Declan Doyle was in his bag there against Indianapolis. But he did what they do well. He didn't try to get too tricky with it. He said, I'm going to step in here, and they already do what they do well. Let me just kind of supercharge it. And that's what they did with that offensive line. And he is going to be – Iwani is going to be a multi-time Pro Bowler. I mean, he's just so rock solid. I think he's going to have a really good year.
27:46Lance Zierlein:You know what's so funny about that, right? Like I felt like he was unheralded in the draft process, even though everybody loved what you saw on tape. You know what I mean? I feel like sometimes when we get to this point of the process, like we're looking for something and, oh, we can't rate him as a top 10 guy and this and that. But to me, it was kind of clear and apparent that he was, man, the best if not – he was one of the best if not the best guy that was on the board. And then you put him in a situation where he goes to a team that fits his personality. And then you see the Baltimore Ravens do what the Baltimore Ravens do, which is bludgeoning people at the point of attack.
28:21Lance Zierlein:Derek Henry having a 100-yard game, putting the ball in the paint. Lamar Jackson throwing it all over the air all of those things show up and I'm like man this dude is exactly who we thought he was and I knew us early he is exactly who we thought he would be in a system that was going to showcase his skills and we had him in the draft all of our mock drafts
28:40Bucky Brooks:is like and the only way you change is if you just want to come up with something different because it was almost too perfect it's just like well I'm gonna plug him in here okay I can't just give them this team. I got to do something different. It was, and as soon as he was drafted, the first thing I think is he won't bust. Like he, he can't bust. And if you go into a draft knowing a guy can't bust, because of course anyone can bust, I get it. But it felt so confident saying he's not going to bust. Then you're right, Bucky. Maybe, maybe the draft grade's not high enough on him. I know there's a certain value for a guard and blah, blah, blah.
29:15Bucky Brooks:But what about a guy who's going to play for you for three contracts and who's going to you know who's going to get multiple pro bowls if that's the guy what's that worth the top five pick not that you take them there but that's the value of a player like that top three top four pick multi-time pro bowler three contracts in the trenches i mean that's tremendous value yeah tremendous value
29:36Lance Zierlein:and we saw it time and time again uh just really stood out uh some guys did set out to me the wide receiver position. We got a chance to see those guys. They didn't go crazy, but you got to see. I loved Antonio Williams. I had wide receiver coaches go crazy about him. I saw him have a chance to put the ball into paint. We saw some other guys kind of step up and make some plays. Any pass catchers? Anybody kind of tickle your fancy a little bit?
30:01Bucky Brooks:Caleb Douglas. He had 94 yards by the third quarter, I think, out of Texas Tech. He had some heat in the preseason. There was some real heat coming out of out of Miami, the people who followed the team, some of the national people who went in and visited Miami said Caleb Douglas was a big conversation point. You still have Chris Bell who's going to make it back to that team. Yeah, that's Chris over there, right? So, you know, Caleb Douglas was one of those guys that I know in the fantasy football world a lot of people were excited about his prospects and right out of the gate, really, really impressive.
30:39Now it's not a great Raider defense, so you can take it with,
30:43Bucky Brooks:if you want with a grain of salt. But any time a rookie goes five for 94, I'm paying attention, especially after he had hype in the preseason for how he was playing. You know, a guy who, in case he can't see, he only had four catches, 43 yards. But if the quarterback is better there, he's going to really have a strong year. He's just so hard to cover. He's so slippery. The guy, and you referenced it before we went to break, and you got to watch it up close in person. person. I studied it, obviously wrote his scouting profile up, Nate Borkutcher from Jacksonville. The talk on Jacksonville's draft, and it started with Nate in the second round was, what are they doing?
31:28Bucky Brooks:And what they did was they triggered a run on tight ends. Marlon Klein with the text on the second round. Everyone went early in the second round once Borkutcher went off the board. But the thought was, what are the Jaguars doing? They're nowhere near the consensus board. Now, this is one game in, but it's really not going to change. Nate Bergerger, he was a really good run blocker coming into the NFL draft. He was a good one when he was drafted. He was a good one in preseason. He is a good one right now. And that's not going to change. He is a dog. He plays with good hands, inside hands. He plays with technique, strain, and finish bucky.
32:05Bucky Brooks:I get that he's not where the consensus board was, and we've had this conversation. That's one of those things where Jacksonville said, we need somebody nasty because we're going to start running more 12 and 13, and this is our guy. This is what a Jaguar looks like. They circled him, and in game one, in week one, he was up against Jared Burse. He was going against Jared Burse, who is strong and tough at the point of attack, and he was getting wins. He was getting dubs against Jared Burse.
32:35Lance Zierlein:Yeah, they were dog-walking him, and they said they were going to run right at Burse, and they felt really good about Berkerture. And I think this is why it's so hard to do some of the things that we're asked to do on this side when it comes to like mock drafting and those things. Because the one thing that you don't have privy to is the plan. What is the plan for the player? And for the Jaguars, the reason they rated him so high is because they had a plan that he was going to be their traditional wide tight end. It was going to free up Brenton Strange to be the mover. and it was going to allow them to do more 12 personnel, run the ball on the edges and do those things.
33:10Lance Zierlein:And even there was another guy who had a lot of heat coming out of the preseason where all that noise quieted down. Deshaun Stribling. Like one was talking about, oh, what are the Niners doing? And then you get into the preseason. You're like, oh, oh, he's really a dude. And so I say this just from the scouting perspective, because so many scouts can't say it. hey man sometimes you got to wait and see how the pieces of the puzzle come together when the real ball starts to be able to have an appreciation those instant reactions and those things sometimes we just don't know and i'm saying that as someone who sometimes has to put grades on guys or whatever you never really know what the plan is and so sometimes you have to wait until the plan is revealed and then at that point you can criticize and chastise people for what it is
33:55Bucky Brooks:But even then, it takes time. Like, you know, there was so much heat during draft season with Ruben Bain. We talked about arm length and all that stuff.
34:07Lance Zierlein:They own them.
34:08Bucky Brooks:And look, I got to visit with Jamarco Jones, former tackle. It was kind of weird showing Jamarco Jones my scouting profile of him when he came out. Now he's scouting with the Detroit Lions. But he was a good dude, and we talked for a little while. I asked him, I said, what do you think about arm length? He did really important. Really important if you've got linked advantage, which, you know, a lot of us believe it's really important. And I bring that up because Amarius Mims went up against Reuben Bain. It was a it was a shutout, like no pressures. Mims is really good. I think Mims is one of the ascending tackles in pro football.
34:45Bucky Brooks:But it was a great learning experience for Reuben Bain. And that's how I look at this. There shouldn't be some referendum on see you guys on Twitter were wrong about Reuben Bain when you got all excited. That's not what this is. It's a great learning experience that Reuben Bain is like, okay, I got to get on top of guys a lot quicker. These long guys, they probably need to play him tighter in alignment so he can explode and get into the – it's like Mike Tyson. You don't want smaller fighters with shorter arms fighting from distance. You want to get him in close.
35:14Lance Zierlein:Yeah, you got to get him in close. You know what Mike will give you this?
35:16Bucky Brooks:Boom, boom, boom, boom. He was in on you.
35:19Lance Zierlein:That's what – yeah, that's what Reuben's got to do.
35:21Bucky Brooks:Reuben's got to get in on guys. But it is a learning experience for a lot of these guys. Preseasons, that's fine when you're in preseason. But when the bullets start flying in real game action, like you said, things change. Things change, especially depending on that matchup you have. And Reuben Bain will learn. This will be a great learning experience for him. But when you see people like Nate Berkettcher get after people, that's not going to change. That's not, you know, he caught a bunch of balls because he went up against a soft defense. No, he went up against a physical explosive player on the edge, a couple of them, and he did his job.
36:00Bucky Brooks:So, you know, shout out to – and Josh Cameron, another rookie caught a touchdown from Trevor Lawrence, one of the best throws I've ever seen. I don't know how he fit that in, to be honest with you.
36:14Lance Zierlein:Look, I'm in the end zone, and I'm looking at it, but you don't even get an appreciation for it until you see the replay like NFL put on their social media channel. And I'm like, one, what led Trevor to throw it? So Liam talked to me after the game. So what they had, it's like a poll concept, right? Like you run the fake. It's a cover four beater, right? You run the play action. You bring that safety down, and you're going to throw it right behind his head. That's what it should be. They did it on both sides. Jacoby Myers on the left and then Trevor has Cameron on the right and he can go either way now Liam said hey he peaked left and went whatever he turned his back and he just fired a dart and even though I'm like man that's an impressive throw to get it all through that I am trying to figure out how Josh Cameron saw it and caught it with his hand I don't know how you saw it I like it's one of the best catches that I've seen because there is no way he could have saw that all the way to his hands.
37:16Bucky Brooks:You had hands here. You had a body here. And he's going into that little tunnel without being able to see the ball. I have no idea how Trevor got it through there or how Josh saw it to make the catch. I have no idea. So shout out to the rookie, Josh Cameron, for making that catch. And that was one of the most bananas throws that I've seen in a long time. Defensively, my guy, Anthony Hill. So I saw you had 16 tackles, right? And I'm like, I told y 'all. I told y 'all. Everyone was sleeping on Anthony Hill. Everyone was sleeping on Anthony Hill. I got him in the first. And then I went to the stat sheet.
38:01Bucky Brooks:Two solos, 14 assists. I'm like, damn. J-O-P's. Two solos out of 16. Hold on. We had two solos and 14 assists. like, no, we can't have that kind of ratio going on. We got to get some more solos in here, Anthony. You can't just jump on piles and pad the stats. But Hill is a guy that I like, but only two solo tackles out of 16. It's like I'm not used to seeing that stat. Mansoor Delane, ball hawking corner, ended up with an interception in the Monday night game before he left with a shoulder injury. Trade on Stooks, another absolute ball hawk, one of the really instinctive nickel, big nickel corners in this draft, had an interception there for Las Vegas.
38:47Bucky Brooks:That's worth noting. Sonny Stiles came in and just ran smooth over. Who was that running back he ran over? Is that Saquon? I don't know. He ran over somebody for a second. It was nasty.
38:58Lance Zierlein:Yeah.
38:59Bucky Brooks:Boom.
38:59Lance Zierlein:Yeah. Man, like this is the fun part. Even got a chance to see Arbel Reese play a little bit with the Giants. Yeah. How about Deontay Banks showing back up? under the new regime and those things. I think this is fascinating, Lance. One man's trash is another man's treasure. He couldn't play for the previous staff, but now he gets with a new staff. Denard Wilson, I think, knows Deontay Banks from their Maryland connection, kind of pours into him a little bit. And lo and behold, a guy that was a – I think Banks was a first-round pick, right? Yeah. I mean – Yeah, he was a first. Yeah, first-round pick at the bottom of it.
39:33Lance Zierlein:And so, man, we always talk about fit and scheme. And when I mean fit and scheme, it's not just the scheme. It's the coaching environment. Man, some players play really well when they got the right coach that knows how to unlock them. And sometimes it's schematic. Sometimes it might just be temperament. But I love it. One weekend is great. You're great. This is 40s and Free Agents. Make sure you come back next week and check us out all over again.
39:58Bucky Brooks:Hit subscribe. Hit subscribe. That's how you're supposed to do it, bud. Oh, my bad. Mash the like button. Hit subscribe. Whatever you're supposed to do. Let's do it.
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41:25Lance Zierlein:That's S-H-E-S-B-I-R-D-I-E.com. And order your birdie box before your next day away from home. Hey, I'm Mike Yam. And I'm Trevor Sikama. And together, we host the NFL Fantasy Football Show.
41:39Bucky Brooks:Are you ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?
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42:16Lance Zierlein:Maybe it's Herbert. Maybe it's Gino. Maybe it's Mahomes. We'll have the highlights. If Fernando Mendoza or any of those rookies are balling out, we'll break down the tape. Join me, Greg Rosenthal, and an all-star cast of co-hosts as we preview and recap every game. Listen to NFL Daily on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.
From the publisher
On this episode of 40s and Free Agents, Bucky Brooks and Lance Zierlein recap Week 2 in the College Football season and takeaways from Texas' improbable comeback vs. Ohio State. Then, they talk about some surprise outcomes from Week 1 in the NFL, and discuss rookies that have outperformed expectations so far.
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