40s and Free Agents: The NFC North's 5 Impact Additions and Rookies

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2:13Welcome to 40s and Free Agents, your favorite podcast leading up to the start of the season, talking about the biggest additions all over the league, My name is Greg Rosenthal. I am with Daniel Jeremiah, Mr. Move the Sticks, stunting on us wearing his shirt that he bought at a very fancy resort in Hawaii. Well, that would mean something if you didn't just tell me you were just literally over in Hawaii. So that doesn't really fly. But I feel like with this show, Greg, it's like you're going to get a visit from people during the holidays and then looking forward to seeing them again next holiday season.

2:48And all of a sudden it's like, why are they here in the summer? I thought they weren't coming until next year. That's not true. We had our first week of shows back last week, and it was great to hear from everyone. And the numbers say it. Everyone's listening. Everyone's enjoying. And yes, we're going to be going twice a week leading into the regular season. And then we'll get a little quieter, and we'll be back during draft season in full force. But yeah, let's go over what happened this offseason and kind of push it forward about the guys who join these rosters that are going to make the biggest impact.

3:20You do the rookies. I do the veterans. We'll start with a rookie. Yeah, let's we're going to rip through the NFC North here. So five guys and we get the what do we call the sixth one? Your little bonus baby here. It's like a wild card. Wild card. That's it. Wild card. So I'll start with the first one and let's keep it. Let's keep it sexy. And I'm talking about the hair of Tate Ratledge with the Detroit Lions, who's going to who's going to plug in, start at right guard. They were toying with the idea of having him play center with glass with what's rag now who retired. So like, OK, we play there and then they end up, man, we're not going to we're not going to do that.

3:52let's put him at right guard and you say why would you have an offensive lineman as one of these you know key rookies to watch well that's the identity of a dan campbell team is their physicality in the way this offensive line can move people so i think it's going to be big for him he was not totally healthy his last year at georgia if he was i think he probably goes a little bit higher but he is massive you think about how some of the size that they have up there um i'll give you the numbers on him he is six six and a half 308 pounds he ended up running a 497 as he got healthy at the combine but big athletic physical felt like this is kind of a detroit lion player did he go a little earlier than people expected he was 57th overall he was my 62nd player okay so right around where you thought and they seemed to truly love him that he was gonna start i think barring a huge surprise right off the bat is this a bit of a trend the the ravens i mean they're throwing out some massive of all guards the eagles obviously some of the best teams of the league like why is why is this happening that we're having these behemoth guards well the idea is to get five tackles on the field in baseball you talk about we can have all short stops would be ideal well if you think about the offensive line a lot of these offensive line coaches hey i need the feet of a tackle it's a passing league to be able to work in some of these uh matchups with these defensive tackles so there's been more of an emphasis on that and the other thing is when you're a tall interior player the The danger is, okay, you can get leveraged.

5:17Guys can get underneath you and they can rock you back. Well, the ball's coming out so fast now, too. That's not as much of an issue or deterrent. And that hair is just amazing. If you're listening and not watching, just Google it. One of the best team picture player photos out there. Has Jeremiah ever experimented with his hair? It's like a Dan Feeney-esque. I've never seen you with even remotely a different haircut. You seem like one of the guys that gets a haircut every three days just to make it sure it's exactly always the same. I'll be honest with you, Greg. Not a lot of options these days.

5:52So I couldn't. It's looking good. If I tried to grow out the hair, then it becomes like stringy, creepy. It's not that full flowing potato. Probably would be the same for me. I did do a part down the middle and dyed it black in early high school. Like this was, you know, the days of Kurt Cobain when people would. There's a picture out there floating around with me. with frosted tips. There we go. That was college. You said, like, why are they talking offensive line? I hate to break it to you. We're going to talk a lot of offensive line. That's just where the NFC North invested this year. I'm going to talk about the Bears and Joe Tooney.

6:26What a crazy career. I mean, he had a chance to be part of two of the greatest dynasties in NFL history and two all pro first teams, two second team all pros, including last year, where he played very well at guard and then had to fill in at tackle at the end of the year. I mean, some of his Patriots teammates actually voted him for Offensive Player of the Year. They put him on the ballot. Did you know this? They give Tom Brady and Teddy Bruschi a vote because they're in the media. That shouldn't be allowed. And they won't give me one because I work for NFL Media. It's like... You can lobby all your...

6:57I know you don't want to trash talk Tom Brady and Teddy Bruschi, but here's the facts. I follow each team more. I deserve it more than them. I bet. Let's talk more about you. Joe Tooney transformed the Chiefs when he joined that team. And I do think it's a position, and you can tell me if you disagree, that you can age well. He's still playing at a very high level. So they brought him in Chicago in a trade that ultimately didn't cost too much, but the contract extension did cost a lot. They also added Drew Dahlman. I didn't pick him at center, but they tried to improve the interior line for that team.

7:31And to me, he is just like an immediate difference maker for that offensive line. Yeah, no, it's steady Eddie. And again, not his fault. He had to kick out and play tackle. That's not what he is, who he is, especially at this point in time in his career, but more than a functioning interior offensive lineman. And that's the whole emphasis this year. It's the evaluate Caleb Williams year. And so everything was done with that in mind. Let's protect him in the interior. Let's give him some weapons, which we'll get to here in a little bit. Let's hear it. Well, no, I'm going to jump around. I want to jump around today.

7:57I don't want to get too locked in on one team. I want to bounce. Is it awkward? We're here in the studio. You're used to just looking at me, you know, in a TV screen. It's a lot of eye contact right now. No, actually, I have normal people skills, so it doesn't really impact me as much. I don't know what you're dealing with over there, but fine by me. I'm going to go Matthew Golden for the Green Bay Packers. It's a good one. Low-hanging fruit here. First-round pick out of Texas. The draft went nuts there in Green Bay when they finally selected a receiver in the first round. That was a fun moment.

8:29But I go back to Golden, and we talked about him in the run-up to the draft. the the speed you know he ran in the four twos and i think people kind of look at that and go okay this is just a vertical you know take the top off guy but i watched him before he'd run the 40 i did not think he would run you know quite that fast but someone with toughness instincts he has some route savvy to him um we always talk about you know staying grounded through the catch guys that run through the ball means they trust their hands and that gives you a lot of uh of yak opportunities there as well so i thought he was a really really good player he was my top receiver if you put Travis Hunter in his own little box in this last draft.

9:04So I feel like this Green Bay Packers team has been a team of Robins, like a bunch of number twos, really good number twos. I think that Matthew Golden has a chance to be a Batman for him. It sounds like that is what they hope, especially coming out of training camp when you just hear about the target distribution at practice, the snap distribution at practice. He is getting the volume of looks from Jordan Love and certainly snaps with the first team. They didn't waste like time being like, you got to earn your spot. No, he's just like out there right away and reportedly looking like the best receiver on the team.

9:35And I've been interested to hear that. You know, they're using him in creative ways, too. Like some of the end rounds and stuff that you see Jaden Reed doing. Like he is athletic enough to do a little bit of everything. So I'm really I'm really excited because how do you because to me, he matches up well with Jordan Love. How do you think they fit? You know, the funny thing is I'm looking at the first word of my notes and then the last word of my notes. And again, think about this guy ran four to nine. The first word is polished that he played with polish. which sometimes it takes guys years to get to that point.

10:04I thought he was there at the college level. And the last word I have was reliable. So if you're trying to get the trust of your quarterback, you've got to be able to do two things. You've got to be able to separate, which route polish is what allows you to do that. And then you've got to be where you're supposed to be and be on the same page. He's intelligent. He's smart. I think that's how you get a quarterback's attention and favor. And I think he's already done that. Yeah, I thought he made a lot of tough grabs, too, at Texas. and Jordan Love is not afraid to throw it into those tight windows.

10:32You said you're jumping all around. I like a theme. I like staying with the same team. I'm going with another offensive line. Much like your jacket. You like structure. Okay, let's go. Keep it going. This is a totally fine. I don't know. Drew might be too young back there. Structure, Drew? $35 Uniqlo jacket. It's a totally fine$35 Uniqlo jacket. Aaron Banks is an offensive guard that signed with the Packers for massive money, like more than anyone expected. Five years,$77 million. And I think that just told you what the Packers believed they needed more than anything, which to me was a surprise because I think of their offensive line as one of the strengths of their team.

11:11And it brings up an idea of this theory I'm going to throw at you. Okay. Okay. Jalen Carter specifically, but the Eagles pass rush in general, like changed so many teams' offseason plans and got people paid. So I think they helped get Aaron Banks played. Like the interior of that offensive line was so bad in that game, they were like, we just got to throw more money at it. Especially when Elton Jenkins got folded up in the early part. That didn't help. And now they're moving Jenkins, who was in the interior, but now he's going to play center. The next week, I thought Bo Limmer was this young player who played pretty well for the Rams.

11:45And suddenly at the end of the game, Jalen Carter wins the game for him. He's getting benched now. They had to bring in their old friend Coleman Shelton. Next week, Commanders, they did a little better, but they invested in the offensive line more at the tackle position and moving some guys inside. And then we, you know, the Chiefs, they went into the offseason just like knowing they had to invest there, too. It was like Carter and the Eagles single handedly changed how this entire offseason went because of what they did. Yeah. And I would say probably stress even more so just the Eagles. I mean, Carter had the finisher against the Rams, but a lot of those games wasn't just him.

12:18I mean, they were getting whooped across the offensive line. and we've talked about the Chiefs in the previous episode, that the tackle play cost them maybe potentially two Super Bowls. So Jalen Carter, yes, but I just think the whole dynamic of the defensive line saying, you know, a quarterback can be a, you know, Febreze and make a lot of things go away and smell fine, but not when you're going up against a defensive line like that. And Banks is an interesting guy that I think even the 49ers who wanted to keep him, which is a good sign, like we're maybe surprised how far the Packers went, but I wanted to bring him up here just because I think it's a really good offensive line on paper.

12:48paper. Zach Tom, who is there, Elton Jenkins, and you add banks to that group. They're always greater than the sum of their parts. And to me, that's the key for them this year. No, that's a good one. I like that one. Let's jump to one that this is the one that I struggle with was Minnesota trying to find one. I didn't want to just, again, go all first round picks. So this one, I know the receiver group that they have. But Ty Felton, to me, when I go back through and look at my notes and see what he can do, I think he's going to factor in for this team this year and look with Addison being suspended to start the season we'll see if that gives him more opportunities but to go in the uh in the scouting report here coming out of Maryland he's 6 '1 he's 183 pounds he ran 437 um I go through my notes he's productive he can play inside and outside he's tough he wins in traffic you'll see him uh build speed down the field he plays fearless he works in the middle of the field he has some goal line fade wins there's a lot of things if you think about you know ko c and what he values in receivers like the fearlessness the working in the middle of field and then you add on to that this guy's a legit you know sub 4-4 high 4-3 guy as a third round pick the 102nd pick he was my 82nd ranked player i thought it was value there and i i just got a feeling ty felton's going to factor in the opportunities wide open for him how are his hands do you remember anything in particular i've got notes in here about him plucking in traffic and winning in traffic.

14:12You're just prepared. There have been some reports early, like, you know, he's a, he's a rookie at training camp. He's fighting the ball a little bit as he, as he's, you know, figuring out that offense without Addison there. And Justin Jefferson has been out of practice. Like they, it is wide open. Jalen Naylor might be a guy who's been solid as a number three, but stretched if they're asking him to do more. And then other than that, it's wide open for Felton to take that spot. They have Rondell Moore on the roster. They have Lucky Jackson is taking starter snaps. I'm not overly familiar with Lucky's work, but he's been in a couple camps with them.

14:46I like him. I have him as my favorite to win the World Series of poker. I'm going to stick with the Vikings then because I know I'm just sticking with the theme here, and this will be the last offensive lineman I talk about. Okay. Or two. I'm counting them as a pair. So when they brought in Will Fries, the guard, to a big contract, they outbid a couple teams. Giants and Seahawks were both in on Will Fries. and they outbid him. And they brought in his teammate, Ryan Kelly. I thought, oh, that's cool. What a coincidence that that happened. But it wasn't a coincidence, DJ. They wanted to get signed together.

15:20And they talked about that with prospective teams. They were hoping to find a fit, which you would think would be almost impossible. Two teammates, Ryan Kelly, long time, really good center for the Colts, and then Fry's, who's a little younger. But they found that fit with the Vikings. And I love that because these two guys already work together. there. So I'm cheating and including them as my five impact players as, as one person, because they kind of cheated and came over for the Vikings together. And to me, that really improves what was probably the weakest spot of their team last year, the interior offensive.

15:51Bring a buddy. Why not bring a buddy? And that was, again, an emphasis for a lot of these teams that are knocking on the door to get where they want to go of saying the offensive line's got to be better. It's like if you're going to a new place, you got it. You got to bring friends. That's why, you know, with the whole new ESPN thing, you've got to keep 40s and free agents together. Me and Jeremiah. I don't know. There's the linear and the digits. It's just complicated. It's confusing. The last thing I do want to say about this, I have a formula for surprise teams every year. You can tell me what you think.

16:20It's not too analytically sound. Okay. I've got my pen ready. What's your formula? I write down my list of the top offensive lines and defensive lines in the league. I do it one to 32. Okay. And I add those two numbers together. I like it. And the teams that have the lowest numbers that maybe aren't viewed as true contenders, those are the teams I kind of pick for like a surprise team. And to me, the Vikings would qualify potentially for that team. I think they've improved on their offensive line. They've already were good on the defensive line. I could mention their defensive line pickups too.

16:55And so they might be a little bit of a surprise. So it's interesting that your theory... No, this is a compliment. because I usually at the quarter mark, like four games in, which now doesn't work with a 17-game schedule, but four games in, one of the things I'll look at for teams that I want to project forward is I'll just go to sack differential. Yeah. I mean, it's pretty basic. I thought you were going to say, like, so your big brain theory is that the teams that are good in the trenches are good at football? No, but we're saying the same thing. But, like, you can look at, okay, who's added personnel here?

17:24And then, to me, you get four, maybe we go six games into the season. You say, who's getting to the quarterback? Who's protecting the quarterback? that usually ages pretty well. It's why I've almost always picked the Eagles to make the conference championship games, even in the seasons where it didn't work out well, because at the beginning of the year, I'm like, well, that looks pretty good. And the Broncos, for instance, were a team last year. I remember going into the season, like that offensive line and defensive line is pretty good. And then they were one of the teams. They do this with a surprising season.

17:46So when I was with the Ravens as a young guy, we would go through in the summer and we would take every team and go position by position and we'd grade everybody out. And then we would look at it and we would kind of look You'd see, we did this with the Chargers, like right before the Chargers with that run that they went on when they got, you know, with the offensive line. Then you had Gates and LT. Oh, the Schottenheimer. That whole group. And it was like Dielman. It was McNeil. They had Castillo on the defensive line. But anyways, this was that young group. And we looked at it before that season where they really kind of took off and popped in our personality.

18:19Like they got a lot of talent up front on both sides. I could be in one of those rooms. You'll hear more just brilliant insights like that right after this break. We'll wrap up the rest of the NFC North.

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22:19All right, we are back on 40s and free agents. I'm getting some quality FaceTime with the man, Daniel Jeremiah, the Chargers broadcaster, one of the busiest man in show business in the regular season. Because you've got to watch the NFL games, and you've got to start working on your college tape that's really now all directed towards the 40s and free agent season. That's the main part of your job. Yeah, just trying to make sure that this show, this little thing we've built here continues to grow. Everything else in my life is just put off to the side as we try and get this thing. Actually, keep it going.

22:51I think it's off the ground, right? It's good. We're doing off the ground. Are we? I think we're we're entering our second year after a very promising rookie year. I think we got offensive rookie of the year votes. We didn't win it. You saw our slump. Yeah, but we're we're hoping. No, we're hoping to to make the leap. All right. Give me another one of your rookies in the end. All right. So I've got two more to go and then I'll get to my wild card. But to the two that I have left, I'm going to put them together because it's the same team. But it's one of the most intriguing offenses coming up in this season.

23:20that's the Bears and that's Colston Loveland, who I think's got a chance to really be a Laporta type piece, chess piece here and playmaker in Ben Johnson's system. It's just such an easy connection to make with how they use Laporta and how they can use Loveland, similar type players. And then Luther Burden, who's someone who had first round ability, didn't go in the first round out of Missouri. But, you know, Keenan Allen's not there anymore. So how is this all going to get divvied up? I think to me, not only I think these guys are going to have impact, but I'm fascinated with Roman Dunze and DJ Moore.