40s and Free Agents: The NFC West’s 5 Impact Additions and Rookies

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human. 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. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL. Scams don't always look like scams anymore. AI can make a fake ticket offer look legit or a sportsbook text sound official. And once an identity thief gets your personal information, they can start using your name like it belongs to them.

0:48And then what? LifeLock helps detect potential identity threats and suspicious activity. And if identity theft happens, LifeLock restoration specialists can help restore your identity. Guaranteed. Because only LifeLock truly protects your name and identity. Get LifeLock at LifeLock.com and use promo code FOOTBALL for up to 30 % off your first year. That's LifeLock.com, code FOOTBALL. Life moves fast. At American Military University, they're ready to help you keep up. AMU's flexible, affordable online programs in cybersecurity, IT, space studies, and more are designed for service members, veterans, and their families.

1:28AMU provides the support you need to take the next step wherever life takes you. American Military University. It is made for what's next. Learn more at amu.apus.edu. Some people use ChatGPT to answer questions. Others use it to get real work done. With ChatGPT Work, you bring the goal, plus real inputs like briefs, notes, files, feedback, data, and project plans. It can help turn them into an analysis, tracker, deck outline, prototype, or workflow you can review and keep shaping. You stay in control, giving direction and choosing the final output. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects.

2:07Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting Work Mode. Available on Plus and Pro Plans.

2:15Welcome to 40s and Free Agents, the podcast where myself, Greg Rosenthal, and Daniel Jeremiah break down all the impact of the free agency market and the NFL draft. And you might be wondering, it's August. Why are we talking about free agency and the draft? The fans demanded it, DJ. And we're back looking at the season, going over the biggest additions in the offseason and how they're going to play now that we're getting to the regular season. How was your summer, buddy? It was great, man. I will say, though, I'm a little disappointed because I didn't, for some reason, the audio wasn't able to hear the theme song.

2:50And in terms of things I enjoy about the show, theme song is pretty high up there on that list. So not getting to hear that was painful. But I'm sure the audience heard it, and they loved it. And it is also good to see you. And the people did demand this because we talked about paper. We talked about paper all spring. Oh, paper. This is what they got in free agency. This is what they got in the draft. You know what we get to talk about now, Greg? What they're doing on the grass. Or I guess they turf for some of them. But way more fun. Yeah, we're already into the dog days of training camp. And yeah, we appreciated the demand, the big pop we got from this show.

3:22And if you like the show, do us a favor. Go ahead and subscribe to 40s and Free Agents on iTunes, Spotify, wherever you get it. I want to make it so that you don't have to subscribe to NFL Daily or move the sticks that we're like a bird that can start going off on our own and subscribe to 40s and free agents. So a lot of people don't know this about you, DJ, but you've never actually watched NFL games. You only watch college. So I'll do all the NFL big additions. You do the college guys, and why don't you get going? We're going to do the five biggest additions in the entire division of the NFC West, and you can start wherever you want.

4:01So I'm doing this because we have the freedom to do it how we want it. I'm not saying this is going to be five years from now, the best player, because it would all be first round picks for the most part, all the talent, the upside, the ceiling. I approach this as these guys are going to have an impact right away. I'm expecting big things from these five rookies right out the chute. So forget about what the draft status was, what round they went. I'm looking at their talent, how they're ready to get on the field, make an impact right away. So I'll give you one to start off here, and it's a spicy one here.

4:30I'm going to start out NFC West. I'm going to go to Seattle Seahawks fifth round pick, someone who I was much higher on during the draft process. He went much later than he should. And that is Torrey Horton, a wide receiver from Colorado State, who, if you go back to 23, would have been a top 50 pick. You know, if he or sorry, go back to to what year are we in? 24. So I mean, the 24 season, the 25 two years ago, he was awesome. Last year he was injured. He wasn't the same guy, didn't have the same performance. But by all accounts, he's lighting up training camp with the Seattle Seahawks. So I'm excited to see Torrey Horton.

5:06I think he has an immediate impact with Sam Darnold as quarterback. I love that call. And yeah, DJ has been out on the road as part of inside training camp, and he's talking to all the GMs. And so, you know, there's always like a little something extra. I'm going to use this information on my show. I'm going to steal it. And it is interesting because they need someone to step up there. Right now, Marquez Valdez-Scantling is set up as their number three receiver. Jake Bobo, who I've liked as a number four. We are the Jake Bobo show record, by the way. I don't know the last time we had an episode where Jake Bobo didn't get a shout out from Greg.

5:41He was apparently struggling now maybe to make this roster because they are a little deeper. I guess I'll just go with Cooper Cup now then because we can just have the conversation. So we're going back and forth. And I looked at it in terms of impact players, but it doesn't have to be positive or negative. It can be a guy that can just make or break their season. And I just think Cooper Cup is so important. I've been a little skeptical that he can be close to the Cooper Cup of old. And I thought it was interesting looking at his contract. When you really dig down, it ultimately is a one year,$17 million contract.

6:18And they got to make a decision very early next offseason. But to me, he's ultimately playing to be part of this team. And I just think they need him, DJ. And yeah, it'd be great if Torrey Horton steps up and is a nice role player. But obviously, they're not going to expect him to have the volume that a Cooper Cup has. I think when you look at this, Jackson Smith and Jigba is a really good player. I think in ascending number one. But are there two skill sets a little duplicative, redundant? However you want to say, I think they could be. And I do worry based off the film from last year that Cooper Cup isn't ready to be a true number two.

6:56So he, to me, is going to have a huge impact on whether the Seahawks are good or bad this year. I'm a little skeptical. I know you don't agree with me there. Well, there's trends every year. And you're always looking to see how the game's going to change and what people are doing to spice it up a little bit. One thing I've heard in talking to some coaches on this little tour and talking to guys during training camp is because there's more guys like Cooper Cup. There's more guys who are a little bit older, don't move quite as well, but they're smart, physical, tough guys who have a good feel, right?

7:29And so the whole process was, okay, well, if we've got a slot receiver, we only got room for one of those guys. And I've talked to some teams that have toyed with the idea of we're going to use that bigger aging receiver. We're going to take the tight end off the field, and we're going to flex him out. He's basically going to be functioning as, obviously, a much undersized tight end. But that gives them an opportunity to then have both that slot receiver impact player and maybe that slower but tough physical veteran that can run those types of routes. So I'm curious to see. I'm fascinated to see if some of these tight ends come off the field a little bit for some of these teams.

8:01It makes a lot of sense to me, and it's kind of a question of why we haven't seen something like that in the past. Yeah, that's fascinating. as the league kind of gets into these bigger personnel groups. And it's interesting. They got rid of Noah Fant. And they have two good young tight ends in Elijah Arroyo and A.J. Barner. But maybe they get rid of Fant because they see him as maybe more duplicative. Those guys are kind of like seam stretchers, like vertical tight ends. I'm talking about like, hey, it's third and six. And I've got option routes. And I've got all of a sudden now I've got Cooper Cup snug on the left side.

8:34And now I've got JSN. Then like those are going to be tough covers with a lot of, you know, with three way goes and a lot of field to work with. And one thing he did not slack off on when he was with the Rams is that blocking. And that's one thing. Yeah, you just you worry a little bit at his age. And he's had some of the injuries with like, you know, throwing those those big blocks. But that's what they are paying him for. Give me another rookie that you think is going to make a big impact. Yeah. First of all, if you've if you're using a stopwatch right now, you notice that I got maybe 45 seconds.

9:02Talk about mine. We probably spent five minutes on Greg. so that's not par for the course. I mean, it's Cooper Cup versus Torrey Horton. What am I going to say about Torrey Horton? Maybe we look back at the end of the year and we re-rack this and we say Torrey Horton ended up having a pretty darn good year. All right, I'm going to go San Francisco. Fourth round pick. See, I'm not just picking these top tier guys. Fourth round pick, C.J. West, defensive tackle. This is a front for the Niners. It looks a lot different than it did, and it's in their core group from three or four years ago. They have completely revamped it.

9:34Michael Williams, I'm excited about him. Their first round pick, big, heavy edge setter. I think he can kick inside and rush. He's a really good player. But CJ West, I'm talking about somebody who's strong, who can penetrate, can get up the field inside, and then someone who's just a little more polished. I think he's just more ready to have an immediate impact. And I think there's opportunities on this defensive line that's completely revamped over the last couple of years. Yeah, there is really no one locked in there at defensive tackle. And so you look at that group and there has been good buzz so far out of your boy, CJ West at camp.

10:06They also drafted out Alfred Collins, who's kind of a maybe a different sort of defensive tackle. You're more of a plugger. You can explain that to me. And then they have these veterans, Jordan Elliott, Kevin Givens, like not not top level starter types. To me, it's it's one of the huge questions for the 49ers. Like, can this defensive line be great looking at three rookies potentially starting eventually or certainly at least playing a lot? I was just going back through and looking at my notes. Not that I wasn't listening to you, but the, you know, the fact that he's able to function in a phone booth and be kind of stout and strong.

10:42But then again, it's that quickness. Trying to find interior pass rush, especially when you got, you know, guys like Kyler Murray running around inside this division. There's value there. See, we're first day of training camp right now. We haven't gotten the reps. I would have kept talking longer if I knew you were looking at your notes, but you just scolded me very subtly about talking too much. So I tried to be a little quicker on that one for you. I have a lunch appointment in two hours, so let's see if you can get through your second guy here. What do you got? So we're going to stay thematic here because we were thinking about similar position groups, and I'm actually going to go with a trade acquisition we never got a chance to talk about was Bryce Huff.

11:20Bryce Huff with the 49ers to me plays a crucial role because I know Michael Williams. They're very excited about how tough he is and setting the edge. Maybe didn't have the best one-on-one pass rush moves, at least yet on that film. That's not why they took him so high. And this defensive line just needs some juice. Robert Sala is back there. Everyone is excited about Robert Sala being there. And he brings in a guy in Bryce Huff who played his best football under him with the Jets. And I just think you need two, three edge rushers. And right now he's probably number two behind Bosa. He's probably not starting, but he's going to have a big role on a per snap basis.

12:04He was fantastic. I'm ready to just throw out whatever happened in Philadelphia now that he's back with his buddy, Robert Sala. Yeah. And I think he's best on a pitch count. I think he's best, you know, just rotate him in, give him those 20 snaps, let him just be the fastball that he is off the edge. I don't think he was really rugged enough for Philly's liking. It just didn't really, they had so many guys, too. Even like Nolan Smith, who is not the biggest guy in the world, was a savage. You know, you look at him, how he treated like pullers and how strong he was. I don't think that was really Huff's game.

12:38Huff's game is I'm going to throw fastballs as a rusher off the edge. and I think by the fact of limiting that a little bit I think that's who he is and I think there's there's a sweet spot in your uh sweet spot in some of these guys careers too Greg where it's like I've excelled in this role okay let's expand the role didn't work um that's not really who I am now he should know exactly who he is and Robert Sala knows who he is so I like that fit and I like the fact that they gave up something for him it was a mid to late round pick they never did announce what the exact pick was but I'm if I had to guess it probably a fourth or a fifth round pick and they're paying him$8 million.

13:11They're splitting the money with the Eagles, but that's not nothing. They're pot committed. Right. They're putting resources into him. I think he is going to have a sneaky big impact on that defense getting a lot better. I'm pretty optimistic about the 49ers this year. All right. Who else you got? All right. I've got a couple Rams coming up here. So I'm going to start, first of all, third rounder Josiah Stewart out of Michigan. Again, personal favorite of mine, just the way he played in the fall. Now, he did not test for a long period of time. Then he tested late, did not test well. I think that's one of the reasons why he was available there in the third round.

13:46Undersized, someone who I think some people dismissed because of that. And I think Les Snead has proven over the years. You look at Kyron Williams, who didn't run very fast. He's been able to find these just really, really good football players who maybe don't fit the height, weight, speed recs for a lot of these teams around the league. And this is based off – and I haven't talked to anybody at Rams camp. I don't know. I haven't seen his name pop up as someone who's lighting it up at training camp. I just know the type of player that they've hit on, and this fits that to a T. So I'm going to go Josiah Stewart, finding a role on this very talented, fast, athletic front seven.

14:20I love doing this show with you because I'm learning. And first, I get a little Torrey Horton pop, which I like that things are going well. I haven't heard, you know, we were out at Rams camp. I haven't heard anything in particular with Josiah Stewart. He's in a perfect situation, maybe a Bryce Huff type of situation where he's behind two good edge rushers and Byron Young and Jared Verse, but maybe it's a way that they mix them in. Roll them through. What style of play? Because I'm not as familiar with him. What kind of player is Josiah Stewart? So I'll just pull up my notes so you can... I don't want to speak out of school here, so let's just go right to where I had him here.

14:59Josiah Stewart. All right, so he's 6 '1", 249 pounds, undersized bolt of lightning, uh plays uh can i say balls to the wall i think i can on 40s and free agents it's a podcast he's got a little yeah it's a podcast shake bowl power got a dip rip he plays much bigger than his size he attacks block it blocks and then i put in all caps energy greg like he plays with passion and energy think about obviously jared verse on another level as a talent but one of the i think one of the first few words we would use to describe jared verse after we called him a bad man and an explosive would be the energy part of it.

15:32And this guy brings that same type of energy. I just think you'll roll him through. He'll fit right in. It might almost be too much energy. I mean, that defense, they're wild. I don't know. Can you have too much energy? Maybe at like a training camp practice where guys are flying around and possibly hurting. By the way, quick question for you. Yeah. It does surprise me you're not as familiar with Josiah Stewart's game, considering you spent a good three months on 40s and free agents, just eviscerating his teammate Mason Graham. So I don't know how you didn't notice him. But, you know, I was scouting the players that you had ranked too high.

16:03If you had had Stewart like a little bit higher. He was in my top 50 at one point. OK, that's a good call. You did a good job with some of your guys I'm already seeing. But I know what you often say in the preseason. Don't start. It's a liar. It's a liar. Don't start patting your back. Yeah, here's what I do. I don't need to see anything in the preseason, anything in practice from Devante Adams. To me, this is the number one. If we were ranking it, we're just going back and forth. It's not a ranking. But to me, the biggest addition in the offseason, this entire division, forget even Sam Darnold, is Devontae Adams.

16:35And I think on film the last couple of years that he has shown that he is still a top 15 wide receiver. I think people just weren't watching the Jets. They weren't watching the all 22. That's such a random number, by the way. Why? You set it up for such a power statement. it like he is still and i'm like he's gonna say a top three receiver maybe maybe he's gonna go top five he is still a top 15 they just didn't have the punch that the way you set that up and the way you delivered it didn't match it's good coaching by you it's it's just i don't like to be that guy because when you actually make the list it's like is he better than nico collins is he better than brian thomas he's in that to me he's in that category of guys question after the very top so but i could go 10 i could go 10 if that makes you feel your parents you come home from school.

17:25Gregory, how'd you do on the test? Oh, Mom, it was amazing. I knew. I just crushed it. I felt so confident. I already got my grade back. It was unbelievable. What'd you get, Greg? You get a 198? I got an 84. It just doesn't marry the hype that was given at the front. First of all, three G's in Greg, 60 % G. That just closed the name right there. There's no Gregory. Second, it is a good life lesson. Set expectations very low. and then go over. Under promise over deliver, Greg. I want to put the expectations for Adams very high. So I was saying on film he looks great. He's a perfect fit for that system.

18:07I mean, come on. Everything you hear from the Rams so far, when we were out there, he was taking a veteran rest day, so I didn't get to see him playing, but you see him coaching up immediately the Jordan Winningtons and the younger players on the roster. I saw a couple of them, you know, they were walking right by our studio, like in a deep conversation about the different types of routes that weren't working that day for some of the young receivers. And so I think he brings all the knowledge in the world, but he also to me is a canvas for Sean McVay and Mike LaFleur, who we had Mike LaFleur on NFL daily to create really difficult matchups with him and Pukunakua.

18:46Those two guys together, if it's one A, one B, I think they compliment each other so well. And I really am looking forward to how the Rams change their offense up a little bit each and every season to stay ahead and what they're going to do to stay ahead of defenses. What do you think it'll look like with Adams and Puka together? I think it's going to work. And I think you've got interchangeable guys. I think the fact that I think they're both capable of going outside and winning out there, playing inside. I don't my question is, I don't I think they're going to win a lot at the intermediate and underneath level.

19:16I don't know how much vertically on top of guys they're going to get unless they're just running crossers and picking guys off and all that kind of stuff. So who's going to fill that role for this team right now? It's the$10 million man, Tutu Atwell. I don't know if they ran a play, the practice I was there, where Tutu Atwell was not in motion. Whether it works or not, I think this group is determined to make that signing, which some people made fun of a little bit, kind of set the market for a number 3-4 receiver. I think they're determined to make that work. I haven't been out there as I mentioned does he have like cookies or what's his apology to Jimmy Garoppolo in his locker did he put anything in there like hey sorry about that dude like we're good now they're saying all the right things but I had to admit watching it and seeing Pukunakua just absolutely dust some of these Rams cornerbacks and then stop so quickly and just wide open no one's even near him and then Jimmy throws him the ball and it's like an intermediate like 20 yard throw and he's just waiting he's just waiting for that ball to get there and the defenders are coming in.

20:17And I was thinking about some of those clips from the Devontae Adams, Jimmy Garoppolo era. Have we talked, I know this is, I don't want to get too off topic, but we talked about my, the one stat that I'm going to question now forever because I just had an epiphany on it at some point in time, which was because I was doing a college quarterback. I remember who it was, but it was, I questioned his arm strength, but his tight window throw percentage was excellent. and it finally hit me, Greg, on that particular stat. And you need to talk to Mina about this too because I think she'd get it on this discussion.

20:52I think we need to distinguish tight window throws. I think there are when the ball is released, what the coverage is. And I think when the ball is caught, where the coverage is. Because one of them, tight window throws, is arm arrogance and arm talent. The other one is a result of a lack of arm strength which has allowed defenders to converge to make an unnecessary tight window throw. So that's my soapbox. I'll get off of it. I love that. And I think the two Rams quarterbacks, and I am a little worried about Matthew Stafford still out with a back injury. They would be perfect examples of the two different types of ways you can win against tight window throws.

21:26Jimmy Garoppolo and Matthew Stafford. I thought you were going to say yards per attempt, which is a pretty basic stat, DJ. because Jimmy Garoppolo still ranks first among all active players in yards per attempt and first in the history of the NFL post merger. Now you want to put him behind Otto Graham and Sid Luckman? You can, but Jimmy Garoppolo in a very basic, like popular stat is the greatest of all time in yards per attempt. Yeah, that was Kyle Shanahan. Hey, they unleashed on the league before they knew, you know, before nine of his assistant coaches were coaching around the National Football League and people got a little more familiar with what they were doing.

22:07Still, it's absolutely insane. Let's put a pin in that. Let's take one quick break and we will be back to wrap up the five biggest impact rookies and additions in the NFC West this off.

22:22For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tremphaya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tremphaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject Tremphaya, proper training is required. Tremphaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur.

23:03Before treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection, flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Trimphia today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit trimphiaradio.com. 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, Phil Treat products and more. Then once your to-do list is done, get ready to kick back, relax and enjoy the game. Shop in-store or online now and earn your Sunday with help from Lowe's, official partner of the NFL.