40s and Free Agents: Week 1 College Football Standouts and Lookahead to 2027 NFL Free Agents

0:00This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human. How do you turn 16 games, injury reports, team notes, betting lines, and matchup trends into one clear weekend preview? 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. Scams don't always look like scams anymore.

0:41AI 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. And then what? LifeLock helps detect potential identity threats and suspicious activity. And if identity theft happens, LifeLock's restoration specialist 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. Lowe's knows Sundays are for football.

1:19So tackle your home improvement projects by Saturday and earn your Sunday with great deals on LG and Bosch appliances. Select Ego, DeWalt, Filtrete 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. Game day calls for a winning lineup and Applebee's has you covered. The new craveable OM Cheesadilla Burger is now available on the 2 for 25 menu. It's a juicy burger wrapped inside a cheesy quesadilla served on a skillet of queso with crispy tortilla chips.

1:58Trust, once it arrives at the table, you'll have a hard time resisting the pull. The Applebee's 2 for 25 menu offers abundant value, craveable portions, and great variety at an unbeatable price. Choose one full-size appetizer and two full-size entrees for only$25. dollars hurry in before this limited time offer is gone tax gratuity beverage and dessert not included

2:24welcome to 40s and free agents i am your boy bucky brooks there's lancy greg rosenthal my man first time we've been on the pod for for like ages but i'm glad to have my man rosie here what's up guys what's happening it's disorienting did 40s and free agents last year i'm excited because it's college season, so I'm going to step to the side for most of the year. But we got some good free agents this year to talk about. Yeah, we really do. I mean, we're already talking about free agents, and one of them hit the wire. He's a new free agent just this year, Darius Slayton. Before we even start off, Darius Slayton landing spots, guys.

3:00I'm saying Colts or Saints are my prediction for those of the two teams. Colts need a wide receiver, and the Saints have Jordan Tyson on the sideline. So any predictions, Greg, for a current free agent who probably won't be one for long after getting cut by the Giants? Yeah, that's a good one because he led the Giants in receiving when he was with Daniel Jones. I thought of those two as well. And then I thought about Brian Dable in Tennessee. Even though they're pretty thick at receiver, he apparently is their GM. He just brought half the roster with him to Tennessee. So that seems like a possibility too.

3:33I mean, look, great possibility. I didn't know this about Darius Slayton. I didn't know Darius Slayton was like their leading receiver, like for the years that he was there. Like you talk about a rollercoaster ride coming out from Auburn and finding his way and doing a bunch of different things. He won't be on the streets for long. But I got to tell you, Greg, we haven't even started this season, and we have an eye towards 2027, the offseason. You ranked the top 25 free agents in 2027. Tell me, one, what entered this when you were ranking them? Like how did you decide, like, who's one, who's 25?

4:04What were you thinking about? I give a big advantage to the younger players because you can get them on the longer term contracts. And I don't get it too twisted. Positional value gets into it. So we have two quarterbacks on the list, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. But I have better players at their respective positions like Puka and George Pickens at the top of my list. Because to me, they are top shelf, top shelf receivers, obviously in different categories themselves. But ahead of where those two quarterbacks are. And I've done this exercise at this point of the year for about four or five years.

4:35And it's actually one of the better lists that I put together in August. Now, a lot of these guys will get signed eventually, but I feel like there are a few less guys that have gotten signed for various reasons entering the regular season. You have the two top guys at the, you know, there's clearly Puka and Pickens are the top two. I'm curious. I don't see Puka getting away, even though, you know, he's been a little bit of a pain for the Rams, but he's such a good player. Pickens is curious to me because the Cowboys just, they just can't avoid drama with some of these guys who are being franchise tagged.

5:10And he's one of them. Do you see a scenario where Pickens leaves the Cowboys? And if so, I'm curious if he resets, if you expect him to be the type of talent that resets the market wide receiver. I don't think any team will give him that type of contract, like topping where JSN is at right now, topping wherever Puka, you know, ends up financially. And I do think there's a chance he could get traded. We could put a pin in that. But when it comes to Pickens, I expect him to be an ex-Cowboy. He is a rare guy near the top of this list at this time of the offseason, going into week one, that I'd be surprised if he was back.

5:46I think they kind of telegraphed in press conferences, and then especially when you listen to the drip, drip, drip of the reporters that cover the team. I don't think they want to set up a structure where they're paying two different wide receivers over$30 million a year, and they see Pickens as a guy they're going to get as much as they can out of this year, and then possibly they tag and trade him, or possibly he just walks away and they get a comp pick. Yeah, it's so interesting because we've seen the wide receiver market escalate. There's been a conversation about, A, you can pay one, but you have to draft another, and we know coming down the pipe that there's, look, it's always a loaded wide receiver class coming, so will they punt George Pickens, find another option?

6:26I just think is in the last five years how popular the wide receivers have become in terms of being viewed as marquee possessions. And now that the money has escalated over$30 million, like if George Pickens doesn't stay with the Cowboys, I know we're way ahead of it. What do you think would be the right spot for him? Because he played one way in Pittsburgh, but then he's played another way in Dallas. yeah I mean it obviously is going to come down to the teams that have room going into the offseason it's funny because you just you just said Colts and I'm trying to think of like teams that essentially don't have long-term money tied up the Chiefs are another really good team I think that could use a one type of receiver you know how it is people are always reacting to the season that just happened but those are the two that come to mind and I don't think he'll struggle at all to get money but i do think the cowboys want to see okay you did it once this was a breakout year it was mostly calm let's see you do it again and just again the way you know how that team operates with the off the record with these reporters the way the reporters have talked they make it sound like the cowboys aren't particularly interested in engaging because they got too many other contracts to worry about it really is tough when you think about the amount of money and two wide receivers and quarterback it's the Bengals you know have that issue it is so hard to feel the type of team you want to when you have that type of cash going to those three positions and so I was thinking you know Chargers would be a team that might be interesting uh the Panthers if the Panthers wanted to stick a lot of money in there if Bryce was kind of the guy you maybe even look at wherever you know Arch Manning or Dante Moore one of these young quarterbacks go it may be their plan to say let's grab pickens let's let's make our focus quarterback and take all of our free agency money and and turn it into wide receiver one so um it is it is getting one of those points it is getting a point though where the quarterback money is becoming so high of course it's a percentage of the salary cap but I still question whether or not you can have you can pay two wide receivers like wide receiver ones and have a quarterback making 50 plus million.

8:32Like I just, I don't know how they're good, how you're going to be able to do it down this in the long haul, unless you're really, really good at evaluating offensive linemen and defensive linemen and you're constantly able to draft and develop at a successful rate. Yeah. I mean, look, I'm with you. It's going to be really, really hard to be able to do that. But I wonder, a lot of it is dependent upon the quarterback. Maybe the better the quarterback, the lesser the need to have to establish receivers, or maybe the better the quarterback, the more likely you do want to have to stand out guys because now you say offense, we need to get 30 points a game, and it alleviates some of the pressure on the defense.

9:09There's a few different ways to think about it, but, yeah, wide receiver has become one of the bigger conundrums when it comes down to determining who gets paid and who shouldn't get paid. I was going to say, speaking of quarterbacks, you had a guy on the list in Baker Mayfield, and he's had some really good talent around him in Tampa, and yet they still don't want to give him – They're still not keen on giving him the money that he wants. He's that guy that I was wondering if you thought he could be the next Sam Darnold. Because we're all looking for the next Sam Darnold. And that may just be an outlier situation where you just don't find it again.

9:40What do you think about pairing him with good wide receivers and hoping to get the most out of him if you can get him without going into the$50 million range, which I don't know anyone right now who'd be willing to pay anywhere near that? Hmm. I think the bucks aren't that far off, but what he needs to do is rebound this season and be more consistent. And look, they have weapons on their offensive line. We'll see how that receiver group plays out. I think it's deep. It's maybe not that that top heavy. Abuka has got to kind of prove he can be that that lead guy. But if Baker plays well this year, I think he'll be a buck.

10:18If he's somewhere in the middle, like he was last year and the season ends poorly, then Lance I think he's shown with enough around him you can win with him and he'll get a big time contract it's interesting to think about him as the next Darnold because they've been compared so often and he kind of already was that guy like we I think he's having a very good career considering how up and down his time with the Browns went but he's also a guy Bucky I'm curious what you think I do wonder the way he plays and the way he takes his and he's not the physically most imposing guy how he ages. I'm not assuming every quarterback is going to age like Aaron Rodgers did when he got to mid thirties and Tom Brady and some of these guys.

10:59I think there might be a little bit of caution with the Bucs of like, is he going to be as good at 33, 34 as he's been earlier in his career? Yeah, look, he is a little reckless. He does put his body in harm's way. I think it's the gift and the curse because one of the reasons people love him is because he will lay it on the line. His teammates love the fact that he is a quote unquote football player, as opposed to a typical diva quarterback that won't engage. But as you're trying to figure out who can age gracefully at the position, he's been beat up a little bit. He is a bit of an undersized quarterback.

11:32It's really important that you have all the things around him, the offensive line and the wide receivers. I can't say that he elevates them. They more so elevate him. And then Lance talks about the price tag. To me, the best situation that Baker can be in is the situation that he's currently in. They understand his shortcomings. They know exactly who he is. He's been a model citizen and leader for this team since he's gotten there. They just got to get the money right. And some of that is some concessions that he has to make and the team has to make and trying to find that middle ground. I would hate for them to let him walk out the door because I know how hard it is to get another quarterback that can do what he's done in terms of leading them and helping them win division titles and those things.

12:14The three of us could sit and have a long conversation about tiers of quarterbacks. and what a true tier one is, forget what the quarterbacks are paid, because we already know that's a busted mechanism right now, and there has not been a course correction at that position for what players are truly worth. They're just, hey, it's my turn, I get paid. It's my turn, I get paid. C.J. Stroud is going to be a great – it's going to be the next great study in terms of how he plays versus what the demand and what the Texans are willing to pay him. but uh i i am it is going to be interesting to see the breakout in tier two and tier three what the salary structures look like and i hate that we always have to talk about salary all the time with the nfl there was a time all three of us were talking football and we didn't constantly have to talk about christian gonzalez's contract and weatherspoon's contract everyone it's the money in the bag that they're getting but with quarterbacks it's just essential because it takes up such a chunk like you cannot afford to miss on your contract and your evaluation combination it's interesting because baker i think set an interesting new floor of those mid-tier quarterbacks now he's paid a lot of money but when he got to tampa it was on a cheaper deal and even the first contract extension they gave him that actually provided a lot of people like seattle with sam Darnold to copy kind of, okay, we're not going to give you the huge Joe Burrow bag.

13:43We're going to give you something in between. It was around also where Daniel Jones ended up coming in. Like back then it was, you know, it's 30 to 35. And then on the extension, it got raised. And so I disagree with you a little bit in that. I don't think that the quarterbacks are underpaid. I mean, overpaid at all, but it is figuring out which guys are worth it. That's where I agree with you is like, is the Tua, Daniel Jones, Baker group of players really worth playing 80, 90 % of the top guys? No, I don't think so. There's probably about 12 guys that are worth it. And that's where if you're the Bucs, you got to just bite the bullet and say goodbye rather than pay him a Joe Burrow money.

14:24And ultimately, I think, Bucky, he's going to make the decision for him. Because if he plays well, they're all going to keep their job. They'll all be back. Jason Light's probably not going anywhere. But if Bigger doesn't play well, like they're going to have a coaching change. They'll probably have a quarterback change and there'll be a lot of changes there. Yeah, it's interesting. So we're getting closer to the point where we are going to have that crossroads when it comes to quarterbacks. Do we overpay for what some would deem to be average or do we let them walk? We talked about it in college terms.

14:51Do you let them graduate and find a new young collegiate guy that you can bring in? I think a lot of it depends on who's your offensive mastermind. Does he have a system that is quarterback friendly for young quarterbacks where young quarterback can come fresh off the collegiate field and get in there and run the offense to a same or comparable level of efficiency? Because that's really what it comes down to. Otherwise, you do have to overpay for Baker Mayfield or even you talked about guys that just missed the cut like a Mac Jones. Someone is going to overpay Mac Jones if he flashes like he flashed last year.

15:24We're going to talk about him getting a Malik Willis-type deal just because in a small sample size, he's shown that he can be, I won't even say a competent starter, but that's the best way that I can phrase it, a competent starter in the national football league. It's created hope. I mean, backup quarterbacks, it's always been about hope with backup quarterbacks, and he may not play this year, and guess what? It won't change the value of what he gets on the market at all. if he doesn't play a snap because he's already – he played well enough last year for teams to say, we don't love this quarterback or this quarterback and we're going to take a shot.

15:57Now, a little later on, we'll talk about some of the quarterbacks, Bucky, in this year's draft class. But I want to ask you about Quentin Nelson. Quentin Nelson's on your list as well. It's rare to see good offensive linemen make free agent lists simply until they get much older because they simply – you don't let them walk. You don't let good free agents walk, Greg. Like it's hard to find a tackle and it's equally hard to find a pro bowl caliber guard like a Quentin Nelson. The fact that Colts haven't gotten a deal done with him yet, does that lead you to believe this is legitimately a shot where they could let him walk?

16:32I mean, that's not a team. They always have a lot of cap space or a little bit cash poor in terms of how they operate in free agency. You think he can legitimately hit the market there in the out of Indianapolis? I'd be surprised. I mean, he's still playing at a high level. He's coming off a very good year. There are some people that thought his 24 tape maybe wasn't as high as his usual standard, but I think he played very well last year. So that is one where I expect that they would get it done. But the fact that they didn't sound like they were even trying caught my attention. And I have him in my top 10.

17:03And so there's certainly a chance anyone gets this point. At this point, if you're a player, once you get through this season, unless they're coming to you early in the season, you might as well push it because that's how you're going to make the most amount of money. And I had two trends from this top 25 list overall. Number one was an incredible amount of Rams. I had, I think, five in the top 16, three in the top five. I had Puka, Kobe Turner, and Byron Young. And then the other one includes the Rams, which is, you're right, there were a lot of interior linemen, which never happens on this list.

17:32It was Quinton Nelson. It was Steve Avila and Kevin Dotson, who both played really well for the Rams at guard. Michael Wenyu, I think, has had a good career for the Patriots. And so a few more interior linemen. And I think those guys must know now, man, if we get to free agency, they make tackle money. Now the guard market has exploded probably percentage wise more than any other market over the last few years. Well, I think a lot of that is due to the way that that people are changing the way they structure their defense before was a I want our two best pass rushers to be on the edges. So the tackles needed to be the premium positions.

18:07but then we saw a shift where they started putting those explosive athletes right over top of the guards because it's the quickest way to impact the quarterback right in his face now you have to have a guard that is stout and sturdy not only in the run game but that can firm up the middle of the pocket it is funny how these marquee positions or premium positions are changing because right tackles are getting paid like left tackles you can't really differentiate between the two but the interior guard position is certainly one i got i got to bring this up because we thought he would get paid. He hasn't gotten paid yet.

18:40Joey Porter Jr. for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He is a hard one to determine because not quite a top five corner, but he's the best corner on Pittsburgh's team. He does a lot of number one responsibilities for them, but I don't know if we can rank him as quite elite. So where does he fall in the pay structure? What do you think about his situation when it comes to being a free agent? I think there's a chance he leaves because they have the most expensive defense in the entire NFL. He wasn't drafted by this coaching regime, at least. And I think they wanted to just see what he looks like here in Patrick Graham's scheme.

19:15I noticed for week one, they get tricky with these depth charts. They put Joey Porter Jr. or Asante Samuel Jr. as a starter. And I was like, you're not even writing him in as a locked-in starter. What's going on there? Is he possibly going to sit out? Are you trying to send a message? I don't really know. But that's one where I could see them being like, man, we just paid Benton. We just paid Nick Herbig. We have a lot of money on the defense. Maybe we don't pay top-tier market for Joey Porter Jr. Well, that's Greg Rosenthal, his piece at NFL.com. You can check it out. Outstanding work, as always.

19:49Top 25 free agents. It's never too early to start looking at how your team could get better next year, especially if you have a team that you expect to be bad this year. You're already on this podcast because we're talking draft and free agency right now. So this is the place for bad teams where you can go and, and try to see what your team's going to look like next year. So make sure you check out Greg's great work there. Greg, where else can people find you this year on podcast? We got NFL daily. It's in the name. We're, we're cranking them out. All day, every day, Greg Rosenthal, Greg, thanks.

20:23All right, guys. Thanks. Appreciate you. How do you turn 16 games, injury reports, team notes, betting lines and match up trends into one clear weekend preview 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 chat gpt to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects Get started at chatgpt.com by selecting work mode, available on Plus and Pro plans. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters.

21:08Tremphaya 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.

21:42Before 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 Trimfaya today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit trimfiaradio.com. Every player in the league has a scouting report. Strengths, weaknesses, history, tendencies, everything an opponent wants to know. But what if somebody built a scouting report on you? Data brokers collect your personal stats, your name, address, phone number, family details, and other private information. Then they package it up and legally sell it to anyone willing to pay, sometimes just for pennies.

22:23And then what? The person buying your information may not be looking to draft you. They may be looking to scam you, steal your identity, and start using your name like it belongs to them. That's where LifeLock comes in. LifeLock's automatic data broker removal tool helps you find exposed personal information and remove it from those data brokers. If you fall victim to identity theft, LifeLock's restoration specialist will block and tackle for you. which means they'll handle your case from start to finish and restore your identity guaranteed. Because only LifeLock truly protects your name and your identity.

22:56So go get LifeLock at LifeLock.com and use promo code FOOTBALL for up to 30 % off your first year. That's LifeLock.com code FOOTBALL. Again, LifeLock.com code FOOTBALL. 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.

23:45RLZ, you said it. Look, 40s and free agents, where we talk about everything. We talk about the pro side. We talk about the college side. We're coming off a great football weekend where we saw a lot of ballers kind of do their thing. And I would say maybe baller of the week played on Friday night, and that was Malika Tony from the U showing up and showing out. And he was so impressive that, look, man, Michael Irvin is dapping him up, talking about he might be the greatest receiver to ever put on the uniform. warm how impressed are you with the diminutive playmaker from the U you know he's actually he's probably going to check in around 510 list of 511 he's probably going to check in about 510 ish maybe um he's gonna weigh in in the upper 180s maybe about 190 and I was trying to on my radio show this morning Bucky we were talking about my producer's a big Miami fan and we were talking about how good he is.

24:41He's not draftable, so just keep that in mind. He's going to be back next year, but he's one to keep an eye on because I think he's really good. I was trying to think of who he reminded me of. I think the way that he makes plays, there's some element of Percy Harvin in his game, but I can't get all the where. I think Percy was a little more linear. He's got the wiggle of Santana Moss, but I'm having a hard time really putting somebody... I don't know. It's kind of funny because in a way, man, At first thought, and I would say that you want to do the comparison justice. He reminds me a lot of T.Y.

25:17Hilton, but maybe with a little more stuff. You know what I'm saying? He is explosive. He's dynamic. He's a natural pass catcher, man. When you just go around the building and you talk to people that are there, they talk about how hard he works and the routine that he has and catching all the balls off the jugs machine and how easy he made it look versus Stanford. And people are going to say whatever. Yeah, it's just stanza, but it was so easy and effortless. And then you got Mensah just laying out bombs and how they're just putting the ball in the paint without a lot of work. He is definitely going to continue to open some eyes and he's going to challenge us when it comes to how we rate receivers, because that frame and that stuff would tend to lead you not to want to make him a top 10 player.

26:04but he's so good at playing the game that you have to give him his just due. So dynamic. And Mensah, who you mentioned, came over from Tulane over to – I'm sorry, Duke. Tulane to Duke over to Miami. You know, a player like – I got to say, we've seen this with Ohio State quarterbacks who climbed the – right, climbed the draft charts, never performed to where they were drafted, a lot of them, but they had amazing wide receivers they were throwing to. Mensah, I think Mensah's a good quarterback. It's got to be said, it helps when you have, it's going to help Arch Manning throw into Ryan Wingo and Cam Coleman.