NFC East Preview

20:50Patrick Claybon:if Malik Nabors is... How about the opponents too? Because there's so much more that you have to do to prepare for this version of this Giants team that we'll talk about the scheme and those facilitating it shortly. But Malik Nabors changes all of that. Yeah, that's a little what I'm worried about, the offensive staff. I caution, and we might get into this on some of our fantasy previews, everyone check out Patrick Claibon. back hosting NFL Live for the what seasons? NFL Fantasy Live. This is going to be the sixth season because it coincides with my daughter's birth. That is incredible. People can check out Patrick and Adam Rank and Marcus and Cynthia.

21:37The whole gang is back. Very cool. It's back to daily on NFL Network. I love seeing that. We're going to be talking fantasy. I love the promo.

21:44Patrick Claybon:Thanks, Greg. Why not? I'm not taking Malik Neighbors and Fantasy under any circumstances. I think these injuries are really serious. I think people are getting a little over their skis of like the slight improvements as he's getting ready. And I'm just thinking about as a realistic human that we're probably not seeing the best of Malik Neighbors until 2027. Now, can you see that maybe even the second half of 2026? That would be great. That would be a massive bonus, which I think it's the right choice for most important non quarterback. but I'm just about like setting expectations at a fair level.

22:16And then I think if he's not full Malik neighbors, I think you look after him and you think, you know, this is one of the worst receiver groups overall in the NFL. You know, you're hoping Malachi field steps up. You got hope Darnell moon. Like we've got some NFL players there, Calvin Austin, and we'll see if OBG makes the team, but like it's a lot for Jackson dart and this, this offensive staff to make up for if Malik neighbors isn't right.

22:42Patrick Claybon:Yeah. And there was a great catch. Malachi makes a great play in a situation where they might not have done much with that one offense out there if not. Because you got a great screen to Devin Singletary to get 42 yards on that drive to get Dart in that position to throw that ball to Malachi Fields. But there's going to be so much on Malik Neighbors if he's not healthy. And 100 % Malik Neighbors can do all of those things. Are we going to ask 89 % Malik neighbors to carry this offense if he's only 89? Even some of the reporting Jordan Raynon from ESPN, yeah, saying it was his first day. It was a big step for him going in some drills against defensive players on Monday.

23:26So that's a big first step, but it's still non-contact. He looked like maybe it was favoring. I'm just saying be patient. Abdul-Karter would be the other option. If you want like five to ten minutes on Abdul-Karter, We did an edge rusher draft way earlier in the offseason in May. Me and Ali Connelly, we took Abdul Carter ninth. He actually went six spots ahead of Brian Burns, which is almost disrespectful to Brian Burns. But he's got to go perform. I think he can. I think he can be an elite edge rusher. He's got to go prove it, finish plays. And if he can do that, him and Brian Burns, and then with Kayvon Thibodeau as your third, is as good an edge rush group as there is in the entire NFL.

24:05My concern, and you, I think, alluded to it, were for this team in general, I have it under scheme dream, but it could be things go wrong. If as well would be the three horsemen of the offensive apocalypse, Matt Nagy, Greg Roman, and Brian Callahan running your team, little concerning that that's the trio.

24:23Patrick Claybon:Yeah, that was what I actually had for my scheme dream was a parenthetical nightmare where Nagy and the chiefs and arguably the best quarterback of all time got worse progressively as his tenure got longer his second tenure in Kansas City they were ninth in yards 16th in yards and 20th in yards over those three seasons Brian Callahan's quarterback when he was the offense of coordinator and head coach his offensive finishes his offenses finished 27th and 30th in yards the last two years and if those two don't concern you enough Greg Roman is also there to help make things so much better and we saw how that went for a chargers team that yes fell apart on the offensive line but schematically things were so frustrating for the end to watch uh what justin herbert was dealing with that i i don't know if jackson dart uh can solve the things that both justin herbert and lamar jackson it's it's a lot of cooks in the kitchen the passing game specifically i am curious if they'll have the right answers hot take i'd actually feel slightly better about this if Greg Roman was just the OC.

25:30Patrick Claybon:Yeah, that's searingly hot. Here's why. And it's why I have a little bit of confidence between this offensive line and the running game that he installs and hopefully Scadaboo and possibly Najee Harris. There's some talk that he could be joining this team. Usually the first year or two of Greg Roman, like you got a mobile quarterback, like the running game, the running game can be solid. That's all. I just would feel better. I feel okay about what he's adding. If he's in, you know, his, his title is specifically about the running game that I actually feel more confident that he can help that. Uh, I will go to the things go wrong if category, and it would be the, the secondary getting flamed very similar to my last one.

26:15But in this case, I think the pass rush is going to make up for it so much that hopefully it won't happen, but between the linebackers and in coverage and we'll see, I think our Val Rees could be great, but you know, it's been a weakness for them. Paulson Adebo is running with the second team. They're really counting on Greg Newsome, who struggled a lot in previous years and has been hurt for camp. Deontay Banks is actually back in good graces and is now starting again. Colton Hood is a second round pick who reportedly hasn't had like the best camp in the world. Denard Wilson is the defensive coordinator.

26:46And I just don't know what he's going to bring to the table because he was given a tough group to work with in Tennessee. I think he did okay with that, but he's more of just like a concept. I'm not really sure what he's going to do. And I think he's got a tough situation here in the back end, potentially too. So that's something where the secondary could let them down. But maybe the passers are so good, like the secondary doesn't even matter.

27:09Patrick Claybon:Well, if that were the case, we would have seen that last year if that were possible, right? For all of this talent up front, you know, you take Dexter Lawrence out of the equation. It's like, is it a legitimate question? which defensive front seven had more talent. Was it the 2025 Giants or the 2026 Giants? The defensive tackle, I should note, too, on paper, is a group that has a lot of questions. They brought in DJ Reader as a free agent. After that, it's not a lot of pass rush, and they were one of the worst-run stopping teams in the NFL last year. And Wilson was with the Titans, I believe, as DC for a couple of years.

27:48Patrick Claybon:One of those years was really, really good. And so like that, hey, plus, like if there is a way to facilitate that back end to have somewhat of a decent performance relative to what they were able to do last year, like that's a positive way to make this all work. And as you said, the offense says, you know, there's a pullback on the Matt Nagy and a push forward on Greg Rosenthal's Greg Roman 2027. I'm not, I'm just saying, I think he brings something to the table. I'm not sure about the Callahan and the nagging of it all. Yeah. You, you, you grind Jackson dart. You're running QB power at the five.

28:27Patrick Claybon:And you, you know, carve out a season. What's the ceiling and floor of this team. We haven't talked Jackson dart specifically yet. So this is a good spot to do it. Yeah. They could, they could win 10 games. I think they could get up there. full pedal to the floor triple option like they're doing it right and darts diving in the end zone head first having a great time they could get up there and win some games and bother some people the floor is a decidedly different circumstance you're going extreme floor yeah like top five pick yeah six six seven six wins probably get to yeah like the seven pick something like that 10 wins a lot.

29:14Like what, what is the ceiling of both the offense of the defense? When I was really thinking about even as good as I think some of their top end players are, man, if they got like a slightly below average offense, I think that'd be a pretty big win for them. It's hard for me to scratch out a team that would be better than average on, on offense. It would really be about the offensive line and it would be about Jackson and Dart doing what we expect second year quarterbacks to do, which is take a step forward. And he's shown he can make the special place. You saw it with Malachi Fields last week.

29:47You saw it last season. Like his great moments were really great. He's got something to him. He's an NFL player. It's the consistency down to down. It's getting to his second reads. It's running an offense and having the right setup. To me, nine and eight is about as high as I go. Even eight and nine, I think, would be an outstanding result for this team. So that's more what I see the ceiling of the team. And yeah, five and 12. and that's really more about dart, uh, would be my floor. I think there, I don't know how his career is going to go, but he could be someone that kind of kicks around and doesn't stick as like a permanent starter.

30:19I think that's, I think there's a lot of outcomes for his career. I think he's a really high ceiling, low floor quarterback. And so this is going to be an important season, but if he, I could see him struggling and then he's, then they're five and 12,

30:30Patrick Claybon:Like a circumstance where it's like not a, like a minimum baker, where the second, the second act never comes and it's not due to injury. Just kind of like a poor man's baker. Yeah. Like, like a, not like a Bortles maybe. I mean, Bortles had his one year for, for Jacksonville, but yeah, like he, he's physically gifted and he showed way more than Bortles did early. I just mean, I don't know. I think it'll be better than that. I think Bortles versus dark career arc is on. Does he ever get within a controversial play of a Superbowl? I think he's going to be much closer to Jameis Winston's career arc, you know, maybe like slightly lesser.

31:15His backup quarterback to me is actually kind of the type of player type of career. I think he'll have, we'll have a long career. He'll have some fun highs, but maybe a guy that you can't really trust. But you have to evaluate these young quarterbacks.

31:27Patrick Claybon:He'll be getting in as a backup. Yes. Yeah, he's going to be playing for a long time. Let's take a quick break. We've hit half the NFC East. We are going to come back with a team that has dominated the division, for the most part, over the last decade.

31:50Patrick Claybon:You know the feeling. You make a pick in your fantasy draft and the entire room groans because they wanted that player. Or you grab a small school rookie off waivers and you start him right before he goes off in primetime. There's no better feeling than crushing your fantasy football league. I'm JJ Zacharisen, host of the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. We've got data-driven analysis, historical trends, and the strategies that separate winners from the rest. And your dominance doesn't stop with the draft.

32:26Patrick Claybon:All season long, we have our 15 transactions, 10 trends, sleepers, and the mailbag, data-driven, quick-hitting episodes to help bring home that league trophy. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

32:49Back on NFL Daily.

32:53Patrick making off-color jokes right before we turned the camera on. That had nothing to do with the NFC East. There's a theme here with these last two teams, the Eagles and the Commanders. And as much as I alluded to the Eagles dominating this division over the last decade, I mean, that Commanders team was only two years ago in the NFC Championship. Eagles still dominated, but you know. The pinnacle of their franchise, they still got dominated. I'm just saying they were one of the final two teams in the NFC. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Commanders have something in common, and it's that they are installing tree or tree-adjacent offenses, a lot more under-center work for their quarterbacks.

33:40It's what fans in both cities have been asking for over the last few years. It's really similar. Everything you're hearing out of the two training camps and I'll kick off the Eagles by saying that's bringing me joy when it comes to Philadelphia, that they're committed to this, that the Sean Mannion, who comes from the Green Bay, Matt LaFleur system, buzz has been, has been good in terms of that. This offense really does look different. I've gotten increasingly tired of watching the Eagles offense be erratic in the same way year after year, no matter who the coordinator is. And so I think you're going to see a different running game with more like outside zone.

34:24I think you're going to see the play action. You're going to see the more motion. It's going to be less one on one. And the thing that is bringing me more joy than everyone is everyone, for whatever reason, saying this year that Hertz is just like in a much better mood. He's ready to go. He's embracing this offense. He's taking more leadership. He feels lighter, not the weight of the world on his shoulder. All this stuff is coming from inside and outside the house. That's bringing me joy that we see a different Eagles offense.

34:52Patrick Claybon:Where are they getting that though? Where are they? All of his teammates for one. Some have been on the record that they've talked about that. He's been like kind of viewing that part of his job. And if you just watch him at the podium, he's just not as like self-serious for what it's worth. And more importantly is the on the field stuff. I think it's going to look different. So that, that I'm excited about. They're one of the teams I'm really looking forward to seeing week one. Like, what does this look like? Yeah, I think, you know, there's a, probably a little bit of a contrast from the doom and gloom questions about his teammates and their relationships over the course of seven months, not happening anymore.

35:31Patrick Claybon:that can make things a little bit lighter at the podium. It's just odd to me because there's a lot of external conversation about the interior thoughts of Jalen Hurts when it's the same quote quotable Jalen Hurts that's available to everybody at all times. I just, the conversation in Philly is so constant and overbearing and everlasting that that's what brings me joy is the capacity for it to end. Oh, okay. You think it will end? No, just with regards to this rendition of the team, because eventually you run out of people to blame. And perhaps that attention and maybe it'll all be focused on Jalen Hurts.

36:11Patrick Claybon:But some of it will get to the head coach and the decision making in the process that goes into the making of those decisions where. It's got to happen at some point, and this is going to be the season for it. Do you think he entered into chat GPT? How do I stay off the hot seat? You know, what do I do? Maybe. It probably was. For a lot of people that would never listen to certain voices, the LLMs have been great because it gives them the chance to talk to somebody that doesn't exist because those other voices might as well not exist to them. To something that is just, you know, trawling through like three-year-old, you know, rivals.com articles and just picking out things and then spitting out.

36:56Patrick Claybon:Yeah. If there are forces of power in your life that don't listen to you, go on Reddit and make incessant comments about your worldview for the next 6 ,000 years. And perhaps that will collectively be up sucked into this death of thought. Yeah. So Sirianni, their head coach is embracing our new overlords. We're not, but the scheme that I talked about, And I think it will be a change from what Nick Sirianni's coaching tree, including Shane Steichen, runs is going to look different for the offensive line. I'll I'll talk about that for my scheme dream because Lane Johnson and Jordan Mailata and even Landon Dickerson have talked about it in the preseason.

37:37It's going to be very different for them, too. I think their old scheme was a very like we're going to ask you to win one on one. And it got to highlight how good they were here. Here it's a little bit more of being in sync, you know, especially with the running game when Saquon Barkley hasn't really played in this sort of offense that often either. I just am curious, like, what is it going to look like for this offensive line? We know they're very talented, but they are going to be asked to do different things. It could be Lane Johnson's last year. Sounds like it will be. Landon Dickerson's a guy who's had his injury struggles, but Maylada's like an all pro caliber player.

38:15Cam Juergens is a good player. like just what is it going to look like? Is it going to unlock even more for them? Could there be some growing pains? Cause they're going to be asked to do different things. And they have spoken about, they think it's going to make it easier, but they've really emphasized like it is really different. Like it, like Lane Johnson specifically has been in one type of way of doing things. And here he's now trying something different.

38:35Patrick Claybon:And it's, it's funny that it's different when there's this level of homogeny now throughout the league, right. where so many like mentor in his capacity for, and again, as a preseason game and nobody's showing a lot of things, it looked disjointed. It looked weird. I don't know if that was any. Yeah. The Eagles offense in the opening preseason game. It was bad. It did not lead to a lot of excitement to say like, oh yeah, the tree is here to save Philadelphia. It was second and third stringers. They'll say they don't, you know, game plan and all that stuff, but that's fair. What, what is schematically interesting to this team?

39:10Patrick Claybon:uh i think right because when my lot of was talking about their capacity to to impact uh the field stretch wise i think people consume that as oh we're gonna go down the field more they went down the field all the time i think he meant horizontally uh in terms of places to attack the defense in the run game as well as the pass game that's not just those those screens to devonta smith it's the tree is it the same version, is it more LaFleur as it's coming from this Green Bay aspect of it where we've seen it in so many places can this group of players execute it to the extent that we've seen others do it and how creative is it in terms of the running game how creative can they execute the running game how run heavy is it, because I think Matt LaFleur that's where he He loves to live.

40:03And I'm excited to see it. I think we could get not a resurgent Saquon Barkley season, but I expect something between 24 and 25 in terms of his production and maybe closer to 24 just in terms of pure effectiveness this season. So I think Saquon Barkley could be better. Devontae Smith is going to be treated as a true number one. I think Dontavian Wicks is a really important player for them. You talked about stretching for it.

40:31Patrick Claybon:He's more familiar with the offense than anybody else on the team. And just according to training camp reports, Makai Lemon just hasn't been out there. And Darius Cooper, who I thought is making this team, was out there with the deep backups. And so I don't know about this receiver depth. I think they really want Duntavian Wicks to be a really crucial player for this offense. Who is your most important non-quarterback on the team? It's Jalen Carter. I think because the team relies on this defense, They rely on their defense to make plays. And with Dejean and Quinion and all of these guys that are there to facilitate the player that ultimately makes the plays is Jalen Carter.

41:14Patrick Claybon:I think that makes the most plays on this defense. That is the strength of the team. And he wasn't as consistent last year as he was the year before. Very hurt. He wasn't consistently healthy. And that's hard to predict. but that was my choice too because I think the defense needs to be great. I think the defense should be great. It is looking really good at every level. I think it's the best looking defense in the NFL. Like on paper. It's tough to pick between them and the Texans but if you were telling me take the coaches away and you just get the 11 starters and you got to go play a game and I'm coaching it.

42:00So basically, they're going to coach themselves. I think I actually would take the Eagles. I mean, I just like, I love them at every position. Ojemo's turned into a real player. Jordan Davis is such a player. They bring in Jonathan Grenard. Rick Woolen was a free agent pickup I really liked from Seattle. You have Quinone and Cooper Dejean. You have Jahad Campbell in his second year. You have pass rush depth with Jalex Hunt. And like, you're bringing Nolan Smith off the... I just think they have... Zach Bond is like a defensive player of the year. I just I know that the Texans are almost there.

42:30Maybe they're there. I don't know. It's tough to pick between them. It's a stupid for instance, because those are my top two. Yeah. And it's by a lot.

42:37Patrick Claybon:I think Bernard takes it over the top because there's that interior versus edge where you may slide with the generational edges that they have in Houston. But the fact that the depth jumps out at you, you know, it's six in one hand. Yeah, that was it was a silly thing to bring up. My larger point is very good. They're great, but I also think Carter being the superstar and healthy is really important for everyone else because I think that really helps out the rest of the line. Things go wrong if for this team. Anything stand out to you of something you're worried about? Yeah, there's upheaval with regards to a slow adjustment for the offense where if you want to make the parallels to Matt LaFleur, Or there was the time Jordan loved to grow and learn and adjust and maybe more patience with regards to...

43:26Even like the first half of the season with Aaron Rodgers. Yeah. With LeFleur.

43:29Patrick Claybon:And so like there was that. Are they going to be able to undergo that same adjustment period with again the overbearing feeling of constant dread that's not just exclusive to the Philadelphia fans. Like it's in the building. You've got constant leaks about how people feel and like what they're doing. It's just a place where everything could fall apart on really nothing. Yeah, they're a team where you could see the vibes impacting the overall product, because I think it has in multiple seasons, especially. What was it three years ago now that the you know, the year between there's two Super Bowl appearances, but even last year, like I don't think they were having a great time by the end of the year and it impacted them.

44:12I think, yeah, things go wrong. Like if the defense isn't dominant, there's every reason to believe that it will. But I just think this team is built to be a top five defense and the offense be good enough. Another thing I could say would be like the new blood that they brought in. I am excited about it. Grenard's got an injury though, right now. Mekhi Lemon hasn't shown a lot just because of injury as well. Reek Willen, I think is going to be an important player for them. So just some of the additions, wicks, you know, how do they all integrate is going to be important for them. the ceiling and floor for this team.

44:44I think it's more of a conversation about the floor. Do you agree with me that, that they can win the Superbowl?

44:49Patrick Claybon:Like this group of guys does nothing but either like get a coach fired or go to the Superbowl. Like it'd be silly to not say that they could, they couldn't do it. And to me, if you're power ranking the NFC, I do think just before the season starts, and this isn't a prediction of how it'll finish, but I do think you got to kind of give them the credit to me as the third team behind Seattle and the Rams. That's just me. If I'm forced to slot teams in terms of total talent and average baseline expectations, I kind of slot the Eagles as a solid number three because I think there's more questions everywhere else.

45:23Patrick Claybon:Yeah.

45:27Patrick Claybon:Three. You know, you got to get into the NFC North team. You got to get into the Cowboys. It's not really how it's going to happen, but I just kind of mean the baseline average season. To me, they're third. I'm more interested. What do you think the floor is for this team? I think eight. Oh, that would be tough. That would be a nasty season. But like.

45:48Patrick Claybon:Considering the way things look towards the end there and I'll be it, that was a Jalen Carter with two shoulder injuries, like the offense and disarray. That was an 11 win team too. That was beating up on some of the bad teams at the end of the year. Yeah. But I just mean at the end of the season when things were morose and they get ran out of their own building by the 49ers ultimate. It's. it's crazy how you know they were in that game late but it's crazy though that that has been like the way you just described the end of the season describes three of the last five Sirianni seasons like the weight of Philadelphia and how the season ended was so negative by the end of three of the last five even though you know like you said they won the Super Bowl and could have won it in the other two now I'm going to put their their floor at 10 wins.

46:38You know, they've been 11 or above four straight years. I just think there's too many good players. I kind of think it's like a lot has gone wrong actually for them in some of those bad years and they still managed to win like 11 games. So to me, I'll say 10 is the floor and yeah, the ceiling is the roof is a Super Bowl appearance here in Los Angeles that we're covering.

46:57Patrick Claybon:I just have them at that floor because I'm like if everybody else hits their ceiling, if everybody else in their division hits the ceiling, it's a It has potential to be a sneaky good division. Let's talk about the commanders. To me, they are kind of the X factor. They would bring this division up to a much higher level if they are anywhere close to where they were a couple years ago. But even if they're just like a playoff contending team, what's bringing you joy about the commanders? Jaden's back. He's back. He's healthy. Unfortunately, the dispute with LSU kind of puts a cloud over the thing.

47:32Patrick Claybon:and like give me my jersey, give me the trophy back and all of that stuff. But the fact that... I kind of feel bad for him here, so I've mostly avoided it. But yeah, let's just get out of this storyline if we can. Okay. No, not you. I mean like everyone involved, LSU Jaden. Like let's just settle this, please. Please, because it's weird. It's uncomfortable. It's awkward. But having him on the field like brings back the memories of the magical commander season that was not so long ago. And we it's a little bit glimpse of that with the hope and the promise of the future. Yeah, Jaden in this offense, just getting to watch him play again.

48:15That's it for me. I mean, I didn't want to get too complicated. He is such a mystery. I don't assume that Jaden Daniels is locked into like one of our top 10 quarterbacks. if we're draft and if we're taking for the next seven or eight years. I think there's an outcome where he is absolutely elite. Hashtag Joe Flacco. But he's top five. We're talking about him. But he's a young player that had such an erratic second season where it was injuries but also didn't look as comfortable. And he was in such a goofy offense that ultimately, I think, was probably bad news for his development. and now it's like a restart.

49:01There's a lot of reasons to believe he is going to be a great NFL quarterback for the next decade, but I just want to see it happening because he has such a unique skill set. I love hearing how comfortable his footwork has looked in the practices and the joint practices. Overall, the commander's reporting has been really positive about the under center stuff and it'll be fun to see that. Who is your most important non-quarterback on this team?

49:24Patrick Claybon:So the Tunsil injury means that Brandon Coleman moves from left guard to left tackle. Yeah. Which is now this centerpiece of the shell game where the line could start to deteriorate if there's no Brandon Coleman. And so like if the whole thing, because they need to be able to run the ball, you're going to have Blau calling the plays and Jaden under center. And they need in order for the roots of the tree is the run game here. And so like if that's going to happen, you have to keep everybody intact. And now Brandon Coleman is the centerpiece of that. Not only that, They've been missing their center, Allegretti, who they tabbed to replace Tyler Biotish last year.

50:04There was a lot of like free rushers getting at Jaden Daniels and Marcus Mariota reading between the lines. It felt like the staff was maybe blaming like the center quarterback operation a little bit on that. And so they make a change, but Allegretti hasn't really played much center and he's been hurt all of camp. You have like a practice squad guy, Julian Good-Jones behind him, parts are moving around. And I listened to Logan Paulson on this Take Command podcast. He's really good breaking it down. He's very positive in general about the commanders. But he said just one thing he has been watching is like the running game, specifically the interior running game, like they are learning this new system.

50:44And that's where Bill hasn't had a lot of room necessarily in these joint practices, in practice, in general. Parts are moving around. Josh Connerly, their first round pick a year ago, really physically talented, but he's a little bit of a boomer bus guy. Sam Cosme was an all pro. He had a serious injuries coming back from Chris Paul is another starter who was out there in free agency for a while and then came back. And so you're right. I think the offensive line could hold this team back potentially. And I think Coleman might be the most important part. I'm glad you pointed out Tunsil is out for so much of the season.

51:17My most important non-quarterback. First time I picked a GM for this, it's Adam Peters. Talk about up and down. Man, everything he did hit his first year. It did not hit last year. And considering it's the third year in the program, they are counting on a million signings from this offseason. Not only to pan out, but they're just going to be playing like 800 to 1 ,000 snaps. So Adam Peters, I hope you're right about here's some of the key guys. This is my way of reviewing the offseason, because I think it's more important for them than just about any team. Caleb on chase on what a nice year as a pass rusher for the Patriots.

51:53He's going to be playing starter snap. Nick cross got a nice contract. He has a safety that I really liked for the Colts. And so will he pan out a little up and down? I would say in his career, timed a good half season with the chargers before getting a big contract here. He's going to be important. Charles Menehu, Dorrance Armstrong are guys that they sign maybe more depth pieces, but Armstrong will play. Armstrong was suspended for the first week of the season. Important. Chico Conquo, by all accounts, going to be kind of a centerpiece of this offense. I like a lot of these signings. I got to say, on paper, they signed a lot of guys I like.

52:28Leo Chanel is another one, a linebacker from the Chiefs who kind of has a pass rusher type of role. Throwing Stefan Diggs. He's going to really matter. I think he upgraded the receiver. Like, I actually like these moves. Usually, they don't all work out, But if you hit on two thirds of these, they're going to be a pretty good team.

52:47Patrick Claybon:Yeah, you mind. They've mined the NFL for guys who had. Flashes with an opportunity to kind of continue that if we extrapolate it out with more snaps like that's the common thread to all of them. Does it work for all of them? Right. Diggs, I feel. Yeah. Other than Stefan Diggs. I feel Diggs. I feel safe. But Nick Cross is actually the other one where I think he put two or three years of good tape out there. Yeah. Alconca like yeah the others can you coach him up and like that's just a lot of new guys generally I'm skeptical but because he chose players I personally enjoy watching play I'm relatively optimistic here guys that made plays and splashes and that's what because Charles was out here for the media summit as guys you know practice their skills and hone their skills to eventually have a second career and that was the thing that he had stressed was the fact that they're going to attack.

53:48Patrick Claybon:There's not a lot of read and react stuff going on in the defense. And so this is a group of guys that can do that. Right. We haven't mentioned, and I guess that's giving me my scheme dream, Durante Jones comes from Brian Flores. I don't know if you were going in the same direction there to talk about something schematically. He comes from Minnesota, will now be running first-time coordinator for the Washington Commanders. And that's it goes along with that theme. My scheme dream was looking over at the Blau version of the offense. But if they can't, because Dan Quinn's teams, like when they have been successful, they've been able to take the ball away, create chaos over on the defensive side of the ball.

54:26Patrick Claybon:It's like a wholesale change and DQ is still there. And so like that has to be a focus to try. You know, what's crazy is like I didn't even mention like there were more. Amik Robertson, I think, is going to start for this team. Razul Douglas is on this team. Trey Amos, who had a nice rookie season, has been hurt all camp. That one I'm a little concerned about. I love the idea of this scheme and that Floresk should and could have a tree. It's been effective. It's rolling the dice. And Sonny Stiles is right there in the middle of it as a top 10 pick that I'm really excited about watching. And him and Frankie Luvu.

55:06Like this team is going to get funky. We are going to debut the teams I'm most excited to see week one in an upcoming show. Another team. They're pretty up there. Yeah. David Blau, you mentioned, is their new offensive coordinator. Like, is there anything you're looking for in general?

55:24Patrick Claybon:Just to find out, just to find out who David Blau is, who, you know, it's the theme. He came in, says we're going to make the best of the talent that we have and put them in positions to win. apparently there was a bidding war between ben johnson and dan campbell that that ultimately led to david blau getting promoted to this job at 31 years old because they wanted to keep him uh on the staff we've seen those things go all kinds of different ways that there's a a similar situation in denver now where you've you've got a younger former quarterback calling the plays uh because they didn't want to lose him and so just get an opportunity to find out like who David Blau is and why was it so necessary as a lot of former players have to navigate the coaching ranks for a long time before they even sniff even close to a relatively close to the head job on either side of the ball.

56:15Patrick Claybon:And he got there pretty quick. I think we got a clue from quarterback, the Netflix show. I thought Jaden Daniels' section of the show was the least revealing of the quarterbacks by far. My biggest takeaway that I didn't know before was how close I think his relationship is with David Blau, that those two are on the same page. And I think they just viewed that tandem as one they wanted to see continue and that he would be a good steward for making the most important guy in the organization work. So it's all on Cliff. It was just like... I don't know. Cliff. Maybe it was just the edit, but it definitely seemed like, yeah, Jaden, like Blau was Jaden's guy and vice versa.

56:55That happens with your position coach. That's how it should be. Things go wrong if blank for this team.

57:02Patrick Claybon:If they can't run the ball. Yeah. If they can't run the ball, they can't facilitate the play-action game under center. I think with the offensive line injuries, it just all falls apart. If they can't facilitate a run game within the first five games. Pretty skeptical about this running game. I think Jaden will help open it up in a way, but also him figuring out his balance of when to run, when not to. We tried to avoid injuries in this segment, but it's less about the injuries to me as just him calibrating how aggressive do I need to be as a runner because I'm so good at it. He led the NFL in scrambles per snap last year, and he was, I think, second the year before that.

57:45So that's what he does, and he's great at it.

57:50Patrick Claybon:Diggs will alleviate some of that. I hope so. As long as Diggs and Terry are on the field at the same time, some of that will get alleviated on Diggs. Diggs is a bucket. Diggs is still so high level, and I'm not surprised at all from the Commanders reporters there that the second he was on the field, they were like, oh, yeah, it's like 1A, 1B. Terry obviously is their number one wide receiver, but he's so much better than every other receiver that they had before that it actually, like, you're like, oh, this is what it looks like. Really intriguing combo. I mean, imagine McLaurin and Diggs together at the peak of their powers.

58:29There's some similarities with them as a route runner and their versatility. If Blau can cook, you know, Daniels, Diggs, McLaurin, and Okonkwo, I'm even going to throw in there because he's an interesting piece of how you're going to use him. It's quite a, like, okay, how are we going to move these puzzle pieces around? And it's a very intriguing group, if healthy.

58:54Patrick Claybon:Yeah. You know, the asterisk caveat there, but excited to see, you know, an offense where Chico Conquo's incredible athleticism and explosiveness with the ball in his hands gets utilized because we kind of missed a lot of that. He was like full Chig as a rookie, and then he just kind of stayed there. Never really developed in Tennessee. but I want him to run where Johnny Smith briskly jog kind of, I think he can be the next passing the torch, the next Johnny Smith ceiling floor for this team. I'll let you go first here. My ceiling floors have had a lot of variance here, but I will have them one game plus on, on the, on the giants.

59:36Patrick Claybon:I think they could win 11 games as the ceiling and also the floor being seven. Okay. That's a good floor for them. I think it's lower. I'll go six for them. They're in a tough spot where Dan Quinn has been there, and yet this feels like a first year still because of all the new players and the new offense, and how does it all fit? The first year went pretty good. Yeah, good point. I think they'll be good. Maybe the floor is closer to seven, and the ceiling for me is, yeah, an 11-win team. I have a hard time seeing them win the division, but if you win 11 games, you certainly could. I think it's a wildcard appearance and coming in second in this division and being a factor, again, I am not ruling that out for the commanders.

1:00:29Now, as we've taped, there has been some breaking news inside the division that I think will particularly interest you as a supporter of this player. Do you know what it is?

1:00:42Patrick Claybon:No. You know, sometimes you're on it. We didn't get an email. I even hinted about it as we were talking. The Giants are signing free agent Najee Harris to a one-year deal. It was rumored. Yeah. And the, you know, the Joe Shane circumstances where you wonder who the decisions are being made by. This is Harbaugh all over it. It's Harbaugh and Harbaugh's consigliaries. And Joe Shane's there too. That's how I evaluate it. It is interesting. It happened right after that tough moment by Tyron Tracy where Harbaugh audibly blamed Tracy for Jackson Dart getting lit up. I think Tyron Tracy is a good player, but someone here between him, Singletary, Najee Harris, Scadaboo is obviously going to be a big part of the mix, if not the starter for sure.

1:01:45So someone's going to get left out here.

1:01:47Patrick Claybon:Yeah, it was a rough rep of RB protection, but a certain part of it is not putting your quarterback or running back in a situation where that could happen. I also think they have to be a little worried about Cam Scadaboo, not the biggest running back in the world. You don't want him to have 350, 400 touches. I think he's going to be better in a committee. So who is that committee with? I think Tracy's a pretty reliable player. Najah Harris is coming off a torn Achilles. It could even be something where he's not available early in the season, but you almost bring him in as a replacement. Juju Smith-Schuster was released as part of that transaction.

1:02:27Might be the end of the line for Juju. What a weird career. you know? Yeah. He outsized influence for, you know, how soon it might be ending, you know, but we had some good times.

1:02:42Patrick Claybon:Yeah, some really good times. He made TikToks and people were like, oh my gosh, this is crazy. This is the weirdest thing anybody's ever done. Is this okay? Mike Tomlin, are you okay with this Chinese social media app? And then, you know, that wasn't a big deal. There was the the perfect incidents, the divergence with Antonio Brown and the team and then the chiefs. Shout out to Juju. How about first of all, it was nine years, 10, if you count this year, but I kind of doubt he's going to end up being on a week one roster, although it's certainly possible. He hasn't, he hasn't had much production the last three seasons now.

1:03:21How about that season with the chiefs as we bid adieu to Juju Smith Schuster that I don't think people will really remember that much. And yet he ends up with 900 regular season yards for the Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Wow. Wild career. Big impact. Um, let's wrap up giving our division picks. We go one through four. You have to make a decision. Uh, what are the final standings? You know, you have to include tiebreakers if they have the same record. You don't have to give the record,

1:03:52Patrick Claybon:but one, two, three, four, uh, Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Commanders, New York Giants. That was my order early in the offseason. I don't want to be, and this happens to me, swayed by the closer I get to the season, then I start rethinking it, and now I'm like, why am I doubting the Eagles again on balance? They just have so many great players, and I actually think Jalen Hurts is a perfectly good starting quarterback with enough people around him. I'm going to go Eagles in the end. I've always I've been annoyed at myself when I don't just stay high on the Eagles because their floor has been so high.

1:04:30But I do have the Cowboys as one of the best wildcard teams in making the playoffs. I'm boring. I got the same exact order because I think the commanders are going to be spicy. Not everyone can be good in this division though. And so maybe the Giants are closer to their floor than their ceiling.

1:04:51Patrick Claybon:Subterranean. You know, we can't get cute with all our divisions. Like I said, Greg, you're always cute. Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment. What a week this has been already on the Around... Oh. He did it! I was going to say, let's edit that out, but it's a natural thing. We're here in a studio that we taped many, many episodes of the Around the NFL podcast, which was a lot of fun to do. But now we're NFL Daily and we're coming at you all the time. Do you know who's on our next show, Patrick? I don't think you do. I don't. And if you told me, then I probably would have forgot. We got a special guest.

1:05:34ESPN's own, your co-worker, Mina Kimes is joining us. Oh, cool. So I'm really looking forward to that one. That will be next in your feed. That'll be Thursday morning. But always good when Patrick is here. Patrick is going to continue to keep being here. So, not going anywhere. Neither are we. And, yeah, really looking forward to the show with Mina, preseason week two. Coming up, we'll be back Thursday morning. See you then.

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1:06:46Patrick Claybon:I'm JJ Zachary Eason, host of the award-winning Late Round Podcast. Before your draft, our players to target and players to avoid episodes tell you exactly who to circle and who to cross off. Listen to the Late Round Fantasy Football Podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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