NFL Daily 32: Ranking Quarterbacks

25:48So that would be my big question for it. But in terms of the individual player, I absolutely love Joe Burrow. Yeah, it's partly a bet on 2026. And look, if it really was my team, maybe I probably would take Drake May. And yet, I think he'd be a great MVP pick. I'm sure there's not that long odds this year. I do feel that he is set up and I do feel a little more comfortable that, you know, he's at his age 30 season, as long as he stays healthy, which is a big if I trust him just a little bit more than Drake may still seeing new things. Is Drake may your pick at number five? He is my pick. Yeah.

26:26And I think there's six guys in this tier and we'll see if you pick the six guy to have in this tier. But I, I think that Drake may, you could make arguments from kind of all over this tier I would say to a degree but he's going to be my pick here I just felt like poised for him considering the fact that I don't think he was like he had unbelievable protection and especially because he got pummeled the second half his rookie season and then to go in and play the way he did to make the amount of throws under duress that he did and yes he brings some of that on himself I think decision making and pocket presence are the areas the big areas he needs to improve on that's not that abnormal I would say for a quarterback in his place.

27:04And he's already way better at those things than most guys his age are. So I just think downfield accuracy, big play creation, the fact that his legs are a legit asset doesn't probably get talked about enough. There's a lot to talk about, so I get it. Ability to throw to the middle of the field is in there. He can play in different types of offenses and game situations. That's all really, really appealing to me. I think he just has the skill set of a guy that's going to be an elite quarterback in the league. I think we've been able to see that, frankly, for a while now. ball placement and accuracy to high degree of difficulty locations on the field is a real special special trait and i think he has that so one of the top things i look for in a quarterback is a lot of the stuff that he a bunch of the top things i look for a bunch of the things that he has and so yeah it wasn't pretty in the playoffs and it got real ugly in the super bowl obviously and that's part of how it goes at this position especially when you're young but to get there at all with the type of team that he had to be an absolutely special player all season so it's just not outside the possibility that we're looking at this as like he's the number one guy going into you know coming out of this next season when we do this show again next year like that could be the where the conversation starts so yeah i just i don't want to go any lower than this on him yeah i'm with you it the the part that i wouldn't say worries me but so many of the things he did felt like they were almost impossible to do like he had the highest tight window completion percentage in the league by far.

28:25It was the third highest since 2018. He was insane against the Blitz. He was insane against pressure until the offseason where he had, I think, almost more turnovers in the playoffs against pressure than he did all of the regular season. But, you know, completing 70%, 72 % of his passes while being fourth in average depth of target, like, and just hitting throws at a crazy high rate down the field. Like it is crazy to combine that all. You could look at that and you could think about him versus Patrick Mahomes' 2019 season. I would put Mahomes ahead of it, but it's like not that ahead of it. And that's why it wouldn't be that crazy to take May 1st overall.

29:08The problem is the playoffs. The problem is you suck sort of like his worst stretch of the season right after that. But I'm excited. I'm excited to see this next step. and his value that he brings running the ball is massive. You said, okay, you think it's a six-person tier, which means you're either rude enough to say the reigning MVP doesn't even belong in the first tier, or you just disagree with my pick of Justin Herbert at six because I'm taking Herbert here. I don't care. Matthew Stafford, he's getting up there. Okay. To me, it's all one big tier, the first seven. I would have Stafford in it personally.

29:46And that playoff game was so bad out of Herbert. But man, he was so good in the regular season. I love the combination with Mike McDaniel. I know we're trying to divorce the situation somewhat. But he went deep more often. He held the ball more often. He was pressured at the highest rate. And because he was trying to make plays, because that's what we've sort of asked him to do. And I think he did a pretty good job of that. And the situation was brutal. He faced the most quick pressures in the league, the most unblocked pressures in the league. He was the first quarterback since Deshaun Watson, like eight years ago, to face the most amount of pressure and actually make the playoffs.

30:23And so I give him a lot of credit for that regular season. I think the arrow is just pointing up. And a tiebreaker for these last three for me between, you know, May and Herbert and Stafford was age, was ascendancy, was like worrying about, you know, possibly the back injury for Stafford. but more importantly, like mobility. And so that's enough where I think I'm just kind of splitting hairs between those three. I'm going to take Herbert sixth overall. He's tough for me, really tough. I've been a pretty big Herbert sixth overall guy, but actually for me, he went down to ninth that I think you can make a lot of arguments.

31:02He kind of starts, he's in the beginning of the next tier for me. There's a couple of guys in the next year. He's in that next tier for me, I would say. I have one more guy in this in my top tier that you referenced Matt Stafford that we'll talk about here in a second when I pick him. But yeah, just to talk about Herbert, I am really I'm torn on him because you're right. He was awesome in the regular season and awesome despite adverse situations in the regular season. And that's been the story of his career. Right. The offensive lines have been bad when they've been good. They've been hurt. Like it's just over and over and over again.

31:32You're seeing kind of some of the similar trends with him. And yet he survives. He's getting whooped on in the regular season. I mean, it is brutal to watch. And statistically, you're not like necessarily always being wowed in terms of counting stats. But if you watch the games, which I'm always saying, watch the games and you'll see how good Justin Herbert is. And then the playoffs happen. And I just I'm at the point, Greg, where I am like not the person at all that's like, oh, let's go with a small sample size. But the three playoff games he's played have been really bad. And I'm just so I'm sort of at that point where I don't want to move away from him, which is why I still in this tier.

32:06Like, I mean, he's still a top 10 guy for me. He's still one of the guys that I think is the best in the league. Like, obviously, you have a conversation with him a lot of places in these rankings, depending on what you think of Stafford and health. If you're thinking long term, like he would be a guy that a lot of people would want to start the franchise with. And I see all that. I think it's in there. I just don't know why he doesn't play that way in the playoffs. I mean, his this last playoff game was just unbelievably bad. And the situation around him was definitely tough, but it wasn't impossible to figure out.

32:32He genuinely looked like, I mean, we're going to talk about CJ Stroud at some point too. And it was like, those guys just had meltdown performances. And with Herbert, it's like, I'm like trying to figure out whether he can ever get to the level of player that he needs to be to carry a team that doesn't have everything right. We were waiting every year for the chargers to get everything right around him. And at some point I have to be like, well, can you have any success in the post season when that isn't the case? Because yeah, they haven't had perfect situations in the O-line. Neither, neither did Drake May.

33:02and neither did the Patriots yet. You find ways and I think they're well coached. I think all these other things are these other excuses that have maybe exist in the past aren't there right now. So I'm just waiting for him to prove that he belongs in the tier with these other guys. I think I think you can say he's top of the next tier in my mind and I'm like, yeah, totally get it. I have two guys out of them that I think there's an absolute in that next year that I think there's an absolute argument for. I would just say with him, I think that if he's going to be in the top tier, I have to be able to I can't point to the postseason and say you were one of the worst playoff quarterbacks I've seen.

33:34That's tough. Three times, that's tough. Yeah, it's tough. NFL history, players that have shown his level of regular season play, the history of it, it's just like, it'll click at some point. Maybe it was a little bit of a mental thing. He was like overcorrecting, trying not to make a mistake and then started to make more mistakes because of that holding onto the ball. It wasn't great. But I would say, yes, I think he'll be able to make things work and well, because I've seen it. To me, it's a better sample size over the 16 games. Winning 11 games repeatedly with a lot of the things that's been going on around him has proven it to me.

34:13And it's the mobility. I want a quarterback that can run. And yet, I do feel like we're going to get some angry Rams fans that Stafford here is at number seven. Stafford's my next guy. I actually had him at, I had him fifth. I mean, I had Burrow sixth, but they're all in the same tier. And I think you can certainly make an argument for there. anyway and I won't fight you. The reason for me was Stafford. I didn't think it was unbelievable in the playoffs like down the stretch like as much as he's been maybe in the past playoffs but I still think the Seahawks. I will not mark him down at all for that Seahawks game.

34:46He had more deep yardage in that game than any quarterback or one of the biggest ones in the last like eight or nine years. The beginning of that game I was like uh oh we might be at the end and then he just rallied and made like six unreal throws and it wasn't maybe like the full best game but the throws he did make were insane and that's where you get to with him we're just the accuracy to high degree difficulty parts of the field and the mental stuff you trust with him so as long as that's still the case I worry less about unless he has an injury that actually keeps him from playing I worry less about physical drop-off and decline because I think physical drop-off and decline doesn't usually affect the arm strength of a quarterback unless there's an injury involved You know, you think of Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, all these guys had injuries that eventually led to some of that fall off.

35:33It wasn't necessarily just like, oh, they got old in their arms. They stopped being able to throw the ball hard. Like, I don't think that's going to happen with Matt Stafford. So obviously you worry some about injuries with anybody court player who gets older, but he really doesn't miss that much time. Like, I mean, you know, he's, I think, still accuracy wise, high degree difficulty throws down the field, the whole field being open to him at any point. play action pure drop back he can play within an offensive system that's proven to be extremely successful in the league and adapt within the system as well mental aptitude leadership I think all those things are in place and he's not an unbelievable athlete and I think but I think Dave obviously he's been one of the best situations in the league his whole entire time he's been with the Rams that's basically been the case so there's a lot going for him but also there's a lot asked of him too like this isn't a cookie cutter offense that doesn't ask things of him they ask tough things of him and he delivers tough things so to me he's definitely in that tier one conversation and I think in a given playoff run stretch of football you can really make an argument he's the best guy in the league I mean obviously MVP speaks to that as well so I think because of that he still remains in this tier although with him the downside perhaps is more significant the other guys even in a one year because the injury component and just the always the the back and this and that in the offseason, this is happening and, you know, retirement's looming and, you know, there's all this kind of chatter that seems to follow him, less so this offseason.

36:59But, you know, you would guess that that is going to catch up at some point with him. And so maybe it's a little bit of a risk in that capacity. But if he's healthy, I have very little question that he'll be one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Agree. And yet I did try to remember, like, what would I have thought last year coming into this point? What would I have thought in 2024 coming into this point. And I do think it's okay to understand that there's been ups and downs with Stafford within seasons. And generally going into seasons, I've never viewed him as like a top five guy. He was always right on that edge.

37:31Like I feel like I have him here at sixth or seventh around where I'd have him most of the last handful of years. And I'm not going crazy changing it because the MVP season, because that was the best I've ever seen him play. And so at 38 years old, Is he going to stay at that very high level? Maybe he will. I mean, Rogers was winning back-to-back MVPs around this age, and Brady still had about five more elite years left at this age. So it's totally possible, and I'm probably selling him short. And he has replaced Burrow, I think, as the guy that you're just most afraid to blitz. The numbers against the Blitz last year are just outrageous for Matthew Stafford.

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41:58And I can see the pushback. And yeah, so he was next for me too. I'm glad we kind of see this similarly. Yeah. You just know what you're going to get. And you know you're going to get a guy who is not afraid to throw every possible route that's on the field. He attempted the most tight window throws in the NFL. The Cowboys actually had the fewest amount of separation on attempts, which is not surprising. They used play action more. I felt like he produced better in part because they gave him a few more easy buttons, but it doesn't change how next level he thinks of the game. He is very much that old, you know, Peyton Manning style of quarterback, which is great to still see in the league.

42:41I mean, Matthew Stafford is very often that type of player, too. And I just feel like I know who Dak Prescott is. I can go win a Super Bowl with Dak Prescott, certainly, if I have the right support around him. If we can win one with Sam Darnold, John, you know, we can win a couple with Dak. He just, he just needs the help. And I feel very comfortable when he drops back to pass the decisions that he's going to make. I do too. And I know that it's not always perfect, but I think his accuracy, his timing, when he's locked in mentally and in the flow, he's a little bit of a rhythm guy. But my gosh, is it good when he's in the rhythm?

43:19Like I've seen him take over games. I've seen him dominate. I've seen him make high degree difficulty throws down the field. Everyone's going to say, well, what about in the playoffs? Why isn't he done in the playoffs? And there's lots of reasons and answers for that. At times it has been his play. I don't think he's been anywhere close to as bad as some other guys in the playoffs. I also think that that's the conversation we're in. We're outside of the top tier now for me. And so the conversation we're in is guys that like, yeah, they haven't necessarily been utterly dominant in the playoffs.

43:45They haven't won Super Bowls or maybe been the key reason for their team winning a Super Bowl. We'll get to some guys that have won Super Bowls. But they haven't answered that question. That question exists about their career. So if we're evaluating them within the context of NFL history, valid. But within the context of this tier, I just don't see it as a compelling point. I think more about, okay, if I can't have one of these top guys in the elite tier, then what am I getting? What kind of a player do I want? I want someone who's cerebral. I want someone who's accurate. I want someone who makes difficult throws down the field.

44:15Now, you can raise questions about Dak in other ways. Like if, you know, when the protection hasn't been great, has he relied on his legs enough? Has he played to his athleticism enough? When he's at his best, he does. He does do those things. So I, again, I have seen those things with him. Is there inconsistencies at times? Sometimes is there, you know, he, he gets a little bit, I think, risk taking and in some of the throws that he takes and maybe doesn't make always the best decisions in certain ruts again, when he gets into his play, that's possible. but I think you don't have many consistently bad habits with Dak that you're just going to every single game.

44:51He's just outside the structure of what you're doing. Like some of these other guys who have maybe better peaks than Dak, but like the downside is just so much worse. Dak is going to have you in that thing every year if he's healthy and if the rest of your team is competent. And there's just not a lot of guys that you can say that about. Like he, he individually is that good when, you know, he's had been banged up too at times. So I still feel like as much as we've moved around, I think he's been eight, nine, seven, somewhere in the seven to 10 range for me, basically every year since he really got onto the map.

45:21So I still feel pretty strongly about him being in this group. Yeah, it is crazy to think how good he was immediately. And he has obviously developed and matured as a player. And look, he was, he was second in the MVP just what, three seasons ago. And last season he has one of the most productive offenses, when he's out there. And I'm excited because I do think he's getting more help from the coaching staff. I like this marriage with Brian Schottenheimer. And that was the off-season ride-along presented by Toyota. Because when people are the destination, your ride is important. Learn more at toyota.com and find the vehicle that fits your people.

45:57So you said you had like a little group of three. You had a couple guys ahead of Herbert. And I want you to disagree. Don't be happy that you see things the same way with me as Dak. Tell me that I'm an idiot, that I got Herbert way too high. I might have needed reassurance on that one because I was like, I'm like this tier, it's hard to sort out, but I just feel better about how Dak's performed in big moments postseason. I think I trust him a little more than I do Herbert. So I know you have Herbert. I have Jordan Love between Dak and Herbert for me. So he'd be eighth for me. And this is one I'm torn on to.

46:30I mean, I didn't see it with Dak as a prospect. This quarterback ranking, basically, by the way, when you asked me to do this, it's funny because it's just littered with all the like players I was too low on pre-draft and now they're all elite players like Dak I mean obviously nobody saw that one coming but Josh Allen Justin Herbert like none of these guys I thought were like unbelievable in college Jordan Love's another one of those guys but I've just really been impressed I think the poise that he shows too I think the fact that he avoids negative plays to the degree that he does is really compelling to me gives his team a fighting chance I think when they've if they had been able to stay healthy this season we might be singing even a higher song than this one about his ranking I really think that because I don't think he individually like has been like usually the reason for why they have struggled as a team I think honestly they got pretty pretty banged up last year pretty unlucky they had a window to really do something and it sort of fell apart for them with some of the injuries to Kraft and Parsons and others so but I think with him the thing that impresses me the most is you can design an offense and this is big I'm going to emphasize this with a lot of these guys that are in this next group, you can design an offense around them and they consistently play within the structure of the offense and they can make high degree difficulty plays.

47:38And between all those things, are there issues at times? Are there foibles at times that you have with them? Sometimes do they make questionable decisions and risk taking things to the ball? Yes, there's some of that with all these guys, but I would rather have the combination of high end potential, even for a run that you get from guys who can be creators and make high degree difficulty throws and plays within an offense and they consistently keep their offense on schedule and play within the structure of the offense and are constantly trying to go into hero mode, constantly trying to get away from what their coaches told them to do, constantly trying to create outside of what the rest of the team, the other 10 on the field are doing and just playing in their own world.

48:15There's guys who have great talents, but they don't consistently play that way. Jordan loves ability to actually buy into a system, master the system mentally, work to the degree that he does that has been the thing that's won me over more so than the arm and the wow throws that everybody talks about he has those certainly but I knew those were in there it's the other stuff the floor just being way higher I actually don't think he's that risky of a quarterback compared to like what his reputation sometimes is I know he's had some bad ones in high profile moments but I don't think he's like throwing the ball to the other team 10 times a game kind of reckless in his game so I just think he's brought the floor up and that hasn't been acknowledged And maybe the ceiling isn't, you know, elite tier guy in the league, but I think the floor is pretty high.

48:54And I still think the ceiling's higher than a lot of other guys. I do have some nits to pick with that argument because to me, the ceiling is that high. I mean, I do think he could put it all together and have an MVP top five type of run because I think last year he really started to reduce his mistakes. That was where I'm totally on board with you that he was not a risk taker last year. I thought he was a different quarterback in that way. It shows up in the turnover-worthy play percentage, but it showed up in my watching of his film that I just thought he did not really lose much of his big playmaking while just making much better decisions.

49:38And anyone that wants to kill him for the playoffs, I mean, he threw four touchdowns in the playoffs. Like, for a bad, relatively bad playoff game, he was not the reason that they lost to me. He was fine in that playoff game. He was great on big plays last year. He had the best success rate and explosive play rate on third downs. You know, his EPA per play and success rate, all that, QBR, all that you would put him right there with Stafford and May as the best numbers, just pure numbers in the league. And I think context, it's okay to add to that. Probably the biggest context I would add, and this is what he needs to do, I think, to get to that elite tier more than anything, is he was a lot worse under pressure last year.

50:17You think of Jared Goff as kind of the example of the guy whose numbers get significantly worse under pressure. Everyone's pressure numbers get worse, but it's even more dramatic for Goff. Love was probably the most dramatic guy in the entire NFL last season. Not sure why that is exactly. It's a lot of just holding on to the ball and throwing it away and just hoping something happens. Maybe it's just a tick slower processing than maybe some of the top guys. He wasn't making catastrophic plays, but basically if you got near him, he turned into a below average quarterback last year. Yeah, the plus with him is that you don't see him take a lot of sacks.

50:58The negative with him is that I don't think he's a great creator outside of structure. And I think that's where a lot of people thought the tools would be, oh, he's this great, but he's not been a great or very willing scrambler. And I have questions about that. And I have questions about just when he does have to go into a hero mode and sort of make those types of big end plays outside the pocket, things like that. Can he can he be that guy consistently, I think, is a valid question with him. So I agree with you now. He's pretty good at staying. I mean, last year's offensive line situation probably is under discussed in Green Bay.

51:27And even this year, moving into the season, I have major questions about that group. There are some real questions in Green Bay that might not be talked about enough, but I would say that just his ability. I mean, the turnover worthy play number coming down this past season, the percentage of them. just the fact that he's not throughout any season of his career been a guy who takes a ton of sacks or puts his team behind the sticks in a lot of ways gives his team more of a chance to sustain drives and I think is a big reason why their offense is always elite the floor is a big part of that Jordan loves a big part of that their offense is always one of the best in the league health has been a factor lots of other things have been a factor for them but this range I feel really really comfortable taking Jordan love here I never thought that would be the case when they drafted him so another success story we didn't see coming this the top 10 is littered with these Greg.

52:10It's pretty awesome. Yeah. I, I, I, I liked the love pick when they made it and that, and I liked even the process of it. And even then after watching him in his first couple of preseasons, uh, I'm stunned because he was a different player early in his career. And it does show you for some quarterbacks, man, this sort of development path can still help you a lot. I don't think his career would be the same if he had to play early. Uh, he he's, he's doing the 1970s, 1980s mold where I think it really helped him out. So to me, I thought it was a very clear top nine, at least for me, that was it. We've taken those nine.

52:48And I felt like it was a pretty big drop off and that the draft almost starts at 10. And I just have massive question marks next to the guy I wrote down at number 10. And I feel a little sheepish about it because I have to just come to terms with the fact, John this is a big statement for me um that I've become a Brock Purdy guy I know you're not gonna like it I know plenty of people aren't gonna like it I don't care I'm gonna go with I'm gonna go with my what my heart is telling me right now um I think he's dialed back his mistakes quite a bit um he was holding the ball a lot longer while taking less sacks the numbers are obviously ridiculous and I know that's very scheme dependent.

53:32He's second in QBR. He's always first or second in EPA per play. Success rate last year was incredible. I know Jimmy Garoppolo had all those numbers too. My eyes tell me something different, that something different is happening here and that he's gotten significantly better each season in terms of his processing, his ability to give you a little extra by making plays. And in a different way than Dak Prescott, I feel pretty comfortable. And ultimately that was the tiebreaker between him and the next four or five guys who I have all very close. I feel good about what he's going to give me on a week-to-week basis.

54:13And I don't think we give him the grace because he was a seventh-round pick that he's a young player that's I think consistently improved each and every season. and I'm projecting that improvement into this a little bit, like seventh round picks can continue to get better and better and better and better too. And to me, his floor is high. And I think the ceiling's a little higher than other people want to admit, especially people like myself, who I, I was not buying it in that quote unquote MVP campaign season against Lamar Jackson. I think he's a significantly better player right now than he was even two years ago.

54:47I, I like Brock Purdy. He's not quite this high for me, but I think you can make an argument that he should be maybe a little bit higher than where I have them. I have them 15th here. Here's what I'd say. What, why isn't it Jared Goff? And Jared Goff to me is in the tier that you talked about the tier ending at nine. Why isn't Jared Goff? Yeah. He's next on my list. Okay. So he's next. So he'd be next for me obviously. So just, and I don't want to jump ahead too much, but I, I don't, I don't, we don't need to talk about golf, but I just thinking about golf compared to Purdy and thinking about a couple different factors to me like for me jared goff i love the fact that he doesn't take a ton of sacks right like i love the fact that there's this quick release play within the structure of the offense know your limitations get out of there when you need to yes the physical tools aren't anything amazing but the accuracy the execution for years the ability to run a high profile nfl offense that's proven to be successful across the league the ability to limit negative plays i think there's a couple games one or two games every year where you see some of those pop up but for the most part he's limited a lot of the low end stuff and had a lot of the high end stuff playing within structure.

55:54If they don't have one of the unluckiest, none of which was really his fault playoff moments, second abs that we've ever seen. He's in the super bowl for the second time in his career. Like he's proven it in the playoffs that he can play like at that same level. And like at the moment, isn't too big for him. So I still have him in that tier with the other guys. And I know that he's not sexy and I know that he's not what a lot of people are looking for necessarily at the position of your scouting. but I just think when you put on the tape, he gets, he freaking gets it done. And I, I really appreciate his game way more than I thought I would a couple of years ago when he finished with the Rams.

56:27Look, he, he is exactly who everyone thinks he is. He leads the league and in breaking routes. There's a ton of yak. The, the numbers when he's clean are just exceptional. I mean, he, he is going to kill you. I let's talk about them together. You could throw 11 up for, for golf because I think it's an interesting conversation. just comparing the two of them. The answer would be that I think Purdy still has levels to go potentially. I'm betting a little on a mystery box where I feel like I know who Goff is. And then it's the creation. It's the idea when things aren't going well and things were not going well for that 49ers team last year.

57:08I've really been impressed the last couple of seasons when Purdy's been out there and healthy of his ability to make those around him better. It is very close between those two. And Goff is maybe a little bit of a safer pick, but that's it. He's what Kyle Shanahan wanted, which is a guy who can also create some plays on his own. And maybe listeners are hearing the stylistic differences maybe between a little bit of what we gravitate to because you're 100 % right. Brock Purdy, obviously, way better out of structure than Jared Goff is. And I would say Jared Goff way better within the structure. I think I gravitate first toward that guy because I trust that guy to get it done within the structure without needing to play in this creation mode and I think with Purdy he definitely can play in the creation mode more I worry that he stays there too often last year's time to throw has me really scared just throughout his career in some ways as he's played more and some of that has been you know I think it was it was a mixed bag a little bit in 2024 last year he's banged up and then when he did play there was obviously really good things about I played in the regular season And I worry about the turnover where the plays.

58:12Those can come in bunches for him. The percentage of times where he gets the ball, the other team, I don't trust him to the degree that I trust Jared Goff. And then he does a great job of avoiding sacks, which I love about him. He really can create like he is an, a really fun player to watch in a lot of ways. He's more exciting to watch. And I think because he is this kind of, I don't want to say boring personality, but just kind of like, he's not a, like, you don't put the mic in front of him or like, oh man, this guy, let's go. But the way he plays is really compelling, I think, from a viewership perspective.

58:44But then, I mean, the 3.22 second time to throw, it's just like that was where he lived last year. That's what happens when Jake Tonjes is your number one. I mean, I hear you that he gets helped so much by the scheme, but I also think it should be recognized that Pearsall was in and out last year. Kittle, I guess, was in and out. It wasn't until the end of the year that he was out, out. You know, you have Juwan Jennings a little in and out last year. I mean, for a part of the season, it was really Mac Jones making Kendrick Bourne happen. But I think that was part of the reason why he's holding on to the ball too long.

59:21And I think some of the things you can knock him for, like we could talk about with Caleb, who I'm sure is going to come up fairly soon, too. And yeah, I think that's it. But the fact that for the most part, I think he's gotten better at being a little safer. but maybe you're right that he gets a little too much dip on his chip every, every now and then. And both are really good. I mean, they're probably in this conversation of quarterbacks that you're like, well, can they ever, can their good peaks, are they enough basically to get you to the top? And that's been the question with Purdy. Cause they're not when the Niners have been good and it'll probably continue to be the question with Jared Goff.

59:52Obviously McVay didn't think so moved to Matt Stafford. Certainly in many ways he was right. I have Stafford higher. He's a better player than Goff, but I think the idea that Goff still like still where he's gotten to in his career has been pretty unbelievable to me. considering there are these like very clear limitations with this game that like he can't play all the different ways and so to me i the accuracy but then the also the functional execution within the offense now things can fall apart for jared goff too at times you know it usually is one or two games a season rather than just like these rash stretches of play but i i for like weeks and weeks and weeks on end but i would say that when he's at his best which i think most of the time he's able to play his game in most formats in the league you know he's again we're talking about a tier of quarterbacks that probably aren't like carrying your team in the playoffs but they're guys that you trust that operate the offense at a really high level obviously when it's been it's his best in detroit it's been a really good offense and he operated that at an extremely high and efficient level for several years and last year they fell upon hard times just kind of in general but i give him a lot of credit for his operation of that offense and his ability to maximize that system it was really a such a great marriage with him and ben johnson in so many different ways and now there's questions and there'll be questions again i think he's proven kind of who he is as a quarterback and it's up to if this is your guy and there's you know not many guys better than i'm in the league even if you want to say he's never going to be a top guy and i think that's fair i don't he'll never be somebody that we talk about in tier one whereas some of these other guys even ahead of him and maybe behind him have a clear chance to be a number to be in that top tier at some point in their careers if they keep progressing that's probably off the table for Jared Goff, but who he is is something a lot of teams would have benefited.

1:01:29And there's a lot of teams that could have won and been in Super Bowls if they had a quarterback as clean as him that ended up being postseason disappointments because their guy wasn't up to the up to the up to par the way that he's been, I think, even in the playoffs. It's all totally fair. It is still wild to have traded away Matthew Stafford and have a case for did we win that trade, you know, for everything that it's set up for the Detroit Lions and getting Goff as not a throw in, but as something that they basically didn't have to give up any value for because of his contract is incredible.

1:02:00I am struggling here with with my next pick. You know, you have the class of 24 guys and Caleb Jaden in the mix for this season and alone. I do feel good about Trevor Lawrence. I've never been a Trevor Lawrence guy in general. Even last season, where it was kind of a breakout season, how it ended, he was 17th in success rate, below average, and completion percentage over expected in QBR. The stat profile wasn't incredible, but the closing stretch was excellent. He was under pressure a lot, and he takes sacks. I want to see it again, and yet I do have a feeling, and maybe I'm falling a little bit for the offseason, okey-doke, that year two of Liam Cohen, it's going to lock in.

1:02:49He's never maybe had the quarterback instincts, for lack of a better word, that you want to see out of your elite guy that he has to maybe be in the right system. He is now in the right system. And I think this is going to be a really strong 2026 for Trevor Lawrence. Hmm. Okay. A little bit of a difference here. I have Trevor Lawrence 17th for me. I am a fan. Last year, the progress was exciting to me. I still have some questions. I still think that he's less than the sum of his parts, which has kind of been the story of his career so far. It's like this guy is all the talent in the world, but just doesn't quite hasn't quite put it together consistently what happened for Jacksonville with adding Liam Cohen adding Jacoby Myers Brenton Strange's breakout even with Brian Thomas having this down year Travis Sunder getting hurt and not really being a huge offensive weapon right away what's position is he going to play even with that I think that Trevor Lawrence the ability that they had as an offense to open up the middle of the field for him and for the first time in his career he became a guy that would confidently throw the ball between the numbers between the ass in the middle of the field and make those throws with anticipation that is the most interesting thing to me with Trevor Lawrence I think a lot of the other foibles in his game remain the same and like he still has some there's still some recklessness to him at times there's some panic to him at times I think and there's some things I don't necessarily like but if he becomes a guy who can off the play action off the systems that Liam Cohn creates will now throw the ball to every area of the field my interest in him goes way up as a quarterback because i think he's going to lock himself into being a tier two guys how i put it basically and then who knows from there where it'll go if he can iron out some of the other things in his game but throughout most of his career he just has never been consistent or confident throwing to the middle of the field uh throwing with anticipation throwing in there throwing accurately throwing on time reading defenses there etc etc it just hasn't happened for him and that is i think the area of the field that most quarterbacks you're talking about how do you go from being okay or good to great and move up tiers at quarterback play being able to throw in that area of the field consistently at a high level is a big differentiator and that wasn't the case for him until that trade for Myers you can see all the numbers you can see their success rate as a passing attack you can see their drop back their EPA for drop back in the 10 to 19 yard range between the numbers everything skyrockets and goes up you can watch the tape and watch him throw the ball there he finally had players that he trusted there and that was a big part of it but also he bought in he bought into the system and I think there were really good things with him now consistency is a big factor it just hasn't been there for him to really all levels of the field before last year second half of the season was the best we've ever seen him I'm a huge Liam Cohen believer maybe they can get everything else right around him to where this kind of ends up looking bad for me because like he's just going to play way better within everything finally being right and he's frankly been it's been a disaster around him for a lot of his career so far.

1:05:45But I think he's got the best chance of anybody to like rise up this or these ranks pretty much from this range where I have them up higher than this because of the factors around them. Yeah, I had him 14th. So I don't know why I'm reaching even on my own board. But when I looked at him compared to some of the younger guys, I am giving a little bit of an edge to everything that he's seen in the NFL that they have not, that I think some of the younger quarterbacks are going to go through some ups and downs. And I do think he's going to be in a little bit of a sweet spot of having the right coach to help to navigate everything that defenses are throwing at him and embedding a little bit on it clicking.

1:06:25Like I've never seen him as some generational prospect because of what you said, because of the inconsistent. I mean, he just doesn't hit throws as much as you want him to hit it. It's a little maddening, even when he has the right idea of when and where to go with it. Like he's, he's often been a tick late. And I really did see that sort of improvement last year to the point where I'm like, okay, I think him next to golf is interesting. Cause I, I do see them. They're very different players, but in the same sort of idea that, uh, if, if they are in the right scheme and I think they both are right now that, that you can win a lot of games with them.

1:07:03All right. I'm curious where you go 13th. So for me, this guy was actually 11th on my board and 13th now in our draft, but I had jayden daniels um and i know last season it's he's a little bit of a hard one to crack because it's like well last season everybody wanted to put him in five or six after the season and he had this unbelievable season as a rookie and it was there was a little bit of pump the brakes like let's see what it looks like over the larger sample size we also didn't get that big much bigger of a sample size because he only had 244 dropbacks last season and really was he healthy for many of those in and out of the lineup played week one and two hurt played a couple weeks that hurt then back for week 14 for reasons that no one understands and you know it just he was never really healthy last season and so if that sustains obviously this will look bad but I'm just going to assume that because there wasn't a major injury that took place here that he's going to be healthy again maybe he just continues to have nagging injuries and that derails his career and you know if that's how it is but I mean this guy is utterly brilliant as a rookie like one of the best quarterbacks in the league not just doing cookie cutter stuff lots of difficult throws lots of difficult plays down the field evolved as a full field player.

1:08:08I thought accurate to all levels of the field, great executor, great decision maker. You know, I thought that was probably an undersold part of it. Maybe is there like potential for him to be a guy that takes too many sacks? Maybe, but that's kind of true for these guys who are like unbelievable athletes of their position that maybe they do that early in their career and then they kind of figure it out as they go. So I have some questions with them, but I also think the ceiling is way higher. So I'm really interested in that guy who I thought was clearly a top 10 guy after his rookie season I mean he played at a top 10 level I should say that year and you were like oh yeah he could easily be in this conversation I just thought last year he was hurt most of the time and when he put in the situation around him is worse they had other injuries as well the stuff in McLaurin in the offseason and just like never getting back to where they were as a full offense there was a lot of stuff and I still didn't think he was like that bad like there were some things that were definitely concerned but he wasn't like a disaster as all that happened and then he was never healthy so I just to me I'm feeling like I'm not that much lower on him than I was coming out of his rookie season I just want to see him play I think it was one of the worst parts of last season that we didn't get to see this absolutely brilliant likable you're bleeding the commanders back after Snyder all this stuff like it was just so fun and then we just didn't get to see it last season really at all and so they're like top of my league pass rankings like I can't wait to watch Washington.

1:09:26I think Jaden Daniels is a star and I hope that he still plays at that level, but he's the guy that I would want. If I'm getting outside that tier and I'm just like, who gives me the best chance to like get into tier two, tier one, maybe even after this season, I would still take him over some of the other younger guys that we're probably about to discuss. Yeah, I had him 13. So he, he ends up landing exactly where I had him in mind. My main issue with him, because you can see the vision look in a, in a perfect world. I mean, And incredible accuracy and incredible decision making is quite a combination.

1:09:57You can see in the highest of high outcomes for Jaden Daniels, he's got a lot of Joe Burrow plus running to him, which is a league MVP type of player. My problem is I just haven't seen him in a normal offense yet in the NFL. So they're essentially like a no huddle offense. I think he'll be able to adjust, but he's trying to figure out when to run, when not to. and it's just the injuries. It's the fact that it's not just his size, but that it was a handful of different ones, that it's a hamstring, it's a knee. The elbow, I guess I'm less concerned about, but an elbow on a quarterback is obviously concerning.

1:10:35So that combination with his overall size is really the only reason why, yeah, for me, he's at 13 and not in a higher tier, just betting on that ceiling. I'll pair him with Caleb Williams next at 14. I think we probably, I don't want to speak for you, but I almost don't know what to do with Caleb Williams at this point of his career. Because the reason he has to put on the Superman cape is because he's done a ton of frustrating things before that. And I think you can forget that. Among qualified passers, he was dead last. Behind J.J. McCarthy was second to last. Incompletion percentage over expected.

1:11:17Like his, you know, his accuracy, it really comes and goes. And yet I don't want to discount the playmaking because, you know, the idea is to win football games and his ability to do that in the biggest of moments in his combination. I think PFF stats are helpful here that he's second in big time throw rate. But, you know, fifth in terms of, you know, his sack rate is an incredible combination of big plays and avoiding negative plays. So even though his best games, like they were a little erratic and he's holding onto the ball forever, the longest time to throw in the league and the rest of the stats are more middle of the pack, like QBR, all that stuff is a lot of it is middle of the pack.

1:11:57You are, you are betting on a young, extremely talented player who had some things click for mentally last year, just continuing that progression. And he certainly has a chance to make both of us look dumb for even letting him go this far in the draft. he does yeah i mean he's one of the guys that i think could be really you know big riser that's not going to surprise anyone you know maybe it'll be surprised somebody by daniels higher but i'm i'm definitely a fan i thought the progression last year was pretty wild the i mean what did he go from a a pressure to pressure to sack rate went from 28.2 percent in 2024 to 9.6 percent in 2025 that is insane and he held the ball 0.20 seconds longer so he was just nothing about his like is this sustainable you would say heck no there's no way he could sustain this he is and always made this point and i think it's absolutely spot on when you watch him he's the fastest guy to the edge of any quarterback in the league right and that's crazy i don't think people just said at all pure speed he's just so quick and so he gets out of the pocket so fast and basically what he had to be because i don't think he's ever going to be just like your paint by numbers quarterback like i don't think he's ever it's always going to be hard to compare him to everybody else what you hope with caleb williams i think is that he gets on this hot streak at the right time because he can do that he's so special out of structure he's one of the guys that might be able to live there more often than others and still be good now i think he still has to keep getting better within structure and that was last year he did take steps in that way that was obvious but he is probably the top guy in the league right now out of structure on a consistent base now he spends more time there so maybe it's an unfair comparison and maybe Mahomes and Allen and Jackson at the peak of their powers can still play that way but they've learned to play other ways too and Williams will need to evolve keep evolving there but he's unbelievably special when it comes to getting on the edge of the defense making throws plays we saw that in the playoffs like just all kinds of unbelievable stuff from him so the fact that his style of play after a season where it looked like none of it was going to translate to the nfl because he kept trying to play the same way it was a complete disaster as a rookie his style of play from college going to the nfl and being able to work on a really successful season for the team not just him individually is unbelievably exciting stuff from a viewing perspective because he's he is appointment viewing right i mean he is all the things that fans on Twitter love to talk about with quarterback play he is those things and so because of that the brand is going to be strong and that's really good for the league really good for the Bears really good for people like you and I who love watching players this exciting play I think in between that there are still a lot of things that need work but this is a totally appropriate range for him and a player that I think if those things you know to the degree that they already improved last season if that keeps up man like we could really be talking about something, Greg, it'd be really, really fun if he's able to be this unorthodox, different than everybody else in the league, zig while everybody else zags type of player.

1:14:59I would be really excited to kind of be able to compare him year after year to some other players around the league because he's so different at this position. I mean, Bears fans are going to be honking. This is way too low. Why is Caleb Williams at 14 if Drake May is at five? I think it points to what I talked about to start the show that it's a really deep position right now. We still have good players remaining to talk about, but there were early moments in Stafford's career, in Carson Palmer's career, in different young ascending quarterbacks who are going into a season. It's like, oh, you thought, okay, they're sixth, they're seventh.

1:15:36And that's kind of where Caleb Williams is now, but there's just too many proven players ahead of him. I have to admit, I am regretting that Trevor Lawrence pick. The Lawrence pick in Herbert over Stafford. Like I immediately thought twice about. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine and the cool Bahamian breeze. Baja Mar, located in Nassau, Bahamas, offers your choice of three luxury hotels, over 45 fine dining and nightlife venues, John Batiste's all new jazz club, the Caribbean's most luxurious casino and one of a kind experiences for the entire family.

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1:18:54I'm curious if it'll be the same one for you. Let's see. CJ Stroud is the guy. Yes, that was mine too. He was like a solid 15. I don't know why. Actually, so far we've gone off, we've ticked off my top 15 in some order. Wow, there's one guy left in my top 15 we haven't talked about, Lawrence, just outside of it for me. Yeah, I think CJ Stroud, who I actually have 12th here, by the way, just the way that it's fallen for me because I had Jayden Daniels higher too. I would say with Stroud, I get into this, I see it both ways, right? Where the postseason's been a mess. I mean, this past postseason was.

1:19:29I don't think all of his postseason has been a mess. But this past postseason was one of the worst games I've ever seen in my life by a quarterback. I'm not going to lie. Like any level of Greg, that was completely insane. Now, I've always been a Stroud guy. So, you know, this feels like a good range for him. Maybe like there could be arguments for him. You know, some would make arguments that he should be, you know, four or five spots lower maybe than this because the recency bias is strong right with him. And it wasn't this unbelievable year overall with him. I'm really curious if does he want to be Joe Burrow?

1:19:57and is anybody going to let him be Joe Burrow? And if he can't be Joe Burrow, is he ever going to be good? If he can't be Joe Burrow and the offensive line's terrible, like will it ever get to a great point? I think there's real questions that I have there just about like what kind of offense works best for him in the league. Not to the level, I've always said this about Kyler Murray. I'm like, I think it's extremely difficult to build an offense that this guy can be successful in the league. With Stroud, I don't ask that question maybe necessarily. I just don't know how many teams want to play the way he might want to play.

1:20:25and that's evidenced by looking at Joe Burrow and the way Burrow plays and the way Cincinnati's played where you can say, are they ever going to evolve? Are they ever going to change? Are they ever going to do this or that? Are they ever going to modernize all this stuff? But the reality is they're playing the way that they're playing because the quarterback wants to play that way, and that hasn't really happened in Houston. And so I wonder if that is going to just negatively affect his career. And then I wonder if he does get to play that way for a long period of time, is he consistent enough to be able to do that?

1:20:54because it is quarterback on difficult, high difficulty mode. And I think he's brilliant. And I think he has a lot of similarities to Burrow in some ways, but it's not that easy to pull off. And we don't see a lot of guys pull it off because it's not that easy. So I just have questions if they have ever found like a symbiotic, this is what we want to be nature to Stroud and an OC and play caller and system. And, and so I think because of that, you're seeing like more cracks with him as a player. Like he hasn't been unbelievable in these other systems. and I think obviously this is one of been one of the worst offensive lines in football during most of his time there especially the last couple years so there's all these factors that sort of collide to get like this maybe picture that isn't it's just not quite as grandiose as we maybe thought it was going to be after that rookie season but I still think he's pretty good and I still think the potential is there for him to be really good I the stuff I've seen him do the high degree difficulty stuff I've seen him do I'm really intrigued by and I'm very high on so I won't quit him for sure yet after this next season if it goes kind of similar this last season I probably will have to slide him down because I understand people's doubt of whether this is even the guy there's been even the should he get the next contract questions which I would for sure be giving him an ex-contract but I understand I think there is maybe a little downside there the panicky nature to some things and the mistake prone ball when he plays that way which you know wasn't the case for early in his career and has become a little more of the case, the sacks and all this kind of stuff.

1:22:23It's, it is somewhat concerning. So I would say for the first time, I'm concerned about CJ Stroud, but not enough to have him lower than this. Same. I believe, uh, I I've always been a believer last year was way better than people recognize. Just even just, if you just look at the numbers, he was 11th in QBR, for instance, That was higher than Lawrence and Goff and Herbert and Caleb and Darnell. 11th in EPA. So those are like two different advanced stats that kind of have him in that area. That's ahead of Burrow and Lawrence. He took less sacks. He avoided pressure last year. And yet, John, I'm at the same point as you where I'm a little more worried right now than I've ever been because I actually thought the tape at times was worse because it previewed what happened in the playoffs, which was whatever the opposite of, oh, he has a bad play and then he has amnesia and he forgets about it and moves on.

1:23:22Whatever the opposite of that, like CJ Stroud might have been one of the worst quarterbacks in the league. When he got in a hole last year, he would stay in a hole. And there's three, four, five games where you can see him getting frustrated. You can see it on his face. And his play just doesn't give them a chance to win for a couple quarters straight. And that to me was new. And that was a streakiness. And I think it came out in the worst possible way in the playoffs. Look, I think he's come out and everything I hear from this offseason sounds great. I'm optimistic that he'll get past that because the type of career I think he can have is very similar to what Dak Prescott is having.

1:24:02Like, I think he can be that level of quarterback and play in a similar way. And I, if I had to guess, I think he's going to get there. but the the streakiness and sort of the the holes that he would get in mentally that's not what you want out of your quarterback and so that that is concerning yeah no doubt I mean the downside stuff is clear people are not wrong about this the the aspects of play that they've been concerning recently but I do think there's a path forward with him it's better than the one that they've just left behind I'm just not sure they're going to find it and so because of that I may not look right about this and uh you know I'll obviously make my excuses but like at the end of the day trying to be right so i understand why people wouldn't want to have a miss eye i had a pretty clear top 15 and that was it and it's a little bit of a drop off there's there's actually not anyone that i'm excited to take next so i'm struggling with i have i have a disagreement with that i there's one guy left that i'm just tell me okay i'm a believer give me okay i mean i'm next so i just i'm gonna take that pick he was next i'll show you i'll show you my board i mean he is next but i'm not as excited to take it's partly because of the injury which i shouldn't be that concerned about that he's coming off of surgery he's going to be ready for training camp i don't love that the injury happened on one of those rollouts and i do think that his, he's a stable quarterback and yet like so much of his game is on the move.

1:25:33Like it feels too much. Can you build the whole plane out of a quarterback that just throws on the route move, whether it's design, whether it's scrambling, whether it's just, you know, throwing, he is great at it. And yet, you know, you want to see him win from the pocket a little bit is a lot of hitch routes. He actually led the league in hitch routes, not Jalen Hurts, which you would have thought. He's better when he's trailing, but ultimately I had him here. This was my 16th guy, even though I had a tear break. He backed up his rookie year. I think he built on it. He had more big plays. He had more mistakes, I think as well, but he does avoid sacks.

1:26:08And even if he's not making a lot of big plays specifically, John, when he gets pressured, NGS had him as the fewest air yards per completion when pressured. He still had enough big plays in the arsenal, and he was really good in late and close situations, third down situations, third and long situations. Those are the situations you want your quarterback to be nails in. And ultimately, he played great in that game, and they could have been going to the Super Bowl if not for that injury. No doubt. I think that, and I was not, again, Another guy was not high on Bodix coming out as a prospect. Didn't get it.

1:26:46You know, I think all these, you know, this offense at Oregon, they kind of like basically made him fake play quarterback after he was pretty bad. I thought at Auburn, I remember watching him early in his college career. I was like, this guy's a hype prospect. Sheesh, like hyped high school recruit, I guess I should say. And I was like, man, I don't see it. And the way he's just kept going, like he's smart. First of all, I think that's probably undersold. And that's a big reason why he took the leap. He did. I actually didn't think his rookie year was like, okay to me, but I wasn't, I was like a little bit like, eh, I think his rookie year is kind of overrated and maybe it was, or maybe I just didn't see what was coming, but I think there was some rough stuff early in the season with him.

1:27:22And after that, he was pretty much really good for the most part, I think. And I think you're right about the out of structure play and just like, obviously I've harped on that already, but we're in a range again, where I'm like, just looking at like, what's the potential for him. And he got better in structure, he got better thrown in the middle of the field. Those were weaknesses as a rookie season. he got better at just making quick decisions and getting the ball out a little bit faster to the point where i think it's more palatable and then he just continues to avoid sacks and after that early stretch in the season he's not been a high turnover guy either and then he's made really high degree difficulty throws too so you get less of the valleys more of the peaks and then a little bit better in structure play not good enough yet still i think he's got to continue growing in that regard and then he's really good athlete unbelievable athlete in terms of functional athleticism he's really really good he doesn't get hit very often he is not going to get sacked very often that's been proven through two years of his career playing all these games all these dropbacks he's just rarely that's rarely happening to him and he's not like he's just like a quick release guy like jared goff either like he's holding the ball and making plays and not having the downside plays in those situations now one year sample size yeah okay i don't know two year sample size.

1:28:35I'm starting to become a believer now. That's the long and short of it. Yeah, we both had him at 16. And it's a fair point because he was pretty thrilling in that playoff game in the second half in such a high leverage moment. And his highs have been higher than I would have expected. And you're right. It was a big step forward. I do worry about the surgeries after each of his seasons and some lower body injuries. Sean Payton and him going at it about the medical stuff. It's a little concerning. All right, we're halfway through this, John. We got to get you back to work. So what we're going to do is we're going to pick up the pace for the second half.

1:29:14We're not going to go rapid fire. We're going to give these quarterbacks their love, but we will go a little faster down the stretch. But we're halfway through. You're up with number 17. I actually had Sam Darnold ahead of Brock Purdy and Trevor Lawrence, even though I think it's a conversation. Those guys are all in the same tier. So he would be, he's 15th for me, what's 17th, I think for us in our draft. And that would be my top 17, basically. That would be off the board. So we're just a little bit different of an order basically there. I think with Darnold with me, I'm just really - Very different if you've got Darnold over Purdy.

1:29:47Lawrence, I can see that. And I feel dumb about Lawrence. I've got Darnold one spot over Purdy and I've gone back and forth on this. I think there's a lot of different ways to see it because Purdy, I think has been better now for like consistently who he is for longer, which is like a pretty good guy, a guy in this range or like, or a little bit higher, maybe in the best moments of his career for a couple of years now. And Donald, there's still like, there's unpredictability to like, he's great for Minnesota. Then he like falls apart at the end of the season. It's like, uh-oh, like, and you know, last year, mostly great for Seattle and they obviously win the Super Bowl.

1:30:18For last season, he wasn't just good for Seattle. He was like in the MVP conversation. I think people forget about that. But for most of the season, he was in that conversation and playing at a really, really high level for a team that was among the best in the league that entire time. The operation of the offense, being able to play pure dropback football, high degree difficulty throws down the field. Like a lot of that stuff's there. Now he'll take a lot of sacks. He'll get hit some. Like he makes some boneheaded throws. He throws the other team sometimes. And there's real lows to him where we talked about with Bo Nix, like there's not really the valleys like as much.

1:30:50There's those with Sam Darnold. Like I don't know that that's ever going to completely go away. but he has a lot of physical and mental tools uh ability to play different ways and different systems that give you a real fighting chance i think you can design some different things and his he doesn't have a skill set that's like oh there's a lid on it he can't do all these different things take everything off the menu there's obviously he operated this offense specifically play action stuff but he can throw the middle of the field he throws the ball down the field aggressively he's not going to be scared so you don't take a ton off the menu with him which is why I really like him and so this range I think I just won a Super Bowl maybe he wasn't the number one factor in that but I also don't think he was like a forgotten factor in that either it wasn't like this team was grind ground and pound football and just great defense old throwback team and obviously the defense was awesome but it wasn't like that was the style football that they played he had to be he had to make plays in almost all these games and he consistently made them and so I think he's more than just a you know plug anybody in there and they would have done this last year.

1:31:51I don't think that at all. I think he's a good player. So he probably, this group, I think, going up to maybe one more after Trevor Lawrence, we'll talk about the next guy, 18th on my list. He's the most, just a hard one to figure out, I think. But those probably ends the guys that I'm like excited about in the league as being a starting quarterback for me. But I think I'm at the point where I'd feel pretty decent if Sam Darnold was my starting quarterback compared to what the downside could be with about half the rest of the league. But yeah, fourth in completion percentage over expected, He said 19th in QBR, but 9th in PFF.

1:32:21Even his numbers are all over the place. Yeah, his weaknesses are still what they've always been. He led the NFL in interceptions against disguised coverages and turned it over a lot when pressured in general. But the highs, the pluses, you mentioned the down-the-field throws, really good, and his functional athleticism is really good, I think, too, in terms of what he can do with the rollouts. I have him in this tier of kind of, for me, it's like a 16, 17 to 20 tier of guys you're happy with, you can obviously win with. And yeah, he's right smack in the middle of that tier for me. I have Hurts next.

1:32:56I don't know if that's who you were referring to, is Jalen Hurts, who's a tough one to deal with. No, you have him much slower. Ultimately, I got to give him some respect. He's four years now removed from his coming in second in MVP. The biggest concern I have with him, because his strengths and weaknesses have been talked to death. Look, he's an outside-the-numbers thrower. He's a good deep ball thrower, but he seems to know what he's good at, what he's not good at. I'm just worried that his running ability is not coming back. And that would really make him a much more limited quarterback because his short yardage running straight ahead, he's never been as good side to side as people thought.

1:33:39But it really added a lot of value and I think opened up things that it worries me. but I'm going to give him some credit for durability and not assume that the athleticism is gone. And obviously, you can perform at a high level with them when things are clicking. We're in that group of quarterbacks now for me. There's three guys left where I think their highs are good enough to still be in the top 20 for me. But we've entered 18, 19, 20 range for me of quarterbacks, which is kind of where I see maybe a tear break right now, I'd say, where these guys I don't trust every week to be good, and maybe they're just straight up a negative for my team.

1:34:19And so Hurts is in that group. He's the second one in this three-person group that I have. But the highs are also – I mean, Jalen Hurts has played two of the best games in the Super Bowl that we've seen, and I struggle to rectify that with the rest of what the player I watch weekly in the league, and I'm just like, man, this offense is so limited. He won't throw to certain areas of the field. He doesn't play with instructors. He doesn't trust people. He only throws certain types of balls. You have to have a great run game. The protection's amazing, and yet still he holds it and holds it. And he's really not that unbelievable creator.

1:34:50And I just see all these limitations show up when I'm watching him week to week to week. And then he just lights it on fire in two Super Bowls. And I'm like, look, he played out of his mind. I mean, one of those years, he was pretty great the whole season. And that's when he had the running. I mean, one thing he's not going to do is throw an interception and turn the ball over. So that combination of just some big plays with being very careful with the ball. But yeah, he can be a frustrating guy to watch. All right, who else is in this tier for you at nine? So Baker Mayfield's one spot ahead of him for me.

1:35:20And you could make any of those. But he's another one that, again, I love that you don't have to take stuff off the menu with him. He has a physical arm strength. He has enough athleticism. You can do kind of anything you want with your offense with him hypothetically. You just have to accept the fact that everything you do is going to be inconsistent because he's not a consistent player. where he will get super hyped up in the pocket, hold the ball. He won't throw it open. People turn down plays and you just have all these frustrations with him. So there's a ton on the menu. He can make every throw on the field.

1:35:48He's the moxie, the leadership, all that kind of stuff. I think you have more questions there with hurts. Although some people praise hurts for it. There's obviously been some drama. There's been enough smoke there where there has to be some fire right over the years with Baker. I think there obviously there was early in his career when Tampa Bay, It's been nothing but praise for him in that regard. They love the Demeter, the player. Everybody in the team loves. All that stuff is positives at this point with him. And the fact that you can operate an offense with him. He's also an unbelievable ball handler.

1:36:15Kind of an underrated part about his game is that the run game in Tampa got to be so versatile that year under Cohen because he was such a good ball handler. They could do all the pony stuff and the fakes, and that was a real compelling part of his game. But there's just some limitations. He's going to make a lot of mistakes. He's going to miss throws. He's going to miss open guys. He's not going to play within the structure all the time. As often as you want him to, he's going to invite his own pressure. And so you just have to live with this roller coaster a little bit with him that, you know, is clearly better than some of the guys behind him in the last, you know, half league spots in this list or whatever, 12, 13 spots, but just not as good as the peak guys.

1:36:49I think he's like this tier especially is again, proving the point that I'm talking about. The fact that Baker Mayfield, who's coming off one of his, you know, worst seasons, I would say, although he's had an up and down career, but certainly in Tampa, but still like 19th, 20th in EPA and success rate and 12th in QBR. He scrambled way too much last year. Like he's just taken off. He was making it happen for a while, but the percentage when he was pressured, you know, and that's the thing you mentioned, the streakiness, but the fact that he's 19th, I mean, I really do believe if you went and looked at some of the years, like there was a really dire period, like at the end of the 2010s 2010s where what Baker is right now would be the ninth best quarterback in the NFL.

1:37:32So I don't blame the Bucs for thinking and really knowing that they can win with Baker. He's just streakier. I have Kyler Murray next at 20. And the numbers have always been kind of middle of the pack. But how he gets there is frustrating. He reminds me a little bit of Trevor Lawrence, maybe a better version of him for most of his career. but that there's a part of reading the game and instincts. And by reading the game, I mean when to push doing one thing, when to know when to take a risk. It's almost like Kyler has to be told like, okay, start running more. Then he starts running more for a little while.

1:38:12And then he pulls back from running more. Throw to the middle of the field more. Then he's, instead of it all just naturally flowing. And yet, at his best, he's incredible and he's talented. And even with the ups and downs, he's a solid starting quarterback with a with a real ceiling. There's been streakiness to it. But I mean, man, he throws he throws a pretty ball and is a hell of a runner. I think at this point of his career, it's going to be figuring out, calibrate how to avoid the hits, when to run, when not to and everything. But but I totally get why the Vikings made that bet. And I would have made it even even if you had to pay him much more money and they didn't have to.

1:38:48yeah one of the peak examples of this type of player right we're just these crazy hot streaks there's been what four or five times in his career where after a three-week stretch people like is Kyler Murray in the MVP conversation right and then you question if he's a starting quarterback the next week like and so just yeah doesn't play consistently within the structure of an offense I really question the leadership stuff with him I question some of that that aspect of the game with him like the ability to consistently buy into a team concept and get other people to buy and I think that's important at this position I don't know that he's ever done that at a high level i don't know that he's ever bought it himself he will love loves to play hero mode not a structure and obviously his great traits but that's just not led to a lot of consistency in his career so a guy wouldn't necessarily be excited about my team taken as quarterback but he is also 20th for me so same top 20 different orders uh for us my next guy would be huge question mark i really don't know where to go from here there's a bunch of cases this There are a bunch of cases that can be made, and it's for 2026 is what I keep telling myself.

1:39:46Who wrote one for 2026? And I think, I think, and I don't know, but I think the answer, is the answer Daniel Jones? It feels so unfun to me, but the answer might be Daniel Jones. It's fine. He's always been better than people thought when he was the worst court, you know, when he was terrible, and he's not as good as people thought, certainly in the first half of last year. if you're if you have healthy Danny Dimes this is you know he deserves to be here or if you had healthy Danny Dimes you you might even want him you know you know a couple spots higher you might and he played well last season and you know I have to give some credit to that I think if he hadn't played well last season I don't even think I'd have him in this tier but that offense was a really good one and like the system around him like he wasn't like in in a mess like he was with the Giants and so I am a little bit compelled like if he hadn't gotten hurt like could he be a guy who like would be maybe more in the Baker tier.

1:40:38Like, would he be in the high teens or, you know, he's 21 from a year. So it's not like he's much lower than that, but like, you know, maybe there's something like that too. So maybe he's the safest bet. There are guys with way more upside than him though that I'm sure you will pick next. So like, that's compelling too. Heavy, heavy play action last year. It sounds positive. The torn Achilles that he'll be ready for training camp was crazy good, unsustainably good, avoiding sacks and versus pressure early last season. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze.

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1:44:31Save money. Check lift. I don't know. I don't think I'm taking someone that you would take. Here I'll plant another flag that I'm that I'm happy to do, which is after watching Tyler Shucks tape last year. Talk about being wrong about a player. I was so low on Shuck coming into the draft. just thought he wasn't going to be able to handle pressure. And he did take a lot of sacks. That is the number one concern that I have for him. But man, he also hung in there like Ryan Tannehill style, just getting destroyed and making some really good next level bros. The only quarterbacks that had a higher pressure to sack ratio, by the way, last year was Geno Smith, who Chuck almost kind of reminds me of sometimes with the way that he can throw the ball into smaller windows and over the middle of the field and Brady Cook.

1:45:20But I loved how fast he got through his reads. The arm was strong enough, a lot of opposite field. And I just thought he showed more as a rookie. So for 2026, I'd rather have him than Dart or Ward. I think he showed a lot. He's no Drake May, but in the same way that I felt like I know what I saw from Drake May's rookie year and made me feel good, I feel like I know what I saw from Tyler Shuck. I think he's an NFL quarterback. The health is obviously a bit of a concern based on college, but I like Tyler Shuck this year. well this is i was just being a coward until you picked one of the second year quarter because i just have absolutely no idea what to think coming off of those rookie years where shuck did look like the best guy down the stretch he was situation was just strength frankly way better than the one cam ward was in for sure jackson dart looked good at times he also has hurt all the time his play is really reckless i just i don't know that 2026 even though you could say he was better than ward and maybe as good as shook last year at some points, at least.

1:46:17I don't know that he would be high on my list 2026. I just really question whether he's going to stay on the field. I have other questions about Cam Ward. I have questions about Bryce Young. I'm going to go Fernando Mendoza. We can do that, right? We can take rookies. Yes. Yes. We should have talked about that. I think I did. I pointed out in text. We can take multiple Raiders if you want. You know, who knows if Kirko Chains gets taken here. He might. I think I'm just like, I mean, what? This is 23rd for me, I think, on my list. Yeah, 23rd. So this range, like, yeah, this is where I'm good. Like I would like to go into 2026 with Fernando Mendoza if the other 22 guys ahead of him are off the list.

1:46:52I would just rather shoot that shot and take that chance. I think there's a real chance that he's the guy long term. I don't think he's unbelievable. I don't think this is an unbelievable prospect, but I think he's a pretty good one. I think the floor might be higher than some other guys we've seen at this position, even if you will wrestle with what the ceiling is and how good the team around him needs to be to reach that ceiling. I would rather be in that conversation I think than some of these more unpredictable what does it happen week to week you know conversations so if he was not in year one I would probably have him above Kyler and maybe other guys but like I need to see it in the league first before I would that's too disrespectful I guess but I think I I think I mean I believe in him maybe more than Cam Ward after seeing Cam Ward this year and I think Cam Ward's ceiling you know the potential of what he could be just when you look at some of the high degree difficulty throws with him or like jaw on the floor stuff i just have no idea if he's ever going to be consistent within the structure of an offense getting the ball out that kind of stuff with mendoza i just feel better that you'll be able to create something functional about him you think about sam darnel winning a super bowl right like i think he could be that kind of quarterback and obviously a lot of things were right for seattle but i i think that's in the cards for mendoza to be that type of guy and now he plays with that uh offensive coordinator as his head coach so i'm i think i'm just more intrigued by him than the guys below him even though there's certainly arguments for other players I think he I think it's a good value he's more athletic than than people give him credit for ideal size if he can pick up the the getting through his reads quickly and I think there's some good signs that he'll be able to do that it's just hard as a rookie so I didn't take him any earlier but that's that's absolutely the right spot to take him I'll man we're still talking about the second year guys and yet oh man you're gonna do it take him what Bryce Young Are you going to take him?

1:48:37Yeah. Well, that's, yeah. How did he know? Well, him or Dart, I'm thinking about. Malik Willis is in there. I want to just give Bryce Young some love. I think he improved on a lot of things a little. And that's how you get better, you know, as a pro. I think he got to his check down quicker. He avoided sacks better. His quick game was really good. And they were able to use it. It was the push and pull of figuring out Canales' offense. There was more empty formations finally, which I think is going to help him. There was a little more extending plays. He's a good outside the numbers thrower. There are limitations, but I do think you're seeing the benefit of the experience that he's had at the NFL level.

1:49:15So entering year four here, I do like them a little better than those year two guys, because I, at least I feel like he's kind of built up to where I know what he is and, and what he isn't, but I feel okay with him at 24. I do too. I still think there's a solid player in here. You could really make an argument that he should be as high as 20 maybe. And I think this will be a telling year, right? There's been like marginal improvement, I think, each year with him. But it's been marginal, right? He went from can he play in the league questions. Like that's where I was at when he got benched for Andy Dahl in the beginning of year two.

1:49:49It was will he even make it in the league? Like will this guy just be out of the league? Because he's not that functional as a backup. You have to design a whole offense around a super unique skill set. So like he really is like the ultimate boom bus guy, but he's just inching closer to booming, but he's just not really there either. So like it's it's funny the space that he's found himself in where he's like one of the players that I would feel most assuredly will not be where he is now. Like he will either be off this list entirely out of the league, out of the question, like maybe just because of the pedigree, people will keep taking chances at him on a roster or he's going to make a jump this year with out Dave can ask calm plays.

1:50:25And I don't think Dave Knauss is necessarily the problem, but I'm really curious to see if another approach, the whole thing with Bryce Young has been similar to the Kyler Murray question, I think. But Kyler Murray, I think he doesn't want to ever buy into any offense because he wants to be his own guy. That's just who he is. I think Bryce Young would buy in. I just think he can't play in that many different offenses. So the fact that how do we design – Knauss wants to run the ball. He wants to do all these things. He wants to build this way. well Bryce Young wants to spread it around and throw the ball around the yard like be a point point guard type of quarterback and that's just hard like it's hard to structure a lot of other things offensively off a quarterback who wants to play that way and we've mentioned that a couple times now but I think that's the quandary the Panthers find themselves in and Canals recognizing maybe I'm not the right guy to tap into everything that he is but it's way easier to replace me than the quarterback or so I'm just gonna try that and if it doesn't work I'll probably get fired anyway like if he doesn't progress so I think making that move I'm really curious to see what happens this year with Bryce Young I could see a conversation a way that he gets into the top 15 if it does all just work and he's this super unique player unique system they have enough pieces now around him you could see Jalen Coker and Tetra McMillan and some of these guys like hitting their peak right like this season just taking off and but he's going to need to be like really good in that type of system that's going to put a lot on his shoulders in terms of decision making, you know, knowing where he's going with the ball pre-snap, all that kind of stuff.

1:51:49And there's advantages to it for an offense, but it also probably means your run game menu will be really limited, which puts more on his shoulders again. So it's going to be compelling. He is either that guy to the max or he's not a guy at all. Yeah. Alex Smith has always been my comp, although he's five inches shorter, not exactly as a style, but more of the career that I think Bryce Young can have if everything goes well and the type of type of ways that he won. All right, you're up with 25. Again, we got to get you back to the day job. But also everyone, as I mentioned, should be checking out John on Substack with Ollie when they do their podcast to read Optional.

1:52:29But John also does some great writing. There's a lot of Steelers. There's a lot of Bucs. He's got to be the foremost Steelers slash Bucs experts in the NFL. There are dozens of us. There are dozens of us. there's like two guys that are more that are compelling still to talk about to me maybe three i mean malik wills is certainly interesting i'll take cam ward next though just believe that i'm not pre-draft wasn't great last year still believe he can be better than that how good can he be how volatile is he still question questions there i think but i i mean the situation around so bad i don't feel like i learned that much from his rookie season so just based on that maybe i should have him higher the only reason i don't is because it's for 2026 and i'm just not sure they're that much better and so that's why he's not higher to me i think long-term career wise he would be over he would be in the high teens for me probably or maybe even mid-teens for me probably mid-teens for me because i still do believe there's a really good player in there for 2026 i don't know if it's gonna look great yet i i think he's in just a one of the worst franchise one of the worst situations in the league that that's tough um look the the weapons are better the coaching hopefully should be better.

1:53:39One concerning to me is he had the lowest mark of completion percentage when receivers were open last year, which you see it on tape. NGS measures like a guy has three yards of separation. His completion percentage on those throws were the lowest. You want to see him scramble just a little bit more, but he's got a chance. The wow plays were wow. Again, a note of how deep the quarterback position is that he would go this late. I'll go Malik Willis, my top free agent. The offseason report shouldn't bother me about how slow it's going, picking up this offense. But also, it does bother me a little and just reminds me of like, oh my God, Malik Washington's like their number one receiver.

1:54:23This is going to be so hard. And Bobby Slowik is his offensive coordinator. But he might be the best running quarterback in the NFL right now. I think he is. If I had to choose who gives you the most on the ground, just as a pure runner, make you miss it's Malik Willis. That gives you a nice floor. He had a lot of deep throws last year, limited sample size, but the talent is intriguing. Malik Willis at 26. Yeah. Got to be fun to watch at the very least. Like I'm excited for that, that part of it. I think I will go Jackson dart here. He's nobody's taking him right. He's still, that's right. That they're still sitting there.

1:54:59I'll take them. you know just what were we at 20 27 yes I'm really torn on him. I thought he was okay as a prospect where I think he got a lot of hate. I was kind of like, I think he's solid. I'd take him in the second round. I think he'd be that kind of a guy. I don't know if I would have traded up for him or not, but take him in the second round for a quarterback. He kind of had a solid starter type of grade for me in the league where he'd be in this range, probably maybe in the higher 20s, a little bit higher in the 20s, late teens type of ceiling. um i think that's basically who he is like i'm curious to see what it looks like if he's when he's out able to sustain health i think giants fans are going to be pretty upset that he's that he's this low but you know and i'd probably have him ahead of willis maybe personally but you know i think you could make that argument either way willis is compelling and exciting and you know i think both of these guys have some you know leadership tendencies that are going to be really interesting to tap into very different um in a lot of ways and so i think that there's going to be when they're given sort of like the show to run what's that going to look like um over a longer period of time i just really question that dart is gonna like he seems like he just kind of plays dumb football and i don't mean like in terms of turnovers just like he's just kind of reckless and doesn't really think through things when he does them and i you know obviously the injuries are a part of that but like even plays where he wasn't injured there was a lot of just like yeah i can take it i can get hammered and i just i'm not sure like but the but the upside plays aren't like that but he's like he was like oh but he's all the payoff on the other side of this creation is just unbelievable i didn't really see that so there's definitely it's more of a ceiling here than some of the guys ahead of him but i still have questions i think as to whether he's going to sustain as an nfl starting quarterback to me there's yeah even just comparing him and willis for instance like the baseline of willis is running and then the experience that willis had in the matt lafleur system for multiple years it was kind of the edge for me whereas i I feel like Dart's going to still need more seasoning.

1:56:56I do think the athleticism and the highs were a little higher, better than even expected. But he was a first-read quarterback, really. Once it was after the first read, he's scrambling around. Things didn't go that well. That's Jackson Dart at 27. Now we're really getting into it. The fact that Jackson Dart's 27, again, it's pretty good. It wouldn't surprise me at all if Jackson Dart's a top-10 quarterback at some point in his career, and he's fallen here at 27th. I think I'll take our guy Mac Jones. Okay, the NFL, you know, every quarterback's a system quarterback, right? What's the most popular system out there in the NFL, John?

1:57:38What system dominates this league? We know Mac Jones fits in this system. Hell, you can throw him in a Jaguars weird system a couple years ago and actually can spin it pretty well for them too. So he is an ideal backup, really. um if you're in a pinch he's a bridge starter 1b but uh i i i liked that um he kind of combines understanding what to do with with aggressiveness not a lot of athleticism obviously but that's why he's a backup and i feel like he would fit on a lot of teams and just kind of upgrade your team yeah just the ceiling with him because there's not much movement ability and i think just limited tools overall but yeah he's definitely a guy that you can get to like learn the system master the system play within the system and be solid for you i think there's absolutely his numbers are crazy last year he's like top five completion over expected top five success right he lit up the rams a couple times lit up is maybe a little strong but he played well against the rams in two games so i give him a little he was in this spot for me too the other guy that i still i will i'll take next year it was the 29th gino smith i know that last year was just absolute disaster i still think there's some bounce back potential there is that gonna happen with the jets probably not but I still think his years in Seattle were legit good and I don't think you could talk me off his years in Seattle being legit good like that that happened that was real and I don't know like I just still think he's not just going to totally fall apart as a player the way that it looked last season last season was a complete disaster in every stretch of the imagine every semblance of the thing was just a mess with the Raiders and so I even with the Jets which is just a terrible going for the Raiders to the Jets is truly should be something that never happens to a player in their career but it's happened to judo smith now but even then i think there's some some more of a chance for competency and i still think he's talented so i mean we're talking about 29 so it's not any great shakes a great praise but at least to be high in back of if not like a solid starter type i i think you could look at the end of this year and be like okay yeah he's back in like the 20 range of quarterbacks i don't think that's out of the question exactly where i had him i had these two 28 and 29 uh mac and in geno smith and the biggest upset of this entire draft is that I didn't take Geno or Drake May.

1:59:49Maybe I'm trying to overcorrect my own biases because I'm the president of Geno Nation. Only 35 years old? You know, I mean, that's young for quarterbacks these days. The stories that have come out about just the coaching and the offense with the Raiders, if nothing else, he's going to give his receivers a chance. Like the Jets reporters almost sound sad that they're like, it's shocking how much better the quarterback play is in offseason practices. And I'm just like, wow. It was rough there last year. RIP Justin Fields, who might not get taken here. I don't know. I'm going to go Kirk. I thought he played well at the end of last season.

2:00:28Me too. I think he's just a little bit better version of where Rodgers is right now. Neither one of them want to get hit. But if you keep him clean. Yeah, yeah. Kirk's just better at playing within the offense, I think, than Rodgers at this point. Neither one will want to get hit. Neither one will get hit much. I just think Kirk's better at actually like consistently playing to all areas of the field within a structure of an offense than Rogers is at this point. I think he's a little more fearless and a little more capable of going different places with the ball than Rogers is. This might, this might be Bucs coded because he, because Kirk Cousins is Todd Bowles' worst nightmare.

2:01:03So you as a, as a, as a Bucs enthusiast, uh, you know, you've seen the best of Kirk, although he really was moving better and playing better on a year further removed from Achilles. So I think that was big for him and Rodgers, but especially for Cousins last year. I think he's a great backup. He's perfect for the role that he's in. If I was Bucs coding Kirk Cousins' performances, I would have taken him top five. Because his last three games against Tampa have been unbelievable. Wait, is it my pick next? Yeah, okay. Yeah, is the Steelers guy going to fight? Is Rodgers finally going off the board?

2:01:37I can't believe you're making me do this. I can't believe it. He's next on my list. He's next on mine as well. I really flirted with taking the guy that I have 32nd over him just to say I didn't take Aaron Rodgers because if you don't want to take the other guy, take the other guy because it'll say I don't think I can justify it. I still fans will you maybe they'll forgive me to having him to this point, but I don't think they'd forgive my 32nd guy, although I think there's a chance it happens. But I Aaron Rodgers 31st. Yeah, I mean, it feels right. That's about the range for him. you know obviously you know we have what two backups three backups ahead of him so like there's some i just think if you're talking about like you still have a couple plays in you yeah sure he has that in him but like consistently sustainably good quarterback play no and he's also making more mistakes with the football he's had some terrible turnovers last year fumbles the sacks that he does take it's just an absolute car crash in the back feel like he doesn't defend him he has no like he just is like it's like he doesn't want to be out there but then he gets hit and it's just like a ton of bricks he's flying all over the place the body every time he gets hit he looks like he's not going to get back up and he doesn't want to get hit he's always angry when he gets hit i'm like that's kind of part of playing the position buddy you should retire if you don't want to do that and so it's just a hard needle to thread he's mad at young guys all the time even when he makes mistakes but that's just part of his leadership but i i don't i think in the locker room things are probably fine it's just if for a team that wants to evolve he doesn't really help you do that and he doesn't help you turn the next chapter necessarily so his place in the league i think is a really like might not exist if it wasn't for the steelers and they're like kind of archaic way of thinking as a franchise a little bit but we're at 31 and you know he can still make a few throws at times and look good for a quarter or two and you know inspire some hope just that arm is still pretty electric so he's got that going for him right like bryce young you have to run a very specific type of offense now with aaron rogers but It's not an offense I want to run.

2:03:32I just keep coming back to the number that stands out to me. When pressured last year, his success rate was worse than the league by a huge margin, like lower than Flacco, Cam Ward, and JJ McCarthy were the next ones. He just plays over, essentially. That leaves us at 32. I had Rodgers there at 31. I'm curious who you had. I'm going to show you at least how I wrote it down. I'm not sure if I'm going to draft it this way. But these are the next guys. Tua is there. Jacoby Brissett's there. Michael Penix is there. And I wrote down Mariota, but now we're getting pretty deep. Mariota, that's the guy.

2:04:12That's who I had. Yeah, I mean, we're 32, so it is what it is. But I think Washington's offense last year was actually, by a lot of metrics, they were like 18th to 22nd. Oh, yeah. His numbers were great last year. I think he's developed into one of the best backups in the league. He was eighth in completion percentage over expected, like led the league in downfield attempts. Like he's willing to throw it into tight windows, you know, in terms of our rates that and pretty average in success rate. Like there wasn't a big drop off, Jaden, to him. Yeah, I think he's just, yeah, he doesn't. A lot of things about his game have kind of smoothed out.

2:04:47He's never going to be great, obviously. He's in those 30 second range of career backup. He's 30, this will be his age, 33 season. So like obviously a lot of questions. But if you're just saying like, does he give you a better chance to win? Would you rather have him than all the guys you mentioned, which are also the other guys that I've written down here? Yeah, I think he does. I don't know. I do think like with Stefanski, sorry to pick up. I do think with Stefanski, Tua could look a little more like Tua again. He does have some skill set that I'm not totally giving up on. He is an NFL quarterback to me.

2:05:20That was a difficult situation. I think mentally, everything, he was really just going through it. And yet my producer, Eric Roberts, knows me well. I mean, Jacoby's my guy. I'm just, you know, I've always been team Jacoby. That's just a guy. And I can take him here at 32. What the hell? Let's take Jacoby Brissett. There you go. Let's have some fun. I like Jacoby too. Let's just sling it. He's next for me. Here are Penix for Brian X for me. Yeah. It'll be interesting. He just keeps having to learn a new offense every single season, Jacoby Brissett. and he's going to have to sign that contract and get in and actually learn this offense.

2:05:59I think the leash is going to be very short for him. But for the most part, Patriots era accepted, you know, the 2.0. With Tua, I think for me. He's got to give you credible play. Like you kind of know what you're getting with Jacoby. So I'm going to take it. With Tua for me, just quickly to address him. I don't know when I'd pick him because the odds, if I'm just picking him for 2026, because the odds he'd get hurt are high, I think. And then I'd have to be with a backup. And then the upside, if he doesn't get hurt, is not great enough for me to inherit the risk. So that's where I kind of see his career at this point.

2:06:35So maybe I'm overthinking it by looking at it so practically. But I think that's probably why I wouldn't take him maybe for another couple spots even. But it is possible that there's still a season in there for him and that he ends up being in this 20s range. He was the next one I wrote down because I actually think with Stefanski, he might have the highest ceiling of these guys, actually. And it's not crazy, but we've seen his ceiling where you're just like, okay, in rhythm, he does what he does well in the right offense. He can get some buckets for you, but I don't trust him in the end, so I'm taking Jacoby.

2:07:10We did it, John. We've been going a little longer with all these NFL Daily 32s as we've gone, but we have set the record together. But it makes sense. It's the quarterbacks. That's right. It's a lot to talk about. It really is for this position. For sure. It's a lot. You're the best, John. Appreciate. Like I said, everyone check out his work, audibles and analytics, and then the podcast, the read optional. And yeah, we wanted to give you a big chunky episode because this is going to be our last one of this week. It's going to sit over the long holiday weekend as the NFL daily crew hit that music.

2:07:45You know, it takes, it takes a nice little break. Not much of one. We'll be back next week. Jordan Rodriguez, he covered there. And man, it was fun. I don't think we're done with NFL Daily 32, but we did the receivers. We've got the skill positions now taken care of and the quarterbacks are in the books. We will see you next week. Enjoy the 4th of July.

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