Preseason Power Rankings

19:44The Lions, the Chiefs of 49, all these teams you're putting the Bengals way ahead of. And to me, yeah, this is projection. This is prediction. This is in power rankings because they're not that powerful until I see it.

19:59Nick Shook:That's fair. But I think power rankings before the start of the preseason is nothing but projection. Fair, fair. Sometimes it's evidence-based. Sometimes it's, you know, projecting, right? let's let's identify a few things real quickly with this team that have been pretty consistent themes over the last few years one Joe Burrow has struggled to stay healthy and if throughout a full season over the last few and their defense hasn't been able to stop a nosebleed for the last three their offensive line has been meh and it's gotten more credit than I think it deserves and we've known what they've had at receiver and that's basically been their story to the point where we thought maybe Zach Terrell Zach Taylor might get fired well no he didn't he's the only that survived this past offseason the AFC North and there's a reason for that because if he has his quarterback then he has a much better chance of success if he can also get some you know solid performance from his defense and I you know when you heard Joe Burrow earlier this offseason say this is the most talented roster I've been on since I was at LSU you know in terms of just comparing you started pressing plus one plus one move him up a spot Joey B is happy this is around the horn yeah yeah but then i the the passage of time can produce some interesting results and the more i thought about it the more i i consider the fact that i love their secondary i think dj turner had an incredible second half last year and he's one of the most underrated guys in the nfl right now that everybody's going to start to know about this year if they pay attention i don't think they're going to have to pay that much attention to get to know him Dexter Lawrence is a huge upgrade on the interior.

21:27Nick Shook:They also added Jonathan Allen, a veteran with plenty of experience. Maybe not top, you know, he's not a top tier player anymore. But, I mean, that's a good pairing right there. Mafe comes in as an edge rusher. Cassius Howell making some noise in camp as a specialized pass rusher. I look at this and I think, okay, I could start to see it. They got athletes at the second level of the defense. Do I like the fact that Oren Burks is slotted as a potential starter at this point? No. Because he's been a veteran depth guy in his last three stops. but overall I can see the vision with this group and again I think this is a team that knows how to put up points if they can get solid play from their defense they're going to be right there they're going to be right there in the AFC North race and beyond and that's why they're behind the Ravens but they're still up here in the top eight ahead of the Texans is is uh outrageous because I don't have any then let me explain that real quick I need to see it from that offense this is not a CJ Stroud thing this is the offense losing Nico Collins late hurt them they've had those they've had that bad offense and still been winning a lot of games.

22:24Nick Shook:And they get to the divisional round with the defense. So if I'm going to put them ahead of a team that might be more balanced in Jacksonville or Cincinnati, I'm going to need to see it proven by this offense. I think the addition of David Montgomery is going to be a big pickup and Nico Collins coming back healthy is going to be good. But as of now, this is where they stand. You know, who was a lot more balanced than the Bengals the last three years, the Texans, you know, as bad as that offense was, it was better than the Bengals defense. That's for sure. But I get it. But see, it's all interpretation.

22:53Power rankings to me before the season is tricky because you're right. We're just projecting things differently. I would have the Bengals lower until they proved it for this exercise. To me, they've been the AFC Cowboys who are in our next grouping. I just like the Bears Cowboys there at 10 and 11. The NFL is good that, you know, it's got the Bears and the Cowboys kind of on the comeback trail here. They're similar to me. We need the Raiders back in the mix, too, because they're similar to me, too. But just the expectations are high for both of these teams. I love the Dan Pompey column about Ben Johnson that came out on Wednesday.

23:33And it has a quote from Ben Johnson. He's a total maniac. But he said, you've got 31 other teams coming to training camp saying our goal is to win the Super Bowl. I want more than that. I want to have the highest scoring offense ever. which happens to be the 2013 Denver Broncos. I know how many points per game they scored, 37.9, and I want to surpass them. I want shutouts. I want blowouts. Then he went and asked the author, what's the longest winning streak in the history of the NFL? It was the Patriots who did it over two seasons. What was it, 21 games? He's like, I want to do that. The whole thing is insane, but it got me fired up, and it got me to make a point here that I haven't much on the show yet, which is that Caleb Williams, by all accounts, despite all the injuries around him has looked incredible at camp.

24:21And there is a world where he goes up another level and Ben Johnson's insanity is something that gets me going. Even if it, if it's like borderline unhealthy, if you read the article, very John Gruden, by the way.

24:36Nick Shook:Yeah. Young John Gruden. Look, you got to be a little crazy to find success as a coach in the NFL. You just do. You have to be a little bit delusional to really get to that mountaintop. and I firmly believe that Caleb will take that next step because of the progress that he made last year just over the course of the season. Their biggest flaw was that oftentimes they needed him to be his absolute best just to win football games. And I'm concerned, and a lot of this power ranking is related to what's happened in training camp so far. They have suffered multiple losses in the secondary and this was filed before we found out that Kobe Bryant's going to miss most of the season.

25:10Nick Shook:They've been in crisis mode in that secondary for the last week or so. And it's a weakness that I'm worried about. Now, offensively, I think that they'll be strong. I do think that they're going to miss DJ Moore a little bit because they're putting a lot on the shoulders of Luther Burden, which I believe that he has the talent to live up to that. But it's about delivering on your talent, which we know oftentimes those two things don't align. I fully believe in Caleb and Ben Johnson and what they can produce. But when it comes to this team overall, I'm not putting them as a regression candidate necessarily because this is still the top NFC North team I have on this list.

25:45Nick Shook:It's just that they don't land inside the top nine because of what's happened so far this season during training camp. I mean, where would they have been even to finish like last regular season right around that? So you're not painting them with a big regression brush. You have the Cowboys improving, but not like, you know, an insane amount. I think a healthy amount there at 11. So some optimism that they're a playoff type of team. do you like the fact that after the Rams joint practice and yes we do have uh our joint practice winners coming up at the very end of the show very quickly um do you like that as the Rams were filing off the field in blistering hot Thousand Oaks they're back at their team facility which is far away from the oceanic uh training camp uh spot they had before which has a nice breeze and And it's like, you know, in the 70s.

26:35Now they're in 95 degree weather. The Rams are all leaving. And the Cowboys players on their own decided, we're going to do the conditioning that we've been doing at the end of every practice. Even without our coaches asking. We're going to be doing like 20 yard suicides with Dak Prescott and DeMarvion Overshown leading the way. And you almost see some Rams players walking by and muttering under their breath. Like, is this try hard training camp nonsense? or does it show that they got the fire in them and Brian Schottenheimer is that dude?

27:05Nick Shook:Usually I'll call it try-hard stuff, but not with this team because this is exactly what this team needs. This team needs some motivation and some clear intent. And the idea of having Dak leading that makes me excited. It makes me excited because I think they believe the changes that they made this offseason and put them in a position to contend. It's what I think is going to happen with them this year. I think they're going to be one of the teams that despite being the Dallas Cowboys are going to improve pretty significantly on their finish last year. And I don't know if I want to say surprise because they wear the star on their helmet.

27:31Nick Shook:They're always in the conversation, but I think they're going to surprise some people. Yeah, they're getting a lot of buzz. Yeah, as long as everything on the defensive side comes together, which so far, so good, I think this is going to be one of the very good team in the NFL and a fun team to watch this year. Yeah, I think they're going to get a lot of pop coming into the season in terms of predictions, but you have them right around where I would expect them to be slotted. I think George Pickens is a huge X factor, but I have to admit I am encouraged by the fact that multiple Cowboys beat writers and podcasts have been listening to say that he's been the best player in camp.

28:06And so that gives me confidence that like he's been an up and down player throughout his career, but he found something here. And maybe what he found was Dak Prescott as his quarterback instead of like Mason Rudolph. But he knows how important this year is for his future. And so far, so good, because to me, he's he's the biggest X factor. My next group, two more teams that are outside your top 10, but inside, I guess what would be a roughly playoff team, Patriots at 12. I think that's fair, even coming off the Super Bowl in 13. I think there's holes in this team. And if they made the playoffs again, I think that's a good season for them.

28:46I just wanted to ask you something we were kicking around at Chargers practice on Tuesday. jordan love or justin herbert i knew this is gonna be the talk um you did how did you know that i

29:03Nick Shook:because i've been hearing this a lot lately this is they're getting they're getting paired a lot in preseason talks yeah um so who so who it was really hard for me and i have to admit i know who I stuck with Herbert because it's like sunk cost fallacy, maybe that I've I'm so in and nothing has taken me out. You know, the playoff games haven't been great, but it's not enough that I'm going to back out of it. But man, as it was so hard for me to make that choice that, you know, I don't know. I also lean Herbert, but it's by a hair. There's something in me that just, I have this faith in him that like when, when the chips are down and he's got to go make a play, he's going to do it.

29:46Nick Shook:It's not that Jordan Love can't do it. It's just that I don't have that same high level of confidence in him yet. Otherwise the talents there, the arms there, the athleticism, you know, the, the improvisation, the, the arm strength, and just the, the beauty of the way the ball comes out of both of their hands. It's all there. It's just a matter of like in crunch time. If I had to choose between the two, I'm taking Herbert as of right now. Of course, you think about situation around the two. And I think Love has benefited from a better offensive line situation. Not significantly better, but better than the disaster Herbert's been playing behind for the last couple of years.

30:20Nick Shook:But otherwise, I mean, they're both very close, but I'm still leaning Herbert. Okay. How about them or Drake May for both this year and long term? i i would assume most people would take may long term but that not everyone i would certainly but for this year i think it's an interesting question can can may year three already like kind of stabilize and be at or above that level ultimately i'm gonna believe in my guy and my guy is drake may but i think it's a fair question so i think what's gonna happen is right now it goes herbert love may and by november it's may herbert love and that's how much aj brown's gonna mean to him i think that they're gonna put up some serious fireworks together and it's gonna improve his already sparkling reputation very quickly uh and that'll carry on through the long term as well yeah the reports from from that joint practice you know just they're just spamming aj brown both the connection with him and dobbs have gotten better but i think the packers and the Patriots were a canny, like a perfect pairing together.

31:26Because to me, the quarterbacks you love, the offensive system you really like, and I'm really optimistic about this year. But there's a lot of just peeking under the hood questions about lots of different parts of the team. The secondary for each, the offensive lines for each, and injuries and depth at defensive edge position. So I think they're very similar. Let's go to your next group, which fascinates me. 14 through 16. Lions, Chiefs, Niners. And my big question, and you've got to make some choices, but why are the Niners so far back? Because I mentioned teams of the decades earlier. They've earned some sort of respect.

32:05If I just go through the rosters and talk about how good the 49ers are at the very top level, they're right. They're close to that Eagles team in terms of top end talent. And I also struggle to see the Lions this low, too, because they've got such great continuity of great, great players in terms of Amon Ra and Gibbs and Jameson and Panay Sewell and Hutchins. Those are real deal guys. I know there's questions of depth. And this category is where my point from earlier really stands out. Because if you gave me the Lions, the Chiefs, and the 49ers, Shook, okay, and you get your 4-5-6 team, Eagles, Bills, Ravens, I think I got a fighting chance here to beat you in overall wins this year with 14 through 16.

32:57I don't think that's crazy at all. Lions, Chiefs, and 49ers going better than Ravens, Bills, Eagles. I probably would take your 4-5-6, but I think it's close.

33:07Nick Shook:Okay, so that's you showing respect to the coaching staffs that exist with the latter three, as opposed to the new ones with the former three, the ones that are ranked higher at this point. and i respect that and i understand that um have you ever done a spring cleaning in like your you know with like a closet and and you let's say instead of just like picking and purging you kind of like just take full stock of everything and you lay everything out right and then you start to reorganize and you you put some things in a pile to donate to goodwill or whatever and you feel good and then you look over and you're like oh no i still have this pile of stuff and and suddenly i don't have room i don't know where to put it that's how i felt with this group because I'm like, wait a minute, you're telling me right now that I got the Lions at 14.

33:47Nick Shook:I got the Niners at 16 Chiefs. I can understand being at 15. How did they end up this low? I am going to catch some flack for this. But in the order of all of it, I also can't justify moving them ahead of many of these teams. I was just kind of stuck with this group of three. And it really comes down to some questions with all three. Also, what's happened in training camp? We know that the Niners are already dealing with a number of injuries, both at receiver and beyond. And I hate that that's just a consistent theme with this team. It also shouldn't be the biggest red flag for them because they've overcome it in the past.

34:15Nick Shook:But do you really want to make that journey that difficult on yourselves? That's why I kind of put them down a little bit lower. I don't think I'm just in self-examination and self-critique here. I don't think that I'm putting enough respect on the name of Brock Purdy and this group. But I also am getting George Kittle off of an injury. I'm getting I've already lost Ricky Pearsall, Christian Kirk coming off of some sort of injury situation. Even the young guys, Stribling, a guy who's turned a lot of heads, dealing with injuries. that sort of thing throughout this camp. And it just makes me think like, God, is this going to be another year in which they're going to have to overcome so much of this injury related stuff that it's going to kind of hurt their overall value.

34:49Nick Shook:So that's where they stand right now, but that could be very different very quickly. Whereas with the Lions, I still think about this whole group and what happened last year with them and how they've had to reshuffle their offensive line and losing Cade Mays to a wrist injury. Because I had written in there that, you know, adding him was going to be a big boost for this offensive line and getting back to the strong unit that they were a few years ago, which is very key to their offensive success, which then ends up being very key to their overall success. That takes a hit that drops them down a little bit, makes me a little more concerned about their trajectory.

35:19Nick Shook:We've kind of broken down their roster in the past already, but I still have some questions about what they look like defensively, especially opposite Aiden Hutchinson. I know I like DJ Wanam. I like Derek Moore and what they've got there, but I just feel a little bit concerned about their front. And then the chiefs, it's like, when I first did this, they were a little bit higher. And then I took a step back and I thought, well Mahomes is coming off the ACL we don't really know exactly if he's going to be the same Mahomes right away and it's not like it's easy when they face the Broncos to start the season and they still have some questions there's some there's a lot of uncertainty with the fact that they basically revamped their secondary both because they wanted to and they needed to they had departures you know Jalen Watson leaves the tradeaway Trent McDuffie they they're putting a lot on Mansoor Delane to come in and play you know a key spot at corner opposite Legereus Sneed I like the idea of adding Cater Coghu, but I just feel a little weird about this defense.

36:09Nick Shook:Steve Magnolo deserves a lot of credit for what he can do with the defense, but that's a group that I need to see prove that they can be effective before I just blindly believe they're going to. And receiver for them. I'll blindly believe it. They're the Chiefs. Like, everyone wanted to kill them. That's the problem that we have with this group, because let's look at what they did last year. They never became a job. They're just going to figure it out. Last year, going into it, everyone's like, one score regression. They're going to take a step back because they were so lucky winning by one score.

36:35They were the most unlucky team in the NFL last year. They had the worst one score record of all time. I just think with Mahomes, you're right. I thought when you were making the analogy earlier about putting everything to the side and you're like, dang, what do I have left here? What am I doing with this stuff? I thought you were just going to be talking about the Chiefs roster. Because when you look at it, it's just like, oh, what is really here? But ultimately, Mahomes, Reed, Washes, most of it away. But I also don't want to do the thing that we do around Hall of Fame time or all pro time where we're like, he should be first team.

37:09Like, OK, but who are you going to move down? He should be in the Hall of Fame. OK, who are you taking out? And so, like, who are you moving down if you're moving these teams up? I might move down like the Cowboys, the Bengals, maybe the Bears a little bit under some of these teams. But Reasonable Minds can disagree. And it really points out it's a season where there's going to be some really disappointed fan bases out there. because we've already hit at least two, three teams that aren't going to make the playoffs. And there's high expectations for all these teams. You mentioned all the 49ers injuries.

37:43I did want to note Nick Bosa has been out for a week. He didn't even get to a normal practice. He didn't even get to seven on sevens. He was just doing individuals on the side. And then he had a setback that they're not calling a setback, that they're calling soreness coming off a torn ACL that they said is actually the ACL that he tore in high school and not the one he tore last year. It's like, that doesn't make me feel better. If they don't have Nick Bosa, and at this point, I guess I'll believe it when I see it for a little while, like that's a big-time loss. And yet, you know, Shanahan plus insert quarterback here has been about the second-best quarterback in the leagues behind Mahomes.

38:21It's crazy.

38:21Nick Shook:And last year, they found a way to get it done without Nick Bosa and Fred Warner. So, like, you know, you got to give them some respect in that area. But it's just, there's a little bit too much dysfunction or just a collection of bad luck at this stage before we even start preseason games this week for me to be like, yeah, I'm just going to trust the process since they've been there so many times before. I agree with that. And they have overcome injuries. Even the year that they made the NFC Championship and the Rams beat them, they were banged up that year. They also had some pretty down years under Kyle Shannon.

38:53Now that had to do with quarterback injuries. And one thing I've loved to hear is that Purdy has been very good in camp. He's been healthy. And so I think Mike Evans is returning soon. Stribling is already back. There are positives to talk about with the 49ers. But man, it just shows what a deep NFL it is that we put the 49ers at 16. The Lions and Chiefs, like those teams were the best teams in the league just a couple of years ago. And we haven't even gotten to the team that we visited. We'll find out where they're at. And I'm talking about the Chargers, of course. After the break, let's get the second half of the NFL and Shook's debut power rankings in a minute.

39:33Every player in the league has a scouting report. Strengths, weaknesses, history, tendencies, everything an opponent wants to know. But what if somebody built a scouting report on you? Data brokers collect your personal stats, your name, address, phone number, family details, and other private information. Then they package it up and legally sell it to anyone willing to pay, sometimes just for pennies. And then what? The person buying your information may not be looking to draft you. They may be looking to scam you, steal your identity, and start using your name like it belongs to them. That's where LifeLock comes in.

40:06LifeLock's automatic data broker removal tool helps you find exposed personal information and remove it from those data brokers. If you fall victim to identity theft, LifeLock's restoration specialist will block and tackle for you, which means they'll handle your case from start to finish and restore your identity guaranteed. because only LifeLock truly protects your name and your identity. So go get LifeLock at LifeLock.com and use promo code FOOTBALL for up to 30 % off your first year. That's LifeLock.com code FOOTBALL. Again, LifeLock.com code FOOTBALL. How's the new place? Get your Wi-Fi figured out?

40:42I got T-Mobile 5G home internet and I'm loving it. It's the fastest 5G home internet.

40:47Nick Shook:My old provider was so slow. Mine is slow. And only 35 bucks a month. Do I need to try this? Try it for 15 days. Love it or get your money back. I love it already. There are over 250 reasons to join T-Mobile. Find yours and check availability at t-mobile.com slash home internet. This is according to Oculus V test intelligence data. Second half of 2025. All rates reserved for T-Money back guarantee within 30 days of cancellation. Chat GPT can do more than answer questions. It can help you get real work done. Chat GPT work is built for bigger projects with multiple steps. You bring the goal along with the information it needs.

41:22Nick Shook:like briefs, notes, files, feedback, calendars, data sets, or project plans. Then ChatGPT can help turn all of that into something useful, an analysis, a tracker, a deck outline, a prototype, or a workflow you can keep shaping. It can also use approved apps, connected tools, files, and browser contexts to help move the work forward. And you stay in control. You give direction, review drafts, approve actions, Redirect the work and choose the final output. So you spend less time sorting through busy work and more time making progress on the work that matters. Put ChatGPT to work on your most ambitious ideas and projects.

42:03Nick Shook:Get started at ChatGPT.com by selecting work mode. Available on Plus and Pro plans. Amazon Health AI presents Painful Thoughts. Why did I search the internet for answers to my cold sore problem? Now I'm stuck down a rabbit hole filled with images of alarmingly graphic sores in various stages of ooze. I can clear my search history, but I can never unsee that. Don't go down the rabbit hole. Amazon Health AI gets you the right care fast. Healthcare just got less painful. Back on NFL Daily. we've got four teams coming up in the power rankings where their fan bases are not going to be happy because on paper the chargers vikings colts and steelers 17 18 19 20 all feel like playoff contenders above average teams teams with real defined high level strengths and yet I think because the bottom of the NFL feels so bad this season that actually average is pretty tough to get to, and you have them all as below average.

43:22Man, you're three of Jim Harbaugh. He's won a lot of games, Shook. He's pretty good up front on both lines. Why was it hard for you to not put them higher? This was the last team that I was like,

43:34Nick Shook:when I got to the Chargers at 17, I thought, man, I really hate that they're at 17 because I have high hopes for them this year. But when I think about the teams I put in front of them, I couldn't really justify moving the Chargers ahead of any of them. Now that can change quickly because if Mike McDaniel can come in and really establish an effective ground game, which I think he's going to with a very diverse backfield, they're going to be a much better offense than they were in previous years. They're also going to, if they have a stronger offensive line, which means, you know, guys don't get hurt, then they're going to be a much better offense than they were in previous years.

44:02Nick Shook:And we already kind of know what they have defensively. they've established their identity and they've established most of their contributors on that side. So I'm thinking, okay, like overall, all right, I can see it. I can definitely see them climbing. But as of now, it's more about, you got to prove it to me. Then I can just, you know, ride with, okay, well they managed to win X amount of games and make the playoffs and then washed out of the wildcard round. Um, I really, really like offensively their tight end room. It's very diverse. They're running back room. Omari and Hampton, Kamani, but all Keaton Mitchell, all different types of backs that I think can do a lot of different things for you.

44:32Nick Shook:Um, you just got to stay healthy up front and they'll be a very productive group and and look I mean defensively it's kind of the same usual suspects it's Khalil Mack it's Diane Henley it's Tully Tulu Poulotu it's it's you know those types of guys it's Derwin James in the back half like it's just all your usual guys that are going to contribute I just kind of need it all to come together at a level that we've seen glimpses of it coming together in past years it just hasn't sustained they were similar to the 49ers last year I think that uh they had so many injuries and they still won 11 games. So that's a good sign if they can stay healthy.

45:05And I really believe in the coaching staff. And we were there at camp and they've got a couple undrafted rookies in the secondary that I kind of expect to make the team. They have a rookie safety day three in Genesis Smith, who they're pretty excited about. And they've been able to like coach up guys to produce. So I'd have them a little higher because of the coaching stuff, but you're right, it's just a deep NFL. The Vikings are an interesting team because if we're just ranking rosters, I think the Vikings and Steelers are similar here where, you know, I like a lot about both their lines. Christian Dara saw healthy again for the Vikings.

45:43And then the upside of the Steelers offensive line, certainly their defensive line. There's quarterback questions, but these are, I think they're pretty well set up rosters. I put the Colts to the side a little bit in this group and I like the Colts, but they're a veteran team as well. just with more like variance and upside. But like, I look at what the front offices have done overall in Minnesota and in Pittsburgh. I don't hate it. I don't hate it.

46:08Nick Shook:Yeah, I would agree. It seems to me like, I mean, when we talk about the Vikings last year, the one thing that we always come back to, at least if you're a Vikings fan, especially is, well, they won nine games last year with no quarterback, no quarterback stability whatsoever. They had nine games that they were able to win because their defense is good. And Brian Flores gets all this money as a defensive coordinator because he's very good at producing, you know, an exotic scheme that really maximizes the talent that he has on that side of the ball. And this receiving core with the Vikings, I think, is one of the stronger ones under the radar that we see in the NFL with Jefferson, Addison and Jawan Jennings.

46:43Nick Shook:It's just a matter of what are you going to get from your quarterback play? Kyler Murray been named the starter. We all expected it. Now he's got to go out and produce and prove that he was just stuck in a bad situation in Arizona, that he's actually a better quarterback than that. I kind of think that he'll make some progress in that area and that there'll be a better team. But as of now, they sit here because they have yet to do it. I have a lot of faith in this staff and I have a lot of faith in their potential. But you shouldn't ever fall in love with potential, right? Right. And my biggest concern from a broad perspective is just that the defense, which has been so scheme dependent and people forget, was a little erratic last year.

47:23the first three months of the season when they were playing their meaningful games, they had some stinker performances and they got super hot down the stretch after they were out of it basically and carried them to a great defensive ranking and ultimately, yeah, winning record, which was which was crazy. But they are, you know, if they suddenly go from like the second or third best defense in the league to the 11th, then I don't know if the offense can make up for it. But I like the roster. I like the Colts roster overall and the Steelers. Like there are going to be so many disappointed teams in the NFL because we are 20 teams deep and we have not gotten to a city yet where the fan base does not expect playoffs.

48:05And I think the Colts, maybe our fans are a little more realistic, but they'll be they'll be wanting Chris Ballard's head on a pike if they don't make the playoffs. And I think they absolutely could. Let's go to our next group. You're kind of cheating. I'll group the entire NFC South together. You did the Jordan thing. she had said on our preview of the division that the floor for each team was eight and nine and the ceiling was nine and eight, which is, it's a good bit, a good podcast bit. I respect it. Um, here's what I would have recommended you do on the power rankings. You put saints, 21 bucks, 22 Panthers, 23.

48:42Here's the, the stinker. You put the Titans pretty high for the Titans, 24. And then the Falcons, 25. Let's put the Titans to the side. If you're going to do this and almost just throw your hands up, Shook, about the NFC South, just put them all in order. Why even throw the Titans in the middle? You had a good bit going and you kind of ruined the bit.

49:03Nick Shook:No, that's the problem. It was an accidental bit. It wasn't intentional. The one thing I wanted to do was put the Saints in front of the rest of the division because I believe in their potential, right? And I believe in year two, Tyler Shook, Kellen Moore, and what can happen with this offense. Jordan Tyson had to do a group with Chris Alave. I love that potential. And I also have some concerns about some of their defense, but overall, I think that this is a team. I think you said it on one of our recent shows. They can look a lot better and still only win like one or two more games than they did last year.

49:28Nick Shook:That's still a success to me, but that's about this range that you land in every other team in this division. I have legitimate concerns about the Buccaneers vibes were bad to start camp Baker Mayfield's in a contract year, which should be good. Except I feel like this is a team that they've been an offensive team for the last couple of years. I don't know if they're going to be as effective offensively. offensively uh this is the first year in which their offensive coordinator wasn't hired away to a job instead they just had to replace him and they replaced him with zach robinson i don't know if you remember what happened with the falcons then off the zach robinson controls it was not good so i have a hard time believing in this team uh panthers injuries i mean they've just been crushed by injuries to start training camp it's been the most unfortunate camp i think of any team in the nfl um and they won the division last year with an 8-9 record so it's not like they're really that great to begin with not to say that i don't believe in bryce young but they lost chris brasley lost nick scorton their tackle situation is not encouraging even though they tried to hedge against it with their offseason moves with monroe freeling and um and rashid walker to kind of make sure all right well at least we have depth there but i just don't feel super confident about that but this time and the reason that the falcons don't make it here is because i'm a believer in the titans i know you said okay hold on hold on i know that yeah let's do that separate i mean you're not that much of a yeah you're not putting the Falcons too far down in fact them and the Titans are the first two teams on this list that I just think it would be shocking if they made the playoffs for instance I don't think they should have realistic chances and if you had put them in the bottom four or five I wouldn't have been surprised bottom three like I I could see a case for either of them there one thing I'll just mention with the Panthers is they had a lot of injuries right away.

51:10And it's like they were the only team in camp. And so there's a lot of focus on that. That's all true. It is all true. And you can only base these rankings off the information we have. There will be more injuries, unfortunately, and a lot more once the regular season starts. So sometimes we tend to not overreact to what happened in training camp, but just this is what we know so far. And if they can just stabilize, they haven't had anything devastating, cross your fingers in like 10 days or so, then maybe they end up being just in a normal range of injuries. My last thing on this division, we previewed this division this week, check it out with Trevor Sykema.

51:47We don't need to repeat all these teams, is just I strongly disagree about the Bucs. I would have put them ahead of almost the entire last group. I think you can make the case they could be top 15 very easily, top 12. If we're just talking players, Nick, and linemen, Tristan Wirth's maybe the best in the league. Luke Gedeke, like a guy who's earned a long-term contract. A good young interior group in Graham Barton and Cody Mock. That's your offensive line. Plenty of depth at wide receiver. A quarterback you've won with. Plenty of depth at running backs. A really tough defensive line we talked about this week.

52:24I think a deep defensive backfield with varied talents and a nice safety tandem in terms of Antoine Winfield and Tykee Smith. I just think they got players. I'm not like in love, love with quarterback slash vibe slash coaching overall. And that's and that's why to me they are probably knocked down from like 10 or 12 to 15 or 16. But to me, I think people are sleeping on how clearly ahead of the rest of the division they are in talent. That's my right.

52:54Nick Shook:And they largely were last year, too, in what happened. Yeah. And this just completely illustrates my lack of faith in this coaching staff. We've seen talented teams under-deliver with bad coaching staffs. I think that this is one of those examples. I could be wrong. Because you're right. This is a very strong roster in a number of different areas. But I could be wrong. Make your case on the Titans now. Let's make your case. 24. Let's do it. So let's think about projection, trajectory, where a team goes from year one to year two with a number one overall pick a quarterback a guy that a lot of us i think really kind of almost fell in love with as a rookie he was definitely good for throw of the week or throw of the year candidates almost every week and let's think about the situation he was in last year he was playing with a largely rookie receiving group uh this is a team that was devoid of talent in a number of different areas and what did they do in the offseason they went and got a new coaching staff they went and got the ideal offensive coordinator for cam Mord's development in Brian Dable.

53:50Nick Shook:They went and drafted Carnell Tate number four overall in the draft. They went and got Wandale Robinson coming off a career year with the Giants. They paid Peter Skaronsky. Everything offensively, I'm just very excited about because it's going to be better than it was last year. Then defensively, who's your head coach? Robert Sala, known effective defensive coordinator, defensive mind. He goes and gets a bunch of his types of guys to fill out that defense. I just believe that where they came from last year and where they could go, especially with an offensive blossoming potentially on the table.

54:19Nick Shook:They can climb up into this range where it's not too crazy to put them where I have them, which is at 24. You're still not in the playoffs, but you're one of the fun teams to watch that misses the playoffs. I like that take. Kind of them as the best of the worst. It's a good take. And they could be like a 2025 Saints type of team where you finish strong. What did the Saints win last year in the end? Seven games. but you feel good about how it ends and that you're headed in the right direction. It's a good take. You've made me rethink it. And I like where you put them. And I like them ahead of the Falcons as well.

54:57Next group is 26 through 29. Cardinals are at 26. Giants are at 27. Browns at 28. Commanders at 29. We'll get to the commanders in a second. You sent me your potential power rankings ahead of time. asking for my opinion. I respect and I'm glad. I think it made a better show today that you pretty much ignored, I think, most of my take on my responses. Not entirely. I made some changes. I don't see them. Except for, I think I pushed for the Cardinals. You might have had them 30 or 31. I was like, that's the one thing you listened to me about potentially. Did I have an impact? Did I change history by getting the Cardinals up to 26?

55:42because I just think they're stuck in the wrong division. But man, they got some playmakers.

55:46Nick Shook:Yeah, yeah, you did. Look, I value your opinion greatly. And I also value somebody cross-checking me on things because you never want to operate in an echo chamber. So I was like, yeah, I got to see what Greg thinks about these because I'm feeling good about some of this and not so much in some other ones. And Arizona was one of those ones where when I put them down there, I thought, God, that's probably me undervaluing them just because their quarterback situation isn't super promising. But they have so many playmakers around their quarterback situation that they have to produce at some sort of rate.

56:13Nick Shook:I mean, Jeremiah Love, you went and redid almost your entire running back room. You have two powerbacks in Tyler Algier and James Conner, guys that can really grind it out. Marvin Harrison Jr., he's got to take a step, and I think that this is the offense that can finally help him take a step forward. Trey McBride, 99 overall tight end in Madden, arguably the best tight end in the NFL right now. Huge target vacuum, going to be a big part of this offense again. I don't know. Some people regard their offensive line a little more highly than I do. And you know what? Maybe that'll bear out over the course of a season.

56:44Nick Shook:That's probably my one concern on that side. Defensively, they have some guys that I really like, but I also think that they're a year or two away from putting together a complete defense. I'm really hoping that Walter Nolan makes it through the season healthy because I think he'll be a big difference maker for them. But overall, like I need Will Johnson to become the prospect that he was at Michigan before he got hurt entering his pro career. Mack Wilson has found a role there overall, But like this is a group that's still a few pieces away from me. So I look at it as a team that could probably be very fun to watch and not end up with a lot of wins and be right in the thick of going after a quarterback that they might want next year's draft if Carson Beck doesn't end up on the field and, you know, changes that that course.

57:25Look, a lot of these teams could make an argument for what you did with the Titans, kind of the best of the worst. The Giants could if things go right. Their offense has had an up and down camp of like the pass rushers, adding Arbel Reese, Like there is a ceiling there. The Browns have a good young nucleus. We don't need to repeat our quarterback conversation with the Browns, but they're good. Young nucleus could lift the floor in a way that kind of the Cardinals lift the floor for whatever their quarterback situation is. Although if I was a Browns fan, I would take Jacoby Brissett in a heartbeat over.

57:58They would too. They would too. The commanders are the team that really stands out here at 29. I mean, they were in the NFC Championship game two years ago. They've made some big time changes. That is the fan base I would expect to hear a lot from. Maybe you already have. Because, yeah, they're the only team here that's got a potential top 10 quarterback because he was one two years ago. And I've been relatively down on them, but I would not have been nearly this down on them. I, you know, I am trying to be a man of my word. Who would I put them ahead of? I would put them ahead of the Panthers, the Titans, the Falcons, the Cardinals, the Browns, the Giants, certainly, maybe the Saints.

58:43So I would have them around 21 or so would be where I would have them.

58:46Nick Shook:Okay, so a couple things here. I am actually banking on John Harbaugh getting something out of these high draft picks that the Giants have spent on defense over the last few years because they just haven't gotten the production that they need to out of them. And that maybe raises their floor a little bit. And that's why they're ahead of Washington. And I also want to say this, you know, I grew up a Browns fan and I spent so many off seasons wearing my brown and orange colored glasses playing the what if game. Well, you know, if this hadn't happened or if they hadn't lost this game by three or seven, then they got three, four more wins.

59:16Nick Shook:And suddenly they made these additions and they're a better team. That's what Washington is doing right now. That's what I can hear the Washington fan base doing. And I just caution against that because it can it can be a little bit too intoxicating and then distort your your vision of how you view your football team. That's not to say that Jane Daniels isn't an awesome quarterback. I think he is. You just got to stay on the field. We already discussed their receiver situation in previous shows. Yes, they went and got Stefan Diggs. That's great. I don't think that's going to fix all your problems.

59:39Nick Shook:You lost Laramie Tunsil to a torn triceps, which could be the entire season. That hurts a lot, especially when one of your main concerns is keeping your quarterback healthy and that lowers the overall ceiling for your team. I like the running back room. It's better than it was last year, especially after they lost Austin Eckler to injury. It's not like it's the worst offense in the world. It's not. The defense is a complete unknown. They were the worst team in the NFL defensively in terms of yards allowed per game last year. and Dan Quinn is your head coach. That's supposed to be his thing. They went and tried to rebuild almost the entire starting lineup.

1:00:06Nick Shook:They went and added a bunch of different guys. That's going to fuel optimism, but it takes a while for those guys to gel. I don't know if they can over the course of a preseason and training camp and be able to hit the ground running early this season. And if I, I believe they also have a pretty tough schedule in terms of, you know, if you're going to play the schedule game overall. So that's why I have them down this low. It's probably too low. And I admit that. But the combination of losing Tunsil and having all these questions It makes me uncertain about them. You got to be bold. I give them an edge over these teams near them because it's not a first-year head coach.

1:00:40It is a head coach that's had success in multiple spots. It's been erratic success, but he's had success. It's year three of this regime. There is veteran talent here. And so, to me, their floor is much higher than the rest of the teams here. Last two teams are the Raiders and the Dolphins. not a lot of disagreement in terms of the Dolphins being last the Raiders fans that aren't happy there's a path to them being that Titans team the best of the worst like there is a path there there is some talent certainly on the defensive side with the investments that they made and it comes down to like can Clint Kubiak really deliver we'll find out but as as a team that's 31st ranked here and the Jets are 30th.

1:01:26I should have mentioned as well that there's a decent amount of talent here, but I appreciate you not putting Gino in the Jets. Number 32. No,

1:01:35Nick Shook:they weren't going to be 32. 32 was just decided months ago. It was always going to be 30 or 31. I think. Yeah. We look with the Raiders. They're on the right path. I think after years and years of dysfunction, you know, they've, they've set themselves on a long-term path at quarterback and they also have a short-term answer. They have their bridge veteran that Clint Kuvjak wanted. They don't have much at receiver. And I know Brock Bowers is going to be their number one target again. And I know he was hurt last year and I'm not undervaluing him at all, but I'm just looking at an overall offensive ceiling potential.

1:02:06Nick Shook:It's still pretty low. They did invest in their offensive line, which was undoubtedly the worst in the NFL last year. I don't care what anybody else says. Watch the games. The Raiders were by far the worst offensive line. They went and got Tyler Linderbaum. You get Colton Miller back. That's great. You didn't rebuild the entire group. I still have a lot of concerns about that. Defensively, it's like a hodgepodge of guys. and you're like, oh, I can see that working. I can see that working. Oh, you went and got the Georgia Bulldogs at linebacker, N 'Kobe Dean and Quay Walker. That's cool. Hey, it's Quitty Pay.

1:02:30Nick Shook:Hey, it's Eric Stokes. It's a bunch of names that I recognized. Is it going to come together? I don't know. Yeah, we'll see. They have, I totally agree about as many questions as any team. I think their floor is probably a little higher than the Jets where things could go wrong, but we're just picking nits here. As we wrap up, a couple of just minor injury items I did want to note that one of the Dolphins' best defensive linemen, Zach Seeler, is week to week now. That's the last thing they need is to hurt their depth. Emeka Abuka left practice on Wednesday, so that's an injury that we will be tracking.

1:03:07I mentioned the Bosa injury. We'll also be watching 49ers practice, and this leads to just something I wanted to do. I don't know if anyone else cares, but we're going to declare a winner, Chuck. first for your power rankings, you won. You know, first ever time doing it. Great job on that. It was fun going through it. We'll do it throughout the season at various points, but you're going to have your own show that we'll talk about in about a month, you know, as the regular season gets going. But four joint practices over the last couple of days. Bucks-Jets, clear win for the Bucks. The Bucks are 1-0 in joint practice season despite the Ibuka injury.

1:03:46All reports on the ground were Baker Mayfield finished very strong. The Jets offense erratic at best. Bucs defense carries the day. Bucs offense does enough to win. Big first week joint practice victory for Tampa. Colts pats. It felt like a draw. Everyone said offenses won for both teams. There's a lot of injuries for the Patriots defense right now. But in the end, I'm going to have to give the win to the Colts because the very last play of practice in the hurry up drill after the Colts scored in their hurry up drill was a Drake May interception. Cam Bynum back and healthy again for the Colts.

1:04:21Colts with the big upset road victory in Foxborough. 49ers Titans sounded like the most one-sided joint practice of the week, despite all the injuries. Brock Purdy was slanging it out there. 49ers get the win. They're 1-0 in joint practice season. The Titans with a disappointing loss, although reportedly their offense was okay. They weren't making big mistakes. They just weren't doing a lot, but their defense got hammered, apparently. And then the Rams and Cowboys, depending on who you asked here, it sounded like it was very close. Surprisingly, it was the opposite, Shook, of Rams Patriots. I mean, Rams Colts.

1:04:59It was the defenses on both sides that just consistently won, and that the offenses were struggling. Now, Pukunikua left practice. That's not great, but overall, it sounds like the level of dominance from the Rams defense was actually higher. The Rams defense has beaten the Rams offense pretty regularly too. I asked multiple people, including NFL Daily correspondent Cynthia Freeland, who was there. She gave the edge to the Rams. I'm going to give it to the Rams as well. They get the victory. Tight one though. Good sign for the Cowboys that it was back and forth. Those are your joint practice wins and losses for the week.

1:05:34Nick Shook:I love the idea of the Cowboys defense keeping up with the Rams offense. That bodes really well for Dallas. Now, Puka left, you know, they hit a couple deep throws apparently to Devontae early. You know, there were some people who thought maybe then they kind of laid off the gas, you know, like, and then Puka leaves with an injury. That doesn't help. But that's why I also kind of gave it to the Rams defense because if you're, if you're holding down a healthy Cowboys offense, that is a good sign and their defense has been playing well at camp. We'll have to check out their preseason game too because look, we got a lot of starters playing throughout the NFL.

1:06:07It's a new thing, Shook. Not only are more starters playing a little bit lately, a lot of them are playing in week one of the preseason. So like Joe Burrow, Tuatunga Vailoa, like we're going to see some good starters in week one of the preseason. And we'll also see a lot of Ty Simpson for the Rams, which I'm curious to watch their first round pick. Because you got to keep Stetson Bennett healthy. I don't think they're going to play him at all. It's just going to be all Ty Simpson all the time. Stetson's too important. Pressure makes diamonds or something.

1:06:34Nick Shook:Yeah, sure. So I mentioned the preseason games. Nick Shook and I will be with you. Hit that music on Thursday evening. If you want to come hang out with us live, it's been fun. We take your questions. That'll be at 7 p.m. Pacific, 10 p.m. Eastern. And that will be in your ears overnight. Our final show of the week. We'll also do some news as well as recapping those preseason games. We'll cook up something fun. We'll see you then.

1:07:08Scams don't always look like scams anymore. AI can make a fake ticket offer look legit or a sportsbook text sound official. And once an identity thief gets your personal information, they can start using your name like it belongs to them. And then what? LifeLock helps detect potential identity threats and suspicious activity. And if identity theft happens, LifeLock's restoration specialist can help restore your identity. Guaranteed. Because only LifeLock truly protects your name and identity. Get LifeLock at LifeLock.com and use promo code FOOTBALL for up to 30 % off your first year. That's LifeLock.com, code FOOTBALL.

1:07:46When you're a maintenance engineer in a beverage manufacturing plant, you keep production lines moving and quality on track because there's no room for slowdowns.

1:07:56Nick Shook:With Granger's vast selection of high-quality motors, sensors, belts, and hard-to-find parts, You can get what you need fast and all in one place, so nothing gets in the way of getting the job done. Call 1-800-GRAINGER, click grainger.com, or just stop by. Grainger, for the ones who get it done. Discover a spectacular island destination with crystal blue seas, endless sunshine, and the cool Bahamian breeze. Bahamar, 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.

1:08:38Nick Shook:Like our 15-acre tropical water park, wildlife sanctuary, world-class golf course, and so much more. Visit Bahamar.com today. Honey, Felipe sent another photo. From Argentina? How? With T-Mobile, of course. Mira, he's video calling us. Hola, familia. Did you get my photos? We did. They're so pretty. Here to share every moment with T-Mobile. Enjoy data roaming at no extra charge in 21 Latin American countries. Switch now on the T-Life app or T-Mobile.com slash connectate. Qualifying plan required not for extended international use. You must reset in the U.S. and primary usage must occur in our network.

1:09:15Visit T-Mobile.com.

1:09:16Nick Shook:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.