Preseason Takeaways from All 32 Teams

23:42But Jordan Phillips, more of like a plugger up front. And the guys at the read optional had a long segment about them. So I want to give them credit for pointing him out. And then I watched him in this game and he's had a great preseason where he looks like a fine. And Kenneth Grant has looked good, too, at defensive tackle. So just a lot of numbers there. We'll see if it works. On the flip side, Tua and the offense look pretty rough against the backups. You know, they didn't score for, I think it was a drive or two, and then it was fourth and six, like on their side of the field, and McDaniel just let them out there.

24:16I think it was their third drive, and he's like, we've got to get something going. And to Tua's credit, he hits, you know, a fourth and six when the other team, the Jaguars, send a blitz, and then they end up having a good rest of the drive and get a touchdown and at least leave on a positive note. But I was checking out the joint practice reports. Shook, you know how I like to score joint practice wins and losses? Oh, yeah. I think the Dolphins, first of all, they're the only team, I think, that had three joint practices, but they're definitely the only team that went 0-3 in joint practices. It sounds like the Jaguars won their joint practice, so that's bad.

24:51I think that's why Tua might have been out there. It just hasn't looked good. yeah but here's the question did it did they at least like improve from joint practice session like week to week because the first one was really bad yeah and then the second one like it was three interceptions for two i can't i think i think it was against the bears and then the next one was like well he didn't throw any interceptions this time so we're making some progress and like they had two on record saying like oh you know i don't get i don't grade myself i don't need to do that

25:15Nick Shook:that's for you guys to do but i think we're you know steadily improving so maybe it's just a lower starting point for this team this year in what's going to be a high pressure season. But if their defense plays well, which, by the way, we didn't even mention, Matthew Judon's also in that pass rushing group. They added him last week. So if they become a defensive team, then maybe we don't need to lean on this offense as much and we don't have to worry about it as much. But I caution against just blindly believing that going into the season. For context, Devon Achan is out hurt. We'll see if he's ready for week one.

25:46Tyreek Hill hasn't been practicing for a couple weeks now. So, yeah, the Dolphins offense is going to stink if Tyreek Hill and Devon Achan aren't on the field. Like, we know that. Their rookie running back, Ollie Gordon, I thought looked better this week. I know he's looked pretty good in general, but he looked really good. Again, against second and third stringers, but bouncing off of guys. And Jalen Wright, their backup running back, is hurt. So, Ollie Gordon might be getting some snaps early in this season. For the Jags, yeah, they didn't play their starters, so there wasn't much there. our friend John Shipley reports that they are looking to possibly deal Tank Bigsby or Travis Etienne probably one or the other the offensive line in the joint practice reportedly did did not play uh really that well that but the defense played well as we kind of mentioned against Miami and Travis Hunter's been out of team drills now for like a week and a half I'm still buying him in fantasy I don't care that he's going as wide receiver 35 I don't man I think people are sleeping on on a major talent here I just don't see the gap between him and Brian Thomas Jr.

26:49being that great once we get to like November or December well especially

26:52Nick Shook:because there was that period earlier in the preseason when Brian Thomas Jr. was struggling with drops so you know it's not something that I would say is a serious concern but if you're weighing the two yeah maybe you do invest in Travis Hunter uh in fantasy and especially if you're in an IDP league because I don't know if you can but I would imagine you might be able to use them on both sides who knows i'm not sure i think so and the jaguars by the way have our armstead back in the mix and he reportedly had a great day in that joint practice so he is fully healthy and they could be a good front with josh heinz allen and trevon walker now has improved if armstead really gives them something all right let's give the people something to think about while we take a break and we come back and we are cranking through every single team and their final preseason takeaways back in the morning.

27:40Back on NFL Daily, Packers and Seahawks played a game in which Jalen Milrow played a lot and did not look good. But I'm more interested in Chuck in a real deal fight at joint practice. It took to the very last day of training camp for two teams to really get after it. Multiple players say that was the worst fight they've ever seen that they've been involved in at a training camp. Zach Tom, the Packers tackle, got kicked out, but apparently a whole lot of people could have gotten kicked out. I am curious, was anyone dumb enough to ever get in a fight with Shooky at a football practice?

28:19Nick Shook:I was a late bloomer, so I wasn't as large in stature maybe as I am now. So I wasn't as intimidating. But yes, at least two fights I got into back in the day. One I clearly won. The other one was kind of a draw, and then I had to run a mile with my pads and helmet on as punishment. it so kind of wasn't worth it how like can you just jog it or are you supposed to go kind of fast no you're jogging it but in fact i believe i had to run that one with a 50 pound uh blocking like dummy over my back so you had to run it with your arms like this over your pads did you take the helmets off and swing when you're fighting but or was it more like no i'm not miles garrett come on uh no actually i think it was a i grabbed a face mask and tried to pull somebody down by the face It was rough.

29:02So, yeah, we don't really know who won this joint practice. So there's not much from the game, like I mentioned. Jalen Milrow, who's going to be the third-string quarterback, who I'm excited to see what he can do as a pro, was not ready to really play quarterback for an entire game with a bunch of third and fourth stringers, fumbled three times. He struggled. Uchanan Uosu for the Seahawks seems like he's getting close. Maybe he'll be ready for week one. I saw a note from The Athletic that Nick Amonwari, their safety has been playing a little more traditional safety over the last couple weeks in practice, a little less like in the box playing linebacker.

29:43That's just something to keep an eye on for week one. And then I'm not sure if Marquez Valdez-Scantling is going to make this team for sure after the emergence of Torrey Horton, for instance, the rookie wide receiver.

29:55Nick Shook:Yeah, you know, it's interesting because first it was very strange to watch this game and see MVS in a Seahawks uniform at Lambeau Field wearing number one. It was just strange. But he was also the recipient of Jalen Millereau's best throw of the day, which there weren't many to choose from. So I was like, oh, that's I guess we are in 2025 after all. From Millereau's performance, it just felt a lot like what you saw at Alabama, except the Packers just kind of it was kind of unfair. Third down, they were just sending blitzes after him. And that line, the backups on the line, which we already knew Seattle's starting line, was not very good last year plus milro being a youngster they could not handle it the pocket collapsed on him multiple times even when he got they designed runs from the packers shut it down it almost felt like they prepared for a jalen milro game a little bit like it was the regular season so not not to like be down on him necessarily but he is what he is which is a guy who's going to have to take time to develop as a passer and somebody that you're going to use as a runner you know this season during regular season games yeah i was not really thinking he would pass drew lock although maybe I guess in my highest of hopes you thought that would be possible it didn't happen Michael Sean Dugar listened to his podcast and he talked about how you know their offense against the Packers in that joint practice it was really just all Jackson Smith and Jigba who at this point when he's in the slot might be the best slot receiver in all of football just dominating getting open all the time and that's it no one else is getting open which I hear and I think of as a Cooper Cup comment because I don't know if they have other guys that can really separate.

31:27The Packers, their story this month is just injuries. When is Jaden Reed going to be back? We don't know if he'll be back for week one. When is Nate Hobbs, their cornerback, going to be back? Don't know. Dontavian Wicks, Savion Williams, their rookie receiver. Xavier McKinney's been out of practice. Marshawn Lloyd, their backup running back, he's going to injured reserve. I've heard some Romeo Dobbs trade buzz, but it doesn't make any sense to me.

31:53Nick Shook:There's no way that happens. Why not? Because they have two healthy receivers that are deserving of being on the field. In fact, Matt LaFleur sat down with Kay Adams of Up and Adams, and she asked him about that. There's rumors that he may be out of town, and he was so dismissive of it. He's like, no, no, that's not happening. He works hard. He's a great teammate, so on and so forth. There's no way they get rid of him. They're not going to have anybody left. Matthew Golden made a nice catch in this game, but he's a rookie. You need Romeo Dobbs. You need him desperately to start the season. You know what my guess is with a situation like that, then?

32:29Someone's being a stinky Davis out there and sprinkling. It might be Romeo Dobbs' representation and just sprinkling that out there, you know, because he knows Dobbs, the numbers might not be there for him this year. He's a free agent. Like, hey, any team want to give a good offer to Green Bay and just make them think about it? because it doesn't sound like the Packers are interested, and it doesn't make sense. I agree. I do love that Bo Melton is making this team as a two-way player. I think that's an underplayed story. A former wide receiver that's going to make it as a cornerback, but you could use him in a pinch at wide receiver too.

33:01Isaiah Simmons had the typical Isaiah Simmons camp where he got a lot of pop early. I don't know if he's actually even going to make this team. And then I noticed their setup in this game had Rasheed Walker at left tackle and then their first-round pick from a year ago, Jordan Morgan, next to him at left guard. I think it's because of a lot of injuries. Again, more injuries on their offensive line. It's just a team. These aren't long-term injuries, but we'll just see what they look like week one. Let's go to the Broncos and the Saints. Bravo to the Broncos and the Saints. Maybe not the best preseason game of the week.

33:29There was really only two good preseason games for true connoisseurs. Shook. Bears Chiefs was the other one. I mean, we got Mahomes and Caleb for like almost an entire half. That looked like a real game.

33:39Nick Shook:High octane. But our friends at the Saints Block Party podcast pointed it out, and I agreed. This Bronco Saints game had a little something extra. It almost felt like the regular season. For a while, Sean Payton, it was like a revenge game in the preseason. Only Sean Payton could do that. We had starters on both sides. They were playing hard. And I don't have major takeaways from the game other than the Saints defense made it really hard on Bo Nix and the Broncos offense. And for the most part, the Broncos offense this preseason wasn't great. It took them until their sixth drive of the preseason.

34:14It was the third one in this game to get a touchdown finally. It's not a huge sample size, and they weren't terrible, but it looked like a football game where both teams were trying and settling for field goals. It wasn't pretty, but you could tell there was just like a little something extra, and there were a lot of starters, mostly starters on both sides of the ball.

34:31Nick Shook:This is also two teams that just agreed to a trade earlier in the week with Devon Valle, and sending a big receiver to a Saints receiving core that lacked a guy over 6 '1". so um interesting to see how he fits in but yeah i agree like i'm watching this game and it's the second quarter i'm like bo nicks is still in and i'm and i'm sitting there thinking all right let me get jared stedham nope we go straight to sam ellinger after that but you're right it was a back and forth affair it was there was a lot of activity it was there was more juice to it than most of the preseason games especially in week three and bo nicks and the offense finally get down the field and put a touchdown on the board in early in the second quarter which i was like okay finally you did something because you're right unless it was stedham on the field this offense didn't look very good uh with the starters for most of the preseason i'm not going to sound the alarm bells but the main takeaway i had from this matchup alone because again we have the saints quarterback battle right tyler shuck spencer rattler the agenda versus the rookie i couldn't help but watch the broncos offense operate and even when they struggled and then watch the saints with spencer rattler and think kellen moore if you just took sean payton's approach with bo nix last year applied it to spencer rattler it would increase your your possibility of finding success with him at quarterback because once shuck comes in then you look at him you're like okay that's a guy who is probably more fitting for what kellen moore wants to do offensively than what they're forcing spencer rattler to do so why not get a little flexible i don't know if he's going to but i just couldn't help but see the broncos the example of it on the field and then the saints offense come on the field and just not do what i think they should do great point i guess the response would be there's only one Sean Payton, you know, and maybe Kellen Moore will, will prove to be a really great head coach, but he's not Sean Payton.

36:12Certainly we haven't proved it yet. And then Spencer Rattler and Shuck are not Bo Nix until proven otherwise either. And yeah, the, the kind of bigger picture is that no, no saints quarterback won the quarterback battle. Whoever got to play against the backups and the third stringers look better each time. So Shuck probably had a better game. he certainly ended it well with a really nice drive but they both were just eh like and they weren't terrible either they were just eh like I just I didn't have a big takeaway other than Rattler played exclusively with the ones and Shuck played exclusively with the twos and that was the same as was the case at practice so they were certainly setting it up for Rattler to win the job crazier things have happened than flipping it but if you were gonna play Shuck it was In week one, it was stupid to waste this entire week with him, with the backup crew.

37:04So I got to imagine it's Spencer Rattler. We'll find out in the next day or two. I have major questions about the Saints offensive line. I do like what I saw at Kendra Miller, a third round pick from a couple years ago, just has not been able to stay healthy and has looked good. I think he could be out there as a really good backup to Alvin Kamara. I did want to mention Bo Nix, Cortland Sutton, who I think hooked up for four catches for 83 yards. And there was a great rollout. Nix did have some good highlights throughout the preseason. And he's really good at throwing to his left. It reminds me a little of Kirk Cousins that way, except Nix is more athletic.

37:43Sutton was cooking Kool-Aid McInistry. So there was a lot of pop shook by Kool-Aid McInistry being like a true cornerback one and everything. But, man, Sutton kind of owned him in this game a handful of times. And Kool-Aid couldn't take him down on a long play either. So just a little note. If we're going to see some starters, I'll reward you with a little more conversation on NFL Daily. I feel like that's only fair.

38:07Nick Shook:I agree. The idea of Kool-Aid as a true cornerback one is very aspirational. It's not really rooted in reality, at least not right now. He did make a nice play on a ball to the end zone. He played good defense, and that one broke it up. But yeah, thinking that he's just going to be your new cornerback one after you got rid of Marshawn Lattimore last year, that's just, it's overly aspirational. Well, he is their quarterback one because they don't have anyone else. But not a legit cornerback one. Right. Alante Taylor is a good player, but he's their slot corner. He hasn't been healthy. Isaiah Foskey, their second round pick from a few years ago, I think that was his last time as a member of the Saint.

38:38I think he's going to get cut. And yeah, it's going to be Troy Franklin and Pat Bryant season on the Broncos side. I think they're a team that's one of the deepest in the NFL, and teams will be looking to see who gets cut there. Even their running back, like Odrick Estame, looked okay in this game. He could make a team maybe somewhere. We'll see what happens with the Broncos. Cutdown day picks. All right, let's go to the Texans and the Lions. Joint practices. You remember the Lions-Dolphins were the most uneven joint practices. Every report I could find with this one, no one wanted to have a take.

39:14Everyone said perfectly even. Just good work. Good work by two good football teams all the way around. The defense has won a little bit. The offense has won a little bit. And I'll say that's a win for the Texans. If you're going out there in a joint practice with the Lions and it's looking like your two teams are pretty even, then it's like, okay, that's good. Because the offense apparently had a pretty solid day for Houston before all the starters sat in the actual game.

39:36Nick Shook:Yeah, the Lions, a team that have built a reputation for how they practice over the last few years, really in the Dan Campbell era. so much that Ben Johnson's tried to instill that in his Bears and you know overseeing some of the most intense practices in the history of that beats you know experience covering the team um so yeah if you come away with like it was a draw it was a push that's great for you because this is a team that you know is expected to contend for the NFC and if you really want to be a true AFC contender then you need to stack up against the best but it's also funny because I think they're similarly constructed in some ways like this is one of the better defenses in the nfl in houston like we love this defense the show loves this defense when we expect them to play with grit which happens to be the phrase that dan campbell wears on his hat so we like that we like that idea it's the matter of the big question has always been with the texans since last year can the offensive line hold up can they move the football the line's gotten better throughout the preseason at least according to those who were there and if you're again in an in a draw against the lions defense then that's very encouraging no matter whether you play graham mertz and keaton Slovis in a preseason game.

40:39Hey, Graham Mertz, who was he? A sixth round pick? Everyone hated that pick. He was awesome in this game. Texans roll their third stringers over the Lions third stringers, 26 to 7.

40:50Nick Shook:I'm not really taking much of that. I just got really tired of watching Graham Mertz and Keaton Slovis in the preseason this year. I can't believe you did it. I can't pretend that I did. Who knows how long Joe Mixon is out at this point? I think that's one of the stories with Houston. Nick Chubb really does look like he's going to be the weak one starter. So it's interesting. It'll be rugged. It will not be explosive. We'll see how much. Rugged is super accurate. It's just going to be Chubb up the middle, Chubb up the middle. Damian Pierce will be in the mix too, who's kind of a younger version of a similar style.

41:23So that's a big question hanging over the Texans. And then one thing I don't know if I've mentioned on this show since about March or April, which is that Jimmy Ward, who was a quality starter for the Texans, has not been on the field for them. He is facing domestic assault allegations. He's 35 years old. It came up again this last week because of a civil suit that's going against him that alleges the assault and that he was on drugs at the time. But it's just a reminder. A, he's not there. I don't expect him to be there, even though they haven't said anything about it. and that you know he plays the same position as Chauncey Gardner Johnson who's also hurt and gonna be out for a while so that's just something to watch the Texans safety spot on the lion side man Isaac to slot every week he shows up I didn't plan this out shook preseason MVP wise but let's think about it last week I don't know if you actually listen to me when I'm honking it's just a lot of honking i feel bad for you what like why would you ever think that imagine living with me um how can we do a show if i don't listen to you well you could get away with it do you remember the two candidates i said this is a tough one for the preseason mvp award i thought was not one of them it was it was stidham and i see i was on board with stidham and i wasn't as on board with

42:47Nick Shook:the other one which is why i don't remember the other one it was another quarterback with a game winning drive last week oh it was Stetson Bennett and I wasn't on board with it that's right oh he was great he gave me gave me a lot of joy but when we're handing out this award you got to be you got to compete you got to not be afraid to compete you got to tell your coach if you're Stetson Bennett do not sit me for preseason week three for dresser win who you're gonna cut the next day I need to play and get that award he didn't play Jarrett Stidham you mentioned it earlier he didn't play either for sam mellinger so i know isaac to slaw probably only had like eight catches all of preseason but they he had six of the best eight catches all of preseason and the fact they played four weeks it feels like they've been in training camp for like months isaac to slaw is my preseason mvp he did it again with another great touchdown catch i think didn't he do that with this week or was that another he had a touchdown catch this week and he had a highlight touchdown catch last week as well he's one of the favorites of nfl daily as a rookie and i don't care what kind of pushback we get from anybody in the comments who's like oh he's not going to be in the rotation to start the season they're going to find a way to put him on the field because he's demonstrated the talent he's demonstrated oh yeah you gotta get tim patrick on can't get oh god oh you gotta get i mean look all due respect for tim patrick and what he's fought through in his career to still be in the nfl but my god isaac dislaw he's a rookie he's got everything's ahead of him get him on the field let him work with jared goff he did it with kyle allen for god's sake they will kyle allen looked pretty good clear clearly the qb2 wouldn't be surprised if they flat out just cut hendon hooker because dan campbell talked about look they need to have as much depth as they can and just hasn't worked out for hooker in these in these games they had a couple injuries early remember in camp like onu zariki is not going to play this season at defensive line josh pascal is going to be out a while uh enos rakestrat these depth guys but they basically survived since.

44:42So I was a little worried that was like a bad start to the Lions season. I do keep an eye on Graham Glasgow. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe it's something he got hurt. They're starting center at practice this week, but it's really hard to know how serious these injuries are at this time of year. So just something I'm watching heading into week one. Let's get to your Browns. Finally. I mean, talk about disrespect. They bring in Tyler Huntley for the final two minute drive. And I'm not saying it was disrespect. with us should or it just was weird that they played tyler huntley like why bother i i'm not gonna have a monster take but just why bother but if if you're gonna bring in tyler huntley and he's gonna drive you down the field for the game winning field goal can you can you not cut him the next day you knew you were going to cut him the next day so why why that's stupid the whole

45:32Nick Shook:thing was stupid i hate to even look at the tinfoil hat that's getting dust in the corner of this room but I am going to reach for it at this point because I was at the game. And when I tell you that for a preseason game, a lot of people hung around to watch Shador Sanders play. There were more people in that stadium in the third and fourth quarter of a preseason game than I've seen in two decades of being at that stadium. And I was like, wow, they're, they're really excited to watch him. At one point after his first bad drive, he ran down to the dog pound to get those fans riled up before he went out there again.

46:04And I'm like, Oh, that's not going to age. Well, if it's anything like the first drive and the drive was even worse, so my tinfoil hat conspiracy of the week is Kevin Stefanski got so frustrated with how bad the offense looked with Shador at quarterback that he put Tyler Huntley in there and said I know he's gonna get the ball out on time and not hang on to it forever and he's gonna get us possibly in range for a field goal to win this game even though it doesn't matter proving a point by doing that I think it was that and nothing more I agree I also think the outrage is it's all stupid It is.

46:36The whole thing is stupid. We're talking about two mid-round rookies trying to battle to be backups. Shadir is a fifth-round pick. And he had as bad a game as you could possibly have, and there are contextual reasons for it, and it's not the end of the world. Joe Flacco said after the game, you know, I just told him, like, everyone's had those sort of games. And it's true. But it was that disastrous of a game. Shadir was sacked five times. He threw six passes. they had negative 27 yards on his 14 dropbacks. He was lost in this game. And yeah, he was playing with a bunch of players that weren't on the roster by the end of the weekend.

47:19So that all is to be taken into account. But I do think we can have takeaways, not just from this game, but from the arc of the preseason and camp, which is that based on all reporting, Like Shadur got more reps than any fourth string quarterback in history at practice. And he looked really good for the most part at practice. So he kept getting more and more. And Dylan Gabriel, Nick, started slow. But sometime after he came back from the injury, I don't know if the practices were better. I think they were better. But the games were great. Like he looked great in the games. I would have given him a B plus for his first appearance in the preseason.

48:00and I'd give him an A - for this one. Yeah. So, you know, like, he just looked better. And so he's got to be the first one off the bench, I think, assuming it's not Kenny Pickett.

48:11Nick Shook:Yeah, you know, folks are like, oh, after the Carolina game, I can't believe Shidor is still fourth in the depth chart. Well, now that the preseason is concluded, you see why the depth chart is what it is, which is that Dylan Gabriel came out in two games and handled the job pretty much as well as you can. He made the mistake on the pick six against Philadelphia. But I think in total, he probably made three or four decisions where like you're just like oh that was a flat out bad decision that you need to learn from uh there was another one where he was scrambling to his left in the red zone and he basically had a clear path to the end zone if not close to the goal line yes and decided to fire it into traffic and it looked a lot like the throw that he uh attempted against Philadelphia that was picked off by Andrew Makuba so and that was that happened right in front of me and I'm like oh no he did it again like just run those are the things you learn from but as the way I describe him I had somebody behind me asking the questions like how do you think this is going to shake out and I was like this is how it's going to go.

49:00They're going to go with Joe Flacco.

49:02Nick Shook:If Kenny Pickett's on the team, he'll be the backup. And then it's going to be Gabriel. And then it's going to be Shador. And I think at some point you're going to see all four if Pickett's on the team, just because history says the Browns play a lot of quarterbacks over the course of the season. And I think that Gabriel in two games has done. He's been a game manager who has not taken any shots downfield. And I don't know if he's capable of doing it, but I don't think Kevin Stefanski wants that in the quarterback, especially a young quarterback. He wants somebody who's going to manage the offense and execute it as he wants it executed.

49:26I think Gabriel checked all those boxes. It's just that he's got a lower ceiling. Chidor had that great game in Carolina, really bad game against the Rams and didn't play in Philadelphia

49:35Nick Shook:because he was dealing with an oblique injury. So the picture is a little bit more unclear. But again, this isn't somebody that you were going to expect to be on the field in week one. So it's fine. He's a young guy who needs time to learn. Let it just be that and not some conspiracy that they're sabotaging him because they're not. Kenny Pickett is still on this roster. He's reportedly getting healthier. or look, if the Raiders want to send them some sort of pick for Kenny Pickett, they might just be like, okay, that's fine. Because Gabriel maybe showed enough to think, okay, he could just be our backup.

50:07I think he'd be ready at least to be a backup. I thought he got through his reads quickly. There was an opposite hash throw to the out, which was great. People get on him for his arm strength, and I'm sure he doesn't have the cannon down the field, but he has more than enough oh yeah to play at the nfl level like he and he was processing and going through his reads like i said pretty fast so he was decisive the height thing is going to be an issue i saw one ball that he had i think it was the larvodane uh where he got blasted in the

50:38Nick Shook:back by a defender um where it got deflected at the defense at the line and that's why it was off target and why his receiver got hit um and i think that's going to continue to be an issue but he is mobile enough to roll him out if you have to so yeah I agree with you one one thing I clocked which is interesting Zach Jackson has a podcast on the Browns and he said considering the amount of outrageously good throws Shadir made throughout camp he wondered what else is going on for Shadir to not get higher on the depth chart and more opportunities just kind of an interesting blind item when that comes from a beat reporter I'm just I don't I don't know I don't know what he meant but i found it interesting i am going to shout out a guy that andrew siciliano noted on twitter is making the team because yes i was gonna do this if you didn't do it because then i won't sound like a homer oh product of the two-lane green wave aiden hutchinson the defensive tackle who started the game playing fullback finishes with a sack and a half forced fumble has made the team and it's especially personal to me because as we chronicled last year around this time.

51:42College Football 25 came out, and I led the Green Wave to a national championship just to make Greg happy. And Aiden Huntington was a standout on that defense for me. So it's really happy to see real-life Aiden Huntington succeeding in making a roster in the NFL. And that he's playing both ways, that he's playing fullback. He had a couple sacks in this game, a couple of TFLs. I don't know. Stefanski never says anything. And then he went to the podium and said this undrafted rookie is making the team. I think all the reporters were like, Like, what? He never says stuff like that. So they love him.

52:13That's a cool camp story. I don't have much to say on the Rams. Terrence Ferguson, their second-round tight end, played in this game and looked quite good. Just galloping in stride. Had one play down the field but got open a couple times and will be interesting if they use him during the season. It was a good camp, I think, for Nate Landman, linebacker for the Rams. They do not play any of their guys in the preseason at all. the lack of surprises in general for the Rams is it means they had a good training camp there wasn't a lot of news other than Stafford and we'll see but maybe my Stafford panic was a little unnecessary we'll see he had a good week a good first week back we don't really know but it sounded like he checked a lot of boxes to progress during the week look no news I think it's good

52:57Nick Shook:news considering we've chronicled this I mean we were literally at the point last week where he took the field and pads and the Rams tweeted out and I wrote about it without knowing like what capacity he participated in or anything that's just how slowly this has progressed so you hope that you hear less and no news is good news for him considering his age his injury history and everything else i do want to go back to the game though real quick one guy that stood out to me from like field level viewing was uh safety for the rams his name is uh tanner engel and yes he played his tail off in that game that man was laying the wood on defense special teams number 34 was flying around the field and I just checked their cuts so far he's still on the roster so keep an eye on number 34 what so I was watching the broadcast last time I get to see the best trio in the game J.B.

53:43Long Mina Kimes and Maurice Jones Drew here here locally and yeah Sean McVay comes on that broadcast and does you know half a quarter he's so good good at it I think he called him the human missile and yeah that's how he played Sean McVay just loved that guy that he showed up each and every week. He was the post-game interview, so I am a sucker for stories like that. I think he made the Rams. Let's talk Colts-Bengals. How about those Colts third stringers just wiping the floor with the Bengals? 41 to 14. It's crazy that they charge full price for preseason games. I keep saying this for season ticket holders.

54:20It's just outrageous. The quarterback matchups in this game shook. There were some wild ones this weekend, but I think Riley Leonard and Jason Bean versus Desmond Ritter and Thorne. Who's Thorne? P Thorne. I don't know who that is on the Bengals. That to me took the cake of the, of the most preseason week three matchup of the week. Peyton Thorne. don't say anything about this game. Nothing happened in this game. Say something about one of these teams, if you please.

54:49Nick Shook:No, I wanted, I wanted to give a shout out to the defensive back who came back from an ACL tear as a rookie. And then an Achilles tear in the following season, last name is Scott had a pick six. That was nice. But yeah, I mean, we know the story for the Colts. It's been the quarterback competition. It's been the whole Daniel Jones wins over Anthony Richardson. And I just see a low ceiling for each option in this offense in a year that Shane Steichen needs to win games because his job could be on the line. Same goes for Chris Ballard. I'm just not super inspired or encouraged by what the Colts have shown me in the preseason so far.

55:19So we'll see. And the Bengals, their big question mark was, you know, is their defense going to be good? All the talk out of camp was like, oh, this defense might actually be good. We haven't seen it so far when they played Washington on Monday night. They didn't look very good. And you still have the Trey Hendrickson thing lingering out there as well. We know what this offense brings to the table.

55:36Nick Shook:As long as their offensive line can hold up, we know what they're going to do. And surprising depth at running back as well. We know what they have at receiver and everything else. It's the defense. I just... They keep saying it looks great in practice. They keep saying, well, we don't mind. It looks great in practice. Do it on the field. Do it in Cleveland in week one against 40-year-old Joe Flacco. And then maybe I'll buy in because you have guys that are unproven that you've drafted over the last few years that have to be contributors this year. It's good. It's a big ask. So I need it. They love Demetrius Knight, but then he shows up in the games and he doesn't he doesn't look good.

56:08Back to the the Steichen of it all. I'm going to play a clip, and this is from The Athletic reporter James Boyd, asking Shane Steichen after deciding to go with Daniel Jones if he has any regrets. And just, like, listen to the questions and listen to the answers. Beyond injuries, what other things do you think you could have done to help the government plan get to where you used to go? Yeah, I think that's a process. It's a day-in and day-out process. like I said just in the meetings the classroom you know the fundamentals of everything and continue to work in stride in those areas and he hasn't made improvements in those areas and I think he's going to continue to improve in those areas.

56:52Well I guess what you specifically like what do you think you could have done differently? Well I think you look back on those situations like I said I mentioned the injuries but again meeting with them met a lot with them during those injuries, you know, just obviously from a mental standpoint, staying in it. And I think he did a good job with that. And he's continuing to improve with that. What? You know, I'm always wondering, like, gaslighting is one of those words that you're like, I know what it means, but it's hard to describe what does it mean? Like, that was gaslighting. He didn't remotely answer the question.

57:23What could have you done better, Shane Steichen? And I teed it up partly to get to a larger point, which is if Shane Steichen was a coach of a more popular team, a national team, I think he would get a lot more grief from how lame he is in front of the podium, how he never answers anything. and he sort of got like a I'm smarter than you attitude when, you know, it just drives me a little crazy. A reporter is finally trying to drill down and ask a real question. And what were those answers? They were answers to a completely different question that I don't even know what that question would have been.

58:06No, they weren't even answers to a different question. They were a defense of what he's – it was his defense of himself. He's like, how could you have been better? And he's like, well, I met with him a lot. like that's not what we asked we asked how could you have been better you could have said well i could have done x y and z no he just recapped what he did for me it reminded me of like a ceo of a company that's been caught red-handed and then they just tap dance around it uh with you know a word salad that's kind of what that was and you're right i think that if they were a pillar franchise a friend like a cowboys or something like that they'd be under the microscope daily for their current situation how they handle this quarterback situation the way that he operates but but they're not.

58:43So that kind of explains who the Colts are in a nutshell right now. And you hope that it ends up better than that. They said that, you know, Daniel Jones is going to be the quarterback for the rest of the season. They also said that about Joe Flacco last year when they benched him. And two weeks later, they went back to Richardson. I don't think they're going to do that this year beyond like an injury or Daniel Jones going 0-4, 0-5, but that's on the table. Either one of those things. Positive for the Colts. Tyler Warren looks legit. I'm surprised he's going as the tight end 10 in fantasy leagues.

59:14Like if you told me he had a Brock Bowers like rookie season, that wouldn't, that wouldn't shock me. I, you know, I know there's not going to be that many yards to go around there, but he, he looks legit. And you mentioned the Bengals offense shook. They had five drives in the preseason. They scored four touchdowns. Like they keep unearthing these receivers. Mitch Tinsley looks like a star. Shamar Stewart quickly passed miles Murphy and became the starting edge. I think that's a positive on the defensive side of things. But, yeah, it just looks like more of the same for the Bengals. And it's been more of the same for this show, too, Shook.

59:47I think we need to take a second break because if we're going to do one final preseason takeaway show of all 32 teams, we're going to go a little long. We'll be back in a minute. Back on NFL Daily, Shook, I don't know if you remember back in the old, you know, the around the NFL days, the unbelievable winning streak in the preseason of the Baltimore Ravens. Oh, yes. Front of mind that had been. And since they took on their loss, I've noticed they've gotten it going again this year. Undefeated, 3-0, plus 53, 30-3 over the Commanders. Sure, it might be a bunch of third and fourth stringers, but they just can't help themselves.

1:00:27They dominate the preseason. Man, of all the teams in the NFL, I can't think of one that had a more uneventful camp. And for a good team, that's great. It's really, ever since Isaiah Likely's injury, and we don't know if he's going to be ready for the start of the season or not, it's been quiet there. There really hasn't been much going on. And I feel good about my potential Ravens Super Bowl pick right now. Nothing's gotten in their way.

1:00:50Nick Shook:I feel better about that pick than I thought about your Bills Super Bowl pick last year. And I'm completely on board with that pick. They got to the AFC title game. I mean, it wasn't a bad pick. I don't know. It was close. I know, but no cigar. You're right about the Ravens, though. Like, every time I went through their games this preseason, I was more interested in the team they were playing. Like, I was watching it for the other team, not for Drew Leary and the Ravens off and Rasheed Ali and random Dearness Johnson. Like, no, I don't need that. I want to see the other team play because I know who the Ravens are and they know who they are, and they're still going to dominate the other team even if they're playing with a bunch of backups.

1:01:23Nick Shook:It's just a sign of a rock-solid franchise that has greater aspirations at this point in the season. So even in this game with a bunch of backups, this is one of those preseason games where you're like, let's not talk about the game. Yes. We hit the Brian Robinson trade from the other side, but for the commanders, it's definitely a show of confidence for our guy, Corey Krosky-Meritt. I mean, I know the whole country got on this guy, but you know, we were there five or six weeks ago, really giving weekly segments to Bill. But yeah, did we know it was Bill at that time? We didn't know it was Bill for a couple weeks.

1:01:59I think Chris Rodriguez will play for this team, too. I think they like Austin Eckler. I actually think for fantasy, people are probably getting over their skis when it comes to Bill because I think they're going to play Jeremy McNichols. They're going to play Austin Eckler like they're going to play all these guys. But cross-keeping here, it's still fun. I noticed Luke McCaffrey's out there with a deep third stringers. Noah Brown's been hurt all camp, too. One underrated thing for this offense is that I think they're going to miss Zaccheaus, Alameda Zaccheaus, and Deami Brown more than people remember.

1:02:32It's like, yeah, they added Debo Samuel, but those guys are pretty good NFL receivers, and you're kind of seeing them actually have real roles in their new spots for a reason. And no one really stepped up in the depth group in camp in terms of the practice reports from the commanders.

1:02:48Nick Shook:Yeah, I agree. I mean, if you look at him on paper, I've always liked KJ Osborne from his time in Minnesota. But yeah, if you're swapping and you want proven production from veterans that are just like replacement level or slightly better, I think it's a concern for them. And you also wonder, are you going to get a full season out of Debo Samuel? That's really the big thing with them. So overall, though, I'm not going to like sound the alarm bells with them because we really don't know what they're going to look like until they take the field in week one. But yeah, it's yeah, you could be better in McCaffrey playing in the, you know, in the third quarter with the third stringers.

1:03:20That's not really encouraging, but you kind of saw this going in that direction for most of this camp and preseason. I like the secondary, and I like Marshawn Lattimore staying healthy and practicing throughout camp. I can't tell you how rare that is. Saints fans know that. It just hasn't happened in years and years, so that's a good sign for him. Trey Amos, their rookie cornerback, everything has been positive with him. All right, let's get to the Bears Chiefs. Game of the week. hey you know it's like oh no we can't possibly expose davis mills to the rigors of preseason week three he's too valuable we got to sit davis mills meanwhile patrick beholmes one of the greatest players in the history of this sport is out there into the second quarter diming the bears starting defense and i sent out a tweet last week shook about guys i want in my fantasy leagues You know, guys who I want to draft included some under the radar guys.

1:04:19Basial Tootin was in there. It included some stars like, oh, I know this one.

1:04:23Nick Shook:I know AJ Brown. And I, and I wanted to put Patrick Mahomes there. And I didn't, I didn't put Patrick Mahomes cause I wimped out. Cause I know a fantasy white, like I think this is the year to go get him. Fantasy pick you buy low, sell high. And I just got a feeling they're going to be going deep. They're going to be a little bit back to the chiefs. They certainly were in this game. Great protection against the Bears starters. They dominated. They looked awesome. And they made me a little more excited to watch the Chiefs. This is one of the rare preseason games where I felt like I really gained something from watching this contest.

1:04:57And I don't know if it was like the field mics were hot or something, but it sounded really loud at Arrowhead for a preseason game. Yes, super loud. The energy was super high. Like, they were fired up at Arrowhead. And I think it was because Patrick Mahomes was doing Patrick Mahomes things. making plays out of structure just dropping dimes throwing a beautiful pass to Juju Smith-Schuster to convert a third down that looked impossible to convert and keep a drive alive leading him down the field for a touchdown finding a guy that I think is going to bring a lot of value to Patrick Mahomes in this Chiefs offense overall it's Tyquan Thornton because of what he can do stretching the field as soon as he caught his first pass this game I went god how did they let the Chiefs get this guy because this was a former draft pick who was all about speed and stretching the field and

1:05:41Nick Shook:if any team needed a receiver to stretch the field it was the chiefs since that used to be their identity and now he's on the team and he's going to make plays for them so uh yeah this was a game that i i looked back and i was like oh i'm this makes me excited for the regular season i also want to note that like 10 different guys logged at least one rushing attempt isaiah pacheco patrick bahomes carson steel kareem hunt elijah mitchell chris oldokun garden minshu and like just continue going down the list like that's amazing three of those guys are quarterbacks like this is how crazy this game was i don't know if elijah mitchell is going to make this team for what it's worth if you're interested yeah sort of thing i did hear brett beach on the broadcast who's been working out by the way you can always tell the gms that have been working out in the offseason he's been working out he popped brashad smith their seventh round pick and really gave him a lot of love and And I was like, ooh, the GM's giving him love.

1:06:32That's something to file away. I still think he'd be a nice, deep fantasy league type of pick. The Josh Simmons at left tackle thing, it's really a thing. So good. And, yeah, part of my confidence in Mahomes is just the law of averages. You know, he is the best quarterback in football. And careers go through little ups and downs, even for the greatest. And so he's just like, yeah, he's not going to have three straight years like that. I think he's just, you know what I mean? Like, he's due. And I think some of the reasons of what's around him will help. Let's talk Caleb Williams, who made Ben Johnson a little salty after the game.

1:07:14He was kind of like, that was sloppy early. The first couple drives against the Chiefs starters were sloppy, just not sharp. Some mental mistakes. I don't think Caleb Williams was seeing the field very well. He was holding on to the ball. The Bears' defense was run over a little bit, too. But, you know, once the Chiefs' backups kind of came in there, Caleb righted the ship, and it looked better. So I'm not drawing too many conclusions. But it is a reminder this could be an up-and-down process. Ben Johnson said, like, look, these are some of the things that have been plaguing us in practice showing up this time in the game.

1:07:48Yeah, yeah. It felt also, like, approach-wise,

1:07:52Nick Shook:they didn't really let Caleb throw consistently, like on a play-by-play basis, until they got to that two minutes. situation at the end of the first half and at that point they started to unleash it and at that point they were also playing the backups and they produced and before that it was a lot of third and long Caleb in a pocket that's slowly crumbling around him doing that thing where he stands still in the pocket and then at the last second decides to rip one some of them were positive but yeah the offense just felt a little disjointed until that last two minute situation in which they finally you know picked up some steam and ended with a touchdown pass to Romo Dunze I think this is going to be a work in progress for them throughout this season but I do feel a lot better about them that's that was my one takeaway watching this game was okay at least i feel better about these bears under ben johnson even if it doesn't happen overnight than i did going into last season with matt eberflus like i can see the vision here they're gonna climb steadily it's just not gonna happen immediately and and if you're a bears fan i think you can sign up for that so i just mentioned uh alamita zakias he's gonna be a part of this offense and that's one of my takeaways is like he is going to get passes in this offense they're running back two right now partly because of injuries, is a man, I don't know that well, Kyle Monangai?

1:09:01That's how you say it. Monangai? Yeah, it's a little thin at running back too, but he's looked okay. Jaquan Brisker, who had that terrible concussion last year, had a healthy summer, so that was just something I wanted to know. And then the Chiefs made a trade on Sunday, bringing back Derek Nadi from the Jets for a late-round conditional pick swap. So he probably was not making the Jets, but the Chiefs are familiar with him, so a depth pickup. There, Joshua Williams, their cornerback, who had some pretty significant snaps in Super Bowls, at least the one against the Eagles the first time around, might be on the cutting block or a trade candidate, something to watch there.

1:09:42Let's go Titans-Vikings. We already talked Carson Wentz. We already talked Max Brosmer. The last Vikings point before we get to a little Titans is that there's been some pop shook about a potential Adam Thielen trade to Minnesota. They traded Harrison Phillips last week, a defensive tackle, and some people are thinking that might have been to open up a little cap space to get this Thielen deal done. The reporting is that they still have some financial things to work out to try to make that happen.

1:10:16Nick Shook:Yeah, I think the talk on him was we're just going to leave that to the front office, which always suggests to me that, yeah, we're on board with that idea. We know what the receiver situation is with them right now. You have Jordan Addison going to be suspended to start the year. Jalen Naylor dealing with something. Justin Jefferson, you don't feel super confident about him. Basically, they're thin at the position, and they're relying on rookies like Lucky Jackson and possibly Ty Felton to find a fit in this. But if you're a team that wants to get to where you were last year, you kind of can't afford to take that risk.

1:10:43So why not bring back a guy who knows Minnesota very well and prove last year that he can still be a productive receiver? Get him out of Carolina. Get him back with the Vikings. You can see if he's got one more or maybe two more good years left with him. It's like a stopgap option that you can count on. I love it. He looked good last year for the Panthers. Now, should the Panthers be trading away a reliable receiver? Maybe not, but their receiver room is a lot deeper and more encouraging than it was previously. And just as a fan and remembering all the great feeling moments in Minnesota, I would love to see it.

1:11:15So that feels like a win-win trade. Cam Ward finished a quietly impressive preseason, 12 for 22 for 152 yards. And I really like what Brian Callahan, his coach, said after the game, just that it just doesn't seem too big for him. And sometimes he's a little late on his throws, but his arm makes up for it. That's me talking. He had this deep out where he's throwing the ball off his own goal line to Van Jefferson, where he layers it over the underneath defender, but with enough speed to get it to Jefferson on the sideline. And, man, he just whips that thing in there, Shook. And I thought he's had a really nice preseason for a number one overall draft pick.

1:12:02I'm just even more excited to watch him this year.

1:12:04Nick Shook:I think whips is a great way to describe this because that is his throwing emotion in a nutshell and on the broadcast they were talking about how Tennessee's coaches have tried to get him to step into his throws more but I think he has enough arm strength talent and accuracy to be able to get away with that in most instances like that's a very accurate throw that's essentially almost off platform because he's just like kind of floating backward and just lets it rip by whipping it and it wasn't the only time he made a throw like that there was another throw in this game where he was rolling I believe to his right and you're watching it from the sideline view in the broadcast and I see I think it was Julius Chestnut who came open on the backside and I'm looking at him at Chestnut open I'm going I wonder if he's going to take that throw if he sees him he's going to take that risk because a lot of quarterbacks that's a no-no don't throw across your body Ward sees it and just whips it right over to him for completion and I'm like that is Miami Cam Ward that is the guy that could elevate this team as a whole this should be your franchise quarterback I think it's going to take time for them to get better around him it's going to take multiple years but I do think even off of this preseason action that he gave them a very encouraging sample size that they can take with positive momentum into the season, even if the season ends up being a pretty trying one.

1:13:06Yeah, he just he just looks like a guy that's ready. And that's why I'm ready to give him the honor that it's time for the who delivered presented by Uber Eats. And I am saying that Cam Ward delivered for me because Titans fans are out there. They're wanting more attention on their number one overall pick. But every time I hear Cam Ward talked about, it's like nobody pays attention to Cam Ward. Well, if everyone's saying that, people are paying attention. and he is delivering not only on the field with with throws like that and I think Van Jefferson if he was not going to make that team and I'm not sure he was a lock uh he might have made it in that game because he went three for 103 I think's a crazy stat line in that game I wonder if Tyler Lockett's like definitely definitely on this team I don't know I mean some someone's gotta be the odd man out here, but ultimately it's not Cam Ward.

1:13:58And in a week that you got into a fight with Jeffrey Simmons, I mean, nothing says more, I'm not afraid of nobody than getting in a fight with Jeffrey Simmons. Maybe the most fearsome player in the entire league than that. And Cam Ward kind of joked about it when they asked him about it the next day saying, what did you learn? and I learned that Jeffrey Simmons is a strong man. Jeffrey Simmons has reportedly looked good. So, yeah, shout out to Cam Ward. Can't wait to watch him week one. That was Who Delivered, presented by Uber Eats. When football makes you hungry, get game day deals. Presented by Uber Eats, the official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL.

1:14:40Order now. Cowboys and Falcons played. Joe Milton's Revenge actually played pretty well in this game. They did have an injury. Jaden Blue, their running back hurt his ankle. Another injured player, Trayvon Diggs, was activated by the Cowboys on Sunday. So that's a really good sign that maybe he could be ready for the beginning of the season or at least close to it. They are going to carry him on the 53-man roster. That's really interesting. And I don't know, Shook, if you saw the Micah Parsons situation. situation how would you describe how uh he was on the sideline he was taking a siesta on a training table which look don't get me wrong if you're tired you're a little exhausted from like participating a training table is a great place to take a nap sure except he hasn't been participating in weeks because of all the drama that we've already covered ad nauseum uh but yeah he didn't

1:15:37Nick Shook:he didn't look very engaged in that sideline so i think we continue to monitor that which is kind of getting stranger by the week i am very bummed about the jayden blue news because i think this running back room for as low of a ceiling as it has or at least i'm a pessimist when i look at them i was very intrigued by his role in this and it was interesting to see how they divided up the reps in this game you saw a lot of deuce vaughn you saw a lot of jayden blue he doesn't have he's not the type of guy that like checks the the old chris wesling box of like that guy's got the juice in the preseason but there's moments where i'm like okay i can see him playing a key role in this offense possibly as a third down back maybe somebody who takes a you know a decent amount of carries so as we try to figure out how they're gonna you know order up this this running back room and whether miles sanders is actually cut out for it or not hearing that knowing that he got hurt that's a bummer for me because i think that this is just one of the more intriguing position groups albeit a low ceiling and especially after a game in which joe milton finally played well like i was very happy to see his week by week progression i was like oh okay now he's actually knows how to throw a fade.

1:16:39He didn't know how to the two previous weeks. He's reading coverages. He's making decisions. He's not just making plays with his legs. That was very encouraging to see, but as it is with the Cowboys, usually, can't all just have nothing but good news,

1:16:51Nick Shook:even after a preseason game. Right. I mean, the digs news to me is a big one. Jalen Guyton, they're talking their left tackle that he might be back a little earlier than people think. So these are stories we will be tracking. Mozzie Smith, their former first round pick was out there deep into the game, which indicates they might be cutting him. For the Falcons, I keep feeling like I just don't have much on them. It's partly because they don't play any of their meaningful players. But I did see AtlantaFalcons.com write that Pierce and Walker are both not expected to start. They're two rookies, Jalen Walker and James Pierce.

1:17:30And it seems like James Pierce is actually ahead of Jalen Walker, who's overcoming an injury. So he might be fourth in line at edge. Not anything to panic about, but something to track. You would want that to progress sooner than later during the season. Raheem Morris also confirmed Caleb McGarry. Their tackle is going to be out for a significant time. We hit that earlier on the show, but, you know, confirmed by the coach that he's going to be out a while. Meanwhile, Giants, Patriots, You know, if there's one thing that the Giants love, it's seeing the flying Elvi of the Patriots helmet coming their way.

1:18:0842 Giants, 10 Patriots. They put a hurt on the Patriots backups. Now they had, you know, mostly backups in, but so did the Giants. And the Giants backups look good. You know, Jackson Dart comes in, look pretty good again. And Brian D 'Abel was so mad when Jalen Hyatt dropped his precious quarterback's pass in this game. He dropped two of them. And then he finally caught one. This game is so long ago. I'm like, was this this week? It seems so long ago. It was. He dropped two great throws by Jackson Dart. Dart gets knocked out. Jameis comes in. First throw. Touchdown pass to Jalen Hyatt, who finally catches a contested ball.

1:18:46I was just like, ah, come on, man. Dart looks very good. Like, very capable of handling that job. So it's going to be a situation to monitor, especially if they get off to a slow start. Like, I know there was a lot of, like, consternation and uncertainty about him going into the draft, and I totally understand that. And it's not that I was entirely on board, but I was in the vicinity. Oh, man. I see what the Giants saw now. I know it's only the preseason, but I'm very encouraged to see what he looks like in an NFL game in the regular season because I liked what I saw throughout this preseason.

1:19:14And it's going to be such a different offense with him, and you just see that. Like, some people are like, well, but he's not testing the ball downfield. There's not a lot of like super pro concepts. Like it's like, yeah, that's what it's going to look like when he actually plays too. That's what you do is build the offense around your quarterback. He's a rookie. Just feels like they're wasting time with, with Russell Wilson. I don't think he's going to make it through, you know, three weeks because unless they just pull off some upsets, they have the command. You could, you could win that. You could win that game.

1:19:42Certainly. But if they're not winning, I think he's gone. Might be the end of Tommy DeVito with the giants. Although he could always end up on the practice squad. Kim Scadaboo didn't really happen in the preseason. That's fine, but he's third on the depth chart, I would guess, going into the season. Jackson Dart did fumble and take a big hit on his last play. I know a penalty overturned it being a fumble, but he didn't know that as he was putting his body on the line. So you want to avoid that. For the Patriots, Ian Rappaport, our guy, confirmed what it seemed pretty clear, which is that Kyle Duggar is available if you wanted to trade for him.

1:20:20I saw Mike Vrabel get all up in arms, calling someone a rat that Jalen Polk was reported to be out for the season. Hearing Mike Vrabel caution the media about the dangers of unnamed sources, like, hmm. I sure see a lot of pro-Mike Vrabel stuff every time he's looking for a job or trying to keep his job that are attributed to unnamed sources. So it's just like, calm down. Let people report things if they're factual. He wasn't questioning the factual nature of Jalen Polk being out for the season. I don't know what more to say about the Patriots other than Caleb on Chason. Hadn't mentioned him on this show.

1:21:03Has had a great camp, a great preseason. Had a sneaky great year for the Raiders last year. And I think has passed Keon White on the depth chart where he's ahead of him at edge. They're decent at edge up front. And you got Harold Landry, too. Like, they have a pretty fun front, but it is interesting. Keon White now kind of playing with the backups. Keep an eye. Caleb on Chason might be having kind of like a mid-career, former first-round pick renaissance. Kind of Dante Fowler style, like the Jaguars, where disappointment for the Jaguars, but ends up being like a really solid pro who has a longer career.

1:21:36That would be the hope for him.

1:21:37Nick Shook:Another comp, maybe like Leonard Floyd. Like, didn't do much in Chicago. Who's ahead of those two young guys in Atlanta. He's one of the guys ahead of the team. Yeah, I like that. I like that. Where do we see this Patriots receiver room shaking out now that we've got this information in a full preseason worth of tape? So Efton Chisholm, their undrafted rookie, is making this team and could have a decent role on the team. He really looked that good in the preseason. Stefan Diggs, I think, has had a pretty quiet, maybe concerning preseason in camp in terms of he does not look like a number one receiver.

1:22:10but I think it's the Mario Douglas it's Stefan digs it's Mac Collins as as their top three receivers and then Kyle Williams who got concussed in this game and in Chisholm are probably four and five I think they're going with like the the younger guys here and we'll see I don't you know Jalen Polk is hurt and I think maybe the 49ers trade for Kendrick Bourne that would make a lot

1:22:34Nick Shook:to me yeah uh does jayvon baker somebody that you end up seeing getting like practice squad in and maybe like someone would pick him up he's fast he they could keep him as a special teamer but he's he's further down down the list i'm more interested in the offensive line like yeah cole strange might be available like anyone that bill belichick drafted they're available like brable just wants to get rid of all these guys i mean like it's crazy they're trading duggar They're going to be starting potentially a fourth-round rookie, Craig Woodson, who a lot of people thought that was a reach, but he's going to play.

1:23:07I don't know if Garrett Bradbury is starting at offensive line. Their offensive line is easily the most concerning part of the team that it's not enough better compared to a year ago. Let's get to the Steelers and the Panthers. We are wrapping up our recaps with bad news. Derek Harmon, their first-round pick, sprained his knee in the preseason finale, and he is going to be out four to six weeks. Might not be IR, but we'll see. They have had a rookie, Shook, Yaya Black, play pretty well behind him. So I still think they feel good about their depth up front. Really, their concerns are on the offensive side.

1:23:43I do not think they have a ton of concerns about the defense. I thought it was interesting in this game that they played this week against the Panthers that Pat Friermuth was getting a ton of snaps outside of the starters. I think that might have been a situation where he hadn't previously because he was coming off an injury, and that does happen sometime where you want to get a guy more work who hasn't before, but they are deep at tight end, so your tinfoil hat might not be that crazy. Like Johnnie Smith, Darnell Washington, is he third in line now? Are they showcasing him for a trade? He can certainly get something for Pat Friermuth.

1:24:16Nick Shook:Yeah, and even his body language kind of suggested that he was a little frustrated with the fact that he was out there. Like he was just, I was like, oh, that's interesting. That made me raise an eyebrow. They are healthy at tackle. Troy Fautanu and Broderick Jones, I think, had good camps, like step forward. Fautanu, they're really hoping is going to be good. But Broderick Jones was healthy. He's moved back to left tackle where he used to play before. So their offensive line is really important to protect Aaron Rodgers because no one really stepped up at that wide receiver battle. By all accounts, if you average all the reporting, like scotty miller might be their second best wide receiver which is made a great catch in this game right calvin austin has been hurt aaron rogers like scotty miller they should be looking for wide receivers the the panthers apparently aren't if they're going to trade adam theelin they rested all their backups in this game and so really my my biggest takeaway from this this camp was i'm excited for the tetaroa mcmillan era and i think the panthers are too the t-mac era let it begin sans the adidas shoes the sneakers you know there was an injury in this game or maybe it was in practice i'm not sure which it was uh princely uman mielin uh hurt his shoulder hitting darnell washington which is probably going to become like a really common way to get injured it's just like throwing your shoulder into into a mountain yeah into mount washington yes right of course i mean i love darnell washington and so that's two of their young pass rushers who are out.

1:25:45We don't know how long the injury is going to be for Uman Mielin, but Nick Skorton is also out with a collapsed lung. They have a lot of questions on their defense, but I feel pretty good about their offense and where they are at. I feel good about where we're at, Shooky. We did it! I don't know how many games are in the preseason. I could do the math. 49, right? Yeah, because 16 a week, and then one for the Hall of Fame. We're done! It's over! We did it! Siciliano, I think, was who We tweeted out the total games and then said like 278 regular season games or something like that. The grind truly begins now.

1:26:19Sicko season. It may seem to be over, but it's actually only just begun because we have 18 weeks of football ahead of us after this dead week. Also, one last comp for you since we just talked about it. Scotty Miller, new age Jeff Janis. No, I mean, Jeff Janis was like a big, strong. I'm just kidding.

1:26:38Nick Shook:I'm just kidding. But, you know, I see the comp, though, and that just Rogers likes it. Random receivers that Aaron Rodgers likes. Yes, I like that. Jeff Janis caught one of his Hail Marys, right? Yes, he did. That was the best Jeff Janis moment. So you called it a dead week. I'm going to take that personally. This is actually going to be one of the best weeks of NFL Daily content of the season. We have also 40s and free agents coming out. We're wrapping up our division previews. We're going to preview the whole season. So that's actually the next show that you're going to hear in your feed as a 40s and free agent.

1:27:08So we'll hit any news from Monday with that, me and Daniel Jeremiah. but then Jordan Rodrigue, myself, Patrick Claibon are going to be there later in the week. We're going to have some awards previews. I love doing that. I'm going to have a special guest. Very excited to have Nick Wright. You got to come on, Nick, now that I'm saying your name for our annual over under draft. That is one of my favorite episodes of the entire season. So we are going daily throughout the next week leading into our regular week one schedule, which you are going to be a huge part of, Shook. You know, you're doing yeoman's work on the primetime game, so I will see you then, buddy.

1:27:47Nick Shook:Looking forward to it. And I know a lot of people are looking forward to the over-under show. That's one of the favorites. It's the least talked about, most amazing streak in sports. Three straight years. I have gone undefeated on the over-under picks going into the season. We'll see if we can turn it into four. That is it for today's NFL Daily. I was waiting for that music and honking too much at the end of like an hour and a half show. But these Sundays have been delicious. Chuck, we did it. It's the last one. Five weeks. It's over. A couple of seconds.

1:28:31This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.