Styles and Reese Shine at Combine, Latest Trade Rumors, and Dan Morgan and Dave Canales Join the Show

27 Feb 2026 · 1 h 17 min · 35 chapters

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NFL Daily Podcast Summary

Episode Title

Styles and Reese Shine at Combine, Latest Trade Rumors, and Dan Morgan and Dave Canales Join the Show

Hosts

  • Gregg Rosenthal
  • Nick Shook

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Episode Overview In this episode, hosts Gregg Rosenthal and Nick Shook cover the highlights from the first day of drills at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, analyzing standout performances by prospects Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese. The episode also includes reactions to recent trade rumors, particularly focusing on the trade of Jermaine Johnson and speculations surrounding Anthony Richardson and Maxx Crosby. Additionally, the hosts interview Carolina Panthers GM Dan Morgan and head coach Dave Canales.

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Key Highlights

Combine Performances

  • Sonny Styles:
  • Dominant linebacker performance; showcased extraordinary athleticism.
  • Recorded the fastest 40-yard dash among the linebacker group, along with impressive vertical and broad jump metrics.
  • Described as a "tank" with a potential top-five draft position.
  • Arvell Reese:
  • Also performed well, demonstrating strong capabilities as a linebacker/edge rusher.
  • Considered highly by analysts, with potential comparisons to Aiden Hutchinson and Trayvon Walker.

Performance Analysis

  • Discussion on the depth of the linebacker class this year, considered one of the strongest in recent years.
  • Mention of other notable linebackers such as David Bailey, Cashius Howell, and Caleb Downs, with potential draft implications based on their performances.

Trade Rumors

  • Jermaine Johnson traded from the Jets to the Titans for T'Vondre Sweat.
  • Speculation around Anthony Richardson’s potential trade to the Vikings, emphasizing the need for competition at QB.
  • Maxx Crosby's asking price reportedly very high, indicating the Raiders' stance on retaining him.

Interviews

  • Dan Morgan (GM, Carolina Panthers):
  • Emphasized the importance of building a winning culture and mindset.
  • Discussed the need for sustained effort and improvement following their playoff loss.
  • Expressed the desire to bolster talent around QB Bryce Young and the importance of bringing in players with character and a love of the game.
  • Dave Canales (Head Coach, Carolina Panthers):
  • Proud of the team's ability to inspire excitement in the fan base.
  • Talked about the need for growth and consistency, especially for QB Bryce Young.
  • Highlighted the importance of team chemistry and the development of young players, including potential breakout stars for the upcoming season.

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Conclusion This episode of NFL Daily provides an insightful look into the latest happenings at the NFL Scouting Combine, evaluates standout players, and discusses trade dynamics as teams gear up for the upcoming season. The interviews with Dan Morgan and Dave Canales offer a glimpse into the Panthers' aspirations and strategies moving forward.

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Resources

  • NFL Daily YouTube: [NFL Daily YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcasts)
  • Privacy Information: [Omny Studio Listener](https://omnystudio.com/listener)

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Key Takeaways

  • The Combine showcased top linebacker talents, particularly Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese.
  • The episode featured trade discussions and insights into team strategies from the Panthers’ management.
  • Emphasis on building team culture and character as a focal point for future success.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Recap of Day One at the Combine

2:47 to 3:56

Insights from Day One of the NFL Combine and player performances.

“I think it's the last three or four years.”

Caleb Downs and Defensive Highlights

3:56 to 4:40

Discussion on Caleb Downs and standout defensive players at the Combine.

“I mean, you know, the overall day, it always begins with, with your player interviews.”

Sonny Stiles' Impressive Combine Performance

4:40 to 5:40

Analysis of Sonny Stiles' combine metrics and performance.

“We'll watch Jeremiah Love, the running back from Notre Dame later in the week.”

Performance Standards Set by Stiles

5:40 to 7:07

How Sonny Stiles set new performance standards at the Combine.

“If you're someone that was online all day, it was just watching this dude's case build and build throughout the day because his just body is an absolute tank.”

Draft Stock Impact of Combine Performance

7:07 to 9:09

The influence of combine performances on players' draft stocks.

“And so they still have the agility drills.”

Reese vs. Stiles: A Comparative Analysis

9:09 to 11:23

Comparing Arvel Reese and Sonny Stiles and their draft prospects.

“Like, for example, he was always my dad's favorite linebacker at Ohio State.”

Strength of the Linebacker Class

11:23 to 14:01

Discussion on the depth and talent of this year's linebacker class.

“Before we move on from these two, what did you see out of their position drills in Reese specifically?”

Top Linebackers Shine at the Combine

14:01 to 15:36

Learn about the standout performances of Reese and Stiles and their athleticism compared to other linebackers.

“long they last in the nfl this group this year had a ton of talented guys and if it wasn't for Reese and Stiles at the top of the class.”

Defensive Linemen Performances

15:37 to 16:46

Discussion on various defensive linemen, highlighting their performances and potential.

“Yeah, the kid from Cincinnati, his name is Jake Golday.”

David Bailey's Edge Rushing Skills

16:47 to 19:38

Explore the edge rushing skills of David Bailey and his competition at the combine.

“who are kind of projected to be in that day two range.”
Show all 35 chapters

Ruben Bain's Unique Edge Profile

19:39 to 21:44

Insight into Ruben Bain's arm length concerns and how it impacts his draft stock and playing style.

“I did like NextGenStats has a production score of just like total production over the last five years.”

Measuring Up: Arm Length vs. Performance

21:45 to 23:10

Examine how arm length affects performance and draft predictions among edge rushers.

“I think about Ricky Williams had small hands.”

Standout Defensive Tackles at the Combine

23:11 to 26:00

Overview of standout performances among defensive tackles, including Caleb Banks and others.

“He's from A &M, more of a speed rusher, a guy projected for maybe the middle-ish, maybe middle-late of the first round.”

Evaluating Combine Performers

28:00 to 29:10

Discussion on standout players from the combine and their potential.

“And I'm watching him move through these drills, and I'm like, he moves like an NFL player.”

Matt Ryan's Impact at the Combine

29:10 to 30:30

Insight on Matt Ryan's presence at the combine and its implications for the Falcons.

“Now, defensive line is kind of hard to judge because what's at the core of a defensive lineman is being able to be stout in the interior and win shed blocks, fill gaps, that sort of thing.”

Aaron Glenn's On-Camera Blunder

30:30 to 32:30

Discussion about Aaron Glenn's embarrassing moment during the NFL Network broadcast.

“He's not phoning this job in like Tom Brady.”

Trade News: Jets and Titans

36:34 to 38:50

Analysis of the trade between the Jets and Titans, focusing on player fit.

“I can recognize the Westin room that I was in.”

Quarterback Trade Rumors

38:50 to 42:01

Discussion about potential trades for quarterbacks, including Anthony Richardson.

“And since they both have top four picks, you know, people wonder, will that impact anything?”

Quarterback Market Dynamics

42:01 to 44:39

Discussion about potential quarterback trades involving various teams and players.

“I can actually only imagine him being there if they brought in another player too, that they have three players and it's a veteran because I frankly expect them to bring in someone who has a better chance to unseat J.J.”

Running Back Strategies in the NFL

44:40 to 45:50

Exploration of running back dynamics and team strategies for the upcoming season.

“But you raise a really good point, setting the bar high.”

Offensive Line Changes and Impacts

45:51 to 47:28

Analysis of recent changes in offensive line positions and their implications for teams.

“We noted a couple weeks ago that both offensive linemen were reportedly considering not coming back.”

NFL Coaches and Player Relationships

47:29 to 49:56

Insights into the relationships between coaches and players based on recent evaluations.

“Yes, because maybe, for lack of a better phrase, but he may be considered like damaged goods as a free agent now, and maybe they were looking at that and trying to get ahead of it.”

NFLPA Survey Results and Team Rankings

49:57 to 55:22

Discussion of the NFLPA grades and rankings of teams and executives based on player feedback.

“They were not expecting any of that to come out.”

Reflecting on the Panthers' Season

59:30 to 1:01:49

Dan Morgan discusses the Panthers' performance and team culture after a playoff loss.

“I was like, I don't know Brant super well, so would he be good to have on one of our capsule series things?”

Building a Winning Team Culture

1:01:50 to 1:04:03

The importance of having the right players and mindset for success.

“We've got to work, and we've got to go earn it.”

Developing Young Talent

1:04:04 to 1:06:31

Focus on nurturing young players and maintaining a strong roster.

“Do you think you need more firepower around Bryce Young in terms of the offensive weapons?”

Drafting for Team Needs and Injuries

1:06:32 to 1:08:48

Strategies for drafting players and managing injuries in the NFL.

“How do you feel about your center, Cade Mays, potentially coming back?”

Future Plans for Bryce Young

1:08:49 to 1:09:29

Discussing Bryce Young's development and potential contract talks.

“I think at the end of today, then, you know, it'll be where we want it to be.”

Bringing Football Energy Back to Carolina

1:10:00 to 1:10:38

Discover the excitement and pride of reviving football culture in Carolina.

“right in this spot at the Indianapolis convention center.”

Building Stability Amid the Roller Coaster Season

1:10:38 to 1:12:46

Learn how belief and preparation help a team navigate emotional highs and lows.

“That's what I think is unique about what's happening in our community is I'm 44.”

Brad Edzi's Play-Calling Opportunity

1:12:46 to 1:15:34

Explore the decision-making behind handing play-calling duties to Brad Edzik.

“And as we continue to prove to our players that if we play a certain style of football, we can play with anybody.”

Bryce Young's Growth and Consistency

1:15:34 to 1:17:14

Understand the areas of improvement for quarterback Bryce Young to enhance his game.

“Whereas you can imagine coming into it, all hands on deck, let's get this offense to a place where we have a foundation.”

Developing Depth in the Passing Game

1:17:14 to 1:20:04

Discover how injuries and player rotations affected the passing game strategy.

“But you guys, like, really worked out loud.”

Exciting Prospects for Defensive Players

1:20:04 to 1:22:24

Learn about the promising young defensive players to watch in the upcoming season.

“Trevor Etienne and what an amazing player he was in college and did a couple of things for us in the run game.”

Sonny Stiles Stands Out at Combine

1:24:02 to 1:26:12

Discussion about Sonny Stiles' impressive performance at the Combine and comparisons to Kyle Hamilton.

“I mean, maybe it's just because I'm sensitive.”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

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2:20Dave Canales:Welcome to NFL Daily, where we've got a perfect relative athletic score. I'm Greg Rosenthal. I'm in my garage back in Los Angeles in front of a live studio audience of one, my son, across the country, free and fresh from Lucas Oil Stadium. it is Nick Shook back in his hotel room at the end of a long day watching prospects. I am happy to see you again, Nick.

2:47Nick Shook:Oh yeah. You know, it's funny. I think it's the last three or four years. We both go to the combine. We fail to see each other at the combine. It's like two ships passing in the night. So it is good indeed to see you again as well.

2:58Dave Canales:And look, the, the NFL daily fans, the Shook ones out there have been saying, where's, where's Nick. Last time we talked to him was on the Superbowl show. and to only big-time shows for Nick. We're going to go through the front seven and the defense worked out on Thursday in Indianapolis, the defensive linemen, the edge players, of course, the linebackers. Great day for a lot of them, especially those linebackers. We'll also do a little bit of news. We had a trade. It's already starting to happen. Some other releases, some other little bits and bobs. And then at the end of the show, we're going to listen to a couple of interviews I did before I left town with the Panthers brain trust, definitely a rising team.

3:39Dave Canales:And so we talked to GM Dan Morgan and the coach Dave Canales, but just give me a little big picture of, of your overall day before we start breaking down the different positions. You're in the stadium watching it. How did you think day one went here at the 26 combine?

3:56Nick Shook:I mean, you know, the overall day, it always begins with, with your player interviews. And I listened to Caleb Downs, who will be working out tomorrow, talk about how he believes that when he steps in the field, he knows he's the best player. If he claimed that he thought somebody else was, it would be a lie is what he said. And then it continued with the workouts. And we had some really, really intriguing guys in the defensive line that I'm very curious to see where they'll all fall in the draft. You didn't have a couple of guys that were big names participating with the edge rushers. You had Sonny Stiles blow up the combine and the deepest linebacker like class that I believe I've seen in my basically a decade covering this combine.

4:36Nick Shook:I think this is the deepest group yet.

4:37Dave Canales:And I love that you mentioned Caleb Downs, who we'll hear from tomorrow. We'll watch Jeremiah Love, the running back from Notre Dame later in the week. And it is really interesting because I think if you go around and just ask people in Indianapolis, who's the best player in the draft? Kind of take away the position. So, you know, Mendoza's, Fernando Mendoza's going to be the number one pick. Who's just the best player in the draft? There's a lot of different players who you could make the case for. And maybe Sonny Stiles, the Ohio State linebacker, put himself in that mix with a huge combine performance.

5:10Dave Canales:I think you saw three of them today. We just mentioned two more of them. And it's just one of those wide open drafts. So let's start there. Sonny Stiles blew up the combine. And look, his teammate Arvel Reese was not far behind. These are two guys that were already in the top five of a lot of people's boards, even if they weren't in mock drafts. Daniel Jeremiah had them both in his top five. Arvel Reese, number two overall. But Styles was an absolute tank just in the measurements. If you're someone that was online all day, it was just watching this dude's case build and build throughout the day because his just body is an absolute tank.

5:49Dave Canales:And then he performed. I don't think it's exaggerating. Like one of the best linebacker slash just pure player performances maybe we've ever seen at the combine.

5:58Nick Shook:Yeah, absolutely. It's funny because you're right. It did start with the measurements, then it started with the testing that happens on the side. And I remember hearing like an audible pop when he hit his vertical jump as they're doing their testing before the linebackers come out and do their job. And I'm thinking, oh, somebody just jumped, put a big number up. And then we have the broadcast playing in the suite. Moments later, they cut to it. It's Sonny Stiles. And I'm thinking, all right, this is the athletic player that I've known as an Ohio State fan was always there. The guy that was good enough to earn the Block O jersey, a.k.a.

6:27Nick Shook:number zero, with Ohio State this past season. Finally kind of showing off his athleticism to the rest of the pro football world. And then he goes out and he runs the fastest 40 of any guy in the linebacker group, which also includes Arvel Reese as the only edge rusher in that group. And he's the heaviest of all the linebackers. Did it at the highest weight. Put the fastest 40 time down. cementing the triple crown with the broad jump, 11 foot, two inch broad jump, the crazy vertical jump, the 40 time. And then he crushes all the drills. He just dominated the combine. It's one of those performances that we're going to look back on years from now.

7:02Nick Shook:And that's going to be the new standard that all these other guys are going to aspire to try to reach.

7:07Dave Canales:And so they still have the agility drills. I guess they separated those by days. So technically the testing isn't done and the relative athletic score, which is put together, isn't exactly complete. But right now he would be ranked first out of 3 ,215 linebackers. Say that again, say that again, say that again.

7:28Nick Shook:3 ,215.

7:31Dave Canales:3 ,215 linebackers. Well, literally the best vertical leap ever, I think, from the position. The fourth best, I think, in terms of the broad jump, I might be mixing up those two, but either way, they were right there. Like the comps in terms of his height, weight, speed were DK Metcalf, Nick Amon Worry. And to do that as a linebacker, 6 '4", 244 pounds, like huge arms, wingspan, like bigger than almost anyone else. And a guy that the tape backs it up, that it's just these two different styles. Now, I think among maybe people who aren't, you know, among the average draft Nick, he was ranked a little lower, like he's 12th on the consensus board.

8:16Dave Canales:But for instance, DJ had him fifth. And I think the league maybe already viewed him higher. And I think this crazy day that he had, Jeremiah said it on the broadcast, is now going to maybe put him at least in that discussion where you're thinking about, is this guy a top five pick? Is five even going to be like the floor for him? If you think about the Giants, who would need him? And could the Jets be thinking, hmm, are we now deciding between Sonny Styles, Arvel Reese, David Bailey, like among those three guys for the number two overall pick?

8:50Nick Shook:It's a good problem to have. And I think it kind of gives you a good example of what can happen to a player's reputation from their junior year to their senior year or whatever, their penultimate year to their final year in college. if they're lined up next to somebody who absolutely blossoms in the following year. Because that's what's happened to Sonny Stiles. He's always been this linebacker. Like, for example, he was always my dad's favorite linebacker at Ohio State. He loves it. Sonny Stiles was how he said his name, right? But Arvel Reese explodes this year and becomes this dominant player and ends up being the more prominent defender in this nation's best defense, this Ohio State defense that had ballers at every level.

9:27Nick Shook:You had Caleb Downs back there. You had Reese and you had Stiles. You had McDonald at the defensive line. They had guys at every level. And so people kind of forgot about Stiles. Even the draft Knicks kind of forgot about Stiles because when you thought about that defense, you thought about Reese and his production. And again, it just overshadowed what he did. But this is how you can rescue your draft stock by coming out here and being an athletic freak on the biggest stage in the pre-draft process and taking back your narrative and shooting back up the draft board. And it opens up this debate that's like threefold, which is you go between Reese and Bailey.

9:59Nick Shook:it's kind of like the Aiden Hutchinson versus Trayvon Walker debate of a few years ago. Which one do you take at number one or versus number two? The more polished producer who ended up being Hutchinson or the guy with the higher upside who was Walker? That's essentially what people view Reese as. Well, now you can throw styles into the mix, not as a one-to-one comparison, but also another candidate for these teams like the Jets, who have a lot to determine, and it's a good problem to have if you're the Jets.

10:22Dave Canales:Yeah, and I want to focus on the combine tonight because we're going to dive into these players deeper throughout the process. But it is funny to me because I saw someone write about Sonny Stiles. This might be one of the best inside linebacker prospects we've seen in a long time. And I'm thinking, what about Arvel Reese? Because Daniel Jeremiah sees him as an edge, and at least the guy who split his time pretty equally at edge and off-ball linebacker. But he goes out tonight, and he runs a 4-4-6. The official times actually were the exact same. He is an absolute tank. During both of the position drills, they looked incredible.

11:04Dave Canales:Their 10-yard splits were incredible. And there's reasonable minds can disagree, but we're going to talk to Ollie Connolly on the show throughout the draft process. And he really thinks Reese is going to be better as an off-ball linebacker. He thinks he's a linebacker guy, and he thinks Reese is the best linebacker prospect potentially since Luke Kuechly. And so that's two guys on one team. You're in the building. Before we move on from these two, what did you see out of their position drills in Reese specifically?

11:33Nick Shook:It's so funny that you mentioned that because I was going through this in my head as we're watching all of this happen. I'm listening to DJ on the broadcast talk about how he sees Reese, who's going to, you know, his bread's going to be buttered at edge in the NFL. And I'm thinking, okay, I get that. I understand that. But that's actually the biggest question mark on his resume as of now is how, you know, developed of a pass rusher are you? He was a very good edge setter when he played up on the ball at Ohio State, but he was a really dynamic linebacker off the ball. No matter who they played, whether it was Texas in their first game of the season, Michigan in their last game of this regular season, he was always the guys making plays from the second level, shooting the run gaps, doing whatever was necessary to really make a huge difference.

12:11Nick Shook:No matter what game you put on, he was always there as their best defensive player. and I think that it would kind of sell him short to just force him into the edge rusher role when we've seen significant amounts of tape at least over one season in which he can thrive at that position and was a difference-making player on the best defense in college football and the comparison I came to in my head was kind of the arc of Micah Parsons because when Parsons came out of Penn State he did a little bit of both as well and when he started with the Cowboys he was off ball as much as he was on ball and he was a sideline to sideline player and eventually he was kind of forced into the edge rushing role now of course you can do what the Packers did with him this year which is line him up in the a gap from time to time to show you some weird pressure look and freak out the offensive lineman and produce pressures and you could do that with Reese too I just think that if you're going to maximize his talent pinning him into the sand or into the edge rushing position and just asking him to hunt the quarterback I think you're selling yourself short on what you could potentially get especially with a guy who's going to get drafted as highly as he's

13:09Dave Canales:going to be right he he I think Parsons it became clear at the pro level that he was just better he was better as as an edge rusher I think I I am excited to go through the tape more but in terms of instincts and just having a natural feel for the position I think it might be a different conversation for NFL teams of just okay let's let's see what it can do and and obviously having that ability as a blitzer is always going to be a huge huge plus you kind of need that at the NFL level that's where the best linebackers are anyway so it's fascinating uh since you were there though like what what did you see just from those two guys and at in terms of the position drills in

13:49Nick Shook:the stadium like what did you like yeah you know that's why i kind of mentioned the whole strength of the class as a whole because there's been many years where i've sat there and there's maybe one or two guys that you're like okay like this guy's a stud the rest of them forgettable we'll see how long they last in the nfl this group this year had a ton of talented guys and if it wasn't for Reese and Stiles at the top of the class. There were multiple other guys who would have been the best linebacker in their class in previous years, and they get overshadowed by the two Buckeyes. But when you watched Reese and you watched Stiles, first off, they're polished, they're explosive.

14:19Nick Shook:Just fluidity is off the charts. They are natural athletes. I thought watching Reese finish a play where you're running through the cone at the end, and then watching the next guy do it, and I'm like, there is a noticeable gap in how quickly they get from point A to point B. And the same was true with styles. Now he stumbled a couple of times, but to kind of paint the picture of how explosive he is as a, as a athlete, they're doing this past rushing drill where they're going around the bag and he wipes out, but he wiped out like incredibly violently before getting up and trying to finish the drill.

14:50Nick Shook:Like that's how explosive of a player he is. And you can just see the difference between those two and the rest. Although the difference wasn't as wise, it would be in a typical year because there is so much other talent. Think about the Texas tech, Jacob Rodriguez, kid. Boettcher from Oregon, I thought, did really well, and the drills didn't test quite as well. There's a number of other guys. There's a kid from Cincinnati that is also a very good linebacker. So there's a lot of depth in this group, more than I've seen over the last decade, but it's very clear who the top two guys are.

15:16Dave Canales:Yeah, Jacob Rodriguez from Texas Tech. Didn't know how he would test and ran really well, looked really good for his size. A guy maybe believed to be kind of a late two. He might have pushed himself up. before we move on from the linebackers to the linemen. If you've got any other shout-outs at linebacker, go for it. If not, tell me what stuck out to you most at defensive line.

15:40Nick Shook:Yeah, the kid from Cincinnati, his name is Jake Golday. I think he was a guy that most people expected to test pretty well, and then he lived up to that, and then also did really well in the drills, and I think he earned himself some money tonight. Wesley Besaint, I think is how you say it, from Miami, he didn't test really well but I love the way he looked in the drills he made a super athletic grab running down the line in one of the early change of direction drills and kind of made a lot of plays like that throughout his his workout on the field I thought he was good there's this under six foot linebacker from Pitt his name's Kyle Lewis and I think he's like basically a box safety but he was really quick because I think he's a box safety Jack Kelly from BYU had a strong showing.

16:22Nick Shook:And then you had the kid from Duke and then Anthony Hill Jr. from Texas as well. That was like my honorable mentions group from this overall linebacking group. But I mean, this is the first time where I put together three linebackers for the All-Combine team and felt

16:35Dave Canales:really good about all three. I like your All-Combine team. We're going to be hitting the rest of the positions on a Sunday night recap show. Nick Shook is working long hours there in Indianapolis. And yeah, it is crazy how many linebackers, for instance, Rodriguez, Kyle Lewis, you mentioned, who are kind of projected to be in that day two range. So just like a really deep year at the position. Let's go to the edge spot where, you know, the headline was definitely David Bailey. Very slight favorite right now to be the number two overall pick in terms of the, if you wanted to get into the wagering of it all in Vegas.

17:14Dave Canales:Tell me about his day as kind of edge one.

17:18Nick Shook:Yeah. You know, here's the thing. So I had a, I was kind of confused about how to organize these because of the Reese discussion that we just had. Right. Because they could be anywhere, whatever you want to put them. Bailey, Bailey is the most polished edge out there, but we also didn't see Ruben Bain perform. We didn't see a Masador perform both of the Miami edge rushers. They did not participate in the on-field workout. There was also the talk about Ruben Bain's arm length that we've heard all week. And that was a, another topic today when he came in under 31 inches, which was a mild surprise to even those who thought they had him you know projected best but for the guys that were on the field bailey right now has the most complete package for somebody that's pro ready as an edge rusher um he did he posted a 4 5 40 12 9 broad jump um you know crushed it and um actually i think it was 10 9 on the broad jump at 12 nines and huge vert yeah uh 140 is that his athleticism score was 80 from next gen uh and he was solid in throughout the drills he's he's a natural athlete like he's just he has that burst uh he just looks like like the fit of an edge rusher the way he moves you can just tell it's a pro level guy but there was an interesting detail i found in his workout that i didn't notice before and i don't really think it's going to matter all that much he fired his feet at a higher rate than i've seen anybody else do on the field in quite a while at that position group and among the guys that he was on the field with tonight but there was an interesting way that he went around some of the turns in these like agility drills where you're changing direction whereas like some guys might take three steps to get around a corner and they might cut really sharply and and Bailey's feet are so fast that like he like pedals them down and like rotates around the turn and I'm like that's unique and I wonder how that's going to translate but you can't deny the production at Texas Tech he was a huge difference maker and he's it's totally justified for him to be considered a top five pick yeah and they showed

19:08Dave Canales:him it on one of those drills kind of matching him up with another one of the players now I forget uh which one it was i don't think it was cassius howe um and and they and they looked almost too similar in a way the dj kind of hinted just that like just like a hint of stiffness which is is crazy and is probably nitpicking but when you went with his measurements and his size uh like the closest comp was von miller which is just but he doesn't seem to necessarily have that sort of same bend i mean who does yeah it's it's the bend the bend is not there right and but that's the all-time Ben guy. I did like NextGenStats has a production score of just like total production over the last five years.

Read the full transcript

19:50Dave Canales:And here's your top five players over the last five years. Number one was Will Anderson. Now I forget what the order was. Bailey is in the mix there. Then it's Abdul Carter. Aiden Hutchinson is in the mix as well. And Reuben Bain was also in that top five. So that's a good list to be on. I mean, you can't mess with that production. And going back to Bain, yeah, you talked about the short arms. There's never been a top 100 pick at that position with sub 31-inch arms. A lot of people, though, say the way that he wins with his powers and the counters that he's actually come up with and leverage, the short arms are almost an advantage for him, and he's kind of shown he can overcome it at a high level.

20:37Dave Canales:Also, Adam Schefter had a very funny tweet that said, actually, two teams measured him at 32 inches. And these combine measurements have been really small over the years. So yeah, you definitely wonder where Adam Schefter is getting that information. I'm sure it was coming from the Ruben Bain camp. But I don't know where you're at in terms of concerns. Because remember the whole Aiden Hutchinson deal like a couple of years ago of his short arms? Obviously, it hasn't been a problem for him. But Bain's was

21:07Nick Shook:like another inch inch and a half i think shorter i really only care about if you have short arms as if you're a speed guy because if you're going to win with speed the best way to do that is to keep offensive linemen's hands off of you and usually you need the length as well to prevent them from it's like boxing like the longer reach you can fight on the outside with a longer reach right so the same thing kind of applies for edge rushers who win the speed speed is not bane's game bane's game is power he's not going to care if you get your hands on him and his arms are short because he's got the power to overcome that so i don't really care about the arm like thing i think i i think i've seen enough from his production at miami to know that he is a stud and he's going to be a stud at the next level take him don't worry about the length and if he slides because the length a little bit then good for the team that's there to scoop him up and it it also kind of points to like we talked about hand size with quarterbacks i only care about hand size if you're catching or holding the football as a running back not as a quarterback it really doesn't matter to me we think about kenny pickett and his small hands you can continue to go down the list with different guys.

22:05Nick Shook:I think about Ricky Williams had small hands. That mattered. He had a fumbling issue early in his career.

22:09Dave Canales:I'm a little worried about Drake May's hand size after seeing him play in the cold in the playoffs. Yeah, yeah.

22:15Nick Shook:But it's just like I don't care as much about those measurements unless there's another player in this group, for example, that I think the arm length does matter. Because while Bain's arms are short, Cassius Howell from Texas A &M had even shorter arms. And he is a speed winner. and I think that he lost a good amount of stock today because of his short arms and it just the athleticism score doesn't match up when you consider those measurements and then you watch his workout on the field and you're like okay I see the fluidity and the speed there but something's lacking that I don't think he's the first round pick that a lot of people think that he is and so that's a case where measurement kind of does matter because of the style that he plays with

22:52Dave Canales:it doesn't apply to Bain though interesting he was a guy who according to NGS was the fastest in terms of the pass rush drill where it's like rounding the corner that he was moving the fastest. And that apparently matches up with his game tracking. He's from A &M, more of a speed rusher, a guy projected for maybe the middle-ish, maybe middle-late of the first round. So it's interesting. It's maybe what you like because you could see that and say he's moving the fastest around the corner, and you get excited. I saw some other guys who just like did not look as smooth. Keldrick Falk, I believe it was.

23:33Dave Canales:Yes. Who just did not look as smooth to me in the drills. Give me some of your favorites and I guess least favorites too out of the edges.

23:40Nick Shook:Well, with Hal, he also ran a 5.940, which was not fast enough given, you know, his archetype that he's a speed player. So I honestly think that he may have fallen out of the first round entirely after. Wow. Which is unfortunate, but that could be the reality. When it comes to Falk, I'm glad you said that because I felt like, you know, He came in, he's a kid from Auburn, he came in with a lot of promise, expected to be a first-round pick, and a lot of his drill was just like half-hazard in a way. It wasn't clean. A lot of his reps were not clean. There were good moments. I thought he got stronger as the workout progressed.

24:13Nick Shook:Once you get to running the hoop, that sort of thing that usually separates some of your premier players from the rest of the pack, and I thought that he was very good in that. But earlier drills, slips, stumbles, that sort of thing, not the quickest in change of direction. I was a bit surprised by that. So he did not end up making it onto the top of my group, but he did end up in the honorable mentions because of the way that he finished. Other guys that I liked at edge rusher, George Gumbs, which sounds like a fictional name, but he comes from Florida, and I thought he had a very impressive workout.

24:45Nick Shook:Romello Height from Texas Tech, very explosive, good burst on him as well. Max Lowen, I think is how you say, from Iowa. He's a classic Iowa edge rusher. kind of not really in the mold of Lucas Van Ness, but similar just because you see kids from Iowa and they usually fit these certain archetypes and he definitely fits it, but he was very polished. You could tell he'd play a lot of football with the Hawkeyes, Vincent Anthony jr. From Duke. That's actually the Duke kid that I referenced earlier. I had him in the wrong position group. And then Mason Riger from Wisconsin, much like kids from Iowa, Wisconsin edge rusher, who is very polished, very controlled and a little more explosive than I thought he was when he got into some of those uh the short zone drop drills he had more burst than i thought so i'm very intrigued by him because a lot of his reps were when it came to fundamentals they were they were done very well are you saying that iowa has a type you know like iowa definitely has a type that's exactly what i was thinking except he's faster than epinepia epinesa was hey um they're

25:45Dave Canales:the only ones that saw past color and gave riley moss a chance to play cornerback uh maybe they didn't see past color but either way they took advantage and riley moss is about to get a uh a great second contract here so someone else should have should have snapped him up uh let's fly through the uh defensive tackles before we take a break i'm fascinated by caleb banks the florida uh prospect you know in general this was an interesting group because you know dj has four guys kind of in that like late first early second group and they're all close uh lee hunter of texas Tech. Caden McDonald of Ohio State looked like had a fun day.

26:24Dave Canales:Caleb Banks is also in that mix. And Caleb Banks is a big dude, 6 '6", 327, the longest wingspan of any defensive lineman since 1999. That's just when they started building it. So basically, he has the longest wingspan in the history of the Combine. He kind of looks like DeForest Buckner out there, except he's broad jumping and athletically testing even better than that do you do you think he's a he's a player and

26:50Nick Shook:and and who stood out to you yeah he did uh he actually doesn't end up making my all combine team but it's not really a knock against him he just didn't jump out as much as a couple of the other guys on in the drills that they did but all the things that you just went over you know puts him up there in that group i actually think it's a very deep defensive tackle class this year because let's think about like peter woods from clemson like doesn't get out there and participate in the drills doesn't run a 40 um but his measurable stack up he's usually at the top of this group and some of the other guys that you just mentioned are also in there but i also some of the guys that jumped out to me on the field that are not in this group that that most consider zane durant from penn state puts down the fastest 40 time as a defensive tackle which how much do you care about that think about jordan davis for me for a few years back and you're like well does that really matter that much it doesn't accept that though too zane durant looked crazy exactly His explosion was different from the rest.

27:44Nick Shook:Sometimes when you sit up in the suite at the combine and you see these guys perform, there's one or two that just move differently than the rest. I think about Tristan Wirfs was that way. Bijan Robinson was that way. Zane Durant was that way. He was clearly, of the guys that were doing the drills today, the best one out there. Explosive, very refined in his technique, very pro-ready. I'm really excited to see where he lands because I'm not sure if he makes it into that top five group or if he's a great value pick for a team that's picking outside those top five defensive tackles in day two somewhere and make some team really happy.

28:14Nick Shook:He was one of my guys on that group. I was also very torn with my other inclusion on this all-combined team between two guys, Demonte Capehart from Clemson, who is just a violent defensive tackle, very athletic, long, and then Caleb Proctor, who spent his college career in anonymity at Southeastern Louisiana. And I'm watching him move through these drills, and I'm like, he moves like an NFL player. He moves as well as a lot of these other guys do. How was he at Southeastern Louisiana the whole time? And I think it's a size thing. I think that when he finds his match with an NFL team, it's got to be with a team that relies on a lot of movement and stunts because man on man, I think he'll get buried.

28:53Nick Shook:But if you move him around and rely on his athleticism to get an edge on a blocker, he can make a difference. I thought he cruised through a lot of these drills today. He had great body control, super smooth and athletic. I just had a bunch of notes like that and so fluid and things like that. So as the drills went on, I was like, God, I think I got to include this kid just because I'm very impressed with how he moves. Now, defensive line is kind of hard to judge because what's at the core of a defensive lineman is being able to be stout in the interior and win shed blocks, fill gaps, that sort of thing.

29:23Nick Shook:And you're not getting that at the combine. So you kind of have to judge how strong is their base? How light are they on their feet? Are they shifty? Can they move back and forth? That sort of thing. And he definitely did it. But K-Part, I think, kind of projects as a guy who put together a good athleticism showing. He had an 85 athleticism score according to NextGenStats. That was the third best among all defensive tackles. Durant had the best at 89. The violence with which he plays and the fact that he's a bigger guy, a longer guy, I think that he projects to be somebody who could make a difference there.

29:52Nick Shook:He was the first of my honorable mentions. I was very impressed by him as well.

29:55Dave Canales:Yeah, and those are two guys, Zane Durant, Caleb Proctor, who were not in the consensus top 100 going into today. Now, the consensus boards, it's maybe not that accurate at this time of year. It's more about what the draft Knicks think than what the league thinks, but it's just a collection of all the different big boards out there. And it gives someone like me just a general feeling of like where these guys are at. So I think they helped themselves today, just like Nick Shook is helping us out today. I love this time of year, going to school on these guys. I also liked that Matt Ryan was there in the crowd.

30:31Dave Canales:He's not phoning this job in like Tom Brady. You know what I mean? He's like really making it happen.

30:37Nick Shook:That makes me feel so special to be in the same building as somebody who thought he could sit among everybody else as the president of football for the Atlanta Falcons. Almost as special as being in the suite next to Ian Rappaport made me feel today.

30:49Dave Canales:Ooh, that's great. And yeah, I like, you know, there's this, the Falcons right now, there's this whole debate whether the Bears will get credit for Ian Cunningham going to be the GM of the Falcons because you're supposed to get draft picks if a minority candidate leaves from your program and gets the highest ranking football decision maker job at another program. You actually get mid-round draft picks. and they're not right now because Matt Ryan is above him on the totem pole. And him showing up for the combine actually kind of supports the fact that it probably is going to be Matt Ryan in charge over there.

31:29Dave Canales:Also, bad moment for Aaron Glenn, who was caught asleep on NFL Network. I'm not sure because I know you're actually there watching what's happening. I'm just looking at Twitter. And Aaron Glenn was asleep. someone very clearly like said you know yelled at him and was like you're asleep on camera right now like aaron and then he suddenly wakes up and he looks at the camera and because of there's a tape delay i think he looked up to see himself asleep on nfl network which is has to be like the worst way you can possibly wake up and unfortunately i feel like it's gonna be a um a clip that's used

32:07Nick Shook:it is moving forward it is when the jets struggle that's the first clip that we're gonna see popularized and just spread across social media, but still not as bad as the couple at the Coldplay concert. So at least he's got that.

32:18Dave Canales:He's got that, but I mean, I think Jets fans at this point are like, can we just get through a combine day without... Hey, man, those are long days. Can our organization just not embarrass us for a day? All right, let's take a break. We're going to come back and we're going to fly through some news because I feel bad right now. Shook's been working for 15 hours straight. We got to let him go get a steak or something in Indianapolis. Back in a minute.

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36:33Dave Canales:Back on NFL Daily, I can recognize the Westin room that I was in. I was just in it. But I gotta say, I'm not complaining about being back in sunny Southern California. Mid-70s today, Shook. You still got a ways to go. and get ready. It is time for charging into the offseason presented by Apple Card for all your game day purchases. Woke up to some trade news today. Shook got a trade. The Jets made a trade. Jermaine Johnson, former first round pick, I think has had a solid career. Tore his Achilles, hasn't quite been the same since, is going to his former coach, Robert Sala in Tennessee for defensive tackle, Tavondre Sweat, a second round pick who we talked a lot about a couple of years ago at the combine because there was off field concerns.

37:27Dave Canales:Is this guy take the game seriously enough? Now these two defensive linemen getting swapped. I just as a little bit of a recap, I think sweat probably performed to expectations in his career. Good expectation. He's played pretty well as a nose tackle through two seasons. What did you make of, of this move? The jets, you know, getting Jermaine Johnson. I mean, the Jets getting to Vandrie Sweat.

37:52Nick Shook:Sweat's also been the inspiration for some of the more hilarious calls that we've gotten in the last couple of years when he makes an occasional play on the ball like a turnover and gets the ball in his hands because the big man movement of football is always entertaining. Yeah, I agree. I think he's lived up to expectation, and the way that you summarized Johnson is accurate as well. I just think it's a matter of fit. Robert Sala comes into Tennessee, and he probably accepts that Sweat does not fit in the way that he wants to play defense because Sweat is a big-bodied, you know, gap-plugging nose.

38:17Nick Shook:and you got to think about who were the feature players in solid defense in new york it was guys like quinn and williams who were the feature players in solid defense in san francisco this year it was rookie cj west and other players like that as they tried to rebuild their defensive line sweat does not fit the mold of any of those guys so it makes sense to do this deal and also get one of solid old guys that he likes from the jets to plug in there at edge rusher because they need help in that front seven and so it makes a ton of sense in a one for one it works out for me it's it's a nice little solid, explainable, understandable trade in late February.

38:50Dave Canales:Yes. And since they both have top four picks, you know, people wonder, will that impact anything? No, this trade should not impact anything. Even if let's say the jets or the Titans, like signed another defensive end in free agency. I don't think that really gives away what they're going to do. I think you just have to take the best player. and Jermaine Johnson has one year left on his contract. I also think finances were a factor. The Titans have a lot of cap space, and so they can take on a big fifth-year option contract, whereas Tavondre Sweat has two years for pretty cheap. Just on the football merits of it all, I think it's a pretty good trade for the Jets.

39:33Dave Canales:It does make you wonder. There's been little whispers of how much does Sweat love the game, all that sort of stuff. You see the type of guy you want to build around, And so maybe that factors into it, too. But just the football, you get a cheaper player for an extra year who's played pretty well. Not bad for the Jets. The Titans also cut Lloyd Cushenberry, who two years ago was one of the highest paid players. I mean, the Titans cut Lloyd Cushenberry, who two years ago was one of the highest paid players in free agency. He was a center, suffered a really serious injury, never quite looked the same.

40:06Dave Canales:And he is now free. And the Titans have a lot of cap space and a lot of needs. and now they have a new need at center. Another possible trade. Cameron Wolfe of the NFL Network reports there's mutual interest in an Anthony Richardson trade to the Vikings. That would be spicy going to Kevin O 'Connell and the Vikings need a quarterback and Anthony Richardson, it was officially announced by reporters that they gave him permission to seek a trade. We kind of knew that he would be available.

40:39Nick Shook:Yeah. Have we talked about this on this show? because I know I've had these discussions with a number of different people about how Anthony Richardson has no futures in Indianapolis and that this was probably going to happen at some point. And so for it to come to fruition, at least in the form of a rumor, a report from Cam Wolfe, which is hilarious, by the way, because I saw Cam last night and we had a nice conversation. And you wake up this morning and Cam's just pounding the pavement, getting the stories out there because this is how the combine works. Yeah, it makes all the sense in the world.

41:07Nick Shook:The Vikings, not so much. Because I know that they need to bring in competition. they feel like they need to push J.J. McCarthy, and they also need to have better options behind him. But do you want to invite what would inevitably become a distraction because you have two young quarterbacks, two both former first-round picks, and what happens when McCarthy struggles? And then, oh, go to Richardson. And do you really want that instability? I'm not so certain. But then again, this is a team that happily added Daniel Jones, and he didn't obviously take the field for them during that season. but they're not unfamiliar with taking a swing at a former first-round prospect at the quarterback position and seeing what they could potentially get out of him.

41:49Dave Canales:Yeah, the problem is he's too close to what they have in J.J. McCarthy.

41:55Nick Shook:Yes.

41:55Dave Canales:Like a guy who is a total question mark and is young and needs to develop.

42:00Nick Shook:It doesn't fit what they need, which is they need somebody reliable behind J.J.

42:04Dave Canales:I can actually only imagine him being there if they brought in another player too, that they have three players and it's a veteran because I frankly expect them to bring in someone who has a better chance to unseat J.J. McCarthy. In fact, I kind of expect them to bring in someone who will be the favorite to start this year, but they have to find that guy. It's easier said than done. So maybe there's interest, but I don't know if that would be it for quarterback. But we'll see. That would be fascinating. I also heard a Cardinals, I read a Cardinals source who said that they heard that Geno Smith could be in the mix, as well as Anthony Richardson in Arizona, which is fascinating.

42:49Dave Canales:They don't seem to be very on top of Kyler.

42:51Nick Shook:So they don't seem to be very on board with that. So that makes a lot of sense.

42:54Dave Canales:No, I don't think the Kyler thing is happening. One thing we failed to mention on the last show that I meant to, that it was hilarious that Kyler's camp came out after the Cardinals said that they've spoken with Kyler Murray and they've kind of been letting it be known, like, hey, maybe we'll keep Kyler. There was a source that told ESPN, actually, they haven't talked to us at all. He hasn't spoken with Monty Asen for once. So it's like, you can try to pretend like you're keeping me potentially just to raise leverage when you have no interest. We're not going to play that game. We're not going to help you out, Cardinals.

43:28Nick Shook:Oh, the leverage game. It's always fun this time of year. It produces lies, fibs, you know, whatever you want.

43:35Dave Canales:Yeah, Kyler, I do not think it's staying there. Pro Football Talk reported that the Raiders want two first-round picks plus a player for Max Crosby. That's the exact price, and the player was Kenny Clark of Michael Parsons. I think it's too much for Max Crosby. I think that tells me, yeah, the Raiders would do that, and they probably, I think, know that they won't get it and that they're okay with that.

44:02Nick Shook:Yeah, let's think about the art of negotiation. You start with a high price, they come in with a low price and you work your way toward the middle. I guess this is just a starting point for them to see, at least get the wheels turning on a potential move, which it kind of just feels inevitable at this point. I don't think they'll fetch that offer. I think you're right, it's too high. That made sense for Micah Parsons. It does not make quite as much sense for Max Crosby. No matter how good of a player he is, he's not the same player as Parsons.

44:29Dave Canales:And Ian Rappaport pointed out on our show, he's coming off an injury. And that really could mess things up. I actually don't think Max Crosby is going to get traded because I think the injury plus what they'll want. But you raise a really good point, setting the bar high. It's true. If that's getting leaked to pro football talk, then a first and a third in a player would probably do it so maybe that could happen I also thought it was interesting Clint Kubiak came out and told the local media he is looking for a quote two-man show at running back and that Ashton Gentry quote needs a wingman and that's how he likes to run backfields yeah we just saw that makes sense but that's a top 10 pick at running back so if you drafted him in dynasty fantasy football leagues maybe not the best news yeah

45:22Nick Shook:not not a good pick for dynasty owners not a good pick for fancy owners going into 2026 but it's also not a good pick because they had the worst offensive line in the nfl so like i don't care who you put back there you could put like the the reincarnation of jim brown behind ashton jenty and they're still probably not going to be very effective because they can't block so until

45:40Dave Canales:they can block it doesn't really matter landon dickerson uh like his teammate lane johnson indicated on Instagram that he will be returning to the 2026 Philadelphia Eagles. We noted a couple weeks ago that both offensive linemen were reportedly considering not coming back. I think everyone was a little upset about Jeff Stoutland, their offensive line coach leaving the building. In the end, these are two of the best at what they do. Huge competitors and they want to come back and they will be back. So great news for the Eagles there. More offensive line news in the NFC East. The Commanders have released Tyler Biotish.

46:20Dave Canales:Look, this is a story maybe most podcasts wouldn't hit. I was very surprised by this, though. He was a guy who, you know, I know Pro Bowls don't mean that much, but made a Pro Bowl a couple years ago and started virtually every game for the Commanders since he took over. As I dug into it, it's maybe a little less surprising. He had what's in an injury in late last season, a leg ankle injury that I'm not really sure how serious it was. And this release maybe indicates to me it's a little more serious. If he was healthy, you know, he's not even 30 yet. He's put up a lot of good starts in the NFL.

46:57Dave Canales:He'd be top 50 in my top 101 free agents. But the uncertainty about the injury makes me just want to like find out a little more. But another hole for the commanders to fill. They have a lot of holes to fill.

47:09Nick Shook:Yeah. Yeah, and it wasn't like money really motivated all that much of it when they have a lot of cap space to work with anyway, and they have holes to fill, like you said.

47:18Dave Canales:And they only saved$2.6 million, but they do save a lot of cash. Ultimately, you are paying the guy a lot of money, and I think he was due like$8 million. Yeah. The fact that they released him makes me wary about possibly getting him.

47:31Nick Shook:Yes, because maybe, for lack of a better phrase, but he may be considered like damaged goods as a free agent now, and maybe they were looking at that and trying to get ahead of it. And so it makes sense. But you know what else, Greg? I'm sitting in the suite tonight, and I'm watching the ticker go by, and Greg's top 101 free agents are scrolling by. Yes. And I think on a separate podcast, you and I are going to have to have some chats because I got some gripes. Ooh. Like putting Kate out in the head of Isaiah Likely.

47:59Dave Canales:I got some gripes that we need to discuss. I wish I had you on more for those gripes, like before I put it out, because what good is it going to do me now? But no, I do want to explore that space another time. But yeah, a lot of people got on me about the KDOT and rankings. It's very high. Will Anderson is going to be a priority for the Houston Texans. Ian Rappaport reported today that he thinks a long-term extension will happen sooner than later. Not a shock, but just interesting how they're kind of prioritizing things. Shadur Sanders hopes to one day get a long-term contract extension somewhere in the neighborhood of Will Anderson.

48:42Dave Canales:That's going to be a tall order, but you never know. But what he did do was somehow make this show by a completely surprising choice of gift for Todd Munkin. Let's listen to Todd Munkin with CBS this week.

48:58Dan Morgan:In fact, for my birthday, I got this package. I thought it was for my wife. It's like this package and opens it up. It's like this porcelain, like horse head. And it's from Shadur. He sent me a gift on my birthday. And I, I asked him, I said, what was the, the meaning? He said, well, I just really liked it. So I got myself one. I said, well, great. Okay.

49:20Nick Shook:First off, first off, first off, this is why you make the big bucks. Cause that was a hell of a segue to get to Shadur Sanders there. And secondly, this is a Godfather-esque gift that usually is ominous and means bad things for your coach. and I think that went completely over Shadour's head. But also, there's so many things here. Who sees a porcelain horse head and is like, wow, I really like that. I want one. And I'm going to send one to my head coach for his birthday. He has the best team around him to be aware of these things and make them happen, even if they look really strange to the rest of us.

49:56Dave Canales:Yeah, that was with my friends Jonathan Jones and Pete Prisco over at CBS. They were not expecting any of that to come out. I have a lot of thoughts on this. Number one, I wish I had the confidence and the generosity, not just in terms of money, but actually just of spirit too, because he had to think to do that. I don't think it's a team of people sending the porcelain horse head. Now he has to tell them, hey, can you send this to coach? But he has to think of it. So that's a generous spirit. But I think you've got to have a certain sort of self-confidence I don't know what the right word would be just that like hey I like this porcelain horse head so much I'm buying this thing and my coach would love it and I have the confidence to send my coach like presents in the mail and it's a bizarre present I love it all I want to see it I want to see it too

50:52Nick Shook:and you know what I think I need to start doing I need to start sending you gifts on your birthday that are strange

50:57Dave Canales:No, I actually think it raises the chance of the Shadour starting this year by like 5%. Because of a gift? Well, just because it just shows a level of connectedness. We saw that they saw each other, that they liked each other, I think from the pre-draft process. And when they saw each other again in Cleveland, it's just a fun bromance there.

51:19Nick Shook:It's preseason week three. and Todd Munkin has to decide between Shador Sanders, Deshaun Watson, and whoever else they bring in at quarterback for week one.

51:29Gregg Rosenthal:And it's late at night, and it's a hot summer evening in Berea,

51:34Nick Shook:and the sun is set, and Todd's in his office all by himself, and he's lit by one overhead light like it's an interrogation room. And in that moment, he'll look across the room to the porcelain horse head, decoratively placed in the corner, and he'll say, I know who's my guy.

51:49Dave Canales:That's absolutely right. That was beautiful. I'm really glad I put that in the show. Now everything feels like an anti-climax after that. Finally, the NFLPA scores, the grades that they have for all the organizations, came out today. Not officially, because it was ruled that they weren't officially allowed to do this this year, but they were allowed to do the surveys and create the grades. They just weren't allowed to release them publicly. So, of course, it ends up getting out. Kalen Kaler, who's one of the very best in the business, does it for ESPN. It was her Super Bowl today. I saw someone say that, and she retweeted it.

52:31Dave Canales:Getting all these NFLPA grades out. And the Steelers come in dead last. I thought that was interesting in terms of their facilities, in terms of how they take care of their players and the families. That was interesting. Joe Shane was the lowest ranked general manager. And they're not like evaluating moves. It's more like they're evaluating, I think, the players, their relationship with the front office, how they feel about the front office. So that was very interesting to me. The Dolphins were the best ranked team for the third straight year. The Vikings were second. They were always near the top.

53:07Dave Canales:So the Dolphins take care of their players. It is a well-run. Ownership had an A there. Everything had an A there. and the commanders since Josh Harris took over has zoomed from the very bottom of the league to up to third. Seattle and Jacksonville were also in the top five. Bottom five, I mentioned Steelers were dead last. Cardinals were second to last. They're always near the bottom. Michael Bidwell ranked as the worst owner in the league. The Browns, the Bucks, and the Bengals were also near the bottom. And one thing that really struck me, Chuck, this year, they also ranked the coaches. the lowest ranked coach period was Kevin Stefanski.

53:47Dave Canales:That's interesting. By his players. Okay. And the lowest graded coach in the entire league that didn't get fired. I think he was fourth or fifth lowest overall, but the other four had gotten fired. Of course, Stefanski got the job immediately. It was Jim Harbaugh with a C. I could see that.

54:05Nick Shook:Actually, this is the Harbaugh thing is something that I wondered about when he jumped from Michigan back to the NFL. I wondered if his style, or you could describe it as schtick, may not wear well on his players after a while at the NFL level just because it's a new generation. Who knows if it's going to work out or not? They have been successful, and I would love to see these grades correlate more to success on the field, like the Dolphins, for example, but not super surprised about Harbaugh not getting a very high grade. His demeanor and the way he does things are just a little different.

54:38Dave Canales:And not like the Steelers being last is a tough look, three of the bottom five were kind of the old family owned teams, Bengals, Cardinals, Steelers, you know, that don't have that huge amount of cash that maybe some other organizations do that were in there.

55:00Nick Shook:Although the Browns do, and they're low down there too.

55:02Dave Canales:The Browns do, and they spend their money on players, so I don't know what's going on.

55:06Nick Shook:Must be how they treat families and maybe like the food.

55:08Dave Canales:Oh, the food got better. I don't know.

55:10Nick Shook:I always enjoyed breakfast and lunch there.

55:13Dave Canales:That was charging into the offseason presented by Apple Card. Apply for Apple Card in the wallet app today. Start earning daily cash back on all your game day purchases from tickets to tailgate munchies to merch subject to credit approval. All right, let's take a break. I shook. Hang out for one second. What we're going to do, we're going to take a break. On the other side, we're going to listen to a couple interviews that Jordan and I did before I left town with the Panthers general manager and head coach. And on the back end of that, we're going to say goodbye and we're going to tell you the trend that officially ended as of Thursday night during the NFL Combine.

55:54Dave Canales:Yes, NFL has killed an entire youth trend and we'll tell you what it is at the very end.

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59:14Dave Canales:We are here with the general manager of the Carolina Panthers, Dan Morgan, coming off a season where, frankly, we just loved watching the Carolina Panthers play at the end of the year, and you kind of are completing the triumvirate. We've had Brant Tillis on the show. Oh, he's already been on? Yeah, yes, yeah. Well, during the season.

59:31Gregg Rosenthal:You know, we talked about it. You vouched for him. I was like, I don't know Brant super well, so would he be good to have on one of our capsule series things? He killed it. He did great. You called the shot, though. You totally. You said he would.

59:44Dan Morgan:He's a great dude and super valuable to me.

59:47Gregg Rosenthal:And we had Dave Canales last year sitting in the very seat that you're sitting in now. So it's like it felt only right, you know, because you three are quite the triangle of friendship. Also, you hear stories about how well you get along despite very different backgrounds and sort of like very different philosophies that all sort of mesh together because they complement each other. What's it been like sort of building that decision making? I want to say circle, but it's a triangle. I mean, it's been fun.

1:00:18Dan Morgan:I mean, it always helps when the people you work with, they're not just your workmates, they're your friends. They're people you enjoy coming to work every day and working with. And we all, at the end of the day, we just want to win. You know, we want to win. We want to be happy, come in after wins. so you know we work our butts off and you know we put we put the work in every single day but we enjoy every single day and and we don't take it for granted what was the feeling like after

1:00:49Dave Canales:the playoff loss which you know is always a really difficult day in any team's season but on the other hand it was like you guys played really well against this team that a lot of us thought you had a really good chance to win the super bowl and you're right there so i guess take us through with that that day that the emotions were like coming off of that game um disappointed

1:01:11Dan Morgan:i think everybody was disappointed you know we felt like we could have won that game obviously we didn't so coulda woulda shoulda um you know but i think it gives us something to build on um i think that we're headed in the right direction as a franchise i think the players in the building and the building in general you know we have that belief the culture shifting to a winning mindset and you have to have that. If you don't have the winning mindset, you don't have a chance. So everybody's pulling in the same direction, excited about the future, and, you know, we've got to go earn it now. We've got to put the work in, you know, from a front office perspective, coaches, players.

1:01:53Dan Morgan:We've got to work, and we've got to go earn it.

1:01:55Gregg Rosenthal:When I think a lot about what the Panthers, what you guys did this season, and it was like a joyride for a lot of it, right? I mean, there were games.

1:02:03Dan Morgan:It's like a roller coaster for. Yeah. Like, yeah.

1:02:06Gregg Rosenthal:Maybe the safety bar is not on either at this point. Because sometimes you just felt, how are this, how is this team doing this? They're still in a rebuild. You know, yes, you have some veteran guys. And I think the floor was lifted, especially by some of the great coaching on both sides of the ball. In certain positions, we loved the outside corners tandem. And just how they were getting the most out of everyone on the interior with the safeties. And just like because of how well they were playing. We loved watching just the floor lift in small pockets all over this roster. But now you've got to keep tweaking and adjusting, despite the fact that that was such an adrenaline roller coaster, as you said.

1:02:43Gregg Rosenthal:How do you sift through the spikes, essentially, and get to really what is needed to keep building?

1:02:51Dan Morgan:I think the biggest thing for us in the roster building is we've got to stick to our standards. we gotta be disciplined in our approach you know we gotta bring our type of guys in we can't be competing against the internet you know people want you to sign this guy I need that on a t-shirt actually

1:03:12Gregg Rosenthal:we can't be competing against the internet wear the t-shirts I'm looking at the content team right now

1:03:18Dave Canales:you are being taped from an in-house film crew like you are a reality star right now I guess so

1:03:25Dan Morgan:that's not my style you were giving a great answer

1:03:29Gregg Rosenthal:Forgive us. We interrupt each other a lot on this show. So it's fine. It's fine.

1:03:33Dan Morgan:I'm the same way. My ADD kicks in as well. But yeah, we yeah, we just you know, it's about bringing the right players in, you know, that fit our culture, bringing the right type of human being into into our locker room, because your culture really starts with the players. You know, they are the culture. So as many players we can bring in that not only have great personal character, but they have a love for the game. They love everything about the process. That's the type of guys we want to bring in our building.

1:04:05Dave Canales:Do you think you need more firepower around Bryce Young in terms of the offensive weapons?

1:04:11Dan Morgan:I think I'm always going to feel like that, no matter how good we ever get. We're never going to be satisfied here. We're always going to be finding ways to get better, to grow and evolve, and just find ways to give us an edge, You know, whether it's from a front office perspective, scouting, coaching, you know, we're always going to be looking for those edges. We're never going to feel like we've arrived. But that's the type of mindset we need to have to get to where we want to go and and not only get there once, but to sustain it.

1:04:45Gregg Rosenthal:Dan, I love when you can watch a coach build something like right out loud in front of everybody. And a lot of times that happens when a team is figuring out how to maximize what it has as it goes through the course of the season. It's not just game planning. It's also how do we align pieces on the chessboard, essentially. And your receivers group and the tight ends group together, I'll just lump them all into one big pool here of pass catchers. You could see, especially when Jalen Coker came back, you could see the layers or the intent of the layers start to develop in this pass game. around Teddero and McMillan, but then with Jalen as a really complimentary, kind of all over the field, trustworthy weapon.

1:05:30Gregg Rosenthal:Yeah. And I guess what's the next step of that? Like what's the next layer that we wish we could have gotten a chance to see if maybe you guys kept going, but what we want to see and what you want to see this coming season?

1:05:41Dan Morgan:Yeah, I think to answer your question, I think, you know, guys still developing. You know, I think nowadays, I think, you know, the outside, you know, not us on the inside, but on the outside, we're so quick to just throw players under the bus. And, like, I'm looking forward to seeing Xavier Leggett develop. You know, he's not a finished product. You know, he's still developing and he's getting better. So we're here to support him. The coaches are here to support him. And, you know, just keep developing our guys. And we believe in these guys. We drafted them for a reason. We know they have it in them, but we're not giving up on them.

1:06:23Dan Morgan:They're our guys. We're going to win with these guys. And I have full confidence that they're going to turn the corner and they're going to be what we thought.

1:06:33Dave Canales:How do you feel about your center, Cade Mays, potentially coming back?

1:06:39Dan Morgan:Yeah, I think it's a possibility. We've been talking to his agent and staying in contact with him. And, you know, for my seed, you know, we, these guys earned the right to go out and, and, you know, figure out what their market looks like. And, you know, maybe somebody is going to pay him a boatload of money and, you know, they earned that right. And, you know, we're going to stay in contact with them. And at the end of the day, we'll see where the chips fall.

1:07:03Dave Canales:Is it a bit of a two-pronged attack too, with the injury to Ikea Konwu at the at the end of last season in his offensive line you know because of that uh focus for you

1:07:13Dan Morgan:yeah I mean that's that's the NFL that's life like things are going to happen and you know we have to plan accordingly and you know that's why I always talk about drafting the best player available because you never know what position you're going to get an injury at at any given moment in the season so you know we're about drafting the best football players and not so so much drafting for need you know unless it's equal then yeah I'll go with the need but um yeah that's that's kind of what our philosophy is how do you balance I'm thinking about the

1:07:44Gregg Rosenthal:defensive line too and obviously I know you guys want to bulk up the pass rush Nick Squirtin really came alive at the end of the season he was fun to watch oh yeah such explosiveness it just it jumped off the screen but obviously you want to build out that group and and you have some veterans on that you've had on the interior you've added free agents on the interior around Derek Brown how do you continue to understand that that was a very real part of your team building model last year year before continue to draft and develop there how do you balance that line that you're walking because you definitely are going to want to get some new people eventually

1:08:17Dan Morgan:to take over and yeah I think you know when I took over and just talking to my team like about what we want it to be about it's about winning the offensive line of scrimmage and the defensive the line of scrimmage. We want to dominate both sides of the ball. In order to do that, you have to infuse talent into that. Young talent, guys that we can grow with. You saw last year, we drafted Nick. Nick Scorton, we drafted Prince Lee. Both those guys were excited about their future. We're just going to keep adding, keep building brick by brick. I think at the end of today, then, you know, it'll be where we want it to be.

1:08:56Dave Canales:Do you think you'll be talking contract extension with Bryce Young before the fifth year option comes up?

1:09:04Dan Morgan:You know, that's something that we have to talk about internally and figure out. But, you know, right now, you know, we're just happy Bryce is our quarterback. We're so excited that, you know, the way he's developing, not only as a player, but as a man. He's growing up right in front of our eyes, and he's getting better every single day, every single game. So we're excited he's our quarterback, and contractually that'll figure itself out.

1:09:34Dave Canales:Appreciate all the time, Dan, and another old friend of Jordan. You're really gracious with your time.

1:09:39Gregg Rosenthal:Thank you. I've been looking forward to sitting down with you for a while. Anytime. So I really appreciate it.

1:09:43Dave Canales:Thanks for having me. One of my favorites to watch on the field back in the day as well. So keep an eye out at the linebackers. I appreciate that. Picking up Dan Morgan, GM of the Panthers. We are here with head coach of the Carolina Panthers, head coach of the NFC South champion, Carolina Panthers for the second straight year, right in this spot at the Indianapolis convention center. Congratulations on the division championship. We were talking about the atmosphere on that day that, that Jordan was there in the playoffs. How did, how did it feel to kind of bring that type of football energy back to Carolina or super?

1:10:18Dan Morgan:proud. We came in, you know, our goal was, you know, Dan and I talking is like, let's build a, let's build a team that this, that this fan base can be proud of, you know, and it's a, it's the Carolinas, you know, it's South Carolina, North Carolina. I was in Myrtle Beach last weekend at a seven on seven tournament with my son. And, you know, just the outpouring of excitement, you know, especially in your football environment, you know, from parents. That's what I think is unique about what's happening in our community is I'm 44. And so most of the people that are around my age were like prime time, like original Panthers fans, 95, 1995 PSL owners.

1:10:54Dan Morgan:Um, you know, I remember 1995, I'm, I'm just starting high school. So people, my age were like right around that time where it's important to them, you know? And so now their kids, our kids are all growing up in this. And so it's a, it's a really a special time for us.

1:11:08Dave Canales:Were you more nervous during the fourth quarter of that playoff game or watching the seven on seven your son uh definitely the

1:11:17Gregg Rosenthal:playoff game oh yeah i don't know i don't what kind of a coach parent or involved parent are you with the football i mean i would feel like the coach would probably want to try to get you involved a little bit i just stay out of their way give me an opinion yeah i'm just saying you

1:11:29Dave Canales:got you got control a little bit when you're coaching if you're just watching yeah well i

1:11:33Dan Morgan:just appreciate the the people that all these people this is that they do for fun you know And they have jobs and they haul themselves and a bunch of equipment all around the Carolinas playing these tournaments. And so I just appreciate them for the time that they spend with our kids and however they coach and whatever plays they're calling. It's just like this is a good thing. This is time well spent and they're investing in our kids.

1:11:58Gregg Rosenthal:But it's okay if you also make mental notes too. Just saying. But, you know, so the atmosphere was so powerful because you guys as a team and the community, everyone met the moment really well, coming in as a perceptive underdog and all of that and then really taking it right to the end there. But that's sort of like a roller coaster all season with you guys and some of those really high highs emotionally and then some of the frustrating losses. And we've had several of your friends and coworkers on the show. We talked to Brent Tillis. We talked to Dan Morgan as well about, like, how do you find what's stable and sustainable through all of that joy ride of a feeling all around everything?

1:12:42Dan Morgan:Yeah, well, it's about belief. And it starts internally. And as we continue to prove to our players that if we play a certain style of football, we can play with anybody. And that holds true for any of us in the NFL. And we all care about the same thing. We all care about taking care of the ball, creating explosive plays or minimizing them. And those critical moments at the end of half or end of games. And we're all sick about it. But it's the teams that pay attention to it and believe that you can get it done. And that's what I saw happen with our group is throughout the season, I could feel the belief coming from our players and expecting to win on a weekly basis.

1:13:18Dan Morgan:And, you know, now it's time to look at the inconsistencies of what happened, you know, and to see if we can really capture that. and it happens in practice. It starts when these players come back in April. And we have to take every single day. This is the day that could win us that game. This is the day that could lose us that game. And can we be that urgent about the work that we do?

1:13:38Gregg Rosenthal:You kind of made a little news today. You mentioned that when you were in your press conference that Brad Edzik is going to be calling plays this year. You know, there's been whispers around the league that he was really working at this, like working at maybe one day becoming someone who could take the mantle on in such a significant way. And it's a personal thing to call plays. And it's a powerful thing to be the person that does that. So what is it about him that you said, okay, this is the year that you're going to do it? What is it about you that you said, this is the year I'm going to let this go?

1:14:11Gregg Rosenthal:And what does a Brad-Edzic offense look like?

1:14:14Dan Morgan:Two things came to mind really with the decision is our ability to continue to push our processes forward offensively. And Brad's been my primary architect for what we do from an offensive standpoint, tying the run game and the pass game in together. And we've been doing that for three years. And and he works at it. You know, he's he's such a hard worker. He's dedicated to it. He's principled and he knows the philosophy of what I want, what we want for our Panthers offense. So felt really confident to give him that opportunity to do it. As far as readiness goes, you know, I was asked this when I first became a coordinator in Tampa.

1:14:50Dan Morgan:I was like, how do you know that you're ready? He's like, well, I'm as ready as I'm going to be. And I feel that about Brad. You know, this is a time to do that. And he's been the sounding board for me. He's been in my ear. You know, he's been calling plays for the last couple of years. And as we've laid this foundation, I believe Brad will take us the next step and we'll be able to continue to build off of it because of his rapport with the players as well. The other side of it was an opportunity for me to continue to affect the culture of what we're doing, the play style in general, from offense, defense, and special teams, how we do things in the building, strength and conditioning, athletic training, all of these things, how we treat each other and what we're after, the possibilities of what we could become, I know that I can affect our culture in a more powerful way by being available that way.

1:15:35Dan Morgan:Whereas you can imagine coming into it, all hands on deck, let's get this offense to a place where we have a foundation. And I believe we have that foundation. And now it's time to continue to build off of it.

1:15:45Dave Canales:So we talked to Dan Morgan, your GM, and we know that Bryce is going to be your quarterback, of course, and the contract will figure that out. But I'm curious what you want him to improve on, like specifically in terms of his game, because I feel like he was almost a symbol of your team sometimes at times. Like the great weeks were great, and one thing I think gets misunderstood with him is like, man, if you put just a reel together, like he is not afraid to put that ball in a tough spot, and his high-level throws are as high-level as almost anyone. but there were down weeks for him too. And so what do you think he needs to get better on to improve those down weeks?

1:16:23Dan Morgan:Yeah, just what I'm proud of what he did this year is just mastering the operations of what we're doing and getting us to the line of scrimmage so he can make great decisions for us. He did an excellent job of that this year. And I want him to be able to continue to build off of that so he can make decisions at the line of scrimmage and take advantage of things that he's done throughout the season, by whether it's coverage, blitzes, fronts, things to take advantage of. So let's keep building on that part of it. The consistency piece, which is his mantra, that's what he's after, will continue to allow him to find that success.

1:16:57Dan Morgan:We want to replicate those special games. While there's different degrees of defenses that you face that create different challenges, I know that's what's out there for us. And so I want to continue to grow that way. What he's done a great job of as a leader is, you know as you can imagine he is the cagey vet you know he is he is the elderly statesman in a room of of rookies and second year players you know and and um and he he embraces that he embraces that role to come to work with consistency to grind to do all those things so I'm excited for us to get back together in April at some point um and to just continue to push that forward do you

1:17:35Gregg Rosenthal:know one of the most fun things about watching what you guys did this year it wasn't for me like the highs and then how you recovered from the lows and all of those things. But you guys, like, really worked out loud. Like, you problem solved, and you could see it on the field, what problems you were trying to solve from week to week. And specifically, I want to talk about your passing game and your skill guys because especially when Jalen came back, Ted McMillan had a great season, as we know. And when Jalen Coker came back, you could start to see you and Brad, I suppose, because you guys are working together on this, start to build in some really interesting layers into your passing game where there was depth to it, there was math.

1:18:15Gregg Rosenthal:You guys were creating more math, I think, than previously with some of those matchups. What's the next step? Who becomes the third puzzle piece here, whether he's on the roster or maybe you don't know yet? And how does that take another step forward to continue to build depth to it?

1:18:34Dan Morgan:Yeah, well, first it's time on task. And, you know, Jalen Coker had an injury right at the end of training camp, and that set him out for a little bit of time. So, so thankful that David Moore, a guy that I've been with a long time, was able to step into the role for a while for a couple games. But there was a little bit of a rotating, you know, just a rotation in the wide receiver room because of who was and wasn't available. We traded Adam Thielen, another guy that I loved. And so finding that chemistry took all of most of the season to get to a place where we were really operating. They were anticipating each other.

1:19:09Dan Morgan:You know, I'm excited for Xavier Leggett. I'm excited for the jump and the leap that he's going to take this year. Why do I say that? It's because of the work he puts into it. I've been a receivers coach. I watch guys work on their craft. The ones who work the hardest, it happens for them. And he happens to be 6 '2.5", 230, and runs 438. and all of these things are going to come in, the chemistry and the trust that Bryce has in him to continue to go to him in critical downs, you know, and with the ups and downs and the inconsistency, that's all of us as a whole, like we have to find consistency, but I'm really excited for this group.

1:19:44Dan Morgan:I'm excited for Jimmy Horn to see what he can do to add an explosive element to what we're doing and Bryson Tremaine, a guy that played on special teams, did the dirty work, made some critical catches for us in different games. This is a really good group. now it's dan and mine it's our job to find players we can add whether that's free agency or through the draft to challenge that room um and to make it a really competitive position yeah another

1:20:09Dave Canales:position that could be in transition rico daddle is a free agent for you do you expect that he would be back and what what are you kind of looking for in in that room specific those are all things that

1:20:20Dan Morgan:we're talking about right now but it goes to that same room you know you think about jonathan brooks coming back. Trevor Etienne and what an amazing player he was in college and did a couple of things for us in the run game. And I'm excited to see where he goes with it. But that's definitely a position that we can also challenge. And we're going to give the ball to the angriest, most explosive guy. And that person could be on our roster. It could be out there. And we're going to take all those things into consideration.

1:20:46Dave Canales:How do you measure anger? If it's going to be the angriest, how are you calculating anger?

1:20:51Dan Morgan:There's a violence to it. There's a way that the ball is supposed to be run and that's what we're looking for.

1:20:55Gregg Rosenthal:Or take like an average Wednesday interacting with me, Greg. That's how you measure anger sometimes as well.

1:21:01Dave Canales:I'd like to see you go through the hole. How about one, you know, you went through all the offensive players before we let you go. One maybe defensive younger player on the roster that, you know, we have an audience that watches the whole league. So maybe someone that they're not as familiar with that you're excited to maybe see grow in your defense in the coming years.

1:21:21Dan Morgan:Well, Nick Skorton did a great job this year and was our second round pick. Consistent, hardworking, talented, huge, just a really powerful player. And I'm excited to see him continue to expand his his tool belt. Trevin Wallace, we got to get Trevin healthy. He's big and he's fast. And, you know, he's been a stud just playing through different things and managing that part of it. But I'm excited to see Trevin get back out there. A guy that probably doesn't get mentioned is Corey Thornton. He actually moved into the starting lineup and was injured pretty quickly after that, but a guy that can play multiple positions.

1:22:00Dan Morgan:He can play outside corner. He can play nickel, and he's also played safety for us. A really versatile player, long, and a really savvy football player. I'm excited to see where he goes. And probably the last one I'll mention is Bam Martin-Scott. Contributed in special teams, but he's a rocket. He plays with the right play style and, you know, really excited to see his development as an inside linebacker. If you can, you know, give something to us. I love this.

1:22:24Dave Canales:You're doing homework for me for our season preview. Well, I'll tell you too.

1:22:27Gregg Rosenthal:That's cool that you bring up Corey because one of the top things I heard out of any camp was how excited your defensive guys were out of training camp this last year about Corey. So that's pretty cool. That's pretty cool.

1:22:40Dave Canales:Appreciate Dave Knauss joining us for a second straight year. You know, I'm not saying we were the cause of it, but a nice bump up last year. And so this is what my Wednesdays are. Hopefully it can happen again that we talked again next year and we're talking about even more wins.

1:22:54Dan Morgan:Absolutely. I'm not superstitious, but I'm a little stitious. So, you know, this is a good, this is a good return. Let's do it again next year. Absolutely. Thank you, Dave. Canals. Thanks.

1:23:02Dave Canales:Great to talk to Dave Canals and Dan Morgan was watching the combine coverage and Canals gave a very similar answer to rich Eisen and Daniel Jeremiah about the responsibility that Bryce Young has taken at the line of scrimmage. That's how he's going to win. It's kind of from the neck up. So, you know, I was going to say get your information first from us because we got it literally first, but the show wasn't up. So that's a bad job by us, I guess. Great interviews. Appreciate that. Nick, thank you for hanging out. And I did want to note that as of Thursday night, if it wasn't already over, you're not allowed to say frame-mogged ever again.

1:23:44Dave Canales:Not that you were in the first place. Frame-mogged is done. What about maxing? Can I still use maxing with two Xs? Looks maxing. No, nothing.

1:23:52Nick Shook:That's gone. Okay, good, because I didn't use any of that, and I thought it was just unnecessary. But we can all thank Kyle Hamilton for that, because he got frame-mogged during the NFL Combine by none other than Sonny Stiles, and a comparison on the screen.

1:24:05Dave Canales:I mean, maybe it's just because I'm sensitive. I'm like a walking getting frame-mogged. I mean, anytime I've ever been on the show with you, Shook, certainly. But yes, for those who weren't watching the program, Kyle Hamilton noted when they did the side-by-side height, weight, speed, and they compared Kyle Hamilton, who you would think would be even faster than these built behemoths at linebacker, Sonny Stiles. No, even though Sonny Stiles was so much bigger and stronger, he was even faster than Kyle Hamilton. who's plenty speedy. And yeah, he sent a tweet out to NFL Network and Rich Eisen that he was getting frame-mogged.

1:24:46Dave Canales:And then the NFL social used the word frame-mogged. And actually, I was really happy because when that happened, that's when I knew it was over.

1:24:54Nick Shook:Yes. As soon as corporate America adopts any term, it all ends very quickly. It's like when swag became a very big thing or YOLO back 10, 15 years ago and everyone was getting their swag bags and everyone was saying YOLO and it was dead from then too. It went the way of Vine, unfortunately.

1:25:14Dave Canales:So we'll see. I mean, I wasn't a fan anyways. I am a fan of all the work that you're going to be doing. Check out Nick Schuch's All Combine team. Now, it comes out throughout the weekend, right?

1:25:27Nick Shook:No, it comes out after the weekend. It'll be like Monday.

1:25:30Dave Canales:Because you were writing today. You're getting that work done. You're going to do that as well throughout the weekend. And then the big all combine piece will come out at the very end of it all. And you're going to join the show. Our next show will be on Sunday evening. So keep an eye out for that. Thank you to Eric Roberts for hanging out at what's probably a quiet Inglewood right now in terms of NFL media. It's going to be busy, though, in Indianapolis. Have fun, Nick, and we'll be watching the quarterbacks, the offensive linemen, running backs, all of it over the weekend. We'll see you Sunday night.

1:26:13Dave Canales:This message is brought to you by Apple Card. It's a great time to apply for an Apple Card. You'll love earning unlimited daily cash on every purchase. That includes 3 % daily cash when you buy the latest iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch at Apple. Through this special referral offer, when you get a new Apple Card, you can earn bonus daily cash. To qualify, you must apply at apple.co slash getdailycash. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch. Offer may not be available elsewhere. Terms and limitations apply. I'm Daniel Jeremiah. And I am Greg Rosenthal.

1:26:50Dan Morgan:I know that, Greg. We're teaming up on 40s and Free Agents, the podcast that owns the NFL offseason.

1:26:55Dave Canales:This is where teams are built. Free agency, combine, pro days, trades. Every move matters. From my draft boards and mock drafts. To my vaunted top 101 free agents and how rosters come together. Quarterback movement. Surprise signings.

1:27:10Dan Morgan:We'll tell you what it means and who really wins. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search 40s and free agents, and listen now.

1:27:17Gregg Rosenthal:This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed human.

From the publisher

Gregg Rosenthal and Nick Shook react to the first day of drills at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine! Gregg and Nick tell you what they thought of the dominant performances from Sonny Styles and Arvell Reese. Nick also shares what he saw on the field from David Bailey, Cashius Howell, and more! Gregg and Nick also react to the trade that sent Jermaine Johnson from the Jets to the Titans in exchange for T'Vondre Sweat, Anthony Richardson being linked to the Vikings, the reported asking price for Maxx Crosby and other news coming out of the combine. Plus, Carolina Panthers GM Dan Morgan and HC Dave Canales join the show! 

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