How much better—or worse—is each NFC team after the first wave of free agency?

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2:05Robert Mays: Welcome to The Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Rolling on with our How Much Better Are These Teams Really series. We hit the AFC yesterday with me and Derek looking at the halls for all 16 AFC teams and asking, as the dust has started to settle a little bit from free agency, how much better are these teams really? Dave is back with us today to hit all 16 teams in the NFC. Some of them spent very little time on. The Rams are better, just if you're curious. Like, the Rams are better after trading for Trent McDuffie. With some teams, the answer is a little bit murkier, so we spent more time unpacking it.

2:42Robert Mays: Really enjoyed this conversation. So let's chat about how much better the NFC teams are after the first wave of free agency with me, Derek, and Dave.

2:56Robert Mays: Did the AFC yesterday. Today, it is time for the NFC. We are running through every team in the NFL and asking a seemingly simple, but I think sometimes hard to answer question, how much better are they really after the first wave of free agency is over? Dave, you were not with us for the AFC yesterday. You get to join us for the NFC. I'm curious how many you have today that Derek had yesterday where it's kind of like, I don't know. I don't know. Neutral, I don't know. There was a lot of that yesterday, which I think is totally fine as part of this exercise.

3:33Derrik Klassen: I knew we were doing this, but like you said, I wasn't on yesterday's show, but I listened to y 'all this morning, and the whole time I was like, oh, I kind of hate this. Like it sounded really fun in theory. And then when you start applying it, it gets really stressful. And that's so, and then I spent most of my day leading up to this prepping for the NFC and I hated every minute of it, particularly I'm going to save it. But there were, there were a handful of teams that, that really, really stressed me out trying to answer this question. The fact that it's hard is why it's worth doing, right?

4:07Robert Mays: Taking a step back and trying to figure out after all the dust settles where these teams are. So excited to dig into the NFC teams today. I ordered them in the same way that I did yesterday. It was most spending to least spending. So let's start with the NFC team that has shelled out the most money in guarantee contracts up to this point, Derek. And that is the Washington Commanders who came into this thing with a ton of cap space and have signed a bunch of guys as we sit here on St. Patrick's Day. How much better or worse are the Washington Commanders now than they were about 10 days ago?

4:40Dave Helman: They're one where like the roster, especially defensively, is clearly better. But I'm still sitting here looking at the offensive depth chart and it's still really terrifying me. And so like they are a better team. But given that, in my mind, this is a team that should be weaponizing their young quarterback. Like the roster just feels weird to me still, even if they clearly did add more useful players in this offseason.

5:03Robert Mays: What is OK? I think that's a fair representation. They have not done much on offense. I mean, the biggest thing that happened for them on offense so far is either signing Chico Conqua or letting Tyler Biotis go. Right. Biotis signed for$10 million a year with the Chargers. Chico Conqua signs for$10 million a year to play tight end. So you're talking about similar levels of players. Those are the two most consequential moves that have happened for their offense overall. Is there something you wish they would have done with the offensive depth chart and the money they had available that they have not done up to this point?

5:32Dave Helman: I mean they were clearly in on a number of the wide receivers which they should have been when you look at their how bad their off their offensive depth chart is and like that is still something that they could address in the draft but I still going in having to go into April 23rd or whenever the first day of the draft is going to be with 30 something year old Terry McLaurin Traylon Burks and Luke McCaffrey as your top three wide receivers that's just a really scary place to be and I think they were trying to get out of you know March without that being the case and they They clearly just didn't.

6:03Robert Mays: You guys continue to ignore the Brandon and I move that is coming because you just don't trust that it's anything real.

6:10Derrik Klassen: Sure. I mean, I use this analogy a lot, but buying a scratch-off ticket's a lot of fun. Like counting on it to pay your mortgage is not as fun, you know? Like that's just supposed to be for shits and giggles, not actually fixing your situation.

6:25Robert Mays: How do you feel about where Washington is right now, Dave? How much better is Washington right now than they were 10 days ago?

6:30Derrik Klassen: I mean, call it a cop out if you want to, but Washington's one of a handful of teams. The more money you spend, the more I'm just like, well, you freaking better be better. What are we doing if you're not better after spending$200 million in free agency? I share all of Derek's concerns about the offensive side of the ball. And I don't know how well it bodes for the commanders that, like you said, Robert, the the most notable thing they did on that side of the ball was probably cut a guy that other teams were in a rush to talk to. Like you don't ever want people to line up for the guy that you just fired, but there are two sides of the ball.

7:08Derrik Klassen: And I feel so much better about Washington's defense coming out of this. And I mean, even, even if you're not sold on individual moves, obviously Odafeo got a ginormous contract, right? Tim Settle got a pretty big contract for where he is in his career. You don't have to love every single thing they did, but they did enough that I just, I don't think they could help, but be better. I think between the three or four guys that they threw at the pass rush, Owe, Kalevan Chason, even Charles Aminohu, like they are going to have a better pressure rate than 32%, assuming moderately good health in 2026.

7:46Derrik Klassen: They got younger at linebacker, Leo Chanel, great signing. My guy, Nick Cross, not only a great signing, but for $7 million a year. I just feel so much better about the defensive side of the ball than I did 10 days ago or at any point during the 2025 season, to be honest with you. And they're younger, by the way, I think like a minute who, and a couple of these guys are, are like 28, 29, but the vast majority of these signings are guys that are like 26, 27 years old. Like even guys that have been in our consciousness for a long time. Caleb on chase on is 26, even though we've known who he is forever.

8:26Derrik Klassen: That's impossible. I'm telling you. He's, he might be, it might be his year 27 season. It's like, we all know them forever. It might be his year 27 season, but like he, he is not an old player. Amik Robertson is only like 27 years old. So not only did they add talent, but my big beef with the commanders last year was that it felt like a retirement home on their roster. and I don't think you can argue that they are much younger, much more athletic. Like there's more juice on this team with the guys that they've brought in. And now I think with what they've done with the pass rush and bringing in Cross and Robertson, I don't think you're so screwed defensively that you have to use that number seven overall draft pick on any one thing in particular.

9:10Derrik Klassen: So if you love a receiver there, you can do that. If you're the Jeremiah Love team, I think people would probably hate you for it, but it could be a hell of a lot of fun to put him on that roster with Jaden Daniels. Or you can obviously continue to address the defense. So they are definitely a better team. How much better? Open for interpretation. But I like most of what they did. The OA contract kind of scares me, but I like most of what they did.

9:35Robert Mays: I think your guys circling this idea is they're a better team. I wish they would have done a little bit more to find one of those receivers. Maybe pay. Are you the team that pays a little bit more for Romeo Dobbs than you should have. Let's just say that, Derek. Let's play out that hypothetical. Let's say Romeo Dobbs is on this team for$19 million a year. How much better do you feel about Washington? And do you feel like that would have been worth doing given the amount of money that they have and given the current state of the roster?

10:01Dave Helman: I would have been happier with that. Again, when you have a young quarterback like a Jaden Daniels, I'm willing to pay premiums for offensive guys around him, especially again, like as your best, your only definitively good receiver is Terry McLaurin, who is coming off of like what was a kind of a shaky year for him last year. And then is only getting older. And so for them to pay to be younger and have like an obviously useful receiver, I would have been pretty into that, even though the price tag probably would have been expensive, but I wouldn't have minded it.

10:27Derrik Klassen: I got a question for y 'all. And here's the way that I kind of look at it is like you got to address, you got to, you have to use the draft to address some things. Like you're not going to do it all in free agency. And I know y 'all haven't watched everybody in the NFL draft class. I get that. But if you just look at it as a resource allocation, like would you have rather gone in on Romeo Dobbs and now you've probably got to find that edge rusher with your number seven overall pick, or would you have rather sign Odafeo way to a huge contract? And now you have that freedom to let's say get Carnell Tate.

11:03Derrik Klassen: If he's there at number seven overall, like which of those feels like the better use of your resources. And I do like, I think I'd rather have the edge rusher to be honest with you. But in free agency or the draft? No, I'd rather have the edge rusher already taken care of, especially since they threw multiple darts at it. I think I'd rather have the edge rusher taken care of and say, hey, all we got to draft is a two that can play behind Scary Terry and we'll be okay. I think that is probably a more manageable ask.

11:36Dave Helman: That's more manageable. Well, I think if I'm spending a top 10 pick, I want him to be my ace at that position group, which I know that like, that is not really how teams are building wide receiver. Like Devonta Smith went high, Jalen Waddell went high, but like, it's also not this draft for the record.

11:50Robert Mays: That's also a good point. I think it's kind of potato potato for me. I'm not sure I have like a preferred destination because I think that when I look at Owe and I look at Dobbs, they're kind of similar in that they're good players, but they're number twos and they're limited players and you're paying them. I think kind of at similar spots in the market, right? And so I don't know if I have a preferred path that I would have taken. I think that it's kind of a coin flip for me. I think they're very similar discussions no matter how you want to handle it. I think the answer would be which players are better prospects in the draft, and I just don't have an answer for that right now.

12:25Robert Mays: All right, let's get to our next one here. The Carolina Panthers, who also spent a shitload of money over the last week or so. Dave, how much better are the Carolina Panthers now than they were 10 days ago?

12:35Derrik Klassen: So the answer that I came down on is the Carolina Panthers still have the look to me of a 500-ish football team, but it just might be more enjoyable the way that they get there with what you've added, with getting a guy like Jalen Phillips, putting Devin Lloyd behind him. you could potentially have the makings of an exciting Carolina defense. Like maybe not a top tier one just yet, but with what they did last year with the guys, they just added, I mean, what two of the, if not two of the top five defenders on the market this year, definitely two of the top 10 in, in the same free agent class joining right away, I think could just make the Panthers a more well-rounded team, unfortunately.

13:22Derrik Klassen: And I, I hate the way that most Panthers talk turns into the Bryce Young discussion because it's not all about the quarterback, but it does get hard for me to assign a higher ceiling to the Panthers with the current situation. Like I don't think of Carolina as being that much better of a team until we can either drastically improve the skill talent and just the overall talent around Bryce Young or until Bryce Young shows us a more consistent level than what we've seen to this point in his career. I do. I commend Carolina for solving their offensive line problems on a budget. Like we've talked about the Luke Fortner edition many times already.

14:05Derrik Klassen: I really liked that. I really loved, you know, for the price, getting Rasheed Walker there as Iki Ikuanu insurance, I thought was a good move. So just to have options to help you sort out your offensive line after an untimely injury and then obviously losing Cade Mays. I liked what they did. I think they're basically the same caliber of team, albeit maybe a little more well-rounded.

14:29Dave Helman: So I think I agree with that in the sense of like the ceiling of the team only goes so far as the quarterback does. That's not the conversation. But that's what I was going to say. Like, what I will say is that if we're doing Devin Lloyd is replacing Christian Roseboom and Jalen Phillips is replacing all the snaps that DJ Wonham gave us last year, those are two pretty sizable jobs. They are significantly better. And they didn't really lose anybody. Obviously, they lose Cade Mays, but they replace him with a like-to-like sort of player and a guy like Luke Fortner in terms of quality. Like, this is a team that, like, again, I don't know what the ceiling is going to be, but this was one of the like three teams in the NSC where I looked at them and I was like unquestionably, undeniably better football team.

15:09Robert Mays: Yeah. I went in the exact same spot. The defense, they needed to get so much better at linebacker. Even if you have some lingering concerns about Devin Lloyd's ceiling and was this a one-year blip, whatever, this is a much better football team. They paid for it, right? They paid a premium to get there. But if you look at the defensive roster now, I think that the defense to say they were closest, probably overstating it, but they were on a good trajectory. When you think about where they were two years ago and what they looked like last year, you saw the vision starting to come together with some of the guys that they added.

15:42Robert Mays: And now to add two guys on second contract, two second contract free agents at their two biggest positions of need. I think the defense has a real chance to feel like it's not a top tier unit, the one that like creeps closer toward the top 10 this year. Like I am excited to watch the defense in a way that I wasn't even last year. And on offense, I, I totally agree with everything you said, Dave, about how the ceiling is going to be determined by what happens with Bryce Young. But when you think about what the offensive roster looked like a week ago and what it looks like now, I would have said they were better even before the Rasheed Walker thing happens.

16:17Robert Mays: I'm sure they were sitting there being like, wait a second, this guy's worth 10 million bucks. it would cost us 10 million bucks to solve left tackle for this year and have a stopgap option after Dan Moore was signing for 20 million dollars a year last year let's just do this like we have to move some money around to give ourselves an answer for a season let's just do it and so I can completely get on board with that combined with what they did on defense my answer is definitively yes whether this means they're like an 11 win team I have no idea but I think they're definitively a better team than they were last year so I think that's right and I guess

16:51Derrik Klassen: The way that I'm looking at it, like I have the Panthers 2025 season pulled up in front of me. They go eight and nine. They win the division. And I think the difference for me is, like I absolutely think the Panthers could finish with a better record. I think they're more or less the same caliber of team, only maybe this Panthers team doesn't get absolutely dog walked two or three times this season, the way that Buffalo managed to do to them or New England or that ridiculous San Francisco game that they played. Like there were three or four games where, and I remember joking about it last year, where every time you want to get excited about the Panthers, they just play one of these egregiously awful games.

17:34Derrik Klassen: Or conversely, one week after they beat the shit out of the Falcons, they go get wiped off the field by New England. And so maybe you get to a point this year where this team is, like I said, I still think of them as 500 adjacent, but not all 500 teams are created equal. Like maybe you're more competitive in a handful of those games because of these additions that you've made.

17:57Robert Mays: I also think their offense just has a chance to be better because they're healthier this year. Robert Hunt played three games for them last year. So if you're going to get a fuller season out of him, Jalen Coker missed a handful of games. You really felt when he wasn't in the lineup last year. So I just feel like overall, I think the offense has a chance to just be a more stable group than it was a season ago, even if the ceiling still has concerns. and you combine that with a defense that I think just looks a lot more complete than it's been. The ceiling questions about this team overall are totally founded.

18:26Robert Mays: I just think that right now, they're a better team than they were and they're especially a better team than they were 10 days ago when they had to figure out left tackle in a way that we never would have had to predict for 95 % of last season. Let's stick in the NFC South, the New Orleans Saints. Derek, how much better are the New Orleans Saints now than they were a week ago?

18:49Dave Helman: I think I'm comfortable saying they're a little bit better, but not a lot. Like, I love the David Edwards thing, and I think if there's anything here, like the David Edwards signing has potential to be like an Exodia-type thing for them, where all five of the parts of the monster come together, and the offensive line is like maybe one of the best in the league. Like, that could totally happen, and maybe that makes the signing look even better than it already looks on paper. The thing is, like, I do worry about the defense a little bit. Like it was a quietly good unit last year, but I do think losing to Mario Davis is going to hurt you.

19:22Dave Helman: You lose Alante Taylor, which is starting caliber corner that hurts you. And they did sign Caden Ellis, who I think is nice, but I think not quite as good and not quite as useful of a player like Davis, even in his age. So I think they come out a little bit better, but not like significantly, in my opinion.

19:39Derrik Klassen: Is Exodia a Yu-Gi-Oh reference? Correct. Okay. I just I had to Google that. I feel so I feel so old right now. But I got the gist of what you were saying. I like that we're bridging the generational divide here.

19:52Robert Mays: Yeah, I understood it based on context, but I have absolutely no idea what's going on.

19:55Derrik Klassen: If we can get it by context, that's all I need. I understood what you were getting at. Yeah, I guess I probably would have gone with Voltron, like the child of the 80s that I am. But that's a generation before me, which I also understand that, but not where my head goes immediately. You know what's funny? I mean, like, I really, I like what the Saints did. And I think I joked about it last week that they're going to become everybody's darling to go from worst to first. I think that's more about the overall quality of the NFC South and that it's a division without a true juggernaut. But it's so it's funny how the last six, seven weeks of the season color your perception.

20:32Derrik Klassen: I mean, if you add David Edwards and Travis HN to an offense where Tyler Shook continues to play like an ascending player and continues to look that way. it's really easy to talk yourself into this being a much better team. How realistic is it? I think you probably got to split the difference and say, well, it's not going to always look that great. And Tyler Shook is not a finished product, even if he is very, very exciting coming out of his rookie season. I think that's probably fair, Derek, but I do, again, I think the Saints are closer to being a 500 type of team. Like if you're going to lose to Mario Davis, I think they do a good job of offsetting that.

21:12Derrik Klassen: they were never going to hold on to Elante Taylor for that price. But I actually think there's a lot of fun DBs in their secondary, like Kool-Aid. You get Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker very quietly were like awesome, awesome rookie players for them that you can be excited about moving forward. They very quietly re-signed Julian Blackman like way before free agency even got going. So even losing a guy like Elante Taylor, I feel pretty good about their secondary. And again, now you open yourself up to do the best thing with a top 10 draft pick. It's probably not going to be a running back anymore, but could you add a top tier receiver to your offense?

21:52Derrik Klassen: Could you find an edge rusher? Like very similar to Washington, other than the fact that they didn't give a hundred million dollar contract out at edge rusher. But what do you feel better about when your pick comes up at number eight overall? It's tempting to be really, really excited about the Saints because of potentially finding a quarterback answer, but I think the more fair answer is that they're probably like marginally better after this, even if I am excited.

22:19Robert Mays: I land in a pretty similar spot when it comes to the overall difference in quality. Like I think that they're a little bit better, but my favorite part about this is they just feel normal now. Right.

22:31Dave Helman: Them just like kind of doing one cool signing, little things here and there, and they just had like a regular off season. It was a little jarring to go through actually.

22:39Robert Mays: It's just so comforting. The Saints have a second-year quarterback. He flashed a little bit. They are now in a spot where they can spend in structured contracts in the same way. They signed all these guys. There are no void years on any of these deals. They're able to just hand out these contracts like a normal NFL team. You look at some of the rising players, especially in the secondary, it's one of the reasons you can let a guy like Alante Taylor go because you drafted a lot of guys that you want to have opportunities. This team had six picks in the first four rounds last year. They have five picks in the first four rounds this year.

23:11Robert Mays: Even the signings that they made, David Edwards is going to be 29, but sign a guard to his age 29, 30, 31 seasons. Like that's a multi-year proposition for you. HN is obviously much younger than Alvin Kamara is. And so, and Caden Ellis is younger than Demario Davis is. So you're trying to get a little bit younger with some of your free agent signings. You're trying to plug a few of these holes. You have one kind of two like top-ish of the market signings, which is a completely reasonable thing to do when your quarterback is making half a million dollars a year. And now you have a lot of draft picks again for a team that is retooling a little bit.

23:45Robert Mays: Like, I don't know how much better the overall roster is now than it was 10 days ago. But I think the entire approach is part of a larger plan that makes the Saints feel just like a normal. We're doing things on the rhythms that we should be doing things NFL franchise. And that's worth celebrating. I should throw a party for that shit.

24:05Derrik Klassen: It's very refreshing to understand what the Saints are doing. Like, they were spending like crazy trying to maximize a window, and then they just kept that attitude like five years longer than they needed to. And now to see them behaving in a way that tracks with what's on their roster and what their books look like, it's nice. It's normal.

24:27Robert Mays: And you look at the roster right now, and I think one of the benefits of just where they sit, there are a couple of needs that are more glaring than others, right? Like they absolutely need another receiver. And if they did that in the top 10, I would completely understand that. They need more guys on the defensive line. But with the way the current roster is set up, this isn't a finished product. Like the fact that they need more pieces at some of those positions is completely acceptable. And now they're in a spot where they have a lot of draft picks to potentially address some of those needs.

24:54Robert Mays: Again, it just feels like a normal football team conversation.

24:57Dave Helman: They are in a spot where this top 10 pick is like perfect. I know we say best player available for a lot of teams, but they don't have like an, oh shit, we need to solve this position. They truly can just like whoever's there, what are they, eighth in this draft? Yeah. Seven, something like that. They can just take literally whoever they want, which that range of the draft is pretty nice.

25:14Derrik Klassen: I would throw like cornerback too. Like we mentioned Delonte Taylor leaving. Like if they love their option at outside corner at number eight overall, that makes perfect sense too. Hey, what's funny is Saints fans hate that the Saints never seem to draft like the popular LSU player. So that would be if they cleaned up their books and started behaving normally and then drafted an LSU player in the top 10, I don't think anybody in Louisiana would know what to do. That would be really funny.

25:45Robert Mays: All right, let's take our first quick break here and then come back and chat a little bit about the New York Giants.

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28:09Robert Mays: The New York Giants. A lot of moves, right? We've got a lot of new faces on this Giants roster and a lot of guys who departed this Giants roster, Derek. But I'm curious, as you look at all of that movement, how much better are the Giants really than they were 10 days ago?

28:25Dave Helman: I'm not really convinced they're better. Like they're one that feels kind of worse to me a little bit.

28:32Robert Mays: I don't know if they're worse, but I definitely don't know if they're better. Worse is harsh.

28:37Dave Helman: I said maybe worse question mark. I think if it was like if you absolutely had to push me one way or the other, I would be like 51 % towards worse. But I do think they're probably neutral. But like, so you lose Wondell Robinson. and I know I harped on like other teams signing him the amount of money and stuff, but like when he's being replaced by Darnell Mooney, he was coming off of like a banged up season and Calvin Austin, that's probably a downgrade. I know they added Isaiah likely, but in my mind, he's like a very niche player and I'm probably not as high on him as a lot of other people. And then at corner, you lose Cordell Flott for Greg Newsome, who really, really struggled last season and kind of didn't have his best year even before that, even if at his best, he's a pretty good man corner.

29:14Dave Helman: So I came out of this feeling kind of uneasy about where the Giants ended up.

29:20Robert Mays: I don't disagree with that, but can't you understand all the bets they made? Even if in the aggregate, the combination of Darnell Mooney and Calvin Austin are a little bit worse than Wando Robinson, you're paying pennies on the dollar for those players.

29:33Dave Helman: I get that, but it does make them worse. Those two things can be true at the same time, I think.

29:38Robert Mays: Yes, I think that's fair. I look at it and I think I landed in a similar spot where it's like, and they're probably like, it's probably a lateral or like a tiny bit worse. But at the same time, I think everything that they did could pay potential dividends on their way to being a better football team. I think that's kind of where I land with it. Like the Tremaine Edmond signing, like he wasn't worth that contract to the Bears. There's a chance that deal looks pretty good given the linebacker market and given how young he still is. The Greg Newsome thing, we talk about this with corners and we mentioned it with Cordell Flott.

30:09Robert Mays: how corner is just so volatile. And so getting Greg Newsome at, I think it was like 10 million bucks. So it's not that much of a discount, but it's still a little bit of a discount given the top of the corner market. And so you're buying a dip potentially with him. If he's better than he was last year, is there a little bit of value to be had there? So I think there's enough of those where I can get behind most of the moves that they made, even if they're not definitively a better team than they were earlier this month.

30:35Derrik Klassen: I mean, we would all, I get it. the draft hasn't happened. Crazy shit's going to happen every year. It always does. And I think the Giants have a huge variable just in the sense that they have a young first-round pick quarterback that we don't know how good he actually is yet. I mean, if Jackson Dart whips ass, then a lot of this stuff doesn't matter and the Giants will probably be better than we give them credit for. But right now, we would agree on paper the Giants look like the worst team in the division. or am I like, do y 'all agree with me on that or are y 'all not willing to go that far?

31:12Dave Helman: I mean, probably like Philly and Dallas, I think clear them for sure. Yeah, I don't think that's a conversation.

31:18Robert Mays: I think it's where you land on Washington. It's a matter of where you sit with Washington.

31:20Derrik Klassen: Yeah, if you want to quibble about Washington, that's fine, I guess. I think the Giants are still probably worse.

31:25Robert Mays: I think they're still probably worse.

31:27Dave Helman: Yeah, because I think if we assume health for both quarterbacks, like I would rather just, even if I'm a little bit iffy and have my questions about both rostered, I'd rather have like, Like, we've seen really good play from Daniels, whereas Dart is still kind of a question.

31:38Robert Mays: I think the offensive line has more upside for Washington than it does for the Giants. Yeah, like if Conley takes a step. Yeah, exactly, exactly.

31:45Derrik Klassen: My overarching point is if you can accept the idea that Rome wasn't built in a day and John Harbaugh was brought here with some job security to lay a foundation and do this thing correctly, I think the Giants are probably better in the long term, even if they're still the fourth best team in their division. Like I think if I was going to hold on to one of the big three of their free agents, Jermaine Illuminor is the guy that I would want to hold on to, even though, even though he's the oldest of the three, like if you've got him for three years, your offensive line has hope of becoming a strength moving forward.

32:22Derrik Klassen: Robert, you took the words right out of my mouth. It's always hard to parse this stuff at this time of year, but Darnell Mooney's deal is worth up to 10 million. and Calvin Austin's deal is worth up to 4.5 million. So if you get the absolute best version of those guys, you're still paying like 3 million less for two players than you would have to keep Wandel Robinson. I'm fine doing that every single time. Same thing with the Greg Newsom stopgap thing for Cordell Flott, like stopgap players with at least a chance to give you something. And if you don't, so what? We're trying to draft these guys replacements anyway.

33:00Derrik Klassen: So I think this is a very typical coach coming in and laying a foundation free agency class. Like you get a guy like a Luminor and then you're looking for stopgap guys and culture guys. You know, you, John Harbaugh's got like, of course, John Harbaugh redid the whole specialist team. Like, of course he did. John Harbaugh brought in Patrick Ricard. Like he's got some guys that are going to help him do some, you know, lay down the program that he's accustomed to. and you haven't made a decision that's going to screw you in the long term if you got it wrong. So yeah, I think the Giants are better in the long term right now, even if I'm not convinced how good of a football team they're going to be this year.

33:43Derrik Klassen: And like I said, if Jackson Dart is good, then this could look a lot better than we give it credit for really quickly. And they still have a top five tip top five pick and a top 40 pick to use as well. I'm not going to go as far as to say I'm bullish on the Giants, but yeah, I think they're a better team, even if I still think that this is going to be a multi-year process.

34:07Robert Mays: The moves that they made, I think, are in service of becoming a better football team. I know that's couched in like 10 layers of caveats, but that's where I sit with this, even if they're not immediately better. The other thing I wanted to make very clear about this exercise, just to get out ahead of people clipping this later on when a certain team is better or worse. When we say, is this team better? It is purely the roster. Is the roster better? Because of course, if Jackson Dart or Tyler Shuck take a huge step forward, those teams are going to be much better, but there's no way to account for that right now.

34:41Robert Mays: We're not building in improvement for young players toward the overall quality of what the team does in a wins and losses level. This is purely, right now, the players on the roster, Are they better now than they were 10 days ago? I don't, just making it very clear about that, like in the spirit of the exercise.

34:58Derrik Klassen: On Friday night, when the Giants are done picking, and I know they gave their three to Houston last year, so it's not as much capital as you would probably prefer, but after they've made a pick in the top five and then pick 37, I bet I'll be able to half-assedly talk myself into them being like kind of a frisky team. Oh man. I might leave you on the island there

35:24Robert Mays: The last thing I want to say about this Likely is one of those players Where landing spot was going to be very important For like how much I liked the move And as much trepidation as I kind of have About the Matt Nagy hiring overall The ability to utilize and build an offense Through this one specific type of player I actually do have faith in their ability to figure that out And so I do like the likely thing more for them than I might in a different sort of offensive system that doesn't really understand how to tap into this sort of skill set.

35:57Dave Helman: That probably is fair. Isn't also Greg Roman is on the staff? And obviously that's a little bit more of a run game thing, but still.

36:03Robert Mays: Yeah, I just, I mean, think about where Nagy comes from. Like, obviously the Kelsey one is the easiest thing to point out when it comes to utilizing this sort of tight end. But Nagy's been doing this since Trey Burton was on the Bears in 2018. This has been a part of this offensive philosophy for a while. And so I do think likely has a chance to be more productive here than he might be on a team where he'd be a little bit miscast. Let's get to our next one here. The Chicago Bears. Derek, are the Chicago Bears or how much better are the Chicago Bears now than they were 10 days ago?

36:35Dave Helman: So I said they are a little bit worse, but not in a way that makes me scared. Like, I think, yeah, I think the roster is a little bit worse. Like it's OK to say that. Exactly. Like the Bradbury thing, like him replacing Dolman, one, you didn't know Dolman was going to retire like that. And they made as good of a move there as they possibly could. That's totally fine. I think a lot of the changes on defense, they have more depth, I think. But like overall, a lot of the changes to me kind of come out like net neutral. And then on offense, the more one is funny because like, yes, losing a player of his quality hurts.

37:08Dave Helman: And we talked about, I said on the AFC show, how much that might help Buffalo. But that clearly was just not like a healthy situation for anybody. And like if Roma Dunes is just healthier next year, like that probably just doesn't matter as much. So I'm I think I pretty much came out like net neutral, maybe one percent worse.

37:25Derrik Klassen: The other thing about the DJ Moore trade is like we all were making peace with the idea that DJ Moore's time in Chicago was up like in December. Like I didn't make that up. People were doing the mental math on that before the regular season was even over. So to, you know, be upset that something you expected two months ago finally happened, I just don't buy it. Yeah, I mean, I think it's fair to say the Bears are probably a half step worse than they were at the end of the year. And that's mainly just because Garrett Bradbury is not as good as Drew Dahlman. But I agree with you, Derek. Like, I thought they did a really good job of addressing a shitty situation.

38:06Derrik Klassen: Like, that's not something you can really plan for. and to mitigate it the way that they did, I think was really nice. I think retaining Braxton Jones and bringing in Jedrick Wills as like a lottery ticket is phenomenal.

38:19Robert Mays: I was going to say the exact same thing. I would say the same thinking applies to the left tackle situation in my mind where you're making a decent thing out of a bad situation, even if it's not overly exciting.

38:30Derrik Klassen: Kalief Raymond is just Olamide Zaccheaus with a Ben Johnston history. I'm a fan of that. Like I'm pretty much like everything the bears did. Like they got cheaper at linebacker. Kobe Bryant's a good player. Neville Gallimore is a good depth signing. Like, yeah, the bears don't have the edge rush juice that they need to be like a true contender. And I think, you know, sorry if this rubs bears fans the wrong way, like last year was amazing. I don't, I think it's okay if they're not contenders yet. Like they were absolutely true. They were ahead of schedule and it's okay to not make up all the of that ground in one offseason.

39:07Derrik Klassen: In fact, I commend the Bears for not rushing to do that because they think they're super close or because they're trying to get a stadium built or whatever other dumb reasons they might come up with. It's okay to do this in a more natural way. You can try to find that guy in the draft or you could trade for that guy at a later date, like whether it's later this offseason or at the trade deadline or a year from now, you're in a really good spot your quarterback let's let's all hope for bears fans sake like if caleb williams is that guy that you want to pay that's not going to be a problem for a long long time and so it's it's okay to slow play this thing i think they're i think they're probably a half step worse than they were at the end of last year but that's that's fine i'm not losing any sleep about it they could still win the division with this team but yeah i think it's fair to say they're at least a little bit worse.

40:03Robert Mays: They are, and that's not really a criticism. Like, how they solve the Dolman thing is fine. What they did at left tackle is fine. I really like what Kobe Bryant potentially gives them on the back end. That's an upgrade for me. You get a little bit cheaper at linebacker, and now you've got four picks in the top 90 and three in the top 60 to try to fill the rest of this thing out, right? If you can go find a safety in that range, everyone's told me there are a million of them. You sign Cam Lewis's depth, you drop a starting safety into that thing you can use your first round pick on defensive line help you can find hopefully a long term answer at center with your third round pick which is 89 or you have a pick in the fourth round like they have enough draft capital combined with what they did in free agency and combined with the contingencies they had where they were scrambling at those offensive line spots where I think you I look at this and I'm completely fine with how it all went down even if I do think they're a slightly worse team now than they were 10 days ago at the end of last season let's get to the next one here.

41:01Robert Mays: We don't have to spend a ton of time on this. The Los Angeles Rams. Derek, how much better are the Los Angeles Rams today than they were two weeks ago? Significantly better. They actually have a secondary now. Moving on. There isn't a lot to say. No. They're significantly better. They spent a ton of resources to be significantly better. I hope they'd be better. And I think that they are.

41:22Derrik Klassen: Number one in your power rankings heading into 2026.

41:27Robert Mays: Yeah. I just don't think there's that much more to say. Like they brought back Cam Curl. They traded for Trent McDuffie. They signed Jalen Watson. The guys they lost or are pending free agents are Jimmy G and Kobe Durant.

41:37Dave Helman: Yeah. The guys they lost were guys at secondary who they replaced with big ticket guys. Anyway, who cares? Like it.

41:43Derrik Klassen: The Rams are a better team. Yeah. I want to see what they do with pick 13. Like the fact that they still have a pick that good to add to it is crazy, but I can't wait to see what they do.

41:53Robert Mays: The Arizona Cardinals. Dave how much better are the Arizona Cardinals now than they were 10 days ago

41:59Derrik Klassen: Time is a flat circle because three years ago the Arizona Cardinals were the tank team The team that everybody just knew were tanking And here we are again like after they flirted with feistiness for a couple years The Arizona Cardinals are significantly worse and the funny thing is like It's not even as if they let a ton of good players go I mean, the guys they let go were guys that they cut. Like, they knew they were moving on from Kyler Murray. They knew they were moving on from Jalen Thompson. But when you incur losses like that and your best signings are, A, Gardner Minshew signaling that you're moving forward with this quarterback room.

42:44Derrik Klassen: B, Isaac Siomalu, who we've already joked is a really good player, but a puzzling ad at the age of like 31 for a team that is multiple years off from contending. And then what? Like Tyler Algier? I mean, I actually, I really, I really like Kendrick Bourne as a budget signing at receiver, but not, not for a team that is this far away from mattering. And I just, I think of the Cardinals as a team where like you started building a house and before you were even done, you realized that the foundation was screwed. and you were like, all right, this thing's going to sink into the earth in a matter of like five years if we don't just gut it back down and start over again.

43:27Derrik Klassen: And that's what it feels like the Cardinals are doing. I mean, you're even seeing, I don't know, well, I don't know if this would actually happen, but like there were rumors on the internet over the weekend that Josh Sweat could be had in a trade. So like a guy that you signed last year who was actually good, potentially being available. It's just, I mean, the Cardinals are not making their intentions a secret. Like this is a team gunning for big time draft capital next year.

43:50Dave Helman: So I think if we can remove the Kyler Murray thing, which again was kind of like predetermined, right? Like we already knew that that was not going to be on. And he really wasn't on the roster like in any real way for most of last season. I think if we remove that, I think there may be like slightly better. Like I think the skill players are better. Say Amalu is a nice add at the offensive line, defensively losing Thompson and then only adding Roy Lopez. That is obviously a little bit of a downgrade. But if they are not the most injured defense of all time, they'll probably end up in a pretty good spot there.

44:22Dave Helman: Like, I don't think this is going to be a good team, but I do think the offensive roster actually has more depth and options to it than it did a year ago. I guess that's true. It's to the point of like, it's not going to amount to a whole lot, but I do think they have like more depth to their team than they did a year ago.

44:42Derrik Klassen: How much fun are you going to have watching the Cardinals secure a top five draft pick? Like, is that what you're saying? Yeah, I mean, kind of.

44:49Dave Helman: Like, this is not going to be a good team. I actually, like, because they don't have a quarterback and because the offensive line, even if I think, say, Amalo is a good add, still needs help. And maybe they can address that at three. It's still not going to be a good team. But I, like, I do think the moves that they made this offseason, if we remove the Kyler Murray thing, they come out, like, slightly positive for me.

45:11Derrik Klassen: if you remove cutting their franchise quarterback who they benched halfway through the season.

45:15Robert Mays: Yeah, he wasn't playing in the back half of last year, so I don't even really consider him part of the roster when I think about where the Cardinals were. I think it's probably pretty neutral. I think Jalen Thompson is a good player. The funny thing about Salomalu and Algier is they would be two of my favorite additions to a team that was actually within spitting distance of being competitive.

45:34Dave Helman: Right, I had like Algier to Denver,

45:35Robert Mays: and I'm like, God, that would have been incredible. And then he's in Arizona, and it's like, ah, it's not as fun. I think that they're probably a similar sort of team and it just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. We're in like full Jacoby Perset is a perfect tank commander mode. And that's totally fine. Like it just, you are, I think Dave's analogy was very good. You are starting back, if not at ground zero, because you've added a lot of young pieces over the last couple of years in the draft. And you hope those guys can still be foundational players for who you want to be. but in terms of like how aggressive you want to be and what your expectations are all of that stuff you're back to square one and I think that's an okay place to be if you are the Cardinals right now let's talk about a team that actually finished the whole thing off last year the Seattle Seahawks Derek how much better are the Seahawks now than they were 10 days ago they are obviously worse

46:27Dave Helman: and also who cares you just won the Super Bowl like this is kind of kind of the inevitability of winning a Super Bowl like this.

46:33Derrik Klassen: Seahawks fans care, for the record. We're not trying to be worse. We're trying to go for two.

46:38Robert Mays: They are worse, and I think it's impossible to argue otherwise. They lost Kenneth Walker, Boya, Mafei, Kobe Bryant, and Tariq Wollin. The moves that they made were retaining Rashid Shahid and Josh Jobe and signing Emmanuel Wilson. So their biggest moves are just bringing back guys who are on the roster already, and then they signed a rotational running back. The question I wanted to ask about this team is, I just wonder what the overall mindset is here. Because if you look at the prices for all of those players, I can completely understand just in a vacuum, looking at 14 million for Kenneth Walker, 20 million for Boya Mafe, 13 million for Kobe Bryant, and even one year, 12 million for Tariq Wollin, when you already have Josh Jobe on the roster and saying, eh, that's not for us.

47:20Robert Mays: We just don't want to spend those prices on those players. But this team has a decent amount of money. They've got like 40 million in cap space for this year, and then they have a pretty decent chunk of change next year. They have some big extensions on the horizon and maybe they're just trying to keep flexibility and give themselves pathways to anything they want to do over the next couple of years. I think that's reasonable. This is a team that last year was potentially sniffing around a Max Crosby trade. They are the sort of team that is willing to do some splashy things if the opportunities present themselves.

47:51Robert Mays: Maybe that's the answer. Even if they don't have an actual way they want to be spending that capital right now, They're just looking at those players at those prices and saying that's not in our best interest if that's the thought process fine But i'm just wondering What the thought process actually is as to why like kobe bryan at 13 million isn't something you'd want to do Even if theoretically you have the money to do something like that

48:14Derrik Klassen: I don't know the fact that they have the money makes it interesting because they they do they have A larger amount of cap space than you would expect from a team that just won the super bowl But I wrote down in my notes with all due respect to those guys, like I like Kobe Bryant. I like, like, I like at this point, I think we're at, we've reached a point where Rick Woolen is better than he gets credit for. Even if his flaws are very real, he's still like, like you would like to have him on your team headaches and all. Kenneth Walker, also a good player, but I wrote in my notes, like those are the types of guys that you're supposed to let walk and try to replace in free or in the draft.

48:52Derrik Klassen: I mean, And I don't disagree with that at all. I think that's the right way to think about it. Maybe, maybe their philosophy is like, let John cook. Like they had a ridiculous tear at the beginning of the 2010s that helped them build the first Superbowl team. And then there was a lull and they're on another heater right now. And maybe the philosophy is we got three top 100 picks. If we keep kicking ass, we can find these guys again. They do. They have fewer picks to work with, though, because of the Shaheed trade and a couple other moves that they've done. They have four total picks in this draft.

49:25Derrik Klassen: They have four in the entire draft. So it's not as much capital as you would probably prefer to replenish that. And that's why I have an eye on the running back situation because I'm just looking at it. I know they signed Emmanuel Wilson, but if Zach Charbonnet tours ACL in January, that's a spot where I'm trying to bring in some more proven production there. And considering you'd probably like to replenish the cornerback spot, considering you'd probably like to just keep adding pass rushers. I wouldn't want to use a draft pick on a running back if I were the Seahawks. Like, I think I'd rather try to get creative and find somebody else to come in and help tide me over until Charbonnet is available.

50:08Derrik Klassen: This to me felt like the Algier team. Two years, 12 million. Absolutely. So I'm looking at that. Like I wonder if the Seahawks have more to do there or if they'll try to, I mean, nobody loves drafting running backs with big picks more than the Seahawks do, but that's just not, that's not something I would want to do with my current team. I would be trying to restock the guys that I lost on defense. All right. Well,

50:31Robert Mays: the Seahawks are a little bit worse, but I think we can understand how they arrived at being a little bit worse. And there's really no arguing that they did anything wrong or had any significant missteps over the last 10 days. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Derek, how much better are the Bucs now than they were 10 days ago?

50:48Dave Helman: They are worse. They are a worse football team. You lose a guy like Mike Evans, that is obviously huge. And again, I know he's getting older, had some of the injury stuff, but still a pretty damn good player, especially if he can be healthy next year. And then on their front, like they added some guys who are maybe a little bit more competent and the D line has a little bit more of a rotation, but I didn't see any needle movers. Like this team is a little bit worse to me.

51:10Robert Mays: They didn't sign any needle movers. They signed like three useful pieces. Anzalone, A'shaun Robinson, and Al-Qadim Muhammad, all of them, it's just like, all right. Like, I get how that's in service of you having, like, a somewhat deeper, more well-rounded defense. Bringing back Kate Otten, get that. But you look at the players they lost. Like, the Mike Evans and Jamel Dean thing, even if you have Benjamin Morrison waiting in the wings and you were already planning for something like this, I do think they're a little bit worse. Dave, you have a better sense for this team than I do. I'm looking at this right now, and as I sit here and look at the roster and their approach this offseason and like who they are and where they're supposed to be and what they want to be.

51:44Robert Mays: And I don't even mean this as a criticism. I think this is more, this is like a consistent thing with me. I just don't really get them. Like I just don't really understand them. Like what are the Bucs trying to be right now? Because it kind of seems like they're a team that maybe should be pushing the throttle down a little bit more than they are. But at the same time, should they be one of those teams? Are they actually that close? Like it's just a hard team for me to get my arms around. And I think it's been consistently that and what they've done this off season has certainly not helped that issue at all.

52:17Derrik Klassen: I'm flattered that you think that. And I know, you know, I got the Ryan Jensen jersey on the wall behind me, but like I feel equally confused by Tampa Bay this year. And for the reasons that you just outlined, because in my heart of hearts, like Jason Light wants, like they want to be a draft and develop team and they want to reward their own guys and build it all through the draft. They got all their own draft picks this year. I just, I came out thinking that they're roughly the same team, honestly. Like I know they lost Mike Evans, but he only put half a season last year.

52:49Robert Mays: I think that's worth mentioning when you talk about where they were last year and where they are now.

52:53Derrik Klassen: Like if, if you've got a Buka and Godwin is still there and Jalen McMillan is still there and you bring back K dot and then you got Bucky Irving. You still got pieces on the offensive line. And then you swap out Levante David for Alex Anzalone and you add a couple nice pieces on the defensive line that don't get you crazy excited. You lose Jamel Dean, but the guys they drafted last year look awesome. Like if they want to make a bet on Benjamin Morrison and Jacob Parrish, I don't, I don't care. Like I don't blame them for that but it all equals out to like roughly the same team and I'm just like yeah this team's probably capable of winning 10 games and getting bounced in the first round and what's confusing about it you just kind of outlined it Robert is like you are a draft and develop team that wants to do it all in-house a you haven't been able to gain any ground doing that b by the way, Baker Mayfield's already in a contract year.

53:51Derrik Klassen: Like Baker Mayfield is up for a new contract at the end of this season. And so are you pivoting off of that? Are you going to try to get a deal done this off season, even though Baker was injured and very underwhelming over the second half of last season? If like, are you clearly they're not pushing their chips in to try to really get somewhere in the last year of Baker's deal. It's, it's very weird to me. It feels very just sort of running in place. Like they've just got the treadmill set at like six out of 10 and they're just kind of going for a nice jog and they'll probably be a pretty good team.

54:32Derrik Klassen: But I mean, last year I thought they were pushing to be something more than that. And sitting here right now, I'm just like, I don't see it unless you get just like this crazy run of good health. Like unless a Buka explodes into being an elite receiver and Kalijah can't see is healthy and gives you something amazing this year. And Anzalone and the rookie and the young DBs are like way better than we think. Like, I guess there's a bunch of ways this could happen, but you're just banking on development. And I, I don't think that, I don't think you can do it all that way. And when you consider that Todd Bowles' job security is in a tenuous spot, I'm just like, ah, I just feel like we're playing out the string until we try something new next year.

55:17Derrik Klassen: But isn't that kind of what it feels like?

55:19Robert Mays: This to me, so a couple different thoughts here. One, when we were talking about how there's aren't that many teams anymore that are these draft and develop methodical teams, like every single one of them did a splashy thing over the last four or five years, the Bucs are probably the best answer. Like they're probably the team that aligns with that type of thinking more than anyone else in the league in this current version of the NFL with the current decision makers in place. I think that's part of it. They are that team. The other part of it is, doesn't this feel a little bit like a GM that knows he has job security building a team for a coaching staff that doesn't have it?

55:53Robert Mays: Where it's like, why am I going to do something crazy here to borrow from the future to build a team for a staff that's probably in a make or break it year anyway? Let's just be patient. Let's build this thing the way that we always do. We'll see what they can do with it. And if they can't, we have opportunities to pivot off this as we figure out what the next version of this looks like. That's probably what this is. It's just those dynamics. There's just a lot in play there that we don't often think about because typically everyone has a level of urgency within the building. And I just don't really think that's the case with this Bucks organization right now.

56:29Dave Helman: That does make sense though. Cause if that wasn't the case, you look at this roster and I think you make this case for two years, it's like, why are they not acquiring like another difference maker on defense? Like, why are they not trying to go sign whoever it would be, Jalen Phil, whatever you want it to be in this class, it doesn't really matter. The fact that they are consistently just going for, okay, we'll like draft DBs in the second and third round and we'll fill in like decent rotational defensive lineman signings, like them not going for swings in that way, I think is getting a little bit frustrating.

56:56Derrik Klassen: Yeah, they just, they feel like the same team, which to give them credit could be a pretty good team because they won the division several years in a row but after the way last year ended that's just not really inspiring right now we're gonna take

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58:32Robert Mays: The Dallas Cowboys, Derek. How much better are the Dallas Cowboys now than they were 10 days ago? I think they're better. I think so too.

58:43Dave Helman: Yeah, I think they're better. The defense, I mean, them adding Jalen Thompson is nice. Kobe Durant, I know I harped on a little bit when he was with the Rams. Like he's, that team needed any sort of secondary help that they could get. So I liked that. Obviously, losing Oso Digizua is going to hurt you a little bit in terms of the pass rush. But you add Rashawn Gary, hopefully that does a little bit of something for you. Like they just desperately needed a bunch of bodies on defense and they did something. And the thing I want to say about the other side of the ball, they have done nothing on offense, basically.

59:12Dave Helman: Obviously, they keep George Pickens, but they didn't really add anything. And last year when we did this with Arizona, it was like, OK, they have added. And we did this with the Falcons, too. It's like, oh, they've added nothing. They're probably going to stall out. this is not going to be good for them. With Arizona, they were also losing Clayton Adams. In the case of Dallas, they still have him on the staff. But also the difference is like the Dallas offense is really good already. Like with teams like Arizona and Atlanta, it was like they were interesting, added nothing and then kind of stalled out.

59:40Dave Helman: If Dallas kind of holds the line at where they were, like that offense is really, really good. So like I'm kind of OK with them actually not doing a whole lot. And plus, too, they could obviously they could obviously still address something in the draft if they really wanted to.

59:52Robert Mays: I also think when you look at Atlanta specifically, and the only real issue Atlanta had is that they missed a handful of games from Dahlman, but Ryan Neusel played well. To me, the biggest argument you can make for why the Cowboys have a chance to be even better on offense next year than they were last year is that you're getting those guys back healthy, hopefully. I mean, the idea that Tyler Guyton might be healthy for an entire offseason in a year or two of that offense. Cooper Beebe missed a handful of games. Like I think that them staying the course on that side of the ball and just hoping for better health up front being the thing that's going to feel different about that team this year.

1:00:26Robert Mays: I actually don't mind that overall as like a strategy and a thought process.

1:00:30Derrik Klassen: I'm looking at the Cowboys depth chart and I don't know where you would add help on offense. I mean, I guess you could have maybe you could have tried a different running back instead of Javante Williams. But they did that deal so early before free agency that he was good last year. He was good. No, he was. He was. Like, I don't have a problem with them resigning them, but that's just one of the few spots that I look at. And I'm like, yeah, I guess they could have gone a different way, but they've invested a ton in the offensive line. Like it's not easy or like advisable, in my opinion, to move on for most of those guys at this point.

1:01:04Derrik Klassen: I guess you could try to find a better third receiver, but Ryan Flournoy is my guy. Like I was really excited about what he showed last year. So I'm perfectly fine with them running it back on offense. Defense is definitely better. It's just a matter of how much do you need to improve from historically awful, and it sure doesn't feel like they've done enough. Being regular bad instead of historically bad, I'd like to be closer to mediocre than bad, and I feel like the Cowboys are still a couple pieces away.

1:01:41Robert Mays: I don't disagree with that. I also think that, weirdly, Kobe Duran is the sort of player that you add to go from historically bad to just kind of bad. And I think that those players are really important.

1:01:50Derrik Klassen: Kobe Durant had a good season and it just so happens that most people only remember the playoffs. And like they were, the Rams secondary was bad in the playoffs, but Kobe Durant is a great addition for them. I love the Jalen Thompson signing. Rashawn Gary, look, I get it. Nobody in Green Bay was happy about him leaving, but if he can improve the run defense and give you anything, I think that's fine. really it's mainly it's the rest of the cornerback room and then the linebacker room and I could use a little bit more on the edge considering Donovan Ezraku's coming off of an injury but yeah man the linebacker situation is terrifying the cornerbacks outside of Durant Durant Bland could still be a useful player but I just feel like there's a lot more work they need to do

1:02:39Robert Mays: the linebacker thing is the one question that I have Like, I'm just a little bit surprised in this market where there were so many linebackers available that they didn't add somebody that could be like a starting caliber piece just from day one. Be like, yeah, we're dropping that and we're not thinking about it. That's the only thing that I'm like, I'm just a little bit surprised. Everything else they did, I'm like, I get it. Even the Odega Zua thing. It's like, I understand he's a good player, but you don't have enough draft picks because of the Pickens trade, because of the Quinn Williams trade.

1:03:06Robert Mays: You have the two first. But other than that, you didn't have a lot of capital and you have a lot of needs to fill. And so trying to get one of those back and save$20 million against the cap, I completely understand that even if Odigazu is a good player. The linebacker thing is the one area where I'm like, I can't really believe they haven't done anything yet to address that.

1:03:23Dave Helman: I don't know if this has been like an accident or if this is just something the Cowboys are more willing to do, but like they seem pretty willing to take linebackers in the first round, like more than a lot of other teams are necessary. Like they took Vander Esch, like Jalen Smith, obviously they've done it before. Like these are all pretty recent guys that are willing to do that. And it's a healthy enough linebacker class that if there was one they liked there at 20, I don't think that that would really surprise me.

1:03:44Robert Mays: Maybe that's the answer. If you can get a defensive lineman, like an edge rusher and a linebacker in the first round, is that the path that you're trying to take? And do you feel better about things if that's the case?

1:03:54Derrik Klassen: Yeah, if I had to bet today, I would put a, I'd put a sizable bet on like CJ Allen out of Georgia being their pick at number 20 overall. Like that makes a ton of sense, but is, and this is the Cowboys are a draft and developed team. This is what they like to do. They've hit a lot of home runs doing it, but is asking two defenders drafted 12th and 20th to be the difference for a team with a Super Bowl caliber offense? Like, is that fair? Is that the right way to do it? And what I was going to say before that is to hear it from them, they were in on N 'Kobe Dean and he chose Vegas over them. And I'm like, all right, well, if you were in on N 'Kobe Dean, then there's three or four other options where you could have tried to land the plane.

1:04:38Derrik Klassen: And to not have anybody like I would, I would genuinely feel if, if the only difference about this Cowboys team was that they were coming out of free agency with N 'Kobe Dean or Devin Bush on their team, I would be like, all right, yeah, let's go. You got two first round picks. Like this sounds great. And I just, I think they are one, one more difference making addition away from me being really, really pleased with what they did. that's pretty much exactly where I stand.

1:05:08Robert Mays: Like if the one signing of that tier of linebacker, do you feel a little bit different about the plan overall and how many needs they still have remaining heading into the draft? Let's go from the team that traded away Oso Digizua to the team that traded for Oso Digizua. The San Francisco 49ers, Dave, how much better are the Niners now than they were 10 days ago?

1:05:28Derrik Klassen: The San Francisco 49ers on paper are way, way better, in my opinion. And that's mainly because I, as the 49ers truther from last year, am factoring in things like Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Mikel Williams coming back from injury. Like you're getting a lot of reinforcements just from guys that weren't able to play for you last year. George Kittle, I think obviously it's going to be a longer wait on him. So I don't include him like for the start of the season, but hopefully this is a healthier team. And then you add Mike Evans to it. You trade for Oso Digizua. Even, you know, you bring back guys like our man Jake Tonjes.

1:06:07Derrik Klassen: You got Dre Greenlaw back. It would be so much fun if he looked anything resembling the guy we remember from San Francisco. On paper, I think this looks like a much, much better team. Whether it kind of, whether all those boxes get checked is probably up for debate. But I think there's a lot of reason for optimism based on what they've done and also what they're just already getting back from their roster from last year.

1:06:32Dave Helman: Yeah, I think the roster is just better. Like Mike Evans is an upgrade over Juwan Jennings, Brandon Ayuk, whoever it would have been last year. And then also Diggy Zula. They just did not have playable three technique guys last year at all. Like I know that they drafted a couple of guys, but they just didn't have that. So to go from that to a guy who is certainly above average and gives you a lot of juice, like I'm pretty jazzed about where this team might be going.

1:06:55Robert Mays: They're better. I don't think it's all that complicated. they're better. The Diggy Zua thing kind of puts it over the top. The third round pick is, it's not nothing. Like that's a real amount to give up for a guy on that contract. But you look at Evans, you look at him, I think they're absolutely better. And all of this is going to come down to a combination of two things. How much better do your young defenders get from last year? And are Fred Warner and Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa? Like, does the defense take a significant step forward because of all of those factors? But that's not really the conversation we're having here.

1:07:27Robert Mays: It's, is the roster better than it was at the start of free agency? And I think the answer is undeniably yes. And just as we're recording this, Christian Kirk to the Niners, one year, six million, which I don't know how that fits in general with like where the Niners are right now in that receiving core, right? Like I, with Pierce all in there, like I don't know exactly the role that Kirk fits that they don't already have, but for$6 million, just getting a little bit more depth at receiver, like that just feels worth it.

1:07:54Dave Helman: I think that's honestly all it is. I mean, think about just how ravaged they've been over the last couple of years at receiver, like them just getting like, Hey, we just want to protect ourselves a little bit here. I totally get that. And that's a good guy to go out and do that for.

1:08:05Derrik Klassen: It does give me pause that the Niners are, I mean, they do it. They have a lot of young players on their defense, but to some degree, it feels like they're doubling down on being an ancient team. I mean, Mike Evans, now Christian Kirk joining the fray. We know all of the older, all pros, Christian McCaffrey is another year older. I mean, the age of the roster gives you pause. But again, on paper in March, I think they look so much better. It's one year deals essentially though, right?

1:08:34Robert Mays: If you're assigning foundational pieces that are aging, that's different to me than like, we're trying to push it as far as we can this year. They want to move on from Christian Kirk and Mike Evans this year along with Trent Williams and get a little bit younger on offense. That pivot is available to them. And so when it's one-year deals for some of these aging guys, that matters to me and worries me a little bit less. Fair. The Atlanta Falcons. Derek, how much better are the Falcons now than they were 10 days ago?

1:09:03Dave Helman: They're definitely not better, I don't think. I think they've added a lot of depth on defense, but that's kind of it. That's really all they've done.

1:09:14Derrik Klassen: The Falcons, to me, have the look of a team that are asking Matt Ryan, Ian Cunningham, and Kevin Stefanski to just sort of evaluate things for a year and decide what to actually do next year. That's exactly it. I mean, when I was doing this exercise and trying to get a handle on where the Falcons are, I flipped the tab over to their 2027 cap space. And I was like, oh, okay. They don't give a shit about this year. The Atlanta Falcons, they're lying in wait for 2027. and so I don't think it's terribly surprising that they don't look like a better team. They look like a team that just wants to tread water for a year.

1:09:52Robert Mays: Yeah, they're in a holding pattern. They have$144 million in cap space next year. They have to figure out deals for B. John Robinson, for Drake One, and there are things looming there, but this is a team that is very much in figure-it-out mode, and so the fact that there's been a little bit of attrition and they're not better, I think that's completely acceptable. This one's a slightly different conversation. The Detroit Lions, Derek. How much better are the Lions now than they were 10 days ago.

1:10:17Dave Helman: So I like some of what they did, but they're worse. You lose Decker, you lose David Montgomery. And I know like the offensive line, you can sell yourself a little bit on like the depth is going to be better. They signed Cade Mays, who should be a better center than they had last year. Drew Scruggs is better depth than I think a lot of the guys they had last year. And then I even actually like some of the other DB signings that they made, like Roger McCreary to potentially play the nickel for you for a team that has been decimated at corner for the last two seasons, I think is kind of nice. and then one of my favorite little like role-playing players in the entire NFL Christian Isian who had been on the Bucks for a few years has played he will play literally anywhere in the secondary and so again for a team that is constantly banged up in the secondary that's a pretty good add I think I still just look at this roster and it's like you have no edge players you lost some of those guys there you lost some of your other defensive line depth you lose Alex Anzalone at linebacker like I just it's a worse roster I would agree with that I would

1:11:14Derrik Klassen: just add the caveat that not all of it is because of things that happened in free agency. I mean, if you want to include Taylor Decker being cut as a free agency thing, that's fine. That's obviously a big one, but the other thing for me, looking over the Lions, I was like, God, it just sucks that I don't know what to do with Brian Branch or Kirby Joseph right now. Like, Brian Branch tore his Achilles in December. Kirby Joseph's knee injury is very mysterious. Dan Campbell didn't have much of an answer about it when he was asked about it at the combine. And I'm just like, a few of your biggest pieces are just question marks heading into the sea or not heading into the season, but for where we are right now in the calendar year, they are question marks.

1:11:57Derrik Klassen: And then you add that into the usual attrition that you get. I already said it. I love the Cade Mays signing, but across the board, I think it's fair to say that they're a little bit worse. I mean, Isaiah Pacheco is a downgrade from David Montgomery at this point in their respective careers. So it's not all their fault. I think some of it's bad luck, but I do think they're worse.

1:12:20Robert Mays: This team's in an interesting spot, right? Like I understand moving on from Taylor Decker at this point in his career, if he's not willing to take a pay cut, but you still need to figure out that position now. Even if you can understand why they did a lot of the things that they did, when you just look at the depth chart right now and you look at, I mean, they have picks, right? They got a fourth round pick back from Montgomery. They don't have a third round pick because they traded them for Tesla, but they've got enough. They've got four picks in the top 128, four picks in the first four rounds.

1:12:49Robert Mays: But you're looking at the depth chart and it's like, they need an edge rusher somewhere here. Like they got a need to take one in the first couple of rounds and that guy is going to need to play for them. It just feels like overall, this team is scrambling to fill some of those holes in a way that they haven't been over the last couple of years. They just don't feel like nearly the filled out deep roster that they did at their best over the last couple of seasons.

1:13:13Dave Helman: Well, and I think this is kind of like to what you're talking about with some of the trade stuff. You mentioned the Tesla one. They also traded up in the year before for, was it Manu that they went up for in the third round, like traded some capital there. Like if those guys are good and they work out, nobody really cares if you don't have those draft picks anymore. But if neither of those guys are going to be significant contributors for you. Well, it's like now those guys are just kind of like mid-level players for our team, maybe depth. And we lost out on picks to replenish in these spots. Like maybe they could have spent that extra third on another defensive lineman last year.

1:13:44Dave Helman: Maybe that guy can actually play for you, that sort of thing. And so I think we're just seeing some of the attrition of them kind of trying to draft the way that they had at certain points.

1:13:52Robert Mays: And they don't have a third round pick in the 2024 draft. They traded that for Carlton Davis. And so there's just like a decent amount of missing draft picks from over the last few years. And listen, Tesla might be a contributing piece for them. He might be a bigger part of the offense now than he was last year, but it's just hard to bake that sort of progress in when you're doing an exercise like this. The Minnesota Vikings sticking in the NFC North. I don't think we have to spend a ton of time on this one. Are the Minnesota Vikings better now than they were a week ago, Dave?

1:14:18Derrik Klassen: Yeah, they're better. They have a quarterback. No offense to J.J. McCarthy.

1:14:25Dave Helman: They have a quarterback who is playable and like a solid NFL veteran. and that's kind of all this comes down to.

1:14:30Robert Mays: Yeah, even if you look at the losses, Jonathan Allen, Jalen Naylor, Javon Hargrave, Ryan Kelly, Harrison Smith, there is some attrition here. I don't think it nearly offsets the potential upgrade from J.J. McCarthy to, and again, I've said this a lot over the last week or so as we've talked about Kyle Murray, even if he's the 18th best quarterback in the league, that is a huge upgrade from where they were a year ago and I still don't think all of those losses offset the improvement from J.J. McCarthy to merely average NFL quarterback play.

1:14:59Derrik Klassen: Can I throw a grenade into the show real quick? Please. So we don't actually have to do this because it would take another 30 minutes. Would you be willing to power rank the NFC North right now? One to four? Like how you feel about the teams? Oh, it's a mess. When I was doing this, I don't want to do that. I need another hour. When I was prepping my notes for this show, I was just thinking about it and I was like, holy shit. I don't know. I wouldn't know what to say and I wouldn't blame the fan base that was pissed at me for ranking them fourth because it is just a cluster trying to figure out how you feel about that division.

1:15:35Derrik Klassen: I truly don't know. I truly don't know. It's borderline impossible.

1:15:41Dave Helman: And I don't know if thinking about it and staring it out longer is going to make it better or worse. I think it might be worse. I think I might get even more freaked out looking at it for an hour.

1:15:51Derrik Klassen: Just punt and wait for the draft. Wait for someone to have a draft that you absolutely love so you feel okay like elevating them above the rest.

1:16:00Robert Mays: I want to look at the division odds. The Vikings are 6-1 to win the division. The Bears are plus 340 right now on the sportsbook I'm looking at. So they have Lions, Packers, Bears, Vikings.

1:16:15Derrik Klassen: Lions, Packers, Bears, Vikings. See, I don't think I agree with that. And I don't know the order for the record, but I don't think I agree with that. but it's a jumbled mess. That's where I land with it.

1:16:28Dave Helman: Lions first feels wrong. I think that's my only take. That doesn't feel right.

1:16:34Derrik Klassen: Okay, here's my hot take. Right now in March, subject to change my opinion, I think the answer for me would be Chicago or Minnesota. I'm not kidding. Man, I'm choosing not to engage in this discussion.

1:16:51Robert Mays: For multiple reasons. For multiple reasons. It's not worth it. There's no upside. Give me three months and then I'll talk about it.

1:16:58Derrik Klassen: Yeah, that's fair.

1:16:58Robert Mays: Sticking in the NFC North, the Green Bay Packers. Dave, how much better are the Green Bay Packers now than they were 10 days ago?

1:17:05Derrik Klassen: So having just said, I wouldn't have them in the top two. So I think the Packers are worse, but I don't think they're as bad as like the name power lost suggests that they are. So like you look at it and you're like, oh, they lost Quay Walker and they lost Rashawn Gary and Romeo Dobbs and Nate Hobbs and Elton Jenkins and Kingsley Enigbari. Like, it's a long list of players that did things for them. And a few of those matter, right? But you offset Quay Walker with Zaire Franklin. Losing Dobbs hurts. There's no way around that. But you have three or four other guys. Christian Watson was awesome last year.

1:17:44Derrik Klassen: You just drafted Matthew Golden. It's a realistic hope to think that he can ascend. And you lose Malik Willis, but you're hoping he can net you like a big comp pick in the future. I don't think I know Packer fans aren't losing sleep about losing Rashawn Gary. I don't know how you could be losing sleep about losing like Nate Hobbs or Elton Jenkins. And so I look at it and I'm like, yeah, there's a lot of production gone here. But I think most of it is weatherable. Really, the biggest thing for me is just what's Micah Parsons status. And that is my biggest question mark. Like if you promised me Micah Parsons was going to be ready for week one, I probably would have the Packers on top of the division.

1:18:25Derrik Klassen: But I think he's that important and it's that big of a question mark that it makes me nervous. But the losses in free agency don't freak me out as much as I thought they would.

1:18:37Dave Helman: I think I like and understand what they did. And also they are a worse team. That's kind of where I landed with it. Like that's the short of it.

1:18:43Derrik Klassen: That's a more blunt way of saying it. Yeah, that's fine.

1:18:46Robert Mays: Yeah, I think that's where I land as well. everyone they lost, there is already some plan for how they're going to replace that player. Maybe, like, Enigbari may be the only exception to that.

1:18:58Dave Helman: Edge is probably the only one where that's the case, yeah. And defensive line depth in general, they need.

1:19:03Derrik Klassen: Enigbari is like the most painful loss of the guys that they lost for me.

1:19:07Robert Mays: Because there's no clear replacement on their roster, right? They need to replenish just the interior depth and the edge depth, period. But you look at everybody else, Romeo Dobbs they drafted Matthew Golden in the first round Quay Walker they traded for Zaire Franklin Elton Jenkins they re-signed Sean Ryan Rashid Walker they drafted Jordan Morgan in the first round two years ago now he's going to get to play left tackle so at least there are some sort of contingencies for everyone they lost even if they're going to be questions about how well those contingencies play out compared to the guys that are walking out the door oh and a big one I

1:19:37Derrik Klassen: forgot I mentioned Micah but also tell me what Tucker Craft looks like how many games I'm getting out of him and how well he plays. Like if you, if you're telling me Tucker craft and Micah Parsons are playing at an all pro level for all of, or most of the season, then I'm in baby. I'm back. Like I never left. Like I love the Packers just as much as I did last year, but those are very big ifs and not ones that I'm willing to bet on in March.

1:20:01Robert Mays: Last one, Philadelphia Eagles. Dave, how much better are the Philadelphia Eagles now than they were 10 days ago?

1:20:08Derrik Klassen: Similar to the Seahawks. I think the Eagles are like moderately worse, but it's in an unconcerning way for me. Like, I mean, these are just the things that happen when you're a successful team. You were never going to compete with that price for Jalen Phillips. So he's out the door. N 'Kobe Dean is gone, but you drafted Jihad Campbell in the first round last year. Like that is that's smart team building. Drafting Andrew Makuba a year before you lose Reed Blankenship is smart team building. finding Johnny Munt and finally getting a tight end who can do some blocking for you is good team building.

1:20:41Derrik Klassen: And then the, I mean the reek will improve it deal is my absolute favorite thing. I think that's a high upside signing. I think across the board, like the, the edge situation gives me pause the receiver depth and offensive line depth gives me pause. So I think in totality, I think they're a little bit worse, but not in like some kind of crazy way. Like I still feel perfectly good about this team.

1:21:07Dave Helman: I came out at neutral. And I think for the two big defensive things, obviously it's losing Jalen Phillips and then adding Tariq Wollin. Phillips is a better player than Rikwollin is. But to me, the gap between Phillips and the next guy down on your starters on defensive line is smaller than the gap that they have made up for what cornerback two was last year to what Rikwollin is. And so that probably like all comes out to relatively even for me. like when you factor in also losing to Kobe Dean, but like, I kind of like what they're, I honestly think if anything, having Rick Willen gives them a little bit more flexibility.

1:21:42Dave Helman: Like they were just so locked into playing certain coverages certain ways last year because they just did not have a third corner they believed in at all.

1:21:50Robert Mays: Yeah, I think that I totally agree with that framing and I was thinking about it in those terms when we were planning for this. I think that Jalen Phillips is a better player than Tariq Willen. I think it's easier for them to get by on defense with Tariq Wollin instead of Jalen Phillips.

1:22:05Dave Helman: And Jalex Hunt will give you more than like a Dory Jackson was giving them last year. If he has to play a significant amount of stuff.

1:22:11Robert Mays: I think that they can piece that thing together. And I think it's harder to piece together the quarterback two spot. They tried to do it all of last year and it did not work.

1:22:23Derrik Klassen: I mean, that all sounds good, but they did trade for Jalen Phillips midway through the year. Like it's easy to say you'll piece it together until you get to week six and you just don't have any juice off the edge.

1:22:35Robert Mays: Well, they have the 23rd overall pick, right? Like that's where that comes from. And even the Jalen Phillips thing, this team is just conjuring third round picks every year. You know, they had the 68th pick in this draft because of the Hassan Reddick trade. Hassan, how is that still possible? 68th pick in this draft is going back to the Eagles. And guess what? As of right now, they have a third round comp pick because of the Jalen Phillips thing. so this is what happens when you have endless job security you can trade a third round pick for Jalen Phillips and you know you're getting that third round pick back in two years anyway so who gives a shit

1:23:08Derrik Klassen: they also have two fours in this upcoming draft like I mean I know people get tired of hearing it but the Eagles are just one of those top tier teams when it comes to knowing how to do this and again like having guys like Campbell and Makuba waiting in the wings as solutions to free agents that you're about to lose. I mean, they're just, they are usually a year ahead of things. And when they're not, they're aggressive enough to fix it by doing stuff like trading for Jalen Phillips, which is, that's another reason why, even if I think they're a little bit worse, I'm not worried about them because they will be willing to do whatever it takes to fix the problems that arise.

1:23:47Derrik Klassen: Yeah.

1:23:47Robert Mays: And I assume that edge room is not going to look the same on September 1st as it does right now. Yeah. All right. That is all we've got for today. Dave and Dane will be back with our first post-free agency or mid-free agency, I guess. Building the Beast episode. That will be in your guys' feed tomorrow. We'll be back with shows on Thursday and Friday later this week. Very much looking forward to it. For now, that's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you very soon.

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