Lingering questions with the free agency dust settled

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1:39Robert Mays: Welcome to The Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Free agency, the first couple waves of free agency have settled down. Most of the guys that we were very curious to see what their landing spots would be, the guys who are going to make big money, they have found new homes for the 2026 season. And so this will be essentially our last free agency theme show. Now that a lot of that dust has settled, what are the big questions that are still left? Those can be kind of bigger existential questions. Those can be how certain positions are going to be filled by certain teams that still have needs there.

2:10Robert Mays: So that's what me and Derek did today. Just about a dozen questions we still have left as we wait for the draft to happen, but after free agency has already unfolded. Where are these teams at? How are they going to solve some of these problems? What guys might still be traded? Which players are we still curious about their landing spots? That was what we dug into today. Tomorrow, we are shifting our focus to the draft. Dane Brugler is going to be joining me and Dave Hellman. We're going to do a little idiot's guide to the 2026 NFL draft. I am the idiot. I know very little. Dane knows a lot. So it's a show we've done in the past, a show I very much enjoy doing.

2:46Robert Mays: So today, it's our last beat on the 2026 free agent crop with me and Derek asking the biggest questions we still have left. Let's get to that conversation right now.

3:01Robert Mays: All right. It is March 18th here on The Athletic Football Show. And as this week comes to a close, pretty much every year at this point in the calendar, we really put free agency to bed. We have about two full weeks of free agency conversations. Those started in earnest two weeks ago. We obviously had our big week of free agency reactions. It started on Monday. And then we have about a week of shows that deal with the fallout of that first and second wave of free agency before we officially turn the page to draft coverage for the next month. And we have reached that point. So today, Derek, we're gonna dig into some of the biggest questions that we have left after the first and second waves of free agency.

3:42Robert Mays: Many of these will be addressed in the draft. And so these aren't like huge blinking, terrifying holes for these teams. But the dominoes that now have to fall because of what happened in free agency, that's what we're digging into today. And I actually thought, going into this and trying to figure out my questions, I thought I would have more specific, like this hole, this team, or this available player still left on the market. And I really didn't. Like, I have one or two of those, but it was a couple more like grander topics than that? I've got a couple where it's just pretty big holes on teams that should be competitive and aren't positions that there's like chock full of options in the draft.

4:21Robert Mays: We'll have a couple of those. There's some other kind of bigger picture ones, but yeah, we can go any direction on these, but these are essentially the questions we still have left after most of the free agents have signed and before we see where some of these teams go in the draft. So why don't you kick us off? your first question that you still have after a vast majority of the free agents have found their landing spots. I'll start with one that is like based on the remaining free agents potentially and one that I think is like a, will this team address it? I really want to know what the Chargers are going to do to solve their edge problem and solve some of their edge depth because I obviously bring back Khalil Mack.

4:56I think we were both really jazzed about that, but he's older. He's been banged up the past couple of years. You just don't know how long that's going to hold for you. And even regardless of that, they don't really have like a true number three right now. Like currently it would be, I guess, Bud Dupree, but he's kind of gives you a half a dozen really good run snaps a game and that's about it. And so if you look at the remaining edge market right now in terms of free agents, it's a lot of the old veterans. It's like, do you bring back Joey Bosa? Are you the Jadavion Clowney team? It's a lot of guys like that.

5:25The only guy who's really younger and like could potentially, maybe you would want to resign him again is like an AJ Epinesa. And even then, like, I think given that they only need to number three, I think that that could be a solid signing. So to me, it's like, do they go try to address this with a lot of these vets, some of these older guys, or do they wait until the draft? I would still say both, right? Like I wouldn't want to go into April being like, we have to take a first round edge rusher. I wouldn't like to do that. That would be like, we sign an Epinesa, a Clowney, whatever it's going to be.

5:55And then if we love who's there at 20, whatever, then we can take him.

5:59Robert Mays: Yeah. I mean, it's having only two at this point that you feel really good about it. It does look like a very thin room. To be honest, though, it kind of felt like a thin room heading into last year, too. And that's why they had to make the Odafeo trade halfway through the year is that they just didn't have enough guys to feel good about that spot. And that's kind of where they are again. And I would make an argument that there's a couple of different positions where it's like you probably want to draft somebody pretty early on here. The edge is a spot where you want to come out of maybe the first two rounds with a guy that can play.

6:28Robert Mays: And I still think they need interior offensive line help. 100 % if there's a guard there that they like it's like you would rather like if they went into april 23rd absolutely needing an edge player but then there's a guard you like there then you have a really really difficult choice that you have to make whereas if they could solve this now and at least have a guy you feel okay about being your third guy then if you love a guard there then you can just take him and you don't have to think about it like i think them at least using one of these remaining vets in the free agency pool to at least like we can get by with that if we need to.

7:02I kind of think that they have to do that. And then again, if you love who you want in first or second round, then you can take another swing at that dresser.

7:09Robert Mays: Mine is similar just in terms of, again, playoff team, very much a playoff team, figuring out one position, how they're going to address it. Who's going to play running back for the Seahawks in week one? I mean, I guess Emmanuel Wilson, who like, I, I, Emmanuel Wilson's deal was for$1.6 million. I know, but it's, he's funny too. Cause like, I, I actually think I, both of us at certain points last season, we're like Emmanuel Wilson kind of nice, like he kind of gives you something. But when you, when that's your week one starter, it's a bit of a different consideration than like week 10, he's getting like eight, eight carries for you in a game or something like that.

7:47And so I think if he has to, if they have to get by with him for a month, six weeks or whatever, I don't think it's that big of a deal. I also think like, maybe this is a bad way to frame it, but like this is a Seahawks team that is clearly okay taking a little bit of a step back and like a reset year. And I think they are maybe not that pressed to like go out and have a guy. I would still love to see them draft somebody, but like if you don't get Jeremiah Love, which they're not going to with where they're picking, obviously it's not a very deep running back class and so you're they're gonna have to take a swing on some guy in the third round and just kind of hope that he gives them something you look at it

8:22Robert Mays: they don't have many picks either they had their first second and third round pick and then they had a sixth round pick from the cheat from the browns they have four picks in this entire draft and so even the idea of oh we'll just take a late round dart throw on a guy and he can be a part of the mix right now it pretty much seems like their week one plan if they don't bring in anybody else is going to be some combination of Emmanuel Wilson and George Helani. Maybe that's fine. Maybe you can live with that for the first month of the season like you're talking about, but it's just you're really scraping by if that's your week one start of the season running back plan.

8:55Robert Mays: And they can probably live with that for a short period of time. But we saw that the best version of the Seahawks offense as we got deeper into the season required some real play at running back and some real dynamic play at running back. And so the complexion of the offense just dramatically changes for as long as Zach Charbonnet isn't in there. And I would argue into when Zach Charbonnet is in there, considering how important Kenneth Walker was to what this team felt like by the end of the year. A hundred percent. And it's also like the idea of, oh, we can get by. I feel like that stuff is great in weeks eight to 12, where it's like, OK, we know who we are as an offense.

9:30We've kind of gelled them some stuff. We know how to do, you know, we know what holes we need to patch. having to go into that week one when you're not entirely sure like where the issues are with your offense and stuff like that and having that thrown into the mix I think uh could be a bit a pretty big issue for their offense especially too because they're obviously changing offensive systems now and so we'll we'll see how that goes my other thing with the Seahawks you bring up the draft picks I initially went into this being like man they still have some cap space like maybe they're in a Bronco situation where it's like okay they've got a lot of cap space to play with maybe they want to go trade for somebody.

10:02They just don't have the picks to do that. Like you cannot trade your first round pick and then be stuck with a two or three and a what did you say a sixth round pick like that's just not a way to sustainably build a roster. And so they have the cap to do it. They don't have the resources to do it really.

10:17Robert Mays: That is not a way to build a sustainable roster and they can't do it are two different considerations. They could if they wanted to. Yeah, it's a team that we talked about this last week when we were just discussing their offseason and whether they were a better roster, it just feels like with how much cap space they have, is there another shoe that might be dropping? Or again, are they just saving some of this money and some of this cash for some of the extensions that they're going to have to hand out? But it has been a relatively quiet offseason for this team. And I think that that is very well expressed by their lack of urgency in finding a solution or replacement for not only Kenneth Walker, but for Zach Charbonnet for however much time he's going to miss.

10:58Robert Mays: What's your next one here? Your next big looming question now that the first couple waves of free agency are over. So I'm going to a little bit tap into the last question I had here, which was the Chargers. How do they approach edge? I'm curious about what is left for the trade market. And obviously the big name there is potentially A.J. Brown, which we can talk about here at the end. But I think a lot of the other potential trade candidates are edge players. I think Max Crosby is still on the board, obviously. You know, he could be a Raider. And if he is for the rest of the season, that's totally fine for them.

11:28but I imagine that he's still on the board as a trade candidate. Lucas Van Ness from the Packers, like they seem like they're not entirely sure what they want to do with him. Who knows how he fits into the new defense. I think if some team wants to take a swing on a guy who was a former first round pick, big body, like a team like the Chargers could make sense. It obviously wouldn't be very expensive to do that, either with draft capital or the money. Obviously, you think they can do that option?

11:52Robert Mays: What do you think? You think based on their current, the bodies they have at that position right now, You think they could afford to trade him away for a middling return, given what else they have on the roster at that position? That feels scary to me because he was playing well last year when he was healthy. I mean, I don't think they should. I just wonder how he really fits into their defense being a bigger bodied guy. I just wonder if that's something that they want to pursue. And obviously, he played well. He started to play a little bit well last year, but generally he has been pretty banged up for them and also been very up and down for them even when he was on the field.

12:24Robert Mays: the trade candidates that's where my mind went like that was one of my questions it's like who else are the guys that we might see dealt before the start of the season like is there another jail and wattle potentially looming for guys that might be available like cave on tibetoe is a guy that comes to mind the dexter lawrence thing is interesting to me again and them trying to find a little bit more money uh i was reading dan dogg and today was talking about how they doesn't seem they want to restructure Lawrence's contract in order to find a little bit more cap space? Does that mean that they're not necessarily committed to him long term in the way that you might think?

12:58Robert Mays: That's the guy on the Giants, like more than Thibodeau, where I'd call and be like, hey, this isn't getting older, expensive player for a team that and a regime that is in transition. What would it take for us to get Dexter Lawrence? So that's a name that I would at least be thinking about. And obviously, we don't know how the Jalen Carter thing is going to be settled, you know, whether he would be available for the right price on top of what's going on with AJ Brown. And then there are some other less sexy ones, too. Like what happens with Keon Coleman? Is Keon Coleman destined to be a Bill? Is that somebody that you think that you could potentially salvage?

13:32Robert Mays: Anthony Richardson is absolutely involved in this conversation. So I think there are a bunch of different guys that I would at least be sniffing around about over the next three or four months here, even as we get a little bit deeper into the offseason. So one of my separate questions was the quarterback specifically, but I'll holster that for a second. There was one other player that I do think, based on this team's timeline and where his contract is at, I wonder if there's a competitive team that would want to make a trade for this player. Jesse Bates for the Falcons is still a really, really good player.

14:00And that Falcons team is not going to really be competing this year. And he's got one year left on his deal. He would be 30 by the time this deal is done. They're most likely not going to pay him after that. And so they would only save like a few, I think they would only save like seven or eight million dollars if they like post June one designated to trade. And so it's not like it would be saving a whole ton of money or anything, but it's just he does not really fit their timeline necessarily. And so I wonder if for the right price, like a competitive team could go trade, you know, third, fourth round pick for a player like that and like really juice up their secondary.

14:31Robert Mays: Oh, now you got my gears turning. Is there a team that you had in mind that you think might make sense for Jesse Bates? I mean, initially I wanted it to be Seattle, but I don't know if they would trade with so few resources. left on their board to go and do something like that. I mean, it's apparently a big Chargers show. Like if the Chargers wanted to do something like that, I think that he could fit their defense pretty well. And they, I think, have a hole there. Like currently their safety rotation, assuming Derwin plays a lot of the nickel again, or could play a lot of the nickel, is RJ Mickens and Elijah Molden.

15:01Like those are your starting safeties. I think if they wanted to juice up the secondary a little bit that way, that could make sense. So I would probably have to think more about the team and the fit and who's got the resources. But I'm like, if you need a safety, that seems like the guy to go and do it.

15:14Robert Mays: I'm just going over some of the other former first round picks teams are going to have to make a decision about their options. I'd be surprised if Quentin Johnston was available in the way that you might think for somebody who was a first round pick but hasn't been overly productive. I think they like him more than the outside perception would lead you to believe. He obviously fell off in the back half of last year. So that's a name that I would throw out. Yeah, that's a name I would throw out. that's probably it right there aren't a lot of other guys from that draft that immediately come to mind that would be worth trading for that teams would be willing to move on from yeah i mean like you mentioned earlier thibodeau was kind of maybe the only other one that is like okay if somebody really wanted to take a swing on a pass star show but even then that would be the type of swing it's like i want to already have an ace in place and he's kind of just our second guy what do we think Think about the Anthony Richardson market.

16:06Robert Mays: Is this the move that you want to see the Rams make still? A hundred percent. I desperately want them to go and make this trade. Or the other one is, again, I'm still going to be pushing for this player. I think he's okay. But like a Spencer Rattler, I think kind of would be pretty fun over there. But I think seeing how the offense operated with a quarterback who can throw down the field, obviously Richardson is nowhere near as talented or as good as Stafford. But I wonder how Sean McVay would do that. And then also Richardson is mobile. And I've said it for years now. I want to see what Sean McVay's offense looks like with a guy who can move a little bit.

16:39And obviously they wouldn't like quarterback run game him a ton because of some of the injury stuff. But the fact that that could at least be like an element of the offense, I think is kind of interesting.

16:48Robert Mays: Yeah, it just doesn't seem like there's a ton of downside in making a move like that. And look, I'm trying to figure out right now. How many games do you think Anthony Richardson started in his career? Eight. No, it's 15. He started 15 games. Started 11 games in 2024. Obviously the best case scenario here and the most analogous case that we've seen recently is a team like the Packers trading for Malik Willis, having him be in the building for a little while, and then you see enough flashes from him that eventually a team is willing to pay him$20 million a year. The hope would be that Anthony Richardson can become a guy who's worth paying$20 million a year in your own building as like a potential off-ramp quarterback.

17:27Robert Mays: I just think a team like that, just trying to get him in there, getting a look at what he is, seeing what he feels like in their building, in their program for a couple of years before they have to make a decision about Stafford. That's the type of team that I would love to see just take a dice roll on a player like that. And they're really the only team in that position. Like the only other team with like a good veteran quarterback that maybe you would want to bridge to the next guy is like maybe Dallas and Dak. But even then, I think Dak has more of a runway than Stafford. Like Stafford, it's year to year constantly now.

17:58Robert Mays: They already have Anthony Richardson at home. Joe Milton's on the roster. Oh, come on. That's really funny. I totally forgot that. They had Trey Lance at one point, too. Like, those, the big 6 '5", just, like, throw the shit out of the football. They chased him, so maybe Anthony Richardson could fit into the building. I don't know. My next one here is just something that is, like, an existential question I've been thinking about for the entire offseason. Where are the Bears going to find pass rush help? Like, their big move along the defensive line and free agency was going out and getting Neville Gallimore.

18:26Robert Mays: And they signed James Lynch today. And if you look at the depth chart, You know, they have guys, they go three deep at edge when Dio Dengbo comes back. They still have Austin Booker. They still have Montez Sweat. They still have Dio Dengbo. On a defensive tackle, they have bodies. They have Grady Jarrett. They have Gravon Dexter. They signed Neville Gallimore. But especially the Jarrett contract and the Dengbo contract, those are deals that they can move on from after this season. And so I just think that somewhere, there's a reason they were in the Max Crosby discussion. Even if you have guys that you've committed resources to, this team still needs more pop up front.

19:00Robert Mays: And so I assume that is a position either defensive tackle or defensive or edge rusher. Whatever one you want to add, that's totally fine. I just think you need, hopefully, to find a guy who can be a contributor for you in this draft in the first two rounds. And Shamar Turner will be back next year. He had a very weird rookie season as a second round pick. He was hurt, I think, on the first day of training camp and missed almost all of training camp. He comes back. He moves around a couple of different positions. He only plays a handful of games. And so he hopefully will be more a part of your plans in 2026.

19:34Robert Mays: But even if you're counting on that to a degree, this team still needs to add some sort of pop up front for them to be for them to take the step forward defensively that they absolutely need to if they're going to be a real player in the NFC. And so where that comes from somewhere along the way is absolutely one of the bigger questions that I have. Did you expect that to be more through the draft now at this point, right? It has to be, right? Maybe the Crosby compensation has come down far enough. I guess that really is their only other answer. Because given the way that Dennis Allen runs the defense, I would not expect them to be like a Kayvon Thibodeau team.

20:08And then even if Van Ness, who I mentioned earlier, is on the board, that's in division. That's absolutely not happening. And so at a certain point, you kind of run out of edges to trade for. There's not that many guys that they can sign. Again, it would maybe be like an Epinesa. It probably is going to have to be through the draft.

20:23Robert Mays: They also are what they're up against the cap. They were always going to have to move some money around if they were going to do something like the Crosby deal, how much money they want to move around there. They have restructure options. Like there are five or six guys that they could potentially touch the money. I don't know who of those guys they want to be pushing money into future years for like Jalen Johnson's. This is his age. He's 27. He was hurt last year. Kyler Gordon was hurt last year. Joe Tooney is 34 years old. Dio Dengbo, somebody you probably want to move on from. Jonah Jackson has a$15 million base salary, but he has an injury history and is getting a little bit older.

20:56Robert Mays: So they do have flexibility, but there just aren't a lot of clear-cut guys of, yeah, I'm willing to push money to 2028 or 2029 for X player because I know he's going to be here. There aren't a lot of those guys on the roster. And so that was always my question with the Crosby thing at the beginning is whether they would actually want to move enough money around to bring in somebody like that because even if they have flexibility to restructure some of these things, are there clear candidates that you'd want to restructure? And I just don't know if the answer to that is yes. And so to see them not be overly aggressive in spending and to not do any of that so far isn't necessarily surprising.

21:33There's probably still going to have to touch somebody to get the draft picks under, aren't they? Yeah, they have to.

21:38Robert Mays: Yeah, something is going to have to happen. Who would you expect it to be? Or actually, let me rephrase that. If you were in their shoes and you had to pick one or two of these restructures, who would it be? Because it is a lot of tricky positions. It's a lot of guys that you maybe don't expect to be on the roster in three years, or like you said, those offensive linemen, they're old. Jonah Jackson's hurt all the time. Kyler Gordon at corner is hurt all the time, even if he's a good player. Like it's, it's some tough decisions. I really don't know. I truly don't know the best answer to it. Cause a lot of these guys, I mean, Montez Sweat and Jonah Jackson are going to be free agents after the 2027 season.

22:09Robert Mays: And so, and same with Jalen Johnson. So I don't know who the best answer would be there. And I assume that's why they haven't done a lot of pushing money into the future because there's aren't that many guys that you want to be on the hook for as we get into like 2028 here. All right, let's take our first quick break and then come back and chat about a few more of these big questions we still have. Every now and then you get a piece of clothing that makes you rethink your entire closet. For me, it came in the form of the softest sweater I've ever worn made out of alpaca fiber by Paca in Peru. As a California native who's done a ton of traveling to colder parts of the country this year, this hoodie has done a lot for me.

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24:52Robert Mays: All right, what's your next one? What is one of your other big questions that you still have to have answered after the first couple waves of free agency? I'm kind of curious about, like, why none of the young dice roll quarterbacks really got moved. Like there just were not a lot of them that got moved. And I wonder if there's still a market for any of those guys. Obviously, we just talked about Anthony Richardson, potentially to the Rams. But like Tanner McKee, I think was a big discussion for a lot of people. Like, could he be a guy who maybe the Cardinals go and take a swing on? Spencer Rattler, I think, is in that same boat.

25:23Will Levis is in that same boat to me. Like, listen, I know some of like the his worst plays in Tennessee were embarrassing, but that was like that was clearly a very bad situation to begin with. and then he got supplanted by a very talented first overall pick at quarterback. And so I'm not saying that Will Levis is going to be good in the future, but that is the type of guy like if you can get him for some like mid day three pick and just get him on your roster the same way that Malik Willis got to Green Bay, like I think that that is probably a decent bet for even for a team like the Rams. I think that that would make a lot of sense, like in the same mold as like an Anthony Richardson.

25:56And so I think you've got teams like L.A. where that obviously makes a lot of sense. Dallas I think it makes more sense for you know if they wanted to bring in like one of the lower guys like a Spencer Rattler like somebody who's probably not going to potentially cost you as much or like a Will Levis and then I'm I know that Arizona already has Jacoby Brissett I know they signed Gardner Minshew I would still want to take one of the dice roll young quarterbacks if you can get them for the right price like if you can get them for a fourth or a fifth I think that to me is worth doing because you're probably not going to get anybody as interesting in this draft class and I know that they're tanking, but like it's kind of a free lottery ticket if you can get them for one of the right prices.

26:36Robert Mays: Is it free though? I think that's one of the questions. Like how much would you have to give up to get one of these guys? McKee is the one that I think is going to cost you. Of course it will because there's no way he's going to let him go for nothing. Exactly. That's the one that I think is going to cost you. Rattler I think could because I think he has shown that he is a competent young quarterback for that specific team and the quarterback that they have ahead of him, Tyler Shuck, has a massive injury history. And so maybe the Saints are not actually willing to move on from a player like that.

27:06But like Will Levis to me is Will Levis and Anthony Richardson in particular. Those two guys feel extremely movable to me for potentially not that big of a price. And so, again, if you can get them for like a day three pick, I think that that is like a pretty reasonable spot for a lot of those teams to be in. I also the one other team that doesn't fit into any of those buckets like Dallas and LA, right those are like aging quarterback we want to have a guy just in case Arizona is obviously in the we just need like a scratcher ticket here Green Bay is the one where I'm like they really do not have an option at backup quarterback they just did they just lost Malik Willis exactly and so it's like if they're the Will Levis team for a sixth round pick why not man like he fits the offense he fits what they want to do like I think that that could make a ton of sense

27:50Robert Mays: yeah that was the other team I would throw out because you're looking at the teams that theoretically like need quarterbacks. I just don't think that, so the Cowboys just signed Sam Howell, by the way. So that's, they just added somebody to their quarterback room. Tennessee, I think the Will Levis thing is completely well-founded because Mitchell Trubisky is there now as the backup. And so he's now the third quarterback. And so is that something that's worth doing? I would say, honestly, weirdly enough, I think the Bengals are a team that you would think about here. They signed Josh Johnson, but like the amount of time that Joe Burrow has missed, Like, do you want maybe a little bit more upside with your backup quarterback if you're Cincinnati?

28:28Robert Mays: But essentially, all the other teams we're talking about, I don't think really fit the bill. You know, the Jets obviously made their thing with Geno. They're going to be in play for quarterback at 2027. They're not one of those teams, really. And so I think Green Bay is definitely up there. We talk about the Raiders. Right now, Aiden O 'Connell is the only quarterback on their depth chart. But it seems like Kirk Cousins, that's going to be the Kirk Cousins team when this is all said and done if he wants to go there. So I think Green Bay is probably the last team on the list where I'm like, you know what?

28:55Robert Mays: You might as well take a little bit of a swing. The Bengals are a good shout, though, because I saw them sign Josh Johnson. I was like, really? Still, that's that's incredible for him. But I yeah, I would probably want at least like a younger chance to get a guy behind Joe Burrow. Probably I've got a few more positional ones. Those are most of the ones that I have left. Next one for me. What do the Ravens do at center? dude I truly have I had I had a very really Ravens one here that was similar which is like how do they do something on offense which the big glaring you know flashing red thing there is the center position like I I don't know what they're going to do they are stuck now in a position where you mentioned it maybe you sign Lloyd Cushenberry other than that though it's kind of like they have to draft the guy like that that's probably your best bet left on the market they but they might be like a Lloyd Cushenberry team if it's for the right price, deep enough into free agency, like deep enough into the off season.

29:47Robert Mays: So again, all of these ones that we're going to throw out here, there is a chance that they address this in some way, shape or form over the next few months, including the draft. But how the Ravens address that position is absolutely in front of mind for me. And we talked about pass catchers. This came out yesterday. This one I think is a fun one. David Njoku was visiting the Ravens yesterday. Oh, I love that. I actually really love that. Because again, I've been saying like he, I think he's quietly still like a pretty decent player. Like I would be into that. Yeah. I think that one for, again, that offense with Declan Doyle coming in there, they're going to be one of those teams.

30:24Robert Mays: Sometimes when we have play callers that are new and are first time play callers and they come from a certain system, there's always a, how much carryover is there going to be? Like, are they going to take all the same DNA from that previous place? With the Ravens, my assumption is yes. I think that they will do what they can to have that offense express itself in a very similar way to what Ben Johnson wanted to do in Chicago. I don't think there's any like, and now that I get my chance, I believe different things like that. That's not how I see the Ravens offensive plan unfolding this year. That's what I would say.

31:01I mean, that's kind of what I hope that it would be because and it fits really well with a lot of the personnel that they have. honestly I mean especially at running back like I think if they frame the offense around that and then Lamar has become I think a much better like just true drop back play action type of passer if they wanted to do more of that like I if they shifted the offense more that way I'd be into it and again and Joku's like a good glue it all together piece for that you bring over Durham Smythe Durham Smythe is now their third tight end every every every new play caller gets what or every new coach really gets one or two guys that are like he knows my stuff he can at least communicated to everybody.

31:37I didn't expect that it would be Durham Smythe, but it makes sense.

31:39Robert Mays: It is definitely Durham Smythe. But yeah, what the Ravens end up doing at center, I assume they will address it somewhere along the way. And it might be with a Lloyd Cushenberry type. But right now, that is a pretty big glaring hole, even after bringing in a depth piece like Danny Pinter and free agency, which they did. And I also with the Ravens, obviously center is more of the priority here. But I'm looking at the pass catcher room and I'm looking at the history of the kind of stuff that they do. This could be like a Jawan Jennings team, I feel like. I feel like that makes a lot of sense for them to try to do that.

32:11Just a guy who, because Zay Flowers is not really like a, can you just win and embody someone on third down? Rashad Bateman is not really that style of player. I think maybe in previous iterations of the offense, Mark Andrews could have been that matchup guy for you, but I think as he gets older, that is less true now. And so, Jawan Jennings just kind of being like, one, he blocks his ass off too, which I think, given the way that they are going to run the offense and have in different iterations, always run the Ravens offense. I think he fits there. And then again, just having a guy who's like a mover, like a chain mover for you.

32:41I would be into that because your quarterback, your quarterback gives you the explosives. Like they will come if he is on the field. And so if you can just get guys who are like chain movers for them, you have Zay Flowers, you have Derrick Henry who can move the chains that way. That might be their best solve for receiver at this stage.

32:58Robert Mays: Is Jawan Jennings the free agent that's left available that you have the most interest in what their landing spot is, who else would be in that conversation? I mean, yeah, it probably is him. I wasn't like that jazzed about a lot of the other guys that they're left. Like, again, I still think if you need young edge, like AJ Ebonesa was kind of the best guy available that you have for that. But other than that, I was not like particularly jazzed about a lot of the guys left because a lot of the guys left to me feel like band-aids. Like, Juwan Jennings is not a band-aid. Like, that is a, he can be a pretty useful player for us.

33:30We can really mold him into the offense. but a lot of the other guys left are like the old offensive linemen like the Joel Batonios, the Taylor Decker, stuff like that. Guys that we were hoping like, can you get us by for a year? Which I think is a different consideration than like a Juwan Jennings.

33:44Robert Mays: The other guys that I would throw out, Juwan Taylor is still available, right? So Juwan Taylor is still out there and I completely understand why the Chiefs moved on at that price but I think that if you need playable right tackle, if you need a playable right tackle, he can give you that and Stephon Diggs was really good for the Patriots last year. And so if you need somebody who can come in and be a playable, not even just a playable receiver for you, but somebody who can actually be like an impactful guy within your offense, I do think he still is capable of doing that. So those are probably the two guys I would say I'm most interested in where they end up landing at the end of this.

34:21Robert Mays: Yeah, no one else really comes to mind. I mean, like we're in the spot now where like DJ Wanam is signing for one year, six million dollars with with the Lions like that that's the spot in a free agency that we're currently in right now uh that's another one of mine is uh what are the Lions gonna do up front like where where are those guys gonna come from looking at their edge room is it's like startling like I think we've known for a couple years now it's been a lot of like Aiden Hutchinson and then piecing it together with a couple of guys here and there but it's looking at it right now is it's it's startling because it's one it's one of who you just said signed for like six million dollars It's Tyler Lacey, who has not played a whole lot of snaps for them.

35:02And then Ahmad Hassanan, who I think was a sixth round pick for them last year. And that's it. That's all that they have. It's not a lot of guys who have done very much contributing for them.

35:10Robert Mays: Yeah, I mean, and they've done this the last couple of years, right? I mean, like Al-Qadid Muhammad played a ton for them last year. They have not overextended themselves at this position specifically over the last couple of years. But I wonder if this is the year that changes. Like, is this the year as they're picking a little bit higher in the first round? do they take on us do they take a swing on somebody who can play next to Aiden Hutchinson because as it currently stands that positionally is absolutely one of the things that I have circled for among all of the teams we're talking about here and I actually I will say not to get like too draft specific now them picking at 17 with this it's a deep edge class in general but it's it's a lot of edges that are also like what they need to pair across from Hutchinson like Hutchinson is your weak side rusher he's a race car he's going to get around the edge on that other side They like a lot of the guys who are a little bit bigger, longer.

35:58And so Keldrick Falk is there. Zion Young is there. Like there's a lot of guys who fit that mold that if that's something they are really pressed towards getting, it should not be that hard for them to find one of those guys. So it's a good position for them to be in.

36:11Robert Mays: What's your next one? So my next one and really my last like big one is when and how does this Trent Williams thing get resolved? Like does it get resolved? He has, so this is going to come out Thursday, but Friday he has an option that'll kick in for about$10 million. But basically the kind of ongoing feud between them is that Williams has one more year on his deal. He wants more guarantees into it. San Francisco does not want to pay him more guarantees, it seems, and wants to try to lower his cap hit however they can. And so how that gets resolved, I'm very curious of like, because if they, if they move on from Trent Williams, they're either going to be left in a spot where they're obviously drafting his replacement, or it's like these one-year stop gaps.

36:54It's like a Taylor Decker, a Cam Robinson. They did sign Vardarian Lowe already on the roster who is potentially insurance swing depth stuff. But I don't think that they would want to start a Vardarian Lowe given how good the roster is right now and how ready they are to compete. So I'm just for a team that is, I think by the time we get to like July and August and start doing these, you know, like how good are these teams? This is going to be a team that is like really, really high up there in Super Bowl odds. We're picking them to be very good. If they lose their potentially very good left tackle, that that goes a really long way for an offensive line that is shaky as is.

37:28Robert Mays: A couple more just positionally that I would throw out. When did the Broncos start addressing their interior defensive line depth after losing John Franklin Myers? Like I thought that was a position they could potentially take in last year's draft early on. They didn't end up doing that. They went with corner instead. But now without John Franklin Myers on the roster, like that feels like a spot that they're going to have to start bolstering again as they've had a little bit of attrition. I mean, now they drafted Savion Jones in the third round last year. But I mean, you got Malcolm Roach and DJ Jones still there.

38:00Robert Mays: But those are guys who are getting older. And so at some point, it feels like they're going to want a little bit more pop in the middle of their defensive line. And so them going that, obviously they don't have a first round pick anymore, but with their second round pick wouldn't necessarily be surprising given the current state of the roster. And the last one I would throw out before the big one that I want to talk about, are the Chiefs just going to roll with this group of pass catchers? is this just gonna be it it's gonna be the same guys again and so and so this is where I get again not to spin it too heavy into the draft this is why I'm very curious about what they do at nine because in in my mind you're the Chiefs you never get to pick this high you have to pick a premium position in my mind like you need a tackle edge anywhere in the trenches it does not matter to me that's what you should be thinking but you look at the skill player room and it's like they really need that badly.

38:50Like I would not be surprised if Andy Reid saw the flashy thing in like a Kenyon Sadiq and was just like, I'm going to take that at nine. I don't care. Or maybe they like one of the receivers. Maybe it's Jordan Tyson, Carnell Tate. I could totally understand that. I just, I think it would be really difficult for me to see them having a premium pick that they never get and then spending it on. Not that those are not important positions, but it's like they rarely get to take trench players as high. They probably should.

39:17Robert Mays: That's fair. I think my mind goes to they can live with the tackles that they have right now, like having Jalen Moore as a stopgap after having to move on from Juwan Taylor, like their offensive line, if they had to play with those five guys today, would be fine. And so it's tempting for me to say, all right, if you can live with that group, is it worth trying to upgrade that big body perimeter receiver that we want them to have? Because it seems like they might have an option for one of those guys at nine. And I'd make an argument that they don't always have options for those guys in the draft.

39:45Robert Mays: Like that, those sorts of receivers, like a big time receiver, even if this class is like a tiny bit watered down, a lot of those guys are going in the top half of the first round. Like when you're finding a receiver in the back half of the first round, it's your Xavier Worthy's, right? Like those are the types of guys that you're usually finding in that range of the draft. So I think you, I'll know more about the draft in two weeks than I know now, but the idea of them finding a receiver in the top 10 and then trying to find edge help in the back half of the first round, that does seem like it's at least possible in this draft class.

40:15You know what? Actually, you've convinced me, especially if they're trying to find like size specifically, right? Because you mentioned even even some of the good players that get drafted in the, let's call it 25 to 50 range for receivers. It's guys who are a little bit thinner, like Ricky Pearsall is not that big. Ladd McConkie is not big. And those are good players, but that's not necessarily what they say. Flowers. Exactly. It's guys that can be good NFL receivers, but are are not they're imperfect in some way and usually a little bit smaller so that's a good point if they want to go get one of those guys who is like true x x receiver type of body type they would have to do that at nine in a class like this so that that actually does make a lot of sense you've

40:54Robert Mays: changed my mind on this one all right before we move on let's take one more quick break

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42:40Robert Mays: I mean, this one, I don't necessarily think we have to spend a ton of time on it because I think we know the answer. but if you're looking at teams that want to be competitive this year and the biggest remaining needs on depth charts purely as we sit here on March 18th the Steelers quarterback is number one look who's playing quarterback for the Steelers is the actual answer to that question even if we think we know who it's going to be it's not that guy right now it's currently not that guy it's ridiculous and like I'm I'm so fed up with him I'm also in the I'm you know what's funny I know that we saw Aaron Rodgers be last be there last year he has some familiarity obviously but the offense all that other stuff I find myself in the same position I was last year and it's not going to happen because there's already rumors of this player signing elsewhere I would legitimately rather sign Kirk Cousins than like bring back Aaron Rodgers and I know that they're not going to do that because Kirk seems like he's going to go and play for the Raiders be a backup and that's going to be that but like Kirk Cousins was better than Aaron Rodgers to me last year and obviously he didn't play a ton of games he was he's like still banged up there's a chance he doesn't look healthy again next year but like that's what I would rather do and so like I've just I've been baffled by their entire process how much more interested would you be in the Steelers if Malik Willis was the Steelers quarterback oh so much more interested like yeah that's because here's this is the important thing about the Malik Willis stuff Malik Willis in Green Bay looked pretty good for obviously limited snaps but he looked pretty good as a team that the pass protection is usually set up well.

44:12The running game is good. They had a bunch of quality receivers. The play calling was good. It was a good situation. Him going to Miami, probably not going to get a lot of that. But a place like the Steelers, while not as good as Green Bay, they've got some stuff going. That offensive line is good. They have some decent running backs. They've got pass catchers. Who knows about how good the Mike McCarthy offense is going to be ceiling wise, but he usually puts together like competent, like NFL quality offense. And so that is a situation where it's like you could totally sell me on Malik Willis and that offense being, if not good, at least better than last year and like kind of interesting and more explosive.

44:49Robert Mays: I'm looking at the numbers right now, just because I'm curious about this. Okay. So we talked about this a little bit when discussing the Jalen Waddle trade, but Malik Willis, and I think part of this is, you know, do you leave yourself a little bit more flexibility if you want to try to trace, chase a quarterback in next year's draft, for example, Malik Willis, if the Dolphins were to move on from him after this season, it would be a$26 million dead cap hit in 2027. And then I think$13 million in 2028. That's what it would, that's what it would look like. The Steelers as of right now, as of right now have$74 million in 2027 cap space.

45:23Robert Mays: And they have a couple of aging players that they'd be able to theoretically move on from like Jalen Ramsey is$22 million. None of that is guaranteed. And so I think that transition will likely happen anyway, where they get even a little bit younger and shed salary after this season. So they have tons of money. So to me, the idea of giving Malik Willis the exact contract that the Dolphins did, where if it goes poorly and you decide you still want to chase a quarterback in the draft, you're eating 25 million in 2027 and then 13 million in 2028, you'd still have like$60 million in cap space to work with even if you had to eat some of that money.

45:59Robert Mays: And so for the exact same reason that it's a worthwhile swing for the Dolphins because you're not paying that high a price to potentially solve your starting quarterback issues, why is that any different for the Steelers? It's an even better gambit for the Steelers because the upside of him hitting is that you have so much else that you've already built around him. Yes, there is an upside. Like he, listen, the percentage chance that Malik Willis is like actually, like it like turns into a game changer is maybe like five to 10%. But I think at this stage in his career, we know Aaron Rodgers is probably, it's not gonna give that to you.

46:33Like he's just he can set a floor in a certain way. But once we get to January, he's probably not going to do that for you. Whereas at least Malik Willis, maybe there's a chance. And so I would have been interested in almost any of the young options they can go like here. The other thing is the Steelers have a boatload of draft picks. If they were one of the if they wanted to flip even like a late third round pick or a fourth round pick for like Spencer Rattler, who I'm going to bring up for the millionth time. Competent quarterback who I think has more upside than Rodgers. Again, is he going to reach that?

47:01Who knows? But like that to me is more compelling than them running back the Aaron Rodgers thing again. Even if like because of the other additions they made, there's a chance the Steelers are better than last year. Right. Like Pittman's a better number two than they had. But like I still don't know if Rodgers plus those additions actually gets you anywhere different.

47:19Robert Mays: Yes, it gets you anywhere meaningful. And I think that's why the Willis thing, like when you look at it, I understand that. Oh, well, then you're starting to eat into your 2027 cap space if it goes poorly. But it's just not that much money. Like if you had signed him the exact same deal the Dolphins had signed him to, I think I could have easily gotten behind that. And so the idea that it's we don't have an answer for their quarterback, but it's probably going to be Aaron Rodgers. And that's just not satisfying is kind of where I sit with this. It's very frustrating, but that's kind of the that's kind of the line for the Steelers over the last handful of years.

47:49Robert Mays: Any other lingering questions you want to hit before we get out of here today? That was really it. I think we hit a lot of the, like, who are the teams that have certain, you know, openings and stuff like that. Again, with a lot of Chargers talk, both at receiver edge and stuff like that. So I think I mostly covered my bases here. There are other, like, big picture ones that are probably be questions we talk about closer to the start of the season. Like, I'm fascinated by what the Bills defense structurally is going to look like with Jim Leonard there now. It's going to be such a huge departure from where they were a year ago.

48:20Robert Mays: But, like, those aren't really the questions that we're talking about right now. Bengals linebacker is one that I would throw out, right? Like, I mean, they obviously, they had the super young guys last year. Are they comfortable just rolling that back again and hoping those guys are going to be better? Because that's a spot where I'm just, I'm surprised that they have done nothing to add to that room this off season, considering how bad the play was overall there last year. Dallas is kind of in a similar boat. Like that's another team where I just assumed they would have done something given the amount of players available in free agency.

48:51Robert Mays: And so the fact that neither of those teams did anything at linebacker, those are probably the two other ones I would throw out there. Dallas, like what's funny is I think with Cincinnati, I don't know how much Bobby Wagner is going to help them in terms of like quality of play, but just getting a guy in there who has done like a ton and obviously could, I think, help a lot of the young guys in the room, that would be good. Dallas, they obviously, I think they probably need two linebackers, but at least with one of the spots, they seem like they are very dead set on holding out for like Demary and overshone just getting healthy one year and like really having it because some of the flashes have been exciting and they clearly continue to at least over the past couple of years even despite some of his injuries in the up and downs have not invested a ton at the position I think again holding out like it's going to hit at some point he's going to be healthy and he's going to be good but even beyond that they probably still need another guy next to him the other name that we haven't mentioned at all that I will throw out just as a trade candidate I'll be curious if a team is willing to pay up for him.

49:49Robert Mays: I think he's a good player. Obviously, this team needs to shed salary. What happens with Jonathan Grenard? Like Jonathan Grenard is a player worth chasing to me. And, you know, we talk about, we were mentioning the Bucs as this team that's kind of in this holding pattern. Like, do they want to, which way do they want to go? Like, are they a team that would give up like a real pick for Jonathan Grenard to add a little bit of pop to their pass rush? So that's the other name that I think has been kind of thrown around in potential trade conversations that we didn't really hit at all. Do you think Minnesota should at this point?

50:19Robert Mays: To me, it was always one of those, if a team really does blow you away, is that something that you can do? And it seems like, based on my understanding of the situation, he's just unhappy with where he's being paid relative to the market. So I think that's part of it. So is he going to want a new deal if a team trades for him? I still think right now, the Vikings are a better team with Jonathan Grenard than whatever day two pick they would potentially get for him. I think this is more about a player who is a little bit unhappy with how much he's getting paid and a team that does need to shed a little bit of salary.

50:50Robert Mays: But by the time you get into like 2027, they're going to have a decent chunk of money. Some of that is going to, you hope, be earmarked for Kyler Murray. The best case scenario there is that you have to give him a new contract and he's going to be your quarterback moving forward. But they still have a little bit more flexibility starting next year than they do right now. And then the other, the last one that I'll throw out there is, what's Washington going to do at receiver? Is that, is the answer to this, is it the same thing as the Aaron Rodgers thing? Where it's like, we know who the name is.

51:21Robert Mays: It's just, we have not arrived there yet. Like, is Brandon Ayuk gonna be that guy? Is that enough? Do they feel like they're, do they feel obligated to address it high in the draft? But positionally, that's probably the last one I would throw out. And that one's, I think, interesting too, with that, like, if they bring in Ayuk, they already signed two other guys. They still have Berkshire, they still have McCaffrey. It doesn't necessarily stop you from drafting a guy, but then it becomes a point where like, one or two of these guys that we signed is on the roster is going to get cut. And like either somebody who played significant snaps for us last year or someone we just signed is going to get cut.

51:51Which given how bad the receiver room is is like I think you kind of hunger games the room a little bit and just like we have five spots we're going to throw seven guys at it and pray but it is interesting.

52:03Robert Mays: My assumption is that the Van Jefferson contract and things like that that wouldn't prevent them from moving on from him if they add to that room. Same with De 'Ami Brown most likely. All right. That is all we've got for today. Tomorrow, we're kicking off our draft coverage on these shows on the Athletic Football Show channel. Obviously, we've been doing Building the Beast the entire season into the offseason, but we, you and I, will be shifting our focus to draft coverage starting tomorrow. It's going to be my first show with Dane this offseason, which I'm very much looking forward to. The Idiot's Guide to the Draft is tomorrow on the Athletic Football Show.

52:39Robert Mays: I am the idiot. I'm going to say this tomorrow, but I'll say it now. In terms of people who do this for a living all the time, I don't think there are two people on further ends of the spectrum in terms of how much they know about the draft on March 18th every year than me and Dane Brugler. We're five weeks away, and that guy could probably, if he really needed to, rattle off a thousand names in this class. I could not. So that's what we're doing tomorrow. Dane is going to teach me and Dave's going to help about the 2026 draft class. And for the most part, it's going to be all draft all the time until our live draft show this year, which we are already starting to plan.

53:22Robert Mays: We're already excited about already looking forward to. So be on the lookout for that show with Dane tomorrow. Excited about digging into it for now. That's all we got. Appreciate you guys. Listen, we'll talk to you very soon.

54:08We'll see you next time. Truststamps.com. Go to stamps.com and use code podcast to try stamps.com risk-free for 60 days. Investing with Schwab is like spending a Saturday at a great farmer's market. You can fill your reusable tote with a bit of everything. Maybe you go for some free-range, self-directed investing, or perhaps you pick up a few farm-fresh trades while you peruse. You can even get help from a dedicated advisor. That's full-service wealth management. Mix, match, and change your mind whenever you want. Because at Schwab, you can invest your way. No matter your goals or appetite for investing, Schwab has everything you need, all in one place.

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