The 2026 NFL Draft dust has settled, but we still have questions

0:00It's smart to always have a few financial goals and a really smart one you can set, earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover, you can. Get this. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show. See terms at discover.com slash credit card. Make Mother's Day even more special at Whole Foods Market. Kick off brunch or dinner with quality cheese and charcuterie with no synthetic nitrates. Then go seafood. There's an abundance on sale at Whole Foods Market, where it's all sustainable while caught or responsibly farmed.

0:39At the bakery, grab seasonal treats like their strawberry pretzel cream pie, and you can't go wrong with a ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh-cut fruits to go. Celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market. One second, you're enjoying your day off. The next, your phone buzzes. A window's been broken at home. You're miles away. In one second, everything can change. That's why ADT's professionally installed security systems monitor your home 24-7. They're backed by the most company-operated monitoring systems in the industry, so you're always supported during an emergency. When every second counts, count on ADT.

1:18Visit ADT.com to learn more.

1:22Robert Mays: Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. The draft is over. We're a few days removed from the end of the draft. And we spend so much time before the draft happens thinking about team needs, where teams are going to go in order to fill those needs. And now that the draft is done and we've seen all of these hundreds of picks slotted onto these rosters, there are still a bunch of big questions remaining. the Ravens didn't draft the center. We all assume they would do something to replace Tyler Wendelbaum. That's just one example. There are a bunch of those. And so me and Dave today are going to sort through like the 10 or so biggest questions we still have left about these rosters.

2:02Robert Mays: Now that the draft is over a lot of good ones that we dug into today. Enjoyed this conversation. Hope you guys do as well. Let's get to it right now.

2:20Robert Mays: Now that most of the dust has settled from draft weekend, we're still left with a bunch of rosters that have questions, and we're still left with a bunch of veteran free agents that now the draft has ended can potentially find homes because teams aren't digging in a compensatory pick formula, all that good stuff. So that's what we're going to do today. We are going to run through our biggest questions that we still have now that teams have gone through the 2026 NFL draft. I could have come up with 100 of these. I'm going to try to limit my list, but there are still plenty of lingering thoughts I have about where some roster issues need to be addressed with these teams, Dave.

3:02Yeah, I found myself trying to avoid overlap from conversations we've already had or things that got brought up during draft weekend. But fortunately, there's plenty of stuff to go around. There's plenty of storylines that I think are worth covering, both related to draft classes and related to free agents that are available. I think we got plenty of new territory to cover.

3:25Robert Mays: All right, so what is your big, your first question, your big question that was a front of mind for you now that the draft has ended is what? Okay, I just said that we had new territory to cover, but can I start with something that we've been joking about forever? I'm coming right at you for this one because it's your thing. And so I'm going to ask you directly. Is Brandon Iuke a viable answer to the commander's problems at this point? Like, is this is this an advisable idea with everything that's been going on with Brandon Iuke since midway through last season? Like, it's easy to say, oh, they'll get Brandon Iuke.

4:05What does that mean? What does that mean in 2026?

4:09Robert Mays: I think part of the problem is in order to sign Brandon Iuke to your football team, you need to be able to get in touch with Brandon Iuke. Or his representation, which seems to be a difficult thing for people right now. I've never seen anything like this. Like dating all the way back to when he first kind of disappeared. And the Niners were like, yeah, I don't know. He was just kind of gone one day. And then the Niners were like, another very unusual thing where John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan are like, we'd be happy to trade him. We would love to do that. Please give us a phone call. John Lynch literally picked up his phone when explaining this and was like, please call me.

4:48And then they come back out like when draft weekend is over and say, yeah, I mean, if you can get in touch with him, we don't really know. We don't know what to do. And so, look, it makes sense in some ways. Brandon Ayuk, first of all, he doesn't want to play for the 49ers would be my assumption. The commanders have a very obvious need. I do really like the Antonio Williams draft pick. That was a guy out of Clemson that I liked a lot at pick number 71, but that's not enough. And it's also a mistake to count on a guy drafted in the third round to be a needle mover for you right away. And so I, you makes a ton of sense for a lot of reasons.

5:26He's close with Jaden Daniels going back to college when he was at Arizona state. We know all this stuff. My question for you is just because you can connect those dots. Like a, can you do it? like can you can you get Brandon Iuke on the phone and be at this point in his career this far removed from the injury this far removed from practicing and playing what does that even mean like just because we know why it makes sense for him to land there like is that something that's going to make a difference for the commanders in 2026 I think it's more about what the alternatives

6:00Robert Mays: are at this very moment you know so if I were one of my questions was did the commanders do enough at receiver because they drafted Antonio Williams in the third round, like you said, and that's really all they did. I mean, obviously they signed Chica Conquo. And so you have a pass catching tight end and you know, does that give you another viable pass catcher? Fine. But I still think at receiver specifically, it's worth wondering whether they did enough and whether they need to do more. If I'm Washington, I'm at least calling Jawan Jennings and seeing what his deal is because that's a former 49ers receiver.

6:30Robert Mays: That's like a big body perimeter player that at least will answer your phone calls theoretically. I mean, he was visiting the Vikings this week. And so Jawan Jennings or his representation is on the other side of a phone call or a text in a way that Brandon I use is not right now. But if you go through those veteran receivers, and that was one of my questions to where are these veteran receivers going to land? Like who's interested in them? What are the most likely landing spots? Which ones make the most sense? If you go through those and you decide either those guys don't want to come play for you or for whatever reason, that's not the direction you want to go.

7:03Robert Mays: Brandon Iyuk for Washington specifically feels like a, okay, if we're totally out of options, is this a place that we can turn? Because I think Washington might be waiting out the Niners. I think most teams could be waiting out the Niners right now, just hoping that he gets released. And the Niners just seem completely steadfast in their unwillingness to let that happen, which I understand if I'm the Niners, it's like, absolutely not. Like we're not going to let him do this and release him for nothing when he's under contract with us. They seem hell bent on making sure that they're leaving here with something.

7:35Robert Mays: And if I'm in the Niners position, I completely understand that based on how this has gone. At the very least, there's no reason to do it on anything resembling a friendly timeline for Brandon. I you, like, I don't know what the, unless you got like a nice price for him. If it's not I you and Juwan Jennings is definitely the name worth bringing up. is there anybody else out there that makes sense for Washington? I mean, I guess Stefan Diggs. Like, I just, I think you got to do something. And it's easy to circle back on Brandon Ayuk because of the amount of time we spent talking about it. But I certainly don't think that can be the end of your efforts at the position, right?

8:16Robert Mays: I mean, you're looking at it right now. Those are the two names that really stick out to me. I mean, DeAndre Hopkins is still out there, right? like DeAndre Hopkins was at least playable for the Ravens last year. And so if you just need a body, I think that he's somebody that you could potentially toss out there. But other than that, I mean, we're kind of scraping the bottom of the barrel here. Like Jennings and digs are absolutely at the top of that list. I mean, Brandon cooks, it was played by default. I was about to say, like, don't, don't laugh at me, but Brandon cooks considering the state of the commanders depth chart at receiver, I think that's probably something worth considering.

8:54Robert Mays: So I think Jennings and Diggs are the two guys that have an eye on. Again, Jennings visited the Vikings this week, which I think he absolutely makes sense for the Vikings as a third receiver when you think about what Jefferson is, what Jordan Addison is. The team that I had in mind when thinking about where the veteran receivers are going to land, what are the Raiders going to do? Are the Raiders just going to roll with the group they currently have? Is it just going to be some combination of Jalen Naylor, Trey Tucker, and Jack Besch for a guy that you drafted number one overall? And even if he's not going to start the season, I assume he's going to play at some point this year.

9:29Robert Mays: And so the Raiders past catchers and whether they're a team that would be interested in going out and getting a Stefan Diggs, that's something I'd be at least asking if I were the Raiders. Because as it currently stands, I think a lot of people liked many of the moves that the Raiders made on draft weekend. Like, you know, Trayton Stukes is a fun player and Kieran Crawford is a fun is a good player and an exciting player. But they did not over leverage themselves to make sure they were filling every single hole on the offense, knowing that the number one pick was going to step in there. Like, we'll see what happens with Zune and whether he can be a starter for them.

10:02Robert Mays: But even if he is, you know, you're right. Tackle is now a competition between DJ Glaze and a third round pick from last year who didn't play. And so what the Raiders do with those pass catching spots and if they do anything else to sure up other question marks on their offense, that's one of the bigger questions that I had. It was probably too tidy of us to think the Raiders would get their hands on an Indiana receiver, but the. They had chances. No, I know they did like the Surratt thing just made too much sense. And it was not saying that they made a mistake because who knows, but it just would have been fun.

10:40And it fit a need and something that they needed to do at some point. This actually, this ties back to, I have another veteran receiver thing, but let's save it. We don't have to knock it all out here at the top of the show. So you look at the draft in general, the Raiders had three picks in the third round and two picks in the fourth round,

11:02Robert Mays: including the first pick in the fourth round because they traded up for Jermon McCoy. So they had four different chances to go get a guy like Elijah Surratt. And if they wanted to be a little bit more aggressive, Mike Washington went eight picks after Surratt did or seven picks after Surratt did in the fourth round. And so they just, and I understand what they did, right? The guys that they drafted in the, with those third round picks, like we talked about it, Crawford, I think brings a lot of juice. You know, Zune is a versatile piece on the offensive line that could play guard for you. You need a starting guard on that team.

11:35Robert Mays: McCoy is the biggest upside swing in the entire draft. If you're the Raiders and you're at this stage of the team building process, trying to get as much bang for your buck with some of those picks, I think makes total sense. But to see them a shoe receiver in the way that they did all the way until the sixth round, there are other teams that when they've been in this position where they have a highly drafted quarterback, like they're leveraging themselves to make sure they're filling some of these holes to guarantee that, all right, at least we're giving this guy a workable option at all 10 of the other spots on offense, knowing that we're going to drop him in here at some point this year.

12:08Robert Mays: And the Raiders just at this point have not done that. And I think you could argue that that's an okay way to approach it, but that still leaves you with the question marks that we're talking about. That's, it's so fun to look at this stuff in detail now that the draft is over because I don't know this for sure, but it seems totally plausible that Elijah Surratt is pick one 22 instead of Mike Washington if he hadn't gone off the board to Baltimore. And if you want to take him before that, that's the Jermod McCoy pick, right? And so what do you weigh more heavily there? A chance at the steal of the draft due to injury or getting your quarterback, his college teammate who fits a need really nicely.

12:49I'll be interested to see how that ages. Yeah. And let's be honest with ourselves.

12:54Robert Mays: What is a fourth round receiver really going to do for you? Sure. Sure, of course. Probably not a lot. So at the end of the day, like them gesturing at the idea that like, oh, we got we got a guy like we got a receiver to give our quarterback a chance. If you're picking that guy at 115, it's more than likely that he's not going to be an impactful player for you in the short term anyway. And I think that potentially pushes you to the veteran free agent pool where you can find somebody who's going to be more of an immediate contributor. And I think the only reason this gets talked about as much as it does is because it was Fernando Mendoza's college teammate.

13:27Like if it was just, if it was any fourth round receiver, it would be like, well, no shit. Of course, you're going to take the swing on the elite talent cornerback who only fell because of injury. Like that's a no brainer. And I think that's probably right. And yeah, like there's, there's half a dozen ways you can try to address this both big and small. So I think it makes sense.

13:49Robert Mays: The other pass catcher I would throw out, we talked about digs, talked about Jennings. I'm wondering what happens with Njoku. Like, I think he's still got enough left in the tank. I forgot he was out there. He's still out there. And if you look at it, because every team in the NFL took a tight end on day two, there are fewer teams that have, like, a screaming need at tight end. The team that I was just going through all the tight end depth charts, and I was like, all right, who could still use, like, a credible two-way guy to go along with the rest of their tight end room as it's currently constructed?

14:19Robert Mays: And the team I landed on, Chargers maybe? because Gadsden's not really that guy. They signed Charlie Cole in free agency, but so you throw Njoku in there and you have one more guy that could, again, could credibly be like an inline two-way tight end for you where Gadsden isn't really that sort of player. That was the team that kind of came to mind, but there weren't that many others where I was like, oh yeah, this absolutely makes sense because so many teams were intentional about adding tight end depth during the draft. Is tight end the new safety where five guys that I love are just sitting out there until training camp waiting for somebody to offer him a deal.

14:57Who else is there other than Njoku? Johnny Smith is still available, is he not? Yeah, Johnny Smith's out there. Will Disley, I mean, maybe I'm getting too excited about half a season of work in Miami, but Darren Waller's still available. What a fascinating collection of names. it's it's not as it's not as deep as the safety class occasionally is but like I don't know like David Njoku is more than good enough to be like be in a meaningful slot on a team right now other than that I assume NFL teams are just trying to get younger and cheaper at the

15:34Robert Mays: position David Njoku is not even 30 exactly he came in like super young but David Njoku is not even 30 but this collection of guys among the best available best available being like highest market value players on spotrack david and joku darren waller zach urts and tasem hill are four of the top six names there's just a lot of like weird nfl history involved in the collection of names at the top of that bin with love and respect for zach urts he's officially at the age though like david and joku is old in the funny way where it's like lol this guy's not even 30 yet zach urts is working on 36 like zach urts was drafted in 2013 it is legitimately legitimately amazing that he's not officially retired yet.

16:18Good for him.

16:19Robert Mays: And then the one spot further down than that is Mercedes Lewis, who's 42. Sure. Yeah. The ageless wonder himself. All right. We both just like threw out a bunch of them right there. So what's your next one? Well, all right. Let's let's keep it. Let's just keep it going and knock all of this out then, because a big one for me and it sounds it sounds like it's going to reach the inevitable conclusion that we've been talking about, but what is the official conclusion of the AJ Brown thing? Like I know Adam, should it be that easy? Is it definitely that easy? How come nobody else? How come nobody else wants AJ Brown?

17:00Like, why does it have to be new England?

17:03Robert Mays: The only reason that I wouldn't call it like a done deal. First of all, like after the max cross, we think there are no done deals until the, the The ink is dry in this day and age. So the rumor was, I think that's what Adam Schepter said, is a 2028 first-round pick going from the Eagles to the Patriots, which shouldn't necessarily be surprising because I think teams are hoarding those 2027 first-round picks like Gollum with the ring because of what they look at with next year's class. So the only thing that I think could and should throw a wrench in this, because this is kind of one of my other half questions, if those 2027 picks are so valuable and you know that you no longer have to seek out a quarterback in that draft yes you're the rams yes why wouldn't you call and offer next year's first for a.j brown so i gotta i gotta give credit where it's due to our wonderful friend deontay lee who tweeted something similar during i think it was the day after the so day two of the draft deontay tweeted basically that where it was like if you have for better or for worse whatever your feelings of ty simpson are the rams now have some sort of plan at quarterback over the next two to five years like you're no longer dealing with the existential dread of what happens if stafford gets hurt what happens if stafford retires again it really has nothing to do with how good you think ty simpson is that's just the allocation of resources so if that's the case and barring a catastrophe the absolute worst the Rams are picking in the draft is like the absolute worst is like 27th.

18:45But realistically, you could be talking about 29 to 32. If that is the case, what is stopping the fuck them picks team from saying you're going to wait until 2028 for that first round pick? We'll give it to you right now. We'll give you next year's one. If you're cool with it being pick 32 why the hell not and then the rams can have their cake and eat it too and say not only did we get our developmental upside swing at pick 13 this year but we went and added a true needle mover where everybody said we needed one like everybody in the world was mad at us for not drafting a receiver or maybe kenyan sadiq at pick 13 well here you go and now we got aj brown I mean, I'm tempted to think it's not possible because smart people who make a lot of money are telling me that the Patriots thing is a done deal, but maybe it shouldn't be.

19:41Maybe a couple teams like the LA Rams should be like, oh, we can beat that price.

19:46Robert Mays: The only problem is not the only problem, but one of the problems is the Rams have already dealt their three next year to the Chiefs and the Trent McDuffie deal. And so now you're looking at this draft that everyone is so, so excited about. And even like we do this every year, but there are people that I really trust. Like even Dane is like, nah, guys, I'm telling you, the players in next year's draft are really good. So I do think that if you're the Rams, how many of the picks in that draft are you willing to trade away before we even get to July 1st, before we even get to training camp? Do you feel good about it?

20:15It doesn't sound like the Rams I know. That's all I'm saying. Listen, I get it.

20:20Robert Mays: I'm the 13th overall. We've turned over a new leaf. I get it. But I guess that's really my point. And for that matter, I guess the Raiders, it makes a little less sense to do something like that, because even if they're surprisingly good this year, you don't want to get rid of a chance to draft top 20 in the in the 2027 draft. I understand that. But. I don't know if if A.J. Brown's willing to sign in Vegas and and maybe he would be because here's another thought. But like A.J. Brown, I mean, he said himself, like after the Eagles won that Super Bowl, as much as he wants to win, like he wants to be the guy.

20:59He wants to like dominate and be the top receiver in football. Obviously, that's not happening at a place like L.A. It would happen in New England, which is, I'm sure, an exciting prospect for him. But it would also that would be the case for the Raiders as well with a young quarterback who we don't know anything about Fernando Mendoza's NFL career. but he would at least have a chance to be an exciting young quarterback who could really make his receiver look good.

21:23Robert Mays: So we're coming off a season where Clint Kubiak's number one receiver got like 41 % of the targets. Great point. Great point. If you want to go to a place where they're going to force feed the best player, I think he's shown a willingness to do that. Getting rid of like, I don't know that the Raiders should get rid of a 20, 27 one, but I don't know. It just seems, it seems weird to me that somebody of AJ Brown's caliber is clearly available and everybody's just like well yeah that's that that'll it'll be the patriots when we get to june but nobody else wants him and i'm just like should it be that easy though it's funny that stefan digs and aj brown have both been the we're gonna supercharge this for a young quarterback receivers and draft the first round pegs and get this guy but they did it like three lifetimes ago like they were just very different players i mean they were second contract guy the digs was technically a third contract guy when that happened he signed out like bullshit second deal with Minnesota where he was vastly underpaid.

22:20Robert Mays: But what, that was 2020 that Diggs got traded to the Bills? So how old is Stephon Diggs now?

22:29Robert Mays: He's 32 now, so he was 26 when that trade happened. So even if he was technically a third contract player, he was still young. So I don't think there's that sort of trade waiting for the Raiders, and that's why I think maybe something like a Diggs or a Brown to try to get everything you can out of that young quarterback should at least be on their minds. And the Diggs one's free. If the, well, yeah, I mean, and that's why ultimately I think there's ways the Raiders can do that without leveraging a very good-looking draft. And it makes a little less sense for a team like the Raiders. But even still, if the Eagles are willing to wait until 2028 to recoup payment for A.J.

23:12Brown, I don't get why there wouldn't be more teams in on that, or I don't get why there wouldn't be more teams trying to beat that price.

23:19Robert Mays: The actual, like, real thing that the Raiders could do that, like, is within the realm of possibility, and it just isn't us, like, screwing around because it's April 29th and we're trying to have a good time, is can you trade a fifth-round pick for Kayshaun Booty? Like, it's that type of stuff that they actually probably should be thinking about, not the pie in the sky, like, can they snatch away A.J. Brown from the Patriots? It's not going to happen. I mean, if A.J. Brown really is just already a Patriot and there's nothing anybody can do about it, then Kayshawn Booty becomes a little more expendable.

23:53That's for sure.

23:54Robert Mays: I'm just looking at guys that are hitting free agency next year. Like, Booty is one of those guys, and the Patriots have kind of already dangled out the fact that he might be available because of the A.J. Brown thing, or at least other people have. And then the other guys who are free agents coming out of this year, I think most of them will be getting paid by their teams or are in a weird spot like the George Pickens thing, but Puka, Chris Olave, Drake London. Michael Wilson's an interesting one. Other than what that would say to me about the Cardinals, I would just be mad at the Cardinals for getting rid of Michael Wilson.

24:28Robert Mays: It's a new staff, and so that's one where I would at least be like, hey, do you guys like Michael Wilson? Does Michael Fleur like Michael Wilson? And if not, what does that look like? That's one I'd at least make a call about. None of the other guys on this list are particularly interesting. I love Josh Downs, but I assume Josh Downs will be back because Cole's offensive depth chart is not in a position to lose Josh Downs in the long term. That's all my receiver-related stuff. So we just knocked it all out at the top of the show. You best believe I got more. You ready? You best believe I got a couple more of them.

25:01Robert Mays: Are the Chiefs just done? Is this just it? Are we in like, we got Kenneth Walker, we're good? we kind of we kind of touched on that when we talked about stuff coming out of the draft and I I'm inclined to think so how do you feel about that how healthy is Patrick Mahomes that's that's how I feel about it when it's third and eight and Kenneth Walker's no longer an option who's going to get open against man coverage have we solved that problem yeah that's I mean hoping for hoping for more from Xavier worthy, I guess would be my answer. That's an interesting strategy. I, that the Kenneth Walker is doing enough for you on early downs.

25:47Robert Mays: Maybe the hope is just, we're avoiding third and eight entirely because we signed a running back to a big deal. Yeah, there you go. Just live in third and manageable. Forget about third and long. Kenneth Walker is definitely a high success rate running back. That's going to get you like five and a half yards of carry. That's definitely what he's been known for. I mean, are we just talking about all these same guys that we just rehashed? Or is there something more grand in your plans for the Chiefs? For me, I kind of defaulted the idea that they might just be done. I mean, the fact that they didn't seem to prioritize it at all.

26:19Robert Mays: Jawan Jennings was the name I threw out from the beginning for them. But I wouldn't be surprised if they were not in that sort of market, that they were just rolling what they got, considering how they approached the draft. so I've kind of given up hope that it's going to look any different than just having Kenneth Walker and maybe potentially hopefully a couple new ideas on offense that's I just I don't see I don't see the signing that gets me super excited again we can say Juwan Jennings more one more time but that's not even something like I don't know I mean it moves the needle but it doesn't feel like some big cure-all for me.

27:01Robert Mays: My last one on the receiver front, do the Miami Dolphins on April 29th have the worst receiving court in recent NFL history? Would this be the worst receiving court in recent NFL history if the Dolphins had to play a game tomorrow? I think you could make a solid, serious argument that the best receiver on the Dolphins is a player coming off of a torn ACL that we've never seen play in the NFL. That's Chris Bell. That's that's Tutu Atwell erasure. He had the longest receiving touchdown of the 2025 season. I'll have, you know. This is terrifying. And I, we, we have some good recent examples. I was trying to think of a couple other ones.

27:43Robert Mays: The 2022 Chicago bears. Go take a look at that. Darnell Mooney, Equiminius, St. Brown. Like we've had some tough ones recently, but the dolphins rolling into this with the group that they currently have and a quarterback that they just paid$20 million a year. I, I'm not sure how much we're going to find out about Malik Willis with this group. The dolphins are going to run the ball 40 times a game. They're going to be the 2025 jets. I appreciate you bringing this to my attention because it's easy to get draft glasses and, and fall in love with the decisions team makes teams make during the draft.

28:18And, uh, you know, the Dolphins said today that Caden Proctor is going to start out at guard. And you're like, okay, that's, that's exciting. I like the thought of Caden Proctor playing some guard and they draft Jacob Rodriguez and Chris Johnson. And they've just got all, like they got all these guys that you feel good about. And then you go look at the roster and it is undoubtedly improved, but yeah, looking at that receiver core, you're still just like, right. Like you can't fix all of this in one weekend. And that's exactly it.

28:48Robert Mays: it's not even a criticism. I'm not like, oh man, the Dolphins is malpractice. How could the Dolphins not draft the receiver? It's just the reality. Every single position. It is the reality of a teardown like this. I mean, they, they got rid of the foundations of their passing game in two months. And every single way that the Dolphins went with their picks in the top 100 with those six top 100 picks that they ended up with, because they ended up trading down. But every single one of those, none of them is like, oh man, why'd they do that? Not, not a single one of those decisions. It's like, oh man, they didn't need one of those.

29:23Robert Mays: They needed one of everything. And so there are only so many things you can fit in the cart on the way out, no matter how many draft picks you have. Yeah, it's, I mean, I'll be interested to see how quickly Chris Bell can get on the field because I do. I love him, but I would assume it's not going to be, you know, ready for training camp, ready for week one type of deal. I mean, they're going to build this thing out of a bunch of big dudes, a fast running back, and Malik Willis in the legs. And that's okay. I'm actually kind of interested in watching what that looks like. But the pass-catching room has a lot to be desired.

29:59They really did. Like, they made a lot of exciting picks, though. Like, Will Kazmarek as, like, a blocking demon to help your run game out. I'm pretty in on that. I said the defensive picks. Kyle Lewis is a really fun player. But, yeah, it's not going to happen overnight. in Miami, even if this looks like an intriguing first step.

30:21Robert Mays: It's just a profoundly weird team, but that's always going to happen when you tear it down to this extent. Like it's all going to be just like theory and like, oh man, I wonder how this works out. Like that was always going to be the end point with the dolphins. Again, it's not a criticism. It's just, we, now you see it all laid out in front of you. It's like, oh man, this is, this is what we got. This is what we got to work with in certain areas of the roster heading into the season. All right, let's take our first quick break and I want to come back and chat a little bit about what the heck the Giants are going to do without Dexter Lawrence.

30:52Make Mother's Day even more special at Whole Foods Market. Kick off brunch or dinner with quality cheese and charcuterie with no synthetic nitrates. Then go seafood. There's an abundance on sale at Whole Foods Market where it's all sustainable while caught or responsibly farmed. At the bakery, grab seasonal treats like their strawberry pretzel cream pie and you can't go wrong with a ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh cut fruits to go. Celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market. It's smart to always have a few financial goals and a really smart one you can set, earning cash back on what you buy every day.

31:28And with Discover, you can. Get this, Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously, all of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show. See terms at discover.com slash credit card. Every idea starts with a problem. Warby Parker's was simple. Glasses are too expensive. So they set out to change that. By designing glasses in-house and selling directly to customers, they're able to offer prescription eyewear that's expertly crafted and unexpectedly affordable. Warby Parker glasses are made from premium materials like impact-resistant polycarbonate and custom acetate.

32:06And they start at just$95, including prescription lenses.

32:10Robert Mays: Get glasses made from the good stuff. Stop by a Warby Parker store near you.

32:21Robert Mays: All right, so we were wondering in the second round of the draft if the Giants were going to be the team that made a play for a Caden McDonald or, you know, was a little bit aggressive in finding one of those big-bodied run stuffers in this draft. That did not happen. You know, in the second round, they went with Colton Hood, 37th overall. They got Malachi Fields. I believe they traded up for Malachi Fields in the third round, took him 74th, and they didn't pick again until the sixth round. And so we left this draft without any clear replacement for Dexter Lawrence from the Giants. There's a ton of smoke about DJ Reader ending up there.

32:57Robert Mays: I mean, some people reported it was already done. Dan Duggan, who covers the Giants for us, after they signed Shelby Harris this morning, we're recording this at 2.40 p.m. Central Time, he noted that all right that's one you know is Dexter Lawrence the guy Jesus is DJ Reader the guy that they're eyeing at the nose tackle spot so it seems like they do have a potential solution but as it currently stands DJ Reader is not a member of the Giants it would have like I don't know I feel like that will happen in due time though I mean this is exactly what we talked about during draft weekend where once you're done making the picks you can go and add those sorts of guys and I mean adding I don't want to I don't want to speak too too highly but like even getting Shelby Harris makes me feel better about the overall situation than I did on Saturday evening you know and so the Shelby Harris at this point he's 34 he'll be 35 this year he's a he's a d tackle though like these guys can play forever that's it's I mean Marseille we're talking about all the oldest players in the league right now.

34:05Mercedes Lewis, like tight ends, D tackles.

34:08Robert Mays: Calais Campbell, come on down. I was going to say, Calais Campbell's still doing it. So why can't Shelby Harris? I mean, like I said, it's not a cure-all. And I think you got to have your eyes wide open when you trade Dexter Lawrence away that you are, you know, you're giving yourselves some work to do. And we mentioned that earlier this week too. I guess we don't know for sure that Caden McDonald would be a giant right now if Houston hadn't traded up. But Houston certainly seemed convicted that they that that was a risk if they didn't do something proactive to go get their guy. So. I think. It's it's the cost of doing business, it's the cost of being willing to make a trade like that, where this unit is taking a little bit of a step back and if you can stop gap it for a year while you come up with a longer term solution, I think that's fine.

34:58I think what's funny about the Giants, and I feel like we've been saying this for a couple of years here, is what's the expectation for them? Because depending on who you ask, particularly if they live in the tri-state area, it just seems like some people expect the Giants to be way further along in this thing than I do. And the fact that they hired John Harbaugh and are rebooting this thing seems to signal to me, like, it's okay. if you are the fourth best team in the division right now. Like, we don't have to be sneaking up on people or be saying the Giants are a surprise playoff team. And if they are, then that probably says something amazing about Jackson Dart.

35:41But I think it's okay to admit where you are in this process right now. And if the Giants are a competently bad team, I think that's fine. And I think there's been some disconnect there over the last couple years where we spend the offseason arguing about why aren't you giving the Giants enough respect as a potential playoff team. Hopefully we can leave that behind us while John Harbaugh gets his feet underneath him. That's how I feel. Sure we can.

36:06Robert Mays: I'm not sure that's going to happen. I think that enough people are going to get excited about this. We're going to be dragged back into that discussion, which maybe it is a little bit different now than it was before. But I think I pretty consistently over the last couple of years is everyone was trying to make the Giants into this top five defense was like, really? We sure? And that obviously never unfolded in the way the Giants fans wanted. I also agree with you. Like, I don't think the Giants are in a spot where they should be making decisions about how they're building this roster. With who are going to be our starting 11 players in week one, we need to prioritize that right now.

36:39Robert Mays: Like, they're way too early in this process to be thinking about it that way. Like, just because you had starting corners doesn't mean Colton Hood wasn't the right move for you. Greg Newsom's on a one-year deal. Like go, go draft the players. They're going to be the most important part of your nucleus over the next two to three seasons. You shouldn't be overextending yourself to fill needs because of the aspirations that you have for 2026. That's not the position this team is in, nor should it be. I don't want to rule out the possibility that the Giants are surprisingly good entirely, but I just don't think they need to move as though they're supposed to be.

37:16And I don't think we need to wait those moves as if that's what's supposed to happen. I mean, to go back to the Bears conversation we keep having, I get it. If there's existential, I want to keep having it, by the way. I mean, it's not it's not just about you. It's just it's an interesting thing coming out of the draft. Like when a team that nearly made the NFC title game doesn't address its biggest weakness. I get why that is a conversation that keeps coming up. we don't have to think about the Giants that way where it's like ah like they were they were really close they like the next moves need to be about getting over the top no the Giants weren't close and they don't look that close right now especially after trading away a player of Dexter Lawrence's caliber so just let this season be about laying a foundation and hoping Jackson Dart among others can surprise you.

38:08So like, yeah, it doesn't look great without Dexter Lawrence there, but I just think that's where you are after your conscious decisions to kind of retool this thing.

38:20Robert Mays: Treating Dexter Lawrence a week before the draft and then signing DJ Reader as a replacement is like a perfectly acceptable series of events for the New York Giants. Like that's more than okay. All right, what's your next one? It's actually about something they did instead of like instead of somebody they lost it's about guys that they added but speaking of positions that give a fan base existential dread I'm curious how this offensive line retool for the Chargers is going to work exactly I do I and I want to be clear I trust Mike McDaniel a lot and if Mike McDaniel has an idea then I'm willing to hear it out and I'm not here to say that it's not going to work.

39:03But I think it's very interesting that Tyler Biotish was cut by the commanders and the chargers identified him and, and got him signed on a$30 million deal before free agency even opened. Like they felt that strongly about it. And we're that certain that he was the guy that they wanted at center, which is great. He's a good player. And then with the 63rd overall pick, they take Jake Slaughter out of Florida who only ever played games at center throughout his college career. And I just, I think that's interesting and I'm curious to see how it's going to work. Like the idea of addressing a big, big hole at guard with a center after using pretty big resources at center.

39:51Clearly Mike McDaniel and Jim Harbaugh have a plan for this and feel a certain type of way about it. But I think it's interesting.

39:59Robert Mays: If you look at the way that the guards came off the board, right? And so I can understand if you're the Chargers and you look at the way that the 2026 draft can go. I'm trying to stall as I look this up. No, no, no. I actually, so I'm glad you're bringing this up because it was going to be my next note. To be fair to the Chargers in this circumstance, there weren't a ton of options. So Emmanuel Pregnon out of Oregon goes 88th after the Chargers take Jake Slaughter. and Trey Zune who played tackle in college and most people think could play all five spots. He was taken 91st. And like, other than that, those are really your options at pick 63.

40:39If you're not going to take Jake slaughter. So I understand that there wasn't this wealth of guards available, but I don't know, maybe that goes back to the idea of not being willing to spend more money in free agency that maybe this felt like your best choice. let's take the center and move him to guard. We think he has that type of flexibility. So I understand the choices that were in front of them in the draft, but it speaks to the overall approach going back to March, in my opinion.

41:10Robert Mays: You look at it like Pregnant's not a slug by any stretch, right? I mean, like some of his explosion testing is really good. But, I mean, you look at the testing for Slaughter specifically, like he's just a mover, right? I mean, and for an undersized guy, that would make sense, right? But I'm not surprised to see them prioritize that skill set over a guy who has played guard. Like, I think it's how well do you move? Can we fit you into this offense was probably the thought process if I had to guess why they ended up there. And so I think that prioritizing the pass rusher that you think is in a different tier of player at 22 with Kakeem Mesidor and then waiting to get a skill set, a guard that you think fits what you want to be on offense.

41:51Robert Mays: I don't think that's crazy, even if there's going to be a lot of guesswork involved in how it's going to work out. They also, you know, Cole Strange is with the Chargers now as well. He's on a two-year$13 million deal. And they went back to back in the sixth round at guard. Logan Taylor and Alex Harkey are both guys that you would expect to play guard in the NFL. So they wound up spending a fair amount of resources on it. I'm just curious about how it's all going to work. And I'll say again, I don't hate it. I'm not, I'm trying not to shit on it. I just think it's interesting because Jake Slaughter was Dane's top center in this draft.

42:30And again, like they did a, they did some guard stuff with him at the senior bowl. And he did say after he was drafted that he practiced that guard occasionally at Florida, but he's only ever played games at center. And so I just, I think that's interesting to draft him that highly to move him to left guard doesn't mean that it won't work. I just, I'm interested to see what the whole thing looks like by the time we get to training camp.

42:54Robert Mays: Sometimes with guard, like those centers that they have to be center only just because of what their frame looks like. I mean, Jake Slaughter has 32 and three eighths inch arms. Like he's six, five, like in terms of his physical makeup, I don't think there's anything really indicating that he can't play guard except the fact that he just never did it while he was in college. That's what he said at his post draft availability as well and again it's not to say that he can't do it i just it it made me curious just the the allocation of resources there to prioritize a center and then i guess he would have been the second center off the board after logan jones but take one of the top two or three centers to you know to move positions um it just i i clocked it i would say let's stick on centers who's playing center for the Ravens?

43:49Well, that's a great question. And actually it ties into what we just said about the chargers because Eric DaCosta said at one of his post-draft availabilities that I, you know, guy GMs don't like to say the name of players after they get drafted by other teams, but he was intimating that he was a little caught off guard by how quickly Logan Jones and Jake slaughter went off the board. Like maybe the Ravens thought they'd have a shot at one of those guys later, and they didn't because of how the Bears and Chargers prioritize those picks.

44:20Robert Mays: I mean, he also came out this week and was like, we'll probably have to do some work there, whether that's with a late signing, some sort of trade. Like, I would assume the starting center for the Ravens is not currently on the Ravens roster. And what that means, I think we have yet to find out. Ethan Pochich is still a free agent. And then I'd look around the league and be like, all right, who are guys that have played center could maybe get by that their team, for whatever reason, would be willing to part with them. I'd at least call the bears about Bradbury, right? Maybe it gets a little bit closer to training camp.

44:55I'd at least you're trying. You're, you're trying so hard to fire Bradbury. It's the second time this week.

45:01Robert Mays: It's more so, I mean, they gave up a fifth round pick for him. That's not nothing. But I also think that when you find a guy in the second round, a second round center is like that's a lot to spend on a center and you don't want to throw that guy into the mix right away but if i were i would at least call now that the bears had addressed that early in the draft a couple other guys i'd at least mention maybe the lions with juice scruggs like he was a throw-in pick uh in the montgomery trade obviously they signed cade mays and free agency the lions did and so is that interior offensive lineup they don't necessarily need oh it's himy from the seahawks you know he's at least played and now they you know he's now put in a backup role there so just like names i would throw out calls i would make if i were the ravens and like bradbury is one where i would at least make a phone call about it now that the bears have addressed it in the draft there's a chance they tell you to off like we're not going to start a second round pick like we could trade a fifth round pick to this guy for a reason but it's at least a phone call i would make if i were the ravens i'm just trying to think of other guys that are worth mentioning that you haven't brought up, which it, my other takeaway from this is, and look, Tyler Biotish got just such an ungodly contract.

46:14And, you know, we just mentioned the way the board fell for the Ravens at the position during the course of the draft. It is a little surprising to me that the Ravens would be in this situation. Like the Ravens, I think of as a team that covers all their bases and makes sure that they're not in a situation where they have to do something like this. I mean, that's the old cliche about good drafting teams don't go into the draft with obvious needs. So you don't A, wind up reaching for players that don't deserve to be picked that highly. but B, come out of the draft with glaring weaknesses like this where you might have to leverage yourself in a trade or pay too much money for a veteran that's available.

46:58It's not to say that they can't fix it, but that doesn't sound like the Ravens' process to me. No.

47:07Robert Mays: Listen, there are plenty of ways they could potentially solve this. It's just you're looking at that team and you're looking at the expectations that they have. I mean, to me, it's one of the most glaring holes on a team that has real Super Bowl aspirations is what the Ravens are going to do at center. Like, I don't know how many more like screaming needs on teams with top eight Super Bowl odds you can find that are more glaring than what that looks like for the Ravens right now. Now I'm just trying to think of outside of the box alternatives you could come up with. Like, for instance, what would the Jets want for Joe Tippman, who has played center before and has that type of flexibility?

47:46He's in the last year of his rookie deal. Do you have plans to extend him? And if you don't, what would you be willing to part with him for? And I mean, that's a guy who starts for the Jets. I get it, but for where the Jets are in their build and what they need and all the stuff that they've got going on, would they rather have an extra pick next year than Joe Tippman? And would the Ravens be willing to meet that price? Or if there are any other options like that available, going along with what you were saying.

48:16Robert Mays: He has one more year left in his deal after this one. Oh, no, no, this is the final year of Joe Tippman's rookie contract. So, yeah, that's probably a phone call that's worth making. I mean, he played well enough at guard last year where I think I would be inclined to hang on to him if I were the Jets. I get it. I'm not saying he's a bad player at all, but I get like that's the calculus a team like the Jets has to do is, I mean, it would hurt us to trade him. Do we have plans to hold on to him? Is it worth grabbing and, you know, whatever that would be worth, like a third or fourth round pick in next year's draft?

48:48Whatever.

48:50Robert Mays: Let's take one more quick break and then come back and hit a couple more of these big questions that we still have.

49:18Go wrong with a ready-to-heat quiche Lorraine, deviled eggs, and fresh-cut fruits to go. Celebrate mom with Whole Foods Market. It's smart to always have a few financial goals. And a really smart one you can set? Earning cash back on what you buy every day. And with Discover, you can. Get this. Discover automatically matches all the cash back you've earned at the end of your first year. Seriously. All of it. And we trust you to make smart decisions. After all, you listen to this show. See terms at discover.com slash credit card. One second, you're enjoying your day off. The next, your phone buzzes.

49:54A window's been broken at home. You're miles away. In one second, everything can change. That's why ADT's professionally installed security systems monitor your home 24-7. They're backed by the most company-operated monitoring centers in the industry, so you're always supported during an emergency. When every second counts, count on ADT. Visit ADT.com to learn more.

50:24Robert Mays: All right, so I had the Ravens center. What was your next one? Similar to your one with the Chiefs, I would like to talk for a minute about the Jacksonville Jaguars. And I wonder, are the Jacksonville Jaguars done? And listen, I'm not interested. I'm really not very interested in talking about the Jags draft class. I like you and you and Fran Duffy talked about it on, on the show this week. And it's been like the argument of the week in NFL circles. I'm not interested in that, but going through just going through rosters and looking around the league, getting ready for this show. I was struck by the fact that the Jaguars are, I think the only team in the NFL or at the very least, It's a short list where I don't think that they have a guaranteed starter from outside the building coming onto the roster in 2026.

51:24Like they've made additions. Don't get me wrong. Like Chris Rodriguez at running back. They swapped Mason Smith for Ruka Rororo. And they do have a sizable draft class. But none of those guys are guaranteed to be day one big time starters. Like you would guess for where he was drafted, Nate Borker is going to play in 12 personnel, but he's not going to be the guy on the field in 11 over Britain. Strange, if Britain strange is healthy. And so I just look around at the Jags roster and I'm like, okay, a fully healthy Travis Hunter who plays a whole season for you and is at one position. Maybe that makes a huge difference for your defense.

52:04You've got some draft picks coming back from last year that were hurt, be it Caleb Ransaw in the secondary or Jalen McLeod, who didn't really have a rookie season at linebacker. So, like, you've got guys coming in who can play big roles who didn't do a lot for you last year. It's just interesting that in terms of major additions from outside, there's not a whole lot. And that's very unusual in the NFL today. And so I'm wondering if they're just like, yeah, we're just going to roll the ball out. We love our last two draft classes. Travis Hunter's healthy. Let's go kick some ass. Or do you have something else in mind for improving this roster between now and August?

52:47It's a great question.

52:48Robert Mays: I think if you were trying to cope if you were a Jags fan in terms of the roster being better than it was last year, the team being better than it was last year, I would say two things. You could make an argument that your two most important offseason additions are Travis Hunter, like you said, and the Jacoby Myers trade that you made at the deadline. Right. Like that's that's the move that you made to feel a little bit different than you did at the start of the 2025 season. But it's a great question, right? Like drafted pregnant in the third round. And so could he be in the mix for one of those guard spots if you wanted like a slight upgrade there in terms of like the pop in the middle of your offensive line?

53:24Robert Mays: But the defensive line is another area that I think Jags fans wanted them to address this offseason. And while they drafted a couple guys at those spots, like you said, are Albert Regis or Wesley Williams going to make that group feel appreciably different than it did last year? I think it's a worthwhile question. It's just like you just don't see examples very often of teams coming back with all the same guys. And it's not even completely the same. Obviously, Travis Achan is a saint now and Devin Lloyd is up in Carolina. So you lose two huge players from last season. And even like, you know, I love baseball tootin.

54:02LaQuinn Allen was great as a rookie. And like I already mentioned, Chris Rodriguez, it's not like they don't have stuff there, but I don't know. It's, it's interesting to look over a team's roster and they're too deep. And outside of the incoming draft picks, you're just like, ah, they really felt good about last year's team. There's not a whole lot of new here.

54:21Robert Mays: I think part of this is, I mean, we, you can understand how they arrive here when it comes to the draft. Like they didn't have a first round pick and they used their second round pick on a, what many people think is a vastly overdrafted Y tight end. And so if those are going to be, if that's going to be what happened to you in the first two rounds of the draft, it becomes a little bit easier to find yourself in this situation where you look at the off season additions and think who's really going to be a needle mover here. Cause that's where you're supposed to get those guys. I mean, to your point, I think you could say similar things about the Colts, like their roster looks fairly similar, but even the Colts, I mean, if, even if they're not every snap starters and all rookie team guys, like you would expect CJ Allen and AJ Halsey to have major roles on the Colts immediately.

55:10And I just, I think it's a little bit harder to find the guy on the Jags roster where you're like, yes, that is a every down starter. That is a difference maker from the jump.

55:21Robert Mays: I don't disagree with you, but does that also you in that conversation? I think you also have to acknowledge part of that conversation is also that the Colts had glaring needs at those spots. And so the second and third round picks have to be slotted in there. The Jags didn't have those necessarily. And so maybe that's why guys picked on day two late on day two don't have to be day one starters to the Jags. Maybe that's the cognitive dissonance is it's just wild to think of the Jags as a team that want to roll the ball back out there with last year's team. But if it's the team from the second half of the season where they just were on an unbelievable tear, I understand that.

56:01And it's worth saying, I think a fully healthy and available Travis Hunter is something worth being excited about, even if it doesn't feel shiny and new anymore. Yeah, I mean, that's huge.

56:13Robert Mays: I mean, him being like a difference making corner for you. And they brought back Monterey Brown and free agency. And so they just, I mean, the moves that they made were, again, the trade for Jacoby Myers and then getting Travis Hunter back. And, like, the things that are going to make this team feel a little bit different, I think, are hopefully in-house solutions. I think that's probably the argument that they're making. We'll see if it actually works out that way. That's definitely the argument that they're making. Like, I'm sure they would tell me they would list off all these 26 draft picks.

56:45And like I said, there's two or three guys that they felt good about last year who, for one reason or another, just didn't have a huge chance to make an impact. And so teams love to view those guys as like, you know, additions for this year. Like, oh, don't forget about him. He got hurt during training camp, and now he's available. And I get it. There's plenty of young options that can take a step forward for the Jags. but it's just interesting to see a 13-win team with no outside additions to really speak of.

57:16Robert Mays: All right, let's stay in the AFC South. You just mentioned this team. My next one is, can the Colts find one more pass rusher? They were in the Trey Hendrickson conversation before he signed with the Ravens. They didn't really add that player in the draft anywhere high. We just talked about the fact that they needed to address linebacker and safety, and so are they going to be one of these teams that's in the market for one of the veteran pass rushers that's still available. And so that kind of dovetails into what happens with the veteran pass rushers that are currently on the market. Where does Joey Bosa end up?

57:48Robert Mays: Dante Fowler is like, does he end up being a Seahawk? Because we talked about them not addressing pass rush on day two in favor of going running back in the first round and then defensive back on day two. So where do these guys end up? And are the Colts one of the teams that adds one of these veteran players? Are they a Jedevian Clowney team? because after swinging and missing on Hendrickson and then not really addressing it early in the draft, I think that's probably the one spot on the Colts roster where it's like they probably need one more body here. There's the list of available edge rushers who you don't think of as big-time names who I'm really intrigued by.

58:24I think it's a good list this year. Like Joey Bosa is the obvious headliner. Jadeveon Clowney, he's going to be out there until the end of time. Same thing with Leonard Floyd. Like those guys are just going to be available every year. But outside of that, again, these are not the sexy names that are going to come in and get double digit sacks for you. But some, somebody good should want AJ Epinesa on their team. Somebody good should want Yator Gross Matos on their team. Derek Barnett did some wonderful stuff for the Texans. And I throw him out here with guys that are always available. But like if you're in dire straits, Kyle Van Noy is probably worth some kind of contract to go give you something.

59:08So it's I mean, it's it's an interesting list. And that doesn't even include the another big, big name in Cam Jordan. I'll be interested to see what type of team might be interested in him and what the market might look like. I mean, if he's purely a pass rusher guy at this point in his career who's not carrying a heavy load but could come in and give you some pass rush juice at that age for the right type of team, I think that's interesting. And so it's a pretty long list for teams like the Colts, for teams like the Bears. Yeah, this was one of my questions too. I'm interested to see where they all go and win.

59:46Robert Mays: When did Cam Jordan and Von Miller get to be 37 years old? 2011 was a uncomfortable, uncomfortably long time ago. My God. It makes my bones hurt. All right. Do you have any more? Um, I think that this edge rusher one was the last one for me. Okay. So there we go. We both have that on our minds at the end here. All right. Those are the big questions. I think those are most of them. I, the ones that like the, the, the Ravens center, things like that, where it's just like, all right, we need to figure this out. I think those are the ones that first came to mind. So I think we did hit a majority of the holes that are still left on a lot of these rosters.

1:00:24Robert Mays: We're going to start addressing just overall offseason plans from teams tomorrow. We did this last year. We did a buy or sell on every team in the NFL's offseason over a four-week period. And we're going to be doing the exact same thing this year. We're breaking it up into four different shows, eight teams per show. We're doing it pretty much solely by Super Bowl odds. So if your team is in the rebuilding team section tomorrow, take it up with the people who make the odds. And if your team is not in the Superbowl contender show three weeks from now, again, take it up with the people who make the odds.

1:00:59Robert Mays: This is a clean way to do it. So we'll be doing four shows over the next month or so buying or selling every single team's off season in the entire league. And that starts for us tomorrow. So very much looking forward to that for now. That's all we got. Appreciate you guys. Listen, we'll talk to you very soon. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating. We'll see you next time.

1:01:47After all, you listen to this show. See terms at discover.com slash credit card.