# The Insiders Podcast: Browns Name Deshaun Watson Starting QB & Broncos Evan Engram and Talanoa Hufanga Join the Insiders

An episode of [NFL: The Insiders](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1543090622), 13 Aug 2026, 43 min.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/0414225e-5167-477f-9f83-ae390070e4d2/51865b93-7749-48b5-b888-b4a50005848d/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=3e412703-0644-468e-9001-ae390070e4db

Patrick Claybon and Steven Wyche are joined by NFL Insiders Judy Battista to share updates from around the league, including Deshaun Watson being name the Browns starting quarterback for Saturday’s preseason opener. Then Ian Rapoport and Brian Baldinger share updates from Chiefs training camp and the status of quarterback Patrick Mahomes, Mike Garafolo and Maurice Jones-Drew preview Friday’s Buccaneers-Jets preseason game, and Sara Walsh and Steve Smith Sr. come live from Falcons training camp. Plus, Cam Wolfe delivers his defensive rookies to howl about, Broncos tight end Evan Engram and Talanoa Hufanga sit down with Marc Ross and Omar Ruiz, and Michael F. Florio shares his favorite fantasy tight ends. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:07] Speaker 1: N Siders, sim we got two teams the price of
[0:09] Speaker 1: one in Florhad Park is the Bucks and the Jets
[0:11] Speaker 1: back at it in their joint practice, the Broncos and
[0:14] Speaker 1: Falcons at their respective facilities ahead of their game coming
[0:16] Speaker 1: up on Friday, and we are there at the Chiefs
[0:19] Speaker 1: as they chase the Broncos along with everybody else in
[0:23] Speaker 1: the AFC West. It is time for this edition of
[0:25] Speaker 1: The Insiders. Everybody, welcome to the Insiders. Patrick Cleibon here
[0:29] Speaker 1: in Los Angeles, Steve Weich, Judy Batista has made it
[0:32] Speaker 1: back after her travels at camp in Foxborough yesterday. And folks,
[0:36] Speaker 1: we've got the winner of a marquee quarterback competition for now.
[0:40] Speaker 2: That is what's new today.
[0:41] Speaker 1: Coming into the nfl LA newsroom, Browns head coach Sam
[0:44] Speaker 1: Mincan announced that it will be to Shaun Watson starting
[0:46] Speaker 1: the preseason opener in Chicago, but then Shador Sanders will
[0:50] Speaker 1: start the second preseason game against the Buffalo Bills that
[0:53] Speaker 1: will be in Cleveland. They will both play a full half.
[0:57] Speaker 1: Our Camwolf was recently watching the Browns at their training
[1:01] Speaker 1: camp where he joins US now as well, and this
[1:06] Speaker 1: quarterback competition is something that we've been discussing all off season.
[1:09] Speaker 2: The head go said he wanted it done in the spring.
[1:12] Speaker 1: Judy, is this more shuffling of the quarterbacks back to back?
[1:16] Speaker 1: Is there anything significant we can take from Deshaun starting
[1:18] Speaker 1: the first game?
[1:21] Speaker 3: Well, this always seemed the logical place to start, because
[1:24] Speaker 3: all throughout the off season work, it seems that Deshaun
[1:28] Speaker 3: Watson has had an edge, not a big edge or
[1:30] Speaker 3: the competition would be over already, but at least an.
[1:33] Speaker 4: Edge over to Shadur Sanders.
[1:35] Speaker 3: Both quarterbacks are going to start a game, and they
[1:38] Speaker 3: also have a joint practice in there, so they're going
[1:41] Speaker 3: to use the coaching Steff. We'll use all that information
[1:44] Speaker 3: and then make a decision what going first gives Deshaun Watson.
[1:48] Speaker 3: The opportunity, obviously is to set the bar really high.
[1:52] Speaker 3: If he plays really well, if he has a clean performance,
[1:55] Speaker 3: if he looks in command, if he looks comfortable, if
[1:58] Speaker 3: he doesn't turn the ball over, he sets the bar
[2:00] Speaker 3: really high, and then shudor Sanders would presumably have to
[2:04] Speaker 3: meet that or top it. One thing that Deshaun Watson
[2:07] Speaker 3: said today that I thought was really interesting is his
[2:09] Speaker 3: game may not look the same as it did in Houston.
[2:11] Speaker 3: That was six years ago. He's thirty now, He's had
[2:15] Speaker 3: a bunch of injuries, So this may not look like
[2:17] Speaker 3: what we saw from Deshaun Watson in that great season
[2:20] Speaker 3: in twenty twenty. That is not what the Cleveland Browns need.
[2:23] Speaker 3: The Cleveland Browns need to know is Deshaun Watson what
[2:26] Speaker 3: he can give them right now? Is that enough to
[2:29] Speaker 3: help them win games this season?
[2:31] Speaker 5: Sounds like he's going from a dunker to the mid
[2:32] Speaker 5: range jump shooter like we saw mjdu throughout his career.
[2:36] Speaker 2: But look, Judy, I have gonna take a little bit
[2:38] Speaker 2: different tack on this.
[2:39] Speaker 5: The fact that Deshaun Watson is starting the season opener,
[2:42] Speaker 5: of the preseason opener A lot of times, you know
[2:46] Speaker 5: where that's not the most important game. The week two
[2:48] Speaker 5: preseason game is one of the teams give a little
[2:50] Speaker 5: bit more weight to and the fact that Shadure is
[2:53] Speaker 5: starting that game I think is a little bit more
[2:56] Speaker 5: intriguing because all the teams now have a game under
[2:59] Speaker 5: their belt, they know what it's like to play under
[3:01] Speaker 5: the lights.
[3:02] Speaker 2: They have a little bit of experience right there.
[3:04] Speaker 5: So I think Shador getting the crack at the second
[3:06] Speaker 5: game in Cleveland is a little I don't know if
[3:09] Speaker 5: it's a little bit of a tell, but the one
[3:11] Speaker 5: thing we can see out of both the strategy is
[3:13] Speaker 5: it's still a competition.
[3:14] Speaker 2: The decision hasn't been made yet.
[3:17] Speaker 5: One thing I will say about this, and Judy you
[3:18] Speaker 5: know this, and Cam you know this all our years
[3:20] Speaker 5: covering this league. When you get a quarterback like Deshaun
[3:23] Speaker 5: Watson who's starting this first preseason game, and he gets
[3:26] Speaker 5: the twos next week, and coaches want to see do
[3:29] Speaker 5: they elevate the second team players?
[3:32] Speaker 2: That's part of this as well.
[3:33] Speaker 5: Does chadur do that in the first week and does
[3:35] Speaker 5: Deshaan do that in the second week?
[3:37] Speaker 2: Cam?
[3:37] Speaker 5: Do they elevate both the first and second teamers? And
[3:41] Speaker 5: a lot of times they want to see if to
[3:42] Speaker 5: elevate the second.
[3:43] Speaker 6: Teamers, Steve elevated is a great word, because that's what
[3:48] Speaker 6: Todd Munkin told me. He wants to see from the
[3:50] Speaker 6: quarterback make it clear for him. He doesn't want to
[3:52] Speaker 6: have to choose. He wants the players to leave it
[3:54] Speaker 6: out there on the field for him. And I talked
[3:56] Speaker 6: to their general manager Andrew Berry last week. He told
[3:59] Speaker 6: me this decision is going to be decided on two factors,
[4:02] Speaker 6: playmaking and the operation inside the huddle. When you look
[4:05] Speaker 6: at these two quarterbacks, Deshaun Watson is the veteran. He's
[4:08] Speaker 6: more experienced in the operation. What I mean by that
[4:11] Speaker 6: the guy who can get out of the huddle, quicker
[4:13] Speaker 6: who can get to play as quicker who callses Todd
[4:15] Speaker 6: Munkin less anxiety. Where Shador has the stronger arm. At
[4:18] Speaker 6: this point, he's been the quarterback that's taking care of
[4:21] Speaker 6: the ball more in camp, and so Todd Munkin wants
[4:24] Speaker 6: one of these guys to be a little bit more consistent.
[4:26] Speaker 6: I think that's what we're gonna watch here in the
[4:27] Speaker 6: preseason game. This will be Watson's first preseason game since
[4:30] Speaker 6: twenty twenty four when he tore that achilles. Can he
[4:33] Speaker 6: respond when the bullets are flying? That's been a concern
[4:36] Speaker 6: from people I talk to in camp. Can he when
[4:39] Speaker 6: the pressure's on? Can he still have that instincts? And
[4:41] Speaker 6: for Shador, can he move fast enough pre snap and
[4:45] Speaker 6: post snap?
[4:46] Speaker 4: He has been better, but there's still room for improvement.
[4:48] Speaker 6: Those two categories are going to decide who's the Browns quarterback,
[4:51] Speaker 6: and it could be another ten days before we find
[4:53] Speaker 6: out who that choice.
[4:54] Speaker 2: Is from Todd Munkey and Patrick.
[4:56] Speaker 5: Let's not forget they've got a bunch of new offensive
[4:57] Speaker 5: linemen and wide receivers there too. Can the cup is
[5:00] Speaker 5: it quarterback? Get all of that stuff functioning at once.
[5:02] Speaker 5: I think that's also going to factor into some of
[5:04] Speaker 5: the things that Cam just said.
[5:05] Speaker 1: So we're all, along with Todd Munger, gonna be able
[5:07] Speaker 1: to watch it coming up Saturday, one o'clock Eastern right
[5:10] Speaker 1: here on NFL Network Camp. Stick around, we'll be back
[5:12] Speaker 1: with you as we continue on.
[5:14] Speaker 2: This edition of The Insiders.
[5:15] Speaker 1: Let's get to the team that made the move with
[5:17] Speaker 1: the Browns this offseason, the Los Angeles Rams.
[5:20] Speaker 2: This week they had the Dallas Cowboys come in.
[5:22] Speaker 1: We go from the Browns to two of the top
[5:25] Speaker 1: offenses in the NFL. Not all that talent on the
[5:28] Speaker 1: field at the same time, But when it was Steve,
[5:30] Speaker 1: what was it like to see? Well, I mean, look,
[5:32] Speaker 1: it's real cool.
[5:33] Speaker 5: They're on two different fields, so we're playing tennis back
[5:35] Speaker 5: and forth visually, but I was really watching to see
[5:38] Speaker 5: how the Rams defensive backs faced up against CD Lamb
[5:41] Speaker 5: and George Pickens, and it was a really good competition.
[5:43] Speaker 5: Both ways Pickens and cd would make their plays, the
[5:46] Speaker 5: Rams dB should make their plays. But one thing that
[5:48] Speaker 5: is apparently clear bigger picture wise is the Rams secondary
[5:51] Speaker 5: is going to be better. The fact now that they've
[5:53] Speaker 5: got Trent mcdoveie and Jalen Watson on the corners is
[5:57] Speaker 5: going to help. But I wasn't looking at those two individuals,
[6:00] Speaker 5: but how the secondary work as a whole. Because Quintin
[6:03] Speaker 5: Lake is a unicorn of a safety, plays more in
[6:05] Speaker 5: than Nickel. He can do a lot of different things.
[6:08] Speaker 5: But then Cam Kitsch is a cam curl. This is
[6:10] Speaker 5: an underrated tandem. And the way they handle themselves in
[6:13] Speaker 5: that practice, and the way that they played last year
[6:16] Speaker 5: getting to the ball and making plays and run support,
[6:19] Speaker 5: and the fact that they can move these players around,
[6:22] Speaker 5: especially McDuffie and Lake. There's going to be a lot
[6:25] Speaker 5: of things you're going to see in the secondary that's
[6:27] Speaker 5: going to look a lot better, especially Judy with Miles
[6:30] Speaker 5: Garrett and potentially Aaron.
[6:33] Speaker 2: Donald putting pressure on the quarterback.
[6:37] Speaker 3: You know, I am actually looking forward to watching the
[6:39] Speaker 3: Rams in a preseason game. Sean McVay does not generally
[6:42] Speaker 3: play his starters anyway, but the only thing that can
[6:46] Speaker 3: do rail the Rams from making the playoffs and maybe
[6:49] Speaker 3: making a very deep playoff front is significant injury, So
[6:53] Speaker 3: depth is going to be very very important to them.
[6:56] Speaker 3: We know their front line is Star Layton. They have
[6:59] Speaker 3: some of the best players at every position all over
[7:03] Speaker 3: the field. But if any of those guys go down,
[7:06] Speaker 3: or if more than one of those guys go down,
[7:08] Speaker 3: do they have enough depth to keep going at a
[7:11] Speaker 3: high level and to make that deep push into the playoffs.
[7:13] Speaker 3: So these preseason games are going to be really illuminating.
[7:16] Speaker 3: Of course, we're all going to be paying attention to
[7:18] Speaker 3: the Stars once the regular season starts, but you know
[7:21] Speaker 3: they are injuries. You know that surviving injuries is a
[7:25] Speaker 3: big part of success in the NFL. Do the Rams
[7:28] Speaker 3: have the depth to do that well.
[7:30] Speaker 1: The other side of the preseason opener is the Kansas
[7:32] Speaker 1: City Chiefs, who are doing their own sort of management
[7:34] Speaker 1: with regards to one particular injury, the biggest injury in
[7:38] Speaker 1: the NFL last season. That's one to Patrick Mahomes. Andy
[7:41] Speaker 1: Reid saying it's unlikely that we're going to see Patrick Mahomes.
[7:44] Speaker 1: That streak of him playing a couple of preseason games
[7:47] Speaker 1: every season is probably coming to a close. He was
[7:49] Speaker 1: at practice though practice seen by Ian Rappaport and Brian Balding.
[7:55] Speaker 7: Patrick, we are finishing up a day here watching Chiefs
[7:57] Speaker 7: practice at Missouri Western. It is an old school feel,
[8:00] Speaker 7: is a grinding type of training him. They are here working,
[8:04] Speaker 7: They got a preseason game. Actually going to come back
[8:06] Speaker 7: and do more work here away from Kansas City, something
[8:09] Speaker 7: teams rarely rarely do, and there's a lot to like
[8:12] Speaker 7: with this team. Was really a highly highly efficient practice.
[8:15] Speaker 7: Nothing will be more indelible here than my impressions of
[8:19] Speaker 7: Patrick Mahomes. We know he's coming back from a tour
[8:21] Speaker 7: in acl toornelcl I didn't know what kind of version
[8:24] Speaker 7: of him we would see. Could not be more impressed.
[8:27] Speaker 7: He took all of the one reps. And the more
[8:29] Speaker 7: you talk to Chiefs people, they all say.
[8:31] Speaker 2: The same thing.
[8:32] Speaker 7: We are amazed at where Patrick Mahomes is in his recovery.
[8:36] Speaker 8: Well, there was no ramp up period, you know, I
[8:38] Speaker 8: mean he's out there. He's out there taking every snap,
[8:40] Speaker 8: the majority of the snaps. The number one offense got
[8:42] Speaker 8: a lot of work today in every period. You know,
[8:45] Speaker 8: there's a lot of one on one periods for the
[8:46] Speaker 8: receivers against defenders who were seven on seven. There was
[8:49] Speaker 8: team drills inside runs. It was like you couldn't take
[8:53] Speaker 8: your eyes off them. If you did take your eyes
[8:55] Speaker 8: off them.
[8:55] Speaker 2: You could hear him from everywhere. Yes, just the overall.
[8:57] Speaker 8: Command that he has on the field is impressive. But
[9:02] Speaker 8: then if you didn't know that he had reconstruction of
[9:04] Speaker 8: his knee, you wouldn't know which nia was. You can't
[9:07] Speaker 8: tell right now. And so you talk to the trainer,
[9:10] Speaker 8: Rick Burke. Culture you talked to Andy Reid. He attacked
[9:14] Speaker 8: this recovery in this rehab like nobody else, seven hours
[9:18] Speaker 8: a day, and it looks like it has really paid off.
[9:20] Speaker 2: It certainly has.
[9:21] Speaker 7: In this Kansas City Chiefs team has a lot of young,
[9:23] Speaker 7: promising players on defense. Might take a minute or so
[9:26] Speaker 7: for Steve Spagnola to get them up to speed. This
[9:29] Speaker 7: offense really good receiving corps Ken Walker running back in
[9:34] Speaker 7: a revamped Stellar, Stellar offensive line might have to carry
[9:37] Speaker 7: it a little bit for the Kennas City Chiefs.
[9:39] Speaker 2: Patrick and the.
[9:40] Speaker 7: Fact that Patrick Mahomes is back being Patrick Mahomes certainly will.
[9:44] Speaker 1: Help helps them, helps everybody. Great news for the entire NFL.
[9:48] Speaker 1: The Jets and the Bucks joint practices continue to floor
[9:50] Speaker 1: in park today one place we could chart exponential improvement
[9:53] Speaker 1: for the Jets. They got a couple interceptions today after
[9:55] Speaker 1: finishing the year without a single one a year ago.
[9:58] Speaker 1: A note for the Bucks, though, standout second year receiver
[10:01] Speaker 1: of Mecca Buca left practice today or Mike Girrilfollo says
[10:05] Speaker 1: it was a toe issue that's considered minor. Mike's giving
[10:08] Speaker 1: a thumbs up for a Mecca Buca's toe. As for
[10:12] Speaker 1: the rest of practice, Let's get out to Mike Girrolfollo
[10:15] Speaker 1: and Maurice Jones.
[10:16] Speaker 9: True, thank you, Patrick Day two Buccaneers Jets joint practice.
[10:21] Speaker 9: Got to get that good work against another color, right
[10:24] Speaker 9: like you will be going up against your own guys.
[10:26] Speaker 10: It's good to get that out here for the Bucks.
[10:28] Speaker 10: In the Jets. Baker Mayfield two minute drill.
[10:30] Speaker 9: After David Bailey from the Jets get too close to him,
[10:33] Speaker 9: he starts joing with him.
[10:34] Speaker 10: Just carved up that Jets defense.
[10:36] Speaker 11: I mean, Bakery right now is on a mission, you
[10:38] Speaker 11: could say. And he's a guy that looks good. The
[10:40] Speaker 11: offense looks very good. They were going up and down
[10:42] Speaker 11: the field against the Jets. Jets deepensive line, though, caused
[10:45] Speaker 11: a little bit of havoc in some of the drills,
[10:47] Speaker 11: but Baker was able to respond on that too many
[10:49] Speaker 11: drill at the end of practice, like you spoke about,
[10:51] Speaker 11: I love that they brought the whole team together, both teams.
[10:53] Speaker 11: You're on this side, you're on this side, the games
[10:56] Speaker 11: on the line. How can you go down and make
[10:57] Speaker 11: a play? Jets dbs weren't in the best positions in
[11:01] Speaker 11: that in that period.
[11:02] Speaker 10: It was chippy, but it always is chippy.
[11:04] Speaker 9: Tim Patrick, the veteran wide receiver for the Jets, got
[11:06] Speaker 9: in there with some bigger guys. He went right in there. Yeah,
[11:08] Speaker 9: to defend his own guys. There you're talking about Baker.
[11:12] Speaker 9: Nothing new on the contract front. That's going to be
[11:13] Speaker 9: the story of the season. I believe that's what we're
[11:16] Speaker 9: expecting here.
[11:17] Speaker 12: Uh.
[11:17] Speaker 10: He can internalize a lot of things and use it
[11:19] Speaker 10: as motive.
[11:19] Speaker 9: I mean, he may have looked at you and said,
[11:20] Speaker 9: I don't like the way mvd's looking at me.
[11:22] Speaker 2: I hate to say that. Would I would have came
[11:24] Speaker 2: out there and got him. But let me tell you something.
[11:25] Speaker 11: Yeah, when we were leaving practice, I got a chance
[11:27] Speaker 11: to talk to Vitavea for again, massive of a man.
[11:31] Speaker 11: We spoke a little bit about kind of where he's living.
[11:33] Speaker 11: He's saying he's staying in the Tampa area. He doesn't
[11:35] Speaker 11: want to go home because he make it a little
[11:36] Speaker 11: bit bigger. I was like, how how does that happen?
[11:38] Speaker 11: But he is excited. He's hoping the talks continue there
[11:42] Speaker 11: on his contract. He's still coaching his guys, but we
[11:44] Speaker 11: saw the defensive line look really good with Rubin Bain
[11:46] Speaker 11: and he's excited. Hopeully you get a chance to get
[11:48] Speaker 11: out there and play with them.
[11:49] Speaker 9: Rubyen Bain fantastic, going to be sensational as a rookie.
[11:51] Speaker 9: You can already see that Vida Vea. They have communicated,
[11:54] Speaker 9: just not imminent when it comes to the contract extension.
[11:57] Speaker 9: Hopefully hoping both sides are that something gets done before
[11:59] Speaker 9: Week one. On real quick, Gino Smith, your assessment of
[12:01] Speaker 9: him in camp a.
[12:02] Speaker 2: Lot better than what they had last year. I think
[12:04] Speaker 2: Gino made some terrific throws.
[12:05] Speaker 11: He's not as consistent as I thought he would be,
[12:07] Speaker 11: but again, that's your learner, new offense, run, new office,
[12:10] Speaker 11: new wide receivers.
[12:10] Speaker 2: That's gonna come with it.
[12:11] Speaker 4: Yep.
[12:11] Speaker 11: But I will tell you what that throw to Garrett
[12:14] Speaker 11: Wilson with guys in his face fifteen to twenty yardshen
[12:17] Speaker 11: he get out of his break.
[12:18] Speaker 2: That's right the throw the day.
[12:19] Speaker 9: Gino Smith not afraid to put that football in tight space,
[12:21] Speaker 9: as we're expecting that plenty this year.
[12:23] Speaker 1: Patrick the much anticipated Super Bowl thirty three rematch. The
[12:28] Speaker 1: Broncos and Falcons start their preseason on Friday. Big part
[12:31] Speaker 1: of the Broncos preseason schedule. We see her released by
[12:35] Speaker 1: the team on social media website Twitter dot com. Yes,
[12:37] Speaker 1: we still call it that we will not see Bo
[12:40] Speaker 1: Nicks in that game. Sean Payton making that announcement, the
[12:44] Speaker 1: Broncos not starting him.
[12:47] Speaker 2: But we've got a lot of fans at the tennis
[12:50] Speaker 2: this week. Not there today.
[12:52] Speaker 1: At the Broncos facility, but Omar Ruiz and Mark Ross
[12:55] Speaker 1: were they report from Englewood.
[12:58] Speaker 13: Thank you very much, Goes wrapping up another physical long
[13:02] Speaker 13: practice as they get ready for the Atlanta Falcons on
[13:05] Speaker 13: Friday night and preseason game number one.
[13:07] Speaker 4: They will have a.
[13:08] Speaker 13: Walkthrough on Thursday before departing for Atlanta, and after practice,
[13:12] Speaker 13: Sean Payton telling the media that bow Knicks will not
[13:15] Speaker 13: play on Friday in Atlanta. He is expected to play
[13:18] Speaker 13: in weeks two and three of the preseason. The rest
[13:21] Speaker 13: of the starters will play about fifteen plays on Friday.
[13:24] Speaker 2: But bo Nicks obviously.
[13:26] Speaker 13: Coming back from that ankle surgery that kept him out
[13:29] Speaker 13: of the AFC Championship game, but still mark as we
[13:32] Speaker 13: look toward the twenty twenty sixth season, there aren't any
[13:35] Speaker 13: concerns around here for what.
[13:36] Speaker 4: His mobility and his health will be going into the year.
[13:39] Speaker 14: No, it looks perfectly healthy. Was here last week? No
[13:42] Speaker 14: one even mentioned it, mentioned it, So they've moved past that.
[13:45] Speaker 14: They're really just looking forward to. Okay, how do we
[13:47] Speaker 14: get better this year? You know, a player two away
[13:49] Speaker 14: from being in the Super Bowl holding the Patriots to
[13:52] Speaker 14: ten points. The offense, of course, without bo Nicks, struggled,
[13:55] Speaker 14: but looking forward to this season, Omar, the defense is
[13:58] Speaker 14: going to be thereations to be top one or two
[14:01] Speaker 14: once again, but the offense still a lot of room
[14:04] Speaker 14: for growth for the offense With this Denver Broncos team,
[14:07] Speaker 14: bo Nick's getting improvement in year three. Davis Webb the
[14:10] Speaker 14: new offensive coordinator, hoping to give a new look for defenses,
[14:14] Speaker 14: and then Jayla Wattall of course to bring that infusion
[14:16] Speaker 14: of explosiveness to the offense that hopefully we'll get faster
[14:20] Speaker 14: starts and not have to go win games at the end.
[14:23] Speaker 13: I ask Sean Payton what he wants to see on
[14:25] Speaker 13: Friday night from his team, and he said, a clean operation.
[14:29] Speaker 13: If they can just operate cleanly, get in and out
[14:31] Speaker 13: of the huddle, they'll be able to better evaluate this roster,
[14:35] Speaker 13: which for the most part has varied to few holes,
[14:38] Speaker 13: tons of talent, tons of talent all over the field.
[14:41] Speaker 13: Expectations as high as any in the NFL. After winning
[14:44] Speaker 13: the AFC West last year and reaching the AFC Title Game.
[14:48] Speaker 13: There's only one spot left to elevate too, and that
[14:51] Speaker 13: would be Super Bowl sixty one in Los Angeles in February.
[14:54] Speaker 4: Let's send it back to you guys.
[14:55] Speaker 2: Now, thank you Omar.
[14:57] Speaker 1: Let's get to the Atlanta Falcons, the Broncos opponent on Friday.
[15:00] Speaker 1: The Falcons quarterback competition never really got going, Michael Pennix
[15:03] Speaker 1: Junior taking the more deliberate route as he recovers from
[15:06] Speaker 1: another reconstruction on his knee. So it's talking about a
[15:09] Speaker 1: looa announced as the starter against the Broncos. Steve Smith,
[15:12] Speaker 1: Steve Smith Singer and Sarah Walsh from Flowery Brand.
[15:17] Speaker 15: Right after Kevin Stefanski said that TUA was going to
[15:19] Speaker 15: start on Friday night, of course, Steve, there were a
[15:21] Speaker 15: ton of follow up questions and trying to read between
[15:24] Speaker 15: the lines. Is he your starter for week one? And
[15:26] Speaker 15: Stefanski would not commit to that. That is not the
[15:28] Speaker 15: decision that they are making yet here in Atlanta.
[15:30] Speaker 5: Why he has to do it?
[15:32] Speaker 16: Coach talked about he tried to do it his calendar,
[15:34] Speaker 16: trying to figure out and there's so many moving parts.
[15:38] Speaker 2: He's done this before. He understands this is not his
[15:40] Speaker 2: first rodeo.
[15:42] Speaker 16: So he has a method to the madness that, let's
[15:44] Speaker 16: be honest, he doesn't have to answer to anyone outside
[15:47] Speaker 16: of the building. They have a process and a procedure
[15:50] Speaker 16: that they're going through inside the building and he's sticking
[15:53] Speaker 16: to it. He does a really Kevinkus Stefanski, the head coach,
[15:56] Speaker 16: does a really good job of keeping a lot of
[15:58] Speaker 16: things close to the vest. He's willing to deal with
[16:01] Speaker 16: the scrutiny just so he doesn't mess up his process
[16:05] Speaker 16: and how they're going about things and not going going
[16:08] Speaker 16: against his word.
[16:10] Speaker 15: There are a lot of people that look at this
[16:11] Speaker 15: scene and say, okay, well if you have two quarterbacksers
[16:13] Speaker 15: that thinking if you have two, that you don't have one,
[16:15] Speaker 15: and that's such a question mark hanging.
[16:17] Speaker 2: Over the scene.
[16:17] Speaker 15: But if you look at the pieces whoever's starting at
[16:20] Speaker 15: quarterback for the team, if you look at the pieces
[16:21] Speaker 15: that that quarterback will have around them, you view this
[16:24] Speaker 15: Falcon team as on the upswing. Tell us what you
[16:27] Speaker 15: saw to practice that makes you believe that this Falcons
[16:30] Speaker 15: organization could be turning things around.
[16:32] Speaker 16: Well, this Falcons organization can turn things around. First of all,
[16:34] Speaker 16: they start off with the defense. No matter who's playing quarterback,
[16:37] Speaker 16: They've put enough pieces around them that you can build.
[16:40] Speaker 16: You got to tight in, you got multiple receivers, you
[16:43] Speaker 16: got Bijon arguably one of the best running backs in
[16:46] Speaker 16: the National Football League. So you just have amount of
[16:49] Speaker 16: playmakers and that's what you need. You have to playmakers.
[16:52] Speaker 16: Now you take a lot of the onus off your
[16:54] Speaker 16: quarterback where he doesn't have to play hero ball.
[16:57] Speaker 2: All he has to do is be precise nowhere he's.
[17:00] Speaker 16: Going with the football, and everything else takes care of
[17:02] Speaker 16: himself because he's.
[17:03] Speaker 2: Putting a ball into his playmaker's hands.
[17:05] Speaker 15: And we talked to Bijon earlier today and we made
[17:08] Speaker 15: the joke about hey went in doubt. Michael Pennack said,
[17:10] Speaker 15: this went in doubt. You can just be sit yep.
[17:12] Speaker 15: Easiest solutions about who I mean, I could just be
[17:15] Speaker 15: it For that matter, if you consider how good John
[17:17] Speaker 15: Robinson is.
[17:19] Speaker 2: Patrick back to you, Thank you to Sarah and Steve Folks.
[17:22] Speaker 1: Being a rookie is, of course not easy. Success takes time,
[17:25] Speaker 1: more time for some than others. Who is Cam Wolf
[17:28] Speaker 1: howling about? That's coming up next on the inside. We
[17:39] Speaker 1: are back on the insiders, as is the Wolf of
[17:42] Speaker 1: Ball Street. That would be Cam Wolf, who's been touring
[17:44] Speaker 1: camps all over the country this camp season.
[17:46] Speaker 2: Hearing to give us some rookies to howl about.
[17:49] Speaker 4: Who we got Cam? Yeah, let's start with cass As.
[17:53] Speaker 4: How with the Bengals.
[17:54] Speaker 6: I just went to Cincinnati last week and I had
[17:57] Speaker 6: one Bengals scout tell me, look, this is the guy
[18:00] Speaker 6: to watch. They said, we all knew about his speed,
[18:02] Speaker 6: but his power is what's been eye opening in camp.
[18:05] Speaker 6: And one Bengal source told me he's beaten every offensive
[18:08] Speaker 6: line we have the step a Marius Memes with power,
[18:11] Speaker 6: speed has been this calling card. Their other tackle, Orlando Brown,
[18:15] Speaker 6: also raved about how unique and natural how it is
[18:18] Speaker 6: a pass rusher. He said he's got a diverse bag
[18:21] Speaker 6: of pass ruf moves but makes them all look the same.
[18:24] Speaker 6: He's in line to be their third edge rusher behind
[18:27] Speaker 6: Miles Murphy and on the other side, so they've got
[18:30] Speaker 6: more pass rush talents.
[18:32] Speaker 4: Than they've had in recent years.
[18:34] Speaker 6: Now, let's go to Miami, where they have a linebacker
[18:36] Speaker 6: and Jacob Rodriguez who stays around the football. I've watched
[18:40] Speaker 6: him a bunch of camp and he's had pass breakups,
[18:43] Speaker 6: forced fumbles, interceptions. This is a guy who just finds
[18:46] Speaker 6: the ball. And when I got a chance to talk
[18:48] Speaker 6: to him earlier in camp, he raved about his relationship
[18:51] Speaker 6: with their other linebacker, Jordan Brooks. They're both Texas tech folk,
[18:54] Speaker 6: and they've spent a lot of time together and it's
[18:56] Speaker 6: easy to envision them being the linebacker corps of the.
[18:59] Speaker 4: Future for the next five years.
[19:00] Speaker 6: He's technically in a competition battle for that starting linebacker spot,
[19:04] Speaker 6: but expect Jacob Rodriguez to be on the field a
[19:06] Speaker 6: bunch for Miami. And finally, let's go to Carolina, where
[19:10] Speaker 6: I'm going to talk about their fourth round corner Will Lee.
[19:13] Speaker 2: He got a.
[19:14] Speaker 6: Nice pass breakup in the Hall of Fame game, and
[19:16] Speaker 6: I can't wait to watch him in Buffalo this week.
[19:19] Speaker 6: That's where I'll be. He's the guy that has really
[19:21] Speaker 6: flashed as a key role here. And listen to this
[19:24] Speaker 6: j C. Horn. Their Pro Bowl cornerback is going to
[19:26] Speaker 6: play more slots this year in a Giro Everro's scheme.
[19:29] Speaker 6: Think about the Jalen Ramsey role that Averro had in LA.
[19:32] Speaker 6: So what does that mean? Maybe more opportunities on the outside.
[19:35] Speaker 6: Can Lee prove that he can bounce back from people
[19:38] Speaker 6: catching passes on him. That's something the Panthers front office
[19:41] Speaker 6: really wants to see. If so, he could earn a
[19:43] Speaker 6: key role as a third cornerback for Carolina.
[19:46] Speaker 1: And there's no real analysis here, but the blanket as
[19:48] Speaker 1: a nickname for Will Lee is objectively cool. I think
[19:51] Speaker 1: that projects it's a great success in his rookie year.
[19:54] Speaker 1: The wowlful Ball, Street Campbell get your preseason football fixed
[19:58] Speaker 1: right here on NFL Network. Packers Steelers Thursday at seven o'clock,
[20:02] Speaker 1: Eastern Cardinals Raiders on ESPN Thursday at eight, and the
[20:05] Speaker 1: Buccaneers at the Jets Friday at seven o'clock Eastern on
[20:09] Speaker 1: NFL Network. We did have a couple of joint practices
[20:13] Speaker 1: this week, one of them being the Colts and the
[20:17] Speaker 1: New England Patriots. That's where Judy Batista was yesterday. Judy,
[20:20] Speaker 1: your thoughts on what we saw between the Colts and
[20:23] Speaker 1: the Patriots.
[20:25] Speaker 3: First of all, I thought both teams looked really good.
[20:27] Speaker 3: They were really evenly matched. It turned out when they
[20:30] Speaker 3: did the two minute work at the end of practice
[20:32] Speaker 3: that the Colts starters on offense and defense won their portions.
[20:36] Speaker 3: But I thought both offenses in particular looked really crisp.
[20:40] Speaker 3: Drake may was looking This was like the first play
[20:44] Speaker 3: he threw a pass to AJ Brown. You give the
[20:46] Speaker 3: people what they want. The crowd went nuts. AJ Brown
[20:49] Speaker 3: versus Sauce Gardner. He was looking at AJ Brown a lot.
[20:53] Speaker 3: Mike Reese, our colleague, charted AJ Brown with five receptions.
[20:57] Speaker 3: My other takeaway is that Daniel Jones looks completely healthy.
[21:01] Speaker 3: If you did not know that he had an achilles
[21:03] Speaker 3: stare late last season, you would not know from watching him.
[21:06] Speaker 2: He was throwing the ball on the move.
[21:08] Speaker 3: He was moving around in the pocket really comfortably. Again,
[21:11] Speaker 3: I thought impressive showing for both teams. They play in
[21:14] Speaker 3: the preseason and look, both teams are certainly expected to
[21:17] Speaker 3: be in the mix in the playoffs in the AFC
[21:19] Speaker 3: this season.
[21:20] Speaker 5: Dude, that's great, a great report on Daniel Jones hee
[21:22] Speaker 5: that he's healthy.
[21:23] Speaker 2: And when they do.
[21:24] Speaker 5: Play in the preseason game, I think the eyes should
[21:27] Speaker 5: be on Anthony Richardson the quarterback. You know he's going
[21:29] Speaker 5: to be vine with Riley Leonard for that backup job.
[21:32] Speaker 5: But if Anthony Richardson, who's going to start this game,
[21:34] Speaker 5: can just show that he is capable of playing the position,
[21:38] Speaker 5: that could help him either establish himself as a number
[21:40] Speaker 5: two or make him an eventual trade prospect. Remember that
[21:44] Speaker 5: he did request a trade because he's not going to
[21:46] Speaker 5: be the start in Indianapolis anymore. Maybe a change of
[21:48] Speaker 5: scenery could be good for him. But look, he has
[21:51] Speaker 5: been through so much with this team. If he could
[21:53] Speaker 5: again come out and show that he is a capable quarterback,
[21:57] Speaker 5: don't do anything extraordinary, He's played the position well. That
[22:00] Speaker 5: is something that could land him in some place, some
[22:03] Speaker 5: scenario where he could maybe launch his career.
[22:06] Speaker 2: Because Judy, you and I both know this.
[22:08] Speaker 5: We have yet to meet a coach who doesn't think
[22:10] Speaker 5: he can rescue somebody who's absolutely talented with potential.
[22:16] Speaker 2: Yeah, the physical stature alone versus the talent.
[22:20] Speaker 1: We have the onfield evidence of Anthony Richardson making plays.
[22:23] Speaker 1: These two teams, of course, the Patriots and the Colts
[22:26] Speaker 1: participating in the AFC.
[22:28] Speaker 2: The Patriots represented the AFC in the Super Bowl.
[22:31] Speaker 1: That's where we're used to seeing Patrick Mahomes and the
[22:34] Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs back at their work. We did not
[22:37] Speaker 1: have Patrick Mahomes playing in this upcoming preseason game, but
[22:41] Speaker 1: we do have Travis Kelcey back in a microphone. They're
[22:43] Speaker 1: in the eighth most populous city in Missouri, in Saint
[22:46] Speaker 1: Joseph's the man who was at the most discussed wedding
[22:50] Speaker 1: on Earth this summer focused on getting another ring other
[22:54] Speaker 1: than the other one that he just got.
[22:58] Speaker 17: It's the fun off season man. Wedding was the best
[23:00] Speaker 17: night of my life. And I appreciate everybody who came
[23:03] Speaker 17: out and celebrated and uh, you know, had fun with us.
[23:07] Speaker 17: And yes, Paul I really got from that night.
[23:10] Speaker 2: It's it was.
[23:11] Speaker 17: It was a crazy night. It was it was full
[23:13] Speaker 17: of a lot of celebration, but it's.
[23:15] Speaker 1: Football Baby got some quarterback battle news. This coming from
[23:19] Speaker 1: the Cleveland Browns to courted the NFL Network. It'sider Ian
[23:22] Speaker 1: Rappidport Todd Mankin naming Deshaun Watson as the starter against
[23:26] Speaker 1: the Bears. The second preseason game, we'll see Shador Sanders
[23:30] Speaker 1: play at home against the Buffalo Bills. We also found
[23:33] Speaker 1: out the ta Tonavioloa will start for the Falcons against
[23:36] Speaker 1: the Broncos in their preseason opener coming up on Friday.
[23:41] Speaker 1: The quarterback competition with Michael Pennox, you know, not necessarily
[23:44] Speaker 1: officially over Pinnix at the microphone, talking about his recovery
[23:48] Speaker 1: from surgery.
[23:51] Speaker 18: I have an amazing ACO. I went and saw the doctor,
[23:54] Speaker 18: you know, before camp starting. He's like, this is an
[23:56] Speaker 18: amazing aco. He's like, you should never have any more
[23:58] Speaker 18: knee problems for the rescio care Like that's word for
[24:01] Speaker 18: what he told me. So it's like, okay, I hear that.
[24:03] Speaker 18: But it's like all right now I gotta and I'm like,
[24:06] Speaker 18: all right, do I trust that? And you know, so
[24:08] Speaker 18: it's just move more. So it's like just having that
[24:12] Speaker 18: confidence in it, you know, and not worrying about it
[24:14] Speaker 18: because like injuries happen in football, but like at the
[24:18] Speaker 18: same time, you don't want to happen again. So it's like,
[24:20] Speaker 18: all right, I got to get out of my mind
[24:22] Speaker 18: what if it happened again, and just go out there
[24:25] Speaker 18: and just play.
[24:25] Speaker 1: You know, for a moment, the Bucks might have thought
[24:28] Speaker 1: there was an injury that happened to a Mecca Booget
[24:31] Speaker 1: left practice. Mike Girlfolo sight sees him come back without
[24:34] Speaker 1: his shoe on. The source tells Mike it is a
[24:37] Speaker 1: toe injury and as his teammate Bucky Irving told Mike
[24:41] Speaker 1: and mjd it just got rolled over wrong. As we
[24:43] Speaker 1: get to Ashburn, Virginia, a couple of DMV natives, Wallet
[24:47] Speaker 1: and Stefan Diggs there and Ashburn for the joint practice
[24:50] Speaker 1: between the Commanders and the Dolphins. A good bit of
[24:51] Speaker 1: teamwork today, including seven on seven and two minute drills
[24:57] Speaker 1: as so they had the time. Bel Equal and Jaydon
[25:01] Speaker 1: Daniels there and we look forward to another joint practice
[25:05] Speaker 1: coming up that's gonna be between the New Orleans Saints
[25:08] Speaker 1: and the Jacksonville Jaguars, as the Jags will make the
[25:10] Speaker 1: trip west down im or they'll probably fly as they
[25:14] Speaker 1: will meet up at the Saints facility in Metairie, Louisiana.
[25:19] Speaker 1: Should be a couple of fun reunions, should be a
[25:21] Speaker 1: lot to look forward to in that joint practice. As
[25:23] Speaker 1: we are joined now by Cam Wolf again and Cam,
[25:25] Speaker 1: what are you looking forward to as the Saints and
[25:27] Speaker 1: the Jags meet up for their joint practice.
[25:31] Speaker 6: Yeah, I'm pumped for this one, Patrick, because the Jags
[25:33] Speaker 6: are still a contender, and let's talk about them. I
[25:35] Speaker 6: can't wait to see their wide receiver group against kool
[25:38] Speaker 6: A mckinnistry and the rest of this Saints dB group.
[25:42] Speaker 6: The Jags have one of the deepest wide receiver rooms
[25:44] Speaker 6: in football. You've got Brian Thomas Junior, Parker Washington, Jacoby Myers,
[25:47] Speaker 6: Travis Hunter. And let's start with Brian Thomas Junior. Because
[25:50] Speaker 6: there's been a lot of talk this offseason about does
[25:52] Speaker 6: he have a home in Jacksonville.
[25:53] Speaker 4: It's been made clear to me that he does. They
[25:55] Speaker 4: value him a ton.
[25:56] Speaker 6: He's gonna play X receiver a bunch, and they learned
[25:59] Speaker 6: last year that his strength is not necessarily going over
[26:02] Speaker 6: the middle of the field taking physicality. They want him
[26:05] Speaker 6: to go deep. Think about all the La Rams roots
[26:07] Speaker 6: in this offense in the Jags team think Brandon Cooks,
[26:10] Speaker 6: think Sammy Watkins. That's where they think Brian Thomas could thrive.
[26:14] Speaker 6: I've been told this night and day how he's looked
[26:16] Speaker 6: in training camp this year compared to last year, and
[26:19] Speaker 6: they can't wait to see him get against some physical
[26:21] Speaker 6: dbs to see how he responds. Parker Washington also having
[26:24] Speaker 6: one of the best camps of any receiver. I've heard
[26:27] Speaker 6: throughout all of training camp. He's been catching everything, He's
[26:30] Speaker 6: been making plays. He's going to be hard to keep
[26:32] Speaker 6: off the field. And for Travis Hunter, we get to
[26:34] Speaker 6: see him go both ways against the Saints. Think about
[26:37] Speaker 6: Travis Hunter covering Chris o'lave and Jordan Tyson, who have
[26:40] Speaker 6: been having nice camps. Travis is going to have incredible
[26:43] Speaker 6: usage on both sides of the ball. Remember, defense will
[26:46] Speaker 6: probably be a little heavier than offense, but Travis has
[26:48] Speaker 6: been building up and that usage will change every week
[26:51] Speaker 6: and then on the Saint side, I can't wait to
[26:53] Speaker 6: see Travis A. Chan Yes that's formerly etn now Chan
[26:57] Speaker 6: playing his former team, the Jags. And I talked to
[27:00] Speaker 6: him last weekend when I was in in Louisiana, and
[27:03] Speaker 6: he said, look, I want to show them what they've
[27:05] Speaker 6: been missing. Remember, he left Jacksonville to go to New
[27:08] Speaker 6: Orleans and free agency. From my understanding, Jacksonville didn't make
[27:11] Speaker 6: a strong push to resign him, and so he wants
[27:13] Speaker 6: to show he can still be that playmaking running back
[27:16] Speaker 6: that they're missing in Jacksonville. I think there could be
[27:18] Speaker 6: some extra juice down there in Louisiana for sure.
[27:21] Speaker 4: Two teams that are trending forward. What do they look
[27:24] Speaker 4: like in joints is going to be a fun topic
[27:26] Speaker 4: for me to watch.
[27:26] Speaker 1: Yeah, both fan bases was relatively high expectations, especially those
[27:30] Speaker 1: Jags considering the way things ended almost knocking off the
[27:33] Speaker 1: Bills in the playoffs. Campbell looking at the joint practice
[27:37] Speaker 1: coming up between the Saints and the Jacksonville Jaguars.
[27:41] Speaker 2: Preseason Week one schedule.
[27:42] Speaker 1: If you look there to Friday, that first game at
[27:45] Speaker 1: seven o'clock Eastern, the Denver Broncos taking on the Atlanta Falcons.
[27:50] Speaker 2: Got a little info regarding that game.
[27:52] Speaker 1: We will not see bow Knicks this week in that
[27:56] Speaker 1: preseason game and not playing against the Falcons for a
[28:00] Speaker 1: year in Denver. Evan Ingram did partake in a discussion
[28:04] Speaker 1: with Omar Ruiz.
[28:05] Speaker 2: And Mark ross.
[28:09] Speaker 13: Broom joining us now one of the last draft picks
[28:12] Speaker 13: from Mary seventeen.
[28:16] Speaker 2: Keep my legacy alive a little bit here. Thanks, Yeah,
[28:20] Speaker 2: glad to see you.
[28:21] Speaker 10: Obviously, you guys had so much success last year.
[28:24] Speaker 13: You get to the AFC Championship game.
[28:25] Speaker 4: What's a lesson you.
[28:27] Speaker 13: Guys learned from last year that can help take you
[28:29] Speaker 13: over the top here into this season?
[28:31] Speaker 2: Yeah.
[28:31] Speaker 12: I think obviously we're one game away from from the
[28:33] Speaker 12: big Dance.
[28:35] Speaker 4: I think that just that that.
[28:37] Speaker 12: Itself has created a chip on our shoulder, and I
[28:40] Speaker 12: think it's honestly, it's been regular scheduled programming as far
[28:43] Speaker 12: as the standard here and what we expect of ourselves
[28:46] Speaker 12: and the way we work and the way we commit
[28:47] Speaker 12: to the process every single day. So yeah, we had
[28:51] Speaker 12: a lot of close, grimy games last year, and I
[28:53] Speaker 12: think this year, you know what, that experience is going
[28:56] Speaker 12: to help us.
[28:56] Speaker 1: Out a lot.
[28:57] Speaker 14: So Omar mentioned you were twenty seventeen first round pick,
[29:00] Speaker 14: my last with the Giants, but the third round pick,
[29:02] Speaker 14: for people that know don't know, was Davis Webb, who.
[29:06] Speaker 2: Is now your offensive coordinator calling plays. How surreal is
[29:09] Speaker 2: that for you? Ten years ago you catching.
[29:11] Speaker 14: Passes in rookie minutie camp and now the guy's calling
[29:13] Speaker 14: plays for you.
[29:14] Speaker 12: Yeah, it's super cool. And me and Davis became brothers
[29:17] Speaker 12: as soon as we walk in the building.
[29:18] Speaker 2: We lived a.
[29:19] Speaker 12: Block from each other and we hawking, so we became
[29:24] Speaker 12: really close really fast. But I mean from honestly from
[29:27] Speaker 12: day one, just seeing the way he worked and seeing
[29:30] Speaker 12: just the process he had with Eli and game planning
[29:32] Speaker 12: every week, I'm like, man, like, I know you can
[29:34] Speaker 12: throw the pill, but coach your future one day too,
[29:38] Speaker 12: So it's no surprise. I just I just know how
[29:41] Speaker 12: much he loves the game and how much he loves
[29:44] Speaker 12: to improve and his process though. I mean literally I
[29:47] Speaker 12: wish you guys can see how he looks in his office,
[29:49] Speaker 12: just grinding away, looking at look looking at tape, trying to,
[29:53] Speaker 12: you know, put things together for all offense.
[29:56] Speaker 4: The future is very bright for.
[29:57] Speaker 12: Him, and it's super cool when he when.
[29:59] Speaker 4: He the dolls of the play for me to get
[30:01] Speaker 4: the ball.
[30:01] Speaker 14: To what would have been the biggest differences you've noticed
[30:04] Speaker 14: with him calling the plays as opposed the last.
[30:06] Speaker 12: Season, just he's more vocal and he just he's very
[30:10] Speaker 12: vocal and holds guy is really accountable he's going to
[30:13] Speaker 12: get on you when you're not doing things right and
[30:15] Speaker 12: you're not holding the standard. But he's very uplifting when
[30:18] Speaker 12: you are doing right and you do make a play.
[30:20] Speaker 12: And I think guys are really you know, really, they'll
[30:24] Speaker 12: take into that a lot, just being staying on your
[30:27] Speaker 12: toes knowing that he'll get on your butt if you're
[30:29] Speaker 12: not with the group. But also it's a very rewarding
[30:33] Speaker 12: and he notices when you're doing the right things as well.
[30:36] Speaker 13: Obviously he's earned the trust of Sean Payton to earn
[30:39] Speaker 13: those play calling duties. You've earned the trust of bow
[30:42] Speaker 13: Knicks fifty catches last year. What's another way that in
[30:46] Speaker 13: the year three for bow Knicks now he can take
[30:48] Speaker 13: his game to.
[30:48] Speaker 4: The next level.
[30:50] Speaker 12: I mean, that's a hard question because he's he's work,
[30:53] Speaker 12: he works at everything. He's constantly trying to improve, He's
[30:57] Speaker 12: constantly wanting to be better. He's only year three, but
[31:02] Speaker 12: he's very mature, he's very smart. He's just he just
[31:05] Speaker 12: knows ball. He's a gamer, and obviously there's a lot
[31:09] Speaker 12: of things he wants to improve on a little details
[31:12] Speaker 12: within his game, but just his mindset alone is going
[31:16] Speaker 12: to take him really really far in this league, and
[31:18] Speaker 12: I mean you saw what he's capable of last year,
[31:21] Speaker 12: and I think the sky's a limit for him and
[31:22] Speaker 12: he's looking to improve on that for sure.
[31:24] Speaker 13: One of the most clutch performers that we've seen for
[31:27] Speaker 13: the Broncos quarterback last year. Evan.
[31:29] Speaker 4: Great to visit with you.
[31:31] Speaker 13: Thanks for your time, good luck in the preseason, and
[31:34] Speaker 13: good luck in the twenty twenty six regular.
[31:35] Speaker 4: Seas thonk You very much appreciate you always.
[31:38] Speaker 2: We've made it.
[31:39] Speaker 1: It's the final Fantasy tiar list from Michael f Floorial.
[31:43] Speaker 1: Is the tight end you drafted near the top of
[31:45] Speaker 1: Mike's list, we hope, so find out where they stand
[31:49] Speaker 1: coming up next on the inside.
[31:58] Speaker 2: Back on the inserts.
[31:59] Speaker 1: One of reminds to play the number one fantasy game,
[32:01] Speaker 1: the official fantasy game of the NFL. ESPN Fantasy new
[32:05] Speaker 1: with knockout leagues. We're in the end. There can be
[32:09] Speaker 1: only one. You have to survive to advance. Sign up
[32:12] Speaker 1: to play today. We want to get your draft ready
[32:16] Speaker 1: for your ESPN Fantasy League. You need your Fantasy tiers
[32:19] Speaker 1: and that's what Michael Flourrio has for you today. We
[32:21] Speaker 1: get into the tight ends. It's our last tier that
[32:23] Speaker 1: you were bringing to the people. Let's get started. Who's
[32:26] Speaker 1: at the top. This is the easiest.
[32:28] Speaker 19: Position to drink the top two tight ends right, like
[32:32] Speaker 19: Brock Bowers and Trade McBride.
[32:33] Speaker 2: It's easy. And my top target is brock Bowers.
[32:37] Speaker 19: And I know a lot of you are like, yeah,
[32:38] Speaker 19: he's the consensus tight end one. But the question is
[32:40] Speaker 19: are you willing to pay a second round price for
[32:43] Speaker 19: brock Bowers?
[32:44] Speaker 2: And I am because.
[32:45] Speaker 19: Last year with his current play caller Clint Kubiak, JSN
[32:49] Speaker 19: had a thirty six percent target share.
[32:51] Speaker 2: No one else was close.
[32:52] Speaker 19: To that, and he accounted for forty four percent of
[32:54] Speaker 19: his team's receiving yard set is the highest number by
[32:57] Speaker 19: a single player since the twenty twelve season. So I
[32:59] Speaker 19: think I think Bowers, a lot like JSN, could just
[33:02] Speaker 19: break fantasy this season, and then McBride. He broke fantasy
[33:06] Speaker 19: last season. He outscored all other tight ends by over
[33:08] Speaker 19: one hundred Fantasy points. Full disclosure. Though he's my tight
[33:12] Speaker 19: end two in my tier one. I'm kind of fading
[33:14] Speaker 19: him though, because I have concerns if we're gonna get
[33:16] Speaker 19: a couple of different quarterback changes, mainly Carson Beck playing
[33:20] Speaker 19: in Arizona.
[33:20] Speaker 2: I don't like a late season quarterback change.
[33:22] Speaker 1: And the thing is, the late season Cardinals last year
[33:25] Speaker 1: weren't such a statistical anominally to builders zactly airing it
[33:28] Speaker 1: out all the time and then brought Bouers on that
[33:31] Speaker 1: miserable offense. You have to assume that there at least
[33:33] Speaker 1: be some improvement, so it makes sense to have them
[33:36] Speaker 1: in the first hear what keeps these guys from getting
[33:39] Speaker 1: into that too.
[33:39] Speaker 2: They're awesome, That's why they're in a tier of their own.
[33:42] Speaker 19: Well, the only thing is they're not as proven as
[33:44] Speaker 19: the other guys ahead of them. Colson Lovelin he led
[33:46] Speaker 19: tight ends and yards per route ran last year and
[33:49] Speaker 19: for Fantasy from Week nine one he was the second
[33:51] Speaker 19: best tight end, but.
[33:54] Speaker 2: And we saw them rely heavily on in the playoffs.
[33:56] Speaker 19: I really trust Colson Lovelin, He's just not as proven
[33:58] Speaker 19: as those other guys. Tyler Warren is one though, that
[34:01] Speaker 19: I'm really targeting because you get a discount on him
[34:04] Speaker 19: compared to love Win, and I think he could be
[34:07] Speaker 19: the Colts top receiver this year with Michael Pittman Junior gone,
[34:10] Speaker 19: as they often were competing for the same short to
[34:12] Speaker 19: intermediate targets, but he did average over twelve Fantasy points
[34:16] Speaker 19: per game with Daniel Jones, and then his numbers took
[34:18] Speaker 19: a big hit after that. And then Tucker Kraft he
[34:21] Speaker 19: let all tight ends a Fantasy points per target and
[34:23] Speaker 19: was the tight end two before he tore his ACL
[34:26] Speaker 19: last year. That's keeping him in this tier because of
[34:29] Speaker 19: the knee injury. We've got to see if he gets
[34:30] Speaker 19: back to.
[34:30] Speaker 1: Form again coming off that n the injury, all of
[34:33] Speaker 1: that concern is baked into the price where you're drafting.
[34:37] Speaker 1: Tucker Crafting was such a big part of that offense.
[34:39] Speaker 1: When I'm wondering because there are a lot of names
[34:40] Speaker 1: that I did not see in this tier, and I'm wondering,
[34:43] Speaker 1: do you have him in the next tier.
[34:45] Speaker 19: Yeah, there's a lot of really talented players in this tier.
[34:49] Speaker 19: Fan in Laporta, Pitts, we know Isaiah likely all of
[34:53] Speaker 19: these guys. This is the last tier that I'm comfortable
[34:56] Speaker 19: getting my starting tight end from. Look, I like Laporta
[34:59] Speaker 19: a lot as a are a high powered offense with
[35:01] Speaker 19: a ton of indoor games, and they have a lot
[35:04] Speaker 19: of opponents and I think could be high scoring games.
[35:07] Speaker 19: Pitts was the tight end two last year and he
[35:09] Speaker 19: has the tight end whisperer and coach Kevin Stefanski. Now
[35:12] Speaker 19: Isaiah likely though, is my favorite target in this group
[35:15] Speaker 19: when you factor in the price.
[35:16] Speaker 2: He flashed with the Ravens and.
[35:18] Speaker 19: Amongst tight ends the last two years, fourth highest passer
[35:21] Speaker 19: rating on passes of ten or more air yards, and
[35:24] Speaker 19: he's a good red zone option. And then Kelsey and
[35:26] Speaker 19: Fannin we know what they did last year. And then
[35:29] Speaker 19: Tier four more upside names. This is what I'm calling.
[35:33] Speaker 19: They're like, oh no, I was too busy drafting running
[35:35] Speaker 19: backs and wide receivers and I forgot to take my
[35:37] Speaker 19: starting tight end tier. If you are grabbing a starter here,
[35:41] Speaker 19: I think it's smart to grab two. Like Dallas Goddard
[35:44] Speaker 19: is someone who could be in for a really strong
[35:46] Speaker 19: start as the Eagles wide receivers are banged up right now.
[35:49] Speaker 19: You could pair him, say with like a George Kittle,
[35:51] Speaker 19: who we have early season questions about, or your favorite
[35:54] Speaker 19: tight end upside I like a Concho a lot, but
[35:57] Speaker 19: the dig signing has kind of hurt that strange again,
[36:00] Speaker 19: or upside plays. And then Andrews and Ferguson always you
[36:03] Speaker 19: know in play to score touchdown and that makes you
[36:06] Speaker 19: a starter at the tight end.
[36:08] Speaker 1: It's a clear sign of just how much things can change.
[36:10] Speaker 1: Where George Kittle and Mark Andrews all the way down
[36:13] Speaker 1: in this.
[36:13] Speaker 4: Tier where you're.
[36:14] Speaker 1: Not necessarily wanting to get any of your starters out
[36:17] Speaker 1: of So after that, let's go to the dart throws.
[36:19] Speaker 2: Who's in tier five? This is exactly that these are
[36:22] Speaker 2: the dark throw tiers. You do not want to be
[36:24] Speaker 2: drafting your starting tight end at this range.
[36:27] Speaker 19: But there are upside options like I like Kenyan Sadek,
[36:30] Speaker 19: although he might get off to a slow start because
[36:32] Speaker 19: he's been banged up in camp. Gunner Helm and Elijah
[36:35] Speaker 19: Royo I think bring upside and they are very cheap
[36:38] Speaker 19: at the cost. And then there's guys like Hunter Henry
[36:40] Speaker 19: and Dalton Schultz Juwan Johnson who are options that you
[36:43] Speaker 19: could plug in, whether it be the right matchup or
[36:46] Speaker 19: buyer injury replacement. But again this is where you're going
[36:50] Speaker 19: for upside, maybe as a second tight end in a
[36:52] Speaker 19: deeper league. You do not want to be drafting your
[36:54] Speaker 19: starting tight end this late in your draft.
[36:56] Speaker 1: Yeah, the friends and family of the relative tight ends
[37:00] Speaker 1: understand that you may want to draft your guy.
[37:02] Speaker 2: Everybody else leave him below.
[37:04] Speaker 1: Michael f Flora NFL Fantasy Live coming back next week
[37:07] Speaker 1: August seventeenth. There's Bo Knicks at work in Inglewood, Colorado,
[37:12] Speaker 1: le Broncos training camp. That's where we will see Bo
[37:15] Speaker 1: Knicks this week. Won't see him on Friday, but we
[37:17] Speaker 1: will see talaoa whu Funga who sat down with Mark
[37:20] Speaker 1: Ross and Omar Rui. Talanoa whu fun.
[37:24] Speaker 13: Got joining us now after practice and Huff we go
[37:28] Speaker 13: back several years.
[37:30] Speaker 4: You've been a part of winning programs.
[37:32] Speaker 13: Obviously this team is expectations as high as any's in
[37:36] Speaker 13: the NFL. What is the key to getting through the
[37:39] Speaker 13: twenty twenty six season and build upon what was already
[37:42] Speaker 13: as successful twenty twenty five?
[37:43] Speaker 20: Yeah, no, I think first and foremost, thank you for
[37:47] Speaker 20: having me. At the end of the day, you know,
[37:49] Speaker 20: it's really just what are our goals? What is the
[37:52] Speaker 20: standard that we've set? And it's set before I even
[37:54] Speaker 20: got here. You know, last year I had to come
[37:55] Speaker 20: in learn the scheme, but learn what this team is
[37:58] Speaker 20: made up of. And it's made up of a lot
[37:59] Speaker 20: of blue other people, guys that are willing to go
[38:02] Speaker 20: above and beyond in their role and understand the role
[38:05] Speaker 20: and whatever that takes for us to win, We're willing
[38:08] Speaker 20: to do that.
[38:08] Speaker 14: I'll talk about knowing your role that comes from defense
[38:12] Speaker 14: coordinator Advanced Joseph and how he's able to communicate that
[38:15] Speaker 14: and feel like every player is empowered.
[38:17] Speaker 2: On that defense and say I can be the guy
[38:19] Speaker 2: on this play. Yeah, definitely.
[38:20] Speaker 20: I think a lot of people when you look at
[38:22] Speaker 20: Advanced Joseph scheme, some people may say it's complicated. Some
[38:25] Speaker 20: people may say it's fast and it's physical and it's aggressive.
[38:29] Speaker 20: But the end of the day, he's putting players in
[38:31] Speaker 20: positions to make plays. He's it's a very player friendly
[38:35] Speaker 20: scheme at the end of the day. So when your
[38:37] Speaker 20: plays come, you're ready to make him. And at the
[38:39] Speaker 20: end of the day, he wants you to be successful
[38:41] Speaker 20: at which makes the team successful.
[38:43] Speaker 13: I know twenty twenty four was a frustrating season for
[38:45] Speaker 13: you with the injuries in and out of the lineup.
[38:47] Speaker 13: So to come back last year and play seventeen games start.
[38:50] Speaker 4: Them all, what did that mean to you? To have
[38:52] Speaker 4: that sustained success there?
[38:53] Speaker 20: I thank God first and foremost, man, I know had
[38:56] Speaker 20: the twenty twenty three season to end with the ACL
[38:58] Speaker 20: twenty four battling. But man, just perseverance. You know, my
[39:02] Speaker 20: family really more than anything, they were by my side.
[39:05] Speaker 20: They had the support that was there. Really, my wife
[39:08] Speaker 20: just held it down, really made that roles of what
[39:13] Speaker 20: did I want out of a twenty twenty five season
[39:14] Speaker 20: with the Broncos in my new first year of a
[39:16] Speaker 20: new contract, and what the expectation looked like was just
[39:19] Speaker 20: health and being able to play seventeen games.
[39:23] Speaker 2: It doesn't matter what the stat line looks like.
[39:24] Speaker 20: Is just the fact that you can come out of
[39:26] Speaker 20: game healthy and be able to play the game that
[39:28] Speaker 20: you love at a high level, truly a.
[39:29] Speaker 14: Special taking your game to another level. What do you
[39:33] Speaker 14: feel as if you can do to do that? I mean,
[39:35] Speaker 14: you've been All Pro, but now, okay, Howard, I'm going
[39:37] Speaker 14: to get back there. And what are you doing in
[39:39] Speaker 14: the off season even during the season to say, let
[39:41] Speaker 14: me take this to another level?
[39:43] Speaker 1: Well?
[39:43] Speaker 20: I think for me, it's how can I as a
[39:46] Speaker 20: player through vance, be a guy that can lead the
[39:49] Speaker 20: back end to make not just one All pro?
[39:52] Speaker 4: How can we multiply the All pros in the room?
[39:54] Speaker 7: Right?
[39:54] Speaker 20: Not just Pat being a defense player, but how can
[39:56] Speaker 20: I do my job to help Brandon Jones be successful?
[39:59] Speaker 2: How can I do my job make j Max successful?
[40:01] Speaker 2: And for me, it's really just going.
[40:03] Speaker 20: Out there and being a leader, being a guy that's
[40:05] Speaker 20: willing to do the dirty work if I have to,
[40:07] Speaker 20: and whatever that looks like, I'm willing to do it.
[40:09] Speaker 20: I have the hard down for multiple players in a game.
[40:12] Speaker 20: Give it to me, you know, because I want to
[40:14] Speaker 20: be able to make these guys.
[40:16] Speaker 4: Special and change their lives forever.
[40:17] Speaker 13: We know you've been having some physical, competitive practices against
[40:22] Speaker 13: that offense. What are you seeing from bo Nicks and
[40:24] Speaker 13: his return and what are you seeing from the rest
[40:26] Speaker 13: of those new pieces on offense there definitely.
[40:29] Speaker 20: I think the way they're running around right now, it's
[40:31] Speaker 20: just a very competitive atmosphere.
[40:34] Speaker 2: They're not taking it lightly on us.
[40:35] Speaker 20: It usually at the end of the day, you know,
[40:37] Speaker 20: you want the defense to win, and I usually am bragging,
[40:40] Speaker 20: usually like defense on.
[40:41] Speaker 2: The day, blah blah blah.
[40:42] Speaker 20: But honestly, man, offense has gotten after it and that's
[40:44] Speaker 20: what we want. You know, my message team was, I
[40:47] Speaker 20: want the best and I want our team to be
[40:49] Speaker 20: the best.
[40:49] Speaker 4: I want Week one to be an easier game.
[40:52] Speaker 20: You know why because I have the best on my side,
[40:54] Speaker 20: and I want them to have an easier game because
[40:56] Speaker 20: they know they're going against the best defense.
[40:57] Speaker 2: And so for me, that is the goal.
[40:59] Speaker 20: That is what we challe as are STOs to do,
[41:01] Speaker 20: and it's not easy, but it's fun.
[41:02] Speaker 13: Well, it's great to see you here. We can't wait
[41:04] Speaker 13: to see that Week one game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
[41:07] Speaker 13: Thanks for your time as always, good luck this season.
[41:09] Speaker 2: Thank you appreciate it.
[41:11] Speaker 1: Now look at that Week one preseason schedule. If you
[41:14] Speaker 1: enjoyed the Hall of Fame game, we got plenty more
[41:16] Speaker 1: preseason action for you, a lot of it right here
[41:18] Speaker 1: on NFL Network. It is We're back with Judy Batista
[41:21] Speaker 1: and Steve Why should I can't wait to see all
[41:24] Speaker 1: these games.
[41:24] Speaker 3: What are you looking forward to the most, Judy, Well,
[41:28] Speaker 3: I'm going to be at the Vikings Giants game, so
[41:30] Speaker 3: I'm looking forward to seeing how Kyler Murray looks as
[41:32] Speaker 3: the Viking starter and also looking to see how the
[41:35] Speaker 3: Giants offense is coming along. Odell Beckham is going to
[41:38] Speaker 3: play in the game. John Harbaugh said, so very much,
[41:41] Speaker 3: looking forward to seeing Odell back on the field for
[41:44] Speaker 3: the first time in two years.
[41:45] Speaker 5: I knew you were going to say Odell, but we're
[41:47] Speaker 5: all looking forward to seeing Odell. I mean two years
[41:49] Speaker 5: since he's played his last game, Judy, I'm going to
[41:51] Speaker 5: go to Carson Beck.
[41:52] Speaker 2: This is going to be his second performance, and he looked.
[41:54] Speaker 5: Really, really good in that Hall of Fame game they
[41:57] Speaker 5: played the Raiders. If he can stack consistently consistent performances
[42:01] Speaker 5: on top of one another, he can position himself to
[42:04] Speaker 5: be ready should he be called upon this season. Carson
[42:08] Speaker 5: back fifteen or nineteen for one eighty eight one touchdown
[42:11] Speaker 5: that Hall of Fame game, Patrick, he looked really really
[42:14] Speaker 5: sharp in his debut.
[42:14] Speaker 1: Yeah, and we'll see if we maybe they get a
[42:16] Speaker 1: chance to see Fernanda Mendoza, the number one overall pick,
[42:19] Speaker 1: potentially in that game. One thing you will not see
[42:22] Speaker 1: is us here on the Insider tomorrow, but you will
[42:24] Speaker 1: see the Steelers and the Packers coming up at seven
[42:28] Speaker 1: o'clock Eastern right here on NFL Network. A great opportunity
[42:33] Speaker 1: for all of us, as we say goodbye on this show,
[42:35] Speaker 1: to say thank you to everybody in this building and
[42:38] Speaker 1: all over the United States of America for facilitating inside
[42:41] Speaker 1: training camp, including Judy and Steve flying all around.
[42:44] Speaker 2: Getting to everybody.
[42:45] Speaker 1: Thanks for watching us here on the Insiders. Enjoy all
[42:47] Speaker 1: the preseason football we got for you this week on
[42:49] Speaker 1: the NFL Network.
[43:02] Speaker 3: Mme Before Y

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