# Crowning The 2026 Offseason Champions

An episode of [NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/680904259), 5 May 2026, 50 min.

Audio: https://pdrl.fm/91be81/podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/claritaspod.com/measure/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/9ce11dad-e86a-444f-ba83-ae27003475be/3e2b2de8-57b2-4259-9c7b-b44101585fb9/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=deff018f-4b51-4501-937c-ae27003475d1

Gregg Rosenthal and Jourdan Rodrigue nominate and crown the 2026 Offseason Champions! The two hand out some almost awards to the Chargers, Bears, Browns, Commanders and Chiefs before they nominate the six possibilities for the honor of Offseason Champions. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcasts See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:07] Speaker 1: From the Chris Wesleyan podcast studio in Inglewood, California. Today,
[0:13] Speaker 1: our panel of the top football minds in the world
[0:16] Speaker 1: will crown the twenty twenty six off season champion. Let's
[0:20] Speaker 1: meet the panel. He's still not ready to issue an
[0:24] Speaker 1: apology to Mickey Loomis. It's Greg Rosenthal. Maybe it's her,
[0:30] Speaker 1: Maybe it's her twin. Would we really know? It's Jordan
[0:33] Speaker 1: rodrig Now welcome our host also Greg Rosenthal.
[0:41] Speaker 2: Oh yes, not only a host, but I'm a contestant
[0:45] Speaker 2: and a client, and I will be contributing to determining
[0:49] Speaker 2: the off season champion of twenty twenty six. This is
[0:52] Speaker 2: a very serious, special important award, Jordan, which I gotta
[0:57] Speaker 2: say the committee nailed a year ago.
[1:00] Speaker 3: Do you remember what we did on the show a
[1:03] Speaker 3: year ago?
[1:04] Speaker 4: Chicago Bears.
[1:05] Speaker 2: Chicago Bears were in the mix, the Los Angeles Rams.
[1:09] Speaker 5: Oh right, we had a heavy swing, like we had
[1:11] Speaker 5: a heavy weight from our producers behind the glass.
[1:14] Speaker 4: Yes, one of whom is a Rams fan, Chris Pobona.
[1:17] Speaker 2: So we will be voting one to ten of who
[1:20] Speaker 2: of all our nominees, who could be the possible champion.
[1:23] Speaker 2: But we had the Rams win by point one over
[1:27] Speaker 2: the Patriots because I didn't want the Patriots to have
[1:29] Speaker 2: that pressure. But how about that we got the AFC champion,
[1:34] Speaker 2: going from like a last place team, we got one
[1:36] Speaker 2: of the two best teams in the NFL. I don't
[1:38] Speaker 2: think it's it's exaggeration to stay with the Rams had
[1:41] Speaker 2: a good offseason, and you mentioned the Bears. They were
[1:43] Speaker 2: also one of our high up nominees. We won't mention
[1:46] Speaker 2: the other ones that didn't do as well.
[1:47] Speaker 4: You never happened.
[1:48] Speaker 3: You talk about the good ones. Here's what we're going
[1:50] Speaker 3: to do.
[1:52] Speaker 2: We're going to nominate six different teams to potentially be
[1:56] Speaker 2: the off season champions. But before we do that, just
[2:00] Speaker 2: because we have so many takes boiling up from the
[2:03] Speaker 2: side of us, we're just gonna throw out a few
[2:05] Speaker 2: superlatives of some of the teams so that people can
[2:08] Speaker 2: hear a little more about their teams that didn't quite
[2:10] Speaker 2: get a nomination.
[2:12] Speaker 4: I love that. I like warming up with this.
[2:14] Speaker 5: My first superlative is Offseason Winner based solely on vibes,
[2:19] Speaker 5: and that goes to the Los Angeles Chargers. Airing Mike
[2:22] Speaker 5: McDaniel with Jim Harbaugh has already produced some of the
[2:26] Speaker 5: best off season content, they had a great draft, loved
[2:29] Speaker 5: seeing all the behind the scenes clips from that as well,
[2:31] Speaker 5: and Mike McDaniel, Justin Herbert and we hope healthier offensive line.
[2:36] Speaker 4: It all is looking like good vibes in Elsigundo.
[2:38] Speaker 2: They were they stayed to the script like big guys,
[2:42] Speaker 2: good vibes. We are counting coaches. Anything that happened since
[2:46] Speaker 2: January are included. I'm gonna give an award for two
[2:52] Speaker 2: teams together, and this is the congrats for being normal
[2:55] Speaker 2: awards I have forgiven Mickey Loomis, the Saints and Bengals.
[2:58] Speaker 2: I thought about both of them as true nominations, and
[3:01] Speaker 2: then when I really dug into it, I was thinking, well,
[3:04] Speaker 2: I'm giving them like a little too much credit for
[3:08] Speaker 2: just being normal. But normal is a big step in
[3:10] Speaker 2: the right direction. The Saints got, you know, etchi en
[3:14] Speaker 2: David Edwards the guard. I think they had a really
[3:17] Speaker 2: solid draft. They got guys to come in and play.
[3:19] Speaker 2: They didn't throw any void years out there.
[3:21] Speaker 3: That was nice.
[3:23] Speaker 2: And then the Bengals, you gotta like, replacing Trey Hendrickson
[3:27] Speaker 2: with boy Mafe is tricky. You know, you did lose Hendrickson,
[3:30] Speaker 2: but the Dexter Laurence trade and a draft that I
[3:33] Speaker 2: liked overall. Unfortunately I had to knock them a little
[3:37] Speaker 2: for keeping Zach Taylor. I feel bad so but it's
[3:41] Speaker 2: the congrats for being normal awards for those two teams.
[3:44] Speaker 4: I like that one.
[3:44] Speaker 5: I'm gonna go here with biggest narrative swing, and this
[3:48] Speaker 5: award goes to the Bears local media continuent Wow, who
[3:51] Speaker 5: had to remind Bears fans this offseason on multiple occasions,
[3:55] Speaker 5: including after the draft, that hey, you actually have competent
[3:59] Speaker 5: people running your franchise. You have a competent head coach
[4:01] Speaker 5: who's working well with the GM to be a Bears
[4:05] Speaker 5: media member and swing from hey, not really, suare what
[4:08] Speaker 5: this year is gonna look like to hey, guys, remember
[4:11] Speaker 5: there is a plan here. Biggest narrative swing goes to
[4:14] Speaker 5: the Bears local media.
[4:15] Speaker 2: It is interesting seeing them be positive, seeing the Giants reporters.
[4:19] Speaker 2: Maybe we'll get to them on the show. Maybe not,
[4:21] Speaker 2: But that's a good call. And I think the fans
[4:22] Speaker 2: need to calm down about the Bears draft.
[4:23] Speaker 3: It was fine. It was fine.
[4:26] Speaker 2: I'm gonna give an award called the if it wasn't
[4:28] Speaker 2: for your Quarterback Award and I'm gonna give that to
[4:31] Speaker 2: the Browns. It just was hard for me to get
[4:34] Speaker 2: to the point of nominating one of the three nominations.
[4:37] Speaker 2: And yet they, through their own fault, had to replace
[4:41] Speaker 2: an entire offensive line this offseason, and I think they
[4:45] Speaker 2: did about as well as they could have. Titus Howard,
[4:48] Speaker 2: Elton Jenkins, Zion Johnson, Spencer Fano. They brought back Tevin Jenkins,
[4:52] Speaker 2: like about as good as that was gonna go for you.
[4:55] Speaker 2: It's not gonna work perfectly, but I like the draft
[4:59] Speaker 2: and they were in that slot for me. And then
[5:02] Speaker 2: I thought about losing Jim Schwartz, Yeah, over some Brownsie.
[5:06] Speaker 2: He wasn't happy about not getting there. I do like Monkin,
[5:09] Speaker 2: but that was like just enough to knock it in
[5:12] Speaker 2: addition to the quarterback, but I would just want to
[5:13] Speaker 2: give him a little love.
[5:14] Speaker 3: They're up there for Best Office.
[5:16] Speaker 4: Yeah, same reason.
[5:16] Speaker 5: Otherwise they would have been a strong contender for off
[5:19] Speaker 5: season champion after another what seems like to be a
[5:21] Speaker 5: pretty strong draft. It just I just couldn't quite get
[5:25] Speaker 5: there with the Browns. In a similar vein, I'm going
[5:28] Speaker 5: with the A Player Away Award, So teams that feel
[5:32] Speaker 5: like there may be a player or position group away
[5:34] Speaker 5: from actually excelling the Commander's wide receiver. They've got a
[5:39] Speaker 5: cluster of slot receivers and Terry McLaurin. Let's see what
[5:42] Speaker 5: happens next. And I think that you know they're not
[5:44] Speaker 5: going to be done here. You know, you hear a
[5:46] Speaker 5: lot of connectivity rumblings between them and Brandon Ayuk, for example,
[5:50] Speaker 5: Adam Peters is connected with him, but you know, there's
[5:53] Speaker 5: just no clarity yet on that situation. So instead of
[5:56] Speaker 5: giving them an off season Award nomination, which I was
[5:59] Speaker 5: tempted to do, I give them a player away Award superlative.
[6:03] Speaker 5: Also the Pittsburgh Steelers at quarterback.
[6:06] Speaker 3: Oh okay, yeah, well we'll find out. We'll see.
[6:08] Speaker 2: The reports are they're getting a little sick of waiting
[6:11] Speaker 2: for Aaron Rodgers.
[6:12] Speaker 3: But we'll see.
[6:12] Speaker 2: The Commanders, by the way, third in the NFL in
[6:15] Speaker 2: total spending this offseason, fourth in guarantees, and second in
[6:21] Speaker 2: first year cash. Three different metrics there. So they they
[6:26] Speaker 2: did what they did a couple of years ago. They
[6:27] Speaker 2: spent a lot of money. I'm a little more skeptical,
[6:29] Speaker 2: but I think they make sense. Colleen, by the way,
[6:31] Speaker 2: tried to give them a nomination last year, and I
[6:35] Speaker 2: buried it with a score of two or three.
[6:37] Speaker 4: Yes, I recall.
[6:38] Speaker 3: That that war you know that aged well?
[6:40] Speaker 4: Yeah, aged well, that ages You.
[6:43] Speaker 3: Know what else is gonna age well.
[6:45] Speaker 2: One last little superlative from me, it's this is the
[6:49] Speaker 2: toughest one to leave off. It was the made the
[6:51] Speaker 2: most with the least award. I'm gonna give it to
[6:53] Speaker 2: the Chiefs because they were in a tough spot. But
[6:55] Speaker 2: if you kind of go through what happened, you get
[6:58] Speaker 2: rid of Naggie, you bring in the enemy that and
[7:01] Speaker 2: it was a little gutsy that they kind of chose
[7:02] Speaker 2: to do that like that.
[7:03] Speaker 3: Justin Fields is the guy.
[7:06] Speaker 2: If Mahomes isn't ready for what they got paid for him,
[7:09] Speaker 2: great you have to trade away McDuffie. And that's why
[7:13] Speaker 2: I didn't quite get there all the way that if
[7:15] Speaker 2: you lost the three best guys in your secondary and
[7:17] Speaker 2: one off season, even though it all makes sense with
[7:20] Speaker 2: the cap, it was hard for me to get there
[7:23] Speaker 2: as a nomination. But you replaced them with Mansor Delaine. Yes,
[7:26] Speaker 2: you're bringing Kenneth Walker, who could be one of the
[7:28] Speaker 2: best free agents. You did the sort of signings I
[7:30] Speaker 2: liked in terms of Lowhi Gilman and Cater Kohu and
[7:33] Speaker 2: kiris Toanga. The more I talk about it, maybe I
[7:36] Speaker 2: should have nominated them. I am high on the Chiefs
[7:38] Speaker 2: off season.
[7:39] Speaker 4: I thought about them as one of my nominees as well.
[7:41] Speaker 5: It's just really easy to trust the plan that what
[7:44] Speaker 5: it looks like here on face value. And I like
[7:47] Speaker 5: what you mentioned about the coaches too. Let's not forget
[7:50] Speaker 5: Eric enemy was re hired for the same position that
[7:52] Speaker 5: mcnaggy currently had before Andy Reid talked him.
[7:56] Speaker 4: Up in a press conference. Then it's just sort of.
[7:58] Speaker 3: Eased out of the building.
[8:00] Speaker 4: It was very artfully done.
[8:02] Speaker 2: The contract ended, so it's not the same as being fired.
[8:05] Speaker 2: But if Matt naggy didn't get a job this year,
[8:08] Speaker 2: the Chiefs weren't going to hire him.
[8:09] Speaker 5: Yeah, So my last superlative is the hey, guys, can
[8:14] Speaker 5: you just keep quiet for just a second because we
[8:17] Speaker 5: want to keep liking you award And that goes to
[8:19] Speaker 5: the Jacksonville Jaguar run office.
[8:22] Speaker 4: Just let it sit.
[8:24] Speaker 3: Those are your friends too, and UH.
[8:27] Speaker 4: Really want to keep liking like in the process, like it.
[8:30] Speaker 4: I believe in it.
[8:31] Speaker 3: I believe in him.
[8:32] Speaker 4: I just like, let's just I.
[8:34] Speaker 3: Like that they're different.
[8:35] Speaker 2: I like that they're different where they come from the Rams,
[8:38] Speaker 2: they did things a little differently. Yeah, it's worked out.
[8:41] Speaker 2: Love those man set. You know, we just hit like
[8:43] Speaker 2: seven or eight teams that quickly. Can we keep up
[8:45] Speaker 2: that sort of pace?
[8:47] Speaker 3: I want to see it? Not, I hope so.
[8:49] Speaker 2: So I talked about the Chiefs not getting a full nomination.
[8:53] Speaker 2: In the end, they were bumped off for the forty
[8:56] Speaker 2: nine ers. I'm ready to make my first nomination and
[8:59] Speaker 2: the reader I'm gonna go with the forty nine ers.
[9:01] Speaker 2: I surprised myself the more I thought about this was
[9:04] Speaker 2: they just had the cleanest argument. I admit this is
[9:07] Speaker 2: a bit of a soft cell. I have three nominations
[9:09] Speaker 2: and this one's a little softer of a cell.
[9:11] Speaker 3: But here's the cell.
[9:14] Speaker 2: I think you can argue the best trade of the
[9:17] Speaker 2: entire offseason might be Osa Odigizua for a third round pick.
[9:23] Speaker 2: Considering what the forty nine ers needed more than anything,
[9:27] Speaker 2: which was some interior pass residues, and you gave up
[9:30] Speaker 2: a mid round pick for a cost controlled defensive tackle
[9:33] Speaker 2: who is great at that exactly what they need. I
[9:36] Speaker 2: think you can make the argument that the best free
[9:38] Speaker 2: agent signing, especially for value, was Mike Evans to the
[9:42] Speaker 2: forty nine ers. So you're telling me one team possibly
[9:46] Speaker 2: had the best trade and the best free agent signing.
[9:49] Speaker 2: When I went through all the offseason lists from a
[9:52] Speaker 2: year ago scene, who did well?
[9:54] Speaker 3: Who didn't?
[9:55] Speaker 2: Mean, if you could just get like two big difference makers,
[9:58] Speaker 2: that's about as good as an offseason goes. Yeah, it's
[10:00] Speaker 2: great to get, you know, a bunch of different contributors.
[10:02] Speaker 2: Not many teams actually do that. So if these moves
[10:06] Speaker 2: hit like, I think it's so high level that I'm
[10:10] Speaker 2: gonna give them a nomination. They also kept Trent Williams
[10:13] Speaker 2: at a fair enough salary. You know, they added to
[10:15] Speaker 2: the wide receiver depth with with stribbling in the draft.
[10:18] Speaker 2: They know people didn't love their draft exactly. Christian Kirks
[10:21] Speaker 2: also a board. Overall, it's mostly about Adigie Zua and
[10:25] Speaker 2: Evans as a nominator.
[10:27] Speaker 5: I think people forgot about those moves that they made
[10:30] Speaker 5: earlier in the off season, Greg because the criticism was
[10:33] Speaker 5: so loud for the draft, where they were clearly drafting
[10:37] Speaker 5: for role players and depth guys, and also just the
[10:42] Speaker 5: picks against consensus and that whole debate that again. I'm
[10:45] Speaker 5: sure everybody's changed each other's minds about and with their
[10:48] Speaker 5: Internet comments. I feel like this is just it's a
[10:53] Speaker 5: in the eye of the beholder. And they also have
[10:56] Speaker 5: a coach and a coaching staff overall who we know
[10:59] Speaker 5: will'll maximize the roster. Whatever it is, whatever it looks like,
[11:03] Speaker 5: they just keep going. They're old as hell, They're getting
[11:06] Speaker 5: healthy even though they're old as hell.
[11:08] Speaker 3: They brought Drake Greenlaw back. I didn't know what I
[11:10] Speaker 3: be mentioning that as a positive.
[11:12] Speaker 5: I actually did not care much. I understand it got
[11:15] Speaker 5: too top heavy at the position with Drake Greenlaw coming back.
[11:18] Speaker 5: I thought de Winter showed some real potential. He struggled
[11:21] Speaker 5: at times, but he had so much to carry with
[11:24] Speaker 5: Fred Warner out last season. I thought he popped. But
[11:28] Speaker 5: they got a return on the pick and all of that.
[11:30] Speaker 5: And yeah, it's hard. It's hard in a totality to
[11:35] Speaker 5: argue with what the forty nine ers look like right now.
[11:37] Speaker 2: They did lose their tight ends coach Brian Fleury to
[11:40] Speaker 2: the Seahawks, So again I didn't have like a perfect
[11:43] Speaker 2: third nomination for a minute. I'll admit I was gonna
[11:46] Speaker 2: let you have one more nomination that didn't seem right.
[11:49] Speaker 2: So the difference this year between last year's We're gonna
[11:51] Speaker 2: score our own nomination, which wow, adds a little bit
[11:55] Speaker 2: of intrigue to it because you could really put your
[11:57] Speaker 2: finger on the scale.
[11:59] Speaker 3: Jordan, let's get your score.
[12:00] Speaker 2: If you're watching on YouTube, we are writing these scores
[12:03] Speaker 2: down and you are holding up a seven point five.
[12:06] Speaker 5: Seven point five. The draft for me does bring them
[12:10] Speaker 5: down a little bit. I am skeptical of some of that.
[12:13] Speaker 5: I like stribbling Pick. I think he's a fit for them,
[12:16] Speaker 5: but the off season, the Brandon Nyuk situation still a
[12:20] Speaker 5: bit murky. We're just gonna have to see, and so
[12:23] Speaker 5: I like their free agency and the rest of their
[12:25] Speaker 5: roster in general. Definitely have questions about the draft. So
[12:29] Speaker 5: seven point five.
[12:30] Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm gonna give my own one a six point.
[12:33] Speaker 4: Five, you know, just so I think you're gonna be higher.
[12:35] Speaker 2: It doesn't seem like I'm so biased, but I think
[12:38] Speaker 2: I just, oh think he's what Evans wanted. That For
[12:41] Speaker 2: the record, Eric, you are representing the back room. You
[12:43] Speaker 2: and Chris Pabona are voting. Your vote really is what
[12:47] Speaker 2: put the Rams over the top last year.
[12:49] Speaker 1: And while you're giving in, we're gonna point eight point five.
[12:51] Speaker 1: I'm big Mike Evans guy. I like Mike Evans.
[12:53] Speaker 3: That's what I mean.
[12:53] Speaker 1: It's a it's a division. They're they're there with the Rams,
[12:57] Speaker 1: They're at the Seahawks. It's just about maintaining. I don't
[12:59] Speaker 1: think they got you know.
[13:01] Speaker 5: Did you notice how we're giving Eric nice even like
[13:04] Speaker 5: round decimals, yes for now, because we know he has
[13:07] Speaker 5: to do the math.
[13:07] Speaker 4: In the back.
[13:08] Speaker 1: And this is also Chris Rams guy back here Rams fan.
[13:11] Speaker 1: He he was like eight eight five range good back good.
[13:15] Speaker 3: Wow.
[13:15] Speaker 2: You know sometimes we try to get too cute with
[13:17] Speaker 2: all this this analysis, like, okay, you added Mike freaking Evans. Yeah,
[13:21] Speaker 2: and he took less money than the Bucks were offering
[13:24] Speaker 2: just because he wanted to go play for your championship contender.
[13:27] Speaker 2: Let's go, Jordan, your first nomination.
[13:29] Speaker 4: My first nomination is the New York Giants.
[13:32] Speaker 5: I think that the John Harbaugh hire and subsequent staff turnover,
[13:36] Speaker 5: the organization is now funneling totally through him. And if
[13:41] Speaker 5: they're going for competence, they look competent. I like their draft.
[13:44] Speaker 5: I'm pretty skeptical still about Matt Nagge just in general,
[13:48] Speaker 5: I kind of always have been it's a.
[13:49] Speaker 3: Little knock, wasn't their first pick, but at you right.
[13:52] Speaker 4: But I do like Dinard Wilson a lot.
[13:54] Speaker 5: I think that he gave some real respectability to the
[13:57] Speaker 5: Titans defense in a pretty bad year overall last season.
[14:01] Speaker 5: And while it's not a really good look to part
[14:03] Speaker 5: with a disgruntled player the way that they had to
[14:05] Speaker 5: part ways with Dexter Lawrence, who seemed to have his
[14:08] Speaker 5: mind made up already that he wanted to leave. John
[14:10] Speaker 5: Harbaugh specifically seemed to be immediately absolved of any blame
[14:14] Speaker 5: there and then was able to get a good return
[14:16] Speaker 5: on the pick, and then brought in Francis Marinoa, who
[14:19] Speaker 5: to me feels like a John harbab building block type
[14:22] Speaker 5: of player. They have a clear identity on offense now,
[14:25] Speaker 5: where I felt they've lacked that for quite some time.
[14:28] Speaker 5: John Harbaugh clearly wants to play more twelve personnel THEO
[14:30] Speaker 5: Johnson and Isaiah likely make for a really intriguing pairing there,
[14:34] Speaker 5: and I think that personnel is friendly to the quarterback
[14:36] Speaker 5: in Jackson Dart and maximizes what they think the quarterback
[14:39] Speaker 5: can do. And like I mentioned, I like their draft.
[14:42] Speaker 5: They're continuing to build around players. They like getting more
[14:45] Speaker 5: help on defense, building a little bit more of a
[14:47] Speaker 5: shape shifting identity on defense, which I actually do trust
[14:50] Speaker 5: Innard Wilson a little bit more than maybe some other
[14:52] Speaker 5: coordinators they've had in the past to try to get
[14:55] Speaker 5: the most.
[14:55] Speaker 3: Out of that.
[14:56] Speaker 4: I like their off season.
[14:58] Speaker 5: I really I thought about it for a while, and
[15:00] Speaker 5: I very much talked myself into you know, I do
[15:03] Speaker 5: think the Giants had not just a competent offseason, but
[15:07] Speaker 5: one that really I.
[15:08] Speaker 4: Think would give fans something to be happy about.
[15:10] Speaker 3: That's a good case for it. I like it.
[15:12] Speaker 2: I thought hard about the Giants. They are high up
[15:15] Speaker 2: on the list of teams that spent a lot of money.
[15:17] Speaker 2: Is waiting for that of pause A little delayed there
[15:21] Speaker 2: might indicate how they're feeling about the Giants case they're
[15:24] Speaker 2: eight deaf. It's I think they were sixth in terms
[15:28] Speaker 2: of or fifth in terms of first year cash given out,
[15:31] Speaker 2: so very active in free agency. They're seventh or eighth
[15:34] Speaker 2: in some other metrics total guarantees. I like the process.
[15:39] Speaker 2: I like set throwing a lot of money at it.
[15:41] Speaker 2: I like Harbaugh. They maybe just could be knocked a
[15:46] Speaker 2: tiny bit for like they wanted Monkin and they got Naggy.
[15:49] Speaker 2: It's not their own fault, but you know, I'll knock
[15:52] Speaker 2: them a little bit. I think they maybe wanted a
[15:54] Speaker 2: little higher level of receiver and they get Darnell Mooney
[15:57] Speaker 2: and Calvin Austin and Malachi Fields in the third round,
[16:00] Speaker 2: you know, all building up the depth. I think the
[16:03] Speaker 2: Lawrence trade was a total win for them, actually, yeah,
[16:06] Speaker 2: and I'll give them trade credit for their draft in general.
[16:09] Speaker 2: They've they've helped to like rebuild the floor. Good offseason.
[16:12] Speaker 2: All right, your first, John Harbaugh's the number one argument.
[16:15] Speaker 5: Yeah, Well, and I think that not just John Harbaugh,
[16:18] Speaker 5: but like the reorganization that they try to keep super
[16:21] Speaker 5: super quiet.
[16:23] Speaker 4: From public, like public scrutiny.
[16:25] Speaker 5: But it's very obvious that this has happened where now
[16:28] Speaker 5: he is at the top.
[16:29] Speaker 4: Of the food chain.
[16:29] Speaker 2: We're going to start the scoring this time, to mix
[16:32] Speaker 2: it up in the back room.
[16:34] Speaker 3: I hope they are ready.
[16:35] Speaker 2: Babona and Eric, what is the score that you're going
[16:39] Speaker 2: to give the New York Football Giants?
[16:42] Speaker 3: This is a b bona score. He does not like.
[16:46] Speaker 1: It's not like Darvel Reese pick what he's arguing reliever
[16:51] Speaker 1: earlier in the draft.
[16:52] Speaker 2: Chris, who are you going to take there, Jordan Tyson,
[16:55] Speaker 2: I don't accept this.
[16:57] Speaker 4: For our listeners.
[16:58] Speaker 5: We got a finger wag at Eric Roberts from Chris
[17:01] Speaker 5: Bubona and the Okay.
[17:03] Speaker 1: So six point five was my score. This is why
[17:05] Speaker 1: Greg doesn't let the side of the window do Yeah.
[17:08] Speaker 3: Not true.
[17:09] Speaker 2: It's good to contribute, but I will try to overcorrect
[17:12] Speaker 2: it by giving them like a slightly higher score maybe
[17:14] Speaker 2: than I would have. I think Jordan made a good case.
[17:16] Speaker 2: I think Harbaugh was cool. I think it's definitely a
[17:20] Speaker 2: better off season than the forty nine ers, and so
[17:23] Speaker 2: I'm going to give it a nice round eight eight
[17:27] Speaker 2: for the off season.
[17:28] Speaker 5: I'm giving them a seven point two. I put them
[17:31] Speaker 5: slightly less high than the forty nine ers because they
[17:35] Speaker 5: didn't have as many impact like immediate clear impact players
[17:38] Speaker 5: come in as the forty nine ers had acquired earlier
[17:41] Speaker 5: in the off season. So I love the competence here
[17:45] Speaker 5: being shown by the New York Giants. And we'll see,
[17:47] Speaker 5: we'll see how it works out for him.
[17:49] Speaker 4: Seven point two.
[17:49] Speaker 2: I think Isaiah likely didn't mention his name or in.
[17:52] Speaker 2: Patrick Ricardo will add fun elements to that. I did
[17:55] Speaker 2: mention Isaiah Likely Okay, my bad, but yeah, someone's like
[17:59] Speaker 2: Greg some even Tremaine Edmonds was a little funky. All right,
[18:02] Speaker 2: I'm gonna make one more nomination before we take our
[18:05] Speaker 2: first break, and I'm gonna nominate the Las Vegas Raiders.
[18:12] Speaker 2: Let's go to where their off season truly got started.
[18:17] Speaker 2: I mean, I don't want to pat ourselves on the back,
[18:19] Speaker 2: but I think the Raiders off season started the moment
[18:23] Speaker 2: that Clint Kubiak talked to Jordan and myself on the
[18:27] Speaker 2: field after the Super Bowl.
[18:29] Speaker 5: Clint, I know you're gonna celebrate tonight all of that.
[18:31] Speaker 5: You know, I have to ask, so, see the rest
[18:34] Speaker 5: of your life, the rest of your head coaching career
[18:37] Speaker 5: comes after this.
[18:38] Speaker 4: How are you feeling about it right now?
[18:39] Speaker 6: Yeah, I'm gonna I'm gonna seahawk all night tonight. I'm
[18:43] Speaker 6: gonna celebrate with these guys because you know, we deserve that.
[18:47] Speaker 6: We worked our tail off and you know, whatever happens
[18:50] Speaker 6: next will happen. But I want to celebrate with our
[18:52] Speaker 6: guys tonight.
[18:53] Speaker 2: And look, he was very calm for a guy that
[18:56] Speaker 2: had just won the Super Bowl in Las Vegas.
[19:00] Speaker 3: That's natural. It's always very calm.
[19:04] Speaker 2: They kind of did the thing I think you want
[19:05] Speaker 2: them to do, rebuilding an organization.
[19:09] Speaker 3: I think it was smart to keep John spy Tech.
[19:11] Speaker 2: I believe the moves that they've made, it's born out
[19:14] Speaker 2: that let's not restart the whole thing. Let's let John
[19:17] Speaker 2: spy Tech take over with his vision. Let's kick Pete
[19:22] Speaker 2: Carroll a little bit unfairly on the way out with
[19:24] Speaker 2: some unsourced reports, and some source reports didn't love that.
[19:28] Speaker 2: But let's spend some money. Second in the entire NFL
[19:32] Speaker 2: in total spending, first by a good amount in total guarantees,
[19:37] Speaker 2: and in the top five in terms of first year spending.
[19:41] Speaker 2: So you get Kubiak, who I think is a perfect
[19:44] Speaker 2: coach for Fernando Mendoza. I just it seems like a
[19:48] Speaker 2: perfect fit. You give Tyler Linderbaum a lot of money.
[19:52] Speaker 2: I don't care that he's resetting the market. To me,
[19:54] Speaker 2: centers were underpaid. Like he's a high level starting offensive lineman.
[19:58] Speaker 2: That is going to change a lot. And if you
[19:59] Speaker 2: just think about the floor that they set, especially in
[20:03] Speaker 2: free agency, I think Kirk Cousins is a perfect guy
[20:05] Speaker 2: to pair with Mendoza on defense. Especially it's a totally
[20:10] Speaker 2: different group. Quitty Pay just a solid edge rusher, Kobe
[20:13] Speaker 2: Dean very excited about that. Toron Johnson's at nickel, and
[20:16] Speaker 2: then you draft Trade and Stukes there to play some safety.
[20:19] Speaker 2: I think they actually could play well together. Jalen Naylor
[20:22] Speaker 2: helps a wide receiver, like a little more there Kuay Walker.
[20:26] Speaker 2: It reminds me a little bit of the Patriots a
[20:29] Speaker 2: year ago in terms of they're not all gonna work.
[20:33] Speaker 2: But I think the thinking was sound. Now when you
[20:36] Speaker 2: look at this defense, it looks like a football team.
[20:38] Speaker 2: And the reason I like it, maybe even more in
[20:40] Speaker 2: the Patriots offseason a year ago, is that the draft,
[20:45] Speaker 2: you get Fernando Mendoza, and yes, like you didn't do
[20:47] Speaker 2: anything to get the number one pick, but you feel
[20:49] Speaker 2: differently about it. And then I like the values that
[20:52] Speaker 2: they got deeper in the draft, like Kieran Crawford. They
[20:55] Speaker 2: have so many edges right now. Jermond McCoy was a
[20:58] Speaker 2: worthy selection in terms of taking a little bit of
[21:01] Speaker 2: a risk. So overall, you just look at the roster
[21:04] Speaker 2: and it's so much improved. And I do think, unlike
[21:08] Speaker 2: the conventional wisdom from about ten to fifteen years ago, actually,
[21:12] Speaker 2: you can spend a lot of money in free agency
[21:14] Speaker 2: and really help the baseline of your team, and that
[21:17] Speaker 2: many of these guys will be hit.
[21:19] Speaker 5: I like that they basically pulled a fund of money
[21:21] Speaker 5: together and resources, including that first overall pick as their
[21:26] Speaker 5: quarterback development fund. Right, not just the resource of the
[21:30] Speaker 5: first pick on Fernando Mendoza, but also Tyler Linderbaum paying
[21:35] Speaker 5: overpaying or resetting the center market to bring him in.
[21:39] Speaker 4: That is the most crucial player.
[21:41] Speaker 5: A great center is the most crucial player that a
[21:43] Speaker 5: quarterback could have when he's first starting out in his
[21:45] Speaker 5: career or into his career as a veteran. Even And
[21:49] Speaker 5: I remember talking with you guys a little bit about
[21:51] Speaker 5: this last season or last offseason, where it just was
[21:55] Speaker 5: weird to me. The draft did not feel. Their draft
[21:59] Speaker 5: last season did not feel like I thought it was
[22:01] Speaker 5: going to feel. And I kind of finally put my
[22:03] Speaker 5: finger on it this off season sort of assessing where
[22:06] Speaker 5: they were picking and the types of players that they
[22:08] Speaker 5: were picking, and sort of the background.
[22:10] Speaker 4: This felt more like.
[22:12] Speaker 5: A Tampa Bay like vintage Tampa Bay draft and developed
[22:15] Speaker 5: core players draft. And that's John spy Tech, that's his background,
[22:19] Speaker 5: that's his sort of pedigree where he comes from. This
[22:22] Speaker 5: felt a lot more like John spy Tech than perhaps
[22:24] Speaker 5: the other one did. Again, I'm not going to do
[22:26] Speaker 5: the thing that they seemed to do, which was kind
[22:28] Speaker 5: of kick Pete Carroll while he was down. But I
[22:30] Speaker 5: do think that there's a lot more clarity and identity
[22:33] Speaker 5: in their process this off season probably kind of helps
[22:36] Speaker 5: when you have a first year head coach coming in
[22:39] Speaker 5: fresh off of a Super Bowl so has missed most
[22:41] Speaker 5: of the entry way to the off season program, so
[22:44] Speaker 5: you're kind of just setting things up around him as well.
[22:47] Speaker 5: I just I really like their clarity of process this offseason.
[22:50] Speaker 4: I thought it was good stuff.
[22:51] Speaker 3: Yeah.
[22:51] Speaker 2: I think Kubiak's higher is a big reason why I
[22:55] Speaker 2: had them this high, and people, including myself, we were noting,
[22:58] Speaker 2: like that is not a good wide receiver. G like
[23:00] Speaker 2: they could use that second round pick Jack Besh from
[23:03] Speaker 2: a year ago to play better this year.
[23:06] Speaker 3: But you did not only get Linderbaum.
[23:08] Speaker 2: They're probably starting Spencer Buford who's from San Francisco at guard,
[23:12] Speaker 2: and you drafted Trey Zoon in the third round, another guard.
[23:15] Speaker 2: They drafted a couple last year that they're going to
[23:17] Speaker 2: try to develop as well, and you draft a pretty
[23:20] Speaker 2: good tandem back Mike Washington with Genti. So it was
[23:23] Speaker 2: at all steps of the process, coach, free agency, and
[23:27] Speaker 2: draft overall. I like what they did. We'll see about
[23:30] Speaker 2: some of the free agents. They're all not gonna work.
[23:32] Speaker 2: But let's go.
[23:33] Speaker 3: I think I made a great.
[23:34] Speaker 2: Argument, and I am gonna give myself a nine point five.
[23:40] Speaker 4: Oh yourself, not the Raiders.
[23:42] Speaker 3: Yes, not the Raiders. A nine point five.
[23:44] Speaker 2: Also with the Spanish double exclamation points before and after.
[23:49] Speaker 3: That's nice. That's with a little extra.
[23:52] Speaker 5: I am going nine point four. Oh wow, really hard
[23:55] Speaker 5: to argue. We got to contend with what the Raiders
[23:58] Speaker 5: have done this offseason. Every piece of the off season,
[24:02] Speaker 5: from free agency to the draft just made a lot
[24:04] Speaker 5: of sense.
[24:04] Speaker 4: By the way, they got a premiere edge rusher back.
[24:08] Speaker 3: Oh my god.
[24:09] Speaker 2: Okay, actually we're changing the score. Unfortunately, that was such
[24:14] Speaker 2: an important part of the argument that they ended up
[24:16] Speaker 2: keeping Max Crosby in the end, and that I didn't
[24:19] Speaker 2: say it. I'm actually going to give a lower score
[24:21] Speaker 2: now to yourself, to myself, it's now nine point three.
[24:24] Speaker 2: They got knocked down a couple, but that's a good point.
[24:27] Speaker 2: I would rather have Max Crosby ultimately than those first
[24:32] Speaker 2: round picks, but it's close. But this team is better
[24:35] Speaker 2: with Maxico.
[24:35] Speaker 4: No, I'm pretty shocked you forgot.
[24:37] Speaker 5: He also is the classic double consonant to end his
[24:40] Speaker 5: first name, Greg, like I thought you had a kid.
[24:42] Speaker 3: I had a written down. That is a big miss.
[24:45] Speaker 2: Sometimes you just get lucky, and we'll see if that
[24:47] Speaker 2: luck carries them to a good score.
[24:50] Speaker 3: From the back room, yep, nine five.
[24:52] Speaker 1: You can't be filled down when Fernando Mendoza is talking
[24:56] Speaker 1: at a podium like it's impossible.
[24:57] Speaker 3: And then you got Kirk Cousins in the mix.
[24:59] Speaker 1: They poached Kai into two Ravens, like yeah, you know,
[25:02] Speaker 1: like I know, the Max Crosby kind of fell through.
[25:04] Speaker 1: It wasn't them necessarily taking him, but he fell back
[25:06] Speaker 1: into like a refurbished relationship that looks way better than
[25:09] Speaker 1: when he left.
[25:10] Speaker 2: And it is going to be a great storyline too,
[25:14] Speaker 2: like the Max got traded and now to me it's
[25:16] Speaker 2: just a very WWE storyline, which helps. Oh wow, they
[25:19] Speaker 2: are real contenders here to be off season champions. Let's
[25:22] Speaker 2: take a quick break and we will come back with
[25:25] Speaker 2: our final nominees.
[25:29] Speaker 3: Who will be the off season champion.
[25:40] Speaker 2: We're back here contermining the twenty twenty six offseason champion.
[25:47] Speaker 3: Hey, Rams, Like.
[25:49] Speaker 2: Didn't work out against the Seahawks those fourth quarters, huh,
[25:53] Speaker 2: but you were our off season.
[25:54] Speaker 3: Champion last year.
[25:55] Speaker 2: That's got to make it feel better. Because I'm a
[26:00] Speaker 2: sicko and it really bothers me when NFL news happened
[26:03] Speaker 2: that we don't talk about, and we have a daily show.
[26:09] Speaker 2: I'm gonna fly through a little bit of news quickly here.
[26:12] Speaker 2: Not major signings. Tyrod Taylor is the new Packers backup quarterback.
[26:15] Speaker 3: Shout out to Tyrod still collecting checks.
[26:17] Speaker 2: I hope Jordan Love doesn't get hurt at any point,
[26:19] Speaker 2: but it would be kind of fun to see Tyrod
[26:21] Speaker 2: in a meaningful moment for the Packers.
[26:23] Speaker 3: They cut Desmond Ritter.
[26:24] Speaker 2: Dante Fowler is added to the mix of the Seahawks
[26:27] Speaker 2: pass rushers. I could see that working out well as
[26:30] Speaker 2: a backup. He's been with Aden Dirty, the defensive coordinator,
[26:34] Speaker 2: when they were in Dallas. I wonder what you think
[26:37] Speaker 2: about this. Jordan Alvin Kamara was on Tron Armstead's podcast
[26:42] Speaker 2: and a lot of people thought he was going to retire.
[26:43] Speaker 2: I thought he was going to retire. He made it
[26:46] Speaker 2: very clear that he was excited about the Travis et
[26:49] Speaker 2: Gen signing and really sounded like he wants to play.
[26:53] Speaker 2: So even if they set up his contract in a
[26:55] Speaker 2: way that he could retire or they could cut him
[26:57] Speaker 2: really painlessly, sounds like he.
[26:59] Speaker 3: At least wants to stay. Do you think the Saints
[27:00] Speaker 3: want to keep him?
[27:02] Speaker 5: I mean, he means so much to the fan base
[27:04] Speaker 5: and to the city. I would imagine they would at
[27:06] Speaker 5: least put their best foot forward to try to work
[27:08] Speaker 5: something out. But if they thought he was retiring and
[27:11] Speaker 5: maybe he's changed his mind. One of the things though,
[27:13] Speaker 5: that I like when teams long play or slow play
[27:16] Speaker 5: a veteran who's sort of on the fence a little
[27:18] Speaker 5: bit is the concept of giving that player enough time
[27:22] Speaker 5: to miss football. And that could as simple as that be.
[27:25] Speaker 5: What's happening here and everything's resolved by training camp. If
[27:28] Speaker 5: I'm Alvin Kamara, though, and I know my impact and
[27:30] Speaker 5: I know my meaning to the franchise overall, I would
[27:34] Speaker 5: definitely try to get a little bit more money out well.
[27:37] Speaker 2: I think the only two options are he's either taking
[27:40] Speaker 2: a pay cut to stay on the team and they
[27:43] Speaker 2: threaten to cut him or they keep him at his
[27:45] Speaker 2: current salary. Yeah, and we'll see. We'll see what they
[27:48] Speaker 2: want to do. Anthony Richardson. We talked about him with
[27:50] Speaker 2: Seth Payin on Monday. I know you missed that shows
[27:53] Speaker 2: as a real deal.
[27:54] Speaker 4: Seth called it out. Seth like, where's where are your
[27:57] Speaker 4: co hosts?
[27:57] Speaker 5: Ye?
[27:58] Speaker 4: Like, I'm a real deal, Seth.
[27:59] Speaker 3: Head mate? Miss you.
[28:00] Speaker 2: We talked about Anthony Richardson. He is reporting to the
[28:03] Speaker 2: Colts facility now and starting to work out with the team.
[28:05] Speaker 2: Looks like he's staying, at least for now. Skyler Thompson
[28:09] Speaker 2: is a member of the Baltimore Ravens. Lagarius Snead has
[28:12] Speaker 2: been cleared of his serious assault charges that prevented him,
[28:17] Speaker 2: I think from signing with the team. We'll see if
[28:19] Speaker 2: any team is interested. He did not play last year
[28:22] Speaker 2: very well for the Titans, and then Big Tom got
[28:25] Speaker 2: an extension for the Eagles. You know, our guy, Alec
[28:27] Speaker 2: Hallaby says, so long and here here's some more money
[28:30] Speaker 2: for Big.
[28:31] Speaker 4: Absorbed the money absorbed the salary.
[28:33] Speaker 2: All right, let's get back. Thank you, thank you, Eric,
[28:36] Speaker 2: appreciative that that was fast. Let's go to the Houston Texans.
[28:42] Speaker 2: I spoiled it for you. I read your nomination out loud.
[28:47] Speaker 5: I love the face she made when you realize that
[28:49] Speaker 5: halfway through there's just I'm rock go ahead, Yeah, I'm
[28:54] Speaker 5: going to nominate the Houston Texans for off season champions.
[28:58] Speaker 5: It starts with the Will Anderson Junior and Iz's all
[29:00] Speaker 5: Shire extension, so locking up to core players who are
[29:04] Speaker 5: the best players at their respective positions in football, who
[29:07] Speaker 5: are also huge parts of the team identity. Resigning another
[29:10] Speaker 5: quality starter at Sheldon Rankins, extending daneil Hunter for you know,
[29:15] Speaker 5: he's playing at such a high clip. Just not sure
[29:17] Speaker 5: how long that will keep going, but continuing to come
[29:21] Speaker 5: to friendly terms with him on year to year deals.
[29:24] Speaker 5: They just pay their guys that they like, who fit
[29:26] Speaker 5: what they want to do. I like that they kept
[29:28] Speaker 5: both coaches.
[29:29] Speaker 4: We will see.
[29:30] Speaker 5: We still will see what year two of Nick Cayley
[29:33] Speaker 5: as offensive coordinator looks like. But I really like that
[29:36] Speaker 5: they kept Matt Burke their defensive coordinator. Had a little
[29:39] Speaker 5: head coaching buzz, a tiny amount of coaching buzz this offseason.
[29:43] Speaker 5: Demiico Ryans really I think manages those guys very very
[29:46] Speaker 5: well now in his a shifted role, A little bit
[29:49] Speaker 5: of someone who's not necessarily calling plays, but a part
[29:53] Speaker 5: of every piece of the building. They had their fans
[29:56] Speaker 5: worried at the start of the season. I think I
[29:58] Speaker 5: sent you and Patrick some funny social media posts that
[30:00] Speaker 5: I saw of some of the panic that was happening
[30:03] Speaker 5: from Texans fans because they were very sort of slow
[30:07] Speaker 5: and meticulous with the way that they changed parts of
[30:09] Speaker 5: their offensive line. But bringing in Keelan Rutligon I'm going
[30:13] Speaker 5: to try Fabeci we Wu. There you go via the
[30:17] Speaker 5: draft could actually be contributors for them right away. I
[30:21] Speaker 5: love that they added David Montgomery to the Woody Marks,
[30:26] Speaker 5: you know, sort of run game package. I liked that
[30:29] Speaker 5: they added Read Blanken ship as well in free agency
[30:31] Speaker 5: to the Kaylan Bullock you know, and Jalen Peatree combination.
[30:35] Speaker 5: They had some injury and other issues personnel issues at
[30:39] Speaker 5: that number two safety spot last year, and this just
[30:42] Speaker 5: is a simple.
[30:43] Speaker 4: Solution for them.
[30:44] Speaker 5: Who also clears up Jalen Petrie to do more of
[30:47] Speaker 5: that really great work along the line of scrimmage and
[30:50] Speaker 5: that sort of like star slash hybrid linebacker role. It's
[30:53] Speaker 5: really really hard to argue with any of the decisions
[30:56] Speaker 5: that the Texans made this offseason, and I think it
[30:59] Speaker 5: was really quietly because not many people.
[31:01] Speaker 4: I don't think people are talking about them enough.
[31:03] Speaker 5: Really really quietly one of the best off seasons out
[31:07] Speaker 5: of a team, and their draft didn't get a ton
[31:09] Speaker 5: of pop, but it was serviceable to what they actually
[31:11] Speaker 5: needed to do, filling in depth and also bringing in
[31:15] Speaker 5: more reinforcements along their offensive line.
[31:17] Speaker 2: It was very Casario coded. Yeah, I love that I had.
[31:20] Speaker 2: I was surprised to see the Texans on this list.
[31:22] Speaker 4: You're right underrating my favorite off season.
[31:25] Speaker 2: Oh you did make the case. And the two guys
[31:28] Speaker 2: they got Caitlyn Rutledge Cayden McDonald. There you know a
[31:33] Speaker 2: guard who's just looked at a solid and Caden McDonald,
[31:36] Speaker 2: who's kind of the final piece of just a run
[31:38] Speaker 2: stuffing nose tackle. They quietly were in the top eight
[31:43] Speaker 2: to ten in all the categories I've been talking about
[31:46] Speaker 2: guarantees and first year spending. They actually did spend more
[31:48] Speaker 2: money and that's not even counting the will Anderson move.
[31:52] Speaker 2: The Another thing I like is the way they've handled
[31:55] Speaker 2: the CJ. Stroud struggles at the end of last year
[31:59] Speaker 2: and how they've supported him publicly but also clearly made
[32:03] Speaker 2: it known that they're not gonna talk about his contract
[32:05] Speaker 2: this offseason, but they believe in him. I just think
[32:08] Speaker 2: a clarity of thought, yes, in general, for the whole
[32:10] Speaker 2: off season, and they got there in the end. I
[32:13] Speaker 2: actually like what they did with their offensive line, Braden Smith,
[32:16] Speaker 2: Wyatt Teller being added late for cheaper, maybe even a
[32:19] Speaker 2: little more than what the Browns did. So you convinced
[32:22] Speaker 2: me and a little skeptical, but I agree.
[32:23] Speaker 4: Just icing on the cake here.
[32:25] Speaker 5: I think they're also starting to face like like a
[32:29] Speaker 5: wealth at the receiver slash skill pass catcher position because
[32:33] Speaker 5: they did extend Dalton Schultz, but then they kept adding
[32:35] Speaker 5: at the position. But they also had those young receivers
[32:39] Speaker 5: who developed last year, and then they're also you know
[32:42] Speaker 5: it's Nico Collins, and then they also have people coming
[32:44] Speaker 5: back from injury. Like I just I think they're really
[32:47] Speaker 5: sitting in a very very good spot to maximize what's
[32:51] Speaker 5: left of c. J.
[32:51] Speaker 4: Strouds Rocky contract.
[32:53] Speaker 3: I love the argument.
[32:54] Speaker 4: Let's hear grade here.
[32:56] Speaker 2: I am going to give an eight zero point nine ooh,
[33:02] Speaker 2: pretty high. I know my son is going to be
[33:05] Speaker 2: listening to this with baited breath, wanting to get the
[33:09] Speaker 2: highest score here. I love it for his Texans tink
[33:11] Speaker 2: del returning that's not really something you get that much
[33:14] Speaker 2: credit for.
[33:15] Speaker 4: But just overall, their receiver's room went from being like
[33:19] Speaker 4: a couple of years ago, two really good players and
[33:21] Speaker 4: a bit of a question mark to now they've got
[33:23] Speaker 4: like more guys than they know what to do with
[33:25] Speaker 4: at this point.
[33:25] Speaker 2: So I saw that, like the quotes from the opposing
[33:29] Speaker 2: gms about you know them the will Anderson contract, the
[33:32] Speaker 2: Texans didn't just you know, reset the market, they like
[33:34] Speaker 2: blew it out of the water.
[33:35] Speaker 3: I'm like, are other gms this dumb?
[33:38] Speaker 2: When you when you extend a guy who's on a
[33:41] Speaker 2: fifth year contract, it's a five year contract, them taking
[33:44] Speaker 2: advantage and doing it early, Like his average for those
[33:48] Speaker 2: five years is thirty three thirty four million dollars.
[33:50] Speaker 3: Actually I think very team friendly.
[33:52] Speaker 2: Yeah, and just they get caught up in the schefter
[33:55] Speaker 2: report of one fifty over three, like it's good for
[33:57] Speaker 2: both sides, but the big advantage that fifth year option
[34:01] Speaker 2: signing in early.
[34:02] Speaker 3: This is stupid. I love when you go on it
[34:04] Speaker 3: didn't reset the market.
[34:06] Speaker 2: I honestly, I am starting to be sick of the
[34:08] Speaker 2: Here's what executives around the league think about things. Article
[34:14] Speaker 2: don't need them. They're usually not that smart. Just makes
[34:17] Speaker 2: me seem think less of them. It's it's always like
[34:19] Speaker 2: the most average takes. So if you're going to be
[34:22] Speaker 2: that average, put your name on it.
[34:24] Speaker 5: Come on the show, Come on the show. I said
[34:27] Speaker 5: that the Texans were my favorite offseason. I'm gonna prove
[34:29] Speaker 5: it here. I'm getting a nine point six. This will
[34:32] Speaker 5: be the highest grade unless Greg can convince me otherwise
[34:36] Speaker 5: for a team that I give this offseason, it's just
[34:39] Speaker 5: I like their process. I love that they didn't lose
[34:42] Speaker 5: anybody that would make them worse. I like that they
[34:45] Speaker 5: added players that can take them from an A to
[34:48] Speaker 5: an A plus in a lot of places. And I
[34:49] Speaker 5: like the quarterback. I think it was a blip last year.
[34:51] Speaker 3: Okay, Eric, they got a chance to go into first place.
[34:55] Speaker 1: Here, guys, that's to stay of the course offseason, and
[35:00] Speaker 1: I don't think they, like Jordan said, they ain't get worse.
[35:02] Speaker 3: They're very much gonna beat the crap out of you.
[35:04] Speaker 1: On defense. They pushed the CJ. Stroud down the road.
[35:08] Speaker 5: It was Montgomery hater literally just told Chris.
[35:12] Speaker 1: I like David Montgomery, but again, that's they is David Montgomery.
[35:15] Speaker 1: David Montgomery really moving the needle for you guys. He's
[35:18] Speaker 1: a good locker room guy. I have another score. I'm
[35:21] Speaker 1: actually gonna give Eric only a five point five for
[35:25] Speaker 1: speaking before he pulled the microphone.
[35:27] Speaker 3: Yeah, that's rough.
[35:28] Speaker 1: That's hey, guys, I'm dealing with a cold thing over here.
[35:30] Speaker 1: I'm trying not to breathe all up on the mics.
[35:32] Speaker 4: That's very Eric right here, I think, do you see
[35:35] Speaker 4: this here?
[35:36] Speaker 3: I'm gonna mute you out.
[35:38] Speaker 5: That.
[35:39] Speaker 2: Uh, that was great, Eric, I like you guys standing
[35:42] Speaker 2: on the table. I have one last team to nominate.
[35:45] Speaker 2: I think it's a really strong nomination. It's the Tennessee Titans.
[35:50] Speaker 2: And now here's the thing. I don't agree with every
[35:52] Speaker 2: single move that they made this off season, but I
[35:55] Speaker 2: like the process of it. Sounds like it's easy to
[35:58] Speaker 2: do just throw money at your problems. But it was
[36:02] Speaker 2: the right thing for them to do this offseason. And
[36:05] Speaker 2: when you look at the balance of players, these are
[36:08] Speaker 2: players that are mostly young. Jermaine Johnson thought that trade
[36:12] Speaker 2: was a major win. They know Tovandre Sweat, He's been
[36:16] Speaker 2: in the building. They don't want Devandre Sweat, who's even younger.
[36:19] Speaker 2: Jermaine Johnson's gonna help you out. Cordale Flat he's an
[36:22] Speaker 2: NFL cornerback. Alonte Taylor, he's an NFL slot received cornerback.
[36:27] Speaker 2: Those guys are overpaid, no question, but they're they're coming
[36:31] Speaker 2: into their second contract.
[36:33] Speaker 3: I like it.
[36:34] Speaker 2: Same thing with Wandale. I think Wandale Robinson, all these guys,
[36:37] Speaker 2: they're not totally breaking the bank, but they're upgrading where
[36:40] Speaker 2: you need them. Jonathan Franklin Myers was a little bit
[36:43] Speaker 2: of an over pay and an older guy, but again
[36:47] Speaker 2: a familiarity with Sala, and that's where they put me
[36:51] Speaker 2: over the top for nominating them. I do like that
[36:54] Speaker 2: they got rid of Chad Brinker. I you know, I
[36:56] Speaker 2: made Front of the Titans a little bit for changing
[36:59] Speaker 2: their plan every year year. But ultimately I think Borganzi's
[37:03] Speaker 2: vision vision with Sala and getting Brian Dable, who's been
[37:08] Speaker 2: in the league a long time and can run an
[37:10] Speaker 2: offense and and it's also an assistant general manager here
[37:12] Speaker 2: apparently considering all the options that they had, I think
[37:18] Speaker 2: it was like a BB plus for the management, coach.
[37:23] Speaker 2: Everything it could have gone a lot worse here Zona.
[37:27] Speaker 2: And that's why, like I trust Sala a little bit
[37:30] Speaker 2: with some guys that I weren't as high on in
[37:32] Speaker 2: the draft. Uh, in terms of Kendrick falk uh. And
[37:35] Speaker 2: then who's the linebacker Hill in the second round, Anthony Hill.
[37:39] Speaker 4: I think he's perfect, right.
[37:40] Speaker 3: I think here's the thing.
[37:41] Speaker 2: Now that he's with Salah, those two guys, I actually
[37:43] Speaker 2: think he has visions for these guys. It all fits.
[37:46] Speaker 2: They kept Calvin Ridley. Overall, they are just a better
[37:49] Speaker 2: team by a decent amount. And I'm kind of buying
[37:53] Speaker 2: this vision of the Titans.
[37:55] Speaker 4: Well, it's similar to a couple of years ago.
[37:58] Speaker 3: Hey, thank you, Tan's fane.
[38:01] Speaker 5: It's similar to a couple of years ago when the
[38:05] Speaker 5: Panthers at least attempted to overpay on a couple of
[38:08] Speaker 5: positions in free agency to try to re level set.
[38:12] Speaker 5: And then also you have to do that to be
[38:14] Speaker 5: competitive initially in a new coaching regime. Often do you
[38:19] Speaker 5: do not inherit like a crapload of draft picks. You
[38:23] Speaker 5: often do inherit like some salary cap room, or at
[38:26] Speaker 5: least you shed a lot of people to make room
[38:28] Speaker 5: for new players who are veterans who can level set
[38:31] Speaker 5: the rest of your roster.
[38:32] Speaker 4: They did that.
[38:33] Speaker 5: I mean, you can absolutely argue overpays for a lot
[38:37] Speaker 5: of these players, but they did exactly what they set
[38:40] Speaker 5: out and intended to do, which was lift the floor
[38:43] Speaker 5: of their roster as all of these rebuilding teams do
[38:46] Speaker 5: and try to put better players around cam Ward.
[38:49] Speaker 2: And I don't think the overpays were even that dramatic.
[38:52] Speaker 2: It's just the new NFL Wandale Robinson making eighteen million
[38:55] Speaker 2: dollars a year sounds crazy. He's a productive starter in
[39:00] Speaker 2: two years time. That's going to be the minimum for
[39:03] Speaker 2: any third receiver. It already is pretty close to it.
[39:06] Speaker 2: They did spend the most amount of money, and so yeah,
[39:09] Speaker 2: when I think of off season champions second in guarantees
[39:13] Speaker 2: and first in first year guest, when I think of
[39:15] Speaker 2: off season champion, it's not always a compliment. And so
[39:18] Speaker 2: I do think it's teams like the Titans who just
[39:21] Speaker 2: went a little wild with it and kept us talking.
[39:24] Speaker 2: I think it's what they needed to do. Jordan, let's
[39:26] Speaker 2: start with you, Oh, only seven seven points.
[39:30] Speaker 4: I don't know, it's not.
[39:31] Speaker 3: Like argument to you, Greg, It is personal to me.
[39:34] Speaker 5: No, I like it and again, you know, some of
[39:37] Speaker 5: our listeners, I'm sure, like, why are they all getting,
[39:39] Speaker 5: you know, relatively higher scores.
[39:40] Speaker 4: This is the best of Oh.
[39:41] Speaker 3: Yeah, we're nominating the best off seasons of the year.
[39:45] Speaker 5: I think it was really solid and I can continue
[39:48] Speaker 5: to use this word overuse it on this show especially.
[39:51] Speaker 4: It was competent, It looked competent.
[39:53] Speaker 5: It was creditible, it was creditable, as we've loved to
[39:56] Speaker 5: say about the Titans in one way or another, at
[39:58] Speaker 5: least on defense.
[39:59] Speaker 4: I I like.
[40:00] Speaker 5: Also the sort of experiment that's happening here where they're
[40:06] Speaker 5: going to bring in two former head coaches in sort
[40:09] Speaker 5: of retread roles, although Dable obviously being the offensive coordinator,
[40:13] Speaker 5: two really big personalities. So far, though, it's worked out
[40:17] Speaker 5: in a way where you can see why it makes
[40:18] Speaker 5: sense where they've each kind of gone after their own
[40:21] Speaker 5: players and say, hey, we can fit them on a
[40:23] Speaker 5: roster together.
[40:23] Speaker 2: Here's what we know about Robert Sala He's not going
[40:26] Speaker 2: to solve your offense. Eight point four is my score self.
[40:30] Speaker 2: Love is important. I think I really made it convincing. No,
[40:33] Speaker 2: they would have been number two on my list, I believe.
[40:36] Speaker 2: I mean, that's why I nominated him. I guess the
[40:38] Speaker 2: Raiders by score is my number one. Eric, what do
[40:41] Speaker 2: you got? Yeah, we're we're going seven as well.
[40:44] Speaker 1: Yeah, I was very much in the same boat as
[40:46] Speaker 1: Jordan was just saying, I like Robert Sala, I like
[40:48] Speaker 1: Brian Daball. Maybe it's my Josh Allen roots with him.
[40:52] Speaker 1: But yeah, you get two guys both know what they're doing.
[40:54] Speaker 1: Go fix whatever the hell has been going on there
[40:57] Speaker 1: for the last decade.
[41:01] Speaker 3: Hey, they you.
[41:02] Speaker 2: Know, they had a successful coach, Mike Rabil there for
[41:05] Speaker 2: a while. They might they might be enjoying Patriots offseason
[41:09] Speaker 2: two from AFAR. Let's talk about your final nomination. Jordan, hmm,
[41:15] Speaker 2: don't say it who it is.
[41:18] Speaker 4: I am nominating the New York Jets as one of
[41:21] Speaker 4: our off sea that's one of them.
[41:24] Speaker 2: No, they were, come on, you have to have the
[41:25] Speaker 2: Jets in there. I thought, I thought hard about that.
[41:28] Speaker 5: I like when Eric hits a drop that just is
[41:30] Speaker 5: like it cracks me up. A lot of this is
[41:32] Speaker 5: because I really like their draft. They had a lot
[41:34] Speaker 5: of picks to use, They have a lot of rebuilding
[41:37] Speaker 5: to do, and I can see the vision that they're
[41:40] Speaker 5: trying to build with. They brought in a couple of
[41:42] Speaker 5: great weapons in the draft, and Kenyon Sadek and Omar
[41:45] Speaker 5: Cooper Junior for your guy, Geno Smith. Geno Smith really
[41:50] Speaker 5: excels with players who are zone beaters, specifically you can
[41:53] Speaker 5: create after the catch. I like the idea of Kenyon
[41:55] Speaker 5: Sadik in line with Mason Taylor together with this offensive line.
[42:00] Speaker 5: I also like the thought of either of those players
[42:02] Speaker 5: detached from the stack as skill players as well in
[42:05] Speaker 5: compliment to the guys they already had on the our
[42:08] Speaker 5: guy they already had on the roster. This, as I've
[42:12] Speaker 5: said at nauseum about our offseason winners. Here, this was
[42:15] Speaker 5: all about a combination of a team that needs to
[42:18] Speaker 5: raise the floor and raise the competence level and the
[42:20] Speaker 5: identity of its team with veteran players, which they went
[42:23] Speaker 5: and did in some ways in free agency, but then
[42:25] Speaker 5: also by stockpiling these draft picks and trading out guys
[42:29] Speaker 5: who weren't necessarily going to be with them for the
[42:32] Speaker 5: long term, and then also drafting to compliment so they
[42:35] Speaker 5: might have contributions this season. You know, Jets, by reporters
[42:38] Speaker 5: are thinking from all eight picks could have an actual
[42:42] Speaker 5: spot here with a dozen or so new starters in total,
[42:45] Speaker 5: and then you replace the veterans, especially with guys who
[42:49] Speaker 5: you are going to draft. Over the next couple of years,
[42:52] Speaker 5: you could see this plan start to be in place.
[42:54] Speaker 5: I do like that they kept relative continuity. Aaron Glenn
[42:57] Speaker 5: it was a really rocky year for him season, but
[43:00] Speaker 5: they went about committing to players who you could see
[43:03] Speaker 5: were fits for him. And I also am sort of
[43:07] Speaker 5: pandering to you a little bit because your favorite player
[43:10] Speaker 5: was draft.
[43:10] Speaker 2: Gino helped, Gino helped. I thought about it very strongly.
[43:14] Speaker 4: Angela Pond's is also rendering to Greg a little bit.
[43:18] Speaker 2: Big swings, big missus in my mind. But uh, it
[43:24] Speaker 2: made me, It made me think hard. I think you
[43:25] Speaker 2: deserve an applause here for some reason. Chris Babona is
[43:29] Speaker 2: on the mic, now are you ready here?
[43:31] Speaker 3: So I think that you.
[43:32] Speaker 4: Don't get applause.
[43:33] Speaker 3: Yeah, you never got any applause.
[43:35] Speaker 4: Why I need more validation than Greg does. Let's be honest.
[43:39] Speaker 7: We switched producer chairs and now, yeah, thank Eric's doing
[43:42] Speaker 7: a ton of stuff.
[43:47] Speaker 4: Just a little more. Just keep it going just a
[43:48] Speaker 4: little bit longer.
[43:49] Speaker 3: Let's keep going.
[43:50] Speaker 4: Yeah, that's all I have. You guys, It's all I have.
[43:52] Speaker 2: Well, I'm ready for your score, Chris, let's hear it.
[43:55] Speaker 2: I'll talk a little more, but I'm going nine.
[43:58] Speaker 3: Wow.
[43:59] Speaker 7: I think it was a very very very strong offseason,
[44:02] Speaker 7: and I think two of my favorite parts were. Number One,
[44:04] Speaker 7: I think David Bailey over Rville Reese is gonna go
[44:07] Speaker 7: down in history for like, really really, I think that
[44:10] Speaker 7: is like one of the best picks of the draft.
[44:13] Speaker 7: And then also just that they didn't even entertain the
[44:15] Speaker 7: QB class of this year and are going in with
[44:18] Speaker 7: Gino and then waiting for next year. I think that's
[44:20] Speaker 7: a very good strategic point for them.
[44:23] Speaker 2: I think that is a great point about that they
[44:26] Speaker 2: built an offense ready for that next quarterback and that
[44:29] Speaker 2: they're set up, and that is, you know, kind of
[44:31] Speaker 2: part of their offseason they started the trade. I also
[44:34] Speaker 2: think you going so hard Bailey over Reese feels personal,
[44:39] Speaker 2: like an attack on me when I've been the total
[44:42] Speaker 2: opposite the whole time, and I'm gonna knock you for that.
[44:47] Speaker 2: I am gonna give the Jets a you made a
[44:52] Speaker 2: very persuasive case, but I'm gonna give them a seven
[44:56] Speaker 2: point seven. Ultimately, only I have to go with some
[45:00] Speaker 2: of my first gut reactions to the free agency period,
[45:04] Speaker 2: which was on Yamada, that sweat, that Tavandre sweat trade.
[45:08] Speaker 2: I kind of liked for the other side, to Mario Davis,
[45:11] Speaker 2: Minka Fitzpatrick, the combination of all those.
[45:16] Speaker 5: We said at the time, it's guys they are certainly
[45:18] Speaker 5: going to be replacing in the next.
[45:19] Speaker 4: Year or two.
[45:20] Speaker 2: My concern is they might be replacing him in week
[45:22] Speaker 2: four that they they they just are busts essentially, and
[45:27] Speaker 2: that could be wrong. And ultimately it's a little bit
[45:29] Speaker 2: of lack of faith in their vision because I'm looking
[45:32] Speaker 2: at it here. Their entire defense other than Jamien Sherwood
[45:37] Speaker 2: was literally not on the roster when Aaron Glenn got there,
[45:41] Speaker 2: and that's just a lot of turnover and he hasn't
[45:44] Speaker 2: shown me that he can kind of make it happen.
[45:46] Speaker 3: So that so a little bit of a knock.
[45:47] Speaker 2: But all your second stage arguments in the draft and
[45:52] Speaker 2: overall picture I think makes sense.
[45:53] Speaker 4: Yeah, I think too.
[45:55] Speaker 5: You bring in a quarterback like Gino again to lift
[45:58] Speaker 5: the floor of everything, but we are not thinking that
[46:00] Speaker 5: he is going to be your long term So people
[46:03] Speaker 5: get lost in the sauce a little bit seeing him
[46:05] Speaker 5: and thinking, oh, maybe they're going to be really competitive.
[46:08] Speaker 4: No, this is a rebuild.
[46:09] Speaker 5: And the reason that they've got floor raising veteran players
[46:13] Speaker 5: in there is because they are going to be drafting
[46:15] Speaker 5: in volume over the next two seasons, including this one,
[46:18] Speaker 5: and replacing players.
[46:19] Speaker 4: With their draft picks. But they have to feel a
[46:22] Speaker 4: rational team.
[46:23] Speaker 3: I tell you what, I'm an eight point and eight
[46:25] Speaker 3: point three.
[46:26] Speaker 2: I'm not going to go eight point three wins, but
[46:27] Speaker 2: I am going to go over five and a half wins.
[46:29] Speaker 3: I think already. I know that.
[46:31] Speaker 4: Yeah, that offense will be competitive. They will be competitive.
[46:34] Speaker 2: That offense, if Gino plays well, is a competitive offense, right,
[46:38] Speaker 2: Actually have more questions about the defense.
[46:40] Speaker 5: You can rebuild and earn a little respect in the process.
[46:43] Speaker 5: That's what I think they're doing here, trying to.
[46:45] Speaker 3: I'm glad you gave them some love. No, because they.
[46:47] Speaker 5: Icked Chris's point about the getting this entire ecosystem ready
[46:52] Speaker 5: for a quarterback as well.
[46:53] Speaker 2: And I like him going so hard at Bailey and
[46:55] Speaker 2: I'm going back at you, Chris. That's just my that's
[46:58] Speaker 2: my love language. I like that you went so hard
[47:00] Speaker 2: because I really haven't heard that take a ton either.
[47:02] Speaker 2: For a number two overall pick. People should be getting
[47:04] Speaker 2: more excited. We get excited.
[47:06] Speaker 5: We definitely have to clip it because our takes on
[47:08] Speaker 5: this show live forever in posterity.
[47:11] Speaker 3: Okay, so especially the ones we're right about. The final
[47:13] Speaker 3: Jets score.
[47:16] Speaker 2: Will be somewhere in the twenty fours, which is good,
[47:21] Speaker 2: but it's only going to be good enough or third place.
[47:26] Speaker 2: The second best offseason was another Jordan nomination.
[47:29] Speaker 3: It's the Houston Texans, but the offseason champions are the
[47:33] Speaker 3: Las Vegas Raiders. They did it, they did it.
[47:39] Speaker 2: Wow, we are out on a limb here. I mean
[47:42] Speaker 2: last year was the Rams, an already successful team, but
[47:48] Speaker 2: we had the Patriots and look what happened to them
[47:50] Speaker 2: as number two. So this year we got Raiders Texans.
[47:57] Speaker 2: I'm doing the math in my head for the Jets.
[47:58] Speaker 2: I believe the Jets finished third and then it was
[48:02] Speaker 2: very close between the final three teams, but the forty
[48:05] Speaker 2: nine Ers, Titans.
[48:07] Speaker 3: And Giants in that order.
[48:09] Speaker 4: I think this is a good list.
[48:10] Speaker 3: It's an honor to just to be nominated.
[48:12] Speaker 2: This exercise was really instructive for me because I did
[48:16] Speaker 2: not see a ton of room between the like the
[48:20] Speaker 2: top couple teams and I did like those New York teams,
[48:22] Speaker 2: and then I think there was a lot of teams
[48:24] Speaker 2: that had the good off seasons except for one little
[48:26] Speaker 2: thing bothered me. Oh for you, Greg. Jordan is holding
[48:30] Speaker 2: up Greg with the number ten next to it on
[48:35] Speaker 2: her placard.
[48:36] Speaker 3: What do we call these? I don't know.
[48:38] Speaker 2: I mean, that's the That's the nicest thing anyone said
[48:40] Speaker 2: to me all week, and it was my anniversary. You know,
[48:44] Speaker 2: hey'll be here all week. We really will be. We've
[48:48] Speaker 2: named the offseason champions.
[48:49] Speaker 4: Let's say the congratulations to the Las Vegas Raiders.
[48:52] Speaker 3: Finally did it. You won something.
[48:54] Speaker 2: Let's go you did make the playoffs a few years ago,
[48:58] Speaker 2: almost won that game, but not quite. Congratulations to the
[49:01] Speaker 2: Raiders and their fans, Into Steven Into John Spytech, if
[49:05] Speaker 2: he's out there listening.
[49:06] Speaker 5: We believe and it definitely means that this is the
[49:10] Speaker 5: most important thing of all to predict what you're going
[49:12] Speaker 5: to do for the regular.
[49:13] Speaker 2: Yeah, this wasn't necessarily supposed to be predictive, but last year,
[49:16] Speaker 2: since we nailed the first two and three out of
[49:19] Speaker 2: the top four, I'm kind of viewing it that way.
[49:20] Speaker 2: Now we're rooting extra hard for the Raiders. Like I said,
[49:23] Speaker 2: I will be here all week. Wednesday show is going
[49:26] Speaker 2: to be really fun. It's myself, all the Claymates and
[49:30] Speaker 2: the Clay Bond vivants out there will be excited because
[49:32] Speaker 2: we're doing a mail bag. So check out my prompt
[49:35] Speaker 2: on Instagram and Twitter and Blue Sky. Send us your
[49:39] Speaker 2: questions and we will be answering them on Wednesday's show.
[49:42] Speaker 3: We'll see you then. Congratulations in the Las Vegas Raiders

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