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Legendary Coachspeak - Shifting Depth Charts

STACKED extracted the fantasy-relevant player signal from this video and kept the full transcript here for context.

1 hr 38 min

Duration

Estimated from transcript

Aug 10, 2026

Published

Mon, August 10, 2026

13

Player insights

12

Players mentioned

Topics

Terrance FergusonAntonio WilliamsBucky IrvingChase BrownGunnar HelmJames CookJeremy McNicholsKenneth GainwellKenneth Walker IIISaquon BarkleyStefon DiggsTerry McLaurin

Player analysis

Player insights

13

Antonio Williams

NegativeDepth Chart23:08

Stefon Diggs signing reinforces a quiet depth chart situation for Antonio Williams. The source notes they haven't been hearing much about Williams in a long time and characterizes him as pretty much undraftable right now; Diggs' addition further buries Williams on the Commanders depth chart.

Bucky Irving

PositiveRole3:30

Clear 1A starter in Tampa Bay's backfield with 15+ touches per game expected. Bucks OC Zack Robinson called Irving a stud, emphasizing his versatility in pass and run game, foot placement for direction change, and tackle-breaking ability. Robinson noted significant untapped pass-game upside and has been consulting with previous OC Liam Cohen on how to best utilize Irving in the passing game, building on the designed targets and schemed-up plays Irving executed in 2024. Todd Bowles and Robinson position Irving as the clear 1A starter over Kenneth Gainwell (1B). Irving's efficiency is the key factor in workload projection despite not being a traditional bellcow size.

Chase Brown

PositiveValue15:35

Ranked above Omar and Hampton in the source's rankings, positioned right after the tier containing the four elite running backs (James Cook, Saquon Barkley, Ashton Genty, Kenneth Walker). The Bengals' approach of securing sufficient running back production cheaply through Brown is characterized as smart roster building, avoiding the pattern of teams that hit on one running back then immediately invest heavily in another. Brown is described as a 'slightly above average starting NFL running back' who brings pass protection value and some juice as a runner, making him a cost-effective way for Cincinnati to fill the position without overspending.

Gunnar Helm

NegativeRole39:12

The source received bearish updates on Gunnar Helm's route participation outlook, reducing confidence in his role projection. This shift in information affects the evaluation of tight ends in Ferguson's ADP range, as the source prefers tight ends with clear high-volume route opportunities.

James Cook

PositiveRole12:12

Offensive coordinator Joe Brady praised Cook as a workhorse runner on August 3rd, stating 'You saw the best running back in the league last year. I expect James Cook to take another step this year in different elements of his game and to continue to be the workhorse as a runner and he wants it.' This was before the Ty Johnson injury, further securing Cook's workhorse workload.

Jeremy McNichols

NegativeDepth Chart43:12

Jeremy McNichols was tracking as the potential RB3 over Kron Allens in the Buccaneers backfield, suggesting he could make the team and potentially push Allens to a healthy scratch status. This depth chart movement benefits the lead-back prospects in the backfield, including Bill Crosby Merritt.

Kenneth Gainwell

NegativeRole4:00

Positioned as 1B to Bucky Irving's 1A in the Bucks backfield. Zack Robinson described Gainwell as versatile with great ball-in-hand skills, smart, and a strong pass protector. Robinson's messaging indicates the team will continue to find optimal spots for Gainwell alongside Irving in the offense. Gainwell can assume some of Rashad White's third-down role, but Irving is the preferred second-down and quick-hitter target. Gainwell is not stealing Irving's schemed-up designed targets or second-down touches, though he does represent legitimate competition for Irving's overall volume.

Kenneth Walker III

PositiveValue13:33

The source groups Walker with James Cook, Saquon Barkley, and Ashton Genty as elite RBs in the same tier at the one-two turn; willing to take any two-combination of these four backs and notes that if forced to pick just two in a home league, leans toward Genty-Walker or Genty-Barkley pairings, indicating Walker is a core target in that range. Kenneth Walker is referenced as the tier marker in the source's running back rankings; Chase Brown is ranked immediately after the tier containing Kenneth Walker and three other elite running backs, establishing Walker as part of the top tier of running back prospects.

Saquon Barkley

PositiveValue13:33

The source groups Barkley with James Cook, Ashton Genty, and Kenneth Walker as elite RBs in the same tier at the one-two turn; willing to take any two-combination of these four backs and notes that if forced to pick just two in a home league, leans toward Genty-Barkley or Genty-Walker pairings, indicating Barkley is a core target in that range.

Stefon Diggs

NegativeRole23:08

Commanders signing Diggs as slot player with emphasis on inside work. Coach Dan Quinn notes Diggs' great feel, competitiveness, and ability to move the chains in slot role. Quinn emphasized Diggs won't exclusively play slot and praised his uniqueness in the offense with accurate passer Jaden Daniels. Offensive coordinator David Blau identified him as a go-to third-down option who moves the chains. No pitch count anticipated like he had in New England; Quinn indicates they are building him into the offense gradually. Quinn highlights Diggs' suddenness inside as a key attribute from past matchups.

Terrance Ferguson

PositiveRole29:16

Rams offensive coordinator Sean McVey describes Terrence Ferguson as the team's most unicorn weapon in the pass game, capable of playing all eligible spots (X, Z, Y, F) and providing unique versatility. McVey emphasized Ferguson will be a big part of the 2025 offense, noting his elite lower-half flexibility, ability to work edges similar to Travis Kelce's footwork and skating ability, and his college elite trait of 9 yards per route run in run-after-catch production—a skill the Rams did not tap into last year despite his high 18+ yard air-dot average. McVey recognizes significant untapped potential: Ferguson was able to shake loose easily on downfield shots, but the Rams' primary opportunity lies in getting him the ball in space and at intermediate levels. With limited other YAC threats besides Puka Nacua in the offense, McVey is expected to deploy Ferguson more strategically to maximize his elite run-after-catch ability at all three levels of the field.

PositiveValue40:06

The source was aggressively targeting Ferguson at 20th, 19th, and 18th round ADP earlier in the season due to untapped upside; however, the new price makes it a much worse bet. At current ADP, Ferguson presents a tougher value proposition in redraft leagues compared to his earlier pricing, though he retains breakout potential if he can reach 75% route participation; at 60% participation, his upside will be capped. Ferguson has been compared to Travis Kelce by the Rams coaching staff, with McVey noting similarities to Chris Jones and Kelce when the team initially drafted him. The comparison suggests elite receiving potential, though the source notes Ferguson is unlikely to receive the volume Kelce does given the Rams' receiver depth (Puka Nacua, Adams). At 60–65% route participation, Ferguson could produce very big weeks.

Terry McLaurin

PositiveDepth Chart23:08

Stefon Diggs signing with the Commanders directly impacts Terry McLaurin's role and target share in the concentrated passing offense. The source indicates Diggs' addition has clear negative implications for McLaurin's usage, as Diggs will work primarily inside as a slot player with great feel and competitiveness, functioning as a go-to third-down option who moves the chains.

Full transcript

Episode Transcript

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0:00Welcome to the Legendary Upside podcast and YouTube channel. My name is Pat Grain. You can follow all of my content at legendaryupsside.com.

0:07With me today, Greg Branos of the Coach Speak Index for our Legendary Coach Speak podcast. Greg, how's it going?

0:14>> Doing doing well, man. got uh finally got 70 millimeter IMAX tickets for the Odyssey and they are for tonight at 11

0:22p.m.

0:25might be a little bit of delay uh in the in the notes tomorrow morning. Just just a little bit.

0:33>> Oh man. Have you seen it yet? I haven't seen it yet.

0:35>> Yeah, I I saw it in 70 mm on opening day.

0:38>> No spoilers, dude. No spoilers.

0:40>> Yeah. one of the one of the worst seats in the house and it was still like >> okay >> incredibly gripping on on the edge of my

0:47seat. Nice.

0:48>> But part of that was because I was so far back. I needed to get forward as much as possible.

0:54>> I uh I bought tickets for me and Britney were like, "All right, we Saturday works out. We don't have any plans. We're

1:01going to go." We bought tickets and then Britney was like, "Oh, we do have plans, remember?"

1:06>> [laughter] >> So, we we didn't go, but we will hopefully maybe this weekend some other time. Actually, we can't go this

1:14weekend. I don't know when I'm going to see the Odyssey. It it the Odyssey dropping like right as like football gets nuts and then like you know it's

1:21the middle of summer like June. You couldn't have done this in June.

1:24>> Yeah. Come on. Come on.

1:26>> Come on, Chris. Um, but speaking of football getting nuts, I mean, there have been times throughout the summer where you've been like, h, you know, we

1:36talk about this. There's a couple things that I've I dug up. I went to some random podcast. I mean, the the podcast

1:42grinding you must do in in June.

1:46It's like it's not a they're not standing in front of reporters.

1:50>> Yeah.

1:50>> Right. You're you're looking at >> it's national media hits. It's >> Right. Right.

1:55>> Yeah. It's it it's team media, all all that kind of stuff. And and and some of these guys do a lot more than others.

2:01Like Liam Cohen was on as many podcasts as as he could find. His his his press team must have been like sending out

2:09availabilities.

2:10>> Liam Cohen's Hawkins supplements and stuff now [laughter] alpha brain.

2:18>> Yeah. So now we have practice and then after the practice they talk about the practice. It's pretty nice. You flagged

2:26a bunch of stuff. Um, >> anything you want to start with?

2:30>> Well, let's let's save Jacobe Lane for last because there's so much on him going even back to the draft. Like I've

2:37got I think like five different pressers to to kind of go back.

2:41>> You're going to do a drum beat on Jacobe Lane just solo. You're just doing it do a little Jacob Lane drum solo.

2:46>> It's going to be it's going to be the ending of Whiplash. My hands will be very bloody. It's mo It's Moby Dick. You

2:54know, we're You don't start the the set with Moby Dick, right?

2:58>> Right. [laughter] Yes. I love it when the crowd the entire time you're playing a set is yelling out Moby Dick.

3:08>> Free dick.

3:10>> Free dick.

3:12>> Well, it's because there's a drum solo.

3:14Moby Dick. That's why I did it.

3:18Um anyway, all right. Let Let's save Jacobe Lane. the drum solo uh gets maybe not the very end. Maybe we'll mix it in

3:25because I don't think you don't normally encore the drum solo either. You kind of want to put it right in the middle

3:29somewhere.

3:30>> Uh but yeah, let's uh let's start Bucky Irving. You flagged Bucky Irving in the Bucks backfield. Comments from Zack Robinson there.

3:40>> Yes, Zack Robinson on August 4th.

3:45Pull it up here.

3:48Uh he was asked what he has noticed about Bucky Irving. the fit that he's going to have with with Kenneth Gainwell. And Robinson said, "Bucky is a

3:56stud." And in fact, he he opened this answer with Buckyy's a stud. He also ended it with he's a stud. So, a

4:05little little stud compliment sandwich.

4:07>> Stud compliment sandwich is nice >> from Zack Robinson. and he he he talked about um you know the the versatility he

4:14has in the pass game and and the run game, but one of the things that that he went into was like what we have seen on

4:24the field from Bucky Irving and that's the way that he runs, the way that his feet are always in the ground, so he's

4:30always able to change direction and that obviously keeps him so balanced to break tackles. Uh later on in this presser, he

4:39was asked about what Kenneth Gainwell style brings to the offense. Uh you know, talked about how versatile he is, great with the ball in his hands, very

4:47smart, great pass protector, and made this comment that uh we'll continue to find out where we can put him in the

4:56best spots along with Bucky. But everything that the Bucks have been saying this off season from Todd BS and then Zack Robinson, you know, more so

5:07from BS is listen, Buckyy's the clear starter. Like we've got a couple other good running backs, but it's it's 1A 1B.

5:16Bucky's 1A. It's clear he's the starter here. So it it as far as the workload is concerned, I I don't see some like big

5:26bellcow thing for for Bucky. And and he's not like the size of a guy that you really give a huge workload to, but he

5:33is very efficient. Uh I I would expect, you know, 15 plus touches a game for him, kind of right in that area. Uh Zack

5:41Robinson had this comment very early in the offseason about how he felt there was so much meat left on the bone in the

5:47pass game for Bucky Irving. And then we also found out that Zack Robinson has been talking to Liam Cohen nearly every

5:56day. They're really good friends.

5:57They've talked about this offense and how to best you uh utilize the personnel. uh in this offense and we we saw a lot of really great stuff and a

6:07lot of really great stuff in the pass game for Bucky Irving in 2024. So I I I would expect a lot of that again.

6:15>> Yeah, I think the Bucky stuff like I understand why people got nervous and are still nervous on Bucky Irving because you do have last

6:24year comes back off the injury and he's getting squeezed uh in the passing game and at the goal line a bit. So, he's

6:33sort of this lowv value touch, you know, sort of trapback running back. And that's like a frustrating place to find yourself, especially like last year, you

6:42spend a second round pick or early third round pick on Bucky Irving and he doesn't play much and then he has this

6:49really low value role. Um, you know, for how much volume he's seeing, it is it's pretty frustrating. And you do have

6:58Shawn Tucker there. Sean Tucker. There was a a note from someone watching practice last week and it was just like juice.

7:07>> That's what I that's what I noticed with Shawn Tucker. Juice. This guy is like probably the most valuable running back

7:13three in the league. Like he and I I'm I'm bummed that Tucker didn't get a chance to go play somewhere else. like

7:22he could be really fun as an RB2 >> on, you know, on one of these teams that doesn't have much depth. Like

7:28>> Shawn Tucker on the Cowboys. I think I would be drafting a lot of Shawn Tucker.

7:32Yeah.

7:33>> You know, that'd be pretty pretty fun.

7:35So, it's annoying that Tucker's there because I do think he can be better than Bucky at the goal line. Like, it's not

7:42even just them uh, you know, wanting to keep Bucky fresh or whatever. Like, Tucker's good. And then I think Gainwell's good, too. So it it makes me

7:51nervous for in that sense of like he he has legit competition.

7:56On the other hand, I think Bucky is good. Bucky is he's got great burst like kind of elite acceleration when you

8:04watch him, you know, he just he gets start stop's awesome. Yeah. And he catches the ball really well. So Gainwell can kind of take over some of

8:14that like Rashad White third down roll stuff, but on second down, second and six, they kind of hit Bucky with a quick

8:21hitter. Like he's going to be good at that. That's not something that Gainwell's stealing, you know? So it it is ultimately like a price thing. Like

8:29if Bucky was still going in the early fourth, that would be too expensive. But you get him at the end of the fifth, sometimes

8:36in the sixth round.

8:37>> Mhm. I I think he's kind of a no-brainer when he falls that far. It's just like one of those things where RB2s,

8:46you know, have been overpriced at times in reddraft especially. But I think in baseball getting like a like I get why

8:54you don't want to pay up for what is probably an RB2.

8:58But you also don't want to just give away RB2s for free in baseball. And sixth round RB2 production is kind of

9:05for free. you know, that allows you to do some stuff with your roster and the and the rest of the build that's pretty

9:10beneficial. So, I I'm I've been in on Bucky. I've been drafting a good amount of Bucky and and not just like in the

9:17late fifth and the early fifth, I think he's pretty solid. So, you know, within like a midf round type of price tag, I

9:24I've been in. He's not he's not at the exclusion of all the other backs there.

9:27I think there's a good amount of of valuable backs in the fifth round, but largely share your optimism. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm taking him above Tvon Henderson,

9:36above Jadarian Price. Uh kind kind of he's kind of right there with Quinchon Judkins for me. Yeah, Judkins is going to get a lot of work, but on an offense,

9:46it's probably not going to score as many points. And while Kenneth Gainwell is there in Tampa Bay and he is um like

9:54he's he's he's good in the pass game, Buckyy's also very good in the pass game. And the same the ca the same kind

10:01of like miss tackles force that we see him uh execute in in the run game is also something that we saw him do quite

10:08a bit in the past game especially on those kind of schemed up things these designed targets for him that we saw

10:15with Liam Cohen in in 2024 and again with Zack Robinson having this direct line to Cohen on like hey any tips on

10:22how I can best utilize these guys and I'm sure he he watched a bunch of the 2024 film you know this offensive line

10:29is is is >> Robinson also had Cohen on his podcast which was helpful [laughter] >> and and then this offensive line is is

10:37also a big deal cuz cuz last year they were really really banged up. Uh Tristan Worse is a little banged up right now,

10:43but you know, should hopefully be fine to >> They were really banged up in Bucky starts and Bucky was very inefficient

10:50last year as a runner >> in a way that's pretty pretty concerning. But we did see this with Achan where he um I think what in the

10:59second season he was super super efficient as a as a rookie and then uh in his second season we were projecting

11:08he might become like a big-time receiver. he does become a big-time receiver and the efficiency on the ground craters. HM would have basically

11:17just smashed been like the guy you had to have in year two if he'd been efficient as a runner. He wasn't. He was

11:23efficient the year after, >> right? Um but there's there can be like rushing efficiency is something I look at and I

11:31care about, but is also not super sticky. So the Bucky rushing efficiency was terrible last year. It did also coincide with massive shakeups on the

11:40offensive line, not just with Warfs out, but them moving their center to tackle.

11:44Their guards are all shifting around.

11:46They have multiple guys out. It was like a complete just, you know, trying to like glue something together. And then eventually the offensive line kind of

11:54got healthier as the year went on. But there are ways where we look back on Buckyy's sophomore season and think like, oh yeah, of course he wasn't

12:02efficient. Of course it was a disappointing year. The offensive line was a mess.

12:05>> Yeah. And this is one of the better O lines in the league this year, >> right? Yeah, exactly.

12:13Um, all right, let's uh let's go to another running back, James Cook. Uh, positive comments on James Cook from Joe

12:23Brady talking about him being a workhorse runner. Uh, and there's been like a little bit of talk about him catching the ball more. What are your

12:32thoughts on James Cook? Yeah, Joe Brady on August 3rd said, "You saw the best running back in the league last year. I

12:39expect James Cook to take another step this year in different elements of his game and to continue to be the workhorse

12:46as a runner and he wants it." And I believe this was also before the Ty Johnson injury uh that that occurred the

12:55other night at their practice.

12:57So, yeah, another another workhorse workload for for James Cook.

13:04Yeah. I mean, [clears throat] is is are you doing much with with that? Like to me, I've been kind of taking my James

13:10Cook at the one-two turn, but I'm not, you know, I'm not making him a priority, you know, to grab ahead of like Jeff

13:17Justin Jefferson or CD Lamb. Like, I'm not really doing that at all. And I'm taking Genty ahead. Uh, but he's not a

13:23fade for me, you know? I'm doing I'm kind of getting my fair share of of James Cook, I'd say. Are you approaching

13:29that any differently? Yeah, I'm I'm I'm like I don't want to fade any of these guys in in that area. I think James

13:37Cook, Saquon Barkley, Ashton Genty, Kenneth Walker for me are all kind of like right there in that same kind of kind of bucket over at the over at the

13:47one-two turn. I'm just like, "All right, give me give me any two combinations of these guys." Like, I don't want to keep

13:53taking the same combination over and over uh in drafts. Now, if if it's like a home league and and and I have to pick

14:00like just two of these guys, then I think maybe I do lean like a like a Genty Barkley or even like Genty Walker.

14:07Um but like I don't I I I don't want to be fading James Cook because we do get these like really really big weeks from

14:14him and then if he does step up this you know they give him more opportunities in the passing game then it could be um you

14:21know it could be pretty pretty nice run out for him.

14:24>> Yeah, for sure. Can I ask you about a guy uh it's kind of a similar sort of uh you know set of like at le I don't know

14:32if it's so much coach speak. This is why I want to get your thoughts but out of out of training camp kind of like beat

14:37reports we've heard a lot about Chase Brown catching the ball more. Um I know they talked positively about him in pass

14:45protection a few weeks ago. Um, but how much are you buying into the Chase Brown, you know, pass catcher stuff cuz

14:53he already has been a pass catcher to a degree? So, it's it like I I kind of inherently have some skepticism with

15:00this type of stuff. It feels very training camp coded. Uh, it's like established running back's going to catch the ball a bunch now. Like that's

15:08been probably like one of the least uh there's been like the least signal to that sort of stuff over the years. It's

15:15like actually established running back kind of does what the established running back does >> um is is like a better baseline

15:22expectation generally, but there's been enough around Chase Brown catching the ball more and an offense that throws the ball a lot uh where if he

15:30did it would it'd be pretty cool. So, any thoughts on Chase Brown?

15:35>> Yeah, I've I've got him above I think I have him above Omar and Hampton in in my rankings. have him like right after that

15:42tier that we just talked about with those with those four running backs like after uh after Kenneth Walker there. Uh they they they do like how much he's

15:50progressed in pass protection. Zack Taylor on July 27th was talking about how there's clips of him being absolutely tremendous in pass protection

15:59uh last year. Obviously that'll keep you on the field more. They still have Saj Per, but what is he like 34 35 years

16:06old? Pretty old >> now. Uh the offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher has been a really big Chase Brown fan for uh for a couple years now

16:15talking about how he thinks this guy is going to be a household name. I I don't think he's he's this like great running

16:21back. So he's not somebody that I >> would be targeting. Yeah. He's not somebody that I'm targeting in Dynasty.

16:29Um because like if he if he ends up going somewhere else for his next contract like he could he could be he could be

16:38splitting a backfield with you know with like a pretty decent like he he can be in Kansas City or something right like

16:44splitting a backfield with Kenneth Walker or you know just like >> if they ever invest position as well I mean I think he could be in trouble like

16:51you get you know someone with with real breakaway ability you know just like just more juice as a runner. Yeah, he's

16:58faded that in the draft for for the last couple seasons now. They got what Taj Brooks >> last year who who didn't really work out

17:07for them and then I don't I don't even know if they drafted a a running back in >> in this year's draft. So, they they do

17:13have a lot of confidence in Chase Brown executing what they need for their offense.

17:19>> Yeah. Which I get. Like I think to me Chase Brown's been like he is a a cheap way to for the Bengals to have filled in

17:28sufficient running back production. Like Bengals aren't always praised for their roster building, but this is like a good way to kind of take care of running back

17:37cheaply. And then you don't spend like how many times have we seen teams, you know, you hit on Tyler Algier, what do

17:45you do? You draft BJ Robinson the very next year. Like why why? Yeah, this is the true running backs don't matter team.

17:53>> Right. Right. Which which I think is smart, but at the same time, I guess I have a little bit of skepticism that

18:00Chase Brown becomes this like superstar running back when he hasn't been to this point. He's already been catching the ball plenty. You know, he's he's seeing

18:10like over four receptions per game already. So, I I just I don't know. It's like this is one of the things too from

18:19writing up the the running backs for the legendary upside article I do which is which is I'm starting to work on now

18:25getting that out hopefully in the next week or so. Um we'll see. But I'm I'm working on it.

18:33But [laughter] uh >> got to go see the Odyssey.

18:36>> Yeah, I got to go see the Odyssey.

18:37That's why I don't have time to see the Odyssey. Yeah, >> but I mean like there have there's like a pretty good trend of in year two,

18:46running backs actually do see pretty big increases in how much they catch the ball. Like if you're betting on a sophomore running back to break out as a

18:54receiver, especially in that kind of like a chan way, like, hey, this guy's really good and he's probably going to have a bigger role. And I bet I bet you

19:01they try to throw to him because he's really dynamic and he's he's good at that. Uh that's when we do see that big

19:07spike. But we we just saw Chase Brown had 4.1 receptions per game last year which is really good. Like that's great.

19:16So that's a reason that you know he's a he's going where he goes. But like what is he going to have five? He's going to

19:21have five and a half. Like is he is he peak Chimera? Is he peak CMC?

19:27No. You know so that's what I just like I'm glad they're throwing to him but like >> Yeah. I think >> they have Chase they have Jamar Chase

19:34and T. Higgins like what?

19:35>> Right. I think it's just more I think it's just more a product of the of the offensive environment that he's in and

19:42him being >> like I'd say slightly above average starting NFL running back and and and he brings that the the pass protection that

19:53like they're good with that level. Uh also he is like he he's got some juice so getting him involved in the passing

20:03game. They don't have a lot of other offensive weapons besides Jamar Chase and T. Higgins and Chase Brown that they really utilize. Uh like they got a bunch

20:13of different tight ends, but they're not like super involving them unless like T.

20:17Higgins uh is is out there. There's no real third wide receiver. So, this is really one of the more concentrated offense kind of kind of like the Rams

20:26are, right? where it's the two receivers and it's whoever is back there at running back, but it's, you know, Chase Brown probably taking uh even more this

20:34year than than than he has traditionally. And if if the offense or if the defense is is not great, then, you know, we get a we get a bunch of uh

20:43plays every game from them. Like fairly efficient offense just because Burrow is that good. Also, this offensive line really is better than people uh think it

20:53is because you hear Bengals offensive line and you just kind of like picture what's been out there, you know, 2 3

20:59years ago, but we saw this O line really gel kind of in the second half of last season and uh and they're, you know,

21:06this this is going to be a a much better O line than what people kind of picture from two years ago.

21:14>> Yeah. Yeah. And at the very least, it's nice to hear they're throwing to him to lock in, you know, a role that was

21:19really nice last year. Like we want part of the the framework that I talk about for identifying these guys who can have

21:25these legendary seasons is a path to four plus receptions per game. And like Chase Brown doesn't have a path. He just

21:31did it. Like he >> he doesn't, you know, it's not a path.

21:35Like he really it's a it's an established thing he did.

21:38>> And so he just has to do that again. And they're talking about like if anything they want to throw to him more. So, that

21:44is good. Like, that is definitely definitely good. I've just been a little bit there's been a lot of kind of steam

21:49on him um around this pass catching stuff that I I'm like kind of skeptical of him having like a big jump, but it at least

21:59shows you that they were happy with with the role he had last year, which was very good in the passing game.

22:03>> Yeah, it's it is a tough decision when you're on the clock and it's like, all right, Chase Brown or AJ Brown or Brock

22:09Bowers here, >> right? Yeah. And I'm not usually going Chase Brown there, but you know, I I'm he's just a guy I'm starting to think

22:18through more as I as I, you know, prep this piece. And uh you know, for that article, I like I I travel into the

22:25future. I observe the legendary outcomes for for these running backs. And that's quite helpful. You know, uh you you're looking at like exactly how this is

22:35going to happen. I think that might be one of those ones where I'm just curious to see what how that looks because it's

22:43like I could see it being actually pretty easy to kind of project out a legendary season for him. I could also

22:49seeing it being a little bit harder. I'm like, well, he sets career highs in this and career highs in that and career

22:53highs in this. So, >> uh, but right now I'm wondering if maybe I I'm a little too low on on Brown

22:59ultimately.

23:00>> Again, I just think it's so concentrated there between Chase, T. Higgins, and and and Chase Brown. like this guy's going

23:06to be super super involved.

23:08>> Yeah. Um all right, let's talk through uh Stefon Diggs who signs with the Commanders. Uh this obviously has impacts on

23:19Terry McLaren, Chuga Conquo. Uh kind of tells you, I think it kind of reinforces some real quiet uh stuff from on Antonio

23:29Williams. I haven't been hearing a lot about Williams in a long time. Um, keep waiting.

23:34>> So, yeah. Uh, >> it's been quiet right on Williams.

23:40>> You'll see the Odyssey before Antonio Williams sees the field.

23:47>> Yeah. And I might not see the Odyssey this year, man. [laughter] >> They did extend it through through September.

23:53>> Yeah. Uh, and then I mean, yeah, Williams is pretty much undraftable right now, right?

24:00>> Yeah.

24:01>> Yeah. And then uh what are your thoughts on kind of how Diggs fits in, you know, with McLaren and Conqua and just Diggs'

24:09outlook? So Dan Quinn on August 7th was asked, "What does Diggs bring to the offense? What does he still do at a

24:16higher level?" Quinn said, "When you see him work inside as a slot player, he's got great feel. He's a great competitor.

24:23He's somebody certainly that can move the chains." They also asked Quinn whether he anticipates any kind of a pitch count uh this year like Diggs was

24:31on last year in New England. Quinn said, "We haven't gone through that far yet to see packages, what we play, how we

24:38feature it. We just know he's in great shape. We're ready to start building him in." Uh they also asked Quinn what stood

24:45out about Stfan Diggs when Quinn played against him in the in the past. Uh Quinn said his suddenness inside. They then

24:54asked uh Quinn how he feels about the offense with Diggs. He said, "I love some of the uniqueness that Steph has in

25:00his game as a slot player. When you have an accurate passer like Jaden Daniels, the ability to deliver the ball to the

25:06right location against a specific coverage is a really big deal." Uh Quinn also said he won't exclusively play just the slot. And then today a press

25:17conference with offensive coordinator David Blau. They uh he was talking about how uh the ball just like finds this guy because he's able to find space. And

25:28they then asked Blau like what does having a weapon like Stfan Diggs do for you on third downs? And he said he's a

25:35go-to guy. He moves the chains. Uh he's done that his whole career. So we will certainly set it up for him to be a

25:41priority in that instance. Then he said when opportunities come to him or Terry McLuren or Chicka Konquo or any of the

25:48other group in that wide receiver room, we mention Bill Crosky Merritt. We expect them to be able to be ready for

25:55those moments. He will certainly move the chains a lot for us. So it sounds like a lot of slot work for Diggs and uh

26:04definitely a lot of third down stuff.

26:06So, if you're in one of these leagues that gives you points for every first down, then that's another nice little added bonus there.

26:16Yeah, I think when [clears throat] you look at Diggs last year, his route participation being fairly low and them not having enough weapons, like very

26:27clearly not having the weapons they wanted to have because then they go trade for AJ Brown. They cut digs. They trade for AJ Brown. They bring in Romeo

26:37Dobs. Uh they draft Raritan, right?

26:40They're trying to like reload here. Uh in terms of the pass catchers and Diggs was still just at 71% round participation. So I would be surprised

26:50if the Commanders had him much above that because I think, you know, very likely it's related to his age. You know, he had a torn ACL. Now he's two

27:00years off of that. Maybe they have a little bit more confidence, but I I would be, you know, 75% maybe 80% route

27:08participation for Diggs would be good like that. So I if he keeps moving up and he he has, you know, it looks like he might end up

27:19in the 90s. I have him more in like kind of the 105ish sort of zone.

27:25Uh that might be ultimately like a little bit too expensive for me.

27:30Um, at the same time, I do think they they maybe think about him as that kind of chain mover, that reliable guy where

27:39it's not like he's just out there uh in in a limited way and [clears throat] they're not thinking about whether or

27:45not he's out there. Like they might have, you know, specific situations that they really lean on him. Um, and there is no there's no real depth at receiver.

27:56I mean, like literally Deami Brown's gonna play for these guys. Like, you know, when when diggs in the slot, who's the other outside wide receiver with

28:04McLaren? It might be Burks. Burks. Dami Brown. Yeah. So, I mean, he doesn't have a ton of target competition here. Um, so

28:12yeah, if you have D and I actually don't have a big bag of digs. um which Zayn apparently uh a bag of digs

28:22is now in my head uh in a different way.

28:25You know, [laughter] uh there's been some comments on a big bag of digs in the Discords, [snorts] but anyway, I don't have a big bag of

28:33digs uh from before he signed with the commanders. Uh unfortunately, if you do, I think you got to feel pretty good

28:40about that. in the 90s. I I think I'm not gonna be loading up, but I've been happy to get him when he falls into like

28:47the the 105ish kind of range.

28:49>> Yeah, that's that's kind of where where I have him in my my updated rankings now. I I I wonder how much he'll play in

28:58like 12 personnel. Obviously, Mc Mcccluren will be out there, but maybe it's like McLaren and and Burks, and this is kind of the the like rest snaps

29:08that they give Digs. But it but it is hard to see them not playing him in like almost all of their 11 personnel in in

29:16the slot there.

29:18>> Yeah, I agree. Um, another one that wasn't on your list, but I'm kind of shocked was not was Tferg, but Davis

29:28Madak in the chat here, uh, asking on on my thoughts with Shawn McVey comparing TIG to Travis Kelsey. First, let's get

29:36the the coach speak on Terrence Ferguson.

29:40>> It was really good. Yeah, I I if if there are guys that we've covered before, I try to not like go right back

29:47to the to the well, like try to try to hit on some some some new topics. But yeah, every everyone in the Coach Speak

29:54Index Discord are >> no one could have predicted this, but like not ironically like predicting that he's going to compare him to Kelsey is

30:02not predictable, I would argue, but go ahead. Well, okay. F first I'll I'll I'll I'll give some breadcrumbs to Pat here because before this Shawn McVey

30:12interview on NFL Daily with Greg Rosenthal and Jordan Rodriguez, uh the offensive coordinator Nate Shel House was asked in a press conference, "Do you

30:21expect someone from the tight end room to come out on top or do you guys plan on using a tight end by committee?" Shio

30:27House said, I don't expect any one guy in particular to quote unquote come out on top. Those guys are so versatile that

30:34you're just excited to see who ends up coming to life, based on what the defense wants to do. We can move all

30:39these guys all around the field. They can do so much in the run and pass game.

30:42You're just excited based on the game plan. You don't know who ends up popping up and making a play in the pass game.

30:47You don't know who ends up being at the point of attack in the run game. So, they really do pride themselves on on

30:53the versatility that these guys have that any of them can play in line. you know, they can they can put these guys

30:58kind of out in the in the F position.

31:01Um, and and they're, you know, they're they're good in the pass game. I do I do think TFR is like their most kind of

31:08like unicorn weapon in the pass game.

31:11And then Shawn McVey, yeah, this this this interview with Rosenthal and Rodriguez was uh it was it was it was pretty nice, man. They um he said

31:20everybody wants to look at the stats, but what he was able to do last year so instrumental instrumental in our success. He's moving around. He has to

31:27know all the ed eligible spots. He knows our X, our Z, our Y, our F. He knows it all. Uh, all of our personnel groupings

31:34because he might be asked to play all of these positions. Uh, and talking about how he enabled us to operate in a manner

31:42that was really unique because of the versatility that he provided. Uh, let me fast forward here saying that he's going to be a big part, guys like him are

31:51going to be a big part of what we're going to do. Uh, he has a unique skill set. He said he's a stud. He can do a

31:57lot of different things in line, in the slot, outside. Great lower half flexibility to be able to do a lot of

32:03different things that that we would ask.

32:04And then they ask him, well, what about this fluidity uh that he moves with? And here's what Davis Matic is uh is

32:11referencing here. Uh honestly, there's some similar mannerisms to Travis Kelce in terms of his feet are always close to

32:20the ground. He's kind of just able to skate. He's got good natural ability to work edges on people. One of the things

32:28that I like the most about him that really wasn't on display last year, he obviously did a great job tracking some

32:34big balls down the field, but his run after the catch, he was catching a lot of checkdowns or chip flats or whatever

32:40in Oregon, and you could see the run after catch was one of the elite traits that we liked. That's always an

32:46important factor for any of our our skill players. And he's no different, which we we we talked about this before, Pat, that they they did not tap into

32:55that yard after the catch stuff. And he he he led college football in Yak coming coming out of of Oregon there with uh

33:04with an average of nine yards uh run after the catch.

33:06>> Not total Yak, but in Yak Yak per >> per Yes. per per reception. Nine yards per per reception. And last year we saw

33:14this.

33:14>> That's that's me defending Harold Fannon, who actually [laughter] in total Yak. Yeah. And and last year we saw this super high A dot of of 18 plus

33:23yards. And we've we've we've also talked about like okay guy guys like Bashel Tutin right where where the Jags knew okay he the mistackles force and the

33:34speed he has this but then we saw him in a completely different role last year and not necessarily a role that we

33:40thought like oh this guy could really excel at but they used him in that role and he did excel in that role. And that

33:45was kind of the same thing with Terence Ferguson last year is that man, he he this guy is able to shake loose real

33:52easy on these downfield shots, which Matthew Stafford and ends up missing him on a lot of those. But he has this elite

34:00trait with his yards after the catch that the Rams did not tap into last year. And I think Shawn McVey when he

34:08goes back and he looks at the film of 2025, he he's a smart coach and he realizes like there's so much left on the table

34:16with this guy. We don't have a lot of other Yak threats besides Puka in this offense. We need to get this guy the

34:23ball in space. We need to get him the ball kind of in this intermediate area.

34:27And that doesn't mean that we can't do the downfield stuff. Like we can do it.

34:31And in fact, it will be more effective uh if we're using him at you know at all three levels of the field.

34:40So the part of the Ferguson thing that continues to kind of I struggle with is like he goes he was so instrumental to

34:50our success last year.

34:55No, he wasn't. he wasn't instrumental to their success in a in a way that like you telling me that he was is pretty

35:02bearish for what you're saying his role is this year. Like he he had 36% route participation last year. That sucks.

35:12Like if he was so instrumental and you're excited about that, how much is he playing this year? How is he so instrumental at 46% 55%?

35:24I want this guy running 75% of the routes ideally, right? Like 65% would be okay. 55% I'm kind of nervous, but maybe

35:34he gets there. Like, but he's got a lot he's got a long way to go in terms of playing time. And then he's saying guys

35:41like Terence Ferguson are going to be big part of what we do.

35:45>> Uh, that's cool, but like couldn't you have just said Terrence Ferguson is going to be a big part of what we do?

35:51guys like him. Sounds again like he's in a sort of a tight end committee. So that's is he in a tight end committee or

35:59is he going to be their starting tight end? Because if he's going to be their starting tight end, I get it. He's an

36:03exciting player. He's too cheap for sure if he's going to be their starting tight end. But is he or is he on track to be a

36:11part of a tight end committee like they ran out last year and seem to be pretty happy with? They bring back Tyler

36:15Higgby. They have Kobe Parkinson still.

36:17they draft Max Clair, which is, you know, I think at least a sign is a second round pick. Like, it's a sign

36:23that they, you know, are going to be playing multiple guys at the position. I do expect that he'll run more routes

36:28than last year for sure, but like is there a path to him being the the starting tight end for the Rams?

36:34>> Well, I I would say a couple things.

36:36First of all, he with the route participation, he barely played in kind of the first half of the season and then

36:42McVey was seeing what he did on the practice squad and he had this interview where he tells JB Long like, "Man, how

36:49dumb am I to not have this guy active on game day?" Also, he was a rookie last year and and we don't see like

36:58>> rookies getting a ton of burn for the Rams, especially at uh you know, at this kind of position. That's that's really

37:03really tough to to learn. Uh so I I >> in the playoffs he was in uh 39 and 45% round participation and he had a couple

37:12games where it jumped up I think uh I forget who was hurt. He got to 71% at peak in two games. 15 weeks 15 and 16

37:18but he falls again.

37:20>> Yeah.

37:20>> 46 week 17 39 week 20% week 21. So there was it improved, but it's still like >> Yeah.

37:29>> If he's at 45% round participation this year, which was where he was the last time we saw him, that's going to suck.

37:36>> Yeah. Well, he and and and again, he he did also deal with a with a with a hamstring injury in training camp last

37:42year. We see that >> not be great for for rookies when when they're missing time there. But >> he was barely playing when he first got

37:49on the field. You're right. Yeah. But as far as like starting tight end, I I don't know if you could say like

37:55starting tight end for a team that plays uh like barely any 11 personnel. Like they play they play so much 12 and uh

38:03and 13 there. Like he'll be one of their starting tight ends. There will be multiple guys out there, but like which

38:11of those guys is the biggest threat >> in the pass game? Like okay, Kobe Parkinson is good in the red zone. Uh,

38:20Tai Tyler Higgby is getting pretty up there in age. Um, I I think it's pretty clear that Terence Ferguson is like your

38:29most unique and best weapon in the tight end room.

38:35I agree. I agree. Yeah. I mean, it it's just he's not free anymore, right? I think like the like, hey, Ter Terrence

38:44Ferguson, great 18th round pick. uh the Terence Ferguson squad won that, but now he's he's moved up, you know, to a range

38:52where you're starting to have to now. I mean, we got some bearish stuff on Gunnar Helm, who he's flipped, so I'm

39:00I'm a lot less confident about how many routes Gunner Helm runs now, you know, but that he is in the range of of tight

39:06ends where generally I would like to be taking guys who are going to be running a lot of routes. Um, and are just like

39:14kind of traditional starters at the position. uh they can you know kind of help me out by being like a high volume

39:22opportunity guy even you know with the route being the opportunity even if the target share isn't amazing.

39:29I you know I I've struggled with Ferguson because I do see like kind of the vision for the breakout a bit but

39:35it's it's going to be harder for him to like really crush ADP if there isn't at least a path to him

39:41>> being like 75% round participation guy.

39:43Like if he's capped at like 60% that will hurt. That will that will cap the upside of what he can be.

39:49>> Yeah, I I I get that. And and he has a much tougher click in like a reddraft league than than he is in in in

39:56baseball. with with this profile of the downfield stuff that he's able to do.

40:02And if he does get like say 60 65% route participation, he's one of these guys who I think we could see some

40:11really really big weeks from.

40:13>> Yeah. Uh T Ferg Bull here, who's a great upside piece to build into two stable or elite tight end rooms early in the

40:20summer. The new price makes it a much worse bet. That's where I'm like, I I wish I had the the free Ferguson, which

40:26you did try to get me on, uh, as did Davis, but with the new price, it's like, you know, do I want him or or

40:34Kougher?

40:35>> You think I want Kottton?

40:37>> No. No. I I You You want the guy who the GM is saying like he's not great at anything, but he's pretty good at a lot

40:44of stuff.

40:45>> Yeah, I do. Cuz he's going to play he's going to he's going to be out there all the time. But they've made it they've

40:50made it pretty clear and and Bulls actually said something about this recently how like listen we're about our wide receivers in this offense. Like

40:58Kottton was good when when multiple of our receivers went down. Like we've been been able to rely on him in those

41:05circumstances. But like in especially in baseball when if I'm drafting like four tight ends, I'm not looking for for a guy who might give me like eight points

41:15on on a given week. I'm I'm in these later rounds. I'm looking for like who's a guy who can give me 20 plus points in

41:23a given week. So I I for me I think it it starts to get a little tough around the like AJ Barner, Greg Doulich area.

41:33Like I I I'll kind of mix and match >> those those guys around there. Um, and obviously like I was absolutely slamming

41:40Terence Ferguson when he was a 20th and 19th and an 18th round pick uh earlier earlier in the season, but I just think

41:48there's there's there's so much untapped upside there with him.

41:53>> This comment too, it's funny we're discussing whether to buy ambiguity on the only franchise to give us two 18th round league winners already. This ain't

42:00the Browns. And that is a good point.

42:02like we have seen um McVey when he's you know when he gets enough confidence in a guy for Kairen it was year two for Puka

42:12it was year one uh but we have seen him just be like yeah this is my dude I mean Cooper Cup was another example where you

42:20know when it was time when he was like yeah Cooper Cup's the dude he just ran it through Cooper Cup obviously don't

42:25think that happens with Ferguson because they have Puka yeah >> uh and they have Adams but >> at tight end it could happen. Um, so

42:33yeah, I I've just had a I like I really like playing time at tight end. I like guys who play, >> you know, that's sort of part of it for

42:43me. But I'm going to I'm going to look at the Ferguson stuff a little bit more now that he's compared to Travis Kelce,

42:48you know, that that seems a good time to review.

42:52>> Yeah. And and this is not the first time he he compared him to Travis Kelce. a while back. Uh I think kind of when they

42:57initially drafted him, they're saying u that he reminds me of like Chris [ __ ] and a little bit of Travis Kelce.

43:04>> That is nice. Uh I'm going to jump us into a draft here, but we've got some other some other stuff to cover.

43:12>> Bill Crosky Merritt in the past game.

43:14He's a guy we >> raised up a little bit last week in part because it looks like Kron Allens looked okay, but hasn't really been popping in

43:23a huge way. Uh Jeremy McNichols was looking like maybe he'd be the RB3 uh over Allen, which you know maybe healthy scratch Allen even if he makes

43:34the team which I think he probably will but that'd be really good for Bill. He'd be the clear runner with juice if it's

43:40like active game day him Rashad White and Jeremy McNichols. I'm pretty into that.

43:46>> Yeah.

43:46>> For Jakory Kroski Meritt. And then they've been talking a lot about how they wanted to catch the ball. I think

43:50maybe not like not to tip plays. Is that your read?

43:54>> Yeah. Dan Quinn on August 8th was asked, "What is the biggest difference that you notice in Bill Crosky Merritt from last

44:01season through today?" Quinn said, "I I would say probably in a passing game."

44:06That would be one of the things that jumps out. His running skills were always there. He's also added a little bit more armor. He's about 7 lbs

44:14heavier, lean mass. They asked offensive coordinator David Blau today how crosskimemerit's pass catching and pass blocking has evolved. Blau said he's

44:23demonstrated the ability to catch the ball away from his body. We're pleased with his development in that area. We haven't heard a lot about the um like

44:32how he's coming along in in pass protection. But, um, this also goes back to something that Quinn said, I think like last week or the week before about

44:42how good Jaden Daniels is at, um, at like putting the ball on the correct shoulder and like in in pinpoint accuracy, like the exact, uh, prime spot

44:52that you want it to be for a running back to where they're not like losing any momentum. And obviously with the

44:58juice that that Crossky Merritt brings to the table, like that's pretty nice.

45:02like maybe we get uh we do get some kind of like schemed up stuff for him. Um still still worry a little bit about the

45:10the goal line role like who's who's going to get that stuff. But you know we've talked about when when when we

45:17look at the running backs in this room like who's who's got the most juice. The most juice as a runner I think is like

45:23probably pretty clear that it's that it's Crosky Merritt. So, if we do get some passcatching stuff on top of that, that would be like really really huge

45:31for him.

45:34>> You've been fairly bearish on Jaci Kroski Merritt so far. How how much has this shifted your view?

45:40>> I'm I'm I'm definitely coming around on him because it it seems like they're trying to kind of force it, right? Like

45:48add this dimension to your game so we can get you on the field more, please.

45:54Mhm.

45:54>> And if if if he is doing well in that area, then like that's going to keep him on the field more. Like is he going to

46:01play third downs? No. Probably not. Like that's probably Rashad White, but like Rashad White has been an okayish runner at times and then like a pretty bad

46:13runner uh at at times as well. We we we did get stuff from Quinn when when he was asked before like who has stood out

46:20to you uh this this off seasonason and he brings up Rashad White as a guy who's going to pop to him. So like that's

46:26that's an interesting thing to to take into consideration. Um but yeah, I'm I'm I'm I'm not I'm not in the boat where

46:36it's like I got to scoop up as much, you know, bill as as I can right now. But it's all right, let's let's not like

46:44stone cold fade this guy. like let's get him on some on some teams and and like last night I did I talked about this

46:52like kind of strategy I'm trying out a little bit of if there's a guy who I'm really underweight on and I'm doing a

46:58draft and I'll I'll take that guy then I'll just kind of go much lighter at that position than than I usually would

47:04and then it's like okay if this guy smashes and this team is in in a great spot like I had James Cook, Kenneth

47:10Walker, um uh I think like David McGomery or something and then and then uh hear it.

47:17Yeah.

47:18>> Um so yeah, I'm starting starting to mix him in a little bit. I I I don't think he's like a terrible pick um or or

47:26anything, but um yeah, we'll kind of just like see how it how it plays out, I guess.

47:32>> Yeah, he is someone that I'm starting to be a little bit more aggressive on. Um I think he's going to move up. I think

47:39there's like a little bit of buzz around him and just one of those things where there was ambiguity in this backfield.

47:47We knew that. Uh I wasn't as you know I was a little nervous about you know him being unable to kind of dust Chris Ro

47:57Rodriguez last year. Um and like that's not that that shouldn't have been that hard, you know? So you're just like uh they gave him the

48:07opportunity. he didn't fully seize it.

48:10Where are they at on this guy in year two? It seems like they're kind of into him in year two, actually. And that

48:17would be pretty big, you know, and you have had guys like cuz >> looking at the year two running backs over the years, we've seen it both ways.

48:26We've seen where >> you have a Damian Pierce kind of the the right guy, you know, he's he's in he's in position. There's no real

48:36competition. And year two, they bring in Devin Singleary and that's enough. He loses the job to Devin Singleary. He's a terrible pick.

48:46He goes in like the sixth round of best baseball drafts that year. Terrible pick. Uh we're up Christian McCaffrey here. Good with you. He's he tightness

48:54today.

48:55>> Tightness, but yeah, we we get a we get a little value because of that here.

49:00>> Yeah. Two pick tightness discount. Um the so anyway, so you have you do have guy Michael Carter is another example. Of course they

49:09drafted Bree Hall, but Breece Hall tears his ACL and they still don't lean on Michael Carter. It's like Bam Knight and

49:15stuff where he was a really great pick as a rookie. He consolidates the backfield as a rookie. They're like, "We're not that into this. We're going

49:23to do other stuff." And even after Hall gets hurt, they do other stuff. Uh, but you have seen Pacheco, the big breakout

49:30season for Pacheco wasn't as a rookie when we had the big drum beat. It was in year two and he was a smash in baseball

49:36at a more expensive price than than Bill is right now. So, to me, it's like what where does the team stand on this? What

49:43is their goal? What is their hope? Like, how do they view this backfield? Is Bill the guy that they're hoping kind of

49:49breaks through and becomes their clear starter? because if so, like there's a lot of room to the upside and it does

49:56seem to be trending that way. So, I've been I've been trying to aggressively draft Bill recently. Um because I've been a little bit underweight. I'm at

50:05like 5% not like a massive stand against him, but uh not someone I've been aggressive on and I would like to be

50:13overweight on Jakory Cross at anywhere near this price. I would like to be overweight. Uh >> I'm Bowowers here.

50:20>> Nice. Me, too.

50:22Yeah, I think I think I think ideally they would want it to be Crosky Merritt.

50:29Um, yeah, they just like can can he get the pass protection stuff down? Can he be an asset in the passing game,

50:37>> which they're like really really pushing for?

50:40Yeah. And you have, you know, White is not very good and Kum was a sixth round pick, so he has a little bit of margin for error.

50:50>> Mhm. like he doesn't need to be amazing to distance himself from these guys.

50:54Like they he could probably flop for a couple weeks and they'd be like, "Well, let's try one more time." You know,

50:59there's a little bit of that element.

51:01So, it's that that kind of commitment.

51:03Like, we're getting a sense for what their plan is. And it does seem to be a more bill ccentric plan than than I had

51:08assumed. So, uh I want to move on that.

51:13You know, you you don't have to go right now to get him. You don't It's not like you have to take him in the 80s or

51:17something. he's still in the hundreds even if you're drafting him ahead of ADP. So, I am trying to do that now in

51:23part because I could see him rising more and and I don't want to be like, well, I actually kind of could have been ahead

51:30on this at a slightly more expensive price and uh I sat that out and now he goes in the eighth round.

51:37>> Yeah, the the the tonsil injury was kind of >> brutal for for this back field for sure and and for like pass protection stuff.

51:47um to like lose that that kind of elite blind side tackle.

51:54>> Yeah, that that is not ideal. I agree.

51:58Uh on let's let's talk uh Pat Bryant.

52:04>> Mhm.

52:05>> Who is now Patty Ice.

52:07>> That's right. Patty Ice. Uh all right, let's got a few things on him here. So,

52:14first on August 3rd, Shawn Payeyton uh said his weight's at a good spot. He's got some of the better hands in traffic

52:24with his feet on the ground. He's a really good run after the catch. He's real smart. So, he's someone that can

52:30move from X to the slot. It'll be easy creating his role on August

52:385th. Uh Shawn Peyton again says, "Really pleased with how he's doing. He's just one of these congested ball catchers.

52:46His feet stay on the ground. When receivers catch the ball with their feet on the ground, they're usually pretty good run after the catch. You don't see

52:53him skipping in the air or jumping. And that means he's got a lot of confidence in catching the ball right away. He's

52:58extremely smart. He's doing really well.

53:01And then offensive coordinator Davis Webb on August 8th uh was asked, "What have you seen from Pat Bryant during uh this training camp?" And uh Webb said,

53:11"Man, Patty Ice has had some really, really good practices." I think Pat Okay, we're on the clock here. Uh this is Jeremiah Love for me, I believe.

53:20>> I agree.

53:23>> Uh Patty Ice has had some really, really good practices. I think Pat is very, very savvy. He's smart. When he catches

53:29the ball, his feet are on the ground.

53:32Those were things we were attracted to when he was coming out of Illinois. It's really really cool to see him take

53:36another jump this early in the year. So Webb and Payton are both talking about the same thing of like, yeah, this guy

53:45keeps his feet on the ground really good run after uh run after the catch. We know they like him over the middle of

53:51the field. Shawn Payeyton talking about how they can play him at X and they could play him at slot. Uh we know that

53:56they also want to play Jaylen Wadd a bunch out of the slot. So I think it's something where we see some Pat Bryant

54:02at X with Jaylen Waddle in the slot.

54:04Sometimes we'll see Pat Bryant in the slot with Jaylen Wadd at Z. Um, this this is this is a situation where I

54:12think we could maybe see Pat Bryant eat into Courtland Sutton's role as well.

54:19>> Yeah, I especially think because Courtland Sutton's role has already been shifted by the arrival of Jaylen Wadd.

54:25So, it's more like, you know, he's he's kind of defending things that might not even be >> the best. you're not gonna optimize

54:32Courtland Sutton because you're gonna optimize Jaylen Wadd. So now, you know, what is he doing that maybe Pat Bryant's actually better at now? So I I I agree.

54:40I think and the Pep Bryant stuff's kind of interesting from that perspective. I think Sutton's been a bad pick for a

54:45long time. Um this makes him a worse pick, but then also you do have Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin and all this kind

54:53of like who's going to get By the way, speaking of Jaylen Wadd Waddle, >> let's go. Yeah. Um you you have uncertainty around the wide

55:05receiver three and Bryant has been the favorite in my mind to kind of take that role. It seems like that's the way

55:13things are headed. So like the Troy Frank we lowered Troy Franklin um who wasn't someone we're drafting a lot of but he occasionally pop up in the

55:2120th round and stuff. We're not seeing him there as much because I think it looks like Pat Bryant's going to win.

55:26>> Yeah. Sean still trying to find a way to use Marvin Mims.

55:30>> Lil Jordan Humphrey is probably gonna play. [laughter] >> I'm not kidding.

55:35>> I think we'll see Lil Jordan Humphrey this year.

55:38>> He did talk about Little Jordan Humphrey the other day. Actually, >> I bet he did.

55:41>> Yeah. Uh August 5th, Lil Jordan Humphrey's movement on the field, acceleration, and top end speed was higher last season. Uh and now than it

55:52was when he played for us earlier. He's extremely smart. That's probably one of his superpowers. He can play all three positions and he's a big target. Of

56:01course, >> they're calling him Lil Frosty.

56:03>> Lil Frosty Ice. They're calling him.

56:06>> Everybody just has an ice nickname.

56:10Jaylen Ice and Bo Bow Ice. No, it's Bicks. It's Bick.

56:18>> B Nice.

56:20>> Bon nice. There we go. I like it. Um, all right. I think it's that time of the show. It's time to get out the

56:28drumsticks.

56:30It's time to uh to really get going.

56:32Time to get in our lane. Time to get in our Jacobe lane. Let's do it. I got to scroll way back

56:42here real quick because this was on this was on draft night when they picked Jacobe Lane. Uh the the

56:52Eric Dosta talked about his large catch radius, phenomenal hands, big receiver.

56:57Uh the kind of player that we haven't had here lately. Think he offers a different dynamic. Called him a ball of

57:03clay with a lot of upside, unique catching ability, unique size. I think Lamar is going to like throwing the ball to him. Think he's got a chance to make

57:10an impact on this team at some point. Uh I think he's going to earn the trust of Lamar and he's going to be a player that

57:16could be counted on to make big plays.

57:18Jesse Mentor in the same press conference said, "When you watch Jacobe Lane make catches in the red zone, that's a vision that our coaches are

57:26like, man, we can really take advantage of that." And then on April 29th, general manager Eric Dosta did this

57:36interview on the Lounge podcast. We're about to be up on the clock here.

57:48Okay. Bucky falls to us in the late fifth.

57:51>> I' I'd be him or Christian Watson.

57:54>> I'd be Bucky for >> Let's do it.

57:56>> Partly for uh >> because we just talked about it, >> you know, full circle purpose.

57:59>> We got Bucky on the brain.

58:01>> Bucky on the brain.

58:02>> Yeah. Uh so yeah, in in this interview on April uh 29th, he's talking about how

58:12uh like Lamar has not had this like bigger receiver outside jump ball catcher in some time. You know, they had DeAndre Hopkins, but just kind of like a

58:22full-time guy. And we do hear a lot of general managers now talking about the makeup of their wide receiver room as

58:30kind of like a basketball team where you have, you know, kind of different size guys, different [clears throat] skill sets. They love talking about, you know,

58:37uh we have a power forward, right? Like we've heard this about Malachi Fields like he's he's kind of a power forward

58:43>> for us type thing. So, Eric Dosta talking talking about uh what what Jacobe Lane brings to the table in that

58:52aspect. And then we will fast forward here to August 5th. Their offensive coordinator Declan Doyle said, "What we thought about Jacobe Lane just continues

59:04to show up. He's got this huge catch radius. He's got great hands. He's very sticky. The guy that I was around that

59:10his hands remind me of is Mike Thomas.

59:14Uh, I am Jordan Tyson here.

59:16>> Okay, I'm happy to go Tyson. Price is interesting, too. We'd be done at running back probably, but um I'm good

59:25with Tyson if you want to go that way.

59:26>> Yeah, I think he's going to be rising up drafts.

59:30>> Um, Declan Doyle, yeah, the guy that I was around that his hands remind me of is Mike Thomas. Mike Thomas had these

59:37strong hands where he could pull it down and away and you threw in the vicinity and you felt like he was going to go get

59:43it. There's a lot of that feeling.

59:45Jacobe is very is a very friendly guy to throw to. He's working extremely hard to learn all of it. I'm really happy with

59:53that progress. On the same day, Jesse Mentor does this interview on Upen Adams. He says Jacobe Lane made maybe one of the top three catches I've ever

60:03seen yesterday in practice. That has become him making a major play every day. When Lamar Jackson is continuing to put him in position to make plays, that

60:13trust between those two is growing. He has a ridiculous catch radius over the middle of the field, down the field, in

60:21the red zone. He's got great size, great length, great great athleticism, and then like a vacuum cleaner with his hands. Really, really good. We're six or

60:31seven days in. It's about that consistency, but very excited about where he's heading. And then finally, on August 8th, uh Jesse Mentor was asked,

60:42"How is Jacobe Lane progressing?" Mentor said, "You're far enough in where there is consistency now. There's consistency of making really contested, nice

60:52catches, being a friendly target for the quarterback, and he's doing it every day. He's learning a lot. He's doing a really good job. You certainly start to

61:01see a vision of maybe what he can become once the season starts.

61:09>> Pretty good.

61:09>> Yeah, that's pretty good stuff. We raised Lane up uh over the weekend a couple times actually um in sort of,

61:17you know, small updates, but we we we're pretty bullish on him. Uh, I've been taking him especially on DraftKings for a while, especially in the high stakes

61:28drafts because he goes after Serat, you know, we did anyway. And so, yeah, I I' I've been building a position on Lane is

61:36sort of like a humility position because I like Serat's profile better on paper, but >> they drafted Lane first.

61:44>> Uh, they clearly have an opening here.

61:48Like, there's a Baitman was awful last season. Um, and even if Baitman is the number two outside guy, there's an opening at the the third wide receiver

61:58spot. So, one of these two rookies taking that spot has been, you know, and I'm pretty skeptical of TZ Walker. So,

62:05yeah, it's been one of those things I've been I've been wanting to play it through both guys, but Lane clearly looks like he's he's the favorite now

62:13for that that wide receiver three role.

62:15Uh, we're on the clock here.

62:16>> Yeah, this is Brooks.

62:17>> Yeah. Um, so Lane like someone asking if he could be Isaiah Likely's kind of replacement. I

62:27don't like whereas one of the reasons I thought Serat was intriguing is that I think Serat would probably play in the

62:33slot and like literally be kind of an Isaiah likely type of player. I don't think that's going to be the case so

62:40much with the lane. He's probably playing more outside. However, I think he can be a big body guy, a red zone

62:46guy, and kind of fill some of the likely stuff that way and also run routes over the middle of the field. You know, he

62:52might start on the outside and then get to the middle, you know, and and Jackson trusts him uh over the middle, which I

62:59like I don't really care who that is, but I think getting that guy for free would be awesome. And so I've been

63:05drafting both Serat and Lane. And now I'm going to be more aggressive on Lane because he he does just seem to be

63:12pulling away here, you know, especially for the early season. By the way, Sat has been nursing an injury and hasn't really looked as

63:20explosive as he did in the spring. So he's kind of falling behind TZ Walker currently.

63:27You know, this could be one of those situations where three years from now, it's like Tucker Craft and Luke Musgraves. Luke Musgrave like three

63:33years from now we could view Sroad as a star and he could have a much worse rookie season than Jacobe Lee, you know,

63:39like I just don't need I I don't need to have like overconfidence in in the player profiles. Um >> I I feel like we could push Lemon around

63:48still.

63:49>> You think I don't think he comes all the way?

63:51>> You don't think with with the Jimmy Kimky stuff today about how he doesn't think he's going to start the season?

63:56You don't think he'll he'll come back around?

63:58>> I don't think he'll fall.

63:58>> If he don't come back around, I'm I'm I'm fine with Lemon here. Eighth round limit is just I don't know. I can't I

64:06can't not do it.

64:06>> I've I've I've I've gotten him in the what pick are we at now? In the 90s.

64:10I've I've gotten him in the triple digits now.

64:13>> Okay.

64:13>> Which is >> 104, but yeah.

64:19Um, yeah, with with with Lane, uh, we we had had this conversation like maybe a month and a half ago where I I'd

64:28heard you say something with, um, I think on that's fair with with Sam Sherman about like, you know, if I if I

64:35if I have uh, you know, 1% lane and and 12% Serat, then like I'm just playing it bad. like I'm I'm I'm young. And I

64:46looked at my exposure and it was like 2% lane and like 14% satro or something like that. And uh

64:58>> yeah, I I I I'd gotten it up to 11% lane because now it's still 21% surat, but >> yeah, I got up to 15% on draft king.

65:07It's easier on draft kings because the extra rounds. Yeah.

65:10>> Yeah. But with with Lane, what you're what you're getting there, I think, at the absolute kind of floor, right? If if

65:17if this is all just like training camp, hype videos, you know, one ons or or whatever, and then, you know, come

65:27actual NFL play, it's like, okay, well, he's not he's not quite the star that everyone is is making him out to be.

65:36like at at the very least I think his floor is being a red zone weapon to where you'll get you'll get some like

65:43three catches for 40 yards and a touchdown and maybe you'll get like two touchdowns uh every once in a while. So

65:51like to get that in the 20th and 19th round like pretty pretty cool. And then maybe he does, like maybe he just proves

65:59that, yeah, I'm that [ __ ] dude. And then you're you're you're getting a lot of usable weeks as this downfield target

66:07for a QB who's pretty good at downfield throws.

66:11>> Yeah.

66:13No, I I agree. Let's uh let's get >> Personally, I'm pretty here. I'm good with party.

66:37Yeah, I think the the thing about some of the comps we've gotten uh on on Lane in the chat, uh Isaac Tesla, which is,

66:47you know, I think like you're saying like that's kind of where I was starting with Lane, like could he be kind of

66:51Isaac Tesla.

66:53>> I don't think there was this kind of drum beat >> with Tesla in in in training camp. No, but I think just from a floor

66:59perspective, you should at least be able to get like something Tesla e >> Yeah.

67:04>> out of lane at this point. Um, >> and then someone was saying that Likely's role would be kind of a

67:09disappointment. And I agree in the sense that Likely was only running about half half the routes because he was a he's a

67:16secondary tight end. So, yes, that's true. But you could count on Lane to be running a lot more routes than likely

67:25and being sort of a likely plus in terms of his actual contribution. Uh, which would be a pretty big win where he's

67:32been going. Uh, >> with Worthy here, which >> Yeah. Worthy or Knicks for me.

67:39>> Oh, Knicks. Yeah, I could do Knicks if you want. Worthy might come back.

67:43>> Yeah.

67:43>> Yeah.

67:46>> Yeah.

67:48I think I think we should consider that this is also a very different offense than what the Ravens had before. This is this is a

67:59completely new OC who is probably going to be running a lot more 11 personnel >> than than we saw in the past.

68:08>> That's a good point. Yeah. And it could it could be a more interesting more creative type of offense. May maybe doing some

68:17cool stuff with play action. And you know, I think this could be a fun really fun offense. Declan Doyle I think Declan

68:25Doyle might be one of those guys where you're like, why didn't you hire him instead of mentor?

68:34>> You know, the offensive mind with the with the elite quarterback is actually the the smarter way to go, you know, and

68:40you have they they have to replace him after one season. Like he I think I think Doyle has that upside for sure.

68:46>> Um >> yeah, he he could be a one and done in the sense that like another team scoops him up as as head coach next year. Like

68:53he's >> I think that's a very strong possibility.

68:55>> Yeah, it's it's going to be Declan Doyle. It's going to be Grant Udinsky for sure up there and then uh then like

69:03maybe Shawn Manion, the the the evil wizard himself. I would say Shawn Manion's like minus 900 to be a head coach next year just because it's like

69:13the Eagles aren't allowed to have an OC for more than a year. [laughter] So >> yeah, it's like he's either going to

69:21like in my mind he's either getting fired or is going to be a head coach and there's no there's like he's 0% to be

69:28the Yeah, [laughter] he can't he we know that they don't they're not going to have him two years in a row.

69:33>> Yeah. So, you know, obviously I'm I'm joking, but Manion does jump out as uh as like a pretty pretty big head

69:42coaching candidate as well to me. Those two guys are kind of the top two.

69:45>> Oh, Udinsky. Udinsky would be in that group, I think.

69:48>> Here's here here's a little kind of like possibly uh subtle nugget from Shawn Manion yesterday or two days ago. He was

69:59talking about Saquon Barkley and he said, "Obviously, Saquon is a focal point of our offense. As we build the run game and what we're going to do

70:07formationally, you want the play action pass game, the keeper game to play off of that, which makes you think, okay, maybe we're going to see some of that

70:17Jaylen Herz design run stuff back in the back in the playbook, >> which would be pretty [ __ ] awesome."

70:24>> It'd be pretty awesome. And it would be like, hey, why was Herz going in the the seventh round? He actually went the

70:30sixth before Daniels and Burrow, although he went to the same guy as Daniel's in this draft, so it doesn't really matter. But

70:36>> he's been too cheap. He's been way too cheap.

70:39>> High stakes. He's been really cheap.

70:41>> Going like 10th round in uh >> PC.

70:45>> Yeah, it's wild, man.

70:47>> Crazy.

70:47>> Wild.

70:51>> They're still doing 1.5 points per reception.

70:54>> They still are. Yeah. No, I checked. I checked today to make sure cuz people people don't seem to draft that way. So,

71:00>> Oh, yeah. KC, >> let's go.

71:05>> Love him.

71:06>> Kyler Murray's fallen past EDP now in both the drafts I've done this morning and has been top guy on the sidekick and

71:12I think might be the correct pick in both drafts, but we didn't take him in either.

71:16>> Uh, it does I mean like >> he's Why is he this cheap again?

71:24Well, I would guess today he's falling because of the the the the how he performed at their like night practice last night or or the night before. I

71:34think it was last night.

71:37People >> So, were they chanting for McCarthy?

71:43>> No, no chanting for McCarthy, but um >> No, I knew they weren't. The McCarthy bro the McCarthy Bros were were out in the streets last night

71:53tweeting uh the the the the media has it in for JJ McCarthy. They're

72:02they're propagating this agenda for Kyler Murray and JJ has not gotten a fair shot.

72:10>> Yes. Clear. A guy that the media has famously loved and always been super fair to.

72:16>> Yeah.

72:16>> Kyler Murray. Oh, baby.

72:18>> Rashidah comes back.

72:21Coach speak.

72:22>> The coach speak encore. We s we saved it for Rashid Shahid.

72:25>> We just knew it. We knew we were going to get him later. Listen, some some things are just destined. All right.

72:32Fate fate can lead you to your destiny.

72:36You know, it leads the willing to their destiny. It drags the unwilling one way or the other.

72:42>> This man has seen the Odyssey. I can tell you that. [laughter] I actually people say it's very loud but I couldn't hear anything because I had

72:50big balls of wax in my ear [laughter] my ears the entire time.

72:59All right. Uh Rasheed Shahed, couple things on him. On July 27th, Mike McDonald was asked what having a full

73:09off season can do for Shahed and the offense. McDonald said to see the improvement in the timing between him and Sam Darnold in the spring was really

73:18exciting going into the offseason and I think they've picked up right where they left off. I know they put in some work

73:25throughout the summer as well. So that's definitely paying dividends. Quote, "It's something that we just have to keep attacking. What are the ways that

73:33we can get him the ball? What are his top routes? How does the timing work out? All those type of things." End

73:40quote. And then on August 3rd, McDonald said after this first week, trying to get Rasheed Shahed the ball on some of

73:47those deeper targets is definitely a point of emphasis. And then also said that he and Sam Darnold are in a really

73:55good place. The challenge of camp is how far can we take it? That's what we're focusing on right now. How far can we

74:02take that relationship? How far can we take his route tree? How great of timing can we create with those two guys? So,

74:11not not something that's like super locked in of like it all looks incredible, can't wait for the season to

74:20start because it's it's operating uh at this amazing place. But, uh very comforting to know that this is like one of the things that they've highlighted

74:32of like we need this to work this season.

74:36Yeah, one of the things I've wondered with the Seahawks is you you lose Clint Kubak and he's a guy that was able to

74:41make this offense really hum when it was only going through Jackson Smith and Jigbo, which is kind of a tricky thing

74:47to do, right? You have like one clear guy that you're you're going to be designing the entire passing game around. Part of the way they were able

74:54to pull that off is just running the crap out of the ball and you know, they're not they're doing a lot of play

74:59action. Uh Omar Cooper would be the the pick for me here.

75:03>> Let's do it.

75:05Um, but you know, if you think about someone replicating this, it would be helpful to have additional weapons to kind of keep

75:14the defense off balance. So, I it makes sense as kind of like the the progression of the Sam Darnold Seahawks in year two with a different OC to maybe

75:23try to spread the ball around like a little bit more if you can. and Shahed obviously the whole trying to board the

75:29moving train last year gets a full off seasonason with the team would make sense for him to to get more involved.

75:36Um, we have we've moved him up a little bit a while ago and is, you know, I think a good pick on this type of squad

75:44like, you know, top of the sidekick here for us in the 12th round. Ends up as the wide receiver five. We had Jaylen Wadd,

75:50Jordan Tyson, Mai Lemon, and Casey Conps under that point. And then we add Omar Cooper. So, it's a rookie heavy wide

75:54receiver squad. We didn't take the first wide receiver until round four. Um, and he kind of helps fill out some some

76:01veteran production there.

76:03>> Lloyd. Yeah, we're going Marshon Lloyd here.

76:06>> Yeah, Mike McDonald did make this comment on August 5th about JSN and like obviously so good and he's going to be

76:17number one in the progression on a lot of plays, but when is it best for him not to be the number one in the

76:24progression on on plays? And those are the things that we're working through.

76:30That is interesting and it makes sense like you you don't want to be super predictable in the passing game and I

76:36think it's one thing if you've got a guy who's a really really sharp offensive mind that's you know going to get hired

76:41as a head coach after the year because he's done such a great job and has done a great job in an you know a variety of

76:46stops like it's not the first time we've seen Kubak do well so I don't know you know you're probably downgrading losing Kubak at OC it would

76:56make sense to try to lean on some of the other playmakers Uh, I've heard good things about Cup. They seem to be like

77:04Darnold is thrown to Cup more than people were expecting uh from from some of the initial practice reports as well.

77:09So, obviously JSN is going to be like the clear number one, but but at least like having some of these other guys

77:16pose more of a threat I do think is like logical. I mean, maybe Kubak would have moved in that direction in year two

77:22with, you know, he he's familiar with Shahed. Chi gets up more up to speed in a full off seasonason there with

77:29Darnold. Maybe this is always would have happened even if Kubak was still there.

77:34>> Yeah, I think uh I think he's a really good pick in the range that that he's going in best baseball here

77:41>> for Marshon Lloyd who we grab in the 14th. Uh the We'll just let me throw to you on him because he's been someone

77:48we've been getting excited about. What What have you seen?

77:52Yeah, for for the Packers it's it it it's been like two things. One one is we are not ready to get hurt again because

78:02it's it's it's a lot of this like hopefully he can stay healthy and let me find this Steninovich thing. Yeah, he he was asked how Marshon

78:13Lloyd has looked so far. He said great.

78:15He's looked good. Been very happy with him. we're just going to keep progressing one day at a time and hopefully everything works out. And and

78:23this had been like the god maybe like the fifth sixth time that either like Stenovic or Matt Laflur or Brian

78:33Gudakunts their GM had said something like this. And this so cool with the reporter because the guy follows up and says like this hopefully it works out

78:42that you just said this is like a common line from you guys this season. And so like, do you have the confidence that he

78:49can go out and put his injuries behind him?

78:52>> Yeah.

78:52>> Yeah. And and yes, Stenovich is like, listen, every day he's out there and doing it, I have a little bit more

78:57confidence. Um, are we on the clock here?

79:02>> Yeah. Barner, Dulich, then Tank at the top of the sidekick here. Barner would be cool.

79:07>> Yeah, I'd be into Barner. Uh, building out this bet on the Seahawks being a little less concentrated, I think, makes sense. And then the other

79:16thing that they talk about with Marshon Lloyd is like obviously when he is healthy, like this guy's a he's a matchup nightmare for defenses. Like we

79:27can like he's electric as a runner. We can use him in the passing game. Like he's really good in the passing game and

79:36uh we we just hope he can stay healthy.

79:38That's that's been pretty much it. It's the It's the duality of of this man.

79:46>> Yeah. And I think we're we're nervous in the fantasy football world about getting hurt with Marshon Lloyd again. And I

79:52think, you know, from best baseball lock rosters, you know, you can't just cut him and he gets hurt all the time. It's

79:59ner It makes you nervous, I think, especially early on. You know, now we're starting to hear some nice things that they're starting to to dream and hope a

80:07little bit on Lloyd. He's he's an easier click, but like I get why, you know, someone might not want to click Lloyd.

80:15And part of me doesn't want to click Lloyd. I'm starting to get excited about Lloyd, though. He has a lot of juice as

80:21a runner. Big time breakaway runner in college, >> like an elite breakaway runner, and he's like 220. He's a big breakaway guy,

80:30>> you know, and and the offense could use that, right? And it's an offense that loves explosives, you They're trying.

80:36They really want to get explosives.

80:38They're part of that school. So, I don't know. I mean, like, when I think about Lloyd staying healthy, you can start to think some really fun

80:48stuff pretty quickly.

80:50>> Yeah. I I wouldn't mind Fernando Mendoza here, but I would also be into Zachariah Branch. Like, whichever one you think.

80:58>> Yeah. So, let's see.

81:01>> I don't have a ton of Branch. Branch's been making a little bit of noise. I'd probably go branch personally.

81:09>> Mendoza sometimes falls because people are nervous about him >> not playing.

81:18>> Uh we have our guy in the chat who loves to come in and ask about Malik Benson for the Raiders. So I'll pull

81:28this up.

81:30A couple things. On July 29th, offensive coordinator Andrew Janokco was asked what he's looking for from Malik Fenson said, "I want to see his

81:41explosiveness come to life. We're going to maximize what he does, how he comes off the ball, being able to challenge him mentally and do different things

81:48with him and see him grasp the offense and take it from the meeting room to the field." And then Clint Kubak on August

81:577th said, "He's a young man that's coming here ready to compete for a job.

82:02When a guy can make plays on offense and be a four core teams player, that says a lot to his teammates." So, like, not

82:12anything crazy, but um they haven't been talking about Dante Thornton a lot.

82:19>> It's It's pretty >> It's over.

82:22>> It's pretty bad. What what are they doing? Like what? How did they not throw a bag at one of these free agent

82:28receivers?

82:29>> And Keenan's still available. I mean, I >> be like, "Hey man, >> anyone would want to go there?"

82:34>> No, I don't think anyone wants to go there at all. But I would be like trying to change that.

82:40>> I'd be like, you know what helps people move to to the Raiders? Money.

82:45And we are willing to to spend that to get Keenan Allen here. I I just think like you have a rookie

82:52quarterback and yes, Brock Bowers is awesome and you're gonna play a lot of 12 with Michael Mayer and Trey Tucker's I guess fine as part of like a starting

83:00receiver set, but like your wide receiver too might be Malik Benson or I mean I guess it's an Aaylor but like

83:10god it's it's so so the wide receiver three then's Benson or Bes or Thornton?

83:16>> I think they play a lot of 12.

83:18>> I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do play a lot of 12, but that still leaves two of Tucker, Naylor, Benson, Bes on the

83:26field. It's It's bad. Like, what are they doing?

83:29>> You got a rookie quarterback. I mean, again, you have Bowers. He's functionally the number one wide receiver, but I just don't get like why

83:36wouldn't you be There were guys that you could have paid too much money for one year to come help Fernando Mendoza, you

83:44know?

83:45>> Yeah.

83:48Diggs would have been a nice uh nice one there.

83:53>> Speaking of Keenan, >> Keenan is good here.

83:55>> I think Keenan's gonna sign.

83:59>> I don't know how you'd get coach speak on Keenan because he's not on a team, but uh Colts, the Colts,

84:05>> I mean, we got Josh Downs with a groin injury, Alec Pierce's stuff. the Colts seems like >> I mean Ba Ballard said

84:16a couple weeks ago that yeah we are going to bring in a veteran receiver and then Shane Stiken the other day kind of

84:23mentioned something about that as well.

84:26It feels like it's going to be Keenan.

84:28>> It does feel like it's going to be Keenan. Uh >> if they can rip him away from California, >> right? Because my Raiders are finally

84:36building their team in a self-aware way.

84:37they aren't going to compete this year, especially with how strong the division is. I I think that their receiver core is bad enough that it could hurt

84:42Mendoza's development at this point. But maybe Bowowers is just that dude and that I mean, we have him on this team. I

84:48hope he is. And he is, I think, in many ways. But you still It's nice to have more than than one weapon.

84:59>> Charlie Kar's popping here. Christian Kirk. We got uh >> I think we can push Coler. Yeah, the polar bear you can generally push.

85:11Now, >> the polar bears are are are the people who aren't taking them.

85:15>> Well, yeah, that's true. We'll hop aboard the Colar Express uh a little later. What What jumps out?

85:22>> We can do Caleb Douglas here. He's He's probably a guy that's going to start creeping up.

85:27>> I think so, too.

85:28>> A little bit.

85:30It sounds like he is a real uh like a strong possibility to be a week one starter now. Yeah, very very possible.

85:40Which not a huge surprise when you look at who else right >> is in that room like it's been okay Malik Washington we know is like the

85:50number one guy here at in in the receiving room and then after that it's like Chris Bell will be back at some

85:59point. Uh they asked Jeff Hafley today what he's learned about Jaylen Tolbert over the last few weeks or so. He said

86:08really good pro. Think he's had some really good moments. I know he's going to go out and work and work hard every

86:15single day. Love the way he's blocking on the perimeter. Great attitude, dependable.

86:21like fineish, but like this is a guy who we we've seen get some opportunities in the NFL and like not do a ton with him

86:29when when when he has been on the field.

86:32>> And it's been a little more positive on on Caleb uh Caleb Douglas. Like they just want to see him be able to make

86:40these contested catches that he had trouble with in college.

86:47>> But uh they called him immensely talented. Bobby Slowick did long arms, fast, really good feet, tall. Uh, just need him to continue to grow in his

86:56technique and fundamentals.

86:58And he's doing it. It It flashes. Yeah, he's doing it. It flashes and shows when he does it.

87:05>> And then there's still little things you can get away with in college that you can no longer get away with in the NFL

87:12if >> Hang on. I'm I'm about to I'm about to message the commissioner here. See if we can get this pick rolled back.

87:17>> Yeah.

87:20If the ball isn't tucked away immediately, it might come out. Now, this is fine because like ball security stuff, >> he's already dead.

87:27>> Yeah, ball security stuff not not really that big of a deal. These are thing these are like one of the easier fixes.

87:33Uh and then Slo said if our footwork isn't clean in our transitions, we're probably getting tackled. It's little things like that for all our guys. We

87:43need to continue to grow. And then they say that he's been great as a blocker throwing it in there in the run game and

87:50that with his catch radius, he makes some catches that probably most people can't.

87:58>> Pass volume obviously a concern in Miami.

88:02>> Nick Chub, >> what?

88:05>> Nick Chub just got drafted.

88:06>> Wow.

88:10>> This guy knows something we don't. I guess >> or he doesn't. [laughter] or our friend Objectivo.

88:19>> Was he trying to pick somebody else? Was he trying to pick Bradley Chub? He's like, "Why is Bradley Chub not showing

88:23up?"

88:25>> Uh, you want to do Pennix here and then >> push Coler?

88:29>> We could get We could get Coler sniped on this injoku draft. He might be trying to double up the starting tight ends.

88:34>> Okay. Yeah, let's take Coler. Let's take 19th round Coler. Let's >> Let's do it.

88:38>> Not Not even like Oh, yeah. He's a guy you can take in the last round. By the way, by the way, probably no huge deal

88:45that every time Jim Harbaugh is asked about the tight end room, Charlie Kohler is the first name he brings up. Probably

88:51not a big deal.

88:52>> Probably not a big deal. Probably not a big deal that Ronda Gatson's playing with like the threes.

88:57>> That's probably not That probably doesn't signal anything.

88:59>> They've got him on a different field.

89:04>> They actually moved the facility to where you have to do the subterranean field just to put Gadston on it.

89:10>> [laughter] >> I traded with the Falcons.

89:16>> That was the Falcons at the locker room.

89:18I think it was the Falcons.

89:19>> Yeah. Have a subterranean field.

89:24>> Yeah. I I don't know. I mean, I know the Colar thing people, you know, it's it's not it's not but like he's I think

89:30>> he's going to be on the field of the Chargers.

89:32>> He's going to be on the field a ton.

89:33>> He's going to be on the field a ton.

89:34>> And he will run some routes.

89:37>> He will. He will. All right, let's put the panics in.

89:41>> Panics. Put the penics in.

89:48>> We're in the 20th round.

89:49>> I got a big bag of digs [laughter] >> and a truckload of panics.

89:53>> And a little Pennix.

89:54>> And a little pen. Just a little penn.

89:57>> Yeah.

90:01You You actually can't see my Pennix bags because >> bit of a I'm a little bit more of a grower than a Penner.

90:10>> A Penex grower.

90:12>> I don't want to show you my Penex.

90:14>> I'm I'm tucking them away like in silence on the lambs.

90:20>> Oh my god. All right.

90:24Well, I've capitulated. This is the first colar capitulation I've seen other than myself to sacrilegious. [laughter] This is the only time I This is the

90:33second colar capitulation of 2026. I ain't drafted him. [laughter] >> I've capitulated to Colar. Period. I ain't drafted him, but now I agree he

90:44could be a really good 18th to 20th round flyer. Lol.

90:47>> I love a spiritual capitulation.

90:50>> Spiritual capitulation.

90:51>> Yeah, I'm noting on it. I think the market has spiritually capitul capitulated on Charlie Kolar, but no one's willing to draft him.

90:59>> Yeah.

90:59>> Basically, except me [laughter] and sacrilegious and and shady. But >> let me tell you something. If you if if if you made some comments online to me

91:08about Charlie Kohler, I would go back and delete those real quick. Uh so we're not able to dig those back up in uh

91:17>> What's the difference between Charlie Kar and Theo Johnson? Do you want to take this one because I think there's a

91:20pretty big difference. Yeah. Uh the difference is one of them is going to play a shitload of snaps. He's going to

91:26be the inline Y tight end for a very very good offense and one of them looks like to be the

91:36backup to Isaiah likely on a Matt Naggi offense.

91:40>> Yeah.

91:42Um all right, let's recap the team here.

91:45We ended up with 3593 at quarterback. We have Barack Pury stacked up with Christian McCaffrey. Bo Nicks with Jaylen Wadd. Didn't get Pat

91:57Bryant. Patty Ice. I I didn't see where he went in the 17th round. So, we would have had to take him over Zachariah

92:03Branch, which I don't wouldn't had a big problem with, but don't end up with him.

92:07Uh, and then we get Pennix, who we have with uh who was our Penn guy? Who's our Falcon? Oh, Zach Branch, of course.

92:15>> Yeah. So, that opened up that little little back door stack for us. At running back, we have Christian McCaffrey, Jeremiah Love, Bucky Irving,

92:24Jonathan Brooks, and Marshon Lloyd.

92:26Pretty fun running back room. And then at receiver, we went very rookie heavy.

92:30We went Jaylen Wadd, Jordan Tyson, Mai Lemon, Casey Conpsion, Rashid Shahed, Omar Cooper, Zachariah Branch, Keenan Allen, and Caleb Douglas. the the the um

92:42the room's built I would say around running back production early potentially receiver production late but we have some chaperones and Keenan and

92:51Shahed um and then Jaylen Wadd holding down the wide receiver one spot at tight end we started with Bowers elite tight

92:59end team AJ Barner and Charlie Kolar pretty fun build >> yeah and and and by the way someone asking what's the difference between

93:07Charlie Kohler and Michael Mayer I think Michael Mayer was very very draftable uh at at the end of >> I think he's draftable too. Yeah. And he

93:14was drafted here in the 20th. So we he was the >> Yeah. two tight ends went off the board after Kolar and he was one of them.

93:23>> So yeah, I think that the the theo Johnson comment uh is in line likely is likely the slot F. I think the basically

93:30the difference would be I think Theo Johnson is in line but in a reserve kind of capacity where his route participation is going to be sub 50%.

93:41And Charlie Kolar is likely to be in line where he think he's going to be at least around 50% if not like 55ish. So,

93:49it's it's a it's a matter of like yes, they're both like the inline guy and there's probably an F, but the Giants

93:57are talking about likely as being like the number one target for them until neighbors is fully healthy, >> right?

94:03>> That's not David and Joker. That's not Gadston. Gadston, if if Gadston was was doing like more like last year Gadston

94:11stuff, then I think the comp would would actually make a lot of sense. But Gadston being like with the reserves in

94:16a way that's kind of confusing. Mhm.

94:18>> But seems to be pretty consistent now.

94:21>> Yeah. I I I I did not think that he would be running behind David Nooku.

94:26>> Yeah. Me neither. Uh I think you're underrating how much Theo will play. I do I think you're overrating how much

94:31Theo will play. The Theo Camp stuff has been bad. They talked about him picking up where he left off last year.

94:38Derogatory. Like he looks like [ __ ] So, yeah, I think I I had some I was I was where Zachary was before that Theo

94:50was going to play a bunch. I I don't think Theo Johnson's going to play a ton.

94:54>> Yeah. I I have like one team very early in the drafting season where I think I took Theo Johnson in round 20 and I want

95:00to throw up every time. Yeah. I think about it.

95:03>> Yeah. I mean, it's not a 0% chance, but I just that's not the way the wind looks to be blowing right now.

95:10Uh, all right. Let's get out of here.

95:12Uh, tell the people what you got going on at CoachSpeak Index at CoachSpeak Index online. And, uh, yeah, we're in in

95:21in heavy heavy press conference season.

95:24Uh, so much info on a daily basis. So, that is all in the Coach Speak Index Discord. Uh, every head coach, offensive

95:33coordinator, general manager press conference, and also a bunch of these media hits. And that's going to be constant throughout the season.

95:42>> Nice. Um, check out everything we got going on at Legendary Upside. Uh, Matt Herby's going to have a article dropping

95:49this week that I'm really excited about looking into wide receiver upside. And uh, that will, I think, be followed up by him looking at the other positions as

95:58well. I'm have my uh, legendary upside running back scenarios article coming out here, you know, as soon as I can get

96:06it written. Uh, it's the next thing I'm I'm working on. I just dropped uh a a article on the sophomore running backs

96:12for best baseball purposes, which I think is really fun. If people want to check that out, we got rankings for the

96:18main event for FFPC best baseball as well as DraftKings, underdog. We got you covered over at Legendary Upside. In addition to that, we have the kickstand

96:26which has the features you're looking at on the screen right now that the Sidekick has like the teammate tag, the week 17 tags, exposure, bi-week

96:34overlaps, quarterback, the on the clock notification sound. All of that's included in the leg up uh base subscription now in a tool called the

96:43kickstand where you can upload your own custom ranks or have the players display an order of ADP or by our ranks. The the

96:50tool keeps those ranks updated automatically. Um, so kind of a nice little starter tool if you're looking for a draft overlay. Just 15 bucks a

96:59month as part of the legup sub. All the rankings and stuff are included in that tier. If you want the sidekick, which

97:05has the sim driven dynamic player recommendations, that's in the sidekick tier, uh, which is also available over at Legendary Upside, monthly, yearly

97:13subs, we have, uh, both. It's $500 for the year and that covers playoff baseball, pre-draft best baseball, uh, and almost the entire summer of next

97:23year because it's August 10th. So, uh, if you want to check that out, that's legendaryupside.com/sidekick.

97:29As you saw us drafting with it, is quite helpful in putting your teams together, especially if you're multitabling, trying to get a bunch of volume down

97:36here in the last month of drafting. But we'll be back here next Monday for another Legendary Coach Speak. I'll be on the YouTube channel tomorrow for the

97:45mailbag stream I've been doing every week. Uh so check check me out there if you have any questions. Um and you can

97:53always throw questions in the legup discord in the mailbag channel and I'll answer them on the mailbag shows every Tuesday. Uh be back here Thursday for uh

98:05my show with Sam Sherman. That's fair.

98:07If you're looking to do a main event, we have one at 2 o'clock on Wednesday. You can sign up over at FFPC draft against

98:14us. Uh we'll be drafting with Ron Stewart for that. So, lots of stuff going on. Appreciate you guys watching.

98:21See you soon.

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