0:00There will be no Rick Rolling to start this show.
0:02>> [laughter] >> Good morning, everybody. It's too late.
0:06I said it's too late. I might have Rick Rolled somebody.
0:09Never want to let him go. He is Matt Waldman of the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. We are here to feel and [ __ ] things and and and help
0:16you gain a little information. Right now, the Rookie Scouting Portfolio is out and available. If you're one of the 10 people on Earth who do not have one,
0:24go get it now. Matt, tell them what they'll find. Yeah, 164 um profiles on quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends.
0:311,267 pages.
0:34Um lots of great analysis in terms of scouting reports, rankings, cheat sheets, um histories on these positions and how they're evolving and how that can impact
0:44you as a fantasy player as well as an NFL fan of the teams that you are following. Then you get a post-draft
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1:44So, you get all of this for 21.95 and a newsletter that comes that comes out regularly throughout the year that that gives you kind of previews of 2027
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1:57So, you know, it's it's a great deal and I've appreciated the feedback thus far and and the people who are you know,
2:04continue to be lifetime subscribers and write me and tell me that I should charge double or when they make mistakes and they they
2:13buy the the the the um the what is it? Projections and dynasty rankings that I do which I charge more for. They're like, "Listen, just just
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2:36>> that's just me though. You follow Matt on the X and Blue Sky at Matt Waldman.
2:40I'm at Football Diehard. You can find my work at Football Guys right now, weekly notebook, all kinds of stuff.
2:45>> it. You really won't. It's it's mostly substance, very low on frills. Uh no frills. Um >> [laughter] >> no lots of frills. Everyone likes the
2:54frills, Matt. Except some of the NFL teams, some frilly players. Let's not say that about this fellow. 188 lbs.
3:02Wake Forest running back Demond Claiborne. Is he big enough to be a difference maker? Feel it or [ __ ] it?
3:07I'm feeling it in the right scheme and the and the offense with the right attitude.
3:12Um and that's the tough part is finding a coach and then GM who are aligned in that attitude that the guy can be that
3:18way. I mean, look at James Cook who's about 194, 195 lbs. I don't think Claiborne's more than a cheeseburger or two away from that.
3:27Um and you know, I think he'll probably get add 5 to 7 lbs anyway um in muscle and he's he's got a proven
3:38track record in terms of volume and being able to work between the tackles.
3:43He's his fumble rate skyrocketed last year. He had seven last year alone. But he only had two for the other three
3:51years that he was a starter.
3:53Um he's a very smart runner and he might be pound for pound the best playmaker in this class because of his speed, because
3:59how he can change pace, and how he can manipulate defenders. There's a lot of Jamal excuse me, there's a lot of um
4:06shady McCoy to his game in the way that he plays. And I think that he's one of those guys that like Jamaal Charles, he
4:14can also kind of dictate the uh the chain of action and with with physical play without getting like creamed. So, you know, he's a he's a
4:26really good football player and I wouldn't be surprised if he's if if Jeremiah Love does not play to the expectation we have of him. I would not
4:37be shocked if Demond Claiborne winds up being the best back in this class. So, if if you know, I guess like you know,
4:43you think of some of these players out there like I can go back for work done.
4:46I mean, there's been plenty of guys that weren't huge bodies, but I think there's a there's this you know, that mythical
4:52200 lb thing which you know, we see time and time again go by the wayside.
4:56Um what kind of team would best suit does Demond Claiborne? You know, I mean, I think really we're just looking for
5:03a team I mean, you look at the Bills and what they did with James Cook. And so, you can have a gap style offense that
5:11uses two tight ends and has a strong runner at the quarterback position and that could work out. You could see how
5:17Claiborne might be the be the the dash to Cam Akers' smash in New York under John Harbaugh. That could be a really nice
5:28complement where they get a one-two punch that's strong and maybe have guys like that.
5:34Um I think those you know, I mean, think of like Chubb and Woody Marks last year with Claiborne as a better version of
5:41Woody Marks.
5:42Um I could see him on a team like that where you know, I'm trying to think of you know, maybe the Steelers decide that
5:50they want to have a guy who can complement Rico Dowdle um and and a way that when Jaylen Warren leaves the
5:59you know, leaves the um the Steelers at some point that that would be that would be the case. So, I mean, I can you know,
6:06those are those are a few of the teams.
6:08If Denver decided, "Hey, we really like this kid." and you know, they can get him a little bit later. He could compete with RJ Harvey and I
6:18wouldn't be surprised if he's a little bit he's a he's a smarter runner than RJ Harvey is if you ask me and Harvey's
6:23nice. I don't think that's going to happen, but you know, those are some of the those are some of the places. I
6:29think you're going to see Demond Claiborne though probably wind up being a fourth or fifth round pick at best and he's going to have to work his way up.
6:36So, we'll see you know, we'll see how it goes. Another guy in that day three range, Nicholas Singleton. He's bigger, 220 nearly 220.
6:45Uh good history production.
6:47Should he go higher than his designated day three value? Feel it or [ __ ] it? I think his talent is higher than that. Um
6:53I just think that the nature of the running back position is probably going to limit limit him from doing so, but I
6:58think you're going to get a a bargain in the same way that maybe the Green Bay Packers just got a bargain in signing
7:04Damien Martinez from last year um to its roster. Um you Singleton is a very good receiver like you said. He was very strong early on in
7:14his career when he got the opportunity, but you just got to remember their quarterback was not very good. Um they did a lot of manufacturing of offense to
7:23help their quarterback. And they also wanted to keep recruits at running back like a lot of teams do. I mean, we could
7:30look back and say Nick Chubb was much better than D'Andre Swift or Sony Michel. Um but he had to split time with
7:40Michel um and I think that you know, they even tried to force-feed Swift in there if I remember correctly early on. Um you
7:48know, you can look at situations like that and feel like, "Oh, well, maybe Keaton Allen is is really good then."
7:55and and or that Singleton's not as good as we thought. I think it's just more about we need to keep recruits that we
8:02want to keep and by doing that is giving them playing time in this in in the NIL era which you know, and even before then
8:10they that's why they commoditized um you know, running backs. And I think Singleton's a guy who's capable of being more than what he's what we've seen from
8:19him in the past couple of years.
8:23All [clears throat] right, fair enough.
8:24Um I guess I guess running backs are always interesting you know, in that range. You never know who's going to pop
8:29up. A wide receiver, you know, a little different there. Jacobi Lane, does he have greater potential than his projected role player status? Feel it or
8:37it?
8:38>> Oh, absolutely feel it, but is he going to fulfill it? I would say [ __ ] it if I had to make a choice.
8:44Um if I had to be like make a really tough choice, I would say that because the hands are fantastic, the body control's strong, the route
8:54running needs improvement and a lot of it is kind of sloppy. Um I would say sloppy and I I don't want to
9:02say thoughtless, but kind of flaky in terms of how he he how he does stuff.
9:07It's interesting the the the RSP comps are George Pickens and and Chris Henry, the late Chris Henry. So, um interesting, great players with you
9:17know, a little bit mercurial uh to say the least. Are we putting them in that same basket? Yeah, I'd say so. I'd say
9:23that Jacobi Lane is you know, the the least mercurial of the Jacobi of the George Pickens, Chris Henry vibe is Chris Brazell. You you
9:32know, probably mid-range flakiness um is probably Lane. You know, so you can see the moments and you can see if he gets it together, that's great. But
9:43when one of my um Who was the oh Fred Fred Who was the the wide receiver whose first name was Fred? Fred Gibson.
9:53When Chad Reuter said to me, "Why do I feel a Fred Gibson vibe whenever I watch Jacoby Lane?
9:59Um that's kind of the the fear right there.
10:02Uh Ted Hearst, Georgia Georgia State.
10:06I you know, these two players stand out to me and you know why, they're 6'4. I like these bigger wide receivers with some
10:13athleticism. Uh does he have greater potential than his projected role player value? Yeah, absolutely. I think that if he can really refine his route running
10:21and I think there's there's reasons to believe that he could um he could and he plays with a level of dynamic athleticism that we see flashes
10:32of that maybe he could be an aspiring A.J. Green, a guy who's maybe, you know, an upper middle class A.J. Green during
10:39his career. Um so maybe not giving you 1,400 yard seasons, but maybe can give you 1,000 1,100 yards and somewhere between six to eight touchdowns. And
10:48you're using him as a fantasy starter and maybe has one year that's off the charts good due to an injury or great
10:54quarterback play. Um so yeah, if not though, I think that he can still give you the go up and get it of Tee Higgins
11:02and be kind of more of a Tee Higgins Mike Williams type of number two option who still will compelling fantasy value
11:09at his peak.
11:10Yeah, I'm just now a text coming across my device. He will be visiting Hearst, the Giants, Packers, and Chiefs this very week.
11:19So there we have that.
11:22Quarterback, Diego Pavia, a Vanderbilt quarterback with an interesting route >> [laughter] >> an upward trajectory. Can he keep that upward trajectory going? Can he become
11:32one of the best three quarterbacks in this draft class, feel or [ __ ] it? Okay.
11:35So talent-wise, could he become one of the top three best top three quarterbacks in this draft class when it's all said and
11:42done?
11:44yes, he can.
11:45Um will he? Will you Do you want to bet on that? [ __ ] no, because the NFL seems to be making a concerted effort to let
11:56everybody know about his foibles off the field and that he's and there's some thoughts that maybe he's not a good guy.
12:04Now, I don't know whether that's true or not and NFL teams sometimes the way they practice a character evaluation don't know that
12:12well or not. They There's still a lot of teams that um let's just say that they their skill at interviewing and who they who they
12:21assign the task of interviewing and discerning the information um isn't very good. But I would say that on the field Diego Pavia's processing
12:31speed is very strong. He's an aggressive physical football player for his size.
12:37He's like if it's like pouring Red Bull and vodka into Fruity Pebbles, you know, that's basically what you're That's it's the breakfast of champions.
12:48Um and I think the little hot sauce to it, too, to boot might be a little bit of part of the equation there. So if you can
12:55stomach all that I think you you might find up find out that you're having a really good time with Diego Pavia as as
13:02your journeyman starter quarterback or your backup who can come in and just rip a hole into into defenses occasionally.
13:10Is like 5'10 207 lb the size kind of the immediate, you know, barrier? The yeah, that that the fact that he thinks he's a
13:17full back at the end of runs, you know, in the SEC. I thought feels like we're talking about Baker Mayfield. Yeah,
13:23there's a little Baker Mayfield attitude with that. But I again, where where Baker was probably drinking like wine spritzers, >> [laughter]
13:31>> you know, Diego Diego's doing the vodka and the and the Red Bull.
13:35Uh Jonah Coleman, Washington running back, 5'8 220 lb. He'd be like a bowling ball.
13:42Uh is he overrated, feel or [ __ ] it? I think he is. Um obviously, if we're going to look at the consensus and see
13:48that I'm alone on an island here cuz I think a lot of people have him as like a top five to top seven running back and I
13:53don't have him remotely there. It's mainly because his grade is good enough for him to make an NFL roster. I could
14:01see him having a situational role for a team but I don't think that his acceleration and his speed and his vision
14:10are compelling enough for me to believe that he can hold down a starting role year after year while he's healthy. Um I
14:18did not think his pass protection was as strong as many people say um because I think a lot of people grade pass
14:26protection as get in the way and was the result good as opposed to was the technique sound and will that translate
14:34to um you know, NFL defenders and coverage types. And I think there's some good reps on his tape, but there's a lot
14:42of dropping his head making blocks where he's trying to back drop people or looking like he's doing some of that.
14:49The punch isn't as strong as it needs to be, um overextending into into blocks.
14:54Things that like when people said that De'Anthony Foreman was a really good blocker way back in the day and I was
15:02like, yeah, but he drops his head so much that defenses are just going to he's giving tells and you're going to
15:08see where that becomes a problem. And I think that this is kind of the same thing with with Coleman. Like good
15:13enough to make a roster, maybe good enough to become a contributor on a situational level, but I'm just I'm not sold. He's going to have to show me he's
15:23far more explosive and a slightly better decision-maker on runs towards, you know, off guard and off tackle where he needs to get downhill a little bit
15:32faster. Can he catch football well enough to be a three-down back if if the right opportunity arises? Yeah, I mean if those things work out, like I said,
15:39and he can catch, he can be a leak receiver, you know, screen passes, wide routes, things like that.
15:45All right. Let's look at the other side of that coin, Kansas running back La Shawn Williams. Is he underrated, feel or [ __ ] it?
15:52>> Absolutely, because he's a 5'9 218 bowling ball with actual legit speed.
15:58Um you know, he's got speed, he's got acceleration, he can catch. I like his vision. Um you know, overall when I look at his
16:07game compared to Jonah Coleman I I just feel like that you know, Williams to me is already a player who could contribute
16:18off the bench right now on a depth chart that is a little bit maybe a little bit weaker.
16:24But um you know, he's not far away as a blocker. You know, when I look at what his blocking skills have to offer
16:33he's actually already kind of in the com the committee tier. Um and or very close to that. So situationally if they know what they're going to have
16:43assign him to that is playing with his strengths he could be very good right away in that level. And I think he'll only improve.
16:50The biggest issue with him will be character and it's not from the standpoint that he's a poorly behaved human being. Um it's just
16:59that he left Iowa and was and according to his trainer was uninspired um you know, when he arrived at Kansas and the trainer said, you
17:11know, we got he was out of shape and didn't seem to be loving the game but we got him in the shape and the love
17:17for the game returned very quickly and he's a completely different player. Now, is this that maturity moment that we want from players that they rebound or
17:28is or teams going to assess that as he doesn't really have the passion for the game and he's a thermometer player to
17:35the worst degree that we don't want to have on our roster because we're worried that when football doesn't become fun anymore that he's he's going to abandon
17:44the game. That's what you're going to That's what might be the questions people have. I'm not saying they are, but it's what I would anticipate that
17:53the that NFL teams were looking into.
17:55But he's a he's a he's an interesting player who on the field um I saw good things.
18:02Yeah, he did not get invited to combine.
18:04We'll see how it plays out in the draft.
18:06While we were all watching Fernando Mendoza lead the way in Indiana, Kaylin Black was quietly getting the job done there.
18:13Is he underrated at running back, feel or [ __ ] it? Yeah, he's like a big he's like a plus-size Justin Forsett in the
18:19or a or similar size to Chester Taylor.
18:22Like a back who can you know, if you don't know those guys, they're in that, you know, 5'10 205 to 215 lb range. Guys who can run between
18:33the tackles, who have enough power to break a tackle, who finish strong, and they can attack into contact and they have just enough um
18:44burst and speed to be on an NFL field as a contributor. He catches the ball well out of the backfield on screens and wide
18:51routes and he's just a he's just a physical player who plays with an attitude and plays intelligently and he's reliable. He's one of those
19:01guys that I think could have a 10 10-year career as a running back in the league and maybe has one or two seasons
19:08because of injuries that the team goes, you know what?
19:11We can lean on him for an extended period of time. We don't want him to be our every year starter, but he might be
19:17able to give us that you know, 1,200 1,300 yard season and um and then we go, you know, then we go back to the original starter or we
19:27draft someone who has more compelling physical skills.
19:31Fair enough. Cade Klubnik, the Clemson quarterback.
19:36Uh say that sometimes.
19:38No, I'm not saying that any more times.
19:40Is a boom bust fantasy pick in superflex? I guess part of this is, you know, he's boom and busted both during his time in
19:48college is most notably busting last year.
19:51Uh feel it [ __ ] it? I'll totally feel it. You know, it's You know, he was the number one rated
19:57prospect among the quarterbacks coming into this year in a lot of locations. And because he had such a strong statistical season.
20:06And then this year he had a lot of drops. There were inaccurate passes and situations that seemed to be a habit. Um
20:14there's questions about the Clemson offense um being one that prepares quarterbacks conceptually and intellectually for the league. That's not the quarterback's
20:24fault, but it is the but it is the nature of the beast of where they played. Um and Clubnick somebody who has
20:30some mechanical issues to work out. His velocity sometimes suffers as a result.
20:35He also sails passes in the middle of the field because of it. Um they're actually two separate issues, but those are mechanical things that he needs to
20:43kind of work on to get straightened out.
20:45If he can get straightened out, develop a little bit more velocity to his game, he might be able to become a starter in
20:52the league. I think that there's some real skills there in terms of placing the ball, in terms of um moving around in the pocket, and creating um on
21:03and off of structure um that I think are compelling, but the the baseline accuracy is a big question mark and whether or not at a higher level of
21:14NFL play where defenses are disguising, he [clears throat] whether he's going to be able to do that along with correcting velocity. How often do we see that? A
21:22guy that comes in at this level of skill that winds up you know, all the pieces falling into place for him to become a starter. Is it
21:28Is it as much luck due to circumstances that it is their skill?
21:32Um it can be a little bit of both. I mean, I think Brock Purdy is maybe the higher end version of that. Drew Brees
21:39was someone that you know, teams maybe even questioned whether he was a second round pick. Right.
21:45>> And he was someone that kind of continued along those Ryan lines. Tom Brady, I mean, you know, you could look
21:50at Tom Brady or Mark Bulger. Those are other players that you could kind of look in there, but you can see that
21:56they're few and far between and a lot of the guys I'm mentioning came happened 20 years ago. Right. So, that's something
22:03worth noting.
22:04All right. Uh Jeremy's cousin, Jamari Maclin, uh could become a poor man's Jayden Reed. Feel it or [ __ ] it? I'm
22:10totally feeling this. I think there are a few receivers in this class who are kind of in that slot flanker role,
22:17probably more slot, who might not even be drafted, who could give you some He's not highly touted. He's not highly touted at all. He played at North Texas,
22:27um University of North Texas, and he was um compelling there. He's good after the catch. I think he has solid hands. Um
22:34the route running is pretty good. He's one of those guys that I think could earn opportunity on special teams, and if he hooks onto a team, maybe grows his
22:43game to the point that he becomes maybe a third or fourth wide receiver, and maybe surprises us from there.
22:49Uh these things uh stranger things have happened. I guess we would say the same for Cam Little Brown, uh Georgia Southern wide receiver, uh a
22:58developmental sleeper. Feel it or [ __ ] it? Absolutely feel it. You know, I think that he's he's he has he's well-built. He's got
23:07speed. He played at Auburn originally, and Auburn Auburn gets the athletes at in the SEC. I would I would if I were
23:15to characterize a team that that gets athletes, but maybe doesn't get great football players at compared to some of the other schools,
23:25Auburn is one of those teams. Um they do get great football players, too, but I would say that sometimes they're they're
23:31the team that you could stereotypically say, "Oh, this guy's an athlete. Maybe he can figure it out and become a a really strong football player at the
23:40next level." Like good enough for college, but not necessarily the pros.
23:44Brown though is very good at contested catches. I see some route ability with his game.
23:49Um would not be surprised. Do you remember Marlon Brown, the former Megly, yes.
23:55Ravens Yeah, former Ravens receiver out of Georgia, who was catching touchdowns left and right for 1 year, um but really didn't develop into a starter, but there
24:04was you could see the potential with his game. I think Camden Brown is kind of like the Marlon Brown of this class, who
24:11maybe he could have a little bit more luck and do a little bit more more to realize take an opportunity that
24:18works out well initially and realize it into something um that's stable and and consistent. Uh Oscar Gulp, Georgia tight end. Could he
24:29emerge as another uh Georgia tight end? Is he Could he be a top three option in this tight end class? I think most people have him
24:36outside the top 10. Do you think he has a lot more potential than that? Feel it or [ __ ] it?
24:40>> Yeah, I mean, I have him probably outside that as well, but it's not that far between him being one of the top
24:45three and and where I have him ranked right now. And the reason is his hands.
24:51Um he he he catches the ball fine.
24:56Where he struggles to catch the ball is with contested catches where defenders deliver a substantial hit. That's when I haven't seen him win the ball like that.
25:06If he just shows that he's tougher at the catch point in those scenarios than I've seen, he would probably be vaulted inside the
25:15top five just for that alone. Um he's 6'5" 245. Right now you'd say, "Oh, well, that's not heavy enough to really
25:23be blocking in line at a highly effective level."
25:27But I think with 10 lb, if he adds 10 lb, he can probably it will probably be more feasible. He's a technically sound
25:36blocker. He's actually a very smart football player who runs good routes, blocks well at the level he's at right now, and catches the ball reasonably
25:46well. So, he's he's more compelling than people realize. How many Like in this class, it sounds like there's not a lot
25:54of space between some of these like if we're looking talking about a guy outside the top 10 who could possibly be
26:00a top three. How many guys are in that same boat? Or or you know, or is this pretty much the whole class if it plays
26:06out that way? The the talents and skills are there for all these guys to contribute. They just need to hit the
26:11right circumstance. Yeah, they need to hit the right spot, but I would say that there's probably you know, there's probably eight to 10
26:20guys that fit that description. Um and then there's guys who have a similar score as these eight to 10, but I would
26:28say that they're pretty capped at what at what you're looking for. The one I don't understand, honestly, I'm just going to add this in here, is I I hear
26:37some of my peers saying Eli Raridon is vastly underrated, but when I watch his blocking, I think he has significant lapses,
26:46even though he's been assigned to certain guys. I just felt like his blocking is not the way people describe it to be. Um
26:56and that he has minor lapses with his hands that might also interfere. So, while he's a really strong athlete and he's 6'6" 245, and you could see a
27:05compelling opportunity for him to add weight, I I just he might just need to be maybe he's better off as one of those inline
27:14blockers who can just filter out and just be a you know, a Tyler Warren type, Tucker Kraft type. Maybe that makes him
27:22a little more compelling, but even then, the blocking concerns me.
27:26Okay, I know you like Eli Stowers. I just saw I saw a question on the Blue Sky this morning about him and you you
27:31know, questioning his you know, his experience level at the position and whether he is really should belongs in the top tier. Your thoughts there? Um
27:40yeah, I'm not really worried about that because most tight ends who come into um come into college football um aren't in sophisticated offenses playing
27:50tight end in high school. Um so, the fact that Stowers was a quarterback, there are a lot of guys who've hung
27:58around the league who were quarterbacks for 1 or 2 years in college football.
28:03Like Travis Kelce.
28:04>> Yep. And then had multiple and then had um and then they had even when they weren't starters, they stuck to rosters
28:12um because of the fact that they had those skills.
28:16Stowers, the only thing that's really concerning about his game is how much is whether you can match him up on an
28:22offense where you need him to block at a higher level than he does right now. But I don't think that I don't think he's as awful of a blocker
28:32as he's characterized when people teams are saying, "Maybe we should turn him into Mike Evans." I think he's I think he's got some competencies on the
28:42backside of formations as a stalk blocker, but he's going to have some improvement to made otherwise. But route running, his route running is very
28:50strong. He sees zones very well cuz he was a former quarterback. His cat his ability to catch the ball is as good as
28:56as almost anybody in this class, especially in contested situations, and he might be one of the best runners after the catch in this class.
29:06Desmond, not to be confused with Demond, which I did to open this show. Desmond Reed, Darren Sproles like, 5'6" 174 lb,
29:15very explosive. Feel it or [ __ ] it?
29:17Sproles comparison.
29:19No, we're going to we're going to [ __ ] it, but we're going to say that he's maybe more of an aspiring um Tarik
29:25Cohen. Um which may for some people go, "Oh, six of one, one half dozen of the other." And I'd say you got to watch a
29:32little closer. Yeah. Yeah. But Tarik Cohen could be Tarik Cohen had some good good moments uh with the Bears, some good games. I think that Desmond Reed is
29:44a compelling player who matched up in the right situation might be able to give you some a lot as a scat back and a
29:51return specialist.
29:54All right, fair enough. All right, so here's a little broader one. Public and team expectations about quarterback development is like a marriage. Feel or
30:01it?
30:01>> Yes, [clears throat] feeling that. Okay, cuz let's look at it this way. The first year that quarterbacks come into the league and
30:08they get an opportunity and they perform well in that first season, it's kind of like the honeymoon period of a of a
30:16marriage where like everyone everything's being idealized, nothing seems to be wrong, you're waiting for the other shoe to drop, but you don't
30:25really want it to. You don't think it's going to do that and you're just like you're ardently passionate about the other person. And then the and then
30:34after the the the marriage has been around for a little bit of a while and real life hits, you know, like defenses
30:41begin to adjust. I feel like this is a Jane Daniels attack. I know It might be or Baker Mayfield in the past
30:49or, you know, Desmond Ridder, you know, or you know, Jake Locker um or oh, Drew Lock, you know, lots of guys.
30:59When you uh you know, suddenly defenses adjust and they're the the variable there is that that's real life hitting. That's how
31:06real life's going to be in the NFL.
31:08Suddenly the fans start pointing the finger at the quarterback, the scouting staff the the um the you know, the coaches and the and
31:18the front office, maybe they start to sour a little bit or they expect this quarterback to to work and figure it
31:24out, but you know, they got to figure it out. Not they're not going to they try to help nominally, but they're really
31:31more about blaming at this point. And then, you know, you've got fingers pointing, you've got problems. People are now like suddenly going, "Wait a
31:39minute, this isn't who we thought we had."
31:42And then either the quarterback is able to adjust and now you have a comfort level, that deep level of comfort that
31:48you have with a good marriage where it's like, you know, you you know, you have that deep level of comfort and there's the you have these
31:56really high moments that are great um and but you learn the value of teamwork, you learn how things fit together, you learn how people fully are
32:07and you know the strengths and weaknesses and and it and it works out and you can end up having a championship. But if you don't do that,
32:15you're still stuck in the blame stage and the and the you know, the suddenly life hit and now, you know, you don't know how to you
32:24don't know how to figure this stuff out, then it there's a divorce coming and then there's lots of hand-wringing and therapy appointments and all that kind
32:33of stuff. So, I think that that's kind of how what happens here is that a lot of teams are terminally stuck in the
32:40first two stages, you know, where it's like the first year it's like this guy can't do any wrong. He's an elite
32:46player. He's going to be awesome. You even got quarterback former quarterbacks in the media who say all this because clickety-clickety-clackety-click um you know,
32:57you know, put a little bit more dollars in my basket um type of thing. And then you know, year two it's like, "Oh, you
33:04mean they adjusted?
33:06Oh, they don't look so good?" Then the quarterback's like, "Well, here's why here's why this guy might fail.
33:11Clickety-clackety-clickety-click."
33:13>> [laughter] >> You know, that's kind of I think what happens here and and you know, Sam Darnold apparently is one of the few who
33:21had some pretty good marriage therapy or he just got kicked out of the house and he found himself a he found himself a
33:27great spouse um you know, very recently, but uh but worked on his craft, you know, but he's survived you know, he survived the Jets where he
33:38was like, "Hey, I need some help. We might need an exorcism here."
33:42>> [laughter] >> And the coach is like, "I'm too coked up worrying about uh you know, I'm too coked up worrying
33:48about you know, I'm trying to medicate here just to avoid the situation I'm in, you know, allegedly allegedly coked up, yeah. He looked coked up. Let's let look
33:58let look at it that way. I thought it looked more of meth to me, but hey, whatever.
34:01>> Might have been hey, exactly. [laughter] I don't know either, but you know, he definitely looked he definitely looked like he was seeing something, too.
34:10>> [laughter] >> All right, so that's a fair assessment the Feel or [ __ ] It podcast, much like a marriage. We
34:17grow together and I've yet to grow apart cuz I'm never going to let you go, Matt.
34:21That's that's true. [laughter] Uh check out the Rookie Scouting Portfolio mattwaldman.com. Check out Matt @mattwaldman on the X device. Tons
34:31of great content posted all the time, you know, gives a little insights into things. I find it very useful. Find me
34:37there as well @football_diehard. Both of us on Bluesky as well. Uh for the draft next week we've got coming up. I know
34:44Matt, you and I are going to jump on with Sigmund Bloom for a little live streaming at the Football Guys the
34:48Audible channel, I believe it is. I'll be covering the draft uh for SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. I'll be doing wrap-up shows uh Thursday night,
34:57Saturday night from the time the draft is done for a couple hours, so I'll join you there at some point, I'm sure. might
35:02see some Matt Waldman on there, I'm pretty sure. Uh so, it'll be a great time uh to get caught up on these guys
35:08and then they'll have helmets on. We can wave the green flag and start playing some fantasy football in earnest. Uh and
35:14I can't wait for that. Thank you very much, Matt. Love you. Goodbye.
35:17>> Love you. Goodbye.