The Around the NFL podcast. Wants you to know your college girlfriend never got over you. That's damn right. Welcome to another episode of the Around the NFL podcast. Greg Rosenthal. Sitting in this week for Dan Hansen in the host chair in the Chris Wesseling podcast studio, surrounded by a room filled with heroes, Mark Sesler, Patrick Claibon. Let's get after it.

Let's get after it. Why not? We're here. The lights are on.

Yes.

Let's acquire it.

It's another beautiful sample centered around perhaps you, Patrick.

I'd forgotten.

I do want to hear the new Patrick Claibon theme song. Songs, really, throughout this episode when it just feels right, Eric. But this one especially puts me in a nice mood on a cloudy stormy day here at NFL Network.

You're whimsically wading through a quaint neighborhood.

Do you feel they've captured... You had some issues with them not actually capturing maybe your full personhood in some of these...

How could you in a 30-second song? The man contains multitudes.

But yeah, I talked over the best part, but yeah.

You were going to play these for your wife at some point in the household to impress her.

I should have gotten to that point. Okay. I've not quite made it to that.

Use it when you need it.

We're reminding you. Well, yeah, it maybe it's not going to work in the way Mark envisioned.

Well, no, I think you find that right time.

Which is just a hammer drop. I would suggest maybe just Play for the whole family and say, Isn't this cute? There's something fun at work today with Daddy.

I don't think that's using it to its maximum potential, but that's fine. We'll see. It's your prerogative. It's your prerogative.

Hey, there's great news from work, and then it's like, Oh, what Loads of it.

How are you doing, Mark? I'm good.

Thank you. I arrived here very early this morning.

How are you doing this week without Dan? Famously, you started this podcast on the back end of the Damage It program without me and without Wes. So you and Dan go back further. It's like a missing appendage for you when he's out of the-It is.

It's two weeks in a row where we haven't had our full cast. I find it typically I'd be one that's not here one of those two weeks. So to be the person here, it's been odd. But I also went with people are on vacation, we have a code not to F with each other on text. I texted Dan once or twice and then felt bad about it because I keep forgetting he's not even in the continental United States right now. Where he is, it's six hours earlier, I believe.

You don't want to be thinking about work when you're gone. No. It's unavoidable. It happens. When you're wired like this. When you're built for it. Look, we're built for it. It's April fourth. We're only three weeks away here from the draft. Sneaking up on us. We talked Top 10 mock with Josh Norris earlier in the week. This week, we're going to go through as many teams as we can get through with burning desires heading into this NFL draft. A basic show might call them Team Needs or whatnot. But this is a little deeper than just a need. Sometimes your body needs something, but sometimes your body has a burning desire.

Yeah, wants and needs are not all created equal, and these are burning desires. Some of these teams, with what's even happened this week, I could think a few teams suddenly, we've got major holes to fill on our roster.

Look, we've hit the top 10 pretty hard, so we're going to try to mostly focus on teams outside the top 10. But if we have some that we haven't really hit on within the top 10 or a special need, there's no rules in these games. We will do that. But before we do that, we got a big time trade to talk about. So let's get to some news here.

Alan out of the gun takes the high snap, throws to Diggs to the left of the five, lowers his shoulder into the end zone.

Touchdown Buffalo. A three-yard splash from Allen to Diggs, and the Bills lead it nine to three. That was the divisional round Game-winning shutdown by Stefan Diggs during the 2020 season. His first in Buffalo, his last proved to be the 2023 season. He is headed to the Houston Texans. And I did I want to play that clip just as a reminder because I think it's getting lost in these last few days. What a ridiculous success this Stefan Diggs trade to Buffalo was. I should have to point this out. That was a season where he led the NFL, by the way, with 127 catches, 1,535 yards. In only four seasons, he had well over 5,000 yards for this team. They were, by some measures, in terms of point differential and everything like that, and wins As successful as any team in the NFL over the last four seasons, not named the Kansas City Chiefs with Patrick Mahomes, but he is headed to Houston. It's a fascinating trade. I think there's a lot of angles we can get to. Let's start from the Buffalo side, Mark. When you saw that this happened on Wednesday, did it feel to you like it came out of the blue?

Were you surprised? Where do you want to go with it?

I read it described as stunning and shocking, and very few stories hit that world for me at this point. But I think we had talked about open mysteries to the offseason and unfinished business coming out of last season, even the year before. It's like, what is the future between Stefan Diggs and the Bills? And so from that angle, I am not stunned by the move. I think what they got for it is going to rankle feathers with Bills fans. I understand that the money side of it is a labor for the front office this season. But I feel like in terms of Stefan Diggs, this is Stefan Diggs the person. The player fell off a cliff a little bit after Joe braided took over. He was top three in yards, receiving, led the league in receptions when they were about five and five. And then the coordinator switch happened, and Stefan Diggs was not used the same way. I don't really buy this. He's not the same guy anymore. I think he can go have a great one year, at least, with the Texans. But the bills, I think, have gone into a soft reboot mode a little bit.

And Diggs, His future here felt problematic. Just there's too many reports, instances, ideas that behind the scenes, he was difficult, and there was a schism between he and Josh Allen, and I'm starting to believe that that was more true than I might have six months ago.

This schism, essentially, wasn't something that developed in 2022. If we were to believe, I'm a skeptic about... I don't think Stefan Diggs is a demonstrably different person in 2024 than he was in 2022. I think The groundwork had been laid a long time ago by taking people who were prone to say those sorts of things and giving them the information to say, Oh, the bills, and there's frustration. Oh, Stefan Diggs this, and then you get all these smoke, fire conversations. I think Stefan Diggs is one of the better receivers in the National Football League. I think Brandon Breen does. I think nick Casario does. But the bills, a conversation we have all the time about the Saints, about managing salary cap. There's different ways to do it. The bills went down a particular route, and now they are within the consequences of the particular route that they went down. I don't think that there are better football team. I think it's a preposterous idea to say that the vibes, it's like, Oh, he was a problem in the relationship. I mean, get open and have your spectacular quarterback throwing the ball. Who cares? He was a part of a change, a shift in this franchise where Bills fans saw incredible success because he was there.

Right. I think that's all true. And yet I do think in sports, sometimes the relationship runs its course for whatever reason. And these are humans. And being said as much, Patrick, he admitted, look, the bills, especially for the 2024 season, are in a worse place today than they were yesterday.

Are we better today? Probably not. It's It's a work in progress, and we're going to continue to work on that. I would just hope that people know I'm as competitive as hell, and I'm not. I ain't giving in.

I want to push back a little bit on this idea that, though, yes, the bills are resetting and making some hard decisions, and they're going to be a very different team next year than they were this year. But I see where Bane is coming from in the sense that's like, why wouldn't they be one of the absolute favorites in the AFC still? I do think people are just jumping to this idea that they're a deeply diminished team. When I look at their roster and I see one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL, the best offensive line that the Bills have had since they've been there, some young, exciting, dynamic talent in Kincaid and Cooke and Shaqir, who aren't ready to be like superstars, but it's something to work with. You do They still have the rest of the offseason. The Bills have shown, and they don't have much cap room, but they have shown that they're good at picking up different little pieces. And then when I look at the defense, it's a really good defense, and it's a really successful coaching staff. So to me, I look at them. They've defended their title in the AFC East three years in a row, four total, done it three times in defensive.

I look at it and having gone through it as a Patriots fan and seeing what the Chiefs have done and other successful organizations, a lot of times when you go into a season and there's a lot of change, but the quarterback and the coach are really good and the bedrock of what the team has been good. That's the year everyone sleeps on them. And it's like, no, a lot of what's good about this organization is still there. And the odds are they're not going to make the Super Bowl this year because the odds are every year, no one team is going to make the Super Bowl, especially in the Patrick Mahomes era. And then people will be disappointed in them. But I would put them right there with the Chiefs or behind the Chiefs as one of the most likely teams to make it back pickback, and sometimes hard decisions have to be made. I do think this was just a personal thing. It was a financial thing and a personal thing that they were going to take this crazy big cap hit at some point when they divorced from Diggs. It could have been this year.

It It could have been next year. And they decided, maybe this year makes more sense when we can get a second round pick back, and there's just a lot going on, and it feels like a good time.

I guess the confluence of all those issues, and that's why the move happened. I don't think it's that big of a mystery. But in terms of just keeping the Bills situated right behind the Chiefs. With Josh Allen, and the fact that they're an incomplete picture, and they could pick up three wide receivers in the draft, and one of them could hit, and then you found your Justin Jefferson, possibly, right? But that's an incomplete score right now. We don't know what's going to happen. But from a perception angle, if you're a Bills fan and your Super Bowl window was sitting there wide open and you move on from six of your eight captains from a year ago, the team does look different. And I think Brandon Beane, at least, is being honest. I don't know if they've gotten better. I don't think we have at this point, but we'll see what's to come.

That's the thing. I appreciate the honesty because it's just a preposterous, to me, a preposterous idea to say that Stefan Diggs was that much of a problem emotionally, that he was holding the team back that much. That was the reason why you got ran out of your own stadium in the snow against the bangles or the reason everything fell apart last year. I understand there was a crucial drop in a playoff game, but he's dropping the ball because he's open. To drop a like that, you have to get open in the first place. He's still capable of doing that. Marques Valdes-Scantling was making great plays in the place. So are you thinking, MVS is greater than Stefan Diggs? I just have a tough time believing that the downside of not having them on your football team anymore, going to another team in the AFC that is probably going to the playoff, you could seriously consider the possibility that you're playing good stuff on digs. If you're fortunate enough to make it to the play, I don't necessarily buy I get it, Greg, that they're still a good team.

I don't buy that they're better. I just think sometimes these are humans, and the smoke that we're talking about. There were issues here in terms of him staying away from the team last year. Certainly, they had the blow up after the playoff loss that he was upset about. I heard information, and they talked about that. You just heard publicly from Josh and Stefan that it wasn't maybe as tight as it used to be. I did think it was interesting that Brandon Beane talked about Josh Allen being informed at various stages of this process that, yeah, despite all the reporters passing along the news, I saw something in the athletic that's like, Oh, they fully planned to have Diggs on their roster, and they weren't just blowing hot air. They've finally just gotten off where they liked it. It's like, I don't buy that, especially when I hear this from Brandon Beane.

Josh and I have a pretty regular conversation on some things. I think it's important for me to make sure if I think something could happen, to make sure he's not blindsided. Without going into the discussion with Josh when the last time we spoke was, I did alert him that there had been some inquiries, and it wasn't 100% off the table.

I think this was a possibility going back for a while to the combine meetings. Now it's happened. It happened quickly this week. I'm with you. It's personal. I think Tim Graham on The Athletic wrote a pretty involved, intense piece about point by point of what happened. But I would just say in general, if I'm the rest of these AFC heavies, I would be annoyed that you just turned the Houston Texans volume up even more. You want to tell me about a team that's right behind the Chiefs on paper? It's not the Bills to me, it's the Texans. It's like, Thank you, Buffalo, for making this AFC evolving powerhouse even more glowing and unusual to deal with.

Okay, yeah. Let's hit it from the Texan side because what an offseason that they have had. They gave up a 2025 second round pick. But, oh, by the way, they got a day three pick, a round five pick this year back, and a 2025 sixth round pick back. The more I thought about, I was like, wow, those two picks are pretty significant. Someone actually did the trade value chart of those two pics, one of them being this year versus the second round pick next year. And it's like, yeah, the bills win that trade in a vacuum, but just in terms of the picks being traded, but not by that much. Actually, it was almost like a face saving move that, okay, we did get one second, but we had to give up two pics back plus Stefan Diggs. And so that really makes it look like it was more of a salary dump than anything. It was a mix. It was a salary dump more than getting the the draft asset. Houston has to be freaking thrilled that they have Nico Collins, Stefan Diggs, Tankdell, and Dalton Schultz as their top four pass catchers. And by the way, Noah Brown, John Metchie, Robert Woods are still on this roster.

It's going to be a great group in terms of competition, in terms of depth on that team. It is awesome. I think Stefan Diggs is going to give you the best Stefan Diggs possible at 31. Not that you weren't getting it Buffalo, but he is going to be ready, and he's going to be on a team that can use him. Maybe the numbers aren't quite as high as his peak Buffalo days because there's so much competition for catches, but that he is still a really dynamic receiver for C. J. Strauss.

It gives the Texans so much just in terms of opportunity and what they can do. And not to mention, they bring in Joe Mixon offseason as well, who's soaked it, literally, almost never came off the field for the bangles. So you had two AFC contenders that are going to have a couple of their best offensive players Playing against them potentially down the stretch and maybe even in the playoffs. But there's so much because you go from a group that's young and exciting, and Brown comes on mid to late last season as well. And it's like, Where are these contributions? Then there's just so much, and it's almost like, Where's the crack going to be? What's the flaw?

Yeah, the roster is pretty wild on offense, considering where they were two years ago. I mean, very few have transformed that quickly. The bills around Josh Allen did, and now they're going in the other direction. You kept Bobby Sloick, and this Stefan Dixing does not need to be a three or four-year commitment. The guaranteed money runs out after this year. If he turns into a problem or he is the same player. You don't even have to have him on this roster next year.

There is something to me about wide receivers landing a new spot and just you getting the best possible version of them for a year or two. Not like you wouldn't later, but I just think it's a natural human thing that you land in a new place and you want to be at your very best.

It's a new house guest. They're very polite. Then if they're there too long-In their border, in terms of digs, he'll have a Hall of Fame case someday if he continues on this path.

I think of Someone was like, Oh, yeah. I tweeted this out that multiple things can be true. I don't think it was a crazy move by the Bills in this spot that it might have been time. But it also is an amazing move for the Texans, and they're going to get the best version of Dixon. Got a lot of responses from Bills, Are you going to get the best version of them? Coming off his worst season at 30. When does that ever happen? I was like, Okay, well, if you wanted to ask Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, in the way that I'm talking about this, Steve Smith at age 35 in Baltimore. Yes, Steve Smith. In Smith's case, he had better numbers sometimes earlier. But I mean the best version possible where it's a career resurgent It's an excellent player. And guys that get open like Diggs, that travels, and Sloak will, I think, know how to use him. And Nico, to me, is a one, basically. He's a T Higgins, maybe. And so Diggs and him are ones together with Dell. It's freaking amazing because the Texans are ready. We're going to be a team that people, myself included, thought like, I don't know, why can't they make the Super Bowl this year?

And this puts it on another level. I think I think they need some interior offensive line help. I do think there's some issue there. They don't have any guys on their defensive line other than Anderson, which is a big other than that they've really developed that or any younger. So they need some people for the future there. They certainly need a cornerback other than Derek Steen. This is not a perfect team. Their defense was playing better late last season, but they were average throughout last... It's not a perfect team. But man, I would not be surprised if it's Texan Chief's kickoff.

Especially when you consider CJ Strutt, that was not just first season, but Bobby Sloïc's first play call. There's only an opportunity to go up here, I guess, unless the whispers about Stefan Diggs, maybe he goes in and he ruins everybody's relationship.

I'm just going to be... Okay.

What I don't think that can happen. I want to be clear here.

It lightens me on specifically what Stefan Diggs did.

Well, there are anecdotes of him just generally that when his brother tweeted out that he should be not on the bills, rescue him thing, and he had a chance to address it, and he stuck up for his brother, not the bills. There were four or five situations like that.He.

Did have a tweet.That's the top of the list?

Well, I also think that there's stuff we don't know about between him and Josh.

I don't think it's anything crazy, but he did have a tweet this week that was literally a day before this trade, whereas you can't make this up. @thepakeypirate asked, Does Josh benefit from having a top-tier receiver? Yes. Is he essential to his success? No. Diggs responds, You're sure? It It's just these little things, and I think it's natural because, of course, Josh benefits, and it's essential to have great receivers. But I just think it's been a little bit of a credit issue between Diggs and Alan, and that it might have been a little bit of an impersonal thing. It is what I heard between them when they were yelling and stuff that I do think there was a little bit of who is more important to this team, who made who. If you're the two most important players on your team have a little bit of an issue in terms of sharing credit, and we've seen this from the best players of all time it's happened, the best organizations of all time. It broke up Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones for 20 years.

It broke up Stefan Diblin.

If that's an issue, then maybe, okay, that's It's a time, and they're having an interpersonal thing, and it's totally natural, but maybe it's the time to break it up.

But it literally happened in Minnesota.

We wish we could have managed things a little differently at the time. What are we doing right now with the opportunity that we have to try to be successful. If you're telling me that you can't just get over it and make it work with a very talented person, then I question how much you really want to win.

But if you just went through a season where you went into that season as an issue, and then you came out of this season, and you feel like no one solved it, whether it's Stefan, Josh, the coaches, the front office, then I just think in football, they can still be a strong organization. Maybe you're right, that they know they're taking a step back by the time. Didn't feel crazy to me.

I just think you add in the money side of it, the fact that you get a pick out of it on some level, his age, maybe you don't believe that with the new offensive corner they have that he thrived last year, and it just all fits together. But there's a track record of Stefan Diggs being a slightly diva-ish wide receiver at multiple stops. That's a him thing. He's the through line.

The money The side of it is crazy, though. They're taking a huge dead cap at over $30 million to trade one of their best players, which really hurts. They probably were going to have to take a similar-ish hit if they did it next year, and they just decided, Let's take it all this year. They're not going to spread it into next year. Being talked openly of actually they have a little less cap room now. They'll be able to free some up with one of their post-June first, but they have very little money to spend. They're going to have to sign their draft fix. It is crazy, and it's mismanaged that you are taking that big of a cap hit to get rid of one of your best players on a contract you signed a couple of years ago. That's a mistake. It's partly, I would say even largely because of the mistakes you made elsewhere on the roster, primarily Von Miller.

It does help with perception, perhaps on the fan base side and probably on the ownership side, if you float a lot of conversation about how insufferable this person is.

But to be fair, I don't think it's out of... Because I don't think it's insufferable, but I think Stefan Digg's heart essentially supported the idea that there were some issues there between him and Josh Allen. When your brother's out there saying that and...

Yeah, if the money If the money is the same.

It's passive-aggressive ways on that side, too, to maybe get out of there.

Yeah, if the money is the same and you're building full of people that don't want you there, then why would you be there?

I could talk about this one forever. It is really a fascinating-Forever.Not forever.

That feels a little bit lengthy.

I just mean it is one of the more fascinating trades I can remember in a long time in terms of great players still playing well, going from one contender to another. One is an example, Houston, of a rebuild, and I don't really believe in rebuilds in the NFL, but you got to say Houston did it. They got lucky because look, C. J. Stroud could have got taken number one, and they would have taken Bryce Young, and maybe a lot of this doesn't happen. Or There are various things you get lucky.

Or maybe Bryce would be successful.

Right. They got lucky that they were able to trade their last quarterback for four Kingdoms.

But they went through a couple of seasons where it was truly tear it down to the studs. Nick Cacereo is still there. And just a couple of years later, they are now competing for a title. And the Bills are doing the thing that's even harder, which is the most successful run they've ever had since the lost Super Bowl. To me, the most consistent team in the NFL over the last five years other than the Chiefs. And the Diggs is what put them over the top. That trade was an absolute success. The thing that was crazy to me was yesterday hearing some people pushing back on that. It was like, that was an absolute win no matter how this ended. Do you agree, Bills fan, Eric Roberts, before we take a break?

Looking back on his time with the Bills, it was fun. I'm not going to lie. But he will be remembered because the end was messy. It could We've gone. A breakup is never easy. But things were definitely different between him and Josh. His first few years in Buffalo, Hey, we play Madden together. We're brothers. That sideline love evaporated. Obviously, during games, you see them jawn at each other. And the Bills' fandom is like, Josh is the savior. So people are going to side with Josh. Don't get me wrong, I have a Digg signed jersey in my closet. So he was pivotal, essential to the success they've had over the last four seasons. But I think in many ways, they found a way to win without him. Like Mark pointed out, when they did this run to make the playoffs, he started the season, I think five out of six games, 100 yards, and then he just wasn't there. But I think they found a way. I think they're going to go through Kincaid. I don't think Curtis Samuel and Shaqir and Holland are-They're not the answer.

They're not the answer. Their piece isI think where you need to find- You got James Cooke.

Josh Allen is R-B-1 in most cases. I just think it's a change of times.

All I'm saying is the Bills went, let's count them up, from 1999 until 2019. That is a clean 20 seasons without winning 10 games. They got that 10-win season before Diggs arrived there, but that team was a little lucky to get there. Then the next four years, 13 wins, 11 wins, 13 wins, 11 wins.If you look at the point-Well, hold on. If you look at the point differential, though, even better than the Chiefs the last couple of years, they have been one of the best teams in the NFL for Four Street season. Diggs isn't the only reason why, but he is a big reason why.

That's fine because relative to what the Bills fans and what the Bills dealt with for eras in a row, I get it. But there's still four other teams that won the Super Bowl during the Stefan Diggs. I know it's not meant. It's nice to have a 13-win season, an 11-win season, but I don't want to hear they're more It's successful than the Chiefs in some stat angle. The Chiefs win Super Bowl as a team. Right.

I didn't say the Chiefs. I'm just saying other than the Chiefs, they've been as consistent. I don't know. But in the end, it's amounting to- You got to be able to enjoy a team that is successful because you're going to be looking back on these as the good old days at some point. I had a blast.

I had a blast watching Diggs. In no way am I good riddance. There are some things that stick out because of the messy end to it all. But I loved having Stefan on the team. I agree that the bills are not better today than they were yesterday.

The crazy thing is they had a legit chance to win the Super Bowl last year. They played them even in that game, and they didn't come through, and who knows what would have happened. But it didn't happen. We're going to take a quick break, and then we're going to get to burning desires of teams around the NFL. He's from Alabama. His beard is hairy as a llama.

Can I look this one?

It's Patrick.

Yeah. But you've just been to a barber where you've had your-So I don't know.

Am I still in the llama range? I don't know.

I'd have to investigate a llama closer.

Maybe a llama after they were shaved down. It gets hot in the summer. I lived near a llama farm growing up, not a lie. They got to shave them.

Were they meat lamas? No. Did they do lamas for... What What would you call it? Would that be wolves?

Actually, don't even... Yeah, I think that's why they had them.

A llama farm in Massachusetts? That's not the first place I would target for that.

Where I grew up, there are all sorts of farms in Western Massachusetts. Fruit farms, animal farms. But yeah, I'm not going to name it. Maybe he doesn't want his name out there. But yeah, a kid who was in my class, his family-owned the llama farm. Once it started getting hot, you'd see those llamas. There goes the Is that it?

Yeah, you got to...

No, it's in Wilberham, Massachusetts.

Don't dime them out.

It's fine. Maybe it'll be-You found another llama farm, though. It'll be good for business. I have no idea if it's still open, but it was right nearby. No, I don't think there's that much of a resemblance between Patrick and those llamas. But look, if llamas look like Patrick Claibon, people would like llamas more. I feel like llamas don't get a lot of love out there. You know who's going to get a lot of love? Teams we haven't we've talked about in a little while. We're going to go through as many teams as we can, and we're going to talk about the burning desires that these teams have heading into the NFL draft. I guess I would put it to you guys. We'll try to get through as many as we can. I know everyone likes to hear their team talked about, so we're not going to go too long. But I would say to my friends Patrick and Mark, just, I think, start as strong as you can because you never know how many we're going to get through. The most burning of desires where the loins are just on fire. Start with those, and let's start with Mark Sesler.

I have been looking around at a number of different teams, and the one that stands out for me in terms of you've got a glaring hole. Now, are we saying this has to be the first round? Because I'm looking somewhere. It's a burning desire. Because it's not the greatest position. There's a number of teams out there that I think need Runningbacks.

Okay. All right? I think it's just issues. It doesn't matter where you fill them. We do talk about this team, but I look at the Dallas Cowboys as a team that they've shift around their offensive line a little bit.

It's not the strength that it was once, and it hasn't been for years, but you got issues at center potentially. But their starting running back is Deuce Vons, who I think is an interesting... We went to training camp and fell in love with them.

Maybe Rico Dauro, I would say, but if they had to play a game today.

Right. And there's whispers that they're going to bring back Ezequo Lele, which to me just flies in the face of everything that they're attempting to try to tell anyone that they're doing. They're doing very little. There are a couple of decent runningbacks in this draft. Maybe it's not first round, but I need to see this team bring in some juice and bring in some youth and not resign a Zeke Elliott who is three or four years away out from being the guy he once was.

Yeah, and the bargain shopping, I know that there's been a whole lot of all-in criticism. Anytime anybody else does something, it's, Oh, are the really all in. It can't be just bargain shopping the whole way through and trying to get a draft steal. At some point, they have to be proactive, ensuring a significant part of what this offense has been in the past 4-5 years. I'm with you, Mark. Zeke can't be the answer. I don't even know who the running back would be. If they were to try to reach in round 2 or something like that, it's a horrible...

It's a short list.

We say that, and there's a lot of good rookies that come out in the middle rounds every year, and some of these seem exciting. It depends on who you listen to. Trey Benson or Marshawn Lloyd sound to me like guys who would have a chance to come in and fill 225 carries at a high level if you can block for them. But that's part of the issue. I'm glad you mentioned the Cowboys. They were one of the eight or so teams I had a biggest star around because... Pick a position. This roster suddenly has all He's got a lot of sorts of issues. Interior offensive line, major issue. I'm assuming Tyler Smith is going to play left tackle, but he was one of the best guards in the league, I thought last year. So it could be left tackle or guard. But suddenly, you really need a center and a guard. You need a running back that was next on my list. I think you need a wide receiver. You're okay for 24 with Lamb, Cooke and Tolbert, but you need to start developing another receiver there. They fell apart last season because they didn't have anyone to play linebacker when Vandaresh got hurt.

Linebackers are no longer important until the point where they're ending the seasons for the Eagles and the Cowboys. I think there's going to be a little bit of a correction. They've reached last year for Mazzie Smith in the first round and Luke Schoonmaker. Maybe those two guys work out after quiet rookie years, but they need Mazy Smith to start right now because they don't have any defensive tackle. That's another position where they have about as many screaming needs and as many stars and wins over the last few years as any team. But man, they have a lot of big ones, a lot of burning desires.

I was looking for just in terms of bad offenses, trying to go through something for another show, and I sorted by the-Wait, you do other shows? Yeah, there's a couple.

Got to hedge your bets.

Can you be specific here? Who is our enemy?

Well, no, this was for Path.

Path to the Draft, an NFL movie.

Going through team I mean, so the rising tide lifts all boats. But I was looking at-It has Daniel Jeremiah on it, so an enemy, but okay. I was looking for the teams with the lowest average separation. You know the Cowboys are in the bottom three of the league? That was surprising to me. I know Dak throws a lot of tight window passes, and it's just everything shouldn't always be so hard.

Well, isn't that like a Mike McCarthy offense? Yeah. Trade mark where it's like, go win, guys, and scheme isn't getting you open. That's why they got sick of him in Green Bay.

I understand it's 2024, and we're not going to build the whole offense around a running back. But as good as Dak is, maybe take something off of his plate. Just every once in a while.

That Was the complaining an offseason ago, and it's gotten worse.

All right, Patrick, hit me with another one. All right. Another team.

Let's go to another place that has a burning desire.

Here we go.

A burning desire to me is when it's really a need. It's It's obvious to you and everybody else that when you walk in the room, that's what you want. We're going to have Nathaniel Hackett's offense, coming back and having Aaron Rodgers, which I would make the argument that it's Aaron Rodgers' offense. The Jets have been very proactive, but they have a burning desire, not just for a position, for Brock Bauer's Oromo Dunzé. They need Aaron Rodgers to look out there and make eye contact with somebody, and do something based on their matchup that's completely independent of Nathaniel Hackett.

Well said.

I think it's got to be one of those two players, considering where they're picking in the draft. If everybody's running to get quarterbacks, if somebody jumps up and has a higher opinion of Quinian Mitchell or Terry, they've got to get one of those two guys.

I love this. I especially think Bauer's fits for a couple of teams, and at I almost thought the Jets were a candidate to maybe even trade up if they really want to go all in and get like Marvin hair. It's like you go get the best wide receiver in the draft if you want to trade up with the chargers. But the chargers' own burning need makes that a little difficult. But if you replace Alan Lazard with Aduzze. Then you got Mike Williams, who Mike Williams is probably going to miss five or six games.

But he doesn't need to be open to make a catch, to Patrick's point.

I just think you'd have the best wideout group in the league if the rookie plays up to what we think he can be.

Yeah, that would be sexy. Those are three guys. Like, Garrett Wilson gets open on his own, Aduzze. Mike Williams, to me, is one of the best contested catch-receivers in the NFL.

I didn't get this Allurion music during my opener, so next time, I hope I do.

I hope you do, too.

You're awesome.

The New Orleans Saints. They They make a lot of mistakes in their front office. They survived, and they're in the middle. Sometimes they just like a player too much, and they give up multiple first-round pics to move up and sign a project by the name of Trevor Penning. That was in the first round a couple of years ago. Sometimes they get hooked on a guy and it works. It's Chris Alabe. Then sometimes it's Trevor Penning who seemed to be in the dog house, and they wouldn't play him even when they were playing their fourth string left tackle. Now they're entering the season. Right now, without really any left tackle, I guess it'd be maybe Landon Young. Maybe it'd be Trevor Penning. I look at this team and I just look at... They don't have a third receiver. It's Alabe and Shahid, but you I could survive without that. I look at this position, and it's always concerning for a front office when you have a burning desire for a position you just tried to fill a couple of years ago. But this guy seemed to get into some interpersonal issue with the coach, which is also a feature of this organization, not a bug, or it is a bug.

I don't know. It is a feature. It is a feature and a bug.

That's the most painful thing about it is. I had this as a burning desire myself, Greg. You did. Because it was a burning desire. I was in there in New Orleans during the draft, and it was so obvious that they needed a tackle. That was what they were going to do. And so they get Trevor Penning, and And there's the foot issue, and then there's Liz Frank. And it seems like this is, as Michael Thomas pointed out on Twitter, this is a recurring theme where somebody has something, and then it's, Well, let's see how it goes. And then the player has to get surgery on their own time, not during the season. And then they're late getting into the next season. And you wonder if Ryan Ramchick could have had that surgery that he had in February, if that's a December surgery, are things a little bit different now? It's back. It's back as a burning desire. Do we start this whole process over again, or do they maybe try to move up, use whatever they can to get a more- No, this is a deep class.

If nothing else, I think they could sit there and take one, but it's disappointing. I'm glad you mentioned Ramchek. Dennis Allen told reporters, and I don't think we mentioned it on the show, that his procedure is not recovering as quickly as hoped. He's had a lot of injuries. He was a really fantastic pick, a fantastic player whose injuries have caused him to miss significant time, and he hasn't been as effective. And there's been little whispers even about not retirement because they renegotiated his contract, but just his knee's in a lot of trouble. So that's two major issues for the Saints. I do want to hear the music behind you at this time.

I do, too. I can think of someone out there that went through a breakup. This individual engineered it, and so he's probably not the one feeling the heartbreak. But Sean Payton and the Russell Wilson relationship, which a calendar year ago, there was hope that he could make the most out of it. Well, that's over. That's out the door. I can't think of another coach in the league while everyone's hemming and hawing and keeping secrets about what they want to do. Sean Payton has openly talked about the Arizona Cardinals, another team sitting up there, the Chargers, in absolutely enviable positions for someone like him who has his eye, a wandering eye on a new quarterback, because I don't think Sean Payton wants to, after last season, mine into year two and do nothing in this position. Now, he's in a tough spot because likely four of them will be gone. I'm saying if they can't engineer a trade-up, that was our last episode's concept, and we didn't have them doing that. Then you're looking at probably someone like Bo Nicks out of Oregon to be Sean Payton's quarterback. The more I've gotten into this player, I'm not saying it's the fifth quarterback, and that's risky, and you don't want to sell the farm on it, but he's accurate, he's athletic, he's got pocket poise, he's got a little bit of a running game to him.

It sounds like someone that Sean Payton could work with. He's a heady quarterback. It's not ideal, but if you're Denver, less ideal is coming out of this with no quarterback at all and trying to make it through a depressing One more depressing year in Denver. Well, probably Russell Wilson is the way football works. Russell Wilson is in Pittsburgh winning games or a Stealers team that's five and one.

Bo'nicks does make a little sense to me for them, just maybe not at 12. It's a little rich. Get him in the second round, get him in the third round. A lot of times, these quarterbacks, especially the fifth, sixth ones that we talk about, maybe going-Or you could trade down quite high. Don't go as high as you hope because then you're really reaching for talent. Those comments from Payton at the owners meetings really made me take a step back because I've watched Sean Payton from afar for a long time, and the way he uses the media is one of a kind. I guess the way I would say he uses the media very often is he does not tell the complete truth to them. Why are you throwing it out there that you want to trade up? It's like, Okay, well, then I just... It's this time of year, I'm not breaking any news that almost any coach and GM talking about their draft plans you can look askance at. Why is he throwing that out so hard at an owner's being? Because when I hear that, I assume he means the opposite, which is that he's not going to be doing that.

I don't know, but maybe he's like, jedi mind tricking me to the point that he really is.

It's going to require a jedi mind trick to go into the season with Jared Stidham, Ben Danuchi.

Right. He did say Jared Stittam is going to have some serious competition. He did not want to entertain He didn't ask me to explain any questions that that's our guy.

Maybe he meant from Ben Danuchi.

Right. That sounds serious in the wrong way.

Nuch is coming. I do think beware of Galaxy branding things that... I think Sean Payton may be telling the truth. A lot of times, which is something he's got in trouble for saying too much of the truth. But yeah, I think the player they want to trade for is Caleb, and that opportunity seems to have passed. What's he willing to give the farm for?

They do have more draft capital than people would realize. I keep thinking because of the Russell, what's something they're like? They have a bunch of draft picks.

They also have a lot of needs. What is a position group that the Broncos feel great about? I don't see one. The offensive line, eh.

Patrick Sertan is your best player, and they still need cornerbacks.

Right. Their second cornerback was picked on mercilessely. They did find someone in Jaquan McMillan. It was a nice story for a nickelback. Simmons is no longer... I guess they feel okay at safety, Caden Sterns and Brandon Jones. I don't even know. There's not a position group you look at and you're like, Well, that's the identity of the team. That's a huge strength. They are very milk toast to me. You know who else is not milk toast?

Who's that?

The Orients and the Cardinals. They don't even have any milk in their toast. It was just toast. I heard one podcast. It was Bill Simmons with Mina Kimes saying that a lot of people are going big on the over six and a half for the Cardinals right off the bat. There was this idea. I like the Cardinals coaching staff, that the Cardinals are this team on the rise. Then I go to ourlads. Com NFL depth charts, and I look. The entire roster is a burning desire. I have a burning desire for their entire defense to be There's very little talent on it. Wide receiver would be another position. They've got an offensive line. They've got a quarterback. They've got James Connor. They really don't have much else. Their entire defense, I would say, is as talent poor. I would put it 32nd in the league out of 32. To me, that is a burning, burning desire, and they inherited a tough situation. I really believe in the coaching staff. I think this is going to be a good coaching staff based on what I saw a year ago, and that can improve your team. But man, they need a talent infusion.

I think they're going about it the right way. Trading back, getting more picks last year, and you hope those picks hit. I think they had a good draft last year. They might be trading back again. But when I see a burning desire, I see the fire of Jonathan Gannon saying, I need some players to go along with this scheme that is working pretty well because I do not see a lot of strengths on this team. I see a whole lot of weaknesses. I think if you're a Cardinals fan, if you're watching what's happened over the last 13 months, you have to be extremely encouraged.

I'm with you on the coaching staff.I.

Will say this becauseI get it. I get it. We've encouraged from the bottom of the barrel to next, but to me, it's like, I think you look at this and it's like, Man, they have a lot of work. That's all I'm saying.

If they hit on the draft pick, though, because I think the master plan is it feels to me it's like 80% that they trade out at the fourth spot. Then you've got, let's say it's the Vikings, the most likely trade partner. You've got the 11th and the 23rd, and I think you address maybe Edge, maybe it's Dallas Turner, for instance, at 11, if you ever got down there past the Falcons. Then you get your wide receiver at 23, and you've had two major needs addressed, and you accrued probably additional picks and everything else.

Or it's a corner, or it's like an interior off defensive line. I mean, the good part of needing something everywhere, and they might be pushing back Cardinal's fan and saying, Hey, we hit on Garrett Williams last year. Yeah, he was a good rookie, but you still need more than one. And Bud Baker. You could almost improve any position on the roster other than, I think you feel pretty good about tackle and quarterback.

But when those are your needs, it does put you in a position where if you're in a trade-down spot, you can fill a couple of those spots. You can get down into the early teens, take a shot at Jared Verce, you get your edge, depending on how you want to fill things out. But if it's not... Because I think the easy idea is stay and take Marvin Harrison Jr. That's the-It's also not the worst idea.

Yeah, not a bad one.

If that's the problem, then you're in a good spot. Of course, you'd like to have better talent on your own. Absolutely. But there's not a situation like this is in a Saints type situation. We have to stay and watch everybody pick, and then, Gee, I hope we get a tackle because this is clearly what we need. They could do whatever they want.

All right, what I want to do or what I'm asked to do is take a quick break, and we'll be back after that.

I don't trust Greg during these breaks. Who knows what he's going to get up to?

Especially when the desire is burning.

Yeah, we're back. We got burning desires, and I got a burning desire to hit as many teams as possible. We're going to try to go even faster with this last little segment. I'm going to start with a burning desire of the Miami Dolphins. I feel like they haven't gotten a lot of attention this year, this offseason. I like what they've done. I like their roster. They got a sneaky desire. They've spent a lot of money on Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb, but they've also lost a couple of big-time rotational edge guys this year. One of their starters, Phillips, is coming off a torn Achilles. One of them is coming off of a torn ACL, and I look at their front, their edge, and then especially defensive tackle right next to those edges, and I see a big holes on that Miami front. I think that is a position group, whether it's interior or the edge, plenty a little bit for the future that they need because Jalen Phillips and Bradley Chubb might not be ready for week one, and it's unfair to expect them to be full Jalen Phillips, Bradley Chubb in week one.

Yeah, people have linked like Byron Murphy. That would be good. Texas. That makes sense. I flip it and say that they have an issue at left guard. I just don't like the idea of not having the best possible offensive line with Tua the way he is.

But you can do both. Maybe can coach. Yeah, can coach. I mean, you can do both. You can do in the second and third round. Yeah, I think they've done a good job coaching up.

Aren't a lot of great guards in this one.

The offensive line.

Yeah, the interior offensive line jumps out there to me because they've done so much in terms of facilitating the skill positions on the team that you're not even necessarily worried about it. You think, considering the way that they can play.

You might want to plan a little bit for the future. I did think about writing down third receiver, but for now, you're right. I have to say that That's not a burning desire. That's just a little… That'd be nice.

But I feel the intense heat emanating off of the interior offensive line, as well as some spots on the defense.

All right, Mark.

I am the most fascinated outside of Houston with the Los Angeles Chargers under Jim Harbaugh, because I think up at number 5, if they don't move, they probably get Marvin Harrison Jr. That's nice, and that addresses a lot of issues. But there's still going to be this run-heavy, old-school team from 1936. I think at certain times, if they're up and they want to do that. It's like, Gus Edwards, I like a lot, actually, and I think he fits well. He's obviously got the Harbaugh stamp of approval from his Baltimore time as well. But I'm looking at what they do at the running back position, too. I know we'd mentioned that for the Cowboys. There are a couple of teams competing for runningbacks later on. Then I'm realizing you can go Jonathan Brooks from Texas. I watched some of him, interesting player. But then there's Blake Coren from Michigan, literally Jim Harbaugh's old running back, not rated as highly by most and not maybe Derek Henry part 2, but just what will Harbaugh do? I think he's going to want four or five running backs to compete and lead the league in rushing attempts. I just want to see, because there's so many Michigan players in the draft, how many Jim Harbaugh, Michigan players link up through this whole process?

I think we may get a couple. But I also don't think, considering... Because we've seen how much of the Raven staff is in Los Angeles now, how much that shared that it's not just the self-scouting that's gone on in Michigan, but Harbaugh is not coming into this being completely unaware of… This isn't like an Urban Meyer type situation where a guy is just freestyling and doesn't necessarily know what the players are and who the competition is. I do think that while if the player is in the right spot, we will see Michigan There's a lot of things over there. But I do think the general view of how Harbaugh is going to run this thing, especially starting with the draft, might not necessarily be the ultimate turnout. I do think the world is open I do, too.

I think a wide receiver is very possible at that pick. Everyone thinks they're just going to talk off the offensive line because he's so into the offensive line. At five. We'll see at five.

Right. I'm with you.

They're exciting. They have a lot of needs.

Who else is? Oh, well, we've talked a lot about the Houston-Texas. But sometimes you look and see how happy the neighbor is, and you start to wonder about your own relationships. I think the Jacksonville Jaguars have a burning desire, not just for talent in general, but let's discuss the cornerback situation, the secondary situation in Jacksonville. A great football mind, and Greg Rosenthal pointed out to me, despite my excitement about the 2023 Jacksonville Jaguars, before the season, there were some real problems in the secondary, and those problems did hold up. And there are some cornerback needy teams in front of the Jags. I'm looking at the Indianapolis Colts, but let's say there's a Quinian Mitchell or a Kool-Aid McKinstry or a Terry-Ann Arnold, I think one of those guys could fulfill a burning desire for the Jacksonville Jag.

Yeah, I think it was probably a debate, what's their biggest need, like an interior defensive lineman or a cornerback, and then they get our Armstead, and then that answers that question. They need a wide receiver, too. I really believe it, and I think they'll be open to it. At that point in the draft, there's a chance that it's Brian Thomas, but maybe they look at someone that it's a second-round pick at a wide receiver, but they It seemed very much like a cornerback wide receiver type of team. When you sign Ronald Darby, who I've always liked, he's a little better than you think, but he's that guy that gets signed to late in the mix to fill in for your starters and then plays more than you think, and you're like, Oh, that was a good signing. This time, he was like an early signing because they were just like, We need someone to start. We're signing him. If that's your number two cornerback, you need more in the future.

They were lost in the woods without Christian Kirk at the end of the season.

It was a dire situation. They did not expect to lose.

They fell off the side of the earth.

They did not expect to lose. Calvin Ridley. They really thought, I think it was going to be Ridley, Dave Davis, and Zee, and Christian Kirk. Still reasonably deep. I like the Devon Douverney signing. Let's stay in the division. The Colts just keep keeping their guys. That's what they do. They signed Julian Blackman's safety this week. Thought that was a nice But they need more. They need more pizazz around Anthony Richardson. Keeping Michael Pitman is not enough. You need another receiver. This is another team I look at as receiver and cornerback. Receiver and cornerback. They need them both. They don't have enough juice with Gus Bradley in their defense, and they tried with a couple of pics last year at cornerback, and they're young there, but they could add another. But they keep taking receivers, and Alex pierce right now looks like a foul ball that's not really working out. Josh Downs, I think, is going to A solid single, especially for a third-round pick, maybe even better than that, maybe a double. But I think they need more juice at wide receiver and cornerback. Those are two positions.

Yeah, cornerback really stands out, but we don't know a lot about Anthony Richardson. I like what we saw, but it's, of course, just keep giving him targets, tight ends, wide receiver, because their overall wide receiver group is just blah, bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Let's get some guys who can make some plays on their own. How about you, Mark?

Let's go Seattle.

Yeah, that was waiting.

New coaching staff. They've got defensive tackle needs. You could look at a couple of different parts of the defense, but I am focused on the interior offensive line to keep Gino Smith safe to open up the ground game. They've got four guys right now competing for these center and two guard spots who have a combined 16 starts in professional football. Some of that's developmental, and you always hear them said, We like our of young guys, but it's in a pretty solid offensive line draft, whether it's you're going to get a different tackle to move someone around. Let's just keep working on this offensive line. That was where I'd start with Seattle.

It was bad last year, and I think it's the reason why I pushed back against a lot of the Geno criticism from a year ago because the offensive line really struggled. If you divorce him from the place he was protected, he did really well. They also need an edge. To me, they just keep I don't know what they're doing on defense exactly. Mike McDonald comes in, and they bring in Aiden Dird to be their defensive coordinate Dirty from Dallas, the defensive line coach from a totally different system. So I think that's good. He's welcoming in different thoughts. It's going to be Mike McDonald's team, though. But they've been just picking around the edges here. In general, they fix their linebacker position. They sign Jerome Baker, Thorel Dodson, or at least change their linebacker position. But they just keep adding all these edges that are just like, okay. Like, Bouyé Mafe, Darryl Taylor, Nuoosu was a good signing. They drafted Derrick Hall in the second round last year. That didn't exactly work. They still need a guy that's a dude. They have a lot of good twos and threes. They need a one. When I think about a Mike McDonald defense, I think you definitely want that.

Yeah, and especially considering because the Ravens defense on the interior last year, just a breakout year on the part of Justin Matabike. Davian Clowny had his best season in a very, very long time. You just wonder, who's the guy that's going to play 75% of the snaps out there on the edge, maybe get eight and a half, nine sacks, and isn't really coming off the field? I I think they've tried. I think that's what the Mafe pick, the Taylor pick.

It's the same GM. That's where they are is a little confusing to me. Not confusing, but it's just a different overhaul that John Schneider, the guy who in I'm sure he was making the pick, although we know it was him and Carroll, now it's really just Schneider.

So now the problem is fixed.

Well, no, I don't know that. No, I'm just-I think they've got a chance. I think they've got a chance to be pretty good, actually. They have a lot of things that you would want. I'm going to talk about a team I feel like it's gotten under the radar a little bit of the 49ers this offseason, just because they haven't done a lot. When I look at their offensive line, especially, but I would look at cornerback, too, of like, they always make the offensive line work. They always make the cornerback room work, and you can't pay everyone. And this is the salary cap era, and they're paying money to their receivers and nick Bosa, and they're going to pay Brandon Ayuk. Hopefully, I think that will happen eventually. You got to get cheap elsewhere. Man, wouldn't it be nice to have some badass offensive line? You got Trent Williams and just four guys you coach up. And then you got Charverius Ward and some guys you coach up. I think this is a draft issue that they're only going to get these premium players if they can hit on draft picks. And it's a tough needle of thread.

You can find your deep in the first round, and that'll change your team. And to me, they could really use that cornerback, and especially the offensive line. Instead of coaching them up enough to be good enough, let's have some badasses, Trent Williams is not going to be at this Hall of Fame ridiculous level forever and cornerbacks.

I could see them as a candidate to trade up if they love a tackle and they can swing a deal to not wait until 31 to get the guy. If there's a run on tackles, and I agree, they could get someone to come in and compete at right tackle, and Trent Williams is still there. But it's like, be aggressive. You're the Niners. Don't wait for the third or fourth, fifth best option.

The salary cap is real. It's an exaggeration to say it's not real, but it can be negotiated. For more teams than not, it's harder to find great to good players to use that cap space on. The 49ers are the exception. They keep finding these great players so much that it really is an issue with them in terms of team building, that it makes John Lynch have to really hit these pics. I just feel looking at the roster, they, again, are at a point where they need to start infusing the next SuperDuper stars, and that's tough to do.

Especially when so many teams are in a position where it's even worse than the 49ers up front. They don't have a Hall of Famer left tackle to say, Well, at least that's there.

True. And a coach that seems to make it work. Yeah.

They're competing against the rest of the league, which is in a similar position of need, where now, thanks to their success, more than half of the league is running the same offense. Everybody's looking for the same players.

I know.

And picking ahead of them in this draft, too.

We have not reached saturation. To me, Alex Van Pelt in New England might be the saturation point. Look, they haven't all either. Luke Getzey with the bears didn't really work. That's that tree. Not everyone in this tree is going to work, but at some point, the saturation is an issue. When 8-10 GMs in the league were drafting similar players to the Patriots because they who are all Patriots disciples around the league. I think that created a real competitive problem for the Patriots and these other teams. I think the same thing is going to happen with all these McVay offenses at some point, but it hasn't totally happened. Let's go We'll each go one last one.

Well, yeah, I'm looking at the team that just lost to the San Francisco 49ers. That was a fun team for all of us, the Detroit Lion.

Glad you picked them.

They have a burning desire for a playmaker in the secondary. I really don't care if it's a corner a quarterback, if it's a safety, maybe it's a Cooper Dijon, who knows? But this identity of this football team, you can find it every place, even in quarterback and Jared Goff, all the way to the defensive line. But the secondary is just there.

And they've been trying.

And they don't have a ton of needs, so it's like, go get that thing that you need.

I would push back a little bit on that one. I think they need help up front on both sides. And you're right, they're in a good spot where it's not these screaming needs. But they came in drafting Panesu saying they're going to be all about the offensive line. He is by far the youngest guy on that offensive line. It's an older group. They haven't brought in anyone that's made any difference there, and so I think they need to start thinking about the future on the offense and the defensive line. Their defensive line picks other than Hetchinson have been not all bad, but they haven't had big hits. If you're counting on Marcus Davenport and DJ Reader to be your starters, coming off injuries and stuff, I think they get back to a Dan Campbell, meat and potatoes, linemen on both sides. See, I snuck in my opinion on that one. It wasn't mine.

I'd go to Baltimore. I think that it's fair to say that they are in this state in life where they're a little reckless. They need all sorts of things. They have more needs than you'd It starts with the fact that they let John Simpson, Kevin Zeitler, Morgan Moses all leave off the offensive line. You still have Roni Stanley, Patrick McCart, Tyler Lunderbaum, but you need help at guard, I think, or look at an upgrade there. But I could also say you could say You could upgrade a tackle if you wanted to. You need edge rushers. You have Noah Moore, Odell Beckham, and you're in a place at Wideout where you've reversed back a season where you've taken weapons away from Lamar Jackson. They could go in a lot of different directions here. I don't think I wouldn't have a problem with them picking a different changing wide out as well, but they need a lot. The Ravens bled a lot of talent off this roster.

They did, and probably more than any team in the league, their roster feels like an incomplete now just because we know how they work, playing the supplemental or compensatory pick game and waiting and signing a lot of veterans. I think there's 17 guys left off my 101. They're going to be signing, I feel, a lot of players that are free agents and available that end up playing 3-500 snaps for them. Eric D'Costa and his predecessor, Ozie Newsom, who's still there. I mean, it's like this guy retires, and then he's in the booth at the Combine. Is he really retired? I don't know. To me, he's probably contributing. They do a great job, but I'm with you. I feel like they have a lot of snaps to still find this offseason.

They do always have 17 to 18 third-round picks at the end of the third-round.

Right. They'll do it that way. But I'm with, especially, you shouted out Edge Rusher. I think that is definitely something they would want to address. Cornerback is another. For my final one, where shall I go? When it comes to the Patriots, it's just been all quarterback talk. They don't have a left tackle. It's possibly the worst wide receiver group in the NFL.

I'll make the case it is.

I think Christian González is going to be a great pro. They need cornerbacks. A lot of needs here, just saying. They have some burning desires outside of quarterback.

I don't know. It's interesting because we could have imagined what Bill Belichick might do in this situation. It's hard to know what this front office will do necessarily, but there is a way that they can get too cute and not get a quarterback. I get that you trade down, but then too cute and don't get a wide receiver, and too cute and don't get one of these other. Just Let's be, you need everything, but get the positions that you want a rookie contract. You want a quarterback on a rookie contract. If you're going to have a diva wide out, you want them on a rookie contract. You want a left tackle, you want them on a rookie contract versus trying to pick up these other Their group of wideouts is one of the least creative team building collections of pass catchers you can imagine the last half decade.

It's pretty rough. Kendrick Bourne is your best guy, but he's coming off a torn ACL. I Pop Douglas was good last year. They just have issues, and yet they do not think they should trade out if Adam Schefter is right, as he said on his podcast this week, giving me this hope that he really thinks it's Jaden Daniels at two. When he puts that out there in early April, he's tended to be right.

Daniels at three versus the commander's taking Daniels.

He says... What did I just say? I said...

You said Daniels at two.

Yes, that's what I want. I want Jake May. Greg wants Jake May. I would be happy with Jade and Daniels, too, but I really like the idea of Jake May.

Well, let's hope that every Patriots fan gets what they want a quarterback after two or three tough seasons to deal with.

Our hearts go out to you.

That was it. Eagles, get a freaking lineback Linebacker. It keeps ruining your seasons. And then you get a Linebacker. You didn't know what you had with Kyzie or White. Bucks, get an Edge.

Giants, get a running back. Like, bringing up Running Back. But Kevin Singletary is not taking you to the finish.

Ram's in a good spot, I think, but certainly You definitely need a lot more help. Don't make it so hard on your defensive coordinator. You definitely need to try to replace not just Aaron Donnell, but get more Edge help, too. What a show. What a lot of fun with you guys.

Always good.

Thanks to everyone listening. We will be back next week with three shows. Dan will be back. Until then, thank you to Eric. I know. It's a big day for your bills. We're Mark Sesler. Patrick Klabon. He's the call..