WEBVTT - Top 35 Position Battles You Should Care About 0:00:03.920 --> 0:00:07.960 Welcome to NFL Daily, where the real honesty was Argentina 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:10.399 is one hundred and sixteen minutes without a shot on goal. 0:00:10.480 --> 0:00:11.440 I'm Greg Rosenthal. 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:15.760 I'm still in Massachusetts for one more show before I 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:18.040 returned to the West Coast, and we really get this 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:21.120 training camp going. You know who else is back from vacation. 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:22.639 It's Nick Chook. 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:25.040 No one else I would rather talk position battles with 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:25.840 on July. 0:00:25.720 --> 0:00:27.400 Twentieth than my friend Shoppie. 0:00:27.400 --> 0:00:30.440 How you doing fantastic? Happy to be back. Hopefully the 0:00:30.480 --> 0:00:33.199 sunburn isn't showing if you're watching on YouTube, because I 0:00:33.240 --> 0:00:34.880 spent a lot of time outside and now I'm happy 0:00:34.880 --> 0:00:37.080 to be in front of the camera talking football with you. 0:00:37.720 --> 0:00:41.760 We are team minus forty eight hours two days until 0:00:41.840 --> 0:00:45.279 the first two teams show up for training camp. Those 0:00:45.280 --> 0:00:48.599 are the Hall of Fame Game participants, the Panthers and 0:00:48.640 --> 0:00:51.879 the Cardinals. On this show, we're going to talk position 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.720 battles and yeah, I mentioned the World Cup is over, 0:00:54.800 --> 0:00:57.080 and so that means I think it's time to turn 0:00:57.080 --> 0:00:58.640 our attention to football. 0:00:58.640 --> 0:01:00.600 And I was thinking because I watched the World. 0:01:00.440 --> 0:01:04.360 Cup Final and the Odyssey back to back yesterday and 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:08.200 it was about this same amount of time before Argentina 0:01:08.240 --> 0:01:11.800 got a shot as it took for Odysseus to get 0:01:11.800 --> 0:01:14.600 back to Ithaca. Now the movie's not over then, spoiler alert. 0:01:14.680 --> 0:01:16.559 You know you got a little while more to settle things. 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:19.200 But that was about the same. I'm ready for I'm 0:01:19.240 --> 0:01:21.160 ready for our football. You ready to make these position 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:22.400 battles interesting? 0:01:22.480 --> 0:01:23.040 Show? Yeah? 0:01:23.080 --> 0:01:25.560 Hopefully this is just theatrical and dramatic as the as 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:26.399 The osse was. 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:29.119 I recommend it. It was a great, great movie. It was fun. 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:30.560 Not much news. 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:32.440 Like I said, the last couple of weeks is the 0:01:32.520 --> 0:01:36.240 quietest few weeks in the NFL news cycle all season long. 0:01:36.319 --> 0:01:38.640 It's going to crank up this week really with all 0:01:38.640 --> 0:01:40.679 the teams, the coaches, a lot of them are returning 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.240 to the office on Monday as we're taping, and so 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.480 the only two items of news that really caught my 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.400 fancy since Thursday when we last taped. The Ravens finally 0:01:48.440 --> 0:01:51.720 signed a center, Ethan Posk, who spent a lot of 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:53.800 time on your Rams is I mean on your Browns 0:01:53.880 --> 0:01:57.080 rather Shook is a very capable center now the favorite 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:00.800 to start there. And then an executive for the Cardinals, 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:05.880 their director of Scouting. Ryan Gold, director of college scouting, 0:02:05.960 --> 0:02:10.200 was suspended for gambling. The Cardinals said they fully supported 0:02:10.200 --> 0:02:14.800 the decision, and he is accused of providing confidential, non 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:19.440 public inside information regarding their draft selections before the picks 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:23.680 were announced, and also participating in parlay bets on the 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:27.240 NFL and college games. I mean, this is like, this 0:02:27.280 --> 0:02:30.680 is a career ender, and I keep keep being stunned 0:02:30.680 --> 0:02:32.520 by anyone would be dumb enough. 0:02:32.360 --> 0:02:33.960 To get caught with this stuff. 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:36.200 But it really does seem like the NFL is trying 0:02:36.240 --> 0:02:38.440 to make an example, and the Cardinals say they don't 0:02:38.440 --> 0:02:39.240 have any problem with it. 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:41.240 They fully support the NFL's decision. 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:44.639 Yeah, and you're right. How can somebody, you know, think 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:46.120 that they can get away with it? Really? I mean, 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:49.680 as two people who undergo annual training and understand very 0:02:49.760 --> 0:02:53.200 much the rigorous standards of the NFL applies to everybody 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:56.079 associated with the NFL when it comes to gambling, don't 0:02:56.120 --> 0:02:58.960 even consider it. Just sit back and watch everybody else 0:02:59.160 --> 0:03:02.000 place their bets everything else, and just laugh along with them. 0:03:02.000 --> 0:03:03.720 And that's it. That's it, nothing more. 0:03:04.160 --> 0:03:05.080 He's denying it. 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.600 His lawyer says his wife was in some ten dollars 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:11.760 picks pool and that he didn't know about the drafts. 0:03:11.800 --> 0:03:14.880 There was another report that said he hit a five team, 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:19.040 five name parlay of the draft picks, which I think 0:03:19.080 --> 0:03:21.680 would have been done before the draft, which would seem 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:25.400 almost impossible even if you were like the team owner 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:25.919 and the GM. 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:27.440 How do you really know who you were going to take? 0:03:27.480 --> 0:03:29.079 I guess unless you put like a bunch. 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:32.840 Of different combinations, they can't all be as accurate as 0:03:32.880 --> 0:03:36.080 I was projecting Jeremiah Love to the Cardinals at three. Sorry, 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:36.960 good job. 0:03:37.040 --> 0:03:38.600 I mean you could be if you work for the 0:03:38.600 --> 0:03:43.000 Cardinals apparently, but yeah, we'll track that story. Today's episode 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:47.440 is about the best position battles in the entire league. 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:49.640 I thought we would frame this about why you should 0:03:49.640 --> 0:03:52.400 care about these position battles. We'll be previewing the season, 0:03:52.440 --> 0:03:54.640 talking training camp throughout, so this is more of an 0:03:54.680 --> 0:03:57.480 overview of the best position battles to watch. We'll see 0:03:57.480 --> 0:04:01.280 how many we can get through. Wrote down about seventy, 0:04:01.720 --> 0:04:04.000 but that's more for my own preparation. We'll use it 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:06.200 in other spots. We will not do seventy on this show. 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:09.000 Maybe about half of that. But let's start with the quarterbacks. 0:04:09.040 --> 0:04:13.080 I ranked them roughly in order of interest for myself, 0:04:13.320 --> 0:04:16.120 and so I started with the three biggest quarterback battles, 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:18.240 but to me, the number one battle is still Kirk 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:22.760 Cousin versus Fernando Mendoza. And the more shook that we hear, 0:04:22.880 --> 0:04:25.440 and there's a new report, including one from rap Sheet 0:04:25.520 --> 0:04:29.200 last week, that the plan is Kirk Cousins, not just 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:32.080 for Week one, but all season. It's like the more 0:04:32.160 --> 0:04:35.560 you keep telling me that, like almost the less I 0:04:35.600 --> 0:04:36.000 believe it. 0:04:36.000 --> 0:04:38.560 It's like, we get it. That's the plan. We get it. 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.440 You're telling me you're a cynic, you're a skeptic. You 0:04:41.760 --> 0:04:43.800 don't believe that they're pushing it that hard that it 0:04:43.880 --> 0:04:46.160 might not unfold that way. I actually, you know, when 0:04:46.200 --> 0:04:47.839 you just brought these up, I was like, this is 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:50.120 not the most intriguing to me, because I believe that 0:04:50.200 --> 0:04:51.520 this is going to be the plan. And I believe 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:53.960 it because of the way Clint Kubiak framed it when 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.919 he essentially campaigned for the Raiders to go out and 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:59.599 add a guy like Kirk Cousins. I firmly think that 0:04:59.640 --> 0:05:01.800 it's going to be a month to half of the 0:05:01.800 --> 0:05:03.919 season before they make the transition, because what have we 0:05:03.960 --> 0:05:06.159 seen in these battles in the past, Which is that, 0:05:06.440 --> 0:05:08.240 all right, we have the veteran, We're going to start 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:09.840 the season with the veteran, you know, kind of just 0:05:10.120 --> 0:05:12.760 slowly on ramp onto the season, and then within the 0:05:12.800 --> 0:05:15.279 first month, either it's clear that the veteran isn't capable, 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:18.560 or you just decide, all right, now the young guys ready. 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:20.760 Sometimes that aligns with the bye week. Their bye week 0:05:20.839 --> 0:05:22.560 is way late in the season, So I don't think 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.119 it falls in that range, at least as we stand 0:05:25.120 --> 0:05:27.279 here right now. But I don't. I think that this 0:05:27.400 --> 0:05:30.680 battle is more about getting Fernando, you know, acclimated to 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:33.360 the offense and getting ready for when he does take 0:05:33.360 --> 0:05:35.440 the field eventually, because he will. Then it is about 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:38.640 a real true battle for the starting job. But you 0:05:38.680 --> 0:05:41.680 know what, if you're sitting back thinking I don't believe you, 0:05:42.120 --> 0:05:44.160 I mean that that makes let me make the case. 0:05:44.720 --> 0:05:46.360 Let me make the case I should I should make 0:05:46.360 --> 0:05:48.200 the case. And why you should care about it, because yeah, 0:05:48.200 --> 0:05:50.240 you can put that out there. Well, first of all, 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:52.479 it's two players that I'm interested in. We spent a 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:54.840 long time with Kirk Cousins. I think he played better 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:57.360 football at the end of last season with the Falcons 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.480 and people realize and so I actually think either one 0:06:00.480 --> 0:06:03.800 of these can provide fairly good quarterback play. But the 0:06:03.800 --> 0:06:05.920 reason why I still think you should care about it. 0:06:06.480 --> 0:06:08.880 I'm excited about this kid, for Nando Mendoza, and I 0:06:09.000 --> 0:06:12.360 just don't believe any world where if he shows up 0:06:12.680 --> 0:06:15.640 and he's awesome, And this is a guy who I 0:06:15.680 --> 0:06:18.520 think as a prospect, you know, compares favorably to any 0:06:18.600 --> 0:06:21.560 quarterback that was in last year's draft class, and is 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:25.280 pretty advance mentally and is great physically, and he's an 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:29.520 older kid that if he comes out and just looks 0:06:29.680 --> 0:06:33.560 awesome in camp, and if he looks awesome in the preseason, 0:06:34.360 --> 0:06:36.360 you can't tell me it's not a battle Like, I 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:40.000 just don't believe them. It's more about Fernando Mendoza. Now, 0:06:40.000 --> 0:06:43.160 do I believe that the bar for him to actually 0:06:43.160 --> 0:06:45.400 be able to play Week one or maybe he's really 0:06:45.400 --> 0:06:48.680 battling against like a Week four version of Kirk Cousins 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:51.680 that's not doing well, is high. Is higher than it 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:53.960 would be for most number one overall draft pics. Sure 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.120 it is, but he might be able to clear that 0:06:56.240 --> 0:06:59.719 if he's just awesome, like that to me is a 0:06:59.760 --> 0:07:03.799 really interesting battle to watch because I think the Raiders 0:07:03.920 --> 0:07:06.960 based on their quarterbacks partly and Koobie could be a 0:07:07.000 --> 0:07:08.960 fun watch this year no matter who's at quarterback. 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:10.640 Yeah, I agree, and I think this is a good 0:07:10.640 --> 0:07:13.240 pivot toward why the preseason is still intriguing for a 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:16.480 lot of reasons, and one being that if he goes, 0:07:16.840 --> 0:07:19.119 you know, into this preseason and sees a significant amount 0:07:19.120 --> 0:07:20.640 time because you think about it, Kirk Cousins isn't going 0:07:20.680 --> 0:07:22.720 to play all that much in the preseason, I don't think, 0:07:22.720 --> 0:07:24.160 given that he's a veteran, although you do want to 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:26.560 see how he handles the offense. Then that's where the 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:29.040 scales can till because the style of quarterback that Fernando 0:07:29.080 --> 0:07:32.040 Mendoza is, Like, let's consider his journey to Indiana. He 0:07:32.080 --> 0:07:35.680 was playing at cal Cal operating in largely irrelevance, you know, 0:07:35.680 --> 0:07:37.120 out in the West Coast, just not being a very 0:07:37.120 --> 0:07:40.240 strong program at this time. Nobody was really paying attention 0:07:40.240 --> 0:07:41.680 to him. Nobody had him, you know, being the number 0:07:41.680 --> 0:07:42.960 one pick in the draft, didn't even have him being 0:07:43.000 --> 0:07:44.960 a first round pick. He kind of quietly goes to 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:47.520 Indiana and then takes the College Football World by storm. 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:49.559 How did he do it with his play on the field. 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:51.840 It's not somebody necessarily that you look at and go 0:07:52.120 --> 0:07:54.640 generational talent and credible arm, all of that stuff that 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:56.640 draws that buzz. So you're not going to really get 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:59.280 got to get that buzz out of just regular training camp, 0:07:59.480 --> 0:08:02.200 but you would get that out of preseason games if 0:08:02.240 --> 0:08:04.120 he plays a significant amount of time, and that's where 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.200 the scales could tilt or it could get really interesting. 0:08:06.200 --> 0:08:07.800 So I'm kind of buying in now a little bit. 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:09.000 You got me a little sold. 0:08:09.720 --> 0:08:12.760 Well, Also, there's a chance, and I just said how 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:14.480 I liked how Kirk Cousins looked at the end of 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:17.000 last season. In one of these years, Kirk Cousins could 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.040 show up and just look kind of old, or he 0:08:19.080 --> 0:08:22.080 could have some minor calf injury that keeps him out 0:08:22.120 --> 0:08:24.560 for two weeks of camp and then it's just suddenly over. 0:08:24.600 --> 0:08:26.280 So we'll see an injury is also part of our 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.880 number two battle. That's to a tongue of iloa, and 0:08:28.880 --> 0:08:32.960 that's Michael Pennix. It's a truly open competition. We don't 0:08:32.960 --> 0:08:35.440 know if Pennox is going to be fully ready to 0:08:35.559 --> 0:08:38.960 start training camp, and these just feel like two afterthoughts. 0:08:38.960 --> 0:08:41.640 They didn't make our top thirty two quarterbacks when I 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:45.040 drafted them around July fourth with John Ledyard. And yet 0:08:45.120 --> 0:08:47.280 let me take you shup to make my case for 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:51.000 this one is number two to a distant time in 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:55.240 our past twenty twenty four. 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:56.480 Let's say we're a. 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:01.560 Little guy by the name Nick Shook, you know, just 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:05.960 finished his top fifty nine starting quarterbacks of twenty twenty 0:09:06.000 --> 0:09:10.080 three season. Everyone that started who was ranked number nine 0:09:10.160 --> 0:09:11.160 overall on that list. 0:09:11.160 --> 0:09:13.920 Shock, Oh no, this is at the end of the 0:09:13.960 --> 0:09:16.480 twenty twenty three season. Oh no, that was too. That 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:18.719 was too That was two law, That was two and 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:19.400 tuck of my law. 0:09:19.520 --> 0:09:23.200 You know what quarterback was coming off a National Championship 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:26.440 Game appearance and was about to get taken as a 0:09:26.480 --> 0:09:28.200 future franchise quarterback. 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:30.360 That was Michael Pennock. It wasn't Pennix. 0:09:30.440 --> 0:09:33.360 That wasn't that long ago that we were thinking of 0:09:33.400 --> 0:09:36.640 these guys in a much different way. And Tua specifically, 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.120 I think can work in the right system. Whether Kevin 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:41.920 Stefanski is that right system will see. But this is 0:09:41.960 --> 0:09:44.240 a legitimately open battle. And look, I only need to 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:46.960 even bring it back twelve months ago to think when 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:50.600 we were much higher on Penix's potential. He you know, 0:09:50.600 --> 0:09:52.520 he played through an injury, he didn't look great when 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:55.520 he was out there last year, but overall, he's not 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:58.240 that far removed from being a top ten overall pick. 0:09:58.280 --> 0:10:00.920 So I think that some juice and some real intrigue 0:10:00.920 --> 0:10:02.440 because I don't know who's going to win this job. 0:10:02.520 --> 0:10:04.240 Yeah, there's plenty of intrigue there, given that do you 0:10:04.240 --> 0:10:06.360 have a new coaching staff, You have two guys you 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:08.720 have no idea where they are in their careers right now, 0:10:08.920 --> 0:10:10.800 and they both kind of feel like they're at a 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.760 gotta have it crossroads type of situation, which is that 0:10:14.200 --> 0:10:16.280 like TWA is now on his next stop, he was 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.720 unceremoniously discarded by the Dolphins and needs to prove that 0:10:19.760 --> 0:10:21.600 he can still hack it in the NFL, and Penick's 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:23.679 got to prove that he's healthy enough to play and 0:10:23.679 --> 0:10:25.760 that the injury concerns that followed him from Indiana to 0:10:25.840 --> 0:10:29.199 Washington to the NFL aren't as significant as some might 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:30.720 have thought them to be, and especially when he got 0:10:30.800 --> 0:10:33.040 hurt last year. So like this is year three for him. 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:36.120 He's got to start to take control of this franchise 0:10:36.280 --> 0:10:39.480 quarterback role if that's what he's going to occupy, Whereas 0:10:39.520 --> 0:10:42.080 Tua needs to prove that he still belongs in the NFL, 0:10:42.400 --> 0:10:44.560 and they're both going into a new system with a 0:10:44.559 --> 0:10:46.960 coach who runs an offense that kind of favors two 0:10:47.000 --> 0:10:48.960 his strengths, but he's still got to go earn it 0:10:49.040 --> 0:10:50.960 and Penix's going to be healthy enough to compete. And 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:52.680 I think that this is one of those situations where 0:10:52.679 --> 0:10:54.520 we're going to see both of them this season. At 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:56.440 some point, We're going to go from Tua to Penis, 0:10:56.600 --> 0:10:58.280 or we're going to see Penicks start and maybe he 0:10:58.320 --> 0:10:59.880 has some struggles and they throw to in there at 0:10:59.880 --> 0:11:02.880 an act of desperation at some point. So it's really 0:11:03.000 --> 0:11:05.600 really intriguing to see exactly how they start this season. 0:11:05.840 --> 0:11:08.360 I lean toward Tua because I think if the Falcons 0:11:08.360 --> 0:11:11.559 are being, you know, kind of cautious about this and smart, 0:11:11.720 --> 0:11:14.280 they'll give Pennix more time to make sure he's fully healthy. 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:16.200 But then again, he could be ahead of schedule. We 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:17.200 just don't know that right now. 0:11:17.600 --> 0:11:21.280 Right there's a big question of if Kevin Sevanski is 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.920 looking for a quick trigger guy to just distribute and 0:11:24.960 --> 0:11:27.640 get the ball out, which he's had when he's had 0:11:27.679 --> 0:11:28.640 his best offenses. 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:30.040 That is definitely toua. 0:11:30.120 --> 0:11:32.440 Both guys are similar and that they've struggled kind of 0:11:32.440 --> 0:11:34.960 thrown over the middle of the field, but Pennix is 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:37.520 much more drop back. 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:38.640 And throw it deep. 0:11:38.679 --> 0:11:41.000 I mean, he would fit well on like a nineteen 0:11:41.280 --> 0:11:44.079 seventy eight Raiders team or something like that, which does 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:47.640 not feel like the Kevin Stefanski Falcons. We shall see 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:50.480 our third one just because the name value is one 0:11:50.480 --> 0:11:52.440 that might not last that long. We don't think JJ 0:11:52.559 --> 0:11:56.480 McCarthy is going to really compete with Kyler Murray. But again, 0:11:56.880 --> 0:12:01.479 we were only about a year removed from thinking they're handing. 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:02.920 The keys over to JJ McCarthy. 0:12:03.000 --> 0:12:05.480 That bet kind of made sense at the time that 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:08.600 they get rid of Darnold and now he's here just 0:12:08.640 --> 0:12:11.640 trying to keep his Vikings career really alive. I think 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:13.720 there is a scenario where he is not on the 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.720 team by the end of training camp if someone wants 0:12:17.760 --> 0:12:20.080 to trade for him, and it's just clear that Kyler 0:12:20.600 --> 0:12:23.040 and Carson Wentz, who's also on the roster, just make 0:12:23.120 --> 0:12:24.280 more sense as a one to two. 0:12:24.960 --> 0:12:27.320 Yeah, this one speaks I think too, where this franchise 0:12:27.360 --> 0:12:29.160 is currently in their timeline, which is that they expect 0:12:29.160 --> 0:12:31.200 to compete for a playoff spot, and they'll point to 0:12:31.200 --> 0:12:32.760 the fact they won nine games last year with no 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.480 reliability at the quarterback position as the main reason for 0:12:35.520 --> 0:12:37.680 them to have that sense of urgency. And it does 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:39.760 feel like Kyler's just going to end up winning this 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.120 job very quickly, and that the competition is more of 0:12:43.160 --> 0:12:47.560 a charade than an actual competition. And I also like 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.280 to sometimes try to find some clues in the tea leaves. 0:12:50.440 --> 0:12:53.680 Tea leaves being promotional photos and as what I most 0:12:53.720 --> 0:12:56.960 recently saw, they're taking photos of both Kyler and JJ. 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.439 So not decided yet, but I think it's going to 0:13:00.480 --> 0:13:01.160 be Tayler's job. 0:13:01.360 --> 0:13:03.640 No, They're going to have to walk that line, and 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.320 it's going to be a really fun one to watch. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:09.359 That's the thing is it's consequential. All these are consequential 0:13:09.880 --> 0:13:12.400 because it's starting quarterbacks, of course, but specifically in the 0:13:12.400 --> 0:13:15.880 case of the Vikings, there is a scenario where they 0:13:16.000 --> 0:13:19.679 hit their peak this year, Like their number three wide 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:25.040 receiver is Juan Jennings behind Addison and Jefferson. Their defense 0:13:25.120 --> 0:13:27.360 could be top five in the NFL. There is a 0:13:27.400 --> 0:13:29.600 scenario where they're winning that division, where they have a 0:13:29.640 --> 0:13:31.960 home game in the playoffs, where they're at three seeds 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:35.040 something like that, and so that obviously makes it more interesting. 0:13:35.080 --> 0:13:39.240 But you never know. Maybe JJ McCarthy could shock us. 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:40.920 All all right, those are the quarterbacks. I'll leave the 0:13:40.920 --> 0:13:43.680 other quarterback battles for a minute just to not only 0:13:43.720 --> 0:13:47.040 talk quarterbacks at the top. How about the only guy 0:13:47.600 --> 0:13:51.400 in one of our top thirty two rankings that's involved 0:13:51.880 --> 0:13:55.920 in one of these early position battles Eagles Edge j 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.439 Loox Hunt versus Nolan Smith. I'm putting that as the 0:13:58.520 --> 0:14:02.040 number fourgan position battle just because these guys are good. 0:14:02.080 --> 0:14:04.080 Like I took Jalx Hunt at one of my top 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:07.000 thirty two pass rushers. He's not even guaranteed to necessarily 0:14:07.000 --> 0:14:09.880 start because Nolan Smith played a lot of good downs. 0:14:09.960 --> 0:14:12.439 You have Jonathan Grenard on the other side. It is 0:14:12.480 --> 0:14:16.040 a very deep position. They also signed Arnold Ebachetti, Like 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:19.280 you have numbers there, but that's something I know Eagles 0:14:20.120 --> 0:14:22.720 fans and certainly the reporters are going to be kind 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:24.840 of tracking who has the lead there between Hunt and 0:14:24.880 --> 0:14:25.520 Nolan Smith. 0:14:25.520 --> 0:14:27.920 As a starter, and it's really fascinating because there's so 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:30.480 many different elements involved. You speak about the depth, you 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:33.240 also look to the numbers in the production. Last year, 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:35.600 like Jalox Hunt played nearly two hundred and fifty more 0:14:35.600 --> 0:14:37.360 snaps than Nolan Smith did. Last year, he had one 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.200 hundred and sixteen more pass rushing snaps, He had a 0:14:39.240 --> 0:14:42.360 higher quarterback pressure percentage, He had more than twice as 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.520 many sacks. Run stop percentage was about the same. The 0:14:45.880 --> 0:14:49.840 next gen numbers favor jalox Hunt. The PFF grades favor 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:53.320 Nolan Smith. So then you go, how do we drill 0:14:53.360 --> 0:14:55.280 down on this further and figure out exactly what's going on. 0:14:55.360 --> 0:14:58.360 Let's go to contracts, all right, Well, Nolan Smith former 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:01.440 first round pick Jalox Hunt, year later, third round pick 0:15:01.600 --> 0:15:04.240 Nolan Smith do to make thirteen point seventy five million 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:07.280 dollars next year on the fifth year option. Jalox Hunt 0:15:07.280 --> 0:15:10.000 a lot a lot more cost controlled at one point 0:15:10.000 --> 0:15:13.320 seven nine million dollars next year. So if it becomes 0:15:13.320 --> 0:15:15.800 a financial thing, where do we save money here or there, 0:15:15.840 --> 0:15:17.800 or where do we have to spend more money or 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.680 because we've already dedicated that money to this guy, this 0:15:19.720 --> 0:15:22.880 guy needs to play more. That becomes an important element 0:15:23.120 --> 0:15:25.880 in this entire equation, or it becomes one of those 0:15:25.920 --> 0:15:28.200 things where you just ride the hot hand. Maybe they 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:30.720 both have good camps in preseasons and you start one 0:15:30.800 --> 0:15:32.320 here and you just hope that he plays well, and 0:15:32.320 --> 0:15:34.040 if he doesn't, you rotate him in and out. Like 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.120 there's a lot of different avenues and directions in which 0:15:36.120 --> 0:15:37.640 this could go. But it's a good problem for the 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:40.440 Eagles to have, especially given that you know they've kind 0:15:40.440 --> 0:15:42.360 of turned over that position a decent amount over the 0:15:42.400 --> 0:15:44.240 last few years. I'm excited to see how this one 0:15:44.240 --> 0:15:44.800 plays out. 0:15:45.200 --> 0:15:45.680 I sort of. 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:48.080 Forgot Ajpines is on that team too, so they have 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:50.160 like five different edges if you want to call. 0:15:50.040 --> 0:15:52.680 A different guy than those two guys, though very different. 0:15:52.800 --> 0:15:55.600 Nolan Smith is a guy who made a big impact 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:57.280 two years ago when they won the Super Bowl. 0:15:57.320 --> 0:15:59.320 Made a big impact in the Super Bowl. So did 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:01.000 jalox Hunt, and the. 0:16:00.960 --> 0:16:03.000 Fact that they picked up the fifth year option is 0:16:03.040 --> 0:16:05.240 a show of confidence. But I think jay loox Hunt 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:08.440 is more likely to get that long term money than 0:16:08.520 --> 0:16:11.000 Nolan Smith is, and I think it's more likely that 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:13.760 only one of them gets it. From them than both 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:15.600 of them, because it's just tough to pay everyone. Number 0:16:15.600 --> 0:16:17.560 five on my list is a guy who I saw 0:16:17.560 --> 0:16:19.040 on the news a little bit over the weekend, so 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.160 I just decided to move him up the board. It's 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:25.040 the Giants running back competition. People just assume in fantasy leagues. 0:16:25.040 --> 0:16:27.360 It seems like the cam Skattaboo is going to be fine, 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.800 But that is a massive injury he's coming back from. 0:16:29.840 --> 0:16:32.240 He's hoping to be ready for the start of training camp. 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:35.840 But Tyrone Tracy is there, Devin Singletary is there, and 0:16:35.920 --> 0:16:38.000 they might split up the carries and it might be 0:16:38.040 --> 0:16:40.520 more about just seeing if Skataboo is healthy. And it 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.800 doesn't make you feel great if you're a Skataboo guy 0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:46.600 to see him doing a backflip that he can't even 0:16:46.680 --> 0:16:50.840 land at the Fanatics disaster over the week and I 0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:52.960 don't know what I call it disaffler just because Logan 0:16:53.040 --> 0:16:54.840 Paul and Tom Brady are pretending like. 0:16:54.840 --> 0:16:58.160 They're going to do a WWE fight, Just come on, Tom. 0:16:58.400 --> 0:17:01.720 Disappointing scatabo thing though, cracked me out, but he's like, 0:17:01.720 --> 0:17:04.159 I'm fine. The next day he said he's fine. But 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:06.399 you do wonder if this is the guy that's going 0:17:06.480 --> 0:17:07.520 to be able to stay healthy. 0:17:08.080 --> 0:17:12.359 Yeah. Well, I don't think any uh, any front office 0:17:12.400 --> 0:17:14.240 guy is excited to see one of his, you know, 0:17:14.320 --> 0:17:16.840 lead running backs doing a backflip at an event in 0:17:16.920 --> 0:17:21.160 July somewhere and of injury. It was okay, but yeah, 0:17:21.160 --> 0:17:22.960 that's fine. But it was as soon as I saw 0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:24.880 him hit the ground hard and kind of fall over, 0:17:24.920 --> 0:17:26.800 I was like, oh, no, oh no, let's not have 0:17:26.800 --> 0:17:29.560 another injury, not off after what happened last season. But 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:32.560 it's a really interesting backfield, I think because there are 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:36.040 some parallels to the last time the Giants were really great, 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:38.080