Speaker 1: Before we get started, please rate and review our show
Speaker 1: that helps people find us. On this episode of Sports
Speaker 1: Illustrated Weekly with NFL training camps upon us, s I
Speaker 1: Senior writer Andrew Brandt joins me to explain how a
Speaker 1: trade by the Eagles to find the off season and
Speaker 1: underscores how teams and general managers across the league have
Speaker 1: placed added an emphasis on one position in particular. I'm
Speaker 1: your host, John Gonzaltz from Sports Illustrated and I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: This is Sports Illustrated Weekly. It's been a wild offseason
Speaker 1: for the NFL. Big name quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson have changed teams, and during the NFL Draft
Speaker 1: and I popping nine trades went down. But according to
Speaker 1: Andrew Brant, our SI columnist and a former executive for
Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packer, one move in particular stands above
Speaker 1: all the others and signals the new way of thinking
Speaker 1: in front offices all over the NFL. WHOA, the Eagles
Speaker 1: are trading for A J. Brown. This is the court
Speaker 1: in the seven it's happening. O God. Wow a Draft
Speaker 1: night stunner. Howie Roseman has done it again. Wow. We
Speaker 1: thought it was gonna be Deebo Samuel turns out A J.
Speaker 1: Brown stole the show here. Yeah, the Eagles getting A J. Brown.
Speaker 1: Andrew Bryant, Welcome to Sports Illustrated Weekly. Good to be
Speaker 1: with you, John. We're colleagues now. I've been at Sports
Speaker 1: illustraight a long time and it's good to get on
Speaker 1: the podcast side of things. Yeah. Yeah, we've messaged each
Speaker 1: other back and forth, but now we're we're finally getting
Speaker 1: to do some content together on the show. So we're
Speaker 1: excited about that. And I was especially excited about the
Speaker 1: story that you wrote about. There was a lot of
Speaker 1: activity during this NFL offseason, particularly around the time of
Speaker 1: the draft. There were a ton of trades, but there
Speaker 1: was one trade in particular that you singled out, and
Speaker 1: you wrote that it defined this NFL offseason and especially
Speaker 1: how front offices have changed the way they view and
Speaker 1: value one position in particular. Tell us about why you
Speaker 1: flagged that specific trade. A. J. Brown is now an
Speaker 1: Eagle and he was a Titan, as everyone knows for
Speaker 1: three years. To me, it's a fascinating study of the
Speaker 1: off season with that just one trade. But there are
Speaker 1: a couple of ways to unpack this, John, I think
Speaker 1: The first way is A J. Brown is a very
Speaker 1: good receiver, but his track record, his longevity, his skins
Speaker 1: in the game in the NFL are not what we
Speaker 1: could typically associate with a receiver forcing leveraging his way
Speaker 1: out of a situation into it for him a better one.
Speaker 1: But it usually happens with players that have been around four, six, eight,
Speaker 1: ten years that have established themselves at the top of
Speaker 1: the wide receiver market or any position, and not players
Speaker 1: that are still in their rookie contracts and leave raging
Speaker 1: a situation where they're getting out and there's a willing
Speaker 1: suitor to take them away not only on a trade
Speaker 1: but also compensation levels at a vastly, vastly different factor.
Speaker 1: That just crystallized the offseason to me, John, because I
Speaker 1: know the big moves at quarterback with Matt Ryan and
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson, I know everyone's going to focus on that,
Speaker 1: But to me, the story of the two offseason I'm
Speaker 1: always looking at it from the business side is the transformation,
Speaker 1: an elevation of the wide receiver position like we've never
Speaker 1: seen before, and A J. Brown was a microcosm of that. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean, it absolutely blew me away when the trade
Speaker 1: went down. I should note that you live outside of Philadelphia.
Speaker 1: I am from Philadelphia. That is not why we're doing
Speaker 1: this story. But it didn't hurt. So I'm also curious
Speaker 1: from the Eagles perspective, it seems to make a lot
Speaker 1: of sense because they get this young, talented wide receiver.
Speaker 1: He's only A J. Brown, is only twenty four, he
Speaker 1: doesn't turn twenty five until June. They lock him into
Speaker 1: this massive contract. Why was it such a big deal
Speaker 1: for the Eagles, and how does it underline how gms
Speaker 1: are thinking differently about wide receivers than maybe they did
Speaker 1: in the past. The Eagles, on the one hand, have
Speaker 1: spent now three number one picks in a third round pick,
Speaker 1: so three ones in a three on the wide receiver
Speaker 1: position the last three years. That's a lot to spend
Speaker 1: on that position. Have they gotten it right? I know
Speaker 1: everyone's got their opinions about Jalen reagor, everyone's got opinions
Speaker 1: about Davante Smith, but I think there's very little negative
Speaker 1: opinion about getting it right this time with A J. Brown,
Speaker 1: who's a stud young receiver at an ascending level at
Speaker 1: a very young age. H hit his last six a fross.
Speaker 1: The mental who else H J. Brown, Tannehill under pressure
Speaker 1: fires pot Browns had a tremendous year. I think how
Speaker 1: we navigated his draft stock very well. The past couple
Speaker 1: of years. We can go back to Carson Wentz, but
Speaker 1: even this year picking up an extra pick for next
Speaker 1: year's draft from the Saints and then using one of
Speaker 1: the ones this year with a three. He also had
Speaker 1: an extra three from the Carson Wentz trade two package
Speaker 1: into A J. Brown. And I think the decision was
Speaker 1: made on a couple of things. Number One, while DeVonta
Speaker 1: Smith isn't ascending him receiver himself, here's a chance to
Speaker 1: get someone that is established as a true number one
Speaker 1: and lock him in along with the young developing receivers
Speaker 1: they have. Number two is what I talk about all
Speaker 1: the time. The money side to get him. There were
Speaker 1: two negotiations, one the trade negotiation with the Titans, but
Speaker 1: maybe more importantly the financial negotiation with the agents, and
Speaker 1: I think how he navigated that shrewdly because it became
Speaker 1: a time clock issue, right they weren't going to make
Speaker 1: this trade, and it all happened on Draft Day without
Speaker 1: a contract in place, so it locks that in and
Speaker 1: then you have this transformative player coming to Philadelphia to
Speaker 1: be a true number one receiver and bring along the rest.
Speaker 1: So that's their position. The thing that we can't underestimate, though,
Speaker 1: is financial stability within the franchise. Jalen Hurts is the
Speaker 1: established quarterback for now. Jalen Hurts makes two million dollars
Speaker 1: a year, right, so between quarterback and number one receiver,
Speaker 1: they're paying, say twenty three million a year. Most veteran
Speaker 1: quarterbacks make thirty million a year that are at a
Speaker 1: high level. Not saying Jalen Hurts is the level of
Speaker 1: those players, but you have more flexibility. And kudos to
Speaker 1: the Eagles for jumping in and taking this risk while
Speaker 1: Jalen Hurts is on a extremely undervalued contract. No matter
Speaker 1: what you think of Jalen Hurts, he's on extremely undervalued contract.
Speaker 1: So that's the Eagles side of things, all right. So
Speaker 1: it makes sense for the Eagles. They've got that financial flexibility.
Speaker 1: As you mentioned, they got full marks for this trade.
Speaker 1: Everybody agrees that a J. Brown is a star. What
Speaker 1: about though, for Tennessee? Does that trace back to the
Speaker 1: money as well? What was their decision? What was their thinking?
Speaker 1: You do have the opposite on the quarterback money side,
Speaker 1: Ryan Tannehill has taken up a big chunk of cap
Speaker 1: and cash. Ryan Tannehill was extremely effective quarterback and kind
Speaker 1: of tailed off at the end of the year, so
Speaker 1: people do have mixed opinions about that. But notwithstanding that,
Speaker 1: and notwithstanding the fact they drafted a quarterback in the
Speaker 1: third or fourth round that may replace him, that's not
Speaker 1: happening this year. So he's got a fully guaranteed twenty
Speaker 1: nine million dollar number. Again, that twenty nine million is
Speaker 1: more than a j Brown and Jalen Hurts put together,
Speaker 1: and that may have been part of it. But what
Speaker 1: I could glean from the media reports John is that
Speaker 1: negotiations weren't going well. Now, whether the discontent was about money,
Speaker 1: or about being in Tennessee or about whatever it may be,
Speaker 1: there's something brewing beneath the surface here. And again GMS
Speaker 1: know this, like Howie Rosman, there's there's a little trouble
Speaker 1: in paradise in Tennessee. We could potentially nab that receiver.
Speaker 1: Of course they did, so I think it was financial.
Speaker 1: I don't know if there was more than that, but
Speaker 1: my senses they weren't willing to go to that extension
Speaker 1: number of year, which became the standard, but not until
Speaker 1: this year. So starting in February, that became the standard.
Speaker 1: And that's a new standard. But what I keep coming
Speaker 1: back to about Brown is that he was not Hill
Speaker 1: and Adams. He's a young player. He does not have
Speaker 1: the skins on the wall those players, but he hit
Speaker 1: that number. And I totally understand why Tennessee was. If
Speaker 1: I'm a negotiator, which I did for ten years in
Speaker 1: the NFL, I'm saying to A J. Brown's people, we're
Speaker 1: not paying that. Those guys have skins on the wall
Speaker 1: from to three veteran contracts. Those guys have been performing
Speaker 1: for six, eight, nine years. They're not a J. Brown.
Speaker 1: And if I'm a J. Brown's age and I'm saying
Speaker 1: that's the market, it doesn't matter. He's only a young player.
Speaker 1: I think that's where it broke down, and I think
Speaker 1: they said, Okay, where can we go? You know, so
Speaker 1: again deadlines spur action, the deadline of the draft, how
Speaker 1: are we doing the deal? And the money deal. At
Speaker 1: the same time, there was trouble in paradise in Tennessee.
Speaker 1: That was very clear. The best wide receiver in the
Speaker 1: goree of the franchise. I'm still tripping on the I
Speaker 1: can't believe it. Let him go. J He's definitely adult,
Speaker 1: He's a tone setter. As you wrote, the old way
Speaker 1: of doing things with respect to younger receivers is not
Speaker 1: the current way of doing things, and I wish it.
Speaker 1: Note as well that you said that you really liked
Speaker 1: the spot for Brown, that he sort of hit the trifecta.
Speaker 1: He gets out of Tennessee, he gets a new contract,
Speaker 1: and he it's a reunion with Jalen Hurts. But that's
Speaker 1: sort of the new standard here with wide receivers deciding, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna pick up and go to some new place.
Speaker 1: Jacksonville paid Christian kirk a ton during the offseason, or
Speaker 1: as you wrote, overpaid Davanta Adams forced his way to
Speaker 1: the Raiders five years, one forty one point to five
Speaker 1: million dollars. That makes him, by a long shot, the
Speaker 1: highest paid player on a traditional extension at the wide
Speaker 1: receiver position. Tyreek Hill force his way to the Dolphins.
Speaker 1: Batman is now a Dolphin, and that man is getting paid.
Speaker 1: We've heard so much about Deebo Samuel's saying that he
Speaker 1: wants out of San Francisco is this what we can
Speaker 1: expect in the future is that this does this signal
Speaker 1: a shift in the power dynamics for the position. Okay,
Speaker 1: so let's talk Eagles, Raiders, Dolphins. Right, We're gonna jump
Speaker 1: on these top players Hill, Adams and Brown, and we're
Speaker 1: gonna pay a new rate that was set by Christian
Speaker 1: Kurk and Adams of about twenty three to twenty five
Speaker 1: a year, and that is going to happen now. I
Speaker 1: think that's a new rate. I think that this has
Speaker 1: become a high value position. But I think the real
Speaker 1: impact about my column is this has extended to the draft.
Speaker 1: So we have six receivers first round. We have twenty
Speaker 1: in the first three rounds. This is all connected. This
Speaker 1: is my point. Teams are seeing what's happening to the position,
Speaker 1: and teams are seeing what A. J. Brown has just
Speaker 1: done and Deebo Samuel has been trying to do, which
Speaker 1: has forced their way out after they established themselves for
Speaker 1: three years at low, low, low money. So I'm looking
Speaker 1: at these teams jumping in and saying, let's get them now,
Speaker 1: and if they hit, we'll deal with it. But we're
Speaker 1: going to get him at a low price because we're
Speaker 1: not paying dollar year for number one receiver. And this
Speaker 1: is the altern out side of this. This is the Packers,
Speaker 1: this is the Chiefs, and this is the Titans. So
Speaker 1: they have decided we're going young, we're going cheap, and
Speaker 1: we're using the cap space elsewhere. So we have a
Speaker 1: line in the sand now, right, John, We have three
Speaker 1: teams I talked about earlier, Raiders, Dolphins, Titans all in
Speaker 1: on that position, and we have three teams to signed
Speaker 1: to go another way. I mean, think about Davante Adams
Speaker 1: and Tyreek Kills I wrote about they left what are
Speaker 1: considered the two best quarterbacks in the NFL for lesser
Speaker 1: teams and lesser quarterbacks. Think about that. So that doesn't
Speaker 1: happen often, and that just shows you who's prioritizing the
Speaker 1: position and how it jives with other positions on the team.
Speaker 1: From the perspective of Adams and Hell, I get it right,
Speaker 1: I mean, go where the money is you're worth with
Speaker 1: the market, but bear it. But then for these other
Speaker 1: teams have decided no, no, no, we're gonna go young
Speaker 1: and cheap and allocate the cap space in a different
Speaker 1: way because we're trying to build an entire team here.
Speaker 1: I get that strategy as well. I mean, you did
Speaker 1: this for a long time. Which avenue would you pick?
Speaker 1: Because it seems like there's two lanes here and everybody's
Speaker 1: deciding on which one they like. Yeah, it's a great question,
Speaker 1: And if I had to, I'm probably gonna stay with
Speaker 1: my Packer affiliation and say I picked the more conservative
Speaker 1: approach because I'm just playing the odds. I'm saying that
Speaker 1: two things. Number One, Tyreeke and Davonte have hit their peak.
Speaker 1: Not this they would be going downhill, but I don't
Speaker 1: know if they're going to go uphill. And you're getting
Speaker 1: out at a level of they're both being paid in
Speaker 1: the sixteen to seventeen male million dollar range, and you're
Speaker 1: getting out at that level rather than going up to
Speaker 1: a whole new level of year, and you're getting younger players.
Speaker 1: So what I raised in the article is the players
Speaker 1: that are going to replace them are not going to
Speaker 1: place them. Right. But Christian Watson with the Packers, Traylon
Speaker 1: Burke's with the Titans, Sky More with the Chiefs. Okay,
Speaker 1: all first or high second round picks. Let's say they're
Speaker 1: making two to three million dollars a year and Let's
Speaker 1: say these other players are making twenty four million a year, right, Basically,
Speaker 1: these other teams are saying Davante Adams is eight times
Speaker 1: the player Christian Watson, A J. Brown is eight times
Speaker 1: the player of Treylon Burks. We'll see. I mean, I
Speaker 1: don't want to sit here on your podcast or my
Speaker 1: column or anything and suggest that Christian Watson or is
Speaker 1: the equivalent of Davante Adams. There's no way in the world,
Speaker 1: and Aaron Rodgers is not gonna have that production with
Speaker 1: him even as Aaron Rodgers. But over time and as
Speaker 1: his money is so low, those are fair questions to ask. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I don't know how it's gonna work out for the
Speaker 1: Raiders or Dolphins. I do like the idea of A. J.
Speaker 1: Brown being eight is better than everybody else for the Eagles,
Speaker 1: but we'll see how that works out. You can read
Speaker 1: his column about how wide receiver values have changed on
Speaker 1: SI dot Com, which we will link to on our
Speaker 1: show notes. He has unquestionably one of the most valued
Speaker 1: members of the Sports Illustrated family. Andrew Brandt, thank you
Speaker 1: for this. Always a pleasure, John, I'm good to be
Speaker 1: with you. Thanks for listening, and a reminder to please
Speaker 1: rate and review our show that helps people find us.
Speaker 1: Sports Illustrated Weekly is at production of Sports Illustrated and
Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. From more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
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Speaker 1: best stories and podcasts, visit SI dot com. This episode
Speaker 1: of Sports Illustrated Weekly was produced by Cooper McKim, Jessica
Speaker 1: your Moski, Jordan Rizzieri, and Isaac Lee, who was also
Speaker 1: our sound engineer. Our senior producer is Dan Bloom. Our
Speaker 1: acting senior producer is Harry swart Out. Our executive producers
Speaker 1: are Scott Brody end Me John Gonzalez. Our theme song
Speaker 1: is by Nolan Schneider. And if you've stuck around this song,
Speaker 1: we leave you with this. So I assume this means
Speaker 1: the Eagles are gonna win the Super Bowl, right? Actually,
Speaker 1: you know what, don't answer that. I'll just take that
Speaker 1: as yes.