AwkwardlyCool
Providing perspective on the NBA, the NFL and the latest news around both. It will be awkward at times but mostly cool and fun. Hosted by Andrew.
AwkwardlyCool
Penix In The ATL That Crazy? Plus Drafted QB Expectations
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Welcome to another episode of AwkwardlyCool! Was Michael Penix being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons that crazy? We'll talk about the expectations for the top 6 quarterbacks drafted and what to expect (12:30). I give my list of top three teams who've had the best draft (34:20). Finally, we end with overreactions (38:05). All that and much more on this episode. Hope you enjoy the show!
Yo, welcome to another episode of Awkwardly Cool Hope everyone is doing well and it's been a while and the NFL draft is ongoing. But by the time you hear this recording the NFL draft will be done and I think it's good to get into some NFL draft talk. And to start off with, let's talk about the quarterbacks, because everyone loves talking about the quarterbacks, and I'm going to start off by the initial, most surprising point in the draft and, honestly, probably the most surprising pick in that would have happened, that has happened in the draft and will happen even once it's complete, and that is the atlanta falcons picking michael pennix jr with their number eight pick in the draft, and the reason it threw so many people off is they signed Kirk Cousins to a $180 million four-year contract, yet you use your draft pick on a top 10 pick for a quarterback that you're not even expecting to play for this year, next year and who knows if this goes into the full four years. Some people like to compare it to the Jordan Love situation, though Jordan Love was also picked later in the draft. So, and considering how old Kirk Cousins is, he's going to be 36 coming into next season he is coming off of an Achilles injury. When you put that all together in combination with the four-year contract, a pick on a quarterback. Frankly, any quarterback is surprising and will leave you scratching your head. So what gives? So I, like everyone else, was initially shocked when I heard the pick.
Speaker 1I haven't come out with my rankings, but of the top six quarterbacks that everyone talks about, with Caleb Williams, drake, may Bo Nix, jj McCarthy, jaden Daniels and Michael Penix Jr, I had Michael Penix Jr ranked sixth. By the way, I didn't put the quarterbacks in the order I like them. I'll tell you that a little bit later in the show I had him ranked sixth, so I thought he was probably worth the second round pick. But I will say I like all six of these quarterbacks and expect all of them to at least be decent, solid starters. For a long time where I could see all of them being solid starters, where they have seasons when they look like top 10 quarterbacks. That's how strongly I feel about this draft class, and obviously the falcons felt a little bit stronger and can't lie. It threw me off too, but as I think about it, I I think I get it more because as much as we lay our own projections on it.
Speaker 1Think about it like this kirk cousins is a 36-year-old quarterback, right, so he's coming into the back end of his career. So, even if he was already signed to the team, when you have a quarterback up there in age, it's not unusual for the front office to start thinking of the successor. What's the succession plan? And the next part you think about is well, it's a four-year contract. It's not four years fully guaranteed and most of the money is paid within that two years. So after two years they can do what they want with him, with less financial consequences. And two years, whether they sit michael pennix for one or two years, that he's going to be 26 if they sit him for two years. And I understand because Michael Penix the other weird part about it is Michael Penix is second oldest quarterback of the top six, only to Bo Nix. So he's going to be 24 going into the season or going into next season. So if he sits for two years, he won't start until he's 26. That is a while, or 26 or 27. So it's like why make this decision if he is that old?
Speaker 1But again, I think we all put our own projections on these players when we're not in the rooms and we don't see their draft board. It's possible that the Falcons had Michael Pendix up there in their quarterback rankings. I had him ranked sixth, but it's possible. Who knows, they maybe had him ranked first, second or third On the same tier as the top top tier quarterbacks that we think of with caleb williams, uh, drake may, jayden daniels. It's possible the falcons put him on that same exact tier and if you're the falcons and one, you're putting him. You, you feel like he's a top tier quarterback who has the potential to be an elite quarterback for you. Two, you have an aging quarterback. And three, you have an aging quarterback whose contract you can get out of for two years and four. You feel like his development, developmental process is helped by him sitting one or two years, maybe three years at the most, at number eight. There's no chance he makes it to the second round or you can even trade up for him in the back of the first, which honestly I think is likely. I don't think he falls to the second round. If the Falcons pass up on him, I don't think he gets past the Raiders at number 13. Whether it's the Raiders or someone else or some other surprising teammate who picks him up. I don't think he gets past the Raiders at number 13.
Speaker 1All of that put together, I understand why they made the pick and I've heard everything on the media as far as people knocking it. The Falcons are supposed to be in win now mode. Look, I'm going to talk about the teams who I think did well in the draft. None of those teams drafted a player who I think is going to be that impactful for them winning a Super Bowl. Not a Super Bowl, not a Super Bowl. No one player, no one player. And I mean even putting Caleb Williams as good as Caleb Williams is.
Speaker 1If you, let's say the Falcons, let's say the Falcons didn't sign Kirk Cousins, they had the first pick and they drafted Caleb Williams. Are you saying they're in win-now mode and they're thinking of Super Bowl? More than likely the Super Bowl isn't coming. Caleb Williams' first year, no matter how good he is, he's a rookie quarterback. It's likely not going to happen. Maybe second year, maybe second year, but at that point you could say the same thing with Michael Penix where, who knows, maybe they decide oh, I'm going to sit him for one year and if not, maybe two years, maybe two years and going into his third year.
Speaker 1Yeah, like I get it, guys, like I get it, guys like I get it. It's one of those things where we want to knock it. But if the Falcons drafted I don't know, dallas Turner or another offensive line or Roma Dunze at number eight, is it going to be that impactful? Where we expect the Falcons to win, we're putting them as a Super Bowl contender next year? I don't think so. Are we putting them as a Super Bowl contender the year after because they drafted someone like Roman Dunzey rather than Michael Penix with that pick for next year? Again, I don't think so.
Speaker 1But if Michael Penix hits the way they think he's going to hit and I think they feel like he has the potential to hit like a Jordan Love for the Green Bay Packers, by all means make the pick. I get it. And as much as we want to put our own projections on it, the Falcons are rolling the dice. They feel strongly about Michael Penix Jr being good and the quarterback position is the most valuable position in the NFL and if you believe he can be that guy, even if it's not this year, even if it's not next year or potentially the year after, but then, moving forward, you feel like he is going to be your quarterback for the next 10 years. Roll the dice and you cannot. You roll the dice and you can't knock the pick. So at first I was flabbergasted a word Chris Broussard likes to use Shout out to First, things First. But as I think about it, it's not that bad of a pick. I get it, I understand it. And more power to the Falcons.
Quarterback Rankings and Potential Starters
Speaker 1Don't listen to the haters. It's one of those things where people knock the Jordan Love pick too and people say, like, did drafting Jordan Love prevent them from winning the Super Bowl? What? What player were they going to draft that would have got them into the Super Bowl? Come on, man, come on. And I know there could have been receivers whomever else. I don't even think the Packers really like drafting wide receivers in the first round anyway. So yeah, come on, guys, let's be reasonable, let's be reasonable.
Speaker 1But moving on from that, let's talk about the quarterbacks who are now into the best situations going into next year and even potentially beyond. But I'm more so thinking about yeah, I'm more so thinking about beyond, as far as this is basically going to be my ranking of the top six quarterbacks, but I will list them in who who are my top six quarterbacks? Just because I never had a chance to list them, and situations do matter. So there is a slight adjustment in my rankings based on the situation that they're in Not too much, but slight, alright. Number one is Caleb Williams. Of course, I don't care what offensive coordinator you put him in. I don't even care if they did or did not draft Jerome Madunze, but the fact that they did draft Jerome Madunze, he's going to have Rome, keenan Allen and DJ Moore. They have their tight end as well. Komet as well, who's pretty good.
Speaker 1Deandre Swift is a running back. Yo, caleb is a beast Like. I apologize for not watching him earlier. I have him on a tier of his own His arm strength, the quickness of his release, how he is able to, the velocity he is able to get on these throws on plan, on platform, but especially off platform, wherever he's going, running full speed towards the sideline trying to get away from the defense, and then fires an accurate ball down the field to allow his receiver to make a play. Oh, my goodness I. Oh my goodness man. The Bears should be good next year, and that's going to just giving you a hint.
Speaker 1I'm going to give you my top three overreactions potential overreactions following the draft. But I am going to say something about the Bears that may sound ridiculous but I believe could really happen, because Caleb is just that good, like generational prospect fit him Like. Part of me wondered if he was a bit overhyped, like I remember seeing his games but just watching. When I say film, I'm honestly just talking about those videos you can find on YouTube that shows all his passes with the tv broadcast against one team, but it worked. It works as film, just as far as seeing the throws, even though you don't necessarily see everything, but you do see game situation and the like, which is really what you need. Man, he is uber talented and I think he's going to be really, really good. All right.
Speaker 1Second, jj mccarthy. He's with kevin o'connell. Man, no, kevin, kevin o'connor, like he is going to be. He's going to be with a head coach that has an offensive. He's going to be in with an offensive head coach that is going to allow him to be tied at the hip. He'll have a chance to have no pressure on him this coming year with a chance to sit behind behind samarnold.
Speaker 1I like JJ a lot. He was my third-ranked quarterback, just behind Caleb and Drake May. But with this situation I'm putting him second just because I feel like, with Kevin O'Connor, having Justin Jefferson as his receiver and Jordan Addison like yo, the Vikings have weapons on offense. Like yo, the Vikings have weapons on offense and it's like JJ is going to be just fine. Like I already had him really highly ranked and I know having him third is going to come off a bit controversial as far as having him ahead of Jaden Daniels More on Jaden Daniels a little bit later. But him coming into this Viking situation I think is ideal and I even think there is a chance he starts next year because Sam Darnold just hasn't shown himself to be that good. He may have a chance to be that good playing with the Vikings and playing with Kevin O'Connor and to look the best that he ever has.
Speaker 1But if JJ balls during the preseason and outplays Sam Darnold, jj's going to start. He's going to start. They didn't. What do they have Sam Darnold on like a one year contract. If JJ outplays him, he's going to start and I don't think that's beyond the realm of possibility.
Speaker 1All right, third quarterback I have and this might come off as a bit of a surprise just based on their situation. But I have Drake May, just based on their situation. But I have Drake May and I again, I'm looking beyond because I don't think I'm a big fan of this Patriots roster and I'll be honest, um, this is a between. Third and fourth is a little closer than you think, just because I am really worried about the Patriots situation. Like I know, they got him a draft draft receiver, james Polk, washington receiver.
Speaker 1By the way, guys, I don't follow the draft super closely so I don't know all these players. I just know a lot of these players from well outside the quarterbacks, from what I hear, other people who are on the draft blogosphere and YouTube sphere. I just listen to guys like that who are into the NFL draft and I'm not sure if Patriots draft and James Polk really changes that much, just because, from what I hear, he's a solid route runner and he's good, but he doesn't have a lot of speed and no offense. If you're a receiver that doesn't have a lot of speed, then you're putting Drake May in a similar situation as Mac Jones, where he drops back to pass and he has protection. No one is open, so he's constantly being forced to throw into coverage and trust his receivers, which can lead to more mistakes than not. I don't think that's good.
Speaker 1The nice thing with Drake is he has Jacoby Brissett with the Patriots. Jacoby's been good every time he's had the chance to play and I think he is a solid option if Jacoby Brissett starts over him. But we'll see about that because, again, if Drake balls out during the preseason, the fans are going to want him to play and I believe the coaches are going to want him to play and the other players are going to want him to play to see what he is all about. And the reason I had Drake ranked so highly is he is a quarterback that is, a big, strong dude who has a good arm that can throw on the move off platform. He's not special like Caleb Williams is, but I put him on a second tier as my second best quarterback who can be pretty good like a Josh Allen light, justin Herbert light. I don't quite put him on that level because some people have Drake May and if you listen to enough NFL draft news, you'll hear some people who put Drake May slightly ahead of Caleb Williams 1A 1B. I don't think it's particularly close.
Speaker 1I know people like to compare Drake May to Justin Herbert and Josh Allen. He doesn't have the height, or I don't think it's particularly that close at Wyoming compared to Drake May at UNC. You're going to say like yo, um, this dude, josh Allen, is on a different level. Because that's because that's what happened to me, because I mean, we know how Josh Allen looks in the NFL and we know he was inconsistent coming out of Wyoming. But I was I'm just talking about like highlights, because I'm like yo, is Drake May, like really Josh Allen coming out? So I just like looked at both their highlights started off with Drake May highlights just watching on all his hadn't seen Josh Allen at Wyoming in a long time. So I was like yo, let me see how Josh Allen looked.
Speaker 1And yo, guys, guys, when I tell you like if we had a quarterback prospect like Josh Allen come out today, knowing what we know now, but just a quarterback prospect in a similar mode, with that level of that build, that athleticism, that arm strength, that playmaking ability, he probably would have even challenged to challenge Caleb Williams as being the top quarterback, like Josh Allen's physical talent like stood out, it stood like. It stood out on a level that I didn't even expect because you would think going from Drake May, who is like he has above average arm strength, he's good like he, drake May is legitimately good. But you would expect going from his highlights to Josh Allen's highlights the difference wouldn't be so palpable. But it was and it stood out. And this isn't to say I don't think Drake Mays can be good. I think he'd be really good. I just don't know if he'll ever be. I don't think he'll ever have the capable of defeat that Josh Allen did.
Speaker 1But you don't necessarily need to to be an elite quarterback. Case in point Brock Purdy, who has played like an elite quarterback the past two years. I don't know if I'd put him as an elite quarterback, but he's played like an elite quarterback and he has nowhere near that level of physical talent. But anyway, yep, jake May, with the Patriots at number three. I think it would be good if he is able to sit behind Jacoby for maybe at least a year or half the year. But I also wouldn't be surprised if he balls out enough that he starts for most of the season, moving on to number four.
Speaker 1And number four I have Jaden Daniels and Jaden Daniels and Jaden Daniels I had as my fourth-ranked quarterback as well, and no hate on Jaden Daniels, because I like all these guys. I just like the three guys above him a bit more, but I think he's in a pretty good situation with Cliff Kingsbury as offensive coordinator. He has McLaurin at wide receiver as well as Dotson. They also drafted Mike McCaffrey who could be a good slot option for them as a receiver. I think jayden's good. I think jayden's good and I could see him being decent for a while. Like there are some people I trust who follow the nfl draft who have him ranked highly, like chris simms, who I would list as someone I trust. By the way, chris simms was ahead of the game on people like c Stroud, justin Herbert, josh Allen, which also makes it really weird how he doesn't like Drake May at all, but that's another story. He has Jaden Daniels on a tier all on his own as second to Caleb Williams, and I see what they like.
Speaker 1He shows pretty good processing ability. He shows the ability to play on rhythm and be a fairly accurate passer, even though he can be inconsistent. Good deep ball thrower and when he decides to take off and run he has game-changing speed, changing speed, like he is that fast the way he was able to break away from SEC defenses last year was ridiculous, like just we'll see that Florida game, even the Alabama game. It's like yo man. This dude's speed level of speed is different. I would like him so much more if he reacted to pressure a bit better, where it's way too easy to sack him. And when he gets pressured he's not going to try to make a. He rarely tries to make a play down the field, his eyes drop and he's running Not to say he's a running quarterback, because if he has protection he's going to pass, but if he gets pressured he's. He's going to most likely try to run away and he has a pretty high sack rate too. Those are things that concern me about him. But despite all that, if he's given the protection he needs, he's putting a good offensive system with good receivers around him. I see him putting up numbers and being a good quarterback and I think he's going to start immediately this coming year and I'll be honest, I'm looking forward to seeing all six of these guys.
Speaker 1And going on to my fifth quarterback, bo Nix, and going on to my fifth quarterback, bo nicks. Bo nicks is in a really good situation being with uh champagne. I had him as my fifth ranked quarterback and I think he will fit champagne system better than russell wilson did. And the fact that they drafted him so highly means that they believe in him. And when you have a team and a coach that believe in you which is a bit of a contrast with the situation Russ had to deal with with Sean Payton last year that provides your quarterback with some belief and confidence in himself and gives him the best opportunity to succeed. I don't know if boonex will ever be that top level of quarterback, but he shows a lot where, if he has athleticism above average arm strength, shows abilities to make plays with his legs either scrambling or on the run, he's going to be good and I like him a lot. So that, combined with being with Sean Payton, will likely result in him being pretty good.
Speaker 1And finally, sixth quarterback is Michael Penix, drafted by the Falcons. So Michael Penix, like I was talking about earlier, I won't get too much into it, but I didn't talk about what I think of him as a prospect and I did have him as my sixth-ranked quarterback. He is going into a situation where he's probably not going to start for at least a year, maybe two, though, considering that Kirk Cousins is coming off an Achilles injury. You just never know. You hope that nothing happens, but you just never know. So he could be starting sooner than normal.
Speaker 1I like the receivers he has. I like the fact that he has Drake London. I like how he has Kyle Pitts. He also has Dijon Robinson too. He has some nice offensive weapons that whenever he does play, he is going to. As he showed with Washington last year, he's going to use his weapons Like he is going to allow his receivers. He's going to trust his receivers to make plays and make catches, especially down the field.
Speaker 1So yeah, the reason I didn't have Michael Penix ranked as highly is his accuracy can be a bit inconsistent and I didn't like the way he responded to pressure where it just didn't work, where he was just too quick to throw the ball away and he just didn't make that many plays. His sack rate percentage is really nice where he doesn't get or sack to pressure. To sack percentage is really good where he doesn't take a lot of sacks despite being pressured. But as far as what I saw from him despite being pressured, but as far as what I saw from him I just didn't see him make many plays when pressured outside of that game against texas, in which he just blanked out and balled out, and me, if he played like that all year long, I'd have zero concern.
Speaker 1He made throws in the middle of the field. He made throws in the middle of the field. He made throws on the run. Like all these different things that I forgot to mention, not throwing in the middle of the field is one of his weaknesses, but he showed all of that in the Texas game, which means he is capable of it. He showed the ability to make plays on the run, which means he is capable of it. So what is the real Michael Penix? And he also had a what do you have? A 4'5" low, 4'6" 40? So he also has some wheels that he just doesn't use. He's an intriguing player. This is why I like all six of these guys. He's my sixth ranked quarterback, but whenever he gets to play I'm even during the preseason I'm looking forward to seeing how he looks.
Speaker 1I'm gonna I'm gonna follow all six of these guys and find their stats to see how good they are, because I think all of them are capable of being high-level starters, and I know people may have thought the same thing with the. What was it? Was it the 2022 draft with Trevor Lawrence, trevor Lawrence or Actually? No, it wasn't 2022. I'm I'm sorry. It was. I think it was 2021, where you had five quarterbacks. You had five quarterbacks chosen right. People said the same and people probably thought the same thing, but I have a good feeling with all six of these guys and all of them have the capability of being high-level starters and I think all of them are also in better situations than those quarterbacks were put in.
Speaker 1The only ones I fully expect to start immediately, or have to start immediately, is Caleb and Jaden. Like those are the only two, well, actually, and probably Bo Nix. Well, even Bo Nix, I don't even think Bo Nix will have to. So, yeah, just Caleb and Jaden. But the most likely scenario, I think is we have shoot. I think we see at least four likely five of these quarterbacks playing at some point this coming year with Caleb, jj, drake, jaden and Bo Nix, with Michael Penning sitting, barring injury, like I think they're in decent situations. We already talked about JJ's situation. Drake's situation is a little bit iffy, so again, I don't want to worry about that. Jaden's in an okay situation, bo Nix is in a pretty good situation and Sean Payne, michael Penix, doesn't have to start immediately. Same thing with Drake May, though Like we're going back to Drake, where I don't think he has to start immediately, and we all know Caleb is likely going to be Offensive Rookie of the Year with the situation he's in. So I like all six of these quarterbacks, looking forward to watching them all.
Speaker 1Nfl preseason cannot come fast enough, all right. So still talking about the nfl draft, as far as the drafts I've liked so far, all right. So I again. I don't follow the draft too, so I'm not going to list all the players, but these are the teams that just happened to catch my eye and I thought drafted well, just based on the guys I know about One Philadelphia Eagles I like Kenyon Mitchell. I like Cooper Dijon, or Cooper Dijon, cornerback out of Iowa, who has the potential to be versatile enough to play cornerback or safety. Hopefully he stays at cornerback and he can beat the allegations as far as no white corners allowed in the NFL. We'll see what happens. Either way, I think both players have potential to make an impact on the Philly defense, which really needs help. On the secondary, where I'm mainly just a football fan, but admittedly I do like Jalen Hurts. So I follow the Philadelphia Eagles fairly closely and I don't even think I'm being biased, but I just think Javi Roseman just knows how to pick good players. Like we saw the impact Jalen Carter had last year and I could see either one or both of Kenyon Mitchell and Cooper DeGene making an impact next year as well.
Speaker 1Second, the Bears. I like again we talked about Caleb. Rome is a beast. I have him as my third best wide receiver, behind Marvin Harrison Jr and Malik Neighbors. I think he's just a beast in his ability to make contested catches like I'm looking forward to see. I'm looking forward to seeing him and the pairing with caleb is just absolutely perfect. They also drafted an offensive lineman, kieran. I'm a guy, I'm a gargi, I'm a gargi I, which is good because the Bears need to continue to fortify their offensive line. I don't think Caleb is going to take quite as many sacks as Justin Fields took just because Justin Fields is starting to hold on to the ball too long, but it's good to fortify their offensive line. I just think the Bears are going to be good and yo, again, I keep talking about my top three overreactions Coming to that soon. But I'm looking forward to seeing the Chicago Bears next season.
Speaker 1And finally, last team is the Indianapolis Colts. I like them getting Latu Latu and, as far as an edge player and Adonai Mitchell in at receiver, really helped Anthony Richardson draft in a good defensive player. I'm hoping Anthony Richardson stays healthy for next season because the time he was healthy he made an impact and actually looked like he was going to be pretty good. So fingers crossed that Anthony Richardson stays healthy. But Adonai Mitchell with Michael Pittman, it is a pretty good supporting cast. Oh yeah, with Josh Downs too. Yeah, that's a pretty good supporting cast for anthony richardson and I'm looking forward to seeing what he does with those guys.
Speaker 1All right, and finally, my top three overreactions. So top three overreactions, and I'll start with something that may sound a little crazy, but I think Drake may well start at least half the season. And okay, I know it sounds insane, no one expected it, but hear me out it. But hear me out. Jacoby Brissett is good and I think he was actually better than Sam Howell was last year, especially when he had the opportunity to play. But I could really see a scenario where one of two things happened one, jacoby Brissett went out during the preseason, or they just play him during. They just have him as the starter. He plays the regular season.
Speaker 1The roster is bad. The Patriots start off 0-2, 0-3, potentially even 0-4, and the fans are going to be calling for Drake May and players may even start calling for Drake May and it's going to be like let's play Drake May and players may even be start calling for Drake May and it's gonna be like yo, let's play Drake May like. It's like if we're going over four, one and three, whatever, we're not looking like we're gonna be good, just play the rookie. No one's no one's expecting anything. We just want to see what he looks like. So I could see that happening early on enough in the season where, if they have a start where they're like I don't know, let's say yeah, let's say like One in four to two and five, he starts.
Speaker 1I see a scenario where Drake mays starts the rest of the way and they see what they have. That's the first scenario. Second scenario is Drake Mays straight up, beats Jacoby Brissett, beats him out during preseason. Where he just makes plays during the preseason that Jacoby Brissett doesn't make and the coaching staff decides Okay, I feel like he's ready, he's looking good, he's balling, best man wins. I could see that happening. I could see that happening and then he starts most of the season or he starts the entire season, barring injury. So I could see those two scenarios being very likely. So Drake may start in at least half the season.
Speaker 1That's my number one. Number two is uh, I think the Bears are going to have a top 12 passing offense next year. Yeah, I think the Bears are going to have a top 12 passing offense next year. And you may think, okay, why, why so specific with 12 and what's so special about that one? I mean, the bears were 20 something and passing offense last year and the top 12 teams, um, passing offense according to dvoa, were was no joke. Let me check right now. Actually I have it. If I can click on this while on my podcast hopefully you guys don't hear the clicking noises yeah, so with san francisco, miami, buffalo, green bay, baltimore I'm going in order. By the way, seahawks, detroit, kansas city, los angeles, ram, dallas, houston and philly those are all really good teams. Those are really good teams.
Speaker 1So I am putting that Bears offense on that level and I don't think it's far-fetched, because I think Caleb Boone is going to be really good. Is he going to have a similar season to CJ Stroud, who also had a top-12 passing offense last year? I feel like it's unfair to put those expectations on anybody, but I really like the roster he's in and again he's a generational talent playing with a roster that shouldn't have had the number one pick. They have the number one pick because they traded with the Panthers, but they're not a number one pick team. They weren't that bad last year. They were nowhere near that bad last year. And do I think he's better than Justin Fields? Yeah, I think he's quite a bit better than Justin Fields, so I don't think it'd be far-fetched for him to have a great season next year, actually, and good enough to be a top 12 passing offense.
Speaker 1So high expectations for the Bears. Do I see them go into the playoffs? Potentially it's tough. It's tough, man, because in their division they already got Green Bay and Detroit. Am I going to put them ahead of either team? Maybe I could see them being ahead of one of them, but I don't know which team. I think the Lions are going to be good next year. I think Green Bay is going to continue to be good next year. So yeah, it's kind of? Yeah, it's a tough ask, but it's not like the Bears were that far away from either of those teams last year, especially if they had better quarterback play. I think they have a better quarterback, so we'll see what happens.
Speaker 1And finally, my last overreaction is the Eagles will have a top 15 defense next year. And you may say top 15, that's basically average and, yeah, that is good enough. Like I said, I'm basically an Eagles fan because of Jalen Hurts and they were 28th last year, 28th in total defense according to DVOA last year. Top 15 is going to be a big difference. I just think that with their players, they added on defense. Like I mentioned, the rookies and I know it's ridiculous to expect too much from rookies, but they address the need. And I think Cooper DeGene is versatile and he can be placed all over the secondary. And Kenyon Mitchell is. I think he's a really good cornerback, that maybe he's not going to be ahead of Darius Slay, but I think he could be the cornerback lined up on the other side, like in his first year. I think he is that good of a cornerback.
Speaker 1And don't forget Vic Fangio, compared to oh my God, who was their coordinator last year. It was Sean Desai. But who? Oh yeah, matt Patricia, my God, I don't even want to. His name wasn't even worth remembering, like as bad as people want to say. Sean Desai was. At least the defense had good performances, like against the Dolphins last year.
Sports Predictions and Playoffs Excitement
Speaker 1With Sean Desai as defensive coordinator, with Matt Patricia, everything went to crap, like Eagle's defense went from rock bottom to the bottom of the crater. Like it was terrible. It was terrible with how they looked at Matt Patricia. Vic Fangio is a high step up from that. Even if they made no changes next year to have the exact same roster, I feel like vic fangio would have done way more than matt patricia, and basically everyone is using matt patricia's or vic fangio's defense nowadays in the nfl because of how effective it is. So why not bring the original guy here and give him a few more weapons on defense, especially to help out in the secondary?
Speaker 1So, yeah, I see the Eagles being good on defense next year and hopefully coming back to look better than how things ended last year. We'll see. Nfl season is going to be incredibly exciting. Uh, then we're gonna talk more about the nba playoffs next time, just because by the time this recording is done, um, we'll see what happens. Not everyone, everyone knows. But I like the Lakers and I think there's a good chance that they end up getting swept and they're no longer in the playoffs by the time this recording comes out. So yeah, we'll see what happens. Hopefully they win, but we shall see. But anyway, thanks so much for listening to Awkwardly Cool. You guys take care.