Sideline Shenanigans
Sideline Shenanigans brings the chaos, confidence, and questionable wisdom of two middle school coaches straight to the NFL. From our middle school sidelines to Sunday showdowns, we break down the league with real football knowledge, playful arguments, and no shortage of strong opinions. Each episode kicks off with a state of the union on Cole's Patriots and Emma's Chiefs, we dive into the biggest headlines and hottest (sometimes controversial) takes around the NFL, and wrap with Bets of the Weekend—where bragging rights are always on the line. Smart football, dumb jokes, and sideline-level passion.
Sideline Shenanigans
Episode 19: NFL DRAFT REACTION
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NFL DRAFT REACTION!
WELCOME BACK TO YOUR HOME FOR THE OFF-SEASON!
We go through our team's drafts, some picks we love, some picks we hated, and talk about if the Rams really are crazy.
We wrap it up with a little 2026 season board bet...
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Welcome back to Sideline Shenanigans post giraffe. Oh, here we go. New Year. Here we go. Back to the bowl we go, baby. Um, before we talk about relevant, competent teams, we're gonna go through some drafts we both didn't like, talk about some other random picks we loved, and then wrap it up with the two kings of the AFC, the Pats and the Chiefs. So, Cole Mathewson, what is one draft you did not like of this?
SPEAKER_00I mean, I think, like every show out there, you gotta just start with the biggest miss of the weekend. I mean, the Rams, what are we doing? Ty Simpson at 13, Ruben Bain on the board, like a disaster. I mean, I didn't think the Rams had uh I'm kind of a Rams hater. I think they're a little overrated. I think they're farther away than just one piece, and Stafford's not getting any younger. So, like, I don't know. I do not think they're a contender this year, really, after this draft.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I'm with you and against you. Like, I love the Rams. I do think no one's truly a just one piece away. I mean, even the Seahawks lost half their team this offseason. You know, it's just what happens. But with the Rams, not even just Room Bain. If you're worried about the arm length, there's a lot of great O-line on the board at that time. Some good, just pure D.
SPEAKER_00Freeling was still on the board, right? Exactly.
SPEAKER_01Like Freeling.
SPEAKER_00Maybe the best tackle in the draft was on the board.
SPEAKER_01Freeling would have been perfect for them because he could truly sit and develop. Also, maybe the best way to support your quarterback who's old and can't really move anymore is to get really good protection. Um, I would have liked them taking Ruben Bain because they already have Jared Verse, so it feels like less of a risk if you're worried about the arm length. He could be a true two, which I feel like is what he is. So it definitely was weird. I I saw something that was like Type Simpson was picked like only three picks after Patrick Mahomes, like only five picks after Josh Allen. It's like the value of quarterback has just gone up so much, and I don't think he has near the measurables of Josh and Pat, who both even fell a little. So it yeah, that was I I can't understand it. I don't think see a first-round talent.
SPEAKER_00I do think in general, when so many teams, I mean, it's just crazy how they evaluate quarterbacks. So many teams are quarterbackless, and like you're just you're telling me no one's good? I don't know. Like, I get it, but like there are some teams I would have liked to maybe shoot a shot at quarterback a little earlier. Yes. Like Pavia didn't go at all, Nussmeyer went to you guys. Like, there's some of these teams that could have maybe taken a shot at a quarterback late. Like, why not with a fifth or sixth round pick? But the Rams were not one of them. I mean, also just like so out of character. Just go get a vet. Go trade for the next Stafford. You know what I mean? Like, they've given up all their future already and their all their picks to just go use this 13th overall.
SPEAKER_01With a guy who can't make a layered throw, which is all McVeigh and Stafford do is like layered throw after a layered throw out of the pocket.
SPEAKER_00Less starts than Mac Jones in college. Like, we just uh there's so many things where it's like there is almost no way this is gonna work out.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I mean, I'll t my take right now is that Ty Simpson is not an NFL prospect and that it's gonna look disastrous for the Rams after Stafford leaves. But my other take is like you have a future Hall of Fame quarterback or Hall of Fame adjacent quarterback, because who knows anymore, um, in his prime. Just like kind of sell the house to be good these next two years, and it's okay if you suck the two years after that.
SPEAKER_00In his prime. I mean, definitely not in his prime. I think Stafford must have seen.
SPEAKER_01End of his prime. End of his prime.
SPEAKER_00Uh oh. Yeah, I guess. This is he's reaching out of his prime at the time.
SPEAKER_01I mean, he won an MVP, like, and even if you don't agree with that, he's still one of the two best players in the league by anyone's measure.
SPEAKER_00So Yeah, that's true. But I don't know. I don't know if they can if you can win a Super Bowl without a somewhat mobile quarterback. I don't know. I think Stafford must have said this is my last year. I he must have. What else? I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I guess. I I also think you can win a Super Bowl without a somewhat mobile quarterback if you maybe have a really, really good O line. So keep investing in that, right? Like keep getting him weapons who can get open quickly. Like that's how you support him, and that's their path to winning a Super Bowl is him playing really well in the pocket.
SPEAKER_00Or if if they could have one of the best defensive lines and do like I mean, we see the team that comes out of the NFC has an unbelievable D-line the past two years. It's doesn't really matter what quarterback they play. That's true. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like, and he's by far, in my opinion, the best quarterback in the NFC. So Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um, yeah, did not like the Rams draft. Uh that one's an obvious one. I'm gonna go in the same division, the Niners. My thing with the Niners is, you know, you've got a huge coaching advantage when you're playing most people because of how good Kyle Shanahan is. But I think two of the best coaches in the NFL are in your own division. So let's not even talk about the rest of the NFC or the AFC. You've got Mike McDonald, who's a rising star, you've got Sean McVay, who's an established star, and you're reaching on a wide receiver with a third or fourth round grade, who just because he's a really good blocker with your like near first round pick, they traded out so it was like 34 or something, and then they went a lot of D-line, they went tackle late. It it didn't feel like their draft had a cohesive vision. It didn't, it felt like they reached a lot. It felt like Kyle Shanahan likes what he likes and he runs that draft. And you've got aging Fred Warner, aging D-line, aging O-line, and you just go for a wide receiver when there's great edges and O-line available. It just felt weird.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, totally. I I think everyone in your first two picks, you gotta go one trench. At least one side of the ball. You have to pick a trench. Just for value-wise and like depth, those positions get hurt all the time. Like, and that's what you see the great teams do, is you at least one of your first two picks, someone in the trenches. I agree, you add Mike Evans in the offseason.
SPEAKER_01And then still wide receiver.
SPEAKER_00What's the I read that like they're like begging people to offer them something for IUK now? It's like, what is this story? Why did they do this?
SPEAKER_01He was sitting at the podium and he picked up his phone and he goes, give us a call. Like, I'm like, that's so icky. Like, you're what are you gonna get a six round?
SPEAKER_00IUK's pretty good too. He's just always hurt, I guess. But man, it makes me be like a year or two ago, we were Ayuk said no to the Patriots. Remember that for like 34. We offered him the most money.
SPEAKER_01And to the commanders, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Awful, awful decision. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I'm out on the Niners, and I've been I know we're gonna get ready to do our predictions week, you know, the end of August, July, sometime in there, and for me, I don't have the Niners making this tough NFC playoff at all. It's so it's so deep. And if you believe the Cowboys are gonna be better or the Giants, which I think is true, I think the NFC North is getting minimum two teams. So yeah, it's just it's too crowded. It's and their division's too good and they're gonna not win as many games as well.
SPEAKER_00I don't know if I can go there yet. Just for the coaching, like I feel like that was kind of the feeling last year. But I don't know. They do just score like auto points if CMC is healthy and that the coaching, like it's all of a sudden they're just like, oh man, they have 11 wins, and it's I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I mean, my my rule about CMC in fantasy is every other year, and this is a down year. So um, yeah, staying in the NFC, I'll say another team that I didn't like their draft, because I know you agree with this. The Bears. This one hurts. I wanted to like their draft so bad. You're not gonna like this. Did not leave the draft with an edge or a tackle.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's crazy.
SPEAKER_01Insane. I don't even yeah, I'm I'm at lost rewards.
SPEAKER_00It's hard to, yeah, what's the pro much less one of your first two picks. Just to go zero trenches is like, man, are they at a spot where they can do that?
SPEAKER_01They did get some D-line help, but not a true edge. Um, I felt like their first pick made sense because he fell. I thought Dylan Thymon was great value where he fell, but if you're taking that value, then you have to be a little more diligent about your later picks, or even be willing to trade up. And then going tight end round two, when you maybe have the best tight end duo in the league, is very weird. Just so you can run 13 personnel. Which tight end did they end up snagging? Sam Roush. Who people were really high on him.
SPEAKER_00I mean, people were high on him.
SPEAKER_01They thought maybe he could be tight end three of this class. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But I just I mean, it was one of the bet most tight ends that have ever gone, right? In a draft.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I still feel though, like, ugh, you Komet's still good. Laughlin might be the best tight end in the league next year. That's his ceiling. Um so I didn't get that vision at all.
SPEAKER_00I don't either. I I don't know. I'm wondering if Ben Johnson is maybe a little too involved or I mean, even last year it felt like they reached on tight end and could have got an elite lineman. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, they got tight end in the third round, wide receiver in the fourth. They got their center in the second round, I like that. But then using your third and fourth round picks on positions that I love in on your team when you don't have any edge help, you don't have any pressure on the quarterback, your tackles hurt. Like, what's the vision, Barry?
SPEAKER_00I know that's that's what I'm most worried for for Caleb is just Protection. Protection. I think they they made some moves last offseason, but like I don't know, with a hurt left tackle, and he does. He needs to clean up the easy stuff, which is kind of what you need to do. Which like you need just a little bit of protection, yeah, and then get a better base going this year. Because like a lot of magic happened for Caleb last year, but that is not guaranteed. Like, ideally, there's a lot less magic required. You can just throw a five-yard out route or a five-you're slightly and you can and you can be running the ball with nine minutes left in the fourth because you're up ten points at least. Like, that would be ideal instead of these bombs. So I don't know. I'm I'm a little nervous for him.
SPEAKER_01Me too. I I figure Bears might be one of the teams you think about leaving off in the NFC. I still think that their coaching and quarterback advantage is huge.
SPEAKER_00But I don't know if I could do that. I do I want I like I root for Caleb over most teams in the NFC, I think. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01And you got to see him live, so it's like it's so good. He didn't look very good. He did not look good then.
SPEAKER_00He looked small and pretty bad. Um I don't know, we'll see.
SPEAKER_01Any other drafts you really didn't like?
SPEAKER_00Uh I mean nobody I think besides those that were really bad. We'll see. I think I guess I like Tyson at nine did feel high. Or eight. High for the Saints. I was just like, man, they're a team that just needs a lot of good players. I don't know if I love going receiver. I guess it's good for Shuck, but like maybe Freeling there.
SPEAKER_01Like just protect Shuck and take a we we know that they were planning to take Delane there, so I think maybe they just were like, Tyson's our next player on the board. Like, yeah, maybe that's what happened. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00Totally.
SPEAKER_01It did feel yeah, I get it. Offensive coach though, so they want weapons.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I guess can help the rookie. I don't know. We'll we'll see. I wanna they took another, did they take Stowers, Stowers? No, they took Delp late. Oh, they took Delp, right. That I like. I like that. I like getting a big body tight end for up and coming quarter. Yeah, I think so too. Um I mean they took him, yeah, early, so.
SPEAKER_01No, I think I saw something that was like big fantasy riser was Tyler Shuck after this draft, but I'm kind of with you that you're a good another good way to help your young quarterback is trenches, good defense, and I feel like they need so many things that taking an injury-prone wide receiver, though with the highest ceiling of any wide receiver in this draft, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Technically maybe better than Tate. Like, I yeah, I get it.
SPEAKER_01He can be better. He was better than Tate before all the injuries. Um never if injuries in college are scary because it's just Well, it was three and like missed mo I think he missed as many games as he played. Yeah, as yeah. Um the other one I don't like that just to mention would be the Dolphins. I I know we're gonna talk about how all the corners fell, but taking Chris Johnson when there was five higher graded corners on the board, and I know grades are subjective, but and let's take McCoy out of it because of all the injuries, but you got Terrell, Hood, Sis, and Pons still on the board. Sis and Pons were supposed to be round two picks. Chris Johnson was supposed to be round two, fringe, round three. The Dolphins take him. I I don't know. That felt weird. And then they also took Caden Proctor with their first pick, who I would have loved him if he went to the Lions, I would have loved him if he went to the Eagles, but he has a work ethic problem. Even Nick Saban said that on the broadcast. It's like you get drafted and your former coach is like, oh, work ethic problem. And now you're putting him in Miami, maybe the hardest place to succeed if you have a work ethic problem. So that felt weird. The Dolphins first round. But who cares? They suck.
SPEAKER_00I mean, exactly. There's nothing the Dolphins could do to get good, so I kind of don't even care. Like, sucks you have to waste your picks because you're just so irrelevant, but they have a quarterback, you might as well stay bad. That's why it's almost like, man, there's no need to trade up, get really good.
SPEAKER_01It's like Yeah, well we'll take the sixth or seventh pitch quarter in the draft.
SPEAKER_00Best case scenario for the Dolphins is they're the worst team in football, and they get the number one pick. Like, that is the only success for the Dolphins.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think the reason I'm hung up on it is their new GM came from the Packers, and the Packers are like considered maybe the best organization historically at drafting. Um, and that felt and both those picks didn't feel right to me. So.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. No, that's fair.
SPEAKER_01Any uh drafts you love before we talk about our own team.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah. Um I mean, one, I think the steal of the draft was the Bucks at 15 getting Bane.
SPEAKER_01I think the steal of the draft was the Cowboys getting down. I feel I felt like the Giants should have taken him.
SPEAKER_00Yes, I agree. But Cowboys did like they made a move up for that. Like the Bucs just sat and like looked around at everyone and just, yep, that's our guy. Like that, I think was pretty like, man, if you're them, you're like, did this really just happen? Like, okay.
SPEAKER_01I mean, great tape, again, I felt like the measurables make me nervous about him in the top ten. I was kind of fading him after these last few weeks because hearing all these coaches come out on TV talking about the measurables of edges and like comps for him, and comps for him were like not people you would like not someone you'd want to spend a top ten pick on. But I think in Tampa, if they have a good D-line, he doesn't have to be like the star. Like it could be I think that's a good fit.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um I do think he was should have been a top 10 pick. And to quote you from last week, you said production was insane. If not for short arms, he's the second best player in the draft. Like I think I think people get hung up on these measurables, and rarely are is it like C, like these too little. I don't know. I get that, like, his ceiling is capped because of it. Yeah, I think that's Man, he could easily win defensive player of rookie of the year. Like, I just think for him to fall to 15, some of these guys that went before him, like, I don't know. That to me, like, I I was a little out on the Bucks, but I don't know. Maybe if they can have an elite defense and Baker can just be like how he started last season. I know they don't have Evans anymore, but they might be okay.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna pick the Saints to win that division, but I think I'm sticking with the Bucs.
SPEAKER_00I yeah, me too. It's uh they're kind of trending back up. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I do think Saints could be competitive. I think they could be the second best team in that division.
SPEAKER_00I'd be more scared of the Saints if they took Bain at eight than Tyson, honestly.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, odds plays every game. That that's that still reads like a panic pick to me because we went up to get Monsor, then Sonny Styles fell to the commanders, and now the Saints are like, wow, all of our top graded defenders are off the board. Let's just take a wide receiver. Like, that's what that felt like.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Totally.
SPEAKER_01Um I liked Cleveland's draft. I felt like the first four picks were all slam dunks. Being able to leave the first four picks with one of the top three safeties in the draft. Uh, they also got KC Conception on and Denzel Boston. And your first pick is on the O-line. That feels like wow. Four, three of our first four picks, the first three, were about the offense, giving Shador protection. And one of these wide receivers is gonna be good, right? So we have two number one options now to kind of battle that out, and then you have the safety fall to you. Great draft.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, I love it. Browns might be good. Mason Graham last year, you still got Garrett. Like, that defense is looking solid. He's out of the O-line. Like, could Shador make the playoffs this year? Like, we're gonna find out. Is there a world Shador's the best quarterback in that draft still? Like, I do think it's on the board.
SPEAKER_01I think Jackson Dart's gonna look really good this year with Arville. I also like their draft. I thought Arvell Reese. Giants killed it, yeah. Arvell Reese 5 was a steal. I do I heard Colin Coward's take that like their left tackles always hurt, so the right tackle has to play left tackle, which is why they went CC Maganoa over downs. I still think that like your tackle group is stronger than your secondary group, so I wouldn't have hated like taking downs there and maybe train back up into the first round because you have a high second round pick to get a tackle. I think that might have been better value. Yeah. But I expect I expect the Giants to be competing for that division. That would be my expectation.
SPEAKER_00I agree. I think it's always like not ideal to like take a worse-rated player than players available right there. You know what I mean? Like the tackle obviously was not like Caleb Downs is such a higher rated player than that. But when you put yourself in a situation for need, like I do get it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But I agree. Downs is just so much better value and would have been so much more exciting. But Dart's pretty not the smartest quarterback in terms of protecting himself. Neither is Scadaboo. Yeah, like I do get it. You kind of had to do that for. Literally, literally.
SPEAKER_01I mean, Giants and Cowboys. I thought the Cowboys did a great job. I think they reached it maybe a little on their second first round pick, but they have a good D-line, so if they feel like this guy is better for the future and doesn't have to play this year, great. I kind of expect the Giants or the Cowboys to win that division. I think they could be great, like, contenders to go from like a worst to first scenario. I also could see the Browns getting second in the North.
SPEAKER_00Me too. They kind of got the pieces. Like it is up to Shador. Like, I I do.
SPEAKER_01Shador is good. They should make the playoffs.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. Like it is, it's just kind of which is exactly what you need to do for these. It's like the first time I feel like the Browns have set someone up to actually test them. You know what I mean? Like, clearly Baker didn't get a real test there. Like the team wasn't good enough around him because he's much better now. I do think for so long, these not functioning well teams just like you draft a great quarterback, you've nothing good around them, you give up on them in two, three years because they can't win games with the team, and then going somewhere else and winning. Yeah. I also like the uh the Raiders draft a lot.
SPEAKER_01Yes, Raiders are agreeable.
SPEAKER_00Maybe one of the best.
SPEAKER_01Like Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I They should be good. They had this is like the Raiders to me are a team that like new coaches, new quarterback, spent 200 plus million in the offseason, had a really good draft. Like it reminds me of the way I was talking about the Patriots last year, where it's like there's seven new things that make me like them more.
SPEAKER_01It's like the Raiders is tough because if they were in any other division, I think they would get a good pick to go from worst to first. I think they would be a solid pick to be like they could make the playoffs at ten wins this year. I think in the AFC West, you ain't making the playoffs with ten wins. Um like I I I see.
SPEAKER_00I think though, like those those games are always close. Like even Cheese Ravers is always close. I bet they could go lit their division. They could go 3-3 easy, or like I don't know. Like it they might be okay.
SPEAKER_01I also I didn't like the Broncos draft. And a lot of that is when you don't have a first-round pick, you have to like fill needs with guys who maybe feel like reaches. Um I also feel like they gave up a lot for a waddle, so they didn't have a lot of picks. I think they're all in on Bonex on the rookie contract. I I don't I think bo I don't I'm not in on Bonex. I I it feels it felt Mac Jonesy the first year where he had flashes and it feels like that's just his ceiling because partially because of age. I could see a world where the Broncos fall off and the Raiders emerge. I just I don't know if there can be four good teams in a division. And I ex I expect the Chiefs to be better. I don't even think that's a crazy take. I expect the Chargers to be really scary.
SPEAKER_00So I do think you think back to the Bills Broncos game. I don't know if I can see the Broncos falling off. I do agree, like, if Chiefs, Broncos, and Chargers are all good, yeah, Raiders don't actually have a chance. For me, that team would be like the Chiefs can't quite get back to where.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think it would have to be the Chiefs if the Raiders are slipping in.
SPEAKER_01But I agree, that's less likely than I disagree because I do I think the Chiefs had a better offseason than the Broncos, and again, I don't even think it's a hot take.
SPEAKER_00Um It's not, but they like you had to have. You were at you were so much farther away than the Broncos were. The Broncos were knocking on the door. You know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01Like, I think Andy Reid's the best coach in the division, but call coaching a wash because Sean Payton's good too. We still have a huge quarterback advantage. I think our D coordinator's better. They lost coordinators. Like, I I think it's gonna be a Chiefs Chargers division. I think the way the Raiders can be like in the mix for a playoff hunt is like Broncos are hovering. Around 500. Some things feel weird. Like they split a lot of they they steal one from the Chiefs. They steal one from the Chiefs.
SPEAKER_00The Broncos defense stayed pretty intact. I don't think they're gonna be hovering around 500. I do think we owe the Broncos a little bit more respect. I mean AFC Championship, like they Bo Nicks looked amazing against the Barrett's.
SPEAKER_01That was his best game I've ever seen.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so trending up at the right time. If he comes back from his broken bone, fine.
SPEAKER_01But it's a it is still a quarterback.
SPEAKER_00I don't think we can expect that. Yeah, absolutely, but he's still so young. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I I I I have bet the Chiefs to win the division. I bet I bet it a while ago. I bet it before Walker, and now I could cash out now and earn money because like it the odds have shifted in our favor. So I expect the division to be won by the Chiefs or the Bron or the Chargers. The Chiefs or the Chargers. Um before we get more to the Chiefs, how are you feeling about your Pats draft? Which, by the way, the winner for the Pats is Makai Lemon to the Eagles.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that is true. Yeah, Eagles talk about just destroying your leverage. Oh, yeah, we were talking about that earlier. I'm seeing a lot of 2028 first round pick now.
SPEAKER_01I wouldn't hate that at all if I were you.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that that I love. That's crazy. All our 2027 round picks.
SPEAKER_01Are the Eagles trying to draft a quarterback and stocking up on later picks? Like, is that what's happening?
SPEAKER_00I don't know. I don't know. They don't want to give up their 2027. And honestly, I don't either, because we can be trading that shit back or whatever. Like, 2027 is gonna be a great draft. No, I feel great. I was nervous at first we were gonna trade Lomo away, which I actually think it's a genius pick by Elliot Wolf. Like, super unsexy, super like boring, kind of confusing to fans, because it's like if you're drafting him, that means you made a mistake somewhere else.
SPEAKER_01But I'm like, No, trenches are trenches.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I get it. We this biggest guy we signed is super injury prone and Elijah Vera Tucker. Like, Morgan Moses turns 36 this year, and Will Campbell's coming off an injury.
SPEAKER_01Those two are just like a full season.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, what are we gonna just assume, cross our fingers, you know? Like I and I do think that's what killed us by the end. Our playoff stretch, it was because we had a broken rookie line that was playing hurt. Like, so this, I really like it. I think I wanted to go edge there. If we didn't get Gabe Yakis with our second pick and trade up for him and let him fall off the board, I would have been devastated. I would have been like, we're fucked at edge.
SPEAKER_01Because he was really the last he was the last even like decent edge, it felt like um. And I actually feel really good about him too, but I will say about Lomu, you know, some people had him going mid first, some people had him going late first, some people had him going early second. It felt like O-line mocks were all over the place. It went though. It went so fast. If I re if going into it, maybe you I heard something online that maybe you thought the Chiefs wanted to tackle, maybe you thought the Niners wanted a tackle, and that's why you traded up. Either way, I don't know what team it would have gone to, but he would have been off the board. They were going so fast.
SPEAKER_00And about I mean we were sitting there at the Bears pick, and he was the best available. We said, all right, Bears should take Lower. Yeah, definitely.
SPEAKER_01Mistake. I think I had a mock with him going to the Bears because he's a left tackle who's taken right tackle reps, and the Bears need someone who could be left tackle this year but transition to right tackle.
SPEAKER_00I think he's I'm a little skeptical of that. I think he's only played left tackle. Elliot Wolf and his presser was like, that is pro day. He lined up on the right side, and we felt comfortable. We'll see.
SPEAKER_01I do think it's gonna he's gonna be your sixth lineman this year, though.
SPEAKER_00Like, he's not gonna even start. That's the thing. And then, like, if someone's not playing well, I've seen probably our worst lineman at this point is um O Wenu, who's not the Georgia center. Uh, I'm I'm kind of I like Wilson. He's young, yeah. Wenu's we got like a fifth rounder like seven years ago or six years ago. He's like 29-ish, and he's just kind of like our lowest ceiling person. If he were to if like Elijah Vera Tucker's healthy, I've seen Elijah Vera Tucker moves to right guard and we just bring Lomo in to either left tackle or and then we have Campbell and Lomu on our left side of our line wherever you want to put them.
SPEAKER_01But I know look, I'm not saying Will Campbell should move. That is a topic that's been out there. That is not what I'm saying. But what I am saying is Will Campbell came out of college with better tape. Lomu comes out of college with better measurables. So if another year goes by and people are genuinely worried about Will Campbell, now you have options at the left side, and Campbell will be on your team for 10-15 years. It's just a matter of like, maybe this is a better fit. And I'm not saying that's true, but more linemen never hurts.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. That's like I don't care. I mean, I do, I just disagree with it. I do think Will Campbell through the first 11 weeks was one of the best left tackles in the league. And that's the reason Drake May led him to the city.
SPEAKER_01I mean, that's what I said about Josh Simmons.
SPEAKER_00I think that he like Well, he didn't play all the first 11 weeks. I know. But I agree. Like, Will Campbell fell off after the injury. I'll give you that. He looked bad in the playoffs, but he came back too early, and like I expect to, if he's healthy, I expect him to be one of the best left tackles in the league.
SPEAKER_01Collins' take was he was like, I heard one online coach tell me his issues were not about measurables at all. I had another one tell me they were about measurables. He's like, no one really knows. Like, it's just tackle's a weird position. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00I mean, Will Campbell's clearly the best left tackle on our team. Like, I think that is still true. But again, I'm fine. If Lomu isn't ready to move to guard, right, when he needs to start, and like he's more comfortable straining at left tackle, put him at left tackle, put Campbell at guard. I agree, I like it. And then I mean, I really liked Raridon, our third round pick. I was I wanted us to go tight end. I mean, I was speaking the same language as Elliot Wolf. After the Lomu surprised me a little bit, but I get it for the value. And then I was texting you, obviously, really wanted to. Yeah, you had to add to the and then I wanted tight end. I was like, that is our last true like thing we don't really have. We lost we lost Hooper, which isn't a big deal. He sucked. I think by the end of the season, Hunter Henry was just playing a little slower than he was out the gate. I like adding. I mean, Raredon has size. He's as big as Gronkowski was. He's obviously so much worse, but he is this same size.
SPEAKER_01And he's your tight end too this year, so he can develop.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. He'll develop, and I think it's classic we see these young tight ends that come out of nowhere in the league. Like he could what if he does play like Sam Laporta his first year or these guys often like fall off after, but I really like that pick. It felt like we got a good deal there. He was we got him 95th or something. He was like And I think in this draft in the 70s and a lot of boards, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think in this draft, if you get someone third round, fourth round, fifth round, sixth round who can play, it's a win. A lot of even analysts said they stopped watching after the th second or third round because they were feeling down on the guys. So I think if you get someone who can play, and I think he can play.
SPEAKER_00So Totally. We'll see. It's not I would have liked an earlier receiver.
SPEAKER_01I I think the Brown deal's done. Seeing them take Mikhaileman, it felt felt like Science Healed deliberate.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Me too. I still do think. And that's the thing. We went trenches, tight end. We're getting Brown in the receiver. It does feel like we're set up next year for kind of a what's it called?
SPEAKER_01Uh Pay Drake here?
SPEAKER_00No, a uh a free pick. A luxury pick in the first round. Like we can go whatever we need next year.
SPEAKER_01Careful, you say that now, and then you'll watch it. Barring major injury, but like no, it's the NFL.
SPEAKER_00I do think, yeah, next year I'd be okay. That's where like these teams that are taking these luxury picks this year, and the th with the third and fourth overall pick, it's like, man, you need a lot of pieces, but and you know, you the I could see you guys going edge again next year.
SPEAKER_01I think Gabe is good. I think he's the last good one of that group. And honestly, all the edges fell, which we'll get into, but like, great pick. Who knows though? These positions are so weird.
SPEAKER_00Oh yeah, not an elite edge. Yeah, but no, like, yeah, we could definitely still go edge, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can always have more trenches.
SPEAKER_00How are you feeling?
SPEAKER_01I feel good.
SPEAKER_00Gonna straight up.
SPEAKER_01I know you don't want me to feel good, but I feel good because before you start m misquoting me, I'm gonna quote you when you said, I will be most scared of the Chiefs if they go secondary with their first pick. So quote Cole Dennis Mathewson? Cole Dennis Matthewson.
SPEAKER_00Cole Edmund Matthewson. Oh, okay. Dennis is my father.
SPEAKER_01I thought it was your dad after dad. Oh, sorry, Dennis. I thought Cole loved you more than that. Um, so I will say, before we get into anything, my whole my whole take is now about market. I was really disappointed when I first saw us trade up for the corner. Then everything came out that the Saints were making the same calls as us, and we had to up our deal. So if we really believe in this guy, go get your guy. That's a whole other take aside.
SPEAKER_00Like there was other teams fantasy football. I mean, this is Go get your guy.
SPEAKER_01But this is like the number one corner in the draft. And if there's there, we know there were three teams trying to get him, maybe five.
SPEAKER_00So I'm playing. I know. I I I am like I d that still holds true. It's like that was your biggest need. You went and got it. The value you left out there, I can't just fully get over.
SPEAKER_01I can because clearly we for months have been apparently secretly meeting with him, saying we wanted him, like it was in the building that this was the guy we wanted. So Chiefs are great at scouting corners. Normally we do it later, but normally we're picking later. So everyone's like, oh, Chiefs can always find corners late. We never pick in the top ten. So it's like we found this corner. I really wanted us to go edge at first because I thought the edges were gonna go quick. Then all these edges who me and most other people mocked, going in the mid-first round and late first round, all fell to the second round. I think the mock draft community, the media community, and the fans had a different market value on these edges and corners and O-linemen than the draft did. The O-linemen went really fast, wide receivers went really fast, and edges completely fell, and there was only two corners taking in the first round after my guy, Delane, who I'm gonna get his jersey, he the next guy was Chris Johnson, who most people had as a sixth or seventh rate corner. Like, it felt like there was a huge fall-off in the NFL's mind between corner one and the next corners.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I have a pretty hot take here. And listeners, hold me accountable. If you disagree, let me know. But this might be my hottest take I've had since we started this pod.
SPEAKER_01What's your hot take?
SPEAKER_00And you might even disagree with me. So maybe I'm just maybe I'm wrong, but my hot take is that Emma Cavage is not a complete idiot, and that the things she says don't just mean nothing. And she doesn't just talk out of the side of her neck, and her ball knowledge or her college football ball knowledge is not just uh who knows? I don't know. It is what it is. Yeah, I don't know. I thought you made, you know, some sense when you were talking about that first pick last week. That's why it just kind of shocked me. You loved this trade-up so much. Here's my I took it easy on you. The one quote I want to talk about too is we can't generate a rush unless we send six. Like fuck five. We really can't generate a rush unless we send six. Which even if we have great corners, that leaves them out to dry.
SPEAKER_01Like that's a great quote.
SPEAKER_00I mean, it's Yeah, I mean you were on to something there. So I do think just with there is like three guys on the board defensively, I think we're way better value. I get it, get your guy. I would have been like best case scenario, you sit at nine and take Delane and you keep seven. We know that wasn't possible tight end. That's true. For me, then it's okay. Now we have to use our strength of identifying other good quarterbacks, and we'll take an amazing, better player than Delane. Not at the position, but a better player.
SPEAKER_01We had him green as a top five player on our board. So to me, I like had I didn't know that, but you're right. We were terrible at generating a rush this year. Our s our second and third pick were dedicated to the D-line. Peter Woods, I felt true.
SPEAKER_00Maybe you're fine. Like if if I felt what's his name, the Edge Thomas.
SPEAKER_01R. Mason Thomas. Yeah. He what I like about him is he's a speed rusher. Got Peter Woods, Chris Joan, we got your guy Tonga. We're gonna be fine at like power middle stopping the run. I think Thomas is only gonna play like second and third downs, like, and literally just be there to get the passer, which I'd be happy with. It sounds like we have if our D-line is a mix of Chris Jones, Peter Woods, R. Mason Thomas, Tonga, and George Carloftis, those are like five guys who it's a little more capable. Honestly, I was really annoyed when I first saw the trade-up, but then seeing how the board felt did change my mind. I mean, we thought you guys were gonna go edge in the 20s, 30s, whatever your pick was, like late first round, 20, we've traded up, but you didn't, which surprised me. And I think people knew that this edge group was falling. There was a huge chunk of the city.
SPEAKER_00But that's not the edge group you guys were involved in. You were involved in a potential topic, like could be the best defensive player in the draft. I would have been more scared if you guys went, Caleb. I know safety is less of a concern, but it's still secondary and it just anchors it. Like, we talked about trading up with the Browns, actually, on our pot a lot, but that was for David Bailey. Yeah. Like that's what we thought you'd be getting. If you were moving up to the Browns, we thought you'd be getting the almost maybe the best edge in the draft. Like for that trade-up to be cornered, it's tough.
SPEAKER_01I was right about one thing. David Bailey or Arvell Reese fell. So that did happen. I didn't want Arville Reese because I think he's a linebacker trying to play edge for money reasons. And our our best defensive group is linebacker. So Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Your other, what happened to I'd rather have a C secondary and an A plus line if I had to pick one.
SPEAKER_01Hmm. That's actually that's a good point. I think right now, week one, we're looking at a B-ish secondary, considering it's young guys. But I think.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, he'll take a few, take a few weeks to.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, their upside is huge. I do think the five guys I named feels like an A to A minus line.
SPEAKER_00For Edge, yeah. I mean, it's really about Thomas, because that's the only edge you're adding, unless Chris Jones is moving back to Edge.
SPEAKER_01But like I mean, I think some packages he will, some packages he won't. My other take though is I I think I've been traumatized by D-line watching the Chiefs and the Patriots get blown out. And part of that though wasn't necessarily true Edge, but just a four who could work all together. So if we have a four or five guys who can work all together, like it doesn't necessarily have to come from the edge, if that makes sense. Even though I I thought it did, I I still sometimes think, oh like maybe a better option is like it goes like we just rush four and we can get someone up the center. You know, I the Spags quote was the quickest way to get to the quarterback's up the center.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. That's true. We'll see. I I like the honesty, I liked most of your other picks. I thought you had a nice fall at receiver.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_00Peter Woods, I don't know if I would have gone Peter Woods, maybe I would have gone like Falk there or got another true edge there.
SPEAKER_01I love the Peter Woods pick. I really liked the Peter Woods pick. Um I think Clemson had a historically bad year, and it'll go down as like what happened with Clemson in 2025. Like they had so much talent. It felt like off coaching wise, it felt off quarterback-wise. Defense had to be on the field a lot because offense was giving the ball away. Peter Woods, this feels like a Chiefs pick because of the crazy upside. His upside is like Chris Jones. I saw his comp was like Aaron Donald. That's like that's the best D lineman of all time. Like, whatever. Yeah. But like his that's his ceiling, though, is being that good. And the fact that he has all these great measurables, he had a couple good years of college tape. This feels like a Spags project of like I this is we have a good culture, we got a good D coordinator, we can develop him.
SPEAKER_00Totally. I think the the risk is absolutely risk reward if his ceiling hits, like, obviously. I think the market-wise, the league was telling you the the trend down, this guy was falling out of the first round. Like, I like that kind of risk in the second round where it's like maybe the best player in the draft in the second round, like I do think people had him as a late late first-round pick, mid to late round. Yeah, maybe someone else snags him, but I do think like good players can exist on bad teams. You see that all the time in the NFL, especially at those positions. Yeah. Like, I think just because your team is bad doesn't mean your production should totally fall off. But I agree. Maybe he's amazing. Like, I really don't know that. I don't know too much. I expected you guys to go edge, just so it is a little interesting, especially when you're paying. That's the highest paid position on your team is the position you drafted there, besides Mahomes.
SPEAKER_01But that's but um I think technically Chris Jones makes more than Mahomes this year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay, he's the highest paid position. You're like getting his replacement, but he's got years left. Like, ideally, you didn't need to draft a replacement for Chris Jones yet.
SPEAKER_01My my I like the model of we bring someone in for like no money and and they get to. I'm trying to see where I'm trying to remember where Caden McDonald went. Um because Caden McDonald. Where did he go?
SPEAKER_00I don't remember either.
SPEAKER_01He went to the Texans, right? Yeah. They're loaded up with Yeah, I thought that was weird because I thought that was weird because like Yeah, I don't know. I thought that was who there's a D-tackle who went before Peter Woods. I don't think it was Katie McDonald. One of them did, and it's Banks.
SPEAKER_00Banks to the Vikings.
SPEAKER_01That was a reach, that was the reach.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, obviously, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Most people were deciding between McDonald and Woods as the D-tackle one in the draft. Some Mox had the other, some Mox had the other. It's kind of great for Peter Woods and Katie McDonald that they're now going to two great defensive minds and get to develop. So in my mind, we either got I think we we know we got the best corner in the draft. We either got the first or second best D-tackle in this draft. Like when you're talking about prospects. So that feels like a slam dunk. Edge-wise, we got one of those guys in tier two. It wasn't that Arvo Reese, David Bailey tier. Um, I don't know where to put Ruben Bain, because again, the tape is so good. It's just the man.
SPEAKER_00Bane's in that. Bane's in that group.
SPEAKER_01I would say if those guys are the A tier, B's like Bane is in a tier by himself, if that makes sense. Like he's That's fair. And then that whole group of R. Mason Thomas, Cassius Howe, Zion Young, they all went right after the other in some order. Um we feel like he's the right guy for us. I think because of the speed. Like Zion Young was on the board, but he's more power and we already have power. In my mind, our first four picks are either starters day one or rotational players day one. So yeah. I think Delane and Woods are starters. Maybe we take Woods out for like oh see, the sirens are heating up again. The draft podcast is like.
SPEAKER_00I mean, that's my concern is like Delane has to be. He has to start and play every snap, basically. Like, my that that's where I just struggle. It's not even that, like, I think you guys fucked up, but it's disaster. It's like, I think it was bad, it's bad business by Veach. Maybe I'll be proven wrong, but I can think of like eight things that happened this year that we could look back and be like, they would have been better off if they did that move differently. Which it is, it's it's any of those three players on defense being much better and like winning defensive player of the year, which is Downs. I think Downs could be way better in the secondary than Delane. If that happens, that's a disaster. If Sonny Styles is like amazing, or if Bain is amazing. And then if if McDuffie has a better year this year than Delane, it's a mistake to me. It's a difference of $20 million, this huge McDuffie contract. That's I just I don't know.
SPEAKER_01Well, so the money-wise, that's an oversimplification because the way you file your rookie money, it's different. It's just in a different category. You're slotted it, right?
SPEAKER_00Like the whatever category it's in, it's dollars and cents. Like it is, it's an amount of money.
SPEAKER_01It's not because we already knew we'd be paying the rookie contract, no matter who we're picking it, right?
SPEAKER_00But not like that doesn't go towards against your cap.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but it's that's like it's pre-factored in. It's not having to give somebody a huge contract. I think I'm glad we didn't go down their styles, even though they might end up being these generational players, because I felt like we had a safety was the one secondary position that actually got a check in the offseason, where every corner we brought in were these like first round busts or someone who was a backup. So that felt and again, I think Nick Bolton, I mean, he might not be the he's a top three linebacker in the league, and I don't even think that's debatable. Like, we are great at linebacker. When we were losing this year, Nick Bolton was still leading the league in stats. Like, it is cr he is insane. When you have this is a take I've heard a lot from Colin Cower, John Middlecoff, about like where the Chiefs were at is they didn't need as many things as people wanted as people thought we needed, but we needed specific things. So we went and we got those specific things, and yes, we risked a lot to get them, but I think Delane would be a defensive remote candidate.
SPEAKER_00Right. I mean, he has to be, or it's the wrong was the wrong pick. That's what I'm saying. Like, we're gonna know this year if you guys reached out. Him or not. I just think, man, if you just like You draft good players and then you sign the players. Like we don't I think McDuffie could try. I know we were you were out on him too, but like man, Jaden. If you just paid McDuffie, you do not have a lead at corner. And you can that is that can be an amazing pick.
SPEAKER_01You cannot pay a slot corner X corner money. You just cannot do that. That to me was a disastrous business move by the Rams as a we need to win. Like, this is again where the Rams aren't aligning. If they have to win these next two years, give McDuffie that big contract, but don't draft Ty Simpson. Like to me, you can like it felt like we have I think at least seven, if not ten years of Mahomes left, right? So it is you can't pay someone that much money when Mahomes is gonna need a recontract restructure.
SPEAKER_00Um it's not that it's $30 million a year. Like that's what bad receivers get. Like I just think you can find that money for a really good corner that you drafted. But it's I don't know if I buy it.
SPEAKER_01It's that he's a slot corner and he he gets torched by true number one receivers. Like, even you took it.
SPEAKER_00But keep him and then use that your second first on the next best corner.
SPEAKER_01He couldn't keep him because he wanted that money. He wanted top money.
SPEAKER_00But to me, 30 million is completely like doable to put it.
SPEAKER_01No, he reset the corner market. It's again 30 million a year. What the? He reset the corner market. That he that he's now the highest paid corner. And but I don't care if it's like But like this is this is a business decision. McDuffie's a great player.
SPEAKER_00I guess that's my point. I think I don't mind Delane. I think Delane will be good. Delane has drafted off need. I just think it was bad business from the Chiefs. Like, you had you didn't have a need, you didn't pay the player that you drafted and was really good. Then you created a huge need with the best pick you're ever gonna have in Mahomes' career. You just have to use the city. We loaded up on picks.
SPEAKER_01We're still we're still gonna feel the McDuffie trade next year with picks. You even agreed with me that we got more picks than we would have thought for McDuffie. McDuffie got more than Jalen Waddell.
SPEAKER_00Like, it is I guess it just doesn't feel like that. Because basically, instead of drafting uh we're in it now. Well, instead of drafting at nine, really six, it felt like you were just re replacing that need you have, and then your your actual first pick to add something to the team is at 29.
SPEAKER_01I think they're completely different players. So, first off, he's a full two inches bigger than McDuffie. McDuffie is not even six feet tall. That he is a full two inches bigger than McDuffie. He was an all-I'm not arguing.
SPEAKER_00The argument is not that he's better or worse. I'm sure he's slightly better than McDuffie.
SPEAKER_01No, my take is that think about the quarterbacks we play. Think about the wide receivers we play. The reason we lost McDuffie is the reason we lost the Cowboys game. That is the and the reason we lost the Cowboys game is the reason we were in an elimination game with the Chargers when the homes got hurt. Like that, like to me, those little margins are so important. My problem with McDuffie was that we can't. It's just I look at slot corner and outside corner as two different positions. If he was willing to take what I would have valued at slot corner top of the market, which is definitely less than 30 million a year, considering that he can't lock down outside receivers. Whereas Delane's ceiling is he can lock down outside receivers, he only plays on the outside. That is his spot. And we we don't have an outside corner, like a true his ceiling is like Christian Gonzalez, Derek Stingley, Pat Sertan. Like that is the comp for him, like being on the outside. Whereas McDuffie, because of his size and physical limitations and the style that he plays, he would never be able to truly transition to the outside, right? And when we did put him on the outside, we were pretty exposed. So to me, this was a move of like McDuffie's a great player, he was perfect for what he is, probably the best slot corner in the league, but financially, we can't play a slot corner the type of money he wants. Let's go see if we can invest in a true outside corner. And I think if Delane is as good as the Chiefs think he will be, they will pay Delane because again, outside corner is just a different position.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So Yeah, I yeah. I mean, I stand by what I say. I just don't think it was. It just didn't feel like best case. Like, I'd be much more scared of you if you still had McDuffie, took Delaney. No, you could have got No, didn't even take Delane. Like, that's what I mean. You wouldn't, you didn't need to use that capital if you had McDuffie. You wouldn't be as good, but then you'd have your rush would be so much better. But that was your take was our cornerbacks didn't have a fair shot because we never got pressure.
SPEAKER_01But also, like, again, we improved the D-line. We didn't do it with our first pick, but we improved the D-line in signings and our second and third pick. It's to me, I'm not gonna repeat myself. It's just about the fact that McDuffie is not an outside corner. That's the right thing.
SPEAKER_00No, I hear that argument. Right. I and I'm not doing it as a comparison. I don't think I'm not comparing the two.
SPEAKER_01Very different players.
SPEAKER_00Right, but you don't need to use trade 74, move up his contract by $10 million guaranteed to draft him at six. If you still had McDuffie, you could have taken the wheel corner. We can't. That's an outside corner.
SPEAKER_01Now we don't have to now we save money by trading those picks, also. So the money argument goes both ways. And again, if we felt like this is a dealt at 74.
SPEAKER_00Like you that's the one thing you didn't get in the draft. No, to be fair, different argument. You didn't get a tight end to learn under Kelsey. Oh, okay. Which might have been a big mistake.
SPEAKER_01Who's the best GM in the league, in your opinion? Yes. I have a Howie Roseman quote for you. If you solved everything with your draft, you probably made a mistake and reached on several players.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So I don't see how that applies at all.
SPEAKER_01Because we did that's true. We we got running back in the offseason, right? We're trusting that our new wide receiver coach is gonna develop wide receivers. We didn't solve a lot of the questions we have in our draft, but we found good value. We took guys we wanted, right? We took guys who could start right now. So that's how that quote applies. Again, to me, if I it it fills me with like passion when the Chiefs were like, this was our guy for months, we had to jump the Saints, and also Saints fans are tweeting out, like, fuck my life, they jumped ahead of us for my homes and now they jumped ahead of us for delayed. Like, it's honestly kind of goaded because like that's we did we've done that to them twice now and could be two generational players. We know it's one generational player, so yeah.
SPEAKER_00No, I I don't agree. If it works out, great, but he needs to be like he needs to be good by November. Or my take again is just bad business. Like, if it was if the plan was to sell the secondary, we're gonna develop a new set. I mean, obviously, like I don't think it's really that much on the board that Delane is gonna be better than McDuffie this year. Like, I think that's an awful lot to ask of a rookie.
SPEAKER_01I think it is, I think he might feel better than McDuffie because of the position he plays. I think slot corner can be a very not glamorous role. Like that you know McDuff, you know how many interceptions McDuffie had for the Chiefs?
SPEAKER_00How many?
SPEAKER_01It was like we went over this a few packets to go. It was either three or four in his whole five years of.
SPEAKER_00But that's that interceptions isn't really what corner is about to me. Like that's true. Christian Gonzalez is not an interception cornerback, and he might be the best cornerback in the league. Like, I just think.
SPEAKER_01That's true, but he Again, it's just such a I I don't want to review myself. It's just to me, it all boils down to we had to get rid of him because he's not an outside corner and he wanted that money. And you can't, that's you can't sustain the type of players we want to bring in by paying a player way above their value.
SPEAKER_00Right, which I think you're doing with like Chris Jones right now, which is killing you. I just think, to me, as a fan, like it's not my money. I get it if your owner didn't want to shell out the 30 million a year for him, but like I don't think it was actually gonna affect the cap all that much. Like cap rises.
SPEAKER_01It was gonna kill the cap.
SPEAKER_00It also is But that's probably that to me is like Delphi is the kind of guy you should be paying. Like, let Rita get let Chris go. He's too much. It's not even about the cap.
SPEAKER_01You're not listening. It's not about the cap, it's about what the positional value, right? It's positional value. Slot corner is valued way under outside corner. So and he wanted outside corner money. It's positional value, so it's not even about the fact that it would have killed our cap. It's about the fact that you gotta pay, you gotta stick to the market. You have to. That's how you keep good players across the board. And I'm just gonna hype up my guy Delane. Taller and bigger than McDuffie. He you we know this stats already gone viral. No touchdowns allowed this last year at college. No touchdowns allowed. Do you know how many first downs he allowed? Just guess. Five. Seven total in the SEC. Like he what I like about him is he's really great in coverage. He has great, he is, I would say pretty good interception and great force fumble numbers, but even more than that, he tackles, and you can't be a Spags corner without tackling.
SPEAKER_00Totally. No, I hear that. You could go down the line though with Caleb Downs, Sonny Styles, Ruben Bain, talk about all that stuff. Like, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01But it's not about the best player. It's about best player for your needs. Sonny Styles was not a need. Caleb Downs was not a need. Right. It was a need.
SPEAKER_00Yes, that is my exact point. Thank you. I if the Chiefs hadn't created this insane need, they could have upped another part of their team in a major way.
SPEAKER_01But we don't need a linebacker.
SPEAKER_00We have one of the best linebacker groups in the NFL. Edge. You could have like there's so you could have just added an elite elite player. Instead, you were you ended up trading so much capital moving up.
SPEAKER_01I think Monsort Line is gonna be a better player in five years than Ruben Bain, based off of pure measurables alone. Like pure talent alone. Like he he was the fastest corner in the draft by multiple like split seconds.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but again to me it's like it's not like you're oh we're adding this corner. It's like no, you lost both your corners and now you're adding it that's how the draft works. Ideally, it nah.
SPEAKER_01Ideally it doesn't we created a need.
SPEAKER_00It wasn't ideal though, I give you that.
SPEAKER_01We created a need, but it we filled it better for the future.
SPEAKER_00The need was filled, I'll give you that. But nothing was added. Exactly.
SPEAKER_01I I think we added we added two D-linemen, a Russian and a D-tackle.
SPEAKER_00You do see my point. Like that this is the is a this is the best draft take you'll ever have in Mahomes' career. And instead of using it on that, like we got the next like.
SPEAKER_01This is values we've assigned to players. I'm this is the value that the NFL and the Chiefs front office have assigned, right? Because the we know the Saints and the Commanders were also trying to get to Lane. It's also been rumored the Cowboys and the Dolphins were trying to get Delane. So there's five teams going after this guy, right?
SPEAKER_00Four of the like worst front offices in the history of the league, but yes, I hear.
SPEAKER_01The Saints have a pretty good front office. Um like I would say that they're they're considered a pretty good drafting team.
SPEAKER_00Been around it for like five years, but I don't know.
SPEAKER_01I think that you just want to hate on the pick. You said you really don't care if he was secondary. I think I think he's gonna be defensive rookie of the year. I think he's gonna be defensive rookie of the year.
SPEAKER_00Okay, like if that happens, great pick.
SPEAKER_01If that doesn't happen, like there's a lot of finalist for defensive rookie of the year, it's a great pick. It's hard to win defensive rookie of the year as a corner.
SPEAKER_00Typically because I'll give you that too. If he's a finalist, like that's to me, like he has to be that. Otherwise.
SPEAKER_01I think this was a disaster for the I expect him to be a star by November. I mean, again, it's the first two months of the year, it's like rookies are fighting their footing. I'm not gonna kill him in September.
SPEAKER_00Um, I expect him to be. Me neither. But if you are losing games, it's like, oh, you should have kept your vet and McDuffie and added an insane edge.
SPEAKER_01Well, are you stupid?
SPEAKER_00How is that not an option?
SPEAKER_01You're being stupid. You can't pay a slot corner X money. You just can't.
SPEAKER_00The Rams can.
SPEAKER_01Well, I like it for the Rams if they're going all in on two years. I liked it a lot more before they drafted Ty Simpson, to be honest. Because it felt like they were going all in for two or three years.
SPEAKER_00But see, they're saying the same thing you're saying. See, we actually didn't need much, so we had the availability to do that.
SPEAKER_01Oh, we need we needed more than the Rams.
SPEAKER_00But yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01But again, I think our first four picks are going to be starters. Delane is Delane's gonna be a starter no matter what. Uh Peter Woods is going to be a starter. Our Mason Thomas is going to be in rotational downs. I don't like he's not gonna be in for first downs with like where people where they're playing the run. He's not so great against the run. And then Kennedy are we he's a hybrid safety in slot corner. So to me, he he's also gonna get some playing time. Maybe inside, maybe back as a safety. I mean, great versatile spags play. I love it.
SPEAKER_00Your defense got so much better. I'd be lying if I wasn't like, okay, Mahomes coming off an injury, you didn't add a tackle, you waited till the fifth round to had a receiver. I don't know.
SPEAKER_01We don't we don't need a tackle. We do not need a tackle. We've already invested too much in tackle. We don't need a tackle.
SPEAKER_00Like Josh Simmons was It looked tough for Mahomes with that line.
SPEAKER_01Well, this is what everyone's saying. Everyone's going off of our hurt line. When we were playing with our line is when the Chiefs were good last year. There was a five-week stretch where we were the number one Super Bowl odds and Mahomes was number one MVP. And that was the time, obviously, when the line was healthy. Things fell apart when the line fell apart, just like every team.
SPEAKER_00So Josh Simmons. That's not like a there's no guarantee linemen linemen are sometimes never the same after an injury. Like counting on an injured line.
SPEAKER_01Josh Simmons wasn't injured, though. That was a mysterious thing. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Um Josh Simmons jury's still out. We'll see.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I he was so good when he played that if he doesn't disappear again, I'm all he I'm fully back in on him, right? Okay. Like I think he he was a top five rated tackle when he played. Now, best of best qualities availability, right? So that that shit can't happen again. Like, but I wasn't worried about our line at all, like, to be honest. Like, we're the interior of our line is set, and we have Josh Simmons as long as he plays, he's good. I mean, that right tackle position we're having a battle for in camp, but we've already added guys in these previous drafts to battle for that right tackle position. So we just we can't do that. And as for the weapons, I mean Kenneth Walker is gonna be huge, and I'm not where do you rank Rashi wide receiver-wise? Because when he played, he was a top five fantasy wide receiver, right?
SPEAKER_00I think yeah, I don't know why I rank Rashi. I think it's more just like we're basically running the offense back plus a new running back.
SPEAKER_01Well, that was a huge that was that's a huge addition. People never stuff the box on us, right? And I think either they're not gonna stuff the box and open things up for Walker, or they are gonna stuff the box and open things up for Mahomes. They're asking Mahomes and Bienname to do what they did in 2022.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I guess that's true. Bienemy is the biggest addition to the offense.
SPEAKER_01Kenneth Walker and Bienname. But the question is, where do you rank Rasheed? That is what the question is.
SPEAKER_00I guess it's hard. I don't know. We haven't seen a whole season for like I don't have a like, oh, this is what he does in a whole season stat line to really go off of.
SPEAKER_01If he is, I like him a lot. Expect a full season of Rasheed for him to emerge as a true number one option. Not like Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, but he's gonna be more of that slot number one option. So I think I think part of this is that we're getting Rasheed for a full season. They owe it to the wide receivers they've drafted to try and run it with these wide receivers, right? We spent a lot of picks on wide receiver. We had a wide receiver coach who never played wide receiver because he was a Nepo hire by Clark Hunt, big L by the Hunt family. And, you know, Andy and Bianca put a stop to that, and they brought in the old Patriots wide receiver coach who worked with Edelman and all those guys. So to me, the we need to develop wide receivers. We can't just throw darts over and over again. I do like Cyrus Allen. I felt like he was a steal of the draft for us. Um yeah, he got good value there. Good value.
SPEAKER_00I agree. I guess I guess that's yeah, the biggest offensive changes is coaching. The receiver coach and the coordinator.
SPEAKER_01Even if Kenneth Walker's not a top five running back, we know this, but he's still the best running back Mahomes has ever had. And if people leave the box open, he's going to break off big runs. So they can't do that. It'll have to be that they respect the running game a little, which will completely change the offense. Again, I think the plan for the offense is Mahomes and Bianami are gonna do what they did in 2022. Uh plus a better run game. A lot of dinking and dunking. Yeah, I mean, it's a it's a really good plan.
SPEAKER_00It worked pretty well, but yeah, exactly.
SPEAKER_01I also think Rashi is better than any wide receiver we had in 2022. Any wide receiver we had in 2022.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Um just like, I guess the thing with Rashi and the weapons is like, why was it bad last year?
SPEAKER_01Well, Rashi was Rasheed hasn't played a full season with us, and Worthy was hurt. Um, so I think that we gotta give him a chance this year.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I also think it'll take time to do it.
SPEAKER_00I do feel good about your defense post-draft. Defense, it's young. It'll take time to develop. You gotta hope you don't lose games early.
SPEAKER_01By January, we'll be good.
SPEAKER_00Defense will be good. Offense. I mean, hopefully, yeah. Hopefully, it's just coaching.
SPEAKER_01The offense will be good if Mahomes is good. That is my take. What tells me about our.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I I think this is what I've seen from the Chiefs. The defense was a huge problem last year, which I agree. We couldn't get off the field in third down. We let up a lot of third and longs. We had issues stopping the run, and we typically never have issues stopping the run. So what t what what the draft told me the Chiefs felt the defense needed a major personnel upgrade and to get younger. We cut a lot of older guys who people don't know as well. People only know Chris Jones, but there was old guys scattered throughout the entire defense. Those guys have been cut. Um, we trust Spags, we trust Chris Jones, we trust Nick Bolton. That's what the draft tells me is that we're adding more help to those guys on defense, right? What also the draft tells me is the Chiefs felt like their offense would be majorly upgraded with a running game. Which is true. You could go back and watch the tape, how people play us, they know we're not running the ball, and they know if we're running the ball, we're getting two yards because we have bad running backs. So the run game in the enemy, I think, is is gonna be a show.
SPEAKER_00For me, like the run game. I think the walk Walker's coming off the longest and the most successful season of his career. So kind of what we're talking about with CMC. Like if it's every other year, it could be disaster too.
SPEAKER_01I think Emmett Emmett Johnson's gonna play.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I guess so. I just think run game is not fully about like Saquon on the Giants. Run game is not always about the running back, and the Chiefs haven't had a good run game in five-ish years. Is that just every running back they've had has sucked? Or is there the scheme is the line?
SPEAKER_01That's Andy doesn't run the ball. But now we brought in the enemy who led the league with two rushers last year, had two of the biggest rush, right? He had a great dual backfield. So I trust, I think Trey Smith and Creed Humphrey are great interior. Trey Smith has gone on interviews saying he's really excited to run the ball more. That was who he was out of college. He was a running blocker, right? So I think, yeah, I'm not worried about the line. I'm worried about the number of times a run play is called, but I think B enemy will help with that. My take is that part of it was that Andy's a pass happy guy, and but I think with the Mahomes injury, he's gonna be like, you know, let's ease Patrick in. Build a strong run game. They can't expect Patrick to be Superman in September. That is my take. They can expect him to be Superman maybe post-Halloween or post-Christmas, like around that time.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01But in September, they can't ask Patrick to put the team on his back like he did last year. That's how he got hurt. He was leading the league rushing as a big thing. So, no, I my expectation for the Chiefs is to be right back in the AFC Championship.
SPEAKER_00Big, big jump. Gotta beat a playoff team first.
SPEAKER_01I mean, I will go down swinging that Mahomes was a 500 team last year, which is not good, but it was still a 500 team, and then we just tanked. I've never seen a team tank like some like we tanked after Mahomes went down.
SPEAKER_00We were like sitting there like See, no, you're that's Chiefs and Screen of the Nair. You guys were irrelevant and out of it with the water. We were not irrelevant.
SPEAKER_01See, this is crazy. That we were not irrelevant. That Chargers That Chargers Chiefs game was one of the biggest games of the week when Mahomes went down. Because people were like, if the Chiefs win this game, they will make the playoffs. Like, it was an elimination game, and he went down with the ball in field goal range off of a dirty hit.
SPEAKER_00Like while losing the game, yeah. But I don't know, in a must-win game with less than five minutes left. Mahomes doesn't have the lead.
SPEAKER_01He was gonna win that game.
SPEAKER_00He was going to No, we cannot make up facts and now about it.
SPEAKER_01Um he had the ball in field goal range, ready to tie the game, and then Gardner Mincher threw a pick.
SPEAKER_00Like they were right on the edge, just outside field goal range, losing in a must-win game to a team they knew.
SPEAKER_01Mahomes just got, but like, we can't rewrite history. Mahomes just got the first down. Like, that was a great Mahomes game, honestly. I mean, he started.
SPEAKER_00Mahomes was healthy, suited up against five playoff teams in 2020.
SPEAKER_01But again, lost to all of them.
SPEAKER_00Like, I don't think it they weren't closed. You're being a dick.
SPEAKER_01That's an oversimplification. It's not. It's one, it's a simple fact. No, he that's that is an oversimplification. He he beat the Lions, the Ravens, and the Colts.
SPEAKER_00Awful teams. At the time.
SPEAKER_01At the time, the Colts were.
SPEAKER_00Colts is the one who, if they didn't have injured, they would have a playoff team.
SPEAKER_01Also, Ravens were.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, but everyone knew they were frauds.
SPEAKER_01The Ravens. That's not true. No one was like, the Colts are the best. In October, I was like, I think the Colts are frauds. And you were like, no, that's a bad take. They're good. Like, I literally remember that conversation. And the Ravens, that was the biggest game at the time. The Lions, that was the biggest game of the time. Both of them were confident wins. I think the team was.
SPEAKER_00That's the thing, at the time, they were bad teams last year that most teams beat, is who the Ravens and the Lions were.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, but I mean at the time the Ravens were. We beat the Ravens. Right.
SPEAKER_00We beat the Falcons when they were the best defense in the league and a made-like, no, they just went to the first time. And good for you. We can't go back and make stuff up from that.
SPEAKER_01I'm not making stuff up. My take is that the Chiefs were not a six-win team last year with Mahomes. They were a 500 team. That is my take. That they were 6-6, about to get eliminated, or have a game to put them up to make the playoffs, and Mahomes went down. I'm not saying they were a good team, but I'm not saying they were as bad as people think they were. That is my whole take. Like there's a big we probably, if Mahomes was healthy, we probably would have missed the playoffs at 10 and 7. We probably would have been a tiebreaker team that missed the playoffs. And honestly, that would have been worse than.
SPEAKER_00We'll never know. We'll never know. In 10 years, we're gonna say, remember the six-win season?
SPEAKER_01Like, no, in ten years we're gonna say, hey, he one time won a sea had won as many games as the rings he has. Like that's kind of crazy.
SPEAKER_00It was crazy. I'm still, I mean, the clock's still ticking. But I've got 400 days since he's been a player.
SPEAKER_01It was just a season from hell. But at the end of the year, I agree.
SPEAKER_00I think you can come back.
SPEAKER_01I think expecting AFC Championship as just AFC Championship or bust. AFC Championship or bust. I definitely don't think you're we're making the AFC Championship. It's like not even a negotiable. Like, if we don't make the AFC Championship, it's a disaster. Go, like, it is.
SPEAKER_00I mean, that's what I'm saying. I'm I think Veach needs to go. I think he's had like third badge.
SPEAKER_01It's such a great draft. Great draft by Veach.
SPEAKER_00Well, we don't know.
SPEAKER_01I think it was a great draft.
SPEAKER_00And also except before you thought you wanted him to do everything differently.
SPEAKER_01I didn't. I'm not a professional. You're an honorable fan. I'm not a professional. I'm not a professional.
SPEAKER_00I think that's a bullshit take. I think fans often know what's best for the team. And and teams think mistakes. We see it every half of these picks are gonna be disasters for the GMs in round one. Kiss moments. And the fans are gonna be right. Sometimes it is like fans are mad about a pick and then it's Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen and they look like idiots. Most of the time, the fans are keyed in to what their team needs.
SPEAKER_01For predictions week, I will be predicting Mahomes as comeback player of the year, which probably most people will be. And I'm predicting Delane as defensive rookie of the year. I will be predicting No, we could never win Coach of the Year. He's too he's too established. Um, but no, I mean I think the Chiefs are going back to the Super Bowl, or at least going to the AFC Championship. I again, we're not as far off as people think. The six win Chiefs were really the 500 Chiefs with Mahomes, and Mahomes was just keeping us afloat.
SPEAKER_00Right. I hear that, but here's where like you guys weren't, you weren't that, and then you added all these picks. You were that, you lost your entire secondary, you have no continuity, and then you did the job. Last time we lost.
SPEAKER_01Last time we lost our entire secondary, we won the Super Bowl. So I don't know. Like, and McDuffie was a rookie when that happened. That was the year we drafted that whole secondary group, won the Super Bowl. I think Delane's better than McDuffie. I'm putting that chip on the table right now. If the Rams force McDuffie to play outside, he's not gonna be able to cover JSN. He's not gonna be able to cover, well, he'll probably be able to cover Mike Evans, he's pretty old.
SPEAKER_00But like I mean, like, yeah, Delane's not this year. Delane's not gonna be able to cover JSN. Jamar Chase.
SPEAKER_01This year, Delane is gonna support the hell out of you.
SPEAKER_00The number ones.
SPEAKER_01He's Delane's gonna be, he's gonna be amazing. Peter Woods is gonna be amazing. R. Mason Thomas is gonna be amazing. Like Mahole. I don't know.
SPEAKER_00I think I know you think Patriots are clearly gonna be better than the Chiefs this year, in my opinion.
SPEAKER_01I guess just me and me and Vegas are just on the same page.
SPEAKER_00Uh God, I would not want to be there preseason with Vegas. They did everything wrong.
SPEAKER_01Vegas has you guys at uh eight or nine wins? Ooh, pretty disrespectful. Vegas has us at 10 or 11. Ooh, still disrespectful.
SPEAKER_00I think it's nine and a half to ten and a half.
SPEAKER_01I'm gonna say the Chiefs are winning 12 games, and Mahomes has averaged 13 wins his entire career, so let's let's knock it because he's coming off.
SPEAKER_00Mahomes is a 30-year-old coming off an ACL, so we'll see.
SPEAKER_01I mean, we've never seen a quarterback like him before. The way he trains helps you recover from injury. He trains in a new way, right? And I know you've disagreed. Like, it's just a fact. His feeling is different.
SPEAKER_00Okay.
SPEAKER_01He's. I'm I'm saying right now, the Chiefs are going deeper in the playoffs than the Patriots.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay.
SPEAKER_01And you're nervous about the Patriots.
SPEAKER_00The Chiefs gotta make the playoffs. I'll see that. Pats are into the playoffs. I think Pats are most Most people don't have you guys in the playoffs. That honestly doesn't surprise me, but like, most no one had us in the playoffs last year, and I was still pretty high on this.
SPEAKER_01You're a bully, you like to bully the Chiefs. Me, I've I've been I've been bullying.
SPEAKER_00I'm just voicing my concerns that you're unable to hear.
SPEAKER_01I don't have concerns.
SPEAKER_00I know you don't. It's impressive. You're a great fan.
SPEAKER_01I'm the big I'm the most diehard fan you'll meet. I mean, I have no concerns. I my only concern actually is that we develop our wide receivers. I'll be honest, that's a concern. Because we have not been.
SPEAKER_00Your offense. The offense is the concern. The defense should be good. You need to be able to not think about that.
SPEAKER_01There's a difference. I'm not worried about the offense because I think we're gonna change the way we play offense a little bit to help Mahomes.
SPEAKER_00That would make me nervous.
SPEAKER_01I mean, if we run the ball more than a game.
SPEAKER_00One three Super Bowls, don't change it too much.
SPEAKER_01If we run the ball more than eight times a game, we're changing the way we play offense. So I think that needs to change. But my concern, I would say my biggest concern is I want to make sure we're developing wide receivers. But that's like a general note that we've had over the last few years has been a problem. So Yeah. No, I'm putting right now, board bet, Chiefs are going deeper in the playoffs than the Patriots are.
SPEAKER_00Oh, yeah, I'll take that all day. I'll start looking at jerseys, honestly. Let's do that. We haven't just done it. Loser buys the other team a jersey.
SPEAKER_01Okay, let me send you a Monsour Delaine jersey link, uh, defensive rookie of the year version.
SPEAKER_00Actually, Honestly, send that to me. I'll I'll just have you buy it anyway, and then I'll just burn it right up in front. Like a nice $200 jersey.
SPEAKER_01No, I mean, I'm gonna get you what? Uh no jersey because you'll be kissing Mahomes' fourth ring after we crush you guys in the AFC champions.
SPEAKER_00It's gonna be more about who can make the playoffs, you know what I mean?
SPEAKER_01I I'm not betting against the Patriots to make the playoffs because I'm a good friend. I'm a did you hear that? I'm a very good friend.
SPEAKER_00No, I'm not betting against you guys either, but ugh man, I don't know. It's a long way to go. It's not well that's my thing. We're not where we usually are with the Chiefs, which I feel like is still how your mind is operating with one fluke year. We have now seen one fluke year.
SPEAKER_01If you go back, if we go back to the AFC Championship this year, you have to admit it was a fluke year. Like sure.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Mahomes is amazing off the ACL. Yeah. Yeah. Like, absolutely. I'm so fine doing that. I'm not gonna hold in my ways and be like, no, no.
SPEAKER_01Like maybe I'm wrong, but I'm way nicer about the Patriots than you are about the Chiefs. I'm one of the only people I know who's picking y'all to win the division.
SPEAKER_00That's fair. But I think that's because you hate it. But that's not no, that's a fake stack because you fucking hate the Bills.
SPEAKER_01I'm a good friend. No, it's because I'm a good friend. You're a bad friend. You're like, I hope Mahomes gets hurt. Like, no, that's not at all.
SPEAKER_00Now you're putting words in my mouth. But you had like I'm not gonna. You're so positive. You're so positive about the Chiefs. Like, you do need someone in your ear. You guys won six games. And not a lot is different. Mahomes. It's like that's why you try to compare it to every time. Not the same. Not the same.
SPEAKER_01Well, sorry that Brady got to beat up the worst division.
SPEAKER_00Sorry, Brady always makes the playoffs.
SPEAKER_01He got yeah, and then Mahomes has never lost in the AFC bracket in regul in regular time. Isn't that crazy?
SPEAKER_00Brady has never lost in the playoffs to Patrick Mahomes. Because he's so much better than him.
SPEAKER_01But Mahomes has had a better first seven years than anyone we've ever seen. So I'm gonna trust that that's gonna continue. You know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Four is already so much lower than Brady's.
SPEAKER_01Even with a down year, like, even with a down year, he still is the most winning quarterback in his first seven years. Isn't that crazy?
SPEAKER_00No, that's exactly what I'd expect, honestly.
SPEAKER_01And he has the best stats out of anyone in their first seven years. So I expect a Biennaby resurgence, Mahomes 4,000 yards and 38 touchdowns.
SPEAKER_02Alright.
SPEAKER_01I hope that there's I want there to be less touchdowns, though, than um I mean we need to run the ball a little more on the goal. Right.
SPEAKER_00If we're changing the offense, this is gonna be one of my homes' worst statistically like you gotta pick which is it? Are we changing the offense or is Mahomes?
SPEAKER_01Well, this is our board bet Loser buys the winner of Jersey, Chiefs going deeper than the past.
SPEAKER_00You're on, you're on.
SPEAKER_01You're on. Have a good day, listeners. Comment who you're rooting for.