Wentz Wins the Wentz Trade, the Urgency to Get a QB Now | NFL Deep Dive

Published Feb 22, 2021, 4:10 PM

This past week brought an end to the long-running saga of the Carson Wentz trade, as the Eagles finally agreed to send him to what might have been the only suitor: Indianapolis. Jenny and Gary discuss whether the Wentz-Frank Reich marriage will work in Indy, and more than that, why the Colts ultimately had to act with urgency to get the QB.

Right now, the QB market is thinning out for teams who don't have a top-10 pick, as the Colts got their guy but the Patriots, Football Team and Bears, among others, are still looking for answers that might not be there. How a thin veteran market, and a projected weak group of QBs for 2022, is putting some teams in a bind. And why it makes it even more obvious that the Texans will have to give in to Deshaun Watson's trade demand sooner rather than later.

Plus, Michael Fabiano stops by for the weekly SI Fantasy segment.

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Hello, and welcome to the mm to be Monday Morning NFL podcast. I'm Gary Brandling. I'm joined by Jenny Brentis of The week Side Podcast and uh, Jenny, we are going to open with a big move that the Eagles made this week, which as we all know, is moving Jennard Avery from defensive line to linebacker. Uh. The the the defensive player they acquired for their upcoming forth their I'm think I will say though, Andy, I used to talk about Jennard Avery every once in a while. We both like him, we both think he's a good player, So maybe that is the headline this This is a podcast that really delves into the unexpected. It picks unique angles, really, you know, really picks apart other parts of the game that others might not see. So Gary, I think this is a great lead. In four and a half hours on Jinnard Avery settling everyone, now we are we are going to talk Carson Wentz. We're also going to talk the rest of this quarterback market, which is, uh, it feels unusual right now, we'll talk about whether it really is unusual. I mean, it's unusual. There are a lot of more guys out there, but I think there's a certain amount of panic setting into with some teams, and we'll we'll kind of talk about whether they should be panicky. I think they should be panicky. I think Jenny's a little more level headed about this whole thing, which is why should make a much more better general manager than me if someone's looking to hire one. Hopefully it makes for a decent podcast episode, though, we're about to find out. So we have a we have Carson Wentz. Finally we get resolution on this. I mean it only went went on for like two weeks, but it felt like, I don't know, just an absolute eternity from the time where the Eagles kind of came out before Super Bowl and said, Okay, Carson Wentz is is. They didn't come out and say it, but reports came out that Carson Wentz was was going to be dealt imminently and the Eagles were expecting a Matthew Stafford type package, is that, etcetera. Obviously that was not really realistic at all, and when it came right down to it, it was really only one suitor. Now, maybe later in the offseason other teams would have gotten in on it. But the one thing that kind of stuck out to me after thinking about this NonStop for three days, as I as I stared into the middle distance, is Carson Wentz was not in a position to sort of dictate where he was going to go, but in a way he was, and he did end up going to the place where he wanted to go, which was Indianapolis. You know, we we heard a lot of reports that the Bears were interested. Bears are ready to sort of, um, you know, they're in a position where they really have to go back to the postseason this year, and they were willing to take a chance here, and it sounded like through back channels, Wentz had sort of made clear that he maybe wasn't too excited to go to another team that really doesn't have a great supporting cast and it's unclear whether they'll bring Allen Robinson back, and you know, they're kind of in the same sort of desperation that maybe the Eagles were in a year ago. So in the end, you know, the Bears kind of said, you know, who wants to go get a quarterback who might not want to play here, and that's why he ended up being Indianapolis. Yeah, it is pretty wild, Gary that a quarterback who had a subpar season last year, ends up being the big winner in a trade, right, I mean, Indie was the place he wanted to go. He much has been made of his close relationship with Frank break Obviously Reich was there during once his best season, best pro season, And so he ends up in a great location and the Eagles are left with not a great return, certainly not what they paid to move up to get him when he was drafted. And so they're you know, coming up shore and what they had hoped for because there wasn't a market for him. But because there wasn't a market for him, he ended up at the one place that wanted him and the one place that he really wanted. So it's crazy to compare because you have DeShawn Watson who and obviously the situations are incredibly different in a lot of different ways, but just looking at it, you have the Shawn Watson is coming off an excellent season despite his team's record, but an excellent individual season, and Carson Wentz who's coming off a dismal individual season. And Wentz gets out and leaves his former team hanging and Watson still up in the air. Yeah, and we're we're gonna have a little bit on Watson a little bit later in the show here, but uh, just talking about Wentz at this point. So I guess if you look at this as an optimist, if you are the Indianapolis Colts, we're getting the reunification of Carson Wentz with Frank Reich. And uh, now do you get sort of the form of Carson Wentz, which where obviously he was firmly in the m v P discussion before he had the the torn a c L And I guess, if nothing else, you certainly have a very good offensive line in Indianapolis, you have some some pretty good weapons, and they're all Mike in Philadelphia, they're all healthy. So I guess is it is it right to be bullish or does this feel kind of like a desperation move that? I mean, look what when you sat back, the Colts were in a position where they probably weren't going to I mean, yes, they could have spent uh fortune and moved up fifteen picks and gotten in the conversation for some of these uh some of these rookie quarterbacks, But where are you getting there? They didn't really have options for getting an upgraded quarterback outside of Wentz. And then the question is is went and upgrade right? And these rehabilitation projects for quarterbacks have mixed results. But what gives you optimism is Frank Greik knows exactly what he's getting. So it isn't another team taking a stab on a player who's failed somewhere else, thinking that team didn't know what they were doing, etcetera. Well, Frank Greik might think that, but he knows that it's a player he has direct, intimate experience with, he already has a relationship with. I think what we'll see this season will answer some of the questions of what the heck happened in Philadelphia because we still don't have a full story. Why did things go so far south? There were reports over the weekend that Peterson and Wentz weren't communicating this past season, and it became clear that went wanted a fresh start. But then they fire Peterson and went still wants a fresh start. So how do you go from that m VP candidate in the season two being traded with the Eagles getting little in return. And so I think when we see what happens with Wents in India this season, it will give us a clear sense of what was there mismanagement of him as a quarterback in Philly. Was there broken trust between him and his teammates where there was there not enough of a offense, you know, the roster built around him. What was the inadequacy of that roster a reason for his failure? I mean, I think this will perhaps answer some of the questions that we all have, because when you see a quarterback have that steep drop off, it's always just so confounding and you have a lot of variables to sort through. But seeing how he performs back under Reich and in Indy will give us a lot of clarity. I think. I know it's it's especially confounding because it's not like this is a thirty six year old guy who was good ten years ago. I mean it was twenty years old. He was really good four years ago. Uh, it was largely the same system they ran there. Uh. And even if you I mean, I kind of look back on the twenty nineteen season when they had all these injuries at receiver, and they had it was easily the slowest receiving corps in the NFL. By the end of the season, it probably was the worst. It was. In the conversation of being the worst, and yet he made it work. He played well in twenty nineteen, and I'm not sure. It's almost like, to me, the mystery is less about m DP caliber season twenty what happened. It's almost like what happened when I'm in between twenty ninety, Like why did this get? Just it got exponentially worse as the season went on, and it was just really confusing to watch. And I mean, look, it was it was probably a confluence of things. It was the offensive line issues, which was far more injured than it had been in recent years. It was the you know, it was the poor skill position players, uh, bad play calling, etcetera. But it just all added up to a guy who just didn't trust what he was seeing. And then after a while they couldn't trust him because a lot of his turnovers last year were just a matter of extending plays and just doing ridiculous things. Yeah, when they went to the Super Bowl, the offensive line was a strength of the team, and over the years, guys get older, injuries pile up. It got to the point where last year it was one of the weaknesses. So that was certainly a factor, but you also just wonder psychologically the moment that Nick Foles takes over as a backup and wins the Super Bowl and Once is pushed to the side for the end of that season. Did that sort of make it inevitable that he would need a fresh start at some point? I mean, I think watching that unfold, we had a curiosity like, how will this effect Once? Because I think most of us could think, not certainly as an NFL quarterback, but just what that feeling would be like, Right, You're in a position and something knocks you out of this position and then the guy behind you comes in and wins a championship or gets some great success. I mean, I think a lot of people can think, oh my gosh, that would be an awful feeling. Um And certainly there were a lot of reports about Once losing the locker room in the subsequent years and that he wasn't the guy that they believed in, and did that crack his confidence further? Did that not allow him to retake that role? Um? So, there were a lot of things that happened in the subsequent years, but certainly one of them more bizarre fall falling off what's the right word decline. I don't want to say decline because again he's so young and it was a period of time. But drop offs, I don't know, We'll go fall fallings off, fallings offs. Let's go with that falling off grades. It is it, it really is. I mean, gosh, when when you step back went to his entire run in Philadelphia was just the twist and turns were incredible. I mean, he he comes out of North Dakota State, he ends up getting the starting job week one, which surprises everyone. They move on from Sam Bradford. Uh. And then he goes he goes MVP season. I mean, you know, the old saying is the most popular guy in any city, use the backup quarterback, and the backup quarterback steps in and wins the Super Bowl. And then he has to come back from that. Uh, and then he gets benched the second time. Its just and all by the age of twenty eight. And it was just just such a wild ride when it was all said and done, and maybe if nothing else, you just find a certain level of stability in Indianapolis where I mean, look, there's there's you know, Jacob eeson Is is probably not pushing him for the starting job anytime soon. Uh, I don't. I mean, I was honestly wondering if they bring Jacoby Brissett back, because Jacoby Brissette along with that. I personally very much like Jacoby Brisett and think he should be starting somewhere. But Jacoby Risette has this reputation as just being like the mayor of that locker room, like the most popular guy uh in that locker room, and it's just kind of like, Uh, do you do you want to attempt fate again, especially if you're factoring in uh, you know Connor or had written about this. Uh, that is a there's an escalator on that you pick if they end up what it's if he plays the Snaps or if he plays sev and they make the playoffs. But if they're sitting at six and eight or something, do does that change your calculus? Now that's another good question. Yeah, it's um. I don't know what to expect that of Indie this season, and I honestly didn't have high hopes for them last season. I didn't think the Rivers experiment would work given kind of the drop off we saw from him at the end end of his time with the Chargers. So I underestimated them last year. So I'm not going to do that again, and I actually think this this might work out. I think he certainly needed a fresh start, and I think the trust with his head coach can go a really long way to repairing the quarterbacks confidence. You know, I don't UM, it's not the same thing because kickers have us very like sentimental routine and you know, you get off. But you think about the kickers who are drafted in a high round like Aguayo and the most recent one, and you hear, you know what that does mentally, the pressure that comes with it. And you know, I sort of think about that with Wentz in terms of that pressure that came after Folds won a Super Bowl and trying to come in and live up to what had happened this magical season the year before. UM. And so you just wonder getting out of Philly. You know, Philly is a tough media market. Indianapolis is at the other end of the spectrum. So maybe it's kind of a way for him to just kind of go under the radar a little bit. It is, when when it's all said done, Carson Wentz gets to the place he's going, the Colts probably overpay a little bit. Again, maybe someone else gets in on the market later in the off season. But uh, considering that they were the only team bidding. The fact that the Colts ended up giving up a segment pick and a and a second rounder that can become a first rounder, Uh, that's kind of a It's kind of a big bounty at this point. So the Eagles I think it's not enough and they end up settling for it. And I don't know. I guess both teams are slightly unhappy with how it all played out. Uh, as far as the Eagles go, Jalen Hurts right now is the guy there? Uh Les Bowen at the Philadelphia Inquirer had reported, And this is another teams that get executive to be clear, but uh, this other team's executive said that he thought the Eagles would take a quarterback number six. We'll see who's available there. More than anything, we'll see It depends on whether the Eagles like the the quarterbacks in this draft class. If they don't, then they probably shouldn't take one. But Jalen Hurts, I don't think, by any stretch of the imagination, is locked in as the Eagles guy. I think they're open to be to him becoming the guy, and I think what you saw in the month sort of tryout he had last year. He's kind of a guy we all thought he was, you know, intriguing talent, Probably not quite there as far as some of the uh the subtle nuances of of playing the position go. And he has a chance to get better and will he? But I guess we'll find out. Yeah, it wouldn't be shocking to see them take a quarterback at number six, But as you said, Gary, do they like the person that's there at number six? Can they get a good quarterback at number six? That? I'm not sure, so I think that will dictate the decision there. But yeah, it's hard to imagine that they go into the season. I mean, I don't think they'll go into the season saying this is Hurts his job and just going you know, we we totally didn't even mention the Hurts factor and talking about what was going on with when once his potential. You know, the psychological side of the game too. I mean that draft pick last year really seemed to impact him, and not in not in a good way, unlike Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love right where it just kind of motivated him and made him ticked off turned into an MVP season for him. Um if if the Hurts pick had any effect, it would have been a negative. Yah. Yeah uh. And by the way, I did butcher that it's a third round pick going to the Eagles this year and then is the second rounder that can escalate to a first rounder, Just to be clear on that. But uh yeah, And that's that's that's the other that's what people always lose track all this, like, well, they got to take a quarterback. It's like, well, dude, they like the quarterbacks, they shouldn't take a guy they don't like. Even if we in the media sort of aggregating all the media pundit rankings, believe that a guy is a high first round pick. Maybe they don't feel that way, and if they feel that way, they shouldn't take them. Uh. And of course you're probably looking at that trio of Justin Field, Zack Wilson, and Trey Lance. I like all those guys, but they're probably not gonna ask me for my opinion. Well, and you know, if they would have to trade up for someone, which is a potential, right, if they liked one of those guys, or let's say they liked all three of those guys. But to get one of those three guys, you would have to move up. Would they want to given that they didn't get the return back for Wentz that they may have been hoping for, Or do you say, hey, we're close. We're in the sixth slot right now. It's better than trying to move up from fifteen or whatever the case may be. So let's let's do it now. I mean, I think there's a lot of things in play, but it wouldn't be shocking to see them take a quarterback. But to do so, they might have to move up. All right, Jenny, we got plenty more quarterbacks. Of talking just a little bit, but right now it is time for the SI Fantasy Second presented by DraftKings. I'm once again joined by Michael Fabriano and and Fabs. I mean, we got to start with Carson Wentz as well. I mean, this is yet another spin of the quarterback carousel. Here Wentz the m v P type player in ten. Is there any reason to be bullish about him, particularly with his trade. I think it's the best case scenario, right, Wentz goes to a team that's got a lot of young talent, has a pretty good offensive line. They'll have to replace Anthony Costanzo. Of course, he retired and he's back with Frank Raich, who was the O C in Philadelphia when Wentz had that amazing seventeen season. And I get it. He was baded last year like that. There's no there's no if Sander. But he was bad. He was thrown too many inter sections, his his his completion percentage was was was down for the third He was bad. But he's still young. He's fixable, and let's not forget in twenty nineteen he was the QB ten in fantasy. He wasn't crap so as bad as he was, and he's not going to be a QB one fantasy. He won't be drafted as such. He's in a good spot. He really landed in the best case scenario. This is one of my wish list, uh pieces from I wanted once to go to the Colts and I got my wish so late round pick QB two. I have them ranked as my QB twenty right now. But could he be a top fifteen quarterback, Yeah, sure. Will Indianapolis need him to be a top fifteen quarterback statistically? No, because that offense is going to run through John and Taylor. The Colts also have some money to spend. T Y Hilton is a free agent. They could potentially bring him back. But you've got Michael Pittman Jr. Is a young guy. Paris Campbell's very young. But you can't stay injured. It can't stay free of those injuries. But if he could, you got some young talent there now. This also is very good. Of course, with Jalen Hurts, we've heard that the Eagles maybe bringing in competition for him, and okay, that's fine, but it Hurts is one of my favorite second year players going int. He started and finished three games as a rookie. He averaged over twenty points a game. He rushed for almost eight yards game. I don't think that those two totals are going to be something that he'll replicate in as a starter. But can he give me eight yards and four or five touchdowns on the ground? Heck yeah, I can. And even if his passing totals are just average, because of the rushing success, he's got a chance to be a top twelve quarterback. And like he's got accuracy issues, there are things that he needs to fix from a passing standpoint, But we just saw that with Josh Allen this past season. I'm not saying hurts it is going to be as good as Alan was, but what was Alan's big bugaboo coming out of college not accurate? His accuracy was pretty damn good this past season. When they has to find Diggs hitting there, right, I mean, he was great. And Philadelphia is going to bring in young talent. Deshun Jackson's not back. Alshan Jeffrey, I don't think i'll be back. Zach Ertz, I don't think he'll be back. So you'll have Jalen Reagor's, You've got Dallas Goddard and Miles Sanders, and I wouldn't be surprised if they took a wide receiver with that high first round pick. Maybe it'll be Jamaar Chase, maybe it'll be DeVonta Smith, depends on who maybe isn't on the board at that point. Miami could take a wide receiver ahead of them at three. But Philadelphia's offense could be very fantasy friendly. And those mobile quarterbacks. I've been saying it for a long long time, and I'll continue to say it for a long long time. Those guys have added value. And I always bring up the Tim Tebow example, and I bring up the Terrell Prior example. You don't necessarily have to be the best passer in the world. If you can run with the football at the quarterback position, you're gonna get the job done. And Jalen Hurts if I if I go into fourteen drafts, and that's probably about the number of leagues that will be in next season, and Jalen Hurts is my starting quarterback and seven of them, I'll be thrilled because I wouldn't have had to use a lot of draft capital on him. And I love his upside because he can run well. Let's uh, I'm glad you touch on the draft a little bit. Let's you rolled out your uh, fantasy football centric first round mock draft here, and uh, I wanna I want to touch on the running backs and receivers, but I do want to start off with like it's it's quarterbacks. People don't get as enthus about quarterbacks in fantasy football, but he is the one guy who can kind of lock in with his team. At this point, barring some very very unforeseen circumstances, Trevor Lawrence is going to be selected by the Jaguars first overall, Uh, what what do you consider Lawrence's upside here? I mean, you know, obviously no one no one's saying in this QB one, But you know, is he a guy who you know, maybe you take him as sort of that high upside QB two on your roster and and then maybe you're looking at the top ten quarterback by the end of this season. I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head. I think top ten could be tough to accomplish. The top twelve, I mean in that ball park, it depends on what Jashonville does around him. Right, So you've got d J. Chark, You've got lab discussion. All Chris Connelly is a free agent, and U. D. D. Westbrook's a free agent, and Keelan Cole is a free agent. They don't really have a tight end that can make plays. What do they do in the off season? Right? Do they sign Allen Robinson? Do they sign a Kenny Galladay? Do they bring in a top name wide out to be the number one option for Trevor Lawrence. You've already got a good back in James Robinson. The offensive line is not terrible. They could potentially add some pieces in the draft to and to improve that because you can never have enough depth at offensive line. Just ask the Chiefs and whatever they do, if they play their cards right and they have money to spend, yeah, Lawrence could be a top twelve quarterback without question. Daniel Jeremiah, my Power from NFL Network, was on My Serious X Summer radio show last week. You know, I asked him point like he also covers the Chargers. Uh, he's He's one of their radio play by play guys with Matt money Smith, And I said, can Lawrence be as good as as Herbert was? Because Herbert was a top ten quarterback as a rookie. And DJ said, it really all depends on what they do, what do they bring in, where do they give him? Is d J RK enough right now in Libiscus and Alda enough right now? They've got money to spend, they want to make a splash. I'd love to see Allen Robinson go back to Jacksonville. He'd be a great fit there. So it depends on what he's got around him. But it is a top twelve finish out of the realm of possibility in this day and age. No, it's not. I like it. I love Trevor Lawrence, dude, I mean he is. He is the best quarterback prospect to come out of college since Andrew Luck. And Andrew Luck was very good before he ultimately retired early. He was he was a tremendous Spanish quarterback. And I think Jacksonville is going in the right direction. Like you know, I wouldn't be surprised if in Lawrence's rookie year, the Jaguars are, you know, a five team, maybe a nine win team. I don't know if they're pushing for a playoff berth they have. They have other deficiencies as well, but they're gonna be competitive, and I think they're gonna go from a team that wasn't very fantasy friendly to suddenly one that could be extremely fantasy from it. All right, let's uh, let's sort of rapid fire these receivers and running backs. I'll sort of throw them at you and you can you know what. I'm not even gonna put any uh parameters on this. Let's just let's just do it. Let's just say, all right, Dolphins third pick Jamaar Chase the l s U receiver here, they need to add weapons for to a tongue of loa. DeVante Parker is there, Mike Kisiki is there. They need more too. Wasn't great as a rookie, but I mean typically rookie quarterbacks are not. Justin Herbert, I would like to come in and do that. So you gotta give the kid a break. You gotta give him a chance, and you gotta add weapons and chases. Arguably the top wide receiver in this class, So you pair him with Parker and get SICKI And I also I would like to see them go out and get a running back in this draft, which I also put in the first round because they have two first round picks. And suddenly the Dolphins looking like a pretty good team for fantasy fans. Eagles with a six pick, Davante Smith, the receiver from Alabama High. Yeah, and I mentioned earlier Jackson's gone, Earth's could be gone, Jeffrey could be gone, and they need pass catching weapons for Jalen Hurts. And so you bring in Smith. He'd start opposite reagor you'd have Goddard in the mix of Miles Sanders and maybe you've got something there. The Lions blank slate here at number seven. They they take Jalen Waddle, the receiver from Alabama, jale Lot. If Jayla Wata didn't get hurt last year, you might be in this wide receiver one conversation right right, without question. So the Lions have all of their free agent wide receivers uh in question here right, Like Kenny Golladay is no lock to be back Marvin Jones. Most people think he's gone, Danny Amon DoLS no lock to be back, and I would I would suggest Golladay would stay. Maybe they tag him. This is his best fantasy scenario. It's the standards, right, But you bring in Waddle and suddenly you got a number two and Jared Goff's got some weapons with t J. Hockenson and the in the Honorey Swift. I mean, I don't know how many games the lines are gonna win. And as much as I don't like Golf as a fantasy quarterback, dude, I mean, let you know, Robert Woods and Cooper Cup are pretty good fantasy wide receivers. I mean, Cooper Cup was an elite fantasy wide receiver for some time with with Jared Goff under center. So Golf might not be a great quarterback. Doesn't mean that the players around him can't put up good numbers, and and that would be that would be a very very quick path to targets. Uh. If Waddle ended up in Detroit, I'll throw in Uh. I think one of your two tight ends in the first round here. This is, of course, Kyle Pitts eight to the Panthers. Yeah, he's awesome, dude. And and again, it's gonna be hard for me to rank him no matter where he lands, because I know how good he is. But I know Ricky tight ends typically do nothing for for every you know, for every Evan Ingram who had a great rookie campaign. You know, there's there's a hundred other guys out there who are you know, like t J. Hockenson. They're like first the first season, you know, and then they bust up. So, but Carolina needs weapons in the passing game. Curtis Samuel is a free agent. Maybe they don't bring him back. You got Robby Anderson, you got d J. Moore, you got Christian McCaffrey, and suddenly you bring into pits and boy, he's going to create mismassages all over the place for you. He's he's just a super talented guy. And I and Thomas has not worked out, So I don't know who the quarterbacks are. Meet Caroline. I guess right now we counsume it's Bridgewater. But even if Samuel's gone, I think this is. And Samuel was. It was a pretty big part of that offense in the second half of the season. He was really good from a fantasy perspective. He's gone. They bring in Pitts Boom, you got a playmaker. Giants had eleven The Giants and their team full of complimentary receivers. Here they you haven't taken Arius Tony the Florida receiver. Explosive guy, play some slot yep, because the Giants need to give Daniel Jones weapons. You got s Quan coming back. You know, Evan Ingram didn't have a great season, but he's still He's still to me a pretty a pretty good offensive option there and no Stirling Shepherd is what he is. Darius Slayton really didn't produce this past season. I think a lot of folks in fantasy land were disappointed with him. You gotta add weapons and wide receiver is the the glaring void on offense for the g Men. Could they potentially go to help? You know, their offensive line. I mean sure they invested in that last year though, and I think it'll be better. So Darius Tony, I mean people have compared him, and you know how the comparisons go these they they've compared him to like Tyreek Hill. But will he be Tyreek Hill? I mean that's gonna be tough. But I still feel like he could make an impact for the Giants. And so he's he's a domino effect guy too, because not only he has some late round value and rejobts, but he can also potentially help Daniel Jones uh in terms of his own dot dot you speed here at seventeen Raiders take a two to a well from a Leiville diminutive burner. Yeah, and I mean at Well, I don't know they use the first round pick, but again, this isn't about whether players the first round pick. It's more about the best players the positions that these teams need to make their their fantasy squads better. And what are The Raiders love speed and that's why I says, well at Wells a damn fast guy, right, He's extremely fast. They did draft Rugs and Edwards last year, but Tyroll Williams is gone Nelson Aghil as a free agent. I think they probably go the free agency route and try to get Juju. I wouldn't be surprised if the Raiders had Juju, in which case, of course, a guy like at Well wouldn't be um someone that they would need. But if they do use the draft to improve their offense, they don't need a running back, they don't need a quarterback, they don't need a tight end. You know, every team could use help on the offensive line, but the Raiders are potentially going to lose uh. You know, two wide receivers off that roster. William's gone in again and Aglar, who was their number one wide receiver last year. UH is going to be a free agent. Travis Etten, the home run hitting running back here from Clemson to the Dolphins at eighteen and flip a coin here you can get you can get Eat n or you can get you know, Naga Harris. I'll take either one in Miami. And like Miles, Gas is a good a good player. He played very well last season, he really did. He's just he's not on the same level as you know as Eat n or Harris and Eat and this dude's a game changer, and so you put him in that backfield and think about the scenario to a you got Chase Parker, Gisicki and eat n give y up man. Suddenly the Dolphins are looking pretty good. A lot of good young talent on that offense. Their defense is very good. They need to focus on making that offense better. So we have a terrorist Marshall Jr. To the Washington football team with the I guess quarterback to be announced. Yeah, I'm not sure who's gonna be the quarterback there for the football team or whatever they're gonna be called next season, but they need offensive weapons. They got their running back in Antonio Gibson in last year's draft. They got their number one wide receiver Terry McLaurin a couple of seasons back, but they don't have that good number two. Ogan Thomas had a good second half of the season, so maybe he's you know, he's going to be in the mix as well. But Marsha would would come right in and fit well as potentially a number two wide receiver there in Washington. And whoever the quarterback is going to be, whether it's you know, Taylor Heineke or Alex Smith or you know, maybe they signed someone I don't know who they could potentially trade for. I mean, who knows, but that would that would certainly improve the stock of that Washington offense in terms of the passing game. And the Bears at twenty Elijah more fast and feisty, a little bit small, but that's okay. We'd received out our oldness. They the Bears may or may not get Allen Robinson to be back. He's either gonna get he could get tagged. But if he doesn't get tag I'd say he's gone and I'd rather see him in in Jacksonville, will be honest with you. But I mean, also, Robinson has been a top ten quarterback wide receiver the last two years with kind of crappy quarterback play. So I mean, like, if he stays in Chicago, it's not the worst thing in the world from a fantasy perspective. But if the Bears do lose him, Anthony Millard went all that great this past season. I know they like Darnel Mooney, but more could potentially come in and uh and see a decent target sheriff. Robinson ultimately is no longer in Chicago. Jets at twenty three, Nagy Harris there, Micha Lafleur obviously the new offensive boss there for for the Jets. And again it doesn't matter if it's Harris or at the end whoever. The Jets get at at the running back position, and maybe they don't draft the running back in the first round. They're gonna draft a running back though, well Michael p Rhyan, Frank Gore is gone. Ty Johnson now, I mean you know, like I mean, they're not bringing these guys back to be anything but uh complimentary or depth pieces. That's it. And you bring in Harris, you draft a quarterback, right, maybe it's maybe it's Act Wilson, maybe it's justin fields with that second overall pick, and you add some pieces the wide receiver position, and the Jets have money to spend and maybe suddenly the Jets are fantasy friendly. Maybe not as fantasy friendly as you know the Chiefs, of course, but last year they were brutal, like outside of Jamison Crowter, I mean, they had enough nothing. So this the Jets to focus on getting the offense better. They need to do for whoever their quarterback is going to be what they didn't do for Sam Donald, get him weapons and we have a quintet of receivers here starting at twenty five with the Jaguars, Rashad Bateman here, and Bateman is he's a guy who stock is rising, and I actually woudn't be surprised if you was the first round pick he's If the Jaguars decided to build via the draft and they don't go after a big name wide receiver as a free agent, which I kind of still think they're going to, Bateman would be a pretty nice option to potentially push for a number three spot in the rotation. There you'd have Chart, you'd have Leavisca Chennault, who a lot of us in fantasy like, and then behind them they have they have three wide receivers again who are going to be free agents. So Bateman could come right in and potentially see a decent target share and the quarterback situation, you know, improved the charv Lawrence so who knows Brown's Rondale Moore Protew a guy opt out last year, but boy he was he was a playmaker. There another guy who could be a first round pick, uh O b j is coming off of a c L repair. Shod Higgins is a free agent. They don't need a quarterback. They don't need a running back, they don't need a tight end. Their offensive line is pretty good. This is really the only this is really the only position that the Browns could target in the first round on the offensive side of the football. Ultimately, I don't know that they'll go in this direction. I mean, they could potentially be looking more on the defensive side, but more would be a nice addition to the Browns or any of these teams that need a wide receiver. Thailand Wallace to the Ravens, the Oklahoma State receiver. Another situation where you don't need a quarterback, you don't need a tight end, you don't need running backs. I think they're gonna bring back us Edterwards as a free agent, and he'll be the number two guy behind j K. Dobbins, But they do need help at wide receiver like Hollywood. Brown has been okay, but he's not a number one and Taiwan Wallace would come in and compete with Devin du Rene and Miles Boykin for targets behind Hollywood. So the Ravens, if they decide not to go the the free agency route, they could bring in a guy like Wallace to compete for a part of that target share next season into the future. At eight, Amanra st Brown. I love this fit with the Saints. Just h incredibly competitive catch and run guy. Yeah, this is Equanimius his brother. The st Brown's they they they they grace their children with very interesting names. Equanimius and Avan Rah love it. Michael Thomas is coming off a crappy year, Emmanuel Sander is gonna be thirty four going in the next season. Trake Kuan Smith hasn't really been great, So they don't need running backs. They're gonna They're not gonna draft unless like Mac Jones falls. I don't see them taking a quarterback in the first round. So really their need is wide receiver, and I think st Brown could be could be a good fit there. Just everything in New Orleans depends on the quarter even down to Alvin Carmari's true value. Who's the quarterback gonna be? Is it gonna be case Them, is gonna be Jamis? What are they gonna do a lot of questions there. Packers nine Tama Ryan Terry, Florida State receiver, big, big speed, size dude. They're this is one of those scenarios where they're gonna appease Aaron Rodgers, kind of make him happy, give him a piece, right, Davante Adams is always going to be the guy there. You've got Alan Wizard who is an exclusive rights free agent, Marcus Valdes Scantling. I mean, he had a couple of good games, but he's not he's not a he's not a true playmaking type every every week. So you bring in Terry that they're pretty good at tight end now with the UH, you know, with the breakout season of Robert Tonyan and they've got Jay Sternberger there as well. I mean, the offensive line could always could always use help, but I went with wide receiver here because it's probably the position the Packers should have gone after last season. Although Rodgers didn't really need it, he proved it because he had a massive season. And UH and finally the last of our running back receiver tight end group here in this UH, in this fantasy centric mock, we have the Bills at thirty taking Javante Williams, the North Carolina running back, so that they've taken a running back in each of the last two drafts. Not first round, but you know, they took Devin Singletary a couple of years ago. They took Zack Moss last year, and like, I'm not saying that these guys suck. I mean, like you know, but I just don't think that. I don't know that they're each that explosive potential number one that Williams could be. And Williams is, his stock is rising. He's a talented guy. And I wouldn't be surprised if the Bills go out bringing a running back and they don't need to help anywhere else. I mean, maybe you could say, tight end. Is there a tight end that's worth a first round pick past Kyle Pitts. I don't think so. So you bring in Williams to compete for that starting job with Singletary and Moss, and maybe he's that he's that added weapon they have because right now, the running game is not great in Buffalo. The passing game is great. The running games only good is so far as Josh Allen getting the job done. I'd like to see them get another running back would potentially be the guy. Alright, Fabs, we'll we'll have you back here next week. But if you can't wait for that, s I Fantasy Podcasts, SI dot Com, slash fantasy. He's there all the time, seven never stops working. Michael Fabriano, Thanks buddy, We'll we'll talk you next week. So let's uh, let's take a look at what happened with the uh with the Colts that they hadn't made this move there because there are a couple of teams Jenny, Uh, I'll just you know, these are teams are picking in the mid first round. Uh. There are not a whole lot of sparkling free agent options out there. We know Deshaun Watson is available, Uh, Sam Donald, depending on what other teams do, maybe to a maybe Garoppolo, maybe Lock become available. But uh, it is going to be tough for teams that aren't picking in the top ten and don't have the ability to maybe jump up and get that number three pick on in Miami or whatever it might be. Uh, the Colts were in that class. Uh, the Patriots, Washington and Chicago are there too. Those are all teams that really don't have quarterback options in the house at this point. So uh, it just kind of becomes like, if you're the Colts, you're taking a risk here with Wentz and you realize that, but uh, it might be the way to do it, because again, the top free agents here, you're looking at Dak Prescott, who's probably going to be retained one way or another in Dallas. And then you're looking at Jacoby Brissette, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, Mitchell Drabinsky, Andy Dalton are probably your guys who are legitimate starting candidates. Uh. And maybe Alabama's Mac Jones might be available in the middle of the first round if if someone likes him particularly. But it's just really tough to figure out how one of those teams, if they don't end up getting, you know, winning the Deshaun Watson, uh sweepstakes. At this point, it's just tough to see how they're gonna end up upgrading. And I will get way ahead of myself, fear and way ahead of everybody and and make a claim that probably won't hold Drew in a year. But quarterback class doesn't look very good draft wise and free agent wise. Again, maybe Dak Prescott gets out there, but that's kind of it. So your thought is, teams need to make a move this year. But there's yeah, it seems like there should be an urgency for it, right, I see, well, I was saying to you as we were going over the show notes, scary that I never get too wrapped up. And I mean not like I'm sitting here picking quarterbacks for a team, but this idea that like next year's draft class won't be good, so you have to get one. Now. I know that teams talk about this, and they they discuss and map out who will be available this year versus next year. But I do think we often see quarterbacks come out of nowhere, and I know teams prefer not to draft, say a one year starter or whatever the case may be. But we do see rankings change change, we do see the depth of the position change. College players can develop rapidly. So um, I'm not ready to say there won't be enough options next year, but I do agree like there are so many teams with an uncertainty at the position and there aren't enough good players to fill it. Now. We haven't talking a lot recently, Gary about this era of quarterback empowerment and guys pushing back on the organization and maybe forcing their way out. So if a year ago you had said once would be traded Deshaun Watson would want to be traded, that there would be conversations about Russell Wilson. Well, that one might not have been that one we would have believed a year ago, I think, but the others, you know, there just have been a lot of changes that have taken place in the last couple of months. So who knows what will happen a year from now. That is true. And certainly Zach Wilson, I mean there there were there were people wondering if he'd win the starting job again at b y U this time last year. Uh, so, you know, he's a guy who came out of nowhere we saw. Uh. I guess the two draft class kind of reminds me of the one in twenty nineteen which all of a sudden Kyler Murray got involved after his breakout here at Oklahoma and then all of a sudden that quarterback class looked a lot better than it was. So there's always that chance that somebody emerges as uh, you know, as as a as a top of the draft class type of guy when it's all said and done. But I'm also wondering, like how does this play into And look, who knows what the Texans want to do or what they're going to do, or what their logic is and anything that you do at this point. But uh, if they are going to move to Shaun Watson, I almost feel like a deadline, artificial deadline, but it deadline has to be before the draft because you can, you know, you can get the number two pick and know who you're gonna end up taking. You can you can get a higher Trump pick, or if they liked someone like to h or they like someone like Donald or whoever it might be, you can ensure what you're getting back if you end up saying, Okay, we're gonna wait into the season and you know, worst case scenario is we'll train him next off season after we suffer through another terrible year, and then we'll draft someone or whatever it might end up being. It just doesn't really add up to me. And and again they are I think public relations would play into it to an extent, but again, with the way they've operated, maybe it doesn't. But uh, I just can't really picture them going through this without knowing who they can get for their next guy and knowing that maybe having the number one overall pick the draft is not going to be wonderful. Right, No, that's totally fair, and I'm going to contradict myself again. I mean, just because I heard your great points, but I can remember a recent case where a top quarterback came out of nowhere and his name was Mitchell Drabinsky. He was a one year starter at U n C and that has not worked out well. So you can see the perils of falling in love with the guy that comes out of nowhere in college. Um. But yes, back to the Texans, Um. You know you do wonder if Watson is going to do something to put pressure on the team more publicly than he has to get things moving. I mean, I can imagine that he's frustrated again, even though they're different situations, but he must be frustrated seeing once get a fresh start and be moved. And uh, that situation, I mean, we discussed once in depth earlier, but it's you know, the organization. Basically, the quarterback said his relationship with the team was past the point of no return, and they agreed and they moved him. I mean, it's not that just similar to Watson, but in that in the in Watson's case, the Texans aren't aren't at this point willing to move him. So what will it take for that move to happen. And yes, I do wonder if there is some kind of public crossing of the rubicon moment where there would be absolutely be no turning back. I really can't remember. And I feel like over the years, anytime there's been a player holdout or a threat of hold I feel like the natural inclination for the public at large. And and this is just my impression, this is not through any sort of scientific polling, but I feel like it automatically sides with the team because it's kind of like, well, yeah, he's under contract and and it's so you know, he should just do his job. Blahlah blah uh. I can't remember the basically the public reaction being so heavily in favor of the player versus the team. And again, I'm not sure what ultimately pressures the team into doing something about it, because they seem to be impervious isn't the word, but they just don't seem to be paying any attention to what anyone thinks or says about what they do. You're right, and you know, some kind of public declaration might not change things beyond what they already are. I mean, you're right, it's people are siding with Watson. I mean even his own teammates want him to get a fresh start. Like even his own teammates are they so respect and admire him, and they understand that he wants to go somewhere else, and I'm sure many of them have similar feelings to those that he has. So, Um, this is a very unique situation. It's also at different times, you know, I mean, you're right, it's and it's always so frustrating Gary to see people side with the institutions. It's it never has made any sense to me, right, why are you signing with the billion dollar institution, whether it's a team or the NFL versus a player who's taking a stand. I think more of us can relate to the player who's like the employee that's trying to stand up for better working conditions or whatever the case is. Um, we should be able to relate more to the player. But because things have been so bad with the Texans and there is a public understanding of the termoil within the organization, and also it's a shifting era where I think there is more respect an understanding of players speaking up and trying to execute their power a little bit and kind of or of course, wrote about it in the upcoming March issue of Sports Illustrating, and it ran online last week, so you can find it right now if you want to about to the increased empowerment of especially superstar quarterbacks in the league. But there was also for years this sort of you know, this line of thinking of well, I mean, a guy with a contract like that untradeable, like you can't do anything about it, just you shrug your Well. We saw Wentz get moved, We saw Jared Goff get moved. I mean, those those contracts are very much movable if you want to move them or if someone makes you move them. So, uh, that whole argument kind of went out the window a little bit with what we saw even in the last two weeks. I don't want to I don't wanna. I don't want to like completely blow up the last two weeks and say this was like the most important time in in the history of of NFL player managment relations or whatever it was. But it just seems significant what has gone down between the Stafford trade, the Watson trade, demand and seeing Wentz and Golf, who again they're they're big mega extensions hadn't literally not kicked in yet. And they were traded before they did. I mean, you can you can move these guys if you have the proper uh uh, you know, inspiration to move that. Yeah, and it really does feel like a shift. I mean, you don't want to get ahead of things and as you said, make it into something that it's not. Only time will tell, but it does feel like a shift. And back to your earlier question, what will it take for the Texans to kind of join the movement if you will? I don't know. I mean, certainly Watson could take the steps that lots of players have taken in the past. You know, first you don't show up to the off season program, then you don't show up into training camp. But um, it seems like it would be better for everyone to get this resolved sooner than later. Um, I don't know, maybe it would be. I mean, it's it's never going to be good for the time. I was just gonna says it's not right, it's never gonna be good for the Texas. So as soon as I left my mouth, I'm like, well, it's actually not great for them, but the alternative isn't great either, So they're in a bad position. Some kind of hypnotist I don't know, into Deshaun Watson's camp or something and making them forget about everything that happened for the last six months. Uh yeah, it's uh again, I I feel like the draft is just sort of the artificial deadline because you want to make sure you can get that next guy in there. And and they, I mean it would be downright irresponsible for them to not be doing work on the quarterbacks coming out this year, uh, in anticipation of possibly getting one of those top picks. But I mean, look that they're certainly they're not gonna have to take a discount on Deshaun Watson. There's gonna be a third of the league trying to get him, and they can they can kind of name their price at this point, even if that price does not ultimately add up to the value that year old franchise quarterback gives your team. But Jenny, I thought we'd finished with a fun game that is actually not fun at all. Uh. No, I I want to look at again the three teams I brought up. The Patriots, Uh, the football team apparently is what they will be in once again. And the Bears, who are all kind of out of range for those top of the draft quarterbacks, you know, yeah, you can. You can package and move your way up, So that's a possibility there. But if those teams are not able to do that and do not end up getting into John Watson type, the guys you're looking at in free agency Brissette, Fitzpatrick, Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, Trubisky, Andy Dalton. Out of that list, who would you would you say? Is mostly who would you get most excited it? Let's just say that way, because it depends on what team they land on and a lot of other stuff. But who would you who would you take first out of that? Out of that crew of six? Birth set me too. You just said it because you know you knew i'd say it. Well, you did tip your hand earlier, but that's who I would have said anyway, And I would say number two would be Cam. I didn't see his comments in full, but I think he referenced that the early season covid um. Having covid early in this season affected him the rest of the year. And I had sort of wondered that, you know, we're there lingering effects and did an interfere with this preparation, And I just would be interested in seeing him have another chance this year. Um So, I would say Brissette than Cam Okay, I think I agree with that. I mean, I think we've talked in depth on this show, and you have a very smart take on Jamis that you just when you have that fundamental flaw of not being able to see the fields, you just can't fix it. Um So, I will I will always be skeptical of Jamis's ability to be a starter in this league. If he makes it work, he's going to get such a big endorsement deal from the leasing people. Yeah, but that, you know, not always seemed a little bit exaggerated me Gary, It seemed too cartoonish. He just he didn't want to wear his glasses because you look like a nerd or something like. It just didn't really make sense when it was all said and done. I mean, Fitzpatrick is good in a role like you had in Miami this past year, sort of a you know, a veteran bridge guy till you're ready to play the rookie. Um. But fits magic always eventually ends, it runs out. I know, I feel like he played the perfect number of snaps for the Dolphins last year. Ye like if he played one more snap. He was going to be like twelve consecutive, like pick sixes. Yeah, I mean there's always a point where the clock strikes midnight. All right, Jenny, Well, the clock has struck. I don't know whatever the end of the show is. And that is my nifty transition to wrap things up. Thanks again for for joining us. You will be back with Connor on the week Side podcast coming out on Tuesday, and we have we have playing more off season to go here. Now we've all turned into pumpkins. Gary, Oh, that was much better than mine. Ah. The mm QB Monday Morning NFL podcast is Jenny Brentis and me Gary Gramling. We are produced by Shelby Royson Sis. Executive producer of podcasts is Scott Brody. Mark Ravick is Emeritus editor of the MMQB. Andy Benoit is the founder of the MQB NFL podcast. Be sure to subscribe to this feed as well as the feeds for the week Side podcast on The Albert bar Show. They're all for free on Apple Podcasts, and once you do, please leave the rating and review for all of them. It really does help other people find the shows, which are also available on spotiby radio dot com, Stitcher, SI dot com, and wherever else you listen to podcasts.

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