NBC Sports' Chris Simms & NFL Insider Ian Rapoport Preview Free Agency, Give Takeaways From the Combine

Published Mar 7, 2025, 1:00 PM
Host Eric Allen is joined by NBC Sports' Chris Simms and NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport to discuss the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine and preview free agency. Both analysts discuss the possibility of QB Justin Fields landing in New York as well as what needs they think the Jets need to address before the draft.

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All right, we're joined by our least favorite Sims. That is great.

I love it.

Yes, great to see it.

Brother.

Speaking of brother's house, Matt.

Doing he's doing great. He's doing good. You know. Matt is uh, he's in the you know, kids are young, so he's dealing with that. He's got a whole I mean, my brother, I'm a I think he could be a phenomenal coach, right, that's to me, that's what he is. And he's got all these kids, high school, grade school that work with him and they go and learn how to throw the football from him mainly, and my dad's there a little bit too, but he's he's he's awesome, and he's awesome at that. He really is. I always thought Matt would end up being a coach in the NFL really right, And I think he's kind of doing both and figuring out his either way. But he's he's gonna be good at whatever he does, whether he talks to you idiots or not.

Listen. Awesome analyst and a good friend.

I'll tell you one Jit in my twenty four years here I started with the team in two thousand and one, has purchased me a pair of Air Jordan's.

Wow.

And that was your brother that actually got that from his Nike stipend.

But that was that's a nice thing to get.

That's a pretty sweet jus. You take care of guys. Oh, I definitely took care of guys. I did and had.

I had a pretty big Nike contract at one point when I was, you know, starting down there in Tampa Bay. But you got to take care of the guys in the organization. You know, it's not always the job of the third string or practice squad quarterback to do that, right because they're usually not exactly swimming in the money and all that. But I always made an effort. The tape guys, right, the film room guys, the training staff, the weight room, guys that I was gonna try to do, you know, extra extra stuff to try to help them and make life a little easier because the guy they work so hard.

All right, let's talk about the Judge Show.

Yeah, let's do it.

What's standing out about them this offseason right now?

Well, I mean I'm a big fan of that that group up in Detroit. Yep, I am man. I'm a big fan of Aaron Glenn. So, I mean the first thing, I and when you talk about strong personalities that can come come to a team and change the personality, the culture, whatever you want to say, right that, that to me is what I like. So yeah, from that that standpoint, it's going to be done the way he wants it to be done. And that's the Dan Campbell way, the Bill Parcels and Sean Payton way.

That's what I like about it. Your dad played for Parcels. Do you see some of Parcels? They see that influence in a g I do. I do I see that from all those guys there, right. I think it's it's not about oh, this.

Is what we do what defense? I only do that. It's like, oh, wait, who are playing this week? Oh this week we have to do this, Oh who we play next week? Well that this this week, now we have to do that. We gotta change it. We're gonna do whatever we gonna do this week to do win the game. We're not gonna be like, oh, this is what we play. We play Seattle scheme and we're just gonna do that all all the time. Right. I like that aspect. I like game plans specific, So yeah, I'm I'm a fan of that. Also, I think what I see with him is his ability, like a Parcels or a Sean Payton, to relate to players, can be their buddy, but also can be the jerk and let you know a little bit like, Hey, I like you, but that that what you did yesterday in practice, that's stung. What the hell are you doing? It? Better be better? And to me, that's what I found from Ben Johnson, Dan Campbell or him. They kind of have that magic touch that way.

Tannor Hangstram.

Yeah, first time signal caller, passing game coordinator with Detroit. What do you see from the Allion's offense? I and our personnel is different, and also what's your anticipation now is a guy who plays the position? Was an analysis and an analyst in the National Football League. How is he gonna call players?

I mean, that's the million dollar question, right, I don't know him that well, I don't. I you know, I don't know that. That's the All I know is that he comes from a guy and Ben Johnson that I would go is the best offensive coordinator about to be head coach candidate to me since Shanahana McVeigh. That's where that's a high regard I put it Ben Johnson. Ben Johnson with me was no doubt one of the five four or five best offensive mines in football for like the last three years. When I watched film of him a little bit what I said with Aaron Glenn, Hey, it's one week it's this, the next week it's whoa. It's a different plan of attack. He knows how to set up plays, right, he knows how to dangle this. Hey look we did this, We did this. Hey look it's coming again. Oh here's a curveball off of it. You're screwed, right, So he understands that, And then I think, too, what I'm hoping is understood here is you understand defenses. Ben Johnson like a Shanahan or a Mike McDon daniel. They know how to expose rules of defenses. They don't just go, hey, we're gonna run these plays and we're gonna just be really detailed and execute them the right way. They know how to go, wait, we're gonna run this play because they run this coverage a lot, and if we do this little combination, this guy right here is screwed. He can't be right right. And that's what I find great about their offense, and hopefully he can bring that to the Jets.

So we'll work our way up to the quarterback position. But when you see what the Jets have in offensive backfield with Breis Hall, they drafted a pair of running backs last year in Braylan Allen and Isaiah Davis. You also have a guy on the outside who has done some historic things in his first three seasons of Garrett Wilson North to eighty receptions on one thousand yards of each of his first three campaigns, and only five receivers have done that in NFL history.

So what do you anticipate this offense? Beam, I think it's.

Going to look very similar to Detroit, ye, And I think with Aaron Atlanta is a defensive head coach. Usually their belief a little bit is run the ball too, control the clock, Let my defense rest a little bit, right, So I think there's gonna be true dedication to the run game. And that's again that's what I like too. Like you talked about you got good running backs. You had a lot of plays last year where I go, wait, you're running the ball good. Oh you're kind of Oh we're throwing it out here for a one yard game? Why why I don't understand it? Oh we're throwing this. Oh we checked to the slant again, Why I don't know that? The holes up the middle, we're good. So, like, none of that's gonna happen. And that's where I think you're gonna have a different attitude of your football team this year. That's what it's gonna be a little bit more like, Hey, no, no, there's no checks out of this play. We're running ninety six power king and I don't give a damn what defense they're in. That's what we're running. And we're gonna be good at every defense we face and know how to block it. And that's what and that's that's how attitude starts. Right, How did anybody in the old days. Ever run the football without the RPO, with the re adoption. I mean, how do they do it? I don't understand. Yeah, right now, you can't.

Oh, I don't know.

I don't Philadelphia, right, look at them. Philadelphia has three run plays. They have like ten plays on their offense. But they just go, you know, we're better than you. We're gonna dominate you. Deal with it, and we're gonna execute it. So sorry for the better. We anticipate this stuff. Good goodlable. Does my brother swear like that?

If he does, he keeps that internal Okay?

All right?

So what changes for a quarterback if you're gonna be playing more under center? Yeah, because we see a lot of systems nowadays where hey, these guys are living in the gun.

Detroit did not live in the gun.

No, none of the good teams are living in the gun really accepted for I mean, like the forty nine ers going to the Super Bowl, what they did, right, Yeah, you see. I think Sean Payton he wants to be underneath. The big thing is Wait, running the ball first off is a big thing right now in the NFL, and I think it'll continue to be popular. And I think you're gonna continue to see offensive line coaches be dangled out there for oc because they know how to marry together the playoff action pass and the passing game together in the run game and all that together. But what I think, what it does in so many ways we talk about attitude running the football, okay, but then off of that, the number one way to get big plays in offensive football right now it's the play action pass game, and those are the teams that are thriving, you know, So you couple that with the state of I have this conversation with some of my NFL friends sometimes is college kids aren't taught how to tackle anymore. There's all these rules even in college about pads and how much hours. Then there's all these rules in the NFL about how many times you can put on pads, and like, tackling is a little bit of a lost art in the NFL right now. So I think a little bit offensive coaches and gone, man, good running back, physical running the ball. Actually we can get five and six yards a lot more consistently than I thought we could maybe back in the old days. And that's where the game has changed, and I think that's where you're gonna see more. Hey, Breece, haul up the middle. Oh cool design, run bris haul up the middle. Oh it looks like it's not again. Oh he kept it. Oh no, There goes Garrett Will's and down the middle of the field on a twenty five yard crosser like you might see im and Ross Saint Brown, and he's running and making big plays. And I think that's what you're gonna see more from this offense, a more down the field attacking passing game to go along with power running football. And that to me is the hardest thing to guard in football, because now you make a defense defend every score.

Inch of the field. I'm glad you mentioned Presaul. Yeah, what is his potential? Well, we've seen him a couple of years in the National Football League. Last year unfortunately the team where was not able to run the Yeah.

Right, yeah, he's got superstar talent there. I only see I think one thing about Breess Hall that I could really go. I think he needs to get better. It's tough running. Tough running, right, there's nothing there. Put your head down and get two or three smash it in there, right. You know, you see those guys up in Detroit. There's no dancing it's like, hey, we called the play, we believe the holes right here, We're gonna teach you how to read it right, fly up in there and go. That's to me what I would love to see out of pres Hall. It's just a little bit more of a sledgehammer attack. From time to time.

I get a sense from Marrick Glenn speaking to him yesterday, that there's gonna be an emphasis on speed here.

Yeah.

You saw that in Detroit. Yes, you saw how effective they were in Detroit with that. As far as the big plays, so you don't have to matriculate the ball down it's too.

Hard twelve play seventy five yard drives or it's too hard in the NFL unless you have Mahomes or somebody like that. Okay, cool, that's so that he could do it. Yeah, right, But even for them, that's why they're underwhelming. They can't ever take the pressure off because they can never make a big play, you know. So that's where again I love this offense. The way they play. They can get big plays in the run game, pass game. They're not afraid to run some trick plays and do that as well, and those are advantages that are needed, you know. You look at the best offenses, the most explosive offenses of football. You need a few drives every game where you can throw a slant to a guy and he runs for sixty yards, or we can just pull to lineman and we can break a run for forty or fifty yards.

And I think you're gonna see more of that from your football team. Do you think these guys should attack the quarterback position?

Yeah, I know this is the million dollar question, and I don't know if I've wrapped my head around this whole thing yet. Right I'm in emphasy stages of evaluating these these quarterbacks as far as this draft right now, I've only watched just a little bit just to have a feel for him to talk about it here. So I'm nowhere near ready to rank or say that.

You're gonna cause some hell whenever you release this.

Well, I usually do. I usually do. I mean, we all know Cam and Shador Sanders kind of stand above the rest. I do like Cam just off the little I've scene, I would say I favor him right now right he makes me say wow more than everybody else. He's bigger than people realize. His arm can the ball pops out of his hand. So all of that stuff. I like, Yeah, he's a little raw, so it is shador. I like it a lot about shra Door too. But I mean, I don't think the team is that far off, right, I mean I really don't. The defense. That's what I'm excited about. Yep. The defense now with schematical advantages instead of just this is what we do, We're gonna play this all game long. Right. That was my complaint about the Jets the last year. Their defense is too good that we don't ever create turnovers or plays. That's because every quarterback goes, oh, it's this defense. Okay, I'm comfortable with that. It might be hard to get a big play, but I'm comfortable with that defense. Nothing's tricking me, right. What turnovers happen because you get tricked like, oh crap, this blitz came out. Now let me throw Oh no, I didn't see him there, or or wait they dropped out and they're in a different coverage way, Where the hell do I gotta look on? I didn't Oh I threw it. I didn't see him their interception, right, that's what the good defenses do in football. That's to me, where the Jets with the talent they have on the defensive side of the ball, have not won enough games with their defense. I could go through other Marquee defenses and football and go look at how many plays they make and things they make and make happen and all of that. And that's why I'm pumped to see Aaron Glenn with this this talent he has.

Do you like the match of Glenn and Wilkes because they both come from the philosophy of Weedson back at defense, We're coming at you.

Definitely, I do. And I like Steve you know. I know it didn't end perfectly with San Francisco, and it was a little bit of a weird situation. He was trying to learn their system instead of him being able to run his defense, and that's not always easy for a head coach to go, wait, bite, I gotta do what you want me to do. But I have this trick and that trick that I'd like to do right now, and they're like, no, no, this is the defense we run. So I think he was a little handcuffed that way. I think he's great because he's got head coaching experience, been around the league forever. He can get into Aaron Glenn's here every now and then and go, hey, you know, look out for this this week, or you know, I hear players in the locker room or the defensive side talking about this, and he'll be able to help them out a little bit. Aaron Glenn out let alone, he's gonna add to Aaron Glenn's defense. And Aaron Glenn also too when he's a head coach, as you know, you get in there. I'm a defensive head coach. I want to work on the defense today. And all of a sudden the offensive coordinator comes in and says, hey, receiver, blah blah blah, it's having a problem. Hey, hey, this guy's sick today. Hey this, And then all of a sudden, you go, damn, I can't even coach defense. So the fact that he has Steve Wilks to go, hey, get me through this hour, wag to deal with some boot over here, right, Please help me with that, that's a great advantage to have too.

That first news.

Conference ag comes in and he says, I'm not gonna be calling the place.

Yeah, I'm not calling the place.

I don't love that, Okay, I'm not gonna lie. I don't love that well, he got there because he was calling the plays on defense. That's why he got the job. I'm a little bit of a believer in that until you prove me wrong. All right, So he's got it. But I said that all the time. I'm always I've said this about Brian day ball with the Giants. I go, you got the job because everyone was going, damn, you call a great game on offense, and then you get your head coaching job, and go, I don't want to do what got me the job anymore. Somebody else do it, even though you're not as good as me. That doesn't make sense, right, But he's Wilkes is damn good. Yes, Wilkes is damn good. So that that that evens it out a little bit here. But I still in my perfect world, and I might be wrong, and I'll come on and tell you I was wrong, right, I still look at it and go, man, I wish Aaron Glenn would call the defense and then he could just lean on Steve Wilkes maybe other than the other way around. And maybe that'll happen once he just gets is, you know, his bearing straight and gets used to being a head coach and all the things that you got to deal with I like.

Him looking at the entire operation, and there's nothing wrong with that. And also he's on the same wavelength with Wilkeson. You can see how puch I think he was to get him in the building.

I got you, and listen, I want to make it clear I'm not You know, my dad played for a coach and Bill Parcells. Who was that guy. I mean, that's probably why Aaron Gren's looking at it. He's going, wait, I got coached by Bill Parcells and he didn't do x's and o's. He just walked to the defensive meeting room and said, no, you can't do that. We gotta double this guy. You're gonna call that defense. He goes, this team, you're crazy. And I know my dad's told me stories. He'd go in, they're playing the Eagles and Reggie White. He'd go in and go, what we can't do this, that this, well, we'll turn the ball over forty five times. How about this play? This play? This play? I like that. That's what a really good head coach could do, and hopefully Aaron Gunn can do that.

Tyra Teller has a lot of experience in the National Football League he's been a break before multi stops. How do you approach free agency if you're the Jets at a quarterback, are you looking to add somebody else in your building?

I think so. I mean they gotta figure out, yeah, draft wise, what they want to do. And Tyrod Taylor I like him, Yep. He's a really good backup quarterback to have. I wouldn't want him to be my starter. I don't trust him to be in there for a long period of time, right, I mean, as you know, I mean, anywhere Tyrod Taylor goes, he's gets hurt kind of pretty quick. He's not the biggest guy in the world. But I would have no problem him coming back to be a backup if they decided to go with the Young route, or even if they decide to go not go the Young route, and they decided, you know, let's just throw up for instance out there, I don't know, Kirk Cousins or something like that. Right, would I be mad that Tyrod Taylor is the backup to anybody like that? No, not at all.

Where do you land on Justin Fields if he's if his contract does indeed expire and he reaches the negotiating window on March time.

Yeah, I just I like just I like Justin Fields, But I don't know if I feel like I'd want to make him the guy for my organization. Right again, there'd be another one where maybe if you wanted to draft a guy and him be your bridge guy and maybe he can find a way to be the next Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield and then go on somewhere else and do that. But there's just still questions about Justin Fields and throwing the football at a consistently high level. That's what would worry me. Right, He's tough. He's arguably the best running quarterback in football when he gets out there and takes off. I mean he's special that way. But just like we saw in Chicago and we saw it in Pittsburgh last year, the ball doesn't always go where he wants it to when it leaves his hand, and that scares me a little.

One thing that stands out to me about him, and I'm not making an argument for fields there is he protected a football.

I got you there. If there's an angle, you can go, you go, Hey, we could run the ball. He can run the ball. We can play a physical brand that way, get people to creep up to the line of scream fake some of that stuff. Boom, there goes Garrett Wilson over the top. I hear you, and that's why.

He said that.

People listening and watching this right now, Jets fans are like, hey, he's also played collegiately with Garret Wilson.

Yeah, I hear you there. I hear you there. But I won't lie in that if they signed him to be the starter I wouldn't be the most excited guy through.

I will tell you this. People in that locker room love Tyrod Taylor.

Every locker room he's ever been in his loved. My brother loves Tyrod Taylor. Tyro Taylor's I know he probably doesn't like me because I've said some of the things I've said before, But I got a lot of respect for Tyrod Taylor and the way he approaches the game, that's for sure.

All Right, Speaking of approaches, how do you actually go about studying the college quarterbacks?

What are you looking for?

Because it's a different game, Yeah, they're playing than in the National Football League. So when we finally get your rankings out and people start coming after SU, what's your process?

Well, I mean, one is talent.

You gotta have talent.

It's plain and simple. The greatest quarterbacks of all time all have superior talent. So I look at that right away. I mean Aaron Rodgers is and it was who he was because it's one of the greatest arms in the history of football, if not the greatest of his prime, the quickest release ever, and then top three accuracy all time, and then always a gun slinger that take care of the ball better than anybody ever. Right, right, But that's the first thing, right, I'm a talent guy. Then I want to go through it and don't look at stats, don't look at the offense and blame the quarterback for the offense. Like you heard me talking to somebody a minute ago about Bo Nicks. Last year, everybody was telling me Bo Nicks. So he's not calling these plays. He's just the quarterback of a college football team. You gotta decipher through the BS sometimes and start to go okay, wait, screen, okay, good scream. Oh wait, but here's a deep throw. Oh damn, it's on the money. Oh laser. Okay, all right, he didn't do it that many times this game, but I saw, okay, there was an inkling he can do it, and you gotta work through that, right, you gotta work through first of like, what is he responsible for we're out there? Oh wait, there was nobody open, but they still got a twenty yard game because he made an unbelievable throw. What that gets like a double plus? Right? Right? Oh? Oh there are people open and oh he checked it down for a five yard game. That's a negative for me, like everybody else has grating sites. Oh you know, positive, you got a completion. I'm going there's somebody open for a touchdown twenty five yards down the middle. But we're getting a positive grade because we checked it down, right, So you know, accuracy, talent, size, of course, ability to move and move the pocket. But to me, what I always just say is decipher through the bolt. Right. That's kind of where I think I've been fortunate or been like, it's been great that I've been top on my dad and all these quarterback people all the time, as I've been taught to look through that. And that's where I came out with. I know Mahomes is four and seven in Texas Tech, but I watched every throw. He's the best quarterback in football. He should be the number one pick in the draft, like, there's not should be a doubt, but he's not a winner. I didn't know he had to carry the whole team. Now about this game, Oh, I watched that game when he was going You mean the TCU game where nobody was open ever the whole game and he was under pressure. Oh that is he superman or is he a human? I don't know. And that's where people got to get through some of.

That stuff, right, So you have to have certain qualities to play up in the Northeast. When you're talking about December January medlife state medaans.

Yes, Now it's not maybe as much as it used to be because it's global warming. Right. I have this conversation with my dad a lot because he's like Christopher, I don't know what it is. It just doesn't seem like it's ever because windy your as cold as Oh Dad, it's.

Global warming this morning. You want to take this it's.

I know it's not a myth though, Dad, Like when it's seventy five in December, there's something wrong, right, But either way, no, I do think you have to take that into account. It's still a factor and we know how windy it can be up there, right, Phil Simms, Tom Brady, right, Eli. Manning big guys, big hands can control the ball in the elements is crucial up there, and especially if you want to throw the ball down the field right and be explosive, which I think this offense wants to do. You better have that guy that you know you can't go. Oh man, it's fifteen miles prior wins today. We can't do half of our plays today. Right. Oh no, no, but you can't. That can't be the case. You want to have a guy, But Josh Allen up in Buffalo, we can throw it right through it, no problem. So I do think you got to take that in account.

All right, So speaking of case, Yeah, we got a game here, state your case.

Okay, So do.

You want to do pro free agency or draft or both? I got I got the pro free agency potential guy.

And you're just gonna pick a guy, and I'm gonna state my case.

So, well, why would it make sense for the Jets? Okay, you'll pick a guy.

Well, I'm not that deep into the draft yet.

Okay, So you want to do prof I think.

So, I mean the draft if you want to keep me to the quarterbacks, a little in some of the past.

Rusher, I might cheat with the quarterbacks. Okay, do a pro free agent?

Okay, you want me to pick this one off the top? Are you like? No? Are you giving me like the like the old like you know, Handmaid or what's on the hand it made? Old Maid? Old Maid? Do you remember that game? Nope?

Nope.

What do you think Joe want Johnson? Yeah, they want to do another one that's not that sexy. We can come up with sexier.

Kind of your case.

All right, here we go state your case.

Go for it. Do you like that one or not?

We'll second.

Let's go seci alrightin.

Huh, Kaseki is I think a top tier pass catching tight end. You're gonna get nothing for him in the in the run game. Really, that's not what he's about. But with a guy like Aseki one, hey, size is a skill, right, Size is a skill. It definitely is people people like they forget about that. The big quarterback Josh Allen can stand in the pocket because he's so big and people are grabbing him and all that, and he could still throw it. Why because of his size and the strength. You do that to Kyler Murray's on the ground period. So size is a skill. Goseki is a pass catching guy, right, even when he's covered, he's not covered because he's so long and rangy and he can do some of that. So that's where I like his game. Let alone for a tight end and who's big and long like he is. When he catches the ball, he can he can go after it makes the place happen that way you're trying to think, I don't know, if you're right, there's nobody on the roster that's real big over the middle.

Target with Tyler Tyler contract.

Yeah right, yeah, so that would be my case for him if you wanted them. It's gonna be more pass game ore ended the run game, though, And I don't know if that fits the moment.

I'm not gonna tell anybody at home this, yeah, or maybe I will. I'm just gonna pick this college guy, Okay, cool, this, this is it.

This is a draft pick.

Okay, yeah, cam word, okay, stay my case. He's got eleak talent. It's a natural thrower, right, I mean he's a guy that I just go. He can pick up any object and you go, he can throw it good. I don't have any doubt about that. The power in his arm is real, like another guy can spin it and throw it through a wind at the meadowlands. Right, not a problem. The ability, as we know, so important in the NFL to make some plays off schedule. The defenses are too good. The damn defensive linemen are way better than the offensive lineman. So there's always pressure. I gotta move. Oh do that. He's gonna be able to do that, you know, not that I've done the deep dive yet. Right, I don't have a problem with his decision making. I've heard this already from some people. Oh it's raw. I don't know if it's decision making or he's just a little greedy at times. Right, he might see a guy over here and go, hey, the five yard throws open. But I think he gets bored with it. Sometimes he's like, man, screw that there. I know, I got another guy going deep, and then it's like, oh, well he's not open, and then it's like, oh crap, and then he's got to run around and do some crazy crap. And Caleb Williams had a little that, and that's where NFL coaching will have to kind of rein them in. Right, But Damn. I don't know. I've had a lot of people tell me he's wrong. I don't know if he's a first round talent, and he wouldn't be in the same stratus here as the guys last year. And I want to just even in my early stages, I just want to throw a challenge flag and be like, are you freaking kidding me? He wouldn't even be in the conversation with him. The guy that you know could have won the Heisman this year must throwing lasers and was like the number one must see TV guy on in college football a lot of weeks like that's my case for cam Ward. Oh you like that case? I do like that Court's adjourned.

It did a nice job, even though we can't stand you.

Thank you, The feelings mutual.

The Official Jets Podcast is presented by Kendra Scott, the jewelry company that's shining bright and doing good. Shop Game Day Ready, Jewelry Styles and so much more at Kendra scott dot com.

Rep good to see you.

What's the life like of an NFL insider during the NFL combine?

I think there's a couple of different stages today, tomorrow, uh, and then probably the early part of Thursday is a lot of This is a lot of talking to people. It's a lot of tracking down gms and head coaches and coordinators and kind of feeling them out and picking their brain. And you know, I don't know that there's like a ton of news news here. There's some it's like you know, some franchise tag stuff every once in a while or whatever, but like really it's kind of like conversations that set the table for what's.

Going to happen for the next three weeks to a month. So that's that's kind of what this is.

It's waiting on the podiums, it's grabbing guys off the podium, it's having conversations. All of those things go on, and then you know, once once the drills start, then I think everyone focuses on the drills and kind of hones in on who these prospects are, how they're doing, and why they're important.

New leadership team here with the Jets, Aaron Glenn, Darren Mougie, what have your initial impressions been.

I would say, you know, obviously, the biggest thing they've done.

Was move on from Aaron Rodgers, and you know, I think the way that happened was interesting, right. I mean, there are plenty of quarterback situations around the league that are floating in the ether that are sort of quarterback needy. You have teams that have replaced quarterbacks and still have them in the roster, like the Falcons.

There's a lot.

What the Jets did was a clean break, was a like strong, decisive move on. You could argue whether it was the right thing or the wrong thing, you know. I would say to me, if you discount maybe like one or maybe two games at the end of the season where Rogers played pretty well, like this seems like the obvious choice. This felt always like maybe a two year proposition for the Jets, and to have a new regime, to not be saddled with.

All the Rogers stuff. It's easier to move on.

It's a little scary because you don't have you don't have one, you know, But I think it was pretty clear they were ready to move on, and the way they did it was sort of noted, you know.

So what does the road look like for them as we move ahead? With Tyrod Tayler in the building. Jordan Travis was a rookie last year. Devastating injury at Florida State was a FI list and then you have Adrian Martinez. Now people are looking at free agency and the Jets draft position at number seven overall.

Well, I mean, I think what it does now is is say you're probably gonna add one, you might add two, and it's all out there. It's all all the options are open. It's staying there and taking a quarterback. Maybe it's maybe they take a QB three, Maybe they take Jackson Dart, maybe they take Quinn Yours, maybe take Riley Leonard. They could move up, certainly they have the draft capital for that. If you are, you know, sure that the franchise quarterback is there, you can move up for one. If you if you say, like, all right, this is the guy we have to have, we have to move up. You could go with the sort of Kirk Cousins of the world and kick the can down the road a little bit and say, you know, we're gonna find our franchise guys just not going to be this year.

We're gonna build elsewhere this year.

I mean, there's there's a lot of options, and they might choose both of them. Yeah, they might take a quarterback high. They might sound a veteran. You know, it's all it's all out there. I would say for the Jets and quarterback, A lot.

Of Jets fans have been acquiring about Justin Fields. What do you think the market's gonna look like for him come March tenth?

Well, I mean, I'm interested in what the Steelers decide to do because now obviously you know he he's a free agent, so he could decide too. But you know, I think it was pretty clear that they would like to bring back one of their quarterbacks from last year.

The way, it's likely it gets done before March tenth.

One of those two, I.

Think it's likely it gets done around March tenth. You know, like rarely do you have deals happen before free agency. Usually they happen in that like, you know, first day, the tampering window where his agent could be like this is where we're at, Is.

Anybody gonna come here? Like what's really the market?

Like?

So I think we'll know early.

I just don't know that we'll know, you know, before March tenth, because like, as you know, you know, rarely do deals free agent deals get done before free agency actually opens.

Globally, What does his free agency class look like maybe compare to re Ears because the Jets, Darrin Mouci said, Hey, I'm comfortable where we are from a camp perspective. The Jets not unlike most teams out there. They got close to thirty free agents in all, so a lot of internal decisions have to be made before they scour the market and then see what they can do out there.

Yeah, I mean it's it's you know, is it the most star started free agent class?

That's they probably not, you.

Know, usually like the guys when people compile all these lists, you know, like Greg Rosen those hundred and one top free Agent lists and NFL dot Com, I mean, you know, there are guys up at the top ten, like Josh Sweat for instance, who most years would be like around the middle, not a very top heavy. You know, you have some some sort of heavy hitters or whatever, like Sam Darnold, who's just gonna make a lot of money. But guys like Josh Sweat on their third deal, who had you know, some sacks, but not like a you know, monstrous year.

Like it's it's odd that those those guys are the top guys.

But if you go to like twenty five to seventy five get some real good players. So it's probably you know, more depth in free agency than past, but maybe not as top heavy.

So after the draft, I mean after the free agency shooting, we got the draft, the Jets sitting there with the seventh overall selection, then they come back with the forty second selection. What do you think about where their spot is right now in the first round.

I think it's a good spot.

I mean, you sort of if you're going to take a quarterback, you can get around to where QB three is. Maybe you move up a little bit, maybe you could try to slide back a little bit. We'll know more as we get closer. I think it's a totally fine spot. If you're not going to take a quarterback, I think it's pretty good because you'll get at least two in front of you, maybe three. And then it's like, you know, I think believe they got a franchise left tackle last year. Yeah, so then it's like, well, if someone takes the LSU tackle, cool, like you weren't going to take him anyway, no big deal, and maybe take a top defensive player whatever. It ends up being like you are in reach of an a week player and so I think that's a pretty good spot.

What do you think about the storyline ag coming back here to the team that drafted him nineteen ninety four, obviously comes back as a scout twenty twelve, twenty thirteen, One of his primary mentors along the way, Bill park sells, what do you think about this journey?

I'm coming full circle.

Yeah, man, it's pretty amazing. It's pretty amazing.

And you know, I felt for a while that this was going to be Aaron Glenn's job. I mean, the first sort of tweet I had about it when I think he was the morning when he was going to visit where I was basically like, this is the Jets guy, Like I think they would like to not let him out of the build, and they ended up letting him out, but then doing you know, getting it done the next day. You know, in that tweet was basically like this is a guy that all of the Jets legends are rallying around. And that was real, man, Like it was unbelievable how excited everybody was, and like it's a cool story. It really is a cool story. A player was drafted here, who worked here, was a scout, was what all the things coming back to the organization. That is awesome, But to me, like it's so much more than that, because he's ready to be a head coach. He was one of the best leaders as far as coordinators in the NFL. He was like the extension. You know, I think Ben Johnson is going to do a great job, a great play call, but Aaron Gunn was really the guy who was like the extension of Dan Campbell on the staff. You know, he was sort of the leader. So I mean that's you know, I felt for a while that Aaron Gunn was ready to be head coach. I felt when he was going to be a head coach, he'd be really good and just I'm happy for him that ends up being with the Jets, which you know, I think you guys probably know, like this is where.

He wanted to be.

Oh yeah, how much will that most recent experience in Denver where they flipped that thing from three thirteen and one to a fifteen and two teams Detroit, Yeah, yeah, help him as he starts here.

Yeah, I mean, I think it's it's there's a lot of lessons to take you know. First of all, I mean I remember when you know, Dan Campbell was like one and seven and everybody wants to run him out of there, and they're like we're They're like, our our culture is good, like wins will come. And I think, you know, setting the foundation for like what do we want a players to play? Like what do you want it to act? Like?

You know, like what do we watch for? How much do they like football?

Like it takes a while, and I think I'm sure it'll annoy fans if it takes a year or more. You sort of see what's happened in Detroit, Like if you build it the right way, like.

This thing will be around for a while.

And you know, I would say too often the Jets have sort of grasped at quick fixes.

Obviously most recent machime did I don't know that's going to be the case here.

I think it might take a minute, but you know, if you do it right, you can build it in a lasting way.

Money talks at free agency, But how appealing is a guy like Glenn to players out there? If the money is comparable the way he talks to players, the way he connects. He can tell them that I've been in your shoes. I was a first round pick. I played in a game fifteen years. I worked my way up from an assistant coach, I was a scout.

Yeah, I mean I would say it's meaningful. I don't know that that's going to make the difference on any big time free agent, because like, if you're going for fifteen million dollars and another team's offering you thirteen, like you usually players generally go for the most money.

Yeah, But as you.

Get later and as things slow down, that's kind of when I think it'll make a difference, because then it's your you know, you're not talking fifteen million, talking like three or four, and teams are generally around the same price, and then it's like can you sell it? And like, as you've probably known, like if you listen to him, like it's he can be pretty fun, it could be pretty exciting. He does a great job of making you feel like what he's telling you is like the most important thing, And I do think that will resonate with free agents.

What was the reaction around the league to the recent salary cap projections for twenty twenty five.

You know, it's probably a little higher than some thought, but again, like it's not a you know, superstar studed free agency, So I don't know if it'll make that much of a difference. What it might do is, you know, cause some teams to do some extensions early, like the Bills ocked up Khali Shakir right earlier today, you know, more like just spend the money in other ways, whereas maybe the free agent class doesn't warrant it quite as much.

Out of the week here, what what are you going to be most looking forward to? What are we going to find out here in Indianapolis this week?

I'd like to find out, you know, who's QB three in the draft?

Yep.

I'd like to find out where these quarterbacks are going and where kind of where do the dominoes go? And there's as always the world of ovs are on quarterback news and you know, hope to get some this week.

Six quarterbacks top twelve picks last year, we're not going to see a repeated that do you think that think? Is that to day next April we're going to have three in the first round though?

Oh yeah, three in the first round. Yeah yeah, I think we'll get three.

I think we'll get three, maybe four, maybe more, you know, And that's that's what happens, is like you get to know these guys and you fall in love with them, and you know they really do sort of rise, you know what I mean.

Rep.

Sheet appreciate it as always.

Man all right, good being on with you, man, take care,