To on the move, going deep, speedless past from the Baptist Health Studio. This inside the Baptist Health Training Complex. This is Drivetime with Travis Wingfield. He's my hands in the playoffs?
What is up Dolphins? And welcome to the Draft Time Podcast. I am your host, Travis Wingfield. And on today's show, another divisional preview and another player chat. The player is wide receiver Taj Washington and the division is the NFC South. What we can learn from the Bucks, Saints, Falcons and Panthers or perhaps learn what not to do? All that and more from the Baptist Health Studios inside the Baptist Health Training Complex.
This is the Draft Time.
Podcast, by far my lead least favorite division to pour over so far in this series because quite frankly, guys, I don't think there's a good football team in this division. We kick it off with last year's reigning champs, which was kind of a by default situation in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who finished the year nine and eight and won the division and got a home draw against a folding Eagles team and produced a playoff victory before a divisional round loss at the Detroit Lions. And it goes
back to this result and process concept over. Did you think the Bucks had a better year lastterer than the Dolphins because they didn't. They won two less games, and all the wins were kind of fugazi in terms of narrow wins against bad football teams that could have gone the other way with one bounce.
Of the football.
And because they got a certain draw and they played in a certain division, they advanced further.
But process over results.
It really is kind of the theme of this podcast today because these teams had certain results, but the process has been horrendous for a couple of years now in the NFC South. So one of the more interesting operations to me the Buccaneers of the last three hundred and
sixty five days. I remember doing this last year or this, doing this exercise at this time last year, saying that the roster is actually still pretty good, but I felt like going from Brady to Baker was going to be significant, and they're a good reminder of the entire seventeen game schedule needs to be considered making those grand statements because I remember after that Buffalo game a slog of a Thursday night football game John Ledyard, who wrote at Pewter
Report for years and does my podcast all the time, said that he would make the change at quarterback because Baker was getting off open reads, the footwork was too sped up, he was seeing ghosts out there, all the signs of a panic quarterback who was not properly seeing the field.
And he wasn't wrong.
The Bucks fell to three and four with that game, and then lost three of the next four games by scoring twenty points, fourteen points and twenty points in the latter three contest. Then they get hot and rebound from that four and seven start. And even though they picked up off that lifeless Eagles team, did you ever really feel like the Bucks were going to go to San Francisco or go to Detroit and win a playoff game?
Because here are the wins in that five to one finish, Carolina, Atlanta, Green Bay.
It's a nice one.
A Lawrence lists Jacksonville team and Carolina once again nine to nothing in that game. By the way, I watch so many teams this year, in the last couple of years, and it's this death of the middle class man. There's so many freaking teams that are just futile, futile, futile, on offense. It reminds me of the two thousand and
nine Dolphins. And that's why I say the Dolphins fans are so spoiled right now, because you should not take for granted the ability to score forty points in any game and really blow out most teams that you see that are sub five hundred. And what did the Bucks do this offseason? But essentially run things back from a year ago. So we'll see if the division got better, if they got better, or if it all stays the same.
And watch three five hundred football teams play another January round robin to see who gets to host a playoff game. Oh gosh, the big moves for this team. Randy Gregory off the edge, safety Jordan Whitehead who Jets fans really fell out of favor with him, cornerback Bryce Hall, and then two offensive linemen Ben Bredeson and the draft in the first round Graham Barton the center out of Duke
on the way out. Really just two names of note here, Shaq Barrett and Carlton Davis's pretty much the same copy and paste back again. What does this team do well? They get the ball on the perimeter quickly, really well, both in the run and screen game and force you to tackle big, physical ball carriers. In Mike Evans and Rashad White and Chris Godwin. They do the same thing in the trenches with a big accomplished offensive line. Few backs had more success before contact than Rashad White did
last year. Their ability to be multiple in the run scheme also stands out. Mike Evans is sort of a unicorn and how he opens things up, not just with the detail of his route running and how that generates space in and of itself, but how the quarterback can throw him open. And there's nobody in the world that makes better in flight adjustments on the football or contested
catches than Mike Evans. Like if he's covered, you can just throw it, you know, to eleven o'clock and he can go up there and pull it down over a contesting dB. They are smart on defense, and that's the Levante David effect to the tee really in fact, down the middle, I like watching how defenses build in the middle Vidaveya, Levante David and Twine Winfield. I mean, that's
as good as it gets right there. They are rock solid and the teeth of their defense, their ability to play gap control and Win with wiggle on one on ones like Vidaveya can play edge and like Win as a pass rusher at what is he three hundred and thirty five pounds, it's uncanny. And then Greg Gaines is a bulldozer who has his own, you know, hand fighting abilities. And then Elijah CANTSI was a nice rookie for them a year ago. It's a nice combination of both those players.
Really it sets up everything else to really kind of work for that defense. What's the concern or fatal flaw here with this football team? There are no changes on offense essentially, and it wasn't a good offense. So okay, is knt nuty the only thing you're banking on there? Because I mean, conton nuty is cool when you have a top five offense, but when you have the eighteenth
offense in the NFL, I don't know. I think any quarterback, especially one like Baker Mayfield who has his eyes hardwired to his feet and plays in rhythm, will get better in year two. But man, the full product just was not good last year. Bryce Hall was the only addition to really replace their best cornerback in Carlton Davis, who was traded to Detroit, and I don't believe there's a defined slot in place for him or in this football team. Tavier Thomas was pretty good in that role for Houston
last year in and out of the lineup. He's probably the top option there, but he kind of is more on the rise than arrived as a player. And I'm concerned about depth here in general, like I am with pretty much like twenty six NFL teams right now. Some interesting things about this club or the biggest storyline running it back is always interesting to me, especially when you were bottom half of the league and almost everything. I mean Dvoa as a team, they were eighteenth EPA per
play on both sides. They were both in the bottom twenty or beyond the top twenty total defense, total offense, scoring, like everything.
Wasn't a good football team.
And that's why I said, like winning nine games is you don't like that's not the only measure of what makes a good team. Like teams win and lose games they shouldn't every single week. And when you can take the metrics that kind of bear out the overall you know, averages and score, that's where you get the real results of who's actually playing the most consistent football and the Bucks were nowhere near that. So I don't know, man,
I just I don't know. So Dave Kanalis was the head coach for the Panthers now and he earned a bunch of praise for the passing game finally getting going down the stretch a little bit. And I'm curious to see how Liam Cohen takes over and how big of an impact that has, because your continuity is kind of disrupted when you don't have the same play caller right. And then also just a personal shout out to Josh Gazzard,
a QC here for quite a while. He got a promotion to be the passing game coordinator for the Buccaneers. Best of luck to you, coach Griz. We're pulling for you. I'm pulling for you big time for sure. Final roster thoughts That league best offensive line they built a few years ago has slowly deteriorated, with Ali Marpette and Alex Kappa both departing over the course of a couple of years.
Donovan Smith Nalonger is there, but the key piece has remained interest in worfs and Luke Gadecki has become a hit After a slow start to his career. They add Barton in the draft, he'll start Day one, and then Cody Mack is the guy that everybody fell in love with the Senior Bowl two years ago. He'll be there at a guard position. And then I think Ben Bretterson probably gets the other opportunity at right guard. Still a pretty good line, and then Evans and Godwin is a
very good one two punch. I think Jalen McMillan could be a nice number three even as a rookie. I like the tight end Kate Atton, and really here I am kind of talking myself into the roster again.
It's not bad.
Dais were a good football team in general last year. I don't know about the most important spot, like guess where it comes down to. I'm a big Baker fan coming out of college. I think he should start in this league. But is he a guy that quarterbacks team that I like feel very convicted in their ability to score with the best team's the NFL. Absolutely not. I didn't mention William Golsen on the defensive line. I like the linebackers. I have concerns in the defensive back beyond
Jamail Dean and Antoine Winfield. This is a good football team, so I kind of racked my brain on what they can tell us but the Miami Dolphins, and I don't think there's much and that's going to be a theme throughout this episode here With the NFC South, I think it's a good roster, but even in a bad division, managed to win only nine games and had to win five of the last six just to do that. And the reason for that is they couldn't really do much
on offense and couldn't cover on defense. To the former point, I just really really want Dolphins fans to appreciate what a dynamic offense does for your team and for your fan base. That's the Buccaneers. Let's move on now to the Norland Saints.
Who are.
Let's talk about the Saints here trying to be nice right. Nine to eight last year, which was good for a second in NFC South because of tiebreakers, and I gotta tell you again, this was the toughest division to do because I don't think there's a contender among this group of teams. The Saints were in the hunt to the very end, but that was not a good football team at all last season. The Derek Carr move was nothing
short of a disaster. Weren't many offenses in the NFL more disjointed than the Saints all year, and the guarantees in his deal means he's there for at least the next two years, and he'll be behind an offensive line that doesn't have the guns right now, especially after it was discovered that Ryan Ramcheck is out for the season, which kind of forced them into a tackle in round one and probably changed the dynamic of the first round
of the draft for your Miami Dolphins. But I love tealisy Fuago, who they took out of Oregon State, But that's because they took, you know, a guy two years ago who they simply would not put on the field. Last year, after three tackles ahead of him went down with injuries, they were pulling guys off the practice squad before going to Trevor Penning at the tackle position. Now they are kind of reshipping their offensive line to play more zone than the man and gap scheme that has
been very popular for them over the year. So that's, I guess a positive sign. But their wins last year like this is why I'm saying they win a good team even at nine to eight. They beat the Titans and the Panthers. In the first two games, they drubbed the Patriots. Then they had narrow wins over the Colts, Bears, Panthers, Giants. They beat the Bucks soundly, they beat the Falcons, and then only the only Patriot. The only game that was a two score win for them was the Patriots game.
And look, I'm all.
All I'm saying is, for the most part, when we played those types of teams, you know, Mike White is getting loose by the end of the third quarter. Like I just I think the last two years of the Dolphins has really reshaped the way I see the league, Whereas like, oh, yeah, you're winning these games by by a fine margin, but you're not like a real threat. And when you watch good football teams, you get that sense of who is and who isn't a contender.
Right.
The big moves Cedric Wilson at receiver, Justin Harran and Lucas Patrick on the offensive line. They brought in Chase Young off the edge and linebacker Willie Gay. I love that addition, and then safety Will Harrison. Their first round pick was Fuaga on the way out Jamis Winston, who.
Was probably their best quarterback last year.
Probably Andrews Pete left to the Raiders, Zach Bond is gone, and Lonnie Johnson is no more.
I don't have a Ryan.
There's Zach bu gone, I don't know, Butlion Johnson's gone to What do they do well? They pursue and tackle on defense and play fundamentally to their gap, which is an important trait to have. They play as good of man coverage as anybody out there. But I think the kool Aid McKinstry the second round pick helps them continue that. I like how that frees up some more of their man free looks with Tyron Matthew playing the post and
doing his thing. And they feature one of the game's top vertical threats in Rashid Shaheed, who is an absolute stud. What's the concern or fatal flaw here? I mean, I had three things they do well, and one of them was like good fundamentals, So, like you know, there's probably a lot more of these, but I wanted to keep it brief because I just don't feel like there's a lot to talk about here. They suffered, to me one of the worst combination of downfalls in professional football, shaky
protection and a quarterback that anticipated it. Once you start doing that and feeling pressure, you feel pressure that's not there when it's not there, and you don't see the field at all, and that takes a lot of negative plays. It takes you out of any progression in the passing game, It takes you out a big run after the catch because you're late. It is just a death nail to an offense a la Josh Rose when he was here. That's the first of two Josh Rosen references you'll hear on this podcast.
Some interesting things about them.
The biggest storyline, the thing about all of this is they were a tiebreaker away from the division championship. So can they get the extra bounce this year? Please don't. I don't want to watch a playoff game with this team, and why if they don't, that would be three years without playoffs for Dennis Allen, who was kind of a dubious hire to begin with. Just what a You know, the more I talk about bad teams on this podcast, the more I appreciate a good Dolphins football team. Final
roster thoughts. I think Kamara Jamal Williams is a fun combo. I mentioned Fuaga. I think that he's a hit right away to go along with Eric McCoy and Caesar Ruiz, two guys that I really wanted the Dolphins to draft few years ago when they were on the board or gonna be potentially be on the board for the Dolphins. But outside of that, it's a lot of questions up front.
I'm not sure there's a better deep threat besides Tyreek than Rashid Shahed, who means more to his team, Like their only offense last year was long touchdowns to Rashid Shaheed so or setting up for a touchdown. A couple plays like Cam Jordan finally came back down to earth after a career of being one of the best players in the league every single year, and that's a huge concern because they haven't gotten much from Peyton Turner, they haven't gotten anything from Brian Breese yet. And they'd add
Chase Young, who's in it. I like Carl Granderson a whole lot, and there's lots of depth there too. Kayln Sanders is a nice player, Nathan Sheppard on the inside. Lots of names here, and if they got more from those top guys and Jordan goes back to form, then it's a great group. But that's three like big ifs that I don't believe are gonna happen, and they play in front of one of the best linebackers in football
in Tamrio Davis, and I mentioned the secondary. I feel like this defense on paper has been better than its production in the last couple of years. And when your head coach is a defensive guy, that's kind of a problem, isn't it. What can they tell us about the Miami Dolphins. I say this all the time that a great defense and subpar offense is the quickest track to the worst
place in the NFL, the middle of the pack. The Saints haven't had a great defense, but it's been good enough to help them win those games against those teams that also scialuggle to score points and keep them right in that pocket where it's tough to break out of it because you can't really, you know, get the answer at quarterback or get the big playmaker on the perimeter that changes things for you. Again, it reminds me of
many a Dolphins teams from the odds. Let's go ahead and take a break right there, and I just I hate this division.
Man.
Let's go ahead and talk to someone that's excited though Dolphins wide receiver Toaj Washington. That's next Draft Time Podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Autnation. What up, guys, Travis Wingfield back here? Draft Time Podcast Mike Yesterday is Dolphins rookie wide receiver Taj Washington.
How does that sound?
Man?
Dolphins rooie wide receivers. Gotta sound pretty good to you.
Man, It's pretty sounds great.
You know, it's pretty surreal, and just each day trying to trying to live in it, live in the moment, living it.
And coming coming down here joining a loaded group of wide receivers. I mean, you pinch yourself a little bit thinking about being teammates with Tyreek Hill, Jalen Waddle, Odell Beckham, all these guys.
Oh yeah, for sure.
And then you know, you get to see those guys, you know when they come in kind of just you know, brings reassurance. You're in the same room with those guys, and you know, you get to learn with them and just grow with them.
I'm excited.
Have you learned something yet from those guys in terms of just how they work or how they go about being professionals?
You know, just a few things, you know, they haven't been here much since you know, healths and compared to now, you know, we in mini camp now, so uh, I'm excited to see where it goes from from here.
So mine, man, it's all you make a few plays of the day in practice. There was that one ball over your shoulder from two that was that was real, pretty man.
I was excited about that.
Uh. How do you think your time at USC, because, like, you know, it's funny man watching watching your guys' offense. Like Caleb is the best quarterback in the country, no question about that. But sometimes I'd watch the tape and I'd be like, man, Tosh was open like right now, but he's got to run around make some plays. Like I'm curious because I think you could have called one hundred passes if you just had a quick timing offense
like we have here. I'm curious how your time at USC do you think prepared you for the Dolphins.
I would just say, first, I would say, like a competitive environment. You got to compete always there, always guys coming in, always freshmen that come in, you know, every year. Just the competition level this there. And I would just say like just being in a bigger city, having to focus between school and and ball, you know, so if you can have success out there, I feel like you have a good chance to have success anywhere else.
It makes perfect sense.
You're one of the most polished deep receivers in college football last year and one of the most productive for sure. We throw the ball down field a lot down here too. How excited you for that? And what what is the key to being a good deep receiver?
I would just say focus, It's a big thing.
You know.
Anybody can get down the field, but everybody can you know, track that ball once it's in the air and make it yours.
Focus is a huge thing.
That was a big emphasis, you know, going from the previous season to this past season. That just played just how can I train myself to be more focused on you know, deep balls and become more of a threat vertically.
And real those things? And man, that's the fun plays to watch. Gets the whole the whole steam over here jump when we hit those, which is quite frequently, it's so much fun to see. So you are not the only receiver we drafted this year. So you and Elite come in this thing together the same last name, which is crazy to me. But how you guys enjoying learning together.
So far.
It's a pretty demanding room, right in terms of the things you have to be on top of. How how's that process been.
It's been fun. We met each other at the at the shrining game.
Okay, cool, So just us both coming here having that previous of knowing each other kind of he's seeing a relative face, you know, and just going through this process together, everything being so new to both of us. Just trying to learn and you know, help each other as much as possible.
That's gonna help you, guys get the most of each other, right, Thanks. Thanks, It kind of works off each other. But one guy you got in that room is also a in my opinion, should be in the Hall of Fame. He's not yet, but Wes Welker Man, it's one of the most accomplished slot receiver. He probably is the most accomplished slough receiver. He is. He's someone was talking about like the Whip route, the China route the other day, and it's like someone was saying, I don't know what they call this, the
most office. I call that the Wes Welker routes. What I call that because he ran that thing better than anybody else. But what have you learned from him so far? I know it's been brief, but man, you gotta be excited to work for him.
Man, I mean in his brief time, I've learned so much. He just knows the game so well when he talks is it's so why you know you just want to I want to write everything he says down and just you know he's been there, he's done it, He's shown it. Just watching his tape, you know, previous to come in. Just getting to hear him talking coach every day is a is a huge privilege and opportunity.
A little pivot here.
No more football for you, but you did talk about your skills on the grill or just cooking in general.
Cooking in general.
What you got for us?
Man?
Everything? No huddle kitchen, man, go check it out?
Yeah? Is it?
I g page?
Uh?
YouTube? YouTube took a show. Okay, no huddle say it again, No huddle kitchen, No huddle kitchen.
I'm gonna check it out. I'm gonna ask you more questions. Go right down.
All your fans do that as well. No huddle kitchen. TAJ Washington appreciate it. Thank you, Thank you so much. Thank you, and away he goes fun chat there with Taj. Go ahead and check out his YouTube channel there. He actually has like sponsors and stuff and it's really well produced. Kind of fun to watch him do his thing in the kitchen. Let's go ahead and take a break right there. Come back on the other side and finish up the
NFC South with the Falcons and Panthers riveting. I know that's next Draft Time podcast, your host Travis Wingfield, brought to you by Auto Nation. The Atlanta Falcons finished seven to ten last season, third in the NFC South. What a strange off season for them, right, Let's start with
last year though, where I thought that was. That one was just as puzzling because I remember coming into the year or in a training camp, they came down here for those joint practices and I kept saying, like, gosh, this defense has some dudes that can ball and they're making plays out here on a very good Dolphins offense. But I never thought Desmond Ritter showed NFL starter caliber in college, and you're sure as hell didn't do it in twenty twenty two. So to go into twenty twenty
three with him and Taylor Heineke as your quarterbacks. I just never really got that. And the result they're both gone. Arthur Smith is gone, and now they swing the pendulum back harder than how high I pushed my daughter on the swings of the playground by signing the most expensive quarterback on the market and drafting a guy in the
top ten if they had cousins. Last year, they cruise to a division title, wins over Carolina and the early season Packers, then Houston, Tampa, New Orleans, Jets, and Colts. All these teams are winning games against the other dregs of the league. Like it's why they win seven, eight, nine games. It's not even like a good team, and you still have a good win total at the end of the year. That was it. They lost four to the last five, including els to Tampa, Carolina, the Bears,
and the Saints. Like you could have won thirteen games, you just beat bad football teams. They managed just thirteen points in the Jets win, seven points in the Panthers loss, and seventeen in the Bears game and the Saints game to end the year. Change was needed, and they got changed. I love the head coach higher Raheem Morris. What did they do to build that group around him. They brought in Kirk Cousins the quarterback, and three receivers that I
quite love these moves. Rondell Moore, Darnell Mooney, and Rary McLeod all featured different skill sets. Tight end Mike Coel Pruett, cornerback Kevin King, and of course their first round draft pick was Michael Pennix. On the way out, some big names on defense on the way Kalaias Campbell joins us. Jeff Acuda kind of had a career resurgence. He leaves in free agency. Desen Ritter is obviously gone, receiver Van Jefferson and Mac Hollins are both gone, but I don't think much is lost there.
And then Quarterell Patterson also left. To the Steelers. What do they do well?
They have an adult at quarterback now, and I mean by that as someone with life experience, right NFL experience.
He can come in and command the huddle.
He can see what the pre snaff field looks like and anticipate what's gonna get as a result of that. Just that alone makes such a difference getting out of bad plays into the right one, for instance. And how many years now have they had all these weapons that don't do a whole lot. Those guys are still there. I'm excited to watch Bijon Pitts. Drake London gets some
roll with a proven quarterback. And I also like how they've rounded out the group there with more Mooney and Tyler al Jeer, who's an absolute stud of an incumbent too, and Zach Robinson. The new OC is there and he'll help implement a lot of the stuff that Cousins excelled in Minnesota with under Kevin O'Connell. They also get good interior pressure Grady Jarrett, David Anyamata, Eddie old Man. Now they add Brandon Dorilys and Rooke a roilrow Row, which is a great rotation of defensive lineman.
That's how you say his name.
And then I'm also a fan of Caden Ellis at linebacker and the biggest Jesse Bates fan on the entire planet, for my money, is the best free safety in football. What's the concern or fatal flaw here? I'm not sure they have the bullets to effectively generate pressure off the edge like Arnold Ibaktier Ibakidi eb I can't say it, but he's their best pass prusher. I also think they
have similar concerns in perimeter coverage. Now, both of those being said, I think Raheem Morris alone, his scheme and his coaching makes everybody a little bit better interesting things about this team or biggest storylines. This will be everybody's division winner.
Pick right.
That's a division that was sort of one by default a year ago, and so when you get a proven quarterback, that's the natural progression, like give it to the team that has the best quarterback. But I don't think it's a given. Raheem Morris a second go around as head coach, and he deserves it so good. I'm excited to watch that play out.
I'm rooting for him.
And that defense had talent but didn't performing the last two years. I could definitely see them becoming a defense that becomes like synonymous with success and people were just like, oh, the Falcons defense is really good now, Like it was, it just wasn't.
Really well coached.
Some final roster thoughts covered it pretty well on outside of the offensive line. Three big hits in Jake Matthews, CALEA McGarry, and Chris Lynstrom. The last like five or so years, I think Lynchram's the best guard in football. They who wins the other two spots. I liked Matthew bergeron last year in the draft. Figure he gets a crack at one of those guard jobs. The edge group I mentioned is Ebakette. I think I got right that time.
Lorenzo Carter, Braylan Schrice and Bradley and I who if the lockdown fans remember how big of a fan I was of Bradley and I who has not worked out at all?
And the cornerbacks.
AJ Terrell is a nice player, Mike Hughes canploy, and then Clark Phillips and Kevin King is next, Like, there's just not at a depth in some key areas here.
What can they tell us with the Miami Dolphins.
I think the big thing here is how an effective quarterback can take this scheme like right, similar principles as ours and turn what looked like a promising skill group that had under delivered and make it all click. It does not work if you don't have the quarterback.
Now they have one.
They finished up here with the worst team in football last year, the Carolina Panthers two and fifteen, last in the NFC South, last in the NFL Murphy's law of a season really half a decade for this team, and
it's difficult to imagine an immediate turnaround here though. They did go aggressively after a handful of good players and free agency, but they spent top of the market money for good players, which has that ever worked out for anybody losing valuable draft capital watching the pick after the guy that you took have an all time rookie season.
Ouch.
Changing coaches for the second time in as many years, it's going to be a process for this team. They did retain zero ever ro on defense, which is kind of interesting that a DC last a head coaching change, But Dave Canalis is in the big chair now after a good season coordinating to the Bucks offense, and from the word going twenty twenty three, it was dreadful, man.
They couldn't get open.
The offense appeared too complex for at least one position group on every single snap, like they were in bad alignment, bad route depth, bad eyes by the quarterback, bad protection, bad slides, bad protection plans. In general, they couldn't protect Bryce Young, who's you know, five point eleven. He couldn't make plays and when he did, like half the time the ball was dropped. I think their best guy was
Adam Thielen. Come on, now, we got our first look in that Week two primetime game where they and the Saints just traded punts all night, which was so fun. Was it Thursday Monday?
I can't remember.
And I've always said I'll only want I'll watch any NFL game on anytime, any anywhere. But I don't know, Man, as I get older, it's like I kind of want to watch, you know, like riveting television. Here not a twelve straight punt football game. They were zero and six before their first win. They have fifteen to thirteen barn
burner over Houston. How then they lost six more games before a nine nine to seven win over the Braves or I mean the Falcons, and then the last lost the last three games of the year, and we're talking major losses. Eighteen points to Detroy, twenty one points to Miami, fourteen to the Colts, twenty three to the Cowboys, twenty two to the Saints, twenty six of the Jags, fourteen to the Falcons.
Like, they were awful, and what do they do to fix it?
They brought in two massive guards and paid them a boatload of money in Robert Hunt and Damian Lewis. They also brought in a swing tackle on josh Niezman, a receiver in Deontay Johnson. Rashon Penny the running back is now there. Ashawn Robinson, a defensive tackle, joins the Panthers in three edges Jadavian Clowney, dj Wanham and Klevon Chason. They also get Josie Jewleett linebacker, the former Buffalo Bill Dame Jackson at corner, and their first pick was in
the second round wide receiver Xavier Lagette. On the way out was Hayden Hurst, a tight end linebacker Kamu gruge Hill who got snatched back up by Brian Flores in Minnesota. Brian burnsrustrated to the Giants. Dante Jackson leaves of the Steelers. CJ. Henderson also exits, and Von Bell and Jeremy Chenn are both gone too. It's a lot of names they lost there, man like good names.
What do they do well?
It's tough to tell you that for a two to fifteen football team, but getting Hunt and Lewis on the inside speaks to a shift towards the combination of size and athletic ability to out flank and climb to the second level of defense and really resent the line of scrimage that way, which pairs with the Sanders and Penny signs.
In the last two years. So I'd like the idea where they're going with that.
So I'd say it benefits the running game, but it also helps a five foot ten or five foot eleven quarterback have his protection hold up inside as well, and hope that they can create his way around edge pressure, which has been a major issue, especially with the former six pick in the draft, Ike Aquanu who's really struggled to find his group so far in his career, and then with Taylor Moten missing so much time last year, they just were an absolute disaster. But having a good
swing tackle and Josh Nisman will definitely help that. What's the concern or fatal flaw the whole damn roster. I mean, it's not very often Riki quarterback has a year like that and pans out. Josh Rosen second. Josh Rosen mentioned on the podcast it was like him Jared Goff is the one you point to with some hope, or maybe Alex Smith, but like, I don't know, man, I never really saw it with Bryce Young personally, they're counting on the same tackle combination that got him beat up last year.
Is that gonna work?
Where's the speed? The skill spots? Like Miles Samers is probably your fastest guy. How did he perform last year? They lost a lot of talent on defense, including their best player and Brian Burns. They replaced Clowney and replaced him with Clowney in one them that's not an upgrade, but Burns was like their only consistent pressure player last year. Chin is gone like von Bell's gone. I don't know,
I don't know. Some interesting things about this team. Your biggest storyline, they're one quarterback conundrum, despite how bad they were and might be. Is one of the more fascinating storylines you can find. Like beat writers always say to me, like you need either really good or really bad to sell papers, And this story is intriguing because right now
it's the latter. We saw Houston go from three coaches in three years to where you almost couldn't make another move, and luckily they found their Demiko Ryans for the Panthers, is Dave Kanal is going to be that he kind of has to be because you're not gonna who's gonna take that job next year. I think that's kind of what happened this year with Canal's actually final roster thoughts. When you go too and fifteen, you kind of have to overpay to bring players in. And good on them
for getting two studs and Hunt and Lewis. I love that combination at the guard position. I think their best receiver is a rookie personally. The Dj Moore part of that Bryce Young trade is probably the worst part of it all. But Deontay Johnson was their big get. He has like effort issues, So how's that gonna work for a bad football team.
I don't I just I don't know.
I like JC Horn on defense, Dan Jackson gives him stabillity there in the defensive backfield. Shaq Thompsons still a baller, and now he gets Josie Jewel next to him. I love giving Derek Brown Ashawn Robinson. I think we need like three more off seasons like this one before we can expect like real progress here. What can they tell us with the Dolphins? Absolutely nothing division predictions here which
can change from now until September. First place, I'm going back to the Bucks eight to nine wins like, I just don't think anyone's gonna be good in this division.
Again.
The Falcons I have second place at seven to eight wins, the Saints in third place at four to five wins, and the Panthers in last with three or four wins.
The best quarterback is Kirk Cousins.
The best non quarterback on offense tricky one, but I'm going Chris Lenstrum here. Hat tip to Mike Evans. Best defensive players vite Veya. The best coach to me is Raheem Morris. A new guy like that tells you it's a rough division. Man. The best rookie for me is My favorite rookie is Felici Tuaga and this is gonna sound crazy because he was a fourth pick in the draft. My fantasy sleeper is Kyle Pitts. I think this is the year for Kyle Pitts. I think this is my
time to get the hell out of here. You all please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, wherever you get your podcasts from. Go ahead, leave us a rating, leave us a review. You can follow me on social at linkfold NFL and the team at Miami Dolphins. Check out the Fish Tank Podcast with my guys Seth and Juice. Check out the YouTube channel for media availabilities, Dolphins a Day, drive time content, and so much more, and last but not least, MiamiDolphins dot Com. Until next time,
Fin's up. Come on on, Cameron, Daddy, He's coming home.