Speaker 1: Hey, what's up everybody? Welcome to the Guiltiest Charge Podcast,
Speaker 1: presented by the Chargers Podcast Network. As always, my name
Speaker 1: is Stephen and I am the host. In joining me
Speaker 1: today is my guy Tyler. Tyler, what's man? How you
Speaker 1: doing this afternoon?
Speaker 2: I'm doing fantastic.
Speaker 3: We have a great interview for you guys and just
Speaker 3: a bit and Chargers fans. How are you we are
Speaker 3: as of recording this two.
Speaker 2: Weeks from camp? How you doing? We're almost there?
Speaker 1: Yeah, countdown to camp has officially begun and it's getting
Speaker 1: closer and closer. I'm really excited about the interview that
Speaker 1: we have today. As Tyler mentioned, mister Ted Wynn of
Speaker 1: the Athletic is going to be joining us, talking all
Speaker 1: things related to Kellen Moore, Brandon Staley. We asked him
Speaker 1: about j C. Jackson and we just had a great
Speaker 1: conversation and we'll get to that here second. But yeah,
Speaker 1: it was very insightful. Can't thank him enough for joining
Speaker 1: us and hopefully you guys enjoy it. After the interview,
Speaker 1: Tyler and I are going to sit down and talk
Speaker 1: about the undrafted free agents that the Chargers have and
Speaker 1: potentially some guys that could really push for roster spots.
Speaker 1: Obviously the Chargers have a great tradition in that regard.
Speaker 1: Obviously recent guys like Austin Eckler and Michael Davis, for example,
Speaker 1: So certainly possible that the Chargers do have a gem
Speaker 1: in this undrafted free agent class. And we'll sit down
Speaker 1: and talk about all of those guys before we get started,
Speaker 1: before we get to that interview. As always, Tyler and
Speaker 1: I are fans of the team, just like you guys are.
Speaker 1: We are independent content creators and as such, the opinions
Speaker 1: that we share on this episode and every episode are
Speaker 1: not always reflected of the Chargers organization. These are our
Speaker 1: opinions and there ares alone. So that's that. All right,
Speaker 1: Let's get to this interview with miss Ted Winn. Hope
Speaker 1: you guys enjoy it and we'll see you on the
Speaker 1: other side. All right, guys, As I said earlier, super
Speaker 1: excited to be joined by Ted Winn of The Athletic,
Speaker 1: who does a great job covering the NFL. I know,
Speaker 1: at least formerly covering the Raiders, but I know specifically
Speaker 1: you know, doing some x's and O stuff for the
Speaker 1: Athletic on Twitter, one of the best guys to follow.
Speaker 1: I participated in a in a spaces with him recently
Speaker 1: with coach Voss. That was very lightning and they had
Speaker 1: a ton of fun doing that. So Ted, thanks so
Speaker 1: much for joining us today. Man, how you doing Bill well,
Speaker 1: Thanks for having me on. Guys, happy to have you here.
Speaker 1: Thanks for taking the time today. We have a lot
Speaker 1: of great stuff to get into, so we'll just dive in. Obviously,
Speaker 1: the Chargers making, you know, the big move from Joe
Speaker 1: Lombardi to Kellen Moore, and a lot of people kind
Speaker 1: of the hype is really starting to build recently with
Speaker 1: Kellen Moore kind of taking over the offense. I'm curious
Speaker 1: to get your thoughts here of really just how much
Speaker 1: of an upgrade you think Kellen Moore could be from
Speaker 1: Joe Lombardi in the past regime and maybe highlighting how
Speaker 1: his offense might you know, allow Justin Herbert to take
Speaker 1: another step in twenty twenty three.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, I think it's interesting because you know,
Speaker 4: Lombardi gets a ton of blame for the offense. Just
Speaker 4: watching the offense last year, I mean, you know, it's
Speaker 4: just the same plays over and over again. I'm sure
Speaker 4: you know the fans are you know, what's what stick
Speaker 4: routes are by now very well, and then you know
Speaker 4: it's just a depth of target the type of routes
Speaker 4: that were thrown, And you know, I think part of
Speaker 4: it was it was hamstrung by a pretty beat up
Speaker 4: offensive line too, So you know the health of the
Speaker 4: offensive line is going to be a major part in
Speaker 4: whether Kellen Moore can really upgrade his offense or not.
Speaker 4: But I always have been pretty impressed by what Kellen
Speaker 4: has done with the Cowboys. And I know he's not
Speaker 4: a perfect offensive coordinator. I mean, you know, they're there
Speaker 4: are things that he needs to get better at too,
Speaker 4: And I think part of it he's a very young coach.
Speaker 4: You know, if you look at his career, he just
Speaker 4: went from being an NFL quarterback to being quarterback coach
Speaker 4: and all of a sudden he's a coordinator. So he
Speaker 4: just really doesn't have a ton of experience coaching. But
Speaker 4: I've liked what he's done in terms of creativity, very
Speaker 4: specific game plans. But I think the biggest thing he
Speaker 4: can't do for this Charter's offense is to build a
Speaker 4: dependable run game so that you know it's not always
Speaker 4: all on Justin Herbert's shoulders, it will help improve the
Speaker 4: play action game. But yeah, just getting a consistent run
Speaker 4: game that can get successful gains here down in and
Speaker 4: down out will be a big boost for the Charges offense.
Speaker 1: I'm curious, sorry, Tyler, to cut you off there, just
Speaker 1: kind of an expanded question here, because one thing that
Speaker 1: you talked about after the hiring was Kellen's verbiage that
Speaker 1: you know, this merging of worlds that he that he's
Speaker 1: experienced in the NFL. You know, how would you kind
Speaker 1: of define his coaching tree or not coaching tree. I
Speaker 1: guess his coaching ancestry if you want to call it that, obviously,
Speaker 1: you know, coaching for the longest tenure under Mike McCarthy.
Speaker 1: Do you think that that West Coast Mike McCarthy Sean
Speaker 1: payn esque offense is going to be kind of what
Speaker 1: he leans into most or do you think maybe his
Speaker 1: past under Jason Garrett and his playing experience might lean
Speaker 1: more into how he kind of approaches this season.
Speaker 4: I think his latest term with Mike McCarthy will probably
Speaker 4: influence what he does the most. And you know, despite
Speaker 4: the you know, the the reaon when Mike McCarthy kind
Speaker 4: of came out and talked about the reasons why they
Speaker 4: separated With Kellen Moore, he talked about wanting to run more,
Speaker 4: and it's kind of strange because the Cowboys were like
Speaker 4: the most run heavy team in the league last year.
Speaker 4: So I think his experience with Mike McCarthy, you knowably
Speaker 4: improved his ability to game plan with the run game
Speaker 4: and his willingness to run in certain situations. But I
Speaker 4: think he'll probably be more pass heavy. But it's good
Speaker 4: that he has that experience as far as building out
Speaker 4: a diverse run game because actually, you know, studying the
Speaker 4: Cowboys offense, he had a really diverse run game with
Speaker 4: a ton of concepts, some really creative concepts in there
Speaker 4: as well. But I do think he'll be more pass
Speaker 4: happy with the Chargers. But the important thing is just
Speaker 4: building an efficient run game. It doesn't mean they have
Speaker 4: to run the ball every first down and just be
Speaker 4: this kind of beat your head against the wall type
Speaker 4: of team, but just getting that run game to an
Speaker 4: efficient manner will be one of the best contributions he
Speaker 4: could make as an offensive coordinator.
Speaker 3: To your earlier point about Kellen Moore being a younger
Speaker 3: offensive coordinator, a newer offensive coordinator, what can he do
Speaker 3: to improve? I think a lot of us are focusing on, Yeah,
Speaker 3: it's going to be awesome, the offense is going to
Speaker 3: be great, but there is room for improvement, I'm sure
Speaker 3: in your eyes, where he can Where can he improve?
Speaker 4: I think just situational football and just kind of and
Speaker 4: maybe Charger fans don't want to hear this, but just
Speaker 4: being a little a little more varied, because you know,
Speaker 4: I think sometimes he can lean into some of the
Speaker 4: things he likes a little bit, kind of like Lombardi
Speaker 4: does to a sense, like he you know, he also
Speaker 4: is a big fan of stick reffs. You know, maybe
Speaker 4: Charger fans don't want to hear that, but you know,
Speaker 4: just being a little bit more varied, having a little
Speaker 4: bit more in the fourth quarter to switch things up,
Speaker 4: I think would be a good progression for him.
Speaker 3: Is there an opponent or a scheme where he tends
Speaker 3: to go back to maybe what's safer, what's less varied,
Speaker 3: because he wants to work with what sort of works
Speaker 3: within his wheelhouse. Because I feel like that was a
Speaker 3: common Joe Lombardi complained among a lot of Chargers fans.
Speaker 4: Yeah, but I think it's to a lesser degree than
Speaker 4: Lombardi and yeah, so it's just strange because you know,
Speaker 4: we know Michael Carthy had influence on what he was
Speaker 4: calling with Dallas, So it'll be curious to see what
Speaker 4: he does when he has a full reign on this offense.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and it certainly seems like that's going to be
Speaker 1: the case. You know, he talked about this, I believe
Speaker 1: with Peter Schrager on his podcast that you know, Brand said,
Speaker 1: he's certainly involved with the offense, but this is Kellen's
Speaker 1: offense and he's going to be able to take charge
Speaker 1: of it and play to Justin's strengths. And you know,
Speaker 1: one of the things that they have both kind of
Speaker 1: talked about is not necessarily like tearing this down to
Speaker 1: the studs, but like building off of what the Charges
Speaker 1: offense has done well and adding some wrinkles in and
Speaker 1: things like that. You mentioned the Cowboys run approach. You know,
Speaker 1: the Chargers have talked about like majoring in their strengths.
Speaker 1: What would you say from the run game perspective, what
Speaker 1: were the strengths of a Kellen Moore offense in the
Speaker 1: past few years in Dallas.
Speaker 4: I think just the variety of runs they had they
Speaker 4: could punish you in a multiple different ways. They were
Speaker 4: they majored in outside zone. That was their main run,
Speaker 4: but they had so many different types of runs in
Speaker 4: their arsenal as well. They could gap scheme you, they
Speaker 4: could go inside run. They were very effective running out
Speaker 4: of the shotgun as well, you know, and it wasn't
Speaker 4: just because they were using Dak on options. They did
Speaker 4: that sporadically, but they're able to build a really strong
Speaker 4: shotgun run team without making the quarterback a part of
Speaker 4: the option. And I think that's going to be good
Speaker 4: to pair with Justin Herbert because you know, like he
Speaker 4: has athleticism to run some most option plays, but you
Speaker 4: know you don't want him do it too often, and obviously,
Speaker 4: with how effective he is as a passer, you want
Speaker 4: to keep him in a shotgun as well.
Speaker 3: Moving to the defense now, because there's so much positivity
Speaker 3: on the offensive side of the ball, and rightfully so,
Speaker 3: there's always going to be I think with Justin Herbert,
Speaker 3: But the other side of the ball is a bit
Speaker 3: more uncertain, and I think why a lot of fans
Speaker 3: or media members.
Speaker 2: Aren't buying the Chargers.
Speaker 3: But everywhere I look, it seems like all the best
Speaker 3: and respected film. Guys really do buy Brandon Staley as
Speaker 3: the you know, defensive genius, elite game planner, schemer.
Speaker 2: Et cetera.
Speaker 3: You had a great article before the wild Card game
Speaker 3: that highlighted that, and in individual games, as you pointed out,
Speaker 3: I got Week two against the Chiefs, against the forty
Speaker 3: nine Ers, against the Dolphins, there are moments of greatness.
Speaker 3: You know, that elite game planning is there. But in
Speaker 3: the macro of two seasons, the defense has underperformed relative
Speaker 3: to expectations. Granted a lot of that is also injuries.
Speaker 3: So how does Brandon Staley take those flashes of greatness
Speaker 3: and then translate it to season long success?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 4: Man, that article burns. I wrote that article and things
Speaker 4: were looking good in the first half of the Jaguars game.
Speaker 4: You know, they had all those picks. I was like, man,
Speaker 4: you know, I'm looking like indication this take, what's a
Speaker 4: really good take? And all of a sudden, the second
Speaker 4: half happens. I'm like, oh, guys are just like like,
Speaker 4: guys are commenting in my article as the game was happening,
Speaker 4: Like I told you, he was terrible, man, he I
Speaker 4: think in the second half of the Chargers game and
Speaker 4: even throughout most of his Charger's tenure, he wasn't just
Speaker 4: running that Vic Fangio too high scheme that you know,
Speaker 4: he that he made so good with the with the
Speaker 4: Rams that got him his head coaching job. He he was,
Speaker 4: you know, running out two high shells, but he was
Speaker 4: playing more man coverage, was blitzing more. His blitz percentage
Speaker 4: is a lot higher than people expected to be when
Speaker 4: you're just we're just looking at it. But I think
Speaker 4: really in the second half of the season last year,
Speaker 4: when he, you know, the team was really banged up,
Speaker 4: he was just getting very game plan specific, you know,
Speaker 4: and he saw that against the Miami Dolphins, he saw
Speaker 4: that against the Niners, he was willing to just not
Speaker 4: exactly strape what he does, but he just came into
Speaker 4: that game with just a lot more ammo, a bigger
Speaker 4: menu of things, just getting very game game plan specific.
Speaker 4: And I think, uh, that's a good approach for him.
Speaker 4: I think he has the right mind for it. And
Speaker 4: then you know, I think he is able to teach.
Speaker 4: He's a very effective teacher. And that's part of being
Speaker 4: able to run a multiple scheme is being able to
Speaker 4: get their players to execute changing things week after week.
Speaker 4: So I think if he is able to apply that
Speaker 4: to an entire season, you know that defense could be
Speaker 4: could be very good. But again, you know, injuries are
Speaker 4: always such a such a big deal, like these guys
Speaker 4: got to stay healthy.
Speaker 1: Yeah, one of those guys is certainly j C. Jackson,
Speaker 1: the Chargers corner and you had a great article after
Speaker 1: the Chargers signed him about what brand state they could
Speaker 1: do with j. C. Jackson, And you know, one of
Speaker 1: the things he talked about was the true advantages of
Speaker 1: having like a lockdown CB one that really never came
Speaker 1: to fruition this year, and in his absence, Michael Davis
Speaker 1: kind of emerged as that guy for them, which you
Speaker 1: talked about throughout the season. So all things kind of
Speaker 1: trending positive for JC Jackson. We'll see what ultimately that
Speaker 1: looks like. But what do you make of how you know,
Speaker 1: obviously talking about you know, variety of out comes here,
Speaker 1: but this Chargers cornerback duo and you can also talk
Speaker 1: about it, Sondi Simon Junior if you want. What kind
Speaker 1: of advantages does that present for Brandon Staatey heading into
Speaker 1: his third seasons as Tyler alluded to previously.
Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, I think with jac Jackson, he I
Speaker 4: guess I watched some film with him right before I
Speaker 4: came on this pod, just to kind of get a refresher.
Speaker 4: He just never looked like he was healthy, you know,
Speaker 4: and you know he came into the season injured. It
Speaker 4: just it looked like he was playing really high. It
Speaker 4: looked like he had a hard time just really getting
Speaker 4: low and making breaks like he was in New England.
Speaker 4: And also there's this change of scheme, you know, new verbiage,
Speaker 4: a lot of added responsibility. He's not just playing man
Speaker 4: covered on every play. I mean, it's not like that's
Speaker 4: all he did in New England, but they were doing
Speaker 4: that for a majority of snaps. But yeah, I think
Speaker 4: having Jason Jackson here for a second year, knowing the
Speaker 4: scheme and just kind of understanding his strength and weaknesses
Speaker 4: a little better will be will be a huge advantage
Speaker 4: obviously for his second year. But having a lockdown corner
Speaker 4: in this type of scheme just allows you to have
Speaker 4: a safety help in other positions, so you know they're
Speaker 4: going to be in too high, but the safety that's
Speaker 4: over on j C. Jackson's side. He doesn't have to
Speaker 4: always play a deep half over the top of him.
Speaker 4: You know, if you have a true lockdown corner there,
Speaker 4: you can have that safety start poaching and looking to
Speaker 4: the other side of the field, and that just opens
Speaker 4: up a lot of schemes for you. Obviously allows you
Speaker 4: to blitz more, which Staley wants to do when you
Speaker 4: have a guy that you can trust. So yeah, you know,
Speaker 4: like you're playing too high, but having a guy that
Speaker 4: you could trust to isolate and you could disguise that
Speaker 4: in different ways is definitely an advantage. And hopefully that's
Speaker 4: what they're going to get with Jason Jackson in year two.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I hope so man that the Charges will be
Speaker 2: better if he's healthy.
Speaker 3: I did want an outside perspective on this question because
Speaker 3: if jac comes back, my assumption is that if he
Speaker 3: can come back to full health, he's starting opposite Michael Davis,
Speaker 3: and I don't really think that would be a question again,
Speaker 3: if he's healthy, and that's the biggest question. And the
Speaker 3: Chargers have a bit of an issue here when it
Speaker 3: comes to the slot, because you know, I think a
Speaker 3: Sante Samuel Jr. Is the better overall corner, and he
Speaker 3: certainly showed that in the first half of that game.
Speaker 3: But then the Chargers have reduced his snaps before and
Speaker 3: taken him off the field in those run obvious situations
Speaker 3: in favor of John Taylor. They drafted in the sixth
Speaker 3: round last year or so, and he had a great
Speaker 3: game in place of Bryce Callahan against the Dolphins. So
Speaker 3: in Staley's scheme, you know, how much stress is there
Speaker 3: on that slot corner to be able to tackle and
Speaker 3: play the run. And if they don't trust a Sante
Speaker 3: Samuel junior to play the run and they do trust
Speaker 3: Joe Taylor, Like, how much is a Sante Samuel junior
Speaker 3: in danger of being benched? Just from like your outside perspective,
Speaker 3: you know, what do you think they would do there?
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean that's a great question. You know, the
Speaker 4: nickel that Brandon Staley had with the Rams was Jala Ramsey.
Speaker 4: You know, that's it's hard to get a better run defender,
Speaker 4: you know, with the size he has athleticisms he has
Speaker 4: at the nickel position, So that just kind of shows
Speaker 4: you how important it is to be physical at that
Speaker 4: position in this scheme. So, yeah, you know, the corner
Speaker 4: aside from ja J. Jackson, they do have some smaller
Speaker 4: corners of Sante Samuel's one of them, and he could
Speaker 4: play there in passing downs obviously, but you want a
Speaker 4: bigger nickel. And you know, I'm not very familiar with
Speaker 4: John Taylor's game, but before the season, I thought that
Speaker 4: the fact that they did draft j T. Woods and
Speaker 4: they did talk about this was so that they could
Speaker 4: move Derwin James down to play more nickel. And you know,
Speaker 4: obviously j T. Woods did take a little bit longer
Speaker 4: to develop, and you know, maybe he is able to
Speaker 4: play a little bit more. But if he can play
Speaker 4: a little bit more, or they do find a different
Speaker 4: safety and it's gonna be more difficult with then seriatterly,
Speaker 4: you know, retiring as well. If you could find two
Speaker 4: good safeties you could trust to play deep and then
Speaker 4: you know, you could have Derwin Jims James playing that
Speaker 4: nickel in that you know, when he's in that nickel position,
Speaker 4: it's not a lot of guys better than him.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think that's something a lot of charges fans
Speaker 1: will be really excited about. Uh, you know, there weren't
Speaker 1: James being around the box more. I think is good
Speaker 1: for everybody. You mentioned j T. Woods here. There are
Speaker 1: some other interesting young players on the Chargers and we'll
Speaker 1: flop back to the offensive side here. You know, everybody's
Speaker 1: really excited about Quentin Johnston uh and in his addition,
Speaker 1: and you know he recently talked on a different podcast
Speaker 1: about you know, becoming the starting receiver position in this offense.
Speaker 1: There's been some like mixed messaging in terms of like
Speaker 1: national media because everybody wanted the Chargers to go draft
Speaker 1: like a legitimate Burner and really allowed Justin Herbert to
Speaker 1: you know, have that guy who can take the top
Speaker 1: off of off off of defenses. What do you make
Speaker 1: of Quentin's addition to this offense? Do you think he
Speaker 1: could be more of what people are looking for than
Speaker 1: maybe he's being credit being credited for in the national media.
Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean I think you know, everyone wants to
Speaker 4: see that Berner to take the top off of defenses.
Speaker 4: But if you don't just draft a Burner high up
Speaker 4: in the draft because he could get deep because you
Speaker 4: can't find that skill. You can find that trait lower
Speaker 4: in the draft. You can find that in free agency.
Speaker 4: You can sign guys like you know, Mark, he's Goodwin
Speaker 4: who will defenses have to respect, you know, his speed
Speaker 4: and and stay over top of him. So you could
Speaker 4: find that skill set in other places doesn't have to
Speaker 4: be in a first round. So drafting Quintin Johnson, to me,
Speaker 4: it's like a it is a bit of a luxury
Speaker 4: pick because you know, you do have Mike Williams who
Speaker 4: has a similar type of skill set, not saying that
Speaker 4: they have the same game, but I mean, you see
Speaker 4: how much Mike Williams have gotten hurt. You see how
Speaker 4: many you know, how these receivers were out of the
Speaker 4: lineup last year, So you can see why they want
Speaker 4: to have a guy like Quentin Johnson that could do
Speaker 4: multiple things. And I think he can win deep as well.
Speaker 4: But he's not just that guy, that little guy that's
Speaker 4: going to run a four two, But he can win
Speaker 4: deep in his own ways too. So just having him
Speaker 4: there is gonna, you know, just give give them depth
Speaker 4: at that position, give him a little bit more speed
Speaker 4: because he can win deep, but again he's not that
Speaker 4: four to two guy. And also just having a guy
Speaker 4: that could run after the catch. You know, I don't
Speaker 4: think the Chargers really have a receiver that specializes in
Speaker 4: able in being able to create yards after the catch,
Speaker 4: and Johnson could do that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would absolutely agree the Chargers have not had
Speaker 3: that for sure out of curiosity, just as much as
Speaker 3: you have watched with Kellen Moore and what he did
Speaker 3: in Dallas. Is there any kind of role comp for
Speaker 3: what Quentin Johnston could do for the Chargers that Kellen
Speaker 3: Moore had in Dallas? They've always involved a wide receiver three,
Speaker 3: but I don't know that they've ever had like a
Speaker 3: Quentin Johnson type. But is there maybe a role comp
Speaker 3: in that offense?
Speaker 4: You know, I think it's difficult because you know, Cede
Speaker 4: Lamb would be that guy, but they have They obviously
Speaker 4: have a lot of slot guys that can't play in
Speaker 4: the slot with the Chargers, so you know, maybe he
Speaker 4: can't take some of those Ceedee Lamb plays as far
Speaker 4: as it's just getting the ball short and then trying
Speaker 4: to create after catch.
Speaker 1: Yeah, excellent there, Tyler. You want to get to our
Speaker 1: last question.
Speaker 2: Here, Now go for it, Steven.
Speaker 1: Okay, Ted again, this has been awesome, man, thinks so
Speaker 1: much for joining us. I think everybody is trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how they're everybody meeting fans obviously trying to
Speaker 1: figure out how their respective team stacks up in the AFC,
Speaker 1: and it's a it's a loaded group obviously, have a
Speaker 1: lot of teams who have an argument to you know,
Speaker 1: be you know, reaching the mountaintop so to speak and
Speaker 1: potentially chasing down the Chiefs. Do you think anybody can
Speaker 1: really cash the Chiefs this year or do you think
Speaker 1: there's gonna be kind of a you know, business as
Speaker 1: usual so to speak, and Chiefs kind of coming out
Speaker 1: on top of the AFC this year.
Speaker 4: I thought last year would be the year that you
Speaker 4: can catch Chiefs. You know, I didn't think they were
Speaker 4: a bad team, but losing Tyreek Hill is a big deal,
Speaker 4: and they ended up winning the Super Bowl anyway, So
Speaker 4: I think it's possible. I mean, you see the way
Speaker 4: that the AFC West teams play the Chiefs. They play
Speaker 4: him pretty tough. Besides the Broncos, but they play them.
Speaker 4: They're playing pretty tough. The Raiders, you know, you could
Speaker 4: take them to the end of games. You know, obviously
Speaker 4: the game with the Chargers, you know, we're both games
Speaker 4: that went down to the wire. So you can beat
Speaker 4: the Chiefs. But you know, with Patrick Mahomes there, Andy Reid,
Speaker 4: it's a very tough or deal. But it's possible, But
Speaker 4: it is tough.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's definitely the right choice there, Ted, this has
Speaker 1: been great man. Chargers fans, make sure and go check
Speaker 1: his articles out on the Athletic. Obviously, you guys know
Speaker 1: Daniel Popper very well. Ted is another great contributor over there,
Speaker 1: recently doing a fantastic article on mister Max Crosby. So
Speaker 1: if you want some Raiders into go check that out
Speaker 1: and see what's in store for this season. So, Ted,
Speaker 1: thanks so much for joining man, appreciate your time today.
Speaker 1: We'll be in touchdown the road for sure, no problem.
Speaker 4: Thanks for me on guys.
Speaker 1: All right, Tyler, what'd you think of man that that
Speaker 1: was a great conversation. What was kind of your big
Speaker 1: takeaway from that conversation with mister Ted Win?
Speaker 3: Just the hope that this defense can get consistency that
Speaker 3: it's we've been looking for, because you know, he talked
Speaker 3: about it and we've talked about it and we've seen it,
Speaker 3: like this defense is so talented and this coach is
Speaker 3: very very smart.
Speaker 2: Just things haven't been able.
Speaker 3: To come together, you know, game to game to game
Speaker 3: to game for an entire season. So just getting closer
Speaker 3: to that feeling like we can work in J. C.
Speaker 3: Jackson and I think I think Ted pointing out that
Speaker 3: Jac came back from that injury, when he came back
Speaker 3: very early and didn't look the same, I think, is
Speaker 3: I guess a good sign. Although this this injury that
Speaker 3: he sustained after he came back, it is really brutal,
Speaker 3: but the fact that we definitely weren't getting the Jac
Speaker 3: Jackson that we saw in New England mainly or or
Speaker 3: completely because he just was not healthy, I guess kind
Speaker 3: of is a good thing and something optimistic because this
Speaker 3: whole off season, if you can come back healthy and
Speaker 3: be healthy week one, a week five or whenever he
Speaker 3: joined the team, the Charges could be really really good
Speaker 3: on defense.
Speaker 2: And I hope they're really really good this year.
Speaker 4: Man.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that's you know, the hype and hope for the
Speaker 1: offense has kind of been there obviously since Kellen Moore
Speaker 1: got hired, but it's it's been a pretty pessimistic offseason
Speaker 1: for the defense, and so I think maybe some of
Speaker 1: that's starting to build back up a little bit. Hopefully
Speaker 1: talking to Ted and that interview helped you guys gain
Speaker 1: some optimism as well. I think for me, you know,
Speaker 1: and this is something that I've kind of you know,
Speaker 1: gone back and forth with just watching the Cowboys offense
Speaker 1: is you know, I think the real strength of Kellen
Speaker 1: Moore and Brandon Staley. I think we can see them
Speaker 1: aligning pretty frequently, and that's their ability to come in
Speaker 1: and take a game plan and really adapted to whoever
Speaker 1: they are playing against. And that's not really something we
Speaker 1: saw much of. It was generally a lot of like,
Speaker 1: we're gonna do what we do on offense, and that's
Speaker 1: just gonna work, and we're gonna have Justin Herbert, you know,
Speaker 1: be Justin Herbert, and we're going to score points. You know,
Speaker 1: if you watch the Cowboys offense on a week to
Speaker 1: week base the last four seasons under Kellen Moore, they
Speaker 1: might head into one game and they're gonna air it
Speaker 1: out and Dak's gonna throw it at fifty five sixty times.
Speaker 1: The next week, you know, you see Zeke at twenty five,
Speaker 1: carries Tony Pollard fifteen and they're just gonna go run heavy.
Speaker 1: And I watched that from the twenty nineteen season. You know,
Speaker 1: I watched them play against the Packers and Zeke barely
Speaker 1: had any touches and it was.
Speaker 2: All Dak and it was all you know, airing it out.
Speaker 1: And it was a lot of fun to watch. It
Speaker 1: was and then you watch them a couple of weeks
Speaker 1: later against the Giants and it was like every other
Speaker 1: play was you know, we're just gonna run at you
Speaker 1: and you can't stop us. So the ability that Kellen
Speaker 1: Moore has to specifically game plan, I think is something
Speaker 1: that charge fans will be really happy about. And Ted
Speaker 1: pointed that out a little bit as well.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I love hearing that. I'm glad you're going back
Speaker 3: to watch the film. Whether it's offense or defense, maybe
Speaker 3: one of these undrafted free agents can help out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely. All right, good transition there, by the way,
Speaker 1: well done. All Right, so we have I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: lie I haven't watched film on all these undrafted free agents.
Speaker 1: I've gotten to nine of them, so well, you know,
Speaker 1: there's some that I think are just have an extra
Speaker 1: long shot just based off of the positions that they play.
Speaker 1: But we're gonna highlight five undrafted free agents that we
Speaker 1: feel have a legitimate chance to make this roster. And
Speaker 1: this is not necessarily like a power ranking, like we're
Speaker 1: not gonna sit here and say like so and so
Speaker 1: is better than so and so. But this is you know,
Speaker 1: talking about players who have a legitimate chance to make
Speaker 1: this roster. You know, there's some definitely some debate. I
Speaker 1: think here's some good players who can fit into some
Speaker 1: roles that you know, sometimes there's some surprises, like I
Speaker 1: don't think anybody really had Roderick Teamer making the Chargers roster.
Speaker 1: But you know, sometimes you just have a role and
Speaker 1: that role fits into a position of needs. So, Tyler,
Speaker 1: who do you think of this undrafted free agent class
Speaker 1: has the best chance of making this roster?
Speaker 3: The best chance would be Geron Clark from Coastal Carolina.
Speaker 2: He's a big guy.
Speaker 3: Everyone knows that Chargers fans are very excited about him
Speaker 3: and just going through what granted this is national media,
Speaker 3: but the way that he was scouted in the draft
Speaker 3: grades put on him. You look at the Bleacher Report,
Speaker 3: they had a fifth round grade. Damian Parson, our guy
Speaker 3: at the Draft Network, I believe had a third round
Speaker 3: grade on him. Zer Line from NFL dot Com had
Speaker 3: a fifth round grade on him. So I'm not saying
Speaker 3: that this is a first round player that fought of
Speaker 3: the Chargers as an undrafted free agent, but a draftable
Speaker 3: player and at least early in the on Day three,
Speaker 3: and they got him as an undrafted free agent, and
Speaker 3: I think more than anything else.
Speaker 2: You know, whether I think he's better than.
Speaker 3: Some of these other undrafted free agents at his position,
Speaker 3: that's a debate, But you're talking about who is maybe
Speaker 3: more likely to make the team. It really comes down
Speaker 3: to the position that he plays and the openings that
Speaker 3: could be there, because there's no other spot on this
Speaker 3: team where you can project potentially two openings in front
Speaker 3: of this player. Now granted that doesn't mean that he's
Speaker 3: the next in line. It could be hinting, it could
Speaker 3: be Terrence Lane, could be you know, anybody else, But
Speaker 3: there are potentially going to be two openings to start
Speaker 3: the season, not by the end of the year, but
Speaker 3: with Austin Johnson being hurt as health up in the air.
Speaker 3: O titawg Bone, I think we know even less about
Speaker 3: him and his injury. I think Jirod Clark, with what
Speaker 3: he can do, what he can bring, his draft pedigree,
Speaker 3: his background, and the fact there's two openings in front
Speaker 3: of him, I think he's most likely to make the roster,
Speaker 3: and even just the last two seasons, right, they've the
Speaker 3: Chargers are very fluid with their defensive tackle spot to
Speaker 3: start the season. They like to, you know, if one
Speaker 3: guy balls out in the preseason, they'd like to have
Speaker 3: that player make the initial roster and then once you know,
Speaker 3: all the cuts happen and the waiver period goes through,
Speaker 3: then maybe they cut that player and.
Speaker 2: They go to the practice squad.
Speaker 3: So in twenty twenty one, if it's Forrest Merril, in
Speaker 3: twenty twenty.
Speaker 2: Two, it was Brandon Fojoco.
Speaker 3: So if Jerrod Clark's balls out in the preseason in
Speaker 3: training camp, I could see them doing the same thing.
Speaker 2: So to me, Jirod Clark. You know, again, whether I
Speaker 2: think he's.
Speaker 3: Better or worse or whatever than their players, it's a
Speaker 3: whole different thing. But he has the easiest opportunity and
Speaker 3: chance to make the roster.
Speaker 1: Think yeah, And I think his skill set obviously does
Speaker 1: lend itself towards filling a position of need for the Chargers,
Speaker 1: depending on health. Like you mentioned, you know, I think
Speaker 1: statistically you can point out, you know, Gerald Clark had
Speaker 1: sixteen run stops in twenty twenty one. He had nineteen
Speaker 1: this past year in twenty twenty two. And the good
Speaker 1: thing there is that his run stop percentage actually increased
Speaker 1: by almost three whole points from twenty twenty two to
Speaker 1: or excuse me, twenty twenty one to twenty twenty two.
Speaker 1: His eight point zero percent run stop percentage was twelve
Speaker 1: best in the country last year of players who were
Speaker 1: draft eligible in twenty twenty three, So he was right
Speaker 1: next to Gervon Dexter, who I know you liked in
Speaker 1: this draft. For what it's worth, Scott Mattlocker. The Chargers
Speaker 1: did draft, although different skill sets. He was at six
Speaker 1: point seven, but he did have twenty four total run stops.
Speaker 1: So you look at the guys on this list who
Speaker 1: were maybe drafted ahead of him. Ska Siaki Eco was
Speaker 1: at six point six percent, Byron Young from Alabama six
Speaker 1: point five percent. So it just kind of shows you
Speaker 1: the kind of player that he can be, you know,
Speaker 1: for a potential defense and you're looking at a three
Speaker 1: to four scheme that is a little bit more versatile
Speaker 1: up front than I think people are, you know, usually
Speaker 1: thinking like I think the days of like a true
Speaker 1: stereotypical nose tackle are kind of done with, Like there
Speaker 1: really aren't that many guys out there, But that's what
Speaker 1: Rod Clark can be he can eat of space at
Speaker 1: the nose, and I think the nice thing there is
Speaker 1: that can free up Sebastian Joseph Day and Austin Johnson
Speaker 1: and whoever else is healthy to really focus in on
Speaker 1: playing the three tech role the five tech role. And
Speaker 1: we saw with Bratain Foco's emergence down the stretch last
Speaker 1: year that a lot that freedom for Sebastian Joseph Day
Speaker 1: really allowed him to kind of get back to his
Speaker 1: former self too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, do you have him ahead of I think you're
Speaker 3: not talking about like ahead of behind, but like Terrence
Speaker 3: Lang is the other guy that could make it.
Speaker 2: We're talking about two injuries.
Speaker 3: But do you have girod Clark ahead of Terrence Long
Speaker 3: because they did Lang, because the difference in them is
Speaker 3: like fifty pounds, two completely different kinds of players, different
Speaker 3: roles on the team.
Speaker 1: Yeah. So Terrence Lang from Colorado, for those who don't know,
Speaker 1: he kind of played in like the three three five
Speaker 1: defense that's super prevalent in college football. So he was
Speaker 1: a quote unquote edge rusher for Colorado. But the Chargers
Speaker 1: do have him listed as a defensive lineman. I think
Speaker 1: he's more pigeonholed into playing and inside defensive end, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of a similar role as like Morgan Fox who
Speaker 1: can occasionally kick outside. You know, Terrence Lang. I think,
Speaker 1: for for me, I would have graded Terrence Lang higher
Speaker 1: than I would have graded Gerrod Clark Personally. I think
Speaker 1: Terrence Lang just gives you a bit more speed presence.
Speaker 1: I think it gives you a bit more polish in
Speaker 1: the hand usage. Because Gerard Clark, I think he's a
Speaker 1: space eater, but he like I think he can improve
Speaker 1: with his hands. I think he can improve with his
Speaker 1: his pad level two. Terence Lang was a six year
Speaker 1: player in college, was a very common theme in the
Speaker 1: draft this year. So Terrence Sing, I think has a
Speaker 1: bit more polished to him, and so I think there
Speaker 1: can be a role for Terrence Sing. I think he's
Speaker 1: kind of what happened behind Chris Hinton in terms of
Speaker 1: like jocking for a position there. But I think there
Speaker 1: is a role for Terrence saying, because he he's an
Speaker 1: inside defensive end who his strength is defending the run.
Speaker 1: So we're talking about a lot of run defense guys today.
Speaker 1: But you look at his statistics this past year in
Speaker 1: college at Colorado, he was fourteenth in run stop percentage
Speaker 1: at eight point seven percent, you know among edge rushers,
Speaker 1: so it's a little different kind of projecting there. But
Speaker 1: you know a lot of guys who were drafted much
Speaker 1: earlier than him, who were touted as like run defense guys.
Speaker 1: You know, Keon White was at seven point one one percent,
Speaker 1: Isaiah Fovsky was from Notre Dame was at six point
Speaker 1: seven percent. So this is a real strength of Terrence
Speaker 1: Ling's and I don't think there's a ton of projection
Speaker 1: in that regard for him to carve out of a
Speaker 1: potential role on early downs pass rushing is a bit
Speaker 1: of a work in progress. He does have, you know,
Speaker 1: kind of a speed to power package to him, but
Speaker 1: there's not a whole lot of countering off of that.
Speaker 1: But great length, great first step, and then he's just
Speaker 1: kind of a bowl in a china shop as a
Speaker 1: run defender too. So I like Laying more, but I
Speaker 1: think he's he's kind of down the pecking order than
Speaker 1: Gerard Clark would be because drag Clark plays a role that
Speaker 1: the Chargers don't really have a lot of options behind
Speaker 1: Austin Johnson and Otto Ammonia.
Speaker 3: Yep, I agree with you there, and I can't wait
Speaker 3: to see this guy play. He's got thirty four point
Speaker 3: seventy five inch arms, which is a little bit longer
Speaker 3: than Sebastian Joseph Day's arms and the chargers in Brendan's
Speaker 3: Daily Jay Rodgers. These guys alreadly do covet that length,
Speaker 3: so hopefully it pays off.
Speaker 1: Yeah, for what it's worth, I would put Terrence Lang
Speaker 1: in my top five of likely to make it. I
Speaker 1: would have him at five, though I agree I think
Speaker 1: GEORDD Clark is the most likely to make it. Second.
Speaker 1: For me, I was really surprised by this guy when
Speaker 1: I watched his tape earlier this week. And that's AJ
Speaker 1: Finley from Ole Miss. We know the Charters have a
Speaker 1: need at safety. Sounds like you like him too, and
Speaker 1: I think me and you are high on Raheem Lane
Speaker 1: than general consensus among Charters fans. But I think AJ
Speaker 1: Finley can just give them a little bit something different
Speaker 1: that they don't really have. I think you have, obviously Drwan,
Speaker 1: who can do everything. I think a low he's kind
Speaker 1: of your your box safety run defender guy. I think
Speaker 1: JT in an ideal world can be kind of your
Speaker 1: center fielder. But I was really impressed with AJ Finley
Speaker 1: when he would match up one on one, when he
Speaker 1: would match coverages. I thought his instincts in that regard
Speaker 1: were fantastic, and I think that was kind of something
Speaker 1: we liked about Mark Webb initially when he had, you know,
Speaker 1: his great first training camp as a rookie. You haven't
Speaker 1: seen it come to fruition in the regular season yet,
Speaker 1: but AJ Finley as a pass defender, I think has
Speaker 1: a really really high IQ. That's something we know that
Speaker 1: Brandon stately really values in this defense. Ronaldo Hill's talked
Speaker 1: about it, Derek Ansley has talked about it. The ability
Speaker 1: to see things happening in front of them. I think
Speaker 1: there are some limits athletically with him. He's not like
Speaker 1: the quickest to break on the ball, but just in
Speaker 1: terms of like positioning, matching routes, making players on the football,
Speaker 1: I thought AJ Finley was outstanding in those regards. So
Speaker 1: he will be second behind Gerrod Clark for me.
Speaker 2: Yeah, he made my top five.
Speaker 3: Just watched him earlier this week and you took everything
Speaker 3: that I possibly could have said about him, and it
Speaker 3: really does come down to, like we're talking about roster
Speaker 3: projections here, you know, is there an opportunity for him,
Speaker 3: and while I think that the safety room is sort
Speaker 3: of crowded, there's that last spot that really isn't I
Speaker 3: do think Raheem Lane is the front runner, then Mark Webb,
Speaker 3: then Finley, but I don't think any of those two
Speaker 3: guys in front.
Speaker 2: Of him are so irreplaceable.
Speaker 3: Again, I think Raheem Lane makes the roster. But watching
Speaker 3: AJ Finley, you know, with his production at ole Miss,
Speaker 3: what he's able to do, what he shows in coverage,
Speaker 3: like you talked about, there were moments where I'm like,
Speaker 3: are you sure he's not going to be a corner?
Speaker 3: Like I almost thought that he could just convert to
Speaker 3: corner rather than be a safety and do.
Speaker 2: Really well there.
Speaker 3: So I think that there's an uphill battle. Of course,
Speaker 3: I think because Rahem Lane was a corner, he can cover.
Speaker 3: Mark Webb We've seen he can cover, So there is
Speaker 3: definite an uphill battle there.
Speaker 2: But A. J. Finley is really really talented. He made
Speaker 2: my top five as well.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was. I was surprised with you know how
Speaker 1: much I liked an ole Miss safety. It's not usually
Speaker 1: therefore too, although obviously the charges are pretty familiar with
Speaker 1: him and his game because they drafted Dean Leonard last year,
Speaker 1: so you know, I'm sure that they watched a lot
Speaker 1: of AJ Finley too, So I think he's a willing
Speaker 1: run defender. I don't think it's necessarily his strong suit.
Speaker 1: So that's kind of like I think the area that
Speaker 1: he really needs to focus in on if he's going
Speaker 1: to make this team special team is going to play
Speaker 1: a huge role there. So you know, that's kind of
Speaker 1: like the layout that I think where he Laane has
Speaker 1: over the other guys. But you know, like you said,
Speaker 1: it's not enough of an advantage for him that he's
Speaker 1: like the clear cut safety for although me and you
Speaker 1: are probably higher on him than most all right, Tyler,
Speaker 1: who would be next on the list for you.
Speaker 3: So we've talked about him before, But that's mikey Zeke
Speaker 3: the tight end from UCLA again, Opportunity Daniel Popper had
Speaker 3: the Chargers carrying four tight ends this year. Whether that
Speaker 3: happens or not, I don't know, but the Chargers certainly
Speaker 3: could use more development at tight end, get someone in
Speaker 3: the room to continue to develop, but he had stone
Speaker 3: Smart making it and for right now, yes, I do
Speaker 3: think stone Smart is ahead of Mike Zeke. I think
Speaker 3: anyone who was on the team is ahead of most
Speaker 3: undrafted free agents. But I think Isekey what he did
Speaker 3: or what he can do as a converted you know,
Speaker 3: wide receiver to tight end. As he continues to grow
Speaker 3: and literally because he's bulking up to play tight end,
Speaker 3: get bigger, get stronger, etc. As he learns more of
Speaker 3: the ins and outs of that, I do think that
Speaker 3: he can start pushing for that tight end four spot.
Speaker 3: I think they have to keep four tight ends for
Speaker 3: him to make it, but I do think he can
Speaker 3: push for that spot because I think Stone Smart is
Speaker 3: right now the better receiver, another converted player from quarterback,
Speaker 3: so I do think he's a better receiving option right now.
Speaker 3: But Azeki is very good in that regard as well,
Speaker 3: and if he can hold it as a blocker, that's
Speaker 3: going to be huge. We're talking about all these guys
Speaker 3: need to contribute on special teams, and I think if
Speaker 3: Azeky can show that he is the better blocker and
Speaker 3: also that's the charges just need that on offense anyway,
Speaker 3: I think he has a nice shot to make the roster.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I do too. I think the offense is really
Speaker 1: going to focus in on yards after catch when it
Speaker 1: comes to this tight end room, maybe outside of Gerald Everett,
Speaker 1: and I think that is a strong suit of mikey Ezeki.
Speaker 1: So I think you even Jason in twenty nineteen. I
Speaker 1: was watching the Cowboys twenty nineteen offense and Jason wentten
Speaker 1: was getting yards after catch opportunities left and right. I
Speaker 1: was like, Okay, I don't know if I'd be doing
Speaker 1: that personally, but you know, it is what it is.
Speaker 1: So I think Azeke can come in and fit that role.
Speaker 1: I think if you look at his numbers, like his
Speaker 1: efficiency on a per touch basis was really outstanding. He
Speaker 1: averaged six point six yards after catch per reception, which
Speaker 1: was ninth of any draft eligible tight end this past season.
Speaker 1: He was ahead of Sam Laporta, He was ahead of
Speaker 1: Dalton Kincaid, he was ahead of lou scoon Maker, Josh Wiley,
Speaker 1: all guys who were drafted. You look at his yards
Speaker 1: per route run though, that's that's kind of a UCLA
Speaker 1: thing because he wasn't targeted a whole lot, but his
Speaker 1: average death of target was eight point five. So he's
Speaker 1: somebody who can you know, work the middle of the field.
Speaker 1: He can stretch defenses. Vertically. He can give you yards
Speaker 1: after catch and space. So I think he's He's an
Speaker 1: intriguing prospect for me the tight end room, like you mentioned,
Speaker 1: I think they would have to keep four. You know,
Speaker 1: they might sign somebody else. So I was I was
Speaker 1: a little hesitant to put a Zeke in my top five.
Speaker 1: So for me, he was just outside of it, but
Speaker 1: definitely worth talking about because I do think that he
Speaker 1: could come in and and fill a role and give
Speaker 1: them another target who can provide some some intriguing athletic traits.
Speaker 2: Who else is on your list?
Speaker 1: So I think there is a world in which one
Speaker 1: of these receivers makes this team, and I think this
Speaker 1: has to be Pokey Wilson, not Williams got it right
Speaker 1: that time, So I think Pokey Wilson can give them
Speaker 1: some things that they that the other guys behind him
Speaker 1: don't necessarily have. I think you look at body types.
Speaker 1: I think Pokey Wilson and Tell Buying them are are
Speaker 1: kind of similar body types, but the skill sets are
Speaker 1: are very different. I think Pokey Wilson can give you
Speaker 1: some more versatility. I actually really liked what he was
Speaker 1: able to do with the ball in his hands. Again,
Speaker 1: potential yards after catching this offense, I think is crucial.
Speaker 1: The stuff that we've seen from OTAs and stuff like
Speaker 1: that has mostly been him as an outside receiver. But
Speaker 1: I do think his best work comes as a slot
Speaker 1: option for me. I don't know if you feel that way,
Speaker 1: but I think his speed is not necessarily you know,
Speaker 1: high end. I think he's more quick than fast, but
Speaker 1: I think he can give them some flexibility with the
Speaker 1: slot and I think he can give them some versatility
Speaker 1: in terms of like being a jet sweep guy. I
Speaker 1: think he can be, you know, a jump ball guy
Speaker 1: in the red zone if he wants to. So I
Speaker 1: think Poke Wilson is just kind of the most well
Speaker 1: rounded receiver of these undrafted guys. And I do think
Speaker 1: that he would be number three on my list for me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's actually number three on my list as well,
Speaker 3: So there you go. And I do agree that he
Speaker 3: is more quick than fast, and like he literally is
Speaker 3: more quick than fast his forty time. Granted, that's not
Speaker 3: everything we've talked about. You know, gpis tracking data with
Speaker 3: Tom Telesco. But he does run a four to six,
Speaker 3: so he's not like a burner on the team, and.
Speaker 2: That's why he's third right now.
Speaker 3: I could see him being first or even second if
Speaker 3: he a bit faster, or if the Charges didn't have
Speaker 3: someone like high Tower in front of him. So you know,
Speaker 3: it's a crowded room for sure, and I think there's
Speaker 3: a lot of guys who can do a lot of
Speaker 3: great things for this receiving core room. He just unfortunately
Speaker 3: lands on a team this year that has their most
Speaker 3: well rounded receiving core room in the past decade.
Speaker 1: I think, yeah, we'll see what happens here. Obviously. I
Speaker 1: think if Jalen Giton's healthy, then I think Poke Wilson,
Speaker 1: you know, moves down my list. But we just don't know.
Speaker 1: We haven't really seen or heard much of an update
Speaker 1: about Jalen gan recently, and so until we know there,
Speaker 1: I think one of these receivers does have to at
Speaker 1: least be mentioned.
Speaker 2: Absolutely.
Speaker 3: I'll go with one more name before we get out
Speaker 3: of here, and that is Tyler Husman, the running back
Speaker 3: from North Dakota. I think he might follow in the
Speaker 3: tradition of let's see Brandon Oliver, Detrez Newsome, Kenneth Farrow,
Speaker 3: Austin Eckler, all these running backs who is undrafted, free
Speaker 3: aging guys who make the roster, and I think that well,
Speaker 3: First of all, Tyler Husman has an elite first name,
Speaker 3: No bias there.
Speaker 2: He just has a really good first name.
Speaker 3: But if you compare actual football stuff, if you compare
Speaker 3: relative athletic scores, he would be the second most athletic
Speaker 3: running back, behind Austin Eckler and ahead of Joshua Kelly,
Speaker 3: not by much, but the charges room isn't like the
Speaker 3: most dynamic athletically, so him being the second most athletic
Speaker 3: by that score, would you know help? He definitely broke
Speaker 3: off after transferring to North Dakota from Northern Iowa. He
Speaker 3: averaged five point eight yards per carry over one thousand yards,
Speaker 3: twelve touchdowns on just one hundred and seventy five attempts.
Speaker 3: What I do really like and what I think helps
Speaker 3: translate to special teams, is that he blocks really well.
Speaker 3: He blocks with aggressiveness, He runs hard in the red zone.
Speaker 3: There were no fumbles last year, no drops, So I
Speaker 3: really think in that regard, you know, catching Ryan Fickens eye,
Speaker 3: he's competing with Larry Roundtree for that fourth spot. Now
Speaker 3: is there going to be a fourth spot? I don't know,
Speaker 3: but obviously they did carry four last year, they did
Speaker 3: have Larry Roundtree on the team, So I do think
Speaker 3: someone like Who'sman, who's a bit bigger than Dotson, can
Speaker 3: kind of have that role potentially.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm not really sure.
Speaker 3: How much of a space there is for a fourth
Speaker 3: running back, but if Xander Horvath is not a big
Speaker 3: part of Kellen Moore's plans, then I could see Who'sman
Speaker 3: starting as one of those wings on kickoff opposite Joshua Kelly.
Speaker 3: Ryan Ficken tries to have, you know, more of those
Speaker 3: running back fullback types, where as we saw with Swinton
Speaker 3: it was you know, Chris Rumf out there and some
Speaker 3: other player I can't remember. So if they want to
Speaker 3: go that route, he could definitely make it that way.
Speaker 3: And I was talking to actually talk to Who'sman earlier
Speaker 3: today and he's sharing about his journey from from Northern
Speaker 3: Iowa to North Dakota.
Speaker 2: He wanted to get somewhere where he.
Speaker 3: Wasn't in that running back by committee so he could
Speaker 3: really show off what he could do as a lead back,
Speaker 3: you know, gain that confidence, develop those skills, that sort
Speaker 3: of thing. And he really did get to showcase that
Speaker 3: even though he wasn't like a three hundred carry back
Speaker 3: like I'm sure Bijon was still one hundred and seventy
Speaker 3: five carries.
Speaker 2: I think twenty two out of twenty.
Speaker 3: Three targets were caught for him, so obviously he made
Speaker 3: the Chargers, so things worked out for him.
Speaker 2: He's got a lot to learn, you know, a lot
Speaker 2: to develop.
Speaker 3: This is a player who hasn't had a ton of action,
Speaker 3: but he's certainly working on that. I guess with running
Speaker 3: backs coach Derek Foster, he's working on pre snap and
Speaker 3: post snap, you know, defensive recognition because you know, all
Speaker 3: these guys are bigger, faster, stronger, they've played in the
Speaker 3: league for several years, or they're just super talented.
Speaker 2: So he's working on that.
Speaker 3: He's working on explosiveness out of his cuts, working on getting.
Speaker 2: Faster, which is great.
Speaker 3: I'd love our very fast running back on this team
Speaker 3: if we can get one. But he's really looking forward
Speaker 3: to bringing his downhill running style to the team, which
Speaker 3: is something that could complement Austin Eckler.
Speaker 2: So I think there's a world where.
Speaker 3: Maybe the Chargers don't have four right away, but he
Speaker 3: could work under the roster because of special teams and
Speaker 3: because the Chargers do need to prepare for the vacuum
Speaker 3: and then the empty space that will occur when guys
Speaker 3: like Austin Eckler, when guys like Joshua Kelly projecting for
Speaker 3: now who knows, but the contracts are up right, so
Speaker 3: at some point they're going to need to find some
Speaker 3: other guys to work in here. I'm not saying that
Speaker 3: he's going to start for Austin Eckler next season, but
Speaker 3: I do think he's someone that could catch Ryan Fickens's
Speaker 3: eye and work his way onto the roster, either early
Speaker 3: on or at some point during the season.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I would love to see that because I think
Speaker 1: Joshua Kelly, like I, I think he's a good special teamer,
Speaker 1: but I want him focusing on offense. Like I think
Speaker 1: there is a need for, you know, some somebody to
Speaker 1: emerge and take that off of his plate. Maybe that's
Speaker 1: Isaiah Spiller this year, we don't know, but I think
Speaker 1: Joshua Kelly is going to be super important on offense
Speaker 1: and they're gonna need somebody to take some off of
Speaker 1: his special team's plate. So I'd love to see that
Speaker 1: just quickly. I think Tilin Mullen is worth mentioning. The
Speaker 1: former cornerback from Indiana. Pretty similar profile to joss Er
Speaker 1: Taylor in terms of his size, speed, slot flexibility. One
Speaker 1: of my favorite things about him is actually his work
Speaker 1: as a blitzer. I think that's a fantastic role for
Speaker 1: him and maybe a way for him to distinguish himself.
Speaker 1: So wanted to at least mention him briefly. I think
Speaker 1: he could be maybe a little redundant with the all
Speaker 1: of the things that need to happen at slots. I
Speaker 1: think that's where he's probably best projected in the NFL.
Speaker 1: But maybe there's you know, there's a world where Jaeer
Speaker 1: Taylor is a starter and less of a special teams player.
Speaker 1: Maybe Tilon Wollan can kind of take that over from him.
Speaker 1: So think I think Tilon wollen is worth mentioning. I
Speaker 1: didn't know this earlier, but the younger brother of trayvon Mullen,
Speaker 1: formerly of the Las Vegas Raiders. So oh NFL blood lines.
Speaker 1: I guess there.
Speaker 3: I guess I could have made that connection. Sometimes it's like, oh, yeah, duh,
Speaker 3: how do I not put that together? Yeah?
Speaker 2: So awesome.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the dB room is so tough to crack, particularly
Speaker 3: if you're looking at corner like where do these guys
Speaker 3: fit in? But I guess like if maybe Jasey's not healthy,
Speaker 3: then maybe there's a spot. But is that keem On Hall.
Speaker 3: It's kind of tough to break into that one.
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, all right, great conversations today with Ted and Wynn.
Speaker 1: Great undrafted free Asian conversation. Hopefully you guys are getting
Speaker 1: excited for training camp obviously, that's kind of the goal
Speaker 1: of these episodes. It's kind of ramp up that excitement
Speaker 1: as we get closer and closer to football. So appreciate
Speaker 1: everybody for tuning in, specially thanks again to Ted for
Speaker 1: joining us. Thanks to Greg Kim for producing the show today.
Speaker 1: Make sure subscribe to the channel here and our own
Speaker 1: The Guiltiest Charge podcast really have some other content throughout
Speaker 1: the rest of the lead up towards training camp, so Tyler,
Speaker 1: appreciate you as well. That's going to do it for
Speaker 1: us today. We'll see you guys next time, and as always,
Speaker 1: bolt up.