Speaker 1: Hey, what's up, everybody?
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Get the In's Charge podcast for is
Speaker 2: Anybody Chargers Podcast Network. My name is Stephen. I'm the
Speaker 2: host as always, and joining me is my guy Tyler.
Speaker 2: Tyler what some I mean? How you doing today?
Speaker 3: I'm doing great, man. How you doing?
Speaker 1: I'm doing fantastic as well.
Speaker 2: It's Combine week, one of my favorite weeks of the
Speaker 2: NFL schedule. We're recording this on Wednesday. By the time
Speaker 2: this comes out, you guys will be listening to this
Speaker 2: hopefully or watching this on Friday, so we'll have some
Speaker 2: testing numbers, some measurements that all starts tomorrow as we're
Speaker 2: recording this. So really excited to see that. We've heard
Speaker 2: from the edge rushers. We've heard from the linebackers, defensive
Speaker 2: linemen today at the Combine. We obviously heard from the
Speaker 2: general managers and head coaches yesterday from the media. We'll
Speaker 2: talk about mister Joe Horties's press conference here in a minute.
Speaker 1: So it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 3: Man.
Speaker 2: Draft season is ramping up in a big way.
Speaker 3: Yeah, the season ended and then we're right back in
Speaker 3: it and I've got over sixty prospects graded. I'm stoked man,
Speaker 3: Like it's good stuff. I'm excited for the underwear Olympics.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I've been putting putting together my big board as
Speaker 2: we do every single year, and like I always start
Speaker 2: with like the first round grades, but now I'm like
Speaker 2: starting to solidify who I have in like that second
Speaker 2: second round range things like that. So it's a lot
Speaker 2: of fun and I love talking about the draft, and
Speaker 2: free agency is right around the corner. We're officially two
Speaker 2: weeks away from free agency as of recording this today,
Speaker 2: so it's gonna it sneaks up on us every single year.
Speaker 2: There's all the back channeling stuff that's happening at the
Speaker 2: combine this week is gonna shape a lot of what
Speaker 2: happens in the next couple of weeks. So excited to
Speaker 2: dive into all that before we get started today. First
Speaker 2: and foremost, tailand are fans of the team, just like
Speaker 2: you guys are. The opinions that we express and share
Speaker 2: on the show are not always reflective of the opinion
Speaker 2: of the Chargers organization themselves. We're very grateful to have
Speaker 2: this platform, but just like you guys, we are fans
Speaker 2: at the end of the day, and that's why we're
Speaker 2: happy to bring a fan perspective to the show and
Speaker 2: to the draft and everything like that. So specifically, today,
Speaker 2: we're gonna talk about Joe Ortiz's press conference, and then
Speaker 2: we're gonna highlight some free agent targets that mister Joe
Speaker 2: Ortiz and company might be looking at, could be looking
Speaker 2: at that makes some sense for where the Chargers are
Speaker 2: at financially. But let's start with Joe Ortes's press conference here, Tyler.
Speaker 2: We'll spend a few minutes there the bulk of our
Speaker 2: show on the free agency targets. But what's kind of
Speaker 2: your big takeaway from Joe Ortes's press conference. He's had
Speaker 2: some time now to like sit back and watch the roster.
Speaker 2: You know, of course, he's not gonna lay everything out,
Speaker 2: he's not gonna tell us what he's gonna do and
Speaker 2: all that stuff, but he had some interesting comments. Was
Speaker 2: there one that kind of stood out most to you
Speaker 2: this week?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 3: I love the comment about how the roster should never
Speaker 3: be where you wanted, and they're going to find different
Speaker 3: points in this season to make the ross for better.
Speaker 3: They're going to work daily to add pieces to the
Speaker 3: roster to improve it or to help the defense of
Speaker 3: the offense, whatever they need. You know, you're working constantly
Speaker 3: to get the roster to where you need it to be.
Speaker 3: So it's it's free agency, like he said, but it's
Speaker 3: also June free agency and preseason free agency and deadlines
Speaker 3: and things like that. I mean, this is, you know,
Speaker 3: this is a guy coming from a Ravens team that
Speaker 3: August of last year signed Jadeveon Clowney and in September
Speaker 3: of last year signed Kyle van Noy and the previous
Speaker 3: year traded for Rokwan Smith at the deadline. And that's
Speaker 3: one hundred and thirty pressures, I believe, twenty one sacks,
Speaker 3: almost one hundred stops, somebody forced fumbles that they added
Speaker 3: to their roster because they were trying to do their
Speaker 3: best to be the best team they possibly could. And
Speaker 3: I think it's so much better to be proactive than
Speaker 3: it is to be reactive in the NFL. I mean,
Speaker 3: how many seasons have we watched where the Chargers you know,
Speaker 3: relied on maybe the next guy or weren't so sure,
Speaker 3: but so they waited to see how things would play out,
Speaker 3: and the season or the postseason even fizzled out because
Speaker 3: they just didn't have the right pieces to carry them
Speaker 3: into the postseason or further into the postseason. It's a
Speaker 3: very very different organization I think moving forward with hort
Speaker 3: tees with Jim Harboff. You know, the Ravens since twenty
Speaker 3: eleven had more than fifty trades, whether it's trading for
Speaker 3: picks or trading for players. Like they are always going
Speaker 3: to be active and I appreciate that so much. Like
Speaker 3: this roster, you can never just be content with it. It's
Speaker 3: not a set and forget thing in the NFL. There's
Speaker 3: so much that goes on, and I love that Hortt's
Speaker 3: is like, yeah, we are going to prepare for this
Speaker 3: and we're going to be as proactive as possible.
Speaker 1: Yeah, you mentioned the two pass rushers.
Speaker 2: I mean he signed Arthur Malette and Ronald Darby the
Speaker 2: two corners in July, and those guys ended up starting
Speaker 2: a lot of games for them. You know, I'm sure
Speaker 2: they would have loved to be in a situation where
Speaker 2: their starters play all seventeen games, but those guys were
Speaker 2: injured in those July free agency signings paid huge dividends
Speaker 2: for them. He had a similar quote in the press conference,
Speaker 2: but I believe it was on the NBC Desk with
Speaker 2: Chris Sims and Mike Florio, where he basically said, paraphrasing
Speaker 2: that like, you can't be afraid to add depth when
Speaker 2: you need depth, Like he's going to do everything you
Speaker 2: can to turn over the roster. You know, that quote
Speaker 2: specifically was about the fifth overall pick, But the mentality
Speaker 2: for him is always just going to be like I'm
Speaker 2: going to give Jim and the coaching staff everything that
Speaker 2: they need. And if that's a cornerback in July, I'm
Speaker 2: going to do it. If that's a pass rusher in August,
Speaker 2: I'm going to do it. If that's a pass rusher
Speaker 2: again in September, I'm going to do it. Like the
Speaker 2: roster turnover, I think is is going to be a
Speaker 2: different thing for us to watch, but in a good way,
Speaker 2: you know. I mean, like I look back at, you know,
Speaker 2: the twenty twenty two season and how impactful Bryce Callahan
Speaker 2: and Morgan Fox were to that team and the specific
Speaker 2: you know roles that they played. You know, Morgan Fox
Speaker 2: was a huge piece down the stretch that year after
Speaker 2: Austin Johnson and everybody got injured along the defensive line,
Speaker 2: they had to raise his game and Bryce Callahan, you know,
Speaker 2: has an injury history, but he stays healthy for the
Speaker 2: whole season that year and has an awesome season in
Speaker 2: the slot. So those those signings might seem small, you know, financially,
Speaker 2: they're certainly small when you're talking about comparing it to
Speaker 2: like the big All Star kind of prospects, but you
Speaker 2: know they pay huge dividends across the roster. You never
Speaker 2: know what kind of impact those guys can make.
Speaker 3: Just going back to something you mentioned earlier, what did
Speaker 3: you make of the fifth overall pick comment about going
Speaker 3: best player available. You know, you never one player away,
Speaker 3: but at that point, if you have the chance to
Speaker 3: take one of these elite players, you do it. There's
Speaker 3: been so much talk about the Chargers, and I think
Speaker 3: every Chargers fan has a mock draft where the Chargers
Speaker 3: are trading back once or seven times or whatever. Would
Speaker 3: you make of that specific comment about fifth overall?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think if you look at the Ravens draft history,
Speaker 2: and obviously it's it's always tough to correlate like one,
Speaker 2: but I mean, Joe Ortiz was there for twenty years,
Speaker 2: Like the Ravens ideas are like, that's how Joe's going
Speaker 2: to operate and like I think he if they believe
Speaker 2: that one of the players at number five is a
Speaker 2: blue chip player like can't Miss Prospect, I think they'll
Speaker 2: stick and pick that player. But if Marvin Harrison Junior,
Speaker 2: let's say, is the only can't miss player on their
Speaker 2: board and he's gone, I believe that they are going
Speaker 2: to try and trade back, because I like Joe Orti's
Speaker 2: highlighted the need for depth at every single interview.
Speaker 1: He did yesterday.
Speaker 2: So I think, in an ideal word, in an ideal
Speaker 2: world for the charters, I think that the trade back
Speaker 2: is kind of number one priority on their boards unless
Speaker 2: they can get a guy who they think is blue chip.
Speaker 2: And maybe that's Malik Neighbors. Maybe that's Joe Alt, maybe
Speaker 2: that's Olufusano. We don't really know their board. I think
Speaker 2: we kind of tend to agree it's it's Harrison or
Speaker 2: Neighbors or maybe Odunze. But I think that the desire
Speaker 2: to trade back is very real.
Speaker 3: In my opinion, Yeah, I would agree, and I certainly
Speaker 3: don't expect Hortis to go out and say, hey, here's
Speaker 3: our plan, this is what we're doing. I just was
Speaker 3: curious what you thought because that did make me raise
Speaker 3: an eyebrow for a bit. Stephen, what was your big
Speaker 3: takeaway from this presser?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think his comment where he was asked specifically
Speaker 2: about the depth of the offensive line class and pivoted
Speaker 2: it to the depth of the wide receiver class is
Speaker 2: certainly notable. I think we just we talked about just
Speaker 2: briefly mentioning the top of the wide receiver class this
Speaker 2: year is outstanding. But like I'm like, sixteen receivers deep,
Speaker 2: and I'm like, man, I really like this player, you know,
Speaker 2: and there's just the depth of talent that you can
Speaker 2: get at wide receiver in the second and third rounds.
Speaker 2: It's great for the Chargers. Obviously, I'm on board with
Speaker 2: taking a wide receiver in the first round with one
Speaker 2: of those guys, but you know, you look at this
Speaker 2: group of second and third round wide receivers is incredibly deep,
Speaker 2: and that includes guys that Jim Harbo is very familiar with,
Speaker 2: like a Roman Wilson type for like a Ricky Piersoll
Speaker 2: or Xavier Worthy, Troy Franklin, like the list goes on
Speaker 2: and on. I know a lot of people like Xavier
Speaker 2: Leggatt from South Carolina, but it it's it's it's very
Speaker 2: real where you see these guys like a Tank Dell
Speaker 2: like it, Pukua Akua, you know, and there's been other third, fourth,
Speaker 2: fifth round guys who come in and make strong impacts.
Speaker 1: Obviously Cooper Cup was the same way a few years ago.
Speaker 2: It's just kind of the nature of the college game
Speaker 2: where it's like, yes, I would love to have a
Speaker 2: blue chip talent, but at the end of the day,
Speaker 2: there's so many different options out there in this specific
Speaker 2: class where you have a great blue chip class, you
Speaker 2: have a great second tier class and really solid depth
Speaker 2: into into Day three, I think too.
Speaker 3: Yeah. So, as it turns out, Trevor Sikama, who covers
Speaker 3: the draft for a living three hundred and sixty five
Speaker 3: days a year, was right and that that is a
Speaker 3: very deep wide receiver class that could rival last year's.
Speaker 3: He said that there probably won't be another Puka Nakua,
Speaker 3: certainly not a Pokinakua on day three. Like, if you're
Speaker 3: gonna find someone if it's Marvin Harrison junior, great, but
Speaker 3: that's Marvin Harrison junior. Unlikely to find another guy on
Speaker 3: Day three that can do that. But it is a
Speaker 3: very very deep class and I'm glad that that is
Speaker 3: at least in his mind. Same with offensive line of course,
Speaker 3: but at least with wide receiver as well. Because you
Speaker 3: mentioned Nakool, you mentioned Tank Dell, Josh Downs, Jayden Reed.
Speaker 3: There were so many guys throughout last year's draft that
Speaker 3: contributed so much that for almost every team that took
Speaker 3: a receiver in the first round or maybe even in
Speaker 3: the second round, you could argue that they went too early,
Speaker 3: that maybe they could feel some regret because oh man,
Speaker 3: we could have had Joey Porter Junior and Jayden Reid instead,
Speaker 3: or we could have had Brian Branch and Tank Dell
Speaker 3: or whatever. Any team in those first two rounds could
Speaker 3: have maybe felt that way because the depth of the
Speaker 3: class was so good and they was so strong. I mean,
Speaker 3: it's not like I forget who was discussing this. It
Speaker 3: might have been Joe Hartis, But it's not like the
Speaker 3: wide receivers previously, where they get, you know, twenty thirty targets,
Speaker 3: and that's kind of it like from decades ago. Now
Speaker 3: these guys are getting one hundred targets, you know, seventy
Speaker 3: five catches. There's so much to go off of. It's
Speaker 3: so much more involved. So, yeah, I'm curious to see
Speaker 3: who the risers are at the combine this week because
Speaker 3: it's a very deep class.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and you know, at wide receiver specifically, I'm curious
Speaker 2: if maybe the Chargers maybe not, but I'm curious if
Speaker 2: more teams kind of follow what the Green Bay Packers
Speaker 2: have done the last two years where they passed on
Speaker 2: like a first round I receiver, but then they took
Speaker 2: one in the second round and Christian Watson. Then they
Speaker 2: took another one in the fourth round, Romeo Dobs, And
Speaker 2: this past year they did it again. I think it
Speaker 2: was a fourth and a fifth with Jayden Reid and
Speaker 2: don Tavian Wicks. Like, I'm curious with the amount of
Speaker 2: wide receiver talent that there is, if teams are like, hey,
Speaker 2: like maybe we don't need a first round talent, Maybe
Speaker 2: we just need a couple on Day three and we'll
Speaker 2: see kind of what happens.
Speaker 1: You know, cream rises to the top.
Speaker 2: So you know, obviously the Packers had the youngest offense
Speaker 2: in the league and they were still a top ten unit.
Speaker 2: So there's blueprint gets thrown around a lot as kind
Speaker 2: of like a catchphrase. But that to me from like
Speaker 2: a philosophy standpoint in personnel department is curious to see
Speaker 2: if we might see teams doing that more often.
Speaker 3: I guess it really depends if you have Lafleur or
Speaker 3: if you have Andy. It's a lot easier if you
Speaker 3: can you can make any receiver work. I mean Bo
Speaker 3: Melton was drafted or undrafted for agent by the Seahawks.
Speaker 3: It didn't really do much went to the package. No, Look,
Speaker 3: we have Lafloor as the coach now in calling plays. Hey,
Speaker 3: I'm productive out of nowhere. Don't know that every team
Speaker 3: can get that. I don't even know if the Chargers
Speaker 3: can really do that, but I would understand if you're
Speaker 3: confident in your play calling and how you scheme things open,
Speaker 3: and if you're basically a bulletproof kind of play caller. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I could see why that would be the new model.
Speaker 3: Not that you avoid receiver all together in the first round.
Speaker 3: If the guys they are the guys there, but you
Speaker 3: could wait because these classes are just getting better and better.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And like I do think that there is something
Speaker 2: to be said about if you think there's a blue
Speaker 2: chip guy, you take that and you kind of figure
Speaker 2: out other ways, like everybody and I think we are
Speaker 2: including this. Want to see the Charters maximize their draft
Speaker 2: weekend by trading for picks and acquiring more picks. Well,
Speaker 2: you can do that in around two. You can trade
Speaker 2: down around two, you can trade down around three, and
Speaker 2: the Ravens have done that pretty successfully throughout the time
Speaker 2: that Joe Ortiz was there. So you know, if they
Speaker 2: stick and pick at five, maybe they try down from
Speaker 2: thirty seven to fifty or something like that in the
Speaker 2: second round and get like another Day three pick or
Speaker 2: something like that. So I feel pretty confident that Joe's
Speaker 2: going to play the board. The Chargers are not going
Speaker 2: to make all seven of their original picks at those spots.
Speaker 2: I think they'll they'll have some movement and potentially getting
Speaker 2: another pick from you know, Drew Trankle's contract in the
Speaker 2: COMPIIC formula. Maybe there's a player trade things like that.
Speaker 2: So Joe's gonna play the board. I feel pretty confident
Speaker 2: about that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, as am I in Harbab, we trust.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, Tyler, any other thoughts about the press
Speaker 2: conference media tour from Joe Ortiz or do you want
Speaker 2: to dive into the free agency talk here?
Speaker 3: Just one quick thing and that's that he said he
Speaker 3: will not stand for chargering, and he mentioned that there
Speaker 3: are other teams that do this, Like we just saw
Speaker 3: the Lions not have a great NFC Championship game. So
Speaker 3: it's not like the Chargers are the only team to charger,
Speaker 3: if you will, but it is a label that follows them,
Speaker 3: and I appreciate that Joe Hortes mentioned that we will
Speaker 3: not stand for that. I guess, of course he would.
Speaker 3: What else is he going to But I appreciate him
Speaker 3: acknowledging that and saying that that is this is a problem,
Speaker 3: and it's a problem that you know, is organizational or
Speaker 3: was organizational, and it's something that I think sits with
Speaker 3: US fans a lot, this idea of charging. I remember
Speaker 3: being at Qualcomm and Raiders fans would be singing, you know,
Speaker 3: San Diego, super Chokers and all that sort of stuff,
Speaker 3: Like it follows us as fans too, and we want
Speaker 3: to feel like, hey, we're winners too, and we support
Speaker 3: a winning team. And I think with with Harbot, with Hortes, everybody,
Speaker 3: everybody from this All Star staff, I think they're going
Speaker 3: to get past that. I hope they do, but I
Speaker 3: at least appreciate him saying, hey, we're not going to
Speaker 3: stand for that anymore.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I think that's that was an interesting question.
Speaker 2: I think Justin Herbert was asked about that too in
Speaker 2: a different interview. The guys that'side. I mean, the guys
Speaker 2: in the locker room are just gonna say, like, I
Speaker 2: don't know what that is, but like you know, we're
Speaker 2: we're not going to stand for that kind of thing.
Speaker 1: So it is interesting, all right.
Speaker 2: So, so one of the things Joe did talk about
Speaker 2: was the free agency avenues. He mentioned that they were
Speaker 2: going to be aggressive, but they were going to be
Speaker 2: smart and creatively aggressive, not necessarily going out and shopping
Speaker 2: for any big fish. Here, charters, even with the cap increase,
Speaker 2: are still twenty two million dollars in the red before
Speaker 2: the start of the new league year in a couple
Speaker 2: of weeks here, So, Tyler and I have prepared a
Speaker 2: list of four players each. You might mention a couple
Speaker 2: others here, but of players who are projected to make
Speaker 2: less ten million dollars or less average per year according
Speaker 2: to mister Brad at Spielberger's free agency ranking. And Brad
Speaker 2: does not miss he's the best in the business. So
Speaker 2: we're going to be talking about that kind of group
Speaker 2: of free agents where you know, you're talking about kind
Speaker 2: of the mid level guys. If you go into the
Speaker 2: free agency rankings of your favorite analysts that are probably
Speaker 2: not in the top fifty, they're probably closer to like
Speaker 2: sixty seventy one hundred, one hundred and fifty. There's one
Speaker 2: that's not even on the list for me today. But
Speaker 2: that's that's that's the kind of group that we are
Speaker 2: starting with. And I think I'll start us off here
Speaker 2: with you know, I think my my top priority, if
Speaker 2: I am putting my Joe Hortiz cap on it is
Speaker 2: solidifying the offensive line in free agency and not necessarily
Speaker 2: taking that right tackle need away. But my goal in
Speaker 2: free agency is to add somebody who can play multiple spots.
Speaker 2: And a lot of Chargers fans have Peggs, you know,
Speaker 2: Mike and Winnu from the Patriots as that guy. He's
Speaker 2: probably a little bit outside of this price range. So
Speaker 2: for me, I'm looking at offensive lineman who can play
Speaker 2: multiple spots, whether that's center and guard, whether that's both
Speaker 2: guard spots, tackle guard, whatever the case would be. I'm
Speaker 2: trying to find some versatility to give me some flexibility.
Speaker 2: A guy that could play center if the rookie you know,
Speaker 2: draft war doesn't follow their way, would be huge for
Speaker 2: this team. You know, have a competition across multiple spots.
Speaker 2: It's kind of the idea here. So Graham Glasgow is
Speaker 2: my choice. A former Michigan man. He was not recruited
Speaker 2: by Jim Harbaugh. He was already there when Jim Harbor
Speaker 2: was hired, but he finished his career under Jim Harbaugh
Speaker 2: at Michigan.
Speaker 1: This is a guy who.
Speaker 2: Has over twelve hundred career snaps at left guard, over
Speaker 2: twenty six hundred career snaps at center, and over thirty
Speaker 2: two hundred snaps at right guard. So he can play
Speaker 2: all three spots along the interier. I think he gives
Speaker 2: the charters a ton of flexibility. This last year, specifically,
Speaker 2: he played at a very high level at right guard
Speaker 2: for the Detroit Lions. He was sixteenth out of seventy
Speaker 2: nine in Pro Football focuses wins above replacement metric, which
Speaker 2: is very good for a guard in that In that standing,
Speaker 2: the pass blocking efficiency rating is not at that level.
Speaker 2: It was fifty ninth out of eighty three guards this
Speaker 2: past season. But from a run blocking standpoint, he was
Speaker 2: fifth out.
Speaker 1: Of eighty three qualified guards.
Speaker 2: So this is this is a taller, you know, bigger
Speaker 2: physical guard center kind of guy who really fits what
Speaker 2: the had traditionally and like a Bradley Boseman type of player,
Speaker 2: and like a Kevin Zeitler type of player. And he's
Speaker 2: not going to break the bank. And so you're looking
Speaker 2: at a contract, maybe it's two years, fourteen million dollars.
Speaker 2: I think Brad specifically has him at seven million dollars
Speaker 2: per year. So in that in that six to eight
Speaker 2: million dollars per year range for a guy who could
Speaker 2: start at center for this team, he could start at
Speaker 2: right guard for this team. Worst case scenario for him
Speaker 2: is that you he's your swing into your offensive lineman,
Speaker 2: can play all three spots. So I just I want
Speaker 2: that versatility. I want that flexibility, and I think Graham Glasgow,
Speaker 2: the eight year veteran, can bring that.
Speaker 3: Yeah. I think that's my favorite of the picks that
Speaker 3: are projected to or at least they could play center
Speaker 3: for the Chargers. The Chargers absolutely need to go into
Speaker 3: this dropt with a guy they feel comfortable starting for
Speaker 3: the entire season for them. Should they miss out on
Speaker 3: a player on a center that they like, and I
Speaker 3: really do like Glasgow quite a bit, especially in the
Speaker 3: run blocking. As you mentioned, I think that it's a
Speaker 3: perfect fit for what the Chargers. Where the Chargers are at, obviously,
Speaker 3: they've had some really good luck with centers recently with
Speaker 3: Pouncy and then Lindsley. They brought these guys in and
Speaker 3: both have been very good. Haven't had you know, lengthy
Speaker 3: careers with the Chargers. It's not like they played with
Speaker 3: the Chargers for a decade. But I think that's perfect
Speaker 3: because there are a lot of really good center or
Speaker 3: interior offensive lineman prospects in this class, and Glasgow, whether
Speaker 3: it's you know, just this year or two years, can
Speaker 3: really help bridge between you know, what the Chargers probably
Speaker 3: need right now, what Herbert really needs right now, to
Speaker 3: who their center of the future is eventually going to be.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you could take in this regard a
Speaker 2: Hunter nors At from ben State who I really like,
Speaker 2: or a Bowlimmer from Arkansas in the fourth round, fifth round,
Speaker 2: and if those guys are ready to play right away, great,
Speaker 2: then Glasgow can play guard for you. If they're not,
Speaker 2: then Glasgow's your starting center for the year.
Speaker 1: So I like that one.
Speaker 2: I think he gives to the Chargers a lot of flexibility.
Speaker 2: Who's your top one that you want to bring.
Speaker 3: Even I can't believe I'm doing this because I didn't
Speaker 3: think I was going to bring this name up. I
Speaker 3: am going to bring up Derrick Henry, the running back
Speaker 3: for the Titans, and he's expensive. Who said ten million
Speaker 3: dollars or less? And the projection is right at ten
Speaker 3: million dollars. So I get to use this name.
Speaker 1: That's why you wanted to include that or less? I
Speaker 1: see you, I get.
Speaker 3: It, I get what I want. The player pitch is
Speaker 3: very simple. It was eighth in yards after contact per
Speaker 3: temps sixth and breakaway rate fourth and miss tackles forced
Speaker 3: second in PFF war. So this is a very good
Speaker 3: running back. This is a very good player as is.
Speaker 3: But why an expensive older running back? I genuinely believe,
Speaker 3: and Joe Hort He's mentioned as much in his presser
Speaker 3: that running backs have quite a bit of value, and
Speaker 3: they certainly have value in this offense with Jim Harbon
Speaker 3: what he wants to do, with what Greg Roman wants
Speaker 3: to do. I do believe absolutely that running back has
Speaker 3: value and there are several other options. I bring up
Speaker 3: Derrick Henry, but there are plenty of other ones. Edwards,
Speaker 3: Josh Jacob, Zach Moss, etc. Those are all really good
Speaker 3: names too. But I think for this one with Derek Henry,
Speaker 3: I wanted to bring it up for a few reasons
Speaker 3: that I'll get into, other than the fact that he
Speaker 3: is a good player. One the forty nine Ers did
Speaker 3: give Frank Gore a three year, twenty million dollar contract
Speaker 3: back in twenty eleven, and he was aged twenty eight
Speaker 3: at that time. Derrick Henry will be twenty nine, so
Speaker 3: it's not like Jim Harbaugh has not done this before.
Speaker 3: And heck Gore went to the Jets to finish his career,
Speaker 3: where Chad Alexander, the Charger's new assistant general manager, was
Speaker 3: there as a director of player personnel. I'm not saying
Speaker 3: they're getting Frank Gore, but I'm saying like there is
Speaker 3: a bit of comfort with a giving money to a
Speaker 3: player's twenty eight twenty nine and be a running back
Speaker 3: who is older, like they will go out and do this.
Speaker 3: Granted Frank Gore at that time versus Derek Henry. Now,
Speaker 3: different mile age, different cary totals, but still, but the
Speaker 3: Ravens have gone out of their way previously, and of
Speaker 3: course Georgy Ortiz was there to go get Le'Veon bell A,
Speaker 3: Melvin Gordon, a Dalvin Cook. Again not as a ten
Speaker 3: million dollar a year starter by any means, but again
Speaker 3: they are comfortable working in that age range and trying
Speaker 3: to find back to keep the the room going. But
Speaker 3: the reason I'm really bringing this up at all is
Speaker 3: that there are now some reports circulating that last year
Speaker 3: there was a deal in place, or very close to
Speaker 3: a deal in place, to send Derrick Henry from the
Speaker 3: Titans to the Ravens. Why did it fall through? I
Speaker 3: have no idea, but Joe Harties was with the Ravens
Speaker 3: and so I don't know how involved he was with that.
Speaker 3: But if the reports are believed to be true, and
Speaker 3: I don't know if i'd say I believe them, We'll
Speaker 3: never really know. But if you believe those reports to
Speaker 3: be true, then there was some interest. So I think
Speaker 3: that based on history, based on what they want to do,
Speaker 3: what Greg Roman wants to do, potentially that trade of
Speaker 3: having happened last year, and just the fact that Greg
Speaker 3: Roman and this rushing attack they need somebody like this,
Speaker 3: I think I did want to bring up Derek Henry,
Speaker 3: and I wasn't going to before, but after a while
Speaker 3: and the more I looked into it, I felt like
Speaker 3: I kind of needed to.
Speaker 2: And there's obviously a lot of love out there where
Speaker 2: I guess desire for the Chargers to go out and
Speaker 2: sign an expensive running back. Know Rich Eisen went on
Speaker 2: his show yesterday I believe maybe Monday, and was advocating
Speaker 2: for the Chargers to sign Saquon Barkley. I think their
Speaker 2: Chargers are or were current were at one point in
Speaker 2: the favorites to sign Josh Jacobs in free agency. So
Speaker 2: like a lot of people think the Chargers are gonna
Speaker 2: sign expensive free agent running back, I I think Derrick
Speaker 2: Henry would probably be my choice of the expensive running backs.
Speaker 2: Saquan's had an injury history. You know, he's had a
Speaker 2: ton of wear and tear on his body. And the
Speaker 2: explosive numbers are still there, but the downto down efficiency
Speaker 2: numbers last year and even the year before that were
Speaker 2: were not great. You look at Josh Jacobs, who led
Speaker 2: the league in rushing in twenty twenty two. The efficiency
Speaker 2: numbers were not very good last year and the explosive
Speaker 2: numbers were even worse, and a lot of that could
Speaker 2: be said. You know, they went from dealing with, like,
Speaker 2: you know, Derek Carr quarterback and to an Aiden and
Speaker 2: O'Connell type quarterback. The offense kind of deteriorated, deteriorated. That
Speaker 2: certainly plays a factor. But if you look at Dereck
Speaker 2: Henry the Titans offensive line last year, if you just
Speaker 2: pulled everybody and said, hey, who has the worst offensive
Speaker 2: line in the league, I think the Titans would have
Speaker 2: won that poll. And Derek Henry still produced at a
Speaker 2: really high level, rushing yards over expectation, yards after contact,
Speaker 2: all the stuff that you highlighted. So I think of
Speaker 2: the expensive type of backs, Derrick Henry would be my choice.
Speaker 2: How interested he would be in kind of choosing a
Speaker 2: soft reset for the Chargers as opposed to going to
Speaker 2: the Ravens or another team who is currently a Super
Speaker 2: Bowl contender remains to be seen. But I definitely could
Speaker 2: understand why anybody would choose Derek Plenty of running backs.
Speaker 3: I think that there is an argument that Joe Horties,
Speaker 3: or at least the Ravens in general. I know he's
Speaker 3: not the GM have not paid running backs under Lamar's contract.
Speaker 3: At the same time, I feel like Lamar also could
Speaker 3: give you a thousand rushing yards, but justin Herbert is
Speaker 3: not giving you that right exactly. So I think that
Speaker 3: you got to kind of meet in the middle. Like
Speaker 3: Herbert's not gonna go get a thousand yards rushing next year.
Speaker 3: I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't put it past him.
Speaker 3: So you got to find something to kind of meet
Speaker 3: you in the middle there for the for the rushing attack.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think we ultimately will see the Chargers at
Speaker 2: a veteran running back. I think the position room just
Speaker 2: needs that that kind of juice and you need a
Speaker 2: you need that sability. You can't go into the draft
Speaker 2: with Isaiah Spiller and Elijah Dotson under contract like you.
Speaker 2: You need to add somebody to the room. So I'm
Speaker 2: gonna go down a few tiers. And this is definitely
Speaker 2: a character caricature of myself. I went to the school.
Speaker 2: I actually had a class in college with this individual,
Speaker 2: and that is mister Zach Moss. And I know people
Speaker 2: are kind of tired of me talking about Utah. I
Speaker 2: only talk about Utah when it's relevant, and in assistance
Speaker 2: it is relevant. You look at Zach Moss and what
Speaker 2: he did with the Colts, and at one point during
Speaker 2: the season when Jonathan Taylor was dealing with his injury,
Speaker 2: Zach Moss was the leading rusher in the entire NFL
Speaker 2: with Gardner Minshew as his quarterback. You look at his
Speaker 2: season as a whole, among fifty one running backs with
Speaker 2: at least ninety attempts, Zack Moss was fifth in rushing
Speaker 2: yards over expectation per attempt. He was twenty fifth in
Speaker 2: total mistackles forced, He was twenty eighth in runs a
Speaker 2: ten plus yards, He was twentieth in breakaway percentage, and
Speaker 2: he was twenty fourth in first downs created. There's a
Speaker 2: lot of value in the efficiency of a Zach Moss
Speaker 2: type of running back. And he showed what he could
Speaker 2: do for the Colts in spot duty in full time
Speaker 2: starter duty, and that's just the kind of reliability that
Speaker 2: I think the Chargers running game needs.
Speaker 1: I don't think.
Speaker 2: He's the type of running back to carry the ball
Speaker 2: twenty times every single game for seventeen weeks.
Speaker 3: Obviously, I know him very well. He gets he gets.
Speaker 2: These little bumps and bruises along the way. Pretty much
Speaker 2: every season. He misses a gamer here game or two
Speaker 2: here there quite often. So he's not like a workhorse
Speaker 2: back like Derrick Henry, but he can come in and
Speaker 2: stabilize your running back room. He can come in and
Speaker 2: add some efficiency. You do have to add other running
Speaker 2: backs to his room, but you know, you get Derek
Speaker 2: Henry for one year, ten million dollars type deal, let's say,
Speaker 2: and you can get Zach Moss for two years and
Speaker 2: seven million dollars total. So you're talking about a much
Speaker 2: cheaper type of running back who's now your RB one.
Speaker 2: Maybe he's more of your one A this year and
Speaker 2: just kind of allows you to take some lumps this
Speaker 2: year stabilize the position, giving you some some real reliability
Speaker 2: and capability of the spot for the short term.
Speaker 3: Yeah, as we just discussed, the Ravens never paid running
Speaker 3: back a ton of money while under this contract, but
Speaker 3: they've always done a really good job of having like
Speaker 3: RB one to RB four plus their fullback be really
Speaker 3: really good, really really strong. So at any point, like okay,
Speaker 3: you lose a player JK. Dobbins goes on, for example,
Speaker 3: and you still have a really good rushing attack. Again,
Speaker 3: Lamar helps with that quite a bit, but they've always
Speaker 3: managed to keep a nice group there, so Zach Moss
Speaker 3: leading that I think would be fantastic. This draft class
Speaker 3: doesn't seem like it has any Round one guys in
Speaker 3: frankly like round two and feels rich for a lot
Speaker 3: of these guys because some of the guys that could
Speaker 3: be there got hurt and they're recovering from injuries or
Speaker 3: they're not even you know, running this weekend for various reasons.
Speaker 3: So it's not like a great class early, but later
Speaker 3: on that like round three to five, range really do
Speaker 3: like a lot of these guys. So pairing Zach Moss
Speaker 3: with one of those guys with Spilder and Dotson feels
Speaker 3: like a nice, really nice one through four running back room.
Speaker 2: I think that again the Chargers should draft a running
Speaker 2: back this year. And you know, I like you Tyler's
Speaker 2: mentioning here. I think Jonathan Brooks are Trey Benson type,
Speaker 2: like they could be that guy in the second round,
Speaker 2: but both of them have some knee issues that I
Speaker 2: would definitely want to get some clarity on. Obviously, Jonathan
Speaker 2: Brooks towards ACL this past season, we don't know when
Speaker 2: he's gonna be ready, so you know, whoever, whatever veteran
Speaker 2: they sign, like, you're gonna need a young running back
Speaker 2: to be able to come in after him. I mean,
Speaker 2: the Titans last year I think did it right with
Speaker 2: adding Ta J.
Speaker 1: Spears.
Speaker 2: So that's that's the kind of thing you're trying to
Speaker 2: look for. You you're signing Zach Moss, maybe you're doing
Speaker 2: even cheaper than that. You're signing a Gus Edwards type,
Speaker 2: and then you're drafting kind of a faster, more explosive type.
Speaker 1: I think is probably the approach that I'm leaning towards.
Speaker 2: If you draft Derek, if you signed Derek Henry, the
Speaker 2: running back need probably goes down a few rounds. Maybe
Speaker 2: that becomes like a sixth round need instead of the
Speaker 2: fourth round need. But either way, like the Chargers are
Speaker 2: going to run the football in twenty twenty four and
Speaker 2: as long as Jim Harrod's the coach and they need
Speaker 2: multiple running backs, it's not just like sign one, I agree.
Speaker 3: Next up for me, I'll go with a defensive tackle,
Speaker 3: and you have one that I do like quite a bit.
Speaker 3: More to discuss later, but I'll go with a different one.
Speaker 3: And that is me just thinking about comp picks here
Speaker 3: and reclamation projects and coaching. And that is Javon Kinlaw,
Speaker 3: the defensive tackle for the forty nine ers, who was
Speaker 3: a former fourteenth overall pick, a lot of talent, it
Speaker 3: is really not panned out so far, although he did
Speaker 3: have a much better final season with the forty nine ers.
Speaker 3: I thirty one pressures, fifteen on stops, I believe four
Speaker 3: sacks or whatever it was. He's only projected to get
Speaker 3: five and a half, only projected to get five and
Speaker 3: a half million dollars a year. I say that as
Speaker 3: a teacher who definitely not does not make that much money.
Speaker 3: But if you're Jim Harbaugh, if you're Jesse Minter, if
Speaker 3: you're Mike Elston, if you're Ben Herbert, if you believe
Speaker 3: that you are the all star staff that you are
Speaker 3: and that you can maximize players, particularly on defense, I
Speaker 3: think you go out and you try to take a
Speaker 3: chance on some of these quote unquote projects. Not that
Speaker 3: these guys were projects, but we talked about Clowne, we
Speaker 3: talked about van Ney. These guys came into this defensive
Speaker 3: system and had the best years of their careers. And
Speaker 3: I think that this is potentially a defensive system that
Speaker 3: can do that. For Kin law. So you find a
Speaker 3: way to get the former fourteenth overall pick who was
Speaker 3: kind of ascending this last year anyway, you get him
Speaker 3: to really have another really good season, like maybe even
Speaker 3: a great season, and now you're talking about being able
Speaker 3: to flip. You know, he goes and gets a nice
Speaker 3: contract elsewhere and you get a future Comppick for that.
Speaker 3: They did it with Matthew Judah or matt Judon. They
Speaker 3: did it with Janikokway. They got fourth round picks compicks
Speaker 3: for those guys. Again, not the most exciting thing ever,
Speaker 3: but at minimum, you get a player who fits at
Speaker 3: least like the size profile where we're trying to start
Speaker 3: looking for defensive tackles. Who are that three hundred plus
Speaker 3: pound solid player there. He is a bit more of
Speaker 3: a rusher than a run defender. So I could see
Speaker 3: why the Chargers would hesitate there. But again, if you
Speaker 3: believe in who are you are as a staff, I'd
Speaker 3: like to see the Chargers start going after players who
Speaker 3: didn't quite hit yet and then getting those players and
Speaker 3: then maximizing them. So it's either a a benefit to
Speaker 3: their team or b a benefit to their team long term,
Speaker 3: because hey, we got a Comppick for that player, So
Speaker 3: kin Law, there are other defensive tackles I like the
Speaker 3: one that you're going to mention, very different in terms
Speaker 3: of what they bring to a team. But I'd like
Speaker 3: to see the Chargers for many different players go try
Speaker 3: to work the compics that way.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's that's an element that I wish
Speaker 2: was a greater piece of the Chargers plan previously because
Speaker 2: I think you know a lot of these guys like there,
Speaker 2: they didn't work out for certain reasons, right, And maybe
Speaker 2: it doesn't work out for the Charterers, but it's about
Speaker 2: maximizing your value and being able to give yourself extra
Speaker 2: opportunities in ways that you might have not previously done.
Speaker 2: I mean the forty nine Ers and in other position
Speaker 2: groups have done that same thing along the defensive line
Speaker 2: obviously with Chris Kasurk, who is probably the best defensive
Speaker 2: line coach in the league. So they can take that
Speaker 2: kind of risk. But yeah, like when we made this plan,
Speaker 2: like my I guess my catch RaSE for like my
Speaker 2: my group was going to be like where's the beef,
Speaker 2: Like where's like this is Wendy's like I need some
Speaker 2: beef up the middle, and so ground Glass I was
Speaker 2: gonna be the first guy. Ajon Robinson was gonna be
Speaker 2: the second guy you brought up Dereck Henry, so natural
Speaker 2: transitions to Zach Moss. But Ajon Robinson is my other
Speaker 2: player here for where's the beef? This is an into
Speaker 2: your defensive lineman for formerly of the New York Giants,
Speaker 2: and he's not been necessarily tied to this current regime,
Speaker 2: but the Giants had Wink Martindell, who jesse Minter learned
Speaker 2: under for quite some time. Ashawan Robinson has also played
Speaker 2: with the Los Angeles Rams, which was previously coordinated by
Speaker 2: Brandon Staley, who there is some overlap, as we learned
Speaker 2: from Cody Alexander, between what the defensive line room specifically
Speaker 2: is required of them in Brandon Staley's defense to jesse
Speaker 2: Mincher's defense, and so there, I think this is a
Speaker 2: world where a Shawn Robinson would come in with a
Speaker 2: strong grasp of the scheme. He is a very large
Speaker 2: human being, and I was surprised to learn that he
Speaker 2: was still only twenty eight years old. I feel like
Speaker 2: he's been in the league forever. But that's what happens
Speaker 2: when you get drafted when you're like twenty from Alabama.
Speaker 2: But you look at the numbers here, he was among
Speaker 2: seventy six intoieer defensive lineman with fifty percent of their
Speaker 2: team's run defense maps. So this is this is the
Speaker 2: run defense guys. Ashawn Robinson was third in total run
Speaker 2: stops with thirty six and first in run stop percentage
Speaker 2: with fourteen point one percent. It was twenty seventh in
Speaker 2: average depth of tackle in terms of average depth of
Speaker 2: tackle from PFF. And he's only gonna cost you, according
Speaker 2: to Brad six million dollars per year. And again, the
Speaker 2: charters are in a space where they can't really afford
Speaker 2: to go big fish hunting. But let's get some competency
Speaker 2: at these positions where they're lacking. And for me, like
Speaker 2: into your offensive line, defensive tackle, running back, Like that's
Speaker 2: really what I'm seeking in free agency. This is how
Speaker 2: you get creative and aggressive and free agency without having
Speaker 2: the resources to do. So, let's just go get a
Speaker 2: guy who can stabilize the floor of this position group
Speaker 2: play a specific role for us. We know the charters
Speaker 2: are going to prioritize like big run stuffing defensive tackles
Speaker 2: under Jesse Minter, Ashaun Robinson, I think is that.
Speaker 3: I agree it with so much of watching the more
Speaker 3: specifically Michigan because now I've watched i think eight Michigan
Speaker 3: defense of prospects in this upcoming class.
Speaker 1: Yea, so many in the combine.
Speaker 3: And they're all really good, Like they're all pretty darn good,
Speaker 3: which is pretty cool that the Chargers might inherit a
Speaker 3: lot of that development. But it was so apparent watching
Speaker 3: the defense for Jesse Minter, like defensive tackle, and the
Speaker 3: way these guys play is so important and they have
Speaker 3: to be you know, the guys behind them, the linebackers
Speaker 3: behind them, or maybe the nickel blitz like those are
Speaker 3: the guys that end up making the play. So they
Speaker 3: blitz and they get a QB hit or a pressure
Speaker 3: or tackle for loss or whatever it is. But those
Speaker 3: guys up front have to do their jobs of the
Speaker 3: guys behind them go and go ahead and make those
Speaker 3: big splash plays. So definitely wanted to go with Robinson.
Speaker 3: You stole them, but it was a good call. Oh good,
Speaker 3: Sorry about that one, Tyler.
Speaker 2: But like the I think these are the kind of
Speaker 2: the rooms that we're talking about pursuing a free agency
Speaker 2: for the Chargers, a lot.
Speaker 1: Of a lot of beef upfront depth.
Speaker 2: So I'm curious to see ultimately with the processes here.
Speaker 2: But Tyler, you have one other one and then maybe
Speaker 2: we get to some extras, extra fun ones at that.
Speaker 3: You don't get to some of your ones, I'm gonna
Speaker 3: steal them, but I'm gonna stick with mine because I
Speaker 3: really like yours. I'll stick with mine. And it's a
Speaker 3: player that I hope never sees the field. But the
Speaker 3: Chargers absolutely need a backup quarterback, so I am going
Speaker 3: with Tyrod Taylor in this particular case. There's certainly familiarity there, right,
Speaker 3: there's a played for the Chargers, obviously, but also with
Speaker 3: Greg Roman and was drafted by the Ravens and Joe
Speaker 3: Ortiz and with Andy Bischoff. The Chargers need run game
Speaker 3: court in a slash tight ends coach. But like the
Speaker 3: honest truth is, we've seen Justin Herbert go down with
Speaker 3: some pretty serious injuries. Some he's he's fought through and
Speaker 3: stayed in the game and played through. Some have ended
Speaker 3: his season like this past one. And the Chargers, you know,
Speaker 3: do I think that this backup quarterback or any backup
Speaker 3: quarterback is going to carry them through the postseason into
Speaker 3: a Super Bowl this year, like, no, but the Chargers
Speaker 3: need to give themselves a fighting chance. And we just
Speaker 3: talked about you know, Hortez and how he wants to
Speaker 3: make sure we're looking at every possible advantage we can
Speaker 3: and being prepared and end of the season or beginning
Speaker 3: of the season, preseason, you name it, like, we're gonna
Speaker 3: go find players to make sure we're ready in case
Speaker 3: something happens. And a quarterback is big insurance for that. Obviously,
Speaker 3: backup quarterback like Tyrod Taylor. Look, am I expecting four
Speaker 3: hundred yards a game? No, but the Chargers need someone
Speaker 3: who can come in run this offense, literally run in
Speaker 3: this offense too. I think Tyrod Taylor brings that. So
Speaker 3: it's a very inexpensive contract. Again, I hope he never
Speaker 3: sees the field. That is the hope for every NFL team,
Speaker 3: every NFL fan. They don't want to see the backup
Speaker 3: quarterback on the field unless it's a forty point blowout,
Speaker 3: which hey, I'll take, but they need somebody. They really
Speaker 3: do need a backup quarterback. It's not the most intriguing
Speaker 3: exciting free agent, you know, add by any means, but
Speaker 3: it's insurance and it's important and Unfortunately we've seen Herbert
Speaker 3: go down a couple of times last few seasons.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think there's also extra value here in Tyron
Speaker 2: Taylor knows how Greg Ruman wants to run the offense.
Speaker 2: And not to say that Justin Herbert needs that extra help,
Speaker 2: but it's always helpful. Like the backup quarterback position, if
Speaker 2: you are doing it right, is essentially like another quarterback coach,
Speaker 2: and so it's an extra set of eyes. Obviously, we
Speaker 2: know that Justin and Esen Stick are very close, and
Speaker 2: you know, I wouldn't rule that return out either, but
Speaker 2: you're gonna want to prioritize somebody who can run, and
Speaker 2: Greg Roman can have that kind of stabilized floor with
Speaker 2: the quarterback run game.
Speaker 1: If anything happens.
Speaker 2: So whether it's Stick or Tyrod or somebody else who
Speaker 2: can run, somebody who's familiar with the kind of offense that
Speaker 2: they want to run, I think that's where you're kind
Speaker 2: of looking for a backup quarterback. And I think you
Speaker 2: know Max Duggan they drafted.
Speaker 1: In the seventh round. He was cut several times.
Speaker 2: I'd be pretty surprised if they entered the season with
Speaker 2: him as QB two. Like I think they are going
Speaker 2: to make some kind of transaction there. Whether that's another
Speaker 2: you know, late round draft pick or veteran or something
Speaker 2: like that, we'll see. But I think they're going to
Speaker 2: want some competition for that spot. Maybe it's somebody like
Speaker 2: Tyroll that's obviously the kind of the higher end of competition.
Speaker 2: But I would not be surprised at all if they.
Speaker 3: And if it ends up being Tyler Huntley, I will
Speaker 3: leave you alone for forty five minutes on the podcast.
Speaker 3: Well you just you just talk about your Utah guys.
Speaker 2: Hey, just give me all the Utah guys. I mean,
Speaker 2: it's worked out well for the Chargers in the past,
Speaker 2: but it is what it.
Speaker 1: Is, all right.
Speaker 2: Last one here for me, I need the Chargers to
Speaker 2: add a tight end. A good blocking tight end is
Speaker 2: what I desire from free agency. I don't necessarily need
Speaker 2: that guy to be a great receiver, but you know,
Speaker 2: I every time I turned on the Chargers tape, I
Speaker 2: just I needed that good blocking tight end. And Jim
Speaker 2: Harbaugh and Greg Roman need that good blocking tight ends.
Speaker 2: I've always had one wherever they're at. So there's there's
Speaker 2: a few different places that I think they could look.
Speaker 2: I think Brad mentioned Adam Trautman as as a potential
Speaker 2: fit for the Broncos. That's what I'm not opposed to.
Speaker 2: But the Chargers did hire Sanjay Lal from the Seattle Seahawks,
Speaker 2: and the Seahawks tight end room was my favorite tight
Speaker 2: end room to watch every single time I watched it.
Speaker 2: They could choose no offense from that room if they
Speaker 2: wanted to. But Kobe Parkinson, I think is going to
Speaker 2: be very, very cheap. He's a fantastic run blocker. According
Speaker 2: to PFFS metrics, how much stock you put into those
Speaker 2: you know is whatever is but out of tight ends
Speaker 2: with at least twenty percent of their respective teams run
Speaker 2: blocking snaps, Kobe Parkinson ranked eighth out of eighty three
Speaker 2: qualified tight ends, and specifically he was twenty first in
Speaker 2: gap power run. So the Seattle Seahawks ran a lot
Speaker 2: of outside zone Shane Waldron's comes from that Sean McVay tree,
Speaker 2: but when they would go to the gap and power stuff,
Speaker 2: it was often Kobe Parkinson who was their tight end
Speaker 2: of choice as a blocker. So he's a guy who,
Speaker 2: like I would definitely trust as setting the edge, cutting
Speaker 2: out the backside. You know, he's a quality pass protector
Speaker 2: as well, and he went to Stanford. He did not
Speaker 2: play for Stanford when Jim Harbaugh was there, but he
Speaker 2: probably was recruited by Jim Harbaught in some extent depending
Speaker 2: on the timeline there. But I think there's a lot
Speaker 2: of parallel there in terms of like what Stanford is
Speaker 2: obviously valued at tight ends even with David Shaw, and
Speaker 2: you know, Jim harbabbly for him, and I just think
Speaker 2: he fits perfectly what this this regime and look for.
Speaker 2: There are other tight ends out there, but Kobe Parkinson
Speaker 2: was very rarely used the passing game. I think there
Speaker 2: is some more upside there. This is kind of a
Speaker 2: low cost, high reward chance at tight end for me,
Speaker 2: loyal listeners of the show. No, I've wanted Kobe Parkinson
Speaker 2: in the charters for years. The last two trade deadlines,
Speaker 2: I mentioned him as a trade target because the Seahawks
Speaker 2: have had an awesome tight end room, So Kobe Parkinson
Speaker 2: would be a great choice for blocking tight end. I
Speaker 2: just need somebody to come in here and be competent,
Speaker 2: and I've always had a thing for Parkinson.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we've been discussing Kobe Parkinson since I feel like
Speaker 3: for twenty seven years. At this point, like my entire life,
Speaker 3: I feel like I've just been talking about Kobe Parkinson,
Speaker 3: like let's trade for him, or it's Cole commit.
Speaker 2: But now they don't cost them a pick. They just
Speaker 2: probably cost it. You just probably cost it.
Speaker 3: Like just two million dollars. Whoever's got that, feel free
Speaker 3: to spend it. This tight end class, I have not
Speaker 3: watched many tight ends. I don't have a lot of
Speaker 3: enthusiasm to watch this tight end class outside of brock Bowers.
Speaker 3: But from those that I've watched and from everything you hear,
Speaker 3: even just looking at the consensus board, it's not a
Speaker 3: great class for tight ends. It is not like last
Speaker 3: year's class where I feel like every other pick was
Speaker 3: a good tight end. It's not really a great class.
Speaker 3: And even then, if you like some of these tight ends,
Speaker 3: they're not all great blocking tight ends. You know, Sanders,
Speaker 3: I think is a pretty solid tight end prospect. It's
Speaker 3: not really the same kind of blocker that Kobe Parkinson is.
Speaker 3: So I think the Chargers adding a tight end at
Speaker 3: any point in free agency would be smart for them.
Speaker 3: Just have that in your back pocket or as your
Speaker 3: starter or whoever. Just knowing that you can go into
Speaker 3: the draft. Don't feel like you have to reach for
Speaker 3: a tight end or get a tight end that doesn't
Speaker 3: really fit because you didn't get one in free agency.
Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, Okay, Tyler, did you have a sure?
Speaker 3: Why do I just keep with positions that are typically
Speaker 3: considered not the premium positions. Let's go with linebacker because
Speaker 3: why not. I went with an expense of running back,
Speaker 3: and I'll go with an expensive linebacker, and that's Frankie
Speaker 3: Luvu from the Panthers. I don't know what the situation
Speaker 3: is going to be for the Chargers. How much do
Speaker 3: they believe in Dan Henley, Nickneman, how much do they
Speaker 3: believe in Eric Kendricks. How much are these guys going
Speaker 3: to play? I don't know, But as I said, I
Speaker 3: watched a lot of Michigan and it was apparent, sure
Speaker 3: watching the defensive tackles, but also very apparent watching the
Speaker 3: linebackers play. In particular, you have to have linebackers for
Speaker 3: jesse mentor to just destroy protection calls by rushing the passer.
Speaker 3: I think this bears out with the Ravens as well.
Speaker 3: With like Patrick Queen, he rushed the eighth most times
Speaker 3: in the NFL last year Michael Barrett Junior Colson, the
Speaker 3: two Michigan linebackers rushed over one hundred times. I believe
Speaker 3: Michael Barrett was second in this class and pass rush
Speaker 3: win rate or pass rush grade, like it is very
Speaker 3: important for this defense to be able to rush the
Speaker 3: passer from that BAP, from the A gap, to put
Speaker 3: different pressures on the quarterback and on the offensive line
Speaker 3: and the protections. We saw that obviously with the with
Speaker 3: the Ravens when they played the charges and what they
Speaker 3: were able to do there. And Louvu is someone who
Speaker 3: was number one in pass rush grade last year eighth
Speaker 3: and pass rush win rate, I can barely say that
Speaker 3: sometimes I think I got at that time, and I
Speaker 3: just think that's so important for this defense. Again, a
Speaker 3: bit expensive. We'll see what the room looks like and
Speaker 3: who they believe in and who they want to continue
Speaker 3: to work with as a starter in the scheme. But
Speaker 3: linebacker is so important. And again one you know it's important,
Speaker 3: like with Derek Henry, with like Greg Roman, sure, but
Speaker 3: I also feel like there needs to be some sort
Speaker 3: of precedent to talk about like a linebacker getting this
Speaker 3: kind of money, and I think that we see with
Speaker 3: the Ravens sort of like running back, like they do
Speaker 3: want to invest in this position where it's considered, you know,
Speaker 3: not our premium position. The Ravens had no problem investing
Speaker 3: in linebacker, obviously a first rounder for Patrick Queen, but
Speaker 3: then they gave up two picks for Roe Kwan Smith
Speaker 3: and gave him a five year, one hundred million dollar contract,
Speaker 3: and that was important for their defense. That's a big contract.
Speaker 3: And this is definitely not that Louvu is definitely not
Speaker 3: getting a five year, hundred million dollar contract, but it
Speaker 3: is important for this scheme to have run linebackers, excuse me,
Speaker 3: who can blitz and put pressure on the line in
Speaker 3: the quarterbacks. And there is a precedent with the Ravens
Speaker 3: of them going out and spending this much money, so
Speaker 3: I think it is at least worth bringing up either
Speaker 3: Louvu or any other linebacker who can rush the passer.
Speaker 3: You could include Drew Treankle with that as well, because
Speaker 3: he's very good at doing that. Because I think it's
Speaker 3: important for this scheme and as a president there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, now that's a good call.
Speaker 2: There's a lot of the film community who really like
Speaker 2: Frankie Luvu, and it is going to be interesting to
Speaker 2: see what happens at the linebacker position. You know, the
Speaker 2: Chargers want to free up some extra cap space. You know,
Speaker 2: they could certainly cut Eric Kendricks, but maybe they want
Speaker 2: to keep Eric Hendricks to be that kind of mentor
Speaker 2: for the next group of linebackers. So it's gonna be
Speaker 2: interesting you see there quickly. I do think the Chargers
Speaker 2: are going to be in the market for some kind
Speaker 2: of defensive back, not an expensive one, but they have
Speaker 2: a lot of needs a defensive back. Really, the only
Speaker 2: starters of like your if you like have your course
Speaker 2: six defensive backs, I think you have Asante and you
Speaker 2: have Derwin obviously, but I think the other spots are
Speaker 2: up for grabs right now.
Speaker 1: So I do think the Chargers could be in the
Speaker 1: market for.
Speaker 2: Maybe a slot corner, maybe a free safety, you know,
Speaker 2: like a Deshaun Elliott or like a Jordan Fuller type
Speaker 2: of player. So I am curious to see what the
Speaker 2: avenues are for adding defensive backs because like linebackers, like
Speaker 2: you look at the stuff that Michigan has done with
Speaker 2: Mike saymers Still and Daxon Hill, like, they need versatility
Speaker 2: at safety and it can't just be their Yeah.
Speaker 3: Absolutely, I didn't have a particular name to bring up
Speaker 3: as like this is the defensive back that I have
Speaker 3: to have, But I'm glad you brought it up because
Speaker 3: they could go with Jordan Lewis, the slot cornerback for
Speaker 3: the Cowboys. They go with rock Yohnston, they could go
Speaker 3: with Ronald Darby, the two former Ravens. They can go
Speaker 3: with Kenny Moore. I'm not saying that they're going to
Speaker 3: go out and get an elite great defensive back that
Speaker 3: I just don't have the kind of money to go
Speaker 3: out and spend twenty million dollars on a defensive back.
Speaker 3: But they just need bodies, and they definitely need a
Speaker 3: veteran presence there. Maybe their first pick in the first
Speaker 3: round they trade back and take a corner. It'd be
Speaker 3: great to have someone who's been there, done that, ben
Speaker 3: league for a very long time who could really help
Speaker 3: guide that the individual. Not that Derwin can't thought that
Speaker 3: a Sante Samuel junior camp, but there's something about those
Speaker 3: like seven, eight, nine year veterans that could be out
Speaker 3: there to help. So any of these guys who have
Speaker 3: been there, done that and maybe even understand the scheme.
Speaker 3: I think would be a really good call.
Speaker 2: Yeah, all right, guys, that's going to do it for
Speaker 2: us today. Tyler, any final thoughts before we head out.
Speaker 3: We are so close to free agency, man, like the
Speaker 3: offseason wins, They're almost here. I'm really excited.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we're gonna have a ton of coverage for you
Speaker 2: guys on Free agency week. By the time this is out,
Speaker 2: Tyler and I will have an episode specifically about how
Speaker 2: the Chargers address cornerback on our channel, So please go
Speaker 2: check that out. Make sure like, subscribe, comment, give us
Speaker 2: a ratiing review on the Chargers feeds.
Speaker 3: All that stuff really does help us out, so we
Speaker 3: appreciate you there.
Speaker 2: That's gonna do it for us today. We'll see you
Speaker 2: guys next week and as always, full time