Marvin Harrison Jr. to the Texans! Winners, Losers & Biggest Week 5 Takeaways (Ep. 2258)

0:01 Hello everybody. Welcome into the tailgate. I'm Ryan Warmly joined on this Monday morning by Andrew Erickson and by Derek Brown. We are reacting to everything we saw in week five, a very fun week of football, a very long day of football, starting off with the London game and a very exciting finish. They're finishing off with a very exciting finish in the Sunday night football game overtime for the third time in five weeks. I believe they were saying on the broadcast and remembering correctly. It's been a lot of primetime overtimes so far this season. So a very long day of football, very exciting day of football. You know, Debro, there was a lot of big touchdowns early on in the early window slate, just like a lot of action.

0:38 There were injuries as there always were, but not as many as we've had the last couple of weeks, not these huge big name injuries at the same level as the last couple of weeks. So just overall, like a pretty positive, fun day of football, I think.

0:49 Pretty positive, fun day of football, unless you happen to be a Washington Commanders fan. I'd say you were you were having a good Sunday outside of the Washington Commanders. Can we? Quickly talk about that, boys. What the heck?

1:01 Well, we are going to get to it later in the show. We can quickly say WTF and, you know, what is going on here. It was remarkable. We will dive into it in a little more detail later in the show. But yeah, I think we're off to bat. That was like the biggest thing that people were talking about. I mean, it was blowing my mind, D-Bro, how often Red Zone kept cutting back to that game. after it was over and replaying that highlight, I was like, you're just like twisting the knife for Commanders fans.

1:27 Well, I mean, deservedly so. I mean, honestly, just twisting the knife on Dan Quinn. But we'll get to it later. We'll get to it later.

1:34 Yeah, very hilarious finish there. Erickson, how are you feeling after week five?

1:38 Feeling good. Feeling more rested than I was. Very busy weekend for me. A lot of driving, weddings all over the place. But it was nice to come home on Sunday, sit on the couch and just watch football. And really, that's really the only thing I wanted to be doing. So I had a lot of fun watching the games.

1:55 My Patriots coming out, laying the hammer on the Las Vegas Raiders. Another five touchdowns for Drake May, who's now been QB1 in back-to-back weeks after being nowhere near that to start the first three weeks of the season. So maybe Drake May is not all the way back, but when he plays bad defenses or less than elite defenses, he plays pretty well.

2:14 Yeah. I always forget Erickson at the top of the show in our news and notes sections to pitch it to you for our update on the tailgate fantasy league we have. So I'm going to do that now before I forget because I always forget. How are we looking here in week five in the tailgate league?

2:34 In week five, we made some mistakes. Me made some mistakes.

2:38 We? What's the we?

2:39 In terms of setting our lineup on time. Who is this we? I forgot to submit Dallas Goddard in for Jake Ferguson. So we lost some points there. I also forgot to take Patrick Mahomes out of the starting QB1 slot, who's on a bye week. But I at least had the forward thinking to quickly pivot, pick up Tyler Huntley, end up having a pretty solid fantasy out, and he got that rushing touchdown at the end, which really kind of saved his bacon. So we're actually up by four points heading into Monday Night Football. Our opponent has DJ Moore and Devontae Adams, but we got Puka Nakua. So got a shot. There's a chance.

3:13 And Puka withdraws.

3:14 We'll see. We're just trying to avoid that punishment that we still haven't agreed to exactly what it will be. But we will do something, the three of us, if we fail to make the playoffs in this league against our beloved listeners. Let's get into the actual news and notes here. We normally really just treat this as an injury roundup. We are going to do that. But first, we need to talk about the trade that went down this weekend. First of all, just ridiculous reporting on Sunday morning.

3:38 Or excuse me, Saturday morning.

3:40 Max milking of headlines and clicks and everything.

3:43 We're not going to tell anybody where he's going, but he's going to be true.

3:47 A trade could possibly happen. All you know is it could be to one of 31 NFL teams.

3:55 I was live on our Saturday morning YouTube stream with Tom Strachan previewing the week and answering Start Sick questions. Like four minutes into that stream is when this trade broke. You know, the news broke because I put in air quotes because it's kind of hard. It wasn't news really.

4:11 Yeah.

4:12 And so we spent the entire stream being like, are there updates? What's going on? And We kept getting people who would join the stream late and be like, why aren't you guys talking about Marvin Harrison Jr.? And it's like, A, we already did. B, what are we supposed to talk about? We don't know where he's going yet. And then, of course, it started coming out like, well, the Texans are a really strong contender. Wink, wink. It's like, okay, so he's going to the Texans. It's fine. At any rate, what we have here now is that Marvin Harrison Jr. has been traded to the Texans. The main part of the compensation is for a 2027 second round pick. There's other smaller picks in there, but that's the main part. I

4:41 couldn't believe he got that much. I have said on other shows, on the Dynasty show, Fitz was like, well, hey, do you really, if you really believe in Marvin Harrison Jr. that much, would you want the Ravens to trade for him? And I go, yeah, like a fourth round pick. I would take that swing. A second, no way did I want my team to make that trade. I was shocked that, I'm not surprised that they were holding out to try and get it. I'm shocked that they actually got that.

5:04 The Texans are one and four, obviously coming off of a win. They certainly need the help at pass catcher with, you know, Higgins' injury and just, you know, the injury risk with Nico Collins. But I don't know how much help they're getting from a guy that has really underperformed relative to his draft capital. And how you just give up a second round pick in a stacked draft and you don't have a very good record right now. So, D-Bro, I was really shocked by the compensation here.

5:27 I was shocked by the compensation, too. There's so much that we could chew on with this trade. One, I called it after the— I mean, dude, for that type of insider reporting, I could be an NFL insider. This guy is getting traded, and he's going to go to one of 31 other teams. Stay tuned for details. Like, it's so stupid. But outside of that, I kind of called this whenever I was like, okay, so he's going to go to Houston. And then they were, like, dragging their feet. And I was like, so Houston's basically saying, if we win this week and there's some mathematical possibility of making the playoffs we could talk ourselves into– then we'll make the trade. If we're 0-5 and we lose to the freaking Titans, then no, we're not giving up

6:09 a future second. So that's the way that I contextualize all of it. But as far as the second, that's absolute and total insanity. And I think that Marvin Harrison Jr. is not nearly as bad as anything that he has put on film this year. I think everything he has put on film this year has been He is not part of the offense. He has never been part of the offense. He's not a first, second, or even a third read. He has been the lone ISO guy or the guy in the concept of every passing play that they have of drawing defense deep, taking away coverage, and he's never the first or second or third read. So basically Marvin Harrison Jr. has been given a route tree by the Arizona Cardinals for this season of– You ain't

6:55 got to run it all the way. You don't have to get open because we're not throwing you the ball anyway. So all of that and people got their clips and takes and all that kind of stuff, that's all BS. As far as the talent of Marvin Harrison Jr., I think he has been absolutely miscast, misused, and just thrown into whether it's injuries or just a horrible role, because we talked about this for multiple seasons, into being a player that he is not. He deserves and he needs the Drake London diet. He should be playing 50-50 or 60-40 perimeter and slot. You should be using him on a ton of end breakers. He should be your chain-moving guy. Now, to say all of that with this trade, do I have any possible, possible faith that Nick Caley will deploy

7:44 Marvin Harrison Jr. in the way that he should be deployed? Hell no. Hell no. No way. No shape, form, or fashion. But do I have hope for the 2027 version of Marvin Harrison Jr.? That where maybe Nick Keeley gets fired? And good Lord, C.J. Stroud will have Jaden Higgins, Marvin Harrison Jr., and Nico Collins to throw to? Okay, I'm a little bit excited.

8:11 Well, you mentioned Stroud there at the end, D-Bro. Obviously getting paired up with his college receiver now. Marvin Harrison Jr. and Stroud overlapped at Ohio State. where Marvin Harrison Jr. played the best football of his life in terms of his production and looked like this elite, maybe not generational, but an elite-level wide receiver prospect coming out of the draft when he went fourth overall. So, Erickson, do you have any interest in Harrison in fantasy leagues, just given the connection with C.J.

8:39 Stroud?

8:39 I mean, we often see in-season receiver trades often don't pan out all that well. You think about the Amari Coopers of the world. Even if you say, oh, Talent seems like a fit schematically. It's just hard to do that in season, but they do have the added bonus of this history together as a QB and wide receiver pairing.

8:56 Yeah, and I think that's really the one way to spin this the most positive way for Marvin Harrison Jr. is now he has a quarterback that I think has the most buy-in with him because from day one, it was never there with Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray at their first game with Marvin Harrison Jr. said, it's not my job to get him the ball. That was the first thing.

9:11 And then Jacoby Brissett obviously had a much better built-in rapport with Trey McBride and Michael Wilson. Whereas Marvin Harrison Jr. has not had that at the NFL level. He has not had the complete buying and trust from his quarterback until now with CJ Stroud. And I'm assuming that CJ Stroud co-signed on this type of deal where we got to get more weapons. The defense is going to be fine.

9:30 We don't need more draft compensation for defensive guys. We need offensive pieces here because they traded for Keishon Booty. He's been underwhelming in the Texans offense. Is that because of him or because of the offense of Nick Haley? Remains to be seen. I know what D-Bro's answer is. One thing I will point out though is I don't, Understand why this team just doesn't use Jalen no more dude.

9:53 They got another game They had another monster game and I'm like dude like I could totally see him having like a Parker Washington type of career arc where it's like it's just so underrated and he's so talented and they just don't ever use him as much as they should and now I'm adding another piece just said just to me Yeah, this means if this means less routes for Jalen no, then it's bad in my opinion.

10:13 So I Well, I wish he was traded to the Arizona Cardinals. I almost threw that out there. I was like, dude, I wish he was traded to Arizona because Houston doesn't deserve him. They don't. They don't.

10:24 I want to loop in, get us going on the injury roundup section because one of the injuries was David Montgomery. So do you guys think with this trick? Because now, I mean, still no Jaden Higgins obviously this year, but now it's Nico Collins, Jalen Knoll, and Marvin Harrison Jr. And the running game takes a hit. Like Woody Marks, okay, but he wasn't that good last year. So do you think that this is just going to become a very pass-heavy offense, D-Bro?

10:45 I mean, it has been a pass-heavy offense.

10:47 Well, even more so without David Montgomery and then adding Harris.

10:50 I mean, sure, because they can't run the ball. People lay this at the feet of David Montgomery. Dude, this is their offensive line. Their offensive line cannot open up holes. And don't show me Woody Marks getting 60 rushing yards as hope. Like, come on, dude. It's against the Titans, first of all. And second of all, both of these running backs have had no room to run. And again, going back to the Nick Caley of it all, you put David Montgomery, you trade for David Montgomery, and you categorically don't understand the type of runner that you have.

11:24 You put him in a committee situation for a volume back that get in the game flow and And you nerve him into being a committee back with Woody Marks because that's going to solve anything? It doesn't. And yes, could they lean even more pass heavy? Yeah, but sure. They absolutely could, Worm, because they can't run the ball.

11:43 Is this good news for C.J. Stroud-Eriksson in terms of– I mean, I think Stroud's looked pretty good this season. He's looked good enough that if you told me he looked this good, just– And with no other information before the year, I would have assumed the Texans were like 5-0 because I would have thought the defense was going to be so good that if he was this good that they'd be a juggernaut. But is this good news for him in terms of fantasy managers, right? Like just going to pass so much and have more of these weapons.

12:08 Is this good news for the offense in general to say like, hey, David McCurry, which by the way, groin injury, said he might miss some time. We'll still kind of see what the actual timeline looks like later today. Where it sort of forces their hand to not run the ball so much. Is this better for the Texans just in terms of as an NFL team?

12:24 I think so. I don't think you get worse by acquiring Marvin Harrison Jr. The less routes that Xavier Hutchinson runs on your offense, the better. So as long as Marvin Harrison Jr. is replacing him in his role in this offense, they keep Noel on the field, they have a healthy team. nico collins who can create yards after the catch and to deborah's point right just put harrison jr in a position to move the chains and let nico be the number one guy that can create yards after the catch obviously also a big threat in the red zone both these guys can deliver in the red zone even marvin harrison jr was underwhelming his first two years in arizona that was one big thing that he did a lot was win downfield with air yards and

12:57 also see a lot of red zone opportunities so I think this is good for CJ Stroud and his touchdown opportunity. And you're going to see a lot of passing in this next game against the Jags. We know the Jags are a pass funnel defense. You don't run on them. The Texans can't run the football. They just got a new wide receiver. So yeah, you're going to see them throwing the ball a lot in London. And we're going to get to see Marvin Harrison Jr. I think in action pretty quickly.

13:20 I can't wait to see Jared Wayne and Xavier Hutchinson run more routes to Marvin Harrison Jr. after giving up a second for him over the next few weeks. I just can't wait to see it. I can't wait to see it because, you know, Nick Cayley and wide receiver groupings, as it were.

13:35 Other injuries this week, Debo Samuel, hamstring, Casey Concepcion obviously took that really bad hit. Just throwing it out there. That was really tough to watch. He had the concussion, obviously was ruled out pretty quickly. Travion Henderson had an ankle injury that they're still looking at. Will Campbell, also for the Patriots, knee sprain that Vrabel this morning was saying they're getting more information on. Obviously, that would be a really big hit to a Patriots offense that was looking like it was bouncing back. TJ Hawkinson left his game with a concussion. Will Shipley has a torn plantar fascia muscle in his foot. He's going to miss some time, so another running back down for the Eagles. Kenyon Sadiq

14:13 had a concussion. Aaron Glenn was saying that he wasn't really that concerned about that one. And then Michael Penix on Sunday Night Football left the game obviously late with the rib injury. They're still gathering information on that. The only quarterback on this list, so probably the most impactful, especially given just the difference in production for that offense before, you know, compared to when he was on the field and not. Couldn't be more night and day. But yeah, where do you want to go with this injury roundup, D-Bro?

14:38 Is there anybody that you want to particularly highlight?

14:40 I think you're spot on with the Michael Penix call here. Yeah. can he play? Will he play with the ribs? We have to be seen. I mean, it's going to be a pain tolerance and mobility type of thing. Like, um, I don't think that it was, it's his effective side. Just watching the game last night. And again, I didn't stay at a holiday and express, but like, I don't think it's his throwing arm side. It looks like it was the right side of his ribs, where he kept motioning towards on the sideline when they panned to him.

15:08 Michael Penix coming back to earth in a competitive game, too, was very stark to see for all the Penix believers. But, dude, if this is too under-centered for the next few weeks, good luck, Falcons. That's all I can say. But the only other thing I'll throw out here, too, is Debo Samuel, hamstring injury. I mean, the 49ers are down to– Mike Evans, who is a total freaking warrior, where we talked about this on the key questions episode, I said he was the X factor going against the Seattle Seahawks. And he absolutely was total baller. We still do not appreciate Mike Evans nearly enough. But the 49ers, I mean, losing Debo outside of Mike Evans and George Kittle and CMC, like not a whole lot of healthy bodies in that offense.

15:51 So they got to, you know, wrap those guys in bubble wrap.

15:55 Erickson, what do you want to highlight from the injury roundup?

15:57 Just two things here. So Will Shipley with the foot injury, adding to the CBS list of injuries that the Eagles are dealing with now. Do they make a trade for Tony Pollard? Should be like, hey, like the Titans are all in five. He's going to be a free agent. We just need a running back that is serviceable. Like I could see that potentially. I know Pollard's been floated out.

16:17 He was one of the guys that Schefter rumored about last week, along with Marvin Harrison Jr. Harrison Jr. just got traded. I don't think it's long enough. Until we see Tony Pollard get moved.

16:28 I wonder if it's more.

16:28 I don't think it's the Eagles.

16:29 The fact that the division is so gettable makes it like the Eagles shouldn't just sell off. But I wonder if we're more likely to see them trade away players as opposed to trade.

16:37 Yeah, that's where I'm at this season. I don't know.

16:40 Well, I just wanted to mention that as maybe an option that they do again, just dealing with so many running back injuries. And then TJ Hawkinson. getting the concussion being knocked out early in that game, and the fact that the Vikings didn't really change up their game plan because they were featuring the Bartholomew guy, the other tight end on their team, and he was just getting absolutely peppered with targets. I think it's so funny when teams do that. They're like, right, we built the whole game plan around Hawkinson. He goes out. Who's the next tight end?

17:06 And we're just going to use that guy in the exact same role. Again, I had no idea who this guy was. I'm like, who's making all these plays? Then Kyler Murray actually missed him. He was open deep. And they would have had a monster chunk game against New Orleans Saints defense that apparently cannot stop tight ends. Another one of these tight end funnel defenses. That was just something that I just brought to my mind as he comes up on the injury list here. Obviously, it sucks, too, because with Kyler, have we seen him play with Jefferson, Asson, and Hawkinson at the same time at all this year?

17:34 I feel like someone's always been out or missing time. So, again, we'll talk about the Vikings, but the fact that they are undefeated, And they actually have not actually had their staple of offensive players at any point in any game is is just a credit to like the defense is so.

17:49 Good with Flores. Oh, my God.

17:52 I mean, Chuck had no shot in that game. You know, like no shot.

17:57 All right, before we get to some more reactions, if you want a chance to win one of the most unique pieces of NFL fan gear out there, the large NFL PA wall smack, courtesy of our good friends at Trophy Smack, the number one destination for epic fantasy football hardware, then this is your shot. They're oversized, officially licensed. NFL PA wall smack are bold statement pieces that are perfect for your fan cave office or living room wall. It's not just decor. It's a way to rep your favorite players in style. To enter, all you need to do is subscribe to the Tailgate YouTube channel right now and drop a comment below on any of our videos. That is it. We'll be announcing a winner right here on the channel, so make sure to turn on notifications so

18:32 you don't miss your chance to claim this epic prize. All right, guys. We're streamlining the show a bit this week. Rather than try to go in a bunch of different categories, we are just each coming to the show with three talking points that we want to discuss with each other. These can be questions we want to ask. These can be odds you want to examine. These can be just headlines, reactions from the week. Whatever you want to do, we each have three talking point discussions. That will be the show this week. Erickson, kick us off with your first reaction.

18:57 So the Bears defense, eh? It's not an elite unit by any way, shape, or form. They were the scheduled merchants over the last couple of weeks after looking like they regained form after giving up a ton of points to the Panthers. They had a lot of easy matchups. The weather worked in their favor. So I was like, okay, like maybe this Bears defense isn't so bad. I know, Worm, I think you brought it up last week, but it was not one of these like defiant statements.

19:20 I brought it up as a question.

19:22 He brought it up as a question.

19:26 And then we got the answer. The answer's no.

19:29 They're not good. I pushed back very lightly last week whenever we had this conversation. I was like, no, no, no, no.

19:36 Yeah, no, they are not good, especially when you give up basically a career day for Jordan Love. 137.5 pass rating was the highest ever in a game that Jordan Love started. 0.43 EPR per drop back set a new season high clocked in as one of his 10 best single game marks in jordan love's green bay packers career so uh the bears despite being on the road as favorites in this matchup get absolutely destroyed boat race jordan love could do basically anything downfield matthew golden and christian watson we're just having absolute field day's against this Bears defense that also lost three more guys. Diego Odigbo went down.

20:13 Tyreek Stevenson went down. TJ Edwards went down. Three starters across every level of the defense all got hurt for the Chicago Bears. Green Bay outgains Chicago 428 to 246, 7.3 yards per play compared to 3.6. They won 31 to 7 without a single turnover. And then Chicago, we know, turned the ball over. Five times, including two Taysom-Bajan interceptions.

20:38 Keith Keenum picked a Doomsday fumble, and Keenum had a strip sack fumble. So, yeah, the Bears' defense is still one that is not good, and I don't.

20:47 Think they're going to improve. It wasn't just that Love had a great day. It was how he did it. Most completed air yards he's ever had in a game in his career. 252 completed air yards.

20:57 Christian Watson, good. Who knew?

20:58 He was hucking that thing down the field. Yeah, Christian Watson's amazing. Love was very good in this game, too. And yeah, the Packers just like never let up. They kept throwing deep and it kept.

21:07 The floor was like. I wonder why. In your face. Yeah. Can I give you some numbers to contextualize how bad the Bears defense is? Second highest rushing success rate. Fifth highest explosive pass rate allowed. And they are also 14th in explosive run rate allowed. They are bad, bad, bad with a capital B.

21:31 So in fantasy, do you guys see this as a defense to aggressively target the way we expected at the beginning of the season? Or do you see it more as just like they're bad, but in the way that a lot of teams are bad and not like outlier bad where holy cow start everybody?

21:43 Oh, no.

21:43 We are starting with, you know, whatever. Running backs. You got a mid running back that we're like, oh, do I flex you if you get a touchdown?

21:51 Oh, no.

21:52 You're gracing the lineup this.

21:53 Week, baby. If they're facing an offense that is just anywhere competent, then yes, it's like fire up everybody. The only time you're like press and pause. Oh, Speaking of competence, next.

22:04 Week, how much faith do you have in Tua versus the Chicago Bears?

22:09 That would be where you're like, I mean, as long as he gets 15 targets, Drake London might be screwed, though.

22:16 Yeah. Let me ask.

22:17 You guys this. If we don't end up believing in the Vikings to win this division, right? Now they're 5-0. Every other team in this division is 3-2. If we rule out the Vikings because you say, okay, I don't believe in the offense, whatever, which I'm not saying you guys feel, but I'm just saying for the sake of argument.

22:29 Who wins this division if not Minnesota? Because these teams are all 3-2, but with all pretty big flaws.

22:34 Lions got reinforcements.

22:35 The Lions defense is worse than the Bears.

22:37 They're getting guys back.

22:38 They have a legendary offense. No, the Lions are winning this division. No.

22:43 Nope.

22:44 I don't, I don't know that group, that division, or to me, that defense has been so horrific that like, I just, even when guys come back, I don't, I don't think we should just automatically assume that they're going to be good. This has been, but.

22:55 Also they played the Packers without an offensive line. They played the bears, which Caleb Williams got hurt. They played the Buccaneers and Baker sucking. They played Malik Wilson. They played Tyler shuck. Like who have they played to look like this legendary level defense.

23:10 And Well, but I'm saying like they've looked legendarily bad. Are you talking about the Vikings or the Lions?

23:16 Yeah, no, I'm talking about the Vikings' defense.

23:18 Oh, no, no, no, no, no.

23:20 We're getting them all as wanted craze. Like if we're going to– like this is to me. It's like who are you going to take as far as like the best strengths that the teams have? The Vikings' defense or the Lions' offense? I'm taking the Lions' offense.

23:34 I think that's fair. I don't disagree with that. I just think in terms of the entire division as a whole, like I still think I would– prefer to bet on the bears or maybe even the pack pack probably not the packs but i think i prefer to bet on the bears with caleb coming back over the lions to win this division because i the lions defense is so it has made every player that's played it this season look amazing but.

23:57 We just tore down the bears defense so you're willing to back the bears offense and what that looks like with a bad defense behind it over backing a legendary lions offense with a bad defense behind it I.

24:07 Mean, the Bears offense started off looking like it might have a legendary season. And they've done what? They haven't had Caleb. They haven't been on their backup quarterbacks.

24:16 I heard his kingdom was a savior. He was amazing.

24:19 I wasn't saying that.

24:21 I know you haven't. I'm just saying.

24:22 We can't sit here and say that. oh, the Lions defense can be okay because they have guys coming back, but they not give that same credit to the Bears offense with Caleb coming back. We have actually seen the Bears offense look incredible this season with Caleb on the field. We haven't seen that with the Lions.

24:35 I'm not saying that. What I'm saying is if you give me both of these offenses when they're humming at their best, I'm taking the Lions over the Bears.

24:42 I think it's close, though. When they're humming at their best?

24:45 All four of these teams are going to get better. because the Lions are going to get defensive guys back. The Bears are going to get Caleb back. The Vikings are going to eventually have Addison and Hawkinson and Jefferson on the field at the same time. And then the Packers are going to get Micah Parsons back. So there are arguments to be made that none of these teams have even hit their final form. And just a matter of, okay, well, what's your record at that point? Like, is it a little, is it too little, too late? Essentially, at least with the Vikings perspective, they have built that margin of error because they have won all their games versus some of these other teams where If you keep losing games, it

25:18 doesn't matter when these guys come back because it's too little too late.

25:22 I will say, I think Green Bay is ultimately going to be the worst team in this division, even though I don't think they're terrible. I just think it's a strong division. They're plus 800. Bears, and this is consensus odds at bettingpros.com, Bears plus 355. Lions are plus 260, and the Vikings are plus 107. The gap with the Packers being as far away as they are makes them an intriguing bet, in my opinion, even though I don't think they're going to win the division. But I think that gap in odds is actually too big. Because I agree.

25:51 They are going to get Michael Parsons back eventually. I think, to Eric's point, every team in this division will get better throughout the course of the year. Oh, a fun, heated start to the show. This is great, boys. I'm loving it. Deaver, let's go to your first reaction here.

26:08 Where does Parker Washington's contract extension come in at? Because after the game that he just had and the numbers, and I'm going to give some context before we kind of get into diving through numbers here. Parker Washington after week five amongst 66 qualifying wide receivers for everybody out in the comments when I said, OK, this is what I think he's probably going to get in terms of AAV amongst wide receivers. I said there's no way in hell he doesn't deserve that. Okay, fine. Among 66 qualifying wide receivers right now, Parker Washington, 11th in target share.

26:38 He is the elite alpha for Jacksonville. Fifth in yards per outrun behind CeeDee Lamb, 12th in EPA per target. So whatever you look at, he is an alpha level wide receiver in the NFL. And just for some context before we start kind of getting into numbers here, the 15th ranked wide receiver right now in AAV, is Alec Pierce at $ 28. 5 million. To me, that's the starting point.

27:07 I think considering all of this, I'll go ahead and lead this. I think Parker Washington is going to get in the neighborhood of $ 29 to $ 30 million per year. Now, everybody said that's asinine and insane. Guys, is that so insane right now?

27:23 So that's interesting. While you were talking, I pulled up the list of wide receiver contract rankings in terms of average annual value like you were referencing here. And I was actually going to aim a little higher when I said, do you think it's higher or lower than this? So I, maybe I am just as bullish as you are D bro, but I was thinking the number would start with a three, not a two.

27:42 I agree with you. I think it's 30 million. Probably. I think you're looking at.

27:46 He's not, not only has he been awesome. It's not like he's old, right?

27:50 24 years.

27:50 Like, like he will, you would think would be good for a long time is clearly a great fit with Trevor Lawrence is clearly just a really good player. Who's ascending. And like, Like I wasn't going to– when I was looking here, I was like, okay, like he's not going to get as much as Dave Flowers did. Like surprising $ 35 million a year contract. I don't think he's getting to that. But then you start to get lower than that, and it's like, man, like why shouldn't he be getting a bigger contract than some of these other guys? I think in that $ 30 to $ 32 million is where I would be– I'll put it like this. That's at least where I'd be comfortable paying if I was Jacksonville.

28:21 AJ Brown, $ 32 million. Terry McLaurin, $ 32 million per year. DK Metcalf, $ 33 million.

28:29 I mean, like superstar receivers just get paid. And a guy like Zay has looked like made that worth it, even though we all thought it was an overpay in the off season.

28:38 I didn't think it was an overpay.

28:40 Well, a lot of people did. A lot of people did. It was a big talking point. And if Parker Washington gets 32, I bet you hear similar talking points and I bet he makes them look just as foolish. So yeah, to me, like Alec Pierce, that's aiming too low. I think Parker Washington is getting 30 million a year. Erickson, what do you think?

28:55 I agree. I think that he's worth it. And I think that, The Jaguars will get a little bit of a quote unquote discount compared to those other numbers you just mentioned, just because Parker Washington wasn't like a first round pick, because for some reason, some players can't knock the draft capital. And the fact that he was a day three pick, that's always going to be held against him in some way, shape or form. But it's still going to be you got to pay your best receivers, especially when it's so obvious how well he fits with their quarterback. and Trevor Lawrence, right? If their quarterback long-term is Trevor Lawrence, then you've got to lock up his number one guy, who is Parker Washington. They're clearly not

29:28 going to extend Brian Thomas Jr. to anything. They already paid Jacoby Myers, but he's more of that veteran type of presence guy, more of a depth, get number two, number three receiver that can kind of play all over the formation, whereas Washington... he's your game breaker. He's your stud. You saw it against the Eagles. And when he did that one handed catch, my wife was watching that game or the highlight. And she's like, that looks like the Odell Beckham Jr.

29:48 Catch.

29:48 Like, yeah, because this guy's that good.

29:51 Well, yes or no. Will it be a top 10 wide receiver contract and average annual annual value when it is signed?

29:57 Yes. Yes.

29:58 That means it has to be over 32 million.

30:01 And I think it should be because not only do you take what he's done on the field, like again, you add the age component. You add also you're adding the final. This is like the final infinity stone to the gauntlet for Jacksonville. Like they've already extended. They have Jacoby Myers locked up. They extended Brenton Strange. So Parker Washington, you lock him up. He's your wide receiver one. You trade Brian Thomas Jr. You go find somebody else that fits whatever you want out of that role. to take the top off of a defense in the NFL draft or what have you. And you just roll on as an offense. And they still have basial tootin' on a rookie contract. Like, they're set, man. So go pay the guy.

30:40 If anything, James Gladstone, bro, you should have gotten this done before week one. You knew what was about to happen. Parker Washington bet on himself. Now, cha-ching, pay that man.

30:51 It really is the reverse, not to just keep referencing the Raven, but it's the reverse of the Zay Flowers, where they did pay early and were like, hey, let's get this done because we know what he can be in this offense and are expecting a breakout. And now I'm not saying it looks like a steal, but it looks like a totally worthwhile contract in the eyes of everybody. And, and you missed that opportunity with Parker Washington. If you're, if you're Gladstone, you could have done the same thing here. Yeah, this, this is a good one.

31:12 D bro.

31:13 My first reaction here. uh nfc least which is not an original joke uh this might be the worst week ever for a single division excluding weeks where a bunch of guys got hurt like taking a setting aside injury this is one of the worst performing weeks for an entire division i can ever remember two teams played each other in this division and yet the division went winless in this week obviously the tie in commander's giants was hilarious and a complete botched job by both sides just an absolute mismanagement of the clock and everything. We can talk about that in a little bit more detail here in a second. But also the Cowboys lost as the biggest favorites of the week at home in prime time to a rookie free agent quarterback backup play for the Bucs.

31:55 And also the Eagles somehow lost a game in which they took the lead With eight seconds left, they lost in regulation. They did the anti-Cowboys in Rio against the Ravens where they kicked the touchback and gave the Ravens time, no time off the clock. They did the reverse where they kicked it and said, oh, we'll make you return it.

32:13 And then they gave up a big return and lost the game to the Jags. I mean, this was just a remarkable comedy of errors for the entire division this week. And I'm not even sure. I mean, the place to probably start, Erickson, is that Commander's Giants game. But I think you could easily start With the Eagles' performance, too, and how they finished that game as one of the most laughable performances this week. Just an all-time bad week for a single division.

32:38 I mean, and it was in the primetime slots, it seemed like, because it was Thursday night that we saw the Cowboys just lay a turret against the Buccaneers. And then in the London game, everybody's watching early in the morning.

32:49 Oh, yeah.

32:50 It looks like the Eagles are going to get a win. Nope, just kidding. And then as we're transitioning from the early slate to the late slate, there's one game on still. Oh, Commander's Giants in overtime. Like what's happening here? As the other games are kind of getting kicked off and started. And the reason I didn't get to watch the beginning of the Seahawks and 49ers is because I had to watch a tie. That's why I didn't get to watch the beginning of that game because I was watching a tie because I let these two teams just fumble over each other. Again, the Giants should have won because Cam Scadaboo, but he fumbles the ball. The Commanders get the ball back and then they're driving and they're going to win.

33:17 They're going to kick the field goal. And then they just botched the timing of it. What? Rashad White gets down like 50 seconds left. Something like absolutely ridiculous and how much time they had to actually use. And they just have no idea what they're doing. Just goes to show bad coaches for bad teams. And this is what the result is. I mean, you just lost a division game or didn't win a division game because of just poor mishandling of the clock. And I mean, it's always so weird watching coaches and players like shake hands and do the press conference after a tie. Because everyone's just like, I don't know how I'm supposed to feel.

33:52 Nobody's happy.

33:53 I think they just treat it more like we just both lost. Because we're pissed. Because we didn't win. So, yeah, I could not agree more. Definitely the worst.

34:03 Week for us.

34:03 It feels closer to a loss than to a win.

34:05 Oh, yeah, you're not happy. And now it comes with the silver lining where I think Cam Scadaboo on the sideline was like, we'll take the tie, right? Because he obviously put the ball on the ground. So he was like, we're going to lose because of me. Well, we only tied because of me. Because the commanders were dumb. and didn't figure out their own stuff. So yeah, this is a really good poll by you, Warren.

34:22 I mean, not only like, like just the bad play call, like why even run a play? Why not just, you know, spike it or throw it out of bounds or whatever. But like, even after the, the tackle on that last play D bro, Jay Daniels is just laying there for a few seconds. There's zero urgency by anybody on the team.

34:37 I'm like, did they think they had a timeout? Did they think they needed to burn clocks so they wouldn't give the ball back to the other team? Did they not know the overtime rules? It is astonishing. And Dan Quinn, this is his job. He's supposed to be the culture guy who can do the game management stuff. CEO head coach, right?

34:53 The CEO head coaches are not.

34:57 Doing well.

34:57 I know his background's on defense.

34:59 But he's a CEO head coach. So John Harbaugh has always been a CEO head coach.

35:02 Jim Harbaugh, CEO head coach. Not doing great.

35:05 John's doing okay. It wasn't his fault Scadamore put it on the turf, okay? John's doing a pretty good job so far. But to all of this, Dan Quinn and Nick Sirianni should be fired this week. Unequivocally. Should not have a job. Call it what it is. The Eagles vibes, the locker room, everything. Like, I don't care.

35:26 Bye-bye.

35:27 Dan Quinn, bye-bye. The Washington stuff, you want to talk about scenarios where people say the NFL is rigged, there's a script and all, so they're kind of crap? Point to the Commanders game. Nothing makes any sense of any semblance of what the heck were you thinking. None of it. Because everybody theorizing, oh, well, they thought they still had a timeout. Okay, fine. Let's play that out. This team thought they had another timeout because in regulation, you got three versus overtime, even though at overtime at the beginning of it, the referee clearly explains all the rules. And second of all, the reason that I can throw the most cold water is because This team did not think they had a timeout because simply put, when Jayden Daniels

36:13 got up off the turf, did you see Jayden Daniels or Dan Quinn doing this? No. So they didn't think they had a timeout. There's no way possible that they had a timeout because nobody is motioning like they thought they had that timeout. So I don't understand what the hell they were doing because they're literally taking all the time.

36:32 You could have just You could have just rolled the field goal unit out there for the final play. Let the clock go all the way down to freaking zero or Jane Daniels throws the ball out of bounds and stops the clock. Any way, shape, form or fashion of any of those things happening. And yet none of that happens.

36:51 And we're left with the ending of a game that nobody can properly describe as to what happened. What were you thinking? What was your thought process? And how did this come to be? Like, nothing makes sense, guys. Nothing.

37:07 And yet, at least those two teams got a tie. The Cowboys lost to the biggest favorites of the week, and the Eagles lost the game they led with eight seconds left, and they lost in regulation. So, like, it was hilarious and bad, but at least those teams didn't lose. Do you guys.

37:24 Agree with me that Dan Quinn... Giants covered.

37:26 Giants covered.

37:27 Do you guys agree with me that Dan Quinn and Nick Sirianni should be fired or not? Like, thoughts on that? Because I am very firm that both of them should be gone.

37:35 Easy yes on Quinn. Harder yes on Sirianni, but I... Like, Sirianni, to me, feels like somebody you fire in the offseason.

37:45 Why?

37:46 But he always does this. This is nothing new. Like, I feel like they always are in situations where they string together a couple really bad losses, and they're like, fire Nick Sirianni, and then they always kind of pull themselves out of it.

37:58 Like.

37:59 Because, guys, I mean, one of these teams is going to win the division. Somebody has to, mathematically. And, like, if you think that the Giants fall off with the backup quarterback eventually, then it's going to be one of the Eagles, Cowboys, or Commanders. And so, like, you know, two of those teams that you're talking about firing their coaches might be division winners this year.

38:15 I think the Cowboys win the division for, simply put, the same reasons what we just talked about, the entire NFC North. The Cowboys' offense is still a really good unit. And to all of the problems with the Dallas defense... We still haven't seen JPJ on the field. So his impact on that trade still has been yet to be felt.

38:34 So how can he transform that defense?

38:36 I'm with you on the Cowboys as the team I want to be betting on in this division right now.

38:40 Well, the Panthers are a total crap show. So are the Eagles.

38:43 Yeah, they're at plus 165. Eagles are plus 177 as consensus odds.

38:49 I would take the Cowboys or I'll take the Giants. I don't think the Eagles or Commanders are going to be division guys.

38:53 Nope.

38:54 Giants are plus 327 consensus odds.

38:56 I take that bet.

38:57 Commanders plus 774 on bettingpros.com. So yeah, terrible week for the NFC East. Hilariously bad week, actually. Before I move on, I need to tell you about this new prediction market called Polymarket. It's a stock exchange for sports buying in and selling out on your terms. When your team goes down to 20%, you can buy in and sell it off at 40% when they come back to double your money.

39:17 They are so confident you'll never go back to the other guys. They're giving you a free $ 25 on your first trade when you deposit just $ 10. Now they've launched a new feature, Squads, a group chat where you can see what everyone is trading on. So download the Polymarket app today. and use FPPOD when you sign up. That's FPPOD to get $ 25 free after you deposit just $ 10. Erickson, what's your next discussion point here?

39:38 Can the 49ers keep this up? That is my One concern about this team that has obviously looked like a juggernaut, you know, one of the best teams, if not the best team in the NFL through five weeks, going up to Seattle in a back and forth contest. Again, a lot of turnovers were in this game. 49ers had more giveaways in week five and takeaways than they had in their first four games of 2026 combined. Brock Purdy definitely faced the toughest defense of the year. I know you mentioned this last week, Worm, where he had not been sacked.

40:08 Through the first four games of the season, which is actually a mind-blowing stat. Now, that was not obviously the case here in Seattle. Purdy was pressured on 17 of his 34 dropbacks, right around 50%. Third highest pressure rate he had faced in a game in his career. But still, this team did not waver. He made plays off script, which is why Brock Purdy is such the perfect quarterback in this Kyle Shannon offense. Because it's when the scripted plays aren't there. he can still create on his own, which is what I think separates him from all the past Kyle Shanahan merchants, right? At quarterback, whether it was Garoppolo or Nick Mullens or any of these guys who put up gaudy numbers, but ultimately always fell short of

40:45 really reaching that peak. And Brock Perry, I think has shown that, no, like I can reach that peak in this offense. And the fact that he's doing it with just this potential hodgepodge of receivers besides Mike Evans and George Kittle, right? Mike Evans in that one drive, I don't remember, I think it was in the second half, masterclass between Brock Purdy and Mike Evans. Just Mike Evans is not necessarily creating a ton of separation, but he's finding ways to get open. He's winning his contested catches.

41:11 So Mike Evans in this game led the team with 10 targets, seven catches, 113 yards. That's the most against anyone that has faced Seattle this season. According to next gen stats, caught a touchdown contested catch machine, 31% catch rate, over-expected. The highest from a receiver with at least 10 targets in a game this season. Five catches in tight windows.

41:29 Tied for third most by any player this year. He looked like he was a 27-year-old Mike Evans. I was blown away by how great he looked. And then you add the context that this guy's playing with like broken ribs. Like, you're just like, oh my God, dude. But that brings up the question of, is this sustainable, right? Like constantly, they're going to the sideline. Chris McCaffrey is getting worked on.

41:49 Mike Evans is dealing with broken ribs. Deebo Samuel is already hurt again, right? like, is it actually, can you rely on players like a Brandon cooks? Like, is he going to have to play a role in this offense long-term for them to have sustained success? That's my big question for the 49ers is I guess right now they're at the, you know, I'd like to say that the healthiest that they are because it's the start of the season or we're five weeks in, but I don't know.

42:12 Are we talked about the NFC North and how they're going to get guys back? And I know the 49ers are making missing Nick Bosa. So he's someone that they're going to get back, but what about the 49ers? Like, is this a, a chance where it's like you should sell high on the 49ers like they're not gonna be able to keep this up or is this just hey their injury luck maybe is working a little bit more in their favor compared to last season where it was like absolutely terrible that's kind of what I was thinking because right now this team on paper looks really really great and obviously they're undefeated but what happens as the season progresses.

42:45 I would say that as long as Brock Purdy and Fred Warner are healthy, then yes, like they can keep Fred Warner is awesome. We know what he, how he changes his defense and Brock Purdy is no longer playing really good quarterback with people around him. He is playing really good quarterback, despite the people around him and elevating the people around him. Like he has been good in the past, D bro, but this is the first time where it's just really like, Oh, he is elevating the offense.

43:10 And obviously it's already very strong offense, given the pieces and you know, who are healthy and, and the Kyle Shanahan of it also like, I think absolutely. They're minus money to win the division, which is kind of insane considering that it's a division with the Rams and the Seahawks. And I think it's deserved. But, like, right now they're minus money, consensusodsofbettingpros.com. They're not the Super Bowl favorites. That is still the Rams, consensusodsofbettingpros.com. Obviously, we'll see how that game plays out tonight. Rams versus Bills is a really interesting one. But they are favorites to win their division at 5-0, and I think it's really deserved. And I, like, yeah, to me the simple answer to this question, Erickson.

43:40 Is yes.

43:41 They're not favorites to win their division, but they– No.

43:45 So they are at consensus odds to win the division on bettingpros.com.

43:48 But their Super Bowl odds are worse than the Rams?

43:50 Correct. It's minus 176 to win the division.

43:52 It's a better Super Bowl. That's all I heard.

43:54 The Rams are plus 612 consensus to win the Super Bowl. Niners are tied with three other teams at plus 800. So it's close on both. Let me check the Rams division odds. I'll go back to that page here. Rams in the division. Because, I mean, it's like they have three wins behind, right? Like there is. Yes, Rams are plus 275 to win the division.

44:12 Yeah.

44:14 So there is a sizable gap there in the division odds, but Super Bowl, still getting preference to the Rams.

44:20 I think the 49ers keep this up, and it's the Kyle Shanahan of it all because, again, dude, what did we see last year? Mack Jones, parts and pieces, Kendrick Bourne weeks, all these other guys, like Jake Tongas coming out of the woodwork. Like scheme and coaching freaking matters. And Brock Purdy playing in an MVP level. Christian McCaffrey is still healthy. George Kittle is still healthy. Could they make a trade for anybody? Hello, Brian Thomas Jr. Not saying that that happens, but could they make a trade for anybody to reinforce this? And also then you look at their schedule. Okay, let's walk the schedule, boys. They got five wins. Commanders. Okay, that's a sixth win. Falcons.

45:00 I think that's a seventh win. The Raiders. That's an eighth win. Cowboys. Cowboys. Probably a ninth win. Then they get the Viking Seahawks. Fine. Let's get those as toss-ups. Giants, 10th win. Rams, okay, toss-up. Chargers, 11th win. Chiefs, okay, fine. We'll just give them an L. Eagles, Cardinals to finish the season. Yeah, the 49ers are for real.

45:24 Yeah.

45:28 I think the point that you made, Worm, about if Fred Warner and Brock Purdy are healthy, that's all that matters is I think that is the biggest point.

45:36 Yep. Yeah.

45:37 And it used to be that you would say, Oh, if Christian McCaffrey is healthy, that's all that matters. But now it is Brock Purdy on the offense. He's just look awesome. And I have this guy you'll pulled up to D bro. I was going to say like, yeah, like even if you give them say like, Oh, they lose one of Dallas, Minnesota, they probably are going to split with Seattle. So give them another loss there. And then like, let's say they lose the second Rams game, like, and the chiefs, that's like four losses at the most. Now, Things could happen, right? You could trip up somewhere else that's unexpected. Like, right, maybe Penix is back for the Falcons game and then Bijan just goes off, right? Like, stuff can happen.

46:10 Brock Purdy, even if he gets hurt or something like that again, we got Mac Jones, so we're good. We've already seen what it looks like.

46:17 I think this is a really great team to be thinking of as the one seed of the NFC this year. Like, regardless of whether you think they actually win the Super Bowl, I think the one seed of the NFC is like a really smart thing to be looking at for them. D-Bro, speaking of legitimate contenders, you want to talk about the Vikings here.

46:33 Let's have the conversation, boys. Are the Vikings a legitimate Super Bowl contender?

46:39 No.

46:39 Next question.

46:41 No, I don't think they are either, but I think people are going to look at the 5-0 record. They're going to look at how good the defense has played. They're going to say, to your point, we have not seen Kyler Murray with Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawkinson on the field altogether. They've withstood offensive line injuries, OKOC, and all the other things in between. I don't think they're a Super Bowl contender. I think the defense is really, really talented, but also, again, walking the schedule, they played the Packers, they played the Bears, they played the Buccaneers, the Dolphins, and the Saints. And yes, they get Daniel Jones, who cannot move, and the Colts next. I think the real litmus test is going to be they get the

47:19 Lions and the Bills after them, and people are going to cool their jets on the Vikings a lot after those two games. I don't look at them as a Super Bowl contender. I still do not believe in Kyler Murray. as a fit for this offense and for this team.

47:32 So no, it's more than just those two games from week eight and through, through week 15, they played the lions, bills, Packers, Niners, Falcons, Panthers, Patriots, lions.

47:43 Yep.

47:43 Like even the worst teams in that group, if the Pennix is healthy, the Falcons offense has looked like a wagon. Panthers offenses look so improved this year. Patriots offense seems like it's recovered. Green Bay, like if Jordan Love is hitting those deep shots to Kristen Watson, that is eight straight weeks of potentially very high level offenses. Now, this is a very high level defense. I do believe it is totally a Super Bowl caliber defense. I do believe that.

48:07 But I don't think it is such a good defense that it can overcome. Like, I can't sit here and say Kyler Murray is the quarterback of a true Super Bowl contender. I just I haven't seen it.

48:16 The other thing with this defense, and we haven't seen it to this point, but it's going to happen at some point. I think it's either it happens against the Lions or the Bills. The high variance world that Brian Flores lives in with these blitz rates in the 70s and 90s percent, you are hedging that your pass rush and your blitz destroys the opposing offense. When you are wrong and that does not get home... This is also a defense that historically has given up high explosive play rates.

48:47 So if there's any kind of small hole in the dam where a team is good enough to withstand this, the quarterback play or the running back or all those parts and pieces in between, this defense can also hemorrhage explosive plays. We haven't seen that to this point. I think that more is in line with the teams they have played to this point. But does that happen after they play the Lions and the Bills and some of these other teams? Because then they get the Packers and the 49ers right after that can say, oh, okay see how that worked let's try that.

49:22 I they're obviously like they're very strong favorites to make the playoffs when you get when you start five and oh you just have the mathematical advantage erickson but as a legitimate super bowl contender i don't agree I'm.

49:33 Pretty sure we talked about in the off season, how there was a reminder about the Vikings and that when you looked at their opening schedule, you looked at Kyler Murray's track record of a guy that's been a hot starter, right? He has traditionally played a lot better in September and October. I know that there's a lot of jokes that get thrown out about some certain video game being released around the end of October. And then he starts to play really bad, but that's just because defense is figure out what he's doing. I agree. This team would be a sell for me where we talk about the 49ers as a buy. Again, it's not surprising looking at the Vikings and who they've played and why they're 5-0. Now, I

50:08 know that you wouldn't really expect it to be this way, where we would expect Kyler Murray to play better in a 5-0 start for the Minnesota Vikings. Now, it's not all on him because he did get hurt in the first game of the season. He's missing playmakers. I felt that he has looked a little bit better just from week to week, but it's still a really hard... to be super defined about it just because he's not playing with his full allotment of weapons. And when it looks like he finally developed something with TJ Hawkinson, oh, well, he immediately gets knocked out of the game, but he's still missing throws, which you're an NFL quarterback. There are throws that you have to make, especially in this offense.

50:40 And when you're playing better offenses on the other side, and you can't rely on Brian Flores to bail you out. I just don't see a scenario where, oh, Kyler Murray Vikings are down. He gets the ball in the fourth quarter and he's going to drive 80 yards to get them to win. I would bet against that happening against some of these tougher matchups. So I would agree that probably a team. Yeah, maybe they make the wild card, but would not be surprising if they just get immediately bounced.

51:03 Also, can we quickly talk about the fact that if Aaron Jones continues to sustain 25 touches a week, he will not hold up for the rest of the season. He just he won't. He can't.

51:13 They have a bye week this week, so they should get Mason back in week seven.

51:17 Minnesota's Super Bowl odds right now, plus 2,200. Teams with shorter odds include the Broncos, and these are consensus odds on bettingpros.com. The Broncos, the Bears, the Bengals, the Patriots are tied. The Jags, obviously Seahawks, Ravens, Bills, Chiefs, Niners, Rams, all have shorter odds than the Vikings. And I think those are all correct for the most part. Maybe the Broncos, you could argue not, but like the others, I think, yeah.

51:43 I'll go quickly on my second reaction because we kind of talked a lot about the Texans during the Marvin Harrison Jr. trade update there. But my question was really just did the Texans right the ship or did they just happen to face the Titans this week? So, again, I think we keep this one quick because we talked a lot about Houston already. But, Erickson, I'll start with you.

51:58 Just what do you think about the answer to this question?

52:00 I think it was just the Texans kind of just like checking off the box, right? We got to get a win. Let's just take the layup here. We're facing the Tennessee Titans because watching this Titans, every offense, every single week, what is this offense trying to be? Like what in the ideal world is this offense? It just seems so out of sync and they have no identity.

52:18 Do they want to run the football? Do they want to be a spread offense? Like, like what's the point?

52:22 I don't know.

52:23 I don't know what they're doing. And it's not helping Cam Ward because it's really hard to get justification of like, OK, he can be our franchise quarterback because nothing I've seen from him through five weeks is, oh, yeah, like this is the direction that they should be going in. It just seems like an offense that's totally lost that doesn't have an identity. So the Texans obviously took advantage of a really bad opponent like they should. And I think next week is going to be more about the litmus test for the Texans against the Jaguars, who are obviously a actual competitive team in the AFC South.

52:54 Yeah, I think this is more them facing the Titans. I think now to the point of this, their schedule is about to do them a few different favors. The Jacksonville Jaguars, I think, are going to thump them this coming week. But after that, they get the Giants and Chargers. So then they could, you know, be rolling into after that with like three wins. I think they can beat the Giants and beat the Chargers. So people still have hope and stuff. But now I don't think this is the Texans figuring it out. I think they just beat up on a bad team and the Titans.

53:23 All right, let's get to our final reactions. Each of us, Erickson, what was your number three?

53:29 Drake May, five touchdowns for Drake May, who is officially back, at least back against the bad defenses that he faced. But going into this matchup, the Raiders were looked at as, okay, like this is a legitimate defense. They had one of the better pressure rates entering the game. But in this particular matchup, I don't know, Josh McDaniels was kind of in his bag with the pass protection. Drake May had plenty of time to throw and he was just absolute masterclass with the deep ball. Two weeks in a row, the Raiders have been getting cooked by explosive plays and Drake May on throws of 10 plus air yards, eight of 11 for 206 yards and three touchdowns. Third time in his career, he completed over 70%. of his downfield

54:05 pass attempts according to next gen stats he just had a field day going downfield it was one of those two where he's dropping back to throwing just kind of like lofting it up there and just these guys are wide open making big plays basically everyone except romeo dobbs was catching all their downfield passes because that's the romeo dobbs experiment but kyle williams was getting involved mario douglas was like wide open chisholm is hism he continues to make plays so uh practice.

54:29 Squad player i've heard only erickson practice squad player Per C.J. Gardner-Johnson. Can't believe in hism.

54:35 Dude, like, come on, dude.

54:38 Do you guys know where Drake May is ranked for fantasy points.

54:42 Scoring on the season?

54:43 Yeah.

54:45 Do you know where he is on the season after his unbelievable start? After week three, they're like, oh, he's like QB 34 in points total. Do you know where he is so far this season?

54:53 QB 10 because the last two weeks have just been nuts. That's higher.

54:55 I'm going to get six.

54:57 He is QB 7.

54:58 40 points against the Raiders. Allen is already ahead. So unless Stafford drops 30 fantasy points tonight, he will stay at seven after Monday Night Football.

55:07 That's remarkable.

55:08 He almost hit 40 fantasy points against the Raiders.

55:10 39.46.

55:10 He's had two wild games, dude. Career high against the Las Vegas Raiders. And again, the context behind, no A.J.

55:19 Brown.

55:20 Last two weeks.

55:20 A.J.

55:21 Brown's coming back at some point and... then you get to see, again, going back to teams that are getting guys back. The Patriots are one of those teams. They invested so much in A.J.

55:30 Brown.

55:30 We haven't even seen that yet for a full game between Drake May and A.J.

55:33 Brown.

55:33 If Drake May can keep up this, I think that A.J. Brown can at least help when they do face tougher defenses.

55:38 And losing Travion's not that big of a loss.

55:42 I hope you trade it for him. I hope you trade it for him in fantasy. His next five weeks, Jets, Bears, Dolphins, Packers, Lions are the next five games he has before the bye. So, This might continue to be on a real upswing trajectory for his production. Debro, for you, is Drake May, you know, again, back is sort of like a tough word sometimes and is almost used as like a meme. But like, is this schedule related? Is this him getting back to close to what he was last year? Where do you come down on Drake May right now? terms of how you project him not even to think fantasy production because obviously those are some easy matchups coming up but just like where you would rank him amongst nfl quarterbacks just for

56:22 the rest of the season where do you come down on him i mean i.

56:26 Think i think you know with the first few games of the season the overreaction when people also you know putting together his playoff run was a bit overblown um i i think that you know i'm backing on drake name like in the sense of like also like josh mcdaniels is doing smarter things to help his young quarterback.

56:47 He's not focusing on one player. He's spreading the ball around. He's giving what the, what the defense is taking. Because the biggest thing when I dove through his film was he's just forcing plays and doing things that are stupid. If he plays his game and makes better decisions, he's going to play better while also use utilizing his legs more like, yeah, like I think Drake may, you know, we can roll through like a top five, top 10 list.

57:09 I think he's somewhere comfortably in there now where we want to put him in the, in the top, say seven quarterbacks in the NFL, I think is very debatable considering where everybody's played and how all that, you know, especially with a sample size of only five weeks.

57:24 He, you know, obviously the turnovers were the big issue early on and could be going forward like weeks two and three, even when he wasn't producing fantasy numbers, he was still throwing for nine and a half or eight yards per attempt. Like those are still good numbers. Like I tend to think that it, it was an overreaction to early season. Just like I said, a lot of turnovers that will smooth out throughout the season. I'm not going to say they're going to go away entirely, but I think they will continue to smooth out as they have the last two weeks and he's going to be just fine.

57:55 So, um, just, just the will Campbell thing though, is, is the one like, sure. It is a legitimate concern. Losing when you're starting tackles is never, I mean, just ask the chargers, right? Like it's not, it's not idea for even given the opponents again, like David Bailey in the New York jets, like David Bailey's coming off a monster, uh, monster game so he's gonna be pinning his ears rushing the passer next week when the jets take on the pads.

58:16 To all the main thing bro what's your to the mcdaniel stuff real fast over the last two weeks the patriots are 12th in motion and 11th in play action rate which they were bottom five in the first few weeks uh in both of those metrics so mcdaniel's or yeah josh mcdaniel's like screwing his head back on straight has been a big thing too what's your next reaction d bro I'm going to ask the question, and I did not tweet these stats out because I didn't want anybody to see this, but I'm going to ask the question, boys.

58:44 Is Jalen Warren the most underrated running back in the entire NFL? So, first of all, amongst all running backs in AAV, he is 27th in average annual value of contract right now. Let me just read off a few names in the same area code as old Jalen Warren. Alvin Kamara. Aaron Jones, Jordan Mason, Chris Rodriguez, Rico Dowdle.

59:15 Jalen Warren, since 2022, amongst 76 qualifying running backs. Jalen Warren is 15th in explosive run rate ahead of Kenneth Walker. He's 11th in yards after contact per attempt. right ahead of Derrick Henry and Bajon Robinson. Jalen Warren is also sixth in missed tackles force per attempt, ahead of Nick Chubb. Oh, and let's look at his receiving stats, shall we? 78 qualifying running backs as wide as receiving options. Jalen Warren, eighth in yards per route run, ahead of Gibbs, Austin Eckler, Alvin Kamara, and fifth in first downs per route run, ahead of Devon Achan. Is Jalen Warren the most underrated running back in the nfl i think emphatically so what do y'all guys think i.

1:00:05 I think this is a great call and a correct one because when you ask the question i started trying to think who else i would want to make the case for i'm like okay well like it's a great case let me think about where else i would go and i'm like looking through the names just in case i'm forgetting i don't think anybody really stands out to me as somebody that i would um usurp jaylen warren in this conversation there's other running backs that are underrated but i think Not to the degree that Jalen Warren is. Erickson, what do you think?

1:00:31 Couldn't agree more because I think that Jalen Warren has been pigeonholed into, oh yeah, he's like this like scat back guy. That was Najee Harris's backup and that was another guy's backup with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now the Steelers have had their hand forced at least last couple of weeks, having to play him in a full-time role. And what do you know? It's awesome because Jalen Warren is freaking awesome.

1:00:53 And I think going back to his profile, I think people will be shocked when you look at Jalen Warren, he's five, eight, 204 pounds. Because I think people think Jalen Warren is like 185 pound running back, which is why he's always been put into this committee role when no, this guy can carry a full workload. and does exceptional with it as both a rusher and receiver. I mean, the guy is ripping off 50 yard touchdowns as a rusher and receiver week in and week out. And we always knew that he was super efficient. It was always a matter of, okay, well, The Steelers are never going to let him run away with the job. And even that was the talks entering the season where it's going to be split between Rico Dowdle and Jalen Warren. But

1:01:31 I know that Rico Dowdle has a chance to come back. Rico Dowdle knows how this rolls, right? He was with Carolina when he was balling out. He got the rock when he was not in missed time and Chuba Hubbard took over. Like, He's not coming back to his starting role or a big role at all, in my opinion. So I think that the Steelers realize are now being in a position where, dude, like, yes, let's continue to feature Jalen Warren because he is so exceptional. He makes our offense go so much more efficiently than with Rico, especially as a receiver with Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers loves, you know, check the ball down to a receiver out of the backfield.

1:02:02 So yeah, this is a great poll, D bro.

1:02:05 Dude. And the big thing that I want to tie a bow on this, because everybody has discounted Jalen Warren's talent every single year because of his size, the role that Pittsburgh has played him in and said that this is small sample variance. Just for everybody at home, just understand that this sample size that I pulled from 2022 all the way to this season, including last week, is a sample size of 627 rushing attempts. So almost like two full seasons. of a full-time elite bell cow workload, and also 892 routes and 215 targets. This is not a small sample. He is that freaking good.

1:02:49 The only name I'm looking through that I could even try to make a case for is maybe Chase Brown, just because the draft capital I think is still held against him. But I definitely think Jalen Warren is more underrated than Chase Brown. Who do you think is better?

1:03:01 Jalen Warren or Chase Brown? Straight up.

1:03:03 Jalen Warren.

1:03:04 Not not close i think as like an actual running back on the field that i watched them play i think jaylen warren is better chase brown has a better role or he has had a better role that i agree with but i'd.

1:03:13 Rather have chase brown in fantasy but i think jaylen warren is the better chase.

1:03:16 Brown can't even touch anything close to what jaylen warren has done as a receiver in the nfl at all nothing.

1:03:25 I i mean chase brown can be a good receiver yeah.

1:03:28 But on a on a He had 11 catches last week. No, but on an efficiency standpoint, he's not even in the same ballpark.

1:03:35 I know, but the way you said that, it sounded like Chase Brown is bad at that. Chase Brown is a good pass catcher.

1:03:38 No, no, no, I'm not saying he's bad.

1:03:39 Jalen Warren is better.

1:03:40 I'm not saying he's bad, but Jalen Warren is elite in every metric uphold.

1:03:45 Yeah.

1:03:45 Every. No, no, I think Jalen Warren is the better NFL running back. I think Chase Brown is a better fantasy running back. But he was the closest one I could think. Again, I'm like looking, I'm.

1:03:54 Like trying to think of names.

1:03:54 I would say most running backs are probably like overrated than underrated.

1:03:58 Yeah.

1:03:59 I'm like, I'm like city girl. Like, could you make the case that Bijan is actually a little underrated because the offense does him no favors and he's even better than, but like everybody knows he's amazing, right? Like there's, there's aren't that many options out there. So I think it's a great shot at Deaver. And I haven't really thought about Jalen Warren in that context before. So I think it's a really good thing to bring up. My final reaction here is, And I know they weren't by this week, but I think the Chiefs at only the fifth best Super Bowl odds right now is an absolute gift. We are talking about the best quarterback ever outside of Tom Brady for in some people's opinion, my opinion included. And

1:04:31 a guy who has been the best quarterback certainly of his generation in terms of playoff performances and winning Super Bowls and making Super Bowls. A head coach that a lot of people think is one of the best ever. An offense that finally has an explosive running back who has been just a hand-in-glove fit in this offense and has completely changed the way defenses have to defend this team a defense that is led by an excellent excellent even in the especially in the playoffs uh defensive coordinator that has a lot of young guys that are going to get better throughout the course of the season and already is pretty talented right now and this team's already undefeated like to start the season so far the 4-0

1:05:07 they've just had their early bye which can hurt later in the season but man i'm just like looking at this team and i'm like Part of this, too, is you look at the other teams in the NFL. We really like the Niners. But yes, maybe it is a bit of a house of cards situation in terms of the injuries if they get one injury too many down the line. You know, the Jags didn't look good against what we think is not a very good Eagles team this week. You know, it's one game. I'm not totally ruling them out as a Super Bowl contender. Of course, I still like them. But they didn't look great this week.

1:05:35 The Vikings, we just talked about, we don't think is a real Super Bowl contender. Those are the three teams that are closest to the Chiefs in record. right now you know the Ravens I think are good but like Lamar's banged up right now that you know the Seahawks have two losses the Bears a couple you know the the Bills I think Allen has looked shaky the last couple weeks in terms of the turnovers the point is you can go through and really poke holes you know the Rams are two and two right now you can poke holes in the other teams that are real contenders here and the Chiefs not only do they look really good this season they also have the pedigree of these guys have been there before they've done it before and

1:06:09 You look at the other teams that are at the top of the NFL standings right now, they haven't done that, right? The Rams have done it before, but they're not at the top of the standings right now. The Seahawks have done it before. They did it once. And again, they have two losses already. Niners have been there. They haven't won one recently. Jags haven't been there. Vikings haven't been there.

1:06:27 This Ravens iteration hasn't been there. So I mean, again, to give me the fifth best odds for the Chiefs as opposed to like first or second where I think they should be, I feel like we're going to look back on that in December and say what a gift we could have bet them That plus 900 all the way back in October, Erickson.

1:06:42 Yeah, I mean, the fact that it's that long of odds when they haven't lost a single game yet. We were supposed to get the bad version of Mahomes to start the year. So I assume that we're just going to see him look better and better as the season progresses. I think the main question mark is just the receiver room right now and how it's set up. We know that Tyquan Thornton is out indefinitely. Rushie Rice hurt his hamstring the last time we saw him. Xavier Worthy, can he step up? Do they make a trade for one of these wide receivers? Travis Kelsey, I don't think is going to necessarily play his best ball in December and January just because of his age. So those are the only question marks. But at the same time, you have

1:07:20 an elite running game with Kenneth Walker. I think they're going to use more of Emma Johnson, especially to make sure Walker stays healthy throughout the entire season. And hasn't their starting left tackle not even played the season? Josh Simmons. Has he just like missed the entire start of the year?

1:07:33 I mean, the fact that they're doing this without one of their best offensive linemen is also a credit to just the depth that they have across that O-line and a credit to Andy Reid and the play calling and the fact that they decided to get rid of Matt Nagy and bring back Eric Biennemi. It's like, this is why the good teams stay good because they make the smart decision moves when it comes to personnel, when it comes to coaching, when something doesn't work, they don't try to stick it out. They make the move, they cut bait and they move on. So trusting in Patrick Mahomes seems like Investing in your 401k just seems like a good thing to do.

1:08:04 It's always a smart bet. And by the way, like Debro, I think we would all agree that the three best teams in the AFC not named the Chiefs are Bills, Ravens, and Jags in some order. If any of those teams is going to Arrowhead in January, who are you picking? You're picking the Chiefs.

1:08:19 Yeah, I don't disagree with anything y'all stated here. My biggest question mark is the same thing that Erickson has is what do we do with this wide receiver room? Like Rasheed Rice is hurt. who is he in this offense? How effective is he? We know Xavier worthy is a nothing burger. Like he's just whatever role you play him in.

1:08:37 He's just non-existent. So he's a non-factor. So you're talking about a passing attack, which my homes is, but dude, I forget was week two, week three, one of those weeks where my homes, that was the best passing performance. I have legit best football. I've seen my homes play in like the last three to four seasons, but with this wide receiver room, do we see that moving forward? Like, I mean, asking people or like asking Jalen Royals and Cyrus Allen to step up and be those difference making guys is a lot. Could they trade for somebody like this is like the commanders just say, OK, we're tossing it all in for this season. Could they trade Stefan Diggs? Maybe.

1:09:21 But they definitely need wide receiver help from somebody because I don't think that– again, talking about a team's final form and being a Super Bowl contender, I absolutely can see it. But I think that they need to get to that final form. They need another wide receiver here.

1:09:41 It's partly that I think this team is really good and partly that I don't think there's an obvious juggernaut that should be behind them too. Like maybe the Niners is the best case you can make, but they have injury concerns as well.

1:09:52 Every team has flaws, dude. Every single NFL.

1:09:55 Team has flaws.

1:09:57 Yes. 100%.

1:09:58 So I'm like, yeah, like if there's no perfect team out there, why shouldn't we fall back on the pedigree of this organization who also looks really good right now? And you can go out and trade for a receiver. Obviously, we just saw what happened with the Texans. Like, that is doable.

1:10:11 Who would they go out and trade for?

1:10:13 And if Walker stays healthy.

1:10:13 Like, outside of like, okay, a Stefan Diggs trade, I don't think Brian Thomas Jr. is walking in that door. I don't think that's a trade they make.

1:10:19 No, I don't think the Jaguars want to help the Chiefs either.

1:10:21 The Jags?

1:10:22 No.

1:10:23 I think that would make a lot of sense if the Jags were in the NFC and ASC the Jaguars.

1:10:26 No, they're like, we're not helping you.

1:10:29 No, but to that point, what wide receiver is walking in the door?

1:10:32 I mean, honestly, Marv should have been the target for them.

1:10:35 Which it sounded like they weren't in on that. So like what wide receiver is walking in the door? That's going to help them.

1:10:40 I'm like, what does anyone know? Is Brandon? Are you answering the phone? Do we know?

1:10:45 Oh, no, I think he's, he's buying properties in other countries. I don't think so. But, but I mean, maybe Stefan digs, but outside of him.

1:10:53 I'm like, it's probably somebody on the margin. It's like, it's probably like Jalen McMillan from Tampa or somebody like that, where it's like, it's like a team. That's not very good. They're willing to move a receiver, but it's not going to be a star.

1:11:03 Really? On the Titans?

1:11:06 Chris Godwin? If the Buccaneers are out of it? But is he a needle mover at this point?

1:11:12 I mean, I don't think they need a needle mover. I just think they need a guy who can be competent and fit. I mean, that's the thing.

1:11:18 Like Calvin, I mean, look, it's really hard to get a gauge on this Titans passing attack. On the broadcast, they were talking about, yeah, we really want to get Calvin Ridley going. And he caught a pass on the first drive, and then I don't think caught another pass for the rest of the game.

1:11:29 I mean, if Philly really does end up selling off, like Dontavion Wicks, maybe?

1:11:34 Oh, I thought you were going to go like full ham mode, like Devonta Smith or something.

1:11:39 No, I don't think Philly moves Devonta. I mean, that would be incredible. Of course, I don't think I don't think Philly moves Devonta. But but yeah, like Wicks or somebody, you know, somebody like that maybe kind of comes to mind.

1:11:47 I mean, it's just because that's that's the head scratcher part for me. It's like they need wide receiver help. But where the heck are they going to get it, man? Like.

1:11:57 At the end of the day, as I said, I don't think the odds are correct for them to be behind some of these other teams.

1:12:05 I think the commanders thing that you mentioned, D-Bro, with Diggs.

1:12:08 Diggs is the call. He kind of fits the veteran and the one-year deal and the.

1:12:13 He obviously has a connection with the commanders. Obviously, he wasn't there with Diggs, but Diggs, I think, was rumored to be in the market for the Kansas City when he was still a free agent. Obviously, he ended up going with Washington, but He doesn't want to be on. I mean, Diggs won the Super Bowl last year. He'd be a perfect fit for what they need, dude. He wants to be a contender. It's NFC, AFC. If they clean house, Dan Quinn is fired. If I'm Adam Peters, I'm like, oh, I can get draft picks for a veteran wide receiver that's probably not going to be on the team next year.

1:12:42 I got the fever dream, boys. They trade for Stefan Diggs, and they sign Tyreek Hill.

1:12:47 Oh, my God, Tyreek.

1:12:48 I forgot about that. I mean, that's the answer.

1:12:50 It's Tyreek.

1:12:51 Is that the answer? Did I just stumble upon the answer?

1:12:53 It definitely will. I don't know if it'll be the answer. It definitely will be something they try. I don't know if.

1:12:59 Tyreek's going to be ready to whatever form he's in until November.

1:13:03 But who cares? But in a 30% field stretching.

1:13:08 He's got a package of plays type of role. That's all you're asking out of him. And then Stefan Diggs and Rasheed Rice are the full-time guys.

1:13:16 Who says no?

1:13:17 I mean– Go bet on the Chiefs and that would be my recommendation because I don't think those odds are going to get worse. I think they're going to get worse to bet on. I think they're only going to get shorter. So we'll go ahead and wrap things up there. Thanks everybody for checking out our week five reactions here on the tailgate for Erickson and Debro. I'm Ryan Warmly.

1:13:34 We'll see you again next time.