The Around the NFL podcast. Twitter misses you, Mark. From the Chris Westling podcast studio. It's X-Man. It's Around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansis. Got Mark Sesler here. Here's the thing, everybody, unplug for one moment, okay? Because here's Mark talking into a microphone. You don't need to live on social media. You got the real thing right here.

I have found it to be an interesting experiment. I'll still go on as a distant observer because there's news happening. But what's happened to, and I know this is already happening with X, the algorithm of what they're feeding me now has become complete total lunacy. It has nothing to do with anything that I used to. It just become more insane.

I would like to see what you're getting served.

I'll show you after the show for sure.

Also joining us. You heard her there. She She didn't get introduced. She just came in.

Hey, I'm here. Great to see you guys. What a day. What a day we have in store.

Oh, yes, we got a Connie Wolf. We got the tiniest of all boxes. We got a Tuesday show with Colleen. Not Tuesdays with Mori, it's Tuesdays with Connie, sitting in the Greg chair, Greg on a well-deserved vacation in the the tropics of the Pacific, so he will be back next week. We're going to tag each other out. I'm going to head out for the tropics after he returns. I was thinking with Greg not here, how can we make the most of this? This Greg is an impossible person to replace on the show. His football acumen and his ability to disagree with everything cannot be replaced. However, how about this is the idea that is he really on a tropical vacation? Do we know, for instance, that Delaware isn't back together?

Yeah, we don't know. Oh, wow. There's some conspiracy theories all over the place.

Then I actually have a file when Greg brings up Delaware because I want the tapes. Greg's high school band, Delaware. It says, actually, in my notes, cut and paste, Delaware Bio. This is all I have right now, but if you're out there, we were looking for the tapes, the demos, the release of the album, How Do You Want It Cooked? Was the name of the album. I believe this was a follow-up album or perhaps a single, shiny man went to Frogtown. This is actual titles, the Delaware material.

Was it an actual? I don't know if they've produced multiple albums, but sorry.

Anyway, The drummer, lead singer in Keyboards, Greg Rosenthal. We're not getting anything off him. Drummer Jeff Lash. That's traditional Jeff spelling Lash, L-A-S-H. He was the drummer. Jeff, if you're out there, if you were from Western Massachusetts and you know a Jeff Lash, please reach out to him and have him reach out to us with any potential demos. Also, there's a guy named Andy in the band. Don't have the last name. Just Andy. Andy from Western Mass. If you're out there, we will give you a signed 8 by 10 glossy of Mark Sesler in Levi, the jacket, if you reach out to us with the tapes.

There's probably only 275,000 Andys in that area. So it's spread a wide net and get to work.

I have confidence in the subreddit. I feel like they can mobilize and answer this for us. Also, why hasn't there been some type of sing-off with Greg? You have to trick him into singing. Why hasn't there been a segment yet with that?

He's sheepish about his musical past, and I've tried to get that out of him. But I do want to hear How Do You Want to Cook, their debut album.

I would love that. There was at one point, one of the band members or someone who knew Greg. Maybe it was Andy. Maybe. Maybe it was. Claim to have the tapes. So they're out there. We're getting to the age where maybe some of these people don't live. They're not on the Earth anymore.

Let's just hope that's not the case.I hope that's not the case.

But I don't know.

By the way, if anybody We just were blown away by the Patrick Claibon Sog Submissions. If anybody wants to take a crack on what Delaware might sound like, he said they're mid '90s alternative music in the vein of a Flaming Lips type artist, that type of underground alternative band. A little bit of, he said, not prog rock, but very left of center alternative. It was a little...

Yeah, it was alt and Greg had a part down the middle, I believe. Oh, with the long hair. With longish hair down both sides. At some part of that area.

I remember there was a guy that I had a huge crush on in fifth grade, and he had that haircut, and he loved Silver Chair, and I was like, Yeah, well, I'm going to get in a Silver Chair, too, just because he likes them.

The Australian teen, Silver Silver Chair. I remember that band.

I would love if the listeners submitted some songs for Greg and specifically focused on what Greg sounded like on vocals.

That is drilling down. We need that.

We'll give you, again, the titles of... Well, let's use them as songs, okay? How do you want it cooked? And shiny man went to Frogtown. Either of those give us a... I think Greg would really appreciate starting the show this and potentially extending this bit that he's been hoping to kill the Picks competition for years.Undoubably.But instead, the old Zuzzer has turned it into an opportunity. That's what Hose does, Mark.

That's what I do. I don't doubt your abilities to...

They call me Snaky Davis for a reason. You know that. Yes. All right, let's get into today's show because we got a good one. Coming up a little bit later, we're going to sleath the top 10 of the NFL draft. How far out are we from the draft? Holy God. We're inside a month now from the 2024 NFL draft. In fact, Connie, I know right before you joined us, you were in hardcore scramble mode prepping for this show because you were doing Just did a mock draft live with Bucky Brooks' latest mock, his third one that he dropped.

So just analyzing that, Lance Zerline is next week.

And you hosted the proceedings?

Yes, I did.

Where can people see that, by the way?

That is all... Come on, it's all over the It's on the network today, and today is Tuesday, I believe.

Today is Tuesday, March 26.

Yes, it's on NFL Plus as well. There you go. So, yeah, just check your local listings, gang.

When you stack these assignments, do you feel better beforehand, or do you feel better when they are crossed off your list?

I always feel better...

Just wondering about your personality.

After everything has been accomplished. It is a little bit of a sprint. I was flying back from the East Coast yesterday, and I have to fly back there tomorrow. I'm prepared, and I have a lot of information in this old brain. Who was your question? Ready to rock. Do you like it better when the hard thing is in front of you or behind you?

I think everyone's going to have this similar.

Of course, but I think it's a little more asterisk special with Coleen because I understand where she's coming from. I'm not coming the same way. There was a fair amount of palpable tension in the room when she was in preparation mode. I was just imagining that her on her drive home is going to be like, luxury for her.

I love when it's over, everything. But my notes that I was preparing for this show while I was hosting the other show, and I know that this is not a visual medium, but my notes Well, we have a YouTube program.

Can we get a tight shot on that?

They have been scribbled on a cocktail napkin, and this is what I'm working with. I can't even read what any of these say.

Slightly psychotic. It's on the back of Bucky's mock.

The work of a mad woman. All right, so check that out, and we're going to do some draft stuff, as I said, but we're going to sleath it like an old friend of ours, and we'll get to that a little bit later. But first, we got a lot of news to get to because the NFL owners meetings went down in Orlando, and that's always a source of, I don't know, intrigue. That's a little strong. It's always a source of gruel for the old news machine.

News is always coming out of there.

When you haven't been sent there, which is a pattern of late, it's less intriguing.

The good old days, they used to send us there.

I've never been. All I do is hear about the swag, and there's parties, and the salad days, as they say.

Anyway, back to reality. Let's hit the news. This is going to be inside the 10.

And this is dropped, picked up by Beck. Beck still going, running to the right side. Beck has some room. 25, 30, 35, 40. He's at the 50. He's at the 45 of Jacksonville. Beck across the 30, the 20, the 15, 10, 5. Are you kidding?

Rock and roll.

Touchdown, Houston.

My goodness. Oh, my.

Beck picked up the ball. The Earth started shaking in North Florida, and He ran to the right side and found the lane to the end zone.

Oh, man. Mark Vandermeer with the call. K-i-l-t. That was Andrew Beck, fullback, the upback on the kickoff in week three against the Jaguars. And possibly, he took it to the house. And why do I play that? Because you'll never see that again in the NFL. Because everything is different now. The NFL owners approved a massive, and I mean massive revamp of the kickoff on Tuesday. After three days of discussions at the league's annual meeting, they passed a proposal 29 to 3 in favor of redoing kickoffs and essentially ending the days. And we've talked about this. We even talked about it, I think Super Bowl Sunday night at the stadium in Vegas. How many times you get all pumped up at the beginning of the game, touchback, touchback, touchback all throughout the games. And so they finally decide to go with a rule that's very similar, almost identical, in fact, but not exactly the same as an XFL rule. So during the 2024 season, kickers will continue to kick from the 35-yard line, but the The other 10 players on the kickoff team will line up at the receiving team's 40. Everyone other than the kicker is now on the same side of the field.

At least nine members of the return team will line up in a setup zone, it's called, between the 35 and 30-yard lines. Up to two returners We're going to line up in a landing zone between the goal line and the 20-yard line, and no one other than the kicker and returners can move until the ball either hits the ground or hits a player inside the landing zone. So touchbacks will be marked at the 30-yard line, by the way. No fair catches allowed. So that lasted what? One year, fair catches on kickoffs. And so now there's always going to be a play. And that was the goal, to figure out, to make the kickoff a play again. Also, the idea here is to lower... The reason why they put in a lot of the rules, Mark, is to try to lower the instances of head injuries because the big running start down the field. So they try to address it with this. Let's see if it works. It's a huge change in the way football will look and trial, but one that I think we all agreed was necessary.

It's a one-year trial. I think from the fan angle, it's going to be visually amazing to experience because it's completely different than anything else. I was trying to think of In our lifetime, a rule change that was as steep as this and as different. I would go back to maybe in 1994 when the two-point conversion was brought in. It's that much of a game changer because when you watch this, it does absolutely to achieve what you're talking about. Because with these two lineup lines of special teamers just separated by five yards, they go and they clash, and then the runner is close behind them. I just wonder if it's going to take time for if you're defensive or offensive to figure out the tweaks in this because it just seems like if you can have two guys deep, if you were to take your fastest defensive lineman and have him blow up one player in that lineup because it's a line. You get your fastest wide out behind He's gone. I just wonder if it's going to create in a wonderful way, I guess, crazy scoring opportunities. But it's also going to separate kickers because the kicker has to literally put it in a 20-yard zone now Unless you want to boot it out of the end zone.

But it's like, you can't just power a kick and assume everything is going to be a touchback. It's going to be wild to watch for the first month or two.

And when the XFL did this, there were more returns, there were fewer injuries. So that's clearly what the NFL is shooting for in this situation. But it also revalues, because we talk about players being devalued, it revalues kick returners. And it's apropos in the year that Devon Hester is going into the Hall of Fame. We want to see this. We want to be able to see these plays back in the game. We don't want to see people getting hurt, but it makes it more exciting.

Also makes it, I would think, and I didn't watch the XFL, full disclosure show. So I don't know. It feels like it's going to make it more congested and more It's very difficult to run kickoffs back, but maybe not. Maybe there's enough of a buffer zone because they can't move the defenders until the ball reaches the player, where you could still effectively set up the blocking the way special teams coaches do to ensure high-level kickoffs. By the way, in the event a team wants to attempt an onside kick, this is notable as well. For instance, Saints fans that are listening. Like, arguably, one of the most important and pivotal plays ever in history was the onside kick fake or the surprise onside kick, I should say, by Sean Payton that led to the recovery.Do I have that right?Yeah. Yeah. In Super Bowl 44, you cannot surprise a team with an onside kick. In the event a team wants to attempt an onside kick, we'll have to inform officials of its intent, and then they would be allowed to use the NFL's traditional formation, no surprise onside kicks allowed, which, by the way, I don't know if that...

It's so weird. Now you have to declare it. It takes all the element of surprise out. Here's the other thing. It's a bit of surprise out.

Because of, and we've talked about this on the show, we get it, and everyone gets it. You're trying to make the game safer. But because of some changes they made in the outside kick rules to protect players, it's almost impossible to recover an onside kick now. So now on top of everything else, now you've removed this surprise element. So it makes that play that much more difficult to pull off.

It's a trade-off because obviously, with the kicker 35, whatever yards behind his other 10 special teamers, the the onsides kick would be absurd. That play already felt like it was dead over the last couple of years because of the rule change.

I think there's still work to be done to work on that. If this works, let's move to fixing the outside kick because I think that's a broken play. Right.

But I think the one thing it shows, because if you're the NFL and you're the king of all, it shows a bit of humility to borrow from the XFL. I think that tells you that the onsides kick, if it remains this dead zone, they'll address that. I do give them credit for wanting... I will never forget being at the Super Bowl. And while it was special moment on the opening kickoff, the last one we'll ever watch that way, the stadium, an Allegiant Stadium, went into this hush. It was totally quiet, but then it just resulted in nothing. And it was like, wait a minute. And it was Greg who, after the show, said, The kickoff has got to go. And he's in Hawaii and got his wish.

Well, he didn't, though. It was just still a kickoff. This is why I like the change.

No, the change, the dead way that it was.

He was saying, Just get rid of it. I was saying, It's football. You have to find a way to keep it in there without just turning it to, okay, change of position. You get the ball at the 25. I like it. We'll see if it works.

It'll be weird if they take it away after one year.I tend to think like that happens.But that happens. Unless it's a total colossal failure, it's already proven it can work in another league, you move forward with it.

Humility? I don't know if I would put that with our company.

I'm just saying to pull from a...

It's easy to pull from the XFL when it's failed 14 times in the last 20 years. It's not like the AFL in 1969 where it's like you're actually looking them like, Oh, there. But to the XFL's credit, for all their struggles, Connie, when they first came in, I think 2000, and then they've rebooted, and now I believe they've merged with maybe the AF.A.

Lot of versions.Yeah..

The NFL has... It's not the first time that they've taken elements of what they do. Some of it's production, a TV production, that they said, Oh, that's good. We'll take that. But now we have a rule that they've taken as well. You could argue, yes, it's good to have competitors, or not a total monopoly on the sport. So then you can learn from others.It's.

Like a test kitchen. We're going to see how it works over here. Watch you go through it, figure out the data, and then maybe we'll give it a whirl.

One last thing before we move on to the other rule changes. Chris used to say this all the time, Wes. The NFL has always been pretty good about messing with the product to try to find the best version, which not all league do. This is another example. The NFL takes pretty big swings in messing with the product, and I think that's all healthy. On Monday, owners approve three other rule changes. This This one's got me a little bit more like, Uh-oh, we'll see, because for all the good, sometimes meddling and messing with rules just leads to a bigger mess. When they, again, the Saints seem to be at the center of everything. After they got robbed of that trip to the Super Bowl on the missed PI call against the Rams in the NFC title game, they put in pass interference as a reviewable play, and then that quickly went sideways, and they got rid of it after one year. Now they're prohibiting the swivel, hip Hip drop tackle technique. I don't want you guys, people, to dwell on it too much. Colleen, I want you to put yourself like as the Eagles fan hat on.

It's third and seven, and it's a huge point in the game, and your linebacker makes a great open field tackle to get off the field, and then out comes the laundry, and the officials confer, and it's very borderline, and it's moving very fast, and the tackle happens suddenly. They decide that it was a swivel hip drop tackle and not a standard hip drop tackle or just a tackle, and all of a sudden it's 15 yards in a first down. I'm a little worried about trying to legislate what tackle was that. Now, some are obvious, and I think that's what they're trying to enforce here, but I'm just worried about it. I'm just saying it out loud now in March.

Am I in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl in this scenario? Probably. Is it Arizona? Are the Eagles playing the Chiefs in this scenario? A lot of gray area. The players and the former players absolutely hate it. Just doing GMFB last week and talking to Jason McCorty. And the last time I was in there, it was Kyle Van Noy and Cam Jordan and Jason McCorty. And everyone was like, So this is how you're taught to tackle. You're taught to wrap up. It's a fundamental. And yeah, I can see that the data says that it leads to more injuries. But now you're asking defensive players to relearn how they play the game, which they're going to have to do. But it's also when you think about the rookies that are coming into the league, and these rookies who, a lot of them are not going to be paid a lot of money, and they're also trying to get up to speed with the speed of the NFL and now learn how to tackle completely differently. And the coaches, how much time they're going to have to spend in training camp, looking at tape, trying to figure out how to do this, because it's also like a gravity thing with your body weight in the tackle.

So you have to change everything that you're doing. And I think that that's going to be hard to officiate because of all of the gray area.

And I think that's tough, too, on everyone, because there isn't open tackling in camp and in practice in general. There would have been a long time ago. Jeff Miller, the VP of Safety, noted that there were 230 of these, this version of the hip drop tackle, the swivel that's illegal, that happened last season. It It resulted in 15 players missing time. The Mark Andrews was lost because of this. But there was an argument initially that that wasn't even exactly what they're talking about, that particular hip drop. Now they say it is that it's part of the list that would have been flagged. Don't like it.I think what it probably will turn out to be, because I think fans are going to... It's a lightning rod if it does something in the fourth quarter to a team, fines, change the way players tackle it. Again, a lot of this started, It was interesting to hear that when the Legion of Boom rose up, that they were teaching those players to, in some cases, tackle this way to avoid the helmet to helmet. Now this is being taken away. I couldn't agree more with just from a physics angle, if you're one of these defensive guys, what do you do?

Other changes. I like this one. This one makes too much sense. This one of those ones would never made sense to me that it was even the way it was. Now, there's a new rule that allows teams to receive a third challenge after one successful challenge. Previously, the team had to be successful on both challenges to receive a third. This proposal was submitted by the lines. Good job, Detroit. It makes all the sense in the world. Just because the official has got something wrong and you corrected them, you shouldn't have to go A hundred % on your challenges to get that challenge back. You should never lose a challenge if you want a challenge. All right. If there is... In other news, the teams voted down the fourth and 20 onside kick alternative.So.

Maybe that's down the road.They've tried that like 12 years in a row.

Good news, Colleen, but we'll see in a post Jason, Kelsey world, no ban on the push.Not going anywhere.All right, we'll see. It'll be interesting to see if the Eagles are still using it this year. This one also made sense. I know Greg has honkt about this, although I don't think they went far enough. The trade deadline is being moved to the Tuesday after week nine. That's one week different. It's usually been right around Halloween, which is week eight. Now it's the week after, the Tuesday after, the Monday night football of week nine. I'd say pushed even to 10 or even 11.I.

Could see them doing that.But it's a start. Even next offseason if it seems to benefit everyone.

All right.In.

Other news.That should have happened in the 1980s.

Yeah, I can't believe that it took this long.

All right, moving on. We'll head back to the owner's meetings in a bit. But first, some news that went down. This was a big name that had been hanging out there. Lejaria Sneed, Super Bowl winning cornerback of the Chiefs. He had been tagged by the Chiefs, but had been given permission to seek a trade. He found a trade sent to the Tennessee Titans, who then quickly agreed to terms with Sneed on a four-year, $76.4 million deal. Includes $55 million guaranteed, 20 million signing bonus. That from Rapp Sheet. Obviously, that was a contract that tells you that Sneed is viewed as an upper-end cornerback, and certainly, the Tennessee Titans are counting on him to be that. Connie, the deal, the trade, by the way, was Kansas City accepting a 2025 third-round pick in a swap of seventh-round selections. I wasn't blown away by the return, but I always seem to be often on what players can fetch in a contract in a trade. So they get a day two pick back, the idea that they could, or my original thought, that they can maybe pair their top pick this year with the Sneed Hall to move higher up the board.

Maybe it's It still works, but it's something. It's just not a ton for a guy. It was a big time player for them.

It's not. Kansas City, they've been planning, though, for this loss for two years now when they took Trent McDuffy in the first round. They've selected a couple other quarterbacks before that 2022 draft was finished. But it's like, I think for the Titans, this is great for them. They've been trying to fix that secondary for so many years. Their past defense hasn't finished in the top half of the league since 2018. And over the last four years, they've used four day one or day two picks on cornerbacks alone. Look at Christian Fulton, Caleb Farley. I could keep going, but Lejarius Sneed is an absolute upgrade for them. They also added Shidobe Awuzie during the first wave of free agency. So they have now a nice little group with Sneed, Awuzie, and Roger McCreery in the slot, plus their DC, Denard Wilson. He was a DB, so you know that the emphasis is going to be on that secondary, and hopefully, after all of these years in purgatory, they'll be able to make some improvements.

Yeah, I think you said it. I would have thought a couple of weeks back that it would have been a second, not a third. But if you're the Chiefs, you didn't want this salary and you were ready to move on. And so it's acceptable, and I trust the Chiefs to make something out of it. But I don't know, this franchise and trade thing, the terms, this was a surprising term to me. I love it for Tennessee, though.

Yeah, and the Titans have been very active this offseason, but We haven't gotten the best grades overall. This one, I can't quibble this. They've now addressed another key part of their team by adding a high-end cornerback. So they're improving, and we'll see what happens next. Maybe what we need to do, because this happens to us all the time and we're not alone, we always think a player is going to fetch more. Let's just start. Let's get ahead of it now. It's a tack. So whatever you think it's going to be, just drop it down around.

Right. I think we could have said that not on the air so that people start to just think that innately we've grown that way. But I'm with you 100%. I'm not-Let's edit that in post.

I always feel that way whenever we do, you're the GM, and we're trying to figure out trade values. I'm so bad at that. I wasn't good at math. I'm not great at finances, and then the resource swapping is in that same vein. Sure. Yeah, maybe if there was a class on that, that'd be cool.

Moving forward. We're going to have this nailed. Let's head back to news out of the owners meetings where Stealers' head coach, Mike Tomlin, said Russell Wilson has, quote, Pole position to open the air as the team's starting quarterback. This is the same team that also now has, of course, Justin Fields, who also we miscalibrated the old trademark. No, we didn't. So here we go. Yeah, edit that out and post as well. Here is Mike Tomlin on the QB sitch. The term that I've used is Russell has cold position. And why do I use that term? Because during this time where we're not formally working, man, I just think it's beneficial. His experience in the National Football League, his process that's been honed and perfected, talking about over a 12-month calendar, is not only good for him, it's good for teams. It's good for receivers, tight ends, running backs, et cetera. All the things that people that are really committed to winning do this time of year. Russell has those resources, man, that structure. That's why I say he has pole position. It just creates a synergy that I think is good for this time of year.

When it's time to compete, we get in training camp-like settings and going to preseason stadiums and so forth. Obviously, Justin will be given an opportunity to show his capabilities.

When you're preseason stadiums. Wow.

All right. I think we passed that, but they want Wilson to be the quarterback, and they like that they have someone to be there. If Wilson is washed.

Also, if Justin Fields plays 51% of the snaps, that conditional six-round pick turns into a fourth-round pick. So of course, Russell Wilson is going to start the season.

Yeah. I mean, Mike Tomlin has an has exactly been like the Washington Post with his quarterback reports and updates. Yeah, it's like-Not a total WAPO situation. No. So I think this is true until it's not true, which is probably as soon as Justin Fields starts doing special things. All right.

Speaking of Mike Tomlin, he was in conversation at... I don't know where it was. I think it was the owner's meetings. Makes sense. It was. With John Lynch.

Oh, no, that might have happened before. Okay.

Maybe it was a pro day. These days, a lot of things going on. A lot of gray area. A lot of gray eyes, a lot of who's, what's, and what have's. Anyway, and Tom was like, Hey, man, what's going on with Ayuk?What's his sitch?That's his sitch. What's the wapo? The A lot of posts saying on that. Anyway, John Lynch came out of the owners meeting and said, No, Brandon Ayuk is not available in a trade. In fact, my coach Shani, he wants him to stay. We're just using all abbreviations and nicknames.I love that.Bone for the rest of the show. Nothing's going on there. We're actively talking with Brandon, trying to figure something out. And we always talk. We have a good history of working with the guys we want to get done, to get something done. And it takes two sides. So can we do that? We'll see. There's a number of different directions that it could go, but we appreciate the heck out of Brandon and who he is as a player. We want him to be a part of the Niners, so we're going to work towards making that a reality. My radar is going off a little bit.

Really? A little bit. A little bit. Now, by the end of this podcast, could there be a newser that's out that's like, Brandon Ayuk is now the top five highest paid wide receiver in the league? Certainly possible, but I think there's just enough wiggle room in the way he was talking there that the Niners are always a forward-thinking team, might still be open to moving Ayuk at the right price if it means them being able to reboot and get younger and cheaper at that position rather than have Debo and Ayuk on the books in addition to all the other talented, expensive players they have.

I think anything is possible with anything any of these people are saying in March. Anything is still out there as a possibility if someone wanted to-But it's our job, Mark Sesler. It's a code. My response is that I don't think that there's some background suspicion here. I think we're going to keep them. You're the Niners. Your Super Bowl window is wide open I'd say he was more important than Debo Samuel for large chunks of last year, became a true star, and they waited a long time for that. So now you move on and hope that someone else you fill in the blank with.

Because you drafted Brandon Ayuk, you drafted Debo Samuel, right? That's the only thing I'm thinking of from their perspective in a very rich wide receiver draft, if they would ever get a little crazy.

Here's the thing, though. They did say they wanted to resign Debo Samuel, and they did. Even with Jimmy G, as messy as that got, they said, We'd like to make this work, and they did until it was completely over, and they found another quarterback. But if I think if Debo went somewhere else or story guy A, B, or C didn't, then I would believe them a little less. I don't believe like Shana Hannah and half the stuff what he says, but I think Shana Han wants to keep his arguably best wide receiver.

Yeah, of course, John Lynch is going to say that he's not available until he is, but I think that he's going to want to keep him around. I've been in this social media rabbit hole though, that Brandon Ayuk, I think he was on a Twitter break for a little while, and then he got back in. He dipped his toes in the water, and now all of a sudden, I'm looking at his IG stories, and if you guys saw it, it's just emojis where there's a cash sign, someone talking.We.

Got to retire that one.A cow.

I think it's a bull.

I think it's time to retire Ayuk is on fire. It is...

You're not into it.

It had its Others made that one. I don't know why.

What if he was a jet and that was part of the jet's situation?

Because everything would be different. It's always different. We love it. Dan, you're so shallow. All your criticism easily diffused by just turning him into a jet. No, we could do better than Ayuk. We could do better for him. Let's find a new Ayuk drop.

How about that? Yeah. Subreddit. The listeners. Subreddit. Get on it. We have Delaware submissions and Ayuk submissions.

He's giving them a little too much homework, maybe.

I don't know. I feel like they'll still deliver.

I hope it gets traded. That would be exciting. It'd be interesting to see that move and the team that brings them in. That would be cool.

All right. What do you think he would net in the trade now that we're in this newIn the new world.

In the new world.

Like a low fourth?

I would say he would bring back... I would think it would be like a first round, but then set, probably set. I would say bring back a third round pick.

Third. I mean, that is...

With the tax, with the internal secret we figured out.I would think easily a second.So.

I shouldn't argue it. I should say that sounds wise, Dan.

Unless it's first round pick, we think, and then it's a second round pick tax.

Maybe that's what it is. I think second. I would say second.

I guess we might find out. This would be the first big test of this idea if it happens.Brave.

New World.All.

Right, let's see. In other news, Robert Kraft. Oh, by the way, let me frame it this way. I think I know who's the next figure to be found or not found because they're buried under the Mass Pike.

There's a couple of them.

Matthew Hamacek. He was the director of the 10-part documentary series, The dynasty on Apple TV+. Uh-oh. You heard Andrew Siciliano float it around the AFC in 48 minutes that he was surprised by how pointed it was at times and what seemed to be criticism of Bill Belichick, who, of course, is no longer with the team. That became the only thing people really were talking about about this documentary. He was like, Wow, that was a little slanted pro-ownership or anti- Bill. Robert Kraft wants you to know that that was not his intention, and he feels like other patriots that were involved project, perhaps duped by the nature of the Doc, short for documentary.

I felt bad that there was so much emphasis on the more controversial and, let's say, challenging situations over the last 20 years.

I wish they had focused more on our Super Bowl wins, a 21-game win-streak. I felt bad.

There were players who gave hours and hours of interviews, and they felt only the negativity So a little disappointed that there wasn't more of a real positive approach, especially for the major.

Man, I think Rob is getting in that A Jerry Jones flow, where if you're transcribing a Jerry Jones quote, no need to stop the recorder at any point. No, it's beautiful. Just wait and type.

Truly.

How about this? Don't speak on camera if you don't want it to be Absolutely legally and rightfully used in a documentary. A documentary is not an in-house hype film. It is meant to tell you a story, the good and the bad. I find this like a billionaire is unhappy with result of something.

Well, you can't have your way all the Devon McCordy and Rodney Harrison both came out saying that they had done hours and hours and hours of interviews for this documentary, this docuseries, and the only things that were used were the negative things that they said. So, yeah, that's how they felt a little different.

I get that, but I guess part of it is, why are we talking about it? Because it was newsy. If it was a bunch of people glowing over the '21 game win streak in the Super Bowl, we all lived that. We I've been there. I feel for McCordy, if you've given all this time, I get a little frustration, but it's like, filmmaker is going to-That's what you sign up for to do it.

This is-I don't know. I'm uneducated on the topic, so I don't know. So was this NFL Films? Is this an NFL Films project at all?I.

Don't think so.Because.

If it's not-I don't know. If this was an outside project, in newspaper terms, if it bleeds, it leads.

That's all I'm saying. I can see why they were attracted to That part of it.

We can act like if we're Robert Kraft, we could act disappointed that there was too much focus on the last three or four years and how Bill Belchick and Kraft went from the most powerful duo in football to estranged and separated. But that's an important... I know it's called the dynasty, but if you're telling the story, you tell the story of how the dynasty ended it, too, and then becoming no longer on the same page, that's a big part of the story. I I don't know. I didn't watch it.

I've seen one episode, and I actually really liked it.

That's why I don't want to get too deep into it personally. But you got to expect people to focus on things like that because... I mean, the fact that, and I've been hammering on this for weeks and weeks on this show, the fact that Bill Belichick couldn't get a job, he's just a figure of fascination at this point. What happened from... Is it just because he's older? Or is there what happened with Belichick within the ranks of the NFL to be in this place now where he's-Did you watch the game on Monday? Out of work.

Right. I think news should be something that you don't know versus something that we all know very well, and it should be something that probably is unpleasant to many people.

All right, let's see. The Lions. This was a weird story. Cam Sutton, a cornerback of The Lions. He has been released from the team after he was involved with some legal trouble.

There was a period of time. First of all, it was domestic battery by strangulation. That's the allegation. There was a period of time, and this happened going into the weekend and stuff, where no one seemed to know where he was. Then the team President of the Lions, Rod Wood, admitted Monday that the day before the Lions released him, that he was inside the team's facility. I don't know how all that marries up exactly with the wondering where he was, but that's why It doesn't look great for the Lions, but they've released him, and he's gone.

He joined the lines as an unrestricted free agent last summer after spending his first six seasons in the NFL with the Steelers. We touched on this around the NFC, Connie, that The back end of their defense is a target for improvement, and now with Sutton out of the picture, that becomes even more of a glaring need for them.

Yeah. Now, their hand is forced when the draft comes around and how they're going to play this. And just looking at some of the mock drafts that are out there right now, not to... Because I don't really want to focus too much on Cam Sutton. I don't know what the details are, but they don't sound good whatsoever. So for the lions, the fact that they're picking as high as they are, we haven't seen that in years and years. They have the 29th pick in the upcoming draft. And for a lot of them, they're probably going to end up taking a corner. Maybe it's Kool-Aid McKin history. Maybe they take an edge. But I think for them, it would be really prudent to beef up that secondary now that they lose Cam Sutton.

Finally, in the news, we're going to do a little speed round, but last item here. They did itWhat happened? The NFL did it.What'd they do?I knew they were going to do it, and they've done it. The NFL has defeated days. Nfl won, days, zero. Game over. You thought that as big as the ratings hit, the NFL on Christmas was, after they came for the NBA's throat and stomped it, that they would say, Well, we got to wait a few years until it sinks up with the calendar because obviously, you can't play a football game on Wednesday. You can't play an NFL game in the middle of the week late in the-Of course not.

That would be-O contraire.

. It will continue in 2024 with Two matchups on the schedule despite the holiday falling on a Wednesday, it was announced. Matchups for the games, which will include teams that played on the previous Saturday to account for the recovery window have yet to be determined. I am sure those teams are going to be thrilled to learn they're playing on a Saturday on a short week and then have a turnaround. Enjoy your Christmas. I'll be gone for Christmas? No, you won't. No. Anyway, this is all of obviously because The three games played on Christmas Day, 2023, did massive ratings. In fact, ESPN's Ravens Niners telecast, that gnarly Niners blowout, had over 27 million viewers, making it the second most watched Monday Night Football game since 1996, almost 30 years, when TV was a totally different thing. Good job, yours. There it is. Nfl One, Days Zero. Got them.

Well, it's so predictable. Here's what the scheduling tick that concerns me, because you get into late December, and these four teams that might have looked like we're going to combine them for incredible matchups back in April. The three of them could be roadkill by then with the third quarterback playing, and we have to see them in island games two weeks in a row. But beyond that, I think we made the prediction that they're going to find a way to have games on Mayday, and I think we're only a couple of weeks from that happening. Or years, please.

Every day of the week. Why not? It was like during During the pandemic, we did it. And what great times they were. Tuesday night football, Wednesday night football. Let's just keep going.

But everyone digs this except people working in football. And so most people were probably like, Shut up.

I will say this past year on Christmas Day, I wasn't working because I worked Christmas Eve. I went to a friend's house who big Niners fans, the whole family. We sat at this big long table and they had a projector on the wall.

At the Harth.

It felt right. It was nice to sit around and watch the Niners lose with Niners fans.

All right.

8:00 delights. It's you, Connie.

Yeah.

Hope you're invited back.

Saints tackle Ryan Ramchek. He has knee issue. Couldn't miss the entire 2024 season. The in-season hard knocks. It could feature four teams from the same division. Okay. Anything else?

Yeah. For Ramchek and the Saints, they have so many needs. They have so many holes on that roster, and now they're probably going to have to draft a tackle right away because of Ramchek.

Damian Harris, the veteran running back, retires. He's only 27, I believe, and he had some really nice years with the pats, went to the bills, suffered a pretty serious injury, and now he steps away from the game. The Browns are looking to extend their GM and head coach, Barry and Stefansky, and maybe be building a dome. Mark, what's going on there?

Well, they absolutely want to either take their current stadium and make massive renovations to it. But the Haslams talked about a dome which had been floated in the past.

The Bills are doing it, right?

As a longtime Browns' follower, I'd like them to play in the mud and the snow. What else advantage do they have?

Mike McDaniel, Miami has made an offer to Odell Beckham. Woody Johnson, if we don't I'm afraid Zack, we're going to keep him. They're backpedaling on that one. They're eyeing Jay Davian Clowny, and the bears and Texans will play the Hall of Fame game starting off the season. Connie.

I just saw that Odell Beckham Jr. And Kim Kardashian broke up.

I didn't know they were dating.

I didn't know either. I feel like she'd... Let's see what O'Dell has been up to.

What is up with that Kim Kardashian? She's always in the news.

I feel like she'd want to go to Miami.

Every aunt.

With someone paying her way, although she's probably way richer than him.

I think so.

Yeah, by 10,000 times.

Let's take a break and we'll do some investigating. Welcome back. Sometimes getting to the bottom of a mystery requires you to get your hands dirty, work in the shadows, turnover rocks that were never meant to be turned over. That's why it's time to go full Signetti on the top 10 of the NFL draft. Mark, you ask, what does full Signetti mean?

I can only imagine he's been on some tough cases in the past. He's unearthed some problematic human scenarios. This one seems broad-reaching.

I've been wondering where he's been.

Frank Signetti. I did a little investigating of old Frank, Frank, the Tank Signetti. How long have we been mentioning this man in the show? About a decade. He was the offensive coordinator of the then St. Louis Rams in 2015. He was the OC, and then bounced around in different position rooms for the Giants, Packers, Boston College. He recently got let go by a pit in the college. He's been on a lot of different investigations. He's a hardscrabble detective. We always thought that. Frank Signetti, private eye. Why don't we get our full Signetti on and figure out this draft, the top of it anyway?

I would love You know, Signetti, he's been working a lot of cases, a lot of cold cases. The nights, the weekends, the hours that he spends and his dedication to his craft is just... I haven't seen anything like it. Whenever I have An issue, a question. I need a little PI work. I always go straight to the source. I go right to Signetti.

I'd say he's pretty Teflon, too, and he's resilient because I'm looking at the most recent headline about him that I can find. What went wrong in the Frank Signetti Jr. Era at He's got to lead a double life. He's got to be willing for these things to fail because his time becomes too absorbed in these cases. They pull him in.

They're asking questions in Western PA, but guess what? Frank just slips into the shadows and he's gone. Who's that guy in the trench coat? Gone.

Never saw him.

And the fedora, gone. All right, let's get into it. We're going to get our Signetti on here. Okay. What does that mean? Because it seems pretty nebulous. What does it mean? What does it mean? We split up the top 10 of this draft because we can go 1 through 32, but you can go anywhere for that. Everyone knows those first 10 pics, in addition to just being the most high-profile pics of a draft, they That's how we set the tone for the rest of the draft board. We each split it up, and based on everything that's out there, all the reporting, anybody you've talked to, any, again, rocks that were turned over, any meetings and diners where the thing you do, one guy sits in the booth one way and the other guy's sitting in the other booth, and they either slide a bag across the floor and the other guy leaves, or they just have full-on conversations with the menus in front of them. Like stuff like that.

Yeah.

That's stuffif we do.That happens.That's.

A skillset.

Parking garages, that's where you meet.

Big-time parking garage. Exactly. Always not well-lit at all.

Subterráne level, got to go all the way down.

Right. Cigarette smoking continues to be on the decline. But you have to sometimes pick up the old nicotine stick.Not in this career path.Cull.

This off. Yeah.

You need it.Hack and darts. Got to.Hack.

And darts. Let's get to it. I'll get it going with this investigation doesn't need a signeti, let's be honest.This isn't Watergate. The number one overall pick. This is not Watergate scenario. Everyone knows that the bears are going to take Caleb Williams with the number one overall pick. We're not going to dwell on this because we got the bears coming up later, and I'll do a little deep dive on that, which is certainly more intriguing. But I do think it's just notable that in some teams are like this in these type of draughts where we all know who's going number one. But in many instances, teams are still needlessly cloaked Dagger about it. Sure. That's not the bears. They're talking openly about Williams going to his pro day and speaking on him and not even trying to be cute about the Justin Fields thing. They're like, once they... And granted, they didn't maybe get the most value they could with Fields, but they made it a point to clear the path for this rookie to come in and be the guy with no distractions, and, of course, build up a real nice infrastructure around him. So Will Williams of USA will be the first pick.

I don't really... Maybe I failed in my Signetti task to do any more diving on this one, but sometimes you got to know when to stop turnover Rocks and just be like, it's staring right at me.

You I don't want to get too cute, but maybe others might not be able to see what you've seen. But Frank Signetti sussed this out with no issues, and there's not a lot of debate around it.

Good job, Frank. Yeah, Signetti's time is precious. If he knows the answer, he's moving on to the next case.

Colleen, does he know the I like now that we've had a subtle shift in the seg, and now we are Frank Signetti, and I like this. Frank, tell us about the Washington commanders at number 2. What are you hearing?

What have you learned? Well, what I've done here is I put a tail on this Peters guy. Adam Peters, the new GM, his 1989 black Lincoln Continental with the maroon crushed velvet interior, moonroof, 8-track player. It was on my radar immediately. I knew that something was up. Where was he going in this car? Where was he parking? What was he using it for? And he was using it to check out these quarterbacks because there's no doubt in my mind that the commanders will be taking a quarterback. The question is, which one? And Caleb Farley going to be off the board. That's fine. But this draft, it starts it, too, with Adam Peters, and he's got to get this right. New organization, new owner, new times. New quarterbacks got to come through. And when they got rid of Sam Howell, I felt like that was a very interesting shift because most mock drafts out there have the commanders taking Jaden Daniels. Most people right now talking about the commanders and surrounding the Commander's organization seem pretty, pretty steady on Jaden Daniels, the Heisman winner. That's the most popular pick, and it would go well with their offensive coordinator, their new one there, Cliff Kingsbury, because it's the same type of quarterback that he had in Arizona with Kyler Murray.

However, the Pelraiser, I wouldn't normally out my sources like this, but Pelraiser came right out and said it himself. So I'll let you guys know what he said. He said that of all the decision-makers he was talking to at the owners meetings, they think that Washington will go JJ McCarthy.

That would shake it up. Okay.

Is this legitimate? Is it a smokescreen? It is a classic smokescreen season right now, so you got to watch your back. You don't know who's giving you bad information, who's the actual NARC. You have to really wait what you're hearing and triple source check everything. Every time. But in this line of work, sometimes You don't have that luxury. So when the commanders sent Sam Howell to Seattle, that made me think and made me believe that they will be drafting Drake May because Drake May and Sam Howell were best friends, former UNC teammates. Interesting. That was one of May's best friends, his mentor. They obviously played together, so it felt real spicy when the commanders who, for all of these years, stood by their man, Sam Howell, and then right before the draft, send them packing to Seattle. Got to get them out of the building. Scramps, seeing? Yeah.

That's rich. That's a rich bit of evidence right there.

That Jeremiah cat.

Yeah, he's...

I got some stuff on him. Can it be trusted? I don't know.

On the outside, he appears to be of high That's a squeaky clean.

They call him the Wholesome Assassin. He's got Drake May going there as well. If that is indeed what happens, and it is Caleb Williams and Drake May 1, 2, that takes us to the New England Patriots. I'm hip to this Mark Sessler cat. He's all over this.

This was a fortress for many, many years, New England. Bill Belichick was a person that allowed no other sources in the building because he essentially played all the roles himself. Anyone that did investigate too far, they're gone.

Bye-bye.

Were you an innocent little ball boy?

This is a true story. At Patriot's headquarters, they have a backhoe that has the Pat's logo on it that they use to break ground and bury people.

Openly, because that was, again, it was a fortress. The Stateies were in their back pocket.

It was tough. Different era.

They were bought off in many cases.

I'd say- Directed that documentary will be another test case of the might of the Patriot Way.

Signetian friends see something different right now, though. What do they see? I see that the walls of the fortress have willingly and openly come down to some degree. And what would have been a monumental investigation, for me, looks to me just to be a situation with multiple unknown final solutions. But I'm going to guide you to what I think will happen here.

Okay, take us.

Jirad Mayo has been... We don't need to triple source when Gerard Mayo is telling you things himself. I think here's the difference between Gerard Mayo and 88 % of the coaches out there. He's openly said, I don't know how good of He said, I don't know how good of a head coach I'll be. I don't know if my general manager can do it. We don't know yet. He said, Basically, look, we are still a team that needs so many things. They need an offensive tackle, wide receiver, quarterback, running back, defense. So He already is quarterback to get one. But he has talked highly about Jacobi Brissette, and I think this is a team because they need so much, and he's asked for patience, that they want to create the environment where they can grow with maybe multiple draft picks. I think that because of what happens at number two, again, the future is somewhat of an unknown element.

A beautiful mystery, Aaron Rodgers. Absolutely.

I think that trading down might be their preference because I think then the Patriots, Jacobi So Ruiper Set can get you through this season, and you could acquire multiple draft picks and start to rebuild a team that lacks weapons all over the place. And I think he's very open to that. This is not a one-person operation. I'm leaning in that direction right now, overtaking the third quarterback in the draft that they may not be in love with. All right.

And your study of the reporting around the team indicates a willingness to do that. Now, my question that I'd have for Signetti and his associates, the Patriots had the stomach to potentially pass on an instant game changer at three when we know, A, moving back, however far you move back, gives you less of a chance of addressing that position effectively, and B, we already know there's not a lot of hype around the cats at the quarterback position next year. It's hard for me to imagine that the Pats are going to look this opportunity in the eye and say, We're going to build the roster in a different way. I think they're going to take a swing here. I really feel that.

I think it's a possibility, but I do think this, that they just parted ways with a very highly drafted quarterback, and I believe they want to create a better environment for who they bring in. I'm not worried about next year's draft class, and I don't think they are yet. If it was anyone, it would be Jaden Daniels, but you've got to see who falls to them. I don't think it could be just the third guy they like off the board.

Unless it's JJ McCarthy and they go ahead with their Michigan quarterback. That would fit.

Michigan quarterback comes in. I don't think he's going to be there. I agree. I think he may go number two, actually. That factored into my investigation.

See the Patriots then passing on the presumed number two pick. That would be a whole ton of guts and it would leave them wide open for second guessing. I'll just say this. You mentioned they took a big swing on Mac Jones. It was a first-round pick, but it was the 15th overall pick. Now they're living up in the penthouse of the draft at number three. When's the last time the Patriots have been up there with a chance to take a quarterback. We'll see. We'll see. I'm not refuting anything Signetti and his people.

I would say unlike the Chicago report and maybe even the Washington, that the Patriots are the first. They could go A or B, and we need more time in this investigation to some degree.

Which takes us to the Cardinals. What are they saying, Siggs?

The Cardinals control the entire draft, in my opinion, because we get it. We're running out of quarterbacks at number 4. The Cardinals, I was looking this up and mentioned this before the show, and this is what creates the conundrum in our investigation. They need a wide receiver. They need an edge rusher. They need a cornerback. They need defensive line. They need offensive tackles. They need interior offensive line. That's your entire offensive line. They need linebackers, running backs, quarterbacks, a quarterback, tight end, safety, punter, kicker, and long snapper.

I agree with everything you just said, except for quarterback.

That's crucially-Like a backup quarterback. But Crucially.

That's deep down the list. But crucially, Siggs.

That's deep down the list.

They don't need a quarterback, which is what I think what you're getting at here.

They don't need a quarterback, but look at their wide receiver room right now. Michael Wilson, good number 2, developmental guy, maybe 2.3. Greg Dorch, Zack Pascal. You have Marvin Harrison Jr. Sitting there. I think what Cardinals fans want for Kyler Murray and what they want for their team after... Not unlike others, they passed on Adrian Peterson back in the day. They passed on Terrell Sugs back in the day. These are like arrows that stick in Cardinal's psyche going way back. Now, the bloodline of Marvin Harrison is dropping to you at number 4, presumably. Yet my investigation tells me that GM Monteausenfort, just like last year, is very willing for a team with all those needs to trade down. This is where I think the trade down happens, and this is where I believe that At the Denver Broncos, it was Sean Payton who called Monty Austin Fort one of the luckiest guys around, and realistically saying that this is where someone-Are you stepping on your mock draft, Mark?

Be careful here.

Stepping on my own mock draft? Yeah.

I think this is- That's Frank Signetti.

Frank, you stepping on Mark's mock draft? This is where, and I believe, I think trade activity is going to be wild in the first five picks. I think the Patriots could be doing it. But if the The Broncos, for instance, can get a better offer from the Cardinals and don't believe the Patriots would take their quarterback, but that's danger zone. I think the Cardinals are trading the pick down. There's a number of people, the Vikings, the Broncos that could trade up. I really think the Vikings are here.

I love where you're coming from, Connie or Frank, too.

Frank, 3.0..

It makes so much sense because that's the point I was trying to make was that if they were a team that needed a quarterback and they're in the top five, take a swing at a quarterback or even move up to get a quarterback you want. But they have this ability to build the team with high-level picks and trading out of that spot to accumulate. They make so much sense. And getting the best wide receiver on the board. Also, you couldn't kill them for it, but they could still get a big-time wide receiver in addition to multiple extra first picks, including potential first-round picks. Bingo.

But you could kill them for drafting a wide receiver in that spot because this This draft is so stacked, so deep with wide receiver talent. It's all pointing to it. With all of those needs that they have, trade down, you're still going to get an incredible wide receiver and some other amazing blue-chip players.

Unless they see that wide receiver. We're all in lockstep that it feels like an offensive skill player here. They're so in love with him. They see him as a Hall of Fame talent. If they see another Larry Fitzgerald on the board, in their opinion, maybe, how can you kill him? If they're that strong and that feeling that they're getting, because that could change that whole organization and give Kyler a reboot.

Interesting.

Yep.haleen Signetti.Here.

We go.

Okay. Another interesting team. I'd love to know what you've seen, what you've heard, who you're talking to, back-to-back diner stuff.

Los Angeles Chargers. So many diners. I've been to so many diners so many years actually investigating this team. It seems like they always They just have a nose for trouble. They're always getting themselves into these situations, and following them over the years, it's like they can't get out of their own way. So this time, though, it feels different. It feels like they got to get this draft right with Jim Harbaugh there now, because he might have Joe Horitz sleep him with the fishes if this does not pan out correctly. If this first round pick, which, I mean, that is the most crucial one, and I feel like there's been plenty of clues as far as what they might do, but a real breakthrough at the owners meetings when Jim Harbaugh was talking about that fifth pick and how excited he was to have it. He said, Hey, if four quarterbacks don't go in a row, he said, Maybe there's still another quarterback where we are when the fifth pick comes around and somebody wants to, and then stopped himself. He said, Again, that'd be like having the number one pick for us, but it seems like he wants to trade down.

And if he does, plenty of options here. You can acquire picks from a quarterback, Desperate Team. You can get a wide receiver because look at their current wide receiver group. I mean, Quentin Johnson, Josh Palmer, Darius Davis, Bayoco. This is not Keenan Allen and Mike Williams anymore. They're gone.

They stripped the entire cupboard. That's it.

So maybe They do end up getting a Marvin Harrison Jr. If the Cardinals opt to trade out of that spot. I mean, Harbault knows him well from coaching at Michigan, having to face Ohio State so many times, and what Marvin Harrison did to him and his teams at Michigan wasn't good. But also maybe he goes Joe Alt. Maybe he gets the best offensive tackle out there, gives someone that can protect Justin Herbert after all of the injuries that we've seen from Herbert over years, plus the run game that Jim Harbaugh is absolutely in love with. Maybe he goes with someone up front. But I could also see them grabbing a tight end this high because Brock Bowers, one of the most talented ever. And in the AFC West, where the chargers are, and they're constantly playing the Chiefs and looking at a guy like Travis Kelsi, you have George Kittle out there who played in the Super Bowl as well. Tight ends are different now, and this guy can catch, he can run block, he can do it all. He's a good route runner as well. Jim Harbaugh loves a good tight end, and that's one right there.

Okay, interesting.

This is the team with serious history at the tight end position, Kelen Winslet, senior. Antonio Gates. That would be a stunner. This one, to me, Signetti, really screams to me. We're drinking bad coffee in a rundown down there.Black..

On the wrong side of town. There's no cream. There's no sugar.

Screams to me, Alt, the tackle that aligns with what Harbault is looking to do. Is anything you're reading, seeing anywhere about JJ McCarthy, the quarterback?

No. Harbaugh. No. Harbaugh has Justin Herbert.

I know, but what if?

What if?

Well, in that case, you-That would break the case wide open.

Well, and we have discussed-It would. We have discussed-Case of the 2024 Annabelle Dread. Whispers on this front before, or maybe they were self-created whispers on just trying to see the possibilities.

Isn't it just weird, the timing of it all, that you would think Harbaugh is an intense dude that just spent all these years at Michigan, and maybe he loves that kid, and it just so happens that he's there.

If that's how you felt, I think what you have to do is find a way to make a blockbuster franchise altering trade of Justin Herbert to one of the teams above you because JJ is not going to be there at number 5. We have every clue in the book is telling us that he is someone that is not going to be available.

You have a clue book? I feel like that would be helpful. Can I get that?

Can I read? The tea leaves are burning. Jj is long gone by then. That would make the chargers who seem like a trade-down candidate have to trade up.

I know chargers fans are screaming, Don't even bring this up. It's ridiculous. But that's what we got to do because we're outside the mainstream right now. You have to think in a different way.We're in the underground.We're in the underground. We're in the underground, and we're just wondering about that.

That's right.

So a tight end, maybe a tackle.

Wide receiver. Wide receiver.

Maybe the biggest trade of the last 14 years.

That would shake things up.

Really would.

Let's take a break, and we'll hit the rest of the back. Ten. Take that bass for a walk. Hey, Joe, come in slow on the high hat. Billy Bob, tickle them, Ivries. Hey, Sam, make that horn sick. Okay, we're back.

Why do I feel uncomfortable?

Number six. All right. Number six.

We got the Giants. All right. I've been up here all over the Jersey Turmpike.

Up and down.

That drive, it's a lonely drive. It's a grueling drive. But it's time to really go over the clues, the cold cases, the various hunches you might have. You just got time, time to think to yourself.

Sometimes it's the worst thing to do. You're all alone with your own thoughts.

But it's all part Part of the investigation, all part of the job. And part of that was to hear what John Mara had to say about Joe Shane and Brian Dabal going into year three together at the owners meetings. That's what I needed to hear.

What are the big I'd say.

Well, John Mara came out and said, If Joe Shane and Brian Dabal have conviction on a quarterback at the top of the draft, he supports going in to get him. He's still confident in Daniel Jones, but says, Why not bring in someone to compete and let the best man win? He also said that it's ridiculous the Giants haven't fixed their offensive line after all these years. So I don't know. Maybe one of these could be a red herring. You don't know.

I thought it was very notable that the big man, Mara, seemingly gave the green light to make a move on QB. Exactly.

Because one would I think, all right, on the surface, you're going to go wide receiver. You don't have any. Maybe go Malik Nabors. Just like Odell, you get a wide receiver one from LSU. Repeat history a little bit. They haven't had a 1,000-yard receiver since they traded away Odell. But I just don't know if that... I don't feel that is the correct way that they're going to go. They could go Joe Alt again there if he's still on the board and to fix that offensive line, but that doesn't feel right either. I think what ends up happening, I think the Giants, they don't draft a quarterback where they are. They move up.

Another move, another trade.

We've got five or six teams moving up with this move.

But I think they move up with the Patriots, and I think that they take Drake May at three, and that's what ends up happening.

I could dig it.

That lines up with what I've been feeling and hearing about the Patriots based on the whispers. Really?

Well, that's what I'm suggesting. Frank, tell me more.

Two Franks. The Patriots were candidates to trade down, and you got the Giants. These two patriots, these two teams feel linked to I think Mara is basically saying, I'd be open to it, but anyone wise enough knows that you're not getting that guy at number six, so you've got to do something different. I think Daniel Jones, no matter what they say with their pretty little words, is yesterday's news in the Meadowlands.

Tennessee Titans. That number seven.

I was told by our friend Chris Wesley that the Tennessee Titans were in the Midwest. As I steered my vehicle down through the country, I don't fly. I just wind the car down to think, to process.

Do you have Madden mobile?

It's an old beat-up Jalopy, and I switch cars every three months. Smart. They come from parts unknown.

You got a whole trunk full of license plates.Cell.

Phones.yes.passeports..

What's a cell phone?

Don't have one.

Tennessee, in my world, is in the south, so I solved that investigation for myself. Done. You know, Signetti is 58 years old. When we used to talk about him, he was in his late 40s, but he's got a lot on his plate, and he's humble enough to get help sometimes. Because my investigation of the Titans, here's a team that new coaching staff hired a bunch of parts off the free agency list. Calvin Ridley, Tony Pollard. They don't blow me away, but they still have one burning knee. They were the worst offensive line, arguably in football over the last two seasons. And this is where I believe, because the Giants are going to do what we think before, here sits your left tackle, Joe Alt. But I like to lean on some my best sources. And I had someone who was willing to go on the record directly. And here it is. What's up, fellows? Gravedigger here. I want to give my take on what the Titans will do in the top 10 of the draft this year. Look, there is no secret. They need a left tackle.

They've addressed many of their needs in free agency.

Still have a big hole at inside linebacker. Probably need a safety. Probably need someone else on the D-line. You're not taking that in the first round, I don't think. If Joe Alt, the tackle out of Notre Dame, is on the board, I think you write it in ink, he is the Titans' pick.

If he's not there, maybe they look to go Dallas Turner on the edge.

Maybe they look at the second best tackle, someone like Olufashanu. There's reports that they love J. C. With him. I think the Titans have to get a tackle here. Rancarthon recently said it's a deep tackle class. There will be guys available throughout the draft, but I don't know if you can risk it. You got to find out if Will Lovis is the guy. They've done a great job surrounding him with pieces and weapons. Building up that defense, trading for Lejarius Sneed. The last missing piece here is a stalwart left tackle. If Joe Alt is on the board at seven, I think he is the Titans' pick.

I'm hip to that cat. I'll tell you one more thing about the Gravedigger. That Titan's helmet moves real quick in circles behind him.

Just spinning around. Spinning.

I mean, he's on that beat, and he's been on it for a long time.

That's the wrong side of the track.

That was a thorough autopsy that he did on the Titans.

He's the Gravedigger.That was Here. He's doing a lot of different jobs.

He has his fingerprints on everything.

The postmortem side of things makes a lot of sense. You know what else makes sense at number 8?

What?

The Falcons.

What do they have going on?

One of our favorite draft tropes. Teams who draft all on one side of the ball to make a point. The Falcons could be one of those this year on the defensive side. The quandary they face in my conversations, in my research, in my fearless ability to just go to places other people fear to tread.

Train tracks. You're going across them.

Right across those tracks. Is there a train coming? Not even checking.

Doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter. Not your concern? Mm-mm.

Kind It would be my concern if I went at the wrong moment.

You'd find out a second too late.

The train stops for Signetti. Signetti doesn't stop for the train.

I hope it stops. I hope Frank makes... Anyway, the quandary they face is whether to take the sure thing at number 8, and let's be serious about this, the draft board is set up beautifully for this team because of their needs, which on the other side of the football where the top of this draft is living, and they are set at quarterback, and they have the quarterback, they have the wide receiver talent. So do they trade back? That makes a lot of sense. Try to fill multiple holes. Perhaps more sensible. You really got to trust your football people. You're going to move out of the top 10 here. But in the end, and I'm reading just in the frustration around the organization that I imagine is also happening inside the walls of flowery branch. The curse of John Abraham is strong there. And what a curse it is. I think it's going to be too much to ignore for Terry Fontey and Rahim Morris. I pulled up the John Abraham pro football reference.

You did?

Something smelled rotten.

What did you find?

Well, as we talked about in the show, John Abraham started his career with the Jets. He left as a free agent after the 2005 season. The Jets have been looking for an edge rusher, really, ever since. Now it's the Falcons who saw him leave in free agency after the 2012 season. They've been looking for an edge rusher since it's Abraham that ties the whole conspiracy together. I think the Falcons with a plethora of pass rushers at their disposal, will not move. They're going to say, We've had enough of this waiting game for the next Abraham, and we'll take the cat that we like most. I'm not even going to tell you they're going to take. There are a lot of mock draughts out there that have big-time edge rushers staring at them, so they're going to have their pick of the litter, most likely. I think that's what they do. They take the best pass rusher. It could be the first defensive player off the board, and that's the move they make. Everything I'm reading tells me this team thinks that they could really contend in that conference if they hit on a big edge rusher, use the rest of that draft to continue to build out the defense, and then hope Rahim could build it up further once he has a roster.

I think that's what they do. I got a tipster telling me Dallas Turner might be their guy at Alabama.

That is the guy at Edge, and there aren't a lot of That makes sense. I think if you're Rahim Morris and you're working well with Terry Fonho, you've come in quickly, you've found the quarterback that they lacked in these frustrating last three years. You're now killing curses that have plagued the Falcons for a long time, and you give Rahim Morris his guy.

Which takes us to the ninth pick, and we're back with the Chicago Bears. The Monsters of that Midway. These cats are feeling good about themselves because they took Caleb Williams at number one. So now what? Now, we know they got Keenan Allen at receiver, and talking to some people and reading some things. They weren't expecting that. They said, they're on record, Ryan Polz, the GM said, Keenan Allen, he popped up. It wasn't something that they had been working on for weeks. It wasn't on their radar until the chargers realized they had to move on. They called it a quote that's per The Athletic, a really cool opportunity.

That's a hard bullet quote.

From where we are headed, which is going to be, hang on, missed the quote. They called it a really cool opportunity. That popped up. They made the move, Keenan Allen. I think wide receiver was an option at nine, and I think it's more likely they move away at this point from that group, even though there's going to potentially be some, or there will be still big-time names there. Then I think about the defense. They are trying to figure out with their defensive line. You have Matt Iberflus was on the record saying that you need an interior defensive line and an interior defensive lineman that could be a major impact player. Gurvan Dexter, second-year player, former second-round pick. They liked his development, but would they look for a hog Molly at the top of this round? I think that could be it as well. I think you look on the defensive side of the ball with this team. I think you're going to see that's where they end up going.

I like it. I like it. A lot of eyewitness accounts have been also saying that they've seen some things that might lead you to believe that that's the direction they're going in, but only Signetti is really truly knowing.

I think also Signetti, he's a great judge of character and how people transform and change. I get the sense that Fluce is going to get his way because this has been in the last couple of weeks and months, he's grown a beard and changed his hair a little bit. He just looks confident. He feels like-Or he's going to go on the run. Well, there's that, too. We'll hunt him down if that happens. It feels like an odd time to leave the bears as head coach compared to other scenarios coaches have been in. But we'd be tailing them.

We got our eye on them. She takes us finally to number 10, the New York Jets. I think the entire football industry was locked in on these cats going for an offensive lineman after the disaster that was their line last season, Aaron Rodgers' injury, which, by the way, came, not to pile on poor Dwyane Brown, but came on a missed block on the fourth play of the season that led to the Achilles injury. But then they went out and they got Tyron Smith, and they added two other starters, in addition to Smith, in free agency in one week. Now it makes people think, Oh, they're done at offensive line. They could be. There's a lot of people connecting to that Bauer's kid, the tight-end. I know the Jets have a bit of a cursed history at tight end in the first round. So I'd be a little jumpy about that if I were them. If there's a big-time wide receiver, Mike Williams, I know they added Mike Williams. But that's a one-year deal, potentially. I wouldn't rule out them going after a wide receiver here, but I do think they might surprise people and stay with the initial plan and take an offensive tackle, the best guy on the board.

They're not going to get Alt. If Alt was still there, they would run up to the podium, but he should be long gone by 10. I think they take the second best lineman on the board, somebody that they like a lot, and it gives you that injury protection on the line and a successor to Tyron Smith or whomever they decide to plug this guy in. He'll find a role quickly because guess what? Offensive lineman get injured. You know who else gets injured? Older offensive linemen. I still think it's a major need for this team, and I think they still end up taking Hog Molly offensive linemen.

I like that. I think that Joe Douglas does not want to mess around with that entire position group. I do find it interesting, and I know you have a hot and cold relationship with this fellow draft investigator, Daniel Jeremiah. I'm sure he's hearing things, and I can't think of someone that seems more closely linked to Joe Douglas here and there. This could just be him creating something that's going to get clicks. I don't think so, but he has them trading up in his latest mock to number 5 with the Chargers to get Marvin Harrison Jr.

I believe that the mock draft came out a day before the Mike Williams trading.

I would say that… Just to Just because you have Mike Williams, Tyron Smith and Mike Williams are both players that you can count on for maybe 10 or 11 games a season, and you're going to lose them from structure. If you can do this, or even if it's Roma Dunzé, I'd just say if they had it in their head that there's some whisper that we're going to try this, then you have Marvin Harrison Jr as a Hall of Fame potential talent for the next half decade. It's not even about Aaron Rodgers. You just have someone to pair with. You'd have the best wide receiver tandem in the AFC.

Well, I have a little bit situation that I'm working on right now, that a little bit of a lead. Usually, my sparrows will sing like canaries when I ask them about what's going on, specifically- These improv classes are really paying off.

Oh, God. I haven't done it in 10 years.

Get off my back. However, I will say that from a very reliable source, at the owners meetings, there was a very heated conversation between Woody and Robert Zala, to the point where it was a little awkward.

Spicy.

What were they arguing about?

Where was this? Tell us more.

At the owners meetings. At the-At the party? At the party last night.

I'm surprised this happened in public.

We got some developing news here. Did we just make news?

I'm just saying that... Hey, who knows? It could have been about anything. Maybe they were disagreeing on how they liked their steak cooked. Doubt that, though.

Probably not anything.

Very interesting. An argument between the head coach and the owner.

Wouldn't say argument. Just a heated passionate exchange. What were they discussing? That is the latest lead.

You did your source, set it to the... It reached a point where it was almost awkward.

A little awkward.

So was it around In the midst of a larger group, or was it off to the side? What made it awkward?

I think just the body language, potentially.

Or the fact that a coach is arguing with an owner, which I don't think I've ever seen at a bar.

Were they alone having the argument, or were they part of a-I'm not saying it's an argument. Saying it was a-Excusing. The heated exchange, the passionate exchange.

Yes, a lively conversation.

Were they on their own having this conversation, or was it part of a larger group?

It was two of What was that about?

That's-or to come.signet he does.

My guess might have been potentially about this very conversation we're having right now, the number 10 overall.

Well, the love that's been unearthed.

Going to hop in the Lincoln Continental with the moonroof. Drive on down to wherever they are.

The Lincoln continent. Let's take a break. It will wrap up.

All right, we're back. The show is continuing.

For God's sakes. Thank you, Mark. All right, there we go. That was the Signetti breakdown of the-That was absurd. The top 10. But I'm still That was a little bit of a bomb. That was developing news, I thought. And again, it wasn't an argument.

And let me just be clear. Just heated conversation. And was not last night, was Sunday night. So two nights ago, Sunday night.

But just so we have the setting correct, they have the owner's meetings, and then there's, and we've been a part of this party in the past. There's a large party on an open lawn type set up.

It was that party, not like a separate bar type late night out. It was that party.

It was not the big party that was last That's like the... Oh, so it wasn't that party? No. It was Sunday night, and it was, according to my source, super awkward.

It's observed by many people, then I would assume, or multiple, multiple.

Well.

That could be anything, obviously.

Well, there's smoke, there's fire.

They could have been arguing over, I don't know, the Who versus Led Zeppelin.

I don't think I would dismiss things like that.

The fruit of the Year contest that Dave Damoschek used to run.

Could have been the Fruit of the Year. Yeah. I mean, we don't know.

When's the last time Woody Johnson went into a grocery store and felt fruit and find out that really come up?

He's definitely hit the way room. It looks beefy. It could have been about that. It could have been about Zack Wilson.

Because by the way-The comments that Woody Johnson made that make no sense for the way that team needs to proceed.

Woody, as we quickly addressed in the 8:00 came out and said a few weeks back that our season was ruined because we didn't have a quarterback, making it very clear that they didn't think highly of Zack Wilson, and they were moving on, and then walked it back at the owners meetings in a way that was very, obviously transparent, saying, Oh, we'd have him back. Sure. It was like, No. Could it be about that?

We don't know. That would make some sense, though, because I think that whole thing burned down everyone, quarterback, coached, GM. It's like, you're doing that Also, owners and head coaches, I'm sure, in every building, but heads from time to time, but in a public setting.

That's Signetty at his-Now, how public this was, I don't know, but it was seen.

Keep sleuthing.

Colleen, what a morning into afternoon for you.

I know.

You've done it again. You've said it all.

Thank you. It's great to be back with you guys.

And yes, we'll be... There she is, the call. And we'll be back on Thursday with the great... Uh-oh.

Oh, man. I always get so excited when I hear it.

He lost part of his sugar. It's the one that hits the button. We're not hard on him about it. We just understand it's a thing that we work with. What's up, Eric? It was the slow jazz of the whole entire show. Just lulled me to sleep back here. Click on the trigger. I'm looking for the close button and just...

I'm sorry we're boring you.

I'm just saying it I was really relaxed.

I wasn't on my toes like I usually am, so I jumped to another folder. So it had nothing to do with the missing portion of the thumb? No. Good. How was that going on?

Like 96% back.

No way. That's great.

Human body is crazy. Human body, ladies and gentlemen.

A miracle.

Let's go. Yeah, so we'll be back. We have a special guest joining us on Thursday's show, Connor Orr. We're going to have some fun with Connor. But until then, thank you, Connie. Thank you for listening. Thank you, Frank Signetti, wherever you are. And he the call.