Pine Pony Podcast
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Pine Pony Podcast
Pre-Draft Playbook: AFC East & West 2025
Welcome to the latest episode of the Pine Pony Podcast! This week, the OG and Fantasy Uncle Pershin dive into recent free agency moves, the MLS updates, and look ahead to the NFL draft. We discuss the needs and current statuses of the AFC East and West teams, including the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots, Jets, Chiefs, Chargers, Broncos, and Raiders. We also touch on the controversial decision by Joe Burrow to insist on signing Jamar Chase and Tee Higgins. Tune in for some lively chatter and insightful commentary on the upcoming NFL season!
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Welcome, welcome, welcome to another edition of the pine pony podcast. It's me, the OG along my, by my side, I got the fantasy uncle Persian. What's happening.
Pershin:Howdy. Howdy. Glad to be back for another installment. Talk about a few more free agency moves. Look ahead to the draft. Love it. Love it. Love it.
Jason:Absolutely. You got to roll through the AFC East and West, and then a couple of other sports. And other fun stuff to talk about. So let's get on into it. Let's start the show.
The Pied Pony Podcast.
Jason:All right. So open up the show with, let's talk about the MLS. It has been Matt today. Three has come and come and gone or match day four has come and gone, I guess. Yeah, Charlotte one. They won two to zero. It was pretty decisive. Second, first half was zero zero, second half, they opened it up with like two goals within, you know, five minutes of each other. And you know, they're just looking really dangerous on the front half when they can do what they want to do. They're hard to break down. They're one of the tougher teams to break down defensively. So, they like to play in transition. And just, you know, take you for a ride with Patrick Ajumman, who's just a ginormous forward. He's huge. And he's just, he's, he's so nasty. And then the signing of Zaha was a huge signing cause he, he's not afraid to, to kick the ball, which I felt last year we were afraid to kick the ball. And everything wanted to be pretty. So it was like, now we finally got somebody who's just ready to just throw the ball at the net and see what happens.
Pershin:Yeah, for sure. I mean, I'm certainly no soccer expert, but I do believe that to be good as a soccer team, you probably want to be. Comfortable kicking the ball.
Jason:Yes. Yes. In fact, that's a theory. I know. Messy made his debut at Miami. And of course he just did. I mean, like, you know, there are some people who, when they play. If they take a couple games off, it's like they, they got to wake back up and like knock the rust off
Pershin:and
Jason:then there are just some people who it could take a couple games off and just come right back in. Like nothing happened. And he's one of those guys. He. I mean, he just does crazy things with the ball. And I mean, he just scores every time it's like he scores every game.
Pershin:It is like pretty astounding. I don't know actually what his age is at this point, but I just feel like he has been at the top of the sport for so long now it's, it's like, he must be like the Tom Brady of soccer at this point.
Jason:Right. He's he's my age. He's 37. I am older than messy by. Two months.
Pershin:Yes. And wiser than Messi. Older and
Jason:wiser. June 24th, 1987. There we go.
Pershin:Yeah. If only you could kick the ball as well as he could.
Jason:If only. If only I could kick the ball. He is
Pershin:secretly jealous of your two months of extra wisdom though.
Jason:Yes. Yes. MIT ball coach. He's
Pershin:not going to say it in a presser, but we all know.
Jason:He desperately wants to be able to coach T ball like I can.
Pershin:Oh, for sure. I'm desperately wishing I could coach t ball,
Jason:but, but nonetheless, the Eastern conference standings top four are Miami with 10 points, the Philadelphia union with nine points Columbus with eight points and Charlotte with seven points. Look at air, look at air. And then on the Western conference, Vancouver with 12, San Diego with eight, San Diego is a new team. New squad. Wow. Really cool. Vancouver's got
Pershin:12. They're kicking ass.
Jason:Yeah. They they've won all four of their games, three points a game. Nice. Three times four is 12. It is how you do math. St. Louis, Colorado all have eight with San Diego. So, you know, Early on, we've got a lot more games. They've got other inner league game, like out, you know, cups that they're going to play in between the season. So lots of football, lots of footy. If you, if you can stand it, I
Pershin:know
Jason:I can. All right. Moving on to the TGL. I kind of forgot this thing was the thing. And I heard about it on the radio today. You remember the golf league, right? Is is this the indoor golf league?
Pershin:The the shady Iranian money
Jason:Golf League? No. No. No. Yeah, yeah. No. Oh, okay. No, that is God, I can't even remember that one, but.
Pershin:Oh, wait, is this the video damn one?
Jason:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The tiger woods. Exactly. Apparently it's doing really well. Nice. And ratings they said are above expectations. Well, we have reached the finals. And the two teams in the finals are the Atlanta drive versus the New York golf club and the Atlanta drive team is Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantley, Billy Horschel, Lucas Glover, and the New York golf club is Matt Fitzpatrick, Ricky Fowler, Xander Shoffley, and Cameron Young. I like the, I like those guys on the New York golf club, so maybe I'll root for them, but it's a best of three. So Yeah. Cool. You get three rounds over the course of three days, if necessary, which is, I think, a little, a little drawn out, but you know, whatever. So yeah, but apparently the games have gotten a lot closer because teams have figured out how the grain of the turf works and how it works with their ball and the club. And they've just kind of zeroed in on how, you know, the, everything, you know, how the ball speeds move and all of that stuff and. Yeah. I wonder if, if like next season they'll change like the, the green, like it'd be a different green.
Pershin:So, yeah. So that, that way there'll be like a, a new learning curve and it, it, the meta, if you will, won't have to be stale or anything.
Jason:Right. Right. Exactly.
Pershin:Could be, could be a cool advantage that it would have to over traditional greens, you know, where,
Jason:or home green advantage.
Pershin:Oh, if
Jason:each team had like, and they don't have to have different arenas. Like maybe each team had a certain. Green that they could roll in or something, you know, that could be interchangeable within, you know, yeah,
Pershin:they could have like a veto system where it's like, I think this is your strongest one. So we won't, we won't do the tournament on, on this won't be in the rotation or it's,
Jason:yeah, or it's just the home turf, home teams, turf, you know, whatever. But nonetheless, we'll see. It might adapt. It might evolve moving on sports betting. I saw something on the news. That just blew my mind. I was flabbergasted. Oh, wow. If you will. Yeah. So sports betting is you could imagine is really, really bad. It's, it's rampant. It's like fentanyl. This guy said that he He, he was so, he was like 19 years old and he was so bad, like into it. Like addicted? Yeah. Like he would go over to his girlfriend's house and he would go into the bathroom and sit on the toilet and, and place bets. And they asked him how much he had placed in that one sitting. And he said 2, 000 in bets.
Pershin:Wow. Yeah. That's a bad idea, man. Right. Well, if you're going to be firing them off willy nilly, they need to be like 5 bets, bro.
Jason:Well, and here's the thing is like, you know, DraftKings and all that, they have like data, they collect all your data of like how, where you're betting, how, how your betting habits are so that they know what they can throw at you. And then, you know, if you become a VIP, like they'll send you to like football games and all this stuff to like. It's like, Oh, cool. But then, you know, some of them, you know, some people have won 200, 000 and they've said, Oh, it wasn't correct. And, you know, they denied the, the winnings and.
Pershin:It's like a technicality or something.
Jason:Yeah. They, they claimed it was a technicality issue.
Pershin:Damn.
Jason:It was just like but anyway, the part that I'm flabbergasted about is at overnight in the U S Poland is having Table tennis matches and people are gambling on table tennis at like
Pershin:3
Jason:and 4 a. m. And I'm, dude, what I'm telling you, like these people, I know it's not funny, but it's this one dude. This one dude put 35, 000 on one match between two dudes in a fucking basement. This was a, a official table tennis tournament match in a, in a basement. He doesn't know the first
Pershin:thing about this tennis, table tennis league. So
Jason:here, okay, so here it is, the official numbers in Oregon, in Oregon, the top four most gambled upon sports in Oregon, basketball with 138 million. Football was 74 million, baseball was 66 million, and table tennis was 57 million.
Pershin:Wow! 57 million for table tennis! Damn!
Jason:And you can live bet, like you can live bet like who wins the next round. Point. Oh
Pershin:God, that doesn't even sound fun at that point. That, that just sounds like a stomach ache while I'm trying to get to bed. Like, dude,
Jason:I didn't even know you could do like all that lie. Like I knew you could do like some live betting, but I didn't know you could do like, really like, I think it's like a state by state thing
Pershin:right
Jason:now.
Pershin:But I mean, Oh man, that is, that is wild. I
Jason:gotta watch out for your kids because then they got, they also have. This one website called, called Fizz and it's like fizzy fizzle coins.
Pershin:Oh my god, is it like crypto shit?
Jason:It's fake money. It's, it's quote unquote fake money that you can turn into real money, but it's for people 18 and up because it's not real money.
Pershin:Wow.
Jason:Wow. Yeah. And it's like a social gambling.
Pershin:So they basically found a loophole.
Jason:Yes. Anyway, there's a whole John Oliver episode on it, but we don't need to spend any more time on that aspect. The other thing I want to talk about with the gambling is leading into March Madness, West Virginia got snubbed. UNC got in West Virginia. Governor has come to defend the West Virginia university by claiming Bubba Cunningham, who is the AD for North Carolina, who is also on the selection committee for the NCAA tournament, that he is claiming that Bubba Cunningham selected UNC to get in over West Virginia. In order to get a 7, 000 bonus by being the athletic director of the university of North Carolina, this guy makes 800, 000 a year.
Pershin:Damn, he makes 800,
Jason:000. I don't know. I don't know if he really cares about the 7, 000. But this is a crazy accusation. I mean, I do agree on his one point that it's like it feel like all the blue bloods get the benefit of the doubt all the time.
Pershin:Yeah.
Jason:No doubt. That needs to stop, but also at the same time In the NCAA tournament, you have 68 teams who make the, who make the fucking tournament, like, bro, if you didn't make the tournament, you didn't make the tournament. You stop it. Like how embarrassing would it have been for them to make the tournament and then lose on the first game?
Pershin:Right. Right. It's like, if you couldn't get into the top 68, even if one or two of them you feel like was bullshit. The fact that you would have been 70th in line means you ain't winning no fucking national championship. Shut up. Shut up. Right. Right.
Jason:Exactly. It's stupid. It's stupid. How stupid are you? But also like, you're the gov. Dude, you're the governor. You got a lot of other things to worry about than your university making. Yeah.
Pershin:I don't know. I don't know if you read the newspaper. Governor's a lot going on right now.
Jason:Yeah. I want to think about defending your citizens there, bud. And other UNC news real quick. Bill Belichick was spotted on the beach holding his girlfriend up with his legs. You know, you know how you like, you put your leg, you're on your back, and you've got her arms, and you've, you've got her feet on her back, and you, you hoist her up.
Pershin:Yes,
Jason:I do do that. Yes.
Pershin:Except for usually, I'm the one on top.
Jason:Right, right. Well, Bill Belichick. You know, just, I mean, how, and they got a picture. It's like the sun's in the, it's, it's beautiful. What love, what love, love is in the air. Oh boy. All right. Well, the brackets are officially out. We got the playing games happening right now. The four mentioned UNC controversial playing game.
Pershin:Yeah. They're
Jason:currently waiting 16 to 11. We got two more playing games tomorrow and then the official bracket of 68 starts on the 20th. You know, so this is ball clipping season, you know, this is
Pershin:the crotch, crotch madness, baby, crotch,
Jason:tie out some loosen. Yeah, man. I mean, you know, I don't watch a whole lot of college basketball, but you know, Clemson's supposed to be pretty good this season. They've, they could have won the ACC tournament, but they didn't. They lost in the semi final game by three points to Louisville. But you know, sometimes it's good to get that loss before you go into the big tournament. That way you kind of don't come in with a 10 game win streak and you're like, you know, you don't have any of that grit. You know, that, that gumption, you know, so, but yeah, man, so I got clips of winning it all. Hell yeah. Why not? They play McNeese. They play McNeese State. Like, why not? Why not? They actually do have a favorable bracket though. It's kind of like, I mean, in my opinion, you know, Houston's the number one seed and then Tennessee's the two. Kentucky's the three. I
Pershin:completely
Jason:disagree.
Pershin:I think they've got the hardest possible bracket because they're in that side of the bracket baby. Yeah, you don't want it.
Jason:Right, right. I mean, but Yeah, I mean We'll see, we'll see what happens with March Madness, I mean, let's
Pershin:go. I don't even know what is the mascot for McNeese State, what
Jason:are
Pershin:they? The McNeese State Rebels or something?
Jason:They are the Cowboys. Oh. We went over this many moons ago in our mascot. Did
Pershin:we, did we go over McNeese's date though?
Jason:I don't think we went that deep, did we? I don't know. I'll have to dig, I'll have to dig through the archives. Yeah. Anyway, well, you know, next week we'll have an update on, on the, on the madness that is March. That's right. All right. All right. Now in to the, what we all came here for the breakdown for the draft. So let's go ahead and start off with the AFC East. We'll start off with the bills. Draft position 30th. Cap number as of March 10th, 6 million open, about 6 million. They extended Josh Allen, Greg Rusaro, added Joey Bosa, Michael Hoyt, Larry Ogujabu, Josh Palmer, Derek Forrest, and Loviska Chantrell. Possible needs for the team for the draft, wide receiver, edge, cornerback, defensive tackle, safety. Yeah, they struggled in the run defense last year. They were good everywhere else, but run defense was awful, awful. They, they desperately need defensive line help, defensive tackle and edge. So that's where I suspect, especially in this draft, because it's a trenches, it's a meat and potatoes draft.
Pershin:Yeah. Yeah, I agree with the needs list for the most part. They definitely struggled against the run last season, but also part of that was really, it comes down to their defensive philosophy. Like a lot of times they really are inviting the opposing team to run. And I, I think for the most part, I agree with that strategy. But that being said, they still could use some beefier dudes of prior Rousseau is pretty good about getting after the quarterback, but doesn't add that much in the run game. And so I could totally see them going for a, you know, just a, a big tank to, to absorb some of those. You know rushing attempts better. I think that they kind of got an issue with what's his name? Elam, Kai, Kai ear, Elam. Is that his name? Chimera, whatever. I think that he's been a huge disappointment. And so I know you mentioned safety. I could see cornerback as well, basically the entire secondary or. Like a run stopping defensive tackle, I think would be the first things on the list. I, I, I, I kind of think that they're actually better Like at wide receiver than it would look on paper, but
Jason:right
Pershin:But certainly those defensive spots i'm looking at.
Jason:Yeah. Yeah, I mean I think You gotta fill those before you can look at wide receiver Because if you can get those shirt up, then you don't have to necessarily score as much.
Pershin:Yeah. I think that the expectation is still pretty high for Keon Coleman's second year Khalil Shakir underneath has proven himself very handy in that role, and then when you. When you sign guys like Curtis Samuel and Josh Palmer as sort of backup rotational guys, I think that that's probably a little bit above average. And you still got Dalton Kincaid. Yeah. And of course you got Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox that are being a lot of
Jason:those. And, you know, with, with it being a deep trenches draft, you know, you could see a lot of those wide receivers kind of falling, you know, further back in the draft than they probably normally would. And so maybe, maybe they'll pick somebody up in the later half. Is that all you got for the bills?
Pershin:Yeah. Yeah. I, I, I like what they've done in free agency. I don't know if you would plan on touching on that again, but I thought that the Joey Bosa pick was good and the Ogun Jovi pick was good. I think that they've made some wise sort of depth decisions there. And I, I, I expect them to be a contender once again.
Jason:Yeah, absolutely. I thought they kind of just retooled what they had and added a few good pieces, you know, can't complain to what they did. And I mean, you know, these things for the draft are needs, but they're not like, you know, glaring. They're not like, Oh, the end of the world, you know, they're not like these big gaping craters. Right, right, right, right. Exactly. Next team we got, we got the dolphins. Draft position number 13. Cap space as of as of right now, the way I'm looking at it is that they have done. They're in the whole three, 3 million. Yeah. So they, they got to dig. They got to dig out. They added James Daniels, Zach Wilson, Tarot, Dodson, he fought to Milla fondue, Nick Westbrook. Okay. And he, Alex Mattson, Quinn bell resigned. Elijah Campbell resigned. They lost Raheem mustard and Calais Campbell. As far as the draft needs, definitely looking at the offensive line, some guys in the secondary linebackers, I would even probably look at maybe a quarterback if I were them just to, I mean, you need it with the way to is, and then the way they've had injuries in the backup quarterbacks, they might need 10 quarterbacks. Yeah, it's like two
Pershin:seasons, two seasons in a row that they've had to go to the third in line, like,
Jason:yeah, so yeah, man, I, and I think this year, this is, they have to hit, they have to hit on these draft picks and they've got to, because. It's not working. I don't, this, this, this foursome isn't working anymore for me. Like Tyreek Hill's not, not, he's not that great anymore. Like he needs to like be good again.
Pershin:Yeah. I mean, last year, a lot of the media kind of gave him a pass because he, it was like playing through. Like a little bit of injury, but he said himself that he wasn't injured that bad. I mean, it really looked like he kind of lost the step and that's kind of scary for someone that really relies on their speed. I mean, that's his entire advantage. He he's not necessarily like a super crafty technician. I wouldn't say he's bad, but the point is that he wins with the quickness and the speed. Right. If he's losing even half a step, that's a huge. That's a huge deal. Now. I think the bigger deal and you already kind of spoke to this, but I think the bigger deal is that the offensive line really underperformed last season. They got to bring in some new dudes. They got to get better play from the offensive line. I mean, it really, they love to sort of use the past to set up the run. But the thing is. That doesn't matter so much if the run doesn't do anything, like even when defense were inviting the run and they had Devon Achan, who's super duper fast, they still couldn't break off many big plays like they had been in previous seasons, mostly just because the offensive line was doing so poorly. And it. You know, that entire offense is predicated on getting big holes open. You, you, you gotta have a good offensive line. So I did, yeah.
Jason:It's too high. Safety is messing them up, man.
Pershin:Yeah. Yeah. Especially with, if Tyreek is not, you know, peak Tyree But yeah, I agree with you. I think that the seat's starting to get low key hot for McDaniels. So, let's see.
Jason:Yeah, yeah. I mean, you could even see them looking to draft a replacement quarterback within the next year or two if things don't You know,
Pershin:yeah. Yeah. They're
Jason:good.
Pershin:They paid him, but his guarantee is only through I think 2026 like his guaranteed money was this year, next year, and then half of 2027. So after next season, they could be willing to move on, you know,
Jason:well, this is where the Bengals are headed. This is what the, this is what the Bengals are going to look like here soon. Paid three, three guys and now they got nothing. I mean, anyway, we'll talk about that with another time. Yeah, true, true. Next, next team rolling on with the Patriots, got the fourth pick in the draft. They got the most cap room out of any team, 121 million, I wasn't even sure if that number was correct because I've never seen so much cap space. Yeah, it was a ton. The thing is they added so many pieces, like it's all veteran pieces, but it brings an attitude towards the defense. You know, you got with Mike Ray Rose, the head coach now, Milton Williams, Carlton Davis, Harold Landry, Robert Spillane, Caleb Onshazen, Morgan Moses, Matt Collins. Draft wise, I think they still need some offensive line help, maybe a wide receiver. And I think they should still look at getting a quarterback. Maybe not, maybe not in the first round. Maybe they could trade that fourth round pick back. I mean that fourth pick to get back and gain more picks. I would, because obviously they're going to go with Drake May this year. Drake May is the quarterback this season. So, I would look later in the draft for a different quarterback than what would be available in the top five.
Pershin:Yeah, I, I really think that they should focus on offensive line and better weapons for Drake made because last season, despite looking pretty good himself individually on film, he was running for his life constantly and his receivers were not getting open. I mean, pretty much the best he had was. I mean, that's, that's not good. That's not good. I mean, I mean, his name says
Jason:it all.
Pershin:Yeah. Right. And, You know, both of their draft picks from last year were huge disappointments, Jalen Polk looked awful when he was out there and whatever was going on with Javon Baker, he never even got on the field. So that is, need to address regardless of, of, if they still have hopes for those guys, they obviously they, they just need, they have such a need there. The offensive line could use help basically at every single spot you could potentially upgrade. And so I would expect them at least the first couple of days of the draft to have either. A wide receivers or offensive line help. I do think that they're a really good candidate to kind of catch whatever falls at running back day three. They are happy with, I think they are satisfied with Ramon J. Stevenson in. The general sense they, you know, at least the front office, you know, they paid him last year, halfway through the season or whatever as a sort of vote of confidence, but then they don't have anything behind. I mean, they've got an aging Antonio Gibson. It doesn't give you much anymore. He could, he could do some sort of dump off work and he could pass, protect well enough for third down work if you really need him, but certainly. At the very least don't want to add some depth and there's going to be some good running backs that are going to end up falling through the cracks and being available on day three. So.
Jason:Yeah, I mean, as far as like, you know, you said wide receiver for, you know, the first round, you know, if they don't trade that, that pick, I could see them obviously Travis Hunter if he's there. But you know, the one that kind of stands out to me for them is Teterow.
Pershin:You
Jason:know, he's big athletic, you know, can really move. I agree. You know, everyone would say, why not, you know, golden. And it's like you know, this guy's kind of the same as golden, but just bigger and stronger, you know, more athletic.
Pershin:I mean, they, Keishon Boutte really is undersized for the X role that they were trying to have him play. And then when they did have Jalen Polk. On the field, mostly it was in that role as well. He's, he's just not good at that. And so getting a guy like Ted that could truly play the X for you. And that, that is where he, he, that's what suits him best anyways. It is much better for all of those guys because it frees up them to just have Jalen Polk or Keisha and it's sort of a flanker role and then keep pop Douglas. Like a full time slot role and that would work better for everyone. So I think I agree I think Ted McMillan if he's still there for him, then then they should really consider just snatching him up I don't think Ted will last until the second round.
Jason:Oh, yeah, right, right. Absolutely Next team up, the mess that is the Jets, J E T S, Jets, Jets, Jets. They got rid of, they got rid of the off season drama, Aaron Rodgers, Devontae Adams. Also, Syntha Packins, C. J. Mosley, and D. J. Reid. But they added Rodgers replacement, Justin Field. Brandon Stevens, Andre Sisco, Josh Meyers, Packers, another Packer, they added another Packer, Rashad Weaver, Chuck Okora, Isaiah Oliver, and Jamie Sherwood re signed. Cap wise, they got some cash, 47 million, and they're number 7 in the draft. So what I have them for is needs. I think they need wide receiver because they kept Alan Lazard I mean, come on man. You can't keep running the tread on those tires. I'm just saying they kept Alan Lazard They lost Devante Adams. So they don't have they have You know, Garrett Wilson and some name. Yeah. Garrett Wilson and some names they obviously, you know, unless Justin Fields turns into a way better quarterback than he's been with this offensive line, they might want to look at a quarterback, but also maybe offensive line to protect Justin Fields and see if he can actually play there.
Pershin:Yeah. I think a good pick for them in that seventh spot might actually be Tyler Warren, because he's a guy who's shown himself to be good at both in the passing game and as a blocker. So you can, you can help bolster the. The blocking on that line by having him around and you could play him full time because he could run routes and he, he can be a legit presence that way. You know, Tyler Conklin, I think it's not horrible, but I think it's pretty clear that that would be a big upgrade. And Tyler Conklin for as big as he is really does not run block that well. So right. I think that that, that could be a really good fit for them just because they need past catching help and they need blocking help and. You kind of get someone that can help you on both fronts there.
Jason:I mean, I figured they would do a little bit more in free agency though, you know, kind of knowing that they're not gonna have Rogers like, yeah, I mean, they, they did sign Justin Fields, but I thought
Pershin:maybe they were tied into the cap, but I was surprised to see you say that they had 40 something. That's not, that's not bad. I
Jason:mean, I could be wrong, but that was PFF according to PF as of March 10th, so, mm-hmm You know, it's about 47, you know, it could, you know, give or take, but yeah. So I just, I was just kind of shocked that, you know, they didn't try to maybe go after another player wide receiver wise, that's still out there.
Pershin:How, how much faith should the Jets fans have in Josh Myers?
Jason:Zero. Alright, well there you have it. Bro, bro, if you, I'm sorry, like, and this may be ego driven bias, but if you can't hack it as a sinner in Green Bay. Bro, you ain't no good. Alright, alright. Like, we draft offensive linemen, you know what I mean? Like, we, we have historically built centers. Like, you know, and he was a center at Ohio State. Again, like, that's where, like, offensive linemen come from is, is that area. You know what I'm saying? Yeah, Ohio State. You're supposed to come out of college. Maybe Notre Dame, one of those type of
Pershin:teams.
Jason:Penn State, right, you know, Michigan, all those guys, you know. So. All right, going to the AFC West. We're gonna start with the second place Kansas City Chiefs with the draft position of shocking 31. They are in the hole with the cap about 9 million. They got rid of Joe Tooney due to cap reasons. They added and or re signed Jalen Moore, Christian Fulton, Elijah Mitchell, Garner Minshew, and Robert Tungin. Yeah you know, it's hard to say what they really need because every year they play a completely different style of football every single season. You know, the offensive line, wide receiver, I would draft a wide receiver you know, I'd. Hell, throw another tight end in there. This is a good tight draft to get a tight end. You got an aging one that's got probably one more year left. You know, Noah Gray is good, but he ain't. He ain't Kelsey.
Pershin:Yeah. I think it's clearly offensive line. I think the offensive line was already in such a bad place and then they lost Joe Tooney, who was their most consistent piece of the offensive line last year. I think I really, no matter who it is, whoever is the best tackle available, they should just take at that 31st spot. I mean, I, I might even consider. Like trading up just to get a better caliber prospect that you could put on the offensive line because they either need to go that, that route where they're trying to do quality, or I mean, just trade back and take a bunch of shots at offensive line. And I mean, play the numbers game, but either way, I think they need to bend over backwards to adjust that. It's, they really had no cap room to get any decent. You know, offensive linemen, but the offensive line was the, the weekly, you know, it was the, the chink in the armor that was ultimately exposed. And so they, I fully expect them to address that first couple of days.
Jason:Yeah. A hundred percent completely agree with that take you know, got nothing else to really say about the chiefs. I mean, back to back. Gone to the Superbowl, you know, retool, pick up some pieces in the draft, and you know, get deft and train people up. Next team up, the, Is it the Los Angeles Chargers? Draft position 22, cap 93 million They basically did a bunch of re signing. Khalil Mack, Jalen Rager, Denzel Perryman, Bradley Bozeman. So at needs, I think they got, they need a tight end, so wide receivers, but they also need a lot of secondary and defensive, you know defensive line guys, tackles edges. Yeah. I mean, I think most of their draft is going to be defense though.
Pershin:Yeah, I, I know how why can't I think of his name, the Jim Harbaugh. Yeah. I know how Jim Harbaugh is with constantly trying to upgrade the running game and the, the offensive line in general, so I would not at all be surprised if he, if he took another offensive lineman or even drafted a running back early. And also it is a good draft for both of those positions to be fair. It it, it doesn't just suit him, but it also kind of makes sense for most teams
Jason:anyway. Well, you, you have to, you, you have to address needs, but you also like, if the best available is two is one is, you know, a above, you know, so good that he, you know, alright. I'd rather have him than, than what I can fill with the, I can fill this need maybe later, right? With a couple of guys.
Pershin:Right. I, I, I do. Aside from the offensive line slash run game, I do expect them to address the secondary and the defense and probably some wide receiver help as well. A lot of people were expecting that Cooper Cup was wanting to go there. Keenan Allen does not look like. Either of those things are going to happen. Obviously not the Cooper cup thing, but you know, I still don't think they have much aside from Latin McConkie. I would not be surprised if they decided they wanted to go tight end. You know, I think that they still have willed this leap, but I mean, he's just not that great. And so, I could see them doing that as well, but they need more receiving help. You know, they let go of Josh Palmer, who was basically the second most consistent guy aside from McConkie. They, they obviously still have Quentin, Quentin Johnston, but I mean, he, he just continues to disappoint. So I think that's, that's something that i'm looking at as well.
Jason:Yeah, 100%. Yeah, you're, you're right. Jim Hardwell does like to To get those guys in the trenches on offensive line and really run the crap out of the ball. But yeah, I mean, I mean, with so much cap room, you gotta figure they're gonna make some moves, man. There's still some guys that they could maybe pick up. I mean, you know, there's still some wide receivers out there that maybe they could get for, you know. Nothing, you know, like
Pershin:I could see them picking up a Mari Cooper, Stephon digs. Right. I was just going to say his name, as long as the, those guys are not trying to tax with how much they're willing to play for. I could totally see Harvard, you know,
Jason:right. All right. Moving on next to your squad, the Denver Broncos draft position, 20th cap room, about 40 million. Additions, Tala, Dre Greenlaw, Hufongo. And Evan Ingram, Evan Ingram. That was a little bit surprising to see that come along. Maybe he can knock the dust off again for another squad.
Pershin:Yeah. The Evan Ingram thing. I was a little bit surprised because I could have swore that like he was. He was talking like he loved the, the tight end class, and maybe he still does plan on drafting a tight end somewhat early and just letting them sit, just letting them cook for a year or two. Well, he does love to tie it in. That's true. He, he, he could, he could use he could use multiple tight ends on that team. Let's just say that. So we don't have to keep throwing the ball to Nate fucking Adkins. Whoever that even is, Jesus, Jesus. At least I knew who, at least I knew who Greg Dolce was. Okay. He was disappointing, but at least I heard of that guy. Jesus. Yeah. But yeah, I, I do expect them to draft a running back somewhat early. I actually would not be surprised if they just draft two running backs in this, in this class. He basically has been pretty open about the fact that he
Jason:is
Pershin:not happy with Jalil McLaughlin and, audrick Estemay, of course, he already let Giovante Williams go, so that's that, but it's yeah, I, I, it's a good class, it's a good class for running back, so it's almost like a good problem to have at this moment, but I, I could see him literally taking like Omari and Hampton if he falls to the second you know, maybe even, he'll take Amari and Hampton at that 20th spot. I think that's probably a little bit rich, especially when you know that you could get quality backs in the later rounds. But I do expect them to take multiple running backs in this draft and and probably still a tight end. But I, what I think that they should prioritize as a fan, what I would love to see is, is wide receiver. I think that if they use that 20 spot on a guy like Amika Abuka or a Matthew Golden, someone that could play in that underneath role, you, you already can count on Courtland Sutton, at least for another season or two to play that X role. I think that would help out a ton.
Jason:Oh yeah, I completely agree. That's, that was my number one need I had listed. I was like, man, these guys need some wide receivers to throw the ball too. Cause you, you fit you, you helped out with linebacker, you know, your defense was pretty, pretty decent all year long. So really that's, I was like, man, offensive side of the ball for me. Yeah.
Pershin:And I, I love the Dre Greenlaw. Signing as well. I don't know if we already talked about this before. I feel like we did not, but you know, he was banged up all last season and and because he had a lack of production I yeah, I feel like we basically got a you know a discount on What certainly what his upside can be so I love that. Oh, yeah 100 percent If he's still the same dray green law you know, from a couple of seasons ago that he's worked way more than what we actually paid for him. So I I'm loving the upside there.
Jason:Fantastic. And the last team we were going to talk about tonight is the Las Vegas Raiders. Which real quick back to sports betting in 2003, they remember how like, Oh, NFL and everybody was against sports betting and like Las Vegas and how they would never they'd never even consider putting a team in Vegas
Pershin:Yeah.
Jason:Yeah. Now there's so many teams in Vegas The
Pershin:very
Jason:football, very
Pershin:different time 2003 sounds like a completely different universe right now.
Jason:Anyway, anyway, back to the Raiders, Las Vegas Raiders draft position number six. room 50 mil additions. They've been doing some work. Coach wise, why am I, why am I having trouble? Remember his name? Pete Carroll. They added him Jeremy Chen, Alex Kappa, Eric Stokes, Raheem mostert. They traded for Gina re signed Max Crosby, extended Isaiah Palamalu. They've re signed Malcolm Coons, but they still need a lot of work. They still need a whole new back seven. They still, I don't even care even if Gino is the quarterback, I still think they need to look for another one. They need wide receivers, running backs. You name it. They need it. Yeah.
Pershin:I mean,
Jason:what are your thoughts on the rate?
Pershin:I, I think that they're running back room is currently is a mere white and sincere McCormick right now, which is like wild, like I definitely expect them to take a running back first couple of days. I think aside from that, you could, you could see them going a lot of different ways. They could still use a tackle, certainly like a interior offensive line help. They actually were something close to league average and pass blocking, but the run blocking was certainly ass last year. I think that they, they probably should focus defense. See, I. I think a lot of people would say that they need a go to wide receiver, but I think between Brock Bowers and Jacoby Myers, they're actually a little bit better than people would, would necessarily give them credit for. I do like the, the signing of Gino Smith. I think he's a guy who's. Who's not going to be elite, but you know, that he's going to be competent, which they just haven't been able to
Jason:get. Yeah,
Pershin:yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. And right now I think what their fans want more than anything is just a little sense of stability there, right? They haven't been able to get anything that feels competent in a while, you know, will sugar Sanders still be around? Do they want to take a shot on him? I don't know. But what I think is more likely is that in the second round, they try to take a shot on a guy like Tyler show. Or if Jackson dart falls for them, Quinn, you were something, something like that. They'll probably take a shot on one of these sort of like day two guys, which I think is fine because yeah, You could get a developmental guy and let them sit for a year or two behind Gina or whatever, but really there's a lot of different spots that they could probably upgrade. I don't think that they're necessarily like have these big gaping holes where it's like, Oh, you definitely have to do this. But there's plenty of spots where they just. They, they kind of just got depth pieces and, and you could easily upgrade, you know, so I, I think that they'll probably just let the draft fall to them, or at least that's what I'd be doing.
Jason:Yeah, I think this is a slow, slow thing. Like they're not looking to, you know, build quickly. They, I think they want to try to do it right with you know, Pete Carroll and stuff kind of go the lions, the Detroit lions model, if you will. And I think the same with the jets with Aaron Glenn, like. You know, let's try to draft guys and do the, the lion's way if you will.
Pershin:Yeah, I think even most Raiders fans will, will, you know, admit that they, they don't expect a ton this coming season.
Jason:Right. All right. Well, that rounds it out. Next week, we'll talk about the AFC North and South. But before we get up out of here, talk about Jamar Chase, Tee Higgins, and Joe Burrow, all signing, all got paid. So Joe burrow walked into the leadership and said, you signed my boys, man, Joe, I'm just going to say this, man, you start giving the quarterback what he wants. Every time he wants it, he's going to start turning a certain way. And so far, Joe burrow told him to draft Jamar Chase. Joe burrow has told him to pay Jamar Chase. Joe burrow has told him to pay T Higgins. Yeah, this ain't gonna look good man. I'm so this is not good. I don't think this is gonna end good I think that's too much money to spend on three players at that when you need so much more.
Pershin:Yeah, I I think Joe Burrow is fabulous quarterback, but the thing is like I agree with you that it's It's like when you start giving up all this leverage and basically being like, okay, we'll do this for you. We'll do this thing that you want. We'll do the, I feel like you're creating a diva. You're creating the next Aaron Rogers. Personality, you know what I mean? Where the next thing, you know, he's, he believes that he is also the GM and he needs to have say on what's happening on the defense and all this. And it's like, bro, this is crazy. I don't think we're there yet. I think he truly does just love playing with these guys and he really, really wants to keep it together and he's been successful with that. But I will say though, like the fact that he got his way here kind of puts a little more responsibility on himself. Like, it's like, all right, you needed these guys and you felt like the team would be okay without addressing the horrible defense. Okay. Well, then, you know. Y'all, you guys need to carry the team now because the fact of the matter is that most of the eggs are in that passing game basket, you know, not even offensive line, just, just straight up, you know, the quarterback and the wide receivers. And he wanted them to re sign Gusecki, which they did. So that's also a request that he got. And so it's like, it's like, all right, well, you know, you're, you're going to have to play lights out game in game out and to keep up with your own defense basically. So I, I think it's fine. I don't necessarily hate the idea that you invest a ton and a few amount of players, but the expectation now is that those players really are going to carry the show. So no excuses, you know?
Jason:Oh yeah, absolutely. Complete, completely agree. That was, that was a very good point. All right. Well, that's all we got. That's all the scoops we got. So as always, you can reach us at pineponypodcast22 at gmail or on Instagram threads and bluesky at pineponypodcast. And that's all we got. Adios.
Pershin:Adios.
