New Faces New Places: Broncos S Talanoa Hufanga & Bucs WR Emeka Egbuka Join The Show | The Insiders

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Bowl. You are wrong. Peyton
Manning and the Colts are going
to play in Super Bowl It is slow motion NFL films
style passing videos
teams. Social accounts season for the Jets. It’s getting ready
for the 2020 NFL season. Justin
Fields with his new team. We’re going to hear from his new
coach, Aaron Glenn. On what he
has seen from fields so far. Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga
and Buccaneers rookie wide
receiver Emeka Egbuka joined the show later. We’ve got interviews
with two of those guys in new
places, one of them a rookie, one of them a veteran, proving
that he can stay on the field
and have that impact that we’ve seen when he’s been healthy in
the past and the NFC West.
That’s where Hufanga used to play. R Michael F Florio will
give you the fantasy outlook for
that division tonight, as he works his way around the league.
To give you all of the fantasy
previews. Welcome to the insiders. I am Mike Garafolo
sitting here by myself, but
don’t you worry, I’ve got plenty of friends along for the ride.
Steve Wyche will be joining us
in a couple of minutes, along with Jeffrey Chadiha, Brian
Baldinger, the aforementioned
Michael Florio, Egbuka and Hufanga. As a packed show
tonight. Cam Wolfe going to be
with us as well. Micah Parsons, he is going to be with the
Cowboys for mandatory minicamp.
This time last night we talked about you know what he set out
what he make a statement. Now
shortly after the program, Parsons tweeted it and said I
will be there. I haven’t missed
a minicamp in four years. But here’s the key part, because we
talked about the possibility of
a hold in, he says, I’m preparing as if I will be on the
field the first week of camp,
but it’s in the owner’s hands. I’m ready to win a Super Bowl.
Well, there’s that part of it.
But there’s also the business part of it that needs to be
handled as well. Micah Parsons
We’ll see how it goes for him and how it goes with regard to
negotiations between him and the
team. Meanwhile, J.K. Dobbins, the veteran running back who ran
so well for the Chargers, he’s
had some injury issues, but he showed he was able to overcome
them last year. The market not
quite. Maybe what he had hoped. Our Tom Pelissero reporting that
Dobbins going to meet with a AFC
West rival of his last year, going to meet with the Broncos,
having dinner this evening,
going to be at the team facility on Thursday as he explores the
possibility of joining that
team. Let’s go elsewhere in the AFC West, where Xavier Worthy
and Rashee Rice flashing for the
camera right there as the Chiefs work through their offseason to
try to get back to the
postseason, get back to the Super Bowl and win it this time.
So to get there, it’s going to
be a long process. But let’s bring in Jeffrey Chadiha and
Steve Weiss to talk about the
Chiefs right now and what they need to do, starting with
Jeffrey, to make that offense
with those guys and others explosive enough to get to where
they want to get to. Jeffrey,
what starts with with Travis Kelce. And the biggest question
about him is, is he going to be
in that great shape he talked about at the end of last season?
We know the last couple of games
did not go the way he wanted them to go. He had a couple
catches in the AFC Championship
game. He only had four catches in the Super Bowl loss to
Philadelphia, 58 total yards in
those contests. But people have seen him feel like he’s starting
to come around, that they’ve
seen photos of him that show good signs of it. He’s been at
OTAs, but he hasn’t been out
there every day. Wasn’t out there today, but he’s his
health, his conditioning. As
Mahomes has said. Patrick Mahomes has said he’s a big part
of what they want to do. And the
two guys you just saw in that video, Rashee Rice and Xavier
Worthy, how do they factor into
this now? Because Travis Kelce coming back in better shape is
great, but this offense becoming
more explosive and more prolific revolves around these two guys
playing bigger roles. Travis
Kelce is going to be 36 years old. Rashee rice is coming back
from that knee injury might be
suspended, but they like what they’ve seen from him so far
this spring. Matt Nagy, the
offensive coordinator, talked about just the fact that rice,
being back in this offense,
showing the speed, showing the agility he’s getting where he
needs to be, and Xavier worthy.
Steve has done a lot of the same things. So this offense getting
better yeah protection is big.
But these guys catching the passes they’ve got to be on
point to 100%. You know Rashee
rice him not being out last year they brought in Juju Smith
Schuster to kind of fill that
role. But we know Jeff in today’s game you can’t win
without explosive play. And
that’s where to me the Chiefs running game has got to step up.
You know we saw Isaiah Pacheco
and Kareem Hunt. They kind of grounded out when they had to
grind it out. But it seemed like
Patrick Mahomes was like their biggest big play threat. And I
think a player to look out for
is Elijah Mitchell the free agent running back they signed
from the 40 Niners who has not
been able to stay healthy. He was out all last season with a
hamstring injury. He’s had some
knee issues before, but he was killing it before the first knee
issue, which prompted them to
trade for Christian McCaffrey. This is somebody if the
competition plays out in the
running back room and he stays healthy, I think he can make
things very interesting because
again, we talk about wide receiver. They need some
explosive play and running back.
They need explosive play. And a caveat we don’t need to see
pictures and stuff of Travis
Kelce. I’ve seen Travis Kelce. He looks in really good shape.
He’s not losing 25 pounds I
talked to him about that. He’s going to play around his normal
weight of two 4245. But I can
tell you this. Him and Patrick Mahomes are very motivated. That
Super Bowl loss was incredibly
humbling and motivating. The Chiefs right now sort of remind
me of the Patriots when they
were humming with Brady and Belichick in that that offense
every year would sort of look
different. And they figure out what they were and try to play
to their strengths.
Explosiveness they’re hoping is going to be one of their
strengths for this offense in
2025. Thank you. Jeffrey Chadiha Weiss hang in there. We’re going
to get right back to you in just
a second here. We’re heading down to Florida here with the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers. See Baker
Mayfield right there a really talented team in Tampa that they
are getting ready to put on the
field this upcoming season. Todd Bowles at the helm for the
Buccaneers. Here’s his thoughts
on what they’re seeing this spring in Tampa. Well it’s
important because they have to
learn the scheme and they have to pick everything up and see
how we run things. And for the
young guys coming in, OTAs and minicamp are for them to get
caught up with the vets. That’s
been here through phase one and phase two. So when training camp
starts, they’re on level ground
so we don’t lose sight of that and we make sure they get the
reps they’re needing, the extra
meetings and extra walkthroughs. So by the time training camp
comes, they have a chance to
compete. Baldy, I was with you. Steve Wyche, back with us.
Baldy, I was with you in
training camp last year in Tampa Bay. I know you love the
physicality that they have on
both sides of the ball. They went live hitting there while we
were live down there in Tampa
for that one right there. When you look at this Bucs team right
now, they’re not going to have
that physicality Baldy. It’s not like back when you played it’s
OTAs. It’s only helmets. There’s
not that. But what are we looking for in OTAs. When you
look at the Buccaneers I’m
excited about going tomorrow. Mike and Steve. You know when we
were down there last year, they
looked like a good team and they turned out they won six of their
last seven games, got to the
playoffs, won the division fourth year in a row. But you
know, what they did was they put
their offensive line together and they had an immediate jolt
from the rookie class. Graham
Barton started at center all year. You know Bucky Irving took
over the running back position.
Averaged well over five yards a carry. Had eight rushing
touchdowns. Jalen McMillan the
rookie wide receiver from Oregon, had eight receiving
touchdowns. And so what Todd was
saying is right I want to see the rookies. I want to see what
Emeka Egbuka looks like. He’s
going to get a good chance to start right away as Chris Godwin
gets healthy from an injury a
year ago. I want to see what he looks like in the chemistry with
Baker. I want to see defensively
because when they lost in the playoffs last year, they were
really hurting in the secondary
and so they went out and they drafted Benjamin Morrison from
Notre Dame, Jacob Parish from
Kansas State. Guys that you know, I think Todd really wants
those guys to be able to step up
and step in if they can get production like they got from
the rookie class last year. This
would really help this defense overall right now. So those are
some of the things. And then
just watching Baker you know I mean Baker right now he’s one of
1010 quarterbacks in the history
of this game to throw for over 40 touchdowns and 4500 yards.
That was a great season. Now
he’s got a new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. We
got to see how he handles things
replacing Liam Cohen. But one thing the Bucs had able to do is
they’ve been able to overcome
the loss of their coordinators that have gone on to become head
coaches. It’s a credit to Todd
Bowles and really getting that pipeline ready. If they’re going
to lose a Zach Robinson, if
they’re going to lose, you know, guys like Liam Cohen and other
players, other coaches that they
have lost along the way. Looking forward to getting Abacha’s
thoughts on his quarterback, the
wide receivers he’s playing alongside and his new offensive
coordinator will get that
shortly here on the insiders. When he joins us, we know what
Mike McDonald’s thoughts are on
Sam Darnold and the thoughts on those that are asking about the
possibility of maybe Sam Darnold
losing out on that starting job. Mike McDonald says no, stop
that. Is there anything that
could happen other than an injury between now and the
beginning of the season that
would lead to a different quarterback? You guys are crazy.
There’s no way to ask the
question without sounding like an idiot. Look, I respect you
got to ask it. But like, yeah,
you guys, this is a crazy question. There’s just not going
to like, Sam’s our starting
quarterback. We love him. He’s doing a tremendous job. Yeah.
See I would say I would say that
he he he didn’t say you guys are crazy. The question is crazy.
But he literally said, you guys
are crazy. Wyche well, I mean, look it’s one of these things.
Mike again, no pads on. I’m sure
Jalen Milroe is out there like killing it like exciting
everybody with no pads on. But
they went out and got Sam Darnold for a reason. The one
thing that’s intriguing to me is
last year the Seattle Seahawks ran the ball the third fewest
times in the NFL in overall
rushing attempts. They cannot put that type of load on Sam
Darnold. Now Darnold did show
last year in Minnesota. If he had to throw it 3840 times a
game he could do that. But
they’re not rolling Justin Jefferson out there like they
have. I mean they got the good
receivers in Seattle. But last I checked DK Metcalf is playing in
Pittsburgh. So they’re going to
have to run the ball more effectively and better. And
they’ve taken some measures to
do that to enhance the offensive line. We’ll see if they can get
going in the run game. But
they’ve got to have more of a balanced attack for that
definite starter Sam Darnold to
be as effective best. That’s one of the reasons they went out and
got Klint Kubiak to run the
offense. You know they want to run the ball. They want the play
action passes off the run game.
As we’ve seen around this league right now with guys that are,
you know, have come out of that
system. Mike Shanahan system, Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay. They
want to be able to run it. But I
got I was around John Schneider a couple of weeks ago at a camp
in California. And it won’t
surprise me to see Jalen Milroe on on the field. I mean he’s
just that impressive of, you
know, as a prospect, as a rookie. You know, his backgroun,
the way that he was raised like
he is all in. And they have he has been impressive. We know the
athletic ability. When you bust
A437 40 in the 40 and you run through LSU and some of the
teams that he did last year,
Georgia, where they couldn’t touch him, he was just the best
player on the field. They know
they’ve got a bundle of talent there. And John Schneider was
raving about him. And I’m not
saying anything that John I wouldn’t say anywhere else, but
it won’t surprise me to see
packages for Jalen on the field. And that’s not no knock on Sam
Darnold. Sam’s a starter but
he’s just that impressive an athlete that you might want to
find a way to get him on the
field. And that’s what I wanted to come back to. In your
conversation with Schneider, you
were talking about milroe in packages, not in a full force,
no small package. You see. Got
Baldy out there. He says he’s going to Bucs OTAs. He’s had a
football camp with John
Schneider. He’s been to the Giants, he’s been to the Jets.
He’s been to the Eagles. That
map behind him is not just decor. That’s where he’s trying
to get to, to get you the
football information. Ahead of the 2025 season. What are you
doing here? You got a flight to
catch somewhere. We appreciate you hanging in there at 530 in
the morning. Go to Tampa
tomorrow. I’ll be there. There you go. There it is at 10:00
tomorrow morning. Brian
Baldinger premiere on so many airlines. This guy, he doesn’t
want anybody to fly. He don’t
want any passing game to fly. Talanoa Hufanga the Broncos
safety going to join us next
here on the insiders. The insiders is brought to you by
Capital One. What’s in your
wallet? Oh, it’s the Capital One drive buzzed. Oh, the hair is
flowing out there in Colorado.
Talanoa hufanga. Yeah, three years, $45 million deal with 20
million guaranteed to head from
San Francisco to Denver to be part of that secondary. And now
he’s going to be a part of the
insiders because he’s joining myself, Mike Garafolo and Steve
Wyche here. He’s got the hair
up. You know, I don’t have these problems. So I don’t know how to
work this kind of stuff. But
thank you for joining us. How are things going now in your
first spring out there with the
Denver Broncos? Well, thank you guys for having me, man. I’m
been blessed. This spring has
been, well learning a new defense as much as I can. Just
coming here and just being a
sponge and absorbing as much knowledge as I can and just
trying to earn the respect from
my guys. So it’s definitely a humbling process just to come in
the building every day and work
as hard as you can and show up so and talanoa to kind of build
off of that. Look in your career
in the NFL with the 40 Niners, you pretty much have done
nothing but one NFC Championship
Super Bowl appearances. What is it like changing to a team
that’s on the come up like the
Broncos? Yeah, no doubt. I think for me it’s a it’s a great
opportunity for me to express
the stuff that I’ve been through, the games that I’ve
been a part of, winning and
losing. I think that’s the thing you learn from and it’s
constant. But, you know, I was
talking to my team earlier. It’s a clean slate every year
regardless. Even when I was in
San Fran, you know, you got you got to you got to prove it each
and every year. And so for us
it’s a it’s a grind. And that’s what we’re here for. And that’s
why we’re working. And showing
up to OTAs is step one. And so for me I’m just excited to be
part of a great unit, a defense
that was amazing last year and just coming out here to help be
a part of it and help make plays
and ultimately win games. Listen, you’re seeing it right
now. We’re showing it as we’re
talking to you. These highlights of you, physicality, a big part
of what you do being around the
football awareness, getting up to make a tackle there closer to
the line of scrimmage as well. I
mean, you’ve been all over the field. The question has been the
injuries in the past, and that
comes with that physical style of play. For the Broncos to put
that contract out there to you
this offseason, how much did that mean to you, them showing
the confidence that this has
been some, let’s say, flukey type stuff and that you’re going
to be on the field for them
while continuing to play that physical style? Yeah, well,
injuries are part of this game.
It’s a it’s an NFL is 100% injury rate to begin with. But I
think the Broncos have full
confidence in their training staff. I think that’s something
that they definitely made notice
as I got here, and what they’re willing to buy in and help you
achieve your goals, but achieve
your goals and making sure your body is correct in every day,
trying to get out there on the
field to pursue your dream of playing the NFL. So for me, very
blessed that they took a chance
on me coming out here and I got to prove the contract and earn
it for sure. Okay. So let’s
follow that part up because your defensive coordinator, Vance
Joseph, told me he’s like,
Steve, our defense was already smacking people in the mouth.
Now we got Tana Hufanga who’s
going to bend some facemask, but also your former Niners teammate
Dre Greenlaw comes over with
you. And we know the fury that he plays with. What about the
addition of two players with
your style, your range and how they factor into the scheme that
you’re learning? Well, I think,
you know, DJ has done a great job of showing his presence, of
his defense, his aggressive, and
that’s the style that we play. And a guy like Dre, just an
incredible human being. He was
my locker partner in San Fran and he’s my locker partner here
at the Broncos. So very blessed
to play with him and just go out there and play desperate. I
think that’s the name of the
game. Got to go out there and earn earn your right to get off
the field, create turnovers and
ultimately win games as well. When you’re a safety in a
defense where you’ve got the
Defensive player of the year, no knock on any. You play with some
really good cornerbacks in San
Francisco, but we’re talking about the Defensive Player of
the year here and Patrick
Surtain when you know he’s got it on lock, what does that do
for you as a safety that does
that allow you maybe to lean elsewhere? I mean I know you got
good players elsewhere in the
secondary. Does that free you up to do something? Maybe you’re
still learning this right now.
I’m definitely learning, I guess. You know, watching him,
I’ve studied a lot of tape on
him to begin with. You know, just what he does on the field
is unbelievable. He shuts down a
whole entire side. And that that just makes your job easier,
makes the other guys on the team
easier. And for me, you just want to go out there and make
Pat go do it again. I want I
want him to be another defensive player of the year. And what can
I do to make him put him in the
best spots to show something else and to disguise and make
sure he gets the pick and make
sure he ends up in the end zone if I can get a block. So just
things like that. I love playing
with guys like that and we got a bunch of dogs. So it’s not just
Pat, but there’s a bunch of guys
out there that can play for sure. All right. You’re coming
from a team in San Francisco
where you see you saw a rookie quarterback make an immediate
impact in Brock Purdy and
continue to grow and elevate. Now you saw Bo Nix come in as a
rookie get the Broncos to the
playoffs. Just in your few moments months whatever around
him. What is he showing you that
thinks he can be maybe on that same ascension as Brock. Oh
yeah. Most definitely. Great
leaders both quarterbacks. You know it’s tough. You know
everybody wants to is he better
or is this that it’s not a comparison game I’m blessed to
just be part of a new team. Be
around a quarterback that just goes out there and works every
day. You know, Bo is a guy
that’s first in, last out, shows up and first in line. I think
that’s one thing. Even during
the conditioning drills, he’s first in line. He’s running down
the field, he’s leading the
pack. And you just want that as a quarterback to be that leader,
especially for a guy that’s
young going into his second year, really taking command of
the team. It’s super exciting
and he’s teaching me I’m a guy that’s I’m trying to give him
the best look I can on defense,
but he’s showing me some really good stuff so far during OTAs as
a quarterback in his second
year. Real quick before I let you go, Sean Payton in 1 or 2
sentences, what’s it been like
playing for him? So far? You know, one word that comes to
mind is just very diligent. He
very smart when it comes. He has all the nicks and the necks and
understands he’s seen a lot of
ball, you know, just coming out there and give me just a little
tidbits and stuff that I, you
know, just haven’t heard in my career and trying to take that
in and go out there and apply it
to my game and the best way possible to help us win.
Awesome. I appreciate your time
here, man. Hope you can spend some more time with us in the
future. You’re always welcome on
the insiders to let your hair down or up. I mean, whatever you
want to do with it, man. We
throw it up, throw it up, Huff, let them know, man. Appreciate
you guys. There it is. Talanoa
Hufanga. Coming up next going to talk Eagles with
our guy Cameron Wolfe. He’s from
the Philly area and Brian Baldinger he’s in the Philly
area. A lot of Philly talk on
the insiders after this. Shake it up shake it up. Shake that
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Tickets for the Eagles going to be tough to come by this season.
That’s the way it is always in
Philadelphia, but particularly after winning the Super Bowl,
the Eagles OTAs, as they go
about their title defense, are underway there in South Philly.
Vic Fangio, meanwhile, says to
get back to where they need to get back to. You need turnovers
just like last year. Need to do
it this year. I look at this year very similar to last year
in that at this time last year,
you know, we had a lot of turnover in personnel from the
previous year. You know you had
bond. Nobody knew what he was at this point last year you had
Nakobe who hadn’t played any
meaningful NFL football in his first two years. You had Oren
Burks, who we had just signed.
You had Isaiah Rogers, who we had just signed. You had Ojomo,
who didn’t play hardly at all.
His rookie year got Nolan, who didn’t play hardly at all his
rookie year. We got Chauncey
back. We drafted Q Cooper. Jalen. You know we had a lot of,
you know, question marks at that
time or you didn’t know you know this year those names are
replaced Ringo Adoree Sydney
McCollum Ojulari Uche Byron Young Gabe Hall Booker Jihad.
You know all the draft picks.
Makeba Robinson you know smile. And then the rest of the rookies
some of those guys in that
second list have to become like those guys in the first list.
Shrimp gumbo shrimp salad I
think that’s about it. And by the way, he was talking about
that. The only turnover there
was me I fumbled it. I thought he was talking about turnovers.
He’s talking about turnover as
in turnover whatever. Anyway Cam Wolf is here Brian Baldinger is
here as well. Cam what players
need to step up. And please don’t name like 17 of them like
Vic Fangio did they. The players
need to step up here for the Eagles this upcoming season.
Yeah Vic Fangio’s message
clearly there is. Show me young guys. Show me something. And I
can’t wait to watch these
training camp battles, particularly in the secondary.
And let’s start at safety. Reed
Blankenship is going to be one starter. They have an open spot
with Chauncey Gardner-johnson
getting traded. And that battle between Sydney Brown, their
incumbent who was a high draft
pick a few years ago, and Andrew Mukuba, who they drafted in the
second round this year, is
already heating up it’s neck and neck from people I talked to
there. Sydney’s obviously got a
little bit of a advantage because he’s got knowledge of
that defense. From what I
understand, he’s taken a big step forward this offseason.
Reed Blankenship compared him to
Crash Bandicoot and how he plays. He’s a he’s a wild
player. He comes in and hits and
it can be good and bad, but he’s a guy who knows the defense. And
then mukuba a lot of comparisons
to Gardner Johnson from people I talked to in the skill set. He’s
rangy, he can hit, he can play
multiple positions. He can be the short term and potentially
long term starter at that spot.
And they got a good safety coach in Joe Casper to help develop
those guys. So that’s one spot
to look at. The cornerback spot is the other spot. Kelee Ringo,
another high draft pick from a
couple of years ago, is competing with a veteran and
Adoree Jackson. They also have
been splitting those first team reps. They’re trying to replace
Darius Slay, who was a really,
really good player for them in that Super Bowl run. And I’ll
tell you this Kelee Ringo
discussed how he’s been working with their secondary coach,
Christian Parker, about learning
the whole defense, not just his position, and know what his help
is. He’s been groomed to be
ready for this role, and the hope is he can take over and
that youth helps them
potentially get another Super Bowl in Philly. Baldy. You know,
cam, you said something that was
really spot on about Vic Fangio and this defense. And it was,
you know, show me is really what
he wants to see. I remember being in Brazil week one against
green Bay and it was a little
bit uncertain who’s going to be the right corner. James
Bradberry is fighting through an
injury they hadn’t really named Quinyon Mitchell to be the
starter at the right corner, but
they started him that night and they started him for the next 20
games in a row. And he was a
star and so was Cooper Dejean. And at this time last year they
were just rookies, but they were
the right rookies. And just watching him in minicamp last
Wednesday, these guys never
stopped working on the fundamentals, the drills, the
footwork, like it was impressive
to watch them go to work. Now, you know, they go out and they
draft Jihaad Campbell. They
trade up to get him in. And so when you watch him like he’s not
practicing now he’s coming back,
you know from the shoulder, you know ailment that he had a year
ago. But you put Jihaad Campbell
and Zack Bond together. It might be it might be the best
linebacking corps in football. I
thought Zach Bowen was the best linebacker in football last
year. I thought he could have
easily been the defensive player of the year. He fit perfectly in
the scheme and so now you just
okay, like put that together, put the rotation together on the
defensive line. Jordan Davis is
lighter than he was at any point last three years. He should play
more. You know you go out and
get Josh Hussein and you go out and you get Azeez Ojulari to go
with Nolan Smith and you get
depth. I mean, they want to rotate eight guys up front every
game and just rotate them
through, keep them fresh. The one guy that played more snaps
than anybody last year was Jalen
Carter. And he should. He’s just that dominant. He’s that good.
He’s going to draw double teams
almost every single play. He’s used to seeing it and it frees
up everybody else, you know, and
a lot of protections to win one on ones. And it was a big part
of their success last year. It’s
Baldy versus Vic Fangio to see how many players can be named in
one sound. But I’m still
laughing at Vic. I counted 23 that he named, but that count
may have been off because our
producer, Todd Mossberg, kept hitting the button to laugh
every time he said another
player name. But yeah, you guys both do a great job of knowing
the roster top to bottom. You as
well. Cam Wolfe hang in there because we’re going up the
turnpike to the Jets. Justin
Fields he signed that deal and everybody said well it’s really
not like top starting money. So
maybe they’ll do it. No, they’re they’re going into the season
giving the ball to Justin Field,
confident in him that he can be the starter and he can help this
team win some games. Here is
Aaron Glenn, the new coach on his new quarterback. He leads by
the way. He wants to lead his
influence with the guys out there. I think you guys can see
it. He can galvanize a group of
men. Listen obviously he’s a talented player and I’m happy
that I have him as my
quarterback. I really am because I think I think the sky’s the
limit for this player, I really
do. Listen, I’m not going to go out there and say that he’s the
next Joe Namath or anything like
that. But I will tell you what, man, he’s going to be a good
player for us, and I’m excited
what he’s going to do for us this season. Look, Baldi and
Cam, you look at this and you
say, some people say, well, Justin Fields may not be a
complete NFL quarterback, but
the one thing throughout his career, he’s always had the
respect of the locker room. So
you talk about leadership there. In fact, last year in Pittsburgh
when they made the change, a lot
of guys in that locker room looking around like, why are we
doing this right now? So, you
know, he’s got that leadership and that ability. He does.
Galvanize is a good word that
Aaron Glenn used. He did the same thing at Ohio State when he
was there as well fighting
through the pandemic and playing. But you know you go out
and you watch him on the field.
You can’t take your eyes off him because you might miss Aaron
Judge at the plate hitting a
home run. That’s what I saw in practice last week. But I will
say this in just watching Armand
Membo the new right tackle. Like, I think, you know, the
quarterback is only good as the
pieces around him. I believe that Justin Fields might very
well be playing behind the best
offensive line he’s played behind before. There’s Aaron
Glenn looking over his offensive
line right there and watching the guys go to work. But you
know they’re young. They got to
come together. But they’ve got pieces there and they’ve got
depth. Young guys that have
played last year at this time. They had a lot of veteran guys
that weren’t practicing. They’re
all rehabilitating injuries. They’ve got a healthy young
group that can go out there and
work every day. And that’s what Aaron Glenn saw in Detroit with
all of his offensive line. And
if this group comes together right now, I mean, I just think
Justin Fields watch him in
practice running through the defense throwing to Mason
Taylor. You know hitting Garrett
Wilson down the field. Like I think the offense has a chance
to be really good. If they’re
really good up front because the backs are there. The tight end
is young but he’s going to be a
good player. And if Justin Fields gets the trust that he
might not have had in past years
from this line cam like this might this might have a chance
to take off Baldy Jets fans
should be excited about this new era of Justin Fields and Aaron
Glenn. And the word trust you
use is a great point. Aaron Glenn talked about the quiet
confidence that fields has and
allowing him to lead his way, allowing him to play the
quarterback position. So often
he’s been pressed into being this runner or or doing these
different elements. He’s been
empowered by this new staff and we saw him last year in
Pittsburgh. He had a great spurt
before he was benched. He’s got a good bond with Garrett Wilson.
They played together Ohio State.
Fields was talking about how they played two K in their dorm
and they played Madden recently.
They’re rekindling that bond together. And what’s interesting
you might have saw in one of
those clips, fields is wearing a helmet camera on the top of his
helmet. All the Jets
quarterbacks are doing something to help them for their
progression. It’s a learning
tool, something they can watch back and help them through. Some
of the things fields may have
struggled through early in his career, and something Miami has
done with Tua Tagovailoa. Elena
did it last year with Kirk Cousins and Michael Penix, and
so just an example of how this
new staff is trying to get the most out of Justin Fields in New
York, Justin Fields and the
Jets, a couple of more practices here to polish up in the spring
before they get ready for
training camp in the summer. Baldinger, go catch that flight
to Tampa Bay. Cameron Wolfe,
appreciate you always looking for more insight from you as the
spring session winds up and as
that winds up, we get ready for potentially a fantasy season
soon. Our guy Michael F Florio.
Today’s division, the NFC West is going to give you the fantasy
outlook for those guys out
there. Coming up next on the insiders. None of us make it
very far alone. It takes a team, eight on NFL network. The NFL
preseason is just around the
corner, and NFL network will carry 21 live games, including a
week one doubleheader on
Thursday, August 7th featuring the Colts and Ravens, followed
by Pete Carroll’s return to
Seattle as Raiders head coach. And that Friday night after
could see Browns quarterback
Cheddar Sanders under center for some reps versus the Panthers.
Go to NFL Network on Instagram
to see the entire schedule. Might even see me. Might even
see Michael F Florio. Who knows.
We got to produce that content though. Florio. No pressure
here. So let’s go to the fantasy
outlook for the NFC West. Let’s start with the 40 Niners. Do you
factor in like contract drama
when it comes to 40 niners? Because there is none this year
they took care of everything.
Does that help their fantasy outlook. Yeah. Last year was
such a weird year for like every
single 40 niners. And it’s led to them being maybe the most
discounted offense in fantasy
football. Kyle Shanahan’s offense is every year, three
years in a row, top five in
total yards. And Brock Purdy last year he had the largest
difference in 2024 touchdown
rate compared to career normal. So luck was not on his side. He
still was QB ten and points per
game, and he’s getting drafted even later than that. CMC is
upside, is still the best player
in fantasy, but he goes in round two, the cheapest he has been
since he broke out in Carolina.
Kittle is the 140 niner. You really don’t get a discount on
most points he scored in fantasy
since 2018, kind of a career year, which gives me a little
skeptical to pay full price. And
then their wide receivers, none of them have an ADP inside the
top 35, despite Jauan Jennings
being top ten in fantasy points per targets, Pearsall averaged
18 fantasy points per game, and
Aiyuk had a super efficient year two years ago, and then the
Arizona Cardinals their OC drew
Petzing. He has a very run heavy system top ten in rushing yards
and touchdowns. Both years he’s
been there, never been top 20 in passing touchdowns. And that
hurt Kyler Murray because
despite running for the second most yards and touchdowns of his
career, he posted a career low
fantasy points per game last season. And then Marvin Harrison
Jr. He brings upside as a wide
receiver two, but last season he had the second highest rate of
uncatchable targets, most tight
window targets and a lot of downfield usage and volatility
week to week. J McBride is a
beast, but he needs some more touchdowns, right? Highest red
zone usage of all tight ends and
only scored two touchdowns. But James Conner another value. So
go out and draft James Conner
again this year. You know it’s rough fantasy analysis when the
closed captions I don’t even
know what they put in the bottom there. When Michael Florio goes
I don’t even know how you would
spell that Michael F let’s move along to the Seattle Seahawks.
We covered this earlier in the
show. If you indicate that Sam Darnold won’t be the starter
Mike McDonald says you are
crazy. So in the words of the late Prince let’s get nuts. No
let’s let’s just cover the
Seahawks. However you want to cover the Seahawks here I’m not
getting crazy. Look Sam Darnold
is going to be the starter. That’s one of their two big
changes. The other is Klint
Kubiak is their new play caller. And he runs a lot of outside
zone runs which could be a
really good thing for Kenneth Walker. He excelled in that
system a couple of years ago,
although it is worth pointing out that he took a little bit of
a step back in that regard last
season. And as for Sammy D, he’s coming off of a career year.
Lots of doubts if he could
duplicate it again without Kelsey in the Vikings weapons.
So he is just going as a late
round pick in fantasy, but Jason is the one that I have the
biggest questions on last year
because he led the NFL in yards from the slot. But Cooper Kupp
is also better from the slot. So
if he has to play more out wide, that is a volatility that makes
him more of a wide receiver. Two
and then there’s the Rams which are as straightforward as you
can get right. Puka Nacua being
the crown jewel there because last season he was top five in
targets yards and fantasy points
per game. He led all receivers in fantasy points per route.
Finishing as the best wide
receiver in fantasy is in his range of outcomes. Davante Adams
made a move to the slot last
year and it really helped him in fantasy. So this year, playing
the Kupp role, operating out of
the slot and likely seeing a lot of end zone usage. He is a safe
wide receiver two. And then
there’s Kyren Williams who is top 1300 yards and 15 touchdowns
two years in a row. Yet he’s
always doubted in fantasy. He goes outside the top ten running
backs in the late third round.
I’ll take Kyren at that price all year, depending on how it
goes. Kyren Williams could be
playing for a contract, which is good to have that kind of
motivation on your side for
fantasy purposes. Michael F Florio catch him on the NFL
network. Instagram. Maybe. I
thought that was a good segment right there. We’ll see if it
winds up there. We know that
Emeka Egbuka is going to wind up on this program right after the
break. The Buccaneers rookie
wide receiver doesn’t act like a rookie. He carries himself like
a veteran. You’re going to see
that next on the insiders. Suni When I give my love to my
children as a father, I can see
it. Buccaneers rookie camp is approaching Emeka Egbuka, the
first round pick, arriving in
the sweetest shirt. Hey what’s up Nelson Luis Buccaneers media
relations that is an amazing
shirt. I’m not a Buccaneers fan. Never been one. Not a fan of any
team right now, but I would love
to have. I would wear that shirt. That’s how sweet that
shirt is. Sarah Walsh. And like
Jerry Seinfeld talking about Jack Penn, the Buccaneers said,
you like the shirt, take the
shirt. Nelson Lewis sent me the shirt right here. It’s real.
He’s got bucko Bruce in the
back. I don’t want to become unplugged, but I’m going to show
you that. And they said, we’re
going to do you one better. Steve Wyche we’re going to get
you, Emeka Egbuka for the show
while you’re wearing the shirt. Looks better than the shirt
joins us. It’s amazing how many
times have you done this one Emeka because this thing is
awesome. Yeah, no it’s amazing.
I mean you look great. You rock it. Probably better than I do.
Well I got at least I got the
Buckeyes colors on you know. Yeah, exactly. You look good.
You know I’m I’m just hearing
my, you know, post workout day straight out of meetings. All
that type of stuff I should have
I should have threw on my own shirt. No no I it’s all good.
Yeah. He’s doing the real work.
Mike. Steve. He’s doing the real work. He is. You talk you talk
about, you know, doing the work
and coming out of meetings and all this stuff right now, the
OTAs, what are some of the
things that you have learned from coaches, your teammates,
whatever that you think are
going to help make you better entering your rookie season?
Yeah, I think, you know,
considering the room that I’m in with such, you know, established
vets and pros and, you know,
with a guy like Baker kind of at the helm of the offense, I’m
just taking bits and pieces
every single day learning from them. There’s really not, you
know, something a scenario
throughout the day where I don’t learn from them. So I’m just
trying to, you know, use every
experience here to be able to learn and grow and establish
really a routine here in Tampa
so that I can be the most successful I can be. And I want
to talk about your relationship
with Baker. I mean, you get drafted and immediately Baker
says, I need his number. I got
to text him. Jason Light says, you’re going to love this guy.
You’re out to brunch with him
and his wife, Emily, just a couple of days later. How has he
helped you assimilate right
away? And how much of that excitement that Jason Light said
he was going to have? How much
has that shown itself already? Yeah, it’s been awesome. You
know, at that brunch, it was
Baker and his wife, obviously, but he also invited kind of all
the starting alignment out. So I
was able to, you know, meet them for the first time and see who’s
going to be holding up for
protection while I’m trying to get open downfield and
everything like that. So meeting
all them was really cool. But, you know, Baker is just such a
professional in the way that he
handles all of his business. And, you know, I think I am in
that way as well. So to be able
to learn from him and, you know, kind of after practice, whenever
we, you know, connect on a pass
or even if we don’t connect on a pass, we’re always looking for
ways to grow and get better. And
he’s always giving me, you know, nuggets to be able to analyze
defenses and how to, you know,
change my route and all that type of stuff. So it’s always a
very cerebral approach when it
comes to our conversations on the field. And I’m sure you
appreciate him being wise enough
to take care of his offensive linemen, you know, like he does
to protect him. But I want to
talk. You mentioned earlier about the room you’re in, Mike
Evans, Chris Godwin, Sterling
Shepard, guys like that, veteran players. What are some of the
things? I mean, do they talk to
you about this or that, or are they kind of let you be you and
kind of figure things out on
your own? No, it’s they’re very supportive and everything that I
do and give me a lot of tips and
advice. I think that, you know, kind of every time I come back
from running a route or maybe I
ran a good route, or if I, if I didn’t run a good, so good
route. You know, sterling’s one
of the first ones to be able to tell me and we’ll, you know,
watch it together on film, you
know, post practice. And we’re always studying the game. So and
then, you know, Mike and Chris,
they’re guys who I can just pick their brain about anything,
football or not football.
They’re always here to be able to help me. So that’s something
I’ve really learned since the
second I got here in Tampa. They’re they’re very supportive.
You got a new offensive
coordinator this year, Josh Grizzard, the new OC. They’re
another change in offensive
coordinator. They keep getting hired away there in Tampa Bay.
But this is your first intro
here from what you’re seeing from the system. Because this is
the time of year where you’re
installing a lot of the key elements. How do you think
that’s going to benefit what you
do and what the team has in general? Yeah, I think playing
for Coach Grizz thus far has
been a really good experience for me. Just seeing how his mind
works, how he’s able to put
players in positions to be able to get, you know, certain looks
and targets and get the ball in
the hands of all the playmakers and stuff like that. Very
creative with with all the stuff
that he does, but also doesn’t overcomplicate things. Allow us
to, you know, go out there and
play football, like how we know how to, you know, we get paid a
lot of money to be able to do
this. So he puts a lot of trust in the players. So I really
respect that. One of the things
that the Buccaneers they’re very involved with in the community,
and recently you guys just did
the cut and color funds, the cure event, which helps raise
money and awareness to pediatric
cancer. What was that like for you, especially because so many
folks in that organization have
participated in this for years? Yeah, it was amazing. That was
obviously a first experience for
me, kind of just right after we got off the practice field
yesterday, we headed on to the
indoor and we had the kids, you know, shave a couple of people’s
heads and spray paint and
everything. I got my beard done and it washed off by now. But,
you know, I had this side was
red, this side was orange. So just being able to connect with
those kids and honestly, they
just inspire me and give me hope, knowing the things that
they’re battling and going
through, you know, they’re a lot stronger than I could ever be.
So I know that they look up to
this team. There’s a lot of people who are huge fans of the
Buccaneers, and just to be able
to take that that second out of my day and make theirs. Meant
the world to me. Good on you.
Good on the Bucs over 800,000 raised now in the history of the
event for the Buccaneers.
Getting close to a million going to cross that threshold. Look,
I’ll keep this in the closet the
next time you come on you throw it on okay. So make sure that
I’m wearing this. But I got to
be honest. Like, there’s different ways I’ve got it
buttoned up. Bert Kreischer, one
of the more famous Buccaneers fans that’s out there, the
comedian, you know, he’s known
for taking his shirt, so he wears it open. This is a
relatively tame picture, but he
usually wears it open. Should I go Bert style or should I go
with the style that I got right
now? What do you think? I think it depends on the scenario. It’s
a very versatile shirt. I’m
saying if you’re at the beach or something like that, you got to
wear it open. That’s the only
that’s the only acceptable answer. But right now, you know,
we’re on a we’re on a talk show.
I think it’s appropriate to have it buttoned up. Good answer.
Yeah. Well done. Not this is not
the beach behind me. I don’t see any palm trees behind me. So
we’ll keep it buttoned up and
businesslike. Emeka Ebuka man, what a great appearance from you
here on the insiders. The first
of many, we hope as you set on your NFL career, we wish you the
best. Looking forward to talk to
you in the future. Yes sir. Thank you guys so much for
having me. It’s been a blast.
The Buccaneers have won a Super Bowl. How about the teams that
haven’t? Who’s got the best shot
in 2025. Is it this guys this these guys I can’t speak I
hopefully we’ll be able to when
the insiders comes back. Okay. So we’re at the film festival
middle of Park City. The doors
open Where we at dusty El Camino.
Tarantino. Y’all know where
we’re at. Good Morning Football is spotlighting some of the
strongest female voices around
the league with an all female cast. Watch Gmfb this Thursday
and Friday at 8 a.m. Eastern on
NFL network is Jamie Erdahl. Cynthia Frelund and Jane Slater
are joined by women both locally
and nationally, making news across the NFL. Across the NFL,
there are 12 teams. Count them a
dozen teams that have never won a Super Bowl. Our guy Eric
Edholm on NFL.com ranks these
teams for the chances to do it for the first time in 25. Steve
Wyche, who you got the Buffalo
Bills. They’ve been close. They’re knocking on the door.
It’s the bills. I want to go
Lions here right. That’s considered one of the Super Bowl
contenders the last couple of
years. But I’m gonna go Chargers I’m expecting big things from
the Chargers Jim Harbaugh
certainly no stranger to the Super Bowl in the second year as
the Chargers head coach. We
shall see. Steve Wyche, thank