Hey, it's Greg, and it's late on the West Coast, and we've had some developments in a potential Brandon Iyuk Trade that I just wanted to get into this show. I did Camp Takeways with Jordan Rodrieg of every team in the NFC in the studio earlier this afternoon, and you're going to hear that. You're going to hear the nice little intro and all the bells and whistles. But first, I wanted to get this Iyuk stuff in. This afternoon, NFL Networks, Mike Gareffolo and Tom Pelacero said, Iuk is now more likely to be traded than to sign an extension, which followed a drum beat of just increasing rumors over the weekend that this actually could happen, which was interesting. Wasn't worth taping an extra part of the show. But then late on the West Coast, why I'm taping is Matt Maioco of CSN Sports Bay area reported that the 49ers have negotiated the framework of trades that would send Ayuk to either the Cleveland Browns or the New England Patriots. And I'm going to quote Maioko here, quote, Now it's up to Iuk to determine if he will accept the contract terms from either of those franchise, the source said.

So the 49ers have worked out trade terms with the Browns and Patriots. It's up to Iuk whether he can work out a contract with them. There's some fascinating details in here. Number one, Washington removed themselves, according to Mayoko. The Steelers are effectively out because they won't meet the 49ers' trade demands. Now, let's pause there for a second. Ayuk, let it be known, early of this offseason, a couple of times, these were the teams he wanted to go to. He mentioned it on the Pivot podcast. He mentioned Washington first. Washington was the team that he sent out on an IG story. He was in there all 22. He somehow had their internal system. I don't even know. He was watching like old Sam Howell tape. It was crazy. So he wanted Washington, and if not, Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh was where this was all rumored to be going. But according to Mayoko, Pittsburgh's out, Washington's out. Let's get back to Mayoko. Let's think about who this is. He is as trusted a Beat reporter, I would say, as there is in the entire NFL. And if he's going to report this late at night on a Monday, after a lot of drama.

It's almost like a team statement, just thinking like, that is not coming out there unless the team wants it out there, if he's not getting it from the team. I thought the wording was really key. Now it's up to Ayuk. It's almost like the 49ers making their move, say, Okay, do you really want to play for one of these teams? Or do you want to take our latest contract offer? Do you want to continue driving us crazy instead with this holdout, which also might be holding up Trent Williams' contract negotiations, who happens to be our best player. I do wonder if it's the 49ers not wanting this negotiation to get to the last second of camp like it did with nick Bosa a couple of years ago. I think it's crazy to trade Ayuk right now. The time to trade him was before before the draft. The time to get his contract done is now or any time after the draft. Any Ayuk trade makes the 49ers team worse, and they are ready to go win a Super Bowl. Those draft picks you're going to get are the same draft picks you're going to get in February or March.

If the 49ers can get great pics from the Patriots and the Browns right now, then get those great pics in March, too, and they're going to be the same pics. That's why you make trades before the draft. You don't make it right now, which brings us to another interesting wrinkle of all this. There's a lot of angles here. That it was reported, again, by Mayoko, that the Browns and the Patriots would both involve a veteran receiver in the trade to help make it work. So in theory, the way it was positioned in this article, and if I'm a 49ers fan, this is driving me crazy, that they said, Well, this would satisfy the 49ers, and it would satisfy Ayuk with the contract. Now, with the Browns, we can speculate that it's Amari Cooper. Mary K. K. Kabbit of cleveland. Com reported, Look, if they included Cooper in the trade, that would make the financials work for Cleveland. I mean, depending on what the draft picks are, if I'm a 49ers fan, I can live with that. Cooper is still really good. He's a little up and down. He's much older. I'm not thrilled. But if it's Cooper and a good pick, okay.

Cooper is not quite a Pro Bowl receiver, but close. He's really good. I could live with that. The Patriots are crazy. You can't tell me Kendrick Bourne in Picks is making you better this year or making you anywhere close. Kendrick Bourne is coming off a tour in ACL. He's still on the PUP list. It's probably Kendrick Bourne. He was in San Francisco before. I mean, Kendrick Bourne is a three or a four there. Juan Jennings is under contract in sign. That makes no sense to me. I don't care what the pics are. You can get those pics later. The Browns, that would be a little more interesting. Now, I do want to get to the financials before we get to the rest of the show because I thought this was interesting, too. A lot of news coming out. Mayoko said that Ayuk is looking for 30 million per year, maybe more. Mayoko also said there haven't been substantive talks between Ayuk and the 49ers in months. What are we doing here? And the 49ers are believed to be a few million dollars short per year of that $30 million. And this is where I take issue with the 49ers.

You could have paid them. You could have paid them back in March. You could have paid them in May. If you're trying to pay them Devante Smith or Jalen Waddle's contract, he's not those players. Those two players are two years out of their contracts, and they're probably not as good anyways. You could have gotten ahead of this, but you didn't. And now the market's higher, and you got to deal with that. He's one and the market's higher, so pay him. That's what happened. He's worth it. I can't imagine Kyle Shanahan is happy about this, what the front office is doing, because he finally found the perfect receiver for his system. He's the guy. Ayouk's the guy. He fits perfectly with Purdy, fits perfectly in the system. They went through ups and downs. They got Ayuk to this point, and now they're going to trade him. And part of me thinks for them to go public right now, it's almost calling Ayuk's bluff, putting the ball in his court because they think, are you really going to want to play with the Patriots, a rebuilding team? To me, that would be a mistake for both sides.

Getting Cooper back would make more sense, but maybe they feel like he doesn't want to play for Cleveland. Maybe not. But putting it out there makes me wonder about them because the smart thing is to keep Bayuk and stop worrying about making your player look bad in the public and using sources to tell your story. And the truly smart thing was to not let it get to this point, but it's too late for that. But it's not too late to still make the right move and keep him. And if I was a 49ers fan, I hope that this is just some public push to get Ayuk to actually take a contract because trading Ayuk right now, at this point in the offseason, is insane. And with that, let's get to the rest of the show. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we love getting in fights during the dog days of training camp. We've reached the dog days. I'm beyond excited today to be joined by Jordan Rodrieg of The Athletic in the Chris Wesling podcast studio to go over camp notes from all of the NFC teams. It's going to be fun.

As I get deeper and deeper into training camp every year, I lose track of days, times, time zones, and I just start counting the passage of time based on different development of tan lines. It's a sad situation, Greg.

It is that week because the preseason starts in earnest later this week. I think the official dog days is now because the teams are sick of playing against each other. We're at practice 10, 12, whatever it is. The joint practices started. We'll start with the Giants, and so fights are happening, but that means we're getting closer. We're getting closer to the real stuff.

Yeah, I saw those videos today.

Yes. Let's start with the Giants, actually, because why waste any time? If you listened on Monday, you saw that and heard that nick Shook and I hit all 16 AFC teams. So we are going to try to be efficient, Jordan. We like to honk.

Just a couple of big honkers over here.

Okay. Watch out there. And yeah, so we're going to hit all 16 teams. And yeah, I'll start with the NFC East, and I'll start with the Giants. Yeah, because they had that practice today, and a couple of reporters that were there watching it live said, This is the most intense practice I've literally ever seen. Colton Pouncy from The Athletic, who's a Lions Beat writer, said that. Another one of the Giants beat writer said, Yeah, this is the most physical practice I'd seen in nine years, which whatever. That doesn't really matter to me. Giants are getting really excited. It's like, actually, they look pretty good, surprisingly, against the lines. I'm not that concerned about that, although it doesn't hurt. But the fact that Daniel Jones threw eight passes to Malik Nabors in this practice, and Nabors caught all eight, just backs up everything we've been hearing from the first day of training camp, which is that Nabors is a culture changer and an offense changer, and they needed him so bad. Not that they wouldn't want a quarterback, but it really does feel like he is going to change who they are.

I'm generally morally opposed to isolated training camp clips that everybody freaks out over and draws vast sweeping conclusions over. In the case of Malik Nabors, keep them coming. I love I think Charlotte Carroll, my colleague at the Athletic, she posts one every single day, at least, including one where she almost got taken out by a football. So I hope she's doing okay. But like I said at the very beginning, Malik Nabors is the type of player who makes you look less wrong about the quarterback. And I think that that's super crucial. You see him potentially raising Daniel Jones's floor.

Yeah. And Daniel Jones showed up on Monday with a beard, and he's been playing a little better. So I just feel like beareded, Daniel Jones is going to get things done. I'm more invested in this rookie class than I normally would be because of hard knocks. So their whole idea is like, Let's get four starters out of this class, including Brian Burns. I think they were counting as one of the starters. They're not all going to work out. Right now, it looks like Tyler Newben, the safety who they took in the second round, is probably not going to start. It's going to be Dane Belton. And yeah, this was according to some of the work at the athletic. But Drew Phillips, who they drafted to be a slot cornerback, he actually started one of the eight fights today with Amon Ross, St. Brown, and supposedly been playing really well, and it looks like he's going to start. Theo Johnson, the tight end, who is not expected to start, is right now ahead of Daniel Bellinger, has a lot of athleticism. So that's another young piece to get excited about. Jalen Hyatt, who's right now their third wide receiver, ahead of Darius Slate.

I'm thinking about fantasy, too. I feel like this time of year, Slate, and they always bury him, and he always ends up rising. But some of the young players stepping up. Evan Neal not stepping up, a guy who has been hurt, and it really doesn't look like he's going to get that first round, or rather, that starting job back.

A couple of things. Theo Johnson, keep hearing buzz about him. I'll see his name pop up on my social media feed every once in a while. Just beat writers on the ground there in New Jersey, just buzzing about him and what he can do. It sounds like the Giants brought the fight today, which was framed as a positive thing, as a good thing in terms of they're not going to just keel over. They're not going to go quietly. They're going to try to make the most defensively, at least, what they believe they're capable of. I think this could be a sneaky good defense. I don't know as much about the offense here, but I think it could be a sneaky good defense.

Yeah, and they said the offense had a solid day. I don't know about Joe Shane. We watched him on Hard Knocks for five weeks, getting in the middle of one of these fights, supposedly.

He's building up his cred.

All Jeff Van Gunde. That's what I imagined was Jeff Van Gunde holding on to... I don't even remember who that was.

I need to know if he kept his Duncan Donuts cup in his hand as he sprinted into the pocket.

Daniel Jones also supposedly was first in on the first fight of the day. I was like, his teammates respect that, but I don't know if you want to do it. All right, let's go on to the Eagles. Mekai Becton, I've noticed, getting a chance with the first team. There's been some injuries there, but both him and Tyler Steen were back in the lineup on Monday, and Becton getting a chance. That's interesting. Their number three receiver battle is up for grabs. Johnny Wilson. Paris Campbell has been hurt. Yeah, Johnny Wilson out there.

Johnny Wilson, yeah. Again, there's been some buzz on Johnny Wilson. He's, quote, unquote, according to my colleague, Brooks Koubana, is making a case that he could really be the number three, six-round pick. And apparently, he's popping in camp and also getting a lot of opportunities. And then you hear the people who are supposed to shine are shining. Devante Smith, apparently having the best camp of any player on the field.

Yeah, we had Bo Wolf on last week, so we don't need to go too deep. He was fantastic talking eagles. But one thing I don't think we hit with Bo was, Nekobi Dean just may not happen. It just might not work out for him. He had injuries. People thought that was such a great pick by the eagles. I did two in the third round, and right now he's behind Zack Bond and just hasn't made plays. He's been able to be healthy, but it doesn't seem like he's a Vic fan geo guy. It's interesting, Quinian Mitchell, if he ends up being their week one starting slot cornerback, which it really looks like he's going to be, he actually would be the highest drafted player to be primary slot to ever play as a rookie. You just don't normally see rookie corners start. I don't think that was their plan initially, but he's apparently looked good there, and they liked their outside corners with Keely Ringo and Isiah. I think that's a good problem to have. I would not freak out.

The most popular, I wouldn't say best, but the most popular offenses in the league right now are really trying to capitalize on the middle of the field, particularly extrapolating those matchups in the middle of the field, having a really good slot player who can tackle, who is physical, who has good ball skills. That is absolutely crucial. I guess I'm not as surprised about this in Vic Fangio's system. He doesn't always play young players, but if he really likes a guy, he's hitting full send.

Okay, so he'll find a place for him. But it also says to me that that Joe and Isaiah Rogers, who was suspended all of last year, but actually had a pretty good rookie year with the Colts, that they liked them. Also, I'm watching in training camp, or preseason, rather, the Tanner McKee, Kenny Picket battle. I don't know why. Hell, yeah. I like a little Tanner McKee. Supposedly, he's looked better in practice. All right, let's go to Washington. This was a tougher team for me to know what to talk about, but man, Dan Quinn is really hitting the Jaden Daniels' is amazing hard. Maybe he's just one of those coaches, but saying he's remarkable and his processing is just way ahead of schedule. So all systems go for Jaden Daniels. I just worry about what's around him. The two tackle spots are open. They already looked like it was a problem to me on paper, and they've been injured in camp. And then wide receiver three, tight end. I don't know.

It's okay if you come into training camp, the earliest days, report days of training camp without a knowledge of who a player will be or two players even at a crucial position. But you got to know by now, when joint practices get started, when you're really deciding how much time Jaden Daniels is going to play in the preseason, which is what is being discussed right now, it sounds like he will play in the preseason. I will say keeping him healthy is absolutely crucial. Ben Standeg, we're talking about beat writers here. He does a great job. He is very neutral. He's not one for razzle-dazzle or anything like that. He says there is at least one moment in every single practice where Jaden Daniels puts the razzle-dazzle on and reminds the team why they picked him.

The razzle-dazzle, I like that. The combination of that with the processing is great. But again, yeah, wide receiver three, about as thin to me as any group in the league. Then I saw an article that was headlined, Zackerts is Washington's best red zone option. I'm just thinking, that's not a good sign. No slate to Zackerts.

I think about... I mean, it's just people get old.

It's happening. He's been hurt, and maybe he's having a good camp, but that says to me more about the rest of the team. Nikki Havabala of the Washington Post had a stat that of the 33 players drafted from 2020 to 2023 in the last regime, only six are guaranteed to make the team. I think it's just a bigger rebuild than people realize.

They turned over 40 players over the last calendar year from the last regime.

It's rough. If you look at their last two draft classes, there are 22 and 23. It's just not a lot of difference makers. Let's wrap the NFC East with the Eagles. I mean, with the Cowboys, rather. Been a couple of things here. Let's start with Trey Lance. We haven't talked about Trey Lance. I listened to this podcast with Brian Brodus, and and Bobby Belt, I believe. It was great. Who works at NFL Network, and they're all focused on Trey Lance. I forgot, Oh, that's a huge story in Dallas. It's not a huge story nationally, because I think for some of us, the book is written a little bit on Trey Lance, but the hope there is that they find maybe a future quarterback because Dak Prescott may not be there next year. And just the reports have been rough that he just is not ready to be their backup, much less a future quarterback. That has just been a tough transition.

I think to your I think we're all focusing on the Dak situation, which is still unresolved or maybe is resolved. It's just because it doesn't have a finality to it. We're thinking it's unresolved.

If it was resolved, that means he's playing out the year. Yeah.

As of now, it looks like he's going to play out the year and then either go elsewhere, which he talked openly about a couple of weeks ago. The quarterbacks he's watched over the last couple of years in history who have done that, or they pay him. There's very few options here, but that's what we're focused on, obviously. It's probably why the Trey Lance stuff goes under the radar. But the Beat people on the ground are definitely looking at what comes next because I think they see the realities of the situation ahead.

It just sounds like it's not pretty, which is a bummer. Yeah, Dak spoke again over the weekend. I think the vibe is, if you're Dak Prescott, why sign this contract now? Even if they're offering him the highest paid contract in NFL history in certain ways, or in all ways, he can just think, I've already made so much money. I will get more money from the Cowboys, or definitely if I'm on the open market next offseason, if I just play this thing out, and you're taking a little bit of a risk, but I think it's going that route. I'm fascinated by it because I wanted to see Kirk Cousins hit the open market and really reset things. Maybe he wasn't the right guy for it in the end because of his injury, but Dak Prescott is the right guy.

He's going I can draw the same type of buzz and hype and maybe even more than Kirk Cousins always did from a particular set of coaches. I think that this is super interesting. Honestly, I get it. If that's really where he's coming from, and we're not going to put words in anyone's mouth, but if that's where he's coming from, you don't even know if your head coach is going to be there next year. You don't know if XYZ players are going to be there. Your top receiver is still in a holdout right now. You don't know the direction of this organization right now. So why not hold more cards for yourself and protect yourself in that way?

This is a deeper deck talk than I expected, but that's why it's fun having you here, because I do want to get to other stuff with the cowboys. But the deck thing is interesting because I thought I really wanted Lamar to do this more than anyone, that if he got in the open market, he could really reset how much quarterbacks are actually worth. Because if Dak gets out there, he could get 65 a year. He could blow it up. And when I heard Dak say over the weekend that he's thinking about all the players in the league and wanting to push the envelope for them, but he's not talking about his teammates. He's talking about, let's just push the pay structure to a new level. I thought, oh, man, he is not signing right now, which is fascinating to me. There's been a lot of stories, though, in this camp. And the podcast I mentioned, by the way, is called Love of the Star. I want to give them credit because I'm really getting a lot of this from them. I've read stuff, but they think, for the most part, maybe the best wide receiver in camp has been Jalen Tolbert, so that's nice.

A guy who's when Brandon Cooke is the two, but getting older and Tolbert's younger. Sounds like he's settling into a role when CeeD Lamb comes back. The biggest takeaway I had is that Tyler Gaiton and Cooper Beebe, which after the draft, people are like, Oh, they're going to have two rookie starters. Cooper Beebe is like a plug and play center. Beebe's struggling. He's not going to be the starter. It's this guy who's an undrafted free agent that the line coach like Solari Hansman is going to be their center. Tyler Gaiton might not be their week one starter either. Might be Adogo. Again, It might be something where just they're not comfortable playing rookie. It's one of those things you look on draft day, it's like, Oh, they'll have this youth movement, and then you get to camp, and it's not quite like that.

If I'm recalling correctly, and I might not be, and I know you'll correct me if I'm not, but Gaiten He was supposed to always take some time, wasn't he?

Yes, he was supposed to be raw. He was the guy at the end of the first round that was pushed up to the end of the first round that was really talented, but six tackles had already gone by then.

One thing that you have always done, and you guys on the previous show around the NFL always did that I think is so awesome and really brought so much joy around the league to us beat writers on the ground in the trenches, is that you always sided us. And so that's pretty freaking cool that that's still ringing true.

Yeah, let's keep doing that. I didn't need to cite anyone to know Mazzie Smith is struggling because the coaches have talked about it. Man, I look at that draft they had last year where I think they really reached for some need picks, him and Scoonmaker. Neither one's really working out. They just have a lot of positions that are up for grabs. I think their starting running back might not be on their roster right now, and they might have some defensive tackles out there on different teams or our free agents that end up playing big snaps. There's a lot going on with this team. I think they have a lot to fix in the coming weeks. Let's take our first break now, and so that they're not just crammed together at the end of this show, and we'll be back right after that break. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. We're back here, hitting camp takeaways for all the NFC teams. You're going to kick us off with the bears, Jordan.

Yeah, we're going to go to the NFC North, the bears, DJ Moore, four years, $110 million extension. Do you know what I love the most about this, Greg, I'm going to tell you without you answering. Okay. What I love the most about this is that they are quite literally aligning the careers of DJ Moore and Roma Dunzé. They are literally pairing them. Four years on the rookie deal, obviously, if he plays well to get extended before that. But this is their tandem. I know Keenan Allen's there. I love that. I love that fit, and I love his leadership. But in terms of, they're showing you exactly who their dudes are and who Caleb Williams' guys are going to be for the next four seasons, at least.

That is such a I wouldn't say underrated, but it's just so valuable to have some idea of who's going to be on your team in 26 and 27. You compare that to other sports. The NFL has so much turnover. When you can find your guys at those positions, it's so valuable. I do wonder if we're going to see Caleb Williams this week in the preseason. They wanted to play him quite a bit, but right now, they're short three offensive line starters. So Tevin Jenkins is out, Darnell Wright is out, Nate Davis is out. If they're not producing on offense, and right now, just according to the practice reports, the offense is losing for the most part against this bear's defense, and they're worried about keeping him upright. We might not see Caleb Williams this week. It is a little concerning. Obviously, this offensive line on paper is not great to begin with, but none of these injuries seem overly serious.

Yeah, I think week to week is what you're looking at with some of these guys. There's been a lot of conversation about the offense versus the defense. Again, this is the extrapolated clips time of year. Caleb Williams, you see some good days, sometimes you see some bad days. I wanted to ask someone who's seen all the days, who's been at every single practice this year. I asked my good friend Kevin Fishbane, covers the bears for the athletic. I promise I read every beat writer in the league. It's just we've opened with a lot of athletic people. Kevin is, I wouldn't call him athletic, but he does work for the athletic.

You have a free subscription.

I asked him really, genuinely, what are your thoughts on Caleb? I'm just going to read the text that he sent me back. He said, The offense has struggled to get in a rhythm or be a smooth operation, but that's not all on Caleb. He cited the offensive lineman being out, the three of them being out. So only two starters on that line are healthy right now. He's still working through a new scheme dealing with cadences against a veteran defense that does know the calls. That said, he has looked the part. The off schedule throws, the arm angles, the accuracy are eye-popping, and he wants to throw. He can run, but he's trying to stay in the pocket and let his receivers do the work.

They're on year three of their defense, by the way, too.Defense is going to be frisky.Defense is not a fair fight. They need another edge rusher. Austin Booker, a fifth-round rookie, been getting some notice, made a couple of plays just in terms of pushing the pocket in the Hall of Fame game, so that's a name to watch.

They're also missing. They're not expected to be serious, but they have been missing at various points, and recently we're missing Montez Sweat, Andrew Billings, cornerbacks Kyler Gordon, Tyreek Stevenson, and safety Jaquan Risker. And so Jalen Johnson He said he's not super worried about that, but just something to keep an eye on. Injuries, sneaky, taking over some parts of these practices, I think.

All right, let's do the other side of that. Giants, lions.

Let's go right into the lions. Yeah, because I was going to bring up the joint practice This is, too. Again, Colton Pounsi was saying he's never seen as physical of a practice. They did take some contact. It looked like Kevin Zetler, the guard, he had to leave practice with a shoulder injury, and then Terry Arnold took a nasty from a left tackle, Giants left tackle.

That one you could see. That is one of the clips that was out there, is Andrew Thomas on the edge, just crushing Arnold, who was not knocked down, surprisingly.

Yeah, he stood in there, but he now is being evaluated.

This is the downside of these joint practices is the fights and you don't want to have injuries.

Yeah, absolutely. It sounds like Brian Branch might come back to full practice soon. He was in individuals. He was doing a little bit of pads work, had some team opportunities. He is so much fun to Got you. It sounds like he's going to be at safety instead of moving around all over the place. Ennis Rake straw, the rookie cornerback, getting his hands on the ball, apparently, according to reports on the ground there at those practices.

They're just so deep there. Jamieson Williams started the team session, the red zone session, with a wide open 20-yard countdown. And yeah, your colleague, Colton Pouncey, I listened to his podcast, too, which is just transferring. Check out his new one. And He talked about how the class of '21, which, of course, had Panesu there and Amman Raseh and Brown, super, duper stars, are really developing. And three defenders, Levi, Unwu Zurike, who just hasn't been able to stay healthy, and then Derek Barnes and then Melo Fonwa, who came on at safety at the end of last year. To me, that just shows what a great coaching staff can do, because these are guys they stuck with, and they're not going to be superstars or anything, but it really sounds like Onwezu Rike, and they could really use another interior presence, is ready to have his best season, and the other two guys are ready to have their best seasons. Barnes is now Derek Barnes at Strong Side Linebacker, and Jack Campbell is going to be in the middle and looks apparently a little more ready for a bigger role this year. Melafonwe was great last year.

That's just what good coaching staffs can do. That, yeah, it's not just about first year, second year. Sometimes your guys in your fourth year can take a jump. If they do, this may be my NFC title pick. Not that that's on a limb or anything, but I like them.

Before I jump to the packers, sounds like they did for fantasy football people. Sounds like they did find their wide receiver three, Doris Fountain, former practice squad member, might be making a little bit of a case for himself. Let's hit the packers. Let's go to the packers. Please. Did I do that? Okay, this is my first time throwing. That's your job. I know.

Maybe I'm putting too much on you.

That's your job. But I'm throwing to the next section here. Let's go. Okay, Romeo Dobbs, The Buzz going against Jair Alexander. There's a lot of people, his teammates, former teammates as well, who are shouting him out as one of the top receivers in the league or ready for that breakout season. I'm curious. I know you've been tracking that a little bit. I'm curious about your thoughts on that.

Yeah, he always is great in camp because he's the best at making those red zone just wild catches, but he's proven he can do it. I was a little worried because at family night, we'll get to that more in a bit, someone charted the snaps with Jordan Love and my guy, Dontavian Wix, who to me might be the most well-rounded of the four receiver. So Jane Reeds in the slot, you have Christian Watson, you have Dobbs. They're all different flavors. But Wix had the fewest amount of snaps. It's a good problem to have for the packers. It's great for fantasy people less so. I was a little down on that. At the end of last year, Dobbs was their most trusted guy.

Yeah, outstanding. Connection with him and Jordan Love. It just seems like it just never slowed down. It just picked up right where I left off. Rookey first-round pick Jordan Morgan. He played left tackle at Arizona in college. He's going to play right guard, and he's been getting reps with the ones. They've had some injuries as well. But he basically told reporters the other day he just wants to get on the field. He'll play wherever.

Right. This is a very packer's thing. They always have position flexible guys and change positions year to year. Elton Jenkins, who's been a pro bowler, is always in a different spot. Another one of their rookies, see Evan Williams, their safety getting a lot of pop. Aaron Nagler, of Cheesehead TV, has said that this guy is just a player, and they drafted two safeties with pretty valuable picks, him and Javan Bowler, and seeing I think one works out. I think Rashaun Gary is going to have a monster year because, again, it's the second year after the ACL injury. So he's someone to watch. They would love Lucas Van Ness, who was pretty quiet as a rookie to step up a little.

Okay, explain something to me, actually. I would love... Well, you, of all people, please explain this to me. So Zack Tom is going to come back to practice. Sounds like he's been working in a couple of individuals. He had a torn pec for it from lifting weights. So just let me hang on. Just hang in there. They're right tackle. Hang in there. Tucker Kraft. He may return either this week or next week. Torn pectoral from lifting weights. Matt Lafleur, torn pectoral from lifting. So, Greg, I know as an avid bodybuilder yourself, what are they lifting? How heavy are they lifting over there? I mean, can we get a ballpark?

The form must be bad. Yeah, I'm not too much into the lifting. That would shock you. I don't want to say what I'm really thinking, which is just like, these are types of injuries that didn't occur back in the '60s and '70s. I'm just saying. I don't know.

Okay, Boomer.

It's not about that. It's just like, what else is going on there?

Do you think they were all in a competition together? Bro, who can bench the most reps?

Something to that effect.

I do want to shout out. To me, the coolest moment of training camp happened at Packers camp. They had friends and family night, and they had people in the stands, and it was really cool. We get to go to Lambo field and get excited about the season. There was a kid who was catching punts, was fielding NFL punts, and he fielded two punts, held onto the ball, both of the footballs, and then caught a third, and the team just lost. I think this is my first time throwing to a video, guys, so let's hope I get it. We got a video from the Packers YouTube channel.

There we go. Got that one. These young fellows are... They're coming on. Coming on strong. That's good coaching, Rock, right there.

They're getting good coaching.

This kid's about 10 years old.

Oh, with the hands. Now, this is the best. His face.

He got it.

Nailed it. I love it.

You got to be kidding me.

Everyone comes over.

This kid will never forget this moment. Trust me, no matter what he does the rest of his sports life.

I just love that. I just thought that. I just think that's so... That's training camp in a nutshell.

That was incredible, though, because most NFL players could not do that. And you got a 10-year-old kid. I thought it got them a practice off or something like that.

The Rams are going to sign them. They had the worst special teams unit in the league last year. Okay, Minnesota. Yeah. I wonder what you made of Kevin O'Neill coming up to the podium or the lectern or whatever the right word for that is. And he was a little salty, adamant for sure, when he was asked at the beginning of camp about the plan for the quarterback and all of that, and he hammered down into, We're doing it this way. I'm not going to put JJ McCarthy into anything he's not ready for beforehand. But it sounds like JJ McCarthy's workload is ramping up a little bit.

Yeah, a little bit of first-team reps, and they did it on a Saturday with three reps. It was almost like... A-series. It was almost like a Friday news drop that they just didn't want anyone to notice. We'll see. All reports are that for the most part, he's looked really sharp, good in red zone, better than Sam Darnold at certain things and worse at others. I listen to Purple Daily, is a good Vikings podcast, and they've been on this. One thing they pointed out, Judd Zolgad there, was that Darnold looks great throwing the ball deep. It just looks so pretty. But this is an intermediate offense. That's where Justin Jefferson has won over and over, and that That's not Sam Darnold's strength, and that's not where he's been accurate necessarily as a pro. So that might be an issue. But... Yes.

Has he always had Johnny Munt with him?

No.

A little bit tug and cheek there, but Johnny Munt, apparently, is catching everything in camp. He hasn't dropped a pass yet, and he's also gotten the most targets, according to the Beatwriters there. So that's significant to me. My good friend, Steve Jackson and I, he works over at the Rams. We have a saying because we covered him, You cannot stop Johnny Munt. You may only hope to contain him. Yes.

Tj Hawkinson coming off of a torn ACL at tight end. So yeah, I don't think Munt is going to be the centerpiece of their offense, but it points out that that is a big place in their often. Jalen Naylor, it seems like if he's healthy, he's going to be their wide receiver three. So we do learn about these position battles, and that's good. He's always been a talented young player who just hasn't been able to stay healthy. Your guy, Brandon Powell, is probably more their fourth. And then they're so thin cornerback. I think it's going to be a major problem for this team. They signed Fabian Moureau, and he immediately just started taking starter reps. So that's not a great sign. Here's a repeat from around the NFC last year when when he did this show. I was mentioning how Quessi has done a great job, but his first two draft picks he ever had were struggling to get out in the field, Lewis Seane and Andrew Booth. And now here we are a year later. They're still on the team, but Seane is probably not going to be on the team after and Andrew Booth might not be either.

So even the good GMs, it looks like two big swings and misses.

It sounds like they're going to rely pretty heavily on scheme with this defense and Brian Flores and safety play and Brian Flores manufacturing pressure up front to help those cornerbacks out to terrorize quarterbacks on the other side.

They have four safeties that they love, and they play Josh Metellus, and Theo Jackson has been playing well in camp. So there's your Vikings update. Let's do the NFC South next, and I'll kick it off with a team that's near and dear to your heart. I don't need to give away your business, but you were having a nice conversation with Ron Rivera today in the newsroom.

It was great to see Ron.

Ron, now working at the NFL Network. What was he here for? Gmfb? I don't know, but he was here. Yeah, you and Ron Rivera, you guys are tight. This Panthers team, you're just looking for positivity, but they have had some injuries. Xavier Laguette Marriott was their first-round pick, was not necessarily in line to be their third receiver. They were hoping that he really changes their wide receiver room. Supposedly, the Patriots were going to take him, but they took him before the Patriots could. Has a foot injury, but wasn't impressing the people on the ground there. Your old colleague, Joseph Person, Mike K, is also at the Charlotte Observer there. They both had, I wouldn't say negative, but just saying it was taking a while for him to get going. Jonathan Mingo, who I like coming out in the draft, they're saying maybe he's a little more ready to have a big role. So it might be Mingo starting, and maybe Terrace Marshall is the third.

Yeah, it'll be interesting. It sounds like Dave Canales is going to utilize tight ends. Like we've said for a lot of different teams, it sounds like he's going to lean on those guys a little bit more. I just want good things for the papers, for the fans. I just want good things for them. I mean, my God, can we move the ball down the field, please?

There's a lot of Bryce Deontay Johnson. No matter what the source is, whether it's their team website or anyone writing, it's like another good day for Bryce and Deontay Johnson. I think that's going to end up being a great, great trade for them.

Hope springs eternal. Okay, but on the other side of the ball, sneaky, older in a couple of really important positions, particularly in that defensive scheme under Ajiro Evero. Jadavian Clowny, who I have loved as a player for a long time. It's really fun when he puts it together, and he still has definitely plenty of explosiveness and power. He's slotted in. They released their Daren Gand at the team website. They released their first depth chart, and I know we're not going to read too much. And I like the the team release depth charts this time of year. But he's on the edge. And then Troy Hill is starting in the slot for them. And again, those are two absolutely crucial positions. You cannot get hurt there. They are concerning on that side of the ball, and their offense, we just don't know if their offense is going to actually help that defense out.

They don't have any other edges. That's the thing is, Clowny, as long as he plays like he did the last couple of years and stays healthy, that's great. But after that, it's pretty thin, I got to say. Tite end, they might start. J'o'tabian Sanders week one just because Ian Thomas, their regular starter, might be out all the way until then. Backfield. Maybe it's Miles Sanders, maybe not. Andy Dalton's out for a couple of weeks with a quad injury, which I hope... Let's get healthy soon, Andy Dalton. All right, let's go to the Saints. I was down there in Irvine for NFL Network on Friday, and that was fun. Tyron Matthew, great interview. I love what he said about some criticism that he heard from C. J. Garner Johnson.

I mean, the numbers speak for themselves.

You know what I mean? I'm thinking I'm like one or two in interception since 2013. You know what I mean? I've been an all decade, all pro player. So when guys like that chirp, it doesn't really bother me. But every now and then, I got to take that low road and remind them who I am. Does it give you a little extra juice? You play them week two. You're playing the Eagles. You got that circled now? Oh, yeah, for sure.

Listen, man, he used to play for the Saints, and obviously, I played against the Eagles a bunch, man.

That's a great team. I think nick is going to do a great job getting those guys ready, but we're going to be ready to roll. I love that from Honey Badger. And you do get this attitude from this defense that they believe that they're going to be good enough to carry this team. And they've won a lot of the days at training camp, but supposedly, Derek Carr in the offense, getting it going a little better. To me, Chase Young Looking really healthy and strong coming off neck surgery is probably the biggest single development down there at their camp.

What was it? The Kubiax? What was the group?

Kubiai.

Well, no. That's what I call them. It was a kettle, a battle of Kubiax. Anyway, I'm expecting a lot more play action that's going to help everybody out on offense. That will particularly, in my opinion, help Derek Carr out in terms of some of the efficiency and just sustaining through the course of the season. I agree with you, though. This defense has perennially It's really been pretty fun to watch, even if you haven't really... Other parts of the team haven't really popped or they haven't really been in the topical conversation of really exciting teams to watch. This defense is always fun. I do think that maybe it sounds like from that interview, great interview with Tyron Matthew. A little bit of pop, a little bit of chippiness on the shoulder. We're on chip alert. Someone tell Claybon.

You never know what to put into it whenever you leave a team and you're like, Oh, yeah, of course, they're all going to be great. They believe they're going to be great. I was impressed by Willie Gay, their linebacker who I also had a chance to interview with Bridget Condon, that he managed to stay totally calm while a gigantic beetle the size of a small rat landed on the back of his head. It was right next to me and I'm not going to touch that man's head. I was a little… Did you stay calm? I was pretty calm, yeah. Thankfully, their PR head knocked it off, what they said. But that was impressive. This team is just so thin behind their top skill guys. Rasheed Shahid is out of practice right now, and their second wide receiver is who? I mean, you don't know. It's like E. T. Perry or this undrafted kid, Mason Tipton, or who knows? And behind Alvin Kamara at running back, they like the second-year player Jordan Mims, but Jamal Williams is still there. It's pretty thin. You got a backup-quarterback battle with Jake Hayner and Spencer Rattler. That's It's fun, but they are as banged up right now as any team in the league.

I counted nine starters that were out of... Nine starters or top rotation guys that were out of practice on Monday, which is just... That's an outrageous number, including to Mario Davis and Marshawn Latamorce. You just want to get healthy.

I said this a few weeks ago, I think to you, over the next few years, keep an eye on Spencer Rattler in terms of that development, in terms of that skill level ascension, making things a little bit interesting there at quarterback, I think.

Oh, yeah. If they struggle as a team, fans will be calling for him. But he's got to play well in the preseason to win that backup job, supposedly. Reportedly, Jake Hayner, who was their choice last year in the middle rounds, is playing better, and it is a battle. Let's move on to the Bucks. I thought it was interesting. Levante David said, This is the best culture we've ever had in Tampa. I was like, Well, Levante David has been there for a long time with some good teams that won the Super Bowl. This is the best culture right now that they've ever had. Todd Bulls.

Todd Bulls. Todd Bulls, perennially chill dude. Like, dials up some of the nastiest you know what you've ever seen, but just stays very calm, even keel. Loved some of his press conferences this last year. I think they flew under the radar. Some of the dry humor flew under the radar. But I think he's also talking about vibes collectively in the building. I know Liam Cohen got a lot of criticism for that 2022 and then that demotion back down into college at Kentucky and then moving laterally into another OC job. Liam Cohen and Baker Mayfield together, like an all vibe situation, to be frank.

I was thinking, Okay, who's not there? Like, Devon White's not there. Carlton Davis isn't there. I thought that was interesting. I just think people are sleeping on this Bucks squad. I think they're the favorites in the NFC South, but they are thin at outside linebacker. We talked about Yaya Diaby has a high ankle sprain. Randy Gregory, I don't think, is showing up. I heard a little whisper. Was that from you? That there was a team out there that I think is hoping to sign Randy Gregory because they think this whole thing with the Bucks is just not going to happen.

That was not me.

Okay. I'm not going to say what team, but yeah. Keep an eye on that. They've had some injuries in the secondary. Zion McCollum is their second cornerback. It's asking a lot. Tavier Thomas is their third, but a quiet and somewhat A healthy training camp for the Bucks. It's good to be quiet. Let's go to the Falcons. They've been noisier, I would say. We've talked a lot about Kirk Cousins. One thing that occurred to me in this camp is you haven't been hearing, and I tried to dig a little bit on this, that Michael Pennex is pushing him. I don't think Michael Pennex is having the rookie training camp so far that's going to make everyone think, Okay, this guy is close to being ready when Kirk Cousins is looking as good as he is. With that said, I do expect Taylor Heineke to get traded maybe at the end of training camp for a conditional sixth or seventh to some team that could use him as a backup.

Yeah. This is not to downgrade anything that Kirk Cousins is doing. It sounds like he's leading. It sounds like he's looking good, looking healthy. But backup quarterbacks don't get a lot of reps at training camp. You are literally installing a new offense. So Kirk Cousins is going to get the lion's share, obviously, of those reps. And even with the twos, you're just not allocating allocating that amount of time that you would be in a system that has already been there for a couple of years. Players know the language. The rep allocation is just significantly different. And so what I think is interesting is you are seeing some of Kirk Cousins' preferred players start to emerge a little bit. Ray Ray McCloud is going to be their slot receiver, according to reporters on the ground down there, and it's being framed as a surprise. It's just interesting. They're starting to take shape in terms of a diverse passing game. We hope that we see the ball get thrown around a lot more. I know that football players definitely hope. And then the other thing I thought was interesting coming out of Falcons camp is, Bijan is extraordinary, right?

So talented. But there were some notes on some of the ball security issues. He had four fumbles last year. Apparently, that's been a huge emphasis for him and then also for everybody around him in collectively keeping that front of mind through these practices.

At Yeah, that's fascinating because look, if your third receiver is Ray McLeod, no slight to him, but I just think a lot of balls are going to Drake London and Pitz.

Who's learning two jobs. You talked about them on the show.

Yeah, inside-outside. Although he's always been that. So that, to me, isn't too different. He's always basically been a slot receiver. Their website said, Breland Trice has been the quickest rookie to make an impact over the last couple of weeks, maybe getting more snaps than Everketty. They need to find a pass rusher, so that would really help. Then, yeah, the Falcons defense might lead the league in guys that you've just never heard of that might be starting. James Smith-Williams at linebacker. Nate Landman in the mix. Right now, it's probably Mike Hughes over Clark Phillips at cornerback. So just a lot of open spots there. Raheem Morris will be tested, and we're going to be tested with one last division. It's Jordan Rodriguez's division. She talks about the Rams too much now.

Yes, I do. I've heard the feedback.

We'll talk about the Rams and the rest of the NFC West after one last break. Back on NFL Daily, parading through the streets on the fourth of July. That's what this sounds like to me. Love of this country. Go Simone Biles. I don't know. Let's start with the Seahawks in the NFC West, Jordan.

I actually have to have a really serious conversation with you about this. What? What was your darkest day of the great Geno scare 2024?

I think it was just the text. I now don't remember who sent it to me. You only see the first part of the text, and it was like, Yeah, Gino's out of practice. Tests coming. And then it was like, What else does it say? You just blacked out. He's back at practice. I'm just excited for this season for him, for them. But I am worried about the offensive line, and this was what the Gino stands were saying last year. That's like, I promise He's playing pretty well, but he's under the most pressure rate in the league. I don't know if that's going to change. Abe Lucas, it sounds like his injuries, he's their right tackle, are serious enough. Who knows when he's going to be back, if he's going to be the same when he's back. The The interior is a question mark. There was a mention on the radio in Miami on Monday that Connor Williams, who is a really good center for the Dolphins, but is coming off a torn ACL, might be signing with the Seahawks in the next 2-3 days. That would make me feel better.

Yeah, good center. A lot of experience. Sounds like he's on the circuit a little bit, negotiating a little bit with Miami, but then also talking with some other people around the league. He's been on a couple of visits, had some conversations, so I think that would be a good pick.

On my top 101 list. That was good.

Maybe too high. Where?

Like the mid '60s, I think. High because he's been a rock solid plus starting center. Why are you laughing?

Because I really just like...

Who's going to even check to see if I'm right or not? I love listening to your colleague- Michael Sean Dugard.

Yes.

Michael Sean Dugard talking on his podcast about just the wide receiver cornerback matchups. That has to be the best wide receiver cornerback matchups in the entire league. I thought it's been interesting I like to hear Mike McDonald, their coach, say, Tarek Wullen this year is on a mission after a pretty down second year. They love the versatility of those three guys. Trey Brown is the third, who's an underrated for a third cornerback. He's really good. When they're matching up with that wide receiver trio. That's as good as it gets probably in practice every day around the league.

You know what? It's so much fun to think about. I mean, they're moving, Tarek Wullen and Devon Witherspoon, they're moving them around. Left, right, Witherspoon. Spoon is also playing in the a lot a little bit. On the other side, they're making the receivers better, and the receivers are getting their licks, too. I mean, Jake bobo. There's a whole hashtag around- More bobo. But apparently, he's becoming developing into a little bit of a cult favorite up there in the Pacific Northwest, but it's only going to make everyone better. I am expecting a really aggressive, very versatile, very technically sound defensive unit from Mike McDonald and staff.

Byron Murphy, reportedly, once the pads came on, their first round pick at defensive tackle, making a lot of noise, creating a lot of pressure. A guy, your Rams, might have wanted to take. Can we do the Rams now?

Take a long look at him. Okay, so with the Rams, they're missing three starting offensive linemen who are all week to week. Left tackle, Alaric Jackson started played well for them last year as well. He's got an ankle injury. Right tackle, Rob Havenstein, week to week. He's got an ankle injury. Then left guard, Jonah Jackson, he's dealing with a shoulder injury. He's week to week, and these are all fickle injuries, ankles on a big guy. That's going to be a little bit of a fickle recovery. Yes, the Chargers defense is super impressive between scheme and some of those younger players coming along a little bit and then combining a really versatile pass rush. But the Chargers just beat the brakes off the Rams in terms of some of that scheme up front.

They had a joint practice together on Sunday.

Loading off the sides. It was significant. I'm worried about young Warren McClendon, second-year right tackle. All eyes are on him right now to see if he can take that next step forward, because the Rams also have to think about the long-term future after Rob Havenstein. And the most significant news that came out of that practice was Pukunakuwa is also week to week with an ankle injury. I was told, sources, I was told that this is not considered that serious. I was told that the team is not feeling panicked about this, but they're going to err on the side of caution. Again, they would really like him healthy for a significant part, if not all the season and postseason.

Yeah, you need him healthy. I don't know. It's like injuries are contagious with the Rams because Joey Bosa actually left the practice. I know we're not doing AFC today, but that was with an injured wrist, I believe. Yeah, the last play. Two. So that's something to watch there. Yeah, Puka, that's one thing. Three starting O'Lineman that are week to week. Yeah, it gives a chance for the tight end. So you've talked about, and we've had a lot of the Rams on this But yeah, Davis Allen maybe gets a little more pop. Blake Corme sounds like he's having a solid enough camp that they like him at running back. I thought it was interesting. Last thing on the Rams, and then we can move on. I watched our friend J. B. Long, his show with the Rams, asked Sean McVay about who stood out most at training camp, and he went... Braden Fisk was his first name, and that seems like Sean McVay's camp crush. And yeah, they could use some difference makers on defense. They found some in the draft last year. That's their second round pick, and that would be great for them.

Yeah, I would say Braden Fisk, closely followed by Jared Verste, but Braden Fisk, I think, had the best camp, probably of any player. And then I also think that their safeties look awesome. I think this defense might be a little bit surprising to people who were expecting this big drop off post Aaron Donald, which it could still be that way. We've seen very little work in pads yet, but Braden Fisk, his hands are correct, his feet are correct. He's explosive. When the pads came on, he looked every bit the part. Like I said before, their safeties are awesome. Cam Curl has had an absolutely outstanding camp. Quentin Lake is going to be moving around a lot for him, including playing the star. Cool.

Let's wrap up. We have two more teams.

Get well soon for Walker. Yes, please.

But let's wrap up with the Cardinals.

Zaven Collins. Have you talked about the Zaven Collins extension?

No, we did not hit that.

Yeah, that's two-year, 14 million. Great Great fit in this scheme because he's versatile, does a lot of things. You were reminiscing on a fond Zaven Collins memory earlier.

Oh, yeah. He had about as dominant a single performance I've ever seen any defensive player have for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane against my Tulane Greenway a few years back.

Not great news to B. J. O. Jalari, torn ACL. You hate to see that, first of all, in camp. You always get a couple who have season-ending injuries in camp, but they're really... I mean, obviously, they're going to need to Dave and Colin to step up, but they're really thin at edge rusher. If they don't without missing one of their guys, that's just a tough injury. It's just hard.

That's brutal. He was easily their most promising pass rusher was going to start. If you look beneath the hood in terms of pass-rush win rate and pressure per snap, all that stuff, he was up there with the best rookie pass rushers in the league last year. I thought their worst position group on the team, probably. Although him and Collins, if Collins kept developing, and yeah, that was a smart deal by them, I think. They know him well, and he's in a new role, and they're going to save some money. Two years, $14 million for a starting edge rusher. Been a couple items on the offense I did want to hit. I noticed Trey Benson, who I gave a lot of pop a few weeks ago, is running forth right now in their running back rotation. If you're two spots behind, I think it's Amari Demarcato, and one spot behind Michael Carter, you might not want to take them too early in fantasy drafts, so that's my bad. Yeah, Drew Petsing.

It sounds like our friend Nate Tice was at Cardinal's camp last week, and he was reporting on a lot of heavy personnel usage up front. Drew Petsing is going to run the snot out of the football. But that is also including the fact that there's more dimensionality because Kyler Murray apparently looks just as outstanding as you would expect, but apparently has been great. And one of his favorite targets has been Greg Dorch, who's catching everything.

Dorch is good. I love their 2, 3, 4. Zade Jones, when he's healthy, is a good rotational receiver. They've said him, Michael Wilson, who I think has got a little higher ceiling, and Dorch, that's 2, 3, 4, but it doesn't It doesn't matter how much you shake them up. They have enough receivers. Trey McBride is really there, too. I know why Nate Tice was there. It was because Desmond Ritter is in a big-time camp battle with Clayton Toon, his guy, Desmond Ridders.

Nate's just checking in-Can't win them all.checking.

In on his guys. I'm just Just punching down on Nate here on his Desmond Ritter love. That's it. We did it. We did it. That was a thin slice of heaven, as Dave Damoschek, our friend, would say. But that's it. That's it for today's NFL Daily. We'll be back in the Chris Westling podcast studio on Wednesday's show. Looking forward to that. We're going to do a mock draft. Patrick Klavon, Michael F. Florio, Marcus Grant. But in the meantime, I'm heading down to Raiders Camp, getting some content, some surprises there. See you next time.