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Scoop City: Inside The NFL
EXCLUSIVE: Zaire Franklin on why the Colts could surprise this season?
00:49:09
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- [00:00]
James Palmer
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- [00:56]
Jake Seeley
Is his favorite podcast too.
- [00:58]
James Palmer
Ah, really? Thanks. Capital One bank guy. What's in your wallet? Term supply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC only. Boost mobile. Boost Mobile will give you a free year of service. Free year when you buy a new 5G phone. New 5G phone?
- [01:15]
Jordan Rodrigue
Enough.
- [01:15]
James Palmer
But I'm your hype man. When you purchase an eligible device, you get $25 off every month for 12 months with credits totaling one year of free service taxes extra for the device and service plan.
- [01:23]
Jake Seeley
Online only.
- [01:26]
James Palmer
I will make this too much about Philadelphia. But we should.
- [01:29]
Jordan Rodrigue
We want to do it though. But we won't.
- [01:31]
Zaire Franklin
I ain't never complaining. Talking about Philly.
- [01:33]
James Palmer
Me either, man.
- [01:36]
Jordan Rodrigue
All you want to do.
- [01:37]
James Palmer
You're Diana's married to one, I'm one, you're one like, let's go.
- [01:43]
Zaire Franklin
We family. Probably cousins.
- [01:44]
James Palmer
Let's go. Welcome in to Scoop City on a Thursday presented by ebay. I'm James Palmer. We're gonna get talking about backup quarterbacks. What? No, it's relevant. It is relevant. Make sure you like and subscribe. I am very happy to spend the first portion of this show with Jordan Rodrigue, the senior now senior writer at the Athletic. Congratulations. One of your many thousands of jobs. How are you doing today?
- [02:17]
Jordan Rodrigue
Do I look older? James, that's not really. They say senior now. Am I graying a little bit.
- [02:22]
Jake Seeley
How's it going over there?
- [02:24]
James Palmer
Oh, heavens no. No, no. This is. This is all about talent, wisdom and wisdom. Yes, that is what it's about. And speaking of wisdom, we are in this show. By the way. Everybody gonna get a chance to talk to Zaire Franklin and he's gonna bestow some of his wisdom, one of the best tacklers in all of football and that surprise Colts team. We also have Jake Seeley with us who's gonna talk a little fantasy and I believe his favorite karaoke songs. That's interesting. But we're gonna start with Jordan and Jordan. It was funny last night reading your article, getting an advanced copy. No big deal. I'm kind of a big deal here at the Athletic Market.
- [02:57]
Jordan Rodrigue
What a flex. James. Hel.
- [03:00]
James Palmer
I got it early. I got it early. I was like, I told my wife, I was like, meg, you can read this, but don't tell your friends. This was a really, really cool idea. Great piece. And now with the news of Brock Purdy, very relevant. You wrote a piece called Life as a Backup QB is a mental and emotional Whirlwind. Before we get into maybe some Mac Jones discussion, because that's going to be very relevant to what's happening here. What's the one thing, and I advise everybody go to the Athletic and read this, that you kind of took out of here as maybe the grand kind of idea that you didn't know going in and then ended up having it, you know, kind of answered or kind of given to you in this process.
- [03:39]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah, well, the idea started because I really like watching how people learn and I like understanding how people intake and then disseminate information. And the backup quarterback, that's one of the biggest jobs quietly in football. And so I was really curious. It started out like basically me asking, you know, how do you take notes? What are your methods? I'm really curious. And just kind of going around these different camps. This summer when I was on the training camp travel tour, like I was just really fascinated by it. And what emerged in this became really the defining quality of what the story is. And then also what I think the position is, which is how these players, young and old, have to balance this extremely high level of intensity and competitiveness. And that sort of self talk of getting yourself ready to go as if you are almost pretending to yourself as if you are going to start the game. And I know it's a cliche, but it's really true. But then coming with the sort of existentialism and selflessness of it will never matter unless it's in a worst case scenario, you know, And I think gleaning what does matter from those things, helping the team and kind of going into that mentality that really helps these guys like not lose their minds when they're preparing like this for nobody to ever see their work through the course of the season. And that was really what emerged as a major theme here.
- [05:01]
James Palmer
Yeah. And I think it's interesting because I'm going to pull back the curtain on myself a little bit. I love talking to backup quarterbacks when I go to different locker rooms because oftentimes you don't get a whole lot of availability with the starter. That's how you get an idea of what's going on in the room. And over the early years of Patrick Mahomes dominance, I remember talking to Chad Henney all the time about the way that room was working and him going like, I know it. Pat doesn't know it yet. It's up to me to help him learn. He's like, I'm sitting there going, I see the wheels mow. Yep, he's gonna figure it out. He's gonna figure it out. He sees it, he sees it. And then as time goes on, he's seeing it quicker, he's seeing it quicker. And I'm not jumping in as much and I'm doing this. It's all part of this process of getting the starter ready. But at the same time, all these guys are so competitive and that's in the piece. Like your goal is to help the guy in the room. But you, many of these guys are like, I can play. Like I know I can play. That's a hard balance for them, right?
- [05:57]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah, 100%. I think it takes some deftness of emotional control, honestly, because.
- [06:02]
James Palmer
What a sentence. Jor.
- [06:05]
Jordan Rodrigue
Thanks, James.
- [06:06]
James Palmer
I'm so glad.
- [06:07]
Jordan Rodrigue
This is nice. I needed to be gassed up a little this morning. I'm so glad to be on the show. So it is, it is fascinating because if you get a, like you get a quarterback tandem like Matthew Stafford, the veteran in la, and then Jimmy Garoppolo, also a veteran who's been to a Super bowl, who's at one point edged out Matthew Stafford as the highest paid quarterback in the NFL and now is his backup in Los Angeles making 2% of what that contract was. And everybody is of the same opinion. It is a worst case scenario if the backup has to start and try to win games. It doesn't mean it as a mean thing. It just means that your starter is probably injured and that would derail an entire ecosystem. Right. But you also, so you have to absorb and accept that like as a human being while also going out there and building a genuine rapport and relationship with that player. Like Jimmy Garoppolo is talking about the love that they have for each other while also going out and pushing each other to make the throws on the field to go out and push each other to be better, to collaborate and basically become these like NFL historians in the quarterbacks room themselves when they are building out these game plans and trying to identify different tendencies that certain defensive coaching trees use that will come back against them that they've seen in their 12 to 17 years in the league. It's really fascinating. And then if you're an older guy and there's a range of quarterbacks in this piece, if you're an older guy and you've specifically been brought in to help mentor the starter who potentially as a phenom, in the case of Caleb Williams, in the case of Jaden Daniels, you have to also accept the fact that you gotta know your role while also never being fully competitively satisfied with it. I just think that's such an emotional nuance to strike.
- [07:50]
James Palmer
It really is. It really is. I don't know if I could do it. I'm not gonna lie. Like I don't know if I could do it. Like you mentioned with Caleb, I think Kay's kingdom now at this point he was in Houston, right, with CJ Stroud. And it's almost like he's like a coach with a uniform. He's not even the backup in Chicago. He's just. He's to help out. And that mind is so valuable. I look at Jarrett Stidham in Denver. He's a big part of our show. We bring him up a lot. I don't know if anybody played better during the preseason than Jared Stidham and he probably could be a starter. But I've talked to him and he loves the role he's in. He loves the room he's in. He loves working with Davis Webb, he loves working with Bo Nix. He just likes the situation so much that there is a competitiveness of still the team wins. And I played a big part in it Monday through Saturday and maybe in game on Sunday as well. Now, the reason we tied this in together, we mentioned that competitiveness before we started. We were like both know this very clearly. Mac Jones is a competitive sob like big time. And he is now going to play in San Francisco. We'll see how long it goes, but it could be a couple of weeks. Certainly. Do you have anything on Mac Jones as now stepping in and being a former first round pick? There's plenty of those in this piece. Right. Who's now in a. In a back of brolin is going to be thrust into it against the Saints this weekend.
- [09:08]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah, competitive is right. I mean at 49ers camp, I was only there for a day. That's all it really takes is one drill to watch how Mac Jones wants to attack everything. You know, he had, they were going in individuals. He was making a throw to his receiver. He held the ball for a while because his receiver was covered. The defender started chattering at him because he was holding the ball. And then he let it go, and then it was broken up, and then the defense, you know, let him have it. And then Mac Jones stepped all the way out of the drill and let him have it right back. I mean, he is, but that's what you need. They love that at those camps, especially with the veteran offensive coach and then the veteran defensive coordinator on either side. Like, they want that juice. They want those battles, those functional, competitive battles that happen throughout the course of those training camps. Mac Jones is definitely the player that you bring in when you want to make sure that you sort of imbibe that all throughout the layers of your depth chart. And so I think it's really interesting for that reason. First of all, because he's going to go out there and he's going to compete. He's going to give it everything he has, and you know that. And there's also this really interesting underlayer. James, as I know you know very well, with the Kyle Shanahan of it all, this was the quarterback that was so, you know, I don't want to say controversial because it has a negative connotation, but really kind of was because there was all these whispers around San Francisco being split between Trey Lance and Mac Jones. And then, you know, eventually fate has him circling back around as all tides end up going toward Kyle Shanahan. Apparently, this also happens with Mac Jones, and now he's on the depth chart. You know, there's also a history of quarterbacks, you know, there who have gotten injured. And then the backup is way too, way so competitive that he kind of turns Kyle Shanahan's head in that direction. It's just a really interesting dynamic in that building in general. And Brock Purdy is their guy. They can't wait to have him back. But this guy could potentially help him win some ball games, too.
- [11:05]
James Palmer
And that's part of the value of that position. Like, in addition to your brilliant piece, it's like, I looked it up, like, there's 59 quarterbacks started games last year. I'm looking at my math here. There's not 59 teams. So, like, their guys are going to play. And you said it perfectly earlier, where it's like you might have to win a stretch. This is a team that has super bowl aspirations out of the nfc. Like he may have to early on win a couple of games. And I remember covering his pro day down at Alabama. This dude can process information. Kyle Shanahan was front and center of that pro day and he probably is very happy to be with Kyle as opposed to a special teams coordinator and a defensive coordinator running his offense like happened in New England. So we'll see what ends up happening. Because a big part of this right Jordan is like you want another shot in a change of scenery to show the rest of the league what you can do. And so it's going to be an interesting couple of weeks with Mac Jones because honestly his strengths do and that's why everybody brought his name up when they talked about him and Kyle Shanahan potentially being the third pick is so many things Kyle loves. Were the so called strengths of Max coming out in the draft. Go read this piece everybody. It's brilliant. You're going to be at a game shifting gears here that I think is fascinating and I want to break this down. It's Chargers and Raiders in the AFC West. Now how many people would say after week one we have three teams with a win and one of them's not the Chiefs and that was thanks to the Chargers. What is your take on the Los Angeles Chargers and if they win this game, Jordan, they're 2 and 0 in the division. And what are we thinking of with Jim Harbaugh's team?
- [12:45]
Jordan Rodrigue
I'm really high on the Chargers. I know that is like a thing that really bites people in the butt every year when they say it in September.
- [12:51]
James Palmer
Yeah, I'm aware.
- [12:54]
Jordan Rodrigue
I'm. And I am aware of the lore here. Chargers fans like I hear you on this, but also, I mean, I mean they are, they're built on offense to be physically imposing and to have this part to the whole mentality where if they lose a player like they did Rashawn Slater up front, they have another player in Joe Alt who can kick over. Probably will never relinquish that left tackle spot at this point. Moving forward did not give up a single pressure. Certainly no contact on the quarterback. They've got massive human beings at all of their skill positions. It's like a team full of like redwood trees running around out there from the tight ends to the receiver receivers. The quarterback is also using his legs more. Justin Herbert is got a little edge to him this year that maybe we haven't seen personality wise that flex that he had when he was running and sliding and he flexed with the ball in his arm, you know, he's just got a little stuff to him. We always knew he had it in him, but showing it, I think that really ignites his teammates. I think their run game has a ton of potential. And then on defense, they're built to hurt you. Not just physically, but they're built to hurt you mentally. They're. They're really fast off the line of scrimmage. They're big up front. They. They increase the size up front to help make. They could stop the run. They did that pretty well. They have the rotation of the three pass rushers who still got the juice, and they've also got this really amoebic, kind of malleable secondary and inside linebacker group that collectively, they shape shift and they send blitzes. And Jesse Minter is sort of like a mad scientist back there that a lot of people around the league are copying now. So I think they've got all of it right. And they have a kicker right. So they got all of it right.
- [14:31]
James Palmer
Yeah, they do. I love that you brought up Jesse. It's like, let's see how many games we can win before he's out of the organization and a head coach somewhere. He is such a hot name and just so talented running that defense. And I love what he's done with Derwin James. At the back end of last year, you started seeing that. Right. With him playing out of that nickel and doing so many different things. You didn't see Travis Kelce for 99.9% of that game in the opener. And Derwin did a brilliant job. And he's got Brock Bowers this week. We'll see. I want to talk about Herbert specifically.
- [14:59]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah.
- [15:00]
James Palmer
Because, you know, he's that guy. We've heard from Joe Montana on down Jordan. Right. Like, I would build my franchise around this guy. He has everything. He has that talent to get into that group. If you're looking at the quarterbacks that are outside of that top group, and I found this stat that was insane. And that's why I'm curious if it's going to be the year. Justin Herbert and Peyton Manning are the only players with more than 125 passing touchdowns and zero playoff wins in their first five seasons. Do you know what Peyton Manning did in his sixth? And now we are in Justin Herbert's six. He won MVP and two playoff games and led the NFL in passing. Is it time for Justin Herbert to take that step? Do you see Anything from your time around them because you were there during camp, that he will take another step or the one we've all been waiting for, maybe.
- [15:46]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah. And I think, you know, there's been a lot of lamenting over the last couple seasons about like the cast of characters around Justin. This is the best team he's had in a while and certainly the most complete and certainly, you know, the layers that they can build, not just in the passing game, with different types of receivers now, including up and comers who really flashed at camp. Trey Harris being one of them, Keandre Lambert, Smith being one of those guys as well. There's different layers they can build in. It's not just like two perimeter guys. It's like this real, like you can build math advantages with this group at this point and the tight ends that they use. And then their run game is super physical and then Justin Herbert is running the ball more. They installed a bunch of run concepts there in training camp and that's when you sort of knew, okay, this more of this game is legitimately being put into the quarterback's hands. And I think you started watching them gravitate that way later in the season. You started watching Greg Roman start to call more early down passes as the season progressed last season and this year started out of the gate with like a 60% early down pass rate. And I'm like, hello, you know, like this is, this is the Chargers that kind of are finally saying, hey, by the way, we've got this otherworldly talent. He's ready for this. We should be too. So that's where I think this really has been part and parcel. Quarterback, coaches, belief in quarterback, organizational trickle down effect of making sure you can build around him correctly.
- [17:18]
Zaire Franklin
Yeah.
- [17:18]
James Palmer
I mean, and maybe just getting that monkey off his back at the beginning of the season. Nobody's thrown for more yards and touchdowns against the Chiefs than Justin Herman of active players yet he couldn't win against those. There's so many tight games and he gets over the Chiefs in week one in Sao Paulo. So we'll see what happens. Is there anything before we go that maybe stood out to you in week one? That could be something I should keep my eye on as this kind of season progresses. That's not part of the headlines of Michael Parsons or Jackson Dart or the Eagles and the Chiefs or, you know, what's happening in Detroit. Like something that's not maybe on top of everybody's mind.
- [17:55]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah. Certainly wouldn't be on top of everybody's mind and also kind of buried under a 17 time, slow mo replay of like a massive loogie flying through the air. Right. But this, this Cowboys run game I'm really actually excited about. I have been pretty vocal in my, I would say skepticism, kindly about whether or not they could run the ball leading up to this season opener when, you know, out of joint practices, there was no sign of life anywhere up front or in the run game. And this is a game against like a Rams defense that was, yes, they rebuilt their, their defense, their run defense in the off season, but the fact that like Brian Schottenheimer was out there complimenting their linebackers, I have not heard that in very long, a very long time as it pertains to the Rams. And then it was very reflective of the Cowboys not being able to get much movement there. But when they came out, and especially not having Jalen Carter in there, I want to point this out because it wasn't just that Jalen Carter was not in there wreaking havoc up front for the Eagles that helped the Cowboys actually look so good in the run game and look like there's so much promise there. It's that their scheme is really, really smart. And that's partially like Clayton Adams who is in Arizona, who was over there, that's Brian Schottenheimer because he always wanted to run the ball when he was in Seattle and have that run past balance. But there is a lot of complete inversion of probably what they came into the game wanting to do and attacking that gap point where Jalen Carter was supposed to be. So when we talk about mathematical advantages, they basically started with an outside in equation and they flipped it to an inside out equation. And so now they're attacking with inside runs, with middle zone, with some gap scheme, with counter. And they're also doing lots of things to disguise it, like at snap motion, which again, you've not really seen from this run game much in the past. And that really helps move defenders. If you don't necessarily have, you know, all of the pieces or you don't necessarily have a top of the league running back, you have to be smart with how you schematically attack things. And I love their guard play and I love the center play. And I also loved how they decided to completely flip and just hone in on the absence of where this player would be. I think that shows a multiplicity that did not exist in this Cowboys run game before. And I am really excited. I hope it sustains because it was fun to watch in the, in the.
- [20:08]
James Palmer
Time we had was we're going to see what happens because we were all so curious about it, right. We're going like, is this really their quarter? The running back room? Like, yeah. And like I remember texting with some people in Dallas during camp and actually the first one was aside of this Micah fiasco, we're actually having a really good camp. And I was like, oh really? And they wrote back. I was like, the backs. And he's like, I think Javante Williams is actually showing a pretty good burst. And this is. Remember a rookie year that was great in Denver. And then he has the catastrophic knee injury which maybe people don't know how bad it was. And Denver kept hoping the burst would come back and they waited two more years after the injury and then ended up letting him walk and just didn't think he had anything left. And you saw that burst, the strength that he ran with, the physicality he ran with. I think it was something that I think the rest of the league was not prepared for, that they were gonna see from a back that I think everybody else had kind of written off in some capacity, which was interesting. Do you want me to give you mine?
- [21:04]
Jordan Rodrigue
I would love to hear yours, James.
- [21:06]
James Palmer
Thank you so much. I was gonna give it to you no matter what. But that game between Tampa and Atlanta and so much. And I even talked about it. Emeka Abuka coming out as just such a polished wide receiver out of Ohio State. Yes. I'm bia like Baker being fearless in the end of the game. Michael Penix played really well.
- [21:25]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yes.
- [21:26]
James Palmer
And nobody has mentioned it. I mean he throws for 298, he leads them on like what was it, a 18 play, 91 yard drive, almost nine minutes to go down the field and somehow doesn't get a knee down and reaches into the end zone and for his second total touchdown of the game. And then nobody else talked about it because everybody's talking about KU missing the kick. He led him into field goal range like that to tie the game. And talking to people down there, it was. We really, really think we have something here. He played really well. We just need to play better around him. There were even drops. There were some defensive obviously issues. Like I don't think anybody's mentioning Michael Penix. Maybe J.J. mcCarthy played a part in that these second year quarterbacks. But he played really, really well and I'm excited to kind of see what he does kind of moving forward this season. Joe Jordan, this was a blast. And I'm not going to share you with Diana or Chase. We're going to only have you on on Thursdays so you and I can just talk ball.
- [22:20]
Jordan Rodrigue
Yeah, this was super fun. James, I agree with you too. You know, even back where there was some shuffling around personnel wise going on last year at the end of last year you, you know, you talk to certain people in there and they always say, you know there's going to be some change but at least we have our quarterback. And that's referring to Mike Penix. And so I'm, I'm pretty stoked this is how he was at Washington. Also I'm left handed so I love a lefty quarterback. Right, right. I like this is how he was at Washington. That pylon stretch was so Washington highlight reel coded. Like it just this is who he is and he I think probably is glad to not have the spotlight on him. Although he can thank you I think for shining a little bit more on that. But it is a fascinating, he is going to be like a long term, really, really good player in this league in my opinion and I'm glad you highlighted him here.
- [23:09]
James Palmer
Awesome.
- [23:09]
Zaire Franklin
I'm glad.
- [23:10]
James Palmer
I think like you that makes me feel good. It makes me feel like I know ball a little bit. Jordan Maur Reed. Make sure you read her article about these backup quarterbacks on the Athletic. It' outstanding. Coming up on Scoop City, presented by ebay. Diana Rossini and I are going to chat with Colts linebacker Zaire Franklin. If he could tackle one animal, what animal would he want to tackle? We'll find out next. You saw that play when your quarterback dropped back, looked off the safety and threw a dime deep for the go ahead touchdown. Well, that's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy and you can own a piece of it when you shop. The unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay, the home of collectibles since 1995. Huddle up with 132 million users around the world to find that rookie autograph you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading cards, Singles and sealed boxes. Unreal Live card breaks. Truly unique game. Used memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on eBay. Plus with the eBay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the App Store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right now@ebay.com theathletic come through and collect with us today.
- [24:36]
Jordan Rodrigue
Popsicles, sprinklers, a cool breeze. Talk about refreshing. You know what else is refreshing this summer?
- [24:43]
James Palmer
A brand new phone with variety. Yep.
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Jordan Rodrigue
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- [25:06]
James Palmer
Ready to order?
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Jordan Rodrigue
Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a capital one saver card. So. So let's just get one of everything. Everything.
- [25:15]
James Palmer
Fire everything. The Capital One Saver card is at table 27, and they're earning unlimited 3% cash back. Yes, chef.
- [25:22]
Jordan Rodrigue
This is so nice.
- [25:24]
James Palmer
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
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Jordan Rodrigue
Ooh, tiramisu.
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James Palmer
Earn unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with the capital one saver card. Capital One, what's in your wallet? Terms apply.
- [25:35]
Jake Seeley
See capitalone.com for detail.
- [25:39]
Jordan Rodrigue
All right.
- [25:39]
James Palmer
Welcome back to Scoop City. Presented by ebay. Diana. We have a very special guest. Tackling machines. I hear, Franklin, a lot of Philadelphia talk here before we got this interview going. We all got ties. We all got connections. It's home for us, man. But we'll get to that. I want to talk about week one right off the jump, because you guys played great defensively, but offensively, your team goes down and scores every single possession. No team has done that since 1977. What was it like on the sideline each time you guys got a stop and you're hanging out on the sideline, and it's just like, your offense scores, your offense scores. Like, what goes on with you guys on the sideline in week one?
- [26:18]
Zaire Franklin
When you see that, man, you know, it was just, you know, to be honest with you, you get a little bored, you know. You know, you want to have. You want to have a little bit more of a hand in the win. But, I mean, offense was so dominant, you know, Joe Bossi, linebacker next to me, he's on the punt team, and he keeps getting up and sitting down, getting up, they keep converting. On third down, I told him, I said, listen, you're gonna learn your lesson, you know, now, you know, I think they only punted one time and they got called back. So, yeah, you know, it just was amazing to see. Obviously, I know those guys put in a lot of work on this off season. Just get on the same page. Obviously, DJ did a great Job, but, you know, definitely promising to see hope we could build on that for week two.
- [26:58]
Jordan Rodrigue
Obviously there was a bit of a surprise factor, right? I think the rest of the league was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Indy's got an offense here. Daniel Jones can play. I think there was just some doubters, right, because of what we've seen in New York. And with that being said, you saw Daniel Jones all summer. You're going up against him every single day. What you see from camp that gave you the confidence that when he went out there and did that, you're like, yeah, that's Daniel.
- [27:22]
Zaire Franklin
Yeah. I mean, I think it's just the efficiency, you know, that you're able to see getting offense, you know, where they need to be, keeping them on schedule, putting the ball where it needs to be, and let the receivers make the plays after the catch. And I think we just got such a dynamic group of pass catchers from T. Warren to Pitt to Josh Downs and so on and so forth. So. So, you know, I think for him, it's just more about playing point guard and just making sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to do. And, you know, he's still, you know, a top five pick, you know, so he'll put, you know, Danny, Dom still lives. So he'll throw a ball two or three times a day. And you like. Oh, yeah, that's why they call you Dom. So, you know, we definitely seen it throughout the off season, throughout training camp, competing against him. I was just glad to see that put on tape on Sunday.
- [28:04]
Jordan Rodrigue
So we're keeping Danny Dimes. James.
- [28:06]
Zaire Franklin
Guys, I like Indiana Jones. I like Indiana Jones, personally, but Indiana Jones is very me, personally, but whatever he decides to be called, you know, I'll respect his boundaries.
- [28:16]
Jake Seeley
Yeah.
- [28:17]
James Palmer
Okay. You got a favorite? Indiana Jones.
- [28:18]
Zaire Franklin
Mine's mine. Indiana Jones. Oh, my God. Bless me. But that's just me.
- [28:25]
James Palmer
That's okay. Nobody's going to hold it against you. Listen, we will get to the defense. But you mentioned, you mentioned Tyler Warren and kind of got my head going. Like, this is a rare type of athlete. Are you seeing that? Because this would be a player you'd have to worry about in the middle of the defense. And what can't he do, I guess is probably the proper question from the time you spent.
- [28:45]
Jake Seeley
Man.
- [28:46]
Zaire Franklin
T. Warren, I tell you what, you know, a lot of times a rookie will come in and they're making a lot of plays in OTAs, and you're like, okay, shirts and shorts. You know, we not even playing. We're not game planning, but the type of plays that he was making. I'm like, hold on. These are the Sunday plays, you know, that you're making. He was just ready to go from out the gate. He's humble. He works as hard as, you know, he tries to work as hard as everybody else in the building. You know, he's just got that blue collar, tough mentality where he just. Just wants to be one of the guys, wants to grind it out. He loves the nasty parts of the game, which is my favorite part about him. That's awesome. And, you know, I think he's got a true ceiling in this league. So I. Look, I'm not big on fantasy or any of that stuff, but I just knew, like, look, T. Laura, I knew he was going to go. So it is what it is.
- [29:28]
Jordan Rodrigue
What does it mean? What's like a nasty part of the game? What does that mean?
- [29:31]
Zaire Franklin
He loves blocking. Like, he's feisty, you know, like, the tight ends that I don't like going against are the ones who. It's not necessarily. They're hard to beat. Like, you know, they're big and strong guys, but it's more so the guys that just won't stop blocking you. The guys that, like, even after you beat them, they're still pushing you to still playing for body position. They're still, like, going after you. They're still pushing you in the third quarter. Like, those are the guys that I remember. I'm like, man, look, that's a guy that, you know, that's a dog. And I think as T. Warren continues to grow and develop, he'll eventually be one of those dudes that's able to one on one, you know, some of those guys, because that's the type of player he is. Yeah.
- [30:04]
Jordan Rodrigue
Relentless. It sounds all right. Too much offense talk. Too much offense. We need to talk about you, about your guys. Let's just start with the. With the guy calling the shots there. With Lou Adarumo, you have a new defensive coordinator. A lot of change. Give me just one thing that's different about this Colts defense right now since Lou took over, that maybe wasn't in years past for you.
- [30:24]
Zaire Franklin
Man, I just think we play on our toes, you know, I think we dictate. We want to be aggressive. And it's. Honestly, it's a style of defense that I really haven't played in most of my career. Whereas, though you're setting the tempo, you're making the offense consistently adjust to the things that you're doing. Keeping them uncomfortable, keeping them Guessing, you know, it's a fun game to play. You know, it's a different type of mental game. And, you know, I think that's something that Lou prides himself on, being a step ahead of other play callers and putting guys in position to make plays. You know, I think when you got a guy that's putting you in position like that, you just got to come up big like Kenny did, you know, you come free, got to get the strip sack, you know, know a lot to dropping in the coverage, getting the pick, so. And obviously can't buy him, you know, doing what he does best. So, you know, I think it was just, you know, Lou just puts guys in position, and, you know, we just got to take advantage of those opportunities.
- [31:13]
James Palmer
You mentioned Kenny. I love Kenny's game, by the way. I just PSA right out there. I'm putting it. I'm putting it. I love the way Kenny plays you in the middle man. You know, we've had some interviews in the past, you and I. You know, you have 167 tackles in 20, 22. Then you go with 179. Now you have 173 this past year. You become a Pro Bowler, you lead the NFL, and also you donate $44 per tackle. That's matched by Coke, which is awesome. And it's for the boys and girls clubs in Indianapolis, which is great. A few years ago, you told me you feel like Steve Irwin on the field. Do you remember this? Where you feel like you just got to get guys to the ground any way you can, like the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin? So I'm going to ask you this, because I went back and watched that interview from a few years ago with you and I. If there was an animal that you would like to tackle, what animal would that be? Are we going for, like, strength? Are we going for a speed animal? Like, this is an interesting thought process here, isn't it?
- [32:08]
Zaire Franklin
You know, that's actually a great question. You know, and I think it's probably what's wrong with me. See, I like to go after the biggest guy on the block. You know, that's why I'm always fighting with the old lineman. I'm probably. I'm gonna definitely have to go with, like, a elephant or a gorilla. You know, they always talking about this gorilla.
- [32:24]
James Palmer
Stronger than a gorilla. Yeah, that's what.
- [32:26]
Zaire Franklin
So look, it's just nothing but a gator roll. I just got to get his legs. That's it. If I get a knee down, I win. That's all I Need so exactly.
- [32:32]
Jordan Rodrigue
Do you think any human being has ever tried to tackle an elephant? Like, how the heck is that going to work?
- [32:40]
Zaire Franklin
Just got to get a knee down.
- [32:41]
James Palmer
And the ref call it. Yeah. That's all that matters.
- [32:45]
Jordan Rodrigue
Usually the question is, like, you know, which one do you think you could tackle? Right? It's never which one do you want to going to think of that this weekend when you guys are playing the Broncos, which is, sorry, who. Who out there is the gorilla that he is chasing after? That said, it's like, so much has been made of, like, the fact that you guys finally won in week one. And I saw on that podcast, I saw you going back and forth a little bit about your former teammate in Philly maybe kind of taking a little shot. I know he walked it back and he, you know, I don't think he meant it based on what he said. Where does that come from? From. From you. When you're, like, seeing something like that, is that just, like, pride that you have in this team? Is it just in, like, how did you feel when you saw him kind of taking a little bit of perhaps a shot at Indy?
- [33:31]
Zaire Franklin
Well, first off, I do want to say that I love Branson. We were teammates for years. You know, his wife and my wife are friends. You know, actually, long story short, Quentin pretty much made me the judge of the Halloween party last year against my wishes, and I messed up the vote. Kylan and his wife should have won. It was just. It was a whole controversy internally.
- [33:55]
James Palmer
It's a big deal.
- [33:56]
Zaire Franklin
Yeah. About him not wearing a Halloween costume. But I love Grant.
- [33:59]
Jordan Rodrigue
What was she wearing? What was the costume?
- [34:01]
Zaire Franklin
I'm trying to remember. Him and his wife always go out like they are Halloween people. So. Yeah. So I can't remember what it was. You know, we were, you know, it was a party, let me say that. But no. So I got a lot of love for Granson. But that being said, you know, I just felt like. And it's not just. Just, you know, one player like myself or Danny or, you know, anybody else, man, we just been taking a lot of bullets, you know, a lot of bullets. Everybody been couldn't wait to kick us while they felt like we were down. Obviously, we finished last year on a note that we didn't want to, and, you know, it kind of hurt a little bit just to see, you know, one of our own kind of kick us a little bit. It was like, man, like, you was with us, you know, so it wasn't personal, but I definitely felt like a lot of that was Kind of taking on week one, you know, since I've been here, we had one week one. It was going on however many years. Every year, week one, it comes around. And so everybody talks about, oh, you haven't won. So it was good to finally get it off to nine, get off, get it on track. But, you know, like I told all the guys, I said, listen, the same way every year. We never overreacted to losing week one. We can't overreact to winning week one. You know, we got to continue to grow and get better as a team. Nobody ever remembers who had the best week one. When it comes to the end of the season, you know, it's about who's consistently growing and getting better. Better and making plays when the plays count.
- [35:12]
James Palmer
So, okay, well, if Daniel Jones isn't dressed as Indiana Jones for this costume party in 2025, I don't know what he's doing. Missed opportunity.
- [35:20]
Zaire Franklin
Big time. Yeah, big time.
- [35:21]
James Palmer
But I don't know your disdain Zaire for the franchise might lose him some votes. If you're go. If you're.
- [35:28]
Zaire Franklin
I wouldn't go for him.
- [35:32]
James Palmer
Diana mentioned you're playing Denver this week, and we know how mobile bonus. I did a story about this this week about quarterbacks. And 31 rushing touchdowns in week one. Thirteen were by quarterbacks. And you see the way quarterbacks. This isn't breaking news, but it continues to evolve. The mobility aspect of all these guys, your role in the middle of the defense, how has that changed from when you got into the league and the way quarterbacks play the position now to your responsibilities and the way you got to make sure that these guys can't break free when the play breaks. Breaks down.
- [36:02]
Zaire Franklin
Oh, yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I just feel like especially the trend that I noticed throughout week one was just quarterbacks trying to be more efficient. You know, even I think Jalen Hurts was a prime example. Week one, getting the ball to where it need to be. Not that many big plays at the top, working the way down the field. And then once you get into that red area, you know, that's one of these mobile quarterbacks. And these guys who are capable of delays come alive. Obviously, Danny was able to get in the end zone. Jalen, obviously. And then Bo Nicks makes plays with his legs. Legs all the time. So it's just another element, something else to defend, something else to think about, you know, for, you know, as a defender on a second level, once you take care of your coverage responsibilities, you know, knowing that these guys are capable of not only extending the play, but making plays with the legs. And obviously Bo Nicks is one of the better quarterbacks at that in the league. So, you know, definitely something we have on our mind going into Sunday is that.
- [36:50]
James Palmer
Is that your eyes, Zaire? Like, is that new these last couple years?
- [36:54]
Zaire Franklin
Yes. I think it's something that you kind of study and you could kind of, you know, see quarterbacks. You know, I think most of the time, you know, most quarterbacks are comfortable in rolling out, you know, usually to their throwing hand. You know, how do they usually avoid the pocket? Are they a B gap escape guy? Are they a guy that spins out back way or they're a guy that retreats and goes to the throwing hand. So, you know, it's just different things. Something else for us to study, something else for us to work through throughout the week.
- [37:20]
Jordan Rodrigue
All right, cool. Well, thank you so much for all this time. We appreciate it. We know you're in the middle of the work. Good luck against Denver. Stay healthy and good luck to the rest of your Colts team and go for a second win here.
- [37:32]
Zaire Franklin
Of course. Appreciate you guys.
- [37:33]
James Palmer
Simply just one of my favorite people in the NFL. Zaire Franklin, thank you for joining us. And look at this. This is the people that Zaire tries to tackle. These are the people that play in the NFL. These are real live football players. They're real and they're spectacular. This is a new thing we got going on here at the Athletic. You're going to see highlights, you're going to see breakdowns, you're going to to see all this stuff happening on Scoop City. You're going to see it on the Athletic football show. We have football highlights and that's going to help you out when you want to talk about fantasy. And we're doing that with Jake Seeley next on Scoop City, presented by ebay. You saw that play when your quarterback dropped back, looked off the safety and threw a dime deep for the go ahead touchdown. Well, that's not just hall worthy, that's wall worthy. And you can own a piece of it when you shop. The unrivaled selection of trading cards and memorabilia on ebay. The home of collectibles since 1995. Huddle up with 132 million users around the world to find that rookie autograph you can't find anywhere else. Premium trading cards, singles and sealed boxes. Unreal Live card breaks. Truly unique game used memorabilia. All the epic finds you need are right here on ebay. Plus with the ebay authenticity guarantee for trading cards, you know what you buy is the real deal. Collect with confidence by downloading the ebay app on the App Store or by going straight to eBay.com TheAthletic that's right, your collection journey kicks off right here, right now@ebay.com theathletic come through and collect with us today. When you're a forward thinker, you don't just bring your A game.
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Jake Seeley
You bring your AI game.
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James Palmer
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Zaire Franklin
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James Palmer
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Jordan Rodrigue
Yes. We're earning unlimited 3% cash back on dining and entertainment with a Capital One Saver Card. So let's just get one of everything. Everything.
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James Palmer
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Zaire Franklin
The Capital One Saver card is at.
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James Palmer
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Jordan Rodrigue
This is so nice.
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James Palmer
Had a feeling you'd want 3% cash back on dessert.
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Jordan Rodrigue
Ooh, tiramisu.
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James Palmer
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Jake Seeley
See capital1.com for details.
- [40:01]
James Palmer
Closing out a scoop city presented by ebay on a Thursday. And you know what that means. That means Jake Seeley is joining us, and I'm always fascinated by the T shirt. I'm always chatting him up, and we always run long because we have a of lot, a lot to talk about, specifically fantasy. But also the T shirt you rock in there was Scrooge McDuck. We got into a deep conversation about Darkwing Duck, which is an obsession in my household right now. Jake and I believe this goes all the way back to your nuptials. Darkwing Ducks related, I hear.
- [40:31]
Jake Seeley
Yeah, the Darkwing purple for the wife. And I had a Darkwing Duck shirt underneath my suit that came out. Actually, I'll send you the picture because the person who did on basically our wedding, he wasn't licensed in Virginia yet, so we had him still do the ceremony. But then we had somebody officially marry us afterwards in the kitchen area. And my shirt is open with darkwing showing in that picture.
- [40:52]
James Palmer
I love it. At first I thought you meant, like, your photographer wasn't officially licensed in the state. And I was like, what does that matter for the pictures? I mean, I can take a picture wherever he wants. You also always do your rankings and make sure you. You always read everything that Jake writes on the athletic. I do. Helps my team. We're gonna get to some of my players. Cause they're related to what you're talking about, but also you put in your rankings just something kind of outside the box. And we talked karaoke, I believe, last week, you and I. And now we have your karaoke songs. And can I just make a couple notes here? These ones at the top are damn near impossible for any human other than Steve Perry or Freddie Mercury to sing. When you got Journey at the top and Bohemian Rhapsody, like, these are like Pinnacle butchered at every karaoke bar type of place. Do you enjoy when people butcher these songs?
- [41:45]
Jake Seeley
So. Because my voice is God awful. Yeah, that's actually why. So there was other recommendations I got in the comments for, like, country songs. And somebody even brought up Frank Sinatra and like, what are you, 60 years old? Like, I like Frank, but you can't sing that well solo. So my whole thing is, like, we embrace the fact that the top three songs, as you mentioned, you're still supposed to sing off key. Like, if you're ever taking them too seriously. Nobody's discovering you in a bar and signing you to a record label. You have to just embrace it.
- [42:10]
James Palmer
Well, tell my wife that she's looking for a record deal, I think usually when she's been working on Brandi Carlisle songs, which is another impossible voice to try to match. I do want to bring up real quick that you have in the middle here kind of. Let me find it. You have Mr. Brightside.
- [42:28]
Jake Seeley
Yes.
- [42:30]
James Palmer
That was Mike Vrabel's go to karaoke song.
- [42:34]
Jake Seeley
Was it?
- [42:34]
James Palmer
Yes. Wow.
- [42:36]
Jake Seeley
I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Did he do it with a pencil in the mouth or he puts it.
- [42:42]
James Palmer
Over the ear just like Patricia or some of these other guys. But I like that you have Coolio on here. You got Bon Jovi, which is. I mean, that's a go to.
- [42:52]
Jake Seeley
Well, you see the sleeper at 11. 11 is the sleeper paper.
- [42:55]
James Palmer
Yeah.
- [42:56]
Jake Seeley
Teenage Dirt Bag by Wheatus.
- [42:58]
James Palmer
Yeah, that's a toughie right there, I think. Oh, come on.
- [43:01]
Jake Seeley
That one's so much fun, though, because everybody actually knows it.
- [43:04]
James Palmer
Yeah, that's one of those ones where you play it and then everybody in the bar goes, oh, wait, wait, wait, wait. Yeah, that's what you have to do. You got to get one that everybody knows because then they can drown you out.
- [43:14]
Jake Seeley
That's the entire list there. So when you're doing the I'm just a teenage like that. And then you just get drowned out by everybody else.
- [43:20]
James Palmer
I don't know why you said you can't sing. Jake.
- [43:23]
Zaire Franklin
That was dynamite.
- [43:24]
James Palmer
That was dynamite. Let's get into some fantasy here. I wanna know just wanna say that we've talked about my team offline a little bit but tell me some people that maybe were looking for some big production out of some pass catchers and Jay just didn't get it. In week one I went against one of these teams and it's a big reason why I won.
- [43:46]
Jake Seeley
Yeah there was actually three duos of wide receivers. These teams with the Lions, the Eagles and the Dolphins that kind of disappointed quite a bit in week I wanted to talk about the worries and the fact that I'm not worried about the Lions. A lot of that comes down to as everybody remembered when Eli Manning made the switch from McAdoo or went to McAdoo from Gilbride and there was the talk like as somebody as seasoned as he was, it's going to take a few games to get to the new offensive system and we heard from Morton that he wasn't going to change much but there was a little bit more that he changed than we expected in week one. But now they're back at home and I know the golf outdoors is kind of always overblown. He plays great in December outdoors last year but the one area he struggled has been Green Bay over the years even in September, even in good weather games. And also let's respect the packers defense on top of it for sure. So I think they're going to get right. I'm not worried about my Ross St. Brown, I'm not worried about Jameson Williams the Eagles. We already knew this about AJ Brown and devontae Smith before Saquon Barkley got there last year and then it became even more like promise or promise more prevalent last year when it was the up and down. You're going to get the 20 point games but you're going to get a lot of games where they just don't need them. So I'm not worried about them. The one core that I'm worried about is Tyree Kill and Jalen Waddle. Mostly because maybe I should ask you this James, but like what the hell was Mike McDonald doing since the end of Mike McDaniel doing since the end of last season? Like did he get to December and just like you know what, I know the NFL adjusted their defenses to me, could play a lot of shell, keep everything underneath but you know what, I'm going to be insane and run that back again and see maybe they forgot how to stop me and then I don't know. I'm sure you saw this too. Like the worst part that I'm most concerned is when a head coach, now, he didn't go out and outright shove to it in front of the bus, but he kind of like, kind of gave him a shoulder and kind of knocked him in front of the bus. To say, like, it's a little bit on him. No, McDaniel, it's all on you. Tyreek and Jalen Waddle, I, I, you don't drop them, but I don't know how you start him in week two.
- [45:39]
James Palmer
Oh, really? You would bench both of them if.
- [45:41]
Jake Seeley
They'Re, if you have, I would definitively bench Waddle. And I think you have better options potentially than Tyreek Hill that you might not have thought.
- [45:47]
James Palmer
Yeah, it's been interesting. Tyreek is a fascinating player, I think, to watch this season in fantasy included. And what happens with his, his time in Miami? Does it end up, you know, does he end up changing teams, you know, halfway through this season? That's a distinct possibility. He didn't get a thousand yards last year. I believe in his next gen stats. In terms of his miles per hour, I think it was his high, was the lowest of his career. We gotta remember, I mean, Tyreek Hill's 31 years old. Like at some point he has to get slower, I would think, just, you know what I mean, that's such a big part of his game. It's gonna be fascinating with how what I wanted to ask you, going back before we move forward, I sounded like Willy Wonka there is like with JJ Brown and DeVonta Smith and I went against AJ Brown and he put up like 1.8 points. So like kudos to me and it helped me win. How would you have any sort of idea to predict that in terms of that roller coaster ride that you might ride with them throughout the course of the season?
- [46:41]
Jake Seeley
That's a great question. And I think that there's a lot of wide receiver twos and threes. A.J. brown's probably the only wide receiver one. When I'm talking about top 12 wide receivers and then down for from there that you just have to roll them out every single week. Go back to desean Jackson. Desean Jackson was like, hey, you're going to get eight great games. You're going to get three or four where it's like, okay, cool. And then you're going to get those four or five stinkers where you're just like, what the heck just happened? He did nothing today. But the problem is of these players on offenses like this, it's not usually a matchup situation where we're saying, oh, they're facing the worst corners in the league this week. Fire them up. Because it could still just be a Barkley and Jalen hurts type of game. So when you have these kind of wide receivers, Jameson Williams is a good one. You can go to other guys that are similar. Like right now, Cedric Tillman, I would put him into that group is where you just aren't going to be able to predict it. So you have to keep him out there because the biggest mistake people will make are trying to pick the games where they think they will have big games and then they put up five and then they're like, well I can't trust them this week. They bench them and then they miss the 20. So you just got to keep them in your lineup every single week. There's no way I'm benching where I would think about benching Hill and definitively benching Waddle for at least one week. Devontae Smith and AJ Brown are right back in my lineup this week.
- [47:51]
James Palmer
Okay, all right, got it. Before we move to some running backs, this is just off the cuff here. Is there anybody that's kind of up and coming that really you got like an assertion that yes, this is going to be a player. Like I saw that from like kind of Ricky Pearsall. Like we had rumblings that like this guy might be a guy that can put up some numbers throughout the course of the season. Being a go to guy we'll see. Like is there anybody that like you're like okay, this was a smart play. I predicted it after week one. I think this guy will be a big part of the set offense.
- [48:21]
Jake Seeley
I'm going to. I just mentioned his name, Cedric Tillman. We did preseason. I talked to Browns and I couldn't believe how much I've been on the Browns as players that we want in fantasy. I'm going to come right back to him again. This is now 4 out of 5 games where Jerry Judy and Cedric Tillman have played together and Cedric Tillman has out, targeted, outproduced, outscored him in every facet of the game. Only one game with Jerry Jeudy and I know you saw everybody's talking up Harold Fannin and the excitement that he has as the natural problem that he's a Titan. Yeah, never. But the problem is is where is Fannin overlap the wide receivers Jerry Judy's role. I'm not saying he's coming for Jerry Judy. It's just the one constant is Cedric Tillman and Cedric Tillman again, I'm not saying that he's going to be A.J. brown, but he can be in that Devonte Smith world where especially against the Ravens, yes, Joe Flacco could fall on his face. But if you're going to have the past happiness that we've seen from them before, you get a devontae Smith like performance once again. I think Cedric Tillman's going to win a lot of people some leagues this year.
- [49:17]
James Palmer
Okay, I like that. I like that. Oh, here we go, Brownies. And they're going to be just be honest, probably trailing in some games. How about running back side of things? What are we worried about here?
- [49:29]
Jake Seeley
So I'll give two a Kenneth Walker situation and Tyrone Tracy for different reasons. Yes, Walker's on Kenneth Walker. I know and this is painful. Look, if you drafted early August like I did in a couple spots like Kenneth Walker ended up on a lot of and I think the biggest thing was that we all saw, hey Kenneth Walker in the Kubiak system, what could be better? We're finally going to get this Bell cow workload and he fits in is just that scheme. Go running through the tackles. Finally something that he should be able to do that he struggled with like just everything we saw and then can't get on the field. Can't get on the field. Can't get on the field the entire preseason. The door starts opening once again for Zach Charbonnet and like, okay, well that's fine. But Kenneth Walker should be okay in Week one. No, Kenneth Walker is used as the pass catching down option and I don't think that's going to carry throughout the entire year. But at least through Week one it looks like we may be looking at the version of the Steelers for the Seahawks. Which means Kev Walker is no longer a top 15. Exactly. Top 15 running back. And now he's more of an RB two or three. I still hold out some hope that it can shift back. I just think it's going to. I mean Sharbonne is going to need some bad performances before like Kenneth Walker is somebody that I would strongly consider benching a week two until we see it play out as you put your hands over your face. The problem is is he's a top two running back for most fantasy teams and you probably don't have somebody else you can turn to.
- [50:45]
James Palmer
I have somebody to turn to right now. I got Nick Chubb. That's not going to help me.
- [50:50]
Jake Seeley
That's your floor play. I would just go for Walker for the upside. But the Tyrone Tracy one I think is so people might see that box score and be like, okay, cool, he got me fantasy points. It was a good game, but he was inefficient. Scatter Boo got the only goal line touch and I bring that up once again to say that I think that Scatter Boo is going to eat in the more and more he gets into this system and gets it. Let's remember this rookie was barely getting on the field in the preseason, so it's going to take time for him. But if Tracy leaves that door open, similar to Kenneth Walker not being on the field but for a different reason, I think Tracy is one that you might consider selling high. If you were able to get him as your RB3 and somebody needs running back help, maybe go to the Kenneth Walker upper like, hey, I got Tyrone Tracy for you because I think Scatterbu is coming for a timeshare at some point.
- [51:32]
James Palmer
Okay? He is the terror that flaps in the night. He is Jake Seely. Appreciate your time, brother. See you next week. Sounds good. As we finish out this edition of Scoop City on a Thursday, here is my extra point and it's about Marvin Harrison Jr. The wide receiver, second year out of the Ohio State University. I remember draft morning getting a text from an executive that read, when he walks across the stage tonight, they shouldn't hand him a hat, they should hand him a bleeping gold jacket. That's how high the expectations were for Marvin Harrison Jr. Coming out of Ohio State, where so many receivers have flourished over the last several years. And all the ones I've talked to, whether Jackson, Smith and Jigba or Garrett Wilson or Chris Olave, they all say Marvin was the most complete out of all of them. But then you go and play your rookie season, right? You see Brian Thomas Jr. Finish third in the NFL and receiving Malik neighbors finished seventh, both of them over 1200 yards. And Marvin's season being the fourth overall pick was somewhat of a disappointment in a lot of people's minds. Well, disappointment was his numbers were almost exactly the same as his father's, who's in the hall of Fame and Cardinals great Larry Fitzgerald. And if you talk to people in that building, and I have this past summer, they'll tell you that there's a lot about Marvin that reminds them about Fitz. Now, they won't say that publicly or on the record, really, because why add even more pressure to a guy that put a lot of pressure on himself his rookie year? If you talk to people around there, they'll tell you that he thought he pressed, thought it maybe slowed down his play and put too much pressure on himself. What he did in the off season was try to take a deep breath, slow things down, put 11 pounds of muscle on which he's one of the most tireless workers that this league has. So in year two, I had a chance to see him practice in camp and he was borderline unstoppable. He was open consistently, winning consistently. And in one game, yes, it's a small sample size. In his sophomore season, he catches five to six balls for 71 yards and a touchdown. And the only incompletion was another play where he was open down the field and could have been a potential big touchdown. But Kyler Murray missed it. He's worked heavily on the chemistry playing with Kyler, which can be difficult for a lot of receivers that are timing receivers in the nature in which Kyler plays the position. But I think this is just an example of let's just pump the brakes, right? Guys can be extremely talented, and Marvin is exactly that. And people wrote him off so quickly after his first season and moved on to the other receivers as a part of that talented draft class. And they all played brilliantly as well. But at the same time, let's make sure we just pause for a moment because Marvin did it this off season and see what these guys do in year two. All right, that's what we have for Scoop City on a Thursday. For Jordan Rodriguez, for Zaire Franklin of the Colts, for Jake Steven. I am James Palmer. We will see you next week on a Monday where Chase, Daniel and Diana Rossini and myself will break down everything that happened on YouTube. Don't forget to like and subscribe. See ya Go youo games as well. Only Boost Mobile. Boost Mobile will give you a free year of service. Free year when you buy a new 5G phone. New 5G phone.
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