Why Patrick Mahomes may not be enough to turn around the Chiefs in 2026?

Summary

Scoop City: Inside The NFL

Episode: Why Patrick Mahomes may not be enough to turn around the Chiefs in 2026?

Host: The Athletic’s Senior NFL Insider Dianna Russini, James Palmer, and ex-QB Chase Daniel
Date: February 23, 2026

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Overview

In this episode, James Palmer and Chase Daniel take listeners inside “combine week,” delving into what it's really like for quarterbacks preparing for and performing at the NFL Scouting Combine. They offer a candid look at the mental, physical, and emotional challenges faced by prospects, and dissect why some traditional evaluations—like combine throwing—may be outdated. The hosts also predict which NFL teams will rise or fall in 2026, with a strong focus on whether Patrick Mahomes’ singular greatness can overcome the Chiefs’ current roster concerns. The episode wraps with a humorous viral moment as Chase Daniel defends wearing backward hats against a wave of internet ageism.

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Key Topics & Timestamps

1. Inside the NFL Scouting Combine for Quarterbacks

Starts: [02:19]

• Combine Week Logistics & Preparation

  • Chase Daniel offers a vivid, behind-the-scenes breakdown of how quarterbacks prepare leading up to the combine, from focused weight/conditioning work to countless hours on whiteboards relearning play schemes.
  • “Everyone understands you’re out there in your underwear, you’re running a 40, you’re throwing… What a lot of people don’t understand is the other part… that’s probably the most taxing mentally on these guys.” — Chase Daniel [06:39]

• The Interview Gauntlet

  • The combine isn't just physical—it’s psychological warfare. Daniel describes two key types of team interviews: “speed dating” rounds for personality/character vetting, and intense, film-review sessions seeking accountability and resilience in the face of adversity.
  • “My goal is to get under the guy’s skin… and then the player leaves and they all laugh like, 'Did you see what he did?'... Oh my God, you’re wrecking these kids mentally.” — James Palmer [08:42]
  • “The worst thing you can do is lie… you’re not draftable.” — Chase Daniel [10:27]

• The Whiteboard Test

  • Teams send mock playbooks for study in advance; prospects must diagram and explain complex NFL offenses from memory under pressure, with every detail—including penmanship—graded.
  • “Every single aspect of it is graded... Extra credit if you go to another marker color like a blue, so you use red. And then you draw the defense, right?” — Chase Daniel [12:43]

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2. The Value (Or Not) of On-Field Combine Throws

Starts: [13:52]

• Debate: Should QBs Throw at the Combine?

  • Many top prospects now skip throwing at the combine, preferring their controlled pro days. Daniel calls the combine passing drills “dumb” and often useless for evaluating quarterbacks.
  • “You can’t move up in the draft and you can’t move down in the draft based on 10 throws… I think throwing at the combine is completely dumb.” — Chase Daniel [16:22]

• Coaches’ Perspective

  • Some coaches still love the “eye test”—seeing QBs throw back-to-back to observe mechanics, arm strength, and processing. Palmer highlights the fleeting hype caused by a single “wow” throw (e.g., Zach Wilson’s pro day).
  • “Did this throw just make him the number two pick? That’s insane to me.” — James Palmer [18:29]

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3. Character Checks: What Teams Really Evaluate

Starts: [19:10]

• Small Moments, Big Impact
  • Teams look for small indicators of character: Did a QB help clean up after his pro day? Does he know the names of support staff? Even viral acts of decency (like Malik Willis giving food to a homeless man) factor into evaluations.
  • “Are you a guy who picks up your trash? And it sounds crazy, but it’s really not. You’re paying this 22-year-old, 21-year-old multiple millions of dollars a year.” — Chase Daniel [20:35]

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4. 2026 Team Outlooks: Who’s Up? Who’s Down?

Starts: [24:10]

Bounce Back Teams

• Kansas City Chiefs

  • Though the Chiefs missed the playoffs, Daniel is bullish on their return—provided Mahomes rebounds from injury and the front office upgrades key positions (OL, WR, run game).
  • “If I am betting on someone to come out of the AFC, I’m going to bet on the quarterback and I’m going to bet on him coming back.” — Chase Daniel [25:14]

• Impact of Eric Bieniemy’s Return

  • Both agree Bieniemy’s fiery style will help refocus the team.
  • “There is a certain level of accountability that comes with E.B… I think the team… is going to have that fire.” — Chase Daniel [28:51]

• Draft Needs

  • Debates over whether K.C. should target a dynamic RB or WR at pick #9, and the need for another edge rusher.
  • “If I feel really good about an electric playmaker, I take him. If not, you go O-line, D-line.” — Chase Daniel [31:41]

• Baltimore Ravens

  • Despite a down year, Palmer forecasts a Ravens resurgence, hinging on Lamar Jackson refocusing and the defense getting healthy.
  • “We know Lamar was not healthy at all… if you want to get to the next level, we need to start building this relationship as quickly as possible.” — James Palmer [33:29]

Teams Likely to Regress

Starts: [34:46]

• New England Patriots

  • Daniel warns that the Patriots, despite their recent Super Bowl run, could easily slip due to regression to the mean and roster concerns—especially if they don’t add a true #1 receiver.

• Denver Broncos

  • Palmer (quoting a pro personnel exec) flags the Broncos’ extraordinary injury luck as unsustainable, along with their reliance on narrow fourth-quarter wins.
  • “I just don’t know if they can replicate that again. I think they’re a good team… but doing it each and every week is maybe a little bit tougher.” — James Palmer [37:43]

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5. Bonus: Chase Daniel’s Viral Backward Hat Moment

Starts: [41:43]

• The Hat Incident: Defending Style and Ownership
  • Daniel describes getting roasted online for wearing his hat backwards at age 39, sparking a flood of support (and a few trolls) in defense of hat-wearers everywhere.
  • “I’m a backwards hat guy... I wear my hat backwards. I’m 39 years old and I proudly wear my hat backwards… I’m allowed to wear a hat backwards until I’m dead.” — Chase Daniel [41:58]
  • The “Mizzou Mafia” (his alma mater’s alumni network) leaps to his side.
  • “When I can get the Mizzou Mafia behind a troll or a clown… they run deep.” — Chase Daniel [44:02]

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Notable Quotes

• “These are the worst plays they could possibly find… They want to see, are you accountable to what happened? Did you learn from what happened?”
  — Chase Daniel [11:17]

• “It is 90% all mental and emotional and meeting with guys… they put you in bad positions just to see how you're gonna handle it.”
  — Chase Daniel [19:24]

• “You can’t go put the same team back out there.”
  — James Palmer [38:14]

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Episode Highlights & Memorable Moments

• Best Inside Intel:
  Daniel’s detailed walkthrough of the combine process is a rare look at what truly separates draft prospects—hint: it’s not their 40 time, it’s their personality, resilience, and football acumen.

• Peak Real Talk:
  Both hosts call out outdated combine practices, with Daniel repeatedly calling on the NFL to evolve past meaningless drills.

• Most Fun:
  The spirited—and ultimately wholesome—defense of wearing hats backward, which evolved into a segment on online community, confidence, and internet absurdity.

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Conclusion

This Scoop City episode delivers a sharp, insider’s look at the NFL combine process, the annual churn of roster changes, and what it truly takes to rebuild (or sustain) a Super Bowl-caliber team in an era defined by quarterback greatness and relentless off-field scrutiny. The hosts’ personal stories, insider anecdotes, and willingness to question sacred NFL traditions make this a must-listen for fans wondering what it’s really like behind closed doors.

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For more NFL combine stories & draft analysis, subscribe to Scoop City for new episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Transcript

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[Chase Daniel]

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[James Palmer]

You guys don't know this away from the screen. Massive hat guy.

[Chase Daniel]

Oh yeah. Yeah. I have a ton of hats. I love hats.

[Commercial Narrator]

Regularly.

[James Palmer]

Do you have hats? Like I have certain hats where I'm

[Commercial Narrator]

like

[James Palmer]

this hat I can go forwards and backwards. This hat I can only go backwards. This hat I can only go forwards. Yeah, there's definitely those on the list.

[Chase Daniel]

Thousand percent. You should see my hat collection. It's crazy. I'm like, yeah, it's, it's definitely.

[James Palmer]

These can only go this direction.

[Chase Daniel]

He's going to look out here.

[James Palmer]

Do you like the official major League baseball fitted hat?

[Chase Daniel]

I do because I play baseball. I, I'm a big like. What is. What's it called, 5950.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, dude. I get. I have to get a fresh one every year. I have to get a fresh Philly every year. Yeah, it's like the start of my baseball. Start of my baseball swear. Yeah.

[Chase Daniel]

A black Rangers one. I used to wear all the.

[James Palmer]

Oh, welco. Welcome into Scoop City. James Palmer Chase Daniel joining you. It's combine week. We're going to touch on Chase's experiences at the combine. He's going to take us inside what it's like to be a participant, specifically a quarterback, at the NFL scouting combine. That's outstanding. Also, what team could potentially take a step back in 2026 or what team could take a big leap forward in 2026? We'll talk about that. And also we'll talk about how Chase broke the Internet this week. And we're going to break that down a little bit towards the end of the show. What's going on, man? Are you starting to have things going in the head going, oh, man, Combine. What was going on? What was I listening to in my headphones at the combine? Walking. Everybody's plugged in, walking the convention. They don't want to talk to anybody, right?

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, no, dude, back in. Oh, oh, eight zero nine. There was nothing to plug in. It was like ipods were still a thing. Yeah. Like, you know, you know, iPhone came out in 2007. But yeah, I can't believe. Dude, how crazy is. I mean, it's February. We're filming this on February 20th. And crazy that it's combine week to me. That, that's wild to me. Like, I, I feel like the super bowl just ended. But then you look at the schedule of the NFL and it never ends. Right. Because you're gonna have combine and then you're gonna get into draft and you're gonna get into OTAs. Then, then there's finally like a five week window and then you're right back in the training camp and it's just non stop. It's amazing.

[James Palmer]

It never stops. They pushed up even the, the, the back end. It's February, it's March 3rd. The back tag deadline. Right. So, like, you got the tags we're talking about right now in terms of franchise tags. You got free agency, you got the driving. So the combine is right there in the middle of it. Before we get into Indy. Did. What did you do? Is it different now compared to back then in like the weeks leading into the combine? Are you preparing specifically to throw at the combine? Are you changing your workouts as you approach Indy?

[Chase Daniel]

That's a great question. So, I mean, it was a long time ago, but when I went to

[James Palmer]

the combine, it was okay.

[Chase Daniel]

Well, thank you. I'm not, I'm not quite 40 yet. I turned 40, not October. Thank you very much. Big four zero. But I would say, like, for like the process leading up to the combine, I thought was the most important process of all for quarterbacks, especially because I remember I played my Alamo bowl game. We won in overtime. I threw Jeremy Macklin a Touchdown in overtime to win. We won our last college game. And then all of a sudden, it's like, you get a week off. I remember my dad coming up to Missouri. He's moving us all back where we're coming home. We're driving home down Interstate 35. We went through Kansas City and went straight down to Dallas. And all of a sudden you're there and it's like, all right, where are you going to go train?

[James Palmer]

Right?

[Chase Daniel]

There's this whole thing of like, where are you going to train? Who's training you? Where is that? And I went to a place in Sugarland and went to train. And so there's a, like, a really big emphasis put on training and quarterbacks. It's like in the morning time, it's weights and it's conditioning. Then there's a little bit of a break. And what I had. What quarterbacks usually have is they have a quarterback coach, right? You know, Jordan Palmer, he's probably the most popular. There's a ton.

[James Palmer]

John Beck is a big one, too.

[Chase Daniel]

John Beck, awesome 3D QB Tom House, this group, all that stuff. And what they do is. And it's hard as a college quarterback because your brain thinks so differently, because you're just focused on. So take Fernando Mendoza. He's just focused on winning the national championship game. He's got to go completely forget an offense that he learned and just. It's not even the same language. So what these guys or these quarterback coaches are doing, not only are they putting Fernando Mendoza under center, every single rep that he does, because he was, like, in shotgun 98% of the time. It's like you're working on footwork, you're working on drops, you're working on hot reads, you're working on the board. And that's specifically, I think, the biggest thing that a lot of people don't realize is, like, yeah, you're going through throwing workouts in the afternoon, but then it's literally like the coaches up there and they're reteaching you as quarterbacks how to get up onto a. Literally a whiteboard and draw up plays. Because what these teams do is, is that they'll go in and they'll be like, hey, draw up double right, two jet. I'll go. And they want you to be so ready to. In front of the entire group. Everyone's seen the pictures and everything. They want you to be able to see everything and install the play, and you better hit every single coverage. And that means, like, here's what you do versus too high here's the route concept versus single high. And man, here's what I'm thinking. They literally want you to install a play. And so that's a big part of it, at least when I was there. I think it's around the same thing. I would say college quarterbacks are a little bit smarter in terms of pre snap and post snap reads, but there's a lot that goes on just pre combine training to get ready because, yeah, look, everyone understands. You're out there in your underwear, you're running a 40, you're throwing. Everyone understands. Okay, that's the easy part. What a lot of people understand is the other part. And that's probably the most taxing mentally on these guys.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, that's those meetings that you have with these teams. Now to tell everybody at home, it varies by player. Right. Jason, you could look at somebody like, let's use Garrett Nussmeier as an example. He goes, and was he the MVP of Senior Bowl? I think. And he goes out there and has a great Senior bowl week. It was funny. Bruce Feldman was on this show on Wednesday, I think it was, or Thursday. And Bruce is great. And Bruce was saying he's known how to handle these interviews, these interactions since 8th grade.

[Chase Daniel]

Right.

[James Palmer]

Dad's a coach, obviously, knows everything about it. Um, and so my point is, he probably talked to so many teams. Senior bowl week. This combine week is maybe a layup for him because it's the second time around with some of these for sure. But let's break it down on the part you're talking about, because a lot of people don't know. These vary so much by team. About what you're meeting as a quarterback is like, I remember I've talked to an offense coordinator before, has been like, oh, my goal is to get under the guy's skin. Like, the goal in this short period of time is to see if I can get a rise out of him, see if I can bother him and see how he reacts to it. And then the player leaves and they all laugh like, did you see what he did? And I'm like, oh, my God, you're wrecking these kids mentally. How different were those meetings from team to team? Because some of them ask you to relive something that you had during your career and all these other aspects of it.

[Chase Daniel]

That's a great point. And it is different. And I would say there's two types of interviews that a lot of people don't probably realize. There's an interview and I don't know if they still do it. But there was a train room and a bunch of trains in this Indianapolis hotel. And you would literally. It's like speed dating. There'd be 32 tables. And usually who runs these interviews are quarterback coaches and maybe an OC pass games, whatever they might be in there. They're sitting down and you literally go, these teams will say, hey, I want here, and I want the here. I want to. I met with a lot of them, but it's like a speed dating round, so you get 10 minutes to sit down. And I remember, I remember sitting down with Joe Lombardi, who was a quarterback coach at the time for New Orleans Saints. Like, I absolutely remember him. And these coaches, by the way, they have so many stories about so many guys, because some guys say the dumbest stuff in the world, but it's a

[James Palmer]

guy named Lombardi with Joe Lombardi. Welcome to the NFL. Here's Joe Lombardi.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, grandfather, obviously, was, was a great Lombardi. But it is, it is interesting. So that's one part of it. And it's literally, it's very, very. They try to get to know you personally. There's not a lot of, like, hey, what do you. Because there's not a lot. Hey, you know, tell me about this. And of course, they have so much background information, so there's some stuff that they know that you don't really want them to know, but you know that they know. So you have to be. Be honest with them. The worst thing you do is, like, lie. And I, believe me, I've been around some teams that have told me that certain people have lied, and it's just, you're not draftable. Right. They're trying to figure out your character. And it's, it's. It's hilarious, bro. It's literally like speeding you' that. And then what most people see on social media and what teams are, you know, when they, when they end up drafting on, like, the Jackson Dart, Brian Daboll thing that went super viral. He's up there, and sometimes the head coach of his offensive head coach runs it. But there's. There's 15 people in a room, and you're sitting here. And it differs on team to team. Most teams, they want to watch your film. They'll pull up your two or three college plays and they'll be like, take me through your thought process. That's all. That's all they'll say for sure. You have to be able to explain yourself and what was. And believe me, these aren't good plays, guys.

[James Palmer]

These are good plays.

[Chase Daniel]

These are the worst plays they could possibly find, interceptions, stuff like that, because they want to see, are you. Are you accountable to what happened? Did you learn from what happened? Did you know why you did it? Right? And then they might do a good one. Hey, take me through this right here, right? So that's two or three plays. And it's. It's not easy because all these people that you know are decision makers are looking at you, and so you're a little nervous. But I. I feel like the people that I've heard from, the best are just like, they just own it, man. This is me. This is who I am. Don't try to be anyone else but yourself. And then the fun part comes is they didn't do it as much when I was there, but I've heard. And being on teams, what they do now is, especially if you're looking at a quarterback in the first round, they will send you a mock playbook before the combine, to your house or maybe during the combine, study these plays. You're meeting with the New Orleans Saints. Here is what the New Orleans Saints offense is, or you are meeting with Andy Reid. Here is what the Kansas City Chiefs offense is. And they will literally, you'll. You'll have to. As quarterbacks, and a lot of people, a lot of these guys don't. And it's crazy to me because it's the biggest job interview you'll ever have in your entire life. You got to study, you got to look at the playbook. You got to memorize it, and you got to understand it. And so Andy Reid will come up and be like. Or Sean Payton will come up and be like, hey, gun, double right, two, jet Y, fluti, X, yellow cross. Okay?

[Commercial Narrator]

You. You.

[Chase Daniel]

You better be able to draw it. And when I say, like, every single aspect of it is. Is. Is graded. Like, I'm talking, like, how's your penmanship? Has your penmanship on the whiteboard. Okay, Extra credit if you draw a circ, A square for the center and then circles for the guards. And then if you label it correctly, and then do you put the splits that are correct? And then here, extra credit. You're drawing it, you're explaining it. You're. You're numbering it. Here's one. Here's two. Here's three. Extra credit if you go to another marker color like a blue, so you use red. And then you draw the defense, right? And every single thing, they want you to be so into it. And just every single thing is graded. And they just see how you. They See how you do, man. So it is. It goes fast, but it's very much a. What can we do to make this guy as uncomfortable as possible and see how he handles this? Because if he can't handle this, ain't no way he's handling third and 10, down 10 with five minutes left on the road, like, you know what I mean? So, yeah, it's crazy.

[James Palmer]

I started having a Bo Callahan thought right in my head when you said, you get the playbook and Brian Drew is the only one guys that mailed the dollar back. Oh, man, Draft day. What a great movie. Listen, I think you're exactly right. The uncomfortable nature of these meetings is on purpose. The bad plays that they show are on purpose. And I think that's if we tie this into what's happening right now. I think that's one of the biggest traits you mentioned to me about Fernando Mendoza is the ability to bounce back, the ability to recover after things don't go right. That's what they're looking at in a lot of these meetings. All right, let's get to the field here, Chase. So many quarterbacks now are opting not to throw at the combine. They just want to throw in the comfortable atmosphere of their pro day. And from a coach's perspective, which is, these are the guys that I talk to during draft time all the time about, hey, I specifically always want to talk to the quarterback coaches because there's a lot of them that love to be on the field during the combine, right? They want to stand behind the quarterbacks. They want to watch for everybody at home. The reason they want to do that, right, Chase. Is because this is their only opportunity to see this guy go, then this guy go, then this guy go, then this guy go. The reason for that is you can quickly compare ball out of his hand, release everything. When you see one after another in the same group, coaches love it. They can immediately see with the eye test how different each guy looks. And so what was it like throwing at the combine? Is there a nerves aspect of it? Because it's not real football, right? It's like you're in football at all. You're out there and like, it's almost like I would just. I feel like you tense. Like I gotta go out and just play. Think about like I'm throwing before practice. I don't know. What is the thought process? Yeah, I mean, it isn't either.

[Chase Daniel]

That's what I was gonna say. I think the hardest part is you've never thrown cause you're throwing to combine. Receiver. So there can be one guy from every college that you've never thrown to in your entire life. And you're supposed to throw an out route at 10 yards. But oh, wait, this guy broke it at 8, this guy broke it at 12. You're supposed to go 5, no hitch with a throw. It's very difficult. That's why I would say that the throwing part of the combine is so dumb. I think it is. I do not think it should be used. I don't think. And I've talked to many coaches, you know. Yes, it allows you to see the ball come off of their hands. It is the dumbest thing. And quite honestly, a lot of teams put no stock in it. Like there might be you. Here's my thing. You can't. And I don't care. I don't care what anyone coach says. You can't move up in the draft and you can't move down in the draft. Based on 10 throws that you're going under center, they want you to back out. Still sometimes throw into your left. I don't think that that matters at all. So I think throwing up combine is completely dumb. I think that it could. It could only hurt you maybe. And then if you're doing that, why not go at your pro day? If someone's really interested in you, then do it. And then. And then I know what people are going to say, well, you're not a competitor. You don't want to go out there and throw. And that's such a crock of crap, dude. No, no. Like, look, I threw because I was. Had an undrafted grade and I wanted to do it and I completed every pass. Were they perfect throws? No, but it still is a way for these coaches, I guess, to see you under center because they work a lot under center and play action.

[James Palmer]

I do think you have an opportunity, if you're not at the top of the draft to possibly help yourself. I think you want to compete in every opportunity you have to try to help yourself. If your grade is somewhat lower, I would.

[Chase Daniel]

If you're not at the Senior bowl or if you're not at that, then for sure. Like a Diego Pavia, 5 9. Like if he comes out there and he like lights it up in terms of. Not necessarily actually, but like, man, the ball comes out of his arm, like different for sure. But like my thought is like, you can only really. I don't know. I'm, I'm, I both ends of it. And as a quarterback, because. Let's take you inside from the quarterback's Perspective like you were. That was just my analyst perspective. You get.

[Commercial Narrator]

Get.

[Chase Daniel]

You work three months for 12 throws, and of course you're going to tense up. Of course you're going to tighten up. Of course you're going to think, like, oh, my gosh, like, I've never thrown to that Iowa receiver. Yeah. Like, how do I know is. There's so many variables that are tough, but, like, like you said, I mean, the best thing is to go out there and compete. I just think right now, as an analyst, I think it's stupid.

[James Palmer]

But the funny part is Chase and I just thought of this, too. How many guys have we just talked about because of one throw that happened? Even if it was in the setting of their pro day, the Zach Wilson throw stands out in my mind, right? Everybody the rolling and then crosses by. And so I was like, did this throw just make him the number two pick? Like, that's insane to me. Whether that happens at the combine or the pro day, it almost makes you question the evaluation process just a little bit as well.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

If that carries so much stock. The same thing could be said for a 40 in the combine this week. Where in specific positions. Oh, my God. That guy just jumps up because of a 40 that he'll never run again after the combine.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And pads or an underwear they're going to. But I would say the number one thing, like, combine that I think matters, the. I think is the 40. Like, I do think it's like, the safety from Oregon is, like, super tall. He's going to run an extremely flat, fast 40.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Chase Daniel]

Like, that stuff matters. But, yeah, I just think, like, the combine in general, it is like, I'm talking about it from a player. It is 90% all mental and emotional and meeting with guys, I mean, bro, they. They make you. And it's the dumbest thing ever. And I just. I was prepared for it. So. I know they make you get up one morning at like 4, 4:30am for a drug test just to make you get up and see how you're gonna handle it. Like, they. They put you in bad position. And it's. It's part of the deal, right? It's part. But. But being so far removed, I'm like,

[James Palmer]

okay, yeah, let's cut it. But it is true. Like, it's funny you brought that up. And we'll say this when we're talking about quarterback pro days, and Chase and I are going to break them down a lot here on Scoop City, so make sure you. You keep, you know, keep an eye out and like, and subscribe to make sure that you can. You can catch all of that. I mean, guys, look at. Does he help the ball boy put the balls away? How does he interact with everybody who gives him water? Like those all being looked at. Yes.

[Chase Daniel]

At the. The Malik Willis story where he's given a homeless guy. Like, that is like all the small things like that, like, are evaluating. Do you clean up? Do you help clean up? Like, do you pick up your trash? And it sounds crazy, but it's really not. Because you're paying this 22 year old, 21 year old, multiple millions of dollars a year. You want to make sure everything fits.

[James Palmer]

Yeah. The group of people that work with you specifically in your pro day. I remember talking to a head coach about this once where he was like, you know what was odd to me? The quarterback at the pro day, Chase didn't know anybody's name or call them by name who was working with him. Right. You know, it's like, what would that those staff members be called on a college. On a college staff? Those are like grad assistants or a

[Chase Daniel]

variety of different roles. Equipment guys, interns.

[James Palmer]

And he's like, he's just, hey, you, like, you don't interact with these people on a daily basis for the entire season. Not good.

[Chase Daniel]

Not good. Look.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, everything's getting evaluated. It's unbelievable. Again, we're going to have everything about the combine throughout the whole week and after it. About everything we hear. My fun times is away from the field. Anyways. Chase, I want to hear what's going on in the league. I want to buy a guy a soda. There's a lot.

[Chase Daniel]

It's a rumor mill.

[James Palmer]

People are ready to talk. It's wonderful. And we're going to get into 2026 as these teams try to change their rosters for 2026. Coming up in scoop city, how about a team that we're going to see bounce back in 2026? And Chase and I are each going to pick a team that we think may take a step back in 2026. Stay tuned for that. Scoop City.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[James Palmer]

all right, welcome back to Scoop City. James Palmer, Chase Daniel with you and we're going to each mention a teams chase that is in our eyes going to maybe make a bounce back in 2026 after 2025. I have an idea of where you may go but I'm curious, do you of what team gun is going to make a bounce back in 2026?

[Chase Daniel]

Well, there's a team that has the greatest player in the game, right? Didn't. Well, not yet. Is there a chance greatest play there is absolutely a chance.

[James Palmer]

Yes.

[Chase Daniel]

100? Heck yeah there's a chance. And that that person is Patrick Mahomes and that team is the Kansas City Chiefs. Look, I surprise, flabbergasted, amazed that they didn't make the playoffs. Right. And it was one of those years where it's just a little bit of a dip. But now that hill is even harder to climb and I do think that they will be back in the playoffs. I do think that they are rested, they need some time off. They played an insane amount of playoff games since Patrick Mahomes has become the starter. Seven, what was it, seven straight AFC championship games. I mean, just crazy, crazy start to the career. At some point you got to fall back off. You got to get. Now he's hurt. How does he come back from injury? How does he. You know, my guess would be like, you know, probably going to be fine. Going to have to be worried about that for a little bit during the season. Right. But I just, I want to see, I want to freaking see the offensive line block their tails off. I want to see them get better. I want to see the receivers step up. I want to see them go out there and have everyone healthy for every game. I want to see them get more of a run game. Look, defense, I don't have as many issues. Get another D lineman, get another offensive. Right. All this stuff. But if you just look, I mean there's not a lot that changed from the last time they were in the playoffs. Yes. They got to get some pieces. You know, I don't know what's going to happen with Taylor. Are they going to keep him at tackle, like going to get rid of them all this stuff. But I love the chief shot like I really do. And there's teams that are going to be good again. Like I think the Bills are still going to be good. I think the Ravens are going to be better. I think there's a lot of firepower in that afc. But if I am betting on someone to come out of the afc, I'm going to bet on the quarterback and I'm going to bet on him coming back, winning comeback player of the year, having an MVP type season. I mean, hurt all that stuff. Like just, just story's too good, man. You got Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes. I got to go with the Chiefs.

[James Palmer]

Okay. Well, we're going to wonder now is if it's going to be in addition to Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, is it going to be Travis Kelce? It looks like it's trending in that direction. If you scroll his response to Eric B. Enemy's return. And that's the part I wanted to ask you about here because first, let me put into perspective on Patrick's health. It was not just the acl, it's the LCL now. He had the surgery done immediately, which is kind of rare, but it was like a day or two after he wanted it done. He wanted to get done. He goes down to Dallas to really, who is the LCL specialist as well as with ACLs, but LCL specialist for sure. Down there in Dallas. And my understanding is he'll miss pretty much the offseason, a good chunk of training camp. The LCL does complicate an ACL recovery for some sense. I would put nothing past Patrick Mahomes in terms of how he's attacking this rehab and wanting to be ready for week one. You mentioned it though. He is in a lot of people's eyes on pace to be the best player ever. You're not going to put him out there at 75%. And I think Rick Buckholter and that medical staff are outstanding. I think they're really, really good there. Rick's out. Yeah, you know Rick and he's, he's really good. I think they'll be safe about this. But I, I don't put anything past Patrick getting ready. How do you think the dynamic and I brought this up because this was asked on our live stream yesterday to, to me from a fan. How do you think the dynamic of Eric B. Enemy and Patrick Mahomes will be with his return? I actually like how they push each other's buttons. I think it makes them better person.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

E.B.

[Chase Daniel]

i was with E.B. i love, love E.B. he was a running back coach when I was there and obviously an OC and left and came back and all this stuff. There is a certain level of accountability that comes with E.B.

[James Palmer]

yes.

[Chase Daniel]

As the offensive coordinator. And sometimes some players don't like being held accountable. And I think at times that's why EB has gotten not a bad rap because he's an insanely good coach, but he's got a little fire to him and I like that. And, and, and I think, I think the team once he was gone and then he, he's coming back. I think they're going to have that fire. Right? He, he is like completely different opposite of Andy Reid in terms of how you're getting coached. EB is going to get into your like yell like fiery. And Andy's like, don't do that, don't do that.

[James Palmer]

It's just so every time you should run it like your last rep ever, like, no doubt.

[Chase Daniel]

And I think that being brought to the team from an EB stance, I think it's really good. I think it refocuses them. I think it gets everyone back. That's the thing too. I've never gotten the stuff. I'm like, you know, there's been why isn't he be a head coach? Okay, I get all that. He's a damn good coach and I think he's a perfect fit to go back to K.C.

[James Palmer]

i like it. I'm interested to see what they do at nine. That's going to be their pick in the first round. I'm interested with the running back spot, all these deep shell coverages that Patrick has been facing. I would love to see a dynamic running back lined up against a linebacker or in. In spots where you can get explosive plays out.

[Chase Daniel]

Do you think love is there?

[James Palmer]

I I. There's a chance. I think love could be there.

[Chase Daniel]

Do you think they go running back? Do you think they could go receiver?

[James Palmer]

Receiver?

[Chase Daniel]

Lemon from usc, Like Lemon?

[James Palmer]

Yeah.

[Chase Daniel]

Do you think. Yeah. Do you think that's too high

[James Palmer]

for a receiver? No, I think they'll the. The top one might. Will already be off the board by nine, I think.

[Chase Daniel]

No, I'm saying. No, I'm saying for. No, I'm saying for the Chiefs. Do you think it's too rich for him for a position like in the air?

[James Palmer]

I mean, there's a lot up in the air with Rasheed Rice right now. There's a lot up in the air on what's happening with their pass catchers. Does Travis come back or not? Obviously, I think you go into Indianapolis and you have an idea what Travis is going to do. I don't think.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, they already know. I think they already know.

[James Palmer]

You know, how you're approaching all of it. I, I just think. And we're spending some time here, but I don't mind it. I had this conversation with the coach the other day. Chase and I wanted your. Your take on it. Now that I thought was it of it and I mentioned it to Zach Berman when we were having a conversation about Jalen Hurts. I said, patrick, just like every quarterback plays a very certain way. And an offensive coordinator telling me this, like, he's a feel quarterback. Right. The way he plays is with so much feel and players that play with feel, whether it was Tyreek in his heyday had a feel for space. Travis has a better feel for space than maybe any past catcher we've seen in recent memory. You need those style of players or maybe you need to be looking again for a pass catcher that plays that way if there's one in the draft. I think Lemon kind of plays that way, actually, in terms of fitting Patrick, I think that.

[Chase Daniel]

I do think that running back, they need it. I think personally, this is just my purse. I think 9 is too rich for that because of positional value and based on how much Andy wants to run the ball. Like, if I'm going that high And I feel really good about an electric playmaker. I take him. If not, then you go O line, D line. Right. One of those things.

[James Palmer]

There's going to be some edge guys there too, for sure. Which they need. Yep.

[Chase Daniel]

There'll be some edge guys and it'll be interesting to see what happens because, man. Yeah. And Rashi Rice plays into it. It's just. There's a lot they can get better with this draft, man. Like, they can get better.

[James Palmer]

And we've seen. We've seen beach do that in a draft, right. We've seen him just thousand percent hit a. Hit a couple of home runs in draft and there it is. Okay. My team that I think is going to bounce back. I told the producers one team, I'm pivoting, I'm saying another, I'm going to say it's the Baltimore Ravens. They were my super bowl pick. And then everything went to hell. And Jesse Minter comes in and I do think there were some questions. No knock on Zach Orr, but there were some questions about the defense and how it was run. Obviously they were littered with injuries. I don't think you have that number of injuries again with the way your defense is run. He just spent some time. He knows Kyle Hampton, but just spent some time with Derwin James comes back. I think he becomes even more of a chess piece. And we know Lamar was not healthy at all. What I am interested and I think the linchpin all of this was kind of laid out by Declan Doyle, their new young offensive coordinator. Did you see Chase the other day where he was like, we're expecting almost perfect attendance for our voluntary workouts? I did. Well, that is not something Lamar Jackson does. But he's essentially saying, lamar, if you want to get to the next level, we need to start building this relationship as quickly as possible. We all know that Lamar Jackson loves to train in South Florida. I think he missed eight of nine on field voluntary workouts last year. Steve Boschotti said a couple of things in his press conference as well, going, can we get to the next level? I don't think this is a knock on Lamar. Essentially it's just saying, can we try to do everything possible with a new regime to take us to another new height? And so you know how you see Lamar having a bounce back. Yeah. Well, how do you get, you know

[Chase Daniel]

how you can get Lamar there a new deal? What's the deal? What's it. What's the deal on that?

[James Palmer]

Yeah, listen, he's not going to play on this contract. He has a $75 million cap hit. So he's not playing on this current deal. What I'm fascinated to see, because remember the last time he was going through a contract negotiation? What did they end up doing to kind of sweeten the deal? Do you remember? I forgot they signed Odell Beckham Jr. Another weapon back then when they went through that deal. I'm wondering if, like, hey, we'll get you another weapon. That kind of sweetened the pot a little bit in terms of, you know, they could use somebody opposite of Zay Fil, in all honesty, maybe to help them out. They've been patching up.

[Chase Daniel]

I like the Ravens. I'm big on the Ravens, especially defensively.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, exactly. I like it. I'm on board.

[Chase Daniel]

I'm on board.

[James Palmer]

I'm bored. I like it. I'm on board with both teams because you know what? The AFC is just more fun when both of these teams are going at it and they're right near the top. It's just, it's just really fun. Another team, I would say is let's watch Justin Herbert with two tackles this year. I'm kind of excited for that. But they did make the playoffs, so I guess I can't really pick them. But I'm excited to see what the Chargers do. I'm excited for a charger.

[Commercial Narrator]

Okay.

[James Palmer]

A team that may take a step back in 20, 26. Chase, as everybody's at the combine trying to get better, could be who?

[Chase Daniel]

Look, the, the easy pick is, is, I mean, I, I just don't see the Patriots getting back to the Super Bowl. Right. And so you're like, take a step back. Well, Chase, there's only two. Yeah, of course, you know, like, what are the chances?

[James Palmer]

There's only one step up, actually.

[Chase Daniel]

One step up. Like, you know, okay, Chase, you take the easy one. It's Patriots. I, I, I think the Bills are going to be better. I think Dolphins, you know, afc, I think they might be better too, you know, depending on who's, who's quarterback and stuff like this. I don't think the schedule is going to set up as easy as it is. Obviously. There's just no way because you so, and it's, it's probably, it'll be a good year, I think, for me to see how Drake may handles this after Super Bowl. Losing it, you're getting locked back in. Do the left guard and left tackle, both rookies, do they get better? Do they go out and do they get a number one receiver? I think they have to. I think they need a number One receiver. I don't want you to break the bank on one, but I think you need another playmaker. For Drake, the defense played really well with not a lot of huge names other than Christian Gonzalez. Splaine played good down the stretch. I just, just, I just don't know. They caught lightning in a bottle. Right. And I don't know if they can do that again. I mean, obviously they're getting the Super Bowl. I get it. But that'd be hard to get to. It's hard.

[James Palmer]

I think you also look, I mean you look at the path. I'm not take again. I, I, whenever Chase and I are not taking anything away from what Mike Vrabel did with this team in one year. Incredible. But you face a, just an absolute. It looked like shell shocked CJ Stroud. You face Jarrett Stidham in the snow.

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

It's just a lot of things kind of were, you know, falling in a certain direction to help you get to where you're at. And sometimes those things don't happen. That's why I'm saying the team and I'm actually stealing this from a pro personnel guy I was talking to as I'm gluing. My draft work essentially is the Denver Broncos.

[Chase Daniel]

Ooh.

[James Palmer]

Up here in Denver. It pains me to say it's my wife's favorite team, but I'll say it. I just okay. All those fourth quarter comebacks. Yes. Your defense kept you in a lot of those games and the defense will do that I think again. But, but the one thing that was pointed out to me, and I think it's a really stup point, is this defense that is so good. Man, were they healthy this past year, this offensive line, man, were they healthy this past year. And you know the way you chase that, that pendulum can swing from year to year just in terms of luck, in all honesty, in terms of how healthy you can be. And I think some of those breaks in the fourth quarter late where Bix has this unbelievable magic, I think he'll continue to have that through his, his career. But you just doing it each and every week is maybe a little bit tougher. And I mentioned like this part as well. You mentioned the Chiefs of having a bounce back. We know the Raiders probably are much better than they were a year ago. I just mentioned Chargers with, with Herbert and.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

And, and where they're headed, it just might be a little bit tougher division for sure. And then you got that number, you know, you had that number one seed. What's your schedule like? And so I just. I. It's. This. Was this pro personnel guys pick where he goes. I just don't know if they can replicate that again. I think they're a good team. He's like, I really do think they're a good team.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, that's good pick. I mean, way to go. Chase and James, Way to. Way to go on a limb here. Super bowl and AFC championship teams. Yeah, of course they're not going to be back. Like, what. You know how hard it is to get back.

[James Palmer]

Way to go, Chase.

[Chase Daniel]

Nice. Nice. Yeah, it is.

[James Palmer]

It is hard to get back, but it is. It is interesting to try to look at seeing where these teams go, because that's the goal. You don't want to take that step back. How can you keep it going? I think. I think EB Entering the Chiefs building is actually a really, really big, poignant move by Brett Veach and Andy Reid about where they were this past year and getting them back to a certain direction next year. And then everybody from Sean Payton to Mike Vrabel, we know these guys are master motivators. I think what happens at the combine and free agency as well. Chase, you got to better your roster. You can't go put the same team back out there. So before we head break, you mentioned it for the. For the Patriots, if. With. With the Broncos, because you know them well. What is an addition you would like to see happen to make sure they don't take this step back to that roster?

[Chase Daniel]

Oh, man. It's got to be receiver.

[James Palmer]

It's got to be receiver.

[Chase Daniel]

Maybe a bird. Yeah. A tight end. Even a receiver. Like one of these guys that are like your dude. You know, when you need. And. And I just. Overall, they gotta have a weapon. I don't care how it gets there. I think the line's great. I think defense is great. I think the run game's fine. You know, RJ Harvey coming on. You're going to get more of a. But they got to have a weapon. Bo's got to have a guy.

[James Palmer]

Yeah. A guy that's big for a court. From a quarterback's perspective. Right. It's third and, you know, seven in the entire stadium knows you're going to.

[Chase Daniel]

Where am I going? And I can still get it. Yeah.

[James Palmer]

And you can still. Yeah, exactly. That's everything.

[Chase Daniel]

All right.

[James Palmer]

Chase broke the Internet this week, guys, and we're going to break that down next on Scoop City.

[Commercial Narrator]

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[James Palmer]

Grant from Ted's podcast Work Life and this episode is brought to you by ServiceNow. AI is only as powerful as the platform it's built into. That's why it's no surprise that more than 85% of the Fortune 500 companies use the ServiceNow AI platform. While other platforms duct tape tools together, ServiceNow seamlessly unifies people, data, workflows and AI connecting every corner of your business. And with AI agents working together autonomously, anyone in any department can focus on the work that matters Most. Learn how ServiceNow puts AI to work for [e-mail] well, the holidays have come and gone once again.

[Chase Daniel]

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[Commercial Narrator]

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[James Palmer]

You get it now, you call it an early present for next year.

[Chase Daniel]

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[James Palmer]

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[James Palmer]

All right, welcome back to Scoop City. James Palmer Chase Daniel with you two very fashionable looking men. I have to say Chase, because you little something out and you had a post where you kind of circled something or squared it. How did this go down? They set it up for everybody.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, it happened to me. And solidarity wearing the backwards hat. I'm. I'm a backwards hat guy. I like my hat backwards. I wear my hat backwards. I'm 39 years old and I proudly wear my hat backwards. However, there are some people on the Internet I think there is an age limit to wearing your hat backwards and some on the Internet, a la Colin Coward, think that you should never wear a backwards hat. However, on our Scoop City page of all people. I don't even. Not gonna say his name. But you're gonna show it, and it'll say his name in there because I want you to be called out for this. I think it's absolutely ridiculous. I'm allowed to wear a hat backwards. Sideways, yeah. Forward, Sideways, Backwards?

[Commercial Narrator]

Yeah.

[Chase Daniel]

Until I'm dead. It doesn't matter. And so who knows?

[James Palmer]

You might get buried in a backwards hat.

[Chase Daniel]

I probably will. And I like backwards hats, and that's that. So stop commenting on backwards hats.

[James Palmer]

This thing I did, when you first posted it, I was like, well, first off, I was like, who is this clown? Like, why do you even care? Secondly, I was like, troll. As, like, a day or two goes by, I'm like, the people that are jumping in here, it was just snowballing.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

Like, so one guy. One guy posted. He's like, solidarity.

[Chase Daniel]

I click.

[James Palmer]

He's got, like, millions of followers. I forget who that was. He's like a workout guy or something, like a professional bodybuilder. And then he was like, solidarity with the background. Backwards hat. Like, I was like, oh, my God. I didn't know this was so poignant. This is like, when that dress was out there and everybody had to pick which color it was and didn't know what color the dress was.

[Chase Daniel]

It was like that.

[James Palmer]

I didn't know. Everybody was so heated.

[Chase Daniel]

I would say that there was, like, 300 comments on my act. It got over, like, a hundred thousand views. And most of those people. So there's a. I went to the University of Missouri, I heard, and a great journalism school. One of the best, if not the best journal in the country. And there's this thing that is called the Mizzou Mafia. And the Mizzou Mafia is an online click of people that love Mizzou or went to Mizzou Journalism. And it's like, a ton of people. And when I can get the Mizzou Mafia behind a troll or a clown that's been trolling, and that's what. A lot of what that you saw was that, like, they're. They run deep. They run deep. And it was. Yeah, it was. I'd like 99 of the comments were like, get off this guy. Like, this guy's an idiot. Like, why are you worried about a backwards hat?

[James Palmer]

Yeah, I don't get it either. And also, like, I. I think I. I respect the game. I think I got pretty decent salad up top. And on the weekends, we're rocking a backwards hat all the time, dude.

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah.

[James Palmer]

And I'm older than you. I mean, just by a smidge.

[Chase Daniel]

Let's just say there's no age on it, man.

[James Palmer]

There's no age on the back. We're talk hat. End of story, game over. And you know what? I might wear back all week at the combine. I might wear it the whole week at the combine.

[Chase Daniel]

You should, you should.

[James Palmer]

I'll put a little badge on my arm like some. Yeah, it's not what you should have said about the people are going to accuse you of going, oh, you tried to look younger. Oh, God. Screw you and your ages, guys. Everybody wears a hat. If I'm going to a baseball game, I'm wearing a baseball backwards hat always, dude. And it's going to be affiliates backwards hat. I'm saying it.

[Chase Daniel]

Yes. Awesome. I worked my kids football game, baseball game basically everywhere.

[James Palmer]

Like, come on. Yeah, I mean, this was fun.

[Chase Daniel]

Patch. Yeah.

[James Palmer]

You're wearing a backwards hat. This was fun. This is great. Was it fun to go down memory lane, by the way, like thinking?

[Chase Daniel]

Yeah, you brought up some good memories.

[James Palmer]

Yeah, good, good. Well, it led to a good career. All right, Chase, we'll be dragging down some quarterbacks. Post combine on Scoop City. See you soon, buddy.

[Commercial Narrator]

Security and compliance done wrong is a giant headache. Security and compliance done right, that's Vanta. Vanta helps you earn trust and speed up growth. No spreadsheets required. For startups low on time and resources, Vanta becomes your first security hire, using AI and automation to get you compliant fast and unblock big deals for enterprises. Vanta is your AI powered hub for compliance and risk, bringing together data from across your businesses and automating workflows so you can prove trust at any moment. Vanta scales with you at every stage. That's why top companies from startups like Cursor to enterprises like Snowflake choose Vanta. Do security and compliance right. Get started [e-mail] tedaudio after the holidays, your home deserves a reset, not another routine. Right now. Get a free Pura home diffuser when you subscribe to 2 cents for 12 months risk free for the 30 days. Create calm on your terms. Visit pura.com as a small business owner, you don't really get to clock out early. Your business is on your mind 24 7. So when it's time to hire, you need a partner that works just as hard as you do. That partner is LinkedIn Jobs. When you clock out, LinkedIn clocks in. It's super easy to post your job for free, share it with your network and manage qualified candidates all in one place. LinkedIn can even help you write your job description and get it in front of the right people. And promoted jobs get three times more qualified applicants. 72% of small businesses say LinkedIn helps them find higher quality candidates, and you can double your reach just by adding the hashtag hiringframe to your profile photo. Find out why more than 2.5 million small businesses use LinkedIn for hiring. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com jobsearch that's LinkedIn.com J-O B S E A R C H Terms and conditions apply.