- 1 week ago
We finally made it through the NFL’s offseason, training camp, and preseason! We’re just a few short days away from Washington’s collision with Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon. Ryan Wilson stopped by The Sports Junkies this morning to analyze the top storylines ahead of the NFL’s stacked week one slate.
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00:00It's Ryan Wilson. He covers the NFL and the NFL Draft for CBS Sports and CBSSports.com.
00:07Ryan, long time, no talk. It's week one. It's good to have you back, man. How are you?
00:12Good morning, guys. How's it going? Summer's over. It's go time.
00:16Yeah, it is.
00:16It is go time, that's for sure.
00:18So it's go time for the Commanders and Eagles.
00:22I want your honest assessment out of the market here, out of our D.C. sports sphere bubble here.
00:28What did you think of the Commanders' preseason, what they did free agency-wise,
00:33and how do you give them much of a chance against the Eagles in week one?
00:36They're a five-and-a-half-point dog on the road.
00:40No, I'll give them a chance.
00:42It all starts with Jay Daniels staying healthy.
00:45And then the concerns along the offensive line with the injuries were obviously,
00:49I mean, you can't play without an offensive line.
00:52It doesn't matter who the quarterback is.
00:53And that's sort of the puzzle they were trying to solve, Adam Peters and Dan Quinn,
00:57and company in recent years.
01:00And, you know, the defense is another issue.
01:02That was a huge Achilles heel a year ago, and they tried to shore that up.
01:06I know Adapio is banged up, and Chason was banged up at times.
01:11So that's a concern.
01:12So it's not great in terms of preseason or going into week one expectations.
01:19But I do feel like, and sometimes this is what happens,
01:22teams make the right moves and make the right decisions.
01:25It just doesn't work out whether it's injury or otherwise.
01:28But at the end of the day, for me, it's all about Jay and Daniels.
01:32I think Steph Diggs is going to be a good addition.
01:34Sometimes we see older wide receivers coming and maybe don't contribute at the level
01:38that expectations fans may have had when they were three or four or five years prior.
01:43But I think the team has a chance to be competitive.
01:47I'm also drinking the Jerry Jones Kool-Aid.
01:50I feel like the Cowboys, this feels like Super Bowl or Bust for them.
01:54We know how the story usually ends.
01:56But I'm not super bullish on the Eagles.
01:59I do have some concerns.
02:00I think Sean Mannion is that every other year office coordinator that seems to get it right
02:04with Jalen Hurts.
02:05But I do think there's some real questions about that team.
02:10Well, in terms of what?
02:12I mean, they lose A.J. Brown, but they had Brown last year, and there was a problem there.
02:17I mean, there was a problem between him and Hurts.
02:19So their offense kind of took a step back last year.
02:22So do you think it takes even a further step back without A.J. Brown this year?
02:27Not necessarily, and it could be in addition by subtraction for sure.
02:30But I think defensively they had some, especially at edge rush.
02:33Like edge rush is a big issue for them.
02:34Now, I know you could argue that the nine or ten other positions, they're pretty locked
02:38down on, and I understand that for Vic Fangio.
02:41But they've been trying to figure out this edge rush thing for a while.
02:44Jonathan Bernard's been banged up.
02:45They're not sure when he's coming back and what's plan B behind him.
02:48They have Jalex Hunt.
02:49They have Nolan Smith, Jr., who's never quite hit as the first-round pick.
02:53So I do have concerns there.
02:55And then the offensive line is also an issue if they can't stay healthy.
02:58We know that Lane Johnson, this seems like it'll probably be his last year.
03:01Right guard has been an issue for them with Tyler Steen the last few years.
03:06And look, for as much as we think A.J. Brown, and he was a problem at times last year,
03:13what
03:13is plan B after Devontae Smith?
03:15What does that look like?
03:16Mekhi Lemon didn't work a lot in preseason because of injury.
03:19And Vic Fangio sort of talked about how Cooper DeGene, a few years prior, he was banged
03:23up during preseason.
03:24He really didn't go until week five or six or seven.
03:26So is that a situation where it's a month and a half before you get real production out of
03:30Mekhi, like you were hoping?
03:31Vontavion Wicks was a number three in Green Bay.
03:34I think he's a good player.
03:35So I do think they're legit questions.
03:37And Jalen Hurts, look, you know, we can crush Kevin Petula all we want, the OC.
03:42Jalen Hurts was the guy throwing the ball a lot of times when things weren't working out.
03:45So I think there's enough blame to go around that I don't feel super comfortable about
03:50naming this team, you know, the runaway champs in the division.
03:54Ryan, I noticed you did not mention the Giants there as we looked around the NFC East.
03:59They've won two games in the last seven years.
04:02Of course, that's why Harbaugh takes over.
04:04Do you think it's going to take some time for him to build that thing?
04:06Do you think they can be competitive in year one?
04:09It seems like they have a little bit of a mess at running back, bringing in Najee Harris
04:12kind of late in the game.
04:14And they just released Darius Slayton from their wideout core.
04:17They're relying a lot on Malik Nabors bouncing back from the ACL.
04:20What do you make of the Giants in 2026?
04:24I'll be honest.
04:25I'm a Steelers fan.
04:27And so I've lived through the John Harbaugh experience when he arrived in 2008 in Baltimore.
04:33And obviously, he won a Super Bowl.
04:35That team was consistently competitive.
04:38I don't know.
04:39We will see how good of a coach he is because he's going into a situation, his background
04:43in special teams, coming from the Eagles.
04:46So it's not like he's an expert on one side of the ball or the other.
04:48He is really good at managing folks and hiring people to get the most out of his players.
04:54But that could also warrant Finn in Baltimore.
04:57So I want to see what the revitalized version of John Harbaugh with this team looks like.
05:02Because it's one thing to walk into Baltimore where you have guys like Lamar Jackson and
05:07Joe Flacco in his prime, won a Super Bowl, and coming to a situation that has been not
05:13great in the post-Eli world.
05:15So you talk about the running backs.
05:17That's a concern.
05:18If you're leaning on Malik Nabors to be your number one, and he had an ACL that he suffered
05:21last September, October, that's not great either.
05:25They cut Derry Slayton late.
05:26There had been some conversation that maybe he wasn't going to be there.
05:28But after Malik, who do you have?
05:30You have Darnell Mooney.
05:32Odell Beckham, by the way.
05:33This isn't 2014.
05:34This is 2026.
05:35Isaiah likely is a good player.
05:36They signed a free agency in Baltimore.
05:37How much is he going to contribute?
05:39And I do.
05:40I'm interested to see how this camp stick works out.
05:42Only because he feels like a, you know, a thousand miles an hour, and then three years
05:50later, he's a pro wrestler or something.
05:51Like, I don't know if this is sustainable long-term.
05:54Um, so I, I'm not super, I think this team is probably six or seven or eight wins.
06:00Jackson darts good, but I want to see how good he is in year two.
06:02I didn't, I didn't love him coming out of Ole Miss in terms of being the first round pick
06:06had a good year last year, but a lot of that was just him creating.
06:08So what does it look like in structure for him?
06:10So yeah, more questions than answers.
06:13All right.
06:13So it kicks off tomorrow night in Seattle, Ryan, with the Pats and the Seahawks, Seahawks
06:20laying three in this game.
06:22And, you know, obviously Drake May and the Patriots had a great year last year, but they
06:26did take advantage of a bad schedule.
06:28So they got to open up against Seattle.
06:30They got to play your Steelers in week two at home, and they've got to go to Jacksonville
06:35and go to Buffalo in the first month.
06:36So three road games against some pretty good teams.
06:40It lightens up a little bit after that with the Raiders and Jets, but still have to play
06:44the Bears, the Packers, the Lions, the Chargers on the road.
06:46It's a much tougher schedule this year than last year.
06:50And of course, you had the variable scandal with Rossini off the field.
06:54Just didn't get to see a lot of, you know, the first team of either of these squads.
07:00Didn't see Drake May much, didn't see much of the Seahawks' first team.
07:03What do you expect tomorrow night in Seattle?
07:08I think this Patriots team is probably going to be better than they were a year ago, but
07:12the point that you're making about the schedule is an important one.
07:15They might win one or two fewer games just because the schedule is going to be tougher,
07:19but I think they're going to be a better football team.
07:22Whether that translates to a deep playoff run is another matter.
07:25I like Seattle tomorrow, and that's only because maybe it's a function of just watching hard
07:32nots as well.
07:32I'm really buying into Mike McDonald.
07:34Like, I love that he's unconventional in terms of his, you know, quote-unquote new-age
07:39coaching style.
07:40This isn't a Don Shula situation, you know, from back in the day or Tom Landry or even
07:44Bill Parcells.
07:45He understands the players that he has and where they are in the year that we're living in
07:51and how to get the most out of these guys, his background, he's like a finance guy, and
07:56the way he thinks is really interesting.
07:58But these players, man, they seem to buy in, and he's not a guy that's just in the corner
08:02letting these guys do what they want.
08:04You know, you see examples of him going after Superstar on his team that he needs to get
08:08the most out of, and they just did it.
08:10So I think the biggest obstacle for them is not getting complacent, and it feels like he's
08:16done a pretty good job just on the outside looking in of keeping these guys motivated.
08:20And I think the leader of that sort of story arc is Sam Darnold.
08:25Sam Darnold does not take anything for granted, given where he came from and where he ended
08:29up.
08:31And this team just feels like, even though they lost some guys on defense, Nicky
08:35Manwari's not healthy yet.
08:37I just feel like they're going to be, I think they're going to be better than the Rams.
08:41And we can't quit talking about how the Rams are going to be, in part because of who their
08:44coach is.
08:44And if you get the coach right, man, and you get the quarterback right, that solves a lot
08:48of problems.
08:49Right.
08:49Joined by Ryan Wilson, covers the NFL for CBS Sports and CBSSports.com.
08:54One of the more fun 1 p.m.
08:56matchups on Sunday is Bucs at the Bengals.
08:59This has a 50 and a half point total at this point.
09:02We'll see if that Bengals defense that they tried to upgrade in the offseason with Dexter
09:06Lawrence and some other pieces can stop a pretty high octane Bucs offense.
09:10What do you see happening in this game?
09:12And what do you think that Bengals offense can do if Burrow can stay upright through 15 plus
09:18games?
09:18Yeah, they're going to win the division and they're going to make a deep playoff run because
09:22you touched on it.
09:23If the defense is just average, it doesn't even have to be above average, just average.
09:28Allow 21 points a game.
09:30I think they're going to win 12 games.
09:31It's hard for me to do the math.
09:34And we saw, I think it was the week one of the preseason game where Burrow got slapped
09:37around because that's sort of the issue with the offensive line in Baltimore.
09:41But if they can figure that part out, everything else, you keep Burrow healthy, they're going
09:46to cook just because he is so incredibly good at what he does.
09:50And it's not, he's not Josh Allen in terms of the size.
09:53He's not Lamar Jackson in terms of the speed.
09:55He's not Patrick Mahomes in the arm strength, but he does everything at such a high level
10:00and he's so cerebral.
10:01Well, I mean, we know what it looks like.
10:03I'm explaining to you the Mona Lisa when you can just go look at it.
10:06But I think the defense is the big issue, right?
10:08Like they just have to show up and be average.
10:10If they can do that, that's going to be fun.
10:13I do want to see Tampa Bay and what life looks like without Mike Evans.
10:19They have a Mecca, but who was really good last year.
10:20Chris Goblin's been sort of banged up down the stretch of his career here.
10:24They've had some injuries on defense, but I think the offensive line is going to be in
10:28good shape.
10:29Kenny Gainwell might be one of the low-key best off-season acquisitions of any team in
10:34terms of value and what the likely production could be there.
10:38So I'm sort of sleeping on the Saints this year in that division, but obviously not taking
10:44Baker Mayfield seriously can do that at your own discretion because he shows up in the biggest
10:50game, it feels like.
10:51So I was looking at your latest mock drafts because you do this year-round and you still
10:57have Dante Moore one, you had Arch Manning three, Julian Sane a little bit later.
11:02Anything this weekend change your opinions of any of these quarterbacks?
11:05Anybody move up big time?
11:08You know, it's so unfair to Arch that everything he does, it's going to be a Tim Tebow, Johnny
11:14Manziel situation, I think, where he just can't do anything without someone having to either
11:18appraise it or pan it.
11:21It was good to see the way he played.
11:23He and Julian Sane, lesser tit Dante.
11:26Dante had to work a little bit.
11:27He and Julian Sane in Ohio State, the cleanest pocket, it was like seven on seven.
11:31So they were just slinging it to their playbackers.
11:33Cam Coleman's going to be a first-round pick, the wide receiver for Texas, we all know by
11:36Jeremiah Smith.
11:37I think this week is going to be fun, though, the Ohio State-Texas game, because it'll be
11:41good on good and we'll get a sense for where we are.
11:45I think Julian Sane, we're not talking enough about him.
11:47He could come back after this year, but I spent a lot of time this summer just looking
11:51at guys who could potentially make those sort of Ty Simpson-like moves.
11:55And Julian Sane kept coming up.
11:57Darian Mensah, who we sort of know about going from Duke to Tulane, had a good first week
12:01as well.
12:01He's a little more Cam Ward in the way he plays.
12:03But I think Julian Sane, if Julian Sane balls out this weekend, it's going to be a full-blown,
12:08I would imagine.
12:09Is he going to be a first-round pick conversation?
12:11Then how high could he go?
12:13The other issues are Ohio State quarterbacks historically, and then he's playing with a
12:17Pro Bowl team right now.
12:19So how much does that affect how good he's playing?
12:21So you talked about the Saints, the guy you might be sleeping on him.
12:26Obviously, with Tyler Schott, he looked really good when he was starting last year.
12:30They're going to play in Detroit 1 o'clock on Sunday.
12:33Your thoughts on the Saints this year and the weapons he's thrown to, especially with
12:38Olave.
12:39Yeah.
12:40One weapon, great.
12:42Tyson Jordan, the first-round pick, eighth of the world, not so great.
12:45He's on IR.
12:46So he's on the shelf for a little bit with the hamstring.
12:50And that was a big issue when he was drafted, how healthy can he stay?
12:53Because he struggled with that Arizona State.
12:56They have Travis Acheon, who they signed for agency, and he's coming back.
13:01The offensive line is really good.
13:02But they've suffered injuries on the other side of the ball.
13:04Brian Brzee went down again.
13:06He suffered from ACL.
13:07Had one in college.
13:08And he's a really good young player.
13:10And they're not young at edge.
13:13They have Chase Young, and they have Cam Jordan.
13:15He seems to be his swan song.
13:17But I want to see.
13:18Kellen Moore, I think, is a really good coach.
13:20He was the last OC that got things going in the Philadelphia season before he got this
13:26job.
13:27And I'll be honest.
13:28I didn't think Kyle Chuck was going to be this player.
13:30He had bounced around in college.
13:31He was an older player.
13:32Had struggled with injuries.
13:33It wasn't necessarily lights out.
13:35He was last year in Louisville.
13:36Really, really impressed last year with what he did.
13:38And I think they're going to have a chance, man, because we always make fun of this division.
13:42You know, eight, nine wins, maybe gets it done.
13:44And I think this will be a real test for them.
13:47The Lions are banged up as well.
13:48They can't get healthy on defense.
13:49And we'll see what Drew Petsing, their new OC, looks like after now two years from Ben
13:53Johnson.
13:54Ryan, do you want to give us a week one bold prediction?
13:58Like an upset?
13:59How about a lock?
14:01Or lock.
14:01If you've got a lock for week one, we're welcome to take that, too.
14:05Oh, my gosh.
14:07Oh, yeah.
14:08Here's a lock.
14:08I don't know what the number is on Jacksonville, Cleveland, but I'm taking Jacksonville or whatever.
14:12How many double-digit points?
14:14Eight and a half.
14:15That's kind of Cakes is thinking, too, I think.
14:18The total is low, too.
14:19Total, Ryan, is probably the lowest of any of the games this week.
14:23Actually, Jets-Titans, I think, is a tick lower.
14:25Jets-Titans, okay.
14:26So it's pretty low.
14:28That number is good for Jacksonville.
14:29I'm going to take Jacksonville to cover, and then let's go under on the points.
14:35Very good.
14:36All right, there you go.
14:37You're in.
14:37Ryan, it's good to touch base with you.
14:39I'm sure we'll talk with you a bunch throughout the seasons.
14:41Ryan Wilson covers the NFL for CBS Sports at CBSSports.com.
14:45Thanks again, man.
14:46Thanks, bud.
14:47Thanks, Ryan.
14:47Thank you, Ed.
14:48Bye, buddy.
14:49It all kicks off tomorrow night as the Seahawks host the New England Patriots.
14:54When we come back, why is the national media so down on the commanders at this point?
15:00We'll get into that next here on The Fan.
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