The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

In the immortal words of John C. McGinley, “What would you say you do here?” We judge general managers and executives on free agency signings, contract negotiations, and draft classes…but what are they actually doing behind the scenes? Former Philadelphia Eagles executive Jake Rosenberg sits down with Robert Mays to discuss what a GM candidate should look like, the role of analytics in front offices, and what some NFL organizations are doing wrong with their executive structures.0:00 Welcome to the show1:46 Jake Rosenberg joins4:30 What GM candidates should look like8:48 Role of ownership13:41 What does a GM do?18:32 Ideal NFL team structure 24:19 GM/owner involvement in game plans26:11 Where should you find new GMs/execs?30:13 How to figure out a candidate’s experience34:50 What do you ask candidates?40:50 Most important hires for a GM46:50 Process of hiring coaches50:54 Analytics vs scouting backgroundHost: Robert MaysExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

The Giants have spent a ton of resources along the defensive line in recent years, and made a splash this offseason by bringing in head coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. So, what exactly is this defense? The Texans had a Super Bowl caliber defense last season, but were ultimately let down by their previously up-and-coming quarterback. So, what happened to C.J. Stroud in 2025? The Jaguars had one of the best offenses in the NFL in the second half of last season. Was that real? Can they carry that over to 2026? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive deep on those three questions on this Lingering Questions episode of The Athletic Football Show.0:00 Welcome to the show7:09 What is the New York Giants defense?25:32 Wtf happened to CJ Stroud?54:19 Was the Jacksonville Jaguars offensive ascension for real?Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

We're firmly in the Remember Some Guys period of the NFL calendar, and what better way to do so than with the Hall of Very Good? You kinda-sorta know a Hall of Very Good player when you see one, but we followed two loose rules when putting this episode together. First, if a player ever advanced to the semifinalist stage in Hall of Fame voting, he was too good to be in the Hall of Very Good. Second, he had to immediately conjure memories of legitimate peaks. Check both those boxes, and you're a Hall of Very Good candidate. So who made the 2026 class? Allow Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman to walk you down memory lane on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.0:00 Welcome to the show6:29 Ryan Kerrigan11:39 Tamba Hali16:02 Matt Forte19:19 Warrick Dunn24:43 Thomas Davis29:38 Michael Bennett35:16 Stephen Davis40:28 Mike Iupati43:27 Snacks Harrison48:03 D'Brickashaw Ferguson51:12 Sean Lee57:35 Jordy Nelson1:03:07 Reggie Nelson1:04:49 Rapid fire additionsHost: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

Some topics are evergreen in the NFL. And some are so perfect for mid-June that it would be a crime not to discuss them. That’s where this week’s Mailbag Monday episode takes us…what are the best 3-year player peaks you’ve ever seen? What are the best single-season teams to never win a Super Bowl? What aspects of player performance still can’t be measured by stats? Robert Mays and Dave Helman discuss that and much more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.0:00 Welcome to the show2:56 Teams with the best weak link7:58 Value of mythically elite kicker/punter13:29 Defensive players that scheme relies on19:45 Best 3-year player peaks31:29 Best teams not to win a Super Bowl36:42 Value of veteran qb vs churn of new ones44:12 Myles Garrett vs Jared Verse49:32 Statistics we still need54:46 Choosing OC over head coachHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

The various sagas roiling college football typically fall outside our purview here on The Athletic Football Show, but nothing about the Brendan Sorsby saga is typical. Sorsby was one of the biggest prizes in the transfer portal this offseason. Instead of potentially leading Texas Tech back to the playoff this year, he'll make the NFL Supplemental Draft an actual event for the first time in seemingly forever. Robert Mays, Dave Helman and Dane Brugler detail what type of prospect Sorsby is, the value he'll have in the supplemental draft, and which teams might be interested in him on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Dave Helman and Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Follow Dane on X: @DPBruglerTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

The success of coaches like Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay has created a group of coaches that, at one time in the recent past, were quite rare...non-playcalling offensive coordinators. Fully half the league will have offensive coordinators who don't call plays on gameday this season. So, what exactly do they do? Bengals OC Dan Pitcher, who works under head coach and playcaller Zac Taylor, takes us through it all on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Rundown:0:00 Welcome to the show2:10 Background reporting on OCs29:22 Dan Pitcher joinsHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

The NFL, as always, is in good hands going forward with all the young talent across the league. Just how good? Well, Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman help lay that out by selecting the 24 best players that are 25 years old or younger, not including QBs, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Rundown: 0:00 Welcome to the show1:35 We’re so back5:50 Stacking the under-25 QBs6:05 Jayden Daniels vs Caleb Williams9:03 Will Anderson Jr10:27 Anderson a top-5 NFL player?11:13 Puka Nacua16:00 Byron Murphy II20:03 Jaxon Smith-Njigba22:27 Kyle Hamilton25:26 Jared Verse29:40 Joe Alt31:27 Derek Stingley Jr34:06 Darnell Wright37:23 Abdul Carter40:20 Brock Bowers43:57 Drake London46:44 Bijan Robinson48:00 Robert has mind control powers49:28 Jahmyr Gibbs52:36 Jalen Carter56:45 Quinyon Mitchell58:27 Tyler Smith1:00:30 Christian Gonzalez1:00:45 “Why do you hate Christian Gonzalez?”1:02:07 Malik Nabers1:04:44 Carson Schwesinger1:07:25 Devon Witherspoon1:08:31 Colston Loveland (who is surprised?)1:10:51 Armand Membou1:12:55 Jeremiyah Love1:14:15 George Pickens1:16:38 Travis HunterHost: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

This week’s mailbag yielded one of the best hypotheticals we have ever received…and a bunch of other very good questions too. Who are the NFL’s best pass blocking RBs? What are some current NFL trends that may seem archaic in the near future? And are defense-first Super Bowl champions here to stay? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen answer that and more.0:00 Welcome to the show1:51 Finishing piece to a Super Bowl-losing team5:19 Best pass blocking RBs10:57 NFL trends that will seem archaic soon19:17 Creating vs chasing a trend27:59 Position groups with most potential lost to injury30:15 Drafting QBs if all other picks were voided42:32 Are defenses getting smaller?45:34 Historical trend of defense-first champions49:42 Bryce Young’s contract extensionHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC

For every Will Anderson Jr. and Jaxon Smith-Njigba, there's a Robert Spillane and Parker Washington. In other words, for every superstar who clearly left his mark on a given season, there's a role player who also helped define what the league was, and were it could be going. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen highlight the players who quietly defined the 2025 season on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Rundown:0:00 Welcome to the show3:14 Parker Washington11:36 Byron Murphy II19:00 AJ Barner20:20 Colby Parkinson28:15 Reed Blankenship & Evan Williams34:49 Devon Witherspoon41:45 Robert Spillane46:30 Kamari LassiterHost: Robert MaysCo-Host: Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC