Episodes

  • The George Pickens trade and the pass-catcher landscape

    The George Pickens trade and the pass-catcher landscape
    May 8 2025
    The George Pickens trade (mostly) brought to an end a busy offseason movement period for wide receivers. Davante Adams, D.K. Metcalf, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, and Christian Kirk all find themselves on new teams. Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin and Metcalf all signed big extensions. Ten receivers, including Travis Hunter, were selected in the first 70 picks of the NFL Draft, and reliable veterans like DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Lockett and Josh Palmer also found new homes. What's the state of the wide receiver landscape after all that movement? Which groups improved the most? Which ones have us a bit concerned? And which ones are we sneaky excited to watch this season? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen run that full route tree on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 1 min
  • Cold Takes Revisited

    Cold Takes Revisited
    May 7 2025
    Almost every take comes scorching hot, right out of the oven. Some of them get cold awfully fast. But the good news about those cold takes is that we can learn a thing or two from them! So, what did our cold takes from 2024 teach us about the NFL and the way we think about it? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig back in the shadowy past and bring it to light on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown The Jaguars are a playoff-quality team The Texans offense is elite Giants over Broncos and Commanders in the Wins Pool Everything about the Commanders Missing on the Eagles and Vikings defense Buying Jerod Mayo and the Patriots defense More pass-catchers is always good! (Stefon Diggs and Keenan Allen additions) Where was our 49ers doubt? Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 15 mins
  • Offseason Buy or Sell: Teams in Transition

    Offseason Buy or Sell: Teams in Transition
    May 6 2025
    With the 2025 NFL Draft firmly in the rear-view mirror, we are now in full-on offseason mode on The Athletic Football Show. With that comes one of our favorite offseason staples...are we buying or selling what each of the 32 teams did to improve their teams for the 2025 season? We start the series with what we're calling the Teams in Transition, which includes the Titans, Browns, Giants, Patriots, Jets, Raiders, Saints and Panthers. Do we buy or sell what those teams have done since the Super Bowl? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen make their calls on those eight teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Titans Browns Giants Patriots Jets Raiders Saints Panthers Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Draft fallout and James Cook's future lead the return of the TAFS mailbag

    Draft fallout and James Cook's future lead the return of the TAFS mailbag
    May 5 2025
    The draft is over, which means Mailbag Mondays are back! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen tackle questions about quarterbacks improving their accuracy, the most electric recent draft moments, James Cook's future in Buffalo and more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Which teams bet in the draft on their ability to develop players? Are the Steelers the most unlikely team to win a SB in the next five years How easy is it for a QB to improve accuracy? Which past draft moments would you have wanted to cover live? What will Titans do with Will Levis? Is pass rush success with smaller pass rushers sustainable? Was the Falcons draft really that bad? Is Cam Ward the most valuable pick of the draft? Are we seeing new positions being prioritized in the draft? Making sense of late-round trades What to make of Washington pivoting to win-now Should the Bills work to retain James Cook right now? How many quarterabcks would be elite with the Eagles? How many teams can Patrick Mahomes make elite? Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 35 mins
  • Biggest questions remaining after the draft

    Biggest questions remaining after the draft
    May 1 2025
    The coaching carousel has stopped spinning. The free agency frenzy is in the rear-view mirror. The 2025 NFL Draft is done. All 32 teams as currently constructed are essentially what they are going to be when they take the field in Week 1. So what are the weightiest questions we still have? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen ask, and try to answer, those questions on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Who's going to catch passes for the Cowboys? Is the Bills pass-catcher anxiety warranted? Is the Cardinals OL good enough to get them where they want to go? Did Houston do enough on defense to stay the course? Who plays QB for the Steelers in 2025 The Panthers didn't draft a corner, and didn't take a safety until the fourth round....ummmm, what? How soon do we see Tyler Shough starting for the Saints? Sneaky teams we're excited to watch in 2025 Do any of the veteran trade candidates get moved? What happens with the veteran free agents and contract extension candidates? What are the Vikings going to do in the secondary? Lingering team-specific needs Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • The messages teams sent in the 2025 NFL Draft, with Field Yates

    The messages teams sent in the 2025 NFL Draft, with Field Yates
    Apr 29 2025
    Teams can lie to us before the draft. They can obfuscate. They can mislead. Once the draft arrives, though, they have to tell the truth. So what messages did teams send once they finally had to put their money where their mouth is? Robert Mays and Field Yates from ESPN discuss the messages teams sent in the 2025 NFL Draft on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown Bills Steelers A quick Giants tangent Raiders Cardinals Patriots 49ers Dolphins Titans Packers Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen With: Field Yates Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Dane on Bluesky: @fieldyates.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Follow Field on X: @FieldYates Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • 2025 NFL Draft day three recap and overall takeaways

    2025 NFL Draft day three recap and overall takeaways
    Apr 27 2025
    And that's a wrap on the 2025 NFL Draft. Who did good work on day three? Who did good work the entire weekend? Why did the Browns go back to the quarterback well to grab Shedeur Sanders? Which teams had good plans, and which ones surprised us? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dane Brugler answer those questions, and a whole lot more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen With: Dane Brugler Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠ ⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Dane on Bluesky: @danebrugler.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Follow Dane on X: @dpbrugler Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    1 hr and 33 mins
  • 2025 NFL Draft second and third round recap

    2025 NFL Draft second and third round recap
    Apr 26 2025
    The second and third rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft are in the books, and the first half of our draft story is all but complete. Who were our favorite picks on day two? Where were the surprises? Which teams came away with the best hauls across the first three rounds? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dane Brugler answer those questions, and more, as they put a capstone on The Athletic Football Show's live coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft. Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen With: Dane Brugler Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Dane on Bluesky: @danebrugler.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Follow Dane on X: @dpbrugler Theme song: Haunted Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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    58 mins