Emory Hunt, CBS Sports NFL Analyst

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If it's got to be clean, it's got to be Tide Free and Gentle. Emory, how you doing, man? You good? I'm good, man. How you doing, man? Appreciate you bringing me on. Absolutely.

It's good chatting with you. You know, before we dive into anything, right before we went to break, we shared some audio from Shannon Sharp. And he basically said NFL players are more athletic than NBA players. What say you about that? Hockey players are more athletic than assault.

You know what I'm saying? Because not only do you got to carry all that weight, you got to skate on ice. So that trumps everything. Maybe basketball players may be more conditioned because you got to constantly go up and down the floor at a higher level. Football players is more violent, more aggressive.

It's different levels of athleticism. But man, if you told me hockey was number one, I would agree with you because not only do you have to skate, but also got to find the puck and it's too much going on as hockey. Yeah, the puck is small too.

A small ass puck. Yeah, absolutely. This is why, Hickey, this is why Emery Hunt is a genius. But we knew that already. That's true.

That's why we knew that. Well, Emery, man. Now onto the football stuff. We've had a couple of teams that have opened up camp with their rookies. There's so many people taking a look at Caleb Williams and the Bears as they get ready for the Hall of Fame game. What are your impressions on Caleb Williams and the Bears and what they're going to do this year?

There's a lot of hype around them. You know, and I understand why there's hype because you think about this Bears team and everyone focuses on the first overall pick, when in actuality, they were seven and 10 and earned the ninth pick last year. And so they were in a lot of games that they probably should have won on the back end close game.

They were very competitive within the division. And now you add, which I think Justin Fields is as good as Caleb Williams. So take quarterback out of the equation. There's a better team. You bring in a Keenan Allen.

You bring in a Roma Dunes. You bring in Gerald Everett to go along with Cole Komet. It's impressive how much talent they brought in on offense. And when you look at their defense, they were strong on defense. They get after the quarterback. They turn the ball over on the back end. They're fast. They're athletic. But there's a lot of reason for optimism for Chicago, even with a rookie quarterback.

Emery Hunt is here with us from CBS Sports HQ. They certainly play in a competitive division. When you think about the Packers and what they're going to be able to do, you think about the Vikings today.

You see McCarthy went out there and he signed his rookie deal. What are your thoughts on how competitive they're going to be up in the NFC North? Listen, I think when you're talking about Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago, I think we'll see those teams split with one another. Now, they'll all sweep Minnesota, in my opinion, because Minnesota has the worst quarterback of the quartet.

If you're looking at Love, Goff and Williams, you'll take any one of them over what they have in Minnesota. And so I feel like Minnesota still has a long way to go. But everyone else, you know, it wouldn't surprise me to see definitely two teams come out of the North.

But you could even see three with Chicago playing around at 17 with a team out the East in Washington and a team out the West in Arizona. Normally we're talking about the AFC and how dominant it is. But man, I expect to see the NFC be a lot more competitive top to bottom this upcoming season. Well, Emery, it was a little bit of a surprise last year to see what the Rams were able to do. The 49ers suck the life out of every conversation being in the NFC West. They're favored over everybody. You know, Arizona is trying to get back into relevancy. What about the Rams?

I mean, Puka Nakua kind of lit the world up, doesn't get a lot of attention. And they won 10 games last year. Right. And I thought last year was Sean McVeigh's best coaching job. And that's even including him winning the Super Bowl and getting to one. Right.

But when you think about McVeigh and at his core, he's a teacher. He had the youngest football team in terms of his two deep on both sides of the ball in the league. And he was able to get that team to play well above their years.

They were playing competitive ball. They're winning a lot of games, play one of the best games of the year, I believe, and a losing cause in that game against Baltimore. But now you look at them as a young, experienced team coming into the season. So, yes, that's another team that's in the fray.

They could be in the mix. I don't want to get one of these playoff spots, but to win a division. And so when you think about the Rams, you think about Seattle, you think about what we're expecting from Washington. And, you know, you only get one team out the south.

But I look at the east, the north and the west being super competitive. That'll come down to week 17. Well, Emory, do you feel that the 49ers, even with all of their talent, they're going to come back down to earth a little bit? It's going to happen organically because the Cardinals, no one's talking about how good the Cardinals have gotten going into this season. I thought they drafted really well and did a fantastic job, you know, just acquiring talent. Plus, when you think about a full offseason going into the second year of the scheme with Kyler Murray, healthy, ready to go.

You add a Marvin Harrison, Jr. So, yeah, you talk about the Rams and we talked about Seattle, what they have, they got talent. So organically, it'll push San Francisco closer to where everyone can catch them and maybe one team, you know, can usurp them. So it's not going to be San Francisco 14 and three run away with the West. They're going to have to scratch and claw. Maybe we're talking about an 11 win, maybe 10 win San Francisco team, but that could still win the division. But we'll have to fight and claw their way all throughout the season to get it. Emory Hunt is joining us here, the JR sport reshow.

Emory is an analyst on CBS Sports HQ. Let's stay out west, because if I think about Harbaugh joining the Chargers, it seems like it's a little bit of a reset. You think about the talent that has left and the younger talent that they've brought in, first and second year guys. Is this a slow walk over the next couple of seasons as he builds them up or can we expect a little bit more this year?

I think it's a slow walk because, you know, they're talented, but it's going to be a philosophy change out there. And it's going to look a lot like what he had in San Francisco when he took over with Alex Smith and he got the best out of Alex Smith. We'll see them de-emphasize Justin Herbert and not in a negative way, but they won't ask him to throw the football 40 times a game.

You bring that down to 25, you maximize his effectiveness, his efficiency. He'll still have the big arm to go deep down the field. They'll still hit those big touchdown plays deep, but you don't worry about him throwing that 4-4 interception with a game on the line.

Why? Because they revamped the offensive line. They've added depth in the backfield.

You've got Gus Edwards out there. You've drafted Blake Quam. I'm sorry, I forgot who they drafted, but they drafted other running backs. I think they did draft Blake Quam, but you add all these running backs to the mix and then you see a situation where, yes, they didn't draft Blake Quam. And he's on the Rams.

Right, but here's the thing. Running the football takes some of the pressure off Justin Herbert and it allows them to play complimentary defense. And I think that's a winning formula for the Chargers. When you think about the off-season moves, what's the biggest one? For the Chargers?

I would say, nah, in a league as general. I mean, we've got Stephon Diggs, who ends up going to Houston, and now he's a part of there. We've got Ridley, who goes from Jacksonville.

He's now up in Tennessee. Is there a move that you've seen that you think is going to kind of tip the scales for one of these squads in the league? I hate to go chalk, but I've got to go to the backfield.

And it's two places. Obviously, Saquon going to Philly. They're going to average 35 points a game. But the one that I feel like is really going to make a difference for the football team, Mixon going to Houston. And the reason why Mixon, I think, was underrated in what he did for that Bengals offense, you had a game breaker in the backfield, someone that you had to account for, not only as a runner, but as a receiver. And you remove that from Cincinnati's offense, you throw that down to Houston, where you mentioned Stephon Diggs, Tank Dale, young gunslinger in C.J.

Stroud, Nikko Collins, and what they were able to build. Their offensive line is good down there in Houston, way better than with Cincinnati. So now Houston has the ability to really deliver knockout blows with their run game and stay explosive in the passing game.

I don't think many people are talking enough about Joe Mixon going down there to Houston. Well, Emery, when you think about what they've done and expecting them to probably take another step, what are your top four or five teams heading into the season? Who has the best chance to walk away with the Lombardi? Listen, let's hang out in the AFC North right quick. Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, all going to the playoffs. Cincinnati will have nine wins, but they'll miss the playoffs because you lose Mixon, you got some inconsistency with the offensive line, and out that division, they have the worst defense.

So when you think about that, that's three teams coming out the North. You're going to get one come out the West, which is Kansas City, and when you think about the East, that's the one to watch because how much can you get out of Aaron Rodgers? And if Aaron Rodgers isn't there, this is an underrated move by the Jets. They bring in a Tyrod Taylor, who you know can give you some buckets. And so when you've got a guy that's better than what they had last year backing up Aaron Rodgers, they put themselves in a situation where they quarterback pulls the roster to where it could be Rodgers, it could be Tyrod, but they're going to keep that offense going. Then you've got Buffalo. So this is going to be funny in the Dolphins, but I feel like Baltimore, Kansas City, and I would say the Jets, just from a roster position, are the top three teams.

Wow. Well, let me ask you this, Emory. You had mentioned that you put the Steelers back in the postseason? They got there last year where you and I are quarterbacks. So now you had Russell Wilson, who didn't play bad last year, and in fact, I will say this live on the air, now knowing what he went through and what was going through during that season, he should have won MVP because there's no way a person would have handled that properly like he did.

But in all seriousness, he didn't play bad last year. They got two running backs, they got two tight ends, they revamped their offensive line in the draft, and their defense is still Pittsburgh's defense, and you got Mike Tomlin who doesn't have losing season. And listen, if it's not Russell Wilson, then you got Justin Fields. Now you add the same skill set of Russell Wilson, but in a more explosive, faster, younger package, yes, Pittsburgh is going back to the postseason. Emory, I'm just looking for some controversy. I need Russell Wilson to give empty quotes, and I need Justin Fields to look miserable on the sideline.

That's what I'm looking for. Listen, people will be shocked to hear the Cincinnati Bank was missing the postseason, but when you really think about it, the Browns are the ones that could go from out of nowhere to get to the Super Bowl as well, because think about the last time we saw Deshaun Watson play. Man played with a broken ankle, a high ankle sprain, and a broke shoulder, and came back and beat the Baltimore Ravens. Now he's healthy. His third year in this organization, Deshaun Watson don't look like Deshaun Watson. They are stacked on both sides of the ball. Emory, last question for you. At the end of the Dallas Cowboys season, how long does it take for Jerry Jones to give Mike McCarthy the boot?

An hour, two hours, three hours, or three days? He won't get the boot, because they'll be going deep into the playoffs. And deep, I mean, past the divisional round. I think we can see Dallas find themselves in the NFC title game.

Again, flip a coin. Philly, San Francisco, you pick, but I think Dallas can get there. Why do you feel so confident about the Dallas Cowboys?

What did they do? I feel like they've been sitting on their hands all offseason. It's about that Prescott, bring it back. Ezekiel Elliott gives them a pace setter in the run game, so now they can close out games. And Mike Zimmer, being their defensive coordinator, I am all in on Zimmer getting that defense together.

And they got two ball hawks at corner, so they'll be tough to beat. Okay. You heard it first. You heard it here first from Emory Hunt. Emory, where can people follow you? All of your work with football game plans, CBS Sports HQ, you're all over the place.

College, the pros, everything. And they can catch me Sunday morning at 1030 Eastern Time on ELF Game Pass, as I'll be the broadcaster for the Hamburg C-Devils and Cologne Centurions of the European League of Football. I am all over the place, so they can definitely follow me on social media at football game plans.

This man is a football ambassador to the world. You're going to be out in Los Angeles? Are you going to coach the flag football too in LA in 2028? I might dabble.

Have them call my people and we can set it up. Hey, Emory. Emory does everything. Emory, appreciate the time, man. I'll catch you on down the line, okay? Always, JR. Appreciate you, bro.