Davante Adams’ Uncertain Future (Hour 2)

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That's right. Zach Gelb's show. Infinity Sports Network. J.P. Shadrach coming up 20 minutes from now. We'll preview the Jacksonville Jaguars season.

We'll check in in Duval. But first, I got two audio clips here on Devante Adams. One you already heard. We'll play it for you again. And there's another one. But I think it's important to play the one that we've already heard one more time just so it could set up the next one.

This is Devante Adams with CBS's very own Jonathan Jones on all the talk about him wanting out of his current situation with the Las Vegas Raiders. It was extremely annoying. Still is. I mean, it's definitely not over as far as how people continue to speak on it. But, you know, the off-season's boring, so they need things to talk about. And unfortunately, you know, with the dramas that we have, talking about 1-7 gets some clicks.

So, you know, they take advantage of that to kind of, you know, get people's attention. But at the end of the day, you know, I'm not the one that's feeding any of that stuff. And my teammates know that.

My family knows that. And, you know, I'm just focused on being the best player I can be to come out here and help this team have a chance at holding up that trophy at the end of the year. So, you could say classy response by Devante Adams, even though, right, as we've talked about, he does contribute to the speculation about his future, and he has been frustrated with the Raiders before. But then Antonio Pierce became the head coach, Josh McDaniels out, Jimmy Garoppolo benched, and he wanted to give the Raiders another go at it. So, I respect that.

Even though Aaron Rodgers, basically every time he opens his mouth, he tries to further add the fuel to the fire of Devante Adams, forcing his way out of the Raiders and a lot of other people as well. So, I don't think we are necessarily, right, because people, they're quick to say, oh, you're only saying that for clicks. Oh, you're only saying that for views. Yes, it is our, I will fully admit, it's our goal to generate clicks and it's our goal to generate views. But I think there's a difference in going out of your way to do something for clicks and do something for views, which I don't do, and then just providing and talking about things that are fair to talk about that then generate and garner attention.

I think there is a difference if you could understand that. And when you look at Devante Adams, and you want to have a honest conversation about Devante Adams, he set it up there at the end, he's doing everything he can to try to hold up a Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year. Let me be abundantly clear with Devante Adams. Devante, you could have the greatest season we've ever seen in the history of the National Football League from a wide receiver. Your team isn't winning a Super Bowl this year.

The odds of the Raiders even making the playoffs are miniscule. So Devante Adams could be the perfect teammate. Devante Adams could be the best player in the league.

He could be, right? If everything went his way, right, he could be the best wide receiver, the best player in the league, he could have an all-time great season, and there is no way the Raiders will be hoisting a Lombardi Trophy at the end of the year, let alone just being in the game. And I don't think that's crazy to say. It's not like we're talking about a good team. It's not like we're talking about a team that I expect them to actually do something. But Stu, the Raiders have a season that would make you, you being a Raiders fan, jump up and down like a fat kid in a candy store this year. What would that entail? What would that be? Over 500. I say 9-8 and I would be very happy with that.

See? So that's Stu saying, you just give me a 9-8 season, I'll be happy. Devante, you could go have the greatest individual season we've ever seen from a wide receiver. You're not winning a Super Bowl this year with Gardner Minshew or Aidan O'Connell and a defense that, let's say, has Max Crosby, who is great. You have Christian Wilkins, who is great. And Stu, outside of that, are there any players that really make you say, okay, the Raiders have serious players on the defensive side of the ball? Spillane, he's still there? Yeah, that's the guy who I was going to bring up, but again, he's, I wouldn't say great transformational type of guy. I still can't believe, by the way, that Antonio Pierce, remember, this was on the broadcast, his first game as the interim coach. I forget when it was, but it was a primetime game if memory serves me right.

I remember watching it. And he said, we're going to build the, you know, our identity on the offensive side of the ball is Josh Jacobs, and on the defensive side of the ball, when you have Max Crosby, who is nationally underappreciated. And it's good that he's in the top 10 for the top 100 list because I didn't think that would be the case, but that's voted on by the players. And I know he was in the top 15 last year, but Max Crosby is a stud. I think he's the third, you could make the case he's the third best defensive player in football.

You could. Now, I think Watt and Garrett are one and two. If you want to throw Chris Jones into the mix, I could understand, right? Michael Parsons is going to be in the conversation.

If the Bosa's are ever healthy, they're in the conversation. They're secondary players, but I really do believe the three best defensive players in the NFL. There's interior defense alignment, too, that you could think of. But if you ask me, Zach, who are the best three pass rushers?

Let's do it that way in the NFL. I would say T.J. Watt won. Miles Garrett, too. Max Crosby, three. But I always found that funny, Stu, how Antonio Pierce was like, yeah, offensive, our identity player is going to be Josh Jacobs, who now no longer with the team, but the Packers.

And the defensive is going to be Robert Spillane when you have Max Crosby. But it shows how good of a player Robert Spillane is. He is.

It is just funny, though. He's kind of I'm not going to say he's a journeyman, but like he's just when he first came into league, he was kind of just like a guy. And like you said, to build the defense around. That's interesting. He's a good player player.

Yes. That was a tackle machine for you guys last year. I have like 150 tackles or something like that. You know, I had a lot of tackles and he was coming over for Pittsburgh like he's a good player. But when you talk about face of the defense, it's Max Crosby.

Heck. Right now, who's the face of the Raiders? It's Crosby. It's Crosby. Devante Adams may be the most popular player nationally, but I think if we talk to the true Raiders fans like who are those two guys that I met at the draft?

Oh, Wayne something. And then the guy that was dressed up as a gorilla, too. Whoever those two guys were, those crazy Raiders fans, when JR and I were hosting at the time CBS Sports Radio's coverage of the NFL draft, it was right after I had some viral interview with Darren Waller. And these two Raiders fans came up to JR and I and they were like, we love CBS Sports Radio.

We love how even though the Raiders aren't that good, you guys are always talking about that. Can you look up who those two crazy Super fans were? Yeah, Wayne the Violator. And then there was some gorilla.

Like he was dressed up as a gorilla. But very nice guys. But those guys, like the true Raider fan, will tell you their favorite player is Max Crosby. I'm not saying they dislike Devante Adams.

Why should you dislike him? Gorilla-rilla is the other guy. Gorilla-rilla. So Wayne the what?

What was it? Wayne the Violator. Wayne the Violator. And you got to give me the gorilla name one more time. Gorilla-rilla? Gorilla-rilla. And Gorilla-rilla. I hope those guys are well.

I haven't talked to them in a while. But those guys would tell you the franchise player for the Raiders right now is Max Crosby. But with all that being said, you look at Devante Adams, he could be annoyed that people are talking about his future. I think he does contribute to it a bit. And we know Aaron Rodgers definitely contributes to it a bit. But if his goal is to win a championship, which he says at the end of the clip, you're not winning a championship with the Raiders.

You got, including this year, three years left on your deal. If everything goes right with the Raiders, Stu, in 2024, 2025, 2026, can you see this team with Patrick Mahomes in your division winning a championship? I can't.

I can't see it whatsoever. So it makes you think, right Stu? If he keeps on talking about a Super Bowl and how much he wants to be there, when does the expiration date internally for him where he realizes and not only realizes it, but then says, I went out with the Raiders.

Yeah. And ironically, actually the only way I could see that happening is if they bottom out this year and get a franchise quarterback. And maybe that franchise quarterback is a Mahomes level guy. But if they bottom out, he's not going to be on the team next year.

So they go three and 14, let's say. Would you agree with this? The only reason Devante Adams is on the team this year is because of Antonio Pierce and his respect for Antonio Pierce. So if you agree with that, then next year, I don't think just because of the respect you have for Antonio Pierce, if you feel like you can't win a Super Bowl there, is enough where you're going to stay. And I don't think this year anything Garda Minshew and Adrian O'Connell do, even at their best, is going to make Devante Adams think he actually has a franchise quarterback. So I guess with what you're saying, if let's say they do bottom out, you would think that he would request a trade. And I would agree with that.

However, I still think there's a way that they bottom out. And if they're willing to get their hands dirty a little bit and maybe have a month or two where it's icy and it's contentious and he's dragging the team's name through the mud where you could still keep him there and have him back for the next season. And it's all dependent on who's that next quarterback, because he's under contract for two more years after the season. So they could say, wait until draft night. Just give us till draft night. And let's say they draft Jadore Sanders. Does that name move the needle for him?

I don't know. But maybe they do something crazy on draft night that gets him a franchise quarterback and Devante Adams is like, oh, I actually like that. I'll stay. Or Dak Prescott free agent at the end of the year. Dak, say what you want about him.

He is a good established quarterback. If you tell Devante Adams next year, you could be catching passes from Dak Prescott. That's someone that I think would make him be more inclined to stay with the Raiders. You know, maybe they trade for Kirk Cousins, because even though I think a lot of us believe Kirk Cousins will be in Atlanta for two years and then they'll hand the baton over to Michael Pennix Jr. I think that's a Falcons plan. I don't believe that's Kirk Cousins' plan. Kirk Cousins will probably try to find a way out of Atlanta after this season, knowing that Michael Pennix Jr. is waiting there in the wings.

So what I'm getting at here, though, with you, Stu, is I think all those things are far-fetched, though. And in all likelihood, the Raiders are not going to be that good this year. The Raiders aren't going to have a franchise quarterback. And at the end of the year, he's going to say, OK, I still want to win a Super Bowl, and I'm going to try to force my way out. But here's more of Devontae Adams talking about what he needs to cement his legacy, and it's more of that conversation about winning a Super Bowl.

Once again, this was CBS's very own Jonathan Jones. The biggest thing that I'm missing and the hardest thing to end up with at the end of this thing is the Super Bowl. So in my mind, that's really all that I'm truly worried about.

And I'm going to continue to push to try to get that, because without that, I'm going to definitely feel incomplete. All pros have done that, made several Pro Bowls and all these things, and those mean a little bit less, because I've already established that that's a part of who I am as a player and my standard. So you keep on talking about a Super Bowl. Now, let me just say this.

Two things. One, we also forgot Christian Wilkins on the defensive side of the ball for the Raiders. So that's another player that is enormous in there.

Max Crosby, Christian Wilkins, Robert Spillane, just some of the big names on the defensive side of the ball. But when we get back to that Adams clip, does he need a Super Bowl to cement his legacy? Like internally, I know why he says that, because he's done everything he basically could do as a wide receiver, was a first team All-Pro without Aaron Rodgers, which was important to him.

But is there anything he really needs to do that's going to change his legacy? Like if he retires in three years from now without a Super Bowl, are we saying Devante Adams isn't a Hall of Famer? Of course he's a Hall of Famer. He's definitely going to be a Hall of Famer. Now, I'm not saying I don't understand what he's saying.

I understand what he's saying. And he should say that, because when you check off all the boxes, the only thing he has not done is winning a Super Bowl. But this isn't a quarterback. For quarterbacks and coaches, those are the only two positions in the NFL where we're like, does that player have a Super Bowl or not? Like, Terrell Owens is arguably a, you know, he's a third best wide receiver all the time, doesn't have a Super Bowl. Randy Moss, the second wide receiver, best wide receiver all the time, doesn't have a Super Bowl.

Jerry Rice, we all know, has multiple. But it feels like when we talk about legacy in the NFL, the only time we use the Super Bowl part in that conversation is for quarterback and coaches. So, yes, Devante Adams should want to win a Super Bowl. Devante Adams should only play on a team at this stage of his career that he feels like he can one day win a Super Bowl with. And I don't think that's with the Raiders. But if Devante doesn't get that Super Bowl, I'm not sitting here and saying, oh, now all of a sudden Devante Adams isn't a Hall of Famer, and he can't be viewed as a great wide receiver because he doesn't have that ring.

We only do that for quarterback and coaches, and that's just the way that the cookie crumbles, really, in the National Football League. All right, we'll talk some more football when we come on back. We continue to preview each team around the league. I'm very intrigued by the Jaguars this year. I don't think a lot of people are talking about them. A lot of people were disappointed with them a year ago because, right, they made the playoffs, they had that epic comeback, and then they regressed. But I think a lot of people have forgot about the Jaguars, and I am expecting the Jaguars to make the postseason this year.

So we'll get a little read on the Jacksonville Jaguars with J.P. Shadrach, who does a great job for the Jaguars when we come on back. You don't just live in your home. You live in your neighborhood as well. So when you're shopping for a home, you want to know as much about the area around it as possible. Luckily, Homes.com has got you covered. Each listing features a comprehensive neighborhood guide from local experts. Everything you'd ever want to know about a neighborhood, including the number of homes for sale, transportation, local amenities, cultural attractions, unique qualities, and even things like median lot size and a noise score.

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Download the free app today and make the most of your summer with AllTrails. Alrighty, and we'll preview the Jacksonville Jaguars right now with one of our favorites, J.P. Shadrach. He does a great job covering the team and also works for Westwood One Sports. There's a lot of times in the college football season where I'm driving around in my car, and I don't like to be driving around in my car when this college football game is going on, but when I need to, I turn on the radio, and I hear J.P. Shadrach, and I don't care what game it is, and they give him a lot of big games, but it sounds like an enormous game that he is calling. He does a tremendous job here for us at Westwood One Sports, and he's kind enough to preview the Jags with us right now. J.P., how you been, my man?

Zach, I'm great, man. Football's back, and this is a really fun part of the year. It's a really hot part of the year in Jacksonville, Florida, so we're kind of dealing with the heat. That's what it is in training camp, but that means we are counting down to kickoff, finally. Well, let me start you off with the quarterback, Trevor Lawrence. He's been in the news a lot because of the deal that he did get. For people that say, huh, I don't know if Trevor Lawrence is worth the money, I don't know what Trevor Lawrence is going to turn into, what do you believe the Jaguars have through some good moments and some bad moments through the first three years of Trevor Lawrence's career? You know, I think a lot of the Trevor Lawrence story might have been told in his rookie year when he had to deal with all the Urban Meyer drama and everything that happened there.

He was the guy that had to go out there every week in front of the media and answer questions that he probably shouldn't have to answer as a rookie. So you saw some of his resilience in some tough moments, I think, in that rookie year, and that really laid the foundation for when things got right on the football side, that there was some success there, and he had his head right, and he had the right people around him. And you saw the success at the end of the 22 season where they had to rally back and win some games. And, you know, he was fantastic down the stretch. The defense was great as well. But then last year they started out strong.

He battled some injuries and just wasn't the same. They had some changes in the offensive line. But I think with Trevor Lawrence, you didn't want to go into this season with him having to prove that he was the franchise quarterback moving ahead. I think they wanted to get it done now. They've known from that first season that he's the guy that they want around here for the long term, and there's confidence that he can build into the consistency that they expect from that type of position and the number one pick. So go ahead and get it done now, and the number is only going to go up. And if it's done now, okay, you can set the salary cap and everything around your salary cap around that number for the next seven years.

So those are some of the reasons behind it. There's still growth to be had there for Lawrence, and I think this season will be a big stepping stone for him now, year three in Doug Peterson's offense. As long as he's healthy, and that's a big part of the equation, what type of year do you envision individually for Trevor Lawrence?

Well, I mean, if he has all his pieces around him, too, right? If he's healthy and he's got Christian Kirk and Evan Ingram all year, yes, the addition of Gabe Davis and Brian Thomas Jr. are nice, but Ingram and Kirk really run this thing. And if he has time to get it out to those guys down the field a little bit more maybe than last year, I think he can be right there in the, you know, well above 4,000 yards this season. He threw a bunch of interceptions last year, and he fumbled the ball a lot. He's got to do a better job of hanging on to the football, and he's made that a point early in training camp. Ball protection, yes, he can't hit the quarterback in training camp.

I get it. But, you know, hanging on to the football in the pocket, two hands on it. Being aware when running with it, because he does utilize his legs a good bit. There was just some fumbles where he just dropped the ball on his own.

It wasn't even stripped out of his hands a couple of times last year. So just awareness of where he is on the field at times, running with the football, hanging on to it. And if that goes away, then I think just naturally things will progress in the right direction for Trevor Lawrence. And especially if those pieces around him are healthy, this is an offense that can go out. And they said it before last year, they wanted to score 30 points per game last season.

Didn't work out. I wouldn't be shocked if that's the goal again this season, though they might not come out and say it this time around. Yeah, I'm fascinated by the wide receivers, J.P. Shadrach. Because I don't know if any of them individually are great wide receivers.

I think Christian Kirk is underappreciated. Remember, he got slammed for the deal, and he had a 1,000-yard season, got hurt last year, and was well on his way to doing that once again. But as a unit, like, it's a pretty good wide receiving unit. Kirk, Davis, Brian Thomas Jr., as I mentioned, Evan Ingram, you know, they got some solid players there. And, you know, I know you always want one individually great guy, and some teams have two great guys. But as a unit, you know, I don't think this is a unit that you look at and you go, okay, the Jaguars can have a really successful season with the guys that they have.

And this is an offense, Zach, that Doug Peterson, Press, Taylor, the offensive coordinator put together with the mindset that, hey, we can move these pieces around. They don't need a true number. They would love one. That'd be great if they had a true number one.

Everybody would love one. But they can work with, if you will, number twos and move them around different parts of the offense. That's the idea here. The Christian Kirk, yeah, he'll be a slot receiver a lot of the time, but he can line up outside if he needs to. And, yes, Brian Thomas Jr. is a speedster down the field in theory.

He's a rookie. But, hey, if he has a matchup inside that works, cool. Evan Ingram has the skill set to go outside and have a matchup, you know, advantage in some situations too.

So the idea that you're stuck in one position here is not true at all. But you have to have the smarts to be able to do that and understand all pieces of the offense at all times. There was a past receiver here, Zay Jones, who, you know, there was an instance a couple times where he was lined up in a spot.

They didn't have time to switch. So he's just got to run Christian Kirk's route. So you have to know every route, every part of the offense in order for this thing to really click the way Press, Taylor, and Doug Peterson think about it. And they've got the skill set, at least these receivers.

It feels like the top-tier guys do to get that done. J.P. Shadrach here with us. And I'd be remiss also, I know he's a running back, but he also catches the ball a ton as well.

Travis A.T.N. Jr. I know you guys in Jacksonville understand how good he is. Clemson fans know how good he is. I know it's only been two years that Wright had the injury too.

I don't think people appreciate how good, like we talk about underappreciated players in the league. What he's been able to do the last two years has really been sensational. And last year especially, I mean, you know, his first year obviously was hurt. He had the Liz Frank injury in the preseason and missed his rookie year, as you mentioned there. But then the first season on the field, his second year in the NFL, he was just getting blasted, it felt like, all the time. He would take hits and go head over heels, and he didn't know if he was going to be able to withstand all of that contact all the time. Well, last season it felt like he learned a little bit of, hey, the patience it takes behind an offensive line for them to set up the blocks. You don't have to speed around the corner.

You can wait for the guard to pull and make a block and get into that little crease, and then you make your move and go. And then when it got to the holes, he was just kind of running and kind of tiptoeing toward the holes early in the season. Well, running through the hole, not to the hole and through it, and that helped him as the season went along and you saw some big-time runs for him. And yet, Pres Taylor said it the other day, the offensive coordinator, that having him in the passing game is going to be a big piece of what they do as well. They didn't do a lot of that in the past. I could see that being part of it as well. But if this team is running the ball well, I think that would be a huge balance for what they want to do in the passing game.

And ETN is great. Now, Tank Bigsby has got to have a big step in that, too. He's the second running back, and they lost some trust in him early in his rookie season last year. He lost the ball, fumbled a couple times, but that confidence seems to be back. He's running better in training camp, protecting the football. And if he gets some reps, that gives ETN some time off to the side.

That could help him come December and January. I have a lot of respect, J.P. Shadrach, for not only you, but also Doug Peterson, the coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I got to know him a little bit when he was in Philly. Saw him lead the Eagles to their first-ever Super Bowl with Nick Foles and win that Super Bowl, I should say. And then the following year, Wentz got hurt again. Foles was in the divisional round.

If Alshon Jeffery could have just caught that ball and if he did go right off his hands, they're probably back in the NFC Championship game again. Wentz was finally able to be healthy, then gets hurt up against the Seahawks in a wildcard game. And we know it bottomed out towards the end, and I thought he was unfairly fired, or they moved on from him. Then he lands in Jacksonville, playoffs in the first year.

Second year, they regressed. How do you, though, think the league views Doug Peterson? Because even in Philly, when he was there, there was even questions even after winning a Super Bowl on what Doug Peterson is as a coach, which was crazy to me. I wonder if that's just Philly talking. You know how Philly is.

It's a little different of a marketplace, and they kind of go after you pretty quick there. He loves Philadelphia, and he still does to this day. And now he's a god there, to be clear.

Right, they have a statue of the guy in the parking lot. Him and the quarterback. And sometimes it ends that way. It rarely ends the right way in the NFL.

A lot of times you're going to get fired, even if things happen. He took a year off. He reset. He came and took a different team to the playoffs in year one. They were 8-3 last year, and no excuses. However, the injury bug bit. They couldn't find their way. They lost five of the last six games of the season, and they couldn't get it done when they needed to at the end. Quarterbacks hurt, offensive lines hurt, receivers hurt, whatever.

That's fine. But they were right there on the doorstep, it felt like. So if he's able to get them back to the promised land this year, the playoffs, and division title again. I don't know how many guys have won Super Bowls at two different teams. That obviously would put him on a different stratosphere if he's able to get it done here in Jacksonville. And they feel like they have the parts at least to have a division title run.

And from there you never know once you get to the playoffs. So I think around here he has the full respect of everybody in Jacksonville already still. I don't think the clock's not ticking or anything like that. I think he's in good shape. The quarterback's in good shape for a while. The defensive end's in good shape for a while.

They've got some cornerstone pieces here. Why would you want to even consider breaking that up unless there's some just tremendous disaster of the season that we don't see ahead of time? So I think the owner wants to win and he wants to win now.

And I think he's made that pretty clear to the organization and the team. However, I think they have a team that's ready to go win right now. And they are a division champion if they can go overtake the Texans because they're going to be very good as well.

And here's the thing. That division's really good. Like even Tennessee, who's the worst team in the division, they got some players on that roster. Indianapolis almost made the playoffs last year without their quarterback. We know the Jaguars fell back a little bit, but they were still a solid squad and won the division a season ago.

And the Texans, right, they have everything cooking when they couldn't get anything cooking for about four or five years. I actually think the Jaguars are going to win this division. Now, it's not me saying that the Texans are going to face plant from what they did last year. I think they're going to make the playoffs too. But it feels like the South can send two teams to the playoffs this year. And I'm expecting a big bounce-back season from the Jaguars. And I think they're getting slept on where not a lot of people are talking about them because they disappointed towards the end of the season a year ago. And it's the same thing the Jags went through last year, right, Zach? I mean, the Jags were the great new team that won the division. Ready to take the next step like the Texans are perceived to this year. And then they faltered, right? How do the Texans handle that spotlight? They've got personnel down there that's fantastic.

I get it. But it's a little different when you have that target on you and teams are gunning for you each week. So, this is a great division. And Indy, don't count those guys out either when all of a sudden their quarterback is back.

If he's healthy the way he plays, let's see if he can stay healthy as the season goes along. They're nothing to take lightly as well. So, this is a competitive division. And, I mean, the Jaguars should be right there on the doorstep again. The schedules, all schedules in the NFL are tough.

We get that. But three of the first four for the Jaguars are on the road, including down in Houston, the fourth one of them. They come home for a game against Indy. They go to London for two weeks this year again. And then they've got the NFC North coming to town for a few weeks. That's all before Thanksgiving. Now, you guys have a gauntlet of a schedule.

It's difficult. So, if they can get through this first, you know, two-thirds of the season around.500 and get to the back end where four of six are at home, two against Tennessee. Yes, we're playing schedule football.

That's fine. You've got to go play it on the field. If they can get through the early part of this gauntlet, I think they're in really good shape.

Last thing I'll ask you, J.P. Shadrach. Defensively, I know they brought in Armstead. You have Josh Hines-Allen, who's phenomenal. You know, Trayvon Walker started to show more than a pulse a year ago. I know they lost Rashawn Jenkins in free agency this past year, who was a good player for them. I remember two years ago the game he had up against Dallas. But how do you evaluate this defense heading into this season?

Well, it's new. They've got a new coordinator in Ryan Nielsen who comes in, and it feels like they'll have a few more four-down looks on the defensive line. They were truly a 3-4 in the last couple of years. They'll be still some of that look also, but they're mainly going to be a four-down lineman. So, in theory, it's Josh Hines-Allen on one end, Eric Armstead on the big end. You've got Devon Hamilton at nose tackle. We'll see if he's healthy. He had some back issues last year.

Those are three of the four up front. The linebackers, Devon Lloyd needs to take a step this year, another first-round pick from a couple of years ago. Boye Olukun just signed another contract with the Jaguars, and he was a leading tacker in the league for a couple of years with Atlanta and then with Jacksonville again. But the secondary is different now. They've had some changes there. They brought in some veteran players. They've got Tyson Campbell. They locked him down on a long contract at corner. They've got Andre Sisco, who is in a contract here, his fourth year in the NFL out of Syracuse at one safety.

And then everything else is kind of up for grabs right now. And they brought in some veteran players. You mentioned Eric Armstead, 10-year player. They also brought in 10th-year cornerback Ronald Darby, who will have some time on this team.

He'll probably be on the other side of it. Darnell Savage, a guy who's a veteran in the league, will probably play some safety for them. They've got Antonio Johnson, a guy they drafted a couple of years ago out of A&M, who will play some of that kind of hybrid nickel and safety thing. So, it's a new feel. They want their cornerbacks to play press and get up on the line a good bit. That'll be a different style than they've had around here in the last couple of years.

And let's see what happens. But they've got some pretty strong personnel and some veteran players that have played a lot of football on this defense. It's not like they're running out a bunch of rookies, so they should be able to compete. And certainly the first week at training camp, the news around here was that the Jaguars defense was intercepting Trevor Lawrence, like left and right. It changed, of course, in week two.

It always happens that way. So, everybody was all fired up about the defense and concerned about the quarterback, but all is back well again here in Duval. He is. J.P. Shadrick does a great job covering the Jacksonville Jaguars for the organization. You can also hear him on many of these same stations in college.

Football season for Westwood One calling a bunch of big games for Westwood One. J.P., thank you so much for doing this. You're the man, Zach.

Always great to be with you. Appreciate it. You got it. There he is.

Good deal. There he is. J.P. Shadrick joining us on the Infinity Sports Network.

And he brings up a great point about the schedule. At Miami to open the year for the Jaguars. Cleveland. Then Buffalo.

At Houston. The Colts. Chicago.

Then you get the Patriots, my team cupcake. Green Bay. Philadelphia. Minnesota. At Detroit.

By week. Houston. Tennessee. The Jets.

The Raiders. Tennessee. And Indianapolis.

So that schedule doesn't really soften up for a large stretch until December 8th. Tennessee. Jets.

Raiders. Tennessee. Indy.

You look at that schedule from week one to week 13. Miami. Cleveland. Buffalo. Houston.

Indy. Chicago. New England. Green Bay. Philadelphia. Minnesota. Detroit. By week.

Houston. That's a rough schedule. And I mean a rough schedule.

It is Zach Yelp's show on the Infinity Sports Network. We will take a break. The NFL top 100 rankings are out. We'll get the top 10 tonight.

But we know inside the top 20, back to back, we'll tell you where they did rank. We had Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott. Who is the better quarterback between the two? Is it Hurts or is it Prescott? We will give you my answer on the other side.

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And just a few health questions, get your free quote at checkethos.com. Not available in all states. Good stuff with J.P. Shadrach. That division is a monster of a division this year. You know, we used to look at the AFC South and be like, alrighty, who's going to win the division and who's going to be that 425-430 wildcard game on Saturday, right? That's usually how we looked at the AFC South. And I still don't think this is a division that nationally will be referred to as like a sexy division. But as someone that respects football like I do, I think this is a very good division.

Like even look at Tennessee, who is the bottom team in this division. They got DeAndre Hopkins. They got Calvin Ridley. You got Jeffrey Simmons, as long as he's not fighting any more radio hosts. You got Tony Pollard.

You got Lajerious Sneed. Like their names on that football team. There are good football players there. But the other three teams that have a good shot at making the playoffs, and all three of them won't, I think two will. But you got the Texans, who are basically the Jaguars, where the Jaguars were a year ago, right? Surprised people.

You go from the bottom to the top, and now people are expecting you to take that next step. We'll see if the Texans regress or if they continue to soar. I love what the Texans did this offseason by adding Daniil Hunter and also adding Stefan Diggs. You have the Jaguars, who even in a bad season, and right, we've seen bad seasons from the Jaguars. We've seen like one or two win seasons. But even last year, what is referred to as a bad season for the Jaguars, that team was nine and eight.

Right? The Texans gave you last year a great punch. The Texans took the league by storm last year. The Jaguars fell off, and it was a one game difference between the Texans and the Jaguars, even with all the injuries the Jaguars did suffer. So the Jaguars are healthy.

I know they have a very tough schedule, as we just talked about. But that's a Jaguars team that should be a 10-11 win team. They should be, with their quarterback needing to be the guy from two years ago. And you look at Indianapolis, I really hope Anthony Richardson stays healthy, because you have Richardson, Taylor, and Pittman Jr. Man, that could be a really fun offense to watch.

And that team in Indianapolis also was nine and eight a year ago with all their injuries. So that AFC South, it's going to be fun. That's not a division where it's like, oh, we got to talk about the AFC South, they suck. You know, it's like how we got to talk about the NFC South now. All right, who wins the NFC South? Who gets the playoffs spot from the NFC South? That's how we used to talk about the AFC South.

Now the AFC South is like a happening division. Alrighty, the top 100 list, they get the final 10 spots tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern. I have the names for you in alphabetical order of the final top 10 guys.

We will discuss those coming up in 12 minutes from now at 5 p.m. Eastern time, 2 p.m. Pacific. But before we do that, when they were giving spots 100 to 11 out, you got inside the top 20. And when they were inside the top 20, CJ Shroud was 20th. Roquan Smith was 19th. Justin Jefferson. I don't think there's 17 players better than Justin Jefferson in the league, but he got hurt last year. Micah Parsons was 17th. You had Dak Prescott, 16th.

Jalen Hurts, 15th. George Kittle, 14th. Stu, I don't know about you, George Kittle is a very good player, right? You would want George Kittle on your football team. But the 14th best player?

I got a thousand yards last year. You know, George Kittle is a excellent player. I'm not trashing George Kittle here. But the 14th best player in the league?

That seems high to me. Like three or four years ago, yes. But right now, I think at this stage, he is not. Again, like you said, still a good player. He had a great season last year. Still one of the best tight ends in the league, but he's not a top 20 player now. Maybe top 20, but 14th just seems way too early for me.

CeeDee Lamb was 13th. Josh Allen was 12th. Quarterback Josh Allen. And then 11th was Fred Warner of the 49ers.

So two reactions from this. Who do you think is the better player in the NFL, Stu? Micah Parsons or Dak Prescott? Micah Parsons. And they put Micah Parsons, the player 17th, Dak Prescott 16th.

Now, it's a difference of one spot, right? But when I think of the Cowboys right now, who's the first player I think of? Micah Parsons. Like if you ask me, who's their best player? It's Micah Parsons.

And not only that, right? They put CeeDee Lamb 13th. So the NFL players are telling you, CeeDee Lamb is 13th, Dak Prescott is 16th, and Micah Parsons is 17th.

Can I just ask a question? With how much Micah Parsons talks, and don't get me wrong, I'm not trashing Micah Parsons. We've been a recipient of Micah Parsons talking, saying stupid things to us, and then it producing a video, and this is not hyperbole, that had four and a half million views just on Twitter, of one video clip, when he was trashing T.J. Watt and said T.J. Watt wasn't a top five pass rusher in the league, acid on take, but that was the take. Is that the NFL player saying, yeah, we know Micah Parsons is great, but when you put two players on his own team in front of him, is that Stu the NFL player saying, kind of a little bit tired with Micah Parsons?

Because they are the ones that are voting on this list. I think so, yeah, because if you ask me of those three players who the best one is, I would tell you Parsons, and not really think too much about it, to be honest. Alright, rank them. Parsons, Lamb, Prescott, in order. The one who's the best, and then the third who's the worst. Parsons won, definitely. The other two are pretty close, but I'd go Prescott 2, Lamb 3.

Interesting, okay. I would go Micah 1, I'm with you, and I would go C.D. Lamb 2, Dak Prescott 3.

But let me ask the question that I tease. Who would you rather have, Dak Prescott or Jalen Hurts? Because look at it, Jalen Hurts did not have the better season than Dak Prescott. And Jalen Hurts and the Eagles, even when they got out to that 10-1 start, there were problems offensively, and they won one game down the stretch. And look at what the NFL players are telling you. When Dak Prescott had an MVP caliber season, the NFL players still view Jalen Hurts, even though it's a difference of one spot, as a better quarterback than Dak Prescott.

I think they're right. Because when I look at Dak Prescott at his best, what does it lead to? Even though Dak has been more consistent than Jalen in the NFL, and he's had a larger sample size, but what does it lead to for Dak?

Making the playoffs, and at best, being in the divisional round. What we got to see from Jalen Hurts at his best was not only making the playoffs, it was Jalen Hurts getting to an NFC championship game, Jalen Hurts getting to a Super Bowl. And then in the Super Bowl, when he was going up against the great Patrick Mahomes, even though they lost, it was Jalen Hurts in that game, not Patrick Mahomes, who was the best player on the field. So if you ask me, Zach, would you rather have, for the next five years, Jalen Hurts or Dak Prescott? Even though there's questions about both, and Hurts regressed last year, I'm with the NFL players.

Even though it's only one spot, Hurts 15, Prescott 16, I would rather have Jalen Hurts than Dak Prescott in the National Football League. How about the voice, by the way, on J.P. Shadrach? That was like voice of God kind of quality from J.P. Shadrach. Some pipes he has. Alrighty, we'll take a time out here on the Zach Gelb show on the Infinity Sports Network. We have one more hour to play, a lot to get to in the final hour. Stu and I, when we return, will guess the top 10 order that will be revealed tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern of the top 100 as they do the final 10 players.

We have the names. We'll try to tap inside the bases of the NFL players and how they are going to vote. Also on three, as predicted, the college football playoff for this year. We'll get to that coming up in about 25 minutes from now. We'll do a little bit on Team USA when it comes to basketball. Alrighty, one more hour to go.

We will get things started for hour number three when we come on back in five minutes right here on the Infinity Sports Network. It is the Zach Gelb show. You don't just live in your home. You live in your neighborhood as well. So when you're shopping for a home, you want to know as much about the area around it as possible. Luckily, homes dot com has got you covered. Each listing features a comprehensive neighborhood guide from local experts. Everything you'd ever want to know about a neighborhood, including the number of homes for sale, transportation, local amenities, cultural attractions, unique qualities, and even things like median lot size and a noise score.

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