Who's the 6th-best QB in the NFL?
Everyone—literally everyone—people would place Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow among the top-five quarterbacks in the NFL. An overwhelming majority would round out that list with Justin Herbert. Ask 10 people who the sixth-best QB is, though, and you could get 10 different answers. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman try to pin who that sixth-best QB is on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenWith: Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
16 Jul 1h 35min
Inside the fallout surrounding the NFLPA's collusion grievance, with Pablo Torre
Pablo Torre kicked the NFL news cycle into hyperdrive last month in what's supposed to be a relatively quiet part of the calendar when he dropped on his podcast the 61-page ruling behind a collusion grievance filed by the NFLPA against the league. The story has only picked up steam since then, highlighted by news—broken by ESPN last week—of a confidentiality agreement between the league and players union to hide the details of the arbitration decision. So where does all this stand with all 32 teams set to open training camp in a matter of days? Pablo joins Robert Mays to dig into all the details on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysWith: Pablo TorreExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Pablo on Bluesky: @pablo.showtFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Pablo on X: @PabloTorreTheme 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
15 Jul 48min
The teams we can't quite figure out approaching the 2025 season
We spend all offseason watching, considering and analyzing every move every team makes. Despite all that time and critical thought, there are always a handful of teams that we can't quite figure out on the doorstep of training camp. Derrik Klassen and friend of the show Dave Helman highlight the teams that they can't fully pin down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenWith: Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
11 Jul 1h 14min
The hopeful stories teams are telling themselves this season
Every year, a handful of teams have to convince themselves that a certain story they've been telling themselves all offseason will turn out to be true. Their success for the coming season hinges on it. One example for 2025...Ben Johnson is exactly what Caleb Williams needs. So what are the other stories that teams are telling themselves as we approach the beginning of training camp? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen get into them on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
9 Jul 1h
Mailbag Monday: Separating player from situation, balancing all-in and patience, remembering our favorite single-season teams, and more
July is here, which means training camps are just a few short weeks away. The football is getting closer, and that's reflected in this week's TAFS Mailbag. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen answer a bunch more of your questions on this edition, including...How do you separate a player from his situation? How does a competing team correctly balance a desire to go all-in with the patience necessary to build a stable winner? What are your favorite single-season teams in NFL history? What does it mean for a quarterback to be creative? Hear their answers to those questions, and more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenWith: Michael BellerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Beller on Bluesky: @mbeller.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
7 Jul 58min
A 2018 Redraft: Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson at the top, and lessons we can learn from this loaded class
Revisiting recent drafts can help inform what we think about the league in the present moment and the ways that teams make decisions. Especially when you've got Dane Brugler at your disposal. Dane joins Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show to look back at the 2018 NFL Draft, a class that, in real life, saw Baker Mayfield, Saquon Barkley and Sam Darnold go 1-2-3, Josh Allen land with the Bills at No. 7, and Lamar Jackson taken off the board by the Ravens with the last pick of the first round. How would that draft go with the benefit of hindsight? And what can we take away from what happened then and what we now know?Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenWith: Dane BruglerExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
3 Jul 1h 19min
The next frontiers of tech in football with Prime Vision's Sam Schwartzstein
If you listen to a show like this, you already have an idea of how much modern technology is shaping the NFL. There's a decent chance, though, that its reach into what you watch on Sundays...and Mondays...and especially Thursdays is far greater than you suppose. And it's only increasing. Sam Schwartzstein, the analytics expert behind Amazon's Thursday night Prime Vision broadcasts, joins Robert Mays to discuss the future of football and where the marriage between tech and the sport is headed on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenWith: Sam SchwartzsteinExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Sam on X: @schwartzsteinsTheme 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
2 Jul 54min
Jalen Ramsey/Minkah Fitzpatrick trade reaction with Bill Barnwell
Every now and again in this business, breaking news works in your favor. That was the case for us at The Athletic Football Show on Monday, when news of the Jalen Ramsey Dolphins/Steelers trade broke early in the morning. It became even more the case when the deal got stranger and more interesting, roping in Minkah Fitzpatrick, Jonnu Smith, and a couple of draft picks over the ensuing 90 minutes or so. Robert Mays and old friend Bill Barnwell break down the trade and its implications for both teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik KlassenWith: Bill BarnwellExecutive Producer: Michael BellerProducer: Michael BellerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTubeFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Bill on Bluesky: @billbarnwell.comFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Bill on X: @billbarnwellTheme 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 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1 Jul 39min
