00:00Today, we're going to look at the teams that were eliminated from the postseason.
00:04Here is the off-season preview for the teams that were bounced wildcard weekend.
00:14All right, of the teams that were knocked out, again, we're going to go kind of chronologically
00:19here based on when they were eliminated, and we're going to start with the Carolina Panthers.
00:26They are going to have the 19th overall pick in the draft, and around $25 million in salary
00:34cap space.
00:35This was obviously a year of growth for Carolina, and they're an interesting team to look at
00:40here off-season-wise, because on the one hand, won the division, made the playoffs, showed
00:46very good growth and improvement, and showed that they have a lot to be excited about.
00:51On the other hand, they were 8-9, and when you look at some of the secondary stats, they
00:59were basically in the 20s of everything offensively when you're looking at EPA, EPA per pass, EPA
01:05per rush, success rate, all those things.
01:08They were still in the bottom third of the league in a lot of those categories.
01:12It was wildly inconsistent, and not necessarily deserving of a spot in the playoffs, despite
01:20them actually playing in the postseason.
01:22So, on the one hand, yay development, but on the other hand, let's not look at anything
01:27on this team and be, oh, well, we couldn't improve on that.
01:29Look what we have.
01:31That being said, there are pieces that you like.
01:32I think skill position-wise, they're okay.
01:35Bryce Young at least showed enough that he is worth sticking around with, and you don't
01:41need to cut bait and roll like it may have looked a couple of seasons ago.
01:45I like the running back situation there.
01:47I think Chuba Hubbard did show on Wild Card Weekend that he is the better of the running
01:50backs, but a pretty good two-headed monster out there, and I like the receiving room.
01:57McMillan is going to keep growing.
01:59Xavier Leggette feels like a really, really strong kind of deep threat, and Coker has developed
02:04into a pretty solid option as well.
02:06I would like something a little bit more reliable on like third and seven, but I don't think you
02:10need to spend a lot of time or off-season resources on that necessarily.
02:15Maybe an improvement at tight end.
02:16I didn't put that on here, but maybe something there to just get something a little bit more
02:20reliable for your young quarterback in some of those medium to long third downs there.
02:25But I think the big need for this team is on the interior of the offensive line.
02:29You have a small quarterback.
02:30There's no getting around it.
02:32We can do Marcus Stroman, height doesn't measure heart, and we can do, well, you know,
02:37look at all these small quarterbacks we've been able to produce.
02:39The fact is, when dude is making a throw and the pockets around him, it looks like he almost
02:44has to jump first to make the throw.
02:47He's been successful at times at doing it, but you can see, like, he almost stands up
02:51on his tippy toes every time he's throwing the football.
02:55So you need some work on the interior of this line to give him some more passing lanes.
02:59Because when he had that, when you had kind of the seize part for him, and he's able to
03:03just rip it, the dude's got an arm.
03:05And he is a quality quarterback.
03:08So it's the NFL, you're not just going to have the seas open up 50 times a game, but
03:12you do need a little bit more strength on the interior of that O-line.
03:16They're going to be drafting 19.
03:17There could be something there.
03:19That might be more a day two or a day three thing.
03:21The other thing I think they do need to improve on is the pass rush.
03:24It got better from the previous season to this one.
03:28But there's still a lot of work to be done.
03:31I think that's probably where they address things in the draft at 19 on day one is someone
03:38that can get to the quarterback interior of the offensive line.
03:41That is something I think you can address in free agency.
03:44So they're in a decent spot.
03:46They would be an interesting Kyle Pitts team for me.
03:50Maybe you want something a little bit more reliable than that, but an interesting spot for
03:53Carolina and one that I think, um, like they could be a legitimate playoff team come this
04:00time next season, the green Bay Packers up next, they will not be drafting the first round
04:04unless they make another move as that pick was traded to the Dallas Cowboys.
04:08They come into this off season with negative $37 million in salary cap space.
04:13This team was a super bowl contender for a reason, but again, this team is eliminated now
04:19for a reason.
04:20And so there aren't, there aren't a whole lot of places where it's like, oh my God,
04:25fix this right now.
04:26But there are also, again, aren't a lot of spots where it's no, no, no, no, no.
04:31We're good.
04:31We're set.
04:32We're all, we're all checked here.
04:33Quarterback, you're fine with love.
04:35The receiving room, that's the biggest need for me is decisions at receiver and on the
04:40offensive line.
04:41They have a decision to make as Dobbs as a free agent.
04:44Um, let's focus on the receiving room for a second.
04:46It's been great that they have all this talent because everyone gets hurt on this team, but
04:51they have all this talent at wide receiver, but you kind of need a guy, you know, you
04:56need that.
04:56We've seen with, um, Kansas city, Baltimore, Buffalo, all those spots.
05:00When it comes down to it, you need that guy.
05:03And Jacob said it going into last off season that they kind of needed a number one.
05:07I still think Christian Watson can be that if my guy can stay healthy at all.
05:12Golden had a very big playoff game and it's big enough that I would almost prefer you just
05:20let Dobbs walk.
05:21I know he's probably the more reliable of the, the big four they have at receiver, but
05:26I feel like you kind of got to let him walk, let Golden develop and kind of let that group
05:31do what it does.
05:32So I think they need a little bit of clarity there and they need to figure out what the
05:35offensive line situation is as Rasheed Walker, their left tackle is a pending free agent.
05:41As we said, they don't got a ton of cap space to be able to try to keep him with it's the
05:45NFL.
05:46You can juggle that around as much as you want, but do they keep him around or is that something
05:51they address in the draft or in free agency?
05:54But that is going to be a very big spot for them.
05:57I think is figuring out, figuring out what they're going to do on the offensive line and
06:01specifically at left tackle in terms of ways to just improve the roster.
06:05They have now, I think you did see in that game against the bears and throughout the
06:09season, there's some secondary help that is needed.
06:12It was great at the beginning of the year when Micah Parsons is breaking through, getting
06:17to the quarterback, making some of those big plays, your secondary, it's a little bit
06:22easier when there is a pass rush that is relentless and they only have to cover for
06:26two, three, four, five seconds.
06:30But when that pass rush isn't getting home, this defense was getting picked apart a little
06:33bit.
06:33So I do think they need a little bit of help there in the secondary, probably because of
06:39the move they made to bring Parsons in.
06:40They probably do need some help on the interior of the defensive line as well and getting in
06:44in the run stopping department.
06:46But this team is a couple of tweaks away from being right back there and playing this weekend
06:51instead of figuring out what is next for their organization.
06:56The Jacksonville Jaguars are up next.
06:58Again, a team that will not be picking in the first round unless other moves are made
07:02as they traded that pick to the Cleveland Browns.
07:05They have negative $10.1 million in salary cap space.
07:09My number one need for them, and it's not going to be one that I think is addressed, is a true
07:15number one wide receiver.
07:17This receiving room is actually pretty talented with the acquisition of Jacoby Myers.
07:23Washington showed that he can be a pretty solid pickup as well.
07:25Travis Hunter was just kind of getting going before he got hurt, and Brian Thomas would
07:30be the one that you would slot in as that true number one wide receiver, except he didn't
07:35look like it at any point this season.
07:37So he either needs to step up and be that guy now consistently, or they need to clear
07:44him out and bring in someone who can.
07:46And like Jacoby Myers, I have never liked him as much as everyone else likes him.
07:51I think he's a really, really good number two, but I just, I don't think he is that number
07:57one guy that is going to go out and beat teams in a competitive AFC.
08:02Hunter again could end up being that.
08:04Thomas has the talent too, but it seems like there is some frustration going on there.
08:08So they need one of those guys to figure it out.
08:10Hunter is staying.
08:13Myers just signed that contract.
08:15If anyone's moving on, it's probably Thomas.
08:17So we'll see what they end up doing there.
08:20But again, like this was, this was a talented football team this year.
08:24There's a reason why a lot of people picked them against Buffalo in that AFC wildcard
08:29game.
08:29And it came down to a very well executed tush push that gets the bills into the next round.
08:36Looking at the stats, I was like, this team is kind of set, but you look at the stats,
08:40they're still middle of the pack in a lot of the secondary offensive categories that I look
08:45at that I feel like are pretty important to success.
08:48So that's why I was looking for a receiver for this team, because it feels like there
08:52is still a touch of an improvement that can happen with the pass catching unit with Jacksonville
08:57defensively.
08:59Maybe some help on the interior of the defensive line.
09:02You have a really good pass rush with those guys and just a really solid team in general.
09:07Maybe a little bit more help in the run stopping department could really round out this defense.
09:12But again, Jacksonville for the first time in a really long time is looking at an offseason
09:16where it's just kind of tinkering around the edges to try to find some subtle improvements
09:21to raise that ceiling a little bit higher instead of a, oh my God, what are we going
09:25to do with this football team?
09:27So pretty good spot for Jacksonville to be heading into the offseason in.
09:31The Philadelphia Eagles are next.
09:33They already made one of their big moves of the offseason, firing their offensive coordinator.
09:38They have negative $1.1 million in cap space.
09:42Obviously, like they have a lot of decisions that need to be made.
09:46But when you look at this Eagles team, the reason why there's so much frustration around
09:52how this season went is because this is a good football team.
09:56So honestly, better offensive play calling.
09:58And I think you're in a really, really good spot going forward.
10:03The A.J. Brown situation, that needs to get sorted.
10:06That can't be a distraction again because you could feel it this year.
10:10I said before, they felt like they were going into games either trying to prove people wrong
10:15or to make A.J. Brown happy, much to the detriment of their football team.
10:20So either he needs to get on the same page as everyone else or he needs to get gone.
10:27I said before, I meant to make this reference on the show but didn't quite get to it.
10:31But he feels like a Raider, right?
10:34Like that feels like an old school what Al Davis would do.
10:37Like, oh, you have a disgruntled number one wide receiver?
10:39We're bringing him in.
10:41Because Jamarcus Russell's a good quarterback.
10:42And Lane Kiffin's a good coach.
10:45That feels like a move that the Raiders of the past would end up doing.
10:49And look, that'd be a pretty good receiver for what we presume to be a number one pick at quarterback.
10:54Although we'll talk about that later on in the stream.
10:56But they need to get that part figured out.
10:59The other thing that needs to get solved here is depth on the offensive line.
11:03Lane Johnson, there's a lot of will he, won't he in terms of coming back.
11:07Even if he does, you don't want to be going into next season with that.
11:10They did a pretty good job of backfilling behind Kelsey.
11:13And they've been able to replace a lot of guys on the offensive line that have moved on.
11:17Like guys like Becton and all of that.
11:19They're going to need another one now.
11:20And it's tough to just draft a Lane Johnson replacement.
11:24But you kind of need to.
11:26There is going to need to be something backfilled there to get some depth.
11:30Because they were finally not fully healthy on the O-line.
11:33And that really did set some things back for them this year.
11:36They're drafting at 23.
11:37There could be some offensive line help that is there as well.
11:39They do have decisions to make.
11:40Some pretty big pieces are going to be free agents.
11:44N'Kobe Dean, Jalen Phillips, and Reid Blankenship.
11:46Blankenship really struggled in the game against San Francisco.
11:52Dean is so solid.
11:54And would be one of the best defensive players on most teams in the NFL.
11:57Kind of same with Phillips.
11:58They have a lot of talent on the defensive side of the football.
12:01They've drafted there really well.
12:03And quite frankly, if a couple of pieces leave.
12:07And you maybe have a couple of holes.
12:10Every team does.
12:11They're not going to be understanding about that.
12:14But I wonder if all of those end up leaving.
12:18Dean would be the one that I would focus on trying to bring back the most.
12:21Blankenship, that was a rough go.
12:24And maybe you try to find a replacement there.
12:26Phillips, I think, is solid.
12:28But Dean feels like one you really don't want to let go.
12:32And that would be a huge player to add to a number of different teams.
12:36So they have decisions to make there.
12:38And then maybe a little bit of help in the secondary.
12:40Especially if Blankenship is on his way out.
12:42But again, a pretty good group of corners.
12:44It's just, again, it's a really good roster.
12:47It's a really good roster.
12:48You're just either filling in for a couple of guys who might be leaving.
12:51Or adding some depth to protect against injuries.
12:54But better play calling.
12:55Better vibes.
12:57Weird as it to say.
12:58But better vibes.
12:59And better results for the Eagles in 2026.
13:02Because again, the roster is silly.
13:04Silly good in Philly.
13:06The LA Chargers are next.
13:07One of the first teams that we're going to talk about with real cap space.
13:10As they have $94 million to spend.
13:13They'll be drafting 22nd overall in the draft.
13:16Or at least that's the pick they hold right now.
13:19They're another one that you watch how the season plays out.
13:22And it's like, okay, well, the need is obvious.
13:23And it's the offensive line.
13:25But if all the offensive linemen are healthy, they're set.
13:28Right?
13:29Like if Alt and Slater are good, this is a pretty solid offensive line that they have going for them.
13:36So I don't think you need to trade up in the draft to try to get the best offensive lineman or the best tackle or anything.
13:42But some depth wouldn't be the worst thing.
13:46Even though, like, it was a lot of injuries.
13:48But you could see that some of those depth pieces weren't it.
13:52So let's see if we can get some guys who could be.
13:54I do think there's genuine need to help out on the interior of the offensive line.
13:59Like that is a part that just needs to be upgraded.
14:01And then defensively on the D-line, getting a little old.
14:04And not being able to get to the quarterback as often as maybe they would like.
14:09So that is an area that I think they could get a little bit more athletic in.
14:12And a little bit more talented in on the defensive line.
14:15So some trenches stuff is on the wish list for the LA Chargers heading into this offseason.
14:22And then the most discussed team over the last week or so.
14:26And that's the Pittsburgh Steelers.
14:27$29.9 million in salary cap space.
14:31They need a coach and they need a lot of help.
14:34This was one of the things we talked about when discussing the Tomlin firing.
14:40This is not a great roster.
14:42And it feels like Tomlin is being punished for dragging subpar rosters into the postseason
14:49and then having predictable results with them.
14:53They need a quarterback.
14:54I think you need another wide receiver.
14:56This offense was very limited when DK Metcalf went out and shoved a fan in the last two
15:02days or last two games of the regular season there.
15:06And they need help on the defense.
15:07That secondary is good.
15:08That's a good secondary that they have.
15:11But TJ Watt can't be the only one who's getting after the passer on a consistent basis.
15:16They need some help in the front seven.
15:17So quarterback that, I mean, you're right around where Simpson is on big boards, but I don't
15:26know if he's going to be available at quarterback for them there.
15:29Wide receiver, you can probably find something at that part.
15:32And then defense that this team has generally been okay about finding some defensive players,
15:37but they haven't been great over the last couple of seasons.
15:39So this is like $29.9 million.
15:42They're going to be able to do some stuff, but they have done so much of just trying to
15:49plug the holes and those are starting to break as well.
15:53It feels like a bigger reset is probably needed in Pittsburgh, but they haven't done that the
15:57entire time I've been alive.
15:59So I don't know if that's going to be the way they do it.
16:00I am very, very intrigued to see how Pittsburgh attacks this offseason.
16:05So what did you guys think?
16:07Is there an obvious need that I have missed?
16:09Is there something that I'm overstating with what these teams are looking for?
16:13Let me know either in the comments or in the chat, if you are watching this live and we
16:18can keep that football conversation going.
16:21We are streaming this on a few different platforms over on YouTube, Kik, and on Twitch.tv
16:28slash PrimetimePK.
16:29Right now we got the discount on gifted subs, 35% off, five gifted subs.
16:34Right now that is going to Sunday morning.
16:38So check that one out if you are heading over to twitch.tv slash PrimetimePK.
16:45The next stream that we're going to be doing, unless Kyle Tucker signs after the stream today,
16:50but the next one that is scheduled is going to be 10 a.m.
16:54Mountain Time on Friday.
16:56So a rare Friday stream from me on Twitch, Kik, and over on YouTube.
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