The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

We're just about halfway through the college football regular season, and boards for the 2026 NFL Draft look different than they did in August. How different? That's exactly what Dane Brugler and Dave Helman dive into on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. With about two months of the season in the books, Dane offers up his top-three rankings for the 2026 NFL Draft at every position.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

6:50 Quarterbacks

18:28 Running Backs

26:48 Wide Receivers

36:54 Tight Ends

40:09 Offensive Tackles

45:47 Interior OL

49:04 EDGE rushers

52:06 Defensive Tackles

55:01 Linebackers

1:00:20 Cornerbacks

1:02:41 Safeties

1:05:35 Week 7 Lookahead

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Dave Helman

Co-Host: Dane Brugler

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For the first time since 2014, no NFL team made it to 5-0. The Bills nearly did it, but, instead, Sunday Night Football turned into a coming-out party for Drake Maye and the Patriots. How did the Patriots pull off the upset? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig in on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also dive deep on the Lions dismantling of the Bengals and the Saints first win of the season, a 26-14 triumph over the Giants. Plus, sad voicemails from Ravens, Cardinals and Jets fans.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

5:40 Patriots-Bills recap

21:42 Lions-Bengals recap

37:20 Giants-Saints recap

54:57 Monday Mourning: Ravens

1:01:32 Monday Mourning: Cardinals

1:09:09 Monday Mourning: Jets

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Buccaneers-Seahawks was one of our Games of the Week in Week 5, and it absolutely delivered the goods. The Bucs may have come out of the game with a 38-35 win, but both teams further announced themselves as legitimate contenders in the NFC. That's where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman start the Week 5 recap episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also dig into the Broncos win over the Eagles, the Patriots upset of the Bills, and the Ravens continued fall from grace. The Commanders, with Jayden Daniels back on the field, grabbed their attention. And what exactly was that Titans-Cardinals game? Our crew hits all that, and a whole lot more, as it puts a bow on Week 5.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

1:37 Patriots upset Bills

6:51 Buccaneers and Seahawks give us the game of the day

26:24 The Broncos take down the Eagles

38:15 Commanders beat the Chargers in Los Angeles

48:12 Is the Ravens season over after loss to Texans?

55:44 The Raiders and Jets were supposed to be better than this

1:08:50 What was that Titans-Cardinals game?

1:17:17 Kevin O'Connell dialed it up in London

1:21:37 Nice moments for Bryce Young and Cam Ward

1:29:48 What Did We Learn in Week 5?

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've turned the calendar to October and reached the bye-week portion of the schedule, which means that while it's still relatively early in the season, the "it's early" caveats are starting to fall by the wayside. So when we get Games of the Week like Seahawks-Buccaneers and Chargers-Commanders, it isn't a function of the schedule. It's because these are legitimately great matchups we can't wait to watch on Sunday. That's where Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman kick off the Week 5 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also touch on Patriots-Bills, Chiefs-Jaguars and Texans-Ravens, take a walk on Sicko Street with Giants-Saints and Vikings-Browns, and go Under the Hood on the struggling Panthers offense.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

3:52 Game of the Week: Buccaneers-Seahawks

25:00 Game of the Week: Commanders-Chargers

38:30 One Thing From...Bills-Patriots

47:17 One Thing From...Jaguars-Chiefs

1:00:10 One Thing From...Texans-Ravens

1:04:22 Sicko Street: The Saints are favored against the Giants

1:08:00 Sicko Street: The Browns and Vikings fronts against Carson Wentz and Dillon Gabriel

1:10:48 Under the Hood: Panthers offense

1:23:25 Wins Pool Update

1:26:22 What Do You Wanna Know? Dave: I wanna know what we’re saying about the Eagles on Monday

1:28:19 What Do You Wanna Know? Robert: I wanna know what we’re saying about the Broncos on Monday

1:31:05 What Do You Wanna Know? Derrik: Is Klayton Adams the most important coach in the NFL?

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a team goes out and brings in a new playcaller during the offseason, be it the head coach or offensive coordinator, they're telling us one thing: We need new ideas on offense. One-quarter of the league did that this offseason, and five of those teams have stood out for one reason or another over the first month of the season...the Patriots, Bears, Jaguars, Seahawks and Cowboys. What are the early returns on the new ideas for those five teams? Robert Mays and Ollie Connolly from The Read Optional dive deep into the quintet on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

4:48 Dillon Gabriel takes the reins in Cleveland

8:18 New England Patriots

22:05 Chicago Bears

40:58 Jacksonville Jaguars

53:21 Seattle Seahawks

1:10:40 Dallas Cowboys

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

With: Ollie Connolly

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Ollie on Bluesky: @ollieconnolly.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Ollie on X: @OllieConnolly

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

College football's loaded weekend delivered with Oregon, Alabama and Mississippi picking up huge wins. Those games, not to mention the rest of the slate, reverberated across the NFL Draft world, as well. Dane Brugler and Dave Helman break it all down on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Building the Beast. The guys also dive into Dane's All-Rookie Team through the first month of the NFL season.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

4:52 Game Ball: Dante Moore

12:25 Drew Allar takes a tumble

21:41 Game Ball: Ty Simpson

30:11 Game Ball: Notre Dame RBs

35:22 Top-50 Stock Watch: Fernando Mendoza

39:45 Top-50 Stock Watch: Garrett Nussmeier

44:10 Top-50 Stock Watch: Makai Lemon

47:51 While you were busy...

54:57 Dane's first month NFL All-Rookie Team

1:20:48 Week 6 CFB lookahead

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Dave Helman

Co-Host: Dane Brugler

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If ever there were a game that felt like a hangover, it was the Texans 26-0 win over the Titans in Week 4. That's where Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen kick off this episode of The Athletic Football Show. After that, the guys dive into another impressive performance by the Browns defense, albeit in a 34-10 loss to the Lions, and the Bills 31-19 win over the Saints. Robert and Derrik wrap up the episode by discussing all the injuries affecting the Ravens, and taking a couple of your sad voicemails.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

4:45 Titans-Texans recap

18:25 Browns-Lions recap

33:53 Saints-Bills recap

45:51 Injuries piling up for the Ravens

50:40 Monday Mourning with the Colts and Vikings

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Allow us to take you behind the curtain. This was, by far, the hardest recap show for us to program thus far this season. That's how much happened in Week 4. From the Chiefs dismantling of the Ravens, to the Eagles taking down the Buccaneers, to huge wins for the Rams, Steelers and Jaguars, we had no shortage of topics to get into the show. Robert Mays, Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen do what they can to get their arms around a jam-packed Week 4 Sunday on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

2:50 Packers-Cowboys recap

13:12 Ravens-Chiefs recap

32:42 Colts-Rams recap

41:31 Eagles-Buccaneers recap

55:02 Pittsburgh Steelers...You Have My Attention

1:03:55 Jacksonville Jaguars...You Have My Attention

1:16:51 Chargers lose to the previously winless Giants...WTF?!?

1:25:41 Panthers punt coverage...WTF?!? (But also, Drake Maye and the Patriots looked good)

1:29:53 The Raiders really lost that game to the Bears...WTF?!?

1:37:03 How Can You Not Be Romantic About Football...featuring Tyler Allgeier, Drake Maye and DK Metcalf

1:42:03 What Did We Learn in Week 4?

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you looked at Week 4 before the season, you likely would've assumed that Ravens-Chiefs would be the Game of the Week, with Eagles-Buccaneeers at the top of the undercard. Instead, Eagles-Bucs has jumped up to top billing, the Colts and Rams find themselves in the Game of the Week, and the Ravens and Chiefs are both starting down 1-3 records. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive into all three of those games to kick off the Week 4 preview episode of The Athletic Football Show. The guys also get into the heavyweight matchup between the Browns defense and Lions offense, Jaxson Dart's debut start against a tough Chargers defense, the surprising Jaguars defense getting its biggest test against the 49ers, and a whole lot more.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

1:56 Colts-Rams preview

20:55 Eagles-Buccaneers preview

36:42 Ravens-Chiefs Bizarro Game of the Week

48:16 One Thing From...Browns-Lions

57:05 One Thing From...Jaguars-49ers

1:04:02 One Thing From...Chargers-Giants

1:10:19 Sicko Street: Waking up early for Vikings-Steelers

1:14:45 Sicko Street: You should watch Panthers-Patriots!

1:17:06 Micah Parsons and the shattering of the Wick Scale

1:20:39 What Do You Wanna Know? Dave: Who’s gonna be the first team eliminated from playoff contention, the Titans or Texans?

1:22:49 What Do You Wanna Know? Robert: Who’s gonna be the 10th team at the Table?

1:24:50 What Do You Wanna Know? Derrik: Can the Falcons offense function against a gettable defense?

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Dave on X: @davehelman_

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Texans are 32nd in offensive success rate. The Broncos are 31st. The Raiders are 30th. The Falcons are 20th, but they just got shut out by the Panthers, fired their WRs coach, and moved their OC down to the field from the booth. Why can't these four offenses, all of which have good-to-great personnel on paper, get anything going? Robert Mays and Ted Nguyen dive deep on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)

7:32 Texans

25:51 Broncos

38:51 Raiders

55:24 Falcons

Connect with The Athletic Football Show

X: https://x.com/TA_FootballShow

IG: https://www.instagram.com/tafootballshow

YT: https://www.youtube.com/@TAFootballShow

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tafootballshow

Discord: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Call us: 847-448-0701

Email us: [email protected]

Host: Robert Mays

With: Ted Nguyen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Ted on Bluesky: @tednguyen.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Ted on X: @FB_FilmAnalysis

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.