The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The next step up the Offseason Buy or Sell ladder takes us to the NFL's middle class. These are teams that oddsmakers project to be right around .500. In other words, these teams harbor realistic playoff aspirations, but there's path for all of them that leads to picking in the top 10 of the 2026 draft. This group includes the Colts, Jaguars, Cowboys, Seahawks, Falcons, Cardinals, Bears and Dolphins. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen make buy or sell calls on each of their offseasons on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Colts
• Jaguars
• Cowboys
• Seahawks
• Falcons
• Cardinals
• Bears
• Dolphins

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

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Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

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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 mail carrier came knocking and yet again brought us more than our fair share of great questions. Which successful team of the last five years is most realistic for current bottom-feeders to replicate? Are the Steelers still an elite franchise? Why doesn't Sean McDermott get as much respect as Kyle Shanahan? Which quarterback is the best who, in theory, could get traded? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Michael Beller answer those questions, and a whole lot more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

With: Michael Beller

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Beller on Bluesky: @mbeller.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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 George Pickens trade (mostly) brought to an end a busy offseason movement period for wide receivers. Davante Adams, D.K. Metcalf, Cooper Kupp, Stefon Diggs, Deebo Samuel, and Christian Kirk all find themselves on new teams. Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Chris Godwin and Metcalf all signed big extensions. Ten receivers, including Travis Hunter, were selected in the first 70 picks of the NFL Draft, and reliable veterans like DeAndre Hopkins, Tyler Lockett and Josh Palmer also found new homes. What's the state of the wide receiver landscape after all that movement? Which groups improved the most? Which ones have us a bit concerned? And which ones are we sneaky excited to watch this season? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen run that full route tree on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.

Almost every take comes scorching hot, right out of the oven. Some of them get cold awfully fast. But the good news about those cold takes is that we can learn a thing or two from them! So, what did our cold takes from 2024 teach us about the NFL and the way we think about it? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig back in the shadowy past and bring it to light on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• The Jaguars are a playoff-quality team
• The Texans offense is elite
• Giants over Broncos and Commanders in the Wins Pool
• Everything about the Commanders
• Missing on the Eagles and Vikings defense
• Buying Jerod Mayo and the Patriots defense
• More pass-catchers is always good! (Stefon Diggs and Keenan Allen additions)
• Where was our 49ers doubt?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.

With the 2025 NFL Draft firmly in the rear-view mirror, we are now in full-on offseason mode on The Athletic Football Show. With that comes one of our favorite offseason staples...are we buying or selling what each of the 32 teams did to improve their teams for the 2025 season? We start the series with what we're calling the Teams in Transition, which includes the Titans, Browns, Giants, Patriots, Jets, Raiders, Saints and Panthers. Do we buy or sell what those teams have done since the Super Bowl? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen make their calls on those eight teams on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Titans
• Browns
• Giants
• Patriots
• Jets
• Raiders
• Saints
• Panthers

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠

⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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 draft is over, which means Mailbag Mondays are back! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen tackle questions about quarterbacks improving their accuracy, the most electric recent draft moments, James Cook's future in Buffalo and more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Which teams bet in the draft on their ability to develop players?
• Are the Steelers the most unlikely team to win a SB in the next five years
• How easy is it for a QB to improve accuracy?
• Which past draft moments would you have wanted to cover live?
• What will Titans do with Will Levis?
• Is pass rush success with smaller pass rushers sustainable?
• Was the Falcons draft really that bad?
• Is Cam Ward the most valuable pick of the draft?
• Are we seeing new positions being prioritized in the draft?
• Making sense of late-round trades
• What to make of Washington pivoting to win-now
• Should the Bills work to retain James Cook right now?
• How many quarterabcks would be elite with the Eagles? How many teams can Patrick Mahomes make elite?

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

⁠Apple⁠

⁠Spotify⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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 coaching carousel has stopped spinning. The free agency frenzy is in the rear-view mirror. The 2025 NFL Draft is done. All 32 teams as currently constructed are essentially what they are going to be when they take the field in Week 1. So what are the weightiest questions we still have? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen ask, and try to answer, those questions on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Who's going to catch passes for the Cowboys?
• Is the Bills pass-catcher anxiety warranted?
• Is the Cardinals OL good enough to get them where they want to go?
• Did Houston do enough on defense to stay the course?
• Who plays QB for the Steelers in 2025
• The Panthers didn't draft a corner, and didn't take a safety until the fourth round....ummmm, what?
• How soon do we see Tyler Shough starting for the Saints?
• Sneaky teams we're excited to watch in 2025
• Do any of the veteran trade candidates get moved?
• What happens with the veteran free agents and contract extension candidates?
• What are the Vikings going to do in the secondary?
• Lingering team-specific needs

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

⁠Apple⁠

⁠Spotify⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.

Teams can lie to us before the draft. They can obfuscate. They can mislead. Once the draft arrives, though, they have to tell the truth. So what messages did teams send once they finally had to put their money where their mouth is? Robert Mays and Field Yates from ESPN discuss the messages teams sent in the 2025 NFL Draft on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Rundown

• Bills
• Steelers
• A quick Giants tangent
• Raiders
• Cardinals
• Patriots
• 49ers
• Dolphins
• Titans
• Packers

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

With: Field Yates

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

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⁠⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dane on Bluesky: @fieldyates.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

Follow Field on X: @FieldYates

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.

And that's a wrap on the 2025 NFL Draft. Who did good work on day three? Who did good work the entire weekend? Why did the Browns go back to the quarterback well to grab Shedeur Sanders? Which teams had good plans, and which ones surprised us? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dane Brugler answer those questions, and a whole lot more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

With: Dane Brugler

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

⁠⁠Apple⁠⁠

⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠

⁠⁠YouTube⁠⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dane on Bluesky: @danebrugler.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.

The second and third rounds of the 2025 NFL Draft are in the books, and the first half of our draft story is all but complete. Who were our favorite picks on day two? Where were the surprises? Which teams came away with the best hauls across the first three rounds? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dane Brugler answer those questions, and more, as they put a capstone on The Athletic Football Show's live coverage of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Host: Robert Mays

Co-Host: Derrik Klassen

With: Dane Brugler

Executive Producer: Michael Beller

Producer: Michael Beller

Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show...

⁠Apple⁠

⁠Spotify⁠

⁠YouTube⁠

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social

Follow Dane on Bluesky: @danebrugler.bsky.social

Follow Robert on X: @robertmays

Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass

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.