The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

By The AthleticSports Football

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The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL episodes

July 21 Which team has the healthiest roster construction in 2026?
Do you remember the chart your teacher used in health class to show that 50% of your food should be fruits and vegetables? Maybe you also remember that little tiny sliver showing fatty or sugary foods. Well, think of Jaxon Smith-Njigba's four-year, $168.6 million contract as a bowl of ice cream and Bo Nix's four-year, $18.6 million rookie contract as a plate of broccoli. The ice cream tastes great, but you'd feel pretty sluggish if you didn't have a whole bunch of broccoli to go with it. On this episode of The Athletic Football Show, Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen discuss which NFL teams are best balancing indulgent superstar extensions with vitamin-packed rookie contracts.

0:00 Welcome to the show
5:05 Los Angeles Rams
10:51 Philadelphia Eagles
15:55 New England Patriots
21:15 Chicago Bears
26:55 Seattle Seahawks
31:25 Detroit Lions
35:22 Los Angeles Chargers
38:52 Cleveland Browns
42:10 Houston Texans
43:39 Green Bay Packers
47:20 Dallas Cowboys
48:35 Jacksonville Jaguars
50:37 Denver Broncos
55:16 Carolina Panthers
58:44 Tennessee Titans
1:03:18 Buffalo Bills
1:07:11 Washington Commanders

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
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 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.
1 hr 12 min
July 20 Aaron Donald's return could happen, but SHOULD it?
Dear TAFS friends, we have reached the end of the line for the summer mailbag this year. You guys brought it week after week, and you certainly sent us off with a bang. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman answer questions on the influence of the Doug Pederson Eagles, the best way to be a bad team, the potential return of Aaron Donald, and a whole lot more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:45 Eagles/Doug Pederson influence
12:46 Titans new offense
23:05 Ideal way to be a bad team
33:00 Evaluating cornerbacks
39:47 Aaron Donald return
48:24 Third-place game?

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
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 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.
1 hr
July 17 The storylines we didn't talk enough about this offseason
Believe it or not, we're just about at the end of the true NFL offseason. The two teams that play in the Hall of Fame Game—the Panthers and Cardinals—open training camp next week. We at The Athletic Football Show think we do a comprehensive job covering every team during this stretch on the calendar, but we have to admit that a few teams become a bit fainter on our radar. So why didn't we talk much about teams like the Falcons, Vikings, Bills and Eagles? Why did the Broncos, Patriots, Panthers and Ravens spend most of these last two months out of the TAFS studio? And, what should we have been talking about related to those eight teams during the offseason? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman finally give those teams some attention on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
3:26 Falcons
10:36 Panthers
20:32 Vikings
28:47 Bills
36:08 Ravens
43:40 Eagles
50:10 Broncos
55:36 Patriots

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
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 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.
1 hr 5 min
July 16 The breakout players we're counting on for the 2026 season
Breakout seasons from Azeez Al-Shaair, Byron Young and Tuli Tuipulotu helped define the 2025 season. Who might be those players this year? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman introduce the Breakout Player Draft on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:14 The rules
6:30 Paris Johnson
12:04 Omarion Hampton
15:40 Walter Nolen
19:34 Luther Burden
25:12 Amarius Mims
27:43 Nohl Williams
32:25 Malaki Starks
35:12 Yaya Diaby
37:19 Josh Simmons
40:09 Dallas Turner
44:02 Jonas Sanker
45:49 Craig Woodson
48:58 Warren McClendon
53:05 Nic Scourton
56:18 Dylan Fairchild
59:10 Patrick Paul
1:02:31 Tykee Smith
1:03:57 Ricky Pearsall
1:09:23 Rome Odunze
1:13:06 Cedric Gray
1:18:40 Austin Booker
1:20:55 Upton Stout
1:21:54 Billy Bowman
1:24:05 Jalen Travis

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
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 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.
1 hr 32 min
July 15 Nine lessons we learned from the NFL's best defenses
Last season marked the third-straight year in which a team driven by its defense won the Super Bowl. What can the success of last year's Seahawks—not to mention the Texans, Eagles, Vikings and Broncos—teach us about the NFL in 2026? Cody Alexander from Match Quarters joins Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen to share the lessons learned from last season's best defenses on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:43 Run defense
4:00 Run defense on first down
19:44 Edge-linebacker hybrid
28:17 Base defense
30:00 Nickel defense
38:38 Zone coverage
45:35 Weaponizing dime
50:34 Blitz efficiency
58:52 Split-field coverages

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

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.
1 hr 10 min
July 13 Which outlier stats are most likely to remain outliers?
We're approaching the end of mailbag season but we aren't quite there yet, so Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen opened up the mail and found eight great questions in there. The guys tackle questions on linebacker tiers, outlier statistics, the Lions' 2023 draft, and a whole lot more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
1:35 Linebacker tiers
18:47 Outlier stats for QBs
26:36 Favorite odd records
31:50 Teams that disappeared when stakes were high
43:30 Saving past RBs
49:22 Reversing Matthew Stafford’s career
57:05 Lions 2023 Draft: Witherspoon or Gibbs?

Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
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.
1 hr 6 min
July 10 What really was Caleb Williams' 2025 season? & More lingering questions
We've reached the end of our Lingering Questions series for the 2026 offseason, and we close it out with a trio of questions that loom large over the year to come. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive deep into critical questions about Caleb Williams, the Bengals offense, and the Steelers defense on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
1:58 What was Caleb Williams' 2025 season?
30:19 Is the Bengals offense really Super Bowl ready?
50:20 How should we feel about Patrick Graham (and the Steelers defense)?

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
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 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.
1 hr 4 min
July 09 Is the era of quarterback-driven success in the NFL over?
Name your favorite unicorn quarterback. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Patrick Mahomes, you name it. They're all done. Done! The era of a mystical quarterback leading your NFL team to a Super Bowl is over...maybe. The era of Seahawks-adjacent defensive domination is here...maybe. Robert Mays, Dave Helman, and Derrik Klassen are diving into why the NFL has felt so different lately, what the defining factors of this new (kind of) era are, and how long it will last.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:58 Are we in a new era?
6:30 Well, what was the last era?
17:28 And why has the NFL felt so different recently?
28:24 What exactly has changed since the previous era?
41:12 And what do these changes mean for the future?
48:51 Okay, what are the answers?

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
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 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.
56 min
July 08 Eleven lessons we learned from last seasons best offenses
Sure, you learn something new every day. But today? Today you're learning ELEVEN new things...straight from the NFL's best offenses from the 2025-26 season. What do we know now about tight end usage? What role does play action serve in an efficient offense? And what should you actually do on first downs? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen, and old friend Nate Tice dig into all of the best lessons from last season on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
4:18 Twin tight ends
8:40 Adding layers to your offense
15:44 Creativity in motion players
23:34 “You can’t take penalties!”
28:18 Holding the quarterback’s hand
36:29 Play action is f***ing back, baby
38:39 Giving defense information pre-snap
47:00 Utilizing first downs
57:01 “Get back on track” situations
1:00:59 Respecting the deep throw

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Host: Derrik Klassen
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

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.
1 hr 10 min
July 06 The best short-term heaters in NFL history
Thank you, TAFS fans, for once again bringing the goods for another mailbag episode. You all are truly on an all-time run. And speaking of that, what are the best Linsanity-style runs in NFL history? What sorts of trades from yesteryear—think Champ Bailey and a second-round pick for Clinton Portis—would you never see in today's NFL? Where do offensive line coaches develop? Robert Mays and Dave Helman answer those questions, and more, on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Host: Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays
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.
58 min

About The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

From the publisher's feed

The Athletic’s flagship NFL podcast covers the league like only The Athletic can. Host Robert Mays and co-hosts Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive into the biggest stories, break down the Xs and Os,…