June Mailbag, Part I: Mahomes Effect, Love's contract, PEDs, NIL, UFL, Watson, the 2024 playoff sleeper

We dissect it all inside the mailbag. Exceptional questions from all.

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HOUSTON — Good morning, readers. No towing stories to share from Texans Country. We studied the film, corrected our mistakes and avoided an I-95 repeat.

Between sitdown conversations with players — cannot wait to share these stories over the coming weeks — let’s dive into your mailbag queries. The inbox was jam-packed so we’ll break this into multiple marathon parts again.

Inside Part I:

• Are the Chiefs showing signs of vulnerability? The NFLPA report was ugly.

• Who’s the key to the Detroit Lions’ defense? Dan Campbell reset the secondary.

• How will NIL affect the NFL Draft? It’s bound to change the game.

• Take 3 for Deshaun Watson in Cleveland.

• Which team goes on an unexpected run to the playoffs?

• How much money will Jordan Love’s extension be worth in Green Bay?

All of this and more inside Part I below for paid subscribers.

Thanks to all who emailed in questions at golongtd@gmail.com.

Also, icymi, here’s our story on the bizarre state of the Dallas Cowboys. Those with a front-row seat to Jerry’s World explain what in the hell the owners are up to.

Here we go…

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Tyler,

Happy Spring! I hope the Dunne family is doing well and that you're getting some family time during this quiet period (if there is such a thing) of the NFL calendar. Life is great here in Wisconsin.

Some football questions to contemplate…

Paul in Cross Plains, Wisc.

Always appreciate your rapid-fire questions, Paul.

Let’s get to ‘em one at a time…

The NFL is going to toy with electronic measurements of the first down markers - aka, “digital chain gang,” in the preseason. Do we know what the success criteria are for this experiment? What should we look for as they roll this out?

Humans cannot agree on much. This is an election year, too. It’s going to get ugly.

One thing every man, woman and beast can agree on? Digital spotting in the NFL. Given the advancements in technology, it’s insane that refs trot out to a football with chains and markers in-hand. Something like sitting in the window seat on a plane and seeing a horse and buggy on the runway. Makes zero sense.

The league’s media arm first revealed in February that they “tested optical tracking in two stadiums and the Super Bowl last season for line to gain rulings,” adding, “the future is coming.” Few noticed that the competition committee approved the use of such a tracking device in March and, as you note, CBS’ Jonathan Jones reported that it’ll undergo a test drive in the exhibition games. If all goes well? Yes, the “future” is here. It’ll be used in the regular season. As Jones reported, down-and-distance markers will remain on the sideline as a backup tool and reference point for fans.

All game balls are micro-chipped but this move would not involve a chip at all. This is entirely optical tracking, defined as “a means of determining in real-time the position of an object by tracking the positions of either active or passive infrared markers attached to the object.”

The NFL saw enough in the initial trial runs to give the preseason a go.

I’m no optical-trackologist, but I can’t think this technology is any worse than some of the guesstimations we get from officials. This is long overdue.

It's Week 10 of the UFL Season! See how crazy that sounds? Nobody is talking about it. Do we expect the UFL to fade away at this point? Can you imagine a scenario where the NFL makes any motion towards partnering with the UFL?

Good point. The only UFL I’ve consumed was approximately 8 ½ seconds on a treadmill at the local gym. Which stinks. It is worth noting, however, that viewership increased a bit in 2024. The UFL’s 40 regular-season games averaged 816,000 viewers on ABC, Fox, ESPN, ESPN2 and FSI, per The Sports Business Journal. A year ago, the USFL averaged 601,000, while the XFL averaged 622,000. Everyone acknowledges a need for a minor league and, of course, everyone knows the public appetite for the sport is strong. But again, something that looked hopeful on paper didn’t quite capture the public imagination. The product itself must pop. Nobody cares if The Rock is throwing his weight behind the league. If the games are not exciting, few will tune in.

Everyone’s too consumed by other sports. You’ve got to claw your way into the public conversation.

Central to all USFL, XFL, UFL trouble the last two years is the lack of name recognition. Scroll through the rosters and see how many players ring a bell. If fans don’t know the quarterbacks under center, that’s a problem.

NIL probably hurt the XFL-turned-UFL. Before college athletes could make money, this figured to be a ripe alternative.

I’d be surprised if the NFL wraps its arms around the UFL. In their mind, college football is already serving as a free developmental league. Owners don’t need to spend a dime on the SEC prepping players. Can’t see them devoting resources toward a UFL-like enterprise even if such support would undoubtedly be good for the sport over the long haul. NFL backing could lead to higher UFL salaries, more exposure, bigger names. But whereas the MLB needs Triple-A, Double-A, Single-A to develop its players and the NHL needs the AHL, the NFL probably views such a league as more of a money-losing headache than benefit.

Between NIL and now the most recent NCAA ruling, do we expect the draft to look different, with players no longer motivated by money to “get to the league?” How could the money in college sports alter the next CBA?

Without question. The freedom to transfer school to school and make money right through a senior year will incentivize players to stay. Only 58 underclassmen declared for this year’s draft, the lowest total since 2011. This includes four who earned their degree in three years, too: Miami DB Kamren Kinchens, Alabama DB Kool-Aid McKinstry, Texas DT Byron Murphy and Clemson RB Will Shipley.

From 2016 to 2022, an average of 115 players left early.

Detroit’s Brad Holmes spoke for all GMs when he said this 58 number will drop even more next year.

Players are being talked into staying in college an extra year to develop their game, improve their draft stock by a round or two and, hey, there’s nothing wrong with enjoying another year of college with your friends, right? That’s the upside. More college degrees increases the chances of football players finding purpose once their careers finish up, too. The downside is that players are transferring like crazy to cash in on the most NIL money. I’m all for player empowerment and maximizing your worth. But for every Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr. and Bo Nix taking full advantage of a second chance, there are so many others getting lost in the sauce never to be heard from again. There’s a value to facing adversity on campus… staring that adversity in the face… wiping those tears away…. and pressing on instead of sprinting the opposite direction. Boys become men in college, and the NFL is a man’s game.

We’re going to see a lot more flight and a lot less fight and that doesn’t do wonders for the character of the modern football player.

Adversity is bound to 2-by-4 smack players across the face in the pros and many players in this generation — surrounded by yes men — will not be ready for the impact of that smack.

College players should get paid. Long ago, the NCAA itself grew via the gross illusion of power. And, by definition, players should benefit from their own name, image and likeness. The reason schools are able to build meccas for stadiums is the players. But was this the Wild West everyone envisioned? Nick Saban didn’t want to deal with the headache. He retired. Jeff Hafley leaves his post as Boston College head coach to become Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator.

OK, let’s get back on track. Sam Farmer of the L.A. Times has a story breaking down your point.

Underclassmen will continue to dominate the top of drafts. The best of the best will still be enticed to leave a year early — cannot imagine NIL money trumps NFL first-round money. But the talent pool will undoubtedly weaken in the later rounds. Considering veterans steer CBA talks on the players’ side, I have a hard time seeing them banging the table for the elimination of the rookie pay scale that was implemented in 2011. A snap back to the days of first-rounders holding out for big money is unlikely. New TV contracts and gambling apps are destined to make everyone rich in the pros.

One thing to keep an eye on, and former Bills scout Smoke Dixon thought we’d see it with USC’s Caleb Williams. Future Anointed Ones at quarterback are going to pull more Eli Mannings and force their way to certain teams. Staring down the barrel of 2-15 clubs with poor ownership or leaky O-Lines or a lame-duck head coach, these multi-millionaire QBs will try to take control of their destiny. Behind the scenes, the Chicago Bears surely needed to sell themselves to Williams. Not the other way around. By March, the QB believed in what Ryan Poles was building and publicly stated his desire to be a Bear.

Future unions will be messy.

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Why do you think we hear less about PED infractions now than we did five years ago? Do you think players (and agents, and coaches) are walking the line more intelligently? Or has the testing failed to keep up with current PED compounds?

There’s more intel. But I think what qualifies as a “PED” is blurry. There’s so many powders ‘n pills available that enhance player performance, but what’s technically illegal? One NFL exec explained to me recently how one specific drug — perfectly legal with a prescription — is aiding one specific position in football. There’s a good chance many people reading here have even taken this substance. (Will bite my tongue for now. I’ll write that up soon. Thanks for the nudge, Paul.)

The NFL probably loves that we all spend so much time criticizing other elements of its product. Next to C, T, and E, the three letters owners would love to avoid seeing in headlines are P, E, and D. For years, they’ve managed to tip-toe around an issue that wrecked baseball… even though the issue has always sort of lingered. When the NFL and NFLPA ended their labor dispute in 2011, both sides agreed that testing for HGH was needed. HGH was banned but there was no strict testing in place. Without HGH testing, one NFC starter told me in 2013 that he believed 10 to 15 players on each team took human growth hormone. (“It’s like clockwork nowadays. Not tested and it’s easy to get. Nowadays, dude? In 2013? F--k yeah. I’m just being real.”) At that point, it was essentially an honor system. In the Journal Sentinel story, linked here, you’ll also hear Falcons GM Thomas Dimitroff say a quiet part out loud.

“I think, quite often, we’ve all seen guys and thought, ‘Ahh, they look a little bit closer, so maybe this guy,’” Dimitroff said then. “So I think it’s up to the organization to keep their eye on it. … That’s part of my job as a general manager and the job as a head coach — to assess and see if there are any outliers that would indicate if someone maybe was dabbling in PED.”

Yes, yes. Coaches were absolutely taking a look at their Adonis-sculpted wide receiver and scheduling HGH testing ASAP.

Similar to those McGwire-Sosa days in the 90s, it benefited all parties to look the other way.

Finally, in 2014, the NFL began testing for HGH.

Maybe fans don’t care how big, how fast, how explosive those on the field become. Everyone prefers stone-cold killers on the field — not weaklings. But even if we’re not seeing as many suspensions, I’d wager players are testing the boundaries of the rules in place.

The Chiefs seem like a disaster franchise — consistently low franchise player ratings per the annual NFLPA survey, tons of drama with their players in the media, rejection of public stadium funding despite ownership threats, and more. While winning “cures all,” this seems unsustainable. This seems like an unsustainable situation, but it is hard to know from the outside how things really are. Having an adored coach and generational QB cures a lot of ills but that feels like a brittle situation. Based on your perspective, how do you think the Chiefs team will perform in 2024 based on all the noise?

If only the Chiefs subscribed to Bob McGinn’s draft coverage and saw that Rashee Rice was designated his “Scouts’ Nightmare.” Super talented receiver. But there are many scouts across the NFL who aren’t surprised by Rice’s conduct this offseason. Kansas is interested in pulling the Chiefs across state lines. This promises to be a bloody legislative battle. And that NFLPA survey was most shocking. To recap, this survey is the brainchild of NFLPA president JC Tretter, the pride of Akron, NY. It’s a brilliant idea that gives players useful data they can use when they hit free agency.  

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the midst of a dynasty.

The Kansas City Chiefs, under owner Clark Kent, are also a mickey-mouse operation apparently.

I still can’t get over the F-minus — F-minus! — for “ownership.” Here’s the survey results, icymi:

Cracks in a foundation can eventually collapse an organization but cannot see it happening here.

Patrick Mahomes is in the midst of a Michael Jordan run. That’s no longer a hot-take exaggeration. He’s now won Super Bowls down by 10 points with 6 ½ minutes left vs. San Francisco, limping around on a high-ankle sprain vs. Philadelphia and with D+ receiving corps vs. those 49ers again. As those closest to the quarterback articulated, Mahomes has forever enjoyed a cryptic relationship with pressure. His floor six years into an NFL career is losing in the AFC title game, once because Dee Ford jumped offsides and once because Tyreek Hill was tackled at the 1-yard line by Eli Apple the play before halftime. His floor. That’s absurd.

Including the playoffs, Mahomes is 89-25 as the starter.

He’s only 28 years with a play style that’ll age like your finest malbec.

Even Andy Reid seems rejuvenated to keep on coaching.

Despite Hunt’s penny-pinching, everyone can fully expect the Chiefs to keep on winning. They’ve experienced worst shame than anything this offseason. Lest we forget Britt Reid, the coach’s son, driving drunk at 84 mph in a 65 mph zone and hitting two parked cars near Arrowhead Stadium. Six people were injured, including a 5-year-old girl who sustained a traumatic brain injury and went into a coma for 11 days. Horrendous stuff.

Maybe turmoil does weigh the Chiefs down a decade or so from now. Mahomes is simply too talented to let anything affect the on-field product.

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What two or three UDFAs are you keeping an eye on as we starting to contemplate training camps?

Austin Reed, QB, Bears: The Western Kentucky passer threw for 8,000+ yards and 71 touchdowns the last two years. Wouldn’t be a shock if he outperformed Tyson Bagent and Brett Rypien.

Blake Watson, RB, Broncos: There’s always a UDFA ball-carrier who works his way into your fantasy lineup as a rookie. Watson ran a 4.40 at his pro day after rushing for 1,152 yards and catching 53 balls for 480 yards his last year at Memphis. When Sean Payton won a Super Bowl in ’09, his two leading backs were a pair of undrafteds: Mike Bell (654 yards, five TDs) and Pierre Thomas (793 yards, six TDs). Not the No. 2 overall pick, Reggie Bush.

Dillon Johnson, RB, Titans: He’s slow on the stopwatch (4.68), but two-dollar-steak tough. Johnson gutted through a broken foot at Washington last season.

And a Blood and Guts bonus…

Messiah Swinson, TE, Packers: Production was low in college but he’s got an ideal tight end name and the rare size (6 foot 7, 259 pounds) worth developing for a year.

You called the Jared Goff contract. So how big is Love’s contract going to be by comparison?

Mark in Janesville, WI

GM Brian Gutekunst said he wants a deal done before training camp. Time, however, is on Jordan Love’s side. He benefits from all of these other quarterback deals getting done and probably wouldn’t mind if Miami (Tua Tagovailoa) and Jacksonville (Trevor Lawrence) opened up the checkbook. The Dallas Cowboys are a wild card. Jerry and Stephen Jones have bungled the Dak Prescott negotiation in comical fashion, so it’d be no shock if they now have no choice but to make him the richest player in the sport. Former agent Joel Corry, at CBS, believes $60 million per year is at play. This would give Love a prime opportunity to work into Joe Burrow’s $55M range.

Both Love and Tagovailoa are repped by Athletes First. Whoever signs first will likely serve as the floor for the second QB. Tagovailoa — fresh off of leading the NFL in passing — appeared frustrated with the state of negotiations on Tuesday. He said he’s “not concerned,” but admitted he’s “antsy,” said “the market is the market.” The video of his session with local reporters is worth watching. Loved his honesty. So many quarterbacks claim they can separate business from their day-to-day job. Tua admitted that’s not realistic.

The uniquess of Love’s rise complicates matters a bit, but that’s the route Green Bay chose to take at quarterback. It’s smart. More teams should draft QBs when they don’t need one. The only downside is you’re committing a lot of money to a player who hasn’t started many games. The Packers can’t hedge their bets with Love any longer. He worked his way into this market with a 4,159-yard, 32-touchdown season.

His left tackle went down. He lost both his No. 1 RB (Aaron Jones) and No. 1 WR (Christian Watson) for long stretches. The defense regressed and its coordinator was fired. I’d be surprised if Love didn’t ink a deal worth at least $50M per year and can’t see him signing for more than four years with new TV contracts on the horizon.  

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Hi Tyler,

Hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend. Enjoyed your interview with Latavius Murray and his journey in life and the NFL. What an outlier he is in a very good way. Here are a few questions for the mailbag. Love being a part of this community, thank you!

Seth in Avon, Conn.

A pleasure to meet you on the Alex Green Happy Hour, Seth. Loved your potpourri of questions, too.

Let’s take ‘em one by one again.

What team has the greatest potential to be a sleeper team this season?

The Los Angeles Chargers. Jim Harbaugh inherited a 5-12 team and bid farewell to the likes of Keenan Allen, Mike Williams and Austin Ekeler. But a.) Harbaugh has won everywhere he’s been; and b.) he’s wasting no time building an offense in his image. The Chargers want to slug opponents in the jaw, and that’s an intriguing counter to everyone else in the AFC.

In comes Greg Roman as OC. His play designs in the passing game have drawn sharp criticism — Willie Snead didn’t hold back in our chat two years ago. At the line of scrimmage, his blocking schemes are elite. Back on the Bills beat, Eric Wood and Richie Incognito used to rave about Roman’s X’s and O’s.

In comes Gus Edwards, a running back familiar with Roman’s scheme from their time in Baltimore. He’s fresh off an 810-yard, 13-touchdown season.

In comes right tackle Joe Alt, the fifth overall pick. Harbaugh called the choice of Alt — over the likes of Malik Nabers and Rome Odunze — a “unanimous decision.”

“I know the question is going to come up, ‘What about a weapon?’” Harbaugh told reporters after the pick. “Offensive linemen, we look at as weapons. That group, when we talk about attacking on offense, the offensive line is the tip of the spear.”

Such rhetoric would sure sound silly elsewhere. The Atlanta Falcons tried, and failed, to build a bully last season. The difference here is obvious: Justin Herbert. He’s one of the best pure quarterbacks in the league, and he’ll excel off a reliable rushing attack. He now has two top-15 picks protecting him at tackle. The receiving corps isn’t ideal. L.A. needs 2023 first-rounder Quentin Johnston to bounce back. This week, the wideout called his drops “unacceptable.” But keeping Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack around was smart. Derwin James is still only 27.

A 9-8 or 10-7 season is realistic with a jump into true contention by 2025.

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How much of an impact will the new kickoff rules have?

A major impact. Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans broke it down at length here in Houston on Tuesday.

Ryans sees a “3 on 3” game busting out on kickoffs. Should be fun, as long as this doesn’t reach cartoonish extreme.

His full response:

“It’s going to be new for everyone. I think the fans will see it. It’s going to be exciting. You’re going to actually get a kickoff. You’re going to get a play, and I think that was the biggest thing putting the kickoff back in. No more fair catch. So you’re going to force the returner to return the ball. The distance is shorter so guys aren’t picking up as much speed when it comes to the kickoff team. So those blocks are going to happen very quickly. It’s going to be in a short area so guys have to win with quickness. I think you’re going to see a lot of plays made on the edge on the kickoff return, where I’ve seen it where really it’s going to be a 3-on-3 type of game where you have three blockers and three defenders trying to make a play and if the returner is quick enough, fast enough, he probably splits. So you’ll see a lot of plays being made on the kickoff return team this year.”  

Do the Patriots have a structure, post-Belichick that will allow Drake Maye to be successful in the future?

Eliot Wolf officially taking over as GM is a good sign. Bill Belichick left the team as both the greatest coach of all-time and a horrible draft evaluator. Right now, this Patriots roster simply isn’t very good. But with time? With 2 to 3 drafts led by Wolf? I can see New England grinding its way back into the ring. Selfishly, it would’ve fun to see how Drake Maye developed with Brian Daboll in New York or Kevin O’Connell in Minnesota, especially with Justin Jefferson at wideout with the latter. But they did the right thing and took a quarterback. You never know when the opportunity presents itself again.

Maye is raw. Maye has flaws. But the potential upside is massive. In the conference of Mahomes and Burrow and Allen and Lamar, the Patriots couldn’t play it safe.

Can Deshaun Watson be an above-average QB again?

One more bad season and the Deshaun Watson trade will go down as the worst in NFL history. Feels like ages ago that he was prancing through defenses with ease. Ken Dorsey takes over as OC and he’ll push the ball down the field. It wasn’t perfect in Buffalo, but Josh Allen posted MVP-worthy numbers under Dorsey. The scheme was explosive. He’ll be bold as a playcaller and Amari Cooper, Jerry Jeudy, Elijah Moore and David Njoku are four legit receiving options.

The Browns still have one of the best offensive lines in football.

The defense is obviously elite and powered by the reigning defensive player of the year: Myles Garrett.  

Nick Chubb is somehow working his way back from a gruesome torn ACL and torn MCL injuries. He’s aiming for a 2024 return.

All a testament to GM Andrew Berry and head coach Kevin Stefanski, who both received deserved extensions this week. The fact that the Browns have built a contending roster in spite of the Watson deal is a modern team-building miracle.

There was no excuse for Watson in 2023, and there’s certainly no excuse in 2024. Expectations for the quarterback are different in Cleveland. He doesn’t need to be the magician he was in 2019 with this roster. Watson could perform at an “average” level and get the Browns to the playoffs. “Above average?” Until he proves he can stay healthy, until he performs, anybody making such proclamations is lying.

Watson appears to understand the stakes. He had his entire back tatted this offseason, and it includes an empty Super Bowl ring.

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What are you most excited for this season?

Ella’s summer soccer debut this July. We gave it a try last summer at 3 years old but the sight of a nearby playground proved far too distracting. Ella lasted 17 minutes one practice, roughly 23 the next and slipped into an early retirement.

But now, in the 4-5, she’s back.

Albeit with a promise of post-practice ice cream at Nick Charlap’s.

Hello Ty!

I hope the offseason is treating you well. 

The Lions offense has led them to newfound success. But to win it all — that felt weird to say — they have to improve what was a bottom-tier pass defense in 2023. How will DC Aaron Glenn deploy the new CBs that Brad Holmes acquired?

Thanks!

Tim in Arlington, Va.

Our resident Lions diehard. Welcome back. Cannot wait for your wellness checks inside the Gameday Chat this season.

Unlike the Dallas Cowboys, your Lions swiftly locked up their best players long term: Jared Goff (four years, $212 million), Penei Sewell (four years, $112 million), Amon-Ra St. Brown (four years, $120.01 million). Your point is spot on, though. It’s the defense that must elevate, specifically the secondary.

One year ago, Cam Sutton was signed to bring a calming presence. He was handpicked as a vet who knew how to win from his six seasons in Pittsburgh. Now, he’s gone. According to an affidavit, Sutton got into an argument at 4:45 a.m. on March 7 with a woman he’s been dating for seven years. They have three children. During this argument, per the affidavit, Sutton picked the woman up, slammed her into a wall and bit her neck, which left a “quarter-sized” abrasion that resulted in bleeding. Into the living room, Sutton pinned the woman down by her hair and struck her twice with his fist, the affidavit states, which led to a knot on her forehead.

Sutton signed with the Steelers. He spoke on Wednesday.

The Lions did the right thing in moving on from Sutton.

From Day 1, Dan Campbell has made it clear: If you don’t fit, you’re out.

Either way, a total result at cornerback was a must. The Lions could not afford a repeat of the NFC Championship Game. By then, they were down to Sutton and Kindle Vildor. The latter is a football survivor who deserves a roster spot. The Lions are his fourth team. But the fact that a player who had jumped p-squad to p-squad before signing in December was 1 on 1 with Brandon Aiyuk deep says everything we need to know about the Lions’ state of affairs in the secondary.

Campbell and Brad Holmes needed big change.

Carlton Davis arrives via trade. We got to know Davis down in Tampa, Fla., for this piece last summer. Easy to see why Campbell would covet the corner. He is hardcore. Then, on draft day, the Lions got arguably the best value in the first round by trading up to No. 24 overall for Alabama cornerback Terrion Arnold, the No. 1-rated corner in the class. Here’s how one scout described Arnold to McGinn: “Really, he’s just learning how to play the position. I don’t think there’s a downside. He checks so many boxes that don’t include his natural athleticism. He’s got leader written all over him.”

There will be growing pains. Davis gambles at the line of scrimmage. He wants to brawl with receivers and that can get him into trouble. As noted, Arnold’s still raw. Virtually all rookie corners struggle to some degree.Aaron Glenn needs his defensive backs humming in December and January — they’ll have time.

A pass rush is a must. Up front, adding DJ Reader should do wonders for Alim McNeill. The former Cincinnati Bengals hunk of granite who wants to crush linemen “over and over and over” should eat up blockers for the more nimble McNeill, the man who stared in the mirror. But Brian Branch, the versatile nickel back, may be the key to this whole defense, too. He’ll again roam to various spots on the field. He hasn’t practiced this spring due to offseason leg surgery, but is expected back by training camp.

Chatted with Will Anderson Jr. in Houston, the defensive end brought up Branch’s name unsolicited. He said Nick Saban was especially hard on Branch throughout their time in ‘Bama. For good reason. Saban knew very early that Branch could be special.

As a rookie, Branch finished with 74 tackles (50 solo), 13 pass breakups, three picks, one forced fumble, seven TFLs and three QB hits. He has All-Pro ability.

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How do you see Keon Coleman, who appears hard-working and committed, but also outspoken and lighthearted, meshing with McDermott who... umm... does not.  What are the expectations there — do you see him as a future mainstay WR1 for this team?

Mark

Will be at Bills minicamp next week so should get a better sense of the team’s state of affairs at wide receiver then.

Post-Stefon Diggs, one worry was if the Buffalo Bills would go the choir-boy direction at a position that demands hellraisers. The marriage might’ve reached a point of no return but any team interested in winning championships must be open to developing relationships with eccentric receivers. The best of the best are often vulgar, loud, strange, colorful to some degree and — back to 2020 — Diggs was everything the Bills needed: a hyper-intense competitor who’d force those around him to attack the profession with the same intensity.

Keon Coleman brings his own unique personality to the room. He is social-media gold and seems to be a lovable, goofy, big kid — much like his quarterback. Everything always boils down to performance. Personalities could match. Either way, Coleman will forever be compared to that entire group of wide receivers the Bills could’ve drafted at their original pick. Time will tell if he’s able to mesh with Sean McDermott. The head coach has shown a willingness to grow in other areas, such as believing in his players on fourth down and letting Josh be Josh. Relating to his best players is a must.

Expect the passing game to flow through tight end Dalton Kincaid with Buffalo taking the committee approach at receiver. It can work. But there won’t be much of a grace period for Coleman.

It seems like every young’ish sports writer I come across, at least Packers-related, is from Syracuse — what’s up with that program?

Norm in Falls Church, Va.

Good day, Norm. Will never turn down an opportunity to relive the college days. When I left the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2015 to head home to Western New York and cover the Bills at the Buffalo News, excellent JS sports editor, Mike Davis, asked for recommendations on a beat replacement and I eagerly supplied a #BioBlast on Michael Cohen. At Cuse, Mike was a freshman my senior year. His doggedness stood out immediately. Mike was unafraid explore uncomfortable subjects at a young age.

Newhouse’s reputation at Syracuse is sterling for good reason. And more specifically, all of us would bang the table for The Daily Orange. We all covered various beats at the D.O. throughout college. After attempting to extend my own football career at St. John Fisher College as a freshman, I transferred to Syracuse as a sophomore and started at the D.O. covering swimming and diving, then men’s lacrosse, then football, then men’s basketball.

The Daily Orange is completely independent from the university. We didn’t receive one penny of funding from the school, which I believe helped install a true journalistic core. We had full autonomy to think with a clear mind. It was a grind. Editors often stayed at 744 Ostrom until 4 a.m. putting out the paper. On the beat, we’d travel to all road games. Keeping the GPA above a 3.0 for Mom and Dad often felt like pulling off a triple axel on no sleep. But, man. That place was something special. Upperclassmen editors sat down with every writer on every story for a solid half-hour. Line to line, we pushed each other to get better. While it may seem like a lot of us landed on that Packers beat — Matt Schneidman took over for Cohen — everyone’s scattered across various sports.

My pal Andy McCullough is the best baseball writer the country. Everyone should buy his book on Clayton Kershaw. Conor Orr kicks ass at Sports Illustrated. Zach Berman is your go-to man on the Philadelphia Eagles, and just announced a book of his own. Jared Diamond thinks outside the box at the Wall Street Journal. Matt “EZE” Ehalt is doing his thing at the New York Post. For the college hoops fans, Kyle Austin covers the Michigan State Spartans. There’s a good chance you’ve heard Mark Medina breaking down the NBA. Matt Gelb is all over the Philadelphia Phillies. Zach Schonbrun, author of The Performance Cortex, recently took his talents to Substack.

Loved that building. Loved that competitive environment. Maybe all of us wind up covering sports wherever we would’ve attended college, but the D.O. was such a perfect training ground.

It was fun taking down those punks at WAER Radio in “Media Cup,” too.

Read Part II right here

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ICYMI: