Danny Heifetz
Appearances
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Tyler Warren is a huge mistake. That's a massive mistake. I'm prepared for anything. It's scarcity though. It's such a deep tight end draft. It's similar to Ashton Gentry and running back. I think Ashton Gentry is a better running back prospect than Tyler Warren is a tight end. But the way I look at it is as the team, as a Giants fan, they took Saquon Barkley number two.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
They could have had like Nick Chubb with the 35th pick. As you notice, Saquon didn't help the Giants, did he? And I look at it as why would you want Ashton Gentry with a top 10 pick when you can get all these other running backs, maybe in the third, maybe the fourth round. There's so many available. There are so many tight ends that can help you in the third round.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
But there's so many defensive tackles and defensive ends where I'm like, you can't get those.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I just, I look at the Darnold thing. It reminds me of, I remember when I was a kid, there were all these like toy commercials and they would like have these trucks and planes and they all look so sick in the commercial. Like, oh my God, there's like dirt everywhere. And then like the toy would come and I'd open and be like, This isn't really as cool as it was in the commercial.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And I think that's kind of how the Sam Darnold experience is going to go in Seattle. I think he's probably the new version of exactly what your surroundings are. He's a reflection of the coaching and surrounding talent. The Vikings had Justin Jefferson, who's the best receiver in the league. Jordan Addison is a first round pick. TJ Hawkinson recovered from injury, but he's a first round tight end.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Kevin O'Connell, a top five play caller, quarterback guru in the NFL and a solid offensive line. ish, average, slightly below average, scheme made the offensive line better in Minnesota. Seahawks have, they're a draft and develop team that cannot develop offensive linemen, which is kind of their whole problem. So you have one of the worst offensive lines in the league.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Jackson Smith and Jigba, I feel like is going to be like the Chris Olave for Clint Kubiak. And then again, as DK said, nobody at receiver. So I think Sam Darnold will probably reflect how the Seahawks are just a worse version of Minnesota. Like they're not as good. And so I look at this as the money is fine. The money is actually very reasonable contract.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
But overall, I just look at this as I think it's a mix of you wanted to get younger, which is weird because Gino Smith, the youngest 34 year old in the NFL and Sam.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, Sam Darnold's played more games in the last 10 years than Geno has. So Sam Darnold's 27, but this is his 15, so he's the oldest 27-year-old, so it's kind of weird. But overall, I just look at it as they probably got worse and there's a vision here, but the reality is this is a huge risk.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And also, I just think there's a defensive coach element here of just sometimes when Geno throws so many picks, it's kind of like you want that to be on the coach's terms sometimes, and I just, I don't know, sometimes I wonder if they just want someone who'll just listen to what you're going to tell them to do. And that's Sam Darnold?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I think so. Yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I would. I mean, if you look at the demand, I mean, I know they're not paying left tackles as much as defensive ends, but I mean, I think it is. I mean, you look at the Eagles. I mean, for all we make fun of Nick Sirianni, Jeff Stoutland, who's the offensive line run game coordinator there is, I mean, if he disappeared, I think the whole thing would collapse.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
He's the MVP of the team because you look and they're like, Jordan, my lot. I'd never played football. He's like a top five right tackle. You take McKay Becton. The Jets couldn't do anything with him. He starts for the on the offensive line today. The Eagles traded for Kenyon Green, the Texans guard, who's a first round pick, who's been unplayable for them. Guess what?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
but the Eagles are going to fix him. And so what you have is to your point about the offensive line thing, we've gone from this program era football to playbooks. It's like they used to have, Brady's talked about this, like Michigan was a program. You'd be with your NFL team as a program. And now it's playbooks, all these kids, high school, college, everything's different.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The game's more spread out as DK said, but also it's, You're not teaching as many fundamentals. The game itself has changed. You get to the NFL, they're half as prepared and you get half the time used to practice with. So they're just not developing it. So the handful of remaining coaches who can develop the skills, overwhelming advantage to those teams.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
That's one of the secret reasons the Eagles have been so good is they're just become an offensive line factory because one of the few teams that can coach guys up. So now left tackles, there's so much demand. They're like egg prices. You're looking, you're like $9 for eggs. I'm like 20. Dan Moore Jr. is getting more money than Lane Johnson.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Every respect? I think that's fair to say, yeah. Here's my issue. Anchorman 2, is that the one where he had the shark...
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
in the lighthouse scene what I didn't like is that scene where he's pretending that's the same scene as Talladega Nights where he has the knife in his leg it's just the same scene but there's a shark instead of a knife I haven't seen Anchorman 2 since it came out I saw it and I let it sit there but Ghost of Stonewall Jackson is good
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
They should have made the original pitch for Anchorman. Wasn't it just the original pitch was just a plane crash in a mountain and the plane just had scorpions and throwing knives? They should have just made that the second movie.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Craig, do this.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, there's a plan. They're like everyone else. Honestly, Bill, I'm stunned by this. I feel like you victory lapping winning free agency feels like the final death throw of the Patriots dynasty. Like, I cannot believe literally, literally Belichick used to laugh at the teams that would spend all this money on day one. He wouldn't be in Cape Cod.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
He wouldn't be at the facility on the first day of free agency. Right. And honestly, it actually I actually felt a little bad for the Patriots that you were so excited about.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
No, I think that... Look, generally speaking, these kind of handing out all this money doesn't work, generally speaking. Like, again, most free agency is just a collection of players that teams saw these guys day in, day out for five years and were like, eh, I'm good. You can leave. And so you've got to find the gems. I will say, I do like...
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
when teams do what Vrabel did, where you're like, Vrabel is a culture coach. And when a culture coach has a right to bring in his guys. So Harold Landry, not been the same since the ACL, but that's a Titans guy. Robert Spillane started for the Titans. Robert Spillane's the ultimate. Like if you watch the Raiders games, he's everywhere.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Any game Robert Spillane plays, you're like, damn, he's everywhere.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
That's what he was like all last year. And Carlton, I actually think Carlton Davis is great. I mean, he broke his jaw. But I think, honestly, what Carlton Davis does for his cornerback, he was in the Bucs for a long time and then the Lions. Carlton Davis lets you play man coverage.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Better, right? That's usually how it goes. I think the Davis thing's huge because you can play man coverage now. Very few teams have the cornerbacks to play man coverage. I think that flexibility is awesome. I think the cult... You're overpaying for culture. Frankly, I think that having all this money reflects how little players you've drafted recently worthy of extending.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Milt Williams, honestly... Milton Williams, $26 million a year. He played 25 snaps in the Super Bowl. He gave him $26 million. He's a rotational player. I don't think he's being paired with Christian Barmore. If anything, I think Christian Barmore, the blood clots, I don't know what's happening with his career. If anything, I think that that might kind of come out after the draft.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I don't know what's going on there. Overall, I think it's okay to just pay a ton of money to bootstrap yourself back to being competitive, which is what I think this is. But also... Rarely does it work where you're spending all this money in free agency and everything's fixed. But honestly, the Patriots roster was so barren that they do need to just do something.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
But overall, you kind of look at these deals in two years and suddenly two years later, you're like, oh, well, if we cut Milton Williams, we could save like $16 million. That's generally how it goes.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Honestly, if the Giants sign Aaron Rodgers after watching what just happened with the Jets, it reminds me of how the Giants watched Jason Garrett for 10 years and then hired Jason Garrett, where I'm almost like we almost deserve it. But I just... I don't want this person in my life for the next year. Like, let's be honest. But yeah, it makes sense in the sense that, well, we're desperate.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The quarterback the Chargers got had more catches than the receiver the Patriots got, which is the summary of the deal.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
We got nothing else going on. One, when does that work? Two... Honestly, imagine for a second the Giants actually get Aaron Rodgers and like make the wildcard round the division around and win a playoff game. Yeah. Nothing but all the other ways that this could go wrong with Malik neighbors wanting out and the whole thing being a mess. And I just I just know that this is going to go terribly.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Go ahead, Heifetz. I mean, Justin Fields was born to be a New York Jet. He's been practicing for this his entire life. He was bathed in the light of the New York Jets. I cannot think of a more Jetsy Jet that hasn't been a Jet yet. It reminds me, critical factors to being a Jet.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
slightly famous enough that people know your name, exciting enough that when fans pull up your highlight reel, they're going to talk themselves into it, and going to have moments where there's a Jets fans who don't want to be in are going to get reeled in. However, you also have to be bad enough where you know start to finish the entire time it has no chance of working.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And that is Justin Fields to a T. That was Le'Veon Bell. I mean, that was like Braylon Edwards. There were all these Jets free agents in the past that you're like, there was no chance this was ever going to work. And you feel stupid for ever talking yourself into it. But they did talk you into it. Justin Fields is like the epitome of it.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And I can't believe I didn't see this coming in advance because Justin Fields, he was honestly born for this.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The problem is you never know. You never know. Last year, Bryce Young outplayed C.J. Stroud. If I had told you that at the end of September, you would have laughed me out of the room if you thought that's how the rest of the year would go. You never know.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And the idea that everyone's just like, oh, we'll take a chance with Aaron Rodgers because we get fired if it doesn't work. Like, I hate this team enough. Why do we need to make them hate me? Why? Why? Why do I need to hate them even more than I already do?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Literally, Tony Khan, the son of the owner of the Jags, showed up, I think last year's draft, was it, where he had the neck brace from whatever they were doing at AEW?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, which is a good summation of how the Jags are run. But yeah, giving Diami Brown $10 million, he doesn't have 800 receiving yards in his entire career. But I just keep thinking about when we were at the NFL combine in Indianapolis, I went to the press conference for the new GM of the Jaguars. It said Jaguars GM TBD on the list because they had just hired him like four days earlier.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And then like this Jaguars PR staffer comes up and adjust the mic and then just starts talking. And I was like, oh, my God, this guy's the Jags GM. He's 34 years old. We called him Doogie Howser because he just looks like a child is running this team. And then you look what they're doing.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And I'm like, well, either Trent Balky, they just used all his homework that he had collected or it's an actual child running the team because nothing they've done makes makes very much sense.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The Jordan Lewis contract was the worst contract anyone's given out for agency so far. He's a 30-year-old cornerback who is It's a 30-year-old slot. 30-year-old cornerbacks don't get paid guaranteed money, and slot cornerbacks don't get a ton of money. Jordan Lewis, I believe the Cowboys gave him $2.5 million last year. He's getting $10 million. He got $20 million guaranteed, $30 million overall.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I actually don't know if he would have gotten $5 million from another team. It's actually an inexplicable contract to give him $20 million guaranteed when he's basically the oldest cornerback we've signed so far.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Miles Garrett was the closest I thought anyone would come and that he took the money. But I will say Joe Burrow, imagine being Joe Burrow and spending the whole year just campaigning. I'm like, pay Jamar Chase, pay T. Higgins, pay my guys. And then you get the he gets the notification on his phone and it says Bengals sign Mike Kosicki to $24 million. And he's like, what?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Like, I can't even imagine being burrowed that moment.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I'm surprised there was no show. Wasn't great. Yeah. I'm surprised there was no wedding crashers, which team shit in the middle of the street.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
We do have a wedding thing.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The same thing's actually not as complicated. It's kind of complicated, but the simplest way, the NFL teams, when you hit the, hit the cap, you, it's very easy to get there because you can just change the contracts. Cause anytime you like Williams, Oh, five-year deal. It's a three-year it's two-year deal. And there's three team options. That's why you don't hear the team option language in the NFL.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
They're all team options. So you can just decline the team option, which is called cutting the guys, and you get under the cap. The NBA, that's not how it works, right? Because they're guaranteed contracts.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, and that's your Picasso, the trade machine. You move it like Tetris pieces. The Saints have created an NBA situation for themselves in the NFL where they can't get rid of any of their players. So they have to trade it like Tetris pieces, like an NBA team, because they're stuck with everyone.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And the biggest one they have is Derek Carr, because they're just frankly going about this like it's like a late night on Bourbon Street and they don't want the night to end. So now they have to work with Derek Carr, who they don't like. Derek Carr doesn't really like them. And they're stuck together because they can't move his deal.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
So the only thing they could do is keep pushing it down the road because they can't get rid of him and no one wants to work with him.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I think they've had a nice wholesome off season.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Probably Rodgers because he's just going to get hurt and then... then you're going to go back to Russell Wilson or something. No, I think... I actually kind of... I actually like the Metcalf move.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
That's it? You're just saying you're like it? You have no evidence? Anything? I like Metcalf for the Steelers. I think Pickens is crazy. Like, my rule of thumb is if Mike Tallman gives up on a receiver that he can't handle, there's a reason. Like, Antonio Brown, when they give up, useless. Deontay Johnson's been on three teams since the Steelers got rid of him.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
If Mike Tallman's like, I don't want to get rid of Pickens, Pickens is useless. And so I actually think, to your point, I don't think they're going to pay Pickens. I think they got Metcalf because they know Pickens is out. And I think they're going to get rid of him.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
And then at that point, I look at the Seahawks-Steelers things as related as two midlife crisis teams that are going about it different ways. The Steelers went and got a sports car and the Seahawks kind of just shaved their head and were like, you know what? I'm just going to like, this is the new... They lost weight.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, exactly.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, exactly.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
It's the perfect example. Stefania Bell actually wrote a lot about this at ESPN, but basically it's just, honestly, it's funny. Adrian Peterson came back from the ACL and ran for 2,000 yards and everyone talks about that. Hasn't happened since. He's the outlier. Yeah, but everyone else, like in Saquon's obviously also a crazy, like freak athlete.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
people always come back aren't the same and the people are like oh I'm out and then the next year they're gay like my a fantasy sleeper I'll tell you about in August T.J. Hawkinson he looked great in the second half of December because he was coming back from the ACL T.J.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Hawkinson is my favorite tight-ended fantasy this year because he's fully back so with Godwin the Patriots offered him more I think he turned it down. They wanted to rehab with the same people, which I think makes sense. I think that I agree. Actually, I thought the sticker shock was kind of crazy for some of the injury, but that's one of the situations to remember with all these.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The Bucs know about the injury better than everyone. So if the Bucs are willing to give them the money, I think it means that the Bucs aren't as worried about it. If the Bucs worried about it, then that would be bad.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Maybe that's the argument for Rodgers to the Giants. He's like an enema for the franchise. He just cleans everything out. Yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Also, Dayami Brown got $10 million. I'll give Chris Godwin a little over $20 million. Tutu Atwell got $10 million.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I liked it. I think it's just one for, it's one for 23. And then I think they could get out of it with like 6 million dead money in 2026. So it's like whatever, but it's really a one-year deal for 26 million. And I think they look at it as, Wow. Our defense is really young, really cheap, really good. What if we just win the Super Bowl this year?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Because Devante is that like stagnant X outside receiver that the Rams offense kind of needs now because the first version of it was like Robert Woods and Cooper Cup. And then the next version of it was like Brandon Cooks as the X receiver makes everything else works. But you need a reliable X, like an actual true threat as the outside receiver.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Brandon Cooks, they almost won the Super Bowl over your Patriots. When Odell was there, they got to the Super Bowl and won it with the Bengals. He got hurt mid-game. The whole thing changed. Like, Devontae is in that role now. So I think this is just, you know what? You have all this cap money. Devontae is the closest of all these old receivers to his peak form.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I'm not saying his peak, but he's closer than Cooper Cup or these guys. Let's just, like, make one last run trying to weave together the old and the new. Kind of like the Warriors, where you have all these young guys, all these old guys. They have the old core of Stafford, kids Stafford. keep like Rob Havenstein and like moving on from Cup and like Devonta.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Honestly, yes, actually.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Nine years, I know all my letters.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, I think that's definitely true. Also, wait, picking a pickup basketball. Bill, we're on the street. Are you going to un-retire?
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Oh!
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
If it's or no, no, because I think there are a few quarterbacks no one talks about as they were never the same after the injury, but they don't get put in that bucket. Daniel Jones was never the same. He had this neck injury, spinal injury, and he lost his deep touch after that. And it was never the same. Like he used to be really aggressive in 2019. He had this neck injury.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Carson Wentz was never the same after the ACL. Mariota had a nerve injury in his arm. Like we never talk about him that way. To Craig's point, though, just have to say a ton of things. Anthony Richardson does way better than Daniel Jones. I don't think... Daniel Jones, I'm not kidding. There's a point that he literally couldn't throw it further than his two receivers.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Kadarius Toney can throw the football further than Daniel Jones can.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, he can just overthrow his guys by 20 yards. They're like... It's like they're like...
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Is he blaming Kevin? It ran up on the sidewalk.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I like it. Well, Josh, Josh squared is really good. I like that. Cause now we're going to have JJ to JJ and Josh to Josh. Yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
A lot of J's, but I mean, overall, I think that's like a peak underrated receiver room of like Khalil Shakir and Josh Palmer and Keon Coleman. I think that's going to be like the indie receiver room. Everyone's going to be like, Oh yeah.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
What percentage of your love for Josh Palmer is because three years ago, I was like, I, Josh Palmer will never do anything in the NFL.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah. Mostly because I didn't like him.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Oh, yeah. I would say like 80%.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Anything to add, Heifetz? I think the Dolphins are built, frankly, like a Miami cocaine bender. It's all just speed and cool shit. It's just Tyreek Hill and Jalen Waddle and speed and cornerbacks. They haven't eaten food in three days. There's no good guards or defensive tackles. They just have no protein. Now it's just like they've been awake too long and they're kind of getting paranoid.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I have the same one. That one, I don't understand what was going on there. D.J. Reid outplayed Sauce Gardner last year for the Jets. Like, D.J. Reid was just straight up better. And then you look at the Jets bringing in, I think, Brandon Stevens for like $12 million a year. I'm like, just give D.J. Reid $16 million in a world where Carlton gave us $20 million.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Again, Jordan went to the Jaguars, Jordan Lewis, for $10 million a year. I'm like, D.J. Reid's $16 million. He's actually good. So I think that for the way Detroit wants to play defense, I think most of the signings in the first day of free agency are...
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
you look back and you're like, eh, that's the one where I think you could look back and be like, oh my God, if Detroit's making it the NFC championship game again, I think that could be the difference.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Enema of the Empire State.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I yeah no I think this is bad for the Niners I mean again Brock Purdy was making about as much per year almost as Dak Prescott made per quarter and now Brock Purdy is going to make as much as Dak Prescott a year probably somewhere between 50 and 60 million dollars a year and this is the cost it's the eight guys I'm a big believer that actually Kyle Shannon's on the Andy Reid timeline very similar offensive wizard don't know about the game management getting good enough that you're getting far enough to be criticized for not being the big one kind of like LeBron early where it's like
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Andy Reid, four championship games in a row, wasn't the guy. And Andy Reid had to go to another team. I kind of wonder if Kyle Shanahan is going to be just as good of a coach as people thought, but he's going to need to do another organization because I don't like where this is going. I don't know how much longer John Lynch is going to be in that GM spot. And I think that
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I mean, this is the the guys losing are just a good draft class. And I don't know what happens as these draft classes thin out, how this team is going to age. I think, frankly, like all these guys are so competitive and locked in. And when you get that close, the idea of rebuilding on the fly, it's like emotionally very challenging.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
So I am very pessimistic where the Niners are going the next few years.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah. I think Kyle Shanahan might win a Super Bowl, but with a different team. He needs a reset.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
right right right I will say I didn't say coaching jobs if Shanahan was available Bill what is the right because you talked about how like the real market price for Kobe was like 75 million one year because they were just paying they could have saved 50 million to cut him and like the real price what should the Giants pay Kyle Shanahan in theory like you could tell me he's worth 60 million dollars a year and I'd be like okay it's not my money is it weird that I don't rate him as highly as some of the others you've never been on him
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
You can argue Shanahan hasn't either. I will say this. I think that Shanahan's been winning in the fourth quarter in the Super Bowl, three of the last 10 Super Bowls, and the Steelers haven't won a playoff game in that time.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Aaron Rodgers sweepstakes.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Don't.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Well, probably Tyler Warren and then you trade back up into the first round, get Colson Loveland from Michigan, get four first round tight ends. Four tight ends. No one's ever done that.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Yeah, just make the whole thing out of Taysom Hills. I don't know. No, I agree, though. I think the Raiders, I kind of thought Shadur was going to go to the Raiders, but now that Geno Smith, I don't think Shadur would go there.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
Definitely. I mean, to be clear, I don't think any of the quarterbacks in free agency are crossing off any of these teams for the draft because Rogers is like 41. Gino is, you know, we keep joking. He's either 34, almost 35, depending whether you like the deal or not. You know, Justin Fields, 20 million bucks. Darnold. I don't think any of these.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I mean, Darnold's the only one that I think a team wouldn't take a quarterback if they still like the guy. But I agree. I think the Giants with Shadur, they totally could do it. They're desperate. They need a quarterback. I also think the big thing with the Shadur in the draft is Dion. Dion is, I mean, it's not a conspiracy theory.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
He's out on the record saying he's going to do the Arch Manning thing. He's going to, I always get confused Arch Archie because the old one is the one that goes by Archie. But Archie Manning's, just like he guided Eli to the Giants. I mean, Shadur Sanders is not going to the Cleveland Browns. Deion's not letting him go to Cleveland. So I think the teams are basically the Giants.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I think that... I mean, Shadur is obsessed with Tom Brady. That's the interesting part to me. Shadur had an NIL deal, I believe, with TB12. Like, Shadur mentioned Brady at his podium at the Combine. Like, four different questions. Tom Brady came up. They've known each other for years. And so... I wouldn't be shocked there.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
The Saints might just take a quarterback solely because they just don't have another path to replace Derek Carr if they don't. But I'm not really sure. I think Dion is like totally the X factor in this draft.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I mean, I think Armand Membu. I don't know if that's shocking or not, but I think that the Patriots, I mean, if the Patriots are sitting there and like, let's just say Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter are gone, then at this point, it's kind of like you're going defensive line, offensive line, maybe. And I think the teams are going to have really different grades in this draft.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
I think that styles fits. This is a big draft. I think we're just There's like a Rorschach test on a lot of players that think that it's kind of like, you know, a beauty's in the eye of the beholder. So I think that you're going to have a lot of different positional rankings around team to team on how they look at some of these pass rushers, the interior guys, the offensive linemen.
The Bill Simmons Podcast
The 2025 NFL Free Agency Awards With Danny Heifetz, Craig Horlbeck, and Danny Kelly
So, I mean, a lot of teams might have very different offensive tackle stacks and different edge rusher stacks. So I wouldn't be shocked if the Patriots just go with, I don't know, Jalen Walker. So one of the Georgia guys that we don't know which guys, you know, Mike Vrabel is going to prefer. So it might be like really surprising top five.