Summary of Nine players who can change their teams DNA

Overview of The Athletic Football Show: Nine players who can change their teams’ DNA

Dave Helman and Derek Klassen preview a “DNA Changers” exercise for the upcoming NFL season: players who can alter how their teams look, feel, and function on either side of the ball. The discussion blends scheme fit, roster construction, and player value, with the big idea being that one player can force a team to play a different style — whether that means more man coverage, more explosive offense, or a more physical front.

NFL contract news and market context

Before getting into the player list, they react to two major extensions:

• Bijan Robinson signed a 3-year extension worth up to $75 million, making him the league’s top-paid running back on a per-year basis.
• Zay Flowers got a 4-year, $140 million extension in Baltimore, sparking a broader conversation about the receiver market.

Key takeaways from that discussion

• The receiver market is becoming so inflated that the next good WR to get paid can look expensive by default.
• Flowers is productive enough to justify the deal, especially because Baltimore got it done early and his extension doesn’t kick in for two more years.
• They see Bijan’s deal as evidence that truly elite running backs may be getting closer to the top-end value of mid-tier WR1/WR2 types.

The nine “DNA changers”

Jauan Jennings — Minnesota Vikings

• Jennings gives Minnesota a bigger, more versatile WR3 than they’ve had recently.
• Unlike prior depth receivers, he can function outside, in the slot, or isolated on the backside of concepts.
• His presence should let Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison move around more and open up the offense.
• The big-picture idea: Jennings adds a credible, physical third option who makes the whole structure more flexible.

Tariq Woolen — Philadelphia Eagles

• Woolen changes the Eagles’ defense because he gives them a legitimate boundary corner after last year’s issues at CB2.
• His arrival should stabilize the secondary and let Cooper DeJean stay in the slot more consistently.
• That, in turn, allows Philadelphia to lean into more man coverage and match concepts with confidence.
• The Eagles’ defense could feel significantly different simply because they no longer have to protect a weak corner spot.

Osa Odighizuwa — San Francisco 49ers

• Odighizuwa brings the interior disruption San Francisco has been missing since the DeForest Buckner era.
• He gives the 49ers a player who can penetrate, wreck run fits, and create chaos up front.
• That kind of interior push helps the whole defense: Fred Warner, the safeties, and the edge rushers all benefit.
• The hope is that he helps restore the 49ers’ “scary front” identity.

Sauce Gardner — Indianapolis Colts

• They revisit Sauce in a more optimistic light, since last year’s trade didn’t get a clean runway because of injuries and chaos around the Colts.
• Gardner, paired with Charvarius Ward if healthy, could give Indianapolis one of the league’s best corner tandems.
• That setup would let Lou Anarumo play more aggressive, man-heavy coverage and get creative with pressures.
• The team’s defensive ceiling depends heavily on whether those elite corners can allow the scheme to open up.

Draymond Jones — New England Patriots

• Jones is viewed as the type of defender who reflects Mike Vrabel’s identity: physical, nasty, and disruptive.
• He can play over guards, inside, or on the edge in certain packages, which gives New England more flexibility than they had before.
• The Patriots are trying to create more chaos up front, and Jones fits that perfectly.
• They compare his role to a “trash can with barbed wire” — the kind of player who changes the tone of a front.

Jalen Waddle — Denver Broncos

• This is the most obvious “the offense just gets better because the player is awesome” pick.
• Denver’s offense was efficient last year but lacked true explosiveness.
• Waddle fixes that immediately by giving them a receiver who turns routine touches into chunk plays.
• He fits what the Broncos already do, but he does it at a much higher level than their current complementary speed options.

Reggie Gilliam — New England Patriots

• Another Patriots pick, but this time it’s about the importance of the fullback position in that offense.
• Gilliam is seen as a much better fit than the player they tried there last year because he can actually move defenders and lead-block with force.
• Under Josh McDaniels, a true fullback can unlock the run game and help the offense function more smoothly.
• They connect this to Drake Maye, Rhamondre Stevenson, and TreVeyon Henderson as beneficiaries.

Carnell Tate — Tennessee Titans

• Tate is framed as a strong fit for Cam Ward because he can be a dependable outside target and a complete receiver.
• He adds consistency to a Titans pass-catching group that lacked it.
• His value goes beyond just being a downfield winner: he can block, play inside or outside, and handle a full route tree.
• The Titans look much more viable if Tate is immediately their most trustworthy receiver.

T’Vondre Sweat — New York Jets

• Sweat is highlighted as a run-defense fixer for a Jets unit that was awful on first down last year.
• His size and role should help them stop bleeding yardage early in drives.
• That matters because it allows Aaron Glenn to call the defense more aggressively and get into more favorable situations.
• Even if the Jets aren’t elite, Sweat could help them become a much more respectable defense.

Main themes and takeaways

Two kinds of “DNA changers”

The hosts separate the concept into two categories:

1. Scheme-shifters
   Players who let coaches call different coverages, fronts, or formations.

2. Impact stars
   Players whose talent alone changes the offense or defense around them.

Bigger point about roster building

• The show repeatedly suggests that one elite player can radically alter how a team is constructed on game day.
• For several teams, the key is not just talent, but whether that talent allows the coordinator to access a different version of the playbook.

Final thought

This episode is really a training-camp style roster exercise: not just “who is good,” but “who changes what this team can be?” The answer, in their view, comes from a mix of star power, role fit, and one player forcing the rest of the unit to look different.