Overview of The Athletic Football Show
This offseason mailbag episode is a wide-ranging, high-level NFL nerd session: the hosts dig into historical players they’d love to study with modern film/tools, the real value of “mauler” offensive line prospects, the next wave of head-coaching candidates, whether a division can realistically house multiple MVP-level quarterbacks, and a fun all-division roster-building exercise that tries to identify the best unit by position group.
Historical Players Worth Studying With Modern Tools
The group started with a “pre-HGTV era” question: which old-school players would be most fun to evaluate with today’s All-22, analytics, and broadcast access?
The main answers
- Dan Marino was the clearest favorite for Robert and others.
- Especially interesting: what his 1980s game actually looked like on film, and how he managed to play at such a high level in that era.
- Deacon Jones came up as a must-see historical edge rusher.
- The hosts wanted to understand just how dominant he looked given that he helped define the term “sack.”
- Night Train Lane was another name mentioned for the same reason: extreme production in a very different football era.
- Ed Reed was also a big one.
- The appeal was seeing his ball-hawking and route recognition from the modern All-22 perspective.
Takeaway
The hosts are fascinated by how elite historical players would translate visually and analytically with today’s access, and they hinted they may do some kind of related offseason content.
Offensive Line Prospects: Run Blockers vs. Pass Protectors
A listener asked why NFL teams still seem to value dominant run blockers so highly in a pass-heavy league, and whether teams still prefer the “mauler” archetype over polished pass protectors.
The core debate
- Derek’s view: It depends heavily on the team and the player.
- The line between archetypes is blurrier than it seems:
- Strong run blockers often show the explosiveness and coordination that also project well in pass protection.
- Good pass protectors still need baseline power, anchor, and athletic traits.
- Robert’s point: If a prospect can really move people in the run game, that often signals overall explosiveness.
- Dave’s point: Teams love maulers because they are easier to project as competitive, violent players who “play to the whistle.”
What teams are prioritizing in 2026
- Teams still value power, anchor, and explosiveness.
- But they’re also very willing to bet on:
- length
- movement skills
- reflexes
- pass-protection upside
- The hosts agreed that the best way to think about this is often in the 2nd–4th round range, where teams are choosing which traits they’re willing to bet on.
Bottom line
There isn’t a simple “run blocker vs. pass protector” answer. NFL teams still want both, but they especially like players whose physical traits suggest they can become complete offensive linemen.
Next Hot Head-Coaching Candidates
The crew then discussed who could be on the rise as the next wave of NFL head-coaching candidates, especially young offensive minds.
Offensive names to watch
- Nate Scheelhaase (Rams)
- Clayton Adams (Dallas)
- Davis Webb (Denver), now in a play-calling role
- Declan Doyle
- Grant Udinski
- Dan Pitcher (Bengals)
- Brad Idzik
- Tommy Rees
Defensive names to watch
- Jim Leonard
- Christian Parker
- Anthony Campanile
- Jeff Ulbrich
- Anthony Weaver
Key point
A lot of the next head coaches may not be obvious because many still haven’t been full-time play callers yet. The hosts emphasized that:
- some young coordinators are valuable even without play-calling duties,
- being an OC is still a major leadership test,
- and the best candidates will combine football ideas with management and interpersonal skills.
Can One Division Have Three MVP-Caliber Quarterbacks?
A listener asked whether a division can realistically sustain three MVP-level quarterbacks at once, and whether a team like the Browns or Jets could still thrive if they draft well but are stuck in a brutal division.
The answer: yes, it can happen
- Derek pointed to the NFC South as the clearest example:
- Matt Ryan
- Cam Newton
- Drew Brees
- The hosts agreed that nothing in the rules prevents it; it’s just rare because there are only so many true MVP-level quarterbacks.
Bigger takeaway
- A team does not need its quarterback to be an annual MVP candidate for the pick to be a success.
- The real goal is to draft a quarterback who:
- is good enough to give the team a chance,
- stabilizes the franchise,
- and creates a real path to winning.
Examples used
- Matthew Stafford: absolutely worth the pick even if the team success didn’t fully match his individual value.
- Josh Allen / Patrick Mahomes / Joe Burrow: even elite quarterbacks still face injury, roster, and luck variables.
- Caleb Williams, Jordan Love, C.J. Stroud: examples of quarterbacks where “good enough to win” is already a major upgrade.
Divisional Roster-Building Exercise: Best Unit by Position
A long segment of the episode was devoted to a fun roster-building exercise: assign one NFL division to each position group and build the strongest overall team.
The biggest consensus picks
- Quarterback: NFC North was the consensus “floor” answer
- The division’s QB group was viewed as the safest overall bet.
- Wide receivers / tight ends: NFC North was the clear winner
- Justin Jefferson, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Rome Odunze, Sam LaPorta, Tucker Kraft, and more made this the strongest pass-catching division.
- Cornerback: AFC South was the clearest answer
- The depth and quality across the division made it hard to beat.
- Safeties: NFC South was the strongest choice
- The division is loaded with good to great safeties.
Other strong contenders by position
- Offensive line:
- NFC East was the strongest pure talent answer.
- NFC South was the best alternative because of its depth and fewer obvious weak links.
- Running back:
- AFC East got the nod for top-to-bottom consistency.
- AFC West was also a strong option because of its high-end talent.
- Defensive line:
- NFC West, AFC North, and AFC South all came up as valid answers depending on whether you preferred top-end stars, depth, or projection.
- Linebacker:
- No division felt great across the board.
- AFC West was favored for floor; NFC West had the best star power.
The overarching lesson
The exercise showed how division strength depends heavily on:
- whether you value top-end talent or overall depth,
- whether you’re projecting future growth or using current production,
- and whether you’re trying to build the best starting lineup or the most complete group.
Main Takeaways
- The offseason mailbag format allowed for unusually deep NFL theory questions.
- Elite historical players like Marino, Reed, and Deacon Jones remain fascinating because modern film could reveal even more about their dominance.
- Offensive line evaluation is still about balancing traits, power, and projection — not choosing one archetype forever.
- The next wave of head coaches may come from young offensive minds, but many of them still need play-calling reps to fully break through.
- A division can absolutely contain multiple elite quarterbacks; success for a team is more about getting a real franchise answer than finding a perpetual MVP candidate.
- In the divisional roster exercise, the NFC North and AFC South came up repeatedly as the strongest answers at key spots.