Summary of 2026 NFL QB Rankings, the Villain Dodgers, MLB Trade Deadline Lessons, and SummerSlam 2026 With Mina Kimes, Billy Gil, Anthony Dabbundo, and David Shoemaker

Overview of The Bill Simmons Podcast

This episode spans three big sports conversations: a deep dive into 2026 NFL quarterback rankings with Mina Kimes, a lively MLB trade-deadline and pennant-race discussion with Billy Gill and Anthony Dabbundo, and a wrestling segment with David Shoemaker on SummerSlam, WWE’s current direction, and his new book on Hulk Hogan. The common thread across all three is how much context matters: quarterbacks are being overreacted to based on the last few games, baseball contenders are being shaped by deadline strategy and looming labor questions, and wrestling’s stars are always being evaluated within the larger cycle of the business.

2026 NFL QB Rankings With Mina Kimes

Bill and Mina spent most of the segment debating how to properly value quarterbacks: ceiling vs. floor, postseason recency bias, surrounding talent, durability, and “loud mistakes” that distort public perception.

Biggest QB takes

• Josh Allen remains Bill’s QB1: still the most complete blend of elite play, durability, and fear factor.
• Patrick Mahomes is still elite, but the “second prime” question is real: Bill wonders if Kansas City’s offensive limitations have permanently lowered Mahomes’ peak.
• Drake May is extremely high on Bill’s board: he had May above Lamar and Burrow, arguing that last season’s flashes plus improved roster context make him a top-tier bet.
• CJ Stroud is the biggest “buy” for Mina: she thinks people are overreacting to a disastrous postseason and ignoring how bad Houston’s line, run game, and skill-position context were.
• Jordan Love gets the “football nerd king” treatment: Mina argued he’s been unfairly dismissed because his turnovers look uglier than they are, while his underlying numbers are excellent.
• Lamar Jackson remains Mina’s most excused QB: she still gives him latitude because of his unique skill set and the way he changes defenses, even if his rushing efficiency dipped.
• Joe Burrow and Lamar are in a different durability tier than Allen/Mahomes: injuries are the main reason Mina separates them.

Notable ranking themes

• Bill’s top nine ended up roughly as:
  1. Josh Allen
  2. Matthew Stafford
  3. Patrick Mahomes
  4. Drake May
  5. Lamar Jackson
  6. Joe Burrow
  7. Dak Prescott
  8. Jordan Love
  9. Justin Herbert
• Mina pushed back on some of Bill’s aggressiveness, especially on Drake May over proven veterans.
• Herbert’s reputation vs. reality came up repeatedly: both agreed his line play and the cumulative damage from constant pressure are a real issue.
• Jared Goff, Sam Darnold, Brock Purdy, and Caleb Williams were grouped as the next tier, with Bill and Mina differing on who deserves the most credit.
• Bill was bullish on Trevor Lawrence after rewatching him and thinks his late-season level is more meaningful than the broader skepticism.
• They discussed “resurrection candidates” like Kyler Murray, Daniel Jones, Bryce Young, and Cam Ward, though the verdict was mixed and heavily dependent on situation.

Key takeaway

The conversation was less about “who’s the best quarterback” and more about how much context should change our evaluation. Bill leans toward upside and year-to-year projection; Mina leaned harder on evidence, durability, and what quarterbacks have actually shown over time.

MLB Trade Deadline Lessons and the Pennant Race

Billy Gill and Anthony Dabbundo focused on the deadline, the Dodgers’ power, and why the sport may actually be more unpredictable than the panic suggests.

Main points

• The Dodgers are not “ruining baseball” in the way people are claiming:
  • They’re dominant, but not invincible.
  • They still have real playoff vulnerabilities, especially in pitching health and age on the roster.
  • Their deferred-money structure and TV revenue advantages create an edge, but the bigger issue is the broader economic system of baseball.
• A possible lockout/cap discussion looms large:
  • Dabbundo argued that a salary cap would likely create as many bad decisions from weak teams as it would solve.
  • They both noted that owners may be motivated by labor leverage more than fan sentiment.
• The AL is wide open:
  • The Red Sox, Mariners, Tigers, and even the Rangers were all treated as plausible wild-card/contender teams.
  • Bill and Dabbundo saw Seattle as the best “out of nowhere” candidate if someone surges late.
• The Red Sox are suddenly in the mix:
  • Bill has been paying close attention and thinks their bullpen and recent run make them dangerous.
  • The Yankees’ offense and Aaron Judge’s injury were treated as major concerns.
• The Tigers trade deadline debate centered on Tarik Skubal:
  • Dabbundo would have considered keeping him, but also understood the logic of cashing out given the uncertainty around the future and a possible lockout.
• Luis Arraez to the Phillies was praised:
  • Not for power, but for on-base value and the chaos he adds to a team that needed it.
  • Bryce Harper moving to the outfield was a funny but legitimate roster wrinkle.
• Small ball is back in style
  • Bill loved the idea of more stolen bases, bunts, and contact-oriented chaos.
  • The guys repeatedly contrasted that with the boring “all homers, all strikeouts” era.

Side notes and fun tangents

• Bill officially announced he’s returning to Tottenham Hotspur fandom.
• They joked about creating a soccer-only U.S. state to develop elite talent.
• They briefly discussed why cities like Sacramento were oddly fun baseball hosts, even if the A’s situation is weird.

Key takeaway

This wasn’t just a deadline reaction show — it was a bigger argument that baseball’s structure, labor politics, and roster economics matter more than any one blockbuster trade.

SummerSlam, Hulk Hogan, and WWE’s Current Era With David Shoemaker

David Shoemaker joined to talk about SummerSlam, Oba Femi, WWE’s ESPN presence, and his book Why Hulk Hogan Matters.

SummerSlam and WWE’s direction

• Two-night SummerSlam is probably unnecessary, though shorter shows are easier to watch and better for families.
• The big wrestling takeaway from the show was the rise of Oba Femi:
  • Bill and David see him as the next great “unstoppable monster” in the lineage of Andre the Giant, Undertaker, Brock Lesnar, and others.
  • They discussed how hard it is to book a truly dominant babyface monster without making him feel stale.
• Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi was the most compelling storyline and the clearest torch-passing moment.
• WWE’s ESPN integration feels surreal but not fundamentally disruptive:
  • It’s more a sign of how mainstream wrestling has become again.
  • The audience is mostly the same; the difference is distribution and visibility.

Hulk Hogan and the book

• Shoemaker explained why he wrote Why Hulk Hogan Matters:
  • Hogan is the most important wrestling figure ever, even if he was never the best wrestler.
  • The book is both a celebration of Hogan’s impact and an attempt to reckon with the disappointment of his later-life behavior.
• They revisited Hogan’s contradictions:
  • giant cultural icon of the 1980s,
  • central figure in wrestling’s boom,
  • but also deeply criticized for selfishness, backstage politics, and racist remarks.
• Bill and David discussed how Hogan was treated late in life:
  • crowds eventually turned on him,
  • the Gawker fallout and his public image never really recovered,
  • and his final WWE appearances were awkward and self-serving.
• They also talked about Hogan’s place in pop culture:
  • He was the wrestling equivalent of Stallone/Schwarzenegger in the 1980s,
  • but unlike them, he never fully translated into movie stardom.
• The Hulk Hogan heel turn with the nWo remains one of the biggest moments in wrestling history.
• The segment ended with Shoemaker emphasizing that Hogan’s impact is historically undeniable, even if his personal legacy is messy.

Key takeaway

Wrestling, like baseball and quarterback evaluation, is cyclical and reputation-heavy: the business, the characters, and the narratives all matter as much as the in-ring results.

Main Takeaways

• Quarterback evaluation is often distorted by recency and optics, especially in the postseason.
• The QB tier conversation is extremely fluid, but Allen, Mahomes, Stafford, Lamar, Burrow, and a few younger names dominate the top end.
• Baseball’s current landscape is more open than it feels, with the AL especially volatile and the Dodgers strong but not unbeatable.
• Labor and economics may shape MLB more than the standings do, especially if a lockout and salary cap become real possibilities.
• WWE is in a strong but probably post-peak phase, with Oba Femi emerging as a major new star and Hogan’s legacy still defining the conversation around wrestling history.