The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Here’s a simple recipe for baking a take: 1. Have a thought or feeling. 2. Look up facts, stats, etc to support or disprove that thought or feeling. 3. Ponder the scope of the thought or feeling (a day, a season, a decade). 4. Mix in some outside opinions. 5. Enjoy your take. For this episode, we’re stopping about halfway through step two. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen, and Dave Helman share their half-baked takes for the 2026 season.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:52 Coby Bryant injury
7:10 Baltimore Ravens & Maxx Crosby/Trey Hendrickson
13:56 DaVonta Smith
19:31 San Francisco 49ers & Ricky Pearsall
27:55 Washington Commanders & Jayden Daniels
31:29 Mike McDaniel
34:12 Houston Texans
42:17 Field goals
47:47 Los Angeles Rams
54:10 Natural grass fields
57:46 Picking playoff teams
1:03:17 New Orleans Saints
1:06:21 Dak Prescott

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays
Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted
Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs
Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Robert Mays kicked off his annual training camp tour last week, and as always, he'll be speaking with every Athletic beat writer he crosses paths with to get the on-the-ground expertise from people who are with these teams every day. In the first installment of this year's Beat Writer Notebook, Robert speaks with Joe Person on the Panthers, Nate Atkins on the Rams, Daniel Popper on the Chargers on Jon Machota on the Cowboys.

Rundown (timestamps are approximate)
3:30 Panthers
32:03 Rams
58:59 Chargers
1:23:00 Cowboys

Host: Robert Mays
With: Joe Person, Nate Atkins, Daniel Popper and Jon Machota
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays
Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted
Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs
Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Past may not be prologue, but it can give us an idea of what to look for when considering what might come next. For example, Byron Murphy's ascent was critical to the Seahawks' defense turning into a dominant unit. Could another player follow a similar script this year? It's in that spirit that Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen hunt for 2026 versions of 2025 things on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays
Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted
Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs
Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We know it's not very humble to say, "I told you so." But...we told you so! At this time last year, we highlighted Cole Bishop and Kris Jenkins—among others—as potential X-factors. And for better or worse, both Bishop and Jenkins were X-factors during the 2025 season. So, we're running it back. Robert Mays, Dave Helman, and Derrik Klassen bring you 15 more players that are X-factors for their teams in 2026.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:21 Vita Vea & Jalen Carter news
15:00 Jared Wilson
18:30 Will Campbell
21:21 Barrett Carter & Demetrius Knight
28:52 Anthony Belton
34:54 Terrance Ferguson
40:35 Matthew Golden
47:11 Travis Hunter
51:25 Tyleik Williams
55:05 Tate Ratledge
59:45 TJ Sanders
1:00:12 Pat Bryant
1:00:38 Lathan Ransom
1:02:50 Donovan Ezeiruaku
1:03:32 Several 49ers

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays
Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted
Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs
Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Every single person in the NFL—players, head coaches, coordinators, position coaches, executives, you name it—has something at stake every season. But some people have more at stake in one individual season than most everyone else. So who has the most at stake in 2026? Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman answer that question on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:27 Zac Taylor
10:40 Todd Bowles
14:59 Baker Mayfield
21:48 Kyler Murray
28:46 Kevin O'Connell
34:53 Monti Ossenfort
44:23 Brian Daboll
49:13 Chris Ballard
54:00 Quentin Johnston
58:26 George Pickens
1:00:39 Jermaine Johnson
1:01:21 Tariq Woolen
1:03:05 Pick your Ram
1:03:22 2024 receivers

Join The Athletic Football Show Discord Server: http://discord.gg/theathleticfootballshow

Host: Robert Mays
Co-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social
Follow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays
Follow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_

Theme song: Haunted
Written by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love Songs
Courtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.