As for the Indianapolis Colts, this is just the reality of where they are.
All right.
Welcome in.
It is the Breer Report for Tuesday night, October the twenty-seventh, and we are coming to you with a special edition of the Breer Report because of all the action that we saw on Tuesday in the NFL and a lot of that action, of course, centered on the Indianapolis Colts in the aftermath of their firing of general manager Chris Ballard last week.
And then Sunday's loss to the Minnesota Vikings, which was their third straight loss, and dropped the team to 2 and 5.
So now it looks like they're conducting what looks like a fire sale.
They've sent eight-time Pro Bowl offensive guard, Quentin Nelson to the Seattle Seahawks for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick, and then they have sent Three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle, De Forest Buckner back to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
So we'll dive in on the Colts in a second.
Really quick, wanted to hit what these two contenders are doing and bringing in Buckner and Nelson.
Obviously, the 49ers and Seahawks in direct competition with one another there in the NFC West for the Seahawks.
This is about investing back into the offensive line.
If you remember over the years that Russell Wilson was the quarterback, this was constantly an issue.
And we've seen John Schneider, their general manager, correct some of those things over the course of the last 5 years, really post Russell Wilson, um, and drafting Charles Cross in the 1st round and taking Abe Lucas on the 2nd day of the draft, and drafting Grace Abel in the 1st round.
And now if you look from left to right, You see an offensive line that might become one of the best in football within the next few weeks, with Crosse at left tackle, with Nelson at left guard, with Jalen Sundell at center, with Zabel at right guard, and Lucas at right tackle.
And then you consider, OK, now they're gonna get their running backs back over the next few weeks, Jada.
Price, their first-round pick, of course, Zach Charbonnet, who was injured in the playoffs last year, tore his ACL, and you look at a run game that ran for about 150 yards on Sunday against Kansas City, and the face of that offense may be changing a little bit.
So for Seattle, I think it's a fantastic move being able to bring in Quentin Nelson and Maybe establish a real area of strength where you didn't think there necessarily would be one a couple of weeks ago , and we know how good their defense has been, right?
Like their defense is, has, has been outstanding over the last couple of years.
We know how good the receiver group is with maybe one of the best players in football and Jackson Smith and Jigba in that group.
And now that struggling run game, they start to turn around against Kansas City looks like they've really got something here.
As for the Niners, You know, clearly, you look at the age of the roster and the guys in San Francisco are sick of hearing about it, but the group that they have only has so many more shots at this.
That's George Kittle, that's Trent Williams, that's Devo Samuel, and Mike Evans, and Christian McCaffrey, and Nick Bosa and Fred Warner, and on and on and on.
Kyle Usczyk, their tight, their, their, their fullback, um, of the last decade.
And so this is investing back into that core.
Chris Koarek, their defensive line coach , he can never have enough D-linemen, he loves to rotate rotate them.
They also had an injury at that position.
Alfred Collins, a defensive tackle, went in the 2nd round a year ago.
Um, they had high hopes for him.
He got injured in Australia.
And so being able now to put De Forest Buckner next to Osa Diggizua on the interior of that defensive line.
You give yourself some real juice upfront, helpsarek, helps their defensive coordinator, Raheem Morris, and it's again, investing back into a group that's aging and only has so many more shots at, at being able to do this.
And it's with a familiar face.
I mean Buckner was there with Kittle, with Uzek.
With Bosa, with Warner.
So Buckner is a guy who was part of the original core there.
He should be able to hit the ground running and play good football for them right away.
Yes, he's 32 years old.
Yes, he's in a contract year, but this isn't a long-term move.
This is a move for the here and the now, as is the Nelson move for Seattle.
Nelson, of course, 30 years old, and he's in a contract year as well.
As for the Indianapolis Colts.
This is just the reality of where they are.
And we can go back to last year and see an example of the Dolphins doing almost the exact same thing.
They fired their general manager in mid-season, getting rid of Chris Greer, who's been in that front office for decades.
They elevated Champ Kelly to assistant, to, to, to interim GM.
He was their assistant GM just like Ed Dodds was elevated from assistant GM to interim GM.
And they gave Champ Kelly the instructions to take a long-term view with what they were doing and to try and see what he could get for some of the pieces on the roster, they wind up trading Jalen Phillips.
In this case, they're trading two guys who are mainstays, but probably weren't gonna be on the roster in 2027.
And you wind up getting a 3 and a 4 this year and then a 5 next year.
And that's important for 2027, whoever the GM is, whoever the coach is, because remember, they don't have a first-round pick.
They traded their first-round pick away as part of the Sauce Gardner deal.
So, really, this is about setting the franchise up with assets going forward, and there are some other names that would be of interest to other teams .
Uh, the big one, of course, is Jonathan Taylor.
Now, the difference between Taylor and Nelson or Buckner or other guys like a Grover Stewart, like a Josh Downs, Taylor has a term left on his contract.
Taylor has 3 years left on his contract after that.
Additionally, you do have to give the fans a reason to come out.
And so for ownership.
There is, of course, the need to have somebody that you're gonna be able to put on the billboard.
Somebody that you're gonna have the fans come out and watch.
And I know that that might not always jibe with what the right thing is to do football-wise, but Taylor is sort of that care for fans to come out to games for the rest of the year.
He's also somebody that you could trade in the offseason, and that wasn't a possibility with Nelson and Buckner because those guys are now out of that those guys are gonna be out of contract by then.
Taylor will be under contract going into the 2027 offseason, provided he stays in the roster.
So the new general manager could potentially trade him then.
Again, I'm not saying never say never with Taylor, right?
Like I'm not saying they wouldn't listen.
I think they'll listen to anything right now.
Um, but I do think maybe it would take a little bit more to get Taylor out of there.
So, the Colts, again, I think the fire sale certainly could continue.
Guys like Grover Stewart.
Guys like Josh Downs would be guys to watch going forward because like Nelson, like Buckner, they are in contract years.
OK, our second topic.
The Philadelphia Eagles are now 2 and 5.
This is about as tough a spot as they have been in for, in a, in a long, long time.
And the roster that they have right now is a shell of the roster that won Super Bowl 59.
Hard to believe that was only 21 months ago, but the majority of the offensive starters from that Super Bowl team were not in uniform on Monday night.
The majority of the defensive starters from that Super, Super Bowl team were not in uniform on Monday night.
Um, it's a very, very different-looking team right now and will likely continue to be a different-looking team.
They've got cap that they've got to deal with.
We got a story up on the MMQB.
com and how they plan to handle all of that and how they've set this thing up.
Um, but there's certainly some retooling coming in Philadelphia.
The big box questions are what they're gonna do with the quarterback, what they're gonna do with the head coach.
Those are questions for another day.
Um, I think what they need to deal with in the here and now is the way that they're gonna approach their roster ahead of the trade deadline.
The big question is would they trade Saquon Barkley.
Now, anybody who watched that game on Monday night saw that Saquan doesn't look like he's 100% back from the hamstring.
It looked like he was struggling to be out there.
All credit in the world to him for gutting it out the way that he did.
But are you gonna be able to get fair value for Saquon Barkley if you do decide to move him before the trade deadline?
Um, it's a fair question to ask and it'll be interesting to see.
Um, my guess is that they listen on Barkley and they don't wind up trading him.
However, there are a number of guys, and I've got a list here.
Uh, that are on one-year deals or at the end of their deals that could have value to other teams.
And Tariq Woollen is one with the Seahawks look at bringing him back, you know, the Terry and Arnold thing hasn't really worked out.
So Wen would be one name to watch Dallas Goddardt, the veteran tight end.
Um, there was a question on whether he's gonna be on the roster this year.
He redid his deal.
He's up after this year.
He could be somebody that you would listen on.
Hollywood Brown would be another one.
Moro Ojomo, their young defensive tackle.
You've already paid Jalen Carter, you've paid.
Um, you paid Jordan Davis, so it doesn't seem like there'd be a home for Moro Ojomo on the roster pass this year.
So those would be some of the names that I would watch.
And I do think what happens in the next couple of weeks could set the course for whether or not Howie Roseman's willing to move any of those guys.
At 2 and 5, you could convince yourself you're still in it, especially being in the NFC East.
They play the Commanders on Sunday night, they play the Giants the week after that.
There is a world where they fall out of the race over the next couple of weeks, and if they fall out of the race completely, I think you do have to consider it, and I think Howie, Howie Roseman would consider moving on from some of these guys.
Sometimes it's just not your year.
Your quarterback's out for the year.
Maybe this is the time for the Eagles to be aggressive in the other direction.
We're used to them being aggressive and going and bringing in players ahead of the deadline.
Maybe this is the year that you go the other way if you are Roseman and the Eagles.
Finally, our third topic.
And this is a crossover college football, NFL topic.
Um, the head coach at Oregon, Dan Lanning, announced this week that Dante Moore, his all-ing quarterback is likely done for the year.
Now, at the end of the September, for those who missed it, Dante Moore, uh, suffered what was a scary concussion, um, playing against USC, a dirty hit.
Everyone's acknowledged that, that's what it's what it was by now.
Um, and so Moore will sit out the rest of the year.
The question is what this does to his draft stock.
Now, he's an interesting case.
He's played 4 years of college, he has 24 collegiate starts.
That's just below that 25-star threshold that teams like to see from quarterbacks coming into the draft.
He has played in 33 games.
He does have another year of eligibility.
I don't think he'll come back.
I don't think you would be doing what you're doing right now if you were planning on coming back.
Um, and clearly the medical is a huge part of his decision to walk away.
Um, the question now becomes, what is he as a prospect?
And he was trending in a direction where I think a lot of people were looking at him, like he could be the number one overall pick.
I don't think that's what he is right now.
I don't think he's seen as the top quarterback in the class anymore.
Uh, but I do think he's still a first-round pick.
And I talked to a number of scouts today.
The, the consistent things that I heard, good, not great arm, very accurate.
He's very polished as a passer.
He sees the field well, he gets rid of the ball on time.
Um, you see a, a nuance to the way that he throws it, really good arm talent, not a great athlete, right?
Like, so he's a little more stationary than some of the guys that we've seen go high in the first round.
I'd say adequate athlete is probably the right way to put it.
The comp, I got From one person on him was, was Jordan Love.
Um, and again, I think most people view him as a first or second-rounder.
Is he gonna go in the top 10?
That might be a little ifffier.
Again, the quarterbacks have a way of getting pushed up through the process, of course, but, um, he's an interesting one and it kind of brings to light where the bigger picture is for all of the quarterbacks of the 2027 draft and what's happened.
is what often happens at that position and that there was a large number of players coming into the year that had a chance.
And this is what we said before the year, is the interesting part about this year's quarterback class is coming into the college season, there were an outsized number of guys who had a chance to go in the first round, and then it was gonna come down to whoever delivered.
Not a lot of guys have.
I'd say right now talking to these guys, the top two quarterbacks in the class.
would be Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Oklahoma State's true mess to maker.
And that, of course, is subject to change and these things can always change.
Both those guys do have eligibility left, so both those guys could go back to school.
It will be interesting to see how the fate of Brendan Soarsby, how the fate of Dante Moore, how the fate of even Julian saying.
And Nikko Iamalava, it may influence these guys to go and strike while the iron's hot.
But I think those two guys in the eyes of the NFL people will be the top two quarterbacks in the class.
I think Moore is right underneath that.
And then I think the next level down, again, this is just talking to a few people today.
This isn't like a huge consensus opinion across the NFL, but just what I've gathered.
Um, over the course of the day, you would have after that, somewhere Miami's Darian Mensah, who's been a starting quarterback at three schools now.
The question with him is ceiling.
He's played really, really well this year, but does he have as high a ceiling as some of the other guys?
And then Trinidad Chambliss, who will be 25 at the start of the 2027 season, is only 5'10.
Um , Arch Manning, huge question mark.
How does he finish the year?
He's got talent, he can move, he can make plays off schedule, doesn't see it quite as fast as you'd like him to see it, doesn't process it quite as fast as you'd like him to process it.
I, I mean, I, and one comp I heard for him was Justin Fields.
Like Justin Fields' problem, had all the ability in the world, couldn't see it fast enough.
Um, we'll see how the rest of Arch Manning's year plays out at Texas and whether or not he's even in the draft.
Lenora Sellers is somebody who's kind of fallen off altogether, um, and just doesn't play the position fast enough.
So there's a lot of questions at the quarterback position when it comes to that 2027 draft class.
The class.
Itself still looks phenomenal at the very top.
And I, I, uh, from , from, from the, the, the, the larger view, the all positions view, this is still a very, very , very strong draft class, but the quarterback position isn't quite where you'd want it if you're a team needing a quarterback in 2027.
So an interesting dynamic and the book, of course , isn't closed.
There's still over a month to go in the regular season in college, then conference championship games and playoffs.
And so there's a lot more to digest over the course of the coming months.
And before we really start talking about this in earnest.
Appreciate you guys coming out.
As always, you can leave your comments down below here on the YouTube page or you get to me on my social media at Albert Breer on Twitter, at Albert Breer on TikTok, at Albert_Breer on Instagram, and at Albert R Breer on Facebook.
Appreciate you guys coming out.
We got one more Breer coming for you this week.
That'll be after the Thursday night game between Green Bay and Carolina.
We'll see you guys then.