Who Is the BEST True Utility Player in the NFL?

You ever think about where an elite middle linebacker of yesteryear might play in today's NFL? You ever find yourself pondering who the best true utility player in the league might be? You ever wish that smart football folks had a bit more skepticism around coaching hires that look great on paper? Then this edition of The Athletic Football Show's mailbag is for you! Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen dig into all of those ideas, and a whole lot more.

0:00 Welcome to the show
0:25 Trades and cuts to watch for
2:23 This year’s John Harbaugh
2:50 Matt LaFleur & Green Bay Packers
4:12 Kevin O’Connell & Minnesota Vikings
7:00 Sean Payton & Denver Broncos
7:34 Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts
7:53 Jared Goff & Detroit Lions
9:24 Building defense around slot player
12:14 Ideal ages for each position
20:30 True utility players
21:00 Jakobi Meyers
21:19 Quentin Lake
21:35 Andrew Van Ginkel
21:59 Coby Bryant
23:03 Middle linebackers in modern NFL
23:22 Ray Lewis & Brian Urlacher
25:58 Urlacher in today’s game
26:10 Sad Robert
26:35 Covering first-year head coaches
27:22 “F that” -Derrik
36:11 Rookies that can elevate their teams in 2027
36:54 Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence & Dallas Cowboys
37:09 Vega Ioane & Baltimore Ravens
37:22 Keylan Rutledge, Kayden McDonald & Houston Texans
37:32 TWINS
37:48 Mansoor Delane, Peter Woods & Kansas City Chiefs
40:14 Packers redshirt receivers
40:27 Matthew Golden

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