Monday Mailbag: Best second sports for NFL players, the meaning of 'scheme,' BYO team brain trust, and more

Bryce Young put himself on the right track in the second half of last season. The Chargers shortcomings in 2024 owed to a lack of talent. The Seahawks defense is primed for a breakout in 2025. That's all true, right? Right?!? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen answer three more of last season's lingering questions on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass 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.

Seven of the eight teams in this edition of Offseason Buy or Sell made the playoffs last year, and the one that didn't, the Bengals, had one of the best offenses in the league. In other words, each of these teams goes into this season with realistic playoff hopes, and some of them are harboring even bigger dreams than that. So how do we feel about what they all did this offseason? Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen make buy or sell calls on the Steelers, Vikings, Bengals, Buccaneers, Packers, Broncos, Texans and Chargers on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass 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.

There's only so much time to indulge our curiosities during the NFL season. What that means is that a number of questions we have in the moment go unexamined because we have to, you know, pay attention to the games that are actually happening. May and June, though? That's when we can let our minds wander. And that's exactly what we're going to do in our Lingering Questions series on The Athletic Football Show. In episode one of the series, Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen ask and answer the following questions: What sort of offensive infrastructure is Cam Ward getting dropped into in Tennessee? Why didn't Jordan Love make the leap in 2024? Why did Marvin Harrison Jr. fall short of expectations in his rookie season? Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass 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.

The impasse between Trey Hedrickson and the Bengals took its most bizarre turn yet on Tuesday when the star pass rusher staged an impromptu press conference on the practice field at the team's facility during OTAs. The Athletic's Bengals beat writer Paul Dehner Jr. was there, and he joins Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show to discuss exactly what happened, how it all transpired, how things got to this point, and, ultimately, where it all goes from here. Hosts: Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen With: Paul Dehner Jr. Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Paul on Bluesky: @pauldehnerjr.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass Follow Paul on X: @pauldehnerjr 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.

The next step up the Offseason Buy or Sell ladder takes us to the NFL's middle class. These are teams that oddsmakers project to be right around .500. In other words, these teams harbor realistic playoff aspirations, but there's path for all of them that leads to picking in the top 10 of the 2026 draft. This group includes the Colts, Jaguars, Cowboys, Seahawks, Falcons, Cardinals, Bears and Dolphins. Robert Mays and Derrik Klassen make buy or sell calls on each of their offseasons on this episode of The Athletic Football Show. Rundown ColtsJaguarsCowboysSeahawksFalconsCardinalsBearsDolphins Host: Robert Mays Co-Host: Derrik Klassen Executive Producer: Michael Beller Producer: Michael Beller Subscribe to The Athletic Football Show... ⁠Apple⁠ ⁠Spotify⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social Follow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.social Follow Robert on X: @robertmays Follow Derrik on X: @QBKlass 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.