The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The 2025 Cowboys offense ranked fifth in EPA/play and eighth in DVOA. The man at the head of that was first-year offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, who arrived in Dallas after a two-year run as the Cardinals offensive line coach. The Cardinals were a top-10 rushing offense by EPA/rush and DVOA in both of Adams' seasons there. In other words, he certainly appears to have a strong grip on how to put together a successful, multi-faceted offense in today's NFL. He dove into his process, and a whole lot more, with Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

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

Host: Robert Mays
Executive Producer: Michael Beller
Senior Producer: Katy Duffy
Social Producer: Scott Krinch

Follow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.social
Follow Robert on X: @RobertMays

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 have long understood wide receiver as a premium position in the NFL, but the natural evolution of offenses and schemes has influenced everything—including the way you want to build out and balance your wide receiver corps. So what's the ideal way to put the pieces together in today's NFL? Matt Harmon from Yahoo Sports joins Robert Mays to fit it all into place on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
4:09 What should your receiver group look like?
9:43 First piece of a receiver room
13:53 Building around a WR1
25:51 Impact on offense as a whole
32:31 What to surround a WR1 with
43:12 Impact of heavy personnel
48:35 Ideal skill sets for receivers in heavy personnel
56:09 Underrated skill sets for receivers
59:45 How to project a WR success in NFL
1:03:07 Changing landscape of slot receivers
1:07:43 Examples of properly-built receiver groups
1:11:42 Deploying pure speed

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.

Sometimes all a player needs to break through is a new coach or a change of scenery. A new scheme can unlock something can unlock something in any number of players, and those guys can go on to dramatically affect the landscape of the league. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman highlight potential Scheme Change All-Stars on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
0:29 Live show announcement
5:19 Ashton Jeanty & Las Vegas Raiders
10:07 Jack Bech & Raiders
15:59 Mike Evans & San Francisco 49ers
23:44 Jalen Thompson & Dallas Cowboys
31:23 Marvin Harrison Jr & Arizona Cardinals
36:57 Chris Rodriguez & Jacksonville Jaguars
43:57 Jalen Ramsey & Pittsburgh Steelers
49:04 Logan Hall & Houston Texans
54:09 A'Shawn Robinson & Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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.

Do you remember the chart your teacher used in health class to show that 50% of your food should be fruits and vegetables? Maybe you also remember that little tiny sliver showing fatty or sugary foods. Well, think of Jaxon Smith-Njigba's four-year, $168.6 million contract as a bowl of ice cream and Bo Nix's four-year, $18.6 million rookie contract as a plate of broccoli. The ice cream tastes great, but you'd feel pretty sluggish if you didn't have a whole bunch of broccoli to go with it. On this episode of The Athletic Football Show, Dave Helman and Derrik Klassen discuss which NFL teams are best balancing indulgent superstar extensions with vitamin-packed rookie contracts.

0:00 Welcome to the show
5:05 Los Angeles Rams
10:51 Philadelphia Eagles
15:55 New England Patriots
21:15 Chicago Bears
26:55 Seattle Seahawks
31:25 Detroit Lions
35:22 Los Angeles Chargers
38:52 Cleveland Browns
42:10 Houston Texans
43:39 Green Bay Packers
47:20 Dallas Cowboys
48:35 Jacksonville Jaguars
50:37 Denver Broncos
55:16 Carolina Panthers
58:44 Tennessee Titans
1:03:18 Buffalo Bills
1:07:11 Washington Commanders

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.

Dear TAFS friends, we have reached the end of the line for the summer mailbag this year. You guys brought it week after week, and you certainly sent us off with a bang. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman answer questions on the influence of the Doug Pederson Eagles, the best way to be a bad team, the potential return of Aaron Donald, and a whole lot more on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.

0:00 Welcome to the show
2:45 Eagles/Doug Pederson influence
12:46 Titans new offense
23:05 Ideal way to be a bad team
33:00 Evaluating cornerbacks
39:47 Aaron Donald return
48:24 Third-place game?

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.