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Well, the Patriots gave Drake May the biggest weapon of his young career. New England acquiring three-time Pro Bowler AJ Brown from Philadelphia, giving May a true number one receiver after Brown posted his fifth straight 1,000yard season. Brown, of course, reuniting with Mike Rabbel, while the Patriots continue to build around their quarterback who helped lead them all the way to the Super Bowl last season. So for more on this dynamic QB receiver duo, plus more in the NFL, let's kick it over to our guys. Yeah, this is what you call kicking it over to the quarterback and the wide receiver duo right now. You got Ben Denucci right there at quarterback. Adam Tobachnik here at wide receiver. Ben
Denucci drops back to pass. Adam going deep drops the ball. Uh Ben, how you doing man? You look fantastic. I was just about to say where would we land on the top 10 list, but after you just introduced yourself like that, doesn't sound like we'd even be honorable mention. You know, I will say on JV, I looked damn good. I didn't play well, but I looked damn good. You could best believe I was spatted up. I was on the sidelines. I looked really good, and that's all that matters. I throw a pretty catchable ball, so I'd like to think I'd make you look a little bit better. So, who knows? Maybe one of these days we'll have to test it out and then uh and throw some routes to each other.
100%. Well, obviously AJ Brown goes to New England. You and I were talking yesterday. We were trying to get the brain warmed up about kind of how do we react to this trade? And where our heads went was quarterback, wide receiver duos, right? What does that top 10 list look like now that AJ Brown is with the MVP runnerup in Drake May? So, you and I put together a list. We kind of decided, you know, who's that one through nine? We know for sure. And then we need to kind of decide on 10 right here, right now. But, uh, before we kind of go into our top 10 list that you and I made, I just want your initial thoughts from the winners perspective. Did the Eagles win
this trade or did the Patriots win this trade? I'm gonna play both sides of the fence here. I think it's possible for both sides to win this trade. Look, for the Eagles, this was clearly a problem, a disruption the last couple years in that locker room and in that offense. And for them to be able to move on from AJ Brown, get some picks back. A first round in 2028 and a fifth round in 2027 for a guy who clearly wasn't happy. That's Howie Roseman working his magic again. And then on the flip side for the Patriots, you lose Stefon Diggs. They don't sign him back. That's a thousand yard receiver who was kind of your security blanket, your third down guy for Drake May last year. And for a
team and for an offense who made it to the Super Bowl last year, played a juggernaut in the Seattle Seahawks. I think this is an awesome trade for them. You're getting Drake May the best all-around weapon that he's had in his young career. And I'm one of the many people who are very excited to see how uh how AJ Brown looks in that offense and what this Patriots team is going to look like this year. Yeah, I'm super excited. Also, like when you think of good business in the NFL, you think of exactly what the Eagles just did with this trade, right? You trade him four years ago, a first and a third, you go to two Super Bowls, you
win one Super Bowl, and within that four years, we now trade him for a first and a fifth. That's just good business. And that's just why Howy Roseman's likely the best GM in the NFL. But let's go through our top 10s right now, okay? Because this is where I think it might get controversial. a little bit and we stand by this. So, let's start at 10, okay? Because we know we're one through nine. We got to figure out 10. So, the two guys, the two duos that you and I were between to put it number 10 on our top 10 quarterback wide receiver duos was either CJ Strat and Nico Collins or Patrick Mahomes and Rashi Rice. I'll let you be the judge here.
I'm going to start by saying the NFL is kind of a what have you done for me lately. When we're comparing the Chiefs and the Texans, one team made the playoffs last year and the other team didn't make the playoffs last year for the first time in a while. So, if we're talking about number 10 quarterback receiver duos, I'm going to have to go CJ Stroud and Nico Collins here just because of the fact that Mahomes is coming off of a torn ACL. Rashi Rice might be doing some win sprints right now in jail. We don't know what he's going to look like, if his rehab's on track in there. There's just a lot of uncertainty around that combination. And when I look at Nico Collins, the physicality, the speed, the
game-breaking ability that he brings to that Houston Texans offense, I think it is justified putting them at number 10. CJ Shroud is very, very young still in his career, and for him, we've seen what he can do during the regular season. Last year during the playoffs, the turnovers were a little bit of the question, but when you've got a guy like Nico Collins on the outside to throw to, it makes your life a little bit easier. So that's why I'm going to put uh CJ Shroud and Nico Collins at number 10 over Mahomes in Rasheed. Yeah, I actually think like I was going to come in here and have some rebuttals, but I actually have no qualms with that because I think Nico is better than
Rashi Rice and I think if you can get 70% of what CJ Strad was a few years ago, I still think that's close enough to put him in that top 10. So, I do think CJ Shout and Nico Collins has to go at number 10 for us. We agree there. Yes, agree. Beautiful. Number nine, right after CJ Stroud, Nico Collins, we're going Josh Allen and DJ Moore, right? What are your thoughts on the Josh Allen and DJ Moore connection even though we haven't seen it yet? Yeah, I think this is one of the connections that a lot of people are looking forward to seeing this year. Much like Drake May not really having a number one option in his career. It's been a couple years since Josh Allen has had Stfan Diggs there and a true number
one as well. So for the Bills going out and getting DJ Moore, a guy who's done nothing but to produced everywhere he's been Carolina, uh, in Chicago, and I expect him to do nothing short of what he's done the rest of his career in Buffalo. You're getting a top You're getting the top quarterback in the NFL in Josh Allen that you're getting to play with now. You're getting a bright young offensive mind in Joe Brady who's going from offensive coordinator to head coach. You're walking into a new system, a new building. And for DJ Moore probably feels like a little bit of a breath of fresh air, right? Change of scenery, new quarterback, new coaching staff. So, I'm sure there's a lot of people inside that building that are happy as well.
And Josh Allen's probably smiling just as big in that picture as he is in real life right now that now he's got a true number one weapon with him in Buffalo. Yeah. Also maybe because he's now officially married to Haley Steinfeld and I just watched Sinners for the first time and that was a great performance. But I will say this, the Chicago DJ Moore to me is not indicative of who I think DJ Moore is today. And I think a lot of people when they talk to DJ Mo he's not the same. Oh, he wasn't that good in Chicago. Well, I actually think he didn't need to be. Right. And when you have Luther Bird and when you have
Roma Dunce, like I don't need you to be the one. I don't need you to be the alpha. And I do think like you just said, this is the best weapon that Josh Allen has had since Stefon Digs. So yeah, I think regardless of not seeing it, I do love it. And as we move to number eight, we have another one that we really haven't seen yet. But this one excites me probably more than any other duo in the NFL. That's Kyler Murray and Justin Jefferson. Now, why did you like Kyler and Justin at number eight? Because I loved it. Adam, you don't need to convince me that this pairing is going to be good this year. I've been pumping the Kyler Murray hype train all off season. I think he is a sneaky
dark horse MVP candidate because the physical ability from Kyler Murray is there. We've seen it. High school level didn't lose a game. College, he won the Heisman. In the NFL, he's had some really good play when the guys around him have been healthy and he's been healthy. And now you're walking into an offense where Kevin O'Connell is calling your plays. You're getting to throw to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, TJ Hawinson, and then oh yeah, on the other side of the ball, you've got a Brian Flores le defense that you probably know if you're Kyler Murray, hey man, if I can get to 21 24 points a game, I've got a pretty good chance of being in a lot of these games. So, this tandem is
very intriguing to me. We've seen what Justin Jefferson has been able to do the last couple years. He averaged 62 yards a game last season. They had three quarterbacks playing. It was a revolving door. So, I think Justin Jefferson's probably pretty excited to have Kyler Murray. There have been a lot of um you know, I've seen a lot of good reports coming out of Minnesota talking about, hey, JJ McCarthy is kind of a little bit behind right now. Kyler Murray. Kyler Murray's got the experience. He's acting like the alpha. He's taking confidence and guys in that huddle are starting to believe in him and his trust and his command in that offense. So, I think by the end of the year this year, this is going to be a
very intriguing offense to watch, a very intriguing connection to watch, and I think the Minnesota Vikings are going to surprise a lot of people this year. You know, it's funny cuz I had just producer Jack in my ear say, "I'm being told there's another GTA in Call of Duty coming out." How about growing up? All right. I think Kyler Murray and now going to Minnesota has learned his from his lessons. I also think when I think about the reclamation projects that we've just seen in the NFL, every single one of them for the most part is a Minnesota story, right? And I know this might be unpopular, but this is by far
the best quarterback I think Justin Jefferson has had since he's been in Minnesota. I know we all want to go back to Sam Darn. Oh my god, he was amazing. But before Sam Darnold became the Sam Darnold that he is today. Before he was in Minnesota, he wasn't that good, right? He didn't show up. And so the fact that you get now Kyler Murray and Justin Jefferson there, this is the best system for Kyler that he's had in his career. I'm so excited about this duo. And I love that you just said he's a dark horse MVP candidate because we know what he can be at his ceiling, but we already know what Justin Jefferson is. And so that's why I adore this duo. But coming in at number seven on our top 10
quarterback wide receiver duos, we did Jared Goff and Aman Rosane Brown. Now I think Aman Rosane Brown is quite literally the most underappreciated wide receiver in the NFL. Whether that be for his size, whether that be just what he doesn't bring from an alpha mentality when we think of a Jamar Chase or Justin Jefferson. But why don't you kind of back us up? Why do we like Jared Goff and Aman Rod number seven? I can echo your sentiment. I think Jared Goff is also one of the most underappreciated QBs in the NFL. When you think about the prototypical athlete at the quarterback position nowadays, it's guys that can run. It's guys that can move out of the pocket,
escape these big flashy plays. We see it from Caleb Williams and some of these young guys a lot. All Jared Goff does put his head down, win, throw completions, and protect the ball. And I think in today's day and age of football where everything is flash and social media and clips and this and that, there's something to be said about the way Jared Goff goes about playing the quarterback position. The efficiency kind of no BS accuracy leading my team down the field. You don't hear him in the media every week hoohoo and rah and firing guys up. It's hey, I've got a job to do. I'm going to come in every week and do it. And a couple years ago when the Lions made this trade to get Jared Goff from the Rams to Detroit, I
think a lot of people were skeptical, but my goodness, this Detroit Lions team and this offense led by both of these guys the last couple years has been one of the most explosive offenses in the league. And you can see it. Golf leads the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns the last four seasons. There's a lot of guys and a lot of quarterbacks who have put up some stats the last four years. And I'd be hard to remiss if a lot of people thought Jared Goff would be at the top of that list. But these guys have done nothing to produce over the last two years, Jared Goff, I think, is one of the most underappreciated quarterbacks in the NFL because of it.
I agree with that. The one thing I will say to the Jared Goff thought is that I do think although he's been super consistent, he's also been somewhat inconsistent. And that's why I would have him at number seven. And I feel like Jared Goff and Aman Raw as a duo can have the most variance or some of the most variance on this list because when I look at some of the other guys that are coming up at Jared Goff's ceiling, he could be in that top four, but at his floor he could be on the back 10, right? And that's why we kind of have him at seven. But I do think Aman Raw does carry that duo a lot more. But I mean, I love this duo. I think Jerry Goff and Aman Ra is together a super
underappreciated duo. And at least we're trying to give them some sort of appreciation. But at number six, I think this is where we're going to start feeling the fire a little bit because this is where it starts to get a little weird. And at number six, we're putting Dak and George Pickkins. Now, I have my thoughts to Dak. I know you do, but why don't we talk the George Pickins side before we get into Dak. What are your thoughts on this duo? Yeah, I think anytime an NFL offense can throw two true number one receivers out there at any time. And the fact that you can have CD Lamb on one side and throw George Pickkins on the other side. Put yourself in the defensive coordinator's
shoes. Do you want to roll coverage to Sidi and let George beat you? Do you want to roll coverage to George and let Sidi beat you? Do we want to play cover two and try to shut both of them down? Then Jake Ferguson can do what he wants in the middle of the field. So this Dallas Cowboys offense, man, last year they were unbelievable to watch. The high-flying explosiveness that we saw every week from them. It's a shame that they had a defense last year that was pretty consistent with Swiss cheese. A lot of holes in it. And I really like what they did in the draft this year addressing that side of the ball. And if we can see the defense be
formidable this year, I think this Dallas Cowboys team is going to be going to be pretty scary. You've got you've got George Pickins, you've got CD Lamb, both with big playability every single time they touch the ball. We saw it a couple times last year when CD was out of the game. There was no drop off in this offense. and vice versa. When George wasn't in the offense, CD goes and eats. So, this one's number six. I think it's going to be interesting a couple more where this next duo lands in our, you know, top five. It is going to be very interesting. But, I will say this, and you started by saying it, it's a what have you done for me lately league. And the amount of
times I've posted a video on TikTok and every comment is Dak George Pickkins and not Dak Sidi is what makes me realize that it is a what have you done for me lately league. But also, when you look at the Dak versus Jared G, I just think Dak is a better quarterback than Jared G. my personal opinion. And so because quarterback is so important here, I think that's why we both had Dak and George Pickkins over Jared Goff and Aman Ross St. Brown. But we move to number five, which like I said, this is where we're starting to ruffle the feathers a little bit cuz we're going Sammy Boy Darnold and JSN. Now, I personally think JSN is the reason they are here at number five.
I think Sam Darnold is a really, really, really good quarterback, but I am very curious what he is going to be without Clint Kubak. But Dench, why don't you just tell me why you like JSN and Sammy boy here? Well, I think first and foremost, anytime you have the opportunity to throw to a receiver who led the league in receiving yards the prior year, you should be the duo should be ranked pretty high, right? It's not like Sam Darnold can't throw the ball and JSN's just snagging everything out of the air. There's got to be a little bit of a give and take here. But man, for all the flack that Sam Darnold has received the last couple years, he's one of only a couple quarterbacks in NFL
history to go back-to-back seasons with 14 plus wins and oh yeah, he was on Seattle last year and he was on Minnesota the year before. So, it's not like he was in the same offense, the same system both years. Now, Sam Darnold again, the NFL is a what have you done for me lately league. Your head coach, sorry, your offensive coordinator from last year is now the head coach in Vegas. You lose the Super Bowl MVP running back Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs. So Sam Darnold, lot of eyes are going to be on you this year. How do you respond? How do you react? How do you kind of settle into this version, this variation of the 2026 Seattle Seahawks and I'll tell you a good place to
start is looking outside and seeing JSN and being able to know that, hey man, third down, got to have it, money down, I know that's my guy, my get open guy. Let me go find him and go make a play. So, for those reasons, Sam Darnold and Jay Ascend, this duo's got to be a top five duo in the league for me. I 100% agree. I think you have to give them that love and respect. I also think when you look at this duo, they could stay within this top five no matter what because it's very similar to Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase where Jamar 2 years ago, yes, he went nuclear, Joe went nuclear. But we haven't really seen what Joe and Jamar can be at their ceiling in a couple years. And so, because of what we
know they've done, we don't really need to see it again constantly. And with Sam Darnell and JSN, it's the same situation, right? We know what they just did. You don't need to go win the Super Bowl again, but we do need you to stay kind of competitive. And as long as JSN comes out, has 1400 receiving yards like he can do in his sleep, you know, leading the league last year, and Sammy Boyd can still hoop, then I love this duo, and I think it's a top five duo. But we move to number four. Now, the most recent thing, the reason we're all here, the reason that there's Patriots colors behind me, unfortunately, as a Dolphins fan, it's Drake May and AJ Brown. I mean, I think when I look at
this duo, I think a lot of people are going to give AJ Brown the same treatment they do with DJ Moore, which is, "Oh, he's washed and he's not the same player." Well, look, AJ Brown's had four straight 1000 yard seasons. The names on Instagram is literally 1K. He's open, right? I think AJ Brown's, I would say, lack of performance this past year is not indicative of what I think he actually can be. And you see this right here, most receiving yards in the past four seasons, like AJ Brown is on the most elite levels right here in the top five. We're talking about a guy that should consistently be in that top seven for wide receivers. But Denuj, what are your thoughts on us putting
Drake May and AJ Brown uh at number four on this list? Yeah, first and foremost, I think this is a chance for AJ Brown to have the best year of his career. And if we're talking about just like fantasy football, we all played it growing up. Some of us still play it. There's a chance AJ Brown could finish this season as a top five, top seven fantasy football receiver. I could see anywhere from 1,300 to 1,600 yards in double digit touchdowns. I think he's going to get fed the ball this year. You've got Drake May coming off of a Super Bowl appearance in year two, runner up to Matthew Stafford in the MVP, and now you're going to give him a weapon like AJ Brown who's still young.
You hit the nail on the head. He's had four straight seasons of a thousand yards in the NFL. Those guys don't just grow on trees or everybody in the NFL would have a thousand yards every year. So, I'm very intrigued to see how this marriage, how this relationship is going to work between Drake May and AJ Brown. I will say the one thing that I think Drake May and this offense is going to have going for them. If they could make it work last year with Stfan Diggs, I think they're going to be able to make it work with AJ Brown. So, keep him happy. Maybe keep the positivity bunnies out of the locker room this year. I don't know. Let AJ Brown just kind of read his books and do his own thing and give him
10 to 12 targets a game and just let him eat. I mean, it's also funny like what have you done for me lately, league? And yes, AJ Brown hasn't been able to do what we know he's capable of doing, but at the same time, like when vibes are high, when the positivity vibes are there, you know someone's going to play well. And he wanted to be in New England. Obviously, he's been a Patriots fan his entire life. He had a Patriots rug in his one of his rooms this whole time, which I don't know why that exists while you're on the Eagles, but look, I'm I'm excited to see this duo. I think Drake May's going to take another leap just like we saw Josh Allen do when Diggs went there early on in his career.
So, I'm excited for that. At number three though, we go right back to Dak. Dak and CD Lamb is a better wide receiver duo than Drake May and AJ Brown. Why production? I think it's just as simple as one. I think Dak's a better quarterback than Drake May. Yes, I said it. Maybe I'm a little biased because I was his teammate for a couple years. Look, I understand football is a team game and the quarterback position is one of 11, but if we're talking about strictly what Dak Prescott brings to your team, what he brings to your offense, the leadership, the confidence, there's not many guys that are like him in the league, and I'm not the only one that's going to echo that sentiment, right? Everyone that's been a
part of that locker room, I've been a part of that organization and has got a chance to be around Dak, see him operate, you know, when he walks into the building, you know, when he walks into the room, he's got this kind of aura about him, right? this alpha male leadership mentality. And I think CD Lamb came in with me in 2020 as part of the same draft class. And being able to see CD work for a couple years, I just I had never been around a receiver that was in and out of breaks so smooth, late hands, being able to separate and get open at the top of drops. I think, look, man, for this Cowboys offense to have two receivers in the top five of what we're calling the best quarterback
receiver duos in the league, anyone that is watching right now, if this Dallas Cowboys team can figure it out this year, I know people say it every year, this is the year for the Cowboys. But my goodness, man, they did a lot of good stuff in the draft and if this offense is even close to what they were last year, this team's going to win a lot of games. Yeah, it's funny because CD, I feel like, is a guy that a lot of people have forgot in a weird way what he is at his peak, right? five straight 1000 yard seasons. He's missed games over those last five seasons. And yet still Dak to
have Sidi, to have George Pickkins, like this to me is one of my favorite quarterback wide receiver duos. And at their peak, which is really what this list comes down to, I think Dak and Sidi are a guy, you know, that's a duo that can be really number one in this league. But as we move away from Dak and Cidi, we move to our top two quarterback wide receiver duos in Ben Denucci and Adam Tobachnik's quarterback wide receiver duo rankings, which you know, as a quarterback in the NFL and a wide receiver um in the NFL as well over here, uh we know ball here. Uh so we're moving on to number two. We got Matthew Stafford and Puka Nakua. Now, I don't know how much explaining something like this really needs, but why don't
you just take a stab at it? Yeah, first things first. The first name, Matthew Stafford. Yeah, for anyone who's watching and doesn't know who Matthew Stafford is, he won the MVP in the NFL last year, which stands for most valuable player means you've got to be pretty good. 46 passing touchdowns and over 4,000 yards is hard to do in Madden if you go turn Madden on and play four quarters today. Now, looking at the other side, Puka Nakua, the catch radius, the fluidity in and out of breaks, highest receiving yards per game in NFL history. I mean, that's a pretty dang good list to be on. And three of those four names are guys who we've we are talking about here in this list of top 10 duos. So I think
this is pretty self-explanatory. This speaks for itself. This offense has Devonte Adams as well. You've got Shawn McVey calling the plays. Man, for Matthew Stafford to know that I've got Puka Nua and be able to get open and put a ball really within a couple feet of him and know that he's going to come down with it, I think is a pretty good feeling at quarterback. I've never had that feeling. I'd like to have that feeling, Adam. If me and you were going to go catch on the field, I think after a couple balls, we would have that feeling. But clear this duo was unstoppable last year and you had Miles Garrett on that side on the other side of the ball. I think that's only going to help
this Rams offense and this Rams team this year. Yeah, it's hard to dispute this one. I mean, you just know what Matthew Stafford is. You know what Puka is as well. And the fact that Puka has almost had three straight 10,00 yard seasons and he's missed a ton of games. Like we ceiling is everything. What have you done for me lately is everything and they've done everything quite literally lately. So, we move to number one. I don't think you can dispute this one. Someone will, of course, but it's Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase. Look, Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase are the best quarterback wide receiver duo in the NFL. My reason is very simple. Joe Burrow consistently is going to be either three or four on
just about every quarterback list, right? Every single person loves him. Stay healthy. We know you can be top two. But then you go to Jamar. What he's shown these last two years, we just know who he is. He is the alpha. He is everything you want in an actual X. the most receiving yards in their first five seasons are the top two. That would, you know, everyone would say today in Justin Jefferson and Jamar, but for us putting Jamar there, what he's been able to do without Joe Burrow this past season for me is why I have to have this top 10 at number one with Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase. But why don't you just round us out quickly and explain why?
Yeah, I agree with you. Just looking at that list, the fact that Justin Jefferson and Jamar Chase were on the same college team with Joe Burrow throwing to them almost doesn't even seem fair now that we get to look five or six years in hindsight. But I look at Jamar Chase and it's the playmaking ability, the after the catch that reminds me of Odell Beckham in his prime. The ability to take a slant route and go 60 yards to the house, take a seam and split the safeties and go 50. You know how rewarding that is for a quarterback to be able to sit back there and go, "Man, I could throw a ball five yards and there's a chance my box score in the stat sheet could say one for 70 yards and a touchdown." That's a
that's a good feeling. That is a true number one elite receiver in the NFL. The game-breaking speed, the athletic ability, the catch radius. You go turn on the highlights of Jamar Chase, man. Every single play, it's man, play after play. And the fact that you got Joe Burrow throwing to you, I think, you know, only sweetens the pot a little bit this year. So, if these guys can stay healthy, if Burrow can stay healthy, if Chase can stay healthy, if they get the help on the defensive side of the ball, I think the Bengals, I think the Dallas Cowboys are going to be two teams this year that are going to catch some fire and a lot of people are going to be excited watching them play come December, January.
Yeah, look, people are going to hate this list. They absolutely should. And I just want to say we put Joe Bro and T. Higgins in there, so you can't hate on it. All right, so that's our top 11. Ben Denucci, Adam Tbachnik, the top 101 quarterback wide receiver duos. Jenny, your thoughts. No one can hate that list. There was a lot of thought and effort put into that list. And I say that knowing that a lot of people are going to pick it apart, and that's what happens here in the world of sports. Of course, we'll be talking about that and so much more here on CBS Sports HQ. We're hitting every single highlight, every angle, all the breaking news you could possibly want and more and fun little breakdowns like
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