ESPN’s Jeff Saturday: How Quenton Nelson & Jeffery Simmons Impact Seahawks & Bears

Jeff Saturday watched his old franchise get stripped down to the studs this week, and he came on The Rich Eisen Show with two feelings at once. Sadness for Indianapolis. Genuine joy for the players walking out the door.

Over one wide-ranging conversation, the ESPN analyst and former Colts center made the case for trading Jonathan Taylor, picked between the two biggest deadline acquisitions of the week, put the NFC North on notice, and admitted he'd lean Bengals in the AFC North with one very large caveat named Lamar.

The Colts Fire Sale

Saturday's read on Indianapolis was blunt. The Colts are "trying to accumulate as many picks as they can," he said, after already sending a pick to the Jets that he expects will land in the top five. With expiring contracts on Quenton Nelson and Buck, the logic was simple: "Hey, we can get whatever we can get."

He called it a rebuild, and said the bigger decisions on Shane Steichen and Daniel Jones will play out over the rest of the season.

"It's sad, right?" Saturday said. "As a person who had a fantastic career there in Indy, to watch them strip this thing bare."

Then he pivoted, because he said he needed to. "I'm also happy for those guys because they're going to organizations that win." Nelson, he said, will be in the Hall of Fame and the Colts Ring of Honor. But Saturday hates seeing great players retire as what he called "Sunday at one guys," players who never got the big moments.

"There's nothing better in my career than facing the Patriots in those massive games or the Steelers in the massive games or the Bears or the Saints in the Super Bowl," he said. "The moments, that's what you remember."

Trade Jonathan Taylor?

Rich pushed on the decision sitting right in front of the Colts. If Indianapolis wants back into the first round, Jonathan Taylor is the way to get there, and an in-conference trade could jack up the price.

Saturday said yes, with real affection for the player. "JT is the face of our franchise, and deservedly so," he said. "The guy is an absolute stud." One of his biggest disappointments as Colts coach was that Taylor got hurt, after Saturday watched him light up the Raiders in week one.

"People hear Gibbs, they hear McCaffrey, they hear all these big names of running backs, and he's that, man. He is that good," Saturday said. "Because we haven't won, people don't know how good he really is."

The math still points to a deal. A rebuilding coach, Saturday reasoned, is looking at more than a year or two before things are humming, and isn't building around "a back who's aged two years and is going to take a ton of beating" on 300-plus touches.

"I'd probably get the best value I could," he said. "This is one that I would understand both ways, 'cause he is the face of your franchise. He would be great for a young quarterback if you have to draft one. But if the number's right, I'd make the move."

Nelson to Seattle vs. Simmons to Chicago

Rich framed the week's two blockbusters as a sports talk radio question: Quenton Nelson to the Seahawks or Jeffery Simmons to the Bears, which one matters more in 2026?

Saturday went with Nelson, and his reasoning was about identity. He said Mike Macdonald stuck with the run game last season even when it wasn't efficient, and saw what happened when it went away. "He saw the games they didn't play well, Sam threw the ball for 40-plus times," Saturday said. "That's not a winning formula for the Seahawks."

The winning formula, in his words: "Play physical, run the ball, stop the run, and then let JSN make these explosive amazing plays." With Rashid Shaheed already acquired last season, Charbonnet and Price getting healthy, and Nelson now in the middle, Saturday said the pieces are "stylistically the way that the Seahawks won it last year."

What Simmons Does to an Offense

That didn't mean Saturday was underselling Simmons. Asked what it was like preparing for a player like that, the former center lit up.

"That dude can go everywhere," Saturday said, explaining that Simmons can line up in every gap and stay effective. He compared the value of an elite interior rusher to Aaron Donald in his prime, because "it's so much harder to double a guy inside" than on the edge.

The other factor is time. Saturday recalled old Colts offensive coordinator Tom Moore telling Peyton "one, two, three, throw it away." Against interior pressure, he said, "it might be one, two and a half, ball's got to come out," because the distance to the quarterback is so much shorter.

"He is a fantastic pickup and an absolute unit," Saturday said. Even if the Titans win the trade long term on draft picks, "you ain't replacing that dude."

He also flagged a scheduling gift. The first game for both of them, he said, sends them back into Indy-Titans, and "these dudes have faced each other a ton." "I've already circled it," he said. Rich agreed: "It's like the football gods wanted it."

The NFC North Is on Notice

With every team in the NFC North above .500, Rich asked whether the Simmons trade sealed the division for Chicago.

Saturday admitted he had picked Detroit the day before. He praised Jared Goff as "absolutely insane" this season, and said he didn't love Dan Campbell's decision to go for it on his own 25. But Simmons changed his mind.

"That was the area you were most concerned of, is their defense," Saturday said. "Now you've got a guy in the middle not only who can pass rush, but will play the run. He will make other players around him better. He's a force multiplier."

He loved the stylistic fit with Ben Johnson, who "wants to be physical" on offense. Now Chicago can play physically from the defensive front too. "I would say now that the NFC North is on notice," Saturday said. "I would lean it towards the Bears now."

Rich offered the counterweights: the Packers getting Micah back, the Vikings still undefeated, and the Lions getting healthy in the secondary with Brian Branch back and Kerby Joseph returning to practice.

Why He Likes the Bengals in the AFC North

Then Rich asked for a marker in the AFC North. Saturday's first question was whether it is with Lamar or without him. Rich said he thinks Lamar is back.

Saturday's answer bounced around honestly. He said "Ravens," then explained that Lamar's health would change everything. He liked what the Browns have done with the rebirth of Deshaun Watson, but wondered if they can "go hang 30 on people." He loved the Steelers' receiving corps and noted they are getting Pittman back.

But he kept returning to Cincinnati, which had just hung 35 on Baltimore. "I would honestly lean towards the Bengals right now," he said. Their defense is unpredictable week to week, "but if they get hot, they're as good as there is."

The caveat is Lamar. "He's missed 19 games since the middle of '21. That's a lot of football," Saturday said. He called Baltimore's game against the Bills a "must-play, must-win" because falling behind the AFC's best teams makes the chase too difficult.

Joe Burrow's Good News

The interview closed on the best kind of relief. Simmons won't be lining up against the Bengals this week, and Rich wanted a GoPro on whoever got to tell Joe Burrow.

Saturday said the offensive linemen are even happier. "Everybody's like, 'Yeah, I want to go play those guys full strength,'" he said. "I was like, 'I hope they all catch cramps right before kickoff, bro.'"

His final word on the matter: "Don't nobody want Jeffery Simmons full strength, bro. We want Jeffery Simmons on another team."