Sean McDermott Talks NFL Trades, Week 8 Biggest Games & More with Rich

Sean McDermott did not come alone. Before Rich could give him a proper introduction, a very special guest popped up on the Zoom: Champ, McDermott's dog.

Rich asked if Champ had been his best friend during his head coaching days. "Very therapeutic," McDermott said. "Going home, and he doesn't know whether we won by 40 or lost by 40." Champ stayed for the whole conversation, and McDermott covered the trade deadline, the weekend's biggest games and what it takes to stop Lamar Jackson.

Thursday night came first. McDermott said the Packers are doing exactly what a team should, improving "on the upward trajectory through the course of the season," and he credited Matt LaFleur and his staff for "a phenomenal job." His main question for Green Bay is how the run game will look down the stretch, though the passing game "is certainly thriving right now" and Micah Parsons is on the way back.

He called Watson's return from the hospital, jogging back out of the locker room off the ambulance, a "pretty heroic moment" he had never seen on television. Watson then made a key third down catch for Jordan Love. "What a night he had, right? So, full circle evening," McDermott said.

For Carolina, the issue is "how well they can protect Bryce Young in that pocket." Rich wondered why the Panthers then fired their defensive coordinator when McDermott's diagnosis was protection, not defense. McDermott said those decisions belong to the head coach and general manager and are never easy. "People's livelihoods are at stake," he said, adding that the team likely felt "philosophically there wasn't a match at that point or anymore."

Then came the trades. Quenton Nelson went from the Colts to the Seahawks, and Jeffery Simmons went from the Titans to the Bears, and the two teams meet on Monday night. Rich noted that Nelson joked in his first Seattle press conference that he can't escape Simmons, a player he faced twice a year.

McDermott saw a pattern, including the 49ers' acquisition of DeForest Buckner. "It's line of scrimmage, right?" he said. Teams that believe they can win it all "are going to push all their chips into the middle of the table," because "nobody wants to have a fatal flaw going into the playoffs."

Rich demanded a pick: which acquisition matters most? "Jeffery Simmons," McDermott said, without hesitation. His reasoning was about getting home with four. Dennis Allen can scheme up third down blitzes, but "if you really want to beat good quarterbacks, it's hard to constantly have to rely on the blitz." McDermott added that four of the last five champions were active at or around the trade deadline.

There is also a rumor, Rich noted, that Ryan Poles might not be done and could go across town to the Chargers for a Khalil Mack reunion. McDermott didn't rule it out, pointing to the Rams acquiring Von Miller. "The pass rush is critical," he said. With Sweat returning and Grady Jarrett alongside Simmons, he believes Chicago can collapse the depth of the pocket "at a high level."

The weekend slate started with Bills and Ravens, a matchup McDermott knows from Buffalo. His scouting report on Lamar Jackson was simple. "So unique, Rich. He really is. He's so unique," McDermott said, explaining that a defensive staff almost has to plan months in advance because one seven-day week is not enough. He thinks the Bills, coming off a bye, benefit from two weeks to prepare. He noted Buffalo is 3-0 in the last three home games against Baltimore and 2-0 against the Ravens in the playoffs, while Baltimore is coming off a tough loss to Cincinnati.

Asked for a flaw in Jackson's game, McDermott described the evolution instead. Jackson grew as a passer, particularly on routes right in front of him, when Monken was his offensive coordinator. Adding extra rushers to fill lanes is the obvious plan, and McDermott said Buffalo did that at times. "The other added element to that is when you're on the scene, can you get him down?" Once Jackson breaks contain, "he can take it 80 yards and hurt you in a heartbeat."

Vikings at Lions was next. Rich framed Minnesota as the last undefeated team with an offense that hasn't clicked and a defense that is off the charts. McDermott said Jared Goff is "playing at an all-time high level," but warned that Detroit's offensive coordinator has to spend all week on Brian Flores' blitz package, which McDermott said pressured on more than 80 percent of plays last week. Sometimes the Vikings line up in what looks like a max zero blitz and bring it. Sometimes they drop everybody out. He flagged Detroit's tight ends blocking Minnesota's edge, and the Vikings' blitzing linebackers testing a back like Gibbs in protection.

Rich introduced McDermott as his "Andy Reid whisperer," since Reid first hired him as a scouting administrative coordinator in 1999. "Humble beginnings," McDermott laughed. With Kansas City coming off a game Seattle controlled from the start, McDermott said Denver will study what the Seahawks did and see if it has those tools, noting the Broncos are similarly built and good up front. But he cautioned against expecting Kansas City to repeat itself. "Andy's not one to sit around and not make adjustments. He's a wizard at that week to week," McDermott said.

He saved his biggest praise for Monday night's Bears and Seahawks game. He called Seattle's defense "as good as there is in the NFL," perhaps the most talented on paper, with Mike Macdonald mixing a four-man rush and pressure, and DBs who tackle well. Chicago's offense "runs through Ben Johnson," and McDermott expects creativity, play action and the screen game to be key against Seattle's lethal front four.

"Greatness respects greatness," McDermott said of the two coaches, noting Macdonald has already won a Super Bowl and Johnson has turned Chicago around in year two. He also explained why Nelson matters for Sam Darnold. Guards are critical because the middle is "obviously the shortest distance to the quarterback," and with a perennial Pro Bowler inside, the pocket should be firm for Darnold. McDermott's hope for the finish: "Maybe it's an overtime game. I'd love to see it."

As for Champ, Rich made one final request: a cookie. McDermott promised a treat or two.