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Artwork for The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

The Athletic
NFL
NFL Draft
Seattle Seahawks
Buffalo Bills
Baltimore Ravens
Kansas City Chiefs
Philadelphia Eagles
Cleveland Browns
Tennessee Titans
New England Patriots
Pittsburgh Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals
Houston Texans
Denver Broncos
Washington Commanders
Los Angeles Rams
Fernando Mendoza
Minnesota Vikings
Dallas Cowboys
New York Giants

The Athletic’s flagship NFL podcast covers the league like only The Athletic can. Host Robert Mays and co-hosts Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman dive into the biggest stories, break down the Xs and Os, and tackle the ins and outs of roster building. They meticulously follow the details of why we all love this sport and have plenty of fun along the way, bringing the expertise necessary to cover the N... more

PublishesDailyEpisodes1411Founded6 years ago
Number of ListenersCategories
SportsFootball

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Artwork for The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL

Latest Episodes

Robert Mays kicked off his annual training camp tour last week, and as always, he'll be speaking with every Athletic beat writer he crosses paths with to get the on-the-ground expertise from people who are with these teams every day. In the first ins... more

Past may not be prologue, but it can give us an idea of what to look for when considering what might come next. For example, Byron Murphy's ascent was critical to the Seahawks' defense turning into a dominant unit. Could another player follow a simil... more

We know it's not very humble to say, "I told you so." But...we told you so! At this time last year, we highlighted Cole Bishop and Kris Jenkins—among others—as potential X-factors. And for better or worse, both Bishop and Jenkins were X-factors durin... more

Every single person in the NFL—players, head coaches, coordinators, position coaches, executives, you name it—has something at stake every season. But some people have more at stake in one individual season than most everyone else. So who has the mos... more

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Recent Guests

Klayton Adams
Dallas Cowboys offensive coordinator
Dallas Cowboys
Episode: How Klayton Adams helped build one of the NFL's most exciting offenses
Cody Alexander
Defense analyst and founder of Match Quarters
Match Quarters
Episode: Nine lessons we learned from the NFL's best defenses
Michael Beller
Guest host on the mic during the episode
The Athletic
Episode: Which outlier stats are most likely to remain outliers?
Aaron Schatz
Chief Analytics Officer, FTN
FTN
Episode: Why the Houston Texans are a legitimate Super Bowl threat
Darren Woodson
Former NFL safety, Cowboys legend
Dallas Cowboys
Episode: Canton Court: Are any of these six players Hall worthy?
Eric Berry
Safety, Pro Bowler and All-Pro
Kansas City Chiefs
Episode: Canton Court: Are any of these six players Hall worthy?
Marshall Yanda
Guard, Baltimore Ravens standout
Baltimore Ravens
Episode: Canton Court: Are any of these six players Hall worthy?
Fred Taylor
running back with peak seasons for Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
Episode: Canton Court: Are any of these six players Hall worthy?
Russell Wilson
quarterback with long career and late-career decline
Denver Broncos/Seattle Seahawks
Episode: Canton Court: Are any of these six players Hall worthy?

Hosts

Robert Mays
Host of The Athletic Football Show, The Athletic
Derrik Klassen
Co-host on The Athletic Football Show, The Athletic
Dave Helman
Co-host on The Athletic Football Show, The Athletic

Reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars from 7.5k ratings
  • Unfortunately it follows the rule that everything good on the internet gets ruined. The ads are insane - more numerous and longer than literally any of the 2 dozen podcasts I listen to. If the quality of the podcast was worth it, I'd suck it up, but since Nate left the show feels mid. Robert half feels like he's mailing it in these days, Derek is nowhere near Nate's level as an analyst and is too hot-takey, and I nothing Dave. He's ok, but nobody I'd target listening to.

    Podcast Addict
    2
    Sno
    2 months ago
  • Destroying their bodies for entertainment

    It’s abundantly clear the damage this sport does to the people who play it, many not even making it to a professional level in order to offset the cost of their needed healthcare after ruining their bodies and brains for your entertainment. There’s no safe way to play tackle football. Ban it now.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    Please I’m Begging You
    United States2 months ago
  • Very Disappointed

    An episode about buying or selling contenders off-season, and no mention of the Mike Vrabel situation, which is clearly impacting the Patriots, and you don’t even reference it? I don’t trust your analysis anymore.

    Apple Podcasts
    1
    BJTowne81
    United States2 months ago
  • What is this?

    These two dudes are rating offenses based on how enjoyable the offense is to watch. What a waste of time.

    Apple Podcasts
    2
    The wily lizard
    United States2 months ago
  • Derrik pronunciations

    Overall the content is great, and I’ve been an avid listener since the beginning of the show.

    Please teach Derrik Klassen how to pronounce names like DeVonta (AY not UH) Smith, Dont’a (AY not UH) Hightower, Kyle (HYOO not JOO) Juszczyk, among others.

    Nate Tice had his pronunciation issues, but they were acknowledged and corrected in a fun way. Since Derrik joined, the mistakes go unchecked.

    Hearing Robert Mays and Dave Helman pronounce names correctly and then hearing consistent mispronunciat... more

    Apple Podcasts
    4
    BallCoach5
    United States2 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

Consistency and breadth of topics are frequently highlighted as strengths.
Listeners praise depth and accessibility, with strong analytical takes.
Ads and pacing draw mixed feedback from some long-time fans.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Spotify
#32
United States/Sports
Apple Podcasts
#6
United States/Sports/Football
Apple Podcasts
#30
United States/Sports
Apple Podcasts
#4
United Kingdom/Sports/Football
Apple Podcasts
#5
Canada/Sports/Football
Apple Podcasts
#51
Canada/Sports

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Aaron Donald's return could happen, but SHOULD it?
Q: Will Shanahan asks if cornerbacks are the easiest position to evaluate or if GMs are simply on an evaluation heater, given high first-round hit rates and trait-based evaluation.
The hosts argue that while top corners often exhibit standout traits that make evaluation easier at the margins, cornerback remains a high-variance position with a mixed track record for highly drafted players; the ease of identifying elite corners is tempered by long-term variability beyond the top tier.
Aaron Donald's return could happen, but SHOULD it?
Q: Bob McAwesome asks if there are league-wide trends traceable to a single moment or season in fourth-down decisions.
The panel traces a few pivotal moments, notably the Cowboys-Eagles era and the 2019 Ravens, explaining how both teams' aggressive fourth-down decisions helped shift league norms toward more frequent attempts, with the trend accelerating into the 2020s.
Why the Houston Texans are a legitimate Super Bowl threat
Q: What did the Almanac say about the Seahawks-Pats Super Bowl forecast accuracy?
The Almanac showed how improbable some preseason projections are, as the Seahawks-Pats forecast was among the least likely, illustrating volatility and the difficulty of predicting long-range outcomes.
Why the Houston Texans are a legitimate Super Bowl threat
Q: Why is defense often more 'sticky' than offense in these projections?
Because defensive performance tends to be more consistent year over year due to structural factors like scheme and personnel stability, whereas offensive outputs are more susceptible to variability from play-calling and line changes.
Why the Houston Texans are a legitimate Super Bowl threat
Q: How do you reconcile CJ Stroud's late-season play with a top AFC prediction for 2026?
Stroud's performance is viewed in the context of an overall team improvement: a better offensive line, the return of Tank Dell, and a more competent running game, which could lift the offense enough to complement the defense.

Audience Metrics

Listeners, social reach, demographics and more for this podcast.

Listeners per Episode
Gender Skew
Location
Interests
Professions
Age Range
Household Income
Social Media Reach

Frequently Asked Questions About This Podcast

What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A Deep-dive NFL analysis show that blends offseason strategy, coaching dynamics, draft evaluation, and roster-building debates. Episodes frequently weigh upside versus sustainability, explore how front offices optimize cap space, positional value, and scheme fit, and often anchor discussions in real teams and players while maintaining accessible, banter-driven conversation. Noteworthy is how the team fuses rigorous data with practical storytelling, inviting thoughtful disagreement and prioritizing long-term implications over hot takes, which can make it valuable for listeners who want tactical insight into how teams construct contenders and manage risk.

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Rephonic provides a wide range of podcast stats for this podcast. We scanned the web and collated all of the information that we could find in our comprehensive podcast database. See how many people listen to this podcast and access YouTube viewership numbers, download stats, audience demographics, chart rankings, ratings, reviews and more.

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Which podcasts are similar to this podcast?

These podcasts share a similar audience with this podcast:

1. Football 301 with Nate Tice
2. The Ringer NFL Show
3. The Bill Barnwell Show
4. The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny
5. NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

How many episodes of this podcast are there?

this podcast launched 6 years ago and published 1411 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Klayton Adams
2. Cody Alexander
3. Michael Beller
4. Aaron Schatz
5. Darren Woodson
6. Eric Berry
7. Marshall Yanda
8. Fred Taylor

To view more recent guests and their details, simply upgrade your Rephonic account. You'll also get access to a typical guest profile to help you decide if the show is worth pitching.

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