48. Pick Six: Kyle Pitts' Iconic Week

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Pick Six | The Game

This week: Tight End University, a Cowboy wedding, Pat McAfee's PB&J money, Dan Quinn's hot seat, Shedeur trade talk, and Kyle Pitts's $54M week.

Timestamps

00:00 — Intro 00:30 — Story 1: Tight End University takes over Nashville (Taylor Swift cameo included) 02:30 — Story 2: Hailey Cavender marries Cowboys TE Jake Ferguson in Miami 05:00 — Story 3: Pat McAfee invests in Jams, the NFLPA's "healthier PB&J" 06:30 — Story 4: Dan Quinn on the hot seat in Washington 09:00 — Story 5: Shedeur Sanders trade rumors swirl 10:30 — Story 6: Kyle Pitts signs $54M extension, presents Cape Verde's Vozinha his World Cup award 12:30 — Outro + programming note

Links

IG: @HeyVictoriaHenderson Substack: thegamehq.substack.com

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:00

You a baby baby. You better put it on a spelling it was. You better put it on it. The game's on. The game is on. Oh my god, the game's on. Games on. Games on. Games on. Games on. Games on. Games on.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

Hey, it's Victoria. Welcome back to another installment of Pick Six from the Girls at the Game, where we go over the top six best, most interesting, or most fun to talk about stories in the NFL each week. If you haven't done so already, I would really, really love if you could share this show or our social media or our fantasy league with a friend or family member, somebody who may really love it and want to join the community. That being said, Fantasy League is dropping late July. So make sure that you stay tuned for that info. All right, not too much chat today, but the Detroit Lions did comment on our Instagram today. So that was great. If you haven't listened to the episode from last Friday with Bettina Frank, she is, or Bettina Braga is her full name. She is the Detroit Lions International Fan of the Year. She is a ray of sunshine. I promise you will leave listening to that episode just in a better headspace, happier, and with a better vibe. She truly is such a good representation of the women around the Detroit Lions. So let's get into our pick six from this week. Starting out with our first story, tight end university has kicked off this week and it is taking social media by storm. I don't know if your guys' social media is the same as mine, but I couldn't get away from it even if I wanted to. And I think that Travis Kelsey and George Kittle is kind of getting to this level of kind of like entrepreneurial mogul, and they really are taking their brands and scaling them. So I know that it's them and their teams, but whoever's behind all this is doing such an excellent job of growing their personal brands, especially for two guys. You know, Travis is in his 30s, George is also in his 30s, two guys that are kind of nearing the end of their NFL careers and creating businesses, opportunities, revenue streams, and essentially means of employment after they leave the NFL. So I think not only did their like charisma make tight end university so great, but it's also going to be something that carries them and helps them keep purpose after they retire from the NFL. Because I think a lot of athletes, no matter what level you retire at, if you consider yourself a retired athlete, you know the struggle of going from being an athlete in that routine to not. And I think that things like tight end university or like even clothing lines gives players something to dive into. So all of that to say, if you have no idea what tight end university is, let me tell you, it was started in 2021 by Greg Olsen, Travis Kelsey, and George Kittle, and has become a full-blown press event. The goal of tight end university was to bring the tight end community together for an immersive three-day program. It basically improves community and gets all the guys to meet each other and improves athleticism. And there really is nothing in the NFL like it. I did look up like, are there other, is there anything else going on like tight end university? And the reality is there are what they call summits for other positions. So quarterback summits. Um, there's a Manning Passing Academy run by the Manning family, of course. And then there's some pass run rusher, whoa, pass rusher summits for defensive ends and outside linebackers, wide receiver workouts that are a little bit less kind of formal. But I think that many positions have tried to be like wide receiver you, but nothing has really caught the way that tight end you does. And even announcers mention tight end you in in game day broadcasts. So just to like show the scope of it. That being said, it's in Nashville. This year, they have so many sponsors, including Reese's Bud Light, Gatorade, Dude Wipes, Raising Canes, New Era, Kinder, and more. It is held in Nashville. And last year, Taylor made an appearance. And this year, Taylor also made an appearance. There is a photo of Taylor Travis and the Kittles that has been circulating online. And then founder of Sports Ish, Lily Shimbashi, is there creating content for her brand, which just kind of proves how much of a media spectacle and like true event this has become. It's so much bigger than just the tight ends getting together from the outside. And then I'm sure from the inside, it is like an intimate experience for athletes trying to get together and learn. So I'm sure you guys will be seeing all of the content as I am for tight end university. Also, kind of shut down some rumors that the wedding happened this weekend between Taylor and Travis. I'm not gonna speculate on wedding timelines. I'm not gonna assume that it's at MSG. I cannot really imagine her doing something at MSG, but that's my personal opinion. We're not gonna speculate on the date, but we will be reporting on it when it happens. Story number two, speaking of weddings, Haley Cavender and Jake Ferguson got married this past weekend in Miami, actually very close to where I live at the Biltmore Hotel, which was crazy because I just moved to Miami like a month ago and I'm like scrolling Instagram as a girl does, and I see this hotel and I see their wedding, and I'm like, I think I know that place. And then I realized, oh my gosh, yeah, I literally went for a run um in that area uh last week and saw the Biltmore Hotel where they ended up getting married. If you don't know who Haley Cavender and Jake Ferguson are, it's likely that you may know one or you may know the other. Jake Ferguson is, I'm not gonna call him a deep cut because I know I'll get some hate for calling him a deep cut, but he is one of the, I would say, less famous of the tight ends because he is also a tight end. So this is just tight end and wedding central over here. Um, but Haley is really well known. She is an influencer and now entrepreneur. And her and her sister have an Instagram called the Cavender Twins, where they have a couple million followers between the two of their accounts and their dual account. And Haley, specifically, because she's the one who just married into the NFL, even though they are twins, so they kind of come as a package deal. Um, she played basketball for the University of Miami. And she now has her and her sister a tequila line, uh, a Zuccar tequila, and Team Twin Basketball, as well as a workout app Together, which is TWO Together. She also walked the Sports Illustrated swimsuit runway a few weeks back, the same one with Claire Kittle, Kristen Goff, et cetera. And who she married, Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson. He's 27. He is a super reliable red zone threat for the Cowboys and really helpful to Dak Prescott in those super clutch situations. He had eight receiving touchdowns last year. His overall yardage and yards per catch have been pretty low. His average depth of target is only five yards. So when you look at his stats, you see his numbers are significantly maybe lower than other tight ends. I think he was around 600 last year. And he's sharing all of those targets as tight ends do with their wide receivers for him, um, George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb. So should you draft him in your fantasy league, I wouldn't pick him number one, two, or three, but he's not a bad pick in a tight end position. So I mean, I wouldn't even go in like the first couple of rounds. You can draft quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers that are going to get you a little bit more. And then I don't know, he's not on my draft roster for fantasy this season, but because he is clutch, he could get you some points when you didn't really see them coming. All right, let's go to story number three. Pat McAfee from the Pat McAfee show. Pretty much if anybody's in the NFL world, you know who Pat McAfee is. If you don't, he works with ESPN and has his own show. And he just invested in a company called Jams. And Jams is the official sponsor of the official PBJ of the NFL Players Association. And other investors include Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, for no former NFL player JJ Watt, and former U.S. women's national team member Alex Morgan. So it's a healthier alternative to PBJ. The players love it. I'm pretty sure they've come out with a stat before saying, like, the players eat this many PBJ, which is honestly like a disgusting amount. But jams this whole thing is that they are a healthy alternative to a classic PBJ, which, as a personal trainer, I would say a healthy PBJ is a great post-workout snack. Um, you have carbs, you have some sugars, or during workout. Honestly, I can't eat peanut butter during my workout, but um honestly it's a great snack before, after anything like that, especially if it leans on the healthier and more natural option instead of other brands. So the actual details of Pat McAfee's deal and investment with them. Uh it has been stated that the brand plans to expand retail distribution, additional sports partnerships, and new flavors this summer, and that Pat will be kind of involved in some of the content direction, creative direction within jams. So good for Pat. I think it's so cool to watch players invest in new companies and kind of all be together. I think there is a cool camaraderie, and I think it also helps with like mental health and keeping things good after you retire, as we were kind of talking about before. All right, moving on. Story number four commander's coach Dan Quinn on the chopping block. Now, this is a little bit of hearsay. However, league executives told reporters this week that commander's coach Dan Quinn is facing a make or break 2026 season after going from an NFC championship appearance in year one as the commander's head coach to a 5-12 record in year two. There's also a reported rift with GM Adam Peters and a coordinator shake up, adding to what's going on. Sean McDermott's name has been floated around a couple of different franchises as a potential replacement, but we're not even gonna go there because it is so wild in the NFL how quick people are to kind of turn on you. And Dan Quinn had the hottest season, 12 and five, in his first season as the head coach at the Commanders. And then last year was pretty much just like a disastrous season for them, 12 and 5. Can Jaden Daniels pull it together, pull it off? Can Dan Quinn? I honestly think that NFL executives, whoever is saying this, is being a little bit too harsh on Dan Quinn. I think that the NFL staff in general, executives, media, it feels like they're unwilling to ride the wave of like what greatness looks like. And I think that's one thing that like maybe is setting the Chiefs apart long term and the Eagles is that they don't make panic decisions when things aren't going their way. They just kind of stay the course a little bit more than other teams. I think firing Dan Quinn after year three would be a mistake. But I guess if they have a disastrous season, like maybe they could. The most interesting part of this entire story, though, is actually Dan Quinn in general. So I knew that Dan Quinn had like kind of a bigger past than some other new NFL coaches. But let me tell you, Dan Quinn has a Super Bowl ring with the Seahawks. So let's let's go back. So 2013 to 2014, Dan Quinn is the defensive coordinator uh at the Seahawks. He's the architect of the quote unquote Legion of Boom defense that won the Super Bowl in 2014. Then he goes from winning the Super Bowl as a defensive coordinator to the Falcons from 2015 to 2020. The Falcons have a Super Bowl appearance in 2016 with Dan Quinn as the head coach. Then he leaves the Falcons and goes to the Dallas Cowboys back to a defensive coordinator position. And then from there goes to the Commanders, has his 12 and 5, and then his 5 and 12. Maybe everybody already knew this about Dan Quinn, but I think Dan Quinn making a Super Bowl run at the Falcons. Granted, it was 2016, which is 10 years ago. And then going from the Falcons to the Cowboys to the Commanders. I don't know, but I do think I think this is a little bit harsh given that he's 50-50. But maybe I'm not fast enough to fire people. So let me know what you guys think of Dan Quinn, if it's reasonable for him to be on the chopping book. And do you think Jaden Daniels can pull this team out of the rut that they all got themselves into last season after such a breakout season that honestly nobody saw that coming two years ago? Okay, fifth story also kind of in the rumor mill. Shador trade rumors right now. People are freaking out about this. There are so many Instagram posts, so many articles, etc. etc. etc. saying Shador is getting traded. The original post is from ESPN Cleveland, and I couldn't find anything confirmed, any concrete details, any great, excellent sources, any confirmation by sources that the NFL loves to hang out with so much. Um thanks Shador for constantly providing us with content and things to talk about to start off. If I were Shador and I was offered a trade, I would honestly take it. I think that the whole draft situation was a mess. But I think that once you get to a team and they commit to you, there's like a level of it feels like a level of respect that you and like investment that you should put in the guys you draft. And the vibe, the vibe is not there for me on this one. I would love to see Shador get traded. I think there's other franchises that need him, that could use him, and they could use him wisely. Do I think he's the best quarterback in the NFL? No, I definitely do not think that he's even really pushing into that boundary. But I do think that he's a guy with a lot of potential that is under a different kind of pressure than most other quarterbacks. And if you didn't hear the episode last week, go back to last week's pick six because I detail the Shador and Watson kind of drama and everything that's linked to both of them. So should Shadour get traded? Honestly, I love the drama around Shador. I think he's fabulous. I think he, his brand is incredible that will live way beyond the football days of him being like an active player as well. So he's kind of set for life. But I would like to see for the people who don't like him, his chance to have a great redemption arc, and for the people that do like him, and for him himself and his family to have a really supportive team-based offense that is super excited to have him and excited to do that publicly. Because I don't think that the Browns really did their job there. I'm kind of out on the Browns right now. I don't know. You guys tell me. Our sixth story of the day, our final story is my favorite story of the day, actually. So Kyle Pitts signs a $54 million agreement with the Falcons. Um the third highest paid tight end in the league right now. The highest paid is George Kittle at $19.1 million per year, Trey McBride at $19 million per year. So he's third highest paid um and staying with the Falcons. He is 6'6, 250 pounds. 6'6 is a tight end, is crazy. He was a fourth pick in the 2021 uh draft. He is 25 years old and he is a Libra, which I love because I'm a Libra. I can't wait for Libra and international NFL season, of course. Okay, some things to know about Kyle is yes, he has this contract. Yes, he's staying with the Falcons. It's a great contract, they're paying him a lot of money. Fabulous. We love him. He's he's been great. He is now called Kyle Pitts Sr. because he has a son, Kyle Pitts Jr., which did lead me lead me down an Instagram rabbit hole. Like whose Instagram am I really looking at? Is this him? Etc. But it is Kyle Pitts Sr. He has a son, Kyle Pitts Jr. But I digress. It has been honestly kind of hard to get locked into football content while the World Cup is going on. I am living for the World Cup. I'm living for the storylines. If there's a team that's behind, I'm like rooting for them so hard to like win. I've just really leaned in and I'm so grateful that I got to like go to a game and experience it here in Miami. It was so wonderful. And we've seen a lot of crossovers, but a great, great week for Kyle Pitts Sr. The Cape Verde, because he presented the Cape Verde goalkeeper, Vizinha, the man of the match award, he posted on Instagram saying honored to present the Mikelobe Ultra Superior player of the match trophy to Vizina. Keep doing your thing, my guy, with a little salute emoji. And if you don't know Vizina's story, he is the 40-year-old goalkeeper from Capo Verde. And if you haven't been on Instagram, Capo Verde is like a very, very small country. And the people of Capo Verde are freaking out because in the first match, they held Spain to zero goals. And Spain is favored to win the entire World Cup. And so this tiny country goes out, their goalie is 40 years old, and they hold them to a nil-nil, which is crazy. And I talked shit on Instagram the other day saying I hate ties, but like in this scenario, I take it back. I love these ties. I'm I'm so happy. And I'm like so in his corner. And there's a storyline out about how his mom couldn't go to the World Cup because they couldn't get the money together in time for the visa, which I believe is like 15,000. I don't know what currency that's in. So don't quote me on that one. But they couldn't get the money. And then someone was able to get them the money. And like I think our government got involved and then brought his mom to the World Cup where they again tied the freaking game. I just love it. And Kyle Bitsenor was able to present him an award. Also, Vizinha started with like, I don't know, a couple, like maybe 50,000 followers or something. He's at like 16 million. Like the entire world is behind him and behind Capo Verde, which I think is just like so cool and inspiring and amazing. And it's what makes sports great. Also, we'll just go over Kyle Pitt's stats really, really quick. 88 receptions, 118 targets, 928 yards, average yardage, 10.55 touchdowns in the 2025 regular season. So credit where credit is due. Also, coolest thing in the world. I feel like he is the winner of the week, not because of his contract, but because of the presentation of the superior player of the match and just like such a literally worldwide cultural moment. Okay, girls, that is all we have for you. The pick six, the top six stories that you should be learning about, hearing about in the NFL and in the culture around it this week. If you want to follow me on Instagram at Hey Victoria Henderson, uh, you can go to the gamehq.substack.com for all of the updates, living in fantasy updates, etc. And cheers to you. I hope you have a great week. Also, I hate to admit this out loud, but for the first time in Victoria slash the game podcasting history, we lost audio. So our Broncos Cheerleader interview will be postponed until further notice. So keep up for that. But I will bring you back an incredible interview as soon as I can. And with that, have a lovely week. Love you bye.

SPEAKER_01 22:00

You a batty baby. You gotta own it on a scaling at Grace. You better own it on it. The game's on. The game is on. Oh my god, the game's on. Game's on. Game's on, games on. Game's on. Game's on. Game's on.