Fantasy Football Daily - 2024 Live Mock Draft with Joe Marino | On the Clock! NFL Draft Podcast

Episode Date: March 14, 2024

Brett Whitefield (@BGWhitefield) welcomes in his good buddy Joe Marino (@TheJoeMarino) of the Locked On NFL Scouting Podcast and @LockedOnBills, as Joe goes live through his first 2024 NFL Mock Draft! SIGN UP FOR FANTASY POINTS IN 2024 AT OUR EARLY-BIRD RATE, INCLUDING OUR NEW ALL-IN PACKAGE. ALL NFL SUBSCRIBERS WILL GET BRETT'S NFL DRAFT PROSPECT GUIDE: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.fantasypoints.com/plans#/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/fantasy-points-podcast/support Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

with fantasy points. I'm your host, Brett Whitefield. I'm joined today by one of my best friends ever, BFFs. Joe Marino, welcome to the show again. How are you, sir? Brett, I'm doing good, man. That beard, brother, impressive. Every time I see, it's just getting better and better. Yeah, it's like, I, you know, I always loved the beard, right? But in my mid-20s and late 20s, I couldn't get the thickness, the desired thickness through the sides. Could always get a nice, you know, goatee going. But as I hit it, you know, in my 30s and my mid 30s now. It's really filling out nice. So I can give a beard die finally. It's lush. You're obviously prospering with whatever you've done to, uh, accentuate your

hair follicle growth on the on the face there. Looking good, my guy. Yeah, mix up for what I'm missing on top. You know what I mean? Yeah. You know, here. Um, Joe, I wanted to have you on. I mean, I always want to have you on. You're like my go-to guest all the time, but really wanted to have you on because the world is missing something right now and that is you're technically not writing anywhere right now. You're like audio only guy. You've got all these podcasts. You do have your private discord. But with that said, I feel like the people need more exposure to Joe Marino mock drafts. And so I thought I could have you on the show. We'll dive into a live Joe Marino mock. We'll break it down. I'll ask you some questions. We'll maybe get into some player evaluations along

the way. I don't know. What do you think? I'm down for it, man. I was glad to to put together a mock. This is actually the first mock that I've done, like just me. I've done some collaborative mock drafts with Kyle Crabs on lockdown NFL scouting, but this is my first 2024 mock draft that is me and only me. And I've done it exclusively for this podcast. Thanks for giving me a reason to do that. Absolutely. That's what I'm saying, though. It's criminal. We're in mid-March and Joe Marino hasn't done a solo mock yet. I mean, this is, we're missing this. So here we are. Let's dive right in, Joe. I want you to just rattle off your top five right now. Top five. One,

Bairs Caleb Williams, quarterback USC. Two commanders, Jaden Daniels, LSU quarterback. Number three, Patriots, J.J. McCarthy, the quarterback from Michigan. Number four, Arizona Cardinals, Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio statewide receiver. And at number five,

I think this is kind of like one of the big pivot points in the draft is the Chargers and whatever they're going to do. As of now, I have Joe Alt, the outstanding tackle from Notre Dame. Okay. I didn't think we'd spend a lot of time here, but I kind of have to, based on the way that played out. So you have, Caleb going one is no surprise. I think everyone's feeling that way,

even though I don't think Caleb's my favorite quarterback. I still think he's going to go number one. I'm not delusional. Jaden Daniels, though, the second key to be off the board over both Drake May and J.J. McCarthy, kind of give me a little something there on that. I think I'm just riding the buzz a little bit there. And Cliff King The commanders, offensive coordinator, thinking a little bit about Kyler Murray, the athleticism. I think obviously Jaden Daniels' athleticism is unmatched by any quarterback in this class.

I just feel like he's dynamic. I feel like for the commanders and for any team in the NFC, I feel like the quarterbacks are just not where they are in the AFC. And so like, take the swing. There's other, they could go with JJ McCarthy. They can go with Drake May. and I think they get fine processors that will keep offenses on schedule. But who's the guy that can elevate?

Who can be the truck, right? And not the trailer. Maybe that's Jaden Daniels. So I'm kind of riding that buzz right now. Joe, my comp for Jaden Daniels is one Robert Griffin III before the knee injuries. And I'm just saying the same team drafted him. So I don't know. Just saying, I think it's a good fit, though.

I do really like that. And then that brings us to a good point of clarity. So for clarity, sake, this is a. predictive mock then. This isn't a what Joe Marino would do mock. Yeah, I'm leaning more into the predictive side. I think I'm kind of blending some of it together, but I would say leaning more into what I think these teams will

actually do, which is kind of fun now that we've got that first big surge of free agency behind us, which always dictates the landscape of the NFL draft. Cool. All right. Next pick, Patriots going back to the Michigan quarterback. Well, is it all about that for you? Or do you see a big difference between JJ and Drake? No, I think a lot of it is that,

but I also believe that J.J. McCarthy would be a player that the Patriots would like. And I think even if Jaden Daniels was on the board, I think they would still go with J.J. McCarthy. I feel like they would appreciate the within rhythm,

pocket winning skills, but the translatability of film for J.J. McCarthy trumps any of these quarterbacks. I know that he's your favorite quarterback. I know that he's not everyone's favorite quarterback, but if you're looking for a guy that can come in and from based on your evaluation, do the things in college that you're going to ask him to do in the NFL, I think that's very clean with J.J. McCarthy.

And what's intriguing about that is not only does he check that box, but there is ceiling here, right? There's arm talent. There's movement skills. And so I just feel like from the overall evaluation and what he offers, I can see the Patriots vibe in with that. For sure, I have called J.J. McCarthy the perfect marriage between. high floor and high ceiling and a quarterback. There's both. You get both with him. I think coming off of Mac Jones, too,

who has, in the NFL, at least, has been a very undisciplined player, not great processor, throws the ball into windows. He shouldn't be thrown the ball into. I think it will be a really nice pivot going from that to J.J.J. McCarthy. Right, Whitefield, I was told that Mac Jones

was an amazing processor, one of the smartest quarterbacks ever. Yeah. What? What? What? Like, like, I was told that. I was crazy for not dying into Mac Jones.

Now, of course, the New England Patriots put on a masterclass of how to not true foster a great environment for your first round quarterback investment, right? Like no quarterback would have had a chance based on their coaching and how they surrounded them with talent. Yeah. But I don't understand people who didn't understand not liking Mac Jones as a prospect. Yeah, I liked Mack from an accuracy standpoint. and a

a gunslinger mentality. Now that gunslinger mentality has hurt him. But processing, I would never accuse an Alabama quarterback of being a good processor. I mean, that's, I'm sorry, I wouldn't go there. So that's, yeah, anyways.

Next pick, the Cardinals at 4, Marvin Harrison, Jr., that's pretty standard at this point. Although there is a push now that they like a tackle and they're going to go, Joe Alt, I don't know that I see it, but, you know, Paris Johnson Jr. played pretty well as a rookie last year.

I don't know, unless you think Joe Alt can play right tackle for you or you're going to move Paris to guard or something. I'm not like. Just sign Jonah Williams as well to your $30 million in Arizona, right? That's true. That happened last night. I mean, unless he's going to kick into guard, they cut DJ Humphreys, but I still think with Jonah Williams and, of course, the Paris Johnson pick that they need to look at some other stuff. Marvin Harrison Jr. is the best prospect in the draft, in my opinion. Yeah.

agreed on that. Chargers going, Joe Alt, tackle from Notre Dame. He's really good, and it definitely feels like a hardball pick to go tackle here. Now, you didn't do any trades in this mock, right, Joe? That's right. Yeah. So do you think maybe on draft day, they actually tried to trade this pick, or do you think they're going to stand Pat? Yeah, in doing this exercise, it definitely put the Chargers front and center for me as a tradeback team. I think they've got holes on the roster their cap position's tough. They're going to have to say goodbye and already are saying goodbye to some meaningful players. And for as much as we're kind of talking about this tackle thing, they did just pay Trey Pipkins. I know he had a bad year. And they do have Rishan Slater.

I don't think that precludes the tackle. I think the buzz is with the tackle. You're Jim Harbaugh talking about the idea of Justin Herbert with a running game. And I certainly buy into to him believing in that. they got some big needs on defense, whether that's that corner, edge rusher. And so you could see they're not being a lot of value at five and for them to maybe trade back, especially with in this scenario, Drake Mays on the board. And you've got teams like Denver, you got teams like Minnesota. You got the Raiders could all be looking to move up. And so I think the chargers are very much that first pivot point to me in this draft if we do get three quarterbacks and then Marvin Harrison, Jr. to the Cardinals.

Yeah, totally agree with you. there. For me, their mentality needs to be getting Herbert to playing to his potential. And similar to Mack Jones in New England, the Chargers have done a poor job of surrounding, you know, Herbert with good play callers and good players. I know Keenan Allen's a great player, but I think they've missed the mark pretty much everywhere else. So getting a tackle or a wide receiver here to me is paramount. So I like the Joe Alt-pick. Let's go next 10, Joe, starting with pick six to the Giants. or next five.

Giants, Malik neighbors, LSU wide receiver. Number seven, the Titans, Tiles Fulaga, the Oregon State offensive tackle. And number eight, the Falcons, Dallas Turner, edge rusher from Alabama. Number nine, the Bears Roma Dunzee, or people are yelling to me for how I pronounce it. Is it on Oduunze? Odunes, I don't know, man. Washington wide receiver. And at number 10, Olu Fashanu, the offensive tackle from Penn State.

All right, so this is great. Six Giants going neighbors. I have also started to pivot them to a wide receiver in my mocks. I've been going to throw him a dunes. I've been saying a dunes-a. I don't think we know exactly how he wants that said yet. We'll find out soon, I'm sure. But you go neighbors here.

I have some, I'm not going to rehash it because I've done it on this pot a bunch of times. I have some issues with Malik neighbor's production profile. I think he's being kind of falsely propped up based on some usage patterns in college. I still think he's a fantastic prospect. He'd ever be every bit of the wide receiver won in last year's class. I'm just not completely sold on that production profile translating to the NFL. I think he's going to have a little bit steeper of a developmental curve than than Rome will.

So I've been going Rome, but same idea for you here, though, going wide receiver. They're kind of gridlocked at quarterback, right? I mean, it's,

I mean, what do you do? I feel like you got to take another stab at making Daniel Jones work. And then they just signed through lock. Drew lock. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

So it feels like they're pretty locked in to run in a back with Daniel. I don't know. I like this pick for that reason. What are you seeing here? Yeah, I think it's about giving Daniel Jones every opportunity to be successful. They've invested some on this offensive line and free agency love the Brian Burns edition for the defense. They need a receiver, man. It's a glaring hole on this team.

And they can pick a quarterback, sure. It's not going to matter if they don't get some more weapons. And Malik neighbors as a really dynamic athlete, height weight speed guy. I think he's got some work to do. I think it's fair to call out, okay, what was he asked to do? do at LSU? What does that, what did that offense provide for him versus, you know, what type of technical growth will be necessary for him to maximize his ability at the next level? But the ceiling is absolutely there. The big play potential is absolutely there. I think they need a player like this

for Daniel Jones. Tennessee Titans, Talisei Fuga. Yeah. For Morgan State. This dude's a beast. I'd consider him here for the Chargers as well because they do have Sean Slater, the left tackle. Talisi is more of a right tackle guy. But one of my favorite players in the draft, Joe. What do you think of Talisi? Man, he's a buck kicker, dude. Like, that dude creates displacement. One of the most fun film watches I've had so far in this class.

I think Tennessee, you know, Brian Callahan coming over, they're going to have a West Coast passing game. And so if you have concerns about pass protection, I think kind of the timing elements of that would be mitigated with Talese. but he's going to unlock the run game. They just made an investment in Tony Pollard. They got Tai J Spears coming back. I think what kind of plagued,

man, I hate to say that because the Bengals offense has been so good, but they can't run the ball, right? They haven't been able to run the ball under Brian Callahan. And I feel like getting some people movers, man. And this kind of fits that prototype that we saw, like they like the big tackles in Cincinnati. So I'm kind of copy pasting some of those dynamics and assuming them for Tennessee. And then, of course, could you imagine, like Bill Callahan gets

his hands on Talese Fuwaga, that's going to be a special player. I feel like they're going to pick a tackle. It's just a matter of which one. Yeah, absolutely. Spot on there. Falcons take Dallas Turner at 8, first defensive player off the board. This is kind of how I've been mocking it as well. I have Dallas Turner slightly ahead of Jaredverse in my rankings.

And so I think I'm fine. Dallas brings lengthen athleticism. They need passers help desperately. Any more analysis on top of that? No, that's the thought process there. for sure with Atlanta. I feel like they've done such a good job of addressing their offensive issues. They're cousins as a quarterback.

Darnel Mooney to give them a second receiver. The offensive line was already pretty well set. Let's get some help on defense. I thought about a corner. I did. I did think about Quinyon Mitchell here, but I went with the pass rusher. Cool. 10 or sorry,

whoa, nine Chicago Bears going with my guy, Rome Adunze. Yeah. I love this pick. Whether it's Malik neighbors, Rome, but doze doesn't matter to me.

The idea being, we're not going to make the same mistake. we did with Mitchell Chubisky or with Justin Fields. Right out the shoot, we're going to provide our quarterback a dude. Now I'll have two dudes with DJ Moore. Really, really like this. What do you thinking here? Yeah, I like the complimentary skill set with DJ Moore as well.

I think DJ Moore is very much a do-everything player, yards after catch vertical ability. But Roma Dunzee is a rot runner, as a technician, as a guy that couldn't get to his spots, when those leverage battles has, you know, like I know he tested well, but like there's, it's so interesting because you watch his tape and he does, doesn't look super explosive, but I think it's just because everything's so natural to him that it just looks easy.

And it doesn't look like strained to do basic things. And I think that's a big time compliment for a player is like where they make hard things just look easy and natural. I think that's what Rome does. And so especially if Caleb Williams is going to be your quarterback. And I share in a lot of the concerns you have with Caleb, like what he does is awesome. But there's just not enough in structure stuff. and Roma Dunzee as a as a timing player I think helps ground a guy like Caleb Williams right like I think you'll need that rot runner that consistency and then okay he can have us fun with DJ more I like that complimentary pair I like how Roma Dunzee can help Caleb Williams

I agree 100% if you're trying to get your quarterback to play on schedule more the best way to do that is to make him feel comfortable playing on schedule yeah getting guys that can separate guys that are precise with what they do that's the way to do it. Roams that guy. Pick Tan, the New York Jets, Olu Foshanu. I feel like we have discussed him privately, Joe.

Why don't you give me some Olu Fashanu analysis here? I really like Fashanu, the past protector. Like, I think he's really, really sound with his set points, with his footwork, with his hands. All of that's really good. I am disappointed that I don't feel like the run blocking was any different. over year. I was looking for him to unlock that. But for this Jets offense, Aaron Rogers, like, the most important thing is the pass protection. And Olu gives you that at a high level. They just acquired Morgan Moses to play the right tackle. So it's just a very natural slide in Olu.

Feel like you've gotten yourself out of this hole that was last year with Beckton and Dwayne Brown and Max Mitchell and just a nightmare, a nightmare situation at tackle. I think you get a lot better real quick with Olu Fashano and Morgan Moses. 100%. I'm with you. I thought Olu's 23 tape, too, is a little disappointing. He didn't really elevate. The traits, though, the physical traits, like he's your prototype left tackle in the NFL. You know, they're going to have to feel like Penn State just kind of has a player development problem. They do. All these toolsy guys, it doesn't feel like they're maximizing their potential ever at Penn State. And then it's the way that so many of them test, you're like,

unbelievable. Why didn't you do more? And so I don't know. I will see. I think I think there's more to unlock with Fashano. I just feel like there's just been this long history of Penn State not unlocking it. And, you know, I think the fact that we're saying that but still putting him in the top 10. Yeah, it's crazy. Says a lot about what I think Olo can do at the next level. Absolutely. Huge ceiling. Next five, starting with the Vikings at 11, Joe. Vikings 11, Quinnian Mitchell Toledo cornerback. 12 the Broncos. They got to love this.

Drake May quarterback North Carolina. Stick and pick him at 12. 13, the Raiders, J.C. Latham, Alabama offensive tackle. 14, the Saints. I love this pick. Troy Fetano, Washington, interior offensive lineman, or just, I don't know.

I guess he could play tackle. Colts, Brock Bowers, Georgia, tight end. There is a lot to unpacking that five. Holy cow. All right. First and foremost, the Vikings going Quinnian Mitchell,

cornerback, Toledo. He's my number one. corner in the draft. I'm happy to see you with him going first here as well. The Vikings, though, to take Quigna Mitchell, they had to pass on Drake May. Let's talk about that, Joe. I can't let that pass without talking about it. I mean, I know

they signed Sam Darnold, but they really need a guy. Yeah, here's the thing about these quarterbacks, right? You can sit there and say, all right, there's four first round quarterbacks. That's not really true for every team, right? Like, they don't love every quarterback. And you're only pick a quarterback if you love them. And I can see this Kevin O'Connell situation saying,

let's see what we have in Sam Darnold. And if that doesn't work, let's figure it out next year. But between the infrastructure that we have around him, which looks pretty frigging good with Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockison, and certainly Justin Jefferson will back. They got an elite left tackle in Therisaw. Aaron Jones, now is this running back is pretty intriguing. I think they have a pretty solid offensive line.

It's like, all right, can we unlock Sam Darnold and just figure it out on defense a little bit and they need help up front. They need help on the back end. But if I go to Brian Flores, the defense coordinator, and I think about his tendencies with the Miami Dolphins, he wanted all the corners, right? Xavier and Howard paid all the money for Byron Jones, still drafted Noah Igbenogity, right? He's a coverage over pass rush guy, which makes sense coming from the Bill Belichick ideology, which also believed in that. So all of that moved me to defense and all of that moved me to corner. Quignan Mitchell is the best corner in the class, I think he's the most versatile.

And for a pressure defense like what flow runs in Minnesota, a guy that I trusted man coverage like Quinyon and that athleticism, man, that's going to make that defense really good. Yeah, I like that. Flores, I mean, no team blitz more in the Minnesota Vikings last year. And so he needs corners. He's, he can trust to put on an island, you know, and that's... Mitchell's that guy. Yeah, Mitchell's absolutely that guy. So, all right, well, with

that said, the Broncos then land their QB of the future and Drake May, it kind of feels lucky in a way where they have to eat this huge, you know, dead cap with Russ, but they're going to land Drake May at Pick 12 without moving up. Tell me about Drake May. He's local to you playing at the University of North Carolina. You live in North Carolina. Break that down. I think the processing ability pre and post snap of Drake May would be appealing to Sean

Peyton. How frustrated must Sean Payton be with Russ Wilson for a guy who just the turned down. the decision he doesn't make. I mean, the guy just holds on the ball and either chucks it up to Cortland Sutton or checks it down to a running back. You know Sean Payton had to be losing his mind dealing with that, right? I frustrated watching Russell Wilson and I'm not even coaching. Like, what are those conversations have been like?

I think what Drake May is is the opposite of that. Or I think he does kind of understand what the objective of the play is, how coverage dictates it, and get the ball to where it's supposed to go. And then on top of that, he gives you some athleticism. He gives you some toughness that I really appreciate about Drake May, gives you some down the field throwing ability. So I feel like he's the right ball of clay for Sean Payton to move forward with. And there's other things that Denver can do.

But based on the way that this fell, it made a lot of sense to me if they're not a team that moves up for a quarterback. But, you know, I don't know if they're in that position. I think if they can stick and pick one, that's the best case scenario for Denver. You summarize that really well. I do have some concerns with Drake. I think he, what he wants to be, he's a good processor.

But I do think there's a lot of freelance to him where it just, that's when he got in trouble was when he was trying to do the freelance stuff. No, he also made a ton of big plays doing the freelance stuff. So I guess, you gotta learn what you can and can't get away with, right? He's still figuring that out. And I think the schemes,

Phil Longo to, was it Philip Lindsay, just really, really different. I think it was helpful for him to get away from Phil Longo. But I still think, think his development was not helped at all by where the coaching started, right? It helped, I think, getting to Philip Lindsay, but he's still a player that very much is learning what

he can and cannot get away with. 100%. Raders go, Alabama tackle J.C. Latham. This is an Antonio Pierce pick through and through. Latham is an absolute savage. I'll slide in that right tackle for them and make that team better for sure. don't have much more than that. What are you thinking? Exactly that. Jermaine and Luminer was a nice kind of band-aid, bright tackle for them.

Time to get young, cheap, and get you some cornerstones of this offensive line to move forward with. You got Colton Miller. They just signed, I just paid Andre James, but you need more pillars up there for that offensive line. I think you're going to have to run the ball based on your quarterback dynamics.

And so J.C. J.C. Latham's going to help with that. Troy Fontanow, tackle Washington. And you announced him initially as an interior guy. Yeah. I can't let that slide, Joe. Is that how you view him or you just think that might be where he plays?

I also corrected myself in the same sentence there, Brett Whitefield. You did, man. The fact that it came out shows that it's a train of thought. You're not the only one, by the way. There's a lot of people. Yeah, because I was programmed to think that way. And then he had like plenty of lengths and plenty of athleticism. We're like, this guy does not have to play guard?

Wasn't that weird? Like we were for sure he was coming in with 31 inch arms. and then dudes like number 33 and you're okay well i think that's what i like about this pick for the saints where they have a hole at left guard right i think it's a plug-in-play situation there but they probably have to ask themselves some questions about Trevor penning and what he's shown at left tackle and so i think you you get an answer for both like if Trevor penning's going to be that dude at left tackle you got that dude at left guard you got an exciting left side of your offensive line with some complete mallers over there it's going to be fun for that run game

not to mention the rest of that offensive line will be really stellar. But if Penning's going to flop, all right, you got a tackle here that you can work with. But I think New Orleans is a team that they go trenches. I didn't feel like there was a defensive lineman that made sense for them. And the offensive line value was there. This felt like a Saints pick to me. Yeah, I agree with that. The thing, I'm because of my analytics background, we know tackle is more important than guard.

Wow. The NFL's playing guards like their tackles, man. We got Landon Dickerson. Robert Hunt, these are $20 million a year. That's because the cyclical nature of the NFL where it's becoming vogue to run the ball again. You know, and so I think that's why you're seeing the guard pay go up a little bit. But with Troy, though, like, as much as I am, let's start him at tackle first because it's a more valuable position. I also think he could immediately be one of the best guards in the league.

So it's kind of, I see the attractiveness with maybe putting him that left guard or something. Put him on the Brandon Albert plan, right? Didn't he start a guard and then eventually went to tackle? He was awesome at both spots. Like, I think that's your worst case scenario. Yeah. Pick 15, rounding out the top 15 is the Indianapolis Colts taking Brock Bowers. This is some low hanging fruit.

We're seeing this mocked all the time. It feels like if they don't get one of the top three receivers that they might want to do this to help Anthony Richardson. What do you think in there? You know, I originally didn't want to pick Brock Bowers. I sat there and my original iteration of this was Cooper, the Gene, the DB from Iowa. And I just reminded myself, they just drafted Anthony Richardson. They have to lean towards helping him the most, right? And they have a million tight ends on the roster, but none of them are Brock Bowers, right?

None of those guys should preclude them from drafting Brock Bowers. And we see the kind of an uptick in heavy personnel across, the league 12, 13 personnel. I don't, I don't think that any of them takes away from the idea of Brock Bowers, but I think he helps Anthony Richardson. It's a playmaker, and I think that is what pushed me over the top as opposed to kind of going for the defensive player. I like it. Let's go with the next 10, Joe. We've got to speed it up a little bit. We'll go from 16 to 26. All right. Cahawks, Jared Verse, Edge, Florida State. 17. Jaguars, Cooper DeGene, Iowa. a corner at 18 the Bengals of Marius Mims the tackle from Georgia the Rams at 19 welcome back to the

first round it's been a minute tarian Arnold Alabama cornerback the Steelers at 20 Nate wiggins Clemson corner 21 the dolphins get byron murphy the second texas interior defensive lineman at 22 the Eagles coolade mckinstree the corner from alabama at 23 the texans get johnny newton illinois defensive tackle 24 the cowboys get jackson paul Johnson, the center from Oregon at 25, the Packers, Graham Barton, Duke, offensive linemen. Wow. So we got seven out of ten of those picks. We're defensive players. So this is the run on defense is officially started. Jared verse to the Seattle Seahawks. This is a Mike McDonald pick through and through because my comp for Jared versus Jadavian Clowney. We saw what McDonnelly did

with Jadavian Clowny and others like Jadavian Clowney last year with the Ravens. So I love that pick. I think it's exciting. They have a really good, young nucleus on that Seattle defensive line, first just adds more fuel to the fire. Yeah, no question. That's exactly my thought process. I don't think that Eichen Wosu or Boje Maffi precludes this pick. I think Mike McDonald can get a lot out of all of those players.

I still think Seattle's defensive line is just kind of a goofy mix of players. It always is. And I feel like this helps stabilize it. to some extent with with a clowny type player that really works for that defensive scheme. Yeah, what's fun too about Verse with Nuosu and Boya Mafet is you could see Mike McDonald getting all three of those guys in the field together. 100% similar to how they did that, you know, this year with Van Noy and Clowny and Bowser. A lot of mix and match there.

They can drop into coverage. I don't know that I'd play Verse that way, but those other two guys, you can drop them into coverage, play them in space a little bit. So some fun options there with that pick. let's talk about the three corners or I should say four corners that just went in this cluster of pick 17 Cooper de John

yeah 19 Terry and Arnold 20 Nate Wiggins to the Steelers and then 22 Kool-Aid McKinstree to the Philadelphia Eagles starting with Cooper I'm a little lower on consensus than Cooper tell me why you got him going 17 I think he

is more of the traits that you know that Trent Balke likes traits. All right. So I thought he was the most traitsy guy for that football team. And he's a guy that offer some versatility. They're going to play a lot of zone coverage. He just lost out on Darius Williams. I think they're trying to kind of shift from some of the previous ideologies under Mike Caldwell. I thought he was the most logical pick. The ball skills there are really intriguing. Then you go to Tarian Arnold with the Rams. A lot of versatility there. I think they need they need answers at corner gives them a guy that can play some man and they can be more diverse what they do on defense because I feel like if there's a player that I feel the most comfortable can do anything,

it's it's it's Arnold that corner. Nate Wiggins, we know that the Steelers love athletic guys from big schools. And that's what they get from Nate Wiggins. You wish he had a little bit more size to him for sure. But I think you pair him with Joey Porter Jr. and you have a really nice pair of corners that complement each other well. And then Kool-Aid McKinstree, the Eagles, they just seem to get younger and more dynamic at corner. And I think Kool-Aid McKinstree gives them that. They gives them some options to start developing behind James Bradbury. Maybe he can even beat out James Bradbury, not to mention, you know, Darius Slay, who's getting a little older.

Yeah, rewinding a little to Nate Wiggins to Pittsburgh. I love this pick. I'm not a big Nate Wiggins guy. either actually, but I think this is a really good fit because you got Joey Porter Jr. who could be the physical press on the ball where I'm going to handle the bigger receiver. Wiggins has the fluidity and speed to run with literally anybody. And then they just traded for Dante Jackson, who, you know, he's not, he's not a world beater at corner, but he's a solid corner you're going to put in the slot. This secondary last year, Joe, was awful outside of Joey Porter, Jr. So you're going to get now like a really solid

trio of corner. So I think that really elevates what that defense is capable of. And they were already pretty good on paper. So I really like that. Kool-Aid McKinstree to the Eagles. I'm, this is the guy I'm higher on than most. I think his 22 tape is absolutely fantastic. His 21 tape's pretty good. Had a little bit of a down year this year playing through some injuries. And I think that led to Terry and Arnold's rise a little bit. I've still completely sold out for Kulade McKinstree. I think he's a really good player. I think he's got the Alabama pedigree, which has translated very well to the NFL for defensive back. So that's a slam dunk to me for the Eagles who, again, secondary was awful last year. They went and they got Chauncey Gardner Johnson back and now they're adding a premier cornerback prospect to me.

I think Koolaid might be my number two corner in this class. So yeah, big on him. Other things of note, Ameris Mims, Bengals getting the tackle from Georgia. He's scary, right, Joe? Like, I mean, he's got the physical traits that you dream about in your sleep. Yeah. But he basically started four games. in 2022.

Yeah. In 2023. Bengals are the perfect team. Do you think they're going to move off of that? This is a team that drafted Andre Smith. It's a team that signed up for Lyle Collins. Like I don't feel, I feel like if there's a spot for Mims that they would roll with the upside, it feels like Cincinnati to me.

And, you know, I think they've, they moved Jonah Williams over to right tackle this past year. But it's been such an issue for them for a number of years. I feel like this is a type of player. they'd be willing to swing on. I think it's always been their intent to pick a tackle with this, with this selection and fill out that offensive line. And I think Mims is the right type of risk reward for Cincinnati. I feel that through and through.

Other things of note here, both defensive tackles that are consistently mocked on the first round. You have them going basically two picks apart, one at 21 to the dolphins replacing Christian Wilkins. I like Johnny Newton a little bit better. I do think Murphy probably gets drafted first, though, so I like that you have that order. And then you couldn't ask for a better player to replace Christian Wilkins.

Like right up the shoot. Love it. You're going to get a little cheaper. You're still going to have that, you know, absolute monster in the middle, run defender first who also has some really translatable pastoral skills. Yeah, there's no question. The dolphins, you know, they got a lot to figure out with the offensive line.

I think the depth of the offensive line class allows them to go with the defensive line in here. they need help at defense of tackle. I mean, it's Zach Seiler and nothing right now at defensive tackle. So they need some reinforcements there. And if you kind of follow the Mike McDaniel and then kind of tie him to Kyle Shanahan with kind of the team building philosophy, they've always been kind of willing to, yeah, we'll figure it out with the offensive line, right? We believe in the scheme.

Yeah. I think that they're going to want to get a little bit more dynamic with their players on a defensive line, which again falls in line with kind of those tendencies of the past. How would Kyle Crabs feel about this pick? I think he would like it. I would think he might push for the center Jackson Powers Johnson out of Oregon, which would have made a lot of sense. But they just signed, they just sign Andre James. He's not going to play guard for them or not Andre James. Aaron Brewer. So I feel like that opened the door for them to go defense and they got their center in free agency. So I think, I think, I think, I think Dolphins fans

like it. I'm not sure. They should. It's a good football player. A position you need. What more can you ask for? Yeah. I think, so both Murphy and Johnny Newton are going to be top 15 players for me in this class. Really like them both. Obviously, you know, detackle is valued very differently

across the NFL. Some teams put a very high value on it and other teams do not. Either way, really like the picks here. Okay, let's keep going. We ended at, what, pick 25. So let's finish this out. Pick 26 to 32. I do want to note, it's been like 17 picks since we've had a wide receiver come off the board and everyone's

mocking lots of wide receivers here let's see how this baby finishes out pick 20s some receivers are coming here receivers are coming 26 the bucks lay too lot through the edge from ucla the cardinals at 27 chop robinson edge rusher penn state 28 the bills get lad maconkey the georgia wide receiver 29 the lions get brian thomas junior the lSU wide receiver the ravens offensive lineman Arizona, Jordan Morgan, 31, the 49ers, Darius Robinson, the defensive lineman from Missouri, and Mr. Irrelevant in this first round, the Chiefs, Adonai Mitchell, Texas, wide receiver.

Mr. Irrelevant in the first round, I love it. All right, Layant to Latsu, going to 26. I know he's got medical Joe. If the medical checks out, that's to steal the first round. Don't care. There's no question, man. I love him, man. He's got moves on top of moves.

He's athletic. He ran circles around these Pack 12 offensive tackles. it's just about the medicals. And if they check out, I don't know. I think he's a top 10 player in the class. But you know how this goes, right? Guys typically slide. He was medically retired at one point.

If this works out, if their doctors say yes, man, they're going to get a hack of a player. Yeah, man, the moves on top of moves is the best way to describe it. It's almost like every game he came up with something else, some new setup to win. The positional versatility, too, like the way UCLA deployed him was remarkable. him in the ground, two point stance, wide nine, three technique. It doesn't matter. They played him everywhere, and he won consistently wherever he was lined up. So absolutely love that.

Cardinals go with a very developmental prospect in Chop Robinson, who has all the juice you could ever ask for in an edge defender, but he is a little raw. I wouldn't say he has moves on top of moves. He is a speed edge bender. What do you see with Chop? Speed off the edge. I'm thinking about Jonathan Gant.

and he needs that. You know, how successful he was with Hassan Reddick in Philly. I'm not saying it's a one-for-one comparison, but that speed dynamic is missing from this Cardinals defense. They need some more help for that defensive line. They got to get more serious about their roster overall. Obviously, it's early in a rebuild. But I think they need to start,

they need to start molding this roster in a way that it's usable for Jonathan Gannon. And I feel like that this is a good step in that direction. action. No doubt about that. I, you know, I flirted with the idea of chop fall into the second because he is so, you know, a little bit raw, but the physical tools are so good. And we saw a Penn State edge that was very similar and Micah Parsons have a lot of success. Now, big difference was Micah ended up not being as raw as we thought, right? He was more of an off the ball line at the state, but then shows up year one and has moves on top of moves. I don't think the track records there were chopped. But I think because of that, that comparison, I think he will. go in the first round. All right, the Buffalo Bills, this is your team, Joe, and you have them taking wide receiver, Ladd-McConkey. You have them going before Brian Johnson, Jr., before Ed and I

Mitchell, Xavier Worthy didn't even get in the first round here. Talk me about Ladd. Why is he a Bills fit? By the way, I also mocked the Bills, Ladd-McCocky. Well, I think it really comes down to do the Bills want another route runner separator on-schedule player, or do they want that more traditional X-receiver that gives height-weight speed down the field? If they want that, then it's Brian Thomas or Adonai Mitchell. If it's not, it's Ladd-McConkie, who's the Routrunner,

the really just technician as a Rout runner with separation, quickness, quickness, and speed. Josh Allen's best season was 2020. And his receivers that year were Steph Diggs, John Brown, Cole Beasley, Isaiah McKinsey. Those were the top four, right? Do you see an Adonai Mitchell in that mix or Brian Thomas? No, it's separators. And so I feel like that's what they would probably gravitate towards as they look to get younger at receiver.

Obviously, not paying Gabe Davis $13 million a season. But, you know, Stefan Diggs on the wrong side of 30, production fell off down the stretch last year. I think you're looking for more receivers to stock the cupboard with to kind of set yourself up, not only to have some X factors now, but have volume pieces of your offense moving forward. I feel like Ladd gives the bills that and falls more in line with the type of receivers that Josh Allen's had success with in the past. 100%. The thing with Josh Allen and even Lamar Jackson and even Jalen Hertz to an extent is the issue, I would say, the deficiency with a lot of these guys is throw for throw accuracy, consistency. Traditionally, when you saw like Cam Newton and Carolina, the way teams combated that was like, we're going to give you towers. We're going to give you big X receivers that can go up and get the ball.

But what you're doing is you're actually shrinking that margin of error window when you do that. The idea of what the bills did in 2020 specifically was, hey, Josh Allen's not the most accurate thrower, throw for throw. We're going to give them guys that separate. We're going to increase that margin of error. I love the thought process here. And I think that's exactly why they should go for a guy like Ladd or a Roman Wilson or even maybe a Ricky Purcell in the second round. Just get a guy who can separate, make those throws easy. Also, Lad is no slouch on the boundary.

He can win vertically. I know it's not his cup of his, you know, his primary thing that he does well, but I think he can do it. Lions, you threw a wrench at me here. Obviously, I'm the Lions guy and you went wide receiver. I couldn't love this pick more than I do, Joe. This is very good. I'm a huge Brian Thomas guy. What he brings vertically?

The Lions currently are without a true X receiver on the roster. Josh Reynolds is a free agent. Now, it's probably likely they do bring him back. doesn't matter to me. I think we've seen what Jared Gough looks. So Jared Gough's a very good quarterback, but we've seen what he looks like when he doesn't have a cupboard stock full of good pass catchers, right?

I never want to see. I never want to get there again. So every year I'm in the camp of let's keep building that skill player room last year. They added Gibbs in St. Laporta the year before Jameson, the year before that Alman Ra, let's keep it going. Let's just keep doing it. Let's keep getting a little bit better.

You get some insulation if one of those guys gets hurt. So Brian Thomas, I love this pick. He's going to play X. He's got a lot to learn. Tons to develop pretty raw, ran basically goes and hitches at LSU. That was it. So it's going to have a lot to learn. But what are you seeing here?

Yeah, height weight speed down the field. Yeah, he's got a lot to develop as a rot runner. The underneath stuff is not there yet. But as a ball of clay to put into this offense, as a hedge against, you know, my God forbid, Amman Ross St. Brown goes down, right? you get real nervous about what those receivers look like. I think this helps not only add to that mix, but again, if you were to have an injury there,

but also the vertical ability in this offense with Brian Johnson, the play action game, I think it really kind of works. And just becoming more, even more dynamic with what you have offensively. That's where I'm at. I feel like the lines have done a pretty good job with some of their needs on defense and free agency. Maybe they get DJ Reader as well,

which would really kind of send that to the moon. let's go to offense. Let's maximize our potential in the passing game with Jared Goff. Yep. I dig it. Oh, also my comp for Brian Thomas Jr. It was DJ Chark. The lines did have DJ Chark on the roster last season.

Injuries took a toll. He wanted to get paid a little bit so they let him walk. But I think the similarity there, the body control and vertical skill set will be attractive to the line. So I think it's actually realistic if this scenario plays out. So pick 32, Adnigh, Mitchell. let's talk less about Mitchell, plenty of people giving Edna Mitchell

analysis post-combine, and more about why did you go Mitchell in the first and not Xavier Worthy when traditionally we see the NFL overpays for that speed. You know, like to me, there's no way worthy doesn't go in the first round. He's not a first-round player to me

when I put on the tape. I don't see a first-round player, but why did you not have him in the first round? So, what is he, 160 pounds with like very like, okay, okay ball skills? I don't know. I would say bad ball skills. He can't track over his shoulder.

So didn't we already do this with Mikul Hardman? I don't know, man. I don't see it with Xavier Worthy. The NFL does typically pay for speed. I feel like, I don't know, man. There's so much more to it. I get the big playability. I do.

But he's a very incomplete player. There's not enough there. Like, I get it. that he can run four too. Like, I get it. But he's extremely underdeveloped as an actual wide receiver. And I don't know. I feel like Brett Feach knows that.

So give the player. I mean, I have some of my questions about Adam and I Mitchell as well. Sure. Me too. But I don't know, man. He's a twig that doesn't catch a ball very well. I'm good.

I'm good on Xavier worthy. All right. I'm glad we're sympathetic on that because that is like controversial to say right now. Like, if you don't have Xavier worthy going on the first. round you're you're don't know ball guy i guess i don't know ball non ball jill nor jo marino put me in the club i guess we we both we both don't know ball apparently um all right last thing i want to ask you about i know you got to go but one there's one other thing you only have four

quarterbacks going on the first round um and a lot of people have bone necks going on the first round a lot of people like michael pennick spencer rattle whatever your fifth cuby is doesn't matter you really think there's a scenario where we go picks 12 through 32 and not another quarterback goes off the board? Is there a chance someone comes up here to try to grab one? Maybe the Giants say, we did take one in the first, but we'll come up in the second and grab one. I think your path to this happening is very straightforward. It's the Chargers trading back with a team like the Vikings who come up for a quarterback. And then you have the Broncos slash Raiders chilling there at 13 and 14.

and then they just pick organically Bo Nix. I think that's the path for it. And because I didn't do trades, you know, I kind of stiff-armed that. But if I did do trades, I'd probably have somebody moving up to five or eight for a quarterback, and then Bo Nix gets drafted organically. I don't think you'll see,

I don't think you'll see somebody trade back into the first round for one of them. Yeah, you read my mind. So in my mock, I have that scenario that trade up happening, the four quarterbacks going before pick seven, or pick eight, sorry. And then I have Bo Nicks going to the Broncos at 12. Everything you said about Drake May playing on schedule, yada, yada, I think Bo Nix also offers that. I think he's a very disciplined quarterback. I think Sean Payton will appreciate that. So I could see Bo Nix going 12 to the Broncos.

But other than that, I don't have another quarterback going on the first round. No Pennix, no Rattler. I think that's a day two guys. Yeah, day two guys for sure. So all right. It's going to do it. Joe, you are the best. This was fun.

We have an official Joe Marino live mock draft out on the waves now. And yeah, very excited about that. So thank you so much for joining us. So where can the people find you? Enjoy it, my guy. At the Joe Marino on Twitter slash X, whatever we're calling it. And then, of course, the Lockdown NFL scouting podcast.

Awesome. Thanks for listening, guys. This will be back tomorrow. with another episode and your boy Kyle Crabs is going to be on the podcast hopefully next week