Green Light with Chris Long - Jordan Reid! 2023 NFL Combine Recap & NFL News: Derek Carr & Geno Smith Contracts, LA Rams & Derrick Henry

Episode Date: March 7, 2023

(2:19) - The New Green Light Softball Team and NFL News: Derek Carr to NOLA, Geno Smith Stays in Seattle, New Free Agents, Potential Trades and the Franchise Tag for the Ravens and Giants. (35:18) - ESPN's Jordan Reid talks NFL Combine: Great performances, Stock Risers and the Deep Wide Receiver and Defensive Back Classes. (1:00:48) - Jordan Reid talks about the 2023 NFL Combine Performances from the Defensive and Offensive Lineman and the Edge Rushers behind Will Anderson. Green Light Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/user/951jyryv2nu6l4iqz9p81him9?si=17c560d10ff04a9b   Spotify Layup Line: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1olmCMKGMEyWwOKaT1Aah3?si=675d445ddb824c42   Green Light Tube YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GreenLightTube1   Green Light with Chris Long:   Subscribe and enjoy weekly content including podcasts, documentaries, live chats, celebrity interviews and more including hot news items, trending discussions from the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, NCAA are just a small part of what we will be sharing with you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Download the app, bet big, win bigger. And I got to tell you, I really like the sound of that. And with WinBet, it's just that easy. WinBet has what you need to win. So if you're from Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee, or right here in Virginia, sign up today to receive special offers and take advantage of great promos for the big game

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Next Step. In Colorado, Indiana, New Jersey, and Virginia, call 1-800 gambler. And at Michigan, 1-800-270-1-1-7-1-7-1-7-8-9. Tennessee, y'all too, 1-800-8-9. Welcome to the Greenlight Podcast. We're back in business. Chris joins from the sandy beaches of some far off coast, and he talks to Jordan Reed about the NFL Combine. We run through each position group. Talk the guys who impress the most, guys who still need to do a little work at their individual pro days,

and which players can be an immediate impact player in the next level. There were some pretty impressive combine performances, extreme feats of athleticism, blazing 40 times. We go through it all with Jordan. It gets some great NFL info downloads. We also talk a lot of the NFL news that broke yesterday, some free agent waves, some guys who might want to come back out of retirement, and some trades that a certain podcaster of the Greenlight podcast might have been propositioning for months. If you all enjoy, we'll catch you on Thursday with Macon, and we'll have a great Amp show Thursday afternoon at 4.30 p.m. Y'all enjoy it. It's good to see you, cowboy. Where are you been? Ben.

Been doing an out-west gallivant chasing some, chasing some champagne powder. Did you find the powder? Yeah, we did. We sure did. We found some good snow. We were Pacific Northwest and traveled down to Utah and Colorado. We were chasing some deep, deep freshies. It snowed just about every day.

We had to put our powder planks on deep in the snow, but we caught some good trails, good runs. So Pacific Northwest, where were you in the Pacific Northwest? So I flew into Spokane and then I went to Idaho. A couple of spots in Idaho. Shout out Indy Pass. The Indy Pass. I have it. Had it for the last like five or so years, but I get two days per resort on there.

The Silver Mountain Resort in Kellogg and Lookout Mountain, which is right on the border of Montana and Idaho. So up kind of near your summer retreat way. and there's actually a couple of places on the Indy Pass that are real near where you go in the summers that maybe one winter we can do a green light trip. That'd be great. And get everybody on the planks. Or even one single plank. If you want to snowboard, that's fine too.

Have you done any snowboard skiing ever? I've skied as a kid and I snowboarded as like a teen, but then when it looked like football might be in my future, I didn't want to mess anything up. So I got off the snowboard, but I loved it. Yeah, yeah. But when you're strapped in that thing, you're really strapped in that thing. Yeah, yeah, you're really strapped in. It's good to slide around, though.

Were you doing winter green or did you do anything out in Montana? I did mostly winter green. I did the local stuff. I'm just the local guy. I haven't been on any black diamonds yet. So, yeah, yeah. And a couple years when we do that green light trip, we'll get everybody on the planks. We'll get, we'll get Macon on the planks.

We'll get Dr. Faxx on the planks. anybody in the group that you think just probably is not a good skier Bo. I doubt Bo is a good skier. Not a chance. Yeah, I don't know. That would be tough for him to be on skis. I bet he would be a good board or two. And I mean, Kyle's athlete, he would be good. I think on a year. Yeah, yeah, for sure. We'll have our own Greenlight X games is what we'll do. Good. And one thing we did at the end of the ski trip, we caught a little bit of music. and one, just a backtrack before I left.

You had just left Charlottesville. A gentleman by the name of Billy Strings played two nights at JPJ. Blew away, oh my, I don't mean to run it in, but golly, that was great. I'll play you the NugsNet live recording for it when you get back. So you have all the, all the playlist, everything played.

He freaking blew the doors down. And it was a, he walked in. And after the invention on the first night, he walked in and he was looking at JPJ's like, this arena is so big, oh my God. And they flick the lights on. The whole thing was packed. It was beautiful.

We were right up front. There was one part towards the end of night one where he was like, you know, at intermission, we walked off stage and we were watching the Grand Old Opry live, you know, while you guys were waiting. We were watching the Dell McCory band. We were having a good time watching Dell. And then he was like, I don't know why I told you that. That was a, huh?

I don't know why I told you that. And then he launched into a song. He's playing a song. And then at the end of the song, he was like, oh, I remember why I told you that. I wrote that song with Ronnie McCurry. Duh. And he launched that, duh, for so long.

Great show. If Billy Strings comes to a venue or a music festival near you, you have to check it out. Yeah, I felt a lot of FOMO with that. And I was listening to Long Journey Home a lot when I was up there. Because the whole time I'm on the mountain, I'm like, every step I take is getting me back to. my kids and back to sea level. Congratulations, by the way, for another summit. Is that five total?

Five. There was a moment of drag because I took a five finger picture up at the summit. And when I was really stoned on the plane ride home, you know, when dudes on the toilet and dumb and dumber, and it's like, do, do, do, and you realize something, that was the realization I had when I thought I'd only been up four times. I had to go back through my pictures. Just to make sure that I've been five times because I had told everybody all week they asked me how many times you've been up I said five and there was about a 30 minute period where I thought oh shit it was actually only four but I found I found all five summit pictures but yeah let's make long journey home the the layup line for for Mr. Strings and I hope not to miss it next time he's in charlottesville this past weekend

at the end of my trip, I was at Winter Wondergrass in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, caught two sets of Green Sky Bluegrass that again, when they pop up on the Nugs Net, I'll run you through what they played. They played Bust a Move. They did Young MC's Bust a Move.

It was awesome. And then a couple bands for your beach hang out, check out the kitchen dwellers. They're from Montana. They call it Galaxy Grass. They're just, you know, a couple string bands, just jamming and having a good time. Sounds good to me.

Little Smokies. When everyone's hanging out at the fire, the whole family, everybody, they're a whole family kind of vibe, good vibe and kind of band. Luke and Whelan are going to dance their tails off to it. We like the little Smokies. We'll put that in overdrive.

You know, Reed, you'd put me on the Little Smokies a year ago. So sounds like you've got some good teams. And while you were gone to underscore this, but we have a Green Light softball team. I heard you're aware of this. We're working on the roster right now.

So Green Light does sports. We're going to be doing sports. Tuesday night's all spring. Yep. That's going to be. I'm excited to be the third string water boy. That'll be pretty exciting. No, we're going to get you out there on the diamond.

I played softball one year and I was left fielder and it was, I wasn't very good of baseball. I was always the kid that, like, wanted the, was more excited about the juice box and the cookie after the game. Yes. And the cow tape. else. Yeah, man. I was, I kept more, I paid more attention to, you know, what parent had snacks after the game than the, then the next team we were playing, like our schedule. But there was a pop fly hit right to me. I was like, easy money. Got it. And I pulled my eyes away to fire it to the cutoff person and just hit the glove and fell to the ground right, right in front of me. That's embarrassing. That's how I ended last year's softball season. Really? dropping a pop fly and enacting the slaughter rule.

Yeah. So that was a hell of a way to end the season. Yeah, we'll bounce back. Big old bounce back for the Greenlight softball team. All right. So I just want to make sure we got Jordan Reed coming on to talk about some combine stuff. I'm going to admit it. I've been out.

I've been out of the country. Now I'm traveling. I'm in Anguilla with my family. And I have not been watching the combine. But when you've got a friend like Jordan Reed, he can catch you up on all of it within an hour. So we're going to have him on. He's been gracious enough with his time to spend 45 minutes an hour with us to go through the combine. Some of the NFL news that I kind of miss while I was in Africa.

Obviously, Aaron Rogers took to his darkness retreat. He's been out a while. But we haven't heard anything about the destination when it comes to number 12. Possibly some dominoes have fallen now. Derek Carr has signed with the New Orleans Saints. That was the team that tried to trade for him when the Raiders still had him under his rights. Of course, he turned that down with his no trade clause, decided to stick it to the Raiders. It's a lot of fun and it still ends up probably at his destination of choice.

In free agency, I think he gets 37 a year. Gino Smith also signed in the last week for 35 a year or 33 a year. So none of this bodes well for Daniel Jones wanting $45 million. I don't know some people have scoffed at that. The Giants are going to want to get him signed sooner than later. This definitely helps them and not going too deep in their pocketbooks. And it also helps them with Saquan Barkley because that's a deal. They want to get done.

They probably want to look at franchise tagging him, but they can't do any of that until they signed Daniel Jones. So a good domino for the Giants. for the Jets, it all centers around Aaron Rogers now. It seems Aaron Rogers are bust, right? Yeah, it's Aaron Rogers or bust. And for Aaron Rogers, you know, obviously there's a couple of landing spots. You could still look at the Raiders, probably still in the mix, and the Jets still in the mix.

With Derek Carr, a lot was made of the fact that, hey, here's a guy who kind of felt like the, you know, the side chick in Vegas. like they never really wanted to commit to him. And it always felt like whether it was Gruden or this past year, or even sometimes with the fan base. I know there's a very strong faction of Derek Carr supporters, and there should be. The guy has racked up a ton of yardage in productions. He's been in the league.

The defenses haven't been as good. I think the longer Derek Carr has played, the more respect he's gotten in the NFL. And here he has a chance to be, The guy, you know, a guy that his team really wants to be there. And that's a feeling that he hasn't had, I don't think, in quite a while in Vegas and in Oakland, where he always felt like maybe he was looking over his shoulder and that people didn't value him enough. And now you get an opportunity to go to a division in the NFC South where you're far and away the best quarterback.

Every single team's trotting out a new quarterback this season. So there's a lot of unrest in that division. It's very unstable. But New Orleans, who I've said it at different points, and Steve, Stanford Steve, picked them to go to the Super Bowl last year. I had picked them to go to the playoffs. I still don't think they were that far off, even as unsettled as that quarterback position was.

They have some really nice pieces. You know, and there's a defense there. I mean, it's probably not as good as the Jets defense, but it's a defense with a few pieces. You've got a couple pieces offensively. And as I mentioned, you know, like if I'm Derek Carr, I think a lot of people have applied this frame of mind with him where he kind of feels scorned by the Jets because they were looking at Aaron Rogers and he had to wait for that shoe to drop. So, you know, with the context of his relationship with the Raiders and just how he's been kind of discarded by some people, maybe New Orleans was like, I just want to be one. decision. But from a football standpoint, I think it's the better decision anyways. I mean, look at the

NFC South. We talked about the instability there, the lack of a lead dog in that division. He's the best quarterback. And where's he coming from? He's coming from the AFC West where last year it was the Broncos. Oh my gosh, they're going to come in in Russell Wilson's going to burn it down. Justin Herbert, you know, the prodigal, we called him there. We didn't call him, but people have called him the social media quarterback. And then obviously Patrick Mahomes. Now he comes into this this division with, you know, three unproven other quarterbacks outside himself, then the 1973 AFC West is the only division in NFL history in which every team had a different starting quarterback in its season opener than the previous season. And I'll bet you in

1973 there weren't too many good teams in the AFC West. And so I look at the NFC South and I say, this is just purely a better football decision for Derek Carr. You know, you can make a big deal about the Jets defense. And I think with with kind of the visibility that a New York market team demands, you know, we all paid close attention to the Jets last year and we willed them to be this good team. And they were quarterback away. Having said that, though, they're in a division with what I think is going to be a much better New England team next year, a Miami team that, oh, by the way, Tom Brady is now linked to Miami, not done. told you so, and Miami's looking elsewhere, told you so.

You know, that division's tough. We haven't even mentioned Buffalo, who's a Super Bowl kind of contending team with rocket arm quarterback. You look at that division and you look at the NFC South. I think Derek Carr made a really wise decision. I think there's no reason to believe that Derek Carr won't be playing in the playoffs come January of 2024 with the best defense he's ever trotted out that late in the season because they're just going to be better than the Raiders have been defensively.

And so I think there's a really good decision for Derek Carr. And it's interesting you mentioned earlier how respected he is. You saw all of his, you know, Cam Jordan came out. Everybody was excited for Derek Carr to come to, I mean, as you are when your team makes a big free agent signing like this. But it is interesting to point out that last season, Derek Carr did have a passer rating completion percentage and yards per attempt all below Andy Dalton's average. So, and he did that with Devante Adams.

Now, are all those numbers going to go up because of the weapons, you know, Andy Dalton had or is that a regress? You know, I wouldn't put too much into it because I think what New Orleans is looking for is a winner, you know, like I'm not saying Andy Dalton's not a winner, but at this stage in his career, and I watched the Saints a lot last year, you know, in crunch time, he held them back. at times, you know, the turnovers, the whole thing. And Derek Carr is a guy who's proven to be a winner. I mean, you know, a ton of fourth quarter comebacks, a lot of close ball games. And I think

the way that New Orleans is going to want to play, complimentary football, that whole thing, having a guy that can make those throws in crunch time who's been a winner in this league for a long time is a differentiating factor. And so I look at it as a by-low scenario for them. You know, I know it didn't, it wasn't a bargain. You got to pay the guy $37 million a year to come be your quarterback. But if you're the Jets and you're looking at Aaron Rogers now, Aaron Rogers, no matter what you pay him, I feel like is a year-to-year guy. You know, you just can't take what he says to the bank.

And I do feel like Derek Carr is going to relish and appreciate this opportunity in New Orleans and you'll get his best. Whatever that is at this age with this set of weapons, you will get his, best. So the quarterback carousel continues. And Lamar Jackson, I think today at 330, the Baltimore Ravens have to, probably as you're listening to this pod, have to decide whether or not they want to tag him with the exclusive franchise tag or with the franchise tag, the regular old franchise tag, where the difference in those two numbers, about $13, $14 million, $45 million for the exclusive franchise tag. Of course, if they tag him to the $32 million tag,

and somebody outbids them, they're going to get some first round picks coming their way. So for the Ravens, a very interesting decision they have to make. I have long wondered how long, long wondered how long. Lamar Jackson would be in Baltimore, and I feel like we are at the crossroads right now, and he can end up any number of places as a result of what happens around 3.30 today. So that's interesting. Another thing I've been paying attention to is the Jalen Ramsey news. So Jalen Ramsey, surprise, surprise told you so, is being shopped.

And the Rams are looking at trading him. Now, I have wondered out loud on this podcast in the offseason whether or not the Rams would want to trade Jalen Ramsey and or Aaron Donald this offseason. Now, I don't say that because I think they're bad players that past their prime. you could argue that maybe they are, but they're still great elite players, blue chip players in this league. And you're a team that's kind of throwing caution to win when it comes to holding on to your draft capital. This is the way to kind of restart the clock a little bit for this team. I don't believe them to be a contending team in 2023, especially with what they have, a quarterback, Matthew Stafford's coming back.

Why am I going to trust his health and his level of play anymore? more than I did this past year. I just don't think you're going to see Prime Matthew Stafford walking through that door. And as we mentioned, the roster as a result of, you know, putting the gas pedal on the floorboard the past couple of years is not what it was. So I do think Jalen Ramsey would be a nice option. You don't necessarily have to ship Aaron Donald out of town if it's the, if it's the kind of, I don't know what the word would be, the sentimental value of having that one of the greatest of all time wearing the horns for his entire career, okay. But Jalen Ramsey is not a lifer with the Rams.

He's a guy, you know, guys would still covet teams would still covet this guy, and you get some draft capital back, which you need. So I told you this. With Jordan Reed here in a little bit, he might be pretty high on this year's defensive back to class. Yeah, so, you know, it might be a tougher sell because of all the depth that corner in the draft, but I do think Jalen Ramsey is a one-of-one type guy. And if you have an opportunity to go get him, you do it. And if you're the Rams and you have an opportunity to ship him, you do it. This is a win-win situation for whoever carves this trade out if it gets done.

But I just want to take a second to address Rams fans, mostly L.A. Rams fans, that pretty much anything I say, you think I hate your team. I don't hate your team at all. I feel pretty ambivalent about the Los Angeles Rams. I never played for Los Angeles Rams. So I got no beef with y'all. I'm just calling it how I see it. And as you can see, I was fucking right. So all the mean things you wrote about me online,

all the mean things you wrote about me online, because you don't want to see some of your best players go. I'm sorry, this is the way the NFL works. If you burn the ships for five years and you get a ring out of it on the back end, there's going to be some decisions that are not going to be universally popular or easy to digest. So Jalen Ramsey could be on the move, maybe not, but they're definitely talking about it. Another guy with the Rams, Leonard Floyd, they allowed him to go seek a trade partner. If not, he'll be released, but that's another money saver for the Rams.

So they certainly are kind of taking your thoughts of the bank. Yeah, these fans can't, they can't, they're so in their silos. they can't imagine starting a season and being in rebuild mode. It's just it's not fair. I want to watch my team compete to win. Try being a player on a team and going into rebuild mode. Okay, so, you know, like the free agent class, you mentioned Leonard Floyd at edge for veteran players,

is actually pretty deep. And I'm not in love with the defensive end class in the draft outside of some of the sure. sure-fire deals here like will a Anderson and you could say Tyree Wilson kid from Texas Tech I really like him but outside that I'm not so sure about this class so you might want to look at some of these free agent

kind of veteran dudes that have kind of you know if you look at really good Super Bowl teams the past couple years in the NFL there's been a lot of guys you know that that have stepped up big for these guys veteran defensive linemen. You look at Carlos Dunlap this year, who played a big role,

maybe bigger than people realized on Kansas City's team. You talk about veteran defensive linemen on our Super Bowl team, like having a veteran free agent come into your room, set a tone and make clutch plays down the stretch is a nice way to go if you feel like your window is wide open. And you're staring this class, down the barrel with some uncertainties and then you're looking at some proven commodities. So I kind of like building, sprinkling in those veteran free agent.

Dudes, I know Khalil Mack is probably going to be changing teams. There's plenty of them out there to choose from. The other guy I want to talk about was Derek Henry. People have talked over the last 24 hours about Derek Henry being a trade target. Somebody's being actively shopped. Now right at the time of recording, we've read a report that says, no, Derek Henry is not being shopped. There's a report out that's contradictory to the one that came out yesterday. I think for Tennessee, it's high time to do it.

You know, we've been wondering when this day would come for the past couple of years. Like, when does Derek Henry run out of gas or when do you worry that he's going to run out of gas? I think if you're in Tennessee, whether or not they're actually going to do it, I think selling high isn't the worst thing in this scenario. And, you know, naturally Eagles fans, Howie Roseman's trending every three days in the off season, I feel like because if there's a move to be made, you can imagine Howie doing it. You can imagine Howie making a splash move like that. I don't think necessarily a Derek Henry, hypothetically, is going to put the Eagles over the edge.

I think the Eagles have to fill those holes that are going to be left on defense. It wasn't the offense that burnt you in the Super Bowl, and it won't be the offense next year. That'll burn you, if anything at all. So I really think you've got to use every bit of your available resources to shore up that defense. They were really good statistically last year, and they had some dominant performances. But when you run into those Patrick Mahomes of the world, those Josh Allen's, those Joe Burroughs, who the Eagles, quite frankly, didn't see a lot last year. you know, do you have the firepower defensively to keep up and they didn't in the Super Bowl?

So, you know, as shiny of an object, Derek Henry might be, the Eagles have done just fine over the past five, seven years in paying running backs by committee. You know, now if a Derek Henry were available and he were to take less money and go to a team not excluding the Eagles, and he was under the understanding that, hey, I'm not. going to have to carry the ball 35 times a game. I'm your second back. You know, Ligarit Blunt, our Super Bowl season, big bruising veteran back. We rested him a lot behind younger guys who maybe weren't the player that he was, but he understood what time it was in his career and where that team was trying to go. And I thought that resting, Ligarit and pacing him really made a monster out of that guy deep into the playoffs. And I think of Derek Henry, if he had that mindset,

and were to get moved, I think that's a worthwhile endeavor for a team. But when you look at the Eagles, again, they've done really well without dumping all their chips into the running back bag. And I don't think that as a team right now, running back is the thing that's going to push them over the edge. And that's a perfect point, you know, because the last couple years, two or three years, where have the Titans fallen off? It's, you know, end of the season, first round or two in the playoffs,

because they've had to run Derek Henry so hard to put themselves in a side. a position to win games early in the season, so he hasn't been his strong late in the season. And you're right, the Eagles have had a running back by committee kind of mentality because their offensive line is so obnoxiously good. Enochiously elite. Yeah. Like this show, Reed, obnoxious really. And we got one of our best players back in Reed Dickerson.

So I'm glad you're back from Out West. I'm glad you didn't run into any trees. it's good to see you on the other end of the Zoom. Do we miss anything before we get to Jordan Reed? Is there anything from an NFL standpoint you want to touch on? A couple things real fast. I think we should give Calvin Ridley a welcome back to the NFL. Oh, yeah, welcome back, man.

Yeah, I, for one, I'm sure, you know, just about everybody else here in Studio Jay is stoked to see the Jacksonville offense next season, the way they ended that the last playoff game or two, and then knowing that they had a chance for Calgary. Calvin Ridley to come back on the field next year and how Doug's going to use him now that he is reinstated. I think we're pretty excited. Well, they just got to get the rats out of the locker room. That was a while. I was on the plane reading those reports flying from Utah or from Spokane to Utah.

And yeah, seeing some of those, I could not believe some of those. But I heard, I listened to the pod, you guys touched on it all. The other one I wanted to get your thoughts on Philip Rivers. says he is an interest in returning to the NFL. He contacted the 49ers and the Dolphins late last season when they did some quarterback help. Do we think, here you go, which quarterback's going to come out of retirement first?

Tom Brady or Philip Rivers? I think it would be Tom Brady. I think Tom Brady is going to come out of retirement. I knew it as soon as he was like, you know, the game is still a part of my life and the whole thing. I think if Philip Rivers wants to come back, the NFL is about entertainment. and they print money because of how entertaining watching a slate of Sunday games is.

I think the 4 p.m.s were a little bit boring last year across the board. It's just a sense I got. Philip Rivers is the king of the 4 p.m. dude. Exactly. We just, all I ask is that Philip Rivers comes back. You don't put them on a team that's going to play in a bunch of 1 p.m. slots. You put them on a 4 p.m. team. you know, many a Sunday. You know, I had a dicey hangover. I was starting to get the Sunday scurries. Philip Rivers driving. The sun's going down.

He's already got two picks. You know, he's threading the needle, tight windows. You know, he's throwing the ball underhand over his head. Like, that's how I want to spend the 7.30, 7.30 hour of my Sunday. I want to watch Philip Rivers. Yelling dad gummit when he throws a fourth down completion or incompletion yelling. Yes. F yeah.

Heck yeah. Whatever he's yelling back there. No, he said bitch. I heard him say bitch on the, I always say this. I always make sure people know. That's right. On the,

yep, he said bitch. I heard it. He does cuss every once in a while, I guess. But I would love to see him back in a 4 p.m. slot somewhere, are at a field near you.

I think one of my favorite mic'd up moments is Unique in Gokwey helping Philip Rivers up after he gets to him on a incomplete pass. Philip Rivers or a pass Philip Rivers just gets it away. Unique helps him up and says, here you go, boss. As he gets up, you know, the pass end up being completed for a touchdown. Philip Rivers is yelling 90-yard touchdown, right? In the next phase. And Unique's like, are you serious, me?

Come on. Like have a little like respect, dude. And the referee's like, get out of here, Philip, and he's just yelling 90-yard touchdown all the way down the field. It's hilarious. He's got like eight kids. He's kind of a kid. He kind of can't grow out of that childlike enthusiasm that he has.

The chirping. And I think he's great for the game. If we get Philip Rivers, I don't care how good or not good he is. I just want to see him play in that 4 p.m. slot. It goes to go like peanut butter and jelly. Philip Rivers and a fourth quarter comeback around 7 o'clock. Like, I need that back in my life. And oftentimes it was actually therapeutic because I thought I was having a bad day

whether it was being hungover or down bad on the app. Philip Rivers always had some shit going on that made you feel like, yeah, I'm just glad I'm not dealing with what Philip Rivers is dealing with. So I would love to get Phil back. That's good. There's a lot happening right now, Reed. It's heating up again, you know, free agency, talking about trades, we're talking about quarterbacks. Let's not forget the combine.

And for that, we bring in our good friend Jordan Reed from ESPN. Cash app. The easy way to send, spend, save, and invest with friends. Cash app helps you connect everlessly with your finances and with your people. And that's money. I love going on to float with my buddies. We all share our cash tags and split the bill. That is what friends are for. Cash app provides us with an easy way to send and spend money, save and invest in stock in Bitcoin. Cash app, however, does not provide a dry pair of pants. You want to remember that when you get off the river.

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Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need, Indeed. So for a guy who didn't watch much of the combine, I was in Africa, now I'm in Anguilla. admittedly this is not my strong suit so I call in the big guns my guy Jordan Reed from ESPN one of the best he was boots on the ground in Indy he's back in Charlotte now how you holding up man I'm good I wish I could be where you were right now you're on vacation living in life right now man while we're out of

working hard I'm trying to catch up I'm trying to try to serve the people a little bit of combine talk, man. So, like, what do you think is the biggest story out of there? Is it Anthony Richardson or was it something else? I think it's a combination of Anthony Richardson, then also this cornerback group as well. Those guys were, so the big thing with the group this year with the corners is that it's really deep. And I think from top to bottom, even from early first round guys to day three guys, we saw

some really big standout. So the cornerback groups definitely lived up to the hype, but Anthony Richardson, man, I mean, we knew he was a freak show going in just based on what he showed on tape. But for him to go out and run 4-4-4-244 pounds, jump 40-5 inches in the vertical, and then throw the ball with ease the way that he did, it's hard to envision him getting outside of the top 10 just because you hear the comparisons about Josh Allen and Cam Newton. And we both know it's a copycat league in the NFL. Every team wants that type of guy. Yeah, it's almost worth just taking the risk. I mean, the upside is so high.

Potentially, you could reason higher than anybody in the draft. I mean, Bryce Young still seems like the consensus number one. Do you coming out of there? I've heard, you know, rumblings that it could be Anthony. It could be C.J. Stroud. But where do you think it sits as it stands right now? Well, it's tough to say. I think Bryce still is going to be the first quarterback selected if I had to guess right now.

but Anthony put a lot of pressure on those guys and CJ did as well and it's good to see all those guys throw and Bryce didn't throw just because I knew he wasn't going to throw. He spent the past two months trying to bulk up and get as much water weight as he can possible so he wasn't in his top form to throw and he's going to throw with Alabama's Pro Day I believe it's March 23rd so that'll be the first time or the next time that we see Bryce do throw but it was good to see those other guys go out there and participate. Will that be the biggest most anticipated pro day workout or does his status is kind of like the consensus number one guy

mean that it's probably a formality. Like if there's one pro day this year that's going to buzz like crazy, which one is it? Yeah, I think it would be his. I think it would be his and probably Jackson Smith and Jigba from Ohio State. Everybody wants to get a 40-time for him, but he participated in everything else outside of that. And he really helped himself.

But everybody's going to be anticipating Bryce's pro day just so we can see him throw the ball around. And, you know, there's a fascination with pro days now for whatever. reason that's like the pinnacle event especially for these quarterbacks but the big thing for him was just to get over at least 195 pounds i think that's the threshold that he had to hit but for him to come in basically the same size as kailernery i think that was huge for him did you did you learn anything about um anthony richardson and seeing him up close and and watching him work away from the football field you know as far as like uh between the whistles and having his workout and

and jumping and running and all this stuff. Was there anything you learned about him this week? Yeah, there was a lot. And, I mean, the Combine really confirmed what we already knew about him. But I think the thing that stood out to me the most about Anthony was just seeing him throw the ball in person. And you see it on highlights. You go on YouTube and you see it. You watch it on film, of course.

But it's just different, seeing it up close. And they were throwing go balls at the end of the workout. And, you know, everybody's releasing the ball after they hit their things. third or fifth step on the dropback. Anthony sits back on his fifth step. He holds the ball and he just flicks it 60 yards down the field with ease. And his ball came out a little bit different than his counterpart. So just seeing him throw the ball up close, he has the easy gas that he can throw to all three levels of the field. Yeah, that's it. It is like a flick. I mean, he really does have that flick release that you're like, it almost looks nonchalant, but the ball

comes out like a missile. And then on the other side of things you have, Will Levis, who said, I'm going to throw the ball really frigging hard. Yeah. And then he comes out and throws the ball really freaking hard. Like what's more tantalizing to a QB evaluator, somebody with that effortless flick of the ball, 65 yards down the field, or somebody who's topping out at some of these velocity numbers

that we've rarely seen at the combine that Will Lovis was able to achieve? You're going to see those guys back-to-back a lot, as far as the comparisons, and you're going to hear the label project quarterbacks a lot. I don't really like using the label project. I just think they need a little bit more seasoning and coaching. And Levis has much more experience in a pro-style system just because he had Lyme Cohen, who was the quarterback's coach for the Rams last year, I believe. Yeah.

That was his OC back in 2021, back when he had his breakout year. And then he had Rick Gerengelo, who has a lot of NFL experience, too, that they ended up part in ways with. So Levis has a little bit more experience as far as what he's going to be asked to do on the next level, while Richardson played in a little bit more of a college-oriented offense where there's a lot of pistol formation where the running back is right behind them, a lot of play action, and then getting him outside of the pocket quite a bit too. So that's going to be a big of a hurdle for Richardson to adjust to as far as

C reading and reacting to some of the things as far as coverages and things of that nature. While Levis has a little bit more experience in that department. But I think Richardson is the better prospect just because of the mobility. And then I just think the game comes a little bit more easier to him. He's a little bit more looser. I think Will needs to loosen up a little bit. of a he has a little bit of a stiff lower half and you kind of see that you know with him a little bit too i think richmond's a little bit more of a looser athlete do you think coaches like if you're a

defensive head coach do you think you're intimidated at all about drafting um you know as you would put it a well as you wouldn't put it a project quarterback a quarterback that needs a little bit of as you put it like seasoning um you know like do you think that every coach believes hey i can i can develop an anthony richison i can develop a will levis so do you think that these coaches are self-aware enough to know where they don't have that dynamic quarterback coach or offensive coordinator in the room or maybe the set of conditions that would make it easier for those guys to transition. Do you think these coaches have the self-awareness to know, hey, maybe this is not my building?

Is it harder for a defensive head coach? Yeah, I think for a defensive head coach, you're always going to have in mind who would I hate to face. And that's what I think it came down to with Sean McDermott, with Josh Allen. and that he understands that first I have to see who I have to beat in order to get to the big game. You're seeing guys like Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert, all these big time quarterbacks in the AFC. I need that mobile guy that can get me to the promised land just because, and you can attest to this as a former defensive end, it's much easier guarding those guys like a Mac Jones just because you know he's not going to, on zone reads,

you know he's going to give the ball nine times out of two. You're not worried about him. But with guys like Anthony and Will Levis, you're really reading your keys just because if you, if you chase the running back, he could take this thing 60 yards to the house. So I think little aspects like that, I think defensive coordinators think, who would I be scared to face? And that's why I think they have so much confidence in developing guys like Anthony Richardson and also Will Levis too. But you also have to take into the equation that I think one of the most underrated aspects about Josh Allen's development is that he had Brian Debo there, first four years, which are very rare. It's very rare for an offensive coordinator that's had success in the NFL to stay in one spot

for four years. So that's why I would be, if I was a GM, I would be a little bit more at ease. If I had an offensive head coach, just because I know that continuity is going to be in place. But with defensive head coaches, what you always fear is that if you have a talented offensive coordinator that they're going to leave after two to three years. So with those offense or with those quarterbacks, I would be a little bit more reluctant if I was a defensive-minded head coach.

Yeah, that had been my concern with Justin Herbert. And, you know, so far he's weathered this storm fine. And we'll see how this year goes. But, you know, Brandon Staley being a defensive head coach. And now that carousel begins. And we'll see how long it goes until they find a really good match for that offense and that quarterback. But I thought that it sounds like C.J. Stroud,

who I really like kind of won the weekend in a weird way, because he just was steady. He looked great in his drills. The throws were on point. And everybody else either didn't throw or has some work to do with their mechanics or developing their game. Talk about whether or not you think CJ Stroud rose or if he just kind of stayed steady in that top five position. I mean, he just stays steady. And I tweeted this out.

So I was sitting right behind all the quarterbacks in Lucas Oil Stadium. And the best way that I could put it, I said, watching CJ is like watching an ace pitcher in baseball. Like it's so effortless. Everything is just easy to him. He can hit the corners of the strike zone. He can put it inside of the strike zone what he wants to. And he can get the ball to his desired spots. Nothing is forced with him.

His dropback is efficient. Everything about him just screams quarterback. His mental makeup is great. We saw what he was able to do in the big grand finale that I like to say against Georgia, where he was able to answer a lot of questions. And the big thing with him is can he play outside of structure? And you just have to think, like, he hasn't had to do that. You're throwing to Chris Oliva, Garrett Wilson, Marvin Harrison, Jr. And all these weapons that they do have, he just doesn't have to use his legs.

But when he was called upon and he had to use his mobility, he was able to do that. Yeah. And, you know, some people might say, well, I didn't see him play that well until he played Georgia in that big shootout. The grand finale, as you put it, But I see that as a real positive, like rising to that level of competition, because that's going to be what you're going to see at the next level. So I'm really high on C.J. Stroud. Another guy who probably had a nice little day, depending on how you look at it,

is Stetson Bennett. That guy is faster than me. Holy shit. That was really humbling. Stets and Bennett could beat me in a foot race. I mean, he could beat the 23-year-old me in a foot race. He tested relatively well. How did his workouts go?

And obviously, he's a late-round guy, but is there any buzz around him? Yeah, I mean, Stetson as a late round guy, I think there's going to be some teams that take a chance, maybe like fifth or sixth round, just because you talk about the accolades that he does have. And he's just what I like to call a gamer. Like he's not going to look great in simulated situations or settings where he's going to have to throw the ball, especially going with guys like Will Levis and Anthony Richardson. He doesn't have the physical gifts or the traits that those guys have. But you put him under the lights and you put him in those game situations, he's going to rise to the occasion. He's like the Case Kingdoms, the Taylor Heinekees, I think those are two great comparisons for him of that. He's not going to match up well as far as if you line up all those guys and estimate their measurables.

But when you put him or you drop him in those game situations, everybody, he has that charisma about him. He has that moxie that you love to see at the position. So it wouldn't surprise me if he goes on to have like a Case Keenum type of career where he sticks in the league for 15 years as a backup. But then a starter goes down or something. He miraculously leads somebody on the Super Bowl run. That wouldn't surprise me. That's just the type of player that he is. I think maybe we should start looking at him as a wide receiver.

I think maybe Stetson Bennett might be the next Julian Edelman. That's what one of our listeners tweeted at me. So with that blazing fast 4-630, so wide receiver position, Jackson Smith and Jigba, he's the best wide receiver in the draft. The question is can he play outside? What do you see as you project him schematically to the next level? And can he answer those questions about playing outside? Well, he's not going to be able to answer it until he steps on an NFL field

just because he doesn't have any games left collegially. And I said this yesterday. It was the best wide receiver on field workout that I've seen since Justin Jefferson in 2020. Like everything was just efficient with him. He was really quick in and out of his cuts. And this was the first time that we really saw him since he had that nagging. hamstring injury and I think he ran like I think it was like a three nine three in the short shuttle and like a six nine six and a three call which is a ridiculous number and you know that type of efficiency in and out of his cut shows up on tape now he doesn't have a great long speed if I had to guess he's probably like uh I think high four four fours to low four five guys like four four eight to four five two which is plenty fine yeah I think he's you know you're going to hear comparisons like I'm on Ross st. Brown Robert Woods golden Tate those guys that are really popular in the slot, but they have gone on to be productive players.

And I think he's the best wide receiver in the draft just because of what he's put on tape. And the nagging hamstring injury doesn't really worry me just because he's so polished. Jordan Addison, the USC wide receiver, kid, kid's not real big, didn't, you know, measure real tall, didn't weigh too much. And usually a smaller slider guy like that, you're looking for a straight line speed. But he didn't really have that. I mean, he ran well, but as you would put it, but not, but not blazing.

fast. Who does he comp to, and does that deter anybody how he ran? So he reminds me a lot of Calvin Ridley when he was coming out of Alabama. That slight frame, but just so sudden and violent and twitchy. That's what I like to call it. And this guy

won the Bolitnikov when he was at Pitt. Him and Kenny Pickett had a great season back in 2021, but he transitioned to Caleb Williams in Lincoln Riley's offense, and I thought it played really well. Even though it may not have been as productive as what we saw a year ago, but I think he's a very compliment, very good complimentary number two. Y receiver.

I think his frame is probably going to keep him from being a true Y receiver one just because of his play strength is kind of lacking there. It just needs to gain some weight. But as far as a route runner and a pass catcher, he's very, very good at that. So, you know, we had Zay Flowers who looks to be explosive like a big play threat, not the biggest guy, the B.C. kid. he's probably going to be a middle to bottom of the first round guy, I would figure. Is there a team that you see that's a contender that can use that home run threat

that might be high on him? The Giants. I think the Giants are going to have a lot of interest in Zayflower just because they need that playmaker depending on who's going to be the quarterback there. I think Daniel Jones is probably going to be back, whether it's on a long-term deal or the franchise tag. I think that's fair to say, but they're really lacking as far as perimeter weapons. And I think Zay Flowers brings that type of explosiveness to the field.

He reminds me a lot of Elijah Moore when he was coming out of Ole Miss a couple of years ago. I think that's a very favorable comparison for him. Let's talk about another Ole Miss comp. This Bryce Ford Wheaton guy from West Virginia, guys, 6-3-225. I know it's a deep class, but early in the draft, there's not a lot of big targets like this cat. I mean, you could also throw Quentin Johnson from TCU in there, six foot three target, who's had a nice week. But when you look at the bigger targets,

Bryce Ford Whedon and Quentin Johnson, what do you see? And especially the West Virginia kid, how high is his ceiling? So I've actually had a lot of talks about him. So my brother is actually the wide receivers coach at West Virginia. So he had an opportunity to coach Bryce Ford Wheaton this year. said the kid's absolutely terrific as far as from an athletic standpoint. It does need some polish as far as a route runner,

but he said it wouldn't surprise him if somebody beats him up and turns him into that F-tight-in type. That wouldn't be surprising either. But I thought it was great at the combine. He looked really good going through the drills, and of course he tested really well too. And then Quentin Johnston, there's some people that actually like him as the first wide receiver off of the board.

I think he came in a little bit smaller than expected. They had them listed at like 6-4-215, and I think he ended up being like 6-2-2-10, something like that. So a little bit shorter than expected, but I thought it was really efficient going through the drills, plays much bigger than his frame indicates, even though he is a big guy. T. Higgins is going to be a common comparison for him.

I think that's very good as far as projecting him on the next level, and it would surprise me if he ends up going in the top 20. So let's talk about tight ends, because there's a couple that are pretty interesting to me, first one being Michael Mayer, who didn't test, you know, all that well, depending on what you expected out of him. But, you know, like, is that something that, you know, a month ago, I could have seen him going in the top five to ten, you know, has something changed there, or does the testing

not really matter because it tapes so good? I think it's just the depth of this tight-in class. And, I mean, we could see as many as seven or eight go inside of the top three rounds. And the thing about tight end is that it's really hard for those guys to come in and make an immediate impact just because you're really learning two positions at once. Just because a lot of these tight ends, they're not asked to block in college. So you're learning how to block. You're learning how to receive as well from a nuance and detail standpoint. So it's really hard for tight ends to come in and make an immediate impact.

And it's very rare, especially some of the tight ends that we've seen in years past. Cal Pitts is still trying to figure out his way around the league. and I think they took him number four overall a couple of years ago. So it's just really hard for those guys to come in and make an immediate impact. But what's kind of hurting mayor is that this is just a deep, tight-in class. You got guys like Dalton Kincaid from Utah, who's a really good player, Darnell Washington, the big guy from Georgia, who's going to come in and be a really good blocker.

And then also a very gifted pass catcher, too. And there's plenty of others I can roll off to Tucker Craft from South Dakota State. Luke Musgrave from Oregon State. I can go on and on about these names that are probably going to go. inside the top three. So it's like, why would I take one in the first round when I can come back and get one in the second or third round and I can take a corner or a wide receiver or edge rusher that I need early on?

Donnell, Washington. Do you think that Georgia's offense didn't feature him to the degree that, you know, like he might have liked coming out? Like, do you think that we're scratching the surface a little bit with looking at him as a pass catcher at the next level. Well, I think they just didn't need them to, just because they had Brock Bowers. Brock Bowers were so special,

who's probably going to be a top 10 pick this time next year. It's just they didn't need him as far as a receiver, but he's very good as a blocker too. He reminds me so much of Martellus Bennett when he was coming out. I think he was exactly like how Marty was, especially from a size and physicality standpoint. I mean, he'll try to bash your face in as a blocker, and then he'll come around.

He'll wash you down, and, you know, he'll come out for play action and run the under route. So just little things like that, I think he's going to be a really good player on the next level. Yeah, it's like if you can sit there with your tight end and block an edge rusher and pass pro, that's what like a Martellus Bennett could do early and late in his career. And if you can get that out of Darno Washington, that's another element to his game, you know, the blocking end of it, as you mentioned that we just, we don't see tight ends that are pro-style. anymore and these guys being able to play pro-style tight end and have the athleticism to boots pretty damn impressive. You know, okay, so we've looked at quarterbacks.

We've looked at pass catchers. And by the way, the wide receiver class in free agency is that great. So, I mean, if you want a wide receiver, the draft is a good place to snag one. Talking about the guys on the other end of things, the corners, you see it's a really deep class. But I had read that maybe we don't have a. consensus top five top 10 pick at corner is there anybody that you think could climb the the ranks and end up in that top 10 uh christian gonzalez from Oregon he's one that I think could end up going as high as number six the interesting thing about him is that he didn't have any

ball production prior to this year so he was at Colorado for two years and then he transferred over to Oregon he's every bit of six to 200 pounds he came out he ran 4 3 8 he jumped 41 inches in the vertical and then I think he jumped over 11 11 feet in the broad jump too. He's just so polished. He can play off man. He can play press man. He can play zone. There's just nothing that he can't do. Is there something that's changed about evaluating corners with the weight coverage is played now or the style of defense that's played in the NFL? Is there kind of a metric or a measurement that that's more valuable now than say it was 10 years ago? Are we seeing more of an emphasis on bigger corners or guys that can play slot a little bit better?

What is it in today's game that these GMs are after more than they would have been five, ten years ago with cornerbacks? These wide receivers are getting so good at the catch point. So these gyms are starting to covet these bigger corners. And you're starting to see these guys like J.C. Horn, Patrick Sertain, step into the league and have such an immediate impact because they're so big and they're so physical. So they want guys that are a six foot plus on the outside. Is there somebody that really fits that bill who's like the big? long corner this year. It's Joey Porter Jr. from Penn State name is going to ring a bell. He is a little bit grabby as far as at the top of routes and stuff like that. But he's every bit of

six foot two. I think he came in at just over 205 pounds. He ran decent. He ran low four five, which is okay for a big corner. But he's going to have to work at as far as just understanding how and when to grab those wide receivers if he's going to do it just because it's something that he's probably never going to get rid of, but he just has to understand how to disguise it a little bit. Good news. The Thursday show we do with Amp will continue 430 every Thursday, the Greenlight Team, Cowboy Reed, Facts, Kingston, I'll pop through there sometimes. On Amp, you can interact with us really easily. There's a call-in button. We invite call-ins all the time. You can talk directly to us, ask us questions, ask us our favorite music, we might even play some. There's also a live chat

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Their team always has your back. Exclusively for our listeners, Shady Raise is giving out the best deal of the new year. Go to Shadyrays.com and use code greenlight for 50% off, 2 plus pairs of polarized sunglasses. Try it for yourself. These shades have been rated five stars by over 200,000 people. So when it comes to the edge guys, obviously Will Anderson's a safe pick to be the first guy off the board at that position, I think. Tyree Wilson is a guy who's been mocked up high in the top five. You know, at first when I watched him, I thought he's a little bit stiff, he's a little bit linear.

but man, that length, and if he could play in a more attack-style defense where you might see him getting vertical more, I mean, it felt like a lot of times I'd watch him he'd be down in his stance, almost in a reed stance because of that defense, and reacting laterally, playing off people. But if you can get him with a full head of steam using that length, he could really put it together at the next level. What did he do to bolster his chances of being the second guy picked when he can get him? it comes to the edge guys this with this this past week so interesting story about tyree coming to the year i was super high on him like i watched this film from last year i was like man this dude is outstanding but he just he's just not developed as a pass rusher he's that kid at the park

that's just more athletically gifted and bigger than everybody so that's just an adjustment that he's going to have to make on the next level and i think he did that this year you started to see some nuances as far as using his hands as a run defender, but also a pass rusher too. But his range as a tackler is just outstanding. Like he'll be playing five technique and they'll run zone read against them. They give the ball to the running back. He bounces it outside and he still makes the tackle. Like little stuff like that.

Those are some things that you can't coach or can't teach. He has that length. So I saw him against NC State. I was there this year. And that was his best game of the year. I think he had like two and a half sacks in that game. But Chris, you see him up close. It's like somebody's wearing a costume.

Like he doesn't look like he's every bit of 6-7, 275 pounds. I think his wingspan was close to 87 inches. And then his arms were like 36 and a half, which is monstrous number. So I could see him Seattle at 5. That's their type. Somewhere along those lines, Detroit. I can see Detroit taking them, pairing him with Aidan Hutchison. And also James Houston, the late round kid that they hit on last year.

too. So that type of length, that type of production, I just don't see that type of player getting outside of the top 10. Yeah, it's interesting because he's got a very interesting body type. As you put, it looks like he's wearing a costume. It's hard to project a guy's ceiling when he has that kind of length. And I mean that in a good way. It's just you just, you cannot coach that. And it's such a differentiating factor. The Van S kid is also interesting from Iowa. I mean, he hadn't started. started a game for Iowa. I don't look at that as a positive. I mean, I don't know that anybody looks at it as a positive. I actually look at it as a negative. I know a lot of people are like, that's not what it's about. You know, turn on the tape. Check this kid's combine measurements out.

I know he had a really nice week. What do you make at him? When I turn on the tape, I don't see it yet. Not in the top 10, but I know the way this thing goes. You take the best available player at the position. Does his lack, of, I don't know, production or not being able to start at the collegiate level, scare you at all? Well, I'll start with the no-starts thing, and I think what everybody's missing with that is just that's just Iowa's way of doing things. Like, they're going to start seniors.

That's just what they do. That's what they've done throughout history, especially along the defensive line. So the no-starts thing doesn't really bother me just because that's just what they believe in. Like, they could have a five-star kid that's a true freshman, and they have this senior, that's played 50 or 60 games for them. They're going to start that scene. That's just what they're moving for whatever reason. That's just how Kirk Farrins is.

And that's what happened with Van Ness. Everybody saw when he came in in that relief pitcher role, this dude is throwing 100 mile power fastball. That's just who he is. So he's a bit of a projection right now just because everything is attack the midline of blockers. He bullrushes everybody. That's just what he does. So he's just going to have to understand how to use his hands

and be more creative as far as winning around the edge. So I think that's the big thing that's going to make or break his career is that he has to understand and develop some more tools in his back. He has to get some more tools in his bag just because you're not going to be able to just run down the middle of NFL blockers. People are just going to anchor and they're just going to lock you out. So that's the thing that he's going to have to learn the next level. Yeah, and to play so high, I mean, he is a high-cut guy. You know, to go out and bench 17 reps is not a great showing.

you know, I do think when you play high, you've got to be a freakishly strong guy up top to be able to push people around. So that's definitely something that gives me a bit of pause. And then another one of the higher cut guys that's rated pretty high, and I would rate him ahead of Van Ness, but behind Tyree would be Miles Murphy, the kid from Clemson. I got to be honest, like, you know, he's got some of the face value truce. traits is somebody who's a 10-15 sat guy in the NFL. When you look at his measurables and, you know, the stock he comes from being at Clemson, all that stuff. The production was high.

But there's just something about him that gives me a little bit of pause. Maybe it's a little bit of stiffness. Maybe it's a little bit of a lack of explosiveness. Where do you think he falls? So he didn't do anything at the combine. Yeah. Yeah, he's waiting to his pro day to do everything. and I'm actually going to be there on site for that pro day.

So I'm excited to get eyes on him up close sitting behind him. He looks the part. I mean, he's 65, 275. He has the length that you're looking for. But you just wish he could have dominated a little bit more than what he did outside of the NC State game. You just didn't see him take over games like you would have wanted to see from a top 10 pick. So that's something that scouts kind of question about him right now. They just want to see him take over a little bit more.

But as far as the explosiveness, the traits he has at all, you just want to see it show up more consistently on tape. And the defensive tackles, man. Actually, I'll start with a tweener. This Tully kid from USC. Yeah. You know, this kid that supposedly had played closer to 290, has been listed at 290, weighed in at 266. There were some questions as to whether or not he was going to go down or try to stay up.

and lean into being an interior guy or if he was going to try to try his hand at edge, it looks like he's marketed himself as an edge rusher. When I watch him on tape, I don't know that he has the explosiveness to capture edges with regularity. What he is good at is he's slippery. And, you know, he'll attack face up on a man

and then get to half man really quickly. I kind of worry about projecting him at the next level as an edge guy. Due to that lack of explosiveness, how do you think that he performed this week and how high could somebody like that go? He had a good week overall. I think he really shined in the on-field drills. You were able to see that slippery nature going through the bags. He had plenty of pop in his hands, but his feet were really good going through the bags.

And, you know, the turn-and-corner drill, the wave drill. And then when they were going around the hoops, grabbing the towel. off of the ground. He looked really good doing that. The big thing with him is just where do you play him? I think that's going to be a big dilemma about him just because you can't put him at three technique just because he's going to get washed with double teams. He's not able to hold at the point. And then do you play him off of the edge? Can he set an edge consistently as a run blocker? That's going to be, or as a run defender, I think that's going to be the big dilemma about him. But as far as the athleticism being a third down rusher that you bring in on late down situations

to get out to the passer, he's going to be that. But where do you play them and then how high do you draft a player like that yeah and when you look at another guy who's described as a bit of a tweener and he's obviously a defensive tackle and maybe my favorite uh prospect out of these de linemen relative to what i had heard about them the more i learned about collagicancy um i just i really like the guy he's slippery he's twitchy he's a good finisher um he looks at home in a backfield like he really sifts through trash well. How high could this guy go? I mean, I know there's another Pittsburgh defensive tackle who is a little bit undersized in recent years that makes you feel

pretty good about taking a pit d tackle at 290, but what do you see when you watch him and how high could he climb? Well, I don't like comparing anybody to what I like to call an alien out there for the room. Me neither. He's different, man. I don't like comparing anybody to Aaron But you see a lot of similarities in Cancy from just an explosive factor. Like his first step is just unbelievable. And then his closing speed is what really helps him get some sack numbers. And you're going to hate me for saying this. But against Virginia, that was his best game.

He could have had seven sacks in that game that I count. He ended up with three, I believe it was. But there was so many missed opportunities that he had in that game. And then North Carolina was another game where they just couldn't block them. And he's so quick, not only with his first step, but his hands are so quick too. So it's not only a quick first step, but he's really quick with his hands too. So before these linemen even reach out, he's racing past him. So I think with him, the big thing that is going to probably make or break him on the next level is just how firm is he at the point of attack as far as a resident?

Just because you can play him at three. Now, he played mostly one at Pitt, which I think was a disservice to him, just because. because he got washed so much by double teams. But if you play him at three, can he hold against those double tiers? So that's going to be the big difference for him being a three-down player as opposed to a late-down rusher. But I think it could go in the back end of the first round. Cincinnati, the Eagles, I think the Eagles will be a great spot for him, pairing. Oh, yeah.

Davis and how much they rotate their defensive linemen, especially along the interior. So teams at the back end of the first round, I think I have a lot of interest in them, but it wouldn't surprise me if he goes higher too. And then what do we make of Brian Brazzi? I mean, you know, like, hey, I've been sick the entire 2022 season. I mean, I had a sore throat. I had a viral infection. I had all, you know, it was a down year for him.

Obviously, a guy who was a big name in college football year ago, still going to be highly coveted, looks smooth and fluid and the on-field drills. But he's a high-cut guy. What do you make of Brian Brazzi and his ceiling? And might he be the first guy take? when it comes to interior defensive linemen. Yeah, he's another one that's a tough eval just because, you know,

he was going through the unfortunate situation that happened with the sister passing away too. Obviously, that had a huge negative effect on him. And there was just some games where the effort wasn't always there. So he's one that you would love to meet with at the combine just to see exactly what happened. You would love to pop the hood up just to see what he was thinking psychologically and mentally and just have him explain some things that happen with reps on certain reps. But he's another one that they kind of had a disservice with just because they primarily played him as five technique.

And he's not a five technique on the next level. He's clearly a three. You can play him inside. You can reduce him inside and play him at one sometimes too. But I think it'll be fine on the next level. I still think he goes in the first round. And he tested really well too. I thought he was one of the better testers too.

So it's probably a situation of where you have to take into account the person. the personal aspect of it as far as what he was going through. And then like I said, he's one you would love to sit down and meet with just to see exactly what was happening with him. He's a tough one to pin for me. Is there a comp that's flown around when it comes to Brian Brisee? There's not one that I love. Yeah, there's not one that I love that comes to Martin. But, I mean, he's super athletic, has a really good first step.

And another kind of worry that's going on with him is that a lot of his production, came off with twist game and stunts. Twist. Where he was in line to get open, whether he was the crash or the looper, a lot of his sack reduction came off of those games inside. Yeah, for sure. When I watched him for a high-cut guy, you know, I saw a lot of standing up and waiting on a penetrator

and that sort of thing. I'd love to see him get vertical in a three. As you said, he's not really a five. You know, but at the next level, obviously, he's going to be in that V-Eab getting vertical, and we'll see how that projects out. Talking about these old linemen, man, wrapping it up with the big guys and the guys who run behind them,

maybe the craziest story was we had to do Terry's ACL. Yeah. And then go in there and bench 38 reps or whatever it was, 37 reps, which is the combine high for the year on that bad ACL. Who was that kid? Was it a... It was Andrew Voorhees. He's from USC.

Yep, USC kid. that's just incredible. I mean, that was just an incredible story, but who do you think out of the top five or so offensive tackles? And I know that there might not be a consensus, top five, top 10 pick this year, but it's a deep class. Who do you think position themselves the best

to possibly be a riser into that echelon of drop picks? So it's the two guys that, well, they are projected to be borderline first round picks right now, but they're seen as the two best right tackles in the draft this year. And as Darnell Wright from Tennessee, a player that, you know, he was a big time recruit coming in. I think he was like top 10 in this class, five star. But consistency and then just being overweight was a lot of the big worries with him.

His first two seasons and then his final two years, he just blew up and he performed really, really well, especially this past season. He shut down Will Anderson. He was terrific in that game against Alabama. He did really well against BJ O'JLauri, who was a very talented edge rusher. from LSU that some people have projected in the first round, then Brian Bressie in the bowl game. So he's just

stacking up these wins against players that we're going to see here, their names called, very early in the draft, and he's consistently played really well against him. And I thought he looked the best of all the kids as far as the on-field drills. And then the other right tackle that I want to talk about is Big DeWan Jones from Ohio State.

6'8, 374 pounds. I think that's what he came in as, and it's not always pretty with him as far as the technique. he is not going to look as far as how you exactly teach it but he just doesn't get beat so it's like how can i knock him unfairly for that when he's out here just taking care of business even though it's his own weight and he has i think he came in with like an 88 inch wingspan which is monster for an offensive tackle so whenever he gets hands on you it's like he just cancels you out and it's not like you can run through him just because he's six foot eight three hundred and seventy four pounds you're gonna run

through that dude. And if you try to beat him up the edge, he's athletic enough to get hands on you. And then when he gets hands on you, he's just going to run you up the rim of the pocket. So he's one that I like a lot too, and it wouldn't surprise me both of those guys going the back end of the first round. Yeah, I mean, he's a true tackle. I mean, you don't project him anywhere else, but a lot of these tackles this year seem to be former guards or guys that can move around. And that versatility might help them when it comes to being picked higher. I mean, you know, you look at the, uh, the, The Skoronsky kid. Yeah.

You know, he's played all five positions. You mentioned Darnell Wright, who was a former guard, Paris Johnson, former guard. So there's a lot of guys of versatility in this group. How about the running back group, man? This is one of these years that's going to challenge the group think on not drafting running backs high because there are some really good players. Obviously, Robinson from Texas and Gibbs from Bama are the two standouts.

but some interesting names sprinkled in there. Who helped themselves the most this week at running back? Yeah, and I think outside of corner, tight-in, and edge rusher, I think this is probably the deepest group in the draft. And I think you're spot on as far as with running backs, everybody says don't take one of these guys in the first round, but we have a player that's probably going to be a consensus top-five player as far as we're talking about just stacking all of these players

regardless of position and Vijon Robinson. I think he's my number four, number five player overall right now. But in a deep class, how high do you take these guys? And I think back to the Super Bowl, you see Miles Sanders of the Eagles, who was a second round pick,

Isaiah Pacheco or the Chiefs, who was a seventh round pick. It's just, you just don't take those guys high anymore. It's just such a disposable position and with it being running back by committee, there's just no reason to take those guys high anymore. But if you get a guy that's a top five talent, like a Sequin Barclay type.

And Bijan Robinson, this guy keeps slipping down the board. At some point, you've got to take the risk just because the draft is all about you want to hit on these players, just because it's a crap shoot. Everybody knows that the draft is basically an educated guess. But if we have a top five player that's sitting there on the draft board, you know, he's slipping into the late teens, early 20s, eventually somebody's going to pull the trigger and take the risk on him just because he's so good at the position. How about a guy I could fit in my pocket, the kid from Kansas State. Duce Vaughn, 5'5, he's the smallest guy ever measured at the combine. It's actually surprised me, but it makes sense. Is that height of concern for people, the way a fan might look at that and say,

if I thought he's too small. But, I mean, when you look at running back and you're evaluating these guys, I never think about it from that standpoint. Like how tall is this guy? Now, I know it could affect his stock when it comes to catching the ball outside the backfield. You know, his catch radius is probably not real big. But when you look at Deuce Vaughn, is he a guy that could see himself drafted on the second day? Or is he a guy that's going to be later in the draft?

I think probably if I had to guess, I would say fifth round. I think that's probably where he ends up going. Just because he's not going to meet the threshold of every team just because 5-5, that's extremely small. But we saw a guy like Tariq Cohen go in the fourth round, I believe it was, who has a very similar skill set. And Cohen had a lot of success before injury started to pile up for him. But with Duvon, I think he's much better as far as in between the tackles. And we saw him in the bowl game against Alabama. He was great, even though they ended up getting beat pretty bad.

But he was great in that game. But as far as receiving ability, he has it. He's a firecracker in between the tackles. He runs very hard. He has a really good contact balance. And then the thing that you worry about, of course, is pass protection. Of course, you're not going to ask him to hold up in that aspect, but he's going to be a dynamic receiver from day one.

So if he goes somewhere like San Francisco, I think, would be a great spot for him. Philly would be a good spot for him. He's out of Miami, I think will be a great spot for him like a Rahim Moster type of player. I think he can be that. Obviously, he's not going to be a bailout guy. He just doesn't have the frame for that. But being that second and third guy in the committee, I think he could be a welcomed addition to somebody. Yeah, he's got to work on those cut blocks, man.

You know, he's down there anyways. He's got to work on those cup blocks. Pass pro is definitely going to be an issue for somebody of that stature. Jordan Reed, ESPN, draft analyst, one of the best in the game, man. I appreciate you joining us and catching us up on all things Combine, because as I mentioned, and I have been on vacation. So this is very helpful. And I know the people at home are appreciative.

Thank you, Jordan, for the time. No problem. Thanks as always, Chris. I always appreciate coming on. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs for 12 ounces. Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 96 calories and 3.2 carbs for 12 ounces.

Celebrate responsibly. Miller Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. and 96 calories and 3.2 carbs for 12 ounces.