Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - Assessing Daviyon Nixon's impact on the panthers and whether or not Nick Niemann will make the Chargers roster

Episode Date: May 11, 2021

We are joined by Locked On Panthers and Locked On Chargers to break down each team's recent selections of former Iowa football players Daviyon Nixon and Nick Niemann. What schemes do each team run and how do these former Hawkeyes fit into those schemes? We answer that and more on today's show.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnline AGThere is only 1 place that has you covered and 1 place we trust. Betonline.ag! Sign up today for a free account at betonline.ag and use that promocode: LOCKEDON for your 50% welcome bonus.Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You are Locked On Hawkeyes, your daily podcast on the Iowa Hawkeyes. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back, Hawkeye Nation, to a Tuesday morning episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes Podcast, your daily podcast covering your Iowa Hawkeyes on the Locked On Sports Network. As always, I am your host, Andrew Wade. And if you want more Locked On content after today, there's simply no better place to get all the news on the Big Ten Conference than with Big Ten, Ben Stevens, and the Locked On Big Ten podcast.

Follow the Locked On Big Ten podcast on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast at. And I was actually on today's show, if you want to check that out, we gave some record predictions for each of the teams in the Big Ten West. So you can check all that out at LockedOnBigTen. On today's show, though, we're doing a bit of a draft review. We have the host of some of the NFL channels coming on today to talk about where our Iowa Hawkeyes were selected at. First up, we have David Droegemeier with the LockedOnChargers talking about Nick Neiman.

And then we have Julian Council from the Locked On Panthers talking about the Davey and Nixon selection. On tomorrow's show, we have Amir Smith-Marset talking about the Locked On Vikings, or talking with the Locked On Vikings host about Amir Smith-Marset. So be on the lookout for that and hoping to get the Cowboys host on as well to talk about Brandon Smith and obviously Chauncey Golston. It might be a little bit shorter of an episode today. I am in the middle of moving my home, and I also just started grad school,

so a lot of stuff going on, but I love giving you all some awesome content. So bear with me now. A little bit shorter of an episode, but still some fantastic content, and we'll be back every single day this week. All right, y'all. With that being said, let's hop into the conversation with David Droegemeier right now. All right, y'all. I'm honored to be joined here hop into the conversation with David Droegemeier right now. All right, y'all. I'm honored to be joined here by David Droegemeier.

Gosh, I think I messed up here. Droegemeier. Gosh, I'm going to get that wrong. But David, it is a pleasure to have you on the show talking Iowa football. Nick Neiman, the most recent Iowa Hawkeye to join the Los Angeles Chargers. I will admit I'm a Broncos fan, but always love talking about Iowa football players. David, they can find you at LockedOn LAC to get all the Chargers content. There's several Iowa Hawkeyes on the Chargers.

I think Brian Belaga is still there. You have Nick Neiman as well. Hopefully a few more to come down the line. But let's start talking about Nick Neiman. They drafted Nick in the sixth round. Nick was the guy who tested off the charts. Maybe didn't show as much on tape or on the field at Iowa. When you look at the linebacker groups, though, for Los Angeles, there's a spot there for him. It doesn't look like there's a lot of depth for Los Angeles. What is the depth like for

Los Angeles at this point? And do you feel like there's a good role for Nick Neiman in that defense? Yeah, I do. Absolutely. Because this offseason, the Chargers lost a role playing linebacker with Nick Vigil, who signed a one year deal with him last year. He filled in admirably. I mean, there were some injuries that the Chargers dealt with. I mean, every NFL team deals with onto the field I think the starters are pretty solid with Kenneth Murray Jr. and Drew Tranquil who's going to be more of that coverage linebacker they make a pretty good team but you know he's dealt with injuries so I mean you always need more depth at the linebacker position I think that's why they made this move they lost two linebackers they had to add another body with Nick Neiman. Nick Neiman, I think, is a guy who is going to earn his spot on this team on special teams at first. He's going to have to be that special teams demon. And I know he did that a lot at Iowa. He

had some incredible success there. The Chargers had one of the worst special teams units, not in the NFL, in NFL history last year. They were absolutely God awful. So they need to add more talent, more athleticism to that position, more guys that can go in and make an impact on that level. And if he does that on a consistent basis early in the year, he can find himself on the field contributing to the defense before long. I love it, man.

And one of the things I think Nick also brings is a little bit of versatility. Now, again, we talked about the fact that he kind of bounced around in between the starting lineup, but he's played middle linebacker and that weak side linebacker spot at Iowa. But I'm curious about what the Chargers are doing defensively because you lose Gus or you get rid of Gus Bradley. You were playing more before you're playing a four three under Gus Bradley, I believe. Correct. Yes, sir. Now you have Braden Saley and Reynaldo Hill.

Reynaldo Hill coming from the Broncos who play a three, four Brayden Staley, curious kind of to get a sense of what kind of defense is Los Angeles going to be playing and where would Nick Neiman even slot in that defense? Yeah. So for Brandon Staley, the one thing that you need to know about him is he wants to use a lot of different personnel groupings. He wants to create chaos on that side of the field. He wants you to have to think he wants to put stress on the offense. So he's going to use a

lot of different personnel groupings and he's going to really attack offenses with different packages. He wants to have a different package for everything. So for Nick Neiman, when I was looking at him and watching his tape, he's definitely a more of a, I'd say a run supporting linebacker. I just don't think he has the instincts and coverage and the agility and the flexibility in that part of his game yet. I think that needs to be developed. Good thing for Brandon Staley and Nick Neiman is that Brandon Staley has a track record of taking guys in the later rounds, especially DBs, linebackers,

and getting a lot of incredible production for them. He was the defensive coordinator of the Rams last year. They had the number one defense in the NFL, and Brandon Staley is absolutely to blame for that. I mean, he obviously had some great players. Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey are all world players, but you're not the number one defense with contributions from two guys. You're the number one defense from contributions from all over that defense,

and that's getting guys with later profiles to come in and play well. So Nick Neiman, like I said, it's going to be on special teams at first, but I think, you know, with the NFL and the injuries that occur, he has to be ready. I mean, so they got to get him ready to play linebacker. I think if anything happens to Drew Tranquil is coming off an injury who only played like one C or one or two series last year, you have to be ready to go. I mean, he's going to be that primary backup, I think, at the middle linebacker position. So that's kind of how I see him slotted

in. He's guys are going to come in and run support until we sharpen up those coverage skills. Absolutely. I mean, that makes sense to me. When you draft the guy in the sixth round, you're drafting a guy mostly because of tools and things that you could possibly work with. And you look at Nick and you see how he tested and you think, wow, I can work with that. If we can just get those coverage skills down pat. I think you made a great point about the fact that, you know, Brayden Staley wants to cut, you know, cause chaos. And Nick Neiman is a guy who actually can rush the passer to with a degree of success at Iowa. Um, he did have two sacks over two years. Again, not, not that those are mind blowing numbers, but Iowa doesn't blitz their linebackers a lot. So

that's a huge opportunity as well, where I think Nick Neiman can utilize his speed and his aggressiveness and his instincts to try to rush the passer. And again, you talked about run support as well. That was a great opportunity for him. 77 tackles as a senior. So those are some things to watch out for with Nick Neiman. The one thing you always got to note about, when you have a six-round draft pick, you're not guaranteed a spot on the roster.

No. You mentioned special teams. You do have to play special teams. I think Nick Neiman has shown he can do that. What are the chances Nick Neiman doesn't make this roster? I think barring injury, I don't think there's any reason or any way that he is not going to make this roster on the 2021 season. I think that if he gets hurt or if he just comes in and he just absolutely shuts down and he is completely the, you know, Jekyll to his hide on tape,

then I don't know if there's really any reason or any way that he does not make this team because there is an opportunity there for a backup linebacker spot. They have a couple of undrafted free agent guys that are probably going to vie for that spot too. But, you know, as you mentioned in the later rounds and the fifth, sixth, seventh rounds, your spot is absolutely not guaranteed. And the reason for that is because it's so such low money. I mean, all these deals are all rookie contracts. They're all fixed incomes, fixed amounts. And as you go later on in the draft, those contracts get smaller and smaller and smaller. Thus the commitment level to these players is less and less. Obviously you always want to give your draft picks opportunities to come in and you don't want to give up on them too easily. So with a new coaching staff, with a new head coach, I think Brandon Staley is going

to give Mr. Nick Neiman every opportunity to earn his role and give him some time to grow. I mean, I think that's what you have to do because he's a guy that has some projectable, measurable, some skills. So I love his tackling ability. First of all, I can't, I can't not talk about Nick Neiman and not appreciate his ability to wrap up. He's that's his best part of his game. The charges have had some issues with that. So I like that. He, he is a very, very good form tackler. That is something that will help him at the next level. But yes,

I think there's no way he is not in lightning bolts come the start of the season. I love hearing that, man. I mean, obviously love the Iowa football players, always rooting for their success, even if it is on the Chargers as a Broncos fan that I am. Not looking forward to playing now two Neiman brothers in the AFC West, at least four games of the year.

David, I really appreciate your time. Where can the folks find you personally and where can they find your podcast app? Yeah, so you can find me personally on Twitter at DrotalkSD. You can find my partner on Twitter as well at Dan Talk Sports, and you can find our show on Twitter at LockedOnLAC. And of course, we're on every social media platform, Instagram, Facebook, and you can always find our show wherever you get your podcasts.

I love men. Just a reminder, all you Iowa fans out there, Brian Belaga and Nick Neiman on the Los Angeles Chargers. So you can get some more Iowa content by going to find them. Los Angeles Chargers locked on chargers right there. David, thank you so much, buddy. Have a great night. I appreciate it, man.

You as well. All right, y'all. Hope you enjoyed that insight on Nick Neiman and the Chargers. David is a phenomenal follow. If you like the Chargers, definitely go check out his podcast with him and his co-host but i do want to tell you about rockauto.com a family-owned business serving auto parts customers online for 20 years go to rockauto.com to shop for all of your auto and body part needs from hundreds of manufacturers they have everything from engine control modules and brake parts to tail lamps motor oil and even new carpet whether it's for your classic or your

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So go to rockauto.com right now and see all the parts available for your car or truck right locked on in their how did you hear about us box so they know we sent you. Amazing selection, reliably low prices, all the parts your car will ever need. Visit rockauto.com. All right, y'all. And with that being said, let's hop in to the conversation with Julian Council talking about Davian Nixon and the Carolina Panthers. We also have some basketball talk at the end of that. So stay tuned for that. We're hopping into that right now. All right, y'all. I'm honored to be joined here by Locked On Panthers host Julian Council. Julian, how are you doing today, man?

Doing well, man. How are you? I'm doing great. It's recording on Monday. This might be dropping Tuesday or Wednesday. I'm not actually sure at this point, but we are here because Davian Nixon got selected in the fifth round by the Carolina Panthers. A lot of Iowa fans are pretty pissed off. Really? Not to be selected by the Panthers, but to be selected in the fifth round. Because when reports came out initially, when Davian Nixon entered the draft, he was initially considered a first round pick. And it became a second round pick. And it became a second-round pick.

Then it became a third-round pick. And everyone was like, all right, he's definitely going day two. And then he didn't go on day two. Like, all right, he's going top of round four. Doesn't go round four. People are like, what is going on? So, obviously, some reports came out, some character concerns. Concerns about how long he actually played with the Iowa Hawkeyes

and whether or not an eight-game sample size was really enough to evaluate a prospect like him who had a phenomenal junior season. So with all that being said, what were your initial reactions to the selection of Davian Nixon? Cool. I'll take them. Like, honestly, like that was my reaction because once you get to day three in the NFL draft, that's kind of like when I start tuning out

and you hope that those kind of guys work out. here in Carolina third day guys don't typically end up being any good I'm not saying Davion Nixon's not good because he was drafted in the third day it's just because of the former general manners that they've had Deb Gettleman who's now with the Giants Marty Herney who's now with the Washington football team. They did a terrible job of evaluating prospects who were third-day guys. Scott Bitterer, the new GM here, a little bit different. He earned his chops 20 years in Seattle as a college scout, did a really good job, I felt like, in his draft, trading back and being able to highlight and find guys like Davion Nixon,

who you mentioned initially, not as a first-rounder, then fell to second round. I think the team had a third-round grade on him. The character issues that you brought up, I guess, some sort of incident happened at a dorm at iowa i haven't really been a nail it down it seems like we always just kind of throw out the character issues whenever anybody slips without ever mentioning really really happened but i was excited about just considering that you got the big 10 defensive player of the year in a fifth round and he's a defensive tackle and his roster didn't really have a guy like him who

can pat who'd rush the passer from the inside and the three technique I felt good about it it was more of a like okay good I like that but when you look more into it it's actually a really exciting pick for the Carolina Panthers and someone who might end up being one of the steals of the draft if he does turn out to be the same player he was this past fall at Iowa a hundred percent I mean I couldn't agree more. Obviously I'm an Iowa fan and I do think Davian Nixon brings a lot to a team, but when you think about the fifth round, you're looking for guys who can have a spark, who can play, you know,

one snap every series, they can get some stuff done who can make an impact possibly. And you want to reward that high upside. I think Davian Nixon has that high upside that you're looking for in a fifth round type of player. If you can, you know, get away from those character concerns. And again, the character concerns are a little bit interesting. There's like you said, an incident in the dorm room.

Not a lot came out of it. He went to the transfer portal, came back. He was on the team. Kirk Ferentz doesn't let guys back on the team. He has a very tough policy. I mean, if you're going to screw up, you are getting back on the team. So it's an interesting situation, but clearly David Nixon earned the trust of his teammates. So that is something to be at least happy with. Now you mentioned defensive tackles and what Davian Nixon possibly could bring to the table. And you're excited about that. The Carolina Panthers selected two defensive tackles last year and both ended up being starters, Derek Brown,

Bravey and Roy. Did I say his name right? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. You got it right. Is there room for improvement over the, I'm assuming not for Derek Brown. I didn't watch a lot of Panthers game. I'm Broncos fan, but is there room for improvement over Bravian Roy? Well, Derek Brown, at least he like first round pick out of Auburn dude was a complete beast. Like he dominated the sec, which if you can dominate the sec, you have a pretty good chance to be a really good player in the NFL, which is why he was taken seventh overall in 2020. He had kind of a slow season last year, really picked up in the last month of the season, but he's not much of a pass rusher.

At least he wasn't last season. And you're kind of hoping if you get a guy in the top 10, he's going to be more of a pass rusher. So maybe he develops into that. Or even Roy, who played at Baylor for Matt Rule, who was a former Baylor coach, another Carolina Panthers head coach, made a lot of sense that they would go get out and get him. But he's more of a run stuffer. They signed Daquan Jones, who was the former Baylor coach, another Carolina Panthers head coach. Made a lot of sense that they would go get out and get him,

but he's more of a run-stuffer. They signed Daquan Jones, who was the starter the last six seasons with the Tennessee Titans. He's also more of a run-stuffer. They don't have a lot of guys out there that can rush the passer from the three technique inside like potentially Davion Nixon can do. If you're a Panthers fan, they think back to KK Short, who's also a former Big Ten guy, came out of

Purdue, was a really good pass rusher for them in the inside for a while, had two injuries the last two seasons that limited him to five games, so they really missed that kind of inside pass rush, and I think he would fit in perfectly because there's not really any guy on the roster who could play in a three-man front or a four-man front

that can give you what Davion Nixon potentially could give the Carolina Panthers in terms of rushing the passer from the inside. And that's something you really need when you have quarterbacks like Matt Ryan and like Tom Brady in the division who really like to be in the pocket. And if you can get to those guys, then you have a really good chance of having success. I think Carolina Panthers are hoping that Davion Nixon can be that guy that

can add that element to this defense. Hey, y'all, I want to quickly pause the conversation. We're going to wrap it up on segment three, but I do need to tell you about BetOnline.ag because it is the fastest and the easiest way to bet on all of your sports action no matter where you are in the country. Baseball season is in full swing, and you can track all the action at BetOnline.ag. They also can allow you to place bets on pretty much everything.

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prep for the runs to the playoffs. Again, head over to their website or use your mobile device to sign up today for a free account and you can get a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit when you use the promo code LOCKEDON. That's right, a 50% welcome bonus on your first deposit using that promo code LOCKEDON, L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N betonline.ag, your online sports book experts. I love it, man. So how does Phil Snow like to utilize his defensive lineman?

And it sounds like he's okay with having some somewhat of a rotation. Also sounds like just due to necessity, he might have to have a rotation due to the lack of pass rush power that has on the defensive tackle spots right now. Yeah, I think last year the main issue with the pass rush was there was a bunch of young guys. They had a ton of veterans who they let go. They were changing scheme. And Phil Snow kind of runs a little bit of a college scheme.

Aaron Rodgers had pointed this out after the Panthers were able to shut the Packers out in the second half of that Saturday night football game that they still lost. They played really good in the second half of that Saturday night football game that they still lost, but they played really good in the second half. And Rodgers was kind of just befuddled and mystified by the defense. He's like, they run a lot of college schemes. I haven't seen that since I was in Cal back in 03. So he likes to play a lot of three-man fronts, throws in a bunch of four-man fronts.

So Nixon's getting an opportunity in three-man front to potentially be there. Morgan Fox is a guy that they signed from the Rams last year who played in a lot of three-man fronts in Los Angeles. Four-man front, I could also see Nixon potentially in there, maybe not as much so considering that with Daquan Jones and Derrick Brown, two bigger bodies, you kind of want bigger guys than that. But certainly on three-man fronts, they're going to want him to be that kind of inside pass rusher in the three-technique position.

So I think he's going to get a lot of opportunities if he makes the roster, which I imagine he will make the roster. He's got a lot of opportunities to prove himself to be the top inside pass rusher on this team for not just next season, but for foreseeable future, considering it's not really a ton of those options right now for the Carolina Panthers. Yeah, I couldn't agree more, man. So it sounds like Davey Nixon has a path to playing time. He has a solid chance of making this roster. I like fifth round can be a an interesting spot right when you get to that sixth seventh round it's a lot easier to cut those guys fifth round you can still cut them pretty easily but a guy like davy nixon adds an element to the caroline pandas that maybe don't have right now julian i will say last year their fifth round pick kenny robinson didn't make the roster he ended up signing um in after

the after after training camp was part of his practice squad did eventually come make the roster he ended up signing um in after the after after training camp was part of his practice squad did eventually come on the roster so they do have history at least last season of not having the fifth round pick make the roster but i don't think that's gonna be the situation that happens here yeah it's actually interesting you bring up kenny robinson because that's another guy who is a very high ceiling kind of or a high uh ceiling kind of guy come from the xfl had a lot of hype coming out and doesn't make the roster. So interesting that that's the, I didn't even, I forgot that that was the fifth round pick that the Panthers had. So a very interesting kind of correlation you can have between those two guys

with what they've had in their past coming into the Carolina Panthers. Yeah, absolutely, man. Yeah. But I hope he works out. He seems like an exciting player. Again, the past defensive player of the year in the Big Ten was a guy named Chase Young, who ended up being the defensive rookie of the year for the Washington football team. I don't think Nixon is as good as Chase Young, because Chase Young was really freaking good at Ohio State, man.

But he has a chance to be a good player. And the Big Ten, if you're going to – like the SEC, top conference in college football, okay. I'm not going to really argue with it because the SEC homers, they're obnoxious and they're just not worth arguing with. The Big Ten, they play some damn good football too, especially when it comes in the trenches. So to get someone from a program like Iowa, I'm very excited about that.

I mean, A.J. Epinesa was really good too for you guys. So I'm excited to see what he can do for the Carolina Panthers. Absolutely, man. Julian, it has been a pleasure talking to you. I think this is the first time we've actually ever talked. So nice to meet you virtually, my man. And where can the folks find you out if they want more Carolina Panther content and want to hear a little bit more about Davian Nixon as you get into preseason?

Yeah, no, definitely check out the pod. Talked about the defensive line not too recently ago. I think it was like maybe on Tuesday's podcast. So go check that out. Locked on Panthers, pretty much wherever you find your podcast. Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, you know the whole deal. You can also follow me on Twitter at Julian Council, where I do

like college hoops. My parents were North Carolina people, so they played Iowa this past season. Luka Garza, gotta love Luka Garza and what he brought to college basketball. We're not going to get a lot of four-year guys like that anymore. I was very disappointed to see CJ.J. Frederick didn't want to come play for the Heels and say he's going to Kentucky.

He'll always be an Iowa guy. But if you want college hoop stuff, I'm also talking about college hoops on my Twitter account. So, big fan of what I was doing out there athletic-wise. You had to end it on C.J. Frederick, man. That is a sore subject in Iowa Hawkeye Nation right now. There are very few people who like CJ Frederick right now. Well, you know, Kentucky has like what?

Eight national championships. I don't blame the guy he played. Well, he played four years at school, right? He was on Iowa for four years. Three, three. Does he have his degree? I don't think he does. Oh, he doesn't have his degree then.

Well, you can, I guess, be upset, but really, no, you can't. Yeah. I mean, I understand the wanting to i understand kentucky from that aspect uh why people are upset is the notion that it was there was a lot of tampering uh as early as january from john calipari and there is some pretty strong proof uh not even just the Twitter proof that people have, but strong proof that I have from talking to different sources that there's a lot of illegal crap that happened,

illegal, recruiting-wise illegal, that ended up with CJ Frederick at Kentucky. And the way it happened was just really shady. But nevertheless, I digress. Welcome to College Basketball Recruiting in 2021. Yeah, what a way to end the show there. Awesome, Julian. Thank you so much, man, and have a great day, buddy.

Yeah, appreciate it. All right, y'all, that wraps up our show today. I appreciate you all tuning in. I hope you enjoyed the insight from some of our NFL hosts about what these Iowa football players can do for those teams next year. If you liked the show and you want to get more Locked On content, you can get all the sports news you need in under 20 minutes with the Locked On Today podcast.

Host Peter Bukowski updates you on the latest news in every major sport with the help of our local experts. Follow the Locked On Today podcast on the Odyssey app or wherever you get your podcast at. And as always, Hawkeye Nation, I appreciate you tuning in. I appreciate you listening and always showing the love and support. We'll be back tomorrow with another show and also Thursday and Friday, so stay tuned for all that.

And if you like the show, give us that five-star review wherever you downloaded this episode at and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Have a fantastic Tuesday, Hawkeye Nation, and let's go Hawks.