Locked On Hawkeyes - Daily Podcast On Iowa Hawkeyes Football & Basketball - NFL Draft Round 1 Recap: Tristan Wirfs goes round 1, AJ Epenesa does not. What to expect on day two.

Episode Date: April 24, 2020

We break down what happened last night in round 1 of the NFL Draft and we give you our top 3 moments of 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I thank God I was born on the good arms of the Midwest, and not on the battlefields of the U.S. It's a time of panic, and it's intercepted! It's picked off right away! Intercepted by Marty Hooker! Pick six! Eight seconds into the game! Buffen sets up deep in the pocket, goes down the field for Smith!

Oh! He's got it! Smith! Touchdown. 85 yards. High on. Touchdown, 10. Taking a shot in the end zone.

It is caught. No offense. Touchdown. That's either one or you have it. Go ahead and three. Yes. Two-point lead for the Hawkeyes podcast. I am your host, Andrew Wade.

Excited to be back for another episode of the show today. Apologies for not getting us out in the morning. Stayed up, watched the draft. That ended around 10 p.m. my time. Went to bed, got up, had some meetings, and wanted to make sure I got a good episode out to you all. Even if it is a bit shortened and a bit later, I want to make sure I got an episode out to you today,

even if I couldn't do it earlier in the morning like I typically do. So again, thank you all for tuning in to today's episode. Excited to be here. Excited to talk a bit about the NFL draft. And big things happened last night. Tristan Wirfs realized his NFL dream. AJ Epineza has not yet. Want to talk a bit about both of those things. We are going to quickly tee off with our top three moments from 2019. If you have been tuning in all week, we've already went through moment number 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4. So now we have the final three that we're going to cover on today's show.

Before we jump into that, though, if you do like what you hear on the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast, make sure to like, review, and subscribe. Give us that five-star review or whatever review you feel like is appropriate of the show on Apple, Spotify, Google, wherever you download your podcast app. And make sure you're following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. During this quarantine, we've been putting out some fun quarantine items, whether it's a Hawkeye bingo or which quarantine house do you want to pick from a football team perspective.

We're also looking to do a basketball quarantine house coming up soon as well. So join us on there and follow along for all of the fun. Love to have the interactions with all of you Hawkeye fans out there. So let's jump into it though. The top three moments from the 2019 athletic year. Let's quickly go through the ones that we've already gone through, right? So let's kind of give a recap of everything we've touched on so far. Number 10 was the field hockey team advancing to the Elite Eight after taking down number eight, Duke, three to two. They ultimately fell to the University of Northern Carolina,

or University of North Carolina, excuse me, two to one, and they went on to win the NCAA championship. Number nine, two tight ends went in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft. First time that has ever happened, and I think it really helped put Iowa on the map as tight end U. Has definitely been a huge recruiting tool. Number eight, all the comebacks from the men's basketball team, the Northwestern game, the Rutgers game, the Indiana game, and then obviously the second round matchup versus Tennessee, even if that was a loss.

Some pretty incredible moments nonetheless. Number seven was just a recap of Iowa track and field. A couple ladies earned some All-American honors. One earned Big Ten Female Field Athlete of the Year. Number six, the women's basketball team won the Big Ten Conference Tournament. Number five, the Iowa Hawkeyes winning the Outback Bowl. Number four, the women's basketball team advancing to the Elite Eight. So, let's jump in to moment number three,

picking off where we left off at last time on yesterday's morning show. Number three for me is Iowa taking fourth place at the NCAA Wrestling Tournament. And I know expectations for Iowa wrestling is higher than other sports, right? We don't expect the men's basketball team to finish in the Final Four every year. We don't expect the football team to make the College Bowl playoffs every year, neither of which has happened since I've been alive. So, you know, take that for whatever you will. But nevertheless, when you can finish fourth in any sort of NCAA tournament,

I still think it's very impressive. Spencer Lee took his second first place medal in the NCAA tournament it's unfortunate we didn't get to see the wrestling team take on the NCAA tournament this year I think they would have had a they were definitely the favorite to win I think they should be the favorite to win next year but for me even if they got fourth that was still third best moment of the year number two the Iowa Hawkeyes winning the holiday bowl cappingpping off a 9-1 season with another win to add to 10 wins and have a double-digit winning season. And that game against USC was just phenomenal.

I mean, Iowa came out like they had a chip on their shoulder, and they literally were pulling every trick out of the playbook. And not like in trick play sense, but just putting together everything they needed to do to win that game. I thought Brian Behrens did a fantastic job of play calling. Mira Smith-Marset played outstanding throughout that game. Mace Stanley put together a really nice performance for his final performance of his Iowa Hawkeye career. So for me, that is definitely, without a doubt, the number two moment in Iowa Hawkeye sports of the last year in 2019.

And then finally, number one, you've got to give credit to the GOAT. Megan Gustafson winning National Player of the Year. That is the top moment for me. It's not often that Iowa athletes are recognized in that sense. And especially a girl from a small town, Wisconsin, you know, a little bit undersized for her position, but just a relentless worker, um, has, you know, no, no bone in her body that doesn't know how to work hard. Just someone who's always going to outwork everyone on the court. And which is interesting because now this year we see Luca Garza and a very similar type of a player in that sense, from a, a work effort

perspective, no one's going to outwork those two. And the fact that Megan Gustafson was able to claim national player of the year honors to me is just amazing. And we were able to see history and greatness last year. And that's something you don't always see in any basketball program. But to see that happen in Iowa was just really amazing. And Megan Gufferson gave us all some really, really great memories. So for me, that is the number one memory of the 2019 Iowa Hawkeye athletic year. So like I said, wanted to go through that quickly before we touch on the NFL

draft coming up after the break, we are going to jump into all the NFL draft talk, not a, not a single ounce of anything else, just NFL draft talk coming up. So stay tuned for that after a quick message from our sponsors. All right, we are back for segment number two and segment number three. We'll take a quick break somewhere in the middle here, but want to touch on the NFL draft. Last night was really crazy. We're not going to always talk about Iowa stuff.

It's going to be a little bit just NFL draft in general, but I really thought the entry to the NFL draft was great. I thought they did a really good job of recognizing all of the healthcare workers and all the people that are on the front lines dealing with this COVID pandemic. And I thought the NFL draft ran pretty smoothly. It even ran almost a little bit quicker than I'm used to seeing. Roger Goodell, not the best talker. I didn't think he did a great job of speaking, but overall, I really liked the NFL draft last night. And it started off with a bang. Obviously, Joe Burrow, Chase Young, Jeff Okuda, nothing that we didn't expect to happen. At number four,

the Giants took Andrew Thomas. And I don't think anyone really saw that coming. That was not the expectation. I think some people probably saw Tristan Wirth going there. I personally had Tristan Wirth projected at eight to the Cardinals. However, with the Giants taking a tackle, that allowed Isaiah Simmons to drop down the board and land right in the Cardinals lap I really thought the Panthers could have also taken Isaiah Simmons um had that not happened I think the Cardinals could have been a great spot for Tristan Wirfs but what I thought was interesting was the fact that there were four top tackles coming into the NFL draft you had Andrew Thomas you had Jedrick Wills you have Mekhi Becton, and you have Tristan Wirfs. Out of those guys, Andrew Thomas looked like potentially the most polished.

Jedrick Wills had probably the highest grade of everyone. He was also a right tackle, though, so where can he play on the left side? If he could play on the left side, on the right side, obviously blocking for Tua. That was actually the blind side. Mekhi Becton just full of potential, but really a hit or miss prospect. And Tristan Wirfs, I think, is a combination of high floor and high ceiling. A guy who has great technique, a lot of power, very athletic. So I really thought Tristan Wirfs could have been the first tackle off the board,

if not at least the second one. What surprised me was the fact that he was the fourth tackle off the board. He was still available at pick 13 before finally the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided to trade up and select him. And people are wondering, you know, did the San Francisco want to take Tristan Wirfs? Here's the thing. If San Francisco wanted to take Tristan Wirfs, they would not have traded the pick back. They would have taken Tristan Wirfs.

So why Tampa Bay would have traded up for that is because other teams were likely calling to get up there to get Tristan Wirth. As soon as you see a guy like Tristan Wirth start falling, a guy who was widely projected to go in the top 10, almost a consensus top 10 pick, when you see a guy like that start falling, you start calling. And I think the Tampa Bay Buccaneers felt like if they didn't pull off that trade, that they were not going to get their guy, Tristan Wirth. So clearly they had their eyes on him a little bit,

or at least had their eyes on one of the top four tackle prospects. Maybe Tristan Wirth is at the top of their board and they thought he might fall. Maybe not. I don't know specifically on that. But Tristan Wirth will now be blocking for Tom Brady. And he's going to be playing in a really great offense with an incredible offensive mastermind in Bruce Arians. I think it's a great fit for Tristan Wirfs. And Tom Brady does need that protection.

He does need the time in the pocket. He's not a mobile guy. He's old. He doesn't really move around a lot. So he needs someone who's going to be able to lock down one side and lock down the top edge on the opposing team. So really great for Tristan Wirfs. Obviously incredibly excited for him. I'm interested to see what teams are looking at trading up for him. My guess is it wasn't the Falcons. It likely was not the Cowboys. I'm thinking maybe the Dolphins. They ultimately selected Austin Jackson just a few picks later.

Tristan Wirfs to me is heads and toes better than Austin Jackson. So my guess is they were looking at potentially grabbing Tristan Wirfs as well. But that's kind of the case here. I'm really happy for Tristan Wirfs. Again, a fall for him. But he's going to a great situation where he's going to be able to win right away. He's also joining former Iowa Hawkeye, AJ AJF, oh wow, just completely dropping the ball here, Anthony Nelson, the defensive end out of Iowa that got drafted last year, converted to

that outside linebacker spot. I think there's also a chance based on, you know, Tampa Bay's defense and offense that I think there could be a few other players that might make sense for Tampa Bay later on from Iowa. Particularly, I think Nate Stanley would be a great fit with his strong arm. I think Bruce Arians is a great molder of quarterbacks. And you can have Nate Stanley kind of be a project that you could utilize. And then Geno Stone and Michael Ojemudia I think would be great fits as a secondary piece. Tampa Bay has been trying to solidify their cornerback and their secondary depth.

They did a good job of investing in that last year, but if you can get a guy like Ojemudia in the fourth or fifth, I think you have to hop on that. But the other big news from last night was the fact that AJ Epineza did not get drafted. So coming up after the break, we're going to talk about AJ Epineza, why I feel like he did not get drafted, and where I think he could go tonight. We are back for our third and final segment. And like I said, a bit shorter of an episode today. Just wanted to break down the NFL draft for you all

and want to make sure I got something out here. I thought that was really important as well. And as I talked about before, the show went to a quick break. AJ Paneza did not go in the first round. I think if you're an Iowa fan, you're obviously upset about this. You've seen AJ Paneza play game in and game out and be truly dominant. But guys, just be honest. I'm an Iowa Homer as well.

The guy did not test well at the combine. I know that that can be frustrating. I know that that seems like a dumb reason to drop a guy down, but I've talked to a few other draft scouts. Um, we had Benjamin Solak on the, you know, on the show to talk specifically about a Japan as a, and he, you know, he made a really good point. Um, some teams just have thresholds. There are thresholds for which they will not draft a player. And especially when you're investing a

first round pick, you want to draft a player that meets all of your criteria. You want to draft a player that you know is the guy you want to have. If a guy does not meet those thresholds for you, then you don't take that guy. And A. G. Paneza running an over 5-second 40-yard dash did not help his case. Teams really like speed rushers. There's not a lot of true and pure power rushers in today's game. I think A.J. Paneza does have a lot of versatility, despite what people will say that he can't line up in a 4-3 wide split. But I think he would be a great traditional 4-3 end or a 3-4 defensive end that could fit in a Baltimore Ravens scheme

or a Denver Broncos scheme. And as a Denver Broncos fan, if A.J. Paneza falls to them at pick 46, I hope they're running to the podium, virtual podium obviously, and grabbing him there because I think he could be a great asset and some team that is going to get very lucky in the second round. But to be upset about this, I mean, come on guys, like, I don't know what you want. Um, but I, we saw the writing on the wall and especially when the run on wide receivers and cornerbacks started to happen. Um, one of the things I've noticed, um, in my years of watching the draft, uh, certain positions

start getting a little more valuable. And once Justin Jefferson was taken, pick 22, I think it was pretty clear, you know, people, the run on wide receivers is going to happen. People needed to come up and get those guys before another team did. And those guys that were taken, Justin Jefferson, Brandon Ayuk, those are guys who would have been locked to the first round had it not been for three of the best prospects we've seen in quite some time in Henry Ruggs, Jerry Judy, and C.D. Lamb. So it was kind of a balancing act where you have Henry Ruggs, Jerry Judy, and C.D. Lamb dropping down the board

because there's so much depth. And then you have a couple other guys who are probably maybe going in the second round moved up into the first round in this different year because of the fact that the run started happening. And once that run started, it's not going to stop. And then you get the issue of teams just don't have a need for him. The first kind of most likely landing spot was definitely New England. That went away pretty quickly when New England traded their pick.

New England now has the 37th pick in the second round. They didn't initially have a second round pick. My guess was initially was that they were looking at a Japanese and they thought that they could get him in the second round. So why not use their first round pick to actually, you know, get another pick, get that third round pick, and they can still get their guy. And that still very well could be the case. I just don't foresee that happening. New England has a hole at tight end. I think Cole Komet could be that guy.

So again, New England was a good landing spot for A.J. Paneza. Doesn't go there as the Los Angeles Chargers trade up for that pick. I definitely knew they were not going defensive end. They already have a pretty stout defensive line. They have Joey Bosa. I believe they have Jeffrey Simmons or Jerry Tillery maybe. I think it's Jerry Tillery. And then they also have Melvin Ingram on the other side.

That line stacked. They were not going AJ Epineza there. I also don't think it would be a great fit. At 24 to the Saints, that was not a spot where I ever thought AJ Epineza would go. If they needed a guy, it was definitely going to be interior offensive line, middle linebacker, or potentially secondary. They ultimately went with interior offensive line. I also thought there was a small chance they went wide receiver. The 49ers at 25, once they traded up with the Vikings, definitely not happening either. I feel

like their line's pretty set. They had a need at wide receiver and that's where they went. The Green Bay Packers trading up to the Dolphins pick. I didn't think the Dolphins were also going a Gipenez, although there was a slight chance, simply with the Brian Flores Patriots type of connection running a relatively similar scheme. A. Gipenezda could have been a good fit in that defense, but they've spent a lot of capital on defense, and especially on the pass rushing type of stuff. So I didn't think they were going there. Seattle could have made some sense, especially since J. Davian Clowney is nowhere to be found at this point. They went inside linebacker and kind of a surprise move,

but they could still get a chance to get a Gip and as a later on Baltimore Ravens. Once Patrick Queen was on the board, there was no way the Baltimore Ravens were going anywhere, but Patrick Queen, that makes perfect sense. And then finally the Titans, I thought also could have been a potential pick for, um, for a Gip and as a, but they decided to go offensive tackle, which I think makes a ton of sense as well. That basically eliminated any chance of him going in the first round. Those are the teams that kind of walk him through what the thought process was. Clearly, that was pretty much the writing on the wall at that point. Now we're looking at him as a second round pick.

And keep in mind too, it wasn't just AJ Paneza that fell. Itergross Matos also fell. That's a guy who people mostly thought was going to go in the first round as well. I actually had Edergross Matos in my first round mock draft. Marlon Davidson's another defensive lineman that I thought possibly could go in the first round. So there's a couple of guys that could have been ranked higher than AJ Epineza depending on the team. And so now it's kind of a question of where does Epineza go? And previous mock drafts oftentimes projected him to the Lions at pick 35.

I still think that's 100% on the table coming into tonight. I wouldn't be surprised to see him go there. I do think with the amount of running backs that are still available, the amount of wide receivers, you have a few secondary players. So you have Jalen Johnson, DeAndre Swift, Xavier McKinney, Jonathan Taylor, Antoine Winfield Jr. and Zach Bond. I think guys like that, those are guys who people are going to try to covet and probably jump up into the top part of the draft to grit. So I think that still could push AJ Epineza down even a bit more. So if the Lions are looking to grab him, I think there's a chance they maybe even drop to pick 39, pick 40, and pick up Epineza there.

But I think Epineza's range is probably around the 35 to 40 range. I think he's a guy who does have a fantastic pass rushing set, very powerful guy who can play inside as well and deliver a great pass rush from the interior. I don't know how teams could not want to have that, but again, it also depends on what they're looking for in their defensive scheme. So it'll be interesting to see where AJ Peneza goes. There's a small, small chance that Ojemudia or Geno Stone go on day two today, or tonight, excuse me, in round three. I don't think it's going to happen, but there is a chance that either or both of them do

end up dropping into the bottom half of the third round. I still think it's pretty unlikely at this point, but if they do, we'll be covering that as well. I more or less expect them to go in the fourth and fifth rounds with Nate Stanley, probably going in the sixth or seventh. So we'll be covering all that though on Monday's episode of the Lockdown Hawkeyes podcast. On that show, we'll be doing basically a big breakdown of how do these guys fit into the teams they got drafted by, giving you the latest news on where some of the undrafted free agents have signed. As we all know, being Iowa Hawkeye fans, that is a big market for Iowa Hawkeyes. A lot of guys do

latch on with teams as undrafted free agents because they have the work effort. They have the work ethic. They have the attitude. They understand pro-style systems. They understand pro-style coaching to come in and make a difference despite being an undrafted free agent. So likely a big market there for a few guys, including

Christian Welch. We'll cover all of that, though, on Monday's episode of the show. Again, thank you all for tuning in to today's episode of the Locked On Hawkeyes podcast. If you have not had a chance and you do love listening to more draft talk, make sure to check out the Locked On NFL Draft podcast. Some fantastic content there.

They're working tirelessly over there, getting out as much content as they possibly can, especially during this next couple days as the NFL draft process unfolds. So thank you all for tuning in. Stay safe out there, Hawkeye Nation. Have a great weekend, and let's go Hawks. We'll see you next time.