NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - 40's and Free Agents: Teams with Multiple First Round Picks

Episode Date: April 1, 2026

On this episode of 40s and Free Agents, Daniel Jeremiah and Gregg Rosenthal break down the teams holding multiple first round picks in the upcoming draft and what it means for their future roster building. They talk about the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns, Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins, and Dallas Cowboys. Then they wrap things up with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have serious draft capital and a surprising amount of flexibility heading into draft season.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Welcome to 40s and Free Agents. I'm Greg Rosenthal alongside the best draft analyst in the business. Daniel Jeremiah, are you getting ready, DJ? Are you feeling like the day is close, like close enough? Yeah, it's getting here. I've got the updated needs sheets from Jack Andrade, who always looks out for me.

So we've got the additions and the subtractions for. from free agency. So starting to kind of shift a little bit towards the team stuff a little bit. You just memorize that. Is that what you do? Yeah. It's all up here. As is all the information from the book Born to Referee by Lange by Jerry Mark.

Anyone who's watching us on YouTube or on the fast channel, you can see I did purchase the book that DJ last was in a library for. I think it costs $3.35. on Amazon. A great read. Let me see the thickness of that. Can I see the spine on that? I want to see how big was this? Oh my gosh. That's a real book that I read back in the day. Yeah, it is, yeah, almost 300 pages. Jerry had a lot to get off his chest, man.

I'll do a book report on a future episode in June. We'll see. Okay. Yeah. So look, last week we talked about the teams that didn't have first round picks. A little bit of a bummer. It's more fun to talk about the teams that do have multiple first round picks. So you can sort things in a different way who has the most, you know, draft value in terms of points. And if that was the case, actually, weirdly the Steelers are number one on the list, but all the teams with two first-round picks are relatively high, including the Jets.

So we're going to go through these teams and going to talk about what those teams need, maybe what we see them doing early in the draft. The Jets, of course, have 2, 16, 33, and 44. So for the top 44 picks, they get the two extra picks because of the sauce gardener and Quinn and Williams trades. I think, look, they need a quarterback, but this might not be the year for it. Otherwise, wide receiver, cornerback. I think they could use a guard, linebacker, defensive tackle. There's not much that they have to say no to.

But I am curious when you look at how many edges they have, DJ, does that inform you how you think they'll line up this two and 16 pick special? Yeah, they've got a lot of edges. I was looking at it. That's why I brought this up previously. And he's my sixth player. But I just wonder if Carnell Tate is at least part of the conversation there. I think that they, those first three picks and pulling them back up, it's 2.16.33. If you're going to say, what's the, what's the lock, 216 and 30.

I'd say they leave those three picks, receivers at one of those three. Yes. 100%. And now there's going to, and I think there are going to be, maybe it's a little early at two. I think at 16, you're going to have some good options there, whether or not you want to, you know, pull it on Tyson if he's there from a Talat standpoint. Mikey Lemon, I don't think he'll get there, but there's a chance he could be there. You never know Omar Cooper. Like, they'll have options there at 16 and then they'll have that next wave. Even Concepcion, I think, could come into play there at 16. And then you'll have 33. You'll have another group of wideouts there as well. So that, that's, that's, That's the thing I feel most confident about.

Pick two, you know, and Arvel Reese, I've been going because to me, I feel like he points more towards 27 than 26. I have Bailey a little bit higher. I think Bailey has more impact right now, year one. But, you know, if they were going to go on that side of the ball, I would think that would be more their direction. But I also think, I don't think there's going to be a market to trade back, but they're a candidate that you. you'd say, man, to me, if you could trade back and get hate, that's probably the best thing they could do. But I don't know if they could pull that off. And I mentioned the edges. Look, they shouldn't change a pick that's going to be about the future of the franchise because

they have Joseph Asai, Will McDonald towards the end of his deal and King Inegbari at edge. It's just a position. But they can line up and play tomorrow. But I mean, again, I think everything goes towards 27. And that's why the last mock draft that did, I just gave him Reese. And Reese, to me, has the highest ceiling. I like that pick. I don't think it's crazy if he is just playing linebacker to take a linebacker that early, if he's that big of a difference maker. And one thing, if you're just looking at the depth chart,

you might see, like, well, they have a highly paid player and Jamie and Sherwood next to Mario Davis. Jamie and Sherwood was the worst signing that Darren Moji made last year, unfortunately. It just did not work out. He was a problem for that defense. I wouldn't be surprised if he is not on this. roster if they take a linebacker early. So to me, that's a huge need. But maybe cornerback and linebacker, you know, the cornerback

lines up better at 16. Maybe Delane falls down to 16 and they feel like this receiver group is so deep and they would probably drive their fans a little crazy, but they might feel like that's the position where at 33, we can get the best player and we take like edge and cornerback early, just keep loading up on it. Yeah, I think those are the three positions. If we're going to just nail it down here, I think you're talking about an edge rusher, you're talking about a corner, you're talking about a wideout.

And it's just looking at the different ways you can construct those three positions, you know, how they attack it. But that feels. And I would also say, even though they have three first round picks next year, I believe, right? They have three first round picks next year. If they, you know, maybe that's an opportunity again where think about the perfect storm would be if they could trade down from two, which I just don't know anybody would come up. But if you could trade down from two and get more capital in next year's draft and come away with the receiver, that would be the ideal.

And I just think their path to staying employed, which is in winning some games, which goes together, is just nailing this draft class. I don't care what positional, no one cares about positional value when they're getting defensive rookie of the year votes, you know, when they're different makers on the field. And the way they're going to save their job and be better is to take guys that contribute right away and then get the quarterback next year. The Jaguars obviously have their quarterback. They also have two first round picks. Number six overall and, I mean the Browns rather. Yeah, six and 24. Six and 24.

I'm thinking Jaguars because of the Travis Hunter trade. They have the 24th pick that is from the Jaguars. And then they have the 39th pick in the second round. They do have a couple extra fifths as well because of the Joe Flacco trade. They also need a wide receiver. I think they need a tackle, certainly a left. tackle is probably where they would look there. They need a quarterback, but it doesn't feel like they're going there.

On defense, probably their biggest need is like a nickel safety, which could line up with what's in this draft. How do you think they look at, you know, the picks that they have and where the draft falls with six and 24 especially? Well, with them, I would say tackle receiver. Those are two of the first three picks for sure. And I would say looking at where they are, getting the tackle at 39 is going to be difficult. So the tackle is going to be one of the first two picks.

I feel like that's the lock. Like you can write that in pen. And then it comes down to receiver corner. How do you combine those two? So, you know, like an example, it could go Tate at six, come back. You're gambling a little bit, but hopefully there's still a tackle there for you to take it 24. You know, whether that's Blake Miller, Proctor, you know, Lomo, whoever, you get a tackle there. And then now you're looking at the corners like a Chris Johnson from San Diego.

Diego State, maybe at 39. The other way they could go about that is say, okay, we're just going to reach a little bit on the tackle and take the tackle to lock him in, which Freeling is probably the most upside of a left tackle. Again, there's like 26 teams and 27 teams. This feels, the Browns feel to me like a 27 team. So let's take the guy that needs some room to grow, but has the higher ceiling. So they took Freeling there. Then you come back at 24, you might be able, you know, you could go corner there. and go hood.

And then now you get to 39, and I think there's still a lot of receivers there. You could go Denzel Boston, potentially being there at that point in time. You know, Antonio Williams, a good little player. Like, there's a lot of options there. I think about them, and you're saying they're a 2017. I mean, they might be like a 2031 team. That's why they proposed that rule to trade the draft thing.

Well, I know, but that came on the heels of the Miles Gear. I thought we were going to have something fun there because it was like, they adjusted Miles Garrett's contract, which made it easier to trade. and then they're proposing that you should be able to trade future picks, which would make sense if you're hoping to get some massive haul for Miles Garrett. And then, you know, Schefter came out and said it's not true. And then Andrew Barry came out and said it's not true. So all the fun got taken away from us there.

Do you think it's too early for downs? And I also am not ruling out like a Rubin Bane at 6. I mean, it just because it doesn't make sense to be reaching for tackles if they're not worth it, especially if the Cardinals take one ahead of them. and I know they have some good pass rushers. They gave Alex Wright a contract. They have some depth there, although the AJ Epinessa contract didn't work out.

But just don't they're going to want to take premium positions, the best players, and you could maybe get Ruben Bain or Bailey there and just feel like, man, we'll just build strength on strength on strength. I feel like that's more likely than people are throwing out there. Well, I mean, that would be the approach that I would take there. It's just heard it from so many different people that they are obsessed with tackle receiver and addressing those two things. So if it's, to me, the best player available would be the receiver if you're going between those two.

But the tackles, again, if you don't take one, they're gone. I don't even love the fact because I thought, okay, they could take the receiver. Then at 24, they can see how it's played out. And if they need to move up a few spots to make sure that they get one of the tackles, they could do it. but I don't even love this tackle group enough that I'd want to part with a lot of stuff there. So, tricky. And it's, it's early for Caleb Downs. And to take another defensive player, it would be against what all the reporting,

including what you're just saying is. But he does kind of fill a need. Ohio State guy, it's not that, it's not that crazy. That is kind of a position that they need. Another team that needs that position, which I am looking for, for Caleb Downs, is Kansas City at nine. They have two first round picks because they had one from the Trent McDuffie trade. They also have a couple extra late picks because of the McDuffie trade.

And because they were so bad last year, their second round pick is number 40. So they have three in the first 40. I think they have a big need at cornerback. I think they just need weapons in general. You've projected a tackle to them, which they could definitely use, I believe, because they have Jaylen Moore on the last year of his contract. Josh Simmons is really promising. but had issues last year where he wasn't staying on the field.

And so that that's kind of a concern. I feel like of all the teams, and it's typical figures it's the chiefs, the one year they're bad. I just feel like someone great's going to fall to them at nine. I feel like they're in a good spot where some big name player is going to fall to them at nine, and they have enough needs where they can get helped out by in a number of spots.

Yeah, Bain would be one that would be a nice fit for them there. I could see that happen. And I've been advocating, even though it's not a need for them, especially after signing Kenneth Walker, just from a fun factor of having Jeremiah, I love there with that one-two punch. And think about Mahomes coming off of an injury, we want to take some pressure off him,

or we can roll those two backs through and really kind of lighten a load on Mahomes as he's getting back to full health. So that one would be a lot of fun. But I'm looking at corner, I think they've done such a good job of developing corners. Now, McDuffie was a one, but they've done a great job. Watson's another exam.

example, you know, a lot of these guys outside of the first round, they've developed into good players. Dave Merritt, their secondary coach. So, you know, what did you say they were pick 40? That's, you know, that's kind of in that, you know, Chris Johnson, I'll keep going back to that name. I think that's right about where he goes. That's a good value and they'd get the most out of him. And I mentioned Caleb Downs and I'm just thinking of a place where he could be successful with Steve Spagnolo. They really don't have someone at that position. Right now, their safeties are a Louis Gilman and Chamari Connor, who was a, was a, Jaden Hicks was a problem.

A little bit for them, they signed Cater Cohue to be a nickelback. He would be an interesting piece, too, if they just decided that was the best player, best value on the board. No, no, and just smart, very, very smart. Let's go to the Dolphins who have two first round picks. They got the extra one and the Jalen Waddle trade. Similar draft pick profile early, at least, to the Chiefs, where they have 11, 30, and 43. Where they get really interesting is they have four picks between.

75 and 94. So, I mean, they have seven picks in the top 94. This is it. John Eric Sullivan, I know they're going to have patience in Miami and they have some extra picks in the future too, but you have seven picks in the first 94. You're a first time GM. I feel like their regime is essentially going to be made with this draft. If they can do well, it's going to be long-term security.

You're going to have the basis of your team for years to come. where do you think they're looking early, at least in the process? Well, I just make one little side point on that. I think it would be smart with all these picks, which is a great number. Next year, it looks like a good draft out on the horizon. But more so than that, I've been, you know, I've been on teams where you have new groups, you know, new coaching staff, new pieces there. It's hard.

It's hard when you have all these picks in year one. And you don't even really know who or what you are as an organization or a team. I would rather be, if you could, push some of these into next year, where you'll have a better feel for not only your players, your system, how the guys you currently have fit in there and what you need to win in your division. All that stuff is all new. It's just that's a lot. They've got a lot writing on a draft where they don't really know as much about themselves at this point in time,

which can be very challenging. That's a little side point there. And I think they will have a chance to do so because so many teams are in more of a win now, that the teams that want to be patient, and let's say they end up dealing a couple of those threes to move up or they get twos for next year, package things, the possibilities are there. Then again,

they do have to feel the team this year, and they don't have any wide receivers. They don't really have to. They're going to draft two. I was looking at that going, okay, could they take two of their first three picks, could be wide outs. And I thought, nah, with the depth of the receivers,

I'm looking at like, I wouldn't even be mad if they didn't take a wide out with their first three picks, and then just said two of our three, two of our four third round picks will pull receivers there and get two guys come in and help us. So the receiver thing, I would not worry about the limited numbers there. They're going to get that fixed here. Well, especially if you think about what the Packers did in the draft when John Eric Sullivan was there,

which was nail mid-round picks. Yeah. It didn't often take one or never took one really in the first round, and they did pretty well picking in the middle round. So I think they could use a guard. They could use a tight end. They could use edge. They got a lot of picks, but they need a lot.

So we'll see. I could see them going defensive back, though, maybe even the first one off the board at number 11. All right, the Cowboys have a pick at 12. They also have the 20th pick because of the Micah Parsons trade. Then it's a while. They have to wait until 92. They have a big hole at linebacker.

Really, throughout the defense, you could almost pick a position, but cornerback and edge would be the next two. What do you hear, like, about the process there? Like, are we still in the old, they, they, I don't know if you remember, you watched the reality show one year where they kind of had the cameras inside the Cowboys room and it was almost like, Jerry still had a lot of say at the final moment. Like, I don't know what you think about their process and what they're going to be looking for. And if things have changed there with Will McLeigh being. I think Will's done a good job. I think you look at their draft picks over the last several years. And they've, you know, they've got some good young offensive linemen. They've got some real good young pieces there. So now, now I'm looking more on the, on the defensive side of the ball. the secondary, if they could just address the secondary in this draft and then throw an edge rusher in there at some point in time in a deep edge rusher class, I think that'd be a nice draft form. So with two first round picks, I would say what am I most confident about? One of the two first round picks is going to be a secondary player. You know, and I think they could have a chance. Delane could be their choice right there at 12. At 20, you're looking probably more towards hood at that point in time, Tennessee corner. If McCoy maybe drops a little bit because of missing the season. Maybe he's there. But it just feels like one of those three corners is going to be one of their picks at one of those first two spots. I can see that. Look, they signed Kobe Durant

from the Ramos, but that's not a premier starter. Shavon Ravelle, they drafted and they hope he develops these coming up in an injury. But those are probably your outside corners. You have Duran Blan in the nickel spot. And they are a team that drafts for needs, but I think they're in a pretty good spot for the most part where it's a good roster where there's, you can almost add to any position, but they're not screaming, screaming needs. Maybe the one exception, and this is where I would wonder about pick 20, like a C.J. Allen at pick 20? Yeah, the other thing, well, I was going to say, like, if you, if you could, what's the

dream scenario? If you told me, what's the dream scenario of, like, value with something they really could use and need, it would be Sunny Styles somehow falling to 12. Like, that would be the home run pick for me. You're going to have to trade up for Sunny Styles at this point. I would think so, but I'm just, you know, weird things happen. So if that were to land in their lap, it would be a heck of a pick. Yeah.

And I mentioned just some of the teams also that have a lot of draft capital. You know, when you add up kind of the draft value based on the pick, the Steelers are sneaky in there because they have three thirds. Third round, yeah. Two fourths and a bunch of seventh. They could use a left tackle. They could certainly use some help at linebacker, guard, wide receiver. I'm just curious, what have you heard about the Steelers during the process? We will end with them.

Well, I think you'd probably get some tackle insurance there for Broderick Jones at some point in time. To me, looking at the corner position makes a lot of sense. You know, they could add another receiver even after bringing over Pittman. Somebody to compliment what they have there with D.K. and Pittman would make some sense. So, and you need a guard, you need the interior offensive linemen. So they're going to, they're in a pretty good spot where, you know, when you're talking about interior offensive linemen, you know, corners, like those are all third round. You can get those guys in the third round.

They got a couple pops at it. So we're wrapping up here. DJ's got a lot of places to be. He's probably got a hit on Pat McAfee, or he's going to be talking to his buddy, or Lofsky on ESPN or something, or do move the stick. Meanwhile, I'm going to go to chapter nine

of Born to Referee by Jerry Mark Bright. Yes, finish that thing. Which is entitled, Knowing Your Tale from Your Head. I don't know if that's 11 pages just on the coin flip, but I'm looking forward to getting to that. Fantastic. Good job. Good job, Greg. Appreciate you, buddy.

We'll see you next week. We're going to have a fun guest, Ali Connolly, from NFL Daily, is going to be joining us. We'll talk about some big name players on that show. We will see you. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.