NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Top 20 Position Groups in the NFL

Episode Date: May 13, 2025

Gregg Rosenthal is joined by Nick Shook to draft the top-20 position groups in the NFL. Listen to find out where the guys ranked the Buccaneer's wide receivers (03:30), the Lions tackles (08:00), the Texans cornerbacks (13:50), the Lions running backs (19:00), the Chiefs quarterbacks (29:30), the Vikings wide receivers (35:40) and get the complete top-20 list.  Note: time codes approximate. NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. Hey, everybody, Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Six, we take you inside the game from breaking down college prospects and NFL rookies to evaluating team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front officers. construct winning rosters. We study the tape, talk to decision makers, and give you a perspective you won't find

anywhere else. It's everything you need to understand the why behind what happens on Sundays. Don't miss it. Listen to the Move the Sticks podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to NFL Daily, where we're never done building draft boards. I'm Greg Rosenthal, here in the garage. Raj, ready to talk some football with one of my favorite people to talk football with in the whole world.

It's Nick Shook. It's ranking season. Shook, are you ready? I was born for this, Greg, and it happens to be my birthday, so I'm just twice as ready to get it. Whoa, I didn't know this. That. Happy birthday to Nick Shook, what are you going to do to celebrate? Go watch my nephew play baseball. Okay.

That's cool. Family, good stuff. Yeah, coach pitch you know. I almost feel bad. making you work on your birthday, but this is fun. I guess I did somewhat get into blogging and writing about football and into the sport because I like stupid stuff like offseason rankings. And so we're going to do this semi-regularly in the off-season.

Maybe might even be a Monday morning drop every week doing some rankings. And I thought we would start with an esoteric one. We're going to do best position groups in the entire NFL. We're just going to go back and forth picking who we think, best position group, one to 20, you know, not too formal. Some rules here. We split up the guards and tackles. Like we decided offensive line, that's not a group.

Guards, that's a group. Same with the edges and defensive tackles, cornerback safeties. That is a position group. And we're just going back and forth, gives us a chance to talk about like where teams are the strongest in the entire league. I'll just get us going. How about that, Nick?

Let's do it. And this would be in my mind, because I am going top to bottom, the best position group in the entire NFL at any position. I got a note, Greg, before we start, I'm going to stop you right there because those who are not watching on YouTube need to watch because Greg has his best Les Sneed look right now. He's got a little tan. He's got a little color in the skin. So if anybody's built to do this and crush it, it's Greg, Les Need Rosenthal. Yeah, I wish. I wish I had the hair that Les Sneed had. You know, you got pretty good hair. I'm hanging out. Let's go with some guys. Do they have good hair? I don't know. The Eagles Tackles position. position. That is my number one position group in the entire NFL. I just think if you start with a surefire, in my mind, first ballot, Hall of Famer, Lane Johnson, still playing close to his very peak. And then on the other side, you have one of the scariest individuals in the entire

league, Jordan Milata, who has great pipes in addition to great hair. That was a tough one to be. I kept going through other position groups. I was like, I think I would take the Eagles tackles ahead of them. And then a little extra sauce on the back end. They signed Kendall Lamb in the offseason from the Dolphins, who quietly was pretty decent for the Miami Dolphins. And I'm like, that's a pretty good swing tackle. They drafted a couple guys in the sixth, seventh round this year,

Miles Hinton and Cam Williams just for depth. In general, I leaned more towards the starters when I'm talking about, the position groups. But that gave them just a little bit of edge. I don't think you get any better at the top end in terms of starting positions at any position group in the NFL than Jordan Milata and Lane Johnson.

I like the inclusion of Kendall Lamb because I think the depth of the position, you're going to see that come up in quarterback later. I mean, we lean towards starters, but if we're talking about groups, we're talking about strength of the whole unit, right? And I also like the nod to to Kendall Lamb because that's one of my guys

that I got to know when he was with the Browns when I was in the Browns. Good dude. All right, you got the second overall pick. This is a lot of pressure, chef. It is a lot of pressure. just took the best group off the board and I don't want to follow suit so closely. So I'm going to go in a different direction. We're going to go with the Buccaneers receivers.

Okay. That is number two because if you look at this group, you know what you have in Mike Evans. You know what you have in Chris Godwin, even though he's coming back from injury. But not only did they get a great rookie year out of Jalen McMillan, but then they went in and got the most polished receiver in the draft in a mecca Ibuka. It is an embarrassment of riches. They even spent a seventh round pick on a very small but explosive receiver in Tess Johnson, you got Sterly. Shepard in there who stepped in a big spot when they were hurt at the

position. I love the depth. I love the top end potential with this group. And of course, Baker Mayfield's throwing it to them. That's the best receiver group, in my opinion. It's not the Bengals. It's the Buccaneers. Wow. I disagree. I'm going to have the Bengals coming up. I did have the Bucks on my list a little lower because it gets into what we're looking for in this exercise and there's no right way to do it. Do you want depth? Do you want like the best three, the best four, Or are you leaning towards the top where the Bengals, for instance, would be a little heavier. But it is outrageous that Egbuka, who felt like one of the safest picks in the draft, we were just talking about the Cowboys picking up George Pickens last week.

And we were thinking, what a good fit. They could have taken Igbuka there at the 12th overall pick. And he immediately, as a rookie to me, would have been exactly what they need, what any NFL team kind of needs, a guy who can block, who can play close to the line of scrimmage, who can catch balls over the middle, but his flexibility in his routes. And that's their third guy. They don't really need him right away.

Now, he might have a bigger role early in the season because Chris Godwin is coming off that injury, but I'm not factoring that injury into these rankings. The only reason I put them just, like, slightly lower is, you know, Godwin and Evans are their best days behind them. It is a really deep group. It is clearly one of the best receiver groups in the NFL. If it's not number one, it's either two or three.

but, you know, are their best days behind them? I think that Jalen McMillan, Macmillan shout out is a good one because, man, that guy was a big time scorer at the end of last year. If he's their fourth receiver, he is the best fourth receiver in the NFL. I think if you swap McMillan or Abuka

back and forth in that top four, you're getting great production out of both of them. And that's without even talking about, you know, Evans and what he brings to the table and what Godwin looks like when he comes back. So I'm going with peak potential here with this whole group, and I just like the upside. I like that. And I guess I did lean a little bit into positional value. And that's why with the next pick, this is third overall, I'm taking the Steelers edge group. Okay.

T.J. Watt last year, on a per snap per pressure basis, by some metrics, was the third best pass rusher on this team. They should maybe be unhappy. They even fell to three. Because if you've got a guy who's getting votes for a defensive player of the year and some metrics say there's two guys on your own team at your own position that on a per snap basis are actually beating their guy in front of them even more, that's in elite elite position. Alex Highsmith is the man. Nick Herberg is awesome. And so that is a really good one, two, three. We'll see about Jack Sawyer who fell to the fourth overall pick. I also give the Steelers a little bit extra here because of their history.

Just like they've always been an elite edge group and they're still an elite edge group. But yes, like Mylata and Lane Johnson at tackle, I feel like every team in an ideal world has three difference making edges, has two difference making tackles that they can just feel good about. And I do feel that good about Highsmith and Herbug. I think they are that good. It'll be interesting to see if they want to sign T.J. Watt long term because he's going to cost a lot of money. Or if they, you know, don't sign her big long term eventually.

But he is a younger player. Either way, it is just a loaded position for them. Yeah, there were some games late in the season where Watt went without a sack and didn't really register a statistic of note. And yet he was still making a difference because that's who he is. He's a difference maker in terms of pressures and everything else. And that is your best guy, but it's not the only guy. I love that choice because of the depth that they have there.

I loved Alex Highsmith since I saw him at the Combine. Great to see him have a very productive NFL career playing opposite T.J. Watt helps, of course, but he's a beast as well. So very much on board with that pick. But I'm now going to follow you in the way that you started this draft, which I'm going to go back to tackles. And I'm going to go with the Detroit Lions, who had the guts to go draft Pena Sewell and say, you know, we're not going to make him a left tackle. We're actually going to keep him. We're going to put him on the wrong. right side because we trust our left tackle in Taylor Decker that much. Now, you want to talk about

depth here a little bit. Dan Skipper often comes in as the sixth lineman. We've seen him get involved in some creative plays. Ben Johnson is gone, but I like the idea of having a swing tackle is there. This is a proven group. One of the best offensive lines in the NFL last season. They've had some changes, more on the interior, but the guys that you rely on that you can trust are Taylor Decker, our Penaise Sewell, and even a Dan Skipper. And that's why I love this group so much. I'm going to go there. It may be a little bit too high. But as we know, and as I've said many times, Greg, it starts and ends in the trenches.

And I'm going with this tack group if I can't have the Eagles. Just look how much money they're making. That, I think, is a solid barometer for these position groups. I'm with you. They were in the top 10 of my big board. The fact that I had other tackles ahead, that was probably I even had them down. Dan Skipper just adding so much entertainment to our life, the vindication that he got after, you know, that rough penalty that he had a couple years ago,

the touchdown that Dan Skipper got. But I kind of keep waiting for Taylor Decker to decline year after year. And he doesn't. He's rock solid and Sewell might be the best right tackle in the entire league. They did spend a draft pick last year on Giovanni Manu. It was a developmental guy who hadn't played a lot of football.

Sounds like they're moving him to guard, so he doesn't quite count for this exercise. And yes, we split up. tackles and guards. So it's more about just a specific position group. That made me think about like the Steelers. I'm not going to draft them and you're welcome to if you want. Like I could have taken their defensive tackles as another group.

Like if you just went, if we were just going defensive line, that would maybe be next year. Like their defensive line or their front seven would would be exceptional. I'm going Bengals wide receivers with my next pick. Okay. Smart pick. Jamar Chase and T. Higgins, you look at the south. and it does feel crazy, but it's also a really unique opportunity. What did the Eagles do when Devante Smith was contract extension eligible?

They signed him right away because a number two at that level is worth that much. And I do think despite Higgins's injuries, he is at that level. He's a top 25 receiver in the league. Chase is a top two receiver in the league to me with Jefferson. And so the only question is like, is the depth there? You know, Andre Yoshavos, a late round pick in his second year, 479 yards, was good in the red zone, six touchdowns. I do like him. He's an okay three.

He's not a plus three. He'll get you by three, but he might be getting better. And the top two are just so good. Like, we'll look back, I feel like, your Bengals fans especially, we'll look back on this era as the Chase in the Higgins era. They're kind of the defining part of this team. yeah i mean obviously they benefit from the fact that they're playing with joe burrow that helps a whole lot but this is a group that's just talented on it or does he benefit from the fact that he plays with them you know it's like mutually beneficial we're all on the same page here

everybody eats right in Cincinnati and they kept everybody accordingly and take a little bit of a pick cut here make sure everybody fits in so they can all stay so yeah it's definitely the power of their team it's the backbone of their team we especially saw that last year when they had those defensive issues and the hope is of course that they can tighten up a little bit defensively so they can fully maximize the production that they get from the Bengals passing game. But, you know, we're going to stay in the passing game. This is a position group here that if I was thinking about constructing a roster, I would say, well, there's a lot of depth. There's a lot of options. If this is a fantasy football draft, I would save this pick

for later just because there's so many quality options. But I can't contain myself. I can't prevent myself from just going after it right now. I'm going to tight ends. And I had a number of candidates in this position. Wow. I didn't. The leader is the Baltimore Ravens. And it's Mark Andrews and it's Isaiah likely and I wanted to go maybe Bills or the upside with the Browns adding Harold Fan and even though it's a rookie and you don't really know what you did. But I know what I get out of the Ravens. I get a guy in Mark Andrews who save for that playoff loss to the bills is about as consistent as it gets as long as he's healthy and Isaiah likely who compliments him perfectly as well. They're so balanced. They were a focal point of this passing game for so long before they actually

started to open it up and get the receivers involved under Todd Monkin as the offensive have coordinator, and we've seen what's happened with Rashad Bateman and Zay Flowers. But it all started with the tight ends initially. And I can rely on them as the backbone of past catchers, even now, even if the stats don't bear it out in the last year or so. This is a group that I'd just love to put on paper and say, God, I'd love to run 12 personnel with them because you can do so many different things. Absolutely.

They fit where the NFL is right now. You know, we just talked Bengals. The fact that they pay their two wide receivers is a sign of, like, how the receiver position has changed. And I think what you're saying about the tight ends, how the league is trying to more flexible which is playing tighter to the line of scrimmage and likely is an archetype i think other teams are trying to get the only pushback i'd have it you know mark andrews was available potentially this off season is going to turn 30 uh right before the season starts but uh a case in

your favor is they really trust charlie coler colar i don't even know how to say his name but he's out there in big spots he's a good blocker and so you do if you have those two guys who are are good pass catchers. You want the guy who can come in and be a standout blocker. They were the only tight end group I wrote down at all. So on one level, not a crazy reach. On the other level was not in my personal top 20. So you definitely could have waited.

I'm loading up on defense. Two sides of the ball. I'm loading up on defense. The Houston Texans cornerbacks are next on my list. That was my next pick. Okay. Defensive player of the year candidate last year, Derek Stingley.

Did he get any votes in the end? A late push. I don't know if he got any votes, but it was a late push. He was definitely the all pro cornerback. So recognized as the second best cornerback in the NFL. You know, obviously he was behind Sartan, who won defensive player of the year,

but in his third year. So that is where you want to start. A great young cornerback in Kamari Lasseter, who was fantastic as a rookie. and this is a position that goes up and down. So you've got to prove it year after year, but to come in and make that big of a difference as a young player is outstanding.

And then I'm including Jalen Petrie in this group because ultimately he was their nickelback last year. He's out there in coverage. He essentially was playing cornerback. He can also hit. And then the depth is crazy. They signed Ronald Darby this offseason, who I know looked a little watch last year.

But he's kind of that perfect guy that bounces around that you want as your fourth or your fifth. and you don't necessarily want as your starter in week one like Jacksonville had him last year well that's what he's going to be here and then they might have reached for this kid Jalen Smith in the third round

I was surprised that they took him was a surprise pick but it's just more depth that they took a first round or rather a day two pick on Jalen Smith that is just everything you want out of the cornerback position

some people are saying this is a fantastic value that they could have gone as high as almost number one well we love to hear that right after the draft, even if it's a bit of a projection, because we're all looking forward and we're trying to think, okay, well, how is this all going to fit? Can they get the most out of this? Yeah, I love that pick. It pains me that I can't go there because I haven't gone, you know,

heavy defense. That's where I was going to go. But I'm going to stay on the offensive side again here because trenches again. Now I'm building out the interior. And we're going interior offensive line. And we're going with the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team that had so many issues there in previous years. And yet they've nailed. think their recent picks in the interior. Zach Frazier proved to be a good center, Mason McCormick, a good guard. And they get the free agent Isaac Sayamalo,

who I think is a quality veteran guard to fill that out. That was not a problem for them anymore. It was the way that the offense operated and what they had at quarterback and how they didn't like their skill position. Suddenly, the Steelers' offensive line went from being their biggest problem to an afterthought, which is always good because as an offensive lineman,

the best feedback you can get is no feedback at all, at least from the fan base and those watching the games. So look, again, we're not building teams, but in my mind, I still kind of build a team and I still start in the trenches, so I go with them. That is a sign of the times, how things have changed, that the Steelers could make a case for one of the best interior offensive lines in the league. And you're putting, I think, a lot of weight there on Zach Frazier, and I think it's warranted.

Ball knowers were amazed at how well he played as a rookie, and that's a tough position to play as a rookie. and to improve, and McCormick has a chance to improve as well. And look, they have high draft picks on that tackle. We'll see if their tackles can play as well. But it is a different era right now in Pittsburgh that they can feel some optimism about their offensive line for the first time in a while. One thing doing this exercise, kind of writing down all the different possible options,

you realize like what teams are a little loaded? and I had the lion's tackles like you high up there. I also have the lion's safety's high up there. I'm going to take them next. I mean, safety's a position people forget about, but you're batting two for two. Kirby Joseph just got a huge long-term extension and was an all-pro,

and I don't think he's the best safety on the team. I think Brian Branches, who, to me, got ignored weirdly in the all-pro votes. Maybe it was like some was getting split between slot corner and safety, and I know he faded in terms of ball production, later in the year, but he's just an awesome player. He's what everyone would want as a safety.

I think if you ask the entire NFL to draft safeties right now, branches go in top five, maybe top one on a lot of boards. So to pair him with an all pro, there's not a ton of depth behind them. So maybe that prevented them from going even higher in this draft, but I am taking them with the ninth overall pick in our best position groups. The Lions Safeties. You know, I think it's kind of hard to find a good safety tandem. And I have a pick that I'm going to make, not now, but later at that position, that's a lot of projection.

But one thing I never was too worried about was whether Brian Branch would be a good player in the NFL. And I think it started with this tape in college. It continued with his workout in Indianapolis where he was, I think he might have been working with the corners at some point, even though he was clearly going to be a safety. And so the production did not surprise me at all. And a lot of people looked at that Lions draft class of now, what, two or three years ago, and they scoffed at it. and that included Sam Leporta and Brian Branch. And I want to say Gibbs is in that group too. And now look at how they're all producing.

So we're going to keep it in Detroit here. We're going to go to the other side of the football. We're going to running backs. Yes. Because now in this era, we have kind of this dichotomy of sorts when you look at the way teams are constructed. You have teams that have a clear bell cow or you have teams that are clearly a committee backfield.

And the Lions are doing the perfect job of walking the line between the two because they got a two-headed monster in David Montgomery. And Jemir Gibbs. So that's my next pick, Lions running backs. First running backs group off the board. Might be the only one off the board, but you cannot argue with production. You've got Montgomery, who's the old school hammerback, who also has big play potential. You've got Gibbs who could be a three-down back who's incredibly explosive and can catch passes out of the back field and make a huge difference as well.

No group, I think, and the top two is better rounded, just more complete than the Lions running backs. And we saw the product of that last year. Plus they have that guy, their third running back, who's like a special teamer. and if you need a couple carries near the goal line or your first guys are hurt, is going to work out for you. Craig Reynolds. Like, that's just a classic third back.

I guess every team, or almost every team has one. But I love that. I sort of overlooked them. I love that pick. And that's a reminder. We have three Lions position groups in the 10 overall best position groups in the entire NFL.

And it's not like any of the other positions really on the team look like that big of a weakness. I'm still buying mine stock. I don't think they're Windows. past. I don't think they should be anything but the highest of favorites in the NFC. We're going to take a quick break. That was our top 10 position groups in the NFL. We'll wrap up the rankings right after this. In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down.

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your opponents. Listen to the NFL fantasy football podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Toyota, the official automotive partner of the NFL. Visit Toyota.com slash NFL now to learn more. What's up everybody? Daniel Jeremiah here. And I'm Bucky Brooks. On Move the Sticks, we take you inside the game from scouting reports and player development to team building philosophies, coaching trends, and how front offices construct winning rosters. Every week we study the tape, talk to decision makers, and share the insights you won't find anywhere else. It's the kind of conversation that connects the dots, from college football prospects to the NFL stars of tomorrow. We break down the draft, analyze

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or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Nick Shook's birthday. What else would he want to do other than rank the best position groups in the NFL? I'm really bad at accepting compliments and praise, so I always get a little uncomfortable when somebody celebrates my birthday, but this works.

How old are you, Shuck? How old are you? 33. Okay. Larry Bird. That's a great year. I think it's got to be a big year for Shook. We're turning the page.

We're making things happen. The first year of NFL Daily, we're almost at that anniversary. And Shook was one of the very first people I texted and talked to about it, and he's been just a huge part of this podcast. but more importantly, just an awesome dude. So I hope you have an awesome day

and you don't feel too bad that I'm drafting much better position groups than you today. Oh, see, that's where you bring it back because I was getting a little uncomfortable with all the praise and then you just get a little jab in there and now we're back to equilibrium. I do like my pick so far and I'm going to go a little off the board here.

I don't think we've had any defensive tackles. I'm going Rams defensive tackles. This one snuck up on me going through the interior defensive linemen list in the league. and I guess it depends how you want to look at Braden Fiske, but to me he's an interior player ultimately. So Kobe Turner, who on pure production, is one of the best defensive tackles in NFL history

in the first two years of his career. Just on pressures and production and consistently winning his first two years stack up with not quite the very best of the best like all time, but pretty close. It's crazy. You have Brayden Fisk who came in, And he does one thing really well, which is run through your face.

And you don't need a ton of moves when you have that much power at the size he has. It's just surprising. And then you add Punta Ford to the mix. Well, I'm a little worried. They're counting on too much. I mean, this is a guy who's bounced around and usually he's coming in at a lower price, but is a underrated run stopper. And not a ton of crazy depth behind those three.

But, man, that is a really good top three. And they all have very different skill sets, Nick. And so I really like this Rams defensive tackle room. And, you know, it came in a perfect time because as soon as Aaron Donald retired, it was like, well, what are they going to do now? They just lost their best player. And yet they've kind of taken the old moneyball A's approach.

We're just going to replace you with guys who will combine to produce just about as much in different ways. And that's what the Rams have been since Aaron Donald retired. They haven't missed a beat there. They ended making a deep playoff run. They get the divisional round of the playoffs. And a lot of it is because of roster construction. And it, again, starts in the interior.

This time it's on the defensive side. But you love what they've got. gotten since Aaron Donald retired. It's been a great job. All you have to do is like hit on four straight day one and two. Yeah, you know, just like nothing. No big deal. Right. And have a huge home run with like an all pro receiver on day three. Like it's it's very tough to do. But they have invested on the defensive edge positions too. That would have been an option. But they are not they are not on my list. The defensive tackles are. All right. You're up. Pick number 12. Okay. I'm, I'm a little torn between this because some of it is projection and another part of it is.

how many guys can you collect? So we're going to start with the Giants and we're going to go with their edge rushing group because look, a year ago around this time they were welcoming in Brian Burns and it was like, oh, now they got the guy to mix with Kavon, Tibido, and everything's going to be dandy on the edge for them.

Oh, and then they just go and spend the third overall pick on another edge rusher and Abdul Carter, a guy that many thought would be the first overall pick in this draft and I think DJ for a long time, if not by the final position rankings, had him ranked as his best player in the entire draft. And they got him at three.

and then that mixes in with what you already have in Thibodeau and Brian Burns. Now the depth kind of falls off after that, but that's a hell of a top three. And you want to get rotational. You want to go NASCAR package and move one of those guys closer to the interior to get ultimate rushing capabilities on third down. You can do it now. So it creates, it's just interesting to me that I'm like, all right, Joe Shane, how many guys are you going to collect in the position? But then again, you can never have too many at such a valuable spot in the NFL these days, which is getting after the passer. So I love that group, and I can't wait to see them play because the Giants are in this weird position.

now where they've thrown all the spaghetti at the wall at quarterback to try to figure that out. And we kind of know what we're going to get from their defense, at least from their front seven. And the strength of that is this edge Russian group plus Dexter Lawrence in the interior. It's so good because you mentioned it on passing situations. All those guys have have flexibility to move inside. Burns is probably maybe the least likely. But either way, Tibido can move inside. Like you can do a lot. It's a stunt world that we're living in and the flexibility that they're going to have. And I kind of like Chauncey Goldston as a DE4. He is a good player from the Cowboys who's a run stopper. And so that's like a solid edge too. I'm with you.

They were pretty much coming up right away in my list. Initially what I made it, they were actually up there in like the top five. And then I thought, I feel like if you got to have a be in the top five, you got to have like a true all pro or like no doubt or multiple time pro. bowler. And I think Carter can get there, but that's a bit of a production. Burns isn't quite at that level as an edge guy. So I knocked them down just a little bit. But in terms of just overall depth, that defensive line is absolutely awesome. I'm going back to the defensive side of the ball. I'm doing another cornerback room. The Broncos, it's silly how many players they're going to throw out there. Patrick Certan is your defensive player of the year. Kind of a surprising one in a way, but it was just a weird year. But was absolutely excellent. It was almost reminded me of like how coaches of really good teams never win coach of the year because they get ignored. And that's how really good cornerbacks that don't have huge ball production tend to get ignored. But this time it didn't.

Patrick Stratan got it done. And then you look at the guys after him. Riley Moss, I know the season didn't end great for him after an injury, but he showed he can be a good to solid starter in the NFL opposite him at cornerback too. But I wouldn't have put them here if they hadn't drafted Jaday Barron in the first round. because Jake Juan McMillan, to me, was a plus nickel defender. The flexibility that they're going to have now, because Barron is essentially going to replace them,

but I think they're going to end up moving these pieces around. They play a lot of dime defense that they could have four cornerbacks and one safety on the field when it's a nickel defense and move them all around. Like, this is what you want. Vance Joseph is going to cook. I love this cornerback room. Yeah, if you kind of look at the way that they approach safety, they went and got Tallano Hofunga,

but they have Brandon Jones and strong safety. I thought that they might actually be in the market for another one outside of Hufanga. And the way that you described them going nickel and throwing a bunch of corners on the field kind of explains how they could, they could approach that without needing to necessarily rely too much on the safeties. The Broncos cornerbacks were actually going to be my next pick. But now I'm going to go deep into, that was like, I think it was the first quarterback group I had because I went by position group listed there. But I'm going to go deep into the projection zone now. And I think this is picking out some steam. I think maybe Mina was talking about it among some other people in recent weeks.

since the draft, but I love what the Ravens have at safety right now. And of course, you know what you have in Kyle Hamilton, who I know that everybody pays attention to Derek Henry and Lamar Jackson and even Roquan Smith on the Ravens, but Kyle Hamilton is a game-changing safety. He is the athletic freak that everybody thought you were getting out of Notre Dame and then some playing in the perfect defense for him. Then they go get Malachi Starks and add him to this and create this tandem that I don't think everybody's quite prepared to understand what this could look like. their biggest weakness. The reason they lost games in the early and mid portion of the season last year was because they couldn't count on what they had at safety

opposite of Kyle Hamilton. You had Marcus Williams who was having, you know, a rough go of things. And he wasn't the only one back there in terms of veterans that they added who didn't perform. Now you answer that. Hopefully with Starks at safety, who you hope is going to work perfectly with them. I think they're going to be a fantastic duo and it's going to elevate this defense to an even higher level. And we're just going to be spending months talking about the Ravens again and not just because of Lamar and Derek Henry. Yeah, the defense was the problem last year and we'll see. Starks is absolutely one of the most important rookies in the league because of the position that he plays for a really good team. Ardarius Washington had some moments

last year and is a nice depth piece, a guy that was a college free agent, but has gotten better and better and adds depth. I like that. If I was going to add another safety group, it probably would have been the Texans. Man, the Texans like, I could have just done their, if we're just doing full secondaries, that's the best secondary in the league. They're second. They're second. secondary might be the best position group, but yeah, Caden Bullock, counting Chauncey Gardner Johnson is there now and Jimmy Ward is still with the Texans. So that's a great three-man group.

That is not my next pick. All right, it's time to take a quarterback off the board, I think. I was going to fall in the story, but I'm glad you are. I mean, any room with Patrick Mahomes, I feel like should be included in the best position group in the league, as long as it's not the backups that he's had the last few years where it really, like, you just thought they weren't going to have much of a chance if it was Carson Went or Bucle or whatever it was a guy a couple of years

to go getting set. The old Texas guy. But now it's Gardner Minchu, who I know was terrible with the Raiders, but that was a rough situation. For the most part, Gardner Minchu has been exactly what you would want out of a backup quarterback, and you feel like if he is in the right situation and Andy Reid and the Chiefs is absolutely the right situation, that he's going to give you good production. And then just for last, Bailey Zapi is there in the back.

So you have maybe the best quarterback of all time. He's on that path, Patrick Mahomes, and you've got an upper tier backup. I think Gardner Minchu is an upper tier backup. His contract is not one. I mean, they're paying him like $1 or $2 million this year. It's crazy. But, I mean, look at his production as a pro. I love my pick.

I got Patrick Mahomes this late. I love my pick. Just tap yourself in the back with both hands. I've been doing it. It's been happening throughout. All right, do you have another quarterback room that's going to make the top? Top 20, you don't have to pick them in the top 20. It doesn't matter.

No, I was actually going to. But I think that Kansas City is kind of like what Alabama under Nick Saban was for coaches who'd been fired, which is like a safe space to like rehabilitate your reputation while knowing that you're probably not going to have to see the field very much. San Francisco was kind of like that in the last couple of years. It worked for Sam Darnold. But I think there's just a rare few clubs in the NFL that have that privilege to give a guy who's got NFL. experience but kind of needs to spend a year forgotten about by the rest of the league so he can kind of, you know, reset. And I think that's a perfect place for Gardner Minshu. I'm going to keep

a quarterback. You know, I was tempted to go bangles here because what we saw from Jake Browning is they made their playoff push a couple of years ago, you know, essentially burnish his reputation as somebody who could be a quality backup. Now we didn't see him really last year. But I like that group, but I'm going to go somewhere else. And that's the same reason, because when you think about position groups, you think about depth. We know what Jayden Daniels did. a rookie, offensive rookie of the year, instantly transformed that franchise to the point that now they're talking about building a new stadium and everything else. But it's the presence of Marcus Marriota back there as well. It's the perfect little complimentary piece there where in case

Jaden can't play, you have a veteran who was a former top pick who's been in the fire, who can get the job done, who can throw you to a win in the last seconds against the Cowboys in a game that doesn't even really mean much to you. He can handle it all. He's a pro. He's the perfect backup for a young guy like Jaden who he understands what it's like to be in the spotlight. I love that they just aren't relying on Jaden. They're not a team that goes into the season. He goes, God, if we lose him, we're screwed. No, no. Marcus can keep the ship afloat until Jaden can come back or whatever if that were the case. Strength in numbers at quarterback. It's rare. You have a lot of superstars that you think about, hey, how are you missing Josh Allen? Well, Mitch Trubiskey's behind him

and I don't have the same confidence in him. It's a strength in depth. And that's why I like their situation. It was a limited sample size, but it was the best. I think Margus Mariotas ever looked in his career. I mean, it was 44. I've tried not to get. That's something. He did have a stretch in Tennessee where he did. He looked pretty good.

It was only 44 attempts, so it's really not fair. But he did have four touchdowns in those four 44 attempts. And he had 10.09 adjusted yards per attempt, which would easily, you know, lead the NFL, didn't take sacks, you know, didn't make too many mistakes, had a game-winning drive. and it wasn't just the numbers. If you go back and watch, he had some dime, some difficult throws down the field. I was like, okay, Marcus Marietta, but what puts it over the top for me there?

I think you had a good pick. You might have had the better room overall. Is we got Josh Johnson. Still in the league is on the Washington commanders right now. 40 years old. He's like Josh McCown, man. Literally no one has ever had a career in NFL history like Josh Johnson having to play in these other leagues

and never playing. and bouncing around and keeping it going until 40. You know, props to Josh Johnson. I hope he makes their final roster. All right. I've messed around enough. I actually had the Eagles wide receivers in my top five or six overall, but we've just gotten wide receiver heavy.

And so I didn't want to go back to him. But, I mean, A.J. Brown and Devontz Smith are on the same team. And Jahan Dotson is definitely the weak spot here. And the number four receiver, whoever you want to call it, is the weak spot here. But Jehan Dotson made some big plays during a Super Bowl. bowl run. That alone is enough to be like, okay, I guess that third round pick that we traded for him was worth it, because if you make like three important plays for us on the way to winning

a Super Bowl, that's the whole point of playing the sport. And he helped to do that. And I do think with a full off season there, he can get a little better. But to me, AJ and Devanta are arguably as good as Jason Higgins, because I think the falloff from one to two is not as severe. Devonta Smith is just that good. And A.J. Brown, to me, is a top five receiver in the NFL. He would probably be number five if I'm doing it. Yeah. And I think style-wise, they compliment each other so well, which is a true test of the strength of a position group is, you know, how well do you fit together? So I love that pick as well. They were up there for me. And now I feel like I'm just following you in every direction. But I'm, oh, I also want to note one more thing before I

move on to that. Down their depth chart, hopefully he makes the roster. One of my former favorites during the dark days in Carolina. Terrace Marshall. He's a guy that I felt never got the opportunities when Carolina was going through guys. I just want to see if he maybe sees the field. If he's going to make anything of his career, it could be with them if he gets called on.

They do have a couple of guys, by the way. They took Ania Smith and Johnny Wilson, who's like the tallest wide receiver in the league, Johnny Wilson that is in the day three last year. You wouldn't have expected them to contribute as rookies, but just got some guys to watch that they might be in the next this year. Johnny Wilson is like a pillar in the red. zone. Okay, let's go receiver again. And like you said, we've been kind of screwing around because

come on down, Minnesota Vikings. I mean, how do we get to this point? Of course, we're trying to not just pile on at receiver throughout this entire draft. But I mean, you know what you have in Justin Jefferson, who's given up JJ, the nickname to his quarterback now? You know what you have in Jordan Addison, who I think is one of the best number two receivers in the NFL and has only proven that over the last year. You have Jalen Naylor. Like, I think that this group in itself just works so well together. And then you mix in the involvement of the tight ends. Like I thought that they were going to miss K.J. Osborne a little bit last year. It was fine without him. I just think it's one of the better passing games in the NFL. And a lot of that is dependent on those top two receivers

who just continue to make plays. They made so many plays with Sam Darnold last year. I'm looking forward to see how they fit with J.J. McCarthy. Yeah, they take a third round pick to in Ty Felton, who's maybe a yak guy with some speed who might be replacing Naylor, at least in the long run. they brought in Rondell Moore, like, that's a deep group. That's great value this deep. I think we underrated the, and it is what it is. If the best rooms are wide receiver rooms, so be it. Jordan Addison, I don't know why he fell so far.

I guess it was the workout numbers and stuff, but he's just a natural receiver. I'm going, and we'll speed it up to finish it out. I think we're at pick 17. We're going to go top 20. I don't think I'm being a homer putting the Patriots cornerbacks up here. Carlton Davis is a big-time free agent signing. He's obviously a plus cornerback, a physical cornerback who if he stays healthy would be the best cornerback on some teams, not most teams.

He's not a guy. You probably want to be your best cornerback, but you really love him as the number two. And Christian Gonzalez is right there for me with Patrick Sertan and Stingley as the best cornerback in the league. I think he's that talented and he's that good. He's just been stuck on the Patriots. And it's a big drop off after that. And that's why they go this late.

But to me, that they might have the best top two in terms of cornerbacks in the entire NFL. Marcus Jones is a try hard undersized slot corner who probably right now is the number three. I wouldn't be surprised if they add like a veteran at some point. So it's a big drop off after the top two. But I'm going to take them here. Yeah, I'm going to agree. I think that the addition of Davis takes some of the pressure off of Gonzalez as well. And ultimately, he just needs to stay healthy.

That's what's most important for his trajectory because he's a, excellent cornerback. He just needs to be on the field. So I like that pick. There's a little bit homerism with saying they might have the best two corners in the NFL. A little bit, just a little bit. I'm going to push you back. That's like a top two. I stand by it. Yeah, stand by it. It's Stingley Lasseter. It's Sertan and whoever you want to say is their number two, Baron or Moss. You know, I think it's in that mix. Come on. Yeah, I might. Yeah, this is why we play the games on the field, not on paper, right? Okay. We're going to go back to Detroit again. City, Detroit Rock City. I'm Gene Simmons, lead singer a kiss here, and I'm just going to keep

talking about the Motor City. Okay, this is a group that I think is going to fly under the radar because it might lack name recognition because Aidan Hutchinson is the name that you recognize on the edge. But for me, their defensive tackles are among some of the deepest in the NFL. And we talked about this after the draft. I love their selection of Tileak Williams, so I think is going to rise to prominence and be a good player in the NFL. But you continue to go down in this group. You've got DJ Reader. You've got a Lee McNeil.

You keep Levi on Wuzareke. That's a great four. And I think when it comes to constructing your defensive front, there are so many injuries and things that happens on the defensive interior that if you lose one or two guys and you're not deep enough, suddenly it's a massive liability. I've actually watched it with the Browns over the last couple of years as they've tried to plug their gaps.

The lions are setting themselves up for success and for stopping the run with the depth that they have and the upside, the potential of a guy like Tileak Williams, to make difference-making plays in his rookie season. So that's why I just feel so confident in this group, among many others, as we've already discussed. It's a slow developing position, but Aleem McNeil has another level to go. He can be an all-pro type player leading the way.

It's extremely deep. I mean, to have Reader and Tileak Williams on Ruzeriki. And then they signed Roy Lopez was a guy from Arizona. I always like just as a rotational guy. That is really deep. That's a good pick. I'll stay at defensive tackle. The Seahawks, and I guess this will,

be my last pick. I think this is 19. Leonard Williams, Geron Reed, and Byron Murphy. I like that group of interior players, the way that Leonard Williams played last year. Dron Reed, like, he's only good when he's on the Seahawks, but he is very good. And then Byron Murphy is a young, improving player. I like that group for Seattle. You wrap it up, the 20th pick. Final. I'm really, really conflicted here because do we talk, do we talk Texan safeties or no? I said, I said they weren't going to make my list now because we didn't. That's a possibility. You could go there? I'm split between two, and I think I'm going to go in that direction,

just because I don't like the vibes coming out of Buffalo regarding James Cook. I think that they're undervaluing him unfilled. So I was going to go running backs. I was, because I love Ray Davis. Love me some Ray Davis. But we're going to go safeties because the top tier, you know, potential with these guys and who they have at safety in Houston. I think it's just a, they've gotten a ton of production, I think, in spots from

Kalin Bullock last year at Strong Safety. They get CJGJ at Free Safety. like you mentioned before, Jimmy Ward is also still on this roster. MJ Stewart seems like he's been there for years. I don't know why they were collecting old Browns like years ago and a lot of them just managed to stay on the roster. I just love this group. I love this group overall because of the potential to make a difference

and their depth. Now they've added CJ Gardner Johnson as well. And it's in the back end of a secondary that we've already discussed is incredibly strong. Man. Like this is, it's a pass first league. You want to shut it down. You do it like this.

So the Texans get both their secondary groups in there. The Lions get four groups total. If your team did not get a position group on this list, try harder, you know, be better. Or let us know, let us know if we overlooked you. Some honorable mentions the Eagles interior offensive line I think definitely could have been there. Kim Juergens, Landon, Dickerson, a new starter in Tyler Steen, but they're good. The bill's running backs you mentioned because James Cook, I love Ray Davis too. And Ty Johnson's a really good third down back.

Man, I actually kind of feel bad. We didn't mention them. if we were looking for another tight end group like the Raiders Michael Mayor and Brock Bowers you got Ian Thomas May maybe there's there's like unfulfilled potential with mayor there's unfulfilled potential in a couple of these groups

or it's just like add some changes like the Eagles interior offensive line like is Tyler Steen going to be able to replace what Mackay Beckton did I love Keanu Betten and Cam Hayward in Pittsburgh I kind of mentioned them a little earlier I like the Bucks tackles Tristan Worf's maybe the best in the game

and Luke Gedicki improved a lot so that that would have been possible I tell you if the Jags if Travis Hunter is as good as I think he's going to be that wide receiver group watch out that could be a hell of a one too far

it's a little bit it's a little early but I love Brian Thomas that much love you too buddy shook enjoy the rest of your birthday we did it

we determined in an off season day in May the best 20 position groups in the NFL I'm so proud of us now I'm gonna go have cake or something

I don't know go to the gym how else would I celebrate my birthday our next show we'll be with Jordan Roderig Colleen Wolf, back in the studio. I'm looking forward to it. Look, when we're just ranking random things

in the middle of the off season, it's actually an argument that football is not back. It's pretty quiet these days, but it'll be back soon enough. In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. Unlock elite gaming tech at Lenovo.com.

Dominate every match with next level speed, seamless streaming, and performance that won't quit. So you can push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors. For the next era of gaming, upgrade to smooth high-quality streaming with Intel Wi-Fi 6E and maximize game performance with enhanced overclocking. Win the tech search. Power up at Lenovo.com. And I'm Michael F. Florio, and together we host the NFL Fantasy Football Podcast. Ready to dominate your fantasy league this season?

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