NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal - Vegas: Draft Night One

Episode Date: April 29, 2022

A set filled with some heroes- Dan Hanzus, Marc Sessler, and Gregg Rosenthal recap all the action from the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The heroes discuss the flurry of trade activity, including two star wide receivers on the move, and review the Josh Norris vs Marc Sessler Mock Draft Battle. Ahmad "Sauce" Gardner joins the gang to talk about Dan's Jets, and we close the show with another appearance from Kayvon Thibodeaux.NFL Daily YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/nflpodcastsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The Around the NFL podcast are adults and know what happens in Vegas follows you home. From Sin City, the host of the 2022 NFL draft. It's Around the NFL. I'm Dan Hansis, joined by some heroes. Greg Rosenthal, Mark Sessler. Yes, we are. At the big event, round one is in the books and how you boys feeling as we begin to dive in to what was another hyper eventful day in this offseason of our league.

I feel like that glow's going to be hanging off of you through security, through bag check on the plane, back to the house while you're coaching some tee ball this weekend. like it is a great time to be a Jets fan and as a Patriots fan they traded back to take someone that no one's ever heard of so it's basically the same as usual yeah you have you do have a glow about you Dan and I think you know this is a this is something special because you you know I do think that now I feel like we've said this 12 times during the course of the show but this does feel like a new chapter for the Jets no it does it does and you I think I saw you genuinely enjoy this evening. This was a real meat and potatoes event for us. We've been up here at this Diaz or desk working hard all evening. I've enjoyed it. The what? The Diaz? I don't know.

It's true though. A table. We've never had like a two top five picks come to the desk. We've never been at a draft like this with a beautiful set. Iheart set up for us. And it's like we got two top five picks coming in here, three top ten picks. We'll get to that in a bit. All came in there and we'll talk to them. And you got to say like Vegas was perfect energy for the draft. And I think that this draft, which everyone thought was going to be boring and it was like the worst draft since Luke Joko had ended up giving us a lot of juice. And it's like that that draft was what, 2013? The NFL has changed so much since that draft. And they saw it in how things played out. Just teams are so much more gung ho. Teams are willing

to risk for reward in ways that just wasn't the case a handful of years ago. even a couple of years ago nine trades i believe in the first round including multiple first round uh top rate wide receivers including poor grave diggers favorite uh titan perhaps or one of them and we're going to get to all that i would say around anymore what i'm sorry justin we'll get to you buddy but there's also some good news from the graver camp we have so much to get to but gregg i'm curious what you think was like the big story of today well it's that it's a j brown and it's not just AJ Brown goes to the Eagles and immediately signs a $100 million contract, which was weird, the timing of it. And I'd love to get into the nitty gritty on that at some point. When is that contract negotiated? It's the idea that this stuff works that A.J. Brown and his agent put this out there over the last couple of weeks in the hopes of a possibility that maybe another team is going to give them exactly.

the contract he wants and give the Titans the trade terms that they want and and snuff it out before the draft before he even gets to his fourth year in the NFL and it worked like it worked to a T and I think we've seen with the quarterbacks and how they've controlled their destiny in the last off season or two and been able to change teams now we're seeing it with other positions certainly wide receivers and for this to all come together that quickly to me is amazing and fascinating and the Eagles had an amazing night well I would just say also Also, if you look at what the Eagles were on offense a year ago with Jalen Hertz, a run heavy attack that like essentially zigged when the rest of the league outside of the Raven zagged, now you've got A.J. Brown and Devanta Smith. I mean, they can't, they're not going to run that attack back. It's going to have to look differently. It's great news for Jalen Hertz. And if you're an Eagles fan, you're loving the offseason plan here. You like that trade with the Saints, which made them better and made them more flexible in the long term.

And now you're going to get a real good look at Hertz and see if he's the guy. And if he's not, you have a true number one receiver in A.J. Brown. I actually feel sad, like with Justin Graver so close to us. Graver was in this world where he thought there was no way that A.J. Brown could get moved. He thought this was all smokescreen. A lot of Titans fans thought that it was media created. Maybe Greg Rosenthal created. And yet it did happen.

is through where you're at right now, Justin, in your heart. Instant reaction was very sad. If anyone wants to see it, go to the ATN Instagram. We did a little live video of it. There was rumors of a tear in your eye. You certainly didn't believe, Dan, when he saw it first on Twitter, said it out loud, and you just thought we were messing with it. How sad you described it as a little live video?

Yeah, you know, it was a sad moment. As a fan, I've started to rationalize the reasoning behind. it 25 million of years a lot. It's a lot of guaranteed money. He has been injured a little bit. Yeah, he brought up almost immediately. Well, he hasn't played a full season. Well, no, it was a solid 35 minutes later of transition that you were going through. But I still ultimately feel bad about it as like a fan of the team. Like I tweeted multiple times throughout last season. A.J. Brown was the Titans most valuable player on offense. When he came back for the Niners game on Thursday night football like you could see what the impact that he made after he'd missed a couple weeks and i mean

you like it's like that old family guy joke where peter griffin has to choose between a boat and a mystery box and he says the mystery box could be anything it could even be a boat it's like that's what i feel like the titans are doing with traylon berks yeah i mean he could be as good as j brown like but you already had a jrown well he's less expensive and i think that's a titan centric part like the yeah the chances that they get someone as impactful as brown was for that team that but that's just the way things have gone in the NFL now these teams did they are not hesitating to move their greatest players if it gives them that financial flexibility they will they will send a guy out of town and so the eagles get a big time receiver

and i thought it was interesting you know they get titans received the 18th overall pick and a third round pick at number 101 for a j brown and just before that we learn the other wide receiver number one wide receiver that gets moved it's marquise brown who gets traded uh from the ravens to the cardinals so the cardinals send their first round pick which was that what number was that 23 23 and that one really i you know the a j brown he's an elite player marquis brown is not an elite player i don't know what the cardinals are doing mark exactly i i think maybe you read because i know marquis brown and kailer murray have history together but that he is not I know he's drafted in the first round,

but what did we see in four years that he still has that, carries that value today? I'm with you. I mean, they picked up Kyler Murray's fifth year option and then they turn around and do this. They add Marquis Brown to the lineup. And I mean, it certainly seems like Lamar Jackson was not excited about the move at all.

It does leave, it leaves the Ravens. We're on Scrub Watch, by the way. Social media scrub watch. He leaves the Ravens with Rashad Bateman and Devin DuVernay and not much else at wide receiver. and they didn't address that. Right. We'll get to all the picks.

We'll go through them later. It is crazy to start with these veteran trades. But yeah, Lamar, who we know is not been particularly eager to sign this contract extension, retweets a tweet that says something I really can't say. I normally would just go with the F bombs and we'd be in our studio and it's a safe place. But you're being classy here. But there are about 10 to 15 people in our room. Well, they're all adults.

Now you've built it up so much. It's just not a kindergarten house. I'm just saying there's other prospects, like, walking around. There's people having the nights of their life. Thank you for protecting our feelings. We traded away Hollywood. That wasn't so hard. Yeah, it wasn't.

And then another WTF later. It's fascinating to see. But just to circle back quickly on the Titans, there's a salary cap. And everyone thinks that salary cap, like, you know, levels the playing field. And it absolutely does. It's one of the reasons why the NFL is. I think the best professional sports league in America. But everyone has the idea that everyone's spending the same and they're just not.

When they make a trade like this and it's like a cash poor team like the Titans to a team that I think of as quite cash rich, the Eagles, I think there is something to that. All these teams that even if they're spending close to the cap, it's different in terms of how many guarantees that you want to give right now. The New York Giants, for instance, are another team that I think. is relatively cheap right now and are another family-owned business and they're trying to trade away James Bradbury

because they don't want to pay that money and they have other things. And it's like other teams that are just willing to change the guarantees like the Saints and the Cowboys that push money into the future. You could do that. You could figure out the way to keep A.J. Brown and they decided not to and just went the cheap rat with Traylorbrose. I mean, we had this

conversation a couple weeks ago about the disparity between even though there is a cap space and that looks equal on paper and there's television money, that the Bengals, other teams that are family run, that the escrow situation, the Raiders, that it does affect what they can do. And that's exactly what's happened here. But Titans fans are like, oh, why is the media keep talking about this? And here's where. Let's up pile on. Here's why. That's, that's not, it's not Justin. It's all those Titans fans

in the mention that got so mad at every single A.J. Brown report over the last couple of weeks. And are they going to come back? Are they going to come back and be like, whoops, we were so aggressive. And so rock. I mean, Greg, they might come back aggressively. Let's hear, let's hear Mike Vrable, what he said a couple of weeks ago. I wonder what's going on. How does Mike Vrable feel about this? Where does Mike?

Mike Vrable knows he's playing in a loaded AFC, and now you just shipped away his best playmaker. As long as I'm the coach here, I would want to have A.J. Brown on my football team. I guess they need a coach. Sounds a little downtrodded in that. Maybe he knew. He said on Thursday night, just as we're taping this, that they, we're, We went to the extreme to keep brown here, that Rabel was involved in the entire process, but the gap was big.

I assume he's talking about the finances. They just weren't willing to pay him that much. And that's the price. Like the price of brick went up. You either want to recognize it or you don't. And you can't look at Derek Henry or Ryan Tannahill as the future of that offense. Those are the fading elements of that offense. I think it's disappointing.

I think Titans fans are obviously disappointed in how this played out. And I hope this isn't a continued trend because that when you hit on a player like A.J. Brown, which the Titans did, second round pick, if I'm not mistaken. And he turns into a star. Like he should be on that team for a decade. You should be able to build a relationship that lasts the long term. And instead it lasts like, seems like so many relationships last now, like four years. And then eventually there's a divorce. I mean, if it's Soss Gardner, he doesn't even get into the relationships. But that will be that'll be part of his interview. very anti-relations. All right. So let's get into it.

So obviously, again, in the off-season of the trades, perhaps we should have seen it coming, a blockbuster, specifically the Titans Eagles blockbuster, but also very notable, again, that the Cardinals gave up a first-round pick for Hollywood Brown, strange. Former team in a Kyler Murray. That's cool. That's great. But I've seen Markies Brown play in the NFL for four years now with a MVP. and he's never seen like anything more than a second banana. It's a puzzling move.

I'm with you. I like Mark Geese Brown, the player a little more. The fact that they were going to, they were willing to give him up is a bit of a red flag. But the difference is he's not making $25 million year. He's making $705,000 this year. And then they, I assume they'll pick up his fifth year option for next year.

So it's a relatively cheap move for another team that, you know, isn't known as, doesn't it just feel like the Ravens, you know, who are one of the smartest, you know, most at well run teams in the league have the full scouting report, in-house scouting report on Markies Brown, the entire experience and are happy to have moved on from them. And it is interesting. They, they send in the draft where there were six wide receivers that came off the board in the first round. The Cardinals perhaps looked and said, okay, where we are in the draft in the first round, we like him over what else is out there in this draft. So, and we're going to get to, by the way, all our sandwich props. We'll get to that Saturday of the Saturday night.

Full draft recap, but we're going to put the focus, obviously, where it belongs now. And on the draft, and let's kind of spin through the top 10 here. Trayvon Walker goes to the Jags. I think Vegas kind of hinted this was coming. The mock draft scene shifting. What are we calling it, by the way, the mock draft situation, Mark, tonight? Well, I mean, I don't know how everyone fared, but it was an amicalypse. Amocalypse.

For me. An amocalypse for you, for Norris. Yeah. But not for everyone. Not for everyone. We'll get to that in a bit. Trayvon Walker, number one pick, Aiden Hutchinson. He stays home in Michigan and goes to the lines,

a really perfect fit in their four-three scheme. And you imagine Dan Campbell's going to have a ball with him. And then we have, I guess what you could say is the first surprise, Greg. In some ways, the Texans go and they get a cornerback, but it's not sauce gardener, but instead. it's Mr. Derek Stingley, Jr. Yeah, I think between Stingley at 3 and Kvon Tibido, who we're going to talk to and talk about at 5,

they were two players that were incredibly hyped up coming out of high school, going into college football, and we're great from the jump. And I think it shows that if you're a true freshman that can compete at the level that Kvon Tibido did, and especially Derek Stingley, and you're that good in the SEC at 18 years old, nothing else mattered. And Stingley knew it. He knew there was nothing in it for him at LSU the last couple of years.

There was a real belief that he didn't play as many games a year ago as he could have because he was waiting to get to the NFL. Some people supposedly didn't like that. And both him and Tibodeau were talked about guys that were going to slip versus where their talent really lies. And none of that mattered. They looked at the most explosive cornerback in the draft. even more than Soss Gardner in terms of just like pure raw traits and you take them right there.

And I don't know. I like the move. He is more of a zone cornerback. It is a little more of a zone league right now. And so that's maybe the difference between Stingley and Gardner who just went to pick later. They did a ton of work on both those guys. And I guess it's a, the Texans felt person fit everything. Stingley's better for us.

I will go back to Walker for a minute because obviously one of the storylines this week was The idea that the Jaguars had different people inside the building. Some wanted Aiden Hutchinson. Some wanted the owner was in theory in favor of Hutchinson. Trent Balke, the GM, who is a bit of a malcontent, according to many people. He loves Walker. Well, no, Trent Balke, I mean, has been, we talked about as someone that's just a little hard to get along with. He's never lost the power struggle.

Right. You know, he got, he got, who was it, Singletary out in San Francisco. He got his guy Harbaugh. He ends up winning a power struggle over Harbaugh. he wins it stays with mire and he wins this one like this this guy he must be good in the room he must be very convincing we'll see you know we'll see how this all shakes out for the jaggs but you know it's you know burp rear and one of his uh notebook columns that he wrote leading up to tonight a long you know piece about how this time the jags have it right and he had shad con access and i get it like you're

gonna kind of come out of that profile in a positive way but i guess i'm still very much wait and see because you did keep Balky and that team has been a mess for several years now. Well, and it harks back to when he took Alden Smith over, you know, because of he, it seems like Balky falls in love with physical traits and potential. And Walker has all that, but it was telling to me that the quickest card turn in of the night was the Lions at number two with Aidan Hutchinson. They couldn't have been happier with what landed in the laps right there. Right. And I think we've sort of slept on him just because, I don't know,

But he almost seems like such an easy, good prospect. He hasn't been like a great storyline to him. But I think it's gotten lost. Like he tested amazing too. Like his athleticism in terms of like his movement skills and everything at the combine was kind of off the charts as well. And there's this idea that it was somehow like a boring pick. But there's also people that talk about the fact that like in another draft he would have been like a fringe top 10 guy. Right.

He fit into this draft this way. He fit with the lines perfectly because their offensive line is really good. They took a couple defensive linemen early last year as well. their defensive line is starting to look really good. They are like a big, strong, tough team coached by a big strong man, Dan Campbell. I like it. Before the Trayvon pick, by the way, I want to hear Roger Goodell, you know, and this has been a move because people like to get after Rog when he comes out to start the draft.

It's become tradition. It's almost like a Vince McMahon type situation. And what we do now to kind of fend off some of the jeers is we get a celebrity involved, someone that will be loved by the crowd. So there he is sitting. the front row friend of the show the ATN podcast I don't know if he knows that but we do you know one of the

great emcees in Los Angeles hip hop history Ice Cube this is how Rog introduced him and I see someone special right down here Ice Cube Cube come on up here baby come on up here baby I loved it

plus he called them Cube I don't think that's a thing is that okay I think you call him Cube over ice I mean you just call them Ice Cube I'm not sure they're on those terms, but although I'm sure he was paid very well. So maybe they are. How do you know? They might actually be really close friends.

I mean, he put his armor on him. Why do you assume they're not close friends? I'm not, but I just, I've heard Ice Cube, they didn't just, you know, you don't just call the man cube. Put some respect on his name. I think that was respectful. And wrapped into that moment, that intro, who is looking better in terms of a makeover since the end of the season to now than Derek Carr's haircut? I think he just hear that's a fantastic looking haircut. I'm so happy you brought that up because we've been on.

the journey with Derek for several years now. His brother, who we work with, who's a very nice guy, David, very handsome son of a gun. Handsome devil. And it's just so easy and effortless for David Carr. Derek's been fine in his way. And when he showed up with that, I guess it's almost like a modified

footh, I would call it. It's like, oh, you look like the badass quarterback of the Raiders now. Yeah, he's becoming a bit of a bad boy. We saw a bit more like David Carr. And you've got the two huge NFL contracts to the point. where you could buy your brother David a car, which was revealed on our friend Dave Damashchek's podcast.

He bought him a Ferrari. He bought him a Ferrari or something like that. Like he gave, he's like here, I just have that extra for you. Wow. Well, that's good. You could go fohawked in. I'm just saying you could dial it up. My sons want to do it.

And I'm. To you. Well, not to me. To themselves. They want to do it to them. Well, let's take a break. And then we will get to the rest of the top ten. New York City

We're going to New York City Oh, yes. This was That was kind of hard A little harsh cut out there. Yeah. Eric is not having it. Ricky, I know you only have two shows left with us now.

Right. How are you feeling, by the way? Yeah, bittersweet. We had a great dinner last night. It was really fun. Yeah, it's been it's been bittersweet. I think that is the word to describe it. You look beautiful tonight.

Thank you. What color would that be? It would be a cream? Coral? Like an off tangerine? Yeah, like it's more pink cream. It's very Bellagio-esque. Like it fits in our hotel.

Vegas, I will know really quick that we're in this, you know, enclave with like at some, you know, 50 people in here crowded around. And I walked out into the crowd, and there was another woman in an off-tangering outfit very much like Erica's, but on the ground in a mask. Well, it was the same color. And I was like, no. I looked at her like, why is Erica wearing a mask? because she's not wearing it anywhere else.

And we locked eyes and it was a very awkward interchange and had to keep seeing that person after because it wasn't Erica. It was a totally different female person. She's wearing pants, a full suit. And my whole, everything's hanging out. You know, Dan, you acknowledge that you could have seen the mix-ups. Listen, I'm just trying to move the train now.

Erica famously doesn't think mass work anyway, so that's a good. That's why I was stunned by the other woman. That's actually not true. I want to hear it because with our next two picks, it's going to be all about New York. I want to hear the song again, but I want you to sing the female backing box, you know. Okay, only if you sing the first part, too.

All right, here we go. It's all in New York City. Do it. Do you know. Talking about it. What I'm talking about? Why don't Craig and I have a role in that song? All right, you guys do it.

Now, Greg's the girl. Mark is the guy. Ready, go. It's all in New York City. I know you, do it. I know you, Greg and Rudy. Always. It's do it.

I have to admit I'd never even listen that closely. We've played it a thousand times. Number four, to the New York Jets is sauce gardener. Number five is Kvon Tibido, friend of the show. And we're going to save the Kvon conversation. We had tonight not. an hour after he was drafted to the New York Giants because it was a good one. It was a banger.

It was a banger. And please stick around to the end of tonight's episode to hear it. But let's first talk about the pick for the Jets. And then we want to play our conversation with Sauce, which was really fun, at least for me as a Jets fan. The Jets had a big night here, obviously. They take Soss Gardner, the cornerback that I talked about it. I had sandwiches on it. I thought they really needed someone in the back end of that secondary to help.

Robert Sala with what they're trying to achieve. They were picked on relentlessly in the secondary last year. They finished 30th and past defense. Cornerbacks had two interceptions all year. And Gardner's a dog. He's six three. He's built like Antonio Carmardi. He gets the ball.

He never had a touchdown scored against them during his entire college career at Sinci. He is a guy that's going to help that back end. So I love that pick at four. And then while we're here, the Jets of 10, go and get Garrett Wilson, the wide receiver out of Ohio State. So they get out of the Debo Samuel sweepstakes talking to some sparrows high up in the realm here leading up to tonight. And I was told that the Niners were being unreasonable. That was the word that was used in their trade demands for Debo.

So I think the Jets had to move off that and go down the road of Garrett Wilson. You guys thought your thoughts first on Wilson and then on sauce. I think Wilson, was a guy I struggled with watching all the young receivers, he catches everything. I mean, you can see in his movement that, like, he's an NFL receiver, but he won a lot in college, like, trying to be physical, and he's not a big guy. But you think about the three receivers together, and that's more where I get excited. Wilson doesn't necessarily need to be a true number one.

And I am probably wrong, because people much smarter than me, like Daniel Jeremiah, thought he was easily the number one player, number one receiver. in this draft and thinks he can be a true one, but you don't need him to be. Like you need him, Corey Davis, and Elijah Moore all to get it done. And they're really setting up Zach Wilson for success because each of these guys can get open quickly, I think, on their routes and we'll make it easier on Zach Wilson. And maybe you don't need a one if you have three different guys all around 1,000 yards. And they signed CJ Uzoma and you've added Wilson.

And yes, you said it was DJ's top wide out. Sauce was his number one cornerback. And so, you know, I know the DJs like the Jets drafts in the past, but there is a plan forming here. I don't want to be overly optimistic because all this stuff can go south. But I trust that Mike LaFleur and his offensive coaching staff and the front office were married on the wide receiver that they liked the most. And that Robert Sala and his staff found the cornerback that fell to them fortuitously

that they liked the most. And something about this Jets draft, because we'll get to the other player they got, really went about as well as you can imagine. it the germane johnson yeah this is the culmination of the whole joe douglas thing this was the point of getting all those picks this is this is the night this is the one that it's all about it's got to work and it make it should work it should i think he's set them up well now if these guys can play at this level we will see and of course zach wilson continues to be the key to everything if he does not take a step forward that none of this is going to work but at the same time what they did with that what

they've done with wilson is something they never did with darnal just actually surround him with talent on the offensive side of the ball, a better offensive line. There will be no excuses of Zach Wilson does not take a big leap forward. It speeds up his timeline because it's not a three or four year plan with Zach Wilson right now. That's what the league is like now. By your second year, you need to show that you are really

the guy. And I think with the sauce gardener thing, we're going to throw it to him in a second. And I'll let you get your point in Greg. I think that all the smoke screens that you hear in these draft conversations about, well, the Jets under solid don't think they need an impact.

cornerback because they build their teams in the front like okay and maybe germane johnson being involved now helps on that end of things as well but you do need some big time guys in your secondary this is the NFL in 2022 in the afc where you have star quarterbacks and wide receivers everywhere he's a huge addition to that secondary yeah they tried that last year they tried like the cheaper route and and that's what the 49ers did so well over the years but you're not just going to be the 49ers like that was their thing they got value out of mid to late round cornerbacks and really we're good at coaching them up. But you know who also like work well in that system?

Like Richard Sherman. And when I see Soss Gardner, I think of Richard Sherman, just those long arms and so physical. And even if this is a zone league where it's a lot of small short shifty guys and it's covered two and all that stuff, ultimately zone turns into man at some point in the middle of the down. And you're going to need one guy like that on the boundary. like I love it and I also notice in that Jermaine Johnson trade it was part of a

trend of the night these chips these trades were cheap like the that old draft chart at least because we got so used to it like no one's using that draft chart anymore they moved up to the first round and they they basically moved down they gave up the 35th overall pick and all they did was move down 30 spots in the third round and then give up a fifth round pick like that was like a lot of these trades where everyone was moving around around the Minnesota trade, too. Like, they were cheap. Like, it wasn't that hard to move up and down in this draft if you wanted to.

All right. So I was glowing when Sauce Gardner sat down next. So here is that conversation. Very excited to be joined by Sauce Gardner, the new New York Jet. How does that feel soft? As a Jets fan, it feels damn good to have you. Man, it feels great, man. I'm blessed to be a jet.

You know, one of my favorite corners, DeRoe Rivas played there. You know, I know those are big shoes to feel, but I'm looking forward to it. Like you haven't even played a snap for the Jets. And do you know how much joy you have brought Jets fans, especially this one's sitting right here? When the name was called, he was over there. I might have seen a tear in Dan's eyes. He was fired up for you.

Well, on our podcast earlier this week, I said, Sauce Gardner is the guy that they need a dog in the back of that secondary in there. And now you're here. The Jets secondary, they had many problems on defense last year. Now they don't have any problems with you here. But they were 30th and past defense last year. I think they had three interceptions all. year, and you're the type of playmaker, a big dude as a Jets fan.

You remind me of Antonio Cromarty, who was a great. He played alongside Revis and was great. To me, I feel like you are the solution in that back end. Do you feel the same way? I actually do. No, I can't wait to get to New York and just be a great teammate. Show the guys the type of person I am and the type of player I am. You know, I'm very competitive. I'm also a sponge. I like receiving information from the vets, taking it all in. I never feel like I'm too good for other people. And it's just a blessing to be able to bring so much Jordan, New York, and I haven't even played yet. You know, I am one of them guys

that interact with the fans, so I can't wait to get there, be able to spend a lot of time with them, give back to the community. I'm looking forward to it. You might not want to wear that sauce necklace out with all the fans, though, like in Times Square or anything. That's too nice. Times Square has been cleaned up. I mean, some Jets fans are a little weird, but for Dan,

this is a romantic moment. I always wonder, like, when you're at a mountaintop moment here. Like, do you ever think of, like, maybe, like, a girl that dumped you in, like, middle school and think to yourself, I own you tonight. This is the, this is, I'm on fire. You're good to check me out. Nah, the thing about me, like, I wouldn't, I was never the one getting dumped. Thank you. Thank you, Mark. That wouldn't me. I was never the person. Get it together, Sessler.

I wouldn't quick to get in relationships. Okay, smart. Stop thinking into his personal life, Mark. That's what interviews are for. I don't mind being getting personal, you know. That's right. Can you think of some moments along the way, maybe where maybe you didn't get the offers that you wanted or something going into college or something happening in your high school career, college career, where you didn't know whether you were going to get to this moment and looking back on that? I mean, I always prayed for it. You know, in high school, I used I came in playing receiver. My freshman year, I was like 5, 8, 1.30. I was very small, and I just prayed that God gave me an opportunity, and I knew I was going to make the most out of it. He gave me an

opportunity and made the most out of it. Then I started getting them all of us. And got in college, I was like the fourth person on the depth chart in the cornerback group. Then I got threw in a fire versus UCF made the most out of it then I became a starter. You know, like I said, I was the fourth on the depth chart and now I'm the fourth overall picked, so it was all gosh, man. This is all history now, because we're coming

out of the darkness. But you should know, if you don't, this is the history. 11 straight years for the Jets without a postseason appearance. We haven't made it back to the Super Bowl since 1969. I don't want to cut you off, but we're not living in the past, man. We've got to make a change in the future. We've got

to make a change to the future, man. I feel like I'm the solution. You know, we just got my guy, Garrett Wilson. You know, I feel like he's also a big solution. So I just can't wait for us to get there and be able to be a great teammates. Which one's a guy you want to check the most in practice here? Now it's suddenly, they're kind of loaded on the other side of the ball with Garrett Wilson. You got Elijah Moore. You got Corey Davis still there. That's going to be tough practice. At the end of the day, we were all teammates and we all had the same goal. But I'm competitive. Whoever line up in front of me, you know, I want to dominate. And when it comes to practice, at the end of the day, I'm just making my teammates better.

make me better. That's what I'm looking forward to. We've heard so many times that you didn't allow a touchdown in your college career there. Can you pull that off in the NFL? I'd like to see that happen over the next three years in New York. I mean, I feel like I can, you know. I like setting a realistic goals, you know, and luckily I always get, I always achieve them. You know, so I'm going to make sure I just keep putting a work in, keep getting better and better and get more and more consistent with my technique, and it should be the outcome. And I imagine the next few days it's going to be a lot of celebrating with friends. and family, which is well-deserved. But then when I imagine you turn your attention to your assignment,

you're going to have Stefan Diggs in the division. You have Tyreek Hill. Now in the division, the AFC is a loaded landscape. Dan wants you to try a little harder when you play the Patriots, too. I wouldn't mind you embarrassing the Patriots in a primetime setting and Bill Belichick. How much, when you look at that, the challenge of now seeing these pros, especially where the AFC is now, you're going to be thrown right into fires, the number one guy in that.

Like I said, I'm used to get. thrown in the fire. You know, I'm looking forward to it. You know, this is what I dreamed about. I dreamed about going to the NFL. You know, when you get in the NFL, everybody's good. I didn't want to get here just to go against guys that's not great or good at a receiver, you know? So this is what I dreamed for, and it's here. You couldn't have dreamed it was in Vegas. Yeah, you couldn't have dreamed it was in Vegas out on the stage there. What does that feel like? Nah, it felt great. It felt great. Like walking across the stage, glancing at the crowd,

and just seeing all the Jet fans so happy, man. man it was great sauce thank you so much for joining us here and best of luck and as a jets fan i speak for all jets fans that you're kind of with uh zach wilson and with garrott wilson now a new tomorrow for the organization and we're so excited to see what you can do yes i can't wait all right there we go thanks yes all right there it was i was geeking out um i don't know if you can hear it but i was as you should be because i'm excited and the germane johnson pick by the way deep in the first round. He was mocked in some places at number four to the Jets. So that's why they were so eager to jump back in.

Now, the number five pick, Kavon, Thibado to the Giants. I think in general, such a big night for New York football, which has been so bad for several years now, because that guy is a big time player, Tibido. He addresses a major need for the Giants. Right. We always talk about, oh, the Jets haven't had a pass rusher since John Abraham. Well, the Giants haven't had one since they were winning Super Bowls, and that's been a decade. And the last three or four years, I would say, their pass rush has been among the very worst in the league. And Tibido is known for his first step.

And I really, and I wanted to ask him, but we didn't have all the time in the world. I'm always, I'm really impressed by guys who are growing up now in this era and go from being a 16-year-old that is nationally famous as the number one high school recruit in the country and the pressure that comes with that. and then going to his hometown or home state college and being such a big deal from that age and trying to get this point and he like did it. Like that's about it. He's been a professional practically since he was 17 and he's gotten it done.

Like we love his personality and everything, but he's produced. He's a great player. It's what they needed. He gets Sean Merriman comps. DJ talked about the fact that on tape he looks off sides all the time because he's so explosive. And it feels...

You always want an off sides guy. Right. It fills a massive need for the Giants because I think it was this or offensive line for them. The other thing, though, while we're on the Giants, I do think alongside the Jets, there's focus here and they're not putting up with a lot. Joe Shane and like Brian Dable, they basically, they passed on the fifth year option of Daniel Jones. He is in hot water. He's got one. I mean, I think he's out. That's what the Panthers should have done last year with Sam Darnold. Like, I don't think, I don't think it says anything or damages that

relationship. Daniel Jones, I'm sure it sees it as a slight, but that's okay. If he's a tough guy if he can handle the job he'll be in a better position a year from now if he balls out if he thrives he absolutely will be so i think that was the right move and i think evan neal at pick seven by the giants was another smart move they really need to they're a team that has a lot of holes so you you improve your offensive line with the best offensive linemen in the draft you get a pass rusher in tibito who could be a real difference maker and a star uh in that city and uh in between those picks. It was the Panthers, Greg, who take now, not Icky. I was a little disappointed about this, but it's, it's his call. It's Akem Akonwu offensive tackle out of NC State. So they stay out

of quarterback business. Yeah, and I think that made sense that it was like the worst offensive line along with the dolphins in the entire NFL last year. And they've been terrible both years that Matt Rule has been there. And I just don't think you can go off your board so crazy to force a quarterback pick and oh by the way they'll be picking at the top of the second round and all those quarterbacks are still available except for one so i i think they can still get their quarterback they have to feel good about that um except they don't have a second round pick or a third round pick because they gave them up in the terrible sam darnald trade so i'm correcting myself live but maybe they can trade it they're so desperate i honestly wouldn't be

surprised if they trade a pick of next year to get back in and try to get one of these guys uh last thing, though, Evan Neal will play right tackle there, Andrew Thomas left tackle. They added two starters in Feliciano and Gluenski. Like, in one offseason, the Giants kind of fits their offensive line. I wouldn't be surprised if they flip Thomas to right. Wouldn't that make some sense too? I think just the way that Neal's profile

is, he's played a lot of right tackle and he's like a little bit more of a run. Thomas improved last season, too. He wasn't the raging disaster that he was before that. I mean, I think you have to look at Baker Mayfield as a true target for the Panthers at this point. Unless, like I don't, you know, you know, where I look

at him i look at him seattle because you know why because mark sessler's reporting was on point and it oh heavens just waves waves of aggregate reports on mark's mock draft 10 locks and it involved one of the locks of the 10 that we talked about on our podcast was baker mayfield to the seattle seahawks for a fourth round pick bucket and that caught the eye of i believe which one of those guys Shannon Sharp Colin Coward No it was sharp Undisputed

Undisputed with Shannon Sharp And that other guy Skip right Skip Bayless let's listen in Now according to one mock draft From NFL Network It's quote a lock That Baker heads to the Seattle Seahawks

In exchange for a fourth rounder Shannon you've been predicting Baker Would be traded right around the draft So jump in here What do you think happens to round? Well yeah I think that's a real show Well, I think that's going to be the time, but I'll believe it when I see it, Skip. But it's not a bad deal.

I don't trust any of this. I don't, and I'm not discounting the NFL network report. I don't believe any of it. And I also think this league is, of all the leagues, the worst victim of what I call sheep think. Well, Bayliss is famously a huge Baker Mayfield fan, right? I mean, first of all. Can he be a Cowboys guy? I don't know.

I don't know. The idea that this bubbled up as a report is absurd because it started out being, you know, collected from a Brown's writer who I think simply said that I thought it was a lock. But then it turns into a report, which is, they did not do their homework on this. But let's be real. Okay, NFL Network has at least eight or nine different writers on staff that is on the mock draft central page. it's Bucky 4.0. It's zero line 5.0. I think Charles Davis did seven mock drafts.

I'm making that up. Sessler's not on that page. You know those mock drafts? You know those mock drafts they're not talking about on national shows or on sI.com? All those guys. But they're talking about Sesslers. No, they're not because they didn't even mention my name in it.

They just said an NFL. I noticed that. I view that as a show of disrespect on some level. Let's talk about the mock drafts. Let's take a quick. detour here because of course we had josh norris from the underdog network on our show uh he had 16 out of 32 last year we set the over at eight and a half then mark comes in with his mock and we set up a big showdown between norris and cessler and uh let's check him with uh gravedigger

where did we come down after round one what were the final numbers the tally so josh correctly paired five players with the team that selected them Mark also correctly paired five players with the teams that selected them. So five to five. Five, five. So bang the under. They both. And that's quite a fall from grace for Josh,

who goes from 16 to five. But that's the nature of the game. And we predicted that that was a possibility. I mean, five for me is not a fall from grace because I think that's, I got like four a year ago. Although it was tough to watch because Mark hit his first two. It was tough to watch. And like a Brown's game, he just gets very confident.

when things are going well, and then immediately... I didn't get... Hold on, Greg. I'm saying you were feeling good when it was going well. And then when it goes... Trayvon Walker and Aidan Hutchinson is like probably the two that almost everyone got. Like, I wasn't prancing around or saying a single word.

There was one pretty funny line that you had when things started to go sideways early. If anything, I thought it was hyper fatalistic about it. I don't know that. He was just doing it for entertainment anyways. Well, you had said that... Oh, yeah, this is Josh's profession. Well, no, because I am not a draft next.

So I just like, I came in, you know, in the 11th. We're building your brand. Don't say that. Yeah, you're the one. I think we may have a real draft, Nick. That's all I'm saying. Oh, yeah. So we, it turns out, though, and we need to check the date on this and to see who had the highest number of hits. And it was a very difficult draft for any mokker.

But Gravedigger on what was otherwise one of the worst days of his life with A.J. Brown being sent out of his life forever. He did hit 10 out of 32 on an age of old. draft that featured nine trades, which means it's almost impossible to hit double digits and yet you did it. So congratulations, sir. Does that take some of the pain off what has happened to you today? Thanks. No. It's cool. You were loving it though. You were seven out of nine at one point. When you hit Drake London to the Falcons and Charles Cross to the Seahawks back to back, which were not picks that were on too many mocks. You were feeling yourself, as you should. You basically did what Josh Norris did a year ago out of the gate. Right. Yeah. Not bad. I don't know. So you're the champ, bro. You got the strap now. I'd love to see the grades across of everyone's mock. Cross the nation. Yeah. They'll send them out. We'll dig that up. We'll dig that up and we'll talk about it this. But you need to because they'll call those and then they'll put out their list. You've got to get on that list. Right. Who do I talk to? Tweet at me. Tell me who to talk to at Titan's film room.

Yeah. Help out Dr. Norris would probably know. And I'm sure he'd be happy to help. And, But cycling back to Mayfield, yeah, it does seem like there's a runway there now, certainly for the Panthers. But we'll see. We've got to see. I think that happens on Saturday. And I think he'll be a Panther. But I think he'll be on one of those two teams Saturday. And I think you predicted for a fourth round pick in that report.

That was to the Seahawks. I feel like that's about right. Maybe a fifth. If he goes to the Panthers for a fourth, you get half credit. Well, that's according to Skip Bayless, that's just sheep brain thinking. So I don't know. All right. Charles Cross, the tackle from Mississippi State goes to the Seahawks at nine. So they opt to go with offensive line help.

That makes sense there. Chris Olavi, the wide receiver, one of the six that came off the board. Here comes the run now. We talked about it. Drake London at eight. Garrett Wilson to the Jets at 10. Chris Alave to the Saints at 11. And then Jameson Williams to the Lions at 12.

So the Lions pick it to. They get the hometown kid Hutchinson. And then they move up to 12. And everyone thinks it's Malik Willis. But Gregi, it's Jameson Williams. A wide receiver is rehabbing from a torn ACL. But people are in love with his ability. Yeah.

Hey, he's my number one wide receiver in this class. Well, that means a lot. I mean, it is. He can move at a speed that just so few humans can move at. I mean, he's very much in the Will Fuller type of mode. And yet when you watch him run routes, like he can change his pace up a little bit, slow down and really get in and out of his breaks in a way that most people that fast can't. And so I think his upside is higher than Drake London. Look, we love to having Drake on the show.

I think we're going to share some of that interview on Saturday's show. But to me, he seems more like a possession receiver that's going to make plays after the catch. Garrett Wilson's great. Chris Olavi, I think, makes a lot of sense for the Saints. But I love what the Lions did because they didn't even have to give up too much to get up to 12. If I'm a Vikings fan, I almost think that the Vikings were so determined to trade down and get extra picks because that's kind of what they want to do now and they're rebuilding that they didn't really get great value. And wouldn't it be great to just have James and Williams on your team across from Justin Jefferson?

Can't you picture it now, Mark, the hard knocks. training montage of Jameson Williams rehab in that knee and then the interview about how excited he is about making a difference on this team. Because he's not going to be a September and October contributor more than likely, although you never know with these rehabs. They go so well now. But for a team that is not in win now mode, that's okay. You just get him right. And then you get plenty of times to give him reps. I can visualize that. And I mean, I, you know, I don't think many people thought that when the lions were trading back into where they did, that it was necessarily wide receiver.

I thought it might be Malik Willis. I really did. And, like, you know, you asked big storylines out of the gate. And I'll just say it quick that the idea that Malik Willis went nowhere tonight isn't a stunner because there were just as many reports saying that none of these quarterbacks might be first rounders. But I find it interesting that no one jumped on them. It showed a fair lack of desperation by any of these teams and someone's going to get them in round two. Right. Tampa Bay traded out.

We'll get to that. But they traded out of 27 to the Jaguars to get the first pick of the second round. And you do wonder if Tampa Bay is going to get some good offers for a team that might want to climb up a little bit to get Malik Willis. I found that the Saints trading up with Washington to take Chris Alave just so typical. Like, I just love the draft in the way that different teams attack it so differently. And the Saints get convinced that they've got their guy and they're just going to be right about them. Let's trade two first for Marcus Davenport. Let's trade a first next year to get into this.

first round and then trade up again with Washington giving up the 98 and 120th picks in the draft. I mean, that's a decent pick 98 to move up five spots and get OLAVe. And again, I think it's about the Saints looking at this year and saying, we want to win right now. Because if I had to pick who's going to lead all rookie receivers in yards, I think Chris Olave is a solid favorite because he just is such an easy transition to the NFL. You see him go on a stop route and just the way he can go from running full speed to stopping on a dime, like that just translates.

He's going to catch eight, nine-yard passes. Like, at his best, he might be like a poor man's Marvin Harrison type of player. He's never going to make any plays after the catch, but he's going to catch a ton of balls. He's been described as buttery smooth. And I'm with you. I think the Saints, when they made the trade with the Eagles, had an absolutely what I don't know.

I want to cut that. There's something about you saying he's been described as buttery smooth. It was very like Tom Broke-I-ish. In my research, that's what I, that was something that I came across. It was one of many reams of, it was, of, that's a mark. I didn't come up with that on my own. When you were doing your mock, oh yeah, he's buttery-smooth. Underlined, buttery-smooth mode of operation was the line that I discovered about him.

Yeah, another Ohio State guy with Michael Thomas. Michael Thomas is the winner there. Suddenly you don't look like such a bad receiver group, and they also, while we're talking saints, you know, filled in their tackle. need at 19 with Trevor Penning. So I think they did what everyone expected. Which are, by the way, two of the mocked picks that I nailed, and so did Graver, I

believe. We both nail those, because they had been a lot of people talked about Alabe and Penning to the Saints, and it just seemed like they knew what they wanted, and they went and got it, where some teams will get to in the NFC, Super Bowl contenders seem to sit home and do very little. And there are some fan bases that are

very unhappy about it. All right, let's now move on through the middle part of the round. Jordan Davis DT out of Georgia, goes to the Eagles. Kyle Hamilton, Notre Dame safety, he ends up at 14. So that's kind of where his stock, at least in, ahead of the Macalips, had him ending up in this area. And he didn't seem overly enthused as he came out to meet Roger on stage. You wonder if he really thought he could be a top five pick, as many initially believed he could be. So he goes to the Ravens, though that's a good fit, though. I think it's a great

fit. It's such a Ravens pick. Yeah, I'm like Greg and I were sitting here, everything the Ravens did tonight just felt so Baltimore-esque. I mean, Kyle Hamill, they have Marcus Williams, they have Chuck Clark, but Kyle Hamilton's the kind of guy they'll groom, who'll probably be an all-pro type player. And this is someone that, you know, when all this business started, he was the guy that was going to go to the Jets. He was a top four type dude that fell probably because of positional value in general and right into the Ravens' lap, which seems to happen every single year. that it is funny i feel like that's a trope of this podcast we most raven's moves is like oh that's such a raven's move but they do have an organizational philosophy where these things kind of check out i'm very curious that's so raven is what we're supposed to yeah that's so raven i still the one philosophy i don't know what's going on is on the offensive side of the ball and how they intend to that's fair better uh at wide receiver even though i'm not a huge hollywood brown fan i don't know you know mark andrews is there and you have rsad bateman the uh first round pick last year and

But, man, I don't know if scoring points is going to be that easy for that team. But you never know. They got to get back to running the ball. Yeah, Cynthia Freeland pointed out the Ravens got her models number two overall prospect, Kyle Hamilton at 14. And her number nine overall prospect, Linderbom, Tyler Lindelbaum at 25. Linderbom was a guy. A lot of people felt like was almost like the most surefire.

He's going to be a great starter in this draft. And he just fell because he's a smaller center. And people just don't get that into smaller centers. But it's like the Eagles did with Jason Kelsey. You surround a smaller center with two huge hulking guards, which the Ravens have. And suddenly, like, you're cooking. He fits so well in that offense that they did improve their offense there with the center. But I think they were probably going to take Jordan Davis at 14.

And I do want to just point out, like, the Eagles are a fun team to follow. I don't know if it all works, but I get why the dorks like me like what they do because they stack all these picks. They get the pick in the Carson-Wens trade. They get picks moving around last year, remember, of course, when they moved down with Devante Smith, and they moved up. And what do they do?

Like, they just do what they want on draft day. They can go get A.J. Brown. They have the arsenal to go get A.J. Brown. They also have the arsenal to move up two picks and give up a couple extra picks to go get Jordan Davis, who is just like they love big hulking men on their defensive line. He replaces Fletcher Cox like. they had I think maybe the most fun draft there was them and the Jets they are going to be the trendy pick to win the NFC East because people are going to be a little out on the Cowboys about how their season ended and it's that cowboy cycle of good season bad season and here are the Eagles now with a much improved roster things are going very well for that offense before Jalen Hertz got injured now he's healthy again I there's plenty of reason for optimism in Philadelphia I'll wait and see on Jordan Davis

because at number 13. I know that he was a combine, darling, X, Y, and Z, but he's... I guess we've got to wait on all these guys. Right, but he's not going to play on passing downs.

He doesn't sack the quarterback, and he's been described by some as someone who's arrived like two generations late. In the NFL's defensive world. Was it the same person? No, it was the same person that said buttery smooth? It was in the Bob McGinn,

like, look at close look at these players. There were people down on Jordan Davis and where he fits in today's game. I mean, he can do what he does really well. It feels like in a worst case. scenario, he's he's just a big old run stopper, maybe like a Brandon, a Brandon Williams type that the Ravens used to have or a Linvall Joseph type that you put out there. But with that sort of

athleticism, I think they see that it could be more. All right. So let's keep moving here. So the Texans at 15, they make a nice meat and potatoes pick here, Kenyon Green at an A&M at Guard. So they go and they get help with Stingley, who they think could be a star in their secondary. And now they go about trying to build up that offensive line again. That's such a Patriots type of offensive line pick. Right. And like the Patriots, the Texans. In front of Davis Mills. Like we're in the position to like be an exciting team in this draft.

It was a trendy like thing to say this week. Hey, actually, people haven't talked about the Texans, but they're kind of the key team in this draft. And you leave it being like, I don't know. The Texans ended up just kind of taking. They can't play that role. They're not. They don't excite me. They seem so far away.

Jahan Dotson, wide receiver out of Penn State goes to the, commanders interesting move there makes sense because terry mccloren needs some help somebody else that can make other teams think and and spread the field so dotson could be that guy also makes me think in this year of everybody gets traded is this open the door for mccloren to get moved uh in a trade i know now the first round is now in the rear view but there's always next year and all that now dotson is there as the cheap rookie on the first round deal spice rack's favorite guy and i think spice racks level of excitement about Jahan Dotson was born out here because six receivers went in the first 16 picks and then no more did. So I was stuck on a push for a sandwich. But I really think Dotson

ended up being like the solid six in this draft. If they didn't take them in Washington, I think the Packers or someone else did, but a very, a smaller receiver. I mean, it's, I'm still getting used to seeing guys that small play on the outside. It's just like a different. You'll get used to it. Zion Johnson, the guard from Boston College, goes to the charter so they continue. you to address protecting Justin Herbert, the franchise, Traylon Burke's, Arkansas wide receiver goes to the Titans. So you have that situation. There Trevor Penning tackle to the Saints and then pick 20. Can he pick it? Only quarterback off the board? Yeah. From Pittsburgh goes to the Steelers. So just like everyone thought was going to happen, Kevin.

Colbert in the last weekend of his gig before maybe retirement by choice and it seemed a little hard to tell. Colbert drafts that quarterback picket and he will enter that fray with Mitch Trubisky to see who was going to be the quarterback there in 2020. I think it was just seen as probably the most like ready to step in and be a pro today where with Malik it's you'd like to give them half a season or more to progress and grow. But I do just remember like hearing Tomlin talk about the emphasis on a mobile quarterback. And Pickett has a little bit of that, but it's not the same. Malik Willis is completely different in that world. So, I mean, he practiced throughout college feet away from where the Steelers operates. So it's kind of like I love the Pittsburgh

to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh correction. Yeah, connection. Yeah, they knew him. He was in that building where Pittsburgh practices too. And I was surprised because of the comments that Tomlin made about mobility. And Pickett certainly has mobility. Yeah, he does. He, but he runs to throw. I think he's got a little more juice like in terms of running than Baker Mayfield does, who I've compared him to. I think he's a similar player to Baker Mayfield. In some ways, in terms of like his draft profile, he's not that far away from where Mitch Trubisky is where the number one thing is, he's absolutely accurate. Like he can throw the ball and it goes where he intends to throw it. I think not always the case with Mitch Trubisky. No, but that was his.

draft profile. That was what everyone told us about, at least coming, coming into you and out of UNC. But I, I don't think they were ready to change their whole offense for Malik Willis, which is what they were. Malik Willis tweeted tonight after the draft. Omg, what happened to Malik with three crying, laughing emojis? Is that maybe a sign that maybe a disappeared mark? And you got sanguages coming. Well, TBD, but that, that would be the closest we've got to that. That's the closest we got to that situation. He's tweeting. So wouldn't that say he's somewhere. Malik tweeting from the account. You got to dig a little deeper with these true crime scenarios.

That's all. Yeah. Maybe, you know, someone else is taking over the account, Craig. Fingers crossed, Greg. You can't be scared of Kenny Pickett, by the way. If you're a Browns fan or Bengals fan or Ravens fan, I see Kenny Pickett and Mitchell Trubisky and I'm like, hmm, maybe the Steelers. That's how I feel about Matt Jones, you know.

Maybe it's time to go down. Yeah, but then you just watch them like coming second for rookie of the year. Hey! All right. go let's take a break people were called on dan merino too you know so there are some concerns let's take a break and then finish out the first round all right we're back uh you know the the chiefs i thought they were going to be aggressive and get a wide receiver they don't they they draft trent mcduffy cornerback out of washington and then right behind them you have quay walker

a linebacker from georgia going to the packers and so the packers and the packers and the chiefs Chiefs, two teams that everyone thought it made a lot of sense that they would go get wide receivers. They end up on the outside looking in in this wide receiver run. And Mark, I don't think it's unfair to be critical of that, that there wasn't more urgency to get in that group of six. They are opting obviously a different path, which is a pretty big risk for both teams that are in Super Bowl or bust mode. The one thing I like about Goody, the GM, is that he obviously is very confident in what he sees and how he scouts players. because he doesn't just do, he doesn't, he's two off-season three in a row. He's not caved in to anything that anyone expects.

They pass on wide receiver. But here's the one thing I would say. You trade away Devante Adams. What are you telling? Not just Aaron Rogers, but your entire locker room. Can I offer a respectful counter to that? Sure. Did he draft Devante Adams?

Was he responsible for Adams coming there? No, no. And what wide receivers has he drafted that developed into, a worthwhile player. I'm not saying this is successful. I'm saying he seems confident in his confidence is great. But we've had, he's been on balance very successful in that job. But the wide receiver room is something I don't trust him with at this point. And the cupboard right now, one night into the draft remains close to bear. Right. But my point wouldn't have been that I think he's done a great job with the wide receivers. Just that he seems to not care what anyone thinks. He doesn't

care what all of us said that they might draft two wide receivers. He goes and takes completely opposite realms entirely. Which is cool, but he still doesn't have any wide receivers. I'm just saying he's like, you do want a front office that believes in what they do. And I do think that. And they, by the way, they've won 26 regular season games in two years. He has done a good job building the roster. This is a blind spot potentially.

But I do wonder what it tells your Super Bowl window team that you move Devante Adams and do nothing to replace him. Well, you've got Amari Rogers. You took him the third round and didn't do anything as a rookie. I would expect them to make a pick on day two at receiver. and Rogers is someone that Goody does care about his opinion because Rogers shared on the Pat McAfee show that he knew the Packers only had six first round receivers graded, that they only had six receivers in this class graded with the first round pick. And so to your point, Dan, you're right. I think they might have got caught guard, caught off guard, that all those receivers

went so quick, especially Dotson going 16. Maybe they liked him. Maybe they didn't. And at that point they had already shared that info with rogers we just we went through it like the draft in real time it takes time for these things to unfold so maybe after the third or fourth guy came off the board maybe it's time to maybe they did maybe we'll learn more about as rogers said though he was saying like look we've had a lot of productive receivers come out of the second and third round for the the green bay packers and a bunch of haven't been too though including devante adams who took some time to who's making a big play for that team in the a fc or the nashc or the nifc F-C championship game.

I mean, they need to add more. There are some receivers out there in free agency. It's getting late. They need to add more, absolutely. It's also like taking an off-ball linebacker and Quay Walker, who became kind of a draft darling. I always worry about the guys, A, that played behind maybe the greatest defensive line in college football history.

So that's a nice spot to be. And then B was clearly not the best off-ball linebacker on his own team. Like Nicobi Dean was the leader of that team made the most amount of plays. And Quay Walker is the guy that all the draft Knicks kind of like project is going to be a better starter. Nicobi Dean, who DJ once had in his top six or seven in this entire draft, did not get taken in the first round. And I'm always worried about the guy that like the NFL thinks they're smarter, but it was a guy right next to the guy who was much better at the same position. But to Mark's point, like what Goody has done there, I gave him the benefit of the doubt with some of these moves. is that like Devante Wyatt, the DT out of Georgia.

They took it 28. They might prove to be productive guys. It's just that position. It's the one position. I'm with you on that. I'm with you. But I mean, Aaron Rogers also knew that Devante Adams wasn't going to be there, right? That's what he's saying.

And he's saying this too. So it's like he's being very compliant, but I also think he just got paid a massive mountain of cash. Well, it would be a fun story if nothing else. And at this point, that's what I'm rooting for. for for Aaron Rogers to enter the season with Sammy Watkins, Lazard, and Cobb as his top three

and just like, I would just like to watch that. They were also into Debo Samuel. Well, there were whispers about that, so we'll see. So as I just spin through it here, six wide receivers, zero tight ends, only and zero running backs. Interesting.

Well, there was only one running back that would have gone and that didn't happen. And two cornerbacks going to the top four. That's never happened before. Very strange draft. It's a passing league, though, and I think receivers and cornerbacks are now, they're not quite, like, at defensive linemen and tackles in terms of, I think, what the average GM values, but they're getting close.

Graver is tweeting through it right now. I tweet decks up, he's now tweeting things about the Titans like, man, now that I look at this. During the show. Things aren't going through this. Things aren't so bad. This is so, this is quintessential fan psychology. this is look grave actually he's quote retweeting

his own tweet that's weird and then he's like based purely on this list we can't really complain about the first round based on what actually happened we have a lot to complain do they get a B plus now in this what's the grade you get them at this point

well you know what you should feel you should feel better though because AJ Brown did tweet out 29 minutes ago I love y'all Tennessee so yeah everything's fine he loves you he also tweeted it was not my fault and then deleted it I wanted to tweet that many times myself.

You seem to like the Traylon Berks pick, and I know we talked the Brown trade earlier, but we didn't really talk Berks. He just is such a unique prospect that didn't really play wide receiver in college. And that was a little bit of the knock on A.J. Brown and D.K. Meck have to be fair. And they figured it out. But like when you watch Traylon Burks in college,

he was so far from playing like the wide receiver position. He was just kind of like a guy that they gave the ball to in space and were like figure it out. And they did a good job doing that. But to me, on tape, he doesn't look like he has the same shoes. Why do you keep doing this to Graber? I don't know. He doesn't look like he said.

The third verbal off slot on Graver in one episode. He did have a lot of like 70 plus yard touchdowns last season, which I won against Alabama, one against A&M, like really huge plays. It's like I watched the tape of these top seven receivers. I'm going to use that information on this show. Right. But you're hurting someone that we care about. That's my only concern.

I love your information. The GIF of the, or GIF or whatever, of the, the dog in the firehouse. Everything is fine. Yeah. Yeah. It's fine. It's where you're at. All right.

Jags are coming. Kair, Elam, cornerback, Florida goes to the bill. So they do use it on defense, not a running back. And then the football factory that is Tulsa. Shout out Justin Hathaway, our former boss. They produce tackle Tyler Smith for the Cowboys. And that's a smart move, I think, by the Cowboys, who, you know, know that offensive line is more on reputation now than perhaps abilities are getting older so you get some youth there and then we mentioned the ravens tyler linderbaum center out of iowa we mentioned jermaine johnson to the jets that's a florida state defensive end who you now pair with carlossin then that could go and get after the quarterback maybe the jets could finally get after a cubie it's been a long time now the back end devon lloyd linebacker to jacksville this was a very jaggs move

to think that you've scouted things so well that you're going to give up. They actually gave up a lot to trade from 33 to 27 to take a 23-year-old off-ball linebackers. I'm sort of like become an age guy when it comes to the draft. Like that worries me when it takes. It's like Kenny Pickett. It took till his fifth year when he was like five years older than a lot of the guys he was playing against to really step up. Jags always like believe in what they do and they like trade up for the guy that they love and it like it never works. Does Doug Peterson have any say in this process?

It's just, it's, I, they need a defense, but it's like, you know, hang with who you have, Doug Peterson. Cole Strange at a Chattanooga guard goes to the Patriots. So, Ricky, in the ATN era, which you have been a star for five years, it's almost fitting that it ends your last draft as our producer, ends with Cole Strange. So I'd like a full scouting report from you right now on Strange and what he brings to that line. Yeah, absolutely.

Well, Belichick did say in his presser just now that if they hadn't traded with the chiefs, they would have taken him at 21 too. And I believe him because, like, we better trade out of this pick. We're going to take Cole Strange. No one's taking him. Right.

And then he also said, like, he wouldn't have been around much longer because people were literally like, weren't you rating him as like a, weren't people rating him as like a third rounder? DJ called him one of his favorite mid-round guys. Right. Not in middle of the first round.

When I googled his name in Patriots looking for the trade terms, I actually. No result. prominent mock draft came up where the Patriots took him in the third round. Now, to be fair, was that Bill Belichick's? Right.

Oh, no. To be fair, they went back eight spots. They did pick up a third and a fourth. So that's a very Patriots move. And I feel like every time the Patriots do this, trade back and then take someone no one liked, you at least have to bring up the name Logan Mankins. All right. It's been done.

No one ever was shocked by a pick more than Logan Mankins. And it worked out that one. There's many that didn't, though. Strange times. The Chiefs, so I thought we're going to move up and get a wide receiver. They're out of business and they finish up with defensive end, George Carloftus, out of Purdue. So they addressed their defense with both their picks. Two guys who can start.

I think they took two guys in Carloftus in McDuffie that I think are kind of seen as two of the ready-to-go starters. And the Chiefs needed two starters. They're just going to play right away. Carlis Iron Man. I like them. Slippery and buttery. No, he's not smooth like butter. He just, I think he's going to, I'm with Greg.

I think he's going to be there in week one doing stuff. Good. Safety out of Michigan, Taxon Hill goes to the defending AFC champion Bengals. And then finally, and this is sometimes a little sexy fun pick to end the first round. Somebody will grab a quarterback at 32, but not this time. No. The Vikings pick in that spot. And they take Lewis.

Seen. Seen. I feel seen out of Georgia. So after picking. it goes at 20 and they were all those trades and the Hollywood brown trade had already happened even though it was for the 23rd pick like that the draft was on fire then it was on fire it was almost too much to handle uh and then you had 12 straight defensive or offensive line picks none of which really felt like it had the 21 to 32 it's like a film that falls apart after the midpoint it petered out a

little bit petered out um so that is the first round and there are of course six more rounds to come uh Friday rounds 2 and 3 Saturday 4, 5, 6, 7. We are going to get on a plane and head back to Los Angeles tomorrow and give you your final draft show. Now, any final thoughts, Mark?

Let Greg go first. I was in escape mode. Greg wants on someone to talk for 20 more 5 more minutes. Vegas was great. I just think we have to talk a little bit about our week here. Our 36 hours here. Feels like a week. Yeah, we got here

a little over 24 hours ago. And just like Vegas to me, didn't you guys think this was, they got to bring the draft back here. Just there's something about this place that was perfect. The draft is sort of this totally artificial made up event out of nothing. Like it's just like Las Vegas. It's reading off names and it's in this city, right, that says artificial as can be. But it's all fun. Like the draft is fun, Vegas is fun.

It like all, it all made sense to me. And it's wild out there. I love it. It's, it's hope season. Everyone wins, uh, except for Justin. And I think. that is you see that optimism tens of thousands of fans in the city today um it's exciting to be here i do miss the smaller version of this event that was at new york city that was at radio city

music hall but at the same time when you see what they've turned it into and what a marketing bonanza this whole draft is you get it you get why it's never going back to a small room like that it's always going to be a blown out event and it was done very well uh the night one. We did have on my closing thought is because we are saying goodbye to Erica and a lot of our great times with Erica have been at events and

it is fitting. There's a little bit of a Vegas vibe to part of what Erica brings. We had a Mexican dinner last night that costs like $4,000 because that's how I bought a toothbrush today that costs $14. So that's maybe I'm fine with that. It just expense it. We got to get Mark on the plane. No, no, no. I

don't pay for it. Like the commissioner can pay for that. Wait, can you expense the toothbrush? Yes, under the tab miscellaneous. Okay. And I know you had to buy similar things, Erica. But we had a great night. We had a nice picture of margaritas. Pineapple.

You know, we had gondolas were going by us in the water. Don't tell the whole public you guys call gondolas. We don't need to. It won the poll. Yeah, it did, actually. No. Actually. I can't believe you just told our vast audience that you say that wrong.

Well, point to side. I was going to let you guys off the hook on that. Me and Hank were mortified. that you call it a gondola Eric and I are very firm in where we stand on this I'm not really concerned with the mortification Yeah, but Erica will miss you We all will and it was a nice way to say

Kind of goodbye Yeah, we got one more show with Ricky But it won't be in person So yes, this is the end of an era And we're gonna miss you Girl Sucks On that note

but it's been a great time here and thanks to everybody behind the scenes that's helped us out make this a professional operation not only do we have this like badass set we also have guests coming right off the stage out of brohugs and one of the guests was yes cave on tibito the new york giants uh future star i think if this kid can play and everything that he did in college tells us he's going to be an impact player in our league his personality is going to be exactly what the giants need forget all that other stuff about him that he might not be focused or he's got a in and out motor who know i don't know about how he's going to play but if he does produce to go with that personality i was blown away by

how new york city ready this man is yeah he he is he is part of the around the NFL family he absolutely here you got a chance to do it right here we go Wait, wait, wait, wait, do it. All right, rip, let's roll it back. Okay. Now you know. You're the part. You say the do it part.

I got it. I just forgot what she says. Do it. A little early on the cue, but I liked it. I liked your falsetto. All right, here we go. Thank you to everybody for listening. We'll be back Saturday night with a full draft recap.

We close with our second conversation with Kavon-Dibon-Dibito in three days. It was a lot of fun, and it was a lot of fun doing the show and watching Round Run on the Draft from Las Vegas. See you Saturday. Till then, heed the call. And we are back, Nom. All right, here we are. It was just a couple days ago that Kavon Tibido came to the NFL media studios

and saw our podcast taping and jumped in, booted MJD out, and we had a conversation. I was a Jets fan. I said, Kavon to New York. That would be awesome. Well, didn't work out with the Jets. But the Giants get you. And I know as a native New Yorker, yeah, listen, I would have loved it if you were on my team.

I like sauce too, though. So you're a top five pick. In New York, it feels like a match made in heaven. It does. But you know what's even funnier about it? Being here with you guys is the true meaning of manifestation. Yeah. I came in yesterday.

I came in, it was two days ago. I crashed the show. It was great. We had a great time, and now I'm back. And it's even better because I just got drafted by the New York. And you manifested top five pick. You said that specifically. They get to five.

And then I think someone listened to our podcast. And they just like, we got to take it. We must do it. And you know what happened? I didn't tell anybody, but I was manifest in New York, too. I was planning. I took all the staff to Korean barbecue. I brought them.

I had them all you can eat. I buttered them up, you know. We really got to break bread and they really got to see that I'm hungry. Literally. When we talked to you just 48 hours ago, whatever it was, Didn't mention the Giants. Did you truly have a feeling? Did they talk to you?

Did they give you a sense that you might be the guy? You know, the GM, Joe? He phasedom me right before I got on the plane to come out here. He didn't even think I was going to answer. He said, oh, wow, you answered? I said, what you mean, coach? Why would I not answer you? Sure.

But that's, I had a feeling. I said, you know, and then, you know. He did the video call and everything? FaceTime, yeah. That's how my dad. It's FaceTime. I know. I'm just saying that's a little too much, though.

Greg is butt-hiled us with FaceTime many times. For me, it's about building trust and it's about family, right? So I'm coming into their family, and you've got to do what it takes to find that trust and find that love for, you know, those guys. And we were just, you know, talking to us with the Jets, it's been 11 years since they made the playoffs. The Giants have a much more rich history, Super Bowl history, but they've also fallen on a very hard time. So just the way Jets fans are looking for brighter tomorrow, the Giants fans are in that position, too. And Evan Neal from Alabama also is going to shore up the other side of the other side of the

the ball in the trenches, it seems like you guys have a chance to lead a new charge there. That's what I'm talking about. You know the greatest part? We started together and we're going to finish together. And the same way that I went with Penae Soule and we grinded, we put each other to work and we got better, that's the same thing that's going to happen in New York. We're going to put each other to the test and we come every day blow for blow. Is that what that what the meant?

Like what was the translation? That was the translation. That's hunger. You know what I mean? And the greatest part is when you know a guy is just as hungry. when you know that he's going to bring it. He's going to throw that right hook and I'm going to throw the jab,

and we're going to go back and forth. When you think about someone like Jalen Hertz, other quarterbacks in your division, what would you tell them verbally right now about their future in the NFC East? I'm not going to tell them nothing. I have no words. What did you say to Soss Gardner?

What did you say to Soss Gardner? What did you say to Soss is my man? You know, we went a couple visits. We went on a couple visits with each other, man. So now to see us, you know, end up in New York. I told him. I said, call me, man. We write down the road.

me. And then when we play, I'm deleting your number, and I'm blocking you. I'm coming to behind you. And, you know, again, cycling back to our conversation Tuesday, Greg, he overstepped a little bit and said, are we friends now? Rightly, you said, no, we're not. And now. How about now? Are you Greg's friend now? Right now, we're acquaintances. We're close. We move. That's the thing. You got to, we haven't even eaten together. I'm still hungry. Every time I met you guys, I've been hungry. So, you know, it's hard to find that loving side when you're thinking about eating a cow. We're making progress, though. I mean, that's a thing. They They got Korean barbecue in Las Vegas.

You're not busy tonight or anything like that. Come on now. What are you going to do tonight? What do you mean? I'm going to go to sleep and I'm going to wake up so I can get on that plane. I don't want to be in Vegas. I want to be in New York. Are you serious?

And you know what? I'm from L.A. Who cares about Vegas? You're going to be fine in New York. It's like sometimes I think it's way overblown. Are you going to be the handle the New York media and all that? Man, if you have Kavon-Tibato's outlook on things, they're going to love you, dude. And if you produce, and I think you will,

you are going to be an instant superstar in that town so get ready you're going to own that place I think I'm not going to own it there's going to be a partnership because I'm going to put everything I can into them and I know they're going to pour all the love and support it into me sometimes I feel like Kavon has a script and then he writes these things

out with the perfect dancers perfect answers and that's the difference it's in me it's really in my heart and I feel like God is speaking for me I'll never I'll never speak words that he doesn't put into my brain all right well then during the season we got to come back for the trilogy like any any good movie series like you can't just do two

and we move up from acquaintances to like how about buddies like buddies next time you know what happens in Hollywood I'm gonna be on the show I'm not gonna be on the show I'm gonna be a part of the show I'm like that once a week now I'm just that or you totally ghost us it's gonna be one or the other one or the other

all right Kavon thank you so much for joining us dude really are excited for you excited to put some juice back in the metal lands and good luck eating this year and going forward to the NFL Thank you, Van. This is an I-heart podcast.