NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 236. Our Favorite Draft Rumors & Reports From 2024 Combine

Episode Date: March 1, 2024

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It's awesome. Sign up now at youtube.com slash BS, device and content restrictions apply. Local and national games on YouTube TV. NFL Sunday ticket for out-of-market games excludes digital-only games. Welcome to the opening bell of the NFL Stock Exchange podcast. I'm Trevor Sikama. That is Connor Rogers. Yes, in person once again. So the chemistry is obviously going to be very on point for this episode.

We've upgraded. We have upgraded. From our hotel senior bowl situation where we're side by side at a desk. That one was kind of a priv. Yeah, that was kind of a privilege. We were using low-grade lights to try to make it look somewhat professional. The contrast was up big time for that one. But now we actually have professional lighting.

We've got a three-camera setup, thanks to Sov and Eli producing here on site in Indianapolis at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine. So we're recording this, full transparency, as we often do on this show, Thursday early evening. So the first defensive line group is kind of still going through their field drills. And we actually have that on in the background. So if any of us freak out for that, we'll kind of keep you in the loop. But, Connor, mainly what we wanted to talk about is some of the stuff that's already happened here at the Combine.

A lot of podium sessions already in the books. The head coaches, the general managers. We've heard a lot of rumors about teams that could be moving up, down. What some of the NFL thinks about these prospects, and what's it we're going to try to do on this show is kind of encapsulate all that good stuff. Right. The combine starts off with the coaches and the GMs,

and they speak to the media, and everybody gets to be around them for a little bit before you actually have the prospects go through the same media tour, and then ultimately the testing. We saw Chop Robinson teleport in his 10-yard split. Alien. To start this, which, no surprise, right? Don't count it twice for rule.

Chop's really athletic. I count it three times. Three times. So Chop's in your top 10 now. I don't think a top five edge rusher for you. Yeah, we've got Caleb, Chop, then Marvin. Yeah, that's how the combine works. Of course.

As we said, and I won't name names, but some draft dreams have died as we've started. Oh, boy. I mean, it's crazy, though. It's rumored times and everything like that it's a weird environment some guys test differently at their facility and here for various reasons it might not be comfortable or the start or right it is really a crazy crazy thing but we're gonna i think we'll fully recap the combine yes after the entire thing right rather than nitpicking that yeah so what we'll do today is this will be a show that will more be on kind of

what we have heard here in Indianapolis because we're here one more day. So it's a lot more about the picks, where we think teams could end up, some of what they're thinking about prospects overall. But then we'll have an episode where we recap all of the on-field drills. So, yeah, like I said, if something crazy happens live, we're probably going to react to it as we're here recording this, but we'll save a lot of that analysis of what it means for these prospects for the episode that you guys will get right after the combine is over.

So let's start with this. Let's start at the very top, because I think you and I had a conversation right before we started recording, and you said, picks one and two aren't going to move. And I said, well, I think they could move from what I've been hearing, just with each other. I don't think Washington's going any further down than two. It certainly doesn't seem like the Chicago Bears are going to go anything further down than two.

But it's not a 0% chance that Washington could be that team that ends up picking at number one overall. I'm curious, did you hear any of that this week? It feels like there's been some rumors that have been flying around. I've definitely heard that Washington will at least try. Yeah, I think that's where it's coming from. I think that's where it's coming from. I haven't heard too much of the Bears' motivations to do that. I've basically pretty consistently heard the Bears will, one, trade Justin Fields,

because that's where this all starts. And then, two, the expectation is they draft Caleb Williams. But I'm sure Washington, who, I mean, the new owner is here in the interviews, that they're clearly setting the future with a quarterback pick. You have a new owner, a new coaching staff, a new GM. It's all going to be bundled together on the same timeline. And I'm sure you would think just from watching this tape, Washington's watching what we're watching. They'd love to bring Caleb Williams home to D.C.

Yes. But the big thing you and I keep talking about, Trevor, is where are the opportunities to move in this draft? That's what everybody here is trying to figure out. Would Chicago answer the phone? I say it's unlikely, but you never know. And then you get to number three with New England, where that's the real pivot point of the draft. Can people get into that pick?

There's a little more optimism, I think, to get into that pick than one or two. Yeah, I agree with you. I don't think Chicago's, you know, Ryan Pohl said earlier this week that, oh, my phone's been ringing off the hook. And of course it is. And I think like any good GM would, they're going to think about all their options, explore all of their options. Right. I mean, like they're, oh yeah. I think they could trade pick nine easily. They could definitely trade pick number nine very easily. But I just, I find it really hard to

believe that they would trade so far back from number one, that they're not taking one of these quarterbacks. There's no way. But the more I kind of talk to people, the more it doesn't seem like it's that far-fetched that Washington ends up being that team that picks number one. You and I talked a couple of weeks ago. Kind of the pipe dream for them, if you will, is bringing Caleb Williams home. And I think that there is something powerful about that. Setting up the new franchise, the new ownership, the new regime with a hometown hero, Heisman Trophy, what some people are saying is a generational prospect, even though we hate those words. Washington's offer even to move one spot is going to be compelling they're really going to make them say no and that could be in the form of multiple first round picks right which is wild which is

crazy to move one spot but I genuinely think that's what could be on the table I don't know that for sure but again we're just telling you guys kind of what we're hearing from people who cover Washington people cover the league nationally it just doesn't seem nearly as far-fetched as maybe we thought it might have been a couple of weeks ago. Right, and if you're Chicago, then you play the game of, well, are we going to be the laughingstock that passed on Caleb Williams and he's the next top seven-ish quarterback in the league, or do you end up doing that move, which I still think is a long shot,

because your coaches love Drake May or Jaden Daniels and those guys end up being really good and you got all this extra draft capital that's the fine line you walk I will say Trevor the one thing that I've come out of here feeling is the consensus around Caleb Williams is even higher than I expected I agree I don't find anyone anymore that's more intrigued by Drake May or Jaden Danieliels or obviously even mccarthy like it feels like it's caleb williams and then everybody else yep and i think a couple months ago it didn't feel that way at all i thought there was a chance drake may could go number one at the end of all of this i i don't think this thing's close anymore unless teams are hiding it

that well but i think it's caleb williams draft i don't know, and obviously we'll see how this plays out in the draft itself, but I don't know if the Jaden Daniels over Drake May movement was as strong as I thought it was a couple of weeks ago either. We came to this event and you hear all these things of NFL teams, maybe a lot more teams than you think have Jaden over Drake May. And talking to people at this event, there's just not a lot of people that I've heard, whether it's evaluators or just people within the league, that have really entertained that at all whatsoever.

It really does feel like it is a 1-2-3. Not to say that the draft still can't start 1-2-3, but I feel like it's funny because the draft still can't start one two three right but i feel like it is it's it's funny because the draft is is sometimes a circle right if we would have talked about this in december i think we would have said oh yeah clear one two three williams may daniels and then we got into january and it's like oh well maybe it's maybe it's may over caleb and then it was like oh maybe it's maybe it's jayden over may then it was like, oh, maybe it's Jaden over May. And I just, I don't know.

I feel like we're back towards what it was when we were talking about the quarterback class in the beginning of December. I've only found two teams that have Jaden Daniels over Drake May. One of them is way too far out for it to matter. Another one is in striking distance. But once again, I'm not convinced it's going to be very easy to get into that range of the draft I'm really not I think that some teams would love to be aggressive

Antonio Pierce was very honest about this by the way it was very rare to see a coach that his podium so he basically this week has a couple quotes that were just being honest about hey you got to be aggressive to go up and get a quarterback like it was a very foot on the gas approach rather than you know we'll develop Aiden or, and I'm not saying he's not sticking by Aiden O'Connell, but I think he was just honest that you gotta be aggressive and go up and get a guy. You can't kind of tiptoe around it.

And some teams have no problem doing that. So if one and two aren't available, that brings us to like, I think the actual conversation here, which is I think three really is open for business i would think they would answer every single call and figure out what the maximum value is like is it here's the best offer is that good enough to not take marvin harrison jr or jayden daniels yeah and and you know i think that it gets it gets interesting when you talk about these teams that might be

the most likely suitors for number three overall. You look at teams like perhaps Atlanta at number eight, right? Minnesota at number 11. Denver would like to be at 12, but I don't really think they have the draft capital to make it happen because they don't even have a second round pick. I bet they sit there and just take a guy, whether it's McCarthy, whether it's Knicks or Pennix.

Which, I mean, how painful is that, right? I don't think Sean Payton cares. Yeah, but you're about to create all of this dead cap with Russell Wilson, and then you're going to sit there at 12 and just wait for whatever quarter. I agree. It just sucks. I agree. It just sucks.

But I don't think he cares. We'll ultimately find out. Because they almost have to, right? How do you just not move? Or are you saying pick a quarterback no matter what? Pick a quarterback. Well, that part I agree with. With the bed they've made.

I mean, Russ is on shows like, yeah, here's how awful everything was last year. Man, yeah. I mean. I think Russ is gone. Me too. And Sean Payton. Get ready to learn backup quarterback job, buddy. I mean, that's what he's going to be doing somewhere.

High end backup. Get ready to learn Pittsburgh Steeler, buddy. I would love that. I would love that. Actually, I don't hate that spot. Do you think he's a Mike T guy? I think on the surface level, maybe not. I say absolutely non-service level, but boy, could they use him.

They need him. They need him. He'd be a great fit for them. I think Tomlin is at the point right now where he's like, give me a vet. Get me out of this situation. Give me a vet. I don't think you can just go in with Kenny Pickett next year.

And I don't know how much Justin Fields, for as much as it's an intriguing spot, I don't know how much Justin Fields moves that needle either. It's not like he's that much older and more experienced and more proven than Kenny Pickett. So trading for him would basically just be continuing to roll the dice it's just a different die that you're throwing yeah so i would say i think that pittsburgh's gonna be another kirk market you know what

i was just gonna bring that up you know what surprised me this week listening to them minnesota in general it sounds like kevin o'connell sounded really confident when talking with Sims and Florio on PFT that they're going to get something done with Kirk. I thought that bridge was done. I just don't. Okay, they're saying that at the podium because I think they have to, right? I guess. Because you can't. And I think that they have to, in good faith, try to bring Cousins back.

Because it's their best option. Because if they don don't then they're sitting at 11 and that's fair and and what are they going to do just just be okay with whatever quarterback we're going to know by the time they pick at 11 well I think backer is not so I think this decision gets made within the next two weeks I think it probably has I think that within the next two weeks either Kirk Cousins is signed or they're not picking at 11 they're picking at three that's really interesting that's that's that's what I kind of think here and I and I've talked to people who have kind of painted that scenario where this could be possible but for me Kirk returning to Minnesota does make sense if you don't talk about the logistics of

the money roster building yes you would think, want to bring him back. But let's look at what Kirk Cousins has been over the last, whatever it's been, like eight years. It's fully guaranteed contracts. He's not going to not take a fully guaranteed contract at this point in his career. He's already set that precedent. His market is also going to be way too high. Minnesota, Steelers, Patriots, Falcons, Broncos, maybe the Raiders.

Somebody's going to give him a lot of money, and they're going to give him exactly what he wants there. So he's not going to give Minnesota, I don't think, a hometown discount in that regard. He also doesn't have to take less than three years. One of these teams is going to give him a three-year fully guaranteed contract, whereas Minnesota, I think, would be okay saying, all right, we'll give him a three-year fully guaranteed contract. Whereas Minnesota, I think, would be okay saying, all right, we'll give you a two-year fully guaranteed contract.

It would be two years, yeah. Because I think if they sign Kirk, they're still going to draft a quarterback in the first round. They just don't feel like they have to trade up to go get one. You can wait for a McCarthy, a Knicks, a Pennix, whatever it is. So they're just going to sit behind Kirk. But I don't think think I think Kirk's market is too hot for them to get him for only two years so then that puts them in a bind because you can't sign Kirk to a three-year fully guaranteed deal I don't think they would do that

because someone else would because then if you're starting him for three years the rookie's sitting behind for three years that's too long is you're eating up too much of the rookie window but i'll say this with kirk you can't underestimate how particular he is about where he goes because he's been through this before and the jets offered him more money and he was never going to the jets he just ran the price up and he did this on camera way later it came out ran the price up got the deal he was comfortable with with Minnesota I don't think Cousins would go to New England I don't think he'd go to that situation I don't know about the Steelers because I don't think it's a bad situation but I do know

he's always valued Minnesota he loves playing under O'Connell because it's an offense he's awesome in I mean when you look at him in that offense he's been tremendous for them yeah Justin Jefferson is still there they drafted Jordan uh Jordan Addison Hawkinson got hurt but they still have Hawkinson I do think that if all else was you know not equal but a little bit different that he'd still pick to go back to Minnesota because of how comfortable he is in that situation I think the real threat there is Atlanta. Oh, without a doubt. I genuinely think that because not only Atlanta's setup and how I think it can be alluring there, he likes Kevin O'Connell.

Kevin O'Connell came from the Sean McVay system. Right. Who's the offense coordinator at Atlanta. It's Zach Robinson who just came from the Sean McVay system. And the PFF system, right? And the PFF system. Don't forget. Yeah, people don the PFF system. Don't forget. People don't forget.

So Minnesota is a very intriguing team. They are a team that I think could get very aggressive even within the next couple of weeks to potentially be picking as high as number three overall. Again, I think Atlanta could move up. Or they could get Justin Fields. Where is Justin Fields playing football? This market, one thing I've asked, and I don't agree with it.

I think everybody wants better than Justin Fields. Yes, this market here is wildly underwhelming from people you talk to. Yeah. I think the Bears, and I'm guilty of this, I thought they would get a locked-in day two pick trending towards a two. I think the Bears are like,

wow, this market is a little bit underwhelming. There's not a ton of teams calling for fields. Yeah. Which I think could be a mistake, honestly. I think there's a lot of spots he would be a significant upgrade, and the value is really nice of fields. Day two capital. Learn more in a couple of weeks, right, with free agency

when we figure out where guys are locked into going. Do you think that wherever he's going, there's going to be, not a demand, but a pretty significant ask that you also are paying him when you trade for him? That would deter teams. Oh, what are you saying? Like, he's going to want to play under a new contract,

like won't play under the rookie contract? I'm sure in all else fails, he'd eventually have to. I was going to say, I don't think he has that leverage. Right. He would love to. He would love to say, a new contract, like won't play under the rookie contract. I'm sure in all else fails, he'd eventually have to. I was going to say, I don't think he has that leverage. Right. He would love to. He would love to say like, okay, what basically in negotiation with Chicago saying like, okay, you're going to trade me. We'll make sure you know that the team that trades for me, I'm not going to play under

the rookie contract. But you're right. I don't think he has that power. I guess it's also, it's too far away because you could just, you use the fifth year on him. You got him for a two year deal. Yeah. That probably is what has to happen. That's what i think happens yeah okay so i mean i can't that new

england should new england trade this pick by the way we don't talk about this like is it savvy to move this pick when you have no answer under center in a draft where there seems to be answers under center it's just so desperate for them right now i don't know what free agency is going to look like. It's very important. I don't know exactly how many guys are going to be available. Like I think the Justin Fields is available. I don't know. Like Gino Smith's contract kind of got restructured.

So like, is Gino available? You know, like is Seattle trying to move things around? I have no idea. We think Baker's going back to Tampa, right? I think him and Evans are both going back to Tampa.

I agree with you. I agree with you. I've not heard anything that makes me think that that's not going to Tampa, right? I think Baker's going to be back to Tampa. I think him and Evans are both going back to Tampa. I agree with you. I agree with you. I have not heard anything that makes me think that that's not going to be the case. Jason Light was sort of open about this, kind of smiling, saying, you know, it's always good when you're negotiating with players that you want back and that also want to be back. And normally when that's the case, you get a deal done, and I think they're going to get a deal done.

So I don't even count Baker Mayfield no that's super well where is kirk going he was all about coming back to tampa and then right and then wilson i think is the ultimate wild card of for sure when he is released when he becomes available who's going to be able to grab him but um yeah i think on the surface level you look at new england we've said on this show before you can't go into next year with Mack. You can't. No, you can't. It has to be something that gives you a lot more hope than Mack Jones does.

And Jaden Daniels does that. He does. And maybe at the end of the day, that is what matters most to them, is that they just need hope. Like whether Jaden makes it or not, they just need hope at that position. And he does give you that. He does give you hope. I'm really torn for them.

I actually am not all that excited about the idea of trading the pick, but I can talk myself between both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Jaden Daniels for them. Obviously, everybody pivots right to the problem if you take Marv, who's throwing him the ball. It is very difficult. You can't just go back with Mac Jones. You'd have to, in free agency, at a minimum, come out withacoby brissett or trade for sam howell or trade for justin fields and get you to that next wave i just think marv is that good but then at the end of the day you're

right jayden daniel sells hope under center i think sam howell is definitely an interesting part of this quarterback right and will and will Washington even entertain trading him? They might like having a cost-effective backup. I think they, you know, it kind of depends, right? Like, if you're drafting Caleb Williams or Drake May, I think you're starting them right away, so you could probably keep Howell. Right.

But if you're in a situation where, you know, if Washington were to come away with Jaden Daniels, or I don't think this is going to happen, but again, let's say they trade down and draft J.J. McCarthy. Then all of a sudden, I don't know if you'd keep Sam Howell because then you're probably starting Sam Howell week one and what if he plays well? Which he might.

In a time last year. He might. To be fair to Sam Howell. I don't think it's fair to be able to say, well, that's the best case scenario because then you just trade him anyways. Because I don't know, are you going to trade a quarterback that's winning for you? So it gets a little bit messy if that fair to be able to say, well, that's the best case scenario because then you just trade him anyways. Because, I don't know, you're going to trade a quarterback that's winning for you.

So it gets a little bit messy if that were to be the case. But I don't think that's the most likely of options. When you're looking at the rest of the first round, are there any teams that you heard something one way or another for that maybe would have something interesting like, oh, I feel like this team is honing in on this pick or this player or something like that. I just think everybody loves Malik Neighbors as much as we do. And I wasn't sure if we'd get there. For a while, it was like, ah, Malik's a good player. And now all of a sudden this week,

it feels like, oh, Malik's a top five pick. No doubt, top five pick. I kind of wonder if this draft is going to start off with all quarterbacks and wide receivers not wide receiver for a while it felt like oh you could take all at three or four or five it feels like we're in the mold of quarterbacks and marv and malik malik's now in that group is what i'm trying to say yes and you know ultimately also brock bowers might find himself in that group as well yeah it's kind of crazy well i'll i want to get to brock in a second i have talked with a couple people who have told me that there are teams that legitimately have a league neighbors wide cheaper one i believe that have him i think lance zerline is has come out and said that too

i want to say lance's lance say. Lance is one of them. I know he's one of the analysts that has him. That I've talked to about that. But there have been some other people who have been like, yeah, I've also. I believe it. This is something that's real. Like it's not just a one source thing. Did you hear Brian Callahan's comments, the new head coach of the Tennessee Titans?

About? He said basically if it was equal, would take they would value the playmaker the touchdown score yes compared to the offensive lineman yes that made me almost fall out of my chair because i've been victim of well seven that's the titans here's all of us right like i just like programmed in my brain now i sit there and i'm like damn they really do need a playmaker for will levis well ranthen, their general manager, I was at his podium earlier this week. And the thing that stood out to me the most was when he talked about team building and their goal this off season, he said the goal is to get

faster. Like the goal is team speed. He mentioned the Miami Dolphins specifically saying that the Dolphins have put so much fear on other teams and demand that you cover how fast they are. He's like, we need to be able to not only cover and match that, but also do that to other opponents as well. So that team speed, I agree with you completely for everybody out there doing mock draft exercises. We have often just said seven, whoever the top offense is. If Joel's there, great. If it's not all, it's somebody else.

If Malik Nambres and Romo Dunzay are there at seven, I think it's in play. I feel like it's more than just in play. That might be, it sounds like a front runner. You know what I think contributes to it as well? They get Brian's dad, Bill Callahan, to come over there when he gets the job. Yeah.

Bill is a guy that's going to maximize the talent on the offensive line, where he's not going to sit there and be like, well, if you don't give me three top 10 picks on this line, we're going to suck. Like, that's not how he's built. Right. They're going to, maybe they'll spend some more money in free agency. Maybe they look at some of the guys they have and think, okay, we're going to get a lot more out of these guys.

We like Skowronski on this line already as well. And we're going to take a couple offensive linemen on day two and day three of the draft that this guy is the best developer of offensive linemen in the league for what two decades now yeah so i think that might be in play too where they're where they're saying okay we can take the playmaker at the top 10 then and still fix our offensive line and i slept on that for too long that's a good point that's a good point what you sleep on right is what connor what i sleep on the tit Titans not taking an offensive line. Bill Callahan. Yes.

So you brought up Brock Bowers. I think that this has been an interesting week to ask people about Bowers. Yeah. Because I wondered if we were going to get to Combine Week and I was going to talk to people in and around the league and bring up Brock Bowers and they go, yeah, top five player in the class. Like he's going top five. Like he's not going to get out of the top 10. I didn't hear

that. I haven't heard that level of confidence from people. Now that's not to say he can't still go in the top 10. It just wasn't this, oh yeah, duh. I mean, look at what he's done over the last three years. Of course, he's not getting out of the top 10. Instead, I've heard way more, yeah, is it tight end worth it that? We like Bowers, but it just seems like the league is kind of thinking about, or at least the people that I talk to, is thinking about these questions the same that we are.

So it makes me believe that Brock's sweet spot in this draft is still pick 11 through 20. I think he is a middle of the first round player. I think he's going to get out of the top 10. And I think that to me is where I believe that he is going to get picked. I'm curious. Have you heard the same? Have you heard different? Do you have more confidence that he'd be a top 10 pick? What do you think? I've heard more of what we expected is that it's somewhere in the range of, let's call it. I wouldn't write him off to the Chargers and Giants yet. I wouldn't write that off. But I would say it's more likely it starts with the jets at 10

and then it might go to the cults at 15 and then cults at 15 seems like the pinch point that's the range that i really like to see them passing him up this is a big long shot but if the jets were able to fix their offensive line and free agency i I think they would consider taking him at 10. You mentioned this a couple weeks ago. Yeah. They cut Laken Tomlinson, so they got a lot more money. Laken was – he played every game, but he just wasn't what they thought they were getting.

Yeah. Then it's just Tittman and AVT. So they have three holes to fill, which means they probably won't fill this in free agency. They'll maybe fill one or two holes. But if they somehow did, he would be in play for them at 10. But it's a long shot because of all the holes they have on the offensive line yeah no it is interesting too i do think it's it's weird

how we don't talk enough about brock playing out wide and in the slot just as much as he played on oh i think that we need to talk about him mostly it's a lot right that's what you should do with him right so it's it's just to me people are like well can you take a tight end that early i'm like well he's not just playing on the line of scrimmage every play. He's a really good wide receiver. He's an offensive weapon. You almost have to rank him versus the wide receivers in this class. I agree.

I would take him over Rome. I've said this before. Oh, you would? Yes. I'd still take Rome. I'd have him after the big three. Okay. I wouldn't take him over Malik or Marv, but I would take him over Roman.

I wouldn't really think twice about it. Okay. All right. Yeah. And if you're in that camp, then, yeah, obviously you're having a conversation with him around the top ten. Any other teams you want to touch on? Any other players that you wanted to touch on before we get into –

you did a lot of interviews with these guys. Yeah. I was around the podiums of these players as well, so we'll get into that. But just very curious if there were any team-specific things that you wanted to hit on before we moved on from that. I mean, we'll get more into the back end of the draft. We do a lot of that talk during mock drafts as well.

I do wonder what's the team outside the top 10 that's sitting there and going, man, what we would do to come up and get a quarterback or an impact player, right? You know what I think we don't talk about enough. I will say this. Other teams in the back end. Doesn't it feel like one of the Bills or the Chiefs are equipped to come up for a wide receiver in this draft if they feel like they need to?

I think so. I mean, they seem like those two teams are the teams that want to be extremely aggressive. Yes. You know? They should be. And they should be. Obviously, you know, the Chief that want to be extremely aggressive. Yes. You know. They should be. And they should be, obviously. You know, the Chiefs moving on from MBS.

Now, the Chiefs are a little bit interesting because it's like they move on from MBS, but they tag Sneed. They might trade Sneed. Right. They don't have a tag left. They got to get something done with Chris Jones. They will. And I think that they will.

I agree. But it's just like, okay, what's it like after that? You know, are you going all in on free agency with the guys who are currently on your roster? And then you're just going to get very aggressive in the draft, right? That feels like it could be where they're going now after the news that we've seen from this week. I think so. I could see them though, being a team that comes up for a Brian Thomas, you know, junior player or, or they could sit tight and be like, Hey, one of Troy Franklin, A.D. Mitchell is going to fall into our lap. We're cool with that.

Yeah. It wouldn't shock me either. The Bills, on the other hand, we think it feels like it's the end of the Gabe Davis era in Buffalo. They will be taking a wide receiver, a big-time playmaking wide receiver. Yeah, I agree. I agree. It just feels like we're going down that direction.

So, all right, we're going to get into some of the player interviews that Connor did, some of the nuggets get into some of the player interviews that Connor did, some of the nuggets that we got from the player podium sessions over the last couple of days. Before we get to that, if you've got a family out there, you've got to get them term life insurance to protect them. One of the smartest financial decisions that you can make at the start of the new year, it is the perfect time to do it so you can focus on whatever else this year has in store for you. Fabric was designed by parents for parents to get you high quality,

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That's MEFabric, M-E-E-T Fabric.com slash Stock Exchange. Policies issued by Western Southern Life Assurance Company. Not available in certain states. Prices subject to underwriting and health questions. You mentioned some of the mock draft things that we're going to be doing. We will have a post combine mock draft episode for you guys, but pay the bills. No, I mean, we've got, that's one of the ones that our families are starving. That episode specifically pays for summer vacation. It does. Yeah.

Like five of my cases of Fisher's Island lemonades. Well, so it's the post combine edition and then post-free agency edition. Oh, bananas. You know. Bananas. Everybody's got their new players that they sign out and they want to know what else they're getting. Which we obviously enjoy doing that as well. It's a blast. Look, you can do your mock drafts as well over at pff.com using the promo code 30MDS

to get 30% off on a PFF subscription so you can get the fully unlocked mock draft simulator. Also, you can get the PFF draft guide, which dropped earlier this week. It has 150 players, the analysis, the trait breakdowns, the strength and weaknesses, a lot of the advanced PFF data as these combine results are going to be rolling in. We will be updating that draft guide as well. So it's starting with 150 players is the first version,

and then we're going to get up to 250 by the time draft weekend rolls around so you can get the draft guide and the fully unlocked mock draft simulator for 30 off with the promo code 30 mds you've had the chance to interview a lot of these guys sit down with a lot of these prospects which is a really cool aspect of this yeah i love it um and you were able to do that for NBC. So I'm curious, who are some of the guys that just really stood out to you, really the conversations that you enjoyed, whether it was a question that they answered, whether it was just the time overall, somebody who you may have liked or maybe you didn't like,

and then afterwards, no matter what, you just felt better about them as a prospect afterwards. I liked him a lot, but coming into this, he was one of the most polarizing players because he did not weigh in at the senior bowl. Devondre Sweat. Oh, okay. What a hilarious dude. Let's go. I mean, he just checks every box, right? And it was one of those situations

where when you do this, you do interviews basically all morning. The first two days as we sit here and record, I've talked mostly to defense besides the tight ends. And he was a little delayed because these guys have 80 million things going on and they get held up whether it's it could be anywhere they get held up there were conspiracy theories that he didn't want to weigh in so he was just that's why he was late he was

just he didn't want he didn't want to just like he's just standing there saying i'm not doing it for seven hours so sweat comes out late he's just standing next to him like not allowing him to step to move you're weighing in everybody grabs him and they're like how do we get him on the scale so i mean you're thinking this is a dude that had a great college football season went to the college football playoff yep was awesome at the senior bowl and whatever day it was that you know he was held up and he did the interview um ultimately it was so it was wednesday you know it's a long day. You could be tired. He sits down. He is ready to rock, man.

He's so excited. I asked him about Byron Murphy and instantly his mind went right to every guy he played with in the front seven to talk about them and show them love. It's cool.

Funny dude. And you know, you ask these guys, hey, this is an event that's not really about football. It's about athletic testing. Do you look forward to anything that you're training for? And his face lit up and he goes i cannot wait to run the 40 just to see people's reaction he made the funny face of how their reaction will be like his i think genuine

this is a guy that's like everybody's been calling me fat for three weeks and i'm gonna go out and run the 40 and everybody's jaw is gonna drop he is big he's big he's big big is not fat i'm not gonna call him i didn't say he was fat he's big he's a big is not fat i'm not gonna call him i didn't say he was fat he's big he's a large man he's a large he were commenting on the picture he can host the pot two great comments on the picture of me and him yeah somebody said i looked like a kid reporter and i agree oh my god now i gotta go see it the second thing was somebody said his leg is as wide as my torso and i agree he's he is a really funny dude and he is every bit of 366 pounds i didn't see this one yeah so he weighed in at 366 which which is great for him i was worried yeah

yes that he was going to be closer to four bills so 100 and i was like you didn't weigh in in the senior bowl i'm like you never heard of this you're listed at 362 on texas roster yeah so you you felt like you couldn't weigh into the Senior Bowl? I wonder if he was a lot closer to like 380, 390 at Senior Bowl time. If he didn't weigh in. He was still working on getting his weight down. And he just did a really good job of obviously UFC training. You know, getting in the sauna.

You got the sweatsuit. You know, you're just trimming down a little bit. But he ran well. He did. 366 pounds. The 1-8 split. 10-iron split. 5-2-7.

Unofficial. Yeah. So, I mean, like weight adjusted. Ran really well. That had like 66 pounds. The 1-8 split? 10-iron split? 5-2-7? Unofficial? Yeah. So, I mean, like weight adjusted. Ran really well. That's incredible. Yeah. So, I really enjoyed talking to him. I think Junior Coulson's story is just really incredible.

I mean, this is a dude that came over here as a 9-year-old from Haiti, right? And he's like, all I knew was soccer. He's like, and when I was a kid, he's like, I was 55 pounds, like soaking wet. And I just thought I was going to play soccer because that's what we play in Haiti he's like I end up playing football I get bigger and stronger he didn't speak any English when he got here when he was nine I don't think I realized that when you speak to Junior Coulson I mean not an accident not any like this dude won the lot impact trophy which is an award that was given to Will Anderson and Aiden Hutchinson over the last two years for basically the biggest impact in the community and with people it's a really special award you just surround him and

you're like this guy has the most incredible path to the draft or at least one of them where I mean you were nine years old when you came over here from Haiti and were adopted and now you were a leader on a defense that won a national title and you're going to be taken in the first two rounds of the NFL draft it's's awesome. Just an awesome dude. I found the picture of you next to Tavondry. Sweat? Yeah. I look like a kid reporter.

You do kind of look like a kid reporter. I look like a kid reporter. And his thigh is as big as your torso. Right, and I have a hoodie on. His quads could somehow bench your max bench. Easily. I don't know how this would happen, but it could happen. He could have just picked me up by the back of the hood with two fingers and just flicked me across like a

cartoon yeah he was really nice so i was glad that he didn't that's yeah i was glad that he didn't but now i understand why he forklifts like 320 pound offensive lineman and it looks like he doesn't have to try yeah you see it uh somebody who I didn't get to talk to individually, but I really enjoyed his combine podium was Jonah Ellis, the pass rusher from Utah. He was great. Yeah, I believe it was Matt Holder from Bleach Report who asked him this question about his kind of pass rush plan because he is somebody that we've talked about on the show.

We like him a lot because he's one of the more advanced pass rushers in this class. He understands what works. He's got these plans. He understands, you know, okay, I'm going to do this before the ball is snapped, you know, and if they do this as a response, okay, I kind of have a counter here. And you could tell like, he just immediately went into, well, I think his words were when you're a pass rusher, you got to have a bread and butter. And he's like, my bread and butter is my two handed swipe. It's fast. It's powerful. It's reliable it's i i base everything around a two-handed swipe he's like then you got to have

your counters he's like i like going to my spin move as a counter that allows me to get inside it allows me to get you know like put an elbow to their chest really kind of like confuse them and he's like obviously you got to have power stuff you know you got to base things around a bull rush so i've got a bull rush as well and so just kind of hearing him be able to rattle off hey this is kind of how i start things and um some guys are actually afraid to give away their pass rush plans right they don't have a lot and joan alice is very clearly like yeah this is what i do like if you can stop me that's fine i'll throw another counter at you or like if you think i'm gonna give you you know like a two-handed swipe then you know maybe an arm over has come in so it's like he was very clearly not bothered

by saying this to to show his expertise but also knowing that he's his bag's probably pretty deep with passwords really confident dude uh but also the kind of confident where it's it's just a you know he's worked for this it's not like a fake arrogance or anything like that really i was shocked when he told me he was playing closer to 235 240 this year. He's going to say lighter player. He's like, I'm 250 now and I haven't lost my speed so I'm really happy about that. That's great for the combine and great for obviously the NFL level as well. That's a big weight jump.

Huge. The other dude, the other edge rusher that I really loved, Darius Robinson from Missouri. I think that the hype with Darius Robinson was getting a little bit out of control. I don't want to speak for you.

When I watched his tape, I gave him like a third-round grade. I was right there with you. And so, and that's fine. And normally, you know, if you meet the dude, and certainly everything that we saw from his podium, he seems like a genuine dude and, like, just absolutely loves ball. Okay, you're probably drafting him a little bit higher because you like those high- high motor football guys you want

it matters a lot you know people are talking about him like oh yeah Darius Robinson he's going top 20 he's going first round it's like man maybe but I mean that's I mean he runs a what was it a 495 in the 40 yard dash you know he talked about being an interior defensive lineman for most of his career playing around 305. This last year, he said he played between 280, 285, a little bit lighter, plays on the edge. And so if he's an edge rusher, that's fine. But he doesn't have that natural edge rusher look to him.

You can tell he has not been playing in a long time. And I don't know if he'll ever look like this very polished edge rusher. No, I don't know if he'll ever look like this very polished edge rusher no I don't think that's him you've got a heavy-handed strong bigger five technique four three defensive end who very clearly is going to give you his all every single play and that is a player that is a really solid day two selection but I think that it's just I think it's a little overblown with everybody talking about him going in the first round maybe we'll continue to do that for predictive mocks two selection but i think that it's just i think it's a little overblown with everybody talking about him going in the first round maybe we'll continue to do that for predictive mocks but if i was doing this for what i would do i don't really think that i'd have him as a first round

pick no i wouldn't either i when i when he took off with the senior bowl i came home and watched the tape to because then everybody was like hey he's really pushing now like all the way up the board and i was like okay i could see why somebody would take him in the second round because he has the floor of a starter that a lot of teams will really like, and they like the versatility to play him up and down the line of scrimmage. But a game-changing front seven player that you take in the first round, I didn't see that kind of player. So I'm with you all the way on that one.

Another guy I got to talk to that I just really enjoyed was Sione Vaki. I mean, what a what a what a college career right a safety that could be a running back and rip off 150 yards in a game dude I asked him about the running back thing and he said I didn't even know nothing he's like I didn't I didn't know that they were going to do that he's like I showed up for practice and they were like oh by the way you've got you got an offensive meeting you're going yesterday and he's like what so he played slot receiver in high school, and he was really good at it. Yeah.

So when they said the offensive meeting thing to him, he was like, oh, cool. I guess I'm going to play a little receiver this week. Because he's like, I'm a safety. I got great hands. I played a ton of slot in high school. He loved it. And I'm like, and then they throw you in the backfield. And he's like, yeah, and then I'm in the backfield just carrying the ball.

He looked like a running back, though. He didn't look out of place at all when he got the ball. When he got up to the line of scrimmage and he was like yeah and then i'm in the backfield just carrying the ball he looked like a running back though it didn't look at a place at all when he got the ball when he got us the line scrimmage and he was doing that kind of like dancing thing with his feet like all right like you clearly know what you're doing here as a natural so he'll be the first to tell you because a lot of guys like that like to do the oh i'll do what the team asks of me which is like that's nice but that's not a real answer he was like i love playing defense yeah i was like you love hitting instead of getting hit and he goes i love hitting like he was like, I love playing defense. And I was like, you love hitting instead of getting hit? And he goes, I love hitting. He was just honest.

He wants to be a safety. He loves Troy Palamalu. So there's a big inspiration with Palamalu there. He's from Hawaii? I forget where he's originally from. Another guy that went on a two-year church mission away from football. Yeah, he did. So he had a long road before breaking out at Utah.

Where is he from? Yeah, i actually forgot where he was from no it's well it seems he played at brentwood california high school okay so a west coast guy yeah definitely a west coast guy but it doesn't say exactly where he was born but playing california a dude that's just really excited to get to an nfl team and he's like i could play all three phases he's like I started out at Utah playing special teams so I'm ready to do that in the NFL he's like I obviously played running back and I'm a safety yeah I mean that kind of guy and he just loved being coached by Jeff Ulbrich and the rest of the NFLers at the senior bowl he said that was you know they just let him be him and showcase everything he could do yeah I mean somebody's just gonna fall in love with a player like that yeah you know i you know i'm a big fan of his so another guy i'm a huge fan of lb1 baby it's peyton wilson peyton wilson

was awesome i know you got to sit down and talk with him i got to sit around and be around his podium you know some of the quotes that really stood out to me is he had the medical rechecks and from what he said he's like look we had the medical rechecks. And from what he said, he's like, look, we had the medical rechecks. Everything was all good to go. It's the biggest thing with him. It's the biggest thing. He said he believes that teams believe that his injuries are behind him, that nothing is chronic, nothing's going to linger around, that it's not going to affect him,

that he could have a high chance of re-injuring either the ACLs, the shoulder, because he separated his shoulder as well. And he said, he's like, look, it's a violent game. People can get hurt at any time. He's like, I had some really bad injury game. People can get hurt at any time. He's like, I had some really bad injury luck, but I don't think I'm an injury-prone person. Like, I don't think that this is something that, oh,

like I don't have the body or the toughness to play in the league. So he says that he seems to be good to go there, which I love to hear. He also said that when he gets drafted, his words, I'm going to find the most seasoned vet on the team, and I'm just going to model everything I do after. I like this strategy. You know what I'm saying? Diet, sleep, taking care of the body, schedule, weightlifting, all that stuff. And so he's the linebacker version of Puka Nakua coming up.

That's what I'm trying to say. Right. I mean, it wouldn't shock me. It does feel like, though, it swung around for him after the year he had where he was the first player since 2012 to win the Buckus Award and the Chuck Bignar Award. Yeah. First one since 2012. So, I mean, him going back to school all paid off for him.

I actually think after, you know, as we sit here, he's going to work out. But I think after all is said and done with the combine, he might go in the second round now. Peyton Wilson. He really might. Oh, would you think like third round before? Yeah, because of the medicals. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I think he all is said and done with the combine, he might go in the second round now, Peyton Wilson. He really might. Oh, what did you think, like third round before? Yeah, because of the medicals. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I think he's second round.

I mean, when you're, what, 6'3", 6'4", and you're going to run sub 4'5", maybe? Yeah, I mean, if he flies here in a little bit. He thinks he's going to. I think he's also going to as well. Yeah. Because I see it on tape. Right. I think, in my opinion, I think Peyton wilson is a second round lock like a floor and i

think there is a non-zero chance he goes in the first wow i don't think we have a first round linebacker this year yeah but he would probably be the one speaking of which talk to edgar and cooper i think i told you this off air hunts uh boar country dude country he's a country dude i let he's edgar cooper's awesome loves fred warner like obsessed with studying fred warner i'm like i get it good guy that's like that's what you want to be your skill set yeah and i was like how did you end up louisiana kid end up at texas a&m and he's like well he's like it was like a story that you know was a little longer but he also said he loved that it's for a country out there. And he's like, I fish and hunt. And to be honest, Jimbo Fisher, like has his own farm,

like Jimbo is big time, like farm dude. So I know he's not, he's not the head coach there anymore, but I believe he was committed to under Jimbo. Jimbo has like a farm and like animals and like all that. So it was pretty wild. He was probably speaking his language in the recruiting team. It seemed that way. And I was just blown away by the, and we know Traylon Burks told the story of hunting for a couple of years ago, but Edren Cooper,

he really got in depth to it. All these are on the NFL on NBC YouTube channel. It was, it was, it was, it was fun, man. He was an interesting dude.

Really liked what I saw from Tyler Newman as well. Safety from Minnesota, who I think is the top safety in this class. I don't think it's close. No, I don't either. It's Tyler Newbin. I might have 20 spots until the next safety. I could have 30 spots. I don't know if I have 20 spots.

I don't think it's that wide. To be fair, we haven't done the safety episode yet. Yeah. But, man, I haven't found someone. I still like Kalen Bullock. Although, I was by Kalen Bullock, the safety from USC? Yeah. But man, I haven't found someone. I still like Kalen Bullock, although I was by Kalen Bullock at safety from USC. Incredible range,

single high safety prototype, but he's just, he's such a skinny dude. It's always the tackling. Somebody asked him, they're like, how do you feel about your playing weight?

And he's like, I don't really mind it. It's like, all right, well, you're not really great at tackling at your size. So I would at least would have liked him to say like, yeah, obviously it's like, I'm hoping to get stronger in the league, you're not really great at tackling at your size. So I would at least would have liked him to say like, yeah,

obviously it's like I'm hoping to get stronger in the league, put on a little bit of extra weight. But, I mean, he was showing confidence. He's a very confident player. I'm sure. But he's just going to – all the missed tackles and not being able to help him run defense as much as we wanted to see in his tape. I mean, it's going to show up in where he's going to get drafted,

especially if he doesn't have the mindset that he needs to get stronger there um i like jayden hicks man that's the guy that i'm really i'm when we watch when we do our safety rewatch and rank him he's the guy i have a feeling that i'll come away with like oh i was too low on him over the summer yeah i might forget where i had him over summer i might have him safety too when it's all said and done i don't know i had him safety five over summer. He's going to be, it seems like he's going to be above Bullock and Kinchins for me. Yeah, I mean, he could be. I like Kinchins too.

I think Kinchins, here's the thing. We went into the year thinking that Kinchins could be a top 20 safety. Yes. I don't think that he's a top 20 safety, but I also don't think he's a bad player. No, a lot was asked to him i think sometimes we're swinging too far in the other direction we like we go oh you're clearly not a top 20 safety that means that you're bad and i do not think that he is bad i think anything late second round any time in the third round i think is is where we start talking about

cam kitchens i think so too i showed him i wrote on my index card his snap counts from the last two years and he was like he like he really was into talking about just how much was asked to him and how much he liked it he seemed to like free safety the best but he also said he's like i really do love coming downhill and hitting he's like it's good like he said it was like the best aspect so it didn't really seem like he had some crazy preference but when i wrote that down and showed him i'm like damn they asked a lot of this kid like they couldn't just comfortably play him as a box safety or a free safety it was this he played slot he played corner he played all over the place and it makes me wonder with kitchens when i go back and watch his tape from this year with a more defined role at the nfl that he can focus on.

This is a dude that had 11 picks in two years. Yeah, he did. And when I said he's like, you know, I had 11 picks one year in high school. And I was like, 11 in one year? Yeah, 11 in one year. He's got legit ball skills, but it's hard to have those ball skills when you're playing free safety, you know, half the the time 60 percent whatever it may be so yeah i wonder if i've maybe have swung too far the other way on kitchens and that'll correct back when the final rankings come out 448 official for chop robinson by the way that's pretty fast for an edge pass

rusher yeah that's pretty stupid fast yeah for an edge rusher yeah they just showed him side by side with uh will anderson and nick bosa and he dusted both of them to get to the finish line i mean just a stupid good athlete. What about some of the corners? Do you have a chance to talk to Quinion Mitchell? He came out too late. So I had Kool-Aid, Ennis Raikstra. What a nice dude.

Oh, I didn't get to – I wasn't buying his clothes. You want to talk about high-character dudes. Hell yeah. I mean, I asked him what he does for fun, and he basically said he just stays home and watches movies and talked about how the world needs to be a better place, about what's going on with people. Wow.

He's just such a nice person. Okay. Politician? Politician. Really? We voting for Ennis Raichrod Jr.? Like a 30-year-old veteran at the combine. All right.

But also talked about his physicality against the run this year and he was very honest he's like honestly that's something that clicked for me this year because this is a dude that started in 2020 i believe he tore his acl in 2021 then he was a starter again in 22 and then 23 and he's like that was something that it really clicked for me this year and also i when he was that like you know mature interview, I was like, do you not talk trash on the field? He goes, I love talking trash. Everything's modeled after Jire Alexander with him. Everything's after Jire.

Love it. And I was like, I see it. Yes. I see it. Let's go. The body type, the mindset. Yes. I hope he's healthy and ready to roll

because we really liked his tape and I couldn't have liked the person anymore. Yeah. You know, I've had the opportunity to watch a handful of Taron Arnold interviews over the last really year that he's been kind of on the spotlight. Getting to see him at the podium, he was very much that same person that you saw. He is very outgoing. He's not shy in front of the camera. He's very personable.

And so that was really cool to see when I was by his podium session as well. I think that he is somebody who the NFL loves very clearly. We've seen him very, very high in some of those national media mock drafts, Lance Zierlein, DJ. They've all had him. I think Dane Brugler as well has had him very, very high in mock drafts. And so that's kind of where it feels like the league is with him as a potential top 20 pick.

And something that stood out to me when I was at his podium is I think somebody was asking him about some of his teammates and he said that him and quarterback Jalen Milrow had a Kobe Bryant competition which was who could get to the facility faster every morning like who could be in the building earliest and he said he said that like normally it'd be around 5 a.m. and they kind of see like who could be in the building earliest and he said he said that like normally it'd be around 5 a.m and they kind of see like who would beat the other one to the building and he said that when he gets here at 5 a.m he writes down his goals and then he kind of gets to work gets into his day which i loved but then he was like some days jalen would get there at

like 3 30 in the morning and i'm like how are you sleeping i love this competition but like i gotta sleep a little bit a little yeah so i just. Yeah, so I thought that was great. He called it the Kobe Bryant competition. That's really good. Showing up early, getting in the gym, getting in the weight room early. I think when we talk about Terry and Arnold, I have a handful of corners that I like above him. I haven't missed CB4 right now. I've got Nate Wiggins.

I've got Quinn Young-Mitchell. I have Cooper DeGene above him. I think it's looking similar for me. But at the end of the day, there are inconsistencies with Arnold right now. He has the abilities to clean up all of those things. And the people who say, hey, I've got him CB1 in this class, I don't, but I get it. Me too. He's extremely talented.

So that's why the cornerback conversation in this class is fun because there's a lot of preference on, hey, who you got to see be one and why? Tell me about him. Let's talk about him kind of thing. Yeah, it's him and Kool-Aid, what they were able to do. I got to sit down with Kool-Aid and I asked him about Arnold and like there was so much pride in the player Arnold turned into from Kool-Aid.

Love it. Because I mean, let's remember Kool-Aid in 2022 was the newer dude out there and built a reputation for himself and then no one really threw Kool-Aid this year. But Arnold was the newer dude out there and and built a reputation for himself and then no one really threw a Kool-Aid this year but Arnold was the new dude in 2023 everybody threw at Arnold yeah and he became the player everybody hoped he would be and Kool-Aid was really proud of that I thought that was really good you could tell I mean it's Alabama so no surprise but it it just runs like a like a NFL program over there when you talk to those guys is something different the Kobe competition

kind of confirms that. Oh, by the way, speaking of the Alabama program, there was somebody who was walking around the podiums who was asking everybody, who do you think should be on the cover of the new college football video game? Okay. That was like their thing at the combine.

Yeah. There's people here that always have a thing. Get a bunch of different answers. And somebody asked that to Kalen Bullock. And I was wondering if he would say like me, you know, I wonder if he would say that, but he kind of like thought about for a second he's like i think nick saban should be on the cover of college football he's like for everything that that dude for did for college football and like the dynasty that alabama was and like how

he changed the game like with him retiring he's like i think they say i was like damn he's right actually yeah he is right i would personally not like it because it's just not – I like when an athlete is – Oh, sure, sure. But he's – it's the right answer. Wow, Conor Rogers, not a fan of the Respect editions of like the GOAT editions. Well, Madden, absolutely. No, I know.

But – Yeah, no. Madden. There was something else I wanted to say. Oh, somebody was asking the players what they think their Madden rating is going to be in the first Madden. And somebody asked Terry and Arnold, and he smiled, and he's like, I don't know,

probably like a 78. He's like, it probably shouldn't be. He's like, second year, I'm gonna be in the 90s. But like, first off, it's probably gonna be like a 78. That's a guy that actually plays Madden to know that. Yes, 100%. So he was very self-aware, and that was pretty fun. Is there anybody else you want to shout out?

Those are all the guys that I kind of had that I wanted to make sure that I shouted out there. But I didn't know if there was anybody else that you sat down with. One last one we talked about. So I had two tight ends today. I had Brock Bowers and Cade Stover. And with Stover, we were talking about just really intense, focused dude. Yes. And I mean it as a compliment.

This is a guy that grew up on a farm, still farms to this day. He's all like hard work. He's played linebacker. He's played defensive line. He's now a tight end. He's been asked to block a lot at Ohio State. You could just tell he's like the model citizen of your team. Like there's a reason ohio state sends

kate stover out for big 10 media day and it's not like he's an intense dude right it wasn't the big smile and like jolly answer which is like that's nice but i actually appreciate the authenticity of like like he's a killer in a way yes he's a killer but like a like a nice dude yes but a killer on the field. Stover, I think, is going to go in the third round when all is said and done with this. I agree with you completely. I think it's a thinner tight end class in that area, right? You have Bowers and Jatavion Sanders. Yeah.

But I'm like, man, if I was a team sitting with this guy, I know exactly what I'm getting. Yes. Yeah, 100%. So I have a funny story about Cade. I was by Cade's podium, okay? And I was just the tail end of it. It was just the tail end of this. Did you ask him what teams he's met with?

No, I did not. That'd be a good bit with him. I was getting a couple questions from him. And again, I could tell very quickly he was like an intense dude. I was like, well, hell yeah. Right. And somebody asked him, they're like, you know, PFF has you credited for like missing a couple of blocks. Or maybe the question was like that his blocking grade wasn't as good.

And Cade looks at the guy, and he's like, first of all, I think he was like, you brought this up a couple of times. He's like, basically, like, show me on film. Like, you keep saying this. He's like, show me. Bring the iPad to the timeline. And he was like, he was ready to bow up on this dude. He was like, you better prove it. Like, if you're going to say that I can't block, you better prove it, which I liked.

But then he was like, me and you one if you're gonna say that i can't right you better prove it which i liked but then they that but then he was like me and you one on one right yeah yeah that's the way it should be settled i'd break out the phone and i'd film it 100 i wouldn't stop it but then he was like he was like ah he's like you know pff doesn't always get it right like blah blah blah and he's like have i just thrown pff under the bus with no well yeah no way to prove it and he was like he's like pff doesn't always get it right like sometimes you don't know the blocking and i'm sitting there and I'm kind of like smiling, you know? And he actually, I actually liked his answer afterwards. He was like, look, I'm a tight end. So if I don't give it my all, I'm not going to be able to displace guys the

way that I want to. And he's like, because of that, yes, there's going to be times where I'm not as square on my shoulders or whatever. And he's like, and that, that makes total sense. He's like, I could not go as hard into guys as maybe like I should, maybe not like quote unquote miss blocks, but I won't be doing what I need to do to displace this person as a tight end. So he had a great answer and explained that. So he got off the podium and I actually kind of, I was able to catch him before he left the building. And I stuck out my hand, and I was like, hey, Cade. I was like, my name is Trevor Sikama. I work for PFF.

And he knew because he just answered that question. He just snaps your neck. You're dead. I finally found him. This guy's been making up these missed blocks. And I said, hey, you know, Cade is the person who grades every game myself. I was like, I agree. I've ruined your career.

I see he kind of smiles, and he's like, oh, man. He's like, you know, I didn't. He's like, that kind of came off a little bit harder than it needed to. And I said to him, I was like, hey, man, no, it's no big deal. I was like, I do a lot of the draft work, watch a lot of your film. I actually really like your blocking. He was like, I understand that it's sometimes hard to like earn high blocking grades as a tight end, just because of the, you know, lower weight profile. But obviously the grades are all about kind of doing your job right. And it's just very hard to grade

really, really well as a blocker, as a tight end. I told him, I was just like, Hey man, like, I think your blocking profile is great. I think you're a really great all-around player. I'm a big fan of your game. I just wanted to kind of introduce myself and make sure I say that. And he's like, I really appreciate that, man. That's awesome. And then he was like, yeah, that guy, I feel like he's been getting at me the last couple of questions or whatever. So he's like, I kind of got a little rude about it.

But it was great to obviously meet him and shake his hand and everything and kind of have that little back and forth. Because I do. I've liked Cade Stover for a while. I think I had Cade Stover tight end three coming into the class. Yes. You were high on him over the summer. He's my guy.

So PFF catching a stray over by the podium. You couldn't have it. I didn't think that I was going to get that. Great for you for clearing your name. No. I mean, because that took a little confidence. It set him off a little bit. Rightly so.

He could have killed me. I'm on the Cade side of this. He could have actually murdered you. And instead, you guys basically could form a tag team to go find the guy that asked the question and put him through a table instead. so I'm on the Kate side of this he could he could have actually murdered you he could instead you guys basically could form a tag team to go find the guy that asked the question and put him through a table instead what a what an outcome yeah so it was like a true wrestling storyline it was good to meet him obviously that was kind of like a funny way to do that but uh yeah that was that was a funny oh one other funny story at least for me before we get out of here Rook Arororo

the defensive lineman the broadcast is loving saying his name. Well, I'm sure they are. It's great when Eisen says it. It's really good. He's probably figuring out different ways to just like, Rook Ororo. You could change the tempo. Ororo. Wherever you are putting the pause in there.

Anyways, so he was talking about his technique as a versatile defensive lineman. He's played everything from shade nose tackle to a five technique defensive end. He'll probably be an interior guy close to like a four eye or a three tech mainly in the league. But they asked him about some of the work that he is doing to be great at that versatility. And he talked about hand usage. And he says he watched a lot of boxing and UFC. And he does so as a fan of the sport.

But he also like loves how fast their hands are and how that is such a pivotal part of what makes them great at their sport he tries to take that into uh into what he does as a pass rusher he also said I'm quoting him here that he is quite the basketball player you told me this story and he and somebody asked how high would your shooting percentage because he's like i'm a shooter so somebody asked him like what's your play style when you think like all right big six four 295 you're a slasher you're posting up he's like i'm a shooter and they're like all right what do you shoot he's like if you give me 100 shots right now i'd make 98 of them we're like okay buddy i buddy. Great confidence. Hey, Clemson,

somebody who works for the Clemson football program, I can't remember who this was, I'm sorry, had actually responded to that tweet and was like, honestly, from what we've seen over the last couple of years, he might be right. Now we need to see it. This dude might be a shooter out here. I mean, even if he hit, we're talking three-pointers

when he said this? That's what he said. Somebody was also like, oh, what's your spot? He's like, any. If he just stares at it, any. 40, that would be unbelievable. Right. The Hall of Famer. Unbelievable.

He'd be playing, I kept telling people, the Pacers play in the building. Yes. It's two blocks down the road. Get him down there. They need him. They get paid more money if he's a starter there. If you shoot 98%, my man, head down the road. Yes.

NBA money? Right. Forget this. So love the confidence. Love the confidence. Yes. NBA money, right? Forget this. So I love the confidence. No, it's really good. Um, we would love to hear how much fun.

Oh dude, it's chaotic to hear what you guys think of everything that we have brought up here on this podcast. Some of what the teams could do in the draft, no trading up, trading down any of responses to kind of what we talked about here on this show. But then we'd also love to hear your reactions from some of the players,

some of the early testings of when we're recording this podcast, what you have seen from all these guys at the podium. Best way to do that, of course, is in the comments section of the YouTube, youtube.com backslash at NFL Stock Exchange. If you were watching this video and you haven't subscribed to the channel, first of all, what are you doing? Second of all, please, our families are starving three i'm friends with kate stover now so i will get him involved you don't want me to get him involved so uh we appreciate everybody who's obviously subscribed to the channel throughout draft season this thing keeps growing a lot and we're really appreciative for it we know we've kind of been spotty with some of the shows with

a lot of travel that has happened over the last month but we're trying this i feel like when we get back from the Combine, that up until draft weekend is so much of being in our home element, really getting those consistent episodes out, getting you guys the information that you want. We'll have a post-Combine mock draft. We'll have a post-free agency mock draft, all that good stuff. But as always, we would love to hear from you on what you would love to see from the show as well.

Anything else before we get out of here? Listen to this pitch. WrestleMania. Yes. You, Cade St pitch. WrestleMania. Yes. You, Cade Stover. Yes. And maybe me, but hopefully we find someone a little better. You're the guest ref. No, this is going to be a 3v3 tag team

matchup. Oh, okay. Against the Watts. The entire Watt family. Okay. Yes. Alright, so you're looking for me to sign the life insurance now. Yeah, you and I are in trouble. But I think it would do numbers. If TJ and JJ are just going to put us through a table like the Dudley boys. I'm just going to see if I can run around Derek for as long as I can.

You're going to be the last guy pinned. Kevin Stover is going to be taking most of the beating. You got knocked out of the chair three hours ago. He didn't even understand what he was signing up for when he shook my hand. Now he's in a three-way tag team matchup against the Watt. Something to think about. You know, it's not a bad idea. It would be the end of the pod.

Yeah, I'll see. You know, if WWE doesn't want to do it, maybe AEW will pick it up. There we go. We got options. We got options. The leverage is there for us. We appreciate everybody watching and listening to the show. We will be back at the end of the weekend to, again, recap what we are seeing

from all of these drills, not just these positions of defensive line and linebackers, but everybody and how they worked out here at Indianapolis. I'm Trevor Sikama. That is Connor Rogers. Thank you guys so much for watching and listening to the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. We'll see you next week. Thank you.