NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 4. Championship Weekend Recap + Top Shrine Bowl Prospects

Episode Date: January 31, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers recap a breathtaking Championship Weekend as they discuss the Bengals' victory over the Chiefs and the Rams' victory over the 49ers. Next, they take a look at the top prospects in the East West Shrine Bowl in Las Vegas, where Trevor has been the last few days, and discuss who the biggest risers and fallers have been so far. 00:00 - Intro 2:00 - Championship Sunday Recap 24:00 - Shrine Bowl Top Prospects & Takeaways

This episode is brought to you by our good friends at NFL Sunday Ticket on YouTube TV. I'm sure by now you've all gotten back into your Sunday routines, but they could be even better with NFL Sunday Ticket and YouTube TV. You get the most live NFL games all in one place, every game, every Sunday. And you can even watch up to four different games at once with MultiView, one of my favorite inventions of this decade. It's exactly what you need to catch all the action. Make your Sundays more magical. And also, YouTube TV is great.

I got it this year. 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 NFL Stock Exchange podcast. On this episode, we're going to recap an incredible championship weekend of NFL playoff games. All the down-to-the-wire action, the takeaways from the teams that are advancing,

and some draft nuggets and things that we believe these teams should do moving forward for the two teams that lost. We're also going to be recapping a lot of what we saw from the 2022 Shrine Bowl. We're going to talk about the prospects we were looking forward to going into the week, some prospects that have really stood out to us and impressed us on the practice field and in the meeting rooms during the week and mainly our big takeaway some guys that you should have your eyes on looking forward to the 2022 NFL Draft. I am Trevor Sycamore with me as always is my co-host Connor Rogers. Let's get after it. What's going on everybody welcome to the opening bell of the NFL Stock Exchange. I am Trevor Sikama. With me is Connor Rogers. And today we are here to not only recap what was another unbelievable weekend of playoff football in the NFL,

but also give you guys everything you need to know about the 2022 Shrine Bowl. I'm in Vegas right now, boots on the ground. Connor, he's been observing from afar, getting all the practice tape. We've got some guys that we really like that we've been watching over the last couple of days that you guys need to keep your eyes on as we move forward here in the NFL draft process. But before we get to all that, Connor, my man, how you doing, my friend? I'm good, man. It's exciting sitting here as we record late on Sunday evening. It's Senior Bowl Eve. You're coming from Vegas. I'm coming from the

Northeast and we'll head down to Mobile. We'll be there by Monday night. Don't worry, everyone, you'll still get your Tuesday show as well, which will be the Senior Bowl preview while you're getting a mini shrine recap today. and we're coming off a wild conference championship weekend so it's a lot of fun man this time of year is just the ultimate intersection of every level of football it's awesome we are stacking some serious podcasts up here on the monday and tuesday episodes you and i were texting actually yesterday and i kind of text you out of blue and i was just like dude i'm itching to do the pot. Yeah. It did. I like this setup here with three days a week,

us really hammering homes and football news on Monday and Tuesday, giving you guys a Thursday pot pod, giving it a little bit of a time to breathe, which I think we'll get you guys ready and Jones in for another podcast. Just like we were Jones in to record this one, dude. I we're going to get to these triangle prospects. Cause there's a lot of really great highlights and some players that I want to get this one. Dude, we're going to get to these Shrine Bowl prospects because there's a lot of really great highlights and some players that I want to get on people's radar.

But man, Bengals, Chiefs, Rams, 49ers. It absolutely lived up to the same hype that we have seen from the divisional round that is just good game after good game. Unbelievable performances down to the wire. Let's start with Bengals, Kansas City, man, Joe Burrow versus Patrick Mahomes. How much did you think it was? It was over. Be honest with me. How much did you think that was over when the Chiefs were up 21 to three on the Bengals in

the first half? Where was your mind? I'll say this, Trevor, even after the stop with five seconds and the clock just runs out at the half, which the Bengals had to have, I still looked at that and said, man, that probably didn't save the game for them, but it might save my cover, right? I said when this opened, Bengals seven, they'll backdoor their way into this. They'll hang around. They're pesky. They're feisty.

They're competitive. They won't lay over for anyone. so i loved them at getting seven points but the fact that the chief scored what three points in the second half everything's clicking for the bengals you get some big plays you get those wide receivers going you get joe burrow going but the defense stepping up in the biggest way and making big plays yeah i will be honest with you I didn't think they'd be able to win the game with the first half they had but man to do that against the Chiefs the way they did just wildly impressive it was such it was so big right and we went into the game thinking okay if the Bengals are going to win this football game against the Chiefs it's

going to be off the sweat of Joe Burrows right brow, right? It is just going to be on his shoulders, and it was going to be a one-man show. But where Burrow obviously played well, got them in position to win the game, you mentioned it, and I'm glad you did. I'm glad you hammered that point home right away. It was the defense, dude. Patrick Mahomes and that Chiefs offense

looked awful in that second half. They looked terrible. That's one of the worst halves of football I've ever seen Patrick Mahomes and that Chiefs offense looked awful in that second half. They looked terrible. That's one of the worst halves of football I've ever seen Patrick Mahomes play, especially since he's been solidified as the starter. And so, man, it's just this unstoppable offense, I think, in the first half, really to gain the lead that they did and make a lot of people, myself included, think the game was probably over at halftime. And that defense was just such a big turnaround.

And you look at the guys that they've added over the last couple of years trey hendrickson jesse bates obviously has a few years back but he is such a crucial part of what they do in that secondary you got mike hilton you got chidobe woozie you got those young linebackers dj reader uh sam hubbard got it's just there's they're not like superstars sitting there on the Bengals defense, but they've all played really, really well together, especially down the stretch. And it's crazy to say it, but the Bengals are in the Super Bowl. And a big reason why is because of how well that defense has played as of late.

It's unbelievable. It feels like we're waiting for like the next round of the playoffs and then we'll talk Super Bowl. And it's like, no, this was a conference championship. Like the Bengals, the Cincinnati Bengals are in the Super Bowl and that and that just you know when you look at Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase what they did in 2019 and how quickly it's translated to the NFL but you absolutely nailed it that the defense is playing as a collective unit rather than getting star power and you do see at times that takeover, you see it with the Rams a lot. Obviously Aaron Donald can take over a game and they're in the

super bowl, but the Bengals as a, they're playing as a unit. I thought they did a good job in, especially in the second half of not overrushing my homes as much. They had some big sacks on him. They obviously had the takeaways or forced bad decision-making that secondary can play the ball in the air. We know what Jesse Bates can do to make a play on the football. And they tackled up front. You have to tackle up front. So I just think when you look at it, it's so interesting to see that team that, you're right, it doesn't have the stars.

It's not like they've drafted a Chase Young for the defense or anything like that. They are just a well-coached defense that plays together while the offense is where they've invested serious capital whether it's joe burrow with the number one overall pick joe mixon with a top 50 pick jamar chase uh obviously a top 10 pick t higgins with a top 50 pick you know they just have a lot but the offensive line struggled but they find ways to make it work and get explosive plays, and they've invested so many assets. So they've showed you one way you can build. And when we talk about the Rams, let's talk about a totally different way to build.

And I think it's really cool for the Bengals, the fact that I think at the end of the day what matters is Trevor, and it's cliche, but they have a big-game quarterback. They have a guy that when the lights are the brightest, he is at his best. And when the moment gets cranked up, the pressure gets crank cranked up he is completely in control and gets the job done and honestly you cannot be where you are if the Bengals without their kicker and Evan McPherson it's insane to say Florida Gator great baby fellow Gator alumni baby Gould he's now like the AFC Robbie Gould and I know he's got a long time before he gets to that status, but

he's been lights out in this postseason. Do you think that he went up to Burrow as he was running on the field like he did for the wild card game, right? No, it was the divisional round game. He said, guess we're going to the AFC championship. Do you think he went up to

Joe Burrow and said, hey, guess we're going to the Superbowl right before he kicked it. I got to think that he did. I got to think so. I think it's a thing now at this point, I think there's going to be some moment in the Superbowl where it's like, guess we got to go get fitted for our rings. Let's get it done. And then he misses and everything melts down, but no, it's awesome, man. It's awesome, man. I think when you, we'll have plenty of time to break down the Bengals and what they do well and preview that Super Bowl a little bit.

But turning the page over to the Chiefs, I know it was a super up-and-down year for the Chiefs, and obviously Patrick Mahomes being the quarterback that he is, I don't think the Chiefs are going anywhere. They're going to be contenders for a long time, as long as Mahomes is Mahomes. And they have those two offensive weapons in Travis Kelsey and Tyree Kill. But I'm going to tell you, man, the defense for Kansas City did their job, right? I mean, like they helped go to under 30 points, 250 yards passing for Joe Burrow,

only 88 rushing yards on 21 carries for Joe Mixon. Jamar Chase didn't have 100 yards, right? The Kansas City defense did their job. And I think it goes back to what the Chiefs really might need to continue this dominant force that they've been. And I think it is that wide receiver three position. I know it's just silly to say out loud,

like, okay, they have probably the best tight end in the world. One of the best wide receivers in the world, maybe the best wide receiver in the world. Oh, what do you need more? Like it's that scene from Endgame where Wong says to Dr. Strange, like what, like you wanted more?

You have two of the greatest players in the game to go along with your generational quarterback. But I think with this being a draft podcast and now we're kind of turning the page with Kansas City, I think it's what we got to talk about. I think corner is still on the table for them as well. But if one of the really good wide receivers in this class slips to them at the back end of the first round,

they might take the bait on it. I mean, Trevor, look how the afc is forming right how it's coming together with the teams at the top and obviously we're looking at the bengals who they have weapon after weapon and they can play the quick game even when their offensive line is falling apart and i'm not saying just the bengals but i think a lot of teams are going to trail this method or going you know the Chargers I think can get there eventually I think they can be that kind of team I think now that Josh McDaniels was hired with the Raiders yes they're going to be very run heavy but when you look at

what the New England offense has done as well I think they're another team that will look to add to their skill talent group utilize Waller to you know and Renfro but also get another guy in there and really maximize their car i think there's going to be a shift in the afc especially with all this quarterback talent that and we know what the bills can do right forget it i mean the bills are loaded there right if you don't have three weapons at wide receiver and a legitimate game-changing tight end a guy that's athletic enough to run the seam and block in your run game i don't know how you're going to hang with these teams i don't the bills the in your run game. I don't know how you're going to hang with these teams. I don't, the bills, the Bengals, the chiefs, I don't know

how you're going to hang with these teams and God, what if the Broncos get a quarterback? I mean, the Broncos get a quarterback. They get the weapons are all there already. So I think you nailed it. I think the chiefs forget the defense, forget it, sit where you are in the draft and whatever one of the top five or six wide receivers we just talked about on Thursday take them man if if the Broncos were to get Aaron Rodgers let's just open up Pandora's box right there and say that if that world exists then all of a sudden Patrick Mahomes Justin Herbert Aaron Rodgers and then Derek Carr think whatever you want about Derek Carr Derek Carr is a good quarterback and he is the he is objectively without a doubt the fourth best quarterback in that division that is some crazy quarterback competition if that's the case if Rodgers ends up making the move down to Denver

and so yeah if I mean certainly if that happens or even if it doesn't you're right the rest of the NFL it's an arms race we say that all the time but it's not a cliche it's a motto it's it's something that every team is looking at, and all the teams that you're going to see at the top of Super Bowls and AFC and NFC championships over the next couple of years, they're going to have that formula, I think, more often than not. Let's flip over to the other game. San Francisco, Los Angeles.

Matt Stafford, he gets it done. He gets it done in the end. They win 20-17. He gets over the hump. Stafford finally gets to a Super Bowl. We've now got former number one pick versus former number one pick. It's only happened once before. I believe Dane Brugler is the one who said this on Twitter.

Peyton Manning and Cam Newton. I think it's the only time the day has happened before. And so we have another matchup here. And, man, I'd just love to hear your overall thoughts. Obviously, the Rams play well with their defense. Ramsey shined. Donald shined. Von Miller was a factor as well.

Cooper Cup, you just can't stop the man. I love the fact that Odell Beckham Jr. had 11 targets, 9 catches, 113 yards himself. I love seeing that kind of Odell Beckham Jr. now in the playoffs. Tell me what you loved about the Rams and Jen, big takeaways overall from this game. Number one, it's pretty cool to see Stafford get to this point, right?

And there's no doubt this roster was tailor-made for a Super Bowl. The roster was good. You have Star Town on defense with Donald and Ramsey. Everybody knows that. I think they've even gotten a lot more out of Weddle than I ever expected when that signing was made. I think when you look at the offense, of course, with hitting on the cup pick,

I mean, let's not forget, they lost Robert Woods for the season, and they're still going to the Super Bowl. That is, speaking of the whole three-wide receiver plan, let's not forget, they had Cooper Cup and Robert Woods, and we like Van Jefferson, but they said, hey, we'll still get Odell, and then we really have our three-wide receivers.

We even feel good about four-wide receivers, and then Robert Woods obviously tears the knee up, and they still have the three-wide receivers. They also drafted Tutu Atwell in the second round right great play right I mean like god I mean okay okay that that one didn't work out you're right you're right they're thinking it though you're right they're thinking it yep so yeah they're obviously thinking that plan when you use a top 60 pick on Tutu Atwell say what you want about the player right who had no business ever going in day two of the draft but the thought process was we need speed and we need more you know explosive plays from our wide receiver corps so I mean when you look at the Rams right this is a totally

different way to build it this is a and this is something that we have never really seen before in the NFL this is a we're all in we're going to trade the picks for stars we're going to spend every last dollar we believe we have a young coach that is at his absolute you know he's dialed in he's one of the best coaches in the NFL we were able to go get the quarterback that we think he needed to take us over the hump we got the lockdown corner Aaron Donald was already there but you get the point of that and they paid him the big money right and then they've used picks like you just alluded to Trevor on a lot of different skill talent over the years. And they've hit on enough of that skill talent where it's worse, but they also traded for Von Miller. They've traded all of their recent picks. As soon as they saw a little

window start to open up, they said every last chip on the table. I don't want to go home. If I don't win it all, I don't want to go home with $5 in my pocket. I don't want to go home. If I don't win it all, I don't want to go home with $5 in my pocket. I don't want to go home with $20 in my pocket. So this is a totally unique strategy. And you know what? You got to give credit where it's due less need. And Sean McVay, because Sean McVay has a lot of same personnel over there as well. This was a, you know, big balls move. There's no other way to to say it and right now the Rams are in a Super Bowl because they didn't take any half measures they you know they saw Jared Goff is their one thing holding them back maybe from winning a title not getting to a title winning a title

they went and got Matt Stafford right they thought they'll get the pass rush and say well teams can take away and Aaron Donald we need more of an edge presence right we got the guy that could push the pocket can we get the guy that can win outside and now they got von miller so and then obj when teams are starting to bracket cup do we have obj on the other side they've gotten enough out of him it's just an all-out effort to win a super bowl and that is good for the nfl i think in my eyes i i it's really good to see it's not always going to work teams Teams are going to fail doing this. But this time, you've got to give credit where it's due. It worked, and they're in the Super Bowl. Yeah, not going home with a 5 or a 20 or anything in your pocket

sounds a lot like me playing roulette and blackjack last night. But, you know, we don't have to talk too much about my gambling losses here on this show, although this trip, I will admit, has not been kind to your boy. So, you know hey you win some you win some make it back in the sports book i hope that's true that that's hockey bets that's the way to go for sure no okay so you mentioned it i mean they don't have a they don't have a first round pick until 2024 and another team that doesn't have a first round pick

is the san francisco 49ers here because they gave up a lot of their first round picks to go up and get trey lance and i think the biggest draft takeaway that i have with the san francisco 49ers here because they gave up a lot of their first round picks to go up and get Trey Lance and I think the biggest draft takeaway that I have with the San Francisco 49ers is very simple it is start Trey Lance it is do not leave a shadow of a doubt that Trey Lance is the guy going into next season and when I say that you know what I mean Trey Jimmy get him off the roster do not do this next year don't even don't do not dip your foot in i don't think jimmy grapple is a free agent is he a free agent i didn't think he was a free agent is he no i don't think so i don't think so okay i just i i was literally thinking about that as i was going on a passionate rant i didn't want to be completely wrong so whether he's a free agent or not which

i don't believe he is a free agent jimmy grapple one more year trevor one more year thank you thank you easy to cut easy cut he should not be on the 49ers roster next year. I'm sorry. I'm not saying that that doesn't mean that Jimmy is this awful quarterback, that he's a guy who shouldn't be in the NFL. Maybe that you can't even give another starting job to. I think that his ceiling is limited. I think that we've seen that plenty of times,

so I'm not sure that I'd invest in him. But the NFL, I think, seems to like him a decent amount. But my whole point is, you have Trey Lance on the roster. It was a big question mark why they weren't playing Trey Lance already this season, and it got to the point, I think, where they were like, all right, we're going to stick with the veteran. We're not going to be wishy-washy about it, which I respect Kyle Shanahan for. And once they started to make their potential playoff run and they got into the postseason, they stuck to Jimmy because he got in there. I think that was always the right call. I feel like they could have used Trey Lance a little bit more, but maybe that would have created some divisiveness. So I don't totally hate it for them. Next year, this can't exist.

It cannot exist. Jimmy Garoppolo cannot be on the roster for the 49ers next year. Trade him for something that get whatever for him. I don't care. I don't even care if the price is not great. You have to get him off the roster. It has to be Trey Lance. No second thoughts.

No reservations. Nothing. So honestly, man, that's my biggest draft takeaway with the 49ers who use draft capital in the future to already go up and get their prize possession quarterback at Trey Lance. It's just got to be his time next year. No, you're right. There's that. And I've been looking at the contract details, you know, since he brought it up and he's got one more year left, the cap hit is about 27 million. If they can't find a trade partner, which I think they will, if he agrees to a restructure, wherever he goes, they can cut him and save almost all the money,

Trevor, besides 1.4 million so Jimmy I don't think he'll be on that roster next year unless there is some kind of complete divide over somebody thinks Trey can't play and Jimmy needs to be there and if that happens the Niners have way more bigger problems than this argument over Jimmy being on the roster or not so I think you're right I think it's a shame it came down to it they. They were limited and hamstrung, you know, by his, his floor, his ceiling,

the lack thereof, there was no ceiling for Jimmy. And you know what? I think there are teams that would be interested in him. I don't think he's, you know, he's that guy that he's really not good enough to take you as far as you want to go.

Most of the time in the playoffs, unless everything's perfect, but he's definitely not bad enough where I don't think he should be starting in this league. There was a lot of bad starting quarterback play across this league and you know Niners fans I know you want more and you should want more because you want a Super Bowl but there's teams in that bottom 10 that Jimmy could be a stopgap Jimmy could be a a backup for a young player I think he'll be a starter next year so you're right I think when it came down to the Niners I think think everybody's looking at it. And I do, I agree with this looking at it as, wow, they made it, you know, without their number three

overall pick that they traded up for and gave up all these assets and they lost all those assets and couldn't make a lot of picks. They almost made it to the Superbowl anyway. But I think there is also part of it that you have to sit there and go, wow, Kyle Shanahan and that staff, and they might lose some of that staff. Mike McDaniel's got an interview, a second interview with the dolphins. We'll see where that goes, but Kyle Shanahan and that staff, and they might lose some of that staff. Mike McDaniel's got a second interview with the Dolphins. We'll see where that goes. But Kyle Shanahan and that staff, a really good defensive staff as well, they are that good that even with a limited Jimmy Garoppolo,

that they almost made it to the Super Bowl. So if they can really key in, develop Trey Lance, the things they asked Jimmy to do in his postseason, Trevor, it kind of makes you wonder, why didn't they just roll the dice with Trey? If those are the things they're asking Jimmy to do in his postseason, Trevor, it kind of makes you wonder, like, why didn't they just roll the dice with Trey? If those are the things they're asking Jimmy to do, you feel like you think Trey would somewhat be able to handle that.

Jimmy was throwing some wild interceptable passes out there. So you're like, why don't go with the young guy? But next year, we don't have to worry about that. You've got to roll with the young guy and see where it goes. And I think for the Niners, you feel so good about what you have built in that's not going away. And that's your head coach and the staff that he continues to develop that Shanahan tree. You have a good young roster, but all eyes now are on the development of Trey Lance is in my eyes and your eyes. Jimmy Garoppolo era is over in San Francisco.

Yeah, I think that it definitely should be. And, you know, I don't want to be too hard on Trey Lance because, you know, we talked about, OK, Trevor think that it definitely should be. And, you know, I don't want to be too hard on Trey Lance because, you know, we talked about, okay, Trevor Lawrence had some struggles early on. Justin Fields had some struggles early on. And honestly, you know, we pointed those out when they were bad just because that's what a lot of NFL fans do.

They go, oh, look how much he's struggling. But in reality, when you looked at their scouting report and their projections, these, I think a lot of these guys, it lined up, you know, you could even throw Zach Wilson in there, right? Coming from an incredible offensive line that he had at byu having all the confidence in the world and playing against lesser competition right how these guys struggled from last year's class i think it was it was pretty spot on with their projections and trey lance was kind of the same thing in the fact that he wasn't able to totally dethrone a veteran quarterback who has

been good enough to take a good team around him to the Super Bowl. Because look, Trey Lance has only had one year as a starter. One. For as much as we like Trey Lance, he had one year in the FCS at NDSU, which NDSU often just demolishes teams around them because they're a lot more talented than them. He started as a true sophomore and he only got one game, one game that he played in his junior year due to COVID-19 and everything that happened with that college football season. So you figured he was going to be very behind the eight ball. And I think that's exactly what we saw. NFL speed, NFL terminology, all of this stuff was probably too much for him. And I think that Kyle Shanahan understood early on that this was going to be a

redshirt year for Trey Lance. And this was a redshirt year. And now you better hope that he's ready and it's time for, for, for next season. Anything else on, on Trey Lance, the Niners, anything before we move on to some of these shrine bowl participants? I'm sure the Niners fans listening right now are grieving, disappointed, but if I were you, I mean, me as an outsider, me not as a Niners fan, I'm really excited to see where this team can go because I just, I can't say it enough.

I love how well they're coached on all three phases of the game. They have a lot of young, sustainable talent that's going to be there for long. They got, in my eyes, the offensive player uh that's not a quarterback in football and Debo Samuel and you just have a system that works so if Trey can be what we think he can be how we evaluated him as a prospect I think really good things are ahead for them yep I would agree with you hey right now you can get 25% off any PFF subscription. If you guys use the promo code NFLSC, I had a couple of people reach out to me who tried to use the

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It's constantly updated. Mike Renner does a ton of legwork on that. And then once we get towards the season, fantasy football as well. If you're big into fantasy football, you get the fantasy football guy and all that kinds of stuff so if you don't have a pff subscription this is a great way to get it get 25 off whatever subscription either an edge or an elite when you use the promo code nflse appreciate it if you use the promo code that really obviously uh helps us out here on this podcast. So I am in Las Vegas, Nevada. I am boots on the ground here at the 2022 Shrine Bowl.

Connor couldn't make it. I've already given him enough shit about that. So I'm not going to do that here live. He wishes that he was here too. So I know that that was all there. But man, first off, before we get into some of these prospects, hat is off to Eric Galco and everyone on this East-West Shrine staff. They moved the game from St. Pete to Las Vegas. They also changed the time in which it was happening.

They pushed it a little bit closer towards the Pro Bowl. I think that they're going to want to get something together with the Pro Bowl and kind of make it a big event here in Las Vegas in the future. But it's been awesome. They've been so accommodating to all different types of media, guys who are coming from all across the country to really get an extra set of eyes on some of these prospects and enjoy one of the more premier all-star events that we have in this circuit. And so the players have been so accessible. They've done a great job of allowing us to get to sit down and get to know

these guys beyond just seeing what they do on the field. And, and that kind of product there that's been great getting the film from all the practices. And we're practicing at UNLV, which is a beautiful facility. Shout out to them. The,

the practice that they have Monday. So when you guys are listening to this, it's actually in Allegiant stadium, which I'm super excited to go into. But just wanted to give a shout out to all the hard work that Eric Galco and his staff have done to make this a really great event. I know it takes a lot to change locations and change weeks, and he did that all in one year, and I think they pulled it off really well.

So it's been great to be here. Connor, I know that you love to be here. Hopefully that we're both here uh next year as well but as for some guys that you had on your radar going into shrine week who are some players that you really like that you want to give a shout out to and then if I've been able to get some some good eyeballs and some good notes on them I I will echo some of those as well yeah man it's it's you know I I gotta be there next year, obviously, um, with everything going on as the pandemic, some, the Pandy just somehow cranked back up. Um, you know, it's been traveling. It's been crazy. I will be in mobile the entire week and the intersection of

the two events made things a little bit hectic as we split things up at BR. So really excited to get down to mobile on the ground. Uh, but we'll definitely do everything I can to make both games work next year as long as there's not as much crossover. So it's great to have you there, man, because I've gotten to watch a lot of tape on these guys. And now they get to take it to the practice field at an all-star event, right? This is an all-star game. They are playing up against really good players on there.

So Trevor, I'm going to throw five names at you. These are the guys that stood out to me on the Shrine list. When the Shrine roster came down, I said, these are the five that I've loved to tape. Yeah, the other guys have been pretty good, but these are the five that I'm most excited to hear how they've been doing. Wide receiver, Javon Hiley from Coastal Carolina.

I think that's a name that a lot of people know right now. Really good route runner. Just really good at separating. Very productive. good hands. Edge, Ali Fayed, a guy that just is explosive. I think he's a little undersized. I think he's a little slender, but he's someone that has shown a good pass rush plan this year.

I think he's shown that the spin move is a legit weapon in his arsenal to beat tackles, and I'm sure that's appeared on the practice field as well. So when I watch a Fyad, he's someone that can win with speed, can win on the inside, can, can show off that spin move.

And I want to see him, you know, maybe even get a little bit stronger at the NFL level and turn into maybe a rotational pass rusher on the outside cornerback, Dallas flowers, uh, edge, Jeffrey Gunter,

another coastal Carolina prospect, really a lot of power in his game, and tight end Derek Deese Jr. from San Jose State, who I thought developed well as a blocker this year while already having receiving ability. So those five to me stood out, but I'm excited to hear about everyone you want to talk about. But do any of those five do you want to highlight from what you've seen translating from the game tape

now on to the practice fields in Vegas? Yeah, I'll start with Western Michigan edge rusher Ali Fayyad. And I had the chance to not just watch him in practice, but also get to sit down and interview him a little bit. And when we were on the practice field, you know, you mentioned that spin move that he has. And that was on full display during one on ones. He was looking to show a lot of the pass rush moves that he had in his arsenal. He even hit a fake spin on one of the offensive tackles during that period. He got him pretty good.

He got around the edge rusher. He sat in the chair. He did. That's the correct coach speak or scouting term to really put the offensive lineman back and just get him off balance, you know, falling back in a chair because they weren't expecting that kind of a pass rush move. And so that was great to see because you don't often get this at these all-star events. A lot of these guys aren't as comfortable as they need to be to pull off a lot of these moves. And so when you see guys, especially day one, throwing out a lot of their pass rush arsenal, I think

that you really take note of that and you go, okay, that is a confident pass rusher. That's somebody who believes that they can be plopped into any situation, any team, and they can get the most out of them. When I talked to him in between the two practices that we have watched already, you know, he was great. I love getting to know him a lot more. He talked about how he really has enjoyed getting more experience as an outside linebacker, as a backer type

not only getting more familiar and more comfortable rushing from a two-point stance but also dropping back into coverages he said that's something that he's really um taken hold of during the coaching periods when they've been on the whiteboard getting to drop back getting to understand his zones getting to read the quarterback a little bit better and get a feel for coverage so he's definitely enjoyed that but they're really rounding him out, if you will, because he's got a lot of experience as a three-point rusher, as a defensive end, but getting some of those weapons to also translate into outside linebacker work is something that he has really looked forward to. And a part of the interview that I really loved with him is,

you know, I said to him, man, you look like you already have so many moves in your toolbox that you could go to at any time. And I was like, when did this become a priority for you? One of the questions that I asked him, I was like, when did you really get into it and think, Hey, I know I'm big. I know I'm fast. I know I'm strong. I know that I can win like that, but I want to win in other ways. I want to win consistently as a technical pass rusher, learning more pass rush moves. And he said it was really going into his junior year. He put a lot of effort into not just kind of watching film

and having a lot of NFL guys that he wanted to watch, but also his mentality. Like he kind of made a conscious decision going into his junior year. I want to be an NFL pass rusher. Like I want to work and do what I need to do to make that happen. And he told me that he even, uh, I think he, he, uh, he taped the NFL logo above his bed in his room to always remind him of what he wanted to be. So he was constantly looking at that NFL logo and he talked a lot about kind of manifesting and

working hard to make sure that he makes his dreams a reality basically not selling himself not selling himself short having this opportunity and making it happen so dude i i have really liked him he was an awesome prospect to get to know dude that's awesome to hear it's it's and you always like hearing the story behind why a guy took that step right because he's someone that you know consider it when you look at the shrine roster right like i like always giving people full transparency of my process and and i am truly a one-man scouting team like when i when i do this for uh bleacher reporter on the desk like it's just me and my board and like i you know i don't

have a scout you know list and trevor i know for pff it's you guys have an incredible team that you work with there but you are you have your own board like you're watching each player and making your own takes you're not doing like just the pack or the big 10 or the sec like it's the same thing so for me with shrine and it's been a way better process for me this year but you know you have a lot of the underclassmen that are powerhouse prospects that you know are going to declare and and you're already evaluating them, your evaluations to them, like, like guys like Icky guys, like Evan Neal, like, you know what they are months ago. And then you get the senior bowl roster and you're like, okay, I'm going to know all the

senior bowl roster because what is it like 98% of those guys get drafted. And then you get your hands on the shrine game. And it's like, okay, like I'm going to get through as many of these guys as I can before the all-star game. But realistically, there's a large percentage of these guys that are going to be watches in February and March. That's just how it goes for a lot of them. And a handful of them more of the NFL PA kind of guys, but it could go down to April. I've had that happen before. But when you look at Fyed, you know, and all the guys I said on this list, and there's a couple more, these are guys that were making plays in September and October. And I said, I have to find time because they're standing out at such a high level in their conference that they're big time players. And honestly, Trevor, I think, you know,

and this is the reality of the all-star games. And, you know, I can't wait to get out to Vegas and see what Shrine's got going on. I've been going to Mobile for what, six years now and can't wait to get out to Vegas and see what Shrine's got going on. I've been going to Mobile for, what, six years now and can't wait to be there this week. But now that they intersect, you know, we won't get to see the call-ups, right? And he's a pass rusher that I think could have hung with the big dogs in Mobile. So when you look at players like that that have the huge breakout year, and it could be something along the lines of, you know, work ethic.

It could be mentality. It could be, you know, putting more work in the weight room or at times you just, you know, you get bigger and stronger. So, and that, you know, if I had, it's obviously looking at the NFL mentality from technique standpoint, right? I need more moves. I need more tools in the toolbox.

As you said, I need more of a pass rush plan and see what NFL guys are doing and how I'm going to get there. And you saw it on the field this year. So I think it's just an awesome opportunity when you get the background story of what led, what led to such a special. Yeah, no, it's all that. That's such a cool part of getting to these events is getting to sit down

one-on-one, get to know these guys, personalities, their demeanors, their confidence, their backgrounds, their everything, man. That's, that's such a huge part of why these are great. And hopefully part of the information that we can relate to you guys, because you guys out there do such a great job of telling us your thoughts of what you see with these guys on the film. And hopefully we do a great job on this podcast of relaying maybe some of the inside information or the close information for these prospects that can really

help you when you're evaluating them. Talking about guys who you'd love to see on your team, or maybe you're an aspiring draft analyst and you've got your own big boards and just making those right decisions, having those guys in the right spot. I think those certainly go a very long way. It's time for Conor's favorite ad read. Roses are red, violets are blue. Don't let a wild pube wreck you.

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that I've really enjoyed watching have really popped out to me over the last couple of days, or some of these guys I've been able to sit down, sit down with and talk to, but not all of them. We'll start with quarterbacks because of course, that's just like what everybody wants to talk about the most. It's not the strongest group here at the shrine bowl. We got Jack we got brock purdy we have skylar thompson uh we got the eric king um those guys are probably the most notable players dear king official measurables small man he's he's five foot eight 198 pounds um's small. And you kind of knew early on that unless De'Aaron King was somehow just super pinpoint accurate,

every ball was exactly where it needed to go. He was having an unbelievable camp doing that with accuracy. It just was not going to be a good outlook for him when it came to the NFL draft. And I don't think it is for the quarterback position. I mean, he's been adamant about playing quarterback. He was adamant about that when he was at Houston. Same thing with Miami. I just don't think he's going to be able to stick in the NFL at a quarterback.

He doesn't have enough of the consistent accuracy. And the height is going to be a major issue. The two guys that I think have stood out to me the most, Jack Cohn and Skylar Thompson. And I don't think they've stood out in like, whoa, these guys are getting play. Like we're talking NFL playoff starters or anything over here, but they have played the best. Jack Cohn, I think that we saw this past year,

had his best year at Notre Dame. He's been able to carry that into the off season. And I was pleasantly surprised with Skylar Thompson, who is a true veteran of college football, has been at Kansas State since 2016. Is that an injury that he has had to overcome? He's had a red. I know, I know. I asked him about it's almost crossing over. I asked him this and I was like, dude, you've been, uh, I, I essentially as nicely as possible said, damn you old. And he

kind of, you know, he laughed about it and he's like, yeah, I've got a lot of experience. And you know, he spins that into a positive. So he's seen a lot of things and not a lot confuses him now it's just about going out to execute so I thought that those two guys have done a decent job I don't know do you have do you have any thoughts on King or Purdy or or uh or Cone or Thompson yeah I mean I those are guys that when you watch the tape it's you know I'm trying to figure out if if they're draftable I think is the question mark right now. And I think when you look at, you know, maybe Thompson and Purdy, they got a shot. Cone for me, you know, it's just been a wild ride for him at college. And he's a Long Island guy. So a lot of people, you know, out here in the Northeast, obviously rooting for him when he was at Wisconsin.

And then that carries over to Notre Dame. I think D.R. King was the guy going into the year. You know, you look at this shrine group now, if you rewind back to August, he was the guy I would consider that I'm most intrigued by with the way the league's going. I did not think he'd be five, eight, number one. And I'm not like Mr.

Like, Oh, you have to be this measurement threshold. I think Miami has some list of five 11. Let me look. They do. That's what I literally updated my doc yesterday and changed it from five 11 to the official measurement of shrine. And like, that's not doing him any favors, dude. Like that's what I literally updated my doc yesterday and changed it from 511 to the official measurement of shrine and like that's not doing him any favors dude like that's just not that's never happened in the NFL I don't think it ever really will happen like to context Kyler Murray is a

legitimate 510 and Kyler Murray is the most specialest special you know specimen at that size and position so I think for me and I don't want to ever tell a guy what to do Trevor but like it might serve Derek King even better to to be working out at different areas right now whether that's you know a scat back whether that's a slot receiver special teams i respect him going forward at quarterback but you know it's it's going to be an uphill climb for this group i think it's you you nailed it it's not the best group at shrine and um you know it's just there's not a lot of guys in the world that can play this position. Right. It's what it comes down to.

This is not a good quarterback class as a whole. So yeah, I think this is a group that, you know, we're talking about, are they going to be, you know, they're probably going to be UDFA signings rather than seventh round picks at this point in my eyes being a brilliant. No. And, and I, man, Derek is, is an awesome young man. I got to sit down and talk to him a little bit, actually during the summer, not here at the shrine bowl. I haven't had that chance,

but I talked to him during the summer and just super bright, very intelligent, great head on his shoulders. He's, he's such a great dude. And I'd love for him to have, have a successful NFL career. I just don't think it's going to be a quarterback. I do think that he's probably going to have to switch positions to make that happen. um you know i just hope that he makes the best decision whatever whatever it is for him and um he's happy with it one way or another but that's just kind of our thoughts seeing things there let's get let's give some love to the big uglies well i shouldn't call big ugly i'm not everybody's ugly you know that's that's a bad phrase i shouldn't be saying that yeah you can be big and handsome let's give some shout outs to

the big beautifuls, all right? Let's talk about the offensive linemen, some offensive tackles, and some defensive linemen that have stood out to me. Defensive side of the ball, Mark Juan McCall, the defensive tackle from Kentucky. His nickname is literally Bully and could not have been more on point that first day of practices. He was just eating centers and interior

offensive linemen alive poor Alec Lindstrom just this is this is a guy who's normally better on the hoop he's a zone blocking kind of an interior offensive lineman and center and McCall was just plowing him push pulling him just abusing him all over and um yeah it was it was a rough outing for Lindstrom on that first one but that's that's tough going up against those kinds of opponents especially when you're one-on-one in those drills so he definitely stood out to me matthew butler the interior defensive tackle for uh tennessee man he was flashing he looked twitchy he was it you could tell that he went into this shrine bowl saying i want to impress people with how good i can be as a one gap penetrator and so this is your kind of three tech player who really wants to get up field,

be a pass rusher. He was able to do that over the last couple of days. I think that it's certainly in that first day he was able to stand out, didn't have as many splash plays in the second day of practice, but we've got a couple more practices. And then obviously the game for him to stand out there on the offensive side of the ball, three offensive linemen that I want to highlight. One is Bam Oleseni, who is the offensive tackle from Utah.

Comes from London, grew up in London, and is actually really, I mean, he's been playing American football for a long time, but it was like rec league stuff. You know, like when he was kind of coming of age, around 18, like being a young adult. He was- Zog sports it was like it was like yeah right like rec league low grade football and then he got into i think it was a community college that he was able to be at play football

and then um he was able to reach out to some american schools got in with utah was limited as it started with utah but was able to start a little bit and grow as an offensive tackle. Connor, this guy's measurables are unbelievable. Have you seen them? Yes, total freak show, absolutely. And I heard he's moving well at that size. He is 6'7", 348 pounds, 36 and a half inch arm length, 88 and three eighths wingspan. I sat to him.

I sat to him. I sat next to him interviewing him. And during the interview, I said, dude, can you just long arm me right now? Can you just like put your arm out and just like let me see how inferior my puny normal arms are to you and he did he laughed and he put out his one arm and my like the end of my middle finger went like not even to his armpit basically like i couldn't like i couldn't even come close to reaching the dude that number 88 and three-eighths wingspan is either the number one or number two um number the combine database, which is since

1999 over at mockdraftbook.com. So we are talking about the absolute 99th percentile and he does, he moves really well. Now he gets exposed by guys who know what they're doing a little bit more in the pass rush category. He gets caught off balance a little bit, which he needs to definitely work on, keep his flexibility, right? Keep his right and i think he could certainly do that and also i asked him when he really started to learn that long arm technique when he was able to do that and really neutralize guys and he said it really wasn't until he got to utah and they were able to teach him what he was able to do with his arms and you can tell he what he wants to do he wants to dictate the point of attack he wants to be the first one to strike because he gets that distance

and he can keep guys away from his chest. Now, he gets baited into doing that a little bit, and sometimes the hand placement isn't where it needs to be, and the offensive lineman can either get up under his pads or swim the hand out and then move over, attacking one shoulder or the other. And so you could tell that he's just learning he's learning really how to use his tools, but he's moving super well.

Wanted to highlight him there. The two other offensive linemen that I really liked. UConn's Ryan Van DeMark. He was great, man. I thought he was super in control, no matter what shape or size pass rusher he was going against. I didn't even know this dude before this week. I really didn't.

And he stood out to me so much. I've got to go back and watch his tape a lot more and then the third offensive lineman that I want to give a shout out to Gene DeLance the offensive tackle right and left tackle is what he has played for the University of Florida over his Gators career the reason why I wanted to point him out not only because he had a pretty dang good day of practice this past day this second day but also because i asked him hey scout comes up to you and says tell me what your best tape is tell me what game i need to turn on to see the best that you have to offer you know what he said he said alabama he said will anderson he said will anderson by name that's and he said it it is bold and he smiled and he

said it's not my most dominant tape but i gave will anderson a run for his money he said i i he said i got the better will anderson on a lot of reps and he said he he had all the respect in the world for anderson he said he's one of the best it's not the best pass rush he's ever gone up against but he said i got my reps against him just like he got a couple on me, but I was going toe for toe with one of the best pass rushers in college football, and I absolutely love that about him.

Dude, that's awesome, and he wouldn't say that if he's just getting rocked the entire time, so you know it's legit and also the self-awareness to go, listen, am I getting credited for giving up pressures or quarterback hits or anything to go, listen, am I, am I, am I giving it by getting credited for giving up pressures or quarterback hits or anything like that? Sure.

But I'm also showing that this is a guy that's going to be the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. And I have legitimate tape competing against him. So that's a cool moment. I'll go back to Bam Olaseni. Obviously someone that you highlighted is just a mammoth at 6'7". The wingspan is insane. The background's really interesting coming from London.

And Trevor, why he's so intriguing, I think, is when you look at the tools, a former four-star takes a little while to get on the field at Utah, has to sit basically two years. The one-year starter plays left tackle. This is kind of the draft and stash special right here with him. You're looking at him and going, you have the size. You have the tools that, like I said to you right out of the gate, when you were about to read his size, I said, he moves well at that size.

The right offensive line coach can look at him and go, man, you have the wingspan where you should never be getting beat in pass, bro. If we could sturdy up that anchor, and we're going to see what we can do to get you going in the run game. So really intrigued by him. And I'll take one back on the defensive side as well. Not to just repeat. When you look at, you know, the bully ball, McCall, uh, who I just, the, the lad is the

size of a doorframe, man. And this is a player that, you know, I think he came in there, you know, came back in spring ball and got down from 380 to 340 around there. The fact that he's willing to put in the work, lost 40 pounds, team captain, that's special to me. And he's not somebody that's going to play more than, you know, 30% of snaps to the next level. He's a true nose guard. He's going to play at 335 and between 335 and 350. He's going true nose guard. He's going to play at 335 and between 335 and 350. He's going to eat space. He's going to stop the run and he's going to be that big mean bully in the middle. So I'm not surprised that he's bringing that to Vegas because that's what he

can do on college tape. And I think he's finding his right footing with work ethic and weight management that, Hey, maybe I can not just be a guy that's on the field for goal line situations or fourth and one, fourth and two quarterback sneak situations. I'm somebody that can I find my role and get my footing as a rotational defensive lineman in a base defense against the run early downs? Or can I show some maybe some pass rush juice? I don't know. The best might be ahead of him. So I like that you brought up Bully Ball McCall on that one. That's a good one, man. And I and I'll speak to this this group. We wentall on that one. That's a good one, man. And I'll speak to it. This group, we went through the quarterbacks,

and it was kind of like, I don't know if these guys will get drafted. You look at the guys in the trenches here, this group is going to be in a much better range. A lot of guys standing out in the trenches this week, which has been awesome to see. You mentioned Javon Hiley, the wide receiver from Coastal Carolina. He was looking pretty crisp in his routes over the last two days.

He was definitely standing out a little bit, So I'm glad that you mentioned him. I had three other wide receivers. I wanted to bring to the table, Kyle Phillips, the slot wide receiver from UCLA, absolutely cooking fools with how well he has been able to use his footwork against corners that have just man been helpless. Now I will say this. Uh, uh i was i was standing next to uh one of the raven scouts at practice and um you know he was he he was saying i don't know if i've ever seen an all-star group of corners and safeties draw more holding penalties get more grabby than these guys and so it's it's not it's not great competition level but man getting off press getting off the line scrimmage kyle phillips has created that instant separation with how great he is route running how controlled and explosive he is in

short areas so that's a guy that i definitely noted there josh johnson the widest here from tulsa another player who wins very similarly wins very good off of press coverage and off the line scrimmage with some really fast feet and when he puts his foot in the ground he goes he changes direction he is twitchy. He is explosive. And at this event, and at a lot of all-star events, you want to be able to see which guys stand out athletically. And at the Shrine Bowl, especially for this group going up against this group of corners, which isn't great, you want to see these wide receivers really stand out because that will mean that they're maybe that NFL caliber level.

And I'm telling you, Josh Johnson has done a great job over the last two days of making that difference, being that twitched up athlete, being fantastic in and out of his breaks and just being too much for guys to handle, creating a lot of separation in that way. The last wide receiver that I wanted to mention, Jarrett Stearns, you brought him up Connor in a, in a previous, maybe best podcast. And man, this is a guy who led the country in yards

after the catch was part of that western kentucky offense with uh bailey zappy and and uh and and exactly kitley is the offensive coordinator there putting up monster ncaa record numbers jerry stearns was on the opposite end of a lot of those bailey zappy passes and so this is a smaller guy he showed up way smaller than i thought he was going to be five foot seven 183 pounds got the chance to also sit down and talk with him and i said hey what do you want to prove to people this week and he smiled and he said i want to show people that i'm a contested catch wide receiver just as much as i am a slot separator and you know what day one they threw him a corner ball at the front pylon in the end zone he went up and he got it over somebody and he didn't he caught it

through the contact and that was great to see he is is an NFL player among a lot of guys that are probably going to be struggling for either draftable grades or practice squad slots. I think Jairus Stearns has shown that he has pro game to what he has been able to bring to the triangle. And guys like that, that's just the story of their life sometimes where they're better equipped for that kind of challenge at the next level. When you look at Stearns, he was obviously at Houston Baptist.

We've talked about this. Then goes to Western Kentucky. He transferred up, essentially, because of what he did at Houston Baptist. And then he'll be a seventh-round pick or a sixth-round pick, and he'll have to make his way on the practice squad or the back end of the roster as a sixth-wide receiver special teams be a backup slot guy or a third string slot guy that's just the road for those guys and those guys as you alluded to Trevor have a different mindset and they're more equipped for the competition rather than just being along for

the ride so Stearns is a guy that I am betting on I don't care if he's not even drafted I am betting on to hang around an NFL roster for a good amount of time. And while we're doing wide receivers here, since you are in Vegas, living it up to some extent, I got to be home and actually watch the NFL PA bowl. So a little small consolation here. So I want to throw a wide receiver in the mix that absolutely earned to get a shout out on today's show. And that's day John Dixon, the wide receiver from nickel state, good size, six foot three, 200 pounds, good tracking only dropped three passes this year in his breakout season, 1,000-yard wide receiver this year.

Has really been good for the last three years, but goes to the NFL PA Bowl and just show dominant performance, right? Six catches, 131 yards, a touchdown. Once again, really good tracking, really good tracking on the over-the-shoulder balls, can get get down the field vertically can bet size works in the middle of the field so he's someone that i actually wish was at shrine and good for him for taking the nflpa bowl invite and making the absolute most out of it and being in my eyes the most dominant player of that game so it just goes to show you that you know we did our wide receiver preview on Thursday and that was the ground floor a lot of first round guys a lot of top 50 guys

a couple day two guys we're talking day three of the class and we're looking at shrine wide receivers and an NFLPA bowl wide receiver and I think these guys sure they might not be rookie contributors but they are talented enough to hang around at the NFL level and just it shows you how deep once again the skill class really is I love that you're giving the shout out at the NFL level. And just, it shows you how deep once again, the skill class really is. I love that you're giving the shout out to the NFL PA bowl guys. Well, we'll, we'll wrap it up on some special teams. I did want to mention, cause like you said, some of these guys, special teams are going to be a way that they stick on the roster, that they make it in there on some of these

practice squads and they get to stick around Kyle Phillips, that wide receiver from UCLA looked like the best kick and punt returner that was out there when they were running through special teams drills. So make sure you note that too. If you like him as a wide receiver, which teams are going to, also having that special teams ability, that's going to give him a leg up on some of these other guys. And then had to mention the punter, Ryan Stonehouse, man. This dude can drop bombs.

I mean, the sound of the ball makes coming off of this dude's foot was an absolute marvel. Look, you know, not to insult special teams, right? Coaches say you got to win all three games. Hell, Aaron Rodgers wasn't playing this past weekend

because they didn't take special teams seriously enough. So all respect to the special teams guys. But Connor, you know how it goes. when we're at these all-star events when the when the when the horn goes off when the whistle blows when the alarm says to change to the next drill and it's a special teams drill you go to the bathroom you mingle a little you mingle a little bit you talk you talk to the people around you you maybe walk around and change locations you're not really paying attention that's kind of what was happening this morning when we were going

through special teams practices but everybody kind of stopped as they continued to hear just these boom boom off the foot of stonehouse and everybody kind of was like okay let's sit here and watch this punter drop bombs way down the field with pinpoint accuracy. So had to give Ryan Stonehouse a shout out because he was, he, he's been fantastic this week and he got a bunch of us to really care and pay attention to the special teams drill, which is, which is a feat of in itself. He's one of the best college punters I've ever seen for a guy to be in the draft doc, you know, well before the all-star game invite even happens. Usually I find a lot of my special teams players,

specialists, right? Not kick returners and punt returners, but long snappers, punters and kickers, a good amount of them you find through college all-star invites. Now, Trevor, he's been in there. He's been in there because this man kicked an 81 yard punt this year and if you do not believe me I I grant you permission and this is the only time I will grant permission you can pause the pod open up YouTube and just search the Stonehouse 81 yard punt this year so he is yeah I had two notes for him uh in my draft doc it was kicked an 81 yard punt this year one of the best college punters i've ever seen so love that he's out there doing his thing and uh he was also awesome uh tailgate dudes austin gale was interviewing him for a little bit

and he was just he was such a cool dude uh listening to their conversation and getting to hear what they were talking about and you know they were just talking about special team stuff and just general football. So he seems like a really great dude. So great dude. He seems like he has a lot of fun in the game, obviously a fantastic punter. So there it is. There's the list. That's what we're bringing to the table. If you guys took a look at the shrine bowl list guys that were there, if you've been watching practice or highlights on Twitter and you want to

know our thoughts, Connor's thoughts, my thoughts from, from being able to watch his practice tweet at us at Tampa Bay, Trey at Connor J Rogers on Twitter. And you want to know our thoughts, Connor's thoughts, my thoughts from being able to watch his practice, tweet at us, at TampaBayTrey, at ConnorJRogers on Twitter. Just ask us about some of these prospects, maybe what we think. If we haven't gotten to a guy yet, you can give us a shout-out, put him on our radar. If we've seen him, we'll tell you what we think. And if we haven't seen him, we'll tell you that.

We'll head to the tape. We'll see if we can get some time to put some eyeballs on him. So, yeah, if there's anybody on the Shrine list that we didn't get to that you'd love to hear some thoughts on, tweet at us. We'll be sure to do our best to get you eyeballs on them. So yeah, if there's anybody on the Shrine list that we didn't get to that you'd love to hear some thoughts on, tweet at us. We'll be sure to do our best to get you our thoughts there. That's a little bit of a Shrine recap. On tomorrow's episode, we're switching gears because Shrine and Senior Bowl are so close.

They're bleeding over a little bit. We're getting right into our Senior Bowl previews for the week. Connor mentioned it. He's going to be there. I'm going to be there. I'm going to be there. We're going to have some live pods, which we're together,

which I'm sure the chemistry there is going to be a lot of fun. It's going to be a super show. It's going to be fantastic. Hopefully, maybe some people can stop by on the show because a lot of media people are in Mobile for that. But on tomorrow's episode, we are going to go down position by position,

talk about all of the guys that are in Mobile for this year's Senior Bowl, give you our preliminary thoughts, who we're looking forward to watching, what we're looking forward to watching from each of the position groups that we have in Mobile. And, Connor, man, I'm excited for this year, man. This is a really nice group of Senior Bowl players, and we got a lot of future NFL players from potential first-rounders

all the way through the draft that we're going to get to see at Mobile this year. Dude, it's going to be awesome. We're going to have a big time show, big time episode, getting to preview all those position groups, as you said, some of our favorites. And then of course, we'll also get to while we're down there, kind of recap what we saw through four practices already. So boots on the ground is big. Hopefully get to catch up with some people, you know, kind of bring some scouting buzz to the table as well these uh next couple of shows or next couple of weeks of shows three times a week which has been great obviously being together makes things a little bit more fun yes uh will probably be a little bit of a longer show when you download on thursday which will be really good and obviously mondays will uh tuesdays will be big as well but

yeah i just can't wait to get down there and be around practices again. And I don't want to spoil it, but this is going to be a really good opportunity to really distinguish some of these quarterbacks that are down there. The quarterback crop at the Senior Bowl is big time. And man, it feels good. This is the draft cycle where we're not even catching our breath. Today, tonight, as we are past midnight again, our time here. I don't know when anyone's listening to this, but we're not even catching our breath today tonight as we are past midnight again our time here i don't know when anyone's listening to this but we're recapping shrine and then of

course tomorrow we're previewing senior bowl then the show after that we're recapping senior bowl and then we get to slow down and kind of digest everything leading up to the combine which will be a really really good process so man we're flying at a wild pace right now yeah no it is the best time of year man it is the best time of year to watch the nfl playoffs and and get to be at these all-star events and get to learn about these prospects man we're going to have some teams they coach true we're still going through that a little bit i feel like i've plugged the the coaching show if you guys haven't listened to that we did a a full coaching and GM episode last week on Tuesday. If you haven't listened to that, I feel like I've plugged it so many times

because a lot of the coaches that we talked about on the show are getting jobs. So if you want to hear about some of our thoughts there, you can go back and listen to those shows. We're going to have plenty of stock up, stock down information for you here on the NFL Stock Exchange when it comes to the Senior Bowl. And that all starts with our preview, which happens next episode. We'll see you guys then. you