NFL Stock Exchange: An NFL Draft Podcast - 50. Draft Grades for Every Team in the NFC South & AFC West

Episode Date: May 12, 2022

Hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers break down every pick -- what they loved, what they liked and what they didn't get -- for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders and Denver Broncos

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 got 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. In this episode, it's the final two divisions of our 2022 NFL Draft recap. We've got eight teams left to go looking at every single pick, every single position, grading what we loved, what we liked, and what we weren't so hot on.

Some question marks that we have after the draft, but thankfully, these teams that we got to talk about today, most of them, really great draft. So we're going to chat about all of that, all the things that we loved, and some of the things that we thought could have been a little bit different. We're going to take a look at players that were still on the board, when teams were picking certain players, all of that. You guys know the drill. I'm Trevor Sycamore. With me, as always, is Connor Rogers. Let's ring the bell. Welcome to the opening bell of the NFL Stock Exchange Podcast. I'm Trevor Sycamore.

That's Connor Rogers. And this is the final divisional recap for the draft grades in the 2022 NFL Draft. Connor, it's bittersweet, man. I'm excited to get to the summer content. We talked about that a little bit in the last episode. But last two divisions, man. AFC West, NFC South. These are the final eight teams to talk about to recap for the 2022

NFL Draft. And then we'll never talk about these players again. Never. We'll never revisit it. This is it. This is the whole draft process right here. Isn't it funny that you spend the draft process and some players you talk about for like eight months and then they pop up like on a special teams tackle

two years later and you're like, oh my God, I forgot that person existed. Like what have they been doing doing it's always the first preseason first preseason yeah it's just like if they make one tackle one number you're like 49 i knew it i knew it all along i talked about it this summer this guy's gonna be a stud and then he'll never play again but the beauty is you never have to care because they had that one highlight and your entire you're good. You're done. Clip it out. Tweet it out.

Tweet out the team, the team accounts video and you're good to go. So it really is wild to me when it's you're right. It is bittersweet saying goodbye to this draft in a sense of we're not talking about these guys as prospects anymore. Pretty much after the show and some rookie of the year talk and all that kind of future stuff we will be moving on to the 2023 draft scouting the 2023 draft by position group uh in depth on this podcast this will be a a very busy but fun summer for this podcast and and then man once the preseason starts we will be talking about these players from an nfl lens so it feels really, really strange.

But I am in a way I'm actually not like a lot. A lot of people are like itching to get to the next draft class right before the NFL draft starts. I'm not like that at all. I actually don't like turning the page, but I'm finally ready at this point. Well, I think we're I think it comes in phases, right? Yeah. Phase of OK, now we see where these guys got drafted, the round, the team, the fit, everything. You get to talk about that, which we are for the next couple, which we have been for these last couple of weeks.

And like, now I'm ready to turn the page to, I just made a joke about it, but like preseason training camp, like I'm looking to see like how they're utilized. Real football. Get some pads on, get some helmets on. Let's see. Training camp tweets from reporters oh i was right about that guy he made a catch for the third stringers i i warned

all of you and none of you listened to me you fools it's the most beautiful time of the year just absolute vindication for one man although next week you and i have a dynasty draft we're in together we do which is on a day that you and I, around a time that you and I actually record. So there's a chance the draft is happening when you and I are on Zoom together. This is true. This is very true. We pick back to back.

Did you see that? Oh, do we? I didn't even see the order. I sadly pick fourth and you pick fifth. Oh, so you're in front of me for that? No. Yeah, I can snipe you every time. Every single time. Every single time I can snipe you every time. Every single time.

Every single time I can snipe you. Well, we're going to have to. We'll update the pod. We will have to update the podcast listeners, the loyal sex addicts out there, about our rookie draft hall. So we'll be able to do that for you guys sometime next week. But before, like we said, we got to get to the final chapter here. These last two divisions, the NFC South and the AFC West,

two very interesting divisions. One of them, probably the most talented division in all football, which is going to be a blast to go over. Before we start to break those down, got to talk to you guys about our presenting sponsor, our friends over at Jock Market. That is Jock MKT. Their motto, stop betting, start trading.

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Connor, where do you want to start today? What team do you want to start with? What division do you want to start with with these final two divisions here for this? I think we usually start with the NFC, so we'll stay there. We're going to start with the NFC South, and we're going to start, I think, on a good note with the Atlanta Falcons. I think we have to start with the Atlanta Falcons. This was, you know, a team that is clearly rebuilding with the trade of Matt Ryan and the failed pursuit of Deshaun Watson.

And obviously going into a year where Marcus Mariota is their projected starter, a relatively new regime on both ends of the front office and coaching staff. So first over first round pick for the Falcons, eighth overall wide receiver, Drake London from USC, two second round picks, and they used it both on the defensive side of the ball in the front seven. Arnold Ibikati, the pass rusher from Penn State, 38th overall. Troy Anderson, 58th overall, the linebacker from Montana State. And then two third round picks. So they were really busy on day two of this draft.

They took Desmond Ritter, the quarterback from Cincinnati, with that first third rounder. And the second third rounder, they took D'Angelo Malone, another edge pass rusher from Western Kentucky. A fifth round pick, they took Tyler Algier, the running back from BYU. Two sixth round picks to close out this draft. Staying local, Justin Schaffer, the guard from Georgia. And staying local again, John Fitzpatrick, a blocking tight end from Georgia. Trevor, what'd you love with this draft? Well, first of all, I'm very proud of you for remembering to recap the entire draft

before we got into our little segment. The last draft grade show is the first time I remembered to actually read the picks. So if you guys have listened to these shows before, how we break things up is we're going to go with loved, liked, and then some didn't get questions. And then, of course, we'll give you an overall grade. connor asked what i loved what did i love about this draft i loved arnold ebikedi at the top of the second round i love that they were able to navigate the draft that way work the intel feel like they didn't have to force a pass rusher which they desperately

needed at the top went with the player they really liked in drake london and instead were able to get what i think is is a perfect guy who can come in and contribute right away, which is what they need in Arnold Ebikete. Love the fact that they took a chance on Desmond Ritter where they did. Cannot believe that he fell that far. And it was kind of the perfect situation for me for the Atlanta Falcons. I was wondering if maybe, you know, pre-draft, we were talking about three quarterbacks going in the first round, right? Kenny Pickett, Malik Willis, Desmond Ritter probably going in the first round.

We were thinking, man, could one of those guys be an option for the Falcons at number eight overall? And if they're not, are you getting a quarterback to even like at the top of the second round? Well, turns out they got a pretty damn good quarterback at the top of the third round in Desmond Ritter. So it's kind of a little bit of luck there and how the quarterbacks fell in this draft but I loved how they capitalized on that love D'Angelo Malone as well just no pass rush to be seen along this defensive line going into this draft and so I liked the athletic upside and the overall readiness of Arnold DeBacchete I think is an older pass rush prospect to be able to come in and contribute right away, something that the Falcons definitely need.

Loved those three. Liked Drake London and Tyler Algier. Now, I think a lot of people are going to be like, Trev, Drake London was your wide receiver too. What gives? Why is he not a love? Well, he's not a love for me simply because there were so many areas where the Falcons could have gone pass rush wise, pass protection wise that I still like the pick. falcons offense especially once they get their solidified quarterback in there whether it's mariotta whether it's rid or whether it's somebody down the line i think drake london is going to be a steady wide receiver one for them for years and years and years but there are plenty of wide

receivers they do have trench needs and so i just bumped it down to a light but y'all know how i feel about drake london i like tyler algier as well getting him in the fifth round i think it is a great spell to what um cordial patterson is for them as a player who they were going to want to move around a lot using a lot of different ways emphasize that athleticism more of a downhill rusher uh somebody who can do a lot of work between the tackles making things happen through contact so i love that pick the don't get for me sort of troy anderson again because when i look at this class i go go, okay. You had pass rush needs. You had pass protection needs.

The offensive line is not good in Atlanta. You went wide receiver. Okay. I get it. Playmaker wide receiver was also very barren or in Libby KD. I just praised how much I liked that pick. And then you pick a linebacker in the third. I would have liked to see some trenches on the offensive side of the ball emphasized there

i think i probably would have subbed out some sort of offensive line selection a little bit uh that number two that uh second second overall pick is probably where i would have targeted that one there but a lot of people like troy anderson they like the athleticism they're a little worried about the physical physical profile for him but that's just my big question mark if he works out and he's a fine football player, okay. I would have gone a different direction. I would have emphasized a little bit more in the trenches. But those were my overall thoughts on it.

But, Connor, all in all, this draft gets an A from me. Loved basically every single pick. Maybe had some question marks about the Anderson pick. But, man, other than that, fantastic draft from Terry Fondo. I'm with you. Really, really good draft. I think when you look at it, it's hard not to love the pass rushing duo they got in Arnold DeBacchetti. And of course, D'Angelo Malone. I had some pretty good value on those picks. I had DeBacchetti in my top 30. He

went 38th. I had D'Angelo Malone in my top 50. He went 82nd. So I thought they knocked it out of the park to finally get this team pass rush help on both ends. Loved, loved, loved those picks. Loved the Tyler Algier pick. I had him as my RB5. They got him in the fifth round. So that was plus 70 on value for me with the Falcons. I think they did a really good job there.

Liked Drake London. They needed wide receiver help. They got two guys that can make plays on the ball in the air, Kyle Pitts and Drake London. And I liked Troy Anderson. I do agree with your points, though, Trev. They had a lot of needs. So you wonder, taking a very, very athletic but still a little bit of a project linebacker

with a ton of upside, was that the move compared to all your other needs when you had this pick in the top 60? But I like Troy Anderson, the player. So I liked the pick. I didn't love the pick. There was nothing I didn't get with this draft. I think that they're a team that the, you know, the roster was a little bare.

They had a lot of needs. I thought they went and saw premium needs as pass rusher. I was not a Desmond Ritter guy, and they still got value on that pick. I had him 68th overall. It took him 74th overall. What's the lose? If Desmond Ritter stinks, it doesn't matter.

It's worth the dart throw at that point. Yep. And, you know know even Justin Schaffer is somebody that you know I thought they once again got really good value a guy that can play in a pinch if you need him a little limited as a guard but can at least provide your offensive line some depth and help you run the football in a power system so overall I really like what the Falcons did I see eye to eye with you on this draft I gave it an A I think it's a little bit of a long road for the Falcons in that division immediately rebuilding, wondering what the long-term answer is going to be a quarterback for Arthur Smith's offense, but at least they are finally aligning some pieces on both sides of the ball that in the future, when in my opinion, they do draft one of those, you know, C.J. Stroud, Bryce Young kind of players,

there are pieces in place to succeed. Yeah, some offensive linemen that were still on the board when they picked Troy Anderson. I mean, you had Bernard Ryman. That's a big one. You had Donald Parham. You had Sean Ryan. You had Abraham Lucas, if you liked him as well.

So, I mean, the Raymond selection could have been a big one for them. I would have liked to see that over Troy Anderson. But again, I know that you like the upside of them. A lot of other people do as well. So I'm not killing the pick too much. But that is, if I had a don't get, it was prioritizing linebacker when you got offensive line question.

One of our A's. I mean, not a lot of teams can say that on this series. It's true. Walk around with an A, and we both gave the Falcons an A. Yeah, yeah. Next team. Let's talk. Walk around with an A, and we both gave the Falcons an A. Yeah, yeah. Next team. Let's talk about the New Orleans Saints next. We got Chris Olave in the first round at number 11,

traded up to go get him. Trevor Penning then at number 19, the offensive tackle from Northern Iowa. Alonte Taylor, the cornerback from Tennessee, a little bit older of a prospect. They got him in the second round at 49, just within the top 50. Then they did not pick until the fifth round.

DeMarco Jackson, the linebacker from App State. And then the sixth round, Jordan Jackson, the edge rusher from Air Force. What did we think about this one, Connor? Not my favorite draft. And they're working with limited capital because of all the trades they've made. Typically, this is what the Saints do.

I didn't love anything. I liked Chris Lave. I liked Chris Lave. I think Chris Lave is going to be a really solid number two wide receiver in this offense. I think he knows how to get open. He knows how to track the ball. With opportunities from Jameis Winston, Chris Lave is going to be just fine. I actually like them going up and doing what a lot of contenders didn't, and that's being aggressive to get one of the first round caliber wide receivers in this draft. So I do give the Saints a lot of credit for making that move. The problem is, Trevor, I didn't like a single pick after that by a pretty wide margin.

I didn't value Trevor Penning in the first round. I had Alante Taylor as a 161st overall player in this draft. They took him at 49. I thought he was a depth zone corner that's going to have his struggles in man coverage despite his speed. Like you said, a little bit older of a prospect. I just, I don't really think teams valued Elante Taylor as a top 75 player in this draft. And when you're the Saints and you got the two first rounders, you got the second rounder, that's a top 50 pick. And then you don't pick until the fifth and sixth rounds. You got to hit on that top 50 pick. I don't think they did personally. So,

you know, I just didn't like this draft. I don't really know how else to say it. I think the Saints are a good team. I think they're actually being underrated in the NFL. I think Jameis Winston, when he played last year, was pretty good, and I think that they have continuity under Dennis Allen and a lot of veterans, veteran additions, whether it's Honey Badger, Marcus May. You know, I think overall, once again, I think Michael Thomas coming back. I think this is a good football team. I didn't think this was a good draft.

I think Chris Alave is going to be impactful. I would personally be very surprised if they got anything else from this draft, more than an above average starter from this draft. And that's tough to say when you had not just the pick, you traded up at 11, but you had another top 20 pick and you had a top 50 pick. I just don't see upside with either of those guys personally. So I give it a C-. I was a little tough on this draft.

I think the Saints are a good team. Didn't like how they played the board after Olave. It's interesting when you try to bring in the trade elements as well for the Saints, who obviously moved some capital to get those two first-round picks anyways with the Philadelphia Eagles to move from getting 18 to 16 and 19 as their picks that they had to start the evening. If you break it up between those two picks and you include the picks that

they moved to go up from 16 to 11 to go eat Chris Alave, essentially you're trading pick 18, which they had originally the 101st pick theth pick, and the 120th pick. So a first, two-thirds, and a fourth to go up and get Chris Olave. That's fine. But then also traded a 2023 first and a 2024 second for the 19th pick, which got them Trevor Penning. That's the way that you would want to divide it up, right?

That's the way that you would want to, I think, most evenly say, okay, we moved all these picks to get a dynamic wide receiver and an offensive tackle the future i'm not the biggest penning fan this podcast is not the biggest penning podcast and so i love them getting chris olave i gotta say that objectively in a vacuum if you will him on the field with jamis winston we know that jamis is going to be a vertical passer like he has to be you can only you can only keep the tiger in the cage so long right i mean like eventually he's going to have to get to a point where his back's against the wall they're going to need him to turn into that gunslinger kind of player and with that deep pass savant like chris olave

is going to go a long way for them especially think because because i think that michael thomas is much more of a quick hit underneath short to intermediate guy chris olave can be a great compliment to that it's the over the top player i think that they're going to benefit that a lot from him i like jackson but he's a fifth round pick the linebacker there i think he's kind of just a depth player maybe a rotation guy he was kind of the field general in the middle for app state so i do like that pick the uh the alante taylor and the trevor penning picks are the ones that kind of have a little bit of umbrage with not the biggest penning fan taylor's a little bit older of a prospect i guess the saints are

really feeling like they're just in win now mode though you know like you got to go get the offensive lineman to fill the hole from toronto armstead right so you had to do that you had to make a move along the offensive line. And then Taylor, I suppose that they're thinking, hey, he's an older prospect. Hopefully he can come in, contribute right away, give us a secondary boost. So maybe they're thinking that as well.

And he loved the draft, especially for all the picks that they gave up to go get their players. That's kind of what the Saints do. I would give this like a C or a C plus, but I do think the return on investment could be high for this team. If Penning pans out, certainly because you're going to have a chance to right away.

And then if they need Jameis to be come from behind gunslinger, Jameis and Olave is kind of able to pop the first season. So I'm going to give it a C plus, but maybe I'm a little bit of a hater on it. Maybe we're just a little bit of a hater on this, on this podcast, but that's kind of where I, where I'm at with it. And now I, see this draft yeah once again i think the saints are a good team i think they make a lot of great pro personnel moves think they make a lot of great aggressive

moves but i think after the alabe pick this draft just did not do it for me and i'd be a stone cold liar if i said anything else i mean i had Penning 28 spots later than where he got drafted. I had Alante Taylor 112 spots later than when he got drafted. I had DeMarco Jackson 25 spots later than when he got drafted. I just, if you guys have been listening to the show by now, I'm going to call it how I see it. And there's always a chance that some of my rankings will be way off, but I'm going to ride with them. So, Hey, that's what, that's what the instant grades are, right? I mean, these guys, these guys haven't played it down in the NFL yet, so what we are grading them off of is the process

and how they got to the players in the picks and where they were versus our big board. And that's kind of just what it is. We don't think it's the be-all, end-all, but it's an instant grade show, so we're telling you about the process. All right, Carolina Panthers, first round pick, sixth overall, Iki Ikuonu.

Bit of a surprise Iki made it there. I think Panthers fans are ecstatic about that outcome. Next pick, third round, Matt Corral, 94th overall. Bit of a slide for the quarterback from Mississippi. Round four, Brandon Smith, the linebacker from Penn State. Two sixth-round picks, Amari Barno, the kind of hybrid backer edge player from Virginia Tech, and then Cade Mays, the guy that's played everywhere on the offensive line for Tennessee,

and then Callan Barnes, the blazing corner from Baylor in the seventh round. That guy can absolutely fly. So, Panthers. I have to apologize to our Panthers listeners of the show for mocking them Kenny Pickett for months after months after months after months. And I think they walked out all in all in a really, really good situation, all things considered.

Trev, what did you think of this draft? I can recap this draft in three words, all right? We are sorry? No. Well, it's true. It's true. That is a good way to do it. But at the top, Icky Kwanu, we've got, well, actually,

I'm just going to say the one word for each pick, okay? Beef, swag, speed, speed, beef, speed. That's the entire draft for the Carolina Panthers in order of how they picked everybody. Icky Kwanu, beef. Matt Corral, swag. Brandon Smith, speed. Amari Barno speed,

Cade maids beef, Kalen Barnes speed. Okay. Like that's just, they were going there basically. It was just a beef and speed draft. I don't know if that's an order at a, at a, at a takeout place somewhere, but in Carolina, it could be at this point because that is how I feel like the Carolina Panthers approach this job. They were very lucky to get a heat quanta where they did. You and I talked about this so much during the pre-draft process.

They had two major needs, quarterback, left tackle. You had one pick to do it. You were picking six overall, and you weren't picking again until the fourth round. If you traded down, there was a good chance you weren't going to get a good enough caliber of an offensive lineman for it to matter. And if you were picking a quarterback in the second and third round history tells you you might as well have

just thrown away that pick because they often do not work out so it was a bad situation for them to potentially trade down it could have made you feel good in the moment but in practicality and process it probably wasn't going to work out for you and instead this is essentially i have to give this draft an a for the Carolina Panthers because I cannot imagine a better case scenario than them getting one of the big three offensive linemen at number six overall. The quarterback's falling enough for them

to at least take a chance on Matt Corral, at least have the ability to pick one of the quarterbacks that could at least give you faith right away. So I think the fact that they landed those two guys, the draft basically has to be an a even after those first two brandon smith former five-star player brings a lot of the speed to the uh to the second level of the defense he's a more slender linebacker player who is built more on speed than he is on power i think he's got to get a little bit stronger at the next level to make sure that he can hold up and be a three down um they'd be a three down linebacker there he's got to be able to play either middle linebacker

will linebacker but he's got to have that strength profile and honestly the anticipation the coverage the reps everything to be able to play both that's how he's going to maximize the value there mario barno basically had the fastest edge 40 that we've ever seen um kade mays which i mean you love you love the burst off the edge that's what you're going for there um kade mays former five-star offensive lineman from tennessee who man i mean he is just he's a mauler he he's a guy who you you want to get those guys he's probably going to play on the interior a lot of people thought okay maybe his future is an offense tackle no that i think that kind of went out the window i think he's much more of an interior offensive line he's kind of proved that over the last couple years and then kaylin barnes almost broke the uh the 40-yard dash record uh as

a cornerback who brings you a ton of speed there so you're just upping the speed in the secondary which is never a bad thing especially with a pick as late as the seventh round being able to get him at that spot so honestly connor i i love the first two picks i think this draft is an a right after icky aquano and matt corral you don't even need to see anything else. But I like the rest of the draft. I did. They were just taking swings with high-ceiling guys, either athleticism or size. So I liked it.

Man, this is another draft that gets an A from me. I really like the approach, right? I loved the Icky, Aquanu pick. I loved the Matt Corral pick. Icky was what I thought the best player in this draft. Corral, I had him as the 49th overall player. They took him 94th. So I'll say this right now.

I know Corral has his current shortcomings as a guy that, you know, schematically is going to have big adjustments at the next level, and decision-making is going to have big adjustments at the next level. But just athletically and based off of arm talent, there are going to be a lot of people in training camp that some are looking around

and going, sure, we don't want to play this guy over what we've already seen from Sam Darnold. Are we sure? And I don't even know if I – like, I think Corral needs time. He's far away from being a week-by-week starter. But physically and athletically in training camp, I think Matt Corral is going to turn some heads when he's throwing side-by-side with Sam Darnold. So love those picks.

Get into the like. I like Amari Barno because you're just, like you said, Trev, taking an athlete at edge. There's times where he gets lost on tape, but he's so athletic and there are splash plays that you bet on that in the sixth round. Then you look at the Cade Mays pick. but he's so athletic and there are splash plays that you bet on that in the sixth round. Then you look at the Cade Mays pick.

He's somebody that 35 starts for Georgia, 19 at right guard, 12 at right tackle, two at left guard, two at left tackle, 17 starts for Tennessee, 11 at right tackle, six at right guard. I agree with you, he's gonna play guard at the next level, but that kind of versatility and game experience in the SEC and that kind of versatility and game experience in the SEC and that amount of starts, I mean, it's pretty crazy to have over 50 starts

and they're split up between four different positions at the college level. Speaks a lot to Cade Mays and the kind of depth he can provide on the offensive line right away, which Carolina has dealt with depth issues or experienced what it's like being a little thin on offensive line, and you've got to stud and icky. The only pick I didn't get, and this is really nitpicking, I hate to even do this, is Brandon Smith. I wasn't a big Brandon Smith guy.

He's an amazing athlete. It's just he has not figured it out on the field. There's no instincts. Like you said, a little bit of a lighter guy. He's a dynamic athlete. If they have a special teams plan for him, he might be a big time contributor there. But I don't think he could be on the field anytime soon for Carolina. So nitpicking there. I thought, you know, they reached on him. I give this an A minus. I thought the Panthers had an awesome draft when they really, really needed to have one.

And it goes back to my Falcons argument a little bit, you know, with Ritter and Corral are similar where, hey, if they're not the guy, it's not really a big deal. And if there's a next guy coming in, he's walking into a situation where he is at least has a chance to develop and succeed. And having a cornerstone like Icky on that offensive line with all the weapons they have, the Panthers at least have built now an infrastructure that it might not be pretty this year, and that's just the reality. But in 2023, 2024, they have a foundation in place

for a young quarterback to develop. A-minus. So that's two drafts for us that we've both given A's. That has not been very rare on the series so far. I have at least one more A to go in this episode. I have one in my back pocket as well. Alright.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers, that's the last team in this division in the NFC South that we have to talk about here. First round, didn't have a first round pick. They ended up trading back from 27 to 33 they lied to lewis scene did you see that yeah dude that happens i can't tell you how many of those happen though i feel bad for lewis scene i get it but like that happens multiple times

every single year as long as we've been on this earth and drafts have happened so for those who i want to i want to get the quote up right here uh for those of you who missed this um i don't i don't know where this quote came from but lewis scene said quote i had a team at 27 they know who they are i'm not going to say no names it was at 27 okay lewis well we we we know what team was picking at 27 the whole process they said if you're there we're gonna pick you they moved down uh to the second round and i'm like damn they really did me so dirty so that was obviously tampa bay tampa bay was sitting there at number 27 if you guys listen to the guest mock draft series you know for a fact lewis scene was one of the five players that john led later talked about that they liked that they had on the board turns out he was probably their top guy but they

i think that going back to what john was talking about lewis seen logan hall trey mcbride like all of those guys were right in the mix and tampa sitting there at 27 have a chance to pick up some extra draft picks go to the top of the round, and they think we're guaranteed to get one of these guys. We're guaranteed to get one of the players that we like if we trade down to 33. So they did just that. Louisine ends up going number 32 overall to the Minnesota Vikings in the final pick of the first round right before the Bucs picked at 33. So, look.

He understandably probably wanted to go to the Bucs. Why wouldn't he? Look, living innesota or living in tampa i'm sorry i'll do respect everybody who lives in minnesota i love you dearly tom brady several chances a rookie come on right once again i will die on the hill that todd bowles is the best safety developer in the nfl of the last 10 years also important but you know you just play next to he's playing serious so anyways gonna be doing a lot of tackling lewis scene lewis scene just kidding he is absolutely allowed to feel like that 100 he is allowed to feel like that and you know what the bucks are allowed to do what they did and i would say that about any team i'm not just saying that because it's a tampa team i'm saying that about any team connor you mentioned it before i even read the quote this happens every year every single year

teams tell a guy we will take you if you are there hell the biggest the biggest regret that the bucks might have in franchise history is in aaron rogers draft john gruden called him the week of the draft and said if you are there and we pick, we're picking you. Guess what happened? They didn't pick you. Happens all the time. You hate to see that, don't you? Yeah, you do not love it. Let me just say that. Hey, you know what?

Look, it all put Tampa on the road to Brady. So, you know, it was the long game. Gruden was just playing the long game. All right, number 33 overall. They took Logan Hall, the defensive lineman from Houston. Luke luke gadecki the offensive lineman from central michigan the second round at number 57 no or uh third round pick they had rashad white the running back from arizona state fourth round kate otten and then uh jay kamarda the punter from university of georgia who we had listed incorrectly on draft night on the pff draft show i thought they picked a kicker and i was freaking out because i was like why the hell would they pick a kicker this is the

stupidest thing i've ever seen they have ryan suck up what like did ryan suck up die did he retire what happened why are they picking a kicker and he's a punter because we had it listed wrong so that's on me you know did you have a little like meltdown moment well i was a little bit because i was like what what are we doing what nuts why would we do this? So anyways, Zion McCollum, the cornerback for Sam Houston State. They got him in the fifth round. Co-Keefe, tight end for Minnesota in the sixth round. And then Andre Anthony, the edge rusher from LSU in the seventh. Connor, what'd you love?

What'd you like? And what didn't you understand here with this Tampa pick? I love the K. Dotten pick. Though they got great value on that. I think he fits everything they need. I thought he was a good blocker. I read one of those blurbs the other day. I can't remember what it was, and I don't want to throw anyone under the bus,

but it was one of those fantasy blurbs, and it was like, at 245 pounds, he's probably not going to be able to get on the field as a blocker. And I'm like, Kay Dotton had like 1,000 blocking snaps at Washington. He's a very adequate blocker. He's a classic Tampa tight end. I think he's going to be just fine there. He catches everything in the 5-12 yard range. I really liked that pick, and

I think he could play right away. Gronk's going to come back and just miss all these OTAs and all that stuff, but it's still good to have insurance. Gronk gets banged up. They lost O.J. Howard, of course, this offseason as well. I loved the Otten pick. I liked the Logan Hall pick. I liked the Gidecki pick, and I liked Zion McCollum pick as well. So really, I love the Otten pick. I liked the Logan Hall pick. I liked the Gidecki

pick and I liked Zion McCollum pick as well. Zion was my favorite developmental corner in this draft. He is a elite athlete, an incredible athlete. I think he could be a top flight gunner right away that's going to learn how to play corner in Todd Bowles' system on the outside. So I really, really liked that pick. I think Gedecky could start at guard. I have no problem with that. I know he played tackle in college. He could start at guard for the Bucs if they need him to. I think Logan Hall will need some time,

but they're not going to ask him to be a superhero right away. They just want him to come in and rush. So I liked the Logan Hall pick. The only thing I really didn't get with this draft, because it wasn't, this was not like a sex appeal draft at all it was like we just need we have our needs we're gonna get them and you're just gonna have to deal with that and they did a good job doing that because they are a Super Bowl contender I'm not the biggest Rashad White guy I thought he was a really nice top of day three kind of running back uh they took him in the third not

top of day three more middle of day three running back with you I know he had he's a little bit elusive I don't think he's a great athlete. I think he's just a solid player. They pass on a lot of running backs I liked more than him. So we'll see how that one works out. But this was a B- to me. I thought the Bucs, considering their resources, had a rock-solid draft.

They attacked needs. And they already have the foundational players they need in place on the pro side that they're going to be going for a Super Bowl again. I will just say that this was a classic jason light draft every like every single player is just a very meat and potatoes draft jason light player right i mean just from the i i love the gadecki pick i think that you're right he played offensive tackle he's going to play on the interior for the bucks he could even play right away this season he is after listening to his interviews uh i mean like this dude is a eats a bowl of nails for breakfast without any milk you

know like that kind of player i'm sure jason light loved him from the moment that he found out what kind of personality that he had and you like he mows the lawn after practice like that like yeah 100 so like he's i i'd love that pick i think that's great them getting zion mccollum and taking a chance on him to develop him with potentially conflicting cornerback contracts with Sean Murphy Bunting and Jamel Dean coming up a year from now. I think that that was smart to get on that corner group and to take a chance on a guy who has a uniquely high ceiling

as an athlete, I think was nice. I liked the Logan Hall pick. I liked the Rashad White pick. I liked the Kate Otten pick. I think those are all solid players who kind of like i said um uh logan hall is like a better version of william golson they're hoping kind of already have their kate otten is a better version of uh antonio claire when they drafted antonio claire right where they they want this guy who can be a rock-solid in-line tight end for you,

who could also give you a little bit more in the passing game than Anthony Auclair was able to do. So that's why he's picked earlier. But, like, that's the mold that they were going for. Rashad White, obviously a Tom Brady preference because he threw the ball to James White so much. He just sees White on the back of the jersey, immediately just goes pinpoint straight to the hands, third down back.

I'm obviously kind of kidding right there, but I do think that he's going to be a third down specialist for them. I think you're onto something. Listen, I said that I was kind of joking. I mean, Tom Brady complained about the number rule change. He's a man of consistency. He did not like when guys could change their numbers

to single digits, so. This is very true. What was James White number 25? You think I would know it considering he caught 700 passes against the New York Jets in my lifetime. He was 28. Is anybody on the Bucs roster 28?

Let's take a look. I need to know. I got you. I got you. Brady's going to pay him to pick 28 uh yes richard robinson no no no no no no no no i'm sorry brady is gonna brady's gonna brady's gonna pay out his contract to just get him off the team and get he's just gonna shard robinson holding on to 28 man todd wells must love him i didn't know he was still in the league.

Big up Shard Robinson. The only thing that I didn't like about this draft is just some of the players that they prioritized, right? Like they pick Logan Hall. I would have rather had them pick Kyler Gordon or Travis Jones, right? I think it's that kind of situation. Travis Jones I agree with, yes.

Yeah, and it's just like there's a couple of like like i like the gadecki pick uh so like i'm not i'm not gonna nitpick that one too much um it's just some of the players that they prioritize where they did it was never not going to be this way because like i said this is a classic jason like draft so it's hard for me to be too hard on this when i i know that this was always how it was going to be. So honestly, it's B, B+, something like that. This was always the draft that Tampa was going to have. So it's hard to be too difficult on it. They went into this draft with a plan.

They came out of it with the exact players that they probably wanted. The only guy that they really wanted that they didn't get. I'm sure they liked Louis Seam, but obviously you've got to make choices there. Maybe they wish they would have been able to get Trey McBride if he slipped a little bit further in the second round. But other than that, these are probably the exact players they wanted. Yeah.

You know, this team as well as anyone, they just strike me as a team that like they find their guys and they're like, yep. A hundred percent. We'll take them. Yep.

Don't care. Yeah. Every board will tell us we're 20 spots too early. We don't care. And sometimes it's okay. And sometimes that's dangerous thinking, right? Yes.

But the bucks are pretty damn good at team building. I think that Jason light has earned the right to be kind of get the benefit of the doubt in this and to, to just, to believe that he's going to pick the right players. And especially of course, guys, Tom Brady helps.

I get it. But I think that they picked the guys that they were always going to pick. Before we move on to the next division, got to tell you guys about our friends over at Sunday. Does your lawn have weeds, bear patches, pet spots? Well, Sunday can help you solve all of these problems in more the easy way. They've got everything you need from fertilizer to seeds to weed control, all delivered right to your door.

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you visit get sunday.com slash nfl that is 20 off your custom lawn plans at get sunday.com slash nfl all right connor this is it final division division. It is the AFC West. I think it's safe to say we saved the best for last, maybe not the best draft classes, but certainly the best division in the NFL, which was on an arms race that we may have never seen in NFL history this past off season. So what team are we starting with here in the AFC West?

Let's kind of start with the, the team. That's a darling of, you know, the, the choice to make the biggest jump, I think in the AFC West. Let's kind of start with the team that's the darling of, you know, the choice to make the biggest jump, I think, in the NFL, and that would have to be the Los Angeles Chargers. Everything for the Chargers screams, man, they're ready, right? I really do. Got to be.

Right? You got a star quarterback. You have the Khalil Mack trade. Now Joey Bosa's put in perfect positions where they have two top flight edge rushers. You got a coach that is very, very aggressive in unique ways. You got a ton of weapons. This is a good football team. And the problem is, as you will hear on the show,

the other three teams in this division are freaking awesome as well. So we'll start with the Chargers draft here, Trevor. How could we do anything else? And these drafts matter so much for these teams trying to get any edge they can in this division. The Chargers' first-round pick was Zion Johnson, offensive lineman, most likely guard from Boston College. Third-rounder, because they had no second-rounder. That was in the Khalil Mack trade.

JT Woods, the free safety from Baylor. Bit of a ball hawk. Round four, Isaiah Spiller, the running back from Texas A&M. Round five, Otito Ogbanya, the defensive tackle from UCLA. Round six, Jamari Sawyer, a versatile offensive lineman, but most likely ready to play guard at the next level from Georgia. Jasir Taylor, the defensive back from Wake Forest. Dean Leonard, the defensive back from Mississippi. And Xander Horvath, the fullback versatile player from Purdue.

So Trevor, a good amount of picks here. A lot of very popular names in the draft community. What did you think of this draft? Man, when I go to what I loved about this draft category, I loved the two offensive linemen that they were able to pick up and it's funny that they got these two guys as far apart as they did zion johnson in the first round and then jamari sawyer in the sixth round by the way i i would have thought jamari sawyer was a lot closer to third yeah i thought he'd go in the top 100

personally yeah man like i i thought that he was going way earlier than this so i i wonder if he's banged up i wonder if it's health concerns i wonder what it is with him because i look okay maybe he's not playing offense tackle in the nfl still dude's gonna be a damn good guard as long as he's healthy but who knows well we'll see if something kind of comes out about that that's the only thing that i could think of why he would have been uh somebody who slipped that far but i love those two additions right uh i think that when you look at this team and how much they're going to emphasize the past and get the most out of Justin Herbert's incredible arm, you've got to be able to protect.

You've got to be able to keep them up, right? You've got to even, even an extra half a second, preventing guys from collapsing the pocket from the inside, from those three tech one tech zero technique positions, the blitzes that'll come up the middle, right? If you can hold that front of the pocket right in front of the quarterback it's just so valuable especially knowing that you have a player like ray sean slater on the left side now i think they're still

working out who exactly is going to be the right tackle but you know you figure that out at some point you've got a really healthy strong interior offensive line and then you got two guys that you got faith in hopefully at some point to uh to play on the outside at offensive tackle they know they have that with slater but we'll see who who's going to be right tackle i think storm norton is still supposed to be the right tackle which isn't the best thing in the world but you know i all that to say i love that they emphasize the interior i love that they are putting their money where their mouth is drafting their franchise quarterback seeing him go the f off and then just really making sure that the big boys in front of them

are as good as they need to be. I liked Ogbonia, Atito Ogbonia, because I think that he is a strong stout run defender in the middle. He brings a lot of size to that interior defensive line, so I liked that they were building through both the inside of the trenches there. I liked the Isaiah Spiller pick. I wasn't the biggest Isaiah Spiller fan, but where they got him, what was it, fourth round, right?

Fourth round pick, 123 in the draft. I mean, like at that point, okay. You know, you go get him, make him a rotational back. I think that you look at what he was able to do and the flashes and the strengths and what you saw him do at Texas A&M. You say, okay, like I'll take that in the fourth round. Sure. A lot of people were talking about him as like RB1,

maybe a first round running back. And that's where I had a lot of pushback on. I was like, okay, no, no, no, no. We're not even close to that. But fourth round, hell yeah. I think it's a good pick. So I like the Isaiah Spiller pick. I like the JT Woods pick as well.

I think he's a safety who's got good athleticism. He's an explosive dude. I think that certain parts of his game, when it comes to like flipping the hips or just like changing direction, he's not as fluid with that as he is like in a straight line speed explosive when you see him like when the ball is in the air and he's got kind of like a straight line path towards the angle of the ball flight he can really fly and get to that point he needs to anticipate things a little bit better do

i think be that rangy safety that they can really depend on the only thing that i didn't like about this draft is i guess they're good at corner and wide receiver which is fine but you know we sat here at number 17 do a mock drafts for the chargers and a lot of times we would if jordan davis made it this far we'd be like okay jordan davis uh if a corner made it this far like a trent mcduffie uh then we would say okay maybe you're going to get a trent mcduffie you're going to push um as Asante Samuel inside are you just going to give yourself versatility for one of those guys to go inside and out and then wide receiver as well but when you look at the depth chart you go okay like I can see why they didn't totally go for a premium resource and in that spot they've

got Jalen Guyton they've got Keenan Allen they have Mike Williams um they had Gerald Everett they've got Josh Palmer right they've got all those guys of the receiving weapons you have Austin Eckler who is a receiving weapon himself out of the backfield. So I think that they're okay there. At corner, you sign JC Jackson, which is huge. You still do have Michael Davis. You've got Asante Samuel Jr. Bryce Callahan's on this team.

So I guess I get it. And that's why I'm not very harsh on this draft. I think it's like an A-minus, B-plus. I ended up giving it a B-plus. But if you wanted me to give it an A-minus, I could be kind of talked into that. why I'm not very harsh on this draft I think it's like an a minus b plus I ended up giving a b plus but if you wanted me to give it an a minus I could be kind of talked into that because I do I think that it was a really great draft for him maybe not as big of a home run with names as we thought it might be for Los Angeles but as long as they're cool with what they've got a corner wide receiver I liked how they went about the rest of it what do you think I'm with you I

gave it a b plus I love the Spiller and sawyer picks. I just think that Spiller, in my opinion, is the running back. They've been missing for a little bit now, maybe even since Melvin Gordon left. I love Austin Eckler, but he's a totally different player than what Isaiah Spiller brings. Spiller can be that early down bruiser that gets you some tough yards that when Eckler's banged up he's gonna be the guy in my opinion so I loved that picture Mari Sawyer was my 58th overall player they got him at 195 there's not a lot of picks that represent that kind of value in this draft to me like you said Trevor is there something we don't know I haven't heard anything so right I think Sawyer is a future starter in the league the fact they got two building block guards in this draft and Zion Johnson in the first round, Sawyer in the sixth round was excellent.

So I love Sawyer, love Spiller, liked Zion. I can't sit here and say I loved it. I thought he was a back end round one kind of guy that took him 17th. Like you said, there were some better players on the board, but you really feel good about his floor. So I thought they had a good draft jt woods to me was a little early but they wanted a defensive back with ball skills and he was one of the guys in this draft that he has a clear resume and tape of finding the football so i can't even get on that pick too much i gave it a b plus really really liked what the chargers did and i know this division is going to be an absolute dog fight but i think they are poised to take that next step and be a playoff team let's move on to

the kansas city chiefs hard to not like this one connor i'm just i'm just gonna be straight up even before i read the names man in the first round they took two players two players that um i liked a lot trent mcduffie and and George Karloftis at 21 and 30. The second round, they had two picks. Sky Moore, the wide receiver from Western Michigan. Brian Cook, the safety from Cincinnati. Third round, Leo Chanel, the linebacker out of Wisconsin. Fourth round, Joshua Williams, somebody that I talked about a lot pre-draft,

the cornerback from Fayetteville State. Fifth round, Darian Kennard. How the hell did Darian Kennard last in the fifth round the offensive lineman from Kentucky then in the seventh round they had Jalen Watts in the corner from Washington State um Isaiah Pascoe uh the running back from Rutgers and then uh Nazi Johnson the safety from Marshall what'd you think Connor how'd you like this draft I loved it uh It's one of my favorite drafts. I would say the Ravens was the only one that I think I liked more. I think this was my second favorite draft out of the entire damn thing. I just look at the Chiefs here.

The best way I can explain it, they had an overall plus 258 value for me. They were just getting every time a player fell. That's a lot. That's a lot of value. Every time a player fell after the second round, they took them. And McDuffie to me, great pick. Karloft is where they got them. Rock solid. Sky Moore, awesome fit. Brian Cook, awesome fit. A lot of those picks besides, were basically right where I had those guys. Then they went on this run where they were just getting value. Leo Chanel, Adam

is the 55th overall player. I think he's a starter at inside linebacker. I called him a taller Nick Bolton. They already have Nick Bolton. They got him at 103. I didn't even think about the absolute carnage that it's going to be Bolton and Leo Chanel in the same linebacker room. Carnage, dude. It's going to be. Oh my God. And Leo Chanel in the same linebacker room.

Carnage, carnage, dude. It's going to be nuts. Josh Williams, a corner that I really liked. I like his length and speed. Had him in the top 100. They got him 135. Darian Canard had him 61st. They got him 145. I think he's a guard and that's fine. Imagine Darian Canard and Orlando Brown playing next to each other. Like There's a lot with this team. Darian Kennard is this year's Trey Smith for them. A guard that fell a million rounds, and he's going to come in and probably be able to play. Dude, such a good call.

Jalen Watson, a defensive back that I had in my top 200. They got him at 243. Even Pacheco, the running back from Rutgers. I wouldn't say right in my backyard, but close enough here. He's got some burst, Trevv he was in a dog crap offense but I wouldn't shock me if a couple injuries happen in the Chiefs backfield and this guy can play he could at least be a change of pace back so I loved this draft they killed the value they got starters galore they got role players galore they got some developmental guys on the back end but when you walk out of the draft and

you got a minimum five starters, which I think they did, that's an A plus. The Chiefs killed it. They had a great draft, and I actually don't think Brett Beach has been this incredible drafter. I think Reed and Mahomes at times have covered up some warts over the years of their drafts. I thought this was a total slam dunk for kansas city we don't have to spend too much time on this one because it's a draft that you and i talked about in the monday immediately following the draft where it was like this is one of our favorite drafts it was just still you mentioned it too over 250 points of plus value of where they guys compared to your big board i mean it just speaks to how much the chiefs were always in an opportunistic position that's where their franchise is that's where the front office mindset is that's a process

that you absolutely love these are all players who have the chance to have massive dividends and that is not even including the fact that they signed john ross or justin ross as a undrafted free agent right they won that sweepstakes even though it wasn't as much of a sweepstakes we thought it was going to be and it's like dude you're getting justin ross's as an undrafted free agent as long as his health checks out and this guy can get on the field it's still justin freaking ross yeah you got him as an undrafted free agent wild man just an absolutely wild draft weekend for for thes. Truly one of my favorites. An absolute A, if not an A+, right there with the Ravens.

I'm with you as one of the best draft classes that there was. Let's move on to the Denver Broncos. Broncos obviously made the huge splash of the offseason by trading. Well, I can't even say that. This offseason was just off the freaking walls. But they traded for Russell Wilson. It was one of the biggest moves that we saw. So they didn't have a first-round pick. Moved for Russell Wilson there. Second-round pick it was one of the biggest moves that we saw so they didn't have a first round pick moved for russell wilson their second round pick very end of the draft nick

benito the linebacker pass rusher from oklahoma in the third round they got greg dolshich the tight end from ucla fourth round they had a pair of fourth round picks damari mathis who is the cornerback slash maybe safety depending on what you think of his athleticism from pit and then uh yoma awuza r, the interior defensive lineman from Iowa State. Fifth round, three fifth round picks. DeLarren Turner, Yelly, safety from Oklahoma. Montrell Washington, the wide receiver from Sanford. And then Luke Wattenberg, the offensive lineman, probably a center from Washington.

Sixth round, Matt Henningsen, the defensive line from Wisconsin. And then another Wisconsin player, Fayon Hicks, the cornerback there in the seventh round to round it all out Connor what'd you think a little bit up and down this one I loved the Nick Benito and DeLarren Turner yell picks ironically both from Oklahoma Benito to me was a very I believe I compared him to Hassan Redick, that kind of player for me in this draft. He's got juice off the edge. They signed Randy Gregory. They had Bradley Chubb. They got something going there with their edge pass rush. I really liked that pick. DeLarren Turner-Yell, I think, is a pretty explosive player on the back end and can be something for a fifth round pick.

Honestly, the rest of it, Trevor, it really did nothing for me. They had four picks after Turner, Yell. I had those guys as UDFAs. And it's two fifth round picks, a sixth round pick, and a seventh round pick. I didn't even have those guys as priority UDFAs. So I didn't really understand what they were doing there. I thought Damari Mathis was a really good athlete, but a project that they took so early. Uwazirike is somebody that I do like for what he is.

I think he can contain and hold the point of attack and he'll have a role. I wasn't as hot on Dulcich as everyone else seemed to be. I think he's a one dimensional tight end. He could run the seam for you. I don't think he'll ever be a blocker. I don't know if he's a good enough athlete to be a true weapon as a pass catcher only. I guess we'll see. So I like Benito. I like Turner. Yellow Azarique is fine. I just this draft didn't do a lot for me. Now they traded a lot of capital for Russ, so I want to give them their credit there. That doesn't fully factor into this grade,

but I gave it a C+. My big question for Denver right now is, who's playing right tackle? For a quarterback that has gotten banged up in the past, I don't like their right tackle situation, and I thought they had multiple opportunities to take a few swings at that in this draft and they just didn't seem to care well i seem to be higher on this draft than you are i first of all i think billy turner's playing right tackle for him that's not good billy turner played hey man last two years have been the best years of his career with pff grades he's played right tackle so green bay finds a way to get something out of these guys so look yeah we'll see daniel

hackett's there he's coming over from green bay maybe you know instead of like say stuff to billy turner make him play good at right tackle so i know that i know that they probably i think that they've got a solid spot with billy turner right tackle so that's probably why they didn't emphasize it i gave this i gave this draft to b plus and it's a little inconsistent of me here because at the beginning of this exercise last week we talked about okay how much are we factoring in the trades it's a really fair point and like i mean if you're being honest this draft is an a with russ you look at and not just not just objectively getting Russ, the fact that for the last two years, George Payton knew that he had Aaron Rogers as a potential on his team

right before the draft last year, when all the panic ensued, he was basically the only team who would have been able to capitalize on Aaron Rogers had things gone like nuclear South immediately. And he was the only team that was really poised to make that happen. I genuinely believe that that is why they did not take a quarterback when they did, because he believed that he could get Aaron Rodgers at some point. They miss out on Aaron Rodgers and then days later make a Russell Wilson trade happen. Incredible work by George Payton.

And so if you like factor those things in, this draft is an A, but I'll give it a B plus because where I wasn't as high on Nick Benito as everybody else seemed to be, I believe there were only a handful of spots in which Nick Benito could have really been maximized in the NFL, right? He has to be a stand-up player. He can't be a hand in the dirt guy. But he's not even somebody who will be – it's not like you can look at every single odd front team in the NFL

and be like, okay, just make him an outside linebacker and an odd front team. Well, no, that might not work either because if you don't have a heavy handed outside linebacker, then all of a sudden you might be asking Nick Benito to play to the point of attack and play to strengthen the line of scrimmage more than you would want him to. And that's not his role. Denver is one of those spots that makes a lot of sense for Nick Benito

because they already have Randy Gregory. They have Bradley Chubb. They hope in theory, they've got some beef on the interior now, which they like. They move on from Shelby Harris, then they get a Wuzirike who I think could come in and be really nice there. They signed DJ Jones, right? They've got Purcell as well still. Hopefully he could be a healthy person in that rotation.

So all of a sudden you free yourself up to maximize exactly what Nick Benito does really well. And that could be as a standup outside designated pass rusher on passing down, which would be huge. And that could be as a stand-up outside designated pass rusher on passing downs. It should be huge. And then he's also done some work in some shallow zone coverage, right? Some zone coverage to the flats.

He's an athlete. Really good athlete. And he can be an athlete in a group that Denver's linebackers right now are Josie Jewell and Alex Singleton. Like, if you just kind of, like, get him a little bit of rotation in there, get one of those guys off the field, you're getting a lot more speed in the middle. So I actually kind of come around a little bit to the Nick Benito pick.

I think this is good. I already mentioned it was Rike. I like Dulcich because he is a replacement for what they already lost with. With Noah Fant going to the Seattle Seahawks. Mathis, I think is a nice man coverage corner, but he does kind of struggle with athleticism. So we'll see what you get there. And then I think that they've clearly got a Wisconsin connection there,

so I like the Wisconsin guys a good amount. I have none as in my don't get category, but you're right. I think offensive line is still a question mark with this team. It's something that they have to be very aware of, even though I figured they probably weren't going to invest heavily in it this draft. I would like for them to be honest with themselves about where their offensive line is and if it ain't good this year you better pour a bunch of resources into it the year after that because when you look at premium positions connor i would tell you that the four premium positions in the nfl are quarterback

pass protector pass rusher and then a lockdown corner okay they drafted a lockdown corner last year in patrick sirtan so they're gonna have their cb1 for forever they have bradley chubb who they are hoping certainly can stay healthy and then they went out and they spent money on randy gregory which i think is important there they have their quarterback for the next they hope four to five years of elite quarterback play in russell wilson That means that the only premium position that you have not hit in the last two years via free agency or the draft is pass protector. So it makes me think that their process is correct in how they are identifying how to build a team.

And if the offensive line isn't what it's supposed to be, then they'll be able to improve upon that next year. But that's kind of how I see the Broncos. So I'm a little bit higher on that. Oh, I totally get it. I think it's totally fair points. And once again, this is going to be a bloodbath, this division. So somebody's got to come out the loser.

And we love the Chargers. We obviously love the Chiefs. I'm fascinated to see what the Broncos can do to keep up because they've done everything possible that they can. So this will come down to coaching this division. And that takes us to the Las Vegas Raiders, who have a new coaching staff under Josh McDaniels, a new regime. Obviously, they've made a gigantic splash trading for Devontae Adams.

But here were their draft picks. No first rounder, no second rounder. So their draft started in the third round. Dylan Parham, interior offensive lineman from Memphis. Love it. Zemir White, running back from Georgia, was their first of two fourth-round picks. Neil Farrell, the two-gapping defensive tackle from LSU,

their other fourth-round pick. Their fifth-round pick was Matthew Butler, a versatile defensive tackle from Tennessee. No sixth-round pick. Two seventh-round picks. Their Mumford Jr., the offensive lineman from Ohio State, and then Britton Brown, running back from UCLA. So Trevor, our final draft recap, our final draft grade goes to a team that did not

have a first or second round pick. Is there anything you loved? Yeah, I love two picks. Love Dylan Parham. I really like them using their first pick on a guy that is i i believe is really talented they could play a long time in this league at a position that they also desperately needed interior offensive line i think he gives you a lot of flexibility as a center or a left or right guard he's played both positions he's got the tight end background he's a good athlete he's got the versatility i love that pick for him i think it's going to be huge for him as a building block moving forward also really love love the Zemir White pick. And I talked about this on the desk for the PFF draft show.

I like this pick the most because I think that Zemir White and his strengths as an early down back take some pressure off Josh Jacobs to be this 300 carry workhorse think about when we all love josh jacobs the most when he was at alabama he was a third down guy right and i think that everybody looked at josh jacobs alabama and they were like okay this guy can be more than just what alabama is using him as there's just so many good running backs alabama and i think that that was the case but i i shoot i'm watching how the raiders have been using josh jacobs and i think that that was the case but I shoot I'm watching how the Raiders have been using Josh Jacobs and I think they're running him into the ground man I feel like he's got a lot of

your option duty I think he's got a lot of emphasis like I think that they are just using this guy a ton and by allowing him to get a little bit of a breather have a guy who can who can work with you as an early down player I think it's only going to maximize what josh jacobs is able to return for you so that's why i love those two picks there uh the picks i like hold on i lost my tab oh i like neil farrell i like matthew butler and i like britain brown like i liked all three of those guys i thought i thought the las vegas raiders had a really nice draft man i gave this one a b plus at the end of the day, but those are the picks that I love and those are the picks I like. So I loved

their Mumford pick where they got him. I think he had his struggles at guard for Ohio State this year, but he's had a couple years of starting tape out there. He's also played tackle and I think he'll be fine. I really do. I think he'll be fine. I like where they got him

and then you kind of nailed it. I liked almost every pick. I mean, seriously, they got a starter in Dylan Parham. That's going to play center or guard for them down the stretch. You got Samir white, who I think is going to take over in 2023 as the starter. They didn't pick up Josh Jacobs option. You got a two gapping defensive tackle. They needed that really badly in Neil Farrell. You got a little bit more of a versatile three tech, five tech and Matthew Butler. I thought they did a good job with what they had. They really did. They didn't have a lot of picks to work with because they got a freaking stud in Devante Adams.

But I thought the value they hit on, the needs they hit on, they invested in their offensive line. And where a guy like Mumford got passed by maybe two rounds later than I thought he would have went, he fits their kind of bruising scheme that I think McDaniels wants to run. So, I don't know. I look at this draft and just think they did a really good job preparing for not only this year, but looking towards 2023

when they do lose a couple guys to free agency. So I gave this a B+. Big fan of what the Raiders did and obviously this division as a whole did a really really good job not just in the draft but in this entire offseason there it is folks there it is the 2022 nfl draft the final words written wow we'll never talk about it again none of these players ever none of these results this is it hope you guys enjoyed it no of course we're kidding uh

we're going to talk plenty more about these uh guys once they get on the field for training camp at preseason and we're going to be monitoring uh the uh the rookies and how they've been doing look we uh we we had a fun little exercise where we drafted offensive rookie of the year uh we're going to be doing the same thing with defensive rookie of the year maybe that'll be mondays maybe we'll switch it up a little bit on my one one one way or another we're gonna have some sort of mock draft monday for you coming up to start your week next week we are going to be shifting things a little bit so just to give you guys a heads up we've been running three shows a week up to this point because it was draft season obviously we're trying to give you guys as much content as we possibly

could during the summer we're not going away we're not turning the lights off nothing like that we are probably going to go to more of two shows a week so probably a monday and a thursday show schedule but we'll still get that mock draft monday and then of course we'll get into summer scouting a lot we'll be able to spend a ton of time on each position really dive into some of the guys that you're going to see in college football this upcoming year the players that you're going to start talking about and mock draft and then your mock drafts uh coming up throughout the season and then of course when we get into draft season as well so we will get you guys ahead of the curve by the end of this summer we promise you that no matter how

many shows that we got per week we're gonna we're definitely gonna make that happen so connor i'm i'm excited man it's it's i'm gonna say it again it's's a bittersweet time, kind of turning the page a little bit, but we're still going to be doing plenty of Mock Draft Mondays to talk about these rookies. So I guess I can't be too sad. We're not going too far. No, we're not going too far. I've said this over and over again.

This is the most jacked up I've ever been for preseason football. Like true sickos, we will be watching into the second half. This podcast will truly serve as a transition pod right like we we're a draft pod at heart so we're always looking at college football with a draft angle lens but we're also going to look at the nfl angle lens of who are the rookies that are popping off who are the impact young players in the nfl the guys under 25 uh sorry vealist jones you're the only rookie we will not talk about no i'm just kidding i'm just just impact young players in the NFL. The guy's under 25. Sorry, Vilas Jones. You're the only rookie we will not talk about.

No, I'm just kidding. I'm just kidding. It's cold. It's cold-blooded. Wow. Oh, man. He did it. I think I need to go.

I think I need to go. I think I need to go. With that being said, I think it's time to go. It has been a lot of fun. I'm excited to get into this next class, too. I know everybody's itching to hear us talk about 2023. We are not going to do a 2023 mock draft until Trevor and I feel like we

really have a good pulse of the top players. I don't want to sit there and just throw names at you. Yes, we could do that with the top 10 in this very moment, but when we get to 25 through 32, I want to give you an honest breakdown of those guys.

That's something we're always going to be honest with so that that day will come this summer as well and so we'll we will we will definitely get to that point whether it's july or august or something like we will we'll be able to like connor said i think after summer scouting that's when things start to get really fun right you have a really good board love a board yeah we will shoot man we're gonna have a we're gonna to have a preseason top 50, probably with all the guys that we're watching. We're watching so many guys from every position. So I'm excited to get into it, man.

The journey starts Monday. This is the NFL stock exchange. Thank you guys for listening. See you then. Thank you.