The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - 2023 NFL Draft, Round 3 pick-by-pick analysis

Episode Date: April 29, 2023

Robert Mays, Nate Tice and Dane Brugler break down every pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft live from Kansas City. The guys discuss Hendon Hooker to the Titans, a new receiver for Daniel Jones, Darnell Washington's slide to Pittsburgh, and a whole lot more.Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmaysFollow Nate on Twitter: @Nate_TiceFollow Dane on Twitter: @dpbruglerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. This is the coverage of round three, a repackaging of our live draft team from Friday night. Me, Dan Bruegler, Nate Tice, breaking down everything you need to know about the third round of the 2023 NFL draft. Let's get to it. This is the Athletic Football Show's draft night special. Live in studio from Kansas City, featuring your host Robert May. the Athletics NFL draft beast, Dane Bruegler,

and of course, the one and only Nate Tice, plus special guests along the way. The NFL draft is now officially open. We're to the third round now. Yeah. There's still some big names out there. It's surprised. Who's on your mind?

Drew Sanders, I didn't think we'd make it this forward. No more linebackers. Get away from me. Trenton Simpson, Clemson linebacker, too. Jalen Hyatt, I didn't think he'd make it to the third round. Even in Josh Downs. he's a slot only, but he's a, he's a really talented player. People really liked him. Like, yeah, that's, I know, there's a few guys. Keeley Ringo, even though I wasn't big on Kili Ringo, I mean,

I thought someone would take a chance to half a round earlier. With that size speed combination. Yeah. Any edge rushers anywhere? Top edge rusher, Yaya Diabi is my top edge rusher available, who I think somewhere early third round would make sense. I like that quite a bit. Zach Harrison from Ohio State is a size, size speed freak length is outstanding. We might have a theme then. Yeah.

If that ends up happening here. Zach Harrison would make some sense. Zach Pickens. Zach Pickens. I saw the South Carolina. Defensive tackle here with 64th pick to Chicago. Former five-star guy who, I don't know, they quite lived up to it at South Carolina,

but you see why he was a five-star guy. 6-3-2-90, moves well. They played him a lot as a, like, a nose. And so he was, really wasn't given those opportunities to rush a quarterback and be disruptive. But man, when things are firing on all cylinders and he's in position to succeed, he makes plays. He did it at the Senior Bowl. I did it consistently against SEC competition. So, and again, defensive tackles, we talked about this before the draft.

We knew defensive tackles, and I noticed it's going through my seven-round mock as I'm trying to line everything up. I'm like, man, well, this team could use a defensive tackle. This team could use it. And so these guys have flown off the board, even though it's not a strong position, they're going a little bit earlier than we thought because if you don't give them now, you're not going to get one later. So, you know, a team like, you know, the Browns, they haven't picked yet, but they're coming up here,

I think 74, they need a defense to tackle. And they were crossing their fingers that a Gervon Dexter would fall, that Zach Pickens would fall. And so far, it hasn't been the case, and it's not surprising. Are those guys all 20 years old because that's what the Browns angle at for?

Well, that's why Gervon Dexter, because he's 21 and kind of checks a lot of boxes. Yeah. But the stinking bears have crushed those plans for the Browns. And with Pickens and Dexter, how would you say they kind of compliment each other? Like, or do they have some saminess? Do you think? Yeah, and they do. That's kind of how I picture. They're different body types. Yeah. Playstyle's a little samey. I think Pickens is ready to start right away. Or maybe not even start, but at least give you meaningful snaps and be part of the rotation where

Dexter is more of the flash player upside pick. So if there is a difference, it's that. But it's interesting. I mean, defensive tackle, defense to tackle. They have loading up on it. They needed it. Massively. Yeah, yeah. I mean, just all along the defensive line, it's not surprising. But I wanted to look this up because I was curious. Kenley Platt, who does the relative athletic score, which is a really useful tool kind of looking at the traits, both positionally and then for your weight. And he does just one single score. Pretty much every single player that bears have drafted in the trenches is over a nine. Yeah. Zeck Pickens was a 9.2. I mean, his broad jump was off the charts. He ran incredibly fast 40 at 2991. Again, we have a theme for what type of players they're chasing on the interior of the offensive defensive line. Trades, trade, straight, straight.

And again, you can see why he was a five-star player. You know, he at 290 pounds, he ran in the four-eights. You know, he was a guy that, again, at the Senior Bowl, when he had those one-on-ones. That's why it really gives you an opportunity when things aren't just muddied up and you have a chance to beat a blocker one-on-one, you can see what he can do. He did it consistently. So, yeah, this is a. A little surprise, they doubled up here this early,

but at the same time, when you think about it, maybe not a surprise. And they need it. And also the line of thinking, it's like, well, if one of them hits, we're good. You're talking about how many teams are desperate just to get one of these guys. All right, let's get two. We have the picks. Let's get two of these guys.

We have a need here. That's what this was, though. When they were accumulating all these picks in the second round, this was about creating the connected tissue on your roster, especially on defense. Let's go get the starting right tackle in the first round with that ninth overall pick. and then the picks we've accumulated later on, let's just try to build out that defense as much as we can

because the cupboard was bare. I mean, there's maybe one or two guys. You got the two guys you drafted in the secondary last season and those linebackers you signed in free agency, anything else was on the table, anything. So I totally understand taking some big swings at this position because you need to start taking them on defense. A little surprised he went ahead of Adiborri, Northwestern.

I mean, he's still out there. He's talking about traits. He talked about, I mean, he certainly has that. But, I mean, it's, he was my 67th player. So it's a little, it's, I don't want to see players fall or quote unquote fall. But this is more the range where I see the Northwestern defense tackle come on off the board, as opposed to the first round buzz he was receiving throughout the process. People saw the testing numbers.

Ah, I mean, they were historic numbers. I mean, yeah, I get it. But still, let's remember your grade before, you know, he was a fourth, fifth round great on tape. And let's not forget that part of this. Once he does get selected, do you have clips of him because then you see the traits of him. And also, but then the lack of finish sometimes. He's not a great tackler. But I don't want to spoil anything with that. But I just think it is so interesting the defensive tackle position because seeing the guys get paid, of course, this last offseason. And also all these guys, if you're only going to rush for,

you need these guys. And people want to rotate and keep guys fresh. So it's not, it's, I like the idea. I'm coming around really on the Bears, too. of having these bodies. And this is also the value of the DJ Moore being, including this trade. They don't have to target any of these guys. We're seeing where these guys are going, these receivers are mean, the pass catchers.

And really now it's like, we don't have to chase any of them. We have our guy, we have our ace. Let's build the trenches now. Who the hell knows if this is going to work out? But the process of it, what it has looked like this entire off season, I cannot describe to you how different it feels. Right.

Watch how they've built this thing over the last year, compared to what it felt like under the previous regime. It's got to be refreshing. It is just the patience and just understanding with the value and accumulating capital and kind of taking these swings, but at the right pace, it just, God, I mean to do that. I don't mean to do that. He said the word. He said the word.

I feel like Cardinals fans are probably feeling the same way, too. I feel like they ran their team like a fantasy team for the last, you know, half decade. That's the thing. Fans are smart. I mean, I think if you understand the plan and what you're talking about, trying to do. You get a little leeway with if it doesn't work out. If a player bus, if he's not who they thought they would be when they drafted him, I think they give you a little bit of leeway because at least you understand what they're trying to do. It's like sometimes it's like,

I know I have to eat my salad. You eat the vegetables and it's like, you tell them it's like, no, this is good for you and this is going to work out and you're going to like this is going to like this in the long run. It's like, they're like, no, I want the sugary snack. I want the undersized receiver. And it's like, after over time, you're like, okay, actually know that salad worked out for me. Well, I think that the Bears did go through the drive-thru on offense. I mean, that was the whole point, is that I want fast food with DJ Moore getting the right tackle

because that needs to happen immediately. I need to know now. On defense, we're slow cooking some brisket back there. I mean, this is going to be a long, long process, and I think that makes total sense on both sides of the ball. So we got the Eagles back up. I'm getting hungry now. Eagles have two picks in a row. A ring goes available.

Let's get another Georgia. Corner. We'll get Georgia defender in here. Yep, let's do it. Oh, it'd be phenomenal. That would be amazing. Eagles, two picks in a row here. And I believe the second one is part of the Jonathan Gannon tampering situation, perhaps, which we haven't really talked about much, but the trade involved that.

Tyler Steen going to the Eagles with the 56 pick, offensive tackle from Alabama. What do we think of this day? Played at Vanderbilt. It was a grad transfer to Alabama this past year. We kind of beat up the Alabama offense line. I was going to say. He was the one where you kind of, okay, I can. You know, he's a steady player.

People aren't going to like this comparison, but I kind of compared him to a better Bobby Hart where, you know, like he's someone that guard tackle, you know, he's going to be in the NFL for a long time. And he's going to be able to get on the field, give you that position flex tackle guard. But, you know, someone that I think you can trust. And so Bobby Hart wasn't always that, but, you know, he knew he was going to be out there. So, you know, Steen, again, tackles, they started flying off the board. This is the next one up. That's what I was going to say. This is the best of the rest.

Andre Doad leaves the free agency. So they needed a swing tackle. They needed a third guy. They just build in depth. He might be your starting right guard from day one. Interesting. Okay. And we talked about it with some of these other offensive linemen as the right now.

He's the right guard for the future. Maybe he's the tackle. We talked about it with the Falcons. and a succession plan for maybe Jake Matthews, maybe this is a succession plan for at right tackle with Lane Johnson, where he's the guard right now, but in the future, might be able to kick back out to tackle. Two straight picks here for the Eagles.

Sidney Brown, safety from Illinois is the next one. I guess I missed when Illinois has become defensive back to you. We got three guys. Way to go, Hank. The first three rounds. Aaron Henry. The University of Illinois. Way to go, man.

Antonio Pinellas. Way to go, guys. Sydney Brown landing in Philly Day. Yeah, and based off, of the tape over the summer, I don't think you ever would have thought, top 100 pick. But this year, six picks, made plays. And then the process was really kind to him. He had a really nice scene. He was the best safety I had to have the Senior Bowl. And that really helped him. Goes to the Combine, tests really well. That helped him. So you're looking at it, okay, production, check,

testing, check, character off the charts. Throw on a special team's tape as a gunner. and he's beating Riley Moss down the field and making plays on the punt return. So, I mean, he is a guy that is smart, he's active, a little bit smaller, and he needs to be a better tackler. I thought he'd a little surprising when, before I went in, I thought it'd be a better tackler, especially in the box.

When you're playing him close to the line of scrimmage, a little shallow with some of the angles and needs to be a better tackler to be able to trust him out there, but you can't really argue with what he put on tape this year. They needed this. I mean, they needed. He's going to have a chance to play. Yeah, that's weird.

I mean, they've been able to draft luxury picks with Nolan Smith and build depth in some of these areas. But looking at their depth chart, safety absolutely was the most glaring need they had heading into this whole thing. So I have to assume he's going to have a chance to push Reed Blankenship a little bit for some of those snaps earlier. And again, it's like, it's one of those things where if they're like, oh, we want the vet, even if it read is a young vet.

We want that guy. It's like, hey, we still have, you know, special teams, versatility is very nice. Fans don't want to hear about that. But listen, it matters. Yes. He is a four-core special teamer from day one, and that matters. It breaks ties. If you have two guys who are great as same,

teams are going to go with the guy that plays special teams. Just that's how it goes. Barakos pick is in at 67 Dane. Drew Sanders, lineback from Arkansas, somebody that, I mean, I think was one of the top 25, 30 players on your board. Denver gets him here at 67. My top available player at 28 overall. Yeah, he's surprised with all the tools that he offers that he would fall this far.

He was a five-star guy coming out of high school. Went to Alabama, used him as an edge rusher. He wanted to get more snaps, transfers to Arkansas. They played him as a mic, but also mix in some pass-rush snaps. And, you know, he is a fun player because all the different ways he can affect the game. Rushing, he can drop and make plays. And then, okay, so my favorite, or maybe one of the most unique compliments I've gotten to the Beast. You guys know Justice Mosqueda.

Yeah, we sure do. Yeah, we do. You know him very well. you know, friend of the show. It is. A good follow on Twitter. Yes. He sent me a message.

He had no idea. He coached Drew Sanders in middle school until he read the draft guide. He had no idea. He also tells you a lot about justice. Love you, buddy. That is the most unique compliment I've ever gotten. That's awesome. I was like, that's so cool.

That is so awesome to hear. Because he grew up in Oregon. Drew Sanders did before his dad. as a high school coach, moved to Texas. He was a quarterback, defensive end, going up through high school in Texas. So surprise he fell this far, but love the value for the Broncos. They signed out of Singleton and Free Agency this year,

but Josie Jewel is going to be a free agent after this season. So, I mean, again, Josie Jewel, previous regime. You got a new coaching staff in there. Anything seems like it's on the table. Yeah, especially with their defense was that inside linebacker spot was always kind of, that was like, okay, maybe this isn't their best spot right here, but Sanders makes sense. I, like, where he popped for me was.

him as a pass rusher. The times I have some blitz or even when he lined up on the edge. He's who the defense coordinator is now. Vance Joseph. Right. He's going to have his opportunities. No, that's where actually it's like that blitzing ability or pass rush ability, that can be used as, you can weaponize it. It's nice when a guy can cover pretty good against a run, but also that blitzing ability

is a skill. Everyone just expects all these guys. It's like, oh, they're all the same as blitzers. Some guys are just better at it. That's why Brian Branch, as a slot guy, watching him blitz and then watching another team uses slot bullets. It's like two worlds of differences. And same thing with Drew Sanders. And that's why he kind of, he popped from me initially. And then, of course, just you could see the athletic traits with him. Why the fall do you think compared to what we might have expected?

That's a good question. I think that maybe understanding where he's going to play, you know, is he a true Mike or is he a true edge? Is he, you know, there's some position confusion there a little bit. One thing that I didn't love about Drew Sanders was the take on. He is a player that needs to learn how to use his hands, use that stiff punch, keep blockers away from him, and then flow to the football, you know, seeing through blockers and staying in concert with the runner. He is, he is. Yeah, like, that's what he prefers.

Right. So I think the take on stuff I did not love. And that did bother me a little bit with him. But again, with the traits, I thought that would entice a team earlier than this. Yeah, I'm pretty surprised. Like, this is the, to me, I thought it was clear cut. he was the best linebacker in this class. I really did. I did like Jack Campbell, but I just thought he was a tier above.

And so that's what's interesting to me. So it's interesting to hear that because he's a run and hit athletic guy. So that always is going to be the detriment. It's like, oh, that guard swallowed him up. It's like, yeah, but you watch all the other stuff you can do? You're right. He went 47 picks after Jack Campbell. And he, no, more than that.

Yeah. We'll never. Let's see you do the math right. I thought Jack Campbell went to 20. It was 18. 18. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'll never know, but it just, it would be fascinating to know where Jack Campbell would have went

if he didn't go 18. I'm very curious. Let's just say the Lions didn't like him. And so the Lions would not have drafted him in the second round either. If he doesn't go 18 and the Lions don't draft him, where does Jack Campbell go? If you told me these two guys flipped where they're sponsored, I'd be like, yeah, that sounds right. Yeah.

18 and that would sound more right to me going into this weekend than what happened. Speaking of the Lions, their pick is in. 68? 68 here, so we're going to wait and see what this is. They trade up for this? I think so. Denver was on the clock, weren't they? Mm-hmm. Or no, so Denver, oh, they traded back.

Because Denver traded up to go get... To go get Marvin Mims. The receiver. Okay, yes. Because Denver had back-to-back picks here. Yep, correct. Mr. Purple Popcorn. Marvin Mims.

Like five people are going to get that, so... So I went over my head. We have four picks into the third round here. This is why I'm hot here. This is the Lions only picking the third round. They had a few, obviously, in the second round. Okay. All right.

Very interesting. Oh, here we go. I'm on Ross St. Brown. Look at him. Hmm. for a quarterback of the future. They get one, but they get it in the third round. Yeah, and he's only two years younger than Jared Goff, surprisingly.

That's not a joke. But, I mean, coming off the ACL with that age, coming from that offense, it's just you have to figure out the timeline with Hendon Hooker. When do you realistically see him getting on the field? And with the Lions, they don't really have to force it. You know, Jared Goff is in the mix for at least one more year, you think probably two years. Henden Hooker is, you know, he's a tough, smart, competitive guy. And what he did this past year in that Tennessee offense,

I mean, defense is just, you don't want to try and stop it because the way they would spread you out, and then Hennon Hooker will take advantage of it, because he knows where to go with the football. You know, I get it. He has starting potential, so fooling on board with him being drafted here in day two. But, you know, again, it's with timeline. Where do you feel like, because you do have to go back to the Virginia,

a tech tape to fully understand him as a pro prospect. Yeah, in a quote unquote, normal offense. Right. Yeah, not that freaky stuff, Tennessee, right? What do you think about his long-term prospects as a starter in the league? I think he is, his upside is as a solid starter, which is kind of funny because that's what Jared Goff is. And also, and I was going to crack a joke about this, but this is what was going on was

that, oh, if he was taking the first round, his rookie contract and everything, and he'd back 30-some, but now that's a year earlier, because that does work out. But he's kind of, he does a lot of things well, like Dane just said. He can push the ball down the field. He throws a nice ball as well, very catchable. He has enough athletic ability. He's a better athlete than Jared Golf, of course. I think he's like, I'd put him like above average athlete.

I wouldn't put good or anything, but it can get the job done as a scrambler or some design run stuff. There's a beautiful deep ball. But I think his upside is as a solid starter. And you've got to look too, is that the Lions have like no depth at quarterback either. They needed a backup in any way, shape, or form. this kind of works out a little bit as far as their timeline and what they needed. There's a level of unknown here,

and you can say that with every quarterback evaluation, but coming from an offense where you just read half the field and everything's stretched out, like it's just very different than what you're going to see in the NFL. So there's a level of unknown here that once he gets into an NFL camp

and gets the playbook and gets some on-field reps, what's that going to look like mentally? So toughness, love it. Competitivist, love it. Smarts, love it. Character's off the chart. But when the bullets are flying and you need to make your progression reads and make a decision, can he do it at a high level?

And I think the most important thing about this, if going in the third round, it doesn't matter. Yes, exactly. This reminds me of last year's draft when those guys went in the third round. And as soon as you get that deep in the draft, the expectations change so much, the timeline changes so much. If it doesn't work out, it works out. It works out great. Leak-Littles. Titans drafted will love us today.

We didn't even care that O'Leek Wilson was on the roster because he was a third-round pick last year. And then we talk about Desmondery. He was going to start. It's, this is truly a natural. And if it works out, if Desmond-Rer works out, great. If Desmond-Mirder doesn't work out, okay. And so I think that's the benefit of this, is that that uncertainty, you can accept that uncertainty when you're drafting a guy in the 60s rather than 18th overall. Right.

This makes me feel a lot better about my quarterback evaluation process, by the way, again, just to be this whole, how everything's unfolded out. I'm like, man, okay, all right, I'm not crazy. Because seeing him, like, as people wanted him to go early. early the first round people are saying top ten I was going what are we doing here just it had to make sense it did yeah and for migrated on him was basically a third rounder so actually made me feel and there's always inflation with quarterback so actually kind of made me feel better that that's where he end up going because that's how I see him is that I think the downside of him is like a high high high high high and backup spot starter type but he does have that potential to be that solid starter where he's a mid-tier

starter which isn't the worst thing to take him the third year you play out this year yeah you see where you're at what you're at golf do we want to keep him around for another year does headnooker surprise us a little bit. It just gives you more flexibility when you draft the guy in this range. Yeah, absolutely. It makes sense. For the Lions, they were going a solid starter, solid starter, high character guys.

This guy, high character, we'll see if the solid starter part pays out in the future. Texan's pick is in, but before we get to that, we are going to take one more quick break. All right, we are back. The New Orleans Saints are on the clock with the 71st pick. We've had a couple picks since then. And Dan, why don't you walk us through what we've been missing here? Texans took Tank Dell, all 5,8, 165 pounds of them.

Not the biggest player in this draft, by any means. But good luck covering him, especially one-on-one. And we saw that in the Senior Bowl during practices. He was uncoverable. That short area quickness was outstanding. He didn't even test in terms of the 40 all that great, but the short area stuff really, really impressive. He can win deep.

just add another weapon in that Texan's offense that we've been talking about. And totally different movement skills the receivers they have. And that is exactly what I would call. It's interesting to me because you have a Robert Woods,

you have a John Mechie, you know, guys that feel pretty safe. Adding just, we said, the sugary snack. He's the sugary sack. He's literally, because he's the size of it, the cherry on top. That is what he is.

But no, he has the movement skills. When you picture a 165 pound undersized receiver, he moves like that. That's kind of the shiftingness, the in and outness. But you're going to see, I mean, again, you've got to look at with Bobby Sloick, what they do in San Francisco, how they use their receivers. There's a lot of that movement stuff, whip routes, angle routes. He's going to have a package for him early on, and then we'll see what else he can do.

Of course, you know, Packers are sub-195. I'm like, sub-200 where I'm like, he's off my board, completely 190. But I do appreciate the player. There is a lot of receiver to him with the movement stuff as well. I do want to say that. what Jaylen Reed that the Packers took, they say he was winning $195 today. So I feel validated about that.

Are you a little bit bummed? So Tank's real name is Nathaniel. Are you a little bit bummed that you didn't get like a tank type nickname as a Nathan? It feels like a real mixed opportunity. Right? A tank? Well, I was slim before. Believe it or not.

I do believe that. But still, I mean, he's not a, he's also slim. That's actually hilarious. Get me and him next to each other. I'm slim and he's tank. What's next right next to each other? That's perfect. But yeah, I never really had a nickname, a good nickname like that.

I don't think I ever deserved one. You have to be good to get a nickname like Tank. And I think that's, I actually love the irony of that a little bit. Yeah, he's built little pocket Hercules there. But I always love that, you know, like a big guy named Skinny, you know, something like that. So the 70th pick, Dane, the Raiders took Byron Young, defensive tackle from Alabama. Las Vegas absolutely just needs body along the interior of the defensive line. Defense tackle might have been the biggest need on their entire run.

roster coming into tonight. And again, I think most teams saw this player as maybe a fourth rounder, but again, where we are with the defense tackles, these guys are all getting moved up. And so Byron Young off the board, we weren't sure he'd be the first Byron Young drafted today. Tennessee edge rusher also named Byron Young could go tonight. So, yeah, 6-3-295. He showed up consistently.

It feels like Alabama always has defensive linemen, right? He's kind of the guy this year where the big-bodied guy that can stop the run, but also shows a little bit of juice as a rusher when he has the opportunity. So this is a really quality player. And they need it. They need dudes. They need bodies, and he's definitely one of those. I said defense tackle might have been their biggest need.

I'm still going corner after looking at it. In my mind, they had already just drafted a corner, but they have not yet. Corner is still a pretty glaring need for the Raiders. But they came in with so many needs on defense that there was no way, especially after taking Michael Mayer, that they were going to fill all of them. Right. They need players. I know. I do like what they're doing on offense, but they definitely need players.

And I mean, they need linemen too as well, offensive linemen as well. So it's interesting. It's like I feel good a lot. A lot of aspects of things. It's almost like they missed out on like six straight drafts with their top 100. Funny how that works. Yeah. We're starting to feel that a little bit. The pay guys, yeah, it's a little interesting.

At 71, Dane, Kendrae Miller, running back from TCU goes to the Saints. Feels like they kind of needed that complimentary piece to Alvin Camara, that second back in the backfield. Do you think he provides that element to them? He's a bigger back, but he's not necessarily a power back. He's a guy that... Talk me through that. Yeah, he's explosive. He is explosive, and you get him, as I was talking to somebody at TCU,

and they said every day they would debate, okay, who's the fastest in the program? And one day, it'd be Quentin Johnston. The next day, it'd be Trey Tomlinson. Next day, it's Kendrae Miller. Like, they all go back and forth. And, you know, this guy's a big guy, but he's fast. He's got wheels. And at the line of scrimmage, he does a really nice job.

I was just picking through, being patient, and then once he sees a little bit of daylight, he hits it. And I felt bad for him. He had that knee injury in the semifinal games against Michigan, and all leading up to the championship game we heard, he might be a go, he might be a go. He needed surgery. Like, he, they, I don't know what T.C. was doing.

He needed surgery once he ended under the draft process. And so we don't have any testing information on him, but the tape is outstanding. And even, and you always wonder when, you know, Big 12 and running backs. And what I'm seeing, is that really what he's going to give me in the NFL or not? But I think he's a young player. He's got speed.

He's got explosiveness. And I think he knows what he's doing at the line of scrimmage in terms of his decision-making, reading blocks, and understanding, just anticipating where those holes are going to come from. So I'm very encouraged by Kendra Miller. As we get here to pick 75 or so, Dan, why don't you reset us with your best available? Okay. So let's look at it. Top 300 here. Washington still there.

Jalen Hyatt, the receiver from Tennessee. Keeley Ringo, Georgia Corner. Trenton Simpson, the linebacker from Clemson, Josh Downs, slot receiver, North Carolina. Tyler Scott, Cincinnati wide receiver. Tucker Kraft, South Dakota State Tide End. Clark Phillips, a nickel corner from Utah. And then Cedric Tillman, Tennessee wide receiver

still out there. A little surprising, he's still around. He's, you know, that bigger receiver that a lot of teams look at. And then our latest pick here, Arizona, taking Garrett Williams, corner from Syracuse, who, if not for his ACL injury back in October, I think we would have been talking about him much earlier tonight. We would have gone top 40, top 50, but a little bit of a discount sticker on him.

We just talked about it with Kendrae Miller, Garrett Williams coming off that ACL injury. He's a guy that I love his footwork and coverage. He has some speed to him. Not the biggest guy. Love his ball skills, though. He finds the football. So this is, you know, for the Cardinals who are, they can afford a weight on somebody. They certainly can.

It type of a guy you invest in. And if you don't get on the field until Thanksgiving, so be it. That's fine. Garrett Williams is a nice pick. He was the first corner I watched in this process because it was before he got hurt. And ball skills, that's what popped for me. And I think even just production on the ball skills, but he has that hand-eye coordination, a little bit springs to him.

Like, he can go high-point stuff as well. Yeah, but they can, you're getting. I hate using this term, but I'm going to. You get a little bit of value with it because he should, like Dane said, should have gone higher. And the Cardinals can do this. This is a luxury pick for them in a weird way as they're rebuilding. I thought maybe fourth round, like, where do you drop the player coming off the ACL?

Because even though, even with modern medicine, you just, everything is different with the way they bounce back. They feel good in nine months, but really, it's a year and a half. I think for a team that it doesn't matter if he plays this year, that's what you have to be thinking about it. Right. The Cardinals have an extra first next year, maybe an extra third next year. I think maybe a couple extra thirds next year

with the trades down that they've made. So they're clearly being pretty patient. Here we go, Dane. 73rd pick. The New York Giants trade up to go get Jalen Hyatt, wide receiver from Tennessee. Pass catchers seemed like,

even with some of the guys they'd added, one more kind of explosive piece within that offense, and they get that guy in Jalen Hyatton. Giants said enough was enough. Like, let's okay. The fall is, they fell a little through the second round.

Okay, let's stop the fall here. This is too talented of a player. fall on any further. Six foot, 176 pounds, big time speed. And that's what he does best. Vertical speed, ball tracking. Again, yes, he is a little bit limited in what you want receivers to be, but when you can do those two things at a high level, it's useful. That is someone that can help your offense in a big way because defense to have to account for that. And so, and it's not just that he's a decoy or anything like that, but he can win over the top. And, you know, Think about that Giants' offense with those receivers.

Darius Slateon was kind of in that role. Jalen Hyatt's a better version of that. And so, you know, they went and got their guy. I like the move here. Even though there is some saminess because he best operating from the slot, he is a totally different type of style than what they have right now. They have a ton of underneath crafty guys. That's what they're built out of.

So this is the juice. This is taking the top off. When we watched that Giants offense and we really liked it, it wasn't because they were hitting these huge plays down the field. those, all these short intermediate gains, this changes the whole math of everything, opens up so much more space for everybody else. Just think about it on the bodies there.

Isaiah Hodgins came on late last year. He's a bigger body type guy, Wandale Robinson now in year two. They still have Darius Slaten. Now they have Jalen Hyatt, Darren, is there. I mean, they are going to have some pass catchers. And I love what you said, Dane, about,

you know, even if there are some questions and some deficiencies and some projection issues because that offense of Tennessee, at 18, those are like very real questions. At 21 for the Chargers. But at 73, those questions start mattering much, much less. But I will say it was that when I talked about Hyatt and I was a little lower on him than others, I was like, this type of guy, you take more in the wait, second, early third.

And he went, I'm way comfortable taking him here. Like you're saying, it's not as big as question marks when it's 18 or this. So that's where this is where, now I love the Hyatt pick. It was a round earlier. Okay, around earlier. But that's totally fine. Totally great. That context is hugely important.

We consider what types of players these are. he can bring to the table. I mean, he's going to have a role no matter what team he's ever on. He's going to have a role and there's more to them. As we all expected, the Tennessee receiver run has now begun. At 74, the Browns, welcome to the draft. Take Cedric Tillman, Jalen Hyatt's teammate, wide receiver from Tennessee. I really like this. Yeah, so do I. I mean, 6-3, 215. You know, he's a big body player. And you go back to the 2021 tape when he's fully healthy and you see a guy with double-digit touchdowns. Can win down the field, but also can has the size to win at every level of the field because he can overmatch corners. He's strong, he's physical.

I don't think the Browns thought he'd be here at this point in the draft. But here he is. We thought somewhere 50 to 75 and he's at the low end of that. And really, you think about that Brown's receiving core and, I mean, Mari Cooper, that in two years that cap's pretty high. There's no more dead money. You think about People's Jones, are they going to be able to extend him at some point here coming up? You think about... Elijah Moore now. Yeah, Elijah Moore.

But, you know, he's a little bit of a question mark. I mean, Jets almost gave him away. And, I mean, David Bell was a third rounder last year, but, you know, he's a slow slot receiver, route runner. You know, I think that there's plenty of questions at receiver for the Browns that if the value was there, it made sense for them. And with Cedric Tillman at this point, yeah, that makes sense.

I really like his fit there, is that Martin Cooper, when I was with him in Oakland was that we typecast him as an X and it turned out his best role as it's a move Z or he got a slot especially when he goes to the Cowboys he was a revelation there and it was like oh wow look at him in motion get him vertical vertical vertical vertical

and what is Deshawn Watson really good at throwing is vertical routes and Cedric Tillman is your traditional X he's your traditional outside big vertical receiver good blocker as well too so Bill Callahan's going to be very happy but it fits perfectly for

I mean, you could always use an X, but as far as Amari Cooper, as far as Elijah Moore, Donovan People's Jones. Really nice kind of mishmash of talent there and types of types of players and types of receivers. I think Donovan People's Jones is one of those. Oh, we got him in the sixth round. He's been a good story. They like him in the building. Now he's your fourth receiver. He's nice.

Tillman has that pure X with that Z, Amari Cooper, and then you play Elijah Moore in the slot. If you want to play more outside because you can, you move Cooper into the slot. There's a lot of different options that they have there. It's going to be a vertical offense. It's going to be a run and play. play action offense and it's great for that. It's like, yeah, this is a good landing spot for him. I was very high on Tillman because it's the type of player I really like traditionally. It sure is, buddy. Yeah, I know. Yeah. I watched that tape and I was like, yeah, there's my guy.

I don't care about high catching another 50-yard touchdown. There's my guy right there. Oh, look at that eight-yard gain. Body and that guy up. But I, yeah, I just like this fit. I really do. I didn't think about the Browns as being a team for him, but now kind of looking at it's like, yeah, that makes a lot sense. If the value was there, I think it makes sense. And the best part of it, Cedric Tillman, doesn't have to get rid of all that orange. You know, and he had in Knoxville. Just keep wearing it, man. He's a little older. I'm actually shocked. Well, I think this is a draft where the Browns, and I've done a lot of Browns media, and I kind of telling people, you've got to compromise a little bit. Because in this draft,

there's a little older players, and when you don't pick until, what, 74, you have to compromise. There's just no way around it. And so they have another pick coming up here in the third round. Wouldn't be surprised. if it's someone that's 23 years old. Because, you know, in order to get talented players, sometimes you have to give on something. And I think age is one of those things where ideally you're getting a 21-year-old,

but you know what? Here at this point in a draft, it's not as big a deal. You're betting on, like, one trait that you really like. And it's like, if the rest makes sense, okay, we're fine. That's what you're really going for right now. Brown's drafted and receiver,

you think, I really need another receiver? They already have a Mario Cooper. There's a lot of bodies. Already have Elijah Moore. They've 14 guys on the roster, right? It's the Brown's biggest name right now. your D-Line. They signed down in Thompson and free agency.

They went to got Okloronkow to be one of their other past rushers. Secondary is in really good shape. They got linebackers. They got J.O.K. Offensive lines in very good shape. They brought back poachage. Obviously, have plenty of running back is fine. They haven't jokers.

I'm surprised they didn't go maybe with a Northwestern defensive tackle. I thought that interior. They still need more bodies there? They do. Yes. But it is, there's no area on that roster where you're like, man, they really need somebody there. Yeah.

And I say that because I haven't really unleashed this yet. I think the Browns are in, like, pretty good shape top to bottom. Obviously, a huge question about what they're going to get out of their quarterback after the way that he played last year. But every other aspect of this roster, they're doing pretty well for themselves, top the bottom. As much as we all love Nick Chubb, though, moving forward, this is going to be a much more passing offense. Yeah.

So, you know, and I think adding Cedric Tillman helps you get there and achieve that. And maybe do, is there a pass catch? running back somewhere along the way. Right. I feel like that element of their offense, which they haven't really needed to lead into recently, the loose Kareem Hunt, is that something they're going to be looking at? They like the kid from Cincinnati to draft the last year.

Yeah, Jerome Ford. Right. That's right. But he's still an unknown variable at this point. And he's a, God, he's like a, almost like a home run hair type as opposed to maybe, he's okay hands, but he's not like a rock runner. He's just like, you run screens for him a little bit. With the 75th pick here, Dane, Atlanta Falcons,

takes Zach Harrison, defensive end from Ohio State. Yeah, I think it's right around the range. thought he'd go. I mean, a freak, 6-5-275, one of the longest players in this draft. It's hilarious. We were robbed of him running a 40-year-a-dash because he had, I think it was a hamstring, but he would have ran, I would put the overrunner at 452. I mean, he might have gotten into four-fors. He was a five-starry guy. Yeah, yeah, that's a house day you assume. But I remember him specifically. He is a guy that just, he's how you build him, except he's, he's so long that he is stiff. He can't bend. But still,

there were times where if his arms were 34 inches and not 36 inches, he's not forcing that fumble. And so he would create some disruption because that length. He really would. And they used him more inside this year too, which is nice. They'd kick him inside and let him get that quickness off the ball and really disrupt things, muddy the pocket. And if he's not making a play, he's at least forcing the quarterback to come up with plan B. And that's allowing other players. I wish I had it written down, but I believe he got his hands on a lot of balls, too.

Didn't it was even like a PbU kind of monster using those long arms a little bit? Yeah, I mean, with that length, I think you wanted more. Yeah, but yeah, that's how I remember. I mean, it was kind of Ohio State had like three guys with 36 inch arms, the two offense alignment. Yep. 36 is ridiculous. And DeWan Jones still out there.

Hasn't been drafted yet. By the way. Three of them. The sanctification of the Atlanta Falcons defensive front is in full effect. That's a great point. Six-Age. Kallais Campbell, they go get David on Yamada. And now, I mean, 6-25-275.

Just pencil him in for what they're. that Saints' defenses looked like over the last few years. And it is the departure from the types of guys they were looking for last year. That was one of the more, when they hired Ryan Nielsen to be their defensive coordinator, and we were thinking about the types of bodies we've seen in New Orleans up front over the last few years. And you contrast that with what they were trying to do under DMPs and going to get Arnold DeBucetti. It's like, it seems like a pretty drastic shift. And the company line was, ah, it's not as big of a deal as you think it is.

You know, it's going to, it's more, it's subtler, will be multiple. Everything that they have done this offseason has a different. indicated that that is not the case. They needed some new body types up there. Most recent pick I'm really interested in. Marte Mapu, the linebacker safety from Sacramento State, going to the Patriots. I mean, you think about Kyle Dugger and what he is for that defense.

Where does Maupu fit? He's a little bit of a tweener, but man, I was so impressed with him. This is our first non-combai guy drafted, I'm pretty sure. He was in my top 100. He's a guy, I thought, based off of how we played at the NFLPA, Collegiate Bowl, then at the Senior Bowl, and then, unfortunately, Torres Peck. So he wasn't able to work out the pro day, and like I said, it wasn't a combine guy.

But, man, he is a quick reaction player that makes plays. It doesn't matter if he's covering a tight end, if he's moving against the run. He is a really nice player. So interesting fit with the Patriots with this player. Well, and they love that interchangeability. Tweet isn't a bad word there. love it. They go dime, but then you look at the safeties that are in there, they're 230. And it's like, other teams have a guy that's a linebacker at 215. It's like, okay, well,

these guys are all the same type, aren't they? Like, we can just call them box or slot, which is a thought that I'm going to continue out throughout the summer. But honestly, that makes a lot of sense for the type of guy he has, especially that tweener. You said that he's just a ball player or a ballhawk or near it and always reading the playwright. It sounds like a Patriots guy, especially at that kind of spot. 77 Dane, the Los Angeles Rams. Byron Young, another Tennessee. The other Byron Young.

Edge from Tennessee coming off the board at 77. This is just a fast. He's got a fastball. And this is this explosiveness off the edge. You got to hide him a little bit in the run game. Because if teams are run at them and find some success. But when you can let him pin his ears back, put him as a wide nine, let him use that explosiveness, get after it.

It was one of the best backstories. I mean, he was a manager, a Dollar General. Saw a flyer for a tryout. Okay, let's try. try this. It goes out and goes the Juko route, goes to Tennessee. Oh, uh-oh. What we have here? We had the Packers taking another tight end. Oh, I love this. Oh, I love this. Thanks for listening to the show.

Oh, Tucker Kraft. This is great. 78, the Packers take Tucker Kraft. One of the stats, my favorite stats, is we were preparing for this show. I believe that the Packers, every tight end of their roster coming into the draft, their total receiving yards for their career, 432, which would have ranked 26th among all tight ends for the 2022 season. They didn't just need one tight end. They probably needed multiple tight ends,

and they get multiple tight ends. Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft going to Greenback. They did this a couple years ago, right, with DeGuarda. Yeah, they double-dipped. Who was the other one? Jay Sturberger? That was the year before. That was the year before, yeah.

With the Virginia Tech Kid? I can't remember. I don't know what you're talking about that. Yeah, they double-dipped. And they did it on day two. And both these guys were top 50 picks for me. Luke Musgrave, Tucker Kraft. Tucker Kraft's one of my favorite players in this draft.

If he, again, if he didn't get hurt in that opener, South Dakota State beats Iowa in that opener. He was meant that much to that offense. He's a playmaker, a guy that is a good athlete for that size. Can go make plays. And he's, when you're designing bubble screens for your tight end, it kind of tells you what type of weapon they know they have. As a blocker, he's ascending.

He's getting better and better. So, yeah, a big fan of his and, I mean, criminally lasted this long. I know. I'm pretty fired up about this. What type of player the Packers getting in Tucker Kraft? They are getting, like Dane just said right there, they are getting a guy that's a good athlete, a fluid mover. For his size, he is balanced.

He has his feet, stays on his feet. And so when he's as a receiver, has the ball in his hands, whether it's broken plays or plays down the field, you see him on the move here. This is how South Dakota State, by the way, really enjoyed South Dakota State's offense. I really like whatever their coach was doing. He's a young guy, I got to look up his name because I really like what he's doing. But Tucker crapped here as a tight end.

They used him as more of an off ball tight end as an F as a wing. But what Dane, and I agree with this, is that he has upside as a Y in line. It's like him and Musgraper kind of cut from the same cloth in this way. But this is better from the end zone view, but you can see him breaking about 20 tackles over here. This is the kid that hit Pube D early playing Peeee Wee football. That is what he looked like at the FCS level. And it's like when you're taking a guy from the FCS level, that's what you want to see, especially at a position like this.

Best athlete on the field type. But you're going to see a pole getting our way here. But how many tackles he missed, the fluidity? I mean, he just makes a guy miss right there. He's jukeing a guy that, you know, is half his size. Making one guy miss, two guys miss. He's bouncing off that tackle. Third guy miss, like, or that guy brings him down.

This was his first game back from his injury. From injury. Yes. And that's where I became a bigger fan of Tucker Kraft as he came back more from the injury. And then as they used them more in line as the season went on with the FCS playoffs, that's when I was like, oh, I think it was Montana State where I was just, I looked at him, was like, okay, you can do this. Like you're doing this.

Of course, I didn't have the film from that game, so I'm sorry, I can't pull it. But again, this is just another broken play, and you're going to see him as the biggest kid. I'll go from the end zone view here. This is a touchdown again. It's North Dakota getting the ball. And he looks like the elephant in the safari with all the lines jumping on. I'm trying to bring him down. And no one brings him down.

Like, this is just what his film looks like over and over again. He's an ascending player. On third down, they're designing blocks, crossing screen routes for him on third long. So they're running this for him, and he's moving faster into everybody. And again, you just see that fluid movement. You don't see that in guys that size. No. It's a legit 65, 255, and just getting better.

I love this pick for the Packers. I love this pick. I love the Luke Musgrave pick. They're both cut from the same cloth where they move different. They have upside as a three-down tight end. the fact that they got both of them. And yeah, they're both gambles and you hope they stay healthy. But man, these are two guys that have huge upside the position.

He completely remade the receiving options over the last. Oh my God, yeah, this is fantastic. He was a running back. He played nine-man football growing up in South Dakota. Played running back. To the Lake was it. Exactly. And playing running back, nine-man football, and he goes to South Dakota State, becomes his tight end.

All you need to know about Tucker Kraft and how good he was, Alabama came knocking. He turned down six-figure NIL deals to go transfer the SEC to stay with his guys at South Dakota State. And, you know, it says a lot about him. It says a lot about his talent. And I mean, I think the Packers, I don't think they came into today thinking, all right, we're going to draft two tight ends. But it worked out that way when Musgrave was there in the second and now Kraft here in the third. Sometimes you can't pass on guys. And so it's maybe seem a little repetitive, but they're going to find ways to use both these guys.

It's a position to be repetitive at. You've got to take chances at tight ends. If you would play 12th person, not like Josiah Deguara shouldn't prevent you from drafting Tucker Kraft. If you like Tucker Kraft. And like you said, you had them like 50-ish, top 50-ish. Like I had a easily in early second round grade on him.

And I was actually bored like giving him like a late first. Like I liked this guy so, so much. And like you said, it's like they didn't expect to go in it and picking two tight ends. They were hoping maybe to get one pass catcher, hopefully two. But the fact that I'm sure when Musgrave came off, they're like, okay, yeah,

It's take a chance. Let's do it. I'm sure they had at least a second round grade on Tucker Kraft. And I'm sure they're like, yeah, this is great. Now they got both of them. And let's give respect to South Dakota State. Tight end you. Since 1976, they've had three players drafted top 100.

All three tight ends, Steve Heiden, Dallas Goddert, and now Tucker Kraft. You love to see it. And I really like the other guy they have. I don't even know his name, number 87. The running back is someone to watch for next year. South Dakota State's got some stuff cooking. Yeah, if you watch FCS, their offense is a lot of fun. their play calling too.

Speaking of complimentary pass-catching options here, Josh Downs from North Carolina, goes to the Colts at 79. We got Michael Pittman there. We got Albert Pierce there, big, big bodies. Now, Josh Downs, potentially a slot option for them days. Can you see that Anthony Richardson that Josh Downs?

I mean, yeah, that... Downs is a guy that he's... Perfect fit. He's where he needs to be when he needs to be. And that's such a safety valve type of player for your quarterback. And just that,

you know, warm blanket that, you know, you feel better about when he's out there, he's going to go, no surprises with him, he's not going to let you down. His drop rate, it's just amazing to see how it fell, or went from all these drops as a freshman, a little bit better as a sophomore,

and he didn't drop the ball this year. And he was such a big... So that it works, because that means he's on the jugs machine. 100%. And he's small, there's no way around that. He's a slot-only player. That's just what he is. That's okay, because I think that he does what he does, what he

does, he does it really well at a high level. And so, you know, Smith and Jigba, we talk about him is maybe a slot only. He's got size. A little bit more to Smith and Jigba. Downs is a little more limited and what he can give you. But I love his fit with this offense. The stat I came across, and this was from SIS. They had unique routes and how many different types of routes he gets tagged. No one ran more unique routes than Josh Downs last year in FBS. And that is, again, I'm going to always kind of ding a slot-only type of guy. And he truly is a slot-only type of guy. I don't see, I think Jackson Smith and Jigbaugh can give you a handful snaps outside, but truly with Downcy slot only, but the thing is he's really good at it.

And I was worried that he would go to a place where it's like, okay, they might expect him outside. No, not with the Colts. They got big, big, big bodies everywhere. This is the perfect place to kind of get that different type of body type for your pass catcher He's quicker than fast too. He ran a 44840. You know, he doesn't have that blazing speed, but you talk about gear change and his three

cones outstanding, you know, the shorter equipment is. somebody that small too, right? Right, exactly. And gets north, like, he does a lot of things well. There's a lot to like with Josh Downs. There really is. Interesting to the Colts, you know, three picks off the board. Obviously, go to get Richardson in the first round.

But as we get into second and third, I think offensive line may be something they wanted to address after it happened last year. But no, they go corner and receiver with their next two picks, Anthony Richardson. And now you have those two big body guys. You get Josh Downs. In the best case scenario, you've got some past catchers for your own quarterback. Again, trying to build that infrastructure as much, and as quickly as possible.

Yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, so, yeah, when you have, now you have the Z, X, that's Pittman, that's out Pierce, and then now you got Josh Downs' slot, and then you have two jumbo, jumbo tight ends as well. Yeah, and Kylin, Granson from SMU from a few years ago. Yeah, they still like him. Yep, they still like him.

And the Ogletree, who they drafted from YSU last year, it was hurt, so. It's a fun group of weapons. It really is. A lot of intriguing guys, a lot of guys that are useful in different ways. So it's a nice little kind of group of targets, Anthony Richardson is going to throw, too. So just to kind of reset the best available,

darn out Washington still out there. Tight-end Georgia, Keeley Ringo, Georgia, Corner, Trenton Simpson, the Clemson linebacker. Now that Josh Downs is off the board, the top receiver available, Tyler Scott, Cincinnati, Clark Phillips, Utah still out there. It was just another one of those,

just a darn good player. You know, the size worries you, the lack of speed that worries you. Duane Jones is still out there too who look I really like this tape and then you start to dig more in you're like back off a little bit and I think teams kind of felt the same way

Yeah Deon Henley the linebacker from Washington State I'm a little surprised is still out there So there's there's Adibawari from Northwestern I thought for sure somebody was going to jump At that testing even though on tape Fourth, fifth round pick

But what do you do with a guy that has fourth fifth round tape But test like a top five overall player You know I'm in the third Right. I was talking to a scout who went to the Northwestern Pro Day. He said that the conversations there among the scouts were, okay, who was going to be drafted first? Was it going to be Adwari the deep of the tackle or the corner, Cameron Mitchell. And Mitchell's not a guy that's getting a lot of pub, but I mean, he's a name we couldn't hear come off the board here tonight. Well, and then also, like, you're looking at some of those positions, like DeWan Jones, like, even with the tackle run that happened, it was like, well, someone will take a chance because there's just not that many tackles. Right. He was kind of the next tier. of guys. And yes, right tackle only, most likely. Kind of that, oh, my God, Phil Overholt, was the guy with the body. So, Lodholt. Yes, yes. And just that oversized right tackle, you know,

that's always going to have the size and maybe the weight issues. Like, you don't really want them on the backside, cutting off guys, but you want to run behind them. Yeah. And I feel like there was going to be maybe one or two teams that like that, and they're fine with the size and maybe not the, the slightest of feet or the lightest of feet. But yeah, it's kind of interesting that he's still around. We have the Titans here, now on the clock at 81. Trying to see any other picks we that have not gotten to yet. It seems like we are.

DJ Johnson. To Carolina. 80th overall edge rusher from Oregon, Dave. I mean, freaky guy. Good size player, but has speed off the edge. Older player, he was a really interesting journey. He was at tight end at Miami, transfers to Oregon, try him at tight end, then they move in the full time to defense.

and kind of really found his way this year. You see a guy with speed, does a nice job against the run. A little bit older, so I think he was off some boards. He wasn't a great fit. You know, you don't really want those 24-year-old guys with upside. Unless you're the Jets and Dr. McDonald's 15th overall. But here we are. DJ Johnson, you know...

We're Johnson last year. Yeah, right. But DJ Johnson, you know, he was a guy that, you know, was on the freaks list. He has that type of ability. You know, I understand the pick, for sure. And they needed some medrushers. I mean, outside of Brian Burns,

he took Gross Matos, the guy they took in the second round. But he's going to be free agent after this year. He hasn't panned out. And you think about the way that those Broncos teams, that Broncos team last year was built with the Giro Evero. I mean, they had banshees. They had so many guys that they could rush the pastor, where they could trade Bradley Chubb, I think, pretty comfortably,

trying to rebuild that sort of idea a little bit here in Carolina. Drop it all, like, in coverage-wise or anything like that? Maybe play on his feet a little, but, I mean, I think most part you want him. Going for him. going forward. And he can set a hard edge. He's got length of him. Because just the, yeah, the Evers defense as well, as all the simulated pressures, they like the guys

to drop out. They kind of like those kind of hybrid guys. So I was just curious about that. Interesting. Sitting here at 81, the Tennessee Titans go with Tagee Spears running back from Tulane. Chris Ravel probably love that film. Oh, yeah? Yeah. I mean, he was a top 75 player

on my board. He's flawed. Yeah, 73. The big question with the knees. Yes. Some teams were, okay, check, knees are okay, thumbs up. Other teams were not. I mean, he is a fun, fun player. His ability to cut. It's almost like, he is kind of what I think some people wanted James Cook to be last year. As a runner, you know, like, you know, we knew what James Cook could do as a pass catcher, but as a runner is a little like, you know, you like the idea of it, but wasn't always there. With Tadja Spears, I think it gives you that because he is so quick,

his knees are just so bendy, you know, like the flexibility to be able to stop, cut, Spears is awesome. If the medicals were clean, you feel great about Spears in this range. And my comparison for him more just because he plays with a reckless style. And I mean this as a compliment. Was Devante Freeman, it's not a one-to-one comparison, but more that slightly undersized back, but plays like they act like they're 30 pounds bigger and they don't care.

Right. They're just, every run, every time they touch the ball is they act like it's a Super Bowl. You'll see Spears lead blocking for his teammates and bringing it. I have a clip where he... He's 200 pounds. Yeah, and he's pancaking a linebacker at 230 or someone that weighs 30 pounds heavier in him. Just a really fun player. I understand what the Titans like him.

That's why I was like, Vrable probably loved his tape because it's like he's a football player. The start stop is awesome. He's explosive. He's a really, really fun back, but it comes to the medicals and he's not the biggest size, but he's just a good running back. I understand U.S. defense was not good, but watch the Cotton Bowl and just see him go to work. It's something special. player on a fielditis.

It was. That's what you want to see, though, especially you're going against USC. His teammate Dorian Williams, at linebacker, we might hear his name tonight. He had like 17 tackles in that game. Same type of thing on the other side of the ball. So that was the Tate and Tilling won that game.

Twain's well coached. They are. They're really fun. They had the biggest turnaround in college football history, going from two wins to 12 or whatever it was the last two years. Yeah. At 82, Dane, the bucks go with Yaya Diabi. It's a fun name to say.

It is a fantastic name to say. We wondered after they went with Class can't see in the first round. They needed more past rush help. Would they get a look at an edge rusher? Because it did seem like a position of need and they addressed it two rounds later. Yeah, my number 72 overall player here. He's 6.3-265.

Another great story. He was after high school working at the airport. Not sure what was next. And a former high school teammate of his got the call for a tryout out of a juco. He goes to and ends up making the team. Next thing you know, he's just juco recruit. Goes to Louisville. and it's inconsistent.

But when he's playing at it as best, it's, okay, that's an NFL player. The way he's built, the way he moves, he had one of the best 10-yard splits at the combine. And obviously, when we're talking about pass rushers, you want that initial get-off. And that 10-yard split says a lot is 154. I can't remember exactly.

It's 156. 93% of all the testers. At 265, I mean, that's special. And so even though it's a 45-140. Yeah. Even though it's inconsistent, when you can move like that, there's a lot of promise there. And sometimes with the Juko guys, it's your, that you want to see that kind of late rise their second year. And it's kind of like you've got to like, you're almost like taking them out like they're a true sophomore. It doesn't matter what their age is because you're just going, okay, we only can look at these two years.

That's when we finally get some decent coaching compared to the junior colleges. We've seen some Jucco coaches on Twitter, so that's all I need to say. But it's that his ascension and his, like, that's what you're grading to. It's more, again, when you talk about some of these guys that are more, I don't say developmental, but more ascending, look at the second half of the year. And that's where he really did pop. And it made sense with some of his testing numbers because that's, like you said, there's times where it's just like, yeah, it's overwhelming.

It's like, oh, my God, like, you're the best player. And there's other times where it's like you don't hear from him for two quarters. Right. When you're watching Louisville. Yeah. Yeah. You see. Tampa.

Exactly. That makes a lot sense. So you want him to play tighter to the tackle. He can do that. You want to widen him out, play on his feet. I think he can do that as well. So he's a freaky athlete. And in the third round, mid third round, that's the, you roll the dice. Exactly. Taking some swings on the free athletes. Look at his mock draft tool page right now. The third best physical comp for him on this page is Judevian cloning. Okay. Talk about freaky athletes. Yeah. Not a bad place to be in terms of your physical profiles. Right. Right. That says something right there. And so, yeah, in Diabi, again, he's long. He's got 34 inch arms.

The length you usually expect from the bucks. And compared that with cancy, and it's just, it's interesting. And I don't want to say, like, make it, paint it that Diabi hasn't been productive. This past year, he actually was, he had 14 tackles for loss. He had nine sacks. So he was a guy that was getting home, and more so than we saw the 2021 tape. And so another guy that's ascending. And he's older.

He's 24 years old. But that's part of the reason that it lasted this long? Probably. Just not a lot of. Yeah. The inconsistent nature of, I mean, he's, I think when you factor in his football journey. Like, he was, when he first got to Juko, he's 210 pounds.

You know, he had a 50 pounds since then. Getting better. And so, you know, I think when you factor everything in, I thought he would go in that early to mid third round range. And I mean, it's basically where he went. Yeah. Oh, here we go. At 83 here, Denver goes with Riley Moss, safety from Iowa.

They list him as a safety here in the NSPAN. How disrespectful. It is. This is a cornerback, ladies and gentlemen. Yeah, this is the Jason Seahoran Honorary Award. Exactly. right here. He's a freak, though.

He is. He was a 4-4 athlete. He was a big-time hurdler in high school. And, you know, hurdle... I always got these freaks, man. What the hell happened? No kidding. I mean, because a lot of places don't recruit them.

And so, yeah. But, I mean, hurdlers are interesting because you need not only the speed, but, you know, that lower body strength, the timing, the pacing. So a lot goes into that. Interesting that Broncos did not have a pick in the first 60 picks.

And they come away here with Marvin Mims, Drew Sanders, Riley Moss, three really athletic players. So even though they didn't have a high pick, doing pretty well for themselves. Yeah, it's interesting. I don't know I can't. I didn't see that. Patrick Stratan.

Yeah. They've got a theoretical need for corn. Yep. You know, DiMari Mathis, they drafted in the fourth round last year. But again, coaching staff, you get some turnover there. Moss has some good film, man. Oh, yeah.

It's not just this, you know, taking a project or taking the athletic. ability. It's like, no, his film is pretty dang good. He's got pretty compelling skills. Yeah. And he's the type of guy that when a completion is made on his watch, he takes it personally. Like, it matters to him. Really, really competitive. In a Cereball. It was like he was getting a little feisty. Very much so. Yeah. No, you can see it. So this next pick here that is coming up here with Miami. I have mocked this almost every time. Just because I want to see it so bad. How much fun it would

be to see Devon A. Chain, the Texas A&M running back. That speed, special, special speed. It's the fastest team ever. Yes. This is, I thought it might even happen in the second round. Here is in third round. A. Chain goes to Miami with the 84th pick. One of the best athletes in the draft. He won the, he could have qualified for the Olympics with some of these track times that he had at Texas A&M running indoor track. Speed, speed, speed. And the thing that you love about A. Chain is He looks like a running back, though. Not size-wise, that's what you worry about. He's 185, 190 pounds. He's going to be in that range.

But with the way he sets up his cuts, the way he reads his blocks, he looks like a running back. And so you're encouraged by that. It's just, okay, can he hold up? What's the workload going to look like? You know, comfortable like a job at best, that type of guy where he's undersized, but man, there's clearly something there. He's a real back. Like, he really is.

And that's what I mentioned him on our show, our preview show, that he was one of my favorite guys to watch. It started last year watching Isaiah Spiller in the back that went to the chargers. The difference in speed. Unbelievable. And that's the thing. He was a better running back. Not just you could see the juice, but he set up blocks. He had balance. He

templed his runs. He wasn't just, most speed guys and most underside speed guys, bounce. They're bouncing everything. Bounce, bounce, bounce. He never, he's a running back. He's working between the tackles. He's setting up blocks. He's falling a polar and then cutting inside. So that's why I will usually never look at

running backs under 200. He's one guy, I'm like, no, I get it. Like, I totally get this. And with the dolphins, oh, my God. So makes you so curious about how they'd use him and just like, what other little wrinkles within their offense? Because they bring back Jeff Wilson and Rahe Moster, but, you know, we know those guys,

Rahe Moster especially is trouble staying healthy. And Jeff Wilson's been solid for them after the trade, but that explosive element, if you lose Moster, do you lose that out of the backfield? Clearly, they're counting for that. And he has the vision, too. That's what, to take advantage of that kind of runs scheme. And he has the hands, too, where he can help out in the passing game.

He is a capable receiver. And so this, I love it. Like, I really do. It's like, this is, it's really fun to be on that offense. I swear, I tried to mock this into existence. Every single mock with the dolphins on day two, I want to see this. And so even my, I'm pretty sure I did my latest mock drafts I did last night. But it was 2 o'clock in the morning and I might be wrong.

But listen, with A-Chane, this is a guy that- You did I do it? Yeah. A 51 second round? Okay, so it happened around later. Better late than that. Never. A-Chane is a fun player that's going to create fireworks.

And so we can wonder about the workload and can he hold up at that size? That's why he's available here in the 80s and he didn't go earlier. And this isn't a track athlete playing football. He was a football player since elementary school. And then in high school, they're like, dude, come on. The track coaches are like, please, come on. It's a lot easier when there's not bodies out there. He's just going to run away.

Then he goes to A&M. And he ran a 10-1-4 100 meters. I cannot. It's a world-class speed. That qualifies for the Olympics. Yeah, yeah. I mean, that is record-breaking speed, and you see it on the football field. All right.

A couple linebackers off the board here in quick order day. Diane Henley from Washington State goes to the charges at 85, and Trenton Simpson from Clemson to Baltimore at 86. And Henley is a former wide receiver. It's pretty like everything. He was a high school quarterback. Yeah, yeah. They moved him. He goes to Nevada, it becomes a wide receiver. Try him as, and he started games there. Try him as a nickel. Try him as a safety, not quite working out.

They moved to linebacker, had over 100 tackles. Transferred Washington State for his final year and had over 100 tackles again. This is a guy that's a determined chaser, always around the football. He can cover, he can drop. I'm surprised he fell as far as he did. So I love the value here for the Chargers. Yeah, he, I had to watch him for, uh, he can cover. we did the little radar thing, and that was, his background was just hilarious because he's like, oh, he plays all these positions. But the run and hit aspect, he's another one of those. But I had, and it's just the athleticism. Like, he doesn't, I'm trying to like kind of talk to both sounds in my mouth. He doesn't play like something that used to be a receiver.

Like, yes, there's some athletic traits from it, but it was like, oh, no, you, you, it looked like a converted safety playing down there as opposed to me being an offensive guy. And say that, he has some physicality to him. He's not like an overwhelming physical guy, but there's not, you don't, there's not a detriment. Hold up. Yes, there's a better way to put it. He can hold up there. But he has that true, true athleticism, obviously with all the positional changes. But running a hit guy, go make some tackles.

That's kind of what you're getting them for. Feels like, you know, they brought an Eric Hendrickson free agency, but Kenneth Murray, I think there's always been a, not always, but the last couple of years, I think it's been a pretty substantial level of frustration with the lack of development they've gotten from him. So I think linebacker, absolutely, you could have talked yourself into it being a need. The Ravens also taking a linebacker, Trenton Simpson out of Clemson.

They have Patrick Queen and Roekela and Smith already. But Patrick Queen, somebody we heard rumblings about, and he potentially be on the moves. He's somebody maybe wasn't long for Baltimore. What do you think about Simpson going to the rails? I think it's one of those value picks that at this point in the draft, it's like, you know, this guy we thought might go top 50 and he's still available.

We can't let him fall any further. Really athletic player. He just, you know, starting the season back in August, he was my number like six overall player. I mean, I was betting on what he could be, the upside. He didn't realize that upside this year. He was fine. He was okay.

But all that athleticism and the impact wasn't greater, as it should have been. So, you know, he's the son of an Army Ranger. You know, he's the character's great. The athleticism's great. It's just he doesn't see things the way he should. He doesn't anticipate. So that, obviously, a linebacker, that's kind of a non-negotiable. Can he get better at that?

You know, maybe. That's why he fell to this point in the third round. I actually liked him best when I was watching Clemson's defense was closer to the ball as like a Sam, like an old school Sam on the ball. Like that's where I like that. Yeah. Right. And set the edge and everything. I actually thought he did that pretty well.

And I was expecting a little bit more from the off ball stuff. But like you said, he's a step slow. Actually, both of these linebackers that we were talking about, that's actually both of their deals. They kind of that play recognition, even though they have the athletic gifts that they make up for it because those athletic gifts. Right. Again, it's faster, harder in the NFL. So you want them to see the ball and go get the ball. But I thought of him as best as that kind of old school Sam,

or if you're in the tight mint front stuff, they call it the Jack. That's where I think he's best at. And honestly, in the Ravens, it's a great landing spot. Like, I am comfortable where he's going at right now and also just what they have available. He's great there. 87. The Niners move up.

I think they're just getting a little bit bored. Probably. Trade up with the Vikings draft Jaya Brewer. Yeah. From Penn State safety? There's a lot of similarities between him and Who was our second round safety to the Bears last year from Penn State? Oh Oh my guy We're getting to that we're getting to that point in the draft

Jaquan Brisker Good, yeah, I love Jaquan Brisker Yes, we all won't Jekon Bristker They were actually teammates at Lackawanna College For a defense rookie a year for me by the way, yeah They go back to Washington every week Where they were teammates And then they were teammates at Penn State

And there's some similarities there With the way they play Jair Brown I think disappoints the people The way he tested it. He didn't test great But he's also the only player in this draft That has double-digit interceptions Over the last two years He plays fast, he plays physical

He's the type of guy that Coaches want to coach Because of the way he sees the field Kind of the opposite we're talking about those linebackers player recognition is there, and he's a tone setter. You know, he practices hard, he plays hard, he shows up every day to work, and so that mentality is something that you look past the 465, and you focus on that, and so Jair Brown thought he could even go higher than this,

but it's a good pick for the 49ers. Not a lot of depth of safety on that team. DeShon Gibbs is back on a one-year deal. Got a decent amount guaranteed, like $2 million guaranteed, of a $2.9 million contract, but it's one year. You know, they signed him off the scrap heap. last year. So I don't think that's a long-term plan for them. He's obviously been in the league for a while. So maybe not a starter this year, but a succession plan where you could plug him in potentially as

early as next season. But it makes sense. This is what the 40-9ers find these guys on defense. These tenacious high football IQ guys, and even the testing might not be there. They play faster than the testing time. And I mean, these Penn State DBs, my exposure, first exposure, I'm watching them against Wisconsin last year in 2021 was they just overwhelmed them. Like, you can throw the ball, and a little bit because of the quarterback, but also because it's just also what the Penn State DBs were doing. They were just breaking on everything, overs. They made a pick, or Bristker made a great play in the red zone.

Good job. But thank you, I know. But I'll never forget it again. But you watch these guys play, it's just that they're reading reactability, it was just fantastic because they're just good football players. Mandy Diaz, the defensive coordinator, he just raves about him. I mean, just you can't get him to stop talking. It's like, okay, I want to talk about someone else.

Yeah, yeah. He just wants to keep going about him. He loves them. 88th overall, Jags take Tanks Biggsby. There we are. Running back from Auburn. Second Tanks of the draft with the 88th pick. He was my 87th player, so

right around the range, right? Watching that Auburn offense, it felt like, and I think Tink felt like he had to do everything. Yes. Because he wasn't getting a bunch of help out there. A quarterback position, the offensive line. It just felt like he had to make things happen on his own. And

And so you feel like there's more there than just what you saw on tape because he didn't have a ton of holes that run through. 511, 2.10. He runs fast. He runs physical. I think this is where we thought we'd see a running back run. Devon A chain, Tadj Spears, now with Tank Bigsby, Kendrae Miller. This is exactly what we thought would happen with these running backs. We might see one more before we get to the end of the round.

And this makes sense, you know, what they have with Travis E.T.N. and this is their thunder. That's what they need. They need another guy that could eat some of those touches. You look at Travis E.T.N.'s touches last year. He had games with like 30 touches over and over and over. That's all they had.

It's Ernest Johnson now that they've got this off-season. Michael Hasties there. But again, nobody that's going to prevent you from making the sorts of moves. He's a good innings eater that can do more than that. They drafted Snoop Connor last year, but that was in the fifth round. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah. But I like Tank, and I like where he went right here. And I, for the Jags, great part of, like, complimentary piece, especially in the run game. Yeah, this is nice. I like this in the backfield. We're going to take one more quick break here before we wrap up the third round.

Stick with us. All right, here we go. Buffalo Bills on the clock with the 91st pick. Dane, while we were gone at 90, DeMarvion, oversaw, linebacker from Texas, heading to the Cowboys. Apparently Michigan doesn't have a linebacker in a draft. Cowboys couldn't keep the Michigan theme going, but overshone Texas kids. stayed in Texas to play college, staying in Texas to play his NFL football. Former safety, they played him on the edge.

They played him as an offball guy. This is a classic run-and-hit linebacker. You don't want him taking on blocks, facing that congestion. You want him to just go and go make plays. And so interesting fit to see how they'll use him there. Yeah, it's also funny in college now. When you scout the linebacker position, that's what you're going to see a lot of. A lot of guys in space, a lot of guys run and hit,

don't see a lot of fullbacks in college unless you're playing, you know, Wisconsin or Iowa, and that's about it. So that, and that's why we keep saying that too. It's like, this guy's a running hit guy. This guy's a, you know, sideline-type guy. And that's just another one going right now because that's what you get. You mentioned we might see another Tulane player come off the board before the day is over. Here we go. Dorian Williams, linebacker from Tulane, heading to Buffalo with the 91st pick. Obviously, they lose Tremaine Edmonds in free agency. Big, big deal with Chicago. Probably had any need a linebacker. They go for it here. This is a little bit of a traits player. He was a long, arm. He's young. He runs really well. He's a four or five athlete that size and you know I had a hundred twenty-five tackles this year. Watch the cotton bowl. He had 17 tackles. He was all over the place

He's another one of these guys that you wish he saw things a little faster, but he does he's able to make up for it because that speed and the way he flows with the football So still a young player still still growing and in the third round I mean it I thought third round late third early fourth was the range for him and so it makes sense here Yeah, and adding a speed to a defense that needs it. They need a little youth injection over there, so it makes sense to get a guy like that. Different of how Edmonds was a little bit, too. Not a lot of guys are like Edmonds as far as size and traits and everything, but yeah, a little different type,

and so maybe they just wanted to add a little more juice on the defense. They drafted Terrell Bernard last year. Early in third round. Yep, so, I mean, they've drafted a couple guys in that range. More competition? Yeah, exactly. Just trying to see if we can find the best possible. solution there and Matt Milano's 30 now I believe maybe 31 yes yeah you know maybe as we

all love Matt Lana up Matt Milano but you know you know playing afterwards one we did miss the Kobe Turner pick was that 89 I believe defensive tackle out of wake forest apologies their second non combine guy and drafted and one of the cooler nicknames he's the conductor because of his music background he he's big in the music and chorus and choir and plays three or four instruments. Okay. And one of the reasons that he didn't get recruited high is because he didn't go to camps because he had music to do. And he was actually a senior year in high school wasn't getting recruited. His cousin was getting recruited. Richmond, FCS Richmond was in the house.

Who's that kid in the kitchen? Pretty good-sized kid. You know, is he an athlete? And the game of a walk-on opportunity. Didn't take long for him to earn a scholarship. And he transfers to Wake Forest for his final year. It wasn't even a starter, but you worked in the rotation, you see the movement skills, really athletic player. Kobe Turner is a great story,

and here he goes, third round. Yeah, and the Rams need those bodies. They do. They need bodies up front. I love playing the who's who of who's that when you look at the Rams' defense line. Any more details about what instruments?

I feel like I didn't get enough about Kobe Turner. I mean, the voice is the bigger thing. The voice is a real strong boy. He's going to crush it in the rookie talent show. Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God.

He's saying that he did the national anthem for one of Richmond's basketball games. Like, he's a, it's still a big part of his life. Like, it's not like a hobby. It's something that he is a meaningful, almost to the point where, like, do you love football? How much do you love football? What's, what's music or football? You know, almost to the point where you worry about that. But it's a very talented guy.

That's fantastic. Yeah. And the conductor, like, that's just a great thing. I thought he just like trains. That's what I was thinking training, doctor. I had the hat on immediately. I wasn't thinking, like, he's a great guy. I wasn't thinking like Julia Tar.

That was not the first place my mind went. Lydia Tar, excuse me. The Chiefs trade up here to 92. A little bit of a delay in the pick coming here, but we'll have it in a second. But I can't believe I missed up Lydia Tar's name. That's how you know we're deep into the third round of the draft. Yeah, that's my version of Brisker right there.

I think that we've hit on everybody so far. You know, there's a couple linebackers coming off. We've had a run on linebackers here, Dane. I think four linebackers in the past, Eight picks. Yeah. So it took a while, but we got there. Yeah.

And all guys that have their flaws. You know, and you can see what they are. But they also have strong points of what they do. And they're all athletic. Juania Morris, okay. The other offensive tackle from Oklahoma. And the Chiefs trade up with Cincinnati here to go get Juanio Morris. This is your Lucas Nying insurance at Ray Tackle.

Juania Morris, a former Tennessee volunteer, highly recruited. transfers to Oklahoma, where he was the right tackle, Anton Harrison was the left tackle. Morris has a lot of ability. It's just can he stay healthy? Can he stay on the field? He missed the first two games, an academic issue. Then he was banged up. He was hurt.

But he has the ability. You go back to high school and the way he was recruited. He has a lot of ability. It's just can he harness it all? And can the coaching get it out of him? So this is a little bit of a maybe a little bit of a home run swing. If you're the chiefs, you know, you're kind of hoping that. you pulls it all together, but not many talented guys at that position left at tackle.

But that, when you have an offensive line coach who has consistently getting the most out of all of these guys, these are the types of swings you can take at that position. It is such a cheat code. And I think that that makes total sense as to why they would go after somebody like this. Coach Hack, right, that makes a lot of sense. It does. And especially with Coach Heck, there's a thing my dad always like to say is a recoverability. Like, how can a guy recover after he loses?

And usually it's length and athlete less. him. Here you go, Morris. That's what you work on. It's almost reverse engineering. It's like, because they're usually losing so much, but then they're like, oh, he didn't truly lose. He lost initially, but he's able to recover. So that's what you're honing in on. Your reverse engineering. Can we not have you

lose initially? This is a guy, yeah, I get it. Like taking a swing on him. It's a traits type of tackle. And usually traits tackles go early, even if their film's not that good. And that's, yeah. Six-five, 35-inch arms. He's got balance. That recovery you're talking about.

has it, it's just the consistency is not there. He's not a very disciplined player. His feet sometimes get lazy. He's a very young 22-year-old. Yeah, that's, yeah, yeah. So, you know, and he's not going to be the right tackle from day one or he won't be asked to be the right tackle from day one. But, again, at this point in the draft, you're getting a really toolsy player that at a position where, like you said, those guys usually don't last to this point. You bet on your development plan and you bet on the building. And that's exactly what that feels like. A lot worse than this. So now, let's look at the Chiefs draft just in general. They go good Felix in the first round, who's last name I'm not going to try to pronounce his pass

rush from Kansas State, Rashire in the second round. What do you think of their draft so far overall? Well, they're hitting exactly what we thought they would hit, right? You know, they go with the pass rusher, you know, no more Frank Clark, help George Carl Loftus out. They go with a receiver, someone that's, interesting, the type of receiver they went for. They went for the ball winner. They went for a guy that, you know, has a little bit of juice after the catch, but is more so going to be a possession plus player.

And then here with the right tackle, with one. Morris, you get another body for that offensive lines. You can develop, give you depth. They're hitting the high notes. They're hitting exactly what we thought they would do. Like you said, you were already mentioning the guy, who did they lose this offseason? So they lost Frank Clark, okay, replaced with their Juju Smith Tuesday. Andrew Wiley.

Yep, and Andrew Wiley. And it's like they went one, one, one. And that's, we're going to fill out, paint them with a similar color. You know, we're just going to change it from blue to teal. And I think that's kind of what they're going about it. But yeah, even with Rice and I want to talk about him, I was curious. You knew they were going to get probably one more pass catcher probably on day two.

I could see them just, even when we were talking about, it's like, oh, I could see that in that offense. It helps with Petra Mahomes again. But with Rice, it's interesting. It's like, oh, no, you guys are leaning into this physical ball winner type and that can just do it. If you're thinking about the types of guys, MVS gives them that speed element, they got Skymore last year, who's that slot home, a little bit undersized. So can we just get that bigger body type? Cadarious Tony. There's obviously there.

And, you know, it would have been rich, and I wouldn't have seen them doing it based on some of the actual cap and financial restrictions. But D'Andra Hopkins was somebody that had been mentioned there. And I think it made sense in terms of a skill set, even if the price tag was a little bit rich. So, race kind of wins the same way as Hopkins, not comparing the players at all, but just how they win. Four or five athletes. Yeah. But, yeah. Their tape is them boxing out, throw a bow and just high pointed. That's what they do.

The other interesting thing, too, with these two day two picks, they're not the cleanest players. You know, there's some background work you need to do with these two players, a little bit of risk involved, but they feel like, you know, and especially when you're Kansas City, and you can take some of those risks. They haven't shied away from that. No, they haven't ever. They have not. So we'll see how they, these two pan out.

Because of it works, you get a Trey Smith, you know, a six-rounder with medical concern. That's exactly what I was thinking about in terms of home run, swing on the offensive line, and you bet on the way that you've developed players in the past. A plus starter at guard under a six-round. rookie contract. Let's say it works out. We were talking about this the other day. How do you pay a Joe Tooney and the Juana Taylor

what you're paying them and you're paying your quarterback $45 million a year and it doesn't end up mattering? You have three rookie starters on the offensive line and three rookie contract players along the offensive line. Where can you skimp to kind of offset some of those other costs? There we go. The weight is over.

The weight is over. Ninety-third overall. The Pittsburgh Steelers take Darnow, Washington, tight end from Georgia. He went about what, 60 picks later we thought. They just don't make many that look like this. And I think that scared off some teams. How unique.

Unique can be a really positive way to describe a player. Sometimes it's a scary way to describe a player. Because as unique as he is, you don't see many guys like this. And so it did worry a little bit. Is he, as a blocker and as a receiver, did we like the idea of him better? or do we really think he can turn out to be this behemoth that is a six offensive lineman, but also someone that's a true matchup nightmare in coverage?

And so can he get there? That's the big question. And when you're drafting at 93, you're willing to take that bet. It's way more comfortable with this. Tools, ma'am. Let me bet on some tools. This is my, again, my usual tight-end philosophy is the biggest, strongest athletes and fastest athletes and just hope they figure it out.

And when I say that usually, it's more third round types. And here we go. This is Darnel Washington. Way comfortable with him here. Like you said, the idea of him blocking the popular comparison has been Mercedes-Lewis. Mercedes-Lewis took four years to become a good blocker. A lot of tight ends do. Yes.

And he's probably most likely going to be that. I think even as a receiver, it's like, yes, he has the tools and stuff. But because of his size, he has natural limitations on his route running. So that, but that's why you have Pat Fireman. That's exactly what I was going to say. It reminds me of the receiver car. conversation we had yesterday. When you drop him into a situation where he can be your second tight end, your complementary tight end, the expectations aren't as high, the timeline changes,

you can be more patient with him. He doesn't step in as your number one tight end from day one. He replaces Zach Gentry. That's what you're doing here, and it's just a different sort of gamble. He's 21 years old. We have to remember that. And tight ends generally do take time to adapt. And, you know, it's a physical position. And it's going to take some time for going up against NFL defensive ends and linebackers. And so it'll be interesting to see how much he gets on the field here as a rookie. I mean, they got the most out of Jesse James over the years, and that was another big, big, tight end that didn't really all put it together in college.

But no, this is a good landing spot for him. I really like this. Another team with two Georgia players now, and Project Jones. Everybody likes that film with him. But I really, really understand this as far as what his upside can be. But it's like you guys are saying, is that he can play 10, 15 snaps. That's great.

And then maybe ease him more and let him do more in the red zone and on third down if he can handle it. That's our eighth tight end, right? Eighth, tight end. Tie the record. Tie the record. 94th overall day.

The Cardinals go get a member of the Cardinal, Michael Wilson from Stanford at wide receiver. Going from a Cardinal to Cardinals, the plural version. Michael Wilson, if not for the injuries, we'd be talking about him as a top 50-60 pick. the injury factor, the medical that worries you.

Can he stay on the field? But he opened eyes at the senior bowl the way he played. He's a good-sized player, but he has the movements of a smaller player, and he's very detail-oriented. Release package, some of the details and nuance of the position.

He gets it. He really hones in on those things, and he doesn't try to just run by you. He tries to set you up. He tries to, he knows how defenders want to attack him, and he knows how to counteract that. And then he's got good ball skills. He catches the ball well.

So Michael Wilson, not the only, but the biggest concern, it was just the injury factory. Can he stay healthy? Can he stay on the field? Did not have a ton of production because he couldn't do that in college. And just that offense was just stab me in the eyes.

Yes. But like he, I'm glad you guys are talking about because he wins in a different way than I was maybe expecting. Like his releases that you saw the Senior Bowl, that also shows up when you're watching on film. There's a lot of times where he is, winning on slants and it's really nice to see a big guy winning like that.

Usually a lot of these guys can get pressed and it's like, oh man, then they have to body him up and they get tackle for a five-yard gain. Those underneath routes, he can actually do a little bit more than a bigger guy usually can. So he was a guy, he was a late watch receiver-wise for me. This is kind of, I have more like a fourth round grade on him, but I like the film. And again, it's the injury stuff. But yeah, this is cool.

I like this. Special teams, he'll block. I mean. Yes, he's a good blocker. Yes. The tangible factor is there. His girlfriend plays the U.S. soccer national team. I mean, he's got a lot going for him.

It's pretty nice. It just goes down to Arizona. 6-2, right? 6-2-15. 6-2-15. I think a sign that we've had a changing of the guard in the Arizona front office. Yes.

I think so. A little bit of a different size receiver coming into the building via the draft compared to the guys that we were used to seeing from that old regime. It's funny, yeah. And he ran 458? Like, not a burner here.

This is not someone's just going to run by you. That's the thing too, is that like when you see that speed here, oh, okay, but it's like he's quicker than fast, but he's a big guy. Yeah, it's kind of interesting. All I know is nobody could cover him in Mobile. Every single practice, nobody could cover him. He, him and Jayton Reed.

Red zone period, he was just. Oh, yeah. Him and Jane Reed were uncoverable and just really opened eyes, and both of them off the board now. Speaking of the Senior Bowl, earlier this week, Jim Nagy, who oversees the Senior Bowl, was tweeting about Michael Wilson

thought he was going to be the steal of the draft compared him skill set-wise, and you know, take it easy with this, to Devante Adams. In terms of the nuances and some of this, the packages that he can roll out there. Another 6-2 guy that has good speed. Speed issues, long speed, but the game is subtler. And why he wins is subtler, maybe that's why you last a little bit longer. And again, those are lofty expectations, but, you know, Jim had a very close look at him in Mobile all week. I liked him.

The more you watch him, the more you appreciate him. Correct. You understand, okay, this guy is really intense. intelligent. Like he's smart with the, and oh, shocker went to Stanford, but he understands what he's doing out there. So, you know, I do love that. We talk about pass rush plan. Yeah, he has a release program. It's a very, it's the same thing. It is. It's the exact same thing. But that's what he does. At 95 here, Dane, Jordan Battle from Alabama going to the Bengals, I think safety and safety depth. Right. Was a question for Cincinnati. They signed Nick Scott in a free agency, but they lost von Bell. Dax Hill's going to be in his second year after playing limited snaps last season. You look at all the holes on the

outside a tight end, it was probably the most clear. This is the next guy off the board, you know, Geyer Brown's gone. So, you talk about a guy that 6-1, 2-10, not, there's nothing about his physical profile that just jumps out at you. You know, the speed's okay. You know, there's nothing that really wowes you,

but he's just been a solid player the last four years at Alabama. So it's a good way to put it. Yeah, and again, sometimes that solid's okay, especially here in the third round. You don't have to have this huge upside to warrant a draft pick. If you're...

You're like smart guys. Yeah, that's it. You know he plays a lot like is Gibson for the 49ers. Sean Gibson? Yeah, yeah, there is some similarities to it where it's just solid of everything. There's a lot of things like okay or above average, adequate, I would say, but smart is physical and it's not a bad package to have. Louana Rumo has become one of those guys.

I'm almost not, again, lofty expectations, but when Christian Gonzalez wants to do England, it's like, ooh, right. That's how a defensive backstarred with me and the Bengals, and what they've done the last few years. All the guys they found and the roles that they've just kind of rolled them out in. Defense in general, but the way that the pieces all fit together

for them on the back end, I really like how they think about it. So just somebody like, ooh, Bengals like him. And he likes smart players. That's what I say. Because you want to, the flexibility that they have and just kind of the mental demands

they put on the guys in the back end, those are very real, even when you compare them to some other teams around the week. You want smart, you want competitive, you want tough, that's what he is. Even he doesn't, He is a low ceiling box post defender who, you know, isn't going to wow you. But, again, sometimes it's okay if you focus more on the floor than the ceiling.

Yeah, absolutely. And what they do on defense, because they do a little bit of everything, it's nice to have a guy that can do a little bit of everything. You can play. Special teams as well. That's it. Yeah. I mean, watching those Bengals, D.Bs play, it was just, it's, you don't see a lot of, like, extreme,

like, where we watch the D.Bs communicate, watch them. It was just so much fun. well coach, but they also just so smart. You can tell the intelligence that the Bengals' defenses played with the last couple of years, and it makes sense that they went with this. 96 overall, Dane, Broderick Martin, defensive tackle from Western Kentucky, goes to the Detroit Lions. We knew that they needed some front seven help.

They waited a while to get it, but they try late in the third round. This is maybe the biggest, I'm not going to say reach, but the biggest discrepancy where I had him ranked and where he's been drafted. At a seventh round rate on him, this is truly you're betting on, okay, he's bigger than everybody else and we think we get more out of them. So, you know, he's 6-5, 330 pounds. He started at Alabama State, North Alabama, North Alabama. And then he transfers to Western Kentucky. Again, it's just a bigger guy, but he moves well. The fact that Dato almost didn't know it was shocking to me. You didn't know where he transferred from? It was an FCS Alabama. He's the 96th pick

and you didn't know where he started college? North Alabama went to Western Kentucky and, you know, really came on late. He had a lot of 30 visits. A lot of teams are like, okay, we're intrigued by this guy. And the Lions apparently thought they couldn't wait till the fourth round. They took him here in the third. So has some movement, you know, and the same reasons you draft Jordan Davis and the top 15 are why the Lions are drafting Broderick Martin here in the top 100 is you feel like, just not many guys look like this. Even if it's, the impact is inconsistent. Even if I don't know how many snaps he's going to be able to play for us. Just not many human beings walking around that look like this and have some of those movements.

Maybe a little bit of an explanation? Why don't have a fourth round pick? There you go. They traded away on the T.J. Hawkinson trade. So the Vikings have their fourth. They got the Vikings second. So they would have to wait all the way to the fifth if they liked them. Yeah.

But they need this. They need pluggers. They need guys that can hold up. They need size in the middle. It makes a lot of sense as far as kind of like their team makeup. And we're keeping that, keep those, keep Jack Campbell clean. Yeah. And he's never going to be a high volume. snap guy, but when he's going to be out there, he'll be a wrecking ball. He'll be someone that

can take up doubles, but I mean, he will also push guys around. So, you know, you have to factor in, what is that impact that he's going to give you in terms of the value of where you're drafting him? Obviously, the Lions think he can play some meaningful snaps, even if you won't be playing 45 snaps a game. Anybody else now that we have like five, six picks, Dane, that you're just wondering if they're going to go on day two that you expected to? That's definitely the one. Again, I, you don't come away from his tape saying, wow, you know, this is a great football player. You come away from his tape saying, wow, this is a physical specimen at that size, the way he moves. But you have a lot of question marks. Is he truly someone that will develop into a starting corner? I thought for sure someone would have taken a chance on that by this, at this point. But not to not yet. Next up, Tyler Scott. I know. I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I I was high on him.

Trust me, I know. I'm a little surprised. I like him over Mims. Sure. Think about how valid, just the validation and the vindication you're going to feel when he's a fourth round pick. It becomes a real solid start. It's not where you're starting. It's where you finish.

That's right. I want to be right three years from now. It's like to tell myself about Mir Smith, Marsat. It's like a long game. He's working out with Patrick Mahomes right now. Here we go. That's it. Clark Phillips.

Clark Phillips is a good football player. Why has he not been? I get it. He's 5-9. He ran a 4-5. It's so much fun. Yeah, he had six picks this year. And, I mean, he gave Jordan Addison a ton of trouble.

It wasn't all. I mean, Addison took him Ricky Stromberg. Okay. I like Ricky. Yeah, that's a good pick. Another shrine guy. Or shrine stand out for me. And another guy that has some guard experience, maybe some position flex.

So they needed interior defense. They did. Commanders took him, by the way, for anyone listening. Just really has not been able to stay healthy. I mean, that was absolutely a spot where they probably could need a little bit of help. Talking about Ricky Stromberg, going to. the Washington football team with the 97th. I, Ricky had a good week during the Shrine week, really liked him.

Maybe I just watched the center's too much, and watched the interior line too much. Maybe it was my angle, but really one of my favorite guys from that week. Yeah, like this tape, I think he's sound. I actually think he has some good movement ability. Yeah, it makes a ton of sense for where they're at, too. I think he can slot right in right away. You think he's the center?

Yeah, I think he's a center. That's not. Center only? No, no, no, I think he can. Yeah, I think he's got the position of life. You think so, okay, because they signed Nick Gates and free agency. They brought in Andrew Wiley. They drafted Sam Cosmy in the second round two years ago.

So even after the Gates signing and bringing in Wiley, I was like, okay, who are the five and where? So now you bring in a potential center or you think he's got some guard flexibility. Andrew Norwell is still there, but obviously, Andrew Norwell is a little bit older. So how those five guys shake out, it would be a good question because the rest of the Washington offense got some intriguing pieces of us. Yeah, and Stromberg also has the – the sign-off from our buddy Brandon Thorne. And he was a guy that Brandon kept telling me about, you know, like, you know,

texting back and forth about him. And going back and watching more and more Stromberg, what you really appreciate, he just, he stays attached. Yes. He loses slowly, you know? And so even if he's not just beating guys up, even if he does lose, it's slowly. And so he's able to maintain that engagement.

And that's important. I think what I even said after the show, week was I said he maximizes his angles. Meaning he knows where to go and he gets there. And it's just like, and we're good there. But his eyes are good. He does a lot of good things. That's why I think he can start right away.

Yeah, I liked him. And this is kind of where I kind of figured he would go. So interesting that he goes to Washington. I like that fit. 98th overall, the Cleveland Browns take Siaki, Ika from Baylor, defensive tackle. We thought they needed maybe another body on the interior of the defensive line, and they go get one. Boy, did they?

A very certain type of defensive tackle, yes. Former, he was a top recruit, went to LSU, then he follows, who's our Baylor head coach? Dave Miranda. Yes, Dave Miranda. Follow us into Baylor. And you watch the old mistape, the bowl game from last year, you see a guy with pass rush potential, and you're like, okay.

And then this year he didn't really build off on that at all. I mean, he is what he is. He is a big plugger. Not every team signed off on the medicals, but obviously the Browns did, and we knew that they needed to get better defensive tackle. And so this is where we're at with Jake Moot. Jake, okay. Yeah.

Wow. I know. First kicker off the board. I'll say real quick. I like that the Browns are, again, building through the spine. The amount of beef. Yes, him and Tomlinson. Him and Tomlinson.

After the way they've been built over the last three years, it's an overcorrection. Andrew Barry said, I'll show you, 3. 335 pounds. You guys say we get pushed around? Yeah, no way. Yeah, that's the thing. They were getting pushed around. They weren't.

It was embarrassing at times. It really was. The Chargers, I think after that Chargers game, I think they were like, okay, okay, we can't keep doing this. Chargers aren't averaging. They haven't had one carry past 10 years this whole season. They're ripping on us. But yeah, they wanted to beef in the middle, built through the spine.

So his tape against Texas was actually pretty good as well. And that was really the game I really focused on them, because I was watching Bejan. But no, he showed up, and I knew his name and everything. But there's times where he flashed, but he's a plugger. But, yeah. We have our first kicker off the board. Jake Moody from Michigan with the 99th pick to San Francisco.

It's Shannonham beating out McVeigh. Because they need some specialists. When you're in a draft where you feel like there's one kicker, where you haven't graded, you have to take him a round earlier, if not two rounds earlier. You know, the Browns did that with. The Browns did that with Cade York. You know, it's obviously the 49ers, they didn't, they had three picks here in the late third.

And they didn't feel like the kicker would last. And so Moody was a guy, watched a lot of Big Ten football. Didn't matter the situation, the scoreboard, the weather. He's just consistent. Even when coaches are trying to ice them and big pressure kicks, he made those kicks. So not surprised, he's the first kicker off the board. I think I had him coming off in maybe the fifth round. So a little early.

But again, you don't want to be, if Jake Moody would have went in the fourth before the Niners could have got him, they would have been pretty upset. Niners also don't have a fourth row pick. Okay. It's Carolina in the Christian McCaffrey trade, so they were waiting until deep in the fifth round before they would pick again. A big need for them. They needed to come away. They did a lot of work on these kickers. Chad Rylind out of Maryland, Moody, Michigan.

We're in that part of the draft. Doing a lot of work on these kickers. Shrine Bowl MVP? Because he's only one of scored points. But he was, I mean, he's automatic that whole week. It's when you're, like, this is how I'll say is, you take a kicker, yeah, this is your guy. Right.

He's cold-blooded. It has range and everything. So it's, yeah, no, he's, if you did take a guy, this is the guy. As you're going to say, because it's more than just judging leg power and inaccuracy. It's, you really have to understand the mentality of these guys. We're talking kickers, okay? You do your thing, buddy.

But he, like I said, in Big Ten play, it doesn't match against Ohio State. the TCU game. Even though they lost that game, he was making some big kicks that they would get within 50 yards and Harbaugh is like, all right, good, we're good, send them out there.

He would not bat an eye. I love Big Ten football. But think about what Evan McPherson's done for the Bengals. How many tight games they've played in the last two years and a quarterback's only as good as their kicker. And whoever the quarterback is for the 49ers, at least they got a pretty good one in the third round here. But McPherson's so cold-blooded

that all these tight games he was just crushing kicks. He's sitting out at halftime watching the act at the Super Bowl. My only concern about this is are we encouraging Kyle Shanahan to make some poor decisions by giving him a really good kicker. That's my only worry. Yeah, there's going to be a fourth and two opportunity. He's sending that field goal team in every single time. He's going to love it.

That's what I'm most worried about here. You have any more kicker thoughts? I think that's all I got. I wasn't expecting to talk kickers tonight. Chad Rylent, Maryland. Okay. Oh, yeah, okay, yep, Maryland guy. Okay.

I think those are probably the only two kickers that get drafted. That's how I know the kickers. I just know the Maryland guy, the Michigan guy. I just know the schools. I was like, that school has a kicker. Well, a few punters drafted, maybe even a long snapper. Yeah, there's Alex Warf. Yeah.

We'll see if maybe seventh round, we see a long snap. I love a good draft. We should have gone on a live show tomorrow, just so we would have been out when the longstamper got drafted. Oh, we'll do an emergency pod. Don't you worry. The special is special. The Niners are in such a fascinating position because they don't draft until

the end of the third round and all the picks are at the end of the third round. So they trade up for safety and then now they have to pick the kicker a round early because they're not drafted until the end of the fifth round. Just what it does to your strategy and the way that you have to conceive of

well this is our board but how much does that really matter and it makes it such a specific sort of experience for this front office. And they have a pick here coming up in two picks so we'll see how they continue to build upon that. They had to make sure they got the kick first before that second third hour came up or that last third rounder came up in this round.

The Raiders on the board right now, their pick is in. Niners are currently on the clock and then the Minnesota Vikings who traded back with San Francisco going to get the safety from Penn State, who's name of that. Jay Ear Brown? Jay Earbron. Yeah. Who played with Chiquot. Who played with Chiquot.

Those forgettable Penn State safety is apparently. Just to reset again, Keeley Ringo, Tyler Scott, Clark Phillips, the Utah, Nicol. DeWan Jones, right tackle Ohio State. Again, yeah. Surprise but not surprised with DeWan Jones. Darius Rush, the corner from South Carolina, I actually thought he was the better of the South Carolina corners. We already saw Cam Smith go.

Atabari, Northwestern defense tackle still out there. Antonio Johnson, the Texas A&M, nickel safety. And the first Cincinnati wide receiver drafted, not Tyler Scott. Ray Tucker. Ray Tucker goes 100th to the Las Vegas Raiders. Not your guy, Tyler Scott. And not a huge surprise.

Some teams did like Trey Tucker better than Tyler Scott. Really? Because he is a burner. Yeah. You want speed, smaller guy, smaller package, but he can return aspect plays into this. So the way you want to use them on sweeps, you want to use them on, he can be a gadget player for you. And so an interesting add to, when you think about that, Raiders, with the wide receiver debt chart looks like. Yeah.

It reminds me of the conversation we had about Houston. Yes. where you have those specific types of bodies, but not a lot of explosion. Right. And this is that element that the Raiders didn't have on their depth chart. Very different.

And again, this is, we have the conversation about the receivers. We rank them all together in the same column. They're all different with what they offer. A lot of different players. There's so many different positions within the receiver that, you know, even though, you know,

Cedric Tillman goes after Rishi Rice or, but these are all different. The mingo, like, they could be the exact same size, And so what the Raiders are looking for with this pick is, you know, they're not going to draft a Tyler Scott. They're not going to draft, you know, other receivers. I actually would have liked Scott with him as well. Yeah, absolutely.

But you feel there's a little bit of redundancy, but the players they already have there. Exactly. And so Tucker's a little bit different with what he gives you. Set the record. Oh, there we go. New record for tight ends drafted in the first three rounds, Cameron Latu from Alabama going to the Niners with the hundred. first pick. So, you know, and we talked about how

Jamir Gibbs was the leading receiver. Lawto was the other member of that offense where Bryce Young felt some comfort. He was the comfort point. Yeah, he was going to work the middle of the field. He was going to catch the football. You know, he's a solid player. You know, the testing's average.

You know, he's not a guy that's going to easily uncover and be this ball winner and win after the catch. but he's going to be where he needs to beat. He's a solid positional blocker. And so, again, we're talking about the team in the 49ers that they don't pick again until the fifth round. And if they wanted their tight end, because they looked at the tight ends heavily,

just like they looked at the kickers heavily. And they felt like they couldn't wait into the fifth round to get their guy. Oh, it makes total sense. Especially other guys that are kind of available. There's really this guy, that type, that's kind of that balance Y and F ability. Yeah, he was underneath blanket.

like that's how I looked at him. He was kind of their steady eddy in that offense. Watching him with Bryce Young, it's really, yeah, it was all underneath. Underneath. But they at times split him out. There was times running deep digs and curl routes where he's at the number one position. So they use him in interesting ways. But yeah, he's kind of like a, I keep using the term balance,

but it's just kind of like, does everything okay. Beyond George Kittle, we got Charlie Warner there and Ross Dewelly. Yeah, they absolutely could need another useful tight end. Right back to that word. And he can eat reps for him, like especially with Kittle. because he can do some stuff some stuff in line and they do a lot of zones still even though they've diversified their run game

so he can do that positional blocking kind of shielding blocking. Vikings are wrapping us up here. What an underrated runner. Second pick. Robert Smith was so, I mean, when you're playing Madden 2000 and I mean, Robert Smith, I want

him on my team every time. He was just a juice. Oh yeah, a really good running back. Another guy that retired before, you know, and good on him. He's had a nice career. He can juice. He can catch.

He was great on screens. Oh, yeah. Good memories of Robert Smith. Really fun player. A lot of really fun players in his Vikings offices at the time. Final pick. Last pick of the third round.

La Kai Blackman from USC goes 102 to the Vikings. Told you guys. Blackman was going before Ringo. Just like we all thought, yeah. Blackman, he's an older player. He was at Colorado. He transfers to USC for his final year. and we beat up that USC defense pretty good.

He was the one guy that you're like, okay, there's something here. Average size, but he has ball skills. He had three interceptions this year. 15 passes defended. He's really competitive player. Really, really competitive. And so, you know, when the ball is in the air,

he feels like it's as much his as the receiver does, and he's going to go make a play. So I thought maybe fifth round. So a little surprise, the final pick here in the third, but, you know, I get it. They need more bodies at corner. And so, you know, they went wide receiver, Jordan Addison in the first.

We thought maybe it could go corner in the first. They wait until their, you know, their second pick here, Mikey Blackman. Just interesting, you know, Keeley Ringo's still out there. They went with a guy that, the better football player probably at this point than the huge upside in Ringo. That's probably what Flores likes.

He probably, Brian Flores, a defense coordinator. Probably watched him and probably signed off on him. It was just kind of gone, yeah. He can stay sticky. He puts hands on balls. He's going to be an aggressive defense. So they needed corners, like you said. And so at least they kind of flopped how I thought they would go.

I thought they'd go corner in the first round or quarterback. And then maybe go receiver in the third round. So they got the two spots that they would fill up, though. Gentlemen, that's night two of the 2023 NFL draft. Rounds two and three in the books. A couple big picture takeaways here before we close the book on tonight. We'll obviously be back with another podcast, Saturday, into Sunday after the draft wraps up.

But your favorite haul from rounds two and three night two here day? I mean, it's got to be the Packers. I mean, to come away with Luke Musgrave and Tucker Kraft, two tight ends that are yes, they're similar,

but that's okay. I mean, really lean into it because these guys are combo guys, they can block, but they can also really be something in the passing game. And we think they're both going to, not be day one be the guy, but we'll see them as rookies. They will be out there making an impact. And so we thought maybe could they go Dalton Kincaid in the first? Could they go JSN in the first? They don't.

They go exactly who the Packers are. They take Lucas Finn Ness. But you know what? I think it paid off for him because of what they got on day two. I love it. And Jane Reed. I mean, do you think about and Jane Reed? You think about their past catching, just their depth chart at receiver and tight end compared to where it was the start of last season and what it looks like now. They've completely He remade the entire route. And it's all guys I liked in this process. It's Reed Van Ness. I mean, it's kind of like, hey, cool.

Like, it's easy for me to sign. Packers would be number one. I did like the Falcons going with Bergeron and Harrison. I liked here on day two. I just think of both kind of nice, solid players for them and spots that make sense that they added to. And also just kind of, I like those players individually as well. So I like kind of like the two guys at the Falcons tab today, too.

Biggest surprise for you. I mean, Packers for doing what they did, I'd say them again. You know, I think that maybe the Browns, I mean, not picking until the third, and then the players they picked. Like, you can see why they went the direction they did. With taking to Cedric Tillman and then coming back with Siaki Aika, you know, a big hulking defensive tackle. Not picking until the third round, obviously, that, you know, put you at a disadvantage. But I think they got some decent players, just not quite the way we thought they would go. Not that route.

Yeah, some of the, I mean, I was going to say maybe just Denver's aggression. I shouldn't be shocked. But with Sean Payton going there and just going, hey, let's keep the good times rolling. This is what I was used to in New Orleans. I like a guy. Let's go get him. So I shouldn't be totally shocked. But maybe that aggression of going to get like a Marvin Mims or anything.

I'm not shocked that. Actually, I'm a little shocked that they want a receiver as what their first pick. So that was a little bit surprising for me. And the guys that are still available. Kili Ringo not going, no one taking that change. chance. DeWan Jones, no one, you know, taking a chance on that big right tackle if he hits. Clark Phillips, a good football player. Adam Bawarie, we thought maybe even in the first round, it could happen.

Because, again, fourth, fifth round tape, but top five overall testing, what do you do with that? Teams are trusted in the tape, and that's fascinating to see. It's been a while, but I think worth revisiting, we'll love us going to Tennessee. I'm going back up, and that was the question I asked when they made that trade. Did they like one quarterback? Was that the reason we had heard so much noise? about the Titans moving back up into the top five, or did they want to come away from this process with a quarterback? And we got our answer.

They wanted to come away with a quarterback from this draft. And, Nate, I'm so interested in the logic behind that. You know, you have Ryan Tannenhill there now, so he's probably not going to start from day one. Your offensive line is a mess. You don't have any receivers. There's a very good chance that you're going to be a bad football team next year with a very good quarterback class.

So why now? Why do you feel like you need to get the guy now? They clearly did, but I'm so curious why that thought. process in Tennessee. Maybe they probably just liked them. Yeah, maybe they were like, hey, I mean, seriously. Maybe they thought it was a rare chance. You know, they really traded a third round pick to move up to get them. And then maybe that's the thought. It's like, you know what? We're not leveraging ourselves to potentially get a quarterback in the future. We're not going to have to pay him very much. They can say, hey, we tank and then Mike Vrable goes, no, we're winning seven games. And guess what?

We're right in the middle of the first round again. I totally get that. We talked with that yesterday. You never know. You never know what your next season is going to look like. It's so easy to say, well, we'll find a guy next year. Maybe they did like. like him, but I think the process may be a little bit surprising when you think about the state of that franchise. It's so funny that he goes with Tanna Hill. Like when I watch their games and just be able to stand there and deliver and have some arm talent whip those throws in with a little bit of athleticism to run some stuff. And it's like, all right, just learn from Tannan Hill. This is great. Hey, what he does. Like, usually sometimes you get like, I can't watch Russell Wilson when I was backing him up and go like, I can't do what he does. So, you know, but those two can. And so it's a pretty tame good situation. It's really interesting some of the trends. In the first round, we had only power five players. We didn't have a single FCS or group of five players, which is rare.

We haven't seen that in over 20 years. In the first two rounds, the conference with the most draft picks, the Big Ten, coming in strong. Which, you know, usually the SEC. They reign supreme this year in the first two rounds, the Big Ten led all conferences, which is really interesting. When I was putting together the videos for this, like the first six players I had were Big Ten, Big Ten, Big Ten. Shocking. Well, that's why I was, I was like, wait, I'm not just trying to be biased here, but they had that many good players, all the positions.

All right. Guys, that is all we got. We will be back in podcast form after round seven. That show hopefully will be up for you guys. I don't know, a little bit later on Saturday evening, and then we will have another show wrapping up the entire draft, just kind of lessons we learn, takeaways. What are teams telling us we'll do that for Monday?

So still plenty of draft coverage coming your way. Sincerely appreciate you guys spending the time with us over the the last couple days. I appreciate you guys churning through 100 picks and knowing individual long snappers that could be drafted in this draft and really giving us some deep kicker takes here at the end of round three. Pleasure is, I mean, speaking for both of us, all ours, because this is fun. We still have a lot more picks to go tomorrow. So we're not done yet, but yeah, this is a fun first two days of the draft. Surprises, a lot of what we thought was going to happen. So, yeah, it's been a typical draft, and that's awesome. It's great.

It's when I have takes on a lot of these players So it's nice I just get shoot from the hip right away Get them out get them Let them marinate a little bit You know try them out see how they fit So no but this was so much fun I love the draft And I love being able to do this especially with you guys

Appreciate you guys bearing with us As we tried a little bit something new this year We had a great time to do it I hope you guys enjoyed it We'll talk to you soon This was the Athletic Football Show