The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - A Draft Slots Prediction Draft

Episode Date: April 19, 2024

The Ringer’s Ben Solak and Danny Kelly join Robert Mays for an intense pre-draft competition among fellow football podcasters. Via a snake draft, each participant selects a team of 10 players eligible in this year’s draft, trying to build a squad with the lowest combined draft slots (no. 1 is best, etc.). Game on.Follow Robert on Twitter: @robertmaysSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Football Show. Welcome, the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Great show for you guys today. We got a fun little draft gimmick that we're going to roll out today. As we get closer to the draft, I think it's important to up the silliness, not crank it down, because this is the end of silly season and we have to celebrate in the only fashion that I see fit. Here to help me with this fun little exercise that we're going to do are two of my old friends,

two of my good old buddies from the ringer. First of all, it's Danny. Kelly. D.K., how you doing, buddy? I'm doing excellent. How are you doing? I'm doing fantastic. It is very good to see you, very good for you to be here. I was on Hawk Blocker morning this week. Oh, yeah. With Brian Newman, and

he, as always, those folks in the Pacific Northwest, big fans of you. So he was asking what it was like to work with you back in the day. And I said, it was predictably wonderful, as I think everyone who's work with D.K. tends to say. Oh, well, thank you. That means a lot. Appreciate it. On the other end of the spectrum, it's my good funny, Ben

my good buddy Ben Solah. Ben, how you doing? man. Great. I think I know like three total people in the Pacific Northwest, DK being one of them. So I'm infringing very slowly on DK's geographical fan base. It's a slow burn. So here's what we're going to do today. And let me see if I can swiftly explain this. We're going to do a little draft. We're going to go from 1 to 30 picking players that are eligibility drafted this season. The goal is for your team to have the combined lowest draft slots. So just for example, D.K., you have the number one pick based on a random list generator, or random order generator that generator.

Randomizer. The random order generator. We make all hosts into Danny Hyphids. We bring misrunstiation with us. Hey, hey, hey, absolutely not. Do not put that on me. I'm going to use real words from here on out. The random order generator that I used earlier this week, Dave, gave D.K. the number one pick.

the number one pick, I presume, I'm not going to do this for you, Danny, is probably going to be Caleb Williams. That is the goal. You want to get the guys who are going to be drafted the highest on your team by the end of this. We're going to go in snake order. And what we decided is the two losers owe the winner dinner at some point when we are together over the next calendar year at some sort of NFL event. You guys have agreed to this.

Tell the people that you've consented to this idea. Well, we were talking and we were like, Maybe that's our bet, but your bet is you have to keep the mustache for draft week. Because the mustache is looking great, but apparently you're shaving. It's a shame. What a shame. Boo. I really want to keep it because I've become very attached to it.

But I just do not think it's the most professional presentation of myself. As a wise man once said, up the silliness as we get closer to the NFL draft. An old adage from a fourth time. I like to think that the draft show that we're doing with Dave, you know what this is? It's my respect for Dane as a professional. I'm sitting next to Dane with this sort of mustache while watching him cook over two straight nights. I feel guilty doing that to him. I want this to be a serious operation.

Dinner it is. Dinner it is. All right. So, D.K., you're going to start us off. Ben, you have the second pick. I have the third and four picks. We're going to be going in snake order because it's really the only fair way to do this. So, D.K., why don't you kick us off? Who is the first pick of the draft Draft? Kale Blams feels pretty locked in that he is going to be the number one overall pick for the Bears. so I'm going to take that one, hopefully, to the bank. Ben, I'm going to keep bugging you about your draft charting

for the quarterbacks that you've done recently. When you were charting Caleb Williams for the Ringer as part of the great draft content that you guys been putting together, what was kind of your biggest takeaway that maybe was a little bit surprising when you actually dug into the entire body of work? The thing was that he was like, he's really accurate when he's pressured. And that's both when he's got pressure in his lap, like it's in his face right now. And it's also when he had to deal with pressure and then get outside of the pocket.

And then there's bodies around him and guys are trying to stop him from scrambling. Like, he's just really very unflappable. And I think that his play style is going to invite pressure because he tends to, like, you know, throw from weird platforms and try to buy an extra second. Like, he just has to feel okay with dealing with NFL bodies and working those tight quarters, finding those bad arm angles. And he's not just, like, good at it. Some of his accuracy numbers when pressured are better than, like, regular quarterbacks

when they are just regular, not pressure. Like, it's that sensational. And so if he's going to invite pressure, he better rise to the occasion of it with the way that USC office a line play in the way that scheme worked he dealt with so much pressure and he was just electric under it. So it makes a ton of sense.

The more I've watched him, Robert, the more I think the bears are going to a Super Bowl. He's saving the Bears. Oh, don't. Please stop. He's saving the Bears. Robert, he's throwing for 4,000 yards next season.

We're five minutes and I'm already so pissed at you. The Daney-Hyfeits thing and the Bears winning a Super Bowl in a five-minute stretch is completely unacceptable. I'm really upset. The antagonist of the athletic football show. D.K., you do a draft guide for the ringer every single year.

year, Dane and Nate at one point both had Drake May ahead of Caleb Williams. You have Caleb Williams number one among your quarterbacks. Was it ever close or was it always pretty definitive that he was the top guy for you? I mean, I certainly considered it, but I just keep coming back to

the special, special traits that Caleb Williams has, just his arm talent, his ability to control the football on so many different types of throws. He can throw off platform and he's so creative. He always knows where everyone, everyone is on the board kind of deal.

To me, it just says the special, special traits that you just do not see come around very often. And so to me, it was always just chasing the upside, I guess, that he comes with. I can understand certainly why a lot of people like Drake May and, you know, just the way that he operates, the things that he does before, the snap, the size, the arm, everything. But to me, Caleb Williams is just his traits are special. All right. Number one was easy.

So like number two, I think maybe a little bit more. difficult if you're trying to get the best value here. This isn't who you think should go number two. This is who you think will go number two. So where did you land? And not even that also. It's like the guy who I think will go to. And if he doesn't go two, we'll go early enough, like go three or go four. And so I'm taking Jaden Daniels for that reason. I do think that Daniels will be the pick for the commanders at two. There's been like a little bit of a back swing on that recently, but he's still a favorite to go there. He's a huge favorite to be a top five pick. And I do think if he makes it past two, I can see the Patriots being really interested in

that sort of game breaking potential at three. And so I'm really confident that Jayden's going top five, more so than I am with the following quarterback. So he's the pick Jane Daniels for me is the first guy on my board. All right. So I'm going to go Drake May at three. Why are you not as confident that Drake May is going to go in the top three? Even if New England passes, you don't think somebody is going to snap him up

before we get out of the top four? Oh, no, I do. I absolutely, that's what I expect. I do think we're going to get like four quarterbacks in the top five, top six, maybe even one, two, three, four, which has never happened before. But if you're, if you tell me right now, like, hey, one quarterback kind of falls a little bit, gets picked at seven, gets picked at eight. Who is it? I would bet a lot more on it being one of May or McCarthy than I would bet on it

being Daniels. I just think Daniels floor in terms of if there is a faller, I think his floor is way better. So for the purposes of this draft, I prefer him over Daniels. I prefer him over McCarthy and May. But that's not personally how you have the quarterback stacked up. You think that Daniels is not the sort of proposition that maybe he's being painted to be by other people. Yeah, and Daniels, he's so tough, man. I don't think anybody's pre-draft read on Jane Daniels is going to be right. Like his range of outcomes are just, there's so, not only are his range of outcomes so wild, but there's also so many ways where, like, his career starts amazing and then tanks

and then starts bad and ends amazing. But he's just going to, even when he gets to the league and he's older, he should be developed, no, like there's still so much more he can grow into. Like, he's up and he's down and he's this way and he's that way. Like, at any point, 50% of the people are going to look like geniuses on Jane and Daniel and 50% are going to look like idiots and then it's going to change a month later. Like, he's just that mercurial. And so for me, like the ups and the downs, I understand why you're buying it, top five,

top 10, you're talking to yourself into the ceiling. but I would only be doing that if there wasn't a Drake man in this class, and there is a Drake man in this class. And young man can play a little ball, right? And he's got some range of outcomes to him, right? He's got some variance, but he's a lot more ups than he is downs. And I can see the ceiling a lot closer on the horizon than I can with Daniels. And so for me, personally, I'd be taking Drake it too,

and I'd be feeling great about it. But that's why they don't pay me the big bucks to be the GM of the commanders and invite everybody to top golf. Adam Peters is a wonderfully dressed man with a quarterful, with a closet full of very nice-looking quarter-zips. so he is very fit for the role. All right, I'm picking at three. I'm going with Drakeback,

just because I don't see him getting out of the top four at the very least. And I think that someone would probably come up to three and take him. It's hard for me to imagine a world where quarterbacks don't go one, two, three. I don't know who the quarterback exactly will be, which teams will be making those picks if the Patriots end up trading out. But if New England does pass on a quarterback at that spot, I think someone else will take one. So I'm going to go with May at three.

I'm also picking it four. and this to me is a harder decision to make because we've talked so much about quarterbacks going one, two, three, four. You just alluded to it, Ben. And it seems like J.J. McCarthy would be that fourth quarterback if it was going to fall that way. But I'm still going to take Marvin Harrison Jr. here. Because it's hard for me to see him getting out of the top five. It's easier for me to see J.J. McCarthy getting out of the top five than it is Marvin Harrison,

even if J.J. McCarthy might be a better bet to be the fourth of. overall pick, if that makes sense. So I think that Marvin Harrison Jr. to me is just the 230-yard drive in the fairway with this pick, and that's why I'm going with it. That's what I would have done, too. I think it's looking more and more likely Arizona sticks and picks at four

and just takes Harrison. Try not to get too cute about it. And even if they do trade back, they could trade back up again, or trade back and then trade back up and try and grab him. So I like that. I was really excited when I got the second overall pick, because I was really looking forward to getting Marvin, and I was just like, all right, it'll

quarterbacks, then I'll get Marvin. So I think, like, that's the right pick at fourth. That's the pick I would have made at that spot for sure. I'll take McCarthy at five very happily, right? Because I think I'm getting a top seven, top eight pick with the ceiling to go two, with the ceiling to go three. And so it's still like, this is a quarterback who now, I think, you know, two months ago, it was like, man, McCarthy might go top 20 crazy. And now we're all like, yeah, he's there at six. They got to grab him, right? And his over under a set at five and a half. So I'm very happy to get him. I'm so very confident he goes high. And when it's

quarterbacks like this. Like I have the potential to get like the second and third overall pick is my first two picks. Nice. I'm wondering how realistic it is for somebody to come up to four. If the giants want him and they say we need to come out of this top time with the quarterback and McCarthy ends up being that guy, do they risk waiting? Does New A, or do the Vikings say we have to go up and get him? So is his floor like the fifth or sixth overall pick even though you think that he's probably going in the top 10? So I think that's the biggest question of McCarthy is where the floor actually exists. But with Harrison, I think even if the Cs or the Cs, isn't as high as McCarthy in the top three.

I still feel like he's probably not getting out of the top five. The Vikings, a difficulty of getting to four right now is one of the most interesting things to me in this draft because they just don't know enough about the commanders at two and the Patriots at three to really feel like they can commit to trading up right now. But every day that goes by,

it's going to get a little bit harder to go get to four in front of the Giants. And if the Giants feel like they know enough or the Giants feel like they just love the quarterback class enough, they can make the move to four right now and just blank the Vikings out if the Patriots aren't moving. And so like, there's a staring contest right now is like who's going to move to four early enough before the other teams with enough confidence

that the guy they want will be there. It's challenging, man, seven days out. Yeah, and we just don't know who likes which quarterback. And that's kind of preventing teams from making those sorts of moves as we are, again, sitting a week out just because Washington does feel like a really big pivot point. D.K., you're at six now. So we got Caleb Williams, Jane Daniels, Drake May, Marvin Harrison, Jr., J.J. McCarthy, all off the board. What do you think? This is a tough, I do two in a row, correct. So this is, I feel like this is a very tough spot. I'm going to go with Malik neighbors for my first pick. And it's just because for a number of reasons, I think he's probably going to be the top seven, eight pick, most likely. There's some people that are saying

teams have him as their number one receiver, the way that he's so explosive and the way that he can change in offense. I can see teams buy into that. Teams love speed. So I'm going to go with Malik neighbors at that spot. First of all, what do you think about that thing? I think that makes sense. I would have picked him there. as well. My question is, if the Giants end up taking a quarterback, what does that do from Malik neighbors' floor? Is the floor still nine, we think, with Chicago? Do we think some other team would maybe come up to seven or eight to get him? What would that team be? Do the Titans have any interest in doing that? Are the Titans dead set on taking the best offense to tackle available

at seven and don't want to move back and run the risk of losing out on that guy? What is Atlanta doing? So 7 and 8 are fascinating to me because if the wide receivers fall a certain way, it feels like a team that wants to get aggressive and come away with one of those past catchers, that's a landing spot they might try to chase. I tell you, if I'm Tefano at 8, right? And I remember, Tei Fano's made three straight picks

in the top 10, all right? Like, he has had his fair share of top 10 picks. If I'm there at 8, one of the top three receivers are left, I'm going into auctioneer mode, man. That's exactly right. Third and a first, second and a first time. I'm at anybody, I am jacking up that price. I'm telling somebody to get in front of Chicago.

That's a huge boon for Atlanta. if one of the big three receivers falls to them, get out of that pick and make somebody pay a lot to come get it. Because if you want to come away from this draft with a defensive player in your Atlanta, which I think makes all the sense in the world, you can feel pretty good. Let's hypothetically say it's Jacksonville at 17, somebody like that that wants to come up for one of the receivers.

I think you would feel pretty solid about your ability to come out of the 17th pick with a corner, a pass rusher, some impact defensive player because some of those guys are going to fall. So that's why I think the neighbor's floor is probably around eight or nine, even if his ceiling is like five or six. And so then this is where it gets tough because So I've got neighbors

I've got Caleb And then we start talking about Who's going to be the first tackle off the board I think there's some Question marks as to who it's going to be I think obviously a lot of teams like Joe Walt A lot of teams like Olufoshanu, a lot of teams like J.C. Latham

I don't know if there's a very strong consensus on who the top tackle in this draft class is other than people will sort of just speculating. And that leads me to maybe make a stupid move here and go with Roman Dunezay, who I think might not, like his floor to me is nine or like his absolute like the lowest he may fall is nine. And I think there's a chance we're getting it wrong with like who the top tackle is or who the top two tackles are or whatever. And so maybe this is a super risky move and end up

looking stupid. But I'm just going to go with the guy. I think it's going to almost lock for the top 10. And that's what do you guys think of this? I actually like that a lot. I think that makes a lot of sense because I think we know that the three receivers are probably going to go in that range. There's probably more of an eye and beholder feel to the way the tackles are going to go. Ben, what do you think about that? Joe Alts over under a set at seven and a half and he's minus 400 to go under. Like I hear you like that there's tackle uncertainty. I'm very happy to be getting old. I feel good about getting that. I'm upset because he would have been my next pick. I had him one spot above O'Dunesay in my Even because here's the thing, even, let's say

Alt's not the first tackle off the board, he's still going, right? Like, look at the Jets at 10. If the Jets are there at 10 and Joe Alt is falling to them, and the Jets are doing the Brock Bowers thing, I'm suspicious of that. Like, I think there are enough teams that rank Alt highly enough that if he, if, you know, oh, the Chargers surprise already, they take Puaga

at 5, Alt still going. I think Alt still going super high. He's that caliber of prospect. The thing that we have to remember about Joe All, this is like a high floor, high ceiling guy. He was a tight end four years ago, man. Like, it always feels, oh, Notre Dame, like, he's blocked in, no, whatever. This is, like, he just put on mass. He just put on weight. He is still ascending, and he's already this good. He's an exciting guy to get. So, Joe Alt, for me,

at eight, I would have taken Odunzei if you took All-D-K, I think that O'Donzee is a solid pick. And yeah, also expecting to be a top-ten guy. But Joe Alt, Uncertainty, even with tackle uncertainty, I'm very happy to be buying him and just hoping the Titans do the thing they're supposed to do. So that was the eighth pick was Joe Alt for you there, Ben. So the eight guys have gone so far, Caleb Williams, Jane Daniel, Stray-Barrison, Jr., James, Blachieie McArthur, Leak Neighbors, Joe Alt, Romodunzee. Those were my top eight guys. And I think those are... This is where it gets a bad.

I think those were the solid top eight guys, which is why I was very upset that I was picking at 9 and 10 here because I think it's very possible and very easy to go awry with these picks. All right. Good luck. Yeah, this is... My next pick at 9 is Dallas Turner.

And it's for this reason. I think that in this range at 8 and 9, And this is assuming the team stick and pick. The two teams picking at 8 and 9, I think you can make an argument that their biggest need is edge rusher with Atlanta and Chicago. And so if the receivers are all off the board, I still feel like edge rusher is more likely for the Bears than offensive line, just based on their current team construction and where they are.

And I think Atlanta, that's the biggest need on their entire roster. So even if Atlanta were to trade down a little bit, if a team wanted to come up for one of the receivers, it's still hard for me to imagine a world where Dallas Turner gets out of like the top 13 or 14 picks. All of the other guys in this range, I think it's a little bit easier to imagine that. So that's why I feel most comfortable with Turner in this group, even if I feel like he's

the best pick of a bad bunch as you get past the top eight. I think that's who I probably would have gone with as well. I think teams are just going to look at his length, his size, his athletic measurables, like explosiveness, flexibility, all those things. And he's, I think, probably the least, I mean, I really like Laiatu, but the, neck injury thing is scary. So like to me, he's the top, most likely edge rusher to go like the top guy in this class. So I probably would have picked that one too.

Ben, what do you think about that? Turner's like four or five picks down on my board. Daniel Jeremiah was speaking on his conference call the other day and he said, you know, there's no consensus on the top three edge rushers, like who goes where. Somebody asked him about the Falcons and Turner at eight specifically. And he said I would not put that in ink, right? I think that there is a lot of uncertainty at edge, start by the uncertainty at tackle.

I think it's there at edge. I like buying into the tackle class more because I think those guys are going to go top 10, top 15. I do mock drafts and all of a sudden, Jared versus there at 24, all of a sudden, Latu Lathis there at 22, all of a sudden Dallas Turner is there at 19. Like, there's ways that one of these three guys falls. And so I don't want to tip my hand too much,

but I don't want to be buying edge rushers in this exercise because I feel really underconfident about who goes early and who goes a little bit later. Yeah, I think that makes sense. my next pick is Jay C. Latham, just because if I'm looking at the tackles and talking to people, it just feels like there is a consideration of his upside that feels different than some of the other guys in this group. And so after Joe Walt, who I think has kind of become the consensus top tackle for a lot of people, I think there's a level of intrigue with the tools that Latham brings.

It would be easy for me to imagine him going to the Jets at 10, for example. And I think with some of these other guys, it may be a little bit harder for me to imagine that, just because maybe they don't necessarily have the bag of tools that Latham brings to the process. So those are my picks. I got Dallas Turner at 9, J.C. Latham at 10. I certainly don't feel good about that. And I want to make it very clear, I'm upset. I'm very happy because the first player on my board after Joe Alt, when I last picked, was Brock Bowers.

And that's who I'm taken here with my fourth pick. I just couldn't do it. There's just too many different variables that scare me off. Here's the thing. Here's the thing. the whole like don't take tight ends early because that's been like a big thing in NFL media

draft talk over the last like NFL media don't call Shield NFL media well it's shielded a lot of people have done it but also Shield my co-host in the mirror NFL show a man who I deeply respect and love

but also is wrong by Brock Bowers that's like a big conversation in our world in the NFL world man they always talk themselves into the outliers they always talk themselves and they're like oh it didn't work for them but it will work for us they are big believers in the Tobias FUK phenomenon right and so

with Bowers yeah there was there was a there was like a moment a month ago where it was like oh bower's by fall like 18 to the bengals like where's he gonna go eagles take him like crazy and over the last couple of days last week or so we've seen a lot of like the titans are taking meetings with him the jets taking meetings with him like we're back in like kind of the the top 10 top 12 conversation his over under is set at 12 and a half which is the lowest left on this board of the lines that i looked at and i do think that like is it the smartest pick no but i just need one i just need one team who doesn't get the tackle they want they don't get the receiver they

they want. They go, Bauer's the best guy on our board. And they're the Chargers, they're the Titans. There's something that's not ready to compete. And they're like, let's just get the good ball player and go. So I'm happy to get Brock here with my fourth pick. Yeah, if the Chargers go down to 11, I think that makes sense. And the Broncos at 12.

I mean, the Broncos are such a blank slate. It would not be hard to imagine them taking Bowers at all. I just, I had him at 11. I had him behind these other two guys just because, I don't know, the way I envisioned it in my mind, which Dallas Turner going at 8 or 9 and J.C. Latham not slipping out of the top 10. And Bowers, I think, just a little bit more uncertainty for me. but I completely understand the thought process there.

How do you feel about Bowers, D.K.? Oh, I love him. I have, like, very little doubt that he's going to be a good NFL player. As for how high he gets picked, I think the discussion is certainly valid. I don't know, man. Like, have you seen it play? This is what I keep coming back to. It's like, go watch and play.

Like, how could you not get excited about having that on your team? And the way that he could hit the ground running immediately. he's also he's such a scheme to touch guy you know the team that drafts him is doing so to get him the football like he's so good at yak and screens underneath

like you don't draft Brock Bowers and go like he'll fit with our receivers no you draft him to be like we're gonna focal appoint this guy we're gonna centralize on this guy and that's what the Broncos feel that way if they were to take him I could see them kind of going that direction

what do you think the floor for Bowers is Ben I do probably like 18 to the Bengals right like I said like you know oh I think he's going to go earlier than that the line is set of 12 and a half I do think that once we start getting to like, you know, Seahawks at, Colts at 15, Seahawks at 16, Bengals at 18. Like, we're just, we're outside of blue chip territory. Like, there's always like, you know,

oh, there's like, you know, 10 to 11 guys who are really like locked first rounders and it always starts to like dissipate. Then you start getting to that late teen spot. There's like, like, there's going to be a team sitting there. It's just like, okay, we have a top five grade on this guy. And we don't have anybody else we like. Let's just take the good football player. So I do think, like, a small fall is certainly possible, but a big fall would surprise me. the Colts is my favorite among all those teams, I think. The Bengals is like a football thing and like just dropping him in with Jamar Chase and with Joe Burrow. I like that because I think it's fun.

In terms of offensive system, in terms of how he fits with the other past catchers, where he'd fit in the hierarchy, I just love the idea of Shane Steik in having him in Indianapolis. And if you look at the types of guys they've had a receiver or at good tight end, I think it makes total sense. There's nobody there blocking him. He fits very well into who they want to be on offense. So that's the one that I keep coming back to if he ends up getting to 15. So, D.K., you are up with two at 12 and 13.

Brock Bowers just went at 11. So, man, again, this is a tough call. I think for my first one, I'll probably go Quignon Mitchell, a cornerback out of Toledo, Toledo. Spending too much time with high fits. I think this is tough because I feel pretty strongly that he's going to be the first corner taken, but there's also another guy that, of course...

Why do you feel strongly about that? Because the size, speed, strength, versatility combo, the fact that he showed out at the Senior Bowl, I think Terry and Arnold probably had a grasp on the CB1 title until he tested

and ran like a 4-5, and I think that might scare some teams a little bit. As stupid as that might be, like I still feel like teams do think about that kind of stuff. Like, Cunia Mitchell run at ran a 4-5. three. And he looked, you know, the senior bowl, this was not too big for him. He was the best

player at the senior ball like every practice. And so I guess that's why I feel that way. I'm going to Quinnia Mitchell for my first pick. I guess first off, what's your reaction to that? I can understand that. He was two spots further down on my board. I think that if you look at that stretch of the draft, there are a lot of teams that need corners, right?

I mean, the Raiders absolutely need a corner. The Colts were in the Legarius need conversation. They could draft a corner if somebody like Bowers isn't there. So I can understand where a little run on corners happens here between like 13 and 17. The Jags are another team that desperately needs a corner. What do you think Mitchell's floor is, Ben? Yeah, if the Jags have a corner fall to them, I'm one of the top two guys that feels like, I know like, oh, they're doing, they're working

the wide receiver class, whatever. Like, Ryan Nielsen's the new DC there. They need press corners. They need guys who can play on the outside and they just let Darius Williams go. They got a big hole at corner to right now. I will say like I think the corner market also starts at eight. You talk about Atlanta and that trade back potential. There's edge rush or need, but there's also a substantial cornerback need. Asia Trell is only there for one more year in terms of his deal, right? And obviously they want to get that done, but they have nobody behind him on the outside. And so this is, yeah, like I could see corners going earlier than people expect, but it is a wide range for corners. That's the thing that scares me about both Quine and

Terry and Arnold. Eight to 20 these guys are going. It's a big range of us. Don't say that. All right. sorry my bad my only when you look at two teams specifically the raiders desperately need a corner the raiders also need offensive linemen if there's an offensive lineman in that range they want the raiders need a guard the raiders need a tackle so and they have multiple needs at those spots and i think some of the players available might align with that and i don't know if the colts necessarily need a corner or they wanted the gerius sneed whether they wanted somebody that they thought was a clear upgrade over what they had or they were just going to take the best corner available whenever they had a chance.

I think there's a little murkiness there. So I think the floor for some of these guys is maybe a little bit lower than some of those initial mock drafts and even some of the stuff we see right now might lend you to believe. Yeah, and with that in mind, for my second pick, I'm going to go with sort of trusting Vegas

over my eye and trusting my board. And I'm going to go with Talis Fouaga from Oregon State just because it feels like the NFL really likes this guy a lot. he's another guy that I've kind of paired with the Raiders a few times. I know the Jets have been connected to him a lot. If they end up not taking Bowers, they may be able to take a guy like Fuaga. This isn't probably where I would have him in terms of like my hierarchy,

but it feels like the NFL's really in on this guy. He's an ass kicker. He's really tough and physical. And if you look at the over-under... Ben, what is it at right now? The last I saw is... It's 12 and 1 half. Yeah, 12 and 1⁄2.

There's 12 and 1⁄2 and 13 and a half. Yeah. which he just like, the thing is like the ceiling for Fugga is five. Like I would not be surprised if the charges are just like, he plays right tackle and he moves people in the running game. Like he could legit go that high. That's why I wanted that's exactly why I wanted Latham. If I didn't take Bowers,

I was going to take Fulaga at my last pick. So he was 12th on my board and partly inspired by that Vegas line. Ben, how do you feel about that with him being potentially the number one lineman off the border, the next tackle after Joe off the board, compared to some of these other guys who might be available in this range. It's the sort of thing where, like, from a talent perspective, like, you know, how good the player is, I get how you get there because Fulaga's got some, like, really incredible dominant reps. From a value perspective, what do the players do?

Like, I just, I want my tackles to be better in past protection. Like, that's, that's the area I want them to be dominant in. And that's where Fuaga is more liable. And I mean, certainly, I can think a solid pass projector, but his success is in the running game. And so I brought up, right, like, the charges at five. Oh, everybody expects Jim Harba ought to be this, like, run heavy team. if that's the philosophy that Greg Roman's going for, then like, okay, like a Fuauga makes sense at that value,

if you really want to be like a negative pass team, like a really run heavy team on neutral scripts, for most teams who are going to want to pass the football, you put a Fulaga up against a J.C. Latham or up against an Olufishanu, and just like their pass protection reps are better than Fulagas. And so accordingly, like, Fugas is really great at what he does,

but he's buttered on the wrong side of the bread for what, like, the league typically wants from their tackle, especially the top 15, top 20. there are two guys that went as top 10 offensive tackles, let's say over the last five years, that just this is pure anecdotally off the dome, that went in the top 10 that I think were labeled more as run blockers than pass blockers coming in.

Like that was their strength. And the two guys I would say that about were Mackay Bechton and Iki Aquano. It's been a mixed bag. If that's what you're chasing with top 10 tackles, recently it has been a mixed bag. I think there are listeners right now who are like, what about Tristan Worf? They said that about Tristan Wurfs.

relied to. Tristan Worst, you watched the past production, holy smokes, that's not the exact sensation you have with Fulaga. All right, so that's Fugga at 13 for you, DK. So Ben, you are up with the 14th pick here. Who are you going with? I'm taking Olu Foshano here, the tackle out of Penn State.

It's, you know, he's a consolation prize to Fulaga. I do think that, like, just with the amount of teams that need tackles, with the potential for the tackles to go early and, like, the charges to start the run, I just would be surprised if we get to the Saints at 14 and Foshano is still on the board. Like with just the amount of teams,

Jets at 10 and the Raiders at 13, Saints at 14, the Chargers are there, the Titans are there, jets at 10. There's just so many teams that potentially need to tackle that like, I have a guy who's been considered a top 10, top 15 pick for the entire process. Certainly J.C. Latham and Fulaga have pushed themselves into this conversation, but I don't think Fashano is losing ground in terms of how the league views him.

I just think that other tackles have joined the fray as the guys who reviewed as top 10, top 15. And so I might be getting OT4 here. He went OT4 in our draft. He might be OT4 off the board, but I still think I have a really good shot of getting a top 15 pick with OT4, even more so than like going for an edge

or going for a corner here. So I'm taking Foshan. Yeah, I totally understand that. I think the Saints perspective and using the Saints as a reason that's kind of a safety net is a very good way to think about it. I probably would have gone with him there as well.

And the fact that he is gone is very upsetting to me. because now I don't know what I'm going to do. You should have invited worst drafters on for this show. I know. I really should have. My thought process was I wanted just a level of silliness and that I knew you guys could bring,

but I didn't anticipate that you'd actually be good at this. So. That's how we get you. We're fool you with the jokes. I'm sitting here at 15 and 16. And you've scared me with the edge talk. You've scared me with the DJ edge talk. Now you're,

Now you're in my head. So, and then the other, I'm with you on the offensive line. I'm thinking. And that's why Fottinu is attractive to me here. But I think that there are some rumblings about some medical stuff that I don't feel great about that scare me off a little bit, potentially. And the Terry, Terry and Arnold is also potentially attractive if we're talking about all those teams that need a corner in this range.

And we think about the Jags maybe as the floor for the second corner, just based on how the draft might fall. I am going to go with Fottanoe at 15. Because again, I just, I think that there's so many teams that need tackles in this range. I also wouldn't be surprised

if a team came up for a tackle in this range. Oh, for sure. I would be shocked at all if a team like, I was going to say Denver trades back, but the Sean Peyton of it all makes that harder for me to imagine.

He doesn't have time to trade back. I could imagine the Colts trading back from 15 for a team that wants to tackle. I could imagine Seattle absolutely trading back from 16 if a team wants to come up and take a tackle. Cincinnati at 18 needs a tackle. Pittsburgh at 20 needs a tackle.

Miami at 21 needs a tackle. They're all these guys. Yeah. All right. I'm going to go with Fontaineau there at 15. And then at 16, I'm going to go with Terry and Arnold for this reason.

He's the gap between him and the other corners feels pretty solid, the guys that are still left. I think with the two edge guys, I don't want to pick one or the other because there's a chance one goes in this range and one goes a lot later. And I pick the wrong one here between law two and verse. So I don't want to be put in that position. And that's why I'm going to go with Terry and Arnold here.

So I'm going to go with Fonnew and Arnold is my two picks. And what's really nice is that like, like I agree with D.K., I think Quinion's the first corner off the board. Arnold could very reasonably go for the first corner and you just grabbed like a top 10 pick super late in the draft. Right. And that's the thing is like when you like corner and edge is a little bit tougher to buy into. like we've all been buying tackles, but you might end up with the high ceiling outcome, right? And like,

that's the nice thing about potentially winning this. That's why I'm very happy that I got Byron Murphy here to take it at 17. Wait, whose turn is it? My turn. It's Soak is up at 17. I keep losing track. He's just right in the middle, yeah. I'm taking Byron Murphy,

the defensive tackle out of Texas. Yeah. Now, two months ago when I watched Byron Murphy, I was like, oh my gosh, we got it. It's a first round of defense. to tackle these guys. It's great. There was so much about Tevonre's sweat, the big nose tackle

but Murphy's the dude, man. He's all that in a bag of chips. As the process has gone, man, it's been like, Murphy's going top 25, Murphy's going before Dersan Newton, Murphy's going top 20. You've heard reports that some teams have as just the highest graded defensive player in the class, period. DJ said again, like referencing

that conference call, DJ was asked a surprise top 10 pick and he said Byron Murphy. There's no doubt in my mind that the league has this guy graded very highly. Grated as a first rounder, graded as a top 15 player, graded higher relatively to like some of the other dudes who we're talking about is top 15, top 20 picks.

The question is fit. The question is landing spot. We've talked a lot about, oh, you know, there's so many offensive tackle teams to go get the offensive tackles. It's a little bit harder to find where Byron Murphy goes because there's just way fewer teams that have defensive tackle needs. But I do circle the Falcons who have a little bit of a question mark there. Like maybe it's them. I don't know.

All together, it's, I think I'm getting one. It's like Brock Bowers. I think this guy's good enough than I'm getting one team who comes up to go and get him. And maybe that's at 14, maybe that's at 10, maybe that's at 16. But I do think Murphy's going higher than a lot of people realize. So I was really hoping to get him in this draft. I like where he was 100% the guy I was going to take their pen. I've heard from multiple different people, even before we started hearing Daniel Jeremiah talking about it this week that he's a top 10 player. I was like, because when I heard that originally, I was like,

what? That's kind of crazy because he's a little undersized. You know, there's some question marks there. But you watch him. He's incredibly, incredibly disruptive. He like, plays with incredible leverage for his size too. Like he can take on double teams and, you know, just stand his ground. So I think he has that three down potential. And that makes my life a little bit more difficult here. I'm up right, two in a row. Yeah, you have two in a row here at numbers 18 and 19.

Okay, so we have, I think my first pick, and this is probably a risky one. But I think we're getting into that zone where anything could happen. I'm going to take Brian Thomas, Jr. This is risky, but I don't know, man. Again, the NFL loves speed. And this is a guy that what's his over under at Circa? I think it's, I think it's like 17.5 the last time I saw it. Yeah.

So, I mean, this is a guy that the NFL loves. You know, it wouldn't honestly surprise me to see him go 12. Like James and Williams a couple years ago went 12 or 11. teams love speed teams love these game breaking type talents i think yeah so so this this one feels a little risky and a little bit high variance but that's what i'm going to go with right now or uh brian thomas at number 18 i totally understand that because i think that again we talk about jacksonville at 17 needing a receiver the colts i think you could argue that they still need a receiver even though it would be slightly harder for me to imagine them doing that my only concern with thomas is if he

gets outside of that range, what is the floor? What do you think about that then? Like, what's the latest you could see Thomas going? So I honestly, I don't think it's that low. I think like, I look at the Steelers at 20 and I'm like, yeah, the Steelers at 20 is a good, a good stop point. Yeah, they don't take a lot of wide receivers in the first round last one with San Antonio Holmes in 06 because they can just take guys in round three and be like, you're magically good. And so I understand if they pass on it. But here's the thing. I really would want to be the team that drafts Brian Thomas, not just because I like him and I think he's good, but because, man, like, this wide receiver class, like, I know there's a lot of

guys graded round two, round three, but when we started talking about Adonite Mitchell in round one, no, thank you. That's not for me. I would have a lad McConkey, a little too rich for my blood, about Xavier worthy, Troy Franklin, like, ah, these, I don't know if I, I don't have those guys graded where I had like Zay Flowers last year, Jordan Addison last year, Jackston, the Jupper, but like the real guys go in the 20s, to me and Brian Thomas stands alone as like, okay, definitely not tier one, but emphatically tier two, emphatically a first round wide receiver. and there's going to be a team that likes Adnan, a team that likes Troy, whatever.

But for me, like, if I'm running a team and I know I'm not getting in the top three receivers, I'm really keyed in on trying to make sure I'm the team that gets Brian Thomas, instead of rolling the dice to some of those other guys with around one pick, Thomas is a much more of a sure thing for me. Yeah, the Steelers at 20 is, I think,

a really good point to bring up. I think that probably is, like, a failsafe with a guy like that. I want to say that Adnan and Mitchell has the same over-under. So he opened with the same over-under at Circa. They both opened at 17-5 at Circa. Thomas remains at San Diego. and I have, Adonai moved to like 26 and a half on most books. Ah, okay.

And so, yeah, so there, a lot of, Adonized is taking a lot of crazy money. I definitely think Adonai is the fifth receiver off the board. Where he goes, ask me after Thursday. I'm going to, so I'm going to stick with my, my, uh, my strategy here of picking with my heart and then with my head. And my second pick here is going to be the, the chalk odds one, and that's Jaredverse, uh, out of Florida State.

So he, I can see him going to the saint. at where are they at 14 I could see the Colts liking a guy like him big strong fast man physical I could see the Seahawks liking him I could see the Jaguars like in him I can see the Bengals liking him I can see the Rams liking him that characterization of the Colts draft strategies big big strong fast man 15th overall pick let's do it that's not wrong get down to brass tax here this guy is big he's fast he's strong yeah and listen prove the point in the Ian with the young man of Chris Ballet, all right? He's been cooking in some drafts by finding the big, fast, strong ones.

It's kind of a, it's a good strategy, honestly. So, yeah, I'm going with Jared Verse. So that's Jared Verse at 19. Why verse over Latu? Just because it's the chalk pick? I'm worried about the injury thing. I think Latu, there's a chance. And honestly, the person who picks Latu might have the best chance of winning

because you're getting like that much surplus value. But I think there's a chance he falls out of the first round. Like, there's been talk. that the neck injury is a huge concern to some teams. You know, neck injury is a serious, serious thing. And this is the main reason we see guys who are, you know, very widely regarded as extremely good players fall surprisingly. And so that just worries me.

You know, he's the type of guy in this game, probably let someone else pick him. The last guy I can remember having neck injury issues. Because I think Jalen Phillips was a back issue, correct? Before he was coming into the league. I believe so. Yeah, I think it's spine. I don't really know how the body works.

So, but the last guy I can remember with a, with a neck injury history specifically before the draft was Leighton Van derrash, who just retired five years into his career because of recurrent neck problems. So I can understand why teams are maybe a little bit scared off from a guy who had to medically retire because of neck issues. Yeah, I'm taking a lot to him, I think. Damn it. Damn it. I like the.

Nice try, Robert. I was really trying that. I was really trying. I would be worried. Go, blah, blah, blah. Go home. All right. Yeah.

So, DK., I thought you were going to take LATU. I know you're a huge personal fan of LATU, and I was hoping to get versed. I'm having to get vers. I think, right, versus range of outcomes is more narrow, right? Latsu certainly, I think, gives you like, you know, I might go earlier.

There's been references like, teams have him round one. Our first edge overall, teams have him with no medical concerns. They feel good about him. And so I just, the, is way bigger. He could go away later. He could go away earlier. You don't really know what's

going to happen with Latu. I definitely want some exposure to the edge draft. Right. Robert has Dallas Turner. DK. has Jaredverse. I get Laotu Latu. And we kind of see how these three guys land give me a big decider for the draft. But I'll take the variance on Latu and just hope that I get like a median outcome. Right. If he ends up going, okay, you know, 19 to the Rams. I'm still pleased. It's like that, that's fine with me. You have the potential to get a lot earlier than that. yeah but I still I still very much believe he's going to be a round one pick even if he has the fall even he has edge three if there are medical concerns I would be surprised if he makes it all the way out around one and so there is some risk but not not too much that I'm scared of it

I'm taking a lot to here I absolutely would have taken him next I really wanted to because I don't think Robert's playing it in Paris or more I already regret this but yeah it's it's because of what you said I think that there's a chance he's like that eighth pick in the draft like there's a chance that people just look at the past rush town and just say man, we're fine. He's okay medically at our board. We think he's the best pass rusher in the draft. We're comfortable taking him here. And that's why getting him a 20, which you just

did. I was really hoping that he was still going to be there for me because I do think the upside is kind of crazy in an exercise like this. I don't feel that way about pretty much every other guy that is currently left. I think that that was kind of a tier. Now that we have Versen Latu off the board,

I think the guys after this, it's harder for me to imagine any of them going like in the top 12. And I think a lot of players that just went, I think you could talk yourself into that. All right. My next pick is going to be A.D. Mitchell. I think that's a good.

I like it. I like it. I just, because of the, in my opinion, maybe a slight drop off to the next tier of receivers based on what he could potentially be. Right. Like, even if you like Ladd-McConkie, I think there's probably going to be an argument about

what Ladd-McConkey's ceiling is compared to what a guy with Ad-D. Mitchell's profile gives you. I could see a team talking themselves into him in this range for that exact reason. Let's say Brian Thomas is gone and the Steelers want that type of guy. Does he go at 20 to the Steelers? Something like that. So I don't feel great about it because I do think the floor is pretty low. I think this is the first guy that we've drafted, maybe outside a lot too for medical concerns,

that you could see maybe going outside of the first round. And that scares me a little bit. But I also think that he has a higher ceiling than some of the other guys below him on this list. DK, what do you think about that? Yeah, I agree. I think he's a high variance player and he's a high variance pick in this game because I think you're right. There's a chance people are get scared off by his lack of, you know, relative production based on, if you look at his production and then you look at all the other round one receivers of the past decade, it's like he is by far the lowest in terms of his like both counting stats and per play stats. And so it's scary.

That being said, you know, he moves differently. he was one of the most athletic receivers of all time at the combine. He's got that dog in him kind of player. He wants the football in those big situations. He scored touchdowns in key moments, in big game, in national championship games or,

you know, playoff games. And so I could absolutely see a team falling in love with them. Maybe this will make you feel better. I heard Adam Schaefter, I believe it was on the Established Run podcast a couple days ago, say Adi Mitchell is going to go higher than people think.

So there is that I was probably I would I would personally If Adi Mitchell went high I was gonna have him high on my list Of the next guy to pick because Yeah it was on my short list For my next pick as well

But it is a little scary I agree All right So I got 80 Mitchell at 21 At 22 I'm choosing between two Offensive linemen Oh I have one offensive lineman

That I'm absolutely taking My next pick if he's there And I have nobody else Like no other offensive linemen actually I have two I have two look in my eyes Robert don't do it

I'm fully willing to admit that this may be a byproduct of podcasting thrice weekly with Nate Tyson over the last two months I know exactly who it is dang it dang it dang it dang it dang it

I'm taking Graham Barton at 21 great pick I think Grant Barton could go really early I think there's a chance but Graham Barton goes in the first 14 picks and I just got him at 21 here But I just think that the floor ceiling combination

in terms of set of outcomes for him makes me feel a little bit better about him at this spot than somebody like a Marius Mims who obviously the ceiling is crazy but if you don't feel like he can play right away and you think there's enough question mark. So I'm going to go with Graham Barton from Duke at 22 here with my second pick.

Yeah, I think it's a lights out pick. I think Barton's probably the best like true interior player that offensive linemen that's in this class. And obviously he played tackle and guys like Troy Fontenou and Tilius Fulaga did play tackle and also might move in. But like Barton's viewed universally kind of as an interior guy. And he's unbelievable testing.

He's unbelievable film. He can play tackle on a pinch. This is just the dream like good team gets offensive linemen who will be on the team for the next 10 years, dolphins, packers, like Eagles, like he's a lights out prospect. All right. So let's take that a step further. Let's say your teams that view Fonanu and or Fuaga as guards. And you think that they are best.

moving inside in the league. Do you think there's a team that looks at those three and decides that Barton is their best bet of those three? Yeah. That's kind of my thought, too. That's why I'm trying, that's the bet I'm hoping to make here. Now, it's always tricky because, like, we talk a lot about moving guys to guard from tackle.

And oftentimes it's like, oh, it's an arm-length thing. But there's also like a, you know, how do they do with like, you know, having a naked shoulder, right? They have no tight end next to them. They have to worry about that high side outside rush. If they're not good on that, which I would argue, Fua, that's where he's a little bit weak, then oh, kick him to guard, and then you'll have to worry about that. And so guys will move to guards for different reasons, and accordingly, different body types will end up at

guard. So, again, if you're like a road paving, road grading team, Fulagai guard sounds like electric, like boogie, boogie, boogie, let's do it. If you are a team that's trying to pull guards and run screens and zone movement, now you're in the font realm, right? That's the guy you want at guard. Fulagga guard wouldn't make sense for you. And so it also is team specific.

Yeah, the guy that, the comparison that Duke Manyweather made in this process and with Fuaga specifically was Mike Ayupati. And if you think back to what Harbaugh did with drafting Ayupati back in 2010, I like that. I like that. It's just a guy who with a little stiff had a ton of power. They moved him inside a guard and profit. And so if that's the same thought process

with Fuaga, is a guy like Graham Barton and him maybe closer in this process than maybe we're thinking here at first glance. All right. So that's 22. Ben, you are up at 23. Yeah. So I really want a grand barton. I really like the floor on Grand Barton. And I think the ceiling is decently there.

I will be taking Cooper Dejean, the corn out of Iowa. I really like the floor on Dejean. I think the ceiling's a little bit lower than it is with Barre. And I don't think Dejean's likely to get up there in the top 15. We could see Arnold and Queenie Mitchell

fall a little bit, and that just really puts a cap on how early Dejean can go. With that said, the over under right now for him is set at 22 and a half. I do think he's a great fit for the Eagles there at 22. That was going to be my next question. Yeah.

At 22 and a half, very telling for someone like you. Right. I do think the Rams are our potential there at 19. I think he met with the Seahawks who were picking at 16, Jags at 17, like there is potential there. And then look at the Packers of 25.

If DeGine makes it down there, then Iowa first round defensive player who can fit their safety needs and solve some of the outside corner concerns. Like, he's just, it's such a friggin, he's such a good athlete. It's like an ideal size.

It's a packer through and through. And so I'm really confident the floor I've got with Dejean. I'd be stunned if he gets out of round one. A little bit of Brian Thomas theory here, where DeGine, I think, is like, okay, round one corner.

There's question marks about Nate Wiggins because of size. question marks about Kulad McKinjury because of health. If I'm a team that needs corner at the end of round one, I want to be getting Dijin because I don't want to have to kind of riddle out the next guys down the ladder. And so really confident in the floor and Degine, happy to get him on the squad.

Good pick with Graham Barton, though. Yeah, I'm with you on Dijin. That was my exact thought process about why I was going to take him next because I think with a couple of the other corners, there are more questions about how far they could fall. With Dijin, it just seems like that stretch from 21 to 25, one of those teams is going to feel good about it because there's a lot of needs that line up with him.

I'm going to go. This is pick 25, or 24. Ben just got DeGine at 23. I'm going to go with Johnny Newton, defensive tackle I have annoyed this. Shit. I thought he was going to be around later. This might be another risky one

because I think there was some chatter yesterday that he might not be a first round pick, which I think is kind of ludicrous. I know, so like maybe you're not quite as high on him, I think, as I am, but... I really like his film. now I I saw I when he opened up betting wise I took a lot of like new and under newton to go first round recent developments are greatly concerning for ben solax investment portfolio in the first round of the NFL draft there really seems to be like legit smoke that like teams like him but they don't feel like they need to go get him in round one which if we're looking at the original circa over unders for his draft position that the guy came out the other day like this is a huge value for me he's 18 and a half over under originally I don't know where he is now yeah he he went all the way up to 32 and a half and then he said settled back down at like 29, I want to say.

But again, the way I'm looking at like the meat of the tens in the early 20s, it's like all these teams I could see take a defensive tackle, like a disruptive defensive tackle. You know, the Raiders, the Saints, the Colts, the Seahawks, the Jags, even the Bengals and Rams, you know, the dolphins need one. The Eagles are always stacking up on defensive alignment. So I think there's a lot of opportunities for him to go in that area.

So I guess what's where I'm going to go with him on this one, even though I think he is another high variance type player. I don't know, man. He's another type of guy that's like you watch him. He's just so violent with his hands. He's just such a powerful, explosive, tone-setting type defensive tackle. I just really like him. Would you be surprised at all if San Francisco drafted him at 31?

Oh, that Eric Garms says out of there. Like, it just seems like a bunch of teams in that range might just say, this is the best defensive player that's still available. This is the most disruptive defensive player that is still available in the draft and that's why we're going to take him here. That wouldn't surprise me at all. So I was going to draft him maybe with my next pick

because that was kind of my thought process. So I'm a little upset about this. And all right, that brings me to the next pick, which is another tough one, I think, because there's a lot of variance with all these guys. I'm going to go with Marius Mims for Georgia.

He hasn't been taken, correct? He has not been. That's the guy. I was between him and Barton for my offensive line pick out back there. This is another guy who, you know, it wouldn't really be that surprising to see him go in the early teens just because of his physical traits. You know, he only has eight starts, I believe, on his resume, which is, of course, a red flag.

But when you watch him, it doesn't really feel like this is a guy who has no experience. The way he moves, the way he uses his length, the way he uses his hands and resets and stays balanced and stays, you know, like locked up with the guy. To me, there's a lot to like here. And I think the only thing that's scaring people away is just the fact that he hasn't played lot of football. Otherwise, he's a pretty clean prospect, at least from, you know, what I've seen on tape. Obviously, none of these offensive tackles coming out of college are like perfect. But size, athleticism off the charts, you know, strong hands. The upside is astronomical with this guy. And if we're talking about surprise early picks, it wouldn't be shocking that he

jumped some of these other tackles. I think that makes total sense. I actually think he has probably a higher ceiling than a lot of the other guys that are taken in this range. I don't know how you feel about that, Ben. Oh, yeah. I would take Ameri Smith's the top top pick. And again, that's why I don't run a team. But I do not, I watched it. I watched a move for like six plays. And I was like, get him on my squad. Three, four, it can fly. He's got like, you know, Velociraptor, or a taradical arms. He's unbelievable. He's so, so, so hot. Not, not velocaraptor. I know my dinosaurs. I, the phrase that Dane used that I think is very accurate and I think

very incisive about Ameris Mims is he's not. He's not. raw he's just inexperienced. And that gap and the difference between those two terms, I think is really important, especially when you compare him to some of the other tackles who might go in this ranger a little bit later. It's Dwan Jones theorem. We're like, oh, Dwan Jones, he isn't good a pass production. He goes round four. And it's like, oh, it turns out six, eight, three, 40. It's just hard to get around. Fundamentally, it's just difficult to get around the dude. And so you draft to Mary Smith's like, oh, he's an experience. Yeah, if you put him out there, like, guys can't get past him. And that's kind of fundamentally what playing tackle is. All right. So that was the

sixth pick, you went with Amarius Mims. I am going to go with Tyler. You don't get the pick, son. Solex, is D.K.? Sandwiched in on here.

No. D.K. just made two picks. It's me. Back to Solet. Oh, who are you picking? I was going to pick Tyler Gighton, but now I feel bad.

Damn it. That's all right. You can pick Tyler Gagin. Sorry, I screwed up. I, I thought you picked Mims because you're love fest for him. That's why I got confused. I pick, I, I'm between

two guys. I was getting to take Gaiton, though. I believe you. I trust you. You're a man of your word. Guy in, I think that there's a, right, this developmental tackle group, I think is topped by Amarius Mims and Tyler Guy in, and then you get into like the Kingsley Sumitia and the Jordan Morgans of the world. But I think I think Guyton's at that top tier with Mims. I personally like Mims more. I think a lot of people online like Mims more. But Guyin's kind of been, you know, you look at the big mock drafts, like the General Jeremiah's Lance Lanzerlans. Like, he's been in the round water for like all of these guys

in every single time. Like it really just feels like the league wants him as the developmental tackle. They want him as the late round one tackle. And so I definitely feel like everybody we're picking at this point now is like, oh, maybe he ends up in the top of round two. I certainly think that's in the range of outcomes for Guyton. But I do think a pick in the 20s is also possible. So I am taking Guyton here. I think it also lines up with teams that need tackles in this range. Oh, there's so many. Baltimore, San Francisco, Kansas City, Green Bay even, you know, potentially. Dallas, I think you could argue that they need a tackle if they want to keep Tyra Smith at guard. So there's so many teams that need them in this

range. If he's the last one left, it's hard for me to imagine him getting out of the first round. All right. So am I up now? After giving away my pick and liking one of the guys who are left? These are your last two picks here. Yeah, I don't like this at all. This is where it gets weird strategically. Are you trying to get a guy that maybe go top 15, like just shoot for the stars? Who would that even be in this group? That's my question. because the guy that I would have been I wouldn't have been surprised to see him go earlier than we might expect because of some positional scarcity

was Johnny Newton. That's why I wanted Johnny Newton because I feel like, oh man, all right, the Seahawks take him at 17 because Byron Murphy's off the board. Or 18, would anybody be surprised? Wherever the Seahawks are picking. The Seahawks take him wherever they're picking. Would we have been shocked?

My answer would have been no. So that's why I was intrigued by him in this range because I thought that he might have had a little higher ceiling than some of these other. guys. I don't want to because I'm really scared by him, just his profile.

I'm going to go with Chop Robinson. I would have, that's who I was hoping with Paul, honestly, because that's exactly who I was thinking in my head who could go higher than maybe people think. Chop Robbins, yes. Fandle right now, he's minus 600 to go first round, right? Like, he's like, he's incomplete

and he's not one of the top three, but like he's just going to go. Like, he's an addresser. So that was kind of my thought. That's why I wanted to go with him. Oh, my God, the first round last year, dude. Like, that's room for shot. Very, very good point.

So that's why I wanted to go with him just because I think that teams always need pass rushers. It wouldn't be hard to imagine one of those teams in the back after the first round picking him off with the corners that's scarier to me. I don't necessarily feel the same way about that group of guys, but I don't know if there's any other better options

than the corners who are still left here. So I'm going to go with Nate Wiggins as my next one. I don't feel good about it. I think there are a bunch of different ways that you could go here. Jackson Powers Johnson is intriguing, but there's some, again, some medical stuff with him potentially. So maybe he falls a little bit. So I'm going to go with Nate Wiggins just because I do think that there are a lot of teams in this range that still need a corner. Arizona could pick a corner.

Baltimore could pick a corner. The Niners could pick a corner. The chiefs could pick a corner. The problem is I might have picked the wrong one and then I would be screwed. But I think among all of the options left, I'm going to go with Wiggins here at pick number 28. Those are the good fundamental picks. Those are the chalky over-unders.

Those guys are both 26 and a half. Like, the expectations that they go around one. Those are the right picks. I'm not excited about it, though. For whatever reason, they're both leaving a little cold. We're at that range now. There's no one left that's like overly exciting. I think that Johnny Newton was the last one that I would have gotten juiced up about.

All right. So like you're up at 29. I really want to take Kooliate McKinstree here. However, there's just been like a decent amount of recent those medical concerns. There's health problems. You've seen Wiggins overtake him on draft odds and on a lot of draft boards. Jones fracture and his right foot was found at the combine, is what people say. And so I'm a little bit scared off of McInchistry early. Accordingly, I'm going Darius Robinson, who's the defensive tackle edge rush a blend by Adam's Zoo. I like that. So Robinson's an attendee of the draft, right? 13 guys who are going. He's one of them. Which, yeah, man.

I like using that as a signal. I like that a lot. Now, is that, like, he's a Detroit guy. And so, like, it's a little bit like a homecoming and whatever. Like, that's not a super real thing. I do think that, like, you, you've seen, like, I don't talk McShay's been really big since the senior bowl saying, like, I, teams love this guy. I'm getting top 20 feedback.

I expect him to be around one pick. Like, it's not just like a recent search for him. His senior ball was dominant. Robinson's a little bit of a hard guy to pick because finding the team. team for him is weird because he's like 285. Is he a defensive tackle? Is he an edge? How does he fit on the Lions? How does he fit on the 49ers? So like it's hard for me to tell you the team he's going to. I do think that with the smoke that he's got in with the he does have a little bit of like a unique role. There's not a lot of like big ends, you know, penetration defense of tackles

in this in this group with him being at the draft. I will take Robinson. I think I'm I'm costing a little bit on floor. I could see like Deris Robinson getting picked in the 40s and hurting me. But I also do think that that could potentially torpedo you. This is this is, this is a the first one where like the floor I think is very much in play. Which I really like my picks one through nine. And so I should have just taken a guy who I feel like is like super mid and gonna go like 36 overall and feel like Brock Bowers and Olufuchano are going to carry me to victory. But Darius Robinson is going to the draft man. Not going to let the guy hang out for too long. I'm taking the Mizzoukid. Tell that to Will Lovis. Well, he was glad to think it's. Second, picking the second round or first whatever. Yeah.

All right. 33. I'll take 33 for Darius Robinson. That's good business. Oh, man. All right. Dude, this is a tough one. You finish us off here, buddy. What you were just saying to Solac makes me so scared to make this pick. Kool-A McKinstree is another guy that I definitely would have considered here, but I'm going to go for the gusto and just say F it. Because the same reason I picked Brian Thomas earlier,

sex sells, the NFL love speed, Xavier Worthy. That's what I thought you were going to do. I thought you were going to do. I don't really think he should go in the first round. I'm being totally honest, but I feel like he's gonna. Because of what he did at the combat, 4-2-1. Obviously, he has a good production profile from early in his career. He's a guy that's been around for a while.

His name is very familiar to a lot of scouts and Gives because he's been producing for a long time. If you look at the list of teams that have been connected to him in terms of interest, like the chiefs are there, like 32 would not be super surprising to see the chiefs grab him at 32 if they do end up being picking out that spot. so god this is scary but i'm going to go with xzabur worthy i like that because it only takes one right it only takes one team to take him in the top 20 because they're like ah there's no other receivers that we like i mean zay flowers when what did zay flowers go last year was like 20 something or 8 19 or yeah 22 yeah 22 yeah

yeah 22 yeah 24 yeah two years went in a row so there's no way of knowing who went 20 to 23 they all went i think what johnson johnson was the first one i think was 21 and zay at 22 Jordan Edison was 23. Yeah, and Smith the Gig was 20. Yeah. Yeah. Xavier worthy, yeah. Xavier worthy on Fandall right now,

minus 1.95 to go in, in the first round, right? Yeah, that's pretty good, man. Which, like, the only player above him on that book is Kool-Aid at minus 230, right? Everybody above him was already trapped. He scared me with the Jones fracture stuff.

Yeah. Yeah, I, I, Kool-Aid's weird, man. Kool-Aid is at real like it only takes one, right? I'm pretty pissed off. And they're like him, go, yeah. I'm just saying that I'm pretty pissed off that DK is weak-willed and was swayed by the injury fear,

and Soak couldn't be on LATU. It's really frustrating. Don't worry about it. I'm all over it. Stick to your board, right? Stick to your guns. I told the scouting work early in season. I do not want the guy who falls to the fourth round because he's got some crazy injury,

you know? That's what I'm trying to avoid here. I understand that. All right, this is going to be very fun. We will put these, I should have been paying attention to what the entire list was on the way and writing them down. Guess what I wasn't? I've got the three teams if you want them.

Oh, yeah. Let's do it. List them off. As you do this while I host the show. Yeah. So Robert, presumed host of the show, has Drake May, Marvin Harrison, Jr., Dallas Turner, J.C. Latham, Troy Fontenoo, Terry and Arnold, A.D. Mitchell, Graham Barton, Graham, Martin, Chopin, and Nate Wiggins. I have J. Daniels, McCartney, J.J.J. McCarthy. I was thinking Mike, and I was like, how did I take him? Jayne? I think you would lose if you took Mike McCarthy. Yeah. Brock Bowers, Olufoshanu, Byron Murphy, Latu, Lato, Cooper, Dijin, Tyler Guyin, Darius, Darius, D.K. Ended with Kayla Williams, Malik neighbors, Roma Dunzei, Quinion Mitchell, Talise Fuaga,

Brian Thomas, Jared Verse, Ameris Mims, Jerzan Newton, and Xavier Worthy. I think D.K. wins. When it's all sitting done, I think D.K. ends up winning. I like, I like my list. I'm really happy with how my board came out. Feeling good, I'm going to look like an idiot in a week. I, the idea of me doing this with two guys who have been studying the draft and specializing in the draft for the last several months was a terrible idea. But guess what? The worst thing that can happen here is that I have to buy you guys dinner and get,

that's totally fine with me. That is totally fine with me. All right, gentlemen, sincerely appreciate you joining me to do this. Let the people know what you guys have got on tap because I know there's a lot of fun stuff coming there away from the ringer. Yeah, we can check out the ringers NFL draft guide, which has my rankings. It has Solex charting of all the quarterbacks, which is extremely, extremely illuminating and a must read.

We have a bunch of team needs, basically everything you need at the Ringer draft guide. And then also check us out on the Ringer NFL draft show. Yeah. We got a pods coming out. We got a live show in Detroit.

So if you're in Detroit and you don't want to hang out with Robert and Nate, are you guys doing a live show or are you just doing a... It's not a live show that people can attend. We will be doing the show live

and they can watch it on YouTube, unfortunately. So if you're in Detroit because you thought it was, and it turns out it's not... You can watch their show on your phone during our show.

if you want. Your show's on Wednesday night, isn't it? So, ours is on Thursday. So you should go into the ring of live show on Wednesday night, and then you should watch our show on YouTube on Thursday and Friday. It's like we planned it. Guys, sincerely thank you for doing this, even though Ben compared me to Danny Hyfitz and then said

the Bears are going to win a Super Bowl with Caleb Williams. Danny Hyphitz is a great guy. I would be honored to be kind of confidential. Maybe not in terms of pronunciation, but on other things. I will never forgive me for either one of those. As we alluded to, we will be doing a live draft show during the first and second nights of the draft on YouTube. Me, Dane, Nate.

Every single pick, reactions to all of them, breakdowns. We get some fun bells and whistles coming your way. We got some fun guests coming your way. It's going to be a really great couple days. So please come and join us for that. We will be back on Tuesday with Diana Rossini. We're going to talk a little draft scuttle butt in the couple days before the draft,

which she's hearing, what's going on. So please come back and check that out for now. That's all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you soon. This was the Athletic Football Show.