The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - An intro to the 2022 NFL Draft class with Dane Brugler

Episode Date: March 29, 2022

NFL Draft season is officially here, but not all of us are as up-to-date on the upcoming draft class as others. Robert Mays brings in our own Dane Brugler to run us through the highlights of this year's class, from the top 5 QBs to the biggest risers and fallers from a year ago, the positions with the most depth and more as The Athletic Football Show officially kicks off draft time!Get Dane's BEAST Draft Guide when it drops @ theathletic.com/footballshow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the Athletic Football Show. Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. Today's Tuesday, March 19th. I'm Robert Mays. Joining me today, the Athletics Zone, Dame Bruegler. Dane, how you doing? Doing great.

It's hard to believe we're less than a month now from the draft, so it's coming. So funny that you mention that, because this is the time in the calendar, late March as we get into April, the first wave of free agency is done, that I personally turn the page to the draft. And I think a lot of other people do too, right?

I mean, there's a lot of free agency coverage. The news has been incessant over the last two weeks. There's been so much stuff that we've had to dig through. We haven't really touched on the draft at all. And now with the owner's meetings kicking up, that kind of is the unofficial turning point to the draft every single year, where free agency starts to die down and now here we are. Last year, to kick this off, we had you on to do what I refer to as an idiot's guide

to the 2021 draft. Because in this case, I am the idiot. I know so little about the draft class at this stage every single year. And I try to lean on you and other very smart people who do this full time to get a sense of what the class looks like as we hit this point in the calendar. And because I am not a creative person and you're the only person I want to talk to about this. I figured we would do the same thing for the 2022 class. It's perfect. Yeah.

I mean, this is each class has its own identity, you know? Exactly. Yeah, it's like this class is different than what we've seen from other classes. And so it's, there's plenty to touch on today. So, you know, we'll have plenty of topics that hit here. So just so people know, you have been on the feed with Lance NERLine pretty much every single week throughout the off season to do draft coverage. This is going to be your appearance on the show this week. Lance is going to take the week off.

You guys will be back the following week. So on Wednesday, we're actually going to do a mailbag with me and Nate. So please come back and check that out. So if you're a little concerned that Dane is not on your feed later this week, that is the reason. All right. let's get going with this. Okay. I want to ask you first and foremost, how would you classify this 2022 class?

If you're comparing it to previous years, if you're trying to find a class that it reminds you of, if you're just giving me the broad strokes about what this group looks like, where would you start? It's a class where it's getting, it's been beat up pretty good in terms of the lack of high-end talent, the blue chippers. But at the same time, it's unique because we, we have more like top testers at the top of this draft than we usually do. So it's kind of, it's kind of an opposite. Give me some examples. Well, I mean, guys like Trouin Walker, guys like, you know, not everyone's in love with Aden Hutchinson. Eden Hutchinson has the same three code as

Von Miller. So, you know, it's something that it's just a very unique situation with the perceived and I think realistic lack of established blue-chip prospects at the top, but then also the lack of excitement around these quarterbacks. That's something that will define the class. And, you know, the quarterbacks, they drive the conversation every year, no different this year. You know, some scouts will compare it to 2011, minus Cam Newton at one.

That was the year we saw guys like Jake Locker, Blaine Gabbard, Christian Ponder. Guys all went top 15. Guys where you can see the talent, but they were projects, they were a gamble, guys that were just tough to get too excited about, kind of like this year. And time will tell if we see these quarterbacks this year still go as high. But I think just the relative lack of quote unquote elite players at the top, the questions of the quarterbacks. But once we get past that, this is a really deep class at certain positions.

And I think, you know, when we talk about pass rushers and we'll talk about some of these other positions, they will stretch into day two into day three. And I think that could end up being what we remember this class for. Well, it's funny you mentioned the 2011 class because while the quarterbacks were not very good outside of Cam Newton, the rest of the top 10 is one of the best draft classes of the last 20 years. I mean, of my lifetime. If you think about Von Miller, went number two. I mean, that was Julio Jones, AJ Green, J.J. Y. Y. Y. Y. Y. Y. Y. Y. Y. I mean, all the defensive players.

Cam Hayward went in the 30s in that class. Cam Jordan was in that class. I mean, it's one of the best. Patrick Peterson was in that class. I mean, it's one of the best draft classes in recent memory because of all the non-high-quality quarterback talent at the top. So if we look at the top 10 of that class, let's talk about the top 10 of this class. You mentioned Aidan Hutchinson. There are some offensive tackles that are in this conversation, a couple corners.

Who would you say are the guys that interest you the most in this top 10 conversation, be it their quality as a prospect, where their fit is, just the conversations you've been having with yourself and other people. about the guys in that top 10 range? Well, it's to start with Aidan Hutchison, who I just referenced. He's a short-armed, revved-up pass rusher who is a better athlete than he's given credit for. He can win in different ways.

There's power in his upper half, so he can give you that forward lean, go through blockers. He's got agile feet, hand technique. It doesn't have the same arc bend as some of these other pass rushers we've seen go early. But I referenced the three cone identical to Vaughn Miller. You see the movement skills with him. But what you love the most is just how mature he is with his handwork. He varies up his stun moves, rip moves, swat. He's got a slap move that compares to Will Smith to Chris Rock.

I mean, he's got all these different things that he can bust out there. Credit to Will Smith, he got me to watch the Oscars for five minutes. So he did the impossible. So it's just, I think the thing with Hutchinson, too, is just that that genuine desire to be the best. I think it could be overblown when we talk with these prospects. Oh, he's got football passion. He's got this and that with Aidan Hutchinson, I buy into it. It's really genuine with him.

He's cut from the Watt family cloth in that respect. I had one Michigan coach tell me how he never went to spring break with his teammates. He couldn't because the whole time he'd be lamenting the fact that he wasn't getting better. That's just how he's wired. And that's something that is going to appeal to a lot of NFL teams. why he'd be the perfect draft pick for the Lions and Coach Campbell if he gets past Jacksonville at 1. So Aidan Hutchinson, he's maybe not as has some of the elite traits that you, you know, we've seen go that early, like from a Chase Young from the bosses, from Miles Garrett.

But still, the talent is undeniable and he's going to be a productive pro. The offensive lineman with Ikea Kwanu from NC State, Evan Niel from Alabama, both these guys are NFL starters early. They can play tackle, can play guard. Both are a little different in what they offer. Aquano is more of the mauling run blocker who just generates extraordinary explosion at contact, controlled violence. And then in past protection, yes, he's going to overset. His overaggressive tendencies will work against him at times. But he showed tremendous growth in maturation this past year in his past set.

So nimble, he's powerful. As he gets older and grows, the technique and awareness is going to catch up. And so that's why Ikees talked about as a top five pick in this draft. Evan Neal, for a guy that's 340, he's going to be between 340 and 350 probably as his ideal brain weight. It's insane how he carries that on that frame. When I saw him at the combine, I was like, there's no way he weighs 350 pounds. I mean, it's crazy.

And he's a guy that has been 350, I mean, since high school. I mean, even going back to, like, when he was a freshman in high school, he was this huge human being who has managed his weight ever since. And, you know, going to IMG Academy and then in Alabama, I mean, he is a guy that understands how to work with his weight. Whether that's, you know, adding a little bit more, taking a little bit off. It's just really interesting how it's spread throughout his body. But he's really smooth in pass protection. It's, it's really fun to watch. You know, he's, he does fall off blocks in the run game. And that's something where he needs to get, needs to get better. But he just has a rare. mix of size, athleticism, flexibility. You think you have a guy that's going to be a plug-and-play starter, has experienced tackle guard. So there's a lot to like there. Moving away from tackle. I'm curious, though, through the tackles.

If you're looking, so obviously last year had the two guys at the top with Sewell and Slater. Both of them go in the top 12. Do any of these prospects compare to them as pre-draft talents? Or do you feel like both all of these guys would be below those two in your evaluations at this point? for me they would be below Sewell and Slater. Sewell went what, six last year, seven last year?

Yep, and then Slater went 12. Right. So for me, they would be below. But I know, I mean, Lance, and he has Neil above Sewell from last year. So, you know, I think it's really a case-by-case basis. And would you really want in an offensive lineman? You know, and I think Icky, he might have the highest upside, even above Sewell, just because of the way he moves.

and the fact that he wasn't an offensive lineman his entire life. And he's kind of gradually gotten better and better. And so I think that you could argue, Cuadu has the most upside of the groups. But Slater, there's just nobody in this group that has his level of technical refinement, understanding of past set depth, that type of thing. But this is a really good tackle group. You throw in Charles Cross from Mississippi State,

his movement patterns, his hand exchange, just above average. Throw in Trevor Penning from Northern Iowa, who is 6-7, 325, and a really good athlete. He's powerful, really, really smart. And then, you know, his aggression that he plays with is, you know, that no mercy attitude is something that really separates him. So this is a really strong offensive tackle class that we're going to see these guys go early. I wouldn't be shocked if we see four tackles. I'll go top 10. Just because, you know, with the relative lack of high-end talent under the position,

positions, the lack of quarterbacks. So tackles will go early. Moving away from them, throwing Kyle Hamilton in this mix, who is one of the biggest wild cards of the first round. This is a guy who you watch him out there playing single high, you watch him playing towards the box, you see him do a little bit of everything. He has the range that just jumps out at you. And then you talk to him about football and you're blown away by how smart he is,

how he sees the offense and how he reads things. He is a super-sized safety, legit 6-4, 220 pounds, who moves well, and he's also a really good tackler. But he's a wildcard because I think everyone's going to like him. He's going to be on every draft board. Big, rangery, smart. I mean, every team wants that, but not everyone's going to see a fit with him as a top-10 pick. Not everyone's going to look at him and say, yeah, that's definitely what we need, but we just don't

feel comfortable drafting him this early. So honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if maybe he falls out of the top seven, maybe even out of top 10. I mean, Derwin James fell to what, 17 in 2018. And so I don't think it's as crazy as people think. And he didn't run as fast as people expected him to. Kyle Hamilton, he, I think he was a 459 at the combine. And then his pro day, he actually ran slower. He was a 470.

And I thought it was interesting. He didn't do any positional drills at his pro day, which I think is in effect of the David OJavo. injury. That happened over the last few weeks towards Achilles at the Michigan Pro Day. So Kyle Hamilton is a really interesting player who has undeniable talent, but trying to peg exactly where he's going to go in the draft, that's a little bit tougher. So I think the highest draft at safety in recent years is Micka Fitzpatrick at 11, right? That was after Jamal Adams. That was 2018 draft. And then Derwin James is a little bit later. Derwin, I assume, was injury driven. He had some injury concerns coming out of Florida State.

So you have that factor thrown in there. I mean, the Kyle Hamilton conversation is one that I think we'll have a lot here over the next month as we talk about. You know, the draft filtered through modern football and its ideas, positional value, how certain schematic tweaks and changes affect the desire for someone like Kyle Hamilton and also just the availability of players like that. Here's what you try to square to me at safety. And I'm curious how you feel about this.

I don't think safeties are devalu. with the way that the modern game looks. I think they're more important than they've been in a lot of years, especially when you consider the fact that they're more interchangeable. You're seeing a lot more too high teams, a lot more too high looks where you don't have that delineation of responsibilities between a post safety and a box safety. So you want somebody that can do a little bit of everything. But do you need someone with top 10 physical skills to solve that problem?

It's not that they're devalued and how they're used. it's that you don't necessarily need this eye-popping athlete to do what that position needs to do. That, to me, is the thing that's tough to reconcile. So how are teams going to view him through that lens? To me is one of the more fascinating questions about the first round, the top 10, however you want to spend this. It's not too dissimilar from the running back conversation. It's not that running backs don't have value in today's game. It's just you know that you can find value at the position later on.

You look at, you know, Jesse Bates, Justin Simmons. I mean, you can find up and down the NFL some of the top safeties, you know, you did not have to draft them early. And I think that this class has a few of those guys. You know, Guy Jekwon Briskar from Penn State, Lewis Seen from Georgia. This class has a few safeties who probably don't go until round two, but you project as starting level guys. And I think it's important with Kyle Hamilton that we, it's a conversation.

to have about quote unquote versatile safety. Kyle Hamilton's very versatile with what he can do, but it's also important that you have a plan for him in terms of maximizing the matchup potential. So, you know, it's, yes, he can line up and play split safety or single high. He can, he can play in the box. You don't really want him playing man to man in the slot, but he can match up against tight ends. But it's important that on every single snap, you're putting him in a position to succeed. And that's maybe not. something that every defensive coordinator has a strong grasp of doing with a talent like this. So one of your guys that you've been banging the drum for for a while here, just because in a

year without, quote, unquote, truly elite prospects, his testing was going to be off the charts, was Trayvon Walker from Georgia. And it feels like the conversation has started to shift where he's creeping up and up and up as more and more people realize that. Where it's like, man, this guy's just a rare combination of traits in a draft that kind of lacks that type of player. And you had at three in your latest mock draft. What about him as a prospect kind of gave you an inkling that this might be coming? Yeah, so the line I've been using since October is fast forward three years from now. And if you told me Trouin Walker is the best defensive player from this class,

it would not be surprising at all. And I took heat when in January, I put him at number six overall in my top 100. But like you said, since the combine, I think more coming around to, okay, yeah, this guy is just different. with how he moves. But to me, when you watch the tape, you see this on tape. You see the talent. You see the traits. Is he an established pass rusher? No, but I think context is important to understand what he was asked to do in that Georgia defense, the way he was schemed. He was lined up primarily over the tackle, asked to hold the point of attack. When he was allowed to just rush and get after the quarterback, you do see bend. Do you do see closing speed? You see shed skills,

all the traits that can make a defensive lineman special. So Walker, a guy that's 275 pounds, ran a 451, 35 and a half inch arms, easy change of direction, freaky explosiveness. That's why I just can't see him getting out of the top five picks, probably not out of the top three picks, Jaguars at one, Lions at two, Texas at three. There is a pretty good chance he's going at one of those spots. And you can't rule him out at number one, just because, you know, Trent Balky's a little bit of a wild card with some of these freaky pass rushers that, you know, and Trevon Walker has that potential.

So I think when you look at the traits and what he's capable of being, it is not hard to talk yourself into Trouin Walker. And again, this is not a reaction to the combine. This is something that I really believe you saw on tape and the combine just confirmed what we saw. If you're looking at his best comps physically, according to his testing numbers on something like mock draftable, some of the names that jump out immediately, Zygianza, Jadavian Clowny, Gaines Adams, and these are top five picks. And he has the same sort of outlandish physical qualities that some of these top five picks have.

And when you're doing that stuff at 270, there are only so many players who are going to do that. They're your Miles Garrets and your clownies and the guys that you typically see drafted in this range. And I think it's even easier to talk yourself into that when, one, there's no quarterbacks chewing up all that space in the top five. And two, there aren't other guys in this same physical conversation. Yeah, and it's just because I'm sick, you're watching, going and watching the combine tape and watching him doing the hoop drill. I mean, the guy is, he's so long and he bends so easy that it just, it looked like it's just nothing for him to be able to dip it and move around the hoop like he did. It's just, it's really something, something special. And so, yeah, there's going to be a little bit of a learning curve for him in terms of, you know, and it depends how teams.

use him. You know, are they going to line them up outside the tackle? Are they going to, if he's drafted to more of a 3-4 base team, is he going to be playing in space or be asking to play over the tackle like he was asked to do in college? I mean, I think he could do all those things. But I really excited to see him when he gets more pass rush opportunities, when, you know, use that length to his advantage, use that explosiveness. He can win with power, can win with quickness. So just just not a a polished pass rusher. I mean, it just there's nothing on tape that says that he is. But like you said, there's just only so many guys that have this type of traits, have this type of ability. And I mean, he just turned 21 years old. So he's a young player still

growing and learning how good he could be. Ten yards split is only in the 70th percentile, pretty weak. What a bad player. I take back everything I just said. Everything else is like 80 and above. I mean, all the physical qualities. I mean, the wingspan arm length and everything else. 689. The 6893 cone is ridiculous. At that size is absolutely wild. All right.

I want to just very quickly, can you remember anything like this Georgia group? I mean, you throw him in there and he's what? In terms of college production and what they were at that level, he's the sixth, seventh most notable guy among that group. I mean, it's absolutely insane what this class looks like from one single school. And obviously, the success they had and what they did last season, it shouldn't be that surprising.

but when you just see it laid out plain and something like your latest mock, it's like, I cannot believe it's this many dudes that are top 50, top 32 talents from one school. And it makes you wonder if Trayvon Walker went, like Jermaine Johnson, who was in Georgia last year, transfers to Florida State. He counts here in this conversation. I'm not deciding that. He bet on himself, you know, because he wasn't, it's not like he wasn't good enough to get on the field. He was getting on the field, but Georgia, they just a constant rotation in and out of,

And it's smart. They have the dudes. Why not, you know, keeping them on a snap count. So you're keeping them fresh. So, you know, Jermaine Johnson, he was good enough to get on the field. But going to Florida State, he bet on himself to be the alpha. And he responded, leading the ACC and tackles for loss in sacks and cementing himself as a top 20 player in this class. If Trayvon Walker did that, went to a different scheme.

If he goes to Mississippi State and he's able to rush off the edge, how does that look? or, you know, one of these other guys, if Quay Walker, the linebacker, who was not a starter until this year, if he's the guy at a linebacker at a different school, how are we talking about him? It's just a really interesting mix of talent. I think you have to go back. I mean, LSU, their offense a couple of years ago, led by Joe Burrow, that was, you know, an all-star group. Going all the way back to those early Miami teams 20 years ago with some of the defensive personnel they had with, you know, Ed Reed and Villain. DJ Williams and Vince Wilfolk and all those guys. I mean, it's very rare.

And Georgia, they're going to set a team record for most top 100 picks easily. I think they might have more top 100 picks this year than they've had draft picks in one single draft total. So it's kind of crazy. The record's 14 in a draft. I don't think they're going to get it, but they're going to come close to at least to tying, which LSU did it and Ohio State did it within the last 20 years. So this Georgia team, yeah. It's no wonder they won the national title with the talent on that roster. It's interesting you talk about the Trayvon Walker thing in terms of role and fit in what he was asked to do. I think that Jordan Davis is in a similar conversation, right?

You have to separate what a player did in college for the betterment of their team and what they needed specifically and what they can be in the NFL. Because there's all this talk about, well, how much can you really invest in a guy who's a two-down player? He's a two-down player at Georgia. He weighs 340 pounds now. He's one of the most ridiculous athletes in the history. of the combine when you look at the way that he tested. So maybe he can do a little something different for you if asked to at the next level. Trying to figure out how to thread that needle between what we've seen from them and how you

can project them moving forward always seems to be one of the biggest conversations right now. And I think you could talk yourself into, like, Jordan Davis is a great example. And you could talk yourself into either way with him because you can watch what he does and the talent and see his numbers and say, yeah, okay, I'm going to, I'm going to get a dominating run defender with upside to push the pocket and give me something as a disruptor as a pass rusher. But then again, you watch his junior tape and then you watch his senior tape and you see a better player, but you also see a guy who didn't play as many snaps. And so you wonder, okay, if I'm going to if I'm going to drive Jordan Davis in the top 20, I'm going to ask him to play, you know, upwards of

40 snaps a game. If he does, because he only played, he averaged, he was 25 snaps. 20s, yeah, right? Yeah. So if you ask him play close to 40 snaps a game as a rookie and, you know, as a regular NFL starter, does his production drop off? His ability to stay fresh and give that same level of energy. Can he sustain that? Is conditioning your biggest question? I think, yeah, I think it's, you know, if he ran, you know, give him 140-yard dash, he could run a 4-7. Just remarkable for a guy that size. But if you're going to

ask him to run over and over again, all of a sudden, you know, that he's not running 4-7s pretty quickly. And so same thing on the field. If you ask him to play more snaps and against NFL blockers, I do worry about him wearing down over the course of a game. And he's still a massive dude who he has backfield vision. He's very good against the run. But, I do think about impact potential and where that, where you get to kind of reconcile that. And so like I said, you can talk yourself into, you know, both sides of the conversation here where you're worried about with a higher snap count is he going to be able to sustain that level of energy. At the same time, you can just say, I don't care. I'm betting on a guy with this rare

size, rare athleticism. And at worst, I know I'm getting a dominant two-down run defender. And maybe I get a little bit more out of him. So it's Jordan Davis is a really interesting prospect in that respect. Again, especially in a class like this where you're looking at the other types of players who are available and you're looking at a guy like him and thinking, how many human beings are built like that and move like that?

The answer is one. There is one person on earth who is built like him and moves like him. I'm just rolling the dice. You figure out fit, need, value, all of that shit. I could talk about that when we get to training camp, we get him on the field. But that just seems like that type of bet, especially in a class like this, that's worth

making. All right. Let's get to the quarterbacks. Here's what I want to do. You had in your last mock, which a lot of us happened since then, many things have changed. But you had three guys going in the first round. I feel like we should still keep doing this. Kenny Pickett from Pitt, Malik Willis from Liberty, and Desmond Ritter from Cincinnati. Okay? There are two other guys that have been in the conversation with both of them since it started this process, right? And that'd be Sam Hal from North Carolina and Mac Correll from. Ole Miss. Those five guys make up the group. Would you say that's fair? That is fair. Definitely. Okay. The order of those guys, that's where it gets a little sticky and is different from team to team.

So many different opinions on these quarterbacks, where they should be drafted, the order they should be drafted, which makes it makes it really fun this time of time of year as we try to guess, okay, oh, what quarterback coaches where. And, you know, oh, they had dinner last night before the pro day. okay, it makes it really interesting as we try to figure these guys out. So that's what I want to do right now, okay? I want to go through all five guys, and I want your case for and against

them being the best quarterback to come out of this class. Okay? Let's start with Kenny Pickett. What is the case for Kenny Pickett being the best quarterback from this group? He is my top-ranked quarterback in this class, and I think, so if you took Joe Burroughs

General Scouting report as a prospect, scrub it of any mention of LSU or anything Burroughs, specific in terms of his path. And then you did the same with Pickett and, you know, remove any mention of Pitt. And then you put them side by side, they're going to read pretty similar. I mean, you're getting two smart cerebral passers, better than expected movements, good, not great arm strength, the ability to be accurate at all three levels.

Now, Burrow, he led that LSU team to a national title, arguably the best season we've ever seen as a quarterback. Pickett was no slouch with what he did. Now, the ACC is not on the level of the SEC, but 42 to 7 touchdown interception ratio, 42 touchdowns, the most ever in the ACC, broke Deshaun Watson's record of 41. I do think the one main difference with Burrow is just his level-headed response to pressure and pocket movements. Pickett has good pocket mobility, but he's not on the Borough level when it comes to pocket awareness and his ability to navigate. Burroughs just special in that regard. But nonetheless, we're talking about two really quality players and Pickett.

He could be an NFL starter. I don't think there's any question about that. What teams are asking themselves, is he the type of quarterback who can lift an offense and compete for Super Bowls? Or is his ceiling kind of maxed out as a guy who's going to need some talent around him and you're competing for playoffs? So with Pickett, I think the strength, you know, why I would fight for him is because there's a lot of things that are going to translate to him being a starter. and I have no doubt in my mind he will start in this league. My reason against is, does he have the type of ceiling that's going to help me with that end goal of winning a Super Bowl? It's funny because that difference that you mentioned with him in Burrow, we talk all the time, what's your superpower?

Like as a quarterback, what is your superpower? And that's Burroughs. It is the, beyond the cerebral stuff. I mean, his ability to kind of put them in the right position and find things based on structure and pre-snap look, all of that is important when you talk to coaches there. But physically, his superpower is that ability to navigate the pocket. to create and extend plays, and especially this year when teams bring extra guys, whatever, use that to create plays down the field. That ability to kind of conjure something out of thin air is what his superpower is really rooted in.

If Kenny Pickett doesn't have that, then what's his? And I think that you're left with maybe nothing, and that's the concern here. That's fair. I think that's fair. And Kenny Pickett, he got beat up so much by just a below average pit offensive line as an underclassman. And this year, he actually got some protection. and yet you still saw him get a little skittish at times.

It scares me. Sure. I think he got better as a season went on, but there were times, especially early in the year, where you could tell he's kind of like, he's got time and then all of a sudden he's looking around waiting for that, you know, the walls to close in. Then he's like, oh, I've got an extra second.

Eyes go back up, finds the, you know, his target and, you know, it's a positive play. But it is something with him that, you know, you worry about when that time to throw in the NFL is just going to be so much. shorter. Malik Willis, the argument for him being the best quarterback in this group. He's so fun to watch on tape because the athleticism, the ability to spin and drive the football, he's a natural play extender. And that's something that will fit at the next level. I think his best throws on tape are the vertical touch passes down the sideline, down the seam.

So I'm betting on, and he's got a very compact, you know, body type. He's short. But I mean, he almost looks like a running back because he's a pretty thick dude, 220 at 6 foot even. So I think he's, you know, he has the physical traits that you can see being productive of the next level. The main question with him is the post-snap reads. And this is what worries me with Malik Willis is, and it's not one of those things where it's not that he can't do it.

He just, he wasn't asked to do it on a consistent level at the college level. So you study his film and he's just not a progression. based, it's not a progression based offense that he's in. His eyes aren't reading coverages to tell him, okay, where do I need to look next? How do I find the vulnerable spots in the defense? So field vision, decision making, two critical areas, obviously, of playing the position in the NFL, they're still in the developmental phase for him. And so it's not that he can't get there, but how long before he's going to get there and how long before you're going to put him out there

and feel like he's ready. So he's going to need some time. He's going to need some, a redshirt year. Is he going to be able to start a year from now? Is it going to take longer? So the answer to these questions are going to look different from team to team. And it just makes it tough because he's a big projection. And I've heard nothing about, but awesome things about Malik as, you know, with his character,

the way he carries himself. The upside's undeniable. But whether or not he gets there, that's the gamble of projecting a player like this and where do you feel comfortable drafting him? So that's where I'm surprised at, you know, the number two to the Lions talk, I'd be shocked if he went that high. I even top 10 feels early. I think once we get to like 20 in the Steelers, to me, that's more realistic when we talk about Malik Willis just because of the amount, the gamble of him progressing in some of these areas that we just haven't seen him do consistently on tape. It's interesting. I mean, again, if there are not

that many guys that you would coin as truly elite. And you have teams that could give him a little bit of time, right? And every single team at this point mostly has a stopgap quarterback option. If you're talking about Pittsburgh, Mitchell Trubisky is there. Atlanta, Marcus Marietta is now there. Detroit, Jared Gough, is there. Everyone has someone that could bide Malik Willis or whoever they end up drafting some time. And you have to factor in just the inevitability of quarterbacks getting pushed up the draft. I mean, it happens every single year. Even if we think there aren't that many first round prospects at the position, it wouldn't be shocking to see three of these guys go in the top 12 if teams are looking at that and saying, you know what?

This is our chance to find a quarterback. Who knows what's going to happen next year? All the uncertainty that comes with it. So that's going to be fascinating. Desmond Ritter, his case for being the first quarterback taken. He's a quality player. I mean, you watch his tape and you can easily see him becoming an NFL starter. He needs to speed up his trigger.

And that's kind of my one issue with him. I want to see him be a little quicker with his reads and then be more accurate. Gets a little scattershot, but he's capable of making whole field reads, working progressions. He's a loose athlete. You put up his combine numbers, compare him to some wide receivers and they're almost identical. So he's a good-sized athlete. The self-confidence is something that teams always bring up when talking about Desmond Ritter. And so it's a strong selling point for him.

So I think there's a lot of things I point to him being a starter in this league. And I think once we get to Pittsburgh at 20, I think, we're on Ritter Watch in terms of how early he could go, be somewhere in that mid to late first round. I think that's a realistic possibility for him. Sam Howell? A lot of Baker Mayfield. It's funny how that Baker Mayfield comparison has changed compared to last year.

But, you know, a little bit, a little bit. You know, coming back, I mean, he lost so much on offense last year. Coming back this year, it just, it looked very different with what he was asked to do. It used his legs quite a bit more. So I want to see him clean up his footwork and develop as more of a pocket passer. That's where I kind of worry with him. But he has NFL quality, arm strength. He's a good athlete.

I think he operates with a slow heartbeat. He's not a guy that gets really skittish back there. But he has maybe the best deep ball in this draft. I think he has a lot of traits that you point to and say, yeah, that's NFL quality. So there is a lot of Baker Mayfield there. And Baker Mayfield is a solid starter. the NFL. It's not like that's a bad thing, but obviously there are some questions there that you worry about maybe holding him back from ever taking that next step as an NFL quarterback.

Do you think he, in terms of just being a prospect, is a step down from the three guys that we just talked about? Yeah, for me, he is slightly. But again, I do think he can be an NFL starter. But I do think that there's, when you talk about sealing and what he could eventually be, it's hard to talk yourself into Sam Howell having that that high ceiling or a guy that's going to come in and, you know, lead you to the playoffs, lead you to the Super Bowl. It just, it's hard to look at his tape and really convince yourself with that. All right. Matt Correll. What is the argument for him being the top guy?

Everything he does is quick. I mean, I compare him to like a shortstop in baseball, a point guard of basketball, his feet, the way he sees things, the release, the way the ball is up and gone. He throws with zip. he's got natural twitch to the way he moves and the way he operates. And that's something that you really like about him. He's an instinctive athlete with a live arm, very competitive. You know, you talk to his teammates about him, and they always bring up his toughness. He is the toughest guy in that locker room for Ole Miss.

And so that's something that you can really appreciate about him. Now, on the flip side, you do worry about some of the off-field decision-making that kind creeps onto the field as well. You want to see him show more anticipation as a passer. and it's a very defined offense in that Lane Kiffin RPO-based shotgun offense that he runs. So a lot of times he's going to his first read. He's locked on. That's where he's going.

Boom. He's going to hit it. And there are different three level concepts that he's before the snaps even there, he knows, okay, I'm going deep. And meanwhile, the middle crossers wide open for a first down. And, you know, he's trying to take a deep shot. So there are a lot of things that he needs immature in terms of his post-snap reads. and that stems a lot from the offense that he played in at Ole Miss.

So he's got a lot of room to grow. And that's why we're talking about Matt Corral is probably more of a day two pick than a day one pick. He's also not a big guy. I mean, he's right around 6-1, right around 210. But there's a lot that he has to offer that you could see in the right offense and the right scheme putting points on the board. All right. Let's go through some of the strongest and weakest positions in this class. I always feel like that's useful as we weighed into it.

We've already talked about some of the past rushers at the top, Walker, Hutchinson, but my understanding is that this group in general, beyond the top two guys, is the strongest that it's been in a while, especially when you compare it to last year where there was nobody. I mean, it was the weakest pass rusher group in recent memory, and that influenced the free agent class from last year, a lot of different considerations there. So would you say that pass rusher stands at the top for you when it comes to positional strength in this draft? Yeah, there's no doubt. And that will be reflected on draft weekend.

There's no question about it. We'll see we could see as many as seven pass rushers. I think I'll put it this way. We'll see, we should see at least seven pass rushers in the first round. And that's not including David Ajabo, who, good chance he falls out of the first round after his Achilles injury at his pro day. That's not including some upside guys that could sneak in there, like say a Logan Hall from Houston.

it's just a really deep class. And I mean, we know that... Last year, I mean, there were several more than anticipated, but there was only one in the top 18. Wasn't Jaylon Phillips the first pass rusher that went off the ward last year? Right. And we know that if a pass rusher shows a ton of promise, they're going to get drives almost like quarterbacks.

They'll be overdrafted. So the fact that you want that 50-year option with those guys. I mean, that's the Peyton Turner thing, Rousseau, Oway, try and shrink. All of those guys went near the end of the first round because it's one of those high-value. positions. And I think in this year's class, a lot of teams are going to look at it and say, you know, there's a lot, not a lot of no-brainer players at the top. So we're going to, but we're going to feel good about taking this, this pass rusher who shows a ton of potential,

a lot of ability. And so it's not, but it's not just upside. A lot of these guys have proven talent. When you talk about a Jermaine Johnson from Florida State, who we mentioned earlier, Georgia transfer goes to the ACC and is outstanding as both a run defender and as a pass rusher. we're going to see at least, like I said, seven pass rushers in the first round. And it's not going to stop there in the second round, third round, fourth round. We're going to see pass rush well represented, I think, at every stage of this year's NFL draft because it's an important position, obviously, but also just because of the sheer volume of talent at the position this year. As you dig through and talk to people and continue to have conversations, where does the temperature kind of sit on Kavon, Tibado?

That's a loaded question. Really talented guy who you just, I think first of all, because he came into this class as being, oh, he's the number one guy. He's no-brainer going number one. He's, you know, he kind of got put in that same level of conversation with Chase Young as the bosses, as Miles Garrett as just being that no-brainer going to be the first non-quarterback drafted, when in reality he was never on that level. When I talk to teams, they compare him to Vic Beasley. or, you know, that level of prospect coming out. Vic Beasley, I believe, was still a top 10 pick, but, you know, eight, I think.

Right. But it wasn't considered on that same level. There were some, you could pull holes in his game. And with Tibido, he also, you know, the off-field stuff is something that is part of his, his report, scouring report. It's, he turns off teams because of, he's a very confident guy. And that ego is something that, you know, bothers some teams in terms of, just, you know, is he going to be able to, is football a means to an end for him?

Or, you know, is he too brand conscious? And, you know, a lot of, a lot of passion, a lot of players in the NFL are not humble guys. You know, it's not like that's a requirement for you to become a superstar. But teams have to be convinced, if they're going to draft you top 10, a lot of teams have to be convinced that football matters to you, that you love it. It's a genuine passion for you, that you're going to get every ounce of talent out of what you have. And so not every team is there with Kavon-Tibodeau. And then you also have the questions about, okay, is he, he's not the most fluid guy. I mean, he wins with power, hand strength. He wins with

his ability to that forward lean that he has, these jab steps. He's not that overly fluid type. A lot of Janabian Clowney comparisons out there. And Clowney's a good player, but I don't think he's necessarily lived up to that number one overall pick, like, say, a Miles Garrett has. So with Kvon-Tibodeau, he could still sneak into that top five. It could happen, no doubt, because he has talent. But if he doesn't go until the 8 to 12 range, that shouldn't surprise anybody. We talked about the tackles. Would you say that that's probably the second position you'd look at in terms of overall strength? Definitely in the mix. I think tackle, linebacker, maybe wide receiver, although I think it drops off once we get to day three.

but tackle is going to be up there because of the guys we're going to see very early come off the board. Referenced it earlier, how we're going to see maybe seven, or excuse me, four tackles off the board in the top seven to ten picks with Kwanu, Neil, Charles Cross, and Trevor Petting. And then there's some quality tackles going into top 50 with, say, Bernard Raymond from Central Michigan. Tyler Smith has some momentum from Tulsa, even though he's incredibly raw. we've seen, you know, Austin Jackson go first round, Isaiah Wilson go first round, guys that were very, very raw. Yeah, no, exactly. But we've seen it happen and we'll see it happen again. And we could see that with a guy like Tyler Smith at Tulsa, who's got traits to work with, but just incredibly raw with where he is in his development.

And then on day two, there's some, you know, Abraham Lucas out of Washington State. It's just a solid offensive tackle prospect who can start in this league. You know, same thing with, say, like, Daniel Fah Lele from Minnesota. So tackle was definitely up there. And I think like the conversation with pass rushers, because there's so many questions about the talent at the top of this draft, some of these teams are going to look at it and say, you know, what, we can use an upgraded tackle.

It's a premium position. And these guys, this tackles as talented as the rest of these other players at other positions. So we're going to, the tackle's going to win out. And so we're going to see tackles go early. I mean, tackle's one of those positions that the history of second round tackles is pretty bad. I mean, for the most part, those guys also get

overdrafted. I mean, there are some examples recently, like Sam Cosme last year, I think is a perfect example, right? Somebody that extremely raw, but you're going to bet on the physical tools. You have a plan for him. He comes in, some growing pains right away, but ultimately shows a lot of promise. But that range is typically

more reserved for either guys who are really low value athletes and you just think are solid plug and play guys or super high value athletes that are incredibly raw and need a lot of molding. So very rarely do you see a guy that is a borderline prospect fall into the second round. Often those guys are overdrafted in the same way we see with some of those other positions. Really quickly, talk me through the corners with Sauce Gardner, Derek Stingley.

How does this, those two and McDuffie from Washington, how do they compare to some of the last couple years when you look at those really high-end cornerback prospects that we've seen? Yeah, and I think Soss Gardner, he is, he's really interesting. We're not going to see him run a three cone before the draft, and there's a reason before that. But he did run a 4-4-1 at the combine. He didn't do anything at his pro day, but he did run a 4-4-1 at the combine. So, okay, check that box for speed. He's almost 6-3, a hair under 6-3, 190 pounds, 33 and a half-inch arms.

So he's got the physical traits working for him. And then his tape is just, it's a shutdown tape. Teams just didn't test him because they decided to go the other direction to avoid having to face Soss Gardner. Didn't allow a single touchdown. So there's a lot of things in his favor. And talking to some people that were working out with him, they said that, you know, the cornerback room was a little quiet, little, you know, guys just putting their heads down working. Soss Garner, because Cincinnati played so late in the season in the college football playoff, he showed up. a week or two later than everyone else, the day he showed up, the cornerback room,

those guys working out became the loudest in the facility because of sauce gardener. He is that type of guy which just raises the temperature of the room, brings a ton of energy. And that's kind of what you want in your corners. You know, you want that bravado, that that brashness to him that he offers. But he also has the fiscal traits. So when you look at it, I mean, it's, I don't, you know, it's hard when you talk about a guy like, Jeffrey Okuda because he hasn't panned out or, you know, some of these other corners that maybe haven't lived up to it. But I think sauce Gardner, he's right up there if you talk about grade-wise

where he belongs. So Sauce Gardner could absolutely be a top five pick this year. You look at the Texans that have showed plenty of interest in them. The Jets at number four could go in that direction. I think the Giants at number five. We'll see what happens with James Bradbury, but sauce Gardner is in that conversation as well. So we're going to see Sauce Gardner go early. I don't think he's going to last very long. And then Derek Stingley is another one of those wildcards because look at his freshman year and everything that he did for that National Championship LSU defense, okay, you're on board. If he had that 2019 season and 2021, we're maybe talking about Derek Stingley as a candidate for number one overall. But you flip the seasons and we're talking about

him as a durability risk. And is he tough enough? Is he physical enough? And hopefully some of those questions will be answered at his pro day here in about a week and then at medical rechecks but it is something that teams are worried about and Stingley could fall out of the top 10 because of it. And then the other guy I think belongs in that in that mix, Trent McDuffie from Washington who I really want to put it as my number one corner. I'm going to put sauce over him just because Garder just has more physical traits to work with.

I can just see you struggling with God damn. I wish I could do it. I just can't do it. sub 30 inch arms is just, it's tough. And Trent McDuffie, he's not a big guy, sub 30 inch arms, but he is one of the most intelligent corner prospects I've ever talked to. He's a really, really impressive guy. And he checks every box athletically as well.

It's just you wish you were a bigger player. And you also wish he had more ball production on his tape. He just doesn't have that where, you know, you look at a guy like Sauce Gardner who didn't get tested a lot, but he had at least three picks every single year. So I think those two are my top. two corners with sauce and McDuffie and both belong somewhere in the top 15. With past catchers, again, I mean, every single year we're going to have this conversation

about how strong the group is. If I'm just looking purely based on where you have some of these guys going, it reminds me a little bit of the 2020 class where you don't have those top 10ish talents. But in that group, Henry Ruggs was the first receiver taken. I think that's kind of an outlier for several different reasons. Judy went 15. And then you have that run where you have CD at 17. Rager at 21, Jefferson at 22, for the rest of time.

I'm so sorry, Eagles fans. Brandon and I, Youke, at 25, and then guys like T. Higgins and Michael Pittman at the top of the second round. That seems at first glance, like where a lot of this group is going. How would you compare this class with that 2020 group? Yep, and I have made that same comparison myself. I think it makes a lot of sense. And going into that draft, we weren't sure. I think the CD Lamb was the favorite to be the first receiver drafted.

And then maybe Judy and then it was it could be Rugs or Jefferson. I mean, it was, but I think that that draft kind of sums up how every team, you know, we talk about receivers as this one position, but in reality, each one offers something so different. And so it depends on what each team is looking for. And that's, I think this class really sums that up because we have five, maybe six receivers in this class that could go first. but they're each so different in what they offer.

So it's not like, okay, oh, we missed out on this guy. So we're just going to go to, you know, the next best receiver. It's just not quite that simple. But that's also one of the reasons why Garrett Wilson, to me, is the top guy this year because I think he can, I think he fits everybody. I think he does a little bit of everything. He gets open before and after the catch. He's not the biggest guy.

And that's, you don't like that part of it. But he does play bigger because his body control is special. He's a former basketball recruit at a high school. And so, I mean, you see that athleticism. That's why he's my top guy. And then my number two guy is Jameson Williams out of Alabama, who's coming off in ACL. But the speed is so special. And it's more than just line them up and he's going to beat you in a race.

It's much more than that. He understands pacing. He understands how to throttle down and throttle up. He has some nuance to what he's doing. And he also has ball skills. So even with the ACL injury, Jameson Williams, I think, is, and I've talked to several teams that have Jameson Williams as their number one receiving. in this draft. Now, whether or not their GM lets them actually draft a guy coming off in ACL as the number one receiver, time will tell. But he is, that's how well he is thought of. And then I throw

Drake London. Those three guys throw in Drake London in that mix from USC, you know, basketball background. That's how he plays. Plays above the rim. Bodies up, can post up. It creates little pockets of separation, moves the chains. Also coming off a serious injury, hopefully we see him work out here in the next week at USC's Pro Day. So I would start with those three guys. And then right after that, you've got Chris Olave from Ohio State, Trelin Burke from Arkansas. Olave, two very different guys. Olavis smooth, very under control with his routes, not going to give you much of anything after the catch, which for a lot of teams, that's just not going to fit for what they want. But if I'm, say, the Packers at 22, you add Alave to that mix who is where he's supposed to be, where, when he's

supposed to be there, that's going to fit Aaron Rogers. And that chemistry, I think, be developed quickly. You got a guy like Trailer Berks, who operated mainly out of a slot. I mean, he was that Debo Samuel of that offense, which is not going to fit what every single offense is looking for with what they want to do for a guy that ran a 455 in the 40-yard dash. So it's just a really interesting quarter or wide receiver class. And then, I mean, you throw Johan Dotson in there, Sky Moore, George Pickens from Georgia, who's kind of the Derek Stingley on offense in terms of the way his career trajectory has gone, but he still has number one potential. And, you know, even Christian Watson from North Dakota State is going to get love as a top 40 guy because even

though you watch his tape and you just, you don't necessarily see a polished player, he is tall, he's long and, you know, he ran out four or three. He's got these, these explosive traits to him. And so a team's going to fall in love with that. So it's a receiver class that depending on what you want, I think this class has it, especially in the early in the top 50 picks. So over the next couple of weeks here, later this week, Nate and I are going to chat. about the quarterbacks. So if you guys want to check back in for that later in the week, I'm very excited to have that conversation.

We'll also have a similar conversation about the receivers here as we move forward with our draft coverage. So those are two positions I can't out wait to dig into. All right. Some real, some rapid fire here. All right. Who to you has been the biggest riser in this class since this time last year? I mean, some would say Hutchinson, but I mean, Hutchinson was number 13 overall for me in

August before the season. so I don't think he qualifies. I mean, David Ojobeau has to be up there. He had something like 26 snaps to his name at Michigan. Oh, man. Okay. So, you know, he, even though the Achilles injury is going to knock him down a little bit, he still belongs in there.

Bernard Raymond from Central Michigan, he made the tight end, the left tackle transition in the midst of a pandemic. And so you started to hear whispers over the summer, but it wasn't until earlier this year when you saw his tape against LSU, against Missouri, that you thought, okay, yeah, this guy is legit. And then throw James and Williams in there as too. because, you know, coming from Ohio State, didn't see a ton of targets at Ohio State,

goes to Alabama and just absolutely blows up. Who would you say has been the biggest faller over that stretch? The guy that was potentially going to be a first-round pick and now is like no longer in that conversation. I mean, maybe Sam Howell you could talk about it in there. DeMarvin Liao from A&M, who just has not lived up to some of the traits that he flashes. Justin Ross.

What is testing numbers terrible? Yeah, for a guy that's undersized, a little bit of a tweener. You just, you expect more of that. And to keep with the Texas A&M theme, Jalen Widenmeier, the tight end was abysmal. I mean, he ran a 503, 40-yard dash, 25 and a half inch vert.

I mean, just, and he doesn't win with speed, but you still expect him to be a capable athlete. That five of a tight end is tough. He might fall out of the drafts completely. I mean, there's no doubt about it. And part of it is just training, you know, working. And, you know, if you can't tell me that if he didn't work a little bit hard,

He could not have gotten laying in a four-eight just with some extra training. So Wettermeier might not get drafted. Justin Ross, the other one from Clemson, who had multiple injuries, foot injury, spinal fusion injury surgery. As a freshman with some of those catches, I mean, his playoff, college football playoff against Notre Dame and Alabama, his freshman year, was just, I mean, he had over 300 yards receiving combined, three touchdowns. He might have the largest catch radius in this entire draft,

but you just worry about durability-wise is easy. the type of athlete that's going to be able to hold up on the outside in the NFL. He might be a big slot that you worry about getting hurt. And guys like that don't go top 100. So you look at guys, I'm looking at tight ends with a 5040 or worse that have come out in recent years. I mean, pretty much, you have to be a very specific sort of player to. And he's not a great blocker.

And that's, so Nick Boyle was one of the examples, right? Like, Nick Boyle ran a 504 at the combine. Nick Boyle weighs 268 pounds and is one of the best blocking. tight ends in the league. You have to be that in order to run like that and maintain an NFL career. Okay. Who would you say has been the guy you've had the hardest time evaluating? Somebody that you sought the most opinions on, somebody that's just been an enigma for you throughout the process. Jordan Davis, we talked about, I think he kind of qualifies for this, just because, again, it's, what's the biggest difference between his junior year, which was okay, and then

his senior year where he was just dominant stretches. And the one really big difference is he played fewer snaps. And so that I do worry about him being a high pick and asked to play higher snaps in the NFL. I also throw Daniel Falulele in there from Minnesota, just a monster of a man. And he moves well for a guy that's 400 pounds. But how is that going to hold up against speed in the NFL? I mean, it's when you get him leaning, it's just, I feel like speedy pass rushers are, they're just, it's like setting the table. They're going to be able to kind of dismantle him. So I do worry about Fahalele holding up in the NFL. He's so rare, and he's got a chance to be a starter in this league, but I do struggle with him.

Just because we haven't really seen a guy that size with that body composition really make it at the next level. He's just really unique. All right. Three guys who are your guys in this draft. We can leave Trayvon Walker out of it. Okay. No Trayvon Walker. Zion Johnson out of Boston College.

He's just, he's flawless as a prospect. within reason. I mean, he's just, he's so smart. He's so, he understands what he's doing out there, play strength, check that box. Combine, all the testing numbers, check that box. He's got versatility across the offensive lines. Zion Johnson's just the easy player to like.

Would you compare him to maybe AVT from last year's draft in terms of like what kind of prospect they are? Yeah, that's fair. I think they're a little different just in skill set, but I think in terms of what you expect of them, yeah, I think that that's comparable. If Zion Johnson went somewhere, where in the teens, you could easily, you know, defend that.

We call that the high floor guard slot. It's like, it's like 15 to 22. Right, right. Yeah, exactly. And guards usually not a position you draft in the top 15. It just terms of positional value. But a guy like Zion Johnson, it's not hard to, not a hard sell in the draft room. And then I would say, Chris Listern went 14.

That's exactly. Like, that's the range for all these guys is right there. I'm going back through all drafts now. That makes sense. I mean, he's not Zach Martin, who also went kind of that range. 18, right? Yeah. Zach Martin's always the name I have in mind when I think of that range of the draft,

but that's typically where it is. It's like outside the lottery is where you would find those guards in most drafts. Well, because most teams usually have 15 to 18 first round grades. And so, you know, the other first round grades get picked apart. And you're left with your first round guard. And that's okay. You know, you get them in the middle 18s. Hey, that's a good player.

I like the center class a lot. And so two guys I mentioned from the center class that you know, you're going to get in the third round. Cole Strange out of Chattanooga and Cam Jurgens at a Nebraska. Cam Jurgens is kind of that that Tyler Linderbaum just two rounds later. He's crazy testing numbers, right? Remarkable testing now. He's a former tight end. He never played center in his life until he got to Nebraska.

And then you see him block 40 yards down the field and you're just kind of wowed. And he needs, you do worry about point of attack strength needs. I don't think he's a plug-and-play guy, but you keep developing him and you're going to have something down the road. Logan Hall from Houston, throw him his name out there. And then Lewis Seen from Georgia, who he played that money position for the Georgia, Georgia defense. He's got one of the most fun journeys of any prospect in this group. He was born in Haiti. He grew up in Florida. He learned to play football in Boston. He became a top recruit in Texas. And then he earned all-American status at Georgia. So one of the craziest backstories of this group,

and Scouts say he's one of the smartest players in this class. He also ran a four-three. Rines me a lot of Xavier McKinney as a prospect. It's just a guy that can fly around, make plays. So Lewis C and I throw in there as well. Awesome. All right. That's all we got. I appreciate you humoring me with this. Hopefully he covered a lot. I mean, it's, it's, we're at the point in the draft where it's, I don't know, I, I'm worried about the Stony Brook Guard in the seventh round. We're on the exact opposite ends of the spectrum. In terms of being in the football media full time, there are no two people further apart right now in their knowledge of this subject than me and you. So it's very important that we could bridge this a little bit for the listeners in this moment.

I think we did that. And so I'm about to dive back into the draft guide. It's about a week where I think we're a week away from getting it done. And so we're almost there. I'm at the point where I'm literally watching schools I've never heard of. And usually every year that'll happen where a school will pop up. Right now, Division III, Castleton College, a school I never heard of, you know, working on at this defense event because he tested off the charts.

So it's just that type of the time of the calendar for me. So that's why you guys are off on Wednesday. You're finishing that up. You guys will be back next week, you and Lance, on Wednesday. So if you guys want to come back and check that out, please do. We'll be ramping up our draft coverage starting this week. We're going to chat about the quarterbacks here in a couple days. We'll be back with an off-season mailbag on Wednesday.

So please submit your questions by Wednesday morning. If you guys want to email us, it's Athletic Football Show at gmail.com. If you want to leave a voicemail, which we would love, it's 872-22-7073. One more time. 872-22-22-7073. I'll be doing that with Nate, really looking forward to it. Please, in the meantime, rate interview the podcast on your podcast platform of choice. Please subscribe to The Athletic.

It's where you can get all of Dane's draft coverage and everything else that we're going to be rolling out here over the next few weeks. Theathletic.com slash football show. Highly encourage you guys to do that if you have not. We'll be back tomorrow with Nate. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll talk to you soon. This was the athletic football show.