The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Beginner’s guide to the 2021 NFL Draft with Dane Brugler

Episode Date: March 26, 2021

With just over one month until the 2021 NFL Draft, The Athletic’s Draft analyst Dane Brugler joins Robert Mays to discuss everything you need to know about the league's top prospects. What are the strongest and weakest position groups? Who is the biggest riser since last year? Who is the most polarizing prospect? What is the best team/player fit? The discuss all that and much more.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show. Welcome to the athletic football show. I'm Robert Mays. Joining me today, the athletics draft expert, somebody I love talking draft with and I cannot wait to do this. Dane Brugge, Dane, how you doing, man? I'm doing well.

We're just about a month away, which is crazy. I mean, I'm ready for it to be here, to be honest with you. I'm at the point where I was watching soccer tape for the first time because there's a player in this draft. He's got a soccer background. I'm watching Division 2 tape with bounce houses behind the end zone. I mean, that's the point of the process that I'm in. So I'm ready for it to be here.

The funniest thing is I am as far away from that point in the process as you can possibly be. So my idea for this show was to do an idiot's guide to the 2021 draft. For you to help explain this to me, like I am a toddler who has no background information on this class. so ever because in reality i'm not that far away from that i always come to the process late because for me free agency is always first i mean i think that we've made this joke before i typically am on the same schedules like an NFL head coach who if you ask him about a draft prospect before st patrick's day he has no idea what you're talking about that's always how it is for me it's even more pronounced this year because there's been no combine so i haven't even gotten exposure to

being around them in even a casual setting and a press conference or whatever, and we've done so much free agency coverage on the show that the draft has even been more on the back burner than it would be in a typical year. So there are probably people listening who know a lot more about this group of prospects than even I do. So I wanted to kind of go in and have an introductory conversation to this group with you as a way to set the table for what the next month, like you said, of our draft coverage is going to look like. So just talk to me like I'm an idiot and hopefully people will get something from that. So let's just start on the broadest level possible.

How would you classify the 2021 class overall? Is it a strong class? Is it a weak class? How does it compare it to the ones we've seen in recent years? What's your tagline elevator pitch for the 2021 grip? I would say it's slightly above average. It's not great. It's not below average.

I would say it's slightly above average. In a lot of ways, it's similar to past classes where we have about 20. first round grades in this class. You know, like there's quality depth on day two. This draft pool is a lot smaller than we're used to in terms of day three and PFA action because a lot of guys went back to school taking advantage of that extra year of NCAA eligibility. So that's something that on day three and when we get to the PFA part of the process,

starts to really factor in. I would say what's different about this year is, the lack of true, no doubt about it, that high-end talent, or, you know, the guys that are the high-end talents are either quarterbacks or they're guys that have like maybe some question mark, not question marks, but, you know, there's, there's something about them that, you know, is, it makes them a little bit tough to project, talking about like a Kyle Pitts from Florida, who's clearly one of the best players in this draft, one of the best talents, but he plays a position that a lot of teams aren't really going to look at in the top 10.

at tight end. There's a couple of these guys that opted out, talking about Jamar Chase, talking about Penny Sewell, tackle out of Oregon. And then, of course, the quarterbacks. It's a very quarterback,

top-heavy group this year. We're going to see a lot of those quarterbacks go early. So it's a very interesting class when you factor in the opt-outs, the quarterbacks, how top-heavy it is. It's just going to be a lot of fun

to see how it plays out. So when you're talking about first-round grades compared to depth. You say it's a deeper class, maybe if you find some starters in the day three, in the second round and the third round, where is that cut off for you? What is the differentiation between a first round grade

and somebody that you think is a reliable starter on day two that you can find with the 48th overall pick? How do you make that distinction? Yeah, and that's tough. And it's different for everybody. But I would, you know, you try to isolate the traits and you try to, when you project them forward,

okay, what's going to differentiate these guys? Does a player have that distinguishing trait that you can say, okay, this is why he has pro-ball potential. This is why I look at him and when I project him to the next level, he's going to be an A-plus starter or a guy that's going to make a difference for my offense, for my defense. And those guys are the players we're talking about in the top 20. And then after that first wave, those first-round grades, that's where you kind of get the rest of the guys that project us starters or borderline start. or eventual starters, but maybe are lacking that trait that really differentiates themselves. You know, guys that, you know, have a solid skill set, but maybe nothing that puts them over the top.

And so just for me, that that's how I do it. But, you know, I know it's different for everybody. You know, I think that there was a time when I was younger where I would have looked at the super athletes and said, that's it. I'll bet on the athlete every time. And then I think in my mid to late 20s, I was like, I want the guy. who can run routes. I want the guy who recognizes route distribution. I want the quarterback that has it between the ears. And I think now I've kind of come back around in a way to knowing

that the high ceiling guys with the right coaching, in part because I think the coaching, especially on the offensive side of the ball, has gotten better in the NFL over the last five to 10 years. I think betting on traits has become a little bit safer. How would you say your trajectory as an evaluator and in the way you value certain aspects of players has evolved over the years. Yeah, I mean, I think it's pretty similar to what you just explained because, you know, I think that it started with, you know, guys that really showed out in terms of the testing, in terms of just their physical skill set. Those are the guys that you, you were drawn to. And then you kind of backed off that a little bit. And, you know, the more I learned just how

technically refined you have to be at the NFL level. And I don't care what you're talking about receiver, you know, beating press and your releases and your routes. Or if you're talking offensive line, you know, everybody in the NFL is talented. And it's not always the better athlete that's going to win. A lot of times it's the better technician. It's the guy that understands how to use his skill set a little bit better.

Because all these guys, for the most part, are big, fast, and strong. but when you're looking at prospects and projecting them forward, some of the guys that are deficient in some of those areas, do they have the necessary traits to overcome where their deficiencies are? And that's become the biggest battle for me. It's just, okay, well, this guy, you know, he just doesn't have the length that I want, but, you know, he's consistently on time. He's consistently on schedule with his base, with his punch, you know, all these different things.

And so you have to try to figure out, okay, the guys that do have holes in their game, do they have the other necessary traits to make up for that? And for me, I think that's where I've really learned a lot, where I've come around, and just try to isolate those traits. I just, this more than any other time that I've thought about and watched football, I think this year and so over the last couple years in the pre-draft process, I've really just understood how fucking hard this is. It's just so incredibly difficult and kind of walking into it with a little bit more humility

and a little bit more, you know, kind of throwing my hands up being like, I don't really know it has been something I've been more willing to do recently than I had in the past. I think that's an important sign of growth, both as a football thinker and a person in general. So, all right, if you're looking at this class and thinking about the way we'll remember it, 10 years from now, how would you characterize it? Would you say this is the Trevor Lawrence draft? or do you think we'll remember it in a different, like 2011, I think is a good example. It was the Cam Newton draft, but to me, that is the defensive

stars defensive potential Hall of Fame draft when you look at that group. So in 10 years, how do you think we'll talk about the 2021 class? I think it probably comes back to the quarterbacks. You know, I think like how do we view the Chesan 18 draft? You know, like I think we'll remember it for, you know, Quentin Nelson going top six or maybe Sequin going high. But for the most part, we're going to. remember that for the quarterbacks.

Yeah. You know, Baker going one and Darnold right thereafter. Josh Allen's 7th. Rosen was top 10. And then Lamar Jackson all the way down at 32. This year, I think it's going to be similar. It's going to be about the quarterbacks. What's the order that these guys come off the board?

And then, you know, how early do they go? What's their fit? Where do they land? You know, who are the teams that are trading up for these quarterbacks? All those dynamics. I think that's what's going to be not only the story on draft day, but also the story next year when they're rookies and then down the road when we look back at this class. And there's a lot of talented players in this draft.

But when it comes down to it, you know, the quarterback always takes up all the air in the room. And I don't think it's going to be any different this year with the talent that we have at this group. Trevor Lawrence at the top, I mean, that's going to happen. He's going to be a Jacksonville Jaguar. And then that's where it gets interesting. where the Jets do it too? Are they ready to hit the reset button? You know, with the new head coach and coaching staff, you know, you know, GM's in a second year.

We just, there's some unknown variables there. You know, there's some interesting teams that are just outside of striking range that we think could be players. You know, could that be the Patriots? You know, could that be, you know, Washington football team? Is there one of these teams currently slated outside the top 10, we could see be, really aggressive to go get that quarterback. We know the Panthers are probably going to be aggressive in landing one of these quarterbacks.

So it's going to be really interesting how they'll order these quarterbacks come off the board and they're just tracking their careers over the next few years. It's fascinating to me because when you look at that 2018 group, even though there are a bunch of quarterbacks at the top, they weren't these supernovas of talent like this group seems to be. You know, Baker Mayfield is not the most physically gifted quarterback you've seen. he went number one because of just the ultra efficiency he showed at Oklahoma. Josh Rosen, no one would make an argument that he is an athletic or explosive or twitchy

prospect at any sense. All of these guys seem to be. Trey Lance is all potential in certain ways. So I think that's part of what makes it interesting is that even though this group has a lot of quarterbacks in the top like that 2008 group, 18 group did, what you see in this group and there's the moldable potential associated with them, I think, is a little bit different in a way that's kind of endlessly intriguing. So when you look at the group of non-quarterbacks near the top of this class,

who would you classify right now as the best non-quarterback available in 2021? It's Kyle Pitts. And it seems, it feels really weird. Would you have said that a year ago? Well, coming in August, my first taught 50 board, based just off of Summer Scouting, Kyle Pitts is my number 11 prospect. So I really liked them. That's pretty good.

Yeah. Yeah. I really, really liked him. And, but he had a lot of drops last year. He was really just coming into his own. I mean, we have to remember, this guy, he was, he played a lot of quarterback in high school. And he wanted to play, he wanted to be a tight end. He wanted to be Jared Cook.

He wanted to be Eric Ebron. So he transferred schools for his final two years. But it was a run heavy offense. So he was blocking more than he was going out running routes and catching the football. So he goes to Florida his first year. You know, it doesn't get on the field much. His second year, the 2019 tape, you saw all these athletic flashes that were really, really intriguing. And so projecting him forward, yeah, I put him at number 11.

Borderline top 10 picks. So I really liked him. This year, he just goes off. I mean, he takes that next level. He goes from like six drops, 2019, zero drops in 2020. The catch radius is silly. His versatility to line up in line, to line up slot outside. you know, detached, whatever, wherever you want to play him, he can line up and play.

But the athleticism that he shows, and it's not like he's just beating, you know, linebackers and safeties. He's beating SEC corners out there, guys that will be in the league. And so he's just so different than most tight ends. And it kind of reminds me of, you know, the Quentin Nelson conversations in 2018. Like, can you really put a guard as your number one or number two player in the draft? Can you do that? And it's kind of the same thing here with Kyle Pitts. Could you really put a tight end that high?

But if we're just talking about the best talents in this class, the best players, absolutely, he's up there. As far as to my untrained eye, just based on anecdotal remembering what the classes were like, it really does feel like this class kind of resembles that 2018 class in that top end talent in the top 10 with the quarterbacks. Because last year outside of Chase Young, it didn't seem like there were that many, oh, wow, look at that guy athletes. In 2019, you could probably make the same argument.

2018, you had Denzel Ward, Bradley Chubb, Quentin, it almost feels like the Peney Sewell, Kyle Pitts, Jamar Chase, tier of guys in this class resembles what that group looked like mixed in with the quarterbacks in the top 10. Yeah, that's fair. And, you know, last year we had guys like Derek Brown who, you know, exactly. Weren't flashy, but, you know, just they were going to be solid pros with a pro bowl ceiling.

guys this year, it's like I mentioned earlier, it's a little tougher with the opt-outs. A guy like Pene Soule, I don't think he needed to take another snap to know what he is. And, you know, it's kind of rare that one of the best players in the class is also one of the youngest, but that's Penae Soule. He doesn't turn 21 until October. I saw that yesterday. It's crazy. He was born.

I cannot believe he's 20. He was born a few weeks after, or a few weeks before Tom Brady threw his first NFL pass. So just nuts, how young this guy is. And what he was able to do at left tackle as a freshman and then as a sophomore and then, of course, missing this past year as an opt-out. But Mario Cristobal, he's Oregon's head coach, he's called him the best player he's ever been around. And it's not just physically what he can do. It's mentally how he sees the game, his reactions. So there's so much to Pena Sewell that you get really excited when you think about what he's going to be in this league.

Jamar Chase, same type of deal where you didn't necessarily need to see another snap to understand what he is as a player. He was so dominant last year with that LSU offense. Not going to go run a four three, but he could separate and he's got that my ball mentality. In a lot of ways, he reminds me of, you know, kind of like a Larry Fitzgerald just in terms of style. You know, there's some differences there. But just in terms of overall style, there's a lot of similarities. And then, you know, it's where do the other. quarterbacks fit in. Are they, you know, are they close to that top tier in terms of just the,

you know, we know they're going to go top 10, but do they belong in a top conversation as being the blue chippers in this draft, you know, talking about Zach Wilson and Justin Fields and Trey Lance and, you know, there's plenty of Mac Jones fans out there. So it's just a, it's a fascinating quarterback group that we're going to be talking about between now and the draft and then well after. With Kyle Pitts, you mentioned this, and I'm curious because it, A lot of people have mentioned it with prospects over the last couple of years. And it does set off some alarms to me because I think it's interesting. Do you look at whether guys played quarterback in the past,

if you're looking at past catchers and corners and safeties just in terms of overall awareness? It's not the most important thing, but is that a box that you check? Absolutely. I mean, my favorite part of the draft process is the research and understanding where these guys have come from. To me, that journey is, that helps you explain where they are. now and then where they're headed. So the each individual prospect's journey is my favorite part of the process of the process every single year and just understanding, oh, okay, so he didn't play football until he was a senior in high school. That's interesting. That tells me something.

Oh, he was a quarterback up until his junior year in high school. That tells me something. You know, oh, he was a four sport letterman in high school. He, you know, was third in the state in 100 meters. Okay, that tells me something. All these things are ingredients to, a scattering report that gives you a better picture. I mean, the process, the whole point of the draft process is to put a puzzle together. And there are so many pieces out there that you have to gather through tape study, through your research, through all these different things, that testing is part of it. And the more pieces you gather, the better, the more clear picture you have.

And so, you know, absolutely, that's definitely a part of it when you're doing your research, understanding what they were asked to do in high school, what they did. I mean, like I said, I was watching a tape on a soccer tape because a player, he actually went to college on a soccer scholarship before he decided, you know what, I want to go play football. So seeing what kind of athlete he was on the soccer field, that interests me. That kind of tells me something, even if it was four or five years ago. So it's all relevant.

All right. So when we're looking at specific positions, we've talked about quarterback a little bit. What are the strongest position groups in this draft relative to past classes, would you say? I think at the top, wide receiver and offensive tackle, those two definitely stand out. Wide receiver, you know, I don't, is this the new norm? You know, is this going to be where wide receiver every year is going to be that position that's going to be one of the strongest, you know, where we're just going to have such an eclectic, deep group of talents, you know, dynamic in their own way.

You know, a Jalen Waddle is very different than Rashad Bateman. You know, they're, they, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, they're, exactly. Yeah. You couldn't have two guys that look differently more different and play the position more different. Right. And they're effective in their own ways. And each team's going to, based off of their personnel on their, you know, on the team already, based on what they're looking for, based on their scheme. Uh, they're going to be looking at these guys differently. And so wide receiver is such an interesting position because it's a, it's a, it's, it, it's almost like an umbrella of all these other different, other positions, guys. you know, they're in the slot or, you know, they are true deep threats or they do a little bit of everything and all these. So it's just, it's a really interesting group this year, similar to last year. Offensive tackle, really, really deep group, which, you know, last year we had, what, five in the top 20. I don't know that this class is as top heavy, but it stretches more than last year

where there's legit depth in the second round and even into the third round. So if you need an offensive tackle. This is a good draft to need that. After offensive tackle and wide receiver, I think, you know, we have to mention quarterback, even though after the top five, I think there's a clear drop off. And that's, you know, maybe Davis Mills out of Stanford, I think he has starting potential. But, you know, we're talking about a borderline top 100 guy. Kyle Trask, to me, is a backup. So, but as long as we are talking about five guys in the first round, quarterback has to be mentioned as one of the deeper positions this year. Cornerback, I think it's really strong in the top 100.

I was mapping out my top 100 for the athletic for next week. And I think I have 14 corners in the top 100. And I think there's a good chance we see double-digit corners in the first two rounds. And then I would also throw in interior offensive line. So those five positions, wide receiver, tackle, offensive tackle, quarterback, cornerback, and then interior offensive line. Let's take into those a little bit. So with the corners, I was looking at your top 10 corners today.

and a lot of those guys that you were laying out had press man traits. And a lot of those guys at the top, are you seeing more college teams run enough man that that projection has become a little bit easier over the last five years? Because it seems like that's a change because I know that a lot of teams were running a lot, just really simple kind of quarter stuff,

and they just didn't have the guys to do that. Would you say that that overlap has made it easier to project guys into the league now than it might have been five years ago? Yeah, I think that's fair. I mean, for the most part, you know, they're obviously, they're playing a lot more off. You know, that's just par for the course in college. But I think we are seeing a little more man coverage in terms of just being mixed in to, you know, because even NFL teams, every NFL team, you're going to run a little bit of man, a little bit of his own.

You're going to mix it up. And with college, I think we're seeing more of that where we're just seeing a mixture. Because, you know, in order to, as offenses evolve at the college level and these, these teams, it seems like they're a lot more horizontal than vertical, you know, but they like to mix in different concepts. You have to do the same thing on defense. You have to mix it up. And so I think that's fair to say.

And we see it a lot more in the SEC. You look at Alabama and Patrick Sertan. You see at Georgia with obviously Kirby Smart coming from the Nick Saban tree. You see that with Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes. You see it with Kelvin Joseph, the Kentucky corner. or J.C. Horn at South Carolina as well. So SEC, I think we're definitely seeing that a lot more. Caleb Farley was at, I think, your top corner. He was another high school quarterback who could play in man coverage. As soon as I saw that, I was like, oh, yep, I'm in on that. That's something I'll be a little bit,

I'll curious to learn a little bit more about. All right. Well, unfortunately, real quick on Farley, he's with the news this week about his back. He's going to be an enigma in this draft. an opt-out this year who had back surgery before, he's having another back procedure this week, not going to be able to work out before the draft. It's anybody's guess at this point. I've talked to some people around the league who have said, you know, he should be able to rehab fine and play,

but it becomes a question of, okay, well, when's the next issue pop up? You know, that's where we are with Caleb Farley. So instead of being in a top 10 conversation, you know, could a team, now in the early second get Caleb Farley? I mean, that's what that's what the buzz is right now among NFL teams. It's just, okay, how much does this hurt Caleb Farley?

That's really interesting. With the past catchers, I think you asked, is this the new normal? I think it might be. I mean, I wrote about it last year before the draft, and I talked to a lot of college coaches that I talked to, remember we had a conversation with Josh Gaddis, who, you know, he coached Jerry Judy at Alabama. He coached Chris Galvin at Penn State.

I mean, he's gotten a lot of these guys, and it really does seem like just the overall, again, coverage structure awareness, route running ability, the number of balls these guys have caught by the time they're 20 years old, has never been higher based on just the overall seven-on-seven training that they get. I really do feel like this is it. And you talked about the depth of last year's class, and you can correct me if I'm wrong here, but it almost feels like there are more high-end past catching talents in this class. I mean, Henry Ruggs was the first guy off the board of the mom. the wide receivers last year, you could probably make an argument that he was the third best receiver on that Alabama team two years ago compared to the two guys in this class. You throw Jamar Chase in there. It really does feel like there might be more top 10 worthy past catching talents in this group even than there were last year. Yeah. And last year we didn't have

a wide receiver to go top 10. This year we might have three. So, you know, it's, and it's tough to do it because I know I struggle with this, but I get a question, okay, we'll stack last year's first round receivers with this upcoming class. You know, how would you, you know, where's C.D. Lam fall in that? Where's Justin Jefferson? And honestly, it's really tough for me to do that because it's almost impossible to erase what we already know about the guys as NFL players. Like Justin's Jefferson.

Yeah. I can't erase that from my mind. So it's tough to do that. But yeah, last year we set an NFL record with 12 receivers drafted in the first two rounds. This year, I don't know that we're going to get 12 in the first two rounds, but I think we're going to have more top 100 wide receivers. receivers drafted than last year. So the first three rounds are just loaded. Like I said, I was mapping out my top 100. And I think I had 15 wide receivers in the top 100, which, you know,

last year, I think there were 14 drafted top 100. And I felt I was kicking myself because there's like five or six receivers that I hated leaving off. It's just a really loaded group. And that's, that's good news. If you want to wait and sort of third or fourth round, you're going to feel pretty comfortable about, you know, okay, I can get Nico Collins in the third or fourth round. Okay, I can get, you know, if I want a really solid slot option, Kate Johnson or Shy Smith, probably guys that are going to follow the fourth round. So, yeah, but at the top, you know, it's, I think there's a debate, okay, who's the top receiver this year? Jamar Chase, I'm still sticking with him as my top guy, even though we haven't seen him in a year. Jalen Waddle is right behind him for me. And then DeVante

Smith is right there as well. So it's just a, a really, really talented top of the draft at the receiver position. And then, you know, you get that second tier. And it's like, okay, well, you know, Cadarius Tony gives you more of that slot dynamic. You know, he was more of a gadget player. Now he's, you know, a little more developed. He can make guys missing a phone booth. But then you also have in that second tier, you know, a guy like Rashad Bateman,

who's, you know, his game is not necessarily speed and, you know, being dynamic with his start stop. It's more about understanding route leverage and understanding how to set up corners and find their blind spot and things like that. And then you've got the smaller guys. It's my kind of guy. Yeah, well, right.

And if you like your, you know, your Keenan Allens and your Michael Thomas is, you know, Rashad Bateman is you're going to enjoy watching his film. Elijah Moore, Rondale Moore, you know, the smaller guy. So, yeah, this wide receiver class has got a little bit of everything based off of what you want. And so I'm, I wouldn't be shocked if any of those three receivers were the first to come off the board. I really wouldn't.

It's just, it's a really, it's a really talented group at the top. We will be having the should you wait on receiver conversation, I think, several times over the next month or so on this show with several guests. And the overall position and its development, it's definitely something I'm excited to dig into. As it relates to Devante Smith, I think that he's a guy, you watch what happens on the field. I mean, he was one of the most historically productive receivers in the, the history of college football. And then the inevitable conversations this week, how much does he weigh, how big is he, what kind of concerns are there?

Since that season ended and since we saw him in those high profile spots, how would you characterize the conversation around Devante Smith? What has it been like over the last couple months as teams start to overthink it a little bit? Honestly, I think the team, I think teams have been where they've always been on Devante Smith, where I think it's more in the media. They've had these varying opinions. That's probably fair.

Right, where, okay, the Monday after the national title game, I remember talking heads on my TV telling me, well, okay, the Jetset's at number two, they need to take Devonthe Smith. That needs to happen. And where with, even I mocked him at number three at one point, but that was more because I, the familiarity with Tua and the dolphins maybe wanting to help their young quarterback with the guy they were familiar with and that. But when you look at it, 170 pounds is, that's going to matter to some teams. And there's just, there's not,

you talk about historically, guys that have been that size. There's not many examples. You can point to, you know, guys like Marvin Harrison or Isaac Bruce, guys that were a little undersized. And obviously,

we're big time players. And I think we have to remember too. This isn't a case of, oh, well, he'll put on 10 pounds when he gets to the NFL. He's not coming from Southwest Alabama. He's coming from, He's coming from, you know, Tuscaloosa where they engineer guys to hit their physical peak before

their, they leave campus. So, you know, he just doesn't have. He's had access to the best resources. Exactly. Yeah. And he doesn't have the frame for that. He's just a lean framed guy. And that's okay.

He can be plenty productive without being 190 pounds. And so this isn't like, okay, well, I don't know anybody that's not talking about him. We're talking about him as a top 20 guy. It's not like we're saying he shouldn't go in the first round. But when you have other wide receivers closely rated with him, talking about Jamar Chase and Jalen Waddle, that weight could be a tiebreaker. You know, something where you just,

there's a little bit of doubt with DeVante Smith because of that. And so for a lot of teams, they're going to have Jamar Chase or Jalyn Waddle ahead of them. So, but yeah, how could you just not love what he put on tape this past year, are just truly phenomenal. I was watching your clip that you had of Waddle. We're talking a ton of the receivers of the next month.

But the clip you had of Waddle in your top 10 rankings of receivers, how quickly he got vertical and how just quickly he gets in and out moving at that speed. And I think that's the thing about speed guys, right? And it's probably some of the question marks people had about rugs coming in

was that is it just speed or can he weaponize that speed? Can he change direction and make sure that that speed is always useful to him in a way that it's not always with fast receivers. And it seems like the way that Waddle moves, like Tyree Kill, he can use it. He understands how to harness it in a way that's really important, which I think makes

him incredibly interesting. But again, we're going to dig way into those guys here over the next month or so. If we're looking at the weakest positions in this class, if you're a team looking for one specific spot, you might just be out of luck. Where would you start? Well, I think defensive tackle, that immediately comes to mind as the weakest position. If we're just talking about first round options and then just overall depth, there are some players in this draft that are going to be, you know, Christian Barmore from

Alabama, who only a redshirt sophomore, but you watch the second half of the season. And it's easy to get excited about not only what he is now, but what he's going to be. So he's in that first round mix. Levi Anza Wurke from Washington, was out of position as a nose at Washington. is more of a three technique, violent hands, energy doesn't stop. But he opted out this past year. So, you know, missing some data points with him. Overall, it's just not a strong group.

There are some solid options on day two, but you better get your guy early if you really want a defensive attack on the draft because it's not going to be a position that stretches very far. I think safety is another one. You know, last year we didn't see a safety drafted in the first round This year, we might not either.

Maybe Trayvon Morig, Merig from TCU, gets in there. Richie Grant from UCF is personally my favorite safety in this class. There are some options on day two and even early day three, but not the most, not the deepest position. And then I think running back too. You know, we might have, we have two. Really? Yeah.

And I think they're, you know, Najee Harris, Travis E.T.N., Giovante Williams. Those three guys are going to be top 50 picks. But then there's a little bit of drop-off after that. I really like Kenneth Gainwell out of Memphis. If there's an Aaron Jones in this class, I think it could be Gainwell. I really like Michael Carter. But, you know, I think those three at the top and then maybe Gainwell,

those might be the only four running backs that go top 100. And then there are some solid options on day three, but it's not a position that I think is just absolutely loaded in frontline guys. That's really interesting. So what we've heard, especially as related to the free agent conversation, is that there was a lack of plug-and-play edge-rushing talent at the top of the draft. Do you agree with that? Because I know that you have several guys, you know, not top-10 type talents like we've seen years past,

but in the back half of the first round. So would you agree that there is a dearthous talent there, and that might have informed why there was such a hot market for the position in free agency? That's fair. And I think, you know, you said plug and play, and I think that's key, because a lot of the edge-rushers in this class are, they're faith-based projections. You know, they're talent-rich guys. who are still learning how to play the position.

A guy like Gregory Rousseau out of Miami, it's tough to know what to do with this guy because he was a wide receiver and safety most of his life, moves to the defensive line as a senior in high school, goes to Miami, he misses his entire first year with an injury, so he red shirts. And then in 2019, he leads the ACC in sacks and tackles for loss. But then he opts out this past year.

So we have really one year of tape to go off of. Still a very young guy, still developing his body. he's well built. I mean, he's 6-7. Probably, we'll see what he is now, but probably around 265. A lot of, you know, he's not that necessarily a twitchy rusher

who's going to, you know, elude tackles with his bend and his ability to consistently corner, but he's really long, his speed to power, it can be a weapon for him. He can retrace his steps and find the quarterback.

He was really, at his best as, you know, when he reduced inside and was rushing over the A gap. So, you know, he is an example of a player who's really, really talented and he has yet to play his best football, but trying to determine where his ceiling is, is a tough part of this. Aziz Adjulari out of Georgia's my, personally my top pass rusher this year, he's, I think he's very similar to like a Janik and Gakwe, where he's a little undersized, but he plays long, he plays quick, he's explosive, he's instinctive. There's a lot of things you can do with him.

Jason Oway from Penn State, who he might be the perfect example, a microcosm of this, of this pass rush group. He had zero sacks this past year in seven games. I saw that. But when you watch his tape, he's getting to the pocket. I mean, it's just, it might be a half step behind from getting that sack, but he's still disrupting what the quarterback is doing. Either he's forcing him off his spot, he's, you know, forcing the quarterback to make a throw early.

and he's a physical freak. Former basketball player didn't start playing football until his junior year in high school. So there's Jason Oway, I'm extremely intrigued with. It's just when you try to figure out, okay, where do I feel comfortable drafting a player like this? You know, because obviously there's more risk involved with him compared to some of these other guys.

So this pass rusher group, I wouldn't necessarily call it one of the weaker positions this year. I would say it's one of the more confounding positions this year because there's clear talent this year. It's just, you know, which one of these guys are going to hit, which ones are going to fizzle. And it's just a really fascinating conversation when we try to stack these guys and figure them all out. It's funny. Ojo Lari is somebody that I've, he's actually somebody have had conversations about.

And people are all over the place on him, it feels like. I mean, there are teams that are just like, no thank you. And other teams that feel like he's a really intriguing prospect, which I think speaks to exactly what you're talking about here. So it's kind of funny because for a while, the tackles and the offensive linemen were way behind the athletes that we saw coming in at the past rushing spots. And over the last couple of years, it almost feels like that's flipped. Because with the tackles, obviously we had the guys at the top last year, and there are some of those examples this year.

You have Sewell, Rashon Slater, possibly. But there are a lot of guys, I've talked to a GM last week who said, I think I can get a starter in the second round, which that's not normal. If you look at the history of offensive tackle drafting, it's the position most like quarterback, and that if you don't get one near the top, you typically aren't going to get one that ever becomes a high-level starter.

So I think there's a lot to unpack there, and it may be a blip. I always hesitate to ascribe these trends over a two-year period that aren't necessarily indicative of what's going to come in the future, but I do think that's really interesting. And then you said the interior guys, I mean, guys like Landon Dickerson, I saw mock in like the second or third round.

I know his name, Trey Smith from Tennessee. So do you think that overall, those guys would be higher in a normal class. Do you think that the idea that you can find a third round starter at some of those positions is a little bit different than it had been in previous years? I guess at tackle and on the interior. Yeah, I think so.

We're going to see a lot of day two offensive linemen this year start as rookies. And you're right, that's uncommon. In a case like Landon Dickerson, if he's healthy, fully healthy and no red flags medically, he's an easy first round pick, easy. So with his case, it's more, couldn't stay healthy of Florida State, transfers to Alabama. Stay healthy is first year and then most of the second year just had the ACL injury in the SEC title game. And so that's going to a little bit of not sure where to draft, where we feel comfortable drafting him with his injury history.

So that's going to be a doctor, trainer, medical staff type of pick. But yeah, I mean, you can, you know, you're talking about Deontay Brown, his teammate at Alabama. You know, not going to be for every scheme, but for a, you know, power, heavy scheme, you know, he's going to be a fit. Him in his, you know, 260 or 360 pound body. But it's just a really deep group of offensive linemen. You know, with you looking at offensive tackle, obviously, Pena Sewell is going to go early. Roshan Slater is going to be shortly after him. I think Elijah Vera Tucker from USC is one of the safer players this year.

You know, Darryso. Who would you compare him to? Who is that, Verit Tucker? Yeah. Not even necessarily game, but it's just in terms of like his profile and how he fits into an NFL offense, how early he can play, how safe he could be. Because we haven't really seen that. I guess the last mid-round guard in the first round I could think about that was characterized like that. Might have been Zach Martin.

Zach Martin, right. There probably is a more recent example of that that I'm just not thinking about. Yeah, I mean, I don't know. The first name that came in my mind would maybe like a Joel Petonio who, you know, similar, similar, you know, know, tackle in college, we've been inside. I mean, it's a similar type of thing. I think with Vera Tucker, what gets you, why he might go top 20,

as opposed to, you know, late first round or early second, is just you feel like his floor is so high. Like, you know, it's, I hate using the word safe because there's so many variables with all these guys that could lead them to not panning out. But he feels like a very safe player. Now, I don't, I don't think he's a tackle personally. I think he's a guard.

And, but at least we have tape. of him at guard. He played 2019 there. So I really like him. But like, Tevin Jenkins at Oklahoma State and Christian Darrasaw, Leon Eichael McImburg. And, you know, there's a lot of tackles in this group. And it's kind of, you know, you could

poke holes in each one of these guys. You know, Tevin Jenkins isn't the longest player. Sometimes arc speed will get the best of him. But he's really good at, you know, he's uniquely powerful. It's just very unique powerful. Right, absolutely. He will not hesitate. to send defenders into tomorrow if he has a chance.

You know, Leah Mikenberg, Notre Dame's pipeline at left tackle has been remarkable with, you know, from Zach Martin to Ronnie Stanley to Mike McGlinchie, it's something like the last 140-some games. Notre Dame has played. They've had a first round left tackle, which is silly. It's incredible. And, you know, that'll continue with Leo Mikenberg,

ends up going top 32. So, yeah, this is, you know, Dylan Radins from North Dakota State, who's a flawed player, but a good player. You know, there's Walker Little from Stanford. He might be one of the biggest enigmas in this class because we haven't seen him in the last two years. His 2018 film, he looked like he was on a trajectory for the first round. But then in 2019, he had a knee injury in a season opener.

And so he missed all of 2019. And then he offs out of 2020. So there's two years of development that's just not there that we can see on tape. And so it puts a discount sticker on Walker Little. But absolutely, I could see him, you know, ending up being one of the top five tackles in this class. So just a really interesting collection of talent. Yeah, especially when you consider, again, if we're trying to link the available players in free agency with the draft, tackle is just not a place you typically find starters in free agency. Teams lock those guys up.

And if there are a dozen starting offensive tackles in the course of this draft, that's probably high. Let's say eight. I mean, that's still a really big number if you need one of those guys to start for you on day one in 2021. All right. Let's look at some movement that you've seen. seen over the past year. Your movement, not talking head movement that you've seen the morning after the national championship game. Who would you say is the biggest riser since this date last year? Well, I think you probably have to start with Zach Wilson. I probably should have said non-Zack Wilson category. Yeah. I mean, start with Zach Wilson because of, you know, he, he was, he put himself on the NFL radar as a freshman. So it's not like he came out of nowhere. But, you know, he had an

injury plague, 2019. And, you know, just he did everything he needed to do. He put on his 2020 film. So Zach Wilson, he starts that conversation. But I mean, the real answer here has to be Quinn Miners at a Wisconsin whitewater. Watching him. Love it. Love it. The highest grade I heard of him over the summer was a six or seventh rounder. But most had PFA grades on him. Division III left guard, who was good, but he didn't consistently dominate.

And I'm a D3 guy coming from Mount Union. So, you know, I was at Mount with Pierre Garsohn. And so, you know, I have a saw spot for these guys. and even watching him over the summer, I wasn't blown away. He wasn't a locked draft pick. He, so no 2020 season for him, so we're missing that senior year. He goes to the Senior Bowl and was a late call-up. He wasn't, you know, if not for an injury to another guy, he's not there.

Goes to the Senior Bowl, and he dominates both at center and guard. So no, you didn't have a season. He spent his off-season training with Duke Manyweather. He was working with the Watt brothers, or their trainer that the Watt brothers use. and he got his body right. I know Brad. Yeah, he got his body right. He worked on his technique.

And now I don't think Miners is getting out of the top 60. I think he's going somewhere in that second round. You know, there's a lot of Ryan Jensen vibes there. And just a, you know, a really real good guy. Exactly. So plug and play. He's going to be a starter pretty quickly. So it's just a remarkable.

I don't remember seeing a guy move this far up based off of three days of practice and down in Mobile. That's great. I love that. Division three offensive guards climbing up the draft is what I'm here for. Who would you say is the biggest faller over that stretch of time? You know, I think Trace Smith from Tennessee certainly falls in that conversation. The 2020 film was just rough, sloppy.

You know, for a guy who is that big and that powerful and has put some good film out there, It's not like he's just all traits. I mean, he has good film. But this past year, it was, you know, he's not creating the movement that you would expect for a guy that size. You know, he's getting bullied. He's on the ground way too much. You know, there's just a lot of things with this tape that you just come away saying, I want to like this guy more, but I can't.

And so I still think he's going to go day two because a team is, you know, you look at him and just what he offers. but he's not as, you know, there were first wrong grades on him over the summer, and that's just, that's not even close to the conversation now. Anybody else that you feel like has not helped themselves over the last year or somebody that you've had to go back and look at just because of how the conversation has shifted a little bit? I'm trying to think here. I think, it's tough with the opt-outs, you know, because a lot of those guys, you know,

like I mentioned Gregory Rousseau, like, you know, people were talking about him as, okay, well, he'll be next year's Chase Young. He'll be that top 10 edge rusher. And without film this past year, I think he really hurt himself just because we don't, there's a lot of question marks there in terms of his development. Michael Parsons, another guy, one of the most talented in this class. But there's some questions about, you know, his development.

He was a pass rusher in high school. He didn't play an off ball linebacker role until he got to Penn State. And he led the team in tackles both years. You see the talent. but in terms of truly understanding, you know, what he's reading and the, you know, development and coverage, things like that, you know, I think he's, you know, going to be hurt a little bit by that. So, you know, I think when you talk about these opt-outs, those are the guys that a few of these guys, not all of them, but a few of them are going to hurt themselves

if they didn't, or if they had put film out there from 2020. It's funny that Rousseau conversation, when you're talking about the size and being on the movement side to everything else. It almost surprises me in a certain way of Clayas Campbell and the conversation around him coming into the draft. The fact that they're both like 6-7, 6-8 Miami guys. It's just like a funny coincidence. All right. Who would you say is the most polarizing prospect in this draft?

I think that it has to be Justin Fields. And this is talking to people around the league. Some see him as a legitimate candidate to be that number two quarterback after. Trevor Lawrence, some see them as a fourth round pick. So, you know, there's a lot of variance based off of, and that's not, you know, amateur opinions out there on Twitter. That's straight from people I trust with NFL teams. So, and it's just there's a lot of, you know, varying opinions.

You know, some see Gino Smith. Some see more of a Steve McNair type. You know, there's just, there's a wide range of, of, opinions on this guy. And I get it because he's clearly talented. I mean, there's no question about his talent. He's well-built, a good-sized kid. He's outstanding athlete. You know, he's going to run really well in the 40 and test really well. All the arm strength you want. He can load up and fire. He can be accurate down the field. But I, and you know, this is just, this is for me, the reason why, you know, like last fall, when I put Zach Wilson over him in my rankings and just

start, you know, I projected him higher. I want quarterbacks that can make that great spontaneous decision. And I feel like Zach Wilson does that quite often, whether it's on schedule, on time, or off platform on the move. He can make that great spontaneous decision. And that's what I loved about Zach Wilson's film. Where with Fields, it's a little bit the opposite, where he's so much more methodical with his reads, with his execution, everything from his eyes to his release.

it's just a tick slower. And so in the NFL, that could be the difference between a first down and a sack. So can he get better in that area? Yeah, I think so. I think part of it is the structure of that Ohio State offense and what Ryan Day asked them to do in terms of, you know, scheming guys open and, you know, Fields is ready for that guy to come open. So he's staring him down just, you know, because that's what he's, that's the design of the offense is what he's asked to do.

I think he's a smart guy. It's not an intelligence issue. It's just can he be quick. a little more urgent with the way he attacks downfield. So for me, that's why I have Wilson over him. And that's why I know a lot of a lot of guys around the league are split on fields and what his potential is in this class. I still, he's going to go top 10.

I need there's probably, you know, a very high chance. He goes top 10. But there's just a lot of split opinion around the league on him. Similar, kind of a related question. Who do you think you've had the toughest time evaluating non-conclusive? quarterback category, a guy that you just can't seem to get your finger up. I would point to the Georgia corners. And I love evaluating cornerbacks, you know, because it's like, it's like a dance,

you know, like you have to be obviously a top tier athlete, but you also have to be smart because you have to understand what the offense is doing, what the route runners trying to do, you know, a false step could be a death sentence. So, you know, it's just, it's so fascinating to. watch. But these two Georgia corners are so gifted when you talk about Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell, they're both over 6-1, they both are really long players, and they're both speed demons. Eric Stokes ran a verified 4-2. Tyson-Camble not too far off. It was like a low 4-3s. So speed, length, size, I mean, it's just, that's how you draw them up. But with a guy like,

okay, Tyson Campbell, he struggles to find the football. And I struggle with that with a cornerback. If you cannot find the football, you're of no use to me. And how much better can you get in that area in terms of getting your head turned to find the football in terms of playing through the hands of receivers? Can he get better in those areas? I think he can. But, you know, it's just, and SEC offenses did not hesitate to go after Tyson Campbell on tape.

It says a lot, doesn't it? Absolutely, it does. And a lot of those times, Kyle Pitts had to make a remarkable catch to, to make it happen or, you know, it was, uh, it wasn't like there was this wide separation, you know, and Tyson Campbell was there. He just couldn't finish. And so that's where I struggle with Tyson Campbell because, you know, maybe if his hands are just an inch this way or his body position's different or if he gets his head turned around, there's all these ifs where the outcome of the play is different. So on the sheet, it looks bad when he's given up all these

completions and the completion percentage is high against him. Uh, but when you watch his film, you see, okay, he's there. Just turn around or just, just, get your hand, you'll just have to feel it. And so I struggle with him because I want to bet on those traits, but there's just something missing with him. And the same thing with Stokes, where, you know, he, again, a guy that can run, he's long, but I question his physicality, some of the short area stuff as well. So both of those Georgia corners are supremely gifted and talented. Wouldn't be shocked if either of them went in the first round just because the team's going to bet on those traits. But I don't know that their value is the first round because

of some of those flaws that they have. It's interesting. It almost feels like the difference between like a Byron Jones and a Xavier and Howard, where Byron Jones is all about athletic traits, but no ball production whatsoever. And then Xavier Howard has all the ball production in the world because of that awareness. It's like those tiny little gaps, those tiny little edges. It's interesting to me. Who would you say, or would you say there is an Isaiah Simmons in this year's class. You're just a crazy athlete, undeniable profiles, just a phenom. But there are questions about where he fits positionally. Well, I think on the offensive version of that's Kyle Pitts where, you know, and I think we get caught up too much in the, is he a tight end? Is he a receiver? I think he's absolutely a tight end. He can execute basic blocks. But I don't understand this conversation at all. If the guy can function as a tight end, why would you eliminate a portion of his value by just saying that he's a receiver? I don't understand this. I agree. I mean, he's a weapon. I mean, that's how you have to look at Kyle Pitts. I mean, he's a guy that can line up in line. You can detach him.

him to slaughter outside. He can do all these different things for you. So, you know, in terms of versatility, Kyle Pitts is it. In terms of it, maybe a guy who is more of a question mark in terms of where you're going to play him is it's got to be Jeremiah Wusukoroa from Notre Dame, who he played, he was a perfect fit for that rover position that Notre Dame uses in Clark Lee's offense or defense where he's in the box, he's playing over the slot, blitzes a lot. I mean, there's so much you can do with this.

He's a big-time athlete. What's his play weight? Is it 215? Is it 209? You know, that plays a part in where you play him. I just think you want to play him in the box. He can cover slot receivers. You want to use him as a blitzer because he's so explosive. He can string out the run to the outside and make plays.

There's a lot you can do with him, but you have to have a specific role in mind because he's not a traditional stack line. He's not a traditional single high safety. He's more of a box defender who is so athletic and so versatile with what he offers that you want to use him in a lot of different ways. So, you know, I think that there's a lot of defenses that could use him, but I just hope they use him right.

All right, a few more here. Outside of Lawrence and maybe even Zach Wilson, because I know that you've had him going number two for a while here, what is the easiest team player fit for you in the first round, the one that consistently when you're doing the mocks, just like, yep, that's it. I think, well, sticking with Ousukoroamoa, I think to the Raiders, I think they, they are in need of that defense of playmaker, a guy that can bring juice to the defense, be explosive, be deployed in different ways. I don't know that they would use them correctly, but I think that a guy like him with that

type of profile is what they're missing. So I love that fit. It also seems like there's a spot in that defense for him. Because if you look at the way the Chargers used Ray Sean Jenkins last year, he's playing in the box a majority of the time. So if they have that spot in their defense, it almost feels like with Gus Bradley being there, they're well positioned to put him in a place to succeed in a way that teams that don't have that real discrepancy between the way they use their safeties might be able to. Right. And the Raiders have seen firsthand what a Derwin James can do for a defense.

defense. Okay, that's what Ousu Coromoa can be for them. So I, I really like that fit. Najee Harris in Tampa. I love that connection. You know, we know, obviously, Tampa, they're thinking about their current window. They're, you know, they're not thinking about four or five years from now. We know how much Bruce Ariens values a pass catching running back. And Harris is one of the better well-rounded backs, especially as a past catcher we've seen in recent years. They were ready to draft Antonio Gibson in the second round last year until Antoine Winfield have fell on their laps. And I think they made the right decision there.

But they still, you know, they want that pass catcher. And if they don't bring Four Nett back, Harris at 32, Naji Harris, I think that makes a ton of sense. People have compared him to Matt Forte, which just makes me feel warm and fuzzy.

It's just that any time I can hear Matt Forte mentioned in a positive light. That's what I like to hear. Yeah, not the same type of juice, like, in terms of speed, it doesn't have a lot of big plays.

But, yeah, I think everything else matches with Forte. So who would you say is the kind of the fit that you've struggled with, a team that you're looking at. And it's a blank spot in that mock draft for a half hour every time you've got to fill it out. Well, I think on the flip side, you know, trying to figure out where Kyle Pitts goes, you know, not necessarily the team, but the player. Like who's going to take Kyle Pitts in the top 10 to 12 picks? You know, it's hard because it's, we're talking about a position that generally doesn't go that high.

And, you know, not every team has that immediate need at tight end. And so, but could a team like the Cowboys who love to draft offense and don't have a, you know, they play Jarwin and Shult, could they, if he falls to 10, I mean, that would be awfully hard to pass on Kyle Pitts if you're the Cowboys sitting there at 10. Because you think about it, Michael Gallops probably only got one more year in Dallas. I doubt they're going to re-sign him. So you're getting a younger guy in there to maybe fill that role in terms of target share. So, you know, Kyle Pitts is tough to figure out where he's going to go. Maybe Philadelphia at 6, you know, that would make some sense. But Cowboys at 10 make a lot of sense too. And if he doesn't go top 10...

I think Cincinnati is not crazy. No, I think they absolutely need another playmaker. And if you're going to drop him in there, I mean, if you feel like you have enough starters along the line, you don't feel compelled to reach for somebody there that you don't love, and you think he is the best player to pick there, I don't think that's nuts at all. I think that makes total sense to me. Absolutely.

100% agree. In terms of teams, you know, I think Philadelphia is a little tough. And we know that there's a good chance they could go wide receiver, but it's more tough when I say, could they go quarterback? You know, we just don't know how they be these quarterbacks and are they ready to make that splash again? You know, I think you look at the Giants sitting there at 11. Now that they have Ghaladee in the mix,

what do you do if Jalen Waddle falls to you? I mean, I think they have their wide receiver. room filled out, but could you still pass on a Jalen Waddle? Or, okay, if you don't go there, you know, they, they answered their need a corner with a Dory Jackson. You know, is it offensive line there at 11? So the Giants have become a little tougher to project. I think they're in that mix.

You know, I think we look at who else is in there? Carolina, we think they're going to take a quarterback. You know, Washington, we know, would love to take a quarterback, but I don't think they're going to be able to, is it left tackle or bust for them now that they added some other pieces on offense? It seems to line up that way, right? With the guys who are available in this class and where they're picking, it just feels like that would be a marriage that makes sense and one that could really fill out their roster. I mean, drafting for a need like that and feeling you need to hit on a guy at a specific spot is always dangerous. But in that case, it almost feels like it works.

It's almost like Tristan works last year. Yeah, yeah. What are your bears doing? I mean, what I, A dozen different things. We'll see if they feel compelled to go up and get a quarterback. I think they need an offensive tackle. I think that team is talent-efficient enough, especially now when you have that glaring hole at corner. On the outside, I mean, they have Desmond Troufant, but who feels good about that?

So there are a lot of different ways they can go with that. The pits thing to Dallas at 10, it would be undeniably fun. I mean, dropping him into that offense would be hilarious. Cowboys fans with riot. If they don't draft a corner there, they would storm the same. star if they drafted Kyle Pitts at 10. I would love to see it. All right. Did they just need to put Kyle Pitts highlights on the big screen and they'll slowly go away.

They'll be like, okay. I mean, Kyle Pitts is just, you don't pass on Kyle Pitts. If I'm the Cowboys, that's what it comes down to. I actually love it. I think in terms of an overall plan, just saying we're going to score 700 points this year and it doesn't matter. I support that as a prevailing philosophy. All right, last question. This is something we're going to ask everybody we have on during draft season just because I think it's fun. Who are your guys in this draft? Who are your two to three guys? You're planting your flag.

These are the draft hills that you're prepared to die on. Well, Zach Wilson was that guy for me because back in October, this guy is awesome. I love watching this guy. He's a lot of fun. I mean, the hype's kind of gotten out of control. And so, you know, it's one of those tough things that backing off a little bit, but I still love them. Amari Rogers, a wide receiver from Clemson, is a player I really, really like. There's not a lot of flaws in his game, but he's fast, he's physical, his play strength's outstanding.

There's a lot of Debo Samuel there. I love Roshan Slater, Northwestern. I think he's got that rare five-position versatility, which I think that gets overstated a lot. Oh, he can play guard, he play tack, we can play anywhere. Rishon Slater has actual five-position versatility. Elijah Mulden out of Washington. He might be a slot only, but he's a really, really good slot corner.

And obviously that's a starter in today's NFL. So Elijah Molden's one of my favorite players in this class. He should absolutely be a top 50 pick. And then I mentioned Kenneth Gainwell, too. I'd throw him in there. I think that he's, because he opted out, he has one year of tape. He was a redshirt freshman at Memphis last year.

He's the guy that Captain Antonio Gibson at receiver. So that's how good this guy was at running back. But he's also a big team might be the best past catching running back in this class. And like I said, if there's an Aaron Jones in this group, I think it could be Kenneth Gainwell. And if you can get him somewhere in that early third round, I think it's outstanding value. I'm really excited to dig in this later. Everybody that I respect and know that looks at offensive alignment just absolutely loves him. And I remember the stuff that you've written about him, it just feels like he has a really developed plan for how he wants to attack guys, which at that age is just so rare.

I think that's something that comes with time where, all right, this is somebody that I know, I'm going to be in trouble if he gets a little bit, if he gets going, I'm going to quick set him. I'm going to shut it down right away. The idea that he is so comfortable putting himself in those sorts of vulnerable positions at this point in his development, I think is such a cool sign. I'm really excited to watch him and the rest of this tackle class just because I've heard such good things. Well, and that's what I love about Slater the most is he gets on guys before they can set up a move before they can counter. He attacks them.

I mean, we saw it against Chase Young and the Ohio State tape. We saw it routinely. And so that's absolutely what I love the most about him. He's so aggressive, only 33-inch arms, and that's going to be a problem for some teams. That's why he's a guard or a center on some draft boards around the league. But there was nothing on film that told me that he cannot stay outside and play tackle. You do that against one of the boasts, though, and your quarterback's going to be looking for his helmet. That's the problem.

You play against the guy who knows how to use his hands. That two-hand swipe is going to be a real. issue real fast, but he seems to be well-rounded enough. And he's also, even though the arms are short, he's not somebody that I understanding is he struggles athletically. And his testing numbers are apparently very good. So it's not as if he's one of those guys where, ah, yeah, you know, he's refined and he has good awareness, but is he can be able to cut people off vertically and everything else? I mean, it seems like he's a good athlete. The arms are just the question. That's a conversation for way later than this, though. Dave Bruegler, thank you very much. I really appreciate

you being my first introduction to this group of players. I am so excited to dig into them over the next few weeks here. We will definitely be having you on again. Until then, enjoy your soccer tape. Enjoy your Division II highlights. We will be back next week with another guest. I'm very excited about it. I don't want to give it up quite yet.

But until then, please rate and review the podcast on your podcast platform of choice. I sincerely appreciate that. Also, please subscribe to the athletic. It's a dollar a month for six months right now. I'm telling you guys right now, you cannot get prepared for the draft without the work that Dane does. Outside of them, I know there are a million mock drafts.

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There it is. So $1 month, I promise you, you guys will be happy about it as you learn about the drafter over the next few weeks. Dane, thank you very much. Thank you guys to listening. We'll talk to you guys later. This was The Athletic Football Show.