The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - On the Clock, 2026 NFL Draft picks 7-12: Jeremiyah Love's still here...but not for long

Episode Date: March 31, 2026

Here we are for episode two of this season's On the Clock and th—whoa, wait. Jeremiyah Love is still out there? He didn't get taken by the Cardinals or Titans or Giants? Well then, this episode's guest, Jordan Reid from ESPN, is going to have quite the decision to make. He'll do that, and make five more, as well, with Robert Mays on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysWith: Jordan ReidCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @robertmaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassTheme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Our on the clock series rolls on today. We started it last week. It's pretty simple, but we think fun exercise. I have on a draft analyst who does this stuff all the time, and we talk about a section of the first round. Last week, it was picks 1 through 6 with Trevor Sycamma from PFF and NFL Stock Exchange.

Today, it is picks 7 through 12 with our friend Jordan Reed, who does a wonderful job covering the draft for ESPN. then it works like this. I give our guest three options for each team on the clock in this range of the first round. So today we're starting with the Washington commanders, who, luckily for them, Jeremiah Love from Notre Dame is one of those options. He was not drafted in the first six picks. Our guest makes the selection based on what they would do if they were on the clock in this moment.

This is a kind of strange round, a range of the draft. You have teams that really do need some of the. positions, even if they are unconventional positions in the top 10 that have already gone in the first six picks. So just a heads up as people so you can follow along, the guys who've been drafted, Fernando Mendoza, Rubin Bain,

Sonny Stiles, Arvel Reese, Francis Maui Noah, Carnell Tate. So that leaves Jeremiah Love on the board for Washington for Jordan Reed here at number seven. So let's get to that conversation and figure out if Jeremiah Love is going to Washington and what picks

seven through 12 look like in the first round of this draft. Here for our second episode of our on the clock series for the 2026 NFL draft, joining us for the second straight year to help us work through this. It is our buddy from ESPN. Jordan Reed, Jordan, how you doing, man? I'm good, Robert. It's always a pleasure being here.

I look forward to doing this every single year, man. You already told me you have some twists and turns and some surprises for me, so I'm looking forward to it. We'll wait until we get to the team. I did break my own rules a little bit because I actually think it does speak to this range of the draft and some of the guys that are going to be available in this range of the draft and the team's picking here as to why I fiddled with some of the options. But we'll talk about when we get there. For those of you watching on YouTube who may not have heard the intro, just laying

out the rules for this exercise. We did picks one through six last week with Trevor Sycamah from PFF and NFL Stock Exchange. You can go check out that show on YouTube on wherever you get your podcast. This is picks seven through 12. What we're going to do here is that we're going to go. through each pick seven through 12 and the teams that are picking at those spots. And I am going to give Jordan three options for what he can do if he was on the clock for those teams in those moments. So obviously we're going to start with the Washington commanders. Just laying this out, I gave these names to Jordan earlier for the listener, just so you know.

Here are the players who were already drafted as part of this exercise. Fernando Mendoza went number one to the Las Vegas Raiders. Ruben Bain, in a little bit of a surprise, went number two to the New York Jets, number two overall. Number three, Sunny Stiles goes to the Arizona Cardinals. Number four, Arvel Reese goes to the Tennessee Titans. Number five, Francis Maui Noah goes to the New York Giants. And at number six, Cardinal Tate wide receiver from Ohio State goes to the Cleveland Browns. Before we take into your picks, Jordan, any of those?

that are particularly surprising to you. My takeaway at the end of it was, I wouldn't be shocked if those were the six guys that came off the board. They just didn't come off the board in the order that I would have assumed. Yeah, I'm with you. I love that Trevor went with Ruben Bain at number two, just because I am the driver of the Ruben Bain train. I am a huge fan of him.

And even though the fit schematically with the Jets isn't great in their 3-4 defense, I just think they have to consider it just because I think he's the best edge rusher in this year's class. All right, let's get to the Washington Commanders, at number seven. I told you this this morning, but the best news, maybe for you, maybe for the Washington commanders, is that Jeremiah Love is still available here with the seventh overall pick. And I believe on the latest big board you have, which came out in February,

he was your number two overall player, correct? He was actually number one. So I have him one, okay. So I knew he was very high and that you'd be happy about that. So he was number one for you on your February big board. And he is available for Washington here at number seven. So I think goes without saying. Your first option here at number seven for Washington is to draft Jeremiah Love, the running back out of Notre Dame. Option two, draft Caleb Downs, safety from Ohio State. Will Harris is in the final year of his two-year deal. They're remaking this defense. You've seen kind of the importance of what smart safeties have meant to that Viking system with Harrison Smith and Cam Biden over the last couple years. You had Downs as your number two overall player.

That's why I had number two in my head. Downs was your number two guy in your February big board. Number three, option three, is draft David Bailey, edge rusher from Texas Tech. Claven Chasen's on a one-year deal, a one-year deal for Charles Menahue worth up to only $7 million. So with Carnell Tate off the board, those are your three options here for Washington at number seven. What are you doing if you're the commanders? I'm taking the best player in the draft and Jeremiah I love. I think it's a no-brainer for me. And just trying to put myself, when I'm doing these mock drives and these scenarios, I try to put myself in the GM seat of what they actually would think.

And I think Adam Peters would go the same route as well, just because he saw the effect that Christian McCaffrey had in San Francisco when he was there. And I think Jeremiah Love can be that dynamic type of running back. And it's not just from a Russian attack perspective. You can use this guy split out wide as a receiver. You can do so many different things, create those mismatches. He brings that fifth factor effect like what Jemir gives does to the table. And we have a quarterback.

that's already struggled with staying healthy. So we need to figure out a way to get more to our rushing attack, figure out a way to generate some more explosive plays in the running game and then also the passing game as well. So Jeremiah Love isn't just a complimentary piece in the passing game. I think you can revolve a passing game around him, similar to what Detroit does with Jemir Gibbs. And then you put him beside Jaden Daniels.

Just to imagine the one-two punch of those two in the backfield. I really like to fit with him in Washington and number seven. You look at the moves that Washington made it running back this off season, San Rashad White, signed Jerome Ford. Those guys are on one-year deals worth a combined $3.4 million. I think those deals signal, if we had to play a game today, we'd be okay with these guys. There's nothing that you gave them monetarily

that's going to prevent you from drafting Jeremiah Love if you think that he's the best option for you here. I want to kind of play out a hypothetical just because I'm curious. Let's say the Browns went a different direction at 6 and Carnell Tate was available for Washington here at 7. And you consider just the really glaring need that Washington still had a receiver. Would that make the decision for you a little bit harder

or would you still very quickly go to Jeremiah Love with this pick? I still will go to Jeremiah Love just because of the depth of the receiver class. I think there's a huge drop off after Jeremiah Love. And I'm always of the belief in the players that you just mentioned, average or good should never prevent you from taking great. if we have a potentially great player on the board, even though it's not an immediate position of need, I just think you can't pass that player up.

And I think, you know, I know they don't have a lot of picks in this drive, but I still think they can get some receiver depth in the later parts of the drive. But if I have an opportunity to take the best player in the draft, I'm going to do that. I've had some other defensive positions, and I'm curious, as you think about Washington and their needs,

how would you stack up their defensive needs right now? Because even after going out and signing a couple edge rushers, I still think you can make that argument. I still, again, think they need help on the back end, especially a future plan at safety. And the other spot, and it's kind of funny because you look at the way that our top six went, and both of those off-ball linebackers in Arvel Reese and Sunny Stiles went off-the-board. And the actual NFL draft, that may not happen.

And I think that Washington has a sneakier needed off-ball linebacker than it might seem for two reasons. This is the final year of Frankie Louvoo's deal. And I also just think skill set-wise, if you look at what Frankie Louvo is giving you and what Chanel is giving you. You got two guys who they're best near the line of scrimmage. You can use them as pass rushers.

And so having a little bit more range at that position, I still feel like that's something Washington needs to do. And I guess I just haven't really connected them to offball linebackers in this process very often because we've spent so much time, one, talking about where they're going to find a receiver and two, wondering if Jeremiah Love is going to drop to them. I think you're 100% spot on.

And, you know, Lou Vu and those players, that you mentioned, they're all rotational players, right? Chanel, he even was that in Kansas City. You don't have that true Mike in the middle. And this was always my sunny style spot. And I know we're not talking about him right now, but I think that's such a great fit for him at number seven, just because they have a huge need at that middle linebacker spot.

So I'm right there with you. But something I did want to mention, I think, is going to be really interesting for Washington. Just I'm a huge fan of the Vikings. I've been a Vikings fan forever. So I'm very familiar with Durante Jones and what he has done with Brian Flores. And just seeing Brian Flores,

operate over the past few years in Minnesota, they haven't really put a premium on defensive backs, honestly, more so cornerbacks. So does he develop that pressure creates or pressure really alleviates or uplifts the talent at corner? And I think that's why they were so aggressive with signing Adafio way and signing Kalayvon Chason just because they know they needed the pressure generators. So what I'm really going to be watching on draft day is if Caleb Downs or Montser Delane is there, do they just bypass them and elect to go another route? So that's why I ended up going with Jeremiah Love right here just because I don't think they're going to put a premium on that DB spot, even though Caleb Downs was right there for me on the board. Yeah, I mean, you look

at the corners that they have right now. I believe that if they had to play today, Mikey San Restil, Trey Amos, they signed to Mick Robertson and Free Agency. I mean, you can make an argument that's more investments than the Vikings have made a corner in recent years outside of Byron Murphy. And so I feel like they would be able to get by there. I think still front pieces. And it's interesting. You can make an argument that defensive tackle, especially moving forward, might be their biggest need along the defensive front after signing those guys on the edge. But there's really no defensive tackles worth drafting in this range of the draft, which we'll talk about here as we talk about other teams.

And then again, I just keep coming back to the idea of could they use a different skill set at linebacker? And is that something that if they roll with the guys they have, are we going to be noticing that over the course of the season? Let's get to the New Orleans Saints here at 8. You mentioned his name already. Option number one. Keep him at home.

Monsour Delane from LSU. cornerback. You have Isaac Yottam on a backup level deal right now, kind of penciled in as one of those starters. So even after going out and getting Quincy Riley, you still have Kool-Aid McKinstree, still think they have a need at one of those outside corner spots. Option two, draft David Bailey, who is still available, the edge rusher from Texas Tech. They are really thin on the edge. New Orleans is behind Chase Young and Carl Carl Granderson with Cam Jordan now moving on. Option three, and here is where I'm breaking my own rules. Typically, we do not allow trades as part of this exercise because the whole thing

just gets completely unwieldy. But I'm keeping it within the range of picks that we're talking about so we can kind of get our arms around it a little bit. Your third option, the Dallas Cowboys have called you, and in this scenario, they are offering you pick 12, pick 92, and pick 152. You send back number 8 and number 190. In this case, the Cowboys are trading up. to get Caleb Downs. You don't know that, but just so it keeps things a little bit on the rails here when we figure out who's picking what. So those are your three options.

You can pick Monsour Delane, you can pick David Bailey, or you can trade down from 8 to 12 and pick up a third round pick and a fifth round pick in the process. What are you doing if you're the Saints? Oh, man, you weren't lying when he said you were throwing me for a loop on this one. I'm going to go with David Bailey. in this situation. Just because I think they have a huge need off of the edge.

And I think the Saints are in a great position to really take the best player available. Just because I think they're a year ahead than what they even planned on being, especially with the ascension of Tyler Shuck. So they're in a situation of where they can sit tight and just take the best player available. And right here in this situation, I think David Bailey is the player that makes the most sense for them. So I like adding to the pass rush, I don't think you're going to have too many of those guys. So adding David Bailey to the players that they already have, as your Cameron Jordan replacement,

I think that'd be a great bet for them to make. So here's my thought process with that. It's that you look at some of the other needs that New Orleans has, you know, receiver is something that people have talked about a lot. I think the receivers that we've seen kind of mocked in this range have fallen just outside of the top 10. And so if that is the position that you're after, if those are the guys that you're most interested in,

is going down from 8 to 12 and picking up a couple picks in the process, worth it for a team like New Orleans. But in your mind, in your mind, do you think that David Bailey is just kind of a different tier of prospect than a lot of the other guys who are still available here? So Delane actually would be my highest ranked prospect right there. And I'm sitting here still actually thinking about it. I might actually go back on my decision right there. But we can't take the car back. I already turned in the car for David Bailey.

I just, when I'm a situation taking a guy at the top 10 like that, I'm always going to go towards the pass rusher just because whenever you have a wave of those guys. like that. I always feel that's what's in your best interest of having a plethora of defensive lineman like that. I think Bailey walking through the door, he's going to be a double-digit sack guy right away. And, you know, it's back and forth as far as how you feel about him against the run. I think he's fine, and it in spurts. But as far as what he can give you as a pass rusher, I think he can be a double-digit sack guy walking through the door right away. He's an interesting player. I've been studying him over the last day or so because we're doing a series of videos on the athletic, and David Bailey was one of the guys I landed with. And so,

I went back and watched a few different games. A couple things that in my experience watching him that stood out to me, one, Max, I'm not sure from Arizona State, I'm more impressed with him than I expected to be when watching that tape back against Texas Tech. He's somebody that I think we should be talking a little bit more about as we move through the process, and I'm sure we will. Two, that Bailey Pass Rush Juice is just so clear.

Like, I mean, the burst is incredible, the bend is incredible. he's more powerful than strong, if that makes sense, right? And so like if force equals mass times acceleration, he's so explosive that he can create power. But if you look at just what he looks like in a phone booth against the run, he's not that strong of a player. I wonder how he holds up against the run against NFL tackles. And the idea that his biggest comp that I've seen, and I do think this one makes a little bit of sense,

just like a slightly more stout. Nick Bonito, I think actually does kind of track. Nick Bonito is a second round pick. And so I just wonder, like, a guy that has those sorts of concerns when it comes to play strength, kind of flexibility, is that somebody that you feel good picking in the top 10 if you think he's mostly just going to be giving you stuff as a pass rusher? So I get the appeal. Like, it's very obvious when you watch him.

But I also think that there are definitely drawbacks to him where he might not be as well-rounded as some other edge rushers. we can see go in this range of the draft normally. I mean, if he turns out to be Nick Benito, I think anybody will take him inside of the top. Because he's going on to be a really good player. But once again, just going back to having those waves of pass rushes like that. And I mean, I think you hit the nail on the head as far as exactly who he is.

I mean, the Oregon tape was one of some of the best that I've ever seen in this draft class throughout the season. And I think that tape really shows all of his assets and what he brings to the table right away. and I thought he put some really good stuff on tape against the run in that matchup just because he's showing that strength, as you mentioned. And even though I don't think he's an overly stout guy, like he's not somebody you want consistently setting the edge, but as far as getting up the field as a pass rusher,

I think few can match him in that aspect. All right, let's take our first quick break here and then come back and chat about what the Kansas City Chiefs might do with the number nine overall pick. All right, my option one for Kansas City was draft David Bailey if he was available, and now he's not available. So option one is moving to you draft your best available pass rush for here

if you're Kansas City at number nine. Option two, you take Caleb Downs. Jamarie Connor is still there, but he's in the final year of his contract. You know, Jaden Hicks is still there. I'm not sure if that combination should prevent you from taking a Caleb Downs if you think he's a special player. Option three, draft one of the wide receivers. I didn't want to pigeonhole you into taking a Jordan Tyson or a McIalleman,

It seems like Lemon has been ranked a little bit higher, according to most people that I've looked at. But I wonder if Tyson's skill set is actually a little bit more applicable to what the chiefs might be looking for here if they go that direction. So those are your three options. Draft your best available pass rusher. Draft Caleb Downs or draft one, essentially the next best receiver on the board here after Carnell Tate is gone. What are you doing if you're the chiefs? I'm going Caleb Downs. And I think he would be such a great addition to them in the secondary.

I mean, everybody kind of wants to pigeonhole Caleb into being, you know, this great safety prospect that's generational. Everybody likes to use that word. And they say, yes, he's not Kyle Hamilton. He's not Ed Reed. He doesn't have the size of those guys. But what I think that puts him in that tier of those upper tier safeties that we've seen over the past 10 years or so was just his intelligence. I've never granted a safety that's as smart as what Caleb is. And if you think about it, he played for two Blue Blood programs at Alabama, then also Ohio State.

He's played multiple positions and you have to think it doesn't get more difficult than a Matt Patricia defense. That defense is extremely difficult to learn and he's playing multiple spots. He has the ball production that you love to see. He's a very sure tackler that will come up and finish as well. The player that I compare Caleb to is Buda Baker. I think he is a mirror image of what Buda Baker is and how Arizona has utilized him throughout his career. And Buddha's gone on to be what a four time all pro, three times on defense, one time on special teams. So if he turns out to be a Buda Baker level type of player,

I think he'll be very happy taking him aside of the top 10. It'll be interesting. And they signed Katerko in Free Agency to a very small deal. And again, Chamari Connor has played the slot for them a little bit. I wonder how much can he play in the slot, Caleb Downs. If you give him the opportunity to do that, is that something the Chiefs would want to do? And so I'm curious, that pick in that moment with the guys on the board,

I think totally tracks and makes sense. Let's just play it out hypothetically and say, either David Bailey or Carnell Tate are still on the board here if you're picking for the chiefs. Because positionally, I just think those are the things we've talked about a lot with Kansas City for two different reasons. One, I think that there is a need if you look at their depth chart and just those two spots specifically, you know, dropping in outside vertical receiver with a little bit more size and a past rusher that has a little bit of juice. I think the chiefs could use both of those types of skill sets. but also I think that one of the arguments against the Caleb Downs and four players like that if they were on the board, the Chiefs just very rarely have the chance to pick in the top 10.

And that's often where you find players at some of these premium positions. And so let's just say Carnel Tate or David Bailey were available here if you were Brett Veach. Would you be tempted by either one of those guys even if Caleb Downs was here? So before I make a choice, I kind of want to explain the situation and what it reminds me of. I think it's the same situation that the Panthers found themselves in last year. when they took Tedaro McMillan at number eight. So what I mean by that is what I'm interested to see with Brett Veach is where does he feel which position has more depth? Because last year, Dan Morgan showed that he felt like there was a precipitous drop off at receiver as opposed to defensive end.

If you remember, they came back on day two and they took Nick Scorton as well as Princeley, Umamieland. And they took Tederoa McMillan at number eight overall. So I think it comes down to just how the depth of each position that Brett Veach feels is the strongest. So for me, man, I think there's a lot of depth at receiver. You can come back and get potentially a Casey Concepcion at number 29 or even an Omar Cooper Jr. Or somebody like that in the back end of the first round. So I would go with David Bailey in that situation

just because in the back end of the first round, I don't feel really great about some of the names at that area. I just feel that David Bailey has more high-end upside than some of those names at the back end of the first round as opposed to receiver with Cardinal Tate taking him at that spot. One position I did not mention, I think it's just worth throwing out to talk about it. Tackle with the Chiefs has been an interesting discussion. We've hit it a couple different times on this show.

I've heard about it from Chiefs fans that I think are a little bit annoyed. They keep people keep trying to throw tackles onto their team. But I think it's two different things. They could probably live with Jaylen Moore right tackle for this year. But this is the final year of his contract. And we've just talked about this a lot. If you're looking for starting caliber NFL tackles, and just disproportionate number of those guys in the NFL

are players that you often find in the first round and often in the top half of the first round. And so we've talked about receiver and edge rusher being opportunities for the chiefs in the top 10 that they don't normally have. I think you can make a similar argument for offensive tackles just because they're very rarely picking in the top 10. So if that scenario were to present itself

where there was like a Spencer Fano available here. How do you think that stacks up to options like a David Bailey or Caleb Downs if you're picking for the Chiefs? Honestly, it just depends on how strongly they feel about the certain players in this tackle class and how much they are invested in Jalen Moore. I think the tackles are going to go fast in this class. Honestly, I mean, we got to talk about Ian Acher already. Somebody like Blake Miller could potentially go in the back in the first round.

I think Fano is going to go really early as well. So I think it really just depends on how much. they truly are invested in Jalen Moore and how comfortable they feel with him at that right tackle spot. But the great thing about this year's class is you have a bunch of plug and play right tackles, but they don't necessarily go inside of that top 10. They're not projected to go that high in this year's class. Francis Maui Noah is already gone. Monroe Freeland has never played right tackle.

So now you're asking somebody that's never played that spot before to play there. Now, Spencer Fano, I think somebody, if they did circle somebody to go, or they wanted to take somebody at that spot. He definitely would be the one just because I think he could play all five spots up front, honestly. And I thought it was really interesting that a lot of teams requested him to play center at the combine. They wanted to see him snap. And that's really where you feel that intuition or that curiousness of these NFL teams that some may potentially view him as a center. But with him being able to play all five spots, I think he would be the one if they did take somebody inside the top 10 just because of his positional flexibility too.

All right, let's get to the Cincinnati Bengals at number 10 here. My first option for the Bengals was draft Caleb Downs if he's available. He is not available. So let's keep running through some defensive players here. Option one for Cincinnati. Draft Mansour Delane, the cornerback from LSU. Option two, draft Jermad McCoy, cornerback from Tennessee. Option three, this one, I wanted to throw this out for you because I think that if compared

to other people, you might be a little bit higher on this player than some others. You had Peter Woods 13th on your big board in February. Do you think number 10 is too rich for Peter Woods, even if that might be, if you look at it positionally, the single biggest need that the Bengals still have? Yeah, I think it's too high for him now. He's had a bit of a weird pre-draft process, even season, honestly, really career at Clemson. He comes into Clemson as a dominant freshman season. I mean, you're seeing somebody 6-2, 320 pounds playing five technique rushing off the edge, just because they lack depth, the edge rusher. And then they just slimmed down.

He hovered around about 305 or 310 pounds last season. And Clemson's defense and even team as a whole was so disappointing, honestly. So it was a really weird career art for him. And then I was there at the pro day with the ACC Network. And, you know, he didn't run the 40. He just ran 10 yards and stopped just because he had a hamstring thing that was going on. Then he went out in position the drills and did a hell of a job. in my opinion, I thought he was great in that.

So it's just been a really weird of pre-draft process for him. And speaking of scouts there and polling executives around the league, like he's a really polarizing player, Robert. Like some people have him in the early second round. Some people have him late first round. Some people have him mid first round. So he's all over the place right now. But for me, I just would feel comfortable taking him more so in the late first round right now.

All right. So other than the two corners, who else do you want me to give you here? Like who do you think would be the guy that would be a potential, option other than the two corners if you were the Bengals right now. This is kind of like worst case scenario for the Bengals. It kind of is, right? Like all the defensive guys kind of being off the board here. And it's kind of what I was thinking about with the Bengals or the Saints potentially

moving back because if you want one of the receivers, something like that, like that feels a little bit more available to you in this range of the draft. Like at this point, the defensive guys that have come off the board, Arvel Reese, Sunny Stiles, Ruben Bain, David Bailey, Caleb Down. And so now the Bengals are kind of sitting here and they're the odd man out when it comes to those sort of higher end prospects on defense in this class. So other than those two corners, is there anybody else that you feel like would be worth drafting here if you were the Bengals? Now, I will say this. And the Bengals are really weird like this.

And it would not shock me at all if they select this player. And I'm not going to pick them, but it wouldn't surprise me a few weeks from now if they pick this player at 10. And it's Keldrick Falk, defensive lineman out of Auburn. he is their type to a T. I mean, 6, 6, 275 pounds, even though the past rush production wasn't great. He has the measurables that they love to see at the position. He's a great run defender.

He's very young. He just turned 21 years old as well. And we know the Bengals always seem to be very weird with their draft board. It's very unpredictable as well. So don't be surprised if Keldry Falk is the pick there at number 10. But I'm going to go with Monsor Delane here, just because I think he's clearly the best corner.

in this year's class ran the 438 at the Pro Day last weekend. You know, just asking people around the building about him. I just asked him, like, why did he come to LSU? And they said he wanted to embrace the challenge of being an LSU defensive back. And I loved hearing that about him just because it talks about his football character. It speaks about his competitive drive as well. And, you know, I don't think Corner is an immediate need for Cincinnati, but we know that they're very cheap at the position and they have some upcoming free agents as well.

So it wouldn't surprise me if they draft a year in advance just because they don't want to pay those potential free agents that they have coming up at corner. So I'm curious. One of the reasons why I wanted to give you both of them is that I wonder if either between McCoy or Delane is one of them do you think a little bit better of an option if they wanted to play him in the slot this year?

Because that's the spot where if you wanted to draft a corner in the first round, DJ Turner was good for the Bengals last year. I still think they're trying to figure out what they want to, you know, see out the decks, experiment at corner. It's looked good in stretches. He's had a little bit trouble staying healthy. And so if you wanted to draft a guy in the top 10 or in the first round, could he be your slot corner in the short term? Between McCoy and Delane, which of those two do you think would be a better option if you were to follow that route? I would feel more comfortable with Delane

just because McCoy, he's such a mystery right now, man. Like we haven't seen this guy perform in 15 months. So we still don't know if he's that guy prior to. his injury. And then with the ACLs, those are always tricky. We saw it last year with Savon Revelle with the Cowboys. And I know he ended up going in the third round, but he experienced a lot of struggles coming back from that ACL tear. So you're banking on McCoy being the player that he was before and then also transitioning in the slot. The slot is very hard in the NFL in any level. Honestly, playing the nickel is very, very hard. So I just would feel more comfortable about playing Delane in the slot. As you've gone through

mock draft exercises, and obviously let's remove the restraints of this one and just thought about player matches with the Bengals. Who do you often have the Bengals landing with as you go through that exercise? Caleb Downs will be the one. I think he would be a great fit there. Now, I don't know if he's going to be there, but I just think he makes so much sense for them just because their secondary was a disaster last year, man. Like they gave up so many explosive plays down the field.

And I think Caleb not only could come in and alleviate that, but they just need somebody to be that leader on the back end and their secondary. they just really lack that. But just watching them on tape, it's just so many miscommunication issues, so many covers bust. I think his smarts and his communication ability, I think he'll come in and limit a lot of that stuff

that's going on in the back end. Again, we talk about who they might play in the slot. If you wanted to play him there as a rookie and Jordan battles in the final year of his deal, and so there's a chance that could be the best version of your secondary. But you said at the beginning, and this is kind of what it feels to me, and that's why I enjoy going through this exercise,

because you see, all right, the option A, B, C is off the table. Like, what does it leave this team with? It really does feel like Caleb Downs going in the top nine and them being the odd man out when it comes to those more elite defensive prospects. That feels like kind of the worst case scenario if you're the Bengals here. Like, and it's not far-fetched at all to think that might happen where all those guys are gone. But Caleb Downs are one of the off-ball linebackers falling to them at 10. That feels like probably the best case for.

for them at this point. Yeah, I agree. And I think they need a true Mike as well. Barrett Carter just hasn't been the player that they thought when he was coming out. He just hasn't developed the way that they thought or envisioned with him. So somebody like, I keep mentioning this guy's name because I love him, Sunny Stiles. I think he would be a great fit if he is there at 10 for them. All right, let's take one more quick break and then come back and chat a little bit about the Miami

Dolphins here at 11. All right. So this is impossible to do, right? because you can't limit it to three guys for the dolphins. This is easier. Is there a position the dolphins wouldn't draft with the 11th overall pick? So can I give you a position I think is going to be? Sure.

Offensive line. I think it's going to. Really? Okay. Why do you say that? Okay. So here's my theory. And you've been covering the NFL playing.

So whenever there's a new regime that comes in, what is the position they always choose if it is not a quarterback? it's usually a trench player. So with Miami, I think John Eric Sullivan has done a hell of a job of being very thorough and being very transparent about what they were going to do this offseason.

Everybody's seen the interview of the key players that he listed out as far as foundational pieces. Jalen Waddle was one of those players that he omitted. He ended up traded Jalen Wattle. He came out and said that Devon A chain is not available.

He was listed in those foundational pieces. And then also, I just think with them, they have such a huge need along the offensive line, and then them coming from the Green Bay Packers, they place the emphasis on taking those premium positions in the first round. So I think it's going to be an offensive lineman. And can I go ahead and mention the name. Well, I think they're going to love.

You sure can. I think they're going to love Spencer Fano. I think I would not be surprised if he's the pick at 11. And I say that because they have Aaron Brewer, they have Patrick Paul. They're going to be looking for somebody at that right tackle spot, whether it's right tackle, guard, or whatever, I think they're going to love that he can be a player that can play any position up front.

He's a player that I think can play any position, honestly, whether it's either guard spot or that right tackle spot. And then also, you have another pick at 30 as well. So I think they want to get that key piece early on. You want a very clean prospect, which final is, just because I think you can play so many positions up front. And you want to start that rebuild with two booking tackles already. Yeah, Patrick Paul on the level.

side who played phenomenal last year. His developmental arc speeded up much faster than what they even envisioned as an organization. But you still have a huge question mark. Austin Jackson is going to be a free agent, upcoming free agent in 2027. He's on the last year of his deal. He's battled some durability issues as well. So having Spencer Fano, you already have that succession plan or Fano may even beat him out in training camp. I think he's a much better player of prospect anyway coming into the draft. So I just think they're going to love Spencer Fano, Robert. It would not shock me off he's the pick out of 11. So I had five options originally.

Two of them already went. One of them was Caleb Downs if he was available. One of them was David Bailey if he was available. So then we cut that down to three. The three I was going to give you were Jamad McCoy, Mackay Lemon, and Spencer Fana. Those were the three players. Everything that you just said about Fonda. And again, it's just because the dolphins are such a blank slate that you could really go so many different directions.

But going the direction that you're talking about and drafting an offensive lineman is kind of the first. thing that you do. We do see a lot of teams do this. The two that immediately come to mind when you just think about, okay, they were in my mind in a very similar place, both of these organizations to where the dolphins are right now where you are doing this thing from scratch. You could go any direction. This is a total tear down rebuild. One was the Detroit Lions when they drafted Penteau in 2021. And two, this is the draft. This is the year before this. But the Cardinals, right before they had those seven top 100 picks, the first pick this regime made was Paris Johnson.

It was the first thing that they did. And so I think there is a lot to that line of thinking when you're trying to figure out what you want your first step to be as a regime and as an organization. And I think everything you said about Austin Jackson is right. The idea of, so Austin Jackson, I think, restructured his contract or tweaked his contract where it's like one year in $7 million for $2026,

and then he's a free agent. So if you wanted to draft Spencer Fano And right now, as it currently stands, I believe Jemari Sawyer is penciled in to be that right guard for the dolphins if they had to play a game today. He's on like a one year, $1.2 million deal. And so if you wanted to start Fano at right guard this year

and have him be your right tackle of the future next year after Jackson moves on, if you think that's your best five, I think that's a totally reasonable way to approach this. And it's funny because I think you can make an argument right now that the offensive line is the strongest position group on the Miami Dolphins simply because it's the only one where you have at least two real starters, but you still need five guys.

And I don't think it's crazy to sit there and look at all the available options, the quality of the prospects. And like you said, the idea of just putting one in the fairway here and thinking that Fano is your best possible option if you're John Eric Sullivan and Jeff Hathley in this moment. I'm with you. I don't think either one or the first round picks is going to be a receiver.

And I tweeted this out the other day. If you think about the Packer's success and they've been able to find day two and day three receivers, that's something John Eric Sullivan has been a part of since, what, 2004. So I don't think he's going to go away from that line of thinking. Yes, I know they took Matthew Golden a year ago, and we saw how that has worked out for them this past season, hasn't worked out so far. So I think he's going to bring a lot of Packers-like principals to Miami. I'm with you.

And I think that a lot of people are going to look at the idea of, okay, well, we gave Malik Willis this money. And now you traded away Jalen Waddle and you're just going to slow play giving him potential options at receiver. Like at some point, don't you have to give him an opportunity to succeed? And I just think this team is starting so definitively from Square One that when you look at the money given to Malik Willis, I just don't think it's an amount of money. money where you should step outside of your normal process in order to make sure you're leveraging yourself for him, if that makes sense. Where it's like, I get it. It's like you give a got $20 million a year.

You make him your starting quarterback and then you tear down and everything around him. Like isn't that, you know, one step forward, two steps back. But in reality, I think this team is so, it's such a blank slate that I just feel like you have to make sure that you're making the best decision for what your team is going to look like four or five years from now, not how can we make sure that we're helping Malik Willis in the short term. If you've got a roll out there with, I forgot who the receivers even are, was it Jalen Tolbert, Tutu Atwell, Malik Washington, and whoever you draft in the second round, I'm sure that's a scary place to be if you're a Dolphins fan, but I think that's somewhere they'd

probably be able to live with if you're this regime understanding how far you have to go in so many different areas. And you have five day two picks. I would not be shocked if two of those are receivers. That would not be surprising at all. All right. You decided to be no fun and not let the Cowboys trade up. And so they're drafting here at number 12.

This was another tough one. I think the Cowboys are kind of in a similar spot to the Bengals, where a lot of those guys that would be the perfect fit for the Cowboys. And that's why I've said this, I said this to Trevor. And I'm curious what you think about this. As I think about the team that might be willing to move up in this draft class, that might be willing to take a swing here for one of these defensive players that's available in the top 10, I keep coming back to Dallas for a couple different reasons.

They have those two first round picks. They now have that extra third round pick in the OCEA dig Zua trade. And when you play out an exercise like this, how easy is it to get to number 12? And you look at the guys on the board and you're just kind of underwhelmed by what's available to you. And so Dallas being that team that maybe does something splashy if a sunny styles falls a little bit, if Arvo Reese falls a little bit, if Caleb Downs is available in the back half of the top 10.

Again, this is based on just pure speculation when it comes to the players they need and the range they're drafting in. But when you try to make that sort of pairing, Dallas just feels like the most logical team to try to be a little bit aggressive and move up in the top 10. Do you think that's unreasonable or do you think that makes sense? No, it makes a ton of sense. And in my opinion, your offense is in a win now window. Dak Prescott is not getting any younger.

I think he's in his win now window. George Pickens is on the franchise tag. I mean, are you going to allocate that much money at the receiver position with C.D. Lamb making close to $35 million a year. George Pickens is probably going to want north of $40 million a year now or potentially something around it. So I think them trading up and making that splashy pick on defense. I definitely think you're spot on with that just because the offense is in a wind

window and they have to rebuild this defense really fast if they want to keep up. So it was hard for me to come up with like three options that felt appealing for the Cowboys here picking 12th overall. The first two that I draft drop, Drummond McCoy from Tennessee was the first one I thought of. Again, the Cowboys could probably get by a corner right now if they had to, but if he could play in the slot for you early on or you're a little bit worried about. Trubon Ravel in year two to new defensive staff. So McCoy is the first guy I landed on. Option two with Caleb Downs off the board is draft Dylan Thieneman from Oregon.

Maybe a little bit higher than some people might expect, but has done very well in the pre-draft process. Bleak Hooker, I think, is in the final year of his deal for Dallas. And so you can make an argument that safety is a possible direction they could go, including if Caleb Downs is available. And then option three is essentially just draft your best front player. your best defensive front player that you think fits what they want to be. I know you wrote,

I believe it was earlier this week, you did something with Field and Matt Miller about, you know, guys who might go a little bit higher than we thought was one of the questions. And you thought Keldrick Falk was one of those players that might jump up compared to what people might expect. But I'm not sure he really makes sense for Dallas schematically with some of the,

with the transition that they're making. And so option three, I want to just leave it a little bit vague for you is just draft the front four player that you, think would make sense for Dallas. So Thineman, McCoy, front floor player that you think makes sense for the Cowboys. Which direction are you going? It would be Thineman. And I'll first talk about why I don't think it's going to be McCoy, even though I think that's the hot name at 12 right now. I just don't think they want to go through or even risk a Ravel-like situation again with having another corner

that's recovering from an ACL tear. I just think that the rehab with him is going to scare them off from potentially taking another player that needs some time to develop at that same position. So I think Thineman is the clear and consensus favor here in my opinion. And if you were and making a perfect or tailor-made safety for Christian Parker's defense, and if he's keeping those Fangio principles,

which is what he came up in, Thinem is perfect, man. Like he can play single high, he could play the strong safety position, he can play the nickel, he's a wrap-up of a finish tackler, he's very physical as well, and he's versatile. He can play any position that you want him to on the back end

and he's another player. We talked about a win-now window. The team is ready to play right away. Like as soon as he hears his name called, he puts his draft cap on, he's going to be ready to play right away. So I think he would be the favor here at 12. Is there anybody else other than those two guys specifically

that you'd be thinking about if you were the Cowboys in this spot? Nobody really comes to mind right away, honestly, just because I don't feel comfortable taking any other edge rusher this high. It's just a little bit too early for Mesidor. to me, just a little bit too high for Cassius Howe as well, in my opinion, I just wouldn't feel comfortable taking those guys this early. And even though I know the depth of the safety class is really great, I'm all about just taking the best player available at this spot. And for me, it would be thinning. And a lot, again, in this range, a lot of the guys that you see in,

you know, the back half of the top, or the, you know, just outside the top 10 in the early teens in mock drafts or in big boards, it's a lot of offensive linemen. It's a lot of receivers. and those are just two things that the Cowboys don't really need. And so it's defense, defense, defense, and very similar to Cincinnati, there's just a world where there aren't that appealing of defensive options available here just outside the top 10 based on how those first eight or nine picks could go.

So if you're the Cowboys and the way that Free Agency played out, and they said it today, Brian Chottinheimer talking at the owners meetings that they were interested in some of these offball linebackers in free agency. They gave them competitive offers. They lost out on a Quay Walker, on a Kobe Dean. And so them sitting here in this draft specifically where when is the last time we had a top 10 where two off ball linebackers might go in the top 10 where two off ball linebackers were two of the best prospects in the draft? I can't remember the last time it's happened.

And so for Dallas specifically, it just sets up for a really unique set of circumstances where they have a glaring need at that spot. They're picking higher than you would assume a team that has as much talent as they do would be picking. And they potentially have the, just the inclination to go up and make one of these moves. And so I think in a lot of ways, to me, they might be the most compelling team picking in the first half of the first round. Yeah, I'm with you. I think they're one of the more interesting teams. And if somebody like a Sunny Stiles or Caleb Downs gets to that 8, 9, 10 range, I definitely think they could get that itch to go up and get, one of those guys just because they're so ready right now and they match that win now window that

they do have all right let's run through these with the seventh overall pick jeremiah love going to the washington commanders at eight david bailey from texas tech goes to the new orleans saints at nine safety Caleb downs goes to the kansas city chiefs that one's there's just so much packed into that because you can see it right but you can see him in that defense but at the same time, they've been not necessarily hesitant. They've just weighted on defensive backs consistently in this regime because they can't, because they've done such a great job of getting the most out of guys drafted in the third round, the fourth round, the fifth round.

But because they've waited in the past, does that mean they're going to wait if somebody like Caleb Downs is available? And so that range from like eight to 12 with the teams picking in that range and the fact that Caleb Downs is there, that. That's going to be something that's going to be fascinating to watch unfold because there are teams that desperately need him. I think you can make an argument that Kansas City isn't really one of those teams, but I could also see it happening. Like there's also a level where it makes sense to me. So Caleb Down's going nine to KC.

Monsour DeLane going 10 to the Cincinnati Bengals, cornerback out of LSU. At 11, Spencer Fano will just say offensive linemen from Utah going to the Miami Dolphins. And at 12, safety, Dillon-Thinaman going to the down. Dallas Cowboys. Of those, which is your favorite, which is the one that you're like really juice that that option was available to you at that pick? It'd be Jeremiah I love to Washington. Just him and Jaden Daniels together and one backfield, I think that would be so fun for us to watch. We know when we're watching the tape on Monday when it's posted, we know we're going to get some fireworks with those two. So that definitely is a very fun backfield pairing. Also,

Spencer Final to Miami. I'm really intrigued to see this long-term rebuild, really play out just because we haven't seen a lot of examples of teams really stripping it down to the studs and then going on to really have a lot of long-term success. So I'm really interested to see how they build this up in Miami. Which of these teams, as you've gone through your own process, picking from 7 to 12, have you had the hardest time figuring out which direction they could go as you've done your own mock drafts? Like, is there a team in this range that you've just had a, you've struggled a little bit to get your arms around them? It'd be New Orleans. just because, I mean, they could go defensive end, they could go receiver,

they could add, they could continue to add to the DB room as well with their corner or safety, either one. So New Orleans, I think one, that's one team where they really could go a lot of different ways. It's more so because I don't know what prospects are going to be there. And like you mentioned, really that seven to 12 range, I really think that's where this draft is really interesting just because it's so unpredictable. And one player can really throw that whole range off.

like Ruben Bain going two to the Jets, that really threw a lot of the things off in that 7 to 12 range, just because that's not the consensus right now. And with Ruben Bain going that early, now somebody like a David Bailey slips. So if David Bailey is there, do you take them or do you trade back? Does Dallas try to come up now with a player like that slipping? So I think it gets really interesting in that 7 to 12 range. If Bailey were to fall into this, or excuse me, if Bain were to fall into this range, who is the team in your mind that might make the most sense?

Like where would you like to see him land if he does fall outside of the top six? Kansas City. He's like to a T. He's a Steve Spagnolo defensive being dense, heavy-handed, really good against the run, power rusher. He's the exact same body type that they've loved in the past, like a George Carloft is type. He's built exactly like that. So just seeing Spags utilize him in his defense, I think that would be a perfect fit for him in Kansas City.

It's funny. We've had no receivers go in the top 12 here. As you look at Mackayah Lemon and Jordan Tyson, is this more about the players or the teams picking in this range or in your mind, are they the sort of prospects that probably shouldn't be drafted in the top 12 or in the top half of the first round? There's just so many variables with them, honestly.

Now, I think Lemon is the more clear-cut evaluation, in my opinion, even though a lot of people project him to the slot, I think can play outside or inside. But within the league, there are some people that view him as a slot-only play. So just how high do you take a slot-only player? Do you take them in this range or do you wait a little bit longer? And then with Tyson is just the durability issues with him.

And, you know, with hamstrings, they're very tricky. Now, if we're just judging by the tape, I think Jordan Tyson is the most talented receiver in this class. But you have to factor in the durability concerns. He hasn't finished the season healthy throughout his career. So he's probably not going to be on even some team's draft boards just because of the durability concerns with him and him not being able to finish seasons, timing and timeout. So I think there's just less variables attached or question marks attached to Lemon.

That's why I would take him a little bit earlier and why I haven't ranked ahead of Tyson. But if we're just stacking the talent of the receivers in this class, Robert, I think Tyson would be the clear far and away the first receiver taken if he was healthy. Is there a team just outside of this range, potentially, that you have your eye on when it comes to Jordan Tyson? Ooh, thinking of the list, let me actually pull it up here right in front of me. I think the Jets make a lot of sense at 16 if they do want to take them. I think it's a great compliment to Garrett Wilson. But once again, they're still in the early stages of their rebuild.

So do they want to risk taking a player with those durability issues? I think that's a big question that they need to ask themselves. I think one that's really interesting is the Philadelphia Eagles. And I say the Philadelphia Eagles just because of the AJ Brown stuff that's happening. We see all the time that the Eagles draft a year ahead. That's what Howard Roseman always does. So does he already have it in his pocket that A.J. Brown is going to be traded, whether it's after June 1st or in 2027, he said, hey, let's go ahead and take a very similar player to him like a Jordan Tyson. We have him on a cheap rookie deal, or a first round rookie deal, I should say, you already have your compliment with Devante Smith moving forward as well.

So I think the Eagles are a very sneaky team to watch with this Jordan Tyson thing. All right. Well, we will be chatting about that range of the draft, not the Eagles range of the draft. but the Jets at 16 next week. We'll be doing picks 13 through 19, I believe. At some point we switched to 7, Katie. I think it's next week. Is that right?

That sounds right to me. It doesn't really matter. I'm not sure anybody's going to hold it against us. But it's always a fun exercise and always good for you to be a part of it. Jordan Reed, please tell the people where they can check out all of the fantastic draft work

that you guys are doing over there on ESPN. Yeah, so you can find me on Twitter X, whatever you want to call it nowadays, at Jordan underscore Reed. That's R-E-I-D. We also have a daily show that happens at 3 p.m. every single day. It's called NFL Draft Daily alongside the goat, Mel Kuiper, Lewis Riddick, Phil Jates, Matt Miller, and myself.

We're on there every single day. So go ahead and check that out. That comes on at 3 p.m. Eastern every day on ESPN. Awesome. Really appreciate the time, man. Great to chat with you. We'll do it again very soon. Thanks as always, Robert.

All right, guys, that's all we've got for today. Sincerely appreciate you listening. We'll be back with more Building the Beast with Dave and Dane tomorrow. then we've got a fun slate of shows this week coming your way. We got some draft prospect breakdowns. We've got some like historical analytical looks at team drafting quality. Really good week when it comes to our draft stuff here on the athletic football show. So be sure to come back and check out all of it for now.

That is all we got. Appreciate you guys listening. We'll be back very soon. Thanks for tuning in. Make sure to hit that subscribe or follow button so you never miss an episode. If you enjoyed what you heard, please like, comment, and leave a rating. We'll see you next time. Thank you.