The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Prospects to Pros: Checking in on NFL rookies after one month in the league

Episode Date: October 4, 2023

The NFL Draft class of 2023 has now played one month's worth of pro games? What are the earliest of early returns? Nate Tice and Dane Brugler discuss C.J. Stroud, Puka Nacua, Jalen Carter and all the rest on this episode of The Athletic Football Show's Prospects to Pros.Follow Nate on Twitter: @Nate_TiceFollow Dane on Twitter: @dpbruglerSubscribe to The Athletic Football Show...AppleSpotifyYouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the athletic football show's Prospects to Prospects to Pros. Hello and welcome to Prospects to Pros, sponsored by Invesco QQ, the official ETF of the NCAA. I'm your host, Nate Tice, and today we're going to do a almost quarter point, almost quarter pole checkpoint, I guess, we could say for NFL rookies, someone that stands out to both me and my co-host, as always, the man himself, Mr. Dane Bruegler. How you doing today, Dave? I'm good, I'm good, yeah, it's hard to believe we're almost a quarter. Yeah, the whole 17 game schedule kind of throws off the math a little bit, but that's all right. You know, as a family, we recently watched Little Giants. I love that movie as a kid.

And it was- Same. It was a lot of fun introducing that to my 8-year-old son, my oldest, and he's football obsessed at this point. I was thinking about it. Introducing my favorite movies growing up, especially sports movies, introducing those to my kids has become my new. My new favorite number one thing about having kids, it knocked down, oh, we have to leave this function early because my kids, whatever excuse, it's knocked that down to number two. Still strong contender. But my new favorite number one movies, especially sports movies, just reliving it through my kids, having them experience it for the first time. I mean, you're a movie guy, I know like me.

So I imagine that'll be something you look forward to with your little guy. I cannot wait. That and playing board games. That's like two things I cannot wait. Someone just to play games with as I, my sister abandoned me when she's two years older. She was like, okay,

I'll hang with you and your friend Frank. And then once she like turned 12 and then that was that, it was like, yeah, you're on your own. But no, I, yeah,

the movie stuff, I have Goonies poster right behind me. Nice. That's a movie. I can't wait. I think just seeing through the eyes like all these movies I've seen a hundred times. Like I can't wait to see Jurassic Park.

with my son. Like, that's one. Like, it's because that movie like got me into movies. Like, that was magical to me as a child. So I love that. Like, I've actually had thoughts about it. So I'm excited for that. Having a catch, which is kind of corny, but very excited for that.

But I agree with you that the getting to leave early excuse has been phenomenal. It's so good. As, oh, as someone that's kind of a homebody almost all the time now, that is the best. It's like, okay, we can push this for another hour. We're enjoying it, right? like, okay, we got to get out five minutes, five minutes. Hey, Fussy, he's getting Fussy. CSA.

Nat time. Nap time. Jack's is super smiling. They're like, okay, he looks good to us. But anyways, we're going to be talking about some NFL rookies and just players that stood out to us at each position. So we'll go one by one, quarterbacks, running backs, all the good ones, even offense align, which I cannot wait to talk about.

There's actually a couple guys that have been really standing out this year. But we're going to go position by position, name some dudes off, some players that have really impressed us so far this season. And Dane, let's just start with quarterbacks. Let's start with the star position. Three players, three quarterbacks got drafted in the top four this year. How have those three been playing? Because I think, or who has stood out to you?

And what are your thoughts so far on C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Bryce Young. Yeah. And I think the guy at the top, clearly, you know, O'Connell. No. Oh, In O'Connell. Yes, that's right. CJ Stroud. I mean, look, it's been a lot of fun watching him carve up defenses these last four weeks.

He was a top five player for me in this class. I think he was number four overall. Ohio State, he was so poised, so structurally sound in college. And that is translated so well to the pro game. He just has a natural rhythm to what he's doing out there. His movements, the way he works through his progressions, his delivery, his pacing. It's all very rhythmic. And I think that is, you know, he hasn't changed.

You know, with things speeding up, it's still the same C.J. Stroud. And so, and that's why I think when we looked at him in college, you thought, okay, at the very least, this guy has a high floor. You feel about the next 10 years, he's going to be a productive pro. You know, even if he's not going to be a no doubt about a pro bowler, and he very well might be. But the fact that he just has this floor skill set, you felt really good about him. And so, yeah, I mean, Stroud has to be the first guy we talk about. Absolutely. He's been so that calmness that he played with in college. I think some people even dinged him for sometimes that I think as a pro it's just it's cranked up. And how I described it on our Sunday show with Robert was comparing him to kind of how the Steelers felt. It just feels like Bobby Sloak, the office coordinator for the Texans in Stroud, they just have a plan on every play. Not just what the plan of attack is and what the play concept is, but Stroud knowing one to two to three, oh, I'm hot on this play. Oh, I need to. read out this play this way. Every play just feels calm and comfortable and the players probably

feel that way too. It's like, hey, this guy's going to find the right answer. I just got to do my job, which you can just see the buy-in already. He's been, he's been really, and I said this again, on Sunday, a joy to watch because it's just, it's good quarterback play. And that's, it's really cool because like you said, I thought he had a high floor and I thought, okay, yeah, it's, it's a rookie quarterback. You don't know how they're going to enter the NFL. We think of these guys as some guys as pro-ready, and they take an adjustment period. So far, he's just been, I think, just great and as advertised so far. The other guy, I'm sorry.

No, if you're a Houston fan, you're excited. I mean, because you think about the offensive line. It's been banged up. You think about the receivers. They've been good. I mean, Nico Collins is a good player. I liked him a lot coming out of Michigan. I thought he was a steal and then the third round when they got him.

Now he actually has a quarterback. You can get him the football, and that's been fun. Tank Dell, we'll talk about him here in a little bit. But yeah, I think that's, if you're a Texans fan, you're excited. And if you're a Colts fan, you're also excited, right? Because of Anthony, he was your number one quarterback in this class, right? It was kind of a 1A, 1B. And this is how I halfwayed it.

I said with him, Stroud and Richardson is that I said, if it was my money, I would be using, I'd be betting it on Stroud. But if it's somebody else's money, yeah, I'm going to be betting it on Richardson because I just thought the upside was ridiculous. but his floor so far has been fantastic. But what have you thought so far about Richardson? I mean, first and foremost, he's made the Colts competitive. And that's something that the last few quarterbacks can't say in Indianapolis.

The passing volatility, you know, that's to be expected for a player with, I mean, we have to remember he was, he had under 400 career pass attempts in college. You know, such meager experience that the bar was set pretty low because I think people understood it's going to take some time. And we've seen that a little bit. It has been inconsistent. Right now he ranks 33rd in the NFL and adjusted completion percentage. But considering he's just scratching the surface, the explosive plays, both with his arm and his legs, have been just special. And, you know, I think over the weekend against the Rams, seeing Aaron Donald trying to struggle to bring him down. I mean, that says a lot right there.

But the fact that he has been able to create these explosives, that says a lot. And so I think if you're a Colts fan, you have to be awfully optimistic about what he is going to bring to this offense as he continues to grow and become more consistent as a down-to-down passer. I thought the running forward was always going to be there. But right now, the process is he's shown, and I think their coaching staffs doing a great job. Yes. just, I mean, it's not a mistake what's happening right now with the Eagles sometimes with some of their passing woes or I would say inefficiency right now, but then what's going on with the Colts and just how comfortable Richardson feels. Just as it's nice to see him doing some of the little things like checking the ball down and not just always hunting big plays and going through the process and the progress. Like you said, this guy does have a lot of starts, didn't have a lot of past attempts.

He is like the antithesis of what Bill Parcells used to say about what you needed at quarterbacks. Right. You couldn't go any more options. Yeah. What was it? 60% completion percentage back when I was in years. Senior. Senior graduated.

He was a Richard sophomore with one year under his belt. Yeah. Yeah. But the fact that he's been more tangible and more real, like as a real quarterback, doing the real stuff, especially in the second half of games, has been really promising. And I think like, I mean, the ceiling is just exceptional. I've been loving what I've seen. like obviously the flash plays are just going to get tweeted out every single week.

But the down to downness has been a lot higher than I was even expecting. I was waiting to watch him until after the buy week. And now it's like weekly viewing because it's like, oh, it's really cool to see him grow. Still has a couple sprays. Don't get me wrong. But underneath accuracy is good. It's been better than I think people realize. Yeah, I'm very excited.

Very excited about 1A and 1B at the quarterback spot. And let me let's also mention Bryce Young. I do think that he's obviously. third of this group so far. His fair share of rookie mistakes, three three games, did miss that one game. And, you know, that's part of this. That durability was a question mark because of the size.

But, I mean, I think anybody that's watched his tape can see that he's going to be just fine. I mean, he has not been the number one problem there. I mean, the Panthers need to give him more help. Pass protection has been below average. The receivers have been okay. I mean, Thielen having that veteran presence has been. been good for him. But they just,

they're not creating any explosive plays. And anybody that's watched Bryce Young at Alabama, especially two years ago when they had James and Williams, I mean, Bryce Young can throw it down the field. He can create those downfield plays. They're not doing that this year. And part of that is they don't have the time. And the other part is that the receivers aren't doing them in any favors.

And the running game hasn't helped either. So I, you know, this is all part of, and I don't want to make excuses for him because Bryce Young has held the ball where he needs to get it out sometimes. So it's been a collective, it's not just been one factor of the Panthers offense why they're struggling. It's been a collective blame game there. And so how do they fix it the rest of the year? That's something that we have to watch closely.

Yeah, it's, I mean, that's why they have an all-star team of coaches, basically. That's what you felt like going into the season. Because the O line is, and they don't have a ton of juice at the receiver position, and because the O line has kind of been very disappointing to me, I was actually pretty optimistic about that unit going into the year. And I actually thought that's why I was like, this is pretty good for Bryce Young because the old line will be stout. Okay, okay pass catchers, but he'll make it work.

You have to do more tight, condensed formations. Bryce Young is a creator. Yes, he is smart. And I do think he is really good and quick game and peppering the ball out and accuracy. But the next best thing he does is the creation. But to create, you need stuff down the field. You need space. You need him to flow.

You don't want it in a half-court offense. You want this thing. transition offense. And they just don't have the horses for that right now or the means to use those horses. So I am not like, I see people already just bailing on him. No, he's smart. He's a good football player. It's just that right now this is not conducive for what he's best at.

And I think he's going to be fine. Accuracy and intelligence goes a long way at the quarterback position. And he has that. Yes. I mean, genius level when it comes to processing and understanding what the defense is trying to do. And he will get better and better and better every single. game as he had just NFL speed.

I mean, you can go back year by year and the best quarterbacks after four games. I mean, a couple years ago, Mac Jones was the best rookie quarterback after four games. I mean, the year before that, I think it was Gardner Minshue. I mean, like, it's something that these things will change. And I think Brace Young will be just fine. But I think it is fair to point out how the Panthers traded away a number one type of receiver with DJ Moore, the first round pick. And right now, that's the number two overall pick. The Bears having the first two picks right now.

So that is as much a part of the conversation as just understanding what Bryce Young has done on the field. And that's something that, you know, the context of that is really interesting with how they attack this offseason and getting more help around Bryce Young and the overall development of the young quarterback. Yeah. And again, having a coach that maybe has tweaked offenses before for his quarterbacks, especially. because the Colts were trotting out a new guy every year. But with Frank Reich and that staff, that's what I think this offseason will be huge because they'll obviously. But they know what he'll need or they know what they'll need. And I think that's really good for that kind of bent staff.

So actually, I'm going to go to running backs next because I honestly want to see how you would go about this because this is a, it's a good crop this year. It's a very fun group of rookie running backs. And do you want to start at the top with Bijad or do you want to go with Gibbs? I mean, which guy, how do you want to go? A-chan? Like, I always want to call it A-Chane. I know. But A-chan, like, but where do you want to start?

This is, this has been a fun group so far. I'm starting with A-chan. Oh, man. I mean, he is, he's averaging a cool 11.4 yards per rush. He has the same number of forced mistackles as Bejohn, but exactly half the carries. So this guy has not only been, you know, productive with that. speed, but I mean, he's making guys miss. He's being elusive.

He leads all rookies in yards after contact. So it's not just get him in space and he'll create. It's, I mean, he is breaking tackles legitimately. And so now, obviously, the offense and McDaniel, I mean, that is as much a part of this as anything is the scheme and what they're doing in Miami, cooking up these situations and just overall, you know, the way that they're calling plays. But, I mean, give A-chan credit because of the way he. And then we saw this at A&M, the speed, the vision.

We talked about it last week. I mean, he is a really good player. And I mean, Bijon's been awesome, but I think we've got to start with A-chan. He's been a lot of fun. It's, they're using them almost like a, I feel like I've said this term more times in the past couple of weeks than I have in the last 10 years. But they're using them like a flex. bone kind of wing back and getting him tosses and everything out in space and everything.

But what you're saying too about his vision and his contact balance and his just balance as a runner, like he runs with perfect square pads when he runs between the tackles. It's really cool. Like he has good fundamentals. It's that he's just uniquely wired. He's 185 and has role class speed. It's a unique skill set. But his first touchdown against the bills, he runs through a defense of lineman's side tackle.

Yeah. And finishes the run. And it's like on top of it, he has great balance and square pads. And then you just see, of course, the rare speed. He's making offense a lineman right. There's different ways to make your lineman right. He uses it with, again, world-class speed and beats angles. He's been so much fun.

And I think that a lot of people see the, oh, he ran track at Texas A&M. So this is a track athlete who's also playing. It almost reminds me of speaking of A&M. Ryan Tannenhill was a receiver. Oh, so he's a receiver trying to play quarterback later. He was a football player's entire life. the coaches, they had to convince him to run track. So this wasn't, it wasn't a situation where, you know, he was this track athlete who,

you know, the football coaches convinced him, hey, you need to, you know, come out to the football field too. No, it was the other way around. So this is a football player through and through. And man, if he's able to stay healthy, it's a lot of fireworks. It is. I think, and that's the thing. I think his skill set sustainable. I don't know the explosive play rate and all that.

It's not going to come down naturally. but it's like he does enough. I mean, he's like first and success right right now among all running backs. He's catching the ball well too. I mean, he's, yeah,

he hasn't dropped the ball. I mean, it's only like, I think nine targets, eight catches, something like that. But, you know,

he's done a nice job when called upon. Yep. No, he's a, he's a real running back. But that just happens to have track speed, which is a great way, that great way you're describing it.

Well, let's go, okay, reverse order, I guess. So, or start circle back through. So we'll start with Bijja,

or go back to Bejan here. Bijon's been, I think, as advertised. Hands, vision, power, speed, just a great combo. I don't know what else more to say because I've discussed about him so much already, but have you anything that stood out to you with him or anything different than you were maybe expecting? No, I mean, we both thought he was a special back and, you know, he's played like it. Based off of how you, as a lover of Atlanta football right now, based on how you thought they would use him and how they are using him, how is that matched up?

Because I know there was, you know, as we talked about it on draft night. You know, as soon as Atlanta made him a top 10 pick, we thought, okay, well, how is this going to work? How is this going to fit? How are they going to use these pieces, you know, drafting offensive skill players in the top 10, three straight years with Pitz and Drake London and then Bijon, like, what is this offense going to look like? I know you've looked at it. What have you seen with Bijon and how is it? that kind of lined up with your expectations? Well, that was kind of always want to emphasize with people, too, is that like, yes,

we're excited about the positionless stuff and how he is as a receiver. It's like, this dude is an awesome running back and on the ground. And they have, I think, and this is probably something I'll talk about later this week, is they kind of are figuring out exactly what their fastball is. They want to do 100 things. And now they're realizing, oh, Bijon's our fastball. So we're going to use him in the run game. It's not just zone.

They're using him now on different type of runs that they have kind of sprinkled in the duo stuff, which is really at you. That was kind of Algiers thing to start the season. And now they're like, well, let's just, let's a Bejohn do it too. And so I think running the run game, I was curious what they would emphasize early with him. And now I think they're realizing, oh, he's good at all, just like he was in college. So let's let go to work. Actually, he's my favorite duo runner. I know this is so specific, but this matters a lot to me that I've watched because he just had no.

That's a running back run because they set up linebackers. They get vertical. They find different holes. And he's amazing at it. So it's cool to see them sprinkle it in. I think the past game stuff has been a little, they just put him on motion a whole bunch that back and forth motions run them to the flat a bunch. And that's been kind of like, okay, I was expecting maybe a little more. But as a checkdown player, that's where I thought he would give a huge boost that offense.

And he's been fantastic where he creates a first down what most runoffbacks would get four yards on. I'm just curious. I'm seeing some signs like with a. using the red zone and stuff like sorry I'm getting ahead of myself for something I'm going to talk about later this week but using him like in from the backfield on vertical routes like so like he's basically a tailback but then they have him run like a deep corner and they just started doing that so I it's like TBD it's I've seen where they're going with it but I want to see that it's kind of a dot dot dot right now and I'm sure it'll continue to evolve

throughout the year and it'll it'll go back and forth it'll depend on who the defense are playing And I mean, he has yet to score a rushing touchdown, which seems weird because he's been such a big part of that offense and so productive. But it feels like every week, there's a couple of explosive plays that, you know, pop up on Twitter and you're like, oh, yeah, okay. This guy is this guy's a rookie. But yeah, he's already one of the best backs in the league like we thought he would be. His vision's amazing. Well, let's go to the other first round, first round run back. Jemir Gibbs.

Any thoughts on Jemir Gibbs so far? I think he's been as explosive as advertised. So what have you seen of your Gives so far with the lines? Yeah, I think it's also another situation where they're trying to figure out how is the best way to get him these touches. You know, I think the workload hasn't necessarily been there. I mean, you figure when you draft a running back top 15, you know, he's going to be a major part of your offense. And, you know, to be honest, he really hasn't been. He's been more of that complimentary piece, which at some point in David Montgomery, I mean, he's a really quality back.

But at some point this year, are we going to see it be more 50-50, 55-45? I mean, how is it, that distribution of touches and making sure you're getting Gibbs the right amount of touches is going to be something that I think this offense might battle with. But, you know, what, as long as they keep winning games, I'm not sure that it's going to matter all that much. Yeah, when Montgomery missed the game, he had a deep thibers. Right. I was curious what the Gibbs workload looked like. Like, okay, are they going to just plop someone else in Montgomery's role and the keep gives the same?

Kind of did, but it was still more, I would say, you know, that 60-40 split. I think that game is going to be what the split is always. I think once they're inside the five-yard line, it's going to be Montgomery's time, short yards, Montgomery's time. But as a receiver, he's been super efficient. They're running choice routes with him five times a game. And he's been very good on those. He's a walk. I think they're just easing into him to be more comfortable running, you know, consistently

between the tackles. In this last game, he did. So it's like, okay, okay, on Thursday night. So I think they're just going to sprinkle more touches with him once they get more comfortable, once he kind of maybe gets used to NFL kind of weight, I guess, or NFL style. But I think they have to. I just think he's too explosive to keep off the field. He brings so many tackles that it's like, yes, it's only five, six touches. It should be 10, 12 touches locked in, or runs, I should say locked in every game. Well, that week two, we had nine targets. And then the next week when Montgomery was out, he had one target. And so it's just, it's a matter of, because I think that's where he's most explosive

is in the receiving game. Getting these guys both on the field the same time. I mean, using Gibbs that, anybody that's watched him play can see the explosiveness, how sudden his feet are, the vision that he has. I mean, it's all there. It's just a matter of deploying it in the right way. So it's going to be something that we, yeah, in terms of offensive coordinators, I mean, Ben Johnson's been, you know, among the best in the league this year.

I mean, it seems like almost a certainty. He's going to be a head coach this offseason. So if there's anybody that can figure it out, and I feel like this is the guy that can do it. I think he's in, I highlighted Johnson in a play they did this week, a touchdown St. Brown on wind the clock on checking out on YouTube. But it's Ben Johnson, too, is that I think he is very realistic with what his players are. So I think he's not one of those guys. going, I'm going to run a million things.

I'm excited. He's trying to be realistic. It's a long season. And I think there's, I think Gibbs is going to get a huge boost after their by week. Like a lot of classic staffs and where they revamp, okay, we can, we're going to use this with him. He's good at that. So I think the arrow is only pointing up.

And that's the thing. I think I trust what Johnson and that line staff does. Yeah. It's a long season. It's a long, long season. And, you know, that doesn't, that's, that's not music to the ears of fantasy football owners, but that's not, that's not how the lions are going to attack the situation. He's still going to affect games.

It's just that the box score might always be there. Any of the other runnerbacks on day two? Zach Sharb-R-R-R-N-A, Taj-Spears, anybody else that have stood out to you so far this year? Anyone on day three? Biggsby's been interesting. Tank Bigsby for Jaguars because he's gotten some of those red zone carries, goal-line carries. You know, I think when we've seen Tajay Spears for the Titans, he's been a nice change-up to Derek Henry. Have to give a shout-out to Joliel McLaughlin, the YSU.

Youngstown State, undrafted free agent who made the team and has been terrific. Now with Javonte Williams out, you know, he's going to get- He loves him. Yeah. You can tell he loves him because he has him running choice routes. I just say, yeah. That's Champagne's little baby. His ability to go from catcher to runner is really quick.

He's really efficient with that. And so, yeah, as long as he continues to be reliable and dependable as a rookie, we're going to see more of him, you know, even with that number 38 number, number. I don't know about that, but, you know, he's been a good player. He's not a 38. Yeah, he's down, I know. That's what stinks when you're on drafted rookie. You probably got stuck with that. And it's like, he can't go into the equipment room go, hey, guy, changed this. But no, he's been, he's been, mentioned Roshan Johnson, too. I mean, he's been, it feels like he's. They're going to use them more. Yeah, exactly. It's like every game, they're like, okay, yeah, we got to get a more. We got to get a more looks, more touches, more, because I, if he's on the field.

He's even more explosive than I thought he would be. He's, he's good. I was so shocked he fell out of day three. I thought for sure he was going to be somewhere on day two, probably in the third round. I mean, just because he's so useful on special teams. Pass pro as a pass catcher out of the backfield, the power he has a running back, but he can make guys miss too. I mean, there's so much, he might not be, he doesn't have a Bijon ceiling, but he has just, he could do everything. And he does it dependably. So to see where the bears got him was an absolute.

steal and I think yeah I think you're right we're going to see more and more and as the season goes on yeah I think they're like oh this this guy's interesting uh yeah the last little stat I'll close out the running back section with is that there's four running backs right now in the NFL that have gained five or more yards on first and second down over half the time three of them are rookies eh chan then nick chub then spears then charbonnet then it goes d'andre swift and then bejean so pretty good class and we're keep we can lifts off more and more guys, because that's how this class has been so far. Keeping up with the skill positions.

Let's go to receiver. Just like we all expected. Pooka Nakua, right? Exactly. Hey, we mentioned it on the preview episode how Nakua. We are on record about Puka Nakua. We are back in April. A guy to watch.

Yes. Well, in April and then in August when we did the preview, we talked about how, okay, this is a good situation for Nekua, going to L.A. Where, okay, Cooper Cups hurt, he's going to an offense that wants to throw the ball. he has a quarterback who is playing really well right now. And Puka, okay, forget rookies. He's number one in the NFL in targets tied with Devante Adams. He's number one in receptions, 39, and he's second receiving yards behind only a guy named Justin Jefferson.

So he has been really productive. It's kind of weird. He's only found the end zone once. Now, it turned out that was a big one. Pretty important touchdown. Won the game for him over the Colts on Sunday. But, you know, and we mentioned this in August, based on the film, gave him a third round grade. But the major variable here was the durability, the injury stuff, which just kept creeping up on him in college.

And so I think that hurt him on draft day. I know it hurt him on draft day. But even this year, he's been banged up. He's been on the injury list, I think, you know, three of the four weeks, something like that. Yeah, every week except one. He was in camp. Right, exactly. But, you know, he's tough through it.

And he's just, he's a perfect, uh, rookie for that situation, uh, with where the Rams are right now. And they're using them wonderfully. I, I'm really loving the Rams offense right now. Stafford's playing as well as anybody, even if the stats don't show it, like as far as touchdowns and everything. Some of these throws, man. It's incredible. Him and Richardson was, that was, it was a highlight reel. It was just, it was a true laser show.

I spent, I thought I was just going to breeze through that game last night when I was watching film. It took me forever to get through it. I just clipped everything. Yeah. Yeah, that was, yeah, but the, oh, yeah, that offense is a lot of fun. They're using Nakua perfectly. He is great working over the middle. He's a nice big target.

He's strong catching the ball. He's a good blocker. They're using him at the point of attack. It's cool. He truly, it's, it's the common joke, but he truly is the successor to Robert Woods. Like he is like, like, could not be a better, perfect fit for what Robert Woods did in that offense than Pooka Nakua right now.

Any of the first round guy has been standing out to you amongst group of receivers or again, we'll reverse order this or start back at the top. Yeah, I think, you know, Zay Flowers, he's behind Puka in terms of the most

rookie receptions up to this point. And he's been electric with the ball in his hands. I don't think he has a drop yet. So, you know, he's been dependable. Especially when you, when you look at that

receiving depth chart with, I mean, Rashad Bateman's never going to be able to stay healthy. It's just, I think we have to accept it. That's it. Odell Beckham,

Same type of deal. But Zayflowers has been there week and week out so far through September. And that's been a lot of fun to see. I think that's only going to continue to grow his chemistry with Lamar and how they best use his skill set. It would be fun to watch. Jordan Addison's had some nice moments. You know, we think Quentin Johnston with that offense, you know, with Mike Williams going down. How does the rookie step up now and getting more looks, more targets in that offense will be.

Something we watch. But I wanted to go to a day two pick in Tank Dell. He is second behind Nakuwa in receiving yards among all rookies. He's got two touchdown grab so far. The size was obviously something that was a sticking point for a lot of teams. A lot of teams are just not going to draft a player that undersized. But when you are uncoverable because of your speed, that's where you make a difference. And so far, so good for Tank Dell.

Oh, yeah, and Stroud loves him. It's cool to see a quarterback getting the ball where it should go because Dell's winning a bunch. Yeah, like I agree with Zayflowers. He's getting targeted a bunch. I know people were kind of making fun of the heat map last week where he was just targeted a whole bunch of short throws or two weeks ago, I should say. He's getting used all over the field.

You can tell Munkin loves him. You can tell Lamar loves him. Third down, gadget plays. There's one-man routes. They're designing everything for him. So I don't think that's going away. Any thoughts on. on d'ontavian wicks for the Packers out of Virginia.

Because I know when I watched him at the Clemson, or Clemson, it was a Clemson offense at Virginia, didn't see anything like this. I mean, I saw flashes, but he's been really kind of doing some things. I was just curious if you had any thoughts on Wix that he's,

because he's been a kind of a pleasant surprise as he's gotten some more polish. Yeah, I know he was a guy that has so much ability. It's just the consistency level wasn't there. Yeah. That was a product of that offense. I mean, the quarterback was not good.

But he just did not have the senior year that a lot of people expected. And then, you know, the offseason didn't quite as well. You know, the combine wasn't great. His pro day wasn't great. It was okay. I mean, it was good, but the 40 times weren't great. And so, but he went to a spot where there was going to be opportunity, right? Right.

In Green Bay where, you know, Christian Watson's been banged up. And, you know, they've got such a young group of receivers with Jay. and Reed, who's also part of this conversation. But, you know, Wix, when he's had opportunities, has done some nice things. I mean, he's a good size receiver. You know, he's got his like 80 yards guys, but I just see the Packers are starting to use him a little bit more. So I just thought that was pretty interesting.

And when you have a catch radius like he does, because he just does, there's not a lot of polish to his game, you know, and that's something that you have to work through as a young player. But when you have, you know, an offense that needs somebody to step up at receiver, you know, this is a guy that has a talent. It's just a matter of can he grow up quickly with a young quarterback. And, you know, if you, playing receiver in the NFL is such a, you better be where you were supposed to be or you're not going to be on the field. It's a very timing-based thing. And so far with Wix, I think they're easing him into it, but he hasn't stubbed his toe yet.

And so that's a good sign for him. That's a great way to put it. No, I was just curious because he, yeah, I've watched Packers a good deal. And I was like, okay, he looks better than I ever expected. So I was just curious. He went exactly. Yeah, I gave him a, he went where he should have got. Yes, I gave him an early fourth round grade, you know, he went.

I had a fifth. Right. So I was not. Yeah. So he was, he went exactly where I think he should have went. And, you know, it's something where I'm still not convinced he's going to be a, you know, someone that's going to, you know, you're going to be dying to give a second contract to. Right.

I was just curious. He's going to have the opportunities in this offense. And so it'll be, he's definitely a guy to watch the rest of the year. Yeah, a couple other guys. Yeah, you already shouted out Jordan Addison. He's been, yeah, I think a chain mover, which I think is exactly what that offense needs. He has six first downs this year. Five of them came on third down.

It was nice seeing. So we know when he's getting targeted. And a lot of them are against his own. He's exactly what they need in that offense. hey, we're getting zoned because they're clouded and Justin Jefferson. Okay, Hawkinson and Addison, go to work. He's been, I think, doing great. Yeah, Zayflowers, we mentioned Michael Wilson for the Cardinals.

He had a good weekend. He's been a nice, pleasant player for them, good blocker. Another kind of bigger guy in a small class. Marvin Mims for the Broncos has been kind of just a explosive as you could be. At one point, he was averaging like 30 yards per route run or something ridiculous. Something that broke the scale, like 17 yards route, so I'm ridiculous. Right now it's 27 yards a catch.

So it's, I mean, it's still crazy. And he only has nine catches. So how they use him more and more will be interesting. Going back to Michael Wilson, he was kind of in that Puka Nakuwa where the durability stuff is what you really worried about. But as long as he's on the field and staying healthy, he's another guy at the senior bowl that you couldn't cover him. He had an outstanding week in Mobile. And if he stays on the field, if he stays healthy, Cardinals have a good ones. Cardinals have a guy that you can slot in as a starter moving forward.

Yeah. No, it's a fun group. Josh Downs is stepping up. Him and Richardson have some chemistry. Your guy, I know you're a Trey Palmer fan. He's been a Red Zone. He's been a Red Zone monster. Like, he's been great, like he is great catch radius, very springy. Yeah. Fun class. Yeah, this was always, it. They didn't kind of have that true ace in this class. But again, there was a lot of useful players. And yeah, a lot of useful players are stepping up on rate. And we'll see, you know, guys like Smith and Jigba and. And we mentioned Quinn Johnston. Like these guys, as a season goes on, they'll start to emerge too.

So, yeah, this will be a receiver class that I think it won't be like two years ago when, you know, Olavay and Garrett Wilson. And I don't think it'll quite be like that, but it'll still be a group of productive players as first year players. Like you said, it's opportunity. Pukinakua slots in the Rams. They got nobody. Jordan Addison, you know, that was ready made for him. JSN's got two other bona fide receivers to play with and other tight ends. You know, so it's all about opportunity early on.

So, yeah, not damning at all. Speaking of opportunity, Sam Leporta, moving on the tight end. Love that transition. Very good. I mean, the Lions, you know, it was interesting. It was moving on from T.J. Hawkinson. We thought, okay, maybe they draft a tight end at some point in the draft, but we didn't think it would be that quite as early as they did.

And even then, it was surprised they took Leporto over Michael Mayer, but Leportez has been getting those opportunities. He's up to 27 targets already in four games. Yeah. And he's responded nicely. He's been a really quality player for them, both as a receiver and as a blocker. Yeah, I knew he was a good athlete and everything. And I knew he'd be a good receiver.

But it's just that even his play strength as a receiver has been very nice. The play, he had the big catch and run. Actually, it was highlight this in that wind the clock video against Russell, where he's just ripping through Douglas's press. And it's really cool to see that. And yeah, that's the thing. If you want to be receiving only tight end, this NFL. Modern NFL, like defenses are going to throw DB bodies at you.

You have to beat those guys. And he's beating a corner. So it's like, oh, okay. We're on something here. Yeah, this, Michael Mayer has kind of just been used as a blocker and check down. Like, I feel like I haven't seen him run a real route that offense with the, with the Raiders. Don't Kincaid is going to use as an auxiliary pass catcher, but it's been perfect for him. And they're really, I like how they're using him as a blocker right now, which I think they're very, they're using him right now.

But I think he's going to have some games where he's going to pop off. I thought this last game was going to be one. He kind of did in the first half. And they just kind of didn't need them. They just spam Stefan Diggs for the rest of the game. But yeah, this tight-end class has been really fun and interesting. Where are some other ones that stood out for you so far? Well, just real quick on the port.

He was one thing that I loved about him is he's always available. That was his, that's why I loved about him at Iowa. It didn't matter. What route he's running, he was always available. And then he was just the perfect Detroit Lion, you know, Dan Campbell type of guy. He almost came out after his junior year, but he went back to school. And he told scouts the reason he went back is because it was important for him to be a captain. I mean, talk about a Dan Campbell guy. This is, this is that what he is. He was the only tight end in last year's class that

had more than 20 forced mistackles. So he was a guy that could do something after the catch. And you see that toughness. They all came against Kentucky. Yeah, at least half of them. Yeah, in that bowl game, no question. But he had a knee injury. He had a meniscus last year. And, he rushed back so he could be back for the pole game. So this is a guy that cares. I mean, he's a perfect fit for that culture, but also what they wanted to do on offense.

And so, yeah, that's looking like a pick that's really working out. I mean, I think we're going to hear more from Luke Musgrave and Dalton Kincaid the rest of the way. But it's been fairly quiet from those two guys over the first month. Yeah.

And Musgrave, I mean, the Packers freaking love. I mean, they're trying to use it. You guys heard on Sunday. concussion. This is going to sound bad.

It's not like a soft tissue or anything like this had before. So it's like, okay, concussions aren't great. But anyways, it's a different injury they've had the past. But he, they, when they use a shot play, they're designing it for him. Not anybody else. I know Christian Watson's been hurt, but it's for him. So I think he's been a lot better as a, every week he's got better as a blocker. So it's like, yeah, his, all these guys arrows are pointing out.

There's not any of these guys at the top that I've been like, oof, not what I thought. It's just, it's opportunity. You know, where am I like, oh, boy, I missed that one. I think it's just, again, it's opportunities that reflects in the box scores. Also, shout out Josh Wiley, getting a touchdown this past week. Yeah. Good for him. Opportunities, that's right. Hey, Titans need pass catchers.

So he got him right there. He's got two whole, two targets in his career. And hey, caught both of them one being a touchdown. You love to see it. I love my dad. I think that's like my dad's slugging percentage as a pass catcher. He only has like, I don't know, like 30 something. catches, but like 13 were touchdowns.

Like it was just, those one-yard touchdowns in the red zone. They were the best. All right, let's move on to offensive line. Last position for the offensive players. Any interior guys stand out. There is actually even, there's one pleasant surprise for me, but I'm curious where maybe you go for your interior guys, Dane. I mean, Skronsky looked great week one and then got banged up.

So we haven't seen him since. But he was outstanding in that game. It'll be, it's one of these words like, he's going to be fine. Yeah. I've already moved on. Right, exactly. He has been exactly what you thought he would be. So, you know, I don't know.

Joe Titman's actually been getting, he actually got on the field of the last two games due to injury. And I wanted to ask you. I was expecting more, you know, of a rookie curve for him just because he is a younger, younger player. And I thought it'd take a little bit more of more time, more experience for him to get there. But I thought he's looked outstanding. And the two, two games that he's played. You know, Cody Mock's been okay for, for the, for the, for the, uh, for the, uh, for the, uh, for the, uh, for the buck. Uh, there, a couple of the run blocking stuff hasn't quite been there in terms of finishing

blocks, but he's falling off. He's, you know, that some of that balance needs to fix. And, but you've seen it in past protection. He's held up pretty well. Exactly. So, so I mean, so I mean, it gets stronger. Yeah. Right. Right. Right. Exactly. That's where it is with him right. And I'm, I'm not sure how much stronger he can get, but I think they're, He can get there. Osiris Torrance in Buffalo. I'm talking about a perfect fit with him in the second round. I think that's worked out really well.

And then at the tackles, I mean, Ohio State tackle tandem with Duon Jones, getting thrust in action with the Jack Conklin injury in Cleveland. And then Paris Johnson has, you know, for a guy to be the first tackle drafted, I think Paris Johnson so far has lived up to it. Oh, yeah. Parris Johnson's been a delight. He is especially bumping out the right side, right tackle. which you never played before.

Never do. Yep. And he's so young. He's so long. And you can see, and you've mentioned this before. And that Cardinals team, the Cardinals team's got some good vibes right now, even though they just got whitewashed by the 49ers. But they have some good vibes. They're doing some really cool stuff on offensive defense.

And Parrish Johnson's bringing an attitude to it. And it's really cool and seeing him celebrate. This guys won a lot of games in college. And that matters going to a team like that. And you can see it. Like there was a touchdown. How he celebrated was hilarious. Like he was just so into it.

He's fist pumping every, he's high-fiving every guy. It was really cool to see. That was a red zone play. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. He screamed. So, like, yeah, it looked like predator, screaming to the, that's right.

Screamed to the clouds. But it's honestly, I have been really encouraged by what I've seen from him. I actually thought Anton Harrison looked okay. He's given up, it's every pressure he's given up has turned into a sack. It's like he's the least luckiest guy as far as his pressures. I think it's like he's given up, going into last week anyways. It was like he's given up six pressures and four of them were sacks. It was like, so he's gotten some unluckiness there.

But I actually think he's been better baseline because I thought he would be a project than I was expecting. But I was going to bring up interior wise, Steve Avila for the Rams. Yes, yes. He has been good. Yes, I am. I, yes, he's hit the ground running. He is day one against the Seahawks and even just why I checked out with the Colts, been a plus player for them already.

And that, that's kind of, I liked him. But that's been even surprising, I think, for me. And I'm pretty sure he, at least as of last week, he led all rookies and just total snaps plate. I mean, he has been out there from day one, played every single snap. And it's been a quality player, no doubt. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it's been an interesting group. I've liked it.

And I love this next year's class of tackles. So flip it over to the defense. It was to stick to the D line. Stick to his fronts. Defense of tackles or interior defense line. We'll start there. Who stood out for you? And I, I, there's a pretty easy answer.

Pretty easy. I mean, going into the combine, Jalen Carter was the number one player. I mean, before the arrest warrant stuff, all the off-field stuff became public, Carter was the number one overall player on my board. And I think a lot of teams.

And even then, I think I only moved him down to, like, number three, because he's just too good. Even with the off-field questions. And I understand why some teams, you know, passed on it, but man, this guy is,

he has 20 pressure so far. that easily leads all rookies. And it's second among all NFL interior defensive linemen just behind Aaron Donald, who has played a lot more snaps than Carter has. Yeah. The line that I always used talking about Jalen Carter as a prospect was the block destruction was special.

And it's not just power. It's not just quickness. It's not just smarts. It's not just skill. It's all four of those things. The last line of my report on him is he has the 10th, talent to be a top five player in the NFL at his position and pretty quickly at some point during his rookie contract.

So far, he's well on his way. There's nothing to be dissuade pre-draft evaluations with him. He, I saw the 20 pressures number because it's in the top 10 among all defensive players right now. And so I looked, I was like, okay, I think he has six hits. I think it's like four hits and 16 hurries because that's, that's what you combine for pressures. So I was like, okay, that's a lot of hurries. You know, 14 or whatever it was 16. So I looked at every single one. And I literally did this yesterday. Yeah, those are hurries. Those are him winning,

demolishing the offense alignment and that quarterback getting moved off the spot or running out the pocket. And it is, it's really cool because like he's that classic defense alignment. They feel it out on the first drive the first time they play. Okay, how's this lineman playing me? How's this alignment playing me? And then the second drive you see that he's out there, it just clicks and he explodes that first third down snap he's throwing the guard because he's getting the use to the cadence he's getting used to everything this way Aaron Donald's always so good at and then but that's showing just awareness of what offenses are trying to do to him I was like oh my god like you said it's the total package he's been yeah but even even effort he ran down a screen

I was going to say that was something that I got mentioned right during the draft process that was something people say that was like effort I was like what yeah and I mean I there was there were times where he was banged up and you know it's Especially in the Ohio State game, the playoff game, that was something that people brought up was, you know, he didn't look like he was going full going. He played career high snaps in that game. Like there were times where he was fatigued, but it wasn't like a, hey, I'm just going to take this one off. I mean, my motor, you know, it wasn't like a question of effort. It was just he happened to be fatigued in that game, but it wasn't a question of him not trying.

I mean, it was something that rarely popped up on his tape. So, yeah, this is a guy that the effort has been there. The way that they're using him is helping him stay fresh. But, I mean, he's going to be hard to take off the field as we go out throughout the season because he's just too valuable. So he's played snaps wise. 50% is the highest amount of snaps he's playing the game so far. So 40 snaps, 28, 21, 36. And that Ohio State game, he probably played 28 snaps in a quarter.

Yeah. Like, you know, that's the difference being NFL snaps and college snaps. So that's why you can see this juice for more of the games. That's, I never got that effort thing because I heard that ding too. And I was like, I always want to make sure, you know, some of these top guys, that's, that's when you, that's the one warning sign that you see. And I watched it. I was like, I don't see any of that effort issues. He brings it.

But outside Carter, any other interior defense alignment that's stood out for you so far. I want to give my one shout out to Keanu Benton. But I'm curious of any for you. Because the bears have a couple guys. And I'm not sure which one has done anything for me for. first like dexter has done a little bit but i'm curious if you have any guys step up uh for me i because jalen carter was number one among these defense to tackles number two in my opinion is brian brisee and i think i think he's been the second best defense to tackle among these rookies

so far um i mean he's he's just been consistently solid uh watching the bucks game uh against the saints on on sunday i mean probably his best game so far had a sack um consistently was uh doing the right thing, being in the right place, whether, you know, defending the run or when he was able to rush a passer, had a handful of pressures in that game. So Brazil has been, for especially being a late first round pick, has been a nice addition to that defense. He had a good game against the Packers. It was, he had some real standout moment. So great shout out there. Yeah, that's Saints defense overall. The offense is another story. But the defense overall this year has been very, very fun and some really, some young players stepping up at all three levels.

So really fun defense to keep an eye on if anyone hasn't watched them yet. Maybe just turn off when the offense is on. But let's kick it out to The Edge. I think Will Anderson's been fantastic. But I'm curious your thoughts on Anderson and any other Edge players so far this year. Yeah, we got to start with Anderson, right? I mean, he's been the top, you know, rookie edge rusher so far. I think, but I also want to mention Byron Young for the Rams.

He was a guy. Yeah, you do. He was a guy that is, he was so explosive on the Tennessee tape. Now, the secondary moves, some of the counter moves. If you, if you were able to get him off that initial track, he was, he struggled to get back on track. But it's just a hard guy to slow down when you're that explosive. You have that first step quickness. So yeah, Byron Young.

And then Tuli, Tulu, Pallu, with the chargers, he looks leaner. he looks meaner, he looks faster. I mean, his ability to, and he's, we mentioned it last week, but he's the youngest, one of the youngest players in this draft, but he has a very good understanding of block destruction as well. Where do you put his hands, how to set up blockers with the way he attacks them, not tipping his hand too early. I think we've seen that consistently.

So using him as kind of that third rusher and then, you know, with Joey Bosa out, and he sees more snaps. So he has been a nice surprise here through the first four games with Will Anderson, Byron Young, and then Tui Polo, too. I think those three guys have stood out above everybody. That's the same three guys I was going to talk about. I think Anderson's been great. Real tone-setter player.

He's exactly. A lot of these guys, I mean, it's just been as advertised so far. It's like maybe just because it's just after the draft, they're still fresh on it. But Anderson getting his ears pinned back has been awesome. He's good against the run, of course. but as a pass rush, he's been very disruptive. Sometimes he doesn't get to sack and everything, but he's doing a lot of good stuff.

It's cool to see, like, and this is, sometimes you just can't always look at age. You have to look at experience. It's about like Tully and Byron Young. Tully's so young. Byron Young is 25. But both of them are working out their games and getting better, which is so cool just to see those types of players.

I think Young's been great. He's explosive. He's tried to change. chased down Anthony Richardson a couple times, which also speaks to Richardson's speed. But he has been, he's been a good player for him so far. He's been a better run defender too. And that was the big knock on Byron Young is you could run to his side of the field. Offenses felt pretty confident in doing that, even at Tennessee in college. But I think he's done a better job of staying one step behind so he can be in the right position. And then when he, you know, maybe was out leveraged just a little bit,

that quickness that he has, that speed to still be a factor. So still needs to get better, but I think he has been a better run defender than what we projected him to be this early as a rookie. I totally agree. He's been, I liked him in the preseason. That's why he was first standing out to me. And he's been better. I mean, obviously guys get better from preseason, but just leave some balance better already.

So, I mean, I thought he was going to be like a DPR. And he's played 91% of their snaps. So it's like he, yeah, I didn't know that. it's asking a lot. Yeah. That's asking a lot. And he's, he's, but he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's, he's paying dividends right now. But yeah, really fun player to watch. Yeah. Um, going to off ball linebackers. I, I, I'm actually curious who you're going to shout out here. I think there's, he's, I'm actually curious, if you're, I was curious if you're going to give him a shout out. Uh, well, let's say there were, I think 24 off ball linebackers draft in April. Uh, somehow Ivan Pace, uh, uh, uh, wasn't one of them. And look, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I Coming out of Cincinnati, I get why he wasn't a top 100 pick. I get it. He was undersized. Scouts had questions about him.

Could he drop in coverage and hold up? Could he, because he won so much in college downhill. Could he do that as a smaller player in the NFL? Could he even play special teams consistently in the NFL? So all those concerns, and he goes undrafted, but despite those concerns, he was just too good on the Cincinnati film for him to, go and draft. So, you know, the instincts, the play speed. He has an urgency to the way that he plays. I mean, he is a UFC fighter. The best comparison I have for him out there, he's so violent with the way he plays. It is translated really well for him with the Vikings. He has been so much fun to watch.

Yeah, no, he's been all over the place. I thought he was going to be a classic down, like, even though he's a smaller body, a guy that was just always downhill, but it's kind of like, you know, you can get him seeing red and so he comes downhill and you get hit with play action or motion or everything. But he is getting better and just aware. He's a football player. He's what you want on linebacker. He's a football player.

He makes everyone else around him better. And he doesn't miss tackles. As aggressive, because you're right, he is absolutely aggressive, but he doesn't miss tackles either. I mean, he, at Cincinnati, he was not just a tape guy. I mean, he filled up the stats sheet. It was over, over 100 tackles, 20 tackles for loss. He was an All-American. but even more than that was the tape and how every he was everywhere at the senior bowl watching

him cover because that's always a big thing for linebackers during senior bowl and all-star practices can you cover a running back some guys get put put on a spot on it's so bad it's tough it's tough it's you're you're one-on-one with a running back and you don't know which direction he's going and you know you don't have the luxury of understanding you know the the leverage of a play it's just a practice rep so you don't know what you're what's going to happen. But he held his own. And I thought, okay, this is a guy that I understand why he's not going to be draft.

Like, you know, I heard from a lot of Bearcats fans telling me, oh, first round, he's not going to go first round. He's not going to go second round. He's not going to go third round. But once we get to day three, I think that's, okay, worth the gamble at this point. And nobody did. I was really surprising on draft weekend when that happened. And it's not like he tested bad.

And he ran the four-fives. I mean, he tested fines. It's just he was not a big player. and there were concerns about what exactly his role was going to be, but he was too good of a football player for him just to completely fall out of the draft. Yeah, no, it's crazy. I mean, just, I thought at first it was just a little bit of Vikings hype on Twitter going on, when they're like, oh, we're checking our UDFA.

He's so good. It's like, you guys are starting a UDFA? Okay. All right. Is that where you want to be? But it's like, no, he actually looks like a nice. If he was drafted in the third round, I would be like, yeah, that looks like, yeah, nice.

That's exactly, that's cool. Speaking of maybe day three undrafted linebackers, what about your guy, Henry Tooto. Yeah, he's been, I was wondering,

I was wondering if you're going to give him a little shout out here. I was, yeah, these are two of my favorite linebackers in the draft with Pace and Tooto, and I mean,

they've played better than Jack Campbell than, I mean, Jack Campbell's been more of a part-time player. I don't think he's really, yeah, and he's played well when he's been on the field.

He just hasn't, yeah, they haven't relied on him to be that. They're trying to keep him in coverage right now. Right. All the others. So it's a lot of passing down. Kind of like a matchup player.

Right. So, but Tooto leads all rookies and tackles. And he's also missed his share of tackles for the Texans. But he's played well. And this is what I thought he was instinctive player. He's, you wish he,

type of linebacker that you wish was a little bit bigger, a little bit longer, maybe a little bit quicker. But he was good enough in those areas where as long as he is seeing the field right and trusting his eyes, he can get there and make a play. I had no problem with where he was drafted him. I thought he was that fifth,

six round pick. But so far, I think he's kind of outplayed that. He has not been a liability, even though he has some negative plays on film. He has not been a liability for Houston. So he definitely deserves mentioned as, you know,

one of the top two, three linebackers among this rookie class so far. And that type of defense can let him use his instincts and intelligence. And it kind of, it's nice because like Fred Warner, of course is the epitome of what you want on that defense. But when you have a smart player, they're a keystone player because they get everyone else lined up. They can clean up some messes.

But it's different than Fred Warner, who's like erasing everything over the middle. He's just a clean up. He's a clean up front. Okay, I'm going to make this tackle for four yards and we're good and get off the field. He's been a better pro than I think I already. Yes, I think he's always going to have some limitations. But I think he's been more of a tangible player. I was like, ah, he's probably going to be a special teamer.

He's in there. And okay, he's smart, you like him. But I've been pleasantly surprised by Toa Toa so far. And I think Jack Campbell's down the road's going to be okay. Yeah. Oh, yeah, definitely. They're easing them in. I like some of the coverage snaps.

They're just easing them in right now. And you think of Domego Ryan's at Alabama connection. I mean, they love Toe at Alabama and Sabin. So, I mean, there's a lot of connections there. Texas got a lot of those types of guys right now. Right. A lot of good character guys right now. It's, again, another team with good vibes right now.

So DB's last position. here. I don't think we're going to do specialists, are we? Who do you have for specialists? Hey, I'm game. We could do it. I mean, we'll talk a little Jake Moody. I'm trying to turn. Even Marvin Mims return? I think he's got Xavier Gibson for the Jets. Xavier Gibson

has had, yes, yes. Yeah. So, Charlie Jones for the, for Bengals. Yeah, so. But, all right, let's focus on DBs. Degs. Corners, look, my guy Gonzalez, I got to start with him. He was the rookie

of the month of September, defensive rookie the month of September. CJ Stroud, I believe, was the offensive rookie of September. But you look at what he had to face. I mean, this is talking about sink or swim as a corner. Going up against Tyree Kill and Garrett Wilson and these guys, more than held his own,

had three passes defended, an interception, had a sack, but it didn't give up a touchdown, didn't have a penalty. I mean, he has just been playing solid football. Got hurt against Dallas on Sunday. We'll have to see, they're saying indefinitely right now, we'll have to see how long this is an injury for him.

But Christian Gonzalez definitely have to mention him. And then Devin Wetherspoon, man, the Monday Night Football game that he had was an all pro type of performance. First, defensive back in NFL history to have multiple sacks plus a pick six in the same game. So not bad, if you like that kind of thing. He's been, you know, the reason you love Devin Wetherspoon was just the aggressive nature. And there were times where you've got to learn to balance it a little bit, but he's so just the intensity that he plays with at the position. And he's a little bit of a smaller guy.

He's only 180, 183 pounds, but he plays so much bigger than that. And it's something that shows up in the box score because he will get his hands on the football. He'll make tackles. But it's also something you can tell right away on tape. I mean, you don't have to look for his number with the way he makes plays out there, the way he'll hit you, the way he attacks routes,

And so far with Seattle, that's what we're seeing. I think it was a little surprising that he went top five. But, I mean, this was a top 10 pick. So at the same time, it really shouldn't have been. Yeah, he's been. Yeah, of course, the Monday night game helps him stand out. But like ever since he came back from the injury, even playing the lines, he had a couple of rough moments and they had a couple awesome moments in coverage and as a run defender.

And it's cool because so many of those Seahawk defenses, it's been outside or, outside DBs, you know, corners or safeties, you know, you don't really think of it, like, have that nickel and the guy, someone in the middle in the slot making all those plays. And oh, my God, you just get him around the ball. That inside outside versatility. That's key with him. Because he could, it doesn't matter. You want him to play outside.

He can do it. Play inside. I mean, he, I think he's a more natural guy inside, actually. I think he enjoys playing it more. He feels like, all right, I can make some real plays here. And so he just gets that look in his eyes and like he gets hungry and he's going to make something happen. But yeah.

You can kick him on the outside, and he'll be just fine doing that. Right. It lets them get eyes on the ball and get eyes on the quarterback, and let them use their intelligence. I mean, probably another debut will talk about it the same with the slot. But I really think all the, I mean, the first round rookies have been pretty fun. Gonzalez, like you mentioned, Deonté Banks had a nice game. Actually, last night with, I mean, Zester on make coverage all the time.

I need to watch Julius Brentmore for the Colts second rounder. Because the Colts defense has actually been a little feister. I know the Rams did fireworks or Stafford did fireworks on them on Sunday. But they've been a little feisterier on coverage than I realize I want to see if Brent's doing anything. So it might be a little premature. But speaking of slots, probably have to go with what kind of might be the prospects of

pros of pros, MvP so far. And that's Brian Branch. Yeah. I mean, that same thing. Ball player, get him near the ball, let him make plays. And he's been awesome in that role. Any other safety or nickel types that maybe you want to throw on outside quarter or any other quarters you want to throw on DB wise.

Well, I mean, Manuel Forbes. He had a rough one against the Eagles. A.J. Brown. Him and AJ Brown kept going back in that. Yeah. That was a little bit of a rough one. I mean, he's given up his share of explosive plays. But, I mean, he's also gotten his hands on a lot of balls. I mean, he's, I think he leads all rookies and passes defense with five.

So, I mean, it has been a little bit of, you know, the peaks in the valleys with Emmanuel Forbes. I did want to mention Kechrow Clark for the Cardinals. Great call. He leads all rookie defensive players in Snap's play. by a healthy margin and he has yet to give up a touchdown coverage, which has been good to see with him. But yeah, back to Branch. This guy is when we did our predictions earlier in the year,

he was my, what, betting favorite long shot to be rookie of the year, defensive rookie of the year. And I mean, my reasoning was simple. He was going to pile up the stats. And that's what the voters look at, tackles, interceptions. Last year at Alabama, he was the only player in college football with at least 90 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, two

interceptions. So you look towards this year, he's the only rookie so far with at least 24 tackles and one interception. He has been just for a guy this quickly to, because it's side of what the stats say in the box score.

The tape, the way he's affecting the game, I mean, you see the anticipation first, both the run and the pass. You know, watching the Falcon's tape. The tackle for loss they had against Bijon, several of the plays that he made in coverage. I mean, he's so good at diagnosing and then he plays fast. Yes, he ran a 4-5-8 at the combine, but he plays so much faster than a lot of these four

forward defensive backs because of how quickly he's reading things and then reacting. So trusting your coaching, understanding your leverages. He has that. And playing slot corner at a high level in the NFL, it's hard. And Branch is a rookie and he's doing it very well, which again, I think that speaks to just how coachable he is, how smart he is, instinctive he is. This was one of my favorite players in the draft. He was my number 17th overall player, and even that looks like I had him too low. So, yeah, Branch has been, hopefully he's, I know he got banged up last Thursday night against the Packers, hasn't practiced much this week. Hopefully he's able to stay out there because he is a true difference

maker through four games, the quartermark. He's got to be a defensive rookie to year in my opinion. I agree with you. I think just, yeah, box scores obviously is what people are going to look at, but it's just like you feel his presence. And the Falcons examples are great. Obviously, you had the pick six in week one, but just the, yeah, the TFL. And then he, on a third down, he's gloving up, Drake London on a angle route, pressing him and just gloving him up. And that should be a true blue X receiver that maybe should give him issues with some strength and, you know, anything. Nope, it doesn't matter. I think, yeah, yeah, just like Leporta, Branch and LaPorte are football players that are good.

We usually say, oh, he's a football player because it's like, hey, he's useful. You know, he's not a star, but it's like these guys are like really good right now. And they're also just bringing attitude to their teams and bring just usefulness and good play to their teams. Branch has been awesome. I love watching. I'm glad he brought Forbes as well. Like, he played well against the Broncos. He had a big takeaway.

Yep. But then, yeah, AJ Brown kind of give him a welcome to the NFL. That's exactly what it was, yeah. And he talked to him the entire game, because you can see after the stutter go, Forbes is on the sideline, and he's just so annoyed. And then they show AJ Brown,

AJ Brown's like cackling. Like he's just laughing. It's like, oh, man, does receiver quarter battles? Two Mississippi kids, you know, one went to Ole Miss, one of Mississippi State, you know,

and so it was something that, something about the Egg Bowl. Right, exactly. They've had their battles before. And even with Devonte Smith out there, too. Yeah, they, he was, I think, a junior when Forbes was a,

freshman at Mississippi State. So, you know, there's some history there with these, with that matchup. And so Eagles, Washington moving forward, we should continue to be fun. Right. There's a, yeah, when Forbes Guard Smith, it's a one guarding a one, but not receiving corners. They're literally built like the letter, the number one. That's the major.

Yeah, it's combined there, yeah, just over what, 300 pounds maybe? I mean, it's, yeah, two, two slender guys. They're both smaller than Lane Johnson. And combined. One Lane Johnson, yes. They're one Lane Johnson. So that is it for the rookie discussion. Now let's go to the little prospect discussion just to wrap up this show, Dane.

Any matchups, any players there's sticking out for you in week six of college football? Anyone that you want to highlight, may have any of the viewers, any of the listeners, pay attention to? Well, we have the Red River shootout, right? Texas, Oklahoma. You know, what's that going to look like with Texas? Kind of they're being the hunted now, right? I mean, they are a playoff contender. They look like they have a shot at making the playoffs.

And this is going to be a big step. They're going to make it. Oklahoma has been good this year. I definitely think Texas should be favored. They should win this game. But you never know in this rivalry, especially when Texas just dominated Oklahoma last year in this game. Watch for Tyler Geithen, the right tackle.

I think he was number 31, I think, in my top 50. in the preseason. We talk all the time about how good this tackle class is. Tyler Guyton right there, one of the most physically gifted of these tackles and a guy that's getting better and better. So Oklahoma's had a nice run of tackles lately. And Guyton, former TCU transfer, he's the next guy up. The other game that I think is going to be appointment viewing is going to be Kentucky going to Athens to play Georgia. I mean, Kirby Smart mentioned last year. year that their matchup is after that Kentucky game was the most sore his team has ever been. So Stoops and his Kentucky Wildcats, they bring it.

And especially after what they did to Florida on this past weekend, it was- averaging like 20 yards of rush. Oh my gosh. I mean, Ray Davis, one of the best stories in college football. I mean, he is a guy that, like, when you do the background work on him, like I did over the summer as I'm working through these guys. And I'm like, just the more layers you pull back and how interesting, you know, he was homeless for a good chunk of his childhood. He was, he was a ward of the state.

His parents weren't in the picture through, you know, the first 16, 17 years of his life. I mean, it was, it just, I don't know how he made it out. Like, it wasn't, you know, it was a situation where everything stacked against you. But everyone you talk to coaches and, you know, they keep saying, he kid always has a smile on his face. Like he was, and listening to him talk after that he had 280 yards and four total touchdowns against Florida, the first thing he mentions was his offensive line. I'm like, you know, he is a, he's a guy that gets it. And so he is a fun player. You can see what he can do against that Georgia defense.

And then let's be honest, anytime you have a chance to watch Brock Bowers play, yeah, take advantage because this guy is a special, special player. And it's, it's funny. when you talk to coaches there at Georgia, they don't mention that he's a four or five tight end or how the sticky hand. And that one-handed catch that didn't count. Another one-handed catch against. Back to back.

Yeah. Against Auburn. I think we both tweeted at the exact same time too. Because we're both saying, look at this. Look at this. This isn't normal. No. And I think 95% of the tweets I got were like, oh, yeah, this is not normal.

This is special. And then there's like, five percent. They're like, this gets you excited? Like he's doing it against nobody. It's like, all right, guys, come on. Like, this is not normal what he's doing out there. But when you talk to coaches, it's not the athleticism they talk about. They talk about the competitiveness and how, and this is something that we've talked about before is because he is a master of those hidden yards.

He gets plays that should get you six, seven yards. He gets 12, 15 yards because he can break tackles because he's so tough. He's a finisher. That grit that he plays with is, you know, there's nothing finesse about him, even though he's, is quote unquote an undersized tight end because he's going to be probably, you know, six, four even, maybe even a little shorter and about 240 some pounds. He, that's undersized by NFL standards, but he is so physically tough and the play personality. That is, mentioned it with, you know, that's something that I think everybody needs to do when you talk about prospects is look yourself

and be honest. What is his play personality? Devin Witherspoon. play personality off the charts. And that's what made him a top five pick, even though he was an undersized corner. Brock Bowers, he plays a position that you probably shouldn't be drafting top 10, especially when you're not that, you know,

he's a little bit undersized, but he's going to go top 10. There's no way the NFL lets a guy with this much talent fall out of the top 10. But because of that, and a big part of it's the play personality. The way he plays, the way he competes,

as a blocker, as a receiver with the ball in his hand. long story short. This is actually short story long. This is why you should be watching this Kentucky Georgia matchup because Kentucky will match that grit. Trevor Wallace,

the linebacker is a really good player. J.J. Weaver, edge rusher, is a good chance to get drafted as a day three guy. So this will be a fun one. That'll do it for this week's Prospects pros. Thank you guys so much for joining us. Thank you for Dane. As always, we'll see you guys next Wednesday.

This was the Athletic Football Show's to Pros Podcasts Podcast.