The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - Prospects to Pros: Dane Brugler’s 2024 NFL Draft top 100

Episode Date: February 14, 2024

With Super Bowl LVIII behind us, Dane Brugler joins Nate Tice to discuss his top 100 prospects for the 2024 NFL Draft. They talk about the talent in each position group and what players have caught their attention heading into the combine.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 shows Prospects to Prospects to Pros. Hello, welcome to Prospects to Pros. I am Nate Tice, your host today. We have the Combine invites to go over. It is February. We're after the Super Bowl. We're right into the Combine. This is what the great thing about having 18 weeks.

They say great things. There's only two weeks from the Super Bowl to the Combite. Everybody involved in the league really loves it. But to help me go over the Combine invites and over his special new top 100 big board is the athletics draft expert, the Mr. Beast himself. Dane Bruegler, how you doing today? Dane, great to see you.

By the way, we took a little break. So it's great to have you back and great to see your face. It's great to see you too. I felt like I was in Vegas with you guys. You and Robert just crushed it. Everyone else in the podcast feed did great. I mean, it was a lot of fun to follow along with you guys. How was it?

Did you enjoy? I mean, it's your home base, so you weren't on the road, but you had the home field advantage. So that kind of played into it. How'd the week go for you? It did. I had a little cold last week, and then now I am over the cold, but then now exhausted from the Super Bowl week. Yeah, the home field advantage definitely does matter, though.

At first, I thought it wasn't, you know, because we have a one-year-old. And it's like, all right, I'm not going to get to sleep. But I'm so used to that anyways, even if I'm out like a little later than I usually am. I was pretty good the whole week, actually, though. But the thing was is every night I get to go to my bed, my pillow, my hand-selected Pillar Zoma Pillo. And we're not sponsored by a Pillar Company, so we're good. And then also in the bed that we love that we got from Costco.

And every night got to wake up to my coffee, all my snacks, my breakfast. So over the eight days, as I saw everybody else wither away, I was, I think I hit my second wind as the week went along. So it was fantastic, though. Thank you so much for the compliments. That taxi sounds was really sweet of you. So I really appreciate that. That's such an advantage. I mean, just like going to, one reason I love the combine is I can drive there and I don't have to worry about flights.

And, you know, I can bring my own. stuff with me. And so like that right there feels like an advantage for me. But to have it in your home city, that's got to be, uh, make the week go by just a little bit better. Uh, but to your point, this is, we're full steam ahead now. Uh, to the 2020 for infill draft, all 32 teams. And I think it's interesting, uh, this time of year, this is when the actual draft boards start to really take shape for teams, you know, and it's kind of like long story short. And every team's a little different, but most teams starting last week, you know once you get past east west shrine once you get past the senior bowl they do all their

cross checks there that's when the scouts all everybody they return to home base they return to team headquarters and they go through draft meetings and it's it's really an interesting process for them because they'll you know they go prospect by prospect area scouts present a player they watch tape the room deliberates and this is the process of building the draft board and that's happening right now as we speak last week, this week, up until the combine, because as an organization, and, you know, Nate, I know you know this really well from your time in the league, you want an idea of how your draft board is shaping up going into the combine. You know, you want to have some level of expectations for these guys going to Indianapolis

because if they exceed or maybe they fall short, then you can go back and maybe figure it out, figure out what did we miss during the process. But, you know, I'd always say combines one big cross-checking exercise. But it's an interesting point in the calendar where teams are really busy right now, even though, you know, it feels like, okay, Super Bowl's done. Foof, all right, we're, you know, seasons over. Teams are hard at work day to night doing these draft meetings right now. Yeah.

And I always think one of the most fascinating things to me is how teams do break up the area, like the country area, and then break up the positions. And because that, that would be one of the cross checks as well, depending on the team. But they'll have the Southeast scouts also in charge of wide receivers. And so they're the cross check of that. They watch all of the certain guys above a certain grade or they might watch all of that are available. So then you get into that, like you say, there's more eyeballs on them.

I think that I, like some of these area scouts, I know you know is that you will hear, you talk to a guy and they go, oh, that guy's not my state. And it's like, oh, it's just a state over. And you think that's wild. Don't you watch college football? But these guys are so locked in on their guys because they have to be. There's so many that they have to sift through. But I think also, too, is now you get coaches evolved as you get leaned up to the combine.

Those guys start getting a list as well. I've had the privilege to be on both sides is now really good teams will now start getting these kind of cross points. Okay, we're going to put together eight guys or 10 guys or 12 guys. We want this coach to watch them. And we want to get his opinion. We want to put together an interview list if that guy is at the combine. especially as well. We want this,

this coach is really good of prying this information out, so we want to make sure he's in the interview for this guy. That process starts kind of coming together because again, they only have two weeks and those invites just came out. Those official invites came out now.

So that process is interesting too, especially with all the coaching changes. You know, they got this is all quick. And so this is going to be, yeah, it's one step of process. It's behind closed door. It's a bunch of ducks on a pond right now.

But it's just so interesting. As more data points, more eyeballs get on these guys, then like you say more opinions get presented more stacking of guys starts to happen and more guys talk and i think it's just a very interesting process as it's only starting to ramp up too as we get uh no doubt and to your point about the uh you know how the area scouts how it's broken up and it's interesting because i'll be i'll be texting with a scout and we're talking about a pass rusher and maybe he's say he's a southeast scout and you know he's watching a georgia

pass rusher and he's like he's going up against this Missouri offensive tackle but I don't have Missouri so I have no idea if this Missouri offensive tackles any good and so like he's asking me hey is this this guy you know he's stopping my my pass rusher is he any good and so you know it's it's interesting how that works but then yeah like you were saying when these teams go to all-star games you know they the area scouts will have different positions that they're in charge of so you know the West Coast scout has to be looking at the linebackers and you know they do all this. So when you get to these draft meetings that are going on right now,

it's not just one expert trying to sell the room on a player. You know, you've got your national guys. You've got your, you know, the cross checks from the All Star Games and all these things that you can have a more cohesive discussion and really break the player apart.

So it's so fascinating how these boards get built. And it's up to the area scout to whittle down. Because you're not, you know, you're not deliberating on. 500 players, it's a more confined list based off of what fits your scheme, your culture. And so it's up to the area scouts to really narrow it down. Who are the guys we should be looking at?

So yeah, it's a fascinating process. By the time those final meetings will happen over the next couple of weeks and everything after the combine, it's, some of these guys will have a grade from an area scout, a regional scout, no, east or west, a national scout of the positional scout, the positional coach. coordinator, sometimes the head coach, sometimes the director of player personnel, then the college director. You know, then sometimes they might even get a pro scout involved, like just because, hey, this guy's really good with offensive line. Let's get this guy in here.

Some of these guys will have 10 grades on them by the time it's all said and done. Some were weighted, of course, more than others. That's what the GM has to decide. Whoever makes these picks is who's like, okay, if we have 10 and it's universal, okay, this is great. But sometimes, all right, well, are we into group think right now? you know, okay, so then that process becomes a whole thing. Yeah. So I always just, again, just think it's fascinating by some of these guys get eyeballs.

I also love the ramp up process. Like you said, the All-Star game might bring an attention to some of these guys. And then it just goes, okay, we got to get more eyes on this and make sure. And we're going to be talking about a few of them right here on your big board because I noticed quite a few of those senior bull standouts were on this list. And I agree with quite a few of them as well. But no, this is just such an interesting process. And we are what it feels like step two of it.

for the next couple of weeks because, yeah, like I said, a combine's in a couple of weeks. Oh, speaking of a combine, the invites happened today. 321, officially. And that's, uh, I don't, I don't, I went through the list. I don't think there were any major stubs. I mean, usually there's one or two that really are surprising. This year, I don't think we really had that.

I mean, there were a few guys I wish could be there. Christian Boyd, the Northern Iowa defensive tackle, who had a great week at Shrine practices over in Frisco. No invite for him. I know scouts weren't super high on him during the week or during the season, but later in the year and then especially in All-Star season, he really helped himself. I mean, he's getting drafted.

So, I mean, every year, there are between 30 and 35 non-combine guys that get drafted. Boyd will be one of them. And, you know, just perfect example. Look at last year. Two guys that were at the Shrine game, Kobe Turner, Broderick Martin, those guys weren't invited to the combine. turned out okay for both. Turner was, you know, with the Rams, had a great rookie season.

I think he led all rookies and sacks. And then Martin was one of the first non-combine guys drafted, late third round by the Lions. So, yeah, both those guys, surprise weren't invited, but it's not, you know, be all end all for them. But I thought this, I got a lot of questions on Twitter about how does the process work in terms of voting and who gets an invite. And so I thought we delve into that a little bit.

Because it is a really fascinating thing. And so this process has changed over the years. I don't, I think there have been maybe some changes to this. But this is, so this is to the best of my knowledge. Basically, there is a committee and a voting process. The committee is made up of all 32 teams plus National and Bledo, the two main scouting services. They also play a part in this.

Most of the time, it's, you know, directors. with the team that are kind of doing the voting for each team. Sometimes it's a GM, but not always. Sometimes it's a scout. Sometimes it's whoever the GM trusts do the voting for that team. And they used to do this in person, but they made it into an online portal. So there's hundreds and hundreds of names in this portal. You're basically voting yes or no.

And it's kind of a long process, obviously, because there's a lot of names to go through. That's the first round of voting. So basically it's the top. X percent at each position that gets yes votes, they are part of that first wave. That gets the combine invites. And that comes out, what, early December maybe? I can't remember the exact timeline. But yeah, that's the first wave.

Then there's a second, yeah, there's a second round of voting, which that's for most of the late underclassmen that, you know, because obviously the deadlines until January 15th. So you need to make sure you have all the underclassmen in there. So there's a second wave of voting, the underclassmen, and then more of the fringe guys that didn't receive the first wave of yeses, but still have a chance. This, it used to be a lot more confined of a process, only about like a handful, five, seven guys, execs. And I know they used to do it in Mobile right after the senior bowl. Now, my understanding is it's back to the portal again and it's a yes, no process. and this is where it gets really interesting because teams can be strategic with how they vote that second time.

Some teams, they'll just, it'll be congruent with their grades. They have a draftable grade or a high PFA grade on a player. It's a yes. Other teams, a little more coy about it. There's definitely some gamemanship. If a team has a draftable or a healthy grade on a player, but they know other teams are lower on that player, they'll vote no on the player and try to keep them as a sleeper.

And that's the second wave. And they usually, you know, they end up with between 300 and 320, 330 total invites. But it's something to keep in mind because sometimes a player doesn't receive an invite, but it's 100% strategy by some of these voting teams to try and keep that player under the radar. And all the voting's anonymous. So, you know, like I said, on average, there's about, you know, low 30s. somewhere in there are non-combine guys that could draft it every year. But just something to keep in mind as we continue to go through the combine

and then through the protest, all the workouts. Well, the Kobe Turner example is the best one, I feel like, because I know the ramps loved them. I think they were Jordan, Roderick wrote an article about it. They used emojis with their grades now. They were a fire emoji with it. And they drafts. That's so 2024.

I know, isn't it? It's like, I got it, got it. Yeah, it's all just shorthand. It's even more short hand now. But no, they They obviously liked him, took him in the third round And obviously had a good year. So that is a guy that I think is just one of those.

Like you say, gamesmanship. That is, no, that's interesting. I knew some of the process, but actually I didn't know all of that. So that is fascinating. I didn't, well, what I do know, actually is, you have a big board out. I do.

100 players. The big X, X, X, XL. We're getting there. Honestly, we're in X out at this point. I should have done more because when I whittled it down, I had like, well I had like 150 guys that like you know I feel really good about their grades and I was like all right we'll have to chop 50 off of this so I should have just did 150 but so I chopped 50 off and that the final going from like 115 down to 100 was tough because there were like 15 guys that I hated leaving off this list but you know you got to cut the number off somewhere so just keep out an even 100 and yeah definitely you know because allster I haven't updated My last top 50 was back in November, but I've had two mocks since then, including this last one, which is a second round mock in mid-January.

So I think by the way those mocks played out, you could tell kind of where my, you know, like Terry and Arnold being my top corner back in, you know, December. Like people, I think, can catch on. So not a huge surprise when Terry and Arnold is my top corner in this update. But yeah, definitely some based off the All-Star games, based off of catching up on late season. tape, what I'm hearing from teams on players, you know, medical wise or just other things in the way, you know, their teams talk about them, that type of thing. That plays into these grades as well. So where we are going into the combine, yeah, this is the 100 players I ended up with.

That's great. Well, let's start number one. Actually, we'll start with, you know, the position that grabs the headlines. The quarterbacks. That kick yours. No, I'm kidding. The quarterbacks, which is you went back. You refer to your last big board, which was your top 50.

I also had a big board recently, which was top 40 because I am not you. And I cannot, I'm at medium size right now. I cannot get to the Excel size yet. I'm at medium, but we'll get past there. But like you, I was at like 68 graded guys, maybe 70-ish. And same thing. I was like, I really got down to about 4852. I was like, ah, that was pretty tough to go to 40.

But anyways, at number one, back to Caleb Williams, quarterback from USC. Is there anything that has put you over the top? at this point or anything that changed. It has been 1A, 1B, basically, the whole season. But anything that kind of maybe gave him the tilt right here at this point in time. Since we started doing the show in August, we have said that it is 1A, 1B. That's how both of us kind of felt. At the time back in August, I was more Caleb's the A and Drake's the B, where you were the opposite.

And to your credit, you haven't budged. That's not. May has been your quarterback won the whole way. And I give you credit for that. I went back and forth a little bit throughout the season. And that's kind of the flaw of doing this all year. It's tough. Being transparent with how you feel about players is you will go back and forth on players sometimes.

But now with the benefit of the full season, the way may play down the stretch a little bit, just my worries about him were amplified. You watch the Clemson tape. You watch the NC State, NC State tape. My concerns with him, just the way he would press. some of the reckless decisions, it bothers me. Not enough where I'm not going to draft him number two overall, but enough where Caleb is, to me, the guy.

And, you know, I think it's interesting with him that, you know, he's going to get all these comps, whether it's Patrick Mahomes or Aaron Rogers or Kyler Murray, whatever comp you end up using for Caleb, he's just, he's kind of his own guy. And the thing that really sets him up, part is just that rare football awareness that he plays with. It just, it makes him a playmaker.

He can be a playmaker from the pocket. He can be a playmaker outside the pocket. You know, there's, he's not a perfect player by any means, but I still, he has those playmaking instincts that I'm, I'm going to trust as, you know, to be the guy that's going to get me over, over the hump if I'm a team that needs a quarterback. And with May, so this is interesting with him, among the top six quarterbacks in this draft. So just, you know, going by Caleb, Drake, Jane Daniels, JJ McCarthy, Boe Nix, Michael Pennix, out of those six guys, May had the fewest number of second half touchdowns

this year and the most second half interceptions. And I, and that's not, you know, all on him. I mean, the supporting cast, his receivers in that NC State game, it was embarrassing. They just were giving up on routes, drops everywhere. I mean, it was, the offensive line was doing him any favors, it was embarrassing. But I do think that it kind of speaks to some of the decision-making process and things that he has to work through. But again, I mean, he is number four on this top 100, and I don't see him falling past that.

I mean, but Caleb did go to number one for me. And I think that's going to be pretty cemented the rest of the process. Yeah, I hadn't flopped. I had May 1 in Williams 4, but you'll still want to. and I watched the NC State game, Clemson games, and now we've gotten way too much tape on all these guys. I'm going to be watching it probably endlessly for the next two months. I did the same thing last year.

But watching May and watching those games, there's kind of some subtle stuff that actually may be like him a little bit more. There was the protection stuff that I didn't know that they gave him that license. And I thought that was really interesting. The Clemson game, he had a fantastic touchdown working backwards and away from pressure. That first quarter touchdown was awesome. Yes. And like you said,

he doesn't get a lot of help. And he does press, I think the NC State game. There's times where they're down, what, 24-0-0 in the middle of second quarter, and he's like, he tried to get it all back at once. And that is a young guy that, a young gunslinger guy that wants to try and make a play, sometimes to his detriment. I thought earlier in the year he had a moment like that. And I really, I wish I could recall the game.

I want to say it was Virginia. But he had one early. Again, he was on a heat check. And he was like, he had a huge driver. He hit like five throws in a row. So the next drive, he started. South and he was just one of those words like why are you throwing that because he thought he thought he can just make every throw out. So I still love all that because of that. I'd rather rein that back in.

That's why I just kind of been solidified with that. Even in the bad games, there's a lot to like. But the, and I've actually, I'm writing about Caleb next week, kind of a more deeper dive on him. And I think with Caleb is there's so much that you got to ask of what the hell was going on with that offense. and I think so much the gifts that Caleb has, that's still one A, one be for me, but I'm like pretty solid that May is going to be one for me. I watched enough and unless there's some terrible stuff that comes out about him. I think I'm pretty solid on it.

But Caleb, I was getting down on a little bit. And I got to watch, you know, again, take a deep breath, watch him all at whole last week or all at once last week. And he has the special gifts that others just can't attain, even if he does have some blemishes, the quick throwing motion, the balance, the, you refer to it, the spatial awareness, his ability to find answers when he's on the move. Just get him with at least an above average OC and he's going to be okay. I think he is also didn't, like the offensive line was just bad last year for USC.

It's just like very much guys were losing blocks a lot in the interior. I do think he needs a good interior line to start out to help him out to kind of keep him from his worst tendencies. but the gifts that he has and the things that he can do and attained is like, yeah, that's why he won't drop. Like this is going to be it. Like this is going to be it basically. I think I'm pretty solid with this. And also I think I think he has a good size, like as far as weight and sturdiness. And that's always a big thing I bring up.

And I do think that it's not always available to him. There's times he will turn it down, but he is, we'll throw it over the middle, which I'll bring up all the time because that sometimes can keep me from putting the guy over the top. But I'm with you. I think these guys are just easy top five grades. And I know it's going to be exhaust. seeing the next couple of months. It's really just what flavor you prefer. I'm surprised with, because I agree with you on all the May stuff.

I'm surprised. It seems like there's a lot of people down on him. Way down. Yeah. I find it very surprising. I mean, he is the only quarterback over the last two years that has accounted for over 9,000 yards of total offense. He's, he has been, he was the team.

And it's not just with his arm. he had he accounted for 42 first downs with his legs on third or fourth down over the last two years that's a crazy number 42 on third or fourth down just with his legs so you know he what he can do as a scrambler what he does from the pocket what he can do as an athlete I thought he did better with his eye manipulation you know I think that there's just a his the way the ball comes off his hand he's got a fluid explosive release great he can Ball. Yeah, and he can alter ball speed. So, you know, when it needs a little bit of loft, he can do it. When he needs touch, he can do it. He knows, he has a good feel for hot routes and checkdowns. Now, sometimes I feel like his arm gets juiced up and, you know, we've talked about him before, but that's what leads to some of the ball placement issues. But he's not an inaccurate quarterback. So, yeah, surprised that there's been more discourse than expected, I guess, on May. But we're both on the same page of these quarterbacks. They're NFL starters and guys that if you're going to take a swing on a quarterback in this draft,

you know, you can feel good that you're going to take a swing on one of these two guys. Watching the Super Bowl just now, and I'm not compared to the guy, Mahomes, or watching Herbert and watching other quarterbacks, Lamar's and Josh Allen's. Like, even at the end, Bill's missed the kick. Alan was hit and throws to bring him back in the game. These two quarterbacks are doing that type of stuff that you want out of your top five, top six quarterbacks that in the end of the week is that, They are truly willing their team to a score with playmaking, with precise throws,

working from the pocket and outside the pocket, and then just running when they need to. It's like, okay, these two got it, done. We're good. We'll just move on from that. Yeah, speaking of moving on, next one is kind of consensus QB3 right now. Some guys seem to get going pretty wild about them. Jane Daniels, quarterback from LSU, you have them at eight overall. I had him at 13 overall.

Yes, I had them at 13 overall, but kind of similarish, I guess. suppose area. Any comments that Daniels? I want to just move to your QB4 because I think we have the same there. I mean, it's tough when you, I mean, how do you compare a quarterback with an offensive tackle,

you know, and like doing these rankings? Like really, quarterbacks shouldn't be in, they should be at their separate rankings and then the non-quarterbacks. You know, so it's, it's always tough to where to put these quarterbacks.

But with Jane Daniels, yeah, I still have some questions about some of the processing stuff. I, and this is a conversation, you know, similar conversation we had with Tua and Mac Jones. and some of the Ohio State guys where the situation around him was so good.

The offensive line giving him all the time in the world. Two first round wide receivers throwing two and another two receivers that will be drafted next year. Like it's a perfect situation. And so how do you, you have to scout him independent of that. And that's not an easy thing to do. You don't ding him. It's not his fault that he had all that talent around him. But at the same time, you have to try.

to divorce him from that situation, and that's not an easy thing to do. So, you know, I like Jane Daniels quite a bit. I think that he's going, there's a good chance he is the third pick overall. There's a good chance we see quarterbacks go one, two, three. And if the Patriots don't make that pick, they could trade out of that pick.

And they'd be, they get plenty of offers, I think, for a team to go up to number three and make the selection for a quarterback. So there is a good chance we see quarterbacks off the board, one, two, three, similar to, what was that, a 20-21 dress? and it was a Lawrence, Wilson, Trey Lance, one, two, three.

So, yeah, this will be interesting to see how it plays out. 99. Was that one, two, three? No, it was true. Yeah, yeah, yeah. With Tim Couch, Keely Smith, or Donovan McNabb, Keeley Smith. Yeah.

This will, and then it'll be interesting after that. When's that fourth quarterback come off the board and who is it? I think, J.J. McCarthy from Michigan, he was your fourth quarterback as well, right? Yes, he was. I had him in the 30 somewhere, 35. Okay. Yeah.

And he was, I think, 24, 25 for me. Yep. Yep. But in that 20 to 40 range, I mean, that's the kind of, that's the same kind of tier. Yeah. I think he is my earliest second round grade, basically. And so, but I think, you know, usually second round quarterback is going the first round. And where is going to be the big question with J.J. McCarthy?

I think he's going to win over coaches during the process. That's certainly going to help him. And it's interesting with those picks a lot. 11, 12, 13 with what's the Vikings, Broncos, Raiders, Saints, I believe. It's hard to see him getting past all four of those teams. It really is because of just the, you know, if you're the Vikings, you re-sign Kirk for a year or two. You draft J.J. McCarthy.

You've got your succession plan in place. You know, if you're, you know, the Raiders, yeah, you'd love a quarterback right now. But if you can't, then you draft J.J., you've got. Aiden O'Connell for a year, however you end up doing it. I mean, there's different ways for them to attack this quarterback position. But McCarthy's going to be such a wild card through this process. And then, you know, same thing with Bo Nix and Michael Penix. I don't, did either one of those make your top 40?

They did not. I believe I just made it a four horse. I actually, I'm really coming around on Rattler. And I just like out of, he'll end up probably in my top 50-ish, I think. But yeah, he's closer to Knicks and Pennix to me than. I think those three are more in the same tier than maybe I even thought originally. But I like what you're bringing up, though, with McCarthy. He does grow on you the more you watch him because you have to watch the whole season

to get a good amount of reps of past attempts. But he does grow on you. And I think a few people have said it. But there's going to be certain guys, certain coaches that love his skill set because of his ability to throw in a move. He's smart. He throws over the middle. And he's got enough arm juice to attack certain areas. So like you said, you brought the Vikings, like Kevin,

McConnell. This is ideal what he wants to do. Andy throws a nice speedball. But then you get other guys in that offense. Okay, Sean McVeigh for post-career Stafford at 19. Then you got dolphins who know what they're doing with Tua, you know, which is also an interesting thing. I know. So it's just going to be spicy. There's so many teams I think are going to end up liking them. But yeah, but the other three guys there, or I should say two for you, well, really one, actually. You have these guys different tiers. You have Knicks next at QB5. And you have 37 overall. seven overall. And then Pennix at 57 overall. These two were both at the Senior Bowl. They kind of helped themselves, hurt themselves. I know we talked about a little bit a couple weeks ago, but also it seems to be a little bit more separation than maybe they had going in, at least just by your rankings.

Well, and I mean, I don't know. You and I have been very outspoken or, you know, forthright with our opinion. As outspoken as me and you can be, yes. Right, right. Yeah. He's been always more of not a top 50 guy for us, you know. And how we played against Texas was an eye opener. It's like, okay, well, you know, but then it was what he did against Michigan was.

Yeah. What's that? It's a principal Skinner meme. It's the, am I out of touch? No, it's the children who are wrong. Right, right. That was the Texas game for me. Yeah.

So, yeah, Michael Pennix, is a fine quarterback. I just, I don't think he's in that top 50 conversation. Now, maybe he ends up getting drafted there, but he's not a top 50 guy for me. And then Spencer Rattler, yeah, he definitely moved up. He was probably the best quarterback during the week of senior bowl that I saw up close. Very repeatable with his mechanics. He's very consistent with his touch. I think one of my favorite stats from this entire quarterback class is the South Carolina

offensive line this year. They had a different front five combination on the offensive line in 10 of the 12 games in 2023. that's that's crazy like it's he was running for his life the entire seasons and when you look at that offense of line and the struggles they had it's yeah you the context is important here yeah uh with spencer ratt so and then michael pratt uh he snuck in there at 100 uh so wanted to get his name in there yeah i see that that's i always love your 100th 100th guy because i know i know that's a special meaning too you get to squeeze him right in there but ratler me you know yes but ratler you have the offensive line just so he's gonna get you

used to he got used to some NFL pockets there uh some revolving doors at the guard positions those guys are a lot of lookout blocks but yeah uh you talked about his mechanics he's clean he's such a clean thrower it's exactly why he was such a top high recruit and what he showed at oklahoma he's just such a clean thrower that ball pops out of his hand um he's the guy i really wish i got to see live um missing the senior bowl so excited him maybe hopefully see him at the combine uh throw a little bit the the biggest thing for him is just can he be a little more urgent with his process, with his reads, and, you know, and that's not necessarily something you get from the senior bowl practices

because, but, you know, he was the MVP of the game. So not that that counts for a whole lot, but I think once. Hey, Jake Moody, Shrine Bowl MVP last year. There you go. There you go. But once the bullets start flying, that's when he has to just speed everything up a little bit more. And, yeah, time will tell if he's able to do it. But, yeah, a good chance he's drafted somewhere on day two.

the pass catchers. How about that? Let's go there and then we'll get to the big boys on the office. So many of them. How many did you have? I had it written down. Was it 17? 17 in your top 100. But I get it. There's plenty of guys at the top. We'll start right there. Obviously, you have Marvin Harrison, Jr. I shouldn't say obviously. I hate when people do that. But I'm going to say obviously here, Marvin Harrison Jr. at number two overall. But I thought this was a very, and you hinted at this, I would say, the last couple of months on this show. But you have Malik neighbors at number three overall. Very close. Even I had a Drake May. And then you have Roman Dunezay at number seven overall. I had him at seven overall as well, but I had him kind of a 7A, 7B with neighbors. I can every, you ask me every day.

I will go back and forth. I think they're both exceptional top 10 guys. Then you got Thomas as a receiver for Brian Thomas, I should say, from LSU, neighbor's teammate at 14 overall. And that's kind of your top 20ish guys, that kind of true first, I don't want to speak for you, but true first round of graded guys. True first-run grades, yeah. Yep.

And that is literally what I have the same. I have those four as my true. Yep, those are blues. And Harrison's a purple for me, which is the rare grade. But yeah, that's how I have, I do have neighbors close to Harrison.

I mean, Harrison, no one's going to knock them off at the top spot. Yeah, dark, dark, dark blue for you. Tell me the limitations that Malik neighbors has. You know, it's like he doesn't have any. You can nitpick him for sure. I mean, he's a little. That's a little.

Yeah, he's a little lean. You know, he's probably going to be right around 205 pounds. So, you know, the play strength is adequate. It's not a bad thing. It's not a strength of his. You know, I think that he doesn't have a ton of special teams experience. I mean, but see, like, I have to reach to find out, like, what exactly is holding him back. So when you talk about how explosive he is, his ability to accelerate, decelerate on command,

he's always available as a receiver. And that's such a key thing for receivers translating, especially. early in their career in the NFL. And he's still so young. He doesn't turn 21 years old until he reports for his first training camp in the NFL. So this is a guy that is at such a young age, back-to-back thousand-yard seasons,

let the SEC in receiving back-to-back years. There's so much to like about him. So I do think it's 1A, 1B with Harrison and neighbors. And then Adunze, again, in most years, he's the top receiver. And in this year, he just happens to be the third receiver. but he's the way he plays through contact and just how savvy he is, but also a good height, weight, speed athlete. So, yeah, these three receivers, Brian Thomas right behind them, but those top three especially,

you know, if you're the Bears at nine, you examine the possibility of trading up three spots. I know they don't have, you know, maybe a ton of draft capital to do it, but you examine the options because that really changes things. If you are able to have Caleb Williams and then pair him with not only do you have DJ Moore, but add in a Malik neighbors or a Dunezay, man, that's a game changer. It would be.

Absolutely would be, especially because I'm comfortable with your tackle situation too. So that's why I'm going to get, just crank up the weapons. Let's go. If they don't take a, or if their top three receivers are off the board at nine, it's,

I don't know which direction they would go. because I don't, offensive tackle is not an immediate need with the way Braxton Jones played. I love tackle. Obviously darn all right at right tackle. Yeah, I mean, commit is obviously your tight end one. And then Bowers is going to be more of the hybrid. And, you know, do you have the offensive coordinator, the plan in place to have Bowers be part of that? I don't know.

And so I really think that things are wide open if those top three receivers are off the board starting at number nine, which I expect that they would be. It's, you know, if you're the Bears, you're hoping three, three quarterbacks go in the top top eight, but it's a hard time seeing one of those three receivers fall all the way to number nine. Or someone really wants defensive help.

And they just say they take a defensive guy and you can just get one of these guys to drop. But yeah, it's, it's hard for me to give a true first round grand receiver. And like we said, all four of these guys easily deserve it. Like neighbors, neighbors to me is that it's classic, okay, his route running is,

the pristine yet, but his body control and quickness and explosiveness, he's going to be able to learn it. You know what I mean? It's not a, it's not like he has an athletic deficiency where you're like, yeah, he can't bend. He can't, you know, he can't come down his route and, you'll sink into his route breaks or anything like that. It's like, no, he's an exceptional athlete. And a dude's a dozie, I go back and forth on his name. I cannot, I'm going to get it nail it. But the thing with him is just, I, I just like everything he does.

How he's not only just good, he's good to very good at everything. And that's what it's like, yeah, I can just see. He's very scheme proof to me where it's like I can see him in any type of offense and any type of role. And I think he's going to be able to hit the ground running in that. So and then Thomas, we've talked about Thomas a decent amount. It's just that he's still working there has the size of a true X, but doesn't always, it doesn't play like that. And I don't mean that as a in a bad way because this guy kind of has it developing underneath stuff and yet his route running is improving.

But after that, yeah, it's funny actually. We both had in Tuesday at seven. I had Thomas at 14 as well. So we matched on those. And then you have Keon Coleman from Florida State at 28. I had him at 27. So we were right in lockstep here right now until we get to the next guy. We can't wait for this discussion.

The next guy. Because you have Keon Coleman at 28. And then you have Ladd McConkey from Georgia all the way up there at 34, which I love. I snuck him into my top 40 as well. And then you have Donnelly Mitchell from Texas at 35. Troy Franklin from Oregon at 40. Oh my God. There's so many of these guys.

I didn't know where to come off. What's not worth there right there at 40 right there to? get through this group right now. But, uh, I would like McConkey, I think is a big mover. I know you stuck me at 50, I believe in your top 50 a couple months ago. Or was that, yeah. So now he's up to 34 and I think there's a growing consensus with him that he is just a baller. So, uh, a senior bowl standout was McConkey, but I, these guys say, you want to talk about more thing. Yeah, no, I, yeah, my, my top 50 update I did it right around Halloween and McConkey made it in there. And, uh, he's only helped himself since then, uh, especially at the senior bowl.

He is undersized. He has had injuries the last two years. That does make it tough because he's not a big guy. And so it worries you moving forward. But good luck covering this guy in the slot. I mean, the way he can create his own space, not just with the speed and the quickness, but with the way that he uses his body and his routes,

his footwork, you know, it's just a very crafty player. And to add that to an offense, I think he's going to pay immediate. a dividend. So if you're a team that needs that slot player in the early second round, I don't think you would, you wouldn't hesitate to add a player like this. But if you're looking for more of an outside receiver who can be a true starter for you, then Adon A Mitchell. I mean, I think he makes sense for a lot of teams. Once you get past those first round wide receivers, Mitchell is really interesting because he has that upside. He has that ability to be that

playmaker on the outside. But then, yeah, you've got Troy Franklin, who's a different type of receiver. And then you've got a different group of receivers with Xavier Worthy from Texas, who came in, what was he? He was 46 overall. Roman Wilson was in there, 45. Malachi Corley at 49 is a different type of receiver. And then once you get out of the top 50, that's where I had the other two Washington

guys with Jalen Polk at 54. And then I think people are sleeping on Jalen McMillan, the other. Washington receiver because he missed most of the year with that, that injury. But he, yeah, he is a good player. And he reminds me of a juiced up Jacobi Myers where he's a little, you put him in a slot. He's a long player. Former baseball center fielder, you can see that range when he goes and makes plays on

the ball. So McMillan's a good player. But yeah, there were 17 receivers in here for me. I think maybe the one that's the toughest to peg is Devontes Walker, North Carolina. He's going to ask you about him. I have a third round grade on him, but he is a guy, you see the speed.

He was one of the fastest players I saw in Mobile, but also one of the most inconsistent. So many drops. I mean, he fights the ball. And that just bugs the heck out of me. And it's tough to get past that. But if, you know, you can work past that, you know he has the athleticism he has the length but the consistency just isn't there and so

how long before he learns to be a better route runner he learns to be more focused at the catch point you know and where do you where do you draft a guy like that so i think grades are going to be all over the place on on walker yeah it seemed like he had kind of a sluggish senior bowl week a little bit yeah kind of a he throws the hand up a lot when he's a receiver because I watch a lot of Drake May. I saw a lot of walk her hand up, even though he was covered and not. I'm open. Yeah, he loved doing that.

But then he drops it. And they drops it, yes. And he can't run. His route tree is a little barren at this point in time. I had Troy Franklin as my receiver six when I did my big board. So right after Keonk-Kulman, I was like, I think about 32 with him. But, yeah, McConkey, I think his archetype, as far as that kind of true old-school slot receiver, as far as the more quicker than the long-speed bigger guys there these days is.

I actually think it's going to help out because now there's bigger slot players. So now we're going all the way back to now getting him at an advantage of working over the middle. But yeah, it was cool watching him. I have a great senior ball because I know we both were pretty high on them originally. Roman Wilson, another great senior ball guy, but also had a great college football playoff. The double jump catch he had against Alabama, super impressive shows off. He's just a good player. Like, you know, he's kind of his size isn't overwhelming, just good hands, good route runner.

I really like his game. A lot of the things you say about McConkey, you could also say for Roman Wilson. He's a hard guy to cover. He is. And it just, yeah, he just moves the chains. And it's one of those guys are going to have a role in offense. Like, it might not be a super sharp, like a very productive role. So I like those.

I'm glad he brought up McMillan. I've been, I had that Christian Kirk comp early in the season because he has that smooth kind of slot work from there. So that was one. Is it Pierceall? Ricky Pearsall? Yeah. Okay. You had it from Florida.

you had him from Florida also another senior bowl guy I believe you have him at 78 overall I remember him from his anti-richerson catching the ball days but uh but uh this is a pierce hall how do he do down there in mobile because I have yet to study him this season not gonna lie have not watched a ton of

of Florida offense on film this year yeah I mean like the first like two reps were were rough for pierceal and then I don't think he dropped the ball the rest of the week um I mean he was he was outstanding I mean, his focus is exceptional. His hands are very good. He contorts his body really well to go make plays in the ball. Obviously, he had that one-handed catch against Charlotte.

That was the catch of the year. But even like the basic catches, the way he could frame things, he's just a very natural at that. He's very good at creating space because he understands coverages and then he can open the door. And he's got a little bit of catch-and-go to him as well. So, yeah, there's a lot to like about his rhythmic movements, the way he could shake free,

his toughness over the middle. I think he could be that dirty slot player where, you know, he's going to take a hit, he's going to get right back up. He's reliable, dependable, the type of guy that quarterbacks are going to really find some immediate chemistry with. I like that a lot. It's, uh, that's funny. Yeah, the dirty slot.

I like that. Scrapping it up in there. Uh, going on other past catchers, tight ends. Uh, Brock Bowers, number five. overall, not a shock. I don't think to anyone. But then we have to go all the way down to 50 to see tight end two, which is Jetavian Sanders from Texas.

And then Theo Johnson, that's another senior bowl guy, someone that we have talked about a little bit over the last couple of months. But can you talk about a little bit Johnson, how he did it down on Mobile? Because I think in this type of tight end class, he's an interesting flavor that maybe some of these other guys aren't. Yeah, he helped himself.

I think at Penn State, you saw the flashes. But he was never a big production guy. that offense. He never had more than 350 yards receiving in a season at Penn State. And, you know, this is a guy that has a lot of tools, just was never a big part of the offense. But then he goes to the senior bowl and looks really natural running his routes, catches the ball well. When you look at the traits, he has a lot that will translate well to the next level. And so I think you've got a guy here who A plus measurements, smooth athletic tools, yeah, the tape's a little inconsistent. The production is not what you want, but as a guy that's going to continue developing and getting

better, this is the type of investment you want to make on day two and a tight end. You know, his former teammate, Breton Strange went, what, late second round last year. So Theo Johnson, especially in this draft class, that's another part of this is the tight ends. After Brock Bowers, you know, there's a big drop off. And then somewhere Jadivion Sanders is going to go, you know, probably in that 40 to 60 range. And then after that is another drop off. and a team that really needs a tight end, you're looking at Theo Johnson and saying,

okay, you know, if we don't get our guy now, we're not going to get a tight end in this class that we think can maybe eventually be a starter for us. So Theo Johnson, I think, is a guy that helps himself in Mobile

and a guy that will end up going somewhere on day two, just a matter of where. Yeah, I'm a big fan. He's tight end. It's just so hard. So, again, it's the biggest,

fastest athlete theory and just hope they figure it out. And he's the perfect type, because there's flashes of actual good play. And that's like, this is exact, you have him at 76. I think that's a perfect type of range for him. Yeah, I'm very interested in Johnson. Cade Stover from Ohio State, another kind of wild horse type of player, converted from linebacker.

You snuck him in at 94, but he's going to be kind of a, I had to beholder of how you want to use him and what his best role, because I think he's still a developing player. I was curious. He's a good athlete, but just not a Theo Johnson type of athlete. Right. I mean, you know, that obviously is kind of changes things. But yeah, like you said, it depends on what you're looking for.

And I mean, he would have played in the senior bowl, but he played through an injury all year for Ohio State, which I think speaks to his toughness and just what you're getting with him. Yeah, I think he's stover. If he's available at the end of the third round, he could end up being really good value there. Special team coaches are going to love him. And then I was hoping you to sneak in AJ Barner from Michigan.

I was hoping you maybe sneak him in there. You like him that high, huh? Close. If I did 100, he'd be 100. He'd be by 100 guy just to sneak in there. I have him like maybe a little lower graded. I kind of have a fourthish on him right now, but I like him. He does a lot.

All right. So let's get to the big boys because honestly, this might be the headline position for this draft because I believe six of your top 18 or offensive tackles and was it seven of your top 20? Eight of your top 20. Eight of your top 20. So, oh my God, so over a third. So we'll start with the tackles. You have Joe Alt from Penn State as your number one tackle at the sixth spot.

And then Olu Foshanoo from Penn State at number nine overall. Are these two kind of the same tier? Or do you think Alt is kind of a clear tier above at this point in time? I don't know about tier, but I do think Joe Walt's clearly the better. I think Joe Walt is clearly the best offensive lineman in this draft. I think the improvements he has shown in such a short period of time is so impressive. I mean, considering he wasn't a full-time offensive lineman in high school, what he did as a freshman at Notre Dame,

what he did as a sophomore, and then the improvements he made here as a junior, I mean, you have Jake Matthews in, who's the former tackle for the Patriots and Giants? Oh, Sauter? Yeah, Nate Soder. He's Jake Matthews and Nate Soder's body. You know, like he has that size, a little narrow.

Yeah, but the way he plays, the way he can sit down, the way that he's as a run blocker, his recovery skills. Joe Walt, to me, is, yeah, the top offense. He separated himself as the top offensive linemen this year. Olu, to me, is the second guy. And then that's where it gets interesting because I think you've got these next four tackles. And depending on what you're looking for specifically, you're going to have these next four guys in a different order. talking about J.C. Latham from Alabama, Fuaga, Oregon State, Tyler Guyton, Oklahoma, and then Marius Mims, Georgia. The order on these guys is going to be different from team to team evaluator to evaluator based off of what exactly you're looking for.

And for me, I went, you know, Latham, to me, he's, I really feel like he might be the strongest player in the draft. And when you have that kind of differentiating trait, that gives you a little bit of an edge. So he's at the top of that stack for me. Fuwaga, because he is so NFL ready. He's next. And then I want to win. Marius Mims. How freaky he.

Yeah. Seeing him up close, because when I went to offensive line masterminds, I was talking to Duke Manyweather, Mims is right next to us. And just unbelievable how he's built, his size, his length. And then to see him move on tape, the way he does. People will be talking about that Ohio State game from last year as, look, see what this guy

can do. This is with no experience and, you know, just wait until we get our hands on him. And it will not be hard to talk yourself into Amarius Mems. So, I mean, if Mims ends up at the top 10 pick, that wouldn't be a surprise at all. And then Tyler Gighton, who seeing him up close with the senior bowl, you see the movement skills. He was a lot better, I thought, you know, with his anchor, his ability to really sit down versus power, use different, I mean, Darius Robinson did get him with, with some moves, but I really thought Guyton was more polished than I was expecting. So, and stronger at the point

of attack. So these four tackles are just a really interesting group that I can understand why you would have maybe a different order depending on what you're looking for. Yeah, I have Latham still as tackle three and I'm with you. So strong. And I actually think he's better in past sets than maybe he's been getting credit credit for him. Like he's a more fluid athlete considering he's 350, 350, 306 of pounds. Inside moves give him,

give him tough time, you know, but yeah, that it's, I'm curious what his length is. That is kind of what I've been one or two. Yeah, because he's just built uniquely for,

for an offensive tackle. He's built like a gigantic globe with, with arms and legs coming out of it. He really is. But I like, I like, there's going to be like, like,

Bill Callahan, we like love him. Like, you know, like, I know, Tennessee, Joe, by the way, probably everyone's favorite matching in mock drafts. But Fwaga has been, again, another senior role guy.

I thought it was great watching him in the past, that stuff like that too and get to see him go at it and then kind of, he's interestingly built, but I like what you're comment about the polish. I still have mims above him because I just can't, like you said, I just, I can't quit it. It's just, it's rare stuff. And as far as just body traits and everything. And he's good enough player already. That's not just a total project.

Gighton to a great movement. to, I really am excited to watch his senior bowl stuff. But then getting to like the next crop, kind of have a guy by himself here at the tackle position. That's, here we go, Kingsley Suamata, Suamata, Suamata, Suamata. Suamata. Suamata. Okay.

Kingsley Sumatia from BYU. I have him actually a little higher than you. I have more in like the 20s. Yeah, I, I'm a fan. I kind of like his, again, another size guy with athleticism and length, it appears and looks like his gigantic hands. He was a former big recruit too. But the guy that's going to need some work.

But I do think that he has the tools there. You have him at 38 before dropping to Patrick Paul at 55. And then your guy from Yale, I'll wait on the name yet. And then Blake Fisher at 63. But your guy from Yale is at 58. Very interesting prospect. I got some of my Yale film. So I got to watch themselves.

Pretty excited to watch him. I want to talk to you about it. Maybe after the show. But no, but these next, next, my, I'm like, um, my gaug. Oh, my goshy. Yes. Kieran? Karan,

Amagajan. Karan? Okay. Yeah. And I've got a, actually got a story about him coming out next week. Just kind of a feature on him, how he's doing with his injury, all that kind of stuff. So yeah.

That's awesome. I would say actually the most notable thing to me is maybe Patrick Paul at 55. I think I had him about 38 on mine. And was that anything recently that's happened with Paul? As you see more tape, maybe lack of development. I'm not trying to lead to witness. But more just say maybe just see. traits as far as an unfinished box of tools, I should say, or anything else with Paul that you see that

makes him at 55 as opposed to 30 or something like that. I mean, he's so big and long and you love that about him. But at the same time, and Brandon Thorne and I were standing next to each other watching him during one-on-ones at senior ball practice. And we're talking to each other about this, how his length works against him. It actually, it's a detriment at times because when he doesn't connect, which happens more times than when you'd like to see, his recoil and his ability to reset, it just takes too long because he's got further to go and bring him back that it actually works against him. And he's just, he is very raw. He plays high.

Leverage is just a really, it's a big struggle for him. And so, you know, he's, I just, I worry about. how early he's going to be able to contribute is he going to be able to work through all the mistakes. I did think he did some, he showed improvements from his junior year to his senior year that I think were encouraging. But at the same time, the more I really dug in on him,

I just, it does worry me because I think his rhythm breaks down too easily. Opponents are going to be able to find success in different ways because his recovery technique is just not there. His hand usage is raw. You remind me a lot of O'Kerfor, for the Steelers, you know, it's just a guy that you can put out there and, you know, he can be okay

for stretches, but I don't know that you're fully going to trust him but he has the tools and those guys don't last too long you know, when we're talking, because there's only so many these guys that have those tools. And so he's going to go. It's just a matter of, you know, when's a team feel comfortable

taking him. That's the difference between him and a guy like MIMS. MIMS's play is way more polish, his hand usage is way better, even with the lack of time and starts and everything already. And Paul, to me, yeah, he's just, it's just he misses. And like you said, it's the lack of recover. That's a good way to put it.

Like his kind of reset takes too long. Maybe he should only go out eight-tenths of the way because he's got such long arms. And then the last guy, of course, was Blake Fisher. I said that's number 63. But getting to the interior line, I don't even know if I'm going to go with the actually what I think is maybe the star-powered position of the offense the line. Is that the center? is that we got three guys in your top 36,

one at number 20, Jackson Powers Johnson, who we gushed about, and I think enough people were like, all right, we get it, he's a good center. I think after we gushed about him a lot, after the senior bowl, but you have Graham Barton from Duke at 27, and Zach Frazier from West Virginia at 36,

but that's three pretty highly graded centers. Well, I mean, two of them were in my first round mock from January. So, you know, even before the senior bowl, it was like, okay, these guys are legit play. and Jackson, I mean, he was as advertised plus more. I mean, he is, even better. He looks kind of like Creed Humphrey because he's so wide. He's got that barrel chest to him.

But the power that he plays with, his ability to find his balance consistently, even when the tech, because the technique's not perfect with him. He's not, quote unquote, a technician. And he's young. He just turned 21 years old. So he's not quite there yet with just some of the fundamental stuff. But, man, his ability to, recover, anchor, and do this all with balance and contact balance.

It is so rare and so impressive to watch. And he's powerful. He'll create torque. He'll fend off defenders. He is a guy that even without the technique will come over time. Give me the guy with the combination of the athleticism, the size, the toughness. He can play guard or center. He played both of the senior bowl.

He looked great doing it. He had to leave midweek with a hamstring injury. And I was kind of like, all right. I mean, he's shown all he can show. I mean, which there, I don't have any questions about him. No notes. So Jackson Powers Johnson coming into senior ball, he was, he was my top center. And yeah, yeah, he's leaving the same way.

It's almost like, okay, it's 22 low for him. So, yeah, he's a good player. He can be a weapon at center, like as a polar on screens and everything. Like we think of Jason Kelsey, but he's big. This guy's gigantic. Well, and he's, and he's fun, too. There was during, I think I mentioned this the last pod, but there was a play down the field,

I think Theo Johnson, where he, I mean, it's just seven on seven, and he's running 30 yards down the field to go give him a chest bump. Like, uh,

he is a guy that loves to play. Um, and it, it comes out very earnestly on his tape. Yeah. He, uh, plenty of film were,

uh, running back on a screen, like cut back and he's like guiding him. He's like, no, no, go in, follow me.

You can tell those are his favorite. Yeah. Yes. Uh, yeah, screens are hilarious with him. But then, yeah,

Barton from Duke. who has some positional versatility. He's played a lot of tackle, but yes, I think the interior is the best spot. But again, both of these guys have interior versatility. I think legit interior versatility, but I think center is their best position. But then Zach Frazier, who is,

you've talked about his toughness before. You've talked about just, I mean, he's a gamer all through and through. Might be a center only guy. And I think that is why maybe, to me, that he's maybe a graded back and maybe he has some limitations size wise compared to these other guys. That's to me. And then your last guy said,

Patrick Van Pran at 93. You're a center of four who is kind of a long starter in the SEC. Smart, you know, has some limitations, but you kind of know what you're getting with Van Pran. But that is the center. NFL play strength. Like him in the run game. He's got leadership.

He's got smarts. I think he'll be, he'll struggle a little bit when he's in space versus NFL athletes. But yeah, I think he's a guy that is not a guaranteed 10-year starter in the NFL, but he's to come in and compete and he's a guy that's going to at least help your center spot on your depth chart no doubt um yeah with fraser he's again to seeing him run at o'l masterminds uh was crazy just two months removed from that broken leg um but yeah he's talking to his teammates about him they love him uh you know he he does have that you know the the character you want for a center he's smart he got married uh in the in the off season uh five of his teammates were

We're groomsmen. So no questions about, you know, birthday party, that kind of thing with him. Yeah. It's the quarterback. It's the quarterback and the other four office alignment. That's that.

And I mentioned before, but he hit the DNA lottery because his dad's side were football players. His mom's side were wrestlers. And it just, it fit perfectly for him. So, um, but I want to make sure we hit the running backs too. Uh, no running backs in the top 65 of the top 100.

Top 60. Not top 70. You got one in your first running back. At 70. Yeah. Between 70 and 92, there are seven running back. So there's a run on these guys. And it's almost like last year's class where the value of the position was the mid to late third round,

except we didn't have a Bejan or a Gibbs in the first round to go early. It's just, you know, where these guys come off the board will be interesting on day two. There's a good chance someone gets taken before 70, just, you know, a team that really wants. running back help and they fall in love with a guy. I mean, it could take them mid-second round. You know, that's definitely possible. But, yeah, this is an interesting running back class. Just depends on kind of what you want, what you're looking for.

Yeah, big time. Eye the Beholder. Well, we do have the guards too before because that has loaded. I just got excited about the centers. And they came first alphabetically. And that it's just my own eye. You can see my ADD in action right there. But you have Troy Foughton for Washington.

Guard. Great player. I got to watch some college football playoff tape, and I thought he did really well, even if other guys were kind of fall apart, you know, the right tackle, the rough one in the final.

But, oh, yeah, but, no, Fondu, man, yeah, he's good.

I would give him a shot at right tackle. Just, just to see. Oh, sure. Yeah, yeah. He has the length to do it.

I think, aesthetically, it just, he kind of just looks like a guard. Like, I think he'll be maximized as a guard. SpongeBob Squarepants. Yeah.

But, but, like, putting him at guard is not saying that he can't play tackle. It's saying I think he'll be a really good tackle or a great guard. And so, yeah, and same thing with Jordan Morgan from Arizona. I have him as a guard. I know several teams that have him as a guard. Doesn't mean he can't play tackle. It's just, I have a tackle right now still. I have not bumped him to guard yet. Totally understand why. I think he can

be a really good tackle. I just, I think he could be a better guard. But, you know, when you're trying to get the best five out there, having some of the position flexibility certainly helps your favor why both those guys could end up being his first round picks. Oh man. Like Jordan Morgan with a Shanahan offense would be phenomenal. Like 40 Niers would love him because again, we've joked about this. It's like, oh, who needs help throughout the offense? I know, give him the guy that we don't know if he's a guard or tackle yet.

Okay, cool. Get him right there. But seriously, I love Morgan because of how he plays because he's so his movement ability, his ability to get cutoffs in space, like actually like Miami or San Fran would like love to have a Jordan Morgan, I think. Oh, yeah, no question. And one thing I really like with the PAC 12 is they have the Morris trophy, which is voted on, it goes to the best offensive linemen and defensive linemen in the conference.

But who votes on it, the coaches, and so the defensive line, the best defensive lineman, the opposing offensive linemen, and the coaches vote on that. So, you know, it's not, it's not the writers. It's not the, it's not the SIDs. It's, you know who's voting on it. And you think about some of the, we just talk about Jordan Morgan. We talk about Fulaga. I mean, there's some pretty good offensive line players, Jackson Powers Johnson.

It's a pretty good offense alignment in the Pac-12. Yeah, all the 12 guys. I didn't even think about that. Yeah. Yeah. Fontonu is the one that won the Morris Trophy. So obviously had that respect from his peers and a guy that, yeah, there's a lot going for him. I, I knew he's giving me in my top 20.

It's just a matter of how high do I put this guy? Because, yeah, he's awesome. Yeah, you have him 19. overall, that's a very healthy grade. I have a blue color on him, which is equivalent to this, you know, top 20 grade essentially. Yeah, I'm right there with you. Dropping down, we get to Cooper Beebe at 47 from Kansas State, another SpongeBob Square Pants build guy. But then we got Dominic Poonie from Kansas.

I like Pony. I'm a fan, but I actually really wanted to ask you about the next couple guys. Poonie would actually be one of them. Actually, really, all of these guys, so I spoiled it. But, yeah, Poonie, Christian Haynes from Yukon, Christian Mahogany from Boston College. I thought those guys were interesting. I was curious with your thoughts on them because I believe they were all All-Star game standouts. And these type of guy seemed to rise in this process as more teams get eyes on them.

Mahogany is just a power guy. I mean, he is a bouncer outside of the club looking at the bash heads with power, forceful hands. And he's not a bad athlete by any means. Just needs to play with a little more control when you ask him to play in space. But yeah, he is a guy that is built on power. I thought he had a good week seeing him up close at the shrine game during practices. that was fun. Poonie is, you know, he has tackle experience. He played left tackle this past year.

Like him best inside at guard. I did too. Ben on himself going to Division 2 to Kansas and he played well. Sorry. You guys on that add on Puney? Oh, no, I said, oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, no, you said he's probably best at guard. I was like, yeah, I do too because, yeah, he's a guy that I'm like, yeah,

I'm not going to try my tackle for too long. That'll be about the strike. No, right. Right. Sorry. No, no. And along those lines of guys that help themselves, you know, Puni playing center during senior bowl week certainly helps.

And then with Christian Haynes at Yukon, I thought he had a really good week, senior bowl week, put himself into the top 100. You know, Yukon haven't been a ton of reasons to watch Yukon over the last few years, but Christian Haynes, definitely one of them. He's maybe not a big-time athlete, but he's a good enough athlete. And then, but he also has the play strength. He has a smarts. He's a finisher.

So that helps, you know, you don't have to be a top-tier athlete. as long as you have those other things. And I think he certainly does. Right. Okay. I spent too long on offense like I always do. So it splits right. Right.

Get to the defense. So you're top graded guy because this is actually the position that probably has the most first round kind of graded guys is the corner position. You have Terry and Arnold, like you said, that you have hinted that he's your corner one for a while now. Full agreement from over here. But you have met 10 overall, which is your first defensive player on your big board. So the first nine is offense. If anyone doing math at home. But number 11, your cornerback two.

is who, Dane? Super interesting name here. Quineon Mitchell from the Mac in Toledo. And, you know, I think in my mid-January mock, he was like, what, 22 or something like that? So, I mean, he was squarely in the first round at that point. Seeing him up close at the senior bowl, from start to finish,

he was, he clamped down on coverage or on the receivers and gave you, showed you the coverage you wanted to see from a player that, that was big time in the Mac, but okay, how would he do against Roman Wilson and Ricky Pearson and the best receivers? That senior ball had,

he played outstanding. I mean, he is, and then, you know, it's like, okay, you want a guy with size,

all right, he's six foot, 200 pounds. You want a guy with speed. All right, he's going to run the four threes at the combine. My favorite thing about him

is how composed he plays. Like, he is always under control with his transitions, with his movements. It doesn't matter if you'd play in press. He's playing off. They were very zone heavy at Toledo.

So seeing him press and, you know, do that at the senior ball practices was really important. So just a balanced size speed athlete, stays in phase up and down the field. And then if you want to go with production, you know, passes, defended, interceptions, that translates. Over the last two years, he accounted for, I think it was what, 46 passes defended over the last two years. And I don't care what division you're playing at. That's just remarkable production. It's crazy. And he got his hands on plenty of balls during senior bowl practices.

You could just tell. His awareness, his feel, just different. The ball skills, I do not use the word elite very often in my reports. I use them for his ball skills. He just has a knack for it. And, you know, this is a guy that is NFL ready. He's a starter. He's got a very bright future in the league.

Yeah. What did his, I agree. I thought I was getting spicy and having it in my top 20. I was, yeah, all right, here we go here. But because he measured it in just great. Of course, he had the impressive senior bowl. So I'm full steam ahead. I love that you had this high because I think he's so deserving of it.

Next, you had Cooper DeGine at 23 overall, which I think is about right. DeGine, of course, is getting healthy right now? Is he doing anything at the combine? Do you know as far as the drills or anything? I know that's an unfair question to ask you. I don't know, but I mean, I know he, he was just cleared so it's just a matter of has he had enough time to train you know um i don't know but i would guess probably not enough time to train and he'll probably you know put his best

foot forward at the pro day but yeah we'll have to wait and see on on him but yeah he's and it's another i wanted to see the show dane i wanted to see the show that's why i was asking you i'm telling you i want to see a dunk contest at the combine make it happen uh yeah this guy uh he he just he's so much he can do and it's great yeah i'm just I'm dreading the, is he a safety or corner debate that's coming? I'm going to be a topic. But it's kind of like what I said about, you know, like Fontaineau. Like it's not that he can't play tackle.

That's not why I was a guard. And, you know, if Dijin does play safety, it's not because he can't play corner. It's just because he might be the best tackling defensive back in his class. And the way he operates his spatial awareness, it just, it works really well as a safety. And so it's not that he can't play corner. It's just that he could be a really good safety as well. So, yeah, he is a good player. I keep pound on the table sometimes about certain teams that just need a DB.

It's like, okay, let him be a safety year first year and move to outside corner if you need that. You need a guy transition on it. If you need a slot, I just think he's awesome. Yeah. And then Nate Wiggins from Clemson. So this is the guy that I struggle with. This is interesting, yeah, because you've kind of wavered about 14 spots, give or take with him. So I'm curious.

Yeah. I've been high on him all year. And I still like him. It's just he is, when you talk about corners and what, you know, you need size of the position. You need to be able to hold up physically. He's so slender and lean that now I've got it. Like someone, a scout mentioned this to me. And now I've got it in the back of my mind. Like, all right.

Yeah, he does play physical, but can he hold up? You know, this is a guy that he missed two games this year with an injury. He missed time last year with the hip. You know, like, can he hold up physically being a guy that's 6-2, but, you know, a buck 85? But I do like a lot of the rest of what he offers. He's a young player. There's a lot. He's so sudden with his feet.

He's effort's not a question with him. It's just, does he have the body type to hold up physically? And it's not like I'm not going to draft him. It's just, okay, is he truly a top 20 player or is he more of a top 30 player? So with Wiggins, he's a guy that I know. I've gone back and forth a little bit on, and I'm sure I'll continue throughout the process. Yeah, I'm at 18 right now,

and I'm kind of the same thing. Yeah, I'm curious what he measures in that because you can see the twitchiness and balls skills and stuff like that. It's just like you say. It's how he holds up. The guy that was kind of CB1 for a lot of people to start the year, I think, including both of us,

at least me, Cooid McKinstree. You have my 29 overall. Again, I'm right in the same range. I think I was in the low 30s with him. And then after that, it's kind of a little bit of a drop off into a whole kind of glutton of guys. But maybe of the glutton of guys, are there any that you want to highlight? I would say for me, just before I'll get my talking out of the way.

And hopefully I get his name right is Ennis Rake Straw from Azoo. I ended up squeezing him in my, I believe in my top 30. Yep, I had him at number 28. Really liked him. I got to watch a couple games, like some of the ball skills, like some of the movement stuff. So a guy I'm pretty interested in, but I'm curious about this other group of guys that you like Dane. Yeah, Rick Straha, I struggle with him.

I think he's a good player. He's patient, he's controlled, he's got change of direction. I do like the movement skills. He's a very lean player. And so another guy, kind of like the weekends conversation. Yeah, yeah, right. I mean, I think he's, and I don't think he's a, I'll be interested to see what he runs at the combine.

I don't know if, that's my thing. I'm kind of curious about too. And at corner, it's kind of like, okay, I need three of the four things. I need, okay, size, athleticism, smarts, and toughness. I need three of the four. And, you know, Trent McDuffie, not a big guy at all, short arms. But you know what? One of the smartest DBs I've ever talked to.

Toughness is off the charts. Big time athlete. Okay, you give me three of the four. I have no problem. He was like my 12th overall player in that draft. I loved them. no problem with with him but okay if you're lacking on the size you don't maybe don't have the top tier speed you know and you start to if you don't have three of the four then doubt starts

to creep in and it doesn't mean you can't overcome that but when you're trying to stack these guys and project them forward there are some question marks so I do like how aggressive he plays he does put sticky coverage on film it's just I think he's I do think he's a starter like a starting man cover guy in the NFL. It's just the injury history is a concern, the bill's a concern. So I don't have them quite as high

as I know some other people will. Yeah. You have, no, I think that's all very fair. His teammate at Missouri, Chris Abrams, Drain, he did make the top 100 as well later on.

But talk about a guy with ball production. Double digit passes defended each of the last three years. He played well at the Senior Bowl. So, yeah, wanted to make sure he got in there as well. Yeah, again, I like when the tailwind,

guys there is another guy that kind of has dropped off keel and king he's at 84 overall now from penn state i don't know what to do with him just don't play marvin harrison jriner that is his number one thing but yeah he's just senior bowl i know senior bowl was great like it was he wasn't he's a he's a cloud corner to me like i still think that cover two like where he can use his eyes a little bit i've still kind of that's where i think he's best i know i think he just has limitations when he has to be sticky it's just he just kind of doesn't have that corner corner back is a volatile position and i think he is exhibit A, why it can be volatile. So, you know, he is a tough guy to kind of figure out exactly.

The one that always cracks me up is T.J. Tampa, because he's at Iowa State. And they always play the Tampa, too. So that one always just cracks me up too. Yeah. But no, it's an interesting corner class. I think there's plenty of talent. It's some cool flavors, too. Not so much safeties.

Your first safeties tower, Nubin at 41. Again, this has kind of been hint to that in some of your mock drafts. You know, Jaden Hicks at 43. That's kind of going to be very close for you, you think, as kind of safety one and two in this process? Yeah, I think so. I mean, it's, wish we could have seen Nubin at the Senior Bowl,

but he didn't go. Be interested to see all these guys that combine, see how they work out. It's not a great group of safeties, but I think on day two, you can find some starters in there. So I think depending on what you're looking for, teams will be a little bit different

with how they rank these guys. Yeah, let's get to more fun one. All right, we go, oh, shoot. Edge. All right, here we go, defense line. because there's actually guys here. Dallas Turner at 12. Okay.

That is your edge one. I am in agreement. That was the only, I think I cracked him in the top 10 because it just felt so weird. I had him at 9. It just felt so weird to not have a defensive player. And I was like, all right,

I'll give him a bump. But I really like him. I just think he's very, especially out of defense's player right now, you can do a lot with them, especially the coverage stuff they do with them. I think that's really interesting. He's a freaky athlete.

And he can play the run. He can rush a passer. He's cool. Yeah, he's still a cool player. And he's still getting better. He's still figuring things out. A team's going to fall in love with him and take him somewhere top 15. I think if you're making bets on who the first defensive player is going to be,

Terry and Arnold's first on my board. That's kind of probably where I would lean, but Dallas Turner is as good a bet as any. Yeah, they're right there neck and neck for me as well. Jared Verse right now, you have him over Laatu, Latu from UCLA. Jared versus, we have for Florida State. These next three guys are kind of in a similar tier for me. Yeah, I would throw chop in there too.

Wild flavor differences here too as well. Exactly. Like, Chop is very different than what Jared Verst gives you. Verse has the better floor in the NFL. Like you know what Jared Verst is going to give you. Chop Robinson has a special trait. That first step explosiveness is special. He's not well-rounded like Verses,

but do you opt for the special trait and, you know, figure out the rest or do you want the more well-rounded player? So it's a philosophy question with these guys. and that, you know, in Latu, he's, his lack of big time size and strength, I think shows up at times, but he's so crafty with his hands.

He understands, is it so instinctive that, yeah, I mean, he's a good player, even if he's not a, you know, top 10 type of prospect. Have you compared him to John Wick this whole time?

Yeah, he's John Wick. He's not superhuman strength, superhuman athlete, just has that killer instinct, that skill, the, the,

the, skill part of it is just very unique for him. Yeah. I went with a different Keanu Grieves movie and that was the Matrix where, you know, where he learns, he learns kung fu and drunken boxing all at once.

Like it's all like downloading, uploading. I was like that's a lot to you in his hand usage. He just knows all the martial arts. He's got, he got to upload by tank. All right. Let's see how many Keanu movies we can compare guys to.

So I got to find a speed reference in here somewhere. Okay. Maybe a hard ball. I don't know. We got Darius Robinson from a zoo. who is a senior bowl riser. A guy that snuck up on people like the movie Constantine, if you ever want to check it out.

I'm reaching here. I'm reaching. He did play well in the senior bowl, that's for sure. All right. Well, I know you have to go. So we got the edges.

Defensive tackles. You have Byron Murphy at 15 overall. Keeps rising for you. Totally get it. Devon Drey Sweat. His teammates at 33 overall. He had a huge senior bowl, I know.

Drews-on-Newton is at 30. I also like him, but I'm at 31 with him. Same exact thing. I think to have size limitations as well. Not really any linebackers to speak of. I believe we have the same linebacker one, which way to go us. Junior Colson, you have 39, I have 40.

I snuck him into my top 40 because I had to get a linebacker in there. And then, of course, you have Edwin Cooper at 42. But plenty of these guys to talk about any that you want the Texas guys to start off, maybe just to wrap up the show. Yeah, Byron Murphy. I mean, he just, he's versus a run versus pass. You know, he can do it all. And I think I surprised some people when he was 16 overall in my mock draft, but he deserves it.

He might not make it to 16 overall. He is that type of player. And then Junior Colson at linebacker. I mean, he is how tough he is. He's an athlete. He can do it all. So, yeah, I think he's deserving of that top linebacker spot. Yeah.

I compare him to like kind of same play style as Nick Bolton a little bit. Kind of does a lot of things nice. Yeah, well, a little bit of different body type. But that was the guy I ended up with. But that kind of speaks to the linebacker class. That's what he is. But thank you so much to Dane. I think we went over about 80% of that top 100.

But please make sure to check it out on the athletic right now. Dane's top 100, top 40 is over at Yahoo. Thank you guys so much. Thank you to Dane again for all of his time. Thank you guys so much for checking this out. We will be here every single week. Robert will start joining us soon. And we'll get the three-man weave going once this giant draft process gets really, really ramped up after the combine.

But make sure to check out all our combine stuff coming soon. See you guys next. This was the athletic football show's prospects to pros podcast.