The Athletic Football Show: A show about the NFL - The sneakily fun 2026 WR draft class

Episode Date: April 3, 2026

There may not be a true ace in this year's wide receiver draft class, but that doesn't mean it's short on talent or intrigue. After all, six of Dane Brugler's top-30 players, and 17 of his top 100, are wide receivers. As always. this position delivers the goods. Robert Mays, Derrik Klassen and Dave Helman do the same diving deep into the position on this episode of The Athletic Football Show.Host: Robert MaysCo-Hosts: Derrik Klassen and Dave HelmanExecutive Producer: Michael BellerSenior Producer: Katy DuffySocial Producer: Scott KrinchFollow Robert on Bluesky: @robertmays.bsky.socialFollow Derrik on Bluesky: @qbklass.bsky.socialFollow Dave on Bluesky: @davehelman.bsky.socialFollow Robert on X: @RobertMaysFollow Derrik on X: @QBKlassFollow Dave on X: @DaveHelman_Theme song: HauntedWritten by Dylan Slocum, Trevor Dietrich, Ruben Duarte, Kyle McAulay, and Meredith VanWoert / Performed by Spanish Love SongsCourtesy of Pure Noise / By arrangement with Bank Robber Music, LLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Athletic Football Show. I'm Robert Mays. Digging in to some wide receivers today. It is a stacked wide receiver class, just in the depth of it. If you go look at Dane Bruegler's top 100, I believe he has like 17, 18 guys in the top 100 at receiver. And there are just so many different flavors of player in this class. How you're going to stack up and rank the guys that are going to go from like picks 35 to 80, you could go in so many different directions.

And so what we decided to do today with me, Derek Classen, and Dave Hellman, was just do some superlatives. A couple different categories and pick a player that we think fits that in this 2026 class, our favorite receiver, our favorite slot receiver, the guy that we're just out on a cost, biggest risk reward, favorite day two pick. So that's what we did today. We just ran through what is a very interesting, compelling, and kind of strange in a lot of ways, receiver class and just try to find out who were fitting answers to some of those categories. So let's dig into all of that with me, Dave, and Derek right now.

Digging into the wide receivers today on the athletic football show, it's a packed group. I was looking at the number just before we started recording, Dave. Dane has 17 receivers in his top 100. And I believe there are like eight to nine guys in his top 50. There's a ton of guys that we're going to see drafted most likely in the first two days. of the draft when we're live from this space here in two weeks. So I'm excited to dig into this today. Couple thoughts. One, I've never done a show like this with you and Derek specifically for draft. Yeah. We're like typically if we're arguing about players, you have an NFL body of work to fall back on.

But this is just pure preference, baby. And then the other part of this is I think it's, it's a very beauties in the eye of the beholder receiver class. Yes. Because like there just aren't those overpowering prospects. Like, you know, there's, there isn't a Malik neighbors in this draft class. And so I think for the three of us, potentially, but across the draft community, you see so much variation. And again, it just falls back. It falls down to what do you prefer? What are you looking for in a receiver? So I think, I think there's some healthy potential for some conflict here. We're doing a bunch of categories today, Derek. And one of the categories, I think that I was picking between two different guys. And I really can't imagine two more different players as my answer. And I think that's what type of receiver

class we're talking about here, where for an answer to the same question, you can pick two guys who are on complete opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to what they're bringing to the table. And like you mentioning like where Dane has all those guys, I've watched probably like 15 of these receivers pretty closely at this point. At least like eight, nine, ten of them are in the pick 40 to pick 80 range. Like it's all just that's the range where I want to take away. receiver in this class. And it's a bunch of, like you mentioned, a bunch of different body types and skill sets in that range. All right. So we're going to hit about, I know, seven, eight different categories, do a little bit of wide receiver superlatives today. And let's start with a conversation that I

don't think you have to have in a lot of other drafts just because sometimes it's a little bit more clear cut. But in this one, I do think it's worth a discussion. Who is your number one wide receiver in this draft class? And as we get into this, I just want to say at the beginning, I'm you guys and your answers. That to me is more important than when I'm bringing to the table here. I do have answers to these categories, but you guys have spent more time with these guys. You've spent more time looking at these guys. And so I will be part of this, but I also am here to just like make you two fight with each other. So you give me, Dave, your number one receiver in this draft class. So probably in January, Dane tipped me off to the fact that Jordan Tyson's hamstring injury

was going to be a bigger problem than we realized. And he wasn't going to be available for a lot of, if not all of the draft process. And the way I look at this, you tell me that I'm checking out. I'm putting a guy on the shelf, like, not to write him off completely, but I just got other shit to do if I can't evaluate a guy who's like actively part of this. And so your attention is drawn to Carnell Tate and, and Mackay Lemon, obviously. And so you go through all that, you're focused on these guys. So long story short, for the purposes of this show, I went back and watched.

watched like three Jordan Tyson games. And it was the first time I really had eyes on him since during the season. And I was like, oh, yeah, this guy's the best receiver in this draft class. Oh, wow. I think Jordan Tyson is the best receiver in this draft class, draft class purely watching the games. Purely watching the games. I think I would still default to Carnell Tate as the first guy I would feel comfortable drafting because the injury concerns are very, very real.

Jordan Tyson has never finished a college season. He tore his knee to hell in his year at Colorado. He needed a lot of time to recover from that, missed a lot of his first season at Arizona State, broke his collarbone in 2024, and this hamstring thing has been a real pain for him. That is enough to scare the shit out of me to where I would be reluctant to make him my first pick at wide receiver. But if you're just talking about watching the games, I think Jordan Tyson's the best prospect. All right. Before we get into this, what is your answer, Derek? Mine is Cardinal Tate with a bullet.

Like, I just, I think the tape. And because here's why I fall for, sometimes I have. an issue of viewing wide receiver play through the lens of the quarterback. Carnell Tate makes the quarterback's job so easy. He's in the right spot all the time, hands away from his chest when he's catching. He never like gives up yards after the catch. Like he's a good job of like, I'm just going to get downhill. Like he just makes life easy on the quarterback and on the offense.

And that's something that I always really appreciate. So I would agree that his ceiling isn't as high as a guy like Tyson. Like if Tyson's healthy, he can really roll. And I do think Tate has like a high ceiling. I think Tyson's is probably a little better. I think my thing with Tyson, I think he's a good player, but I think I view him a little bit differently than other people.

I think he is, in college, he play a lot outside and he was like a big vertical guy. I like all his best stuff from the slot. Like he looks to me more like a Tyra Williams, like Chris Godwin, like your bigger type slot receiver. And I don't know if a team is going to draft him to be that, but that was a lot of my favorite stuff from him. So here, my answer is Carnal Tate as well.

And I think for a lot of the reasons that Derek said, Like when I watch him, I just think he's one of those guys where you watch him. It's like, I immediately understand what this is and what he's bringing it to the table and the appeal of somebody like this. And there are a couple different plays that come to mind. But he made a play. I believe it was in the Texas game where he runs like a deep comeback on the right side line. And he comes back like eight yards to the ball and plucks it away from his frame in traffic. And that's one of those plays exactly what you're talking about, Derek, where he is such a friend.

friendly receiver for his quarterback. And I think you combine that with just how easily he wins vertically on some of these plays. Like he's not a burner. But I think we have plenty of evidence that you can be a really effective vertical receiver in the NFL without being like a four-four guy. As long as you tempo things well, as long as you do good work at the line of scrimmage. And I do think he is that sort of player. I do think he can threaten you vertically despite not being somebody who has overwhelming

time speed. That's a great way to put. And he's not like, he's a little bit thinner for a guy whose size. He reminds me a little bit of like a bigger Devanta Smith. And the reason I think that he's my wide receiver one is like, I don't think he's one of those like alpha takeover a game wide receiver ones. But I don't think this class really has any of those. To me, Tate is the only guy where I'm like, he can be your number one, which is in the like Devontas Smith, like Jalen Waddle. It's like, ideally maybe you would want somebody else to help him out, but like he can be your number one and he can be a good number one outside vertical all that stuff so i would say and for the record i like carnell tate i would take i would draft carnell tate before jordan tyson because i'm

i'm just really leery of the medicals but i think my argument would be and even if we agree there's not a a plus number one like elite wide receiver prospect i do think jordan tyson is the type of guy you can build a receiver corps around like i i don't even if he's great from the slot like i don't really care about that. I think he's got the flexibility to do both things. He can do it at a high level. He wins at all three levels of the field. I mean, like, it's weird to say because he spent so much time hobbled by this hamstring injury, but he can go downfield and get the ball just as well in contested and just beating people deep situations. The same way that Carnelte does, he wins underneath. He can take short catches the distance. He can create separation at will. Like, he can do it basically whenever. he wants to. And I think the only reason he didn't get the ball more often this past year at Arizona State, A, injury, because he just wasn't on the field as often as you'd prefer, and B, the quarterback

play. But like, go watch. And one of the games I watched in the lead up to this show was the Texas tech game. And like, you know, they're paying a lot of attention to him. Sam Levitt's looking in a lot of other directions throughout the game. And then with the game on the line late in the fourth quarter, they just were like, what are we doing? Jordan Tyson's over there. Let's get this guy the ball. And like all the way down field, they're targeting him. He's getting separation up the sideline.

He's getting separation short. He draws a DPI on a deep throw into the end zone and sets them up on the goal line to win the game. And it was just very, it was fun to see a team like have that epiphany of like, oh, wait, we have a top 15 pick on our team. Maybe we should get him the ball. And I just, I think the world of him other than the fact that he hasn't been able to reliably stay on the field. So here's my, the reason I was saying that stuff about Carnell Tate being a vertical receiver is that I kind of disagree in that I don't really think Jordan Tyson is a guy who's going to threaten as a vertical receiver in the NFL because he didn't do it as often in college. If you look at the numbers, 18.6% of his targets came with 20 or more air yards last year at Arizona State. His 8 out was 11.7 yards, which is just not very high.

That, well, 18.6% number ranks like 190th among all receivers in college football. And when I watch him, I think the best stuff he does is in like the intermediate areas of the field. It is. And he's really good at that. Like, he isn't, the, and a lot of it's very exaggerated and I don't really know what to do with some of the things he does. It's so explosive though. It is. There are moments where like you, like, I can just see him, us watching a game that's in Detroit or Atlanta or.

or one of these places with that field turf, and those pellets just sprang up as he's breaking off a guy. Like, I can absolutely see that. But I just wonder if he has that, like, vertical element to his game to an extent that it raises his ceiling as a player. And so while I do think that there's a lot to like about him, I actually think his ceiling is a little bit more limited, despite just how explosive some of the movements are in other areas of his game.

I think he can do that. Maybe it's not his specialty the way that it's Carnell Tate's specialty. I also think we should address the elephant in the room, which is the guy where number four in Carnell Tate's offense that makes life easier on everybody else who we're going to be talking about. Next year when we do this, we're not going to be saying, oh, there's really not a number one receiver in this draft class

because Jeremiah Smith is going to be that guy. And the quarterback for Ohio State is also a very good player. Yes. And so, again, I want to say one more time. I really like Carnell Tate. I think you can sort of put people into more specific roles in the Ohio State offense because of the gravity that Jeremiah Smith lends to everything. Whereas Jordan Tyson, he is the gravity in Arizona State's offense. I think there's plenty of examples of him winning downfield as a receiver on Arizona State's tape.

It's, I will admit to you, it's not as fun or sexy as the. way Carnal Tate does it. I mean, there are a few things more fun than the way Carnal Tate goes and snags of football and, you know, the number of big contested catches on his game tape is very, very fun. I will say, I think that that the role within the offense part of it and the Jeremiah Smith part of it, that does alter some of the numbers I'm about to talk about. But if there is one knock against Carnal Tate as being like a top 10 worthy pick, if you look at some of the metrics that often are associated with like big time receiver success moving forward, he was a, 20th percentile player and targets per route run at Ohio State.

Jordan Tyson was 97th. Like, and if we, if there is a thought that targets are earned to a certain extent, that is a huge difference between both of those players. And again, you can understand why you land in that place with Carnell Tate because Jeremiah Smith is on the other side, but I do think it's at least worth mentioning. I will say, I think that with Jordan Tyson, he was going to be my answer to another category we're going to do, which is someone you're out on at cost. and if he's going to be the 15th pick, I think I'm out on that.

Because I just don't know if his ceiling is high enough to justify that sort of pick on top of holding in the injury concerns. Like those two things combined, I'm just not sure I have the stomach for that, even if some of the stuff he does, the highlight real stuff, is really fucking impressive. He's, spoiler alert, he's going to be my answer for that as well. And like I said, I mean, incredible playing both sides here. I love the. If I'm talking out of both sides of my mouth, I'm sorry.

But like, he can be a really impressive player and still scare the bejesus out of me. And so like I start to get interested in Jordan Tyson to a certain point. Actually, I think at 15, though, I'd probably be in. Because like if you're not, if you're wide receiver one, we're talking about you probably as soon as Cleveland at number six and all the way on down. I'm out on Jordan Tyson there. if you're telling me it's pick 15 or pick 16 or anywhere on down from there i'm probably in but it's also this draft class yeah it being being picked 15 in this draft class is probably a little bit easier for me to stomach you haven't you haven't made peace with the reality of this draft class

i feel like but i think that's part of it that's where we are as i actually think about it like keldrick falk is dain's 15th player on his big board right now like every single and that's not to be like to shit on keldrick folk he has his concerns and as well. Like all of the guys in this range do. There are no players that don't have concerns at the top of this draft with the, I think I said it on a previous show. Mendoza, I have no concerns and Jeremiah love. And everybody else, there's a huge, yeah, but attached to his name. It's just kind of where we are. And again, with receiver at 15, there's so many guys, like I said at the top of the show that I like between picks 40 and 80, that it's like, if I really like one of these edges or tackles or the

safeties. It's like I just, I feel like I'm going to be able to find a receiver a little bit later in the next round rather than finding like as much of a quality at tackle or whatever it's going to be. See, even with that though, I do think I'm willing to concede even if I have some concerns about Jordan Tyson, that what he is bringing to the table is different than the guys that you are going to draft from 40 to 80 in this draft. Even if there are guys that you like, the way that he moves into some of the things that he's bringing are different. And he is a different tier of receiver, I think pretty definitively than those guys you're going to be taking on day two. So I get why you would look even at a deep receiver class and see a guy like this and just say,

I'm taking a swing. Like I just think that even with some of the downside concerns, the upside concerns are worth it. I just feel like me personally, the upside is a little bit more limited than some of the ways I've seen it represented. I would take Tate in the top 10. I'd wait a little bit on Jordan Tyson.

The Tate conversation, and I think you guys did a good job of laying this out, and I think Derek's framing of him being more in that, like, DeVante Smith sort of range where you can have him be your number one receiver. Maybe it's not ideal. I do think that's what he is. And I think that a player like that is you can take a player like that in the top 10. Like this idea of like he has to be a number one receiver if you take him in the top 10. If I'm the Browns, it's going to be really difficult because of the state of their offensive line

and just where you have to find those guys. but being able to just drop like a Carnell Tate level player that I think is just clean and safe and he's going to be productive and he's just going to be like part of a productive offense for a very long time. It's incredibly tempting to do that. I would just be there'd be like alarm bells going off for me if I were the Browns at that spot. So I do want to clarify that because I think that's a really good point that like, because I said with Lemon, like the reason I wouldn't take him that high is that he can't be your number one receiver. And I don't think a player like that can be your number one receiver. Whereas with Tate, the distinction is like, I would rather have someone who is more like an AJ Brown,

who is my number one receiver. But if he's got to be my number one receiver, we're okay. Like, that's not going to be an issue. All right. So Dave and I both have the same answer for who we're out at a out on at cost. And that was Jordan Tyson. Who is your answer to that question, Derek? It's, it's my Kinemon.

I just, and I think he's a good player. Like, I think he's going to be useful. I just, it's my guy. I'm not taking that in the top 15 and maybe not the top 20. just like I think he's good like he will be useful but there's just not a lot of guys who are his size who are slot primaries who are like game breaking players you go no you go no it's funny actually because we did this last week and Derek gaslit me into going back and watching mckeye lemon like i was like do i have this all wrong am i am i too high on this guy just because the big the consensus

big board says that i should be and so i spent i don't know an hour hour and a half rewatching a couple games and I was like no I feel great about this I I won't let Derek gaslight me he's incredible he's he's my best slot I I and I don't care he's my best slot like I'm not talking about that at top 20 that's my point Derek can't take that guy in the top 20 and I I what I feel like this is outdated respectfully Derek like why do we care if a guy is a slot like in 2026 that is a lot more replaceable of a skill set to me. I don't think he, I think the, he's a good player. Like, I, I, I want to make clear that I don't think that he's like a fourth round player. I would still take him like top 40. I don't know if I

would take him top 20. I have a weird question for you. And this is just, because it was somebody I was thinking about when it came to last year's draft and just the types of players I like, do you think that McCoy Lemon is a significantly better prospect than J.1. Knowle was? I mean, Noel was better outside to me. Like he had a little bit more verticality than a guy like Lemon does. And so I still probably thought that he was a worst prospect.

Like I do think Lemon, his hands are better. He's tougher over the middle. I think he blocks better than a guy like Noel. But like it, I think it was a different calculation because Noel to me was like like your speed three

in a really, really good world. So to me, I think they're just a little bit different. I agree. That's fair. So I, my stance on this is that in a world where

JSN can be the offensive player of the year because of how offenses are shaped in the NFL right now. I do think that that casts a little bit of doubt on where the limitations are for a player like Mackay Lemon because the idea of inside outside is more blurred than it's ever been. I think like in the current modern NFL environment, he can survive on the outside. And I do think he does enough.

Like you go back and watch like the Iowa game. and some of the shit he's doing in the Iowa game. Like his ability to go get the ball, the fact that he does have a little bit of vertical juice to him, I just think he's such a winning player. And I think that in the modern environment, his limitations matter just a little bit less, that I would feel comfortable taking him again

in the top 15 of like this draft. If the dolphins were like, I'm taking him at 11, I think the only reason I would have issues with that is because an offensive lineman might be more valuable and more important to what they need right now. But it's more like that offensive system and their need at receiver, I wouldn't have any issue with that. I mean, I understand that. And again, it's not that I think he's useless outside either.

There are guys who are like his size issue or like his similar role who can play outside. Like Parker Washington plays like 45% of his snaps outside still and is like a functional player. I just, I am constantly in the top 20. I want to hunt players who live outside, win outside the numbers. And if they can be useful out of the slot, that's fine. I just don't want to take guys in the top 20 who I don't think can live outside. And he can be functional out there. And again, maybe that is outdated.

And maybe I have this wrong. But like I'm just going to build my football team in a little bit of a different way than that. So Dave just said that I'm coming to grips with this, what this draft class is. Do you think you've come to grips with what this draft class is? So Akeem Mezzador is Dane's 19th player on his big board. Would you rather have Mikhail Lemon or Akeem Mezador? I would definitely rather have Mesodore but I've watched

over 50 players at this point and I have at least 20 of them ranked higher than Mackay Lemon. So I mean again I think he's useful I just I just don't this is the other thing it's not just that it's the slot stuff for me

it's that a lot of people seem to grade his film as like A plus I think it's more like B plus A minus like I think he's good I just don't think he's quite that special that's a really interesting question because Mesodore has, he's so dominant at times and he plays such an important position. He's also 25 years old. And I definitely, I worry about the idea of how close to your ceiling are you and what's it going to look like going against 28-year-old pros as opposed to 21-year-old college sophomores and juniors.

I'm taking McKay Lim in there. And I just, and there's nothing wrong with the methodology. I just, I don't think I care about the stuff Derek just said he cares about nearly as much, especially again, like in this draft class where I'm not that sure of very many things, I'll take a guy with this contested catchability who can do this many things for your offense and can plug right in. And I've made this point a few times. I would probably be a little nervous if a team drafted Mackay Lemon to be the center point, centerpiece of their receiver core.

But look on down the line and tell me what that landing spot is. Like I don't think Cleveland would draft McClellan 6th. It would make me nervous if Miami drafted him 11th. But look at all the other teams where he would plug in as a compliment to what's already there. And I think that's incredibly exciting. And I just, I don't need him to be the centerpiece for me to feel good about this. If he can plug right in and do his thing and make contested catches and be a little,

little bowling ball with the football in his hands the way that he is. I think that's great, particularly. I'm not saying they would do this. I'm not. It would be kind of surprising if they did. But like if Mackay Lemon got drafted 18th overall to Minnesota, I can't sell you on that. That's not fun as hell. No, that's that, that one.

And then the Rams at 13, I think is one where it's just like, all right, I can get behind this. And I think in this draft specifically and the way in the things that we're talking about, I think all of those things come together in a way that feel. is acceptable, Derek, because in the idea that he can't be the top receiving option in an offense in the same way that Carnal Tate can, I think that's right. But I think as you get like outside of the top 12, that distinction maybe matters a little bit less, especially in what feels like a down draft. I think that that's probably fair. And again, like 18 in Minnesota, like in my world where I say I won't take him top 20, when you give him to like the best play

callers in the league, that probably changes my mind a little bit. But I think if I'm thinking about it, like generally and holistically. I think part of the other issue here is like my appetite for risk at other positions is a little bit higher. So I'm willing to put some riskier prospects potentially above a guy like Mackay Lemon like Monroe Freeling is not a perfect tackle prospect. I would take him before McCai Lemon because I think like I have an appetite for, you know, being able to take risks there.

Keldrick Falk I like a little bit more than even McKay Lemon who like his profile is a lot scary than someone's like lemons. But if I can get the upside of like that caliber of edge player, I'm, just more willing to swing there. And so that invites volatility. I understand that, but that's kind of how I would prefer to do it. This because I am fully, fully willing to admit, even as somebody who is like the furthest thing from a scout, my one of my issues with evaluating players is that when I

watch a guy, my number one question is, is he good? And that is, it's, that sounds stupid, but that's not always the most important question. But that's always what I'm. I find myself consistently going back to it. It's just like, is that guy good? And Mackay Lemons really good, but that can cloud how you should think about a guy in this sort of process. And I'm willing to concede that.

It's funny, though, because I think that explains the difference between me and Derek very perfectly. And I call myself a coward all the time. I would way rather hit a bunch of singles and doubles. And eventually, I'll look into a higher caliber of prospect than be swinging for the fences. and the guy with all this athleticism and all this upside is just a guy after two and a half years. Like that scares the shit out of me. And I would way rather default for the more proven, more easy to see commodity.

And like part of being a good scout and being a good evaluator is identifying those guys where it's worth betting on their upside at the next level. As an admitted non-expert at scouting, I would rather like stay out of those waters. Like that's too deep of water for me. I like it over here in the shallow end. And I get that because like if I was ranking players purely on like, will be he be as good as my draft pick? Or like, will he be like, he will just be a good NFL player, a seven out of 10.

Mackay Lemon would probably be like the eighth or ninth player on my board. Like I do think he will be a good and useful player. I'm just the position he plays, the ceiling, my appetite for risk at other positions, it probably just knocks him down my board a little bit compared to other guys. I like this because I also think it when I conceive of McKay Lemon and I think, and I think about him. And I think about a team in the position like the dolphins are in. And I just try to envision the dolphins going from what they are right now

to what they eventually want to be. There's part of me that thinks about a guy like Mackay Lemon and can just imagine him being part of transforming an organization because you're finding winning players. And I go back to the first draft that the Lions had when they got Amman Ross St. Brown. But they got Amman Ross St. Brown in the fourth round of that draft and they got Penae Soule with the seventh overall pick.

And so it's easy to go to this place of like, man, just think about what I'm on Ross St. Brown is for the Lions. But Amman Ross St. Brown being that for the Lions is possible in part and matters in part because they already had Penae Soule with the seventh overall pick. And like he didn't even really become that until the second half of his rookie season. Like if you're just trying to project like what it would, if Lemon had like a similar rookie season like for a first round pick, that would be a little bit tougher. Like, again, it's this style of profile usually goes later in the draft because you're trying to thread a pretty thin needle.

And again, that player can be good, but you're threading a little bit of a thinner needle. If we knew then what we know now, Amin Rae St. Brown would be a top 15 pick. Contrary to what Derek believes. But you take Sousel over him a hundred times out of a hundred. Exactly. And so that's my thing is that if we're doing the like, we guarantee he's this at pick 15, like is my alternative that whoever I'm, whatever tackle I'm taking at 14 is also the seventh best tackle. Like, I would much rather have that in every scenario. And I think, I mean, it's, it gets tiresome to keep saying this, but like the top of the

2021 draft was pretty special. And this draft is not that. But it's not as if Amon Ross St. Brown went 22nd because the top of the draft was really good. He went the fourth round. He's got to memorize. There were 16 receivers in front of him. And I think it does speak to what Derek is trying to pick at here is that it's not that, again, the idea of if we repicked the 2021 draft, Amman Ross St. Brown would go in the first round doesn't discount the fact that players like Amman Ross St. Brown are available in the fourth round. And that's what Derek is trying to say. And I do think that that is a point worth making. There are two to Derek's point. And we can, we'll talk about them. But like on into day three, there are there are guys that I feel really good about if you

don't want to use that type of capital on somebody like McKay Lemon. The last thing I'll say about this is that McKayleman, if you look at some of the numbers, is just an insanely productive player, too. Like some of the things in his profile are just statistical benchmarks that you can feel really excited about. Like him cracking that like 3.1 yards per route run number that he did this year is 3.13. That is an insanely productive season for a guy playing major college football.

And so there are just a lot. lot of other things outside of he's cool and I like him that lead you to believe that Mackay Lemon is probably going to be a useful and productive NFL receiver. Derek mentioned this. We're doing best slot as one of our categories. I think McCoy Lemon was the answer for all of us. The other player I did want to mention here, I do like Omar Cooper Jr. Like I don't, I think that he's what he brings to the table, what we did a series of videos

that are going to come out next month. over the next week or so here next month. It's already April. They're going to come out over the next week or so here. And what I said about Omar Cooper Jr. is to me, I think you can make an argument that he has the clearest utility of any receiver in this entire draft class. Like, I know exactly what Omar Cooper Jr.

from Indiana can be for me from day one in an NFL offense. Like, I'll be able to spit the ball out to him as a guy working on the inside. And he will be a monster with the ball in his hands. he's incredibly tough. Like, I just think that he's a useful NFL player that there's other guys that we'll talk about on day two that that useful is the word I would use to describe them, but I almost mean it pejoratively. I think that Omar Cooper Jr.

has a higher gear to him than some of those players do. Like, late in the first round, I think he is a very worthwhile draft pick. It's just so easy to see how you would get like a very casual 800 yards out of him. Like he just does. Exactly. He just does so many things well. He's like, he's not like a. super speedster, but he's definitely fast. They'll put him like outside. The only time they put him

outside is when they want speed on the outside, which I think is pretty interesting. But he gives you that. Like the thing and the thing that I appreciated about him, again, it goes back to the Cardinal Tate thing a little bit. Omar Cooper is so friendly to the quarterback. The way that like he'll sit in zones and come back to the ball and ball away from it, like catch the ball away from his chest. He does a lot of that stuff really well. So he to me is just like your classic goes at pick like somewhere between 25 and 40 and is like the second best rookie receiver and just has like a really, really nice season.

That's exactly how I feel. And I mean, he was, so he lined up on the inside, he was like a 70% slot player this year, maybe even more than that. But in 2024, he did play on the outside. He moved inside this year. And so he's done it a little bit. When I was trying to find a comp for him,

I think so many people have gone to Debo Samuel, which I think is crazy. Like Debo Samuel weighs 220. He's like a once in a lifetime sort of player in the NFL. I don't think they're comparable as players or as prospects. And I even think that some of the deployment things put a little gray area here. He reminds me a little bit of like the way that DJ Moore should be used in an NFL offense.

He doesn't have the same level of verticality. And he is fast. But when you watch Omar Cooper Jr., one of the things that DJ Moore does well, even if I don't think he's a good like X on the ball receiver because of the press coverage stuff, DJ Moore is very capable like comeback runner. like on these vertical stem routes he can do that that's where omar cooper's junior's game is probably weakest and so i think that there's some like there's some imperfections with that comparison but i do think like the way i would want dj more to be used as an NFL offense where it's a lot

of manufactured touches even a lot of the like the dagger completions that dj more had this year where he climbed the ladder to go get the ball from an outside alignment Omar cooper junior can do that Like I do think that you can use him in some of those ways. And so that was the name I kept coming back to even though as prospects and even the way that they are deployed and the way they line up is there are significant differences between them. I like that though. And that's probably like best case scenario like his tier of receiver that he ends up on. That's an ideal outcome.

If he ends up becoming that, that's like a super ideal outcome. I think it's like a diet version of that is probably the best thing he can end up being. He's got some of the most impressive body control out of any of the receivers I've watched in this class. like his balance and the way that he can contort his body. I mean, the game winning catch against Penn State that I think everybody's seen by now is a great example of that. But even just some of the stuff he does along the sideline, like the way that he can shake off tacklers and gain extra yards

while keeping his feet after contact. And what, I think for a guy his size, he's got really impressive hands too. He does. And like the size of his hands. And he just, I mean, he snags everything. He's such a tough player. He is such a tough. player and not just with the ball in his hands like in the air as well and i just i really like that about him

he's a very fun player and it's uh it was the other indiana receiver eliza sarat that got a lot of pub over the first i would say like two thirds of indiana's season and by the time they were in the playoff it was like oh no number number three is where it's at like that's where fernando's look at most of the time speaking of contested catches the last thing i want to mention shitting on jordan Tyson before we move on. He has 11th percentile arm length. When we talk about like his ability, like, go get the ball as a vertical receiver. So in my notes, someone you're out at a cost is just below best slot.

And so I brought me back to Jordan Tyson. So that's my one parting shot before we take our first break. Hating on my guy. All right. I'm excited about this one. Next category, personal favorite pet cat from this wide receiver class. Derek, why don't you kick us off? Who's your guy?

Anyone want to take a guess on what kind of? see for it's going to be? I wonder. My only question is if it's going to be one of the 6-2-220 guys or one of the 6-4 guys? It is one of the 6-4 guys. And this guy, like, you have to get over a lot because he did not run really well, but just the player that, like, I really enjoyed watching was Malachi Fields from Notre Dame. He ran like a 4-6-1, which is obviously not great for 6.4 and a half, 21. I think when you're considering, like, him not clearly a top 50 pick, I think that that's totally. fine, but he blocks his ass off. And I think what was most impressive to me, and maybe this was because I watched him, like, very shortly after Denzel Boston. Denzel Boston's obviously

faster in a straight line. I find Boston a little bit stiff getting in and out of his breaks, especially on like comeback routes, deep stops, all that stuff. The way that Malachi Fields can just hit the brakes and come back for a guy who was almost 220 pounds is kind of striking to me. And I think that he just gives you a lot of that, like you just get more sink and more explosion and more balanced than a guy like that should get. And then I think he finds the ball down the field pretty consistently well. So he is just my like, if you are looking for your, we usually use the term like Matt Harmon says sacrificial X is like a bad thing.

But I do think that he is kind of that like he's just going to be our boundary winner every now and then. I actually really like what he brings. Do you like fields more than Boston or is it just like at the price? It's I think like at the price. Like Boston is a better player. I think because of the long speed, he obviously gives you a, a much higher ceiling.

I think he's a little bit more dynamic with the ball in his hands even than fields. But again, like four where fields I think is going to go. I just, I kind of really like a player like that. I can get on board with that. Like if Boston's a top 35 pick and you can get fields like much later on day two

or potentially even on day three. I get that. Who's your answer to this question, Dave? Your favorite receiver pet cat in this group? I have two and they both have the same name. But let's start with the first. first one because I had a front row seat to Des Bryant's prime and I'm going to be chasing it for the rest of my life. And that's Chris Bell out of Louisville. I mean, I know a lot of people compare him

to AJ Brown. That's totally fair. But for me and the play that really put him on everybody's radar was against Miami. He catches like a four yard crossing route. That's what it all is, unfortunately. I don't care. I don't give a shit. I really don't. He's 6-2-22. Yeah, he's, he's, and he, uh, he tore his ACL in November. So he didn't, we don't have any of the testing numbers on him. But people I've talked to have a high degree of confidence that this is at worst, like a four, four, five type of guy. He's a very explosive player. He is a very explosive player. He can jump out of the gym. He can be a contested ball guy. Uh, he's already, he's also, you know, he had Tyler Shuck in

2024. And in 2025, you could tell how frustrated he was by his own offense. Like, if you just watch his tape. You can see him being pissed off every like third rep about what just happened. But get him a four yard crossing route and he'll go 40 yards to the house and dust everyone. He can sky over the DB and bring in circus back shoulder balls. I don't think his route trees all that

great and I think he's got a lot of improving to do as like an overall receiver. But if that's your baseline, then I'm pretty pumped about it. And then the other one is Skyler Bell out of Yukon who just caught caught more than 100 passes for 1,278 yards and 13 touchdowns. And this is probably the most reckless thing I'll say on this show. It helps because he wears number one.

But watching him, I was just like, oh, this is, this is Jamar Chase Light. This is, this is just like a man. This is a poor man's Jamar Chase. He's six flat, six foot 192, 440, 440. 41 inch vert. He's a freak athlete. He's very, he is explosive, but he's very powerful and strong. And watching him, I was just like, obviously, he's not Jamar Chase. He's not going to be a top 10 pick. I doubt he's going to be an all pro caliber player as a rookie. But he does all that same type of stuff. Like he can take it to the house. He can just body people out of the way. He can go up and get, he can high point the ball.

I was just like, man, if I was trying to get Jamar Chase's skill set late day two or even into day three, I'm all the way in on this guy. So I love both of the bells very much. Derek, how do you feel about that very aggressive comment that Dave just made? That is very aggressive. But listen, if you're trying to chase like,

not to make the pun, but like, yeah, Chase, Chase. But I was going to say, too, like, actually,

Jamar Chase falls into me, like, a very similar mode to, like, what T.O. was where, like, it just like that style of receiver. And I think if you're trying to chase that,

like Skylar Bell does make a lot of sense. Chris Bell was one that, we have another category here, biggest risk, biggest reward. He's my answer for that. Like he, the upside is just like, guys who are that big who run that fast, they just don't make a whole lot of those. But kind of to some of your points, Dave, like the route tree is a little fake.

He had the ACL injury that's a little bit tough. I will say, though, him being frustrated by the quarterback play, he did take it out on opponents often. He is a shit starter. And I mean that absolutely complimentary. Like he just after the play, during the play, just constantly in people's faces. And I did kind of love that about him. I get that with Chris Bell. He almost was my answer to that question.

And I was going to compare him to another player that we're going to talk about a little bit later just as a way to kind of illustrate how different the flavors are in this draft class in certain ranges. I completely understand the appeal of a guy like Chris Bell. Like the size, he doesn't play quite as strong as a big player like that. You would lead you to believe. But the explosiveness is obviously there. The AJ Brown thing, here's the only thing I'll say about this. I get the physical profile and the ability to take the ball to the house on a slant in the same way that AJ Brown could. I think we forget that AJ Brown had 1,200 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore at Ole Miss.

No, AJ Brown was a monster, yeah. Yeah, like the idea that airing the field with like multiple other NFL players, by the way. And that's one of those where like when you look back on it's like, how the fuck did A. did A.J. Brown go in the second round of the draft. Like there was some. And here's the one. element of this. And it was funny because I actually did this yesterday. I watched Chris Bell, and that was the first place my mind went even not knowing that other people had done that.

I think it's natural to make the comparison. And so I went back and I started reading AJ Brown draft profiles because I was like, okay, I understand what I think AJ Brown is now. What did we think about AJ Brown in 2019 and why was AJ Brown a second round pick? And one of the things that consistently came up in AJ Brown's draft evaluations. And it actually was part of of our conversations about AJ Brown for like his first couple seasons in the NFL, he was not a vertical player. AJ Brown was not a vertical player. At Ole Miss, he played a lot in the slot.

And even at in Tennessee's first couple seasons, it was a lot of like underneath type yak opportunities and slants. And then when he got to Philly, he turns into what he is now. And I think that expanded usage allows him to become one of the five best receivers in the league. And so I think the question is going to be with Chris Bell. same kind of deal. Like he was not used in that way a lot at Louisville,

but he's obviously an explosive player. So the same way with AJ Brown where it was, it wasn't that he couldn't do it, it's that people weren't asking him to do it? Is that going to be a similar situation to what happens with Chris Bell? Because if the answer is yes, then the ceiling for Chris Bell

changes even more on top of what he's already giving you. And I think the extra wrinkle there is, I don't want to call it a pure red shirt year because if he tore his ACL in late November, I mean, you could have a shot to have a role as a rookie, but there's going to be some ramp up there. And I would guess you're going to miss some sort of time. Like he's obviously not going to be available for offseason stuff. I would guess he misses some of training camp.

I would guess he misses some games. But you can't put a number on that right now. But so with the developmental idea of this that he's going to have to probably sit for at least a little while, you know, I hope the team that drafts him has a plan for developing. It's way more about his talent than any sort of like refined aspect of his game that you see when you watch him. But the talent makes you sit up in your seat. I will say even if he wasn't asked to run like a super varied route tree, Derek, he does move in a way where you think he could do a little bit more. He's a little bit better of a separator than some other guys with this physical profile. And even the fact that he's another one of those players who I lined up on the right side in a static way like 90% of the time or whatever it was, that can.

be a red flag for guys, but I think that, again, some of the things that you see for him, he kind of steps outside of the concerns that typically align with that sort of player. And so I think that what Derek said about risk award, like, he's absolutely a worthwhile answer to that question. There is potentially like a massive pot of gold waiting for you at the end of the rainbow with Chris Bell, but this could also go very poorly. And I think to compare him to like a recent player that was very similar, he has a very similar profile to like Xavier Leggett.

That's the problem. But I think he's a better prospect than that. Like obviously, Legget went in the first round and Bell probably isn't going to partly because of the injury and all that stuff. But I think he's a little bit more of a complete, and I think fluid player than Leggett was. Like, Legett was really big and explosive,

but I feel like there's a little bit more flexibility and balance to a guy like. Leggett was so raw. He was so raw. Like, it was a late breakout type thing. So I think that's a totally fair place to land. And Chris Bell was one of those guys that I think I would be willing to take

dice roll on Chris Bell on day two compared to some of the other quote unquote safer guys that are going to be going on that range clearly I would be as well but I just wonder I wonder what the range is like like how early you have to draft a guy like that particularly with the added wrinkle of him not being ready to play today you know how that affects his draft stock what about the Jets at 33 or 44 Jets at 44 is Ty Simpson so we got to we got to put that we got to put that off the side. I mean, I'm really high on the guy, but I would, uh, see, landing spot matters so much to me. Like with the, with the Jets, it's like, all right, who's getting him the ball? Like, Gino is not the long term guy there. Are you actually going to draft Ty Simpson? I, that would

excite me less just because of like, what's the long term plan. All right. So look at the second round. Who is, who are the teams in the second round? They're like, all right, if Chris Bell lands here, I'm fucking in. The Jets is kind of perfect, though, because like, they, they, They need any type of body and also like 2026 is fake for them anyway. So if he red shirts for most of it, it's like, yeah, okay. That's kind of what I was thinking to. There are so many places I'd be down to have Chris Bell. Are you kidding me?

Like, obviously, depending on what they do in the top five, Tennessee, I'm happy to have Cam Ward have that on his team. I'm not the first person to say this and I won't be the last, but isn't it, isn't it fun to try to do Tyler Shuck, Chris Bell reunion in New Orleans, like, get him back with his guy. My only problem with that, I was thinking the same thing is that I do want Tyler Shuck to have somebody he could throw the ball to immediately in 2026. Because just for a young quarterback, I do want that guy.

That's probably not how you should think about it. And I do actually think Chris Bell's skill set and what you get from Chris Olavé is a pretty fun fit if it were to work out. To me, it's just a, I'm excited for the Saints right now and I want to see it right now. And that's why I'm not the general manager of the Saints. Well, and it's impossible to know this. You don't want to be reckless about. it like is Chris Spell ready by the start of October does he need more time than that does he need

less time than that there's really not a way to know the answer to that but it it would go a long way toward influencing my opinions my answer to this question of who is your personal favorite in this draft I love Casey Concepcion yeah it's a good player I like him I love Casey Concepcion I just everything about him minus the fact that he can't catch the football. I am a huge, huge fan. Okay. I think that stuff is overplayed a little bit. I'm being facetious. I obviously don't care enough about it to not have him be my answer to this question. My cope about Casey Concepcion dropping the football is that he's such an explosive player. He's already thinking about getting to the house before he's got the football. And like, so if we can

just take a beat, bring that bad boy in before you're worried about jukeing some guy out of his shoes, it'll be fine. Drops are often not that important of an evaluation thing for receivers. We overrate them in terms of like how scary drops are. And I do think that you can be in a place where if you're constantly fighting the ball, it limits what your ceiling is as a receiver.

And I think there's an argument to be made that he might be that sort of guy, that he will consistently be somebody who fights the ball as he gets into his NFL career. But it's not to a degree that scares me when you weigh it against the positives that he's bringing to the table. And my other thing with a lot of the drops, like, yes, the drop percentage is, is concerning and it's tough to look at all that stuff.

But he still makes tough catches. Like, there are times where the quarterback throws it, like, low and at his knees and he just scoops it out of the ground through contact. Or, you know, somebody's kind of fighting him on a stick route. And he still catches it when he's got two arms from the DB draped over his back. Like, he's not a go-up and win the ball. T. Higgins guy. Obviously, he's not that size. But, like, in the areas that he's going to win, which to me primarily is like,

the two to 12 yard range like really like all these in cuts speed outs all that stuff he makes a lot of catches there like that that can be pretty difficult like i'm not that worried about that aspect of this game i think he's more dangerous as a vertical player than that he also is that definitely would lead you to believe like he's his time speed is not overwhelming but he's one of those guys that he's faster than the corner covering him all the all the time he has an incredible he the smooth acceleration that you see from him shows up in all these different areas. There was a catch he had against South Carolina against C-Say in like a very one-on-one press coverage moment where he stacks him immediately and starts pulling away from him down

the field. Was that the like really deep contested one? Yeah. And makes it catch down the right sideline where it's just like, okay. And he does that decently often. And so it's the smooth acceleration, but he, his release bag is incredibly impressive. Like I think you can make a real argument. and he's the best separator among every single one of these guys.

And then you combine that with the fact that Derek mentioned it, he's really good on some of those like in cuts. And like I think in a lot of the guy I compared him to that I think this is aggressive. And I think that some of the sliders need to be moved. But if you made Jalen Waddle like slightly bigger, but a little bit slower, that is how to me Casey Concepcion moves. And I think that one of the reasons I,

my mind went there is that I think his proper deployment in the NFL is exactly what Jalen Waddle was with the Miami Dolphins where he's a motion player you get him on some of those big in breakers and digs like I think he would be so good in that sort of role and it's really easy for me to imagine him being that type of player waddle's good I imagined him more as like what is a day flowers was bigger and a little bit more complete but like that style of play where like vertical presence but also a guy you can just run a shallow rally spit it out to him and he's going to make somebody miss. Like I think he brings a lot of those elements to the game.

I like him a lot. When you see him like the punt return stuff and his vision in the open field, I just think there's so many different layers to like how he can be impactful for an offense. And really the only knocks is that some of the analytical stuff is not that great. Like his yards per route run in certain like especially again zone coverage. There are like some concerns based on some things that I had seen about how that profile is compared to other guys historically.

And then the drops. Like those are like the two things that I think potentially limit his ceiling just as a prospect overall. But just watching him like what the tape says when you go back and watch four or five games of Casey Concepcion, I just think there's so much to like about him. Another guy, nowhere near is from what we understand, nowhere near is significant as Chris Bell's ACL tear. But he did have a knee scope this spring, which is why we don't have more testing numbers on him. I wouldn't imagine that affects his draft stock too much. But our conversation last week clearly made an impression on me because Derek got me to go back and rewatch Mackay Lemon.

And then I was watching Casey Concepcion. And I was like, you know what? If you like him more than Lemon, I completely understand why. Like that is a completely defensible take. And it won't surprise me. You know, he's one of those guys where like if he was, if he was picked 13 to the Rams instead of. Mackay Lemon, would that shock me? Not really, but I also think he could be the fourth

receiver off the board. I just am imagining him at like 26th of Buffalo. That would be really, really fun. That would be a really good one. Buffalo's, I'm so tired of falling in love with receivers in Buffalo, because I would love to see most of these guys in Buffalo. I want Buffalo to hit on any receiver they take. But this is actually a really good thing. So Miami's picking a 30, right? So instead of picking Mackay Lemon at 11, if Miami can get Spencer Fano at 11 and Casey Concepcion at 30, is that actually the right way to approach the first round? I like that more than drafting receiver 11th, yeah, for sure. I think that's partially what Derek is trying to say. I did. It was, landing spot is so important for stuff like this. And again,

like a team like Miami, I don't think I would want Miami to draft. All right. I mean, if it was somebody insane, like Jamar Chase, that's a different story. But like, I wouldn't want Miami to draft a receiver like with a pick that big almost regardless. I just think they got way bigger fish to fry than finding a receiver for the quarterback that we're not sure is going to have like a long, long term future there. All right. Let's take one more quick break here and then come back with a few more categories. All right. Derek already said his biggest risk reward was Chris Bell. Who's your biggest risk reward in this class, Dave?

Oh Mine were Jordan Tyson and Chris Bell So I'm a little There we go I've been there done that Mine's Chris Brazzles That's a good one He is an intoxicating player

Like it's That's one we're like And this is We do this too much It's helmet scouting shit But I do think it's worth mentioning In this situation He could just be Jalen Hylett

Just be Jalen Hyatt It's very easy For him to just be Jalen Hyatt I'm This is toxic. You can call it lazy. You can call it whatever. I'm more than happy to let somebody find the next great Tennessee receiver.

That's kind of what I'm saying. The track records there. Like Joanne Jennings was a long time ago. I'll say this. I think there are a bunch of different reasons that he could be a lot better than Jaylen Hyatt was and better than a guy like Cedric Tillman was. He has way more juice than Cedric Tillman. And he's bigger than Jalen Hyatt.

And I think when you watch him, there was a play he made against Georgia, where he runs like a comeback on the right side, and you see the flexibility on that sort of play. And what he does on some digs every once in a while that he's asked to run, he's not asked to do a ton of it. But you see the movement skills and the ability to throttle down. And that, to me, is a little bit different than some of the other Tennessee guys that we've looked at over the last few years.

And so you combine those little tiny morsels, those nuggets that you can attach yourself to and seeing his game. expand on top of the physical profile and the juice that he's bringing to the position, there's like a real chance that he's a monster home run. There's also a chance that he's a zero. We led Building the Beast that week. The week after they played Georgia on September 13th. And that week, we led the show with him because he caught six for 177 and three. I mean, the big play potential is undeniable. And then that play that game, we have the big comeback. And then he runs a huge post where He's just like runs by a guy.

I'm not sure. I think I might be in your boat here where it's like I'm going to let somebody else potentially have the spoils of a guy like Chris Brazzle. But at the same time, I understand the appeal. And it would be tempting in this range because there's no one else in this range that is providing you what a guy like this is when you look at the profile in Chris Brazzle. And when you're looking at all that like for me, like you look at Tennessee, it's like, okay, the route tree is always limited.

the splits are so not NFL like such nonsense they take plays off like they'll just like literally half the field will just like not be participating in the like it's so so many of these like non-nepil things but then you watch how fast he is that route he runs against Georgia the way he just hits the brakes and snaps it off is like okay i get why people are really excited about that i to me it's and when you're pick let's say he goes pick 55 i feel like that's generally the range that he kind of gets looked at and like mocked and ranked and all that stuff. Could he be Christian Watson at pick 55? Totally.

Like I don't know if he's ever going to be like your star number one receiver, but can he be a good number two vertical type of guy for you? I think absolutely. The Chicago Bears have the 57th pick in the draft. My God. So the guy, the guy with the biggest risk reward is the guy that you're talking into going. But I'm just thinking about like that, that skill set within their offense and like what they don't have.

They still need a third receiver after trading DJ Moore. And so it's that the version of it's Chris Bousel that works out. There is like a certain temptation of that when you combine it with other skill sets within a receiving core. I wouldn't want to do it. I'm with you where it's like I'm going to let somebody else do it. But you picture the best case of area for it. It's like, oh, shit. I'm just daydreaming about this big six five guy being on the other end of one of those 12 second Caleb scramble drill.

It's pretty cool. He is somebody that you have to have a certain appetite to draft him in the second round, but I can understand a team looking at it and being like, fuck it. And so the next category we're doing, best day two pick. Here's the, and I was going to compare this guy to Chris Bell, but these are the different in my mind bets you're making in the second round. Just think about like the prospect of what Chris Brasel becomes in the best case scenario and the range of outcomes we're talking about here.

And then compare him to Jeremy Bernard. Very different. Whereas yeah, Jeremy Bernard is good at kind of everything but doesn't really stand out at anything. I guess he's kind of good with the ball in his hands, but not like super dynamic. He's tough, but like he just doesn't. You can't really see like what is the, oh my God, this guy's going to change the offense. He's just like a good plug him in and he'll be good. Whereas Chris Brasel might change your offense if he's, if he's good.

But I honestly think if I was picking a guy in the second round or just picking a guy on day two, then I end just like best day two pink. because I mean, I'm just leaning toward guys that are going to pick in the second round because inherently they're better than the third round guys. And so my mind, I kind of think that Jeremy Bernard

might be like the best second round pick because I think he has the highest floor of all of these guys. Listen, I drove a Toyota Camry for a long time. It never broke down. I never had to think about it. I, it was just there. And it got me where I needed to go.

And I was never stressed about the car payment or the repairs or something crapping out. on me. And I never felt very cool while I drove it, but who gives a shit if you're never stressed out about your car? That's Jeremy Bernard. He's definitely, he's one, he's my answer to that. I also, I'll throw some more love to Skylar Bell because I think the world of him. But Jeremy Bernard is just a safe, good football player. And that is not a perjured. That is, that's fine. That's, it's great, actually. I think he will be, I think he'll be quickly successful in, in, in, in, in most circumstances.

And I would way rather just not be stressed out about it than try to get fancy with it and potentially screw things up. I just think he's Mohamed Sanoo. Like I just think I think that's like kind of what he is. Like he's going to be a second round pick. He's going to come in. Mohammed's soon who's a third round pick, actually. I thought Mohammed Sino was a second round pick.

But like that's just like the type of guy that I think he is where he's just going to come in. He's going to be a contributing player to your offense. He's going to be somebody that can be your like number, two and a half receiver for a really long time and you just kind of know what he is. Averaging 600 yards a year over the course of a decade long career, not too shabby. Two and a half is perfect. As I was going to say, it's like low end two, high end three good yak guy for you. Like that's kind of, that's kind of the range of what you were talking about here.

He'll block. Like he'll block. I mean, he doesn't like a little bit of everything. And it's just, it is really funny that he is, he definitely is the Toyota Camry. And then I'm trying to think about what Chris Braswell is. Like, what is like a very fast? car that will break down all the time. I'm not a car guy.

I'm not a car guy either. I'm not a conversation to be having. Yeah, you go, you go deal with the souped up sports car that you can't count on to go over a pothole. No, thank you. Any other best day two pick answers from you guys? We've talked about a lot of our favorite day two picks already. One other guy that I do really liking this range is Jacoby Lane, the other USC receiver. he's like 6-4 200 pounds he's kind of a he's a glider for that size like i think he moves really really

well he's not as physically dominant in the air as you would expect for a guy that size but i just think that he moves super well like he can win vertically down the field i think the way that he snaps off like some of his dig routes and some of his other like curl routes and stuff like that he does a good job of buying himself late separation there and then the other thing with him maybe this was anecdotal and just like happened to be the three games that I watched with him, he pulled so many DPIs. Like it was like once a half he got a DPI. It was kind of incredible. And so I just, he to me feels like a guy who could in the best case scenario be like a nice number two for you. Like I was actually talking to somebody on Blue Sky and they were like, man, I would love for the

Colts to pick him. And I was like he kind of is like the perfect Michael Pittman role replacement of like your big Z kind of slot can play X if he needs to sort of player. I actually had another guy that reminded me a little bit of Michael Pittman that we're going to talk about in a second that I think he's actually like he can be better than Michael Pittman but we'll talk well there is somebody else

I was going to mention in that vein let's do best day three guys I'm still working my way through the day three receivers and so you guys are going to have to carry this but your best day three receiver your favorite day three receiver is who Dave so this is a great illustration of what we were talking about

because I had Jacoby Lane as a day three guy and I don't know that Derek's wrong? He's not in Dane's top 100. Consensus is all over the board. The consensus big board, which is so useful for just sort of keeping an eye on stuff like this, has him at 112 across everybody's board, everybody's mock, whatever. So yeah, he's like a fringe third, fourth round type of guy.

I definitely like Jacoby Lane. It's a little hard to get all the way there with a guy that's just that, like that profile is just wild, like six, four, 200 pounds. but man, he's fun to watch and his stride is so impressive and you can just imagine him being like a red zone cheat code for the right team. Another guy and I actually, I don't usually gravitate toward this type of player. Like small fast guy kind of bores me a little bit and I'm like, ah, been there, done that, like what are the odds that this is really going to be that fun?

But actually this morning, I spent a healthy chunk of time with Dion Burr. out of Oklahoma, which again, going back to the, uh, the consensus big board. He's 94th. So again, fringe, maybe day two, maybe day three, whatever. But he's really fun, man. Like he's, he's, he's 510, 180. He ran a four three.

Derek's out. Yeah. I'm, I'm, I can't. I can't work with you, which what I'm trying to say is I was with you before I started watching him, Derek. And he's just, I think, I think he breaks the stereotypes a little bit. I mean, the speed is undeniable, four three flat, jumped out of the gym at the combine with a 42 and a half inch vertical. So he's, he is a freaky, freaky athlete.

Didn't get the ball that much at Oklahoma? Like he finished with 600 and something yards. But you watch that. And John Mateer, their quarterback, dealt with a hand injury and also the offense. You were crestfallen. He got off to a really nice start. and the rest of the season wasn't so exciting. But he's coming back, so we can talk about John Matured another time.

But Oklahoma's offense, very, very uninspiring. But this dude's, his speed is just out of this world. And like, you watch him, he can just get past anybody effortlessly. He can get behind the defense. He can get separation whenever he wants to against anybody. And I think he's a stronger player than 510-180 would suggest. Like he fights at the catch point. He can fight guys off.

He, uh, he can keep his balance and just maneuver his way through traffic. I just, I spent like two hours watching him today. And I was like, I like this guy so much more than I thought when I just heard that he was small and fast. Derek, who's your favorite day three guy? I had a couple. The Dionne Berks one is interesting, Dave. I want to ask you, do you think he's like Taylor Gabriel or like Rashid Shaheed? Like where on that kind of spectrum do you think that he would fall?

Rashid Shahid. Okay. I mean, that's high phrase. It is high phrase. That's, I hate doing this shit. I mean, I just called Skylar Bell Jamar Chase 30 minutes ago. It's just, it's what it reminds me of when I'm watching them. I'm not trying to say any of these guys are going to hit these ceilings.

And listen, I'm a sizest, but like in the fourth round, at that point, like, you're making some concessions for stuff anyway. I can get behind these kinds of guys in the fourth round. I think, I mean, so Dionne Burks, he's. He's got short arms and I think you will see that. Like I think his size can be an issue sometimes, but I just think he can fight off contact better than you might think. And he's a sturdy guy. Like you don't think of sturdy when you hear 180 pounds.

But I just think he's very solidly built for a guy his size. He played out wide a lot at OU. I would guess he plays more slot on an NFL team. And if you're working inside with a little more room and smaller body types, I just think he could be really, really fun and dangerous. And yeah, and I mean, he's got that type of speed

like Shaheed where like he's, he'll get behind damn near anybody. Like he just, he is a burner like that. So that's a good one because I'm going to go in kind of the opposite direction in the sense of like, I really like Texas tech receiver Reggie Virgil. He is kind of like,

we have Carnell Tate at home type of type of player. he has a very similar build he's like 6-3-187 a little bit like lankier just all these all these all these big guys yep tall and skinny but which is like built like tate ran a four seven or a four five seven geez four seven would be terrible four five seven four seven stuff yeah four seven would be like you're undrafted four five seven is like in the fourth fifth round we can live with that but i just think like some of his snappiness as a route runner he's also again like tate he catches the ball so efficiently just like tracking it hands away from his chest, high points the ball really well when he has to, always comes down and gathers his feet really well and is like ready to go make a play. So he's never going to be like

a game-changing player. Like I think the best version of what he's going to be is just like a solid, playable wide receiver three for you who can play outside. But if you get that at pick 113, that's a pretty damn good outcome. Can I give you one more who is like a day three deep cut? Of course. There's nothing fringe about this. He's 158. on the big board. I want y'all to watch Josh Cameron at Baylor, if you haven't,

which this, I just, I have not. I love him because he is everything that's weird about college football. I think you might hate it, Robert.

He's 6.1. 220 and he wears number 34. Amazing. So it looks like freaking Zach Charbonnet's lining up out wide for the bailout. I can't. I'm already out.

No. I'm already out. I did that. I, I don't want a person with that level of judgment in my locker room. He's so awesome. He's so fun. I can't trust the decision making.

But he's a receiver. Don't you kind of want a little bit of the, you know? No, that's the wrong kind of crazy. That's the wrong kind. I'm so out. He's, I just, I think he's a fun player.

Like, he plays like a running back with the ball in his hands. He's, he better. He's a better route runner than his profile might suggest. He's also, he's a multi-year punt returner. So like we're talking about a fifth or sixth or seventh round pick.

Like you'd be drafting him to be a special teamer and like the last guy on your depth chart. But like he's got the return ability and he's just he's a sturdy fun dude. And he's like he's good at the ISO ball stuff and like boxing people out. And I just I love I love watching Zach Charbonnet play receiver at a high level. It's really fun. I'm not taking risks on guys with those sorts of character concerns. That's like I'm just not going to do that. did you guys have a favorite fit that you wanted to hit before we got out of here?

I've got a couple actually. I've got one in like the first round, which is the easy one. I think Cardinal Tate to the Chiefs. Like I've lobbied for them to like take a tackle. But the more I think about like they need an adult in the room a little bit at wide receiver. Like they have so many of these like, yeah guys and fast and all this stuff.

And it's like, can we just get a guy to win on a crow route all the time? And I kind of like him for that. So I also have somebody to the Chief. and as soon as I thought about it, we've been trying to put these big-bodied players on the Chiefs over and over and over again the entire off-season.

As soon as I thought about Denzel Boston to the Chiefs at 29, I couldn't stop thinking about it. You can sell me on that too. I think that that's really good. Whoever it is to win on the outside, I'll take it. I just couldn't stop thinking about it. And that's also, he's the guy that I do think

there's a little bit of Michael Pittman to his game where he's a bigger body player, but he's not necessarily like a vertical burner. But there are so many players. I can't remember which game it was. where he just rips off like a double move touchdown from the slot like to me he's just diet drake london like he's not as explosive as drake one he's not as varied as drake one but i really like a lot of the stuff that densel boston brings to the table i love boston a lot and i think he's such

a better athlete than the current conversation about him suggests and and i i love that i love the idea at 29 because if i was a chiefs fan i'm ripping my air pods out if you're trying to give the chiefs a receiver at nine like can we can reuben bane fall to us Like, can we get something like that before we're worried about another receiver? That's what I would say. Well, Carnal Tate is big enough that Derek thinks he's worth taking there and Mackay Lemon doesn't deserve to live. Exactly. My contention is that the other Chiefs' wide receivers should not stop me from taking a guy like Cardinal Tate.

Do your favorite fit? So one very vague and broad, I would just love any good slot player to land in Carolina. I don't care who it is. It could be Casey Concepcion. It could be Mackay Lemon. It could be one of the tight end. I just think it would be fun. I kind of love Omar Cooper to Carolina.

Oh, that is good. I kind of love that. What made me think about this was our guy, Jordan Reed, who was on the show this week, reported that Omar Cooper was off to Charlotte to visit the Panthers, like right after his pro days. So, yes, that got my gears turning. I would love Omar Cooper. Oh, man.

I kind of love that. That's like a skill set they very much could use within that office. They do not have that. Oh, I'm into that now. And they have so many big guys, like to get a guy. who's, you know, he's not like, he's not tiny, but to get a guy who's a little bit quicker, has a little bit more speed than like, like, got like McMillan and COVID and stuff like that. Kind of rich for Omar Cooper though, huh?

Probably for me. I would not love that, but they are in a position where it feels like they are like, we're doing whatever we think it takes to like jumpstart the offense. And so I don't know if I condone it, but I would understand how they arrive there. I'm kind of into that one. I like that a lot. So another one that I wanted to shout, which is a lot more specific. and we just talked about him.

I would love it if with pick 49 or excuse me, 45, pick 45, the Baltimore Ravens draft Jeremy Bernard and like stop with the vacillation between, it doesn't always have to be a small, fast guy or a super big guy. Like it doesn't have to be Miles Boykin or Zay Flowers. Like we don't have to have this crazy profile for a receiver. You can just draft a good receiver who's going to make Lamar Jackson look. good. That would get me pretty excited. I think that actually is the right approach. Because my thing with the Ravens, I had the Ravens on here too, but both of mine, it was Malachi Fields and

Jacoby Lane. We don't need to do this anymore. You don't need to keep doing this with Baltimore. Just draft the boring good receiver. I think you're, I think you're right. There's a part of me that is like, dude, if I could just see Lamar Jackson with a ball winner one time, I'm like obsessed with trying to get there. But Bernard probably does make more sense. I think that's good. All right. Anything else? Any other fits? That's all I got. Did you have a fit? I had Denzel Boston. The Chiefs is 29.

You said that. As soon as I thought about it, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Oh, this came to my mind while I was finalizing my notes. This applies to anybody, any of the crazy fast guys, but in this case, since I was watching him, Denzel Berks, or excuse me, Dionne Berks in New England? Sure. And like, just anybody that Drake May can unload Howitzers to. Kyle Williams racher. No, he can still be there. He can still be there.

We're just throwing numbers at the problem. We just got to make him compete now. Yeah. All right. That is all we've got for today. We will be back on Monday with another mailbag. Sincerely appreciate you guys listening. Talk to you very soon.

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