The Joel Klatt Show: A College Football Podcast - Klatt’s 2024 NFL Mock Draft 2.0

Episode Date: March 18, 2024

Following a frantic free agency period in the NFL, Fox Sports’ lead college football analyst Joel Klatt is back with his 2nd Mock Draft of the 2024 Draft season. He reveals where top QBs like USC��s Caleb Williams, LSU’s Jayden Daniels, UNC’s Drake Maye and Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy will land and also predicts a major trade that shakes up his Top 5. His Mock Draft also includes Aaron Rodgers landing a big-time playmaker in New York, Justin Herbert getting a top-end pass catcher in Jim Harbaugh’s rebuild in Los Angeles and Patrick Mahomes adding a new weapon as the Chiefs begin their quest for a historic 3-peat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If Caleb Williams is a generational player, Drake May is a bona fide number one selection almost every other year except for when Caleb Williams is in the draft. College football has never been better. Interest has never been higher. Believe that we are at the dawn of the golden age of college football. It was an epic day of college football. It was one of those days where you fall in love with the sport all over again. Hey, welcome into the Joel Clatt show. I'm Joel Clatt.

Welcome into our second mock draft of our draft process. Remember, I'm going to be live in Detroit with the NFL network, both first nights of the draft. I've got first round on Thursday night, second and third round on Friday night, alongside Rich Eisen, Daniel Jeremiah, and Charles Davis. Can't wait to get to Detroit with those guys and cover the draft. Appreciate everybody that listens to the show. Remember to subscribe, follow the show wherever you're at, wherever you're listening and get your podcast, go ahead and do that. If you're watching on YouTube, thank you, subscribe.

Leave a comment below. I like to jump down there. and then follow us wherever we are social media in these days, okay, because we're all of those places at Joel Clat Show. All right, let's get into this mock draft because everything's changed. I wanted to do this right now because we got that flurry of activity, obviously with NFL free agency over the course of the last week, and everything has changed.

So we take our first mock draft and we crumple it up and we throw it away. And then here's mock draft number two, 2.2 here with the Joel Clat. mock draft. And we start with the bears. So the bears obviously trade away Justin Fields. And I saw the Ian Rappaport reported that they basically did him a solid. And he had choices of where he wanted to go. He chose Pittsburgh. It doesn't, listen, when we all saw the trade, it's like, aha, that's interesting after the Russell Wilson signing. And yet, if he wants to go there, And from his perspective, after the way that Russell played last year, he's got to think this might be one of the best chances for him to get on the field soon. So listen, that is not what we're discussing, but I found it interesting last week.

But it leaves the Bears with the number one pick. And that's going Caleb Williams. This is now all but solidified. This is done. He's a generational player. There's no doubt about it. I've talked about it. Ever since the fall, I've talked about it in this process.

and I'll talk about it again. And when you think about the five categories that you evaluate players, arm talent, the ability to control the game from the pocket, the ability to create, you know, are they accurate? Can they create with their legs? All of these different categories, he excels at all of them. And he's one of the only ones that does. You can evaluate hundreds, if not thousands of quarterbacks.

And generally speaking, the best ones will be great at four and really subpar in the fifth. he's excellent at all five. That's why he's a generational talent. That's why he's going to go number one to the Chicago Bears. More on that in a little bit. Commanders are up at two. And this is what gets interesting because they traded away Sam Howled, the Seahawks. And now there's all of this talk, at least, that the Vikings are gaining up the ammunition in order to go and move up into the top three.

And people are like, well, maybe it's Washington. the Vikings could make a run in the top three now that they have those two first round picks. But let's take this from Washington's perspective and even New England's perspective, because this is going to apply to the second and to the third pick. They don't have a quarterback. Neither of those teams have an option. This is not like they're trying to move away from a veteran or something else. They do not have an option.

they have to select a quarterback. And the way that this draft is shaping up, if you trade back there with the Vikings, maybe you'll get the fourth guy, maybe. And that's being generous. And I don't think that that's probably actually going to take place because it looks like J.J. McCarthy is really slotting himself into that fourth spot, I would say,

with Drake May and Jaden Daniels in the two and three spot. So I just, from my seat, I don't see why Washington or New England, for that matter, would trade away the second or the third pick with Minnesota in order to remove yourself out of this sweepstakes for the top four. Now you're going to be hoping that Bo Nix is available or Michael Pinnock's is available. I just don't see it. So as much as the Vikings are generating some headlines, I think that Washington selects and my selection for them is Drake May. I know that there are some out there that are interested in taking shots at Drake May or tearing him down. And I understand, listen, it's not the cleanest film that you're ever going to watch.

But man, if you watch his film and you can't see the top end potential, then you're biased and crazy. The guy is outside of Caleb, the highest potential quarterback in the draft. And there's no questions about that. There's other really good options at quarterback, but not high-end potential. If Caleb Williams is a generational player, Drake May is a bona fide number one selection almost every other year except for when Caleb Williams is in the draft. Now, he's getting picked apart a little bit, and that's part of the process. Guys are going to get picked apart. CJ Stroud got picked apart last year. Drake May, top in potential-wise, makes throws, other guys just can't.

Just can't. as soon as he walks into the league, he is a top five potential quarterback in the National Football League. And I'm talking about the throws that he can make, the off-schedule plays that he can make, off-platform throws he can make

with velocity, athleticism, pace, you know, the tempo to those throws, all of those things. Throwing out a ton of scouting terms to basically say like, guys, Drake May is really good. Patriots, I think that

because of all the reasons I just talked about with the commanders, of them not having an option to drop back and be sure about what they're going to do with the quarterback. I think this is Jaden Daniels all day long. They desperately need a quarterback. They already traded away Mack Jones. He was their first rounder in 2021.

They have what, Jacoby Brissette and Bailey Zappy? That's not going to do it, right? They have all people know that you've got to elevate at that position in order to win. You do not win the Super Bowl with average quarterback play. You just don't. All right. The Broncos were the last team to do that in Super Bowl 50, and they had an insane defense, insane defense. And they also, by the way, got New England at home that year.

They also had Peyton Manning, right? And, I mean, it's still Peyton Manning. Now, was he playing great? No. But his mind alone made him a top half the league quarterback even that year. So I think the Patriots take Jaden Daniels there from LSU. I love Jaden Daniels. I think he's a really good player.

I can't wait to see what he does at the next level. Cardinals here. Now, they could be a spot for the Vikings, but if you're the Cardinals, you don't need to do that. And why? Other than Caleb Williams, there are other generational players at their position in this draft. It's, for me, at least, what makes this draft so intriguing. Marvin Harrison Jr. is one of those players. Marvin Harrison Jr. is one of the best college football players I've covered in my career. He made plays that other guys can't even dream of making. He is a hard worker. He is a selfless player. Now, was his film against Michigan his best film this last year? No, it wasn't. In fact, I would argue it's probably his worst film, and I've watched all of it. The interception that was thrown by Kyle McCord was 98.5% Marvin Harrison Jr.'s fault. And that's one of the first plays of his career where I was like, yikes. And it just so happened that it was in the wrong game and in particular at the wrong time.

But that doesn't mean that you don't select him at the fourth spot. And I think that the Cardinals do that. He's the best receiver in the draft. Kyler needs a weapon out there. And then now we get into some interesting aspects of this draft. So here we go. Now the chargers are up at five. And this is where it gets juicy because the chargers are clearly right now.

in a mode with Jim Harbaugh where they're trying to cut some costs. They're trying to get into a little bit of a, you can say, rebuild mode. They trade away Keenan Allen, released Mike Williams. They restructured Joey Bosa and Khalil Mack. They're in cost-cutting mode. They're in building mode. And what do we know about Jim Harbaugh? Jim Harbaugh wins a specific type of way.

He's done it ever since he was at shoot. For those of you don't know, San Diego, then Stanford. then the 49ers, then Michigan. Jim Harbaugh's team always have his fingerprint all over that team. So I think this is the spot where it's like, I would rather have the assets than the fifth pick in the draft. So I think the chargers are the best spot for the Vikings to jump up and start thinking about their quarterback.

Now, could they grab Adonze? Could they grab neighbors? Yes, there's no doubt. And that might be what they do. but Jim Harbaugh has never been a wide receiver-centric team. He has never been that way. What makes you think he's going to be that way moving forward? You could say like, well, you know, you go get Justin Herbert a wide receiver.

That's not how Jim Harbaugh wins. That's just not. He had JJ McCarthy was a five-star player and guess what he asked him to do? Handed off 32 times against Penn State, right? Like, granted, did he ask him to do that? No, he was in a hotel room suspended. But you get the picture. That's the blueprint of the way that he,

He wants to build things. And I think that's going to be the way that he wants to build things with the Chargers. So this is where the Vikings straight up. I think that they give up the 11th and the 23rd and they move up right here. And now they're number five and they select J.J. McCarthy. McCarthy's getting a lot of buzz and he should. He's really talented. And for intensive purposes, didn't get to show that much at Michigan.

I think that this guy is as talented as anyone outside of Caleb. and Drake in the draft. Like he makes every single throw. He hurts defenses with his feet. I saw him get better and better from the pocket, the older he got. The more time he got on the field, he was very raw early. And the more he played and the more reps that he took, he got better and better and better.

And by the end, he could control the game from the pocket. Now, they didn't ask him to do that a ton, which is fine. So he's going to need some time. I think he's still green and he's going to need some time, but I think Minnesota goes and takes J.J. McCarthy. Cousins is gone. They've got to get a QB to throw the ball to Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison. It's got to happen.

So they're going to take a run. And I think their run lands them at five and they take J.J. McCarthy. Now the Giants at six, I still like Odunze there. New York made a big splash on the defensive side. They traded for Brian Burns from Carolina. So now he's paired up with Kavon Thibode. but they lose Sequin Barclay, and now you've got to at least try to have some semblance of offensive firepower.

Daniel Jones, is he an elite playmaker? Probably not. So you've got to give him someone that can go get it. That's Rome Adunze. So Adunze at number six to the Giants. At seven, the Titans, you know, I struggle with this one. And they have a whole left tackle after releasing Andre Dillard. So for me, Joe Alt is my best offensive lineman.

I think Joe Alt fits with Tennessee. So Joe Alt from Notre Dame, there he is seven to the Titans. Now the Falcons are up at eight. So they bring in Kirk Cousins. Now they can address the defense because offensively, they're pretty set. They've got the weapons there. So now you start looking at this board and you're like, hold on. You can take the best defensive player available in the draft at eight.

That's a huge win for the Falcons. and I think Dallas Turner is that player, and I think Dallas Turner fits. He's an elite edge athlete. I mean, elite. Look at what he did at the combine. Look at the way he produced on the field. It's one thing to produce in one of those areas and struggle in the other. We've seen guys produce and have sack numbers and test terrible.

We've seen guys test off the charts, and there's no production that they can show you on the field. He's got both over 20 sacks the last couple of years. and he was a testing absolute phenom in the combine. They need someone that can challenge the QB. That's Dallas Turner. Now the bears are up with their second pick here in the top 10. And listen, the bears could trade away. But think about what they've done here over the last couple of weeks.

This is what I love about the bears. Now, you could say, I don't love what they got for Justin Fields. All right, that's fair. But I do think that they were trying to do him a solid. and you look up and you're going to have Caleb Williams. You've got Keenan Allen, DJ Moore, DeAndre Swift. He was fifth in the league in rushing last year. Cole Comet.

Darnell Wright first round pick last year at tackle. Now you got something, right? Like you're starting to look at this offense. You're like, okay, hold on. Hold on. We've got something. And now you've got to think that like, you can get another tackle.

You've got some skill on the outside. And now Caleb Williams is not going to be forced into the position that Justin Fields was forced into when he had to play with a subpar offense. I think you go tackle and solidify the other side. Why not go with Olu Fashtonu. Reunite Fashnu with Caleb Williams. They played high school football together at Gonzaga in Washington, D.C. I like this pick. I think Fashonu is a hell of a player.

And he's just getting better because he was still a little bit raw, had his best year in college without a doubt this last year. And man, this guy, he's got all pro written all over him, at least in my book. I think that he's an excellent player. And I like that reuniting him. So now you got William Swift, Moore, Allen, Comet, Fashnu, Wright. And now in the span of a few weeks, the bears have gone from,

what are the bears doing to, okay, you have used the assets that you have to better your team. And could they take neighbors? Yes, they could absolutely take Malik neighbors. I just, in my mind, do you really need neighbors if you already have DJ Moore and Keenan Allen when you could then solidify the other side of the offensive line with Darnell Wright and then Olu Fashton? I like that better. I like that better, which leaves Malik neighbors on the board. And this is what gets wild here is because, listen, you. can go through this and you're like, all of this makes sense, at least in my head. And now the Jets are like, please, please, Malik Neighbors be there at number 10.

They signed Tyron Smith to protect Aaron Rogers so they don't have to go O line. That's a blindside protector right there. I think this would be an absolute home run for the Jets when you really think about it. Because outside of Garrett Wilson, I don't think their skill position players really scare you. But if you pair Garrett Wilson with Malik neighbors, you've got Tyron Smith. you've got Aaron Rogers back. Bam, you're one of the best offenses in the league, much less the AFC right away. I love Brees Hall out of the backfield.

Now you've got Wilson, Hall, Malik Neighbors, all young guys. You've got Aaron Rogers back and healthy, Tyron Smith, to protect him. And the Jets are in business right there with Malik Neighbors. I think that would raise a lot of eyebrows. If we're in Detroit and Neighbors goes to the Jets, everyone's like, ooh, okay, okay. That'll be for real. Now we get to 11 and now we've got the Chargers because remember they traded back. So again, the Vikings moved up to 5.

Now the Chargers are back at 11 and the Chargers go to work. And this is what I love about this trade possibility with the Chargers is that they could get guys that fit Jim Harbaugh to AT and they don't have to overdraft to do it. Now, in my first mock draft, I took Brock Bowers to the Chargers at 5. I thought that that was a little bit early for Bowers, but I like Bowers to the Chargers. because of Jim Harbaugh. Harbaugh is a tight-in-oriented and offensive line-oriented offensive coach. This is what he wants in his team. So for me, they can move back, get two first-round picks, and go to those specific areas,

which is exactly what Harbaugh wants. So I'm still going with Bowers here, except you don't have to do it at five, you get him at 11 and you get a second first-round pick. That's why I love this. I think that he's going to be bold with this. he's going to do that. Brock Bowers is an excellent player. And by the way, it doesn't just mean that you play for Harbaugh, you've got to have your hand in the dirt. He'll flex tight ends out. He loves to have the versatility of putting the defense in a predicament. Tid ends put the

defense in a predicament, in particular guys that can flex out and be a threat in the middle of the field in particular. Why is that? Because what do you do? Do you play big against extra tight ends or do you play small against extra tight ends? Are you in nickel? Are you in base? And then your offense can react accordingly. Gives Herbert a big time difference maker right there so you don't have to do it at five. You can do it at 11 with Brock Bowers. I love having the big, versatile, great tight end. Now the Broncos are up. Now I thought about the Broncos in a trade scenario that they could possibly jump up because, listen, they need a quarterback. Obviously, Russell Wilson walks. They're paying him basically his entire salary, which is wild. It's going to go down as the

worst signing, I think, in NFL history. Wilson now goes to Pittsburgh. Broncos have to address the quarterback. They can't wait. They don't really have enough ammunition to move up. So here it is. Pennix or Knicks. Bow Nix fits Sean Payton. I've been pounding this drum for a long time. Ever since my first mock draft, I've been talking about Bo Nix being a great fit for Sean Payton. I stand by that.

Bo Nix is a cerebral, smart, accurate, that was redundant, accurate, perfectly suited player to run Sean Payton's offense. I've been in Sean Payton's offense. He wants a guy that wants five free releases, protecting with only five. He wants Drew Breeze 2.0. Maybe Nix is that or maybe he's not, but he is at least a point guard style player that could play that way. Russell Wilson cannot play that way.

Russell Wilson needs run, run, max protection, take a shot, run around. That's not Sean Payton. Bo Nix would fit perfectly here. If you watch Bo Nix's film, what you see constantly is the ball out on time. The guy understands what he's looking at. He can change protections. He can change plays. he is a very smart player, but then once the ball is snapped, he can both create and play on pace with accuracy.

I think he fits Sean Payton perfectly. Might be a little high, but the Broncos can't take a chance. They don't have a second round pick. They've got to address the quarterback. And to me, it's all about fit there. And that's a fit that I think Sean Payton would really like. Raiders at 13. With five QBs off the board already, I just don't.

I don't know if it's Pinnock's time right there. Who knows? The Raiders are one of those teams that it's like, what do they need? Everything? I don't know. They don't seem to have a great direction. I think Colton Miller still left tackle for the Raiders,

but let's just go line there. Again, I go Fulaga from Oregon State. Taliesa Fulaga. Does he fit in Antonio Pierce? I don't know. Do any of us know what the Raiders are doing? Like, what are the Raiders as a team? What's their identity? No idea.

No idea. So for me, Taliesi Fugga. Saints at 14. I think we could start getting some defensive players here. Because now all of a sudden you're like, okay, there's some really talented guys that in other drafts might have gone in the top 10 if it weren't for some of this offensive talent and certainly this run on quarterbacks that's already taken place.

I've already drafted five quarterbacks. So the Saints are sitting there, and I look at this 14th pick. There's only been, what, two defensive players? I could see that run happening. Jared Verse, love him right there. Jared Verse is a highly productive, excellent player on the edge. That's going to help a defense right away. So Verse goes to the Saints.

The Colts, I think Corner is a really good spot for them to look. the Colts were able to take care of Michael Pittman on offense, and they can look to improve on the defensive side. I think Quinyon Mitchell, during the draft process, has made himself the top corner. He tested great. His film is really good. Again, I think back to other guys from the group of five or smaller schools.

You went to Toledo. Can they succeed? Yes. Yes, they can succeed. Sauce Gardner is a group of five guy. Now, granted, they were a playoff caliber team at Cincinnati. but he's a group of five guy that is now best corner in the league. So Quineon Mitchell to the Colts.

At 16 with the Seahawks, I think a lot of it, and I talked a lot about Jim Harbaugh and him drafting for his identity or going through this process trying to build something that is his identity. They are going to want with Mike McDonald as their head coach to build a defense that suits what, Mike McDonald wants. I sat down with Mike McDonald several times a few years ago when he was at

Michigan, talked with him ever since. And one of the things that that defense is is one, simple in terms of its philosophy. And the first order of business for Mike McDonald is to build a run

wall. That's what it is. That's what they called it. Build a run wall. How do you do that? Defense of tackles. Defense of tackles. He likes to jump between odd fronts and even fronts. So you need two, three, four defensive tackles. That's what made Michigan so tough this last year. It's the same defense under Jesse Minner that they ran a couple of years ago with Mike McDonald.

Same defense that Baltimore was running with Mike McDonald. Now here we go with Seattle. Build a run wall, but it's not just one guy or two guys. So you might be saying like, well, they re-signed Linderwood Williams at defensive tackle, three years, 64 million. Yeah, but he's going to be 30 years old. And he's not going to be out there for every snap. It's about a rotation in the run wall.

So who do we take, Byron Murphy from Texas. I think that that fits all day long. You look at those two guys and you look at the Ravens with Matabike. Tackles are at a premium for these guys that run this defense. So I like Byron Murphy from Texas. Jags are up. Jags have been active in free agency. They brought in Gabe Davis, but they lost Calvin Ridley.

They brought in Armstead from the 49ers. I think they could use some help in the secondary. If you look, I've only got one of the corners off now. So I like Terry and Arnold right there. Arnold probably will slide a little bit because of that four or five at the combine against that. That's why I've got Quinnion Mitchell as the first corner off the board. But his play on the field speaks for itself. Remember, he was recruited as a five-star safety, moved.

He was always really in Kool-Aid McKinstree's shadow. And yet he was really the more productive player. freshman All-American last year, All-American this year. Taryn Arnold is a really good player and his game speaks for itself. So there's that run of defensive players. Now we get to 18 with the Bengals

and some interesting things are in play here for the Bengals. So T. Higgins has been franchised and requested a trade. I don't think it would be out of the question to shop him for a first round pick. Remember, because a couple of years ago,

AJ Brown was in a similar situation with Tennessee, and the Eagles gave up a first and a third. Now, is T. Higgins going to command what A.J. Brown commanded? Probably not. But could you get a first and a sixth for T. Higgins? Maybe. Maybe. I don't think the Bengals are going to be in the market to pay T. Higgins after this.

He's going to move. He's not getting a contract. with the Bengals. They still have to sign Jamar Chase. They just had to sign Joe Burrow. You can't have like T. Higgins is just out of luck. He's got the franchise.

So to me it makes more sense for them. Trade T. Higgins. Maybe you can get back into the first round late in the first round and still make this selection. So you don't have to package

this. You could get back into the first round and take this selection. And now all of a sudden, the Bengals could have two first round picks in Detroit. And by the way, there's a guy on the board left in this mock scenario that you would take and you would think

to yourself, okay, he could probably give us what T. Higgins gave us and he's really cheap because he's a rookie, Brian Thomas from LSU. So the Bengals take Brian Thomas from LSU and I think that they shopped T. Higgins hoping to get back into the late

first round on that Thursday night. He would continue the LSU connection. So now you got Burrow, you got Chase, you would have Brian Thomas. Thomas is, I tell you, man, he, if we look back five years from now, we might be like, of course, of course, of course he's amazing, 632209, ran 433, huge red zone target. He had 17 touchdowns last year. I think Brian Thomas is an elite player. And if he's available like this, now, what?

The Raiders take him, maybe. But if he's available for the Bengals, no-brainer, move on from T. Higgins, try to get back into the late first round. Maybe you can get an offensive tackle there late in the first round. A lot of people go in offensive tackle here at 18. Take Thomas, get back into the late first round and get your offensive tackle. 19 with the Rams.

The Rams have a huge hole at defensive tackle with Aaron Donald retiring. And by the way, Aaron Donald, tip of the cap to you, man. 10 straight pro bowl seasons. You could go defensive tackle here. think it probably is a little early for at least my second defensive tackle, which is Jerzan Newton. So what do you do? I think that you can go offensive line there.

I like Amarius Mims from Georgia. He's huge. 6-8-340. He almost ran sub-5 in the 40 at 6-8-340 pounds, which is wild. So you've got Stafford, obviously, you can continue to try to protect him. So Mims at 19 to the Rams. Steelers. Okay.

So now you've got Russell Wilson and Justin Fields in Pittsburgh. If you're Pittsburgh, you got these two options for nothing. You're paying, I think that this is, I think they're paying one million to Russell Wilson. And it was basically like, what, a compensatory pick for Justin Fields? That's it. Sign me up.

Sign me up. I think it was a good move for them. Now, for those players, are they looking around like, what's going on? Yes, yes, they are. But for Pittsburgh, they get an aging quarterback who they've probably promised the job, or at least that's all the information out there from everybody, is that the reason Russell Wilson went to Pittsburgh is because they promised him he would start. Now, if you're Pittsburgh, are you really confident that Russell Wilson can, one, stay healthy

and two can play to the level he did five or six years ago? No, I don't think that you can be confident in either one of those. So now you can give up a compensatory pick for Justin Fields. Now you immediately have the best backup in the league. So from that standpoint, you know, good work from Pittsburgh. Broderick Jones, by the way, he played right tackle as a first round pick last year. I think he can move over to the left. That's where he played at Georgia.

So for me, I think they go offensive. line here and they go J.C. Latham. Latham from Alabama to the Steelers at 20. And we get to 21. Now, we waited a long time because I've wanted to do this. I did it in my first mock and I'm going to do it again here. And I've just been waiting and waiting and waiting on the Tua contract news. So full disclosure, the time of this recording, Tua does not have a deal. and to me that's telling. The way I view Tua and Mike McDaniel's offense is that it's not the right offense for him.

This is not an indictment on Tua in the NFL as much as it is fit. I keep saying that. And when you watch Miami and what they really do, what they need is a guy that throws on time with great leverage and accuracy down the field.

And there just so happens to be a guy that that is his best attribute sitting there available, and that's Michael Pennix. I still want to see Michael Pennix with Mike McDaniel's offense and Tyree Kill because, let's face it, as good as Tua has played, and he has, he's gotten so much better. This is probably not the right fit. Every time you look up and you watch the highlights, Tyree Kill is having to stop and reach back and catch. what do you see when you watch Washington,

Roma Dunzee, Jalen Polk, McMillan, all those guys, what do they do? Never breaks stride down the field. Never breaks stride. The leverage that Michael Pennix throws with and passes the football with down the field is exquisite. And if you paired that with that offense, I think that they would get better.

And then Tua can go and find a fit somewhere else in a system that I think is better for him. So again, not an indictment on Tua, but I like Pinnix to Miami right there. injuries have been a concern for both players. Both players have been, you know, decently healthy over the last two, but in particular,

Pinnock, since he got to Washington, the injury concerns have gone away. He had a couple of knee injuries, obviously at Indiana, couldn't stay on the field. Once he got to Washington, I thought he was much better. Now, it should be noted,

the way that each school was trying to use him was very different. You know, at Indiana, yes, they were sitting there and they were throwing the ball. And that's when he was at his best when it was kind of the Kalin-Dabor offense from what he installed as the coordinator at Indiana. But then when he would try to run around with some of the other coordinators, he would get hurt.

Then he goes to Washington and he's back with DeBore and he puts him back in the pocket. Pennix is really great from the pocket. He manipulates the pocket well. When he gets outside, that's when those injuries occur. So that's why I think he's been able to stay healthy over the last couple of years. really experienced player, great leverage thrower down the field, 45 career starts. Eagles, they've got to do something in the interior because of the Kelsey retirement. I think Jackson Powers Johnson from Oregon is a good fit there.

They've been active in free agency. They have to replace DeAndre Swift. They did that with Sequin Barclay. They brought in what, Bryce Huff from the Jets. Corner could be a need here, but they need to replace the heart of that offensive line. You've got your quarterback in place. You've got Sequin Barclay. You need someone on the interior because you just lost Kelsey.

So I think Jackson Powers Johnson right there fits. He's an interior center from Oregon. Now you get to that charger spot because remember the Vikings who had the 23rd and the 11th, they moved up to 5th. So then the Vikings take J.J. McCarthy. And now the chargers are able to drop back to 11. They take Brock Bowers. Now they're sitting there at 23 and guess what they can do.

They can go offensive line, which is exactly what Jim Harbaugh wants to do. More tight ends, more linemen, extra gaps, get tough, run the football, help your quarterback be the best version of himself and play winning football. And guess what? It's worked everywhere that he's been. So why would it change? So now the chargers can go from the fifth pick to the 11th, take Brock Bowers, best tied in the draft, and get the 23rd pick from the Vikings and take an offensive

of linemen, I like Tyler Guyton from Oklahoma. They compare Guyton at right tackle to go with their left tackle, Rishan Slater. If they came out of this draft, just close your eyes for a moment, not if you're driving, full disclosure. If the chargers came out of this draft, Harbaugh's first, and they got Brock Bowers and a right tackle, let's say it's Tyler Guyton. Everyone would be like, oh yeah, that's a great draft for them. Well, of course. Well, of course. That's why I love it and that's why we did it.

All right, 24 is the Cowboys. Cowboys drafted Tyler Smith in the first round in 22 as a left guard, but he played almost the entire rookie season that left tackle because of Tyron Smith. Smith was injured, missed most of the year. So when Tyrone was healthy, he went to guard. Troy Fontenou from Washington. He is a left tackle. I think he can play left guard.

So now all of a sudden, you're solidifying that left side of the offensive line. This allows some flexibility. So while it's not like the sexiest pick in the world, Troy Fontenew from Washington is a really good player. He can play on the left side of the line of scrimmage, tackle or guard. And now the Cowboys continue to solidify an area where they need to be solidified, in particular after losing Smith in the offseason. Now at 25.

All right. So remember earlier I mentioned that, hey, you know, what if the Bengals wanted to select and jump back in? Okay, hear me out. I've got two arguments here for the 25th pick going back to the Bengals. What if the Packers are looking at this and they think to themselves, okay, we've got this really young.

offense that is showing some promise. It is, right? I thought the Packers played pretty well. And yet, if you could just add, like, that veteran piece, guy that's been there, you know, someone that's a little bit more of a known commodity, imagine the Packer saying, I'll tell you what, let's go ahead and trade away 25 and let's get T. Higgins. So now all of a sudden this young offense has a legitimate more known commodity in the skill position.

And now the Bengals would be there at 25 and then they would take one of the remaining offensive linemen. You could do that. Now, one might also think to yourself, Joel, that's crazy. One, the Packers don't pay wide receivers or else Devante Adams would be there. They don't care to use assets.

This would basically be saying, our first rounder is a wide receiver and T. Higgins. They don't do that. They didn't draft Aaron Rogers a first round wide receiver. So in one part of my, I was like, you know what? That'd be interesting. And then I thought to myself, you know what? I'm not going to do it.

So I didn't pull the trigger. I just wanted to plant that seat and just say at some point in here, whether it's Cowboys at 24, Packers at 25, bucks at 26, maybe even the Cardinals, Bills. like there's a chance that one of these teams is sitting there and they're thinking to themselves like, hey, T. Higgins might be really good for us. And that's where the Bengals could jump up and maybe they could get Troy Fondu. You know, maybe they could get one of these offensive.

Maybe Guyton is still on the board for them. So just planting that seed. But I stuck with it. Packers are selecting right here at 25. How about Nate Wiggins? Corner from Clemson. He was fast at the combine. 4-2-8 and the 40. He's 6-1. I like that selection right there with the Packers. They always take good football players. I feel like they make sound decisions. I think Nate Wiggins could be that. Bucks at 26. They traded Carlton Davis to the Lions. So they need help on the outside of their defense. I like Enis Rakeshaw from Missouri. He can help that pass defense. They were 29th in the league last year. And you look up and it's like you got to you got to face San Francisco. You know, you've got to, you've got to. You've got to. to face some of these teams that are going to be threats throwing the football. So for the Bucks,

I think Enish Rake Straw could make a lot of sense. Now the Cardinals are back up. So this is their second selection in the first round. And I'm looking up and I'm thinking to myself, okay, Chop Robinson is available here. So they could come out of this draft with a dynamic pass rusher in Chop Robinson and a generational wide receiver in Marvin Harrison, Jr. Sign me up. Chop Robinson is really, really good. Now, he happens to be one of those players I was referencing earlier where his production numbers on the field don't quite match up with the athleticism that you're seeing in the testing environment. And that's true. And I think it'll show up. I really do. I can tell you this. Not many guys are going to be able to cover him, block him on the speed rush. His first step is

lightning quick. The reason that Michigan ran 32 straight times against Penn State is Chop Robinson. and it wasn't because he was bad at run defense. It's because they weren't going to block him. It wasn't because they were trying to avoid J.J. McCarthy throwing the football. It was that they were trying to avoid blocking Chop Robinson. Just go watch the first two series of that game and you realize real quick, oh yeah, Chop Robinson is going to have as many sacks as Michigan allows him to have. And so guess what they did?

Ran the football 32 straight times. That's how good Chop Robinson is. At 28, the bills are up. Bill's lost some guys in the secondary due to that cap situation. So Tredavius White, Jordan Poyer, those guys are gone. How about Cooper DeGine? I like Cooper DeGine's game. He's versatile.

The guy is a ball hawk. I think he could fit with the bills. DeGine is a Swiss Army knife type of player. So if you're losing a lot of pieces out of that secondary, he can fit in any number of ways. And I get it. He's coming off of that broken leg into this season. but he's been cleared to resume football activities. And quite frankly, for me, this is one of those injuries that I'm just not worried about once you're given a clean bill of health.

It's not something that's going to nag and lag for him over the next couple of months or years. So Cooper DeGine to the bills. The Lions at 29. I thought the defense was a problem for the Lions. They brought in Carlton Davis, we just talked about from the Bucks. I think they can keep improving from that group. and Koolaid McKinstree is sitting there. I like Koolaid McKinstri's game at Alabama.

He's been a great player for a long time. So the lions go with the corner from Bama Koolaid McKinstree. At 30 with the Ravens, you know, this is a team that they've got to look at this and say, okay, hold on. Just playing great defense wasn't able to get there because we did play pretty great defense even against Patrick Mahomes. And I don't know if you're ever going to get, and I know this is crazy because they won the Super Bowl.

But if you're looking at just the offensive firepower for the Chiefs, I don't think you're going to get a Chiefs team that is as pedestrian on offense in the next few years is what you had last year. Okay? And they tried to hold them there. So for me, you've got to find a way to increase your ability to be explosive on the offensive side. And you've got to look at it with the style.

that Lamar plays. Lamar is an unbelievable talent, unbelievable talent. And I think the type of players that succeed with him are the ones that can go down the field and win 50-50 situations. And that's Keon Coleman from Florida State, the wide receiver. They've got to replace Odell Beckham. Keon Coleman is big, physical, he's athletic. He would be a great compliment to Zayfow, flowers, who's a smaller, shiftyer guy. And so now you can get that 50-50. guy where he's got a big body's athletic. And I think that fits Lamar Jackson. I think that fits their style of offense.

Run the ball, throw play action down the field. So I like Keon Coleman 30 there to the Ravens. At 31, the Niners. So San Francisco, I thought from kind of surprisingly, released Ark Armstead. And then he signed with Jacksonville. So in my mind, I think that that's a good. good spot for Jerzan Newton.

That's a disruptive defensive line. I don't think they need a ton on the offensive side. Now, maybe you could claim like, hey, they got to figure out quarterback. Maybe they do. Maybe they do. They also were right there. I mean, that was a great game. They also need to know the rules of overtime, but that's a totally different podcast.

Let's be honest. Jersan Newton from Illinois is a disruptive interior defensive linemen that not many people know about because he played at Illinois. He didn't play in a ton of big games. But trust me, I covered this guy when he played against Penn State. He was virtually unblockable that day. And every time that he would pop up on the film, as I'm studying the offense for, you know, any of these teams or studying defenses for any of these teams in the Big Ten, he's one of those

guys that always stood out on film. Jersan Newton is a heck of a player. And I think his activity in the interior of the defensive line fits with San Francisco. Now 32, the Chiefs. okay, I wanted to go Xavier Worthy here, but I'm like, you don't need Xavier Worthy if you just signed Hollywood Brown. So now Hollywood Brown is there, but I don't think they should be done on the outside. I think that you need to continue on that wide receiver group because that wide receiver group was bad. And there is a guy that I really loved during the course of the

year that is still available right here. And that is Troy Franklin from Oregon. Troy Franklin For a lot of the year, I thought was at least the second or third best receiver in all of college football. He's a smart player. He's strong. He's sure-handed. He runs really clean routes. And so if you give Patrick Mahomes a guy that can be that kind of an A number one type of threat. And then you give him the home run ability of a Marquis Brown.

Now you can kind of have like a Tyree Kill style of player with a guy that you know that can win. Now you got Kelsey, you know, can win on the inside. and you got a guy in the outside and Troy Franklin that you know you can win. And now all of a sudden, remember I talked about Kansas City being as pedestrian as they would be in a long time on offense this last year, even as Super Bowl champs? That's because they can do something like sign Hollywood Brown and select Troy Franklin here from Oregon. I really like that. He's a complete receiver and I love what he could bring. So that's the mock draft. Quick follow up.

Last week I talked about benching 225. pounds 20 times because that's what was it wasn't that the the corner mitchell didn't he do that isn't that way i was freaking out i believe that's the case quignon mitchell i believe did 20 reps of of 225 and i was like what for a corner and and it blows my mind because i do i know how heavy that is and i know how hard that is in particular for a guy who's who weighs less than 200 pounds or or less than 205 or 210 right If you're just like a normally athletic build and you're not just a power lifter, doing 225, 20 times is obscene. Just to give you a sense. Well, I mean, you don't care.

But like most I ever did was 16. And I was really strong. Okay. 16 is a lot. I challenged everybody out there. Like, hey, if you can do 225 times video and send it in to Joel Clatshow mailbag at gmail.com. and we got hundreds of responses. Now, not every email showed 20 reps.

So those of you that submitted it for five or 10, good for you, because that's also still really strong. But the challenge was 20 reps. And we got a lot of guys, I will say this. I don't think that there is another podcast, at least in our space, that has as strong of a listener group, meaning like physically strong of a listener group than the Joel Clatio.

I'm just throwing it out there because the emails that I saw all those videos, like you guys are getting it done. And so I said you would win a hat if you did it 20 times on video and I stand by my word. You will get a hat. It's going to cost me a lot of money because there are a lot of hats that I'm going to be sending out. And you know what? Happy to do it. Happy to do it because I love this.

And again, please send them in. sending them in. If you can do it this week, send them in. Send them to our email. Even better yet, because the file size I know is hard over email. Send it to or post it to X, Twitter, formerly known as Twitter. You can send it to, the best one is at Joel Clat Show, tag at Joel Clat show, because then we can DM and get your address and everything for the hat, but also tag me personally. I'm at Joel Clat. I want to see these. And I am so impressed with those of you that can do this 20 times. Heck, I'm impressed with those of you that can do it 10. I could not do it 10 currently. Now, granted, I haven't gotten under a straight bar bench in probably a decade because my elbows are shot, right?

Like, I just, it is what it is. Old injuries and arthritis creeps in and you play baseball and football for as long as I did, and I can't do that. I thought about, briefly, I thought about saying that you could only win the hat if you also submitted a drug test. Let's call it what it is. I wanted to go clean. I wanted the natural 20 reps of 225, like we're doing at the Combine. Because some of these videos, I do believe that there are some performance enhancing aspects of, you know, you know what I'm talking about. But you know what? I'm not going to do that.

It does end. I'm just going to set a date. It ends Wednesday at midnight. Get your videos in Wednesday at midnight. And I am not responsible if you injure yourself. This is my legal disclaimer and it will hold. Joel Clatt show, nor me, Joel Clatt personally, is responsible for any injury incurred while trying to bench 225, 20 reps, or any other number.

And if you do get injured and don't get the 20 reps, I'm sorry you don't get the hat. that'll do it follow us on youtube at joel clatt leave a comment subscribe to the podcast wherever you're listening we'll be back next week thanks for listening to everybody