The Kevin Sheehan Show - Carlson Dealt + Skins' Free Agency-Draft

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

Kevin opened with the Caps trading of John Carlson along with Trae Young's debut plus a Commanders' kicker kept. Sam Monson/33rd Team jumped on to help preview Washington's free agency opportunities next week. Bruce Feldman/Fox & The Athletic joined Kevin to look ahead to the NFL Draft.   For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match For all your football betting needs: DCRELOAD at MyBookie for a 50% Deposit Match For all your garden needs: fastgrowingtrees.com/sheehan To ship iconic foods from across the country, use: https://www.goldbelly.com/ For everyday daily wear, use: http://quince.com/Sheehan Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

You don't want it. You don't need it, but you're going to get it anyway. The Kevin Sheehan Show. Here's Kevin. Next week's going to be a busy week with free agency getting underway. Sam Monson from the 33rd team will jump on with us in a few minutes to give us his best guesses on what Washington will do in free agency. And then after Sam, Bruce Feldman from Fox and the Athletic will jump on and talk NFL draft.

Window Nation is the presenting sponsor of this show, 86690 Nation or windownation.com if you need new windows. A big surprise late last night early this morning in town, and that is the Capps defenseman John Carlson was traded to Anaheim. I'm not going to sit here and break the trade down for you. You know me better than that. And while I could have booked a guest to do it and to talk about Carlsson, I do have two really good football guests on the show, and they were already booked. But I do know this about John Carlson. I know that this is a sad day for Capps fans.

Carlson is not only the greatest defenseman in franchise history. He was a foundational piece to the greatest years in franchise history, which of course peaked with the Stanley Cup title in 2018. Only Nick Baxter assisted on more. Alex Ovechkin goals than Carlson did. Ovechkin shocked and crushed by the news saying, quote, it's obviously a sad day,

probably the toughest day in my career, talking about personal wise. It sucks. It's sad. He's obviously the best defenseman in franchise history, a leader, an unbelievable man, and a great friend for all of us,

closed quote. Tom Wilson said, quote, never foresaw a Capitol's game without John Carlson in it. Today sucks. It's brutal. I'm sure there's some guys that want to cry. That's the reality of it. Today you can cry, but tomorrow you've got to wake up and be a big boy and go play hockey. Closed quote.

The trade brought the caps, a conditional first round pick in 2026 or 2027, along with a 2027 third round pick and what NHL pundits are calling the most surprising deal so far ahead of the 3 p.m. trade deadline today, which is on the verge of coming up. There is a possibility that he could be brought back next year as a free agent. He's in the final year of his $64 million deal, so he will be, a free agent. But if not, you know, 36 years old in the midst of his 17th season, all of those seasons here in Washington playing for the caps. But the caps are struggling right now. You know, they are right now on the outside looking in as far as a postseason birth goes, four points behind the last of the two wildcard teams, Boston. The Bruins have also played three fewer

games than Washington. So they traded Nick Dowd yesterday, but today the big surprise and the big news that they have moved on from John Carlson. Again, it's possible. It's just for the time being. But a legend in Capp's history. And I know people that know John because he lives in the area in which I live in or used to live in. And there has never been anybody that has said anything other than, I don't know

how well you know John Carlson, but he is one of the best guys of all time. Everybody liked him. Everybody loved his family. And what a career he's had here in Washington. So we wish him the best. meantime, the basketball team in town last night had the debut of Trey Young as a billing that actually drew one of the bigger crowds they've had all season long. I'm actually a little bit surprised at that. I just don't personally view Trey Young as a true needle mover. But a lot of excited people to go out and see his debut, 19 minutes, 12.6 assists for him. the time that he's going to play here over the final, you know, 20-some games or whatever it is at this point, the coach Brian Keefe said afterwards, basically he's going to play like 17 to 20 minutes. They're not going to play them a lot.

And, oh, by the way, they lost the game last night to Utah, which was a good thing, because Utah was one of those teams they were battling with. So they don't, they gain ground where they lose ground, with Utah, however you want to look at it. I know Tommy is somehow talked himself into because he just can't stand Tray Young, and that's fine. Trey Young is a flawed player in many ways,

but somehow making this final stretch some sort of referendum on whether or not it was a good trade. That's absurd. These games are games in which the team is hoping to lose, playing a lot of developmental players, one of which last night, Julian Reese, Juju Reese for Uterps fans, Angel Reese's brother, Juju last night. How about this in his third professional game? 18 points, 20 rebounds, 10 offensive rebounds.

The 10 offensive rebounds are the most ever for a rookie in Bullets slash Wizard. history since they've been in Washington. The 20 rebounds tied a rookie franchise record since they arrived in Washington in 1973. He came out in the final minute and a half. If not, he would have had a chance to go for a 2020 night. 18 points on 5 of 7. And if you guys or for you guys who know Juju and have watched his career at Maryland,

he was 8 for 8 from the free throw line last. night. This was a guy that shot 53% as a sophomore, 56% from the line as a junior, and then improved to 73% plus in his senior year last year. Four years, one school, college park. Juju was a fun player to watch because he just progressed every year. And I'll tell you, last year, what a player he turned into on both ends of the floor, improving his free throw shooting and improving his overall offense. And here he is in his third professional game going for 18 and 20. I know a lot of Maryland people, including former coaches of his,

who were very happy to see that because he was a very well-liked player and had a great work ethic during his time at Maryland. I have no idea how this will play out in terms of opportunities next year. but he is certainly with an 18-20 night in his third game, there are going to be some people that take more than just a look-see. So good for him. Really excited about his night last night. Watched it.

Watched a lot of that game last night. And continue to be impressed, by the way, with Will Riley in his development. I don't know if that's a superstar top five player, but man, a lot of their young players are going to be. going to be really good pieces. If they can land on, you know, a transcendent, you know, superstar player in the upcoming draft, but also just to couple with and to support, you know, what we're hoping to be a very interesting team next year with Trey Young and Anthony Davis.

We'll see on Anthony Davis, of course, because of his history of injuries. some Washington football news today. They signed Jake Moody. Remember there was a report the other day that they were not going to tender him. He was a restricted free agent, but kicker Jake Moody resigned to a one-year deal. They need a kicker. They're going to probably bring in another kicker or two, I would imagine. But Jake Moody actually kicked well.

It was two-for-two on kicks over 50 yards. remember he was drafted by the 49ers when Adam Peters was there. But God, this year was a disaster with the kickers, with the number of kickers that we ended up having. You know, Matt Gay, you know, Matthew Wright for a game, Jake Moody last year with all the kickers in 2024. And Jake Moody came in. He was 10 of 11.

The kick that he missed, I'm pretty sure, was a real short one in his final game against Philadelphia. remember he shanked one from like 20-something yards out. Am I right about that? Philadelphia. Yes, opening drive of the game. He missed a 24-yard field goal. It hit the right-up right.

But that was his only miss, and he was two-for-two from 50 yards out. He was the guy, remember, that beat Washington as a Chicago Bears kicker on Monday night football when Jaden Daniels fumbled and the Bears ended up getting the ball back in a game that Washington had really in hand. And then the defense let them essentially run through them like a sieve to get in really good field goal range for Jake Moody, who kicked a 38-yard field goal at the gun.

And that was, you know, the loss that was really, we didn't know it at the time, but it was the beginning of the end because they were three and two on the verge of being four and two. And then they were three and three. And then the following week, Jaden got hurt. and Dorrance Armstrong got lost and a loss to the Cowboys and it was all over. And the other news that isn't specific to Washington, but certainly associated to Washington, is that Tyler Beattish, according to many reports, signed a three-year, $30 million deal to be the starting center of the Los Angeles Chargers next year.

He's going to replace Bradley Bozeman. Remember, the Chargers had all kinds of issues. along their offensive line. Now, here's what I would say about this. First of all, three years, $30 million without any sort of guaranteed dollars being a part of the reporting tells you that that's probably the best it's going to look because that's probably the agent, you know, trying to put the best spin on it. I'd like to see the details behind the deal because the details, I think, will be a tell

on whether or not there was more than just one team interested, meaning, is it possible that Washington could have gotten something back for Tyler Biotish if they had chosen to trade him instead of release him? I think if it's three years, 30 million, but really the deal is a one-year deal for eight and a half million, and the second year and third year aren't guaranteed, then there was probably not huge demand for his services. But if it's three years, 30 million and half of it's guaranteed, and it's, you know, two years for sure guaranteed.

I think maybe there was another team or two interested, and the Chargers had to go up a little bit to lock them up. You know, there was a report that he was interviewing with the Bears after Drew Dalman retired suddenly at the age of 27. I would imagine Washington certainly looked into trying to trade Tyler Biotish. I don't think it just slipped their mind. that, hey, you know, we didn't work it out with him and there's not much of a market for him. We're just going to release him. I'm sure they explored the possibility that a guy that

started for two straight years at center and is what? Only, you know, 29 years old, 28 years old. I'm sure they would have explored whether or not there was an opportunity to deal him. And when there are multiple teams interested, or if there's a feeling that there's going to be you know, a big market. If they release him, some teams will choose to send you a conditional, you know, day three pick so that they can sign him to the deal rather than being in competition. But anyway, Tyler Beaudish, there you go. Finds your job and finds a job pretty quickly. All right. Let's get to Sam Monson. We will do that after these words from a few of our sponsors. Hey guys, I'm addicted to gold belly.

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So our team, Sam this year with all the injuries fell to five and 12. The defense was horrendous. I would argue that over the last half of the season it was the worst defense in the NFL. I'm not sure in my lifetime, Sam, of following this team and being a fan of this team I've ever seen a worse defense

than this particular team's defense. I saw the other day you did a segment five minutes on how to fix Washington, so have at it. How do we fix our team here with three agencies starting next week? Yeah, the

defense was extremely rough last season. And that, you know, it looked pretty bad on paper heading into the year. And that was the kind of concern we had going into the season. Obviously, everything had been so good the year before. You found Jaden Daniels, the team overachieved. It looked like a real contender. And they should have fired up that offseason as if that was the case. And they went hard after these veteran moves, you know, trading for Laramie Tunsell, bringing in a Devo Samuel. You know, they were making moves as if they expected to be a contender

last season. But when you looked at it on paper heading into that year, you're like this defense does not look like the kind of group that can match that unless, you know, some very young unproven players play extremely well. You know, Trey Amos right out of the

gate or Johnny Newton, you know, becomes a star. Like, it was going to need something like that for this defense to hold up it end of the bargain, and it just didn't happen. So the defense was rough. Obviously, the offense took a step back, or Jaden Daniels, was hurt

and not quite the same guy year two, and suddenly it's just none of what was expected kind of manifest last year. All right, so let's fix it. Where do you want to start? Let's start with free agency. What are some of your ideas?

Yeah, so I think, you know, the good thing is this team, it's got some money to play with. They can absolutely be players in the free agent marketplace. They can absolutely be a factor. And I think it's a good team for this lesson because generally speaking, I think free agency, gone are the days when elite players are hitting the market

at the peak of their powers, the peak of their earning potential. The guy that always comes to mind for that is Albert Hainsworth, and obviously Washington was the team that went after Albert Hainsworth and it didn't work out. But generally those guys are not, hitting the market anymore, but that doesn't mean there's no good players to be brought in or there's no smart money to be spent in free agency. I think you can get a lot of useful, you know, role players, a lot of useful starters, a lot of contributors. You're just not getting

the sort of market resetting superstar anymore. All right. So let's start with Edge in free agency. Who's worth it for Washington to go after? They have Dorrance Armstrong coming off an injury. He played actually very well before he got hurt in week seven against the Cowboys. Dietrich Wise they brought back the other day. He's more of an edge-setting run-stopper. It's a new defensive coordinator, Sam, Durante Jones, coming from Minnesota. You're very familiar with the Vikings and Brian Flores' system. So is there, you know, would you go after Trey Hendrickson or would it be a boy

Mafe or an O-Way, like, how would you address a significant need, which is they've got to generate pass rush in 2026? Yeah, so obviously a lot of it is going to depend, you know, what the market is for some of these guys, and it's always difficult to gauge that from the outside and know exactly what the asks are. I wouldn't go near the Trey-Hendrickson thing. I think given his age, given the likely area that he's going to be playing in in terms to salary. I would let somebody else do that, but I'd absolutely be interested in talking

Jalen Phillips, you know, from Philadelphia. He'd been with Miami. Injuries are a concern for him, but when he plays, I think he's an impactful and versatile defensive lineman that can move around, they can do a bit of everything. I'd absolutely be interested in the Adafeloway Oway marketplace. I think he does get a lot of pressure. I think he's athletic enough to potentially do some dropping into coverage, you know, to be, do some of the sort of confusing elements and disguise that Minnesota has been done for years. And I would imagine we're going to see more of in Washington this year.

Caleb-on-Chayson is coming off a really good year for New England. That's sort of former, former draft bust, really. You know, a high-draft pick that had never been the guy that he was supposed to be, but all of a sudden he was consistently making plays for the Patriots. And again, a guy that's got experience, you know, dropping into coverage, doing a bunch of different things from that defensive line. I don't know if his market is going to be anything, but if he's a cheap option, I'd absolutely be intrigued and bringing him in. Here's a name for you, just curious as to what you think, because it's always been a player when I've watched him. I've just, I've thought, like, especially maybe in a Brian Flores-style scheme.

And he's down the list here, and so it's not going to be a lot of money. I think he's played in Buffalo at a high level at time, certainly as a playmaker. Do you like A.J. Eponessa. Yeah, I do. I think Eponessa is, you know, an interesting player who's, I think he's been pretty inconsistent in his NFL career, but I think he's got some ability. And he's, you know, in his prime, is a big, long, powerful player that his high-end play has been particularly, has been impressive.

It's just never been enough of it. And again, like a guy that was a pretty high draft, not a first rounder, but a second round player that never quite became the player that he was supposed to be for the bills. But I think AJ Appanessa as part of a rotation is absolutely a useful player to have. If you go sort of seven deep on that defensive line, I think AJ Appanessa is definitely one of the guys that can get, you know, 400 snaps for you and be a useful player. Why not on Trey Hendrickson?

I think he's just a little bit too old to be sure of that salary. You know, he's the whole Cincinnati thing has really not worked out in his favor in that he didn't get the contract that he was looking to get. He's already 31. He'll be 32 during the season. You know, and he, for the last few years, he's been up there with Miles Garrett and T.J. Watt is one of the best edge rushers in the NFL. Well, those guys got absolutely monster top of the market.

contracts, Hendrickson should, by all rights, be targeting that kind of money. And I just think you're going to feel far more concerned of giving him that money than you worse than your Miles Garrett because he's that little bit older and he's coming off an injury now. You know, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe his contract demands are going to be much lower than that. And if they are, then maybe you're in the Tray-Henrickson market. But where I think that contract is going to end up, I would just let somebody else

gamble on when age becomes effective for him. Is there a corner because they have a need there? I mean, they've got a need almost everywhere on defense. Is there a corner that you think would fit maybe a Brian Flores-style scheme? That's what we're thinking here. Next year with Durante Jones as the defensive coordinator. Give me a corner or two. I actually think there's a chance that they re-sign Jonathan Jones,

who's a little bit older, actually didn't play that poorly. they'll have Trey Amos coming back off the injury who played pretty well as a rookie. Sanra stills here. But give me a corner that you think is a possibility for them. Yeah, it's an interesting year for corners. There's a lot of risk associated with kind of all the guys. So it's really what is the thing? What is the red flag?

What is the scary element of these guys that you're most comfortable with? Greg Newsom is someone I'd be interested in kicking the tires on. And coming out of Jacksonville, he'd been a brown. for a first round pick and has got some high-end play on his resume, but is not coming off the best of that play for a long time. Santhe Samuel Jr., now that he's healthy, I mean, he didn't get signed for basically all of last off season. It really dragged late because he was coming off injuries and really wasn't healthy enough

to play. But late in the year, we saw him get on the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Now, you know, if you assume another kind of six months into his recovery, Assanti Samuels, a potential ball hawk type of corner, you know, sticky in zone coverage, the kind of guy that can make plays. It's going to depend on what his health is like, but if your medical staff clears him, I think Samuel is definitely someone that could be a really interesting

by-low type of player. And then Tariq Wollin, Rick Wollin from Seattle, he's, you know, incredibly athletic, had an amazing rookie season, regressed pretty hard the last couple of years. But I thought every time he got on the field this year, was pretty impressive. And, you know, maybe maturity is a potential issue for him. I mean, he had one of the worst, one of the dumbest penalties I've seen anybody commit

last year. But, you know, again, if you're comfortable, that was just a, you know, a rush of blood to the head as opposed to a kind of serial concern for him. He would be, he certainly a talented player to potentially invest in. Of the following four players, if I told you they signed one of them, which would be the best fit? Tremaine Edmins, Quay Walker, Devin Lloyd, Nkoby Dean. Noobie Dean, you would imagine, would be an awful lot cheaper than the other one.

So in terms of value, Nacobie Dean might be the guy to target from that group just because I suspect he's going to come at pennies on the dollar relative to the other ones. I think Devin Lloyd is the best player of the group, but I also think he'll command the most money as well. So I think it's either go big with Devin Lloyd, you know, pay the big money, get the talented player hitting the market, you know, the second contract guy right at the right time, or you go for the bargain basement version and you bring in Nikobie Dean and hope that he can stay healthy and be that guy. I wouldn't want any part of Quay Walker. I think he's still more of an athlete than he is a football player and kind of always has been. Trayneemm.

Edmund is definitely intriguing, but he's incredibly athletic. They ask him to do an awful blood difficult things. But I think he's, the idea of Tremaine Edmonds has always been better than the player, Tremaine Edmonds. If they brought Bobby Wagner back, do you think that would be an issue? No, Bobby Wagner can still play. Now, he can't play the way he used to in Seattle, and, you know, you need to change your requirements for Bobby Wagner. You can't necessarily ask him to do some of the things that he did earlier in his career, you know, operate out in space, cover serious ground in coverage. But if you understand what Bobby Wagner is now and you

put him in the position to succeed, he can still play at a really high level. Like, he's a really good player still. Yeah, he is still an absolute lethal tackler. I mean, still one of the best in the game. All right, let's flip it to offense. Would you do

Brandon Ayuk or not? I mean, so Iyuk is a total wild card at this point. Now, you know, Washington has a kind of unique insight into him with Jaden Daniels and that connection there. You know, maybe if your quarterback vouchers for him and says, look, he's 100

going to be on the straight and narrow, we can keep him together, then it is a potential by a low opportunity that rarely comes along. He's a top 10 caliber playmaker at wide receiver. He could turbo charge an offense and, you know, give your young quarterback an absolute

superstar to go along with Tara McLaren and the players that are already there. But, I mean, this is I can't think of a situation like this before where a guy is basically down tools, run himself out of the building, immediately after getting paid. I mean, usually that kind of thing, if it ever happens before, is, you know, an unwise negotiating tactic to try and get paid. I mean, Hassan Reddick kind of did something like this for Philadelphia, but I was to try and get a contract done, not after the contract is signed. So it's incredibly unusual and means he comes with a massive risk. I mean, if you're bringing in IUC, you are assuming if this lasts a year, you know, it's been a success.

Wide receiver, they're going to add a wide receiver, if not to, because part of it, Sam, is that Terry very likely is going to be playing his last year. His cap number of balloons in 27 to 34 million to 39 plus million in 28. He got a one-year contract extension for all intents and purposes last summer. And, you know, look, if he plays great, they'll try to figure something out. But they also are likely not to bring back Debo Samuel. They only have three receivers under contract right now. Luke McCaffrey, Jalen Lane, who's their punt returner, and Terry McClure. So I think we are all expecting here in D.C.

that they are active in free agency to begin with, and that wide receiver and maybe even tight end and running back are a part of the equation. So who do you like? Wide receivers, let's just say after, you know, Pickens, obviously, and Pierce in that next group after them. Let's just say they don't spend the big money on Pierce unless you think they absolutely should. I think Pierce is definitely an option for them. still. The problem is, like you said, it's going to be big money. Most of the NFL, I think, is interested in Alec Pierce. I didn't really expect him to hit the market, but obviously they use their tag on Daniel Jones, and so Alec Pierce is going to be available unless he takes a massive

hometown discount in the next few days and stops himself hitting the open market, which I can't imagine why he would do. So, yeah, I would at least be in the conversation there until the number goes so high that you draw a line in the sand and let somebody else go there. Juan Jennings, I think, is a really interesting name. Again, a San Francisco connection, so they would have some insight into him. Jennings, I think, is primed to step into a bigger role than he's had for the 49ers. He's a great blocker.

He's fearless over the middle. He's a playmaker as well. He's got some dynamism to him. Romeo Dobbs from Green Bay, I think it's just a really solid, very good number two receiver, and that would upgrade the receiving core. And then I think you've got a bunch of kind of lower down, not quite one-trick pony players, but more limited receivers, like specific skill sets, I think you could bring in.

Guys like Jalen Naylor from Minnesota is, I think, an intriguing speed receiver that was actually pretty good for them last year when most of their higher name receivers really weren't. I think there's definitely players you can bring in two guys maybe in free agency and absolutely kind of overhaul this receiving core without breaking the bank on huge money for any one of them. Different style player, but do you think Juan Dale Robinson's a bit under the radar? I mean, I was shocked when I looked at his production. You know, I always thought watching him, he's better than people think he is. I had no idea until recently.

He's gone 92 and 93 receptions in his last two seasons. Is there going to be a market and a decent-sized one for him? I think there should be, yeah. I mean, he's an interesting player because obviously really small guy. I think he's under 5-9, kind of this classic slot receiver, high volume, underneath chain-moving type of player.

Then all of a sudden last season, it's like it averaged at the target almost doubled, who was making a ton of plays deep down the field, and all of a sudden there's this deep threat that's emerged out of nowhere. I think some of that is connected to the way Jackson Dart played the game and extending plays and running around behind the line of scrimmage and kind of manufacturing some scramble drill opportunities

types of things. Now, some of that translates with Jayden Daniels. You know, you're going to have some of those plays with him as well, so it's not like that skills that disappears if he came over to Washington. But I do think he showed last season there's more to his game than was given credit for before that. So, yeah, I would be really interested in Wendell Robinson for a lot of teams in the NFL. He'd be, I'd be calling up his representative finding out where that marketplace is

because if it's anything short of, you know, crazy money, I think he's a really good addition to most receiving goals. If I told you they added a tight end, it's obviously not going to be Kyle Pitts, but it was somebody else who would be the best fit in Washington. Yeah, I don't love the tight end market this offseason. I think there's some useful players, but maybe you're kind of short on that, that kind of guaranteed fix. David and Joku, I'd be interested in looking at.

I think he showed a couple of years ago he was really a high-level receiver, dynamic player can make plays after the Cacks. Last season was not a particularly strong year for him. And it's tough, like on the one hand, you would say, yeah, but look at the quarterback situation on Cleveland. And then the other hand, you would say, but that didn't affect Carol Fanon at all, the rookie tight end, kind of

taking his place there. So it's not to know exactly what to do with that, but he's not that far removed from some really good play. As a receiver, I'd definitely be intrigued by that. Kate Otten was a, you know, a useful player in Tampa Bay. Baker, field's favorite target at times, but I think he also sort of showed, you know, where his feeling

is in terms of he's a solid player, but he's not going to be spectacular. But those are the two guys, I think they would definitely upgrade a group at tight end. Who are the running backs you like? Because I think there's a chance they add one in free agency. First of all, where do you think Kenneth Walker, the third, will land? Yeah, there's a lot of talk that Kansas City is going to go in his direction. They tried to trade for Brees Hall. Last year during the season, balked at the asking price,

wouldn't go to a third-round pick. They wanted to give up a fourth. But I think it shows, you know, they're playing at the higher end of that running-back market. They're getting linked a lot to Jeremiah I love in the draft. That would be another option for them.

But they might be the team that's willing to go to the big money for Kenneth Walker. I think it's a great year to pick up a running back in free agency. I think there's a lot of really good options. Tyler Algear has been the kind of the change-up guy to Bejan Robinson and Atlanta. He's a hammer as a running back. He's so consistent. He's great and short-yardage. He never fumbles. He's just a really, really solid

running back that I think would be a great addition. Again, to a lot of teams with Washington in particular as well. Rashad White at Tampa Bay, I think it's been a really useful part of a committee backfield. He'd be an interesting player to bring over as well. I think there's a couple of guys you could absolutely look at. Yeah, you've mentioned some of the guys I love. I love Jennings, first of all, wide receivers, especially for them, because they're going to go to more of, you know, kind of a Shanahan style or Ben Johnson style offense with David Blow at coordinator. And I love Tyler Alger.

I actually think Chigacanquo would be a great fit for Washington, too, at tight end. You didn't mention him. Do you like him as a free agent signing? I mean, he's obviously not Pitts. and he's not at that upper tier, but what do you think of him? I do like a Concord, but he's one of these perfect players where it's like every single year you're kind of expecting more of him than you get.

No quarterback. No, it is true. And, you know, it's always difficult to know how much the dependency of that. But every year, he's like the fantasy player's dream every off-season. Every off-season, this is the Chiga Concor breakout season, and it never quite comes. And, yeah, like, you can always say something. Sometimes you've got to factor in his quarterback, but again, it's like that didn't stop Harold Fanon immediately with, you know, Dylan Gabriel and Schernerz and Cleveland. Sometimes if it's ever going to happen, these guys should be able to transcend the quarterback.

And Cam Ward actually was playing pretty well last season for a lot of that year. Late on in the season, we started to see some real development from him. And it didn't really correspond with the Chick-a-conquo uptick in production. So I'm always going to buy into the idea that eventually maybe you'll get that breakout season, but at some point we should probably stop expecting it to happen. Who do you like for Washington at 7? What would be the best case for them? I would go for one of those defensive playmakers, particularly the past rushes.

I think there's three high-end past rushes, I think, that are being talked about at the top of this draft. They're all very different stylistically. you've got this power monster in Ruben Bain, who knows how far he's going to slip because of this arm length issue, if at all. But I think if Ruben Bain is the guy that falls towards the bottom of the top 10 because suddenly teams are scared of his arm length, I think that has the potential to be just a steal in the draft. Like, let's just not overthink it, let's get one of the most powerful,

strong players we can find and just let them loose. So which, like, my guy is Bailey. I don't know that he makes it to seven, probably doesn't, but do you have a favorite? Like if you're a Washington guy and you're like, God, I hope this guy drops to seven, who is that guy? Because, of course, it would be best case if it ends up being one of the past rushers. Yeah, I mean, again, I think there are very different players. Like, this draft, if it has a flaw, it's that you don't have the, sort of clean blue-chip prospects that just don't, they take every box.

You know, there's no flaws. Like, everyone agrees these guys are superstars. There's no Will Anderson, Jr. There's no Nick Bosa. There's no guy that just takes every box. Somebody, everybody's got something to be a little bit leery about. With Bailey, it's, you know, is he going to hold up against the run? Is he only a pass rushing force?

And maybe you're fine with that. You know, you just say the run doesn't matter. We want the juice off the edge. that's our guy, like his level of explosiveness, of twitchiness, it's next level in this draft class. So I think he'll absolutely be a high-end pass rusher. With Arvel Reese, you've got this projection element of, you know, he's this hybrid player, he's been more of a linebacker. The edge rusher tape is pretty thin on the ground. You're doing an awful lot of projection to kind of assume that he can become the next Abdul Carter or Michael Parsons or, you know,

one of these guys that's going to transition down and become that edge rusher, but his tape is, you know, spectacular, the juices everywhere. It's there both as a linebacker and as a pass rushing force, so, you know, a lot of people like the projection, they're comfortable with it. And then with Rubin Bain, you've got, look, that dude has been an absolute monster, but you have to at least acknowledge the fact that that arm length would be extremely rare for him to be a high-end playmaker at the next level. Like, you're basically almost an unprecedented territory, pending the idea that his arm

probably going to come in another inch long once he gets measured at his pro day. For some reason, the guy operating the tape measure at the combine has been really short-changing people the last two years. So I love Ruben Bain, but I think I have no problem with any of those guys. I think if any of the three are available for Washington, it's a slam dunk. All right. I want to finish up with this. Just tell me where this player lands, best guest today on March 6th. I'm not holding you to it.

Where does Max Crosby end up? Max Crosby. A lot of talk is that Dallas are interested in him. I would be surprised if the Cowboys were into that. I could see Baltimore making that kind of move. This is the team that kind of got shocked to its core last season. They were not anywhere near the team they were supposed to be. It ended up costing John Harvard's job.

They still have no kind of pass rush. I could see the Ravens talking themselves into a trade for Max Crosby is the solution to their troubles. Malik Willis. I think he ends up in Arizona. The connection there, the coaching connection is probably too strong. LeFleurs. Right.

What does he get? Does he get $30 million? This is the thing. I don't know where his contract is right now. We started off this whole process that is saying, you know, if he gets the Justin Fields Bridge contract adjusted for a year of inflation, that's kind of where he belongs. but all of a sudden, you know, you are here and talk of we're up beyond $30 million a year. And like, it's not crazy based off a scarcity that's always there with quarterback.

But what he's shown, it's a really small sample size, but it's looked genuinely impressive. I mean, he could be worth that. I think it's going to need to look like a kind of creative contract where, you know, it's more about guaranteed money to me. If he's on the hook for, you know, a year and a half, say, of, of decent quarterback money. If you're paying and say $45 million guaranteed over whatever

length of contract you want to call it, but it ends up sort of looking like a year and a half's worth of pretty decent quarterback money, I think that's probably where he settled in it. Do you think it'll work for him? Do you think that, I mean, the sample size is small, but do you like him

as a prospect now? Anybody that tells you the answer to that with any degree of certainty, I think is crazy. I mean, what we what we've seen in Green Bay is a total transformation of him as a player. Like he, with the Tennessee Titans, he couldn't play. He couldn't play. He just looked bad.

But yeah, it looked like he had no business playing football in the NFL. It just didn't look like a quarterback. He got benched, I'm pretty sure, in a preseason game. Because Mike Ravel was saying, look, I know you can run. Stop running. Like, stay in the pocket, go through a progression. I don't want you to take off. Stop doing it.

And he couldn't. he was literally a one read and run quarterback. And then for some reason, Green Bay decided not only were going to bring him in, but we're actually going to trade to get him to bring him in as the backup quarterback. And then every single time he's been pressed into action for the Packers, he's looked good.

And not just look good, but look different. Like he isn't just a one read and run quarterback anymore. He'll work through a progression. He will, you know, read a defense. And, okay, we're dealing with a really small sample size. and he's never had to be a high volume passer for them either. So, you know, multiple questions, but he has looked really, really good. Like, he's looked like the ceiling is extremely high.

It's just that you can't possibly be confident that he's going to hit that ceiling. I actually just have one more for you. I had a bunch more, but I'm not going to take up any more of your time. But do you think Marcus Mariotta stays in Washington as a backup, or do you think there's an opportunity for him in this, you know, in the next few months to compete somewhere for a starting job? Yeah, I mean, I guess that's the thing is I would be surprised if there was a starting opportunity available for Marcus Mariotta,

but there are going to be places where he has a much easier pathway to starting than in Washington. Like, obviously, Jayden Daniels is absolutely the start of there. It's not in question. It's a bit like Daniel Jones a year ago, right, where he had to weigh up, like what is, where am I more likely to get starting opportunities? Is it in Minnesota with J.J. McCarthy? Is it Indianapolis with Anthony Richardson?

And ultimately, I mean, as it ended up, he would have been starting in either spot eventually. So it didn't really matter, but he ended up choosing the Indianapolis Colts, deciding that was the better way, the better pathway to a starting gig. You know, Marcus Marriota may well find an opportunity that gives him a much clearer pathway to starting games than in Washington. Thanks for doing this, as always. Hope you're well. No problem. Thanks for having me.

Sam Monson, everybody from the 33rd team. Up next, Bruce Feldman from the Athletic and Fox. We'll talk more draft with Bruce after these words from a few of our sponsors. Did you know fast-growing trees is America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants and over two million happy customers?

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Following the podcast is a big deal. That's really easy. Just hit the plus button or the follow button. All right. Joining me right now is Bruce Feldman. Bruce is a college football analyst for the athletic and for Fox, where he does pregame, halftime, post game during college football season. He's an NFL draft analyst as well for both.

And he's always full admission been one of my very favorite guests to have on any of the shows that I do to talk college football with and to talk NFL draft with. Bruce has done a phenomenal job for a long period of time. It's good to have him back. At Bruce Feldman, CFB on X. You can read his follow-up to the Indy Combine right now at the Athletics. So why don't we start there and just give me your big takeaways from the Week in Indy? Yeah, you know, I didn't think this was going to be, and I don't think this is a great draft overall.

I just feel like it's not in the top 10, you know, group. There's some good players in there. I think there's maybe a great player here or there, but I don't think. it's just deep on the front end. But I will say this, this group ran faster than any group that's been in indie in terms of how it tested. Now, a lot of that was, I feel like, you know, I do the freaks list every year. A lot of those guys not only lived up to the hype, they exceeded it, right?

So it wasn't just the 40 times. It was that, but it was also, you know, these tight ends, Eli Stowers, you know, at Vandy, He was an elite tester with a 39-inch vertical guy in the offseason. He comes to the combine. He goes 45 and a half, which is insane. You had Kenyon Sadiq from Oregon. Also, you know, not a prototypical size tight end, but he runs 439 and tests phenomenal. The other piece of this also was some guys who are probably not expected to run that fast.

They didn't run. So that boosted the average further. But just the fact that we had six safeties, not cornerbacks, six safetys. these go run 4-4-0 or faster is remarked. Well, why do you think that happened this year? I think a lot of it is that they had their guys who leaned into what they do really well. And I think there's the combine training is better than it's ever been because people keep learning from it and growing from it.

So I think that added to it. But again, you had a bunch of like defensive tackles running the 4-8s in the 40. like that's not very common you know and so I think it was just layers to it that added you know I mean by and large this is not a good quarterback group

there'll be like one who goes on the top 15 that's Mendoza maybe Ty Simpson goes in the from Alabama goes somewhere later in the first round besides Jeremiah Love from Notre Dame it's not a great group of running backs or not a deep group and I don't think

there's good receivers I don't know if there's a great receiver in there. I'm not that fired up about Carnell Tate. I like McCoy Lemon, but you know, I don't see him as a top five pick, and you get through there. I just feel like there's a lot of guys, so I was like, oh, yeah, I could see him as a first round pick. I couldn't see him as a top 10 pick. And so

it's an interesting draft in that regard. So this is interesting to me because I've always felt like the Indy Combine is an event in which fans go nuts over, but we don't know anything. I mean, look, the draft for teams,

historically is a two out of three misses, you know, on average. And it just is one of those things that we're obsessed with, but most never really get it right. I mean, the players that you think are going to be great, turn out not to be, and vice versa. But, you know, it's just one of those things. The draft is a crapshoot overall. And not even a 50-50 proposition. But in saying that the testing this year and the times were, you know, all time in terms of the results. Give me the player or two you think is going to trick general managers into taking them too early because of some of these. I don't want to say use the word inflated because they're legitimate, but these incredible

times that won't match up to the tape and these players, these two or three players are going to trick general managers into taking them too early. Do you have anybody in mind? I mean, the guy who maybe the biggest wow guy of all of them was Tailing Green, a quarterback from Arkansas. They were a two-win team. But he showed up at 6-6. He was almost 200-30 pounds, got really long arms. He ran the second fastest 40-time of any quarterback who's been at the combine. He ran 4-3-6. He vertical jump 43-5 inches and broad jumped over 11 feet. somebody will take him higher than, because when you talk to coaches who watched his quarterback workout,

they're like, no, I don't buy that at all, that he could play quarterback in the NFL. The arm is way too erratic, and they were just inconsistent. Now, what will he be as a receiver? Because I think ultimately whether he can grow to be a tight end or just be a really big receiver, and he's a target in the red zone,

could he be Jimmy Graham? you know, Jim Graham is a little bigger, a little taller, but again, you know, 6-6-2-30 is a problem for people, you know, like in the red zone, especially when he has a lot of speed on top of it. He's just not like a long guy who jumps well. He jumps exceptionally well, and he has a lot of straight-line speed. So I'm pretty confident that he's going to get drafted a lot higher than, you know, again, people know what to do with him because I think they're going to bet on the truth. and say, hey, you know, in the fourth round, maybe even in the third round, we'll take a chance on a super freak athlete, and say, you know, can he be a guy who can help us win some games? Can we develop him that way? That would be the one who's like the film is not showing it so much.

He did have, like... Get a couple of really good games. Now that you've mentioned him, like, I remember watching him, and they lost a lot of close games except for that Notre Dame game, if my memory serves. me correctly. Yeah, I mean, look, they had a real, Mike Washington, Jr. is a really good running back. He might be the second best running back behind Jeremiah Love.

He's also an Arkansas guy who tested really well. Bobby Petrino, say what you want about his character. We know he's kind of a dirtbag, but he's a good offensive mind. And they, they were two and ten, but the flip side of that was they were second in the SEC and yards per play on offense. Like, as bad as they were, it was, it was, they really, stunk because of defense. Offensively, they were, you know, all over the place in a good and in a bad way. But he's the, to me, the wild card of like, what, you know, what is he

going to be? But somebody will take a chance on him because of the combine number. Is he liked, because when KJ. Jefferson was the quarterback in Arkansas, I always felt like I was watching maybe an NFL quarterback. But I have to tell you, I thought that about Anthony Richardson as well. So is he kind of in that class? He's not, because Anthony Richardson has a rocket for an arm.

It was just, like, athletically, there's some parallels. Anthony Richardson is like a bigger guy. This guy's a lankier guy. This guy is a faster guy, but the arm isn't the same. And I think where people got kind of lured into

it with Anthony Richardson, and I'm not to say he can't, you know, he's still young. was can he get cleaned up enough to develop into a starting NFL quarterback with the stuff Shane Steichen was going to give him to lean into the run game? This guy, again, I could be wrong on this for sure because like you said, most people are wrong when they get all this information still because you're projecting it to the NFL. I'd be a little surprised if his arm is accurate enough where he could develop into a consistent NFL down the road.

Where I think he might have a real chance is as a receiver, you know, and again, I don't think he's going to be like the St. Hughes Tayson Hill, you know, in that regard where it's almost like he's an hback and a lot of things. I think this guy is just

is a different kind of weapon. It's just, you know, I mean, if I was an NFL team, I would take a chance on him from that standpoint. It's like, hey, no, quarterback's usually pretty savvy guys. He started his group, boys. He went to Arkansas. Can he become that?

Like, Cordell Stewart, different time. You know, this guy is quite a bit bigger. Like, Cordell is pretty good size. This guy's even bigger. This guy's even faster. And I think Cordell had more polish as a quarterback coming in. But, you know, the whole flash thing, he was a weapon for the Steelers for a while. So, again, I don't remember where Cordell went in the draft. but maybe that's kind of the transition thing.

You wrote before the Combine. You had your list of just freaks, you know, athletic freaks. So give us the top three athletic freaks in this draft. You know, I see who you had going into it, and two of them definitely proved it at the Combine. But coming out of the Combine, who were the true athletic freaks in this draft? Sunny Styles, for sure.

the linebacker from Ohio State. I mean, he was a guy that, you know, I was expecting to tear it up. He did, you know, he's 6'5-24, and the numbers were all, you know, broad jumps over 11 feet, runs in the mid-4-4s and the 40, vertical jumps over 40 inches. He was even like, the thing that was interesting with him

is he's one of a couple of guys where, when he was measured at Ohio State, usually the guys, and when it comes to their height, it's almost like they get a gift inch. He's actually measured taller than what he was, I think, in the offseason, what Ohio State told me. And there was a few guys like that, and I don't remember having more than one

that would usually be that way where they're actually taller or not that it matters that much, especially when they're that height, six, four, six, five, it's plenty. He's one, you know, we mentioned Kenyan Sadiq. Kane and Sadiq was a lot lighter at the Combine, which sometimes guys will do that to run faster. He was 255 when he was at Oregon last off season. He got down to like 242, I think.

But just, you know, he wowed people, and I think that lived up to it. You know, the guys like David Bailey, who was, David Bailey is the elite football player, like started out at Stanford, went to Texas Tech, was unblockable there. He's one of the few, and him and Arvel Reese in the same category,

where I'm like, oh yeah, those guys are legit top five in any draft. And the reason why I said, David Bailey, to me, is better, like, he's similar size, but I think he's a better football player and edge rusher than Abdul Carter. And Abdul Carter went number three last year to the Giants. I think David Bailey's better than him. I think Arvel Reese is better than him. Again, not a bashing Abdul-Carter, but, like, I think Arvel Reese was a hell of a football player for Ohio State last year.

he's a guy who could be an offball lineback or he could be an edge rusher and I think he can be a pro bowler either and I ran into a scout who you know said like we think he's Michael Parsons again and that's saying something he's also young he's not going to turn 21 to almost the first week of the NFL season

so he's one that people knew people you know felt like he was going to do really well he did great and I think he will be a great NFL player All right. Well, that's the perfect segue, because that's the guy that I hope drops to seven for Washington, and it may not happen. He's not dropping a seven. Oh, my gosh. If he drops to seven, something went crazy. Well, I've actually said that. I'm like, if he's actually available at seven, that would be a red flag to me that we're missing something. But it's like, you know, unlike Reese, but like Bain, when you watched Texas Tech defensively, and I, by the way,

I think Rodriguez, I don't know why he's not a consensus first round pick, because every time you turned on Texas Tech, those two players wrecked every game. I mean, by the way, they wrecked the Oregon game. They just couldn't score on offense. And I just thought that he and Bain were the two that you sought on the field. We'll talk about Bain's short arms in a moment. But yeah, so you love Bailey too, and you don't think there's a chance he makes it to seven. No, I think there's probably a little better chance he makes it to seven than Reese. I don't think Reese gets out of the top three. And I think Bailey should be gone by then too, but I could, just because there's a little more versatility with Reese, but I don't think either one should be there at seven. Like I said, I definitely don't think Reese should be there at seven. By the way, do you agree with me on Rodriguez?

Why don't I see him mocked in more first rounds? offball linebacker. I think there's a little of that from the year before, 2024, when they didn't have a great D-Line, people would get to him and they were like, oh, there's a little, you know, offensive linemen would get to him and he wasn't, you know, quite the playmaker.

He was a good player, but not like this. And I think when he had some elite D-Lyman in front of them after they spent a ton of money in the portal, I think he really shined. But he's a good football player. I think he could you know I could see him getting in the second round he tested well

he obviously makes a ton of plays the ball finds him you know which is you know say that in a good way and obviously character wise really good it's it's interesting because you have I think Reese is ultimately

the more valuable as an edge guy than an off ball linebacker but him sunny styles is definitely that there's a few guys who fit in that category like that's one of the positions that's deeper than it normally is. Like I remember a couple of years ago that was a really, you know, athletic, productive, off-ball linebacker coming out of Texas. And I think the Packers got him in the second round.

You had kind of blanking on, he was a freakless guy for me from NC State, Peyton Wilson. Oh, yeah. Was tested great, made a ton of plays, but he was like held together by glue because he had so many, like medical issues injury-wise. And then he went to the Steelers, and the question was, if he can make it for a second contract, he'll be a big value because he's a really good football player. But I think that position,

a little like running backs is like, it's just not valued quite the same as it was. I want to say, like, when you and I were growing up or even like before, you know, the last 15 years has kind of changed. All right. So Washington at 7, Bruce, I mean, their defense at the end of 2025 was arguably the worst in the NFL.

I mean, it was legit horrible. Not that they don't have some needs on offense because they do have, you know, a need for another receiver, another playmaker for sure, but they've got to get better on defense. And so we're all looking at Stiles and Reese and Bailey and Bain and wondering, you know, who will drop to seven. If it is Bain, what do you say? I say that could be a big win for Washington because he is a nasty, violent physical defensive alignment. His arms are an inch shorter than anybody would hope much less ideal. But when I asked some people in Indy last week, I was like, how big of a difference is it if his arms are 31 compared to 32 inches?

and they're like, well, you know, if his explosiveness and get off is good enough and he gets on people, you know, that kind of mitigates some of that and just the way he plays. I think he's a different kind of player, right? You know, he, the other thing that's big for me is Miami, University of Miami was spinning its wheels. He was the one who committed there, and he did more to change the culture of the University of Miami Football Program than any player they had there. I mean, for lack of a better term, he was like an ass kicker. He's a Miami kid who decided to stay, and he got after people. And you saw it in the playoff.

Like, Indiana has a really good delinement. That guy, Carter Smith, I don't know this for a fact, but this is something I've heard a bunch from people I know at Indiana. He might have come out into this draft. He was their best offensive lineman, and he was their best offensive tackle. He got, honestly embarrassed. because they won the national title. But he got whipped in that national title game,

and he decided to stay at Indiana for another year. There's other guys. Texas A&M has really good... Killed them. Bain whipped them. You know, Bain did damage against Ohio State. Like, I mean, when the money was on the table, he was taking everybody's money, you know?

And so I would not bet against him. I know that there will be some teams are going, yeah, I'm not taking a defensive edge guy or a defensive lineman with sub, you know, 31-inch arms. But watch him on film. He is a really disruptive player. And I would think, you know, whether he, I'm not saying he's milderick because he's not physically.

But, you know, and then again, who is, right? Right, yeah, yeah. I think just in terms of how he gets after people, I would not bet against him. And him at seven, I could see him that will be in the one who slides. Because if you said to me, who has the lowest,

who has the highest floor, I would say Rvel Reese, I would put Bailey closer to that. And then I would say probably, you know, probably Bain. Yeah. Feeling wise,

Bain may have a higher, probably have a higher ceiling to me than even the other two guys just because I saw what he did in the playoff. I saw what he did for Miami when they really needed him. Whereas I'm not saying those other guys didn't step up in the big stage, as you said, like Texas Tech was a one and done in the playoff because their offense,

fizzled. It wasn't because of the defense didn't dominate, but like he got after Oregon's offensive tackles who were going to be NFL players. So again, I think Baines, a really interesting player. And if he goes seven, I think that's a good addition for Washington.

By the way, Mezzador was a freak in those big games against A&M, Ohio State, Indiana, Ole Miss, as well. I mean, and he actually has the better body type, but he's not going to be, where does Mezador go? I'm just curious. I would bet he goes, you know, maybe goes to the bills who would need an edge guy, you know, 20 picks later.

he's a little older, he has a little more of an injury history. He is more of the like the measurable guy that fits. He is a really good player. I think, like he was a very good player at Miami.

Bain was a great player. Doesn't mean that you know, and I don't want to say he's like A because he does have a little bit of an injury history. But I think if you're taking in the 20s, I could say, see Mesidor being a really good player

because he's, you know, he got after people and he did have a really good 2025, like it wasn't just Bain. I mean, they had three guys as they had more than three, but really it was the two-edge guys and then Ahmad Motton, who's still at Miami was a very disruptive

interior guy, and it was that was a reason why they went from being a team that, you know, fell out of playoff consideration, even though they had a better quarterback in Cam Ward and this team almost won the national title. It was like the defense coordinator was really good,

Corey Heatherman, but I felt like those pieces on defense stepped up when they really needed them to step up. By the way, off the subject a little bit, but do you think Malachi, Tony, Miami's freshman superstar, wide receiver, everything offensively, does he look like Tyree Kill when he's eligible to come out in two years?

I don't think he has as much pure speed. I think he is a better all-around football. ball player. Like, he is, the thing I'll also say about, I haven't seen him in person a couple of days before the national title game, he's a little bigger than I was expecting him to be. You know, the cornerback at, at Indiana, who's their best TV, D'Angelo Ponds, is really good player, but he's a shade under 5'9, and he's, he was not at the combine, but, you know, when he played with 173 pounds, and I met him, and I saw him, and I saw him,

and I remember thinking, okay, Malachi is going to be just a little taller than him. Malachi was way thicker than him. Like Malachi is almost 5-11. He's around 190 pounds. And again, he should be a high school senior. He graduated high school year early. So he's a phenomenal player just because he does everything for him. He's super smart.

He's really competitive. He's really quick. Like, I'm not saying that he's going to be a better NFL player than Tyreek Hill because it's a long time between he's got two more years to go before he could even come out to the draft but I think he does so many different things and it is so

advanced mentally too like Hill is is shorter and explosive and all that I think Tony's really explosive again I don't think he has as much pure speed but I think he's going to end up being he may end up being a better football player

I mean just because I'm thinking about Miami and their playoff run and I'll just tell you, I was rooting for Carson Beck all season long. And, you know, the game he had against Louisville on that Thursday or Friday night was a disaster. The pick and overtime against SMU. And then to see the way he played. And I actually thought he played really well, even though it didn't, you know, show it statistically. I thought he played really well in that Ohio State game. And then the Old Miss game, you know, that moment for him was so great. I have thought watching him all season long and going back to Georgia

that he just looks like an NFL quarterback to me. A lot of my close friends who love college football like I do go, no, he's Kirk Cousins light. And I love Kirk Cousins, by the way, but that's another story. What do you think? Do you think Carson Beck is a future NFL starter or not? I think he's on the fence. Like, I think mentally he's got a lot.

He's got a quick release. Quick release. A, think he's inconsistent. His arm is good. I don't think it's elite. His athleticism is okay. You know, he's played a lot and been through a lot. Like, if you told me, if you told me, you know,

he ended up having some kind of like Mac Jones kind of career, which would be, I don't think he's getting drafted where Mac Jones did, but where he's sometimes a starter, people like there's some good moments and there's some other times where people like, yeah, you're not going to go to the playoffs with him kind of thing. Like, I think he's, I don't want to call him a project because he's not like in that regard, but I think he's somebody who probably goes in the third or fourth round. And, you know, like, look, it wouldn't surprise me if Monkin took him now that he's a head coach and push for him because I know he was a big believer and I'm at Georgia.

But I just don't know how high you need to take him, right? I think there's quarterbacks in this draft and we're going to take out our Arkansas guy for a second

you have Mendez who's going to go to the Raiders I think you'll have Ty Simpson will go somewhere in the late first round

I think you'll have Garrett Nussmeyer who probably goes somewhere in the top 75 because people think

you know what he's he's still got some gunslinger to him but he's super smart and he grew up in a football

in the football world of his dad being a coach and a former player and I think people will take a chance on him because they're like at the very worst, he's going to be a guy.

We could see as a relief pitcher can get you out of games and probably be good in the quarterback room and can he develop. And then there's a handful of other guys. You're like, okay, we don't know, you know, again, like, obviously Diego Pavia was like a revelation for Vandy. Yeah. I don't know how he works as, you know, if he's in your quarterback room and he's not going to be the, you know, he's going to be a third string guy. Is he a disruptive, you know, like, is there some distractions? fractions to that or whatever. He's also 5'10. He's definitely got some ability, but that's another one where I was like, it'll be interesting to see who ends up bringing him in

and whether he's a seventh round pick or not. But like, he will be a storyline on day three of the draft for sure. All right, quick break with Bruce. When we come back, we'll find out if all the defensive players are gone, who should Washington take at 7? We'll get to that after these words from a few of our sponsors. Number seven, all the defensive players are off the board. Jeremiah Love's still on the board. Carnell Tate's still on the board. If Stiles, Bain, Reese, Bailey, and even Downs are all gone.

Who should, who's the next best, who would be the best player on the board at that point? Love, Tate, et cetera. I like love more than Tate. I think love is better than, this may not be end up saying, end up being a big statement, but I think love is better than Genty is coming out of college. Genty went really high to the Raiders.

Jury's still out on that. I think love is more of a unique. He's really dynamic. He's got another gear to him. He's really good in past protection. Like he's more of a complete running back than Genty was coming out. you know, I feel like love is different, genty, depending on who you talk to,

he's like, yeah, he's a lot like Blake Corm. You know, he'll be a running back in the NFL for a while, and he can, you know, he probably could have a thousand-yard season depending on the right offense. Whereas I think love has a potential to be one of those guys where you're like, ooh, he's a big problem because his burst is different. it's just different.

And so I like him. I think Tate is a safe. He'll be a good receiver. I don't, like I think the difference in him and the guy Ohio State is coming out next year, Jeremiah Smith is significant. Like, Jeremiah Smith could be,

you could talk about him as a possible first pick on the draft. Like he's that talented. We'd never say that about receivers. But I think he's that talented. Whereas Tate's a good player, I don't think, like, it's a, you know, again, he's a,

good player. I think love is different than him, just in terms of like, relative to the rest of that. Do you think love is Bejohn? Do you think he's Gibbs? Do you think he's McCaffrey? Or do you think he's a step below those guys? I think the one he's most like is Gibbs, you know, I think he runs stronger than Gibbs. Gibbs to me, so Bejohn is like, does everything. He's super shifty. He's good in the, you know, like, you know, similar to me. McCaffrey and a McCaffrey they're showcased in different offenses right? Right.

I think you know, I think love has the wow speed of Jemir Gibbs and Jemir Gibbs you know, was like there was a true one two punch where Montgomery was more the physical back.

I think love is more, more physical than Gibbs and has just like, you know, more punch, more violence to them. and so I'm a big believer in him. I also think he's about as complete a back as we've had coming in where they have some superpower in the burst

and also like he does everything. Like he's been really coached well. I'm a big fan of him. I think he's like top five kind of talent. My big thing with love is I like him a lot, but I don't know that number seven, seven better equal Bijan or McCaffrey or Gibbs and you like him more than Gibbs. I've kind of comped him to Josh Jacobs with better speed because he is a more powerful

run. The speed is way better. That's what I'm saying. The straight line speed is incredible, but in terms of that power and the line of scrimmage and not as, you know, because I don't consider Jacobs to be anywhere near Gibbs or Bijon in terms of vision. and I'm talking about between the tackles vision and jump cuts. And I kind of see Love the same way as not having that.

Yeah. But I think, yeah, I think in terms of just, you know, Josh Jacobs in those cases, it will get you 14 yards, Love will get you 40. I agree. I agree with that. I think that's just such a different. I don't want to, you know, Sequan is a bigger back. than him.

Right. But like there is some like Sequin, you know, home run hitting, which he wasn't doing it. You know, he did it somewhat as a freshman at Penn State,

but then got better at it worked on his speed. And I think with love, there is some of that. You know, there is some of that. And I don't know, you know, you look at guys who are,

you know, who have that kind of wow game to them. There's just, McCaffrey I think again he's so good in the as a receiver and that's such a great feel for that

like to me that's almost like the the biggest superpower um you know the Bijan one is interesting too because like he's so shifty I feel like Bijan maybe a little

slipperier than than love is I feel like a love play like you'll see some love runs that are three yard touchdown runs. They're like, man, that was a highlight to be made like seven guys missed and like butchered his way through the last two. Well, that's what Bejan does. I mean, Bejohn, the way he, the way he makes people miss in the shortest of spaces, I think is like truly all-time great. I mean, it's Barry Sanders, but it's Barry Sanders between the tackles going

forward, Barry Sanders a lot of times went backwards to create this space. But anyway, we could talk about the differences in these running backs forever. I wanted to finish with this. Caleb Downs, best safety prospect since who? Man, he, because of the football smart, like there's been better athletes. Like, even Wari was a better physical specimen, right? and I was a big believer in him, you know, coming out because he was, like, all over the freaks list,

and, you know, obviously had a terrific rookie year with Seahawks. It's hard because, like, some of the best safeties, like the best safety, the two best safeties I've ever seen, and again, like, we're about the same age where, yeah, I saw Ronnie Lott, but I really didn't kind of get it because I was too young, was Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. Now, there's other guys in there. You know, Derwin James was, like, wow, two.

his game and different. But like... And Sean may have been in that class had he lived. Yeah, just, but he didn't, you know, obviously Sean's career was cut so short. Sean is different than the other two because he's good

as well as and Troy. He was a bigger guy. He was a more violent player. Like, that's not Caleb either. Right. Agreed. I guess the, you know, like Ed, and I go back to some of who we talked about this, but like

when I was doing silent reporting one, one game we had a Wisconsin game, and so Brady Quinn was with me as our analyst, and we were talking to Jimmy Leonard, who had been with Ed at the Raven. In Baltimore, yeah. Yeah, and he started talking about this, and, you know, let's paraphrase it.

It was like, you know, he was a super smart player, he was a really good coach and picked off a ton of passes, and it was like, his coach was like, yeah, don't get caught doing kind of what Ed does. It's almost like he saw the game at such an incredibly different level, that don't try to do that because it'll just mess you up.

Like you can't, you know, like, and Caleb's, I think Caleb's superpower is that he is so football smart and how he sees the game and everything. And he is a really good athlete. I'd hesitate to go into that because Ed was off the charts instinctive.

I would say he's the most instinctive defensive player that maybe has ever played in the secondary, in the history, in the history of the NFL. I know it's a big... No, it's a... I think a lot of quarterbacks

would say the same thing. I mean, I think it may have been Peyton Manning who said, you know, safeties try to read quarterback's eyes, and with Ed Reed on the field, quarterbacks were trying to read his eyes, like, to figure out what he was going to do.

Yeah, and so, like, and I was around at a bunch when he was coming out of Miami. I know he went late in the draft. I thought Ed was a can't miss player because I saw what he did at Miami. I saw what kind of leader he was. I mean, you know, Troy Paul Amarro had a phenomenal career in the NFL. I'm not sure anybody saw it as much. Like Kyle Hamilton to me was like he's not, he was not Sean, but he was in this regard.

Like he's kind of like to me like even Wari where hitter. He was a linebacker-sized guy who had physicality who would really, really, really, you know, have everything you're looking for physically, right? And safety, there's a little more of another component of that. But I thought Kyle made some wow plays. And again, you're talking about a guy there who was like a mid, like Downs, Kyle went 14th or 15th somewhere in that. And I think Downs will end up going higher. I don't remember the 2022 draft exactly to know, oh, was it probably was a deeper draft than this one. I find it hard to believe that it wouldn't have been. I can tell you this before that 2022 draft, Washington had 11 overall, and I said, Kyle Hamilton.

Please, Kyle Hamilton. They traded back with New Orleans who took a lave, and they ended up taking Jahan Dotson. And they got some picks. The guy they wanted was actually Drake London. Had London been there at 11, I think they would have taken London, and when he wasn't there, they traded back and they passed on Hamilton. But you were trying to find... Yeah, go ahead.

Yeah, I was trying to see the comp. To me, Hamilton, man, it's hard to say because they're different, right? Like, I thought, and this is again, I don't know where, like, revisionist history is starting to set in. Like, I know the Eagles guys really well, and I know a lot of the internal feelings of for Cooper de Jeanne. Yeah.

Right? Like he can play every position, all five positions in the secondary, and he can play him at a really high level. I don't think that's Caleb Downs. You know? Understood. Yeah. So I'm like, I don't want to shortchange him, like, in saying,

you know, for what he is, which is like, an elite safety, I think he's probably the highest rated guy, the closest, you know, like he's going, he's about as close to short thing of being a really, really good football player. Because some of those guys, remember, Winfield comes out of Minnesota. He's a great college player, but he wasn't like measurable-wise was just like probably people wanted him to be taller. You know, there's some little things where I feel like Downs, is checking every box. Some other guys checked it, you know, in bold.

You know, like I said, whether it's like the size or the speed or the range. But he's, yeah, he's such a good football player. I'm struggling to answer that. No, I would say in the last, like, 10 years, you know. Yeah. I mean, I think in 22, like, I think I thought of Kyle Hamilton as Derwin James. And I thought of him as not. only a playmaker with range, but a guy that literally could come into the box and just be an

absolute elite level tackler and potentially a blitzer as well. So I lied. I got one more and I've kept you too long and you're always generous. But Washington's got a wide receiver need to. Terry McLaurin is probably, not 100%, but probably in his last year because the cap number for him balloons in 27 and 28. And assuming they don't get, you know, somebody in free agency, and I think they will. But, you know, after Tate and you get to the third round, all right, so night two, just give me a couple of guys, because I've been throwing out some guys names recently, but I want to hear yours, you know, guys that you think could be real impact guys on night two at wide receiver.

I don't know if he's going to be there this long, but I think. his stock will keep rising. One of my old freaks list guys, Ted Hurst, smaller school guy, Georgia State, he did really well at the Senior Bowl, and then he kept like he did really, really

well in indie, he's 6-3, legit 6-3-205, he runs about 4-4-1, he can jump out of the gym, all of it, and I think he played well and watched him at the Senior Bowl practice.

He's not just a high-level athlete. If Ted Hurst played at Georgia instead of Georgia State or played at Georgia Tech instead of Georgia State, I think he's sneaking in the first round. I think he's going in the first. I'm not sneaking. So he's one that would be really interesting. And there's a guy, again, I don't want to lean all the way into the freakless guys, but like Jeff Caldwell, a late bloomer, was started out at...

The guy from Cincinnati. Which is not that long. Yeah. And that school at one point was a, it was a divisible. Vision 2 program. I mean, he's 6.5. He's up to 215 pounds. He's also, like at one point, last offseason, Scott Satterfield said when he came in, he brought up 11-9. Like, his hands are a little inconsistent. I think that's a, that's something where you're like, okay, if we're taking him in the third round, because he doesn't test like a third rounder. Like,

he ran blazing fast. He ran a lot faster than I thought he would run. I think he ran 4-3-2. And again, he's 6-5-215. Yeah. I think you're getting a guy who's still developing. Man, again, I think he'll be there around in that range. I think Hearst is a better football player, and Hurst is still big and has, you know, plenty of upside and plenty of stuff to like.

Caldwell is kind of like fits in the category of just that kind of wild card guy. And I think in where Washington is picking, if you're saying it's going to be there, I think they're going to have some really good options. I don't think it's a great draft for, hey, we need a guy we think is going to go to 10 Pro Bowls as a receiver. But I think if you're looking a little later in the draft, I think there will be guys in the third and fourth round who end up becoming starters and have thousand yards seasons at some point or another.

enjoyed this as always really glad to have you back on the show hope you're well thanks for doing this anytime great talking to you bruce feldman everybody uh thanks to him thanks to sam monson enjoy the weekend back on monday