The Kevin Sheehan Show - Commanders: Top 5 First-Round Possibilities

Episode Date: April 20, 2022

Kevin provides his list of the top 5 most likely Washington Commanders' first-round picks in next week's NFL Draft. Ben Standig/The Athletic jumped on with an interesting late news draft item for Washington and he also gave his top 5 first-round possibilities. Kevin finished up with what Washington confirmed in their own words when they attempted to discredit Jason Friedman in their letter to the FTC.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices 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 Chean Show. Here's Kevin. Rate us and review us on Apple and Spotify. If you don't mind, five stars, a quick one to two sentence review. It really is important to us and for this podcast.

Appreciate those who have done it and those who haven't. If you find time in your day, even now, if you want to pause the podcast, if you haven't rated us on Apple and Spotify, it's a big help. Ben Standing's going to be on the show today. I just asked him because I just read a story from Ben on the athletic. Per a source, Ben writes, Washington is going to pay a visit to Trayvon Walker, all right, the defensive lineman from Georgia. This is pretty late in the game to be paying a visit to a guy

who has been mocked in recent days, number one overall to Jacksonville. Now, Aidan Hutchinson has still been the player mocked number one, number one overall in most mock drafts that I've seen. But in recent days, lots of discussion that Jacksonville may take Trayvon Walker. So why is Washington going to pay a visit to Trayvon Walker? Well, we will ask Ben standing that when he comes on the show. We will also ask him to do what I am going to open the show with, which is create Washington's draft board at number 11 in the terms of a top five. I've had so many conversations now, including on the air on radio this morning with John Kime, Ben, lots of times, lots of draft guys on the air and off, other conversations that I've had.

and I am now going to give you a list of five players that I am 100%, 99% convinced that Washington's first round pick will come from at number 11, as long as they stay at number 11. John Kime told me this morning that he believes Kyle Hamilton will be selected over any of their top receivers. Same reasons we've discussed here recently. but then I asked him who the number one receiver on their board is, and he said it's Drake London, the receiver from Southern Cal. And he said, Chris Alave was number two. I was watching Mel Kuyper last night and Todd McShay do a mock draft together. McShay was responsible for picking Washington at 11.

He picked Kyle Hamilton, who was still on the board. But then he said something with sort of a, I just got this information tone. Don't be surprised Washington fans if they select Jameson Williams, the wide receiver from Alabama. I've talked to various people. I've weighed a lot of it, and I've got the five players that I am convinced,

at least 95%, you can see that it's dipping as the conversation moves along. 95% confident that the first pick for Washington at 9% percent. Number 11 overall, it'll come from the following five players. Kyle Hamilton's definitely one of them. If Kyle Hamilton is on the board at 11, I think they'll take Kyle Hamilton, but I'm not entirely sure that it'll be Kyle Hamilton if Drake London is on the board.

So Drake London is number two of the top five players on Washington's board, in my opinion, meaning one of these top five, unless they all went before number 11 and they're not going to. One of these top five players is going to be selected by Washington a week from tomorrow night. I think Drake London is number two, not just because John Kime told me that this morning, but there's just so much that makes sense about Drake London from their standpoint. Now, for me, Garrett Wilson would be number two behind Kyle Hamilton, again, of the guys that likely or possibly will be there at 11. Wilson or Jameson would be on my next player list behind Kyle Hamilton. I would love to see them add Kyle Hamilton.

I really would. But I know that they are hell-bent on giving Carson Wentz a lot to work with. By the way, Kime also suggested he wouldn't be shocked if they added more protection for Carson Wentz in the early first round with an offensive lineman. I'd be shocked at that, and I don't have any of the offensive linemen in my top five here. I've got Kyle Hamilton, as mentioned. I've got Drake London, as mentioned. There are three other players I will get to that I think their topic will come from. But Drake London, to me, makes so much sense for them.

And the reason is, is that Drake London, in so many ways, is Michael Pittman. Michael Pittman caught 88 balls from Carson Wentz in Indianapolis. We know how much pressure there is on Ron Rivera and the gang there to make it work with Carson Wentz. If it works with Carson Wentz, they'll have a decent season, this all-important third season. And he's already talked about, you know, giving Carson Wentz the kind of weapons. that'll give them a chance to succeed. Now, I do believe, as I've said all along, that if the receiver that they want isn't there,

that they are okay not adding a receiver at number 11 overall, or even in the first two rounds of this draft. They like Diami Brown a lot. They think a better quarterback with more NFL arm strength and armed talent will help out the likes of Diombi Brown. They're expecting Curtis Samuel to be healthy. expecting Logan Thomas to be back, expecting, I believe, Terry McCorn to be signed to a contract extension.

And I think that if you said to them, you didn't get an additional playmaker. They wouldn't be crushed. They wouldn't be crushed. They re-signed Cam Sims in part because he's big, but that's not going to prevent them from signing a big target, which is what Carson Wentz has always liked. Alshan Jeffrey, big tight ends.

These are the kinds of receivers that he likes to throw to and has had more success throwing to over the years. You know, Zach Ertz, obviously, as a bigger, you know, tight end target. You know, I asked a guest, a draft expert that we had on this morning, Mike Renner from Pro Football Focus, who also suggested that Carson Wentz is more comfortable throwing to bigger catch radius receivers. if it's an issue of Carson Wentz's accuracy, not always being consistent.

And, you know, he said, not necessarily, but that, you know, big catch radius helps out any quarterback, obviously. And Wentz prefers that. And they're going to do whatever they can to make Wentz comfortable. That's why I think the best big receiver in this draft, Drake London, 6-4-220, Michael Pittman in Indianapolis last year, 6-4-223. You know, Drake London, because of his ankle injury, has not run a 40 time. Pittman was a 4-5 guy out of USC. London is probably in that range, I'm guessing, although again,

he didn't run the 40 on his pro day and didn't run it at the Indy Combine. But London is probably for Carson Wentz, in the eyes of Martin May Hugh Marty Herney, Ron Rivera, Scott Turner, his Michael Pittman. Not to mention the fact that Washington really doesn't have anybody that looks like Drake London. They've got Terry McLorn and they've got Curtis Samuel. And yes, they have Cam Sims. But they've got Diami Brown and they've got J.D. McKissick. Drake London is a big strapping, big catch radius guy.

Former college basketball player at SC as well. You know, unbelievable athleticism. not the kind of after-catch playmaker that James and Williams is or Garrett Wilson is. Not that. But, you know, in NFL terms, a move-the-stick's red zone guy with a big-time catch radius and big-time size advantage. So I think Kyle Hamilton is on the list of five. Drake London is definitely on their list of five. I believe that Jameson Williams, even after the torn ACL, ACLs aren't the issue these days.

If you shred a knee, LCL, MCL, MCL, PCL, and ACL, that's one thing. Jameson Williams tore his ACL. He may not be ready for training camp or the early portion of the season, excuse me. But Jameson Williams is a flat-out playmaker. And by the way, has a lot of similarities to Terry McLorn. he's not afraid to be a special teams player. It was a great returner, was a gunner on teams when he was at Ohio State. Most of you know this. He started at Ohio State. They just had so many receivers. He ended up at Bama. Jameson Williams was phenomenal against the best defense in the country last year

in the SEC title game. That game he had against Georgia with Bryce Young when Young threw for, you know, over 400 yards was spectacular. I think Jameson Williams is on the list of five. Kyle Hamilton, Drake London, Jameson Williams, Garrett Wilson has to be on their list of five. Garrett Wilson, and it's funny because I mentioned this last week, I said, in watching more of Garrett Wilson, he just reminds me so much of Stefan Diggs.

so Matt Bowen apparently comped him to Stefan Diggs. And Ben, in his recent column, has somebody who comped him to Stefan Diggs as well. I'll take credit for it. But Garrett Wilson is an immediate separator. He is a phenomenal route runner, and he is lethal with the ball in his hands. Garrett Wilson is on their top five in my projection here of what their top five at number 11. Again, trading back, you have a whole new top five because you don't have access to some

of these players. But assuming they stay at 11, Kyle Hamilton, Drake London, Jameson, Garrett Wilson. And for me, number five is tough because I would prefer Derek Stingley, Jr. to be on that list. But I don't think he's on that list. I think Chris Alave is. So that's one defensive player and four wide receivers. I think the pick next Thursday night at number 11 will be one of those five players.

I would be 7% surprised if the player they draft at number 11 isn't one of those five players. Now, for me, if it was Stingley Jr., I would be excited about that pick. less excited about it if it's one of the offensive linemen, if they drop, you know, if an Evan Neal were to drop to 11, if a Charles Cross was to drop to 11, would I, would I be, I would be surprised given that Jay Leno, Jay Leno, that Charles Leno Jr. And Cosme are, you know, two guys under contract now right now and really appear to be the strength of the offensive line. It's really the guards that are the weakness right now with Norwell and Schweitzer replacing Sheriff and Flowers. But they extended, you know, they extended Leno Jr.

Cosmey's in his second year after they drafted him second overall. You're not going to take a guard at 11. I don't see an offensive lineman there. I would be disappointed if it were an offensive lineman. I would not be disappointed if it were Derek Stingley Jr. But I don't think they're going to take Derek Stingley, Jr. I think the pick comes from the five that I listed. I'll ask Ben, his top five Washington board, but more importantly, why are they visiting Trayvon Walker? That's next right after these words from a few of our sponsors.

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Joining us right now is my good friend, Ben Standing. I just asked Ben moments ago to jump on the podcast because he wrote a story, commanders meeting Georgia defensive end Trayvon Walker per source. Subscribe to the athletic to read Ben. He's a prolific writer. He does a great job. Listen to his podcast, Standing Room Only. Follow him on Twitter at Ben Standing.

So, Ben, they did let some tackles go here in the office. season, but they have Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Trayvon Walker has been mopped here recently as high as number one overall. What is their interest right now in Trayvon Walker? Yeah, you know, like if this had come out and say at the combine, right, when you're kind of meeting, it's like speed dating or meeting with a bunch of different people, you know, I wouldn't have thought too much about it. I mean, it's not like any of us are picturing them taking a defensive lineman in the first round, unless there's something major to come. So if this had happened then, I wouldn't think too much that is happening right now at the end

at a point when these 30 visits can be over dramatized in terms of their value in the public. But at the same point, they account for something. They give some insight into what a team is considering, and they did try to have him in for a top 30 visits, similar to what they've done this week with Kyle Hamilton and Drake London and others. So it's something, but they are going to meet with him at the University of Georgia campus. My sense at this point is that the meeting is going to be, and the meeting may have already happened by the time this gets out. I'm not positive, but the meeting is not expected to include Ron Rivera or any of the other, like,

headliners that you would think from Washington. So ultimately, this may just be information gathering, but like I said, because of when it is happening, I think it's more notable than if it had happened two months ago because, you know, you remember that only had so much time. And I do think, as I've said before, the top 10 is off the charge crazy. I don't think anybody has a really good handle on what the order will be. Walker's being projected arguably with the first pick. But if he doesn't go first, there's a wall that he could slip outside the top five,

just depending on how things break. So it's good to be prepared. I'm assuming at a minimum, that's what they're doing. But it was notable enough considering the player that I felt like, let me look at this a little bit more and then we're right about it. Yeah, I mean, I think it is notable because it's the player, because he has been, you know, along with Hutchinson, the most recent player to potentially in mocks or mocked as the number one

overall pick in the draft. So if Washington became sincerely interested, you know, they'd have to trade up. I don't see that happening. You don't, right? No, I mean, like I said, there would have to be, I mean, as currently constituted, Look, we've been talking a lot about Harry McLaren's contract. We've talked a lot about what's going up of Capitol Hill. And then just in general, you know, things have been quiet.

You know, there is still the question that I've been asking for a year is, what's their playing on the defensive line? Because it doesn't seem realistic that you can afford to extend all these defensive linemen, especially now that you have a high-price quarterback. And I get it. Carson Went to might not even be here next year if things go terribly. Montes-Quite and Chase Young don't come for a couple more over the next year or two, but you have to plan, and if you pay John Allen and Duran Payne, then what are he doing there?

So there is a world in which it makes sense to draft the defensive lineman somewhat high to be prepared either because Duran Payne, you don't get a deal done, you don't want to get a deal done. So, again, it's all part of the equation. That is also part of me why I think it's interesting. But to get Trayvon Walker specifically, you'd have to trade a bunch of stuff. stuff to do that. So you've got to be absolutely over the moon for this guy for the trade. And this team already doesn't have a third, doesn't have a fifth. So it doesn't seem likely, but again, I guess be prepared. You know it's wild about the draft because when I read what you

wrote, I started thinking about Trayvon Walker. And I wasn't exactly sure. But I know that, you know, going back to, you know, Labor Day weekend when Georgia beat Clemson 10 to 3, you know, they held Clemson to three points. And we watched one of the great defensive college teams of all time until, you know, Bryce Young lit them up in the SEC title game. By the way, Jameson Williams, a monster game in that SEC title game as well. But Georgia's defense all year long, you know, people were talking about this is a defense that may have more draft choices on it than any defense in history.

But Trayvon Walker was never, you know, during the course of the season, a guy that was a potential number one overall pick. I mean, this is actually just kind of instructive because we do this every year where, you know, during this course of the season or shortly after the season, we're watching mock drafts. I mean, Nkoby Dean was really projected to be Georgia's first defensive player, you know, taken in this draft and was a consensus top 10 for top 15, at least for a long period of time. Jordan Davis was way up there. Trayvon Walker, I went back and checked a couple of mocks in January. He was as low as 32nd in the first round.

So things change. It's really remarkable how they change after, you know, indie, after pro days, after individual workouts, after meetings with these players. And Walker has, you know, skyrocketed up the board. And it just goes to show you. I mean, I don't know why I'm bringing this up other than to say, Trayvon Walker looks really good. but he was on a great defense.

You know, his numbers weren't super great, but that's because the defense was so dominant, and those guys didn't play a lot in the second halves or fourth quarters of games during the course of the year because they had such big leads. But let's get back to the defensive line. Because, you know, Tim Settle's gone. Matt Ionitis is gone.

Right now, your interior defensive line depth is like Daniel Wise and I don't even know who else. Your defensive ends are like guys like James Smith Williams and number 57. The dude, Routini. Holder, Shaka Tony, Casey, Two Hill. Yeah, Tohiel. Tony, Routimi I was thinking about. Yeah.

So do you think that as a franchise, they're like, you know, we're not going to sign Duran or there's a chance we're not going to sign Duran. We really do have to think D-Line in this draft, even though we've got a limited number of first two days of picks. Yeah. So, I mean, I think you have to consider it. Look, as we've discussed a hundred times, they've been quiet and free agency for whatever the reason.

So they're still going to have to add some bets along the way. And it's obviously, you know, there's a guy like a star, La Tulae, right? The former Carolina Panther, he's out there. would be the classic Rivera kind of move. He's a good player, and we've got ties to Rivera. So you bring that guy in, and he's your third defensive tackle, and we can kind of move on and don't have to worry about it. But the draft is what's here.

Rivera said at the owner's meeting, they kind of don't want to sign guys to see, so they don't lock themselves in in case there's a player on the board that they like. And, you know, while I don't, just like a quarterback, I don't see them taking a defensive lineman in the first round. you get to pick 47, if the value is there, and then it becomes a big different story,

because, like, I looked it up. I think Matt I and I just played last year, like 65% of the snaps, give or something like that, or it was a pretty high number. That's gone right now. Now, so is the Lans and Collins spot. Now I would probably argue that's a little more important, and there's also the question of the third linebacker,

but either way, they've got to add more, and then there's the Duran Pays. long-term question. If you think, you know, you're going to let him walk in for agency or something along those lines, then you have to plan for that rainy day as well. So it wouldn't stun me at all if they took a defensive tackle or even an end, I guess, in the second round, but, you know, they have obviously a lot of needs at this point. Yeah, and keep in mind for those who aren't following the draft, Trayvon Walker is really, even though he played everywhere as George's defense had guys playing everywhere, he is definitely more of an edge.

at the NFL level. He's a D-N and a 4-3. He's an outside linebacker and a 3-4. So I would just say to that, like, he played, like, I didn't talk to people. Because my assumption was sort of kind of, well, you just said, he played everywhere. But he's over 2.

He's like 272. He played 3-4 end for them, which often translates to a tackle in the pros. I mean, I ask some people about, like, well, wait, could this guy play, you know, tackle for, for, for, Washington and they were like, well, yes, you could, but that would be like the lesser option. He'd prefer him as a 4-3N, which, as we know, is not ideal unless you're doing something else with younger or sweat, which is a whole other story. So, yes, but he could play tackle hypothetically if they wanted to.

And obviously, they do see teams kick guys inside in passing down. So, you know, all that's conceivable. And nobody said it would be insane to think of him as a 4-3 defensive tackle, but not his best spot. Also, as I'm sitting here and I just pulled up the Arlads, you know, depth chart. And I forgot that, you know, they did add as two of the outside last year's roster additions through free agency, F.A. Obata, who was, you know, part of the Carolina family, as was, as you pointed out many times, Andrew Norwell, the other signy so far in free agency. So they did add some depth there at defensive end. Okay, so we both know that this may be one of the most unpredictable first rounds and certainly most unpredictable top tens, top 15s in recent draft memory.

We have been focused, and I'm not saying you have been, but I think a lot of us have been focused on Kyle Hamilton over the last two weeks and receivers. before we get to kind of narrowing it down to like a group of five that we both think Washington will draft from. What other positions, we just talked about D-Line, what other positions do you think they would consider in the first round? Well, I mean, I think you would consider, you know, you said Kyle Hamilton, so he's a safety. I guess you could say they would consider a cornerback, you know, Derek Stingley from L.S. you is an option there.

He's right in that general range. Although Trent McDuffie from Washington would be there. There's linebacker. Now, some big boards have Utah's Devin Lloyd ranked in that range as a prospect, but mock drafts tend to lower him because of positional value or not everybody sees him in that way. So, you know, we know they have a linebacker need. I think offensive line, my only question there is if you just look at the board, it just doesn't look like there's anybody in that range. The top two tackles, Evan Neal from Alabama and Icki Aquano from NC State are probably off the board, the top five or six picks.

And then other linemen who would be protected in round one are in the 20th. So I think you could take a guard. I mean, right now, who is their best offensive line? from a bigger picture perspective long term, who's the guy we're pointing to saying he's here for the next 10 years? Maybe Sam Cosby, right? I mean, it's not like things have changed a lot. So they could go that route, but at 11,

it doesn't seem like that guy is there. They would have to trade down for that, at least in the first round. So those would probably be the other ones, I would say, if we're talking around one. Boy, John Kime was on radio with me this morning, and he also threw out offensive line. But to me, you don't take a guard at 11. So you don't take the kid from BC at 11.

And the best tackles aren't going to be there. And really tackle is where, you know, right now you're comfortable contractually. You just signed, you know, Leno Jr. to an extension. You've got Cosme in his second year after drafting him in the second round last year. And so, I mean, I'm not saying that either one of those two guys is Trent Williams. but they certainly are more comfortable at tackle than they are in the interior where they lost Brandon Sheriff and Eric Flowers in the offseason and they're going with Norwell and probably Schweitzer.

Maybe Sadiq Charles has a chance there. I don't know. But what's interesting too about your story, you listed at the end of your athletic story today, all of the players that they have had recent visits with or are projected to have visits with. None of the linebackers are on that list. Devin Lloyd, Nicobe Dean, neither one of the first round inside linebackers are on that list.

Is that interesting to you, or is that important, as Ron Rivera would say? Yeah, it's interesting. Look, again, these top 30 visits are not definitive of anything. They've had opportunities to meet with players throughout the offseason, and Senior Bowl, Combine, Pro Days. So there's been plenty of chances to do their digging, you know, without bringing them into Ashburn. But, you look, we remember a couple weeks ago when Ron Rivera told us

that they can, and Mark Mayhew, that Cole Holcomb might be the guy at the Mike. They drafted Jamie Davis last year. And, you know, they do need, I think, arguably one and two linebackers, at least from a depth perspective. But, you know, if you're not, you know, if you're going to play five defensive, the back's the majority of the time. You don't necessarily then need to spend that first or maybe even a second round pick on a linebacker.

You can maybe find that guy later. Plus in free agency, you have guys like Joe Schobert and AJ Klein who are out there, Phil, solid vets that you could add. So, you know, maybe they don't feel they need to do that. And again, if you're looking at those basic projections at 11, there just isn't a linebacker typically coming off the board in that space. I mean, the Kobe Dean, everybody seems to love, but he's short. you know, there's some sort of physical limitations

or, you know, I'll probably bet he turned out to be a really good player and people look back and say, you know, they should have picked him higher, blah, blah, blah. But, you know, I get it. So, yeah, so not surprising. And, yeah, I asked around about some of the day two guys like Shad Muma from Wyoming and Troy Anderson from Montana State and had been told at least that guy a week ago there was no meetings with those kinds of guys, and that's what you'd be projecting his day two for them if you were going to go with lineback.

take a guess right now as to what their wide receiver board looks like just the top four or five guys the potential first rounders right so i'm trying to think about this because like garrett wilson and drake lund that are generally considered the top two let's put james and williams in a separate category uh that right if you've projected out with washington the current group it's a very different look garrer wilson is you know i think I heard you compared him to Stefan Diggs, and I had Greg Co. Sell on my podcast. He also made the Stefan Diggs comparison. I saw that in your story.

I mean, and by the way, Matt Bowen apparently on Kimes' podcast the other day yesterday, also compared him to Stefan Diggs. I would like the rights to the first Stefan Diggs comp, if that's possible to continue. Well, you have to tell that to the local podcast. I don't. I don't care. They are right. Right, the DC Podcast Award Association.

Yes. Yeah. So obviously, look, he's a yacht kind of a receiver, you know, fast, not like an off-the-charchs fast, but pretty fast. He's got good hands, makes catches, you know, a bigger. He plays bigger than he is, all that. But he's also under six foot. So if you have him McCorn and Samuel, you know, that's a pretty, I'm not saying it's not a good lineup, but it's not a big lineup.

And if you look at Carson Wentz's history, he tends to have better success to look like throwing to taller targets. So that brings us to Drake London, who is 6'4, a contested catch maniac. He's got a lot of position versatility, but the contested catch concern I've heard a little bit is, does he lack some separation? And is that a problem perhaps on the pro level that you can't just rely on your size to be? guys, or maybe you can't have people think that, but he would give you the bigger element to go with McCorn and Samuel. Of course, you already have Cam Sims who they brought back for, you know, for this year. So maybe they're viewing Cam Simpson to that guy. We haven't even mentioned Deepo Samuel,

not just Deepa Samuel. Yamie Brown. I've got the wrong guy on my brain. Well, I mean, Samuels available. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I think those of the two guys, you know, Crystal lobbies a little more of a possession receiver, relatively speaking, compared to these other guys, a little more versatile, limited, but very polished. I think James and William,

I think the issue with him is, he was the best, considered the best receiver in this class before he suffered the ACL injury in Alabama's playoff run. The problem, therefore, is we don't know when he'll be back

this year, and if you're a team like Washington, if you're making the Carson Wentz move, not saying it was like you've got to win this year, but Ron Rivera keeps talking about the third year. the third year is important, are you drafting a guy who you may not get anything from this year? So I'm kind of dismissing him for them. So to me, it's London or Wilson would be my guess. And like I just laid out, those are the variables there to what kind of guy, what are they looking for?

So who's one on the list? If you're in their draft room right now looking at their draft board, how do they have the receivers ranked? Is it London one or Wilson one? I think if I keep you know as you and I discussed the other day on your radio show about the idea of them drafting a quarterback at 11 I'm of the I'm of the mind that you made the went deal whatever it's going to be you got to see this thing through so I'm going to help him as best I can and if that if my numbers my analytics tell me I need bigger targets for him than I'm probably going to lead towards Drake London that said like all the public big boards all have Garrett Wilson ranked higher by one or two or maybe a few more spot. So, you know, I don't know what they would think, but like London, to me, would make more sense based on what their situation is, but they may have Wilson ranked higher because it seems like everybody else does. Why didn't London run his 40 at his pro day?

I know he had been battling some sort of a hamstring issue, or at least that was the report prior, and that was the reason why they delayed the pro day a week. He suffered a broken ankle last year, and he did run routes, though, at his pro day. So my assumption would be they didn't feel that whatever 40 he was going to run would be a fair representation of what he could run went fully healthy. But he did run routes there, so he was able to at least show off something. Whether that was enough for teams, I mean, you know, Wafo, we'll see. But he at least did that much.

Yeah. I know that at Indy, he didn't really participate in any of the quickness or the running stuff in part because he was coming off the ankle injury. So on London, I think, you know, so Kime told me this morning he thinks their board is London one, Alave, 2, Wilson 3. And in thinking about London, I think you nailed it. I think the Pittman comp is really the right comp. They're both, you know, 6-4 in the 220 range somewhere around there. They're both former USC wide receivers. And Pittman had, you know, with Carson Wentz last year in his second year, you know, he caught 88 balls and went for over 1,000 yards.

And I, you know, when you think about, when you think about Wentz, you know, he also threw to guys successfully like Alshan Jeffrey. And obviously big tight ends were always, you know, easier for him to throw to. So I think that London's number one on their board, even though he wouldn't be my number one. I think Wilson is, I think Wilson and Williams actually are the two superstar playmaking potential wide receivers in the draft. But I think everything you said about Carson Wentz means that London might be the number one guy. Now he may not be there when they pick. All right, I want to finish up with this with Ben Standing. I put out in the opening segment a top five list, which I feel pretty confident,

their first round pick, if it's at number 11, will come from these five players. I want your list of five players right now. Yeah, so we just talked about Drake, London, Garrett Wilson, I would say those guys. If I have a third receiver, I'll play Chris Olive. So let me play this out in my head and see if I keep on my five. If Kyle Hamilton is there, I mean, it seems you've got to consider him to safety from Notre Dame, considering his unique abilities, his physical tools, the fact that this team specifically needs a Buffalo nickel type guy. He would give you a lot of that.

The question is, you know, from a scheme perspective, does he make sense? Do they think he makes sense? That's unclear right now. But I would appear to be on my short list for sure. I mean, Derek Stingley, the LSU cornerback, I think I'd have to say yes, but I'm a little concerned because he was more of a manned corner in college that we saw obviously this past year the concerns of William Daxon that transition, but at the moment I would say, I would say him. So I guess that would be my five, not looking at a list in front of me unless I'm completely

blanking on somebody. I just don't see any offensive line in there. the defensive lineman thing, I guess if you just say one of their guys is a total value pick, but I don't see that. So that, to me, would seem to be the list. And I'm not including quarterback. I'm not including quarterback anymore either. And the more I think about it, if Malik Willis should be gone by 11. If teams are trying to draft Superstar Quarterbacks or guys only with high ceilings, regardless of their floors, then they shouldn't take Pickett. They should take Willis. So I bet you that Carolina takes Willis anyway.

But anyway, yeah, we had one difference. I did not put Stingley Jr. in there, even though he would be in my top five for sure. But I think it's Hamilton and four receivers. I think it's, you know, Hamilton, London, 1A, 1B, probably. And it's Williams, Wilson, Alave. The only reason I put Alave in there is Kahn believes that they really like Alave. And Stingley Jr., to your point, is a manned corner, even though I think that Stingley Jr., talent-wise, is a top five player in the draft. But I don't think they go in that direction, and that's our only difference.

I included Williams and you included Stingley Jr. So that's where we are. Right now, eight days before, you'll be on before, I'm sure you'll definitely be on radio with me. But have you done your first mock yet? I did like the entire mock. I played it after this a couple weeks ago. Since then, I've revised it on my own about 27 times. And by 27 I mean 72, really.

So I've constantly tinkered with it. I'll figure out a way to get it out there somewhere. But I will say that tomorrow my plan is to have a story up on the athletic where I'm doing a Washington-only mock draft but three different ways. So projecting, you know, if they go receiver in the first round, then here's how things might go from there or if they, you know, go Kyle Hamilton. It could go this way or whatever the scenarios are to try to show, like, you know, they have a bunch of needs that we can all sit here and say they should do this, they should do that.

But here's what happens, you know, so I could choose your own adventure type of, So hopefully I get that done here the next couple hours. Last thing, they worked out Carson Strong. Do you think that they have any interest in him? They would have two Carson's on their team. Yeah, that would be fun. Yeah, yeah, no. I reported that the other day that they did the private workout with him and a tight end there.

I mean, look, obviously, again, if you're doing these things, there's at least some interest. And, you know, as you know, I've been a staunch believer that it makes no sense to take a quarterback. high. You could maybe talk me into the second round, depending, but even then, I don't know. But Carson Strong seems like generally is viewed as the sixth quarterback with the top five all being kind of bunched together. So if you are interested in a quarterback, and we know that Wilde Verra told me pre-combined that his anticipation was two vets and a rookie, whether that at that point meant a rookie like a Malik Willis is another story.

but so I wouldn't stumble if they did, but Carson Strong would mean like probably having either fourth round pick and again they only have right now the six picks and three of those picks are in the six and seventh round. So that fourth round pick is a pretty I mean, it's not saying drafting

a quarterback is a valuable, but that guy's not, that guy wouldn't be playing this year and you know versus like drafting a running back or a lineback or something else that would actually be, you know, part of your day-to-day lineup. So I think that would be variable. He's big, he's got to use accurate. He also has a cartilage from a cadaver in his

knee. He's having knee issues. His mobility is pretty, pretty shot. But, you know, obviously, if people think he's draftable, then you've got to consider it. Thanks for doing this. Listen to Ben's podcast. It's Outstanding, Standig Room Only. Follow him on Twitter at Ben Standing and subscribe to the athletic. I will talk to you later in the week on radio. Thank you. Yeah, ma'am. My good friend Ben Standing, who literally jumped on with like 15 minutes notice. He is the best.

Subscribe to the athletic, I'm telling you. It's totally worth it. I'll finish up the show next with one final thought. I think it's a final thought on the smearing of Jason Friedman by the team. And what it should remind us of. That's next right after these words from a few of our sponsors. I want to finish up with what may be. least for the time being, the last this week on the team's response, the letter that Jordan

Steve, their attorney wrote to the Federal Trade Commission that had lots of attachments, texts, emails, and signed affidavits. And I want to focus on something that Tommy and I talked about yesterday is part of the conversation. But to me is really at the core of what Washington was trying to do with its letter to the Federal Trade Commission. And that is smear Jason Friedman, discredit Jason Friedman, the man who, A, corroborated Tiffany Johnston's one allegation that Mary Joe White is investigating, and two was the man who testified in front of Congress, the House Oversight and Reform Committee, and told everybody that Washington had withheld,

$5 million of security deposits and had been skimming off the top of ticket revenue that was owed back to the league. The team, at its core in this letter, did its best and did a pretty good job at discrediting Friedman altogether. Not that they didn't address the specific allegations, the security deposit withholding, which I thought they kind of addressed, but didn't do the best of job. I thought there was a little bit of slight a hand in there on the security deposit because they went back 10 years and talked about $200,000 that customers had defaulted on. And really, 10 years isn't far enough to go back to see how much in security deposit refunds never made it back to the customers.

They also addressed in greater detail and probably with greater clarity the claim that Friedman, made that they were skimming off the top of the ticket revenue that was owed back to the league. But really, what they did as part of this letter from Jordan C. the team's attorney is they went after Friedman, man. God, did they go after him? At the end on pages 13, 14, and 15, and 16, 17, 5 pages of at the end of this letter of completely discrediting Jason Friedman. They did it in sections.

The first section was titled, Jason Friedman has demonstrated himself to be wholly unreliable and motivated to damage the team and its personnel. Yet the committee credits his assertions without any effort to test or corroborate them. The letter also went after the House Oversight and Reform Committee for not reaching out to the team and allowing them to respond to some of this stuff before they made these allegations public via their letter to the federal trade. Commission. But they also had a section titled, Friedman provided false testimony to the committee on a host of tangential issues. They had another section titled, Friedman verbally abused his staff and had a hidden sexual relationship with his subordinate. And then they had a section,

Friedman's testimony to the committee cannot be reconciled with his lengthy campaign to get his job back and diffusive praise for Dan Snyder, at least not as anything but the retaliatory efforts of a jilted employee that was dismissed for professional misconduct. The section that I read from yesterday that I want to read from again today should remind us of something that I'm sure the team typical of them didn't even think about when they included this in their letter to the FTC. Friedman verbally abused his staff and had a hidden sexual relationship with his subordinate. They wrote in this section,

Friedman was fired for professional misconduct in October 2020 by Jason Wright, the team's president. He was fired for engaging in violation of the team's conduct and fraternization policy. Friedman repeatedly berated his staff, including minority women. His staff stated that he was, quote, dismissive, heavy-handed and abrasive, yells and curses, threatened to terminate an employee for taking PTO, pay time off, and created a culture of fear.

By his own admission, he had a reputation for saying really, really crude things in the workplace. And then it gets detailed with attached emails, as Jordan Seve continues to write in this section titled Free. Friedman verbally abused his staff and had a hidden sexual relationship with his subordinate. For example, Friedman referred to someone in a work email as an effing Korean nutjob. He wrote emails to team employees about engaging in sex acts with sluts. He admitted to using the word FUCK about 500 times a day. This use included his allegedly common refrain to make love to the customer, not FUCK the customer.

and by make love, he apparently meant, according to one employee's reported allegation, to engage in certain graphic sex acts to make a sale. During his employment with the team, Friedman engaged in a secret sexual relationship with Jane Doe. They list this woman not by name, but by Jane Doe, who was 15 years his junior and who directly reported to him. He exchanged sexually explicit emails and photographs with Doe on their team email accounts and sometimes forwarded those photos to himself also on his team email account. Specifically, Friedman was photographed in a sexually provocative position with Jane Doe while wearing team credentials in a restroom in a suite at FedEx Field. I'll just remind everybody, that's where his offices were. That's where all of the ticketing people were.

They worked at FedEx Field. So in a suite at FedEx Field doesn't mean on a game day necessarily. It could have been just on a workday. Also, Jane Doe sent Friedman a sexually suggestive photograph of herself, which Friedman sent himself from his team email account. He did that a lot, it would appear. He liked to email himself. I do that all the time as well.

Friedman took steps to conceal his impermissible sexual relationship, including discussing personal. purchasing privacy screens for their phones to hide their text messages from other employees. He even lied to his own mother in an email sent from his team email account that Jane Doe with whom he was having a sexual relationship works at the stadium but not in my department, closed quote. Evidence of this inappropriate relationship was provided to the committee but not referenced in the letter. Friedman can thus hardly be heard to be the voice of truth upon which a commission investigation is to be based. Now again, there's a lot more in here on Jason Friedman. But that section where they describe and they've got attached emails about their description of Jason Friedman being an abusive boss,

all right, verbally abusing staff, having a sexual relationship with his subordinate. Certainly, you could say misconduct, sexual misconduct in a lot of the graphic exchanges with employees. Let us remind ourselves here for a moment, while the team did a very good job of discrediting Friedman in this letter, they also reminded everyone what the Washington Post wrote about. and what Beth Wilkinson was investigating, and what Mary Joe White, excuse me, is investigating now. And that was a long culture of an environment at work, in their workplace, of bullying, intimidation, and sexual harassment. This guy worked for the organization for 24 years, which means that 21 of those 24 were under dance, Snyder's stewardship. And he was never fired before Jason Wright got here. Why? My guess is that

that kind of behavior was tolerated. And certainly Beth Wilkinson's investigation and findings in her investigation based on the comments from Roger Goodell when they find the team last June $10 million would indicate that this is exactly part of what the culture was. So in discrediting Jason Friedman in this letter, they also very much reminded everyone what they've been for the Dan Snyder era, at least until Jason Wright got here. That's it for the day. Back tomorrow with Tommy.