The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Dane Brugler Talks NFL Draft And What Positions Texans Should Focus On

Episode Date: April 8, 2020

is the Matt Thomas Show. 102 Sports Talk 790. This is the second hour of the Matt Thomas show. We appreciate all of you listening to us. Stay safe. Stay home. And you know what you could do? You need some good reading.

You need some good information. Then I would go to Dane Bruegler, NFL draft analyst for the athletic. And you can go to his Twitter account at DP Bruegler and find out more information about his 2020 NFL draft guide. And to talk about that is the aforementioned Dane Bruegler. Dan, it's Matt and Ross. Thanks for spending some time with us.

How are you holding up these days with you and your family? Well, I appreciate you asking. Times are different, obviously. And, you know, I think we're, you know, hanging in there and doing better than some people are. So we're thankful for that. And, you know, I don't mean to make light of it, but I usually quarantine myself in the month of March anyway

to, you know, to finish this draft guide. So I'm happy it's out there. The feedback's been awesome, and it's been great to, you know, talk with people about everything. So it's hopefully, you know, in this tough time, something like this draft guide can give something for people to look forward to since the draft will be really the only show in town in terms of the sports world here coming up in two weeks. Well, I do subscribe to the athletic, and if those of you listening to us do do so, you can download the Dane's NFL draft guide right off the athletic website. Before we get to some of the names and obviously some Houston Texans references, Dane, in your mind, how is the thing going to work in three weeks? I mean, envision us what the Thursday, Friday, Saturday is going to be like for us as TV connoisseurs

and watching every moment of this draft. What do you envision this being like? It's going to be fascinating because we're all kind of going to learn about this at the same time. And we've heard some coaches voice their concerns about technology issues. hacking issues, and I think it's all relevant. And I think it, it, it, it, when you think about these, these guys being in the building at the team facilities, you know, they have firewalls and things protect that. But with all these general managers and scouting directors and scouts and owners, you know, being at their own homes, I can just picture a scouting director, you know, banging on the wall, there's 13 year old daughter, uh, saying, get off Netflix, you're using the band, you know, just trying to conserve internet, uh, resources. It's just it's kind of craziness how this is all going to play out.

And you do wonder, you know, I'm sure we're going to see some teams take over the time that's allotted. And, you know, they talked about using a timeout system where if they're trying to work a trade or they were caught off guard by something, you know, we're going to see teams maybe take longer than they need. And, you know, I think the NFL will be accommodating to that given the circumstances. But, you know, I think above all, we're going to see, you know, the team. Teams that are well-run and that are organized, they're going to crush it. You know, the Patriots, the Ravens, the Seahawks, the teams that traditionally do well when it comes to drafting in their process, I think they're going to do really well with this new format, whereas maybe some of the teams that have a first-year general manager or a first-year front office, it might be a little bit more of a struggle in terms of communication and working together.

And so it's really going to be a fascinating development to see it all play out. Talking with Dane Bruegler of the Athletic here on the Matt Thomas show. Dane, let's just go ahead and pivot to the draft here. First of all, we'll keep it general. This year, and as you know, of course, every single year is different in the draft. What do you think, just go over a couple of your thoughts over, maybe just by position groups. The relative strengths, I know wide receiver is thought of the strength, and there are some quarterbacks. what are some of the position groups where there's not as much talent in years past or where there's a wealth of talent compares to years past?

And it starts with wide receiver. You know, we talk about this class like it's, you know, had the chance to be historic. And it does in terms of the receivers that are going to come off the board early in the first round. You're Jerry Judy's, your C.D. Lambs, Henry Ruggs, Jefferson from LSU. I think Denzel Mims has worked himself into that first round conversation. But the drop-off, there is no drop-off in terms of, you know, being a top-heavy group and then it, you know, falling off for a little bit. We're going to see a lot of receivers off the board, first round, second round, third round, all the way through the draft. That's going to be a consistent trend.

And it's just, you know, you figure there's only 32 teams. Each team, say each team drafts a line bat or it drafts a wide receiver, that's 32 wide receivers. There's probably closer to 40 more than that, draftable receipts. receivers in this group. So there's going to be some talent at the position that goes undrafted. I think Corner is a position where there's a pretty good depth. Jeff Okuda from Ohio State, Texas Native. He's going to be off the board early, top five, top seven. CJ Henderson from Florida's kind of separated himself as that number two corner. And then after that, there's plenty of talent from Jeff Gladney at CCU, AJ Perrill,

at Clemson, Jalen Johnson, Utah. So, and I think that is a trend that continues. linebacker is a sneaky good group. So I think when you look at those positions, that's the strength. And when you look at maybe some positions that are lacking in a few areas, tight end certainly comes to mind first. We might not see a tight end drafted in the top 50 picks, which hasn't happened in a long time. So that is a possibility. I think defensive tackle, there are certain spots where it's strong.

I think what Derek Brown, Javon Kinla, at the top, those are two very strong players. And then there's, it gets a little thin. You know, I think Ross Blacklock from TCU, Jordan Elliott, Missouri, Matabuque from A&M. There are some pretty good players, but it's not as deep. It thinned out a little bit. The same could be said for offensive tackle. We're going to see maybe seven offensive tackles come off the board in the first round. Those guys are going to fly off the board.

But then there's going to be a steep drop-off. It's a very top-heavy group this year at offensive tackle. It's well represented in the first round. but then we might not see one, maybe two, second, third round. So it's just going to be a big drop off after we see so many in the first. All right. The 64,000 hour question, Dane, is at number 40 with you talking about how deep their wide-receiving core is. Do you envision a guy being there that can step in right away, not put up the numbers of DeAndre Hopkins,

but could actively see a lot of playing time right away? Is it that deep of a wide-receiver group? I think so. I mean, you can find an impact player there. And, you know, it'll be interesting to see who's left for them in that, at that spot at number 40. you know, C.D. Lamb, Jerry, Judy, Henry Ruggs, those guys will be off the board. Jefferson, I think, will be off the board. Brandon I.U. from Arizona State, I don't think he'll be there. And then Denzel Mims, I think he'll be gone as well. So that's six receivers right there. And then they might have, you know, their choice of that next group, which, you know, Leviska-Shanalt from Colorado, if you're comfortable with his medicals, I think that'd be a great fit with what he can do after the catch. I think Michael Pittman from USC would make sense. He is a power forward down the field. The way he can attack the football makes sense. T. Higgins doesn't have necessarily that play strength, that power at the catch point, but his wingspan, his ability to go up in high point, he could be a fit maybe later on in that second round. But the guy that I keep coming back to, Jalen Rager from TCU, you know, a Texas kid who is explosive.

He can make plays before and after the catch. He can help out on special teams. Jalen Regger is a guy that I keep coming back to as someone. The Texans know how much of an impact Will Fuller makes when he's on the field. Adding some more speed on offense like Jalen Rager would certainly make sense. And obviously you're not necessarily in the mind of a Bill O'Brien, but do you think that the trade of DeAndreuxonnie Hopkins is in the wide receiver group and how deep and talented it is?

Do you think there's a connection there? I mean, I would hope so, you know, you would hope that you would, that's something that went into the decision. Obviously, I think this is a decision that was made with a lot of factors involved, with, you know, contract situation, with the player and his relationship with the coach and, you know, just getting maximum value that they thought they could. There's so many variables, but I would think that wide receiver, as strong as it is in this draft, would certainly be one of them, you know, with the, you have the start quarterback. You've invested more and more in the offensive line, but you still need targets. You still need playmakers to get the ball to. And, you know, I think that this draft has that. And, you know, even without having that first round pick, you know, if we see five, six receivers going the first round,

we're still going to see five or six come off the board in the second round. And then there will still be talent on date, or in the third round, if they wanted to maybe hold off. They could still get a receiver at 57 if they wanted to instead, or even if they waited until 9. It's a possibility. So I would hope that that was a factor in their decision to make that move. Right or wrong, I think it was a factor. Dane Bruegler, NFL draft analyst for the Athletic. If you go and subscribe to the Athletic, you can download his 2020 NFL draft guide.

Dane, we're obviously concerned as well about the secondary size-up cornerbacks, true cover corners in this year's draft. And with a second, second round pick that the Texans have with that trade, could that be a spot where the Texans could find some value? Yeah, and I think Corner is, I mentioned that as being one of the strength of this draft. And, you know, after Jeff Okuda, after C.J. Henderson, you've got a couple of guys that are going to be there in that second round. So if Texans did want to go corner in the late second, kind of like they did last year, I think there'd be some names there. Noah Igbenogany from Auburn.

He is a lot of traits to work with. He's a former receiver that they moved over to Corner. So still learning position a little bit, but he plays aggressive. He plays tight coverage. He's the son of two Olympic athletes. So I think you see the athleticism there. He's a guy that likes to pester receiver. So I think Igbonogany is a possibility there.

Damon Arnett from Ohio State wanted to come out last year, went back to her senior year, and really developed into a much better player, really good tackler. Didn't test overly well, and that was a little bit of a surprise. But on tape, he does a really nice job downfield, attaching himself to routes and being a guy that can make plays downfield. So that was a little bit of a surprise, but I still think that he's good enough where that could end up being a blessing in disguise for a team like the Texans who, if they look at him in the late second, he could still be available for them there. All right. Lastly, big picture, we'll let you go. why did Joe Burrow check all the boxes as he was putting together this amazing campaign at LSU? And then as we've gotten further and further along, there have been question marks.

First of all, are there huge question marks in your opinion of him? And is there any serious threat that Cincinnati could trade the number one pick to say Miami and maybe go get him? Where does Tua take of Aloha comes in there? And obviously, Jalen Hertz, a Houston area kid. Where does the quarterback race come in? But more importantly, first part of the question, where did the, apprehension of Joe Burrow start to come into play, and for what reasons? Well, with Joe Burrow, when you watched him last year, you saw a guy that

would hold the ball a little too long at times, wasn't playing as confident as you would like, and I just think it comes back to his comfort within the system. But, you know, that's kind of understandable when you think about a guy that was a transfer in the summer, took him some time to adjust to a new teammates, new coaching staff, new playbook. But this year, complete 180. the confidence is off the charts, decision-making. You just feel so much more comfortable with the added responsibility that gave him at the line of scrimmage. I mean, Joe Burrow is, he turned himself into the number one overall pick.

And look, it's the Bengals. So, you know, you never know. They, you know, march to the beat or their own drum. They keep things tight-knit. They rarely trade. So I would be very shocked that Joe Burrow is not the number one pick to the Cincinnati Bengals. You know, you just never know because they do things their own way. but it just makes too much sense.

They have the needed quarterback. They've got arguably, you know, the guy coming off the best quarterback season we've ever seen in college football, sitting for them right there at number one. I think it makes too much sense for Joe Burrow to be that number one pick. I would be surprised, and everybody throughout the NFL that I talked to would also be surprised if there is someone else besides Joe Burrow going to Cincinnati at number one. All right, Dane. What's the biggest shocking move?

I know this is so grandiose because it's 32 teams, but what would really surprise you in day one? Is there a particular player that's moving up the chart or moving down the chart that's startling you right now? And who could bring us some serious drama on day one of the draft, which will be coming up in a week from Thursday? Well, I think the biggest drama is going to be with Tua. And you know, you mentioned him just a little bit ago,

and I think that we, there was always, he was always a wild card because of the durability factors, the medicals. But then you also factor in everything that, been happening with this last month. So we don't have, you know, the pro days. We don't have a chance for him to travel around the country on these 30 visits, you know, so he could visit different teams and get to know the office of the coordinator more, get to know the quarterback coach more. So teams conducted interviews at the combine, but in the back of their mind, they also planned on the teams that are interested in Tua. They planned on bringing him to the facility to get to know

him better. So not having that now, there's a missing piece of the evaluation. So I think where two ends up? That's going to be the biggest question mark because you're talking about the durability factor. Can you trust him to say healthy for 16 games? Can he take better care of his body in terms of staying on the field? I mean, there's just so many question marks there. Not every team is very adept to risk. And which team is going to take that chance? To me, that's going to be the biggest drama in the first round Thursday night, two weeks for now. Dane, great visit as always.

Congratulations in your success moving over to the athletic. It's a great resource for us as sportscasters and more importantly for sports fans. And enjoy the draft and thanks for spending some time with us. This is this afternoon. We really appreciate it. All right, thanks, guys. Take care. You got a Dane Bruegler on Twitter at DP Bruegler. Joining us here

on the Matt Thomas show.