The McShay Show - The Pass Catcher Deep Dive: Tiers, Comps, and Tape Study

Episode Date: March 24, 2025

Welcome back to ‘The McShay Show’! Todd and Steve open by analyzing some of the latest smoke in the draft world, including whether the Giants brass attending Cam Ward’s pro day means anything. Then, they dive into Todd’s pass-catching tiers and talk player comps, red flags, and more. (0:00) Welcome to The McShay Show! (1:35) Todd's Tiers: WR + TE Deep Dive (5:20) Latest Draft Buzz and News (24:35) Which Teams Need to Draft a WR? (30:23) Todd's Top 12 WR Prospects (39:00) WR Deep Dive: Jaylen Noel [WR 5] (44:15) WR Deep Dive: Jaylin Lane [WR 9] (48:30) WR Deep Dive: Chimere Dike [WR 12] (52:05) WR Deep Dive: Tre Harris [WR 7] (55:00) WR Deep Dive: Jalen Royals [WR 16] (57:05) WR Deep Dive: Travis Hunter [WR 1] (1:03:28) WR Deep Dive: Matthew Golden [WR 2] (1:07:02) Todd's WR/TE Tiers (1:25:05) WR Deep Dive: Savion Williams [WR 11] (1:30:15) Todd's Top TE Prospects (1:33:08) TE Deep Dive: Tyler Warren [TE 1] (1:38:28) TE Deep Dive: Colston Loveland [TE 2] (1:41:08) Todd's Top TE Prospects Sign up for ‘The McShay Report’ to receive Todd’s Mock Draft 2.0 and other premium content throughout draft season. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Todd McShay Guest: Steve Muench Producers: Tucker Tashjian, Mark Panik, Conor Nevins, and Daniel Comer Social: Eduardo Ocampo Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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responsible gaming. Please visit rg dash help.com to learn more about resources and help lines available and listen to the end of this episode for additional details. Must be 21 and older and present in select states. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit rg dash help.com. We're in the weeds right now. I don't have time to write some fancy open. So here it is. We got some news off the top, some kind of buzzy stuff, what we're hearing, want to go through a few things. Then we've We've got a long, drawn-out, wide receiver, tight-end process teams in need, wide-receiver tight-end tiers and evaluations, 31 days until the NFL draft. Munch, you good?

I'm good, man. All right, play some music. Calm me down a little bit, tuck. You're joining us, thank you. Thank you for all your support. The numbers keep growing. We're thrilled about it. Everyone around us is thrilled about it, and it's only because of you.

So we appreciate you listening and watching on YouTube. Spotify, wherever else you get your podcasts, please continue to do so. Today, Munch dropped another new newsletter, the McShea report. Okay. Four bucks to get through this draft. I've got a buzz column coming up on Thursday with all the quarterback evaluations. We've got a show to support that. We're going to get into a lot of buzz, newsy stuff.

It's $4 to get through this draft, $36 to get through this draft, and all of next year's draft. Double down, folks. Just Google the McShay report. You can find it all there. We don't have time for all this housekeeping. Munch very quickly, tell the people how they can continue to support us. Hit the follow button on Spotify.

Hit the subscribe button on the YouTube channel. He's at McShae 13. I'm at You Good Mench. That's M-U-E-N-C-H. Again, please consider subscribing to the McShea report. Some good stuff in there. That's the quick hit for today. I appreciate it.

Okay. So we've got a lot of wide receivers. It's not the greatest class in the world, but there's a lot of value to be had. we've got a great tight end class by all accounts and i would agree with that we want to get to a lot of different players we want to give everyone their their love and and really honestly just unload the fact that we've been watching days worth probably weeks worth of tape if you go back to last may um in in terms of the preparation for stepheny so we want to give that the the full respect it deserves today but i really quickly want to just jump into a few topics again Thursday show come back here

we're going to get into a lot more in-depth, a lot of what we're hearing some, you know, some interesting information. But I just want to touch on a few things quickly, right? Today, the Miami Pro Day, not just Cam Ward's Pro Day, it's Miami's Pro Day. Interested to see Cam Ward, honest of goodness, is he healthy, is he look happy, things good, anything different, anything he's working on. But at the end of the day, as long as he's out there, his arm is live and everything looks like it, it's looked on tape, especially this past year.

Miami, nothing's going to change. He's the most coveted player in this draft, very likely to go number one overall, very likely to be the Tennessee Titans. I do find it interesting, though. I just wanted to touch on this for however long you want, but not very long. I don't know.

And the pro days, we're taping on Monday. The show's coming out Monday night. We thought about pushing it back to watch the pro day, but like, honestly, God, I've been to so many of these things for the last 100 years, dating back to Marcus Russell was my first one. One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was being at that pro day and talking to some people around him and thinking that he was like, you know, chill and poised and Joe Flacco type poise

and things didn't bother him when in fact he was just lazy and he was sitting down to do interviews and like I should have seen the red flags and had I been 10 years later I would have but I was a pup. But my point is I've been to a lot of them and while they're fun to cover and it's great to be there in person to see the live arm if you haven't seen him live in person. and it's great to be there to talk to all the other decision makers and people around the league who are there. It doesn't affect his draft stock. Like Teddy Bridgewater that scared some people with the glove on, glove off, what's going on with him.

There's been a couple over the years. Today's Cam Ward is not going to be one. But I do want to mention this about the Miami Pro Day. In addition to the fact that it's not just Cam Ward, like we're going to get to see Elijah Arroyo, the Tident. And we'll cover him in a little bit. Run his 40-yard dash. We'll see Restrepo. We'll see there's a lot of players there.

But I found it interesting. It just got me thinking it's my crazy brain this time of year. Why are the giants there with Joe Shane and Brian Dable and like the highest level contingency that they can be there with if they know they don't control that picket at number three? I had so I do diligence. You got to do your due diligence. Yeah. And you can say, well, the Royal in the second round. But yeah, you're not sending Shane and Dable.

And yes, you have to do your due diligence should Tennessee complete its process, which is close to completing. People are expecting like early April, right? First week of April, maybe they're done with their process. They've decided he's either our guy or let's take some phone calls. I just kind of wonder, though, right? Is it like the crazy girlfriend, the ex-girlfriend, who you just broke up, found out that you're going to be at this restaurant or this bar.

And he's not picking up my calls. He's not returning my texts. He's not responding to my DMs. And maybe if we're there in person, maybe he'll talk to me. Maybe I can corner him. Maybe I can corner him in the bar a couple drinks in and, you know, I don't know. And Brian and Joe, I'm not calling you the crazy girl for.

I'm just saying I have like this vision in my head of. There's not really some communication. Maybe we get down there and we're friends and we've known each other at league circles. And maybe it's an opportunity to talk. Maybe they just want to go to Miami in March, man. I mean, I know I would. Not a bad call either. Due diligence.

That's what they're doing. They're just making sure they're on their eyes, crossing their T's. And maybe they're still trying to get a deal done. And maybe they're hoping. It's, I mean, I just, I do wonder if we, if, because you always hear these stories in like May, right? The week after the draft. Sometimes the things leak. You know, what no one's told you yet is that when we were down there at the Miami Pro Day, you know, we talked to Joe Shane and, you know, that at that point, we started talking parameter.

You know, I don't know. Yeah. Just something with so and so. It's at such and such place. Yeah. Right. You just, I always wonder what's going on behind the scenes. So, um, Jalen Walker.

I'm just going to rip through a few things. Buzzy here. Just interesting. Jaylon Walker reports about him having really, you. you know, in extensive meetings with the Tennessee Titans, they're picking up one. It's very likely going to be Cam Moore is what we're all saying, right? He's coming off that injury, the quad injury, rehabbing, recovering, trying to get ready to have his own, you know, pro day in April.

He's not going to work out in Georgia's pro day. He's going to work out in April, apparently. Excuse me. So again, my mind goes to two places. And if you can drive yourself crazy reading the tea leaves, I'm not one of those guys. guys like the 30 visits and he was there and they were meeting. But when you hear the Titans were meeting extensively with Jalen Walker, again, everyone's going through their process. Everyone's doing their due diligence. And this is part of it. And I saw someone say, well, you know, what if

he falls because of the injury, they could be looking in round two or maybe they trade up in the late round one to get walked. That's not happening. I do find it interesting on, you know, in the same 48-hour span that there's a report of this long meeting that they had with Jalen Walker that the Giants are in town, you know, trying to maybe have continued dialogue and do their due diligence. I love it. Because if it's a trade with the Giants, they're drafting and they're moving back and they've decided to punt on quarterback this year, or maybe to take one in round two, You're drafting Travis Hunter or or Abdul Carter at three. Right.

But if it's further back, if it's the Jets at seven, the Raiders and the Saints at nine, Jalen Walker's in play. I don't know. You can't do that to Jets fans, man. That's just unfair. No, I'm not. I'm just saying these. Here's the thing.

I like to read a report and then put the 25 years of experience that we have in play and try to explain, well, why would that be? This show should be the why, not the report. And we're never going to be the, we reported. We told it. I've had so many reports and first it hit, like, I knew when a certain superstar quarterback was going to sign within hours and I let a certain place know that I was working for. And like, I will always pass that information.

I don't want that lane. I don't want that life. Okay. No. I don't. I wouldn't mind that money, but I don't want that life. But what I like to do with this information is to spin it forward and try to talk about what that could mean. And so I think when you pair those two things, it becomes a little bit interesting.

That's it. Yeah, you hinted out of it too. Like 98% of this stuff is just smoke, right? But every once in a while, there's something in there. So it's worth, you know, like acknowledging that this is out there. And if nothing else, for the viewer and the listener, like, because you always hear the same buzzword, like they're going through their process. They've got steps. They're checking boxes, all those sorts of things, right?

Mm-hmm. But why? You know what I mean? Yeah. The why is because we actually haven't decided yet definitively. It's not over it. Until we've organizationally decided that Cam Ward is our guy, we have to continue our process as if trading out is an option. Right.

And that's what this is. That's all this is. And it will very, very, very likely amount to nothing. But as an organization, you have to do your due diligence on all of these things. Because what happens if this trade offer comes in with the Jets or the Raiders or the Saints at seven, six, and nine respectively? I didn't go in the right order. But if an offer comes in that you cannot refuse, you better have done the work on all these other guys. Right.

me i don't know i just love the process um another thing that i was mulling and it's interesting daniel jeremiah i'm never going to like i i think it's hysterical when people tiptoe around like well you know i was thinking but it's a thought i've had for a little while and and it has not like i've not been obsessive about it but we keep talking about the four pieces of the puzzle with the patriots at four and I thought to myself a couple times, like, okay, what, what happens if Cam Ward goes one, Abdul Go Carter goes two, and Travis Hunter goes three? What if? Right. Right. And we all have pointed to, well, now, like that's kind of doomsday for the Patriots, assuming that a team doesn't want to trade up to four to go get Shador Sanders. And then we all kind of flip to, well, Jalen Walker would

make a lot of sense if they have him that high on their board, a versatile defensive chess piece for Mike Frable. But more, like much more in line with what they need. And a player who's been rising is Armand Membo, the offensive tackle from Missouri. But then I read the Elliott Wolf clip and everyone says it this time and year again, you know, for what it's worth. But I truly believe that they're one of the bunch of teams, a lot of teams did a good job in free agency, addressed a lot of needs.

put themselves in position with their first few picks, with all of their picks, but when you're looking at premier picks and guys that you believe should be starters for you to take the best, BPA, best player available, right? Right. And Wolf came out and said that in his press conference with the Patriots or wherever it was. It might have been some fan thing. Wherever it was, he came out and said that. And find me a general manager who's not going to say that this point of time unless it's

They're answering questions only about quarterbacks. But they're not, I mean, outside of offensive tackle and if, and there's no other wide receiver, they're not completely wrong in that thinking, right? And if you don't believe Membue or Will Campbell is worth the fourth overall pick, and I think there's a good percentage of people inside the league that would agree with that. They're really good players, like their potential, but maybe it's a little bit of a reach. and everyone you talk to in the league everyone now a lot of people will say i wouldn't take a running back that high but everyone you talked to in the league has an elite grade on ashton ginty and i was watching

i had mackafy on in the background he cracks me up in the background i'm running around doing a couple things today and our good friend dj daniel jeremiah comes on and he mentioned maybe ashton ginty and i was like man i've been thinking that why did he beat me to that like i had thought that that a couple of times when I was looking at the pieces to the puzzle, but I'm like, it's not, they need a running back. Like, Ramonday Stevens is not the long-term answer. Like, they need an upgrade at that position, but this is a very deep running back class. They've got a much bigger, needed offensive tackle.

They could have Abdul Carter or Travis Hunter fall to them. They need a wide receiver. So, like, it's- But in your scenario, Hunter and Carter. Carter are gone, and you have a significantly higher grade on for Genti. than you do for Membo or for Jalen Walker. Just interesting because I've thought it and then I heard him say that. And then I heard Elliot Wool,

the order was I had thought it a couple times when we were having these Patriot Talks. And then Elliot Wolf, I read that, I saw that clip on social media. And then I am watching just a few hours ago watching, watching McAfee and Jeremiah mentioned that. Just like, it's pretty. common sense. Like neither Jeremiah nor I is a genius. I would say that with him sitting here. And he would say the same thing about us if we were talking together.

But, but like we've been around this long enough to, to know, like, it's not out of the realm. No. I will say by next week, you're going to have Janty going to Cleveland. He just keeps moving up, moving up, moving up. Okay. Good addition to this conversation. I don't know.

I'm just trying to make sure. Here's what I'm trying to do. It's not crazy. 31 days out of the draft, I do feel like we get in ruts. Where it's like, okay, well, New England's there. And if it's Hunter or Carter, it's either Hunter or Carter, but if not, it's got to be the offensive tackle. So let's put Membu there. And I think you start to see that in all the mock drafts and every, you know what I mean?

But organizations don't always more often than not see it a little differently. So I'm always trying to like make sure that we're not ignoring. We don't have any blind spots. That's all I'm doing here. Just think about it. Consider it as we get closer, 25 days, 20 days. Consider this. Don't rule it out as a possibility.

Final thing. Jets. I've mentioned it before. I'll continue to mention it because I know it to be true. Thrilled to have Justin Fields. He's going to be the starter. Let's move forward with him. But it's not a contract that,

that absolutely locks them. This is not Deshaun Watson. It's a two-year deal, right? I think it's a two-year deal? Yes. Yeah. I believe so. Yeah.

I have to double check. Maybe Tucker can double check what we're talking about it. But there's been, there's, again, not breaking news here. There's been reports that the Jets are, by bringing in fields, they've certainly alleviated the necessity to take a quarterback. They certainly, though, like, you know, they'll continue to evaluate two-year deal confirmed by Dan. Thanks, Dan. And so you're in a position as the Jets to, okay, let's finish our process.

Let's go through the process. There's some love in that building for Jackson Dart. Interesting. Where the Ole Miss quarterback is kind of climbing, creeping up in terms of the media conversation as the as people inside the media who are in the known have good contacts or talking to people in the league, it's the same thing every year. We didn't think everyone in the league except Denver and everyone in the media, except a handful, I'm sure, viewed Bo Nix as a second round prospect.

I did too, hands up. Yeah. And after his rookie year, I was, I undervalued him. Perfect spot. You can argue, well, if you want somewhere else, all that stuff. He absolutely played up to number 12, and you could argue maybe he could have gone higher. But I would argue that it wouldn't have worked as well somewhere else. My point is this.

We know Cam Ward's going to go number one with almost certainty. We feel strongly that Shador Sanders could go two or three. And he kind of a little slide if he doesn't go those two spots, because I don't think other teams are quite as high as maybe the perception is. And there's been reports about a lot of other teams have second round, early second round grades on it. And I can confirm that other teams I've spoken to do. But everyone in now is like, well, who's the third quarterback? We see it every year.

They get pushed up, except the Kenny Pickett year. They get pushed up. Right. And Jackson Dart, I have a grade that equates to like late first, early second. and so I absolutely think he could. And Tyler shucked the same thing, but I don't get the sense in the league. I know from the people I've spoken to in the league,

very intrigued by him early in the second round, don't think he's going to get in the first. But Dart is there. There is some love in the building for him. I don't think he'll be the number seven pick. I think that's what I'm trying to get across. Okay. I think the Jets desperately need a difference maker.

Okay. I think the Jets, and we're going to get to the tight ends in a little bit, have a quarterback who is not at the top of the pyramid in terms of passing efficiency. That's been proof. They think he can be better than what he's shown. They have an offensive line that needs maybe one more plug-in, and I think that could be an Armand Membou at seven. But if I'm the Jets, and I know the Jets were damn close to taking Brock Bowers a year ago. And while it's not the same people evaluating the roster, the roster's not changed significantly. Certainly hasn't changed at that position.

So when you have a quarterback that needs kind of some easier throws, let's bring up the percentage. Tight ends do that for you. So I think Tyler Warren is absolutely in play if it's not an offensive tackle and it would probably be Membue there or Will Campbell. But the dart thing's real. They know that 21 is scary. they have picks, and I looked this up, 42, nothing, nothing really extra, okay? 42 in the second round, 73 in the third, 109 in the fourth, all their picks all the way through the fifth, then they have an additional pick from Pittsburgh in the fifth and an additional

in the sixth and don't have a seventh year. So it's not like you've got this, like we've got five picks in the top 100 to move up. Yeah, so it would be next year where I looked again, they've got like a pair of sixes, but it's, Nothing as of yet is in addition to. So what would it take then to move up? I gave a similar scenario for the Giants moving up to 19 in Mach 2.0. Get into the McShay report. Shameless plug.

Google it. Four bucks. It's a great trade. I liked it. And it was like a third this year and a third next year. I think something like that, third or a second. That's about what it would cost. So I'm interested to see other jets.

what if it is are the Jets going to be in the mix to be the team that goes and tries to move up if DART gets past nine that's my question because it's interesting it's a little bit of musical chairs and everyone says well the Jets are fine and yeah they are but what if they really like DART and what if Cleveland goes Abdul Carter two but the Giants take Shador at three Cleveland sitting at 33 are they going to try to move up for DART that's a lot to give up for player are the Jets another team that then could be in competition and then how high do you have to get it's a game of like of chicken i don't know i just wanted to throw all that out there yeah it's a lot to give up for a player i mean it not all third quarterbacks are created equal right i mean the third quarterback last year was

drake may the third quarterback this year is jackson dart so when you're looking in it that way it's a lot to give up for a player it's what do you have 28th on your board i believe something like that yes yes so we'll say 28 that's you're getting you're going to give you're giving up all that, you're giving up two future picks to get the 28th player on your board potentially. It's a lot. But the flip side is, again, we talk about this all the time. And it's just one of the real truths in scouting. If you love a quarterback, man, it doesn't matter. If you believe that he can be the guy, go get him. And you believe that, and you really think you need that, use that seventh pick on a tight end or that's the way you want to approach it,

then go get them. I, then I'm fine with it. We've seen it before. We've, like the, Browns did it a while back and then they had Brady Quinn later. A much better, more shining example is the one Eric Dacosta walked us through the backstory. It was fascinating. If you haven't seen that, it lives on our YouTube homepage. The interview we did with Eric Dacosta, the GM for the Ravens about how no one in the organization even knew they were trading up. It was he and Ozzy talking and they kind of struck a deal. They moved up to the end of the first round.

There was Ozzy's last as GM first round pick. and they were able to get up there. A lot of people in the organization were like, well, come now. We want to take pictures, a press conference and all that stuff. And they were now, hold on one second. And then they drafted Lamar and changed the organization forever.

So I'm just, I'm curious to see. And it won't be that late. I don't think in the first round. But if Dart gets past nine, where's that move up going to be? And we'll be to a team that really likes Dart, but says we got to get our Tyler Warren first.

we've got to get our Abdul Carter, if you're the the Browns first. And then let's come up and go get our guy that we've targeted. All right. I went too long on all of it, but it's all fascinating. And I just like, this is the time of year that you can't read enough, more importantly, can't talk to enough people about what they're hearing in the conversations they're having.

And Thursday we'll get into a lot more of it, I promise. But here we are. Wide receivers and tight ends. we're already 25 minutes in. Let's go. Wide receivers. I want to look very quickly, okay? Teams in need because when we talk about this,

we've got an audience from all 32 markets, and I think it's important. Like, where is my team potentially going to be drafting a wide receiver in the first couple of rounds if they do? And I made a quick list here. New England at four only if it's Travis Hunter, okay? They pick again at 38. So if they go offensive tackle there, maybe they can get a weapon at 38.

And we'll go through all these receivers. We'll break them down into tears in just a minute. We will let you know who the first round guys are, second round guys. I'll tell you where they're going to go. And then I'll tell you where I think they should go. And then mens will get pissy and, you know, pick apart. You've already got me in a mood. I know, I do.

Good. It was a top 100 you did. It's not me yet. But take it out on me. That's fine. New England at four could be the first wide receiver, and that's a wide receiver corner. But for them, it's a wide receiver first, corner second. Okay.

That's why I find it interesting. 38 is their second pick. Carolina at eight needs a wide receiver. Huge mistake if they do it there. I don't think Dan Morgan's going to do that. No. Defensive guy understands the importance. Take your pass rush there.

There's one of the Georgia guys maybe. Jalen Walker, Mikel Williams. New Orleans at 9. We've heard some rumblings of quarterback there. Jackson Dart, your boy Kuiper's mock draft. Something called Kipe. What's my guy? Let's get Kuiper on either this Thursday or next week.

Remind me of that. I always forgot. Tucker, Dan, Connor, Eduardo, Mark, all of you, remind me. Paul Kite. But New Orleans at 9, needs a wide receiver. I'll get to where everyone picks all those guys pick in the second round because it's interesting. I see a run coming in early in round two.

Dallas to me, the first true wide receiver. We're calling Hunter a two-way player. And for a couple of those teams drafting in the top four, it would be corner and then moonlighting a wide receiver. Dallas to me is the first spot where Matthew Golden, Teteroa McMillan, that's the first spot where I could see one of the true wide receivers coming off the board. After that, 18 Seattle, probably more offensive line, but there, but 18 and 50 is where Seattle picks. Denver at 20. Could be a running back there. Could be a couple of different positions.

Could be defense because Sean Payton believes and you look at the history. He either goes big on offense or goes home and just trust his scheme to get, get his cats open. Then Green Bay, never drafts a receiver in the first round, right? They pick at 23. Houston at 25. Offensive line need, major. They need wide receiver help as well. Washington at 29.

So those are the first round spots for the guys that when we start to talk about wide receivers, keep those in mind. What's fascinating to me, though, Mensch, is where a lot of these guys actually grade out early to like three quarters away through, early to mid, mid, late second round. A lot of guys, and we're going to get to him in a minute. I think it's kind of where the depth of this class is. There's a lot of teams also picking receiver. We've seen this in years past. I wish I had it in front of me. There was a year just a few years ago where we didn't see one for a while,

and then there were like four or five in the second round. I can pull it up in the second. But my point is we've got a whole bunch of teams, okay? A whole bunch of teams that need wide receiver drafting the second round. Starts with 33, first pick in the second round. Cleveland, okay? Mm-hmm. Then 35, Tennessee.

36, Jacksonville. 37, Las Vegas. Right after that, 40, New Orleans. Jets at 42. Dallas, if they don't get one at 12, 44, Arizona at 47. Seattle at 50, as I just mentioned.

Mm-hmm. Also, Denver. Again, Denver at 51. So you're talking from 33 to 51 to two, three, four, five, six, seven, I think nine teams right there. Nine teams that need a wide receiver. 2019 was what I was talking about. Marquise Brown, Nikiel Harry.

Right. Go picks 25 and 32. And then we had this run in the second round receivers are awesome. Debo, A.J. Brown, Mikul Hardman, J.J. R. Saga, Whiteside, Paris Campbell, Danny Isabella, D.K. Matt Calf. Matt Calf, yeah. All in the second round.

And then, or like, for two of the first three picks in the third round were Deontay Johnson and Jalen Hurd. So I- In that draft? Yes. Third round, pick 12 and third round 76 overall. Wow.

Yeah. So what I said, 2019 was that class. So I could see this being a little bit more like 2019. And I see a lot of good receivers in the second and third round. and I see them differently. I want to say it right now.

And Dan and Eduardo, you're back there. Tucker, clip it. This is going to be my best scouting of wide receivers I've ever done. Here we go. Ever. At least you're humble about it. I'm humble about it. Mark it down.

Get the show code. Save the clip. Whatever you got to do. This is going to be my best year. I know where these guys are going to come off the board. I just, I've had too many conversation with too many scouts and too many executive, too many GMs to not know a general range that's been narrowed as we get closer as to where these guys are coming off the board. I'm going to mark this down. All right.

I'm going to read off. This is what's going to happen. And I'm not being there. I'm just saying like history. I know the general range. I know the general range. And my point is this. And I'll tell you my point in a minute.

But here's the general range. And I want to revisit this on April 27th, the Sunday after the draft. Here are your 13 guys that are very likely to go in the first three rounds. Okay. And they're going to be damn close to in this order and more importantly in this range. Might not necessarily be this order, but it's going to be this range. Travis Hunter is going to be first as a wide receiver corner. Ted McMillan and Golden are going to be the next two off the board.

Agreed. Either order. Either order. Depends on the team and what they're looking for and who they're looking for. they've fallen in love with. Those are all going to be, they're sure fire. Here you see, if you're watching on YouTube or Spotify, top 12 wide receivers. I'm going to give you 13 right now that are very, very, very likely to go in the first three rounds. Luther Bird and the third from Missouri and Emeka Abuka. Maybe in that order, maybe flip flop, probably flip flop,

but they're going to go late first. Could one or two could fall. I don't think both, but I think one could slide, but they're definitively top 40 picks. Okay. Then as we get into that second round range, when we talk about like the Jacksonville 36, Vegas 37, New Orleans, 40, Jets 42, Dallas 44, Arizona 47, here are the guys we're talking about that will wind up coming off the board in that range.

Isaiah Bond, Texas wide receiver, burner, Jaden Higgins, big tall physical, route running, son of a gun from Iowa State. and Savion Williams, who we'll get to in a little bit, my goodness, it is a roller coaster watching his tape. It's like a fun house field trip. But they're going to go in the second round. Besh, TCU, also TCU, teammates of Savian Williams, MVP of the Senior Bowl. Jack Besh will very likely go in the second round.

Worst case, first few picks in the third. like we saw a couple of those guys I just mentioned. Third round. Jalen Royals. Trey Harris. Galen Noel. Troy Horton. 13.

I just listed above. Hunter Tet Golden locks in the first. Burden Abuka, probably first or top 40 picks. Bond Higgins, Savion, rounds two. Besh, very likely with him. could be early third Royals Harris Noel Horton third

okay I don't see it that way this year that's not how I have them at all okay you always get you always get chippy with me like yeah

you're trying to get your top 100 right now yeah I don't care I don't care it's gonna be a weird year top 100 was but you're just nervous and I'm gonna smash you with it um

nice know you are. So I want to take this opportunity to like I don't personally I'm scared to death of Luther Bird and we'll get into him in a little bit. Interesting. Personally, I think Isaiah Bonn from Texas is fools gold. Okay. I'm not as high on Ted McMillan as a lot of people are. Okay. I know. You've that's been your take from the beginning. But I'm more interested talking off the top here instead of talking about how like the negatives on those guys and and just just ranking them the way i'm pretty confident they're going to come off the board a more important it's more important to me because it's not a great group at the top and the way i see this there's more varying opinions and

when there's more varying opinions and there's not these top shelf guys that everyone's kind of agreeing on all that there's opportunity i think there's opportunity in this class more so than in years past I think there's opportunity in this class, like I just read you from 2019. And they're not as big and physical. There's not A.J. Brown and D.K. Metcalf necessarily, although there is, there is Higgins. There's a couple bigger guys. But I think there's some smaller, average size to smaller receivers, whether they're slot outside or have inside, outside versatility.

And I'm going to give you three right now, okay? Three smaller receivers that I really, really like in this class. and mention I've mentioned made there was a whole clip that Eduardo clipped off for us. You got a thing for slot receivers or whatever your phrasing was, right? And I kind of do in this class because I know what to get it. It's a good class for that kind of receiver. It's a really good class. It's a really good class for this kind of receiver.

But I also want to remind you of some things. Okay. For the top five guys in receptions in the NFL last year were either slot, slot receivers and or guys who are average to smaller. They weren't like the 6-2, 6-3, big physical, you know? Amonra St. Brown. Yeah. Malik neighbors.

Obviously, he's in a different category, I understand. But not like this big physical imposing guy, not Marvin Harrison, Jr. Nope. I'm okay with that, by the way. He played on the outside in college. That's my, that's my, what I'm interested in it is, who played inside and who played outside. But by the way, Justin Jefferson played almost exclusively inside college.

And JSTN did too. Smith and Jigba did too. So there is some precedent for what you're talking about. And C.D. Lam, slot receiver. Yeah, that's right. Garrett Wilson. Those are four of the top five receivers and receptions last year. Okay.

Then you go beyond that. J.S.N. Wondale Robinson. Jerry Judy. Ladd McConkey. Shakir. Zay. Downs.

all those guys not the biggest dudes no bunch of them play the slot or in in and out all had 72 plus receptions last year so when i get going on these small receivers like yeah but he's a slot received but most of them that i'm talking about are are built they're built like restrepo's five nine and five nine a quarter or whatever he is five nine and change from miami but he's built like the lower body. Yeah. And these are the three guys that I've just got finished. I've finished up and I went through one after another.

I'm going to do it for every position. Go back and rewatch, stack them. Three guys that I think are going to get drafted later than they should get drafted and are going to be very productive in the NFL. And I think they're going to contribute at least a decent amount first off the right off the bat. Okay. Okay. Jalen Noel.

I want to start there. Jalen Newell. The second one is Jalen Lane from Virginia Tech. And the third one may surprise you because I haven't heard him talked about by anyone, the entire draft season. Literally, I've never read something on social media. I've not heard a single person talk about him. I'm sure someone's other, well, I've been talking about him, but that I haven't heard it.

I'm sorry. Chimeray D.K. from Florida. Okay. Interesting, Claire. Let's start with Noel. Okay. And I'm going to ask you, of course,

couple guys who aren't and then we'll circle back and i know everyone wants to know what do you got on hunter what do you got on matthew golden we'll get there in a minute we get plenty of time times our ally today but i want to go to to jalen noel from uh from iowa state now i've done some social media stuff on him put up some clips on him and stuff that i like and we've talked about it a little bit here but noel and in arguably the best tandem oh yeah in terms of complimenting one another in all of college football last year. He was the other guy to Jaden Higgins. And I've got them ranked very similarly.

Noel's going to probably go in the third round. And I think that's a freaking travesty. Okay. Good. Let him drop. Money's not all that different. Let him drop. Come in with a chippina.

What'd that do for Amonra? Yeah. You know? Yeah. And D.K., and A.J. Brown and like a boatload of these dudes. Let him drop. It's an undersized slot. 5.10 and a quarter, 194 pounds, short arms, small hands, eight and three quarters.

Had some drops. Nine drops the last few years. Honestly, the drops with the small hands, they weren't like, here's the thing with the drops. There were a couple where it's like, they were like not great drops. They were kind of, they weren't good. muffs had some, I think, four or five muff punts over, over the course of his career. And so it's not impeccable. But what I do see is like such a high volume of, of targets to this guy that they were going to be.

And still at the 5.7 drop percentage. And you go back and look and of the nine, there are a few that aren't that aren't that bad. Like they're debatable and or understandable stuff that don't, it doesn't. Right. Not all drops are the same, by the way. Correct. There are not all created equally. But I will say small catch radius and isn't as crisp and clean in that department as you would like. But I do think he makes some tough catches.

He makes catches that with someone his frame and his catching radius has no business making. Thank you. So it kind of in my opinion, it doesn't erase it, but it kind of offsets it a little bit. Here's what I love. Okay. With all these guys, I want to tell you, what I like what stands out why Todd is do you think he's going to work in the league and for if you're listening and all of a sudden come set uh come Friday in the draft he gets selected and if he falls

around three like I'm hearing you'll know who he is okay I want to start with this you think slot receiver undersized probably like a four four eight guy you know most these guys aren't burners either he ran a four three nine listen to this match and it's not like it was all about his tape all this workout stuff was just confirmation but his combine workout was flat out sensational 112 broad jump best 41 and a half inch vertical second best 4.17 short shuttle top 5 6.823 cone top 5 439 with 439 as a sub 4 and was tied for 9th okay four year player three year starter 202 catches nearly 2 600 receiving yards average just about 13 yards per catch as a slot receiver, can get downfield, 18 touchdowns.

What's different with him than a lot of these other guys, he's equal parts explosive. Like when you watch him get off that line of scrimmage, he's shot out of there. Suddenness, the savvy, but it's the suddenness and the savvy. It's equal parts, okay? The way he leverages his routes, how sudden he is. He has a plan.

He knows exactly how he's going to set you up. He works guys over breaking ankles. Like I just, I absolutely love the way he runs routes. He's tough over the middle, no issues with it. Play speeds as good as that time speed. 20.8 miles per hour at the senior bowl is six fastest among all the players and second fastest of the wide receivers down in Mobile, Alabama. No fear in the middle, as I said, not very effective, but gives a lot of effort as a blocker.

I know one's a slot and I know lad played outside, but when I watch the tape, I see the same shit, Mench. I see the same stuff with Lad. It's this explosiveness from not the biggest body and the ability to set guys up, know how to get in and out, and they just uncover. They just uncover over and over again. I love this guy. I would honest to goodness, if you told me someone took him at 31, 32, I'd be like, okay, yeah, I get no problem. I get no problem. I get it. I mean, it's funny with guys who run that fast, sometimes their routes get really chaotic because they just don't know how to gear down. Everything's, everything's so fast and chaotic.

But with him, he knows how to tempo it. He knows how to make the most of his speed and his burst. And you see it the way he gets out of breaks. Yeah, he's a great route runner. Great route runner. All right, Jalen Lane, Virginia Tech. Yep. And I'm going to give you your due in a second here.

But I just want to rip through these story. Began his career MTSU, Middle Tennessee State. got better and better there. Accomplished Return Man in 2021 ranked second nationally and punt return average, 15.5. Okay. 26 nationally and combined kick return yards, 580. Transvers to Virginia Tech in 2023. Numbers are not breathtaking.

And honestly, I think it's part of the reason why I just didn't, like, I didn't prepare for him during the process. There were so many other guys were watching it took until about the senior bowl. to realize, oh, this guy's, this cat's got something, right? Mm-hmm. 79 catches, 1,000 yards, 8 touchdown, but that's over two years. But think about the quarterback situation. Right. Led the team in receiving last year.

So it was what it was. Right. Talked about the numbers backing up the tape. You ready? Go. He's undersized, but just like all three of these guys that I'm going to mention, tightly packed, shorter frame, but built and, like, can get through contact. unusually long arms, almost 32 inch arms for a shorter receiver.

He's 5-9 and 3 quarters. I don't think I mentioned that, 191 pounds. So he's a little shorter even than Jalen Newell. But in the past decade at the combine, write this down or listen to it, absorb it. In the past decade of the combine, no wide receiver has ever posted a better trio of results in these critically important areas. 40 ran a 434 broad jump 11 foot showing the lower body explosiveness and three cone 675 incredible yeah that gets your attention now i put on the tape a lot of screens a lot of quick hitters reverses in that offense but when he actually had to run routes down the field lightning

quick in and out tank dell type stuff Yeah. Think about Tank Dell and his routes and all the video you've seen of him. Like that's, I see the same stuff. I do. Ball skills. Not, again, not a big catch radius. But he's got big hands for his frame.

He does. He does almost. Yeah, I forgot to mention it. I'm just an inch hands. Those are big hands. That's like Russell Wilson, weird, shorter frame, big hand type of stuff. But he, but he. He's a hands plucker, natural hand eye coordination.

I wrote this. Not the biggest catch radius, but he's one of those guys I trust implicitly when I throw the ball in his area. Legit weapon after the catch. Love his transition quickness, accelerates, and I love his instincts. That's why he's so great as a return guy. His instincts with the ball in his hands,

weaving in and out, feeling it when to hit that cutback. Reminds me. Get him the ball in space, man. I wrote this in my NFL fit, capable of pushing immediately for number three. restarting job as a slot receiver and can be dynamic in the return game. I wrote most underrated wide receiver in this class. I also failed to mention the character, work ethic, every, like, he might, he might

be the best value because I think he's going to wind up going in like the fourth. Wow. Maybe the, I don't, but I didn't slate for him. I agree with you. Marvin Mims is the comp I gave him. Interesting. He was in the top, top three for the receivers in 10 yards split, 40, broad jump, vertical jump, short shuttle, and three cones. So the only test outside of a bench press, he's in the top three.

He also was a guy that ran, passed, caught, and returned a punt for a touchdown this year. I mean, he'd just give him the ball. Just get him the ball in Space, man, and watch him do his thing. And he's rugged for a smaller guy. I mean, he's not going to run over people, but he slips out of tackles way more than I thought a guy with his size would. I love him. I love when you just get him in the ball in space. I love a couple of things I didn't know there.

I love that. Finally, Chimeray D.K. Chimurae. Sorry, I should pronounce his name correctly if he's going to be one of my favorite players in this draft. Played four seasons of Wisconsin, transferred to Florida. He's a little bit bigger. He's six foot and a half, okay? 196 pounds, long arms, 32 and an eight.

transfers from Wisconsin four years never had a quarterback yeah j lagway he had for a handful of games right he's still developing yeah all right um but then i watched the tape sudden off the line of scrimm these three guys when you put on their tape and you're watching all these other receivers it jumps out because and that's why you have to watch them all together simultaneously same like couple of days because they move, they move different, okay? I watched him like vertical speed and suddenness of his routes.

Now, it's a lot of crossers. It's all, yeah, uh-huh, right? It scared me. I think we're going to agree on what you say, though. It's a lot of his production is him just running away from guys downfield on crossers, but go ahead. But in the few times I saw him get in and out of breaks and those sorts of things, I'm like, hmm, he can.

Yep. He can. So that's intriguing. He's got some juice as a route runner. He just doesn't do it very often that offense. So the suddenness, the separation, the potential to develop as a route runner is intriguing to me. Again, we're talking about like maybe fifth round with DK because I'm hearing nothing. Maybe fourth because he ran the four three four.

The ball skills are a little bit inconsistent. I will, I'll give that. Very good on contested opportunities on tape, though. ability to adjust behind him, all that, but just 35 percentile and drop rate. Part of it's the quarterback, part of it's, but I can't excuse it. I'm not going to sit here and turn a blind eye to it. But he's a burner. He's good after the catch and he can get down the field.

I should strike that. Not a lot of wiggle. He's more of like the cut and then straight line guy after the catch. He's not going to create and break angles. Right. But he makes that sharp cut and almost always makes the first defender miss, okay? I also love this. Four, three, four burners, you don't find many who are blocking their ass off against a linebacker on the second level.

And I saw it like three or four different times on tape. And I saw it consistently, whether there's DB, whatever it was. He just, he plays the game with energy, urgency. I just, I think there's something there with him that's uncovered. And I also, then I look at the Combine workout, just like. with uh with yeah all three of these guys and you'd think with the combine numbers they'd be skyrocketing up and people would be talking about it but it's not the conversations i'm having with people in the league the combine workout he ran a four three four is tied for the third fastest

third fastest of all the wide receivers one five one split that initial burst off the line tied for fifth six eight two three cone tied for fifth 38 and a half inch vertical tied for seven uh 108 broad tied for seventh. I said Darius Slate. Interesting. I like that. I like that one. You got all the comps. I didn't come up with the comps today. But that's, I like that one. That's a good one. Who do you got? Give me a couple guys who you think are undervalued and then we're to the top of the board. You know, we'll go over it again.

I just think the disrespect for Trey Harris is real at this point. I just think that he's a guy that can win on the outside. Ran in the four or fives. I don't care. I know he's a little bit banged up last year, too. he's a guy and the other guy I'm going to talk about the same very similarly but trey Harris is a guy that after the catch is a pain in the ass to tackle he is tough he's strong I think he run I think he plays faster than he ran when you watch the tape he's got some real juice after the catch I think tray Harris is I think we'll see where it goes I mean you know where you've got the crystal ball so you'll tell me what pick I already told you third round I know I think he should go a lot earlier than that

a lot earlier than that and I don't mean I know I come off as as an ass I'm just busting the job, man. No, no, and I'm kind of, and I think you know me well enough. I'm personally doing that to make the point, like, if at this point in my career, I didn't have a really good sense for where these guys were going, I should probably find a different career, right? Yeah. So through my experience and relationships and all that stuff, but my whole, the whole point in

saying all that and trying to sound like a jackass is to say this year provides opportunities, for evaluators, just like 2019 provided opportunity for evaluators to go find you a D.K. or an AJ Brown or some of those really good guys in the second round are Terry McLaurin and the third. Right. That's my point in this, is that just because they get drafted there doesn't mean that's what, like, that's how it's all going to work out. And we know that, but 2019 was a perfect example. And I think this year could be very similar.

Yeah, I agree with you. I think there's a lot of value to find in that range. It definitely sets up for a run there, too. He averaged. No, I, yeah, but I just, I want to back up what you're saying. He's a number. If things go perfectly and he's utilized the right way in a, in a West Coast system, big, sturdy,

get him the ball shorter, three, five yard out slants. Think like the 49ers, the Jerry Rice is. Yeah. Yeah. And let him do the work. And it's not. Here's the thing. Yeah, you'd love if he ran a 4-4-0.

He didn't. He ran a 4-5-4. But at 6-2-3rd, 205 pounds, he's strong. Yeah. And so it's a combination of vision, agility, smooth athleticism, and strength. Because here's the deal, man. You make one guy miss. A three-yard catch turns to seven.

Right. And yeah, for some guys, it turns to 12. For him, it's going to be seven. and find me someone who, find me a quarterback in the league that doesn't want to throw a quick three yard out or hitch or slant and say we got seven now at second and three. Yeah. That's what this guy, he's going to be that kind of workhorse for you. Okay. Yeah.

All right. Go ahead. Who else? My other guy was a guy I thought had a lot of buzz early on in the draft process and then he missed the end of the year with a foot injury and I feel like it's kind of cooled off. But Jalen Royals from Utah State similar bill to Harris. And, you know, he had regardless of position, no one had a quicker 10-yard split. There's a bunch of guys that tied,

but no one had a quicker 10-yard split than Jalen Royals at the combine. He was up there with all the other burners. Maybe not, he was, I think, a 4-4-2, but he didn't run a sub-4-4-but in terms of quickness. And if I'm Todd McShane and I'm doing his report on after the catch, it's going to sound like, whatever you want to do there.

I know he got all the sound effects, but he is sudden, man. He is sudden after the catch. As he's catching it, he's already moving upfield. And then you add on to that, just like Harris, he's got the build, the brake tackles. He's got the toughness to break tackles. I feel like he's a guy that had a lot of buzz early on and then can run.

I mean, he's got the four-four speed. He can run. He could threaten vertically. I mean, I just feel like he's being undervalued at this point. And with both of those players, I see on tape, I think guys that can get off press. I think they are guys that can get off pressing into their routes. So that's kind of why I value those guys. Yeah, he was an interesting watch.

he obviously injured last year we should mention season ending foot injury in october limited just seven games this past year still finished with 58 8 53 yeah and average 15 yards per catch six i think it was average 119 a game when he went down he's a z receiver vertical run after catch speed explosive after the catch um here's the hard part for me if i'm just being honest not that we need to get in the weeds but a lot of screens hitches and verticals yeah so like as a route runner and you're going to say say that with a handful of these guys right right so it's it's a projection uh but you mentioned one four nine he tied matthew golden my top rated pure receiver in this class let's let's circle back on the top guys okay i want to start with Travis hunter because it just

depends on the team. It just depends. If New England drafts him, he's a wide receiver first. Cleveland drafts him, it's a combo deal. Giants draft them. It's a combo deal, I believe. Here's what jumped out to me. And let's save for when we do the cornerbacks. Let's save the conversation, because we've got tight ends to do today, too. Let's just put it on hold the utilization, the load management, what he did at college, the comparisons to D. on into Champ Bailey and to everybody else because he he was even more like think about champ Bailey's career in college it was absolutely sensational he not only you know the most comparable season he had two years ago in 2023 with 50 plus receptions and three interceptions

champ you had to go back to 98 with champ bail and champ and champ had 47 and three in his like glorious year that everyone references is one of the best individual performance from from a player in college for good reason i mean it's still an amazing feat yeah and then he went and did it again in twenty twenty four with better numbers but we can get into the utilization of him when we get to cornerbacks because he did play nearly um two thousands he played over two thousand snaps the last two years offense defense special teams okay i want to talk to you about him as a wide receiver okay and in a second i want to pull up the tier rankings but i want to wait a second as a receiver I've got him probably graded a notch below what the grade is for him as an overall player

because there's value on both sides. Just a much. We'll talk about that a second. What I see from him as a player, what makes him so special, Todd? Right? Like as a receiver. The first thing that everyone talks about, and I agree, is get the ball in his hands.

Right. The speed, the explosiveness, the athleticism. I just think he's so creak. creative and slippery getting off the line, efficient in his movements, no wasted motion. And I think he'll only get better with more time. Like you got to remember he's spending a lot of time in the meeting room, practice field at corner, trying to perfect those skills. You get him with an NFL wide receiver coach, whatever percentage of time it is,

and you keep drilling some things in. I think he can be an even better route runner than he is right now. Absolutely special with the ball in his hands. after the catch, the vision, the speed, the expose, like he's just, he's a, he's a different planet. But I think the thing that gets overlooked, and I'm surprised. He has some of the best hands I've ever evaluated at wide receiver. Wow. Travis, Travis Hunter's ball skills are at the, I hold him in the highest regard.

His ability to adjust is uncanny. His ability to adjust when he's still on the ground or when he's in the air. When he's in flight, his ability to contort his body, to move, timing his jumps. Everyone thinks ball skills. It's like just the hands. Right. That's a part of it. A big part of it is getting yourself in position.

I always talk to my son Tate about it when we're playing catch. You catch with your eyes. Your eyes get you there first, but your body's got to be behind it to get you there. The last part, and obviously it's the part we all focus on, is securing that catch. but it's your eyes and your body and your ability to adjust that's so important and he is as good as anyone I can remember evaluating his ball skills up there with the best I've ever evaluated Travis Hunter is special when the ball is in the air so it's not just the screen game and the quick stuff it's not just the vertical oh no yeah it is his ability as a quarterback the most important

thing is when I put the ball in this guy's direction if I don't make the perfect throw am I going to trust that he can run to it when I try to lead him to it? Yes, he will. Can I trust when I put it up there in a defensive back has his back turn? Because with receivers as a quarterback, you've got to learn to trust them. I would trust this guy as much as anyone I've evaluated. And he's not that big. He's six foot and three-eighths of an inch.

He's 188 pounds, but he plays like he's six, three, and lanky. That's the, like, all the other stuff's awesome. but it starts with being able to catch the football and adjust and make the make sure that you're going up and getting the ball and adjusting to it and plucking it on the run and transitioning up the field his ball skills are as good as anyone i can remember evaluating in the last decade or so yeah i hear you yeah no i agree i mean it is it is about the body control for me it is about his his ability to go up and get it and it's all like you know we we overcomplicate some things it's just about being a great football player those two those two things you mentioned

I think our instincts are what he can do with the ball in space and how he attacks the football. It's natural to him. It's not something that he thinks about. It's just something that he goes up and he's been, I mean, to be honest about it, he's just been gifted with these talents. Like, when he gets into space, he knows how to cut, he knows where to go. It's an instinct thing. And when the ball's up in the air, he knows how to attack it. There's no thought process there. He's just aggressive and he trusts that his body's going to do what he needs him to do. I agree with you on both of those points. I think he's outstanding when he has to adjust to a pass.

I would absolutely love to see him with Drake May. Interesting. Absolutely love to. Because I think he's even a better wide receiver than he is a corner. I think he's a damn, damn good corner. Yeah, it's a good thing you can get open quick. He's going to have to get open quick. I'm not saying, forget all the needs and the protection.

I'm just saying with a young quarterback who's accurate, it, but is still developing that part of his game. To have a receiver you could trust would be a lot of fun to watch for the next, you know, several years. I'm just saying he's the kind of guy that can take that thing to another level. And I don't know if he's going to be there. I don't know if he'll be the choice. I'm just saying that would be a fun place to watch him play.

Matthew Golden, he's my guy. Hunter's a different category. He's one of the elites, the top two players in this draft. It's about corner and wide receiver and how do you utilize him? Pure wide receiver, true position. Matthew Golden. I just love his story, man. Cut like 34 passes a couple years ago at Houston.

Comes in, he's the number two to Isaiah Bond, and he's not getting fed enough, even though he was getting fed. Finishes with 58 catches, but backloaded. When I bond got the ankle injury and all of that, average 17 yards per freaking catch, match. And it wasn't just like these vertical routes or like quick hitting screen. where he made one guy miss and go, but he's got that speed. Fastest guy in the wide receiver at the Combine 4th, 2.9.

He's 511. He's 191 pounds, okay? We got to hurry this thing up. We can't go into all the detail and minutiae with all of it. And you can read the McShay report to get more on these evaluations. But I want to tell you if his suddenness and crispness as an athlete, his ability to get in and out of breaks, his ability to adjust to the football, it's different than everybody else in this class.

And I just told you how much I love Jalen, Noel. Yeah. I told you how much I like Jalen Lane from Virginia Tech. And Chimaree DK from Florida with the 434 speed, this guy's different. It's not because he runs a 429. He's the, and I wrote this in all caps in my evaluation. Golden is the only guy in this class that moves like this.

And I went back and put in all caps when I was done with the first 20, two receivers. Matthew Golden from Texas is the only guy who moves like this. It's different, folks. And it reminds me, I've said Tank Dell before. He put his teammates with Tankdale in terms of the feet, the quickness of Christmas. It's not like I see when I, when you start watching clip after clip after clip, play after play, I'm not saying he's Tyreek Hill, but he's not that far off.

Wow. The explosiveness. Get the ball in his hands. The way he runs. that suddenness. Yeah. Jayley's somewhere in between those, those Miami receivers.

Gotcha. He's bigger than Tyreek and he's not, no one in this planet has that suddenness, quickness and top end speed combination. He's a notch below that. Yeah, I mean, you can say are just a notch below that. And Jalen Waddle, you know, he's like,

I like that, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I knew when, I knew from watching him on TV that he could take the top off and he could, make those. I mean, I always think of the catches he makes down the sideline where he's twisting his body around. He's catching it in stride and without losing any speed. He's making this acrobatic catch with his hands. I mean, that stuff's incredible. But to me, when I threw on the tape, I was blown away by his ability to separate. I was just blown away. I was like, this guy. Nobody separates so I came in this class. No, it's, it is different. And I think it's something that's not talked about

enough because I think the deep stuff overshadows it. You look at him and you're like, oh, he's a burner. Absolutely. Absolutely, he's a burner. Absolutely, he can take the top off the coverage. Absolutely, he can make acrobatic catches downfield. But also, like, don't get, I mean, when you're evaluating receiver, can he get open and can he catch? That's what you're really looking for. And that's where you want to start with.

And he excels, excels as a route runner. But let's throw up the tiers because this is where it's intriguing to me. And I want to look at the wide receiver and tight end tiers because we're going to have to transition to tight ends. in just a little bit. Travis Hunter, we talked about as Tier 1, the combination. I put 94 in parentheses there because that's what I would have him graded as a wide receiver. And it's worth noting it's literally a tick behind Malik neighbors and Marvin Harrison,

Jr. from a year ago, and you know the regard I held them in. And that's not even including as a cornerback. You know what I mean? Yeah. But I think it's worth mentioning. 94 would be the grade I would give him, which is just a tick below those other two and they were top four picks. Okay.

We'll get to the tight ends. We've got Warren and Colston in there. Tier three, Matthew Golden. He's in the only tier, okay? And the tier three is typically equates to a middle to bottom half of the first round where they get drafted, but the purpose of the tier three and the reason we give these grades is not about great, not about the round they go in. it's about what we expect them to be.

These prospects in Tier 3 grade out as immediate contributors and should quickly develop into assets as starters. Right? Yep. And that's what Golden's going to be. And eventually it could be a Pro Bowl type player, truly, eventually. After that, you've got Tet McMillan for me. Now, some people have Ted McMillan in Tier 3.

A couple people in the media, I think, have Tet McMillan in Tier 2. I've not talked to anyone in the league. I think in the league, it's more tier three to tier five, okay? But Tet McMillan is there, and I already told you, it's going to be Golden and Tet McMillan are going to be the two first true wide receivers off the board. Then it's going to be a mecca, and you'll notice there, I've got Luther Burden the third. I think he could be the fourth receiver taken if you're excluding Hunter,

the fifth if you're including him. Okay. You teased this earlier, man. I got to know. Why are you afraid? What scares you about burden? I mean, I see this stuff. Everyone sees awesome after the catch.

Great hands at times. At times, yep. Great hands at times. I thought he struggled adjusting this year. I see some toughness. I see some strength. I see a lot of elusiveness. I see a guy who's explosive.

He ran the 4-4-4-1. No, 4-4-1. sorry to back it up. Not elite elite, but very, very fast. I think like Debo Samuel, you've got that versatility. You've got, you know, irrests the ball 34 times, seven yards per carry. I see all those things. I do.

And I think it's very important to note I went back and watched 2023 and it's a hell of a lot better. And it leaves a much better taste in your mouth than 2024. It's a whole different experience. Yep. But here's what I do know. And we're at that point in time. There's a lot of stuff that comes with Luther Bird. And it's been reported, but there's family members and girlfriend and just external stuff that I think factors in. I don't think I know what I will only say because I talk to the NFL scouts who do their background checks and everything else. There's a lot of diva.

And the biggest thing, you know what I talked to when I talked to, when I talked to N. NFL teams, they can't unwatch. Is he just flat out quit in that Alabama game this year? And I'm sure I'll get yelled at. I'm sure I'll have people calling and SIDs and everything else. But go watch it for yourself. And so the talent, and remember, Debo fell. Debo had some Knicks.

Debo got out of shape. Loved his tape, but there's some stuff. He's some stuff with Debo. He's overweight. He's not training, you know, all that stuff. Listen, I watch his tape and I mean, this is great stuff. I think about the end of that South Carolina game where he beat the slot and made the one-handed catch with his left hand over his shoulder. And, you know, he watched him after the catch and there's stuff to get excited about.

I think the second round is a good spot for him. I mean, one of the things that really concerns me about when I watch him, how they scheme to get him open? I mean, they are motion out of the backfield. They're always finding ways to get him the ball, which you should do. I mean, you're making the most of that scale. skill set, but I don't see a guy that's a polished route runner at this point. I think it's going to take him a little time to develop. Whenever I saw him in the first round, I was always like, you know, talented players got

some upside. Not a guy that I feel good about taking early. Yeah, and here's the thing. You go back and watch 2023 and then you watch it against any tapes for Mecca Abuka, who's the other guy who's in that range, who I talked to you about. I think they're going to get drafted within the same 10 spots. Okay. Okay.

Burden comes with some stuff. And can you trust them? And what's it get? Is there going to be some headaches? And is he going to, right? Is the compete level as high as you want every week in and week out? Then you got a mecca abuka. And you watch those two tapes and you get done with all of them.

And you go, yeah, burden. Burden brings a lot more. There's more juice. There's more. It's sexier, right? More treats. Yeah. But then I, but then I, but then I, let me give you my little pitch on a meca abuka, who I know you're not a.

high on as I am. And I want I really like I'm not as high. I think he's a top 40 prospect. I think he I think he could go late in the first probably will go late in the first. And I don't have a problem with it. Listen, man, Mecca Buka right now, like he leads the Buckees and career receiving yards. Almost 2,900 career receiving yards. That's better than Michael Jenkins.

It's better than David Boston, Chris Olavé, Marvin Harrison Jr. Devin Smith, Antonio Holmes, Garrett Wilson's kind of a good list. Yeah, they all left early though, right? 205 receptions also ranks first and 24 touchdown catches tied for seventh on that list, okay? All jokes aside, it is an amazing feat. I mean, it is, I mean, that school, that, yeah, it's an amazing feat. Here's the thing with him. There's not a unique special trait that jumps out on tape.

When I watch Matthew Golden, I'm like, holy shite. It's different. I agree. Yep. Right. And I watch, I watch, I watch D.K. I watch Noel and I see a little more. Right.

Yep. Okay. And then you see Ted McMillan. And whether you love him or you like him or you don't like him that much, you see catches and you see length and you see athleticism and the former volleyball player. You get why people like him. Yeah. Absolutely. Right.

Now the attention to detail is frustrating. And again, He's another guy. And how many of these guys who are, like Isaiah Bond's tape in 2023 was better at Alabama than it wasn't 2024, way better. And he had the ankle and things weren't going well.

So I worry about like some stuff there. Burden, I told you the stuff. Ted McMillan was he protecting himself this past year? quarterback plays not as good. They lost a bunch of guys, remember in 2020 to the last year's draft. And he's back there playing out his career.

And he's trying to protect himself to be a top pick. Because the 2023 tape's a lot better. But you wonder, is the, like, I don't know. I just, I left Ted McMillan's tape wanting more. But I saw the flashes are explosive. And can you get that? But can you, is he going to give you everything you need? There's some stuff over the middle that I'm like,

I don't like what I'm seeing. Some attention to detail that I'm like, I worry. And I told you the Drake London comparison, I get it. But Drake London was better when the ball was in the air, more consistent and Drake London was a flat out freaking dog. Yeah. I don't see that dog in him. So with all of these guys, go ahead.

He was so, he was just projected so high coming into the year. Yeah. And it's not his fault. No, it's put you in a difficult position because I think, and I think myself as well, with some players, you take the stance of, well, this is why I don't value them as much as everyone else says. You, like, you get put in this position. Just want to make it clear that right now,

depending on how you view Hunter, the Tet McMillan is either your second or third best receiver on your board. So people are going to hear things like Todd thinks this and Todd thinks that and all that. Well, Todd also thinks he's the second or third best receiver in this board. And that should not get lost in the mix.

But here's my whole thing on Abuka. Can play slot, can play outside, okay? Not elite size, not elite speed. We'll see what he runs at his 40. Probably the pro date, you're going to be like a 4, 4, 4, or 5. 4-4-2, maybe surprises, but not elite. That's good, man.

If he runs that site. But I watched and I kept watching and I kept watching. And I developed an appreciation for him over time. He's not the hot girl or guy in the club. PC. He's not the hot one that grabs your attention in the club, in the bar and the restaurant. He's just not. He's not the hot one.

He's the one, though. Ameca Abuka is the one that you hang out with in a group of friends. Six, eight months. And you start to gain an appreciation. You're laughing at their jokes. They're supportive. They're fun to be around. Something goes wrong.

They give you a call. They pick up the phone. They shoot you a text. They kind of bring out the best in you. You like how you feel when you're around them. You trust them. They're reliable. They say they're going to be somewhere they're there.

You ask them to do a favor. They do it. You gain a respect for them. They come from a good family. You know what I mean? Like you meet their parents. That's a hell of a comp. Their parents come into town.

You're all going out with friends. You have dinner. And you're like, I like their parents. I like his or her parents. And then over time, you're like, shit, I'm attracted to this person.

And the relationship becomes different because I trust them. I feel better when I'm around them. They're funny. They're fun. They're smart. But they don't jump out at the club. They're not like the sexy one in the corner where you're like, see her. Right?

Yeah. That's how it is with a mecca abuca. I get it. I'm a little worried about you, but I get it. I know, but there's a maturation to this is a mature relationship with Abuka. Like he does every little thing right. He catches the ball in traffic. He knows how to uncover.

His speed outs are beautiful. He's where he's supposed to be. He's reliable. I just know what I'm getting. The ceiling's not extraordinarily high, but the floor is as high as it gets. Yeah. And then you talk to his parents.

And you see the, the breed that he comes from, the stock. Ohio State receivers, Brian Hartline, the work they put in, the commitment to the game. You hear this guy, it's just like McLaren, man. I promise you, I was at that pro day. I told you, there's all these other guys running four-toos, a quarterback throwing the ball, all that stuff. There was Bosa running a 40. I was interviewing all these other people on television, but everyone there wanted to talk to me about McLaren.

It's the same way with the Bucca. Yeah. And I love to came back after kind of a down-tile. 2023 where he was banged up and just, you know, put his head down and went to work and had another great year. So that's where we are in those. Throw up those receiver rankings for us again. Tucker, there you go. Those are the tears. And we've covered everyone. Jaden Higgins, I've talked about him extensively. I love the way he gets off the line of scrimmage, 6-4, 214 pounds, 4-4-7. I just think he's going to be a brilliant X. Like, there's no first round buzz about him.

You're not hearing any first run buzz about him? I have not. It's interesting to me. Solidly second. I know. We'll see how it plays out. I agree with you on that. I don't always agree with you, but I agree with you on that.

Let's see the next tier. If we have it built. Trey Harris, you talked about Mention, I agree with you. I think he's going to outperform where he gets drafted. We talked about Jalen Lane. Jack Besh,

I think we covered a lot. I know we covered a lot of him. Just respect his game. I got to say, man, I went back in, when I finalized his report, I watched, I watched him a little bit earlier in the year. I'd seen him at the Senior Bowl,

and then I finally sat down and watched all his tape. I love his tape. I mean, he is, it's a, it's a, it's a, you know, it's a sad story, but it's amazing what he's done since he lost his brother in that terrorist attack in New Orleans. But his tape is really good. I mean, it is really good. He is tough.

He catches the ball well. I think he did not run at the combine. I want to see a time, but he, and I don't think he, He's a burner, but he runs well enough on tape, man. He's, he's a good player. I watched Kyle, all these guys are third round range, okay? All of these guys.

For me, D.K. was one of them, okay? Kyle Williams, I just finished up his tape the other day. Sudden, hand plucker, natural ball skills. I just, I like the way he plays. I'm not as high as some people, some people are getting a little crazy. Yeah. I really like him. Khalil Shakir's the guy I kind of saw in his game.

Oh, I love that. That's a great comp. Right. That's a perfect comp. ELEC AOM manner. I like him. The ball skills are a hang up for me. You know, we joked around a little bit about it, but I think whether it's Jugs Machine, he's got big hands, man.

He's got 10-inch hands. Really struggles to adjust the football at times. And I look, listen, I love his urgency. He's physical. He's aggressive. Like, there's a lot to like, and I think he could be of value if he, if his ball skills improved, Torrey Horton. I actually liked him.

I wrote in my report, people are saying low to mid four threes. I said, I see low to low four fours and he ran a four four one. I see that efficient, savvy routes with tempo and leverage. I think he's a better route runner than he's getting credit for. Excellent body control at six, two and a half, 196 pounds. I had the injury, right? season ending knee injury in mid-October, but he averaged 17 yards per punt return,

three punt-returned touchdowns. I just see value in him in round three. You talked about Jalen Royals. Xavier Restrepo, man. You're telling me he's not a thicker Wes Welker. Come on. He's in that mold. He's definitely in that mold.

I mean, I like to use the word thick because that's what he is, man. He's a fire hydrant with athletic ability. Talk, rugged. Yeah. Rugged, rugged. Here's what I. Reliable, too, by the way.

I put on the, I put on the reel of him, you know, the key plays from this past year. First catch, like, literally, like, jumped out of his cleats backwards. I think I know what you're talking about. Off target throw. Then he had the another one where he was tripping,

getting it out of his break and still went up and plucked it. He just, he's just a, he's like a gym rat, man. You think about all the great, we just talked about Abuca at Miami. I mean, at Ohio. state all the great receivers better production five-year player at miami i know it's different he all those other guys came out early but like captus career he was the first hurricane ever to post back-to-back thousand yards seasons that's wild huh think about the guys that played there and then all the receivers

they had this year and a royote tight end he still had 1127 receiving finish his career is miami's all-time leader in receptions 200 receiving yards 2844 and receiving touchdowns sounds 21 doesn't have great size it's kind of like a book not a great size not great speed but he gets the absolute best out of what he has with his right savvy confident routes has a plan strong lower body works through contact not like wiggle but shifty kind of like you know what I mean it's got a little and so he's not like break it like he's like okay creates after great vision number four slot receiver like there's a lot to like as a rookie

maybe works in a number of three Tom Brady would have had a freaking field day yeah you know why because you know he's going to be where he's supposed to be yeah and you know he's going to catch the ball regardless of the situation whether it's a game in Miami against the dolphins in week four or it's the aFC championship game this kid doesn't care he's going to make a play

you just can trust him he's reliable quarterbacks love those kind of players last guy I want to get to we got to get to tight ends I'm doing it again. This is going to be a three-hour podcast, and I'm sorry. And thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. It's just, it's that time of year.

And listen, we'll have a nice short podcast for everybody and all the executives will be happy. And it'll be 49 minutes and people want to click because it's like manageable. But it's this month, 31 days, NFL draft. Appreciate you watching and listening. Stick with us here. I think fans are going to be like, who the hell is this guy, Sabian Williams? Really? You don't think he has any kind of buzz?

It's kind of unicorn. Do your friends know about Sagan? No, you're right. No. Nationally. TCU was not watched anywhere. Jack Batch has got a lot of love at the senior bowl, understandably so for his performance and what he had overcome.

But Savian Williams, this guy is a, I remember once, I talked to someone in the league. Here we go. Cordero Patterson is like the absolute perfect player cop for Siam. William Williams. And it's not just the size at six three, it's basically six four, 22 two hundred and twenty two pounds, ran a four eights, got 32 and a half inch arms, 10 and a quarter hands. He's a freak of nature, okay. And he, it's a lot of the same stuff. But I'll give you this backdrop. I remember cordarral Patterson came into one team in his meetings.

And they were asking him about, um, about like what's your plans. It's January, we're at the combine. and what are your plans, you know, finishing up school? He goes, you know, where are you going to be for the draft? Are you trying to finish up this year at school? Are you working out? What are you? He's like, school. Are you kidding me?

He's like, I didn't even get books last semester. My school is the NFL, you know, like some of the other quotes coming out of the interviews were awesome. Well, I talked to another team about Savion, they were trying to go through some plays and stuff like that. And so what's the name of the play where that play we've been referencing and trying to check in his recall and doing certain things. And they're like, you know, you were there in the wildcat. What's the play?

Give us that play. They want to get players recall. Do they understand? Right. What are their responsibilities? Right. Yeah, I don't, I don't know that play. Yeah.

He goes, that play is snap the ball to me. And I run behind 17. I score a touchdown. Right. You get out of the way. Same stuff. It's the same, same interviews, same body type, same versatile. He was a four-star high school recruit, five-year player to in two-year starter TCU. Gradually his role increase, I'm telling you, man, I watch him on tape and it's an utter disaster. He's tripping. He's falling. He's not in the right place. He's dropping balls thrown right at him. His, you ready for this, Mensch? Some of his drops are absolutely terrible. He had an 11.8% drop rate.

That was the 13th percentile. And I wouldn't be knocking all this if there, if there wasn't a, you know, the highlight real at the end of the rear. And I wrote in my notes, not because I'm sorry to get from, I'm like, nothing is easy with this guy. Yeah, but the highlight reel is sick. Oh my gosh.

Throw him a bubble. Throw him a bubble. Throw it behind. I out then like so I'm watching this drop and it's like and I'm watching him trip getting in and out of his brakes and then all of a sudden he like he he just snaps off this quick slant route but he got yeah and the ball's behind him and he's just like reaches out with these long 32 left inch arm and he's like plucks it touchdown hand him he he's actually terrible when you hand him the ball off it's either just just wild cat him and let him go right because he's got that's the other thing with him his vision and like feel for setting up it's terrible so you can't like cordarro could do a little bit of that and develop that over time this guy it's on you man i if i'm the gm if i'm the gm i'm walking in and i'm going hey i don't know how you're going to use them you can't can't run routes figure it out can't run you can't hand them the ball it's like my high school baseball coach we're

going to be there nine hours we're scrimmaging mad and yon you can't bring a lunch You can't eat it on the field. You can't eat it in the bus. Figure it out. That's what I'm saying to my OC. I don't care. I just drafted him with the 50th pick, the 53rd pick. Get him the ball.

Yeah. That dynamic. Return game, screens, vert, whatever you got to do. He is so dynamic. So when you hear. You think he's going that early? You think he'll go that early? I think he's going mid-second.

Wow. I've talked to teams who gave me a heads up. It could be mid-second. That's why I wanted to touch on him here. Wow. Yeah. It's an absolute experience. He's the kind of player.

My son will call me about it. I'd be like, dude, we need this guy in the first round. Like, we need him the first. I was on YouTube. I saw the clips. Nobody's really nationally talking about this guy. Yeah. When we get close to the draft, I foresee it just like you're saying.

I can foresee it already. He's going to be like a star. It's for intrigue. All right. Let's flip it over. tight ends we're an hour and a half into this thing oh well um there's seven tight ends i want to get to mention i'm going to let you take it but i do want to throw up our tears again while this wide receiver class is not great at the top you got to go back to i should have this 1992 was it

dan looked out up over time i think it was 1992 i've sent that note to you guys a bunch of times i've referenced it before i should have it here it doesn't matter no one else cares but me In the 1990s, I think it was, you'd have to go back to get two tight ends that I think will get drafted as high as Tyler Warren and Colston Lovewin get drafted. They're that good. And we'll get into their skill sets in half a second here, but I do think it's worth mentioning. We got fans from all 32 markets. The Jets at 7 is where I think Tyler Warren. That's the first realistic spot where I think Warren can come off the board.

Next two spots, I think, are very intriguing for these guys. 14 to Indianapolis, 22 to the Chargers. Okay. Then there's the second tier, as you're seeing here, right? We got Tyler Warren and Colston Loveland in Tier 2. Those are a notch, but this is my description, tier two. Typically, no matter what the draft class is, they are worthy. Doesn't mean they're worthy of a top 15 pick in any given draft.

More importantly, these players should fit this description. they're a notch below that elite elite class just a notch but still considered immediate impact players difference makers and eventually they're one of your core top tier prospects or top tier players that's what this player should be considered and that's where we have warren and colson level okay in round two if you don't get one in the first these these are teams i think with their picks that could have some interest Chicago picks at 39 and 41 and it wouldn't be for Warren and Loveland. Now we're getting into that tier four range where a lot of those other receivers are. For me, Tette McMillan, Emeka, Abuka, Jaden Higgins, Jalen, Noelle. In that range, I've got

Mason Taylor, LSU, and Elijah Arroyo from Miami. That's where you look at these picks, 3941 Chicago, 42 jets, 48 Miami, 50, Denver. All could be in that tight end market. So those are a bunch of teams and those are the top four tight ends. And then you flip the page over. We got one more. Look at Tier 5, Tier 6. In Tier 6, we've got the other two tight ends that I, that I'm, a three, I'm sorry. Gunner Helm.

Terrence Ferguson, Oregon, Helm, Texas, and Harold Fan and Bowling Green. Okay. So that's where this all, that's kind of the backdrop for all this. You go ahead on Tyler. Warren. What stands out to you, Mitch? Obviously, the versatility. What he does with the ball on his hands is ability to play that wildcat quarterback. He can even throw the ball. Lefty, a little south paw, throw on the ball downfield. Break to tackles. A couple of things that you're going to want to look into the McShea

report if you haven't gotten yet. The comp that McShea gives Warren, I think he's going to turn some heads, and I don't hate it. I'm not going to give it away here. You got to spend the four bucks to find out the comp for Tyler Warren. But I also, one of the things you do mention the report that I like is that you gave him a two above average for separation. I see it the same way. I think there's a tendency to compare him in Loveland. Loveland, I think, is, I didn't see your great. I'm assuming you gave him a one for separation

because he's an elite route runner for a tight end. And Warren's not on that level. He's still very good. Warren knows how to get open, man. He has a good field for routes. He gets in and out of breaks. He's not quite as explosive. I get all that.

One is the elite. Five is marginal. That's the range. Right. So when we talk about one, I honestly, for Warren, Warren was like a 1.5. Yeah.

Because he's better than two. I agree with you. But his is the late separation stuff, boxing out, body. They do it in different ways. Very different. Loveland is like literally at the elite level in terms of separating with your feet for a tight end. And he's just fun to watch when he has the ball in his hands, like I mentioned. Turns into a running back, wants to run people over, aggressive, determined.

This is Warren, yes. Warren, yeah. He's going to break some tackles. I love that part of his game. I just think he's an unbelievably coordinated, gifted natural athlete for six, five and a half, 256 pounds. Yeah, that frame, man. I think it kind of just comes down to that.

You know what I mean? Yeah. He doesn't separate. Don't overcomplicate it, man. Right. Yeah. Right. And he just likes to play ball, knows how to play ball, man.

And he's just, he's going to either run over you. or he's going to sidestep you and it ain't always going to be pretty but like the result is there were a couple times this year where guys got into his legs and I was like he's got to go down and somehow he would bounce off that tackle and keep going I mean he's he's got some lower body flexibility for that frame some athletic ability for that frame it's just impressive he only had two drops that I that that I was interested in I guess three is what the number like officially 87th percentile but he like he's he's a 90 percent ball skills guy yeah he's not all the offenses run through the tight end by the way yeah yeah that's that's what i think we're talking about penn state too this is not a you know bowling green

ran through the tight end too but it's a difference what it's pen state and our guy frank leonard who's a coach at richmond just like and he he shoots straight with me and like he's straight with everyone man he does he's not he's not he's not yeah but he's he works there on their staff And he's been around great tight ends his entire career in the NFL and in college football. And he just knows the position. And I trust him implicitly when he tells me things that he doesn't need to tell me. He doesn't always tell me everything. He'll tell me what he feels comfortable telling me.

And with this, it was just unloading. The character, the football character, the work ethic, toughness. This guy's different, Todd. I promise you, I'm like, trust me on this. This guy's different. And this was back when he was like, when he was a backup. Right. I remember you talking about him.

Yeah. And he's like, he's like, just trust me. And here we are talking about him, maybe he's a seventh pick in the NFL draft. Also, I like guys. It's not exclusive too, but I like guys that, you know, it's in their family. Like dad played obviously at Richmond. So I like that. But all joking aside, safety at Richmond. Sister Kelly played softball at ETSU. Is Aunt Tracy George played soccer at Delaware. Grandfather Steve Warren played football at Wake Forest. grandmother Julia Warren played basketball at Carson Newman.

Like something about growing up in a family of athletes and competitors and this just kind of in the blood. Okay. So I get it. There are some people out there who are like, yeah, but what's his, he's not elite speed. And he's not a great blocker. And like there, you'll, ESPN's going to have some highlights. The USC game, I think he's driving someone in the back of the end zone or whatever.

There's some highlights, but it's not consistent. on tape for six five and a half and two yeah there's some low lights too there are some low lights uh but and so i so i don't want you to think you're getting this like why tight end huge asset in the running and i hear a lot of people saying that i don't want you to get lied to you're not getting someone who's going to significantly upgrade your running game but i do think with commitment to improving technique in consistency and also you got to remember the was running through it. Right. He's kind of tough to evaluate because they just didn't ask him to line up and blow the, you know, like the five, five technique off the ball. And so when they ask him to do

that at times in the NFL, I trust implicitly he will execute that plan. Colston Loveland, though. It's tough because it almost felt like I was evaluating different positions. Okay. They're going to be used differently. I'm used. I'm looking at this. this big wide receiver in Loveland who is beautiful in and out. Like, not many guys at Titan ever get in and out of breaks the way he does. Excellent catalog. Titans don't have a catalog of different ways to get off the line of scrimmage like he does.

Paulson Loveland's got it. Even more impressive at the top of his stem, the shoulders, the body, the hips, the movement, the setting up DBs. It's unique,

man. Like when you watch tape, over and over again and all these guys are running drags and crossers and settling in zones and then you pop in the tape of lovelin and he's like running NFL routes it's really impressive to watch and it stands out he was 93rd percentile and separation percentage and like all i needed i didn't even need that but it was like yep stamp stamp that in hand-eye coordination is excellent only two drop passes this past year. Not he's not going to body out guys and get those big physical catches like some of these other guys, but he's going to catch just about everything in his area. And he's pretty good

in contestants, not as good as some of the other guys. Very efficient after the catch, gets up the field. His blocking, though, is downright poor. No, Bueno. It's not good. So, so let's just make sure that we understand that. You know who else is down who else's blocking was downright poor coming out of college. Sam Laporta. Yeah. This guy's a taller Sam Laporta. That's, I mean, I'll take that.

I'm not saying shades of is the new term everyone's using. Whatever you want to call it. Nothing's perfect is a cop except Cordero Patterson and Savionne Williams. But that's what I think he is. Yep. And again, is it Indy at 14? Is it the charges of 22? Is it a team that maybe doesn't have this pressing need?

we're looking at right now is like you know what he's too damn good our grades too high yeah the second tight end we're talking about being this good but yeah second tight end yeah and and dan came through again as he always does i've mentioned i guessed correctly 1992 is the last time that happened two tight ends in the top 15 listen it's team needs and all that i'll be surprised if if this isn't the first time since and that was derrick brown and johnny mitchell giants and jets responsible perspective. Okay. Right. Now, let's get to the other guys real quick. Okay. I finally did it on my board. I moved to row you ahead of Taylor. Oh, I didn't have the kou. I can't believe I beat you to the bunch. I cannot believe that I was going to do it. Throw up those rankings again for the tight ends or the

tiers, whatever you want. I bumped them up and they made the same grade. By the way, I love Mason Taylor. This is not about Mason, Taylor, this is about Elijah Arroyo. All right, well, compare the two then. You go. I think it's, you know, to make it simple, I think Mason Taylor is awesome. I just think that Elijah Royo is awesomer. I think he's a little more explosive. I think he's a little bit more dangerous in the passing game.

I think Taylor might be a little bit better blocker, but Arroyo's got some dog in a man. He's got to get stronger, but he's not afraid to mix it up. I think you made, did you talk about that on X, by the way, about Arroyo a little bit? I did a whole clip reel on it. I mean, I watch it on tape. He's getting in guys faces. He's got some absolute prick to him. He does.

He's got to get stronger. He's got to get a little better technique-wise. He's not there. But in terms of, you know, I think Greg Olson talked about tight ends like this. Are they willing to stick their face in the fan? Are they willing to work at it? That's a tight end you can work with. And Arroyo has absolutely got that in him.

You know what I like about him? I watch him on tape. I think he's six four, two. 242. Right. Yep. He's 6.5 and changed 250. 33 inch arms, big 10 inch hands. When I watch the two, I'm like, Mason Taylor's the bigger dude. Right. And Mason Taylor carries the weight better. I mean, Mason, sorry, Mason Taylor carries his weight very well. Right. They're literally the exact same height, 605.1. They're one pound off. Taylor's one, drank an extra glass of water before his combine weigh in.

Longer arms, Arroyo, same handspan, 10 inches. The difference is with Mason Taylor, I know exactly what I'm getting. I know he's been in football his entire life. I know that he will, he knows what the little things are to do. I know there's been consistency in production and quite honestly.

I think that's the biggest thing between the two. he's a mason taylor's smooth good initial acceleration off the line does a great job like the little things right the play action fakes knows how like the angles how to tempo his routes just very very savvy excels at getting dbs on his hips all those little things that add up all right also great on scramble rules it's like um yeah i've got written down here minute 49 fourth quarter old miss play comes back long reception huge play in that game right um but the accelerations out of break not elite you know like average depth of target that was the biggest thing with him i was trying i kept looking for more like downfield stuff yeah a lot of cross run but they didn't use

them that way his separated i thought this is interesting and it really lined up with what i saw on tape separation rate is 96 percentile average depth of target target 12 percentile just you want to see more but not that's not his fault only four drops his last two seasons reliable all that stuff blocking's pretty good but honest to god and maybe because i expected less with the royale but no it's not it's not i need a block and i need someone and knock someone's clock right off. Yeah. I'm going to Arroyo.

And that's when I started changing my minds because I'm looking at these two. And again, I've got identical grades because I just, I've seen more. It was more consistent. And the honest to God, it's because of the injury. It's because of the injury. Arroyo's a more explosive prospect. Arroyo's got a little bit more juice as a blocker. And Arroyo's got the potential to be more devastating as a pass catcher.

Royals got a chance to be a, like, one of those guys that is a matchup nightmare. Where do you have on your board right now? You know who my comp is? Who? I think a Royal could be a George Kittle. Wow. Okay. I see it.

No, he's somewhere like the Noah, Phant, athleticism, all that stuff. But I think this guy, if he stays healthy and can be what I think he can become, I think he could be a George Kittle in the league. I just can't trust it right now because the health, the durability stuff. Right. What were you going to ask? Where do you have them on your board overall?

Where do you have a row you and Taylor? Do you know what number? I don't. I've been jumbled because I've been updating. For me, I got a row you at 40. I got Taylor 48. Give me either one of them, man. I think I have like 40, 42.

And like last time I actually did the overall, it's somewhere in that same range. I think when you talk about Chicago, Chicago. Chicago 39, 41, Jets, 42. That could be where these two guys just go right off the board. And play right away. All right. Let's rip through these guys because it's just hard to do all this work on these players and this tape. Gunner Helm, he ran that atrocious 40.

We laughed about it. It looked like he got shot, like a horse that got shot or broke its hoof. But then it turns out. We haven't talked about this since on the show. Oh, I thought we did. Do we not? Maybe not. Maybe it was the picture's gross.

Yeah, he sprained his ankle, but this son of a gun still did all of his work out. Yeah, ran a 484 and a bum foot. Absolutely stupid. Absolutely stupid. I love it. But I, but I absolutely love it. Yeah. Didn't say a thing, by the way.

You would have known. That's when the agent has to call like someone and scream like stop. Don't. Right. Because we saw it and we were like, why isn't anyone talking about it? But he sprained his ankle coming out. and he's just limped back to the starting gate and ran his 40. It wasn't very good.

I don't even have it here. He'll run his 40 when he's healthier at the pro day for Texas. We ran a 44 and a bum foot. That's not bad, man. That's what I'm saying. But we compared that. And we were like, well, Fandon ran a 471 and Ferguson from Oregon ran a 463. Yeah, on a bum foot, it's not bad.

But I'm going to need him to be a little bit faster. Yeah, I got you. But here's the thing with him. Suddeness in all of his movements gets off the line of scrimmage. drops his weight pretty quickly. Like he gets good enough separation short to intermediate and that's all I need. He times up his releases. He sells his fakes and play action.

Like natural catch in the ball over his head. That touchdown catch back at the end zones. An example against Michigan only in two drops in 2024. I like him a lot after the catch though. Yeah. If you're asking me like, why do you like him so much? I just like him a lot after he transitions. extremely quickly, so natural,

catching already has a plan. Some guys you watch on tape, the ball's in the air, and you can literally see their lower body start to move. They're going to catch it. They're not going to do B before A, but you can literally see him setting up the defender with like a

like outside in, that one cut, lean right. You don't see that in tight ends as much as receivers, man. No, exactly. I also thought his catch in overtime against Arizona State, the one where he was kind of like yours had to step up, but it was kind of weird angle. I thought that was one of the better catches of the year, man. It looks simple, but he catches it in stride. It's a big moment in that game. I thought that was an

impressive play. He was a little, I will say this, he was a little inconsistent with the ball skills down the stretch. I thought for most of the year, he was reliable. Yeah, he did have that big drop. And then out of nowhere, he's just had a couple of these drops or I was like, man, that's not you. That's not your identity. You've caught everything all year, and it just felt like there's a couple times he lost his focus. But overall, I liked his ball skills a lot. here's the thing with him and by the way he's he's going to get knocked knocked back and fail to finish sometimes but you know what i like about him he's here for the fight yeah whole battle he's here for the fight and that's honestly like after watching all these tight ends and watching some

really high-rated guys and ineffectiveness in a lot of situations and watching the mid-level guys like i came back to a royos here for the fight yeah he'll bring the fight to you man he's not Yeah, Royo's going to bring it to you. He's looking for some trouble. Right. I love that. Yeah. Helm is here for the fight.

He's going to lay it out there. How about Jake Ferguson for Gunner Helm? Interesting. Numbers are underwhelming. You can't put a thing. I love, I don't know if you remember. Jake Ferguson, I thought it was just an absolute travesty where he got drafted. I love how you put these things, man.

But I went in my report and I'm like, I can remember writing these same things and thinking these same things about somebody. And it was like Jake Ferguson. Then I went and he checked in at 604-7. Gunner Helm was 65. Checked at 2.250. Helm was 241. So a little bit of difference there. 477.

Got drafted too late, the fourth round. Okay? Yeah. And I'm guessing Gunner when he runs his 40, healthy, whenever that is, he's going to run. about a 4-7-7-2 you know what I mean so I don't know I kind of like that comment I Ferguson I like Ferguson I like Ferguson the 463 was encouraging all the little things he does enough speed to threaten he runs well man his one five yes his one five six tied for the second fastest although you know Warren Loveland Arroyo and Taylor didn't run but you can see the

acceleration up the field one cut and go i think he's just going to be a really good player i like him in the third round yeah i actually have him ahead of helm but i like them both they're they're both in that bucket and then fanning comes in at last for me of these tight ends that we're talking about in the first three rounds but it's still like bowling green three year per three year player two year starter career fbs tight end receiving ranks you ready i got yeah go ahead career fbs i'm He's at Bowling Green State. He's a mass legend, man. 6.3 and a quarter, 241.

He's just a bigger, wide receiver. But I really, like, I developed a like for him on tape. Number seven in career receiving yards by a tight end all time. 20, almost 2,400 receiving yards. Number 10, all time, career receptions by a tight end, 180. Number four, receiving yards per game, 66.6. number five in career all-purpose yards by a tight end, 2,555.

Not as sudden influence movement as like Loveland. There's a noticeable difference on tape. So that like that stood out to me, but still very good with his leverage and stems and all the little things. He just understands the passing. Yeah, he's a yak king too, man. He get in the ball. He's going to break tackles.

He's going to hit the seam. He knows what to do once he has the ball on his hands. and he's fearless down the seam. The other thing, by the way, you know, it's bowling green. To your point, let all players that were invited to the combine and miss tackles force on reception. Yeah. All players.

That was two more than Luther Burden, who we talked about, has a lot of the comp with Debo Samuel. Yeah, the yak is impressive with this kid. What were you going to say? I cut you off, sorry. No, he's fearless down the seam. The other thing, just, you know, you think Bowling Green, he had monster games against Penn State and Texas A&M last year.

I mean, he put up big numbers. And those teams had to know, I mean, you think about those Penn State safeties and you'd think they'd be able to slow down a tight end from Bowling Green. He had some big numbers in those games, man. I went Dalton Kincaid, Bills. Ooh, that is high praise. I had Kincaid a lot higher. I'm just saying, yeah.

Shades of, bro. Shades of. I appreciate it. If you hung for this whole thing. Good for you. Good for you. It's lengthy. Thank you.

Sorry, not sorry, but thank you. Thursday's going to be fun. Join us. Appreciate you watching, listening. We truly do. It would be really weird if mentioned I were just doing this with headsets on talking to one another. But the fact that some people are hanging around for an hour and 54 minutes, we truly thank you. And I hope you picked up a few things and had a laugh here and two.

A laugh for two here or there. Thursday's going to be a lot of fun, quarterbacks. It's your big day. We'll do offensive line. I pushed them off in the schedule. Oh, I know. Best or less. But we'll do quarterbacks and we've got a lot of buzzy stuff that we want to get into.

Where are we in the top picks? What are we hearing? But until then, thank you very much. We'll see in a few days. Must be 21 plus and present in select states for Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 plus and present in D.C. Gambling problem? Call 1-800 gambler or visit RG-Halt.com. Call 1-888-88-889-7777-7 or visit ccpg.org slash chat in Connecticut or visit MD Gamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit Gambling.

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