The Press Box - Ep. 86: 'NFL Draft Podcast' With Robert Mays and Mallory Rubin

Episode Date: April 8, 2016

Mays and Mallory return to discuss all things NFL draft, including the Broncos’ QB situation, Ezekiel Elliott's top-five-pick potential (12:00), the argument against drafting running backs early (17:00), Keith Marshall vs. Todd Gurley, the Baltimore Ravens’ draft options (28:00), DeForest Buckner vs. Joey Bosa (37:50), and Prospect of the Week: Ronnie Stanley (47:00)! They wrap it all up with a mailbag. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before we get started today, we just wanted to add one quick news bit to the top of the show. When we recorded this late yesterday, the news had not come out that Sean Oakman was actually the Baylor player who was being investigated for sexual assault. We talk about him a bit in one of the segments when we're discussing players that are rising and falling in the draft. So when you're listening to that, just keep it in mind and hopefully you'll enjoy the show. Thanks a lot. Channel 33 is brought to you by Seekkeek, our presenting sponsor, and my favorite way to buy and sell tickets to sporting events, concerts, and whatever else you want to go.

2. With the Seekek Mobile app, you can quickly and easily buy tickets with just two taps and have your tickets delivered straight to your phone to enter the event. And if you can't make it to the event, Seekek now lets you transfer tickets to your friends or poster tickets for sale, all from your phone. As a special offer for Channel 33 listeners, Seekek is giving $20 back off your first purchase with the code BSPN. To get $20 back on your first Seekkeek purchase, download the Seekek app today and enter code BSPN. Welcome to the Ringer NFL draft podcast. My name is Robert Mays. I'm a writer at the Ringer. And joining me again, the wonderful Mallory Rubin. Mal, how are you? Oh, well, that was kind of you to say. I'm doing well.

I'm doing well. It's April 7th, which means that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter opens in Los Angeles today. So, you know, I'm there in spirit, if not in person. Baseball season is underway. College basketball season is over, but I still have this time with Tate. My pivot partner is right next to me. I mean, everything is great. I'm here with you. What could be better? How are you? You know what? I'm doing fine. Clearly not as well as you are. I had no idea about this Harry Potter situation. I would have congratulated you earlier today if I knew it was opening. Listen, when you're out here next, we'll go out for a butter beer, maybe a fire whiskey if we're really feeling up to it. Who knows? Oh my God. I was going to say that you needed a name like you had on Watch the Thrones,

just the mother of dragons, but I guess it's going to have to be Harry Potter themed now. It's the only way to go after that comment. All right, let's get into some news that's a little more relevant to what we're talking about, and that's the NFL. And we're going to start with some news that doesn't seem on its face to be draft-related, but it actually is because it has repercussions. So the biggest bit of NFL news that was circling around this week is that Colin Kaepernick is on the trade block pretty clearly. It's a deal between the Denver Broncos and the 49ers.

And right now, what seems to be holding it up, it has nothing to do with compensation, anything like that. It's about who's going to pay Colin Kaepernick. And what was originally reported is that he would have to take about $4 million less of a pay cut to go to Denver to make this all work. But then the update is that he would have to actually restructure his contract to about $7 million a year. So he's taking a ton less.

long story short this deal does matter draft wise because wherever he ends up this year it seems like one of those two teams is going to need another quarterback when it comes draft time because the free agent pool has kind of dried up based on what you've heard about all this where do you think Colin Kaepernick ends up and the team he doesn't end up with what do you think they do in the first round of quarterback oh good question right off the bat we're getting to it I think that I think that he's going to be a Bronco because I think that the 49ers have to know that the situation isn't tenable and they're motivated to make this work, right? So they can they can fight and they can claw and try to get the most favorable terms. But at the end of the day, it's in their favor to ship him out of town and to try to draft a quarterback who fits Chip Kelly's vision for the future. Now, if the Broncos don't pull this off, they could always trade for somebody else. There are some Tyrod Taylor rumors floating around, which, you know, initially seems a little odd, but he's only signed for one more year. The bills are reportedly spending time with pretty much all of the quarterback prospects in this year's draft. Taylor played for Gary Kubiak, the Broncos current head coach, when Kubiak was the offensive coordinator in Baltimore.

So they have shared history. He's only on the books for $2 million base salary next year, $3,000. $3.1 million cap hit. So if money is the concern for the Broncos, Taylor, you know, solves that problem in a hurry, the Mike Glennon rumors that are also out there make zero sense to me. Like, I get why the Bucks would want to deal him, but why would the Broncos want a trade for him? I mean, Mike Lennon couldn't beat out Josh McGowan.

You know, the Broncos already have the Sanchez and Trevor Semyon. Do they really need three totally mediocre quarterbacks? If the answer is Mike Lennon, then you're asking the wrong question. I'm pretty sure is what's going on here. If I'm Buffalo, I don't know. If it's the right deal for Taylor, just because if you're the bills, I think you have to think this way, we got him for nothing. Right. If you pay a quarterback something like $1.5,2 million, that's in practice nothing.

So getting a mid-round pick for him, maybe a third-round pick, you're trading in something, and it's a huge upgrade for what you've originally paid. But you're also looking at a situation with Tyrake Taylor where he's a pretty good quarterback. He played pretty well last year. I'm taking him over six or eight guys in the league right now. So if I'm the bills, I'm looking at the reality with Tyra Taylor. That's preferable to me to the great unknown situations like what the Texans had last year. Right. So I think you're right, though.

If I'm looking at this, the most likely outcome is Kaepernick ending up in Denver because there's another deadline coming. When OTAs start on May 17th, the Niners kick kind of squeezed again because if he gets hurt during OTAs, they owe him every. cent of that contract. Right. So they're going to want to get this done before that. And I see him ending up in Denver. I do, just because they have all the leverage. If he does, do you think it's a 100% certainty that the Niners take a quarterback at seven?

A hundred percent certainty? Let's say 80%. 80%. If nothing's 100% certainty, it's not 100% certainty that you ever get to the Harry Potter world. How dare you, sir? How dare you, sir? The only way that I don't get to the Harry Potter world. about our world is if the night bus hits me when I walk out of this office today, which, you know,

could always happen. But yeah, 80% sure, I'll take that figure. I mean, what choice do they have? Really, what choice do they have? I mean, we hear that Kubiak is on, is on the phone with Johnny Mansell? Is Chip going to go that route? There are only so many options if Kaepernick doesn't stay in town. And the thing is, we talked about this last week, but even if he does stay in town, I think they still have to draft somebody because, you know, the waters are muddied. And look, everybody in theory is a professional in this situation and can learn to kind of, you know, mend fences and get over any sort of like slights or hurt feelings from the past. But if that situation has soured to the point that it seems to have soured, then it's time for a fresh start. Now, if Chip doesn't think that Wence or Gough,

who are the guys who would be worth, you know, in theory taking at seven overall, are right for his system, maybe they trade down. Maybe they try to get somebody in the middle or end of the first round. Maybe, I don't know, maybe he's like in love with Dak Prescott and wants to take him in the second round. If you're the 49ers, and this seems like a weird place for this franchise to be, they're kind of in the same spot that Cleveland is now, that Oakland was a couple years ago. They need a ton of players. There's no one on that team that's any good, which is insane to think about. The 49ers Ravens Super Bowl was on NFL Network yesterday. I just had it on in the background as I was working.

It seems like 20 years ago. Tell me about it. How far the mighty have fallen. Oh, yeah, I'm sure you feel the same way. But it's not a thing where they're a quarterback away from contending. There are a lot of stuff away from contending. So I think the same argument that we made for the Browns, that we made for the Raiders, all those kinds of teams, I think it holds here as well. I agree with you.

Let me ask you about the Broncos, though, to go back to them for a second. If they don't get Kaepernick, what do you think they do? Because 31 is actually sort of a tough spot for a quarterback. in this draft. You know, presumably the top guys, Gough wins, probably even Paxton Lynch, are gone at that point. So you can't count on getting one of the top players. And it's a little too soon to take the next tier of quarterback, whether that's Connor Cook or Dak Prescott or Cardale Jones or Christian Hackenberg. So what do the Broncos do if they don't pull this off? You know, there have been years where we thought it was going to play out that way and it didn't. The 2014 draft is a good example. There was a time where it was the understanding was Teddy Bridgewater was going to be in the conversation for the number one pick and then Derek Carr might be in the first half of the first round and Bordles was a part of it and Mansell. And you saw how that played out and Bridgewater goes 32. Car goes 36. So weird shit happens. But I do think you're right. It's not the way that we think it's going to play out. The most likely scenario, the guy they would want to start this year probably isn't going to be there. if he's not, I don't know the answer to your question.

I legitimately don't know what they're going to do. I guess it's start Mark Sanchez. I don't, I get, if that's the answer, it's the wrong question again, but I don't know what other options they have. Was the question favorite GQ photo shoot from the last 10 years? Because other than that, I'm coming up blank. I mean, the man looks great in a sweater. There's no doubt about that.

And he's going to need one in Denver. But whether he looks good playing quarterback is a whole different question. Well said, my friend. Well said. All right. Let's move on a little bit. One more kind of newsy note. The guy that I've seen shooting up a lot of these draft boards recently,

the last three to four days to a week, is William Jackson, the cornerback from Houston. And it makes sense just based on what he's done through the process and what his tape looks like. He's a six-foot guy, ran a four-three-seven at the combine. So he's big, he's long, and he can move. I think teams look at him and say, well, he can play man, he can do this and that. So it's easy to track that projection and that progression for him. My question for you is somebody who watched a lot more college football than I did. Outside of Robert Kim Dice, who we talked about last week,

is there somebody that you thought would be making this sort of push based on the season that they had that hasn't so far? What an interesting question. You know, the reason that it sort of makes sense to me that Jackson has emerged as that guy is because if you actually look at his college production, it was outstanding. I mean, he led the NCAA and passes defended last year, 23 pass breakups, five picks, including to return for touchdowns. You know, he's a true ball hawk, as you said, long guy excels at defending the ball.

The reason that he sort of fell off the radar is because he got hurt. He had some MCL issues at the end of the year, caused him to miss some time, came back and was the MVP of Houston's peach ball upset over Florida State. But then he had to pull out of the senior goal because knee issues resurfaced. So he sort of fell off the radar, especially. in the context of the wider cornerback class, which is exceptional. He could simultaneously be the fifth best cornerback in a top 15 pick, which is sort of just a testament to the talent pool this year.

You know, I don't know that there's anyone else quite like that, but there are a couple people who I'm surprised haven't been able to rise up the ranks a little bit more. I'll give you two names. First one is Baylor defensive end, Sean Oakman, who was being talked about this time last year as like, a mid first round pick. He had 19.5 tackles for loss in 11 sacks as a junior.

He opted to return to school surprised most people, I think, and his stock plummeted. You know, I understand that his stock fell because his production fell, but I've sort of just expected people to fall in love with him all over again because he's such a physical freak. I mean, he really is like a walking muscle meme. You know, he's got these like skinny ankles, which people like to make fun of. but he's six, eight. It's hard to even describe his abdomen, chest, arm, muscle tone without basically resorting to, like, comic book comparisons

and just saying he looks like Captain America or Thor. I mean, I don't even, like, have the language to... Well, if it works, it works, then that's fine. I mean, just don't shy away from it. There's just literally no other, like, words in our language set to talk about it. But he has, you know, he has the long frame, the weaker, lower body, which limits, leverage a bit and his production hasn't always matched his physicality. He needs to refine his game.

I get that. But it's hard to imagine a more sort of just tempting like athlete clump of clay out there. And just the way that NFL teams tend to act at this time a year where they fall in love with the measurable, they fall in love with the pure athleticism, he seems like the prime candidate to like be the recipient of that kind of emotional. attachment and shoot up the boards accordingly. The other player is West Virginia safety, Carl Joseph, who... That was the guy I was thinking of, too. Yeah, I mean, he was the best safety in the country before he tore his ACL.

And he's small, but he's absolutely ferocious. That dude erases people. He ends their situation on this mortal coil. They don't shuffle off. They are shoved off very forcefully. Do you think that's actually hurting him? Because normally, that's the thing. Yes, I do.

Yeah, I mean, that's the thing you think of like that that pure sort of physical, ferocious, tackling, instinct and approach, that explosive nature and the strong reflexes he has. But the way he pursues people and hits them, paired with his undersized frame and his injury history, might be scaring people away and preventing him from rising up the boards the way that I thought he would. I even think a guy like Kelvin Pryor was considered a little bit stronger of a cover guy coming out. than Joseph is right now. Prior went 18th in the first round. No injury concerns.

A little bit more of a frame to him. Only 208, which is small for a safety, but I don't know. I can see where it would be a negative thing for somebody in this day and age. I really can't. I'd still put him as the first safety on my board just ahead of Von Bell.

He's such a competitor. He's, you know, he has an occasional tendency to over-pursue, but he's so explosive. He has such good reflexes, and he's just such a monster out there. I just, I don't know. I feel like he's the kind of guy you want on your team,

and you just have to hold your breath and pray that he stays on your team because he doesn't get hurt. He's the type of guy I love. I mean, you know me. Big hits are kind of what I'm, that's what I make my appetite out of. It's kind of what my lifeblood is.

The same way that you, whatever you were going to drink a Harry Potter world, that's what big hits are to me. So let's move on to somebody like Sean O'Kee, who also has gotten a lot of pub for his midsection and what he looks like with half his shirt rolled up. And that's Ezekiel Elliott. Great work. You know, Jackson is somebody that's been creeping up boards this entire week,

somebody that's come into the middle or the upper half of the first round. Elliot's been there, but he's ping pong depending who you ask. Maybe he's six, maybe he's eight, maybe he's this. again, we're going to have the conversation, as we seem to have every year now. How high can you draft the running back and what sort of running back does it have to be for you to pull the trigger in the top 15? And again, this is our weekly edition of actual Insight versus Drafnik nonsense. Can you draft the running back in the top 15? Sure. Why the heck not?

Because it seems to be working out pretty well for the St. Louis Rams, who took Todd Gurley at 10 last year. And by the way, he was coming off of an ACL. dare and seems to have been doing just fine. I mean, look, like, on the one hand, you can get great running back value late. I mean, you can get it after the draft period. So why reach? I get that. But on the other hand, I firmly believe in taking the best available player, period. And so it's all about context. If the running back who's on the board at a given spot is better than the guys at other positions, take him, right? I mean, there's so much free agent movement now that Like, when a team drafts a player, it's not like he's committing to him for 10 or 15 years, right?

There's a reasonable expectation that guys are going to move regardless of what position they play. So if a defensive end leaves, how is that any different than the threat of a running back needing to use a walker a few years into his career because he's out of gas? I have a lot of thoughts about this. That might be surprising, but I have a lot of thoughts. So I understand throwing out Todd Gurley, you in 10th overall. That's fine. The last thing I ever wrote for Grantland, I believe I compare Todd Gurley to Nightcrawler, a ghost, and Jesus Christ.

And I don't feel like I was off-faced in any of those. So, while I get the fact that Todd Gurley was very good, I'm of two minds about this, as I think a lot of people are. The Rams finished 29th in offensive DVOA last year. That was actually worse than the 25th they finished the year before. They were up to 14th from 15th in rushing. pretty negligible. Look at two other teams that were terrible offensively two years ago that picked in the top 10.

Tampa goes from 32nd to 18th. I know that's unfair because it's a quarterback. But then you look at Oakland, who went from 30th to 17th after drafting Amari Cooper. There's an argument to be made that running backs just don't have the impact on a systematic macro level that other players do. But this argument that you can just draft. the running back or find one wherever is kind of bullshit. Since 235 running backs have had three or more seasons with a thousand yards.

16 of those were drafted in the first round. 12 were drafted in rounds 2 through 3. Four in rounds 4 through 6 and 3 were undrafted. That is not a curve, my friends. That is a straight line down. So you can paint that a lot of ways, right? Guys in the first round are going to get more opportunities, so they're going to get more carries and you can kind of limp to a thousand yard season.

But it's also a thousand yard season. If you don't get the chance to get one, you're not going to have one. So I understand that people think you can find a guy wherever, but you really can't. And whether you need a star at that position is another question, but it's not so easy to just grab a guy and say, all right, being above ad is running back for me. That doesn't happen like that. So then do you think Ezekiel Elliott is, is where? worth going as high as eight to the Eagles, even higher perhaps?

I mean, the other thing, you know, we're identifying the annual debate about how high is too high. The other annual talking point is, is this guy the next Adrian Peterson? I mean, people said it about Gurley last year, and now you're hearing that about Elliot this year. Do you buy that? No. Me neither. I think that to me, and this is, I was going to say this is the line you have to cross or the bar you have to clear. It's a totally random arbitrary bar that's impossible to define.

But my bar is, do you transcend your offensive line? Does your success as a back come without any sort of consideration about what's around you? And for me, Todd Gurley does that. The Rams offensive line last year was not good. I mean, that is a group that was trying to figure it out, very young, was hurt and knocked up a little bit. Elliot is good, but he's good in the right scenarios. I think when the blocking is great, he makes great plays, and that's not his fault. He's very patient, his vision is very good, but I don't see him overcoming a negative

situation. I see him making the most of a positive situation. It's kind of why I want to see him land in Oakland, because I think that offensive line is going to be great, and just throwing him in that offense where they're drafting it, I believe it's 15. Yes, please. It's later than that. I think it's like 16 or 17, but yes, please.

That's what I want. I want to see him in the right situation, but I think you can't throw him into your office and say, make the situation right. He can't do that. It would be beyond thrilling to have Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, and Derek Carr on the same offense. If the Raiders can get him at 14, that would be pretty cool.

You know, I look at Elliott and I don't think he's Adrian Peterson. I don't even think he's girly, but I do think he's a potential star. You know, as you said, he has great vision, great instincts. He's a fierce competitor, which, you know, we talk about the intangibles, but I like that. That's important. He wants the ball. He would get visibly, vocally pissed off when Urban Meyer didn't give him enough carries, which, you know, the idiots among us might point at and say, oh, he has an attitude problem.

But the people who are thinking about it the right way are going to say that's a guy who wants to carry his team. He protects the ball. He's a capable receiver. He doesn't really have any red flag weakness. You know, I think he's a three-down franchise back, but I agree with you. He doesn't necessarily have that night crawler ghost Jesus Christ quality that you tagged Girlie with. You know, I do think that there's another really special running back in this group.

Derek Henry is another guy who I thought would be shooting up the boards a little bit more than he has. You know, I would take him in the first round. He doesn't have Elliot's elusiveness, but he is. gigantic. I mean, he's almost as big as Sean Oakman. He's 6.3 and 240 pounds. And considering his size, he's pretty fleet. He runs with power. I mean, can we just- His 40 was disgusting. I mean, his compi numbers are ridiculous. A man that looks like that should not move like that. It scares me, honestly. Even like him being on the same planet as me, I just feel like he's going to run me over like he's a car. It's terrifying. The picture of him from the title game,

standing next to Mark Ingram was like one of the funniest but also scariest things I've ever seen because Mark Ingram is a professional NFL running back and he looked like a child's toy standing next to Derek Henry who by the way I get all this go ahead go ahead I'm going to I'm going to disagree with you in a second I can't wait I'm ready Derek Henry had 2,219 yards and 28 rushing touchdowns last year now I get it Yeah, but he had 900 carries. We're getting there in a second. Okay, I get it.

He played behind an excellent offensive line. He had nearly 400 touches, which is a lot. And I think that is a valid, those are both valid concerns, right? But when you have production at that level, it's not just to the offensive lines credit. You're doing something on your own there. And look, the workload thing cuts both ways, right? I mean, on the one hand, like, sure, he's probably going to be using a walker in three years. Nick Sabin is sending him to an early professional.

grave. I mean, he averaged, Henry averaged 32 touches in SEC play and he topped 40 touches per game multiple times. That's genuinely scary. The flip side, if you're being generous and charitable, is that you know he can carry the load. He's a workhorse. I have a few retorts to all this love. And I'm sorry. I really don't mean to do this to you because I know how your feelings about Derek Henry. He's very special to me.

Name me a long time, not even long time. Name me a guy who was a featured back on a good team for more than four years that looks like Derek Henry. Well, when you say looks like, do you mean has beautiful dreadlocks? Is built like? I mean? That's not what I was going for. The dreadlocks were not what I was aiming at. You think he's actually, you think he's just too big.

You think he's basically not built to be a running back? Yes. I mean, I think that if we're looking at a situation when we say, this has never happened before, I would bet on the, there's a reason this has never happened before rather than we found the outlier. That's just me. I don't know. I just logic is not normally my game, but I'm trying to do something here. And I also just don't think he has the flexibility. He's going to be fine in the right scheme. I love him being the second option in Carolina where they just give him the ball and let him hammer people when Jonathan Stewart needs a rest. That's cool with me. But I just don't think

with all the passing that goes on, the way that the game works right now, he can be the best running back the number one option on your team. I think that he's a complimentary piece of a bigger backfield. There's nothing wrong with that, but I'm not drafting that guy in the back half of the first round or even in the second. So do you think that Zahiel Elliott is the only complete back in the draft? Because I think there's a pretty steep fall off after Henry. Like, Devante Booker is a intriguing talent. I mean, he's a little small. He's not a burner, but he's a patient runner. He sees the field while he has good footwork. He pretty consistently delivered, you know, exciting, big plays at Utah excelled in short-yard situations. He's not, he's not as nearly as sexy of a player as Elliot or

Henry, and he's probably third on the pecking order here. I like Jordan Howard. Okay. Sell me on it. Make the pitch. My buddy went to Indiana, so a lot of the college games I watched this fall were Indiana games, and when I watched him, he was pretty good. Are you sure that's not just compared to everybody else on that team who was terrible? I like, I like, I think that he's big. I think he has some speed. I think he has very good vision. People knock him for that upright running thing.

Yeah. And that is a concern. I mean, that's when he saw DeMarco Murray get hurt all the time. Arian Foster certainly hasn't stayed on the field. But I think those guys can have a career. He's 2.30, which isn't too bad. We don't know what his 40 is yet. He hasn't run one.

I think their pro day is in a little bit. here. But I like him. I think that he is a productive guy. I think he has enough burst. He's big. And he can be somebody that is a productive member of any of an NFL backfield. I actually like him as a prospect more than I like Kevin Coleman just because I think he's more of a legitimate long-term NFL option. I think Coleman's a home run hitter, which there's plenty of value in home run hitting. But I also want a guy that can carry the ball 16 times and be reliable and all that stuff. One other name I wanted to mention to you, I just, I'm going to throw this out for you. Tell me about Keith Marshall. Oh, you want to talk about Gershal? Tell me about Keith Marshall.

The other half of the Todd Gurley Keith Marshall pairing or the Gershal, the Gershal tandem from, from hell. Keith Marshall was a, he's calling to me. Okay, this is this is going to, for people who don't know this, that it will actually be sure. shocking to hear. Keith Marshall was a higher-rated recruit than Todd Gurley. Like, he was the Blue Chip prospect in that class, not Todd Gurley. Todd Gurley came in as a four-star recruit. Keith Marshall was a five-star platinum. Like, this guy, he was the one who got the, the inevitable, is this the next Herschel, you know, Georgia comparison? And he got hurt. He couldn't stay healthy. He had knee injuries. I mean, you might be noticing a pattern with Georgia running backs

and knee injuries. Like, we're praying for you, Nick Chubb, please get better soon. But when he was healthy, I mean, his freshman season was incredible. He showed flashes of brilliance. I will say, however, that he's not even my favorite backup SEC running back in this draft class. Ooh, who would that be? Because that would be my man, Kenyon Drake.

Let's just get all my Bama love right out of the way. You mentioned home run hitters. if you're not scared off by a guy who can't go more than three weeks without breaking a bone, Kenyon Drake is the running back for you. He is so fast. He's so explosive. He's such an incredible athlete. He basically just has that like something magical might happen anytime I touch the ball vibe, which is really fun and exciting.

He can work as a slot receiver. He can return punts and kicks, so he's versatile. I don't think that he's anything more than a change. of pace back at the professional level, but you can use him in all of these different ways. You know, he's too skinny to carry a full running backload, but let him contribute, let him touch the ball. And if he can avoid breaking his leg or his arm, he's going to be a lot of fun for someone. I love me some Keith Marshall, man. If I'm a team with an extra pick in the fourth round or so, I don't understand why you just wouldn't pick the guy. He ran a 4-3-1.

He's clearly explosive. And guess what team has three fourth-round picks because my life is awful. Can you just see the Packers picking him and just having the world burning down? Like, how did the Packers get two compensatory picks in the fourth round? They signed all their free agents. I hate everything. Let's move on. I'm really sorry, buddy. It'll be okay. Before we get to another team that may need a running back, let's get to one of our sponsors. Mallory, I'm coming to see you next week. I will be in Los Angeles. And while that does delight me, there's one big problem. There's no easy way for me to watch the Cubs. That's right. I'm in on baseball, but even with all that excitement, it's still tough to catch 162 games when you factor in the demands of real life.

Don't worry, though, T-Mobile is here to help. T-Mobile is giving its customers and anyone who switches to T-Mobile a free year-long MLB.tv premium subscription, so they can catch every moment all season long. That's over 7,000 hours of baseball, and none of it will ever touch your data plan, thanks to binge on only from T-Mobile. You can stream all the baseball you want without using any of your data. You've got to hurry, though. Sign up only runs from April 3rd to April 10th. That's this Sunday. MLV.tv is a $1199 value, folks, and you get it for free. Watch every out-of-market game and get stats, highlights, and scores of your favorite team.

Switch to the uncarrier today. Just sign up at T-Mobile.com slash MLB. Sign up for MLB.com while on our network, new MLB.com premium subscribers only. Blackout and other restrictions apply. Visit MLB.tv for details. binge on available to T-Mobile customers with qualifying plan. Detectable video typically streams a DVD quality. Video from participating services doesn't count against full-speed data on our U.S. network. Third-party subscription charges may apply. We're also sponsored by the Black Tux.

As a guy in his late 20s, I met an age where there seems to be a wedding every single week. That's a good thing. Except when it comes to having to rent a suitor tux, few things are more annoying than having to make two or three trips to a rental spot just to get upsold to a product that barely even fits. The Black Tux was created to save guys from Tuxedo Rental Hell. I actually rented the Midnight Blue Tux recently, and because it looks that good, I may be posting a photo, and I get it.

Here's how it works. Visit the Black Tux.com and select from complete looks or build your own. The Black Tux designs and manufactures beautifully tailored modern suits and tuxedos and offers them for rent entirely online. Prices start at 95 bucks. Your suit will revive seven days before your event, which leaves plenty of time to try it on. If the fit needs a tweak,

the Black Tux will do whatever it takes to fix it in time. Once your event is over, just put the suit back in the box and send it back. Shipping is free both ways. You probably have a wedding or other occasion on your calendar this year, the calls for dressing up. If you need to rent a suit or tuxedo for it, don't do it the old-fashioned way. Visit the blacktucks.com slash BSPN and experience a new way to rent.

That's the blacktucks.com slash BSPN. Let's stick with actual team allegiances and feelings and all that. Okay. Our pivot team this week is the team you love. The Baltimore Ravens? Yes. Could it be? That's what we're going with.

Could it be? Oh, boy. All right. Let me take a deep breath. Let me calm myself. Here's why they are our choice. It's because not often are the Ravens in this situation. Correct.

Not often do the Ravens have the sixth pick in the draft where they can get some top-tier talent. and where they go with that talent has some implications for the rest of the draft. So in 30 seconds, I just want you to lay out the Ravens roster for me and how you feel about the current state of offense, defense, what you're thinking. Where's your head at? 30 seconds is not enough, but I'll try really hard. Here we go. Life is bleak and gray. Okay?

I mean, I don't want to be too dramatic, but the Ravens need pretty much everything right now. I would say in order, defensive back, specifically a cornerback, obviously signing Eric Weddle helps address the safety concerns, but the Ravens desperately need a corner to pair opposite Jimmy Smith. Really need some help on the defensive line. The pass rush was just not there last year. Definitely need some help on the offensive line. We had some shade thrown our way by Colaccio Semley when he left town, saying that the Ravens weren't. He's my boy. I know.

You love him. They basically said that they weren't focused enough on the offensive line. So maybe now's the time to focus on it. But, you know, linebacker, I mean, I have confidence in C.J. Mosley is to anchor the unit, but plenty of other holes to fill on that line. I really think, though, that defensive back and defensive line are sort of a cut above. Obviously, receivers in that mix, too. I don't think you can address that at six, especially not after taking Bresha Bersh Bhrerriman in the first round last year. But part of the Bresha Breshaar Perman's storyline is that we don't know if he can play professional football.

or like walk or stand. So until there's some certainty there, the Ravens still need another receiver as well. You do both of those things. So I think we should find out sooner rather than later. That does sound pretty bleak. You're not having a worse week than Tate. Just know that.

But if we're piecing together those needs, I totally agree with you. Corner opposite Jimmy Smith, it's been a need for a while just because you can't count on Lerius Webb. It's not something that you can just say, Oh, well, he'll just be there. He's 30. He's injury prone.

All that stuff. Defensive line, clearly something they have to figure out. Lawrence Guy and Brent Urban are the two guys next to Brandon Williams and Timmy Jernigan right now. I don't know either of those people are. Bless you? So I think that if you think about both those spots and you think about them picking at six, why not DeForest Buckner? Why not Vernon Hargraves?

I mean, there are guys there that fit what they need defensively. And if I had to guess, I would say they go defense. I mean, they're able to piece together what they have offensively enough right now. I mean, Perriman, Wallace, Steve Smith, fine. There's a question about what, I mean, John Urshel is a fine guard coming for Ossimile. That's okay. You can live with what's going on over there. I don't think you can live with what's going on defensively.

There's not enough depth. There's too many question marks. So that's probably where I see them going. In my most beautiful dreams, Jalen Ramsey somehow falls to the Ravens at 6. I understand as a sensible rational person that there's almost no chance that that happens. But, you know, I'm going to allow myself to continue to indulge in those delusions for just a little bit longer. If that doesn't happen, you know, you mentioned Vernon Hargraves. I love him.

Look, I love Eli Apple. I love McKenzie Alexander. This is an astoundingly exciting and deep cornerback class. There are a lot of different ways they can go there. I'm not, like, totally sure that any of those guys other than Ramsey are really, really the right choice at six over two options on the defensive line. Joey Bosa and DeFarrest Bukner, who we're going to talk about a bit more in a minute, so I'll hold off on that. But I will just say that I would be very happy with either of those outcomes. another guy who's probably not going to be there,

but who I think they have to take if he is, is Miles Jack. I know the linebacker is not as big of a need as corner or defensive line, but. Oh, get out of here. If he's there, they run. Exactly. They freaking run if he's there.

Could you imagine Miles Jack and CJ Mosley? Yeah, I can imagine it. I spend a lot of time imagining it because it's beautiful to think about. And hey, guess what? You want to get really cute here. Miles Jack can play running back too. I want none of that. As someone who owns Buck Allen and his rookie keeper league,

I want them to stay as far away from the running back pool as possible. Miles Jack is, I mean, that's just a reality that it's hard for me to actually picture it because it makes me too excited. I feel like I'm going to explode. So one of the other reasons I wanted to bring them up, like we talked about earlier, if San Francisco does deal Kaepernick, then they probably are going to be eyeing a quarter of. at that seventh spot.

If you're Baltimore and you know a team is willing to pay up for that spot because they think the quarterback they want might be gone, do you trade back without even thinking about it if it's the right package? The Ravens always trade back. I mean, they're never afraid. They're never afraid to do it. It's a smart organization that consistently excels at the draft, whether that's selecting the right player or making the right decision.

And sometimes trading back is the right decision. I think if a miracle happens and Ramsey or Jack falls, it's essentially a moral obligation to stay there and take one of them. But, you know, if you're looking at maybe Buckner or Ronnie Stanley and the Eagles throwing something tempting your way, you have to think about it. The fact that we just listed, you know, roughly 87 team needs for a franchise that had been consistently. excellent and consistently in the playoffs is pretty alarming and means that they actually need to really kind of nail this draft and collecting picks might be a pretty important part of that. I agree. It depends if you love one of those guys and maybe you think about it, but if the offer's right, I don't even think you hesitate. And we're going to get into why at six, that's kind of a pivot point

of the entire draft a little bit later when we talk about tiers. But let's get into a couple of guys that might be in play for them there. Somebody used name you didn't even mention. And this is our blue chip battle of the episode. And that is DeForest Buckner versus Joey Bosa, who are pretty definitively, and by consensus, the two best defensive linemen in this draft.

Joey Bosa is my second favorite player in the draft. It's Ramsey first for me. Really? And then Bosa. Yeah. I mean, look, I'm a college football editor. I've spent a lot of time watching Joey Bosa play and do amazing things for Ohio State. He's one of my favorite players of the last like 10 years.

I liked a part. Wow. I didn't say my favorite. I said one of my favorites. So this reminds me of a reaction. But you said 10 years. Yeah, sure. I love him.

I'm a big fan of him. But like if I listed the other guys on that list, you'd really say, wow. I mean, wait until you hear me talk about Trent Richardson. Oh, God. Yeah. Okay. That makes more sense. Listen, don't get me started on Mike Williams.

All right, so lay it out for me. I mean, all right, I understand as a college player, amazing production on a national championship team, that kind of stuff matters. I mean, his just overall profile because of that is going to be huge. But just as an NFL prospect, do you think that it fits? Do you think that it translates what he did in college and what he should be doing in the NFL as a potential top five pick? Yes. I'm not going to ignore what I saw over three years because he ran a solid. low 40 at the combine. That just doesn't make sense to me. First of all, we know he has the pedigree.

He has the bloodlines, right? His dad played in the NFL. He's an All-American on a national championship team. We know he's well-coached. Whatever you think about Urban Meyer, you know that his players are well-coached. Bosa is 6-5-270, so we know he has the size. He gets all of those super creepy, like, beautiful body lines from the grown men who are describing him. He had incredible production in college, 26 sacks, 50-and-a-half tackles for loss. That's quite. quite good. I think that the one legitimate criticism that people levy against him is the concern about his ability to identify zone read plays. That is actually worth thinking about and talking about. When people put up a red flag against his speed or his attitude, that's just fucking dumb to me.

Like the- The- The attitude thing is stupid to me. I don't get the attitude thing whatsoever. That dude plays hard. Yeah, I mean- But the speed thing, I do get the speed thing. I'm going to give you the shrug emoji that Joey Bosa gives everybody he sacks. That's how I feel about it. I watch him play and I see that he plays fast. I do not have faith in his ability to beat NFL offensive tackles off the edge with his first step.

I don't. You're just too enamored with DeFarist Buckner's gigantic hands. They've blinded you to everything else. That's not it. I like Bosa a lot as a player. I think that he has a ton working form. him. Really good at understanding leverage when he's playing that left defensive end. Very good hands. Just really good motor.

Has a nice flexibility to his game. And I think that you see a lot of that in the agility drills. His three cone was very good. His 20-yard shuttle was very good. He changes direction well, but he doesn't explode. And if you're going to be a dominant, I am a guy that's going just get around your edge and ruin quarterback's lives, you need that. And he doesn't have it. Do you think that there's a team or a scheme where his skills translate better? I do. You know, my comp for him in the NFL, and I'm very proud of it because it's cross-racial,

which is very hard to do, is Chandler Jones. Oh, my God. First of all, seriously, not to be dramatic here, but thank you for not just comparing him to another white player. It's so boring and annoying. I've heard Jared Allen and I've heard Ryan Carrigan. I just don't see with either of them. When I watch him, I see a guy, his move is, he has this really nice stick and rip.

So he'll hit an offensive lineman, let the lineman engage, and then he'll dip under really and move back a little bit. It's very long-armed. Long-armed guys do that move well. His arms aren't quite as long as Joneses. They're about an inch shorter. But if you look at pretty much every other thing. thing about them physically. Both 65, both 265, they ran almost identical 40s, 486, 487, and their broad jumps were

the exact same. So on a build level and on an explosion level, they're really similar players. And I think with Chandler Jones, he gets a lot of sacks, but when he's most effective is when teams are throwing him in twists, moving him around a little bit, allowing him to get ahead of steam as he's moving because he doesn't have that initial explosion. He's been really good as a stand-up outside linebacker in times. I think Bosa can play well in those types of schemes. I think if he had gone to San Francisco when Justin Smith was there and ran all those twists

that Alden Smith used to run, he would be amazing because he's really good at changing direction. So if you can find a defense that does that, Jacksonville does that a lot, Dallas does that a lot, he's going to be able to find some success. But I don't think a player that needs the right scheme to be in every down force is worth taking in the top five. Well, that's my, those are my Joey Bosa thoughts.

I would happily have a Chandler Jones clone on my team. And if Jacksonville takes Bosa at five and Dallas took Miles Jack at four and Cleveland took Jalen Ramsey at two, then I'm with you. Let's trade down. Let's put the pivot effect into place. Let's quickly talk about the other guy in this blue ship battle, though, DeFarce Buccner.

Can I ask you a question, sir? You absolutely may. Do you remember the famous scene in Breaking Bad where Walt throws the pizza onto the roof? And the camera just lingers on the pizza, and it's gigantic, and it's just, it's seeping across the entire roof of the garage. That's how big DeFarce Buccner's hands are.

They're as big as that pizza. His hands are gigantic. They are 11 and 3 quarters inches big. Like, what is that? That's a catcher's mitt. That's not a human hand. It's bigger than a catcher's mitt, probably. That's a small catcher's mitt.

I don't know. I can't even envision that on a human person. He uses them well, by the way. To me, it's about more than just his hands, though. You were drooling over Sean Oakman earlier. I'm going to drool over how the Forrest Buckner looks in those white uniforms. Good Lord. There is no scarier football player on planet Earth than the way that dude looks in that jersey.

He looks real damn good. And it's beyond that for me. He looks real damn good and he plays real damn good when he's wearing it. I can tell you that. 6-7-290. I will say the little bit of like sparkle that the ducks have in those white uniforms, quite nice. Really, really adds a little pop.

It's one of my favorites. Pretty special. I still prefer Bosa. I'm sorry. You can't sway me, you won't sway me. Agree to disagree. I think that why I like Buckner more is that I envision him having a future in multiple schemes where they play a lot of 3-4 and a lot of 4-3,

and he moves inside on passing downs. Because at Oregon, he played a lot of five technique where he'd have to two-gap and really stick offensive tackles off the snap. I watched him play against Jack Conklin all afternoon today. It was actually very entertaining. But when they moved him inside in other games and he got to play on the outside shoulder of guards and they said, all right, big man, it's time to eat. He's dangerous. And he got double-teamed a lot so we didn't really see the height of what he could produce.

But that dude in that scenario can be really, really good. I think of him in the way I think about Colias Campbell. They're both 6-7, 6.8, so that's why it's an easy comparison to make. But I see them having similar types of careers. And even though I think that they're both flawed and indicative of the way this draft is kind of built, I still think for the long run I'd rather have Buckner just because I think he can do more stuff. Do you think that if he's sitting there at six, the Ravens should take him or trade down? I would trade down, but if they're at six, he's the guy if they can't get a trade.

Because I think he fits in what they want to do. The idea of him and Jernigan lining up. up either with Jernigan as the nose or both of them as threes in that four-man front on passing downs with Suggs and Dumerville, yes, please, I will have another. I'm into that. That is the type of stuff I want. So I think he fits what they want to do, and I think it's definitely a position of need. So if they can't get the right trade, I wouldn't mind it at all.

There's another guy who has been linked to the Ravens quite frequently in mock drafts, and he is our prospect of the week. Ronnie Stanley, Notre Dame left tackle. Let's talk about him. Let's do a little O-Line talk, your favorite thing in the world. It took me one episode, but I definitely got it in. I wanted to make it happen as soon as possible. So with Stanley to the Ravens, I guess that's the first thing I'll ask you.

How do you feel about that? Does that make sense to you? Look, like in a vacuum, sure, yes, he can come in and be a starting left tackle in the NFL. Joe Flago got hurt last year. Ossemone left. I don't even know how to talk about Eugene Monroe without sounding like a dangerous lunatic. So, like, yeah, they need offensive line help.

That's important. I get that. But I just think that the needs on defense are so great right now. And frankly, like, essential in order to restore the defensive identity that is so key to this franchise. So as much as I like Stanley, and I really do like him a lot, and we'll talk about why more in the second here. I don't think that that's the right decision there.

If they can't get an elite cornerstone defender, I think they trade down and they address offensive line in the second round or even later in the draft. I will say this about Ronnie Stanley, though. Major, major props to Ronnie Stanley for becoming Zappo's first ever athlete endorser. That's incredible. What a trailblazer. That is incredible.

I read that today. I just can't even respect him more than that. I love guys that just go totally off the beaten path. The fact that TOTI Romo was still rocking some starter shit as of two years ago, there is nothing better than that. So good. So I don't see it with the Ravens. Monroe has three years left on his deal, including this one.

2.2 million in signing bonus in each of the next two seasons. He's not a bad player. He's frustrating sometimes. but you can more than live with him. And Ricky Wagner is a really good right tackle. I think you live with that group at this point. If you want to add some interior depth or talent later on, that's fine. But you don't need a tackle at six.

I like Ricky Wagner a lot. The problem with Eugene Monroe is that, yeah, but the problem with Eugene Monroe is that he doesn't stay on the field. Yeah, but you're paying him. You're paying him and he's healthy now. You can't draft the left tackle sixth overall because your guy gets hurt sometimes. You gave him $17.5 million guarantee. That's a bed you've made.

That's true. I guess when he gets hurt in the second quarter of week one, I'll just have to live with it. Oh, Marshall Yonda just go over there and you'll get worse at two positions. It's not a big deal. Talking about fit, and this is another one of those things where the Eagles having that eighth pick and me realizing it matters, that's a team where even though it looks like they have two starting tackles, if they love them, I could see them pulling the trigger. I just see him in that uniform. He moves like Jason Peter. And that is his number one strength

Is that this dude can freaking move in a way that I don't know if I can remember a tackle in the last couple of years That's had his combination of moving to the second level in the running game And how quickly he passed sets and how effectively he does And the reason he's not on a Larry Maitunzel level is because Larry Mieler Maitunzel is an alien And he could just swallow another human being whole Stanley doesn't do that, but in a passing game league, this is a dude you won on your team. He's got those long arms too, which I love.

He's also just a very aware player. He's really fundamentally sound. He's durable. I like the fact that he went back for his senior year so that he could keep refining his technique so that he could learn how to contribute in a more valuable way. I think that shows a lot of maturity. One question that I wanted to ask you, offensive line, aficionado that you are, how big is the gap between Tunsell and Stanley? Because it's pretty great to say this guy is the second best left tackle in the draft, but is it, are we talking about like a, a small gap or like a

chasm? I don't think it's, I mean, it's not even close to a Ezekiel Elliott to Derek Henry situation for me. I think that he's a little, he's worse in the run game. That's where he's worse. But I'm okay with that. If you can be a guy that never gets your quarterback hit, you can be my left tackle. And that's why I honestly wouldn't mind if the bears went with him at 11 if he were there. I wouldn't hate it at all because he's just so good in pass pro and he just so fun and I'm a sound you're right. He looks so comfortable. He's always getting to the right spot. He's very, very good at it. And I like him a lot. I mean, I think that he moves like Tyron Smith in the passing game. He's not nearly the run blocker, but he moves that way. And that's the type of guy

you want. I definitely think he's worthy of taking in the top ten. I also just really loved the way he stepped up to protect Deshaun Kaiser when Deshaun Kaiser had to come in as a redshirt freshman quarterback and start for a national championship contender. Maliseiore got hurt, broke his ankle, and Kaiser was just flat out not supposed to play for this team. I mean, Zaire was a Heisman contender. Notre Dame was like a playoff contender for the bulk of. of the season. I don't know if you watched the Showtime show, a season with Notre Dame, but I have certainly never in my life been accused of being a Notre Dame fan, but this was the

first season that I ever kind of felt like one, because it was so, all these kids are just so winning and charming and to get to watch, to get to spend 30 minutes with them every week and see how they sort of, you know, it all sounds kind of corny and cliche, but to see how they faced, battle diversity and sort of came together as a year. unit and Kaiser was a really big part of that, but Stanley was sort of like a lurking in the, in the shadows there. I mean, he didn't get a lot of face time on the show. He wasn't like one of the lead narratives, but his ability to just stand there and protect Kaiser and give him time to throw and give him time to find Will Fuller on the same go route 830 times during the course

of the season was pretty impressive. I can't wait for their Saturday, October 1st game next year when you're rooting for Notre Dame against the Q's. It's going to be amazing. I would never. How dare you? Do you think that the way the shine has kind of come off the apple a little bit with highly drafted tackles in the last six or eight years, that that affects how teams should view a player like him? The way it's gone so poorly with your Eric Fischer's, your Luke Jockels, your Greg Robinson's, it's been a rough stretch. It used to be the spot where you'd say, well, if we take this position in the top 10, that's the safe choice.

Right. And that's no longer the case. That's a really interesting question. I think that that could be something that people threw out there against Tunsell when making the case for Ramsey at number one overall. I think when you get down to like the six to 10 range where Stanley is probably going to go, the players who are on the board as alternatives just frankly aren't as good as him. So, you know, if there's not another guy there who you can see.

say, oh, you know what? Like, probably going to regret this choice. It's a little bit harder to hold that recent history against Stanley, but I could definitely see that hurting, hurting Tunsell. That's actually a very good transition, just talking about the idea of in that six to 10 range, the alternatives. So let's get to our mailbag for this week, which has some fun stuff in it. And the first question is from Fan Dings, who wants to know about the tiers of the players.

And he asks, are there five players above the rest, 10? when does the talent dip? And I think that Stanley is a nice little, he is emblematic of a point in the draft where it may shift a little bit. In my mind, the way I look at these tiers, I think the first tier is four players long. Me too.

And you are not going to agree with me about who they are. I agree that it's four players. I just don't agree on which four. All right, you go first. I'm curious to hear it. I think it's in order. Ramsey, Bosa, Tunsel, Jack. And I would call those guys Tier 1A.

And then I would put Stanley and Buckner and maybe, maybe, Elliot as 1B. I'm going with Tunsel, Ramsey, Jack. And my man, Jared Gough, let's do this. You're insane. I don't even know how to respond to that. You know when Lucille Bluth was asked plater platter? And she said, I don't understand the question and I won't respond. I don't understand your answer and I won't respond.

I'm dying on this hill. I don't even care. I feel so comfortable. So after those four, so we both agree it's four. And then I think things get a little interesting. Everyone likes this draft. When you hear the draft folks talk about it,

they like it. But I don't think it's a top-heavy draft. I think that it's just a situation where after those, maybe the 1A and maybe the 1B, when you get to 10, 11-5, From there, it feels pretty homogenous to me. You're Jack Conklin's, your Sheldon Rankins, Darren Lee, Lequan Shredwell, Vernon Hargraves.

These are guys that I feel like people think are going to be contributors but aren't necessarily surefire stars. So it feels like a draft that two rounds in, two and a half rounds in, you can find a guy you can start for you. But if you're looking for superstars, this probably isn't the draft for you. I agree. I think it's a really small tier one and then like a really, really large tier two. So it's a deep first round, but as you said, it's it's not top heavy at all.

This segue. And it seems like that's the type of positions that we have, right? Because last year, if you looked at the top tier, you had high value positions, pass rushers, quarterbacks, wide receivers, corners. This year, it's positions that aren't necessarily like that. We have defensive tackles. Even Bosa and Buckner, they're good players, but they're not edge terrors. They're not your Vic Beasleys or your Dante Fowers.

They're not even Leonard Williams. Right. So it's a different type of player, and I think that's why it's harder to envision these dudes being defensive player of the year. Maybe they'll be pro bowlers, but they're not guys that are going to be absolute superstars. Robert, that segues just beautifully into our sense. second mailbag question from our good pal, Cliff Clinton, who says two years ago, Aaron Donald was the, quote, everyone's favorite prospect. Who is that this year?

So the way that I read this question is who is the guy that everyone says, it's not whether he's worth drafting, it's where he's worth drafting. And that's a, it's a value proposition with position, with size sometimes like it was with Donald. And for me, the guy this year where it's just kind of the consensus, this dude's going to be really good. It's just a matter of this question. This question is Miles Jack.

I think that no one has a question about Miles Jack as a football player. It feels to me like it was with Luke Keekly in 2012. If you throw out Andrew Luck, Keeckley was the guy in that draft where everyone said, oh, oh, yeah, Luke Keekeley is going to be really good. But he still goes eighth. So that's how I see Jack. Linebacker is a marginalized position just because it's linebacker. and he's not past pressure, it's not something like that.

But he's just a dude who does everything well with the way football currently works. Who's yours? I had three potential answers based on your answer and also based on my potential failure to understand the intent of the question. I think we both had that approach. So, you know, I was going to say Jack or Ramsey just in the sense that I think every single person who is paid to think or talk about football agrees. that those guys are the best or close to the best pure players and pure talents in the draft.

If we're sort of going for like guys who aren't ranked quite that highly, but who maybe can come sort of like a little bit from an under the radar spot and just sort of wow everybody and win everybody's affection and admiration, what about Kevin Dodd? You know, so Donald went at 13, right? and that's sort of where Dodd, I mean, he's all over the board. There are some drafts in the second round, and there are some where he's as high as, like, eight or nine. But he could probably go in that, like, you know, early teens area.

He sort of has that same, like, under the radar to star thing going on that Donald had. Dodd only has one year of full-time experience under his belt, but he really, really exploded onto the scene late during Clemson's playoff run to the point where he surpassed his own teammate, Shaq Lawson, who was considered the elite defensive line prospect on that team for the bulk of the season. I like him better. Jack Lawson. Yeah.

Interesting. Interesting. Why? I just think he's a better player. I just like everything that he can do. I think he's more just solid. He's the guy, I think I would have, he would have been maybe one of my answers. I think a lot of people like him. And I think Dodd is maybe a little bit of a one-year wonder. I think that Lawson is just more sound in more areas. I like him a lot.

I also personally prefer Lawson, but I feel like Dodd has that, like, this year's darling, like, air around him in the way that Donald did as well. Let's get to someone who may have had that if certain circumstances hadn't crept up. Andrew McGilligan asks, where do you think Jalen Smith will go? I leave this to you because with the injury question, there's really no way to know. I mean, his medical recheck is in a week. our teams that reportedly took him off their board because he had nerve damage in that knee that he hurt in the Fiesta Bowl. As a football player and what he was at Notre Dame, where would he slot in this draft to you?

As a football player, based on how Jalen Smith performed at Notre Dame before the injury, I think that he was the best player in the draft, period. Really? Yes. That is very impressive. I think that he's as close to a flawless player as there is, certainly in this draft class. And again, that's pre-injury. You know, it's just impossible to say what impact the injury will have.

I mean, people are going to bring up the Marcus Latimore situation, which, look, is a little bit unfair. I mean, Marcus Latimore had two catastrophic knee injuries. Jalen Smith has only had one catastrophic knee injury, but it is catastrophic. I mean, there were people who said he might not play football again. He has said recently that there's no doubt in his mind that he'll be back to 100% and that it's just a matter of when, not if. He says he's leg pressing 600 pounds. It's all going to come down to the recheck. I mean, the nerve damage rumors, frankly, seem to terrify people.

If he can't be medically cleared and he's going to miss his entire rookie season, teams are just not going to be willing to take him in the first round. You know, if he falls into the second round and a team like the Ravens grabs him, I will literally be the happiest person you've ever seen. Even at that, because even at that point, the risk is worth it. I think that if his recheck goes well, but there are still concerns and still questions about the time frame and when he can come back, a talented deep team picking late in the first round, like the Seahawks or the Packers or the Panthers, one of them could pass. if they feel just confident enough in his medicals at that point.

And they could end up getting a Hall of Fame player. I hope it goes well. I mean, everything you hear about him is that he's a good kid and that watching him was an absolute thrill. Obviously, I didn't watch him that much as the seasons were happening because Saturday's my day, man. I got to chill for a little while. But what I've seen from him on tape,

I just watched the whole USC game again today. He's a rare talent. He's so big. He's so long for a linebacker that it just seems. like he can move in a way that guys that long can't at that position. And his talent does seem rare. I hope it works out. Let's get to something that's a little bit lighter as we talk about guys potentially

ruining their careers. Eric Scalarro asks, who are your favorite non-star football players from childhood? Which is a good one. I had to think about this for a while because, I don't know, I guess I didn't enjoy many things as a child because I'm dead inside. But there are some players that I did land on. Who would you say was your favorite childhood football player, Mal? Well, so I have to sort of go with young adulthood instead of childhood because the Ravens didn't come to Baltimore until I was in fifth grade.

And I'd like to think that when I was in the tender age of 10, I was no longer truly a child. Let me ask you, was Todd Heep too famous to qualify? I mean, he didn't really stay healthy long enough to be a star. No, Todd Heep is not too famous to qualify. That's totally fine. Then Todd Heep would be my answer with the runner-up. being Super Bowl legend Brandon Stokely.

Oh God, that is such a terrible answer. I don't think I'll ever forgive you for that. I was a big fan of the Bears offensive linemen growing up. I really liked Big Cat Williams. It was a favorite of mine. I really liked the offensive line they had with Ruben Brown and Owen Crutes

for those couple years. Obviously, my answer is going to be terribly boring because no one knows who these people are, but those are guys I liked. I enjoyed my offensive lineman when I was a kid. What do you want? want me to say. You are who you are, you know, never apologize. Robert, our next question comes from Crank Harris, who says, what is the number one division opponents don't want this team to get this guy,

player team scenario? If Reggie Raglan goes to the Packers, I'll leave the country. Oh, my God. I had a really nice time here as an American citizen. It's been super fun. a lot of fond memories. I've really enjoyed my time with you, Mallory. I will miss all of you guys out there, but there's just no way I can do it. It makes way too much sense. It is so much of a great production college guy

going to a really good franchise. It's the type of shit that your team normally does. And I just, no, I reject that out of hand. Absolutely not. My team is usually the team taking the Alabama linebacker. So, you know, I just want to say that I'm sure you'll enjoy watching the Jaguars in London. Good luck to you, sir. I think that it's got to be our main man, Robert Kim Dice, going to the Seahawks or the Broncos at the end of round one.

Because I can't think of anything more sickening than a defense that good, getting a player that good. And listen, I'm married to a Broncos fan and thinking of his joy really makes me sick. It's just filled with rage and jealousy. Oh, you guys, you guys are just heartwarming. I can't even imagine him. A more bubbly, beautiful scenario than you, too. I believe you know this, but when the Broncos and Ravens played in the playoffs a couple years ago, we did not watch together.

I went to Baltimore and watched with my dad. And Adam watched at home. Carry on. You're my favorite. You really are. It's good to be reminded of that again. All right, here we go. Last question, then we're going to get out of here.

This one comes from Jack Doyle. He says, the Pat's lost their pick. What would be the best way to spend that 15 minutes of clock time? What are you going with here? Okay. Three choices. Updating the assembled guest on the Patriots fans lawsuit against the league for stripping them of the pick. Watching Red Sox third basement slash benchwarmer or Pablo Sandival attempting to get

skinny enough to regain his starting spot, or listening to our fearless leader, Bill, talk about how the Celtics might be able to beat the calves. Ooh, that's a good one. I didn't think about Bill being crazy for 15 minutes. That would actually be super enjoyable. But I'm going with, do you watch Parks and Rec? Did you when it was on? Oh, yes.

Oh, yes. So the filibuster that Pat and Oswald's character did about the Star Wars universe and everything coming together, I want to see Bill Belichick give a. a 15-minute-long speech about how he envisions the future of the Star Wars universe and the future of the comics universe and just whether or not they can ever coexist. I just want to know his thoughts. And he has to talk for 15 minutes. That's my choice.

Really incredible. I thought you were going to say, just watching Ron Swanson eat breakfast, which also would have been an acceptable idea. I eat breakfast every day and I have a mirror, so it really wouldn't be an upgrade. I'm out. That's all we have for today. As always, we really appreciate it. guys listening. We really hope you come back next week. Make sure to check out all of the stuff that

happened on the Channel 33 podcast this week. Mel and very sad Tate talking about with the national championship game. The Watch announcing after the Thrones, which is so exciting. I can't even wrap my head around it. The Shackhouse Masters Recap is going to be coming on Monday. Make sure to check that out. It's going to be a very fun weekend of golf, which I do happen to enjoy on television. but until then, you know, listen to the podcast, follow, rate, and review, and we'll be back at our normal time and day. The baseball season is full of games, more than 2,000. Even if you want to keep up with them, it's just hard to do. You got work, you have travel, and what if you don't live in the same city as the team you root for?

I travel all the time. I don't know how to watch Cubs games if I'm not in Chicago. It's a problem. Good thing is that T-Mobile has a solution. T-Mobile is giving its customers anyone who switches a free year-long MLV. mv.TV premium subscription, so they can catch every moment all season long. You can stream all the ball you want without using any of your data, thanks to binge on, all the baseball you want, and never touch your data plan.

Switch to the uncarrier today. Already a customer, just sign up at T-Mobile.com slash MLB. Sign up for MLB.com. While on your network, new MLB.combe.com premium subscribers only. Blackout and other restrictions apply. visit MLB.tv for details. We're also sponsored by The Black Tux. If you've ever had to run a tuxedo or suit for an event,

you know how terrible it can be. The Black Tux was created to save guys from Tuxedo Rental Hell with beautifully tailored modern suits and tuxedos offered for rent entirely online. If you need to rent a suit or tuxedo for an upcoming weekend or special event, don't do it with the old-fashioned way. Visit the blacktucks.com slash BSPN. That's the blacktucks.com slash BSPN.