The Ringer NFL Show - Cleveland's Need for Everything, San Francisco's New Scheme, and Jacksonville's QB Issues (Ep. 101)

Episode Date: April 24, 2017

The Ringer's Robert Mays, Danny Kelly, and Kevin Clark give an in-depth look at the top-10 draft picks based on team needs (2:35), including Cleveland's desperate need for just about everything (3:00) and Jacksonville's QB issues (16:50). Then they make a few suggestions for picks 11-32 (46:02), including life after Carson Palmer (48:05). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Make Seekkeek your go-to app for finding the best deals on every type of ticket from sports and concerts to comedy and theater. Best of all, our listeners get $20 off your first Seekkeek purchase to sound the Seek app and enter promo code Ringer NFL today. That's promo code R-I-N-G-R-N-FL for $20 off your first SeekKeechurch. Welcome to The Ringer NFL show. My name is Robert Mays. I'm a writer at The Ringer. And joining me in all sorts of ways are Kevin Clark and Danny Kelly. Guys, how you doing?

Doing great. Tough day for me. My board is empty. I've taken everybody off my board. So my first experience with Kevin as a colleague was last year at the drafts live in Chicago. And after every single pick, his response was, that's trash. That's not true. That's not true.

If they could jump high. If they had great spark scores, I liked the pick. So you liked two guys in the entire first round? I like the guys the Packers drafted. Yes. That's right. I remember those are the only picks you like. Danny, I hope you enjoy more of the draft picks.

more of the players than Kevin does. I'm a positive person by nature, so... If I ran a team, it would be like movie drafted, except every time a pick came, I would just pass. I'd be like the Vikings were a couple years ago where they'd get missing their pick, but I'd be doing it on purpose. I would come away with no players.

This guy doesn't have enough experience. This guy has too much experience. This guy doesn't jump high enough. This guy jumps too high. Everybody's off. So what we're going to do is, as I dismiss what Kevin's talking about, is we're going to go through the top 10,

and just kind of break down the needs of those teams, what players we think might be on their radar, just break down those in pretty significant detail. After that, we're going to go through 10 through 32 as just a few teams each that we like a player and team fit for them. So we're not going to go all the way through the first round, but we are going to dig into the top 10 here pretty significantly. How does that sound to you guys?

Sounds wonderful. It sounds great. All right, let's dig in. The Cleveland Browns have every single need essentially, least accept the offensive line. It's really the one spot where they've gotten NFL players and probably feel pretty comfortable. It's really tough to hone in and drill down on one or two needs for teams like this just because

there are so many of them. Kevin, if you were trying to just put your finger on one spot where the Browns really need some help, what would it be? I would say, I mean, obviously quarterback is first and foremost, but I just don't know. I should have given that a caveat. Outside of quarterback, what position do they really need? I mean, I really think they need to get some sort of pass rush going. You know, Danny Shelton hasn't been that great on the defensive line,

even though he came in with, I think, a lot of athleticism, a lot of expectations. He hasn't really been transformational on that defensive line at this point. They need an edge rusher who's just going to dominate, and that would be Miles Garrett, in my opinion. I mean, obviously, like you said, they have needs basically to every position but a line. They could take a, you know, if there was a world-class, B. That would be maybe

there'd be maybe a chance for him at one or obviously 12. But I think number one, you've got to go with the pass rusher. Danny? Yeah, I mean, I agree with that. I think if it's not a pass rusher, you go corner or safety. Just because, I mean, right now, Joe Hayden is like their top

corner, and he's really, he really struggled last year. I mean, obviously he was playing hurt, but, yeah, I think you go corner or safety, you can't, and there's so many good guys in this class that, you know, it's not going to be a Justin Gilbert situation, hopefully. But I think you get any of these guys,

and it's going to drastically improve your secondary, which they just need to add guys everywhere, really. But I think that's one of the premium positions that they could really, you know, really improve this in this draft. It seems like we've reached a point now where it's going to be a quarterback or it's going to be Miles Garrett. If they trade this pick, I assume Hugh Jackson will jump into Lake Erie and try to swim away.

I can't imagine he will react to that. in any sort of good way. And you look at it, and when you have a supposedly generational player like Miles Garrett is, you take him without thinking about it. But this is also a situation where they don't have anybody else. They drafted Emmanuel Ogba in the second round last year. He was fine as a rookie, but it's not as if they've thrown a ton of resources into their pass rushing pool.

So drafting a guy with number one overall pick at that spot, even if he is as talented as Miles Garrett gives you pause. There's really nothing preventing them from saying, Miles Garrett is this good, he's going to be the guy we pick. I thought it was interesting. There was a comment from Andrew Barry, their player personnel guy last week, about Garrett. And he was asked about the notion, as I referenced earlier, that Garrett takes plays off or he doesn't try. And they sort of excuse that by saying, essentially, there's so many snaps in a college game because of the hurry up that a player cannot try on every snap.

And I thought that was very interesting. It was clear that they were justifying the pick a little bit, getting out ahead of the criticism that comes. We saw it from Warren Sapp over the weekend where he basically said that he would not take Miles Garrett at all. And so I think that the Browns are basically married to this pick at this point. And we see this all the time with guys that have this generational athleticism, this otherworldly talent. People said that about Clowny. People said that about Julius Peppers. It just feels like guys that are that talented get hit with that tag because there's nothing else bad to say about them. And at this point in the process, we need to knock every single player in some way.

It did take a while for Clowny to get to the level we expected him to, to be fair. Well, he-microfax or shit. No, no, of course. Of course. No, I understand that. What if there's a video that comes out like 10 minutes before the draft again of Miles Garrett smoking weed through a like gas mask? We've really moved on from that as a football pun to treat.

No one talks about that. What apparatus is it going to be this year? That's a good thing that we can predict. I mean, I'm not that familiar with smoking weed, so I don't know what sort of things you can smoke it out of, but it seems like we can get more creative than a gas mask. Like a space helmet. Or a stormtrooper helmet or something. Yeah. We'll really be up with the times.

This is why we have a guy from Seattle on the pod. Exactly. Danny, you're the weak correspondent for the ringer NFL show. No comment. All right. All right. Let's move on to a team that, unlike the Browns, there is no spot on the 49ers, like, roster that is sure. enough that you can take something off the board.

I guess you could say the defensive line because they've flown a lot of resources at it in recent years. Buckner's pretty good. Buckner's pretty good. I think Armstead's a solid player. But, I mean, there's really no spot other than that on this entire roster where you can say, eh, they're set enough that they probably wouldn't go in this direction. There's no more blank slate in the entire league.

Danny, they play in your division. I mean, do you have any sense of what they need the most? Well, I mean, the big part, the big thing is not only is their roster bare, but they're switching schemes on defense and on offense. So like there's so many variables there that it's impossible. No, I think that, I mean, for me, you can't go wrong with taking a pass rusher. And I think to me, the Malik Hooker connection to them is really fascinating. I think when you look at what happened with the Seahawks defense last year when Earl Thomas went out,

the difference that it makes to have that rangey center fielder in that cover three scheme, which is what they're going to run, the Seahawks style like cover three. I think it makes a lot of sense. Hooker at number two, even though that's higher than most safeties go. You know, it's John Lynch. He's a former safety, he's a new GM. You know, he's going to be looking at that defense. How can we make a big impact with this pick?

I don't know. That to me is a very fascinating, I guess, you know, marriage of two, you know, the scheme and the philosophy. And even though safeties don't typically go that high. Hooker has not really worked out and doesn't have many measurables. and that would just concern me. He's had a hip injury all spring, just for context, for the listener. He doesn't really have much data on him.

I would be very nervous about taking him second overall, especially when you have a guy like Solomon Thomas there. Yeah, but just like we talked about, that's the one spot where they got a ton of bodies. Here's the thing. Just to play devil's advocate on that, they have, look, Lynch and Shannon have six-year contracts. They're in this for the long haul.

They're not trying to win now. That's why I don't think they should take a quarterback here, okay? And so for me, I just think you take the best player available and see what happens. I mean, if Solomon Thomas and the numbers and the productivity seem to suggest that he is the best player available, I think you just take him and roll the dice and see what happens. I mean, you cannot have too many pass rushers. It's impossible. Yes, you're totally right. And if you look at the bodies they actually have at those spots, it's not as if there's somebody really blocking his breath.

And when you're as bad as they are, you shouldn't worry about that anyway. But if you think about it, if you put Mitchell inside, if you have a buck, God, it's going to be weird for them to play that kind of Seattle scheme for these guys, Danny. I can't even imagine where they're going to go. But if you think about Thomas as a Michael Bennett player, which is the comp I've given him since the start here, you probably could slot him in there and just say, we'll figure it out later. Well, they don't have any edge rushers, really.

I mean, Aaron Lynch is. That's exactly. That's right. So it's Lynch, and then, you know, what are you going to do with Amad Brooks? It probably doesn't matter. So it's just how those guys get slur. slot into those spots is going to be interesting for me because they've thrown some resources at it. You think about Eli Harold was a third round pick, but none of those guys were four, three,

put your hand on the ground, defensive ends in the same way that they're going to want to use those guys as. I mean, it's going to be a weird marriage of scheme and personnel, and we always see that when a new coaching step comes in. Has there been any connection of Buckner or Armstead in the trade market? Like, I wonder if those guys would be, you know, potential draft day trade, you know, probably. It's just a great question. I think when you're San Francisco, you have to explore every single option available to you. I mean, what do we think about quarterback? Is there any, is there any ways to you guys that they say one of these guys is somebody that we love and we're rolling with it?

Well, I don't think they're in a situation. As I said, they both have six-year deals. I don't think they're in a situation where they have to draft a quarterback because they have to win now. I don't necessarily, you know, the Houston Texans are in that position because they need a quarterback because they have a possible Super Bowl-ready defense. So they need to roll the dice, right? the San Francisco 49ers are so far away. It's almost like the Browns were last year

that I think that they're just like, we're going to start building this thing. What's the point of even having a decent quarterback this year, for God's sakes? It's a good point. But if, say you love Watson or Trubisky, you think they're the guy to build around. Don't take them to two. Well, that's exactly where you take them if you love them, though.

If you take Trubisky, yeah. Watson will not, you can trade down. I mean, if that's what they should do, let's be clear. Well, they're trying to. Yes, I mean, they should trade down. That's the option for most of these teams in the top three or so. Trade down is the answer, but if you can't, then it becomes a different question. Man, I don't know.

I mean, the logic, logically, I think they take it their best player and wait on a quarterback, but I could see them doing something shocking just because you just don't really know. I mean, right now we have nothing to base like their style or philosophy on, really, because it's all new there. Totally. Yeah, I agree. And the one thing I'll say with the quarterback is that that position is so important to Shanahan that there is no way he's just going to pick one to pick one.

I mean, that he's not going to do it just because they'd have a hole there. He's going to want his guy. I can absolutely see him being comfortable rolling with Hoyer for a season and not even care. Me too. I don't think they're going to take a quarterback in the first round. All right. So Jacksonville at four. You know, you guys are going to stop me.

You're just going to think I screwed that up on purpose. Even though I don't want to talk about the Bears. Oh, I didn't even notice. I get it. Yeah, what about the Bears? I think you pick the best secondary player. Whoever you think it is. Latimore, I think.

Latimore's fine with me. I feel like Corner is their biggest immediate need. So they obviously signed to Mukamore. They signed Marcus Cooper, but who really cares? I have no idea what Kyle Fuller's future is. They have safeties that you can plug and play with Dempson Amos. If you believe that Adams or Hooker or transformational players, then they're going to really be superstars,

I don't think either of those guys precludes you from drafting Adams or Hooker. But right now, in my mind, I think that Corner is their biggest need. So all of those guys should be available at this pick. And whoever you think is the best one, I would just grab them and go. Yeah. I mean, for me, it's Latimore, 6 foot, 193 pounds, 4, 340, jumps high. It's my number one requirement. I just think that he is probably the best secondary guy in this draft.

I would definitely go with him here. The only concern that I have is that they drafted Kevin White, who had some injury concerns coming in. And all Kevin White has done since he's been on Bears is not play football. So if you draft a guy who has these really problematic hamstring issues, I mean, can you think about the last guy you've heard having hamstring surgery because it's, his hamstrings are so bad. I don't even think I've ever heard of that before. And then he got hurt again after the surgery. Yes.

So this soft tissue stuff, after living the Alshan Jeffrey life for as many years as I did, that worries me. That gives me pause. But I do think that on a talent and need basis, he's probably the guy that makes the most sense. I have a question, though. For Vic Fangio,

is front seven more important than the safety and cornerback positions? Do you think he's a kind of guy who's like, let's just load up on the front seven. Let's add Jonathan Allen into the mix and just dominate up front. That wouldn't shock me at all. And I feel like that's the one spot in that front seven where they could probably use some more help. Goldman is a solid young player. Hicks is really good. And then you have the edge guys pretty much with McPhee and with it.

But if you want to add one more interior player the way that Solomon Thomas was at Stanford, the way that Jonathan Allen could be. That wouldn't shock me, but I do think they have enough bodies in that area of the field where it's just more prudent to go with the secondary. I feel like if you get a corner that's a high-level player at that spot, if it's Latimore, you really have a chance to be a good defense right away. That is the one glaring hole they still have if everyone stays healthy for them to be kind of a shocking proposition as an overall defense.

What's your reaction going to be if they draft a quarterback here? I will, there's a good thing. There's a screen on my window. I mean, I'm not sure I'd be able to get it off, but something will be thrown. I can promise you that. Yeah, I hear you. Yeah, no, I mean, Front seven is obviously very important to fan you. I mean, those great 49ers teams.

I think Justin Smith was the heart of that team. Obviously, you had Alden Smith. I mean, you know, rushing the passer. So, yeah, I could see them maybe rolling the dice with the rusher if he's available. Yeah, I just see him. I just see them picturing Justin's, or Jonathan Allen as kind of like a Justin Smith-style guy. And that's why I kind of like that connection.

But I mean, I... And I feel like Solomon Thomas is similar. Him too. I think that he could play a similar role. So I wouldn't be shocked if they did that. But I just think that they have so... The corners are so underwhelming. And if you have one there, if I don't say...

Don't reach for a corner. But if you feel like Marshawn Latimore is one of the best players in the draft, and that is just blinking up in lights, we need a cornerback. I just think it makes too much sense. All right. Let's go to Jacksonville, where their biggest need is quarterback, but I'm not sure they're going to draft one. Looking at this team, I don't know how you guys feel.

Danny, I'll start with you. I had a hard time coming up with like, okay, this is where they really need a player, especially on defense because they've thrown so many resources into the defense. It's like, all right, they have this guy, they have this guy. I guess you have to keep going with this. On the offensive line, they probably have some holes, but outside of quarterback, there wasn't a spot on this roster. I was like, oh, man, that's exactly the type of player.

And it's just like the perfect Jacksonville thing too, because like we've talked about this on the pod a couple of times is like, I'm just so sick of hyping up the Jaguars. They're the worst. They're the worst team with like very few holes on their roster. Yeah. But I mean like now, so I think if they're not going to go quarterback,

and I think that quarterback is kind of the dark horse thing here. I think they might pick Watson. But I mean, if they don't, I could see them, going with any of the defensive linemen because it's just like sort of that philosophy you can't have enough good defensive linemen but i think tackle and guard are still pretty big needs for them i mean like brandon albert is not solving anything really there he's a stopgap at best so that's kind of what i see i see offensive lines still being kind of like one of their bigger needs yeah you know it's interesting you talk about not having a hole it almost reminds me the orlando magic where they have

have had so many high picks that it seems, and they'd spread it out over so many different positions groups, that they're just like, oh, of course, they're set at this, they're set at D-line, they're set at defensive back. But I agree with you. I mean, they really, I think you could add depth anywhere. I would take a quarterback, but, I mean, I guess, I don't know. I mean, you know, I saw some mocks at O.J. Howard going to Jacksonville.

I think Maurice Jones Drew had O.J. Howard going to Jacksonville. And so, I mean, I think you can just throw a guy anywhere, and it's fine. I mean, hell, even defense. Yeah, yeah, for net, sure. I don't know if I would take a running back that high. No, but he's being, I think that's like kind of been talked about a lot lately. Like, Jacksonville is supposedly going to be taking Fernette, which is, I don't know if that's the wisest thing, but it's an interesting pairing. I don't know, man.

I mean, remember, Tom Coughlin was on, not on the record, but it was certainly reported before he took the job that he was not a Blake Bordell's fan. So I wouldn't be surprised. Kofflin wants to win now. He doesn't want to tank or do anything like that. So my guess is that if he falls in love with the quarterback, he just takes him. I wouldn't be surprised by that at all. I also think if they don't want to take a quarterback, they would be the team that's helped the most if a team does take a quarterback ahead of them.

Because if you have one of those really great defensive options available, this pick becomes more attractive. And if you're Jacksonville, I think you moved out. Because that's where you can get an offensive alignment. in the middle of the first round in that kind of range, and that's what they really need. When I was talking about, they're one of the holes that jumps out of me,

it was at four because you can't really draft one of these offensive linemen at four with the guys that they're still on the board, but they need one pretty desperately because on offense outside a quarterback, that's the biggest hole they have. The other thing with Fernette, God is the Chris Ivory contract bed. I was looking at it just in the sense of,

if they took Fernette, like how much money do they really owe ivory? Yeah, he's still owed a decent amount of money. He's $7 million in dead money after this year. So that's always good. Yeah, it's a really bad contract. Oh, man. Yeah, and that's the other thing is like, and then they have T.J. Eldon, too,

and he's, you know, he's shown flashes of being pretty good. I mean, I don't know if he's like a bell cow guy, but, yeah, it's like when you're trying to, this is weird because when you're trying to pick out, like, team needs, like nothing really stands out. I would say safety, too, but then they have a couple good free agent safeties and stuff. So it's like everywhere, you know, they've spent so much money.

They had like $100 million in the last two years in free agency. So, I mean, they've kind of filled out all their holes. But see if they finally put it together. Another team that I kind of feel similarly about just in the sense that they don't have a ton of glaring holes. And it's probably because this isn't their draft pick. Yeah. Love this trade. Is the Titans.

And the fact that the Titans who were so much better than I think a lot of people figure they were going to be last season. And now they're picking at five. in this draft is pretty remarkable. I mean, looking at their depth chart, there's one spot that jumps out to me and it's cornerback. If Marshawn-Ladamor is on the board here, I just feel like you pick him and go. They obviously cut Jason McCordy.

Kevin, is there a spot that jumps out to you on their roster? I mean, this team is in a really good spot. Defensive back or wide receiver, I guess. I mean, I think that they would take, I think right here you take a guy like Adams, Latimore, if he's available. You know, I've seen some, a lot of mocks have Adam. going to Tennessee. I think that they're

in a position of power. They can take whoever, and I think you sort of build depth in the secondary there. Maybe you give Marriota one extra weapon. Danny, I know you have some thoughts on who they should take later in the draft. But I mean, look, the Titans are really good. I saw John Robinson a couple weeks ago. I, for whatever reason, felt compelled to tell him that I was wrong about his team.

I mean, I went up to him, and we were all wrong. I mean, Robert, you and I made fun of Mike Malarkey a lot last summer. Yeah, we did. And we were completely wrong. And I saw John Robinson. I said, hi, John, you surprised to me a lot. And so, look, they're in a really good position to get two really good players. And I'm intrigued to see what they do here. I would guess they go defensive back. I think that makes sense. You know, look at the contracts they handed out. They just signed Cyprian. So they have that kind of big bully safety in the middle of the field. But getting a guy that can be a little bit more of a center fielder, I mean, you had Malik Hooker to Logan Ryan.

Syprian, all the guys they have in the front seven, a guy that really gets after the ball. I think it becomes dangerous in a hurry. Corner is still their biggest need, in my opinion, outside of Logan Ryan. But De Norris, Circe, does not have a lot of money left on his deal after this year. So if you think hooker's the guy and can really help your defense right away, you know, you figure out how to use him as a third safety in some packages. I do think that's the area of their team where they need the most help. We'll talk about this later.

There's one guy that I would love to see fall and fall to that. but I think five is a little rich for him at this point. Who's that? All right. We'll talk about it. I'm teasing, Danny. We're talking about later in the show. All right.

Danny, learn about show business, buddy. Let's get into the Jets at six. My first thought, I just have written in my notes here as I looked over the Jets roster. Man, the Jets are awful. The Jets are so bad. It's really remarkable.

every single strength the Jets used to have is no longer a strength. It's like, oh, the Jets' offensive line used to be pretty good. Nope. When they side all those corners, like, oh, the Jets' defensive backfield is, you know, they fixed it in a hurry. It's going well. Nope. There are so many spots where they could pick somebody and not even think about it.

And again, quarterback is one of those spots for this team. Kevin, I, where would you even start? I don't know. They're like the Browns and the Niners. Just draft anybody. I mean, a lot of the folks are connecting a defensive back to them. I mean, I would just take a quarterback, quite frankly. I'd rather have Deshawn Watson and try to build out from there than try to fix that mess.

It's rough. Danny, do you have any thoughts? Anything but an interior defensive lineman, I guess. That's pretty much it. I mean, you could go anywhere else aside from that. I mean, like, if they signed, I know David Harris is still there, but David Harris is 60. Like, if Rubin Foster was a guy you like, I know this is high for him, but that's a position. They need a corner.

You know, Marcus Gilchrist is no. great shakes. You could probably have another safety. They signed Morris Claybourne, but they could definitely use another cornerback. It's just so many spots where they need help, and the offensive line is one of those spots. You know, their right side, including the center with mangold gone,

no one's excited about that. So it's rough. I don't know. O line is tough in the top ten. No, I don't think they'd pick one there. I'm just saying if we're going over their needs, that is one of them when in past years it hasn't necessarily been. Yeah, their needs are pretty much anything.

Oh, God. And Brandon Marshall's not even there anymore. They could pick a wide receiver without even thinking about it. Oh, gosh. I feel so sorry for the Jet fans. I know. There are a lot of them. It reminds me of the Simpsons episode where Lionel Hutz is a real estate agent. He's teaching Marge about it. And he says, the right house is any house and the right person is anyone. That's the Jets. That's the right team for the right player. It would be amazing if they drafted a quarterback and they had like six quarterbacks on their roster. How many quarterbacks do the Jets have currently?

I guess it would only be four, and Bryce Petty probably gets to ax at that point. But good God. I mean, you know the old saying, like, if you have two quarterbacks, you have none, or you have four quarterbacks, you have none? The Jets literally have four quarterbacks and have no quarterbacks. It's not a euphemism anymore. It would be great if Trubisky was the fourth quarterback, and then eventually they still have not.

It would be so perfect. That's it. I was telling Sean that, actually, that Trubisky is the perfect Jets pick. Oh, he's so is. I mean, let's be clear about this. They took Christian Hakenberg in the second round last season. It is remarkable how bad this is going. Okay, let's move on.

The Los Angeles Chargers, which I still am not comfortable with. They're still practicing in San Diego. I got an email yesterday, but they're off their OTAs, and like through next month, they're still at Charger Park in San Diego. That's weird. I have no idea how any of this is going. I'm not ready for it, and it's going to be strange no matter what happens. So looking at the Chargers, in my opinion, the offensive line is the biggest question, mark.

They were bad last season, and then they got rid of all their players. So even if you assume that the players can't be worse, you still need some, and they don't have any. Again, seven is tough for an offensive lineman. So if we're going beyond that a little bit, I think that McCaffrey is a dark course here. I agree. If you lose Danny Woodhead, And when you think about what McCaffrey can be as both a receiver and a running back, I agree. I wouldn't be shocked at all.

It doesn't take anything from Melvin Gordon. Nope. Because they don't want Melvin Gordon to have the workload he had last season. I mean, when you looked at them, especially in week one when Woodhead was playing, he was getting a lot of run. So it wouldn't shock me at all. I also think that safety, if one of those guys falls to here, it would make sense because they're going toward that Gus Bradley's Seattle style of defense most likely. and they did a lot of interchanging between their safeties last year. But if you can have Jolila Deh, who they just signed to a contract extension,

come up a little bit more, be that middle of the field defender, and you put hooker as your center fielder, that makes a lot of sense to me. Danny, what jumps out to you? Yeah, I mean, the hooker connection in L.A., if he gets past the 49ers or whoever in front of them, like that one, to me, just makes perfect sense. The other thing that could be interesting is if they go receiver, because that's seven, that's not, I think that's about the point where you could start seeing receivers start to be in consideration. And if they like Mike Williams or, you know, Corey or

Corey Davis or John Ross, like I could see them going receiver too just because I don't know how dependable Keenan Allen is at this point. You know, they were basically running with a bunch of, I mean, obviously they did well with what they had, but they were running with a bunch of no-name guys last year once Keenan Allen went out. And so if they could get some top tiered talent for Philip Rivers, I think that could be another thing that, you know, that could be the dark, horse pick, but I think it just makes so much sense. If hooker's there, that that's like the pick automatically, I guarantee you.

Guarantee it? Look at that. Danny Kelly making a few variations. It's like Joe, he's like Joe Namath, but the stakes are higher because he's predicting the charger a seventh pick. I have a question for you guys. What about quarterback?

You're going to start planning for the future at some point. Here's the thing. It would be such a reach. It's not going to be like an Aaron Rogers drops to 24 thing. I mean, there's, I just, I just don't see it. I don't see maybe if Trubis, are you saying if Trubisky falls here? Or would you say take Watson here? I don't know what teams think of these quarterbacks. So that's hard for me to say, where Watson should go, where Trubisky should go. That's something that I have a hard time putting my finger on. So I don't know the answer to that. But Phil Rivers is 35 years old. You're about to move. And your backup is

Kellyn Clemens. It's not as if you have this developmental guy that you're really working on molding into the guy that's going to maybe take over when Rivers is gone. Kellyn Clemens is 33 years old. So it seems that at some point they need to address that spot. I don't know if it's at seven, but it probably has to happen in the next couple drafts. This draft is so weird because we're kind of in the middle of like the changing of the guard for the quarterback position, right? Like Carson Palmer, Drew Brees is getting up there. I mean, even the Steelers now are going to have to kind of start worrying about Rothesberger. And there's so many teams who are going to have an Eli Manning.

There's, it's just like, I don't know. Even in a terrible draft class for quarterbacks, we could see a lot go. I could see like three or four or five guys go in the first round just because people are starting to plan for the future. There's so much uncertainty. I remember I was talking to Dan Jeremiah and he said he talked to somebody that had Davis Webb going in the first round. It really could break any single way.

Kevin, before we move on, do you have any guys or any positions? to particularly jump out to you here? Yeah, I mean, if one of the safety is Hooker Adams is there to take them. I'm worried about the Chargers is never moving. They just stay. They're like, you know, you ever have all these high school friends who say they're going to move all the time? You don't have to say, you know, these people who are like announced on Facebook, they're

leaving, I'm out of here. And then like a week later, you see him in a bar and they're like, ah, you know, I lease. Couldn't get him a lease. I always get a pain in the eyes. Yeah, exactly. We've said this a bunch, but this is another team. I think could trade down just because offensive line is such a hole that if one of those defensive players is there you call somebody you think wants them get back into the middle of the draft that

wouldn't shock me at all I think that would be a smart move for them yeah yeah I mean everybody wants to trade down nobody wants to trade up especially not in a draft like this where there's no I mean it's it's not like there's a bunch of you know franchise cornerstones here it happened twice last year. No, I know, but I mean, this eight to ten range, we see trades in this range. I mean, you think about what the bills did with Sammy Watkins. Think about what the Bears did last year with Floyd, what Tennessee did coming up and getting the right tackle. Conklin. Jack Conklin, whose name I could not remember. I mean, this is a range where- I thought you liked the offensive line, Robert. I know. Look at me. I'm showing my true colors here.

I feel like if there are some, and one of the reasons I believe that happened last year is because the quarterbacks went one too. So when you push everything down, this 7 to 10 range starts having players in it that teams might not have planned for originally. So if we have a couple of surprise quarterback picks in the top five or six, and a couple of those

players do get pushed down, then the 7, 8, 9, 10 picks become even more valuable. And you could see teams getting a little overanxious because oh my God, we didn't even think he'd be there five picks ahead of where we're going. Let's call, I was about to say San Diego and see what they think

pick is worth. Yeah. Okay, so this is the weirdest draft. Is this, I know that people say this every year, but is this just the weirdest draft? Because all the premium positions are like offensive line quarterback, pass rush are all kind of weird this year. I mean, like the top, the top pass rushers, Solomon Thomas, Jonathan Allen, those guys are kind of interior guys, right? And so the edge rush position other than Miles Garrett is a little bit weak. you know, in terms of our perception right now,

like Derek Barnett might jump into the top 10, we'll see. And then you got a guy like Hassan Redick, who's kind of like a hybrid. But, I mean, it's just like all the premium positions in the top 10 are kind of like iffy. It's just, it's really weird. So you can see a lot of like random positions, like a tight end in the top 10 or something.

And that's the thing, right? When you talk about positional value and whatever, that only matters when you consider everything else that's happening in the draft. So it wouldn't shock me at all, two running backs went in the top 10. And I know people are going to lose their minds about running backs going in the top 10, but these drafts don't happen in a vacuum.

They're all relative to the other players that are available. So that's the thing. We don't have those premium positions where players are really jumping off the screen and saying, we're top 10 picks. So going a little wonky and weird, it just wouldn't surprise me. Plus, corner? There's a lot of corners,

and so you think maybe you can get a corner later. Sure. Yeah, exactly. I think, first of all, I think that the cornerback class is incredibly stacked. I think that's, that's, John Dorsey said last week there might be seven first round picks at cornerback.

Yeah, so here's the thing about running back. I think the Jordan Howard thing is fresh in everyone's mind. The fact that, you know, and people have tweeted and emailed and all that stuff, you know, just the theory that the Cowboys would have been better off with Jordan Howard and Jalen Ramsey than Ezekiel Elliott. And who knows what would have happened,

Butterfly Effect and all that. But, I mean, Alvin and Kamara's going to be there in the second round or at least the late first round. Alvin Kamara is really, really good. And so if you're one of these teams like Jacksonville or, you know, Carolina, maybe you just try to trade down to 28 or 29 and get an Alvin Kamara and then take a position that is less deep. That would be my thought just on the running backs.

I agree. And I tend to fall that way most of the time, but I could see a team talking themselves into Fernette and McCaffrey because my theory with running backs has always been, you need to a running back if you're going to take him high to be a transcendent player when it comes to your other personnel. Can that guy make your offense what it is independent of the other players around you? And if you think McCaffrey adds so much value as a receiver and is unique enough, you wrote about this last week, Kevin. It is unique enough of a proposition that he steps outside of the normal running back value mold, then you take him that way. If you think that

Fernette is Adrian Peterson or Marshaun Lynch or one of these guys that it doesn't matter really what is around him, he can give you a competent running game from day one, then you take him in the top 10. It's just, it depends on what you think of these players, and that's a complicated situation. I would much, much rather draft McCaffrey in the top 10 than Fournet, because I think McCaffrey's flexibility. And, you know, a lot of the GMs over the last week have said that Fournet Nett can catch the ball. I think Dave Gettelman came out and said, said, yeah, Fournet, Gettelman came out and said, you know, everyone's talking about McCaffrey's as past catcher, but Fournette can catch the ball as well. However, I just think, you know, I talked to McCaffrey's offensive

coordinator for that story and he was just saying, you know, the ability to split him out wide before the snap and run trips with McCaffrey. I mean, that's what teams want to do. That's what Carolina does all the time. They made the Super Bowl because they're a three by one trips formation, basically. And to have that sort of flexibility to know that his floor is a really, really good slot receiver in a league where a slot receiver is incredibly important, I think that's sort of really is reassuring to know. And I just, for net to me, I know we can catch the ball, but he seems a little more one-dimensional.

Let's get into Carolina because I feel like McCaffrey has been linked there over and over again, and I don't blame people for doing it. He works really well out of the shotgun. Cam loves playing in the shotgun. I think that he could be a guy that you use as that piece. I mean, if you, Kevin, if McCaffrey was on the board for Carolina at 8th, would you pick it? I would.

Okay. Danny, what do you think about that? Oh, man, that's tough. I think I would be fine with it. I don't know if that would be like my personal top choice there, but I would be fine with it. I'm not going to like, I'm not necessarily one of the people that think like it's stupid to pick a running back in the first round because I think that, you know,

if you're a good, good, good running back, like you can have a huge impact on the offense. Like, I don't think running back is plug and play necessarily. What if I were, here's the game changer, Alvin Kamara can jump up. So would you pick him at 8? I would pick him a 1. I'm mocking him to the Browns at 1. McCaffrey can't too, so it's fine. The other spot that I feel like they could probably use some help is defensive line just

because if you look at their edge guys, it's Charles Johnson and Julius Peppers who are combined 746 years old. If Solomon Thomas is there, oh, yeah. Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Because that's exactly what they like to do with those left defensive ends. Greg Hardy, he was a sane person, they put him at left defensive end and they slide him inside in nickel situations. And that's literally what Solomon Thomas projects to in the league.

So if you have some of these corners, these quarterbacks, these safeties go in the top seven and he's sitting there at eight, that makes too much sense to me. Dave Gettleman loves nothing more than defensive linemen. Right. And I was going to say, like, that would be weird if Carolina took defensive linemen. Yeah, right? It would be so shocking. And that's the thing when we're trying to figure out tendencies. and everything else because if you look at a spot on their roster,

they could use an influx of talent. Safety is one of them, but it would be really hard to imagine Dave Gettleman taking a safety with the eighth overall pick. It's just not something that is in line at all with what he's done in the past. I want to know if a receiver is in play at number 8, too, because right now Carolina's receiving core is just kind of one-dimensional. And so, you know, if you get him, if you get Cam Newton kind of like a shifty guy,

I put Ross to them. That's McCaffrey. That's McCaffrey. Christian McCaffrey from Stanford. That's why it's crazy because McCaffrey's probably that guy. If you're picking a guy that fits in well to diversify the skill sets of the guy of catching the ball for them, he's the one that jumps out the most. Well, there you go.

That's why I think it's probably the most popular mock pick for them, I think, right now. So it makes a lot of sense. Because it just makes way too much sense. And it's hard. It's weird for me because. it's difficult for me to picture a player like that in that offense, but that's only because they haven't had one. You know,

they've really struggled to find that middle of the field, shifty guy that can do things for them in that way. So it's not because they don't want to use one, it's just because they never had it on the roster. So it wouldn't surprise me at all. It'd be kind of a cool fit, actually. I could almost see it. Like Cam and Christian McCaffrey would be fun.

It is so exciting that the Panthers are going to take some defensive end we don't care about. Like Taco Charlton. How upset would you be coming on a scale of like one to ten? I would not be happy. I don't even think tacos can't jump that. All right. He cannot.

Yeah, he's not a great athlete, right? He jumped, I think, 33 inches or something. Which is, get him out of here. Get him out of here. My reaction to his overall athleticism is meh. Yeah. Yeah. That's my tackle Charlton reaction.

I saw some of your picks later, Mays. You don't value athleticism. We'll get to that. I do. Just it depends on. this certain situation. All right, let's go to nine. It can be on the wrong side of history.

It's fine. Cincinnati, I just, I don't know, man. I have no idea what they're going to do. Like, absolutely no idea. It could be anything. And their roster is so strange to me right now. Danny, what's your guess? I mean, if you're looking at their, what they have,

what do you think is the best way they're doing? I think they need, and I'm talking to people, Cincinnati fans and reading some of the stuff, what they really want is an explosive edge rush type guy or an explosive interior line. linebacker type of guy. It's like basically they just need some explosive. Kevin's going to love this.

They need an explosive player on defense. Hell yeah. And so I think a lot of people see Hassan Reddick as possibility for them. Just because he can run backer and rush the passer. And so. And they love that. So I don't know. I think they need an explosive pass rusher.

I think that's kind of like the main thing. I think they also need offensive line and receiver. Because I think their offense fell off a lot after they lost. Muhammad Sunu and Marvin Jones it just wasn't the same so I think they could use some depth that receiver You just said like seven positions Edge a line receiver

Two years ago You would have said this is one of the most complete roster in the league It is just remarkable how fast this is gone Well they don't ever sign anybody in free agency So Yeah that also hurts They just let guys walk all the time

Explosion on defense makes a lot of sense to me I think you know the really the most sudden player they have on the defensive side of the balls, Gina Wackens. He's a defensive tackle. I mean, so they definitely need somebody there. Kevin, do you kind of concur with? Yeah, I mean, Redick, maybe 10 slots early, but if they need that explosion

and they can't draft down, go ahead and do it. Isn't he the exact type of guy that would go 10 spots earlier that you thought, though? Absolutely. A doo-do is really athletic, false between positions. You know, teams can talk themselves into using them 10 different ways. It makes sense. I always go back to something that's something your friend, Dan, Zach Whitman said when I did a story on Spark a couple of months ago.

And he said that the reason Spark has made more of an impact in the league is that teams learn from their mistakes. And so the Steelers drafted Jarvis Jones. He's terrible. He's unathletic. And then it's like, okay, we're just going to draft off the Spark. I wonder having seen the slow linebackers in Cincinnati, having seen the amount of players who maybe didn't have that explosive first step.

If maybe Cincinnati's a team where they say, and the Cowboys did it, the Chiefs did it, obviously the Seahawks did it, where they say, okay, we've had enough slow, unexplosive guys. We're really going to go off measurables this year. And I wonder if it's about time for Cincinnati to do that and take a redic 10 spots early. Yeah, that would make total sense to me because they really aren't exciting on defense. We have a lot of solid players. They're going to be a decent unit, but there's no one that really jumps off the screen except for Atkins, and they definitely need one. All right, let's go to Buffalo at 10. This is another team that I like a lot of what they have going on,

but I think that there are a couple of spots that are pretty clear. They could use a corner. You know, they obviously lost Define Gilmore, Ronald Darby's a solid player, but they need some help in the secondary. And the other spot, Robert Woods is somebody, I don't think any of us particularly like, but he was their number two receiver,

and now they don't have one. So they could probably use a little bit of receiving help. Danny, I mean, what spots, what guys are you looking at right now? Yeah, I mean, you basically laid it up. out like Sammy Watkins is their basically their own and the receiver and his future is still kind of up in the air I mean I don't know what's going on with his foot right now

so I think receiver is a big one I think if it's not corner or receiver I think they could still add on the offensive line which again it's like kind of high for that even in this draft and so I don't know what they do here honestly

that's why you know for me Buffalo has been one of the hardest ones to pick in terms of the mock drafts that I've done just because they could go quarterback, even though they have a quarterback, they could go receiver, could go corner, offensive line, linebacker. There's just so many different things they could do that, and they're changing their scheme too.

They have a whole new coaching staff. I just, the bills, to me, are a mystery. I don't know what they're going to do. I think, you know, we can talk about their needs, but to me, they're just one of those teams. I have just no idea. Kevin? Yeah, I mean, new coaching staff.

I don't know what they prioritize. guys, you know, I listened to Shaw McDermott at the owner's meetings and he talked a lot about leadership and stuff like that, so that didn't really give me an insight into what he wants positionally. I think maybe you need a cornerback. I would not go quarterback here. I've seen some people saying maybe you take a Trubisky if he follows, maybe you take a Watson. I think you roll with Tyrod for another year. And if he's not the answer, then you go into next year with that. I may be secondary help. I would go secondary help here. I would probably feel the same way. I also am wondering how long we're going to pretend that Tyraud Taylor isn't a good quarterback.

I like him a lot. Me too. I don't like, you can do so much worse. Just if you're thinking about taking a quarterback here at 10, if you're, if you're Doug Whaley, if you're Doug Whaley, I think you you call Rick Smith and be like, yo, Rick, what's it like to actually not have a quarterback? How bad is it? And then you listen to Rick Smith talk for two minutes and you're like, okay, we're good. I just don't understand what the thought process is of trying to run Tyra Taylor out of town. I imagine Tyra Taylor in Houston. That'd be fun. Yeah, I mean, yeah, exactly, right? If they don't want them, the Texans will take them. All right, so at this point, we're going to dig into 10 through 32 just with a little more who do we think would fit in certain

places. We're not going to go through all the teams. So we're just going to go three position and team and player fits that we would like to see and we think are particularly fun. Kevin, let's start with you. Who's the first guy that you? you to say, I want to see him in this jersey because I think it makes too much sense. I think the Eagles need receiver help. I think that the season last year, I talked to so many people after the season about Carson Wentz and, okay, were the first four games the exception or the rule or what was what we were looking at and everyone said you cannot judge Wentz on last year because the receivers were

almost historically bad. I don't know if they were, you know, the worst thing in the war. world, but I do know that they need a game changer. And, you know, I saw Mayock talk the other day about Mike Williams. Now he was the only clean receiver. And what people mean by clean is that injury background, the whole thing, and obviously the athleticism on the field, they all check out. But John Ross, even though he's had those injuries, he is too fast and too good to pass up. I would take John Ross if I were the Philadelphia Eagles. And I think he would be a potential game changer in that offense.

They signed Tori Smith and Alshan Jeffrey, but obviously, Tori Smith, there's pretty much no money on that deal. They can get out whenever. I would not count on Tori Smith. So there's really nothing precluding them if they feel like John Ross, that game-changing guy. On paper, their receiving court looks pretty solid right now, but Ross is tantalizing enough for it.

It wouldn't shock me and I wouldn't be upset about it. Danny, what do you think? For Ross, I think, I mean, obviously you worry about the hip. thing that or whatever the injury history is knee and his hip and everything but the fact that he ran a 4-2-2 even after those things is kind of insane I like Ross a lot and so I mean I you know there might be other needs for Philly but I wouldn't be against that pick at all um so my first guy is Patrick Mahomes to Arizona and it's kind of you know obviously it's one of those plan for the future things but like Carson Palmer I think was already considering retiring after you know after last

year he decided to come back but I think you know his time is limited and the with the cardinals you know with bruce arian's the no risk it no biscuit no biscuit kind of style and just like personality I just think it makes so much sense to pat to pair those two I think you know mohomes has kind of like that ballsy attitude that he's he's kind of he's just that kind of quarterback you know obviously he needs a little bit of refinement but that's what you can do you know behind palmer for a year or two and so I think that would be a lot of fun I have a question Awesome one. I have a question.

Where is Deshaun Watson going in this hypothetical? I think he's going in the top ten. He's going before. Okay. Yeah, I think that would make more sense to me as well. I love Mahomes in Arizona, Danny. I absolutely love that. The quarterback I've compared him to the most is Matthew Stafford.

I think that he has similar sort of like lively arm and intermediate areas of the field. He can throw from weird arm angles. But he is a guy that just is completely. shameless. And in that Arizona offense, two years from now, I mean, he would just love chucking it all around. And you're right, he needs some work, he needs some time,

and a team with Carson Palmer, as their starting quarterback, would be a pretty ideal way to get that. I like that one a lot. All right, my first one is Ruben Foster going to Indianapolis. That makes so much sense. They need an interior linebacker so at 15. They need an

inside linebacker so badly. They really beefed up other areas of their team, They signed Jonathan Hankins, obviously. They got John Simon and Jabal Sheared as edge rushers. I like Henry Anderson as a player. So their front seven is starting to look pretty solid, except for the guys on the inside. They don't have anybody to fill those spots.

And I think Ruben Foster comes in and instantaneously gives you a certain feel defensively. He's going to add physicality from the start. And I think at 15, it makes a lot of sense. They need a corner. I know they need some secondary help, but I just feel like the identity he can. can give their defense right away, I would love to see them go in that direction.

I love that. I love that pairing. I think I gave, I think I paired them up in one of my mock drafts too. It just, you know, he's a, he's a guy who can, he can run and cover in the middle of the field, and he can also play the run. So to me that, that, and he's also kind of an attitude guy. Like, you know, Ballard's trying to set a, you know, change the culture a little bit on that defense, I think. And 100%. I think that's a good pairing. Just keep them out of those hospitals. That's going to say you're being... It's attitude.

Attitude toward the nursing staff. You were being frighteningly quiet over there, Kevin. I was wondering how the gear is returning. All right, Kevin, who's your next guy? Well, I just want to adjust it real quick. Are you not concerned with the ringers Michael Lombardi's report that Ruben Foster is probably going to drop to the second round? I mean, I guess I'm concerned with it.

It doesn't really change my thought process. I don't know. I don't know. If I'm Indianapolis, I maybe try to wait on them. Yeah, I mean, if you think you can, that's fine. And again, this is more just the team and the player. So if it happens in the second round, that's fine with me too. I would like to see those two entities go into play together, though.

All right, Kevin, who's your next guy? My next guy is. So I disagree, Danny, with the idea that Watson's going to go top 10. And I think so, and this is not, I'm not projecting he's going to fall this far, but a lot of mock drafts from a lot, people who know the draft a lot better me do have him in this area and some people even have him on this team. Deshawn Watson to the Houston Texans. You know what I found interesting, Daniel Jeremiah had in his last mock draft, I don't know if he's

updated it yet, but he had Sean Watson not in the first round. Yeah. So that's, and he faces this on what he's here. Let me pull this up here. I've just pulled it up here. Lance Zeerlin has Watson to the Texans. Chad Ruder has him past the Texans and going to Kansas City. and Houston getting Mahomes.

I tend to think that Watson is a better player than Mahomes. I would take him. I think he's ready to play right away. I think that he has, when you talk to people around the league, when you see him, I think he has a knack. You hate to say, I hate intangibles more than anything in the world. And we've talked for an hour about how much I like data. But when it comes to draft prospects,

but I do think he has a special something, and I think that he'd be great on a good team right away. With quarterbacks, I wrote about this today, but it was mostly in reference to late round quarterbacks. If you look at the guys that have succeeded lately, I hate Intangibles too, for the most part, but at that position, I do think they're important. And I think, you know, football outsider says their Q-based score,

which is kind of a, that is analytics. It is data. It's just about how much a guy started, which completion percentage was everything else. And it does seem like if you played for three years as a starter, if you've been somebody that was a centerpiece of your college team for a long time, especially at quarterback, that shit matters. And that's exactly what the Sean Watson has been.

If he is available at 25 and the Texans don't take him, people of Houston should riot. It makes way too much sense. I mean, I have no idea if you're the Texans that he's there, why you wouldn't pull the trigger. If the people of Houston didn't ride over Brock Osweiler, they're not going to ride. That's a very good point. All right, Danny, who's your next guy? And I don't know if he's going to fall this far. Like, word is kind of, it's not going to happen.

But I like the O.J. Howard Tennessee pairing. Maybe they have to get him in the top 10. But if he falls to 18, I like that a lot. And, you know, people are going to say, well, they already have Delaney Walker. But Malarkey's offense in Tennessee, they ran two tight-end sets 40% of the time last year, which was tops in the league.

And so they have a lot of ways they could use him. Is Vesato still there? What's that? Is Vesisano still there? No, I think the song. He might have retired. Did he go back to the dolphins? Yes, he's on the dolphins.

I don't know what happened to him, but he's not in the picture, I don't think, anymore. And so, um... Yeah, he's Miami. Oh, okay. So he's, yeah, so anyway, so like they have a spot for him. Right now, it's, I guess, Philip Supernard or Jason Maro, whoever, but I mean... The one of the top five names in the NFL, Philip Superdoll. One of the top five names.

Jason Marlowe's on the Titans? Yeah. What an awful pick. Oh, Jets, Jets, Jets. That's just. But yeah. I love just terrible tight end picks. Oh, it's great.

And that was an all-timer. Austin Severian Jenkins got suspended recently, and we all got to find out he's on the Jets. That's great. Anytime the world finds out what team you're on because of your suspension, it's a good sign. All right. So I would love that, Danny.

I think that that would be awesome. It's a great point about the two tight ends. I am going to cheat a little bit, and I'm going to go with the same team. And I know he probably won't be there at 18. But we've seen the Titans trade back up for a player that they want. They did it last year with Conklin. If Mike Williams is available at, like, 12.

I think you might be. It makes so, I would love if they would just trade back up again. I could see him. It would make me so happy. I just think that that fit as a way to help Mario dao down the outside, a guy that negates accuracy in so many ways, just go gets the ball. They don't have anybody like that. And if you add that element to their offense,

when you consider what they have with Matthews, with Delaney Walker, with the running backs with that offensive line. I just think that that makes you a complete unit. And it makes me happy to think about it. I do like that, too. I like that pairing. And like the freezes you said,

like a guy that's really dangerous down the sideline, I don't think they have that right now. So, no, I mean, it's like, it's a new dimension for their offense that would, I think, really open up their passing game. So I like that pairing a lot. I totally agree. All right, Kevin, who's your next guy?

my next guy, my last guy, and I think this is actually fairly realistic. I like Kevin King, the Washington cornerback, going to the Packers. You know, obviously you always need cornerbacks, especially if, like, the Packers, you just let all your defensive backs leave you free agency. Yeah. But King matches a few traits the Packers like. You know, I made a, and I don't want to harp on this measurable stuff, but last year I made a list of players, I would take, if I never watch a tape, didn't know these guys, I just looked

at the data. And I think I probably put seven or eight guys in the list, and the Packers took three of them. Jason Spriggs was one, Dean Lowry was one, and Kyler Fackerel was one. And so they clearly, like we talked about, started to shift towards, you know, they took Dean Lowry in the fourth round, which was way overdraft, but I would have taken them, you know, much higher in my fake draft. So for me, Kevin King has that. Vertical jump 39 inches, 3-con, 6.5, great in the long shuttle and the short shuttle, 6-foot-3. I mean, he has everything they're looking for.

The Packers are into it. I'm really into Kevin King in the late first round. And that was the thing with Kevin King, as everything I read about him and watching him a little bit, is that he's long, but he struggles with change the direction at times. And I feel like as we've seen what teams have done to combat Richard Sherman by moving number one receivers inside and making that change of direction a premium thing for big time corners, that it would give some teams pause. But that three cone, it's a 96 percentile for a guy that's 6'4 3. I mean, he can clearly move. So if that falls away with how you saw him move in certain drills and if you worked him out, I would love that.

And you're right. They love taller guys that can really change direction. And it seems like that's exactly what he is. How pissed is Bill Belichick? He doesn't have a first round pick when there's a 6-foot-3 guy who owns a 3-cone. Well, you know, it's funny. The guy who's fourth on the list of his best comparisons

on Locdraft-Draftable is Eric Rowe, who Bill Belichick just traded for, and sixth is Stefan Go-More. It's unbelievable. Which is hilarious. So the corners that Bill Belichick loves the most is this guy. There's so few things in life that are perfect. Okay.

Bill Belichick and his continued, unwavering insistence on collecting anyone who's ever run a good three cone is perfect. He's trolling us at this point. He'll just take anybody. I really do think it's the best drill. It's the drill I look at it the most. And when guys crush it and they don't do well on other things, that's fine with me. And I'm going to jump turns. Christian McCaffrey. I'm going to jump turns as a transition here, Kevin, because my other fit that I really like

is Derek Barnett going 11 to the Saints. Oh, man. You look at Derek Barnett, and I know that a lot of his tests. numbers were underwhelming. And he didn't run a very good 40. It was 4-8-8. A little bit injured, yeah. His vertical was not great.

He wasn't feeling well during the combine. He ran a 6-9-6-3 cone drill, which puts him in the 88th percentile. And if you watch him play, this is Derek part at the tight end, or the defensive end from Tennessee, by the way, for those that don't know about him, he is just a really solid player. He's an excellent pass-rusher because he's very flexible and he knows what he's doing, his very good hands. I think if you put him opposite Cameron Jordan, it just gives you two guys that you can rely on at those spots. His production is excellent. His hands are excellent. I think he's

a really good run defender. And I think those are the types of defensive players the Saints need. I just think you plug him in out of the other side of Jordan and you just don't even worry about it. Yeah. So I don't think he felt good at the combine because he saw his jumping numbers. So for me, my jumping numbers. So he did have a good three cone. He's got pretty good size, 6.3, 260. He's very stout. Yeah, his production is good.

I just, I do not trust college production. I just don't trust it. I mean, I've seen, I remember the first team I ever covered had the guy who led the country in Sacks the year before, and he did make the team. And so college production to me is just, I don't know, it's a little bit false. I think some of the weaknesses you see, I'm looking at, you know, Land Zero one's profile. I mean, he just seems just not only not a great athlete, but he just, you know, admittedly a slow starter.

I mean, he is sluggish to start a season. He overthinks things. I mean, I just don't, you know, initial burst up field is average. I just don't see a guy who's going to make an instant impact in the NFL. Maybe he develops. He's the type of guy that can develop because he seems smart enough around the ball. But I just, I wouldn't take him the first round. I understand that.

I just think that if you put him on the left side, he's a solid run defender. He can just be a really good compliment to Cameron Jordan. They need solid players on that team. And I think he's safe. I don't think that his upside is tremendous, but I think he's going to be a solid player from day one. And I feel like there are a lot of those defensive ends later in the draft, your Taco Charlton's, whatever, guys that aren't necessarily speed demons or the most athletic guys.

but they can just play football, and I think Derek Barnett is the best version of that. Just real quick on Barnett, I was talking to Lance about Barnett, actually, and he brought up Marcus Golden for Arizona. That's a perfect comparison. That's exactly the type of career I can imagine. Yeah, he's just, and Lance said he would have normally docked Barnett for his lack of athleticism, but after watching Golden in the league, because he's just a guy that can beat up a tackle's edge with his hands. So I think that's kind of, he was saying there's a, there's room in the,

the league for really tough and strong and powerful guys. You know, you don't all have to be this explosive, like, first step guy. So I think Barnett's, and this is kind of what I was talking about earlier, it's like, there's just the edge rushers in this class are kind of weird. And so it's going to be a barometer to see where Barnett goes. Like, he could go top 10 or he could fall out of the first round. It's just really interesting to see kind of where he ends up. Yeah.

And for me, I'm not saying he's undraftable. I'm just saying I want to draft athletic freaks in the first round. Look, there's always going to be the exceptions for the rules. Josh Norman did not have great testing numbers. You know, there's always going to be those guys who were not great athletes. But then, you know, Kevin Dodd had really bad athlete numbers last year, and, you know, he didn't make a huge impact. He was a little bit injured and a little bit banged up.

But, I mean, normally the rule applies. The exceptions, in my opinion, should be ignored. That's a good segue for my next guy, actually, because he kind of falls into the same category. And I picked Taco Charlton for the Lions. and I've heard a lot of different things about Charlton and I went back and watched pretty much all of his cutups on draft breakdown over the weekend

and I ended up coming away and really, really liking him. I think, you know, obviously he, I think he ran like a 4-9 at the combine. There wasn't the explosiveness numbers there that you want to see. He's 6 foot 6. I mean, he's 277. I can excuse a little bit of that.

What do you like about him? Well, here's what I like. I think he plays really, really hard, which is, you know, it's one of those things that it does matter. If you have a high motor, you're going to end up just wearing a tackle down as the game goes on.

But I also like that he has what looks like a burgeoning spin move. And he used it pretty effectively a couple times or multiple times when I was watching his tape. And it was, especially against Wisconsin, I kind of wrote about this, this will go up tomorrow. He beat Ryan Ramcheck on a spin move

like three or four times in one game. Like he has a quick first step, you know, the long explosiveness isn't there, but he has a quick first step. He's really, really long, huge long arms. And I think that he has the potential to develop with a really, really good spin move. So, I don't know. I mean, pass rush is probably like the hardest position to evaluate outside a quarterback,

so who knows what he's going to do in the NFL. But I really like that potential to be kind of that first step, spin move, long guy. He can play the run. You know, he's a big guy, so he could probably play either side. And so he... But that's the thing. thing, right? If we're trying to build a team, they have Ezekiel Ansa. So he's their right defensive end. If you're going to put Taco Charlton as your left defensive end, which is where

he fits, those, these things don't happen just like in this, in outer space. Like, these guys are, there are players on these teams already. And he's a compliment to what Onsa does and you can put him on the left side. That's why I think it makes sense to me. Yeah. So, and his Twitter handle is at the Supreme Taco. That's incredible. Pick him. You know what? He's not going to be there for the Lions. He's not going to be there for the Lions anymore. Sorry, Danny. All right, guys, I think that's all we got. This is going to be our last podcast for the draft, I believe, the three of us.

So we're going to be back with some reactions after the first and second round later in the week. But as far as previews goes, this is all we got. So enjoy the draft, have fun. We will be around to talk about it after. And as always, we really appreciate you guys listening. Thanks, guys.